Applause, applause!

There's been a lot of clapping going on in our family lately. Last week, Daniel got all decked out for his eighth grade dance, "An Evening of Black and White." I was just killing time at the computer desk while he got ready, and suddenly heard him say, "Let's give it up for Dan-iel Ry-an!"

I looked over to see him strutting down the hall in his black pants, white shirt, black tie, and new black dress shoes! He was thankfully in a mood to pose for some pictures, so I got to get some good shots outside (and had him reenact the hallway "runway" scene!).

And as a side-note, can I just say that the difference between boys and girls was highly evident in the amount of time it took for Daniel to get ready. We were on a tight schedule, and walked in the door at 5:00 and needed to be back in the car by 5:30. If girls were involved in our scenario, I'm 100% certain that we couldn't have made it to the dance on time! ;-)

The applause continues, as Erica has learned to clap, and loves to clap for herself and then look around to see if anyone else will join in (which of course, we do!). Her big achievement lately has been that she can get herself up on all fours, and then back into a sitting position. That's when she smiles and claps!

As a mom and aunt, I am one of Daniel and Erica's biggest fans, so I'll gladly give applause and standing ovations, probably to their dismay on some occasions!