Photo Dump... Enjoy

The Washington Monument at night... as seen from the Lincoln Memorial. So cool!!
The most awesomest Hello Kitty hoodie Derek bought me for Christmas!
Snnnnnnnnoooooooow! We got dumped on the weekend before Christmas. We got 16 inches I think! Crazy!!!
Derek playing in the evil white stuff. Church was canceled the next day which was crazy to us!
The Lincoln Memorial. It says "IN THIS TEMPLE AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS ENSHRINED FOREVER" This is one of my favorite places in DC.
A HILARIOUS body spray my parents brought back from England. We kept saying "FCUK" for everything while they were here.
AFI. The only picture I got of them... Haha. Yes, this is the reason I flew all the way to Utah and got stuck in Denver for 6 1/2 hours in the freezing-freaking-cold. Now ask me if it was worth it? HELLS YEAH!!!! I'd do it again in a heartbeat!!! (see the guy with the mic just right of center? he made it worth the trip! and I was also particularly impressed with Hunter's bass wailing. BEAUTIFUL!)
Lili's new toy that her Grandma and Papa got her for Christmas. She really likes it!
I couldn't resist putting this pic in. I think she looks like the Mayor of Whoville from the Grinch. I love her hair!!!
Is it just me or does she look JUST like a Holt in this pic?! It must be that goofy, crooked grin shared by her Papa and Uncle Fuzzy.
Liliana eating a lemon at Applebee's the other night. She kept making funny faces but I couldn't catch them on camera.
This pic is funny b/c I took it while we were in Utah and she HATED Fuzzy at first. She kept pushing his hands away from her and pushing him as far away as she could with her feet. I left her on the far end of the couch with him while I went to wash my hands and clean up some of her stuff (at my mom's) and I came back into the room and they were watching TV together like this. She LOVES him now!!
This is Falcor. We ran into him whilst Christmas shopping and couldn't resist. She loves riding around on him!
Falcor again. She will crawl to him and climb on top of him and pull on his ears. Then she growls. It is soooo cute!
Someday she'll hate me for taking her in public looking like this... But it was a very hectic morning! This is at the airport in Denver on the day we flew out of Utah. It snowed like 6 inches (and was still snowing!) when we had to leave my parent's house (in BFE) at 5 AM! It was one of the scariest drives of my life! I just didn't have time to fix her hair before we left, and I thought maybe later in life I'll be able to get away with telling her it was in style (maybe it is in France or something? it looks kinda fashion-forward, yeah?)


Peace out homefrys!

PS These are just pics from my phone. I have about a million on my camera too... so there will be more to come later!

I Still Hate Chirstmas Music

I am a Grinch. This shouldn't be news to any of you. If we all recall last year's Christmas decorating post I tried to defend myself and claim not to be a Grinch, to no avail. This year I'm embracing it. I hate Christmas music. I am ok with rock/punk versions or mocking versions (as the punk covers usually are) but that's about it. Oh, or stuff with no words. I think I hate Christmas music so bad b/c it is so dang repetitive and catchy. Not in a "Oh I love to sing this song!" kind of way, but in a "Does this song ever stop repeating over and over and over in my head?!"
I hate trying to put up Christmas lights. I'm vertically challenged so it never works out in my favor. I hate trying to make our little Christmas tree not look so Charlie Brown-ish. I also hate that it looks so little from across the room but in reality its almost as tall as I am... I hate that stores decorate for Christmas the day after Halloween and the Christmas music becomes inescapable from that day on as well.

This year I've discovered things to love about the above mentioned things:
Liliana is AMAZED by the Christmas lights and Christmas tree. She gets the cutest look of awe on her face when she looks at it.
She also loves the decorations at the store, particularly Target. The giant ornaments hanging from ceiling open a new world of wonderment for her.
She also loves the toys that dance and sing. She laughs so hard at them every time.
She laughs when I sing along to the annoying Christmas music that plagues my mind and ears. I would do anything to make her laugh, even sing. (And believe me, it is not a joyful noise. mostly just noise!)
And the best thing to love about Christmas? The photo above. Those reindeer antlers made me cry from laughing so hard. And I realized that if my only expectation for Christmas is to laugh my head off, then its not so bad.
I am glad that people try to take a little more time to think of other people. I am glad that people think about the reason for Christmas - Christ. If they only think of Him once or twice a year that's better than never. I am glad for friends and family to spend time together. Even if all my family will be together in Utah and we won't be there I'm glad that they will be able to be together. I am glad for the friends we've made here. Mostly I am glad that we have such a good life here in Manna with each other (Derek and I) and our sweet baby girl.

Well, Liliana is chatting up a storm in her crib, meaning nap time is over. She says "Mama" very clearly now and that's how she gets my attention. Which is awesome b/c, honestly, who loves crying?! I hope she'll be an angel on the plane again next week too. Gotta go!

Peace out homefrys!

Yes, Those Are Cute Bras...

Soooo I changed the background design but then it felt weird not to update a little... so here's a pic to make up for the weirdness. And yes, we were in the bra/panty isle at Walmart. If that is a problem... then you're the one with weirdness.

Hahaha I'm in quite the mood, yeah?!

Update on things:

*Liliana is sick. STILL. Longest. Illness. EVER. Her fever went away but she still honks with a croup-y cough that is sad, yet mildly amusing since I had no idea humans were actually capable of such noises. She FINALLY slept all night last night, so I think we're on the downhill side of this. And she has a voice in the mornings again so I get to wake up to the hilarious honking "mum mum!" and clapping. My child knows me so well... applause is always appreciated in my world.

*Derek seems to be still sick or getting something new. Lame. Sauce. I hope he gets better b/c it is so sad to see him not feeling well. Maybe his tapeworm died and took his immunity to illness with it?! I hope not!

*I am also trying to get better/hoping I'm not getting worse. Sore throats abound in casa de Dawn.

*I'm turning twenty-freaking-OLD tomorrow. I'm not happy about this. I'd like to stay twenty-freaking-my-CURRENT-age for another 4 or 5 years.

*We still aren't sure what we're doing for Turkey Day. We were gonna go see Kyle in Savannah, but since we're all sick/sorta sick/possibly getting worse... I think we've decided to stay here in Manna. We didn't know what we were gonna eat there, and yet we still don't know what to eat here either. Amazing what culinary incompetency equates to in the real world. Good thing we live in MY world where a Golden Corral is open on Turkey Day. Hahahahaha. We'll see what we decide tho.

*Guess what happens in TWO weeks? AFI! Woo hoo! I don't know if I made the big announcement, but there is a big announcement: I AM GOING TO AFI!! They are playing SLC on Dec 8th (Derek's other b-day, I suck) and me and Lili are flying in that day for the show. Then we will be leaving on the 12th, with a certain Fuzzy one in tow, and we'll rendezvous with my hubby, mama, AND dad back here in Manna! I'm freaking excited!!

That's pretty much it!

Peace out homefrys!

PS Hahahahahahaha I forgot to explain why I chose this pic! (Yes, I realize it is mostly obvious that I chose it b/c I have the most adorable baby girl and I thought I should show her off) Aside from the obvious, this is a monumental pic. This was Lili's first time riding in the cart like a grown up baby! She held on for dear life for about the first 5 minutes and then got all cocky and cool. It was hilarious. And for those of you that might be wondering how I could possibly let my child sit in the cart without one of those cloth things.... Well, its b/c I'm not a sucker for silly marketing schemes. hahahahaha I believe in GERMS! (probably why she is sick) but I believe in gaining IMMUNITY from germs and what better way than a little exposure to them, yeah? Really, that's all now!

Cutest Puppy EVER

Need I say more?

My friend got a super cute one of her that I will upload later.

Latest Pics

This is one of the ponds by our house. We walk to it almost every day. Sometimes I feel like I live in a fairytale b/c I get to wake up everyday to the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Life is gooood!









Pigtails... or antennae, if you're the biology kind of thinker. It was not torture, she thought they were as cute as I thought they were. She was just hungry when I took this pic.









Football day! My friend Christy made this bow, and some other super cute Hello Kitty ones... http://www.cutegirlygirlthings.com/ is her website. Anyway, I put Liliana's hair in a pony and added the football bow to watch the game... which BYU lost and I giggled a lot while Derek threw pillows at me again.... Good day!








A little blurry b/c she's ALWAYS moving, but here's Lili trying to escape from the evil clutches of her crib (she actually likes hanging out in her crib). She tries escaping thru the front door any chance she gets too. We're gonna have problems when she can reach door handles!!








I know its dark, but look at the look she is giving Derek!!! She is SUCH a daddy's girl! It is soooo cute when she gets all excited when he gets home or even looks at her. I love it!









Who needs a puppy when your baby does this?? She crawls around with things in her mouth. The other day it was a sock, this pic it was a little stuffed caterpillar (which has been tossed b/c it was ALWAYS soaking wet with slobber and it grossed me out) and she does it with her Hello Kitty doll too. Silly baby :)







Apparently we can't stay still for a picture either hahaha. This is me and Derek on a date at Chili's a couple weeks ago. Oh, by the way, we didn't make it to see AFI... sad day. I just hope they don't do anything stupid before they go on tour again. Hahaha. Maybe they'll do a sweet festival next summer?

Almost Halloween!!!!

I LOVE Halloween!!! It is my favorite holiday, followed closely by the 4th of July (even tho I HATE fireworks!) but I'm having a hard time finding a costume this year! It's been years since I actually dressed up for Halloween, and apparently I missed the memo that costumes turned into hooker outfits! I don't look like a hooker any other day of the year, why do it on Halloween?! So I have like 4 days to find a costume that covers all my parts and is funny maybe? I don't know. I still don't know what Liliana will be either and Derek can't make a decision to save his life! But you know life is good when the biggest problem on my plate is what to be for Halloween :)
In other news...
We've been trading babysitting services with Donia & Brett. Every other weekend they will watch Liliana so we can go out, and we will watch Ella and Addie so they can go out. So far its been good. The girls are funny to listen to. Oh, the things that come out of a 5 year old's mouth... Hahahaha.
Liliana put herself in a sitting position yesterday and was proud as punch for it! It was soooo cute. She is getting too big too fast! I have moments when I want my cuddly baby back, but then I remember how intimidating tiny babies are (yes, even after having my own, they still intimidate me) and I'm ok with my sturdy 7 month old. Haha. I can't believe she's already 7 months old either. What the crap?? I'm SURE I was pregnant for way longer than 9 months and she's already 7 months old. LAME. She also likes her sippy cup too. She had issues at first finding the right side to put in her mouth, but once she had the juice she figured it out pretty fast.
We went to another "fireside" last night. Alas, still no s'mores. It was really cool tho. It was at the mission home (we went with the missionaries) and so there were a million missionaries there. The speaker was this guy from Liberia (been in the States for 9 years now) who used to be a minister in his church before converting to LDS. He just got baptized 3 weeks ago and was speaking!! Hahaha, I'm glad I only had to speak in Sacrament meeting. Anyway, he was so cool to listen to. I was having a hard time holding back. I think we need to be allowed to be more vocal, but that's just me :)
Anyway, I'll post some pictures and that's about it!
Peace out homefrys!

Pics from the beach

this is what the freeway looks like

















right before (or after, depending on what way you're going) going into the tunnel









A GIANT sculpture of Neptune. Really cool!













Liliana on the side of Neptune.















A lobster on the Neptune sculpture.













A fish on the sculpture.














That's the hotel we're gonna stay in someday lol.














THE FREAKING OCEAN!!! Prettiest thing I've seen! (Other than my baby doll, of course...)








Liliana LOVED the beach. She loved watching people on the boardwalk but she loved watching the ocean even more! This goofy grin is proof that she is JUST like me!










Again, goofy smiles from loving the beach!












That's right all, we went to the beach!! On Monday I was having one of the worst days ever and I was going to just pack up and go to the beach.... But it is a 3 hour drive and it was already 12:30 by the time I came up with that idea, so we decided to hold off one more day. Yesterday was the best day ever!!! You will not find two happier girls than me and my Liliana at the beach! She LOVED the ocean! She wouldn't even have her bottle because she just wanted to watch the water. She kept laughing and making her little excited noises and flapping her arms. (I'll have to get a video of her excited arm flapping someday... it is sooo funny!) It was a gorgeous day at the beach and a wonderful drive too. Liliana was an angel and let me sing AFI at the top of my lungs (still don't love the new album, FYI) and she only cried when I had to put her back in her car seat to leave the beach. She did NOT want to come home. HINT HINT DEREK. The trees are finally changing colors and that made the drive even better. I still can't believe the forest that we live in. It makes me wish I had some talent for art -- like photography or painting. I'll stick with... well, whatever else I might have a tiny bit of talent for. Haha. Someday we'll go back to the beach and we'll take Derek with us too so he can see what we're so excited about.
In other news....
Well, there isn't really any other news to report. Derek still seems to enjoy his job... and that's pretty much it. Oh, he got all techno-obsessed looking for a new TV for us. We did get it tho so I'm not sure what he's going to obsess over now. Time will tell.... Liliana eats more baby food now which is fun b/c I like watching her faces... but not so fun when its time for a diaper change. I miss the old days of her formula only diet that didn't make me gag. Whoever told us that we wouldn't gag when it was our own baby LIED. She also needs a bath after every meal haha. Good thing she loves baths!
A few other tidbits:
*What the crap... Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize... Really, guys?
*AFI is playing Columbia, MD NEXT FRIDAY and we are GOING. I will owe Donia for eternity for babysitting Liliana!!!
*Shankapotomus is the funniest word, like, ever. I laugh my face off every time I see that commercial with the creepy baby.
*I do not sleep and therefore I cannot be held liable for the things that come out of my mouth, yeah?

Peace out homefrys!

Baby Update

I'm sure I'll be having layout issues again b/c I'm special like that. Pictures!

Don't mind the crazy hair and lack of make up on my part... Liliana loves my phone. She loves eating it and reading my text messages. This is her getting caught snooping on my phone.






Liliana posing for the camera...













Yes, she has a pony tail. Her hair is sooooo long!!! I can make one on the top of her head too so she looks like Pebbles (from The Flinstones).













I know its blurry... She doesn't sit very still most of the time. This is Liliana trying to crawl... With her bum in the air. And I love her pants!









Snooping on the phone again. She totally took this pic by herself on accident. I think, anyway. I just found it in my phone and Derek didn't do it...










It is almost midnight... and we are still up. Poor baby... I'm not one of those mom's that does the strict schedule thing. We don't usually stay up this late, but we don't usually go to bed before 11 anyway...
We went to Liliana's 6 month appointment yesterday. She hated the shots, of course. The unexpected bonus is that she apparently hates the doctor too. I, however, loved him. He's like House, which totally works for me. She screamed her head off at him. And she was throwing SUCH a fit that he couldn't really check her until she calmed down. It was HILARIOUS. I probably should have been embarrassed, but I'm saving my embarrassment for when she can talk and therefore able to say inappropriate things in public. Other than the fit she threw it's all good in the hood.
A few other tidbits:
*We went to a "fireside" that had NO fire and NO s'mores. Uh...?
*We are in search of a TV. Not that there is anything wrong with ours, but we're thinking its time to upgrade.
*There are wild frogs running rampant thru our neighborhood. GIANT wild frogs. I knew there would be bigger bugs and spider "problems"... I was NOT expecting squirrels the size of house cats and frogs invading my personal space. Oh, or possums. Opossums. Whatever they are.
*"Crash Love" update: they put it on MySpace for 2 days as a preview... I'm still not in love. It is growing on me. There are a few songs that I like, and that like will probably turn into love the more I listen. OF COURSE one of them is called "Sacrilege"... Which is funny b/c I think its my favorite on the album and my favorite all-time AFI song is "God Called In Sick Today". Awkward? Yes, a bit.
*I'm going to a Tupperware party tomorrow night.... Alas, the worst has happened. Dawn has become Domesticated. Huzzah!

That's all folks!
Peace out homefrys!

Nothing To Do With The Baby....

I'm just here to whine.

Just now I heard 30 second samples for 4 songs from AFI's upcoming album "Crash Love". There aren't words to express my disappointment. I have 7 albums from AFI. I have been in love with this band for over ten years now. Even 2006's "Decemberunderground" wasn't a disappointment to me; but most people hated it. Everyone that likes AFI likes to say that the "true" fans are the ones that embrace the new style that AFI like to take with each new album. Well, I guess I'm not a true fan then. I am not embracing this new album. I think it sounds EXACTLY THE SAME AS ALL THE OTHER CRAP-TACULAR, LABEL-MADE/MANUFACTURED music out there. There is nothing distinctly AFI about any of the songs I heard. Yes, they were mostly short clips. However, of the 3 FULL songs I've heard, only one is decent. And decent for AFI is, in my mind, the same as failure.

That's all.

PS In case you were wondering, yes, my world did crash around me for a split second this evening. Amazingly enough, I survived. (But there were tears...)

PPS Liliana and Derek are both doing well. Um, growing and learning and stuff like that.

Peace out homefrys!

I Should Be Packing...

But I'm writing a blog instead....

Liliana and I will be going to Utah tomorrow to see everyone. We're pretty excited. Derek's family was here for the last week so now we get to see all my family! We will be there til the 5th of September. I hope our flights go well. We have a two hour layover in Dallas... But Liliana is such a people watcher I think she'll love it!

She is getting huge, by the way. The Wii said a few days ago that she is 14.8 pounds. That's GINORMOUS. I was carrying her around in her... carrier thingy.... Lol. I can't remember what its called. Whatever. She was in it and hanging off my front end and I felt like I was pregnant again, but with a HUGE baby. Although I still feel like my prego belly was at least that big. Anyway, she's really long too. She is already starting to get too long for a lot of her 3-6 month clothes. She just turned 5 months old on the 19th (FYI). Let's see.... She can sit up by herself if we put her in a sitting position. Not for very long tho. But she gets exponentially better every day. She loves eating baby food. She makes the biggest mess and the funniest faces. I also give her small tastes of stuff I'm eating too. Like REALLY small tastes. She is still very alert and very wiggly. Oh, and she isn't afraid to tell you EXACTLY how she feels about something. She has more opinions than I do! She no longer growls at the little boys in relief society... she actually smiles and laughs at them. She falls asleep in random places and positions.

Ok, I REALLY have to go pack now!!

Here are some random pictures to enjoy:
*Liliana finally got a crib. It has pink sheets, a green bumper, and the beautiful pink blanket that my aunt Kim made her.
*Spider I found on the frame between my door and our neighbors. There is a really awkward and funny story about me taking this pic, but if you know me well enough I'm sure you already know that it ends with "And then he just looked at me funny." By the way, the spider was the size of my hand with my fingers stretched out. SICK!
*Funny sleeping position...
*Liliana loves her bouncer. She won't let go of the toys if we try to take her out and she isn't ready. I think it is a sign of things to come....

Peace out homefrys!

Guilty? Yes, I Think So

So this one time I was making a bottle for my sweet little girl... when I noticed something green and GROSS on the floor. So I looked at Liliana, who was actually about two feet from it even tho it looked fresh and I never saw her move, and I asked her if she knew anything about the suspicious green spot. Upon further inspection I determined that it was definitely spit up peas.Once again I asked Liliana if she had anything at all to do with said spot, and this picture is the response I got.

She is more like me than I thought...

huh... some pics, but don't make fun of me!!

I'm really having issues with this whole layout thing. I'm so computer-stupid!! Amazing that I did tech support as long as I did... haha. Anyway, here are some pics. Mostly I just had to get pics of her outfits. She has the CUTEST clothes!!

This is her eating... Lately she just smiles a lot and has a hard time concentrating on eating.

This is her in her bumbo and awesome pants. I wish I had pants like those. I'd wear them ALL the time and I probably wouldn't have friends....

This is Liliana and her daddy and her cute pink polka dot jumper. The bib just happened to match and I thought it was adorable!

Yes, she is standing. No, she's not gonna be any more bow-legged than normal babies. I love this dress on her. We didn't get a pic, but her bow slipped in front of her eyes and she looked like cyclops. HILARIOUS!!

This is the classic Liliana face. We have such a happy and giggly baby!!!

This is what Derek found when he went to check on her this morning. She's out of control. She sleeps just like her dad in that she's all over the place, and just like her mama in that she doesn't like bright lights in the morning.

Yet another cute outfit. Again, I wish I had clothes this cute. Her capris fit perfectly too!!

Mohawk. You know you wish you had one. Her hair is really curly when wet. Or when we go outside. The humidity makes it all fluffy. I think she might hate it one day, but I LOVE it!!!

I love this outfit too!!!! Most people never see her in the same thing twice, but this one might be the one she wears the most b/c I just think its so cute on her. She looks like a prisoner without the top tho. Hahaha. I also can't believe how huge she is in her bouncer now!!

Aw, my baby is already eating applesauce!! She made funny faces at first, but then she decided she liked it. We were SO excited to let her taste something new but forgot how messy babies are when they eat! She ended up needing a bath after...

That's right! She likes me a little.

Same capri outfit, minus the shoes. Soooo cute!!!