Daniel's Favorite Things

Daniel has lots of favorite things. He's a pretty happy kid about just about everything but there are a few things that are just about a guarantee to make him smile.

1. One of his favorite things are books. I can't even express how happy it makes me that my little boy loves books as much as I do! I love that we read books every night before bed. Sometimes he lets me read books to him but most days I can find him in his room reading books at least once a day. His favorite books are "Buzz Buzz Bumblebee" and the mouse, strawberry and big hungry bear story.

2. One of our favorite games is tickle monster and chasing each other around the apartment. Daniel is very ticklish! If you chase him and tickle him he really gets going :) Its super cute and a great way to wear him out before a nap. He's so ticklish that he starts laughing in anticipation of it. He runs away but then runs right back laughing and waiting to be chased. Its so much fun!

3. One of Dan's other favorite things is music. He loves being sung to and also dancing. He still enjoys when I sing the Winnie the Pooh song especially when he first wakes up. We also sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider a lot which we combine with tickling so we have lots of fun with it. He dances in the car to just about everything and also really loves when Mike sings to him every morning when he wakes up :)

4. When Daniel was just a few months old we found a teddy bear in his closet. We have no idea where it came from but since that day he has loved that bear that we affectionately call Mr. Bear. It was the first toy that he would actually go get if we told him to go find it and would always comfort him. Since his birthday he has received a larger teddy bear or Teddy. He carries his bears around the apartment and loves them to death. When we were trying to teach him to walk we would have him walk to get his bears. They are definitely two of his favorite things.

5. Dan really likes to play ball. He loves to play with the soccer ball. We're working on kicking it but right now he likes to throw it. He also likes to play with Mike's golf balls when he's practicing in the living room. Dan also has a soft yellow ball that he loves to play with and roll back and forth.

6. We haven't been going to the park a lot because the weather is terrible unless you go in the morning (in my opinion) but Daniel really loves the swing! I like to stand in front of him when I push so that I can make silly faces and make him laugh. He doesn't love the slide by himself but he's ok if he goes down with someone. He used to hate touching the ground but now that he's walking more he seems to be ok with it. We were actually able to go a few times last week in the morning when it was cooler and since it had been a while since we'd been Dan was super excited!

7. This little boy loves water! He loves splashing in the bathtub and also loves the pool. He laughs and laughs in the tub. I'm sad that the pool is closing for the year but we had some good times this summer. I'm sure we'll have lots of opportunities for swimming in Vegas!

8. Daniel really loves playing with blocks.  He got legos for his birthday and he really loves them.  We have fun building towers and then knocking them over haha Daniel is also a silly boy because he loves to take all of his legos out and then put them one by one back in the bag. He's great at helping to clean up which is awesome...lets hope it continues.

9. Daniel loves balloons! Seriously this boy is so entertained by a balloon. He will sit and hold it forever and just laugh and shake it and throw it and try to put it up since he thinks all balloons should be up in the air. Its so cute!

Honestly, his very favorite thing is to be with mommy and daddy doing whatever we're doing. He likes to be included. So he's great going out because he's happy to just be with us and he's usually content to follow me around the apartment.