East Coast Trip part 1

For the past few months I have been looking forward to the end of September because that is when we were going on our East coast road trip! Mike's brother Doug and sister Stacey were flying to Boston and traveling down the coast and we decided to join them. Originally we were going to attempt to bring Daniel but as it drew closer and we planned, I knew that taking Daniel was unrealistic. Fortunately, my mom and dad said they would baby-sit him! We were very grateful for this. Especially me because I was going to stay home and just let Mike go. Since we had an empty seat we invited my brother Josh since he'll be going on his mission soon.

We decided to head up to Rhode Island a few days early to visit our grandma and other family. It was a 15 hour drive up to South Kingston RI. This meant we needed to leave at 4:30am on Monday morning to be able to make it to my aunt and uncles at a decent hour.  It was early but we were excited to get going on our trip!

At the gas station at 4:45am....we look happy don't we :)

Overall, the drive wasn't bad. We had food, movies, books and music so we were pretty entertained. Josh and I also got to sleep a bit and Mike drove the whole time! The worst part of the drive was that it rained from Charlotte, NC until we got to Pennsylvania. The rain was the main reason that Mike drove the whole time. He's the most comfortable with it. We knew that we would need a break from the drive so we made plans to stop in Hershey, PA and go to the chocolate factory! We didn't have time to take the tour (I have done it and it is awesome)! We had so much fun in the huge chocolate store!!!

YUM!!!!!!

We had to get something :)

After the factory we drove for about 6 more hours which was more fun since it wasn't raining and we were driving through cities. After almost exactly 15 hours of driving, we arrived at my Aunt Pam's house in Rhode Island. I still can't believe Mike drove the whole time! Thank you sweetie for getting us there safely. It was a long day but a great start to our trip!

When grandparents come

My parents came up to visit us over Labor Day weekend. Daniel really loves when we have company. I think he things everyone is there to see him and when it comes to grandparents, he may be right! We started the weekend watching the BYU game. Daniel had lots of fun with his papa. They played trains and chased each other around and played tickle monster. Daniel had fun cuddling with his papa too.

I didn't get any pictures of my mom but Daniel had fun going for walks with my mom and reading lots of books and snuggling. We had a fun weekend and it was nice and relaxing. A short visit but Daniel eats the attention up!

15 Months

I know I said I wasn't going to do monthly updates anymore and I'm not but since Daniel had a doctors appointment at 15 months I want to record what we found out.

Weight: 22lbs 13oz (50th percentile)

Height: 29 1/4 inches (10 percentile)

After shots...no fun and so tired

 Basically it confirmed what we know...Daniel is short! Let's face it though, with his parents being short the kid doesn't stand a chance. He's perfect though and healthy. He's the sweetest boy. He isn't saying real words yet but boys tend to take a little longer anyway. He has his own words for things but we're working on it. He really is happiest when things are busy. He hates when I'm working and he has to just play. He loves when we go places or when I'm doing a project and he gets to watch and 'help'. The best part of this age is that he is giving hugs now. For a while we were just hugging and kissing him but he's doing it to us now which is just so sweet.

Play dates

Daniel and I have been missing our friends lately so we set up a play date with little Miss Reagan. Daniel got to play with Reagan and I got to have fun with her mommy Bri. We started the day at Bri's where Daniel mostly played with Turner. Its the only dog he's really ever been around but he LOVES him. Turner was playing tug of war with Dan and he found it hysterical!

Later we decided to go back to my apartment and we got out the play mat for miss Reagan. Daniel was fascinated. Its been a few months since he's played with it but he was happy to show Reagan how to use it.

It was fun to see how Daniel reacted to Reagan. He was really sweet with her and liked being near her but if I was holding her then he started to get a little jealous. As soon as I put her down, he crawled into my lap and if I was holding her then he was next to me holding onto my arm or hugging me from behind. It was super cute! It was fun to spend time hanging out with Bri and talking to someone who can actually answer haha

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.

What's been going on?

Our little Daniel is growing up so fast. He has changed a lot since his first birthday. He is a sweet boy and very curious and adventurous. Dan is also stubborn though. He doesn't do anything until he is ready. That's why he was ready to walk and able to walk for a few months but he officially started walking when he was about 14 months. He finally initiated walking on his own on July 26th. We were so excited and he hasn't looked back since. He loves walking now. He still isn't quite able to stand up if he's in the middle of the room so he'll crawl and stand himself back up and then keep going but we're working on it.

Dan and I like to keep busy while Mike's away at school. Most of the time we're just running errands around town but Dan loves to ride in the big carts at Publix and we also try to go to the library. They have toys and puzzles and books and he really has a good time.

We also went on a trip last weekend to visit grandma and papa. Dan had so much fun. He loves all the extra attention he gets while we're there! We had fun going shopping and relaxing watching movies. Sometimes its nice to just get away for the weekend. We've also been following golf and specifically Jordan Spieth. Since he is sponsored by under armour we had to wear our hats and Daniel had fun wearing daddys hat on the way home :)

Daniel is still not talking very much. He does baby talk but is still just saying mama and dada. He is starting to wave more but he still doesn't like when people say goodbye. He doesn't use any sign language but he knows what he wants and he will shake his head if he doesn't want something and nod if he does. He's gotten better at throwing and rolling a ball which is fun. He is so curious and when wants something he is determined to get it. He is such a little monkey and climbs on everything. He will push his little train over to things and use it as a stool.

He still loves books! His favorites are still the 3 he got for Christmas from his Aunt Debbie and Uncle Tony and his cousins. I think I read one of those at least once a day. He also likes to play with his legos and his toy cars. Daniel also enjoys music. He loves to dance and one of his favorite songs to dance to is the NCIS theme song. Its so cute that any time he hears it, he stops what he's doing and starts dancing.

He is down to one nap a day in the afternoon at least most days unless we go somewhere then he usually falls asleep in the car. Thankfully he is still a really good eater. The only things he doesn't like are eggs, peas and cheerios but he'll still eat them if he's pretty hungry.

Dan loves to play and is still really social. He's only gotten upset a few times when we've left him with someone but even then it was just for a minute and then he was fine. Hopefully that means he'll be good in a few months when he goes into nursery.

We love you Daniel!