At the playground with Matteo!

Daniel had a fun time with his friends Matteo and Julie last week. Here are some pictures from his time at the playground at Greenlake.

On the swings...

Holding on tight...

Ready to go down the slide!

Wheeeee!!!

The Pumpkin Hunters

After Daddy recovered from running the 10K Dawg Dash this morning, we all drove out to Remlinger Farms in search of some perfect pumpkins. What an adventure we had!

On the way to the pumpkin patch!

Daniel takes off on his own.

Found one!

This way, Mommy!

The pumpkin hunters pause for a photo.

This one's mine, Daddy!

Lost in a field of pumpkins.

Helping to carry home the loot! What a fun day!

The Big 01

Yesterday, Daniel celebrated his first birthday with a small party of his family. Though Grandma took a lot of pictures, Daniel's busy parents were only able to take a few. Here they are!

Up bright and early, the birthday boy is ready to play.

Mmmm....cake! Thank you, Angela!

I love the feeling of frosting between my fingers!

With the presents all opened and the cake all eaten, at the end of the day the balloons still have tons of appeal. (Sorry there is no sound!)

Game Day

Daniel was so excited for Saturday's husky game last weekend, he wore his football pajamas to bed the night before.

Slushy, his stuffed husky.

A great game-day smile. If only he knew what would happen in a few hours...

Remote: check. Sippy cup: check. Slushy: check.

Watching the beginning of the game with Daddy before heading off to bed.

What I Did This Summer

Daniel had a lot of fun adventures this summer. Here are just a few of the more memorable moments. Thanks to everyone who made Daniel's first summer so special!

Daniel joined FBFA this summer: Futue Baby Farmers of America.

SHIRPA!

I love my mommy....and sticks.

Daniel attended his friend Cora's birthday party this summer. He was unable to understand why all the parents insisted on squishing him in a wagon with his other friends. Here he is with his friends Lilly, Cora, Nick, and Nathan.

" Mother, I believe this soil is too arid."

Nothing like beating the summer heat by sucking on the unopened end of Mom's Otter Pop...that and air conditioning.

Daniel's great grandma celebrated 83 years this year!

Daniel earns his keep.

Though Daniel enjoys his bubble popping, plastic, push mower that doesn't actually cut grass....his real love is for 4-horses of good'ol gas guzzling, Japanese-made, grass eating machine!

A lot of new foods were introduced this summer. Results: Egg = bad....and for every bite that goes into the mouth, 2.3 land on the floor.

Grandma had a birthday this summer and Daniel had lots of fun eating the wrapping paper from her presents.

Truck. Sand. Man.

Inspired by the Olympics, Daniel became obsessed with Michael Phelps and trained 25 minutes every other week in his kiddie pool. We'll keep you posted on his quest to match Michael's 8 Olympic golds.

Here, Daniel trains with his relay team in Sunnyside, Washington. Training ended when the UFO (unidentified floating objects) count in the pool got too high.

Realizing that Mommy and Daddy do pretty much everything for him, Daniel started offering to help out with the laundry. Right now he's very good at unloading and still needs work on folding.

THANKS FOR A GREAT SUMMER EVERYONE!

A Day at the Zoo

Daniel had his first adventure at the zoo yesterday. We enjoyed a beautiful day with friends Pete and Kathy at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

Daniel the Caterpillar.

Trying to touch the butterfly.

The flamingos are in town!

Checking out the marsh birds.

Daniel's a prowling spider?

Posing with Mommy, Kathy and Pete by the African Savannah.

We love the elephants!

More live-action Daniel

This is for you, Eustermans

Trip to the East Coast, Part 1

Here are a few pictures of our trip to the East Coast at the beginning of August.

Daniel gets his first view of the Atlantic Ocean at Gloucester, MA.

Grandma and Grandpa with Daniel and Mommy by the North Bridge in Concord, MA, site of the first battle of the Revolutionary War.

The North Bridge.

Daniel by the Minute Man statue.

Baby Steps

Well, it's official! After a couple weeks of standing on his own, cruising around the furniture and pushing anything that moves around the house, Daniel took his first steps yesterday. He took a couple steps while trying to get to Mommy while she was vacuuming, then took a few more steps in the bathtub. Today he did lots of practicing and was able to take six steps before sitting down! Watch out, here he comes!