Another Daniel Funny...

I'm not sure if you were doing this as of the last blog post...but here's another quirky thing that you've done lately...

Giving my hair back to me! If you find a stray piece of hair (in the shower, on the floor, on my shirt, or whereever), you offer it to me, and sometimes try to reattach it to my head. Oh Daniel, you are too much!

You Are Funny Because...

...you are Daniel...you've been funny, but now you're even funnier, and you're much more verbally funny.

A few things that you've said or done recently have really either melted my heart, been hilariously funny, or just so dang cute!

The first thing took a little bit of interpretation. We'd heard you saying something (a phrase) that sounded like it had the word "tool" in it. But that was about all we could make out...and we figured that maybe you were just saying a word, not an entire phrase. Then this past weekend it occurred to me exactly what you were saying.

We were up in our bedroom, and you went over to Jared's pack-n-play (he wasn't in it). You peeked in, almost looked like you were wanting to climb in yourself, but then you stopped. Staring right at me, you said "Hmm...I know!"...insert pause and index finger to the chin in deep contemplation..."We need a Mousekatool!". At that point, I wasn't quite sure of what you'd said with any certainty, but you continued with "Everybody say OH TOODLES!". Oh geez...you silly silly boy! Trying to do the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse thing!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and you've been imitating the things we say too. You're a goofy little backseat driver "Come ON cars...GO!" or "Dad...green...GO!". Yes, you're super cute. The funny imitation from last night was when we were picking up pizza and we parked and your dad ran in. Jared started fussing a little bit, so I spoke in a calming voice to him, saying "It's OK Jer-bear...it's OK...". No sooner than I stop talking, you start in with "It's OK Jer-bear...no cry...Daddy be right back". So cute :)

And lastly (for this post at least), the interaction with your baby brother. You're still very possessive of your toys (the ones you are playing with at that moment), and Jared tries to grab things that you have sometimes, quite innocently. The cute thing that you did, beyond trying to take your toy back, was to provide Jared with another toy..."Here Jared...play with this!".

I hope that I continue to write about these little Daniel-isms...they're so darn cute!

Games!

Well, I figured it was about time to do another blog post...it wasn't that I was particularly inspired by anything, but rather that I just felt like I wanted to write something.

So the topic at hand is games. Specifically, I could say, video games. You've always been interested in electronic gizmos and gadgets, but it was a bit random and haphazard (how you handled things). Sure, you could use a touch screen to draw. And you could flip through pictures. You could even, through lots of random trying, start videos on the phone. But this was different.

Last night, out of lack of better thing to do at the time, I handed you my phone with one of the games I'd downloaded on it. It was a "memory" type card game, and looking at it I figured that at the very least you'd like the animal noises that one of the sets of cards made. Both me and your dad showed you how to find the two cards that matched. Pretty soon, you got the hang of it...and even won the game. You've gotten better and better, and tonight you did a couple of games on the phone all by yourself!

After that, I wondered if you would enjoy your MobiGo that you got for Christmas a little more. I pulled it out (it hadn't been touched for a few months) and looked for a game that you might handle. Luckily, you took pretty well to two of the games. One was matching shape outlines to blocks, and another was controlling a Buzz Lightyear to jump over things. It was so much fun to see you actually play with intention like that.

In some ways, I find it funny, since a lot of parents try to keep their kids from playing video games...and there might come a day where we might want you to do your homework or go outside and play instead. But for now, it's exciting...it gives you something else to do too!

A Belated Happy Birthday!

A much belated happy birthday! As always, so many things have happened, so I'll go through them one by one!

Birthday: You turned 3 on July 9th! It seems unreal that you are actually three...not that the two's were bad, but so many things have happened since your second birthday.

The festivities started on the 4th of July weekend, when we went to visit your grandparents (Coon) and you had a small birthday party then. You love blowing out candles, but were a little shy when the big moment came.

After that, the 4th of July came, and your other grandparents (Stone) arrived. You got a second birthday cake, and a second round of presents. It was so funny once you realized what was going on...you'd see your cake, and say "my birthday...my birthday" or "cake cake!".

Potty Training: You had a major breakthrough recently! After months of just "trying potty" at daycare, you finally went! In grand style...like 5 times in one day while you were there. You've had pretty good success since then (July 21st was the "big" day) and you've been going here and there at home.

Things You Know: You are so good at figuring things out! Puzzles...computers...new toys...you name it. Colors and shapes are coming along quite well, and you know so many animals and names of your friends. You're very aware of what goes on in your TV shows, and you have so many of them memorized...it's so cute to watch you recite the words.

How Big You Are: At your doctor's appointment, you were about 29.6 lbs, and 36 inches tall.

And with that...a few pictures from your birthday set!

Daniel's Very Own Blog

After much thinking, it occurred to me that every 2 1/2 year old little boy needs to have their own blog! It wasn't a decision that was come to lightly (as I type this with a smirk on my face, trying to pretend like I'm serious about what I'm saying here!).

In any case, the blogging of Daniel began even before he was born. Although, at the time, he was being included in my (Amy's...his mother's) blog. And that continued until after birth, and to about 6 months of age, when my blog temporarily went out of commission (it's still being re-built...so, stay tuned for that). Likewise, the beginnings of Jared (a.k.a. "Stone Baby Number 2") were chronicled in another blog. So it was about time Daniel had his own. That isn't to say that Mommy hasn't been keeping track...check out Facebook sometime and bits and pieces of what's happened over time can be found.

So, my little man...my first born...what are you up to?

You've grown so much already, and things as of late are no exception! Last weekend, you used the potty...twice! Yes, we're in the throes of potty training. In the past, we've seen you poop in the potty, but never pee. So last weekend marked something new, and hopefully something that you'll continue!

Also this week, you started spouting out your letters. During your shower, we were handing you some of the letters that stick to the shower/bath tub. Much to our surprise, you correctly identified many of them! You're just getting so good at these things. Naming colors? Yep, getting better all the time with that! You can count to 15, and you enjoy counting the stairs in our house as you climb them sometimes. You are really very good at naming all of your Chuggington trains (both the toy trains that you have, as well as when you see them on the computer).

And last but not least, you're a really good big brother. I can't say it enough, but even from day one, you were a big help, and always very sweet to Jared. Both of you will make great big brothers together when another baby comes along (but not for a while, of course!).

With that...so ends the first blog post here!