Best friend Break up

Dear Pacifier,

I know we've been through a lot together. Ever since the first night I met you at the hospital, I knew we'd be close. Inseparable, you and I, we had something special. Mom and Dad always tried to make sure that we had quality time together. You made the good times great, the bad times bearable, and sleepy time comfier.

But all good things must come to an end. And I have to say best friend, you have been replaced.


Lately, I've met someone new. And this new friend is Awesome! I never have to wait for Mom to realize I need him, like I did with you. This friend is readily available 24 hours a day.

'New' friend makes noises. Loud noises, soft noises. I love it. And it makes Dad laugh at me. And let's face it, I like the attention. You never made noises.

Oh, did I mention, they're twins? How cool is that? And if I want, I can make sooo much noise this way.

Thanks for everything pacifier, but in case you didn't notice, I'm a big boy now. And I need a friend that will keep growing with me. Plus, I can talk and smile with my new friend, something I could never do with you.

But don't worry. Even though we've broken up, Mom will keep you around for a little while longer, just in case I miss you.

Love,

Lucas

Where did 'Lumpy' go?

It feels just like yesterday that I brought home a little baby. And all he did was lay there. He was just a Lump o' Baby. Today I snapped a few pictures of my boys, and I realized.... Lumpy is gone! The baby we have now wiggles constantly, talks during most waking moments, stands up proud and strong, loves to smile and laugh.....AND has discovered TV.

My boys watching TV. Must have been sports or something.

Who said he could grow up so fast? Or be soooo adorable?

Baby Detox

After a little of this,

It was amazing how many times my nephew Riley flashed me....I guess it's the cool thing for 5 year olds to do when the camera is pointed in your direction.

And some of this,

Lucas was amazed by the world around him. All he new people and different places were so exciting.

And definitely a fair share of this,

Let's face it, he's a baby.....and sometimes a whiny, screaming baby.

And thankfully lots of this,

Lucas is finally through his baby detox from the fun week of family! We had a great time and can't wait to have some more memories with our families.

Lucas' Baby Blessing

We decided to bless Lucas on April 11, 2010. We wanted to have Matt's dad there, so we waited for tax season to wrap up and he could come out. Matt and I gathered our AZ family and friends that could attend and had a great day. Gran and Gramps Smith, Papa and Nana Jensen, Chad and Mary Smith (+ boys), Shannon Speirs, Leslie Corriero, Erin and Aric Griggs (+ boys), and Phil and Summer Wyatt (+ posse) joined us, with the men all included in the circle. It was a special moment for Matt and I. He gave a wonderful blessing. Lucas did great, he just sat quietly in those men's arms and looked around during the whole thing.

After Sacrament Meeting we stepped outside for a few pictures. And then we went home for some lunch with everyone. I got this 3-generation pictures of the Jensen Men. I'm so glad we were able to have a son and keep the Jensen name alive. Look at that proud Grandpa and Dad! I love it.

Unfortunately, that picture was the only one I was able to get. After we got home, Lucas has a major wardrobe malfunction (by way of a diaper incident). And I nearly hyperventilated when it got on me. So, after fixing that little problem, the luncheon was in full swing and I was too busy taking care of my little boy and mingling to think of taking out my camera.

But we had a great time, and I'm so grateful to have such special people share that day with our family. Thank you to all that came! We couldn't have picked better people to share this sacred day with us. And a special thanks to Lynnae for helping organize, Mom for the drinks, and Leslie for preparing/setting up. It was a blast.

Here's a close up of Lucas's blessing outfit. We opted for a suit instead of the traditional all-white blessing attire. He looked so adorable! Our little stock broker.....love him.

Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives

Chris heard about this place from the Food Network show "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives". So naturally, we all had to go check it out. And can I say.....YUMMY! Joe's Farm Grill is just that, a little Grill next to a farm where they get all the ingredients. You stand in line and give them your order. Then you watch as they make it from their windowed kitchen. Then, Bon Apetit!

The grill just happened to be on the way to our dog park and I always noticed that is was really busy whenever we would drive by. Now I know why. And the day we went it was BU-SY! The line was ridiculous. Aric took on for the team, and stood in line with our orders. What a great guy! I had to elbow my way in to take a picture of him. The place was packed, and in this shot he's relatively close to the order window. The line snaked out the door and towards the parking lot.

There is little seating available inside (mostly barstools), but they had picnic tables set up outside under various trees. It was a beautiful day and we loved hanging outside at our table. The boys could run around an play in the grass. We could literally see the farm field from our table. How cool is that?

Leslie holding Lucas who was decked out is his "cool" skater boy outfit.

As you can tell from Matt's face, we had a GREAT time! I recommend anyone in the Gilbert, AZ area to come try out the place. Great atmosphere, great food!

Hanging out with the Griggs

Tuesday night we met up with Erin and Aric for dinner and good conversation. I sat across from Riley and we had ourselves a good time. Well, there was one hiccup. The food was due to come out very soon, but Riley wanted another (wonderfully delicious) roll. Can you blame him? I told him,"No, food will be out soon, just wait." Well, he frowned a little, and I thought he let it go. Nope. Five minutes later, he stormed over to his mom on the other side of the table and tattle on me! Said, "Jenny is being mean to me!". Then he proceeded to come over to me and let me know that, "You're mean ALL the time!" Now, I'm feeling a little disparaged at this point. Mean all the time? Seriously? Well, after I buttered him another roll, and gave him a winning smile, he conceded that I'm nice sometimes. Glad we cleared that up! I was going to have self-esteem issues :)

We went out to Texas Roadhouse....so yummy! Lucas slept through the all the noise and commotion, so Mommy could eat. Enjoyed every minute, because that doesn't happen very often.


Friday night Brayden had a school carnival. I had to work...Blah! So I didn't get to so with them. But I left a little early to spend some time at their house and I could still hear the music blaring from down the street. Must've been some party! Here's a few pictures of the boys hanging out at the house:

Carter was fascinated with Lucas. He loved watching him and trying to "pet" him.

Brayden is growing up into such a big boy. Now he's TOTALLY into basketball and ESPN. He was obsessed with watching the NCAA basketball tournament. And his favorite NBA team is the Suns.....much to the chagrin of Uncle Matt and Papa.

Carter, what a cute kid! He's 18 months old, and he's a pistol. Loves jabbering, roaring, and beating up on his brothers. Haha! And check out that hair! You could try to gel it and it still sticks out in every direction.

Matt and Riley reading a Shark book. Matt was completely enthralled and kept reading it after Riley was done. Matt had a similar book when he was a kid.

Nana and Aunt Shanny Come to Visit

Lynnae and Shannon came to visit for a whole week on 4/4/10. It was so much fun. Lucas got to spend some quality time with the "Jensen" ladies. He is quite the flirt. I was a little bummed out that I would be working during their visit, but we still squeezed in a lot of fun.

Shannon "supervised" Nana bathing Lucas. And helped change him in his PJ's. If you look carefully you'll see the tiniest baby bump on Shannon. She's due in September, and we're so excited for baby "Britney" Speirs. She and Jake will find out the sex of the baby next month. We're all on pins and needles. Right now there's 5 grandsons......and Nana's dying for a girl. It'll be nice to have a cousin on this side of the family that is close in age to our little guy.

Nana snuggling Lucas.

Behold! The Stair Master! Even at 16 weeks pregnant Shannon can whip my stairs into shape.
Lynnae and Shannon helped tidy up the house. So nice! I was a little behind on cleaning since I went back to work and needed some help to get ready for the weekend. Thanks so much!

They even had some quality time with my "other" children. Minnie had her bum on Shannon's lap and her head on Lynnae's, until I took the camera out. Then she had to look for the ghost light my camera gives off.

We had a great time, and can't wait till we can get together again!

Happy Easter!

Easter is always a special time of year for our family. It reminds us of the great gift given to us by our Saviour. Because of Him, we can someday re-unite with our little Avery. And for that we're forever grateful.

This Easter was very quiet for us. We spent the day at home snuggling and enjoying the sunshine. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of that. I think I must have been to worn out from this week of work to have my brain working correctly.

The Easter bunny was kind to Lucas and brought him a basket even though he could care less. But Mommy was pretty excited about his little toys. Hopefully he'll get into them soon.

We hope your Easter was as nice as ours. We hope you spent a moment remembering the sacrifice made personally for all of us, and gave a prayer of gratitude for the invaluable gift that is promised us.

HAPPY EASTER!