Wednesday

December 30

Daphne absolutely *loves* playing house in her new pup tent. "Hold hand", she says with an outstretched arm as she leads you to her humble abode. Once you arrive, Daphne will bark an order, "one becky (blanket) please". This is her way of politely asking you to retrieve a blanket. Upon delivering the treasure, she cries, "becky two!"

Hmm, you can probably see where this is going. I promptly return with her second favorite blanket and present it to the Queen of Tents. "Becky three, Daddy!" Uh oh, another blanket for her highness and on the double. What can I say? My little girl has me wrapped around her little finger.

I am so glad Daphne can only count to five. And, luckily, she only has five blankets, too! She makes sure Elmo, Ernie, and "Muckey Gorge" (Curious George) are tucked in tight and each lay horizontal under their own blanket. Then, she begins cooking soup for all of her dollies and pretends to feed them until they are stuffed.

After a little hide and seek around the chairs and dining room table, Daphne insists I chase her around the house in another game called, "Run, run, run". When she gets caught up in the moment, she yells, "I gonna get you, Daddy!"

More photos soon!

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Sunday

December 27

Happy birthday to my Dad tomorrow! I won't reveal his age outright, but let's just say he will be celebrating his 2 to the 6th power birthday (for all of you math geeks out there). Jennie, Daphne, and I are planning to visit my Dad and my Step-Mom in the coming week as well. We always eat way too much good food during our visits!

Tonight during supper, Daphne said, "I missed you Daddy" three separate times (background: she spent the afternoon at Jennie's parent's house while we broke down the Christmas decorations, etc). Awww, very heartwarming indeed. But, the highlight of my day occurred at Daphne's bedtime. After Jennie & I brushed Daphne's teeth, changed her into her pajamas, and read her a short book, she said, "I wuv (love) you Daddy". That's enough to bring a tear to your eye...

Here are some photos from this weekend: (Notice the last photo --> Daphne calls any sport on TV, "Hockey" -- hehehe)






Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Friday

December 25

Merry Christmas everyone!

Highlights of Daphne's second Christmas: learning to rip the wrapping paper like a big girl, playing with the bows (placing them all over her body), and running in circles with arms outstretched and loudly giggling. Watching her excitement as she opened each gift was truly priceless!

A few of Daphne's favorite gifts received this morning were: her Elmo slippers, tent and tunnel, and her IKEA wooden bead rollercoaster.

More anecdotes coming soon...


Here are a few photos of Daphne opening her Christmas goodies:







Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Tuesday

December 22

Twas the day before the day before the Eve of Christmas (Dec 22nd) and Daphne has her first ever ear infection! Uh oh, my little baby's low grade fever and sluggish behavior finally makes sense. After two weeks of randomly mixed symptoms, Jennie scheduled Daphne to see the doctor yesterday. Some days Daphne would have no fever or runny nose, but would double over with a raspy cough. Then, out of the blue, a fever would appear and her nose would drip worse than a faucet in a fraternity house.

Other than being painfully constipated and lacking a real appetite, Daphne is doing well. A few weeks of Miralax and ear medicine should do the trick...

The doctor reminded Jennie once again that Daphne has the most beautiful eyes he's ever seen in a baby. Little boys should be warned that I plan on keeping a loaded shotgun handy once Daphne begins dating.

I am pleased to report that Daphne can now count to four on her own (and with a lot of guidance she can make it to thirteen). Five or six letters still escape her, but she has the harmony down for the ABC song (it is so cute watching her dance and sing, "A, B, E, B, F, X, G, O, Q ...." Hey, she's trying!

New photos upcoming.

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Friday

December 18

Today I had both the H1N1 and the seasonal influenza shots injected into my deltoids. My employer scheduled the seasonal flu shot to be administered way back in October, but our provider ran out of their supply. So, better late than never!

Little Daphne and I are still coughing our heads off. If you didn't know any better, a visit to the Tilson homestead might be confused with a 19th century tuberculosis ward. Cough, cough, hack, hack.

As I walked into the house tonight after work, Daphne was "cookin'" with her Tupperware bowl, measuring cups, and silicone spoon. She was making a pretend "foop" (soup) with "eggies" (eggs), "puckahs" (pickles), "pep-pup" (ketchup), "soogah" (sugar), cheese, milk, and toast. She poured each virtual ingredient with much care and stirred the concoction with a huge grin.

"Ohhh, Daddy!" she screamed with raised arms. "Daddy home. Miss you." Jumping into my arms, Daphne has almost mastered the pucker and smooch. She is getting better with her usage of "please" and "thank you". What a sweet little girl!

Here are some new photos of Daphne in her YMCA exercise gear:







Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Wednesday

December 16

Coughing and a few sniffles are all that remain from our family's week long bout with a good old winter cold. Daphne's fever broke on Saturday morning and she picked right up where she left off. It takes a lot more than a runny nose to slow down Daphne-doodle!

Jennie and I finished most of our Christmas shopping over the weekend and again last night. Hey, I avoided the long, claustrophobic lines at Wal-Mart and the pushing and shoving at our local liquor store. Once again, I relied heavily towards online shopping as my primary source of gift-giving.

I will be so happy once January 4th is here and normalcy returns. Bah, humbug! Let's just say I'm not looking forward to the next few weeks. Try out this equation:

( DIVIDED FAMILY + MISCOMMUNICATION / LACK OF PLANNING ) + FUSSY BABY = UNHAPPY DAVEY

Why can't we all just get along? I am the most easy going person I know.

A few weeks ago we lowered our house price and finally, we have our 12th total showing this Saturday afternoon. It will be the first showing in several weeks!


NOTE: New photos of Daphne before the end of the week, honest Abe!

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Friday

December 11

Daphne looked like a zombie last night with eyes glazed over. She was hot to the touch, stumbling around like a newborn calf, and her appetite was nonexistent. Tylenol drops temporarily brought her 103 degree temperature down to 101. I believe Jennie might be taking Daphne for a doctor visit today if she shows no sign of improvement this morning.

Here are some photos from a few days ago (just before she got her latest cold):







Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Thursday

December 10

Daphne's fever topped 102 degrees last night. Jennie, Daphne, and I have been deathly ill the past few days... My throat is still sore, but the dizziness and nausea have subsided. I can only imagine what little Daphne and Jennie are feeling.

On my way out the door today, Daphne vomited all over the coffee table. So, I helped Jennie clean up the mess and inadvertently taught Daphne a new word. She was running around the kitchen saying, "puke, puke, puke" with a grin on her face. At least she has a great sense of humor, right? Her poor little cheeks are rosy, flaming red like a Russian who has drank too much vodka.

I will post some new photos very soon....

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Saturday

December 5

MAJOR MILESTONE: For the first time ever, Daphne said, "I love Daddy". And tonight while Mimi & Pawpaw (Jennie's parents) were babysitting, Daphne said her name. I believe she said, "Daphne roll the ball to Mimi" or something similar. She also counted to three today and used her fingers to show me. Not bad for a 21-month old, eh?

Jennie & I discovered that Daphne can not only recognize, but can correctly name 21 of the 26 letters of the alphabet. Now if we could only get her to learn all the colors! She can identify red, green, white, black, and sometimes yellow.

Daphne loves to hum the A, B, C's (aka the Alphabet Song) to just about anything. Did you know that the Alphabet Song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Bah Bah Black Sheep are all the same melody? I had never thought about it until Jennie pointed it out to me.

Here are some photos from today:










Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Wednesday

December 2

My third and final week of training in Dunwoody (a suburb in northeast Atlanta) is drawing to a close and I sure do miss Daphne & Jennie! Only a few more days until I hear the phrase "daddy-daddy-daddy" spill forth from my angelic Daphne-doodle.

How do you politely teach the word vagina to a toddler?
When Daphne was first learning to speak, Jennie and I thought "tootie" would be a somewhat pleasant term for Daphne's nether regions. Unfortunately, Daphne began calling it her "cookie". And, she LOVES Sesame Street (one of her favorite characters is Cookie Monster)! Even worse, Daphne will run to the pantry and yell, "cookie, cookie, cookie" when she is hungry. So, now we are in a predicament. On any given morning, Daphne might be yelling for a "cookie" while she is watching "Cookie" on TV and touching her "cookie". Oh brother! We need a new term for her yoohoo... any thoughts?

Elmo is rubbing off on Daphne
Daphne has become increasingly ticklish over the past month. I first noticed Daphne squirm and uncontrollably chuckle during her bath as I washed her underarms and the bottoms of her feet. It's so cute to watch her tighten up her limbs and say, "that tickles" as she laughs in a high pitched tone.

Here are some photos from Thanksgiving weekend:



Saturday

November 28

Happy Thanksgiving!

We ate tons of turkey and Daphne tried pumpkin pie for the first time (which she called "mayonnaise cake"). She just learned the word "pie" and had never eaten whipped cream, so she thought it was mayonnaise. I cannot imagine cake with mayonnaise tasting as great as her new found love for pumpkin pie (see photos below).

My father, step-mom, and her mom visited us for a Turkey Day celebration. Jennie's parents supplied the succulent bird and we had more food than we could possibly eat in a few sittings.

Today, Jennie and I took Daphne to a local park (partly to get out of the house and partly to help Daphne burn some of her overflowing energy). While she loves the baby swing, Daphne had much more fun going down the various slides repeatedly. "Do again", said Daphne after each slide. "Wheeeee, fun!" and "Like it!" were heard often.

More photos in a day or so. Enjoy!







Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Sunday

November 23

As we begin this week of Thanksgiving, I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday. I hope you are able to spend time with your loved ones and eat lots of turkey.

Several times out of the blue, Daphne has excitedly shouted, "Daddy is home!" I think she misses me when I am away on business. Next week is my third and final week of training away from home. After traveling non-stop for the last few weeks, I look forward to staying home for the holidays. Visitors are always welcome!

Enjoy these new photos of my little angel Daphne:







Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

November 22

(Knock on wood) Daphne's wheezing has subsided for now. She is still displaying symptoms of a minor cold (runny nose, productive cough, poor appetite, etc), but that's typical for a toddler this time of year.

Daphne has some new phrases that she loves to say. Give her a bite of food and you may hear, "mmmm, I like it!" She still wants to "open" and "hold it" if you are carrying something interesting. I would guess that Daphne knows about 16 of the 26 letters of the alphabet and can almost count to 10. She gets stuck on some of the early numbers and rattles off duplicate numbers while counting.

Here are some of the very first photos shot with my new DSLR camera. Enjoy! I have even more photos that I will post tomorrow night...






Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Friday

November 20

Yay! I am home from Atlanta... but Daphne is sick. Boo!

Daphne began coughing a few days ago and last night it turned to wheezing and labored breathing. While I returned from training last night, Jennie took Daphne to the doctor's office. Luckily, our medical insurance covered the purchase of a new nebulizer and albuterol for our little asthmatic angel.

The previous time Daphne had the wheezing episodes I had just changed jobs and we were effectively without medical insurance (other than the dreaded access to COBRA) for a few weeks. One of Jennie's nursing friends graciously let us borrow her nebulizer for a few breathing treatments. Daphne recuperated and we were told she *might* outgrow this asthmatic condition in due time.

Oh well, she responds really well to the albuterol. And that is both a blessing and a curse. While we are grateful she can breathe better, it means that she might lead a life of asthma inhalers and breathing issues.

On the bright side, my new digital SLR camera arrives today! So, I will continue adding to my existing library of over 6,000 photos of Daphne... this new 15.1 megapixel camera snaps over 3.5 pictures per second! Wow! Never again will I miss a cute expression or grin as I have over the past few years with a crappy point & shoot digital camera. The point & shoot cameras take way too long to recover between photos for my liking.

Please return soon for more photos!!!

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Wednesday

November 18

What a busy week! Once again, I am guilty of slacking (not updating this blog).

I have nearly completed my second of three intense training courses for work in a northeastern Atlanta suburb (a few hundred miles from home). This week, our lectures have been running long into the evening. After a quick recap of the day's activities during supper, I retire to my hotel bed. Exciting stuff, eh?

I sure do miss Jennie and baby Daphne...

Hopefully, I will post some new photos this weekend once I return home!

Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Friday

November 13

Happy Friday the 13th!

Our house has been on the market for three months this coming Tuesday. Eight scheduled tours and one straggler (an realtor-less, inquisitive fellow looking for a house) have made their way into our humble abode. I have no news to report.

I believe the process of selling a house can be likened to having a baby. When listing a house for sale or trying to get pregnant, you have unrealistic expectations and high hopes for a quick, painless transaction. After all, everyone does it effortlessly so why can't you? Random appointments are scheduled and people come in sporadic waves (just like making a baby -- preparation, ovulation, practice, hurry up and wait). You receive great feedback and even a few low-ball offers, but nothing that blows you away (just like making a baby -- the "monthly visitor" is late, high hopes form, could this be it?, out of the blue "it" appears, the dream fades, rinse and repeat). Selling a house and making a baby are filled with momentous highs and blistering lows. It should be easy, right? Nope, not a chance.

Oh well, I hope my analogy did not depress you. I figure someone will have to buy our house eventually even if I have to pay them to take it! hehehe

On the bright side, Daphne has begun to feed herself with utensils. She is going through that "I want to do everything for myself" phase. Miss Independent smiles with satisfaction as her spoon delivers yummy morsels into her mouth.

Here are some new photos of Daphne:








Until tomorrow,
Dave T.

Tuesday

November 10

Well, I am another year older and wiser. Since the lifespan of an *average* man is approximately 77.6 years (according to Harvard Medical School), I am 1.8 years away from being "over the hill". How depressing!

Without sounding too biased, I feel Daphne is such a smart little girl! Her increasing vocabulary and sense of humor amazes me. She has grasped simple subject/verb sentences and repeats nearly every type of word you throw her way...

She likes to straddle her potty chair fully clothed, grip her fists, grunt like a caveman, and proclaim loudly, "pee pee poo poo". Daphne seems anxious to be rid of diapers. And, she is not quite 21 months old yet.

My recent lack of blogging (excuses, excuses) is attributable to being extra busy at work. I have more training in Atlanta forthcoming over the next few weeks.

Here are some new photos of Daphne:








Until tomorrow,
Dave T.