Daniel's First Wedding

An aunt and uncle celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary with a vow renewal, which we called a re-wedding at our house.  My family came up for this service and we dressed Daniel in one of his non-play clothes outfits.  He looked spiffy!

Going to this rewedding meant that he'd miss afternoon nap.  I braced for the worst.
He did well though and had to out of the sanctuary during the ceremony because he was talkative.  He wasn't unruly, just curious about the speakers, the flowers, the lights, the chairs...

After the ceremony, there was a little food party.  Daniel spotted the dessert table right away and really wanted to eat some of the cupcakes.  "Dee dee eak those flowger muffins!".
He also played with a second cousin, aged 4, and copied each silly idea she had.  He has a blast!

In that large head and underneath the scraggly hair is a very absorbent brain!

This was super exciting for him.

I brought along a newer toy he hadn't played with - an ATV with a man on top.  He really enjoyed it! He kept saying it was his Poppy on the four weeger.

I love the look of concentration on his face here!

He actually picked this shirt out when I bought it. I wanted to buy a green one, but he insisted on blue.  He rarely cares about his clothing, so I let him win.

Such a conspiring face! I can tell he's thinking of trouble/fun!

This photo makes him out to be a bit more calm than he was, but in truth he was the Good Boy everyone kept referring to him as.  He didn't run amuck (until the end), wasn't very noisy, and was pleasant.  No fits even without a nap and with too much sugar... hurray! Go Daniel!

Pride and Disappointment

Dear son,

Today you disappointed me several times. You had five meltdowns before noon.  Crying, wailing, moaning, whining, saying "hey hey no waaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" (which is against the rules), and refusing to go where you needed to.  You had a rough morning.  They were rough on me, too.  I felt sorry for you that you couldn't cope not getting your way and that I couldn't find ways to compromise.

But you did something that made me really proud to be your mum today.  You cleaned up toys in the nursery when we needed to leave church, and none of the other (older!) children did this.  You picked up all the trucks and cars and lined them nicely on the shelf. I told you I was proud of you for being obedient and helpful and you LIT UP.  It was a special time for you.

The last four months have been chock full of difficult times for you since you have to do things you don't want to do, but you do have MANY more good times than bad.  You really do.  And there are whole spans of time - like six hours - where you are sweet and agreeable and obedient and funny.  When you are tired, hungry, annoyed by your sister, and prevented from going outside or brushing your teeth or pretending to drive the car or forced to sit when you don't want to - its bad news.

Its the times when you are so good that I realize... hey, he's actually only a rough pill every now and then and I appreciate you.

We are proud of you, son, and even when you disappoint us momentarily, there are so many times of redemption.  You apologize, you seem to understand when we talk to you about the consequences of negative behaviors, and you do try hard.  And no matter what you do or how you act, we do still love you and we always will love you.  Even if we are not proud of your actions, we still love you in that moment.  Its our job to show you Christ's love that is not dependent on performance or obedience... just to model a love that keeps loving and keeps hoping.

Love
Your mama

DDD for December 30

Today was a really great day for Daniel.  His behavior was stellar and not at all like yesterday's shenanigans of naughtiness.  He was so well behaved all day!

In the morning he helped me to clean the bathrooms, top to bottom.  He obeyed when I asked him not to flush the toilet (rare obedience in this thing!).  He also tried to help scrub the showers, which was sweet.

Later, we met my mom, my aunt, and my sister at the mall.  DHH stayed in his stroller and was sweet for nearly 3 hours!!!!!  He hasn't been sitting calmly in his stroller for ... 9 months maybe?  I was delighted to finally get to look at the mall without wrangling an upset baby who hates stroller rides.

Then we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  He dipped chips in (spicy!) salsa, drank water from a straw, and got to have a tortilla roll up of rice, beans, cheese, and guacamole.  He giggled a lot, too.  It was a great lunch date for him!

He seemed so happy to have his "Nan!" around.  After she left with Rachel, he kept looking out the window and pointing to cars and singing, "Nan. Nana, na, na, nan!".  

Table Manners

I am happy to report that Daniel's table manners have improved since he was twelve months old!  He spent about a month being rebellious and throwing food on the floor when he no longer wanted to eat.  He also used to be much more impatient when finished eating, demanding to be put down.

These days, DHH is pretty happy at meal times.  Meals must be short with few choices of food.  He prefers to use silverware, wear a bib, and have his hands and mouth washed JUST AS SOON as he has taken his last bite.  He also prefers his sip cup in one hold of the cup holder, but not the other.

There are times when Daniel will hold a fork and properly stab into a bite of food and then remove the food and eat it with his other hand.  He is better at using forks than spoons, but still loves to have access to them at meal times.

Meal time manners are far better at our own home than when we travel to our parents' homes or go to a restaurant.  He is so impatient with restaurants and needs A LOT of distractions before the meal arrives and after the five minutes he spends eating his own meal.  He also loves to show off for family members and other people who are dining around us, which is usually really funny to watch, but very distracting for every one involved.