The Gracious Host

Aunt Cristi and Uncle Luis stayed the night with us last night. Aunt Cristi had a short conversation with Daniel about the sleeping arrangements, and I thought it was too cute to not post:

Cristi: Daniel, can I sleep here tonight?
Daniel: Yeah.
Cristi: Can I sleep in the guest room?
Daniel: No.
Cristi: No? Where do you want me to sleep?
Daniel: Carpet.

So not nice! But in his defense, he was also willing to share his crib with her.

Let's Pretend

Daniel is starting to do the beginnings of pretend play, and it's exciting for me to think about all the things he'll be pretending in the future.

Today we were at Honda, servicing the car for David's upcoming trip to Mexico. They have a little children's play area, and there were a ton of stuffed animals in there. There also happened to be some napkins that someone else had left behind. So Daniel took the napkins, spread them out, and put them over the rabbits, telling them, "Bunny rabbits go to sleep."

Yesterday he started pretending something I never imagined he would - such a boy.....He took a stick that he'd found outside and went around the room with it pointed at the ground. He was making this strange, buzzing sound. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, "Daniel have a weed eater!"

Ick! Gross!

Boys are just sometimes yucky.....and I have to share Daniel's way with words.

Yesterday Daniel found an earthworm in the backyard while digging with Daddy. He was so excited and played with it for quite awhile. Then he brought it to David and said, "Worm come apart!" David said, "Your worm came apart?" Daniel replied with, "Fix it?" That poor worm never saw it coming!

This morning when I went in to get Daniel from his crib, we had the following conversation:
Me: Good morning!
Daniel: Did you poop?
Me: Did you poop, Daniel?
Daniel: Yeah.
Me: Well, we better change your diaper then.
Daniel: No, no! Wanna cuddle! Wanna cuddle with poo-poo?

Yuck!

I'm seeing spots!

So I got a phone call at work today from the babysitter. She said that Daniel had little red spots or splotches all over his body. His back, his tummy, under his arms, behind his knees.....I asked her to send a photo to my phone (isn't it cool that we can do that?!) and told her that if I thought they looked scary, I would come home. I got the pictures.....and headed home.

These splotches were scary looking! And they were getting bigger and puffier! The skin under his little arms looked like when you burn yourself and your skin puffs up. Scary for a new mom! Luckily, they weren't really that itchy after we applied a little hydrocortisone. (FYI - the picture does not do it justice as he continued to get worse after this was taken. At the peak, all those spots on his back were connected, and about 90% of his back was pink vs. white. Plus, you can't see the scary puffy parts in the pic.)

Anyway, I got more information from Jordan (the sitter) who said that Daniel had been bitten by an ant that morning and that she noticed the spots about 30 minutes after that. So I figured that it was either the ant bite or that he had gotten into poison ivy/oak during our recent trip to Dallas. So I called David and then the pediatrician. I left a message for the nurse and waited.....I waited for 15 minutes.....and then I called the doctor's office again. Remember - the splotches were growing! I talked to the receptionist who assured me that the nurse would call back within a few minutes and that there was no need to call again. I waited....and then I called my mom. I knew that my mom would have no amazing insight into our problem, but I also knew that I needed to talk to my mom! Meanwhile, David was googling everything he could about ant bites, Jordan left to the store to get Benadryl, and Daniel happily ate the extra raisins and crackers I let him have "because he was turning pink." When the nurse finally (1 1/2 hours later - not exactly a few minutes) called back, she said he most likely had an allergic reaction to the ant bite and that the Benadryl should solve the problem in 24 hours or that he had a viral infection that would get better in 3-4 days. So we waited. Daniel crashed for his nap (that Benadryl stuff does work on that!), and when he awoke, he was returning to his normal color. Thanks be to God! I guess it was the ant!

I make this whole story sound like I was this logical mother that took care of the problem efficiently without over-reacting, but I was a little crazier than that and was so thankful to have David, Jordan, my mom, and my mother-in-law to help out. When David came home, he let Daniel have a chupa chup (a very extra special treat) for being brave. Daniel couldn't be happier, and I think he'll sleep well tonight with that Benadryl in his system.

Spoiled? Who's spoiled?

We spent the weekend in Dallas with the Sanchez side of the family, celebrating a late Mother's Day. Since Daniel is the only grandchild on both sides of our family, he tends to get a little spoiled. It's always hard for him to come back to the reality of Abilene and home with Mommy and Daddy after a weekend like this.....

1) Tons of quality time and undivided attention from Abuela, Abuelo, Uncle Luis, Uncle Brian, and Aunt Cristi, including a lot of outdoor time, his favorite thing to do.
2) A ride on the carousel at the mall. As soon as the horses stopped moving, Daniel had already pointed to the next horse he wanted to ride. We had tears flowing as we had to walk away from this one.
3) The way cooler (although also way more crowded than Abilene) play area at the mall in Frisco. Daniel spent most of the time riding a cow as he would have been mauled by other kids if he had tried to move.
4) A ride on the train at the toy store (complete with train sound effects from the CD player in the corner).
5) Enough presents to think it was his birthday instead of Aunt Cristi's - Thomas the Train shirt and shorts, foam alphabet and numbers for the bath, 3 new fish for the bath, stickers, balloons, and all the other leftover party favors from Aunt Cristi's birthday party (except for the noisemakers - which were way too scary to keep).
6) Sneaky bites of pizza, chocolate cake, crepes, and real jelly (vs the fruit sweetened kind he usually gets). That jelly was probably the favorite - he wanted to drink it out of the dish and started to cry when I told him that wasn't an option.
7) A repeat Easter egg hunt because he had enjoyed the actual Easter egg hunt so much last month that Abuela saved eggs again to make cascarrones (filled with raisins).

He's a very loved boy. Let's hope he doesn't expect these special treats all week!

I know what I want!

My mom has always described Daniel as "determined," and now that he's talking, it's even more evident...Plus, he's still working on that whole patience thing.

6 am (3 minutes after waking): Daniel began asking to "go outside." It was still pitch black, not to mention raining and a little chilly. Didn't matter - he continued to ask every 10 minutes or so until we made it outside. He would spend every waking moment out there if he could.

11 am: We go to the library every Thursday for toddler story time. At the end of each class, all the kids get a stamp on their hands. Today (and most Thursdays), Daniel ran to the leader of the group, pointing to his hand and saying, "stamp, stamp" after every other song/story. When it's _finally_ time for the stamp, he's always the first one up there and has to get one on each hand before he'll leave her alone or let the other kids get one.

4 pm: We were at HEB, the grocery store that has free helium balloons for kids. Before we even get into the store, Daniel starts saying, "Need a balloon! Need a balloon!" Telling him that we'll get one right before we leave versus dragging one around the store (because I'm apparently a moron), I continue to hear his request throughout the entire trip. One time, he even said, "Wait a minute! (pause) Daniel need a balloon!"

It reminds me of a story that my mother-in-law tells of David begging, and begging, and begging to be allowed to roll down a steep hill. When his parents finally let him, he rolled down.....to become sick at the bottom. Like father, like son!

Highs and Lows

Every day is full of highs and lows. With Daniel, sometimes those extremes come within minutes of one another! Here are a few of the highs and lows from today.....

Lows:
1) Daniel found bird poop on the back patio this morning. No big deal, except that he quickly put his finger in it and brought it to show me. After I cleaned him up and told him not to touch it again, he smeared his shoe in it, saying, "Touch it? No, no, no."
2) After a short nap, Daniel woke up in a super grumpy mood - I think he takes after me in that respect. He required a walk in the stroller, graham crackers, raisins, and mango to cheer up (a 45 minute ordeal).

Highs:
1) Daniel sometimes eats pretend food. Rather than eating, say, hot dogs, cookies, or candy - today I heard him pretending to eat corn, broccoli, and lima beans. It makes me proud that he's got healthy eating habits.....so far.
2) Our Old Navy has a mannequin dog at the entrance. Today when we were there, Daniel had to stop and give the dog a big hug, pet him, and even rub noses with him. Such a sweet boy.....though it worries me that he'll be begging us for a dog someday.
3) David taught Daniel to say, "Happy Mother's Day" on Sunday. I guess he doesn't realize that it's over because he's continued to tell me "Happy Mother's Day!" several times a day. It makes me feel extra special!