kam and fam

Gunnar got his dad's. Oh dear. Don't worry son, Mom knows a great lady at Happy Nails with special plucking and waxing skills who can help you with those when the time comes.

Jaren had a birthday today. I won't disclose how old he turned, but we are both now fully rolling with the "thirty-something" category. We celebrated with family, Jaren's parents are in town, and good friends, we missed you Adam. I love birthdays or any reason to celebrate for that matter. Since it is his day though, at least for the next hour and 48 minutes, I thought I would share a few things I love about the Jdawg.

He's clean. I never have to ask him to scrub the toilets; he does it willingly. (I know. Eat your hearts out ladies.)

He's handy. We have superior crown-moulding and finish carpentry work in or close to being in our entire home.

He bakes. Cookies. Brownies. Cakes. Mud pies. We have a treat almost every Sunday compliments of Jaren.

He's hysterical. Let me tell you a funny story about my man. Several years ago he and I were babysitting my niece for a night while my sister and brother-in-law were away. She was little and was still in a crib. We wanted to be close so we could hear her if she needed us in the night so we decided to sleep in my sister and brother-in-law's room. In the dead of the night I wake up to Jaren shaking me, "Kam, Kam, Kam. Trade me places. Trade me places." I was for sure REM-ming so I complied, I rolled over him to his side, and then I drifted right back to my dreams. The next morning I went down to the kitchen to ask him what had happened. "Kam, it was the scariest thing. I woke up in the middle of the night, looked up and could have sworn I saw someone standing over me. It freaked me out." So what did he do? "Kam, Kam, switch me places." Yep, he put his young bride in Harm's way. Oh, Jaren. I owe some of my best gut, breathless laughs to him. He really does have a quick, fun, sense of humor. I love it when we don't take life or each other too seriously and we are able to joke and laugh with one another.

He works hard. SO HARD. I am proud to be on his arm when we go to a work party or a place where people know or have heard of Jaren. Everyone likes him, and want to be by him. He's a magnet. People love Jaren and recognize he excels at his craft. He works so hard for our little family to provide us with all the beautiful things we enjoy.

He's good and nice, gentle and tender. Seriously. I can't think of a four better compliments to give to a person. He is genuinely a kind-hearted man who cares about people and their best interests, and he's good to help everyone in any capacity he holds. I loved the day Gunnar was born and the experience it was for us. Jaren was so committed to me and the whole process. I get emotional writing about it now. Every moment of that day he was so connected and attached to me and the birth of our first born. He was beyond thrilled to be a father at last.
He's a great dad. Which makes him even more beautiful and sexy to me. I love to see him interact with our son. The other night Jaren was rocking Gunnar before bed. I snuck into the bathroom that connects to Gunnar's room to listen to their conversation. Gunnar's side of it mostly consisted of, "Uhuh, Daddy, uhuh, Nunnie's house, uhuh, choo-choo, uhuh, cars." Jaren started asking him questions about his day and his interests. He asked him what animal he liked the best. Gunnar said, "A ga (translation: an alligator)." Jaren said, "A ga? Oh, Gunnar, that's my favorite animal too." It was sweet.

He is fiercly loyal to me and to Gunnar. I know that Jaren puts us first and that is so honorable, endearing, tender, and wonderful.

He writes poetry. Really great stuff actually. I haven't seen a poem lately, but when they pop up, on the dashboard of my car or in a sweet card, it always is a priceless gift.

He's smart. Sometimes it's intimidating how smart he is, but I also like it. Oh, and he knows a lot of really weird facts too.
He's a collector. Pez dispensers. Comic books. (Not really something to celebrate but I thought I would share anyway. Something interesting about Jaren most of you might not know; it gives his character more texture and our garage less room. ;)
He's the greatest decision I ever made; I can't imagine my life without him.

Here's to you on your day Jaren. We love you. For his big dinner we went to a fun outside mall in Irvine. Here's some highlights:

All of you who have tried to take family pictures with children understand the tedium: look over here, smile, look at the camera, hey-watch this, look at my fingers snapping, I will buy you a pony if you just smile like a normal child for one shot... I chose these two family shots mostly because Jaren looks great in them and after all, it was his day.

This is Jaren's mom The lady that, on this day, 3* year's ago gave birth to a 9pd'r. Karla, we celebrate you today too. Anyone who survives that ordeal deserves to eat cake everyday.

After dinner we took a small ride on the carousel. Jaren and I usually have to draw straws for who goes with Gunnar. We both are notorious for getting sick on anything that spins or basically creates motion. 2 seconds after this was taken Jaren unfortunately lost his birthday dinner into the lap of the little girl to his left. Too bad. That was a good meal. (Just kidding.)

This is Jaren and Gunnar, Matt and Caden. Gunnar and Caden are like "peas and carrots." They were born two months apart and are practically brothers. I loved this picture because it felt so relatable; we all have a memory of being lifted on to Dad's shoulders and seeing the world from a totally different perspective than the "little" world has to offer.

It was a great day for an outstanding person. Happy Birthday, Jaren!! xoxo Kam

A couple of days ago Jaren brought home something for Gunnar that he found on the job site. He was super excited to show him; he even called me when he was headed home explaining he had something "really great" for Gunnar. Jaren has told me about butchering rattler heads with a shovel on the job before; what could he possibly be bringing home that I was going to allow in the house?

His name, lovingly gifted by Gman, is Geen Bug (translation: Green Bug), and he is a Praying Mantis. Gunnar was so excited I think he would have slept with it if I had allowed him too. He and Jaren trotted off to the pet store to get some "nourishment" for our new addition. Gunnar returned all grins with a bag full of crickets. They also bought a small aquarium; apparently Geen Bug is going to be with us for a while. ;) Jaren and I watched Geen Bug devour its prey(actually two of its prey) the first night he was here; it was like the Nature Channel up close and personal. Geen Bug didn't seem to mind two human faces plastered on the oustide of his plastic domicile.

My favorite is when Gunnie shakes the entire aquarium, disturbing all of its contents, then asks, "Geen Bug, ok?" Gunnar will probably end up killing Geen Bug.

No problem. Then Geen Bug will become a specimen for me to look at under my microscope. It is only a matter of time before I get my hands on that green bug.