Getting Closer to the big 2.0

We have received several requests to create another post. We have been filming mostly video of Daniel instead of pictures, so I don't have tons of pictures to choose from but I did put some below. This is a wake up call that I need to be taking more pictures.

Daniel is doing just fine. He has tons of toys and he makes use of all of them. He plays a game of pulling out all of his toys and display them in the floor as if taking inventory. It is difficult to even walk through our living room sometimes. So Renee and I play a similar game of putting them all up either at night after Daniel goes to sleep or early in the morning.

We got him a little Kawasaki four wheeler that you just sit on and push with your feet. It has several sound affects. He absolutely loves it. He kept wanting us to put him on it and take him off. After about an hour, we decided not to help him, and sure enough he was able to figure multiple ways to get on and off by himself. We also got him one of those little popper things you push around and the little balls pop up. He loves that too, but it drives us crazy because it is so loud.

Daniel has gained 1.5 pounds since we arrived home. He has also grown about 1/4 inch by my unofficial measuring tape when he is standing in the kitchen. We have been trying to feed him all that he wants to eat. It is very unpredictable what and how much he is going to eat. He will sometimes eat nearly anything you put in front of him and lots of it, then at other times he will not want anything. It can sometimes take 30-45 of him fooling around with his food and not wanting to eat then all of a sudden he will dig in and eat it all! It can be frustrating, but we just stick with it and he eventually will eat enough. He has been struggling with some constipation. We have started mixing some prune juice with apple sauce and feeding him this after every meal which has really helped. We have also tried to find fun ways for him to drink more. We will share a bottle of water, take a drink and then let out a big "Ahhhhhhh". We will do that back and forth for a while. He also loves chocolate milk (which can add to constipation). We use Nestles Quick and we barely even put any in it. Just enough for a taste of chocolate, but it makes a big difference, he will just guzzle 8 ounces in a few minutes. It has been bothering us that he will not eat vegetables. So we have been trying to mince up some and put it in the things he will eat. Sometimes we put too much and that's the end of that. We had a bag of frozen broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. So we tried to cook it thoroughly and then mix it with Velveeta. Eureka, he at two plate fulls. We feel much better.

It is simply amazing that we have only been back for roughly 6 weeks. He gets around so much better than he used to. He can run very fast and he can climb up and down stairs all by himself. Of course we are right there with him, because he is not that good at it yet. He loves to climb up and down off the couch and chairs. Daniel is a daredevil. He will stand up on the couch and run across it to the other side. We are stricken with fear while he does this. He has occasionally fell off the couch, but he bounces right back. When he does this, we put big pillows around the coffee table for protection.

Daniel understands a lot of what we are saying and asking. And he talks and yells all of the time. But we don't understand much of it. He knows "Da Da" and "Mum". Renee and I are also called "BaPa" for some reason. He can say our dogs name (Brandy) but it comes out somewhat different. He watches Mickey Mouse playhouse nearly every morning on the Disney channel and he loves to say "Oh Tootles" whenever they say it. He also watches the "Little Einsteins". He loves to clap along with them. He also says "Uh Oh" whenever he drops something or knocks something off. He does not watch much TV. Usually only in the mornings when he is trying to wake up.

In less than a month (Aug 20th) Daniel will be two. I guess that is the point where we stop referring to his age in months and start with half years (2 and a half, etc). He has no idea that we will be having a birthday party and that he will have friends over and that he will be getting plenty of gifts. We can hardly wait.


Enjoying plenty of messy yogurt. He can eat it all by himself, but it is a messy site.


A hardened warrior resting after battle.


This is at my sister's 50th surprise birthday party.


He loves to sit on the counter while we get things done in the kitchen.


Playing with some new toys from some people I work with.


Next post will probably be his 2nd birthday party (After Aug 20th).