The Norris Family

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-04T10:31:00.003-05:00

Thank you everyone for your votes and input! I took all of your opinions into account and I think I found a happy medium that combined my favorite elements from each card. Here is the finished product, and our official 2010 Christmas card!

Family Wall Red Christmas Card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2010-12-01T22:18:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite things about Christmas-time is receiving cards from friends and family. And my absolute favorite cards to receive are ones with photos! It is so fun to see how everyone's family is growing and changing each year. If you have never considered doing a photo card, this is a great year to start!

For the past two years, I have ordered my Christmas cards from Shutterfly. They have a wide variety of designs and options to choose from. For example, you can choose to use anywhere from one photo, to five or six photos on your card! You can also choose between flat or folded cards, whether to print them on cardstock or photo paper, and whether you prefer a glossy or matte finish. You also have three different size options -- 5x7, 4x8, or 5x5. But my favorite thing of all about this site is that they have an option to fit every budget!

Last year I just could not make up my mind on which design I liked best. I knew that I wanted a 5x7 card, and I knew what color combination I wanted, but I just couldn't decide between these two, very different designs.

So what do you think I did?

I ordered some of each, of course! :)

This year I am once again torn, but I don't want to order two different designs again. I strained my brain way too much agonizing over which recipient got which card.

So I would like to enlist your help in choosing between these two.

Here is option number 1.

And option number 2!

Leave me a comment and let me know which of this year's options you like best! And be sure to head on over to check out all of the beautiful and affordable card and invitation designs that Shutterfly has to offer!

Oh, and if you are still looking for a great Christmas gift, check out another of my favorite Shutterfly products, their customizable photo calendar!

Tasty Tuesday: Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls

2010-10-12T14:05:00.000-04:00

This recipe was the first Pioneer Woman post that I ever read. I instantly fell in love with her wit and humor. And her love of butter. :) I made these last Christmas and let me tell you - they are every bit as fabulous as she says they are! Instead of trying to paraphrase her recipe, I decided to share her original post here. If you love her as much as I do (which I know you will), you can check out her site here.

This recipe can also be found in her cookbook,

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes From An Accidental Country Girl

Cinnamon Rolls 101

Hey! I have a great idea. Why not start a holiday tradition of delivering these delicious cinnamon rolls to your friends and cohorts?

Growing up, my mom always made them for her good friends at Christmastime, and you could literally hear the primal groans of pure joy rising from the rooftops of our town. I’ve carried on the tradition through the years and have won friends and influenced people just by delivering these rolls. They really are that good.

A warning. If you follow these instructions and wind up delivering these cinnamon rolls to your friends, be prepared for any of the following to occur:
1. They’ll call you after they’ve taken the first bite and profess their eternal love for every ounce of your body, even your toe jam and love handles.
2. They’ll pass out after the first bite, hit their head on the kitchen counter, sustain a concussion, and sue you for damages, despite the fact that the one bite they tasted of your cinnamon roll was the single most profound culinary experience in their miserable little life.
3. They’ll call you and ask for the recipe, saying, "HOW did you make those?"
4. They’ll call you and propose marriage.
5. They’ll hug the cinnamon roll pan, get maple frosting all over their clothes, and send you the bill for the dry cleaning.

Let’s start by making the dough.

Mix 1 quart of whole milk, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and 1 cup of sugar in a pan. "Scald" the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point.) Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. Go fold laundry or sculpt or play Twister with your mailman or something.

When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in 2 packages Active Dry Yeast.

Let this sit for a minute so the yeast gets all warm and moist and happy.

Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour.

Stir mixture together. Cover and let sit for at least an hour. Go throw away the rest of your wrapping paper or build a Lego Rottweiler or do Yoga or watch Home Shopping Network and order a frozen pizza oven for your countertop or some cellulite cream.

After an hour, the dough will look like this.

Now add 1 more cup of flour…

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder…

And 1 "scant" (less than a full) teaspoon baking soda and 1 heaping tablespoon of salt.

Stir mixture together. At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it—overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to splurge out of the pan, just punch it down. Or, of course, you can just go ahead and make the rolls.

Let’s do that, shall we?

Sprinkle surface generously with flour.

Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle.

Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Rectangle should increase in both width and length as you roll it out.

Here’s my beautiful, weird, lovely, delightful friend, Hyacinth. She came over to make cinnamon rolls with me. Ain’t she purty?

Now drizzle 1 1/2 to 2 cups melted butter over the dough. Don’t be shy; lay it on thick, baby. You know you want it.

Oh, by the way? This is not non-caloric. In case anyone asks.

Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter…

…followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Some of the butter/sugar/cinnamon mixture may ooze out toward the end, but that’s no big deal.

Next, pinch the seam to the roll to seal it.Doesn’t Hyacinth have lovely hands? I’d give anything to have her hands.

Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in seven round, foil cake or pie pans. Then begin cutting rolls approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. This recipe makes approximately seven pans of rolls.

Let the rolls sit for 20 to 30 minutes to rise, then bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

While the rolls are in the oven, make the deliciously sinful maple frosting.

To a mixing bowl, add 1 bag of powdered sugar.

To this, add about 2 teaspoons maple flavoring…

1/2 cup milk...

1/4 cup melted butter…

…and 1/4 cup of brewed coffee. Also add 1/8 teaspoon (a generous pinch) salt.

Then have a big, strong, virile man stir it up for you. I chose Marlboro Man.

The mixture should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed.

Generously drizzle frosting over warm rolls after you pull them out of the oven. And take a walk on the wild side. Don’t be afraid to drown them puppies. Be sure to get frosting around the perimeter of the pan, too, so the icing will coat the outside of the rolls.

These are not non-caloric. Did I mention that?

The frosting will settle in and become one with the cinnamon rolls. And you’ll be another step closer to being the most popular person in town…or the jiggliest, depending on whether you choose to deliver the rolls to friends or lock yourself in your pantry and eat them all by yourself.

Not that I’ve ever done that, mind you. I don’t ever do things like that. I’m a model of self-discipline. And I don’t have time to do such things—I’m too busy doing the Stairmaster. Yeah, that’s me—Miss Will Power. I don’t ever consume wasted calories. And if I do, I’m always vigilant about compensating with a higher activity level and weeks of fasting. And all.

Go forth and conquer! Yes you can. And report back to me.

Oakdale Homecoming, Date Night, and Prayers Needed!

2010-10-11T16:33:00.001-04:00

Friday night we attended the Oakdale High School homecoming game. Though the game did not end as we wanted it to - they fought hard, but ultimately lost to Sunbright - the kids had a great time. Dakoda was very into the game and spent most of the night standing at the fence with his Papaw. He always wants to be as close to the action as possible! Sarah Kate was not very interested in what was happening on the field, but she had a lot of fun watching the cheerleaders and playing with some other little girls that were there, Taylor Smith, Rhylan Hicks and Neve Adkisson. I wasn't able to get any pictures of Dakoda, but here are a few of Sarah Kate and her friends. They were playing "ring around the rosie."

On Saturday, Darren's parents cooked a big country breakfast, with biscuits and gravy, bacon, fried potatoes and eggs. It was so yummy! Then we came home and watched the UT game while the kids napped. After the game, Darren went outside to mow the lawn while the kids and I played together. Then we took the kids to spend the night with their grandparents while we had a date night. We used our movie tickets that I bought a couple of weeks ago and went to see "My Soul to Take" in real 3D. (Not my choice, if you were wondering!) Here is a picture of Darren and I in our 3D glasses. It was taken with my phone, so the quality isn't great.

While we were in the movie, we got a phone call from my mom with some very bad news. My grandfather and his girlfriend were in a very bad car accident near Huntsville, AL on Saturday morning. His girlfriend did not make it and my grandfather was badly injured. He sustained a head injury, broken rib, broken arm, broken sternum and his back was broken in two places. As of today, he is still in ICU at Huntsville Hospital and has not yet regained consciousness. We are very hopeful that he is going to pull through, but only the Lord knows his plan. Please keep him and my family in your prayers during this difficult time. We very much appreciate it.

Friday Fives

2010-10-08T09:55:00.000-04:00

Today's Friday Fives is:

Five of your favorite posts that you have written on your blog.

1. Dakoda's 1st Birthday Post

I just realized that I didn't post on Dakoda's first birthday (05.30), or after, with birthday pictures! OOOPS!! So here are a few pics, plus the slideshow that I made for him. Enjoy!

Mommy and Dakoda before his first haircut

Daddy and Dakoda getting ready for the haircut

After the haircut - Dakoda did not like having it done!

Birthday Cake!

Enjoying his smash cake

So excited about opening presents (and playing with the tissue paper, lol)

Waiting patiently for Mommy to give him another present to open

So tired after a long day!

2. I am going to cheat a little bit on this one and put two because they are both about my little boy. :)

Dakoda Eugene

The first post was written less than 2 weeks before Sarah Kate was born and I just love reading about what my sweet baby boy was doing when he was 20 months old!

He is extremely curious, and interested in everything around him. He loves to try and figure out how things fit together, and how things work. He is very aware of where things go, and how things are supposed to be. For example, if he notices that a door is open that is normally kept shut, he will make a beeline for it so that he can close it. He loves to help clean up by throwing things away and putting his toys away.

He is becoming much more independent at mealtimes. He likes to pick out his own food from out of the cabinet, and his drink from the fridge. He always wants to try to feed himself, which sometimes drives me nuts because it can be a very messy process! I am trying not to limit him too much, though. :)

Every morning he sits in his chair and watches Playhouse Disney. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is his favorite (and the only one that he will watch all the way through), but he also enjoys dancing to the songs and music on Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, and Imagination Movers.

His favorite toys these days are still "real" items, such as the phone, the mouse/keyboard, and the remote. And don't try to give him one that doesn't work, either, because he can tell the difference! His other favorite toys are BALLS! Football, basketball, baseball, bouncy ball, whatever kind of ball it is, he will LOVE it! He has excellent aim, too (which he has perfected by using Emma and Neyland for target practice).

He is still not talking much, but we can tell that he is trying harder to say words. When he wants something, he is sure to let you know about it, and if he doesn't get his way, watch out! He has quite the temper! (Of course, I have no idea where that comes from....)

He is very sweet and loving, and lots of times is content to just climb up in your lap with his monkey and his blankie and cuddle. Those are my favorite times of the day, of course. :)

He still absolutely adores his Daddy. Every evening around 5:45, he will start pointing at the door and asking for Daddy. Then when Darren gets home, Dakoda gets the biggest grin on his face and runs for the door. It is incredibly sweet! His favorite time of day is BATHTIME! That is his special time with Daddy, and every night after dinner he will start beating on the bathroom door, look at his Daddy, and ask for a "Baf!" After his bath, he usually lays on the couch with Daddy for a while and then it's bedtime.

I can hardly believe that in a few short months, he will turn 2 years old. The time really has flown by, and I am so incredibly thankful that I have been fortunate enough to be with him every single day and watch him grow.

~ Dakoda ~

You are exactly 31 months old today! I can hardly believe that you are already 2 and 1/2 years old. You are changing so much everyday and are turning into such a big boy. Although I am so very proud of you, it secretly makes me sad because I am not ready for you to be so grown up!

Some fun facts about you at 31 months old:

You are 36 inches tall and weigh around 30 lbs.

You wear size 3T in most of your clothes, size 4 diapers, and size 7-8 shoes.

You LOVE to play ball! You got a basketball goal for your 2^nd birthday, and it is by far your favorite toy. It is the first thing you go for in the morning, and I’m pretty sure that you would shoot all day if I would let you.

Your favorite movie is Aladdin. You always pick it to watch in the van. Your favorite characters are Abu, the Genie, and Jafar. You like to dance to the songs, and you always cover your eyes at the kissy parts. You are so funny!

You are a wonderful big brother to Sarah Kate. You are very good about sharing your toys with her, and you always want her in the floor with you so that you can play with her. You sometimes forget that she is so little and try to play a little bit rough, but after we remind you, you always love on her and tell her you’re sorry (in your own way - we're still working on that word!).

You are turning into quite a chatterbox. You love to point out the things that you see and tell us about them. You have so many words now that I can’t even name them all!

You are going to school for a half a day, two days a week at The Henry Center, and you LOVE it! You are always excited when I tell you where we are going, and you take off to play as soon as we get there. You are always happy to see me when I come to pick you up, though, and the huge smile that you give me when I get there always melts my heart.

Everyone agrees that you are the sweetest, most loving little boy they have ever met! You and your sister are the best parts of my life, and I am so glad to call myself your mother! I love you, my sonny britches!

3. Sarah Kathleen is here!

Sarah Kathleen Norris was born on February 17, 2009 at 8:12 am. She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz and was 19.5 inches long.

Sorry that it took me so long to update! Things are still a little bit crazy around the Norris household.

4. Memorable Moments from 2009

It is hard to believe that 2009 is already over! It was such a memorable year for us in so many ways. Here is a quick recap of a great year.

February

Dakoda broke his leg :(

Sarah Kathleen came into the world!

April

We celebrated Sarah Kate's first Easter, and our first as a family of four!

May

Dakoda turned 2!

June

We had our first family picture made

July

We celebrated Sarah Kate's first and Dakoda's third 4th of July

August

Darren, Sarah Kate, and I went to Los Angeles for Darren's work, where we attended our first Dodgers game!

Sarah Kate turned 6 months old!

September

We attended a UT tailgate, where the kids met the Dance Team and SMOKEY!!

We went to Disney World!!

October

Darren, Sarah Kate, and I attended the UT vs UGA game and got to watch from the sidelines!

We visited Maple Lane Farms and picked pumpkins

Dakoda was Superman and Sarah Kate was a Kitty Cat for Halloween

November

I turned 25

We celebrated Thanksgiving

December

Darren turned 27

We celebrated Sarah Kate's first and Dakoda's third Christmas!

Happy New Year everyone!

5. Sarah Kate's 1st Birthday Posts

Happy Birthday Sarah Kathleen!

I know I say it all the time, but time is flying by so fast. It doesn't seem like a year has gone by since I was posting to say that you had arrived.

You are such a sweet, loving, happy baby, and a blessing to everyone around you.

You can bring a smile to my face even in the midst of tears.

I love you dearly and I thank God every day for allowing me to be your mother.

What are you up to these days?

You are a speed crawler! You know where you want to go, and you get there fast.

You love to eat! Your favorite foods are mashed potatoes, pizza, pancakes, macaroni and cheese, and (of course) chocolate.
You also love to dance and sing! You sing and dance along to the radio and tv all the time and it is so fun to watch! I call you my tiny dancer.
Your favorite person (besides Mommy) is your big brother. You want to be wherever he is and doing whatever he’s doing. Sometimes he plays too rough, but you give back as good as you get! Your Daddy and I love to watch the two of you play together.
You are starting to be a talker! You imitate our words all the time, and even say some consistently, like dada, mama, all done, duck duck, and pretty.
You wave hi and bye-bye, and this week you started pointing!
Your favorite toys are your “babies” – Belle and Alice (in Wonderland) - and your books.
You sleep with two blankets, Minnie Mouse, and your Cabbage Patch Doll.
You love shoes, but you would rather look at them and play with them than actually wear them.

I am sure that you are doing many more important things that I am forgetting to write down right now, but you just woke up from your nap and are calling my name. I love you my sweet girl, and I hope that you have a very happy 1st birthday.

Love,
Mommy

Sarah Kate's Pretty In Pink {and Brown} 1st Birthday Party

We had Sarah Kate's birthday party today, and it was so much fun! We just do very small parties for first birthday's, so it was just Darren and I and the kids, Darren's parents, my parents, my grandmother, my niece, and our good friends Jamie and Lynnette.

Here are the yummy mini cupcakes and smash cake from MagPies. Chocolate and vanilla cake with strawberry buttercream icing. YUM!

The food table

Sweet tea and pink lemonade (glass beverage dispensers from Target)

Adorable birthday banner (from Get The Party Started)

Dakoda helped Aunt Nette-Nette scoop Chex Mix

(his "big brother" shirt is from Euro Kids Boutique at The Adorable Child)

Sarah Kate loved her banner!

And she also loves her Daddy :)

And her Mommy :)

She was sooo funny eating her cake! At first she just kept showing me her hand (with icing on it), like she wanted me to clean it off. I got some icing on my finger and put it in her mouth, and then she figured it out. But she would do it just like I did - take one finger and get icing on it and then lick it off! It was hilarious!

She liked it so much she wanted to share with Mommy!

She had lots of fun opening her presents!

She went crazy over this blanket that her Aunt Nette-Nette made her!

My handsome boy <3

And I just love this picture of Sarah Kate with my Nana

What are YOUR favorite posts?

The Night Before Christmas Kids Book Gift Box Set: Book, CD, Ornament $6

2010-10-06T09:10:00.000-04:00

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house....

Don't you just love that book? I do. Every year I mean to buy it for my kids and then I always get caught up in the holiday hustle and bustle and forget about it. But not this year! This morning I came across a deal over on the Slickdeals website to get the book, an audio CD, and an ornament from Barnes and Noble for $6 shipped!

First, go here and click Pre-order.

Then, click here for 7% off and free shipping off your entire order. View your cart, and it should now reflect the discount. (The price should now be $5.57.)

I had to pay $0.50 tax, so my total was $6.07. You can't beat that for a Christmas classic!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T09:09:00.001-04:00

The Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Spice Muffins

2010-10-05T09:17:00.000-04:00

Today I thought I would share a recipe from my absolute favorite blog ever - The Pioneer Woman. The author, Ree, is, in her own words, "an accidental country girl" and her anecdotes of life on a cattle ranch are hilarious. If you haven't visited before, you should definitely check it out.

In addition to stories about life on the ranch, Ree also has a section on her website dedicated to cooking. I have found so many awesome recipes there. Without fail, whenever I cook one of her recipes, it is a huge hit, even with my picky family (myself being the pickiest). She never steers me wrong. But my absolute favorite thing about her recipes is that she takes pictures of EVERY STEP. So helpful for kitchen disasters like me!

Last year she released her first cookbook and it is FABULOUS.

Okay, now that you have been introduced to Ree, I'm going to share one of my favorite fall recipes -
Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 12

Ingredients

Muffin Ingredients:
1 cup All-purpose Flour
½ cups Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1-½ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Ground Ginger
½ teaspoons Nutmeg
½ teaspoons Salt
4 Tablespoons Butter, cut into pieces
1 cup (heaping) Pumpkin Puree
½ cups Evaporated Milk
1 whole Egg
1-½ teaspoon Vanilla
½ cups Golden Raisins (optional!)
_____
Topping
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
_____
FOR FROSTING:
¼ cups Softened Butter
4 ounces, weight Cream Cheese
½ pounds Powdered Sugar
½ teaspoons Vanilla

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease 12 muffin tins.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender until it is fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Add raisins. Fold gently until mixture is just combined.

Pour into a greased muffin pan—batter hardly ever fills all twelve unless you keep it down to 1/2 full. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar-nutmeg mixture over the top of each unbaked muffin.

Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool. Ice with cream cheese frosting.

To make the frosting, mix all ingredients on high until soft and whipped. Spread onto completely cooled muffins, or place into a large pastry bag with a large star tip and go crazy! Store in the fridge, as icing will soften at room temperature.

If you'd like to see the original recipe, complete with pictures of each step, click here.

Enjoy!

Allardt Pumpkin Festival

2010-10-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, we attended the 19th Annual Allardt Pumpkin Festival in Allardt, TN. It's an annual festival the first weekend in October celebrating giant pumpkins. The event features a weigh-off, craft and food vendors, entertainment, a car show, a parade, and fireworks.

This was our second year attending the festival. Last year, we put the kids in the stroller and pushed it all around the festival, which proved to be a bit difficult, since there aren't really any sidewalks and it can get a bit crowded, especially around the craft tents and food vendors (which, of course, is where we spend the most time).

So, this year, we decided to let the kids walk. It was a good idea in theory, and it actually worked out pretty well for the first 30 mins or so. Sarah Kate had some difficulty walking over the rougher terrain (gravel paths, uneven surfaces, hills) and Dakoda started getting restless whenever Mommy and Daddy wanted to linger at some of the craft booths.

But I was on a mission, so we forged on. Last year, I took a picture of the kids in a particular spot, near the car show, with a really cute fall decor setup. I was determined to find that exact spot and take a picture again this year. Of course, we parked on the opposite side of where we did last year, and wouldn't you know that picture spot was closer to last year's spot. But we made it!

Dakoda wasn't interested in having his picture taken until we promised to find him a ball afterward (I prefer to think of it as an incentive as opposed to bribery, haha!). Sarah Kate was even less cooperative. She was having so much fun walking that she did not want to sit or stand still for a photo session. We tried our best anyway.

Take 1

Take 12

Take 18 - oh, look! Dakoda is stealing a mum!

Take 22

Here are the two best shots we got. Sarah Kate wouldn't give us her big, beautiful smile for anything in this world! But these are still pretty good, I guess. I mean, with kids that cute, how could they not be? ;)

And here is the picture from last year, for comparison. I always love to look back and see how big they've gotten in a year!

Giveaway at A Glimpse Inside

2010-10-04T09:41:00.001-04:00

My sorority big sis, Allison, is celebrating her birthday today.

Happy Birthday, Allison!

To celebrate her birthday, as well as her upcoming blogging anniversary, she is doing a giveaway over on her blog, A Glimpse Inside. The giveaway will run until November 12, and there are lots of ways to enter, so head on over and say hi!

140 Caricature Address Labels For $3.40 Shipped!

2010-09-30T18:27:00.000-04:00

I ordered these from Vistaprint to use with my Christmas cards this year. They are SO cute and at $3.40 and for 140 labels, you really can't beat the price! The quality is great, too. I have ordered several things from this site before and have never been disappointed.

Just go here and scroll down to where it says Return Address Labels and click on Get Started. Click on the tab at the top that says Personal & Family and scroll down to Caricatures. Choose your design and start creating your family! You can even put your fur babies on there!

Have fun and enjoy!

Free 8x10 Collage Print From Walgreens!

2010-09-30T09:20:00.001-04:00

Walgreens is offering a FREE 8x10 Collage Print today and tomorrow only. Just use coupon code FBCOLL at checkout. Make sure you choose in-store pickup to avoid shipping costs!

Click here to get started!

Thanks to Kristin at Couponing to Disney for the heads-up on this deal!

Disney Tangled New Official Trailer

2010-09-30T09:11:00.002-04:00

From the official Tangled website:

Story: Walt Disney Pictures presents TANGLED, one of the most hilarious, hair-raising tales ever told. When the kingdom's most wanted—and most charming—bandit Flynn Rider (voice of ZACHARY LEVI) hides out in a mysterious tower, he's taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of MANDY MOORE), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair.

Flynn's curious captor, who's looking for her ticket out of the tower where she's been locked away for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an over-protective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs. In theaters this holiday season in Disney Digital 3D™, TANGLED is a story of adventure, heart, humor and hair—lots of hair.

In theaters November 24, 2010

Four Movie Tickets For As Low As $15

2010-09-29T10:59:00.001-04:00

Here is a great deal if you are like me and love going to the movies, but hate the prices! Right now, Tippr (a coupon site similar to Groupon) is offering 4 movie tickets for only $20! Each ticket is valued up to $14, and you don't have to use them all at once, which is very exciting for me because this means TWO cheap date nights for me and the hubby!

But wait...it gets even better! If you are a new Tippr user, sign up now through my link and you will get a $5 credit. So you will only pay $15 for FOUR movie tickets!

Here is the fine print for this deal:

Limit per person: 10 (+10 as a gift)
Expires on December 26, 2010
Tickets may be split between 4 customers, and do not need to be used in the same visit.
Tickets must be claimed at WeeklyCinema.com by 12/26/2010 and redeemed at Fandango and Movietickets.com theaters within 90 days of being claimed.
Customers are NOT required to sign up for any monthly subscription.

This great deal is likely to sell out fast, so head on over to Tippr now! Just look under Honolulu to find the deal. Enjoy!

~ Special thanks to Kerry at TotallyTarget for the heads up on this deal!

Friday Fives

2010-09-24T11:53:00.002-04:00

5 Random Question Friday

1. What's your "comfort food"?

Definitely brownies!! (Or pretty much anything chocolate ;))

2.One thing that's on your mind right now?

Fall crafts!!!

From A Glimpse Inside

From Oopsey Daisy

3.What's the best advice you've ever received?

To always put God first and everything else will fall into place. :)

4.If you found $10 today, what would you do with it?

Probably buy something for my kids.

5.What is your least favorite thing to clean in your house?

Is "all of it" an option? ha! Probably my least favorite thing to clean is the floor. With two kids, two dogs, two cats and two adults in the house, it always seems dirty, no matter how often I clean it!

By the way, if you have not checked out my Big Sis Allison's blog, A Glimpse Inside, you need to go there.

Like now.

GO!

Disney World 2010 - Part 1, continued

2010-09-24T09:02:00.008-04:00

Saturday, May 29, 2010 - Part 2

Let's see, when I left off, I think we were leaving Hollywood Studios to go check out our hotel room and take naps.

We headed back to All Star Sports (without getting lost this time, thank goodness). When we got to our room, the first thing I noticed was that it smelled a little funny, but I thought maybe it was because it had just been cleaned. I also found that they hadn’t brought up the fridge or bed rails that we had requested. I went ahead and called down to the front desk to request that those be brought up. I stayed in the room with the kids while Darren went back down to the van to get the rest of our luggage. At one point I happened to step down onto the carpet between the beds with my bare foot and realized that it was wet – and not just a little bit wet, but enough that I could see the water when I stepped there. I knew that we hadn’t spilled anything, so I checked both of the kid’s diapers to see if maybe they had soaked through, but they were dry. I called down to housekeeping to let them know. They asked if we had spilled anything, and I said no, that we had just checked in. She said that she would send someone up to check the carpet. By this time, Darren had brought up the rest of our bags and was trying to get the kids settled down for a nap.

A few minutes went by and the phone rang. It was the housekeeping manager checking about the carpet. She said that she was sending someone up to shampoo the carpet but that we could change rooms if we wanted. I told her that I would talk Darren and let her know if we decided to switch rooms. Almost as soon as we hung up, the guy showed up to shampoo the carpet. When he was done, he asked if we wanted to leave the door open so that it would dry. Um, do we want to leave the door to our second floor balcony open when we have two toddlers running around? No, not really.

Now that the entire carpet was wet, instead of just the one area, I decided that it was a good idea to just go ahead and change rooms. I called the housekeeping manager back to let her know, and she said that she would tell the front desk and they would call when our new room was ready. While we waited, the kids fell asleep and we decided that no matter when they called, we would wait until they woke up from their naps to switch rooms. It was only about 20-30 mins before they called to let us know. Darren stayed in the room with the kids while I went down to get our new keys. While I was there, I was able to pick up our gift card. On the way back to the room, I stopped in the food court and bought a refillable resort mug.

Our new room was in the same building, on the same floor, on the opposite side. Here are a few room pictures. (These are actually of the first room, but they looked exactly the same, just swapped sides.)

Dakoda trying to see what Daddy was doing

And some pictures of the kids playing before their nap.

I love what the Florida humidity was doing to her hair!

The kids woke up around 3:30 and we lugged all of our stuff over to the new room. Thank goodness this room was in much better shape than the first one. Darren and the kids played and watched TV (Phineas and Ferb, I believe) while I unpacked.

Around 5 pm, we decided to have dinner and head back to the park. We ate at the AS Sports food court and we both got the Chicken Alfredo, which was really good. It looked like it might rain and we realized that we had forgotten to pack our ponchos, so we picked up two Mickey ponchos in the Sport Goofy gift shop. While we were in there, Dakoda found a baseball that he wanted, so we got that for him.

We arrived back at Hollywood Studios around 6 pm. We walked over to Pixar Place to check the wait time for Toy Story Mania. Of course, it was something outrageous, like 80 minutes, which was just not happening for us with two toddlers. (*Moral of the story, always ride Toy Story Mania first thing in the morning!!)

We walked back over to where we had seen Darth Vader earlier. He was still there and the line was really short, so Darren went over to get his picture taken. Unfortunately, Vader was getting ready to go on a break, so he missed out on the picture again. :( While he was standing in line before they announced Vader’s break, some Storm Troopers came out and I took some pictures. One of them noticed me taking them and started walking towards me in a somewhat menacing fashion. I got a great picture of him and then quickly scurried off. Even though he knew he was just an actor, they creep me out in those suits!

After they announced Vader’s break, I asked Darren if he wanted to hang out and wait till he came back, but he said he didn’t want to waste our park time. We decided to go catch the American Idol Experience finale. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much out of this attraction, but it was actually a lot of fun. One of the performers in particular was extremely talented, and I would love to see him on AI next season.

When the finale was over, we decided to head back down Sunset Boulevard to get in line for Fantasmic. I still had my Rockin Roller Coaster fast pass, so Darren volunteered to stay in line with the kids while I rode.

When I got off the ride, I had a text message from him saying that they were already seated in the theater. He also casually mentioned that he was thirsty, so I bought a frozen lemonade at the rock station (love that place!) and then headed to find them. They had gotten really good seats, and the show was great, as always. I was able to take a few pictures, even though I was holding a squirming baby. :)

Sarah Kate was in a silly mood.

I don't know where she gets it.

He was so totally into the show.

Beauty and the Beast

The Little Mermaid

Snow White

Evil Queen

Evil Queen and the Magic Mirror

Scar

Jafar

Dragon from Sleeping Beauty

Mickey battling the dragon

It was a GREAT show, as always! Afterward, the park was getting ready to close, but we decided to go ahead and make a couple of purchases. First up was Dakoda’s Jedi Mickey. We tried to go back to the shop where we had seen it earlier, but it was already closed. Darren told me to run over to the shop beside the Star Wars ride and get one and he would meet me near the front gate. I’m really not sure why we thought that it would be a good idea to split up, especially considering that my sense of direction is not great. I somehow managed to get completely lost and was wandering around the Streets of America pretty much by myself in total darkness. It was a little creepy.

I eventually found my way over to the gift shop and purchased Jedi Mickey, then headed to meet Darren. Thankfully, I did not get lost again. On the way out, we noticed that the gift shop outside the gates carried Jedi Mickey. Of course!

Darren saw this mug that he fell in love with and decided that he wanted it for his desk at work.

We got to our car around 10:15 and headed back to the resort. It was a pretty quick trip and we were in bed by 11:15. Tomorrow was going to be a very exciting day – it was Dakoda’s 3rd birthday!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-22T09:54:00.001-04:00

Another Toys R Us Deal This Week!

2010-09-20T19:14:00.003-04:00

While I was browsing SlickDeals today, I came across another pretty good deal. This one is for LeapFrog Tag books. My kids don't have a Tag system yet, but we are thinking we might get them one for Christmas. So if you are like me and always thinking ahead -- here is a great deal on a few Christmas gifts!

Toys R Us has a lot of things on sale this week Buy 2 Get 1 Free, including these Tag books. Prices may vary by store, but at the Knoxville store, the books are priced at $13.99.

So $13.99 x 3 = 41.94 - 13.99 = $27.98 (plus tax)

Since your total is over $25, you will be able to use this coupon for $5 off of a $25 purchase.

So $27.98 - 5.00 = $22.98 (plus tax)

Now here is where the deal gets even better! Go here and print this coupon 3 times. Each coupon should give you $4.00 off of one Tag book. Now, depending on your store, you might be able to use 3 coupons (even though technically one of the books is free), or you might only be able to use 2.

If you're able to use all 3 coupons, then you will save another $12, making your total $10.98, or $3.66 each!

If you're only able to use 2 coupons, you will still save an additional $8, making your total $14.98, or $4.99 each!

I'd love to hear from you if you're able to get in on this deal! Happy shopping!

Get 3 Disney Blu-ray/DVD Combos For Less Than $40!

2010-09-19T22:01:00.009-04:00

I was going to post another Disney World update tonight, but I came across this deal today and decided to share it instead. If you are anything like me, then you get giddy when new Disney movies are released, then immediately feel nauseous when you see the prices! LOL

I got an email a while back from Disney Movie Rewards with an offer to print off a $10 coupon for the Blu-ray & DVD combo pack of the new Diamond Edition of Beauty and the Beast (to be released 10/5/10) when you are upgrading from a VHS or previous DVD version. I had bought the DVD off of eBay for the kids last Christmas, so I put in the UPC code and printed off my coupon. If you missed the email, here is the link. You do have to be a member of Disney Movie Rewards, but it is free to sign up. :)

A couple of days ago, I got another email from DMR, this one with a coupon for $10 off of the Blu-ray DVD combo pack of Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (to be released 9/21/10). Here is the link for that one.

Now, the next movie I do not have a coupon for yet, but they usually release the coupons about a week before the movie is released, so I'm expecting one in late October or early November. It will (hopefully) be for Toy Story 3 (to be released 11/02/10). So whenever I get that email, I'll post the link for that coupon as well.

So if you have read this far, you are probably still trying to figure out how I am planning to get all 3 of these movies on Blu-ray AND DVD for less than $40. Well, here is how: (thanks Slickdeals!)

First, you will want to run out to Toys R Us tomorrow and pre-order Tinker Bell (there should be a pre-order card over by the Disney DVDs). On the pre-order card, it will say that you will receive a $10 gift card when you pick up your movie. You will pay a $10 deposit for Tink.

First Transaction (anytime before Sept 20th):
$10 Tinker Bell pre-order

Next, when you go back to pick up your Tinker Bell movie, you will want to grab the Beauty and the Beast pre-order card. That card will say that you will save $10 off of any Disney Blu-ray of $19.99 or more purchased with the pre-order. (Now I am assuming that Tinker Bell will be priced at $29.99 because that is what it is listed at on the TRU website, but it may end up being listed for less.) So here is the potential breakdown of the second transaction.

Second Transaction:
$30 Tinker Bell
$5 Beauty and the Beast pre-order
-10 DMR coupon (see link above)
-10 Tinker Bell deposit
-10 discount from Beauty and the Beast pre-order
--------------------------------
=$5 plus get a $10 giftcard for Tinker Bell pre-order

Now, when you go back on October 5 to pick up your new Beauty and the Beast movie, you will want to be sure and grab the Toy Story 3 pre-order card, which will most likely have the same deal as the Beauty and the Beast card did. So here is how your third transaction will break down: (Again, I am assuming a $29.99 price on Beauty and the Beast.)

Third Transaction (when Beauty and the Beast is released on Oct 5):
$30 Beauty and the Beast
$5 pre-order Toy Story
-10 DMR coupon (see link above)
-10 TS3 pre-order discount
-5 Beauty and Beast deposit
------------------------------------------
=$10

And now for your final transaction, on or around November 2.

Fourth Transaction (when Toy Story 3 is released on Nov 2):
$30 Toy Story
-10 DMR coupon (will hopefully release the same week as the movie)
-10 gift card from Tinker Bell purchase
-5 Toy Story deposit
----------------------------------
=$10

So $10 + $5 + $10 + $10 = $35 for all 3 movies!!

Of course, there are going to be deals at other stores, but this is the best one that I have found so far. Feel free to let me know in the comments if you find a better one! Happy shopping!

Disney World - Part 1

2010-09-10T10:30:00.004-04:00

We decided to go to Disney World for Dakoda's 3rd birthday this year. We stayed at the All-Star Sports Resort from May 29 - June 3, and then we drove down to Tampa to visit Darren's sister, Gina and her family for a couple of days. We were on the Disney Dining Plan, so all of our meals were pre-paid, and we were able to take advantage of one of Disney's fabulous promotions and got a $300 gift card when we checked in! We had a wonderful time, and I would love to share it with all of our friends and family. I had typed up a trip report for a message board that I post on and I am just going to copy and paste it over here. I hope you all enjoy it!!

We left our house on Friday, May 28 and drove all the way down to Orlando, where we spent the night at the Radisson Hotel. On Saturday morning, we got up extra early and officially began our Disney vacation!

Saturday, May 29, 2010 - Disney's Hollywood Studios!!

We were headed to Hollywood Studios today, and I wanted to try and make it there by 8 am for extra magic hours (which is when the park opens an hour early for Disney resort guests only). Since we needed to stop by our hotel first and pick up our Key to the World cards (which had our park tickets and meal plan on them), that meant an extra early start. I got up and started getting ready around 5:30, and got Darren up around 6. He showered and got the kids ready while I put on my makeup and repacked our overnight bag. Thanks again, honey! :) We left the hotel around 6:45 and headed towards the World. It wasn’t belong before we saw this beautiful sight.

Here is where it got a bit tricky. You see, the navigation system that is built into our van is in need of an update, so when we put in the address for All Star Sports, it sent us in the ENTIRELY wrong direction. I knew that the All Star Resorts were in the Animal Kingdom area, so when I saw that it was taking us over by Downtown Disney, I knew that something wasn’t right. I tried to tell Darren to go ahead and take the Animal Kingdom exit, but since I’m not always the best with directions, he chose to follow the GPS. Needless to say, this is one time that he should have listened to me. ;) We ended up way over by Pleasure Island before I finally called AS Sports to get directions. Unfortunately, the cast member that I spoke to wasn’t very helpful. I just kept telling Darren to follow the signs to the Animal Kingdom area until we started seeing the All Star Resort signs. We eventually found our way, and soon we saw this.

Darren let me out by the door and parked the van while I went inside to check in. I had done online check-in before we left, so I figured that it would go fairly quickly. Unfortunately, there was only one cast member working at the check-in desk that morning, and several people already in line. After about 10 minutes, another cast member came up and started helping out, quickly followed by a third, which was a good thing since the line had kept growing behind me while I waited. Finally it was my turn. I gave the cast member my name and told her that I had done online check-in. At first she couldn’t find my folder, which made me a bit nervous. She went to another area of the counter and found it there. Whew! Then she went to find my gift card and came back a few minutes later and said that they were locked in the safe and she wouldn’t be able to get to it until a manager came in, but that I could come by and get it later, which was fine with me. She gave me our folder and our cards. I had requested the Hoops Building, because Dakoda loves basketball, but we were put in the Tennis Building. (There were several school groups there and they were staying in the Hoops Building.) We were fine with that. The Tennis Building was right by a parking lot, so it ended up being really convenient for us!

We left AS Sports and stopped at the nearby McDonald’s for breakfast, then headed to DHS. By this point it was after 7:30 and I was eager to get to the park!

We got there around 7:55 and there was a short line. We were inside the park by 8:10. Since the masses were headed to Pixar Place for Toy Story Mania, we decided to head down Sunset Boulevard for mine and Darren’s favorite attractions – Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster! The wait time for ToT said 13 minutes, so I rode stand-by while Darren picked up fast passes for RnRC. When I got back, he had consulted the Times Guide and made out a schedule for us so that we could hit all the shows that morning. I was so proud of him!

We headed over to the Animation Courtyard to get in line for the 9:15 showing of Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We made it over there by around 8:45, so I walked around and took a few pictures while Darren stood in line with the kids.

I went to find Darren and the kids and they were already inside the building. The kids were getting restless, so we sang a few rounds of “The Wheels on the Bus” and “Winnie the Pooh”, which I’m sure the people around us appreciated. ;)

They opened the theater a little after 9. We got great seats (for us) – back row close to the exit in case one of the kids freaked out. I was especially nervous about Sarah Kate since she wasn’t very fond of Ursula last year. She didn’t seem to mind her this year, though. Both kids really enjoyed the show. (And Ariel has since become her favorite princess.)

Our next stop was Playhouse Disney Live. The show was going to start at 9:40, and we were able to walk right in with no line and get great seats! As usual, the kids LOVED this show. PHD is on a LOT at our house, so they’re both familiar with all of the characters. It was so much fun to watch them dance and sing along!

After PHD, we wanted to try and catch the first Beauty and the Beast show of the day. It was scheduled to start at 10:15 and it was after 10 when we got out, so we hurried over to the theater. We must have still had a bit of Disney magic with us because once again we were able to walk right in and get great seats! We were on the front row on the right side. Darren held Sarah Kate so that I could take some pictures of the show.

After the show ended, Darren decided to go ahead and use his fast pass for Rockin Rollercoaster. The kids and I got some ice cream at the Rock Station booth right outside the coaster and sat in the shade to wait for him. Dakoda was all about some ice cream, but Sarah Kate didn’t want any, which surprised me because she never turns down food. The next thing I knew, she was fast asleep! I guess the early morning plus all the excitement had worn her right out! When Darren got back, I decided not to ride the coaster on a full stomach, so we headed over to Toy Story Mania to check the wait time and see if there were any fast passes left. To no surprise, they were already out of fast passes (this was a little after 11 am) and the wait time was something like 80 minutes. Since it was Star Wars Weekend and Sarah Kate was still sleeping, we decided to just walk around for a bit and see what characters were out. We saw Darth Maul; one of those characters that looks like a pig (sorry, my SW knowledge is limited – LOL); and the big man himself, Darth Vader. Darren wanted to get a pic with Vader, but the line was super long, so we decided to come back later. We walked through the Star Wars store and I fell in love with a stuffed Ewok. Seriously, it was sooo cute! I also wanted to get a Jedi Mickey for Dakoda. I am a notoriously bad decision maker, though, so we didn’t end up buying anything.

At this point, Sarah Kate had woken up and we were all hungry. We decided to head over to Pizza Planet. Darren and the kids fought for a table while I waited in the long line with a hundred or so other hungry people. We all loved the food there! It's hard to go wrong with pizza for my family, though! While we ate, we got a text message that our room was ready – yay! We decided to go ahead and head over there to settle in and (hopefully) get the kids to take a nap. We ended up following the High School Musical show up Hollywood Boulevard, which the kids loved.

One last picture before we left.

We got to our car around 12:35 and headed to the hotel to check out our room.

Six Months!!

2010-09-08T18:02:00.003-04:00

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe I have let SIX MONTHS go by without updating our blog! I am so embarrassed that I let it go this long. I kept telling myself, "I'll get to it later..." And then I just never did!

So much has happened in our lives over the past several months! I've got some posts already written up that I will be adding over the next few weeks, so be on the lookout! :)

Anyway, I may as well jump right in, I guess. One weekend in April, we were lucky enough to get a visit from Darren's sister, Kristy, and sister-in-law, Cynthia, as well as his other sister Gina and her children, Zach, Landon and Riley Anna. It was an especially special visit because Kristy was pregnant and we had not seen her in a few months!

Here are a few pictures from their visit.

Miss Riley Anna

Aunt Kristy showing Dakoda and Riley how to throw rocks over the hill.

Zachary being...well, Zachary :)

Darren, Dakoda and Zachary playing baseball

Aunt Kristy, Aunt Gina and Sarah Kate

Zachary and Riley playing baseball

Riley and Sarah Kate just love each other!

Aunt Kristy and Aunt Cynthia

Aunt Cynthia, Aunt Kristy and Baby Jackson!

Sarah Kate and her PaPaw

That crazy Landon climbing on the roof of the shed to get the baseball!

We just love it when they are all in town. Gina and the kids used to live about 20 minutes away from us, but moved all the way down to Tampa, FL this past December, and we miss them terribly!

Kristy and Cynthia live in Washington, DC and we only get to see them every few months, and we miss them a lot, too!

They are all coming to visit again soon, so I will be posting some new pictures of the kids, plus the brand new addition to the family, Jackson Henry!!

March for Babies

2010-03-15T21:57:00.003-04:00

I am never so thankful for my beautiful, healthy children as when I hear or read about others who are not as fortunate. I found out this week that one of my sorority sisters recently lost her second baby girl. I cannot even imagine the pain and sorrow that this family is experiencing right now.

I will be walking with Team Luttrell on April 24, 2010 at Knoxville's March for Babies in memory of Lillian Kate and Cecilia Hope.

Last year, their team walked in memory of Lillian Kate and in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Leonard Brabson, and raised nearly $2,500! Our fundraising goal this year is $3,000.

If you would like to walk with Team Luttrell or make a donation, please go to http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1372378. By supporting this cause, you will be giving hope to babies being born too soon each year. The money we raise will support programs in the Knoxville community that help mothers have healthy, full-term pregnancies. It will also help fund research to find needed answers to the problems that threaten babies like Lilly Kate and Cecilia Hope.

About Lilly-Kate:
Lillian Kate was born on January 14, 2009, weighing 1 lb. 4 oz. She had a rare disease, called thanatophoric dysplasia, that caused her to survive for only 13 minutes.

About Cecilia Hope:
Cecilia Hope was born March 8, 2010, weighing 1lb. 3oz. Like her sister, she was born with the same life threatening disease and survived only 15 minutes.

Although Lilly Kate and Cecilia Hope will forever be in their parent's hearts, John and Leslie had to bury their daughters just days after they were born. LK and CH's family and friends love and miss them both every day.

Please join me in praying for this family, and if you feel led to donate, you can do so by clicking on my badge on the left-hand side of the page, or following the link above.

A Day In The Life....

2010-03-08T23:05:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I participate in Show Us Your Life Friday over at Kelly's Korner. It completely slipped my mind last week, but I haven't posted in a while and I'm only 3 days late. :) The theme this week is "What is your typical day like?" I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance, because this post will probably be pretty boring, but it's something that will probably be fun for me to look back on in 10 years.

Our days are always different due to Dakoda's scheduled activities, but our mornings are usually the same, except for Fridays. Darren gets up every morning around 5 am to get ready for work. Some mornings he wakes me up with a cup of coffee at 6 when he is getting ready to leave, and I spend an hour or so watching Good Morning Tennessee and catching up on emails, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and celebrity gossip. Other mornings I sleep in until the kids wake up around 7:15. (Although, funnily enough, if I get up at 6, they will sometimes sleep until 8 am or later! But if I try to sleep in, it never fails that they are up at 7:15.) Once I hear them start rousing around, I go get Dakoda a cup of milk and some cereal and he settles in on the couch to watch Playhouse Disney. Then I go get Sarah Kate out of bed and feed her breakfast, and then she joins Dakoda in the living room while I shower and get ready.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, we leave the house around 8:30 and head to Harriman, where Dakoda attends The Henry Center from 9 -12. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we leave the house around 9 am and head to Oak Ridge. On Tuesdays, Dakoda has physical therapy from 10-11 and speech from 11-12; on Thursdays, he has occupational therapy from 10-11 and speech from 11-12.

After we drop him off, Sarah Kate and I usually head over to McDonald's or Chickfila for breakfast. Since we live so far from town, it really doesn't make sense for us to drive back home, so if we don't have any errands to run (not common), sometimes I will just park the car somewhere and we will play. I'm really looking forward to warm weather so that we can spend some time at the park!! Around 11:45, we head back over to pick Dakoda up. We usually stop at McDonald's on the way home because he is a chicken nugget loving fool and I am a pushover. lol

Once home, I settle Dakoda in the living room with a movie and his toys while I feed Sarah Kate lunch. Then it is naptime for both (if I'm lucky). I *try* to use naptime productively, but I will be the first to admit that sometimes I am lazy and just sit on the couch and catch up on my DVR, especially if one of the kids won't go down. I usually at least sweep and pick up the living room and kitchen, and try to either do a load of laundry or dishes. Both kids are almost always up by about 3:30. They get a snack and we play until Darren gets home between 4:30 and 5. Sometimes I will start dinner as soon as he gets home (if he didn't pick something up; I don't cook as much as I should/would like to), but most of the time we will watch AFV or some other family-friendly show and just play and spend time together. After dinner, Darren gives Dakoda a bath while I nurse Sarah Kate. Then we have more family time, and Dakoda goes to bed between 8-8:30. Sarah Kate is my little night owl and usually doesn't go down until 9 or later. After Dakoda is in bed, Darren and I watch our shows together, usually on DVR - we hate commercials! Our one exception is American Idol, because we have to vote! :) Usually around 10, I head to bed to read and Darren plays PS3 for an hour (or more - I really don't know because I'm always asleep by the time he comes to bed!).

The only exception to our week-night schedule is Wednesday nights, when Darren leaves the house around 6:15 to go play basketball at the school. We usually eat something quick together before he leaves, and then after he's gone, I give the kids a bath. Once they're squeaky clean, the three of us pile together on the couch and watch a movie - usually something Disney, of course. :)

Oh, I mentioned that Fridays are different. Well, they are - because they are our at-home day! We really love this day! We usually stay in our pjs for most of the day and just play and cuddle all day. It is wonderful! I especially love it because it is the only time that I get to have Dakoda all to myself for a bit while Sarah Kate takes her morning nap. :)

Saturdays are different every week. If we're lucky, the kids will let us sleep until 8 or so. Darren always gets up and brings Sarah Kate to me and I nurse her in bed and we cuddle for a bit while Darren and Dakoda cuddle on the couch. Then Darren makes breakfast for us, or we head up the hill to Mam and Pap's for a big country breakfast. After that we start our day - sometimes we have a low-key at-home day of rest and relaxation; sometimes we go to Knoxville for the day; sometimes to Cookeville. Just depends on our moods really!

Sundays are busy, busy, busy! We try to get up and go to church, but sometimes we don't make it. Darren and one of his friends run a men's basketball league on Sunday afternoons, so we leave the house around 12:30 and drop the kids off at Mam and Pap's. Then we head down to the school and are there all day until about 6:00. We go pick up the kids, come home, and eat dinner and watch AFV. Then it is bath time, bed time, and then the weekend is over and it's time to start the routine all over again!

It feels like our lives are really crazy right now, but I know that it's not as hectic as others. I get stressed out a lot, and I can't even imagine having other responsibilities on top, like school or a job. But I know that someday I will probably look back on this time and laugh and say - Oh, you just thought you had it tough then! lol

Sarah Kate's Pretty in Pink {and Brown} 1st Birthday Party

2010-02-20T19:44:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Sarah Kathleen!

2010-02-17T15:25:00.004-05:00

Sarah Kate - you turned
1 year old today!

I know I say it all the time, but time is flying by so fast. It doesn't seem like a year has gone by since I was posting to say that you had arrived.

You are such a sweet, loving, happy baby, and a blessing to everyone around you.

You can bring a smile to my face even in the midst of tears.

I love you dearly and I thank God every day for allowing me to be your mother.

What are you up to these days?

You are a speed crawler! You know where you want to go, and you get there fast.

You love to eat! Your favorite foods are mashed potatoes, pizza, pancakes, macaroni and cheese, and (of course) chocolate.
You also love to dance and sing! You sing and dance along to the radio and tv all the time and it is so fun to watch! I call you my tiny dancer.
Your favorite person (besides Mommy) is your big brother. You want to be wherever he is and doing whatever he’s doing. Sometimes he plays too rough, but you give back as good as you get! Your Daddy and I love to watch the two of you play together.
You are starting to be a talker! You imitate our words all the time, and even say some consistently, like dada, mama, all done, duck duck, and pretty.
You wave hi and bye-bye, and this week you started pointing!
Your favorite toys are your “babies” – Belle and Alice (in Wonderland) - and your books.
You sleep with two blankets, Minnie Mouse, and your Cabbage Patch Doll.
You love shoes, but you would rather look at them and play with them than actually wear them.

Birthday Sneak Peeks!

2010-02-02T22:48:00.004-05:00

In a little over two weeks, my baby girl will turn 1 year old! I can hardly believe that it's time for that milestone. Time has really flown since she was born.

I started planning her birthday party a few weeks ago and thought that I would share a preview.

Here is her birthday party outfit. Isn't it adorable?! I ordered it from here.

I tried it on her today. It was a little big - she is such a peanut!! She wasn't really in the mood for a photo shoot, either.

Here's a good shot of her adorable little bloomers. I just love 'em!

And, of course, her signature bow. :)

This is it for now, but I'll post more later. Have a great night! :)

The Snowy Day

2010-01-31T19:31:00.003-05:00

Last Thursday, the meteorologists got me all excited saying that this big winter storm was headed our way. We were put under a Winter Weather Warning - not a Watch, but an actual Warning! - and told to expect 5-9 inches of snow. I hoped - oh, how I hoped! - that it would be true! Normally when they make that kind of prediction, it snows for a while and we might get an inch to an inch-and-a-half, and then the sun comes out and it melts.

But not this time.

Oh, no. This time, the snow actually came. It started snowing late Friday afternoon. And it snowed. And it snowed. And it snowed some more. And on Saturday morning, I saw my boys doing this:

And when I looked outside, I saw this!!!

It was so beautiful! I was so excited for the kids to play in their first big snow! We bundled them up and took them up the hill to Mam and Pap's house to play.

Dakoda had a ball

But Sarah Kate was not a big fan of the cold

Daddy took them sledding

It didn't take long for Dakoda to decide that he would rather be inside playing ball and having a snack.

We have really enjoyed the beautiful snow... but we're REALLY glad that it doesn't happen often. ;)

My Baby and Her Baby

2010-01-21T20:38:00.005-05:00

Sarah Kate turned 11 months old this past weekend, and I can hardly believe how quickly her first birthday is approaching. She is growing and changing so much every day. Today she was playing with her baby Belle doll and I looked over and she had put her into her stroller.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but poor Belle is in an awfully awkward position. LOL!

She noticed that I was watching her and decided that she wanted me to come play, too!

She is so stinkin' sweet!! I just want to eat her up!!

Go Vols!

2010-01-19T21:33:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday, we took the kids to the UT men's basketball game against Ole Miss. It was a great game!! The score was close all throughout, and then they ended up in overtime! They had us worried for a second, but our boys pulled through and WON! Final score: Tennessee 71, Mississippi 69.

A new year - a new job!

2010-01-14T21:46:00.003-05:00

Here it is only two weeks into the new year, and I am already slacking on one of my resolutions! That just won't do. So even though I'm dead tired from getting less than 5 hours sleep the past two nights, I'll try and get this update in before I head to bed.

After a lazy, snowy weekend, we have had a bit of a busy week....well, busier than usual at least! Monday and Tuesday were normal - Dakoda had school and therapy as usual. But yesterday and today were a bit chaotic because I had to attend two full days of training in Knoxville for my new job at H&R Block. It was my first time being away from Sarah Kate (who is still nursing) for more than a few hours! I am so lucky that my inlaws were able to keep the kids for me yesterday. Even though I have full confidence in them, I still worried about Sarah all day. But I needn't have, because they said that she did wonderful and didn't even fuss at all! Darren took the day off of work today to stay with them, and he took Dakoda to OT and Speech. He said that they had a great day, and I think he really enjoyed playing Mr. Mom. :)

Now that the 2 training days are over, I'll be working mostly nights and weekends through tax season. I am really excited! Although I love being a stay-at-home mommy, I am looking forward to being out of the house and getting some adult interaction. Ha! I know that I will get tired of working and being away from my family, though, so the fact that it will end on April 15 makes it a perfect fit for me!

Well, it is after 10 pm and that means that this girl is about to turn into a pumpkin. Haha! Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Resolutions for 2010

2010-01-08T14:15:00.002-05:00

I made some New Year's Resolutions, but didn't post them here, and since I can't think of anything else to write about, I'll go ahead and do that now. :)

1. To have more patience with Darren and the kids. I love them with all my heart, but I sometimes have a very short fuse. So I'm working on controlling that temper of mine. They don't deserve my wrath. Most of the time. ;)

2. To be a better cook. I'm not necessarily a "bad" cook, I just don't do it often enough, and I tend to make the same things over and over again. My goal this year is to cook dinner at least 4 days out of the week, and to cook a variety of dishes. I'm actually going to attempt to cook my way through The Pioneer Woman's cookbook. So far, every recipe has been a hit!

3. To be a better housekeeper. I have an illness, you may have heard of it - it's called laziness. It tends to affect me most whenever there are chores that need to be done around the house. I'm working to overcome it. It's a slow process.

4. To keep my blog updated! I'm the worst for sitting down to type up an update and getting sidetracked checking my email or something and then running out of computer time. Then before I know it, weeks (or months) have gone by without a post. So my new goal is to update at least 3 times a week.

So there you have it - my goals for 2010. What are yours?

Love is patient....

2010-01-05T22:10:00.004-05:00

No matter how much you love your children, there will always be days when they really try your patience. Today was one of those days for me.

Dakoda went to bed 2 hours late last night, so I knew that today would probably not go very well, but I was not prepared for just how rough it would be. My sweet boy just had it in his head today that HE was the boss and was NOT going to do anything other than whatever HE wanted to do. He didn't want to get his diaper changed. He didn't want to get dressed. He didn't want to put on his coat. It was just a fight every step of the way this morning. And I'm pretty sure Miss Sarah Kate was watching and taking notes, because she put up a pretty good fight, too. But we finally made it out the door, and only 5 minutes behind schedule. Success!

Dakoda had his PT appointment and then Speech. Both therapists said that it was a rough day for my buddy. :( After his sessions were over, we met Darren at McDonald's, which went surprisingly well. Darren went back to work, and the kids and I headed home. They were both asleep before I made it out of town, and I mentally sighed, because I knew that would make for a L.O.N.G. afternoon for me at home.

Sure enough, both kids snapped wide awake as soon as the van was put into park, and they stayed that way. All. After. Noon. I think I finally got Sarah Kate down for a nap around 4 pm, but Dakoda just wasn't having it. Poor thing, I knew he was exhausted, but he just could not (or would not) settle down and rest. He had several meltdowns, mostly because he would try to tell me something and I wouldn't understand, and he would get frustrated. :( There is nothing that breaks my heart more than to see that little face crumple because I don't understand what he is telling me. It is just the saddest look.

It is a rare occasion that Darren has to work late, and this was one of them. I knew that Dakoda wouldn't go to sleep until he saw his Daddy, so there was no point in trying to put him down. So after I put Sarah Kate to bed, he and I cuddled up on the couch with his blankie and watched AFV (one of his favorites) until his Daddy got home.

Quiet times like that with him are my favorite, and, as usual, those few quiet moments on the couch made all the bad ones from earlier in the day just fade away...

Girl Time at Target

2010-01-04T15:19:00.004-05:00

It was back to school today for Dakoda, so Sarah Kate and I decided to go do some browsing at Target. It was sooo super cold outside (and actually snowed off and on while were out - but didn't stick), so there were not very many people out and about. Just the crazies like me! Ha! As soon as we walked into the store, we ran into our pediatrician, Dr. Lin, and his three daughters. They didn't have school today, so he took the day off to be with them. How sweet! After we left them, we checked out my favorite part of Target - the bargain bins! They had lots of great stuff, including some SUPER cute Valentine's Day goodies. We just started a new budget, so I'm watching my spending very carefully, but at $1 a piece, I couldn't resist these cuties. :)

Of course I had to check out the after-Christmas clearance sales. I found this 100+ piece food set on sale for $7.00! It will go great with the new kitchen that Santa brought Dakoda and Sarah Kate!

I checked out the Christmas decorations that were 75% off, but didn't see anything that I was crazy about. Then, while we were looking for a shelf to go in Sarah Kate's room, we came across a shelf of these beauties, and I fell in LOVE! At only $3.74, I knew I had to snap one up!

So I ended up with 2 magnetic memo pads, a pair of socks, a 100+ piece food set, and a new Christmas tree for just $13.74 plus tax. I just love finding good deals, don't you?

A few memorable moments from 2009

2010-01-01T14:23:00.004-05:00

It is hard to believe that 2009 is already over! It was such a memorable year for us in so many ways. Here is a quick recap of a great year.

February

Dakoda broke his leg :(

Sarah Kathleen came into the world!

April

We celebrated Sarah Kate's first Easter, and our first as a family of four!

May

Dakoda turned 2!

June

We had our first family picture made

July

We celebrated Sarah Kate's first and Dakoda's third 4th of July

August

Darren, Sarah Kate, and I went to Los Angeles for Darren's work, where we attended our first Dodgers game!

Sarah Kate turned 6 months old!

September

We attended a UT tailgate, where the kids met the Dance Team and SMOKEY!!

We went to Disney World!!

October

Darren, Sarah Kate, and I attended the UT vs UGA game and got to watch from the sidelines!

We visited Maple Lane Farms and picked pumpkins

Dakoda was Superman and Sarah Kate was a Kitty Cat for Halloween

November

I turned 25

We celebrated Thanksgiving

December

Darren turned 27

We celebrated Sarah Kate's first and Dakoda's third Christmas!

Happy New Year everyone!

To My Beautiful Boy...

2009-12-30T21:27:00.008-05:00

~ Dakoda ~

Some fun facts about you at 31 months old:

You are 36 inches tall and weigh around 30 lbs.

You wear size 3T in most of your clothes, size 4 diapers, and size 7-8 shoes.

You LOVE to play ball! You got a basketball goal for your 2^nd birthday, and it is by far your favorite toy. It is the first thing you go for in the morning, and I’m pretty sure that you would shoot all day if I would let you.

Your favorite movie is Aladdin. You always pick it to watch in the van. Your favorite characters are Abu, the Genie, and Jafar. You like to dance to the songs, and you always cover your eyes at the kissy parts. You are so funny!

You are a wonderful big brother to Sarah Kate. You are very good about sharing your toys with her, and you always want her in the floor with you so that you can play with her. You sometimes forget that she is so little and try to play a little bit rough, but after we remind you, you always love on her and tell her you’re sorry (in your own way - we're still working on that word!).

You are turning into quite a chatterbox. You love to point out the things that you see and tell us about them. You have so many words now that I can’t even name them all!

You are going to school for a half a day, two days a week at The Henry Center, and you LOVE it! You are always excited when I tell you where we are going, and you take off to play as soon as we get there. You are always happy to see me when I come to pick you up, though, and the huge smile that you give me when I get there always melts my heart.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T11:25:00.003-05:00

We would like to wish all of our friends and loved ones a very happy holiday!

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.~ Luke 2:10-11

Fun in the Leaves

2009-10-27T13:18:00.004-04:00

Last night while I cooked dinner, Darren and Dakoda went outside to rake leaves. I could hear Dakoda's adorable belly laughs all the way in the kitchen, so I grabbed the camera and ran outside to snap a few quick pictures. I just love this time of year!!

Maple Lane Farms

2009-10-27T12:17:00.011-04:00

Going to the pumpkin patch is one of my favorite Fall activities. Last year we went to the Fruit and Berry Patch in Knoxville, and it was a lot of fun, but we had heard so many wonderful things about Maple Lane Farms in Greenback that we decided to try it out this year. So last Sunday, we loaded up the kids and headed that way.

This sign cracked me up. I have never heard the word "agritainment" before, but that is what it is, I suppose!

Here is a view from the parking lot.

When we walked through the gates, the first thing that we saw was a big patch of sunflowers. My son adores flowers, and yellow ones are his absolute favorite, so of course, we had to explore.

Next up was this giant jack-o-lantern.

And then came the PUMPKINS!! There were more pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere! Dakoda had quite a fun time trying out several before he decided which one was the best.

Sarah Kate had fun with the pumpkins, too.

We let Dakoda run around and explore whatever caught his fancy for awhile. Here are a few more pictures that I snapped.

There was so much to do at the Farm - corn mazes, face painting, a hayride, a bounce house, a country store, and more! - but since our kids are really too small to appreciate any of that stuff, we opted to just stick with picking pumpkins this year. We are really looking forward to visiting Maple Lane again next year, though, and trying out more of what they have to offer!

2 months - oh my!

2009-10-15T16:33:00.002-04:00

Once again I have let way too much time go by without updating the blog! It seems like everytime I sit down and get ready to update, someone needs me. Oh well, such is this wonderful life! :) So much has happened since my last real update that I don't know how I will ever catch up, but I will try very hard over the next few days. Bear with me, please! :)

First Food

2009-08-19T22:26:00.004-04:00

Since Sarah Kate turned 6 months old on Monday and has started showing interest when we eat, I decided that it was time to start introducing real food. Tonight was our first attempt, and her first food was bananas! I had some that were getting very ripe, so I mashed some up for her. She didn't know what to think! She only ate a couple of bites and then she was over it, but she did really well for her first time!

Sarah Kate is 6 months old!

2009-08-19T22:20:00.002-04:00

I can hardly believe how quickly time is going by these days. It just does not seem real that it has been 6 months since my little princess was born! She has changed so much during that time. She has such a personality already! She loves to watch Dakoda, and shrieks and "talks" to him often, trying to get his attention. She is always smiling and giggling, and she loves attention - in fact, she demands it often! We just love every single minute with her, and we are so thankful that she is a part of our family!

2009-06-29T10:07:00.002-04:00

My friend Kate is a very talented designer of knit hats, paci leashes, and diaper covers, among other things. She is currently offering her first giveaway - enter to win a free hat, or paci leash here. You can also visit her website, http://www.tottoppersshop.com.

Here is an adorable University of Tennessee hat that she made for Sarah Kate. (She can do any team, although I don't know why anyone would be a fan of any other team besides the VOLS! ;))

Just like Daddy

2009-06-02T18:24:00.004-04:00

Since Sarah Kate was born, everyone has said that she looks and acts a lot like her Daddy. Here is a picture of her sucking her thumb today, and a picture of Darren sucking his when he was a little boy. So cute!

Happy 2nd Birthday Dakoda!

2009-06-01T16:12:00.004-04:00

It is hard for me to believe that my baby boy turned 2 on Saturday. It doesn't seem like it has been that long since we brought him home from the hospital. He is such a blessing in our lives, and we thank the Lord everyday for him. Happy Birthday my beautiful boy!!! We love you!

An update...finally!

2009-05-18T16:36:00.005-04:00

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted! I've really been slacking. I promise I will try to do better. :) Let's see...what are we up to these days?

Sarah Kathleen is 3 months old now. She is a very happy and alert little girl. She loves to "talk" to her Mommy and Daddy and watch her big brother play. Her favorite activities are playing and rolling around on her activity mat. She has a big personality, and definitely knows what she wants. And if she's not happy, watch out - she's got a great set of lungs, and she's not afraid to use them!

Dakoda will be 2 years old on May 30! I can't believe my baby boy is turning 2 already. It seems like just yesterday I was preparing for his birth, and then I blinked and I was planning his 1st birthday party, and now all of a sudden I'm planning his 2nd! Time sure flies.... Dakoda is changing and growing up a little more everyday. He is extremely independent now, especially when it comes to eating. His favorite foods these days are strawberries, blueberries, yogurt, Lil' Crunchies, pb&j, hamburgers, chicken, french fries, pasta salad, and Fruit Loops. He's still not a very big vegetable eater, but we are working on that. He is in love with Mickey Mouse, and watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at least once a day. He LOVES playing outside, so we have really been missing the nice weather these past couple of rainy weeks. We are very excited that the sun has decided to come out for a while! He also still really loves to play ball, and is even getting pretty good at catching it. Overall, he is just the sweetest little guy I know, and I love him to pieces!

Darren has been at his new job at ORNL for 2 weeks now, and is really enjoying it. I am really enjoying having him home by 4 pm everyday!

Some new pictures

2009-04-19T16:58:00.005-04:00

I promise I will actually type up a post about what we are up to these days soon. For right now, though, I'll just share some new pictures of the family. :)

The Norris Family - Easter 2009

Dakoda getting ready to hunt Easter eggs

Picking up an egg

Putting an egg in the basket (with some help from Daddy)

Shaking the eggs to see what's inside

Checking out the eggs with his cousin, Riley

Sarah Kate in her VOLS dress before her first Orange & White game

Dakoda in his VOLS jersey at the Orange & White game

Picture Post

2009-03-09T16:37:00.007-04:00

I don't have time for a "real" post, but I wanted to share some new pictures of the kids. Dakoda is now 21 months old, and Sarah Kate is 3 weeks old. Time sure does fly by! :)

Sarah Kathleen is here!

2009-02-25T14:26:00.003-05:00

Dakoda's Big Spill

2009-02-16T20:21:00.003-05:00

Yesterday afternoon it was so nice outside that I asked Darren to take Dakoda out for a walk around Mam and Pap's yard. They had a blast playing together and I could hear Dakoda's belly laughs from inside the house. But then I heard him start crying and knew immediately that something was wrong - it was definitely an "I'm in pain!" cry. He tripped or stepped in a hole or something, and hurt his left leg, and now refuses to put any weight on it. We took him to the pediatrician today and they x-rayed his ankle, which showed no breaks, and the doctor said that he probably just sprained it. But then a friend of ours recommended that we read up on toddler fractures - which is a fairly common spiral fracture of the shin bone - and we realized that Dakoda wasn't crying out when we touched or rubbed his ankle, but seemed to be in a lot of pain when we tried to rub his leg (and of course, when he tried to stand on it). So tomorrow after Sarah Kate is here, Darren and Pap are going to take Dakoda back to the pediatrician to have his leg x-rayed to make sure that it isn't broken. Please keep our little man in your prayers!

Sarah Kathleen is coming tomorrow!

2009-02-16T20:16:00.002-05:00

I had a doctor's appointment today, and the doctor wanted to keep me on bed rest until my scheduled c-section next Tuesday due to my high blood pressure. I explained to her how difficult that would be considering that I have a toddler to care for, and asked if there was any way possible that we could move the delivery date up. We decided to try and schedule it for Friday, and she said that she would call me and let me know what time. Well, after we got home, we had a message saying that they weren't going to be able to do it on Friday, so they wanted to do it tomorrow! Big surprise, but we are so excited!! We cannot wait to meet our little girl!

Valentine's Day 2009

2009-02-16T20:02:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day this year, even though Darren had to work and I was on bed rest. Mamaw (Darren's mom) spent the day with me and Dakoda and helped us get all our laundry done up just in case Miss Sarah Kathleen decided to come this week. Dakoda wanted to watch Playhouse Disney most of the day, but we didn't mind because we had a lot of fun singing the songs with him and watching him dance!

After Darren got off work, Mamaw and Papaw took Dakoda to their house because Darren had a big Valentine's Day surprise planned for me. He took me to dinner Regas in Knoxville, and had two dozen red roses waiting for me at the table! We enjoyed an absolutely wonderful meal, and then he took me to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic". It was definitely the best Valentine's Day that I have ever had!

Oh, and if you were wondering, I got Darren an iPod for his gift and filled it up with lots of his favorite music, a UT football highlights video, and a special Valentine's Day playlist. :)

Such a big boy!

2009-02-11T10:14:00.003-05:00

As I've mentioned before, Dakoda is becoming Little Mr. Independent lately, especially at mealtime. This morning he refused to let me feed him his yogurt, so I decided to let him try it on his own. He did great!!! I'm so proud of my little man! :)

Dakoda Eugene

2009-02-04T22:10:00.003-05:00

I have a few minutes to myself, so I thought that I would write a post about my little man. Dakoda is changing so much everyday. It is so amazing to watch him grow and change from a baby into a little boy right before my eyes.

He is extremely curious, and interested in everything around him. He loves to try and figure out how things fit together, and how things work. He is very aware of where things go, and how things are supposed to be. For example, if he notices that a door is open that is normally kept shut, he will make a beeline for it so that he can close it. He loves to help clean up by throwing things away and putting his toys away.

He is becoming much more independent at mealtimes. He likes to pick out his own food from out of the cabinet, and his drink from the fridge. He always wants to try to feed himself, which sometimes drives me nuts because it can be a very messy process! I am trying not to limit him too much, though. :)

Every morning he sits in his chair and watches Playhouse Disney. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is his favorite (and the only one that he will watch all the way through), but he also enjoys dancing to the songs and music on Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, and Imagination Movers.

His favorite toys these days are still "real" items, such as the phone, the mouse/keyboard, and the remote. And don't try to give him one that doesn't work, either, because he can tell the difference! His other favorite toys are BALLS! Football, basketball, baseball, bouncy ball, whatever kind of ball it is, he will LOVE it! He has excellent aim, too (which he has perfected by using Emma and Neyland for target practice).

He is still not talking much, but we can tell that he is trying harder to say words. When he wants something, he is sure to let you know about it, and if he doesn't get his way, watch out! He has quite the temper! (Of course, I have no idea where that comes from....)

He is very sweet and loving, and lots of times is content to just climb up in your lap with his monkey and his blankie and cuddle. Those are my favorite times of the day, of course. :)

He still absolutely adores his Daddy. Every evening around 5:45, he will start pointing at the door and asking for Daddy. Then when Darren gets home, Dakoda gets the biggest grin on his face and runs for the door. It is incredibly sweet! His favorite time of day is BATHTIME! That is his special time with Daddy, and every night after dinner he will start beating on the bathroom door, look at his Daddy, and ask for a "Baf!" After his bath, he usually lays on the couch with Daddy for a while and then it's bedtime.

I can hardly believe that in a few short months, he will turn 2 years old. The time really has flown by, and I am so incredibly thankful that I have been fortunate enough to be with him every single day and watch him grow.

Superman!

2009-01-24T19:11:00.004-05:00

It is a little-known fact that Darren loves all things Superman. So when we saw these Superman pjs at Walmart a couple weeks back, of course Dakoda had to have them. We think he looks adorable!

And here are some of the outtakes:

My Funny Bunny

2009-01-24T18:55:00.005-05:00

Dakoda has started making the funniest faces when he sees me get out the camera. Here are some of my favorite recent shots:

Last visit to Sprout

2009-01-24T18:42:00.004-05:00

We found out a couple of weeks ago that Sprout is closing at the end of January, so we've been trying to find some time to get in one last visit. We didn't have any plans today, so we decided to go. Dakoda had a great time playing with all the new (to him) toys. He especially enjoyed the puzzles, the stairs/slide, and the water table. We are so sad that we won't get to play there anymore. :(

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Trying to figure out how to get the balls out of the tube :)

Getting some help from Daddy on the slide

He loved playing in the water with Daddy!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-25T22:54:00.008-05:00

Christmas Eve 2008

2008-12-24T21:41:00.005-05:00

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!

2008-12-01T09:22:00.004-05:00

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...

2008-11-18T15:49:00.003-05:00

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!!!!

2008-11-14T11:12:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-11-02T18:18:00.003-05:00

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!

2008-11-02T18:12:00.005-05:00

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

2008-10-31T21:39:00.002-04:00

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

2008-10-31T12:50:00.002-04:00

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

2008-10-28T19:51:00.001-04:00

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

2008-10-28T19:47:00.005-04:00

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 .......

2008-10-18T12:38:00.002-04:00

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

2008-10-11T19:29:00.004-04:00

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...

2008-10-09T21:57:00.003-04:00

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!

2008-10-08T12:47:00.007-04:00

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"

Love

2008-10-08T12:22:00.002-04:00

This is a very random post, but something that Darren and I were discussing this morning, and I feel very strongly about.

I have always felt that Love is a choice or a commitment versus a feeling. I think the "feeling" that people commonly associate with "love" is merely infatuation, which is why so many people "fall out of love" with each other. I think our society is so hung up on "feeling good" that once that infatuation wears off, they go in search of that good feeling again, which is why so many marriages and relationships fail these days. I mean, you're obviously not going to feel "butterflies" for someone forever; eventually that feeling is going to lessen, or more likely, go away altogether. I don't think that means that you no longer "love" that person, just that the newness of the relationship has worn off, which is why it is so important to have more in common with someone than a superficial physical attraction. Love IS a choice, and it IS a commitment, one that you continue to make every single day of your life.

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18

Playdough!

2008-10-01T15:48:00.004-04:00

Dakoda has been getting bored with his toys lately, so this afternoon, I decided to try something new - homemade playdough! He didn't really know what to do with it, but I got some cute pictures!

Checking it out...

Going in for a closer look...

Am I supposed to eat it?

Handsome boy!

WOW!

2008-09-29T21:29:00.004-04:00

I can't believe I let a whole month go by without updating! I didn't realize that it had been so long. Thanks for reminding me E! ;)

September was a very busy month for us, but it sure was lots of fun! I don't have much time to write at the moment, but here are a few new pictures.

Dakoda "playing" the drum

And playing with his favorite toy - Daddy's PS2!

Wearing his new hat that "Aunt" Kate made him!

Me and Baby #2 around 15.5 weeks

Darren and his friend, Jamie, with UT Basketball player, Tyler Smith

Of course, I have lots more pictures, but they'll have to wait for another time. It's 10 pm, which equals bedtime for this tired mommy!

Proud New Owners

2008-08-30T17:21:00.005-04:00

Well, we finally bit the bullet and bought a van. We knew we would need a bigger vehicle when the new baby gets here, and we have been going back and forth for weeks about when would be the best time to buy. Well, we stopped by Airport Honda yesterday to see what deals they had, and found OUR vehicle - a 2008 Honda Odyssey! It has all of the features that we wanted, and then some. We love it!

Julia's 12 week OB visit

2008-08-23T15:39:00.002-04:00

I had my 12 week OB visit yesterday. We got to see our little jelly bean again while the ultrasound tech performed the nuchal translucency scan. He/she was moving around like crazy! Everything looked great and the heart rate was strong at 154. We are so thankful that things are going so smoothly with the pregnancy!

Mommy's Little Helper

2008-08-23T15:35:00.002-04:00

This afternoon while I was studying on the couch, Dakoda decided to "help" me with the laundry (that I had already folded). Here are a couple of pictures of my little helper.

New Carseat

2008-08-15T18:28:00.004-04:00

Dakoda got a new carseat today, just in time for football season! It is a University of Tennessee Britax Marathon, and it is soo cute (and safe, of course)! Here are a couple of pictures.

♫ I'd like to check you for ticks... ♫

2008-08-13T15:58:00.002-04:00

Last week Dakoda had a virus. He saw the doctor on Thursday, and on Friday morning, I noticed that he was breaking out in a rash. I called the nurse, and she said that it was probably just related to the virus and was nothing to worry about. Well, over the next few days, the rash got worse, and yesterday morning, he had huge blisters on his poor little feet. So back to the doctor we went, and he was diagnosed with a bad infection from a bug bite! So now he's on antibiotics and we're praying that the bumps will clear up soon and our poor little man will start to feel better. :(

In the meantime, Darren and I found out yesterday evening why he had the bug bite in the first place - our yard and even his car is covered with seed ticks!! You can't even walk from the door to the car without getting them on you! Luckily, Pap knew just what to do to get rid of them, and he took care of it today. So hopefully we'll be able to play outside again soon! We are so ready for cooler weather!!!

Central Park Zoo

2008-08-06T12:47:00.002-04:00

Last week we drove to Connecticut for Aunt Kristy and Aunt Cynthia's wedding, and we were lucky enough to have a day to visit New York City! Dakoda seemed to really enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city, though he wasn't too sure about the subway! We visited the Central Park Zoo, had lunch at Grimaldi's and dessert at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, and then rode the water taxi back over to Manhattan to visit Ground Zero and Times Square. Then Mommy and Daddy had a date and saw Wicked on Broadway!! It was soo much fun! Thank you Aunt Kristy and Aunt Cynthia for being our "armed escorts"!! ;)

Here are some pictures from the Central Park Zoo.

Back-To-School

2008-07-22T10:38:00.003-04:00

For some unknown reason, I have always loved back-to-school time. I love seeing the school supply lists at the store, and aisles stocked with endless amounts of notebook paper and pencils and binders, and the excited kids (and parents) preparing for a new year. It just seems filled with such a sense of hope. Like, whatever happened the year before is forgotten. Your slate is wiped clean. You get to start over fresh with a new teacher and (sometimes) new classmates, and anything is possible.

Yeah, I'm a dork. :)

Into Everything

2008-07-16T20:05:00.002-04:00

Well, Dakoda still isn't walking on his own, but that doesn't stop him one bit from getting into everything within his reach! Of course, his favorite things to get into are the ones that are forbidden - the end table that Mommy puts her drink on, the dog food and water, the fireplace at Mam and Pap's.... Earlier this evening he even figured out to open Daddy's PS2 and get the game out! What a smart cookie! :)

Yay for a heartbeat!

2008-07-16T20:01:00.003-04:00

I went to the doctor today for an ultrasound to see how the pregnancy is progressing. Everything looked perfect, and I got to see and hear the heartbeat! It is always so exciting to hear that little thump-thump-thump, but the first time is the best! We are so thankful that everything is going so well and that the baby seems to be healthy. Only about 7 more months till we get to meet him/her!!

Yes, it's true!

2008-07-07T20:54:00.003-04:00

We are so excited to announce that Dakoda is going to be a BIG BROTHER next spring! We are due around March 7. We have prayed for this and are so happy that we have been blessed with another miracle!

One Year Pictures!

2008-06-21T15:00:00.005-04:00

I took Dakoda to get his one-year pictures made yesterday while Darren baled hay. Dakoda wasn't feeling well, but he was a trooper, and we got some great shots! Here are a few favorites:

Happy (Late) Birthday Dakoda!

2008-06-13T16:33:00.006-04:00

I just realized that I didn't post on Dakoda's first birthday (05.30), or after, with birthday pictures! OOOPS!! So here are a few pics, plus the slideshow that I made for him. Enjoy!

Mommy and Dakoda before his first haircut

Daddy and Dakoda getting ready for the haircut

After the haircut - Dakoda did not like having it done!

Birthday Cake!

Enjoying his smash cake

So excited about opening presents (and playing with the tissue paper, lol)
Waiting patiently for Mommy to give him another present to open

So tired after a long day!
And here is the slideshow of Dakoda's first year!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I've been Tagged!

2008-06-13T15:14:00.002-04:00

Our friends Becky and Eve "tagged" us! So now I get to "tag" some other friends. Woohoo!

So here are the rules as to what I had to do and if you are one of my lucky seven mentioned below then you need to do the following, too:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog .

Here are my seven
1. I am obsessed with the television show, Dawson's Creek. I have seen every single episode about 20 times, and can quote most of them.

2. If I hear a song that played on an episode of Dawson's Creek, I can tell you exactly what was happening in the episode when the song was playing. Weird, I know.

3. Whenever I visit a city where I know a movie or tv show was filmed, I have to go to the exact location and take a picture. Just 'cause.

4. I LOVE to read, and I have certain books that I re-read at least once a year. These include, but are definitely not limited to, Gone With the Wind, Scarlett, and all of the Harry Potter books.

5. My favorite place on Earth will always be Walt Disney World. I know this will sound really dorky, but it truly is a magical place. When you're there, you just feel like a kid again, no matter how old you really are. I love it!

6. I am one of those rare people who has known what they wanted to be when they grew up since preschool - a Mommy! Some people look down on stay-at-home mom's, but I think it's the best job in the world, and I am very lucky to be able to call myself one.

7. I HATE and am deathly afraid of slimy things that live in the water. This includes fish, crabs, lobsters, snakes, crawdads, jellyfish, SHARKS, and even seahorses.

Here are the people I am tagging.
1. Our Kindermusik friends, Elizabeth, Jonathan and Joseph
2. Our other Kindermusik friends, Kimberly and Ava
3. A fellow June mommy and baby, Mia and Aria
4. Another June mommy and baby, Nora and Nailah
5. A friend and wonderful photographer, Tina
6. Some BBC friends, Kira and Finn
7. More BBC friends, Dawn and Emelia

Home at last

2008-06-08T18:03:00.006-04:00

We arrived home yesterday evening, safe and sound. Vacation was fun, but it is sure good to be home! We had a wonderful week on the Isle of Palms and touring Historic Charleston and the surrounding areas. We visited Patriot's Point, Fort Sumter, the SC Aquarium, Boone Hall Plantation, Whirlin' Waters Waterpark, and Blackbeard's Pirate Cove. We took a really great Civil War Walking Tour, where we found out all about Charleston's role in the War Between the States, and we also did a Ghost Hunt, which was not very scary, but still fun. We also had fun just hanging out with the family at the fabulous beach house that Aunt Kristy and Cynthia rented for us. Here are some pictures from our wonderful week.

Here are Dakoda and Darren getting ready to go swimming. Gotta love that farmer's tan! hehe
And here is Dakoda enjoying the kiddie pool at our beach house.Dakoda loved playing in the sand, and of course, he put it right in his mouth.He also LOVED the ocean! (Which was a little scary for Mommy!)

Vacation!

2008-06-02T08:22:00.003-04:00

We are having a blast on the Isle of Palms! This is Dakoda's first time at the beach and he is absolutely LOVING it!! He enjoys playing in the sand, but he really wants to be in the water all the time. Every time we put him down on the beach, he crawls straight towards the ocean! So we are spending most of our time in the pool instead. Mommy says it's safer. :)

We went out to dinner at The Boathouse last night and Dakoda had crab legs for the first time. He LOVED it! Must take after his Daddy on that, because Mommy won't touch seafood.

Here is a picture of him eating crab meat.

More updates and pictures to come. We're off to explore Charleston's historical treasures!

YAY!!!

2008-05-24T11:54:00.002-04:00

We have been looking for some land to buy to build a house on, and we recently found out that our favorite piece of property in Morgan County was being auctioned off this morning. It is a very desirable piece of land, so we were really worried that we wouldn't get it, but.....WE DID!!!!!!!!! We are so excited and looking forward to all of the wonderful memories that we will make there in the future! Thank you so much to all of our family members that helped make this possible for us! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Another "first" for Dakoda

2008-05-20T15:44:00.004-04:00

Dakoda is really growing up fast now! It seems like he does something new everyday. He really speed-crawls now and is getting into everything! He especially loves the dogs. He enjoys playing tug-of-war with them and chasing them around. He has started trying to let them out of their cages when they are locked up. Yesterday he got ahold of their water bowl, which thankfully didn't have any water in it at the time. And today he decided that he wanted to try some of their food. Yum yum! :)

Graduation!

2008-05-05T11:13:00.003-04:00

This was a very fun and eventful weekend for the Norris family. Friday was Pap's birthday, so we had lunch with Great Aunt Rosie, Great Uncle Tom, Miss Jeannie, Miss Emmy, Aunt Trit and cousin John at Shoney's. Dakoda got to try a couple of bites of hot fudge cake and LOVED it!! Takes after his mommy. :)

On Saturday, I graduated from Tennessee Technological University with my Bachelor of Science in Multidisciplinary Studies! It took me a little longer than it should have, but I finally finished! After the ceremony, Darren, Dakoda and I ate lunch at our favorite Cookeville restaurant - El Tapatio. Dakoda was very fussy, as he had missed out on his nap because of the long graduation ceremony. He likes to hold "big people" food, so we gave him a chip, and he looked at us, giggled, and TOOK A BITE OUT OF IT!!! This is a big deal because he is 11 months old and has never fed himself! We were beginning to worry, and that little stinker could probably have done it all along, and just didn't want to. I don't know where he gets his stubbornness from....

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Crawling!!

2008-04-28T13:23:00.003-04:00

Dakoda started crawling today!! He has been scooting around on his bottom and inch-worm crawling for a few months now, but we weren't sure he would ever crawl on all fours. But today he did! We are so excited! I'll try to post a video later.

Surprise!

2008-04-23T20:19:00.002-04:00

Last night Darren and Pap were in the living room with Dakoda while I talked to Grammie (my mom) on the phone. I heard them getting all excited and clapping, and Darren told me that Dakoda had sat himself up for the first time! Well, of course, he wouldn't do it again for me.

So this morning when I went in to get him, he was sitting up in his crib! I was so surprised!! My little baby really is growing up! He did it again after his morning nap, but he still won't do it when I'm in the room, the little stinker!

Busy Week

2008-04-21T09:38:00.004-04:00

Wow! It's been over a week since I posted. We have been very busy lately. Aunt Kristy (Darren's sister) came in from NYC for a visit April 11-13. We had lots of fun spending time with her and her friend, Cynthia.

Last Wednesday, Dakoda and I went to Knoxville to meet some members of a Hip Mama's group, which is a group of Moms in the Knoxville area that get together with their kiddos a couple of times a week for playdates and such. It was a lot of fun and we met a lot of really nice Mommies and babies (and older kids, too!). After the meetup, Dakoda and I went to West Town Mall and I found a lot of great deals at The Children's Place and babyGap! YAY!

Darren was off work on Friday, so we went shopping in Knoxville again. First we went to Babies R Us (one of my favorite places!) and got a baby shower gift for our good friends, Dustin and Julie. Then we went to the mall again and got some Robeez for Dakoda and some basketball shorts for Darren. Later, we went to Zach and Landon's baseball game. We finally got home around 8 pm. What a long day!

Saturday was the Orange & White game at UT. It was Dakoda's first experience with UT football, and he loved it! He got so excited whenever the band would play and would clap his hands and kick his little feet! It was so cute! We left early because it was really windy and chilly, but we had a lot of fun!

Yesterday Darren had Men's League Basketball all afternoon, and Dakoda and I traveled to Cookeville for a Delta Gamma alumni meeting. It was so great to see my sisters again, and introduce Dakoda to them! We can't wait to get together with them again!

Here are some pictures from our busy week.

Dakoda playing with Daddy's boots while Mommy gets ready.

At the baseball game

Orange & White Game

Beautiful Day!

2008-04-10T15:45:00.002-04:00

It has been a beautiful couple of days here in East TN! Sunny and warm, but not too warm, with a gentle breeze. Gorgeous! Dakoda and I walked up the hill to visit Mam and Pap both yesterday and today. We took Emma and Neyland with us and they had a ball running around the yard and enjoying the outdoors! This afternoon the ground wasn't as damp, so I let Dakoda play in the grass for a little bit. He was so funny trying to figure out what in the world that stuff was! Here are a couple of pictures.

Dakoda wondering what that green stuff is!

Handsome boy!

Changing every day

2008-04-07T12:59:00.002-04:00

Dakoda is learning something new every day. Yesterday he started giving high fives. It is the cutest thing! He has also started shaking his head "no" when he's done eating, reaching for wherever he wants to be (Jumperoo, floor, couch, etc), and stepping when we help him walk by holding his hands. He still isn't crawling yet, although he has no problem getting where he wants to go. He inch-warm crawls to go forward, and scoots backwards. He also scoots on his bottom. Yesterday morning he was sitting in the living room floor playing with his toys, facing the kitchen. When I walked in the room from my bedroom, he was turned completely around, slam-dunking a water bottle into his basketball goal! Our little man is growing up so fast! It's hard to believe it's less than 2 months until his 1st birthday!

The Norris Family

Christmas Card 2010

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Tasty Tuesday: Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls

Oakdale Homecoming, Date Night, and Prayers Needed!

Friday Fives

The Night Before Christmas Kids Book Gift Box Set: Book, CD, Ornament $6

Wordless Wednesday

The Pioneer Woman's Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Prep Time: 20 MinutesCook Time: 25 MinutesDifficulty: EasyServings: 12

Ingredients

Preparation Instructions

Allardt Pumpkin Festival

Giveaway at A Glimpse Inside

140 Caricature Address Labels For $3.40 Shipped!

Free 8x10 Collage Print From Walgreens!

Disney Tangled New Official Trailer

Four Movie Tickets For As Low As $15

Friday Fives

Disney World 2010 - Part 1, continued

Wordless Wednesday

Another Toys R Us Deal This Week!

Get 3 Disney Blu-ray/DVD Combos For Less Than $40!

Disney World - Part 1

Six Months!!

March for Babies

A Day In The Life....

Sarah Kate's Pretty in Pink {and Brown} 1st Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Sarah Kathleen!

Birthday Sneak Peeks!

The Snowy Day

My Baby and Her Baby

Go Vols!

A new year - a new job!

Resolutions for 2010

Love is patient....

Girl Time at Target

A few memorable moments from 2009

To My Beautiful Boy...

Merry Christmas!

Fun in the Leaves

Maple Lane Farms

2 months - oh my!

First Food

Sarah Kate is 6 months old!

Just like Daddy

Happy 2nd Birthday Dakoda!

An update...finally!

Some new pictures

Picture Post

Sarah Kathleen is here!

Dakoda's Big Spill

Sarah Kathleen is coming tomorrow!

Valentine's Day 2009

Such a big boy!

Dakoda Eugene

Superman!

My Funny Bunny

Last visit to Sprout

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve 2008

Tag, You're It!

Two Years Ago Today...

Walking!!!!

Vote!

23 weeks already!

Halloween 2008

North Carolina Trip

Mommy's Little Monkey

Family Pictures - October 2008

It's A .......

Pumpkin Patch

For anyone who is wondering...

Dakoda's first UT football game!

Love

Playdough!

WOW!

Proud New Owners

Julia's 12 week OB visit

Mommy's Little Helper

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 12