Happy Birthday TWO You - a Jumpin' Zoo!

We (Austin and Amy) decided that since Cadence was already getting so many toys (and our tiny house isn't getting any bigger) to give him an experience for his birthday. What does Cadence love more than... JUMPING!!!

We threw him a jungle party at Jumpin' Jacks in Springville, UT. He had so much fun that he didn't want to stop for lunch!

They had a cute jungle themed room and were so accommodating to us! I decided to make sack lunches, figuring most of the kids wouldn't want to stop long for lunch and to make it more healthy (obviously the monkey cupcakes were an exception). They have a whole bunch of different bouncers, ride on toys, arcade games, and right now they even have a book fair there (which seemed to entertain the moms)!

It made for a cranky toddler in the evening (after no lunch, a really late nap, and jumping 3 hours), but he had a blast!

(I could believe how well he climbs up these stairs himself...the child who still can't climb out of his crib - shhh!!)

*Let it Snow*

I thought maybe some of you would be curious why the entire holiday season has been void of blogs (even after we've been back from vacation almost a week now)...


I have a two-year-old!!! Cadence officially turns two tomorrow, January 11, 2011. My sweet little baby is such a little boy now and so busy exploring the world! He happily proclaimed this morning, "SNOW!" (which if you can't tell he's created for himself by digging into Styrofoam and throwing it into the air) . After you finish laughing, I want to put a different perspective on this crazy situation. Me - Amy Smith - with a MILLION things "to do", and I actually stopped to play with him, take pictures, help him clean it up, and blog about it! This little boy has changed my life in just the two short years that he's been with me. A while his messes often can drive his "mammy" (a mix of mommy and amy which he now calls me) CRAZY, he has re-taught me how to laugh and play. For this gift to me, I will be forever grateful. We have so much to celebrate! "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

Happy Birthday TWO You!

Cadence is now TWO years old! We had quite the celebration!!


Amy helped Aunt Maria (her sister) make a Blue cake (Blue from Blue's Clues).

Cadence was excited about Blue, but didn't really enjoy tasting it (what mom is complaining that her kid doesn't like cake? - not me!).

We let him open his presents a bit early so some close friends and family could be there.

He waited so patiently to open his big box from his Smith Grandparents... in fact, he had a great time decorating it! Thanks for the box!

and what was inside??


He likes to sit on it, but we're still trying to teach him how to ride it by himself.

From his Baron grandparents he got...

...which his dad enjoyed just as much as he did!


His many great-grandparents sent cards and money, which was used to buy new clothes for our growing boy (now 35 1/2" tall and about 26 lbs). He had quite a few people call to sing "Happy Birthday" too! He never wanted to talk long (too busy playing with his new toys), but smiled each time he heard the birthday song!
We are grateful Cadence has so many family members to love him.
Tune in to the next post to find out what his parents got him...

…Where the Orange Blossoms Grow

When I was in second grade, our teacher taught us a song that goes something like this:

 I wanna wake up, Christmas morning,

and Santa don’t you know,

that I make my home in Florida,

where the orange blossoms grow.

I kept singing it over and over, so excited to be home for Christmas, not just in my dreams. No white Christmas dreams for us!

Well, we ended up taking a three week trip there and having been gone so long, it felt weird to be back. Austin said he almost felt as if we moved. But it was a great three weeks and I took WAY too many pictures to post. I thought about doing several posts, but when it comes down to it, I just don’t have the time. So, here you go. Another vacation “snapshot”.