Whoa... It's been a YEAR!

Well, I've just started another page on our blog to chronicle our journey of building a house.  Check it out!  (At the top of the page, click 'Our Barndominium)  AND I realized that it's been almost a YEAR since I posted on here?!?  My how time flies!

So I'm now on my 7th 'Fix' from Stitch Fix and still really loving it!  Never heard of Stitch Fix?  Or ready to give it a try?  Here's a referral link where you can get started!  Click HERE to find out what all the fuss is about!

7th Stitch Fix

Soooo....   What have we been doing all of this time, you ask?  Well, a lot.  We've had more birthdays, celebrated Christmas, played basketball, raised show animals, showed show animals....

Darcy showing one of her goats.

More birthdays, birthed more babies here on the ranch.....

Stopped to smell the flowers...

MADE BUTTER FROM RAW MILK!....

And we are currently enjoying spring and all that goes with it.  Green grass, fresh produce, and spring rains!

Birthday and Holiday Fun

While we haven't taken any huge trips, or really had much on the schedule (besides work) this summer, we've kept busy!  Darcy's 7th birthday has come and gone...

And July 4th brought a trip to Bellville to meet Miss Greta and play with fireworks!

 

 

 

 
 


Dax LOVED the fireworks!  I think we have a future pyro on our hands.  I guess like father/like son! 

 

Another Birthday Gone

So, there's a little redhead in the family that had a birthday.  A 3rd birthday.  Dinosaurs are his thing right now.  And this great cupcake-cake came from none other than our local HEB!  While talking to the lady in the bakery and finding out they were out of the supplies to do the run of the mill/in the book dinosaur cake, she said she could make this!  So we went with it and we all looked like smurfs for the next few days! (apparently blue icing is very potent.)

And what else does a three year need for his birthday, than his own bike!?  (And dinosaurs, legos, clothes, etc too)  No more pushing him around on a too-big bike.  He can go on his own! 

 

Heaven help us, he has no fear.  Let's hope he doesn't do too much damage now that he has his own wheels.



Dax's 2nd Birthday

Sooo, it's been a while.  We've been busy of course.  And I've been really bad about taking pictures, so I just don't have many.  Since I've upgraded phones, I take more pics with it and my camera gets left behind.  BUT, here are pictures from Dax's 2nd Birthday.  We just had a family party.  And of course I couldn't get the good pictures to download right (they were sideways on here) so they got left off.  Maybe I'll have to make some changes around here so that this blog will be more easily updated on my end!

 

Summer Times

We've had some slow summer days lately.  Of nothing more than visiting our animals and playing outside in the morning and evening when it's cool enough.  We're just waiting for school to start around here.

Dax has enjoyed getting into is boots and taking off!  That's all he wants to do now.  Head for the ranger to go for a ride!

Things Change

You mothers out there will know what I am talking about when folks tell you that everything will change when you have kids.  Well, it's true.  And I'm here to tell you that everything changes when you get a puppy also.  Especially while you have a baby...

Silly kid... He somehow knew whenever the kennel didn't get latched good and would go right for it.  I only caught him chewing on Lucky's rawhide once, but we won't talk about the times I caught him and Lucky exchanging toys to slober on.

Another thing that changes is the way you shop.  I've loved Amazon Mom this time around, especially when it comes to buying diapers.  We've always been a fan of buying in bulk, since we live so far out, but I love that I don't have to make a trip to San Antonio to get discount prices, plus free shipping!  (Dax likes it too!)

More of Dax turning 1

More pics of Dax and his cupcake on his actual birthday!  He loved it, and ate the whole thing!

And then we had a party with mainly family for Dax the following weekend.  So we went for a nicer, decorated cake.  Can you believe they already had this made up at the bakery I went to?  So it was obviously meant to go home with us.  All I had to do was have his name put on!

He was unsure about this candle too, but eventually got over it once we started feeding him cake!

Lots of good presents were opened, and largely played with by Darcy, and not Dax.  He was more interested in the packaging.  While I can't speak for Dax (nor can he), I'd call it a pretty good first birthday.

Dax turns 1!

Dax's first birthday has come and gone. And I'm only 2 months behind on posting pictures, so I feel pretty good about that! As with other recent holidays when I've had technical difficulties with cameras (i.e. forgetting about them until it's over with) this occasion was no different. I had been testing out the manual setting on it earlier and forgot to change them back when I handed the camera to Doug while we were at his party. So please pardon my blurry pics. They're all I have.

On his actual birthday, we had a small celebration at our house with just the 4 of us, including cupcakes. It did not start well, as you can see below. We finally decided he did not like the candle being lit. Apparently our pyromania did not pass down the genetic lines.

Stay tuned to see how it turned out... and more cupcake pics!

Crazy Things Happen...

...when you get a puppy. Lucky was in the house a lot when we first got him. And things like this just kept happening. I guess like all babies, Lucky liked to lay next to something warm, so he would sneak closer and closer to Dax. This day, he moved closer about 3 times before finally settling in for a nap.

And then, as Lucky got older, he stayed outside with our dog-babysitter Brusky. And I would hear the kennel door rattle the tiniest bit and find this. He was so proud of himself.

We started locking the door closed shortly after since Dax could not distinguish the difference between Lucky's chew toys and his own. Yum, right?

Smile!

Halloween

Well, since it's January, I thought it would be a good time to do a Halloween post...

Not really, but I am going to play a game of super fast (as Darcy would put it) catch up on the 'ol posts. So hold on to your pants...

We don't normally do Halloween as far as the dress up and all, but this year I just couldn't resist. Darcy already had a Princess Tiana dress, and I joked with Doug that maybe I should dress Dax up as a frog. Well, behold, our own version of The Princess and The Frog.

(By the by, do you know how hard it is to get a good pic of two kids, one of which cannot stand by himself and isn't exactly happy to be dressed up like a frog?)

The deal was sealed when I walked into Sam's on a routine visit and they had frog costumes right inside the door, and the first one on the rack was the right size for Dax.

Everyone needs embarrassing childhood photos right?

Watch Out!

He's on the move! (And has been since a week shy of his 8 month anniversary...)

A few days after he started crawling, he started pulling up. Little stinker. And now, he has started to take steps along whatever he is holding on to! He's getting steadier by the day on his feet. Hopefully he will hold out a few more months before he lets go and walks, but who knows!

There's no hiding that red hair now either. He's getting more and more and it hasn't changed a bit in color.

Halloween pics to be taken tonight, hopefully it won't be too long before I get them up. Let's just say we're mimicking a Disney movie tonight. :)

The Kids

So much for catching up with pics and events in order! Let's just fast forward to the present, since I'm not doing very well with those past pictures. Here's one of the kids a few weeks ago. Dax is crawling like crazy, pulling up, and getting into everything! Of course, he follows Darcy around mostly, and they amuse each other endlessly. It's a blessing to see them playing peek-a-boo with each other and both are just cackling away the whole time!

Until next time...

Baby Steps

A few weeks ago we started Dax on rice cereal, a few weeks ahead of schedule. It just seemed those bottles weren't cutting it anymore. And it seemed he was eyeing our food quite a bit. And while I think it's a bit soon for those steak and potatoe dinners we were eating, he took to the cereal really well.



I've also embarked on a journey of making baby food. This is a journey for me because I'm not a fan of cooking, and don't really care to do it very often. So when I bought a steamer and the containers, I think Doug thought I was going crazy. But it's a whole lot easier than I thought! I've already got his first batch of 5 foods ready to go in the freezer. I found a great book on making organic baby food and it's easy enough for me to cook from, so I love it. I know I'll still buy some food, in fact I already have bought a few jars, but at least I won't have to fill up my cart with baby food for the next several months. I would highly recommend making baby food to anyone, even the busiest of moms. It only took a few hours to make a LOT of baby food and it freezes easily. Even if it's something you do only to feed him at home or on the weekends when it's not so busy, I think it is worth the effort. This baby food actually smells good, which is saying something compared to the jarred variety!

Easter 2011

Easter day brought an early church service for us, then off to the Pfeffer's for lunch and a Easter egg hunt for Darcy. Enjoy the pics of the kids all dressed up... it doesn't happen often around here!

Tired Boys

It seems the only time I can get a picture of our little guy is when he is sleeping! Pictures turn out with the oddest faces when he's awake.

Everyone here is doing ok. We've now all got the sniffles and congestion, but seem to be getting over it. Hopefully it will go away and leave us alone for a while!

He's Here!

Daxton James Pfeffer
arrived on February 8, 2011

at 9:18 p.m.

7 lbs 2 oz, 20 in. long

After much anticipation, Dax finally made an appearance! Of course, we picked a day in advance to be induced, only to find that it would be full of freezing temperatures, sleet and snow. So, since we had him late in the evening, our family had all gone home for the night to avoid the weather, and the next morning, could not get back due to icy roads. So our hospital stay was very uneventful after the delivery! Our doctor released us a few hours early on the 9th so that we could make it home before dark and the roads got bad again! We were very glad to be home and able to rest, as we didn't get much rest in the hospital.

All is going well with everyone here. Dax is a very good baby and easy going about pretty much everything. We've yet to see him really cry good about anything, and he's a great sleeper! We've even gotten a few 5 hour stretches out of him at night already! It's amazing how two kids from the same people can be so different! He and Darcy seem to be opposites! Guess time will tell for sure!

Darcy is loving having a little brother, if only we could get her to hold the noise level down a bit! It seems her volume got turned up in the last week and we haven't figured out how to turn it down yet. Dax gets a lot of kisses and pets from her, and the first thing she wanted us to do when she saw him was "put him down so he can walk and play." Ah, how little minds think! Of course, all the newborns (goats, sheep, cows) she sees around here walk as soon as they come out, so why not him too!

Enjoy the pics! More to come later...

P.S. His hair is red, we'll have to wait to see if it stays that color!

P.S.S. Doug is still in denial about the above!