a birthday bus bash

Jackson's birthday week ended with a bash. A bus bash to be exact. His cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents partied with us last night in celebration of the little guy's 2nd birthday... complete with (a LOT) of treats, fun and laughs. When you have this many cousins so close in age together there really is no need to plan a lot of entertainment- just release the little monsters and enjoy the show!

Our family of 4 :)

He acted like he had done this candle-blowing things countless times...

 

marshmallow pops that Jackson helped me make...

His annual birthday plate! Made beautifully by one of my favorite Etsy shops!

 we even had "camel rides" as the girls called them

who needs toys when you have an uncle dennis?

I can almost see the sugar coma kicking in

...we had so much fun! I think Jackson had more sugar and treats in this one day then has had in his entire life combined. We'll be in detox mode this week... or at least until our Valentine's Day playate on Friday. The birthday boy summed up the night perfectly during bed time. We started to say our prayers and he said, "Hi Jesus. Thank you for cupcakes!" Thank you for cupcakes, indeed, Jesus...

Jackson's birthday bus shirt came from: Etsy Jackapotamus
His hand-painted birthday plate came from: Etsy Aedrial
Audrey's adorable hair bow was from: Etsy Headband Blossoms

cousin love.

We are now up to 8 grandbabies 4 years old and under... I can't believe that 4 short years ago we didn't have these little munchkins in our lives. They are hilarious, adorable, LOUD and undeniably bring so much joy to our family. Every once in awhile we bravely attempt to get a photo of all of them together. It's always a sprint to snap as many photos in 60 seconds or less in hope that at least one will turn our decently. Here are a few of the attempted shots from Jackson's birthday party last night...

Not too bad- a little blurry and not too many smiles...

Jackson looks confused, Josie is mad that she doesn't get to hold one of the babies and Audrey is beginning to fall out of Grace's lap...

Josie is still not happy about this, Jackson is pretty serious about saying "cheese," and Mason has some fascination with his fingers...

The big girls have their smiles down, Ben is content, Jackson is still saying cheese as instructed and Josie will just not give up on holding that baby...

That's it, Jackson is over it, Audrey is trying to escape, Grace's smile has turned a little angry looking, Josie  has given up on the baby, but also on looking at the camera, Mason continues to bite his fingers and Mya is bored with this so is tending to Ben instead.

...we'll try again next time!

dear little man...

Dear Jackson...

Today you turned TWO... two years old. How did that happen so fast? I'll always remember the day you were born like it was yesterday- the day I was given the most beautiful gift in the world, making me a member of the mom's club. A club that has been around since the beginning of time and yet the rules seem to keep changing just a little because little boys like you keep moms like me on our toes, always leaving us just a little puzzled when it comes to doing what is the best for you. But I must be doing at least some things right because you have turned into such an amazing little man this past year... you are handsome, smart, brave, sweet, funny and caring. Here's a little hint: don't let anything change any of who you are today and you'll have no problem at all making every last one of your dreams come true.

I love you, Jackson Philip- more than you could possibly know,
Mama