and....

...I forgot this one. Other than "tees" (keys), Daniel can say spoon! We went to dinner last weekend with my parents and my sister and brother-in-law. Daniel loves to play with the silverware. He picked up the spoon, studied it, looked at us and said, "Spnnnn."

Of course, we all clapped and cheered. Daniel just beamed with pride.

puzzles

My brilliant boy can do puzzles! He has three, and the two that incorporate sound have become his favorites. The first is farm animals that when you match them up the animal sound is heard. Well, it's farm animals and a hamster, and a pig. Okay, it's pets + farm animals. I worked on this one with Daniel for a good week and then he picked it up on his own. I sit there amazed watching him pick up a piece and look for the matching picture on the board.

Gigi came to visit this week, and she brought a very similar puzzle that uses vehicles instead of animals - ship, firetruck, helicopter, etc. We opened it up for him, and I kid you not, he dove right in! It took him just a couple of tries to start matching them up.

He also has become very interested in my car keys. As an infant, he liked them because they rattled. As a toddler, he likes them because he sees what they do. After I open the door, he starts to repeat, "Tees, tees...." (keys) and takes them out of the doorknob. He stretches up on his tiptoes to put them back in the door. We were unloading groceries the other day, and I notice that he has stuck my key into the keyhole on our TV cabinet. Mom and I were so impressed. We never actually lock the cabinet, so he figured it all out on his own.

It is absolutely nothing short of amazing what he understands and can do. Daniel is becoming so expressive - a nice way of saying demanding - but it shows us how much he is advancing. I remind myself of that whenever he pitches a fit because I do not do what he wants!

sheer joy

D.C. had about 3-4 inches of snow Tuesday night, so we woke up to winter wonderland for Valentine's Day. Daniel gets very excited when he sees snow. He starts to jabber away pointing and squealing. The last two dustings we had came at times when he had a cold, so I didn't take him out. Today, he frolicked in the white stuff. Scott didn't have to go to work, which was the best V-Day gift ever. We bundled Daniel up and pulled him in his sled up to CVS for salt for our walks.

We took some video, but were not able to take any still pics. I wish I could have captured on film (well, now disk) the expression on his face as we walked up the hill, but it will be a long time before I forget it. It was pure bliss.

Later this afternoon, he picked up his mittens, hat, and boots and brought them to Scott and signed, "please." So, they went out back and made some snow balls.

I had forgotten what fun snow is as a kid. And today, I learned how much fun it is for an adult experiencing it with a child.

conversation between Daniel and Scott walking into the house tonight

Daniel, can you say duck?
Dut
Can you say fish?
Pish
Can you say hot dog?
hot daw
Can you say cracker?
crakaw
Can you say pizza?
Peeza
Can you say mommy?
Daddy
Can you say purple?
Puwple
Can you say snake?
hissss
Can you say play doh?
Pay doh

All Grown Up

My new favorite photo

Daniel with Uncle Ty. I love this one!!!

Artwork

For the last two Friday afternoons, I've let Daniel go to town in the kitchen. The first time he pitched a fit because I made him use the crayons only on his table. So, I just closed the gate in the kitchen and let him go for it. He uses his crayons and colors all over everything. What did we do before the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser?