Bike Trailer with Daddy

Jan 2012--Our lovely friends the Copes let us borrow their bike trailer~ and Michael got Jackson ALL geared up for the family outing! Jackson had a cush ride in his carseat, belted into the trailer, and Michael enjoyed the extra work of pulling him! I was just happy to be out on my bike again!

Thanksgiving in St. George

Jackson's first flight and family vacation!! We were so grateful for the chance to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with the
Henderson family in St. George! We had all sorts of family adventures: singing Christmas carols around the piano, special lunches with Grandma and cousins, movie time, learning gun safety, hiking black mountain early in the morning, Lizzy's baby shower, late night movies, family pictures... but most of all we enjoyed the time

reconnecting with everyone. We might

LOVE living in Texas, but we MISS our family!! Jackson especially was excited to meet everyone and give them a good show of his skills: smiling, cooing, clicking, kicking like crazy, and playing in Grandma Carrie's baby gym!

Jackson's Baby Blessing

You know that feeling you get when you're so far behind that you don't know where to start catching up??? That's where I'm at! It's been way too long since we've posted any of the exciting things going on in the Henderson household. So, today my goal is to play catch up.

November 6, 2012 Jackson Michael Henderson was blessed by his daddy in the Canyon West Ward. We were SO very grateful to have such amazing support from our family! Grandpa Lon and Grandpa Petersen got to meet baby Jackson for the first time, along with the Browning family who came in from Dallas. We were of course happy to have my mom with us again as well. What a special day! A few friends (the Copes and Bri and Memphis Norton) joined us for a luncheon and the blessing. Michael truly worked and prayed to prepare himself for this time that we had looked forward to for so long. We well remember being in our married student wards in Provo and always wondering when it would be our turn to bless a precious child. We're so grateful for the timing, and for the miracle it is to have Jackson in our home. The blessing was a sacred and uniting moment for our little family.

Hooray for jogging!

Jackson and I have LOVED our morning walks together for the past few weeks. The weather here has been terrific! Today was different though, and in a good way! The weather was a bit cooler and the air was thick with moisture--like all the rain was just stuck mid-air. Well, we went out for a walk like normal, but I just felt so good I had to jog. With a husband entering the medical field, I feel guilty not obeying the doctor's orders to wait 6 week after delivery....but I couldn't help it. After all, I'd been waiting much more than 6 weeks--it's been almost 5 months since I've jogged! So Jackson and I enjoyed a few miles of the wet morning (even though it looks like he's screaming in the picture, he was happily sleeping just seconds later).
Oh, and thanks to Anya for the awesome jogger!! We love it!

Curry Delight

Aside from pizza, Michael also loves curry. I've made it for him before, but it's just not the same as when he puts that special Caribbean touch into it. So yes, I had him cook his own birthday dinner---and on fast Sunday! What a terrible wife! Anyway, we definitely enjoyed a curry feast, thanks to Michael's awesome skills!! He even made the roti. Awesome.

Michael's 26th Birthday Festivities

Sweet little Jack was sleepy-excited for Dad's birthday excitement to begin. Our neighbor Sarah was an awesome chauffeur and decoy for the somewhat surprise evening we planned for Michael. We first went to the Temple and walked around the grounds for a few minutes and then Sarah drove around town a bit to confuse Michael as to where we were. (I didn't insist on the blindfold this year--he just had to close his eyes. I had to show some mercy after I made him carsick last year!) We ended up at the Cope's house where we enjoyed Michael's favorite Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza that I'd made earlier that day. After dinner, our wonderful friends the Travellers and the Walkers joined us for dessert and talking. We were supposed to play games...but we had too much fun just chatting and watching Michael roll around on the floor with Tommy and give him horse rides on his back. He's SOO great with kids! Especially with our little Jackson.
By now you're probably wondering why Mike is in a picture with two other women~ Well, it was a multi-birthday party because Laura and Randi both have birthdays this week as well. We enjoyed some yummy carrot cake together.
On Saturday, I took Michael out for a birthday lunch at Orlandos. Are we surprised that he ordered pizza, even though he had it the night before? Not really! I think he's obsessed. I'm just glad he's still a kid at heart and that he let the staff come sing him happy birthday and bring free dessert! I'm proud of my 26 year-old man!

The Mommy Chop

As a child, I had super short hair. Through the years I experimented with some different lengths, but mostly I kept it chin-length or shorter. I started growing my hair out just before I left on a mission--as in, just after I had dated Michael long enough to know that he really liked long hair. Thus began the 3-4 year journey of growing it out. I didn't mind long hair at all, but I always told Michael I'd be cutting it whenever we had a baby. Alas, the time came! Jackson is here, and I chopped 7 inches of my long hair. Don't worry--I saved it in a brown paper sack so Michael can always remember my love for him. :) Ha ha!! The more I look at this picture, the more my hair still seems long to me...so there's likely another chop to be coming soon!