Water Park Fun!

So, I don't know how the temperatures have been in your neck of the woods, but it's been smokin' hot here in Idaho. Honestly, we're breaking records right and left and it's killing me! I like SOME heat, but I hate having to stay cooped up in our house all day long. (Daniel hates staying home too-- we have a small house!)



In order to get some fresh air, we went to a local water park. It has water toys, sprayers, and misters that come out of the ground in all shapes and sizes. It's fun for all! (I even took my Young Women there last week). Daniel is pretty brave. He thinks that he's a big kid and jumps right in. He's so cute to watch.





This particular day, Danny had two ladies that couldn't keep away from my little man. They were a little older, but Daniel doesn't mind. What is particularly funny about this picture is that they are playing with the water drain, NOT the actual toys or sprayers... I guess when you're that age, it just doesn't matter.





After a nice long splash in the water, it's time to go home... :)

We have a walker on our hands!

Although Daniel has been standing and cruising quite proficiently for the past several weeks, it is now official-- Danny can walk! His first step happened when we were in California on vacation. He took two clumsy steps and fell down. Now he can take up to 20 steps without falling! He's amazing! Granted, he doesn't like to walk all the time because he can definitely get around faster on his knees, but he is constantly trying to better his form and walk further and further distances. I thought that my house was baby proofed before, but we've now entered another realm of danger... Oh dear! This picture shows Daniel reaching his final destination-- his toys!

Family Bath?

One of Daniel's favorite things to do is bathe. Well, I don't know if he enjoys the bathing as much as he enjoys the splashing and drenching everything (and everyone) in sight. We had him sitting in one of those "bath seat" thingies ever since he could sit up, but he is just way too big for it now. So, he is free in the bathtub!!! Pretty scary for the person bathing him-- he's impossible to control!

If he's not trying to stand up in the slippery tub, he's grabbing every shampoo/conditioner/soap bottle nearby. Who needs bath toys when you have 16 bottles of semi-empty conditioner bottles, right? Daniel loves to splash and have fun. Needless to say, bath time is a cleansing experience for everyone involved... :)

The Many Faces of Daniel

Ever since Daniel was born, he has been a screamer. When he was a wee babe, he would scream because of discomfort and colic. Later, he would scream for attention and concern. Now, he screams for fun and laughter. And let me tell you... this boy has LUNGS! John swears that the NICU nurses used too much medicine to develop his lungs when he was born premature. I am sure that that is the case since his mom and dad are such quiet and reserved people... :) (Okay, maybe he got the lungs from his mama.)

This past week Daniel has decided to play a game with me when I'm getting dinner ready. He will scream, I will jump (because it really does scare me!), he will laugh hysterically, and the cycle continues. I know that I shouldn't be supporting this behavior, but it's so fun to watch his be the little jokester.

Another thing that JOHN has taught Danny is how to stick out your tongue. Yeah, another less than polite habit, but once again-- SO CUTE! :)

Chubba bubba!

My little Danny boy is a wee bit larger than most other babies his age. John likes to comment on his many chins, and everyone in our ward likes to count how many "elbows" he has. I think that it's absolutely adorable-- I love every single extra roll of skin! Just recently Daniel has taken a liking to walking. He'll stand up by himself and stand there waiting for others to clap for him. Then he'll take a couple of unbalanced steps before he falls. Very cute, all the way around.

In order to help him out, we bought this little push car/walker thing which Daniel loves. We love it because he can entertain himself rather than grabbing mommy and daddy's fingers to balance him up and down and up and down the stairs... It's been fantastic!

Although Daniel is getting closer to walking, I want him to just take his time... My house is not ready for a full blown toddler! Also, I will really, really miss all of his baby rolls once he starts walking and losing weight. Who doesn't love a chubby baby??

Happy Fourth of July!

We had a grand old time at a neighborhood pancake breakfast. We did the whole red, white, and blue thing. How patriotic of us, eh? Unfortunately, John had to work but at least we were able to play in the morning... Happy Fourth of July to all!

King of the park!

Daniel loves the park. When we go on our walks, he will start screaming and screeching in excitement once I turn the corner and it's in view... We love having a park so close to our home. We come so often that Daniel thinks that he owns the place! At this particular park, they have a big kid playground and a little kid playground. Daniel loves to crawl and cruise all over the little kid playground, showing off his mad skills to the other little kids. He'll race over to the other kids and try to play with them (unfortunately, they are at least 2 years old and not really looking for a drooling ankle biter for a buddy). He doesn't seem to mind though, and I am always there to cheer him on as he dives headfirst down the slide... That's my boy!

I wanted to comment on his cute overalls. John is not a big fan of overalls on kids. But he was gone to work, so he doesn't have any say in what I dress him in. I like to think that Daniel kind of looks like a farmer. What do you think?

So, while we were there, I was swinging Daniel when some 12 or 13 year old kid asked is he could push Daniel. I said that that would be fine. Then he decided to play games with him, like laying on the ground while grabbing his toes. I had to snap this shot because I figured that only in Idaho would some strange neighborhood kid choose to entertain the local playground kiddies. You gotta love this place. (You can't really notice, but Daniel is looking at him like he's psycho...) :)