Family Portraits

This was a first for us. We had "professional" family portraits done. I found a Groupon and decided it was time. Maybe Target Portrait Studio doesn't qualify as "professional." Nevertheless, I think they are beautiful, and I am very grateful to have them. The girl who took them was very good with Dillon. It took less than ten minutes to get all of these pictures. I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. What do you think?














The last one is completely out of focus, but I include it because it's hilarious. So, very Dillon.

Happy Easter!

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I confess, I let myself get a little wrapped up in all the Easter trappings this year. I was excited for Dillon's excitement, and I didn't spend enough time reflecting on the real reason for the celebration. But, we aren't having Easter dinner until tomorrow night, so I still have time.

On Saturday, Dillon and I scrambled to find a public Easter egg hunt. I won't do that again. I thought it was what I was supposed to do. I paid $5 and a pack of diapers to get Dillon in, and he got 10 eggs, each of which had a tootsie roll or mini smarties inside. Plus, there were tons of people and you have to wait for your age group, etc. I understand why my parents never took us to these things when I was a kid. For $5/kid, you can set up an awesome egg hunt in your backyard, with no lines, no schedule, no driving/parking/walking, AND you can tell your kid that the Easter Bunny (not the radio station) hid the eggs. Lesson learned.

Dillon doesn't love egg hunting, as it turns out. He loves egg opening, though. It was hard to keep him focused on gathering. He also doesn't like the Easter Bunny. I went to Walgreens to pick up some pictures and they were doing free pictures with the Easter Bunny. I tried to take advantage, but Dillon was terrified of the man sized rabbit and wouldn't get anywhere near it. He offered it a tentative wave from the safety of my arms. Our picture turned out dark and fuzzy and shows an unhappy Dillon sitting on my lap, next to the Bunny. Oh well, they also gave him a free balloon, and he LOVES balloons.

Here are some pictures from the Saturday egg hunt.









This morning, Dillon put on his Eton suit which the Easter Bunny left. It is a little big, but I think he looked cute. Mark thinks he looked ridiculous. You decide.




After church, and a nap, Dillon got to dig into his Easter swag. You should have seen him dive into that basket.


Then we went outside to hunt for more eggs. Again, Mommy gathered eggs while Dillon sat on the porch eating jelly beans. Still, it was fun.

Dancing

Dillon loves to dance. He also loves his Buzz Lightyear wing-pack, which was pictured in the last post. Put the two together...



He's got rhythm, that boy. As cool as the "stomp side to side" move is, Dillon decided it was time to learn a new one. This one is called "dance on the floor and put your legs up," aka, breakdancing. See for yourself...





Is it just because I am his mom? Or is this legitimately hilarious?

Just so cute

This morning, Dillon and I were playing the, "Can you say..." game. It went something like this:

Mommy: Can you say Mommy?

Dillon: No.

Mommy: Can you say Daddy?

Dillon: No.

Mommy: Can you say Nonna?

Dillon: No.

Mommy: Can you say Poppa?

Dillon: No.

Mommy: Can you say Dillon?

Dillon: No.

Mommy: Can you say french fries?

Dillon: Feh Fie!!!

And, because a post needs pictures...

This is Dillon on February 3 doing repairs on his Buzz Lightyear wing-pack. He has since kicked the bink habit.

Busy, not lazy

That's my excuse, not only for neglecting the blog, but for neglecting to photograph my son at all. We've been keeping busy which is bad for our gas bill, but good for our minds and bodies. Dillon and I both LOVE to go to the gym. He doesn't cry when I drop him with the babysitters anymore. He just hands them his "ticket" (my ID), asks for his lovey, walks in, turns around, waves at me and says, "Bye!" He gets to play with other kids, and learn to leave me, and I get to do something to take care of myself. I feel healthy again. I was sick for a month, and spent another month recuperating before I could go back to the gym. I am mostly pain free now. It only hurts when I try to take deep breaths. But I can safely run for 30 min and walk for 20. (I've worked up to this since mid February when I started up again).

I have also been learning to cook. I really struggle with this. Sometimes execution is my problem, but mostly I struggle with planning and shopping. Yuck. It just doesn't come naturally to me. I lived on cold cereal in college. But, today Dillon and I made our 7th and 8th loaves of bread. AND, we now eat homemade granola. Mmmm. I even sign up to have the missionaries over once a month, because I am confident enough to make the meal myself instead of worrying whether Mark will be available to do it.

Dillon has been to the Dr. twice this month. The first time was his 18 month check up. I asked his pediatrician to refer us to a pulmonologist. Dillon's pulmonologist is Dr. Choo-Kang, and he is almost as cool as his name. Dillon started wheezing for the first time since New Year's the day after we saw Dr. Choo-Kang. And thanks to Dr. Choo-Kang, he is getting better without steroids OR nebulizers. Thank you, Dr. Choo-Kang!!! We HATE steroids and nebulizers. Dillon actually really likes his inhaler and pills. The pills are chewable and taste like candy. Mmmm. Singulair.

In an attempt to resurrect good camera habits, I took pictures of Dillon today.

Dillon making bread in Great Grandmother Barrett's yellow apron. I wear the pink one, and we make a killer kitchen team.


I dress him in the morning, and yet, by the end of the day, he always manages to look something like this.


The scratch? No clue. Whatever it was happened between 4-6pm, and Dillon didn't seem to mind it.


I'm pretty sure this requires no caption.


Our finished product. What did YOUR kitchen smell like tonight?


This is the recipe I use. I've tried a couple and really like this one. It is from my Grandmother's 1950 Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook.


I use half unbleached flour and half whole wheat white flour. The book says that all you have to do to make this into whole wheat bread, is to knead in a 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour when your dough is finished. Ha ha. I got a kick out of that. Times have changed.

In conclusion, and totally off topic(s), for those keeping track, Dillon weighed 35 lb 8 oz last Wednesday. He is 34.5" tall.

I'm 18 months old!

It's all very exciting. I forgot to take the pictures yesterday, so they actually show Dillon at 18 months and a day. They also show the real boy. He is happy most of the time, but just as emotional as any other kid his age. We have to document this as well. You will also notice that he has lost his angelic baby face. It is hiding behind all those big teeth, snot left over from a rough fall and winter, drool 'cause those 2 year molars are being stubborn, and cuts and bruises 'cause Dillon is ALL boy. The spot on his forehead is from running into the corner of a counter-top at the Family History Center this morning. The spot on his cheek is a couple weeks old. He bent over to drink from a straw down by his feet. But instead of getting the straw in his mouth, he got a perfectly round cut on his cheek.

We've been taking turns being sick and sad since Christmas. But, as of today, we are all happy and healthy. The only thing that makes us sad is watching Daddy leave in the morning.

Dillon LOVES nursery. We went shopping with his nursery leader and he kept hugging her legs. This past Sunday, I picked him up early. Instead of crying when he saw me, he ignored me and kept on playing with his toys. Nursery is one of God's greatest creations. I haven't enjoyed church in a long time, but now I look forward to it AND get something out of it. Amazing.

Christmas

We went to Denver for Christmas and had a wonderful time. It was supposed to be a quiet year at the Valentine home, but we were deliciously surprised by a full house. While expecting a fuller house for New Year's in Columbus, we still had surprise visitors. We saw everyone in our immediate families for which we are grateful. We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas gift. Dillon saw every cousin, his great aunt (Cindi), his great grandma (Tutu), and even Aunt Laurel's boyfriend! Thanks to everyone who endured great inconveniences to spend the holidays with us.

Christmas Eve


Dillon and Daddy wearing elf jammies and checking their stockings


"Look what Santa brought!"


Dillon mastered his present opening skills.


New Year's Eve




New Year's Day ("Seriously? I can shoot you in the foot!?!")


I hope your holidays were as happy as ours!