30

Jackson's Mama turned 30 on January 27th (!) We celebrated with Yellow Duck muffins sent from Nana, Granddaddy, and Uncle Bret in Virginia. Plus, some pretty flowers arrived!

Jackson poses with our 'cake!'

Guess who placed the candles?

Crayon Hearts

I've always wanted to make crayon hearts, so Jackson and I made this our project for today.



LOVE

Snow Time

We finally got our first big snow of the season. Barrie spent a lot of time today with some hockey pals creating a skating rink on our neighborhood pond. Jackson's getting steadier on his skates, so we are excited to skate in our back yard!

Zach came by and gave Jack Attack a snowmobile ride!

Mama made Jackson some hot chocolate to warm him up.

Soooooo Goooooood!

OJ with a Smile

Mama and Jackson made some fresh-queezed orange juice this morning. Mmm!

Jackson strikes a pose.

J and B enjoy a juice break.

Greetings 2012. Nice to be back, Miles City.

We made it back to MC on New Year's Day. So thankful for all our blessings in 2011 and looking forward to what is to come in 2012.

My guys taking care of the luggage. Poor Panda Bear got the ride of his life!

A nice bubble bath to relax after a long day of travel!

Daddy loves Jackson!

And so does Mama!

Goodbye 2011. See you soon, ESVA.

Our Virginia trip has come to an end ... We spent the last few days of 2011 soaking in some Shore memories. Besides seeing our sweet family, here are our favorites for this visit ~ Anna: sweet potato fries, sweet potato pie, and sweet potato biscuits, plus Yellow Duck muffins and rugala. Jackson: Cooking with Nana and playing cars with Uncle Bret. Barrie: He's not here as I write this, but I'm going to take a wild guess and say that his favorite was hunting with the cousins. He got two ducks (black and bufflehead) and one doe.

Great Grandma and Jackson ... there is an 89 year age difference between these two!

Get your motor running!

These two sure love their great grandson ...

And their granddaughter sure loves them!

Nana and Jackson wait for some yummy seafood at the Wachapreague Island House.

Jack Attack with Cousins Hannah and Mason. They are BOTH the best!

Dad and Bret at the Drummond Farm party.

Sure feels like home.

The distance to the moon and back doesn't seem all that far. How about to the edge of the Milky Way and back?!

To Great Grandma's House We Go!

We celebrated the Mills Christmas on the 26th at Grandma's house ... Grandma, Danny, Ann, Virginia Leigh, Joe, Leah, Brett, Mills, Carolyn, Beth, Pop, Mom, Dad, Bret, Barrie, Anna, and Jackson were there (the whole crew plus two dogs and a baby-to-be (just to clarify: Leah's and Brett's)!).

Cuddles with Nana

Cuddles with Granddaddy

Cousins Part I

Cousins Part II

Cousins Part III

Enjoying a treat with Uncle Bret

Mama and Jackson

Grandma and her Major Award

Christmas on the Shore

We made it home for Christmas! There's nothing like the holidays on the Eastern Shore.

Mills Christmas Tree, totally legal!

Hooray! More camo!

Uncle Bret got Jackson some Hot Wheels

Jackson teaches Great Granddaddy a little about technology

Playing moon dough with Granddaddy

Hockey Sticks

Coach Daddy took Jackson out on the ice for the first time this week. Barrie is coaching the Learn to Skate kids this year and Jackson is just about the youngest out there. He is already much better than Mama will ever be!

Getting ready in the locker room.

All set!

It's pretty slippery out on the ice!

Zeider helps the little guy out.

Coach Barrie talks to the kids.

And Jackson's done for the night!

Matthews Christmas

The Matthews celebrated Christmas (and Bubbles's birthday) on the 18th. Cheers!

The Merry Matthews

Jackson and Ronnie open some presents!

Anything "Cars" is sure to be a big hit!

Zeider installs the batteries.

The boys strike a pose!

Three Years

Our little darling turned THREE YEARS OLD on the 6th! How did that happen?! I love to tell the story of how perfect his arrival was ... I had just turned in my last final exam (I was still in my master's program at the time) around 10 pm the night before and woke up at 5 the next morning knowing that it was THE day. Plus, my Mom arrived from Virginia just 40 minutes before Jackson was born. Just perfect! Our Jackson has spoiled us by being such an easy-going, loving, smart, funny, and cuddly little guy.

Mama's Boy ...

AND Daddy's Boy!

Getting crafty.

Snug in his new robe!

There's a reason as to why this cake has a piece missing. That's a story for another day.

Our sweet blessing of a boy!