Dear Danny,

My sweet, silly boy. You make my heart smile.

What an exciting, busy month December 2008 was. You enjoyed the holidays but you also enjoy your regular routine. On Christmas Eve you loved opening gifts and playing with your new cars... but at bedtime you made it very clear that the party was over and you were turning in for the night :) Your awe of all things Christmas is something I'll always remember. You liked to stand in front of the Christmas tree pointing at each, individual ornament whispering "WOW" over and over. It was so precious. You enjoyed wearing your Santa outfit and as soon as I pulled it out of the drawer you would start calling "Ho, ho, ho!" You, Kirsten, and Matt all enjoyed standing in front of dancing Santa statues and dancing along.

You have officially become a little sponge. You take in everything around you and you are always thinking. You know all your body parts and many animals now. You like to play the "animal sound game" and make sounds as I test you (with cow, cat, dog, monkey, duck, bird, alligator, and sheep).

You like to be read too... as long as we read NO DAVID! or DAVID GETS IN TROUBLE! You bring the books to me pointing your little finger and yelling "No, no, no, no!"

Your language skills are exploding. You are starting to put words together and ask questions. A few times recently you've said something that didn't make sense to me but I always figure out that you know exactly what you are talking about! (For example, a few days ago we were playing outside and you giggled "Duck... quack, quack, quack"... clearly there was no duck on the lawn. I asked you if you saw a bird and you said "Duck Mama... quack, quack". I looked at your sister and giggled and called you silly... to which Kirsten said "Mommy, he wants the rubber ducky over there" and pointed to the toy. Duh.)

You love, love, love "Blue's Clues". You like to play outside, jump, dance, sing (preferably in your sister's new microphone toy), and play with balls. You LOVE balls. Grandpa made the mistake of pointing out his tangerine tree to you by saying "look at all the balls"... now all round fruit must be thrown and kicked :)

You've had a hard time with your ears this winter/fall... but you've been such a trooper! I keep taking Matt to the doctor because I can tell he's not feeling well. I always have the doctor check you too once I see that Matt has an infection and EVERY time the doctor cringes when she looks in your little ears and comments on how bad your infection is. I can't wait for you to get your ear tubes. I'm so ready for you to be healthy!

You still love cuddles but now you like to tease me and run away giggling when I ask for kisses. You refuse to let anyone cut your hair and you are terrified of the garbage truck. However, you are not the least bit afraid of climbing on top of (and jumping off of) tables, beds, and step stools. You make me laugh about 100 times a day.

You are the beauty in my life. I love you sweet boy,
Mommy