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.