9 Months Apart

Danny & Michelle have begun having their check-ups with the pediatrician together. Today was for his 15-month & her 6-month. These two have grown so much in the last month and it is becoming such a treat to watch them interact with each other. I feel that before we know it there will be no more babies in our home & only toddlers. Slow down, you 2!
Waiting for the doctor to come in.

Danny is continuing to surpass all expectations of a little boy his age. Our doctor said that he is acting like a 22-month-old & it is time to mentally prepare for the terrible twos. I must have gotten quite the look on my face because she then said, "the good news is you aren't even rusty yet." I adore our pediatrician.

Before the denim diapers Grandma bought him ran out, we had to have some fun taking pictures with a root beer bottle.

Entertaining someone else's dog at the lake with the ball thrower.

Big boys like big sticks. And yes, I took my son to the park with his pjs on. I love when my Danny wears dinosaurs.

Giving baby sister a ride.

Much of Danny's recent development is verbal. He now says so many words I can't keep track of them all, but here is a few I have been able to jot down: brush, trucks, outside, bug, watch, look, water, rice (after falling in love with Daddy's rice pudding), moon, music, what's this?, broke, mess, scouts, & bless you. That makes me feel so much better after I sneeze. I wish I could video him saying, "uh oh" that he learned from his Tigger board book & "weeee" from his baby Mickey & Minnie board book. The little man is such a sponge lately & loooooves his books. If I had no other responsibilities in the world, I think he & I could read for a couple hours a day... a few minutes at a time. lol. Danny is certainly a busy boy. All that activity has made him loose his baby chub & he looks like a full blown toddler now. Whenever we are around a group of children, he is constantly trying to & usually keeping up with the older ones instead of the ones closer to his age. Of course, this is partially due to them usually having cooler toys like monster trucks. P.S. He can also point to his nose, hair, mouth & belly button when asked where they are.

"Helping" mommy make pancakes.At Kaelah & Serena's cooking class.

Official stats for Danny:
24 # 10 oz (50th percentile)
32" tall (75th percentile)
Looks like he might be the little one in the family, but not too little.

Official stats for Michelle:
17 # 1 oz (75th percentile)
27.75" tall (above the 97th percentile)
Tall like her big sister, but definitely bigger in the weight department.
Pictures taken to celebrate Michelle's first half birthday. We made a carrot cake from scratch & had Shannon & Aaron over to help us celebrate too. Luckily she slept through the cake so didn't know she couldn't eat it.

Michelle continues to be a smiley, content, sweet baby. She is a joy to take care of & has discovered the art of playing with toys quietly by herself. Mommy is very grateful for that. After Kaelah & Danny are in bed things can actually get done! Amazing. Of course, with Kaelah only napping about once a week & Danny going from 2 naps down to one & Michelle going from 3 naps down to 2, there isn't much down time around here. On the rare occasions they are all down at the same time, I can only imagine how exhausted I will be about 6 months from now when Michelle joins the realms of the walking. She is a very active little girl, so I am sure she & Danny will be great buds when she does. As for now, Michelle can pretty much get where ever she wants by a combination of a controlled fall from sitting, rolling, or a scooch that is almost an army crawl. She is delighted & we are happy for her.

Michelle has let us know she wants to be a big girl already. She refuses to eat baby food & only wants to try what she sees her big sister & big brother eating. She is getting pretty good at it too! It is pretty funny to see our three children lined up at the dinner table all ready to attack their next meal. Someday soon I want to get a good picture of the way Michelle looks at Kaelah. There is pure love and adoration in her smile. These 2 sisters already have a very special bond. What a terrific thing for an only child to see in her own home. As for Michelle & Danny together, poor Danny has gotten old enough to be quite jealous of baby sister, so Kaelah's is his favorite too. With Michelle becoming older, they do speak to each other in their own little language & he'll give her kisses on the forehead, she there is a lot of hope for them yet. The more time goes by the more they seem to act like twins, so I hope all 3 of them can one day be the best of friends.