What are you thankful for?

This week I have spent a lot of time thinking about the approaching holidays, and I'm getting very excited for Christmas. I've been looking at a lot of ads and I went out Christmas shopping yesterday, but as I was thinking about the holidays, I was thinking about how excited I am for Thanksgiving. I want to focus on Thanksgiving before things get to busy for Christmas, because I have so much I am thankful for. I'm thankful for the most amazing, loving, hardworking, thoughtful...(the list goes on and on) husband that takes such good care of me and Daniel. I'm thankful for my miracle boy, Daniel, and for the amazing personality he has and how he can do the most simple things but it can bring so much joy to Tim and I. I am so thankful to be able to be a mother, and that the Lord trusts me with one of his precious sons. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. I'm thankful for wonderful parents and in-laws that help us out in so many ways as we are trying to learn how to be parents ourselves. I'm thankful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and for the atonement, so that as I learn and grow in life I can be forgiven when I do make mistakes, and have the opportunity to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus, and my family again someday. I'm thankful for all of my brothers and sisters, and the things they teach me. I'm thankful for grandparents, extended family, friends, temples, food, clothes, cars, modern appliances, mountains, technology, a roof over my head, my bed, and the list can go on and on. I hope we all will take a few moments over the next week to remember how much we have in life, and how truely blessed we are. We have so much to be thankful for and we need to remember to show our gratitude to our Lord and to all those around us that give us so much everyday. I love you all and hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Neonatal Follow Up Appointment

On Friday Daniel had his neonatal follow up appointment. I just want to start out by asking do you know of any 1 1/2 year old that cooperates during a 4 hour appointment? I know of 1 child...and that's mine! You heard me. His doctors appointment was 4 hours and 5 minutes. It had to have been one of the worst doctors appointment, only because who wants to be at any doctors for 4 hours. But on the other hand it was also a great appointment. Daniel was such a trooper and he was SO GOOD the entire time. I just had to keep feeding him treats and crackers, but he never cried or even fussed very much. I was so proud of him. And even by the end of the appointment he still had the energy to be cute and show off to the speech therapist. In case you are wondering why his appointment lasted four hours, it's because he had to see the nurse, pediatrician, nutritionist, psychologist, eye doctor, and the speech therapist. And they were all SO IMPRESSED with him. He had a normal eye exam which means he still doesn't have any eye problems, which is basically a miracle. And he has still been gaining weight...bet you can't guess how big he is. A whole whopping 20.5 lbs. Developmentally he is testing at about the level of a 20 or 21 month old, which he is 21 months so he's almost completely caught up. And even though one of our biggest concerns has been his quietness (as an infant he didn't coo much, and we were worried that he hasn't talked much), but this last week or so he has been saying so many more words, and the speech therapist was very impressed with him. We figure he has 25+ words and signs which at 18 months they want kids to have at least 8-10. Daniel is our MIRACLE and we couldn't ask for a better son. He has changed our lives for the better and we are so proud of every struggle he has fought through and overcome and for everything he has already accomplished. We love him very much, and are excited to see what other amazing things he accomplishes!

Master Yoda

Halloween is just starting to get fun again, now that Daniel is old enough to enjoy it. We took him to our ward trunk or treat, and every piece of candy he got he did not want to put into his bucket, but just wanted to eat it...go figure. He didn't quite understand that trick or treating concept yet, but what do you expect of a 1 1/2 year old? Everyone thought his costume was so cute, and I'd have to agree. He's definately the best looking yoda, and he sure knows how to use a light saber.

Our Little Helper

Last week we went to Grandma's house (Grandma Andersen) to help her get some things in her yard ready for winter, and Daniel was such a good helper. He wanted to help shovel, trim rose bushes with mom, pick up yard animals in the wheelbarrow, and much more. Everyday I am amazed at how much older he acts. He thinks he is such a big boy, and he LOVES doing everything we do. He also helps me do laundry, load/ unload the dishwasher, and he loves to clean everything. All I have to do is give the boy a rag, and he will dust, and wipe everything off. I just hope that the helpfulness continues throughout the years.

Funny Story...

While at grandma's we ate lunch (KFC) which Daniel loved. He especially liked the potatoes, and when he had eaten all of his, he decided he wanted more, so he promptly helped himself to dad's (while dad wasn't watching of course). He just reached over to dad's plate and took a handful and tried stuffing it into his mouth before dad could stop him. It was hilarious. He has definately always known what he wants in life, and he usually gets it...whether we give it to him, or he finds a way to get it himself.

Daniel has also started to say a few words and tries real hard to talk in sentences, even though we have no idea what he's saying. His first real word was bread...go figure, he LOVES to eat. Some other words he's started saying are bottle (babte...combination of baba and bottle), bear, a boo (peek-a-boo), roadrunner (nun-nun), and he tries real hard to say many others.

Daniel we are so proud of all the progress you have made in just the short year and a half you've been with us, and can't wait to see what other things are in store for you, and what you will accomplish. We love you.

~Love, mom & dad

9.23.09

Sometimes I have a hard time blogging because I don't think there is anything to blog about (that's probably why I've never been good at writing in a journal). There hasn't been too many changes with us since my last post. Tim did start school a month ago and has been super busy. He is the most amazing husband and father in the whole world, and I am extremely grateful for everything he does for our little family! He is going to school and work full time, not to mention full time husband and daddy duty, and he still has enough energy to put up with me and my worrying, and does it with a smile on his face. I love you Tim, and hope you know how much I appreciate you!

The only other new news has to do with Daniel. He has been teething like crazy. This last month he got 5 new teeth in 1 1/2 weeks. And now this week he has been drooling like CRAZY, and his bottom left molar is starting to peek through, and there will probably be others to closely follow. He also loves to climb on everything. He'll even climb up on our surround sound sub, and then from there he'll try to get up on the entertainment center (the little stinker). But whenever he climbs on something he's so dang cute, and does a little dance with a huge smile on his face, that it's so hard to be mad at him. We are still working with Kids on the Move to try to get him to start using words, and we are all hoping that it's not going to be a problem, even though we've been forwarned that preemies often excel in either motor or verbal skills, and we know he's not lacking in the motor skills.

We enjoyed summer, and have now been loving the cooler weather. Fall is such a beautiful time of year. It is Tim's favorite season, and as much as I enjoy it, it means winter is coming which I don't love. But again with me being a worrier, I'm a little paranoid that with winter also comes flu season, and other sickness for that matter. I'd really rather Daniel not end up in the hospital again, so I think we may spend a lot of time inside. But with winter comes many great holidays which we are looking forward too! And now here are some pictures to wrap up our summer fun!

I'm so handsome!

"What, I'm not doing anything?" This is Daniel just climbing in anything possible

Play time

Daniel loves swings :)

Up AF Canyon

My HANDSOME boys!

Fun in the Sun!

We have had a busy summer so far, and have already done many fun things. Here is a small list of some of the things we've been able to do this summer...Flex Tech Softball league, Trip to Hogle Zoo, 7-peaks (Tracy & Daniel got a pass this year, so they've been several times), boating, Hill Airforce Base Air Show, PG Huck Finn Days, Jared Hansen's wedding, KC McMillan returned from New Zealand mission, McMillan Family Reunion, etc., you get the idea. Tim has still been working at flex tech and has been having to put in a lot of hours, which means he doesn't have a lot of time for mowing lawns, so his brothers KC and Patrick and sometimes William have been doing the work...Thank you, thank you, thank you to them for helping out!
Daniel Update
Daniel is just growing by leaps and bounds everyday. He now weighs 18 lb 14 oz and is 30 1/2 inches long. He is understanding so much, that he'll even respond to things we ask him to do or not do. He loves animals and gets excited whenever he sees them or reads a book about them. He loves music, and whenever he hears it he'll start to lead the music. He also loves drumming especially on his uncle Patrick's drums. He's getting a pretty good arm and likes to play catch...he is even pretty ambidextrous. We are still working on his sign language, talking, and more fine motor skills. We love our little Daniel and are so proud of everything he has accomplished! Here are a few pictures of our summer fun, and of our big boy!

Video of Daniel Walking

Sorry this video is so short, but every time I try to record him he just wants the camera, and he knows that the fastest way to get it is to crawl...So i'm lucky I got him at all :)