Daniel after he turned ONE

This is another post all about Daniel. There are so many cute and clever things he is doing at the moment. The capacity for learning at this age is truly amazing. I find myself watching him in awe, and filled with love, all the time. I just can't get enough of him.

Daniel enjoys pointing things out - things that go like aeroplanes, boats, trains, buses and cars, parts of the body like head, tummy, knees, toes and nose, toys like ball, bat, block, book and crayon and animals like ant, dinosaur, fish, duck and dog - it's fun communicating with him now that he can actually respond.

Some of his other tricks are blowing kisses, pretending to talk on the phone and to take photos, playing peekaboo and giving high fives. He can also follow instructions like no, sit, fetch, come, chew - only if he is in the mood though - this little chap has a stubborn streak and a mind of his own.


Daniel's babbling has gone up a notch lately and right on cue he has also started saying a few words - he does mumble mamma and dadda from time to time - but not directly and frequently enough to put them down as his first words. His favourite word by far is 'there' which he pronounces almost perfectly as he points things out especially aeroplanes. He blurts out 'Uh-oh' everytime he does something he shouldn't do and 'hey' (hooray) accompanied with raised arms and/or clapping everytime he succeeds at something. He also has a hybrid word that sounds like 'I' which he uses for 'hi' (when he plays with the phone) and 'bye' (when he waves good-bye). His latest word is 'go' which sometimes comes out as 'ga'. He says it without fail every time we get into the car,before he kicks or throws the ball and when he does some running or jumping.

Daniel loves playing outside, he isn't scared of water and he likes running around naked. He's quite a physical little thing who can almost do a forward roll on his own and likes balancing on walls, climbing up things and jumping off things. Besides blowing out candles and blowing his food he can also play the harmonica and the flute and he also gives his best shot on the vuvuzela too.

As I've mentioned before he is a usually an enthusiastic eater. We have, however, entered a new phase when it comes to eating. The stubborn little guy insists on feeding himself and doesn't want us to help. As you can imagine it's turned into a messy business. Sometimes when eating he makes a 'mmm-mmm' sound and he also does a very enthusiastic 'aaahhhhh' when drinking out of his sippy cup.

We haven't been as good with reading to Daniel as we were with Nicholas. His big brother's obsession seems to be rubbing off on him though and he is finally showing an interest in books. He often brings one over to me and sits down on my lap which is a clear signal that he wants me to read to him. He loves pointing at everything on the page and looking to me for approval. He is also starting to bother Nicholas a lot more when he is having a quiet moment with a book too. Sometimes, but mostly not, Nicholas will read to him for a bit which is very sweet indeed. As expected his favourite books are touchy feely books and those that make a noise or play a tune.