our family of 3 and a half :)

dallin was asked to represent the army in the 2011 graduating PCOM student doctors ceremony... since he missed his military graduation ceremony last summer in texas due to the arrival of our first born daughter he never got to wear his blues... so we caught a family photo of him this time! and so handsome :)

scrunched nose...

proof is in the pudding... clearly we get our scrunched nose from our mom ;) this cute photo booth picture is from when they started dating... oh louis love birds <3

rescue me mom!

our friend brighton got a little couch chair and we thought we'd let phoebe give it a try... suffice it to say, brighton wanted to share it :) phoebe's face cracks me up!

9 months and in her easter dress...

because i've planned on purchasing a sim card for my phone, so i can blog with quality images instead of text-pixelated ones, i have postponed blogging from easter on... problem is i still don't have the darn card and easter is long gone..... so here are the pics from my phone as is, and i have yet to purchase the stupid sim card. grrr. why can't they just come with the phone. reason #574 to get the iphone....

this was an impromptu photo shoot in our church parking lot when i needed some "snacks" to settle my surprise pregnant stomach and phoebe was clearly not interested in the sunday school lesson :)

when you're the best of friends....

"...havin' so much fun together... neither one of you cares, you're such a funny pair. you're the best of friends :)" --fox and the hound

anika and nixon... only one of the MANY perks of moving in with our friends was that anika had a friend to play with... i'd say they're pretty much buddies.

just say a little prayer...

she recently has discovered that her hands and arms are capable of many things... like folding them... (well, i can't say she does this trick on command, but she has done it more than once :))

like this guys?? and oh how i love her milk and cookie jammies too...

and let's not forget the squishy little feet that peek out :)

highchair makeover...

so i felt motivated one saturday to give this "new" high chair, (well new to us :) it was given to us from one of our friends), a slight makeover... before: your everyday light wood stain....

after: now, burnt orange! fits in our home just lovely :)

what to do when life gets stressful...

... just cover your ears...

EIGHT MONTHS... holy cow...

oh so precious... just can't get enough!

always aware of her surroundings...

something else to grab her attention... like always...

here she was staring at a carpenter bee... the big fat ones that suspend in air to stare you down, but i couldn't get the bee to hold still and cooperate for the photo :)

seriously mom... enough pictures already...

little chubber hands...

8 month highlights:

she only has two bottom teeth (they came in at 6 months) and can still wear 3-6 month clothes comfortably. not to mention, she wears only size 2 diaper... our little mini. she has learned to clap and LOVES it!! gets so proud of herself when she's doing it. she can give kisses. and loves it when you say "gracias" after a kiss. she has now started using her pincers. she loves bread to death! (gets that from her momma :) she has learned to open and close her hand to start waving. only now will she get on one knee and rock back and forth to "somewhat" attempt to crawl. isn't quite interested in going places on her own yet i guess. (although, daddy is very ready for the crawling... momma is enjoying the delay :)) her favorite thing is still chasing the dogs. but now, even anika loves it too! she plays with phoebe's legs to pretend bite her, softly of course, and we're all running around and cracking up! this is probably when phoebe laughs her hardest... it's true we've got a dog lover! i really feel like she has so many important things to say to me. sometimes she is trying SO HARD to tell me something but i just don't get it. she will look at me specifically and speak jibberish, intent on getting her point across! guess i need to learn jibberish :) when we show her a picture of a baby, or one of her baby pics, or even if she sees another baby, she gets SO excited! guess we need to work on getting her a sibling... wink wink :)

bowling fun!

our little bowling crowd... thanks del for spoiling us!!

our little fam... gotta shoe up!

brighton loved the "air finger dryer" (who knows the real name) the girl has some hair to blow!

mister dallin has some skills.... naturally :)

me and the mini me ;)

love this one of ansley... so focused...

our little miss...

her precious profile... little nose and chubby cheeks!

and her little chubber hands...

learning to give kisses!

happy little thing...

amacalola falls, georgia... happy st patrick's day!!

it was dallin's spring break and the weather was to die for... so we went for a family hike!

the start of our little hike...

quite the little pair...

camped out on daddy's back... comfy cozy :)

what a glorious day!!

daddy carrying the little miss in the backpack...

check out her long eyelashes! stunning!

and we hiked a lot of these..... feel the burn!!

like mother like daughter... the mini me ;)

"hike with me, i'm irish"

we spent st patrick's day at amacalola falls... SUCH a beautiful day!

phoebe naturally loved being in the out doors...

she got bored of her hiking backpack toward the end... she's just a little bundle anyway :)

we love our outdoor girl!!

in her easter bonnet...

with all the frills upon it :) (quote that movie :))

well... with easter just around the corner... we gotta find us the perfect hat!!

two of the best Hobby Lobby offers :) just playin' house over here!!

miss brighton jambor...

the ham in her element :) all smiles and giggles!!!

we had the pleasure of watching brighton for a day while her mom and dad were working in florida... she found a cardboard box~ best toy ever!

she is QUITE the entertainer... just learned to walk and already doing toe touches :)

and oh so precious!! really one of THE happiest kids i've ever met!!

SEVEN MONTHS!!

the proud parents seven months ago...

from this little bitty....

to this HAPPY little thing!!

she is one party girl :)

curiouser and curiouser...

what? you lookin at me??

*note* the photos are for your enjoyment... and the long post is a friendly reminder for us :)

the little miss is SEVEN MONTHS!! and my oh my is she a joy... she is EVER curious and always busy busy! i have to watch her reach because she is QUICK! (we've lost a full bowl of cereal and milk, countless cups of water, and almost lost a few dinner plates.) her favorite thing is for us to help her chase the dogs around.... she really has a blast of it and kicks her legs and waves her arms like crazy! just laughing away~ we pretty much have a rowdy girl. if ever she's in a fussy mood, a little outside time can solve that... just like her momma and papa!! we sit on a blanket on our deck and await daddy to come home... one of our favorite times. she just gets so excited when daddy comes home! lately it's been fun for her to recognize other babies in the room because when she sees them she gets so happy and starts talking to them. (she definitely got the social part from her dad :)) one of her best gifts from her momma is the infamous scowl~ she can glare anyone down with it and not care in the least that you are acting like a fool right in front of her to squeak a smile out. she only smiles if she wants to :) she is so determined! and if she can't get her body to do what she wants it to do, she stiffins her arms and throws them straight down, stiffins her legs, tightens her teeny butt muscles, and points her toes grunting in frustration... she will laugh if she sees me laughing at her being frustrated and learning how to use her little body, but then remembers "oh yeah, i'm frustrated!" and repeats the position... clearly she comes with opinions.

she is itty bitty, still in the 25th percentile~barely doubled her birth weight, but has been sitting up since 5 months old.... she is one strong little thing :) she is THE best to find awake in the morning. just jabbering away, waiting for someone to come get her~ sometimes hollering for someone to rescue her. when i turn on her light and acknowledge she's awake, she's already smiling from ear to ear in her bed, staring at the door anticipating her greeting :) (i should be the nice wife and share this morning greeting with her daddy who only gets it on weekends, but i can't help but race him to her crib side anyway on weekends.) she loves to sit up or lounge on her back.... lounge meaning, lay back and chew on her toes. still not interested in tummy time, but can roll from her tummy to her back to solve that problem... and she's perfectly content being on her back. no interest whatsoever in rolling from back to tummy. she always has to be touching something and is so dainty with her hands. with the most gentle of care, she'll take her hands and slowly touch what curiosities are before her. when i'm sitting next to her she just pats my leg to confirm her momma is still right there. and if that doesn't convince her, she'll look up at me to visually confirm it :) when she sits and plays with her toys and can't see me in the same room, she doesn't cry, she just hollers until i respond, then BEAMS from ear to ear, so pleased that i didn't leave her. (melt my butter :))

she loves to bang her toys and make some serious noise! she often helps us distress our kitchen table with her clanging away. my favorite thing is to laugh with her. if i happen to laugh at her for something or another, she looks at me and starts laughing with me, like, "we're laughing together, this is fun!" when momma needs a moment's break, daddy is quick to step in and play play play.... and work on her acrobatics... she loves it and i can imagine will only love it more and more. if she becomes bored with her toys, we can sit her in front of a mirror and she has A BLAST!! thinks her reflection is one of THE most fun things! she LOVES LOVES bath time. she can sit in the tub forEVER, but when it's time to get out, that's not so much her favorite... a quick peek at the mirror at her cute baby reflection solves that problem though and she's all smiles again!!

all in all.... we are in love with her :)