Second Birthday!

The cake!

Being sung "Happy Birthday" to; the expression is so adorable!

Aunt Leandra trying out the new sippycup. (just pretending)

Enjoying cookies with Daddy!

Our little one turned 2 on December 12! He now weighs 29 lbs, and is 36.25 inches tall. He seems to be very outgoing, but loves to act shy when someone speaks to him. He waves at people going by , saying "bye bye." It is funny watching him mimic things he sees us do (the good and funny stuff, that is). He loves to explore the yard. He used to love pushing around anything on wheels; he has now learned to ride on his tricycles. The next step is pedaling (when he can reach them). He enjoys watching Veggie Tales, helping mommy wash dishes, chasing the cats, eating sweets, playing with his cars, building buildings with his mega blocks, and pretending to drive. Every time we get him out of his car seat, he wants to sit in the drivers seat and "drive." He enjoys playing with the canes and walkers of a couple of people at church. We have to watch him with the cane, as he loves to swing it in the air. He does well during the meetings at church, usually napping during one of the meetings. We love our precious boy, and enjoy watching him grow. Although things are getting scarier in the world, it is comforting to know God is in control and is watching over us even when we are not aware of it. We look forward to seeing what God has planned for him.

Bonding with uncles

While visiting Daryl's family during Thanksgiving, Little Daryl bacame attached to Uncle Stephen (or at least his cell phone).

Being assisted by Uncle John (mom's brother) opening Christmas presents.

Jamming with Uncle Jeremy and Uncle Joe (two more of Mommy's brothers) on our keyboard.

Dowty Grandparents Visit

Daryl's dad brought a sharper saw than we have, and we finished cutting down a tree in our front yard. Little Daryl is helping carry the branches to the "curb" for pick-up.

Daryl Jr sawing as Daryl Sr looks on.

Granny keeping Little Daryl occupied.

Little Daryl was fascinated with the ladder.

Oops, we left little Daryl's cap outside; Daddy brought it in for us.

23 months-candid shots

Using a scrub brush to brush his hair

I love the face he is making; I will definitely be showing this one to him when he is older.

Having some fun with books, a boy and a camera

Camping!

We went camping with three other families from church. This is our campsite.

That's lake Hartwell behind us.

Hanging out at the Vieau's site. We ended eating all our meals at their site.

Stephanie had the cheese curls all to herself for a few moments.

Daryl bonding with the Vieau's dog, Obadiah. He was scared of "Obbi" at first (especially his barking), but got used to him by the end of the weekend.

An unwelcome visitor

As we were leaving to run some errands, I spotted this snake on our front porch. The power company cut down some trees down on the property behind us, and we think this snake migrated to our front yard. Daryl did some research, and it appears to be a baby rattlesnake. Kind of scary, especially with a little one running around. We haven't seen any more of it, and are praying it stays that way.

You can see Little Daryl's and my reflection in the storm door.

Trying new things

Wearing my socks

I was putting little Daryl's clothes away when he left the room. I went to check on him and found him laying on our bed singing to himself. He noticed me before I could snap the picture.Playing with a toy.

Like the cats, he too likes to sit in boxes.

He has on several occasions managed to get himself caught in the chair. Of course, he can't get out by himself.

Walking in Daddy's shoes

Last Sunday I was changing our bedsheets when I saw Little Daryl carrying "Daddy's" shoes. I thought he was taking them to Daddy so Daddy could wear them (he likes to be "helpful"). I was called into the hallway a short time later and he had stepped into Daddy's shoes and was walking around. He was walking in my dad's shoes the day before when we visited them, but I had forgotten the camera. In the picture above, he is either wanting the camera or to be picked up.

Watching TV while waiting for lunch to be ready. (I distracted him by taking his picture)

He loves to blow bubbles, though right now he holds the wand too far away from his mouth to get many bubbles.

Last week I visited a college friend who has a boy Daryl's age. I tried to get a picture of them together, but wasn't able to. The older sisters were putting on a play (which never was really performed) of Peter and the Wolf. We had fun.

Our Little Monkey

Our little one has discovered he can move chairs, stepladders, stools, etc... to aid him in reaching things that used to be out of his reach. Fortunately, he hasn't mastered opening the microwave...yet.

We have these little word magnets on our freezer that I tediously moved to the upper half after finding one in Daryl's mouth several months ago. A few weeks ago, he discovered he could reach the bottom few by standing on his "tippie toes." Now, with the help of his little stool, he can reach even more of them. Thankfully, he isn't as quick to put things in his mouth, and he has plenty of other stuff to get into.

Enjoying some ice cream. The first time he drank the melted part instead of spooning it onto his tray. I thought the mustache was cute.

Another use for Daddy's ice chest

We got a couple of watermelons from our watermelon farmer friends. Daryl loves feeling the outside, but thinks the fruit is too wet and sticky.

Fun in the pool

I finally pulled out the pool we got for little Daryl. It took him several minutes to get adjusted to the cool water and sit down in it.

He had fun filling up and emptying (and sometimes drinking from) an old syrup bottle.

Our Precious Little Monkey

At the Fall's Park (Downtown Greenville) with Mommy and Grandma Stull

Helping Daddy on the computer

He now climbs on the chairs. I just have to keep them away from the table.

He discovered he could make the corner cabinet a fun playhouse. He hasn't gotten in there too much, because I am usually in the way at the kitchen sink.

He really enjoyed his bowl of cookies & cream ice cream. He also enjoyed the bath that followed.