On top of the World!

Colorado 2009

Hello again! 

We just got back from a week-long vacation out to Colorado Springs, CO. We took two days to drive out there, spent three days there, and then two days driving home. And once again, our little guy was a GREAT traveler! Daniel slept very well in the car driving out there and back, and played nicely when he was awake, fussing only a little- usually just before we got to our hotel, protesting having been in his car seat ALL those hours! Understandable! Really, he was so good the whole trip. We stayed with my Great-Aunt Cletis, Daniel's Great-Great Aunt! My family was there, too, so Daniel had other familiar faces to see and that was nice. 

Saturday we had a wedding to attend for a dear friend of my family's. Daniel's 1st wedding! Actually, he was pretty tired the whole time and so serious. It was pretty sunny and quite warm. He and Daddy found some shade during the ceremony and that helped. Daniel fell asleep just after the ceremony was over, in Daddy's arms. That was pretty funny, as he looked like he was going to fall over- you can see the pics in the album. Daniel was a good sport for the reception, too. He enjoyed playing with the tablecloth...That was pretty entertaining for a while! After the reception, we went back to my aunt's house and we enjoyed a walk on the park trails behind her house. Daniel got his kick and play time and we were all pretty tired by nighttime. Daniel slept okay during the trip- no different than at home really, up every few hours, which I'm getting used to again, much to my chagrin. We have a good night every now and then and I certainly didn't expect anything different for the trip- but he did pretty well, considering! 

Sunday, my family headed back home and we three stayed for a little sightseeing. We met up with Ben's cousin, Mike and his family- wife Joye, and three kids Micah, Isaac, and Adam. They took us up to the top of Pike's Peak via the Cog Rail. Daniel was sure king of the mountain and on top of the world! It was a lot of fun! And very COLD! Daniel was great the whole time. We had him in the baby carrier and he enjoyed playing with the plastic hooks- that entertained him quite endlessly! The cog rail trip was a little over an hour each way, up and down, and we got a half hour or so at the top, which was fine since it was so cold. There's a shop up there and a cafe (we tasted some of those famous donuts!) and of course places to look out over the mountaintop. It had snowed there earlier that week so it was very icy and still very cold, so we didn't spend too much time outside. Just enough to snap some pics and peek at the beautiful scenery and then get back in to warm up. After that cog rail trip, we all had dinner at the Stagecoach Inn down the road from the depot. Daniel was passed around and walked around and quite happy and a good sport. What a fun day! Thanks Mike & Joye! 

Monday, we went to the Cave of the Winds and took a tour through the cave, which was pretty neat. I love caves- I think they're so neat and just amazing. That was a fun way to spend our morning. And of course the mountain scenery was so beautiful and made for some great photos! We had lunch back at my aunt's house and her son, David, and granddaughter, Amy, stopped by for a chat- it was nice to see them. Then my aunt came with us to the Garden of the Gods. We drove around there, climbed the rocks, took some walks, and enjoyed the amazing red rocks that just literally pop up in the middle of Colorado Springs. They really are neat and we could have walked around for hours! We got some neat photos there, too. 

Tuesday and Wednesday we headed back home, taking a different route so that we could stop in St. Louis and see the Gateway Arch there. We enjoyed taking the time to stop and see that. We went up to the top and saw some views of the city. And then we headed back on the road again, stopping in Bloomington, IL to gobble up the best pizza at Tobin's Pizza- Mommy's college haunt! I have to say it was different being there with a baby this time, after all those years of eating there while in college. It was a nice feeling, taking my family there. And had we not just been in the car almost 15 hours for those two days, we probably would have taken a walk around Illinois Wesleyan's campus, too- so much has changed there and I would have enjoyed walking around, but we were tired and really ready to be home. Perhaps another time! 

And so, now we're home. Daniel's been doing pretty well adjusting back to being home- taking good naps and sleeping fairly well at night- back to almost 5 hour stretches, and once even an 8 hour stretch. We shall see how the next week goes. We've just been taking it easy these days. We'll try foods again and see how that goes. I've been doing some reading and have some ideas to try. But, in the end, Daniel's doing well and we're not too worried. 

I do think Daniel might have some upper teeth coming in, though it's hard to tell. I keep trying to look. Will keep you posted!   

NEW things for the week: 

Daniel now shakes his head, nods his head, and does what we call the chicken- jerking his head forward and back. It's all so cute! 

Daniel is really working on crawling and moving forward. Just before we left, for the first time, we noticed that he'd stretch and reach for a toy, and then do what I call a "baby push up" where he pushes up with his arms and with his feet (much like we would do a push up) and then he can move forward just a very little bit, but that's how he does it for now. And he's done that several times, even during the trip. It's fun to watch him thinking and figuring things out. And I'm sure he'll figure it out even more pretty soon. No hurry though, Daniel! 

Enjoy the photos from our trip! There's a little of everything there. Even Daniel's 1st time in the grass! We were at a rest stop in Iowa, eating our picnic lunch and decided to give Daniel some time to move around on the ground. We'd put a blanket down and eventually Daniel reached out and touched the grass- and immediately clenched his fist up. You could just see him thinking and not really knowing what to make of the grass- he didn't like it much! He even got so his legs were in the grass at one point and he tried to lift his legs up so they weren't touching the grass- that was pretty funny. 

Also, check out video below- we all learned something new one day while in Colorado- we heard a fox's "bark" and I managed to get a video of it. It's pretty cool. We never knew what a fox sounded like and how wild to hear it for the first time on our trip. Well, just thought I'd share the snippet! 

 

 

Grass + A Car Seat Break!

We're here! Hello, Colorado!

Enjoying our time with Great Great Aunt Cletis! Aunt Christina, Grandma Cheryl, and Grandpa Gary are here, too!

Ooh- a fox! Very cool!

Wedding Day! Daniel looked so dapper!! He was such a good boy, too!

Pikes Peak trip with Daddy's cousin Mike and his family!

Joye sent me these sweet pictures. :) 

The next day, we went to the Cave of the Winds in the morning. I love caves and this was a cool place. We got some of my favorite pictures of Daniel on this outing, too.

 Back to Aunt Cletis's house for a break!

Later in the afternoon, we went to the Garden of the Gods with Aunt Cletis! I love Garden of the Gods- this place is awesome!

Ready to head home. Goodbye, Cletis- thank you for having us to stay!!

We stopped to the see the Gateway Arch in St. Louis on the way home! So fun to take Daniel up to the top!!

An old college haunt of Mommy's- Tobin's Pizza in Bloomington! Fun to take Daniel there, too. Who would have known back then that I'd go there again someday with kids?!

And that's all our news! Bye for now!

A Busy Weekend!

Friday- After posing for all the Mickey pictures and an outing to the mall with Mommy, Daniel checks out his toys in the red bin, then reaches in and grabs one! Friday was the first time he'd actually pulled it down enough to look into! How strong he is! Now he's very interested in the red bin.

My family came over Friday night for dinner, and entertainment by Daniel- he was quite the center of attention and didn't mind it a bit! I love how Uncle Brian and Daniel are looking at each other- so sweet.

Daniel likes Aunt Christina's hair- she has a lot more to pull on than mommy!

Daniel checks out Aunt Christina's new car. Nice car, Aunt Christina!

Saturday- This is about as interested as Daniel ever gets in his food, but we keep trying. This was applesauce by the way- his first tasting of this and he loved it as much as he loves everything else- not so much! Ben decided to just let Daniel play since he might actually get more applesauce in his mouth this way! Check out the messy face in the second picture and check out that serious face!

Sunday- Mommy and Daddy went to a soccer game and Daniel got to go to Grandma Mary Kay's house. They took walks, played, and sat in the front porch swing. Apparently, he was happy as long as he was outside (otherwise he missed us!)- we did say he loved to be outside. We got home to find a surprise picture in my email- check out my cutie riding that horse! Daniel didn't tell us about that. :) Grandma says- what happens at grandma's stays at grandma's! Thanks for the adorable picture, Grandma!

Daniel wore a special shirt just for Grandma today- it says Everything's better at Grandma's! Grandma Cheryl- Daniel will wear this for you sometime, too! We took this picture when we got home and I had to post it because you can really see his two front teeth! Click the picture to make it bigger.

So that's our busy weekend and that's not even the half of it- Daniel went to the mall with Mommy, took walks with Daddy, had baths, and ran errands with us. He was so good ALL weekend! He is such a good sport. That's my guy!

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.