Glamour Shots by Deb

Ok, well they're not exactly "glamorous" and Amy did them, not Deb. This was from a couple of months ago-back when Danelle was 5 months old. But of course I'm just now getting around to getting some of the pictures ordered, so here's a sample of some of my favorites. It's a little grainy- the pictures I got printed have texture, and I scanned them in...so they really are better quality than they look. *Note to self: don't try to take pictures in the middle of summer, in the middle of the day, in D.C. where the humidity is pushing 90%

The "tooths"

Any mother that has ever tried to capture a shot of the first tooth will appreciate these pictures. They are still making their way up, but none the less they are here! She's just growing up way to fast ... sniff sniff :( Come to think of it, I sure hope that's not just ONE big tooth...

Everything's Bigger in Texas- Dallas Trip

We took a little trip to Dallas which is 3 hours north east of us. I had no idea just how BIG this city is! The architecture is beautiful downtown, I wish I could have gotten pictures of all the amazing buildings. We ate and shopped at a really neat area called West Village- awesome food, cute stores! We didn't realize that all the hotels would still be so crowded with hurricane refugees up from the coast but everyone we ran into seemed to be in good spirits!
Oh- and as for the "Every thing's bigger in Texas" quote that I had always heard... well it's true! The new Cowboys stadium was ginormous! Not to mention it is the most expensive sports venue ever built! We also happened past the Mary Kay warehouse (they're based out of Dallas) also very big.



And last but not least-

The FATHER OF THE YEAR award goes to....

drum roll please...


We seemed to have a hard time keeping her out of things such as the fireplace, and away from the DVR and TV, so alas... Lane, when asked to "watch" our little girl while I was at the practice for our church primary program came up with this "good" idea. I'll give him credit- it did keep her pretty contained.

But she really NEEDS it !

Ok, I'll admit it. I have the dreaded "First Time Parent-my child NEEDS all that stupid crap stuff" disease. Do you think they have some sort of support group for us? I walk into Babies R Us and the thought comes to my mind- how did I ever survive without this!? The latest gadget- the Teething Feeder! Essentially it's a mesh bag that the kid gets to gum/suck food through that normally would be a choking hazard. She's had stuff like bananas, peaches, grapes, strawberries, carrots... etc. and I don't have to worry about whether or not she'll choke on it. She's at the perfect stage for it since she just popped up 2 tooths!!! (when they're as cute as her's are they are officially "tooths" and not "teeth" :) So I'm sure it feels good on her little gums also.

I guess my only "justification" is that I figure the next couple of kids that come along can use it. But I'm sure by the time that happens, I will have wised up and realized just how ridiculous all this stuff really is and there's just no where to put it all!

Swing Low Sweet Chariot!

Let your eyes feast on this little beauty! Ok well her too, but more specifically the new jogger I got from Lane- the Chariot Cougar! Thanks for the great recommendation Sarah. Of course we could have just gone with your standard baby stroller, but come on- can those other guys convert to: attach to a bike, jog, hike, or cross country ski (which we'll be doing TONS of here in Texas... :) But truth be told, it really came down to the fact that I'm married to an "outdoor fanatic" who doesn't settle for anything but the best when it comes to outdoor equipment. Ehh, so what if we give her the cheap baby food- the kid is rolling in style my friends- and that's what's important in life am I right?!
And yes, that would be a whisk she has there- we like to start em' young... Also, this week we have welcomed Danelle to the dinner table! She's perfecting her "grab and stuff the face" technique quite well. Wonder where she learned that one...Danelle's first pair of cowgirl boots. We didn't want her to feel out of place here in Texas- and what better place to wear them than good ol' church.Goodbye baby weight-(hopefully in time for our Cancun trip...) hello Turkey trot!

8 months going on 2 yrs. old...

Danelle has officially entered the "i'm going to get into EVERYTHING" stage. I tried to delay the inevitable as long as I could by not encouraging the crawling (bringing her all her toys etc.) but after our Utah trip she was off and crawling!! Oh how our world has changed! She loves to come to where we are- usually in the kitchen eating I mean cleaning. She also loves finding things she shouldn't have, getting stuck- under the kitchen table, or pulling herself up on something and not being able to get down. She's doing so many cute tricks - i'll have to put some video of it. What a fun stage- but man, everything is happening so fast now!