Tip-Tip

Daniel loves to tip-tip the plants! (Aka: water the plants) Daniel used his new watering can from Grandma Cheryl to help water our flowers today. All he asks for these days is the tip-tip, the watering can, so he can help us with our plants! We're so glad to have a good little helper, even if we're in & out every 10 seconds to get more water. Must find quicker system for refills! Daniel was even good about watering a different flower plant each time today, too. He catches on quickly!



Here's a video! Listen carefully and you'll hear him say "tip"!!

Daniel's 1st Car Wash

Daniel washed cars for the first time today. He loved it! It was the perfect thing to do with the super warm weather we're having today. Of course Daniel was soaked within minutes- but he didn't mind at all. I think his favorite part was dumping the water out at the end. And spraying the water. And playing with the sponge. And splashing the sponge in the bucket. But mostly he wanted to tip the bucket. He waited very nicely for that. And then he wanted to do it again. It was harder to wait then, but we had to wash the red car too- so he helped some more and you can bet he stuck around for the moment Daddy said we could tip the water again.

Daniel only tasted the sponge a couple times. And he tried to wash the driveway with the sponge a couple times too. Other than that, he did great and it was such fun to watch him. He enjoyed helping to hold the nozzle to spray the water and I loved how he snuggled into my arms to do so! He was so cute about washing the car- he'd get the sponge super soaked (like dripping all over soaked) and then he'd carry it over to the car and place it gently on the car once, maybe making a teensy small swipe, and then he'd go back to the bucket to do it all over again. Daniel finally did get the idea of pushing the sponge all over toward the end. He just really loved being around Daddy and helping with whatever Daddy was doing. But he wasn't too keen on helping to dry the car- playing with the water was much more fun. I agree.

We'll have to get our new pool out sometime soon to really have fun with water!

Daniel checks out his soaked clothes!

Love the expression on Daniel's face- he's clapping and clapping and so excited!

Daniel tries to wash the car with the nozzle...
I loved his perception of how he thought
he had to put the nozzle on the car to use it.

Sitting and watching Mommy hose the car down!

And now for some videos!

Daniel helps spray the water. Notice how he waves his arm side to side to help, too!

Daniel washes the car...and the driveway! You can hear him say vroom, vroom, too. And notice he's finally caught on to swiping the sponge!



One last swipe with the sponge and a big splash in the bucket!

Mickey Came to Town!

Mickey Mouse came to town tonight...all the way from Florida, would you believe it?! No, seriously... the local Radio Disney station hosted a Family Night at our local outdoor mall, complete with appearances by Mickey and Minnie. We (well, I) waited in line quite a loooong time (let's just say we got there after dinner and we were there past Daniel's usual bedtime!), but it was a fun night out! Daniel was very patient and such a good boy as always. He had fun strolling around with Daddy checking out the car show and the music; then they met back up with me in the line where Daniel got a chance to get out of the stroller and dance to the music and run around in the (blocked) street, which he loved. Finally, it was our turn to meet Mickey. Daniel walked right up to Mickey, gave him five, posed for a quick picture in Mickey's arms, and then tried to take off after the more interesting balloons! At least we know where Mickey stands... What a fun night!

Run, run, runnin' in the street!

Daniel waits (he calls it "way") patiently for his turn...We're finally up next!

I've taught Daniel to hold his hands while he waits, more as a cue than anything else. Of course, he only does it for about ten seconds and then he's movin' on, but I think he gets the concept a little, if only briefly. He even initiates the hand holding on his own when I remind him he has to wait. It's so cute. He tries so hard.

Daniel waves "hi" to the Radio Disney gal directing the front of the line...
Check out his "Disney fan" shirt- complete with a tie!

Daniel walks straight up to Mickey!

What a great picture!
Thanks for coming to town, Mickey!

Daniel's Latest Discovery

Daniel's latest discovery...his shadow!! This afternoon, I noticed that Daniel was running and looking down at the ground...it took me a minute, but I figured out that he was watching his shadow. He'd run at it and run next to it, watching his shadow the whole time. Gotta wonder what he thought of it!

Cool Dude

Couldn't resist sharing these adorable, silly pictures of our little guy! Apparently, this is how the cool kids wear their hats these days- down over the eyes! On our way out the door to run an errand to Trader Joe's, Daniel insisted he wear his hat, and he actually kept it on for quite some time while in the car, and when we got home, we put it back on at his request...the funny part- each time we put it on, he'd "fix" it by pulling it down over his eyes. He even walked around with his hat this way, too- can he even see?? Silly boy! Snapped these adorable pics of Daniel drinking his water and you can tell how he's got the hat over his eyes. (And he's still got his sweatshirt on from our errands- he wouldn't take it off at first- there's that NO for you!) Oh and don't you love how he crosses his feet while he's sitting! (He does this when he's in his highchair, too! I love it.) Enjoy the cuteness below!

Growing Up

The past two weeks we have seen Daniel do a lot of "growing up" with many small successes...it's all about the baby steps and we celebrate each one!

One major success is that Daniel is very gentle with the cats now and likes to "peh" (pet) them. I have to say having neighbors and a grandparent with dogs has given Daniel great practice with petting. Our cat, Jack, has always been the more tolerant of the two cats to Daniel's antics, so Daniel gets lots of petting practice with Jack. I turned around the other day to see Daniel quietly climbing onto the sofa (a rare occasion) and quietly (who is this kid?) petting Jack- snapped that picture quick! Zoey is still very skittish and needs my reassuring presence for Daniel to even go near her- mostly she just runs away before he even comes close to her. She'll come around some day, when Daniel is even more calm and quieter (that will happen right?!). Anyway, we're thrilled that this day has come! (Oh- and he pets his stuffed animals, too!)


As with nail clipping, toothbrushing is not an easy task to achieve with my little guy. Our doctor reassured us that we could put just a *touch* of toothpaste on Daniel's toothbrush, so we tried that (a while back actually) and it's worked wonders! Daniel LOVES "pay" (paste) on his toothbrush and now willingly brushes his teeth. At first I did mine at the same time, too, so he gets the motion and the idea, but now he does pretty well all on his own. Yes, he walks around while he brushes and he does kinda chew on the brush a lot too, but hey, at least he's kinda sort of brushing his teeth. No more battles there!


I brought out the blocks Daniel got for Christmas again recently (they had been hiding, since I like to rotate our toys so they're *new* again) and was amazed to see how much Daniel has grown into these blocks now. When he first got them, the blocks were just frustrating and he had no idea really what to do with them, hence the hiding. Fast forward a few months and wow! Daniel loves to put them together and just last week has even started pretending with them and will actually make sound effects, too! So cute! Ben made the blocks into a spaceship, Daniel added his own touch to it as you can see him doing in the picture below. And then, all we said was that Daddy made a spaceship and Daniel started doing this whooosh sound while flying it around- he must have put that together from his spaceship book, which has different sounds for different spaceships. Smart guy. In the last picture you can't really tell, but Daniel is driving it around and making it go vvvv. I just think it's so cool that he's really grown into this toy and can actually put the blocks together and sort of play with them too. This is where the fun begins!



Other recent major successes have to do with Daniel's talking. He's finally starting to add ending sounds to more of his words- dump, tip, vroom, moom (moon), and so on. And we still can't keep up with Daniel's new words- there are truly several a day sometimes and often we're thinking- he remembers that word? He sure is attending to what we're saying and has a good memory. I'm also excited that Daniel is starting to say "moa" (more), while making the sign for more- this is great. And even better- we've had a few instances where Daniel says "please" with no prompting from us! This is so cool and I love that he's applying the word please in appropriate instances on his own. Learning manners already- I'm liking it.

One last sign of growing up we've come across lately- Daniel's newest, rather emphatic word- bet you can guess- NO! We knew the day would come and consider ourselves lucky that it didn't come until he was almost 19 1/2 months old. Alas, the word NO has become a favorite of Daniel's. It's not really a problem- yet- so we're doing fine; Daniel just likes to assert his independence and choices like all toddlers. Our little boy is growing up quickly!

All About the Dip

Daniel is all about the "dip dip" these days when he eats! He loves to dip his food in just about anything- ketchup, bbq sauce, mayonnaise, syrup, and so on. It's actually a great way to get him to finish his food once he slows down, not that he needs help in that department much these days. Daniel will really eat and try just about anything!

Daniel loves these yummy rosemary & basil chips I bought at a craft/gift show recently...especially when they're dipped in mayonnaise.

Fries are really yummy with ketchup, too!

Check out those messy faces courtesy of the dip dip!

A Great Visit from a Great-Aunt & Great-Uncle

Great-Aunt Kathy and Daniel

Daniel checks out Uncle Bob's sunglasses

Daniel and Great-Uncle Bob

Snuggly, silly fun with his new monkey!

My Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bob are in town visiting us and we couldn't be more thrilled for them to be here and see how our little boy has grown! Daniel is loving all the attention, too. They came to play on Friday and then we went to my mom's house to see them again today. Daniel has been very playful for them and talks all the time- it's great to see him be his usual happy self around people he doesn't see very often. Daniel loves the monkey they gave him, too- he is already best friends with this adorable monkey. Thank you for the monkey and many other fun goodies, Aunt Kathy!

Home Improvement

Daniel woke up, ate breakfast, and got dressed pretty fast
so he could go out and look at the trucks and tools!

They've just cut down one of the large bushes blocking our windows...
and you can't see it, but Daniel is asking for more, more, more!

Back inside, Daniel still watches the action from the window!

Daniel digs up the mulch- his new favorite activity!

A fun game...tossing the ball over the tree's supporting rope!

Daniel checks out a stick he found in the mulch

Ever resourceful, Daniel found these tubs inside the house
and brought them out to scoop and dump the mulch.

Totally adorable!

We had some landscaping put in last Monday and we love how it turned out! Daniel had tons of fun watching the guys work, looking at their trucks (it was the first thing he excitedly pointed out when he woke up that morning- truck, dump!) and tools and identifying them (rake, dump, truck, scoop, and so on). And of course now that they are all done, Daniel loves checking out the mulch and tossing his ball over the rope supporting the trees. We're so glad that our landscaping is entertaining Daniel! But really, we can't wait to watch our new plants bloom and grow over the years.

Happy Mother's Day!

I enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! Yesterday we went out to lunch with Grandma Cheryl, Grandpa Gary (it's his birthday, too!), Uncle Brian, and Aunt Christina. Daniel thoroughly enjoyed our lunch- he ate really well and he was delightful company as always. He looked totally handsome, too. We got compliments on how well behaved he was and how adorable he is. That's our little guy!

Later, Daniel and Daddy gave me flowers and Daniel loved checking them out. They're such beautiful roses, bright and yellow and happy- and they remind me of my little sunshine, Daniel.

We enjoyed more family time today just the three of us, with a yummy breakfast and fun playtime, and then a visit to Grandma Mary Kay and Grandpa Larry's house for dinner. It was nice to spend Mother's Day weekend relaxing with my guys and spending time with our families!