Friday, January 31, 2014

On Daniel’s Mind

Daniel has been very busy lately.  He is talking more.  He’s even more active (if that’s possible).  And, he never ceases to amaze us.  I’d love to know what’s going on in his mind.

He still loves Bob from Veggie Tales.  He even knows which songs he wants to watch.  I've also found him on Evan’s Facebook page, so if you ever see a weird post from him, then . . .






He still enjoys sitting in all the bins and buckets we have.  Sometimes he crawls in them head first.








Daniel loves Nicholas’ toys and trying to do everything that Nicholas does.


Who is that masked man?






He’s all-boy!  He loves garbage trucks and construction equipment.  He also loves to fight the bad guys.  I often find him with a homemade gun or sword.


He made it himself!




Daniel does enjoy some downtime once in a while.  Who doesn't love a good book?







But, he also has a mischievous side, as Gabby and Isabella can attest.







He’s a thinker though and it is fun to watch him play with his toys.


This is what he was doing while we were working on school.


He's so proud of himself.




We love watching Daniel’s mind work!



Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Just Like Dad

Nicholas is at the stage where he wants to be just like Evan.  He wants to work at the same job as Evan.  He wants to eat the same foods as Evan.  Now, he wants the same hair as his dad.  Last time he got his hair cut, he told me he didn't want it buzzed so short any more.  Today he told me he wants it like his dad's so he can put gel in it.

So, our hairdresser, after telling him that it would require a little more maintenance, got him started toward looking more like Evan's hair style.  His hair is still shorter, but over the next couple of months he'll have it how he wants it.

The new look


New look, same crazy kid!


I guess I have a few years before Daniel gives me his opinion.  In the meantime, he gets the same cut.  It's easy and he looks cute.


He's saying "cheese".



Nicholas and I had a talk on the way home about family dynamics.  One thing he agreed on is that he always hopes to have a great relationship with his brother.  I love his heart!

Photo bomb!






Brothers!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

20 Months!

My baby is getting old.  I was in the clothing aisle the other day and decided that we should no longer look at body suits/onesies because we need to focus on potty training.  In fact, I ordered him some underwear.  I had to find some online because he is too skinny for the ones sold in stores.  He easily goes to the bathroom when we sit him on the potty.  He even sits long enough to make sure he gets it all out.  We just haven’t worked on getting him to tell us he has to go.  That’s the next goal.

He speaks now!  Daniel has been trying so hard to say so many words.  When he gets a new word, he uses it constantly.  He transitioned from da-da to Daddy recently.  Nicholas and I spent several days telling Daniel over and over that “Daddy is at work” because he kept saying “Daddy” over and over and over . . . .  He has also added the words:  water (said without the “w”), boom, D.D. (his nickname), Daniel, dark, and cheese. 

He got himself stuck in the bin.

He can't figure out how to get that shirt off, or maybe he likes the off -the-shoulder look.


Daniel is really enjoying his Christmas gifts now that the illnesses are behind us.  He often says “whee” as his cars go down the track.  He has also built a lot with his new blocks.  Since we increased his block supply we haven’t seen as much book stacking anymore.  Occasionally, he’ll do a small one just for old times’ sake.


Waiting to visit with his birth family.

Borrowing Nicholas' glasses while he was still asleep


Daniel’s appetite has increased.  He is eating most of his food at each meal now.  He is also working on mastering the spoon and the fork.  If he has a utensil, he’s more likely to eat what’s on his plate.  Also, he likes to pretend that he is a dinosaur and roars like one.  If he is reluctant to eat something, I tell him to eat like a dinosaur.  It seems to work a lot!

Occasionally, he likes to put a spoon on his head.


One thing about my boys is that they are excellent cleaners.  They are both great at picking up their toys.  I don’t even have to ask Daniel.  The people that work in the nursery at church and at CC have both commented on it.  Daniel is still good at making a mess though, so the room can look like a tornado hit it at times.









I think Daniel is getting two more teeth.  He has all of his normal teething symptoms.  It has also reduced his nap time to 30-45 minutes.  Daniel has 8 baby teeth left.  I cannot wait until they’re all through.  He can be a rough teether!


Daniel also has really started showing affection.  He loves to blow kisses or make a lip-smacking sound.  He also hugs you back.  I still rank as his favorite person, but I do enjoy the days when he’s a Daddy’s boy.  Nicholas and Daniel continue to have their special relationship.  They’re the best of friends who can also annoy each other like no other - very typical.







Even with his emerging toddler strong-will, Daniel is still as enjoyable as ever.  We're having so much fun watching him grow and change!





Friday, January 17, 2014

A Blog Request

I know, I know, I haven't written in awhile.  We've been trying to get back into the swing of our school routine.  We did have CC and Nicholas' cooking class this week.  He was so happy to see his friends!  We did have a little excitement on Monday morning when I was trying to leave for CC - no brakes!  It seems that I cut my brake line Sunday evening.  Our street has all these orange sticks that the plow guys put out for the winter.  Well, the snow melted and one was at an angle where you couldn't see it, especially in the dark.  Thankfully, I was able to call my mom to take us to CC and Evan (who was at work) arranged all the towing and maintenance.  It was an unfortunate maintenance bill, but we're thankful for our emergency fund. ;)

Anyway, Nicholas asked me if I could blog about him this morning.  He accomplished something huge - for him - and he wanted me to share it.  See, Nicholas has a little problem during school.  He is super chatty.  It isn't always a big deal, but it is when it is making his math worksheet take 45 minute to an hour.  It isn't that the content is hard for him.  He just has a lot to say!

Well, this morning I was giving him a math test and I told him he couldn't talk during it - or else (I'm not sure what else, but I was at my wits end).  He listened and only talked to ask me two questions about the directions.  When it was done, he couldn't believe how quickly he had finished the test.  So, he had me take a picture of him with each side of the paper.


Front side

Back





Then, I graded it - A+!



100%



I'm glad that we don't have to be so rigid here with the talking and the movement.  However, I like that when it is time to be quiet, he saw that he could do it!\

Great Job, Nicholas!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Snow!

We're all finally better in this house.  This was the first Sunday that Daniel and I have been to church in three weeks!  It felt so good to be back.  We are looking forward to starting school back up tomorrow.  Our Classical Conversations group probably won't meet because we're supposed to get some below freezing temperatures tomorrow.  If the schools close, then we don't meet.  We're bummed, but we'll do the work at home and look forward to next week.

The boys were able to get out for a little bit this afternoon.  Evan left his coveralls in his work van, so he couldn't last out there with them as long as he had hoped.  This was Daniel's first real time out in the snow.  We were going through old clothes that Nicholas never got to wear and found a pair of boots and snow pants in just the right size for Daniel!  Hopefully, after the freezing cold temps leave, they'll be able to go out and play again.

All bundled up!


Evan got hit by a snowball by a mysterious boy off camera!


There he is!


Daniel was done posing!


Evan had the snow plow guy make a mountain of snow for them!


I stayed inside in the comfort of my warm house.  You won't catch me out there very much, but I can make a mean hot chocolate when needed. :)