"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.