Thor Has Arrived!

Welcome to the world, Anders Timothy Danielson! We can't wait to meet you! Check out all the details on Kate's Blog. 

Congrats, Danielsons!!!

"Let's Get Digital, Digital"

Can't you just hear Olivia Newton-John doing a remake with those lyrics? How hilarious (and fitting) that would be! 

Well, even if my dreams of a remake don't come true, we have at least caught up caught up with the majority of the world! After carefully saving our pennies for what seemed like an eternity and combining a little tax rebate money we bought a for. real. home. theater. system. - flat panel HD tv, surround sound speakers, receiver, blue ray player and satellite subscription!! 

Holy crapoly! I liked watching tv before, but now I LOVE it! It's become an experience. Amazing! If there were such a job as a television-watching connoisseur like there is for wine experts, I would TOTALLY apply. 

Good thing there are work-out channels so I don't melt into the couch! Now I actually want to workout since I can see the instructors actually sweating in HD! 

She Wears Short Shorts

We all know that our little Sofia keeps us busy. She is clearly in love with every aspect of the world around her. She is an explorer, collector, examiner, questioner, and thinker. Because of this, we found it odd when she began to comment regularly on her legs back in November. Still with a fairly limited vocabulary, she would say "Owie, Owie, leg!", grab her right knee and start to cry. With careful inspection, we would never find anything that could be causing the pain and for a while tossed it off as just growing pains.

...until December 21. That day, I took Sofia for her 2 year check-up (a little late, I know) and mentioned the "growing pains" to the doc. She asked a series of questions and then ended up sending us immediately down to the lab and x-ray for tests. What? It seemed that these pains were not growing pains at all and needed to be checked into ASAP.

After two grueling weeks of lab work, worry and careful observation of EVERY detail of this child's life, we were finally told we were in the clear of the C-word and Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis - both very scary. We were also told to keep a close eye and call back if things did not change...or got worse.

Fast forward 6 weeks. Sofia continued to get leg pains at least once a week and then suddenly she started talking about her LEFT leg. Now, with a more advanced vocab, she would say, "Mommy, leg. It huuwrt. Medcin?" My heart broke and I also became worried again. Why had the pain shifted? Two days after the left leg started to hurt, both began to hurt at the same time. Sofia began waking up in tears during the night - sometimes for up to 3 hours because of the pain.

We called her doc back and she had us come right in for more testing. This time, they added bone cancer and bone infection to the gamut. Talk about scary! Her first round came back a little hairy, so they wanted to double check results one week later. In the meantime, observation...AGAIN.

This morning I took Sofia in for the test results and another exam.
Results: NORMAL (Woo hoo!)
Diagnosis: UNKNOWN.
Plan of Action: Sofia is being referred on to a pediatric orthopaedic to look at her hips, femur and knees because they are rotated inward and maybe part of the pain issue. She also has provided us with a series of stretches and heating techniques to help manage the pain in the meantime.

The doc feels confident now that we can rule out most of the big, scary immuno-related diseases, which is a WONDERFUL feeling. I am hoping that all three of us can sleep a little bit more peacefully tonight with that off of our minds.

...and sleep is what we desperately need. We are tired! Please keep Sofia in your prayers as we try and figure out what is going on with her little body. She is hurting. I have faith in our doctors that they will eventually figure something out, but a little extra faith from around the globe would help too. :)

I know.

Slap our wrists, it's been forever since our last post. We have much to talk about, so don't worry! Posts and pictures will soon be on the way! Topics to look forward to:

• We've been painting our house!
• We finally joined the 21st "digital tv" century
• Sofia's legs
• Our AMAZING CO weather

Be sure to check back soon. :)

'Cause Their Aint No Potty Like A Daniel House Potty...

We are officially in the throws of potty training. I know. You are SO jealous. While Chris and I have done more laundry in the past few days than we have in months, we are actually enjoying this little "potty" more than we expected. Watching Sofia turn into such a big girl is so much fun. We went to the store and picked up cute little undies and we were off to the races! So now, we talk about the potty, sit on the potty, have M&M celebrations, talk about the potty some more and, oh yeah, talk about the potty. It is awfully hilarious. 

Sofia has been generally successful throughout this process. She gets very excited when she goes in her potty and very upset when she has an accident. :( We are doing our best to try and minimize accidents because she does not like them so much. I personally think this will help her learn even faster. 

In other news, we have enjoyed quite a bit of family time lately. Both Chris and I have had tremendously busy work schedules, but have made the commitment to make sure we have time for each other and Sofia together. It has made a world of difference in every aspect of our lives. I feel so much more productive at work knowing that when I get home all three of us are going to play! Tonight, we took Layla on a walk and stopped at the park. Sofia instantly wanted to climb all over the play structure and we stayed until dark. Late dinner and stories followed by a very sleepy toddler. She is now snuggled in her bed with Fia-Bear, Bear-Bear and Blankey. 

Life is good. 

Playdoh Play

Yesterday, Sofia and I had quite a bit of quality time together. It was so fun! We read, played, chased each other and the animals and then sat down for some serious Playdoh sculpting. It's rare that I can catch Sofia on camera in a chatty mood, so while this video isn't exactly her performing tricks (as my friend Andrea says), it is an example of how we play AND learn. This particular play session, we were working on colors. Hang tight for the end...it's the cutest part! ;) 

The Plight of the Double First Name

Let me just begin this post by saying those of you who have a double first name, I feel your pain. Here are just a few examples of the daily interactions I have with people regarding my name.

Hi. This message is for Daniel Meghan regarding your perscription...
I'm sorry. Who?

Hi. I'd like to make a payment over the phone please.
Sure. Name and account number please.
Meghan Daniel. xxx-xxx-xxxx
Thank you, Danielle. How can I be of service?
This happens much more often then you would believe. I seriously have no idea where this comes from.

Dear Mrs. Daniels,
Clearly, it is impossible that this person could have two first names! There MUST be an "s" on the end of her name!!

My absolute favorite is when we make dinner reservations under Chris's name. I at least have the gender clue when someone is looking at my name and then sees me. With Chris, it's a total crapshoot!

While it can be a bit obnoxious to have mispronouncings and misspellings, I have come to own the Daniel name over the years. I am proud to stick up for its originality and it's double-the-pleasure discussions it brings about. :)

A Love Note

Dear Chris,

I don't tell you enough how much I love you. I don't tell you enough how proud I am of your achievements at work. I don't tell you enough how much of an amazing father you nor the husband you continually are to me. The thing is, even if I told you every day, it still wouldn't be enough. There are not enough words in this world to communicate with you just how much I admire, love and respect all that you do, all that you are and all that you aspire to be. 

Even after nearly 11 years, loving you is still easy. 

As we used to say,

Until...

M

Peeking

With a kiss goodnight, I left Sofia's room about 7:30 tonight. At about 8:15, I heard her music player turn back on, some mumbling and her dim light showing beneath her door. 

I snuck into the bathroom adjoining her bedroom to spy...

Moon! Sun! Boat! Fia. Fia. Fia. Oh my! 

One, two, tree, fo-wer, fries! 

Bear Bear shhhh. Fia seeping!

I couldn't help but start laughing. She heard me through the door and called my name. I opened the door to find that she had arranged all her stuffed animals and fluffed her pink blanket so that she could read I See The Moon and The Moon Sees Me to them. 

The book talks about a little girl (who looks like Sofia) who rides on a boat through the night and into the day, her path led by God to keep her safe. Each time we read it, we count the stars and we end with "Look, the little girl is sleeping. Shhhhhh." 

My heart melted. I tucked her back in and she fell asleep not two minutes later. ;)

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