Daniel really enjoyed getting birthday cards in the mail.  He wanted “more”, so with some of his birthday money, we ordered him a couple of magazine subscriptions appropriate to his age.  One of them came with binoculars which arrived yesterday.  Daniel now thinks they are a requirement for going out on the deck.

We think Daniel’s love of crossed ankles may have come from his great grandfather.  He’s also the only ancestor we know of that was left handed.

One of Daniel’s favorite activities is grocery shopping.  He even continues when we get back home.  Here he has put groceries and toys in a grocery sack and is toting it around.

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A couple of weeks ago, Daniel went to the doctor for his two-year-old check-up.  Mimi took some pictures of him looking adorable in the car and waiting room.  As soon as we went back with the nurse he was very unhappy, so we didn’t really get accurate weight and height amounts for him.  Otherwise he checked out fine and just wants to stay healthy so that he never has to go to the doctor.

The next day Daniel and Poppy ran into Daniel’s nurse at the grocery store.  Daniel was still talking about it during his bath and was saying her name over and over.

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Poppy got Daniel a Radio Flyer wagon.  We went to a nearby park today to give it a whirl.  Daniel would only ride in it if he had a box of “ree rees” (raisins).  Otherwise he would only pull or push it.

Daniel needed to bundle up a bit on this chilly day, but it was pretty and sunny out and Daniel had fun playing outside.  I am finally getting some videos with Daniel talking a bit.

In this video he says that a “snake” lives in the monkey grass (because there was one there several weeks ago) and he picks berries off the holly bush.

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Here Daniel does his “Wheels of the Bus” motion for the tires on our cars.  I can’t hear it on the video, but there must be an airplane going over when he is under the side view mirror because he says “airplane”.  Daniel takes me by the pants leg to usher me down the drive to in back of the house where he opens the gate.  Hearing the birds he says “caw”.

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Daniel has a box of pea gravel on the patio.  You can hear him say “siren”, “rocks” and “empty”.

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A friendly police horse came to the fence today so Daniel could pet him.

Daniel knows how to use the pot holder that came with his cookware set.  He uses the top of the receiver like it is his oven.

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Daniel loves the hat Mimi and Poppy gave him for his birthday.  He wears it all the time, including to bed sometimes.  It is specifically for protecting his head, face, ears and neck from the sun, but he just likes to wear it, inside and out.  Here he is watching the rain.

Here are some cute birthday playing videos.  The first is the dress up man Mimi and Poppy gave him for his birthday.

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While eating lunch, Daniel decided that his Sesame Street friends were also in a celebratory mood.

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Later he played with his doors.  He loves the animals behind the doors and always says their names.

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