Why so fast?!

That's the question I ask myself all the time....why so fast? It seems like it was just yesterday that I brought Jamie home and I still remember the excitement of that moment. From that moment on, Jamie changed our lives forever. He has brought so much love, joy, and fulfillment to us and we are so blessed God chose us to be his parents.

Three and a half years ago when I left teaching full-time we knew we were taking a great leap of faith since we did not plan to have be become a stay at home mom and go from two incomes to one in a very short period of time. Over the years there have been some stressful times because of this choice but God has always come through and provided and our family has been blessed abundantly. But, we are most grateful because time does go by so fast and Jeremy or I have been able to be apart of every special moment in Jamie's and Jordan's life's so far and what a ride it's been. :)

From the beginning, Jamie was always easy going, laid back, and content and he's still like that now. He loves to play with cars, trains, airplanes and his new favorite is dinosaurs. As much as I miss holding him as a baby, I love hearing him be creative and making up stories about his dinosaurs and trains as he plays with them. Jamie is such a contentious little boy (like his mom) and is very sensitive to other's people feelings around him....this makes him a great big brother too. Like his daddy, Jamie is very curious about how things are built and loves working in the yard putting things together and helping daddy out with projects around the house.

We love you Jamie - here's a trip down memory lane.....

Our baby boy at 2 1/2 months old. He was such a happy baby!

Smiling again in Hawaii for his first birthday.

Here he is on his 2nd birthday, playing in the bounce house with his Uncle Jason. He had so much fun that day!

Blowing out candles with Poppi on his third birthday. This was the first year he knew how to blow candles out so we did this several times.

From toddler to preschooler.....can't believe he's four!

He's Four!

Jamie turned four a few weeks ago, on May 10th. I know I say this all of the time but I can't believe how big he's getting and how quickly time is flying by. For his fourth birthday we did a two day celebration and went to the Train Park one day and the Children's Museum the next day. We also went to Serrano's (Jamie's and Poppi's favorite restaurant) for his birthday dinner and he came home to a Toy Story 3 Ice Cream Cake and lots of presents. It was a great few days of celebration!

Our big boy.....

At the Children's Museum he had fun chasing Nani and I in the noodle forest.

The best big brother in the world....giving his sister a ride at the pretend car wash at the museum. He was so patient with her. :)

Making a wish....I think he was wishing for some new Thomas the Trains which is what he got.

The aftermath of opening presents and new toys.

The Cutest Couple

Poppi downloaded pictures from his camera into our computer so I have a few more pictures to post from the wedding. Jesslyn, Katie's niece, was the flower girl and Jamie was the ring bearer in the wedding. They were also boyfriend and girlfriend for the evening, actually the whole weekend. They were adorable!

Jamie's first girlfriend as a preschooler!

Holding on tight and making sure nobody could break in and dance with them.

For a good hour this was how they were....fast song or slow song their hands and feet did not change positions. :)

Wedding Day Contiuned..

Below are a few more pictures from the Wedding Day. Unfortunately, as soon as we got to the actual wedding and to the reception we put our camera away. :(. We were too busy at the wedding keeping track of Jamie and Jordan and keeping them quiet during the ceremony and at the reception Jeremy was busy with the kids while I was busy catching up with all my aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends. Jeremy was a great husband that evening and took care of the kids so I could mingle, dance and have fun and that's exactly what I did! Both kids did well at the ceremony with the help of encouragement from the older kids in the wedding (Katie's nephew and niece). The wedding ceremony was so beautiful and filled with such meaningful words and the reception was a blast! Katie was absolutely stunning as a bride and I have never seen my brother more handsome or happier as he was that night.

While pictures were being taken of the bridal party this is how Jordan was spending her time. Running back and forth under my legs.

The bridal party. I love how both the ring bearer and flower girl are looking down at the ground while pictures are being taken!

Our handsome little man!

The proud parents of the groom.

I wish I could have gotten a closer picture of Katie. She was the most beautiful bride! I can't wait to see the professional pictures!

Wedding Day

Before the wedding took place the bridal party and families of bride and groom met at Balboa Park to get pictures done. I loved having pictures done before the ceremony because it meant that the kids only had a limited amount of time to get dirty and mess their hair up before the actual ceremony. I had Jordan's hair fixed really cute with a silver bow in it but in the short ride (10min) it took to get to Balboa Park she had already pulled it out! While the professionals were taking pictures of the bridal party we took a couple pictures of the rest of the family.

Nani and Poppi with their beautiful granddaughters. Ashlyn is 3 1/2 months in this picture.

The two mamas and proud sisters! Melanie looks great!

Nani is trying to teach Jamie how to smile for the pictures. ;)

My handsome man! We were pretending to be the newlyweds!

Two members of the bridal party. Jordan loved being dressed up and playing on the stairs but you can see Jamie didn't care for it that much. He kept saying the bow tie was choking him!

The Venue

Jason and Katie's wedding was at the Skybox in downtown San Diego on the 15th floor. Here are some pictures of the rehearsal. Both kids were in the wedding. Jamie was the ring bearer and Jordan was one of the "cute kids" who would walk down the aisle with Katie's other niece (20 months old) and Katie's best friend's daughter (2 yrs old).

The view to the left. Coronado bridge is in the background.

View below. This is right above Petco Field where the Padres play. The evening of the wedding a game was taking place. Shortly after Jason and Katie ceremony the game began.

Where the ceremony took place. Behind them is a view of the buildings downtown and the ocean.

The happy couple! Twenty four hours later they would become husband and wife. :)

One of the cute kids....running all around and having fun.

The Beach

A few days after the wedding, Jason and Katie joined us at Coronado beach. It was a little windy but we didn't mind at all. Jordan enjoyed playing in the sand and Jamie liked running in into the water and then running back to the shore when the waves would come. We had a great time.

Beach bum.

Running away from the waves with Uncle Jay.

Uncle Jay and Jamie playing in the water. The water was pretty cold but after awhile you became used to it or became numb. :)

Jordan didn't care for the water that much and it was my fault. I had the camera in one hand and was putting her down to feel the water and sand for the first time and all of a sudden a wave came and before I could grab her, she feel into the water up to her chest. I felt so bad! After that she preferred to stay on the blanket with Aunt Katie and daddy

Uncle Jay and Jordan.

More Vacation Pictures

Here's a few more pictures of our time in San Diego.

I love this picture of the two of them! This was taken at Balboa Park.


Giving love! ;) XOXOX

Daddy's big girl! She loved playing on this at the park. Thank goodness daddy is strong and could handle taking her and Jamie up and down several times.

Here we are on the train at Balboa Park. Jordan loved it!

How Jordan ended her nights on vacation, sitting on the deck outside with some ice cream. I was also in my pajamas on the deck but was drinking wine instead of eating ice cream. :)

San Diego Trip

We just got back in town from San Diego. We spent a week over there to have family fun but the main purpose of the trip was to see my brother and his finance become husband and wife! We arrived a few days before the big event and spent lots of time at Mission Beach Park and Balboa Park. The weather was great and we had such a fun time playing in the sand, playing with each other, and taking walks alongside the ocean. We love visiting San Diego! FYI: For families looking for a great family resort to stay at in San Diego, I highly recommend The Hilton Resort at Mission Beach (right near Sea World).

Perfect park, lots of toys to play on, sand to play with, and the ocean in the background!

Jamie having fun on the slide. Before he goes down any slide now he first has to swing on the bar above.

He's becoming such a big boy.Can't believe he's turning four in a few weeks!

Jordan loves climbing so she spent most of the time climbing up the stairs to get to the slide.

Big bro and lil sis playing together....makes my heart melt!

18 months old!

Jordan turned 18 months old recently and boy is she full of energy and spunk! Jamie was such a calm, laid back, baby and toddler and Jordan is the opposite. Somedays I'm exhausted by trying to keep up with her but I cherish every minute of it. When Melanie was in town for a few months she gave me a different perspective to take when looking at Jordan and her energy level, she told me to view it as Jordan being very curious and how great it was for her to be so interested and excited about everything around her. This is so true! She is such a sweet, curious, busy, and loving little girl and it's been so much fun to see her grow and learn new things on a daily basis.

Our little pumpkin!


Such a big girl now...she only wants to feed herself!

Crazy little girl - this is her being silly and playing with Joey (he's out of the picture)

Very active little girl....her red ball is one of her favorite toys to play with. She likes rolling on it and biting it. :)