THIS seems just like yesterday....
but now he's SO grown up! and it has been so great! we could not have asked for a better little boy!
love him!!
in honor of jax turning two, we threw together a train birthday party for him (per his request).
the invitations:
the birthday boy!
the decorations....
the kid's table. a centerpiece full of jelly beans - YUM!
the grown-up's table... no yummy centerpiece for us, but a cute vase that said "ride the rails"
Jax got spoiled by the guests. thank you!!
Ryan, Kate, and kiddos:
Manna:
Grandma and Papa:
Grandma Evona:
How did i forget to get a picture of annie!!? Sorry annie, we love you!
Momma and Dadda:
Our attempt at a train cake. It was not pretty. I don't know what makes us think we can pull off these cool cakes when neither one of us bake or cook well! It was fun trying, though. But we are definitely going down hill. This was worse than the football cake from last year's birthday. ha!
The party favors:
For the kids, it was a grab bag of train themed things (train purse, train playing cards, train tattoos, train shaped bubbles, train key chain, etc...). For the adults, it was chocolate and little crystal trains that were so cute!
All tuckered out after his big day. So sweet.
I definitely did not dot all the I-s or cross all of the T-s for this birthday party. There was a good chunk of decorating that I wanted to do that I wasn't able to get done. The chicken salad didn't turn out as good as it should've. And my house was NOT cleaned like it should have been. I just ran out of time. My fat pregnant body doesn't go fast enough to pull things off like this :( But it all turned out fun and Jax had a great time. That's really what I was shooting for - so it was considered a success!
Here's some fun things that Jax can do now that he is TWO:
1. He can sing head, shoulders, knees, and toes, I Am a Child of God, ABCs, and Baby Baluga all by himself
2. He can do sommersaults with a little bit of help and jumping all by himself
3. He can identify red, green, blue, yellow, orange, brown, and white
4. He can count to 11
5. He starting to be able to feed himself without making a huge mess
6. He brushes his teeth and washes his hands all by himself
7. He takes good care of his stuffed animals. He has 3 stuffed animals and periodically throughout the day he will go get them and sing to them and put them to bed. He has even given his puppy dog time out once or twice! :)
8. He talks in 3-4 word sentences ---- he knows too many words to count!
9. Jax can throw a ball fairly well for his age
10. He LOVES to dance. and he seriously can pick up a beat! Specifically, Angels and Airwaves songs are his choice to rock-out to
11. He is pretty good at making decisions... we can ask him what we would like for a snack or what he wants for lunch and he will give us legit answers
12. He says no way all the time, instead of just a simple no. it's super cute! he is, however, very good at saying no thank you which is cute as well
13. He calls Shawn mister and ShawnShawn
14. He is so, so empathetic. I've been super emotional this pregnancy and if I start crying he runs to give me a hug and pats my hair and back while saying sssshhhh momma. He is such a sweet, tender-hearted little boy
15. He likes to help vaccumm
16. He is good at unloading the dishwasher. He is such a good helper
17. His favorite TV shows are Sid the Science Kid and Barney. But, all in all, he really doesn't care too much for TV, which I am glad about
18. Jax is still a pretty good sleeper. We've had a few hiccups in this department the last few weeks, but all things considered we got lucky with his sleeping habits! He still does about 11 hrs at night and a 2.5-3.3 hr nap..... although, he is starting to (on occasion) not lay down for his nap. When this happens, he is really good to just stay in his room and play for about an hour and a half
19. He's really good at remembering people and their names
20. He loves to play outside
21. He's super good at picking up his toys
22. He LOVES ice water and asks for "more ice please" if the ice has melted out of his sippy cup
23. He knows all the animals and their sounds
24. His favorite foods are yogurt, cheese, mashed potatoes, chocolate milk, peas, and chicken nuggets - but he's pretty good at eating most things. The other night, I made meatloaf, baked potatoes, and brocolli, and he had a pretty generous helping of all of it.
25. He's a clean freak like his momma. If there's a crumb on the floor he says "Oh my gosh! Throw it away!" It's cute!!
We love you so much Jax. You have blessed our lives and brought a happiness to our home that could never be replaced by anyone. You are such a sweet boy. You are so obedient and smart. You have a wonderful personality and a great sense of humor. You make us laugh so much! You are good at taking turns. You are such a nice boy. We are so proud of you and the little guy you are becoming. We love you more than you know.
