Liam: 6 Months and Darling

Sweet baby Liam has all the coloring and features of his mother, aside from one eyebrow that unconsciously raises in an arch just like his dad's! He is already six months old and proving to us that he can sit up...with just a little assistance. All he needs is the occasional net of hands by his side when he inevitably and fearlessly teeters over.

He's beautiful. Look at him!

I had such fun photographing Liam hanging out at their quaint home in Red Rock, AZ. I love all the color in their clothing and around their house along with the flood of natural light pouring through the windows.

Here’s Liam with the adorable handmade VW toy lovingly made by his dad for a Christmas gift. What a treasure!

So cute at the feet of his mama and daddy.

We went to the park and Liam was infatuated with the lovely bright green grass, and so much so that I could not get his attention on the camera for any amount of time! But this is still a sweet shot.

And this was his first time eating rice cereal! He really likes it and Jen tells me he is a pea fanatic!

Loving my sweet nephew with the infectious smile,
Auntie Dawn

FedEx Tracking: The Epitome of Anticipation

Tuesday night I stayed up late working on a birthday gift for Nathan online—less than a week away from Nathan’s 1st birthday party! I know; close, right? Yikes! When it came to making the final purchase, I thought it may not make it in time on the regular delivery schedule, so I ordered the two-day shipping service for an extra cost, and it will be so worth it if the package arrives before the party! I thought it’s sure to arrive by Sunday. Let’s see: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday—no problem! But after I made the purchase, I read the fine print that says Saturday delivery is not available for two-day shipping, and I also realized that I made the assumption that it would only take one day to prepare my order. Oh, no!

But I actually think it’s going to make it in time; I do! I’ve been a bit addicted to checking out the FedEx tracking of my package, which is an incredible service by the way, and currently it is on schedule! Here’s how it stands right now:

From Maryland and now in Tennessee and who knows where to next, but by tomorrow afternoon, it’s set to be at my front door in Arizona! Crazy! The journey of a package is exciting. I hope this package enjoys his final destination in the hands of Nathan!

With much anticipation,
Dawn

P.S. I can’t say what it is inside of the package in case my sister reads this before Sunday. But I’ll share the secret later...

Nathan Turning One

About one year ago... and today...

My sweet baby nephew Nathan has turned one year old today. Unbelievable. It's amazing how much he has changed! To read about his birth, click here.

He's grown so much and is impressing me every day with his charms, smarts, and abilities!

His favorite phrase is, "What's that?" but it comes out more like, "Dat?" in a high pitched serious question tone, his pointer finger out reached. "What's this? Well, it's a camera, sweet Nathan!"

He can point out facial features on people, but it's so cute when you ask, "Nathan, where's your nose?" and he points to his ears! But he gets Grandpa's nose right every time!

He's the fastest crawler in the West and has a toosh and knees of bubble wrap! Now he is starting his walking legs, which are more like wobbly skier legs, with the help of someone's hands above his ears or with the aid of his Nathan-sized toy train.

Tonight we sang "Happy Birthday" to him over macaroni and cheese with sausages, and he decided it's not his favorite meal after all and opted for mashed up sweet potatoes instead. But as we sang in jolly chorus, he first looked confused and then he had a little sheepish smile as he realized that it was all for him, and as we reached the final line of the celebratory song, that smile became a full-on grin. Then we all clapped for him and he clapped back, so we clapped for him again and then he realized he had the power and all of us wrapped around his chubby little finger! When he clapped, we clapped. He giggled and it was just adorable-- there's no other word for it!

He's so lovable and such a joy. I'm so proud to be his Auntie and I love to watch him grow!

Happy Birthday,

Auntie Dawn

Pizzas of My Heart

"This is Dawn," I answered the phone at my desk at work.

"Sweetie, there's a delivery at the front desk for you."

"Hi, Kurt. Right now? What do you mean?"

"You'll have to sign for it and leave a tip."

Buzz! I gasped! "Helene's calling me. I gotta go!" Oh, yeah, tomorrow is Valentine's Day! What did he do?

I hurried to the front desk where Helene and a Magpies Pizza delivery man waited for me with a large fresh tomato and zucchini pizza. Mmmm... Deep inhale. Lunch! I opened the box and the food was a work of art -- a heart-shaped cheesy wonder!

In my exuberance to eat and share the glorious declaration of my husband's love, sprinkled with garlic and herbs, pieces of the lovingly shaped pizza quickly disappeared, leaving the vague outline of a heart in the cardboard box. That's when it occurred to me to take a picture of my broken pizza with my cell phone camera. While my pizza was torn apart, contrastly, my heart most certainly swelled.

Loving him to "pizzas,"

Dawn

Nathan's Games

Here's my nephew, Nathan, at almost eleven months old (I can't believe it!). Look at all those teeth! I see both his mother and father in that darling face of his. Can't you just hear the laughter? His Grandma was spoon feeding him his dinner while I was disruptively playing peek-a-boo from behind her and around her hoping to catch the joy from our little game with my camera. He gave me more than joy... he always does!

Here are some things that must give Nathan joy because they are his three most frequently used words: "ball," "dog," and "bubble."

Nathan impressed us all with another little game one day. We were all sitting around the table at Cracker Barrel and Gayle asks her little boy, "Nathan, where's Grandpa?" and Nathan looks around the table and stops his eyes on none other than his Grandpa. We all clap and he smiles at the positive attention. "Nathan," his mama continues, "Where's Sarah?" Nathan shifts his gaze to the other end of the table and looks directly at his sister. The table erupts with hoorays and claps again.

Will he know me I began to wonder as Gayle keeps quizzing her son. "Nathan, where's Daddy?" Nathan finds his daddy's familiar face at the table. Cheers! "Nathan, where's Auntie Dawn?" My heart skips a beat. Does he see me enough to really recognize me? Nathan began to move and those darling blue eyes met with mine! What a feeling. Now he's just showing off!

Made You Smile,

Dawn (& Nathan)

The Olsens

November was certainly a busy shutter-snappy month for me! I'll eventually post a few pictures from each of them. But first, here are the Olsens - what a beautiful family!

Malia and I were friends in the second grade (1986-87) and then my family moved to another part of town when I was eight which put me in a different school district, so naturally and sadly, we lost touch.

Then in 2004, we were both first year teachers and reunited at a class that new teachers had to attend. That was such a good day and we've kept in touch ever since.

We went to Omni Tucson National to take family pictures, which was the local for Malia and Jeff's wedding.

Kendall is a scene stopper!

Adorable! She looks so much like her mother.

I loved her playful spirit.

At one point she got a little sad, and she looked so much like a Precious Moments girl, that I had to take advantage of those tears.

But she bounced back!

Taylor's serious, pensive expression. What is she thinking about?

I love her hair swirl!

Her parents could made her laugh. So cute!

Crawly girl.

Malia and Jeff, thanks for the fun!

Snap, snap,

Dawn

October 2008 - Our 3rd Anniversary

I'm a bit behind in some blogging, but I had to back up to include our 3rd anniversary from October. Kurt and I traveled to Rocky Point in our 1993 Jeep Cherokee complete with music, books, magazines, buckets, beach chairs, and the hope of a wonderful anniversary getaway in Mexico with each other.

Once we arrived, we realized that our oil was leaking and leaking fast, so we shopped at the market in Puerto Penasco and bought duct tape. We were both relieved at the quick fix, not really knowing how long it would suffice.

We were headed back to our rented condo with a few other groceries, and as we cruised passed the dark beach, Kurt's adventuresome-side burst out with this: "Let's see what this thing [the Jeep] can do on the sand." He put her in 4-wheel drive and we frolicked on the beach beneath the moon with little worried sounds hiccuping out of me in sporadic spurts. I almost couldn't wait to get back to the condo because of all the stress of car problems far from home in Mexico on our "vacation," but we carried on, bumping over the dunes... well, until we stopped bumping.

"Sweetie," he began. "I think we're stuck."

"What?!" I couldn't believe it. "Kurrrrt?!"

The wheels spun. Now I believed it - we weren't going anywhere. Only deeper.

We got out to examine our situation. I couldn't stop shaking my head in disbelief, but Kurt stayed very optimistic and ran for help calling out over his shoulder, "It's an adventure, Sweetie!"

Meanwhile, I got out the video camera to document the current predicament in night-mode.

A nice man came back with Kurtis to help us push the car, and shortly thereafter one of his friends did, too. We all dug around the tires, out of breath and prayerful, for we were too close to the ocean for comfort and our poor Jeep was already in trouble and now we've gone and gotten her stuck. All of the possible what-ifs plagued my brain. Thank goodness Kurt was a glass half-full.

Loads of sand and pulses of adrenaline later, the embarrassment of feeling like a foolish American tourist flooded over us because the inevitable question came. In broken English, one of the men asked what, no doubt, they both were wondering from the start, "Why you drive on beach?" A scrunched face and a guilty "I know," acknowledgement was our reply. (Never again in our only working vehicle, that's for sure!)

After letting some air out of the tires and driving down closer to the sea (ironically) there was some firmer sand. We made headway and finally, up and off the shore Kurt drove with three running pushers no longer able to keep up. A loud, "Hooray!" came from Kurtis from inside the Jeep, his cheer audible from the sticking-place.

Profuse thanks and even hugs to our local heroes were dispersed with genuine gratitude. High tide was on the way. Whew! Close call!

The next day, we walked to the beach.

Had a picnic.

Played in the waves.

Built a sandcastle.

And watched it wash away.

It's so nice how everything can wash away so cleanly there. (That includes half of our tire tracks from the previous night. Ahem.)

We also read, napped, and went absolutely nowhere. The day escaped and we enjoyed our peaceful day on the beach.

Unfortunately, we couldn't ignore all of our troubles forever by the sea. Some troubles remained the same and the duct tape wasn't holding up.

So, the next day, Kurt drove solo into town equipped with his college Spanish textbook and he happened upon the garage that he was hoping to find. Kurt and the mechanic managed to communicate and miraculously, they had the exact part for our vehicle's make and year!

God washed away that trouble - and I was worried!

So, needless to say, we did make it home, and we did it without burning up our motor for lack of oil because of that very crucial part that cost us $650 pesos.

And we made it home with tortillas... but only a few.

What a memorable 3rd anniversary!

Relieved and Happy,

Dawn