Don't Call It A Comeback

Okay, call off the search party; we are alive. So much has gone on in the past couple of months, and we've been working on sorting things out.

We are sad to report that Daniel and I are officially separated and on our way to divorce. I keep retyping sentences to explain or talk about the circumstances, but I suppose it's meant to be a private matter because no words seem appropriate. I will say that we are attempting to be civil about it, and for now, that will have to do. I don't want anyone thinking that they have to stay away from Dan, me, or DT because you are on the "other side". If you're reading this blog entry, then you're on Dane's side. We want you in his life.

So thanks for allowing us the time and space to grieve and heal. Continue to watch the blog because we've returned. But don't call it a comeback. :)

Tennessee Trip

Last weekend Daniel went to Tennessee for work, and Dane and I tagged along. We were aware of the weather they were calling for, but if any of us were to be stuck somewhere, we may as well be stuck together. And a change of scene is always welcome with us.
Well, the snow started soon after we arrived and the ice followed. We weren't able to do too much, since the roads weren't drive-worthy, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. We have a few more to share, but here are some pictures of our Tennessee trip together.

For the Record

Dane's 18 month appointment went wonderfully. He has seen more than half a dozen doctors so far, and this one is our favorite. Because we moved him to a family practice when we moved, Dane can see the same doctor as Daniel.

Anyway, Dane's 18 month stats are as follows:
Weight: 23 pounds
Height: 33.5 inches

He is still long and lean, and there is absolutely no cause for worry about his weight gain at this point. I think it helped that the doctor was aware of Daddy's tall, skinny genes! We talked about Dane's growth and development, and he is on par with everything.

When Dane Thomas had to get his shot, I turned the tables on Daniel and made him hold Dane for a change! Dane screamed for about a second, cried for about 10, and then went IMMEDIATELY into making his car sounds. I guess he was trying to tell us he was ready to leave! He was given two suckers (still uneaten in my purse) and two stickers. It was altogether a fantastic appointment and we are blessed that Dane Thomas is doing so well.

Picture of the Week

Dane Thomas went today for his 18 month check-up. He had to get a shot and Daddy held him, while I got a "shot" to capture the moment. Please enjoy.


Details and stats to follow.

Picture of the Week

What a happy Thanksgiving we had! Hope all of our readers did well with turkey and fixin's. We had about 20 visitors and surprise, surprise - the day went swimmingly! We could not have asked for better. We so enjoyed not having to rush from place to place, and we're thinking this open door T-day is the way to go!

We only took a few photos, and I selected this one for PotW. It is unbelievable how much I hate it. Can we say Awkward Family Photos anyone? I mean, even Dane Thomas looks angry! Makes you wonder what I said before I took the picture, huh?!


Gramps, Daniel, Dane Thomas and Great Grandma

We Have It =(

Yeah... Danny came home from his long weekend vacation in Philadelphia yesterday. He brought home matching Phillies T-shirts for him and Dane, nice chocolates and candies for me, and H1N1 FOR OUR HOME. When he went to bed at 9 pm, I just figured he was tired from the mild partying and travel. When he didn't get up until 2pm the next afternoon, I knew it was time to get him to the doctor. They gave him 3 medicines (including some fierce cough syrup that he should not so much as climb the stairs on), and said to go about quarantining him in the bedroom and wearing masks when in contact with others. We're being very vigilant about it so we're hoping it doesn't spread.

We thank you for your healthy vibes and prayers.

Happy Birthday, Danny!

Today Daniel turned 26 years old. I think if you had told him that at 26 he would have been married 4 and a half years with 2 houses and a 16 month old, he would not have believed it.

We are really proud of Daniel, for the wonderful father and great husband he is. Each day he is falling more in love with Dane and each day Dane falls more in love with him. It's really quite something to watch their relationship bloom now that Dane like the booby less and cars more. He wears hats because Daddy does, he wants keys like Daddy has, he'll take big boy showers with Daddy, and just imitates him in general. He looks like a little tiny Danny. And to complete the likenesses, Dane thinks farts are funny.

Happy Birthday, Danny. You are an amazing man and our family exists and thrives because of you. We love you.In his father's shoes.

Apple Picking Pictures

Here's some proof of the fun we had at the apple orchard last weekend. Again, on the trip was Ben, Granny K, Dane, Daniel, and Jackie.The boys size up the pumpkins.Daddy and Dane.

Dane and Our Apples.Hussafuss.No Caption Needed.

Fun feeding Mommy!Busted! Dane steals a picked apple!

Moseying along...

Dane actually picked this apple off the tree!

The boys enjoying the fruits of their labor!

Dane's thiiiis tall!

Men Who Stare At Goats.

Easy. Eeeeeasy....

Happy Father's Day!

Happy FIRST Father's Day to the greatest daddy out there.

We love you, Da-da!

~Dane & Jackie~

Weekend Wrap-Up

Our weekend was pretty rough, but all is well that ends well, so we are not complaining. On Friday, Jackie took Dane to the doctor for his first "sick visit". Last week was really weird for him; he was whiny and fussy. He is normally a very happy, smiley, giggly baby.

Dane has a double ear infection. His little baby ears are pretty bad, and the doctor said he bets Dane was carrying on about it! He's on a ten day round of Amoxicillin. We were told he should start feeling better through the weekend and he has improved some, according to his demeanor.

He weighed 17lb 13oz with clothes on. He hasn't been eating well and he's lost half a pound in the past week and slipped below the 5th percentile. This combined with our nursing less led the doctor to recommend starting Dane on whole milk. He said he'd like us to get Dane on 3 sippies of milk a day for the calories. A few days in, and we've discovered Dane hates milk! We'll add chocolate to it for a while to get him to take it and when we've hooked him, we'll gradually decrease the chocolate.

And on Saturday, we took Danny in to Urgent Care. He stubbed his toe. No, I'm not kidding. Daniel unsuccessfully tried to maneuver through the obstacle course of toys, a wild infant, and furniture we call a living room, and stubbed his toe on the coffee table. His big toe nail was barely hanging on by a little skin and it hurt (as you might imagine). They numbed him up, scalpelled it off and gave him pain medicine. The doctor told him to expect it to hurt and said that he had not seem that much damage to the toe nail bed before. 1 of 3 things will happen: a normal nail will grow, a funky looking nail will grow, or it will not grow back at all. No sandal season for Danny!

On Sunday, we were as still as we could be, purposing to not get hurt! Mission accomplished.

Welcome Home

There is nothing like getting home after a long day at work and being greeted with this:

Who wouldn't want to come home to that?!

Lesson from a Vet

It's no secret that Dane is a very active child; he needs to be doing something at all times. He is also at the age where separation anxiety begins to rear its ugly head. This means Mommy has to be in sight at all times or Dane must be engaged in a non-destructive activity long enough to do dishes, laundry, cook, etc. Sometimes it's easier to have him right there with me so that I can ensure Dane is not ripping the dogs' hair out, climbing the bookcase, tearing the blinds apart, banging on our television screen, searching for electrical sockets to shove things into, and so on.

So when Dane makes his way over to the kitchen gate, he isn't shy to let me know he'd rather be in there helping me cook. A problem many moms have faced, no doubt. One mom in particular has given me some insight into a fix. I've heard stories of her doing this with her son, Danny. Yes, Dane has certainly inherited his activeness from his Daddy, and so who better to get tips from than the mom who dealt with Dane, Senior?!

Here's vet mom, Cindy's lesson. He wants to help out in the kitchen? Let him! She used to give Danny common kitchen items to play with on the floor out of the way to entertain him while keeping an eye on him, long enough to get things done. So Dane will sit down with a bowl, a spoon, tupperware, a silicone spatula, a rolling pin, and the like. The new "toys" are always a hit, promising several minutes of fun. He's close to Mommy, happy and safe while she gets things done. Everybody wins!

Wait a minute! You don't think Dane's early exposure to kitchen things will cause him to lick knives as a kid like Danny, do you?!

Weekend Wrap-Up

A weekend full of family fun for the Howards. The highlight was Saturday when we went to the library so Dan and Dane could participate in a "Daddy, Donuts and Me" program (minus the donuts, I saw no donuts). There were songs, coffee can bongos and girls who made Dane cry. It was a fun experience for Big D and Little D to get together with other fathers and kids. No moms allowed! Afterwards, the three of us joined up with some other families and went to lunch. Dane sat in his highchair the whole time and ate like a big boy. We're loving the time we spend with him.

Picture of the Week

Daddy and Dane.

Same smile? We have a lot to be happy about.

yuck

Daniel was sick today. He left work early and took to bed all day. Dane threw up today. He's 7 months old (dang!) and has not once thrown up before. Although it isn't common for Dane to vomit, it isn't uncommon for a baby to do so, so we aren't exactly worried. But with the mess pre-soaking we aren't exactly happy either...

Weekend Wrap-Up

Another good weekend for us. We spent most of it packing up things Dane has outgrown (didn't we just do that?...), cleaning up (what's the point?) and fixing things. When we bought our house, the doorbell did not work and this weekend Danny fixed it. We have lived in our house for almost three years now. =)

We played with Christmas toys, spent time outside, and relaxed. Jackie got to read some -and no, not Dr. Seuss- and even got a nap herself! Danny got to go out and paint the town red with the guys. Dane got to do whatever he pleased, as usual. It isn't normal for such a productive weekend to leave us feeling so rested. Ready now for a busy week.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Another weekend of play for us, so we threw some more of Dane's new toys into the mix. Here's some shots of Dan and Dane with a few.

And we finished introducing Dane to avocado, which he loved (don't let the picture fool you!).
There's a lot more toys and foods left to share with Dane, so we're hoping all the pictures don't get too boring!!!

Women love babies.

First ever Daddy posting...

Well Xmas is rolling in around the corner, Jackie updates me hourly on how long it will be until Santa comes by. It's exciting. Dane's first Christmas, also his first time buying mommy a gift. So over the weekend we (Daddy and Dane only) set out to find a good gift for a first time mom. I think it went well, although I ended up driving...contrary to what Britney Spears thinks, babies can't drive...therefore they don't sit in the drivers seat. Anyway...So after arriving at what Dane thought would be the perfect spot to find a cool present I was instantly greeted by what seemed like every female in the Charlotte area. Dane was immediately the talk of the shop, and suddenly the 4 person table we sat down to rest at became a 10+ person table of all baby lovers alike. More than once Dane was voted the cutest baby ever by several teenage girls. I was asked about two hundred and eighty four questions about him. It was great to spend time with Dane and he was really happy to be out and about (no hussafusses) until he passed out while I was holding him and drooled all over the gift he picked out. We got home and tried to hide the evidence as soon as possible, but Mommy quickly caught on and I've been telling her that Dane worked very hard to pick out the perfect present so she's not allowed to guess what it is or even think about it. But in all I think this was good training for Valentine's Day gift hunting, so next time he won't be giving me any confused looks, wondering why he can't put everything he sees on the shelf in his mouth.

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend we got our butts into Christmas gear. Our tree has been sitting in our house all week - UNdecorated. We finally took care of that and got our lights up outside. A few presents are wrapped and under the tree, stockings are hung and cookies are baking. Not since we were children ourselves have we been so excited for Christmas. Dane isn't getting tons of gifts, but he's really going to love what he gets and we just can't wait to spend our first Christmas together as a family. And we're happy to be adding a couple of new books into the reading rotation. Now we can give Mickey a break (Yay!).

By the way, Daniel's first day at his new job was today. We want to thank everyone who congratulated him, wished us luck, and prayed for our family during this stressful past month. We really appreciate your thoughtfulness. God has provided, as he always has and as he always will.

Picture of the Week

You get two this week because we each liked a different one.

Tell us which one you like.

To celebrate Danny's new job, we thought we would post a pic (or two) of Dane at work. Here are a few of him at his desk, doing what he does best: playing and looking adorable. Dane's at such a fun age (albeit the sleep deprivation). He's so alive and fun. Every day is something new and we are loving being the lucky parents of this little munchkin.