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.