Play Time

Daniel loves to explore and laugh (and he is So Big!). Here are some pics of his adventures from this week.

Trip to the Zoo

The Lehigh Valley Zoo and Animal Reserve is just minutes from our house and we received an annual pass as a Christmas gift so we took advantage of a sunny Saturday and checked it out. The park is small and the animal selection is nothing exotic but there are some cute penguins, funny ostriches, friendly goats, gruff camels and lots of other fun animals for Daniel to get to know. The cool weather seemed to encourage activity (although the snow cover kept some from being too adventurous). Daniel was tired while we were there so he was very mellow but he watched intently and took in a lot. I am really looking forward to taking him again soon - when he isn't missing a nap!

Stop the Clocks! 9 Months Old Already

Daniel has become quite the charachter. He is a very happy little man who loves to play, is in constant motion and is always getting into whatever he can. If a door, cabinet, the dishwasher or fridge opens he squeals, drops what he's doing and speed crawls over to it to see what he can get his hands on before we stop him. Sometimes it is more fun to watch him get into things than always tell him no.

He seems to like books most of all. Turning pages is his thing. We read books throughout the day and he picks some books out to "read" before bed time. He can become so distracted by the books on his shelf that I have to move out of the nursery sometimes to get him to sleep!

Here are some picutres from yesterday and today of Daniel playing with his Daddy.

Valentine's Day

Jason doesn't believe in Valentine's Day so there was zilch-o romanticizing from him but we did get to share the love with Kat's parents on Sunday. Daniel seemed to know who they were this time and took to them both right away, even preferring to be with them than us at times. We had a wonderful time together and little Daniel just loved having even more attention than normal (if that is at all possible).

Daddy and Daniel

Jason's employer ran out of work thanks to our wonderful government so he has been laid off. The good thing is that he now gets to spend quality time with the little man. It seems that they had a good time playing and I can tell Daniel feels more attached to him now than he did in the past. The big snow on Tuesday night kept me from having to work on Wednesday so we all spent the day playing! Check out the Cheerio on his tushy!

Daniel likes to help unload the dishwasher.

Bath Time Fun

Daniel doesn't really play in the bath tub, he mostly tries to eat the bath toys, stand, and grab on to my shampoo bottles and the curtain. He does however seem to like baths. Tonight he was particularly excited because I opened a pack of new bath toys that he just couldn't wait to play with.

9 Month Check Up

I decided that 40 minutes is too far to drive to the pediatrician so at his 6 month check up I asked for a recommendation for someone closer to our house. I called for an appointment and we got one right away (almost too soon, he doesn't turn 9 months for two weeks). It is a one doctor practice in a quaint office. The doctor sat with us for a long time, just getting to know our family histories and Daniel in all aspects. She seems very nice and thorough, personable and understanding. Also only 15 minutes away! We talked about how Daniel needs to be eating better (and more - more calories and more variety).
He would prefer playing to eating and often tries to do both at once.

He is measuring in at 28 inches tall - 50%, and 18 lbs fully dressed with a wet diaper so I am guessing he's really about 17.5 lbs. The 18 lbs is 25% so he may still be around 15-20%.
This week Daniel climbed his first flight of stairs, is becoming a much steadier cruiser, and has two teeth!