One more month and we hit the big first birthday!  This time last year I was wondering when Jackson was going to enter into this world, who he would look like, and when I would see my ankles again.  We now know Jackson made us wait two weeks past the due date and he looks like his mommy and his daddy. Oh yeah, and I have my ankles back! These last 11 months have been the best!!!  Jackson loves life and is so expressive so every day with him is a blast.  He is quite the ham!!!

Someone knows how to point for what he wants!  No use hiding anything!

This is what happens in the Avila household when Jackson gets a new toy!!!  

Jake and I were blessed to be able to get away with Jackson for eight days.  We decided to fly to Seattle, WA, and then drive up to northern Washington where we stayed with friends for two nights before going to the San Juan Islands.  Jackson got to go on an airplane ride for the first time and then take several ferry rides from island to island.  He had a blast and was so curious about everything he saw!  

  We went to the top of the Space Needle to the Observatory where it was very windy.

A few days later we went to the Northern Washington Fair where Jackson saw tons of smelly animals and went on his first ride.  He loved every bit of the fair!

Jackson loved riding on the ferry over to the San Juan Islands!  He would talk to people passing by and then look out the window to see what was going on out there.

In order to get Jackson to sit still we used the best and oldest parent trick in the book, bribery. Thank goodness the hair salon had little suckers for active little boys!  Jake and I broke our no candy rule but at least we finished the haircut with both ears still attached!!! 

Before the haircut.

After the haircut!

A friend and I enrolled our little ones into swimming lessons last month.  We probably missed more then we attended but Jackson had a blast!  Jake and I both went in the water with him and discovered that he loves the pool!  He let us dunk him under several times each lesson and didn’t want to get out when our half hour session was over.  Hopefully I will have him comfortable with the water and swimming in a few years! 

So someone was a little tired after swim lessons!

We had a great day celebrating Jake Father’s Day.  After a gourmet breakfast at the Avila Inn, we went to church to worship our Heavenly Father.  Then we went to have a huge lunch at Jake’s grandparents.  Jackson had a blast dipping in the pool and then sucking on a BBQ rib bone.    Then we finished the evening off with another great meal at Grandpa Chuck’s house.  Jackson is blessed to have several great men in his life to celebrate with on Father’s Day!

Jake is not only an amazing husband but also an amazing daddy!!!  He is always putting us first and thinking of himself last.  Jackson and I wanted to get him a great gift but since he never asks for anything we had to get creative.  We took a trip to the beach with Aunt Jenny and the cousins in hopes to get a great picture for him.  Jackson wanted to eat handfuls of the sand so we had to work quickly to get a decent picture.  Jackson had so much fun with his cousins and of course getting dirty for daddy was a blast as well.

Thank you, Jake, for being our spiritual leader, provider, protector, and more than we could ever express in words!  

Jackson is such a joy!  He started to crawl last month and is getting around very quickly.  Jake and I are amazed at how fast he is growing and how he is discovering new things all the time.  He is Mr. Personality and he is keeping us on our toes!!!

After losing my mom six years ago, Mother’s Day has been a difficult time of year.  I was blessed to have a mom who was a Godly example and who sacrificed everything for her family.  This year I was able to celebrate in a different way than ever before!  Not only am I a mom now, but thanks to my mom, one who knows the importance of setting a Godly example as a mother.

Jake and Jackson took me to a beautiful park in Brea for a picnic lunch for Mother’s Day.  We had a great time just relaxing and spending time together.

Growing up in San Diego spoiled me.  I lived thirty minutes from the beach and was able to go quite often.  I love the beach and have many great memories of it as a child.  I was so excited for the warm weather we had  last week so off to the beach we went as a family.  I was so excited to take Jackson for the first time and let him fall in love with all the beach has to offer.  It was still a little too cold but we still had a great day playing together.