A few 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!

To My Beautiful Boy...

~ 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!

Merry Christmas!

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

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

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!