Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Catching Up...

Hello everyone. I am sorry it has been a few days since my last post, but I have a good reason...I was in Indiana, away from my computer!

Dallas and I set out on a road trip Friday morning. My good friend, Cari, was having a bridal shower on Sunday, and I went back to surprise her. Doug didn't go with us because he was very busy with work. The following is a photo journal of our trip...


When we left Friday morning, it was raining. I thought I was going to have to build a boat to get the truck loaded!

Snowball wasn't too sure about meeting Dallas.

Aunt Lisa and Dallas

My Grandpa Robertson was able to meet his newest great-grandson on Saturday afternoon.

Four Generations

The "Greats"



Dallas worked very hard over the weekend to find his thumb. It finally happened! He has continued to work hard on finding it again...but it is not always a success.

"Check out my right hook, Grandpa."

Aunt Josie and Dallas

Mom had the Robertson and Cash families out to the house Saturday afternoon to meet Dallas.

Grandma Bergman waiting her turn...patiently.

Aunt Patti and Uncle Steve with Dallas.

"The Spoiling Crew"

My cousin Megan and Dallas

We met up with Aunt Carol after church Sunday morning.

Grandpa and Dallas solving the problems of the world.

Cari opening the present we got her.

My friend Pam even got to meet Dallas.

The bride-to-be and me

After the shower Dallas and I went to Aunt Pat's house to visit the Rosenfeld family.

Christy meeting Dallas

Molly and Cody were very excited to get to meet Dallas!

Dallas was finally able to get a cat nap.

Aunt Lisa and Dallas before we headed back to Iowa.
Just another adorable face!

GG saying good-bye before we headed west.

Dallas and I had to make a stop by the Shelby Co. Co-op so Grandma could show him off to the ladies in the office. Here his is with Norma.

Becky and Dallas

Sheryl and Dallas

Linda and Dallas

Tangody and Dallas (he finally woke up)

Of course, we made our way back to the crops to see Sue.

Johnny Mike even took a break from loading fertilizer to meet Dallas.

One last picture before we took off.

I hope it didn't take too long for all these pictures to load up. Dallas and I had a great time visiting everyone, and we hope you enjoyed seeing us! Hopefully, we'll be seeing you all again as well as others that didn't get the chance.


Until next time...

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Waiting for Sleep...

So, here I am, quarter after 10 in the evening, waiting for Mr. Dallas to go to sleep! What a better thing to do than put up a post.

Dallas did have his therapy session yesterday. It went really well, and I felt a lot more relaxed when we left. The therapist (Leslie) said that this neck thing - torticollis - is somewhat typical of babies. Dallas's doctor, as well as Doug and I, believe that his condition was caused by the way he was laying in-utero. Leslie showed me some different stretches to do with Dallas, as well as, different ways to position him when carrying him and playing with him. We go back in 2 weeks for a follow up. Usually Leslie goes a month out before a follow up, but Dallas would not wake up during the appointment so she couldn't do a complete assessment of his current neck (muscle) strength. Leslie also said that the "lump" on Dallas's throat that we have been watching is actually the contracted muscle that is causing him to look off to the side. So...that was a relief as well.

Today, it rained much of the day. Dallas and I met Doug in town for lunch. It was nice to be out of the house, but it was rather messy. Of course, everyone at work loved seeing Dallas, and they were amazed at how much he has grown since the wedding the other weekend.

This evening I had my second to last religious education class. I can't believe the "year" is almost over. Next week we are having a celebration party, so the actual class part is complete. I am happy to report that we did make it all the way through our textbook. I was a little concerned that we wouldn't make it...especially with me taking a few weeks off when Dallas was born. Next, we just wait for June to roll around to have my students confirmed.

I believe that is all that is happening around here. Now for some pictures.

Dallas enjoying a day outside.

Notice how is head is turned...this is what we are trying to correct.

Until next time...

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

My Hair

So this might seem like a silly post, but quite a few people have recently commented on my hair. Not the style, but the color. I have not had any coloring done to my hair for quite some time (like maybe when I was in college or even before that). I'm just afraid that my hair is turning darker. Although, this really doesn't surprise me.

My mom has told stories for years that my grandpa Gossett had light brown hair, then it turned to a darker brown, next it was practically black, and finally gray. My mom's hair used to be a light brown, next it turned to a darker brown, and it is still getting darker...and well my hair...do you see a pattern?

My mom said that when people were looking at her photos of me (and Dallas) that they too commented on how dark my hair was. I haven't noticed it, but when you look at it every day in the mirror...it is hard to see the change.

So...Missy, to answer your question in the last post's comment...no, the picture is not fooling you. My hair is getting darker. Maybe having a baby caused it to change more rapidly? Who knows, hormones are a funny thing. For instance, I use to have board straight hair...could not hold a curl no matter how hard I tried. Within the last year when I don't blow dry my hair, you wouldn't believe the curl I have!

OK, enough about my hair...I actually need to get moving. Dallas has his first therapy session for his neck today. I need to feed him, bathe him, dress him, and load him in the car! Lots to do...in such a short time!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Spring has Sprung

I think it is almost safe to say that spring is upon us! We had a wonderful weekend. It was a little misty on Saturday, but it was warm enough to be outside. Doug went to work for a short while Saturday morning and then came home to pick up the limbs and sticks in the yard. Sunday morning we went to church. Dallas did great ~ he slept through the whole thing! After church, we had a short informational meeting about a new group they are trying to start in the cluster. When we got home, Doug started rolling the yard. We rented a yard roller from the hardware store because our yard got torn up from the roofers this winter. (We might have had a small part in it as well, but I'll say it was mostly the roofers!) I was able to get outside for a short while and work in my flower beds while Dallas was taking a nap. We then topped the weekend off with a trip to Coralville to go to the grocery! We are due for some rain this week, but I don't think it is going to be as much as they originally predicted.

We hope you all have a great week!

Now for a few pictures that were captured over the weekend.

Doug had to climb up in the tree to get this branch that was broken by the ice during the winter.

Dallas was able to help Dad pick up some sticks on Saturday.

Dad caught Mom and Dallas in a nap on Sunday afternoon.

After cleaning up the flower bed around my porch, I noticed my hostas are really starting to come up!

Check out all the spring flowers popping up!

Until next time...

Friday, April 18, 2008

Hello!

I just wanted to say "Hi" to everyone! I hope you have a great weekend. Mom and Dad are excited about the nice weekend we are suppose to have, but they are not looking forward to the 5 days of rain that is to follow.

I also wanted to let you know that I had a check-up with the doctor today. I have a lump on my throat (Mom first noticed it when I was 2 weeks old) that the doctor wanted to follow up on. The doctor says that she isn't too concerned about it right now. It hasn't changed in size, which is a good thing. She is going to recheck it at my 2 month check-up. But...since we were at the doctor's office, they went ahead and weighed me. Guess how much I weigh! Any guesses???

If you guessed 12 lbs ~ you are right! Can you believe it?!? Mom asked them to weigh me again to make sure! You can call me late, but don't call me late for a meal.

One last thing...I get to start some physical therapy soon to work on straightening my neck. In case you haven't noticed in my pictures, I don't like to turn my head to the left. This has to do with how I was laying inside Mom. I'm not sure how often or how long I'll have to do the therapy, but I hope it helps.

OK...that's all from my world!

Love,
Dallas

Thursday, April 17, 2008

All is better...

Good news! Doug is feeling much better. He even went back to work today! Yesterday he felt better, but not good enough for work. I went to town and got his laptop and brought it home so he could do a few things. He was able to get some things accomplished in the afternoon, so he felt good about that. As of now, both Dallas and I are still well. I'm praying that we don't get what Dad had! That would stink...plain and simple.

Dallas had a much better day yesterday as well. It was so nice here (in the 70's...first time we had seen 70 degrees since Oct. 21st!), so Dallas and I got out of the house. We went to Marengo to the grocery store and to the Pamida. What's Pamida? It is a very small scale Wal-Mart. Anywho...the Pamida is closing in Marengo...their final day is this coming Sunday. They have been discounting everything since the first of the year. They finally have things marked down 60-80%. I was in search of some plastic totes, and was able to find a couple. I also stocked up on greeting cards. As some of you might know, my New Year's Resolution was to be better about sending birthday and anniversary cards. (So far, I'm doing fairly well with it.) Well, now I'm good to go for a while!

One last thing...yesterday, while putting Dallas down for a nap, I realized just how much he has grown. He naps in a pack n' play (playpen) downstairs. There is a changing table that rests on the pack n' play, so we have always laid Dallas this way...


The dark blue area with the strap is the changing table.

Well, he has gotten too long to sleep that direction...so today, I had to take the changing table off so he could lay this way...


Now he looks like a tiny baby again! Plus, I still have room to keep the diaper supplies at hand!

Speaking of which...it sounds like it is time for diaper duty! Gotta run...

Until next time...

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Sickness

What a day it has been. When Doug got home from work on Monday evening he did not look too great. Sure enough, he didn't feel great. He tried eating supper, but that didn't agree with him. Needless to say, he spent the night between the couch and the bathroom. He then stayed home from work today (Tuesday), and he rotated between the bathroom, the couch, and the bedroom. Thankfully, he was able to get some sleep today. On the other hand...Dallas has been rotten today. He would scream every time I would lay him down for a nap! The only way I could get him to sleep was to lay him on my chest and continuously rock. Plus, he wanted to eat every two - two and half hours. He typically goes at least three hours between feedings. I sure hope he sleeps well tonight!

In other news, my friend Laura is having a garage sale on Thursday and Friday of this week, and she invited me to bring things to add. I was going to go through some of our things yesterday and today to make a garage sale box, but I never got the chance. Oh well, there's always the next time.

Well, I gotta go...Dallas is waking up.

Until next time...

Monday, April 14, 2008

Our 1st Roadtrip!

This weekend we went to Osage, IA, for a wedding. Our friends, Jason and Katie, tied the knot on a snowy April day...who would have thought there would be snow in April? Anyway...Katie and Doug work together. {Katie and Jason were also our bowling partners this past winter.}

Doug, Dallas and I left the house around 9:30 Saturday morning, stopped and checked-in to our hotel around 12:30, and made it to the wedding just in time. Dallas did great on the drive up there...he slept the entire way! At the wedding, he was a little fussy, but not too bad. There were a couple hours before the reception began, so Dallas got in a good nap. I think he had a good time at the reception...he loved all the attention he got from our friends from work. He just kept bouncing from one person to another! I did get to see him when it was time for him to eat and get a diaper change...funny how he seems to find his way back to me for those moments.

Sunday morning we headed to a toy tractor show that was in the same area as the wedding. It is the last one of the "season". Dallas slept through the entire show, so he didn't come home with any new tractors. After the toy show, we met up with Aunt Katie for lunch. Dallas was being a little fussy during picture time, so I apologize in advance for his facial expressions.

Now for the pictures...


The Newly Weds!


Fred (one of Doug's old co-workers and fishing partner) & Dallas
{Notice that Dallas's belly is getting larger and harder to keep his shirts down!}


The "Monsanto" table...everyone from work


Katie (the bride) and me


Gema {another one of Doug's co-workers} and Dallas


Dallas's 1st night away from home


Getting ready for the toy show...
This is the same outfit we brought him home from the hospital in...it fits a little differently now!


Aunt Katie and Dallas


Let's try this again...

Until next time...