First experience at Fun Run

Last Saturday I took Dane to fun run because Jacob was working and it was rainy outside. We had never been but I heard they had a toddler area so we decided to check it out. Unfortunately Dane was too scared to get into the bounce houses. I thought he would enjoy them since he loves the trampoline so much but he wasn't having any part of going on those things. Besides the bounce houses they had a few big toys to push around, which Dane loves to do. They also had an arcade too. I managed to get a few pictures of him playing with other toys before he found the arcade. Once he feasted his eyes on this race car driving video game it was all over. This kid was glued to this game. At one point a 3 year old boy tried to come over and pull him down but he had a death grip on that steering wheel. When it was time to go home he kicked and screamed all the way out the door and proceeded pretty much the whole way home. It was kind of comical how he tried to keep himself crying. I guess I give the kid an A for effort. It is so crazy how much he loves video games already. Of course you know who is to blame for this right? All in all we had a good time.

eIntense driving taking place

Asher and Dane both had lots of laughs at the crocodile game

Day at Oak Grove Park

Parks are the best! Nothing like being out in the nice weather enjoying a free activity. Last week we met some friends at Oak Grove park to enjoy being outside. Dane is now at the point where he can get up and down off of the big toys and slides all on his own. I thought this would really be nice because I could sit back on the bench and watch but this also means he can take off running places he shouldn't as well. Oh well who needs rest anyway right?

The cost of saving a few dollars

It was time for Danes 7th or 8th haircut (lets face it I have officially lost count now) and I forgot my coupon at home. I had put off taking him so long that his hair was starting to look like Justin Biebers, Jacob was having a fit. One night I was so determined that even though I forgot my coupon I wanted to get it done and done cheap. While driving down North Oak I remembered there was a beauty school. I figured it wouldn't be his best hair cut but hey it would be cheap.

HORRIBLE IDEA

After sitting in the hair dressers chair for an hour I finally decided that he was done. I told the lady that what she had done was enough and we were finished. At the time I didn't think it looked that bad and he was soooo tired. It was already 45 mins past his bedtime. He was so great the entire time too. The next morning when he got up I noticed that one side was about half an inch longer than the other. As the day progressed I couldn't help but laugh at how uneven the whole hair cut was. I know the whole premise behind is the beauty school is that they are learning but seriously an HOUR LATER and it is still looks horribly uneven? It was as if she had never done a hair cut before. Don't they have to work on a mannequin before they touch a live being? So long and frustrating story short: we had to buzz it with the clippers to save him further embarrassment. The crazy part about it is that he has less hair now then when he was born. I had a hard time getting used to it but it is pretty cute. I will probably buzz it all summer long since it grows so fast. So I guess it wasn't really worth saving the $5 was it?

Pics of Dane post buzz and bath

Fun outside

The weather has definitely warmed up and he has gotten a taste of what it is like to run around outside. If he had it his way we would just spend every minute outdoors. We are working on getting him some toys or activities to do in our backyard but for now he is totally content mowing the grass with his bubble mower, riding his little bike, playing with sticks, and knocking on the neighbors door. He has so much energy to burn so it is nice that he can run around. Hopefully we will get some type of play place for him in the back yard so I don't have to chase him as much in the front yard.

Getting tips from daddy about the proper way to mow the grass.

learning how to mow "superman" style.

playing with sticks

riding his little bike on the sidewalk

2010 NKC Snake Parade

Dane attended his first parade this year. He was so interested in the parade itself. He loved watching the drum lines and the dancers especially. Unfortunately Jacob didn't get to go with us and I wasn't able to hold the poor guy very long so we didn't get to watch as much of it as he would have liked. The parade is more than 2 hours long. We watched for about 30 minutes or so and then we walked over to the carnival / food portion. They had free pony rides, train rides, and a petting zoo. I didn't manage to get a picture of him riding the pony but let me tell you he rode like a champ, 1 handed! He seemed to like the train ride too. The petting zoo was a little overwhelming because they had too many animals in such a small space.

Dane on the train with Lindsey, Sadie, and Asher.

Dane a little confused as to what exactly is going on while on the train.

Taking a break from smelling animal breath and behind by the dozens! (unfortunate part of being so small in a crowded pen)

Making friends with the goat.

16 months

Well the eating habits have only gotten worse as the weeks go by. Now Dane only wants to eat cheese and crunchy things like chips and crackers. Most things you give him he will either refuse to open his mouth or he will throw it on the floor right away. I am trying hard to keep introducing good food to him every day just in case he changes his mind.

These days Dane is completely in love with his daddy. It is really cute to watch him light up when he wakes up in the morning. There have been plenty of times lately when he just snubs me to go find Jacob. Today he cried and begged Jacob not to leave the house after they had been together all day. They have so much fun wrestling around together. Dane pretty much makes Jacob read to him about every 5 minutes too. Jacob gets so frustrated because he wants to read the book from start to finish and Dane wants to read it from page one until he says so! That boy loves to be read to so much. I tried to take him to story time at the library again but it is really difficulty to keep him focused because we are in a new place. We were the only ones there so the librarian was trying to read to him and keep him focused but all he wanted to do was be chased around the room. Since I am so uncomfortable these days I was not up for it. I am not sure how much longer I am going to be able to keep up with him. He is so ready to play outside that he throws fits when I wont let him out. The little guy has so much energy to burn that it is so hard to do it at home indoors. If you go in the front yard he will walk you up and down the street as long as you will let him. As far as indoor fun his latest toy is a tools workbench set. He loves to play with the pretend drill and hammer. He also has a police motorcycle rocker that he rocks back and forth on all by himself.

This month Dane learned to crawl up AND down the stairs all by himself. He is also getting into brushing his teeth. The other night Jacob gave him his bath and started to walk out of the bathroom and Dane started screaming. I asked Jacob, "did you brush his teeth?" when he went back into the bathroom and gave him his toothbrush he quieted right down. Now that would make any dentist proud right? It is so funny how kids get accustomed to a routine. Every night we do a bath, brush his teeth, read a couple books, then he goes to bed. Even with all the preparation it still takes him about an hour to fall asleep but he just lays in there until he does. I would drop the bath to every other night if I didn't think it helped him to relax and get ready to sleep.

Speaking of sleep, Dane has also pretty much dropped down to one nap a day. We are trying to get him to take it from about 1 to 3. That schedule doesn't always work but you have to have a plan right? I figure it would be nice to have him on a schedule before Brynna comes and totally sabotages mine. I am trying to talk to Dane about Brynna to get him ready but he doesn't really understand. We go into her room sometimes and I talk about her to him, that's about all I can do for a 16 month old.

15 months old

Dane had his 15 month appointment and everything went great. He is growing right on schedule and weighs about 25 lbs. It is really true about what people say regarding each stage. It seems like each month just gets better and better. I would really have a hard time saying which one is the best. Since Dane was born we have been doing play dates with five little boys and now they are starting to interact with each other. They are starting to play with toys together and take each others toys away too. It is so much different than watching the girls play. When the girls get upset with each other they scream but the boys just poke, tug, hit and yell as well. I can't imagine what it will be like when they are 3 and they just beat each other up instead. I just say let them go for it for now. We have been enjoying playing at the indoor play place at Zona Rosa while it is so cold outside but soon enough we will be able to go to the park. As far as inside the house Dane is really into watching Jacob on the laptop or on the XBOX 360. He also love to push anything around so we got him a lawn mower that makes lots of noise. He also likes to ride non-motorized toys around the house. He got a motorized 4 wheeler for Christmas but he just wants to push it around instead of ride it. That boy is going to have some muscles! His communication is getting so much better as far as what he understands. He still talk A LOT about nothing in particular though. He is not so much interested in repeating as he is in just babbling. I think he has always been way more focused on motor skills than verbal skills but he is still soaking it all in. Lately the frustrating issue is eating. I was really trying to feed him a balanced and nutritional diet when he was a baby so that he would eat anything, especially veggies. For some reason he has become the most picky eater. It is like he has entered a texture crisis. The only thing he wants to eat right now is basically fruit and crackers. He doesn't want to touch any meat or veggies. Although it sounds easy I have the hardest time making him lunch and dinner because I really want him to eat something nutritional. I am just hoping that this blows over soon.