Playtime!

Check out these action shots! There's Daniel in his exersaucer playing with the rattle, hand in mid-air ready to roll it again! And today I shot this video of Daniel rolling over. Listen at the end for his sneeze and that cute little sound he makes afterwards! And on the rolling note, he was really rolling over like crazy today- back to stomach and stomach to back and often a few times in a row so that he was a few feet from where he started, too. Such fun to watch!

A Surprise Visit!

Daniel's Great-Grandpa Bob and Great-Grandma Pat and Great-Uncle Tim drove by the area today and stopped by with his grandparents for a surprise visit! It was fun for them to see how much he's grown since they saw him at Thanksgiving. He was a pretty happy baby when they were here- he showed them how he can roll over, played with his toys, sat with them, talked to them, and smiled. Thanks for stopping by- it was great to see you!

6 Months Old!

Daniel is 6 months old today! Half a year old- my goodness, seems like just yesterday when we first met him! I look back at those first pictures, and those first few months, and then I think of how much more we know about him and who he is and how much his personality and very presence has brightened our lives. We love those smiles and laughs and even his cries!

Last week he accomplished a great milestone in his development with rolling over. He rolls over quite often now- mostly when we're "not" looking. He's quite good at it now- he rolls over faster. Mostly from back to stomach, not so much the other way- though he has done it that way a couple times. He loves to stand up and look around. He enjoys playing with his feet and putting them in his mouth. Still loves music! And last night, he was in his exersaucer (aka: walker) and was turning himself around in it to play with the different toys- this was a first! He usually just stays where we put him, but this time he was all around in it! That was great! He had the most fun with the spinning rattle toy. No teeth yet...but he sure chomps on his fingers and toys. And EVERYTHING goes in his mouth!

Other big news...he's in his crib now at night! When we got back from Florida, we decided it was time to try to the crib at night- he'd been in the bassinet in our room until then- which I loved because he was nearby, I could sneak a peek at his cute sleep position, it was easy to feed him and all, so moving him to the crib was a big step for me. He's a big boy now! It's been going okay. We had a couple nights at first where he slept through the night, but mostly he's been waking up a couple times during the night so that's been an adjustment (he's been sleeping through the night since he was 3 months old). Hopefully we'll get over that soon! He's a good sport and tries so hard. Naps in the crib are only about a half hour, maybe an hour- still not so great. But we keep trying- and hopefully that will get better too. For now, we're pretty easygoing about it all and we roll with it!

Enjoy this month's Mickey picture...and we thought it would be cute to get some shots of Mickey doing tummy time with Daniel! Love the butt shot! And then Daniel decided he was interested in Mickey and knocked him over!

Daniel's 1st Vacation: Florida 2009

A few of my favorite pictures from our trip to Florida! Check out the slide show below, too! I've also put a link to our all of our albums on Picasa in the sidebar to the left.

So last week we went to Anna Maria Island, Florida with my parents and Christina. We rented a very nice condo there. Daniel was wonderful the whole trip! We drove (and practically took our entire house! Babies sure have lots of stuff and I don't think there was a thing we didn't use!) and he did so well in the car all that time and even slept well in the hotels on the way. We had beautiful weather the whole week- we're told we were very lucky for this early in the year. We sure loved every bit of the fresh air! My cousin Kim and her husband Steve visited us early in the week and then my Uncle Jeff and Aunt Melody and their kids visited later in the week- it was great for them all to meet Daniel! And Kristin and Erin were so cute with him.

We took lots of walks on the beach. Ben used the baby carrier and Daniel often fell asleep as we walked! It was pretty funny to see his legs flopping around! We did great with the sunscreen- Daniel never burned or even pink! Yay! (I was very worried about this- and slathered that sunscreen on like you wouldn't believe!) We strolled around the neighborhood, too. Daniel got to stand in the sand. He got to go in the pool. He looked too cute in his swimsuit! He wasn't sure what to make of the water- he tolerated it. Mostly just sucked his thumb for comfort! But it was fun to walk him around and the pool was heated so it was great- even I went in, which says a LOT!

Tuesday we went to Orlando to visit Aunt Wendy, see her place, and we even went to Disney World. Daniel met Mickey and Minnie- he did great! We took Daniel on THREE rides- It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean- and he was so good. He was so cute looking around on It's a Small World. And Aunt Wendy babysat him so mommy and daddy could go on the Space Mountain ride- thank you! We had fun. We also went and shopped around Downtown Disney, too. I scored some cute clothes for Daniel of course!

The rest of the week was spent relaxing at the beach, taking walks, and enjoying the fresh air and the visits from family. I really can't say enough what a good boy and a good sport Daniel was. I'm SO proud of him. He was so easygoing and relaxed and happy, in spite of the different environment and all the crazy things we did and all the people around. Daniel made traveling so nice and easy! Hope we can go back again someday! Though I know each time we travel, it will be different because he will be older and able to do more...so then, who knows?! But for the time, we couldn't have asked for anything to go better! It really was just perfect! So enjoyable!

Enjoy the pictures! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you!
We wish you lots of luck!
xoxo,
Ben, Allison and Daniel

We're Baaack and We're ROLLING!

We're back and blogging again! It feels like forever since I've blogged. :) We've just gotten back from taking Daniel on his 1st vacation- to the beach in Florida! More on that later... I've got fun news hot off the press! This just couldn't wait...

So we arrived home last night and Daniel is happy to be out of his car seat- finally! He's on the floor on his back playing, stretching, talking and I'm walking around cleaning and puttering as stuff from our trip has been dumped in my kitchen and family room, Ben's out getting dinner (our last dose of take out food for a long while hopefully!), and I look up to see Daniel's head bobbing around and- oh my gosh- he rolled over on his tummy!! (The first picture- he's getting close, and the second picture- taken the instant he rolled over!) I was soooo excited! YAY, Daniel! I'm not quite sure he knew what I was so excited about though- he just got really quiet as if to say "what did I do?". But it sure was fun! He did it again for daddy later- and for mommy to actually see, too. Today he's at it again and even rolling over from his tummy to his back, too. We knew it was bound to happen any day- last week while we were in Florida he was sure getting close to rolling over either way. We kept rolling him over to show him how...And now he's actually done it- several times. How fun that he did it on the day we got back home! Made coming home to cold weather more bearable!

Daniel is sure getting bigger and older. We feel like he's such a little boy now- and he's growing up so fast...and gosh if I feel like this now, how will it be when he crawls, walks, and all? He still has the whole world ahead of him! So much fun awaits him!

More on our trip to Florida as soon as I can get pics uploaded... We sure had a LOT of fun, great WARM weather, and Daniel was such a GOOD boy all week! What a wonderful trip!

Daniel's Latest Discovery: Feet!!!

Well, how's that for a fun new thing?! He turns 5 months old and he finds his feet! We knew he was close- he's grabbed his knees and he's gotten close to the ankle, but tonight he finally grabbed those feet! And he did it again and again! What fun! I just HAD to post on the blog again!

5 Months Old!

Daniel is 5 months old today! His newest thing this month is that he loves to "screech"- he sure enjoys experimenting with his voice and hearing all the sounds he can make. We feel like there should be times he can't "talk" because he screeches so much! But nothing stops him! Still not rolling over...but quite close. He can just get his legs almost over, but not quite his torso. He really loves his rattle and keys still- he can switch them from hand to hand very well and he will even pick the toys up from the floor if they're within reach next to him. The lion is still a big hit and sure to make him happy and smile anytime! Oh and he's starting to get ticklish, too- what fun! Enjoy my little cutie's newest Mickey picture!

Boys' Game Night!

The guys played their games last night. Daniel helped Daddy win the first game! He also watched Grandpa and Uncle Brian play. Someday he can play, too!

Time for the Awards! Will Daniel win??

Red Carpet Arrival!

Here comes Daniel, star of the hit blog "Daniel's Baby Steps!" He's ready for the awards. Will he win?

And the Award goes to....

And the award goes to...Daniel for Best Baby! Check out his acceptance speech! Of course he's a winner!

Blogger-star Daniel hits the After-Party!

Here's Daniel partying with his recent award for Best Baby! He's a happy winner!

Some Cute Photo Ops!

Daniel finally got to meet his Great Aunt Kathy this week! That made the week pretty special. He was so good for her- what a good sport! Not much else to report...but as always, here are some cute pictures! The middle picture is from Daniel's bath the other night. He managed to grab the washcloth from me at one point and of course immediately put it in his mouth (where everything goes these days!) and made quite a squishy sucking noise- it was pretty funny. So we decided to give him his keys and boy, did he hold on to those in his mouth the whole time- all through drying him even! It was too cute. And he's really okay with baths...but we thought we'd give this a try and it kept him occupied. Time for some bath toys perhaps...

Check out the captions on the pics...something new I learned today!

Valentine's Pictures

Here are some of the pictures from the Smilebox slide show. Below is the link to my Picasa album with all of the pictures from the slide show if you're interested.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Allisonbsk/HappyValentineSDay?feat=directlink

Hugs and Kisses! xoxo

Happy Valentine's Day!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Enjoy a few pictures of Daniel's 1st Valentine's Day! He sure is a wonderful Valentine...and he's all mine! (well-I do share him with all of you, too!) Happy Valentine's Day!

A Year Ago Today...

A year ago today Ben and I found out we were having a baby! It's amazing how much can change in a year. I've been thinking this week about how excited we were, how nervous we were, and now here we are...with an amazing little boy. I gaze into Daniel's eyes, listen to his laugh, watch him smile and play...and it's bliss. Bliss I could only imagine a year ago and now it's so real. So, a year ago today...who knew we would have such a wonderful little guy! We love you so much, Daniel!

Daniel Laughs for You!

Finally captured a few laughs on video for you! Daniel laughs best with us "laughing" too, so yes you'll hear me on the video. Pretty fun to watch, I think! Enjoy the cute sounds of baby bliss!

Daniel Predicts...

Daniel predicts 6 more weeks of winter! Happy Groundhog Day!
PS- Check out those little legs on my guy! Too cute!

4 Months Old!

Daniel is 4 months old today! Time for another picture with his pal Mickey...and once again, he's just soooo cute next to Mickey. It's sure fun to compare the Mickey pictures each month. Copy the link below to go to the Picasa album with all the Mickey pictures from each month and see for yourself how he's grown!

http://picasaweb.google.com/Allisonbsk/MickeyPictures?feat=directlink

Tuesday was Daniel's 4 month well-visit at the doctor. He's now 13 pounds 7 ounces and 24 inches long. Double his birth weight and 5 inches longer! I try to picture how small he was then...it's hard to believe. Packed away his newborn clothes and other things he's outgrown already...it's weird to think he won't wear them again. Daniel's in size 2 diapers and mostly 3-6 month clothes, though he still fits many of his 0-3 month clothes and we're starting to see how 6-9 months fit him (these are a tad too big in most cases...but someday...) It's sure fun to shop for him! Daniel also got his next set of shots...cried a lot at the time of course, but it didn't feel like he cried as long as last time- that's my tough guy. We kept saying what a good job he did! He only needed one dose of Tylenol when he started screaming again a few hours later and then he slept 12 hours that night...other than that, we survived!

Daniel loves to sit up in our laps now and see the world- it's fun to hold him upright and see how strong he is. He sleeps through the night, 9-10 hours. He really likes his jungle gym and talks a lot there still. Tummy time has improved a little- he can hold his head higher and he really tries to use his legs to "push off" forward. He tries to use his arms a little but not as much. He enjoys his singing lion and holding his rattle and keys. Daniel even transfered the rattle from one hand to the other a couple days ago- it was so fun to see him be able to do that! He isn't rolling over just yet..but he does get on his side a lot- I have a feeling one of these days he'll just fall over from the side. And those hands are always going- he just plays with them, holds them, puts them in his mouth...the kid loves his hands- it's really cute to watch. Lots more to come in the next few months I'm sure!

For Daniel's Aunts...near and far!

Daniel knows his aunts love him!
And he's got a smile full of love for them! :)

P.S. Tomorrow is Mickey day...Daniel will be 4 months old! Look for a new picture with his pal and an update from our doctor appointment yesterday!

A Small Snippet

Still trying to capture a laugh (the camera is quite interesting to Daniel and generally makes him stop doing whatever cute thing he's doing)...but we thought this was cute, even if it is ever so brief. (and yes you can hear me- hey, I'm trying to get him to laugh for you!) Check out the one eyebrow raising- Daniel does this often and I just think it's too cute! So that did it- I had to post it!

Enjoy Daniel's smile and the way his eyes light up...oh and you can see how much he likes his hands, too!

A Sweet Bathtime Picture

After a warm bath, Daniel is clean and cozy! And don't you just wonder what he's thinking about! I love his expression.

Check out the fingers in his mouth...they're there just about all the time now. It's pretty cute how he does it. You'd have to see it...