Iron Man Tony Stark

Jackson received an awesome gift in the mail today. It all started a couple of days ago when my mom discovered this year's supply of Halloween costumes at Costco. They had an Iron Man costume, and she snapped it up immediately. 

The very next day, Jackson and Terry took a trip to Costco, and lo and behold, the Iron Man costume was at our location as well! Oh, how he wanted us to buy him the costume. I suggested that he call Grandma and tell her that he would like the costume for Christmas. 

When the mail came today and he saw that he'd received a package from Grandma, he asked, "Is it my Iron Man costume?!!" So without further ado, here are some photos. 

Oh, and the Arc Reactor?? It glows in the dark. You know how we know this? Because he's currently wearing the costume (minus gloves and helmet) in bed. 

Thanks, Grandma. You sure know your grandboy. 

P.S. Jackson has also asked that Grandma supply Daddy with his own Iron Man Costume so that they can match. 

The 4th of July, Spaulding Style!

We had a pretty mellow 4th of July celebration here. My parents were in town for Lilly's 1st birthday (how in the world is my baby one year old already?!?), so we had them over for sloppy Joe's, deviled eggs, potato salad, and various sweet treats that may or may not have included real whipped cream. We sang some patriotic songs and waved glow sticks around, compliments of my parents. And then Jackson chewed open one of the glow sticks, sucked out the glowy goodness, and puked all over the floor. Apart from the vomit incident, a good time was had by all. God bless America! 

Time is Speeding By

Just two minutes ago, this happened:

How is it possible that THIS is happening now???

How is my baby almost a year old already? It truly doesn't seem possible. I'm trying to savor every little moment to make it last just that much longer. I'm trying to burn each second into my sleep-deprived brain so that I can recall exactly what my kiddos little voices sound like or how their hair smells when they wake up from their naps.

I'm so thankful for these little ones. I thank God for the opportunity to be their mama every single day. These moments speed by, and I am so grateful that I get to be present during these sweet, sweet days of early childhood. 

Thursday Goings On

I love this serious picture of my girl. Very rarely is she not smiling. But her big brown eyes are just so beautiful! 

A pre-nap story with my boy.

Darth Vader Needs Sleep, Too

You can't tell that Jackson is dressed up as Darth Vader here since he's almost entirely covered up by Frankie the Real Love Blankie (yep, the blanket has a name. And yep again--the boy came up with it all on his own). Literally one minute before this picture was taken, Darth was telling me that since he is a grown up, he no longer needed naps. But even grown up super villains need to rest every now and then. 

So it's been a while...

I think the last time I wrote, Jackson was only a year old. Our big boy is now three years old and has added a new title to his resume: big brother.

Lilly's first moments. Photo by Rachel Neumann

Lilly Jo was born on June 25th, 2013 and was full-term (praise God!!). She LOUDLY announced her entrance into the world. As I was wheeled down to the recovery room, I asked the nurses if the blood-curdling screams coming from the next room were from my child. They just laughed at me.

Siblings and a superhero cape.

Jackson and Lilly adore each other. He is a sweet, thoughtful, loving big brother. He calls her "My baby."

My heart pretty much explodes when I see pictures of the two of them being adorable together.

Where has the time gone? He's so big!

My handsome guy.

The tongue. Yep. It's out most of the time these days.

"Hey Mama! Want to see my silly face?"

"Look at that, Mama! Isn't that so silly?"

Muscles!

Pure Joy

More pure joy

My beautiful girl

This girl loves her mama.

I'll write more later. Life is very different since I last wrote, but it's wonderful and chaotic and miraculous every day. I'm so grateful to God that these two amazing kids call me Mama.

All photos, unless otherwise indicated, are by Kate Noah

Adventures in April

On Easter Sunday, our family traveled 6 hours north to Kirkwood, CA for 5 days of fun in the snow. Not only were the in-laws there, but Brian, Ariana and family were there! We worked the vacation schedule in such a way that we didn't even have to close the store! While overlapping our time there wasn't ideal for a family vacation, we all got to spend 3 days together for some good relaxation.

The first few days we were there, we didn't get any snow. It had dumped a foot the weekend prior to our arrival, so we were still able to ski and sled and pelt each other with snowballs. Jackson even got a turn on the sled! He was not a huge fan, and cried the whole way down with Terry. I decided to give it a go once they trudged back up the hill, but when I hurled myself down, Jackson was even more upset than when he had his turn! Poor little guy--the snow was a bit overwhelming for him. He didn't mind the cold, but definitely didn't want to be put down while we were outside.

One of the few times he allowed us to put him down in the snow.

He warmed up to it a bit, as you can tell, but was happiest when we were holding him so that he could enjoy the beauty of the snow from a distance.

My handsome boys!

He really does enjoy the outdoors; he doesn't even mind the cold! I'm hoping that his appreciation of nature will remain a constant in his life. California has so many beautiful things to see and do outside!

Our hotel room looked out directly onto one of the 3 ski lifts. All we had to do was leave our hotel room and walk about 40 feet up a hill to the lift in order to ski! We were spoiled! The view was incredible--even more so when the snow was falling. It was almost like being back in the Alps! The elevation at Kirkwood is 8,000 feet. Something tells me the Alps are probably taller, but the beauty was similar.

On Tuesday night, the snow began to fall. And it continued to snow for three whole days! It was beautiful, and since no one in California expects snow in April, we had the mountains to ourselves! I really miss the snow, but it was a whole new experience with a child. I don't envy my friends from colder climates who have to ready multiple children for below freezing weather. It definitely takes some getting used to..

Jackson really enjoyed watching the snow fall.

And now for some beautiful scenery shots!

Terry and Jackson, looking at the sledding area.

Directly outside of our hotel room!

One of three lifts within about 50 feet of our hotel room.

Our hotel building and its surrounding beauty.

Not too thrilled about being on the saucer. This didn't last long!

We had such a great time, and we can't wait to go back next year! Terry grew up skiing at Kirkwood, and I hope Jackson has the same opportunity. It's such a beautiful area--I wouldn't even mind going up there in warmer weather--it's gorgeous!

Here are a few pictures from this evening. My big boy is growing up too quickly! His favorite food right now is cubed tofu. I don't even have to cook it: he eats the stuff as is. I am thankful to have such a good eater.

Shortly after receiving his dinner. Notice the clean table, the apron, and the mostly clean face.

Now he's really getting into it. You can't see it here, but there's a large pile of strawberries in his lap.

Signing "More!" He is rather emphatic.

Shortly before the plate ended up on the ground, and about 5 minutes before bath time happened.

Happy April, everyone. We hope you had a blessed Easter with your loved ones. We sure did!