The First Haircut!!!

Last weekend Eric, Mark and I took Daniel to get his first haircut. To be fair, it was a few hairs that needed trimming and the rat tail at the nape of his neck. We took him to where we get our hair cut and we expected him to cry, cry, cry. He didn't cry once! He actually laughed. Apparently the comb tickled him.



Daniel has been working really hard on his alphabet and numbers. When he is in bed we can hear him saying the alphabet to himself. He knows all of his letters (Maybe not in the right order but he knows them by sight) and his numbers in the right order up to fifteen! Pretty good. Here he is trying to correct me when I can't find the letter "D."

And finally, for those of you who have ever had to share a bathroom with me (you know who you are) and have accused me of having TOO MUCH of everything (Hair products, bottles in the shower, etc) -- well, it is hereditary. I think it came from Grammy, to me and now to Daniel. He cannot go ANYWHERE without every single one of his stuffed animals. In the morning he gathers them all up and walks them out of his room. Frankly, I don't know how he can carry them all. Can you count how many he's holding? He's annoyed with me here because he wants me to take them and put them on the kitchen table for him while he eats.

Mark started his new job two weeks ago and really likes it. Here he is hitting the books!

The Great Cookie Caper

I made cookies the other day and set them out to cool. I was surprised when I came around the corner and found that one of my cookies had a bite taken out of it...

Mark was at the range, I knew I hadn't done it, and Wallace the stuffed bear, my usual suspect, was serving time in Daniel's tent for prior misdeeds, so I posted a sentry to keep watch on the cookies. Sorry the surveillence tapes are a little grainy -- they usually are in this line of work...

Notice as the suspect approaches the cookies and looks around for any watchful eyes. Finding none, he makes his move. Assuming that the perp was walking away with the goods and wouldn't be so bold as to return to the scene of the crime, the taping stops.


However, after further surveillence, the perp is observed returning to the scene of his crime and surveillence begins again.

This month we went to visit Grammy and Grumpy in Ohio and they visited us in Virginia. We went to the local farm and had some corn and tomatoes. We also went to the Clermont County Fair... an interesting people watching event indeed. Little Bear had his first ride on a pony -- it didn't go as well as we'd hoped.

Happy Birthday Woobie!

Can you believe it's been TEN years? Woobie is a decade old. Wow. He had a very good birthday week. He and Dad went go-cart racing, to see an Indy car race, to the range to go shoot pistols and Eric's bow and arrow set, we had a birthday cake, and for his birthday Eric got to eat at Red Lobster -- he snarfed down $20 worth of crab! Must have been good crab.

Earlier this summer Daniel got to try out the sprinklers for the first time -- He really enjoyed it.

He also learned to eat corn-on-the-cob, a summertime necessity. And we have spent a lot of time in the bounce house!

Last month we also went to visit Nana and Pop and Aunt Ashley, Jake, Aunt Kara, Aunt Courtney, Aunt Donnisa, Uncle Mike, and Uncle Richard in Charlotte. Here are some pictures of the trip we took to Discovery Center. Daniel got to see a BIG bear. Eric really liked the caves and science stuff.

The boys went to the Children's museum on the Fourth of July and a good time was had by all. They have these cool fountains and beach areas in the "backyard" that Dan and Eric enjoyed.

Daniel has been going to a time-out stool for two minutes when he has issues with listening to Mommy. However, I have noticed recently that Daniel is sending himself to time-out. He appears to be self-regulating. For instance, today he kept climbing up and standing on his rocking horse (moose). I told him if he did it one more time he would have to go to time-out. He did it and then he pointed to his time-out stool -- which he went to very quickly. Then I was in the laundry room doing laundry and I thought I heard the door to the china cabinet open and then close (which is a definite time-out offense). Sure enough, I came out and found Daniel sitting on his time-out stool humming to himself. Mark thinks that if the price of opening the china cabinet is two minutes in time out, then Daniel has decided its a price he's willing to pay. . .



Grammy and Grumpy are coming to visit soon! We are very excited. Daniel and Daddy have been practicing...

Picnic Time

It is the season for picnics. The weather is beautiful, the grass is green and right now Mommy likes to eat! A Lot!

I had a picnic at school and Mommy came to eat with me. We had parachutes and everything.

Most of the kids brought peanut butter and chips and cookies and juice. Pretty normal stuff. One poor kid though had it rough. His parents packed him a weird looking natural grain cheese sandwich (blech!) and cold peas. Who could have guessed that we all loved the cold peas so much we stole them out from under his nose. I stole the most. Mmmm... still weird for a lunch, but I love them peas.

Last weekend Daddy, Mommy, Eric and I went on a picnic. It was lots of fun and very good. We got to eat lunch right next to a redneck wedding reception. Hoo-wee. You can imagine Daddy had a few things to say about that. And Eric laughed until juice came out his nose... what a role model!

And, here I am after I had to lose the pants. Let's just say that I have two parents and neither one could give me the dignity of packing an extra pair of pants in the diaper bag! sheesh... I fit right in at that redneck wedding!

Here I am with the Ove Glove. Look Uncle Ken! Ove Glove. Who doesn't love the ove glove (thank you Grammy!)

Finally, here is a picture of Mommy. This is the last one you will probably see for another nine months. That is because Mommy deals with morning sickness by eating and man has she been feeling sick. So, NO MORE PICTURES! (that's what she said). For those who didn't know, the Army promoted Mommy. Silly Army. Don't they know she is a mommy now and doesn't need to take care of a bunch of soldiers because she has me now? I don't think this means Daddy has to salute her any more than usual.

Love, Daniel

Daniel's Coded Message...

Get out your secret decoder rings. Daniel has videotaped a secret message just for you! Here is your clue... before Daniel was born (and named Daniel) we called him "The Biscuit." Please remember, he is trying not to make it TOO obvious for you!
Enjoy.