Today mommy has been very sick and not able to move around much. I believe that I ate something "bad" at a local restaurant yesterday. In any case mommy spent much of the day not moving on the couch and sleeping. Both kids were on their best behavior as it is not often that mommy goes down. As I was dosing off this afternoon, I realized that I had Daniel beside me for comfort. It was not long before I there was something gently placed into my hand. It was Bear Bear! Daniel's beloved cuddle item. He was sharing Bear Bear with me because I did not feel good. He left Bear Bear with me until I woke up again, but it was such a sweet gesture, that it made me smile. Daniel is so sweet, I guess he thought that if I didn't feel good Bear Bear could help, because Bear Bear always makes him feel better.

In the past few days, we have all taken a turn at being sick. So mommy has introduced a new drink called Gatorade, since no one will have anything to do with pedialite. I had to laugh the first time Daniel asked or some alligator. I was confused because I didn't realize what he wanted until I gave it a little thought. Daniel asking for alligator, meant that he was asking for gatorade. It was so cute and Ioved the idea of having him call gatorade alligator, but I did make sure he understood the truth. Still one of my favorite moments.

This evening was Christmas Eve and as usual Laci was very excited about that. As we were visiting with relatives, Laci asked a question that embraced mommy. I guess remembering that she is innocent and inquisitive should help the situation but at the time it didn't. Laci asked a male relative "Is there a baby in your belly?". Luckily it was taken well and a lot of laughter was shared, but I was not expecting her to ask that question. Out of the mouth of babes.

This evening Laci got a bit of news that she has been anxiously awaiting. Laci has a LOOSE TOOTH! Laci has watched as all around her friends have lost tooth after tooth and much to her dismay her own teeth were not cooperating with that scenario. Laci told Santa that she wanted a loose tooth for Christmas and she also made a wish on a star that she would have a loose tooth, so to say that she was overjoyed with the discovery of her first loose tooth would be an understatement. Laci had gone to bed and after being there for a while she came to me and told me that inside her mouth felt squishy. Upon further discussion of squishy, I narrowed down that it was just behind her tooth on the lower level just to the left of center. I wiggled it and sure enough it is just barely loose. Laci is so excited that she just can't stand it! I gave her the special "tooth holder" that had been hand made for me so many years ago and explained it's purpose. Laci and I also discussed that it was probably better that she not put the tooth under her pillow (after it falls out) as she is an all over the bed sleeper.

Why is that children wait to the most inopportune moment to say some of the strangest things? Tonight, we did some shopping at the local Home Depot. Daniel was bored by the end of the trip and ready to go home. As we reached the check out counter, Daniel announces "When I get home, I need to Start Drinking". Mommy and daddy stepped back and stared at him in confusion, as the girl behind the check out desk laughed hysterically. We are not frequent drinkers in our house, so I have no idea where he picked up this phrase. He did repeat the phrase several more times and when I asked Daniel what he wanted to "Start Drinking" his reply was "Orange Juice". We were just amazed and confused by this new phrase Daniel decided to share. At least we were at Home Depot and not at church. :)

Daniel has a favorite cuddle item that we lovingly named Bear Bear. It is a small square of fabric, velvet on one side and silky on the other side and a teddy bear head in the middle. Daniel has had these since he was an infant and they still outrank any other toy. So today Daddy took one (of the many) Bear Bear's, cuddled it to his face, closed his eyes, smiled and said "Bear Bear". Daniel smiled and insisted on having the Bear Bear returned to him. Then Daniel disappeared up to his room, when he returned he had with him another Bear Bear that he presented to daddy. He gave daddy the Bear Bear and said "Here daddy for you". Daddy melted at the thought that Daniel was sharing with him and that Daniel had made the trip upstairs to get a Bear Bear for him to cuddle too. Such a sweet boy!

This afternoon as Laci was doing her homework at the kitchen table, Daniel was very intrigued. Once Laci had finished practicing and spelling her words for the test, Daniel decided it was his turn. Daniel came to me and wanted to first tell me all the letters, then sound them out and then with my help pronounce the word. He was very happy with himself and very into this project. Following this activity Daniel got very upset when I tried to put it all away. So I gave him some paper, a pencil and the list of spelling words. Daniel sat very poised for quite some time as he wrote each of the spelling words. Mommy and daddy were very impressed. Who knew first grade spelling homework could be so inspiring to a 4 year old little brother! Way to Go Big DAN!!!!!!

We are so proud of Daniel. He has been writing his alphabet letters for quite some time now, however, he has also added the lower case letters as well. He does all of the letters so well and it has been an ambition all his own. Daniel has mastered writing his own name and is now moving on to other every day words. Daniel learned to spell his sister's name LACI after being told only one time how to spell it, so far it has been the same process with other words like mom and cat. I am so glad that he is so interested in words, this can only help him in the future. I am very surprised that he is remembering all of these words after only being told one time how they are spelled. It does not matter to Daniel what he uses to spell either, he is happy to write with chalk, markers or puzzle piece letters. Way to Go Smart Boy!!