This and that

Not much new to report around our house. Daniel is keeping us busy, busy. He crawls faster than lightening, and he is constantly pulling himself up on whatever furniture is nearby. You can't take your eyes off the child for one moment. I was trying to put my contacts in this morning, and he escaped from his bumbo, crawled to the toilet, pulled himself up, and was unwinding the toilet paper. I only turned my back for a few seconds, and he was able to accomplish all of that.
His speed and mobility make for some interesting situations. For example, I decided to cut his hair one evening. Someone had mistaken him for a little girl the day before, which completely surprised me. Daniel has looked like a boy since the day he was born. However, with his long wispy blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes, I could almost understand the confusion. So, we decided a little trim was needed. I placed Daniel in his bumbo, gave him a toy for distraction, and took a few snips of his bangs. I gasped in horror. What had I done? He suddenly looked like Moe from the three stooges. In addition to that, Daniel had become bored with his toy (it took all of 10 seconds) and decided to start grabbing at the scissors. I called for reinforcements. Brian ended up holding Daniel's head still and his arms down while I finished the job. Daniel was not happy with this arrangement and gave quite a struggle. It was certainly not the best hair cut I ever gave, but we got it done. :)
Here are some photos from the past couple of weeks.

Playing in the leaves

Sitting on his cow

Daniel with his favorite toy...the TV remote

Brian and his boy

Daniel and me, taken on my birthday!

First Halloween

We hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

Moo!

Our little cow

P.S. Brian says that Daniel was not a cow for Halloween...he was a baby bull. I guess that would be correct...I am the only cow in this family. Ha!

When Sleep Is Withheld

The past few nights have been rather sleepless for me. Daniel is struggling with a cold and has not been sleeping well. Even when he is slumbering peacefully, I have been unable to sleep. I cried out to God (and anyone else who would listen). How can I go on like this? I have not had one full night of sleep in nine months. It cannot be good for my body…not to mention my mental functioning!

This morning, my eyes happened to fall on a poem written by Ruth Bell Graham, entitled “When Sleep Is Withheld.” She talks about when God asks for our nights. We have the choice to take the easy path or the blessed path. Suddenly, a load was lifted from my shoulders. Sleep, like all good things, comes from the hand of God. He is completely aware of my physical needs as well as my spiritual ones. Perhaps this time has been ordained for greater blessing…for getting to know Him better…for discovering His will.

When I become sleep obsessed, I miss out on the joy of my present circumstances. I count the minutes until I can go to bed, instead of enjoying those precious minutes with my son and husband. I also miss the blessings God is providing in the midst of this sleeplessness. He has sustained me miraculously. Even when I have little sleep, I still walk through my day with sufficient energy. What a blessing!

I am once again reminded that our joy does not come from outward circumstances. Joy is something that Jesus plants deep down in our hearts. Joy comes from doing God’s will. And God always provides what is needed to do His will…sleep or no sleep. Praise the Lord!

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!