A really cute moment...

As I was walking down the hall to my room I heard a really cute little voice talking. I quietly peeked around the corner and Jackson had his own little photo album which we have spent many hours looking at and he was talking as if he were telling a story to someone about each picture. It was so cute to hear him say things like,"here I am, I weighed 5 ounces" and "here I am looking all around and,"here I am ready to go home, my mommy and daddy love me so much". It was a really special moment.

Jackson Skiing

He finally said yes! Every Saturday since the season opened we have asked him if he wanted to go skiing and he would say maybe next year, or maybe next time. As soon as he said yes we were so excited. We quickly got dressed, loaded up the car, dropped Benton off with my mom, and headed up to Snow Basin before he could change his mind. It was the perfect day for him to start. The weather was fabulous... not even a cloud in the sky.

Here we are getting ready for Jacksons first big ski day. He had everything he needed for skiing except for ski socks and an edgie wedgie which we bought in the lodge. He loved his new hot chillies socks- he told me that he liked stuff with chillies on it. He slept over at my parents last night and my mom told me that he carried his socks and edgie wedgie around all night and that he even fell asleep with them.

Here is us getting ready to go on the Little Cat chair lift for the first time. Jackson loved the name. I think he thought the name was special for him because sometimes I call him a little cat. He loved the chair lift ride- he thought it was cool to be up so high in the sky. He loved to say hi and wave to the people down below.

Jackson was a little bit nervous to start... he went from holding both mommy and daddy's hands, to being between mommy's legs, to holding onto mommy's poles, to doing it himself to ," get out of my way, I am going to go fast."

Besides skiing, we also spent some time making snow angels.

"I am going to catch you!"

"Let's take a rest."
What a fun day! I am so proud of Jackson, he did such a good job. He actually has really good balance. It was so great to be able to teach and watch him. It was better than the best powder day. And, we all know how much I love a good powder day.

Some funny things: There were some kids cheering for and waving at their friends and I told Jackson that they were cheering for him, and he just smiled and waved. Also, when my dad called Jackson told Mo to tell him that he was skiing pretty good :). We love our little Jackson.

The cutest reunion ever...

On Friday Mo returned from the TDY in Texas that he had been on all week. I was so happy that he was finally home. I really missed him- especially at night. I really don't like being by myself, never have. The good thing was that I could call him whenever I wanted. The funny thing is that I probably called and talked to him on the phone more during the day while he was in Texas than I normally do when he is here. When I heard Mo's car pull into the garage I told Jackson that I think that daddy just got home. Of course Jackson hurried to run and hide because that is a fun game that he plays. After I got my big hug and kiss Mo grabbed the little gift that he had promised Jackson that he would bring home and went to find him. As soon as he found him Jackson gave Mo the biggest hug ever and when Mo said,"hey buddy I missed you" Jackson said,"I missed you too daddy, I love you." It was so cute that it brought tears to my eyes. It was a really special moment. My little boys really love their daddy. That night Mo took us all to our family favorite restraunt Tempenyaki for dinner to celebrate his return and Valentines day. Jackson tried Sushi and ginger for the first time and really liked them both and Benton liked the rice. I think that Jackson's favorite part about the evening though was his dessert at Krispy Kremes. I have to admit that it was probably my favorite part too.

Benton learns to clap

Benton has learned a new trick. He has started to sit up by himself from his back and this week when Mo saw it for the first time he clapped for Benton, and then Benton started clapping for himself. It was so cute. He was so proud. He is still not crawling but he is scooting and rolling anywhere that he wants to be. We love our little Benton.

Jackson gives the theme in primary

Yesterday was a very special Sunday for us because we got to visit primary to watch Jackson give the theme... "I came to earth as part of a family". When it was Jacksons turn he walked right up to the microphone and gave his part perfectly and sat back down before the primary president could even say anything. She was so surprised that he knew it with out any help. She had to call him back to say it again and to lead the primary in saying it together. He did such a good job that it brought both Mo and I to tears(the primary president sent me back a box of kleenex...how embarassing). We are so proud of Jackson. He is a very special member of our family.

Benton at 8 months

Benton is eight months old and I can't believe it. It really seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital and now he is so big- 21 lbs at his last weigh in and he is quickly outgrowing his 12 month clothes. Benton is such a fun baby. He has a really happy disposition and is always smiling- not just smiling but beaming. He is also starting to have a really cute belly giggle that comes out when we are tickling him. He is ticklish all over, especially on his legs. He loves to play with his toys and he is rolling all over the place. Just this week he has started to scoot to things and he is also getting up on his hands and knees, so he should be crawling really soon. I don't look forward to the crawling stage because that also means that he is really close to the getting into everything stage and that stage lasts way too long. Benton is eating solid food like a champion. He loves to eat. Mo always says that Benton is a really happy baby but that nothing makes him happier than when he is eating. There hasn't been anything (besides the baby food green beans and they are disgusting) that he hasn't liked. He especially loves ice cream and cake. At eight months his favorite things are his feet, books, songs, toys that light up and make noise, playing with Jackson and Mo, and taking baths. I have never seen a baby like the water as much as Benton. He loves to splash it all over, and he doesn't even mind being splashed right in the face. Jackson and Benton bath together and so believe me, Benton is always getting splashed. He gets so excited when he knows that he is going to take a bath, and it always makes him a little upset when it is time for him to get out. He has a little I am not happy grunt that is pretty funny. He is still really cuddly and he still likes to be held and carried around when he is not too busy playing. He really likes shoulder rides from Mo. Benton is such a little bundle of joy and we are so thankful that he is a part of our family. He has brought such a special spirit into our home. We love our Benton Boo so much. And, I almost forgot- he has a new little bottom tooth coming in. He hasn't even been grouchy- I just noticed it yesterday when I was feeding him. Congratulations Benton!

Mo's Birthday Weekend

This was a really fun weekend for our family because we got to celebrate Mo's 28th birthday. The celebration started saturday morning at Village Inn. We all love to go to breakfast especially our boys- both our boys, Benton couldn't eat the eggs and pancakes fast enough and Jackson loved the bacon. Breakfast was actually lunch and so by the time we got home and got ready it was time to drive to Salt Lake to eat dinner at Bucca Di Peppo's with my mom, dad, Shalee, Colby, and April. We still smell like garlic. After dinner my dad scalped some Jazz tickets. The tickets were awesome, couldn't have been better, first row, right on the floor, and after some investigation by security no good. I guess the story was that the owner called the Energy Solutions and told them to reprint his season tickets because he couldn't make the game and then he took the real tickets and gave them to the scalper and told him to get what he could out of them. At least they got to see one quarter and Mo actually bumped shoulders with Kyle Korver. Even though they had the original tickets because the other people were there first they got to stay and my dad, Mo, Colby, and April were escorted out by security. Sunday we invited both families over for cake and ice cream. Of course Jackson did his job as the cake monitor. He helped with the candles- putting them in, blowing them out, and he made sure that there wasn't any frosting left on them when he was done. It was really cute to see Mo and Jackson blow out the candles together. After cake there was some serious Rock Band playing. Colby's version of Watcha Want was definitely the best. I am so thankful for Mo and the wonderful husband and father that he is. I hope that he had a Happy Birthday. Love you Mo, maybe next year you will get that new car. :)