Daniel's Baby Steps: One and a Half

Happy One & a Half Birthday, Daniel! How is it possible that he's 18 months old today?! And that soon he'll be closer to being TWO than one? Oh...and can we skip to his 3rd birthday? We have a feeling he'll be a strong-willed two year old. He's already starting to demonstrate his strong will...lucky us. No, really, he's a wonderful toddler- we couldn't be more lucky. And we're enjoying the ride of parenthood tremendously!

This biggest update this month is how much Daniel talks now. (gee, I wonder where he gets that from...and I'm sure we've only just seen the beginning!) I just love to listen to him talk and he talks ALL the time. Lots of babbles (it's cute when they're high-pitched) with words mixed in. Babbles while he plays and walks around the house, and then oh my goodness lots of words when he talks to us or looks at books. I think language development is just fascinating. We're pretty much hearing a new word or two every couple days now. New words: ba (ball- this is his FAVORITE word- he sees balls everywhere & practically shouts with excitement "BAAA!"), bee (beep, beans)- it's cute to hear him in the back seat going "bee, bee" when he hears a car honk, beh (bread), bah (banana), lll (lion and other words with lll in them), vvv (car), ga (garage), kkk (apple crunching sound), ah (out- another favorite word since we go outside a lot more now), ow (ouch), and j or s (juice). He does his "meows" for cats with a really high pitch now which is just so cute. And we think it's too cute when he says, "mama, dada, mama, dada" over and over. He sure knows who we are.

BUT his most awesome new words are....drumroll please...hint- I can tell you four people who think this is just the best... Grandma (rara or sometimes gra) and Grandpa (pa)!!! Daniel can even name mama, dada, rara, and pa in pictures, too.

Other new developments: Daniel can kick his leg out, he almost leaps, he can jump if he holds on to me or pushes off a footstool, and he can kind of somersault which for him is mostly going to the side but he's sure trying. Daniel and I go to Parent Tot Gymnastics on Tuesdays now and it's a lot of fun. I'm sure he'll catch on to a lot of skills there. Daniel also loves to throw balls. He still has a TON of energy.

Daniel also knows how to drive! And no, I'm not referring to that now famous picture of Daniel "driving" our car- he can drive his very own car. If you don't remember, Daniel got a car for his birthday that he loved to push around. It's in our basement now since there's so much more room for it down there and he still pushes it from time to time, but last week he got on it and started driving/scooting- backwards! He hasn't gone forward just yet, but he sure scoots it backwards. He's so proud of himself, too!

Activities Daniel loves: recycling or helping with garbage (it's a great excuse to go out in the garage which Daniel loves now), being chased, playing peek-a-boo (he hides behind his hands, behind his chair, or behind toys), hiding his hands, spinning (he actually get dizzy now from spinning so much), and he loves to be outside. Have I mentioned...he LOVES to be outside! Daniel doesn't care if it's cold- he just wants to be outside. So, we're outside a lot these days- good thing it's Spring now!

Reading is a lot of fun these days, too. Before naptime and bedtime, Daniel will snuggle up in your lap with his lion and request more and more books. He identifies many of the pictures in his picture book- the ball is the most emphatically identified picture. Daniel can also name and will request a few of his books- Go Dog Go is go go, Kiss Kiss is identified with two kissing sounds, he says meow for Meow Goes the Cat, and makes his oops face for Blue Hat Green Hat (there's a silly turkey that put clothes on wrong and the book goes oops each time).

We've also discovered that Daniel loves to take showers. He had his first shower just before our trip to Florida, because we knew the condo only had showers (no bathtubs) and we wanted to make sure Daniel would tolerate showers. He loves it. It's really a lot of fun to watch. He doesn't mind the water everywhere and he likes to play and splash in there. He'll stay in there well past the shivering and pruney stage; he does not like it when the shower is over. He will turn right around and try to get back in. We still do baths mostly, but every now and again a shower is a lot of fun. I think showers are another sign of toddlerhood...

I posted before that Daniel can point to many parts of his face. There are still a few we're working on. We have a mirror on the back seat headrest so that we can see Daniel in his car seat while we're driving, and it's fun to play the game of "where?" while we're out & about. Daniel smiles so big when I cheer him on- so cute!

As for size, Daniel is still pretty small, but I do think he's taller again. His 9 month pj's are starting to stretch- that's usually my first clue that's he taller. He's all over the place in clothes size- depending on the brand, of course, just to really throw us off. He's got a 3 month waist, 6 month leg (sometimes 9), and 9 month torso (sometimes 12). Rompers/one pieces work out the best because I can get a 12 month and not have to worry about the pants falling off! Whew- don't you wonder how I keep up?! I also think his feet are a little bigger. It's time to shop for new shoes! This I will enjoy. :)

Enjoy some more Mickey pictures below- these outtakes from his monthly Mickey picture taken after lunch today.

Time for a snuggle with the lion!

Daniel gives Mickey a kiss!

Our wiggly guy managed to sit in Mickey's lap at one point.

Lots of tickles were part of the silliness, too!

We celebrated Daniel's 1 1/2 birthday this evening with Banana Cream Pudding Pies (made with coconut milk, of course)- complete with a cookie and a half for the "candles". Daniel gobbled it right up!