Dayton and his BFF, Noah

Noah - - - Dayton's first friend that he truly made on his own. They are two peas in a pod at Daycare. Dayton had been talking about Noah for a month or so when I finally decided to leave a note in Noah's daycare backpack for his parents. These kids had to get together to play on the weekend. Dayton would wake up in the morning singing 'Happy Birthday to Noah' and it was months away from Noah's birthday. "How was school, Dayton"?...his response, "Play Noah".

Our first play date was at the arboretum on May 30th. Dayton still talks about Noah and the turtles because we saw a lot of them that day. We're excited to get to know Noah and his family better as I'm sure these kids will be good friends for a long time.

These are pictures of their first play date together as well as the one above from Noah's 2nd birthday party in June.

Dayton Loves to Swim

I have not updated the blog since March...apologies to all you fans out there...I say, sarcastically. I'm sitting here on the couch on a Saturday praying that Dayton will nap so I can take the next hour to play 'blog catch-up'. He's rolling around in his crib right now and no longer screaming in protest that it's nap time so hopefully, things are heading in the right direction. Over the past couple of months, he sometimes fights nap time on the weekend and it's not hugely uncommon for him to skip the mid-day shuteye. Instead he plays in his crib for about 90 minutes when finally his Mom and Dad cave in and go get him. I hope today is not one of those days. The kid needs a nap and really, Mom and Dad do too.

Dayton has always loved the water. He loves to swim. Has no fear. On his two year birthday, he officially began pushing Mommy and Daddy away from holding him in the pool and instead began swimming between us. Only a couple of feet but we are proud parents, of course. When he jumps into the water, he is completely competent swimming back up to the surface. This picture was taken in May at our friends Madeline and Ronnie's house. Dayton climbed to the high ledge of the pool and began jumping off. He set the stage for the 5 year old little girl to follow.

There is no doubt that Dayton will be a good swimmer but we can't help but have flashes of him being the next Michael Phelps. Luckily, he's not oddly proportioned like Mr. Phelps. In fact, at his 2 year doctors appointment this week, Dayton was 90% for height and 50% for weight. He weighed 28 1/4 pounds and was 3' 1/4" long. These percentiles have been his trend since he was an infant and will hopefully continue as he grows.

Dayton's Birth Story - Published!

Perhaps to the future 13-year old Dayton's dismay, his birth story was published in the April issue of The Journal of Perinatal Education. We are very proud to share our journey and lessons learned with the world and hope to help women and their families take back their birth experiences. Only members of JPE can access the journal on-line, if you are interested, send me an email and I'll send you the PDF.

Hello Mexico!

A dream come true. My cousin Jenna reunites with her high school sweetheart, Dave, and they marry one year later in Cancun, Mexico. This dream results in another dream come true, a vacation to a tropical location with the entire family. Thank you, Jenna and Dave, for giving us a reason to celebrate together in Cancun! This story will be told in pictures! Refer to facebook for the videos!

Dayton and Mommy got upgraded to first class while Daddy was back with the 'common folk'. This child is spoiled....I did not get to ride business class until I started working for Accenture. Daddy was a good sport and happy for us. Dayton was often up before the sun came up...on Daddy's morning to be on 'Dayton duty', they went exploring on the resort...before Dayton even got out of his pjs.

Dayton learned to ask for a 'tahwool' and to beheld like a 'baby' after his swims. In this pic, Bebop got the honor.

Another pic in Dayton's PJs exploring the resort as the sun came up.

Dayton's first water gun fight with Bebop and Annabel in the back of our villa overlooking the beach.

Dayton dressed for the 'Rehearsal Dinner' BBQ

The children of honor - - Annabel the Flower Girl and Dayton the Ring Bearer

Dayton, Mike, Jill (me), Namie, Bebop, Cuz Annabel, Aunt Tara and Uncle Alex

Dayton and Daddy having a blast

at the beach BBQ Dayton loved the splashing of the waves

Dayton ready to go in his ring bearer outfit...well, almost ready.

"Geez...what is with all this waiting around?"

Bebop, Dayton, Uncle Alex and Daddy

The girls...Namie, Mommy, Aunt Sandi, Annabel and Aunt Tara

Picture perfect

Dayton held Mommy's hands as we approached the aisle. But something about

those scary flower petals that Annabel dropped freaked him out and he had to be carried the rest of the way. Everyone thought he was cute anyways! This was the ONLY thing Dayton was scared of during his vacation...the boy is fearless.

Jenna wrote in Dave's HS yearbook, "I'm so glad you are in my life, maybe someday I'll be your wife"....wow! Joey led the ceremony and did a wonderful job. Very proud of my cousins!

A wedding pic with the Grandparents

Lovely picture...but we missed Danny!

Dayton loved the mariachi band!

The Mother of the Bride and Flower Girl. Thanks Aunt Sandi for endless playtime with Annabel and Dayton.

Dave and Jenna dancing the 'Hora'

I love my family

Dayton on the ride to the airport...I tried my best to keep him awake on the 20 minute drive but my efforts failed. Poor kid was exhausted. We were amazed that both the nights of the BBQ and wedding, he told us it was time to go home to bed. Once home, he literally tried to climb into his crib.

Dancing in the Rain

This video was taken on January 30th but I wanted to share it.

Dayton's First Rodeo & Horse Ride

Dayton in his new swimsuit wearing Mommy's shoes and Daddy's hat

Dayton's first horsey ride

Faith and Dayton at the simulated farm

Selling their produce at the market

Dayton and Faith planting pepper seeds

As I mentioned in a previous post, The Houston Livestock and Rodeo is upon us. I played hookie from work on Friday and took Dayton to the rodeo with friends Ashley and Faith. Dayton got to go through a 'simulated' farm - - he collected eggs from the chickens, milk from the cows, wool from the sheep, vegetables from the garden and more. He then sold them at the market and used the money he earned to buy a rice crispy treat. Amongst other rodeo-events, he got to see chicks hatching, newly born piglets nursing on their Mom, petted animals of all kinds and much more.

To my surprise, Dayton ran up to the horsey ride and made it very apparent he wanted to go for a ride. I asked him twice if he wanted to ride and he nodded adamently ' yes'! $6 dollars later and Dayton was strapped in. Check out the video. He became a little hesitant the first time the horse shifted it's weight but after a little reassurement, he quite confidently rode the pony round and round. Check out the video for a brief clip of this exciting first moment for Dayton.

The homeboy picture is Dayton in his new swimsuit in Mommy's shoes and Daddy's hat. He had his first official swim lesson on Saturday AM. The teacher was very impressed with his confidence in the water - - particularly jumping in. Dayton would jump into the water, fully submerge and as I pulled him out he broke through the water with a HUGE smile and twinkle in the eyes. Afterwards, adults from the adult-pool commented that Dayton would grow up to be a swimmer or surfer. They were all impressed and I was the proud Mom. Now...he just needs to learn how to swim!

Dayton's First Horsey Ride

Go Texan Day!

Dayton leaving Hermann Park
Trying to not let my germ-phobia hinder Dayton from having a good time

Dayton fed the ducks at the park...LOVE this picture of him

We always joked Dayton would be 'dating Peyton'...well, here he is with Peyton.

Dayton riding the old timer tractor at our favorite restaurant Natachee's

This guy came by and the audience screamed. We had no idea who he was but took

a picture in hopes someone could tell us. Apparently, he is Clay Walker...

country music star. Who knew?!

Dayton holding on to the 'reins'
Our neighborhood on Saturday

I remember my first experience with Go Texan Day when I first moved to Houston. Suddenly, individuals in cowboy hats, boots, etc surrounded me in the client meeting room. What the @#$% is going on here? Trailriders ride in (no....not in driven trailers...we are talking riders on horses) from all around Texas. Trying to get to work is chaotic because horses and riders take over the highways and local streets.

Go Texan Day kicks off the largest rodeo event in the world which lasts 3 weeks. It is a 100% volunteer event because all proceeds go to Texas student scholarships. It's actually quite amazing. While I struggle with my ethics while partaking (this is the girl that does not eat mammals writing this) - - - it's for a good cause. Plus, now that I am a Mom....my objective to make my son smile and learn outweighs the turmoil I have inside when I look at these animals and realize one day a stock-yard is in their future. I digress...

Needless to say, this is the first year that we got excited about Go Texan Day. Thank you, Dayton.

Saturday morning kicked off with our normal walk with Piper through the neighborhood. Two blocks from our house and we found about 50 horses and their riders who had camped out the night before. Dayton loved seeing the horses up close. This was good preparation as an hour later we were downtown and lining up to watch the Rodeo parade. Dayton was mesmerized and his only words were 'NAY' as each horse passed by.

The rest of the weekend was filled with other outdoor adventures as it was in the low 80s! Dayton rode the train at Hermann Park for the first time. Our son is truly a little boy now...getting taller and leaner each day.