Daniel's Eleventh Month

I can't believe it.  This is my last "monthly" update.  After this, Danny's age will be measured in years, instead of months.  While I love watching him grow and become more of a little person, I am mourning the fact that our baby days are almost over, especially since we might not have another.  I know it's a cliche, but I cannot believe how quickly time flies by.  Today, these kids are fighting for a spot on my lap; tomorrow, they'll be fighting for my car keys.  Sigh.

Aaron

• Aaron is such a helper these days.  He wants to help with chores, cooking, cleaning, caring for Danny, you name it.  One afternoon, he voluntarily cleaned up all the toys from the backyard, including folding up the lawn chairs and putting them in the storage bin.  Another day, I was exhausted from a bad night with Danny and Aaron tucked me in, brought me a water bottle, and then played quietly by himself while I napped.  His teacher has also told me how much he helps out in the classroom, acting like a "big brother" to his classmates.  She said she was going to miss him next year.
• He is hungry for approval.  When he does something well, he'll turn those baby blues on me and ask pointedly, "Did I do a good job, Mommy?"  "Is my picture pretty?"  After we had a toenail painting party (gender-inclusive in this liberal family), he said, "I want you to think my toes are pretty, Mommy."  Such innocent honesty.  
• We have a children's Bible that we read each night and the other night I made the mistake of letting the kids pick Revelations.  The thought of heaven coming down to earth and everything changing was terrifying to Aaron.  It broke my heart to see him struggling to understand how it could be a good thing.  Despite my best efforts, everything I said just seemed to make him feel worse (Me: "Maybe heaven will be like getting to eat ice cream all the time!" Aaron (crying harder): "But I don't want to eat ice cream all the time!!!").  Finally, I just gave him a big hug and assured him that I would always be with him.  Then I distracted him by talking about Octonauts.  That seemed to do the trick.  We're sticking with Noah's Ark and Jonah from now on.

Jill

• Jill is still very much into acting out her favorite stories, but she likes to add her own unique twist.  For example, lately she wants to be Sleeping Beauty (even though she's never seen the movie) but when I agree to play the prince and give her a kiss, she refuses to wake up.  Instead, she giggles and trills: "It didn't work!"  She is also still obsessed with Frozen (what is it with that movie?!) and she loves the duet between Anna and Prince Hans.  She wants me to play Hans and to ask her to marry me, like he does in the movie.  Except when I do, she grins and shouts, "Nope!"
• Everything is grand and dramatic with Jill.  When I do something that makes her happy, she shouts: "You're the best mommy ever!  I love you this much!" as she stretches out her arms as wide as she can reach and then throws herself into my arms for a big hug.  But when I fail to meet her expectations, I get: "Don't talk to me!  I will never listen to you again!" accompanied by an angry pout and arms crossed in defiance.
• We are in the very early stages of potty training.  It's more like dabbling, really.  She uses the potty when she wants to, and she gets raisins as a reward.  When we have success, she likes to gather everyone into the bathroom to view her handiwork.
• Jill's favorite word right now is "why?"  I think we went through a "why" phase with her before, but it kind of phased out.  Now it is back in full force.  And no matter what answer I give her, she'll respond with, "Why?"  I'm not even sure she really wants to know why.  It's just a reflex for her to ask.  I'll admit that I've exasperatedly shut down a string of 10-15 whys in a row with the classic: "Because it is."  And Jill's response?  "Why?"

Daniel

• Danny has started giving kisses.  It's the sweetest thing.  If I ask for a kiss, he gives a big grin and leans his face forward until his open mouth is on mine.
• Still making our slow but steady way toward better sleeping habits.  Right now his typical wake-up time is 5:15 a.m.  But  the spring time change is in a few days, so 5:15 a.m. will soon become 6:15 a.m.  Hooray?
• He has a mind of his own and does not like it when he can't do what he wants.  If I won't let him chew on dirty shoes, or hurl himself down the stairs, or climb up a bookshelf, he squeals in anger and twists his entire body with such force that it's hard to keep a hold on him.
• Speaking of climbing, it's one of his favorite things to do.  He can climb up onto the trampoline and hang onto the bar while he jumps.  He can climb up the slide and onto chairs and into Jill's bed.  He's had a number of falls (none too serious, thankfully) because he doesn't quite understand yet that what goes up must come down!
• Danny can stand on his own for a few seconds now, and is showing more interest in being on his feet (as opposed to collapsing into a crawl like he used to do).  Won't be long before we have another toddler!

2/11: An empty Amazon box provides hours of entertainment in our house

2/12: Strong-man Dan

2/12: Lollipop blues

2/15: Danny's favorite activity right now is to pull all the books off his shelf and flip through them

2/17: I just think she looks so cute sipping her hot chocolate

2/17: You shall not pass!

2/19: Mommy in training

2/19: Man, he's getting good at this!

2/19: Danny and his buddy Sawyer, excited about the joint 1st birthday bash they are going to be throwing in a couple of months!

2/19: One of the rare instances when Danny looks small

2/19:  Our not-so-little explorer

2/20: Cool cats

2/20: Future babysitter?

2/20: The women in our family are just as strong as the men!

2/21: Thanks bro.

2/22: So much to think about when you're two

2/22: She climbed up there all by herself!  Getting down was another story...

2/22: Enjoying some sunshine!

2/23: Showing off the handiwork of his space-age ants

2/26: Morning playtime with this early riser

2/26: Dealing under the table

2/26: A little lopsided

2/26: A swingin' good time

2/27: Dance party

2/27: Ready, set...gah!

2/27: Oh captain, my captain!

2/27: Pretty cute line-up

2/29: Summer needs to get here fast.  We are hard up for entertainment around here.

3/4: Play-dough masterpiece

3/5: Balancing act

3/5: These kids never met a tire swing they didn't love

3/5: He just won't believe us when we tell him he needs a nap

3/6: Monkey corner

3/6: Bring it on

3/7: He has a love/hate relationship with the slinky

3/7: Sittin' on top of the world

3/7: Hang on a minute!

3/10: BFFs

3/10: This little cowboy is 11 months old today!  Yeehaw!

Quote Wall/Memorable Moments
-Aaron (taking the dollar he received in a valentine from his aunts): "Mommy, I'm going to put it in my piggy bank.  But you can use it if you need it.  If you need more money to buy food because you don't want to work anymore to make money, I can help you!"

-Aaron: "Mommy, I love the temperature of your skin."

-Aaron: "Daddy, how old are you?"
-Chris: "Thirty-seven."
-Aaron: "Thirty-seven!  That's old.  You should go and die."

Aaron: "I like to make pretty things for girls."

-Jill (trying to escape from my embrace): "Mommy, can I get out of you now?"

-Aaron: "Daddy, is football your favorite sport?"
-Chris: "Um, I like to watch it.  But it's not my favorite to play."
-Aaron: "Is basketball your favorite to play?"
-Chris: "Yep."
-Aaron: "Me too.  We have the same favorite!"
-Chris: "Do you know what my next favorite is?"
-Aaron: "No, what?"
-Chris: "Volleyball."
-Aaron: "That's not a sport!"

-Aaron: "Mommy, stop tickling me!  You mosquito bite!"

-Aaron: "What are you watching, Mommy?"
-Me: "It was just a video about the election, and the people who want to be president."
-Aaron: "Why did it say 'gun'?"
-Me: "It was talking about how some of the people who want to be president want more people to have guns.  But I don't agree with that, because I think guns are dangerous."
-Aaron (nodding knowingly): "And if they are going to shoot at us...duck."