Sunday, November 30, 2008

Birthday Party




Today was Daniel's 1st birthday party. We had a great time. We felt like we needed to really celebrate after our crazy year. Since Daniel is so in love with Elmo we hired an Elmo to come help us celebrate and the look on Daniel's face when he came in was so worth it. He was so excited! We were so happy to be able to celebrate with our family and friends, most especially family on both sides who travelled to be with us for this happy occasion from all over the Northeast. Thanks to all of you who helped make today so special for all of us.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Daniel and Daddy meet Ric Flair





As anyone who knows him knows, Kyle is a huge wrestling fan. One of his alltime favorites is Ric Flair. So when he found out that there was going to be a local autograph session he couldn't wait to meet his idol and bring his boy with him. So on Friday Kyle and Daniel headed to Chickie's and Pete's to meet Ric Flair. Daniel always has a great time hanging out with his Daddy although he didn't seem quite as excited as Kyle to meet Ric.

Daniel turns one
















I can't believe that Daniel turned one today. It has been quite a year for our family. We are definitely hoping for a less crazy year to come. Daniel is growing up so fast I can hardly believe it. He is learning new tricks every day. He is walking and gaining confidence each day. His vocabulary is growing quickly, he says dada, mama, poppop, mommom, cook (cookie, or cookie monster), oh (elmo), ba (ball) nana (banana), na (nanny, his blanket), when he likes what he is eating he says mmm, and a variety of other sounds. He definitely understands much of what we say to him also. If I ask him to do something sometimes he even does it! He likes to play "catch" with a ball and push around his little ride on toys. He is eating more new foods every day and really prefers to stay away from the baby food. A few favorites are grilled cheese, yogurt, spaghetti and meatballs, and fruit especially blueberries, strawberries and nanas. I have just been so amazed at watching my little boy develop over the past 12 months and I can't wait to see what happens over the next 12!

Daniel meet Cake and Ice cream
















Today was Daniel's first Thanksgiving. Last Thanksgiving I was very very pregnant. In fact Sunday night of that weekend I started contractions. This of course means that every year Daniel's birthday will be close to Thanksgiving. That also means his birthday celebrations will be shared with his Mommom whose birthday was also this week. So we sang Happy Birthday to both Daniel and my mom at dinner, this of course meant Daniel's first interaction with sweet sugary stuff. He didn't quite know what to make of the icing but he seemed to like it! He really enjoyed his first vanilla ice cream! In addition he tried a chocolate chip cookie. About an hour later the sugar rush hit! Daniel was on the table (cleared at this point) practically running back and forth between those of us sitting around it. He was laughing hysterically. It was so funny. He crashed the minute we put him in the car to drive home. Quite a night!

Monday, November 24, 2008



So I finally decided to play with the video feature on my camera. Here is Daniel bringing me a book to read. He is getting better at walking every day!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Daniel's first haircut








Although I loved Daniel's little curls and his baby mullet, Kyle thought it was time for Daniel's first haircut. So I took him to a barber shop downtown and we had his first haircut. At first Daniel thought the whole thing wasn't so bad but as the cut progressed he became less and less interested in having this man come at him with scissors. Even vanilla wafers didn't convince him he wanted to be there! Luckily the barber was very patient and didn't seem to mind the screaming. Daniel looks like such a big boy with his new do!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Daniel gets opinionated

I guess we knew this day was coming considering who his parents are but Daniel is now starting to get opinionated and stubborn! It started with food. He used to eat pretty much anything we put in front of him. Well now he pretty much doesn't want baby food and would prefer to not eat vegetables unless they are the carrots from chicken soup. He also really wants to be able to feed himself. This means that he mostly eats grilled cheese, cheerios and fruit. Today he asserted himself with the tv. I turned on what used to be his favorite show. Miss Spider and the Sunny Patch Friends on Noggin. Well apparently that was not what Daniel wanted to watch. He was more in the mood for Sesame Street. He may not talk but he can definitely communicate!! Once I got the right show he was all smiles and dancing to the music.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Daniel can walk!!

The day we have been waiting for has arrived. Daniel wins the race to see who will walk unassisted first. I am still faster than him but I'm sure that won't last. Daniel took his first step at 9 1/2 months and since then has been attempting the occasional step but usually only one at a time. He has been getting better and better at walking while holding onto a push toy or a hand or my walker but now he is really walking. He can go 4-5 feet at a shot before he goes down. He is getting progressively braver about it too. So exciting although I was really hoping to win this contest! Such an exciting milestone for my baby boy.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween










I ordered Daniel an adorable puppy dog costume weeks ago. It looked huge so I never bothered to try it on him (since getting him dressed and undressed is so much fun these days). Of course when the big night rolled around it seemed that the costume was a bit snug and the head part wouldn't go on at all! I was quite disappointed but he looked adorable in his costume anyway and he had a great time trick or treating downtown. He and his daddy collected quite a bit of candy although of course daddy will be the one who gets to eat it! It was the end to a very exciting day, parade in the morning, trick or treating in the evening. Then on Saturday Daniel and I went to a Halloween party for a mommy group I am a member of with lots of new kids for Daniel to meet. We had a great time hanging out with everyone!