32nd Birthday Celebration Continues

After an afternoon celebrating my birthday with my nieces and nephews, I came home to a fun surprise.  Dallas had organized a birthday gathering with some of our neighbors including a banana split table for the little ones and a delicious cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.  It was pretty fun to just sit back, relax, and enjoy great company.  It was a perfect way to bring in my 32nd birthday.

 My absolute best birthday present is this little guy above.

He is perfection personified and I couldn't feel more blessed!

Cousin Time; Erin and Nate visit!

Dallas has the greatest family.

Both sides (the Perkins and the Whitts) have been so welcoming and full of love over the past four years of our marriage.  I love to hear all the crazy stories from Dallas' childhood involving his immediate and extended family members.  A couple years ago I attended my first "Whitt" Family Reunion.  Dallas prepped me in advance and had me memorize faces, names, and little nuances from each member.  I'm sure he did this just to give me a hard time, but it made it so much fun to meet everyone.

Erin is one of his cousins.

She's literally one of the sweetest girls I have ever met and I've loved to get to know her a little better over the years.  During the reunion a couple years back, she was so kind.  I had recently had one of my miscarriages and I remember talking with her for awhile about it all and feeling so much love from her.  It helped so much to be able to express some of the pain I was having at the time.  It's been fun to follow her cute little family on their blog and see all the fun adventures they've been up to.

We were very excited when we found out that they were coming to the bay area for a wedding.  It was a quick visit, but it was so good to hang out with Erin, her husband, Nate, and their adorable little boy, Scott.  We got sandwiches and took them to the park, so Scott could run around.  It was so much fun to watch how active and excited Scott is.  It allowed us a glimpse into what Daxton might be like in a few months and we couldn't help but smile.  What a fun age!  Scott is such a sweetheart and his smile is so infectious.  We decided to get some pictures of the little boys together which were quite humorous.  I especially love watching the sequence of pictures and focusing on Scott's drool stream.  It's pretty classic!

Erin, Nate, and Scott, we loved getting together with you all and had so much fun!  Anytime you're in the area let us know!  We love you guys!

 Daxton feeling grass with his bare toes for the first time.  He actually really liked it as you can see from his smile.

 Second generation Whitt cousins!

Watch closely the sequence of events over the next few pictures.  Dallas and I couldn't stop laughing when we looked closer at these!

The adorable Erin and Nate Family

Cousins Dallas and Erin

We love you guys!

32nd Birthday

Am I really 32?

I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I've officially gotten into my thirties.  You'd think all the grey hair that I am constantly coloring would have prepared me for this revelation, but it still feels strange.  Oddly enough, I've never felt very comfortable during birthday celebrations.  It's interesting because I usually love to be the center of attention, but birthdays feel different for some reason.  This year was pretty low key, which was perfect for me.


I spent the morning relaxing with my little man and then headed over to my brother's place for a birthday dessert picnic with my nieces and nephews.  I know I've mentioned this countless times, but I am SO grateful to live near family.  I love them all so much and feel so blessed to count my sister in law, Heather, as one of my closest friends.  I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather spend the afternoon with on my birthday than this crazy group of kiddos!

Little Olive is such a sweetheart and has the cutest little features.  She had just scratched herself during her nap, but was super happy when she woke, so we thought it would be the perfect time to get a few pictures in.  Will is really cute with his little sister.  He's had a pretty good adjustment with not being the baby anymore and thinks she's pretty cool.

Lincoln actually took the above and below pictures.  He's getting quite the eye for photography.  Must be taking after his daddy!

We got some "Brave" cupcakes for the kids to eat outside and they loved the rings they got to keep.  Everyone helped blow out the candle, even little Daxton, which was quite cute.

It was the perfect afternoon dessert picnic for my birthday!

Thanks everyone, for helping me celebrate!

Someone's 4 months old!

Has it really been 4 months already??  

Where has the time gone?

Daxton turned four months on July 27th.  We celebrated by taking our time coming home from our family reunion to show him the Avenue of the Giants in Northern California.  (Pictures to come later.)

At his check up today, he weighed in at 15lbs 11oz and 26 inches long.  He's about the 52% percentile in all categories.  We are loving this new stage (although I am missing the snuggle time greatly!)  He is so curious about everything around him and LOVES to smile and laugh at his mommy and daddy.  He is beginning to grab for objects and trying hard to sit up (with help.)  Daxton is a pleasant little guy and has such a sweet loving spirit.

We love you, little one!

(Newborn---4 months old)

Pleasant Hill's Free Concert Series

I love the little city we live in, Pleasant Hill.

I loved teaching at Pleasant Hill Elementary.

I love that it is only a half hour away from San Francisco, so we can still do all the fun stuff there and yet have the suburban feel of our home on the other side of the tunnel.  Pleasant Hill has a fun 'downtown' area with your basic shops, movie theatre, parks, etc.  During the summers the community tries really hard to plan activities to get people involved.  Every summer we've seen signs for the free concert series and have somehow never made it to one.  In the middle of July, we figured it would be a great outing for our family and something easy for little Daxton to do.  Some of our neighbors joined us as well and we ended up having a blast!  The local cover band performed all of Tom Petty's greatest hits and it was hilarious to see the older generation literally dancing at the foot of the stage.  We didn't realize how big the event was going to be, so we got there right as it was starting and ended up having to sit in the very back.  It turned out great though, because it gave room for the kids to run around and it was a little quieter for Daxton to fall asleep.  I guess he's not much of a Tom Petty fan!

 Daxton's already letting us know that he is not too fond of the music.

The park was packed!  We had no clue it was such a huge event for the city.  It was great to see all the people out, dancing, mingling, and having fun on a beautiful summer day.

 I think he's becoming quite the daddy's boy.

They even dress alike most of the time!

(Mommy might plan that, while Dallas is unaware till we are out :)

 Introducing Daxton to little Penelope...

I see quite the budding romance in the future!

Their first dance was to Tom Petty's greatest hits...

 Some crazy faces from our neighborhood kids.  Needless to say everyone had a blast!

 Once Daxton nuzzled into my lap and I covered him with two blankets to block out some of the noise, he slept through the rest of the concert.  Is this really my child!?  I lived at concerts throughout my college years and loved the loud music!  I can't complain though, he was such a great snuggler through it all and everyone knows how much I love his snuggles.

 Me and my little man once the music was over.

I sure do love this guy!

Photo of the Week 44

This was actually taken on my iPhone along our drive through southern Oregon.  We fell in love with the Rogue River Valley and all of it's gorgeous vegetation.

Exciting Firsts!

Over the last month, Daxton has reached a few very exciting "firsts"...

He has found his toes!

He spent a good 20 minutes concentrating, staring, grabbing, and moving his toes.  And yes, both Dallas and I laughed and watched in awe each of those 20 minutes.  You can definitely tell we are new and excited parents.

We also got Daxton his very own bath.

Up to this point we had been doing sponge baths, but when we found this little whale bath for the sink, we jumped at the chance to give him his first bath on his own.

Daxton loved every minute of it and couldn't stop kicking and splashing his legs.  He was smiling, cooing, and giggling for most of it, so we got more video than pictures.

 He's such a modest little guy!

Another accomplishment is perfecting his "after eating stretch and duckbill lips."  It has become quite the routine and I can't help but giggle every time he lets me know he's full.

I sure do love those lips!

Daxton also took his first nap without being swaddled or held.  Probably due to the fact that it was sweltering outside (over 100 degrees) and our apartment was almost unbearable.

Another "first" includes sitting in his new Bumbo seat.

He is loving the independence, but still needs a little help in the sitting position.  He is beginning to slowly reach for objects and is very interested in shiny things (much like his mommy!)

Last but not least...

His first baby cleavage!

I'm sure he will hate this picture when he's older, but how stinkin' cute is this!?

4th of July

This fourth of July was pretty uneventful compared to last year.

Last year we spent the fourth in San Francisco with our cousins, watching the fireworks, eating yummy food, crowd watching, and getting seriously high from second hand smoke.  Needless to say, we weren't quite up to introducing little Daxton to all of the city's craziness, so we chilled at home.

There was a neighborhood BBQ we went to which was a lot of fun, but we ended up heading home after instead of watching the fireworks.  Daxton wasn't in the best spirits, so we figured watching them on TV was a lot easier than trying to soothe a crying baby outside at the park.  I'm sure he'll be super excited for fireworks in a couple years, so we weren't too upset.

We've really loved where we are living right now.

Our block is filled with several young member families whom all love to hang out with each other.  It's been a fun few years of play dates, BBQs, girls nights out, and laughing children in the backyard.  We both feel so blessed to be surrounded by such great friends.


You can see we all dressed up for the celebration...Dallas LOVED how we were all matching!  This is Daxton showing his "Mom, I really think I'm too cool for this BBQ, but I will appease your need to document every moment in my life..." face.

We have the best neighbors.
There are several of us that have either recently had or are expecting babies this year, which has been great company, especially since I constantly have questions about EVERYTHING concerning parenthood.  Daxton's going to have lots of little buddies to play with when he gets a little older!

It's pretty funny to watch Daxton's facial expressions.  I swear he really is a pleasant baby; I guess he just finds BBQs to be on the boring side.  Not too many smiles from this kiddo, but I can't complain.  Instead of crying, he usually just falls asleep.

 Jeremy and Jules are expecting their first little guy at the beginning of September.  We are already planning on having bff babies.  Only Jules would look this good pregnant!
Little Brookes was quite the sight covered in watermelon and dirt.  It's great to get a glimpse as to what Daxton will be getting into when he gets a bit older.

 Just some of the pregnant bellies in our ward!