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...