Jake's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Jake's birthday the night of his actual birthday.  We had planned to have a "picnic in the park", but as we were setting up, the wind was terrible and the clouds looked like they were going to open with buckets... So, thanks to my wonderful sister and brother-in-law, we made a last minute change and moved the party to their place!  It all worked out just fine and we were still able to have a picnic, indoors.  It was great to have so much of our family able to be there.  I love them and am grateful for all of their support this past year.  How thankful we are for this sweet little boy.  He is a joy and a blessing to us.  Life would be so boring without him!

Practicing "touchdown"...he hates the camera flash, LOL

I love my sister...she and Jake have a special relationship.  We couldn't have done this without her!

Loves to eat...just can't quite figure out how to get it from his hands to his mouth.

Cute Layney

Aunt Shelly & Aunt Linda

Thanks to my wonderful sister and brother-in-law for the use of their home for the party!

Aunt Diane stopped by with 2 of Jake's birth-siblings

Cousins - Maxwell & Zoey

Cousin - Lexi

Singing "Happy Birthday"...he was quite intrigued with the fire.

"Where did it go?"

He's not so sure about this, he doesn't get dirty very often, LOL.

Mmm, kinda good!

Mom finally helped him get some cake into his mouth!

Opening some presents

Jake liked his new Mickey car (since having it home, he has loved it even more!)

Son, you got a bow on your head.

Layney giving Jake a ride on his new car

Jake with 3 of his 4 birth-siblings - Donny, Layney & Adacia

I'm so glad he will always have a connection with those he shares his birthmom with.

Happy 1st Birthday Jakey Baby!

I'm feeling blessed beyond belief today!  I can't believe we have a 1-year-old.  Jake is such a delight to have in our home.  He is cute, funny, smart and so sweet.  I LOVE him and can't imagine life without him!  My friend Jenny took some 1-year-old pics for us and I will post more later when we get them all.  Here are a few sneak peeks.  He is such a handsome boy.  He is full of smiles and laughs.  We LOVE him so much!  Looking forward to celebrating his 1st year with family and friends tonight. 

Jake's current "Loves":

• Food!  Jake loves almost everything and is a good eater.
• Balls!  Jake loves playing with balls and has quite the arm already.  We hope this leads to some fun in sports, be it baseball, football, or whatever makes him happiest!
• Books!  Jake loves to read but mostly he loves turning the pages :)
• Barney!  Jake loves Barney (even against Daddy's liking).  He will enjoy an episode while mom is getting ready, or while drinking a bottle. 
• iPhone!  Yes, he already loves the iPhone.  He knows how to open it and view pictures.  He is a smarty pants!
• Crawling!  Jake loves to move and he can move FAST! 
• Remote!  Jake loves the remote control - but not just any remote, it has to be the Comcast Cable remote.  We've tried to give him the "DVD remote" to play with and it just isn't the same.  He has to have the Comcast remote.  We've taken the batteries out just so he can play with it.
• Macey & Lola!  He still loves the dogs, which makes me happy!  He is always messing around with Lola, but lately he has even taken a liking to Macey.  Such a sweet relationship.
• FAMILY!  He loves our family.  He gets the biggest smile on his face whenever he sees Mommy or Daddy, Grandma, Aunt Jenny or Zoey & Layney.  He LOVES them and they sure LOVE him!

A SMILE that makes my Heart melt

This smile makes every day a good day :)

And the result.......

I cannot wait to see the rest!!  I think this just might be the cutest cowboy I have ever seen.  Love this kid!

Playing with the Cowboy Hat

We just had Jake's 1-year-old pictures taken last week, can't believe he will be 1 next week!  We wanted to do a little cowboy shoot.  This necessitated much "playing" with the cowboy hat at home for him to keep it on.  He ended up doing it and I am so excited to see the results!  Here are many photos of us "practicing" for pictures.