I've decided it should rain everyday for 15 minutes

Is that too much to ask?

Even with me being at home, I have slacked on watering the garden, everyday. Surprisingly, the herbs are still alive. I guess, I'm making the point, that anyone can garden???

 
And this here, is the real reason why I have kids, free labor.
 
She won't resent me at all.... :)

Pink Eye
Have you ever had pink eye? I've never had it. I noticed this afternoon, Dakota's right eye was all crusty and then when I put her down for the night I noticed her eyes were watery and she had nasty goo in them. I might have to take her to the doctors office tomorrow morning. I'll keep an eye on it <-----(see what I did there?)

P.S. Dakota's new sleeping schedule for the past few nights has been 10 pm(ish) feeding and then wake up time 5 am. She is 5 weeks old.

Taking a Baby to a Movie, Who Does That? Oh, Wait...

Today, I did something I never thought I'd ever do ---- I took a baby to a movie theatre. It was actually Trey's idea. After church he drove to Movie Tavern and was like, okay, let's see Ice Age. Like a true champ, Dakota slept through the entire flick, even with me laughing hysterically. Cheyenne was 2 when we took her to her first movie (Blog Post Link).
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Back tracking a little bit....
This morning, I met with a few ladies from our church, they wanted to give Dakota a quilt. It's hard to see it in this picture, but Cheyenne is holding it in her arms. Yeah, so the ladies who gave her this quilt apparently make a quilt for all the new babies (in our congregation) and they've been doing this for years. One of our friends said his 18 year old son still has his blanket. Pretty cool! I'll see about getting pictures of Dakota enjoying her new snuggie.

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Don't envy my formal PJ's;
Don't judge me either.
One thing we like to do every night is read before bedtime. We've started to include Dakota and Chey is all for it. I think Chey is going to be my little bookworm. It's never to early to get a head start. I'm just preparing her for college, one book at a time.  :)

My Week in Photos

One thing I'm enjoying this summer is the Amon Carter Museum Storytime.

Oh, and I'm sure Cheyenne is enjoying it too.

This was Cheyenne performing at Vacation Bible School. At the end of the program, she received an NIV Bible. When we got home, she asked me to read her the entire book. I told her we could start in Proverbs. We read the first chapter.

Check out Dakota's arm rolls. I'm working on beefing her up.

She is still waking up once in the middle of the night, usually around 3 am, but last night she woke up at 5 am. Pretty soon, she should be sleeping through the night.

Oh, and her awake time is starting to extend, but for the most part she still naps a lot, during the day.

Starting Our Own Tribe, VBS, & Craving Stillness

Are you Native American? Do you have an Indian background? Those are some questions people ask me because I have two daughters with Indian type names. Honestly, I can't say if I have an Indian background. I should look into that...Trey says we're starting our own tribe. Oooookay, then.

Look who is participating in Vacation Bible School.

I've been taking her every day this week. She has got to be enjoying the break from me. She is loving all the Jesus songs, dancing and playing. Tomorrow, she'll be performing all the songs she learned.

This week, we've been doing a lot of coming and going -- Next week, I think I want to take it easy and spend more time at the house. Instead of planning one outing for every single day of the week, maybe only plan five. I could use some reading, movie, play at home, and quite time. Some days, it's good just to be still and not do much of anything. Wouldn't you agree?

First Bottle Feeding

Call me lazy or picky, but I don't like messing with bottles. Why mess with them, when I've got all the equipment?

So maybe, I've been putting off feeding Dakota a bottle of milk for several weeks now, but I figured I better feed her eventually to make sure she'd take it. I've heard of some babies refusing to drink from them and since I plan on going back to work soon -- I need to know that she can drink from it.  I can't imagine how stressful that would be, if she refused to it.

BUT she was fine, she drank from it, right away. She downed 3 ounces. I fed her 1 ounce and Trey fed her the rest of the bottle. She even burped several times.

I remember I would pump bottles for Chey regularly, in the first few weeks of her life, but that was only because she had a difficult time nursing, during that time. I don't know when I will give Dakota another bottle, 90% of the time it seems more convenient nursing her, instead of pumping.

Bay-Kota

Do you have a nickname? When Dakota was first born, Cheyenne called her little sister, Baby Dakota and I guess, that name was too long, because now she calls her Bay-Kota. Cute. Right? We'll see if the nickname sticks.

Four Weeks
We've been a party of four for four weeks, now. I still have a hard time believing I'm a mother of two. That means I'm responsible for two bodies! I'm glad Trey is here to help.

Here are some things Dakota has been up to:
- Her hair is getting darker and her eyes are getting lighter.
- She responds to my voice.
- Her infant cry is getting louder each day.
- She is still waking up, in the middle of the night for at least one feeding. It's usually between 2 and 4:30 am. We haven't had a rough night yet. Thank you, Jesus! She's had one full night of sleep. 9 pm - 5:30 am. Nothing spectacular, BUT that would be a decent schedule, when I return back to work.
- Last weekend, her umbilical cord finally fell off. A customer or employee might be able to find it inside the South Side Wal-Mart. That's where she lost it.

We Are Proud Library Nerds
For 3 weeks, we've been participating in the summer reading program and craft time at our local branch. It's a cool indoor activity that keeps Chey and I sane. She gets her kid time and I get a chance to visit with my grown-up friends. Oh, and I also get a chance to check out books and FREE DVD's. This should relieve my summer REDBOX obsession, or at least give it a break.

If you are in my area and want to join us at the library, let me know!

A Little Trip to Abilene & I Want An Air Castle at My Next Party

I wasn't sure how Dakota was going to do on our first trip away from home, but this weekend, she did great. I remember the first time we took Cheyenne to Abilene...We probably packed her entire nursery. I guess the second time around we got smarter and packed lighter. Another thing, I think it's easier traveling with a summer baby. You don't have to pack thick blankets, socks, and long sleepers. Most of the clothes I packed for her were little onsies, which don't take up much space.

Trey was scheduled to work Saturday and Sunday, but he got someone to cover his shift and surprised me, when he showed up at my Mom's house.

My niece Angelica, got to hold Dakota for the first time.

My other niece Bella is so adorable, but her momma better watch out, she's got some serious attitude and she's not even 2 years old, yet.

I want an air castle at my next party...
All the cool kids are doing it.

All the cool kids, like my nephew, DJ. While we were in town, we went to his birthday party. He turned 2 years old.

The little kids enjoyed the castle.
 
The birthday boy with Dad and Mom.

What a great trip!

And we even got to visit with Erin and her girls. I'm already looking forward to our next trip. I'm thinking I'll make one more visit to Abilene before August.

My Week in Photos

Hello, Abilene

The girls and I are spending the weekend in Abilene. Trey stayed behind, since he has to work <---- the story of his SUMMER LIFE.

This was my first road trip with both of the girls. It's a two hour drive from Ft. Worth to Abilene -- not long, but not exactly down the street. Dakota did fine. I fed her right before we hit the road, so she just napped in the car. Speaking of the car, my Ford Focus got 37 MPG on the highway. That's less than 15 bucks to drive one-way. Not bad. I hope I get 40 MPG on the way back home. I wonder if turning off the AC would help the fuel economy of the car. It's only 200 degrees outside, but I don't think we need the AC -- HAHA!
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I spent the afternoon hanging out wit my sister Natasha. Later, I went to KACU-FM to say hi to my old co-workers. I worked at KACU as an office worker and an on-air announcer, while I attended Abilene Christian University.

We had to stop by and say hi to Sandy.

And John....
I have to give Chey the photo credit on this one.

Chey drew me a picture while we were visiting. We had a great time and it's always nice to see old friends.

How to Make A Double Chin Look Good

First of all, you must have a sweet face like this...

And second, you must have a sweet face like this...

End of discussion.

Mmmm, I love her to pieces. Today, I got her hospital bill in the mail. I think it's a fair price and much more affordable than Cheyenne's NICU stay.

So, this is where we spend a lot of our time these days, it's the master bedroom. It's still an unfinished home project, BUT I met with a painter and Trey and I are going to hire him to finish what we started. I can't wait!!!!!! My dresser has been in the entryway forever. I'm ready to have my bedroom furniture, back in my bedroom.

How was your fourth of July?

We spent it with our friends at their house. Since they live outside the city limits we got Cheyenne a kid pack of fire crackers. Once it got dark, I was enjoying the show, until Dakota started crying. She hated the noise, every time a big firework went off, she would jump and cry. Do you blame her? Poor baby. I went inside, fed her and by the time I was about to pass her off to a friend, the guys were done popping fireworks...Oh, well. I can't speak for Dakota, but I had a good time. Cheyenne is a big fan of the sparklers.