Del Mar Fair

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Del Mar Fair.  Ever since I can remember it has been a summer tradition.  My dad taught me young what to eat, what to see and what to ride.  The Gingerbread cake is a must, with mini doughnuts to follow.  We walk the exhibits, even though we are not looking to buy a hot tub, spend some extra time with the barnyard animals, and end the night staring at rides we will never ride.
This year was J's first fair experience.  I don't know if fair appreciation is passed on genetically but if it is, James got the fair gene.  He loved every minute of it.  I couldn't have been more proud of my son as he gobbled up a fried cheese curd and demanded to ride the carrousel. Looks like he's his mother's son after all.

Fried Oreos, Fried Twinkie and Butter Beer!

Kiddy land rides are about my speed.

Look who thinks he's taking this guy home.

This goat is seconds away from nibbling James' finger and like a good mother, I'm taking a picture.

Watching the rides.

Some fair kisses to end the night.

The Hunt

I love Easter.  Everything about it.  I love that boys wear pastel shirts on Easter, that we search for eggs in plants, and that the best candy ever made, is made for Easter.  I also love what Easter stands for.  The Savior, his atoning sacrifice and that through him, I can be with my family forever.  The family that I completely demolished in the Easter egg hunt today.

Jackpot!

This guy is pretty dreamy.

Walks

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time.  Not only does it capture all three loves of my life (yes, my dog is one of the loves of my life) it also captures one of my favorite activities in the whole wide world, going for a walk.  It is an easy way to spend an afternoon, you simply put one foot in front of the other and you are on your way.  I think when I am at the other end of my life and looking back, these are the types of moments I will treasure the most.

2012 is sick!

2012 has been a whirlwind so far.  Most of our time has been spent with a sick baby.  The first year of J's life he was as healthy as a baby gets.  He must have been saving up all of his sick cards to cash them in a week after his first birthday.  A few days after his birthday party, he caught a virus and had high fevers for about eight days that led to an eye infection which put him in the hospital for three days!  Sheesh.  Here are some pictures from our hospital adventure.

Poor baby.  I didn't include the pictures of when his eye was really swollen because they are awful.  

We didn't get our best sleep in the hospital. And don't let this picture fool you, J slept most of the night with me in my "chair bed".

By the third day we were so ready to leave!  The doctors woke us up around 6:00am to check on J and told us we would be leaving in the morning.  We didn't end up leaving the hospital until 7:00 PM!  It was a loooong day.  Hooray for Harry Potter movies.

Since our bout in the hospital, J has had the stomach flu twice and a cold.  I swear it is something new every week.  I will say, Scott and I are becoming excellent at cleaning up throw up in the middle of the night.  I know how to quickly get it out of carpet, sheets, hair and yes...my mouth.  The joys of being a mother!  

There have been some healthy times in the past two months which we have taken full advantage of.  Luckily we live in a place with with 80 degree February's or Februaries....wrong but feels right.  J has discovered how much he loves walking on grass (he's easily entertained) and so we go to the park across the street as much a possible.  Here's some pics of our park goings.

The best way to go to the park is with a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich.  Oh yeah, I like bringing J too.

We force J to wear this sailor hat which he hates.  Sometimes we compromise and flip the front flap up.  This however does not protect his face from the sun.  It's good logic.

Swing Fail.  J didn't really like the swings the first few times we tried.  These pictures are at least a month old and I'm happy to report that now J dominates the swings.

The good news is that we have had more park days than sick days as of late.  I think we might be in the clear for awhile.  I heard on the news that February is the sickest month of the year.  March, it's so good to see you.

It's Fun Turning 1

Today we celebrated J's birthday with a big party at my mom and dad's house.  I have been looking forward to this day for a long time and it did not disappoint.  It's been a really rewarding year that has been a lot of hard work and blessed our lives more than we could have ever imagined.  This little guy has taken over our hearts.  Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Getting ready for the party was probably as much fun as the party itself.  Scott gave me a Cricut for Christmas and as you can see, I went a little crazy!

Birthday Boy

J didn't know what to do with the giant cake placed in front of him.  I was dying for him to dive into the cake and get messy but that was the last thing he wanted.  Instead of diving in, he hand-picked all of the sprinkle stars on the top and ate them one by one.  Then he cried because his hands were dirty.

Distinguished Guests

J loves both of his Grandma's!  Grandma O. and Aunt Jamie drove all the way from Santa Barbara just to come to his birthday party.  He is a pretty lucky little boy to have such wonderful people in his life.  Aunt Jamie leaves for her mission in one month, we sure will miss her!

J and his friends loved his new toys! Not to mention the sweet kicks he scored!

C and J didn't totally appreciate the hats I made for them, but this picture was very important, it will hang on their dorm room wall one day!

It was a great day filled with animal crackers, no afternoon nap and extreme attention.  There was only one way to end a day like that....a hot bubble bath.

Happy Birthday Boo Boo!