Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve 2008

Dakoda had lots of fun tonight at the annual Christmas Eve party at Mam and Pap Norris's house. He really enjoyed playing with his cousins and stealing a bite off of everyone's plate! He still doesn't really grasp the concept of "presents," but he is loving all his new toys. I am so looking forward to tomorrow morning! Here are a few pictures.

Getting tickled by Riley

With cousin Zachary

Playing with his new bear

Loving Riley

In my Christmas pjs

Tag, You're It!

Kristy tagged me to go to my 4th picture folder and my 4th picture and say 4 things about the picture. So here goes.

1. This is a picture of me and Darren at Grand Central Station in NYC in June 2006. (Wow, only 2.5 years ago!)
2. This was the first trip to NYC for both of us, and also my first time meeting Darren's sister, Kristy.
3. I was a LOT skinnier in this picture than I am now! lol
4. We had only been dating for a couple of months when we took this trip, and it is crazy to think about how much has happened in our lives since then! Graduations, our wedding, Dakoda's birth, and soon, the birth of our daughter. I know that I say it a lot on here, but we are truly so thankful for the wonderful life that God has given us!

Two Years Ago Today...

Today Darren and I are celebrating our second wedding anniversary. So much has happened in the short time that we have been married that in some ways it feels like it has been so much longer. But on the other hand, we have stayed so busy that it has really flown by! I am so thankful everyday that we found each other and for the wonderful life that we share.

Walking!!!!

Dakoda has been walking with assistance for quite a while now, and every once in a while could be tricked into taking a few steps on his own. Within the past couple of days, though, he has started getting braver and doing it all by himself!! We are so thrilled, though it is kind of bittersweet for me. My little baby boy is now officially a toddler. :(

Vote!

Darren and I strongly feel that this is one of the most important elections ever, and we hope that everyone that is eligible to vote will get out there and do it on Tuesday. Here is some food for thought, borrowed from a friend's blog...

Chuck Colson states "Ultimately, our loyalty belongs not to any political party or candidate but to God Almighty. And when the time comes, I believe God may ask each of us how we voted and why."

Richard Land states "I encourage people to vote for the candidate at every level who best represents their values and convictions, and then to pray for those in authority over us as required in Scripture."

And here is a good article entitled "Scripture is the Best Voter Guide"

23 weeks already!

Here is a new picture of me and baby girl taken this morning before church. I can't believe that I am already 23 weeks along! This pregnancy has gone by so fast so far, and I know that it will only speed up from here (until the last few weeks, which I know will seem to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r :) ). For those who don't already know, we have decided on a name, which we were originally going to keep a secret, but that didn't work out so well. So our baby girl's name is Sarah Kathleen Norris, and we plan to call her Sarah Kate.

Halloween 2008

Darren and Dakoda with cousins Will and Liam

Dakoda and his Pap (he was SO done with pictures!)

Dakoda and Mommy

Our jack-o-lanterns

North Carolina Trip

Last weekend, we took a trip to North Carolina and visited some of my family there. I had a great time seeing my Grandma, Aunt, and cousins, and Dakoda finally got to meet his two little cousins, Aiden and Will. Here are some pictures from our visit.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mommy's Little Monkey

While we were at Portrait Innovations, we had them take some pictures of Dakoda in his Halloween costume. He is the cutest little monkey in the world! (I'm not biased or anything)

Family Pictures - October 2008

We have had family pictures made every October, starting with our engagement pictures back in 2006. Normally my good friend Miranda takes them, but this year she was a little busy having a baby :) , so we had them done at Portrait Innovations.

It's A .......

GIRL!!! We are so excited to be expecting a little sister for Dakoda, and even more excited that she seems to be healthy! We are now halfway through the pregnancy, and time is flying by as the holiday season begins. I know that it won't be long until we meet our precious baby girl!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we visited the Fruit and Berry Patch in Knoxville. It was hotter than we expected for mid-October, but we had lots of fun anyway! We found our way through a corn maze, rode a tractor-pulled wagon out to the pumpkin patch, and Dakoda got to pick his very first pumpkin! Here are some pictures from our day.

For anyone who is wondering...

YES! Dakoda is still rear facing in his car seat in my new pictures, even though he is over 1 year and 20 lbs.
If you would like to know why, please visit this link:

http://forum. myspace. com/index. cfm?fuseaction=messageboard. viewThread&groupID=106059317&page=0&EntryID=68819533&CategoryID=0&get=1&adTopicId=23&lastpagesent=1&Mytoken=D8C8740C-CEDA-4CAA-87EEAA69C7C77EBB29753782

It is the story of a little boy named Joel who was forward facing in his car seat when the car hit a tree at 35 mph. Joel suffered from internal decapitation, meaning that his skull became detached from his body, and was only held on by skin. Luckily, he survived, but is wearing a halo and headed for some very intense physical therapy.

While state law only requires you to rear face your children until 1 year and 20 lbs, the American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends:

"Children should face the rear of the vehicle until they are at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 lb to decrease the risk of cervical spine injury in the event of a crash. Infants who weigh 20 lb before 1 year of age should ride rear facing in a convertible seat or infant seat approved for higher weights until at least 1 year of age. If a car safety seat accommodates children rear facing to higher weights, for optimal protection, the child should remain rear facing until reaching the maximum weight for the car safety seat, as long as the top of the head is below the top of the seat back."

For most convertible carseats, the weight limit for rear facing is between 30-35 lbs.

If you'd like more information or videos, just Google "extended rear facing" or look it up on Youtube. I'll go ahead and warn you, though, some of the videos are not for the faint of heart.

I don't mean to sound preachy or overbearing, this is just another subject about which I feel very strongly. I hope that I don't offend anyone, and that everyone realizes that I'm only posting this because I care. :)

Dakoda's first UT football game!

Last Saturday, we took Dakoda to his first UT football game. He loved it, especially the band! We were very happy (and surprised) with how well-behaved he was, considering that it was a night game and he was up wayyyy past his bedtime. We even got compliments from people sitting around us on his behavior! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful little boy! Here are some pictures from his game-day experience.

Leaving to go pick up Daddy

Stuck in traffic, but still a happy boy!

Getting tired of the flashes...

Maybe not!

Finally made it to our seats!!

Watching the band

Running through the "T"