Family Pictures

We took family pictures yesterday and they turned out so dang cute! Dawson was the happiest baby even with his watery eyes from teething.

1 yr. 3 days old & WALKING! lol

Dawson just turned 1 on friday and he decided today he was going to walk. :) He has been able to take 1-2 steps here and there, but nothing like what he decided to do today! He has no fear and is all about it now. Oh... we bribed him with chocolate to get him to walk on video...lol! Do what you gotta do!

Update from the birthday... On Dawson's birthday he had his buddy Brenton come hang out for a couple of hours, and we played outside almost the entire day! Mom spoiled them with ice cream cones. Yes, Dawson got his own and ate it all! Also, Dawson is teething again. :( poor little guy gets a fever, runny/stuffy nose, pain, and his sleeping schedule is all whacked out which doesn't make him as happy as normal, but I still feel blessed with his attitude.
J.D. is working hard in school, and getting the truck running for the elk hunt. i will post pics of the truck later... its a beast! lol! a 1986 beast that is. J.D. is preparing for the Shelley boys hunting trip! (its a big deal...to the guys anyways. they prep for months on this)
I am getting the house cleaned & getting ready for Dawson's bday party. Also, tomorrow we are going to take some family pics so hopefully i will get those posted soon after. I have been doing some crafty things as well. I re-did my recipe box categories, and made an information book of Dawson (in-case we have people watch him and have a ? about something-i know I'm a little paranoid, but I felt it was a good idea). I have started Dawson's 1yr-2 yr scrapbook. I recently finished his 0-1 yr book! Go Me right? lol! And, i've started our parents' christmas present! I have to start early or i get stressed out as many of you can relate.
Othere than that we are all healthy and happy!

1 yr OLD!!

My little baby is 1 yr old today!

He is the greatest blessing in our lives and we love him so much! i can't believe 1 yr has gone by! I still remember heading to the hospital at 8 am knowing he was on his way here. :) He was born at 5:26 pm and weighed 7lb 9oz/20 inches long! here is all the things he's accomplished since.

He loves to smile and laugh
He loves peek a boo!
He has 4 teeth and 2 more on the way
His hair is getting more and more blonde
He loves to hide his toys in the speakers and get them out later
He loves anything with a hinge, or making noise
HE ABSOLUTELY LOVES ANIMALS
HE loves to drive the car ;)
He LOVES to be outside, go for walks or just crawl around outside
He has just learned to sleep all the way through the night
He is a super fast crawler, and cruises along furniture
He can take 1-2 steps on his own
He loves emptying all the cupboards and drawers
He loves taking baths or showers
He loves swimming... anything with water he loves
He can brush his teeth on his own
He can say mom, Dad, and no, bye, and hi/hey, he sounds like he says other words and mimicks me and j.D. but we arent' sure if he truly knows what he's saying
Loves to yell at people outside
He loves to play with other kids!!! he could care less about mom or dad when other kids are around.
loves to hold mom's picture of her in her wedding dress
Communicates otherwise really well in letting us know he's tired, hungry, messy or needs attention.
Eats a lot of different things but TRULY recognizes a popsicle or ice cream when its around. :)
loves to tear up paper
loves unstocking the food storage
Last but not least, HE LOVES TALKING ON THE PHONE!!! lol

We love you Dawson and hope you have the best day ever! Happy Birthday little man!

He did it! I didn't..

HOORAY! FOR DAWSON! He slept from 9 pm to 7:30am! Whoo hoo! I was so excited! Although... I am so used to waking up a billion times in the night, that I didn't sleep through the night. ugh! :( Hopefully I can learn soon to sleep through the night now. lol! Now I can learn since Dawson has. :)

As of other updates... J.D. is retaking Organic Chemistry this year to get a higher grade and to help on the DAT... his first test...drum roll please............
98%!
Good job my love!
He is doing so amazing this semester with all of his classes.

My Dawson will be 1 this week and I can't believe it's here.

2nd night of sleeping....

Well, as you read before, it took Dawson 25 min to cry himself to sleep the 1st night. It was so sad. At 5 am he woke again and was trying to eat me alive. So I fed him a bottle and asleep he went until 7:30. It's amazing how good sleep can change a person. Dawson was so much happier (some may say he's already happy, but he has been super whiny), he played better independently, and listened to me. It was amazing, and he still loves me.

Night 2... well we got home at 10:00 and I laid him down in his crib with no bottle since he had one about an 1 hour before. He throws up if he gets too much. It took less than 3 min! I didn't even go in to check him on the 3 min mark, he just fell asleep! Whoo hoo! So me and J.D. went to bed. It was 10:20... Dawson didn't wake up wil 5:30! I gave him a bottle and he was trying to sleep, but I needed to change him. Once I did, he threw up all over me. It was okay cuz he had slept for 7 hours. That is a major improvement. I'm okay with once a night, just not 4-5 times a night of waking up. So, quick bath, and he went to sleep on his own. He slept til 8:30. I feel so refreshed. I actually kept waking up because I'm so used to it. I can't remember the last time I got 7 hours of sleep. Anyways, thank you to my good friend Britt for letting me in on this strategy of getting a child to sleep. It worked! :)

Man Oh Man...

So I have 2 stories. First, I forgot to mention that last week on Sunday, Dawson threw up in sacrament. It was EXTREMELY embarrassing! J.D. had just barely brought him in from being noisy, and up it comes all over the bench, the aisle, J.D. and down the hallway. It was a first seeing that for both of us... AND i had to say the closing prayer....

2nd story, we are trying to get Dawson to sleep through the night... It is so sad. I wouldn't worry about it, but he is waking up 4-5 times a night. NO JOKE! I am so exhausted. So we started yesterday... he did okay. i laid down on the floor the whole night next to the crib, and when he'd cry I would let him hold my hand. Tonight was a cut off from that. I had to just let him cry for 3 min.. comfort him, lay him down and wait 5 min. if he cried still, do the same thing then add 5 min each time. It went on til I had to wait 25 min and he fell asleep. I sobbed! i know I've mentioned I can't handle hearing him cry, but J.D. took a stand and said we had to do this for his own good. I just wanted to hold him and rock him, but J.D. said not to undo what we've accomplished. It's the most heartbreaking thing that has ever happened. I am still up because I'm so traumatized by it. I feel like a bad mom. :( I know I need sleep, I'm wearing down fast and get onry fast because I need sleep so bad. J.D. has school so he doesn't help in the night which makes it harder. I hope this really works.

Mom is in the crib?

This is J.D. here. I came home after school one day and kept walking around our apartment trying to find Jenny and Dawson. All of the sudden I heard something and went into Dawson's room. This is what I found. Jenny had climbed in with Dawson to lay with him til he fell asleep! :) I thought it was funny enought to take a picture, so here you go. This is what my wife does when I'm gone.