fun filled weekend!

Friday we drove down to the Naples area for the afternoon. We took Dakota to the Naples Pier, he loved it. (Daddy liked looking for the fish)

While walking, we came across this great Banyan tree...it was breathtaking.

we were instantly plotting out how we would have built our tree house within it.

After walking around, we went out to a very nice dinner. Dakota was perfect, such a great day!

Saturday we took Dakota to the playground...it was crowded with lots of kids, he loved it.

Mommy and Dakota on the slide!

"WWWWEEEEEEE"

I just love this face! Dakota loves the swings!

Sunday we went to the beach for the day. I couldn't take any pictures because our beach camera decided to stop working. I am hoping that it's just a battery or something. I do not want to take my good camera to the beach, nor do I want to have to purchase a "beach camera".

Weekend battle wounds
(double click the pics to see them enlarged)
We are not sure how this happened, but it happened at some point during our beach trip. He never cried, so we aren't sure what happened. I am guessing he didn't think too much of it either, since he never let us know.

Saturday at the playground I had one of those slow motion moments. I was watching Dakota walk around checking things out at the playground. I am trying really hard to let him explore without me right up on his heels. I want him to find things, figure things out on his own. Well, I saw him heading for this special needs swing. the swing was empty, but it was swinging back and forth none the less....I called out his name, was running to try to get to the swing before him...I was literally 1 step behind him...POW! He walked right into the swing as it came towards him...knocked him down. He cried for about a minute...then was off to another thing. Kevin was making fun of me though...I was in tears, so upset.
2 days after, this is the only proof that anything had happened.

updates on what Dakota is doing....he pretty much says anything and everything right now. He knows a handful of animals and their sounds, we are working on colors, although everything seems to be "blue". We are working on counting...but he only gets to 3, then says "wwwweeee". I bought him a little basketball net for the bath tub. When he (or anyone else) makes a basket, he yells "swish". If you miss, he shouts "missed". I sing the alphabet to him when I brush his teeth, and then again when we are done so that he can say some of the letters out loud. He thinks it's fun, and loves to repeat certain letters. He knows when they are coming up within the song, gets all excited. I know it will be a while before he can do this himself, but a Moms gotta try, right? We have him point out almost everything in every book that we read to him...he knows it all. Sometimes I tell him to read me the book, and although it's not perfect, he is definitely trying. I know this is from memory, not because he can actually read...but still exciting none the less.
as far as foods...he LOVES bananas and strawberries. Everyday when I ask him if he wants to eat lunch, he runs to highchair, says "nanas" and points to the fruit bowl. He screams "berries" when he sees me cutting up the strawberries...loves them. He has always loved yogurt, cries when he sees that the container is empty. He also loves cheese. I get him these mickey mouse shaped cheeses...he loves them. Cheerios are also a staple food in Dakota's life...he eats them whenever he can. Veggies are getting a little trickier now that they are actually veggies. I have to combine them with the part of the meal that he likes. So I will put the veggies on the fork with the potatoes, or the meat...this way he gets his veggies. If I leave it up to him, he drops the stuff he doesn't like off the sides of his tray, where the dogs are patiently waiting. Sometimes he downright feeds the dogs right from his hands if I am not watching. They seem to have an understanding and work as a team to all get what they want.