14 Months

Yet another month has flown by. This month Daniel started clapping his hands, popped through the rest of his one year molars and learned to come down the stairs all by himself. Daniel moved up to the young toddler room at daycare which he seems to be really enjoying. In this room there is a lot more structure and they do lots more fun activities. Daniel is now truly a toddler, throwing tantrums when he doesn't get his way and thinking that he is in charge (which he kinda is!) Daniel loves to read books and he has his favorites. He brings them to me and gets up on my lap to read. He is starting to learn how to color with crayons which I'm sure will lead to a refrigerator full of new artwork! He has also started to recognize people in pictures. We have a picture cube with all his grandparents pictures and he likes to carry it around with him. Every day Daniel learns to communicate better with us. He is learning new words and other ways to get across what he wants. Each new stage is more fun than the last!

Fun with Avi and Alys

This month Cousin Avi and his parents Jeremy and Alys are moving to Seattle. We wish them all the best in their new home but we will miss having them so close. Alys and Avi came to visit one last time before their cross country move and we had so much fun. Daniel and Avi are finally old enough to really start interacting and I think they had a great time with their sleepover. Avi was excited to see a whole array of new toys and the boys had a good time wrestling, sharing toys and sharing snacks. We can't wait to see you guys in April!!

Animal sounds

I have been making animal sounds for Daniel for many months but I am never sure if he really gets it. Well now he has starting saying 'woof' when he see's a dog and yesterday he quacked like a duck at a toy duck in his room. It is only a matter of time before we are singing Old MacDonald together:-) Today he got to play with a golden retriever who is bigger than he is and he had a great time woofing at her and getting his face kissed.

Hibachi

After a few days cooped up in the house over the holidays I was itching to get out this weekend. So Saturday I suggested that we go to Hibachi for dinner. I figured it would be a dinner out for Kyle and I and entertaining for Daniel. We got there nice and early since that is Daniel's dinner time. I wasn't sure how Daniel would feel about the performance but he loved it. When the guy had the fire volcano Daniel just stared and then looked at me and said "Ooooooh". When he was tossing the eggs in the air he was pointing and saying ball. Then when the guy threw shrimp at us (to catch in our mouths) Daniel looked at him like he was nuts for throwing food at his parents. I brought Daniel his usual dinner foods but he had some of Kyle's noodles and steak and some of my fried rice and chicken. He seemed to enjoy all of it. It was a nice evening out for all of us and we will definitely go back again.

13 Months

Another month has gone by and Daniel continues to learn new things. He is walking really well now, no more crawling! He has been going up the steps for a long time but is finally mastering how to come down the stairs. Sometimes he wants to walk down like we do but we are practicing turning around and coming down backwards. Daniel is trying new foods, some new favorites are waffles, goldfish crackers and turkey soup. We are done with formula now and drinking whole milk which is much easier for Mommy! Daniel is getting more and more verbal, he talks all the time. He likes to imitate what we say and is picking up new words all the time. When he can't communicate what he wants he tends to just point and whine though! We are also hitting a stage where Daniel throws a tantrum when he can't have what he wants. I guess this is a prelude to the terrible 2's (and proof that he is as stubborn as his parents!). This week Daniel is transitioning out of the infant room at school. According to his teachers Daniel really enjoys spending time in the young toddler room and they feel he is ready to move up so after New Years he will be officially moved. We are looking forward to the start of a whole new year in the Venit household. Hopefully we will have a little less excitement in our lives this year as we watch Daniel continue to develop.

Chanukah

Last year Daniel was one week old for the first night of Chanukah and we were preparing for his bris. This year we were able to celebrate a little more. We had multiple family celebrations which was a lot of fun. For the first night of Chanukah we travelled to Wayne, New Jersey to have a party with cousin Avi. Avi and his parents, Jeremy and Alys, are moving to Seattle so this was a combination holiday/moving party. We had a great time playing with all the cousins. Between his birthday and Chanukah Daniel thinks that every day we light candles, sing and get presents! January will be a rude awakening for him.

Happy Birthday Zehda

Kyle, Daniel and I took our first overnight trip in order to travel to Ocean City Maryland to celebrate Zehda's 60th birthday. It was Daniel's first night in a hotel and he did great sleeping in his pack-n-play. He was great in the car and even made it til way past his bedtime to party it up with everyone. The party had a Philadelphia theme so Daniel was sure to wear his Phillies sweater and Eagles pj's. Daniel enjoyed dancing and helping Daddy DJ the party before sleeping in his stroller. Sunday morning we had brunch at Zehda's house and celebrated Daddy's birthday. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with everyone and can't wait to hit the beach in Ocean City next summer.