Monday, July 30, 2012

It's Fair Time!

Look who is practicing to sit up!

...and rolling around like crazy!
 (Yes, she started on the blanket under the toy, and managed to get all the way to the couch;Then she got frustrated because she couldn't go any further!)

Haddie had her 4 month check up on Monday and her growth continues to be steady...Her height and weight are between the 75th-90th percentile at 15lbs. 9oz.  I can't remember her head circumference, but it's a little smaller than average in the 25th percentile. Otherwise Dr. Stevenson said she looks great and we can even start introducing some solids if we want and if she seems interested! We didn't start with Danika until 6 months and she really doesn't need anything besides breast milk until then, but we may just try a few in August.

Danika had a fun filled weekend with family. I wanted to go for a long run in the country so we went to hang out at the farm with Papa, Grandma, Lori and Dad who was there helping out. There always seems to be a 'big ticket' item that we want to get Danika that just can't wait until her birthday or Christmas...this summer it's been a bike. We finally got her one. She came with and picked it out...Although we tried to convince her to get the red one, she had her mind set on the pink one- there was NO talking her out of it:) So Daren put it together for her at the farm and she practiced riding around.
(Disclaimer: No, I will NOT be letting her ride on a regular basis barefoot AND without a helmet...both things will be enforced:)
There is also a video after the picture of her trying the bike out for the first time!




Haddie loved the fresh air and was such a happy, good girl...Grandma Dummer even got some cuddle time in:) 


Saturday night we ventured to the Dunn County Fair and low and behold as we pulled in to park, so did David, Stacy and Chloe. Danika was quite excited to see Chloe and enjoyed exploring the fair with her!  


Another pony ride! VERY hard to get her off. She kept saying "again? again? PLEASE AGAIN!?!?" 

And some fun rides! Chloe was a trooper to go on the little rides with her:)

Again, here's a little video of them on a ride...



Cruizin' so fast, I couldn't get a picture that wasn't blurry!


In the last two days we've managed to have cheese curds, funnel cake, puff corn, ice cream, chips and chocolate milk as meals...ugg! Let's hope to get back on track this week!

Until next week...
The Dummer Clan
Daren, Jamie, Danika & Haddie

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Fun in the Sun!

Happy Sunday:)
This week was filled with family fun and lots of sun...
Ms. Haddie turned 4 months old on Monday so it was time for our monthly photo shoot and of course, Danika was not about to be left out. It did make for an adorable picture of both girls:)

Sassy Danika-29 months

Happy Haddie- 4 months 

I created a little collage to compare how Haddie has changed in the last few months...
No height/weight updates, as we don't have our appointment until later this week.
I put together 1 for Danika too so you can see and compare the two girls- definitely their own unique selves!

HADDIE GRACE: Months 1 2 3 4 

DANIKA JOLEE: Months 1 2 3 4


While Daren was busy at Pioneer, we took a trip to Northfield to visit the Percy clan. The kids had a blast hanging out and keeping cool in the sprinklers, pool, and of course with Popsicles:)

Our 2nd day together we ventured to St. Paul and went to the Children's Museum. We spent the majority of the day there and they had a blast. Here's a few highlights...

There is also a video at the end of the blog of Connor, Madeline & Danika (and a few strangers) dancing and playing instruments...pretty funny



After being away from Daren for a few days, he was anxious to see us- although he still was super busy at work so we brought him supper one night that he had to work late. Danika even got a ride!



Both girls somehow caught a cold towards the end of the week:/ Very runny, raw noses! Danika has been a trooper through it though and pretty much her usual self. So, we decided to venture out in the summer sun and go in the boat tonight. It was quite a task with Daren and I and the two girls, but we managed to make it work and we all had fun (Probably Haddie the least, but she was a good sport given the fact that she was stiff as a board in her life jacket!)






Enjoy the video of the rock stars!

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Starting July with a BANG

Unfortunately I can't say the BANG I'm referencing is a firework, or even anything good for that matter... Little Miss D took a tumble yesterday at Target... (A little background first-While her behavior has certainly gotten better, she has been really testing the waters lately with the word 'no'. Or when given a directive, she does the opposite to see what kind of reaction it will cause. So back to Target...) Haddie was in her car seat in the front of the cart and Danika had the option to walk by me or sit in the 'big' part. She chose to sit. All was fine and dandy until she decided she wanted to stand up. I ask her to sit down. She said no. I stopped the cart and she sat down. 5 seconds later she stood up. I asked her to sit down. She said no (notice a pattern?!?!) This time however, when I stopped the cart to give her the ultimatum of sitting or walking with me, she had her hands on the edges of cart and was pushing herself up on it. So when the cart stopped, her feet weren't fully on the bottom of the cart and she had no control to stop her self and she tumbled...literally, onto the hard floor in the middle of the aisle and landed on her head. SCARIEST.  MOMENT.  OF.  MY.  LIFE.  
It was probably half of a second, but felt like an eternity watching her fall and knowing I couldn't do anything about it in time. She cried, well, screamed of course for a while. We headed right to urgent care because even though she seemed OK after the crying was done, I wasn't about to mess around with a head injury.

Here's the little bruiser with her red bump. The picture doesn't do it justice.

She was happy and her usual self and didn't have any of the typical signs of other problems that can be associated with head trauma (THANK GOD!) The Dr. said she probably would be a little more tired and have a very mild concussion, but he said kids her age are like 'plastic'! Not the word I would have thought of, but he said she'd be fine. And today she really is! Her bump is hardly even noticeable. So lesson learned- I guess I have to cave into the hideous-and-hard-to-steer car shopping carts to ensure that she is a safe rider:) And I'll probably be a little less adventurous to run so many errands with both girls from now on! I've had my 'horrible parent' feeling for a lifetime!

I promise the blog is uphill from here:)

I've been taunting Danika with one of her favorite games, Zingo, the last few weeks. It has been sitting on the bathroom counter and when she made her 1st poop in the potty she could open it!
Well, it happened! Not once, but twice this week. We'll take it:)
Otherwise, she is pretty much completely potty trained. We are still in the phase of telling her when to go sit on the potty, but she's holding it longer and accidents are few and far between!

So proud!


Danika loves to read to Haddie...Haddie isn't always a fan of bonding with her sister, but soon enough:)




Growing like a weed! What happened to that 'newborn' phase? Long gone! 



We also did some visiting this past week/weekend. We spent a day with Granny and Great-Grams. Haddie was a bit fussy and even I couldn't get her calmed down, but leave it to the Grandma to have the right touch:)

We also had a playdate and Danika LOVED playing dress-up with her friend Avaya. She is SO into dancing, singing, and dressing up these days!


On Thursday evening we went to the Sounds Like Summer concert at Phoenix park and when we came home about 8pm we found a nasty beehive had been created on the garage door! I had used that door earlier in the day to get the jogging stroller out for a run so between 11am-8pm the bees had formed a complete hive- They don't call them busy bee's for nothin'! Check these pics out...

After Daren had already destroyed half of it with some spray...

This was only a small portion of the bees...there had to have been a couple hundred! Crazy (and scary) Hopefully they don't come back. 


I have had a huge itch lately to work on a lot of projects around the house lately, after realizing just how boring our house is and how we need more decorating. 1st thing on my DIY list was to make curtains for Danika's room. I've been struggling to find a pattern I like for bedding and/or curtains, but I finally spotted one that tied in all the colors of her room perfectly...
Here's the boring before picture... 

and of course the "in progress" picture of Haddie hanging out and kicking her toy and  Danika making a complete mess of the living room while I attempted to work on the curtains (this project took WAY longer than it should have, thanks to 2 kiddos:)


And finally, complete! 

Danika woke up from nap today crying because it was SO dark in there she couldn't see to get to the door...that's what I call 'black-out' lining:) 

And I even had a little bit of leftover fabric to make this peanut an accent pillow:) 


That's all for now...here's hoping for a much less exciting eventful week ahead!

Love,
Jamie and the rest of the Dummer clan


Monday, July 2, 2012

Happy Campers:)

Happy HOT Monday...
We had a fun filled summer week once again!
But, before we get to that I had a few cute pictures from weeks past that I finally uploaded that I had to share:) Danika and cousin Chloe have been able to spend a bit more time together since Summer started and I have some cute pictures from playing at Chloe's house, going on a ride at the Colfax fair, and watching Chloe's T-Ball game...



Too cute! I have a lot of cousins, but none that I have ever been really close with because they were all either MUCH older than me by about 9+ years, or 2 that are 12+ years younger! It's great Danika has so many cousins that are fairly close in age to play with! What great memories:)

So this week we laid pretty low at home and didn't plan too many outings as we continue to do our intense potty training! Danika is doing really great and is having just 1, maybe 2 accidents a day. She still has to be told when to go and sit on the potty, but she's holding it for longer periods and is controlling it better... the struggle is with her stubborness! She needs some major bribes to sit and try, so hopefully we can wean that a little bit once she gets in the routine of going! #2 is a different story- that's going to take a bit more time:)
So here's a glimpse of our low key week at home...

Our happy girl! She's got the greatest smiles that just melt my heart:)


Haddie loves to kick this toy and every time she does it starts the music and lights...

BUT, she also gets tired and had decided lately that she'd much rather sleep on her belly, so she flops over, finds her thumb, and falls alseep:)


The perk of swimming in your own backyard...going in your birthday suit:)







Once Friday evening came we were headed off to the 1st annual Dummer Family Campout at the farm. We all slept in a tent together and Danika had fun playing with her cousins.

4-Wheeling with Madeline...


Haddie and Grandma getting some snuggle and snooze time together:)

And dad and Danika had the same idea...



Papa and his grandkids...


Playing a little badminton..very focused and concentrating!


Our own outdoor movie theater....
 


Snoozin' in the tent on the air mattress...  
I slept there with dad, mom on the ground, and Haddie in the pack-n-play.

Looking forward to the new tradition!
Have a great week everyone and stay cool from this yucky heat wave!
Love,
The Dummers