18 Month Milestone

Dawson is 18 months today...which means he is half way to his second birthday...which also means I am wondering where the time has gone! He is such a little person now, no longer a baby. I love this stage though....where he can run up to me and give me a great big hug, let me know if he wants a snack, can run all around, and make me laugh. In honor of it here is a little "survey" all about him!

Likes: His sippy with milk, body slamming and cuddling our cat, making people laugh (if he knows he has you going he keeps on doing whatever is funny), buckles (he will do up the buckle on his high chair and proceed to whine until I undo it so he can do it again), playing outside, helping out Mom and Dad with whatever they are doing, Toy Story, Elmo, playing with his blocks, wagon rides, our neighbor boy Parker who is 6 (he idolizes him I believe), animals, baths, and wrestling with Daddy or Uncle Jeremy.

Dislikes: Getting his diaper changed, getting dressed, when Mom or Dad says no, having to sit still, and when Mom is cooking dinner and not paying attention to him.

Favorite Foods: Strawberries, fruit snacks, vanilla wafers, sweet potatoes, milk, yogurt, cheese, graham crackers, and anything he can dip into ranch dressing.

Vocab: No while shaking his head back and forth, all done, kitty, uh oh, DaDa, Mom, There it is, dog, ball, yeah, go, and sometimes "pease" aka please.

Silly Stuff: He has his little "tricks" he does...I know, I know, he sounds like a dog. But if we ask he will do "cheesy grin" where he gives us a big toothy grin with his eyes squinted up, "professor walk" where he walks around the house with his arms behind his back, "tap dance" where he quickly stomps his feet on the ground, "scare me" where he growls at you, and various other little things like folding his arms for prayers, "washing" his hair, "combing" his hair, he puts his clothes in the laundry basket, raising his arms and saying "tah dah" which means touchdown, and loves to hand you silver wear when you put away dishes.

Mom's Favorites: I love that he can now just come up to me and cuddle with me. I love that he gives hugs and kisses. I love making him laugh and when he makes me laugh. I think it's so neat to see him discover new things and love (and sometimes fear) that he will try new things. I guess in general I just love to see him grow and learn new things everyday and that I get to stay at home and raise him.

Dad's Favorites: Hugs and kisses, wrestling and goofing around with him, seeing him light up when he gets home from work, and having a little helper outside in the yard.

Disneyland- Part 2

Ok, here is part two of Disney...more snippets and pictures for you to enjoy!
How crazy is this...6 families from our church ward were all in Disney at the same time! We just had to pose for a group picture!
I had Dawson watch Toy Story a bunch before we left. He loves that movie, even though he usually doesn't make it through the whole thing. So when we saw Buzz he lit up and knew who he was, it was so cute. As you can see, he wouldn't stop touching him! He was the one character he just adored cause he knew who he was. He was high fiving him, playing with him, etc. I wanted to purchase everything Buzz in the park after that!
So I didn't purchase everything Buzz, but he got a toy and this balloon. He would not let go of that balloon. The kid fell asleep with the ribbon in his tight little fist.
Me and Jen decided to let these boys out based on the charming good looks :)
The Tower of Terror! So much fun! And we are still alive!
Us three in Tarzan's Treehouse

We had so much fun in Disney, we decided we need to make sure we regularly go back each year. I has so much fun myself, but I also really enjoyed seeing Dawson take everything in and love everything...Disney is definitely magical!

Disneyland-Part 1

We had a great time on our vacation to Disneyland. We left at 3am so Dawson slept half the trip and the other half he watched movies on the portable DVD player...the most genius invention that saved us from one bored toddler! Our first day we got there we went to Downtown Disney and walked around and ate dinner at ESPN Zone where the boys played video games after. The next three days were Disney/California Adventures and then our last day there was the beach. We went with Christopher's sister Jen and her hubby Jeremy, and we all had a great time! I was surprised how many rides Dawson was able to go on and with the ones he couldn't ride they had a rider switch pass so Jen and Jer could ride then me and Chris could go up the exit and get right on the ride...fabulous! Anyways, here are some pictures and highlights from the trip:
Boys being Pirates
The gang with Mickey
Me and Jen being Princesses
The character breakfast...I highly recommend it! it's pricey, but it's a buffet and all the characters come around to your table (much easier then tracking them down then waiting in line to get a picture with them!)
My favorite picture from the bunch! Dawson needed a push to go up to him but as soon as he did he wouldn't let go! he kept hugging Winnie the Pooh.

Check back in the next couple of days for part two of Disney with more pictures and highlights!

Take One!

Right from the start, we have taken Dawson pretty much everywhere with us. Out to eat, friends houses, traveling, the mall, etc. We may not have had too many date nights since he has been born (and probably should invest in some more...I hate asking people to babysit because I don't want to feel like I am troubling them ...) BUT on the flip side, Dawson does very well at restaurants, on planes, and various other public places. One place I was afraid to take him was the movie theater though...sitting for a couple of hours, keeping him quiet, not interfering others was all part of my worry. After talking to some people who have been in the child rearing business longer than I have, I realized I couldn't say no to anything, if I just do things right from the start then he will learn earlier how to behave, etc. So, after receiving a gift card to the movie theater for my birthday from my mother in law, Christopher and I decided we would do a family movie outing to the theater. We selected a kid friendly movie, Horton Hears a Who; and a kid friendly time, about 11am. I was surprised how many Moms and young kids even Dawson's age were at the theater!!
We brought in his portable high chair so he had something to sit in and we bought lots of snacks and sat in one of the closer to the front rows just in case we had to do some hallway duty with him. He did AWESOME!! I knew I would getting a 1/2 hour out of him and I was hoping for maybe an hour, but he sat the whole time and watched the movie! I think having him in his little chair helped because he knew he couldn't get out and run around. He just sat there, watched the movie, oooo'd in places, and munched on popcorn and twizzlers...I couldn't get over what a little person he was! It must of been tiring though cause the last 20 minutes he zonked out on Daddy's shoulder.
I have to say, I was so glad I tried because now I know that taking him to a movie (kid-friendly of course) is do-able, and I am excited because Christopher and I would always go to the movies before we had him so even if it's to go see a cartoon....I'll take it!

Surprise!

For my Mom's big 5-0 we went out to Illinois for a quick surprise visit. My mom and two younger sisters, Lisa and Becca, had no clue we were coming and they were so surprised when we appeared at their door! My mom was so happy to have a chance to see us and Dawson! While we were there we pretty much just hung out with the fam...we went to my sister's volleyball tourney, ate chicago dogs, enjoyed the 70 degree weather, and went out to dinner for my mom's birthday to Cheesecake Factory. Here are some pictures from the trip:
My mom got us devil dogs from Joseph's and Dawson got a cupcake from Grandma
Enjoying time with Grandma and Grandpa
Playing with Becca in the hall at the volleyball tournament
My mom's birthday cheesecake!
The whole gang at my mom's birthday dinner...Dawson was not having his picture taken

We had a ton of fun and will be back in July for a longer trip!

Huh??

So I dunno what is up with Dawson and his latest sleeping positions, but I guess if he is comfortable...
P.S. We have not moved him in any of these pictures, we have gone in to check on him and found him this way!

Cheesy Smile

So one day Dawson and I were goofing around together and Dawson would do anything I would do. So I started doing this goofy grin where I would scrunch up my eyes and nose and open my mouth in a big smile and then he would do it. We were both practically rolling on the ground giggling with eachother. When he does it, it is the funniest, cheesiest smile ever, so I started calling it "cheesy smile." He nows does it on command if you ask him for a cheesy smile and I swear, it can turn anyone's day around it is so darn funny and cute. Man I love this kid! What a hoot he is. Here is the "cheesy smile":