Every little boy needs his first.....

SHOT GUN!

Thanks to our dear friend Erik for the H&R 20 gauge single shot youth CAMO gun!

Dylan is one lucky guy! Erik is a great friend of ours from college. He sent this to Dylan for Christmas! His daddy is VERY excited! His momma is a little nervous to think of her baby hunting one day, but excited too! Happy Day for Dylan!

One of my favorite things right now that Dylan says is, "Happy Day". It's always at a sweet and random time. Makes this Mommy smile!

17 thoughts at 17 months

Today, Mr. Dylan turned 17 months old!

Here are 17 things that we have learned in trying to navigate through raising a little boy....

1. Boys love all types of "sports" equipment. "Gof cubs" are popular around here, but
2. Beware because most things turn into weapons quickly!
3. Nothing is better than a sweet smile and a dressy sweater for church!

4. Remember that fits thrown while in public only make you stronger, right?!

5. Join him as he and Mickey Mouse search for "Pu-toe" in that silly song on his CD! When he yells "Pu-toe", you yell it right back. Imagination at work!

6. Laugh often, because you aren't ever going to know how to do it all.

7. Sometimes, a simple drive down the street will give you a nice "break" to your day!

8. If he wants to carry around the beaded necklace from your jewelry box, let him. He's going to forget about it in a matter of minutes anyway!

9. Sitting down to watch a 23 minute episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will NOT rob him of educational greatness. Let the child enjoy the magic for a little bit!

10. Little ones are like a sponge ready to absorb anything that's before them! (Refer to #9)

Dylan knows ALL of the Mickey characters:

D-d-duck (Donald Duck), Daisy, Mi-me-mou, Ni-ni (Minnie), Goofy, Pu-toe (Pluto)

11. Playing outside cures all injuries and sadness!

12. Even if you don't want to, listen to that "Mi-me-mou" CD in the car. His joy will bring you joy.

13. A new hat can make everyone smile! Go Hogs!

14. Give kisses, and accept a "kiss" from him EVERY TIME he offers!

15. Enjoy his outlook on life!

16. If your boy asks you to "sing, sing" to him before nap, DO IT! He'll be too big in the blink of an eye!

17. Thank God everyday for the moments that happen, they are true blessings from the Lord!

Snow MUCH fun!

Oh man did we have fun in the snow! Dylan loved it and he cried when we had to come back in for nap time! This is my favorite picture of my 16 month old energy-filled boy!Daddy had to take his gloves off so that he could throw a snowball properly. This is a true action shot, as he yells "tow" (throw)!!
Right before the picture, he broke off the snowman's left arm. His zombie like face was telling us it is nap time!We find so much joy in Dylan these days. He is growing up into a toddler with such a definite personality!

16 month milestones:

-21 lbs. 8 oz.

-Using 2 and 3 syllable words

-Repeating EVERYTHING that ANYONE says! That means BE CAREFUL!

-Using some 2 word phrases:

"si dow" (sit down)

"hi daddy" or "hi ____" you fill in the blank

"si bak" (sit back)

"nighty-nigh"

"all-d" (all done) he does the baby sign for this when he's done eating

"haw-daw" (hot dog) the song at the end of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with dancing of course!

-We tried to count all the words in his vocabulary recently and quit at about 50. He is booming these days with the talking!

-Some of my favorites lately:

"fah-cee"(coffee)

"foo-gy" (Goofy)

"dah-dee-duct" (Donald Duck)

"moo-me" (movie) this is for tv, dvd, cd, or radio

"Hud-see" (Hudson, his buddy we visited in Dallas)

"pee-a-boo" (peek-a-boo)

"Ah-choo"

"pa-pake" (pancakes)

"cau-ne" (kennel) tells Nelli to get in her kennel

-He knows where the following body parts are:

hair, ears, eyes, nose, teeth, belly, toes

-He also tells us "done" when he wants to be finished with something or when he wants down.

-Really getting the hang of understanding opposites: on/off, open/close, up/down

Sorry for the ongoing display of milestones! I hadn't posted them in a while, and as a proud mommy, I could keep going, but will quit for now! :)

Dylan's Dallas Playdate!

We went on a little trip to Dallas to visit my college friend, Jenn, and her little boy, Hudson. This was Dylan's first flight and he did awesome! Here he is having some "down time" while waiting on our departure out of Little Rock.
Dylan is 2 months older than Hudson. They really enjoyed each other, even though they are still in that "parallel" play age. There was some "body slamming" with pillows and games of peek-a-boo!It is pretty warm in Dallas in January, so we headed out to the park the first afternoon we were there. We had to buy them matching Valentine's day onesies! They will be in different states for the holiday, so we took advantage of the photo opportunity a little early! We couldn't believe that they both looked and smiled! Our little heartbreakers!We had a great time! I only wish that they lived closer! We could have play dates all the time since Jenn is also a stay-at-home mom!

We really had such a fun time! I am not going to lie, traveling with a one year old, on a plane, by myself was tough! We may have to take daddy with us next time we go! I am so glad we got to do it and can't wait till they come visit us in May!!!

It's a New Year!

Welcome 2011! The Lord blessed us in 2010, and I cannot wait to see what He has in store for us this year! We have decided to start a new tradition on New Years Day! It came as a fluke this year, but after it happened, we decided how fun it would be to start this tradition.We were out and about at lunchtime. We decided to go to Purple Cow...

because I thought Dylan would love it! He had his very first purple vanilla milkshake.

He absolutely loved it!

He had a hot dog too, but was so full from the shake that he didn't care too much for it! They also serve each meal with a small cup of black-eyed peas.

All 3 members of our family had some for good luck! It was so fun! Can't wait to continue our newest tradition in 2012!

I have many resolutions brewing in my mind this year for some reason. I won't share them all, but one is to focus more on reading the Scripture, be a better mom and wife, and look for opportunities to help others. Well, I guess that is 4, but the list goes on and on.

Happy New Year to everyone! We hope God blesses ALL your 2011 adventures!