Happy 3rd Birthday DAKODA !!!

While at the Farm this past weekend, Nanny set the boys up with a fun game of "shoot the water balloon." The game quickly turned into Joshua convincing Dakoda to put the hose up his shirt as he cranked the pump and turned the water on full blast! It was funny!

"There, how does that feel?" ...
Joshua said jokingly to his little brother Dakoda

" And how about THAT " ...

Dakoda took it in stride until he tried to gain control of the hose. Would he succeed? ...

YES --- he would! Good boy Dakoda! "How does THAT feel Bubba?" ....

They play so nice together and REALLY enjoy being a brother to each other. Dakoda is so "care free" and can take ANYTHING that Joshua "dishes out". It is such a joy to watch them play. : )

B E S T B U D D I E S

Dennis * Kris * Joshua * Paps * Dakoda * Nanny

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAKODA * * * YOU ARE A SPECIAL LITTLE GUY AND WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!! WE ARE SO GLAD THAT YOU ARE PART OF OUR FAMILY NOW. : ) WE LOOK FORWARD TO CELEBRATING MANY MORE BIRTHDAYS WITH YOU. WE ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU! YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD BOY ~~~ LOVE ALWAYS, DADDY, MOMMY & "BUBBA".

Per his request, Nanny and I made this cake for him. We recently took him to see Shrek 3 and he fell in love with SHREK. Everything SHREK for him ... he even has me sing "rock a bye shrek baby" before bed each night as I rock him in my arms. He likes pretending he is a little baby sometimes, but acts like such a big boy the rest of the day. It's when he is tired that he wants "Mommy time" with me. How did I get so lucky to have 2 sweet, sweet little boys? I thank God every day for them! What a dear, sweet little boy that we GET to call son. All of our family members have treated Dakoda as if he has been with us for 3 years. He "took" to all of them immediately as well. We could not have hoped for a nicer introduction.

Joshua * Dakoda * Pappy * Dennis

My Mom (Nanny) and I both bought the same exact SHREK toy! I was very surprised ... How funny.
TWO Shrek dolls. One was special though (from Nanny and Paps) and had money inside! "Daddy, can you blow my balloon up for me?" The boys played with the balloons all weekend. : )

Dakoda's SHREK 3rd Birthday Cake!!! "Time to cut the cake?"

"OOO, it's S H R E K!!!" I want to EAT it! As you can see (ha ha) Joshua is waiting so patiently for the cake to be cut. : ) His precious little face makes this day and every day so special!!!
"High five Daddy" ... Dakoda got a cool truck from his Meme and Pappy. He loves to play with it in the back yard, pool side. It has neat buttons that he can push to make it go forwards and backwards. He LOVES it!

You are a dear, sweet little boy Dakoda ... We thank GOD that you came into our lives! We love you sweetie!!! You are a good boy! When we first told him that, he said "no, I'm a bad boy" and we told him not to say that again. Now, before bed he will ask us "Am I a good boy today?" and we say "YES". Sometimes he will remind us of something that happened during the day (potty training accidents and such) and we just keep reminding him that he is growing and learning and that none of us are PERFECT and that we love him no matter what. He'll say "no matter what ... ok then". He is such a little comedian!

Dakoda truly seems to be very happy and well adjusted with us. He has been with us 4 weeks now! Wow, time flies when you're having fun. He laughs all of the time, and "bounces" thru life without a care in the world it seems. His smile in the morning lights up the entire house! His giggles in the afternoon melt our hearts and remind us of how lucky we are. He truly is a joy to be around and LOVES his Bubba, Joshua. I heard them talking this morning, telling each other how much they love each other and talking about how they could "torment" a little sister if they were to get one some day in the next few years. Grama and Pap (Back row), my Mom Ruth * Me and the boys. May 28, 2007Joshua LOVES his Nanny! She has been so good to him, and has been there from day #1 in the delivery room. Joshua was 8 weeks early, so he had to stay in the N.I.C.U for one month. During that time, I had so much support from Mom and Steve, Dennis folks and from the rest of the family as well. Needless to say, when it WAS finally time to bring him home ... we were beyond thrilled! We had this precious little baby boy, Joshua. Ever since he was 3 he has asked for a little brother. His #1 prayer has now been answered.
~

A Trip to the park with Nanny and Paps.

We played on a huge play set, and the kids saw a tank and a plane and a train. It was a great day! Afterwards, we went to a beach resort place a couple of exits up the highway. There, we saw some owls and Dakoda took a dip in the warm water. :)

While in West Virginia, we went to a really neat ZOO. It was a special place, privately owned / animal rescue type of place. Never before, have we been so "up close and personal" with these types of animals. The mountain lion jumped from the ground to the top of his platform in one swift, powerful move. It was frightening, but exciting! The Tigers were in their cage looking at us as we staired back at them. It was a great time!

Grama (Meme) ... Pappy ... Great Grama Doris
~ Me and my Pappy who I adore ~ Dakoda with Nanny and "Daisy"
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This weekend, Dakoda was introduced to his Nanny, Paps, Meme, Pappy, Grama Doris, Uncle Mark, and Aunt Zlatka. We had a wonderful time! The boys had so much fun. It was an 8 + hour drive and the boys were GREAT in the car. We really had fun!

~

Thank you so much, to our family who has been so supportive and has welcomed Dakoda into the family as if he has been here all along. Also, thanks for the Birthday presents, but more importantly thanks so much for making him feel special and loved. He talked about all of you on the ride home. He kept saying he wants to go to Nanny and Paps again. : )

My beautiful Momma and I ... I LOVE YOU MOM!