Sunday, December 19, 2010

This week brought to you by the letter T....


What does the letter T stand for? Yes, T if for TEN, like the number of months I am old. Hard to believe, but I turned 10 months old this week already. I say it every week, but it has sure gone fast! I've developed so much in the last few weeks with all my newfound mobility and I have blossomed into my own little person... which leads me into my next T word;
T is also for TANTRUM.
I know, I know, hard to believe that sweet little me has tantrums already, but it's true. I mostly have my meltdowns when I'm being held against my will...so changing clothes, diapers, and putting on my hat and jacket are the worst! I usually throw my body backwards and whine and scream- It's a lot of fun for whoever is trying to hold me down! So you can see why I didn't cooperate for the best 10 month picture:)
So usually this is what it comes to- I crawl away and stand up on something then I'm totallly happy...whether I'm clothed or not depends!

T is also for TEETH! At this point, my teeth are coming a little slower than most 10 month olds. I still only have 1 tooth, but I am currently working on #2...my other bottom front tooth. I haven't been too crabby (yet), just a drool monster and 1 or 2 low grade fevers the last few days. You can kind of see my tooth and the incoming one in the picture below...


My mom and dad celebrated their 3rd wedding anniversary this week and that meant TONS of fun with TWO of my favorite people...my grandma and grandpa Dummer. They came to my house to babysit me while mom and dad had a dinner date. Grandma got to see what a good eater I am with big people food!


Being so mobile, comes with new discoveries...
T is for TROUBLE!
I am SO curious about Sophie Dog, most of the time a little too curious. Sophie puts up with a lot, but because I like to stand so much, I often crawl over to her and try to use her body for support to get up, and she's not such a fan of me putting my 20 pounds of weight on her belly (can you blame her?!?!) Mom and dad are constantly pulling me away from her bed and saying 'no, no, no'! I just want to love my big sis:)


I also am getting into a little bit of TROUBLE with our Christmas tree...I've actually been pretty good with it, but just the last few days there are some very pretty red ornaments I want to take off and chew on, and I also want those cords!

(I was mom's big helper when she wrapped presents though:) I haven't even tried to tear into those yet!

Today was our Spielman family Christmas and even though I was TIRED most of the time, I was a TROOPER and I got to see lots of family...
Auntie Lori put me in the photo booth and I loved all the bright lights!

Uncle David even managed to get me to stop crying...I watched my big cousins Connor and Chloe color and you know me, Ms. Independant, I wanted a crayon too:)
So 1 Christmas down, 4 more to go!
Lots more to report on next weekend I'm sure about my first stocking and present opening experiences:)
Have a TERRIFIC Holiday everyone!
All our Love,
Danika, Daren and Jamie

Sunday, December 12, 2010

SNOW!

Holy moly did we get some snow! While I don't totally understand what the big deal is, I did enoy my time snowed-in with my mom and dad for two whole days! We ventured out into the blizzard for a brief few minutes...just enough for some photos. I didn't know what to think of it all! Then, we (well, mostly mom and dad while I napped) spent most of the day baking Christmas cookies.
Here's a few quick pics from our weekend:)



This was our deck...Dad shoveled a path for us to walk through!

I LOVED watching daddy shovel the snow out the window while I was in the warm house. I kept banging on the glass and squaking all kinds of noises at him! 


"Look at all that snow outside mom!"


This is dad walking through our yard trying to get to the back of the house to shovel the deck...it was quite a trek! 

We hope everyone had a safe, snowy weekend! Hopefully everyone is plowed out! Stay warm this week!
Love, Danika

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Not just about me this week:)

It's late so this will be a quick one (sorry!) A few new updates with me this week: It's official, I'm a crawler and a climber! I can crawl pretty much anywhere, if I'm pursuaded enough or if I see something I really want. Otherwise, I'm not too interested in crawling because I'd rather be standing and taking steps while holding onto something! I pull myself up onto everything!!!! No really, everything! A few examples at my house are: the stair railing spindles, the ottoman, the TV stand, the coffee table, my changing table, the rocking chair, my crib, my dresser, the refrigerator, the kitchen drawers. You name it, I've got the will power to try and use it to help me stand. Most things work great, but it's the moveable things that sometimes are a bummer! For example the kitchen drawers. I pulled one out and thought it would be a good idea to use it to help me stand, but little did I know it was going to slide back in while my fingers were on it. That could have ended badly for me, or at least my fingers! BUT...mom and dad saved the day- which they've had to do a lot lately. No more setting me in a room to play and walking out for a few minutes...not unless I'm strapped down or strapped in something:) 
I told you last week that I'm eating mostly table foods now. A few of my new favorites that I tried this week are toast with cream cheese and tator tot hotdish (not at the same meal of course!) I've also become better with my sippie cup and I'm more interested in drinking out of it, even when it's not milk! I like water and sometimes watered-down juice. 
Well, enough about me...mom and dad want to talk about themselves for a moment:) They went to the Packer game today with Auntie Lori and Uncle Mike. They said it was cold, but 5 or 6 layers and some hand and feet warmers later, they were comfortable and ready to go cheer for the Pack! It was a good game and they had a fun time! Meanwhile, my big sis Sophie-dog and I got to spend the WHOLE day at the farm with Grandma and Grandpa Dummer. We went to church and then hung out and spent the afternoon together playing around!

Here's some pictures of our week. We hope you had as great of a week/weekend as we did! Oh, and to all my friends and family, look for a cute kid (me!) in your mailbox this upcoming week...Christmas cards are on the way! 

(Here I am, pulling myself up on the dresser in my closet. Changing me has become an adventure because I roll around and want to crawl away and find something to stand by!)

I'm enjoying my bananas and toast w/cream cheese. Yum! You cant' really tell from the picture, but the whole side of my head and my entire sippie bottle were covered in cream cheese! Clean up time is becoming WAY more work for mom and dad than actually getting a meal ready! 

I also have discovered how to use a spoon. If mom puts some food on the spoon for me and sets it on my tray I can pick it up and shovel it ( well most of it:) into my mouth! 


Go Pack Go! Dad, Mom, Auntie Lori, and Uncle Mike at the Packer Game today! 


Tailgaiting next to the stadium!


The view from their seats...The packers scored 4 of their 5 touchdowns in our endzone so they enjoyed getting to see all the action!


And I'll leave you with this one...
My daddy enjoying his favorite tailgaiting/grilling concoction, the 'bratager' (brat-u-ger) A combination of a full size bratwurst and at least a 1/4-1/3 lb. burger. It wouldn't be a Packer tailgaiting party without one!
(And mom wonders why he plopped on the bed when they got home and said 'I don't feel so good' and is now snoring away!)  

Have a great week!
Love,
The Dummers

Monday, November 29, 2010

I'm SO Thankful!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Turkey Day!
I have so much to be thankful for!
Great family, friends, daycare provider, food, and my newfound mobility!
I had already started on a small variety of foods, but now I eat pretty much any and all grown-up foods...I had lots of opportunities to explore foods during my two Thanksgiving meals. I LOVE cheesy potatoes and ham too! The leftovers are now gone and I'm not sure what else mom and dad are going to find to compare to those yummy 'tatoes!

On Thanksgiving morning I went to spend some early morning time with grandma and grandpa Dummer while mom and dad went to run the 'Turkey Trot'. Mom did the 5 mile and dad did the 2 mile. Neither of them would compromise and pick one to do together so they ran seperately...it was pretty impressive that dad was willing to run at all, but it was for a good cause and it made them feel a little less guilty about indulging in the yummy food later that day:)
Here they are post-race...Still smiling:)

After the race, mom and dad went home to get cleaned up and then they came back to the farm to have Thanksgiving with my Dummer/Spielman family at lunch time. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, salads, cranberries, rolls, and of course pie:)

Then we were headed home in the afternoon to get ready to host Thanksgiving at our house for Granny, Auntie Heidi and all my cousins. We had more good food (This is when I discovered my love for ham and cheesy potatoes!) It was fun to visit with those 5 wild boys!
Trying to get all of us to smile was pretty comical...Someone else should have been taking a picture of mom, Granny, and Heidi!

After our bodies and bellies took a day to recover from the Thanksgiving festivities, we kept ourselves busy this weekend getting into the Christmas spirit! On Saturday we went to the tree farm and kept the tradition going by cutting down our own tree. I was awake for the wagon ride to the field and back, but I was so tuckered out, I took a little snooze during the fun stuff, while dad cut the tree down! Grandma and Grandpa Dummer came with too to get their tree and cousin Connor helped them cut theirs down!



It was fun that night to watch dad bring it in and put it up and all the lights on it. Mom and I took the honors of putting the first ornament on:)


I enjoyed spending a little bit of time with my cousins Connor and Madeline who came up for the weekend from Iowa. When it was time for them to leave on Sunday Connor leaned over to give me a hug and he told mom "I love Danika...I don't want to leave her...I wish I could stay and play with her forever!" So sweet:)

Madeline is 9 months older than me, but one of these days I'm going to catch right up to her, and then we'll be double trouble!!

On Sunday we celebrated Grandma Lynn's retirement by throwing her a party with all her friends and family. Today was her last day of work...YEAH! I'm looking forward to more Grandma time!

As I mentioned at the beginning of my post, I have become quite mobile these days. I am sort of crawling forward...I take 2 or 3 crawls and then I decide I'd rather sit up and I find something to pull myself up on. All I want to do these days is stand up! I can stand on my own for about 2-3 seconds. It's coming in handy for many things, like playing on my own, but it has it's downfalls for mom and dad.... (See below!)

I used to fall right asleep on my own, but that's becoming a bit more of a challenge now that I've discovered I can stand up!!!! Mom and dad had to get a picture of me babbling away before they intervened!!!
More trouble ahead I'm sure... Have a great week!
Love, Danika

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Slow Week...fast 9 months!

Happy 9 month birthday to me today! Hard to believe I came into this world 9 months ago so small and fragile...and now look at me! I've gone through so many different developmental and personality stages, it's crazy! Mom and dad remember when they were just waiting and waiting for me to smile for 'real' at them, and now I can't stop smiling! Then they couldn't wait for me to sit up on my own, and now I'm bored with that and want to be standing! They couldn't wait to feed me 'real' baby food that was practically as runny as milk, and now I'm eating cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, yogurt, noodles, puffs, etc...! SO many changes! Every stage has been so special and have gone by way too fast:)
Enjoy the limited pictures this week. I'm continuing to stand on my own-The window and my leap frog table are my two favorite things to pull up on and stand by..1, because they are just the right height...and 2, because I can see interesting things when I'm up there! Either looking out the window or watching the flashing lights and listening to the music.


Look at what a big girl I am!

 Showing off with daddy

I know I can get myself up here!

My teeth hurt:( I'm surprised I didn't chew a hole in my ducky, I was gnawing on it so hard!

I try to go forward and I just keep going backwards! Then I end up under my leap frog table! Ugg...so frustrating!

Daddy spoiling me with my 1st taste of mashed potatoes...loaded with salt, butter, and gravy of course...VERY new, flavorful tastes for me! (I think I ate more of them than he did!)

Enjoy your week and the colder, snowier weather! I still don't know what to think of that white stuff that was on the ground outside, but I've been pretty fastinated by it:) More to come next week!
Love, Danika (and mom and dad too!)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Few Pictures...Fewer Words!

Hi again! Seeing as how I didn't get last week's blog done until mid-week, I don't have a whole lot of new events or news to share...however, I know you love new pictures of what I've been up to so here is a quick look at my week(end)!

On Saturday, mom and I went to Tigerton, where mom used to live and teach. I was a great car rider, considering we made the 2+ hour drive there AND back in one day! We got to see mom's good friend Kristen and I played with her son's Carson and Dane. It was a fun day:)

Soph-dog and I have been enjoying our time together a little more...and when Sophie doesn't like something I'm doing, she is just learning to move! You can see in the picture below I'm good at getting up on my knees and I'm SO close to crawling forward-Sophie doesn't look too excited about that though!

 I mentioned above that I'm close to crawling forward...You can see in the picture below I've already mastered the skills of scooting backwards I was playing on the front edge of the blanket and then got crabby when my legs got stuck under the couch and I couldn't go anymore...(leave it to mom to pull out the camera instead of helping me!)

I've also become quite the helper around the house- Here I am 'tossing' the clothes out of the basket for mom to fold. This was a big entertainment for me for quite a while!

Mom and her camera again...my new favorite way to sleep is on my tummy- no matter how many times mom comes in and rolls me over, I roll around all over the crib until I find a position that I'm comfy in, and 9 out of 10 times it's my tummy- I was really out for the count at nap time in this picture!

Today I celebrated what would have been my Uncle Scott's 33rd birthday by going out for lunch and spending time with his 2 sons, my cousins Dylan and Tyson and my granny. Dylan was SO good with me and played with me lots! 


I'm also discovering how to pull myself up...the trouble is, the things I want to pull up on are lighter than me so they usually topple over on top of me! Mom and dad have been supporting my toys and in the picture below you can see I finally did it! I don't stand for too long on my own yet, but I sure enjoy the new view from the top!

Have a great week everyone! More to come next week:)
Love, Danika Jolee

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Trick-or-Treat, Smell My Feet, Give Me Something Good to Eat:)

Sorry I'm a few days late...I'm still recooperating from all the Halloween Festivities! We had a busy week of carving pumpkins, a Halloween party, parade, and trick-or-treating.

On the Friday before Halloween, daycare ended at 1:00 so dad took the afternoon off and we went to mom's school to join the kindergarteners Halloween festivities. First, we had a party and they made 'witches brew'...of course I didn't get to eat any, but dad enjoyed the handouts:)

Then it was time for the parade and all of the kids (415 of them!) at mom's school got to wear their costumes and their parents came to watch them parade through all the classrooms and out around the playground. Dad and I just hung out inside because it was too cold! After the parade Amy (my daycare provider) came to say hi! (Well, she was there watching her kids in the parade, but I felt special that I got to see her too!)
 I love my Amy:)


 On Friday night, somehow I wasn't totally tuckered out so we decided to carve pumpkins. Dad did most of the grunt work and  I just sat their and looked cute! Mom just took pictures and gave input about the faces for our Jack-o-lanterns

 This feels funny...it's so bumpy!

 The finished products! (Hard to see, but one is scared, scary, and happy)
 Then came Sunday and the real festivities began:)
Mom always calls me 'bug' or 'buggy' so when she found a ladybug costume, it was a match made in heaven for me! Then it came time to decide what mom and dad should be and they decided to be bugs too...Mom was a bumblebee and Dad was a spider.

 We didn't go trick-or-treating a lot of places, but we put on a lot of miles! We decided to surprise Auntie Lori so we drove to Eau Galle so she could see us all dressed up. She was so surprised she screamed...literally! We scared her:) She even let me have 'real' big kid candy...ok, so I didn't get to eat it, but I enjoyed chewing on the wrappers for a little bit:)
We also went to 2 of my great grandma's houses (Great Grandma Val and Great Grandma Dummer)
We went to Grandma and Grandpa Dummer's and we stopped to see our friends from church, Bob and Pat.
Everyone enjoyed my visit and I made out pretty good with some treats of various baby food, a teething ring and baby wipes:) Thanks to everyone for my treats!

Earlier in the week I did go the urgent care because my pesty cough and cold was NOT getting any better and I started to not drink my bottles so mom and dad had enough of that and decided to take me in. Of course, they couldn't find anything wrong and sent me home...luckily I started drinking better the next day and I've been on the upswing...although, I've still got a horrible cough when I wake up in the morning-I just can't get that 'crud' out of my system!
My new favorite thing to play with is tupperware! I LOVE discovering what's in the drawer and banging the containers on the kitchen floor! Not the quietest activity, but it keeps me busy while mom and dad are in the kitchen cooking:)
I hope everyone has had a good start to their week! Talk to you again next week:)
Love, Danika