4th on the farm!

We had a great 4th of July at my parent's house in Stewartsville. We had a very "All American" time with a barbeque all day, snow cones, fireworks, a bonfire, s'mores, playing outside, and eating lots of red, white and blue food. We organized a family picture since all the family would be together (and so Courtney could be in her first familly photo, too)!
Courtney with all her cousins!
playing outside!
Meet the cows!Courtney sporting her stars and stripes!My sister and I with our festive display of red, white and blue food and decor! S'more packets and root beer!Almost too cute to eat - my new 4th of July creation!

Jared and Justin enjoying snowcones.

Courtney loves the porch swing.
Can't I just have one hot dog? It's a holiday!
Grandma would let me have a hotdog...

Laughing at silly aunt Deanna!
A sunset picture of Dan and Justin around the fire (that looks like a firework)! There were several synchronized sparkler dances throughout the night!

Also - one year ago today (7-7-07) Dan and I found out we were pregnant! My how things have changed in just one short year!

Weekend Hoopla!

This weekend I took Courtney to Stewartsville for my sister's birthday, my dad's retirement party, to celebrate father's day with my dad, and my grandma's 89th birthday party. That's a lot for a little girl! The last time Courtney was on the farm was on Easter and she slept the whole time (she was 12 days old), so this time she got to look at the cows, garden, and watch grandpa work on his tractor! My brother's family was there too so Courtney got lots of attention! Also on Thursday, Courtney had her first pool party with Lyda and Ashley! My dad retired again this weekend from Osborn school. He retired in 1999 and continued to teach and superintend for 9 more years!

My cute parents!

Aunt Deanna and Uncle David playing with Courtney.

Aunt Cindy and Laura playing (Courtney's favorite pasttime).

Courtney's a farmer's (grand) daughter!

Playing with grandma!

Courtney makes 4 generations of Whitmers!

Ashley's favorite part of swimming was touching Courtney! I was envisioning a lot of splashing and smiling, but they were mostly staring and wondering why bathtime came in the middle of the day...
Ashley thoroughly enjoyed her day at the pool...that lasted 15 minutes!

Father's Day

Dan had a great first father's day! It was also our first overnight trip with Courtney. We went to Joplin to visit Dan's dad. We grilled out Saturday night and then Dan opened his presents from Courtney on Sunday morning. Dan holding a new book for him and Courtney to read together! Holding the best gift of all!
3 generations of Hicks
A rare family picture!
Courtney got to meet the dogs for the first time. They are big enough to be miniature ponies for her to ride in a few years!
A little chill time with Uncle James.
Reading "What Grandpas Do Best" with Grandpa Steve.

3 months old!

Courtney is 3 months old today! Dan and I looked back at some of her newborn pictures and to us she looks so much bigger, even though she is still tiny! She is now 22 1/2 inches, which is in the 8th percentile and (from weighing her with me on the scale) at least 12 pounds (23rd percentile), but she's in the 100th % in our hearts:) We were given a few newborn outfits from a friend many months before Courtney was born and there was a tiny pair of light blue pants that we were sure she would never wear because they were so tiny! Well, when she was born, they were a few inches long and big around the waist! We put them on her yesterday and they were tight and looked like capris! So, yesterday I packed up all her newborn andn 0-3 month clothes. There are already a few 3 month outfits that are already getting a little tight to snap, but some she may never fit into. Courtney, welcome to the world of women's clothing sizes!

Courtney with her daddy the day she was born.

Courtney, today, at 3 months.

Last week, Courtney started sleeping in her crib. She is doing great! Here are some pictures of her new nighttime surroundings since we don't have any on our blog yet.

Here are some pictures of her waking up on her last morning in her cradle. It was so wonderful to look over and see that sweet smiling face first thing in the morning. Now I can see it through the video monitor which is still pretty darn cute!

My grandpa bought this crib for me when I was born and all of his great grandchildren have slept in it. It has been to Iowa, Arizona, Kentucky and back to Missouri!

I am happy to be swaddled...but like to get out and stretch, too!

Another new trick!

A few days ago, Courtney started to move beyond cooing to trying to "talk". On Saturday when aunt Deanna and uncle Patrick visited, she decided to talk all day! We were able to capture a little on video! We also added 2 videos to our last post that you won't want to miss! Listen carefully at the end of this clip for some of Courtney's other fun noises...

Patrick hopes Courtney's first word is "skadoosh".
Lovin' the extra attention!

Help! There's a bee on my butt!

Courtney loves her whole new view of the world from her bumbo!

Summer is here!

School's out! This is my first official summer off! I have no summer school, no job, no classes - just 100% Courtney time! Dan is not teaching summer school either, but has 2 classes. So, like 99% Courtney time for him. I celebrated by having Courtney try on her first bikini...a little revealing for dad, but I think her fat tummy sticking out is great! She also likes her sunglasses and this is my new favorite picture of her! I still don't know how to turn pics...can anyone help?


The daddies playing Wii with Courtney and Luc. Courtney would rather eat her hand than play I think. If Courtney could talk, she would ask Luc out. We'll have to talk about dating "older boys".
Rocking on the porch. Courtney LOVES to be outside!

This is a video of Courtney on her tummy and rolling over...I think I comment that it was by accident, but she's been doing about half the time we put her on her stomach now.

Here is Courtney smiling and playing with her toys!