Happy 17th Birthday, Max!

Since we couldn’t join you for your birthday we celebrated anyway at Jayni’s request. Of course we had to do it a day early so that you can see this first thing on your birthday! She even asked that I make this for you.

She said I had to make a basketball cake so this was my attempt. We celebrated with pizza for dinner and then had birthday cake.

Tom was a little grumpy so I didn’t want to get his grumpiness in any pictures. Jayni and Mason were more than happy to have their pictures taken though. The kids and I didn’t get out of the house today so please don’t mind their hair.

And for good measure we included some videos!

I’m so glad we have had the opportunity to get to know you! You are a huge part of our family now and we miss you like crazy! You are an amazing person and we’re so proud of all you do (well maybe not all!…like almost letting my son drown) and appreciate your efforts to keep in contact with us. We even kinda like you!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday and have some yummy curry for us! I really wish we could be there!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

What?...No!

My Jayni just turned 5 this last Sunday on the 29th! I can't believe it. Time goes by way too fast. We didn't do anything for her on her b-day because we were in Spokane for Hoopfest and we traveled home. My friend, Lisa did make pancakes for us that morning and we sang Happy Birthday and Jayni was able to blow out a candle on her pancake. Thanks Lisa for letting us stay with you and spending time with us. We had a great time visiting and I had a great time with you Saturday night!

Yesterday I asked Jayni what she wanted to do to celebrate her birthday and she said she wanted to go to Red Robin and go see Wall-E. Jayni, Mason, and I met Tom at Red Robin and enjoyed a meal together although they didn't come sing to Jayni like Tom had arranged. Thank goodness she didn't care even though they sang to another little girl close by.

After dinner, Tom and Mason headed home and Jayni and I went to see Wall-E together. It was such a good movie and it was nice to spend the time together. We ate way too much snacks and towards the end Jayni wanted to snuggle with me on my lap. I loved that she did that! She's so sweet and although she drives me bonkers with her million questions all through the day, it was nice to have quality time as mother and daughter. I love her so much and am so glad I have her in my life!

Sorry, I have no pictures! I've been really bad about taking them lately.

Mason's 2nd Birthday and My 1st Quilt

Mason's birthday was April 26th, so this is a little late, but I wanted to show the cake I made for Mason's birthday. We celebrated Mason's birthday a week early since I had my sister-in-law's baby shower to go to on his actual birthday, which is her birthday as well. With the help of my Mom this is how the cake turned out.

We had a nice time with just a little party after Sunday dinner when we were in Moses Lake for a weekend.

I can't believe my baby is 2! It makes me so sad that my children are growing up so quickly.

For Christmas I got a sewing machine and this is the first quilt I've made. I felt so accomplished! This is what I made for my nephew Ender and gave to my sister-in-law, Beth at her baby shower.

Ender was born this last Sunday, May 18th which means all of our special days are now shared with others. Kind of funny!! Tom and I share the same birthday. Jayni and her cousin Eli share a birthday. Mason and Aunt Beth share a birthday. Now we share our anniversary with Ender's birthday.

Beth's husband, Ryan is a pilot so I thought this material was fitting for their family. Plus, I LOVE the colors!!!

I Can't Believe She's 4!

My baby's 4! I can't believe it. She turned four on Friday, June 29th. On her birthday we attended a Tri-Cities Dust Devils baseball game. Jayni loves going to these games. I think we went to 4 or 5 before the season ended.

Our neighbor, Allison, who is eleven, went with us. This is a picture of them after running the outfield between innings. I don't think Allison really wanted to do it, but Jayni wanted her to. What a great friend you are, Allison!!!

Dusty, the mascot, came to see Jayni because of a sweet lady who had one of the employees bring him over. She loves to see Dusty. Allison also had them wish Jayni a Happy Birthday over the loudspeaker. Thanks, Allison!

On Saturday we had a small birthday party for Jayni at our house. It was fun! This is the cake my Mom made. She had it riding on her lap for a little over an hour, all the way for Moses Lake. Jayni absolutely loved this cake and still talks about it!

I loved Jayni's expression in this picture.

Jayni has been begging us for a bike since before Christmas so we decided to finally get her one.

Thanks to all our family and friends who helped us celebrate with Jayni. The majority of you had to drive quite a distance, and we really appreciate it. It's so nice to be back in the area, to be close to family and catch up with old friends!

Mason's 1st Birthday

We had a great day celebrating Mason's birthday, although we ended up not being able to do what we planned. Jayni thought we should have a picnic but the weather decided not to cooperate.

I had forgotten to get ice cream at the store, so we had to go before having cake and ice cream. At the store, Jayni REALLY wanted to ride on the ice cream truck. I never spend the money for the kids to do these things but let them do it this time. It had two seats so it was perfect for both of them to do together.

This was Mason's personal birthday cake. Jayni had her very own for her 1st birthday so we thought we'd do the same thing for Mason.

Mason ended up picking up the whole cake towards the end. At that point he was all caked out!

Mason stayed cleaner than I expected. On Jayni's 1st birthday she had cake all over her from head to toe.

This was bath time after cake and ice cream. I had to show this because Jayni was splashing water on Mason and he was laughing hysterically. By the time I got the camera, Mason wasn't laughing quite as much, but he still has some good laughs.

Sweet Sister Mary

On Sunday we were given a gift. A very dear, sweet sister in our ward remembered about Mason's birthday. She asked us months ago!

She gave him a £2 coin, a chocolate bar for all of us to share and included a sweet card. What an amazing woman! Thank you very much, Sister Mary!!

Our Little Guy is 1!

Mason is a year old today! I feel so very blessed to have him. He has been our little miracle baby. For those of you who don't know about the things we've had to go through with him, here's a list:

1. I was put on bed rest at 27 weeks because of Polyhydramnios, which they drained 4 liters of amniotic fluid at 29 weeks. Before that I was measuring 42 weeks pregnant! I was huge! I really wish we took before and after photos. I then had to have an ultrasound each week, along with 2 non stress tests (checking baby's heartbeat and movements) each week until I reached 37 weeks, and multiple tests to see if the doctors could determine the cause, which all came back negative. I was induced a week early and out came Mason Wyman Perkes at 9lbs. 14oz. and 23 1/4 inches long. And can I say my epidural wasn't working on my right side (which the anesthesiologist came back to fix but still didn't work correctly)? Ouch!
2. Mason failed his hearing test at the hospital twice so we were referred to a specialist and a month later he failed again. We were told that he had a mild hearing impairment that could be corrected by hearing aids. We then had to wait another month until he was fitted for hearing aids and before they did that, they decided to retest him because I started noticing that he was responding to doors being slammed and what not a few days before that. He finally passed after 2 months of not being able to hear. The doctor was baffled and didn't have an explanation of why he could finally hear. What a miracle!!
3. Mason was born with an umbilical hernia and we weren't able to have a specialist look at it before we moved to England. We finally were referred to a specialist here when he was 9 months. The doctor started asking us questions about my pregnancy and things about Mason since he was born. Because of all that (Mason's hernia, hairiness, full lips, and the size of his body), the doctor wanted to test him for Mucopolysaccharidosis. We stressed for four weeks before we received the NEGATIVE result. What a relief!

Here are some newborn pictures of Mason. I love his hair!!

Here are some pictures of Mason's first haircut. He was 2 1/2 months old.

He really is a miracle and we love him so much. He is such a happy boy and is constantly smiling. He loves to give kisses and has recently started hitting his head to his Mom's head to show affection. He also loves to grab noses! He still will only say forms of Dada, Dad, or Daddy even though I'm persistent about trying to get him to say Mama!

The downside we face now is carrying this 30+ pound boy around. We take the stroller EVERYWHERE! He climbs and crawls everywhere and is constantly on the go and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. I love that he's exploring and learning, but why can't he just sit still sometimes? He wears me out!

Here's a picture of Mason from a couple weeks ago. He sits as tall as his car seat.

 

I didn't have any early pictures of Mason because the laptop we brought with us died and we haven't had a chance to fix it. Thanks to Shaila for providing me with the newborn pictures and thanks to Melanie for the pictures from Mason's first haircut!! I appreciate you both for sending me some pictures so quickly.