Growing

I cleaned out Daniel's closet today and packed up his 0-6 month clothes. After I finished, I sat on the living room floor looking at the plastic keeper with all of his tiny outfits inside. Hmmm. We have come a long way, baby. In some ways, it has gone so fast and in other ways, I feel like Daniel has always been with us. I put the keeper into the back of the closet...with the thought that someday we might have another baby who can wear those clothes. But, it truly seems unimagineable that I could ever love another child as much as I love Daniel. How could my heart hold it all? I am sure it will...somehow. God knows.

Daniel and friends

During the past few weeks, Daniel has gotten to play with several different kiddos! He absolutely loves being around other babies and toddlers. And I love getting to see my dear friends who are the mothers of these children. Here are some photos of our recent play dates.

Sadie and Daniel

Hanging out together

Daniel with his foot on baby Cole's head!

Ella and Daniel

Sharing toys

Thanks Kristen, Katie, and kids for hanging with us! I look forward to watching our children play together for years to come.

First zoo trip!

Brian and I have always enjoyed going to zoos. Before Daniel was born, we hit most of the big zoos in the surrounding states. We have been anxiously looking forward to visiting zoos with our little guy, and this weekend marked our first zoo experience with Daniel in tow. It was a beautiful October day, and we really enjoyed strolling around outdoors. Daniel was very curious about his surroundings and attentively watched the animals. The most memorable event of our zoo trip involved the goose pictured below.


Now, does this look like a dangerous situation to you? Who would have guessed that just seconds after this photo was taken, that goose would bite my baby! We had gotten some food pellets out of one of those little machines, and Brian was feeding them to the goose. I thought it looked like a perfect photo opportunity, so I pushed Daniel a little closer, and started snapping away. Brian looked down for a moment, and that goose reached his scrawny neck out and took a few good nibbles on Daniel's little toes! I screamed, "His toes, his toes!" I heard muffled laughter behind us and noticed an elderly couple who had observed the whole situation. Daniel took a few moments to digest what happened, and then decided to cry. We scooped him up, and he quickly calmed down. I think it surprised him (and me!) more than anything. We could not help but laughing, because Daniel's little toes were exactly the same size as the food pellets! The stupid goose got its wires crossed. Anyway, it sure made our first zoo experience with Daniel memorable. Here are some more photos!



I am glad that goat didn't chomp on his toes too! Next time, we will put Daniel in some steel-toed boots! Ha!

Caught red-handed!

Daniel absolutely loves his walker, and I love anything that keeps him entertained for more than five minutes. However, the walker requires a whole new level of baby proofing. When placed in his walker, Daniel immediately starts his circuit around the kitchen. He zips over to the tea towels hanging from the oven door and yanks them down. He then proceeds to another cabinet with a very interesting locking mechanism. He inspects that briefly before making his way to the peace lily. Now, Daniel is still at the stage where most everything goes into his mouth, so I have to take measures to keep him from eating our house plants. He always investigates the peace lily, just in case he can somehow reach its leaves. From there, he usually checks to see whether anything is on the kitchen chairs. I have the habit of hanging my purse on the back of our chairs,and yesterday, I left it unzipped too. Daniel was drawn to it like a magnet. I love the progression of these photos.

Caught in the act!

Who me?

The play pen is much safer captivity while Mom is trying to make supper!

On the move

In the past week, Daniel has suddenly become much more mobile. He is constantly moving, wiggling, squirming, stretching, reaching, pushing, and crawling! Yes, he has begun crawling...pretty much. It is sort of a half actual crawl, half army crawl. Regardless, he can get where he wants to go at a pretty quick rate!
This new mobility has posed some interesting challenges. For example, changing his diaper is so much more difficult. He will not lay still! He flips over onto his stomach and attempts to crawl off the changing table. Brian and I have developed a whole range of distraction techniques to keep him occupied. And if we thought changing his diaper was hard, giving him a bath is a hundred times more difficult. It ought to be an Olympic sport. By the time his bath is over, I am practically winded and need a nap. Wow.
The following photo is one that my mom took while I was attempting to change Daniel's diaper. I was trying to put the clean diaper on, but Daniel flipped over and crawled off completely naked. He grabbed my mom's camera strap as she took this photo. What a hoot!

Verses for moms

After having Daniel, I suddenly became a worrier. Objects and situations that once seemed perfectly safe to me were now the substance of my fears. I cried out to the Lord, asking how I could possibly keep my child safe from all these dangers. How can I be vigilant every moment of every day? The following verses have brought me comfort. I pray they minister to you as well!

He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. (Isaiah 40:11)

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

Happy Birthday, Brian!

We love you, Babe. Have a wonderful day!





And by the way, for those who want to know Brian's age, I will give some clues. (Remember, I used to be a math teacher!) It is a prime number and the sum of the digits is 4. That should give it away unless you believe he is 13. Hehe!