Playing with others...

Digging in the sand with my friend Sophia from Carlsbad.
Fun with family.
It actually rained in Alamogordo!
Daddy made me a great play area to dig in the backyard.
24 weeks pregnant and expecting a GIRL!!!

We have enjoyed a month full of friends and family visiting. Outside of entertaining and referring kids playing we have been able to get lots of work done in the backyard. We are excited to lay sod this coming weekend and get the yard completed. Dathan is very verbal and loves to talk from the time he gets up in the morning until the time he goes to bed. Yesterday morning he asked "Where's Daddy" when he got up and realized that Chad was not here, but at work. He loves to push trucks, cars, and trains around the house and make the motor noises as he pushes them. Everyday he amazes us with something new! What a joy!!!

1 1/2 years old

Chad and I were able to get away for a 4 night vacation to San Antonio this past week. My parents were here and took great care of Dathan. We had a great time, but missed Dathan a bunch!

Mommy 21 weeks pregnant. Dathan has no idea that he is going to have a little sister to contend with in a few months!
One of Dathan's favorite places to play is in a bucket of water.
I have heard that a childs language "explodes" around the 18th month and boy is that true with Dathan. His vocabulary to too big to count and he is putting two or more words together. Up until a week ago he was still calling a train a "choo choo", but now he calls it a "train". I have to admit it was a sad moment for me when he said "train" because it shows just how fast he is growing up! Highlights of his day include: playing outside, feeding Moose, taking walks, eating ice (yes, he gets this from me!), reading books and more books, getting into everything he can, and just about anything else active. We are getting excited about having a little girl around in a few months.

Trucks, Tractors and Trains

Great Grandma came to visit.
Look at my hospital gown.
1st time playing at the White Sands
Easter Sunday with Mady





Hello from Alamogordo! I know it has been awhile since we've posted a blog, but life has been busy! We moved in early Feb. and then Dathan and I had to make a trip to CO for a couple of weeks. While in CO Dathan had surgery on his tear ducts, which unfortunately it looks like it only helped one eye and we will return for another procedure soon. We are settled into our new home and slowly meeting new people. I have enjoyed going to a local MOPS group and meeting other women. Chad finds his job challenging, but enjoys it so far.



Dathan is 17 months old and doing great! It has been an adjustment for me to be a "stay at home mom", but I'm learning and finding more and more joy in it. Dathan keeps me busy between playing outside, reading books, playing in any water he can find, climbing, and just being busy in general. He repeats almost everything we say (SCARY!!!) and surprises us with new words all the time. He loves to talk about and point out trucks, tractors and trains whenever he has the chance. He is beginning to put two words together, but still has his own language for the other million words a day that he says.

Playing in the woodpile

Dathan's favorite place to play in the backyard is in the woodpile. Whenever Chad makes a fire, Dathan is the first to help. He loves to carry a small piece of wood in an place it in the fireplace.
Being silly as usual.
We have had a busy couple of weeks. We took our trip to Alamogordo and found a new house. We looked at about 17 or 18 homes and settled on a brand new one. We are excited about the new house and the new neighborhood. As far as our house in Carlsbad we have already had two offers and settled on one of them. We are undergoing appraisals, inspections, inspections and more inspections. Things are moving right along...

Preparing to move

Dathan had fun playing in the snow for the first time while we were in Montana. He thought sledding with Dad was lots of fun, but wouldn't have anything to do with sledding down the hill with Mom.

He loved this rocking chair... just his size!
Mady's shoes are the best, but even better on the wrong foot!
Check out all of my hair!!!

I have been meaning to update this site for awhile, but life has been a little busy lately. Since we have been back from our Christmas travels we have been busy busy busy planning/preparing for our upcoming move to Alamogordo, NM. We are going tomorrow for our house hunting trip, so hopefully we find something we like. As far as Dathan goes he is such a blast! He is repeating more of what we say all of the time. Last night it was "ock" for clock. He loves to look at pictures of our family members, especially Mady's pictures, and have us name each person and point to them. He had a Dr. appt. today and he is still at the top or off the charts for percentiles in height and weight. He's a big boy!

No No!

Feeding Moose...one of his favorite things to do!
Helping rake leaves. Fall finally hit Carlsbad and a week or so later winter hit with a snow storm!




Learning to use a spoon is so much fun, but so messy!

We just got back from out Thanksgiving vacation in Kansas with my family. Dathan had a great time playing with Mady and getting spoiled by Grandparents. He can VERY clearly say "no" and uses it frequently while waving his finger back and forth at you. He throws tantrums and particularly hates getting his diaper or clothing changed. He is "on the go" as usual and talking more everyday. A few of the words he says that we understand: mama, daddy, ball, no, "mo" for more, tickle (the way he says this word is just adorable and at the same time he says it he will tickle you), "ba" for bananas (his favorite food), "bow" for book, and he is also trying to make some animal sounds. We get so tickled at him when acts out the finger motions to children songs, tries to jump (his feet don't leave the ground, but he thinks he has done something magnificent), dances, or the way he giggles when being chased or tickled. He is working on learning to climb, so I just wait for the day I find him on top of the counter or out of the crib.

October Family Fun

Chad finished his 1st marathon this month! Dathan and I were there to cheer him across the finish line. We are so proud of him!




All of this fun with family must have worn a bit of energy out of Dathan. He fell asleep in his highchair for the first time.

Happy Halloween (a day late!)

At the pumpkin patch with Mady
Getting ready for the kids to come Trick or Treating
At the Fall Festival and wanting the costume off!

Dathan tolerated his costume and had fun greeting kids at the door that came Trick or Treating. He would pull so hard on the ears of his costume that he would almost pull himself over. We thought he made a really cute puppy!

One Year Old!

Get this hat off of me and give me some cake!

Cousin Mady decorated my cake for me.

Look at all my teeth and my adorable blue eyes!

We celebrated Dathan's 1st birthday today with family and friends. We had fun watching Dathan eat his cake and play with friends. Dathan is walking and running and not much seems to slow him down. We have 2 steps in our house that lead into a bedroom that he loves to practice crawling up and down on. He is eating almost everything these day and just had his first PB&J today that he seemed to really like. Dathan is all boy when it comes to his choice in toys. He enjoys balls and cars the most. It is so hard to believe that a full year has already passed and that we are full on into the toddler stage with mini tantrums beginning and repeating "no" to us. Fun times ahead!!!

Walking

First Rodeo


We've had a fun couple of weeks. Dathan is now officially walking (we can no longer say he is taking 3 steps, 12 steps, etc.). He is able to walk from one room to the other and is so proud of himself when he does. We took him to his first rodeo a couple of weekends ago and he was mesmerized watching the horse and entertainment for the 2 hour show. Last night we took him to his first high school football game and had lots of fun. He babbles nonstop, signs "more" when he wants more to eat, and seems to understand more and more of what we say each day. We are just a week and a half away from his birthday. So hard to believe!

On the move!

Peek a boo
11 month photo with football
This is heaven!
This thing frustrates me sometimes!

Ahh...another month! It's amazing how time goes so fast! Dathan is doing great at daycare and has only come home with one bite mark so far. We took a short trip to MN to visit some friends and for Chad to participate in his Fantasy Football Draft Day. We had a great time seeing friends and going to a Renaissance Festival while we were there. We still think that Dathan is going to skip walking and head straight for running! He takes about three steps so far, but continues to prefer crawling as his fastest mode of transportation. Overall, this month was about getting things up out of reach and watching Dathan pick up speed.

10 months

I like to sit to drink my bottle.
Or stand and lean against the couch!
Going to pick peaches next door.
Still only 3 teeth

Dathan started daycare last week in preparation for me to return to work part time this week. After just two days at daycare he came down with a stomach bug that he graciously passed on to Chad and I. Thankfully Chad and I had it a day apart from each other so the other one could still take care of Dathan. Not fun!!! Dathan cries every time I leave him at daycare and when I come to pick him up he is usually playing with a toy until the instant he sees me he begins to cry. He already knows how to "work" his mom! Lately he loves to be chased and gets so excited when we say "I'm going to get you". He is getting quicker and quicker everyday between crawling and cruising the furniture. His balance is improving all the time, but no first steps yet. I couldn't wait for him to crawl, but I'm not rushing the walking because I'm pretty sure it's going to be running!