Sixes

Right now, when Daniel counts a group of objects, the total always comes out to six.

Mockingbird

My Mom and Fiona came over to visit. My mom noticed that Daniel is repeating back a lot of phrases, "like a mockingbird." Daniel replied, "mock-ing-bird!"

Adverbs & Adjectives

Christy reports Daniel's first use of an adverb today: "carefully."

In recent weeks, he has also been using the adjective "pretty" quite often, sometimes for unusual things that he nonetheless finds, well, pretty.

Happy Solstice!

The holidays are upon us.  Daniel loves looking at the lights and can say: "Chrit-mas Tree" "Holidays" "Dreidel Dreidel" "Presents" "Santa" "(s)No-Man" "Or-ment".  We've been singing Christmas carols before bed and the dreidel song throughout the day depending when the mood strikes.

Sweets for the Sweet

Daniel likes sweets. Now that he can ask using words, he requests sweets early and often.  When I ask him if he'd like toast for breakfast, the exchange goes something like:
   Daniel: Cookie!
   Mommy: No cookies for breakfast.  How 'bout toast?
   Daniel: Ice cream!
   Mommy: I don't think that's a good idea.  What do you think about toast?
   Daniel: Cake!
   Mommy: We don't have cake.  I'm making you toast.
   Daniel: Candy!
   Mommy: Mmmm...toast.

When he wants to pull out the big guns:
   Mommy: Are you hungry? What should we get?
   Daniel: Cookie!
   Mommy: You haven't had lunch and didn't eat much breakfast.  I could make you a sandwich.
   Daniel: Cookie!
   Mommy: I would like you to eat something more substantial.
   Daniel: Cookie! ...please.

At this point, Mommy usually caves because he's used 'please' in the correct context and probably won't eat anything else anyway.

Daniel's 2 Year Check-Up at the Doctor's

Daniel is now officially 36.25 (90th percentile) inches tall and he weighs 24.1 lbs (7th percentile).

He got two shots (Hep A & Flu), and Mommy & Daddy also got flu shots - solidarity!

Even with the shots, his 2 year check-up was less upsetting for him than previous ones. He spent most of the check-up opening and closing all the doors and drawers in the examination room.

Football!

When Christy was putting Daniel down for his nap this Sunday afternoon, he protested: "Football!" He kept the protests up for quite awhile, so we relented and got him out of his crib to watch the Broncos and Tim Tebow get drubbed by the Patriots (after a 6 week winning streak). Daniel would watch the game and exclaim, "kick it!" and "catch it!" Daddy is still trying to get him to say "Go, Broncos!"

Christy tells me that football has caught Daniel's attention early in the day: as he went with his Mom down the hill to get a paper (for the crossword puzzle) at Einstein's, there were large crowds of Bronco fans in their gear waiting for the shuttle to the game. So, as a result, Christy and Dan already had football on the brain.

Daniel's 2nd Birthday

For Daniel's 2nd birthday, we once again visited the Children's Museum. Last year, we waited patiently for him to creep across the quilted bridge. This year, he was a blur of action. He spent quite a while throwing balls in a trash can, and saying "2 points!" (basketball). He also spent another lengthy session in the kitchen room.

For lunch, we went back to My Brother's Bar.

For dinner, we had pizza from Parisi. Daniel usually likes this pizza, but he stiffed us on it tonight because he already knew cupcakes were on the menu.

We had a big family celebration for Daniel on Sunday, 12/11/11. Guests included: Grandpa Tom, Grandma Mindy, Georgia and Ryan Tidd, Grandpa "Pappy" Craig & Kathy, Grandma Denise, Aunt Heaven and Grandma Denise Sheehan, and Daniel's favorite cousin, Fiona Ferry (Who he now calls "Green-O"). It was a full house @ 5709 Saulsbury!

We had pizza from Proto's for dinner, and Daniel's cake was Thomas the Tank Engine pulling a long train of cup-cake freight cars - Christy's genius. Daniel helped his Mom blow out the candles.

Questions

Daniel has started stringing words together and repeating commonly spoken phrases.  The ones getting the most air time are:

• who-er-u?! This phrase is the result of a game where Daddy (or Mommy) says "I'm Daddy (Mommy).  Who are you?"  Last night, he also started answering the question with "Dan-el".
• what-r-doing? When Daniel's out of the room, he's often asked "Daniel, what are you doing?"  He doesn't just repeat this question but seems to ask when he is genuinely curious about what you are doing.
• Bob...Builder Just one example of combining words.  He was very pleased with this phrase when I heard it for the first time last night.

We've been talking about 'please' too.  When we're sitting in his room before bed and he asks for milk, I ask that he say "Milk, please."  Sometimes he does, others he signs 'please', still others he balks and refuses to say/sign but will acknowledge my request with a "yeah".

Presents!

Daniel's 2nd birthday is fast approaching, and I've tried to get a jump on wrapping birthday and Christmas presents.  Everything that's wrapped is piled on a table next to the desk.  Daniel likes to look at them.  He tells us "Presents!" and sometimes pulls a bow off or carries a smaller one away from the pile.  He hasn't tried to open any of them yet.  I'm looking forward to seeing how he feels about what's inside the wrapping paper.

Also, the Build-a-Bear that Fiona gave Daniel when he was born received birthday accessories last year.  This week, I dressed him in his birthday t-shirt and hat.  The bear also has a stuffed present with an insert that plays a pop-y birthday song.  Daniel enjoys listening to the song so we play it often throughout the day.

Story Time

Daniel seems to be listening to stories more now.  We have a book called "Owl Babies" that he has always enjoyed looking at but usually flips the pages too quickly for me to read so I summarize.  Recently, Daniel waited to turn the pages until I'd finished reading them.

When we read "Five Little Pumpkins", he tells me what's going on.  "Gate!" [5 pumpkins sitting on the gate] "Witches!" [the second one says there are witches in the air] "Wind. <blowing> Candle. Light." [oooo went the wind and out went the light]

I found 10 small board books at a book sale.  Each one has 6 pages, little text, cute pictures, and fits easily in Daniel's hand.  His two favorites are "Busy Day" that walks you through breakfast, play, lunch, bath, dinner, and bed times and "Shapes".  There's a kid in a bathtub on the front of "Busy Day" so Daniel says "Tub!" when he wants to read this one.

Oops!

Daniel has connected the word "oops" with errors (of various sorts). He has taken to picking up objects, throwing them across the room, and then saying, "oops!"

Dinner of Choice

Daniel is getting picky about food again. He has flat-out rejected spaghetti, pancakes, guacamole, saag & naan (which he has eaten in the past). He is hit and miss now with pizza & scrambled eggs. He is still partial to peanut butter, cookies and has rediscovered the joys of "squeezie fruit."

Tonight, instead of our regularly scheduled Pizza Night, we went to Sweet Tomatoes buffet instead. Daniel's dinner of choice consisted of:

Jello
several bites of blueberry muffin
ice cream
cookies
...and several sips of chicken noodle soup broth.

I told him, "Daniel, I know your secret... you like sugar."

Thanksgiving @ Grandma Tidd's

We visited Mindy & Tom for Thanksgiving. Also present were Larry, Diane, Randy, Greg, Georgia and Ryan.

We planned the trip for mid-afternoon so that D would sleep on the way up. He stiffed us on the nap, though, and complained for most of the drive up.

Daniel spent most of the afternoon opening and closing the door to the bathroom - Grandma Mindy has these awesome doorknobs that don't need to be turned or twisted, just pulled down on. And they're shiny, shiny brass. Daniel was fascinated.

While everybody else was eating turkey with all the fixings, Daniel opted for a more traditional thanksgiving feast of PB&J.

Kissing Cousins

Daniel's cousin, Fiona, came over to celebrate Jarl's birthday last night.  Daniel was thrilled to see her and immediately took her hand to show her all his favorite spots in the house: his room, his closet, the kitchen.  Shortly before dinner, Fiona was sitting on the floor of Daniel's room when he decided to kiss her.  He took her face in his hands and planted one on her lips with a "mmmwww!"  Later, while Fiona was sitting in the glider, Daniel lay his head on her knees, looking very pleased.  Very cute!

Mommies and Daddies

Jarl mentioned that Daniel saw Natalie Portman on Sesame Street last week and said "Momma".  This reminded me that Daniel has called several women "Momma" and men "Dadda" over the last few weeks.  I gather from my readings that this is a developmental stage where children begin to differentiate between men and women, adults and children.

Daddy's Gift

Daniel gave Daddy just the gift he wanted this year. For the first time in days, he let us have a full night's sleep instead of waking us up somewhere between midnight and 2am (to be airlifted to our bed).

"Jump!" "Couch!" "Ears!"

Jumping on Mom & Dad's bed (with assistance from Mom & Dad) has become the hot new game for Daniel. He wants to do it thirty or forty times a day. We toss him up in the air a few times and then, "FLOP!" down he goes on the bed (just like in the Music Together song 'When I am Tired, Down I Flop').

Another popular game D likes is standing on the couch, when Mommy or Daddy are out of arm's reach, with a big idiot grin on his face, and then flopping down if we come close. If we ask him if he was listening, he says, "ears!" (because Daddy has pointed out, one time too many, that he needs to "listen with his ears").

The Ultimate Bachelor Pad

Daniel has moved into a new pad: his closet. He has become fascinated with the closet, and he will come to find us anywhere in the house, grab us by a finger, and pull us to his closet. He wants us to go in with him, and close the door. There is a semi-deflated exercise ball on the floor that he uses like a beanbag chair. He flops down on it and says, "cozy!"

He also likes to put Mommy in the closet and close the door, but he sometimes forgets she is in there and leaves her there while he wanders off to watch Sprout!

Monday, Monday

We had a busy day!  Daniel and I did the grocery shopping in the morning.  After lunch, it was nap time.  Daniel spotted his kangaroo puppet on the floor of his room, pointed and said "roo!"  So, I put the kangaroo in the crib with him.  He spent the first 5 minutes of nap time chanting "K-roo! K-roo! K-roo!"

Daniel and I planned a trip to the mall that afternoon to give Jarl some time to study.  As we were about to leave, I realized I couldn't find my wallet and remembered Daniel had snagged it while we were checking out at Target earlier.  Hopeful that it was still at Target, we raced there.  They had it safely stored in the lost-and-found lockbox.  Relief!

Then, it was off to the mall.  Daniel wasn't interested in the dinosaur-themed play area but enjoyed the mini-picnic tables with chalkboard tops.  The highlight was running up and down the ramp leading to the play area.  When we were ready to venture further into the mall, Daniel found a women's accessory shop (can't recall the name).  There was a wall of costume jewelry with all sorts of interesting pendants on necklaces.  Daniel's favorite was a bicycle with a clock in the front wheel.  Second favorite: a red rhinestone encrusted heart.

On the way home, we stopped at Larkburger to pick up dinner.  In the car, I handed Daniel a french fry which he happily ate.  When he'd finished it, he said "how 'bout it!"  So I gave him another one.  This exchange continued all the way home.  Somehow, "how 'bout it!" meant "may I have another french fry, please."

Monkey Bars

...a posting for this auspicious date, 11/11/11.

Daniel hung from the monkey bars today (he hasn't done this before). What's most interesting is that he did this after he watched another kid do it (Tristan, already 2). Daniel saw Tristan hanging on the monkey bars, and then requested "Up!" from me, so I held him up and he latched on. His grip was super strong, and I was able to (very carefully) release my grip for about 10 nanoseconds and he hung by himself.

Wiggle!

For the last several weeks, Daniel has developed a quite clever (and irritating) habit of saying "wiggle!" ("wee-gal!") and squirming whenever he doesn't want to do something.

Coincidentally, the CD for his current semester of Music Together class has a song that moves along jauntily, but with only one word (repeated ad infinitum, naseum)... "Wiggle wiggle wiggle..."

And of course, there's those dandy Australians on Sprout, too.

Running on Fumes

Monday night: he sleeps! All night! Wakes happy.
Last night: finally in the crib after sitting with Momma for an hour.  Wake at 12 am, wet.  Change diaper and PJs.  Lie down with Mom and Dad, but can't get comfy.  Back in the crib at 1:50 am.  Inconsolable crying.  Out of crib at 2:15 am.  Back to bed with Mom and Dad around 2:30 am.  Sleep until 6:00 am.  "Done.  Momma.  Eat.  Help."

Fall Back

The end of Daylight Savings Time brought us a pleasant day.  We went out for breakfast as we usually do on Sunday.  The restaurant was very busy so we had a longer wait than usual, but Daniel was a trooper.  He wandered around, played with toys, and smiled at strangers.  Once we were finally seated, Daniel waited patiently for his meal and ate with gusto.  He even snatched a veggie sausage patty from my plate and took a big bite.  He continued to munch on it throughout the meal.  Daniel didn't even begin his usual chant of "done...done...done" when he was full.

When we got home, Daniel wanted to walk so he and I wandered downtown.  He pulled on locked doors and peered in windows.  We visited the park.  He didn't fuss when it was time to go home and take a nap.  Daniel woke up happy.  We ordered Chinese for dinner, and Daniel ate a bowl and a half of egg drop soup ("doop...doop!") with rice.  He also tried a fried wonton for the first time.

Affirmative

During Pizza night, tonight, Christy asked Daniel if he wanted more pizza, and he responded: "Yes."

Astounded, we both asked him several more times, "More pizza?"

And he replied, "Yeah... yeah... yeah..."

As far as we both know, this is the first time that D has said, "yes." "No" has been in the vocabulary for quite a long time, but yes is a new arrival. First "yes" @ 99 weeks old.

Naptime Chants

Daniel is now amusing himself during naptime with "naptime chants." These chants can go on for quite a while.

Today's chant: "Door... open... door... open... door... open..."

Yesterday's chant (taken from a Bert & Ernie skit on Sesame Street): "My turn! My turn! My turn!"

"Water!", "Hot Air!" & Other Miscellany

Daniel has been trying to turn on the bathroom faucet for weeks now. Today, he got up on his little yellow step stool (oh, that stool *shakes fist*) and proudly demonstrated his newest milestone, turning the water on. And he's obsessed with it.

He is also quite cute when the furnace comes on (as we just got our first snow of the winter today)- he jumps up from whatever he is doing (he even, saints alive, stops watching TV), and says "hot air! hot air!" and sprints to the bathroom to camp out in front of the vent in the bathroom right next to the potty.

I should also note that in the last few weeks, he has become quite the neat freak: he is constantly dragging around either the broom or the mop and "cleaning" around the house.

I think right now, after a coloring session today with his crayon-rocks, that his favorite color is red, followed closely by green.

And he is plucking off his socks whenever we put them on, jubilantly proclaiming, "pull! pull!" and then wantonly tossing the offending socks away.

Playdate!

Daniel and I had our very first playdate today!

We met up with Angela (one of Daddy's Naropa friends) and her daughter, Kaia, at the APEX center.

We visited the indoor play area, and got some purple balloons. Then we went outside, visited the fountain out front and then wandered to the field behind the building.

A great success. Daniel & I celebrated afterwards with tater-tots for lunch.

Chipped tooth!

Christy reports that during her visit to the playground with Daniel, he charged off the swinging bridge, and she fears that he may have chipped a tooth.

A chipped tooth, already? He's not even two yet, and he already thinks he's Mike Ricci!

Vocabulary Explosion

The predicted "vocabulary explosion" seems to be underway. Daniel is now picking up words quickly, faster than I can keep track of. He often picks them up immediately, after hearing them the first time. It's amazing, and adorable, too.

Bedtime Battles

For the last couple of weeks, we've started having battles over bedtime and sleeping through the night again. We had a really great run where Daniel would settle down for the evening with some milk, maybe a couple of books/songs. Then, we could put him in his crib, and he'd sleep. All night.

Before this golden age, he would often cry when put in his crib or fall asleep then wake up every couple of hours (crying), needing to be soothed. Some nights, he would wake up as soon as he went back in his crib and wouldn't calm down until we put him in our bed with us. When he was small, it wasn't a big deal. As he got bigger, none of us slept well in our bed because Daniel's head was wedged between my shoulder blades or he'd periodically kick his dad in the crotch.

The struggle over bedtime has returned. Last night, Daniel began crying shortly after being put in his crib. His complaints would die down, then he'd upset himself all over again crying harder to the point where I thought he was going to make himself physically ill. After 45 minutes of this, I took him out of his crib and sat with him until I was certain he was deeply asleep. He slept through the night without waking us. Other nights, he has gone to sleep without complaining, but woke up at midnight/2am/4am and wouldn't go back in his crib.

I'm not sure what causes him to wake up and freak out. My theories include: growth spurt, conflict resulting from wanting to be independent but still wanting to be comforted like a baby, and burgeoning fear of the dark. Whatever the cause, Momma needs sleep.

Daniel's First Letter

Christy reports that Daniel recognized his first letter yesterday. He was playing with the magnets on the fridge, and grabbed "I." Before he plugged it into the music player (also attached to the fridge, it plays songs and says all the names and sounds of the letters), he said, "I!" And then he plugged it in.

Grampians

Daniel has been saying 'Gramma' for weeks.  When he hears a knock at the door, he often says 'Gramma' as he runs to answer it.  More recently, he has started calling his Grandpa Tidd 'Pa'. He says is softly and shyly each time.  Very cute.

Bath time

Daniel likes baths but isn't fond of getting his hair wet.  I think it's a combination of leaning back and not liking water in his ears.  During the last few baths after rinsing shampoo from his hair, Daniel has looked at me with water running down his face and said in a very serious tone "raining".

Tired Tantrums

Daniel has begun showing signs of impending toddlerhood. Specifically, he now seems to get quite disagreeable and cranky in the afternoons, as he is getting tired.

Daniel's New Games

Daniel's "games" are getting more interesting.

Last night, we watched an episode of "Thomas the Tank Engine" where Thomas races with bus-guy. Today, Daniel has his wooden Thomas toy in one hand, and his official Denver Nuggets team van matchbox car in the other, and then he runs around the house, "racing" them.

Also, when I got home from Naropa tonight, Daniel was lying on a pile of blankets in his nursery, saying, "ni'-ni'" (night-night). Then he'd spring up and walk into the living room, and Christy and I would say, "GOOD MORNING!" and he would cackle and run back into the nursery and start all over again.

He is also enjoying the "pokey" game. Things that are pokey include pine-cones and pine tree needles. He touches them and then I'm supposed to say, "OH! OUCH! POKEY POKEY!" and he laughs his head off.

More Pretend Play

Daniel has a toy cell phone that he likes to "talk" on.  He's had the phone for months and always enjoyed pushing buttons and answering it ("heh-ro!").  When we were headed to Fort Collins to visit his grandparents, he had a longer, more involved conversation on his phone.  Sounded something like:

Heh-ro?
mmm-hrmm-bl (tough to describe - he has a way of making sounds in a conversational tone that's pretty cool)
Cookie!
mmm-hrmm-bl

Also, Jarl and I heard him "counting" from the bathroom.  Daniel likes to drop pieces of cat food into her water dish.  We suspect that's what he was counting.  He said: 1-2-3-4-5-6 quite clearly as he played.

Pretend Play

Christy noticed during breakfast this morning that Daniel was engaged in "pretend play."

He had two sippie-bottles, one green & one blue. He would lay them both down, say "nite-nite," and then make snoring noises, and then he would stand them up and act like it was time for the bottles to wake up.

Gaming

Everything is "games" these days - meaning Daniel invents small little games, putting three or four actions together (example: pick up bucket, say "woooooow," slam it down on the floor, and repeat), and then he wants me to watch him, or else participate somehow. Usually, he wants me to watch and repeat whatever his magic phrase is. It has a game-like quality, because if you don't repeat the steps right, he gives you a look like you're not doing it right, and goes back to repeating.

Bedtime Happenings

I usually put Daniel to bed so that's when I tend to notice new behaviors and preferences. We still sit in the glider with the lights out before I put him in his crib. He will drink milk, ask to read books, listen to songs, and try to make me smile. Here are a few recent developments:

• One night, we were sitting quietly because it was too dark to read, and I couldn't think of anything to sing. Daniel looked at me and said "Momma". When I said "Yes, Daniel?", he held up his index finger and said "dedo". One of the songs we learned in Music Together is "Don Alfredo". It's in Spanish, and Don Alfredo dances with various parts of his body. The first part that dances is el dedo (finger). After confirming that his finger was indeed a dedo, I sang the Don Alfredo song. He's since shown his dedo to his dad and grandparents.

• While we look at books (this is getting tougher as the light fades earlier and earlier), Daniel likes to tip his cup of milk towards the book and say 'nite 'nite. I think he's tucking in the characters. He's offered milk to Gossie, baby owls, a train, and the animals in "Good Morning, Good Night".
  

• Sometimes Daniel will offer me some of his milk. If I make appreciative slurping sounds and say "thank you", he'll respond "wel'com".
  

• For many months, I would sing lullabies while he drank his milk. Lately he gets fidgety when I try to sing the usual bedtime songs. To shake things up a bit, I've started singing the "Thomas and Friends" and "Caillou" theme songs. The first night I sang the "Thomas" theme, he said "Tomas Tomas More". I must have sung it 5 times before I convinced him that was enough. "Little Bunny Foo-Foo" is a current favorite too. He especially likes the part about bonking the field mice on the head. (He gets a little tap on his noggin from Mommy.)

Vacation Photos

Jarl took so many great photos during our vacation in Santa Barbara that we decided to create a photo book with them. When the book arrived in the mail, we showed it to Daniel. On the first page is a picture of Tashi sitting in the suitcase while we're trying to pack. That is one of Daniel's favorite photos. He loves to open the book, point at the picture, and say "Ta-Ta!". The other photo he really likes is the one of him standing next to the trash can where he threw away rocks on the sea wall. Jarl gave him a copy of it, and he will bring it to you saying "Can! Can!"

Welcom, Hank-oo!

Daniel has reversed his thank-yous and your-welcomes. He started occasionally saying 'hank-oo' a few weeks ago. More recently, he would repeat 'welcom' when someone told him 'you're welcome'. Now when he's given something, he begins by saying 'welcom'. Jarl and I usually respond with 'thank you' or 'you're welcome, thank you'. Daniel sometimes then says 'hank-oo' as he's tucking into the snack or before drinking from the cup or while playing with the toy you've handed him.

Counting

Daniel has been counting more frequently these days. He definitely like to count when we are playing, I noticed him doing it at the beach: "UHN! TOO!" (and if we're extremely lucky) "FREE!" Then, I think, he skips four and proceeds directly to "FIE!"

Christy reported this evening that Daniel brought her two different balls, one in each hand, showed them to her together, and said, "TOO!"

He has counted before, but it has come and gone, like a quick fad. This is the first sustained block of multiple attempts at counting that I can recall.

Daniel Plays w/Others

Our flight home to Denver from Santa Barbara was delayed for at least an hour. In the mean time, we sat in the grass below a palm tree in front of the SB airport, and Daniel carted dirt from a potted-planter to a nearby beloved garbage can, chanting "DEEDEE! DEEDEE!" (Daniel-ese for "dirty!"). He repeated this many, many, many times.

What caught my eye is that one of the other passegers, a plucky girl from Lawrence, KS, all of about 6-7 years of age, took an interest in what he was doing. Daniel quickly noticed this, walked over and grabbed this friendly stranger by the hand and initiated her into the mysteries of carting dirt to the garbage can.

I can also report that, while we were at Ledbetter beach, Daniel tottered over to a group of older kids, 4-5 year-old boys and girls who were building sandcastles, and he wanted to join, but the older kids didn't know what to make of him.

Shadows

One of the developmental newsletters I received a week or so ago mentioned that kids Daniel's age might begin noticing shadows. While we were walking along the beach in Santa Barbara, Daniel pointed at my shadow and said 'Mama'. He hasn't shown any interest in shadows since, but I thought that was pretty cool.

Daniel Shares Food w/Mommy - Plus - RAGE!

I noticed at a breakfast stop during our Santa Barbara vacation that Daniel was happily sharing chunks of pancake ("CAKE-CAKE!" in Daniel-ese) w/his Mom (and only with Mom). Christy says he has done this before, but this is the first time I can remember actually seeing it.

In other developmental news, the whinginess factor has gone way up. If Daniel wants something (to go outside, to flee a restaurant, to drag you somewhere to show you a can), but he doesn't get what he wants, he quickly goes into fits of rage. He cries almost at will, and he will kick his feet angrily if I try to pick him up while he's having a snit. The latest cause of rage: not letting Daniel watch Thomas the Tank Engine on the computer, or on his DVD player, any time he wants, for hours on end. It has been quite taxing, at times, for his Mommy & me.

Daniel's 1st Day on the Beach

Daniel's first day on the beach (not counting his recent trip to Bear Creek Reservoir, Colorado's version of a "beach") was at Ledbetter beach in Santa Barbara.

He would run into the waves, which were very cold and quickly made him cry. Then, he would run onto the warm sand and happy up again, laughing, as he plunged again into the cold surf. We repeated this game many times. His sandals were wrapped in kelp when we dragged him out of the water one last time.

Christy & I celebrated our third anniversary that evening at Brophy Brothers seafood restaurant in the Santa Barbara harbor, but Daniel didn't like it because it was too noisy; his chants of "DONE! DONE! DONE!" began almost immediately. So Christy and I took turns: one of us would eat, and the other would take Daniel back out on the pier, where he would run back and forth between a rack of bicycles and his beloved trash cans.

Happy!

Daniel's 1st airplane trip (destination: Santa Barbara) was a success, although he did not nap - at all, all day - not on the plane, and not at our cottage. Daniel's first airplane was a jet, an Embraer 190 (I had to look it up, they're made in Brazil).

We lucked out and found a seafood restaurant on Stern's Wharf ("The Harbor") that also serves PB&J. when we returned to the cottage on Mason Street after dinner, he was saying, "Hap-py! Hap-py!" This may be because he had become enamored of the two towering candlesticks (w/candles) on the coffee table, buy - hey - maybe he was happy, too.

Daniel Sings

When I put Daniel down to change his diaper on one recent afternoon, I noticed that he was saying "EE-YAI-YO! EE-YAI-YO!" I realized that this was not a made up word, but the refrain from "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," which appears frequently in an oft-rerunned episode of 'Caillou.' So we sang 'Old McDonald' together while we finished the diaper change, substituting the exotic animals on his nursery while, like the zebra and the monkey, in place of more well-known farm animals. He would often break into spontaneous "EE-YAI-YOs" after that, for several days.

Daddy Doesn't Snore

I'm positively sure I never snore, although Christy has often made bold claims to the contrary. Now, when either one of us sign "sleep" to Daniel (or say, "night night!"), he replies by making loud, monstrous snoring noises. Kids and their imaginations!

Two Shoes!

Daniel wanted to go outside this morning, but he was barefoot. I told him, as I always do, "you need shoes if you're gonna go outside."

He decided to show me he was serious by bringing me one of his sandals.

I replied, "Very good! That's one shoe, but you need two shoes if you're going outside. Where is the other sandal? Can you help me find it?"

Daniel responded by toddling off and bringing me back one of my own flip-flops. Here we go, Daddy. Two shoes!

"DONE!" "BYE!" "DIE! DIE! DIE!"

When Daniel's cousin Fiona was a toddler, and she got frustrated at being left in her flying saucer activity station too long, she'd pipe up with what became one of her early signature phrases, "STUCK IN IT!" Eventually, this was shortened to just, "STUUUUUUUCK!"

Daniel's version of "stuck" is: "DONE! DONE!" Often, this is augmented with a waving hand and "BYE!"

He's cracking it out all the time now. He's good for about 4-5 minutes at any given place (restaurants, the pool, music class) before the "BYE! BYE!" comes out.

Other new Daniel words: "Air-pane" (for airplane), "eye" (for ice), and the absolutely obnoxious mantra-ad-infinitum, "DIE! DIE" (which stands for, "Daddy, I'd like to go outside, please."). His grandparents report he has also, quite clearly, told them, "thank you." :D

Ouch!

Daniel discovered last night that if he throws the electronic ball his grandma gave him, it makes a loud crash. The loud noise (and fear of dents in the floors) caused Mommy to react by saying "Oh! Ouch!" Hilarious! Before bed last night, he must have thrown that ball at least 20 times, giggling with each "Ouch!" Finally, I stashed the ball and tried to replace it with a small basketball. It's not as loud, but Mommy still reacts with "Oh! Ouch!" so the substitution was (eventually) accepted.

Looking back, Daniel's reaction to a particular episode of Caillou should have clued me in to his love of physical comedy. There's a scene in Caillou where he and his friends, Jason and Jeffrey, are playing outside on a hot summer day. Caillou clambers up on a beach ball then rolls off. Jeffrey wants a try and launches himself onto the ball. When he falls off, he lands on Caillou. Both boys cry "Ow!", and Daniel finds it funny every time.

Purples and Pine Cones

On Sunday, July 10, we embarked on our first, family camping trip. Jarl found a site in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, and we decided to try one night. Most of the planning and amassing of supplies fell to Jarl, the more experienced camper. As the lists and piles of stuff began to grow, we both started to wonder if one night was worth all this effort.

With most of the supplies loaded up the night before, we finished packing after breakfast on Sunday. We'd put the tent up on Saturday, but it had rained so we left it up in the hopes of drying it out. It was a little damp when we packed it into the car, but not bad. We made it to the campsite by early afternoon. Since the rain clouds were already starting to roll in, we hurried to get the tent up. Daniel was stashed in the tent while the rain fell, and Jarl and I finished securing the tent. Daniel was happy to wander around inside but wasn't wild about not being able to see Mom and Dad.

Once the tent was up and the rain had cleared, we explored the area. Daniel led me to clumps of wildflowers, proclaiming "Purple!" when we found a new patch. We showed in a bunch of columbine by the tent, and he would take us over to them whenever he wanted to talk about purple. While Jarl was bringing supplies up from the Jeep, a chipmunk scampered over to check out the new arrivals. I pointed him out to Daniel who immediately gave chase. The chipmunk raced into the trees leaving a somewhat bewildered little boy.

After the gear was loaded into the tent, we decided to go in search of firewood. One of the other campers (the site was full) directed us to the other campground in the park where there was a ranger station and small store. That campground has cabins and yurts in addition to pads for tents. The yurt we saw looked really neat from the outside. I'd love to have a chance to stay in it. At the store, we got our day pass, firewood, and 2 Golden Gate Canyon State Park patches. We wanted to do some hiking, but all of the trails were rated Moderate, Difficult, or Very Difficult. I wasn't sure what we could manage with Daniel so we went back to the campsite to stow the food and figure out where to go. There was a fishing pond near the site, and we decided to try a little jaunt.

We loaded Daniel into his backpack carrier. We'd had a big breakfast but were all feeling a little hungry. Daniel got a cereal bar, and Jarl dug the trail mix out of one of the bags. Once the trail mix was out, Daniel wanted to try it. Jarl hunkered next to him while Daniel grabbed fistfuls of trail mix from the bag. Then, Jarl helped me get the pack on, and we were off. The rains had washed away parts of the trail, but it was still passable. Daniel played with my hat and chattered. He wasn't thrilled with not being able to walk on his own. And, boy, was he heavy! Even though it wasn't very comfortable, I'm glad we had the pack because I don't know that I could have kept Daniel on the trail and/or out of the mud. We stopped at the fishing hole just as the rain was starting again. Jarl took the pack for the return trip, and we headed back to the campsite.

As we were crossing the parking lot, the thunder started. Daniel and I got in the tent while Jarl returned the pack to the Jeep. He joined us as it started raining harder. The thunder would die down and the rain let up, then would start all over again. Finally, Daniel was so hungry he couldn't stand it. Jarl braved the rain to get him a peanut butter sandwich and milk. While Daniel scarfed his meal, we began to wonder if it would stop raining long enough to make dinner. I'm not sure how long we were in the tent, but the sun started to go down as we got dinner on the stove. Jarl did the cooking. Daniel and I explored. He was fascinated with the water pump. He also liked seeing all the people who gathered around it. We checked in on the "purples", and I pointed out the pine cones on the ground. Daniel's translation sounded like "co-co".

Jarl decided to try to get a campfire lit while dinner was cooking. We didn't really have kindling so it took quite a bit of babying. By then, it was getting dark quickly, and I was starving. We sat down to a delicious meal of chik'n and dumplings lit by a lantern. Daniel wasn't interested in the food (which was really tasty). We'd tied a glow stick to him, and he wandered around stopping to pick up the glow stick or a rock or a drink. Jarl and I ate in shifts. After dinner, Jarl went back to work on the camp fire, but Daniel was starting to bonk. I took him into the tent to get ready for bed. We followed our bedtime routine as much as possible: fresh diaper, pajamas, sit with Mom while she sings a lullaby. At one point, I was laying down in the sleeping bag, and Daniel was on his knees next to me. He had his glow stick and peered into my face. "Mama?" "Yes, Daniel" "'Nite 'nite" "'Nite 'nite, Daniel". I helped him lay down next to me, and he was asleep within a few minutes.

I didn't think I could leave him in the tent for long so closed my eyes too. I woke up after a little while to the sound of rain falling heavily, again. Jarl still wasn't in the tent. He spent the evening cleaning up and putting food away - all while racing the rain. Daniel slept very well, but Jarl and I weren't so comfortable. It was early, early morning before Jarl fell asleep. I slept in spurts mostly because Daniel kept stealing my pillow. We woke a little before 8 the next morning achy.

I realized when I woke up that I'd forgotten to pack the bacon for breakfast. Bummer! We soldiered on, boiling water for coffee and tea, scrambling eggs. Daniel enjoyed his eggs. Jarl had managed to get a fire going for about an hour the previous night, but had to put it out before it had burned much of the wood. He had time for a beer in front of the campfire though - a critical camping success factor! Unfortunately, he also plopped down in a puddle of water that had gathered in the camp chair. He was thoroughly soaked by the time he went to bed.

Jarl cleaned up the breakfast dishes, and we both had another cup of coffee/tea. We started packing up. Daniel toddled over to greet campers getting water at the pump, "hi hi". Some would say 'hi' back, but the kids tended to ignore him. Looking at his face, you could tell he was trying to understand why some people would say 'hi' and others wouldn't. Daniel and I went in the tent to pack up clothes and sleeping bag. Then, we began to take the tent down. I handed Daniel a couple of tent stakes. He began slotting them into the holes in the picnic table bench. A few chipmunks came over to scavenge. Daniel was oblivious at first - completely focused on the stakes. Jarl tried to get a picture of a chipmunk standing at Daniel's feet while he worked on organizing stakes, but the chipmunk wouldn't have it. Jarl and I got the tent dissembled and mostly put away when Daniel noticed the chippies. He really wanted to get close to them. They were way too quick, but came back again and again. Daniel took Mom then Dad on one more "purple" tour, and it was time to go. Daniel said "bye-bye" to the campsite, and we piled into the Jeep.

We headed for Nederland to have lunch. It was definitely nap time, but Daniel fought it. Jarl found a hunk of rose quartz at a rock shop. Then we decided to head home. More rain on the return trip. We unloaded the car and convinced Daniel to take another nap so we could all relax for a bit. It was a lot of work for one night but was also a lot of fun. Daniel enjoyed the tent and being free to wander. Can't wait to try it again!

Decisions

Caillou, or Kai-Lan?

Kai-Lan, or Caillou?

Caillou, hands down. "Vitamin C" calms the savage beast.

Daniel and I are working on "decisions" now: which zoo animal should I take down from the wall for you to play with while we're changing your diaper? Zebra... no. Tiger... no. Elephant... winnar!

How to Eat Noodles, the Daniel Way

Dump them all out of the bowl, spread them out on the table so that no two are touching, and then slowly savor each one, individually. I predict eating pasta by hand will become the next "Foodie trend." We are going to rock Santa Barbara's world.

Because it's there

We had family over to barbeque for the 4th and did a fair bit of prepping in the kitchen over the weekend. Daniel is rarely content to hang out in one room for any length of time (unless Caillou is on). So, the weekend activities were punctuated by calls of "where's Daniel?" and checking the other rooms. At one point, I walked out of the kitchen and found him standing on a chair, about to crawl across the dining table to get a mug. Later, he was standing on the footrest of his high chair with a ceramic coaster in each hand, banging them on the table. Yesterday, he climbed into a patio chair (it rocks) and bounced up and down, chattering happily.

There's no arguing his expertise in climbing up. It's the getting down that has me terrified.

Mystery Language

I don't know what "ha-too" means, but apparently its an important, self-created word in Daniel's lexicon, at least for the last few days.

Also of note: "EEET" (eat!) has officially been joined together, at the same time, but the "eat" sign.

Climbing Like Tashi?

Daniel's Mom reports that he has decided to rev up for the 4th of July by totally self-initiating into the ancient and joyful art of climbing on chairs and tables.

He climbed up next to the cutting board and tried to get to the knives.

Grandma Denny speculated that he may have learned this from watching Tashi, who often climbs up and sits in the window at that very same spot.

In other news: fruitopianism has led to a wretched plague of fruit flies.

Daniel Utterances

Daniel did some rhyming at lunch today: "Elmo... elbow... tur-doh..."

"Egg" has also entered his vocab as "EEEG! EEEG!"

Ball!

Daniel went into the nursery by himself this morning, and started rooting around, chanting "Buh! Buh! Buh!"

He couldn't reach his big red ball (under his crib), so I shimmied under and got it for him.

He has spent the morning running around with the ball, cackling, and bouncing it onto the floor. Then he does a little tap dance of happiness each time.

As I recall, Christy took him to Toys'R'Us a few days ago, and he was obsessed with the balls. Also, Elmo was thinking about balls last week on Sesame Street. So the time has come.

Two Word Phrases

Daniel has started using two word phrases. This afternoon, on the couch, he rested upon some pillows and said, "go sleep." And Christy reported that, this morning on the changing pad, he said, "milk please."

Cautiously Optimistic

I hesitate to write this post for fear I'll jinx us. Here goes... Daniel has been sleeping through the night, consistently for about a week now. He ended up in bed with us only one night this week. As a trade-off, the bedtime routine has extended from 30 min to about an hour. Recently, if I try to put him down for the night while he's still awake, he throws a fit. So we sit together until he finally nods off which takes some time. He still goes down for naps while awake without too much fuss.

Sandbox

In honor of his 1.5-year "unbirthday" on 6/13/11, a new turtle sandbox has been installed in Daniel's honor in the backyard, after Daddy cleared out several acres of creeper and bushes.

Daniel's 18 month Dr. Appt

23 lbs, 3 oz
34" tall

1st Haircut

For Daniel's 18 month birthday, I decided to schedule his first haircut. There's a place called Cool Cuts where kids can get their haircut while sitting in race cars or fire engines and watching movies. I figured Daniel would be so entranced by all the toys and fun stuff that the haircut would be a non-event. Not so.

We signed in at our appointment time, and the stylist was just finishing up with a customer. After the other kid left, we had the whole place to ourselves. The stylist was uncommunicative almost to the point of being surly - not a good sign. She looked at Dad, camera at the ready, and Mom, red-eyed from crying in the car, and asked if this was his first haircut. Duh.

Daniel was seated in a fire engine, and Thomas the Tank Engine was playing on the TV in front of him. By then, he realized something very different was about to happen. As soon as the smock went on, Daniel started crying and reaching for Mommy. Tears rolled down his cheeks, he held my hand and tried to thwart all hair cutting efforts.

Though she wasn't the most personable, I have to give the stylist credit. She managed to cut off all those adorable curls, and Daniel looks like a well-groomed little boy. We spent some time playing with the toys afterward. I'm hoping that's the part he'll remember when we go back!

Cheyenne Mountain Trip

Daniel visited his first State Park today. Daddy dragged everybody down to Colorado Spring to look at the campgrounds at Cheyenne Mountain State Park.

On this trip, Daniel learned that if he holds onto Daddy with one hand, and Mommy with the other, he can life up his feet and doesn't really need to walk at all.

Daniel's Obsessions, Revisited

Daniels obsessions, as he approaches his 18-month mark...

1. Tashi's food bowl & water bowl
2. The potty
3. The diaper genie
4. The trash can (in the kitchen)
5. Daddy's squirt-bottle (for Tashi)
6. The remote control
7. The recycling in the pantry

Water, Fire... Illness

Our family unit has been under the pall of sickness since before Memorial Day.

Christy went down first, Daniel followed several days later. I held out for five days before finally descending into illness.

I wanted to make a note that, for three days, I couldn't swallow anything, not even water, without fighting through gags. Water, trickling down my sore throat, felt like fire.

We are now on the mend, although Daniel had some vomiting last night and Christy and I are still coughing like Dickens' orphans.

Imitation

Imitation seems to be happening somewhat frequently now. Daniel was playing with his wood train set today, and saying "doo-doo!" - an imitation of the train whistle sounds he is seeing on Thomas the Tank Engine. Last night was also the second night this week when Daniel slept through the night in his crib.

Freewalkin', cont.

Daniel's "free-walking" has increased dramatically today. It is a noticeable change. Although he has already learned how to do it, he hasn't had a lot of confidence yet. I noticed that he started free-walking a lot several days ago, while we were playing with his plastic blocks one afternoon. I also noticed, at that time, that he would could along with me: I'd say, "one block!" and he'd repeat after me, "wuh," then I'd say "two" and he'd say, "do!" Three was a bridge too far. He would also repeat a color after I did: I said "purple block!" and he'd say, "pur-pur."

Job Perks

One of my favorite job perks, right now, are Daniel's unexpected outbursts of laughter. It totally makes my day when he thinks something is funny and breaks out in laughter. We were watching a live-action version of "The Jungle Book," and when some wolf-puppies came on the screen, Daniel burst in laughs.

And It Was Good...

"Good" has entered the Daniel vocabulary. When he gets something that he likes, such as juice or a squeezey astro-fruit smoothie, he approvingly declares it "guh!"

Blue Ball

Daniel said a color today, the first one that I've heard him say. We were playing with one of his wooden "turtle" balls, and first he said, "bah." Then I told him it was blue, and he said, "boo."

Can U Dig It?

Daniel was bopping along with the Wiggles today. The Aussies were singing a song about gardening, "Can You Dig It?" and Daniel was bouncing up and down and singing along, "Dig! Dig! Dig!"

Soda Spill

Mr. Grabbity learned a valuable lesson about gravity tonight. He tried to grab an open can of Diet Coke off the counter, and ended up doused from head to toe in sticky soda. He was so shocked he couldn't even cry.

As a result, Bath Night was moved up from Wednesday to Tuesday.

Big Cup

At his Mom's request, Daniel drank out of a "big boy" cup tonight at dinner (meaning: a regular cup with no top, not a sippie-cup).

He used two hands, drank slowly, and did not spill on himself. The first time.

Each time he tried to do it after that, he raised the cup too fast, and doused himself in juice.

I tried not to laugh, he was quite perplexed, but I couldn't help it.

Supermarket Crisis

Daniel got his arm stuck in the shopping cart today at Target, while he was reaching for a bag of bagels behind him. It took me several minutes to get his arm unstuck from the metal grille that he'd wedged it into. He was shrieking the whole time, terrified, and he wouldn't relax his arm, so it took even longer. At one point, I didn't know if I could get him unstuck, and I had visions of the fire department coming and having to cut open the shopping cart w/a blowtorch.

In retrospect, I should've proceeded to the Vaseline aisle and lubed up his arm. But it's hard to think clearly in those situations.

Hawp!

"Help!" has entered the Daniel lexicon. Now, when he needs something, he immediately pipes up with, "Hawp! Hawp!"

Bedtime

Our bedtime ritual goes something like this:

1. Change diaper


2. Put on pajamas


3. Brush teeth


4. Get bottle/say 'night-night' to Daddy


5. Turn out the light (Daniel's got this down)


6. Shut the door to keep Tashi out


7. Sit in glider with bottle and listen to Mommy sing a couple of lullabies

Some nights this is enough for Daniel to settle down and fall asleep. Other times we sit while Daniel squirms, chatters, and/or pulls on Mommy's hair. This week, he discovered that he could look at books if he says "ba...ba" and gazes longingly at the books. We don't turn on the light, just flip through pages, and Mommy "reads" what she can remember.

On Tuesday, Daniel surprised me by waving his hand (I took this to be the 'music' sign) and signing 'more' after he'd finished his bottle. So I asked him if he wanted to sing another song, and he signed 'more' again. I was thrilled and promptly sang two more songs. At 16 mo, this child already knows how to flatter his mom to get what he wants!

All Fours

Daniel has (finally) figured out how to crawl on all-fours... a month of so after he figured out how to walk. He will now crawl this way for brief periods of time, but he seems to still prefer his army-crawl. He is also navigating himself around the room on two feet, but only if he is holding onto something, like an astronaut clinging to a space station.

Freewalkin'

Daniel has started "free-walking" now (walking without holding onto anything, without any "jump start" from Mommy or Daddy) for short distances. Christy noticed that he started doing this when we took him to Barnes & Noble this weekend (4/10/11), and he was playing at the Thomas the Tank Engine toy table in the kid's section.

He is still quite cautious, and isn't doing this often, but he tends to free-walk when he's holding onto some object that has fully captured his attention.

"I'm Outta Here..."

Mr. Daniel just let himself out the front door (and it was latched).

A Visit from the Plumber

A rhythmic splashing was coming from the bathroom. As I went in to investigate the source of the splashes, I came across Daniel, plunger in hand, diligently at work on plunging the toilet.

"Up!"

"Up!" has become Daniel's new favorite word. He says it all day long, in context.

In the morning, when Daniel is ready to play but Daddy is still tired, "Up!"

In the afternoon, when Daniel is tired of walking by himself, "Up!"

In the evening, when he getting lifted into his high-chair for dinner, "Up!"

He knows "down," too, and understands what it means, but down is far less popular in Daniel's growing lexicon than up.

Sprout Celebs

Daniel saw Elmo on TV, pointed at him, and said. "Elmo!"

He has been practicing saying "Elmo" for about a week now, when we change his diapers (which have Elmo on them). He started off saying, "Mo," and then spent awhile just saying, "Elm," and finally started putting it all together very recently. This is the first time, however, that Dan has called out the red, furry little fellow on TV.

And this morning, during the 'What's Your News' show on Sprout (the one featuring the ant newscasters), Daniel pointed at the TV and said, "ant!"

In other news, this morning he said "Da-da" and pointed at the monkeys on his pajamas.

The M-Word

In the last week or two, Daniel has added "Ma-ma" to his rotation of oft-used words. His mother is very proud. Hi father is relieved.

Offerings

The most magical items in Daniel's world these days are the TV and the potty. I've noticed that he frequently brings offerings to each - especially in the morning. Before Pappy Craig brought the new TV with power button on top, Daniel would bring a toy, toothpaste tube, card, or other easy to carry item to the TV before turning it on.

The toilet receives a slightly more intricate ritual. Before approaching the toilet, Daniel will make the toilet "sign" (waving his hand up and down). Usually, the toilet "sign" is accompanied by a raspberry noise that sounds sort of like flushing. Then, he'll lay the book or remote or whatever he's brought on the lid. Once the offering is presented, he's free to try flushing.

Sorting out the Cupboards

We went to the Children's Museum today, for a second visit, the culmination of our Spring Break Stay-cation.

It was packed. Many kids. And for every kid, at least one and probably two hovering parents. "Do you need help with the ball, li'l buddy?" "Do you need help with the teddy bear, sweet pea?"

Daniel spent an hour back on the "meadow" bridge, crawling. And then he spent another hour with his Mom in a bungalow. He was fully engrossed in moving wooden-toy food, plates and cups around between different cupboards.

In related news, Daniel is now saying his name all the time, in different tones, with different meanings in different contexts. "Nan-noh!" "Nan-noh?" "Nan-noh."

Pirates & Chefs

There is a new ad on Sprout for the upcoming April Fool's Day line-up. At one point in the ad, There is a wiggle dressed in blue, next to a chef. The wiggle asks (ominously?), "Do you like your eggs... scrambled?"

Daniel is terrified of this. He runs from the TV in a panic. He's done it three times now.

Follow-up: the next day, Daniel would watch the ad, nervously, with his mom, but his fear level had diminished.

Stacking

Daniel is stacking... coke cans.

He isn't interested in his toys at all right now. He *is* interested in pens, iPhones, Daddy's tube of toothpaste, the potty, toilet paper, the wireless mouse, Daddy's laptop... anything Mommy and Daddy are using. No kid's stuff.

Groundhog Walk

Daniel has decided to approach walking like a groundhog: the first day he walked, he saw his shadow, so he isn't going to walk anymore for a least another six weeks.

If I try to get him to stand up & walk by himself, he goes all spaghetti on me, except when he is walking very short distances, and always in the direction of his Mom.

Zebra!

Daniel's fever came down over the weekend. His overall health and demeanor is much improved which is a huge relief to his Mom and Dad.

Daniel and I were sitting in his room reading his "Colors" book on Saturday. The last page is black & white with a picture of a zebra. I always say the color then the item - "red...strawberry! blue...ocean!" and so on. When I said "black & white...zebra!", Daniel looked at me then pointed to a wooden cutout zebra that's hanging over his changing pad! It was exciting to see he'd made the connection between the two zebras. He repeated the feat on Monday, and we talked a bit about zebras, reviewed the sign for zebra, and found two more zebras on a poster.

Fever

Daniel had a very high fever, and it was very scary for his Mom & Dad.

He started warming up in the very early hours of Friday morning, and he had a fever of 100 by 9am. We gave him Tylenol and waited, but by noon, his fever was close to 103, so Daddy took him in to see the pediatrician.

Daniel was OK at the Doctor's office until he saw the nurse. She was the same nurse who has given him shots several times before. When he saw her, he had a complete panic attack and started wailing. When we he saw the examination pad (with it's tell-tale roll of paper), he completely freaked out, and howled throughout the visit with the Doctor. The Doctor suspected that he had an infection in his right ear, and she prescribed liquid Amoxycillin, so it was a good thing we took him in when we did.

We gave him his fist dose of Amoxycillin around 5pm, and Mommy kept him close throughout the evening. However, by bed time, his temperature had continued to rise, up to about 104.5. Daddy was worried, and called the on-call nurse at the pediatrics center, but she reassured him that Daniel was going to be all right. Daniel slept in bed with Mommy & Daddy all night, and he was hot as a brick oven (his feet were like little branding irons).

However, by this morning, his fever has started to go down. He is at 100.8 now. Relief!

Chase me!

When we started going to classes, Daniel would stick close to me through the whole class. He would venture far enough to grab a toy and then came back. Now he loves to crawl away and look back to see what I'll do. Last night, one of the parents left to use the restroom and didn't close the door to the entry area completely. Daniel shimmied over, opened the door and was heading out. The instructor told me he was leaving (the door was behind me). I looked over and he was looking over his shoulder at me, grinning. I swear I could read his thoughts - "Chase me!" So I gave chase. He crawled away, giggling madly.

Open...Close...

We bought Daniel new shoes over the weekend. I was suckered into buying black Converse Chuck Taylors for $30! Everything else at Babies R Us was on sale; not these. Anyhoo, along with the shoes, Daniel also got his first shoe box. I thought it would be a cool place to stash all sorts of little treasures so filled it with a tiny stuffed dragon, a wooden toy made by my grandpa, a deck of cards, and a postcard showing a two-headed turtle.

Daniel thought it was cool too - especially the lid. He opened and closed it at least a hundred times. The fascination with open and close isn't a new one, but he's added the word "close" to the action. Daniel only says "open" occasionally, but "close" is important. He says it urgently and often.

Giant (Baby) Steps

Daniel walks! His Grandpa "Pappy" Craig visited in the morning, bearing gifts from Ecuador, and remarked that Daniel seemed like he was going to walk (independently) at any moment. I scoffed, "well, people have been saying that for about two months now, but he still isn't doing it."

Right after Pappy left, Daniel grabbed Christy's greeting card holder (it looks kinda like peacock feathers sculpted in metal wire). I was "walking" him with the pinkie on my hand, and I thought, "since he's engrossed in the sculpture, let's see if he'll notice if I just slip my pinkie away."

He didn't notice. He kept on walking, by himself, independently (with no assistance), about a dozen steps from the dining room into the kitchen, before he figured out what was going on.

I didn't think anybody would believe me that he had gone this far, but we repeated the feat about five times. I was ecstatic, praising his fine work. I was laughing, and it took me a minute to realize that I was crying at the same time.

He walked later in the day for his Grandma Denise, and he even showed off a few steps for his Mom when she got home from the gym later that evening.

A Note about Phones

A quick follow-up to Jarl's last post. Daniel's been obsessed with phones (specifically Mom and Dad's iPhones) for many months. But it's only been the last few weeks that he's started "answering" phones of all sorts - toys, cell phones, TV remotes. Last week he began answering his hand when he hears a phone ring. Daniel and I went out for lunch and each time the phone would ring, he would answer his peanut butter & jelly sandwich, leaving smears of sandwich guts on his head. Now if he hears a phone ring (even on TV), he'll answer it.

Yellow Phone, Read'n'Sign & the Potty

I was watching Daniel in the nursery tonight, and scrolling through the news on my iPhone. Daniel came over and started groping for my phone. I noticed that his yellow toy phone was across the nursery, in a pile of toys, so I said, "Daniel, where is your yellow phone? Can you go and get Daniel's yellow phone?"

And, much to my surprise, he crawled across the room, picked up his yellow phone, brought it back over to where I was sitting, and handed it to me. I was shocked!

On a separate but related "phone note," Daniel is now picking up his phone (or, alternatively, one of the TV remotes) and holding it to his ear, and when he does, he says, "Hi! Hi!"

Christy reports that she was reading Daniel the Halloween "lift the flap" book (Where is Baby's Pumpkin?) and when they got to the page where the candy apples are hidden behind the bowls, Christy asked Daniel, "What do you think is behind those bowls?" Daniel replied... with sign-language, "fruit." And on the next page, she asked, "What's under the bed?" Daniel signed "hat," for the witches hat which is, indeed, hidden under the bed.

And... (cue the '2001' music), Daniel has discovered the potty. We go and visit it many times a day now, and Daniel will make a flushing gesture and say, "Whush! Whush!" Also, on the changing pad this morning, I would sing, "Do the..." Daniel would clap twice, and I would finish, "Potty Dance!"

Things I Said Today...

"Cookie goes in mouth, not on head!"

"Please don't whack the kitty with the remote."

"Are we passing on the raspberries?"

Causality (On/Off)

This week's hotness in "the hidden life of Daniels" is: the on/off switch. The on/off button on the TV is topping the charts this week, with it's singular and enticing roundness beckoning any & all babies to "push me!" Running a close second is a perennial favorite, the white noise machine in the nursery. When neither one of these are available, going back to favorites of yore, like lamps, will scratch that on/off itch. Like Daniel's Grandma Denny says, "Cause and effect!"

Games Babies Play

Daniel invented a new game for us today on the changing pad. He was pursing his lips and blowing a stream of air in my face as I was changing his diaper, so I'd act like it was a strong wind blowing me away. He thought this was hilarious.

A few nights ago, I also tried out the "creep up" game on him, too - while his mom was changing him. In this game, I'd slowly get closer and closer until he couldn't standing it anymore, and then he'd smack me with his hands and cackle with laughter.

In other news: Daniel ate some "big people food" for lunch today - specifically, Mommy's lentil soup. The lentils met with his approval. I should also note that he was stuffing blackberries into his mouth at M'nK's superbowl party. Other recent foods include pesto & egg pizza, Mexican-style beans & rice... and he has developed a real affinity for french fries.

Also - he has recently begun to express his dissatisfaction w/being parked in the playpen by throwing out all of his toys. Another form of protest that he has instituted regarding either the playpen or the crib is the miraculous removal of his pants, which are then quickly tossed over the side and out.

New words: "hot" and "cold."

Climbing the South Face... of the Dresser Drawers

This week has been all about Daniel climbing up on stuff. Wednesday, 2/02/11, was the first day when the urge to climb seemed to kick in and go pretty strong all day. I can't leave him unattended for more than a few seconds because he is usually pulling himself up, precariously, on something. Yesterday, he was trying to climb up the knobs on his dresser like it was a rock-climbing wall at the gym.

We are also getting longer runs (6 steps or so) of "one-handed walking." I got all excited about this, and bought him a kids-walker at Target, but he got afraid of it when it started moving as he was leaning on it, and so we have abandoned that toy for now.

This week, Daniel has also picked up the word "turtle," which comes out as "Tur-Doh," and dog, which comes out pretty much like it should. I think he is also trying to say his name, which some comes out as "Nan-No."

Both of his classes, signing & music, were cancelled this week due to the current sub-zero temperatures (but none of Daddy's classes in Boulder were cancelled, of course).

Doors & Drawers

...that's what this week has been all about: closing doors and opening drawers. Daniel has become obsessed with the Mustela wipeez in his top drawer. He pulls out the package, then yanks out fistful of wipes, sometimes stuffing them into his mouth. If I put him in his walker, he rolls immediately into the nursery to this top drawer and resumes his assault on the wipes.

Also, I was checking the news on my laptop when I heard the bedroom door slam. I turned to look, and noticed that Daniel had crawled in the bedroom, tossed out my pajamas & flip-flops, and slammed the door. I had been evicted from my own bedroom.

Consumer Safety

Toddlers should come with a warning label: "The vicissitudes of your child's behavior may or may not be directly or indirectly influenced by your own moods, attitudes, etc."

We've Got Nap-Sign

It happened on Thursday afternoon...

I was changing Daniel on the changing pad.

He yawned.

I said, "Looks like somebody is ready for a nap."

He flashed the "nap-sign" at me (hand against head).

Incredulously, I said, "OK... I'm gonna put you in your crib, then." Which I did.

He chatted to himself for awhile and then fell asleep for two hours.

Begun, the "No's" Have...

I've been getting a steady stream of "No... no... no..." from Daniel today, no matter what the situation is.

In other news, he is spending the morning today opening and closing the nursery room door, crawling in and out.

Also, Christy reports that Daniel has begun to stack (add) stars on his musical-stacker. Previously, he would only pull them off, but never add them back. Now, I will often get 'Blue Danube' or 'Brandenburg Concerto #3" stuck in my head all day as a result of this musical stacking device. Oh, well. It beats the hell out of the ABC song or "It's learning time!"

Bonus: Don't miss the "Chase Me" milestone in Christy's comment, below!

The Bear w/the Purple Hands

For the record, we got an audible "no!" last night from Daniel as we were attempting to feed him some dinner. Dinner has become a battleground, often a lost cause. In contrast, I have achieved some progress on Wednesday morning, coaxing him into eating cinnamon-raisin toast (with his hands) for breakfast. "To-ho-ssssk."

On an unrelated note, although Daniel has not shown must sustained interest in any of the Baby Einstein videos, Sesame Street or anything else on the Sprout network, he quickly becomes fully engrossed when watching the bear with the purple hands in his 'Signing Smart' video. He will park himself in front of the TV when Christy puts this video in, and watch it from beginning to end.

Another note: Daniel has finally become interested in some of his toys, including his Music Table from Diane, Larry and Randy. One of his favorite activities is to get all of his singing, blinking toys fired up at once, turning the room into a cacophany of education, learning-friendly chaos.

3/4

Daniel attempted to stand up today, without the assistance of his music table (or any other furniture). He started on all fours, and got both feet planted and another hand up. He couldn't any further, but it was inspiring to watch.

"In the Time of Chimpanzees, I was a Monkey..."

We have entered the Era of Monkey Sounds. Daniel has begun to communicate via rapid, insistent and repetitive grunts, squeals and monosyllables.

Also - we had a nice closing to the holidaze last night, we ate dinner @ Zorba's & then went to see the Christmas lights at the Botanic Gardens.

Now, back to reality... 2011...