Jack Victor

Jack Victor was born on January 14, 2009.  He was our very first great grandchild and he came on the heels of a dream that his great grandfather had in which a super baby was born.  And Jack has lived up to that dream from the get go.

Jack is an important part of this small family:

And an important part of this large family:

Following is Jack pictorially 'through the years'.  These pictures were taken roughly 6 months apart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I go through the files for these last two birthday posts, I'm reminded over and over what a lucky grandma/great grandma I am.  Jack is also a kind and loving person.  He's well liked by his peers and teachers alike.  He's good to his siblings and his cousins adore him.

So Happy 5th Birthday, Jack.  Enjoy your coming year full of new experiences, more school where your brother, Dane, will be joining you, and lots of learning which we know you love.   We couldn't be more proud of you and we're so happy that you're our GREAT grandson!

Previous posts about Jack were in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009

Happy Birthday, Aubrey

Two years ago today we added a first to our family.  Aubrey Lynn was our very first great granddaughter.  And she was (and still is) beautiful!!

She was welcomed by her adoring parents, Amber (our first granddaughter) and Chris,

 Her grandmother, Amy (our daughter),

and big brothers (in the background here) Jack and Dane.  Here you can see her welcoming (or getting used to) brand new little brother Wade.  Don't worry, Wade's eight months old now and she really does like him a lot.

Her birth initiated one of my all-time favorite amateur photo shoot shots entitled 'When Photo Shoots Fall Apart'.

You can see that she took it all in stride and that's pretty much the way she rolls.

There might be chaos all around, but Aubrey remains stoic - just taking everything in.  She was like that when she was tiny and she's like that now.

Aubrey has lots of talents and interests though.  You might think, with three brothers, she'd be a little intimidated but not so much.  She can hold her own with all of them and play their games as well as they do.

And even though necessity sometimes has her playing boys' games, she never forgets her female origins.

Her femininity is also demonstrated by her amazing accessorizing skills.

 

Although sometimes those boy fashions have a tendency to rear their masculine heads.

Aubrey is also quirky

friendly,

Fun-loving,

and generous.

 She can dance

knows her way around cell phones,

 of all kinds

and she's a very good eater

and doesn't care who knows it.

All in all, Aubrey's a wonderful little girl.  We're so happy that she's part of our family and we're hoping her birthday is as awesome as her.

Happy Birthday, Dane

Yesterday our second great grandson, Dane, turned 3 years old and we drove a little over 200 miles each way to celebrate with him. There's not the slightest doubt that sharing his birthday with him was worth every single mile.

A little while ago, I conducted a phone interview with him with his mom as interpreter.  Here's how it went.

Yesterday was your birthday.  How old are you?  Three.

Do you feel bigger now?  Yep.

What did you do on your birthday?  I played golf at Putt Putt and I drove a race car and I saw the pirate at Putt Putt but I didn't like him.

What did you get for your birthday?  Ummm presents.

What kind?  A pirate suit and a bat and a golf thing and a basketball thing and a buzz thing and a minion.

Who's your best friend?  Daddy and Jack

And my favorite animal is the tiger.

What's your favorite color?  Green.  What do you like that's green?  Paint, a spider with a red thing and stripes.  (He recently had a green spider painted on his cheek)

What's your favorite toy?  Buzz and I want a Buzz bike.

What's your favorite food?  Apples.  And chicken nuggets.  I thought you liked mac and cheese.  Yeah macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets.

How did you get so big already.  'Cause I just growed up in my bed.  Lookit.  I'm so big.  

(Last night when we asked how he'd gotten so big already, he said it was because he ate vegetables.  When Amber reminded him that he didn't eat vegetables very well, he said he did at Grandma's. 

And that pretty well concluded our interview which I thought went pretty well since he's only just three.  However, as usual there are a couple of things I want to add.

First of all, a lot of people - especially little people - get nervous when they hear that noisy group coming to shout a happy birthday to them in a restaurant but not Dane.  Here's how he reacted from the moment he heard them coming.

 

 

 

We'd been to this restaurant twice recently for birthday celebrations so he knew exactly what to expect and no one has ever enjoyed it more.

Then I want to mention that we got him the pirate outfit and, although he seems to really enjoy the dress-up box at our house and Amber says he likes to play construction guy roles, etc at home, we weren't sure how he'd take to the pirate getup.  And at first he was a little tentative:

 

But once he got the whole thing on, he not only looked the part but he acted it too.  I've never seen a sweeter little pirate.

 

As soon as he said "Aaargh, Captain", I knew we were home free.

 

So we're wishing this authentic little pirate an awesome year.  He's not only a sweet pirate, but he's smart, fun, affectionate, and a joy to be around.  

Happy Birthday, Dane!  We love you so much!!!