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!

Cruisin' like a Champ

Little Daniel can now push his walker all by himself!

8 Months Old!

Wow does time fly. Daniel has grown up so much in this past month that I feel I miss something every time I blink (let alone leave him for 9 hours a day). I don't have accurate measurements but he is around 27.5-28 inches tall and about 17lb 4 oz. His favorite thing seems to be standing - he'll pull himself up on anything and chatter about how big he is standing there! It won't be long before he is trying to crawl up the stairs.
He also has his first tooth (lower right) which didn't seem to cause any discomfort in its emergence. Daniel is a funny little man, always laughing and spreading joy, and we can't seem to get enough of him! What a wonderful blessing.

Little Indian Boy

Vickey taught Daniel how to make this sound and now he has it down to a science. He even does a similar "motor boat" noise when I wipe his face after eating.

New Year's 2010

Christmas continued over New Year's weekend. We packed up the wagon (to the top!) and headed to Mechanicsburg on Thursday evening. Dinner with Jason's parents was steak and whole lobsters with champagne! By the time everything was cleaned up it was nearly midnight. We discussed going down town to see the Wrench drop but did nothing instead. Although I was awake, I completely missed the celebrated 12:00 ringing in of the New Year.

On the 1st we went to Greencastle for the annual Marquiss dinner. Steve's sister Barb and her four boys from Virginia did not make it this year (Barb's husband died last year after a year's fight with brain cancer) but everyone else gathered at Tom's house for the wonderful celebration. Daniel got to meet his other baby cousins Jesse, who is only about six weeks younger, and Cheyenne (2ish). It was a ton of fun to watch them all interact. Daniel took this opportunity to show off and sit up for the first time too!


Saturday we had Christmas with my parents. It was pretty low key; I asked for nothing but some help with paying for my new dining room furniture so there weren't many presents to open for Jason and I. Daniel mostly still liked the ribbons and tags but he did get this great toy that he can sit at or walk behind.

Daniel had a lot of fun standing on the balcony watching us below.



Sunday it was back to Jason's family for Christmas. His sister Meg and her husband Jonathan were up from St. Louis so it was extra special. We haven't seen them in a year! We had a great brunch together then opened gifts.