Hawk Talk

Last Wednesday night, Iowa won their first game in the NIT. A few minutes after the game ended, Jacob said, "They'll probably get to play at home again." He looked it up and it turned out they WERE going to be playing at home AND it was scheduled for Friday night! The wheels immediately started turning in my head. I really wanted to go with my dad, so I sent him a message to see if he would go with me. I really wasn't sure if he would go since the game wasn't until 8:30. Then I started enlisting my mom to get us tickets because they were going on sale at 2:00 Thursday afternoon and I would be driving at that point. Dad agreed to go with me as long as I did the driving. I agreed. That right there should prove my love for the Hawkeyes because I do NOT do traffic. It gives me so much anxiety and I just prefer to be the passenger if I'm traveling with anyone.

Anyway, Thursday afternoon, Daniel and I made the trek to Iowa. We made great time and it didn't take Daniel long to re-warm back up to the house. Mom had called at 2:30 and said that ticket sales were postponed until 4:00. When I never heard from her, I kind of assumed they sold out and was trying not to feel bummed out. A few minutes after we got there dad says, "So, I guess we're going to the game tomorrow night!" Hooray! Lots of thanks to my mom who spent a half an hour trying to get a human on the phone to get the tickets!

Friday, Daniel and I hung out with mom for the morning and then went to visit my Grandma. We ended up taking her out for a birthday lunch at IHOP. I think she had a really good time! Daniel fell asleep on the way home so mom took a long route because we pretty much knew he wasn't going to nap again. Kendra got there late in the afternoon and Daniel sure remembered her! He's like her little shadow. It's so cute!

Around 6:30, Dad and I got ready to head to Iowa City! The drive there wasn't bad at all. It was still fairly light outside until just before we arrived. I was really nervous about finding parking. We drove to the arena and ended up finding out there were still spaces in the lot right next to it. As we were pulling in the guy taking money says, "Park in the handicap spots! You will NOT get a ticket!". Um. Yeah. Not gonna lie, I was nervous. All I need is a $200 ticket on my windshield after the game. There was no where else to park though, so I parked in one. We saw another guy in the lot right across from us who was in charge of parking, so I double checked with him and he assured me that it was okay. I was still a little nervous, but decided to chance it. Of course, because I got all caught up in that, I left the tickets in the car. Haha! Thankfully I remembered pretty quickly.

We found our seats right away. We were in one of the very top rows, but even there we had an awesome view! We had walked past a soft serve stand before we sat down and agreed that we needed to get a cone at some point. Dad wondered if we should get them first or wait until half time. Stupidly, I said half time.

Anyway, the game started and it was so much fun! This was my first real basketball game at Carver Hawkeye (or Carver Hockey as my GPS pronounced it), beside an exhibition game. The place was packed. It was a sold out crowd, although there were a few empty seats here and there. I love going to games. I love the atmosphere. I love jumping out of my seat and cheering at the top of my lungs.  I loved that at this game the entire crowd was Iowa fans.







We were looking to be tied at the half, but Iowa landed a 3 point buzzer shot to take the lead. The place went wild!

We hopped up to get our ice cream. I mean, how hard could this be since we were right near the top? The line was SO long. There had to be at least 50 people in line ahead of us. The machine does one cone at a time, so yeah...  We kept watching the half time clock tick down and by the time the 2nd half started we were only halfway through the line. I started to get antsy after we missed 2 minutes. By the 3rd minute, I couldn't stand still. I was bouncing up and down. I couldn't take it anymore. I had to watch the game! Dad spotted some Blue Bunny ice cream cart so we got our ice cream and went back to the game!

Poor Dad. He even ended up with a broken ice cream cone!







The second half got really fun. The Hawks finally really started pulling ahead! In the end, the whole place was on their feet as Iowa won!!!



The place was buzzing and even walking to the car it was fun to hear everyone so cheerful. We got back to the car and I was thankful to find no ticket on the window! Then came that part I dreaded the most. Getting out of the lot. I love that there was so much camaraderie among the fans, but as soon as everyone got in their cars all you heard we horns blasting. Haha!

It probably took 30 minutes to get out of the lot. I got brave and refused to let some line cutters in. Suckas! We finally got out, but still had a lot of major traffic to battle. Besides running up over a curb, almost getting hit (100% not my fault) and running a very yellow light with a red light cam, I got us home alive. We pulled in a few minutes before midnight! I"m pretty sure the moment I pulled into the driveway, I took my first breath since I started my car in Iowa City.

I had the best time ever though, and I'm so glad that my dad was there to share the fun with! I love making memories!

Another Week Bites The Dust

This week went by amazingly fast. I'm not sure why. Work at the Y was kind of hectic. I had a lady who was helping me, but after 2 weeks, she seems to have up and disappeared. The only day she showed up this week was on Monday, so it was just me holding down the fort once again. It's no picnic caring for 15 or more kids by yourself. I survived though.

 

Tuesday when we got home, I let Daniel walk to the door. Once we got inside he immediately turned around and wanted to go back outside. He spent the next 30 minutes running from the back yard to the front and then up the porch stairs and then down the porch stairs. The down part about gave me a heart attack a few times, because he isn't stable enough to go down yet, so I had to grab his hand quick enough to help him before he took a nice tumble.

 

 

Yesterday we did our typical Thursday grocery shopping trip. He always does great through Aldi and then freaks out about halfway through WalMart. Really though, who can blame him? I'm usually freaking out on the inside halfway through WalMart due to crazy people!

Usually when I put groceries away, I sit him in the highchair. Well, when we came in, he ran over to his tub of Easter Eggs and really wanted to play so I closed him off in the living room and decided to quickly put the food away. I was constantly listening to him. Eventually it got quiet. Too quiet. I peeked around the corner and what do I see? Daniel, sitting on the couch with his Daddy's X-Box controller in hand. The X-Box is turned on and he pushing the buttons on the controller. He also turned on the Blu-Ray player, which in turn, turns our TV on. It was really hard not to crack up laughing. He seemed so content! Boys and their toys.

Last night Jacob wasn't going to get home until pretty late because of a music festival. Usually on those nights I've tried to keep Daniel up so he can see Daddy that day. Last night he was getting really feisty. A little after 8, Jacob called. I put him on speaker phone and Daniel's whole attitude changed. He was so excited and talking away. It was the cutest thing. He's learning to talk on the phone. :) Jacob got home at 9, and Daniel went into crazy mode! He was so happy! He went down at 9:30 and slept all night. Woohoo!

Today's high was 61, and I planned to take advantage of it. I told Daniel we would go to the park after work. When I got off, it was 54 degrees! We headed over to the park and we were the only ones there for awhile. Daniel didn't really want anything to do with the playground though. He wanted to explore...and also run into the road. I would redirect him and he would get SO mad. How dare I interfere with his mission! This makes me extra glad we got a "leash" for him for when we go places. He's a mover.





He still HATES the swings. They kind of freak him out, plus he'd much rather be running than trapped. I actually wasn't sure if he was scared, but another little girl showed up and he got curious when her mom put her in one. He wandered over to watch and as soon as the mom started pushing the little girl Daniel freaked out and ran away.



The fits he threw when I made him get away from the road



One good picture with Momma!



We stayed for about 45 minutes. Once Daniel refused to listen to me and kept hurtling himself on the ground I decided it was time to go home. Let's just say, we experienced that meltdown that every kid has when it's time to go home. There was flailing of arms and legs, yelling and crocodile tears! I thought he'd fall asleep before we got home, but he ended up playing for awhile when we got home too! Silly boy!

More On The Boy :)

Yeah. I'm writing another post about my kid. I kinda love him a lot and hang out with him all the time, so that's what I have to talk about!

I was thinking the other day about the things he says. It seems he's learning a new word every few days or so now. He doesn't always use them in context, but usually he does. I'm writing these down here so I can come back and write them down later. I love have a record of things here, because I tend to forget things easily.

At 15 months old, Daniel says:

1. Mommy
2. Daddy
3. Shoe
4. What's this? or What's that?
5. Cookie
6. Hi
7. Hi Baby! (I say that to him when he gets up in the morning and apparently he says this around Jacob sometimes!)
8. Mine! (He and Daddy play a silly game)
9. Bubby
10. Yucky

That's all I can think of right now, but there may be a couple of other too.

He's obsessed with Honey Nut Cheerios right now. He can't seem to get enough of them. I always give him a handful at a time, and when he wants more he grins and points at the box.

He also loves cookies. Obviously. He gets them if he eats a good meal. (He did NOT get one today after lunch!) Anyway, I'm also trying to teach him to stop throwing his food on the floor. I tell him to hand it to me if he doesn't want it, because telling him to leave it on the tray sure doesn't work. Yesterday, he ate a very good lunch but still had a little leftover. He started handing everything to me. Once his tray was clear, he looked at me, smiled and said, "Cookie!?" Um. When did that boy get so darn smart!?

His darn nose has been running with green snot AGAIN since last week. It started on the day of his doctor's appointment, so I was able to talk to him about it. We're trying children's Zyrtec right now. He said it's more than likely that he has allergies. I'm just glad that he's not coughing.

He still doesn't sleep well. I love him so so much, but I'm so tired of getting up at night. Do the math. I've probably been woken in the middle of the night between 800-1000 times since Daniel was born. That's no joke. How do I even function?? Last night he was up twice. I hope it's teeth. At least then it would explain it.

I also have to pull his crib out from the wall now and angle it when he naps and sleeps at night. His room does not have a good set up for a crib and now when he wakes up he reaches over and yanks on his mini blinds. So far he's broken 2 slats off. Now with it angled he can't reach it.

He also started this hilarious dance this week. Hopefully I can get it on video sometime. He shuffles his feet and twirls around in circles. Totally cracks us up!

We had a great visit yesterday with Karin. (Daniel's great grandma!) She came to visit from Indiana!



He's wearing his new outfit from her today!

15 Months and More

Daniel had his 15 month appointment yesterday. It's so hard to believe that he is 15 months old. He did amazing at his appointment. We had to wait awhile in the waiting room, so he ran laps and found an activity table that entertained him for awhile.



Little Man is 25 pounds and 33 inches long! The doctor said he is right on track both physically and developmentally. He was due for one shot and when the nurse came in, she said she always hates giving shots because it's so sad to hear kids cry. I was already bracing for the tears. I played Pat-a-Cake with him while she gave him the shot. All he did was wince and wiggle just a little bit. He didn't shed one tear and then smiled when the nurse and I went, "YAY!" I think it made her day. She asked if he could have a sucker and I told her yes, so she went to grab one and I could hear her "bragging" to the other nurses that he didn't cry. Made me smile. She came back with a sucker and 3 stickers. He of course felt he needed the sucker right away, which made it quite the challenge to get his coat back on!

Anyway...he continues to learn and amaze us each and every day.

"Mommy" is being heard more around here. Sometimes he just says it to say it, and other times I know he's talking to me. Um...I just have to say, being called Mommy is basically the coolest thing ever.

His other new word, which you've probably seen on Facebook, is "Cookie". One night last week I asked him if he wanted a cookie, to which he replied, "Cookie! Cookie! Cookie..." I'll be darned if that kid didn't know exactly what I was talking about. He pointed to the kitchen and broke out in a huge smile when I gave one to him!

He likes to help pick up! I am one proud mommy. It's always been a goal to teach our kiddo to clean up. If I ask him to help me, he starts putting toys in his toy bin. If we have his big bag of MegaBloks dumped on the floor, he helps put them back into the bag and tries to zip it up. He knows where everything gets put away too! Jacob and I are loving it!

He's finally starting to give more hugs and kisses. Plus he climbs up in the chair or couch just to sit with one of us for awhile now! I love me some Daniel snuggles.

He knows where his belly button is. He lifts up his shirt and sticks his finger in it. He likes to find Mommy and Daddy's now too. We're working on nose and eyes now. He likes to point to our noses and eyes though. :)

We have a little game we play where we, "Sneak up on Daddy." or "Sneak up on Mommy". He gets really excited but stays fairly quiet although he giggles sometimes. Then he grabs us from behind, we yell out in surprise and he starts cracking up!

When one of us leaves, he goes to the window and we have to stand outside and wave to him. I think it is the sweetest thing ever when I am pulling out of the driveway and I see his little face watching me from the window. The other day I ran the trash outside really fast while Daniel was wandering around. I figured he would stay at the gate. I threw the bag in the bin and turn around to come back in and hear, "Bang! Bang! Bang!" There's Daniel in the window with this GIANT smile on his face. That boy cracks me up!

In the morning when I go to get him out of bed we have a new "game". I say, "Ready to get up?" and he quickly lays himself back down and just lays there with a big smile on his face. I have to pretend to leave and then he gets up. Haha!

Of course, he also has his ornery moments. He's always getting into stuff he's not supposed too. He steals my books and runs off with them. Pulls movies off the shelves still. Tries to make off with the remotes. Unplugs things...and you have to watch him close because he then tries to plug it back in! Plus he's really good at throwing tantrums. He throws himself over when he gets mad and doesn't care where he is. This usually results in hitting his head. If I know he's okay, he doesn't get much sympathy. We've noticed that he's started hitting when he's told no, or he throws things. We're working hard to correct this early. I know...it's the age but we also want him to know that it's not acceptable to us.



Anyway...I know I've said it a million times, but I LOVE being Daniel's Mommy.