It's been awhile.....

I realize it has been awhile since I've posted, so I figured I'd post a few updates. Let's see, since Easter, Jetta had her 2 year check-up, I had my 2nd Mother's Day, and we've taken some pretty cute pictures.

As for Jetta's 2 year check-up, she is finally growing. She now weighs a whopping 21.1 pounds, so she's gained over 6 pounds since we've brought her home. She has grown 5 inches, she is now 33 1/2 inches vs 28 1/2 when we brought her home. So, all in all, she is doing well. She is still on the small side, but the dr does not seem at all concerned, she figures she'll always be small, but healthy. Today we dug out some of her summer clothes from last year and we tried on a variety of sizes, ranging from 3 to 6 months all the way to 18 months and to our surprise the one pair of shorts that were 3 to 6 months...yep they still fit. So, as you can see we have a really hard time deciding what to keep and what to get rid of (hence why I still have a tub full of clothes from last summer). The one thing that I have noticed is she is taller, which is evidenced by the 5 inches she has grown, but when you see her everyday you don't really realize it just how much.

As for what else she is doing, she is talking up a storm, she has quite the vocabulary. She can say her abc's, count to twenty, put two to three word sentences together, tell you "no" rather well, ask for things, sing along to songs and a variety of other things. She is pretty amazing. She is doing so much better than I could have ever expected. She is very smart. She is always surprising me with things. She is such a great kid and keeps me on my toes.

For my second Mother's Day, she made me a homemade card at the daycare she goes to twice a week and brought home a flower. It was very sweet and cute. She was very happy to be able to give it to me. Then on Mother's Day she and Shannon got up early, went to town, got me some fresh cut flowers and a coffee and brought them home to me. She brought the flowers in to me and gave them to me herself. Then they gave me a card that the signed all by herself. It was very sweet. She also was able to tell me "Happy Mother's Day", which meant the world to me. Just to hear those words come from her meant more than anything else, along with the super uber wet kiss I got and the big squeeze she gave me. Nothing is better than wet, sloppy kisses from my baby, along with hugs and an I love you mommy. That alone can make a bad day super bright.

Other than that, not much else really to report. We have been very busy and apologize for not posting more often. So, hopefully the update gives you a little Jetta fix, along with a few new pics. So, hope you enjoy. As always thanks for following along.

A day at the zoo with friends...

Yesterday we met Bing and Abby, one of our travelmates, in Springfield to go to the zoo. The drive to Springfield is pretty much half way for each of us and it was a great day out.

When we got to Springfield we met for lunch. We met one of my good friends, Raylene, who used to live here in St. Louis. She is expecting in June, so it was great to see her. Jetta and I will get to see her again in a few weeks as we'll be traveling back to Springfield to attend her baby shower. We are very excited for her and can't wait to meet baby Grischow.

After we had lunch, Abby, Bing, Jetta and I headed to the local zoo. The zoo was pretty small, but it was a great day to be out and it was great to get the girls together. I'm so glad the we are able to remain in contact and am really looking forward to our next gathering with all the families in July in Peoria. It will be great to see all the girls and all the families.

I'm going to attach a couple of pictures of the girls.....they are growing so fast. Thanks Bing and Abby for driving and meeting us, we enjoyed spending the day with you. And thanks Ray for meeting us for lunch and can't wait to be able to meet you one day to take our little ones to the zoo!

Easter

So, we have officially gone through one full year of holidays with Jetta. Easter was our first official holiday, other than her birthday, that we got to spend with her last year. Last year she had no idea what it was about, so didn't really go to much trouble. However, this year, I did buy her some stuff for her Easter basket and set it out for her to wake up to. I wasn't sure how she would react, but to my surprise, she was very excited. Grandma Peters sent money to help buy something for her basket and Aunt Lori sent home a little basket as well. She did pretty well, considering she just had a birthday.

She went straight over to it, started throwing stuff out and saying "candy". She is all about the candy these days. Not that I give it to her (nor did I buy her much for her basket), but she still knows what it is and loves it. After she went through the basket, we started getting ready to head over to my friends Tiffany's families house.

They are kind enough to include us in their family celebration and all love seeing Jetta. They also spoil her and there she got alot of candy. Once we arrived, the kids got to head out to hunt Easter eggs....again, I wasn't sure what Jetta would do or if she would understand the concept.

To my surprise, she went straight for the eggs and picked them up. I told her to put them in her basket and put them in she did. They had real and plastic eggs to hunt and the first few she found were real. As she put them, rather tossed them in her basket....all I heard was "crack". Oh well, they were going to be used for the deviled eggs, so no harm in breaking them, just made it easier for them to peel....right?

After the kids finished hunting eggs, Tiffany's uncle let the bunnies loose. Jetta was so excited, she saw them and said "rabbit"....it was so cute. After we chased them down, we caught one and let her pet it. Uncle Rod said we could take one home and at first I thought about it, but then realized that that would become a full-time job for mom and dad. Maybe in a few years. Jetta was so cute and kept wanting to hold and touch all of them. They finally decided to put them away and Jetta just stood there, looking into the crate they were in and trying to figure out how to get them back out. It was very sweet.

After that, it was time for the adults to participate in the adult Easter egg hunt. Tiff's aunt and uncle go to great lengths to put together something fun for the adults to compete in. And of course we are all super competitive so it is always alot of fun. Last year my team won the scavenger hunt and this year Shannon's team won, so all in all we have had good luck. I'm excited to see what next's years challenge will be.

After the first round of the challenge, we had lunch and then got right back to it. Jetta was not real sure about the challenges, as it included alot of yelling and giving direction, and she was a bit upset when it came to either Shannon or I being yelled at. She is a real softy, I think I might have a doctor or veternarian on my hands...she's always worried about others and is so sweet and kind to them.

After that, she just played most of the day with Ethan and Live and before you knew it the day was over and it was time to go home. She had great fun, I really enjoyed watching her enjoy the day. As an adult you kind of forget what the holidays are all about and what special magic they hold for kids. Seeing it through her eyes was great. I'm already looking forward to Christmas this year, as she will be a bit older and will understand even more...shoot what is there not to get....presents and candy....very important to a two year old.

Anyway, here are some of the pictures we took of her finding her basket and then her hunting eggs, seeing the bunnies and just enjoying the day. Hope you enjoy them.

Jetta's 2 year pictures...

This past weekend we took Jetta for her 2 year pictures. Hard to believe that she is already 2...it seems like we just took her 1 year photos. As always she was a good girl and posed very well for the cameras. It took her a few minutes to warm up, but once she did, she started flashing that beautiful smile of hers, along with those big brown eyes.

We decided to have her pics taken in her baseball jersey, so that we could get some professional pictures of her in it before she outgrows it and if I do say so myself....she's quite the cute Cubs, err Cardinals fan! As many of you know we had this jersey made for her last year since daddy is a Cubs fan and mommy is a Cardinals fan...wanted to make sure we had all the bases covered.

In looking at the pictures, I realized, my little girl is growing up way to fast. I knew that she was changing or had changed over the pastyear, but had no idea it was so much. Last year she was just a baby and this year she is a full out toddler. I'm going to include a couple of her 1 year pictures with this post, so you can see just how much she's changed. Either way, I still think she is the most beautiful little girl and am so blessed to have her in my life.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Jetta turns 2!

This past Thursday was Jetta's 2nd birthday. It is hard to believe that she is already turning 2. The last year has gone by way to fast. However, she is getting so big and talking so much, she is alot of fun.

Since Thursday was her birthday, we actually celebrated on Saturday. It was a very busy week for me, I spent most evenings shopping, preparing, decorating, etc., as I wanted it to be perfect. I'm sure friends, cake and presents would have been plenty for Jetta, but since she didn't really understand what it was all about on her first birthday, I wanted this one to be extra special.

So, I decided I was going to do a Mickey Mouse theme and Mickey Mouse it was. As many of you know, I am a huge Mickey Mouse fan, so I had alot of stuff to help the theme along. There were plenty of Mickey decorations, but we also had Mickey Mouse themed food. Fortunately, I was able to shop for much of the stuff I needed while we were in Disney, as it made it much easier.

She had 5 friends over and she was excited to see all of them. At first she wasn't quite sure to think of them being in her house, but soon warmed up. As I took her downstairs, she finally got to see all the decorations, her new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse tent and everyone who came to share in her special day.

We all ate and then it was time for cake and presents. She was very excited with her cake and even helped blow out the candles. As Daddy and Grandma Vaughn cut cake, Jetta decided to help herself and dug in with a spoon, very cute. Once we all enjoyed some cake and ice cream, it was present time.

Her friend Ava helped her open her gifts and they seemed to have alot of fun. Jetta loved all her presents. Once we finished that, it was time to play and play they all did. They played themselves out. It was nearly 7:30 when everyone left and Jetta was exhausted, but had a very good day. I know this cuz she fell asleep almost immediately, and when we went to move her, she was talking in her sleep and she said "Ava", so I know she was dreaming about the day and what a good time she had.

It was another very special day for me, as now I have had her for than a year and have got to spend many special holidays, day, etc with her and now can just look forward to all the rest that are to come. Also, thanks to my very special friend Jen who came over early that day and helped me prepare alot of the food...you're the best, I love you!