Beach Baby Daniel

We have made several ventures down the shore so far. Memorial Day weekend Daniel and I headed down Saturday morning and were joined there on Sunday by Kyle. Daniel had a great time on the beach, he loved playing at the edge of the (very very cold) ocean and digging in the sand. We also had a good time just playing in the backyard blowing bubbles and splashing in the baby pool. Sunday evening we went to the boardwalk in Ocean City for the rides. After Daniel screamed on the carousel at the zoo I wasn't too sure this was a great idea but Daniel LOVED the rides. Since most of the kiddie rides are vehicles (car, boat, fire truck etc...) with steering wheels that go around in a circle Daniel was in heaven. Every time it came around to where I was standing he would look at me and scream CAR!!! So cute. I'm sure it was only the first of many trips to the rides for us. Seems like Daniel takes after his mommy and is a total beach baby!!

18 months

We have reached the halfway mark of Daniel's second year. He has developed quite the little personality. Although he says a lot of words they do kind of all sound alike. He understands everything though. His comprehension amazes me all the time. Just like his mom and dad he is also quite opinionated. He is not shy about saying no when he doesn't like something. We are still working on saying yes. His favorite toys right now are cars, trucks and balls. He likes to put things he has collected in the back of his truck and push it around the house. Now that the weather is nice we have been trying to get out more. Daniel doesn't always like new places but he is starting to get used to checking out new things. We are in a funny place now with napping. He really only needs one nap a day but he has a hard time making it through the morning with a little rest. It works out ok if we are heading out somewhere but when we are hanging out at home he really needs a little snooze. The problem is that if he actually takes a morning nap he then doesn't really nap in the afternoon which means by dinnertime he is a total mess! I'm sure that soon he will have the new nap schedule worked out and things will be easier.

17 months

We are now just one month short of the half way mark for Daniel's second year. He is doing great. He now knows many of his body parts, a bunch of shapes, some more animal sounds and all sorts of other objects. He is getting good at brushing his teeth every evening after dinner in preparation for his future career as a dentist:-) His latest obsession is cars and trucks. He especially likes to make the trucks zoom across the coffee table and crash onto the floor. He has been having a good time going outside with his Daddy and riding up and down the sidewalk on the Segway. We have gone to the playground, the please touch museum, the zoo and lots of other places. Now Daniel is getting ready for summer and some weekends down the shore! He is definitely getting more assertive about what he does or more often doesn't want. He will say no and vigorously shake his head. He is learning more words although he hasn't started putting them together into phrases yet. His comprehension of what he hears is great though. Once in a while he even does what I ask him to! He already thinks my "mean" face is funny though so I'm not sure how effective my discipline will be. Daniel is now a master at getting up and down the stairs now which makes life much easier for mommy! He is even starting to learn how to go up and down like a grownup rather than crawling!

Welcome Suzy Faith

Daniel would like to announce the arrival of his cousin Suzy Faith Venit. She was born to Aunt Francine and Uncle Gabe on April 23, 2009 at 11:05 AM, 7 lb 11 oz 20 1/2 inches. Mommy and Daddy rushed right down to Delaware to meet little Suzy but Daniel had to wait until she arrived home from the hospital. So today in the gorgeous summerlike weather we went to introduce Daniel to his new cousin. He was less interested in the baby than I thought he would be although the minute she started crying he was quick to grab a pacifier and hand it to her which I thought was very sweet. Hopefully he will look out for her like that when they are older! We are looking forward to lots of time for them to play together growing up!

Daniel drives the Corvette

Daniel of course is not allowed to ride in his Daddy's Corvette yet since there is no back seat and it is not safe for him. However, Kyle and Daniel did ride back and forth in the driveway so that Daniel could get the full effect of Daddy's favorite toy. He had a great time pushing all the buttons!

Please Touch Museum

The new Please Touch Museum opened in October at Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park. It has gotten rave reviews from everyone (including Aunt Debra who is getting married there in October) but we hadn't had the chance to take Daniel there. This week Daniel's GG was visiting from Florida so Mommom and I took this opportunity to make our first trip to the museum. It was fabulous. Tons of cool things to explore and in each area of the museum they have a special section for kids under 3 so they don't get trampled by the big kids. As with most new places Daniel wasn't so sure he wanted to be there at first but once he warmed up he had a great time. He really enjoyed the little slide. He would go down and run as fast as he could back to the steps clapping the whole time. We plan to take him frequently so that he is at home there when October and the wedding arrives.

Passover

We were so happy to be able to join the entire Wylen family for this year's Passover seder. Daniel was in attendance last year but without his Mommy and Daddy as I was still in the hospital. Daniel especially enjoyed his reunion with cousin Avi who was back from Seattle for the holiday. Now that all the kids in our family are so grown up it is nice to have a new generation of little ones running around during the seder. plus a flashback picture to show how far we have come!