YAY!!!

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

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!

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!!

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!

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

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!

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!