THOUGHTS FROM DAKOTAH'S MAMA

DAKOTAH IS 5 YEARS, 3 MONTHS OLD TODAY

2011-10-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my little boy is 5 years and 3 months old today. Some days, it seems like he just entered this world yesterday and other days, It feels as if he has been here forever. I really don't remember much about how my life felt without him in it. My life has been forever changed by the presence of this beautiful soul!!!

Current Stats:

46.5 inches tall
44 pounds
Size 6 clothes
Size 13 shoe
He's SOOOOO adorable.

I am hoping to start blogging again......well, we'll see how that works out!!!!

Fun at the fair

2010-09-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

AWESOME DAY AT THE STATE FAIR

2010-09-07T23:15:00.000-07:00

So, we started the day yesterday wanting to head to OMSI or to the Children's museum....figured out both are closed on Mondays so we decided to hit up the last day of the Oregon State Fair and I am so glad we did. We arrived at the fair at about 12:30 and left at almost 8 p.m. We had a BLAST! We rode kiddie rides, ate cotton candy (NEVER before eaten by the boy but he always wants to get it but mean ole mama won't let him). We decided that Cotton Candy will be our once a year special treat at the State fair (there is something to say for traditions). Dakotah did tell me that he thought it was gross that it was spun sugar (but he still happily ate his 2 handfuls).

We watched a kids circus performance, saw the dinosaur exhibit and played on the skate ramps. It was a beautiful day and now we have more memories to add to the memory pool.

The ride home consisted of a passed out boy who stayed asleep while being carried in the house, held in one arm while bed covers were being pulled back, pants being taken off and light on so mama could turn the fan on.......ZONKED......that's a sign of a GREAT day at the fair. Can't wait until next year!

2010-06-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

The Reptile man visits Harmony....D was so into it and not afraid AT ALL. He saw some super cool creatures.
The coil snake was a hit....
D playin' his guitar outside our house. Notice the bucket...that was in case "people walk by and wanna give me some money". He still wants to take his bucket drums that gramma made downtown this summer and play. He says he will make music for people and they can give him money in his bucket. We owe this to "Funk Plastic" (D met him downtown last summer and he let D rock his bucket drums on the corner.D strikin' a pose for me...what a HAM and a cute HAM too!!!!!!

and more oldies..

2010-05-29T14:57:00.001-07:00

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL JUNE 22ND, 2009....
18 MONTHS OLD...A ROCKER ALREADY
ON HIS 2ND BIRTHDAY..THE DRUMS WERE HIS PRESENT AND HE WAS WONDERING ABOUT "THE TOY DRUM SET"playing piano with gramma at 26 months old

an true artist.....................about 15 months old.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE OLDIES.....AWWWW!

2010-05-29T14:50:00.001-07:00

2 years old at auntie bev's house with her guitar
17 months old already shooting for the big hoop at the park
first time at mamas hair salon (just a bang trim)

7 month old CUTE PIE

Where are we now?

2010-05-29T01:07:00.000-07:00

DAKOTAH AND HIS BFF, OWEN JUST CHILLIN'

DAKOTAH AND WILLIAM AT OMSIDAKOTAH AND JAKE AT THE END OF A LONG PLAY DATE

Dakotah will be 4 years old on July 11th. I can't hardly believe it. It has been an incredible journey so far. I have stayed at home with him and am VERY fortunate. He started school in late June of last year and currently goes 4 days a week 4 hours a day. His school is a Montessori school just 1/4 mile form our house. He loves to ride his bike to school and has currently been wanting to stay at school for longer. He is extremely social and has a wonderful close network of friends. His "brothers" as he calls them are Jake, William and his BFF since birth, Owen . These boys are developing wonderful relationships and they make Dakotah a happy little boy.

Current Stats:
he is 42 1/2 inches
Weighs 42 pounds
Blonde/blue eyed
is a lefty but throws and eats right handed. Plays guitar and writes/draws left handed.

Current Interests:
Loves all things music and is especially good on the drums and has his own drum set, electric guitar and keyboard. His current musical plan for himself is to have a band called "3 brothers" with William and Jake. He says he will write the music and play the drums. He loves Adam Lambert and Lady Gaga and is also very fond of Elvis.

He loves playing basketball and golf, skateboarding, riding his bike and anything else that involves the outdoors and physical activity.

He absolutely LOVES school and looks forward to it everyday. He thrives in the Montessori environment and has great friends and teachers. He is VERY social and of course his favorite part of the day is "playground time".

Things that Dakotah likes to do at home:

He loves taking care of Sage and the fish in our outdoor pond.

He loves to invent his own games and loves board games and puzzles.

Books, arts and crafts and cooking are on his list of things to do if he isn't begging to go outside and play basketball, or garden, or weed, or well just be outside RAIN OR SHINE. I'm pretty sure if allowed to he would live outside. He is a very good helper and loves to do "chores". He recently has given himself the job of setting the table for dinner. He also loves to do laundry and vacuum. A WELL ROUNDED KID FOR SURE and seriously at almost 4 years old, he can do anything he puts his mind to.

He is EXTREMELY independent and finds great joy in accomplishing things on his own. He also is VERY snuggly and cuddly and loves his quiet time with mama and mima. He still sleeps in our bed most of the time although he has been in his own bed since about 17 months. He now finds that snuggling in between the two of us in a King size bed is much more his style. Who can blame him?

More to come SOON but now it is 1:30 am and this mama must go to bed!!

DAKOTAH'S ARTWORK

2010-05-29T00:31:00.001-07:00

I'm back in the blogging game.....after only a YEAR

2010-05-28T16:30:00.001-07:00

So, my friend from LA inspired me to restart my blog....soooooooooooo, I'll will being just that!!!! However, I would NEVER be able to catch up with the past year of our life but I'll try

More on Birthfamily

2009-04-08T00:08:00.000-07:00

Dakotah has been really into "loaning" and "borrowing" things lately...Gramma was over last night to color Easter Eggs and he asked her "hey, Gramma, do you wanna borrow something"?. Gramma says sure! and he grabs the photo of R and W (his birthparents) holding him at entrustment and tells gramma she can borrow THIS.

He looks at Gramma and says "that's me when I was a little baby, SEE"..and gramma says "oh, yeah and who is that" (pointing to R picture")..and he says that's my "mom" and I said "yeah, baby that is your birthmom...did you grow in her belly"..and he says "YEP, i DID".. I ask him: "did you grow in mama's belly" and he say's "nope, I didn't".....I seriously am amazed at his level of understanding of his story....he never repeats what we say, he talks about it in his own way and uses his own words......I LOVE THIS CHILD SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!

Understanding his story and his family

2009-03-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

We were laying in bed the other night reading a book...the book was talking about all kinds of animals and asking the question "do you have a mommy"?.........somewhere in the midst of the book I asked Dakotah "how many mommies do you have Dakotah"..(I will often ask him this to gauge his understanding of our family structure)....he counts me ONE...Mima TWO.."I have 2 mommies"..he says with what seems like a sense of pride and as I always say..."yep, you have two mommies, arent' you lucky"..then I say "do you have a daddy" and he looks at me like "MOM!!!!!!!.....and says NOPE, I don't..." so I say "Do you have a birth daddy"? and he says "yep, I do"..I say "Oh, yeah, what is your birthdaddies name"? and Dakotah says "WESTON".... .......so I melt with pride that our son has been processing and listening when we tell the story of his family and where he came from. He can also identify the pictures we have of his birthparents and often will ask to look at them......my heart is holding onto hope that we will see them one day and that Dakotah will be honored and blessed to know his birth family...

Empathy at it's best

2009-03-05T23:05:00.000-08:00

I woke up yesterday morning feeling very ill. I told Dakotah that I felt sick and needed to lay down. He asked me "why you sick mama?" and was watching me very intently. He then went into the bathroom where Mima was getting ready for work and I heard him telling her "Mima, mama is sick, I need to get her some medicine"..he came out of the bathroom with a package that had a tooth cleaner in it and was trying very hard to open it and said "Mama I have some medicine for you, I need to open it" (as he was trying with all of his might to wrestle the package open)...A little later, he saw HIS medicine in the cabinet and said "OH, mama that is the medicine I was looking for, you need to take some of that medicine").

Later in the day I had the unfortunate blessing of throwing up..Dakotah was out in the living room and when I came out he told me he was drawing me a picture of me when I'm not sick. Then to top off his sweetness, he followed me into the bathroom later and sat on his little stool next to me as I was sitting on the stool by the toilet and he was patting my arm and my leg and he said " mama are you okay, do you need some water, I'm going to go get you my cup and give you some water"..he marched out in the living room where our 2 wonderful friends were who had stopped by to check on me and he told them "I'm getting mama some water", He marched back up to the bathroom and yelled down to the girls "don't come in here cuz mama is sick", he slammed the door and came over to me and put his sippy cup up to my mouth and said " I brought you some water.... and he said "DRINK" as he put the cup up to my mouth...)...I realized at that moment that he did every thing that I do for him when he is sick........I delighted in this small bit of evidence that everything we do as mothers really does matter.......My little 2 1/2 year old was showing empathy which is an amazing virture to be emerging at his young age!!!! I'm still smiling thinking about it!!!!

Just a little funny story

2009-02-19T00:35:00.000-08:00

Dakotah woke up this morning and asked mima to get him some milk. He said that he would please like it in a glass cup....YIPPEE HOOORRAYY, he's asking for a cup..usually he says I want some milk IN A BOTTLE please...just in case that we have forgotton that he is NOT ready to give his bottles up to the "bottle fairy" quite yet...so mima gets his milk and I bring it to him in the living room..he looks at me with a big smile on his face and says "REALLY, I WANT MY MILK IN A BOTTLE"..AND he smirks that cute little smirk of his!!! :):) Oh, I love this boy!!!!!

Baby Genius?

2009-02-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

NAH, just a really smart boy!

So, last week I went in D's room and asked Carrie "where is Dakotah's
M-I-L-K(that means I was spelling it not saying it)....?"....and Dakotah says "yeah, where's my MILK (saying it not spelling it)"?..and starts looking for his milk where it usually sits..."oh, you can spell MILK now" I say...and D responds...."hee,hee, where's my M-I-L-K"? (spelling it).....guess, we can't spell MILK anymore if we are trying to be secretive!! sheesh!!

Superbowl Sunday we are leaving auntie Donna's house and Sam say's to D..."hey, D how do you spell milk...and he looks at her like, ARE YO SERIOUS?...and says..M-I-L-K!!! like duh SAM!!!! OMG, this kid!!!

Birthparents..............

2009-01-28T23:40:00.000-08:00

Dakotah has been looking at pictures of his birth parents, R and W since he was born...we have pictures in his room, in the kitchen, and in his photo book. Once in awhile he wants to get the picture down that is in his room and look at it ....he stares intensely at it and puts it back. He has been talking a lot lately about "his daddy".....yesterday, he was talking about his "daddy" and Mima asked him if he wanted to see a picture of his birth dad and he said YES....she showed him the picture of R and W holding him on entrustment day July 26th, 2006 ...she said their names and told him that the little baby was him...he seems that he is really starting to "get" it...it's ...it's intense and it's awesome.....this little 2 1/2 year old boy will continue to learn his story, he will know his story and he will know that we love and admire his birthparents SO much..I want him to know who they are, who his birth brother is....if not only in face but in spirit but from our stories..... I hope we do it the right way!!!!

More "random" things from the mouths of babes...

2009-01-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

So I tell Dakotah last Saturday that his friend Bryson will be going to the same school as he will go to....
Mama: Hey, D, Bryson is going to go to the same school as you..isn't that COOL?
D: MY SCHOOL?, yeah!!! I'm gonna go to MY school and learn somethin' real quick and use the big boy potty!!!

Oh, he is taking ownership and seems to "get" what school is.....my boy is growing up...I cried!

Dakotah sees his backpack that I drug out of the closet:
Mama: Hey, look at this COOL backpack, you can carry this to school
D: YEAH, let's put it on! He puts it on and goes out and gets on his bike...
D: "which way is my school mama, on Burnside?.....OMG, I'm melting....then he proceeds to pretend that he is going to school...runs in the bedroom and sits by his puzzle and says "I'm gonna learn somethin' REAL QUICK okay"...... MAMA IS SO NOT READY FOR THIS!!!!!!

BUCKET DRUMS

2009-01-11T01:32:00.001-08:00

Dakotah is totally taken with the "bucket drummers" that are on the corners in downtown portland..he informed his Mima today that he wanted to go downtown to burnside to see the drummers....she asked him how he knew they were on burnside and he said "that's where gramma said they were"...Gramma made D a set of bucket drums for Christmas and he was so excited that he didn't even see the black football helmet that he had asked Santa for for 2 months and was so excited about...it was precious how he walked past the toys, the helmet, the stocking straight to those drums...he LOVES them and everyday he wants to do something to them so they are "like the drummer downtown".....we will be riding the train downtown tomorrow to see the drummers and maybe, just maybe, one of them will let D play again..he got to play some when we went down in on one of the snow days...he looked like a pro........you think they would call DHS on me if I let my son sit on the street corner in downtown pdx and play his bucket drums?? HMMM, I wonder??

RANDOM CUTENESS

2009-01-11T01:09:00.000-08:00

I LOVE all of the RANDOM, smart, witty, funny things that Dakotah says and does....if I don't write them down then surely I will forget and they are just too precious to forget...

One of our favorite books is "I Love you More"..it's a cute story of a mother and a son answering the question "Do you know how much I love you"?...with responses such as "I love you higher than the highest mountain and I love you bigger that the biggest bubble"...so we are driving along the other day and I ask Dakotah "do you know how much I love you"? and he says to me " YOU SAY IT" so I say " I love you brighter than the brightest sun" and he say's "I love you longer than the longest straw".....now we play this "game" every day and it melts my heart.....

Dakotah now know's his ABC'S so of course I have been asking him if he wants to say them for poeple....(I should know that my son does not like being a show monkey)..so I asked him last weekend if he wanted to say the ABC's for his cousin Sam and he goes thru them and gets to LMNO..and then says PISS and laughs his head off!!! LMNOPISS(I'm certain he doesn't even know what that word means ) I know, not technically FUNNY BUT coming out of the mouth of a tired, giddy 2 1/2 year old...IT'S FUNNY!!!

I LOVE that every time I tell Dakotah..."oh, mommy can't do that because (fill in the blank)....he says "WELL YOU BETTER TRY"!!!!! I guess we've taught him well.

Dakotah has taken to wanting to give people haircuts.....he was "giving me a haircut today" and he says "I'm giving you some color and cutting your hair like you do at work"..AH!!! my little man knows what mama does at work besides "make money"...

The BIG BOY potty

2009-01-04T11:38:00.000-08:00

In june, Dakotah was showing a lot of interest in the potty..he used it a couple of times a day for a few days....then BAM..he decided I DON'T WANT TO USE THE POTTY so we layed off...we knew that when he was ready it would happen and we knew that HE knew when he had to go and that he COULD use the potty so we just decided that when he was ready he would be ready...no hurry...he wasn't even 2 yet!!!! *that's him in the picture above in June the first time he went pee in the BIG boy potty

FAST FORWARD to 6 months later: Dakotah is officially potty trained....he decided 13 days ago that he wanted to use the potty first thing when he woke up, mama pulled up his pants and that was the end of the diapers...we sported pull ups the first 2 days in public and went commando in sweats the rest of the time...after 2 days of reminding him about every 15 to 30 minutes that he didn't have a diaper on and to let me know if he needed to use the potty, he had the hang of it...he still wasn't sure about the big POOP in the potty on a regular basis but he has it down now and is quite PROUD of himself...he has only had a handful of accidents....stays dry most nights..(we still put a pull-up on at night JUST IN CASE)..but he is officially in BIG BOY UNDERWEAR......no diapers, no pull ups during the day and WOW am I proud of him....he can even hold it in the store, restaraunt etc..until we get to the bathroom....HE'S A BIG BOY NOW.............and he is 2 1/2 TODAY!!!!

SNOW ANGELS

2008-12-22T22:17:00.000-08:00

It's been snowy and cold..........................5 oclock today we are sitting at the front window watching our neighbors shovel snow out of their driveway....I ask Dakotah if he wants to go outside.......YEAH!!!! he squeals with such delight and happiness........I LOVE BEING HIS MAMA!!!! We had so much fun! His little face was SO cold..I finally convinced him to put on the face mask..SUCH AN ADVENTUROUS LITTLE BOY!!!!

SANTA CLAUS is coming to town...

2008-12-22T01:26:00.000-08:00

Writing a letter to Santa!!!!!

So, a couple of weeks ago, my auntie and D and I were downtown at pioneer place....we were upstairs at the L'occitaine store and D looks down and yells...SANTA..he starts waving and saying "Hi Santa.." then he says "I want to see him:"... so we go down there and he wants to get out of the backpack.....I take him out and his feet hit the ground...he promptly walks over Santa...(there was no line or anything roping him off from seeing him).....he then climbs up on his lap...and he looks him square in the eye and tells him he wants a black football helmet PLEASE...the photo girl asks me if I want a pic and all I could think that was this was not planned and Carrie wasn't with us...No, thank you no picture....., I was kicking myself ever since that I just should have taken the photo cuz it was so perfecxt (and Carrie told me I should have too)...cuz we know how our boy is and he probably won't want to see Santa again (and surely not just for a photo op).BUT , mama needs a picture of her boy on Santa's lap........so, Gramma picked us up yesterday..(one of our bad weather days but she can drive in it...we thought we should go try to see Santa b'c the weather is supposed to get worse)....

So, off to Lloyd Center we go.....D was super excited and was in his snow bibs and hat......he heads toward Santa with gramma telling us that he is "going to see if Santa is at work"....again, NO LINE and D walks right up, stands in front of Santa and says "I want a Black football helmet please"..then he informs me that he needs help getting on Santa's lap....Gramma was telling D to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas and Santa says:
"HE'S ALREADY TOLD ME SEVERAL TIMES"!!!!!

GRUMPY SANTA....SHEESH....but, then gramma says later how cool it was that he said that cuz then D would know that Santa heard him ALL the times he told him (even the first time he saw him)..YEAH, that was cool that he said that..................AND D WILL BE SO EXCITED TO GET HIS BLACK FOOTBALL HELMET.........

JUST A BLURB...

2008-12-22T01:19:00.000-08:00

So, on Saturday's Dakotah usually hardly knows that I exist and I usually go to work......this is his day with Mima and he seems to know it!!! Today I was standing in the kitchen and I said, "I think Dakotah thinks it's Saturday" (as he was ALL ABOUT HIS MIMA all morning)....he was leaning over on the floor and he says "NO, IT'S SUNDAY"...to which we both looked at eachother and Carrie says "WTF, he's too young to know it's Sunday, there is no way he could know that".....and Dakotah says "No, I'm NOT"......WTF???? OOOOOOOKKKKKKKKAAAAAYYYYYYY!! So, Carrie says well how old ARE YOU and he says "THREE"..oh, well okay if you are 3 then I guess you would know that Mr. not even 2 1/2 yet..................BIG SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the zoo lights were FANTASTIC

2008-12-19T16:11:00.000-08:00

WE bundled up and went to the zoo lights last night...the ground was covered in snow and it was perfect....Dakotah was lit up so bright and had a BLAST.....the lights were amazing....I can't imagine how long and how many people it takes to prepare the zoo!!! They had a big polar bear and Ruldolph at the front gate when you entered hugging everyone...big and little kiddos...Dakotah was delighted by Ruldolph and go SEVERAL hugs from him/her.....he did not want to go on the train AT ALL!!!!!! he actually was a little frightened by it so mama went by herself! Mima gave her and Dakotah's tix away! What a great tradition to start and well worth getting a zoo memebership for...we nearly paid for the night with our year long memebership! We'll make it an annual event!! Maybe D will want to go on the train next year!!!!

THE SPIRIT OF GIVING

2008-12-18T00:55:00.000-08:00

Hope this is the beginning of teaching Dakotah about the spirit of Christmas...he has already made 5 special gifts. He has been so happy to be doing "arts and crafts" and I am so excited to see him wrap his handmade gifts and to hand them over on Christmas day!!!!!

I'M SO PROUD OF DAKOTAH!!!

2008-12-09T23:57:00.000-08:00

I feel as tho' I spend SO much time gushing and bragging and bragging and gushing BUT I cannot let this day go by without sharing this story:

Today Dakotah and I stopped at the Dollar Tree to pick up some socks for our White Elephant Party...as we were walking thru the store, Dakotah tossed something in the cart..I asked him: Who's that for....."It's for Katie" he says as if I should have known..it was a little blue tin box with a flower on it....I was walking down the aisle and looked at him and he had a package of LARGE, GOLD Christmas tree bulbs tucked under his right arm and he was holding onto them as if they were his most prized posession. I said "Oh, baby, what are you doing with those...what are those for"..he informed me that they were for auntie bev...at this moment, I realized that my little boy just 28 months old WAS CHRISTMAS SHOPPING....what the heck?, no prompting, no encouragement just previous discussions about Christmas, making presents etc.....HE WAS DOING THIS ON HIS OWN.....he then proceeded to throw a cute little paper hole punch in the cart and said "that's for Katie".... and said "Oh, I need one for Big B too" as he stooped over to look for one.....I was looking at something behind him then he walked away..I looked in the cart and didn't see anything and asked D "What did you get for Big B...and he says: "the blue one" and keeps walking..I still didn't see anything so I just kept on heading toward the check out....When we got to the check out, Dakotah burst into tears and said "mama, I don;'t want her to take the Christmas Balls....(yes, the BIG, GOLD ones he had chosen for auntie bev)...he was SERIOUSLY upset at the prospect of having to hand over those balls..he had been holding them tightly under his arms since we came in the store......finally he let her ring them up and give them back.....THIS ENTIRE EXPERIENCE showed me that my son is LEARNING about what it means to think of others...... and that he has some innate personality traits that I so admire and love...he was showing so much sweetness in choosing these gifts and I was truly so proud of him that he chose to do this on his own!!!!! Oh, yes and let us not forget to mention when he chose 4 little baseball grow in water towels..he informed me that one was for Bryson and one was for Katie..when I asked him who the other 2 were for he looked down at his hand and looked and mine (holding the other two) and said "LET ME FIGURE THIS OUT".................................KIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDSSSSSSSSSS, I am amazed DAIL Y....and so, so, so, so proud of who Dakotah is becoming..he is amazing me more EVERYDAY......

Oh, and BTW, when I was going thru my purse while eating dinner during my work break tonight what did I find??? The BLUE stamp that D picked out for Big B....OOOPPPPSSSSSIIEEEEE, it must have landed in my purse*which was open and in the cart)
I STOLE SOMETHING FROM THE DOLLAR TREE......AH, GADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

We headed to Wheeler Tree Farm yesterday to get our Christmas tree. We were all very excited and I mentioned to Carrie that perhaps we should get a tree for my auntie Patty. We got to the farm, headed into the "forest" to pick our tree...Dakotah promptly starts marching and saying hut(not sure of the spelling on this) ...two....three....four and saying to us "lets go, lets go, lets get our tree"...I was so delighted to see how happy he was to be marching into the woods to pick out his Christmas tree....we stopped and looked at a cute maybe 5 foot tree and Dakotah says "Shall we get this for auntie"?..........AH!!!!!! well, of course we promply cut the tree down and Dakotah held it the entire time as Mima was sawing it.....it was so super duper CUTE.......and once again I was reminded of what a thoughtful, special little boy we have....he picked a tree for auntie before even getting ours...we took it to her when we were done and she was SO HAPPY and it is decorated and in her living room.....I showed Dakotah a pic of it this am and he wanted to know where she put it and if he could go over and see it......TIS THE SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!11111

This child warms my heart

2008-11-22T23:53:00.001-08:00

Dakotah is so little, so sweet, so amazing, so charming and I am still amazed by some of the things he does and some of the things he does: This week one stands out above the rest: I was playing my new Robin Thicke CD which I LOVE<>

Some of Dakotah's "cuteness":
Dakotah says to me today: I LOVE YOU MAMA!!!!!! OMG, those words melt my heart every time he says them but ESPECIALLY when he says them on his own, not in response to me saying I love you!!!

We are driving down the road and he says to me: hey mama, we passed him (talking about the car next to us)..I said Oh yeah! he said "yeah, we're WINNING him"......

We have dinner guests last night and Rizzo the cat comes parading in....Carrie shoots me a look like "don't say anything about the worms":(she thinks the cat has worms, I don't think he he does)..anyhew, all of the sudden as Rizzo is crawling up on Shanti's lap Dakotah says with the funniest look on his face "HE HAS WORMS"...kid's do say the darndest things..so much for not saying anything about the "possible worms"...btw, I told D Thursday that I really needed him to wash his hands after petting Rizzo "cuz Rizzo has bugs" (I didn't want to freak him out by saying WORMS)..he looks at me and says: "NO HE DOESN'T, HE HAS WORMS"...OOKKKAYYY...this kid doesn't miss anything....

Halloween cont.........

2008-11-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

After visiting auntie bev at work we went to Mima's work. D and I had made little treats for the gals in her unit (along with the cupcakes)...he was SO cute as he handed each one of the girls a dum-dum wrapped with tissue and tied with ribbon (to look like a ghost)...again, he had so much pride because we told everyone that he made them.......we had lunch with the unit and hung out with mima for a bit the home for a nap.

After nap time we were headed to Gramma's ....as I thought D did not want to put on his costume BUT as soon as we got outside he saw 3 trick or treaters (scary boys as D called them)..he promptly said "where's my bat costume"..he put it on and we went to the 3 neighbors houses that we have a relationship with.....Georgia next door and her husband whom D had to show his "squishy skeleton head that has bugs in it"...HE ONLY SHOWED THE "BOYS" THIS TOY ALL DAY NO GIRLS...HMMM!!!! then we went to Kevin's and he gave Dakotah a cut little stuffed bear that said Happy Halloween...so cute...then to the neighbors across the street who were gearing up for a party....then off the Gramma's.....of course D knew cousin Sam was going to be there so he was super excited! We got there and went trick or treating.....we went to the "scary house" down the street from my moms house...they really do it up..truck in the driveway with a mummy in it....a chest in the front that shakes and makes scary noises when you walk by it...D wanted to know if t his was "pretend"...he had NO intereset in getting any closer than the house next door. He was interested in knowing what everything was and we ended up going across the street to watch while Gramma and Sam walked by the chest to make it shake...he was so cute....the CUTEST was when he saw my moms neighbors little girl who was dressed like pooh bear and was carrying a honey pot...D took a piece of candy out of his trick or treat pumpkin and put it in her honey pot....IT WAS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS WHEN I WAS SO PROUD OF HIM.....and not to mention it was adorable.......anyhew, it was a great night and D had so much fun!

HALLOWEEN 2008

2008-10-31T16:58:00.000-07:00

So, it's only 5 p.m. and my little bat has been BUSY!! We started our morning by making Halloween cupcakes to take to mima's work...D takes such pride in doing things himself!!

Then we took a hot bath to see if we could clear up his stuffy little bat nose....he's been fighting this stuffy nose cold crap for a week now but seems fine otherwise......He wanted to put his bat TOP on before we left but not the bottoms....whatever the boy wants!! We headed to auntie Bev's work because she won't see him in his costume tonight.........HIS FIRST REAL TRICK OR TREAT!!!! He put his bat bottoms on as soon as we got there and had so much fun seeing auntie Bev. Tonight we head to gramma's for trick or treating!!!!!!

ANOTHER instrument

2008-10-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

So D found a new instrument at Gramma's today....he didn't even get his coat off and he had pulled her clarinet out from under the bed and had the case open and was trying to put it together on his own......Gramma showed him how to do it.......I LOVE that he LOVES music............................

IT SURE IS FUN HAVING AN EMPOWERED LITTLE ONE

2008-10-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

So for exactly one week, I have had NO problems with my boy having any tantrums and he has hardly caused me any grief at all....is it a break or has he finally learned that I mean what I say and that he does have some control in this relationship?

I don't know the answer BUT I do know that it has been so nice to see him evolve even in the last week....so, here are some little changes I have made.. I've always been big on giving Dakotah choices and empowering him but for anyone who know me, I CAN TEND TO TALK TOO MUCH) I decided that less is more..less explanation, fewer choices about what to wear, what snack to have, etc.. (2 to be exact) and that FOOD is a must and on a schedule!!!! So, I have started to tell Dakotah in less words than before...you have a choice here..you can do X or mommy can help you...I will count to 3 and you decide....firmly, lovingly and like I mean it but not like he doesn't have a choice.....9 times out 10, by the time I say ONE, he has made his choice and it is usually to do it on his own..sure, I might have to repeat myself 5 times over the next hour or so BUT it's helping him to have control and learn how to make a good choice....I finally put the FIRM voice out there when he was hitting and just said NO! loudly and firmly.I did that maybe 3 times and he has not tried to hit me since..The biggest change has been with transitions which he has never liked...going from park to lunch...from toy store, home etc....now I give him 5 minute, 2 minute, 1 minute warning (may not be actual time but gives him time to process)..then we say GOODBYE (wherever we are) and that's it..we leave...NO PROBLEMS.....

I HAVE BEEN GIVING TONS OF PRAISE FOR MAKING A GOOD CHOICE, HAVING GOOD MANNERS, BEING A GOOD HELPER ETC....I have been amazed at what he has been doing on his own with NO prompting....

Some of the little things he has been doing that make our lives easier: letting me know when he is done in the bath (instead of me getting him out kicking and screaming after the water is freezing and there is no more hot water..(I got a plug that he can remove when he is done)..he pulls the plug and cleans up his toys and gets out).....cleaning up his toys when he is done b4 moving onto the next thing (mommy got even better organized and it makes sense to him so he does it), USING THE POTTY AND PUTTING ON A NEW DIAPER WITH LITTLE COAXING (I put pull-ups and regular diapers on the bottom shelf where he can reach and ask him to go get me a diaper..he picks which one he wants and brings it to me..NO HASSLE)..he has been SO proud of himself going on the potty (poop and pee)..I think he gets a kick out of dumping it in the toilet and flushing.....

HE HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY SAYING PLEASE AND THANK YOU WHICH JUST TICKLES ME TO DEATH.........EVEN IF IT'S SOMETHING HE REALLY NEEDS TO DO LIKE BRUSH HIS TEETH, HE SAY "NO THANK YOU.." I still make him do it but it's cute as hell..or "ready for your nap"..."no thank you mama"......and the cutest was when we were at the beach this weekend and I made blueberry pancakes for D and his friend Bryson and D asked me for some water PLEASE...and I was in the kitchen and he said thank you mama, thank you mama for the pancakes...and said thank you for the water........ah! the little things...

SO, THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS WHAT I'VE ALWAYS KNOWN ...WE, THE PARENTS ARE THE ONES WHO NEED TO BE TRAINED AND OUR CHILDREN WILL NATURALLY MAKE GOOD CHOICES AND FEEL EMPOWERED....I'm sure I haven't seen the end of the "NO" phase and the tantrums BUT I know we are making progress toward raising a good little boy with good manners and control in his little world and for today that makes me HAPPY!!!!

sorry this is long and maybe a little scattered but I have to do it fast while nap time is here!!!

2008-10-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

We went to the pumpkin patch at Sauvie's Island
last Sunday with Katie and Big B....two of D's
favorite people. We had a BLAST...D LOVED the
"hay ride"..picking out his pumpkin and washing his"baby pumpkins" at the checkout....It was so fun to watch his eyes lite up at the site of the field of pumpkins , the over sized trash can
used to wash the pumpkins, the pigs rolling in their pen, chickens running free in the grass, HUGE tractors to sit on and corn in the cob! IT WAS AN AWESOME DAY AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH!!! p.s. We have 5 pumpkins!!!!!

Just some cute "stuff"...THAT has happened recently

2008-10-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting with D and my aunt at LaSorelle Cafe last Friday when D is looking at me with a very serious look...I say WATCHA thinkin about ( seemingly a rhetorical ???) when he says: I LOVE YOU!!!! OMG, I melted.....something your partner would say not usually your 27 month old KID

We are at costco Monday and D sees a HUGE motorized Escalade (for kiddos) and he says: I want THAT MAMA and I say Oh, D that cost alot of money and he says: "I HAVE MONEY IN MY POCKET ! I say YOU DO and he looks down and realized he has no pants on (we had an accident and didn't have a change of clothes in store)...and he says "OOPS, IT'S ALL GONE"........ Kid's really do say the darndest things!!!

We met a new friend yesterday (Dakotah's nana's new "friends" son)....He is almost 4 and as we were leaving after they had a VERY FUN TIME TOGETHER....Bryson gives D a hug and D takes both his cheeks gently in his hands, turns his head toward him and lays a big ole smooch right on his lips.....CAN U SAY CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Mama got a new tattoo!!!

2008-10-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

FINALLY WE GOT OUR TATTOOS....HERE'S MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!!

We all survived the first trip away from home.

2008-10-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

Carrie and I went to San Francisco for 2 nights and 3 days for our 5 year anniversary on the 19th-21st. We prepared D for our trip with some very helpful advice from one of my clients (Thanks Ann)!!! The trip was a BLAST and Dakotah did very well staying at home with BoBo and TT and having time with Auntie Bev and Grandma...I'm pretty sure he hardly knew we were gone. We had so much fun and it was a relief to know that we can go away and the Baby D will be in good hands and have a FABULOUS time without his mama and mima. We missed him terribly of course and every family walking down the street with a child under the age of 3 got an OH!!! WE MISS OUR BOY!!! but we made it and our next trip he will come with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S GOTTA BE HARD TO BE A 2 YEAR OLD

2008-09-16T22:46:00.000-07:00

So, things have been sporadically a little on the rough side in the Adamson-John household as Dakotah learns the art of the (DARE I SAY IT) ......whispering....................tantrum......UGG! i SAID IT!.......well, I calls em as I sees em!!! Anyhew, we have been experiencing hitting, crying, demanding and downright uncharachteristic behavior....well, shall I say uncharacteristic for him thus far but (as everything I have been told and have read) NOT uncharacteristic for a 2 year old. So, to the point now....D and I went to the mall today to have a little outing and get a few things for our trip this weekend. My friend Jessie and her daughter met us for lunch and everything was going just great. After lunch we went to the little arcade that they have by the food cart. There are a few games there that D played once and he wanted to go back. I regret ever taking him in there because it's loud and franatic and it drives me crazy.......We made it kind of quick and I told D that it was time to pick his prize...he immediately began crying as if I told him he had to leave and never ever ever come back (I'm sure that's what it feels like to a 2 year old)...he got a prize from the nice young man behind the counter....not little tiny snakes like before but a carton with two airplanes in it. Before I knew it, D smacked me with the package....I told him (as always) that "we don't hit" and before I could get the "gentle touches please" out, he was hitting me repeatedly....We all walked out and I walked into a little hallway right outside the arcade where D proceeded to lay on his back on the floor, baseball hat over his head crying his eyes out....."I WANNA DO THE GAME"....there was no "talking" him through this one, no acknowledging that "It's hard to leave, but we can come back"....blah blah! All I could do was squat next to him and make sure he didn't crack his head on the concrete floor. Finally he started to sit up so I picked him up and started to put him in his stroller so we could leave......and BLAM!!! hit, hit, hit....Jessie's little 8 month old started crying and I felt like I was going to cry........DAMN!! this motherhood stuff is emotional! I was feeling bad for him, I was embarrassed, I was feeling bad that the baby was upset, I was feeling inadequate, I just wanted to get outta the food court...finally Jessie just helped get the stroller out and I carried D as he set his little head on my shoulder at which point I was sure that EVERY person sitting in the food court was looking at me wondering what the hell>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
So we get out to the car and D is upset that his little friend has to leave, he was crying, nose all snotty, looking at me like MOM DO SOMETHING and he turns around and waves, crying his eyes out and saying BYE BYE.....we went to the car and he plops in his car seat and says MILK....I rested my cheek on his and kissed him and said "Mama loves you baby"...he looked at me so quietly, big blue eyes staring into mine and I SAID TO MY SELF THIS TOO SHALL PASS......................I was driving home, feeling kind of sorry for myself for having some rough days....when I look up and see a truck flipped over on it's top, front end smashed and surely the driver went to the hospital and I thought "WELL, I GUESS MY DAY AIN'T GOIN' SO BAD"...there is something to say for PERSPECTIVE....

Clarity, confusion, love and parenting

2008-09-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

I have been SO nervous about this trip that we are taking this weekend.....Carrie has been a little nervous that I will be too preoccupied with how Dakotah is doing to have fun...I made a promise to myself that that would not happen. We need this trip! We need to have fun and remember why we fell in love. Parenting presents so many challenges and as a couple, we have found ourselves at times lost in the craziness of figuring out how to be the parents we we want be and while maintaining our lives as couple. At times, it has seemed impossible to do both but when you love someone the way that we love one another, you plug along day after day and do the best you can to figure it out. The demands of parenting are SO intense and so HUGE (can't think of a more articulate word at the moment) that there seems no other choice but to put your relationship on the back burner at times. Infancy demanded a lot of physical comittment and as a mama committed to attachment parenting, at the end of the day, I was TOTALLY exhausted and unable to give anymore of myself away. Now as the toddler years begin, not only are the physical demands still there (attachment parenting doesn't end in infancy):)!! but now there are mountains of emotional demands as we embark on the true development of Dakotah's personality. He is the most amazing, smart and FUN boy and I feel lucky EVERYDAY BUT at the same time, this "toddlerville" we have entered into is beyond exhausting some days and other days it's just plain ole' crazy.......and I am tired at the end of the day. I love being a mama but I also love being a partner and really want to find the time and the way to truly nurture both relationships at the same time without sacraficing one for the other....I WONDER IF THAT IS POSSIBLE.....??? I am so lucky to have a comitted, understanding partner that has allowed me (and us) to find the happiness in our lives and focus on the fortunes that have come upon us EVEN when it's not easy!!!!! AND TO ALL THE OTHER MOTHERS READING THIS...YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS THE MOST AMAZING REWARDING AND CHALLENGING POSITION I THINK WE WILL EVER HOLD IN THIS LIFETIME........cheers!!!

OH! BOY!

2008-09-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

So, as I have heard from other mothers of toddlers say in so many words "where, Oh where has my little boy gone"?....I have had a few days of hitting, throwing, just plain ole crabbiness coming from my sweet son!!! It's exhausting and takes all of my energy to redirect, stay positive and redirect him proactively......I am thankful that in between these crazy moments, my articulate, loving, sweet CALM little boy shows his face! Otherwise, I'd surely be losing my mind....OK just had to vent for a minute.........

Trying to prepare for first overnight away from Baby D

2008-09-06T23:13:00.000-07:00

So we will be taking our first trip away from Dakotah on September 19th-21st. IT'S ONLY TWO NIGHTS but I have been nervous and anxious since making the hotel reservation in San Francisco. I know that this is a good thing for Carrie and I as a couple and that this will be much harder on me that on Dakotah (He will be in VERY good hands). So, I have been waiting for an opportunity to begin talking to Dakotah about this. We were driving to D's Auntie Bev's yesterday (which happens to be VERY close to the airport) and the planes are always flying very low....D notices them and always comments so this time I said "hey, baby do YOU want to go on an airplane".....D responds "UM, no I'M too big for an airplane"....hee!hee! that's funny!!! So, I say "Can Mama go on a plane and he looks at me and says "NOOO (as if to say silly, why would you do that_? then I say "What if Mama and Mima go on an airplane and you can stay with Bo Bo and TT....."??? HE quickly says "NAH, I think maybe not"!!! HE THINKS MAYBE NOT????? Well, good thing I have a couple more weeks before take off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cuz Mama and Mima ARE going on a plane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kids are SO damn CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S BEEN AWHILE-And Now my boy is 2 years old!!!!

2008-07-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

WOW! does time fly!!! So July 11th has come and gone and my beautiful, talented and amazingly charismatic son has turned two years old......2 years 10 days old to be exact!!! We had an amazing partry for him at his auntie bev's home...a "pool" party that was an absolute blast........previously, I have been blogging as if addressing D but as you see I now just talking as If I would talk to each person individually (it's MUCH easier for me)! SOOOOOO, yes Dakotah is 2! He is AMAZING.....talented beyond words (he seems to have picked up the musical talents passed onto him by his birth family and nurtured from the beginning by us)! He is a fantastic drummer at age 2 (not just BANGING and hitting BUT DRUMMING).....my neighbor, Georgia came to the fence this morning and said "who's the drummer"? She had NO idea is was D.....she said he had RYTHM and actually sounded like he was drummin...YEP, he does and he was! Anyway, I giggle when he shakes his head when he is drumming as if he has landed on another planet...and I giggle even more when he looks up at me and says "I'M THE BAND".....Yes, sweet boy YOU are the band.......drums, guitar, harmonica....a one man band.......(as he told me this am....."mama, I'm the man:........) OK, yes I play into the egocentric world of my 2 year old....BUT, he also says please and thank you, knows how to share and to take turns so FOR NOW.......I'll let him be THE BAND AND THE MAN!!!!!!!!! I LOVE, LOVe, love THIS BOY WITH EVERY OUNCE OF MY BEING..........I am the luckiest mama in the entire world...(aren't we ALL)???? more later........

19 months old

2008-02-12T13:15:00.001-08:00

I can hardly believe you are 19 months old...yesterday! You are more amazing every day. You are learning new words everyday, stringing two and three words together ("shoot that ball", "bye-bye house", "let's do this" are a couple of my faves). You are still completely obsessed with basketball and now rather than saying BBALL, you are trying SO hard to say "basketball". It sounds like "thataball". Oh! my, I can't even let a day go by without talking about all the cute things you do.....I absolutely love being around you every day, I love spending my waking moments with you reading books, playing music, going to the library, going to the indoor playground, swimming lessons or whatever else fun we might find to do on any given day. Today you completely amazed me as we came home from swimming lessons, I drove past our street, I was watching you in the rearview mirror, you were looking quite puzzled and about 2 blocks down...you pointed back and said "house, house"....you KNEW I passed our street...when I turned around and went home...you giggled and said..HOME...how can you be SO cute?????? I am so full of love for you, it's CRAZY. I am so proud that you are my son.....

18 month check up

2008-01-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

Dakotah: So you had your 18 month check up today! You weigh 26 pounds and are 34.5 inches tall. That is just over the 50% for weight and the 96th for height. Dr. Bonnie loves you and said you were such a good boy. You got a preztle (a long one that looked like a stick-you weren't quite sure what the heck it was since you have only seen the little ones) and a very cool lion sticker. You were very charming a playful even though you had yet another cold. I am so proud to be your mama! What a good boy you are!

My little boy is 18 months old today!

2008-01-11T22:54:00.000-08:00

So, 18 months ago, the most beautiful, amazing little boy was born into this world. He was given life and a chance to be a part of this world because his Birthparent's, R and W chose life for him-they gave him his roots. AND, they chose US to give him his wings! This blog is for him! From here on out, I will write as if writing to my son but invite all of you, our friends and family to read and enjoy the memories and words that I am putting here in this blog!

Dakotah, my sweet, beautiful, smart, miracle of a child: I can hardly believe that you are 18 months old already. It seems like only moments ago that I first layed eyes on you. You were sleeping in your carseat sitting on Melissa's living room floor. You were so tiny and perfect!!!! I spent the entire night before meeting you in disbelief that your birthparents chose me and your mima to be your mama's for the rest of your life. I also spent the evening writing and thinking and writing some more, and hoping and thinking and writing some more......anything to get me through to the next day when I could actually lay my eyes on you. The next day was the longest day of my life. We wandered around downtown Tacoma aimlessly waiting for the phone call that would tell us it was time. We waited and waited and waited! We finally drove to Seattle to meet with Katie, our counselor from the Adoption agency. She thought it would be a good idea to finish up some paper work while we were waiting to hear about meeting you. Well, after hours, we were told that we should head home because we hadn't heard anything yet. My heart sank as we walked to the car and started to drive home. We got into Tacoma and the phone rang. It was Katie telling us that she finally got a call and we could go meet you. The next several hours were intense and scary and somewhat of a blur. We were told that you had a "serious" health problem and that is why we had not heard form anyone-because you had been in the hospital! Oh, we were so scared BUT we drove to meet you immediately because you were our son, you were coming home with us NO MATTER WHAT. Well, the 10 days following were full of politics, red tape and frustration AND LOVE AND COMMITTMENT AND PERSERVERANCE ON THE PART OF YOUR BIRTHPARENTS AND YOUR Adoptive parents. AND HERE WE ARE TODAY....You are 18 months old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been an amazing, fullfilling journey so far and I can't wait for tomorrow and next week and next month and next year. One day ata time, loving you, hugging you, watching you grow, teaching you, learning form you, showing you the world and seeing the world through the eyes of a child-YOU!!!!!!!! You are an amazing GIFT that your mama will cherish forever in her soul!!!!!!! I love you more that I ever imagined possible. P.S. THE "health problem" turned out to be called "GERD"-you'll know about it when you grow up but it has resolved itself and you are 100% healthy!!!!

almost 18 months old

2008-01-06T22:40:00.000-08:00

So, Dakotah will be 18 months old in 5 days. I just had a few moments of reflection of July 13th-July 26th , 2006. A time period that seems to be light years away from where we are now. The longest 13 days of my life. Waiting, wondering, hoping, believing that we would bring our son home. Here I am today, the proud mama of the most amazing, beautiful, charismatic little boy a woman could ever hope for. SO, today I decided to start a blog that will be for me to use as a journal for my son to one day read! I am almost certain that he will always know and feel how completely in love with him I am.....but, just in case he ever wonders...I think this is a perfect way to document the day to day experiences and joy that he brings me! One day I may not be able to explain so clearly!!!!!! SO, my on-line journal begins today-A TRIBUTE TO DAKOTAH WESTON!!!!!!!