Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving Season was especially exciting because my Grandparents were here from Ohio. Daniel has also started enjoying the wonderful new world of drinking water from a cup and eating "bananas ala smoosh." Daniel and his new sippy cup, he mostly thinks it's fun to play with but when he gets water, it makes him so excited!
Grandpa teaching Daniel how to play with the Thanksgiving centerpiece.
Great- Grandpa Levi visiting from Ohio. Daniel thought it was great fun to watch his Great- Grandpa working on our house while he was here. He worked on stripping fifty year old walpaper from our front entrance so we can get it painted! Thanks Grandpa for all your hard work!
Four generations, Daniel and his Grandpa, Mom, and Great Grandparents.

Oh, Thanksgiving weekend was also a special time for us. We celebrated Daniel's baby dedication. It was so nice to have family and friends able to join us as we dedicated Daniel to the Lord. We were just reminded about how thankful we are for our family and friends!

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving as well!

Top Ten Things to do with a neck squash/pumpkin!

After Halloween the Orchard has a hard time getting rid of neck pumpkins so Justin brought some home for me. The one I cooked was longer and fatter than Daniel! This abundance of neck squash got me thinking about all the possibilities... so here are my top ten favorite suggestions of things to do with neck squash:

1. Make Baby food (I pureed a whole bunch in the blender and then froze it in ice cube trays, then dumped it in baggies for Daniels enjoyment later:-)
2. Take a large neck squash camping you can, keep it in your tent and then use it as a seat when all other surfaces are wet:-)
3. Make Pumpkin Cookies (make sure you have lots of milk on hand to go with these!)
4. Make Pumpkin Soup (add some ham and veggies and it's a complete meal!)
5. Decorate your front porch.
6. For a baby shower game--- put a 17plus pound neck pumpkin in an infant car seat and have the mother to be carry it up and down a flight of stairs five times... I'd call this motherhood boot camp!
7. Use your ten plus pound squash to lift weights!
8. Tie a bonnet on it and call it a "goose."
9. Stand them up on end and use a cantaloupe for a nutritious twist on bowling!
10. This is the best suggestion ever--- Make Pumpkin Pie!!! (I'm sure I read somewhere that it is the healthiest pie;-)

Okay so I'm squashed out right now, time to get my day started and cook up the rest of my squash!

Our Weekend!

Here is an update on what our family has been up to:
This weekend for my birthday celebration I spent the day at the orchard festival and then we went for a walk at a local state park. Daniel loved being outside and experiencing new things . It was fun to get away as a family and enjoy the beautiful weather God sent us! It was also nice break during a very busy time for us as a family. However, we are not complaining because the Orchard is having an excellent fall-- even though I am not a farmer I can tell the apples are simply beautiful this year, I've been decorating my kitchen with them. (There is nothing better than being able to eat your centerpieces:-)

Grandma introducing Daniel to pumpkins.

Daniel helping Grandma to sell tickets at the festival.

Our family.Trying to get Daniel to smile for a picture:-)

A classic Daniel smile:-) He absolutely enjoys being outside. We have taught him the sign for come and sometimes when he is fussy he will reach for a window or our door, telling us he wants to go outside. When we step outside we immediately have a happy child, step back in-- he screams. I don't know what we'll do once it's too cold to take him out:-)

Justin and Daniel sunbathing. It has been amazing to see how even though Daniel is so little he knows who his daddy is. One of his favorite times of the day is when daddy comes home and holds him. We've already noticed he gets grouchier if Justin is away several evenings in a row.

Daniel trying to "taste" grass for the first time.

Daniel's first encounter with a leaf. I got a really cute video of this moment also... Daniel was very seriously "talking" to this leaf. If anyone knows how to put videos on a blog please let me know!

I'm Three Months Old!!!

This picture was taken on Daniel's three month birthday (Sept 28), as you can see, his fingers are still a big hit!

Reaching more milestones...

Here are some pictures of the new things that are happening at our house:Daniel has really started enjoying his walker, he can only stand on his tip-toes but he loves it anyway. (I think the colorful toys attached to it have something to do with his interest in it:-)
Daniel has also begun his literary adventures-- he loves his cloth "Things that Go" book and he enjoys "tasting" the pages... we'll have to work on that before he goes to preschool:-) jk (Mom and dad are also impressed that he "turns" the pages and screams when he gets to the end and can't turn anymore... we aren't sure if he does this accidentally or if it's purposeful yet:-)
His latest trick involves getting both feet onto his highchair tray and trying to arch his back to stand up... mom's afraid he will go sky-diving one of these days so I usually strap him in really well and stay close by...

We are also starting to get a taste of his sense of humor... this morning I tickled him and he giggled... I'm sure of it. He also likes to smile a lot at his dad when he gets home from work:-)

Our Vacation by Daniel

Last week my mommy and daddy put lots of things in our car and told me we were going on "vacation" I didn't know what that meant... but since then I've decided I like it pretty much:-)My favorite part of vacation was sleeping at Blackwater Falls. I decided sleeping was so much fun that I slept 8-9 hours every night while we were away. ( But I know that I shouldn't spoil my parents too much-- so I've been waking them up at least once every night now that we're home...)

Mommy and me on the train. I liked the train but the whistle kept making my hair stand on end!!! I couldn't sleep on the train...

"Do you call this fun?" Daddy and Grandpa were trying to keep me out of the sun. I thought it was downright annoying...

Yup, this vacation thing definitely wears a baby out...

Daniel and Mommy

I just realized the other day that we had only one picture of me and Daniel so Justin promptly took these...

Another Beautiful morning!

The weather has been amazing here lately, the past two mornings I have woken up to a piercingly blue sky and crisp almost-like-fall weather. It gives me a little bubbly feeling in my stomach and makes me want to shout into the heavens:"Thank you God for making your world so beautiful!."
I quote GS Megaphone: "It's a beautiful world, what a great idea!"

I'm also very excited about our upcoming vacation next week to West Virginia with my family... we have a whole house to ourselves in a tiny town that we've never been to... sounds like an adventure. I'll have to remember to post some pictures when I get back...

A parting shot: Daniel enjoying his blanket from Great Grandpa and Grandma Miller (Grandma made it for him:-)

Meeting my aunt Janell!!! (And seeing uncle Tim again)

On Tuesday Daniel finally got to meet his aunt Janell! It was a special time for both of them, Daniel even gave her a lovely yellowish present on her shirt... For those who didn't know, Janell has been in Mexico since the end of May (going to language school and helping to plan a VBS) and wasn't able to meet her nephew until this week. We're so happy to have you back, Janell!!!
On Wednesday Daniel got to see his uncle Tim again! Tim had been in Mexico on a missions team from our church for two weeks. Tim was so surprised to see how much Daniel had grown while he was away. Daniel blessed his uncle with several smiles and really enjoyed having him dangling toys over his head for him to "punch." (Janell and Tim were working together on the same team for the two weeks he was in Mexico).

"Look What I Can Do!!!"

This picture was taken last Tuesday, July 24... our little boy keeps surprising us with his new tricks. He really enjoys lifting his head to look and see what's going on even though it takes him a lot of concentration. We are also getting a few smiles and coos... that are enough to melt my heart even at 3am...

A Hunter's Tale

"So I was out in the woods one day when I came across a big scary bear!"

"I was just a tiny bit scared, but I knew exactly what to do to scare that growly bear away..."

"... I growled right back at it like this..."

"yeah, I can handle bears... no sweat"

5 Generations

On Sunday we enjoyed a fun visit with Justin's Great Grandparents and his Grandparents. Of course we had to take pictures of these 5 generations. ..

Justin, Daniel, and Lester

Clara and Daniel

(Back Row)Joyce (Justin's Grandma), Justin & Daniel, Anne (Justin's Mom), Charlie (Justin's Grandpa) Front: Lester (Joyce's Dad, Justin's Great-Grandpa), Clara (Charlie's mom, Justin's Great grandma)

More pictures

I like to kick my blankets off when I'm sleeping!

Tonisha was trying different hats on me this week.

I'm sooo cute!

Hanging out with Dad.

Justin's sister, who is in Mexico and still hasn't met Daniel was requesting to see more pictures of him... so Janell here you go...

Adventures in Gormet Food with Justin & Jerryl

Last evening we had a nice time hanging out at my parent's house. My mom was expirementing with a new recipe for stuffed peppers and they turned out really really well!!! (look out Rachel Ray!)

My Dad came up with a new gourmet delicacy--- putting Basil Pesto Sauce on Cantelope. He convinced Justin to join him in his culinary adventure and now he is hooked!
So look out family-- if at the reunion you see something green on your melons know that it is basil and not mold:-)
Note: I must admit that it really doesn't taste that bad... however, I don't think I would get cravings for it.

Parting Shot: (Sara had a cough and really really wanted to hold Daniel so we told her if she covered her mouth with a hankie she could. This is what mom helped her come up with after the paper napkin stuffed in the top of her glasses didn't work:-)

A Special Day

Last Monday (7/9) Daniel and I had a very special day. My aunt Dawn picked us up in the morning and took us to visit Great Grandma and Grandma and she even made us all a yummy lunch! (Thanks again, Dawn!) We got my aunt Sylvia to take this 4 generation picture of my mom, Grandma, Daniel and I . Grandma kept saying "he's so cute" and "he's so heavy." (he weighed in at 9lbs at the doc's on Friday). I'll have to post more later my little man wants his afternoon snack...

I'm One Week Old!!! (on 7/5/07)

Daniel is doing very well, we had our first doctor's apointment yesterday. He is not quite back to his birth weight yet so we will have to go get weighed again next week. However, he is already off the charts as far as his height is concerned :-)

I love to suck on my fingers when I'm not poking myself in the eye!

Don't I look good in red?

Pictures make me sleepy...

Some more pictures...

Here are some more pictures for your enjoyment... Daniel is doing very well he really is awake quiet a bit of the day (and night) and loves to look at lights and his black and white panda toy.
My cousin Heidi was here today and we measured his feet because they weren't fitting in newborn socks... his feet are 3 1/2 inches long!!! (His toes are about a 1/2 inch). We think he's one big bundle of joy.

Daniel and Grandpa Ed

Daniel and Grandma Anne

Daniel and Grandpa and Grandma Miller

One of my favorite places... my swing

Getting ready to go home...

27 hours later...

My favorite pastime is scratching my eyes...

Daniel Alan
Born June 28, 2007
at 3:24am
8lbs 12oz
22 inches long

pictures of me with mom and dad