Birthday Girl!!!

Today was Dana's birthday party and she had so much fun. She doesn't actually turn two until the 11th, but Frans won't be here next weekend so we did it this weekend instead. Her favorite part was the ice cream cake and the balloons!

She got a homemade apron from her friend Kennady.

Dana posing in her mouse ears!

The ice cream cake...very yummy and a huge hit!

We had a Mickey Mouse theme.

Really all she wanted for her birthday was balloons...so she got some. Spoiled little girl.

And no I can't sing Happy Birthday very well but I think i should get points for trying.

Busy October

So October has been a really busy and fun month for us.

We met up with Heather's parents in Salt Lake City and Dana got to go to This is the Place monument.
Then we carved pumpkins. At first she didn't like touching the pumpkin guts, but after awhile she really enjoyed helping mom and dad.

Dana and I were lady bugs and Frans was a cowboy. Dana looked so cute and I was really pround of Frans for dressing up, I think he looked really good.

This was our trunk for the truck or treat held at our apartment complex. Alot of people showed up and it was alot of fun.

More October

Grandma and Grandpa Perry came up to trunk or treat with Dana.

She had so much fun walking around with her pumpkin, by the end of the night she was even saying Trick or Treat and Thank You.

After trunk or treat we went to Idaho Falls to go to BOO at the ZOO. There was a bean bag game that Dana loved. Instead of aiming at the holes she just threw the bags behind, she did manage to get the last bean bag through the middle hole.

These were the lights at Boo at the Zoo, we had such a good time and the staff did a great job decorating. Dana loved all of the lights and activities. She even danced to the Ghost Busters theme song.

Nursery

Sunday was Dana's first day of nursery and everything went great...no tears and no problems. She is growing so quickly!

State Fair

Here are some pictures of Dana at the state fair. She really loved petting all of the animals.

Learning to let go

I am terrified of Dana falling and hurting herself, so the playground has always been a stressful place for me. So many things she could fall and hurt herself on and so many toys that don't belong to her that she might try and take! Lately Frans has been taking her to the playground while I try and unpack, but today I went with them and was amazed. Dana can slide by herself, climb up the rock wall by herself, balance on the curb and then walk herself home. Talk about feeling like a failure, this whole time I have been holding her back when she could be doing so much more. So I have decided maybe it's time to learn to let go and let Dana explore without so much help from mom.

oh boy

The question of how to entertain and discipline Dana has been a really tough one for me. Ever since Dana figured how to turn the TV on herself she doesn't really seem all that interested in any other activities. I have tried time outs, explanations, removing her from the room, everything! So my mom suggested that maybe I should just unplug the TV. It seemed reasonable and I figured there was nothing Dana could do about it. WRONG!! So a couple of days ago Dana is busy turning the TV on and off and I walk over turn the thing off and then unplug it. Then I walk over to the couch to see how this method is going to go over. Dana tries the remote, the buttons on the front, and various other methods of turning the TV on without success. I am thrilled! Then she turns around and gives me this look that clearly showed her estimation of my intelligence, walks to the wall notices the unplugged cord and the plugs the thing back in, walks back to the front and push the on button. Dana:1 Mom:0

Occasionally Dana does want to play with mom, one of her favorites is the bucket with shapes cut out of the lid that you put little cut outs through. She'll give a cutout one or two tries to get through the lid and when that doesn't work she simply takes the lid off and places it inside of the bucket. Duplos are fun as long as mom builds the towers and Dana can take them apart. Playdoh is also fun, but only if mom is there to feed it to. Dana:2 Mom:0

Finally when I get fed up and my patience is wearing thin Dana walks over, places a hand on either side of my face and gives my a big kiss. Dana:3 Mom:0