14 Months

Where did our baby go?! Dallin is now a full blown toddler. Seriously, every time I look at him, he looks older than the last time. He is still just as happy as ever and loves playing with Kenobi, running around, eating, and being outside. So basically, he's a typical boy. :)

Dallin is now walking very well. He can get going pretty fast and it's getting harder to keep up with him. Church is always an adventure now. He does fairly well during Sacrament Meeting but then will not sit still the rest of the day. I try to sit in the back and let him wander so he's not as distracting, but then he usually ends up in the front where there's more room anyway. I've started subbing in nursery when they need people because it's easier with Dallin. That way he can just wander around with the other kids and play with the toys.

He loves wheels. He couldn't care less if it's a car, airplane, or whatever. He just flips it over and spins the wheels.

Anytime a door opens, Dallin rushes to get out the door. Even if I'm holding him in the doorway and then I shut the door, he freaks out because he wants to stay outside. He'll fit in well with our family since we love doing outdoorsy things. :)

In September, we went to Denver to visit Jacob's family. We flew out of Provo (which was AWESOME) and found tickets for $25 each way! It was cheaper than gas would be to drive there. We had a blast hanging out with family and friends. Dallin made a new friend while we were there. One of Jacob's good friends growing up has a 2 year old boy and they were playing and giggling up a storm! I love that he is getting old enough to actually play with other kids. Here are some pictures from our trip:

Already into cell phones. 

Four generations: Great Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, and Dallin. 

F

There is an awesome new park by Jacob's house that is Peter Pan themed. It has the hideout place, the pirate ship, the Darling house and Big Ben. It also has a little splash pad and stream.

Jacob and Dallin playing on the hideout.

 Water is one of Dallin's favorite things, so of course he had a blast playing in the water. This is the beginning...

Trying to drink from the fountain - still fairly dry...

By the end, he was completely soaked.

We loved this park and will definitely go back.

365 Days

365 days ago, this little guy came into our lives:

 

And now, he is one year old! To celebrate, we invited some friends over for cake and ice cream and watched Dallin open some presents. Macey's gives out a free birthday cake for babies first birthdays, so I went and got one for him.

Dallin just dove right in to it and loved the frosting. He didn't really eat the cake, but he loved the frosting.

Afterwards, we opened presents. He received a Winnie the Pooh standing table (which is his favorite), one of those wooden toys where you slide the beads along the twisting things.....that makes no sense, but I don't know what it's called...., a rubber ball, some toy trucks, Teddy Grahams, a helicopter musical toy from Grandma and Grandpa Tomlinson, a book from Grandma and Grandpa Heyworth, an elmo toy, and another book. I think that's everything... He was bored with the toys we had, so he's loving new things to play with.

Dallin is SO close to walking now.  On the 15, he took a few steps on his own for the first time! I totally wasn't expecting it. He's done it once each day since. He also talks a ton. We may not know what he's saying, but he just babbles all day. He does say Dada and "nanana" for banana.

Happy Birthday Dallin! We love you and are so glad you are a part of our family!

Catch Up Time

Now that it is July and almost Dallin's 1st birthday, it is time to update you all on the cutest little boy in the world.

• Dallin finally got some teeth at 9 months old! The first one came around May 12. We were in Boise with my parents and sisters because we went to WICKED (which is amazing by the way....that was my second time seeing it). The following week, Four more came in. That was not a fun week or any of us. Some time in June, his 6th tooth came, so now he has two on the bottom and four on top. It looks like he has all his teeth since it's the four front teeth on top. Man are they sharp! He has bit my fingers a couple of times and it makes me extremely grateful that I'm not nursing anymore.

• He is a professional stair climber. He goes up and down the stairs about 10 times a day. I'm not exaggerating. I'm glad that he knows how to turn around and go down backward so I don't have to worry about him falling. Well, he could still fall, but you know what I mean. He used to fall every once in a while but it was always just down the two at the bottom. 

• He just learned how to wave like two weeks ago. Its cute because he moves his thumb too instead of just his other four fingers. It looks like he's doing the sign for money. You know, like when someone rubs their thumb and fingers together? Anyways, its pretty funny. He also usually waves toward himself instead of toward whoever is waving at him. 

• About the same time he learned how to wave, Dallin started clapping. It usually comes right after the wave. I think it is because I would get excited and say "Yay" and clap when he first started waving, so now he claps after he waves. 

• Dallin eats people food now. By that I mean not pureed food. I still feed him baby food meat because we were given over 50 cans of meat from someone who was on WIC and their baby wouldn't eat the meat. Plus, I don't think he's ready for real meat - I haven't tried to feed him any though. 

• Last week when we were in Idaho, Dallin stood on his own for about 10 seconds. He had never stood on his own for more than 2 seconds before that, so it was a big accomplishment. He hasn't really done anything like that since then, but its a step toward walking. He loves holding my hands and walking around. When he does, he laughs the whole time like a crazy person and tries to go as fast as possible. 

• He and Kenobi are best buds. Kenobi is our dog that we got in February. We decided to get a dog after visiting my family in Idaho. My sister has a Yorkie and Dallin was just sitting there laughing hysterically watching the dog chase a ball. He does the same with Kenobi and they are already creating mischief together. 

Dallin is now at such a fun stage. I guess every stage seems fun but then the next one just gets better. He is starting to act more like a toddler than a baby and it makes me wonder where the past year went. I feel like he should still be 6 months old. It has been an incredible experience watching him learn and develop skills that we don't even have to think about like walking, talking, waving and feeding ourselves. We sure love our little man!

 Moab, May 2011

 This was in April while watching General Conference. 

Elder Nelson was talking about a picture of his grandson looking

up at the TV during one of his talks and Dallin did the same thing.

We thought it was pretty cute. :)

Paris Giveaway

So I know it's been a while since I last posted, but I came across this awesome giveaway today. Go check it out!

 http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris

Dallin Update

Wow, it has been a while. Dallin is now 8 months old and is growing like crazy! He has changed so much since the last post, I don't know where to start.

• Dallin is still a very happy boy and smiles all the time. He is definitely not shy. He smiles at everyone who looks in his general direction, even if they aren't looking at him.
• He is now a pro at eating solids and loves EVERYTHING. I haven't found a food that he doesn't like. 
• He is still toothless. I always think he might be teething, but then nothing comes. 
• And now for the biggest news... Dallin is now crawling! He is very determined, and once he sees something he wants, he goes for it and doesn't let anything distract him. 

Picture time:

Photos taken by Maija-Liisa at http://sweet-cheeks-photography.blogspot.com

Craftaholics Anonymous: Fullerton Photographics GIVEAWAY {and Product Revi...

Craftaholics Anonymous: Fullerton Photographics GIVEAWAY {and Product Revi...: "so i'm totally giddy about today's *giveaway* because not only do i get to give away an *AMAZING and UNIQUE product* but i also get to show ..."

4 Months

Last week, Dallin turned 4 months old. He has grown up so much in the past month, it is insane! It seems like he learns something new pretty much every day.

He started eating rice cereal three days ago. Most of it ends up all over him rather than in his stomach, but we're working on it. He just needs practice with the whole spoon thing. It is pretty funny to watch the faces he makes. I haven't gotten a picture of it yet, but I will soon. 

Dallin is still the happiest kid in the world. If someone is talking, Dallin is watching them and smiling; even if that person isn't talking to him or looking at him. He also laughs a ton. He was blessed with his parent's ticklish genes. Every time I change his clothes, he laughs when I take his arms out of the sleeves because it tickles. He loves his Daddy. Jacob is an expert at getting him to laugh.

He is very alert and curious. He is constantly looking around. It's hard to get him to look at me when he's standing on my lap because he is busy trying to twist around to look at everything.  He's like a giant sponge - absorbing everything he possibly can. I think he is going to be smart like his dad. :)

Dallin can now roll over! For the past month, he has fallen over while on his stomach and the momentum has carried him onto his back. I didn't really count that as rolling over. However, on Tuesday, he rolled over on his own from his stomach to back. Then, tonight, he was on his back facing one direction. I was in the kitchen and Jacob was in the living room but he was playing the piano with his back to Dallin. When I came back into the living room, he had turned 90 degrees and rolled over onto his stomach. He was up on his forearms, so I thought Jacob had put him in that position, but he hadn't. Over the next little while, Dallin rolled over a few times.

Dallin dropped from the 50th percentile to the 15th between 2 months and 4 months, so the doctor has me supplementing with formula. I don't like having to do that, but I do feel good knowing that he is getting enough to eat and the nutrition he needs. I checked the level of fat in my milk. The Dr. said that about 30 to 50% of the milk should be fat. Mine was way less than 30% so I think that's why he wasn't growing. For a couple of weeks before his appointment, Dallin had been acting like he wasn't satisfied or getting enough to eat at some feedings. Other times, he was perfectly fine. I can see a big difference in him at feedings now. So whatever was wrong, the formula is definitely helping.

Speaking of formula and baby food, Jacob and I are big fans of Craigslist and KSL. We have bought many items through these websites including our home, car, kitchen table, and chairs. While we were in Denver for Thanksgiving, we found a posting for TONS of formula and baby food and Craigslist. We bought 10 cans of formula, 6 boxes of rice and oatmeal cereal, and 13 containers of babyfood for $60. Everything was unopened and do not expire for at least 6 months. If we bought all that at the store, it would cost about 175 to 200 dollars. Like I said - we love Craigslist and KSL. :)

My friend, Maija-Liisa, is a children's photographer who also does family pictures from time to time. She was so nice to take pictures of us at 9:00 on a Saturday night. Dallin was so good and happy and they turned out great!