Dakota @ 14 months & My Belly (22 weeks)

Having fun in the tub. He has starting to want to drink the bathtub water. Totally gross! This day we was also obsessed with his tongue. He was sticking it out and grabbing it all day.

This is Dakota's picture taken on his 14 month birthday. We have always tried to take pictures monthly to remember how he has changed. My baby is no longer a baby, he is a toddler. Aahh! And we will be having another one in 4 months. I'm not crazy am I? Maybe you shouldn't answer that...

He has always loved shoes. Since he started walking around Christmas time, it wasn't long after that he figured out he could carry stuff around too. He was having fun with dads shoes. Needless to say stuff gets lost a lot. So cute!

I know everyone back home who doesn't see me all the time is just dying to see my belly. (And no I am not sticking it out). Well here you go. Week 22. Sad thing is I am already experiencing heartburn, and being hot and uncomfortable at nighttime. Hope I can survive the 16 week and 3 days left.

Christmas Tradition

A family tradition we continue is getting a yearly family caricature. This year we were in Mesa, and had the hardest time finding a place to have it drawn. Luckily, family in Arizona knew of an artist who graciously came to their home to draw this nice little picture for us. We really like it, not that it truly looks like us - it is still a caricature - but it tells a bit of a story of our trip in the little white mini van to tour parts of Arizona over Christmas break. The beautiful mountains of Sedona in the background one of the places we visited. A saguaro cactus as we drove through a forest of these on our way back to Phoenix. Alicia pregnant with our second child, and Dakota being his smiling boyish self. The most important part to me is the metal mouth smile of my beautiful wife, which represents her tolerating braces for me for over 6 months now and my future adventures towards becoming an orthodontist. Hope you like it too. It already hangs in the place of last years airbrush drawing on the wall in Dakota's room, take a look at the older posts (http://tharon-alicia.blogspot.com/2009/01/more-christmas-break-pics.html) and tell us what you think of the two in comparison. It's amazing to think that next year we there will be four of us and we'll have a 6 month old baby Girl. Yeah!

It's Official!!!

So my doctor appointment was today, and we got to have an ultrasound done. The doctor said everything looks good. No missing parts and everything looks as it should. So good news there. Of course we (or at least I) had to know the sex. Tharon didn't care as much what it was because he said he already got his boy, but I did want a girl. And I wasn't disappointed. She is an active little girl, the doctor had to have 3-4 looks at her, before he said for sure. The doctor said 95% that it is a GIRL! The only thing now is we have to pick out a name.

Family

These are pictures of Alicia's family waiting around to get our pictures taken.
And some of us where having a little more fun that others!

Cruising and Family Pictures

So Dakota can now walk wherever he goes! He has even mastered how to stand up on his own. He really picked it up fast over the Christmas break. I think being around cousins who were walking really helped. It was fun watching him play with his cousins and not follow them around crawling on the ground. Now it is a little weird getting use to him being so fast. We took family pictures at the temple grounds. And while we were waiting for the photographer to get there we decided to snap some of our own.
Isn't he just handsome all dressed up and his hair done.

Dakota really took to Mark, he actually reached out to have Mark hold him. Dakota is just lucky to have such an uncle as Mark.

Temple Lights

We went to see the Mesa Arizona Temple light for our visit to AZ. I just love the lights, because when they cover the trees and bushes surrounding the temple grounds they really cover them. Everything is completely covered in lights and it makes it glow.
My (Alicia's) Dad and Mom in front on the temple.
Mark (Alicia's brother), Dakota and Alicia in front of the temple also.

Christmas

So Dakota wasn't old enough to understand what was going on Christmas day so he and all the other cousins all went after this really cute fisher price little people nativity set.

Dakota playing with the gifts under the tree, although he still looks clueless.

This was Tharon's gift from me. (you can see he is just so excited). It is a gps/radio for hunting.
This was a gift that my parents got me. I just love the pioneer woman and I really wanted her cookbook. Good food!

Playing

Dakota had playing with his cousins. Pictured here are Benton & Emmie with Dakota.
Emmie giving Dakota a kiss.

Dakota was copying what Benton was doing. So cute.

Watching and helping Grandma play the piano.

Flagstaff & Sedona, AZ

We made a trip to northern Arizona to explore possible future places to settle and practice. Both Tharon and I were suprised by the amount of snow that northern Arizona (especially Flagstaff)gets and it just so happened that we driving in a snow storm on our way there. Love the mountains.This is what it looked like out the front window on our drive up to Flagstaff. Dakota and Mark becoming buddies in the backseat. Dakota actually warmed up to Mark pretty fast.

The snow capped mountains of Sedona. Very beautiful with all the red rock.