Dayton's Eighth Month Book - *Test*

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Beautiful Weather!

We are enjoying this gorgeous weather we've been having lately. Dayton loves to play outside and he is crazy about bubbles. We've gone through so many bubbles over the last few days! Yesterday when we went to my parents for lunch,we even pulled out a kite and walked across the street to Hutchins and gave it a try. The kids were so funny. At one point Brock got himself completely tangled up in the kite string - hahaha!

We had a busy weekend so we are trying to catch up on rest today. I was sick all last week with a bad cough/upper respiratory problem. Dayton seems to have caught the cough and has a runny nose, so I'm trying to get him to get plenty of rest so he can get over it quickly.

Dayton is walking around like a little mad man. It looks so funny! He hasn't quite figured out how to stand up from the sitting down position so every time he falls, he has to crawl over to something that he can use to climb up on and stand back up. Then, he's off to the races again. He is in Lucy's dog bowls, the toilet, kitchen cabinets, anything and everything! He keeps me on my toes to say the least. We are getting ready for his big birthday bash, counting down the days. I think we've got everything pretty much ready - we can't wait.

We're gonna try to get the little man a haircut this week, so I'll be sure to send out plenty of pics. I've also got some good outdoor pictures that I've been meaning to send out.

Enjoy the weather! JZ

Valentine's Day...

Well, we had a great Valentine's Day yesterday. Didn't do anything really exciting - just hung out. Me and Baby Date got Daddy a Wii so he was very suprised. I lucked my way into it - last one here at the EC Wal-Mart, so I figured why not. He has spent the last 10 years putting up with me. Hard to believe, huh? I got roses from Brandon and Dayton, and I also got my wedding ring re-done. Brandon's going to pick it up in Houston today. I had lost a stone out of one of the bands, so we decided to re-do it a bit. I didn't like the thickness of my band so we went w/ a Tiffany styled solitaire band and the rest of the little stones will make up another band like my wedding band to be worn on the other side of my ring when I want (confusing, I know). I told Brandon if we ever have two sons, we can give one wedding band to each of them to give to their wives and then it'll be a little sentimental.

Anyways, not much going on. We went to church this morning, then Prasek's w/ Grandpa, then riding, then home, then out to eat w/ Daddy, now home again for a nap - yikes! Big day! Tonight I've got ballroom and tomorrow I think we're going to stay in and try to avoid the bad weather. Tomorrow night we are going to Rachel and Matt's reception thingy at Greek's. Hope everyone has a fun, safe weekend! JZ

Pizza, Pizza...

Today we've had a fun-filled day and it's only 1:30. Dayton is out like a light right now. We went to the library this morning with Sandie, Anna, and Brock. The twins stayed at my mom and dad's so Sandie could come, too. It was a lot of fun. They had a Valentine's theme, so a lot of the kids gave out little Valentine gifts. They got balloons, stuffed animals and lots of candy. Dayton gave out Elmo Valentines and little mini play-do's. After the library, we took all of the kids back to my mom and dad's to play for a while. They were wild. We decided to take them all to lunch at Mr. Gatti's - what kid doesn't like Mr. Gatti's? Dayton loved his pizza. I was a bad mom and gave him a whole little slice and he gobbled it up all the way up to the crust. So - he had another - 2 pieces of pizza! What a little piggy!!! He also ate some pineapple and some noodles - yummy! Poor little thing was so tired from not having a nap all morning and trying to keep up with the big kids, as soon as we got home, I changed his clothes, laid him in his crib and he was out like a light. Brock is sleeping next to me on the couch, too. They had a very big morning. We kinda celebrated Valentine's today, so it was great. I think Dayton had a good 1st Valentine's Day. I better go. I'm gonna try to take advantage of having both of them asleep because with this beautiful weather, we are going to have to play outside as soon as they wake up! Enjoy the day! JZ

Mama!

Dayton has recently taken a liking to the word "Mama" or "Mommy". Before he always said Daddy - all day, all the time. Now he's doing the same thing w/ the word mommy. I'm loving it! It's hilarious. He's also started saying "Uh-Uh" as in No, which I'm not sure if I'm liking that or not.

He's still taking a few steps at a time. He loves holding your hand and walking around that way. He hasn't gotten enough courage to just take off across the room, but we shall get there.

His hair is horribly long. It looks pretty funny. We're going to get it cut before his birthday but we want to wait so that it's a fresh cut for the big birthday party. I've been working hard to get everything together for the party. We have all decorations, plates, tablewear, etc. We're waiting on invites to come in and haven't yet decided on food. We're also going to have one or two moonwalks - one w/ an obstacle course, so be ready for some fun and games!

Not much else is new here. Just staying busy w/ Dayton and dancing. The recital will be here before I know it. We're already trying on costumes at the studio. Crazy! Ballroom is going great. We're enjoying it and may even consider putting on a 6th grade class in April, so we shall see.

Hope everyone's having a good week despite this crazy weather! JZ

He'll Walk When He's Ready to Walk...

And - He's READY!!! Yes, we have ourselves a little walker. He'll be 11 months on Saturday and he is walking! He's been taking two or three steps at a time, but now he's really walking - seven to eight steps. He constantly wants to stand up and try. So persistant. It's like something just clicked and now he thinks, "I'm a big boy - I'm ready to walk." I'll try to get some video posted when I get a chance. He was the only non-walker in his little library group, so now he can run (well, not quite) and play with the rest of them. Brock and Bryn were great encouragers yesterday. They would stand in front of him w/ toys and balls and make him come get them. If he'd fall, they'd just pull him right back up and make him try again. I think he'll start sleeping really good at night now. He's gonna be worn out! We went to Daddy's bank this morning to show off to everyone there, and he was quite the little man. He did so well. They were all excited to see him and Daddy was very proud of his little boy.

He's growing soooo fast. It's so cliche everytime you hear "They grow so fast." But, it's so true. When we got home earlier, he was pretty tired, so I just went and laid him in his pack n' play and that was it. He watched Barney until he put himself to sleep. While it's nice to have the freedom to do that, it makes me sad that he doesn't need me anymore to rock him to sleep. Sniffle, sniffle. I miss my little baby but I'm soooo proud of my big handsome boy!

Have a wonderful day- go out and do something - this is a GREAT hair day :)

Kemah

Saved this pic just for the blog. Didn't want to pass around what "classy"parents we are. Here I am pushing Dayton's stroller (he's sleeping inside) while holding 3 beers in my hand. Pretty good stuff! I got a lot of looks. The beers weren't all mine - Brandon and his dad's, too. We had a good time, but we're still recovering - I am worn out. I think we packed the whole house w/ us. It is so hard to pack for Dayton - food, diapers, clothes, toys, strollers, etc - ahhhhh! Glad to be home. Hope everyone had a good weekend - how about them Giants!?!??! JZ

Recovering

We have spent this week recovering, and I am happy to say the little man is doing quite well. Still a few little bumps on his chin, but nothing too serious. He has felt so much better this week.

We missed the library last week due to not feeling well and he was so funny when we went this week. It was as if he knew he was making up for lost time. When he saw all of his little buddies he just shrilled w/ joy. He had the best time.

Yesterday he spent some time w/ MeMe in the afternoon so I could attempt to clean this place that we call a house. Let me tell you how much we are growing out of this place - ahhhhh! It gets worse by the day. I don't know when/if we'll ever be able to have a new house, but the walls are closing in on us here. Between Dayton's toys, my clothes, and dance costumes that have been coming in in BIG boxes, we have no room. I've gotta have a garage sale or something. Anyways, I got a lot done so it was time well spent.

This morning we went to mass b/c it is Catholic School Week and today is grandparents day. Even though we're not grandparents, we went and sat w/ my mom, dad and Bryn. Dayton distracted the entire congregation the whole time, so it was quite the spectacle. I was so embarrassed. He wasn't bad, he just likes to be very social and any move by him causes all of the kids to turn around and check him out. They're all looking for anything that might amuse them. That hour couldn't have gone by fast enough.

Dayton is in to taking really long naps these days and I am loving it. He sleeps for between 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours - yeah! This gives me time to pick up the house, do DP work, or just relax. I am really liking this napping business. It hasn't affected his night time sleep either, he still does well then - yeah!

Things are much better this week than last week so we thank God for that! Amy and I start teaching our ballroom classes tonight - 5th grade. It should be interesting. We're doing the two-step, waltz, and cotton-eyed joe tonight - yeehaw! We're going shopping to the Galleria tomorrow morning then to Kemah tomorrow afternoon to spend the night. We go to Mardi Gras there every year. We missed last year due to my largeness... I'm excited to take Date - they have a boat parade along the boardwalk and they throw beads from the boats. It's really neat. I'll take lots of pics so I'll send them all your way. No big plans for the Superbowl. Just hang out and have a few beers w/ some family and friends.

Have a wonderful weekend!!! JZ