Bridger's 3rd Birthday

Bridger had a great 3rd birthday! He woke up and immediately asked me if he could open his big and little Finn McMissile (he knew his presents because he went shopping with me. Whoops!). After we opened them we got my parents on Skype and then went downstairs to see his big surprise.
The big surprise was a train table that he had been wanting for a long time. Jake and Skyler stayed up late the night before putting it together.

And it turned out awesome! I wish I was a little boy so I could enjoy playing with it.

As soon as he saw it he started playing with it and was too busy to even look up at the camera to say "cheese" for me. He and Graham literally played with it all day long. It was a gift from my parents and Jake and I so it was fun to have my parents on Skype while he "opened" it.

Bridger wanted noodles for dinner so we took him and Graham out to the Olive Garden. We didn't have a ton of time before our family was coming over for cake and ice cream but luckily they got us in and out real fast.

Me and my big 3 year old. What a stud!
When we got home Brody and his family, Barry, Brooke and Skyler, Grandma Hart and Cookie and Steve came over for cake and ice cream and presents. Everyone was so nice to bring him a gift. He got a sweet motion activated candy dispenser from Brooke and Skyler, a remote control train from Cookie and Steve, horses from Grandma Hart, cute pajamas from Brody and Corine and an awesome conductor hat, bandana, and whistle from Barry.
The candy machine was a hit with the kids! Graham couldn't shove the Mike and Ikes in his mouth fast enough.

What a cute conductor!
We had a simple cake on his birthday night and his fancy train cake was for his birthday party the next day.

It's hard to believe that my little Bridger is 3 years old already! The time has flown by and I need it to slow down to I can enjoy my little boy longer. He is such a fun kid! I'm so grateful he belongs to me and Jake. Happy birthday, kiddo!

We're gonna Riiiide the potty train!

After Jake and I got back from our trip to Sedona Jake was supposed to start his job the following Monday. Lucky for me they didn't need him to start for another week so I got to have Jake home to help potty train Bridger. Thank heavens I didn't have to do it on my own! I don't think I could have handled it. Jake was a trooper and did such a good job helping him.

We started potty training on Monday, Jan. 9th. I went out to the store and bought TONS of juice, treats, and incentives for Bridger. We already had his Thomas the Train underwear and Cars potty. Jake sat in the bathroom with him most of the day and just let him watch movies, play in the bath, and read stories.

Here he is on his little Cars potty. We didn't like having to clean this out so we bought another Cars seat that goes directly on the big toilet. Much easier! Bridger did a great job that day and only had a few little accidents. It took him a bit to figure out how to hold it so when he would say "I gotta go potty!" that meant it was already coming out.
The next day he did really well too. He had one number 1 accident and a little number 2 accident. After that he has gone number 2 in the toilet every time without a problem. I had heard horror stories about kids holding their poop for days without going so I was worried about this. I told Bridger when he went number 2 in the potty he would get a remote control car. So after he went number 2 (which he calls number 5) in the toilet Jake got his toy and they danced around the house. This was a cheap RC car that I bought so it busted to pieces after only 20 minutes. My parents said they wanted to buy him a better one so we took him out to the toy store later that day to pick a nicer one out.

He has only been potty trained for less than two weeks and already he sleeps through the night with his big boy underpants on, goes to church and nursery with them on, has gone out to dinner and movies with no problems, and always tells us when he needs to go. I love how he tells us he needs to go potty. He runs out to tell us "I need to go potty" like it's a secret and he's excited/anxious to go. For the past couple of days we've had no accidents day or night. Wahoo! I'm so proud of this kid! And let me just say, he looks SO cute in his little boxer briefs! Way to go, Bridger!

Sedona, AZ Trip

Jake and I were planning on going on a cruise in January but once I found out I was pregnant, we weren't able to go 'cause I'd be too far along. So instead I planned a trip for us to Sedona, AZ and gave it as a gift to Jake for Christmas and our Anniversary. We drove down Monday, Jan. 2nd and got back, Thursday, Jan. 5th and left the boys home. We went out to a movie, played tennis and racquetball each day, went out to dinner without kids, went hiking, golfing, shopping, on a helicopter ride, and went hot tubbing at night. It was such a fun and relaxing trip!

Here's the pretty view from our hotel room.
We ate at Red Rock BBQ on the first night we were there. The weather was so nice we got to eat outside!
We even got to go on a helicopter ride (after sitting through a presentation about a timeshare...it was totally worth it!) We had both never been on a helicopter ride before. We flew over Sedona and the surrounding canyons at sunset. It was amazing!

Sedona at senset
This is a sweet church in Sedona that is built right into the rock. Frank Lloyd Wright designed it.

Here's what it looks like on the inside. It was a Catholic church.

We went on a fun hike one of the days and we thought it was only going to be about 3 miles round trip. Well, it turned out we took the wrong trail and ended up going on the "Big Park Loop" which was 6 miles round trip. Good thing I didn't go into labor! Jake is grumpy in this picture because the sun was about to go down when we finished and we had still planned on going golfing. We just hit a bucket of balls at the driving range instead.

On our drive home we stopped at the Grand Canyon for a few hours. I have never been there before and it was definitely worth the trip! What an amazing place! Next time we go I want to hike down to the bottom and go white water rafting down the Colorado river.

If you haven't gone on a trip with your spouse for a while without kids I'd highly recommend it! We had so much fun together and it felt like we were on our honeymoon all over again.

Anniversary #6

Jake and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary today. I can't believe it's been six years since I married the man of my dreams! It just keeps getting better and better.

Here are my pretty flowers that Jake gave me.

We went to dinner at Tuscany which was delightful! Thanks to Brooke and Skyler we had a pleasant dinner without the kiddos.
I love you more than anything, Jake. I feel so blessed to be your wife and have you in my life. You are the best husband and father in the world and I can't imagine life without you. Happy Anniversary!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Did Christmas come and go faster than ever this year? Why can't it last for more than a day? I love Christmas! We had such a fun day!

Christmas morning--all the presents are just waiting to be unwrapped. I wonder what that black bag is with a bow on it? :) That was my Christmas present this year. I'm trying to learn how to play the guitar!
Coming down the stairs at about 7:30 am. We had to wake Bridger up but Graham woke up on time.

Grandma Hart, Madie, Cookie and Steve (who are our kids' Grandma and Grandpa "B" while my parents are gone) came over to watch the boys open their presents. It was SO fun to have them there!

Cookie holding Graham while he finishes his bottle.

Steve loves my mom's sugar cookies so I had to make him a great big plate all for himself for a Christmas present.

Me, Bridger, and Jake waiting to start the fun morning. Right when we came in Bridger yelled, "Oh, my goodness!" We got a kick out of that.

Barry made sure that my mom and dad were able to be with us via Skype. Only this time he made it extra awesome--my mom and dad were on the big screen and Barry had his sweet camera that he could aim and zoom in on the boys and everyone opening presents. My parents loved it and We were so glad to feel like they were here with us!
Before Bridger opened this present we asked him what he thought it was. He said, "It's Iron Man on a motorcycle!" and he was right? He must have his dad's gift of guessing every present before opening it. All Bridger asked Santa for this year was Bullseye and Woody and Iron Man on a motorcycle so I guess he knew Santa was going to bring him what he wanted.
My mom and dad sent the boys the cutest Alphabet books that my mom made with pictures of them in it. They loved them!

Cookie and Madie

The boys just wanted to play with their small toys that we started with but we kept hurrying them along to open more "bigger" toys. We had these hidden at first and brought them out at the end. Bridger's is battery powered but Graham's isn't.

Jakey got a RC Helicopter, shoes, clothes, sheets, and a trip for Christmas

The last present was a kitchen set. Graham couldn't figure out which toys to play with, he was having too much fun!

The boys also got some guitars to play with (so they stop messing with mine!). We bought one for Graham and Brooke and Skyler got one for Bridger. The shopping cart behind them loaded with food is from Cookie and Steve and Grandma Hart got them some sweet trucks. Were they spoiled or what?

And a cookie monster playdough set that teaches the boys their letters.

Here's our whole family (and baby Amber in my tummy). The rest of Christmas we spent having a yummy brunch with my family, at church for not 1 but 2 hours, out to Jake's parents' house for dinner with Misty, her kids, and Grandpa Lowe (I only had my phone with me so those pictures are on there. I'll post them when I get around to it), and then back to Grandma Hart's house for dessert that night. It was an awesome day!

7 Course Dinner

This year we wanted to do a fun tradition that Jake's family used to do with their family around Christmas--a 7 course meal. Thanks to Jake's mom and dad we had one of the most beautiful and delicious meals we've ever had!

Jake, Lynnadele, and Craig preparing the meal

Kids were not invited to this meal so we tried to get the boys down for their naps when we started the dinner but Graham woke up just in time for it to start (of course!). So we banished him over to his high chair and luckily he was very good. He enjoyed everything we ate and he just sat their feeding himself the whole time. It was great!Bridger fell asleep on the couch and he did sleep while we ate dinner. He woke up just in time for dessert.I didn't have any pretty silverware or pretty decorations of my own so luckily Lynnadele was nice enough to bring all of her stuff and decorate our table. This is what our place settings looked like.

And here is the beautiful table!
And this is how we had our meal--by candlelight. We also listened to some gorgeous Christmas music that my brother and sister-in-law made. It was perfect ambiance!

The guests (minus Lynnadele who is taking the picture)

I wanted to take a picture of every course but I forgot to. Here are the 7 courses we had: 1-We started off with some apples, crackers, and cheese. 2-Then we had a shrimp cocktail. 3-Next we had the most delicious homemade French Onion soup ever! 4-Time for the salad and a roll (pictured above- yum!). 5-Then it was time for our cranberry/tangerine sherbet to cleanse our palette. 6- And as if we hadn't had enough food already, next came the main course--Chicken Cordon Bleu, twice baked potatoes, and asparagus (pictured below). And finally, 7-dessert- THE most delicious raspberry cheesecake I have ever had made by my wonderful husband, Jake. Let's just say by the end of the meal I felt like I was pregnant with triplets!

Here's Bridger enjoying his cheesecake.
And here's baby Graham sitting up to the table with us.

What a fun meal! We lasted over 2 hours at the table just chatting and enjoying our meal. It really was so fun. Brooke and I can't stop talking about how much we loved it. Thanks, Lynnadele and Craig, for sharing your tradition with us and for making us the meal and serving us. You're the best!