Update on Tub Time

Daniel has enjoyed his bath everyday since his first last week. Now, it's tough to get him out! He is loving the bubbles and playing with stacking cups. He also loves washing himself. It is evident that he's very proud of overcoming his fear!

Kudos to big sister

Today Daniel received a Big Belly Bank that Grandpa had ordered for him. Grandpa was adamant that Daniel have the same type of bank that he and Grandma bought for Madi several years ago.

When the package arrived and the kids opened it, Madi quickly disappeared to her room and excitedly reappeared with her wallet. We watched as she drained her wallet of every cent for Daniel to put into his bank, and that wallet was pretty heavy! All without a single prompting. She's such a great big sister.

Playdate with the Socha's

Last week, we had a playdate with one of Madi's dearest buddies, Ana Socha and her little sister, Monica a.k.a Momo. The kids had a great time together. The girls spent most of the time running away from Daniel who was unknowingly pegged "The Beast". He was thrilled just to be part of the chase.

A Visit from Boo Boo

We had a sweet surprise on Easter Sunday. Cousin Kelsey arrived for a week long visit. It was a great reunion for Kelsey and Madi and it was Kelsey's first time meeting Daniel. They hit it off instantly. Kelsey was very diplomatic about making sure that Madi, who adores her, was given equal time and attention.

We had a great visit and enjoyed swimming at Aunt Sheila's house with the boys. Madi can hardly wait for Summer so she can become a little fish, or should I say mermaid, again! She learned a new game called "Mommy Gator" that she played with Myles and Kelsey. She had a blast trying to sneak past them in the pool. Daniel enjoyed the fun from the sidelines.

Cousin Murphy, as usual, was great to let the kids 'rif' on his professional grade drums. Daniel seems to be a little natural!

Dress-up

Daniel's not going to be happy about this post later on in life, but the record must show that he LOVES wearing my shoes! He and Madi are constantly dragging them out of my closet and I am constantly putting them away. The craziest thing is that they can walk in them so well!

Leave it to Grandma...

...to get Daniel into the bathtub for the first time! I left Bubba's house last night for a few minutes to run some dinner home to Jimmy and when I returned I couldn't believe my eyes. Daniel was sitting on the edge of the tub with his feet in the water. This was the first time he's had any desire to get in. For two months, he's spent time on "the sidelines" watching Madi in the tub and playing with his toys from the outside. Bubba had her arms grasped around his belly and he was perched on the edge. She began slowly lowering him into the tub so he could finally feel his feet on the bottom. We have a feeling maybe he thought the tub was really deep all this time. Once he realized this, he slid himself down so he could sit in the tub. I know this sounds crazy to have a 'play by play' for a child taking a bath, but seriously--everytime we've tried to get him in there, he's cried and screamed like he was absolutely terrified. Madi loved that he was in there and was proudly hollering, "Gradulations Daniel! Gradulations Big Boy!" It was a moment I wish I had on videotape!

Surgery is scheduled

Daniel's surgery is scheduled for May 11. We will take a trip to Miami on 4/28 for a consultation with his surgeon and Daniel will have his pre-op testing. We feel like the timing is good. It gives Daniel another month to adjust, but it's soon enough to get things taken care of expeditiously. When I was researching Daniel's surgeon, I came across a section called 'Publications'. As I was scrolling through them, I noticed that he has written a study with someone named "Feng". I thought that was interesting since that is Daniel's Chinese name. I continued to scroll down and came across the craziest thing--numerous publications with someone named D.J. Murphy! We will be sure to mention this coincidence to Dr. Rosenkranz.

The Precious Language of Children

When I asked Madi what she did in school today, she replied, "We eated Oreo cookies and drinked mulk". The obvious grammatical errors made me chuckle and reminded me of all the sweet mispronunciations that are slowly leaving her vocabulary. Our absolute, hands-down favorite is "Porfeck" (perfect). She says it with such enthusiasm that we don't even want to correct her. They are small for such a short time. We love embracing the imperfections knowing that they will change--slowly, surely--we see the change before our eyes (and ears:)

Happy Easter!