Daniel loves to play in the sandbox. He really gets into his playing now. And he doesn't mind playing on his own for bits at a time. However, he often comes to me with sand on his hands.
"Hans der-ee" he says.
And he's very pleased to have them washed off. Then he turns right around and heads right back into the sandbox-only to return another five minutes later.
"Hans der-ee!"
"Mommy, tow-ah" says Daniel after Matthew showed me his tower.
But if no one else has an idea of what his creation is, Daniel will show me something and say
"Tra-ter"
(Tractor).
On the whole Daniel is a happy boy. He can be quite quiet and serious as he observes his siblings and life in general, while he's taking it all in. He also appears to realizes life is changing around here. It's hard to gauge the depth of his understanding, but he has changed into a Daddy's boy, and has stopped demanding such large amounts of cuddles from me (unless he's hurt). He will also come and pat my belly and say
"Bee-bee."
I suspect he's just mimicking from what he's learned at midwife appointments--but the seriousness of his manner makes me wonder.
The only way Daniel feels safe getting off of the playset is by going down on his belly. He rarely makes sure the slide is clear before he goes down.
But even if he notices it isn't clear, he usually decides it's much more fun to crash into the obstruction.
"Weeee!" He says as he goes down.
And after he hits Nathan he says
"Woh!"
And then they both start giggling.
(What would he do without his siblings?)
The helpful side of Daniel is really showing up now too. He loves to pitch in when the kids are all helping with something. Woe to you if you don't leave something for him to do! Daniel also takes the initiative to clean up coffee mugs and glasses that are empty and left on the coffee table. He is, thankfully, getting better at not dropping them with a bang in the sink!
