I don't need help...

Daniel was trying to get some some toys on the top bunk without using the ladder. Michele asked him if he wanted some help and he said

"No, I'm strong enough...I'm the strongest human in the world!"

But I NEED a tuba!

Daniel wants a tuba.

"Daddy, may I pleeease have a tuba?"

"No, Daniel, I'm sorry, but we can't buy you a tuba."

"But I need a tuba!" (tears welling in his eyes)

"Daniel, one day, when you're bigger, and if you're in a band, we can rent you a tuba if that's the instrument you want to play. But we can't buy one, they're too expensive" (about $6,500)

"But I need it today!" (full on crying now)

"Daniel, no, it's too big and too expensive. You can still pretend to play a tuba like you were before, but we can't buy a tuba."

"Waaaaaaaaaaa"

At this point I'm wondering how we got here, and why the issue is so emotional. So I walk through, again, the situation with a tuba, and tell Daniel I'm glad he wants to play a tuba but that he'll have to wait until later in life. In the meantime, you can pretend, I say. I don't know why I said this because every time my parents told me this growing up I KNEW it wasn't as good as the real thing, and it only frustrated me more.

"But, Daddy, I need the tuba for my polka band!" (full on crying)

"Daniel, I'm sorry, we're done talking about this. We can't get a tuba. I already explained what you can do instead."

"WAAAAA........(sniff).......then can I get an accordion instead?"

Daniel and the third Sorrowful Mystery

Our family rosary book has some beautiful religious images in it for each mystery.

Tonight, when we made it to the third Sorrowful Mystery, I read the bible verse in our booklet and showed Daniel the corresponding image: Jesus being crowned with thorns. Daniel asked what was going on in the picture. I told him the people that didn't like Jesus were being very mean to him. He responded:

"Well, they need to go in time out then, don't they Daddy?"

Amen.

Omaha!

We recently visited some dear friends in Omaha, the Eustermans. It was probably one of the best vacations we've ever had. Thanks Eustermans!

Though most of our time was spent taking trips to Costco (it's fun in any state!) and sitting around talking, we did have a number of adventures. The Eustermans put together a fantastic slide show of the trip, complete with lots of cute kid pics. Ellie and Daniel, and Matthew and Cecilia got along great.

P.S. Hey, Eustermans: "T-TIES!" Also, it was definitely Miss Scarlet.

I've been doin' this for ten years!

Michele asked Daniel to clean up his room after dinner. As he went about his "organizing", as he calls it, he had some trouble getting the blankets out of a cardboard house we bought from Costco. Michele asked if he needed some help to which he replied:

"Nope, I don't need any help Mommy. I've been doin' this for TEN years!"

We couldn't help but laugh. In a way he was right, though. It does feel like it takes 10 years for him to clean his room.

Daniel's Lenten Goals

Daniel and his friend Kaelen came up with some Lenten goals today. When asked, Daniel listed the following:

1. I want to listen to my prayers.
2. I want to say my prayers.
3. I will be nice to my Mommy and Daddy and Matthew.
4. I want to love Mommy, Daddy, myself and Matthew.
5. I want to love Jesus...uh, and this is my great-first goal.

Some good advice for Mom and Dad too!

Daniel helps with laundry

Daniel found a pretty awesome way to spice up doing the laundry...

Daniel advice

Daniel has been developing the habit of giving us "advice" before we leave for work. Some of his "advice" has recently turned foreboding. For example, he's literally said,

"Bye Mommy...be a good girl."

"Have a good day at work Daddy...(pause)...don't fall down..."

"Bye Mommy, have a good day at work...(pause)...make good choices..."

Just Matthew

We know, we know, most of our posts seem to be about Daniel. So here's one of just Matthew. Matthew is now 8 months old (!) and on the verge of lots of things. He isn't "crawling" per se, but pivots and rolls and can basically get to where he wants to be. He's been found a few times standing in his crib...

He has 5 teeth and LOVES to eat. We've found only a few things so far that he doesn't really like, but for the most part, he'll eat till there physically isn't room left in his belly (which isn't pretty...). He also likes to whistle, and if we're lucky, we'll get it on on video and post it. In the meantime, here are some of our favorite recent photos of Matthew:

A fuzzy picture of Matthew performing his tongue trick.

New toys from Grammy and Grampy!

Just sitting here. Everything's fine.

On the move.

If you look closely, you'll see the tip of Matthew's head and his feet. Photo courtesy of Daniel.

Cold outside, but warm in my bunting and hat!

"Surprise!"

Bathtime. (Ok, so Daniel snuck his way into the post, but the picture was too cute to leave out. Plus, Matthew is really starting to enjoy bathtime--especially splashing.)

Trying on a hat from Grandma. (There's that tongue again!)

Post-bath snuggles with Auntie Laura. (This kid clearly doesn't eat enough...)

Spelling

Tonight, Daniel spontaneously started spelling "America" off of one of Michele's cookbooks. He did it perfectly.

We congratulated him, naturally, then this...

Daniel: " 'America' has two 'As' in it."

Chris: "That's right Daniel, good job!"

Daniel: "Ya, it also has a lot of 'Ks'."

Ooooo, so close. Good thing the Spelling Bee is about 5 years away.