Randee's High School Graduation

We drove over to Tri-Cities this morning to celebrate Randee's high school graduation. She is the baby in Dave's family so she is the last to graduate. Dave's parents had a graduation brunch for her so we got up early and arrived in Kennewick about 9:30. Colt and Camryn immediately wanted to play on the swing set so Dave and Taylor pushed them.

The weather could not have been more gorgeous (especially after all the rain we have gotten in the last 2 weeks!).

Jax and the graduate.

The rules were that you had to hold a baby in order to play ladder ball.

Cousins: Colt, Jax, Camryn, Calvin

After about 40 pictures the four of them were done!

Jax was happy to sit for a few more pictures though.

Checking out his......

...toes!!

My dad....

....and mom drove over too!

My mom was the typical elementary teacher, taking off her shoes and playing with the kids!

Dave's parents yard is the perfect set up for being outside. They have a huge deck with a gazebo, a fish pond, playground set, trampoline and a HUGE yard.

Cam pitching the ball to Colt.

Aunt Dee Dee read to kids one last book before leaving for graduation.

Random Friday Ramblings

• It's Friday! For me that means I only have 4 more days of work until summer. There are alot of things I love about my job but for now the part I love the most is summer vacation. It means 2 months of spending every day all day with my boys.
• We ended up spending a couple hours in the ER Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Jax woke up about 10:15 wheezing and having a really hard time breathing. He got another cold when we got back from Olympia last weekend and he tends to get worse at night (as is the case with croup). We did what we always do when the boys have croup, sit in the bathroom with a hot shower running and let the steam try and settle down his breathing and then go and sit outside in the cold. We tried this for 30 minutes and he seemed to be getting worse so I headed to the ER and Dave stayed home since Colt was still sleeping. The scariest part for me was that I had to go by myself, I always lean on Dave to know what to do in scary situations but he had to stay home so it was just me and Jax. It ended up being fine, we got right in and they got him a breathing treatment and a steroid and by 1:30am he was sounding much better. Dave was waiting up at home for us and calling every 15 minutes to check in on how things were going. I think we all slept about 3 hours that night.
• I am loving Starbucks iced coffee with 2 splenda and milk right now. It seems the older I get (or maybe the less sleep I get) the more I enjoy stronger coffee. On another plus side it has very few calories since its mainly made up of water!
• Dave's little sister Randee graduates from high school tomorrow. She is the baby of the family and the last one to graduate. We are planning on spending the day in Kennewick tomorrow to celebrate and attend her graduation.
• I am very excited to only be working part time next school year. I will be teaching 2 classes at the high school and will be home by about 9:45 everyday. Dave is going to stay with the kids until I get home and then go into work and work later. I will also be teaching an online class to help supplement our income a little more. This is truly a dream come true for me, I have struggled so much the last 3 years with having to work full time with little ones at daycare all day. I am so thankful for my hard working husband that is making this possible!
• Looking forward to the next couple months, we have some fun vacations planned and I am looking forward to a slower paced life.
• Colt's birthday is coming up next. Dave and I decided that instead of a party this year we are going to take him and Jax camping for a night or two. Colt loves anything that has to do with the outdoors but especially loves fishing so we will include that in the trip.

Fun times ahead......

Jax: 1 year

Jax David Pemberton

My sweet, cuddly second born is 1 today! Hard to believe, it feels like he has always been part of our family. I tried really hard this past year to enjoy each and every moment of him being a baby, I tried to savor each cuddle, smell, feeding, smile, cooing moment of my sweet baby boy but time still passed much too quickly. Its hard for me to put into words just how special Jax is to me and our family. I think the most important thing he taught me is how to love so much bigger than I have ever loved before. There is nothing quite like being a mommy, it is by far the most important job I have ever been given and also the most rewarding. Jax and Colt make it so easy to be a mommy, both of them are such easy going, good natured little boys. So as we celebrate this sweet boy's birthday today, I can't but help but feel the sadness that no matter how hard I try to savor and enjoy each and every moment it still passes much quicker than I would like......

Jax, at 1 year old you are crawling everywhere and today on your actual birthday you decided you were ready to start climbing up the stairs. We had to get the gate out today and put it on the stairs as you were pretty insistent about climbing them over and over again. You have started pulling up on things and if we hold your hand you will walk with us. You say mama, dada, ball, catch, uh-oh and love to point to things. You sign "dog" and "more". You love to throw and catch balls and wherever we go you love to have a ball in your hand. In the car, in the stroller, crawling around the house, in the bath, wherever it may be you always have a little ball gripped in those chubby little hands. You love to eat and are not a picky eater as long as its not baby food and you can feed it to yourself. You are now drinking whole milk out of a sippy cup and still nursing when you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed at night. You like your binky when you are going to bed but rarely use it any other time. Besides balls your lovie is your next favorite toy, you carry it everywhere and love to rub your face on it. You are easy going, laid back and rarely get upset about too many things (except when Colt takes your ball away). You sleep pretty well at night and take 2 good naps a day. You are wearing size 18 month clothes and size 3 diapers. You have the chunkiest thighs and feet that I love to squeeze and that always makes you laugh. You look like your daddy, time will tell if that will change but for now you are a mirror image of him. YOU, my baby boy made our family complete. Whether we have more children in the future or not our family felt complete when you were born on that hot, sunny Sunday at 6:37 pm. You surprised us by coming 3 weeks early and couldn't even wait for the doctor to get to the hospital before making your entrance. You were 7lbs 6oz of pure wonderful, you fit right into my arms and it was like you had always been in our life. I will never forget that first moment of seeing you, finding out you were a boy, your poor little face was bruised and blue but you were beautiful and magical to me. Since then you have worked yourself into the heart of your daddy and brother and they have a love for you that goes beyond anything I can comprehend. Though your first year has come and gone and the thought of you growing up is hard for me to deal with I am looking forward to seeing the plans that God has for you.

Happy 1st Birthday sweetie!!

1 year stats

Weight: 23.4 lbs (60%)

Height: 31 inches (90%)

Jax's First Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Jax's birthday on his actual birthday!! It was such a fun day and I had so much fun planning and preparing for it. I had alot of help from Dave and my mom so that was nice too. Dave did all the grocery shopping for me and basically did most of the food. He made barbeque pineapple chicken burgers that were to die for and also put together the fruit salad for me. My mom made Jax the cutest banner and sign and she also made a salad. I did the decorating, cleaning and the cakes! We keep our birthday's pretty low key around here and only invite family but with the size of Dave and I's families its always still a pretty fun party.

The cakes!

Chocolate Oreo Cake.

I got this recipe off one of the blogs I read and it looked so yummy I wanted to try it. It takes awhile to make, there are different layers that go into it and everything is completely homemade. It was yummy!!

Funfetti Cake.

This is the cake I made for Jax, we were originally going to just let him go at it but in the end we decided to just give him a nice chunk of cake so the entire thing didn't get ruined. This is your typical box cake and took me about 3 minutes to make.

                                               Birthday banner and sign that my mom made.

Cousins!

Cam and the birthday boy.

Colt picked out a sword for Jax for his birthday. Colt already has a sword and he told Dave he wanted to get Jax a little sword and he would keep his big one and they could "kill dragons together". Colt spent most the day convincing his Papa and Poppi to play sword fight with him.

Jax got this little car from his Memah and Poppi. Colt wanted to push him around and then show him how to use it.

Jax was pretty tired by about 1:30 so I put him down for a nap and we all relaxed and talked. Colt is not one to relax much so he went outside and had a sword fight with Dave.....

....then he got his grandpa's to play with him.

Poppi was the lion, Colt had the gun and Papa had the sword.

Jax woke up from his nap and he was ready for his cake. We sang to him, Colt blew out his candle and then sat the cake in front of him. He touched it with one finger and then very carefully bent over and started eating off the side of it. We were all laughing so hard. Its so Jax he is just a sweet little gentle guy (for now).

  Finally washing it all down with a nice glass of milk.

He didn't want much more to do with the cake, after his first few bites he was done. Both the boys were exhausted by the end of the day. I guess that's what happens when you party hard!

State Track & the Chase Family

We left last Wednesday for the state track meet in Tacoma. Dave and the kids came too and we stayed with our good friends the Chase's in Olympia. Jess and I barely saw each other between me spending all day at the track meet in Tacoma and her having things with work and family going on. That meant that Dave and Dale spent pretty much most the time with the 4 kids and they did a great job! Dale and Jess have 2 boys that are just a little younger than our boys. Wyatt turned 2 in February and Gavin was born this past November. Colt and Wyatt had a great time playing together and did really well for the most part. The track meet was Thursday-Saturday and the weather was cold, windy and rainy most the time. Not ideal for a track meet, especially at the end of May. I know Dave is glad that track season is over so he doesn't have to play Mr. Mom anymore but him and Dale were great about staying home and taking care of the kids while Jess and I were busy.

Colt and Wyatt spent time together coloring, wrestling, shooting hoops, watching movies, reading books and doing just a little bit of fighting.

Gavin and Jax, these two will be good buddies just like Colt and Wyatt someday!

The last night we were there we were planning on going home because I wanted to get everything ready for Jax's birthday on Monday. Dave talked me into staying one more night and because I was so tired I hardly even argued.:) Dale and Dave got to get out of the house and go golfing and Jess and I took the kids to this place in Olympia called Charlie Safari. It was like a big indoor playground that included bouncy houses. Colt and Wyatt had so much fun running around and jumping.

We stopped in North Bend on our way home to let the kids run around for a bit, it was early so none of the outlet malls were open yet and Colt wanted to ride on the toy airplane with Jax. These two boys are so great together!!

Randomness

Randomness #1

Last night we had our track banquet. Track is not over yet, we still have about 2 weeks left but if we waited until the end of the season it would almost be time for school to get out so we always have it during the week of regionals. I worked all day, had track practice till 5:30, got the kids and come running in the door by 5:45 to change since the banquet started at 6. Only problem is Dave was not around, after looking around I realized he had gone on a bike ride and left his cell phone on the counter (how convenient for him). I did tell him multiple times over the course of the last couple days that I had my track banquet Tuesday night and he had the kids. Long story short he rolled in about 6:25 and I looked at him and said something to the effect of "hmmm must be nice" and ran out the door. I hate being late so I was upset and maybe a little mad, I drove as fast as I could to the banquet and left my cell phone in the car. The banquet got over at about 8:45 and when I got back in my car I saw that I had 11 text messages all from Dave. Here's what they said:

6:49 "I am soooooo sorry. Big mistake. Let me know what my punishment is"

7:01 "I love u"

7:05 " I think u are sooo pretty"

8:10 "You look skinny"

8:14 "You need a back rub tonight?"

8:18 "Our boys are sure lucky to have a mom like you!"

8:20 "Your sesy!"

8:21 "I am so glad god gave me you for a wife"

8:23 " I wish I had your ability to remember schedules" (I died laughing when I read this!)

8:30 "Are you having a good time, I sure am loving watching the kids"

8:35 he sent me a picture of Colt with the caption : "Boy, dad can be a dummy sometimes, huh?"

By the time I got done reading all of these texts I was smiling and laughing. He knows me so well!

Randomness#2

Colt is turning into such a little man now. This morning he took off his diaper (he still wets the bed at night) and put it in the garbage, took off his pajamas and put them in the laundry (I still can't figure out why my 2 year old can put his clothes in the laundry yet my 30 year old husband still cannot), picked out his own underwear, shorts and shirt and put them all on by himself with absolutely no help from me! However, before he picked out his shorts he looked outside and said "Mommy it's kind of cloudy out today, do you think its going to rain?" I told him it was supposed to be sunny and he replied "ok I guess I will wear shorts then." Before we left he put on his sock and his shoes(and they were on the right feet too!). I can't believe he is already to the point where he no longer is needing my help for everything!

Yesterday, on the car ride home after track practice I asked Colt how his day was. He replied "my day was good mommy, how was your day?"

Randomness #3

Jax is so much fun. He is healthy again and so so happy. He loves to clap and point at things. He is very close to start signing some things. I have been working with him more on it lately and he seems to be catching on. I love to hear him crawl around the house saying "mamamama" over and over again.

Randomness #4

Summer is sooo close! I only have 15 teaching days left. Really looking forward to life slowing down, playing with the boys, sleeping a little more, working out ALOT more, spending time with my family and friends and just enjoying being only a "mom" for a couple months.

Randomness #5

Sometimes my boys do look alike!

Colt

Jax