A Very Special Birthday!!!

Tonight we celebrated Jacob's first birthday. What a miracle this birthday is. Jacob is fighter and what he has to go through with doctor appointments, treatments and the like makes this birthday so special. I think about how lucky we are that he was born when there is a treatment for Pompes. If he had been born a few years earlier we probably would not be celebrating his birthday today.


He is a little behind developmentally but it does not matter at all to us. We love this little boy and the blessings that he has brought to our lives. The fact that he is alive, not on a ventilator or a feeding tube shows that miracles still happen today. We all had such a great time celebrating this milestone in his life.

Snow (Arizona Style)

Decorating the Christmas tree.

Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas season has begun. This weekend we put up our Christmas decorations, had Christmas pictures taken and even had time to enjoy Arizona snow.

For many years I had the ornaments on my Christmas tree match the red and white snowflake theme that I decorated the rest of my house. We would put our "fun" ornaments on a wreath. This year I decided to do away with that and we put all our decorations on the tree. Lauren loved this and the tree looks so fun with all different kinds of ornaments. I remember this from when I was young and I want Lauren to remember putting her school made, and special ornaments on the tree.

The picture taking in always a challenge with Lauren. She is getting better but she is not natural in front of the camera and then I am stressed. This year our challenge was the hair that is still growing out and a loose tooth in front. The loose tooth kinda sticks out now and so all the pictures look like she has this strange dagger tooth in front. But that is what she looks like now so it is what it is!!

We also went to a local shopping area that is all decorated and they have snow every hour. The snow is foam but the kids seem to like watching it fall.

The house is decorated, the pictures done and we are now ready to enjoy the holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Lauren with her cousins on Thanksgiving 2009.
















I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Lauren and I are so blessed to have a wonderful and loving family and friends.

Suns Halftime

Tonight Lauren's cheer club was invited to be part of the halftime show at the Suns game. They did a great job and Lauren had so much fun. It was a fun night.

Granny Christmas

Janine's mother-in-law has been in town watching the kids while Janine finishes up her classes that she needs for her teaching degree. She went back home for the holiday's on Sunday but before she left she wanted to celebrate Christmas with her family in Arizona. Since Lauren is over at Janine's everyday she has become close to Granny. So Lauren was invited to be part of the celebration. Lauren had as much fun and got a lot of great gifts from granny. Her favorite was a huge pink diamond. It was a wonderful night and I know that Lauren is going to miss granny for the next month.

Thanksgiving Lunch??

Last Friday Lauren's school had their annual Thanksgiving Lunch. The parents are invited to join the students for a turkey lunch. This year the first grade class had lunch at 10:30am. That was better then last year when lunch was at 9:45 am. It was a bit early for me to eat turkey and stuffing but the event is always fun and am so glad that I have a job that lets me attend these type of events.

First Lost Tooth

Lauren is no longer a shark girl. The double tooth came out. She was so happy and very happy the tooth fairy was finally able to come to our house. Her other bottom tooth is now loose and it looks like it will be coming out in the next day or so. I am going to go broke!!

Fall Day

This weekend it finally started to cool off and today was a wonderful day. We (mainly me) decided to stop and take some pictures on the way to church. Lauren hates when I do this and I am lucky if I get a few pictures with a smile.

I just can't believe how grown up she looks.

Cheer Season Opener

Lauren ready to go.

During the competition.

Getting ready to go in. Lauren's coach is getting her hair ready. Lauren really likes this young lady and she is a great coach.

Today was Lauren's first cheer competition. Lauren is on a new team this year. I decided to do this for a few reason but mostly because this place is so much closer to our home. Lauren is sad that she is no longer at the same gym as her cousin but it makes it much easier for us.

Lauren is competing on the Mini Level 1 team. This team is 8 year old and younger. Lauren is one of the smallest on the team and so they have her as the flyer. She thinks that is great. She is lifted up a bunch of times during the routine. The team did great and they won 1st place in their division. It is a great way to start the season.