Sunday, June 19, 2011

Meet my dad...

John Dennison


He’s a handsome one, huh?! This is an older picture of him, but one of my most favorites. He works in construction – and has his whole life. That makes him quite a handy man. He can build anything... furniture, a house, you name it! He just recently made a picnic table for my brother just because. When I was younger he made us kids “play planks”. They were basically like life-sized lincoln logs but were flat instead of log shaped. When they were all set up they made a 2-story fort. They looked something like this:


Talk about hours of endless fun! I never got tired of hanging out in our play plank fort.


My dad is also an amazing water-skier. Check out that rooster tail! He taught me how to ski when I was 10 and I’ve loved it ever since. But I’ll never be as good as him. I’m too afraid to lean to the side. :)


He has taught me a lot of other things too. How to ride a bike, how to row a boat, the difference between a flat head and philips head screwdriver, and apparently how to use a jackhammer too!


And that is just the beginning. More importantly then anything else, my dad has taught me some pretty important life lessons. Our father-daughter relationship wasn’t always easy. We’re too similar to get along perfectly all the time. However, it is because of those difficult times that I have learned so much about life, love, forgiveness and the things that matter most. The older I get, the more I realize how much I admire and respect this man.


Dad - Thank you for always being the best dad you know how to be… you’re pretty darn amazing. 

Happy Father’s Day! I love you.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Weekend Happenings: Enjoying Avocados & a Baby Dedication

This weekend was a big one around here…

Evangeline turned 6 months old and with that came her first taste of solid food.
We started with avocado and she L.O.V.E’d it!





Then on Sunday morning we had her dedicated at church. I had no idea how nervous I was going to be until our Pastor called us up on stage. Man, those lights are bright and hot! But despite being nervous, I’m so glad we were able to stand with such a large group of people and pray for our little girl. 






Friday, June 10, 2011

3,4,5 and onto 6 Months Old





Evangeline will be 6 months old on Sunday. Six months! Each month that goes by is filled with so much joy as we see more and more of our baby girl’s personality shine through. Every new stage is filled with excitement as we get to watch her grow so very quickly. So, before this information is too outdated, here’s a glimpse of the past few months:




3 Months Old:
Evangeline - 3 Months Old
·      You started kicking and splashing a lot in the bath. You’ve always seemed to like baths but this is a whole new world of fun now!
·      Rolling over has gotten easier for you, but you still don’t seem to do it often.
·      You giggle lots and make a funny noise when you’re excited (like if someone laughs really hard and then makes a loud noise when breathing in)… It’s quite a unique “laugh”, and we think it’s hilarious!
·      You have learned how to multi-task quite well – your newest “trick” is batting at two toys and kicking a third all at the same time on your play mat. It gets you quite excited!
·      You are using your fingers more and have figured out how to separate the two dangling rings from the elephant toy on your play mat.
·      You suck on everything. As soon as you can get your mouth on something – my hands, daddy’s arm, Sophie the Giraffe, your own fingers, etc. – you attack it as if I haven’t fed you in hours!
nom nom nom
·      When you are tired but haven’t fallen asleep yet, you’ll often babble quietly to yourself until you fall asleep. So adorable!
·      When you get over tired your cry starts to sound like a siren. Although I can hardly stand to hear you cry (I never expected to be this much of a softy!), I can’t help but laugh at this one!
·      Favorite Toys: Play Mat (especially the elephant with hanging rings), orange mini O-Ball, Sophie


4 Months Old:
Evangeline - 4 Months Old
·      You started making “L” sounds with your tongue.
·      You can grab your feet and quickly learned you could suck on your toes. Now every time you wake up from a nap the first thing you do is kick those legs straight up into the air and play with your feet. So cute!
·   You’ve figured out how to roll from your back onto your side but can’t quite make it all the way onto your stomach. You’re so close!
·      You got your first tooth! It seems so soon – I couldn’t believe it!
Can you see my tooth?
·      You’ve been babbling a lot and your voice is getting louder. I love it!
·      You will do anything to be able to look at a bright computer or TV screen, twisting and leaning to catch a glimpse.
Staring at the laptop
·      You are showing signs of recognizing “your song”, Ma Belle Evangeline. One time Daddy was driving you home from Wednesday night church while I went to the grocery store. You were crying pretty hard until he started singing your song. The only way he could keep you from crying was to sing really loud. You fell asleep before he got you home!
·      Started sitting up on your own while sitting on my lap.
Happy Girl
·      Napping has become our biggest challenge. You get tired after being awake for 2 hours, but I can’t seem to get you to nap for longer then 45 minutes at a time, tops! This means you need 4 naps a day. It’s a little exhausting keeping up with it but I know it will change soon.
·      Favorite Toys: Play MatDoorway Jumper, large green O-Ball RattleCloth Crinkle BookSinging Mirror SnailSophie


5 Months Old:
Evangeline - 5 Months Old
·      Started saying “dah”, “nah”, “mah” and “bah”
·      You love playing in your Jumparoo and quickly figured out how to jump around in it. Although, you’re still a little to short to reach the ground so put a roasting pan underneath you and that worked perfectly. Now we’ve moved down to a book and hopefully soon you’ll be able to reach all on your own! You also like to push your feet on everything they come in contact with and can stand on my lap when I hold you by your waist or hands.
·      You rarely take a pacifier anymore, but you love to chew on the edge and hold them as I rock you before your naps. You took a break from sucking your thumb, but by the end of 5 months it’s back, but you’ve switched to the left. Weird!
·      You still love your play mat. You love to pull on the toys and try to get them to your mouth, and you wiggle and scoot and roll around on the matt. We’re definitely getting the most of our money’s worth with that toy!
·      Although you can’t get yourself into a sitting position on your own just yet, you can sit up unassisted for long periods of time.
Look at me momma!
·      At about 5 ½ months I finally packed away all your 0-3 month clothes. You’re getting so big!
·      You’re finally getting the hang of Peek-a-Boo and it makes you laugh and smile.
·      Naptime continues to be our biggest challenge and is getting even harder. You still need a nap every two hours, but this month your crying has gotten louder and longer, and you’ve even learned how to scream. It breaks my heart! No matter what I do, you can’t seem to fall asleep on your own anymore and you refuse to sleep in your crib. You won’t fall asleep without me rocking or nursing you and if I try to put you down those big eyes of yours pop right open and fill with tears. Thankfully, by the end of this month we’ve made some progress and you are back to soothing yourself and napping in your crib!
·      You’ve noticed food! You can’t seem to take your eyes off of people as you watch them eat or drink. It’s been so hard to wait to introduce you to solid food.


Yummy!
·      You love reaching for anything in sight, especially if you are being held and the person holding you has anything in their other hand (food, drink, remote, cell phone, etc.)
Reaching for the phone

We love you so much baby girl! Can't wait to see all the new things you learn next month!