iPhone photo

This is photo Daniel took of Elsa and her birthday cake.

I gave him iPhone to prevent him from taking over and blowing out al the candles. It worked for distraction but not for great image capturing! Luckily I took photos, too.

Welcome to the world, little man.

You arrived on Monday morning, July 27, 2009.

We were anxious to meet you. You had several guests waiting to hold you, all full of anticipation.

Here are some of your very first moments in the world.

I wasn't able to hold you just when you were born because you were having breathing problems. The doctors were able to solve the problems and get your lungs and heart working properly, and twenty minutes later, Dr. Finstad brought you to me so I could cuddle you.

Curled up and sleepy after crying and being so alert during your newborn tests.

Your daddy helping the nursery staff bathe you.

He was the first family member to hold you. He had waited for that moment so long, and had longed to name you Daniel.

Your enthusiastic Aunt Rachie. She waited on pins and needles in the delivery room and texted her friends updates.

Your Grandma Becky arrived very early during labor to make sure she didn't miss your arrival.

Aunt Jessica also arrived early in the morning and was one of the first people to smile at you.

Your father held you for a long time the afternoon you were born while I rested.

Your Grandpa Douglas checked you out on Tuesday afternoon. He came to see you as soon as he was able.

This is how you slept in the hospital, in a tiny, plastic box. You had to wear a woolen hat to keep your temperature up.

We noticed you kept your hands up near your face most of the time, sleeping or awake.


We loved and loved and loved on you, sweet boy.  
We marveled that God chose you for us and us for you.  


You are a big game-changer, dear, and we are so in love with you.

Playing at Nana's and Pop's House

We visited my parents' home in St. James on the first weekend of April.  The photos progress in level of enthusiasm.  Daniel REALLY had a great time running outdoors and we could not keep him away from the tractors!  

Stomping on acorns.

Collecting acorns.

He always tries to figure out these solar lights.  We have several of them in our neighborhood and he tries to dash into other's yards to do the same thing.  He points at those lights and says, "Nana's!!!". 

 This is Daniel's current favorite photo.  He looks at a copy of it that we hang on the fridge while he eats.  He jabbers away in tractor noises and talks about Pop.

This is a thrilled face.  He was too excited to yell or talk or even smile!

He immediately went to shift the gears.  He hasn't really had practice driving tractors, but from the way he is so comfortable on one, you'd think he'd been mowing fields for years!

This is a 1939(?) Farmall tractor that was my grandpa Tom Cooley's tractor.  My dad fized it and restored it and babied it over the years.  When Daniel is old enough to drive it... or tall enough to!... it could be easily 75 or 85 years old!

My dad often jokes about how his tractors are red and better than Daniel's other grandpa's green tractors.  I don't think Daniel cares about the color, just the fact that BOTH his grandpas have tractors.  He gets so excited when we talk about visiting either grandpa and their tractors.

We went away from the tractors and back to the house.  Daniel had another idea and needed to run back to look at the tractors again!

A Special Family Christmas Evening

Daniel,

Tonight we had a special time celebrating Christmas with our little family.  All week we have been preparing for Christmas, day by day, adding new decorations to our house.  Last weekend your dad put up the house Christmas lights.  He got down decorations from the attic.  We also started to light Christmas candles that smell of evergreen and other festive scents, and you enjoyed seeing and smelling them.  On Monday, I washed our special 12 Days of Christmas drinking glasses and moved the ceramic lighted tree into our kitchen to see.  On Tuesday we strung a garland of snowmen together and hung it in the kitchen near the table above your high chair.  We also read a Christmas book with several traditional Christmas icons and taught you the vocabulary.  On Wednesday, I hung two more Christmas wreaths on doors.  I also put out the small nativity and we practiced saying Jesus.  On Thursday you moved the window clings we'd put on the patio doors around.  You enjoyed the train stickers, but you really enjoyed the nativity.  You carried Jesus and his parents around the house and told me their names.  I also put out a small Santa and you started to call him HAT (or AT? or Hatch?).  On Friday I got out some more decorations, which included a set of nesting gift boxes. You played and played with them. I also bought a small tinsel tree for your bedroom and you watched as I hung small ornaments on it for you.  I put two other small, artificial trees in the living room and a few other decorations on door knobs.  You were delighted!

And on Saturday, we planned a date for our family.  We started by reviewing Christmas vocabulary, but you have really mastered it.  We ask you to identify Santa, Jesus, candy canes, wreaths, etc. and you can easily do so.  

First we made hot cocoa for everyone and watched the opening scenes of a Christmas movie your dad loves, Christmas Vacation.    You LOVED the cocoa! It was only warm for you since I cut it with half a cup of whole milk.  You slurped down twelve ounces, and I shared some of mine with you, too.  Here you are with your father.  Note that you are wearing a special, Christmasy outfit.

Next we went to Bass Pro, a local outdoor equipment and sporting goods shop.  They have a special Christmas area with Santa.  They also have many motorized vehicles, and you stopped to explore them.  You will not ride on these things alone for quite sometime based on your size and your impulsivity!  But it was fun.

This store has many different decorations and lots of animals that have been taxidermied.  You liked this lighted deer, though I am surprised you could identify it as a deer since it looks like a bundle of sticks!  But you are a clever fellow.

When we went inside, the store was so crowded.  There were lots of sales to see, but we were there on a mission.  We wanted you to go and visit Santa Claus.  The Bass Pro Santa did look friendly and his costume was nice.  However, there was no line at all.  You did not have an opportunity to get warmed up before we took you to see the Santa.  Look at your expression.

We told you several times it was Santa, and tried to distract you by getting you to smile at your dad or listen to jingle bells.  You just wanted the man to put you down.  You kept pointing to the ground and saying, "DOWN!".

 And then you started crying.

 It was a fit.  We couldn't help but laugh though.  You looked really funny.  The Santa didn't think it was so funny.

We did not order any of the professional photos.  The free photo we received was good enough!  And I did not want to torture you by making you pose again.

The Santa area was very loud.  There were so many children playing shooting games, running around the ATVs, making crafts, and playing with other displays that were set up.  You were quickly distracted.  You noticed everything.

Your dad showed you the remote control cars.  You can see he thought they were pretty neat.  I think you did, too.  You could not look at the controller and the car at the same time, so I don't know if you really understood what was happening.  But your dad had fun!

 He tried to explain this to you by putting you on the table to look at the cars as you pressed the button.  But you grabbed for the car and broke the antenna off.  I took you away so your dad could try to fix it.  I guess you are just too young for a car like that!

 
Next we looked around some more.  You liked the special Christmas train set that was on display.  When other children left, we showed you it and let you press some of the buttons.

I think you liked the whistle noise, too.  Your father and I both like the idea of a special Christmas train and town display, so maybe someday we'll have a trainset like this one.  You will probably think its neat then, too.

The next photos are beautiful.   They are not of you looking at Santa or his beautiful workshop area.  You are looking in wonder and astonishment, the same way many children do look at beautiful Christmas decorations.

But you are looking at fish in a large aquarium.  You waved to them, said, "HI!", and loved seeing them swim.  We looked at fish for a very long time.  You can say the word fish in your own way, and it sounds like 'Ffffffsh".  You have been saying this word for two months, since your 15 month checkup, but these fish are much more impressive than the fish at our pediatrician's office.  They are neater than the ones in your books, too.

After going to Bass Pro, we went to a restaurant to eat.  This is a rare and special occurrence.  Though we really do love you, it is stressful for us to take you to a different place to eat.  You are a little picky about the food and you are VERY distracted by other diners, sounds, and decorations.  This time you spent a little time coloring with crayons and sitting in the booth in our laps.  You ate maybe five bites of food from our plates, and we were under pressure to eat quickly to get to our next destination and to be kind to your dislike of sitting still and quiet in a restaurant.  You weren't TERRIBLE, but you were not a calm, peaceful diner, either. You made eyes at a table full of college girls and caused them to giggle.  You pointed and loudly said,. "THAT!" at all the decorations on the wall and at every light.  You fussed when we tried to get you to eat anything other than a French fry (and you only had two or three of those).

We next drove to our church to see the Christmas program.  Last year our family was in this program, and I remarked at how much you've grown since you were Baby Jesus.  This time, you were interested in all the decorations and you danced a little to the music.  Unfortunately, we had to leave early.  You soaked two diapers (all that cocoa!) and had a leak on my lap.  You were also too talkative to be a good audience member.   I think you did enjoy the time of watching the singers and also in seeing the church decorated so much.  You did not notice either thing last year!

On our way home, we looked at many houses lit and decorated for Christmas.  We could see many lighted trees in the windows.  Our tree will go up later this week, and I think you will like it, too.  You are so interested in our house lights and in the lighted nativity scene we have in our front garden.  You are able to point to Mary and Joseph when we ask you to point to Jesus's mama and dad, but you can say Jesus.   It sounds like  'Chu-Je-z-s" or at other times 'Jees".

This was a very lovely afternoon for us as your parents, and it was so pleasant to hear you sing along to the Christmas carols in your high pitched "ahhaaa"s and "ooooo- ou-ou"s.  It is wonderful to see you delight in our favorite holiday as well.

Love
Your Mom