Dixon Photo Shoot!

Long story short, I traded some graphic design services with a photographer that just moved to town. You can see a slide show (until Sunday) at the link below:

Go to: http://www.vaneshaphoto.com/

Enter Site

Click on Clients & Friends

Password: dixon

Can you believe we got everyone ready by 9am for this? Delia ran out of gas and wanted to do her own thing after about 45 minutes, but I was very proud of her (and Grady) for holding out as long as they did.

Dinner conversation with Daddy

Delia and I got home before Melissa today, so we were taking our time at dinner and talking about all sorts of stuff. Eventually, I decided to pick up the camera because she was on a roll.


I knew all of this was going on last night, but I kept my distance. Sounded like it was between the two of them. This was the first time I heard Delia's side of the story.



Just some natural questions about all the stresses in her life.



Ouch. That was below the belt. Whether it was a request or a prediction, I am sure it was simply due to the fact that I picked up Delia from Melissa's office just an hour or so prior to this.

Easter's on it's Way

Our neighbor Cherie gave Delia some adorable bunny slippers on Sunday. She loves them and wore them to school on Monday. All day. I meant to put her real shoes in her bag, but I forgot. This picture is at our friend Craig's birthday party that evening. We practiced hunting Easter eggs this weekend and Delia just squealed when she found the first one in between the couch cushions. Maybe one day it will stop raining and warm up and we can hunt them outside without putting on our waders.

Talking, talking, talking

Delia loves for us to read books to her before bed each night. She has memorized several of them now, but one of the most impressive is the book with a dinosaur puzzle.

Delia loves her pigtails. This high-base version is particularly fun.

Along with reading, Delia loves singing. However, this crazy version was something she just decided to do when the camera was put on her.

Weekend Guests Part II

The backtrack blogging continues...

The weekend after Kirk and MarLa visited, Erica came from Chicago to spend the weekend!

She brought Delia a panda bear that we named Fuzzy and Delia looooves him.

One of the things on Erica's "Must Do in StarkVegas" list was to go to Shipley's donuts on Saturday. I don't know if I've ever had a hot fresh Shipley's AT Shipley's. It was pret-ty good. So good that I have started thinking about Shipley's at random times during the day now.

I'm pretty sure Delia had never had a Shipley's donut, so it was a special day all around! And the place was PACKED! We saw some of Delia's friends from school there, and we barely got a table. We got lucky and found one with an extra chair for Fuzzy.

Then we walked next door to The Lodge which carries every Mississippi State item that exists. Delia likes to walk around and see all the bulldogs. She picked out this hunters orange MSU hat that I did not love, so I bought her the little football instead.

Erica helped me sort through the clothes we brought back from Little Rock and it was a job!! So many piles of clothes, we almost lost Delia.

"Here I am Mama!"

That night we went to my favorite, Restaurant Tyler, who is featured in Mississippi Magazine this month! Go Chef Ty! I love you and your grits! THE grits recipe is IN the magazine!! You can read Ty's blog here and hear all about his trip to the Super Bowl and all the yummy food he ate at the Saints' Super Bowl after party.

Delia was so good! Kids eat free at Tyler, and she had a plate of yummy mac and cheese.

2 fancy dinners out in 2 weekends! Woo woo!

Sometime that month Amelia and Delia went to the Dudy Gras parade. This is when the MSU baseball fans tow their Left Field Lounge contraptions to Dudy Noble Field. Delia was scared of the fire truck at first, but when people started throwing candy from their "floats," she warmed right up.

The girls and their beads!

Mammaw

Our sweet Mammaw, Mary Louise, passed away last night. She was active and independent right up until last week and she lived to be 86. I hope that all of us can be that lucky.

Weekend Guests Part I

The weekend after Grady's birthday, our friends Kirk and MarLa came down from Memphis so Kirk could run the Frostbite half-marathon in StarkVegas. Thanks MarLa for sending these pictures!

Piece of cake!

Way to go Kirk! 13.1 miles! Better you than me!

He got a cool medal too! Doubles as a keychain!

MarLa, Delia, and one of Delia's six baby dolls, which she all loves equally.

Except for baby doll Katie, who is the new favorite from Grandma Amanda. Katie closes her eyes when she sleeps and has a baby bottle that "drains." This pictures was pre-Katie. I think this is baby Bonnie.

The tea sets Delia got for Christmas are still a big hit. She plays with them almost every day when we get home. Thank you Kirk for drinking tea with D. The night after the race, we went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Restaurant Tyler and had an amazing meal full of bison meatloaf and amazing desserts.

Grady's Birthday Party

So what have we been up to? Here goes...

We celebrated Grady's birthday on Jan. 20 by having about 20 people over to the house for BBQ, hot wings, birthday cake and basketball on our new (bday surprise) patio TV. Grady couldn't figure out why I wanted to have people over to the house rather than meet out somewhere.

We love to party with the Henrys: William, Brien, and Amanda. Delia stayed up late, but I think her expression here is just bad picture taking timing on my part.

Joseph made it out to play! Check out Joey & Kate's blog to see his superstar quarterback moves.

Landon also came over to play. Always a sharp dressed man!

A lovely caramel cake that I did NOT make. Purchased at Book Mart Cafe on Main Street in Downtown Starkville. Gooood! Easy!!

Tons of people brought food and drinks, which really helped this working mama throw a fun party on a week night!

Delia is really enjoying her toddler bed that we brought back from our Little Rock trip. Thank you cousins!

We also brought a rug back that matches the rest of her "Chamois Lambie" room decor.

"There's the lambie!"

More catch-up posts to come!...

Happy Valentine's Day!

The past few weeks have been so full! Fun weekends with out-of-town guests, a race, a rodeo, a birthday party, and more. Pictures of it all coming soon, I promise.

Delia's Birthday at the Zoo

The morning of Delia's birthday, we bundled up and went out early to make sure we got some good animal time in before lunch and nap time. I guess January is not a busy month for zoos, because we practically had the place to ourselves. It was great! Uncle Gerald and Aunt Sarah drove over to meet us too!

The very first animals we saw were these monkeys and they were LOUD. They were hooping and hollering and swinging from rope to rope.

They were making so much noise it was cracking us up. Delia did not think it was so funny. It made her a little nervous at first, but she relaxed when we got a little farther away from them. That night after she fell asleep, I heard her say in a scared voice, "Monkeeey!"

Delia loved the giraffes.

REALLY loved them.

We also saw elephants, lions, tigers, otters, ducks, chickens, and turtles. When we saw the tigers, Delia screamed "C'MERE KITTY!!"

There was a carousel that ran every hour on the hour, and we just happened to find it at 11:57! They ran it around an extra time "for the Birthday Girl, Delia!"

Aubrey, Regan, Emily, and Aunt Jennifer all found a horse they liked for the ride.

While we were riding, Delia said "I ride horsey!"

Then we went to Cantina Loredo for a Mexican brunch. They brought out a birthday brownie with a sparkler on it!

For the record, Delia did not want any brownie. So Mom took care of it.

Happy Birthday to our big girl!