Kachow!

Jack's 2nd birthday party was on Sunday and our house was basically transformed into a Disney Cars theme park!! From the moment the very first decoration went up, Jack was so excited. He just walked around the house saying "WOW" "Cars" "McQueen" "Mater"!!!!

He was even decked out in his super cool Lightning McQueen t-shirt and shoes!!

This is the Lighting McQueen cake that Mommy made. Daddy helped to color the frosting while Mommy meticulously decorated. 4 hours later, this was the final product


The whole backyard was decorated like the Piston Cup, complete with all of Jack's favorite characters.


Jack and his friend played outside and Jack loved the bubble gun that Nana bought him (she actually bought it from some guy selling at a traffic light in Chicago!! HAHA!)
Jack loved the Cars cupcakes that Mommy made to go with the cake. In fact, he loved them so much that he decided not to use any utensils. Look Mom! No Hands!!!
Oooh yummy!!!!
Jack was spoiled rotten and loved opening his presents. It was actually really fun to watch because this was the first time that he participated in opening gifts. We can't wait for Christmas!!

Our Greatest Gift!!!

Our sweet baby boy turns 2 years old today!!! We can't believe its been 2 years since this:and 1 year since this:
and that today he looks like this:
The past 2 years have been, by far, the most rewarding and most challenging of our entire lives. Jack is such a blessing and he brings us immeasurable joy. We simply could not imagine our lives without him and although today is kind of bittersweet for us, we are so looking forward to what the future holds for our little man.

For your viewing pleasure, here is Jack driving Papa's boat today. He just drove in circles and tried to honk the non-existent horn. You'll see that he can tell us he's two. When we ask him how old he is he says "two" and tries to hold up 2 fingers. However, he can't separate his index and middle finger so he does more of a Star Trek finger thing :)

Flying

Jack calls this "flying" and he does it over and over and over at the park.

I Read It

Jack is talking so much now and has even started putting phrases together. He has become fiercely independent (I wonder where he got that from?) so his most common phrases are "I'll get it" "I'll do it" "no, mine" and "I see it". He also says "I read it" and thats exactly what he was saying the other day when he sat on the stairs with his library books. He was mumbling to himself as if he were reading the books and whenever he saw something he recognized he would yell it out. I can't believe how grown up my little baby is :(

Please Pray

Mommy's dear friend Sarah lost her father to cancer last evening, just 3 short months after also losing her father-in-law to the same horrible disease. Jerry was a truly wonderful man with an incredible zest for life. It was apparent to anyone that met him that he loved his beautiful family with every part of his being. He was far too young to be taken away and it is really difficult to make sense of it. Please pray for Sarah, her mom, her siblings, and her entire family that they can find some peace during this trying time.

Some things never change...

It may be a different house and he may be exactly one year older*, but he still has that same helpful spirit!!
*Isn't it amazing how different he looks and how much he has changed in just a year??!!

There Aren't Even Enough Words!

Oh man! Where do we even begin? This picture is funny for so many reasons but I should really just tell you why I took it in the first place. After we came inside from swimming in the lake, Jack got away from me before I could put a diaper on him. I saw his white little butt running away so I grabbed the camera because he just looked so cute. As I was getting ready to snap the shot, Jack stops in the living room and I see this unfold through my camera lens---Jack stops and looks up at the television which I think was playing A Bugs Life. In my mind, I am starting to wonder what exactly he is doing and as I click to take the picture, I realize that he is lifting his leg and peeing all over the rug!!!!! His gaze never left the television and then he just turned around and smiled and started laughing :)

Papa's Boat

Jack loves boats. Whenever we drive Dada to work we drive on Lakeshore Drive, right along Lake Michigan, and we pass all the marinas filled with boats. Jack insists on pointing out all the boats and then asks to go on Papa's boat. We keep telling him that he will get to go again in a few weeks but to a 2 year old that is an eternity.

Jack had a funny reaction to actually riding on the boat. Last summer he was really too little to realize what was going on and just became restless and bored. This year was a different story. When the boat wasn't moving, Jack loved exploring and sitting on everyone's laps (and yes he is sporting a pink and green Barbie life vest. It was the only one that fit!!!).


However, the moment the boat started moving, Jack became catatonic. He laid down on Mama's lap and didn't move or react to anything! He wasn't scared or overwhelmed, he was just completely relaxed. The child who NEVER falls asleep in the car fell asleep almost every time we were on the boat. We really need to take boat rides more often!!!!

Nana and Papa's Lake House

Nana and Papa recently bought a cute little cottage on Lake Charlevoix in Northern Michigan. They plan on completely remodeling it and we really look forward to all the family memories we will share there.

Nana and Papa had lots of fun stuff set up for Jack and Chyann and Jack made sure to take full advantage of everything. Here he is jumping on a covered inner tube with his blow-up rings.
Even a 2 year old needs a refreshing beverage!

This picture is the perfect depiction of summer!

Jack and Chyann loved riding in the double float. What a life!!!
What could be better than swimming in the lake with Nana?

Thanks Nana and Papa for all the fun adventures. We can't wait to come back Labor Day weekend!

Blueberries!

After spending a few days in Chicago with the whole Mullins clan we packed up an insanely large gas-guzzling SUV and took a road trip (all 7 of us!) to visit Nana and Papa at their new lakehouse in Michigan. On the way there, we stopped at a blueberry farm to pick one of Jack's most favorite foods. He didn't contribute much, mostly because he spent the entire time stuffing his little face with blueberry goodness!
Caught you!

Here is the whole group after the picking.

Go Cubs Go!!!

The whole crew headed out to a Cubs game and at first Jack didn't seem too excited (even though he loves watching baseball and always says "Go Cubs Go" when he sees it).But after some of this...

and some of this...


he was much more excited and actually lasted 10.5 innings WITHOUT a nap!!! We attempted to get a group shot in front of the stadium but didn't realize that Jack had put his cotton candy fingers all over the lens.

Tar-jay!

Anyone who knows Mama and Aunt Tricia knows that they LOVE Target so no sisterly visit would be complete without a trip to Tar-jay. I think this picture is just so sweet :)

Yippee!!

Aunt Tricia, Uncle Dwayne and Chyann came to Chicago to spend a few days before we all headed to Michigan to visit Nana and Papa at their new lakehouse. One of the many things that Jack and Chyann have in common is their love of water so many hours were spent in the backyard playing in Jack's pool.

Here Chyann is bouncing on the alligator in order to make Jack fly into the air.
They both held on for dear life which, as you can see, meant death to the alligator at the hands of Chyann!

Even though they are 2 .5 years apart, they love each other dearly!

We're Back!!!

Please excuse our absence. We've been taking full advantage of our summer, fully realizing that we probably only have a few short weeks left of the glorious weather. We have lots of catching up to do so bear with us over the next few days as we update you on the past few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy this photo of Jack brushing his teeth while channeling Henry Fonda in On Golden Pond.

We're Coming Back, I Promise!!!

We've had family in town and also went to Michigan to visit Nana and Papa at their new lake house. We have lots of pics to upload and share so be patient because its worth the wait!!!