Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

Okay...so I'll try to catch you all up on our last week that was super busy. On Friday Chad and I took Dawson to the waterslides and had a blast. We weren't sure if he would be too young but he seemed to love it.

We took this picture right after we got there and he crawled right up to the fence to check things out.

Then it was his turn to get in.

Next Daddy took him down the kiddie slides a few times.

We had such a fun day playing in the water and enjoying the sunshine. After almost 4 hours Dawson was so exhausted that he passed out in my arms and we called it a day.

Happy Birthday to Aiden!

Saturday morning started off with a baby shower for a friend from high school. Cassie is having a girl so it was nice to see all the cute clothes and pink.

Then it was off to celebrate Aiden's 2nd birthday.

Our present to Aiden was a Big Wheel. After Chad spent over an hour putting it together we had to let Dawson test it out for his cousin.

I think Aiden liked it!

Aiden, Ezra, Riley & Dawson checking out the new toys.

Ikea

As you all know, I like to document everything...so here is Dawson's first trip to Ikea with me, Grandma & Great Grandma :)

So many beds to play on.

Happy Birthday to ME! (& Ryan)

On July 21st Ryan and I celebrated our 27th birthday with a BBQ at mom & dad's.

Ryan, Dina, Megan & Jason

Love this picture of Dawson asleep in the hammock with his Grandma.

For our birthday cakes dad made a rice krispy treat layered cake (so cool) and Trisha made a bumbleberry pie with her berries from McPhail Farm-Delicious!

We don't get pictures of just the two of us very often anymore so I thought I would share.

Thanks everyone for all of the birthday wishes and goodies!

Ride 'em Cowboy

Aiden rode in a horse show this morning on his Grandpa's horse. He is so brave getting right up on the big horse and he looked SO adorable in his chaps and cowboy boots!

Dawson's first time on a horse. Happy Birthday to Riley!

Dawson's buddy Riley turned one yesterday and we celebrated Hawaiin style today.

Tyler & Jim were dressed in their Hawaiin shirts to celebrate.

Riley seemed to really enjoy his cake...Nathan had to give him a quick bath afterwards! :)

"MAMA"

Dawson said "mama"!!! I was changing his diaper and he was busy talking when all of a sudden he looked up at me and said it. I was so excited! He's been teasing me by saying "ma" lately but never the full "mama" together. Unfortunately it has not been said again since the diaper changing...hopefully there will be a lot more to come! More exciting news...Dawson is giving kisses again. He was full of them for a while and then started turning his head when you would go in for a kiss. Last night I had Chad grab the camera to capture the moment because the kisses were endless-love it!

Eleven Months!

Dawson is 11 months old today! Wow, only one more month to go and he's not such a "baby" anymore! Sad! Where did the time go? As busy as he is , he's so much fun. He always wants to play and discover new things. I love the look he gets when he figures something out, like how to unroll the toilet paper roll or pull food off the lower shelves of the fridge-he's so proud of himself. He loves to be chased, he'll look back with this big ol' smile then take off down the hallway. He's always talking and although I'm not sure if I believe it yet, Chad claims Dawson said "mama" when they were in the car...of course I was not there! That breaks my heart to think I might have missed the first time but he did say "ma" today just once. He is eating a lot more solids now. I still give him his rice cereal for breakfast and yogurt or applesauce with a spoon but just about everything else is cut into pieces so he can do it himself. Lately his dinner's have been consisting of peas, beans, peaches & pears. He's still nowhere close to walking. I think he's gotten lazy since he can get around crawling so well that he doesn't seem interested in taking actual steps. He occassionally will stand up and balance on his own very quickly before he drops back on his butt. We'll see if he surprises us all and reaches the walking milestone on his first birthday with all the excitement like I did...but don't count on it. Here is Dawson's posed 11 month picture. Brace yourself, it's hard to believe how big of a boy he looks!!

Weekend Festivities

We had a mellow, yet fun 4th of July weekend this year. It started out on Thursday when Dawson and I went to play at Zuanich Park while Chad went golfing. It felt wonderful being outside in the nice grass on a sunny day feeling the breeze off the water. At first Dawson was crawling all over the place chasing the kids that were flying their kites... ...but then he took a break and hung out on the blanket with me-probably because I had food. He's really good about drinking a lot of water and I love to watch him hold the cup up on his own.

After playing in the grass I loaded Dawson in the stroller and we went on a great walk all around the harbor and down on the docks to see the boats. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the flowers below, does anyone know what they are? I want them in my yard.

On Friday we met up with Nathan, Kate & Riley at Lake Goodwin. They were camping with Nathan's coworker for the weekend so we thought it would be fun to spend the day with them. There were some very competitive games of "beer pong" (I watched, Chad played) and Dawson and Riley had a fun time playing together.

How do you like Dawson's farmer tan? :)

I just put this picture on here because I LOVE Dawson's hair!! On Saturday, the 4th we headed to Camano Island to my Uncle Jim's to spend time with the family. He has a great little place right across the street from the water and a big deck with an amazing view.

Dawson feasted on some watermelon with Grandma. On our way down to the beach. I didn't count, but I heard there were 52 steps to the street. Needless to say, we got some exercise!

We could only let Dawson down for a second because (big surprise) every rock went straight in the mouth.

Love you Grandma!

It was so nice spending the day with you, Grandpa & the rest of the gang!

The sunset over the water was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!

Dawson was so tired from the day that he only watched a few of the fireworks before he passed out on me. I'm so surprised he was able to sleep during all the "booms"!

My Blue Eyed Boy

These pictures don't need an explanation. All I can say is...I LOVE HIM!!

Happy Father's Day

What a great Father's Day! It was a chance to celebrate the amazing men in our lives. Dawson sported a shirt saying "I'm Rad Like Dad". I think we have almost this same napping picture from Mother's Day morning. Beth, Lynn and I cooked breakfast for Johnny, Shane and Chad. We had a wonderful visit and Dawson and Aiden were able to play crazy rather than being strapped in high chairs at a restaurant. I know it's very hard to believe, but I did not take any pictures of our morning. Not even one of the boys and dads-so mad about that. There may be one to come as a fill in Father's Day picture. I did manage to get a picture of Chad opening his gifts. I got him a washer & bean bag yard game (we had played washers at a friends and had a blast) and Dawson got his daddy a travel mug with a collage of cute pictures and a keychain with Dawson's big smiling face on it. Don't want to get sappy on the blog but I really am so thankful for Chad and feel pure joy when I watch him and Dawson play together. He can get the best belly laughs out of Dawson and it always melts my heart when I see how excited Dawson gets the minute Chad walks in the door after work.

We celebrated Father's Day with my dad the Sunday before by going out in the boat (pics to come) because unfortunately my dad had to work the night before and the night of so we had a small window of time to go over and visit. Ryan and Megan brought some crab and we brought strawberry shortcake for a quick snack-YUM! Together we made a canvas with a collage of pictures from our day in the boat...dad loved it! Dawson and I were supposed to take Chad to dinner for Father's Day but after all of the good food we already ate we took a rain check and went to Chihuahuas last night. Took a quick picture before we left to show my two favorite guys in their matching camo shorts.

Look Out...

...there's a new driver on the road!!!

Sweaty Hair + Nap =

Turtle Pool

Dawson got a new turtle pool, no more bringing the duck bathtub out in the yard. Aiden came over to help him try it out. Now where is our sunshine so we can go back outside to play in it?!

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!