Saturday, January 29, 2011

Family Visit

We had a wonderful visit to New York/New Jersey in between snowstorms. Dayton suited up for his first endeavor into the snow. Namie and Bebop did all they could to make the sled slide and he finally got a few feet of sledding in. Namie and Bebop also treated Dayton to his first visit to the Museum of Natural History - - - the African Forest room with elephants, lions, zebras and more, the Marine room with a humpback whale hanging from the ceiling. Dayton could NOT get enough of all the excitement and needless to say, his nap lasted a very long time that afternoon.

A wonderful afternoon with his cousins Annabel and Danny. Annabel and Dayton played together all afternoon and even SHE had to ask Dayton to take a rest from all the running around.

Thank you to all the family that came to visit. Jenna, Dave, Aunt Sandi....Alex, Tara, Annabel and Danny for being such wonderful hosts, Namie and Bebop for the beds, food, love and entertainment.

Don't miss the three videos at the bottom of this post.

The 3 Grandchildren, Annabel, Dayton, Danny
Danny
Dayton, Tara, Me, Danny
Me and my nephew, Danny
The brief moment, Annabel convinced Dayton to sit down
Bebop, Namie, Jenna, Dave (getting married in March), Dayton, Me
Dayton and his new dinosaur friend
King Kong! Dayton pointing at the dinosaur in Museum of Natural History
Namie, Dayton, Me in the Butterfly room
Dayton climbing on a sleepy Bebop
Dayton getting a Namie massage
A Namie Snow angel

Dayton suited up on the swing

Annabel and Dayton dancing

Playing the piano

Kiss the Dinosaur

Friday, January 28, 2011

Dayton stories that made me melt

I walked into Dayton's room this morning to get him up for daycare. From his crib, he clearly and loudly says, "Hi Mama". I melted on the spot.

Dayton refers to Mike as 'Mama' too. Recently, while Mike was out of town, Dayton was pointing at a large picture of me, Mike, Rommie and Mikki. He was pointing at Mike saying, "Mama, Mama.....". I told him that his Daddy loved and missed him a lot and would be home soon. Dayton paused, looked back at the picture and threw a kiss at Mike's face. I melted on the spot.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Arboretum Take Two

'Take Two'...a play on words because it was our second visit to the Houston Arboretum but also because Denise, Brianna and Sophia joined us (Dayton's identical twin girlfriends).

The kids had a great time together...unfortunately, at Piper's expense as he was often being walked by 3 toddlers at the same time. See pictures and video below. Please do not turn us in for animal cruelty.

Our trip to the arboretum marked the last family event over our long holiday break. Dayton has been home with me since December 23rd when his daycare closed for the holidays. While I'm exhausted and ready to get a 'break' by going back to work...we will miss having him all to ourselves 24/7. Just in the past 10 days, he is talking a lot more and has suddently shown a strong interest in all modes of transportation (as he calls out "choo choo....more!"...is this really ingrained into the male DNA?).

Dayton is officially 18 months old today, January 3rd, 2011. I'll get the 18 month picture tonight.

We are so lucky. Knock on wood.

Poor Piper...literally, all 3 kids holding onto his leash

Sophia and Dayton holding hands as they walk down the path

New Years at the Zoo, Paris and with Faith

New Years Eve day was packed with fun-filled events for parents and children alike.

9:30 AM Houston Zoo: A trip to the Houston Zoo to meet our friends Jordan and Charlie. It was great to catch up with them. Dayton and Charlie were excited to see the chimpanzees, rhinoserus and giraffes at the new African Forest. Dayton was literally one foot away from one of the chimps with the glass in between them, of course. Dayton LOVES seeing the animals and is starting to make animal noises. When I told him in the AM we needed to get ready to go to the zoo, he said, "Zoo.....rahr!".....bear/lion/tiger sound...take your pick.



12:30 PM Nap time - - no pictures taken...all household residents with thumbs were sleeping.

3:30 PM New Years in Paris at Wonderwild
Wonderwild is an indoor play gym for kids that is about 5 minutes away. They held an event for local kids to celebrate Paris' New Year due to the time difference. We met Denise, Jeremy and their girls, Brianna and Sophia, to ring in Paris' New Year. Dayton was the only kid dancing to the DJ. Check out the video at the bottom of this post.

5:30 PM Playdate/Dinner with Faith
Direct from Wonderwild, we went over to Josh and Ashley's house for a Faith/Dayton playdate. Of course, it became their parents' playdate once the kids went to bed. We had a nice meal and had some wine before collecting our slumbering son and heading home. We barely made it to midnight for our east coast family before going to bed. After such a busy day, who can blame us? Plus, we had a toddler to wake up to at 7 AM the next day.

Christmas in Florida

We joined the Dix Family in Jacksonville, Florida for Christmas. Not to anyone's surprise, it was full of giggles. Dayton could not get enough of his Nan, Uncle Jim and Aunt Edith. Mike and I cannot thank them enough for the hours of entertainment they provided to Dayton. See the video at the end of this post for a prime giggle-sample.
Dix Family Photo (we missed seeing the rest of the family)
Dayton and his Nan
Likely the only hair accessory you will ever see on Dayton
Nan reading Dayton a Thomas the Train book
Auntie Jane gave Dayton the firetruck for X-Mas
'Agua....more'...Dayton loved the fountains at Nan's complex
A cool swing at a nearby playground
Dayton got a maracca from Uncle Vince

Giggle sample