Graffiti revelations and more

We packed up and went on a great vacation to Anderson Island with some friends this past week (post to come). On the way home we had to make the inevitable potty break.

We pulled off the freeway in a "tough" part of town, and went into a store to use the facilities. The walls of the stall were covered in gang graffiti and some not-so-nice phrases (thank God Daniel can't ready yet). However, he was quite funny.

"Daddy, why are there 'no-nos' all over the wall?" (writing on the wall is a 'no-no' at home).

"Some people make bad choices and write on walls when they shouldn't. But you know better."

"Ya, they used lots of crayons. That's a big 'no-no'. And there isn't a time out chair in here for them to sit on."

At that moment I imagined some hooligan sitting in 'time out' for graffiting the stall walls. I wonder if it'd be an effective punishment? :)

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Later that day at home, Daniel proclaimed that he needed to go potty, and that he would be doing it all by himself. Daniel has never gone potty by himself before, but we were curious to see him try.

He entered the bathroom and promptly closed the door behind him. When we tried to enter to watch, he explained that we needed to leave so he could have some privacy.

Honoring his request, we waited on the other side of the door, listening. A few moments had passed when we heard...

"Uh....Daddy, can you come in here and wipe the poopy off my hand?"

It was a valiant first try.

Daniel vs. The Pavement

I can't go to sleep because...

Daniel is in his big boy bed now (a mattress on the floor). He was so excited about it he ran around the house yelling. But now it seems things have changed. Daniel had quite a list of reasons for getting up tonight...

The litany of excuses (serious, he used all of these):

1. I have to go potty.
2. I need to blow my nose.
3. I have to go potty (5 minutes since last trip).
4. I need some water.
5. I needed to build a ramp onto my bed to get into it.
6. My owie hurts.
7. My band-aide is stuck to the sheets.
8. My bed is broken (i.e. my blanket isn't straight).
9. I need to blow my nose, again.
10. I think my big boy bed is too much for me, I want to sleep in my crib.

He gave it a good try. We'll see how tomorrow night goes.

Matthew's First Month

Here is how Matthew spent his first month...

Learning how to smile.

Snuggling with Auntie Laura.

Meeting cousin Audrina.

Crying over the US' s World Cup performance.

Snoozing in the baby bjorn.

Wearing out the big brother.

Snoozing in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

Learning how to play "trampoline." (Daniel's a great teacher.)

Doing tummy time. (And getting out of tummy time by rolling over!)

Guitars + Cousin + Daniel = Awesome

Chris' cousin Thomas had a grad party this weekend and broke out the guitar. Daniel was enthralled. Check out Daniel's effects peddle action in the video.

Daniel observes the master.

Now the student participates.

Dieting with Daniel

Michele and I have been noticing our waistlines a little more these days, and I think Daniel is trying to send us subtle hints...

For example, at dinner the other night:

Daniel: Mommy and Daddy, we're not humans anymore. Now we are going to be animals. Daddy, you're a pig, and Mommy, you're a cow. And me, I'm a sheep.

And later that night:

Chris: Hey honey, I bought you the medium sized shirt instead of the small. I thought it might be...uh....

Michele: More comfortable? You're probably right. Thanks. *sigh*

Chris: Don't worry, honey. I'll be buying the smalls again real soon.

Daniel: Or not so soon.

I guess he cuts right to it.

Inside voice

Matthew was crying pretty loud the other day when Daniel made the following comment:

"Oh ya...Matthew doesn't know about inside voices yet."

Touche

Daniel is our little gymnast lately. He loves to hang on things and balance precariously between different pieces of furniture, holding himself up by his arms. Today on the way into the house with our friends Tisa and Janet, he started hanging on the doorknob. After we explained to him that it probably wasn't the best idea to hang there, Janet suggested that he might need a bar so that he could do all the pull-ups he wanted. Daniel readily agreed, and I jokingly pointed out that he didn't even know what pull-ups were. Daniel stopped, looked at me and said "Uh-huh! They're a kind of diaper!" Touche, Daniel. Touche.

Matthew's Quilt

Grandma spent the week with us while Daddy's been out of town. While she was here she finished making Matthew's quilt. Here are some pictures of Matthew enjoying his new quilt. Thanks, Grandma!

Plenty of room to grow here!

Did I learn this from cousin Grady?


Thanks for the quilt, Grandma! I love it!

Umm....

This could be fun, but I'm not sure if it meets any safety standards...