10 Months!!

Dawson is 10 months old today. Crazy to believe only 2 more months to go until he's a year...time to start planning the birthday party! We have been busy enjoying this beautiful weather so here is Dawson's "posed" 10 month picture along with others from our fun sunny days.

Boulevard Park

Playing in the sprinkler.

Taking a break...he's so cute!

Dawson had fun putting his hands in the sprinkler when it was going the other direction. Right when it would start to hit him he would breath really hard and crawl away as fast as he could. See the plumber's butt? :)

Baby pools were sold out at the two stores we went to, so we had to pull out his duck bath tub.

What would playing in the water be without kitchen utensils?

We took a trip out to Birch Bay. I wasn't sure what Dawson would think of the wet sand but he was anxious to get down and play.

He wanted to go for a swim...

...but settled for Daddy splashing him around instead.

We went to Lynden's celebration and watched the parade. Shane had this double chair set up for Dawson and Aiden. Cute cousins! Chad, Dawson & Aiden watching the parade go by.

After the parade, Dawson's buddy Tyler (and his parents-Jim & Tara) came over to Lynn & Shane's for a BBQ. Tyler was born the day before Dawson and we were comparing size. What a difference a day makes...Tyler is already taking steps!

So we've had a very fun and eventful week...now it's time for some relaxing!

Woodland Park Zoo

Dawson's first trip to the zoo was so much fun! We had warm sunny weather and an excited little boy. I was a little camera happy, like usual. See the hippo in the water?

The lions were out sunbathing.Fascinating to watch the elephant pull the grass with it's trunk then bring it to it's mouth.

We got to feed a giraffe! It was an amazing experience. The giraffe came right up to us as we held out branches for it to eat right out of our hands.

Dawson had fallen asleep while we were waiting in line to do the feeding but we had to wake him up for this. He was mesmerized by the giraffes big head and long tongue.

The bears were out for a walk.

Chad took Dawson on the carousel.

What's For Dinner Tonight?

Are any of you Rachael Ray fans? Well I am, and I just made a recipe from the show and it was super delicious and somewhat healthy so I thought I would share. It's called Chicken Parm Pasta Toss.Yes, I really did just take a picture of my dinner :)

If you want to make it, click on this link for the recipe: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/chicken-parm-pasta-toss/

FYI-Her portions are huge so I cut the recipe in half and it was plenty for Chad and I plus leftovers for his lunch. Enjoy!!

You've Got Mail

Dawson got his first piece of mail addressed to him today. It caught me off guard when we checked the mail box. Not a big deal, just something from GroupHealth making sure he's up on his immunizations, but I thought it was cute. Of course he had to taste it before I opened it.

New Toy!

Dad and Ryan got themselves a new toy over the weekend! Dawson's checking out his new seat. Dad & Ryan had huge smiles on their faces as they cracked their first beers in their new boat.

High walls = very safe for Dawson to play!

This should be a lot of fun when we're out in the water instead of the driveway...tons of room for sunbathing (although they keep reminding me it is a fishing boat).

Happy Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day was absolutely wonderful! I got to spend the day with my favorite people. It started at about 2 am when I brought Dawson in bed with us so I could cuddle with him the rest of the night. In the morning we had Chad's parents, Lynn, Shane & Aiden, my mom, Grandma & Aunt Jan all over for breakfast. It was great spending time with all the moms and enjoying the nice weather!

Dawson's Mother's Day shirt

Can't have breakfast without mimosas!

Cheers to some amazing moms!

I took advantage of having everyone together and had a mini Mother's Day photoshoot.

After breakfast and some relaxing at home Chad & Dawson took me out to dinner at the Copper Hog. That's when I got my Mother's Day present too...a gift certificate for 3 massages!!

Hope all you mom's had a wonderful day and got recognized for all your love and hard work.

9 Month Stats

Dawson's 9 month check up with the doctor was last Friday and everything went great! He's a healthy, developing little boy. Here are his stats:

Weight: 19 lbs 4.5 oz (30%)

Height: 28" (40%)

Head: 45 cm (45%)

I really thought he would weigh a lot more! He has went down on the growth charts, at his 6 month check up he was in the 55th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. The doctor said that's normal and babies will go through growth slumps, not to mention with how busy he is crawling around he's getting a lot of exercise. We also get to start introducing more foods to Dawson. It's time to give him three meals a day and to try out meats (pureed or cut very small of course). Dawson has still been an amazing eater and loves all fruits and veggies that we've given him (except applesauce). He really likes bananas and that's one that he can eat in small chunks by himself along with his Cheerios. Recently we also gave him pancakes and rice, both of which he seemed to enjoy. Now our next doctor appointment isn't until Dawson is a year old...seems crazy to think how soon that will be here and how fast time is flying!

Dawson is 9 Months Old!

My baby is 9 months old already! He's getting so big so fast. Lately I've been sitting back watching him play in disbelief at how much he's changed and grown. I love any chance I get to snuggle with him since he always wants to be down crawling around. He is so busy! He crawls really fast and pulls himself up on anything and everything. Recently he started waving, today I caught him waving at Regis & Kelly on the t.v. :) It melts my heart when I see his pure excitement when Chad comes home from work every day. He likes to follow Chad to the bathroom and sit beside the shower talking away to his daddy. Our little man is sure getting an ATTITUDE! If he doesn't like what's going on or if he gets something taken away he throws mini temper tantrums...he's gotten a few bruises from throwing himself on the floor-and I'm assuming this is only the beginning. Dawson's check-up with the doctor is tomorrow and I'll post his stats, here are his 9 month pictures:

Happy Birthday Grandma!

It's Grandma Hope's birthday today. We celebrated last night by taking her to dinner at Milago's (a delicious Mexican restaraunt in Fairhaven). We love you Grandma! I ordered the potato burrito...we had to take a picture. Look how huge this thing is! Isn't my Grandma the cutest?!

After some Cheerios, apples & avocado, Dawson decided to sit with Megan (Ryan's girlfriend) and munch on his sock.

Chad's Crazy Idea

You gotta love the crazy ideas that dad's come up with! This was the conversation when Chad called on Monday while he was at work: Chad: Make sure you & Dawson are ready to go into town when I get home. Me: Okay, how come? Chad: I want to get Dawson a surprise. It can be an early birthday present. Me: That's sweet of you, how much is it going to cost? Chad: It will be around $400. Me: What?! So I make sure Dawson and I are ready by 5:00. I'm trying to keep an open mind while I envision a cute little swingset in the backyard or something along those lines. But no, we pull into Joe's and this is what he wanted to buy:

or this:

His reasoning was that they were 40% off and Dawson will be able to ride it in about a year. I told him he was crazy and I would never let Dawson on either one until he was like 5 years old! Needless to say, we went home empty handed and I completely burst Chad's bubble. :(

Bloedel Park

Yesterday we took advantage of another beautiful sunny day by walking with friends and babies to Bloedel Park. There were more firsts for Dawson...first time riding in the stroller like a big boy (instead of being in the carseat attached to the stroller) and first time on a swing.

I think he definitely enjoyed his new view of everything!

From L to R: Jack, Andrew, Riley, Dawson, Alena & Maxwell.

Finally I got him looking at me, sort of.