Stats

Eva went in for her 6 month checkup today (though she's nearly 7 months old). Everything looks good. 18 lbs 10 oz and 27 inches long. Over the 80th percentile in everything. Brendan was about two pounds bigger and 1 inch longer than Eva at this age. I guess I just have big kids. Good for the arm muscles, I guess. Anyway, she had to get three shots and that resulted in some screaming and tears. However, she doesn't need any more immunizations until 1 year. Yea!

And the winner is . . .

We have tried several foods with Eva and I must say I am always surprised at what kids like and dislike. For instance, she detested peaches (but we had such a laugh at the funny face she made). However, she wholeheartedly ate a whole jar of sweet potatoes and wanted more. So far that is her favorite. Today we try prunes. We'll see . . .

Troll hair

Fun things to do to your child when they wake up at 11pm and won't go back to sleep.

Jason has been tagged...

So three joys, fears/obsessions, three surprising facts.

Three joys. I love hanging with the family. Kids are an immense source of amusement. That's one I guess.
Second would be reading. I am an avid reader of all sorts, especially current affairs. Lately I have been on an Orson Scott Card binge. He wrote one of my favorite books (Ender's Game) but he is also an amazing essayist. (Here is a link to a column he writes: http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/index.html ).
Third, I love to play chess. I have found several people at school who play (and play well) so I usually have a game or two during lunchtime.

Three fears. Crashing my motorcycle again. No need to explain that. I think I had PTSD for a month after my little accident. I also fear doing some dental procedure on the wrong tooth. Third, Barack Obama getting elected.

Three surprising facts. I have parachuted onto an ambulance at night. True story. Next, I like Metallica. A lot. I have mellowed much in my old age, but I still listen to "One" or "Fade To Black" on occasion. (Personally, I think "And Justice For All" is their best album followed by "Ride the Lightning"). Lastly, hmmm... I think pickle juice is a fantastic drink. Seriously.

So know I have to tag some folks. Hmmm... How about, Chris Adams, Chad Curtis, Scot Whiting, Matt Packard, and Nathan Van Cleave.

My Little Ballerina

This is a onesie given to Eva by her aunt. I just had to post these. Totally impractical but so cute!



And yes, in the last picture she has Kee (see previous post). Brendan noticed and totally wigged out about two seconds after the picture was taken.

Brendan-ism

On Monday we were invited by kind friends to come over and play. Brendan's friend, Nora, had a train set that was pulled out and that's what they played with for the bulk of the morning. Knowing how B feels about trains, you might guess what the reaction to that was.
Anyway, that night Jason suggests that we go to Baskin Robbins for a treat. He asked Brendan if he wanted some ice cream.
Brendan answered, "Nora!"
So I asked him if he liked Nora.
He said, "Yes, Nora."
"Ice cream or Nora?"
"Nora."
"Do you like Nora? Is she pretty?"
"Nora." Then he sighed. "Nora, train."
So ladies, apparently you can have Brendan's heart (and top ice cream) if you have a cool enough train set. I feel like singing Sarah MacLachlan's song, "Your Love/(Train) is Better than Ice Cream".

Second story: Last night I went in to check on Brendan before I went to bed. It has become a tradition to go in and kiss his little sleeping head and whisper that I love him. Sometimes he answers back in his sleep. I told him "I love you" a few times to see if he'd answer. He didn't. Then I had an idea. I said, "Can we fix it?" Without skipping a beat or even opening his eyes, he said, "Yes we can."

Mr. Green Thumbs

So one day about two weeks ago, Jason gets an itch to have a garden. As long as I have known him, he has always talked about growing something but has never actually done it. Kind of funny from a man who swears he will pay someone to mow his lawn because it is such a hideous chore, but I digress.
Well, we headed over to Home Depot and came home with all the makings for an herb garden in one pot. He was loving it and the plants were doing so well that last week we went and got some more. I was able to get some flowers and a hummingbird feeder and he got some more herbs. Jason also built a lovely table to go on our balcony for the plants to rest on. We have also selected a spot for a vegetable pot to go when it is planting season again. I really like it.
Here are some shots of our balcony.

My Gerbera daisy. I love these flowers!

Some more flowers and herbs.

The hanging Fuschia plant that I can see from my kitchen window (Jason's favorite).

The hummingbird feeder and the blue Marin sky.

First Filling

Jason here. So yesterday was, what I consider, my first real dental procedure. A composite (tooth colored) filling on an upper premolar. Since the cavity looked pretty easy on the x-ray, I decided to "test case" it, which just means that you are graded on every aspect of the procedure and receive no help from instructors. Well, everything was going pretty smoothly until it came time to put on the rubber dam, which is this green thingy dentists use so that no water or debris goes down a patient's throat during the procedure. That thing took two tries and 30 minutes to get on. Once that was on, I took out the decay, showed the instructor, and then filled it with the composite I mentioned earlier. I was shocked that it took as long as it did and we finished a little early, but not much. Things turned out really well and I got a B on my evaluation, which was pretty good, I think. Very exciting, right?

Anyways, my blue haired patient brought in her boyfriend who had this gnarly tattoo on his thumb.


Needless to say, I had to take a picture of it and show it to my instructors. Dude probably wouldn't win any prizes at the tattoo expo, but with ink like that you are a superstar at the dental school.

Random but fun

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 210 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Just for curiosity's sake, there are 10 Brendan McDaniels, 363 Jason McDaniels and 87 Eva McDaniels. Also, McDaniel is the 300th most popular last name. Interesting. If I had gone with my maiden name there would only be 7 people who share my name and I would statistically have had the 8863rd most popular last name.

A zebra named Kitty

Many kids have a special blanket. Brendan has his Kee. It is a stuffed green zebra given to us at my baby shower by our bishop's wife, Sister Lee. It was named back when everything with four legs was a kitty which he pronounced "kee". That thing has been his most adored possession since he was about a year old (before that he really liked a big white spoon, but that's another story). He will NOT go to sleep without Kee. One time we left it at my parents house and had to turn around and drive and extra hour to get it. Kee used to be very soft and cute. Now the neck has lost all stuffing due to the way Brendan holds it - head to the side so he can stroke the ear. Also, the stitching is coming loose and the eyes are scratched. It is always SO very dirty (the white ears are brown) but getting it away from Brendan is tricky. I can only wash it while he is sound asleep and replace it before he wakes up. One time when Brendan was sick and Kee needed a wash due to vomit, Brendan kept calling for it the rest of the night. I explained that it needed a bath - he finally accepted it. He goes crazy if anyone else touches Kee, except his dad or I (watch out, Eva!)

I wonder how long he will be so attached to it. I am just glad that he does not insist on taking it with us everywhere. He is perfectly fine to leave Kee at home for trips to the store or to church, but if he is going to be sleeping at any point in our designated ride, Kee had better be there. Woe be unto us if we ever lose Kee. I shudder to think. Anyone else out there have a lovey like Bubba?

Clippies

I have never been one for bows. When I had a little girl I didn't plan on pasting a bow to her head or adding a flower to her hair. But the first three times that someone told me what a cute "little boy" I had, that was the turning point. So I purchased a few headbands and some bow clips that attached to them. It turns out that I think the bow headbands are just about the cutest thing (if not too ostentatious). Now Eva has hair long enough to actually put a clip in, which makes me very happy. Soon I'll say goodbye to headbands that never stay on and graduate to actual hairstyles. My children have no chance at curls so I am thinking a lot of ponytails, pigtails and braids are in my future. I guess I need to learn how to french braid.

Chow

On Monday, Eva had her first taste of rice cereal, beginning the long journey to solid foods. At first she turned her head and refused to open up, wondering what I was trying to stick in her mouth.

But, as soon as she got a taste, she was interested. By the end of the meal she was opening her mouth when she saw the spoon coming.

Today she got visibly excited when she saw the spoon and was chowing down on every bite. Later on we'll try baby food.

The Joys of Boys

Brendan's birthday got me to thinking about all the reason I love this little man. A recent post may suggest that he is a very naughty boy and I'd hate for you to get the wrong impression of him. He is simply three (and all the behaviors that go along with that). Some people look at him, especially those with only sweet girls and say things like, "Oh, you've got your hands full". And I do, but happily so. Mommies with boys know that they bring a different kind of joy and frustration than girls. Girls and boys are so different. I'm glad that I have one of each.
Here are a few reasons why I love Brendan.
1. He is SO funny! He has said a lot of funny things. I usually blog about it, see previous blogs.
2. He is clever. He comes up with the most creative ways to see the world. I love trying to see things through his eyes.
3. He loves to "read". He will often look at books for over an hour. This is especially pleasing to me since Jason and I are such bibliophiles.
4. He gives the best hugs and kisses. He will throw his arms around me and say, "I you so much Mom!" (yes, he leaves out the verb but I know what he means). He will also give goodnight kisses to anyone who is at our house at bedtime.
5. He is full of energy and is very entertaining. He must be running everywhere. He loves to dance to Flogging Molly.
6. He lets me "kiss it better". Any owee needs kisses from Mom. I enjoy that he thinks I can fix anything.
7. He's a little OCD. He has to have things a certain way. Recently he would not play trains with me until I made the greens trains connect with other green trains and not the orange ones. It is kind of amusing to mess with him sometimes.
8. He sleeps like a log. I LOVE to check on him every night before I go to sleep. He is always in the funniest positions.
9. He is friendly. He tries so hard to make friends at the park. But he is so big that the littler kids often don't want to play what he is playing and the older boys wonder why he doesn't talk so well and lose interest with him. But he keeps trying.
10. He is my oldest, my son, my challenge, my expectations, my heart.

Birthday Boy

Yesterday was Brendan's 3rd birthday. I tried to make it special and filled with things that he would like. He got to pick what we ate at every meal (mac n cheese, smoothies, chicken nuggets, etc). We went to the "dinosaur park" and he watched whatever movie he wanted at home. He and I also put his Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle together multiple times. I tried really hard to not say "no" to him today (within reason). When Jason got home, he opened all the presents.
Aunt Amanda and his Fairbanks cousins got him a conductor hat and a train whistle which he put right on and wore it the rest of the day. In fact, today he woke up and asked, "Where's my hat?"


Grandma and Grandpa Telford and Aunt Tina got him a Thomas the Tank Engine set which he played with for over three hours. He didn't even want to stop for cake and ice cream.


He got a Cars card from Aunt Amber, Uncle Aaron and cousin Hailey which is now proudly displayed on top of the entertainment center, along with the card from Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Bailey. They sent cold, hard cash and so we ordered him a new movie with it - "Curious George".

We bought him a game but it was quickly overshadowed by the train stuff. Oh well.
Later we took a trip to Baskin Robbins where we picked up his Bob the Builder birthday cake. We ate it right there (since he would've thrown a fit otherwise; he was too excited about it to make the walk home). They were cool about it. They know us there since we go all the time.



He got so messy that he had to have a bath, another Brendan all-time favorite thing to do. He went to bed surprisingly well but I did have to remind him that Thomas would still be there in the morning to play with.
Thank you to everyone who helped make Brendan's birthday fun for him. As his dad says - "He actually made it to three!"

Mash Game: Predict Your Future at eSPIN-the-Bottle

This was pretty fun. I am going to have to practice my "backwards drivin'" for that tow truck! I suppose I'll have to hang one of the four kids from the tow hook to make room for us in the cab. And I will glean all my dental knowledge from Jason (who needs to go to school?) and he can stay home with the kids. What a sight that would be.
I don't know why it posted so low and I do not have enough programming savvy to figure it out on the "edit HTML' page. Oh well. And since I changed the font color to match the new background, you may have to highlight it to read it. Sorry. A lot of work for just one post. :)

		I will marry Jason.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in Alaska in our fabulous Apartment.
		We will have 4 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a Black Tow truck.
		I will spend my days as a dentist, and live happily ever after.