I feel I should start with post with a disclaimer.  There will be photos.  Lots and lots and lots of photos.

Your first birthday!  It’s finally here!!  I will freely admit, the celebration and your party were definitely more for me than for you.  You had no idea that October 4 was such a special day.

Before we talk about your birthday, let me mention your one-year photo shoot.  We hired a friend of ours and she met us at Bear Creek Park one hot afternoon in early September.  I had no idea how you would behave, but you had a blast!  Stacie, the photographer, brought some cute little chairs as props.  We started you out in the rocking chair and you just started smiling.  She got so many great shots of you that day.  You were a total cheeser.   smile

Besides the chairs, she took some of you in a basket with helium balloons tied to it.  You can’t see in the photos, but we had stuffed every blanket we brought into the bottom of that basket so that you would sit at the correct height.  You thought it was hilarious.  And the balloons only made you smile more.

The final setting was the smash cake.  I took your shirt off and put on a cute little tie before sitting you in front of the cake.  Prior to this, you had never had cake or frosting.  Initially, you were perplexed by the frosting.  It got onto your hands and made them sticky, but it only took a few seconds before the first bite went into your month.  Once that happened, you dug in.  About half way through, you noticed that some frosting had gotten onto your pants.  You’re not a fan of messes, so you tried to wipe it off….with your frosting covered hand!  You only managed to smear it all over your leg, but we had a good laugh.  Hehe!

Once the shoot was done, we cleaned you up and packed up.  You barely made it four minutes before you fell asleep in the car.  Being cute is hard work!

When I received the photos from Stacie a week later, I was amazed.  I had brought a baby to the photo shoot, but the photos I received were of a little boy.  You looked so handsome and grown up!  I may have cried.  A little.

On your birthday weekend, both Grandpa and Grandma, and PaPa and NeNe flew in to celebrate with us.  You, my son, had a weekend full of love, hugs, kisses and attention!  You absolutely love when your people come to visit you.  In fact, you woke up an hour early every morning, just in case you were missing something.  Trust me, you weren’t.   wink

Your birthday was on a Sunday this year, so the day before, Saturday, we had a firetruck themed party.  Besides your grandparents, we invited Uncle Ben, the Graham’s, and a few friends.  We held the party in the morning, so you were very happy and social.  It didn’t take long before you were down on the ground playing with the other kids and the firetruck toys.  After cake, you opened presents and then the party was done.  You ate lunch, played with your new toys, and took a nap.  We adults did the same.   smile

On Sunday, the 4^th, we ate more cake (you didn’t #notsorry), and you opened your presents from the grandparents, aunts and uncles.  Splitting up the present opening into two parts seemed to work well.  It allowed you to play with each set of new toys before opening another set.  One week later, you’re still playing with all the new toys, but you seem to be discovering new and different ways to play with them.  It’s fun to watch.

Grandpa and Grandma Dendel brought you a child’s place setting from their recent trip to Italy.  You absolutely loved the cup and proceeded to hold it the whole time you opened presents.  You even took occasional sips from it.  LOL!

I’ll go ahead and post some of my other photo shoot favorites below.  Enjoy!

 

This is it.  Month twelve.  The final month before you turn one!  The month of September has flown by.  I think it’s because I’m looking forward to your first birthday in October.  But before we recap that, let’s back up…

My son, you move everywhere!  I thought you were an active crawler, but this last month has been crazy.  You are in to EVERYTHING.  Who wants to play with baby toys when you can touch/grab/pull at anything else in the house?  Haha!  Some afternoons I feel like all I do is follow you around and say, “no, sir.”  You open every door (that we haven’t already locked), grab anything you can reach and pull yourself up on every person and thing.

One of your favorite no-no’s is to make a beeline for the laundry room.  If I’ve forgotten to close the door, it only takes you seconds to reach that room and either put your hand in the dog’s water dish, or try to eat the food from the dog bowl.  And you’re so amazingly quiet about it!   wink

Your development continues at a fast pace.  Every week you do/say something new.  You still love to use sounds to describe things.  Lately, you’ve been saying “vroom” for truck when you’re playing with them, or if you hear one make a loud noise (like the morning school bus).

We are continuing to cultivate a love for music in you.  Between Daddy and me, you’ve heard a wide variety of music from many different eras.  It’s so cute to watch you dance.  Whether standing or sitting, you bop up and down and smile.

The band Everlast has a song that goes “Na-na-nah-na, na-na-nah-na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye.”  Since “nah” is one of the sounds you make, we sing that line over and over.  I’ll start, and you join in with “na-na-nah-na.”  Once in a while you’ll even say “hey, hey, hey.”  It’s so cute!

You’re getting more and more confident in your standing and cruising.  You’re starting to transfer from one object to the next more often – chair to table, cabinet to fridge handle, couch to coffee table.  Lately, you’ve begin walking the length of the couch, switching to the love seat and cruising that length as well.  We’ve also started holding your hands and having you walk with us more often.

I love it when you interact with me.  You’ve started giving open mouth kisses to go along with your hugs.  You also try to wink with both eyes and you’re learning to give a high five.  The waving is back full force.  You wave at everyone.  Everyone.  When we’re out on walks, you’ll start waving at people you see a block or more away.  By the time we actually get close enough for them to notice you, you’re done waving and just stare at them.  LOL!

Most recently, you’ve discovered your ability to point at things and respond to my pointing and asking you a question.  You’ve learned to point down to let us know when you’re done eating and to point at something you might want.  The other night, I asked you if you wanted more ice cream.  Instead of signing “more,” as you would have done in the past, you signed “eat,” and then pointed at the ice cream.  That couldn’t have been clearer.  Ha!

We’re still working with you on recognizing parts of the face.  You much prefer to point to the part on my face instead if your own, but you do seem to understand that you have the same parts.  You definitely know nose and ear.  And usually get mouth and hair right.  We’re also working on eye, forehead (because you especially like pointing at that!) and chest.

It’s so hard to believe that this is the last post before your one-year celebration.  I’m not sure if I’ll continue posting monthly, but will definitely continue to do updates.  Next up will be your birthday.  And then we’ve got the holidays, so I know there will be lots more to share.

I love you, Sweet Daniel.  You are growing into such a sweet and happy boy.  Your Daddy and I love you so much!

XOXO,

Mommy

Weight: 21lb, 4oz

Height: 31.25”

Well this eleventh month has just flow by!  We’re actually half way through the next month as I write this.  Let’s just pretend we’re back at the beginning of the month…

We’re nearing the end summer right now, so it’s still really hot, but we try to get outside for walks in the morning.  You especially love your visits to the splash pad.  Now that you’re crawling, it’s a lot more fun to play in the water.  I do have to keep a close eye on you, since you’ll grab any toy you see laying around (yours or not) and eat any piece of grass or bark chip that you can find.

Around the first on the month you dropped your morning nap and now take one two-hour nap in the afternoon.  We’ve rearranged our schedule so that errands are run in the morning and we’re home for lunch and naptime.  I’m really enjoying this new routine.  I’ve been able to get things done around the house and still have some time to relax before you wake.

You’ve really started increasing your communication with us.  You now sign “all done” and “more,” along with “eat” and “milk.”  In addition, you recognize the signs for Daddy, Mommy, cup, play and bath.  Your words are fairly limited to dad and mom, but you’ve recently added “love,” and sometimes you’ll throw in a “hello.”  You also like to make sounds – Daddy is “grrrrr” and the dogs are “woof.”  You will moo for the cow, and we’re currently working to teach you that the duck says quack.

You understand much of what we say to you – names of food, no, yes, dog, diaper change, let’s go get dressed.  At times I can tell that you’re frustrated with trying to communicate.  We’ll ask you a question and you’ll just start going through all your signs as if you’re desperately trying to find a way to answer us.

You’re still a fantastic eater and willing to try anything at least once, sometimes twice.  I’m pretty sure you’ve eaten a few things you didn’t like just because you saw me eating it.   smile  I commented to Daddy recently that you’re eating more and more of my food.  Sharing with you has gone from just a small bite or two, to cutting off a piece for you.  You’re still trying to cut your molars.  I know once they arrive, the days of baby food will be gone!

Just before the end of the month you started pulling yourself into a standing position.  I thought you were active when you started crawling, but this is constant!  Boy, you move everywhere!  Stand, sit, crawl, grab, stand, sit, and repeat.  You’re quite controlled in your standing and you’ll lower yourself to a squatting position before falling to your bottom.  I’m rather impressed with your core control and quad muscles.  Ha!

Shortly after you started standing up, Daddy had to go on a work trip.  NeNe came to visit us while he was gone.  While she was here we made our first trip to the pool.  You absolutely loved it!  I don’t let you splash in the tub, so you thought kicking and splashing around in the pool was pretty cool!

Later that same day, we went out for pizza.  The waitress brought you a piece of dough to play with.  The picture below pretty much sums up your feelings.  You did not find it entertaining and tried to give it away.

While NeNe was here, I got really sick.  I ended up with either walking pneumonia or bronchitis, had a fever for five days and was in bed most of the time.  You and NeNe got to spend lots and lots of time together.  She played with you, took you for walks and read you lots of books.  She even taught you how turn around to get off the couch and how to pull a zipper.  Daddy was able to return home the day after NeNe left.  I was just starting to feel better by that time, so we had a long weekend of rest, relaxation and family time.

Now that I’m feeling better, I’m looking forward to getting back into our normal routine.  Cooler weather is coming soon and we’ll be spending more time outside.

Love you, baby boy.

Mommy

We’ve hit the double digits.  10 months!

You, my son, are such a joy to be with.   heart   You’re so happy, and we’re constantly amazed by how fast you’re learning and growing.  We think you’re pretty smart for a 10 month-old.   wink

This past month has been all about improving on the things you’ve learned recently. You’re doing everything a little bit better or just a little faster than before.  I’ve also noticed that you’re understanding more of what I say to you.  I have no problems keeping a running dialogue of our day, but it’s very encouraging to see that you’re understanding more and more.

There are a few new things you started this past month.  You now give hugs, and let me tell you, those hugs are the best hugs ever!  Daddy and I love, love, love it when you hug us.  You’ve also gotten cuddlier when you’re tired.  You’ll sit and rock with us, maybe even lay on a shoulder or hold onto a hand.  Daddy and I are soaking up these precious moments with you.

Clapping your hands and shaking your head are two of your new favorite things to do.  The clapping has mostly replaced your waving.  Apparently that wasn’t entertaining enough.   tongue  You clap when you’re happy or want something (I think you’re trying to sign “more”).  You’ll even clap when you see someone else do it, or hear clapping on the TV.  Shaking your head started out as just a movement, but you quickly learned that it also means “no.”  You still shake it for fun often, but you also shake your head “no” when you’re done eating or don’t want any more to drink.

You’ve finally gotten your 8^th tooth – on the top, left of middle.  I say finally because this one took a while compared to the others.  We could see it, but it just wouldn’t break through.  After about a week, it finally broke through and is doing its best to catch up with the other seven.

Earlier this month we purchased a walker for you.  Daddy kept saying that it would help increase your leg muscles and teach you to walk.  Boy was he right!  The first week you spent a lot of time in it yelling.  You were stuck and didn’t like it.  Finally you figured out how to move backwards.  Then forwards, and how to turn around.  Now, we place you in it and you’re off!  You literally start running.  We had hardwood floors installed just before we bought the walker and you can cruise all around house.  You’ve learned how to maneuver in and out of small spaces and love the freedom it provides.

Uncle Aaron and Aunt Emily came for a visit a couple weeks ago.  You absolutely loved having them here.  You’d just woken from your nap when they arrived, so you greeted them with a sleepy smile and warmed up to them in no time.  You even let Aunt Emily hold you after only a minute or two.  While here, they taught you to dance.  You move your arms up and down and wiggle your head around.  You think it’s hilarious, but it’s quite possible you’re laughing because you think we look hilarious trying to “dance” with you.   wink

We continue to experiment with food.  Your diet still mainly consists of your usual fruits, vegetables and proteins, but you’re willing to try any food we give you.  You’ve recently figured out what food in general looks and smells like because any time I sit down with a plate or bowl, you come crawling over to ask for a taste.   smile    Your drinking skill continues to improve.  You do a great job drinking by yourself from a sippy cup.  I’ve found that you don’t like room temperature water.  You’ll take one sip, two if I’m lucky.  If I put ice in it, you’ll drink until you are full!

We’re smack dab in the middle of summer right now, so the coming weeks will be filled with early morning walks and afternoons spent at the splash pad.  NeNe is coming for a visit, too!  It’s going to be fun to see all the things you’ll learn to do this next month.

All my love,

Momma

Nine months, Daniel.  Three quarters of a year have already passed.  Amazing!!  This month was filled with lots of new things.

You began the month by finally figuring out how to move from your belly to a sitting position.  This is great when you’re playing on the floor, but you’re especially happy that you can sit up in your crib and play with your stuffed animals.  We’ve caught you trying to stand up a few times, so the crib has been lowered, and you’re now back in jail.   smile

You also moved your nap times back one hour.  You now stay up till 10am in the morning and nap again around 3pm – sleeping for at least an hour each time.  I was worried that the later nap would affect your bedtime, but you still go to bed at the same time, so we’ll go with it for now.  At the rate you’re going, I expect you to drop your second nap at/around twelve months.

Your Daddy and I love hearing you talk.  You’ve gotten really clear at saying Dada and Mama.  You make a Brrrr sound when you look at Brinkley, so I think you’re trying to say her name.  Overall, you’re talking lots more and seem to be trying to actually say things, not just babble.

So, let’s talk about your teeth.  This month you got four new teeth, all within two weeks!!  A top center one arrived first and then another top one arrived.  Then, a few days later we noticed that two more arrived on the bottom.  That brings the count to seven – four on the bottom and three on the top.  We can tell that your gums are still bugging you, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you have another one arriving soon.

You have figured out how to open/close and lift up/down.  This makes for endless minutes of entertainment, whether it be doors, drawers, toys or books.  You have a toy laptop that you’ll open and close, over and over and over again.  There’s also a push/ride toy that has a “trunk” of sorts.  You love to lift the lid up and let it fall down.  It’s even more entertaining if we put a toy in the trunk.  You’ll lift the lid, pull the toy out and let the lid fall down.

A couple weeks back, we noticed that you would lift your arm in greeting, so we started showing you how to wave.  You think it’s great and are getting better at it every day.  Most of the time you still wave with your whole arm, but once in a while that wrist gets going.  So far, you only seem to do it for Daddy and me and only as a greeting, not as a goodbye.

And finally, the big one – crawling.  You’ve finally done it!  All that grunting and complaining you did finally paid off.   wink  The first couple of days you preferred to scooch whenever possible.  Reaching a toy was not incentive enough and you would only crawl if you saw an item you weren’t supposed to have – shoes, cell phone, a dog, dog bed, etc.  Now, however, you crawl everywhere!  You’ve figured out that the crawling thing isn’t so bad and can get you places faster.  Thankfully, you usually make enough noise, so I’m able to tell where you are if you happen to be out of eyesight.   :)

I’m looking forward to what the next month will bring.  Will it be more teeth?  Standing?  Different foods?  Who knows, but I’m enjoying this adventure with you!

Love you bunches,

Mommy

Weight: 20lb, 11.5oz

Height: 29.25″

Today we celebrate eight months.  There are certain times where I look at you and suddenly I see a different boy.  Yesterday was one such day.  It’s as if all the small changes you’ve made are put together and now you’re just older.  I see it in your face, your actions, and your mannerisms.  You’re becoming a small child right in front of my eyes.

May offered a bunch of new experiences for you.  Some were as simple as napping at someone else’s house, or staying up past your bedtime because we had to be in Dallas one evening.  Others, like our trip to Michigan, were big changes.  And with everyone, you adjusted quickly and handled them like a pro.  Daddy and I are so proud of you.

The month started off by celebrating Mother’s Day.  You slept in a bit longer than usual that morning and gave me lots of love and kisses throughout the day.  After church, we spent the afternoon together as a family (Daddy had just returned from a work trip to Chicago) and went out to dinner.  It was a wonderful way to spend Mother’s Day.

Recently, we purchased a few new toys for you.  They’re geared for older babies, and you’re having a great time learning to play with them.  You stare intently as we show you how to use the toy and you try to copy our movements.  You also figured out that you could hold two things AT ONE TIME!  My goodness, you were excited.  You’re very inquisitive about your toys.  You’ll flip them over in order to see what is on the bottom.  And you try to figure out how to open the battery case.

I think the next thing on your learning list is to crawl.  You’ve become increasingly frustrated with your inability to move.  Sure, you can use your legs to spin yourself around while sitting, but that doesn’t help you when your toy is too far away!  Right now, you can either get your front half or back half into the air, but not at the same time.  I can put you into the crawling position, and you’ll hold it for a few seconds before sliding your legs down into a frog pose.

Around the middle of the month, we transitioned you from your baby carrier into a car seat.  This was a bigger adjustment for me than for you.  The car seat itself wasn’t a big deal, but now you ride in the grocery cart when we shop and sit in a high chair when we go out to eat.  You love it!  When you were in your carrier, you just observed the world around you.  You were very quiet and calm.  Now, you are constantly moving, looking around and saying “hey” to people.  I have to remember not to park the cart too close to an aisle because you’re likely to reach out and grab at whatever looks interesting.   bigsmile

About a week before we left on vacation, you came down with your first cold.  By way of colds, it was very light and short-lived.  You were not at all pleased to have a plugged nose and woke up a few times during the night the first two days.  We raised the incline of one side of your bed and that seemed to help.  By the third day, you were improving and it was rather amusing you listen to you breathe.  You sounded like Darth Vader.   wink  Eating was interesting, as you were not used to having to breathe and swallow with your mouth so there was a bit of coughing until you figured out how to do both.

Our trip to Michigan began with you waking at 1:30 am on the day we were to leave, for no apparent reason, and deciding to stay awake for a couple hours.  You’re generally a great sleeper, so this was not expected and made our 5am wake up pretty rough.  The rest of the day went quite smoothly, though.  We, and our ton of luggage, got to the airport on time.  The bus ride from the parking lot to the terminal alarmed you a bit.  You weren’t used to riding without a car seat.  The minute the bus moved, you grabbed onto Daddy’s arm and didn’t let go until we stopped.

Our departure time coincided with your nap time, so you fell asleep before we pushed back from the gate and slept for over an hour.  While the takeoffs didn’t bother you, the descents hurt your ears.  You didn’t cry, but you would wince or exclaim any time your ears popped.  After a quick layover in Detroit, we arrived in Grand Rapids and headed to Kalamazoo.  It didn’t take you long to reacquaint with Grandpa and Grandma.  You seemed to remember that you’d just seen them a couple months ago.   smile  We had a day to settle in before the rest of the family arrived and you easily adjusted to the time change and stayed mostly on schedule with your naps and such.

You met so many people while in Michigan – your cousins, aunts and uncles, Daddy’s extended family, both sides of my family, and lots of friends.  At every event you were social and happy.  We figured out that you could visit for about two hours before you were ready for a nap.  Not too bad for someone your age.

A few people asked if you ever cry.  While you are generally the happy baby that everyone sees in pictures, you did have a good cry at 4:45 am on Monday morning.  Your gums were really bugging you and you were not pleased to have them waking you at such an early hour.  The heavy duty teething continued through much of the day Monday.  Tuesday morning we woke to a new tooth!  Your top right tooth had popped though.  Since then, you’ve spent lots of time running your tongue back and forth across it.

Our return flights home were in the late afternoon, so we kept you awake as long as possible.  You had a short nap around 2 pm, and by the time we flew from Grand Rapids to Minneapolis, you were ready to sleep.  On the second (longer) flight, you slept the entire time.  The gentleman who shared our row was especially appreciative.   smile  We arrived home late, but still went about your normal nighttime routine – nurse, pajamas, books – and you went straight to sleep.  By the end of the next day, we were back to our regularly scheduled program.

Your Daddy and I are so proud of how you did on this trip.  You exceeded our hopes for how things would go!  This is really good since I know we’ll be doing more traveling in the future.

I love you, son!

XOXO

Mommy

Daniel, today you are seven months.  The rate at which you continue to learn and grow amazes me!

The month of April has been a month to get out and about.  We spent one afternoon with a group of friends that we had not seen in quite some time. You spent one evening with Daddy while I went to a girls’ night out.  We took as many walks as the rainy weather would allow.  And on one of the few sunny afternoons, you participated in the Texas tradition of bluebonnet photos.

When we left off last month, you had just started eating food.  You still think it’s pretty terrific and are willing to try anything I give you, as long as the texture is pretty smooth.  Oatmeal with blueberries, peaches and sweet potatoes are your favorites right now, although, you just tried a bowl of bananas with pears, and at the rate you consumed it, it might be a new favorite!

Now that you feel confident in the “open mouth, someone inserts food” pattern, you’ve moved onto cups – glasses, water bottles, etc.  You want a sip of anything that we put in our mouth.  And by sip, I mean, the liquid barely touches your lips and you pour it all down your shirt.   smile  We’ve put a little water in a sippy cup and you’re having a great time figuring out how to use it.

Well Houston, we have teeth!  Shortly after your six month birthday, you got your first bottom tooth.  Followed by the second bottom tooth a week later.  That’s it for now, but based on the amount of drool and chewing you’re doing, I know you’ve got a couple more just waiting to show up!  When the bottom ones first arrived, you would flick your finger or tongue back and forth across them as if to ask, “what’s this?”

Around that same time, you dropped your third afternoon nap.  Currently, you take a short nap in the morning and an hour and a half nap in the afternoon.  You seem to be very happy with this schedule and I love that you’re awake and active for longer periods.  Bedtime is still consistently 7:30pm, and for the last few weeks, you’ve been waking up around 6:30am.  You’re still a great nighttime sleeper, although, you now roll onto your belly after falling asleep.  Once in a while you’ll wake in the middle of the night because you can’t figure out how to roll back over.

A couple of weeks ago, we met some friends at the park for a picnic.  You loved playing with K on the blanket (she has different toys!) and watching all the kids running around.  After lunch you tried out the swings.  You loved them!  You were laughing and kicking your legs back and forth.  It must have been quite tiring, because on the short walk back to the car, you fell asleep.   smile

This week NeNe is here visiting us.  You’re having a great time with her!  She got to babysit you one evening, we’ve gone on lots of walks, and she’s been showing you lots of new things – like how to turn light switches on and off, and how to bang measuring cups on the floor.   wink

May is going to be a fun month.  We’ve got friends to visit, pools to swim in and your first airplane ride to experience!

I love you, sweet boy.

XOXO   heart heart

Mommy

A quick look at Daniel from birth till today.  It’s amazing how much he’s changed, yet I still see the same little boy in all of them.   heart heart heart