I'm One!

Yay!!!!!!!

Daniel,

What a marvelous celebration was had for your very first birthday. A crowd of friends and family gathered at our home out of love and continued support for you, your dad and I. We are so blessed. There are many memories from the day we had, a few that I want to share with you below.

1. You cried right before you got your cake because mom was running around the house looking for a lighter to light the candle and you could see dad holding your cake. (You ended up going without a candle.)

2. You ate not only some of your own cake, but then part of your dad's cupcake and grandpa Tiger's, too. Not to mention the night before, on your actual birth date, you had chicken tacos and your first apple pie a la mode! Thanks Nona and CB.



3. You ate dirt for the first time. You hated it.



4. McKenna was so unhappy getting into a wagon with you and Mason that she jumped ship head first. (Notice McKenna's little legs to the left of the photo.)



5. For lunch you had PB & J, but you still seemed to have room for pizza and cake, and more pizza.

6. You were given some very nice toys, including toy trucks, sports equipment and a gumball machine that took no time to navigate. You also now have a pass to the Denver Aquarium, a pool for the backyard and some new clothes and books.



7. Auntie Megs and I, (mom), opened all your gifts once you crashed after all your guests left (two hours after your usual nap time).

8. The morning of your actual birthday (Friday, April 23) there was a rain/snow storm that lead to a leak through the roof of the sun room. Praise God for better weather Saturday afternoon. No one had our roof come crashing down on their heads!

9. The morning after your birthday you had one of the biggest diaper blow-outs in a long time.

10. The day after your birthday you set a new record walking around the dining room table three times without stopping. It was a great way to walk off all that cake!

Congratulations, Daniel. You are one year old!

Daniel Can Play Soccer

Daniel takes after his dad and loves playing soccer. "A good soccer player doesn't have a best foot" as Coach Tiger (JJ's Dad) would always say, and Daniel can use both his right and left foot.



We're sending this video to Liverpool in hopes that they will sign him to a contract now before everyone else spots Daniel's raw talent. Liverpool might be the only team Daniel would play for though after our friend Patrick gave him a Liverpool jersey as a present.

Daniel Walks On His Own

Daniel is now walking all on his own and boy does he love it. He started off with two or three steps and then would fall over, but as you can see in this video he is now able to walk all the way across our living room in pursuit of a ball.

I'm Almost A Year Old

... and some of my favorite things are:

1. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
2. Giving the high-five
3. My swing
4. The slide
5. Being Outside
6. Going for rides in my wagon
7. My cousins Aravis, Jericho, Haven and Gideon
8. Balls! Kicking them. Throwing them. Looking at them!
9. Dancing in my crib when I first wake up
10. Pulled pork sandwiches - no joke!

I have recently learned to stand by myself and take a few steps. (Video coming soon!)

I am also now saying "bye-bye," "ball," and "car" in addition to "dada," "mama," "dog" and "uh-oh."

Friends

If friends were flowers, I'd pick you!

-author unknown

This is my buddy Matt. He and his mom are big on the zoo, which is good for me because they invite me along. Matt's a few months younger than I am but he already has seven teeth. Imagine all the food I could eat with seven teeth!


This is Mason. He's one cheerful, dude. Our dad's are best buddies, which means I can bank on Mason being my brother for years and years to come.


Oh. Her? Well, she is ... well, despite the fact that all little girls have cooties, Faith and I enjoy playing together. My mom tells me that when I was little Faith, 3, would feed me my bottle. She also watched me get my diaper changed - embarrassing. I hope that won't hurt my chances of a first date when we are 18.


This is Anna. She and I like to dance to the worship music together at church. We also try to rock the seats in front of us as hard as we can!


McKenna, sorry my parents couldn't find a more recent photo of us. We are both a lot bigger now, and I don't cry when we are together like I am doing in this photo.

You Do What You Gotta Do

Daniel has been sick these last few days, which means he has been a bit needier than usual. This morning JJ and I were trying to accomplish a few tasks around the house while Daniel was in a state of needing to be close to mommy and daddy. The solution?


You do what you gotta do!

Happy Easter!!!

...yesterday!!!

Big Boys Slide