Tarikwa's Month

Tarik has had a big month. We thought we would share some of the stuff going on with her.

WALKING: She took her first steps maybe a couple of weeks ago and is now up to about 15 or so.

POTTY TRAINING: Yes, potty training - at 12 months old!!! She waves her hand in front of her nose when she needs to go. :) She started that on her own and now even crawls to the potty when she needs to go. She still has some "accidents" (though it doesn't seem right to call it that). We are not pushing her very hard on this but trying to let her go at her own pace.

EATING: She eats only big-girl food now and eats as much as either Jennalee or Adeline. That is something when you think that she had her first solid food two months ago.

TALKING: She isn't a huge talker but somehow still manages to be one of the loudest Dunns. Here are some of her words...
- Momma
- Uh-Oh
- Thank you
- Hi
- Night, night
- Bye
She is thriving with sign language. Had we not been using that she would really be having a hard time communicating -- that has allowed us to keep our sanity over the last month or so.

SISTERS: She truly loves and looks up to Jennalee. Every now and then Jennalee will feed her and Tarik loves it. Adeline has a hard time containing her love for Tarik and the result is a kind of violent affection that sometimes is too much for Tarik to take. But the two of them get along really well together.

SLEEPING: She still doesn't sleep through the night (we are currently weaning her from a nightly feeding). But she regularly wakes up crying/fussing about 3 times a night or more. We don't know if she is having bad dreams or what but she is usually pretty quick to fall back asleep.

In all we are having a wonderful time. We are settling in and finally getting to that place where our world does not revolve around having a third child, adopting, etc. We are a little busier than before, but things are back to "normal." Every day we fall more in love with all three of our girls and seeing our older two interact with Tarik has brought a dynamic to our family that could not have happened any other way. God has richly blessed us. Thanks for your interest.

Sheep Art

In Honor of Spring

Extreme Makeover - Dog Edition

Frank went to the groomer today. I really don't know what to say beyond that...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Nature Time!

Last weekend we got to go our Aunt and Uncle's cabin in the Ozarks of Arkansas. It was wonderful. We mostly just hung out on their wonderful back porch and spent one afternoon hiking the Lost Valley Trail. Our new family picture on this blog also came from this trip. Here are more pictures...

Someone Needs a Walker

I think we need to go get a walker for Tarik...

Belle on Wheels

Jennalee has decided she does not want training wheels on her bike anymore. But taking them off is a little easier said than done. This is our little Victorian Lady (I am not kidding, she loves anything Victorian!) who rides her bike like a ninety year old grandma going to the senior center for Bingo. She is afraid to fall, afraid to get hurt, afraid to be out of control, etc. But she is also coordinated enough that she can do anything she sets that quirky little mind to.

So we put her back on the smaller bike, took the training wheels off, took the pedals off, and she is now scooting around the backyard any chance she can get. Thank you Shannon for the idea about the pedals - that is wonderful. She is doing well but my guess is we'll have a few breakdowns when the pedals go back on. We'll keep you posted if anything big happens (good or bad).

Pretty Pictures

Lee Ann was toying around with what Tarik would look like with a headband and, well, we got some really pretty pictures of her and we thought we would show off a bit. She is so amazingly beautiful and we can say that because we had nothing to do with her beauty.