Snow Much Fun

On Friday, March 7, we had a rare snow "storm". The snow began falling on Friday about 4 pm and kept falling until the wee hours of Saturday morning. Since our boys (Chris and Jacob) were in San Francisco for a conference and Carie's mother-in-law was in town, Dakota and I headed over for a fun evening. We ended up getting snowed in and had a slumber party. I know some of you northerners reading this are probably laughing but I was not about to take my 7 month old out in 5" of snow with bare tires. In fact, I made a trial run 100 feet down the road and didn't feel comfortable. Besides, everybody loves a slumber party...especially when sweet potato pancakes are on the menu for breakfast! We got some cute pictures before the snow all melted. By saturday afternoon there were hardly any signs of the pretty white stuff.

I am a Child of God

This past weekend we had a great time with family as they came to celebrate Dakota’s “official” dedication to the Lord. I say official because Jacob and I committed her to the Lord before she was even born…we promise to raise her in a godly home and in a manner that glorifies Him. Sutton Button was also dedicated, adding one more special memory to our friendship with the Alleys.

Thanks to Martha, Dad, Brad, Sally, Clarence and Lauren for making the trip out to Memphis to visit. We had a great time.

This picture cracks me up. She thinks she is SOOO funny picking on him! He looks so amused too.

Sorry I don't have any pictures of Dad, Martha and Brad...I forgot to get them off of their camera before they left!

Cro[ss]cheting

Last night we met for our second week of crocheting. We enjoyed dinner together and then sitting by the warm fire. So far we have made several hats to be handed out to the homeless. We decided we would get a head start next year and try to make 150 since that is the number of lunches we provide.

I made up a silly name for our group: "The Crosscheters" (pronounced Cross-shayers). That's what you get when you mix Christian fellowship and the hobby of crocheting to make items that will benefit and serve others.

Here are a few pictures from last night. We missed our buddy Carie...hope your boys get to feeling better soon!!

Dakota and Lou Ann with my first hat. It was a little smaller than the others but we figured there are small homeless people too.
Emily finished up this hat that her sister started. Emily already made 2 of her own!! Way to go Em!
Anita, on hat number 3?
Debbie and Nancy working away.
I thought I'd go for a little extra warmth on my head.

6 Month Stats

We had Dakota's doctor appointment yesterday. She handled the shots like a pro, only a little crying and was ready to entertain the little ladies at church right after.

Anyway...here are her stats:

14 lbs 13 oz - 25% for weight
26 1/2" - 75% for height

The doctor said I shouldn't be worried about her only gaining a pound over the past two months, even though they recommend a 1 oz per day weight gain. He said he could tell she was active and that she probably burns a lot of calories with her energy. Hopefully she is taking after her dad's metabolism and is going to be tall and skinny like him!

Tonight I am getting together with some of the older ladies and some of the girls my age for our second week at crocheting. I enjoy this time of fellowship and have even made 1 hat for the homeless so far and am 1/4 the way done with my second! Maybe I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Happy 1/2 Birthday Dakota!

Dakota hit the 6 month mark yesterday and we celebrated with a little “party”. Ok, so it wasn’t really a party but I made her a cake and a hat. Ok, so the cake was really for me and Jacob. Today is her 6 month doctor appointment and I am looking forward to hearing her stats but not looking forward to her shots. If I could guess…I’d say she is about 15 lbs 10 oz and 27 inches long. We’ll see how accurate I am! If you look closely at these pictures…notice her little toofers in the bottom. She is quite proud of them.

Helping Mommy Bake a Cake (no worries, I didn't use this spoon)
Trying out a sippy cup.
Trying on her new backpack for school.

35, 36, 37 down…13 to go!

So we made a trip out to the plains this past weekend to conquer the highest points in NE, KS and OK (respectively). We had a great time and Dakota did amazing on her travels. Dakota and I had to make the 4 hour flight (1 hour to ATL and 3 to DEN) by ourselves and I was a little worried about not having the extra help. God blessed me with very helpful flight attendants and two empty seats in the back row just perfect for us. It allowed us a little extra room and she sat in her own seat, buckled in, and played with her toys and napped. Although NE and KS were super flat…it was hard to believe that they were higher than even Mt. Katahdin in Maine!! OK, was a pleasant surprise and very beautiful and actually had mountains! I don’t have much time to write but enjoy the pictures!!

Grins and Giggles

What a ham! She is TOO silly. Enjoy!

8 Things.

I got tagged by Danielle to share eight things about Dakota, so here goes:

1. Smiley – That is the nickname she has been dubbed at daycare because she smiles all day and at anybody. She has the happiest personality and grins and giggles at anybody and anything. Every time she sees me she beams and it makes me smile so big back. Her smile takes up her whole face and everybody who sees it loves it.

2. Velociraptor – This goes along with the smiley thing but she LOVES to squeal in excitement about things. We say it sounds like a velociraptor and sometimes she will squeal for many minutes straight…even at church prayer group!

3. Her big blue eyes – they are so pretty and big!

4. Her Jumperoo – she received a jumperoo from her Granddaddy and Grandmama for Christmas and Jacob and I just laugh at her while she plays in it. She jumps so high that you’d think she could touch the moon. Of course she is smiling and squealing while playing in it.

5. Wiggles – She is such a wiggly thing and always has been…even while she was in my tummy. She would get those legs going and I knew for sure she was going to be like her daddy…I was right. She can’t sit still any more than he can but I love it. She rolls around on the floor and is trying to crawl and each morning she is in a different position and place in her crib.

6. How cute she is when she eats – I love it when she gets so excited before eating and opens her mouth like a little birdie. It’s just too cute. Now she is liking veggies (squash, carrots and sweet taters…peas were not that big of a hit)

7. I love how she reaches for everything…especially if I have it, then she wants it. Two seconds after she has it in her hands…into her mouth it goes!

8. I like her little “Toofer” that just popped through the gum. It’s still tiny but it’s there and you can see it and feel it.

9. Her little blonde hairs are too precious…especially after bath time and it is all fuzzy wuzzy.

10. I just love her personality in general. She is so sweet and loving and cuddly and cute and beautiful and she is my best little friend. I am so blessed by her.

Ok Carie, Jess, Carla, Melody and Amy...tag, you're it!

Look Ma, No Hands!!

Ok, so it's still a work in progress but Dakota is beginning to sit up on her own. We can get between 5 and 10 seconds before she starts to wobble and fall like a bowling pin. We had a VERY Merry Christmas and I'll post on that later but wanted to share her new "trick" with you all.

Ready for Christmas!!

Dakota is all ready for Christmas! She picked out a tree, decorated it, did some shopping and even got a taste of the present opening last night. Things have been going wonderful over the past month. As much as I did not want to go back to work, it really has been going well and Dakota and I are both adjusting nicely. We are home by 2:45 everyday which still leaves enough time to run the occasional errand, play, cook dinner and relax before daddy comes home. She really likes her teachers at “school” and they talk about what a sweet and happy baby she is.

Today we leave for Greenville for a week so Jacob, Dakota and I celebrated “our” Christmas last night. I cooked little chickens, green beans, ambrosia salad, potatoes and a pecan pie. We opened all of our gifts from one another and had such a great time. Dakota got some clothes and toys. I got hiking poles, a new headlamp, Timex watch, curtains and a curtain rod for our bedroom, candy, gloves, Life is Good shirt, DVDs and my favorite gift…enlarged framed pictures of Dakota. They turned out great. Jacob got some dress shoes, slippers, ramps for under the car when changing the oil, cologne, underwear and a license plate for his car. I know that isn’t everything but just some of the highlights.

Deep thought from Trish…yesterday when I was picking Dakota up at school she just kept beaming at me and smiling and giggling…it melted my heart because I love her so much. I love watching her grow and her excitement with everything in life. It made me think of baby Jesus and Mary and how he giggled and beamed at her just like Dakota does to me. I bet it really melted her heart, knowing that He would one day save the world…but I bet it broke her heart too. I’m sure in those moments she wished she could just hold on to those little giggles forever. With all of the gifts and presents and prep this year for “Dakota’s First”…I’m ashamed to say that maybe I haven’t thought enough about what Christmas is really about. Anyway, just wanted to share that. See you all soon!

I needed a place to put Dakota while I put the laundry in the wash. She liked being in the basket.
Daddy and Dakota resting after a long day of shopping.
Christmas Tree shopping with Daddy!
Decorating the Tree with Daddy.
Dakota has become buddies with big brother.
Dakota and Daddy peeking through the mound of presents.
Dakota and Daddy reading her new book, Tails.
My Favorite Gift!
Sporting new hiking poles.
Mmm...


As you can tell...Dakota and her daddy are such good buddies!