Toddler Questionnaire

What is your name?  Daniel

How old are you?  Three and a half

When is your birthday?  October 4

Can you tell me about it?  Eat cake.  Just like a regular big cake so other people can eat it too.

How old is Mommy?  I don’t know?  5 inches tall

How old is Daddy?  Uh, 6

What is your favorite color?  Red!

What is your favorite food?  Macaroni and cheese

Who is your best friend?  Colby

What is your favorite show?  Ummmm…..Wild Kratts!

What is your favorite song?  The Dinosaur Song (AL: a song we made up)

What is your favorite animal?  A giraffe, it has a loooong neck

What are you scared of?  Not the dark.  I used to be scared

What makes you happy?  Kisses (AL: awwwwww!)

Where is your favorite place to go?  Tom Thumb and Spring Creek for barbecue and eat dinner

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A firefighter

Daniel, you are now two years old!  I can honestly say that this past year has been a great year with you.  You’re so fun to be with, and I love watching you grow.

Here’s a little summary of the things you’ve been doing lately:

Speech – You talk all the time and speak in small phrases.  You love learning new words and are willing to repeat it over and over until you know it.  You’re all about things that move, and the bigger the better!   Airplanes, cars, trucks, excavating equipment, tractors, trash trucks, buses, trains, and more.  You will yell out these things when you see them.  For example: “semi-truck,” box truck,” “pickup truck,” “race car,” “Jeep,” “helicopter,” “crane,” “front-end loader.”

You also love to talk about your people.  Not just Mommy and Daddy, but also Uncle Benjamin, Grandpa, Grandma, Papa, Nene and your best buddy, Nolan.  If you’d doing something, like going to bed, you’ll ask if they’re doing it as well.  Each one, separately.  And I reply, “Yes, son, Uncle Benjamin is going to bed.”  And you go down the whole list of people.  All of ‘em.  Yep, they’re ALL going to bed, too.   wink

Movement – You love to climb, run and jump.  You’re great on the stairs – you’ll either climb up on hands and feet, or go down backwards unless someone is there to hold your hand.  You’re still about one inch short of being able to hold the railing and walk down by yourself.

We go to the park often and one of your favorite things to do is to climb the rock wall.  Initially, I wasn’t too sure about you doing that, but you’re actually quite focused and are getting pretty good at it.

You recently got a trampoline and you love to jump on it.  Playing on it has definitely improved your jumping.  Before, you’d jump and it basically looked like trotting – one foot off the ground and then the other.  But now, both feet come off the ground.  And you’ve gotten good at jumping (and landing) from up to a couple feet up.

Kid, you’ve also got quite the sense of humor.  I remember the first time I realized it.  We’d driven past a dump truck and you called it a trash truck.  In a sing-song voice, I responded with, “No, not a trash truck!”  You kept saying trash truck and I kept responding.  About the fourth time, I looked back at you and you had the biggest smile on your face.  You KNEW what it was, and you were teasing me.

You also pick up on Daddy and I are teasing each other, or you.  And you’ll giggle and say, “Daddy/Mommy silly!”  Your laugh is the sweetest sound.

One night recently we were sitting around the dinner table.  I mentioned that ice cream sounded good, but we didn’t have any, and neither Daddy nor I wanted to go buy some.  I jokingly asked you if you’d go to the store and buy me ice cream.  You said, “yes!”  We thought that was so cute.  We laughed and moved on with finishing dinner.  Shortly after, I was cleaning up the kitchen and you ran to the freezer saying, “ice cream.”  “We don’t have any,” I said.  Next thing I know, you’re asking Daddy to help you put on your shoes.  “Why,” I asked?  “Ice cream,” you said.  Apparently, I still wasn’t understanding.  Then, you run to the front door, opened it (which you never do) and said “truck!”  At that point Daddy decided he better take you to the store.  He said you repeated “Mommy, ice cream,” the whole way there and back.

We had some fun and and not-so-fun things happen this summer.

Starting with the not-so-fun: at the end of June you had a surprise five-day hospital stay at Cook Children’s.  Early in the week I noticed you were not wanting to turn your head.  You we getting over a cold from the week before, but I couldn’t see any other symptoms or figure out why you were favoring one side.  On Friday morning, you woke with a fever and there was visible swelling in your neck.  We went to the pediatrician, who immediately sent us to the hospital for a scan.

It was discovered that you had a bacterial infection in your neck – an abscess and cellulitis.  The doctors immediately put you on antibiotics.  They admitted you to the hospital and we were told to wait 48 hours to see if the antibiotics were working.  If they did not work, it was likely you’d have to have surgery to remove the abscess.  Thankfully, after the two days, it was obvious that the antibiotics were working.  We had to stay three more days to ensure that all was healing well.

By the last two days, you were obviously improved and getting quite bored in your environment.  Thankfully, the doctor allowed you to leave the room and we were able to roam around freely, visit the cafeteria (they had Chick-Fil-A!) and play in the ChildLife playroom.  Within 2-3 days of returning home, you were acting completely normal.  Which was good, because our family vacation was up next!

The week following your hospital stay we loaded up the truck and drove to Broken Bow, Oklahoma.  We had rented a cabin for the week and were looking forward to a relaxing time together.  After the events of the past two weeks, four days of nothing was just what we needed!  We had lazy mornings, spent afternoons in the hot tub, went to the lake, did puzzles, read books, took naps and for dinner we grilled or went out to eat.  It was by far the most relaxed vacation I’ve ever taken.

And finally, your second birthday.  We didn’t plan a party, but we did have both sets of grandparents here for the week, so there were trips to the zoo and pumpkin patch.  As well as a morning spent at our local festival and two birthday dinners!  So basically, you had a birthday WEEK of fun!

I’m really looking forward to spending this holiday season with you.  You’ve really gotten excited about pumpkins and I can’t wait to see what you do when you discover Christmas trees and snow!!

I sure love you, sweet boy.

XX Mommy

Weight: 28lb

Height: 35”

Here’s a little update on how things are going lately:

The evolution of your communication amazes me.  At the beginning of May, you could clearly say 15-20 words and had another 30 or so that were harder to understand.  Now, just a month later, I cannot keep up with all the words you know!

It’s so fun to observe you learning a word.  We were at dinner recently and there was a buffalo head on the wall (we are in Texas, after all).  Buffalo.  That was the word of the night.  All through dinner you’d point at it, smile and say “buffalo.”  Over and over again.

It’s been funny to see what words really stick with you.  Trash is a good example.  You will point out every trash can you see and announce IN FULL VOLUME, while pointing, “TRAAASSSSSSSSSS!!”  Did you know that Costco has over 15 trash cans in their warehouse?  Of course you did, you pointed them ALL out!  Even the ones that were on the shelf for sale.  LOL

You will do the same with any school “BUSSSSSSSSSS!” you see.  Thankfully, there are many fewer school buses than trash cans.

Once in a while you use a word that we haven’t taught you.  Recently, you were sitting on Daddy’s lap and started saying “button” and pointing at his shirt.  This wasn’t a word we’d taught you, but you managed to pick it up.

In the last two weeks, you’ve started putting together two and three word phrases.  One of your favorites is “trash truck.”  I suppose that’s only fitting with your love of trash cans and all (see above).   ;P

Personally, I think your phrases have come about because you’ve learned your colors.  On most any item, you now assign the color to it.  Example: green truck, blue ball, red shirt, etc…  You currently recognize and can point out – green (your favorite), blue, yellow, orange, red, black, white and brown.  You still need a little help on gray, pink and purple.  You’re also learning the difference between light blue and dark blue thanks to the Mega Blocks you love to play with.

I am also amazed at the things and places you recognize.  You can pick my and Andrew’s vehicles out at the parking lot.  You recognize the park(s) and you get all excited, point and say, “gym” when we get near to the Rec Center.  You also say “home” when you see our house.

It has been quite enlightening to see many of my character traits mirrored by you.  As an organized first-born child myself, I can empathize with you on many things.   For instance, if something drops or spills, you cannot move past it until it is taken care of.  You keep saying “uh-oh” and pointing.  Even when we say it’s ok, or leave it alone or that we’ll get it later.

You’re about one of the cleanest eaters I know.  By 17 months, you could properly hold and eat with a spoon and fork.  The last couple months we’ve added plate eating.  You really like eating like a big boy.  The only time we need to worry about the plate is when you’re done.  You want the plate OFF your tray, and if we don’t catch it, it might make it to the floor.  wink

You’ve become quite the runner lately.  I use the phrase “go, go go!” with you a lot and you’re started saying it when you’re running.  You’re fast enough now that I actually have to try to keep up with you and pay a very close eye if you head for a parking lot, road, etc.

Household chores are still fun for you.  You will come running when you hear the dishwasher being emptied.  You help by putting all the silverware into the drawer (well, throw is more like it, but it gets in there!)  And you’ve recently started stacking all the plastic bowls and lids on the counter.  You’re actually quite helpful.  When we’re done, you want to the be the one to close the dishwasher door.  You also still feed the dogs occasionally and love to put things in the trash.  You know the difference between kitchen trash, recycle trash and the trash bin outside.

A couple weeks ago, we flew home to Michigan for the weekend.  You were such a good little traveler.  This is your third time flying, but the first time that you were really aware of what was going on.  You were happy as can be sitting in your seat.  Not once did you ask to get out and I kept you busy with new toys (Matchbox cars), movies and snacks.

More and more I’m beginning to see glimpses of you as a little boy and I love it!  You are such a sweet boy, friendly, social, and always ready to gives hugs and kisses.  I’m so proud of the little boy you’re becoming.

Our plans for this summer include lots of trips to the park, splash pad and pool.  We’ve also got a summer vacation coming up.  It’s going to be a fun summer!

Love you, Sweet Boy.  XOXO

PS – Enjoy these photos from the last few months.  They’re in chronological order from February till June.

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Now that you’re walking, park play dates have become so much fun.  Whether it’s just you and me, or we’re meeting friends, you absolutely love to run and play.  You spend the whole time moving, often just running around the park, picking up pieces of wood chips, acorns, or sticks.  And since Daddy had already taught you to use the slide at home, you easily climb the stairs and push yourself down the slide.  Swings aren’t really your thing right now.  You’ll sit for a few minutes and then you’re done.  Honestly, who can blame you – you have to just sit there and let me push you back and forth.   wink

I’ve found that you need active play time almost every day.  Usually, you get an hour at the gym three days a week, and I try to take you to the park once or twice a week.  It’s been cold lately, so we’ve started going to indoor play places.  Many of the large churches in our area offer free play in their kids’ center.  We went to one last week and you had the best time running around and climbing on everything.  We’re meeting friends there again this week!

Your eating abilities continue to impress me.  The foods you like continue to grow and you are a great eater.  You still eat eggs, toast and a banana every morning, but lunch and dinner vary depending on what we’re having.  You’ve gotten pretty good at using a fork and you’ll often ask for it at mealtimes.  As for teeth, you’ve recently gotten three of your molars and all four of your incisors, so I believe that brings to total up to sixteen.

You recently got your first taste of a sucker while at a friend’s birthday party.  The concept took a bit for you to get used too.  You looked at us as if to say, “I can’t bite it?”  “You want me to put my tongue on it?” Basically, you would hold it in your mouth and not let go.  An unfortunate side affect of that was that you also didn’t swallow.  By the time Daddy got you to open your mouth, he got a handful of cherry saliva along with the sucker!  LOL

There are so many new things you’re learning.  Animals continue to be a favorite.  You know the sound for dog, owl, hen, horse, lion and cow.  Thanks to books, toys and the Wild Kratts television show, you recognize the elephant, penguin, bird, giraffe, monkey, cat, sheep, dolphin, zebra, and many others.

You can point out (on yourself or others) many of the parts of the body – eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, toes, hair, hands, belly button.  We have a few books that talk about body parts, and it’s so cute to see you pointing to them as we read the book.

You still use sign language to communicate with us – “more,” “eat,” “all done,” “down,” and “bath” are the most used ones.  But you are trying to say words.  It’s so cute to hear you repeat things.  Initially, it sounds like gibberish, but as you try over and over, you begin to use the correct sounds.  We’ve been working on food words lately, since pointing in the direction of the kitchen doesn’t actually tell me what food item you want!    ;)  You’re currently trying to say such things as – noodle, orange, milk and raisins.  You can clearly say – eggs, cheese, banana, toast and blue (blueberry).

A few other things to note: you love to give high fives.  You’re sometimes shy with new people, but if they offer you a high five, you’ll run over and give them one, along with a big smile.

You are also responding to commands – lay down, sit down, hands up – which is great.  Now, if we can just get you to “come here” and not run the other way!

Recently, you discovered airplanes.  Anytime we’re outside, you keep an eye out for them and will quickly point them out to us.

Last month we started you on chores.  In the evenings, you help pick up your kitchen toys and any building blocks that might be on the floor.  This is definitely a chore for you as you don’t often want to do this.   smile But your favorite “chore” is to feed the dogs their dinner.  I’m not sure we should call it a chore, maybe……activity?  You love to do this!  As soon as you’re done with your dinner, you go over to Daddy, say “dog,” and point towards the laundry room where the dog bowls are kept.  We help you feed them and you always finish with a big smile and a hand clap.  It’s so cute!

That about wraps up January.  Let’s see what February brings!

December…..the most wonderful time of the year!  We don’t have any specific traditions yet, so I wanted to try a few different things and see what you liked.

We started out by taking you to see Santa at the Witherspoon Distillery in Lewisville.  It wasn’t busy and you seemed to think that Santa looked pretty interesting.  You weren’t really convinced that sitting on some bearded guy’s lap was the best idea for you, but you didn’t cry or yell.  However, you would not look at the camera.  Not once.  But you sure did go to town on the milk and chocolate chip cookie they gave you afterward!

Next up, we went to the Roanoke Christmas parade.  Now this was an activity you could support!  It was in the evening, so all the floats were lit up.  And they threw candy, which Daddy and I appreciated.   ;)  It was cold that night, so we bundled you up for the first time in a coat, hat and gloves.  You looked totally adorable and you happily kept your hat and gloves on all evening.  And oh, were you ever excited!  You had no idea what was going to happen, but you sure were happy to be there!  You were dancing, waving and smiling.  And you loved the lights, music and costumes.  You thought the fire trucks were really cool, until they played their siren right next to you.  The last thing in the parade was Santa and Mrs. Claus being pulled in a horse drawn sleigh.  I’m pretty sure didn’t even see Santa because…HORSES!  My goodness.  And they drove right in FRONT OF YOU.  So much excitement!  LOL

I was a little worried about how you’d do with the Christmas tree and all the decorations this year.  But you did great.  I put a few decorations on the floor and those were ones you could play with.  Everything else was up high.  You left the tree alone for the most part, but by the first of January you were starting to pull bulbs off the tree every day.  Apparently you thought it was time for tear down!  I was most surprised that you didn’t pay any attention to the presents.  We had them under the tree for quite some time.  I suppose you had no idea what they were.  I’m guessing next year will be completely different!

Daddy took vacation time for much of December and you absolutely loved having him around every day!  The two of you became best friends during that time.  While he was on vacation, we took you on your first visit to the zoo.  You thought it was awesome!  We were there for an hour and a half and you went to the petting zoo and played in the kids barn.  We also saw penguins, giraffes, monkeys, crocodiles, flamingos, meerkats, ducks, and of course……elephants!  Amusingly, you were more excited to see the large metal elephant display then you were to see the actual elephant.  You saw the display from a distance and ran (walked) as fast as your little legs would go, all the while pointing and exclaiming.  It was hilarious!

Daddy also taught you how to use your Little Tykes slide all by yourself.  I was downstairs and you two were playing upstairs.  Daddy sent me a video of you climbing up and sliding down all by yourself.  And you kept doing it over, and over, and over!  Starting with your left leg, you’d climb up two steps and put your left leg on the slide, bringing your right leg around.  Now that you’ve been doing it for a while, you’re comfortable with using either leg to start, and I’ve taught you to throw your arms in the air when you go down.

Next up is Christmas, but that’s going to get a post of it’s own.   smile

Here we are in the first part of 2016.  So much has happened in the months since your birthday.  Let’s start with October and November 2015.

Once you turned one, it seemed as if you grew older overnight.  You started climbing the stairs the weekend of your birthday.  Daddy quickly taught you how to safely crawl back down and it’s opened up a whole new world for you.  Besides the stairs, you can climb on or off of the couch, bed, chair, etc.  You’ll even sit down and climb backwards off the street curb!  It’s rather funny to watch, but I’m proud that you’ve realized you can use your climbing skills in other places.

The week after your birthday I took you to get your first haircut.  It had been getting really long, and Daddy kept telling me to get you a haircut, but I managed to wait until after your birthday.  We went to a cute place with lots of toys.  You weren’t sure about what was happening, but you sat still in your little chair and didn’t cry or fight.

Your speech and communication with us are continuing to grow.  You can sign the word “book,” and have starting saying “S” words which sound like “cheessssssssse,” and “yesssssssss.”  You also say the DG in dog and NK in pumpkin.

Animals are quickly becoming very important to you.  Of course, you love your dogs.  You love to read books about animals, and you like to play with the farm animals you received for your birthday.  But recognizing and pointing out animals on TV and out around town has become normal.  You particularly love the elephant in the Elephant Insurance commercial and the owl in the America’s Best commercial.  We can easily tell when you spot an animal because you exclaim, point and start making the animal sound.

You cut your first molar during October.  Molars are definitely more painful for you.  Sometimes when teething, there will be tears running down your face.  And not just when you’re crying.  It’s heartbreaking to see.  But you’ve pushed through this first one, and we’ve got plenty more to go.

We went to the pumpkin patch at Homestead Farms near the end of October.  It’s a small farm, so it was perfect for your first trip.  In addition to pumpkins (which you didn’t really care about), they had farm animals for you to meet.  You loved it!

For Halloween, you wore the cutest little bear costume.  We didn’t do any trick-or-treating, but we did stop by a neighbor’s block party to visit and see all the neighborhood kids’ costumes.  We let you pick a candy bar from the basket (Snickers, good choice!) and you just held it.  All night long.  It was so cute!

During the middle of November you stopped nursing.  Prior to that, we were down to bedtime only and it had become obvious that you were losing interest.  We’ve since come up with a new bedtime routine – cuddling with you and your blanket.  And both Daddy and I get to enjoy this with you.  Fifteen minutes spent cuddling with you sure makes for a wonderful evening.   heart

And finally – your first steps!!  We were in the kitchen and you walked a couple steps from Daddy’s arms to mine.  And back again.  Oh, we were so excited!  One evening, a few days later, you decided to walk all over the place.  Daddy wasn’t home, but I took lots of videos and pictures.  And then you just stopped for a couple days.  It was crawling only for you.  No matter what I tried!  Thankfully, you started back up again.  It took about two weeks before you were walking more than crawling.

Thanksgiving was a fun affair for you.  Family came to visit from Houston and you had a blast playing with your older cousins.  They were so sweet and patient with you as you tried to keep up with them.  You also enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with us.  As expected, the sweet potatoes were your favorite, but the cranberry sauce was a close second.  I took no pictures of that day.  Let’s just say that I was trying to enjoy the moment, and not that I forgot to take one darn photo.

And on that note, I’ll end with this photo.   smile