Dane

I can't believe Dane will be 4 in a few short weeks. He has always been my little boy. However he is growing up. I think his has had a few growth spurts recently. He is very smart. He remembers his lesson from week to week in Primary. It really surprised his teachers when he told them the lesson had been on Daniel in the lion's den the week before. The best words I hear from Dane these days are, "I'm going to go poop in the toilet." That has been quite the road for this guy. Hip Hip Hurray I think we are through that one. In celebration of Dane turning 4 here a few pictures and funny stories below.

Funny Dane stories...
First one when we were doing the Navity for Christmas, Dane was a sheep with the other little boy cousins. That way they could wander around a bit and it wasn't too big a deal. Gabby had made little hats with fluffy ears and we were painting the noses black. However when we were getting dressed Dane wanted to be a black sheep. He insisted that he wear one black and one white scarf. I hope that doesn't have anything to do with the future.

Not the best pic, but you can see everyone from our little family. Oliver is Joseph and thrilled about it. Alex and Bry are shepards, Seth a wise guy as we called them. Dane a black sheep and Cecilia an angel. The other kids are cousins. We did the nativity on Christmas Eve at a nursing home. I hope it is a tradition we keep. I loved it.

Second funny story... I was laying by Dane one night to settle him down and cuddle a bit. Very gently Dane reached over and touched my face and said, "Tag. You're it." I had to laugh. I tagged him back, but it didn't count because I'd touched his sleeve. I had to really find him because he'd made a barrier with the blanket around himself. Needless to say I didn't do a very good job settling him down.

Relearning

Dane is learning to walk again after breaking his leg. I was getting a bit nervous because it took him several days to even try and walk on it. But once he did it was just like when he learned to walk. He is very happy and doesn't really complain. The cutest thing he says is holding his arms up, "Hold you mama. Hold you mama." when he wants to be picked up. If he'd continued doing the army crawl I think I would have lost it. Now however he is climbing onto the tramp and jumping with his cast on. I'll try and get a shot of that one too.

dane turns 2

Dane has turned 2!!! He is an adorable little boy. I know I am biased. People stopping in the street to smile at him only confirm what I think. He is speak a ton. He's a little parrot saying whatever his brothers say. My favorite is, "What the heck." Here is to another adorable year.

Baltimore Woods

In Marcellus NY is a fabulous nature preserve called Baltimore Woods. Oliver, Bryant, Seth went to day camp for a week this summer. They all had a fabulous time. They could not have gotten dirtier or been happier. I think that children who are allowed to get dirty are happier and more adjusted in life. They each had a day to go in the mud pit and in they did. I didn't recognize Seth at first. You can tell by the pictures. I don't have any pictures of Oliver-- Sorry bud. They found tons of frogs, crayfish, build animal habitats, played games, had a tug of war, made candles and hiked and hiked and hiked. They slept great that week. While the three big boys were playing so did Alex, Dane and I. Marcellus park was a hit. So to anyone who lives near Syracuse I highly recommend heading to Baltimore Woods. The day camps are a bit pricey, but well worth it. They also have other activities as well. We went to the star party and were able to check out the stars, planets and milky way. Very cool!!

Dane's first hair cut-- about time

We finally gave Dane his first hair cut. He is by far the longest we have waited to get this done. Oliver got his first cut at 9 1/2 months. Bryant got his at 4 months-- his hair was so think it made the scissors skip. Seth and Alex both had their first cuts about 6 months old. So we really have waited a long time. Jeff has been very impatient. "Can we give him a hair cut yet?" has been asked for about 5 months now. "Look it is touching his ears." To which I replied, "He is a baby." But when people started telling me what a beautiful baby girl I have I knew it was time. It would be nice to have a little girl around, but that is taking it a bit far. Dane did great-- no crying and not too much wiggling. In the end he got a nice little bowl cut.

Profile

Before

Half way done

Holding still

Helping mom comb

What a little man!

Alex and Dane

I thought these two videos where cute of the two youngest boys. Alex is talking about the tools from Handy Manny-- or as he calls them Manny Manny. Dane loves to eat. We had rice and beans. He eats 3 or 4 of his little bowls. More than Alex by a ton. What can we say but that he loves to eat. Not a surprise his first sentence was, "I eat." (See earlier post). Dane is also using a spoon and fork now as well.

dane's first sentence

Dane said his first sentence. "Eh ee" over and over. For everyone who needs translation. "I eat". Then he brings me craisins from the pantry. I think it might be safe to say I have another independent child. It is a blessing and a curse. But at least I know my children will never starve.

Just for the record his first word was "woof". What does a dog say? "Woof woof" Very cute.

one down-- lots to go

Awhile back I typed up a list of projects that I have on going. While the list never really gets shorter because stuff is always added to the list. Projects do get crossed off as well. Sometimes that is because I actually finish one of the projects. Well I finished the circles in Dane's bedroom. The room has a space theme.


Before

During-- Alex wanted to help paint the moons. So I let him then used a wipe to keep it in the lines.

Done painting and ready to blast off!

random pics

Okay this is a somewhat random picture, but Bry likes to create food art. This is get ready for it-- The Garden of Gethsemane. The trees are broccoli, chicken the rock and the carrots are Christ. It is actually a bit sacrilegious, but what do you do.


Too tired to get dressed after his bath.


Oliver working on his pinewood derby car.


Dane loves to cheese for the camera.


He is trying to get dressed---


Our St. Patrick's Day cake

Let's play ball

Alex and Dane had a great time playing ball with each other. Alex threw the ball and then they both chase it. Once in a while Dane would get the ball. The best part is is the laughter. I love spring when the boys can play outside together.

Dane's First Birthday!!!