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.

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

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.

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.