Drinking from a cup

A few weeks ago, I found Dani walking around pretending to drink from a cup. So, I decided to give her a little water to practice drinking from a cup for real. She did quite well I think. We just need to practice a little more.

Birthday Cake

Dani's first birthday was a little different than most people expect for a one year old. Her presents stayed out for the whole day untouched (at least those that were wrapped). She was not all that excited about ripping paper. She was somewhat disturbed every time we tried to sing happy birthday to her.

And then, there is the cake. Dani is not a big eater. In fact, I made some cup cakes with a white cake mix and jello to have with a few adult friends before her birthday, and she just spit it out as if I was trying to give her medicine. Needless to say, I'm not going to force her to eat cake, but this was a surprise. So, for her actual birthday I tried a chocolate cake with a fudgy center. She at least had more than the cupcakes. Here is the video of the entire "eating" of her cake.

Nana's Visit

We were very lucky to have Nana come visit for Dani's birthday. Nana was a big help taking care of Jackson and Dani so I could drop Trent off and take the car. We were then able to go to the zoo together after nap time. Nana showed Dani the elephants. If you look close at the picture below, they are both making the "elephant sound". We had LOTS of fun together. Thank you for visiting Nana!

Walks

Last Tuesday Daniella learned that she could request a walk by bringing her socks, then shoes to her Daddy and then pointing at our key hooks and saying "Tees" (aka Keys). We were so awed at the cuteness of her learning this new trick that we took her on a nice long walk. We decided to try swinging her by her arms (holding onto her elbows for support). In preparation for this we would count to three and then say "wee" as we swung her into the air. We wondered if she would help count to three, but instead she just started to say "wee". The entire way home she tilted her head up towards the sky as if she was swinging herself and said "wee" requesting a repeat performance. After her bath that evening I talked to her about the walk and mentioned how she swung into the air and said "wee". She looked at me with the sweetest tone of remembrance and said with a breathy sigh "wee".

Wednesday, I asked Dani if she wanted to go for a walk with the stroller and then went to the other room to grab some socks. I heard a crash and came back to find that Dani tried to get the stroller for me, but it had toppled on top of her. Luckily it is a light stroller and she did not get hurt badly.

Friday Dani decided to escalate her request for a walk by bringing Trent his shoes. They may not have been a matching pair, but there was at least a left and a right shoe present. So he went on the walk with mismatching shoes to humor her.

Dani does not mind me playing with her hair if she can watch her TV show. While she was watching Backyardigans over the weekend a song came up that starts with "Wee! Wee!" as they are flying down a zip line. Dani got very excited at this and even sang along "Wee!" because of recently learning this word.

First Birthday Party

We didn't hold a birthday party for Dani this year, but she was able to go a friend's first birthday party a couple weeks before her own birthday. It was a blast! She was able to try watermelon for the first time, and chicken nuggets. They also had grapes, which is still one of her favorite foods. We tried a party hat on her.

She quickly tried to remove the hat.

The party was held at the park, which was a wonderful idea since everyone was easily entertained.

Dani somewhat enjoyed the swing with Dad, but she was not a fan of going on the swing by herself.

She was not sure about the playground.

The fire truck was okay for a little while.

Her favorite part of the party was just walking around playing with her shirt. Here it looks like she is on a mission.

She really liked to point out things on her shirt.

She also enjoyed the large amount of wind (which would blow drink cups off the table while they were still partially filled).

Daniella was exhausted by the end.

Overall, the party was super fun! Perhaps next year we will try to have a party for Dani with her friends. Thanks Oscar (and especially your parents) for having a great party!

Dani Shopping

Daniella LOVES the grocery store! We just have to make sure she doesn't run anyone over.

First hair cut

About a week ago, I decided to finally cut Daniella's "mullet". I just wanted to even out her layers by bringing up the bottom layer so that her hair looked more full. Here are before and after pics.

I'm grateful for curls that hide any minor differences in length. I cut about an inch off total. Before I cut it, I placed a rubberband around the bottom so that I can show her the dark tips she was born with and the light roots that grew in. Other than cutting off the tiny ponytail and straightening the rest, I left it alone. Any ideas on how to store her little ponytail? I wonder if I can find a way to integrate it in a scrapbook.