I bounce, I sing, I go to a concert, I'm almost 2...

What doing Daniel?

Well, that's how I say it at least - I leave off the "are you". And the answer is - I'm up to a lot of things these days.

Mom found this place called "monkey business" close to our house, and there are tons of inflatable slides, houses, and other things for me to play on. I love it. It's a good rainy-day activity. I also go to the park, of course - today I got to sit on a bicycle while I was there, and that just was the best thing ever.



You've heard me sing before, but here's an adorable little clip of me singing a lullaby song to my little sister Rachel.


Oh, and finally I got to go see Elmo in concert yesterday. That was a lot of fun. I had a seat in the front row, so all of the characters came and rubbed my tummy after the show. I was completely engrossed in the action, but the story was a little too complicated for me to follow. No worries, though, I had fun.




And that just about wraps up year #2 of my life and blog. I'll be going out to Kentucky for a few days next week to show off Rachel to granny speck and the great-aunts and -uncles out there.

Then when we come back, my aunt Erin and cousin Chloe come to visit for my birthday. It's also Chloe's birthday on the same day - she'll be 7.

Until next time.

Love D.

I'm a movie star...

Friends

We're breaking out that old crowd favorite - the video clip. See me all dressed up for the premiere?

In other news, I will now roll from front to back if my arm doesn't get in the way. And I've more or less figured out that I can control those "arms" when I feel like it.

I'm losing my hair and I have no teeth - take a good look at me now, because there's a good chance I'll look just like this when I'm 90.



So the video works by clicking on the photo, or by clicking this link. 90 seconds of pure bouncy-chair excitement awaits you...

Tomorrow I get to go on my first airplane ride. That ought to be fun. I'm also leaving the state for the first time - going to Kentucky for a few days to meet great-granny Speck and the rest of the group there.

So there ought to be much to report next week. Until then...

Love, R.

Po-tee, pull-ups!

So we were really just going to acquire the necessary equipment so we'd be ready to start potty-training at some point in the future. You know me, though - I can't let something like that sit around.

So I pulled down my pants, sat down and used the new potty for its intended purpose. A couple of times. Not, if we're going to be technical about it, for #2 yet. I am pretty excited about it. Messes will, unquestionably, arise but so far so good.

Since last week, I've had a bit of a flu-like thing going on, with some fever, running nose and otherwise less-than-fully happy results. That's caused the editors to question whether last week's fall-causing-seizure incident wasn't really a seizure-causing-fall. You loyal readers know that I've had some seizures before when my temperature spikes, but never while walking around before. Oh well - my EEG and MRI results say not to worry too much. Papa says it's because my brain is so big that there's limited room for it to expand when it warms up.

That's about all for now. I'll be 2 years old in 2 weeks, and we'll be having a small party in the park. This blog is anonymous enough that I don't know who reads it - but if you're a regular reader, and would like to join us - email the editors for specifics.

Until next time.

Love, D.

Little miss congeniality

People

You wouldn't believe how much better my disposition has been in the last week. I smile a lot, I cry less, and I don't screem like a banshee if I'm not walked around the house held "just so".

I'm cooing up a storm, and I'll smile for no reason whatsoever other than that I'm happy to see you.

Oh, and I'm sleeping nearly 12 hours straight at night, so everyone's happy.

The balloon? Glad you asked - I wave my arms around, but to say that it's deliberate would be a bit of a an exaggeration. But tie a balloon to my arm, and suddenly cause and effect are magnified. It's fun. My brother did the same thing when he was 2.5 months old...

Speaking of Daniel, here we are. Just hanging out. Notice something different? I'm not wearing pink!

Yes, we've tallied up the various clothes I have from friends and family, and I have nearly 60 outfits - the majority of which are pink. This surplus will last until I'm about 12 months old, I estimate - though there are already clothes I'm too tall for.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I went off and had an ultrasound of my kidneys, and all is good. Why bother? Most of you probably know that I have a family history of ARPKD, and while the odds are now pretty darned low that I'll ever have polycystic kidneys, there's no actual test.

So all is good. Until next time.

Love. R.

Whoops, I did it again...

First of all, happy Easter, everyone.

My sister Rachel needed a little advice on how to deal with the paparazzi, so as the older, wiser sibling, I gave her some hints. After all, this is my 125th blog entry.

The shirts? Glad you asked. They're a present from Monica, who went crazy at the Scharfenberger counter somewhere. Buona Pasqua, Monica!

Oh, and I got two motorcycles in my Easter basket. That was fun.



It snowed again here in Denver, and I was watching for snowplows. I really, really like motorized vehicles, and can name most of them. Papa didn't know that I knew "mixer truck", but I do.

What's up with the title of today's posting? Well, I got to go back to the ER again today.... I know - what a bummer... I was just walking home from the store with papa, and I slipped on the ice and fell straight back on my noggin. That caused me to have seizure-like symptoms, pass out, turn blue and throw up. Luckily, we were still close to the store, so Papa picked me up, ran into the store and the customer service guy called 911 while a random CPR-trained person gave Papa advice and help until the ambulance showed up. Scary stuff, but by the time we were riding over to Children's, it was clear that I was going to be fine. As you might remember - I got my scar at Christmastime, so major holidays clearly suck.

After a couple of hours of observation, I got to come home, and I'm back in a fine mood, with my sense of humor and appetite in fine form. No worries.

That's about it, really. I can count to ten, but I don't really recognize all the numbers, so that's what we're working on these days. And the summer touring season is starting to fill up. I go off to Kentucky in 2 weeks to visit Great-Granny Speck, then Chicago in May for Elaine's wedding. June is still sort-of open, but in July/August I now have tickets to visit Norway, Sweden and Iceland. Woo Hoo!

Until next time.

Love. D.

Having all sorts of fun

Hi there, friends.

Happy Easter everyone.

Now, I don't know, but I'd be willing to bet that there's a lot of overlap between the readers of my blog and those who follow my brother Daniel's blog. As such, I'm not crossposting pictures, but there's a really cute brother-sister shot on his blog that you might want to check out.

I don't have complete mastery of my arms yet, but I've realized that I can use them to swat at things - particularly toys hanging over my head. I'm also more awake, more alert and more good-mannered every day.




Eating well. Sleeeping fairly well (have started to skip my 3am feedings occasionally). Growing. Doing the things I ought to be doing.

And that's it for this week's news. Until next time.

Love, R.

Mo-tor-cy-cle

I love motorcycles. They are my current favorite motorized vehicle. Until this last week, I would consistently say "mycal", but I now know to call them motorcycles. I love them. I love how they go vroom, vroom. I have a motorcycle book and a toy model that I leaned on too heavily - now I call him "motorcycle broken"

Tonight, we went out to dinner and a nice guy made me a balloon motorcycle. As you can see, I already popped the back wheel.

(The editors have euthanized the remains, in an attempt to avoid the tragedy that will otherwise result).



I've been climbing on things for a while, but today I showed that I know how to move things around to create a ladder if I want to get up higher.

And finally, the haircut is NOT because papa trimmed my hair with his razor and it was uneven. Not at all.... That's just coincidence.

Until next time.
Love, D.