Texas

Texas...such a bitter sweet time. Actually we had a great time. It was just very difficult to be away from Charlie for that long. I guess a lot of the difficulty was that we are just not use to that. We don't really spend much time away from each other, and it was the first time that Jack was away from Charlie. We were gone for 10 days and I realize that is a long time. I have much more appreciation for single moms. What a difficult job. Aside from being away from Charlie we had a great time with family and having a chance to meet Moriah. It was such a blessing to be able to spend so much time with Kristen and Chris. I was also very grateful that Jack was able to spend time with them. I know that those times will be few and far between so we soaked up every moment. Of course most of the trip was spent drooling over Moriah, but we made a point to do a few things and get out of the house so the family could have some much needed rest.

The first Sunday we were there we went down to the stockyards in Fort Worth. It was Kristen's first big outing with Moriah, but she was a trooper. Well, they both were adn everything went great. We had true Texas BBQ. Jack ate all the french fries. He was not so sure about Briskett.

After lunch, we walked around a little while. Jack enjoyed seeing the horses, bulls, and of course watching all the people. He really had a great time.

One of the other outings we took was to the botanical gardens. It was a short trip while Kristen was busy. She had to get ready to take MOriah to the doctor. It was a pretty hot day and Jack did not last very long, but we were able to see the beautiful flowers and admire the turtles in the pond.

After looking at everything I took his shirt off and let him run in the grass. They was probably the best part of the day. He is like his mom and just does not like being hot.

One morning we tried to go to the park, but we did not choose the right time of day.

The last Saturday we were there we had a great day. Fort Worth always had a MayFest the first weekend of May each year. We decided to go. Kristen brought Moriah. We also had Mom, Dad, Heidi and eventually Mark and Julie. It was fun to walk around, have ice cream, see the sights and just be out. This day was probably the hottest, but Jack did amazing. I was so proud of him. He had two fans that he just kept waving back and forth. I took Jack into the petting zoo and he loved chasing the ducks and chickens around. He started to pet a donkey and realized it was alive. He quickly backed away from him. We had a great time, but you can tell we were hot.

That evening, after we gave the kids naps, and I got to babysit Moriah, we went to a true Texas Steakhouse. It was amazing. Charlie always tells me that a good steak is hard to beat, and in Texas that was true to form. We had amazing food and later great dessert to celebrate my birthday Texas style. Kristen did not want to miss celebrating my birthday. I had a great time with Chris, Kristen and Moriah. I miss them so much already and I am eagerly awaiting the next time I will get to see them. I am so thankful that Charlie sacrificed to allow Jack and I to have such a great time.

Easter 2012

I tried to think of where to start on the blog. I thought of just blogging about MOther's day since it is so fresh in my mind, but I can't skip things. It is just not in my nature. I am not good at moving onto another project if I still have one that is unfinished. So, I went back a little ways and wanted to tell you all about our Easter. Easter was so much fun this year. Jack is surious about everything and wants to be involved in whatever we are doing. I actually really love this about him because whenever I think of a fun thing to do, that really is above his age level, he just jumps right in. Sure we have a big mess at times, but he laughs the entire way through. I love that. One of the things I love about Easter is dying Easter eggs. This is something I have coaxed Charlie into doing every year that we have been married. He is a great husband because this is not something he particularly likes. This year was great for him because he just used the video camera the entire time and did not have to dye a single egg.

This year mom came over to join us. Jack loved being up on the counter and touching everything. He enjoyed holding the eggs and trying to eat them. He enjoyed dropping the eggs in the colors and he also enjoyed trying to mix the colors with the little dippers. He was so fascinated. It was fun to watch.

Needless to say he was a mess when we finished and was not very happy when we took him away from it all. He had one leg that was solid blue. It was a good thing Easter was cold because we could hide most of his colored skin.

Around Easter we always get to celebrate Hannah's birthday. It was fun to join in the fun. I had do include this picture with his first birthday hat.

Easter morning is always so special to me. It is such a great time of reflection of what Jesus has done for us. I am always amazed at home much of a sacrifice He has made more us. It is so important to me that I share the true meaning of Easter with my children. Something I have begun doing is a small Easter egg hunt in our house first thing in the morning. The difference is that these Easter eggs are stuffed with Bible references. Then as a family we sit down and read different parts of the Easter story. I really enjoy sharing the truth with my family. It is the best gift I could ask for.

Of course, there were a few eggs that had raisins in them. This helped to keep Jack occupied while we were ready the different Bible verses. He loved those raisins.

After church we went over to my parent's house. It was fun to have a bunch of people together. We had a great lunch and all the kids had a fabulous time with the Easter egg hunt. We sectioned of a little area of the grass that were "Jack" eggs. The contained raisins, goldfish and teddy grahams. Also, that way he would get a chance to pick up a few of the eggs.

Every time he put an egg in his basket he would clap. He was so proud of himself.

Forget using my fingers to get the crackers out I will just try to dig them out with my tongue. That was quite  a mess. No body wanted those teddy grahams.

Our family of Three, soon to be four. I am so thankful for such a wonderful family.

The weekend after Easter we took Jack to the park for a picnic. I thought I would just share a few of the pictures we took because they show so much of his personality.

Jack is all boy. He loves to explore, laugh, run, and I am sure he will always be up for an adventure. He also loves to eat. Dont worry there were not very many goldfish left in the box. He just could not get them in his mouth fast enough.

The Latest Addition to the Family

So yes, it has been a super long time since I have blogged about anything in our lives. I guess you could say life has been just a little crazy and that may just be an understatement. However, before I fill you in on all the things happening in the Cazin household, I have to share the biggest news to come our way.
   On Friday, April 20th at 8:08am little Moriah Joy Miller joined our family. She weighed 7.1lbs and was 20 inches long. The crazy thing is that she was the exacty same size as Jack. Jack and I were very blessed to be able to travel to Texas for 10 days to welcome our little girl. It was so exciting to hold my niece. Jack loved playing with his cousin. He was fascinated with her, which was exciting for me. It gave me hope that we will be just fine when our new little bundle of joy decides to appear.
     Kristen did an awesome job. She waited until my mom arrived to go into labor and Moriah was born just about 12 hours later. Perfect time for my mom. The three of them are doing great. I loved that I had a chance to impart my motherly wisdom (all 15 months worth). It is fun to share this part of my life with her, even if she does live so far away.

The "Tonissen" girls with their babies. Jack seems so big now that I have seen and held Moriah. I can't believe that really only a year ago he was that small.

Oh, the cousins.

My brother, Alan was able to come out to Texas for a few days. He actually met up with us in LAX on our flight out. It was great to have extra hands on the flight. Jack loves his Uncle Alan.

Proud grandma. She loved having both her babies around. She thought it was the best thing ever.

Yeah, Aunt Melissa. I just loved how sweet and tiny she is.

Jack loved pushing Moriah in her swing. He would push her like a button to see if she would do anything. The entire week he wanted to know where she was and what she was doing at every moment. He was super curious.

Charlie thank you for letting Jack and I go away for so long. I know that is was very difficult and extremely lonely at home, but I appreciate you sacrificing so I could spend some valuable time with my sister. That was an amazing blessing and I could not ask for a better husband. I promise the next time won't be so long. Jack and I missed you way too much.

March

I guess I have a few things to post. Lately I have been thinking a lot about posting, but then when I really have a chance something comes up. Jack is keeping me very busy lately and I love it. Also, since I am pregnant I find that every time he is sleeping I start to do something and end up falling asleep as well. I guess my body knows exactly what it needs. It is hard to believe that I am only a few days away from the end of my first trimester. I am starting to feel better and it is not too soon. I have heard that your second pregnancy seems to go much faster and I have to agree with that. I don't have as much time to just sit and think about this baby as much. However, I think I might even be more excited about this one. It really seems like we are starting our family. I have always wanted more than one child and I really love that Jack and this baby will be so close. I think they will have a special relationship because of that. Or at least I hope so. I have definetly started to show much sooner with this one. It is a little bit of a bummer because I hit by pre-pregnancy weight the day I found out that I was pregnant. Also, I am not sure that I am ready to go back to all of my maternity clothes. I don't have many so I often feel like I am wearing the same thing over and over again. I am going to steal clothes from my sister when I go visit her next month after she has her baby. That should help a ton.

What else has March held? Quite a bit actually. At the beginning of March Jack started walking. He took his first real steps on March 2nd and he has not stopped moving since. He has a new sense of freedom that he absolutely loves.. I love watching him walk. It is pretty cute. He has for sure had his fair share of bruises. I think it may bother Charlie more than me, but it is never easy to watch your child get hurt and not really be able to do anything about it.

March 4th was Leslie's birthday and she asked me to make her a cake for her birthday present. I was actually really excited to be asked to make someones cake, but I was a little nervous. I felt a little more pressure to make it perfect. I decided not to use fondant so that I could save a little bit of money. That means that I would be piping the entire cake. Well, I have to say the cake turned out amazing. It is probably the best cake I have made up to this point. So here it goes.

Leslie is a huge Dodger fan, so she wanted a baseball themed cake with the Dodger's logo. It turned out just the way she wanted. The best part was that the cake actually tasted amazing as well.

March finally brought winter here in Northern California, so Jack and I have been spending many quiet mornings together, cuddled up in blankets, reading books and watching cartoons. I love the times when he is cuddly. They are few and far between so I try to soak them up as much as possible. He is a little too busy to sit still very often. We even got a good snow storm. We were suppose to lead worship at Christian Encounter that morning and woke up to about four inches of snow at our house. We decided to head up to my parents who have a fire and usually more snow and take Jack sledding. For those of you who have been to our house you know that we don't exactly have the yard for sledding. At least not very safe. Jack loved the snow. He laughed the entire time we were outside. I loved that we got to share this moment with him together.

We went sledding, threw snowballs and built a snowman. It was a complete day in the snow.

One of the major changes that March has brought into our lives is a job change for Charlie. For the last year he has been the manager at one of the local Wells Fargo Banks in town. It has been a difficult year and just not exactly what we expected. We know that God led us to this position a year ago, but I think much of the experience was to teach us somethings and ultimately lead us in a different direction. Yesterday Charlie started a new job with Chase bank in Auburn. He has left management and has decided to go back into personal banking. It will be a lot let stress and open up time to pursue some other things that we believe God is bringing into our lives. It is such a great move. God has given us so much peace and we are so excited to see how God is going to work through and in Charlie in the midst of this job change. Many people have not understood moving down, but we know that sometimes God works in ways that don't make sense. He has led us here and we are excited to see Him guide our steps to wherever they may take us. Yesterday when Charlie came home I could already see a difference in him and I know he is going to enjoy this new stage in his life. Thank you for all of you who have encouraged us through this past year and for those of you who have been praying for us as we made this decision. We are so thankful for all the friends and family that God has placed in our lives. We feel so incredibly blessed.

That is March in the Cazin household. I know April will bring just as much excitement and I am looking forward to each new adventure.

And the date is...

Yep, you are right. We are expecting another baby. Monday we were able to have an ultrasound and see our new little one. He/she was moving so much and it was so crazy to think we will soon be a family of four. We are both very excited about this. I think it will be so fun to have two children and the fact that they will be just less than two years apart. This new little one is scheduled to arrive on October 6th. Just in time for all the holidays. We don't really care what we are having so we have decided to not find out the gender of the baby once again. It was fun for us to be surprised.
I know Jack has no idea what is in store for him, but I think he will be a wonderful big brother. I am also proud to announce that Jack has officially started walking. I am thankful for this because now he can get places a little easier without be having to pick him up all the time. I think that will be nice as I get further in the pregnancy. Jack started walking last friday night. We had just had dinner together and I headed over to Leslie's to celebrate her birthday with a girls night. As soon as I arrived at Leslie's house, Charlie called to let me know that Jack took four steps. For the next 45 minutes he practiced walking while Charlie video taped. I was so sad that I missed it by 15 minutes, but I am so glad that Charlie was there to see it all. He had so much fun exploring this new milestone with Jack.
Well, now we are just enjoying Jack's new adventures adn awaiting our new little baby. I am almost 11 weeks and already starting to show. I have also felt pretty naseous, but I am hoping that if things are the same as Jack's pregnancy I should be through the morning sickness in the next 3-4 weeks. I am looking forward to that.
When we get some good pictures of the baby or of my tummy I will be sure to post them.

Happy Birthday My Little Boy!!

Jack is one!!! I can't believe an entire year as gone by. It has been an amazing year and I am so thankful for all the memories we have created.
To celebrate Jack we had many friends and family members over for a big party. We spent the morning decorating the house, making cakes and planning games. Charlie is very creative and wanted to have fun games and prizes for all the kids who came to Jack's party. The house was decorated with streamers, balloons and banners. I really had so much fun planning this party. I have always looked forward to throwing parties for my children. I took full advantage of that chance, even if Jack is only one.

We had many friends and family come. There were many young children who truly love Jack. They really wanted to be a part of each detail. They were very interested in the gifts after playing games like bowling, ring toss, and pin the lips on the frog. The theme of the birthday was frogs and some other animals.

A very favorite gifts was this toy cell phone. He is always interested in buttons and things electronic.

We also have a very musical little boy. Charlie got a keyboard for Christmas and Jack absolutely loves it. We thought it would be fun for him to have his own keyboard. He enjoys being able to make music.

Then is was cake time. I made a frog cake for the adults and cupcakes for the children. The cupcakes looked like monkeys and lions. Then I made a small cake for Jack that looked just like a frog. He picked up the entire thing and stuck it in his mouth. He sucked the cake through the frosting. It was funny to watch. We did not have a huge mess, but he ate quite a bit of cake. He has a sweet tooth just like his mommy.

Since we celebrated Jack's birthday party on Saturday, we decided to have fun family night on Monday, his actual birthday. After Charlie got home from work we had pizza while we watched a movie. I thought about having left over cupcakes, but Jack was still recovering from the cake on Saturday. I love our little boy so much. It was scuh an amazing weekend. I hope he always knows how much we love him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Feb. 6, 2012

One year ago today I gave birth to a beautiful little boy. He was born wieghing 7 pounds, 1oz and now he ways just about 21 pounds. He started out being 20 inches long, and is now almost 28inches. He has grown from a cute little bundle that loved to be held all the time, to a busy little boy that won't sit still for anything. We went from a newly married couple, to a family of three. Yes, a year of changes, but the best changes you could ever ask for. This past year has been absolutely amazing. I feel incredibly blessed that God has entrusted us with such an amazing little boy. It is crazy to look back and see how tiny he was, and how much he has changed. Jack has quite the personality now. He is all boy. He loves to explore, eat, talk and get into everything. He still sleeps very well at night. I think that might have something to do with the fact that when he is awake he never stops moving. There is just way too much to explore and discover. He is not quite walking yet. He will walked all over the place as long as there is something to hold onto, but the second he has to let go he goes right to his knees. I am sure he will walk one of these days, but as for now he is content getting from point A to point B as fast as he can, with as little effort as possible. He has not really said any complete words, but he talks all day long. He is a chatter box. He always has something to say and the best thing is that he is a great communicator. He is very good at getting his point across with hand potions and facial expressions. He does not really need words. I love all that he has to share. I look forward to discovering what is going on in his little mind. He always wants us around, even if we are not playing together or talking, he wants someone to be in the room with him. He is so very social. I guess he comes by that quite honestly. I love to be around people and Charlie is always the life of the party. Jack is a very happy boy. He loves to play games that involved being scared or startled. He gets laughing pretty good and it is super funny to watch. He is also very musical. He loves to dance, sing, play anything that will make noise and he is captivated by anyone playing a musical instrument. Sunday mornings he loves to be up on stage while we are practicing for the service. He will sit right in the middle of the band and just watch everyone. It is so fun. He has even stood infront of me holding the mic stand, dancing and singing along. He is destined for a musical career.
This year has been incredible. I can't imagine life with out our little Jack. I look forward to many more moments together, creating many more memories.

We had a birthday party for him this past weekend, I will have to gether the pictures and post those another time. Happy Birthday my sweet boy. Mommy and Daddy love you very much. Thank you for being so very special and bringing so much joy into our lives.