Husker Fun

Two weeks could provide lots of material for writing.  The operative word is "could".  We'll see how this pans out....

Showing off...I think.

Lots HAS happened in the last couple weeks though.  We had Halloween, Election Day, and a Husker game just to name a few.  Daniel's been just cruising through life dropping happiness along the way.  Halloween was a bit of a new experience for me seeing as I hadn't trick-or-treated (TOT from here on out) in many, many years.  I cannot remember experiences TOTing as a toddler either...I actually did a Google search to see what other kids Daniel's age do.  It was a bit awkward going door-to-door collecting candy knowing full well that...he's likely not the one going to eat it.  We ended up just hitting up a few neighbors on our street.  We have not had many TOTers in the past 10 years or so throughout my living situations, so it was a bit surprising (and quite sad) that we ran out of candy so quickly!...okay...it was sad because there were no leftover candy bars...life goes on.  

Ready to go!

Daniel dressed up as a fireman.  We decided to not let him have a hose or axe.  He had to make believe.  He was quite the stud though.  He gets an A+ on TOTing.  

Ready to eat!

The weather has been playing tricks on us, so we've actually had some nice November days to go hang outside.  We've been to the park a couple times and Daniels even played some in the leaves and bushes.  FYI:  We don't let him play in the bushes anymore because he gets scratched up.  Also worth noting that we didn't let him play in the bushes in the first place...he actually fell into some.  Potatoes potatoes.  

Daniel voted for the Giraffe Party...they lean to the UP

Yesterday was an interesting day for Ma and Pa (Kate and me).  One of the things on Kate's bucket list was to go to a Husker game (we're fans).  Quite a while ago, we decided to go with Kate's sis and bro-in-law, Jen & Queño.  We figured it'd be an easy win, quite chilly, but still a fun time.  It was quite a good game, we had a GREAT view, and it was beautiful weather.  It was really a great time.  It was tough not having Daniel most of the day, but he was able to hang out with his Uncle Joe and Aunt Jaime all day long (as well as Taylor and Jack...and the whole rest of the family!).  It was an all-around great day.  

Doesn't our son look so happy!!!?

Kate's got a big conference she's heading to in St. Louis this next weekend and Thanksgiving's right around the corner.  Boy how the year flies. 

Nice picture.

Done!

Monkey man.

Done!  Alright..this post is a bit self-centered, but I'm referring to my busy, busy fall season.  Although I enjoy marching band, I certainly do love being able to spend more time at home.  We did plenty of that this weekend and it was wonderful.  

So glad he can feed himself.  Loves toast.

Should drink and read.

Although marching band ended for me last week, I still had a couple games and conferences that kept me busy.  Because of conferences, I had Friday off (except for a state football playoff game) which meant, Daddy-Daniel Day.  So, we had some good chill time..ya know...just being a couple of dudes.  After his awesome morning nap, we visited Kate at her school followed by visiting my own mother at her school.  It was a delightful time.  

He's actually quite good...ish

Typing at Nana's school.

Saturday was another nice day.  We spent some time at the park, rested, did some shopping, and culminated the evening with some Husker football at her folks' house.  It was exquisite.  Sunday was a pretty nice day as well.  Kate and I helped lead worship at our church which made for an early morning and a poor nap situation for Daniel...but he overcame his adversities and we survived.  We were able to have some brief Skype time with my friend, Will and his family.  More park time ending with some Pizza Hut Big Box Pizza Fun Time.  I sit here bloated, but fulfilled.  This is my first week since I can remember where I do not have an evening obligation.  We'll definitely be enjoying some of the fall weather with some fires and park visits (bundled up of course).  Enjoy some pictures. 

He seems to be enjoying this.

Watching football like manly men.

Camping...and other stuff

When we last left the Konrad family, they were on their way to a week full of work and camping!  Since even then, we've had family pictures, pumpkin gutting, and more sitting in stuff then we could imagine.  

Pic from our nature walk while camping.  Check out those noses.

Thug life.

The last couple of work weeks have been a bit of a blur.  It's parent-teacher conference time, so evening schedules are skewed and days grow long.  Just this last week, Katie and I traded almost every single evening because one of us had something or other.  We've also been preoccupied with the growing dilemma which is our treadmill breaking.  I've personally been using it a ton and with the colder weather (and my lack of experience running in colder weather), we were looking to replace it.  Kate was awesome in helping us find the one that currently occupies our workout space.  

Punkin walking.

So excited to Trick or Treat that he forgot his clothes (except his socks)

Cleaning pumpkins!

Last weekend, we went camping with Jen and Queño (Kate's sister and brother-in-law) and their baby girl, Elaina.  We'll have lots of pictures from that weekend.  Kate's friend, Kelly, also brought her son, Duncan out for some fun mud time.  It was hilly, we ate some Dutch oven food (sooooooo good), shot some arrows, and watched horses hang out.  

Elaina and my Myspace photo (message me if you forgot what Myspace is)

Elaina eating paper...don't worry...it's laminated.

Playing with Duncan.

Excited that my wife is learning the skills necessary to protect our habitat.

Daniel's first solo concerto.

Today we did some pictures for Kate's side of the family and we're really looking forward to seeing how they come out.  I got a couple over-the-shoulder shots, but the professional shots will look much better.  

Taylor's unphased.  That's focus, folks.

Getting buried by Grandpa.

More fun with Grandpa.

Daniel updates:  He's climbing like CRAZY!  Gets up and down so easily.  I'm still not comfortable with him descending the stairs, but he'll get there.  He's pretty good about not standing on furniture too.  Good thing for the future I hope...we won't let him watch Tom Cruise's appearance on Oprah because he's a bad influence regarding furniture jumping.  Daniel also is at this stage where he likes to sit in everything.  It could be as big as a laundry basket or as small as a can.  I have a collage below of all his random sittings.  Is this normal?  Do other kids do this?  Meh...anyways.  He's babbling like crazy still, walking quite steadily, and even running a bit.  What a great kid.

Climbing.

Happy (and a little curious...)

Enjoy some sitting pics!  

On the pot.

Daniel's bowling.

More sitting in stuff.  With his ducky of course.  That's water on his shirt.

Sitting in Grandpa's chair.

Sitting on the chair.

More sitting...

Fun With Bathing

Hi folks!  Not a whole lot of happenings this week.  It'll be heavier on the picture end than the story-telling.  Unfortunately, this time of year, my weekends limit my hanging out with Daniel and Katie.  Although I love my job, I certainly do look forward to some more free time in the coming weeks.  

Keeping me awake.  How rude.

We did have a blast today and some evenings this week just hanging out and playing.  Do you remember that game "Crazy Curtains' of which Daniel was so fond?  Well, he broke the curtain rod!  Ripped it right out of the wall.  Crazy curtains is no more.  Such is life.  It's all fun and games til' someone gets hurt...or something gets broken.  

Reading about the life of a caterpillar.

It's cooling off around here.  We've actually been throwing on the heat!  My good buddy, William (shout out!) asked me the other day, "Is it still hot up there??". It's been darn near freezing!  (PS:  Marching band is still happening and YES we still practice outside).  He's gotten soft though, living in Cali and Texas the past few years.  There, there buddy. 

I guess I'm glad he somewhat censored himself...

Kate's back was bothering her quite a bit (possibly from an accident last year) and she decided to break down and see a chiropractor (shout out to Gregg and Adam Hoogeveen).  In Kate's words, "they're not like hippies".  You know you're set there.  She's feeling a ton better though (80%).  That makes me happy.  

Drawing up a contract...not sure for what.

We had Jen and Queño over for the game last night (that's Kate's sister and brother-in-law).   It was tough to watch, but I enjoyed their company.  Their little Elaina is so very cute.  Katie also visited Zella briefly this week.  She really enjoyed herself and I enjoyed knowing she enjoyed herself.  These lil' babes seem so little compared to our Danielsaurus Rex.

Free falling!

We're going camping next weekend!  Sure to be some fun stories!

Falling Slowly

A week has come and gone!  My how time flies! We'll see if I can keep this weekly thing up again.

Crossed legs like a gentleman.

Boy it's been a busy week for sure.  I unfortunately missed out on a lot of Daniel, but just a few short weeks until we'll be able to hang a lot more.  I'll have to have Katie give some updates on their adventures as I had rehearsals, volleyball games, football games, and competitions throughout the week.

Living the dream.

Daniel's vocabulary is blooming.  He's starting to say "goo goo gah gah", "yaaaah", "bowh", "dadadadadadadada", "ahwo", and "thermodynamic".  We have practice sessions on the way home from daycare every day and he must be learning a ton from these intense meetings.  He's also starting to sing a bunch.  Sounds really good. 

Thank you Uncle Eric and Aunt Noelle for the hammer.

Yesterday, we did our Husker Saturday and enjoyed ourselves over at the Jen and Queño's pad.  We had some good times and enjoyed a satisfying win.  Daniel slept well, so it was a victory all around. 

Cousins.

Fixing her bow.

The exciting development for the week is that our son has discovered how to climb up onto chairs and couches....oh joy.  He gets down okay, but that's not 100% of the time...I wouldn't even say half the time.  He hasn't taken a plunge yet, but it sounds inevitable from talking to many other parents. 

Getting ready for the Husker game.

Looking forward to a nice week with a few more days off than usual, my final home football game, and another nice Husker Saturday.  Enjoy some pics!

Eating a spatula. 

Birthdays and much, much more!

What an exciting month and a half it's been!  I'll do my best to recap it all, but suffice to say the biggest event was our son turning a whopping 1 YEAR OLD!  Holy smokes, buddy!  I can't believe it's already come and gone so quickly.  Katie did a fantastic job planning and making it all go smoothly.  Thank you to all who attended and for all the amazing gifts.  I swear he has played with each and every piece received with great abandonment.  I'll do my best to upload a video of Daniel "eating" his cupcake (I put eating in quotations because it looked more similar to a mother bear protecting her cubs in her arms lest a predator might steal one).  

No one's touching that cupcake, but him.

Playing with his bud, Isaiah

Daniel also had some shots and a checkup for his one year appointment.  He was rocking the high percentages still.  He's just a dense dude.  I truly believe my left wrist is injured from frequent liftings.  Thank heavens he walks...

So many kiddies.

My best friend, William, his wife, Lucy and spawn, Isaiah were also in town for a short time so we took advantage of their time through copious gaming and hanging.  It's always a joy spending time with the Norths.  

Best buds and children.

Kevin inspiring our son.

Some of Daniel's favorite games right now are "Crazy Curtains" and "Phone".  Crazy curtains consists of Daniel...playing in the curtains...I guess that's about it.  Makes for great Peek-a-boo!  It's also quite easy for me after a long day because I can play it with my feet kicked up in the rocking chair.  Some call it lazy...I call it.............."Phone" on the other hand is just Daniel picking up any holdable object and holding it up to his ear (actually BEHIND it to be honest) and saying something that resembles "hello".  He uses phones most often, but also remotes, phone chargers, baby monitors, shoes, stuffed animals, plastic cups, and I'm sure banana at one time (who am I kidding, it'd never make it past his mouth without being digested). 

A rousing game of "Crazy Curtains"

Daniel's also been learning to use forks, spoons, and restrain.  We've been giving him pieces of toast or large pieces of bananas and rather than inhaling the entire pieces, he has actually been taking smaller bites (this is all under close supervision mind you as he has eating habits similar to that of a duck).  He's recognizing items such as our phones, toy balls, and books.  We can say "bring me that" and he'll bring what we ask for.  It's quite nice (and helps with my laziness). 

Seriously...male modeling might be in the cards.

It's been an amazing year plus some.  We have the best family and friends in the world and I'm so thankful we've been able to share this journey together.  If only people were able to be blessed as much as I am, the world would hopefully be a happier place.  We love you so much, Daniel.  We didn't think life could get much better til' you came along and as cliché as it sounds, we can't imagine ever living without you.  

"You are my angel, my darling, my star and I'll love you forever...and my love will find you, wherever you are."

"I love you through and through...yesterday, today, and tomorrow too."