Lately it seems like every day Dallen does something new. He is starting to crawl, eat big boy food, drink out of a sippie cup, he pulls himself up, passes things from hand to hand, plays peek-a-boo, turns upside down during diaper changes, he reaches out for me and climbs all over me!! He loves his momma and gets sad when I leave, but Daddy is so proud that now he says Da-Da!! Here are some cute pictures of Dallen up on all fours and sitting up trying to brush his teeth that haven't come through yet :)

FUNNY FACES
Teething makes for a lot of things: less sleeping at night, more fussiness in the day, the need to chew on EVERYTHING. Teething is kinda a nightmare but at least this adorable face is a by-product. He chews or sucks on his bottom lip and it makes this super cute pucker face and I just wanna kiss it. Hopefully those teeth break soon and I can snap yet another cute picture :) Keep your fingers crossed!!

BEST buy
I got this adorable shopping-cart/high-chair cover from this cute little store online and it is one of my favorite "baby stuff" purchases. It is so great. They sell them everywhere now, but I just loved the cute fabrics at: http://www.tinderboutique.com/

BEST friends
Dallen and Chloe are the bestest of friends and they love to play together. Best of all, they are really good at sharing!! They share toys, food, diapers (clean ones of course) and in the pictures above, Dallen is sharing his shopping cart cover at Costco and his jammies so Mom and Dad's could watch a late night movie!! Doesn't Chloe look fabulous in blue? Do you think Daddy would ever let little D borrow Chloers pink ones?

For those who don't get to see Dallen all that often or even those who do but still just can't get enough, here are some pictures that are not in a collage so that you may copy and paste or save and print for your own viewing pleasure. We just love this little guy and can't get enough photos of the little one to get out there to share with you all.
Happy viewing!!6 months on Easter Sunday5 months oldAliso Creek Beach in LagunaPeek-a-boo Dallen 5 months oldSitting up with little assistance at an early 5 months oldHuge smiling Dallen with Mommy at the Klepingers, almost 6 months old

So on my computer I have all of Dallen's pictures seperated in a folder by age. The folder for 6 months is MUCH slimmer than the others. Why? Because its so sad to take pictures of a sick baby. Dallen has been sick on and off for over 3 weeks now. I was so sad I wasn't getting many 6 month old pictures so yesterday, after yet another trip to the doctors office, I got this keeper.
It breaks my heart to look at this super sad face, but he is still so adorable!! There really is nothing good about a sick baby, but if there is one perk, its how much he needs him mommy. He cuddles me and loves me and when its not 4 o'clock in the morning, I relish it. Those moments are becoming more and more rare as Dallen grows bigger and more independent. The last thing he wants to do is sit on Mommy's lap or cuddle up like a little baby. He wants to be down on the ground, rollin around. I just love this little boy and hope he is his happy self again soon!!

THE BOX!!!

For a long time people have been asking for videos of Dallen and until now I couldn't get them onto the blog because of my dumb computer. I finally got it working and hope this isn't overkill. Here's a bunch of videos from the past couple months. I know there's a lot, so if you need, come back when you have some spare time!! First up: Dallen's first taste of REAL food. Sweet potatoes, yum!!

Since then Dallen has also had squash, green beans and carrots, and the carrots were not such a hit! I got more on me than he put in his mouth.

These next videos were taken on our trip to CA so they were mostly for Daddy, since he couldn't be there to enjoy the moments with us. This video is Dallen getting acquainted with my parents dog, Kasie. He got just a little too close, but he LOVED her.

This was taken (sorry its sideways) when Auntie Kellie took Dallen and I to the beach. He loved playing in the sand and if it hadn't been so cold I am sure he would have loved the water too. And of course, Dallen ate a little sand as any baby would!!

The next 2 videos are Dallen's first time in the pool. He absolutely loved it and did not want to get out! Again, it was March so it was a little cold to let him stay in there all day.


Hope you enjoyed these!! There are more posts coming soon, but unfortunately this one took FOREVER. Hope it was worth it :)

This year for Easter, instead of going home to be with family, my family came to me. I have to say, this was one of my favorite Easter weekends ever!! We did so many fun things together as a family. We spent a lot of time at the Tempe Marketplace, shopping and eating and just hanging out. On Friday night we got sandwiches and headed to the temple for the Easter pageant. The weather wasn't the greatest, it was a little windy and a little chilly, our seats didn't provide the best view and the play itself was just a little bit cheesy, but all in all, I loved it! Being together as a family outside on picnic blankets, I almost felt like a kid again (if it weren't for the constant reminder that I have a child of my own). He was such a good sport and so much fun to be with.On Sunday we went to church as a family where we had the opportunity to be reminded of the true reason that we celebrate this season. Plus, Dallen got a chance to look so handsome in his new clothes he found in his Easter basket. On a serious note: it is amazing to me how much becoming a mother has been able to change my perspective of the Atonement and eternal families. I am so grateful for my Savior and I am also so grateful for my family. I did some reflecting (and just a little tear shedding) after my family left this afternoon and I was alone with my little boy again, and it is unexplainable how much love I have in my heart!! I have so much to be grateful for and I am so glad for seasons to remind me of all that we have. Happy Easter!!

At Dallen's six month appointment today we learned that he weighs 18 lbs 4 ozs and is a whopping 28 inches tall, that's the 97th height percentile!!! Such a big boy. We also learned that our poor baby boy has an ear infection. It has caused him to have a nasty cough and nose issues too. That explains the waking up every 15 minutes at night!! It is killing me :) He is so sweet, he just wants his mommy to hold him and comfort him and it just melts my heart. Other than the current temporary ailments, life with Dallen is happy and blessed!!

Here are the remaining pictures from month 5 that never got posted:

At the risk of sounding so cliche, babies grow up way too fast. I can't believe Dallen is a half a year old. Oh my gosh!! We are celebrating his half birthday today. Did I blink? Just look at the difference in my baby...
It is so amazing the difference a couple months can make. In the last few weeks Dallen has been learning and growing by leaps and bounds. He can sit up all by himself and for as long as he wants. He is reaching and grabbing everything he wants. He drinks out of my water bottle and actually swallows. He eats his cereal with a spoon. I wish I could say he sleeps through the night, but we are still working on that one! He is talking up a storm, although no one can understand what he is saying. He rolls in every direction to get to where he wants to go. And best of all, he gives the greatest hugs!! I love this little boy more and more every day and can't believe I am so blessed to have him in my life. Happy half Birthday Dallen, Momma loves you!!

For those who are unfamiliar, our church holds annual and semi-annual General Conferences, in which we get to listen to the prophet and apostles address the members of the church on Saturday and Sunday in April and October. Basically, twice a year we get to watch church on TV. Conference weekends have grown to be some of my favorite times of the year. It is a weekend that is generally focused on family and togetherness, at least it is for me. This year we spent lots of time with family and loved being together.

On Saturday we got to enjoy a BBQ at the Klepinger's home. It is so fun to get all the young cousins and all the grown up cousins together. We always have such a fun time.
On Sunday, Mark, Dallen and I went to the park, after house hunting, and it was so fun. We kept asking ourselves why we don't do this more often. Dallen loves to be outside and this spring weather is absolutely beautiful. We thoroughly enjoyed our conference weekend and hope you did too. Here's to October...

Taking a picture of one restless, playful, busy child is hard enough, but try to do three at a time, that's what I call an impossible mission. Dallen loves playing with his cousin Chloe and when Stone came to town for a few days, we just had to get these crazy kids together. Seeing Dallen play with his cousins makes me so excited for him to have little brothers and sisters someday but it really makes me glad that he has cousins to keep him busy until we are ready to go down that road. These little ones just crack me up, soooo cute!!