just another week

This past week...not a lot of great pictures but definitely some good times! 

Monday daddy went back to work and mommy and Dalton stayed around the house resting up from our busy weekend!

Tuesday we had a windy play date at the zoo...little did we know it was also going to be packed with school aged kids!  We are spoiled and used to having it basically to ourselves during the school year...but on this day we had to share!  It ended up being a fabulous day with lots of mommy's and little ones enjoying some of the last days of nice weather before the cold moves in!  We spent some time looking at the animals, having a picnic lunch and then on to the jungle gym to play and luckily I escaped taking Dalton to the gift shop...that may be a first! 

It's hard to catch all 3 of them at the same time...Wesley, Maddy and Dalton on the very small merry go round at the zoo!

Dalton wanted to push the stroller for most of our walk through the zoo!  I don't think he ran over too many people!

Dalton apparently took some pictures when I was busy talking with another mommy at lunch!

When we got home there was a message on the answering machine from the director of Dalton's MDO program asking if we would be interested in putting Dalton in MDO twice per week because they had an opening on Tuesdays!  At first I was excited and then remembered that has been our play date day FOREVER...but luckily my play date mommy's are willing to move our play date to Wednesday!  Soooo MDO here we come two days per week!  And that evening we headed to Piedmont to watch our Godson play middle school football...Dalton was interested in the cheerleaders, snacking on popcorn, having mommy chase him, climbing the chain link fence and everything else besides sitting down on the bleachers and watching the football game!  It is always good to see daddy's good friends and their kidos who are growing up way too fast...just like Dalton will!

Chase me mommy...look at that gravel he's kicking up! 

NO!  More pictures please!

Daddy and his friends sititng on the bleachers watching football!

Thursday was MDO day and Dalton did great...NO TEARS!  I just helped him pick out a truck to play with and gave him a big hug and a kiss and said bye bye!  Love love love those kind of mornings!  I headed to Crest to do some marathon grocery shopping and then went home and did some marathon cooking!  And then I freeze it so I have less prep time during the week and more time for Dalton...I love this concept and hope to get better and better at it!  And I am always looking for new easy recipes and if toddlers will eat it even better so please feel free to share any!  When I picked Dalton up he wanted to stop and get a cookie so off to Elileen's we went for a yummy decorated cookie...love to reward my little guy for a fantastic day at MDO!

Friday morning Dalton and mommy went birthday present shopping for his cousin Emily!  She was having her birthday on Saturday...Dalton was such a trooper!  When I asked him what he wanted to get Emily for her birthday he said "a toothbrush" so that's what he got her...he picked out a very cute barbie toothbrush at Target...no toothpaste just toothbrush!  He is very into brushing his teeth these days:)  After our shopping we went and had hot dogs with Grandma Beverly, played for a little while and then headed home to take a nap...but that didn't happen!  Someone decided they would stay awake instead...boo!   We had a dinner date with some of daddy's professional friends at Buffalo Wild Wings and luckily kids were invited too!  One of daddy's friends has a 3 year old daughter named Sophia and she was SO SWEET and brought a Bob the Builder doll and two of his construction truck pals for Dalton to play with...she likes them too!  They both did really good being packed in a room full of grown ups!  We hope to get together with them soon perhaps an Unpluggits play date is in our future!

Saturday was the BIG Cowgirl Birthday party for Dalton's cousin Emily!  Mommy was recruited to help so daddy was in charge of Dalton for the day!  They went and ran errands and went up to daddy's school and checked out the campus on his 4-wheeler...lots of FUN!  And Dalton even took a nap for daddy and when he got up he brought Dalton to the birthday party where he got to play cowboy games...daddy and Dalton both played!  And Dalton got to ride on his Uncle Todd's BIG 4-wheeler and even got upclose and personal with a train and it's driver when Uncle Todd took off to the tracks when we heard the whistle blowing!  He blew a couple of short whistles just for Dalton and Uncle Todd when he came by...good memories for Dalton...thanks Uncle Todd!

Daddy showing Dalton how to use the lasso...Dalton and mommy were very impressed  with daddy's cowboy skills!

 

Dalton and his stick pony applejack!

Emily and Dalton had a fantastic idea to move the hay...a little harder to do than they had planned!  Dalton is pushing and Emily is pulling...P U S H!

I think the hay won!  Just a little hay in his mouth:(

Look at those grins on both Uncle Todd and Dalton's face!  They are waiting patiently for his helmet!

Plowing through the summer garden...FUN FUN!

Sunday...RELAX and get ready for a week of Halloween fun!

even more orr family farm fun

Yes...there are more pictures!  Thank you grandma Beverly for bringing your camera along too!

Family picture!

The animal farm adventure begins and Dalton got to see a pretty pony, some rowdy goats, a shy rooster, big sheep,  some very BIG pigs, and several different kinds of rabbits...and Dalton informed us that he also wanted one of those rabbits for his birthday! 

 

Mommy's boys!

Mommy and Dalton petting a friendly pig!  Check out that snout!

What is that goat doing?!?!?

Well that goat is eating the feed that daddy and Dalton are sending up the conveyor belt!

Dalton getting to milk his first cow!  He thought that was pretty neat!

We're out of here!

Saturday couldn't have been anymore fun...well maybe if the rest of the family could have come along!  But I think that Dalton had SO MUCH more fun than he did last year and next year there will be even more he can do...just love watching him grow and explore his world!  We ended the day with a late lunch at Freddy's Frozen Custard...one of Dalton's favorite restaurants...they have chocolate custard and french fries...two of his favorite things to eat!  And he will argue with you all day about the custard "it's ice cream" he will tell you over and over again!

orr family farm

Today was our annual visit to the Orr Family Farm...it was supposed to include several cousins and some aunts, uncles and a grandpa too but...one had H1N1, one was hunting, one had a well baby doctor appt. and there was this thing called "OU/TEXAS" weekend that kept most of the people away! 

But not us...we say GO POKES...we love those OSU Cowboys!  And we especially loved how the farm wasn't too busy due to the above mentioned activity!  So the annual visit included Dalton, mommy, daddy, grandma Wanda and grandma Beverly! 

There is lots to see and do at the farm...where to start!   Definitely not the carousel...Dalton didn't like the one we rode at the zoo last time so he said, "No thanks maybe next time!" which really means "NO WAY MAN!"  So we bring him all of the way to the farm and what does he want to do...

Yes this is what he wanted to do...climb in and drive what I think was supposed to be a semi-truck!  Luckily he's not into wanting it too move so that didn't cost a dime!  But really we come this far and this is what he wants to ride?!?!?

Then he spotted the playground and off we go...the slides were a favorite today!

woosh!

We saw the hay ride to the pumpkin patch approaching so we headed that way to fetch our pumpkin!  Dalton was more excited about the tractor pulling us then the pumpkin! 

John Deere Tractor hay ride...lots of fun!

Cheesing and snuggling with daddy and grandma Wanda...brrrr it was still pretty cold this morning! 

Dalton looking up at his daddy....ahhhhh!

The pumpkin patch...not as impressive as I remembered it being...maybe I was there earlier in the season last time!  We couldn't go too far back in the patch because they had caught a skunk earlier...and there was still a bit of an aroma in the air...yuck! 

But after all that's what you can expect when you are on a real working farm!

Here's the one Dalton wants!

Dalton screaming NOOOO...he didn't want his picture taken!  I think he is going through a stage of some sort about the picture thing!

The pony rides...some may remember that Dalton got to ride a pony this past summer while we were visiting relatives in Missouri!  And he loved it and still talks about Applejack (the pony he rode) and of course he was pretty sure that the pony he rode today was Applejack too!  Sooo glad daddy was there this time since he wasn't able to be there in Missouri to see his little face light up...he really LIKES IT!

Getting warmed up with daddy's help!

I ride by myself...with a BIG smile on my face!

What a big boy on a little bitty horse!  He liked it SOOO much he rode it two times in a row!

More play time in the wooden train!  He was surprising grandma Beverly through the window...those of you who know Dalton know that he still loves to play the SURPRISE game...the toddler version of peek-a-boo!

SUPRISE!

Dalton is trying to talk grandma into getting in the caboose with him...he already asked mommy and I told him that I was TOO BIG!  That's his new thing if one adult tells him no he just moves on until he finds one that says yes!

Okay...he is realizing he is the only little guy on this adventure...probably missing his cousins about now who would be happy to play with him on the train!

The real train...choo choo!  Dalton didn't ride the train last year but this year you betcha...he was still worried about it being loud but luckily this train had a bell and not a whistle!  It took us for a ride all over the property which includes a pretty big fishing pond where we saw some folks fishing, some ducks swimming and several turtles peeking their heads out of the water!

Daddy and Dalton checking out the choo choo train!

Dalton hanging out with the grandmas...and yes he is yelling NO if I recall he didn't want me taking his picture...imagine that!

And yes mommy and daddy had fun at the Orr Family Farm too!

There was also an animal barn there that we visited but I held Dalton the majority of the time...I think my mom got some pictures so I will get those and post them!  We saw the BIGGGEST pot belly pig I have ever seen...not that I have seen very many today!  And the sad thing is that I remember seeing him last year and he was laying in the same exact spot...I am wondering if he has even moved a muscle since last year...ha ha:)

"mommy i stay awake"

This is one of Dalton's new favorite phrases "mommy I stay awake"!  And today was one of those days...he/we tried to take a nap and for about an hour I listened to him ask "mommy where are you?" and say "mommy I'm sad!" but no tears...unless there are tears my rule is let him be for as long as I can tolerate and today that was about an hour!  He now sleeps with SO MANY stuffed animals and blankets that I find it hard to keep track so they keep him pretty busy...he has some funny conversations with them!  Most days I wish my monitor was a little more clear so I could understand all that he says...it is quite entertaining! 

We were pretty busy today and I got a few pics and thought I would blog about them.  We started the day taking a trip with daddy to Dalton's MDO program to get his picture taken...his first school pictures...ahhh!  He did great and hopefully the pictures will be cute too!  And of course he wanted to stay today...the day he's not supposed to go and he actually won't go at all this week due to Fall Break!  We did stop by and say hi to his teachers and show daddy his room and saw his Aunt Dawn for a few minutes while we were waiting for pictures! 

Dalton spent the morning with my mom and my niece who is 6 months old on Tuesday and today he spotted this baby bottle and just had to have some milk and wanted daddy to rock him...and eventually feed him!  SOOO FUNNY! 

CHEESE!

Feed me daddy!

And since we didn't stay down for our nap we decided to get creative...indoor bowling!  This cute bowling set was given to Dalton by his Aunt Cindy for Christmas last year and today it was a HUGE HIT!  The yellow duct tape were the lanes and Dalton made up the rest of the rules as he went along!  He kept saying he was having SO MUCH FUN!  And yes he is wearing his PJ's he has started wanting to wear them at nap time...I am thinking it is one more way for him to procrastinate about going to bed!  I could be wrong but probably not!

A look down the bowling lane...

Just love that sweet face...and the bowling ball that moos when you roll it is pretty cute too!  He also told daddy that they weren't pins they were milk bottles and that they were chocolate and white milk!  Such a smarty pants!

Almost got them all!

Last week at MDO the local firefighters came to talk to the kids about fire safety and let them check out the truck!  And of course Dalton already loved fire trucks but he is officially obsessed and since then we have watched his Elmo Visits the Firestation DVD more than just a few times!  And practiced "stay low and go" more times than I like to count.  Then today he even dressed the part and took me outside to see his fire truck...his imagination has really taken off lately!  He took me to daddy's white pick up truck and showed me the wheels and asked me if I wanted to get in and go for a ride...I finally talked him into pretending his tractor was a fire truck or as he called it a fire truck tractor.  He got so angry with me when I started taking his picture so I only got a few...I'm sure it wasn't because it was 4:30pm and he had been up since 7am and had not had a nap!  Surely NOT!

Dalton driving his fire truck tractor on the way to the backyard to put out some fires or mow the grass whatever he decides to do first! 

Dalton giving mommy the hand gesture and saying "stop taking pictures NOW!" 

Mowing the backyard!

bass pro shop

Last week Dalton and mommy made a trip to the Bass Pro Shop to get his Uncle Todd a gift card for his birthday...I thought they might have a few 4-wheelers but I was wrong...they had about 20!  And I think that Dalton sat on everyone and had the folks at Bass Pro cracking up with all of his excitement!  We also checked out a few boats and he kept asking me where the wheels were!  He was sitting there steering but he couldn't see any wheels...legitimate question I suppose!

Mommy this is what I want for my birthday!

Where are the wheels?!?!?

dalton loves his daddy...and so does mommy

Daddy was officially the first one to hold Dalton when he was born!  And Dalton has had daddy right where he has wanted him (most of the time anyway) ever since!  Dalton melted his heart from the start more than daddy ever thought he would!  This collection of pictures of daddy and Dalton are from his first 6 months of his life!  A couple of days ago Dalton wanted to see pictures of himself as a baby...he has a baby cousin and he seems to becoming more interested in them!  So mommy and Dalton got out the photo albums...most of you will recall that I didn't start this blog until Dalton was about 18 months old:(  Looking back at those pictures gave me the idea to brag on daddy just a little bit...he was such a trooper and really helped out more than I think he thought he would and for that I am forever grateful.  He still does but back in the early days I just seemed to need it a lot more...now I think Dalton needs it more than me...Dalton loves that his daddy gives him his bubble bath at night,  pushes him on the swing, feeds him goldfish crackers and chocolate milk for breakfast and lets him where his PJ shirt with jeans out in public!  After all isn't that what male bonding is all about?  And daddy just can't resist all of those BIG HUGS that Dalton asks for as he gets ready for bed over and over again or the way that Dalton insists that daddy watch him brush his teeth EVERY NIGHT before he goes to bed! 

We just want to tell daddy thank you for working SO HARD so that mommy and Dalton can stay home and play together...we wouldn't want it any other way! 

Dalton's first moments of life...so tiny...so sweet!

Dalton's first feeding...mommy was pretty yucky after her c-section so Daddy stepped right in and gave him the bottle!

Just hanging out...still in the hospital!  One of my favorites...daddy couldn't have been any happier!

Such a sweet daddy and son moment!

Daddy with his mommy and Dalton...she was here for his birth and then came back again a week later to stay with us!

One of Dalton's due dates was on daddy's birthday but he decided to come early!  But he was a great birthday present for daddy!

Daddy was great at holding Dalton while he slept and mommy made dinner or folded laundry or just took a break!

Dalton is sleeping so sound in his daddy's arms...love love love this picture!

Daddy has always known how to put a smile on his face or how to get a big belly laugh out of Dalton!

First Father's Day on our way to church!

Laughing with daddy on Father's Day!

Daddy even got his shot at feeding little guy some yummy cereal...that was always a BIG MESS!  And not much has changed Dalton still makes a BIG MESS...the only difference is that he is feeding himself now!