Fun Weekend

Daniel had a great time this weekend even though he is teething. We went to Little Gym for the first time on Saturday morning at 8:15am! Daniel is the youngest person in his class, but he was not afraid to try anything. Some of the other babies were crying, but not Daniel. He tumbled, and jumped and even tried hanging from a bar. I must say it is a very fun time for the parents as well. Daddy needs to make a guest appearance during one of the classes :)

On Sunday we went to church and Daniel played with his friends in the nursery. Somehow Daniel ended up biting me on the arm. I was so surprised that it happened. (of course when it happened again on Monday, Daniel was told NO, NO and Mommy left the room which created a melt down).

On Sunday afternoon, Debbie and Joe came to visit for a cookout. Debbie and I had a lot of time to play with Daniel while Michael and Joe were tending to our basement issues. Joe discovered that our sump pump was corroded so Michael and Joe ended up going to Loews and installing a new one. Heartfelt thanks to out to Joe for all his hard work while he was our guest. Debbie got to see Daniel in his rare reflective/mellow mood (probably due to Motrin for teething). We played and bounced and tickled him all night. Plus he got to wear his 4th of July PJs.

Once Daniel went to sleep, all 4 of us enjoyed a great dinner outside on the deck. It was so wonderful to have an adult evening with friends. Debbie and Joe are adopting from Russia, so we are sending lots of prayers that their adoption happens soon.

It seems that I have lost my husband to Guitar Hero III - Legends of Rock for the Wii. He has been playing it non-stop for the last couple days. I think this is a flashback to his dream of being a guitar player in an 80's Rock Band. So now I get to watch Michael take over our family room and play his guitar all night . . . .

Visiting Cousins

This past weekend we stayed with Carlos (Michael's Cousin), Daphne, Kana and Jake so that they could meet Daniel! Daniel was fascinated by Kana (she has a great personality) and loved playing with Jake and his trains. Kana can sing all kinds of songs and was kind enough to let us stay in her bedroom all weekend. She was so sweet to baby Daniel and entertained him during his first time in the pool. He was happy when he was in a raft in the pool (and did not have to cling to me). We are now going to have to look into swim lessons since he did so well. Jake was showing off his swimming talents and called me Lolly whenever he wanted to swim to me.

Kana, Jake and Daniel all got to play at the playground in the mall as well! Daniel figured out how to go up and down the two stairs at their house when I was not even looking.

We also got to visit with Juan (Michael's Cousin), Kari, Ariana and Alex for dinner on Friday and brunch on Sunday. Daniel was so happy to meet everyone in Florida and to experience summer in both pools. Alex and Michael played on the Wii of course (my competitive husband) which was much better than the infamous RISK game last time we visited - the game went on for hours and hours.

Daniel loves his cousins and cannot wait to see them again. Next time he is hopefully out of the phase where he screams really loud in the middle of the night.

And we have now officially exceeded 5000 pictures of Daniel during his first 10 months. The most photographed baby ever.

Sea World

Last week we went to Florida to visit Gram and Pop-pop (Holly's parents). The highlight of our vacation was a trip to Sea World. Daniel had a great day and managed to last 4 hours in the sun (just about the amount of time that I could last as well). Gram and Pop-pop were very excited for Daniel to see a show, so we went to the Dolphin and Whale show (Cirque de Soleil meets Sea World). Daniel definitely enjoyed the dolphins and the lady dressed up as a parrot. There were live parrots who flew right by his face. Daniel did so well sitting through the whole show and really liked it. Then we went to see the penguins and puffins as well as the turtles. Michael bought a spritzer fan for me and Daniel to cool us down. After lunch Michael and I took Daniel on the carousel - he was not too sure about his first ride, but I attribute this to being tired. It was such a fun day with Gram and Pop-pop. Plus I beat Michael at Wack-A-Mole (again) and won Daniel a stuffed Penguin. Pop-pop bought him a dolphin puppet that makes sounds like a dolphin!

The rest of our stay with Gram and Pop-pop was so much fun for them and Daniel. Kirby (their dog) wanted to lick Daniel and play with him 24/7. Daniel loved the exercise balls and Gram gave him an old TV remote to play with! Plus Daniel got to go on lots of walks and received lots of hugs and kisses. Daniel was introduced to all the neighbors of course.

Michael and my dad played golf and we all had plenty of ice cream (Daniel only had whip cream). Finally, you will see pictures of Daniel helping Pop-pop on the computer (he is such a whiz).