Texas Wild Flowers

We can't deny it. Dayton is a Texan. His birth certificate bares the truth, he was born in Texas. Who would have ever thought that this New Yorker would have a child in Texas? I suppose some would argue that I'm officially a Texan now too as I've now lived in Houston longer than I've lived anywhere in my life. It will be 12 years in September. Mike was inaugurated years ago since he moved here for graduate school over 25 years ago. It's time we embrace the truth. The Dix-Hirschenfang Family are Texans. Ah veh!

Why all this Texans talk? It's wildflower season! Our good friends, Andy, Kathryn, little William (2 years old) and baby Michael (4 months) invited us out to their family's farm about an hour outside of Houston. Sadly, Mike is away travelling but Dayton and I packed up and hit the road. It was well worth the trip that ended up being almost 2 hours long due to all the traffic caused by flower-peepers (a.k.a. people slowing down/pulling over to the side of the road to look and take pictures of the wild flowers). Dayton and I really enjoyed spending time with the Principe family. It was a day of firsts for Dayton. The first time he met a horse, pet a horse, met a chicken, got pecked by a chicken. Those little chickens are quick!

We also got our token photoshoot in the wild flowers. Kathryn, Dayton and I went on an adventure in a go-cart-on-sterioids type vehicle into the 500 acres of land to find the perfect patch. Since neither of us knew where we were going, we cut the the trip a bit short as we did not want to get lost in the woods. It's funny how our risk-taking behavior has dramatically decreased since becoming Moms. Nonetheless, we found the perfect patch and many of the pictures below are the result.

In other news, Dayton was caught standing on his own several times this week. Last night, he found it hysterical as he tested himself standing with no hands as he let go of the edge of the tub (outside the tub, not inside...I'm not crazy). He would lift both his hands, look at me, and let out a squeal before his hands hit the edge again. In other discoveries, he found my teeth last night and thought my pearly whites were a cause for great laughter.

I love being a Mom.

A Very Good Friday

On Good Friday, Dayton's daycare was closed. We got together with friends Ashley and Kimberly at Ashley's house to have a playdate for our kids (and adults). Matthew (6 weeks older than Dayton), Faith (1 1/2 years old) and Dayton had a great time. Hudson, Ashley's dog, and Dayton bonded as you will see from the pics. We even went by MAMs House of Ice at the end of the day for some snowballs! Dayton loved it!

9 Months Old!

There is just so much to post about! At 9 months old, Dayton is walking holding onto any stable (or semi-stable) object he can find. He is so sweet with every being he encounters - - people, children, babies and animals. He remains inquisitive, observant and smiley! When he sees me put on his baby carrier (the bjorn) he races over to me and stands up between my legs and looks up with anticipation that we are about to go on an adventure (most of the time, a walk with the dogs). I don't know what I'm going to do once I can't carry him in the bjorn. I need my two hands free to walk the dogs. I think we may need to find a carrier that has Dayton riding on my back. At his 9 month appointment, Dayton was 19 lbs 6 oz (50%), 28 1/2 inches long (85%) and 18 1/4 inch head circumference. Thank gosh for my personal trainer and pilates that have allowed me to continue carrying Dayton for this long.

Below are Dayton's 9 month pictures as well as a video of him walking behind his wagon. You will see that it's a lot harder to make Dayton sit still! The picture of him crying was taken right after his 'photo session'. I love it because he's wearing the t-shirt Jamie Pete gave us for Dayton's baby shower, Albert Einstein's Superior Genetics.

Dayton's First Passover

Happy Passover! Passover has always been my FAVORITE holiday. It is a time to get together with loved ones, reconnect, have a traditional and delicious (thanks, Aunt Sandi) dinner, read the story of Passover and drink (at least 4 cups of wine otherwise we would not be fulfilling our Passover duty)! This year was even more special as it was Dayton's first Passover.

We arrived in NJ on Friday and stayed with my parents. Dayton was AMAZING on the flight up...not one complaint from him the entire trip. We had a wonderful day in NYC on Saturday. Dayton had a blast in NYC as we walked along Madison Avenue and ultimately into Central Park. He even got to pose sitting on the famous Alice in Wonderland statue. Mike, of course, was more excited about the 'soulful' Central Park rocks which we posed with. Dayton was full of smiles.

Speaking of smiles, Dayton has discovered that when he opens his mouth VERY wide and squints his eyes, it causes people to laugh. He has begun to do this continuously though out the day to family, friends and complete strangers. He tries to make eye contact and then the show begins. He is quite the ham. Several of the pictures below show this wonderful and laughter-causing smile. We've also captured the moment on video and I highly recommend you watch it if you are in need of a smile. On the plane ride home, Dayton played peekaboo with another baby in the seat in front of him. He would hide behind the seat, then stick his head into the aisle, give the now famous smile, and then peek back behind the seat. This continued for about 10 minutes to the pleasure of the other passengers.

Thank you to Aunt Sandi for hosting a wonderful Passover at her house. It was wonderful to see cousin Annabel, Aunt Tara, Uncle Alex, Cousins Jenna and Joey, Cousin Steve (and meet Vivian) and of course Namie and Bebop. It was wonderful to be with family around the Seder table.

Thank you to Aunt Phyllis who made her way from upstate NY to NJ on her birthday to meet up with us at 9 PM on Sunday for a very short visit. We hope it was worth it! It was wonderful to see you and Dayton enjoyed reconnecting with you (as you can see from the smile on his face).

Thank you to Namie and Bebop for taking care of us for our entire stay.

Mike's Return and Meeting Old Friends

Mike has been in the Middle East for the past 2 weeks but returned on Thursday. I've already mentioned, Dayton had changed so much in the time Mike had been gone. I was so excited to see Father and Son reunite. Last time Mike was gone, Dayton took about 10 minutes to warm up and realize this was his Dad. This time, he immediately began smiling and squealing. I love the pictures of him admiringly looking up at his Dad. The fun has only continued with newly discovered shoulder rides and climbing stairs-escapades. It is so wonderful to be together as a family again.

The other pictures are from a get together with Lanpin, Stamatina and JC. Lanpin and Stamatina were literally my first friends when I moved to Houston in 1998. While we may not see one another often, they are like family. Dayton had a GREAT time with this part of our Houston-family. I was particularly taken aback by his immediate bond he had with JC. As soon as JC walked in the door and picked up Dayton for the first time, Dayton laid his head down on JC's shoulder as if it was someone he has known for years. We were sad to leave but it was well past Dayton's nap time....he fell asleep 3 minutes into the car ride home.

Dayton has a new smile that he saves for things that are very exciting. See the third picture down in the set below. He continues to LOVE going in his bjorn carrier. When I put it on in preparation to take the dogs for a walk, he crawls to me with just as much excitment as the dogs and stands up between my legs looking up with anticipation.

8 Month Pics - - - Finally!

Well, it may not have been the day of his 8 month birthday but we got these in during his 8th month. Just a week or so late.

Dayton's 2 top teeth are now pushing through. You can see all four of his teeth in some of these pictures. In the past two weeks, Dayton's mobility has skyrocketed. It's gone from not standing at all to standing up on everything, climbing stairs (he went from the 2nd to 3rd floor all on his own yesterday with Mike spotting him) and walking while holding onto fingers or other stable objects. We would not be surprised if he started walking on his own in the next month or so. No rush! His crawling and climbing keeps us busy enough.

His happy personality only keeps getting better. He is constantly 'talking' gibberish or 'gooberese' as we call it. People continue to comment how happy he is and how welcoming he is to new people. Dayton does not hesitate to make new friends. He crawls all over our two dogs but particularly Mikki. Mikki is incredibly patient with him. Her only defense mechanism is kissing him which tends to make him change his direction of approach.

We are so lucky.