Walking with my friendly dinosaur...

"Oh, what fun! Just listen to him roar!" (I think I'll remember that song forever.) Thank you, Aunt Jackie, for Dylan's walker dinosaur. She loves him and has walked many laps back & forth across our living room with him. :)

Dylan (1) & Cameron (almost 3) in Mimi's TV room. Cameron's not sure what to think about Dylly encroaching on his territory at Mimi's. But Dyl sure loved him, she wanted to sit right next to him and hold his hand. It was too cute. It was pretty much impossible to get a picture of the two of them in one frame, much less holding still. This was the only picture where someone wasn't moving. It'll have to do.  :)

Dyl, Chadmo, & I just got home from a lovely time at Mimi's house. Our weekend was filled with lots of quality Mimi time, Amish country shopping, visiting with our Amish friends, visiting with Tracy, Kaiden, & Cam, a horror movie for Tracy & myself, delicious Swiss Steak made by Mimi who always makes it best, outlet mall success, Pine Tree Barn, etc. It was over far too quickly. We love you bunches & bunches, Mimi. Come visit us soon!

My Lovely Girl

Playing with her toys in her bedroom...

"Hey! I hear someone taking my picture!"

"Haha, I caught you Mommy! And I see that super awesome iPod out and about and within my reach..."

"Here I come!"

"I'm so fast - that iPod is about to be mine!"

"Triumph!"

Fair Days

The Hocking County fair was a couple of weeks ago, but with the moving madness, I never got a chance to post the cute pictures from Dyl's first fair. She absolutely loved it - I think the Merry-go-round might be her favorite thing ever. We had a blast, and I can't wait to take her in the coming years as she can ride more and more rides. Hopefully someday she'll be showing animals in 4-H!

Waiting in line for her first trip on the merry-go-round. She thought it was exciting just to look at it!

"Oh my goodness!! You mean I actually get to sit on this thing?!?"

"And it MOVES!!" (It was so cute, she started holding on with two hands as soon as it started moving.)

Waving at Grandpa & Daddy. (And Grandma/photographer. :))

Us!

Dyl's second fair ride: the teacups. She thought it was really fun while we were waiting for it to start. Then the actual ride was a little faster than anticipated, even though we didn't spin the cups ourselves at all. She didn't cry or get upset, but she looked a little like "whoa!"

I think this is the coolest shot - thanks for capturing these moments for us, Mom.

Daddy's turn to take Dyl on the merry-go-round, and this time she knows what she's in for! She was so excited, she was squealing and kicking her legs while waiting in line.

"This thing is AWESOME! We should do this every night, Mommy & Daddy!"

"Look at me! I'm such a big girl, I can ride a horse."

And a 3rd and final trip on the merry-go-round for that night. We did go back one more night that week and Dyl got to go on the merry-go-round 2 more times, and on the barrels once. I think we have a future fair addict on our hands. Someone's taking after her mother... :)

Dyl's 1st Birthday Bash!

2 of Dylan's 3 Great-Grandmas. We are so glad Mimi & Oldemor could both be here for Dyl's big party. 

Adorable Eden. She LOVED our porch door!

A rousting game of duck-duck-goose. This was the cutest thing ever, and I can't wait till Dyl's old enough to participate! 

I love how Travis is running SUPER fast ;) and the huge smile on Saylor's face.

Lunchtime - the birthday girl loved baked beans.

14 kiddos - I can't remember the last time I had so much fun! Maybe the Duggars are on to something...

Josiah tackling Harper - looks like she loved it! Future Mr. & Mrs. Demmler maybe? 

The birthday girl & her Daddy ♥ My two main squeezes.

Kirk & August (7 weeks) 

"Hmm...what is this tasty thing Mommy gave me to eat?"

"This pink stuff's pretty good!"

Cupcake, devoured.

"This is great! Delicious & messy!"

"Why haven't they fed me one of these before?!?"

"Here Mommy, you should try this. It's really good."

Grandpoppy. Or possibly "Papa"?

Clean-up patrol.

"This party is awesome! Tons of other kids, and delicious cupcakes!" 

Bella was so sweet, and such a good helper when opening Dyl's presents. (Dyl wasn't into opening presents at all - so we needed help.)

"I'd much rather play on steps than open gifts." says the big 1 year old birthday girl.

We had lots of present opening volunteers though! :) 

Dyl just loved having all the other kids swarming around her. And there was plenty of ripped paper to play with. 

"This is so much fun! Why don't we do this every day??"

"I love this baby doll - it laughs and that makes me laugh!" 

Emrie & Charley: proof that girls run in packs from very young ages. They were so cute together.

Dyl with her super awesome sparkling bouncy ball and laughing baby doll -both of which she thinks are awesome.

Playing with her dinosaur walker from Aunt Jackie - she loves it!

♥

We really had a wonderful time at Dyl's party on Saturday, and we hope all of our friends & family who came to celebrate Dyl's big day with us had a great time too! Thank you so much to everyone who came out to enjoy the day with us. And a huge THANK YOU to Mom & Grandma/Mimi for helping us pull it all together at the last minute! :)

3rd Annual Congenital Heart Walk

We had an awesome turn out for the 3rd annual CHWalk today! Thank you so much to Mom, Poppy, Eva, Jenny, Jess, Liam, Abby, Greg, Heather, Emrie, Henry, Greta, Greg, Katy, Jennifer, Caleb, Lauren, Sydney, Spencer, Jess, & Oscar for walking with us. Your support means so much to us, we truly can't thank you enough. Thank you for helping us honor Haley's memory, and of course fund-raise to help fight these devastating heart conditions. We love you all.

Happy 1st Birthday, Dylan!

"What's this super cool thing?!?"

"Ooh, a walker with chomp & clack alligators! Thank you so much, Grandma & Grandpa! I love it!"

"Now, what else can I get into..."

"Tissue paper is awesome!"

"Well, now. If that isn't just the cutest coat ever."

"That card has teddy bears on it!"

"What an adorable bunny!"

"Do NOT put that thing on my head."

Post-present opening mess. :) Telling Grandma & Grandpa about all the cool stuff she got.

A group picture wasn't very successful. "Don't hold me - I want to play with all my cool new stuff!"

I'm not sure what she's looking at, something up in the loft maybe? But I think she's too cute!

We sure love our little girl! (She has a habit of trying to make me flash everyone on a regular basis these days. Trouble maker!) 

"Don't you dare try to take my hand out of Mommy's shirt." (I wouldn't mess with that face!)

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Dylan, happy birthday to you! 1 candle in your birthday brie & apple tart - you thought it was delicious.

And you loved the candle! You needed a little help to blow it out though. I hope you made a good wish. :)

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet Dylly-Roo! Thank you for bringing joy back into our lives - we love you bunches & bunches! You are our world.