Tubes It Is!

Our little ear infection queen was finally able to get into see the ear, nose and throat specialist this morning. Within about 2 minutes of the consult, the doctor noted that Sofia was the perfect candidate for tubes in her ears. Keep your fingers crossed...not only might we be able to sleep through an ENTIRE night in the near future but our sweet child might actually feel better!

We'll keep you posted when the surgery gets scheduled.

A few more pictures from Grandma Debbie's visit

Three lovely ladies...

Another special grandmother and granddaughter moment.

Sofia is enjoying the fruits of Meghan and Debbie's labor (planting flower pots). It is cute watching Sofia being so careful with the pedals.

Sofia loves to play peek-a-boo and this is one of her favorite positions. Up next is sure to be the full somersault.

Peek-a-boo!
(p.s. Tooth #11 in officially broken through...)

Sofia is trying to get one of her shirts over a pair of pants which is over her pajamas. Reminds me of a picture of me getting dressed for church by myself. I picked out green nylon running shorts with a navy blue dress shirt and my red clip-on tie. It went well with my sneakers and bed-head hair I was rocking. No this wasn't last week but when I was about 5.

Playing at the park

Today Meghan, Sofia, Debbie and I all went to Central Park for some fun. Sofia loves the slides and the swings. She loves to play peek-a-boo though the slide entrance and then waits up top until you count to three about a million times.

Peek-a-boo!

Look out below!


Check out this expression, instant classic...

Where is baby's belly button...there it is! And what cute sandels...

Higher dad, higher!

Meg and her mom Debbie downtown at Writer's Square. All the flowers are a'bloomin!

Homeward bound...for a visit

So it official, Sofia and I (Chris) are coming back to Grand Rapids for a visit. We are arriving via a Twin Cities connection on Tuesday May 13th shortly after lunch and will be returning west Sunday night. I haven't been back to our mitten shaped state since Christ's birthday celebration of 2006. Meg is still in school at this time and my elementary school remodel/addition is in between phases. I am excited to see everyone and show off all of Sofia's expressions, moods, sounds and yes, vocabulary. She has learned the sounds of a dog and is in a phase where every response is "ya!!!" She is also quite the climber. Whether it is a the couch, the ottoman, playground equipment, or even her high chair! I can't express how much I am in love with this girl. To share this love, is a deep part of what I adore about being a father.

What a day...

My poor girls. To say that Meg and Sofia were "sick" today is like saying John Elway was a "good" quarterback. Sofia's ear infection medicine gives her bad diarrhea, and for some reason, today it was bad. Lets spare you details and just know that her toosh is redder than a stop sign and we have gone through about 20 diapers in 12hrs. Its sweet how innocent she is. She kept on smiling, laughing and playing not knowing how sick she really was. Sofia was a trooper and drank lots of fluids all days long. Meg has spent most of the day fighting a fever and crazy nauseousness. It took a lot to shake the chills and to keep some toast down, but she made it. I hope a good nights rest will help these sweeties back to good health.
p.s. I apologize for any grammar errors Mrs. Danielson and Mom, as my editor called in sick today...hehehe.

Sofia and I went to the park right before lunch on Saturday while Meg and Stacey went to Costco store for diapers and wipes. I was working on my lunch preparation and dishes when I noticed Sofia not making as much noise eating like usual. Here is what I found...

Out like a sack of potatoes....

That night we had a South African dinner party pot-luck at a friends house. Everyone wished we each brought copies of the the recipes or even name plates for the dishes. There were five couple and two singles and lots of good drinks! We called some of the other couples to see if they were not feeling well the next day, but they all were feeling fine and dandy, so it wasn't the food that was causing Meg's sickness.

Here is the dish we brought. It is called Durban Curried Banana Salad. (you'll laugh when you click on the link and see where we got it from. On the main page, click on the globe and then click on South Africa) It was a big hit. It turns out that the banana/curry combo is quite popular for novice curry eaters and the banana really mellows out the curry bite. What a nice presentation too.

I love the good form in this picture. She is a true Daniel through and through. Does this make you proud G-pa?

Sofia got her first coloring book for easter and is still working on staying in the lines. Maybe free form is her calling...

Here is a rare photo of Meg and I at Matt's 30'th birthday dinner last Friday. Sofia had two baby sitters (they split the fee) and we had a great time out. I had a pecan encrusted talapia with a mango salsa on top of a butter-rum sauce. It was out of this world and so good, I spent so much time enjoying each and every bit that I was the last one to finish. Meg had a sun-dried-tomato, goat cheese, and spinach encrusted halibut. It was so full of flavor, Meg blurted out, "...it feels like there is a party in my mouth!"

A Conversation Between Two Women

Today, I took Sofia to daycare. Here is what she had to say about it:

Made it!

I am officially on spring break! The week was kicked of by literally spending the entire day on the couch today. It was awesome! I have a week of NOTHING planned and am so excited. :) I will be sure to post all the adventures that Sofia and I have during the week.

17 Months and 1 Week Later

Happy Easter! (...well, a little late)

We had a blast this year for Easter. We began our day by attending the Easter service at our church and then had 10 people (and 2 babies!) over for dinner. We are so thankful for our friends who were able to attend and share in the joy that the Easter holiday brings. Enjoy the pictures! On a side note, when asked, "Did the Easter bunny come to your house today?" we had to say, "Nope...he didn't quite make it across the street" because a bunny was hit by a car next to our house! Now, how's that for irony!

Chris and I decorated eggs this year. He made most of them...and then we turned them into an awesome egg salad! Mmmmm!

Posing in her Easter dress from Grandmary and Grandma Debbie. She was a hit at church!

Sofia sat through the entire Easter service and didn't make a peep! She was content next to Daddy with her books, grapes and animal crackers.

The Sweet 16 is So...

Sweet! Michigan State sealed the deal on Saturday night here IN DENVER to advance in the NCAA tournament. Their next game is on Friday night in Houston. GO GREEN! GO WHITE!