Christopher Walks

Last week Christopher decided that he really wanted to give us a challenge, he started walking more. He stood up and took 10 steps across the kitchen. He still crawls quite a bit, but he walks all the time. He's just 9-months-old! Here is a movie from yesterday. It is in reverse order, but hopefully you will get a taste of the action around here. Somewhere in the middle there is a clip of Christohper taking a bunch of steps. It is not so easy to get a video of him. He loves the camera, and crawls if you are far away. Christopher is working on theeth 3 and 4, so he's been a bit grumpy. I'm hoping for a breakthrough soon!

Just Feathers - No Head

Me, "Daniel, what do you want to be for Halloween?"
Daniel, "For Halloween?"
Me, "Yes, what do you want to be for Halloween when you go Trick-or-treating?"
Daniel, "Hmm, a duck."
Me, "A duck would be a good costume."
Daniel, "Yes, a duck. Just feathers. No head."

Eating and Building - It's a Boy's Life

"Is this avocado mask working?"
Look Mom! Aren't you glad I feed myself?

Daniel from inside his fort.

Daniel on his throne.

Inside the fort.

Today has been one of those crazy days. Our events have included:

- Christopher escaping to climb up the stairs four times before breakfast.

- Christopher testing to see just how much toilet paper is on the roll.

- Daniel practicing folding the runner in the kitchen and the pad under it. (He managed to successfully fold both of them.)

- Swimming lessons for both boys. Daniel is more of a fish than ever before. I owe you guys a new video. Christopher likes to splash.

- You saw the avocado face painting. Christopher is the messiest eater ever. Most meals end with a sink bath.

- I'm looking forward to what the afternoon brings.

Brothers

I've always heard that brothers share a special bond, and being one of four kids, I do have an appreciation for siblings. However, I feel like Christopher and Daniel have a uniquely special love for one another. Their eyes light up everytime they see each other. The most amazing part to me is that it is a mutual affection. Daniel loves to have Christopher do everything with him, and likes to make little bites for him at mealtime. Daniel holds up a piece of food and asks, "This little?" If I say yes, he'll bring it to Christopher. Christopher loves following Daniel around and playing with him. One of their favorite activities is jumping on the couch together. (Yes, I know where the ER is.) I often think that Daniel is tackling Christopher a little too rough to find that Christohper is at the bottom of the pile smiling ear to ear and giggling.

I can only hope that they will share such a love for each other as they grow up. I am sure that there will be bumps along the road, but if the first few months of brotherhood are a prelude, they really have a special relationship.

Obviously this was taken a week ago.

Grass is really awesome!

Daniel followed Christopher in to the basket.

Fishing with Boppa

Boppa has promised Daniel that they can go fishing together when he is 3. Ok, not a bad thing to look forward to. Daniel is really looking forward to this activity and now everytime someone's birthday gets mentioned, Daniel has to discuss fishing with Boppa. The conversation usually goes something like this:

Me, "On Saturday, we are going to Jack's house for his birthday party."
Daniel, "It not Jack's birthday, it Daniel's birthday. I go fishing with Boppa. I three (pronounced - free)."
Me, "Daniel, your birthday is in April."
Daniel, "I go fishing with Boppa. I three?"
I try some other method of distraction, but Daniel is consistent with his talking points. He is three. He is going fishing with Boppa. I hope Boppa is prepared on April 5, 2011, rain, sleet, snow, or shine. At least he is consistent. Maybe we will have a fishing party?

Potty Training

So as I write this, Daniel is sitting across from me at the table in Thomas the Train underwear. Now, I'm not sure if he is actually ready for potty training, but Matt went to South Bend for the game with his parents and I guess I needed a project. I would say that we are having average success at best. There are still lots of accidents.

The high points are the few times that he actually walked himself into the bathroom, pulled his underwear down, used the potty, dumped it in the toilet, washed the bowl, put it back, flushed the toilet, and came and told me. Seriously, he's done that more than once in the couple days we have been doing this. He also had his first out of the house outing today with success! We went to church and Daniel made it there and back dry! It was all for the lollipop that I told him he had to wait until after church to eat, but it happened. Clearly he has somewhat of an understanding of the potty. The cute part is watching him run around in underwear and a t-shirt. Those little legs move so quickly. It is particularly cute with his Crocs on, too.

Anyway, I can tell that this is going to be a battle of wills as Daniel is quite the stubborn little guy. Somehow I have to make the potty seem more appealing that play. That's a challenge. I guess I could just bribe him with candy into using the potty. That lollipop got me 3 hours of dry underwear. The stickers are only moderate motivation, but he will use it if he really wants one.

Christopher is not taking well to the extra attention Daniel is getting. He has been a total Mama's boy the last couple days. If I got out of the room he starts crying and crawling after me.

Luckily backup should be arriving home soon. I'm getting a little stir crazy here in the house. I don't have high hopes for Daniel going to school on Wednesday in underwear, but I bet our diaper consumption will be down over the next few days. Wish us luck!