Life is Good!

Wow, I can't believe that it has already been more than three weeks since Aynsley joined our family. She is such a sweetheart, and we can't imagine life without her! Here is a quick update on how our cute kiddos are doing:

Jaxson is at such a fun age! He is SO smart and I swear you can just see him soaking up everything. His first real word was "hi" and it is so cute to hear him say it to people, especially when he sees his little sister. He is also getting much closer to walking. He is very confident in being able to walk around furniture and is getting a bit more confident in taking steps on his own, although he hasn't taken more than three or four on his own. I love spending the morning with Jaxson. He usually wakes up before Aynsley, so it is great to have one on one time with him. He loves to snuggle up with a blanket, his bottle, and watch 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse'. Jaxson is always on the move, so I love having this time to spend with him. He has also been very curious about having a new little sister; he is always trying to touch her and he always wants a bottle whenever he sees Aynsley eating. I can't believe that Jaxson is already almost eleven months old...seriously, where has the time gone? I swear he is becoming more and more like a toddler every day.

Aynsley is a doll. She loves to be held and is a pretty good sleeper. She will usually only get up once or twice at night, which is great. She is a very serious baby, but she is starting to smile a bit more and it has been fun to get to see her personality coming out more. I think that she looks a lot like Mike, except she has my long fingers and curly hair. So far her eyes are still blue, so we'll see if they end up darkening up. I never thought I would give birth to a blue-eyed, fair-skinned baby, but I can't imagine her being any other way!

Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to go to the zoo for my cousin's daughter's birthday party. Jaxson loves going to the zoo and seeing the animals. This time, his favorite were the monkeys and the porcupines. It was so much fun to have almost my entire family there with us, and I could tell that Jaxson enjoyed spending time with them. Of course, Aynsley wasn't too impressed by her trip, but I am sure that will change by next year. :)

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Little Miss Aynsley

Aynsley Marie Pearson joined our family on September 5 at 11:25 AM.

7 lbs 11oz

21" long

Summer Fun

Wow, I can't believe that July is already over. This summer has been going by SO fast, but we are definitely taking advantage of the warmer weather and having so much fun.

Here is a look at what we've been up to:

{Jaxson's First 4th of July}

We had a great Independence Day and were fortunate to spend a lot of time with family. We got together with some of Mike's family on Sunday for a BBQ and fireworks.

Jaxson is hanging out with the cousins...the boys all looked so cute together in their matching swimsuits. It was so fun to visit with everyone.

On Monday, we headed over to my parent's house for their annual BBQ and fireworks show. For as long as I can remember, my family has invited the neighborhood over for fireworks. Every family brings fireworks and snacks to contribute, so there ends up being a lot of great food and fun. Jaxson LOVED watching the fireworks. He was so tired from staying up so late, but he did great because he was so mesmorized by the fireworks.

Our family on July 4th.

{First Trip to the Zoo}

Jaxson and I went to the zoo with my mom, cousins, Denece, and Kambri. Jaxson seemed to really enjoy looking at the animals and any of the exhibits with water. He especially loved the panther and the lemurs, probably because they were so active. I am looking forward to taking him back next summer because by then he will really be able to enjoy it!

{Bountiful Handcart Days Parade}

Since Mike's work is right on the Handcart Days parade route, we decided it was the perfect opportunity to take Jaxson to his first parade. I was a little nervous that he would get bored from sitting in his stroller, but he was fascinated by everything. He especially loved all the marching bands.

We loved the Utah Utes "Pioneering into the Pac 12" float!

{Water Fun}

Jaxson absolutely LOVES anything to do with water, whether it is taking a bath or playing in the pool. We decided to let him play in the sprinklers, and he had such a fun time. He loves to try and catch the water in his hands and mouth.

{Mueller Park Canyon}

A couple days ago, we decided to head up the canyon for a campfire dinner. This was Jaxson's first time in the mountains.

Unfortunately, we had to cut our dinner short and pack up early. There was a HUGE rainstorm, so we only were there long enough to make a fire and roast one hotdog. Mueller Park is such a pretty area and it is so close to home, so I would love to go back up again this season, but we'll see if that happens.

Vote for Jaxson!!!

I entered Jaxson into the Gerber Photo Contest, and we need your help getting votes! Voting is very simple...all you have to do is click on this link and then click vote. You can also go to facebook.com/Gerber and search for him using his entry ID, which is 77850. The winner in each category gets an Ipad 2, and the overall winner gets a $50,000 scholarship.

Any person with a facebook account can vote once per day...imagine all the votes we could get! Voting ends July 31. Thanks for your help!

Big Days

Jaxson has had a lot of big days lately!

Two weeks ago, we were able to finalize his adoption. It felt so good to make everything "official" and know that he is legally ours, even though he has always been part of our family. Everything went really well...it was such a smooth process. We were so fortunate to have Mike's grandpa represent us as our attorney, which made it seem even more special.

This is us with the Judge after the adoption was finalized. The Judge made a point of saying that he had to hold Jaxson since "there is a rule saying any newly adopted babies have to be held by the judge during photos". I think it is just because Jaxson is so cute!

We have had to wait to bless and seal Jaxson until after his adoption was finalized, so we were able to have his blessing day yesterday. This was something I have really been looking forward to, and it was such a special time. We were able to have some family and friends come up to our ward, and we really appreciated everyone's support. We are so luck to have such great people in our lives! Mike did such a great job, and Jaxson did better than I was expecting. He is so wiggly and is always trying to get down and crawl, but Mike said he did pretty good being held...he just wouldn't keep his head still.

We are so fortunate to have Jaxson in our family...we couldn't imagine life without him!

June Fun

We have had a busy, but very fun June...it seems like there is something always going on, and I can't believe the month is already almost over.

Jaxson started swimming lessons this month, and he has absolutely loved them. He is definitely a little fish. He loves to kick his legs and splash his arms. The class we go to is a "parent - tot" class, so it has been fun to be in the water with him.

It probably sounds crazy, but I can tell that he is learning things in the lesson. Whenever I have him on his stomach, he immediately starts kicking and moving his arms, and he wasn't doing that at the beginning of the class. He also loves to sit on the side of the pool and "jump in" for a glide.


We had a great father's day! Jaxson and I are so fortunate to have so many wonderful fathers in our lives. Here are a couple of pictures of Jaxson on Father's Day:

Jaxon is getting so big! It seems like he has grown and developed a ton this month. He has started crawling and he loves to be moving around. He is starting to get into everything and seems to be fascinated by how things work. He has also started pulling himself up into a standing position and even started taking a few tentative steps while holding onto furniture. He does really well at walking if he can hold someone's hand.

Jaxson and Faline are best buddies. He gets so excited whenever he sees her, and she has started trying to play little games with him now that he is crawling. She will get close, then hurry out of reach once he gets to her, then come back again, like she is teasing him.

The Living Planet Aquarium

I took Jaxson to his first aquarium visit with my family on Memorial Day. Although I think he is probably still a little young to really enjoy seeing everything, Jaxson absolutely loved looking at all the brightly colored fish and seeing all the water. It was so fun to watch him stare at everything and just soak it all in.

We decided to compare Jaxson to the size of the different penguins. When I tried to show him the penguins that were swimming around, I think he was more interested in the water than in the actual penguins. This kid loves the water!

Jaxson was pretty interested in the area where you could reach in and touch the rays. For the most part, it was a little too deep for him to reach, but we were finally able to get one close enough that he was able to touch.

Staring at the fish...Jaxson's favorite were definitely the ones that were colorful.

All in all, it was a fun trip. I think that Jaxson will really enjoy it once he gets a little older (and we go when it isn't quite as crowded). Now I really want to take him to the zoo - I have a feeling that he will love watching all the animals!