2nd Annual "Work if Overrated Day"

Hehe!

Last year, we decided work was really overrated and decided to hit the slopes out in Rockford at Pando and go snow tubing and then we warmed up by the fire at Bluewater Grill. We had so much fun last year, we decided we HAD to do it again! This year did not disappointed! We had just as much fun as last year! The only thing that would have made it better was if my brother could have joined us! Unfortunately, work is not as overrated for him right now! Ha! :-)

The "Fab Five" going down the face!

Easton wasn't having any fun....see? :-)

Daddy and the Toe

Mom-mom and little dude!

He was having a BAWL!

Ryan being a show off.

Daddy being a show off

Mom being a show off....and everyone wonders why Easton has the be the center of attention? LOL, it certainly isn't from ME!

My parents are beyond lovely. I love them more than words. There is nothing else I can say, words pale in comparison to how amazing they are. They are the best, honestly, there are no better people on the planet.

Guess who was sick of having his picture taken? We have to work on that, when he's famous he has to learn how to look happy for the paparazzi, you know! :-)

Easton's 3rd Birthday!

I am really late in posting Easton's birthday pictures! I am so sorry, I am going to do a better job at staying up to date!

On Saturday, January 8 (E's birthday is January 9) we had a great party for him! Easton chose Disney Pixar's "Cars" as his birthday theme (his favorite movie!) and so we had a theme "A Day at the Races" for his party and it was a blast!

Thanks to everyone who made this such a special day for our little critter, he had such a fun time! He was one happy little party animal!

Some of the decor, complete with kettle corn goody bags for guests!

Eating race food! :-)

The Lightning McQueen pinata before all of the kids tried to slap that silly grin off his hood! :-)

The birthday boy giving it a good whack!

He had so much fun!

Opening presents! This one almost as big as he is! lol

This boy was so spoiled!!

He LOVES his pillow pet from Uncle Kolby!!!!

Emily showing Easton his new book from Boppy, it actually features E's favorite, "Lightning McQueen!" (Or has he called him, Wacka Feen) Ha! :-)

Doing his "excited arms" because we got him the Cars parking garage to go with his racetrack he got for Christmas!

The aftermath part 1.

The aftermath part #2. Easton was spoiled at all, was he!? lol!

Singing happy birthday to the sweetest little birthday boy ever!

His special "Car" birthday cake! <3 He LOVED IT!

So excited about his cake!

Blowing out the candles

Easton has such a special birthday! Making such amazing memories for this awesome little guy is what life is all about!!!!

Where does time go?

I have to post these pictures quickly.

A dear friend sent me some photos today of one of our boys' first playdates together. Easton was not yet 1 and Carson had just turned 1.

Now, Easton and Carson are both 3. Holy cow, time flies. Pictures for comparison.

The boys, Easton almost 1, Carson just turned 1.

The boys, Carson 3, Easton almost 3 at Great Wolf Lodge in December 2010.

Speaking of time flying....Easton's birthday party was on January 8 and I still haven't posted pictures yet....I hope to do that soon! This week in fact! Between my wifely and motherly duties, a grandma who was sick and is now recovering that we visit often, working on my business (just had a show and now another party coming up!) I haven't had time to post them, but they are fun, Easton had a BLAST and I will get something whipped up about his birthday soon! :-)

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

To the gorgeous little boy who makes our hearts go pitter patter, to the precious little man who has turned our world upside down in the greatest way possible, we wish you the happiest 3rd birthday ever, we love you so much Easton Ryan!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you and yours! We had a fantastic year and we pray continued blessings in 2011!

Christmas in a nut shell!

Some snapshots from Christmas :-)

Christmas eve at my folks house with some of the extended family. Always a good time.

My dad, with yet again, another wine bottle. Nice, lush! ;-)

Easton looking at the Cars racetrack that Santa brought him! Easton was consistent about what he wanted Santa to bring him, "Cars, football and soccerball!" Santa brought him all of those things PLUS a basketball hoop and a stocking full of goodies. How nice of Santa! ;-) (Notice Ritzy? HE thinks HE got a new racetrack for Christmas - not Easton, Ritzy LOVES this thing and tries to grab the cars off the track, super cute and super naughty! Hehe!)

The guys checking out the goods Santa left!

The tree with some of the goods from Mommy, Daddy and Mimi and Boppy

Easton, so happy to see more CARS, CARS, CARS!!!! :-)

Handy Manny! Wow!

The CAT bulldozer he was LUSTING over in the store. Of course mommy and daddy remembered!

Uncle Kolby, Boppy and The Toe surveying the goods :-)

One last present from Boppy? Of course! Easton just kept saying, "Wow, wow!"

Racing down the street :-)

"Cool car Boppy!"

A sweet boy and his Christmas tree on Christmas night <3

Mommy and her sweetie pie by the Christmas tree

Isn't he beautiful!? Merry Christmas our sweet little boy. <3

A Written Christmas Recap....

The Christmas holiday has come and gone. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a Christmas FREAK! I love Christmas. The Christmas season begins for me on November 1 - that is when I break out my Christmas music and I try to get Ryan to break out the decorations then as well - those normally make their appearance the 2nd weekend in November :-) I am a complete nut when it comes to Christmas! I love the sights, the sounds and just that warm feeling that surrounds you the whole season! So, needless to say, I am sad the season has come and gone and I am still holding on to the last little pieces of Christmas that I hold in my TIGHT grasp (our decorations are NOT down yet!)

Having Easton has made Christmas even more fun. The past few Christmases with him have been a blast, but this year has been especially fun because he finally REALLY "gets" Christmas and Santa, the Reindeer - all of it, he "gets" and he LOVES the magic....and it seems, just as much as I do and I have been eating it up! He has been my little Christmas spirit buddy! And, most importantly, he truly knows the REAL MEANING of Christmas this year. Hearing him talk about the Baby Jesus and how God gave us Christmas has been so precious and really fills Ryan and I with a lot of pride.

Easton was very consistent with his Christmas list this year. Everytime he met Santa, he would rattle off the same items, "Football, Soccerball and Cars" which was hilarious. He knew exactly what he wanted for Christmas!

In addition to our normal Christmas decorations, we also added a miniature Christmas tree with twinkle lights in Easton's room, which he had lit almost 24/7, he loved having Christmas spirit in his bedroom - so sweet! And, he would fall asleep to Christmas music every night! Call me a sap, but one of my favorite moments from this season, was checking on Easton before I went to bed one night and peeking into his room, all dark with the exception of his Christmas tree, his angelic face all aglow from the twinkle lights and hearing "Little Drummer Boy" being played on the radio....for some reason, that very moment, it almost brought me to tears. Just the beauty of the season, the beauty of my son, one of the greatest gifts God ever gave Ryan and I, just all of the beauty together was just too much!

Easton has really loved singing carols with me, especially in the car! His favorite seemed to be "Winter Wonderland"! He knows almost all the words and would sing along with such vigor and glee! :-)

We took quite a few nights to look at Christmas lights which Easton thoroughly enjoyed!

Oh and I cannot forget to mention "The Polar Express". Easton LOVES the Movie "The Polar Express". Uncle Kolby introduced him to it and he is hooked! He can recite almost the whole movie and all the songs, he just adores it, which has been a ton of fun! Oh and we have also spent many a night reading "The Night Before Christmas" and "God Gave Us Christmas". These movies and readings have definitely become Christmas traditions I hope we will continue to uphold :-)

It was truly such a beautiful season for our family and we hope you enjoyed the holiday season with yours as well! I mainly wrote this for my own reference and memory to look back on. Thank you for indulging me.

I will have some pictures and a recap of our Christmas soon :-)