JULY 10 - A day to put in the history books!!

Last night was the first night I slept through the night.. the WHOLE night! And I woke up with a great big smile. Today mom and dad finally took me to the farmer's market to see the ducks and biting geese. yikes!

Water Baby

I love all things to do with water. This all started way before my actual arrival when mom used to swim with me. Dad said that mom looked like a character from Cirque du Soleil with her funny blue swim cap and her giant belly sticking out. Mom loved to be in the warm water. She even took me (in her belly) to Bora Bora on a photo shoot where I got to swim with sharks and sting rays.

Now that I am here in person I love to go in the bath, in the shower, in the hot tub and in pools. I don't care if it is cold or warm - i just love it!

Babies

Owen and Rory are a few of my new baby friends (that is us on the floor). I am the oldest so I pretty much run the show. My newest baby friend is Ellie (stretching) who my parents tell me I am practically related too. She lives in Pasadena where I used to live and she is really really cute. Baby Mhari will be arriving VERY soon just right across the street from me. Babies and big bellies are everywhere these days

Dude Ranch

When mom and dad found out about my upcoming arrival... or as Dad has put it "the runaway train" they decided to make some big changes. The first is that dad decided to quit his job and travel around with mom (and me). He wanted to see all the cool places mom gets to go take photos at. But really he has told me the real reason was so that he could make sure mom didn't do anything crazy like climb up slippery cliffs or jump over fences to get a good shot. Swimming with sharks? That was okay. Everytime she did climb a cliff or jump over a fence he would be right behind us keeping me safe. The first trip we went on as a family was to a Dude Ranch in Wyoming called "The Hideout". On the first day Dad got thrown from his horse - yes MY dad!! Dad was NO WAY, NO HOW going to let mom get up on a horse after that so he had to gallop after cows with mom's camera and it was pretty wild to watch! We also went in a helicopter but mom almost barfed in her camera bag so that was the end of that fun.

Night is for Sleeping??

That title pretty much sums it up. Now I am almost 7 months and I do sleep okay mostly but only because mom and dad got tough a few weeks ago. I like to wake up many times during the night. I RARELY slept more than an hour at a time those first few months. Mom and dad sometimes kept the real truth to themselves saying that it was not so bad - some people even thought I was improving. My parents did not want to scare their friends who did not have babies yet by telling them the truth. Sometimes they even thought (this is crazy) that this was a reflection of their parenting... all the books said I would be sleeping through the night at 3 months. Some books are for burning. My mom has since met new babies who do sleep at night - she is happy for their moms and dads. That is why she has a dart board with their photos on it. :)

All I see are all these sleepy photos of me and think maybe my parents are remembering it all wrong.

LOTS OF CRYING

I am a very happy baby. Most people would not believe that for about a month I cried .. a LOT! Usually I would be happy until about 4pm and then the witching hours started. I would scream and scratch and not stop for hours - Dad says I turned into another baby. Mom and Dad would try everything and I mean everything that anybody or any book told them to try. It was rough. Our cousin Cathy told Mom that I would be really intelligent after this colic phase passed. She was right because it did pass and I am indeed super smart (confidence I got from my dad)!

My mom did not take a single photo of me during my screaming fits - can you believe that!? It upset her so much she did not even want a photo. Although now she wishes she had. Now she knows that not all the new baby moments are pretty but they are all important and special.

I love my dad

My dad is the best dad ever! Every night he sings to me when I am trying to fall asleep. He has all kinds of special versus that often include space travel. Sometimes he kisses me goodnight when I am already sleeping. If I wake up he gets in big trouble.

When I was first born he waited until Mom was napping and then he would take my temperature. He did this every day and mom never knew. The Dr. had told Dad that fevers were dangerous for babies and Dad did not want to take any chances. Dad has loosened up a bit since then.

When I got a little older he would fly me around the house or carry me around in the bjorn. We would do all kinds of fun things like make coffee and write software.

My dad is home with me a lot (something about mom bringing bacon and cooking it too) but now once in a while he leaves for the entire day. When he gets home I squeal really loud. He is so happy to be home with me that he doesn't even mind the crazy mess that mom makes during the day.

When I hear my dad come into the room I can't concentrate on anything except him. He always tells me to finish eating first but I just crane my neck to see him no matter if my mouth is filled with milk or not.

I Love my dad.

Pappa Jay

Pappa Jay is the guy that shows up most mornings at our door wearing the funny red hat. This is the guy who comes in, gets me all excited and riled up and then rides away on his bike. Mom is always grumbling something about it being morning naptime and to please bring it down a notch but Pappa Jay is not the type to be concerned with naps or any activity that is not exciting. When I see Pappa Jay I smile really big. I know he is going to do something crazy that will make me laugh.

Pappa Jay and I love to go in the hot-tub. Sometimes he sneaks me in when mom does not know. Although I think mom does know.

Dad thinks I take after Pappa Jay because I am loud and rambunctious.

Pappa Jay was in Hong Kong the day I was born. He had begged mom to please not have me while he was away but mom was unable to hold me in. He was so excited to meet me that he flew for about 100 hours in a row to come see me. He arrived the day I came home from the hospital. He was the first person I peed on. We have been buddies ever since.

Happy Birthday!

I was born Dec 13th, 2004 at 4 am. All the nurses said I was coming at 9 am but I proved them wrong. My due date was Dec. 11th and that is the day I started my trip south. That didn't stop my mom from going to a Hannukah party that night and eating brisket, latkas and chocolate cake. Although she did regret the 2nd piece of chocolate cake.

The next day was a long one as mom and dad walked up and down Mohawk Street trying to get me to come out faster. Then we went off to the hospital...

Mom says she remembers only good things about my arrival. Dad remembers the other things!

The morning I was born Grammy woke up at 3 am and had a feeling I was coming so she got sleepy Uncle Jordy to wake up and drive her to the hospital. They got to meet me only minutes after I was born. And that same day I got to meet my Bubbe, my Grandpa AND my cool Uncle Jeff & Aunt Nicole.

Mom and Dad named me Daniel after my Great Grandpa. They decided to wait until they met me to see if Daniel would be a good name for me. The second I was born Dad proclaimed that I looked just like a Daniel (I do not know how he could tell considering I was screaming and slithering on mommy). I was pink and healthy and ready to go!!

Mom cried with happiness every time we passed the hospital where I was born. But then again she cried a lot those first few weeks.