Fabulous Fall

The fall season always brings good vibes.

Who doesn't love pumpkin spice lattes, uggs, cool weather, football & s'mores?  

{ Schnepf Farms - | Pumpkin & Chili Festival | Oct 10, 2013 }

FAMILY WEEKEND - NAU | Flagstaff, Arizona |

 

[ Jax LOVES Popcorn & Football! ]

I find it hilarious and super sweet that my baby boy loves floss! I've worked on many kid's teeth who had never touched floss in their lives. I always wanted to instill good, healthy habits on my children - I just never thought they would love it as much as he does!

 Nothing greater in life than that of a mothers love for her son
 <3 <3 <3

 We are 2 days shy of Halloween & look who is already ready for Christmas : ]

 Multiple trips to my favorite, Hobby Lobby! What must this mean?
Homemade Halloween Costumes!!!
Stay Tuned.

Jaxson Reese Turns One!!!

We celebrated Jaxson's 1st Birthday, in July.

(Where did the past year go?! My baby is REALLY one?!)

In honor of his summer birthday, I decided an All-Star Baseball Bash would be suitable for his special celebration.

Friends & family came over to the house to celebrate Jaxson's rookie year!

 

I put together a concession stand filled with: Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Popcorn, Soft Pretzels, Cotton Candy & of course, Cracker 'Jax'

 

We also served up an array of salads & our most favorite, cheesy potatoes!

 

For dessert Mama & Grammie made cupcakes & Apple Pie a la mode. I also set up an Ice Cream Sundae bar, which was a fan favorite!

Everyone wore their favorite baseball t-shirt or jersey.

I made baseball tees for the family that had 'Team Jax' across the front &

our name and age across the back. Jaxson's shirt said 'Birthday Allstar' across the front with the MLB logo.

The cake I made special for the birthday boy,

he cracks me up, he definitely doesn't like to get his hands messy!

He was spoiled with monster trucks, tool sets, sports equipment, clothes, shoes & even a new big boy car-seat.

I had my eye set on this truck since the day I found out I was having a boy. My dad helped me put it together the night before and I had it hid in the garage. After he was done opening his presents I rolled it into the living room to surprise him. His face melted my heart. He hopped right in & the rest was history. He enjoyed being pushed around by everyone & playing with his cuzzies.

This picture is priceless. These 3 men will always be there to guide you in the right direction and be great role models in your life. They are the strongest men, I know, & the greatest of all.

 

We sure missed Great Grandma Ledbetter on this day. I know she was looking down on us & wishing she could be there to hold you, contribute her yummy food and be apart of your special day. We are lucky to have her as an angel above us but I must admit, I selfishly wanted her there.

It was a perfect day & definitely the ultimate 1st birthday bash for my little guy!

I am still in shock that he is O-N-E.

 I have been blessed with more than I ever would have imagined in this past year.

He has opened my eyes to things I never would have discovered without him.

He is my best little buddy & the brightest part of my every day.

I look forward to many more birthdays with my most handsome, son.

Jaxson Reese Johnson, I love you.

With that said..

birthday boy partied too hard & was out by the end of it.

What a great ROOKIE year we had.

 



New beginnings

I haven't updated this in awhile...

At the end of March I started at SRP.

I began a rigorous training for 8 weeks,

following by 6 weeks of a 'transition' training...

and as of this week I began my new schedule from 2:00 pm - 10:30 pm.

Although I am exhausted by the end of the day,

there is so much good coming from this.

I know we are blessed that I've gotten this wonderful opportunity.

If I have to do this alone, I have to be prepared & ready to provide a bright future for the both of us.

Dream big Jaxson!

Mama will work as hard as she needs to provide & support any dream you may have.

We will build a bright future together & this is just the first of many stepping stones in my career.

For the time being, we do have to sacrifice our nights apart Mon-Fri.

That kills me, but I look forward to the weekend with you, even more now!

You have done well adjusting to this new schedule.

The positives of it:

1) I get to hang out with you all morning/afternoon

2) I can make any appointments you have

3) We can start swimming lessons in the mornings

4) We get to sleep in and I don't have to wake you up anymore

5) Mommy now has insurance for the both of us

6) Mommy is making a lot more $$ to provide for us

You still hang out with Daddy on Monday & Tuesday while I am at work.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday you still hang out at Miss Jody's house for a few hours...

then Grammie picks you up. 

Papa & Grammie feed you dinner, play & tuck you into bed.

(We are so thankful for their enduring love & support)

Thank you for being a trooper during this trial period in our lives.

Every minute I am away from you - i miss you!

You will always be my #1.

This is all for Y O U.

Here is some recent pix of my little speedster crawler, getting braver with his steps, and pulling himself up on everything Son.

Saying Goodbye...

Jaxson,

It breaks my heart to have to say this, 

but, last night we lost your Great-Grandma, Barbara Ledbetter.

I am torn to pieces over our loss. I know she has returned to her

permanent home where we will some day see her again.

Although, it doesn't make it any easier letting her go.

She has been ill for quite some time now, although,

you would never know from talking with her.

She had such a peaceful, positive way about her.

I think deep down she was battling a tough fight

and was in a tremendous amount of pain.

She would always tell us she was doing just fine though.

She never wanted anyone to worry about her.

Of course we did though.

This life already doesn't feel the same without her.

I know she would be mad at me for saying that, but it just doesn't.

Even though her and Great Papa lived almost 2 hours away...

they were in my life more than anyone,

other than my parents and siblings.

I know we should be thankful for the time that God allowed us to have with her and that

he needed to take her back home. 

She had done everything he had asked for her here on earth.

You better believe, I am already counting down the days until I get to see her again.

See her smile.

Hug her tight.

Hear her voice.

Eat all of her amazing food.

and be graced in the presence of an angel.

Yes, she is an angel in heaven now.

But, she has always been an angel.

Even here on earth.

My Papa was blessed with a woman to marry, love and spend a lifetime with.

My dad was blessed with a mother who supported and loved him.

I was blessed with a Grandma who showed me more about life than she ever knew.

& you were blessed to have had her in your life for 9 months.

You better believe that I'm sure she wishes she had longer with you.

She sure loved you to pieces and always looked forward to seeing you.

You sure put a smile on her face.

Now that her body is as strong as her mind, once again,

I know she is dying to hold you and play with you,

like she hasn't been able to do here on earth.

Boy, but did she try!

She is such a strong, inspiring woman.

I will sure miss everything about her.

When I say everything, I mean everything.

She didn't have a side to her that wasn't liked.

She was the real deal.

Birthdays just wont be the same.

Holidays just wont be the same.

The cabin just wont be the same.

Rummy Royal, Blitz and marbles just wont be the same.

Globe just wont be the same.

Mexican food just wont be the same.

Life just wont be the same.

I never imagined one without the other.

(Papa and Grandma, that is.)

It just doesn't seem right. They were a team.

They both have taught me so much about life without even having to say a word.

I hope I can live my life in such a way, that I may them proud.

Grandma,

If you can read this and you can see the tears fall from my eyes,

Please comfort us all through our days.

We will need your strength and love to heal.

There are no words I could say at this time that could explain all the feelings and words I want to say to you. I promise there will be times I will need you, lots of them.

Fly free, my sweet, dear, precious Grandma.

For you are always loved by me.

xoxo,

Brittany

Here is to the end of 2012.

The couple of weeks between Christmas and New Years were eventful.

Aunt Mary and the twins visited, Aunt Margie & Justin stayed with us, Aunt Christine and Uncle Tony came to visit, Papa turned 51, Aunt Ann & Uncle Ugo had a family party, Jaxo tried out his high chair for the first time...

Here are some pictures that capture this time of our lives:

More pictures will be added...

Baby is waking up : ) : ) : )

First Christmas.

Anyone who knows me well knows that Christmas is my favorite time of the year!!

Ever since I was little - it has been a magical time of the year.

I look forward to everything that the holiday brings:

Family traditions, decorating, giving, baking, shopping, wrapping, cooking, Santa...

the list goes on and on. I just love it all!

This year was extra special for me,

I had someone extra special to celebrate it with...

J A X S O N  R E E S E  J O H N S O N!

We had the house trimmed perfectly,

Jaxson was always a trooper when I would bring him shopping with me. He watched me wrap lots of prezzies. We baked and prepared the house to welcome many guests into our home.

We celebrated both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our home.

Uncle Ryan had to work on Christmas Day so we celebrated a little early with him.

You were much more interactive with the gift opening than I imagined.

It sure brought a smile to my face and a warmth to my heart.

Jaxson loved to go on walks and gaze at the neighbors Christmas light displays.

Most of the time, it would put him to sleep.

Of course, we had to thank Miss Jody for watching Jax over the past 4 months.

We delivered goodies to her and her family.

All of the baking and wrapping sure made us tired.

I looked over and Zzzz...little man was fast asleep.

(I secretly wish I could have zonked out too, but still too much to get done before the big day!)

Mama stayed up all night and finished everything that needed to be done.

The excitement was setting in..just a couple more days.

Only one more thing needed to be done =

ZOO LIGHTS!!

Daddy and Mommy had a wonderful time taking you to Zoolights @ the Phx Zoo.

It has always been fun to go and gaze at the light display but this year, because you were with us,

it made it all that more special. This was probably one of the best nights of the holidays!

                                               

HERE IT IS:

OUR FIRST OFFICIAL PICTURE WITH SANTA!!!

The time had finally come, Christmas Eve was here!!

People were coming, the house smelled of those wonderful Christmas-y scents, the food was in the oven and what did we get to do? Celebrate Christmas with Uncle Ryan! (He was on shift Christmas Day, boo!)

THE FACES WERE CRACKING US UP!

You were totally into the whole present opening thing.

You had no problem getting down to what you wanted inside,

It sure was cute!!

The guests were going to be coming soon, so we had to get into our Christmas Best.

Look at my little Santa - all decked out! Major Stud!

Opening prezzies with all the cousins:

After all the guests had gone home, we got into our Christmas Jammies and fell fast asleep.

Santa would be here in the morning! 

ZZZzzzzz.....

Well, well, well... looks like someone was a good boy!

 C H R I S T M A S M O R N I N G

It was so heart warming to see my little boy soo excited and just a little sponge taking in all the colors, laughter and joy the holidays bring! He made this day so very special to me and I couldn't feel more blessed than to be his Mama.

Once we were done, we headed over to Daddy's place to celebrate with him.

(Pictures coming soon!)

Christmas Evening we celebrated with Papa's side of the family.

Of course, another round of amazing food, fun memories, great games and lots of love.

As sad as I was knowing that Christmas was coming to an end...

I knew we still had much more fun ahead of us in the next few weeks...

Stay tuned.

Parties, New Years Eve, Out-of-town guests...etc!

I look forward to sharing many, many more Christmases with you!

I love you more than I could have ever dreamed.

XOXO