My Favorite Little Guy!

Okay. When it came to Lauren's birthday post, it was full of pictures of Lauren posing with EVERYONE. WELL, my little boy is NO poser! BUT I did want to share some of my favorite shots of him. What can I say, he is 100% genuine and 100% genuine BOY!

Recently we enjoyed a trip to Joe's Crab Shack in West Jordan. We all love going there because the kids get to play and Matt and I get to enjoy a meal without hurrying to get out of there before one of the kids has a meltdown. We were happy that the weather here was finally nice enough to actually be outside. Jamie is so good on playgrounds and he loves them!







Is it just me, or is he cute?

After lunch we did some shopping at the Gateway, this was Jamie's first time to see the fountain and he was curious, yet afraid. Here he is running away! Love the action shot!

On my day off, we visited my friend Carissa. She has an awesome playground and Jamie just HAD to explore! What a show-off.

I have a collection of pictures of Jamie sleeping, he is the craziest sleeper ever! I am waiting to create a post of all of the silly pictures I have of him. For now...here is a cute one of him, sleeping next to me on the couch.

When we moved to the new house we were a bit worried about Lauren finding friends her age, well-there was no need to worry, the little social butterfly has found plenty of friends. One AWESOME thing about here versus our old house, is that Jamie has a friend now! He lives right next door and they are 6 days apart! They are sooo cute together and are totally opposite in looks. Gage has white-blonde hair and is fair with blue eyes. Jamie, of course is totally dark. It is neat to see that they have the same interests too (CARS). I certainly hope it develops into a lifelong friendship. I caught this snapshot of them at Gage's birthday party.

Matt's Dad and Tina gave Jamie his present a week early because they were going to be out of town. It was a little lawnmower and he LOVES it. As soon as Matt got the real one out, Jamie just HAD to get his out too.

Seriously, this brought tears to my eyes.

I LOVED having my girl, but I am experiencing all new types of fun with my little boy.

Here is what was waiting for Jamie the morning of his birthday. It almost killed him to wait until sissy got off from school for him to be able to open his presents.

I mean, just check out this cheeser!

He was thrilled to get this big "Car Mack" that holds 16 "Cars" cars.

On his real birthday, the four of us went to see "How to Train Your Dragon"...we ALL loved it! Here he is on the way back from the show!
























When I was geting them ready for bed, my kiddos got a little silly. I grabbed a quick shot.
























Jamie had kept saying that he wanted a "Ka-Chow" birthday..aka Disney's "Cars", but the party store was out of a lot of the "Cars" decorations, so he decided to go with "Hot Wheels". Turns out, Matt was more excited about the decor than Jamie was!
























A special surprise was that my Aunt Anita and Uncle Howard from Louisiana were able to attend the party. My Uncle Howard tried to get Jamie to pose...obviously he was not being too cool with it, this was the best wiggly picture I could get.
























He is also very interested in fighting paraphanalia...here he is with his Knight Costume.
























My parents gave him this really cool motorcycle, and all the other kids thought it was pretty cool too! Here is my friend, Beth's daughter, Harbor on the bike. Or "Hammer" as he calls her...lol.

He enjoyed opening his presents...

Here he is on the motorcycle.

Unfortunately, Sam's club did not have a "Hot Wheels" cake! So..we got him the "Ka-chow" cake. He was thrilled and could care less that things didn't match. So, I let it slide...especially since the cake was so darn cute.

I was busy at his family party, so I didn't get many pictures..but I had to get one of my cute niece Maddie and my sis-in-law Alex.

Gage came to the party and took up the medieval spirit too.

I decided to make it special for my little guy and get him a bouncy house, it was a huge hit...even with the big kids (my sister Sarah and her BFF Devyn). Here is "Auntie Devyn" with Jamie.





















Cute and happy Jamie.

The bounce house from a distance:

Here is the birthday boy blowing out his candles.

Hours before his normal bedtime, the little buggar was pooped. I finished the night off by staring at him, wondering where my little baby has gone.

























Jamie, my precious son. You make me so very happy. You are so sweet, so loving, so funny. I am thrilled when you announce that you are "Momma's Boy" and when you demand to sit by me when we go out to eat. You complete our family and I am so glad that you are a part of it. Happy Birthday!

























This week with all of his new toys has sure been a fun one! The genuine smiles captured in pictures throughout the post (like this one) have been truly priceless.

Jamie's THREE year photos!

I usually DREAD having Jamie's pictures taken. This time was a pleasant surprise! He was so well behaved, during the shoot AND when I was chosing the pictures! Since Lauren had her cat in her pictures, we brought a car for Jamie to represent how much he LOVES cars.

We did a collage like this for Lauren, so I had to have one of Jamie too. I have these both in the 10x13 size and they are in my bedroom. So my two rays of sunshine are the first things I see in the morning!

I love the different angles and lighting they used at JC Penney. I think I have found my new favorite portrait studio!

Jamie and "Chick Hicks"...or "Kuh-Jigga".

I really should have bought more of this shot...I love serious Jamie! He still has those chubby baby cheeks.

They didn't get a lot of the BIG SMILES that Jamie delivers in person, but they got a lot of personality shots, this one being one of them.

Big boy! I am still getting used to the short hair.

This one was too sweet.

The photographer loved this stance. Hands in the pockets like he is so old!

He is THREE. He kept saying he was three and would hold up ONE finger, we had to work on the three fingers up. I like the final version.

This picture reminds me SOO much of Matt!

This was my favorite shot, I wish we could have gotten a close up because I really like his smile in this one.

I didn't buy any of this shot...I like the hand under the chin, he posed so easy for the photographer...I just wish it was either a smile or a serious look..not a combo of the two.

We got a collage like this of Lauren, so we got one for Jamie too, I love the different looks.

I know that I am biased...but I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this little boy. He is so sweet and fun. He still has his moments of melt-downs when he doesn't get what he wants..but he has turned into such a loving little boy. He hugs and kisses me all the time, he tells everyone that he is "mommas boy" and will come up and tell me "I love you too". I hug and kiss him and snuggle all that I can, I know one day he will be grown up and too cool for that stuff. For now, I will enjoy every little bit of love!

Friday the 23rd he officially turns THREE! The years have sure flown by, our lives have not been the same since he joined it and he truly completes our family. We love you, James Mathew Lovato

Where has my little girl gone?

Just a quick post:
Lauren has now lost six teeth. Once one came out, they all quickly followed!

She lost #5 right before her yearly pictures and she lost #6 less than two weeks later. Poor girl has such a hard time eating!

Here she is at her most recent dance recital. What a pretty ballerina!

She looked so cute in her boots and jacket...like a punk rock ballerina!

Where has my little girl gone? She is so big and so sweet and so adorable, at least I think so.

I sure do love that Lauren SuzAnne Lovato!

Happy Easter!

This year was a relatively stress free Easter. We had some great family times. Here are a few pics.

Jamie was crackin' me up with his silliness. He kept putting his Easter Basket on his head, saying it was his "hat". He has become such a big boy lately, he is talking so much more and has become a lot better behaved. He is a joy to be around!

Matt was here to help with eggs this year and he managed to make our eggs super bright and beautiful. AND no messes were made at all! Fantastic.

The instructions said to lay down wax paper, we obliged and it was indeed a great idea!

This is what the Easter Bunny left us! Score!

That silly Bunny also put together a bunny family reunion centerpiece.

I love the look of Lauren in the morning.

The Easter bunny left Lauren a scooter and left Jamie two swords and two shields. He thought that they were great and has not stopped playing with them since. I only have sisters and nieces until I got this little guy in my life, having a boy has been a different experience, but I have to admit, it is a lot of fun too!

After we checked out the baskets at our house, we went to Matt's dad's house for lunch and some more Easter suprises. Here is a shot of my niece Maddie hunting for eggs, just barely a year and already a pro!

This little girl is so stinkin' cute! I just adore her!

This is my other niece Isabella. She is Jamie and Lauren's little buddy for sure.

Here is Matt's brother Greg, his wife Alex and Isabella and Madeleine.

This is Matt's stepbrother Steven and his boyfriend Collin.

Here is my cute little family.

This was my favorite family shot...and then Matt has to pull an "Earl" and have his eyes closed. Grr. Well, here it is anyway.

Here is Matt's sister Kristen and her hubby David. Next Easter little Ethan will be there for the celebration! Yipee, more boys!

Here is my cute Lauren in her Easter dress and her new scooter.

Here is Matt's dad Leo and his wife Tina:

After Leo's house, we visited Matt's mom's grave and then headed to my mom's house for more Easter goodies. We hung out with my parents and my sisters. Here are all the girls, oh, and Jamie too! Next year, Johnathon Zander will also be joining us. Yup, two more boys to come! More friends for Jamie..I can't wait!

And here is a picture of my most favorite people in the world!

Let's just say that my parents also enjoyed Jamie's swords! LOL!

And here is a picture of my two beautiful sisters, Ashley and Sarah! My bestest friends! They came over to my house later that night for games, movies, and a sister-sleep-over. LOVE THESE GIRLS!

And one last shot of my little family, Happy Easter season, Happy Spring..from our family to yours.

It was a great Easter. We definitely got spoiled! I think we have enough candy to last us until next Easter. I love my family so much and I love the holidays and spending so much time with my little family, my parents and sisters and Matt's family too! I am also thankful for the sacrifices our Savior made so that all of us could have the chance to be with our Heavenly father one day. Much love and thanks to all.