Mel's Fantastical Insights

Daniel has graduated to a booster seat and now sits with us at the table for about twenty seconds longer than he did in his high chair. It is an improvement though because now we say "would you like to sit in your big boy chair?" and of course he comes running. We'll see how long it lasts. I give it about a week. As many of you know I have been waiting somewhat impatiently for Daniel to start talking, and really I just want him to make animal noises because I think that is so funny when kids do that. So last night at dinner Daniel of course had thrown his on the floor and we were trying to get him to say words and noises. He made a "ruff" sound for the dog, a "meow" type sound for the cat and then we asked him what a horse said. He smiled and out of his mouth came this shrill type of neigh (which was the very first time he'd ever responded to the horse question) and it was awesome. Apparently our laughing encouraged this shriek from continu...

So a few months ago Jason and I decided to try to make our lives a little greener. Since that time we have sold one of our cars (the gas guzzler)and bought bikes and a trailer, we are trying to use reusable grocery bags, and switched away from using bottled water everywhere we go. We found these cool Nalgene bottles (reusable plastic bottles)that have been awesome for us. The big problem with them has been that Daniel has been fascinated with them. He has almost perfected dumping huge amounts of water on his face while trying to drink from my bottle which is pretty impressive to watch. So today, we went up to REI to get some more biking stuff and saw that Nalgene makes a toddler water bottle. Imagine, I thought to myself, would I really add another sippy cup to Daniel's infinite collection? The answer was easy when I saw his reaction to the bottle I was holding in my hand, euphoria. He got to pick out his color bottle, he picked blue just like mine, and carried it up almost...

Sometimes I wonder if we are insane for spending as much money on baby stuff as we do. As a student of history I wonder how anyone made it without "signing time", or plastic blocks, or disposable diapers! How any baby survived without diaper ointment and how mother's still had time to do anything else I guess is something I will never truly understand. We purchased a Chariot Cougar 2 (basically a bike trailer) today after much deliberation. Granted it is really cool and avocado green at that, but only time will tell if it was worth the money. Daniel of course will never care nor understand why his ride behind my bike cost twice as much as my actual bike. Nor will he know how much trouble I went through to get the green trailer despite the popularity of the red one. Even though it takes up the whole trunk of our little subaru, hopefully Daniel will enjoy the view of my back tire from his seat.

After living in Logan, UT for a few years I didn't think the cold would bother me ever again. This year I have started to experience cold in a different way, as in constantly wondering if Daniel is cold. Are his hands cold? Does he need a hat? If I put a blanket on him in his car seat what should I set the heater at in the car? I feel as though that's all I think about sometimes and as Jason knows, it would be easier if I could find his hats half of the time I start to look for them. But so fat Daniel has stayed healthy and hasn't been too cold. Stephanie's wedding was last weekend and it was so very cold. But luckily Daniel seemed pretty content all wrapped up in his warm blankets. It is on weekends standing in the snow with the howling wind that I do miss CA and sometimes even FL, even though I am aware that both places do get cold. Maybe one day we'll bust out of the cold northern states and head south, but until that happens, to those who must deal wit...

       

Today launched a new phase in our lives as parents. Daniel has finally figured out how to crawl forward. He can now go backwards, in circles, and slightly forward. And as I watched him wriggle forward and then pull himself up on the laundry basket, I couldn't help thinking about our need as humans to move. Around here in Lehi, UT, there is not just a need to move but a need for speed. Although nice men and women post speed limit signs all over the roads, the law comes second to people who need to get somewhere, and get there fast. I am sure that Daniel will eventually be one of those speed demons of a driver. Since day one he has wanted to move to wiggle and see things around him. I can only imagine him in about six more months running from place to place. He is not content sitting still or relaxing. He wants to be mobile and more importantly he wants to do things for himself. Daniel would love nothing more if he could feed himself, walk and no longer be confined in...

Daniel is the cutest baby in the whole world, according to me. But I am aware that all moms think that about their child. Daniel started laughing about a month ago and went from little giggles to belly laughing in a few days. He now laughs often and loves especially playing a peek a boo type game. Here is a clip of Daniel laughing at Jason.