Jaden came in the middle of it....I don't blame him for screaming his guts out, I felt the same way! Two years has already passed though? 
And now here he is- all grown up. The cutest 'lil rascal you'll ever know.
His babyhood is slipping away- no binky, no bottle, no crib and yesterday, he went pee-pee in the potty two times! 
He is a funny little guy. He says stuff like "Zooey Mama!" (from Diary of a Whimpy Kid), And "See ya, be ya" (meaning see ya, wouldn't want to be ya), he Sings the diarrhea song (you know, ..when you're sliding into third... diarrhea, Fhh, Fhh, etc.-he does the chorus if you can call it that), Sings Bieber's "Baby" song with some major hip rolling to go with it. He cracks us up. It's so cute too when he looks at pictures and names our family- he always calls himself my..."And there's my."
Sometimes he is perfectly sweet. He had quietly stolen Jace's Leapster away and came to his very own spot to play, uninterrupted. Jace and Rylee absolutely love, protect and adore him. They are very nurturing to him- Rylee is his second mom and Jace just melts around him. He can be very sweet to give hugs and kisses and make the older two feel like a million bucks when he wants them, or when he'll put his head on their shoulder or lay next to them on the couch or say something in a cute little pouty tone. He can also be sensitive and get his feelings hurt if one of the kids get mad at him or if he's in trouble by me. It's so cute when he has to apologize he says, " I Sorry."
But...boy oh boy- he gives us a run for our money too. He is INTENSE! If there is a mess to be made, anything to explore (he loves to touch, feel, see, try- very curious), a surface to climb upto, onto or into- he does it. This is him this summer- breaking into the go-cart race track at Riot Zone.
When he wants something, he goes for it....which I think will be a better trait for when he's older. That determination in a toddler is challenging. We are continually amazed at his agility and natural athletic ability- he is so cute to do little sports drills or to throw the ball or wrestle and can actually make a good little first and punch- he and Jace will play box and he's aggressive!
Seems like we've been through about every "phase" with him- the climbing on top of phase.
The pulling things out phase
The putting things down the vents phase.
The dumping phase. 
The climbing inside phase.
Let's not forget his exploring phase. 
Or his michevious stage.
And of course, his "messes" phase. Here's a look at his first year.
Let's just hope that in our case, his terrible two's came early.
It was wonderful. Pure paradise. A dream vacation.
It finally happened- I left the United States of America for the first time in my life! Yahoo! Finally got that first stamp on my passport that's been sitting lonely in our cupboard, waiting for an adventure. Sad it had to miss Israel, wondering why I don't get away more often. It's one of those "seasons" of life things, I guess.
Justin has some good perks to his job. Required to get continuing education each year turns out to be a pretty good perk- especially when there's always so many fun places to choose from. This time we chose Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico (about 15 minutes from Puerto Vallarta). We spent a few fabulous days there back in October. 
We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called Vallarta Palace. And a palace it was...total VIP treatment and completely relaxing! When we arrived, they handed us a moist towel to relieve ourselves from the heat. Then they handed me a flower and gave us both a refreshing drink. I've never had such a warm greeting. :)
When Jus was slaving away in classes, I got to sit poolside, reading my gossip magazines and books, completely uninteruppted, soaking in the sun and sucking up all of my new-found freedom. Loved every minute. 
Especially when the pool waiter would come around and offer me a drink or one of these yummy fruit cups. It's nice to be waited on for a change. I don't know my way around drinks, but a friend had recommended I try a Miami Vice (virgin, of course) and turns out, they are pretty darn good. But...nothing beats ice water and sunshine!
Each night, the resort would host some type of show or activity. One night we attended this Mexican Circus, which was based around Halloween (since it was the week of Halloween). It had acrobats and a contortionist and this guy (who was a Mexican clown apparently) who did this bazar act with this puppet lady. A little unusual, yet pretty entertaining.
There were 5 different resaurants at the resort that you could choose to eat at. It was all-inclusive, so basically you could have whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted it. Although hard to not over-indulge, I loved the concept. Funny how cost or fear of not liking something that you paid for holds you back from trying new things sometimes. I liked trying stuff that I never had before because I had nothing to loose, if I didn't like it, I could always order somehing else. Fun to be so uninhibited.
Look how cute some of the meals (or dessert in this case) were prepared. It hardly makes you want to eat it. 
Of course, we spent some time on the beautiful beach. I love the Ocean- so soothing. 
We also spent some time in Puerto Vallarta. Loved seeing the culture and art there. Love all the bright colors
And of course the shopping. "How much you want to pay?" "It's nice, isn't it." I'm not one for knick-knacks, but we found some fun stuff for the kids and a hammock that I'm so excited to put in my yard this summer. There were like 8 year old little kids working in these shops!
Although we were spoiled enough at the resort, we did venture off for some real adventure as well. 
The zip line was a blast. Beautiful view from the top of the jungle.
Our guides were so fun and let Justin do some fun stuff- like Superman and going upside down! Ahhh- he was screaming like a girl the whole way across. So glad we got to do this.
Another adventure was going to this water park and experiencing Mexican water slides. Let's just say...they don't meet U.S regulations. Oh my goodness. This one behind us was made of pure concrete and was a total death ride. Such a thrill though. Jus & I were having so much fun and laughed the whole way down. They had this one slide that was like a toilet bowl- Justin came out with a completely scratched up back and I felt like I was going to drown when I got "flushed."
Oh...and a sweet kiss for Justin. Our kids can't get enough of this picture- they think it's so funny. 
He said that a boy in his class had given it to him and said he could keep it if Jace would be his friend.
We had a great Halloween. We decorated (not carved or painted) our pumpkins. These pumpkin parts were a great find- very kid-friendly! I loved how fun it was for the kids to pick their faces, plus it was clean and the kids were able to do their pumpkins independently for the most part. Your pumpkins don't wither away either- I just took the parts out and now they are "fall pumpkins" on our doorstep for Thanksgiving. 
Jace (football player) had a Halloween parade and party and Rylee's (cute bee) preschool class dressed up too. Little bubs went as a skeleton and was as cute as can be. We went trick or treating around our neighborhood & the weather was actually great! I wish Idaho always had a warm fall.
