Front Teeth

This photo shows what is becoming Daniel's toothy grin! All four top
teeth are emerging, though his left ones are pushing through faster.
I predict that in a month, he will have a Six Toothed Smile!

DDD - 4/30/10

Daniel exploring a rock climbing wall with the help of his dad.

DDD - 4/29/10

At Daniel's 9 month check up yesterday, the pediatrican confirmed what
we believed: We've got an curious, healthy, and lovable baby! Daniel
tried to weigh himself on the scale and pranced around naked on it as
he adjusted the levers and inspected the mechanics of the scale. His
crawling and cruising are advanced for his age, and they assured us
that he will be walking and talking before the next 12 month
appointment!

Here are Daniel's 9 month stats:
Height: 30 inches - 96% -
Weight - 19 pounds - 25% -
Head Circumference - 47.2 inches - 92%

His weight is a lower percentile than last time, but he is so active
these days that they are not concerned with his weight. His height is
a higher percentile, so he is really a tall kid. His head size isn't
abnormal and is a proportionate.

Thanks for caring about our kid!

32 Weeks

As you can see from these photos, it is increasingly more difficult to do these week photo shoots! I have to trick you by hiding the week sign behind the pillow, distract you with books, and permit you a pacifier to calm down!

  

Dear Baby:

Here are some highlights from your 32nd week on Earth.

You are interested in self feeding!  You fed four spoonfuls of cereal to yourself while at Douglas Grandparents' house.  You really got frustrated when I took spoon away from you to clean up!  You were a mess, but you did get some food into your mouth.  After this incident, I bought you some small cereal called puffs.  You tried to feed puffs to yourself, but you seemed disappointed by the taste. It is good practice for you to try these though.  You are pretty good at hand-eye coordination, but you do miss your mouth and hit your cheek with the cereal sometimes.

You've been getting a lot of bumps and crashes.  This is because you are so wiggly!  And so interested in crawling around the world. Usually you only cry if  a fall surprises you or  if it is REALLY painful.  Other times when you fall,  you don't cry out.  You immediately get back to what you were doing.  I think it is because you are anxious to get back to playing!

You've started to say Mom, mama and similar sounding words more regularly. Sometimes you will say dah, Dan, or Dad, too.

 You are regularly showered with kisses on your sweet cheeks. I often get kisses from you. You can give kisses on cue.  They are always wet and sometimes toothy or tonguey.  I will say, "Give kisses, baby!" and you often do!  You've given smooches to my mom, your dad's mom, my grandma, Aunt Rachel, your dad, me, and a few others.

This week you tried blueberries with apples and seemed to like them.  I wondered what greens you'd enjoy, so I bought some Gerber food for you.  You tried Spring Vegetables and loved them!  You've never finished an entire carton of baby food until you tasted the pea, bean, zucchini and rice blend!

We took many stroller walks this week.  You were joyful during each one.  You cooed and seemed to really take in the scenery. One morning it was very windy on our walk.The wind blew your face and he laughed as if you had been tickled.  You kept giggling at the wind and it was so precious.

On Thursday, many of your Landolt relatives were in town for cousin Amanda's final four basketball game.  It was your first chance in Mizzou Arena.  The buzzers and whistles and cheering crowds were a bit much for you.  You sought comfort in my arms. You were alert and curious, but I do not know if you enjoyed yourself.  You didn't smile too much.  It was so new to you.  Your grandma Becky was there, as well as cousin Tyler and a few other relatives.  They remarked at how large you've gotten!

On Saturday morning, your uncle came to visit. He brought a gift for you. Uncle Wes gave you your first pack of baseball cards.  He even opened them up for you and showed you the players.  He liked one card, an Albert Pujols Cardinals card.  You held it and smiled. We'll try to keep these in a safe place for you, and Uncle Wes said he'd buy more for you so you'd have a good collection one day. 

This week, you spent so much time with your fingers in your mouth touching your teeth. The are rising higher and higher each day! You seem to be puzzled by the small white squares on your lower gums and you bring so many objects in your mouth to bite.  Luckily, you haven't bitten your parents!

Other things you are doing also involve your mouth.  Its like you are gaining a whole new awareness of your mouth and your voice!  You are starting to blow on things (like your toys) to hear the sound your lips make on the materials.  You are also doing this buzzing of your tongue, which sounds like a terribly rude noise!  You think its hilarious so you do it a lot.  You also stick out your tongue and test out what sounds you can make with it over your lips.  You do make Indian chieftain noises frequently, too.  You are just really noisy these days! We joke that its time for you to be in the nursery since you've become disruptive to the sermon at church.

You know you are loved and safe with us because you show us affection and trust.  It is a very good feeling to know I've communicated those things as your mother.

I love you always.

Top Teeth!

Two of his top teeth are in, and the other two are close behind! The right top teeth appeared during his last week of being an 8 month old.

Afternoon At the Park Photo Extravaganza

Last week, our cousins Laura and Lucas came to visit.  They ate lunch at our house, and then we spent time playing at the park. 

Lucas is about 8 months older than Daniel.  He is walking, talking, self-feeding, and has a full set of teeth.  What a good role model for Daniel!