Thanksgiving 2010

This Thanksgiving was spent in Oregon with our Lee/Rasmussen families. We braved ice, snow, and rain to make it to our final destination. It was a very LONG drive, but we were able to break it up by stopping in Redding and spending the day with some of our very favorite people, the Lances. As I was reviewing pictures that we took, I was once again disappointed by the lack of pictures. We are so busy chasing after our toddler monkey girl, and we just never remember to grab the camera until it's too late. So, we have a few pictures of Delaney playing in the snow, and that's about it. We did other things too, like eat, play, shoot guns, etc., but you'll just have to take my word for it.

Oregon was in the grips of an "Arctic Blast 2010" weather front. We quickly realized that Delaney (nor Steve & I) did not have appropriate clothing for this type of weather. Grammie remedied the problem by purchasing these snow boots for Delaney. This girl LOVES to wear boots!

My Great Aunt Francie also anticipated Delaney's need for warmer clothing and bought her this amazing Columbia snow-bunny-Christmas-Story snow outfit. I wish she could wear it every day, it's so stinkin' cute. However, it's not really suitable for Riverside weather.

There was a lot of snow at my Grandparents' farm. Delaney was overjoyed. She wanted to spend every minute outside, but mean ol' mama wouldn't let her.

Mama side note: How did this bug get to be such a big kid? It's killing me! Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go and have another baby.

My apologies to all of my family members and friends that we spent time with--we should have taken pictures of you as well. I'll make it my New Year's resolution to take more pictures of people other than Delaney.

Lately

We've been up to a lot lately. We just returned from a week long visit to Oregon, which included lots of food, snow, good family time, and being trapped in a car with a toddler infatuated with Dora. Many, many hours of listening to Dora. Which is infinitely better than many, many hours of listening to Delaney cry, right? A post about our Thanksgiving trip is on my to do list.

In the meantime, here are a few photos documenting what we've been up to this November.

This kid loves to do art. She's in her element when she's at her easel.

She hates having dirty hands...except when she's painting.

Our 1998 Plymouth Breeze. Back in the day, it was our "good car." We've planned on driving it for as long as possible; sadly, that day came a few years too early. A blown head gasket that would cost more than the worth of the car forced us to say good-bye to the Breeze. It was an emotional farewell for us, but on the upside, the VW Squareback may actually get a new engine. We're not happy around here unless we have multiple projects on our hands.

This is me. I haven't posted any belly shots in a long, long time. I'm 29.5 weeks in this picture. Jude seems to be a happy, moving and grooving little guy.

Family portrait. We look awfully tired. That's what happens when you spend 23 hours driving in a car together over the span of 2 days. But we look happy, too, because we are a happy little family.

New Delaney Video

Delaney in her Halloween costume.

Halloween

This was a very busy Halloween weekend. Of course we didn't take any pictures of the activities that we participated in, but we do have pictures of Delaney in her costume. In deciding what Delaney should be this year, I took into consideration the fact that (a)I did not want to make her a costume that she would most likely wear once, and (b) I didn't want to purchase something at the store that she would most likely wear once. So I looked into her closet and concocted a cowgirl costume that turned out pretty rootin' tootin' cute. The red gingham shirt was mine when I was a child, which made her costume that much more special. The boots and hat were purchased by Grammie and Grandpa, the dress was a birthday present, and I bought the vest for $1 at a consignment sale two years ago. Score!

Posing with her stick horse

We fought over that hat all night long!

Her special pumpkin, shipped all the way from Hood River.

Cowpoke Delaney, full of mischief.

Her trusty sidekick Brundibar

Go ahead, gobble her up. I know you want to.

Yee-haw!

October

We've been very busy this October. Here's what we've been up to:

A few weekends ago, we went to a car show in Placentia because Papa's truck was entered.

Laid back, enjoying the beautiful October sun.

Here's Papa's truck, a '64 Ford Ranger. She's a beaut, isn't she?

Oldies music was playing, and Delaney was our entertainment for the day. She really likes to shake her booty.

The following weekend Delaney, Nana, and I attended a historic harvest celebration of sorts at Hurst Ranch in West Covina. One of my sweet students is in 4-H (can you believe that there are 4-H clubs in SoCal?), and her club was in charge of the petting zoo. Hurst Ranch was a hidden gem--a historic ranch located in the middle of a Covina neighborhood.

Delaney found a pumpkin just her size. It's not as special as her custom-monogrammed pumpkin from Gramps and Grams, but exciting nonetheless.

The ranch also hosted a Magical Fairy Garden, which was probably our favorite activity.

Tabatha, my student, was a wonderful tour guide and toddler wrangler.

We met a beekeeper and got to create our own beeswax candles.

Busy

We've been so busy around here that we haven't had much time to update the blog. So here's a little something to tide you over:

We'll try to update sometime this week on all of the events that have kept us so rootin' tootin' busy.

October Oregon Visit

Once again, I'm behind in my blogging. A few weeks ago, Delaney and I flew up to Oregon to visit family and friends, and to enjoy some real fall weather. It was a short but action-packed few days. We started off the trip by spending time with my BFF Alison and her kiddos, but we AGAIN failed to take any pictures. There's just something about being outnumbered by children that doesn't lend itself well to picture taking. We also had an all-too-quick visit with other dear friends, Christina and Candi, and another all-too-quick lunch with BFF Beka and a good portion of the Kiker clan. Delaney and I were also able to spend time at my Grandparent's farm, Rasmussen Farms. If you know me, you know that this place is very special to me. Delaney visited last year, but I doubt she remembers much. This time around she ruled the joint.

Mama & Delaney at the entrance of Pumpkin Funland

4 generations- My Grams, Mom, Delaney, Me, & Great Aunt Francie

Delaney with her Great Grams & Gramps

Delaney looks in wonder at her domain...

This is the Halloween Hut. I didn't care to go in, mostly because it's about 4 ft. tall. But Aunt Francie braved it with Delaney--who wasn't afraid to explore in the least.

See, I told you she ruled the joint.

Isn't this corn maze awesome? The theme was "Where's Waldo? "

Delaney with her Mama & Great Grams

Pretty cute, no?

Delaney loved Great Gramps' tractor...that is, until she got close to it.

Gramps was trying his darndest to get her to smile.

My Gramps & Grams, once again, made special pumpkins for Delaney and the new baby. At the time, we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl, so my Grandparents etched "TBA" on this pumpkin for the new little one. Pretty humorous!

Delaney's special pumpkin

She found her Delaney pumpkin!

Sis & Bro pumpkins, side by side.

After our trip up to Hood River, we got to spend some time with just my immediately family. Delaney was spoiled rotten by her Grandpa, Grammie, and Uncle Jimmy.

With Grandpa & Grammie at a farm by their house.

Sticker fun with Uncle Jimmy

Delaney's going to be a cowgirl for Halloween, so Grandpa and Grammie insisted on getting her REAL cowgirl boots and a hat. Her boots are really something else. I'll post more pictures of the boots later.

There's always a litter of kittens at my parent's house, and we found the most adorable little butterball. Delaney and I wanted so badly to take him home with us.

Making pancakes

Making apple crisp

Calazones

Delaney has been loving the kitchen lately. The other night we made calazones together. It takes a lot for me to let my hair down and let the kid and the kitchen get messy, but I'm making great strides in this area!

Playing in the flour was Delaney's specialty.

This munchkin was such a great "help."

Delaney insists on wearing my apron like a cape every time she's in the kitchen with me.

Yup, we had some fun.

Baby Boy

We received the very exciting news on Monday, September 20th, that we will be expecting a baby boy! To say that I was surprised would be an understatement. For various reasons, I had my mind made up that we would be having another girl. Steve and I are so thrilled at the prospect of raising a little man. A whole new world is opening up to me! Not being a boy myself, I am a little unsure of how to even go about raising a boy; however, I am blessed to have many friends that are mommies of boys. I'm sure they'll help steer us in the right direction!

If you talk to my family, they'll refer to the baby as Jimmy Doug. This is not the baby's name, but feel free to humor my Dad. We have decided on naming our little buddy Jude William Dunlap. We chose Jude because it means "praise" in Hebrew. Also, it's an amazing Beatles song. William was Steve's Grandpa John's middle name, and it just seems to fit.

According to my ultrasound and midwife, Baby Jude is healthy, perfect, and squirmy. So keep growing, little man! You have a host of folks who can't wait to meet you.

18 Months

Today is Delaney Marie's 18 month birthday. That's 1 and 1/2 years of existence, in case you were counting.

We celebrated by "dressing up" (I put that in quotes, because the Dunlaps don't really ever get fancy) and taking Delaney to Casey's Cupcakes, located at the Mission Inn. She was hyper before we had given her any sugar, so we weren't sure what we were getting ourselves into. We ordered her the raspberry cupcake, and then let her eat it. Basically, she played with the frosting, had fun feeding mommy and daddy, and then climbed around on all of the chairs like the crazy monkey child that she is.

The fine establishment that we visited...

The choices, i.e., which cupcake will make the least amount of mess?

Opening the box; so much anticipation!

Who's more excited here?

Feeding Mommy...

and feeding Daddy.

I couldn't love this kid more if I tried!

Happy 18 month birthday, little bug. Your Daddy and I are so proud of the human being that you are, and will continue to grow to become.