First Class Baby!!!

Sergeant, that is!! Yep! Jeremy was promoted to a Sergeant First Class today!! I'm bummed that we weren't able to be a part of the pinning ceremony, but very proud of my hubby. He deserves a little recognition. =0) Here are a couple snapshots from today's ceremony....





CONGRATULATIONS SFC Hawkins!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

We hope that everyone had a very blessed Christmas! We definitely did! We spent Christmas Eve with some of our friends and enjoyed a night full of great company, great food, and great fun. We love you Hernandez family! Christmas morning we got to sleep in a little,which was a nice surprise. I enjoyed the sleep, but I must admit I am looking forward to the days when Jace comes bouncing into the bed screaming,"Wake up!! Santa Claus came!!!" After a relaxing morning Nonna, Papa, Gunka, Lala, Auntie, and LoLo all came over for our Christmas Brunch. (Forgive the bad picture. I was being yelled at to stop with the camera and come pray so everyone could eat! lol)


After brunch we got to watch the kiddos open presents.


Nonna learned not to give the good present first, as the rest would not be opened. Christopher and Monica learned that they could have saved a bundle of cash by wrapping an empty box for Leah, who had little interest in the actual toys. lol.


We had a little trouble webcamming with Daddy at first, which we suspected we might. Patience paid off though and we were able to connect long enough for Jace to open his stocking and presents in front of Daddy. He was VERY excited to get his very own "motorcycle!" (No matter how many times I tell him it is a TRIcycle, he insists on calling it his motorcycle. lol.) I was really happy that he understood that it was from Mommy AND Daddy, given that Daddy wasn't actually here to give it to him. He has been riding it around all day today saying "Thank you Daddy." So cute!

After the present opening was finished we all got to sit around and enjoy a lazy Christmas morning together as a family. I have to say that this was the best gift of all!


Once naps were out of the way we got to go have a DELICIOUS dinner at Auntie Cherrie's house with all of our extended family. It was so wonderful to see everyone! Jace had a great time playing with all of his many cousins, but perhaps most of all with his Great Uncle Ralph. If you haven't met Uncle Ralph, you should know that nothing makes him happier than feeding people. Well, nothing makes Jace happier than eating, so they are a match made in Heaven! Pretty much every other sentence out of Jace's mouth today has been about Uncle Ralph and his raisins. (He is a raisin farmer, among other things, and those just so happen to be Jace's favorite food.

To add to the fabulousness of the day, my cutie patootie little niece Leah took her VERY FIRST STEP!!! Watch out Christopher and Monica!!

All in all I have to say that this was a truly wonderful Christmas. We are so blessed to have such an amazing family and such wonderful friends to celebrate such an important time of year with.

Our little Monkey is 2!!!!!!!

I simply can't believe that 2 years ago this little boy.....


was this little baby...


I truly feel as though I am living in fast forward. It seems so cliche, but I really feel like it was last week that I found out our little baby was coming and yesterday that we brought him home. The last 2 years have been filled with more love, joy, and challenge than I ever imagined. Jace is so smart, so active, and so unbelievably loving. He is truly more than I ever dreamed I would have in a child. Every day he makes me laugh, he makes me proud, and he makes me feel more love than I thought was possible. He has quickly turned from a sweet little baby boy with a little spark of mischief in his eye, to a full on ruff and tumble 2 year old. He is way too smart for MY own good and he knows every one of my weaknesses. In the last few months I have learned that discipline will be a challenge, as he thinks time outs are just the greatest! (Though Mommy has recently discovered that while Jace loves getting time out, he does NOT like it when his toys get time out. Score for Mommy!) I have learned that saying something, even casually, even once, will commit that word or phrase to Jace's memory forever and he will use it at some completely random time. For example, last night he told Nonna that her new perfume "smells freakin good!" Oops! I have learned that my child is not the least bit shy and will dance wherever there is music and/or an audience. He will also help mothers in Target discipline their children if he sees the need. He is a total ham, LOVES all things musical, and he absolutely loves to tease (especially me!) Yep, he is pretty much the most amazing human being I have ever known and I'm sooo happy that he is mine!

Jace got to celebrate his birthday a week early this year. We figured it would be best for all involved not to have one more function to host/attend the week of Christmas. Jace had a few of his closest pals over for lunch, dancing, and an all around good time.


We had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme...


Ate Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dogs....


And got to eat some yummy Mickey Mouse cake!


He had an absolute blast and was so excited to have his friends over to celebrate with him.

Ready..Set..CATCHUP!!!

So, as usual, I have to apologize for the lack of blogging. The last couple months have been a whirlwind of busyness (is that a word??). So please forgive me and forgive this mish mash blog you are about to read. I decided, rather than posting seperate blogs for everything that has happened, I would do one quick and dirty run down. So here comes a catchup on the last 2 months.....

I was VERY LUCKY and got to go on a cruise to Mexico with my girlfriends. Had an AMAZING time and a much needed break from reality.


Daddy came home for his 2 week R&R!!!! Jace and I picked him up from the airport and Jace was stuck to him like glue! He was SO happy to have his Daddy home.


The first week of Jeremy's R&R his family came from Arizona, San Diego, and Stockton to visit. Jace enjoyed having his grandparents and great grandparents here. Unfortunately, we spent so much time enjoying them that we didn't get any pictures. =0(

The day after Thanksgiving we drove down to Disneyland with my brother and his family. It was all the kiddos' first time to The Happiest Place on Earth and they had a blast! I WILL be posting a separate blog for the trip. I mean, first time to Disneyland definitely needs a dedicated post.


After we got back home we went to a super fun Christmas tree farm and were able to cut down our own tree. We are doing trees of the table top variety these days due to certain Toddlerific conditions. hehe.


Unfortunately, Jeremy's 2 week visit went by WAY too fast. He was back in Kuwait before we knew it. We were happy for the time he had here, but sad to see him go back. We are counting the days until he is back home and hoping the next 3 months fly by. (Unfortunately as we expected, his early return date had been changed back to the original date sometime in March. Boo!)

Well that is our last month and a half in a nutshell. I know I am missing the MOST important event in this post.....SOMEBODY'S birthday!! He is getting ready for a nap and I foresee having a few minutes to post a proper blog about this momentous occasion. =0)