Daniel is Eleven Months Old

Well, since our Daniel boy will be one year old next week, I figured I should probably write his eleven month blog :) Oh, the days fly by and time for writing seems hard to find. But I know I will treasure these documentaries of our lives years from now. Today it seems like I could never forget these sweet moments with two little ones. But I know how time ages our memories and I know I will forget. So here's to writing down the little treasures from our daily lives.

Daniel is movin' and a shakin' these days. He's crawling very fast and pulling up on everything. This little guy is quite mischievous.  Well, Michael says he's not mischievous, just curious.  Either way, he's into everything! Here's what I mean:

Pulling down every single book on the shelf

Throwing out every single piece of clothing in the laundry basket

Unrolling a whole toll of toilet paper while Mommy showers

Finding John's milk cup and drinking the entire thing

Crawling into drawers and screaming because he can't get out

Thankfully, Daniel has a big brother who keeps a good eye on him and alerts Mommy and Daddy when he finds himself getting into trouble. John Hudson is very into stacking all of his trucks and trains on top of each other in a very orderly fashion. Unfortunately, Daniel is very into knocking the entire structure to the ground. This causes much friction between the two brothers, but can usually be solved by distracting Daniel and convincing JH that we can build his toys back better than before!

Great news! Daniel is finally eating! And by eating I mean he's eating more than just chicken broth and bananas! Daniel's appetite has blossomed this month. He now eats pretty much anything I put on his place (except avocado). Chicken, beef, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, grapes, peppers, cucumbers...you name it. It's a relief that he's finally eating and he seems to be enjoying it himself!

Sleep is still up and down. On an excellent night, Daniel goes to sleep around 8:30 and sleeps until 4 or 5 without waking (an excellent night happens about once every two weeks). On a normal night, Daniel goes to bed around 8:30, wakes around 1, and wakes again around 4 or 4 (normal nights happen about 5 nights a week).  On a bad night, Daniel wakes too many times to count (Bad nights happen about twice a week and usually because he has been off his day time napping schedule and is overly tired). Overall, we are getting much more rest than before and I think we're all going to survive :)  Daniel naps wonderfully in the daytime, usually taking two 2 hour (or more) naps. He goes to bed super easily--we just lay him down and say night-night and he usually doesn't even say a word. Sometimes he's already laying down before we even leave the room.

Behavior-wise, Daniel is typically a very sweet boy.  Although he does get very angry when he is put down when he wants to be held. He usually responds to this by rearing back as hard as he can. Sometimes it's on the hard wood floor and sometimes he rears back into a table or something else hard. We're hoping this stage doesn't last long and that he will soon learn that this bucking thing really hurts! We have been training Daniel not to touch certain things (like my decorative balls conveniently placed at eye level for the little guy) and he is responding really well.  Many times we just have to say, "Daniel, no touch" and he will slowly back away. But sometimes (many times), we do have to thump his hand to reinforce our meaning. We have caught John Hudson trying to train Daniel too, but we have to remind him that training is for Mommies and Daddies, not brothers :)

Socially, Daniel doesn't really love being with anyone except us. He starts whimpering when we turn down the hall to go to the church nursery. But they tell me that he usually warms up and plays (so they say...). When Daniel meets new people or when someone talks directly to him, he will often just lay his head down on our shoulder and act super shy. It's quite adorable.

Daniel loves to play with balls. He can entertain himself for a good amount of time just chasing balls around the house. This often gets him into precarious situations (like stuck under the buffet or weaseled into a tiny corner he can't get out of), but he absolutely loves it. He says, "Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba" while he roams around. 

Daniel LOVES sneezing. In any form or fashion. He loves when other people sneeze, he loves to sneeze himself and he especially loves fake sneezing of any sort. It is the funniest thing to see him imitating a fake sneeze, "Ah-ah-ah-ah-DA" is how he says it. Oh, this just makes my heart smile to no end!

One of my all time favorite things Daniel does now is crawl up to me (or the person he wants) and reaches his little arms up with all his might. He stretches so far that he falls over. How could you not just pick that precious little thing up? Daniel is also getting more and more excited when people he loves come home. One night, we were having Bible study at our house and Michael came in late. We happened to be praying when he arrived, but I had to get up and take Daniel over to him because Daniel was squealing and flapping so hard because he couldn't wait to see Daddy! Now that's something worth coming home for! 

Daniel has developed the sweetest scrunch-nose smile. I wish I had it on camera, but its one of those things I just haven't been able to capture. 

Oh sweet Daniel, our family would be incomplete without you. You are a precious masterpiece designed purposefully and wonderfully by the Master Creator Himself. We love you and we are honored to call you ours.