Daniel's Blog

The Bus It Is

2010-06-21T12:21:00.000-04:00

I found some swim diapers in Noah's size and put them in the hall outside the bathroom. Daniel found them and asked why they were out there. I told him that they were for Noah because they wouldn't fit any of us anymore. He said, "So, what if Noah was 10?"

Me: If Noah was 10, you would be 16 and could drive a car.

Dan: I am never going to drive a car, it's too dangerous!

Me: How about a bike?

Dan: Nope.

Me: Well, you can always ride the bus.

Dan: Yes, I will always ride the bus.

Brilliant! I am going to remind him of this conversation when the time comes!!!

Daniel at Sleep

2010-04-21T17:00:00.000-04:00

He plays as hard as he can for as long as he can, but just a moment is all he needs to fall into a deep rest if he stops moving!

Daniel is a Reader!

2010-03-29T14:28:00.004-04:00

Last evening we had a few friends over for a short while and Daniel read a book with Keaton. It was interesting to see the differences in the way each of them read.

Daniel is 6!

2010-01-07T10:24:00.003-05:00

Daniel turned six in December. He got a fish tank set-up and six fish for his birthday! He picked out four neon tetras and two yellow guppies. after about a week one of the guppies died and then a few days later one of the tetras died too. He would not let us flush the fish so I put them in a plastic bag inside a jar in the fridge. The other day I found them. It was disgusting. They have been disposed of!Today, Daniel finally lost his very first baby tooth! It had been barely hanging on in his mouth for days and while he was wrestling with his brothers on the couch this morning, it fell out!
Daniel is a wild and crazy child! He doesn't do anything small!!! He's loud and big and I love him!

Daniel Starts Kindergarten

2009-08-12T16:06:00.003-04:00

Kindergarten Jumpstart

2009-08-05T13:35:00.001-04:00

He's SO Girl Crazy!

2009-08-03T12:33:00.003-04:00

Radical Movement

2009-07-10T16:35:00.002-04:00

Daniel has a mohawk and the attitude to go with it!

2009-06-24T12:46:00.000-04:00

Daniel at Keaton's Birthday Party

Daniel's version of Photo with Mom

Tiger Boy

2009-06-15T17:23:00.000-04:00

Oh Hail

2009-04-10T16:04:00.000-04:00

Shout Hosana!

2009-04-06T11:00:00.000-04:00

I Love His Guts

2009-04-01T13:55:00.000-04:00

He's a terror and going through a really bad phase where he fights e v e r y o n e

about

e v e r y t h i n g,

but man, I sure do love him all the way through his bubble chasing, sweet, ooey, gooey, lovely guts!

Daniel Paints

2009-03-16T16:24:00.000-04:00

Today daniel painted with brushes and fingers. It was fun. He laughed and really liked making the paint really wet by dipping into the paint then the water before brushing it on the paper.

Shhhhhh! He Doesn't Like a Lot of Noise!

2009-03-15T17:46:00.001-04:00

Dan the Man!

2009-01-26T19:39:00.001-05:00

Funny Faces

2009-01-05T19:34:00.000-05:00

If you have your camera out at our house, these are the kinds of pictures you are likely to end up with. Daniel is a camera hog and a funny face maker! I really like taking the pictures from the camera to the computer and finding all the fun shots! Enjoy!

Cookie Extravaganza 5th Birthday Party

2008-12-23T11:21:00.000-05:00

Daniel celebrated his birthday with a cookie decorating party. It was great fun for all of the grow-ups!! (The kids all went into the basement and played video games!)

Nearly 5

2008-12-11T20:46:00.000-05:00

One Year and Ten Months Old

2008-10-12T21:14:00.000-04:00

He's SO Smart!

One Year and Nine Months Old

2008-10-12T20:53:00.000-04:00

Daniel had major oral surgery! (actual date: 10/4/08) He had 11 teeth worked on all on the same day. The dentist took him to a surgery center and had him put to sleep. He performed about an hour and a half of surgery and Dan had about 50 minutes of wake-up in recovery. He had 11 teeth worked on and the front two DID NOT need root canals as we had been told! His mouth was a little sore and his hands and arms looked like pin cushions – they had trouble getting an IV in…But surgery went very well. Daniel's recovery was amazing. He was groggy and sore for a few hours, but by evening he was running around the back yard! He had a few days of soft foods and was sensitive for a few more days when brushing his teeth, but after four days he was completely back to his usual self. The dentist (I would refer anyone to him - he's wonderful), Dr. Crenshaw of Pediatric Dentistry of Prospect, was truly a blessing to us. If you want to know more, just ask - I will be happy to share our story!

**BRUSH YOUR TEETH AFTER YOU EAT/DRINK ANYTHING!!!!!**

It's Not a Seizure: He's a Dancer

2008-09-03T10:31:00.001-04:00

Daniel has some mad dancing skills. Last night he was doing his version of the Robot.

Major Hair Cut

2008-09-03T10:25:00.000-04:00

Smile

2008-08-22T19:00:00.001-04:00

Friends

2008-08-18T20:20:00.000-04:00

Daniel and Nathanael are friends. One day we were taking a walk and Nathanael and Daniel buddied up to help each other be safe! It was so cute! Nathanael is a very kind boy!!

Four Years and Eight Months Old

2008-08-18T20:04:00.000-04:00

Recently Daniel visited the Dentist for the first time ever! He was very well behaved and not at all upset or panicked. Unfortunately, his teeth are not in the best shape and are cavity prone. He will be visiting a pediatric dental specialist this week for a consultation.

Four Years and Seven Months Old

2008-08-06T13:08:00.000-04:00

Vacation Time!

Four Years and Six Months Old

2008-06-26T10:59:00.001-04:00

I can hardly believe that Daniel is four and a half. It seems like yesterday that he was a tiny baby! He's learned to recognize some of the alphabet and when I read he will sit and say the letters he knows on the page and makes up a story of his own.

Four Years and Five Months Old

2008-06-26T10:38:00.000-04:00

Daniel has become even more creative since our childcare circumstances changed. He is such an independent thinker, and so imaginitive too! He is learning to be more respectful to his brothers, but it's a difficult concept for him. Daniel has begun to play XBOX and is getting some skills. It's really cute. Daniel really enjoyed spending time with TJ and Nicole who visited us. They treated him differently than his brothers do, in a good way, and he really liked that.

Four Years and Four Months Old

2008-04-29T10:38:00.000-04:00

Funnin' on the soccer field...

See, no pants, still! He loves chocolate yogurt - hence the chocolate yogurt moustache!

Poser

Dirt Boy

Blowing Kisses!

Four Years and Three Months Old

2008-03-14T14:42:00.000-04:00

Pictures have to be taken from this angle for now - he won't wear pants. I have to force him to wear them in public. I understand where he's coming from because I feel the same way about shoes.

A New Way to Keep Daniel Still

2008-03-05T12:15:00.001-05:00

Daniel on the Shelf

Four Years and Two Months Old

2008-02-26T12:53:00.000-05:00

Daniel is completely potty trained. He wears underpants and goes to the potty all on his own. He has had one or two accidents, but usually on the way to the potty - and because he was so involved in what he was doing that he waited a little too long! He is an especially loving boy and I am blessed by his gentleness with me! He loves me and is very concerned with my happiness! Kids are funny! Daniel is also very loving with his brothers. Ben adores him and spends most of the time following him around. Ethan is very kind to Daniel in spite of Daniel's trend toward destruction (mainly of Ethan's toys).

I Like Chocolate

2008-01-15T10:59:00.000-05:00

Four Years and One Month Old

2008-01-13T18:07:00.001-05:00

Daniel is our most polite and our most wild child all wrapped up into one. He has been potty accident free for four days now, though he will not wear his brand new underpants! I think he is completely addicted to chocolate, since that's how we get him to go to the potty...

One step at a time... :-)

Oh yeah, he can wink!!

Elusive Target

2008-01-13T17:59:00.000-05:00

It is difficult to take a video of Daniel because he wants to see what is being recorded as it is recorded. Example here:

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T19:34:00.000-05:00

New Lego Builder Among Us!

2007-12-25T20:56:00.000-05:00

Daniel, along with Aunt Meredith and Terry, built this cool starship today:

Four Years Old!

2007-12-25T10:02:00.000-05:00

Daniel turned 4 on December 13th. Walter made (from scratch) a chocolate cake with chocolate icing! We really enjoyed it! On the 15th, we took the boys to Build a Bear and Daniel made a fisherman polar bear named Caillou! He loves him!! Daniel is a delightful boy. He tells a lot of people he meets that he loves them - even at the doctor's office! We have definitely been blessed with this child, as we have with all of our boys!

Three Years and Eleven Months Old

2007-11-24T21:53:00.000-05:00

Daniel and Benjamin are at different stages of development but often find that they like to play with the same toys. I love to see them work it out. I don't mind breaking up their battles when they can't work it out!

Genetics Are Interesting

2007-11-09T17:26:00.000-05:00

This child could not be more like me unless he was a girl.

Halloween

2007-11-05T22:08:00.000-05:00

Daniel was a chicken for halloween. He wasn't chicken though! He was pretty scary and ran off a few kids by growling at them!

Three Years and Nine Months and Three Years and Ten Months Old

2007-10-21T21:21:00.000-04:00

Daniel is settled into his school routine. He has begun to obey the rules at preschool and uses the potty on his own all day long. He is getting along with both of his teachers now, too! Daniel loves Lego's! He and Ethan can spend hours just putting stuff together - very creative boys! Daniel loves our neighborhood, our yard, our big house. He and Ethan built a fort out of cardboard boxes on the back deck today and played in it and the back yard for several hours.

Three Years and Eight Months Old

2007-09-04T20:59:00.000-04:00

Daniel is growing up. He started preschool this month and was almost immediately interested in potty training. He is making great strides at it and loves being rewarded with chocolate. He is a natural favorite of one of his teachers and he loves her too, but says he does not like the other teacher. i have not quite gotten to the bottom of that yet, but suspect that she might be more strict!

Three Years and Seven Months Old

2007-07-21T10:50:00.000-04:00

Daniel is wild with the move coming up. He's trying to be good, but it's really difficult! He really wants an orange bigwheel when we get to Louisville, and we have promised him one, but he has to try to be good...:-)

Every time we get in the car he says, "I want to go to Lewible!"

Three Years and Six Months

2007-07-04T15:50:00.000-04:00

How DO you stop a three year old from spitting?

Broken Heart

2007-06-05T15:12:00.000-04:00

The other day, Daniel and I were sitting at the dining room table finishing up lunch - all the other kids were down to nap - and Daniel said, "Mom, can the doctor fix my heart?"

I was somewhat taken aback by the question and his seriousness but replied, "I think so, Daniel, why?"

He quietly said, "Isabella broke it."

I held in my laughter and asked, "How did she break it?" I thought he'd say she didn't love him anymore of some other three year old silliness but he said, "She squeezed my back too hard and it broke."

I laughed, he laughed, we went on about our day. I'll never forget his first broken heart!

Three Years and Five Months Old

2007-05-15T10:56:00.000-04:00

Daniel is a holy terror! I mean that in the best way!! He's three and he's invincible, and he's wilder than ever!

Three Years and Four Months Old

2007-04-18T09:03:00.000-04:00

Daniel on the day he was born.

When a child is born, in most cases, you cannot know what their future will hold. You can imagine what they will be like and how they will grow, and you can hope and dream for their future, but you can't know. Recently some of our friends lost their first grandbaby when she was just one day short of a month old. Their children ( the parents of the baby) were so strong through the family night and the funeral, and the family dinner afterward. The maternal grandmother said that her daughter told her she cried herself to sleep so many nights during her pregnancy and after the baby was born too, and that God was keeping her strong.

Well, I have come home to my children after attending some of these services with a new appreciation. I am thankful to have happy, healthy, wonderful children.

I know I have said it before, but I am so blessed.
Thank you, God.

Daniel's Mirror

2007-04-10T10:23:00.000-04:00

A few years ago we purchased a mirror from our neighbors, at a yardsale, with the intention of revamping it for our dining room wall. Well, it got stowed behind a chair and we never did anything with it until I pulled it out to go to the shed last year. I cleaned it and put it against the wall in the hall outside the kitchen. Within hours, Daniel had discovered it and had begun really checking himself out in it. He watched himself move in many different ways, looked closely at his face and his feet, looked in his mouth while chewing food, etc. He could often be found quietly playing with his reflection. So, the mirror is still in the hall leaning against a wall...Here's how I found the boys the other day:

Three Years and Three Months Old

2007-03-20T09:09:00.000-04:00

Daniel is a wild and crazy boy - a real whirlwind. Everything he does is done to the maximum! Sometimes the safest time to adore him is when he's sleeping!! He's getting so tall and has become a real big boy, though he still completely and determinedly refuses to potty train.

Three Years and Two Months

2007-02-14T10:47:00.000-05:00

Daniel is learning to apologize when he does something inappropriate. It's really hard to be upset with a child that says, "I'm sorry Mommy." (and he means it!)

He is loving having Ben around. He wants to love him all the time and hold him too.

Three Years and One Month Old

2007-01-14T20:54:00.000-05:00

Daniel is a very active three year old. He refuses to potty train. He is very independent and strong willed. He has a very active imagination. At night he talks about ghosts. He wants to see the sunshine - and when there is none, he wants to know where it has gone. He loves apples and sandwiches. He loves his brothers and his daddy. He loves me! He is so loved in return.

Three Years Old

2006-12-14T15:46:00.000-05:00

Daniel turned three! He took two naps and went to bed early on his birthday. That's a great start for a change! I think it might have had something to do with the fact that he has a cold...

The BIG Brother

2006-12-06T11:56:00.000-05:00

Two Years and Eleven Months Old

2006-11-14T19:20:00.000-05:00

Daniel has really taken to being a big brother. He loves to hold Benjamin and kisses him often. He is growing up so quickly and now seems huge and very heavy in comparison to Benjamin!

2006-10-25T19:13:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite things about Daniel. How cute is that?!!

Two Years and Ten Months Old

2006-10-25T19:13:00.000-04:00

2006-08-03T09:48:00.000-04:00

At Grandma's the boys played in a rain shower. Now, each time it rains Daniel says, "I have to go get wet in the rain!" He insists that he's supposed to go out and get soaked!

Two Years and Seven Months Old

2006-07-15T09:17:00.000-04:00

Daniel and Grandma Ralston

Daniel loves it when Grandma gets his kisses. She says his kisses are so good that she squeals with delight each time he gives her one! He laughs before he even kisses her because he knows what's going to happen!

Two Years and Six Months Old

2006-06-30T08:43:00.000-04:00

Smiley

Two Years and Five Months Old

2006-05-17T11:16:00.001-04:00

Daniel loves the nursery at church - especially if Mommy is working and stays with him! Snack time is a big favorite. Daniel is in a stage where he talks in paragraphs! Most of the words are intelligent but some are nonsense and the flow is not always true from start to finish - so he isn't always easy to understand!! Daniel is an outdoor kind of boy and would rather be outside in the rain, sleet, snow, or dark of night than anywhere else! He is fiercely loving, sometimes painfully so! He is also very independent and extremely hard to punish because he is SOOOO funny.

Two Years and Four Months Old

2006-05-17T11:15:00.000-04:00

He sleeps like and angel! This is the only time that he's still and you can chance being really close without fear of injury! He's a wild, sweet boy!

2006-03-21T18:20:00.000-05:00

Giving Aunt Tammy the Evil Look

Where's the TV?

2006-03-21T18:18:00.000-05:00

While spending time at Grandma and Grandpa's during Aunt Tammy and Aunt LaVerne's visit, we projected old home movies on the living room wall. When we changed reels, Daniel would walk to the wall and say, "Where's the TV?" It was really funny!! The bigger boys really got a kick out of it.

2006-03-21T18:17:00.000-05:00

Mommy and Daniel Looking at the Maple Sugar Water Tank

2006-03-21T18:16:00.000-05:00

2 Years and 3 Months Old

2006-02-12T13:09:00.000-05:00

Whacking the snow off of the tree.

2006-02-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

Daniel loves the SNOW!

2006-02-12T13:06:00.000-05:00

Walking with Dad and Ethan in the snow. 2/11/06

2006-01-19T10:39:00.000-05:00

He sucks/scrapes all the butter off and leaves the biscuit!

2006-01-19T10:38:00.000-05:00

Two Years and One Month Old

2006-01-06T13:34:00.000-05:00

goofball

2006-01-06T13:33:00.000-05:00

Two Years Old!

2006-01-06T13:27:00.000-05:00

Leaf Stomper

2006-01-06T13:26:00.000-05:00

One Year and Eleven Months

Vampire Teeth

2005-11-12T15:55:00.000-05:00

Daniel loved the idea of Ethan's vampire teeth at Halloween, however, he did have a bit of trouble fitting them all in his mouth! His tongue kept sticking out at funny angles and over and under the teeth. I was laughing so hard I could hardly take the pictures. Daniel was cracking up too. We had a lot of fun...

22 Months Old

2005-10-17T21:36:00.000-04:00

Chill Baby

2005-10-17T21:34:00.000-04:00

Daniel walking with Grandma

2005-10-17T21:33:00.000-04:00

Daniel LOVES Grandpa

2005-10-17T21:32:00.001-04:00

In the Leaves

2005-10-17T21:32:00.000-04:00

Sk8erBoi

2005-10-17T21:31:00.000-04:00

picnicing

21 Months

2005-09-21T13:28:00.000-04:00

A Natural

2005-09-05T12:37:00.001-04:00

Watching Daniel Float Away

2005-09-05T12:37:00.000-04:00

Floating on the River

2005-09-05T12:34:00.000-04:00

Weekend at Grandma & Grandpa's

2005-09-02T11:22:00.000-04:00

Flip Flops

2005-09-02T11:18:00.000-04:00

Not So Sure About These Flip Flops

2005-09-02T11:16:00.000-04:00

Really Upset

2005-09-02T11:15:00.001-04:00

Playing In the Straw

2005-09-02T11:15:00.000-04:00

Book Lover

2005-08-17T17:05:00.001-04:00

GORP Face

20 Months

2005-08-17T17:05:00.000-04:00

20 Months

2005-08-10T09:33:00.000-04:00

No paparazzi

2005-08-10T09:31:00.001-04:00

Bodysurfing

Nineteen Months

2005-08-01T15:30:00.000-04:00

Daniel at 19 months

Nineteen months is not all that different from 18 except that Daniel has at least 50 new words. He is amazing! He's still wild and sweet and he runs around like crazy, but boy can that chid talk!!!

2005-07-11T19:39:00.000-04:00

Such a Happy Boy!

2005-07-11T19:38:00.000-04:00

Picking out a tune with Grandma

2005-07-11T19:26:00.000-04:00

Dan in the Tub