Picture and Video Update

Taking a break after some yardwork

Showing off his new (and Daddy's old) friend, Bunny

Cuddling with Bunny

Watching TV for the first time - Handy Manny and his talking tools are hilarious!

Family Visit

This weekend we had some visitors!  Grandmommy & Don-don (and Misty and Buster), and Uncle Gene &Aunt Mary Jo came to see us.  We had a great time with everyone and are looking forward to the next time we're able to get together!

Don-don made Daniel a really awesome birdhouse!

Big Truck and Equipment Show

The City of Lee's Summit has a Big Truck and Equipment Show hosted by the Public Works Department and Water Utilities each year.  We decided to check it out.  It was held at the Lee's Summit Airport, so there were lots of little airplanes taking off and landing right over our heads.  Daniel enjoyed watching the airplanes.  Daniel also had fun climbing and exploring all the heavy equipment.  There was also a bouncy house and face painting, but I think we'll have to wait another year or two before he's really excited about either.  They also host airplane rides (for free!) for ages 8-17 with parental consent.  I see a day, not too far away, where Daniel will be thrilled to take a ride in a small airplane.

Here are a few pictures from this morning:

Officer McMilan and Jax - one of Lee's Summit K-9 teams

"Do you guys see that big broom?!"

Driving the tractor

Yep, big equipment indeed

More play dates, more fun!

Today Daniel and I hosted a play date at our house for our mommy/kiddo friends.  We had a great time socializing!  It was nice to be able to chat with other moms and not have to run around too far chasing Daniel.  Daniel was the only boy and was quiet until the end when he finally warmed up.  He may have been overwhelmed by all the ladies!  Overall, we had a great time and look forward to hosting again sometime.

Here are some pictures of the fun:

Brecklyn loved the dogs (even though Trixie and Aspen weren't invited and had to stay behind the baby gate)

22-Month Update

Daniel turned 22-months yesterday.  Another month gone by and our little guy just gets more and more fun.

He now has a few official words.  Our favorite is "outside!"  A week or two ago, I was trying to get Trixie and Aspen outside before we left for an outing.  Trixie and Aspen are lazy, lazy dogs, so I had to say, "Let's go outside!" several times.  All of a sudden, Daniel pointed to the window and excitedly said, "outside!"  I was so excited I think I jumped up and down.  It must have left an impression on him because he got a big proud smile on his face and has continued to say it with enthusiasm ever since.  He also now says Da-Da, help, up, and huzzah!  We think he may have said grandma, papa, and shoe, but he hasn't repeated those words, so we're really not sure if those count.  He also babbles a lot more, especially while he plays independently.  We'll take whatever we can get!  We are happy he's making progress.

He understands that some things are silly... like pretending to feed me the food or water out of his toy dog's bowl.  I'll say, "Does Mommy eat the dog food?  No!  That's silly."  He laughs and laughs - it's fun.

Daniel likes to tell us what things do.  For example, the laundry goes in circles and he wheels his arm around and around.  Yesterday he pointed to the iron, then showed Bobby the ironing board and the outlet you need to plug it in to.

He has a strong understanding of a lot of words.  At his age, he should be able to point out five body parts, and he easily surpasses that.

He also loves to do the hokey pokey.  We learned that one at the library, and it's so cute to see him "turn yourself around" and "shake it all about."  He also enjoys the itsy bitsy spider, a sailor went to sea, sea, sea..., and clap, clap, clap your crazies out.

Daniel also has quite the curiosity and is patient.  We drove up to Northern Iowa on Saturday.  In the car seat, he took off his socks and then proceeded to put them on his hands.  He'd get one sock on one hand and then struggled to figure out how to get the other sock on the other hand.  He stuck with it, and in a few minutes had it figured out.  It reminded me of Bobby - my smart, problem-solving, patient, project-driven boys!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today we celebrated all the special women who are in Daniel's life.  Although we couldn't see all of them, we were lucky enough to get to spend some time with our family in Des Moines.  Here are a few pictures from our trip:

We took Grandma Munyon to Zombie Burger... she wasn't sure what she was in for, but she liked it!

Then we walked the halls at Grandma Munyons (Daniel mostly ran!)

Happy Mother's Day - with my sweet boy

Grandma thinks Daniel is pretty special... and cute even though we snapped this picture right before nap time

What a cool family I have - all special mothers!

Goodbye to Great-Great-Grandma May

Today we lost an incredible woman, my great-grandma May.  She was 97, but we should all be so lucky to live such a long and wonderful life.  I will miss her stubborn independence and strong family loyalty.  I am thankful Daniel, although only 8 weeks old in these pictures, got to meet her.  She loved all of us very much.