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.

Alabama 2011

Last week Dane and I surprised my friend Lauren in Mobile, Alabama. I was crazy enough to take Dane on a flight all by myself while being 5 months pregnant. I admit it was probably not the smartest thing I have done but it was sure worth it when I got to see the surprise and excitement on Laurens face when we knocked on the door. Overall considering Danes age and his activity level he did really well. If we would have had direct flights it would have been much easier but overall I am so glad we did it. The weather was so much nicer than here in Kansas City. We were able to go to the park and take walks most every night. Dane really enjoyed all the attention and affection he got from Chris and Lauren while we were there. Chris tried his best to wear Dane out but quickly realized it was not going to happen. Dane is like the energizer bunny, he doesn't get tired. The two of them did sit down a couple times to play some playstation 3 but Dane was a little confused by the controller Chris gave him because it had a cord. He was like "what is this???", he is used to carrying a wireless xbox controller at home. It is funny to think our kids wont even remember controllers having cords on them that will be so old school. Chris did his best to get Dane to watch some football but it is going to take a little more to convince him. One of Danes favorite things to do was go up the stairs over and over and over. It wouldn't be so bad but I can't seem to get him to understand he can't just walk down them. He will just step right off the top step like he knows what he is doing. I finally got him to just go up and down the bottom 3 or 4 and he still thought that was cool. Now that I am updating the blog I realized that Lauren and I didn't make it into any of the pictures :( but here are some of Chris and Dane.

The big news is ITS A GIRL!!!

Well as most of you know we are having another baby at the end of May and on the 17th we found out we are having a baby girl. The ultrasound looked good but we have to go back in 5 weeks for another one so they can get all the photos that they need. I guess she was sitting right behind my belly button and just refused to move no matter what the sonogram lady did. She said that she was stubborn but I was really hoping she was just lazy. I could use one with a little less energy than Dane has. It took us a while to get over the shock but we are very excited about her. I guess we were just really in boy mode so when we heard we had to stop the wheels from turning and switch gears. We are working on a name for her but are torn. We like the names Keira Marie and Brynna Marie. For some reason we just can't commit to one over the other.
I have started picking out bedding and paint for the nursery so now I just need to get the office cleaned out (where oh where will all this junk go??). So far I am thinking the bedding will be pink, green, brown, and white and the walls will be green. I have yet to go out and buy a cute girl outfit and I think I am scared to because once I start I wont want to stop. Girls just have the cutest clothes and I am so excited about getting to put cute little tights on her. Jacob and I are excited about having the opportunity to raise one of each. Here is to praying for a healthy, laid back, sweet baby that loves to sleep just like I do! (no really God that is what I want ha ha)

14 months

Dane is running full throttle these days. It amazes me how much he understands what you say to him. He talks all the time now. We can't seem to make out much of what he is saying but he sure has a lot to say anyway. He has started saying "Joe" much to my moms annoyance because he loves his good friend Joe (sisters boyfriend). Joe plays with Dane all the time and when you mention his name Dane will just repeat his name over and over.

Danes favorite thing to do these days is read books. I am really trying to encourage him to like reading because I think it is so good for him. Every night we read 3 to 4 books right before bed. Goodnight Moon and Cliffords Animal Sounds are by far his favorite books but we also read a night time bible too. The night time bible has a little song and hand motions that go along and he gets really excited when it is time to sing the song but he is not really into the bible stories yet since they are really for a child a little older. I figure it is never to early to start such a good routine right?

Here are some pictures of Dane in late December / early January.

Playing on the fireplace in our neighbors house instead of helping daddy rake leaves.

Outside to finally go help daddy get some work done.

Resting after a hard days work. This picture is just the best!