The Rays of Sunshine

We have kicked up some dust, and been out and about. Here is a look at some of our recent activities. We got creative with our SnapChat: We headed to the Four States Fair, and Derek had a Blast!  Sliding with Daddy!   He said the Funhouse was the best part of the Fair.  When your mom makes you stop for a minute for a selfie. Dylan loved watching all the people.  Both doing the Superman pose! Let me tell you, this kid is ALWAYS moving!   We ended the weekend with a visit to our favorite cousin's house.  Perfect life! 

WOW Dylan is 11 months old. This kid looks just like his daddy, and there is no denying him. He has 4 teeth now and is working on his next 2, but it will still be a little while before they break the skin. Sleeping: Dylan is a really good sleeper. He has been sleeping 12 hours, but that is slowly decreasing to 11 hours, but that is still really good. I am sure I will be adjusting his sleeping routine really soon. Dylan has started to pull up, and just the other day, he pulled up all by himself.  I had to lower his crib since he is pulling up.  He still crawls everywhere, but it isn't a full crawl, and uses his upper body and scoots anywhere he wants to go. However, you put him in his walker, and he takes off. Just like Derek, he always goes for the dog bowls and will scoot them all around the house. For the most part, Dylan is a good eater, but there are some things he does not like, so I fear he will be a little bit more of a picky eater. We are starting to intro...

Earlier this month, we celebrated our Anniversary with a weekend getaway, with the kids, to Hot Springs, AR. Hot Springs has always been special to me, as I spent many summers there as a kid with my grandparents. We would always camp at Gulpha Gorge Campground and spend hours in the creek. The creek has a "rock" bridge, where you have to jump these big rocks to get to the hiking trail and a small waterfall that we would always play in. On the other side is this bridge, with this tunnel, and as a kid, I was terrified of this tunnel. The creek isn't too deep and I always saw other kids playing in the tunnel, but I could never bring myself to go to it. Looking at it as an adult, it's not that scary. When Ricky asked me where I wanted to go, and looking at our options, we decided on Hot Springs so I would be able to share some of my childhood memories with my family. The fondest memory I have of Hot Spring is walking the Promenade and bathhouse row. ...

WOW, the time has flown and we just celebrated this little guys 5th birthday. Each year we throw a really big party, and after attending other birthday parties at places designed for parties, we thought we would give it a try also. This year for Derek's party we celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese, and it didn't disappoint. All I had to do was make a few phone calls and most everything was set up and ready for us, and you know what, the kids had just as much fun, and we weren't stressed out. Here's to our 5-year-old- Happy Birthday, Derek: Since we bought the Nintendo  Switch, we have been playing the Legend of Zelda, and Derek has become obsessed with Link, so as his big present we bought him "Link clothes." He is over the moon, although you can't tell from this picture, as "Link doesn't smile." He was "in character." We have a whole episode with the unavailing of the shield, by opening a treasure box and pulling out the Master S...

Working at a University is tough, and the summer is extra tough, that is why I have not been able to blog like I have wanted to. With Dylan turning 10 months old today, I felt like it would be best to combine the two months. Crib Sleeping: Dylan sleeps really well in his crib now. We are able to do our nightly routine and lay him in his crib and he will fall asleep. It has been a great accomplishment. Of course, there are those nights where he cries a little bit, but within ten minutes he falls asleep. He has been really good about sleeping all night as well, which has been a blessing. Teething: Over the last 2 months, Dylan has cut his top 2 teeth, and he has had a lot of trouble with them. You could tell he was teething really bad because he stopped sleeping through the night and puts everything in his mouth. They have finally cut through and for a short minute, he is happy. We also got him a haircut at 9 months old. It was well overdue and he looks really cute now. I should...

In 4 short months, we will be celebrating this sweet boy's 1 year birthday, and I can' wait. How is it that he is already 8 months old? Dylan has grown so much this month. He isn't crawling yet, but he is able to scoot anywhere he wants to. Dylan loves to talk all the time. Crib Training Update: This has gone great. Dylan and I have a great routine, and as mentioned in my earlier post, each night we do our routine, and most nights within 10 minutes, Dylan is asleep. On average Dylan is sleeping through the night about 5-6 nights out of the week, and I am so grateful.  Of course, there are some nights that he will wake up a few times, but he will eat, then go back to sleep. If he isn't ready to go back to sleep, I lay him in his crib, go back to bed, and he will go to sleep on his own. Traveling: We went strawberry picking this month, which was one of the longest car rides we have taken with Dylan, and he did well. He is getting better, but I know not to test...

Can you believe it been 7 months since we brought this sweet boy home? As I mentioned in my last post, about the need to get Dylan out of my bed and into his crib, well we started the process and I will provide an update next month. This month has been a good month for Dylan. He has been eating his baby food really good and enjoying each new flavor. I also got to spend my birthday and Mothers Day with these awesome boys. Also looking back at Derek picture from his time as well, here is a picture of both boys in the exact same outfit. At this point, I really don't think they look too much alike.  Here are both boys at 7 months old.