2 years old.

Dear Jackson,

I can hardly believe it.

You are now 2 years old.

2.

Your favorite number.

It's been a whirlwind.

But the best 2 years of our lives.

We love you soooo much.

We are excited for what the next year will bring!

What have you been up to?

For one thing you are very active.

You still love to sleep.

But when you're awake you go full-force.

You jump up and down.

You like to pretend you are a frog.

You bring out all your toys.

You bring out all your books.

You love to do art projects.

You love to run around outside.

You like to go non-stop.

We can tell that you love to learn new things.

You are so fun.

And so smart.

Current favorites:

Book:

a giant one on firetrucks.

You love firetrucks these days.

You point them out to me in the car every day.

We are lucky that our fire station leaves 2 firetrucks outside.

Food:

Bananas.

At least one a day.

Gosh, this one was a rough one for me.

While first pregnant with your sister, I got instantly sick even smelling them.

But they are your favorite.

Color:

Yellow.

Everything is apparently yellow.

We need to work on your colors.

Toy:

A ball will always make you happy.

And you love your big trucks that you push around.

And you still love to dump out all your puzzles and try to put them back together.

Usually 4 or 5 puzzles at a time.

Like i said, you are smart.

But probably a favorite right now is to play with your daddy's old toys.

Like his little people village and cars.

It is really sweet.

Animal:

Zebra.

Not sure why on that one.

You've never said that until I just asked you.

But then you said "Ellie"

Which of course means elephant.

You love sleeping with your Ellie.

As for other things going on.

You've given up your paci.

I thought it wouldn't happen but you gave it up to sleep with your water cup this past week.

You haven't mentioned it since.

 And you now wear "big boy pants" except during the night.

You've done great with potty-training.

And you're down to only an occasional accident.

Awesome.

You've really enjoyed the special things we've gotten to do as well.

After several mishaps with sickness and weather, we finally got to go camping with you this year.

You loved helping your daddy with the campfire.

You loved the Folks Fest.

Our annual family ritual of listening to great music right here in Lyons.

You loved the county fair.

You still love going to daycare during the week.

You love playing with daddy on the weekends.

And we love playing and loving on you.

We're excited for this next year with you little man.

Happy Birthday to you.

 Love,

mom

Emily Louise Stafford (1937-2012)

On June 10, 2012 my aunt Emily went home to be with the Lord.

She was 74 years old.

She was way too young to die.

My heart is broken and I miss her so much.

We had found out in mid-April that she had terminal uterine cancer.

It is a "silent killer" of women.

By the time they found it, it was too late.

I can remember the phone call...

her optimism in the midst of bad news.

She said that she had lived a wonderful life.

That she would enjoy the time that she had left.

That she was happy.

She didn't have to worry about languishing for years in a nursing home.

She knew when and how she was going to die.

She would enjoy the time she had left.

And that is what she did.

With friends. With family. With co-workers.

She was able to say her goodbyes.

As was said in her obituary,

she finished well.

My heart will forever remember the good times.

Staying with her as a young girl.

Summers at Wrightsville Beach.

Her taking me on a cruise to the Bahamas as an awkward middle schooler.

The love and support she gave me as a young college grad going off to India by myself when everyone else thought i was crazy.

She believed in me. 

She loved me and my brother as her own.

We were the children she never had.

Our last time together was only days before she died.

It is a truly unique and special moment to be able to say how much you love someone. 

How much they have meant to you. 

How much you have looked up to them.

I will never forget that last special day together.

I am so thankful that i could be with her that day.

I love you Aunt Emily.

I will miss you always.

EMILY LOUISE STAFFORD

JULIAN - Emily Louise Stafford, 74, of Galloway Ridge Retirement Community, Pittsboro, NC, died on Sunday, June 10. She was born on October 11, 1937, the eldest child of the late Seymour R. and Margaret Causey Stafford.

After graduating from Nathanael Greene High School, Guilford Co. NC, Emily attended Guilford College in Greensboro and graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She was a Certified Public Accountant, one of the first women to practice as a CPA in North Carolina and a mentor for many aspiring CPAs. Emily was a Tax Manager in the Raleigh offices of Peat Marwick (KPMG) and of Coopers & Lybrand (Pricewaterhouse Coopers). Later, Emily was associated with Prestige Travel in Raleigh as President and Controller.

In addition to her parents, Emily was preceded in death by her sister, Betty S. Thurman and husband, Martin Thurman.

Emily is survived by her brother, Joe R. (Jean) Stafford, of Greensboro; her niece, Marcia S. (Jonathan) Manz, of Lyons, CO; and her nephew, John E. (Morgan) Stafford, of Bristol, RI. She is also survived by her great niece, Lilybet Stafford; and great nephews, Gareth Stafford and Jackson Manz. Also surviving are her aunts, Mitchie C. Hall and Marti C. Morton of Burlington, NC; and her uncle, Clark (Celeste) Causey of Liberty, NC; and many dear cousins and friends.

During the two months since cancer was diagnosed, Emily was surrounded by her family and her many friends, who loved and cared for her. She finished well.

A graveside service will be held 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church, Kimesville, NC.

A memorial service will be held 3 p.m., Sunday, June 17, 2012 at Christ United Methodist Church, Southern Village, Chapel Hill, NC.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to: Guilford College, Ann: Advancement Office, 5800 W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro, NC 27410; Christ UM Church, 800 Market St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516; or Galloway Ridge Charitable Foundation, 3000 Galloway Ridge, Pittsboro, NC 27213.

Arrangements for are in the care of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service. Online condolences may be left at www.hallwynne.com.

20 months old

Dear Jackson,

You are 20 months old.

And adorable.

I'm so proud of you.

And the little boy that you are becoming.

You're kind.

You're sweet.

You laugh all the time.

You love to play.

You love books.

You love animals.

You especially love our dog Sabine.

So what have you been up to?

You still love to go to daycare when we are working.

They've taught you about Elmo.

There should have been a permission slip for that.

They have parties which you love.

At Valentine's Day they gave you a balloon.

That made your week.

You love balloons.

You went to the zoo during Spring Break.

With your future girlfriend Alice.

You loved all the animals but especially the giraffes.

We can't wait to take you again when your daddy can come, too.

At Easter you did your first Easter egg hunts.

At school and also at church.

You won a huge sheep that is 4x your size.

Speaking of size you now weigh 26 pounds.

You are no longer at the sub 5 percentile.

You are an active, healthy little boy.

You don't really look a baby anymore.
You're a little boy.

As for eating, you still surprise us.

You now eat some peas.

Shocking.

But mostly you love mama's pasta and you love to eat meat.

You're truly a little carnivore.

And you love when your daddy slips you something inappropriate.

He loves to spoil you when you're sick.

You're starting to talk quite a bit.

You'll repeat words that we say.
Your dad loves to hear you say "redneck"
Major cuteness.

And you're still using your signs.
The other day we heard you say your first phrase..
"Love you dada"
Melted both of our hearts.

Another crazy thing is that you've been using the potty.
Pretty consistently... although we haven't been trying to "train" you. We've just made it part of your routine and since you were 17 months you've been going with it.

You see it as a time to read a lot of books.
Especially Elmo.
Seriously, permission slip was needed.


As you've gotten older we see more and more of your personality and independence coming out. 
You're testing more. 
You're saying "no" more. 
At times you flail on the ground.
You're more scared now of strangers.
All of this is typical behavior, and yes, we love you.
You're our sweet little boy.
And we can hardly remember life without you.

This summer we have had the chance to hang out quite a bit.
We went to NC for almost 3 weeks.
We're going tent camping with you.
I'm taking you to Chicago to see our friends the Nelsons.
But what I am most thankful for is the times when it is just us.
Playing on the deck.
Doing all of your puzzles at once.
Reading all your books.
Yes, even Elmo.
In those simple moments, there is great joy.
And i am so thankful.


I love you Jackson.