Happy Birthday Daniel!

 My little sweetheart turned one a few weeks ago.  I feel like he's just always been here.  It's hard for me to believe it's only been one year.  At the same time, I can't believe it's already been a year.  I actually felt kind of sad when he turned one because he isn't my little baby anymore.  I know he is still a baby but he's crossed that threshold into the toddler phase.  There is just something about Daniel that I can't get enough of.  It was so fun to celebrate his birthday as a family.  The kids loved singing Happy Birthday to him.

 Something you may not know about Daniel is that he is a snuggler.  My other kids aren't so much.  Daniel will let you hold him and he will tuck his little hands into your chest and just curl up in a little ball.  He loves it.  He loves giving hugs and likes it when you make a big deal about it.

 Daniel also can throw a tantrum with the best of them.  Really!  He loves to throw himself on the ground and yell and scream.  Ahem, I'm sure my mom is thinking, "it's payback time."  What can I say, he gets it honest!  I was pretty hard as a child, so I hear....from everyone who ever knew me as a child,....all of the time.  ;-)  Daniel likes to pretend that he wants whatever it is you're holding out to him and then he chucks it across the room and grunts.  We try really, really hard not to laugh but it's so cute.  That little stinker!

 Daniel loves to wrestle with Andrew.  He thinks it's so fun.  They always make me nervous, but as long as Daniel's not crying, I'm OK with it.  Having boys is a whole different ball game than having girls.  Andrew had been giving Daniel an especially hard time the other day.  Later that night, we hear Andrew screaming and crying.  We look down and Daniel is standing on Andrew's throat and just smiling.  I guess he had it coming to him.  Boys are so fun, especially these two.  If I ever tell Andrew to leave Daniel alone, his response is always, "But he's my brudder.  He likes it!"  This is as Daniel is screaming bloody murder.

 We had a train birthday party.  I'm all for simple birthday parties.  When they are this young, they don't really know the difference anyways.  We just had a family party for Daniel this year and it was super fun.

 Anna thinks she is the mom of this household.  She is Miss Bossy Pants.  She was giving Daniel specific instruction on how to open the present.  By the end of opening gifts, Daniel was a pro.

 I've decided that I LOVE books for birthdays.  It's my favorite gift to give them.  The tradition has begun, never to be stopped.

 Daniel looks disappointed doesn't he?  So funny!

 This is Daniel's first cake.  I think he liked it.  He was a little unsure at first but quickly got the hang of it.  Now he's a sugar pro!  ;-)

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Chicago

 We went to Chicago last week.  It was super fun.  It's always nice to get away.  Our favorite part was just eating pizza in our hotel and swimming in the pool.  It's the simple things in life, right?  The kids were so happy the whole trip.  They think that hotels are super fun and just jump around the whole time.  It's darling.  These first pictures are from going to the infamous Giordano's Pizza.  It takes 40 minutes to cook the pizza and by the time we finally got it, we just asked them to box it up and we would take it to go.  The kids were SPENT!  Oh my gosh, I thought Daniel would roll over and die if we didn't leave that restaurant right then.  Once we were back at our hotel, Daniel was totally happy.  He just wanted to walk around and explore.  Going out to eat with a baby is just not fun.  The pizza was good.  We were super hungry though so maybe that made it taste better.

 After pizza, we went swimming in the indoor swimming pool in our hotel.  People thought we were crazy because it was 40 degrees outside and SO windy.  The kids loved every second of it.  Daniel has just totally captured my heart.  I love that sweet little face.  He has a sweet little face on because he has that pacifier in his mouth.  I've never let my kids be too attached to their pacifiers but Daniel definitely is.  He must be the third child.  Already getting lax.

 When Daniel was a baby, I could not put him down.  I just wanted to hold him constantly.  He would be sleeping next to me on the couch and I would pick him up because I thought I would burst if I didn't hold him.  Now, he wants to be in my lap all the time.  He is a little snuggler.  I love it!  There is no better feeling than having a soft, sweet baby curl up into you.

 Andrew is a little fish.  He could have swam all night if I'd let him.

 Best. Dad. Ever!

 The next day we went and saw the sights.  We totally unprepared for the cool weather.  The kids were freezing and so was I!  Luckily, it wasn't as cloudy and windy as the first day so it was much more bearable.

 Here we are at the famous bean.  It was cooler than I thought it would be.  There were tons of people there.  The kids didn't want to get out of the stroller or even look at it.  Crazy kids!  We made them do it anyways and then they were happy.

 Making crazy faces.

 I don't know what this was called but it was a beautiful area.  We loved the big fountain and watching all the sail boats on the lake.  How do you like that giant spot in our lens.  Nice, huh?  Don't worry, we have lots of pictures with it for you to enjoy.  ;-)

 This totally doesn't do it justice.  It was so pretty right next to that water.

 We went down Navy Pier.  We thought it was cool but would have been more fun if we had money to spend.  We didn't end up spending very long there.

 Best buds.

 Oh yea, he licked it.  I'm cringing now!