Happy First Birthday Oaklie!!!

I feel terrible that this is being posted so late, but our baby girl Oaklie turned ONE on August 20. I can't believe how fast the first year of her life went by.

Oaklie, 

It has been almost two years since I found out I was pregnant with you. I have loved every day I have been able to spend with you. I think of you as my "first born in the wilderness" because you were born during a time of great trials in our family. You have such a sweet and calming spirit, and you have been such a comfort and joy to me. You have the most contagious, happy personality and you bring joy into the life of everyone you meet! I have loved watching you grown from a teeny little baby to a big girl! Your little smile has melted my heart since you were six weeks old. As soon as you started smiling you started laughing the most contagious, bubbly laugh! I have loved watching you interact with your sister--you are so patient with her! I hope you always have such an unconditional love for everyone you meet and continue to brighten every room you crawl or walk into. Never forget how happy you feel when you are nice to others whether or not they are nice to you. You are such a beautiful child of God--never forget how special you are to your mom and dad and your Heavenly Parents! So many people love you so much.

Love,

Mom and Dad

Oaklie got a baby doll for her birthday just like Amaya did. She loved her from the moment they first met! 

  

Luckily Dad was able to catch the whole thing on Skype!

Look at that cute little mommy!

We went to the zoo for Oaklie's birthday. Kory and Hailey and Pax were able to come, as well as my mom and Nate. It was a blast!

I remember drinking from this fountain when I was little!

The whole gang (minus my mom who was taking the picture).

We love you Okee!

Guess who's back, back again...

We have been officially MIA for the last 4 1/2 months. The LONGEST I've ever gone without blogging since I started this blog over 3 years ago! Pathetic. To make a long story short, we had some serious computer/hard drive/camera problems and we've been super duper busy. So I'm going to go waaaay back to July and post everything I have procrastinated.

Dallas went back to Iraq in July, here's a few more pictures from leave.

 The night before Dallas' plane took off.

Dallas' flight left super early in the morning. The night before we left, we sat Amaya down and talked to her about how Dad had to go back to Iraq. Even though she's so little, she mostly understood what we meant. Both the girls did super good at the airport, it was easier sending him back, knowing that he'd be home in just a couple more months. As we were telling him goodbye, I looked over and there was a man sitting and waiting for a flight who was watching us and crying. The compassion our family received from perfect strangers while Dallas was gone is amazing. I was very touched that someone who I didn't even know us would have such compassion on our situation. When Dallas actually left for the airplane, he gave each of us a kiss and went through security. Amaya was a little clingy, but we told her that she needed to stay here with me and Oaklie and she did fine. When we went to the parking lot to get in the car, Amaya had a complete meltdown; she realized we were leaving the airport without Dad. I called my dad (he's the only I know who's awake that early in the morning) to let him know that Dallas got off okay. He decided to go into work that late and took me and the girls out for breakfast, which was so sweet.

TWENTY SIX

My favorite picture of Dallas. I love watching him being a dad.

I always tease Dallas that he is such an old man. No matter how old I get, he will always be five years older

Halloween a couple years ago. Look at that old man!

I may not have been there when Dallas was born, but I'm very grateful that his parents decided to have another little boy.

Once I got a look at Dallas' baby pictures, I knew I needed to tap into that gene pool.  He has lots more adorable ones, but we are having technical difficulties.

I felt bad that Dallas wasn't home for his birthday, and I wasn't even able to send him a birthday package because they stopped running mail to his base, so I am grateful we were able to celebrate it while he was home. For the post, click here.

Dallas, even though I tease you about getting old, every year we grow older together is a blessing and a joy. I love you so much!

Here's to spending your next birthday together and many, many more to come!

TWO

I know all moms say this, but I can't believe it has been two years since we brought this beautiful girl home from the hospital.

Amaya,

Watching you learn and grow these last two years has been an absolute joy. We are so grateful that you are ours forever. You have an enthusiasm for life that is infectious! In the last year, it has been so fun to watch you go from a baby to a running, talking, crazy little girl.  We have loved watching you learn to talk and hearing what is on your mind.  Amaya, you have been such a good friend to your momma while your dad has been gone. You are a very maternal little girl and have been a great big sister to Oaklie (and a good mom to AbbyJo!) Your little testimony will continue grow as you go to "nursey" and learn about Jesus. Never forget how much He and Heavenly Father love you and how much your family loves you! Thank you for always being willing to give a hug and share your fruit snacks.  

We love you very much and are so excited for all of the laughs and silly stories the next year will bring. Happy 2nd birthday!

Love,

Mom and Dad

For Amaya's actual birthday we went to the lake with Shacie and her little ones. Of course, neither of my kids wanted anything to do with the water, but they had fun playing in the sand and snacking.

Cute little cousins

Our little sand eater.

Grandma Clark made Amaya a "orse" cake complete with "orse poop" (chocolate chips)

My sister sewed these cute little matching skirts for Amaya and AbbyJo. Amaya thought it was so neat. (The puzzle in the background is from Grandma and Grandpa Abrams)

Happy Birthday Amaya Belle!

R&R Part 3: Happy Birthday Shoo-Shoo!

Dallas narrowly missed Amaya's birthday (Jul 16) and his birthday (Jul 20) so we celebrated them while he was home on leave. The four of us went and picked out a trike for Amaya so Dallas could teach her how to ride it while he was home.

A few days after this Amaya was riding trikes and bikes with her cousins and heard everyone call theirs a bike.  I asked her if she was having fun riding her trike and she said, "No, it a bike!"

I bought all the stuff to make a baseball cake and told Dallas to put it together.  Apparently this is a fairly accurate scale model.

Always the rebel...

It's amazing the kind of stuff you can get away with on your birthday.

2nd generation rebel.

If you're wondering about the title of this post, it took Amaya awhile to learn how to say "Happy birthday TO YOU."