Happy, happy birthday you beautiful kids!
Honestly cannot believe that you are 3 years old! Time flies so quickly and I hope every day that I treasure each moment with each of you. You are all amazing kids and are so talented and smart; we're so lucky to be your parents.
We celebrated your 3rd birthday with a bang!
(Fair warning.. I wrote my usual letter to each of them at the end)
The day before your birthday, Uncle Andrew, Aunt Kisty and Ethan came over because they weren't able to make it the next day for the party. They brought you amazing sticker books that you all love so much already! Thanks so much!
For the first few years, we would let each of you take turns opening presents but it would take forever and it was hard enough for you guys to wait so this year we just let you all go at it! It was so much fun to watch you.
Daddy and I got you this GeoTrax train set with 3 cars to drive on the track. You had played it at Aunt Kristin's and love it so we couldn't think of a better and more fun gift for you. We also got you some awesome sheets and comforters for your beds and new dream lights.
Woo-hoo! So much fun!
Cousins Tyler and Brinlee helped you two boys open this present from Grandma Marsha and Papa Dougie. They got you an awesome sports set with golf, basketball and tee ball.
And they got Rio a super fun princess set with stickers, paints, markers and coloring pages
Grandma and Grandpa Morris got you guys coloring books, crayons, shirts and some amazing stuff for your new big kid beds :)
Austin is showing off his coloring book and crayons
Getting ready for the birthday song and cake and ice cream. They each got their own little round cake with surrounding cup cakes.
Jax and Austin with their cakes - Tyler is observing in the background there.
Whew! What a giant blow Rio - good job sweetie! Hayden was so supportive of Rio clapping for her - that is so sweet!
You all got to choose your color and what type of rings you wanted and..this will be no surprise -
Austin chose blue with Spiderman rings
Rio chose pink with Belle rings
(look at her pretty, little hands)
Jax chose green with monster trucks
All the little girl cousins hanging out together with their pink cupcakes and princess plates
Austin and Jax hanging out with their Mickey plates and napkins
Austin, Logan and I - happy birthday cute boy!
Gabe and Papa Dougie
Grandma and Grandpa Morris
Back: Jax, Jon, Cole, Kristin and Grandma Morris
Front: Erin, Austin, Marc, Rio, Mike and Tyler
Grandma Marsha and Papa Dougie
Rio missed out on this pic because she was "done" with the party but Austin & Jax jumped in to hang out with a few of their "Fank" cousins. Sky, Matt and Zak were out of town in San Diego for Zak's bday and poor Luke was super sick.
Our little fam celebrating this fabulous day!
I always share a few thoughts about each of you in your birthday post so here I go:
Jax, my sweet and silly Jax. Happy 3rd birthday sweetheart! This last year has been so much fun with you. You've really learned so much including all your letter sounds in February of 2012. You learned how to spell your own name "J-A-X" and then a few months later, you got interested in everyone's names so you learned your whole name and now whenever anyone asks you how you are or what your name is you say, "Jaxon Ranger Morris" - it is so cute! Since you're named after Papa Ranger you often tell people that too. This year, you have once again amazed us at your physical abilities - you are the speediest boy and so quick to try new things with your body. You LOVE the bounce houses and bouncy slides and we found out after Christmas that you love remote control trains and cars. I'm so glad you've found something that you love sweetie - it is so fun to watch your determined mind. Because you try so hard, you often get frustrated when things don't work the way you want them to but you turn it around eventually and are able to calm down. Jaxie, you honestly have such a wonderfully creative mind and are very good at putting events together from a long time ago - your memory is amazing! You have learned to be quite the manipulator this year and are very sneaky about being naughty. You'll slowly take something of someone else's and then run as fast as you can away from them and it makes Rio and Austin so sad and you think it is so funny. I'll chalk it up to being smart :) However, as naughty as you can be sometimes, you are also very loving and give THE BEST HUGS ever! You squeeze so tight and say "I love you" so much to mommy and daddy. At 2 and 1/2 you started to pray on your own and to help us say prayers at night too. Again, you learn so quick and really try hard to be a good boy. We went on some fun trips this year with our Morris family and you, Austin and Rio and I took a trip to Bear Lake which was so fun! You LOVE the water and playing in the sand. I can't wait to see what you'll do this next year with trying new sports and preschool in the fall. When Logan joined our family in August, you were so sweet to him and wanted to talk so cute to him. Now that he's a few months older and spits up and slobbers a lot :), you often say, "Mommy, I don't like Logan in my face." You kind of get disgusted by spitty, slobbery things. I know you love him though because if he's sad you try and make him happy by giving him his binky or a toy. You're very sweet to Austin and Rio and really have taken a good leader role with them this year. You often "take role" and make sure everyone is where they should be. You guys got "big kid" beds in December and you love it! One of our very favorite things about you is how excited you get about everything! You scream and get so happy with fun, new things. My ultimate favorite thing about you right now is your expressive you are in your talking. So many adults LOVE talking to you because you are so fun to watch! You use your eyes to talk and your hands and you are quite entertaining. I love you Jax! Keep amazing me sweet boy!
Love, Mommy
Austin, my loving Austin. You honestly are so loving sweetheart. You tell mommy and daddy how much you love us all the time. The other day, you said to me, "mommy, I love you all the time!" I got tears in my eyes because I know your kind, tender heart is very sincere. You are a very passionate little boy for the good and the not so good. You love with all your heart and you can be sad and cry just as strong :) One thing that was so sweet to watch this year and part of last year is how much you love your daddy. He started a 2 year program for school when you were 8 months old and ever since then, when you would get sad, you would go into our closet and grab two of daddy's shirts and carry them around with you and cry into them when you missed him. Any time you missed daddy, you wanted to call and talk to him and then you'd grab his shirts and say, "I miss him mommy." When he went on his long 2 week trip, you didn't let his shirts out of your sight! Every morning when he leaves for work , you walk him out to his car and say goodbye. I love how much you love him! At 25 months you were talking so well - you would speak in at least 6 word sentences and haven't stopped there...you talk in 8-10 word sentences and have actual full length conversations with everybody. Around 26 months, you started to say the word "EVER" a lot! You wanted to make sure that we understood you and what you wanted. You'd say things like, "I won't play Lego's EVER!" or "I don't want water EVER!" So funny! You are very witty like your dad and really have always been able to understand adult humor. You are very intuitive and understand very big concepts that really amaze me at your young age. You really feel bad when Jax or Rio are in trouble and often tell me that "their time out is over mom." Yet, you also have a teasing side, especially with Rio. You love to move her things around and see how she'll react but most of the time, you help her put it back the way she likes. When Logan joined our family in August, you loved him from the moment you met him and it has just increased since then. You often want to hold him or have him look at you and you will sing to him when he is sad. I only have to say, "uh-oh, Logan's sad" and you run to find him and try and make him happy. One of our favorite things about you is what an amazing helper you are. You really love to be right by mom and dad any time we are trying to fix something or put something together. You completely enjoy working with daddy when he is working on anything and are his best helper!! You love doing puzzles and are really good at them. You catch on quick to anything where you use your eyes and hands together - you are a quick learner. You're a great brother and bring such a great balance to Jax's and Rio's intensity. We're so lucky to have you in our family. I love you Austin! Continue to be kind and loving to all you know and I can't wait to see your future and what you will do for others.
Love, Mommy
Rio, my smart, talented and sassy Rio. You have so much intensity in your little, tiny body. It both amazes and troubles daddy and I at times. You bring this amazing energy into our family that is irreplaceable! You light up rooms sweetie. Your smile and laugh can make my entire day - I love to see you giggle and have fun. On the flip side of that intensity, you will have such intense tantrums at times to the point where you almost can't calm down. We've had to learn that time-outs for you and being isolated is very scary for you so we've had to do things a bit differently for you and we never can "close the door." You used to say that to us every time we put you to bed, "don't close the door." But in these last few months, you have done such a good job at "using your words" and "calming down." So you'll say, "I want to hold you mommy" when you're getting upset and you love to be held and cuddled still. You have an amazing memory and are so incredibly smart! You have learned countless songs this year and you'd learn them in just a few minutes. You'd say, "sing it again mommy" and honestly after about 10 times of singing a song, you'd have it memorized! You LOVE to sing and learn new songs. Great-grandma Morris died in November of 2012 and all the great-grandkids were asked to sing, "I am a Child of God" and your dad and I were so proud of you! You sang so loud and right on tune at her funeral. It really was amazing to watch you. Of course, I cried :) One of my favorite things you would sing after you turned 2, was "Twinkle, Twinkle." You would sing, "Twinkle, twinkle, little one" (instead of star) It was so sweet to hear. You will often sing yourself to sleep at night :) In January of 2012 you knew all your letter sounds and what each of them looked like and you could count to 13. You've learned even more since then and count so well. You love to pray and you have an amazing and tender spirit Rio. You have learned that when you're sad or need a little comfort that you can pray to Heavenly Father and He will help you. You'd reach your tiny arm out of your crib and say, "say a blessing mama" and you were instantly comforted. I can't wait to see what you will do with that tender and in-tune spirit. At 27 months you saw a picture of a temple and said, "Moroni needs shoes mama. His feet are cold!" So observant and so tender. You really don't like when it is chaotic at home and loud and crazy; it makes you upset sometimes so I really try to create moments of peace and quiet for you. In February, anytime I would ask you questions, you'd say, "Oh yah..." like you knew exactly what I was talking about and what I meant. You love to feel part of the group yet you're such an independent little girl. At 25 months, everything was "Rio-self." You had to put your shoes on, go potty (which was a little tricky at times), getting in and out of your car-seat and eating chair and more and more. In June of 2012 (2 1/2) you started stuttering your speech. It was really heart-breaking to hear and watch. You would get so frustrated and I would have to hide my tears from you. It wasn't a problem at all but rather your mouth wouldn't work as fast as your incredibly smart brain. We would just not pay attention to it and it eventually went away. When the weather got warmer in about May, you insisted on wearing a skirt every, single day! And well, you haven't stopped insisting :) You wear a skirt or dress every day except on just a few days where I can talk you into wearing pants which is not easy. You absolutely LOVE THE WATER! You could have swam every, single day. We tried to get in the water as much as possible for all you this summer. You are so brave and loved being at Bear Lake this summer. I can't wait to take you to the beach :) You are such a little girly, girl. You love wearing bracelets, necklaces, lipgloss and mommy's high heel shoes when we're at home. You absolutely love playing dress up and love wearing your princess dresses. I took you to the Princess Festival this last summer and you were in heaven! You don't stop at a dress; you wear a crown, shoes and carry a wand, saying, "bippity, boppity, boo!" You'll say to us, "I want to be a true princess." When Logan joined our family in August, you kind of ignored him for the first few months but then in November of 2012, all of a sudden you decided to be his best caretaker. Whenever you hear him cry, you run to his side and sing, "I am a Child of God" or "Stars were Gleaming" or any song that comes to your mind. You talk so cute to him and absolutely love to see him smile and laugh. Rio, you are such a bright light in our home. Around others, you have a very shy, tender demeanor but at home, you are a giant energy ball that laughs and sings and plays so well with your brothers. For Christmas, we got you a tea set and since then almost every day you have a tea party with "kitty" "beary" and "Belle." You make sure that each of them has a bracelet, a necklace, a toy to play with, some food on their plate and a blanket to sit on. You are the best host I know! Keep singing sweetie pie. You melt my heart with your love for me Rio. You're my best little buddy and I love to be around you. I love you Mimmy!
Love, Mommy
Major Milestones this year:
All of you were potty trained the week after you turned 2. I knew that I was pregnant with Logan so I knew I had to get going on it as soon as possible. You three were amazing! You were completely day and night trained within about 10 days.
We switched you guys into "big kid beds" right after your birthday. We moved you all back together in the same room and you all love it so much and chat and chat before naps and bedtime. It is so fun to hear you talk to each other. You're the best of friends and I truly hope you always will be!
Happy Birthday Jax!
Happy Birthday Austin!
Happy Birthday Rio!
We love you so much and are so proud of all that you do,
Mommy & Daddy
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