Dillard Days

3 Months New

2012-01-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

Three months new is exactly how I would describe our life right now, because nothing with you is old. You are changing so much everyday that every time we look at you it seems like the first time. Your emerging smile is melting our hearts. Every morning when we get you from your crib you give us the biggest smile. I can't get enough!

This month you have been working on "cooing" which you are quite good at. You have a variation of coo's, grunts and yells. You have decided that you are not so fond of your car seat, but you are enjoying the new freedom of facing forward in your big boy stroller.

You have most definitely found your hands and use them to explore everything around you. You love to lay on your play mat and swat at your owls. You would do this for hours if I would let you.

You are eating like a champ which stresses your mommy out a little, I am still never sure you are getting enough. However those chubby cheeks would lead me to believe otherwise.

Your sleep habits are a little up and down. You sleep for about 6 hours in a row and then wake up a couple times during the night. I love to see you though so we don't mind getting up with you. You always fall right back asleep after you eat, which makes it easy on Mommy.

This month you got to experience your very first Christmas. Your Daddy and I had a much different perspective of Christmas this year, wondering what it really must have been like for Mary to give birth to Jesus over 2000 years ago.

We spent Christmas in Illinois this year at Mommy's Aunt and Uncles house. You were such a TROOPER! You were amazing on the plane ride and slept both ways. We traveled almost 800 miles by car when we were there and you were amazing. We are so thankful for you being such an even tempered baby. You met 38 of your relatives and they all thought you are pretty incredible. We didn't argue. You also saw your first snow!

Mommy has to go back to work this week. I am not to ready to leave you, but know that it is only two nights a week. You are going to spend one of the nights with your Aunt Poppy and sweet Wyatt and the other night with Daddy. They are going to take great care of you, that makes it so much easier for me to be away from you .

You got together with your besties and had a great Christmas dinner together. We can't wait for you all to grow up together!

You continue to change everything in our lives and we would never have it any other way. We love you so much!- Mommy

2 Months

2011-12-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

Sweet Boy! You are growing so fast! You are already two months old. At your doctors appointment you weighed 12.3 lbs! Which was music to your Mommy's ears since she is constantly worried that you are not eating enough:) It is the holidays and your daddy and I could not be more excited to spend them with you this year.

You have been such a travel trooper. You have already traveled to Houston twice this month to visit your Nannie, Grandpa, Aunt Leslie, Uncle Ryan and cousins. You slept the whole way there, even with Bogey slobbering over the seat on you.

Speaking of Bogey, you guys are becoming great friends. He lays by you on you play mat, alerts me when your crying, greats you in the morning and sleeps patiently by your rocker as mommy gets you to sleep. You guys are going to be great friends.

You are still working on your sleep habits, but last night you slept for 8 hours! Such a big boy!

Your smiles (which you started at 7 1/2 weeks) fill up the room and our hearts with such joy! You smile so big when your daddy does bicycles with you and when your MammaDu and PapaDu play with you.

Your MammaDu PappaDu Uncle Mike and Aunt Erin can not get enough of you:) They love you so much. They see you usually more than once a week. They even babysat one night so your daddy and I could go to a Christmas party.

Right now you are working on finding your hands and feet, lots of tummy time, laughing, strengthening your legs and keeping that cute head steady ( although it is really strong already).

You are going to take your first airplane ride next week to Illinois for Christmas, so we will let your know how that goes.

Things you love right now include riding in the car, your swaddle, watching the fan, your owl play mat, sleeping and eating.

Your mommy and daddy love you so much. You have changed our world to such a more beautiful place.

Love you,

Mommy

p.s I had to type all of this with one hand because you are sleeping in my arms. Trying to take mental snapshots of all these precious moments.

Graham's Arrival

2011-11-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, our first month with Graham has gone by so fast! I find myself wanting time to stand still, while he is so tiny. We are busy soaking up every moment of him (even if it is in the middle of the night). For those of you who don't keep up with us on Facebook, Graham was born on October 7th and weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. I ended up having him via c-section that evening after a day full of no progress. Graham's little heart rate kept dropping following my contractions, so we decided collectively to have him via c-section before it became an emergent option. He arrived safe and sound and we could not be more in love.

Life at home has changed A LOT!!! Graham adds a wonderful new energy to our home. Bogey was not sure what to think about his new baby brother at first but they are adapting very well now. Bogey is certain to come get me if Graham is crying (as if I can't hear him) and sleeps by my feet while I wake during the night to feed him.

Recovery time from the c-section was a little more intense than I expected, but I am happy to report that I am on the go now! My parents and sister spent several days with us. They have been a huge help! You don't realize how many hands it takes to keep everything running when you have a newborn!

Who does he look like? People ask me all the time. Here is a side by side of David and Graham. Look a like much??/ Ha... no denying who is daddy is.

Graham loves to take walks and we do so frequently. I have not quite ventured out to taking him and Bogey, so for now Bogey has gotten the back burner until David gets home.

Speaking of David. Words can't describe what an amazing Daddy he is. I mean you always anticipate that they will be good. But he is a GREAT dad. After the C-Section, I dont know what I would have done with out him. He really stepped in like a natural. You would never know it is his first baby. He keeps us all calm when the days get long. He started a new job the week before Graham arrived, which has been such a blessing. It does mean long days as he doesn't get home till 8:30 most nights, but we are thankful for his new management position. He is a natural leader and I am so excited to see what he does with his new role.

Our days right now consist of lots of feeding, sleeping and walks. We usually try and get out at least once every other day. We are starting to get the hang of it. We have had lots of visitors which has been such a blessing. We love to see our friends and share our new baby with them!

Pretty sure I should write a book about the funny things that happen when you are sleep deprived, at least a blog post but that is for another day:) For now here is our little happy feet.

I do not return to work until January, so I am soaking up this time off with my sweet little one. More to come when I have more time:) (ha)

Nursery Pics

2011-10-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Well the nursery is finally finished! Here are some of the latest photos of his room.

This is Courage his lion. We just like him.

Grahams new chair, window shade, "You are my sunshine" sign and mirror

My mom made him some "fill in" letter A's until his arrive. I think they look great though!
We have a few more I will post them soon.

Waiting for Graham...

2011-09-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

A picture my mom took last week with my not so fitting Baylor shirt. I had to represent though.

Wow... seems like the last two weeks have gone slower than this whole pregnancy. I guess because we are anxiously awaiting little Graham to get here! We can't wait. Everything around the house seems to pretty much be done. So we just wait.

Last Monday at the Doctor she said I was pretty much the same as the week before progression wise. However, I think a better indicator of when you are about to go into labor are the comments that people make to you... here are a few of my favorites from this week.

-70 year old house keeper at work whom I don't know pointed at me and said "you really big" and kept walking.

- 3 year old little girl at church tugged on her mom's shirt, pointed to my stomach and said " can she take that out"

-Friend at work "I mean you have really have always looked all tummy, but this week you are really looking pregnant in your face!"

-David "you have pregnant nose"

I guess those are all my favs from this past week. I am sure there are others I could think of:) I know everyone means well, so I take it with a grain of salt. However, there should be some kind of clinical study on whether these comments could actually mean you are nearing labor:)

-Erin and I last week. I look huge, pretty sure it's the camera angle:)

I am still working right now which has helped keep my mind off of my non progression:) I have four more scheduled shifts. We will see if I make it that far. My body sure feels like it should be sleeping after about 10 p.m .

Speaking of sleep. There is minimal. I think it is a combination of my dislocated hips, swollen pregnant nose that can't breathe and David's newest habit of chewing in his sleep:) Ha!

I don't want to be one of those complaining pregnant people though, we have been so blessed by God's grace during this pregnancy. All things considered it has been very easy and a wonderful experience. (I am sure my friends reading this are thinking "just wait till labor") we do feel very blessed.

We are going on a hospital tour tomorrow (kind of cutting it close) and then we go back to the Dr. on Monday. Hopefully for our last appointment. His official due date is October 8th. We will see if she suggest induction or not. We will keep you all posted.

Our latest picture of Graham- 36 weeks. This is a picture of his sweet face. It is hard to make out but it is a picture of just his face with his hands up by his cheek.

That's all for now!

Keller Baby Shower

2011-09-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

My sweet friends from our church threw us an amazing baby shower last weekend! It was amazing. It was held at my friend Lindsey Arita's house. She and several of my other church friends hosted the shower and are always so creative and thoughtful. Their friendship has been a huge blessing to my life over the past three years. Once again my words can not do the creativity and details justice, so I will post several pictures! Thank you to everyone who helped with it, it was such a BLESSING!

Beautiful Blessings

2011-08-29T14:34:00.001-07:00

David and I are overwhelmed with the beautiful blessings we are surrounded with. We have such amazing family and friends that we often ask ourselves "how are we so blessed" our answer is always by the grace of God. One of our most recent blessings was shown through a shower that my sister and best friends Courtney and Caylin threw for Baby Graham and us in Dallas. The details of the shower were to fantastic to even describe through words so I will post lots of pictures. It was Owl theme which of course are my favorite! They truly out did themselves. It was held at my Sister's home in Dallas which was transformed into what looked like a perfect posh tea room. We were blessed by over 30 friends and family members there. Courtney did all of the decorations and Caylin made all the wonderful food (people were asking her if she had a catering business, it was that good). Here are a bunch of the pictures that my mom took. Thank you all for your all your hard work, it was such a special day!

The newest additions: Olivia, Tucker and WyattBesties: Lauryn flew in just for the shower and surprised me. She was in Texas a total of 4 hours!

New laundry basket from Mom for Graham's room.

Cutest little Owl cookies that matched the invitations.
Sis, Mom, Patsy (David's Mom) and Leslie (David's Sister)

SSC with the newbies:

Nursery Updates

2011-08-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

The countdown is on! Only 6 more weeks to prepare for Baby Graham! We can not believe he is going to be here so soon. We have had a blast preparing for him. David and my mom have been a huge help and inspiration in helping to put all the pieces together in the nursery.

Currently we are waiting on our glider to be delivered, should be here next week. We are also working on getting curtains. We have some finishing touches to do on the door: frost the window, get door knob hardware and finish the shade for behind the window. Other than that the nursery is coming together quickly. My mom got us some awesome letters for Graham's name. We are just waiting on the A's to be delivered, they were backordered. This last weekend at our Dallas shower my parents gave us a super fun laundry basket:) I love it. Will post more when we get things completed. Here are some new pictures for now:

Mom and I installing the light for the door:

Painted and finished:

Changing table and changing pad:

My mom painted this great old ice chest to hold his books and supplies:

New laundry basket:

Graham's name: minus the A's

Hat and towel holders: Water piping

Just for fun a few of Bogey: anxiously awaiting the arrival of his little brother:

Houston Family Shower

2011-08-18T10:17:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has taken me this long to post about all the wonderfulness that has been going on in our lives lately. Toward the beginning of July we David's mom, sister, aunt and cousin threw us a beautiful shower in Houston. It was absolutely perfect! We were able to go down for the whole weekend to spend time with his family. My mom, dad , sis and Mike were able to come to.

Here are some pics that show the details of the shower. It was a "Alphabet and Elephants" theme. So cute!

Sis with super cute photo blocks. They had pictures of David and I as babies.

Food table: with red velvet cake balls . My favorite!
Oh baby boy...
Keepsake box for Graham: personalized family book, first tooth holder and first lock of hair holder.
Favors: Each one contained a little tea light with instructions to light the candle and pray for David and I, when I go into labor.
Wishes for Graham:
Beautiful Hostess's

Me and Sis:
Little Miss Avery
Graham's Nannie and Grammy:

Erin, Leslie and I:

It was so beautiful! Thank you so much to everyone who made the trip to Houston!

Nursery Progress and First Baby Shower

2011-07-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

Wow, this last week was very exciting! On Friday both our crib and changing table arrived! I could not have been more excited. It all of the sudden made everything seem quite real:) We now have a place for G to sleep. Here are a few pictures of the crib, bedding and changing table. We got some fun vintage pool baskets for storage under his changing table and I love them!!

Then on Friday evening we headed to Oklahoma for a family reunion with my dad's side of the family. We had such a great time. Many of my cousins were there who I do not get to see very often so it was a real treat. We had a great 4th of July. My aunt really out did herself in hosting all of us at her home. On Saturday evening we had an awesome Mexican meal, which is my favorite and then they had a surprise Baby Shower for us!!! We were so surprised and very excited! Everyone was so gracious and brought the cutest presents for Graham. These were the first gifts we have received for him, and can not wait to put them all to good use! Such a fun weekend!

Not to much is new with us, I find myself being preoccupied with planning for Graham. We are really enjoying getting ready for his arrival. We have less than 100 days, which makes everything suddenly feel like we are living in fast forward. I feel pretty great most days and am trying to enjoy these days before I get to uncomfortable.

David's mom, sister, aunt and cousin are throwing us a shower in Houston in just a few weeks. We are so excited to see them all since I haven't seen them since I have been pregnant. I will be sure and post pictures when we return!

24 Weeks and Baby G's Room

2011-06-16T21:50:00.001-07:00

Well here I am, 24 weeks pregnant. Feeling great and growing everyday. Not a whole lot to update. I feel pretty great most days. Sometimes when I work my 3 night shifts in a row I get a tad bit grumpy, but all in all no complaints in the 2nd trimester. Just growing, growing, growing... Graham is kicking all the time now and I love to feel him move. He loves to wake up about 5:30 and just dance around until I put my hand on my stomach and then he stops. I think he is preparing me for early mornings:) For weeks we have been trying to get David to feel him, however anytime we put our hand on him he stops... until today!! David got to feel him several times today. We were so excited. Sleep has been pretty good, some back pain, but nothing to write home about. At our next appointment in 3 weeks we will get to have another sonogram due to my low lying placenta. We are excited to get to see him extra times:) Cravings.... what's not to crave? Just kidding, still not marinara sauce for me but I am currently loving milk... milk on cereal, milk in a glass, milk for heartburn, milk in cookies, milk as the form of ice cream.. So hopefully that will die down before I put on 1000 pounds:)

In other progress we are starting to work on Graham's room. Here are some work in progress shots. We have decided to go with a more subtle industrial look for his room. His colors are grey, flax, white, light blue, and several others:)

This is a picture of the room, empty pre paint and after removing a base board... yikes!

Dave adding some color..Beher "sculptor clay gray":

David has been working on this wood project for the accent wall in the nursery, he is taking white wood and distressing it, staining it , white washing it, cutting it and adhering it to the wall:) So proud of him.... here are some action shots of the wood project... Graham's room with paint and rug...
Color pallet for inspiration..

Just us... loving this "nesting season"

Stay tuned for instalment two " the furnishings". Wish us luck, hopefully we won't lose any fingers in the mean time!

Long over due...

2011-06-07T23:44:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! I can't believe it has already been a months since we found out we are having a BOY!!!! Graham Brockman Dillard is his name and we can not wait to meet him. For those of you who have not heard the story of how we found out he was a HE. I will enlighten you

David and I decided that we would wait to find out the gender of our baby until we were with my family in South Carolina on vacation. We had it all planned out. At 19 weeks we would go to the sonographer to see all his little moving parts and make sure he was healthy, we wanted to know everything except the gender:) (and trust me I had a lot of questions). I had previously arranged with a baker in South Carolina to prepare a chocolate cake if it was a boy and a red velvet cake if it was a girl. I gave specific instructions so that I would not see a crumb on the side and figure it out:) Our sweet nurse then called our baker and told her the gender with out letting us know. It was very fun! When we arrived in South Carolina we went and picked up the cake, making sure to not peek... it was hard! That evening when my sister and Mike had arrived we were ready for the big reveal. We wanted David's side of the family to share in the excitement as well.... so back in Texas they all gathered at Leslie's house and we were able to facetime with them over the Iphones (it really should be in an iphone commercial:)_) So once everyone was all situated we dove into the cake hands first and pulled out CHOCOLATE CAKE!!!! We all hooped and hollard for quite sometime. David and I were shaking with excitement. It was beautiful

I think one of the most amazing parts of the experience was that about 5 minutes after we hung up the phones with David's family my sister said "look outside" there was a perfect rainbow crossing over the entire ocean that we could see from start to finish. What a beautiful reminder it was of God shining down on us with blessings.

We revealed his name that same evening and are happy to not be keeping it a secret any more. His first name "Graham" comes from David's mom's maiden name as well as after my grandma "grams". His middle name "Brockman" is a family name that has been used for generations in David's family. He will share his middle name with his dad, grandpa and great grandpa.

The rest of our vacation was amazing! We enjoyed exploring Charleston, shopping for Graham and relaxing on the beach. We were at the same beach where David and I got married, so we rode our bikes down the beach to where the wedding took place and spent some time thinking about the past 3 years. It was such a wonderful time! We did not want to come home!!!

I haven't posted any pictures in a while so here are a couple of me at 20 weeks. I will update another post on pregnancy soon!

Pop's shower and friends about to pop!

2011-05-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, my best friend Caylin and I had the opprotunity to throw a shower for our other best friend Courtney (refered to as poppy). Caylin and I have been planning the shower for several months now. Caylin came up with the idea of doing a "Little Man Bow Tie" theme shower. Once we had that nailed down, we were ready to roll. Caylin came up with all of the food creation ideas and I threw together the decorations! Caylin and I both love to host parties so this was really a treat to do it for our sweet friend Court. Saturday was a beautiful day! Here are a few pics of the party:

Baby pictures of Court and Case:

Delicious Bow Tie Sugar cookies made by Megan Cole:

Mason Jars for the Tea and Banana Slush Punch, with paper straws of course!

Chicken Salad Sliders, Red Velvet Cake Balls, Ham and Cheese Sliders, Strawberry Soup and Cookie Dough Cup Cakes:

One of the most fun parts was getting to see so many of our sweet friends. It is rather humourous right now that 4 of us happen to be pregnant currently. We got to take a bunch of fun pics together. I am a little confused as to why my stomach nearly reaches Rachels armpit, but those are just details:) Here are some more pictures from the day!

Some of the other friends who were there and some of the great gifts she got:

A shirt I made Wyatt:

Friends Molly, Lindsey and Campbell:
Sweet Campbell:
A Brown Bear quilt made by Courtney's mom Libby:

A handmade blanket to match her diaper bag made by Linda Whitten:

It was a great time! Can't wait for baby Wyatt to arrive!!!

Happy Anniversary... to us!

2011-05-04T12:42:00.001-07:00

Today is David and I's third anniversary! We spent last night reflecting on what our wedding weekend was like and were reminded of how blessed we are to have so many amazing people in our lives. Three years have flown by, and I would not have spent a day differently. We are constantly having to remind our selves not to take life to seriously. We have been through some struggles in our first three years, but I think that these struggles are just God's mercy in disguise.

We spent our day today washing windows and window screens. That may seem like no way to spend your anniversary, but to us, it is just another reminder of how blessed we are to have this wonderful life, and another way for us to spend time together in this beautiful weather.

We have been starting to think about what this time will look like next year as our family grows, while it will most likely look very different with bitty dillard around. We are confident that the same will hold true for our family: faith, hope and love

Easter

2011-04-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend at my parents house. My cousin Emily and her husband Corey came to visit from Utah! This was a real treat since we do not get to see them very often. They have two little kids and they kept us busy with all kinds of Easter fun all weekend. My grandparents were also here from Illinois. We of course had amazing food all weekend made by my mom! I was so thankful that I was able to keep everything down that she made! A true victory for me these days! We ate at a great BBQ place in Coppell called Hard 8 BBQ and boy did we eat!!! Last week when I was at the Doctor she told me I had gained 4 lbs, boy was I glad I didn't have a weigh in this week:) Just kidding I am not worried about weight, but we did eat a lot!!!

I am going to have to post another post about the beautiful quilt that my grandma made me for my guest bedroom. We got to pick out the fabric together over Thanksgiving and she has been working on it everyday since! She brought it to me this weekend and it is AMAZING, it deserves its own post once I get the pictures done.

Well we are on our 17th week this week and feeling better than ever. We had an appointment last week and the Doctor said that everything looks great, we did not get to have a sonogram but we did get to hear the little heart beat which brings music to our ears! We have our gender sonogram in 17 days!!! Not that I am counting:) We can't wait to find out what the little one is going to be! We find out on the 13th and on the 14th we go to South Carolina where we will get to tell my family!

I am feeling pretty good these days, aside from the occasional vom:) Sleep is pretty good. Apparently I have all of the sudden decided to show that I am pregnant because people left and right are sure letting me know:) I love it though, I always promised I wouldn't be one of those self conscious pregnant people, so I am just going to embrace it!

David is doing great, he has had quite the "honey do" list lately as we get ready for my best friend Courtney's shower at my house in May. He has been such a trouper and is so happy to help me. I couldn't do it with out him. We have this devil grass in our backyard that crawls throughout our flower beds. Needless to say we have neglected it all winter and now it has taken over. David has been working on getting it out, it is SOOOO much work:) He is chipping away at it though and it looks great!

Well that's all new for now, haven't worked on the nursery or anything yet, we are waiting till we find the gender. We will let you know names once we find out what he/she is!!!! Here are some pics for this weekend to try and make up for the terrible ones I posted two weeks ago:)

Pictures-15 weeks

2011-04-11T12:37:00.001-07:00

These are rather unfavorable pictures of myself but I will share them anyways:) I threw one in of Bogey because he is always cute!!!

So long Jolly Ranchers... a pregnancy update

2011-04-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

This week I said adios to Jolly Ranchers, these have been a staple item for me over the past 14 weeks. I take them every where with me (along with my snack pack) to ease the nausea and to get me through my shifts at work. This is the 4th day in a row that I have no longer need my Jolly Ranchers. Funny thing is that green ones used to my favorite and right now I can not stand the smell of them!

Well we just finished our 14th week and boy am I excited to be out of my first trimester:) We are praising God everyday for this little nugget and can't wait to find out what it is. We will have our gender sonogram on Friday, May 13th. Be sure and vote on the poll to your right and let us know what you think it is, there has been an overwhelming response that it is a girl, however I have strong feelings it may be a boy??? Who knows!!!

I am starting to show a little but not really enough for a picture (actually we took one and it is terrible so I will post one soon) For the first time at work last night several people even strangers were saying I was showing:) So I guess I am a little.

This has already been a very exciting 14 weeks. I would like to share some words of wisdom as well as fun memories and stories so far. I have to write them down so I don't forget them.

The things I wish someone had told me (so far:))

- Always put your mascara on after your brush your teeth, because you will surely throw up and the mascara will run down your face, probably when your late for work.

- Don't always trust a hair rubber band to hold your pants together, they can break and you might let out a huge scream when it snaps your skin.

-Never try to test yourself to see if you are over your food aversions (your not!!!)

Quoteables:

- Me six weeks pregnant- co-worker "wow your already pooching"

- David in his letters to the baby " sleep tight, don't let the placenta bugs bite" funniest thing ever!

- Telling my co-workers I am pregnant at 12 weeks- co-worker "oh you really shouldn't tell anyone until 14 weeks a lot can still happen". Me: I JUST TOLD YOU!

-David "If you eat that many lucky charms our baby is going to come out speaking Irish" Really... Irish?

-Me: "David can you please get some sloppy joes stuff at the store." David; "of course" Me 20 minutes later " have you left the store yet? I don't want sloppy joes I want Reese's Puff Cereal"

Memories:

- My friend Remy gave me this great at home fetal monitor so I can listen to the babies heart beat. Come to find out after listening to it for days in a row, I have been picking up my own heart beat not the babies. Don't worry, I found the babies today, it is much faster than mine:)

-Telling my sweet friends Courtney and Caylin I was pregnant, they both cried. That is to be expected from Court but Cay on the other hand, she doesn't just cry at anything. Priceless.

-Hearing my dad say that he listens to the baby's heart beat on the text message we sent him every day:) I love that they are so excited!

-My precious sister sent me flowers today that said "Happy end of your first trimester" . Best sister ever!

- Started crying at work watching How To Train a Dragon

I think that is all for now. I promise that I will post some pictures soon! I promise if I posted now you be like hey you look FAT:)

New York

2011-03-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

My mom, sister and I spent this last weekend in New York City for my mom and I's birthdays. We had such a great time. I had not been to the city since we were little and lived in New Jersey. I can not believe how big it is! Luckily Erin has been several times and was an amazing travel agent and tour guide! We were a little apprehensive about navigating, but she never led us astray.

We stayed at an amazing little boutique hotel called The Surrey that was about a block off of Central park and a little ways away from all the hoopla:) It was amazing, they were so friendly, our room was gorgeous and they left us apples everyday, which for this preggers was like heaven!!

We were go go go every day and walked about 10 miles a day but I am glad we got to see so much of the beautiful city! Some of the things we did:

-Saw Memphis the Musical

-Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and at an amazing pizza place called Grimaldi's

-Went to so great shops, my favorites were ABC Carpet and Fishs Eddy's

-Went to Mary Poppin's

-Took a morning walk through Central Park

-Had cupcakes at Magnolia's Cupcakes (Red Velvet of course)

-Spent time in Times Square

- Went to Rockafellar Center (where they have a two story Anthropology, amazing!)

-Ate at Carmine's Deli (the biggest Ruben I have ever seen in my life)

-Had dinner at Fig and Olive and an amazing Rissotoria

-Went down to see Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge

Wow, to many other things to remember. All I know is that we had an amazing time and my feet were sore!

Thanks to Mom and Erin for such an amazing trip, one we will never forget!! Love you both.

Indescribable JOY!

2011-03-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

David and I have had a busy couple months! We are overjoyed with the news in February that we are going to be given the amazing task of bringing a child into this world! Our little peanut is due October 8th, just one day before David's Birthday!

We are 12 weeks this Friday and have been soaking in every minute of it. David is beyond excited and we find ourselves often just sitting in the baby's room and wondering what all the new changes and joy with be like.

The past 12 weeks have not exactly been peachy keen:) I would first like to say that we have had so many prayers answered that so far we have had no complications. I have been very sick for the past 8 weeks. I blame it on the extra progesterone I take.

David has been AMAZING at supporting me through this period of morning sickness. He does however find it quite humorous to list as many foods as he can think of until I make gaging noises. I on the other hand do not think it is as humorous. I am thankful however for my sickness, because it reminds me that there is indeed a little human growing and changes take place. I could not be happier.

Things I can not stand right now, ( it is hard to even think about them to type them): marinara sauce on anything, Sonic hot dog commercials (I literally have to change the channel), Sprite and all vegetables.

Things I LOVE right now, sleep, jolly ranchers, and apple juice. If I could only live on those three things I would. Instead I carry a snack pack with me everywhere to try and get me through the day.

So as of right now, we got to hear the little peanuts heartbeat this morning, it was 170 beats per minute. We were elated! We recorded it on David's phone and have probably listened to it a dozen times since.

Have not noticed too many physical changes yet, but will post a progress picture when we can notice it:)

We will get to find out the gender of the baby in May. So until then, I will try and keep you posted on weekly happenings:) Here is the nugget...

11,249....

2011-02-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

... thats how long it takes David to run 26.2 miles!!!! We had an amazing time in Houston and David was able to accomplish a lifetime goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. His goal was to run the race in 3:10 minutes and he made it in 3:07 minutes. We were unsure what the day would hold as the conditions were quite rainy and warm. He was able to do it though and we were so proud! We have two years to complete the Boston Marathon, it is held every April so we will see when we make it over there! David's brother in law ran the race as well and made his goal of four hours!

We had a great time hoping from spot to spot watching the boys. We were able to spot them at mile 9, 18 and the finish line. Here are some pictures from our weekend:

Slip and Slide

2011-01-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

Super funny story that I just had to share! So last night was fairly eventful. I got to bed probably around 1:00 and was sleeping pretty hard I guess. Around 3:30 my sleeping walking festivities began. Still asleep I stood straight up and decided to dive headfirst onto the floor. Not only did I decided to dive head first, I decided to dive head first over David onto the other side of the room. On the way down I managed to not clear the bed so well, hitting my stomach, left upper leg and right lower leg on the corners of the bed. I woke up at this point in quite a bit of pain wondering "why the crap am I on the floor, on the other side of the room, with shooting pain in my legs, in the fetal position?" Then all of the sudden I had the jingle to Slip and Slide in my head "take dive, hit the mat and take a ride" or something like that. Then it all began to make sense. Apparently I was trying to play on a slip and slide in my dream. David at this point is scrambling out of bed wondering why I am screaming as Bogey is licking the crap out of my face. David can't figure out why I am on the floor and I am to confused myself to explain it. SOOOO..... went back to bed. Fast forward to this morning at 7:15 when David wakes me up to say "hey do you remember when you dove off the bed last night"..... hmmmmm let me see.... yup the bruises prove it really did happen... Ohhh geez!!!

Guest Room

2011-01-20T16:28:00.001-08:00

I seriously have the "organization bug" right now. I am not sure that is a real condition but if it is, I have it! This all started with simply wanting some storage bins for the guest room. For the past three years this room has functioned as an office/junk room/ craft room/ sweat shop. So what began as a simple need for storage bins ended up as a major room make over:) We are still working on it, but I will post some pictures of the progress.

Progress so far:

New craft organizer for closet:

Refurbished antique bed:

Before:

After:

New wall paint:

Doors??? Not sure where to put these yet?

Left to do:

Paint accent wall with chevron pattern

Curtains

Accent color (dusty purple?)

Pillows

Mirror

Lamp

Oh geez!!! What did I start!

Dear 2010....

2011-01-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

Dear 2010,
What an eventful year you were. We had a great time with you and are sad to see you go, but are excited to see what 2011 brings with it. 2010 we would like to take some time to recap on some of the events we shared with you. Your year brought with it happiness, adventure, mourning, surprises, confusion, risk and joy. We were not so sure about you at first, we began the year mourning the loss of life with two of our dearest friends. February was a better month as David and I celebrated Valentine's Day together. April was the best month of all when David got baptised! Early May a new adventure arose and as Dani switched roles at work to an Emergency Room Child Life Specialist. This role brought many new challenges and schedule changes, but have adjusted now. May brought an exciting Xterra run for David, where he was 1st place in his age group! July was filled with vacations and time spent with David's family. July also brought with it the debut of Dani's buisness Upsy Daisy Design (upsydaisydesign.etsy.com) , which also meant the debut of the craft room:) October brought more loss and mourning and we could not wait for it to be over. November was shared with family and amazing food (canigetthatrecipe.blogspot.com)! December was a beautiful month filled with family gatherings, friends, laughter and joy. So here we sit saying goodbye to a beautiful year filled with God's grace and humor as we try to figure this crazy life out! 2011 we can not wait to see what kind of pages you are going to write in this crazy book called life... To be contiued...

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T17:15:00.001-08:00

A glimpse at our Christmas in Houston!! (pictures from our new camera, thanks mom and dad!!)

Family Pics by Britt Burns

2010-12-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with you all some pictures of our little family that were taken by our oh so talented friend Britt Burns. He is so talented and we were elated to have him take some of our family this last fall. His website is http://www.burnscophotography.com/.

So long November

2010-12-04T11:13:00.000-08:00

David and I are glad for November to be over. It was a LONG month. It is amazing how different your life can be after just a month! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family in McKinney. My grandparents were here and we are always so happy when they come to visit! We spent most of the weekend enjoying amazing food ( which you can find the recipes on my mom's blog at canigetthatrecipe.blogspot.com and playing washers and corn hole! It was a great weekend. We are anxiously awaiting Christmas and are beginning to enjoy many festivities! We started off the month with a great birthday celebration with Courtney and Caylin turning 26!!!!! Tonight will officially begin our Christmas season with our annual Dillard/Sander Christmas party! Can't wait. Will post some more pictures later this week!!

Falling for you...

2010-11-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

David and I are welcoming Fall with open arms. This is our favorite time of year! David is enjoying training for the Houston Marathon with crisp morning runs. My favorite thing about this time of year are vanilla chi latte's in a holiday cup at Starbucks, not to mention that the Starbucks cups have owls on them!!!

David and I feel so blessed to have so many amazing friends going through life with us... here are some pictures from the last few festivities...

Bogey's Halloween PJ'S
Lindsey's award winning pumpkin
Gross Emily!!
Hoot the Owl, David and my creation
Sweet Campbell in her homemade ladybug outfit! Great job Lindsey!
My friend Megan at work made this super cute grave yard cake... she is so talented:)

David's super gross Halloween Costume:)
Pumpkin carving mess
Ellie with sweet baby Hannly
Homecoming fun with family.
SSC reunited at-last.
Steve and Avery at the Baylor Homecoming parade.

Sewing, Sewing and More Sewing

2010-10-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

Since the transition to my three day a week night job, I have found myself to have ample extra time to do things that would be productive. Such as cleaning, organizing and planning. However, on my days off I find myself doing none of these things. Instead I fill my days sitting by my sewing maching creating. I LOVE IT! It is a new addiction which can be both scary and exciting:) Since the launch of my new buisness Upsy Daisy Design (upsydaisydesign.etsy.com) I have made over 400 headbands, 16 outfits and a pretty cute little dog bed:) Here are some of my latest creations.

It's Here, It's Here

2010-08-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well my new adventure is officially up and running. I have started a new accessories business called Upsy Daisy Design. I am so excited to finally have the final product ready for sale. This week I received my first wholesale order from a company in Colorado who is going to sell my product. I am so blessed to have the support of so many people around me! Better get busy sewing!

You can check out the new products at upsydaisydesign.etsy.com

-Dani

Summer time, summer time, sum sum summertime

2010-06-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

The new job is now in full swing. The hours are kind of crazy and David and I are adjusting quickly to the new routine. I work from 3 p.m to 3 a.m. Unfortunately that means I have to then sleep until like 11:00 in the morning. This weekend I worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday so David and I have been spending Monday catching up. I am really enjoying the Emergency Room job, I am learning everyday. I really enjoy the families I am getting to serve there. Im not going to lie there is some crazy stuff that walks in the ER doors, but I love it! Bogey is probably the most confused... he can't figure out why I am home all the time and why I sleep for so long:)

In the mean time David passed his third Personal Training test on Tuesday meaning he is now a PT3 at work! I am so proud of him, he has been working really hard to get there. This just puts him up a level for experience. His next challenge will be Master Trainer:)

We are looking forward to traveling to Houston this weekend for the 4th of July! We get to spend every other 4th of July on Lake Conroe with David's parents and my sweet niece and newphews, we are anxiously awaiting some time in the sun. My parent's are coming with us this year which makes it double fun!

Other travels this summer will include our trip to Colorado for a wedding and a few days in the mountains! I miss Colorado summers, and am so glad we are going to visiting.

Not to much else has been happening lately. We are thankful to have my parents back in Texas and we spend a lot of time at their house sitting by the pool, fishing in the lakes and eating some amazing CINDY DUDE home cooked meals!

Here are some pictures from things we have been up to lately.

Whats New?

2010-05-25T16:40:00.001-07:00

That's a great question! Well this month has been fairly eventful for us... earlier this month I found out that I had "mono" again:( bummer. I am feeling much better this week but it has been pretty ugly. In the mean time I decided to interview for a new position in the hospital. So as of June 7th I will be working in the Emergency Room at Cook Children's. I am very excited about the new change. It is very bitter sweet though. I love where I work and the people I work with, but I am excited about a new adventure and growing professionally.

Last weekend David and I went to Waco for an "Xterra trail race 10k". David took 1st place in his division and 2nd place in the whole race! I was so proud of him! We also got to celebrate my sister's 27th birthday last weekend with a fabulous party at my parents house!

That's about it this week... we shall see what next week brings!

Please continue to pray for our friend Stevie as she is recovering from her surgery!

Calling all Prayer Warriors!

2010-05-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

A good friend of ours Tyler's older sister (Stevie) was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor this week. She will undergo surgery this next Monday. Her family is in Houston at MD Anderson starting a journey down a challenging road. Please pray for her family and her strength. She has a very supportive family who are amazing Christ followers. Here is a link to their blog that provides updates. prayforstevie.blog.com . Please lift them up daily as they undertake this diagnosis!

Thank you!

Dani

Sorry so long...

2010-04-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

To those of you who check our post, sorry for the long delay... It has been a busy start to Spring but we are welcoming it with open arms. Here are some pictures from the beginning this year.

Invites I made for my aunts kitchen shower " kiss the cook"

Bogey is getting soooo big
Fun times with old and new friends!
Precious Avery with her new purse!
More invite pics
On Valentine's Day I ventured to making fish for the very first time... it is David's favorite and I despise it... talk about a labor of love:) (i still had chicken)
Bogey and his BFF Judge after the snow storm
The highlight of our year by far was David getting baptized at our new church www.keystonechurch.come
Getting ready for the plunge
More to come...

2009 in review

2010-02-11T15:31:00.001-08:00

Dear 2009,

What an interesting year you were! Some of our favorite and not so favorite moments from you.

Said good bye to Howdy. Celebrated one year at Cook. David started a new job. Started new work out classes. Got a dog. Ran a 5k. Painted my bedroom. Got a new car. Went to Chicago. Ran a marathon. Thought I broke my knee. Didn't break my knee. Painted my bathroom. Joined Keystone Church. David ran a marathon. . Went to camp Hope. Had a family reunion. Became an Aunt for the third time. Went to Galveston. Went to Gulf Shores. Parents moved to Texas. Went to Chicago. Went to 6 weddings. Had a white Christmas. All in all a great year!! Looking forward to 2010 and the awesome things in store!

Living room re model

2010-01-10T17:47:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to fix up our living room for a long time. We finally decided that we wanted to paint part of it red (with a little convincing). I am super excited though! I think it turned out great! Thanks to my mom for doing the trim work and curtain hanging. Well she did fall off the ladder at one point but don't worry she is ok! Here's some pics:

26.2

2009-10-28T18:41:00.001-07:00

Well we did it! Chicago marathon ... check... We had such a great weekend in Chicago, we arrived on Saturday morning. We spent the day eating at a local sandwich shop and then went to the EXPO. The Expo was one of my favorite things of the whole weekend. We got to see all different kinds of vendors, watched a video which took you through the whole course, dad bought some new shoes and we got to sample a bunch of gross healthy stuff:) Part of my involvement with the marathon consisted of raising money for Make A Wish. On Saturday night we joined the other members of the Make A Wish team for a pasta dinner. We went to bed early since we had to get up at 5:00 a.m.

Much to my dismay it was 28 degrees on Sunday morning. Nothing was going to stop us at that point!!! We nearly froze but once we started running we warmed up quickly. There were nearly 35,000 people who ran the race. There were one and half million spectators, it was quite the sight!!!! The race was amazing, I have never felt anything like it!!!

Many thanks to mom, dad, mike and david for being great spectators! They stood in the freezing cold (literally) for more than 5 hours!!! It was seeing them on the side lines at mile 3, 10, 13 and 20 that's what got us through the race!

I can't say it was the most beautiful finish ever... quite a bit of pain accompanied the 26 miles... but that's not the point! The point is that I finished.

One of my favorite memories of the trip was the fact that I felt like I had been hit by a car the next day. My joints were swollen stiff and I was walking like a pirate. The best part is that so were 20,000 other people who were walking around Chicago. I had nothing on my identifying that I had run the race and people would just walk up and say "How'd you do?" It was awesome!!

Well we are back to reality now... I had to get an MRI of my knee today to see if I have a meniscus injury ... which much to my surprise is not a tendon or ligament but cartilage.... who knew:) More to come on the injury ... it was totally worth it!

Weddings and Fun!

2009-08-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

This past weekend David and I went to Oklahoma to his friend Riley and Leslie's wedding. We had such a great time! I have to admit Enid Oklahoma is way out there in the middle of no where but once we found it we were good to go. David and Riley have been friends since high school so we were very excited to get to be apart of their big day!

Bogey spent the weekend at our friends Bryon and Lindsey's house. They have a giant labordoodle named Judge, the two used to not be very good friends but after this weekend they are best buds. Judge typically body slams Bogey. But Bogey can hold his own:)

Even better news is that I SOLD MY JETTA!!! YAAAA. I am having a hard time letting go of COCHE ROJO but I know that it is time. After 8 years on the road with her I feel as if we are the best of friends. If you think about your car goes through some of the craziest times in your life with you: teenage driving (yikes, sorry coche rojo), college, new jobs, new houses ect.... quite emotional.

So the adventure is on to find me a new car, since I wont have one after Monday yikes!!! Wish us luck.

I almost forgot. Last Saturday we had a surprise birthday party for my brother in law Mikes 30 BIRTHDAY!!! HE IS SOOOO OLD! Just joking mike:) Erin did an awesome job with food, we had individually wrapped pork sandwiches that were wrapped in parchment paper and tied with twine. How cute is that!! details details details. If you see a little guy running around in these pictures, thats Easton Erin's nephew. Mikes brother Phil and Wife Nicki flew in for the festivities!

1/2 way!!

2009-08-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

So I know I have my very own blog about running at rundudegirlsrun.blogspot.com but I just have to let everyone know that we are 1/2 way there on our marathon training. On Saturday morning Erin and I went running around White Rock Lake. We ran 15 MILES!!!! What.... that sounds super crazy to me too, but it was awesome. Erin did way better than I did, I wish I had her endurance. But none the less we did it:) It was a great accomplishment. Just wanted to keep everyone update incase you don't read the other one.

So this weekend David and I are going to Oklahoma to a friends wedding. David is a groomsmen and gets to wear a bow tie:) He will be so cute:) Should be a fun time. It is in Ennid, OK. Does anyone know where that is?

Well hope everyone is doing well.
Dani

SCARY

2009-08-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

So David and I have a new hobby.... it consists of getting Starbucks and then taking Bogey to the dog park. The scary part about it all is that when we watch Bogey play at the dog park we feel as if he is actually a child. We watch his social habits and it is so funny. He is very cautious but likes to play with the big dogs. He usually follows the pack but stays toward the back. He is so fun! Not to much else is new with us. We are going to play Bingo tonight which is another quirky hobby we have. I am not sure what attacks us to the game it is either the smokey air, the very old grandparents we play with, the strange looks everyone gives us because we are under 70 or good luck elephant charms everyone brings with them:) Strange we know! But we love it:) Hope everyone is well!!

July

2009-07-26T19:37:00.001-07:00

David and I are sitting here wondering where July went and why no one told us it was almost August??? Well... camp is over. I spent last week on a beautiful piece of Gods real estate in Brenham Texas. Camp was defiantly a whirlwind. I spent a week with children facing some of life's greatest struggles. It was a learning and growth experience for me and I am thankful for every child that I met. Every child had a different story, something different to share with the world, something different they will have to overcome. I was amazed by God's presence at camp with me. I knew that there were people praying for me and I could feel it every day. One thing I learned from camp was that no matter how apprehensive I was or anxious about the unknown, that was nothing compared to the lives of uncertainty and illness that these children face everyday! I am so thankful for the experience and hope I gave back even a little bit of what the kiddos gave to me~ If you are reading this blog you are probably also hearing a song called "The Worlds Greatest" the children sang this song everyone morning before we began our day. To hear children sing this song with joy and hope in their voices was an amazing way to start our day.

On the other end of things David spent the week at home with Bogey: Here are some new pics:)

Camp Hope

2009-07-18T18:37:00.003-07:00

Well I am off to camp! This year I have the opportunity to be to go to Camp Hope in Brenham Texas for a week. Camp Hope is a camp designed for a week of fun for kids with HIV/AIDS. I ask that you will all pray for a week of great weather, wisdom, grace and Gods protective hand on all the groups traveling to and from camp.

Camp Hope is held at a camp called Camp For All. Camp For All hosts all different kinds of camps during the summer, each with an individual need. We will get to hike, canoe, horseback ride, ropes courses, make overs, glamour shots, fireworks, dances, and talent shows.

I am going as a member of the psychosocial team and will help the kids as issues arise. Please pray that I will have the words to say to these children in need!

Hope you all enjoy your week, I will be back on Friday!

Wish me luck!

Never enough time

2009-07-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else feel like me... like there is just not enough time in a day or a week or a month to get everything you need to get done, let alone things you would like to get done? I tell ya this working gig is for the birds:) Takes up all your time:) Only joking I am VERY thankful for my wonderful job. But seriously wake up 6:00, leave for work 6:45, 7:30-4:00 work, drive home till 5:00 (thats right a whole hour), pick up house 6:00, fix dinner 7:00, after dinner get my butt up to do some training for the race 9:00 get home:shower, and back in bed..... I mean honestly what is the deal? Just wanted to vent for a minute

I hope everyone has a very safe 4th of July... just remember to be extra safe (those crazy accidents that you think could never happen .... do.... so be safe) We are headed to Missouri for our family reunion at the Kinseys'. This is one of my favorite things in life. David gets to go this year for the first time and I am sooooo excited.

Courtney and Casey are going to babysit Bogey... hopefully he will be a sweet puppy for them:) THANKS POP!!!

Until we meet again...

Dillards newest addition.... BOGEY!

2009-06-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

Today we adopted our first dog! We are so excited to have him join our family. He is a rescue dog and is about 4 months old. He is a labrador/ border collie mix! We look forward to making him a special part of our family for many years to come:)

Almost forgot... Alabama

2009-05-31T09:58:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to post some pictures from our trip to Alabama... geez.... what was I thinking! A few weeks ago we went to Golf Shores Alabama with Erin, Mike, Mom, Dad, Grams, and Gramps. We stayed in a cute little beach house that was right on the ocean. It was beautiful. We spent the week on the beach and the boys golfed quite a bit. Plus it was an awesome road trip! Heres some pics:

ahhh!!

2009-05-28T18:57:00.001-07:00

Visit our latest adventure!

rundudegirlsrun.blogspot.com

Easter Weekend

2009-04-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

David and I went to Houston this weekend and had an amazing Easter with the Dillard family! While we were there we also had a baby shower for David's sister Leslie. I have been helping to plan the shower for several weeks so it was fun to see it all finally come together! I think she had a great time. We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Levi!

We went to a pretty incredible Easter service on Sunday morning at The Fellowship of the Woodlands. It was raining all morning and then on the drive home there was a beautiful sunset. There was no better way to celebrate Easter than the gloom of the morning and the amazing grace of sunshine to end the day! We had a great trip home.

David is preparing to take his teaching certification test tomorrow. For all who read this please pray for him. He is getting certified to teach 4-8 math. Some of the stuff he is re-learning gives me anxiety to even think about. He truly has a gift though and I know he will do great!

Have a blessed week. Remember to be a light in our dark world no matter where you are or what you are doing because you never know whose life you are impacting!

Amazing Blessings

2009-03-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

What an amazing birthday weekend I had this weekend. It was full of all my favorite things and all my favorite people. I am truly blessed. David and I started this weekend by painting our bedroom! We have been wanting to tackle this task for several months and we finally had the time! We love the bright blue color and it makes me happy when we wake up! It will truly always be blue sky's in our room! We are working on the bathroom! More pictures to come... and this was just the beginning

Saturday morning it was 30 degrees here in Texas which is absolutely crazy! What is even crazier is the fact that David, Erin and I ran a 5k that morning for the Make A Wish foundation. What was even crazier than that is the DAVID WON THE WHOLE RACE. I mean out of everyone he was the winner. He won some new running shoes and we were soooo proud of him. It was still really cold but we just kept saying "do it for the kids". It ended up being a great morning even if we couldn't feel our limbs:)

Saturday night David took me to PF Changs for a birthday dinner (thanks to Leslie and Ryan for the gift card:)) We ended up eating at like 10:00 but it was well worth it we love Chinese.

I spent all day Sunday with my sister and it was so great! We had brunch at Brio and then went to see the movie Duplicity (which was good but weird ending). Next up was some shopping at Southlake Town Center where Sis bought me some rediculous glasses that will be perfect for our trip to Alabama next week:) Thanks sis!!

We topped off the birthday with and awesome birthday dinner at Fireside Pies in Grapevine. One of my very favorite places. If you have not been you must! Thanks to everyone who came to my birthday dinner it was so awesome to have everyone together. Caylin we missed you SO MUCH! I am so thankful to have so many amazing people in my life. I mean that! Well it was one incredible weekend. A great way to bring in the 24th year!!!

More to come:)

Family Weekend

2009-03-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

David's family came to visit us in Keller this weekend! We had such a great time. David's sister Leslie and Husband Ryan have two kiddos: Everett 6 years old and Avery who is 3 years old. They definitely kept us on our toes and laughing the whole weekend. David's sister is also 8 months pregnant so we tried not to wear her out to bad:)

On Friday the whole family came down to Fort Worth and had lunch with me at work. It was such a treat to get to have a subway picnic outside in the middle of m day:) Friday night everyone took me out to dinner for my birthday at Olive Garden. We all ate way to much but it was so awesome.

Saturday we spent the day eating:) and being outside! It was a beautiful 80 degree day. We decided it was a good opportunity to take the kids to the putt putt course and to ride go carts. Turns out the kids were really good at putt putt. However, when we got to the 18 whole Avery was a little upset that the whole "ATE" her golf ball and that it would not be returning to her:)

Everett really enjoyed riding the go carts with Ryan. David's dad even had a great time racing around the track.
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The rest of the afternoon consisted of an intense backyard soccer game where Everett got to show off some of his soccer moves and Leslie/Ryan's dog scored a couple of goals him self!

We spent Sunday in Southlake having lunch and eating humongous ice cream cones that were melting everywhere!

It was such a fun weekend and we were sad to see them go! We are so thankful for our family and the time we get to spend with them. Can't wait to do it again!!!

Life as of lately

2009-03-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

Seems like we have been super busy lately, yet I don't exactly know doing what! David and I have both been working as usual and our new hobby is working out at David's work 24 Hour Fitness. David is training for a triathlon and has been very diligent in training. I am working on being my own Biggest Loser (I am obsessed with that show).

My parents came to visit last week and we had a really great time. Now that my dad has Texas in his territory they get to come a lot more and my mom gets to travel with him! Super fun!

David's sister is having another baby which we are sooo excited about! She is due in May and I am helping throw her a Baby Shower over Easter weekend. Well I have a hobby of making invitations! Here is a pic of the invites I made:

The Best Dog Ever

2009-01-29T17:51:00.000-08:00

Our family received some very sad news this week that our family dog Howdy is going to have to be laid to rest on Saturday. Howdy has been battling nose bleeds for the past month and my parents recently took him to the doctor which revealed that he has developed untreatable cancer in his nose and head.

Howdy has been the most incredible dog anyone could ever ask for. He was a true companion to every member of my family. He would be 12 years old this year. We are happy that he has lived a completely healthy and full life to this point. I know that we will all miss him greatly but are encouraged to know that he will not have to suffer through a battle with cancer.

A few picture of Howdy from over the years:

YUUUMMMM!!!!

2009-01-19T17:51:00.001-08:00

My mom has a new recipe blog with all of my favorite recipe's and more!!!! She puts a new recipe every week. Check it out, it is super fun and super yum!!!

canigetthatrecipe.blogspot.com

can i get that recipe? Sure you can, check the site:)

Long over due...

2009-01-05T16:47:00.001-08:00

It has been forever since I have written here last. The holiday's took us by a whirl wind and we are finally settling back down. Our holiday season was filled with many blessings of family, friends and much needed rest! We were able to spend this Christmas with David's family in Houston and then celebrated with my family over New Years!

Since my last post David and I have both been busy with work and all the holiday hustle and bustle. During the beginning of December David began working as a Sales Team member at 24 Hour Fitness. With two free memberships it is forcing us to get our butts in gear:) We really enjoy it though.

We spent New Year's Eve with our dear friends at the Renfro's house. Thanks for a GREAT PARTY! One of my best friends from High school came to visit from California and we had a wonderful time catching up on days missed.

For anyone who has ever fallen in love with one of my Mom's recipe's she has started a new blog and it has all the fav's on it! Check it out... canigetthatrecipe.blogspot.com

Since my last post I officially became a Certified Child Life Specialist! This has been a goal of mine for a while now and a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. Thank you to everyone who was praying for me.

Not much else is new at the moment. We are just enjoying the down time and working on some much needed house work. Hope you all had and equally amazing holiday season! Talk to you soon.

Dani

Wedding Fun

2008-11-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Well it has already been 6 months since the wedding!!! Just when we had started to forget about all the Hoopla, we got a super fun surprise today: Our wedding was featured as the wedding of the week online for Destination Wedding Magazine! I will attach the links below so that you can check them out if you want to! Just thought I would share... Enjoy
http://www.destinationweddingmag.com/realweddings
http://blog.destinationweddingmag.com/

Run Sander Run!!!

2008-10-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Look how awesome my sister is!!!! Erin set a goal a LONG time ago that one day she would run a marathon. Well this weekend she completed that goal with flying colors!!!! Erin ran in the Nike Women's marathon in San Fransisco benefiting the Lymphoma society. The run was 26.4 miles and she finished in 3 hrs and 51 minutes. Her goal was 4 hours so this was awesome!! Just wanted to remind everyone that anything is possible if you put your mind to it:) Love you sis, way to go!!!!!

Princess, Party and Pumpkins

2008-10-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

What an amazing weekend we had this weekend. David and I spent the weekend in Houston with our family. We woke up early Saturday morning and took the boat across the lake to Starbucks! How fun is that?! We also got to see our nephew Everett's soccer game (he's 5 so it was awesome). Our little princess Avery turned 3 this weekend while we were there. Leslie (David's Sister) did an amazing job with her birthday party. It was a "polka dot" theme, that Avery quickly turned into a Disney princess party. Avery opened every present with such joy stating "oh my gosh" with every new princess accessory she received. Priceless.

This weekend was also the wedding celebration of David's friend from high school Katie. A few of David's other high school friends were there to celebrate and we really enjoyed catching up with them. It was a beautiful wedding and such a fun reception.

The final news of our weekend was the Dani and David pumpkin painting party:) We had a great time making some festive pumpkins while spending some quality time together!

Hope everyone has a great week!

My sister is famous!!!!

2008-09-03T19:23:00.001-07:00

CONGRATS SIS!!!!

For those of you who don't know my sister is an Interior Designer for Astleford Interiors in Dallas Texas. They recently won several major ASID awards and got published in a HUGE Dallas magazine!!!! This is so exciting for their company of only 3 people. I will attach the link below so you guys can check it out. The house that is pictured is a really cool Mexico inspired home in Frisco.

Way to go Sis! All your hard work is paying off. I am so proud of you!

They are on Page 140-141

http://www.modernluxury.com/digital.php?e=DALL

Oklahoma Weekend

2008-09-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend David and I went to my cousin Brian's wedding in Oklahoma. We had such a great time. We met my mom and dad there and my sister joined us on Saturday. It was really great to spend time with our family. It has been a long time since I have been to a wedding that we weren't somehow involved in. We relaxed all weekend and got some much needed rest.

On Monday, David and I both took of work for Labor Day. We spent the day taking our time getting back from Oklahoma. We went to a really neat place called POPS in Oklahoma. POPS is a new gas station that has over 500 different kinds of soda. It has rows and rows of different flavors. It is also a diner. We spent the afternoon looking at all the different kids of soda and enjoying a cheeseburger. There are pictures below.

After POPS we went to an area of Oklahoma City called Brick Town. It is an old area that has a river walk area with lots of fun eating places around it. It was a great time to just walk around and enjoy the beautiful weather.

All in all it was a great weekend. So glad that everyone got home safely! That's all for now..

Beautiful Blessings

2008-08-23T07:32:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful blessing David and I received on Friday evening. My precious sister and amazing brother in law, had planned on coming over Friday night for pizza at my house. To my surprise they had spent the entire day 9-4 working on an amazing surprise for David and I. We I arrived home on Friday afternoon after a long day at work Erin and Mike led me to the backyard. When I opened my eyes, what I saw before me was BREATH TAKING. They had spent their entire day off from work LANDSCAPING OUR BACKYARD!!

It is absolutely incredible. There is an entire corner of our yard that is outlined with natural stone. Inside the landscape bed they put a Crepe myrtle tree, an oak tree, 2 knock out rose bushes, flowers, a holly bush, and a few other that I don't know the names of. They also put in a water feature that runs off my sprinkler system, so it can run all time. They included a special prayer angel as well to let us know they are always praying for us.

In the opposite corner of the yard they put in a bigger Crepe Myrtle tree and two plants that resemble the plants they have in South Carolina all over the place. These are very special to David and I because we just got married in South Carolina.

I think the most beautiful part of it all was not the plants at all, it is Mike and Erin's beautiful hearts. They truly bless us in so many ways. But to have this tangible reminder of their selfless heart is such a blessing to David and I.

Thank you Mike and Erin for being true servants. You will never know how much this has meant to David and I. I love you both so much and strive to have the spirit and gift of giving like the two of you.

Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!! Here are some pictures of our new backyard.

... and now for the greatest show on earth....

2008-08-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

AND NOW FOR THE GREAAAATTTEEESSSTTTT SHOW ON EARTH… RINGLING BROTHERS BARNUM AND BAILEY!!! This weekend we had a blast in Dallas where we went to the circus. David had NEVER been to the circus so we had to show him a good time. Friday night we met the Ballard’s, Caylin and Nix in Dallas and headed over to the American Airlines Center. It was so much fun.

We decided with all this crazy grown up stuff we have been doing lately like working… we needed a night off. The Circus was awesome. There were live animals, human cannon balls, crazy clowns and a whole lot of screaming kids ( including Rachel). Not to mention 6.00 hot dogs and 15.00 snow cones. Can you believe that? They actually charge $15.00 for frozen sugar water… talk about inflation! Anyway…. we had our hearts set on cotton candy but when we found out the over fluffed sugar was going to be 12.00 we passed!

We had an awesome time though… anything is possible… was the theme song for the night, which was sung all the way back to Cay’s house. When we got back we watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. Talk about some amazing stuff. Well it was super fun, just wanted to remind everyone to have a little fun in their week. Ta Ta for now!

David (Beckham) Dillard

2008-08-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

Well David is at it again! My own personal soccer star:) David started playing indoor soccer this season with a new league here in Keller! They just finished regular season finishing 4-2 and are getting ready for playoffs. It is so fun to get to watch him play and the arena is really nice. I posted a few pics so you could all see the excitement!

First House Project!!!

2008-07-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

Well this weekend we officially began our first house project: tiling our back splash:) My mom and grandma came to visit from Missouri. It was so great to have them here and my mom is a pro at home improvements. Seriously, she can do anything: tiling, electrical, plumbing, wood work. It is amazing, I still have a lot to learn.

I picked some tile out a few weeks ago from a company Erin works with. We picked Mosaic 1x1 that are tumbled stone. I am super excited about them because some of them have sparkles. Anyways... it has been quite the process. The first few steps were easy, we just measured and then put the mastic (glue stuff) on the wall and let it dry. Then my mom and grandma smeared the grout on, wiped it off and we were on our way:) However, under my sink counter would not fit a full 10 rows of tiles.... so insert headache. We had to file every single little bitty tile to fit under the sink.

The Arita's came over last night with Judge and helped us finish up the last 500 tiles.. just kidding but like 50. Thanks guys!!!! Needless to say we got it all grouted today and now all we have to do is wait for it to set about a week so we can seal it:)

Done and Done.

Here are some pictures. I will post more when it is complete. Overall it was just a great time to spend with my mom and grandma, they are both so crafty! A big thanks to them for driving all the way here to help. Love you guys!

Happy 4th of July!!!

2008-07-06T17:30:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July to everyone! David and I both had a hard time being away from our families this year on the 4th. However, the Arita family opened their home and family to us this weekend and we had a wonderful time. On Friday night we met the Arita's out at their family lake house in Possum Kingdom. They have such a beautiful home, it over looks the lake from a 20 foot cliff. We spent most of the day Saturday and Sunday on their boat. David and Bryon tore up the lake on the wake board. I did my best just to stay on the raft:) Saturday night we had a true 4th of July meal: bbq chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans and fruit. It was amazing. The Arita's recently put in a flagstone patio at the edge of their property over looking the water. We watched fireworks there on Saturday night after roasting marshmallows for smores. It was perfect! We had such a great time! Thanks ARITAS!!!

Newly Weds

2008-06-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

I guess since everyone else is blogging we should too! David and I got married May 4 and are currently living in Keller, Texas. We have been married for almost 2 months now and we are enjoying every minute of it. David works in Colleyville in Insurance Sales, he has worked there since September and is really enjoying it. In February of this year I started my position as a Child Life Specialist at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Since getting married we are new home owners in a small community called Saratoga. In our spare time we have been enjoying fixing up the house, doing yard stuff, biking and going to our fun community pool. We currently attend Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas. If anyone is looking for a place to worship, we have found this church to be a place where we can truly worship as well as grow toward likeness in Christ. If anyone wants to come with us, just let us know. We go every Sunday at 11:00. Well I guess that is all for now, more to come!