Happy 8th Month, Daniel!

What a great picture, if I do say so myself! I love how expressive Daniel is when we take his pictures and how happy he is. It's such fun to make him smile and laugh! And he hasn't done much of either this week- it's been a rough week. I believe last weekend's travels, the teething, and the rocking (getting ready for crawling??! I think so!) are finally catching up with him. He has just been so tired and yet not sleeping well. Daniel has been yawning so much and rubbing his eyes and he gets fussy and I know he's tired, he knows he's tired, but he just doesn't want to sleep long enough to feel well-rested and happy. I always know when he's well-rested and ready to be up and about after his nighttime sleep and even naps because he wakes up so HAPPY (unlike his mommy! I take much longer to wake up!)- thumping his legs on the mattress, arms flying, and all smiles and so happy to see us...we haven't had that much this week. I know this too shall pass...we're getting through it. And he does have his happy moments. It's funny because even when he's fussy we can almost always still get him to laugh- usually with tickles! The video in the previous post was taken yesterday when he actually felt more like playing with his toys and was a little more social.

So, 8 months... gosh, what news do I have? I can tell you how much my boy loves being outside. He likes to look around and I think he likes the wind blowing his hair- which is too funny. It's been great to get out and get some fresh air. I take him shopping and wear him in the Baby Bjorn carrier and he's such a great sport. It's so fun. He always has smiles and his legs are pretty much constantly going. People always stop us and admire my cutie! He LOVES that attention...eats it up! Hope you got to see the video in the post below...that's Daniel's latest trick. He's getting stronger and stronger each day. He isn't quite able to move forward or backward on his own yet, but rolls like crazy and can turn and adjust his position with rolls, especially when he wants to get a particular toy. Just this week, I've also noticed him starting to reach up on the storage totes we use for his toys- actually today he managed to pull it down towards him so he could look in it AND he pulled out a toy! WOW! I've also seen Daniel grab the edge of the area rug in our family room and use it for leverage to pull himself forward- he can just barely move forward this way. He's done this a couple times, just this week for the first time. That's a pretty neat trick, Daniel! How clever he is. Something new almost each day.

Daniel has two teeth now. You can just see them in the Mickey photo if you click it and make it bigger. They are more visible in person when Daniel smiles and laughs. Our food adventures are, well, adventures. It varies day to day, more so this week with all the fussiness. Bananas seemed to be good. We're trying oatmeal now. I'm still a little worried, but trying to take it easy. The doctor had said we should aim for three meals a day by 9 months- that's 4 weeks away and we're barely doing one meal! But we'll keep at it. He takes his vitamins SO well. And last week, we had him on an antibiotic to fight a rash on his knees (a rash we fought pretty much all winter, a bit of "winter eczema" according to the doctor) that was a bit infected and the doctor wanted to clear it up (we also had a prescription ointment; I'm happy to say his knees look GREAT now!)...anyway we had to give Daniel the medicine with the syringe and he did GREAT with that too. We keep saying perhaps we should feed him with the syringe- haha! We won't of course. Daniel just doesn't enjoy food yet...but still loves the snuggle time with mommy for breastfeeding and that's most important. And I LOVE that time. It's hard to think about stopping in 4 months (I want to breastfeed till he's one)...because I do love that time. There'll be plenty of other moments after that, I know.

Funny thing of the week...Daniel is starting to notice more of his body lately. First the hand waving and wrist twisting a couple weeks ago, and now he's taken to grabbing at his belly- especially in the bath tub. It's cute to see him stare down at his belly- I just wonder what he's thinking!

Well, do look at the 8 month Mickey Outtakes below- although they're hardly bloopers! There were just so many to choose from (perhaps I need to stop taking so many- although I do have to say my favorite was one of the last ones I took!) and he looks so cute in all of them, I think...even when he takes a dive into Mickey! So I had to share them...enjoy!

Rock On!

Check out Daniel rocking! He's really been practicing and this was a good one! I noticed Daniel first trying late last week, but he's been doing it a lot more this week. Daniel will just be sitting there and then will see a toy and reach out for it and that's when he does the rocking. It's cute because he's kind of still sitting when he does it, but his arms are out in prime position for crawling. And usually he falls over after he rocks and then proceeds to play or roll on the floor, but he actually didn't fall when I took this video. He just sat back up and kept playing. Good job, Daniel! My boy is getting so strong!

Daniel's 1st Trip to Upper Peninsula Michigan

Our U.P. Michigan Trip

Happy Memorial Day everybody! We spent our long weekend enjoying a trip "Up North" to Crystal Falls, Michigan (in the Upper Peninsula), where Daniel met his Great-Grandma Ann. Daniel, Ben and I rode along with Ben's parents and Daniel was a GREAT traveler. He slept most of the way up (and the way back home, too) and was a pretty good sport during the times he was awake- we just kept giving him toys and making raspberries with him (something he's really started up again!) to entertain him till we got there. Daniel met a lot of Ben's family- it was so great that we all came up for the same long weekend and they could all meet Daniel. He was such a good sport about being in all the new places and seeing all the new faces...I'm SO proud of him. Daniel was such a happy baby the whole time- soaking up all that attention, showing off his toothy smiles, rolling all over, and even being passed around quite a lot. We brought along some of his toys thinking he'd need them to keep occupied- but he was perfectly happy to just roll around and play with plastic cups and enjoy watching all the people. He even met another baby- his 2nd cousin Wilson, who is two months younger- and enjoyed watching Wilson bounce. We took a few walks and enjoyed the fresh air, too. The weather was beautiful the whole weekend. We're just so glad we got to visit Grandma Ann and see so many other family members,too, and we really enjoyed our weekend getaway. Click the picture above to enjoy photos from our weekend!

Daniel "Sings" For You!

This video is TOO cute! You had to see it! Daniel is so expressive and it really seems like he's singing along with the lion! Enjoy!

More Fun with Daniel!

Here's another montage of silly pictures and videos of Daniel. The first video was taken almost a month ago when the "bababababa" was new- it's too funny. You had to see it!! Daniel's on his changing pad, by the way, and this was taken after a bath not too long before bedtime. Oh and he squirms like crazy when he's on the changing pad now! Check out how Daniel uses his hands and feet to play with toys- so silly- I call him my little monkey when he does that. And I love the sweet pictures of him studying the book and you can almost "see" him moving his hands on the furry kitty! The next picture is Daniel's latest thing- at least it was last week- his tongue was always hanging out, even when he didn't have a toy in his hand! Courtesy of the teething I'm sure. Last night we were having fun putting the cups on Daniel's head and I would say "boom" when it fell off and he would just crack up- it was so much fun! Got some cute pictures of that. And the other video was taken today of him laughing at "knocking" over my tower and me saying boom again- the hat thing was apparently old today already, but the block tower falling was the hit of the day!

Other news...
Daniel's been really sleepy lately- taking GREAT naps and many naps. He must be growing! And I think this is how he's getting through teething, too. The last few nighttimes however, he's been waking up at least once- we're not sure what that's about. We'll get through it. No complaints!

We took a break from solid foods for a while because Daniel was clearly not interested and not really liking it and it was just getting frustrating for all of us. We started again yesterday, with just bananas. He did pretty well. It looked like he was actually swallowing it this time (he wasn't doing this so much before- most of the food just dribbled right back out!). We'll see how that goes. Maybe we'll try rice cereal again later or maybe even baby oatmeal. I also have some apples, too. We're just trying to relax and follow Daniel's cues- he'll get there, I'm sure. We'll keep you posted!

Silly thing of the week...Daniel is now trying to conquer the bathtub- by mouth! He loves splashing the water and will even taste it. Last night, he was trying to eat the plastic bump in the middle that keeps him from sliding. It was too funny! I tried to get pictures, but he's so fast. You can just see him studying the bump and then he leans over and tries to get it in his mouth and of course promptly sits up again as his face has just been practically dunked in water. He gets such cute expressions on his face! It's funny, but it does make me nervous as he gets his face in the water- though it's not like he can get that far. And of course we're right there! Bath time is such fun now!

Hope you enjoyed all the random, newsy posts today!

Salsa Babies

Getting some salsa action!

I've said it before...and it's still true- Daniel has fun at Salsa Babies!

The Salsa Mamas & our Babies...That's Alex- our instructor, Daniel & me, Anne & 7 month old Carly, Corinne & 5 month old June. Aren't the babies so cute looking at each other?!

Group shot of the babies! There's Carly, June, & Daniel. Last week I tried Daniel on his blanket during our cool down stretches and he rolled all over the place!! He was quite interested in what was going on and where he could go- which is great, but it was pretty distracting, so I went back to having Daniel in his car seat at the end this time. June's not quite rolling over, so she's still on her blanket this time. We have one more week left and we'll see if we continue. We had a lot of fun!

It's Coming....

OK- weird picture, BUT, if you look real close (click the picture to make it even bigger), you can see Daniel's teeth (yes, TWO teeth!!) coming! The one on the right as we look at Daniel's mouth is actually in more- it's quite sharp. The left tooth is just underneath the gums- we can't feel it just yet, but you can see it's "shadow." And actually, this picture was taken just yesterday and I think today we can see it even more, but I haven't gotten a good shot yet- this is the closest I've gotten and I've been trying for quite some time! Can't believe my little guy is getting teeth! It will be so cute when we can actually see them more, won't it?!

Daniel and His Rubber Ducky

Here's a slideshow with pictures of Daniel playing with his rubber ducks. I was playing around with a new website tonight and having fun! Also check out the new gimmick to the left that shows how old Daniel is! How fun!

A New Trick...

Watch Daniel's hands very carefully...



Daniel's newest "trick" is opening and closing his hands like he's "waving." It's SO cute! He did it for the first time last night right before bedtime and I just loved it. He did it quite a bit today, with toys in his hand and with no toys. You can see in the video how he's really thinking about it. He was also moving his wrist today, too. It's so cute to see him experimenting with and realizing he has a new way to move. Oh...and one other note...he's doing this with his left hand. (I'm a lefty and we've often noticed Daniel doing things with his left side first- for example he sucks only his left thumb, he rolled over to his left first...hmmm...will he be a lefty?!!) Obviously this "wave" has no meaning just yet...it's just him learning what he can do right now. Can't wait till it's really a wave...won't that be so cute?!

Happy Mother's Day! (Daniel wore his cute mommy outfit today in honor of Mother's Day!)

Now Who Does Daniel Look Like??

A while (a long while) back I posted a picture of the three of us (Mommy, Daniel, Daddy) as babies using a newborn picture of Daniel. Well now we just had Daniel's portraits done a little over a week ago, so now that we have a "tummy" portrait of Daniel to match mommy's and daddy's pictures, I put that in with our pictures this time. So...who does he look like? I still think Daniel just looks like Daniel! He's such a happy baby!

By the way, the portraits that were taken were GREAT- if I do say so myself!!! Daniel did such a great job. We had an awesome photographer who really captured Daniel's happy and cute faces and expressions. Daniel was such a good sport! We are really thrilled with how the pictures all turned out. It was a perfect photo session!

Go White Sox!

In honor of tonight's home game for the White Sox...

brbgnyhhh tcftgftrfvyvf nbhuh

Okay, well, Daniel doesn't know how to type yet but he says, "Go White Sox!"

Enjoy Daniel's spirit wear and pics!

Bath Time Fun

Bath time is LOTS of fun for Daniel now! I thought I'd share these pictures and the video. The two big pictures are from last night's bath. The little ones inside the top one are from other bath times and I thought it would be cute to try a mini-collage. Daniel loves his duck- check out the fun black and white mini picture with his yellow duck. And now Daniel loves splashing- check out the middle mini picture for an action shot! And the bottom mini picture shows a quiet moment- and there aren't many- in the bath tub while Daniel sucks his fingers for all of two seconds! And I love the top big picture- he's so happy! (We joked that anytime he's fussy we should just throw him in the bath- that's how happy he is there!!!) The bottom picture is included because you can just see his tongue sticking out of his mouth- last night he got a kick out of splashing and then trying to taste the water; it was pretty cute so we tried to get a tongue shot! The video is from a couple weeks ago- he's actually usually splashing much more, but you can see him splashing a little in this video. He also sighs in the middle of the video, which is too cute, and then at the end, decides that the side of the tub is rather interesting! Or perhaps he's trying to get out!

Daniel Wiggles!

Daniel has really been working those legs since I last posted! These pictures were taken last Friday. He gets one knee up like the bottom picture and then usually turns it into a roll after a little wiggling about. He can't quite go forward yet...but he's sure reaching for toys and turning on his belly and working those arms and legs. The top picture was taken a split second after he actually managed to get up on his toes on both feet with his butt in the air- it was pretty cute! You can see the foot kicking out afterwards. He hasn't done that again since and like I said, my picture was a split second too late...but I'm sure we'll see more of that again soon! So that's our fun news for this week. We're enjoying the GREAT weather we've had lately and getting outside much more, which is so nice. Daniel enjoys the fresh air and looking around outside- it's fun! He so curious and quite chatty lately.

7 Months Old!

Today Daniel is 7 months old. And a happy 7 month old he is! I had a hard time picking just one Mickey picture today...Ben says it's like going to the eye doctor the way I make him help me pick- this one or that one?! So I have two to share here with Mickey. I put the top one on the Picasa Mickey album, too. The bottom one of just his face is a zoomed-in picture of one of the many other Mickey pictures- it's here because if you click it and make it big, you can get a glimpse (our first photo glimpse!) of the tooth that's coming in!!!! You'll see a small white "dot" on the right side of his bottom gum as we look at it. It's been like that for a week...we'll keep you posted!

So Daniel's able to sit on his own very well now. Last week I mentioned that Daniel turned on his belly for the first time and he's done that many more times now, especially when he sees a toy he might want. The other day I watched as he was on his belly and reached & reached & reached for a toy that was just out of reach- it was just so cute to see him try and try again...and that's what will get him crawling (though we're in no hurry for that- he's cute as he is!). He didn't get frustrated either, which was good and he eventually moved on to a toy that he could get to. Daniel is still content to play on his back or roll over often, too, but he does like sitting. We're discovering new toys and it's been fun to watch him get stronger and play with new things.

Daniel enjoys his exersaucer a lot now. It has lots of things to play with and plays a lot of music too. I always said it was ten times bigger than he is and I'll never forget when we first put him in it! Now, he can reach most things and like everything else, tries to get it all in his mouth. He'll get mad at it if he can't get it in his mouth, though, so then he's done. Today he was trying to reach the dangling toys for the first time and it was so cute to see him try and he can just reach them, but again, he got frustrated so we took him out and my goodness he was just determined after that and kept looking at the dangling toys and reaching for them when he wasn't even near it! Anyway, I just love that he's making new discoveries and seeing all the new things he can do.

Daniel eats rice cereal now for dinner- we've been working on that for a couple weeks now. I wouldn't say he loves it, though some nights are better than others and he'll eat more. We gave him peaches for the first time Sunday night. That was hilarious! He got such a face- it was all scrunched up and he did this shuddering thing. Too funny! We kept trying...we still get funny faces. I can't even imagine what he's thinking about all this! We'll try bananas next! Perhaps he'll like those better. We'll see.

The other thing that's new lately are all the sounds Daniel makes now. And the way he's thinking and sighing as if he's getting ready to say something. It's too cute. He makes a great "bababababa" sound and a small "pa" and very occasionally a "ma." He moves his mouth a lot and you can see him trying to do new things with it and make new sounds. I think it's great fun to watch.

It's sure been fun to see him do new things this month. We survived his first cold, back in the first week of April. He handled the cold better than his mom and dad handled theirs- it really didn't seem to faze him much. Good. We're working on the food adventures and the naps in the crib. He still sleeps pretty well at night, too. And goes to bed early which is great! Bath time is a hoot now- he really kicks a lot and now since he can sit up, he splashes with his hands a lot, too. It's such fun to watch him. I'm often quite wet afterwards because he splashes so much! He likes to play with his pirate rubber ducky and his keys in the bath. After we're done washing him up, we let him just splash around and he has such fun!

My mother said the other day, he's closer to being one than he is to being a newborn, which was wild to think about...and though I miss the quiet early days with the teeny baby he was, I'm loving the adventuresome happy fun little boy he's becoming! We'll see how I feel about that when he's crawling...(though I am excited for that too!)

Well, that's it for now. Portraits are getting taken tomorrow- I can't wait!
Enjoy this month's Mickey pictures!

Adventures in Baby Sitting: Videos

Check out those arms going!




This time Daniel's playing with his keys!

These videos were taken last Friday, April 17th...Daniel's even stronger now! Enjoy!

Adventures in Baby Sitting!

Adventures in Baby Sitting

It's been a week now since Daniel first sat up...and he's sitting SO well now! It didn't take long and he got stronger each time. He can look up while sitting now, even turns his head, plays with toys and reaches for different toys. Daniel can sit for quite a while now, too. I'm still fairly close, and he does fall back or flop forward occasionally if I don't catch him in time and he survives though he doesn't like it much. His new thing (and I LOVE this!) is that when he's done with sitting and playing, he kind of reaches for me or flops in my lap. He just sort of turns toward me with his arms out...it's so sweet. Of course I pick him up and hug him and snuggle!

So he'd much rather sit now, though he still has time on back and tummy and rolling over and all. I've been getting out a few "sitting up" toys lately, too. Notice the bucket (it's a shape sorter- we're not quite doing that yet, but he loves the bucket) and the piano. It's been fun to watch Daniel get stronger each day and play with some new toys, too.

Another first for Daniel...today he rotated his body while on his tummy! He turns very well while on his back all the time and can even roll with a curve (though not yet with much of a purpose or actual goal), but today was the first time I'd seen him turn while on his belly. He actually went a full 180 by the time he was done and decided to roll over. It was such fun to see! I can just see the crawling...

Oh...and a tooth may be on the way. As first time parents, we have no idea what we're looking for BUT there is a small white spot on his lower gum. Hmm...could it be?? We kind of like his gummy smile, so we're okay with no teeth and in no hurry...but I know the first couple teeth will be just as cute! I'll keep you posted!

Daniel also went "exercising" with Mommy today. We started our "Salsa Babies" class. It was fun. It's exercise with a salsa/latin beat and similar steps to salsa dancing (which I'm familiar with because of doing Ballroom Dancing lessons with Ben for years). Anyway, he LOVED it. He was very chatty and excited and really kicking his legs. I've always said he likes music and he enjoys the baby bjorn and all the movement we do. 'Course he could have been chatty because he was in a class with all girl babies! Lucky guy!

Well, enjoy the pictures of my little guy sitting up!

Sitting Up!

We're getting there! Daniel's really getting stronger and better at sitting up on his own- really just the last two days. He's still very wobbly and can really mostly sit up if there's a toy there for him to lean on or play with. Of course I'm RIGHT THERE for now... Ben took this picture today while I was "spotting" Daniel. (I'm just off the edge of the picture- barely an inch away!) Daniel also still has to really focus on what he's doing to balance himself, so the toy helps with that too. He lasts about 5 seconds, then needs spotting and then can keep going. Ben called out to Daniel to get him to look at the camera while he was sitting up and Daniel fell over when he looked up (well, I caught him)- he's not that strong and good at it yet! Anyway, I'm the proud mama...just a week ago I was worried that he wasn't sitting this well just yet and here we are. It's such fun to see him making progress and getting stronger!

He sure has the wiggles lately and I just know he wants to be more independent with sitting and actually doing things and going places and he wants to be a part of everything- I keep saying it will be a long couple months till he can crawl because he's certainly raring to go. I'm sure he's going through so much, too, and trying to process it all...don't you just wonder what he's thinking?!

Thank You Grandma Cheryl for Ella the Elephant (the toy Daniel's playing with in the picture)! He sure likes it! :)

Happy Easter!

Daniel enjoys his new Easter goodies from Grandma Cheryl. Thank you, Grandma Cheryl!


Daniel checks out his Easter socks. Isn't this just the sweetest picture?!


Daniel poses for his first time with Grandma Mary Kay's annual Bunny Cake...and in his quest to grab and get everything in his mouth, even scored some frosting! (which Mommy promptly wiped off! Next year Daniel can have some!)


Daniel reaches for the Easter egg...


And he got it!! Check out that Happy Easter smile!


Happy Easter to all of you! Enjoy!
Love,
Allison, Ben, and Daniel

Daniel's Culinary Adventure

Daniel practices for his 1st meal!

Getting strapped in for the big adventure!

Daniel contemplates his new experience...

And decides to help Mommy!


We did it! After Daniel practiced this afternoon (merely playing with a spoon and the bowl and having a ball!), we decided to give it a go! The menu: rice cereal, the chef: Daddy, the server: Mommy. Daniel did pretty well and even helped Mommy with the spoon. He seemed to think it tasted fine...not too much spitting up, more just still drooling. And so we all survived! We'll do it again tomorrow! And of course, as we try other foods, we'll keep you posted!

Doctor Update

Here's a cute picture we took during Daniel's bath the other night. Daniel likes having toys to play with in the bath and will happily lay there and chomp them, even after we're all done! And when he drops them, boy is he determined to get it back!

Yesterday was Daniel's 6 month well-visit with the doctor. He's doing great! Daniel weighs 14 lbs 14 oz and he is 25 inches long. Just a little bigger than the last visit...but he looks great. The doctor is very pleased with how well he is doing size-wise and milestone-wise. Daniel did GREAT with his shots. Cried for about 30 seconds and that was it! That's my tough guy! Actually it was pretty funny- he was crying, I was hugging him, the nurses cleaned up and said good-bye to him on their way out the door and Daniel gave them a big smile and a half-laugh in the midst of his tears and then went back to crying for a few more seconds. It was pretty cute- he didn't know whether to laugh or cry! And last night he fell asleep around 7:30 and never needed Tylenol and then he slept through the night. He's just so great!

Up next...solid food! (which has us both nervous and excited!) We also have to really work on childproofing the house...we've kind of started, but we still have lots more to do!

Daniel is sleeping great in his crib at night now. We're thrilled! On the other hand, last Friday night I noticed that Daniel was quite congested and has a runny nose. He's drooling like CRAZY. But he's otherwise as happy as can be and has still been sleeping great. At first we thought he might have a cold, but he may be teething too- the doctor was not worried. No breaks in the gum yet...I'll keep you posted. But now Mommy and Daddy both have colds! (Ben NEVER gets sick and I haven't gotten a cold since I stopped teaching- so 6 months! So this has thrown us!) So here's hoping we all get better very soon!

We'll keep you posted on how the solids go!