Aunt Donelda is in town for Will's fourth birthday. You wouldn't think a simple photo with everyone smiling and looking at the camera would be that hard...you (and I) would be wrong. In fact...*cough* *cough*...you won't exactly find this particular photo in our photo library.

Three awesome brothers simply being all brotherly...and in need of haircuts (next post).

Mama spotted a wild bear on the loose today! Luckily it just turned out to be Landon after a bath. Below, the little guy can just barely crawl and he's all about pulling up to see what his big brothers are having so much fun doing. Landon's figured out the best toys aren't on the ground!

[Update: I've been told that I don't know the difference between a wild bear and a puppy dog. I suppose the floppy ears do give it away. Whatever.]

Just a great photo of three year-old Will being himself.

After church and lunch today, Will, Drew and I bundled up for some fun time enjoying Tulsa's latest 6 inches of snow. Unfortunately, it was too cold to make a snowman, the snow just wouldn't clump together well enough. But, we were still able to make some snowballs, have a snowball fight, and run around doing all kinds of silly stuff. In the end, we were all cold and tired and had a great time!

With Drew's napping days long gone and Will moving into an every-other-day habit, Landon has become my newest napping buddy.

Landon just hanging out in bed.

I turned the corner to see 8 month old Landon looking at a cloth book, properly oriented, propped up against a stuffed toy...apparently reading. I exclaimed, "Ha! Caught you, you can read can't you?!" Of course, Landon resumed his ruse of being a typical infant with no plans for world domination by babbling, rolling over and drooling. Nice try Stewie, I'm on to you!

Our own little Baby New Year, Landon (8 months), on New Year's Eve 2009.

Landon looking toward the new year.

Will (3) and Drew (6) on New Year's Eve 2009.

Note: the photos are not photoshopped, rather they were taken with a star shaped filter I made. More information can be found here.

From Landon, Drew and Will and the rest of the Danz family, have a very merry Christmas!

Will, Landon and Drew visiting Santa Claus.

Our Christmas tree this year is just a little bit bigger than "normal." It's a little wider and I had to trim quite a bit to get the star properly wedged against the 10 foot ceiling. After the jump, a bonus picture of the boys with Santa.

Landon checking out Kris Kringle.

It is Christmas Eve and all through the house not a creature is stirring...except Landon who is so excited about Santa coming that he can't keep his tongue in his mouth!

Today was the annual raking of the leaves and, this time, I had two "helpers." Rake two piles, leaf-vacuum one, rake two piles, vacuum one.... Once I realized a photographic opportunity was at hand, I ran and got the camera. The result was one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken, Drew in flight and Will close behind. For the curious, the exif data reports: Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D), Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens, 1/250 sec, F8.0, ISO 800, 18.00mm, no flash, auto exposure.

Will and Drew sitting in the leaves.

I couldn't decide which of these two photos I liked best, so I posted both.

Mary took it upon herself to try and herd cats today and...amazingly enough...got an awesome picture of the three boys, all of them looking at the camera!

With the boys out numbering Mama three to one during the day, Drew has stepped up to be a huge help in taking care of Landon when Mama needs a few minutes to get something done. Looks like the little guy is in good hands!

Today we attended the wedding of Sheena Bier and Thomas Shaughnessy at the Basilica of Saint Louis, King, The Old Cathedral, near the St. Louis Gateway Arch.

It was a beautiful wedding ceremony attended by many friends and family.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Shaughnessy.

Cousin Gabe wasn't particularly excited by the day's events.

Will, with his classic "Will look," was quite enamored with his cousin Gillian.

Click on "Continue reading" for many more family pics and the boys tearing up the dance floor.

Drew and Will just killing time in front of the church.

The Madison family, Matt and Michelle holding Gillian and Gabe.

All of the Madisons, all of the Danzes and some of the Youngmans.

Landon and cousin Gabe hanging out at the reception after the wedding.

Aunt Catherine and cousin Gillian.

Cousin Gillian and Mary.

Aunt Michelle and Uncle Matt.

After so much seriousness and good behavior, you just have to break out the silly!

Mama and Drew tore up the dance floor.

Drew used his new found dance skills with his cousin Gillian.

Will wasn't about to let Drew have all the fun.

Will shows Gillian his moves, this is how you tear up the dance floor!

Will soon graduated to some serious break dancing moves.

Long time friends, the Shaughnessys and the Youngmans.

Madisons, Danzes, Shaughnessys and Youngmans.

Landon in the loving arms of Grandma Youngman.

Grandma must have said something funny!

Three brothers: Will, Landon and Drew.

Mama and Daddy with their three sons, Landon, Will and Drew.

Aunt Donelda came to visit for an extended weekend with the boys to coincide with Will's third birthday. The boys took advantage of the situation to show off their latest video game accomplishments. Video games are always more fun with someone watching you!

Aunt Donelda discusses one of the finer points of Chutes and Ladders with Drew and Will. They are playing on the exact same board that Aunt Donelda and Daddy played on when we were kids.

Landon loved spending time with Aunt Donelda and was perfectly content to have her feed him lunch.

Will, Landon and Drew with Aunt Donelda.

Today cousin Gabriel Paul Madison was baptized at the Good Shepard Catholic Church in Shawnee, Kansas.

Gabe was all smiles while being anointed with the oil of chrism.

The Godparents, Michelle's sister Angela and Matt's brother Josh, joined in for the baptism.

More photos of the ceremony, reception and family after the jump.

Proud parents Matt and Michelle and Father Francis Hund look over newly baptized Gabriel Paul Madison.

Reception afterward was held at Art Source & Design.

Mother and child, Michelle and Gabe, share a moment.

Gabe, Michelle and Grandma Youngman.

Uncle Matt in a classic pose.

Drew and Will looking handsome for the baptism.

Matt, Gillian, Michelle, Grandpa Youngman, Gabe and Grandma Youngman.

Kids: Josh, Gillian, Gabe, Emma, Drew, Will and Landon. Adults: Mike, Angela, Matt, Michelle, Don (me), Catherine, Jim, Lorraine and Mary.

Three brothers: Will, Drew and Landon.

It's bath time for Landon.

"Yeah, this is fun!"

"OK, I've had enough."

All the cousins were in town today for an impromptu family get together.

Cousin Gabe was not pleased with me taking his picture.

In fact, he was quite upset with the whole process.

Very upset!

"Just come a little closer Uncle Don, and I'll knock that camera right out of your hands!"

Cousin Gillian doesn't mind being photographed and showing off the most beautiful eyes in the world.

Testing the waters of Ma and Pa's backyard pool.

The seven cousins: Drew holding Landon, Josh holding Gabe, Will, Emma and Gillian.

Pa and Ma and their seven grandchildren: Gillian, Landon, Drew, Gabe, Josh, Will and Emma.

Drew is very helpful with Landon when the little guy needs some comforting while Mama is busy.

Will and Landon are napping partners (Elmo too!).

Is there anything more peaceful than a baby sleeping?

Three brothers: Will, Landon and Drew.

We are really fortunate that the boys get along with each other so well. Both Drew and Will have been nothing but loving, kind and protective of Landon since day one.

We've been experimenting with using my old Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 Lens manufactured in 1987 with our new Canon EOS Rebel T1i/500D. The lens with a 1.8 f-number/focal ratio has a much larger aperture which creates a shallower depth of field than the kit lens which came with the Rebel T1i. Sometimes it creates problems in automatic modes by blurring portions of the picture you want sharp, but when it works, it works great!

Landon being held by Mama outside in the shade. You can see the very shallow depth of field as Landon's eyes are sharp but, just an inch or two farther away from the camera lens, his ears are blurred.

Landon inside, much more relaxed, getting some supplementing formula from Mama.

Will a/k/a Mr. Uncooperative, doesn't always like to play the part of a willing subject.

This is a classic "Will" expression.

I love this picture of Drew! Taken outside in the direct sunlight without a fill-in-flash. His expression is perfectly natural. A lot of times pictures don't really capture precisely what a person ordinarily looks like but this picture really does.

Joey, unfazed by my late night camera settings experimentation.

I believe he's thinking, "Enough with the pictures already."

Despite there being one more week left of school, Drew's Pre-K class had its graduation ceremony yesterday. It was a wonderful ceremony filled with all kinds of songs and demonstrations of the things his class had learned. Most impressive was how each child, even the shyest and most quiet, took their turn to speak, alone, in front of all the assembled family and friends.

Drew was very insistent that Will be in included in his photo.

(Maybe another one for kindergarten, do grade school and middle school have their own too, high school, college, grad school...times three...only about 17 more graduations to go!)

Landon and Mama came home from the hospital just before midnight Sunday. Landon was on lights here at home Monday and Tuesday and now, finally, things are back to normal. Well, at least as normal as a home can be with a newborn, 2 1/2 and 5 year old running around. With the first two sons, I got the reputation as a baby hog. I've missed way too much time holding our latest edition. Time for some serious male bonding.

[Update:]

I kept thinking the photo should somehow be better. I don't know if I've accomplished "better" but here's another try.

Aunt Donelda stayed with us for a whole week, Saturday to Saturday. After Drew and Will's soccer practice this morning we all had lunch (except Mary and Landon who are still in the hospital), followed by Aunt Donelda taking off on the long drive back to Illinois. Thanks for all the help!

The joke is that we only know how to make one model child, identical looking males, healthy in all regards except problems latching and with high bilirubin. It is this last characteristic that is causing the trip back to the hospital with our little Umpa Lumpa.

Our first, Drew, was under light therapy at home for about a week. Will had high levels but just missed out on the fun. Although, he got to go back to the hospital too when mommy came down with an infection. Landon was on lights at the hospital and they thought the levels were such that he could continue treatment at home. However, despite being on the home lights all night and all day, his levels shot up so high that he had to go back to the hospital where they continued to rise. They were so high, that the possibility of a transfusion was discussed if the trend continued.

Fortunately, after a day of rising levels, things started to slowly drop back down. Since, I'm writing this after the fact, I can tell you that Landon and mommy had to stay in the hospital from Thursday to Sunday. This was followed by two more days of lights at home before we got our healthy "pink" baby back.

In the hospital, Landon and his teddy bear both wore shades to protect their eyes.

Drew was very compassionate and comforting to Landon.

Landon in his car seat at the hospital all ready to go home where Aunt Donelda, Drew and Will are anxiously awaiting.

Drew welcoming his newest little brother home.

Will is introducing Landon to Elmo and Yoda.

Drew, Will and Landon and Landon's welcome home gift a fun-with-foam picture frame Aunt Donelda and the boys made for him.

Thing 3 and Thing 2 are sure going to miss their Aunt Donelda when she leaves.

Did you say you wanted to see more pictures of Landon? Well, here you go...

Baby Landon in his St. John newborn bassinet along with his first teddy bear.

Landon in his Sweet Pea outfit ready to be photographed for the hospital's website.

The amazing Mary and her newest son Landon.

The proud daddy holding his newest son Landon.

Aunt Donelda who's in town for a whole week taking care of Drew and Will while mommy and daddy are at the hospital.

Aunt Catherine affectionately known simply as "Aa" to all Danz boys under four years of age.

Grandma Youngman holding Landon in the most experienced arms of us all.

Grandpa Youngman holding the youngest of his now seven grandchildren.

A very fortunate Landon with two wonderful grandparents.

Oldest brother Drew holding his new little brother Landon.

Drew is very proud to have another little brother.

Will is very excited to have a little brother.

Will has the best of both worlds, he is a big brother and a little brother.

My three sons...or, the Three Musketeers...Drew, Landon and Will.

At 12:46 p.m. today, Landon Walter Danz joined the world weighing in at 7 lbs, 10 oz and measuring 19 3/4 inches long/tall. Both Mary and Landon are doing wonderfully!

Will and Drew meet their new baby brother Landon for the first time.

All the Danz men together getting to know each other.

A springtime snowstorm dumped about 6 inches of snow on Tulsa today, breaking an 83-year-old record. According to the National Weather Service, the previous record for the heaviest snowfall after March 21 in Tulsa was 3 1/2 inches on March 31, 1926, and since then, the city hasn't had more than 1 1/2 inches of snow after March 21. Nine Oklahoma counties, mostly in the northwest part of the state, reported approximately two feet of snowfall. In order to potentially get federal money, Gov. Brad Henry declared a State of Emergency for 50 counties including Tulsa...you know, because the federal government should send us money because we got 6 inches of snow. (Yes, our governor is an idiot and, yes, the entire system is broken.)

Drew and Will were all bundled up to play in the snow...the very wet snow.

Together, we made a giant snowman while it was snowing and blowing fiercely.

Posing with our creation. Mr. Snowman has Nilla wafer eyes and a carrot nose. Unintentionally, he also has a hula skirt due to the wet snow picking up the dormant grass. After the jump, Drew takes advantage of Daddy turning his back.

Daddy turns his back for second and Drew finds a giant snowball to throw my way.

Rocket-arm Drew releases a fastball strike right on target.

Revenge is a dish best served cold...cold like a huge snow-boulder knocking Drew into the snow. (Which was so fun, he insisted I do it several more times.)

Will, Snowman and Drew after their day in the record setting snow. I don't know why they are leaning, but they are definitely foreshadowing the events to come...and the next post.

Recently, Drew had Crazy Hat Day at school. We don't have too many "crazy" hats, or at least not one Drew wanted to wear. So, Drew wore one of his favorite hats in a crazy way. Will was more than happy to wear his hat too.

This morning, Drew said: "Something's poking me in my mouth."

Sure enough, something was poking him alright...Drew's first adult tooth.

Mama took the boys to the park last week they had the whole place to themselves. (That's Spider-man on their t-shirts.)

Will showed off his mastery of the curved rock climb.

And, Drew showed off his mastery of the vertical rock climb.

We've been slowly...very slowly...going through things that we acquired from my Grandmother's house. This is me just a year and a half old with my Grandfather "Spiv" Buller taken in 1967 when my mother's parents came to visit us while we were living in Holland.

Gabriel Paul Madison was born today to Aunt Michelle and Uncle Matt! From their website A day in the life...:

Gabriel was born at 11:22 PM on March 3, 2009 (a square root day, as it was affectionately called). He weighs 8 lbs. 5 oz. and is 20" long. Mom is doing beautifully, and was (once again) a champ through delivery. The nurses kicked visitors out around 11:10 and Gabriel was born a mere 12 minutes later. Quick indeed.

CONGRATULATIONS Matt, Michelle and cousin Gillian!!!

There aren't many opportunities for Will to get some time in with the "family" iphone. First, I have to be home. Then Drew has to not be hogging playing it. Finally, eliminate nap times, meal times and any time something Star Wars is going on and there are precious few minutes left. I can still remember some '70s round swivel chairs my parents had that I curled up in when my age could still be shown on the fingers of one hand. I wonder if Will will have a similar memory of this chair.

Since we're all still feeling a little under the weather, here is a picture from a couple of weeks ago of my better half and our two handsome boys.

Today Mama broke out the paint supplies for a creative afternoon activity.

Will started out using a brush. But, about half way though switched to his fingers.

Drew knew exactly what he wanted to express with his painting. The end result of both boys is as good as any of the crap Jackson Pollock ever thew down on a canvas. Much like Pollock's numbered works, Drew and Will's masterpieces are unnamed because the viewer should not search for representational elements in the paintings but, rather, "look passively and try to receive what the painting has to offer and not bring a subject matter or preconceived idea of what they are to be looking for." (Translation: I'm a talentless hack perpetuating a great fraud, please buy my paintings because I'm afraid of having a real job.)

I love Norman-Rockwell's "Connoisseur." I don't know what Rockwell was actually trying to say but, to me, he was throwing mud in Pollock's eye, saying, "Hey Jackson, I can paint as good a Pollock as you or anyone else, lets see you try and paint a Rockwell."

Recently I've had some extended discussions elsewhere on the interweb as to the definition of "art." I tend to a more restrictive classical definition that art takes talent not present in the average person. Art is not decoration, performance or that which any random person can imitate. Most of the people I've been arguing with have been brought up never to judge anyone or impose any kind of standard on people. They believe if someone says something is art, it is art. Or, if someone merely tries to make art, that their endeavor results in art. Otherwise, you might have to--heaven forbid--judge somebody or disappoint some precious snowflake and inform them that despite their best efforts they really are not artists. Such expansive definitions, ultimately, have no bounds and everything become art. If everything is art, then nothing is art. I conclude, my "restrictive" definition is the only logical definition and, ultimately, less restrictive.

Two more shots of Will and Drew as they finish up after the jump.

Drew, not shown here, has outgrown his car seat (not necessarily by a measurement provided by the manufacturer) and is big enough for a booster seat. After our typical shopping around and internet research, we finally found one we liked...and bought two. The most convenient place to do the minimal assembly was the clean, spacious, well lit, kitchen floor (three adjectives that don't apply to too many places).

As soon as Will realized it was a seat that I had pulled out of the box, the following conversation took place:

Will: Sit down?
Daddy: Not yet.
Will: Sit down?
Daddy: Not yet.
Will: Sit down?
Daddy: Not yet.
(Repeat many, many times.)

After a laugh and a quick picture take, I was back at the task at hand, only to be interrupted moments later from the other side: "Sit down?" Yes, finally, Will got to sit down in his brother's new booster seat. Five seconds later, he was off to the next activity. The booster seat was successfully installed and Drew got to get in and out five times today.

Aunt Donelda concluded her visit today. Before she left, she and the boys modeled their Thing t-shirts Donelda got on her last trip to Disney World this year. Will didn't quite understand why he was Thing 3 and kept insisting, "Me two," because that's how old he is. Aunt Donelda really helped to make Christmas special for the boys (all of us) this year!

Aunt Donelda, Drew and Will show their Christmas spirit.

Drew, Will, Mama and Daddy wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

This year's tree is a 9 foot Nobel Fir tree. Compared to last year's Fraser Fir, the needles are more rubbery such that they don't poke your skin while hanging lights and ornaments. Also, this must have been the fullest tree we've ever had. There are only a handful of ornaments hanging inside the tree. It is so full with no gaps or openings that there just wasn't any place or need to hang ornaments deep inside. The few we managed to shove inside practically can't be seen. Other than a top that ends a little abruptly, it's a perfect tree.

After hanging lights, while putting up ornaments, one-half of the very top string of lights started slowly flashing followed by it going out completely. I replaced the bulb at the end of the dark half but to no avail. Somewhere in the half-string is a burnt out bulb. I'll look for it when we take the lights down. So, if you look closely, you can see the very top right of the tree is without lights.

Drew and Will were a hoot hanging ornaments. Will refused to use hooks. We'd tell him, "Will, you need a hook," and Will would respond with confidence, "No, O-A," (his version of OK). Will would then place three ornaments on the very tip of the exact same branch, despite no ornaments being anywhere else on the tree. Together the boys did a terrific job of decorating the bottom-third of the tree.

Click "Continue reading" to see another picture of the boys.

There's nothing better than real mashed potatoes, with the peals left on, and, fortunately, we have the best automatic potato masher(s) in town. Just boil the potatoes, drain and drop them on the floor. Add milk, butter, salt and pepper to taste. Interrupt when desired consistency is reached. Yum!

OK boys, who wants to help dad with some yard work? Boys? Hello?

Aunt Donelda's visit for Drew's birthday came to an end today. You can tell from this picture right before bed time that Drew and Will really enjoyed having their Chicago Aunt come visit.

Today, we all went with Aunt Donelda to Chuck E. Cheese's to play games.

Drew was a champion Johnny Apple Speed player while Will offered encouragement.

Both Drew and Will enjoyed playing air hockey. Drew took advantage of Will's easy distractibility to win two games in a row.

Will's favorite game was the space alien trackball race.

Drew celebrated his fifth birthday today.

Drew had no problem blowing out his five candles.

Momma made another great cake, this year chocolate icing on chocolate cake in the shape of a "5."

Will was amazingly well behaved considering everything was all about Drew today. Drew was really sweet and let Will help him open some of his gifts.

Anything and everythign Star Wars is always a big hit...pants not so much.

The best was saved for last when Drew opened up a spring loaded, light up lightsaber with real lightsaber sounds!

Thanks to everyone near and far who helped make Drew's birthday special. (In all the excitement and commotion we, again, failed to get a group picture, so thanks to Ma, Pa, Uncle David and Aunt Donelda who flew in from Chicago to be with Drew today.)

Mary made Drew's birthday cake this week. Will and Drew were, of course, on hand to help with the process. Here they are being rewarded, Will with the spatula and Drew with the mixer beater.

Will has become quite the puzzlemaster and his favorite is his Sesame Street Elmo and Friends 24 piece puzzle. He has put it together and taken it apart a few dozen times now. We didn't think to give the puzzle to two year, two month, old Will because it is officially "Age 3+" but Will pulled it out of the cabinet the other day and insisted on putting it together. Around here, age appropriateness and serving size always seem a little over-estimated. (Except when it comes to Hollywood which has no clue what "age appropriate" means.)

Will and Drew sleeping in one morning. Do you think they might be related?

Two week ago, Drew started his first day of school...preschool/pre-k at St. Benedict. It's just three days a week for four and one-half hours. There are only eleven kids in his class and two teachers. We didn't originally intend to sign Drew up for preschool but it's been increasingly hard to challenge him and keep him from being bored around the house. We figured we'd sign Drew up at the brand new school that was just built within walking distance from our house, Jefferson Elementary, but there wasn't enough demand for a half-day program as all the parents want to put their preschoolers in full-day classes. How sad. So, Mary looked into all the private and parochial schools and we determined the preschool that happened to be offered by our church provided the best option. Drew picked out a Buzz Lightyear backpack to take with him to school.

Will wanted to be just like his big brother and put on his little backpack to take Drew to school.

At school, getting ready to go inside. Oh how they grow up so fast.

After the boys take baths, they like to make their hair spikey.

Fortunately, they don't like to keep it that way and much prefer to have their hair nicely combed.

We're back! It's been incredibly busy lately and there has been little time for blogging. Hopefully, this will resume normal semi-regular updates. This Labor Day weekend we all drove up to Chicago to visit Aunt Donelda. Thanks to her, we all got to enjoy a multi-million dollar pool complex all to ourselves before it opened to the masses.

Drew perfected the Tigger Stroke in the three foot portion of the pool. What's the Tigger Stroke? Bounce...bounce...bounce...

Will very much enjoyed riding on Daddy's back. Surprisingly, Will barely held on, he just semi-floated at the small of Daddy's back and steadied himself with his hands on Daddy's shoulders.

Aunt Donelda got in the action and posed under one of the many splashing apparatus. Click "Continue reading," there are a lot more pictures after the jump!

Drew in the midst of the water fountains.

Will doing his best to grab a fountain.

Drew and Will were great sports standing under one of the water buckets as it filled and then spilled.

Drew taking a turn lifeguarding.

Will also put in his time in the chair.

Aunt Donelda and the ghostly four from Oklahoma.

In addition to her consulting work, homeowners' board, getting ready for visitors, doing all the work ahead of Will's birthday and raising two awesome boys, Mama somehow found the time to continue the Danz tradition and make a terrific cake in the shape of the birthday year being celebrated.

First, we all (Mama, Daddy, Drew, Will, Ma, Pa, Uncle David, Aunt Catherine, Aunt Donelda and Miss Sue) feasted on Mama's world famous chicken enchiladas. And, then, it was time for cake! Unfortunately, Will didn't quite know what to make of the candles being lit.

Fortunately for Will, he has an awesome big brother. I told Drew to blow out one of Will's candles to get things started. But, Drew not wanting to take the fun away from Will just showed Will how to blow the candles without actually blowing one out. And, that was all it took to cheer Will up and save the day. Will then succeeded in blowing his two candles out all on his own.

With the candle episode behind him, Will dug into his cake. Woo-hoo!

Mama even got a thank-you-kiss for all her hard work.

Will did a terrific job of opening all his gifts.

Daddy, Aunt Donelda, Aunt Catherine, Drew, Uncle David, Will, Pa, Ma, Mama and Miss Sue (the camerawoman) all shared Will's special day.

Miss Sue reading to Will and Drew before bedtime. Sue was an incredible help the whole weekend and we were all glad she was able to come down with Aunt Donelda to see the farm and help celebrate Will's second birthday.

Today we woke up early packed everyone in a rented 12 person van and headed out to Goltry, Oklahoma.

Will and Drew on their Great-Grandma and Grandpa Buller's farm where Grandma Danz grew up. Apparently, "hold still and look at Daddy," somehow translates into 2 and 4 year-old language as "wave your arms madly about."

Daddy and Aunt Donelda behind the garage where there used to be peach trees, a scrap metal pile, and fences we would climb on and grab the irresistible overhead electrified lines for a jolt that is remembered well into middle-age.

Daddy, Drew and Will on the porch in front of Grandma Danz's childhood home.

The family renting the farm owns a horse which recently had a foal.

The foal was surprisingly friendly...a little too friendly for this city slicker. He must have thought I had food or treats because he wouldn't take no for an answer. After following me like a Pamplona bull as I backpedaled away, mama horse came and got him and led him back to the barn.

I made some panoramas of some of the farm views. This one is looking out East.

This panorama is out behind the barns looking North.

The view looking East from the house.

Aunt Donelda came to visit for Will's birthday. We tried to come up with something "Oklahoma" to do and found out that she had not been to a Bass Pro Shop...so off we went. [This is actually a post-birthday shot as evidenced by Big Bird which Drew came up with all on his own to give to Will, since there were no first day group photos.]

OK, so with stores in 27+ states, including one in Chicago, it's not technically an "Oklahoma" thing but it was fun for the boys to see the fish and stuffed animals and gave us all a chance to stretch our legs before dinner. We had dinner at the Bass Pro Shop restaurant. Everyone enjoyed their seafood while the boys and myself, Mr. Anaphylactic-Shock, partook of other fare. Our waitress will forever be remember as the least enthusiastic server ever.

Both Drew and Will really enjoyed watching the fish.

A neighbor got a Little Tikes Slam 'n Slide Inflatable Water Slide and invited the boys over for some fun. We sure never had toys this cool when we were kids, Holy Cow, the thing was amazing. Officially 9 feet high, it's a mountain of fun to 2 and 4 year-olds. Drew never tired of constant sliding.

Will wasn't quite up to the task of climbing the slide and hung out in the wading pool portion, still loving every minute of it.

What's the point of building the world's tallest giraffe? Well, to knock it down of course...with your hammer!

This evening we got out the Elmo sprinkler and had a fun cooling off after dinner.

Will took a little while to warm up to the activity but still managed to have a good time. Click "Continue reading" to see more pics of the boys and Elmo.

Drew taking a break to get a drink from the sprinkler.

Will adjusting Elmo to the perfect position.

Will insisted there was a police emergency at the sprinkler and Drew was happy to assist in the pursuit.

Drew and Will both enjoy playing all kinds of I Spy and their recent favorite has been the Scholastic book I Spy Spooky Night.

The book has enough variety, riddles and difficulty to even keep Mama and Daddy on their toes but, somehow, remains engaging enough to keep Will interested as we all try to find the hidden items. My only criticisms of Spooky Night is that most of the images are quite dark and really good lighting is needed to see all the objects.

Another successful search! Now off to dreamland for these two T-Rexes.

Much like his older brother Drew, Will loves to read and be read to. He is always bringing books over to people to read and when everyone is busy, he will happily sit down and look through a book by himself. Here Will is reading the modern Cars book Mater and the Ghost Light and the original 1972 Sesame Street classic that was once Daddy's, Bert's Hall of Great Inventions.

Another of Will's favorites is I Spot! No one points out items with more confidence than Will (imagine a very emphatic index finger being slammed down on the page). Click "Continue reading" for a bonus picture of Will.

Will concentrating on finding objects in his I Spot! book.

Is there anything more beautiful and peaceful than a child sleeping?

All the Youngman grandchildren were in town today for a unique photo opportunity. Left to right with Pa and Ma: Josh, Emma, Drew, Will and Gillian.

Pa with Daisy (back), Ellie (front) and grandchildren Emma, Josh, Will and Drew.

Aunt Michelle and cousin Gillian are in town visiting. They are all growing up so fast. It seems just like yesterday that the boys were being introduced to their new "baby" cousin.

We spent Memorial Day afternoon at Mary's friend Christine's backyard barbecue. I don't think we've attended an event that was better planned out to entertain people's children. There were wagons and other toys to ride, frozen popsicles, squirt guns, bubbles, water toys, helium balloons and plenty of balls and other toys. Not once during the several hours we were there did Drew complain about not having something to do.

The boys got haircuts today. Will had some pretty funny expressions, nothing like tickling hairs trickling down your face to bring out the facial contortions. But, then things calmed down and it was just another boring haircut.

Previously: Drew getting a haircut when he was just shy of 2 1/2 year old. Will's first haircut at eleven months old.

Do you think Will enjoys talking on the phone with his Aunt Donelda? He usually doesn't have too much to say, even with Drew giving him encouragement, but he sure loves to listen.

This is Drew and Will watching early Saturday morning cartoons. It's really too bad our boys don't get along better together.

Drew and Will worked on their watercolor painting skills today with their Tonka paint with water books. The images have small dots which contain paint of different colors. A wet brush makes the colored dots dissolve which can then be "painted" to color the picture.

While it sounds easy enough, it's trickier than it seems. Not enough water and the dots don't fully dissolve. Too much water and the paper turns to mush. Not to mention that, even though the paint is pre-colored to match the picture, you still have to stay within the lines for a neat result.

Drew has just about mastered the technique. Will did a surprisingly good job and, along the way, he mastered spilling the "spill-proof" water reservoir.

It is very unusual for our munchkins to just fall asleep.

But this has been an unusually busy week and tonight after getting ready for bed, Will drank his milk and drifted off.

Drew was feeling a little under the weather today and was camped out on the couch with no energy to play. Will noticed that Drew wasn't feeling well and, on his own initiative, climbed up on the couch and over to Drew and gave him a hug.

Will continued to coo and stroke Drew's face until Drew cracked a smile.

Drew was happy to be cheered up and gave Will a thank you kiss.

Forty-five years ago, in April of 1963 before I was even born, my sister Donelda and my parents celebrated Easter while they were living in Tripoli, Libya. Donelda is just a few days away from being 2 1/2 years old in these pictures.

Will recently started stacking blocks...to ridiculous heights! Just when you'd think it's about to fall, he adds three more. Of course, when the blocks fall they put little micro-dents in the coffee table...we call it "antiquing."

I have a good friend who, last time I heard, refuses to buy nice furniture until his kids are old enough to not cause damage. While a perfectly logical theory, Mary and I disagree. We get to enjoy our furniture for more years than my friend and, when the kids finally move out of the house, we'll still have nice furniture but filled with memories of our boys growing up...my friend will just have nice furniture.

So, Mary was giving the boys a bath tonight during which I am usually nearby...just in case...and tonight was one of those cases. Near the end I heard, "Don, I need your help!" It wasn't nearly as bad as the last time Mary called me with loss-of-limb urgency while giving the boys a bath, but it was definitely with more emotion than simply, "I need more shampoo."

I went in the bathroom and saw Drew being dried off while Will was still in the tub...pretty much surrounded by raw sewage. Mary had this happen once with Drew when he was younger but apparently that was more of "solid" event, if you know what I mean. Tonight, there was a near complete absence of fiber.

I removed the bathmat, lifted Will out of the tub and he stood there, probably quite chilly, like a very good boy while Mary got Drew dried and dressed. I then passed Will to Mary who gave him a thorough sponge bath. I then drained, rinsed, and hot dish soap washed anything and everything that was anywhere near the tub. Since I was at it, I cleaned the toilet too. Now, the bathroom is as clean as it's ever been! Did I mention it's our guest bathroom?

Will's 18 month photograph. Our littlest one is growing up.

Mama reads to the boys several times a day, but every night, before bedtime, it's my turn to read to the boys. We just started reading the original Noddy books by Enid Blyton with pictures by Beek. Drew loves the modern Noddy cartoon "Make Way for Noddy," so he was excited when we found these Noddy books at Grandma Danz's. These are the original twenty-four Noddy books published between 1949 and 1963 some of which are original editions. They were originally Aunt Donelda's but despite their age, probably aren't worth too much since they have been so "well loved." Tonight we'll read the final chapter of the first book and find out if Noddy is a toy. If he's not, he won't be able to stay in Toy Land.

Will is reading "Good Night, Gorilla" written and illustrated by Peggy Rathmann. It is one of, if not his most, favorite. If you haven't seen it already, check out Drew reading "Good Night, Gorilla" to Will from this past December.

You wished you looked this good in the morning! I snapped this picture before I left for work one morning. I thought it was too cute how Will had snuggled up against mama.

First and foremost, thank you to everyone for your kindness during the last two weeks. From simple phone calls and emails, to the cards, to those who were able to attend one of the wakes or service, your kind words and actions have been very much appreciated by our family.

We found out Grandma Danz died Sunday morning, January 27th, and despite knowing the end was near it, of course, was still difficult news. Despite that, funeral arrangements in two different states had to be planned, people notified and many other details taken care of, so most of that Sunday was spent on the phone and the internet getting the word out and making arrangements. It was just a little weird doing all that the same day we got word, but it had to be done. I can't imagine how people manage who have an unexpected loss. I guess a friend or more distant relative has to step in and take care of things.

Monday we drove straight through to Palatine. Will got the most improved traveler award for, literally, not making a single sound until just about a mile and a half from Grandma Danz's house. We were concerned because the last time we drove a long way, Will let it be known that he was not fully appreciative of the safety offered by his modern-day child seat. In other words, he was nearly inconsolable screaming and crying every 20 minutes. But, not this time, thankfully!

Tuesday morning came quick. Pre-wake preparations were highlighted by Mary's scream of "Will what have you done!!!" It was a tone and level of voice I had never heard from Mary and can only describe it as possibly being in the category of loss-of-limb urgency. I ran up stairs to see what was wrong and found that, after giving the boys a bath, while dressing Drew, Will threw his funeral cloths in the bathtub full of water. We still had over an hour before we had to leave the house so I grabbed the clothes, wrung them out, put them in the washer for a spin cycle and popped them in the dryer. Needless to say, Mary was a little stressed since I hadn't been much of a help with the kids on the trip.

Tuesday evening was the wake in Palatine. While I had ordered the casket and vault and was getting the Oklahoma arrangements taken care of, Donelda had been meeting with the funeral home in Palatine, ordering flowers and making poster boards with pictures of Grandma Danz. Somehow, Donelda also found time to put together a PowerPoint presentation of pictures which played at each wake.

Wednesday, Donelda and I spent a good five hours going over paperwork before Mary, Drew, Will and I drove to Rolla, Missouri, to stay the night. I must say the new Holiday Inn Express hotels are really nice and we enjoyed a good nights sleep.

Thursday was supposed to be an uneventful drive to Goltry, Oklahoma. However, while the drive started out pleasantly, there was an ice storm developing that we were heading into. About half-way down the Will Rogers turnpike between Joplin and Tulsa, we heard a thump...followed shortly by the oh-so-fun thump, thump, thumping. A flat tire. Now remember, we were in our trusty über-safe Volvo S80, packed for a week long cross-country trip with clothes ranging from casual to funeral and plenty of supplies for the munchkin who uses his pants for a potty and lots of stuff for everyone else, pillows, sleeping bag, computer, toys, work stuff...everything short of the kitchen sink. The image I'm trying to convey, is that the trunk and most spaces in the car were packed! Every nook and cranny of the trunk was neatly and totally stuffed to the precise contours of the available space. The trunk lid closed, but not without a little extra effort. Additionally, it was packed under ideal circumstances, where everything was laid out and I had all the time in the world to fit everything in just right.

The temperature was in the single digits and while it, fortunately, wasn't rainy, it was misty which was nice when the 18-wheelers came by and the car rocked back and forth. Road side assistance was not available for many hours because everyone was busy helping get cars out of ditches and a "mere" flat-tire just wasn't a priority. So, I began the process of emptying the trunk so I could get to the spare tire, passing everything through the window to Mary. Who knows where she put it all?! The change itself was relatively uneventful except for my anxiety over the time during which the fully loaded car was jacked up on the frail looking jack while the 18-wheelers did the best they could to blow the whole thing over. Once, the doughnut tire was in place, it was time to "pack" the trunk again as Mary passed everything back through her window. What I lost in neatness, I more then made up for with brute-force the second time around. The whole thing only took 30 minutes, but it seemed longer. From there, since we were just an hour away from our home in Tulsa, we detoured to change vehicles. I also took an unplanned rest on the couch while my physical and emotional batteries recharged before the final drive to Goltry. Did I mention the ice storm earlier? Yep, we made the final leg to Goltry traveling just 30 miles an hour on freshly iced, un-salted/un-sanded road. Grandma Danz always talked about the bad luck she had traveling, so I think this was her final goodbye to us.

Friday we ran some errands in Goltry and Helena and had the wake that evening. The photo is all of us with a long-time friend of my parents, Mrs. Long. She and her husband traveled the world with my parents. They are the most active "retired" people I've ever met. He still writes for the Oklahoman and they both take yearly trips around the world, this year's being a Russian river cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg!

Finally, Saturday after services at Lanman funeral home in Helena, we laid Grandma Danz to rest next to Grandpa Danz in the Karoma Cemetery in Goltry, Oklahoma. Pictures of the headstone and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Buller's headstone after the jump.

Nelda and Donald Danz's headstone.

Ola Mae and Alvin "Spiv" Buller's headstone. Donelda had the presence of mind to take two roses from one of the displays to lay on Grandma Danz's parents' headstone.

My mother passed away this morning at the age of 76 after a long slow decline in her health. The photo above is from college and below is with her grandsons Drew and Will is from this past Thanksgiving. Her obituary is below.

Nelda Rose Danz (nee Buller) of Palatine, Illinois, for the last 35 years died January 27, 2008, at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Born May 4, 1931, in Shattuck, Oklahoma. Nelda was proceeded in death by her beloved husband Donald Winston Danz on December 20, 2003, whom she married on March 6, 1955. Nelda is survived by her daughter Donelda CarVen Danz of Carol Stream, Illinois, and Don William Danz (wife Mary) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and grandsons Drew Winston Danz and David William ("Will") Danz.

A graduate of Goltry High School, Oklahoma, Nelda received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from Oklahoma A&M College now Oklahoma State University, in Stillwater, in 1953, where she was a member and served as President of the Tau Gamma sorority. After graduating OSU, Nelda went to work for then Standard Oil International in Tulsa where she met her husband, Donald who was a geophysicist who spent a career searching for oil.

Married in 1955, the couple soon embarked on a world-wide journey together. They were transferred in 1957 to Venezuela, where they lived for four years and started a family. They spent the early 1960s in Libya, then Donald was transferred to an oil camp facility in Indonesia, while Nelda and Donelda lived in Thailand where Don was born. The next several years were spent in Mozambique, Holland and Norway, with the family returning to the United States in 1970. After two years in New Orleans, the family settled in Palatine.

An avid bowler, bridge player, craft maker and Chicago sports fan, Nelda was a dedicated wife and mother who ran a tight household while Donald was away on extended business assignments. Family was always Nelda's priority as she never missed a sports game or other activity of her children and proudly doted over her grandchildren as her health increasingly declined the past few years.

In lieu of flowers, tax deductible contributions may be sent to Palatine Park Foundation, 250 E. Wood Street, Palatine, IL 60067, for the preservation of open space and scholarships for Palatine Park District activities.

   

Drew at one year 10 months and one year 5 months when he would frequently try on Daddy's shoes.

Now Will at one year and six months, all on his own, has taken up the same activity.

Grandma Danz gave Drew and Will bean bag chairs for Christmas, personalized and in each of their favorite colors...at least we think blue is Will's favorite color.

Will doesn't normally like to wear hats, we put them on and he knocks them off. Santa brought both Drew and Will train engineer hats, scarves and whistles. For whatever reason, Will does like to wear his train engineer hat. Will is taking a break from a tough morning of train engineering for some lunch and is also wearing his babysaurus bib.

Merry Christmas from Don, Mary, Drew and Will Danz.

Only one week left before Christmas! Is all your Christmas shopping done? Will and Drew are in their Best Buy shopping cart car enjoying some shopping at BB. Will says, "Honk, honk!"

Maybe it's Mary and me, but there is no way the child in the above photo is just a week past his fourth birthday. He looks 7 or 8 to us.

Drew and Will recently had their physicals and Drew is in the 97th percentile for height and Will is in the 75th percentile.

Drew is always saying cute or surprising things, and we think, "Oh, there's no way we'll forget that one!" But, come the next day, we can't remember. Here are a few that we were smart enough to write down:

During a boys' night together Drew, Will and I played just about every game and toy in the house. Finally we worked our way down to playing with my old Fisher-Price Creative Block Wagon which I had when I was just a toddler. We made everything shown on the box, a steamboat, a racer, a barn & silo, an animal and finally a birthday cake. I told Drew to make a wish and blow out the candles. After he blew out the pretend candles, I asked:

Daddy: So, what did you wish for?

Drew: I wished everything would stay the same forever.

Daddy: Me too Drew, me too.

When driving from Oklahoma to Kansas to visit Aunt Michelle, Uncle Matt and cousin Gillian, we kept noting out progress by calling out the towns and landmarks we were passing:

Daddy: We just crossed the border, we're in Kansas now.

Drew: (with great enthusiasm) Woo-hoo!

(This doesn't read funny, but it was at the time.)

At the reception after cousin Gillian's baptism:

Cousin Josh: There are four Joshes.

Drew: There are two Drews...me and the football player.

At dinner at home:

Drew: Is ketchup called "catch-up" because you throw up a tomato and catch it and it squishes into ketchup?

Continuing on from yesterday's post, each night after we brush teeth, we read stories before we go to bed.

One of the boys' favorite books right now is Good Night Gorilla. Will will pick up the book all on his own and laugh as he turns the pages and he'll laugh when Drew reads the book. Of course though, Will didn't laugh when the camera was on. Drew flipped through the pages pretty quick due to a combination of being on camera and being very familiar with the book. Be sure to listen for Drew changing his voice in proportion to the size of the dialogue balloons representing the different animals.

YouTube version after the jump.

Every evening after putting on jammies, we go upstairs to brush teeth. A while ago, without any encouraging, Will climbed up on the stool, pushed big brother aside, and looked around for his toothbrush. So, we got him one and, now, most evenings Will, on his tip-toes, joins Drew in brushing teeth.

After all the Thanksgiving turkey, it was time to burn off some calories so we were off to play in the Chicago fall leaves!

Drew found himself a comfy spot in a pile of fall foliage.

After we were all done playing, Will drew the short straw and had to rake up.

For Thanksgiving the four of us drove to Chicago to be with Ma Danz and Aunt Donelda…11 hours, 15 minutes, there and 13 hours back.

Donelda out did herself with a flawless Thanksgiving dinner.

Aunt Donelda and Drew enjoying their pumpkin pie. Drew's not a big pumpkin pie fan, but he didn't let it get in the way of him enjoying the whip cream. Will, however, being the chow-hound that he is, downed a ton a pumpkin pie!

Grandma Danz with her grandsons Drew and Will. A picture of the main course after the jump.

The picture doesn't begin to show how delicious everything was. I could literally have the same meal forever and never get tired of it. Besides a fifteen pound turkey, Donelda fixed (clockwise), stuffing, bread (the only thing not from scratch), candied yams, corn casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans. There was also cranberries but which, in keeping with tradition, I passed on.

Ma, Pa, Aunt Catherine and Uncle David came over tonight to help celebrate Drew's fourth birthday.

After a homemade dinner prepared by Mary, Drew got to blow out the candles on his "4" cake.

There was plenty of cake and ice cream for everyone, including little Will.

After dessert, it was time to read cards and open presents! We were all so exhausted from work and parties and preparation that we completely forgot to take a group photo...AAARRRGH! We'll have to get a group shot next time we are all over at Ma and Pa's. Thank you to everyone who sent in gifts and helped to make Drew's birthday extra special.

Today Drew turned four!

After dinner, we had a small celebration at home, just the four of us, with a little cake Drew picked out by himself at the grocery store.

After cake and ice cream, we opened presents and Drew even got to chat with Aunt Donelda while he opened one of his presents.

While everyone was eating cake, Drew said that his brother Will was one and that he was four. I asked Drew how much 4 + 1 was and he responded with great authority that it was 5. I then followed up by asking what 2 + 2 + 0 was and Drew responded with a smile 4. Next, Drew counted backwards from 10, counted to 10 by 2s "that's easy," spelled "stop," spelled "Drew," spelled his bothers name, recited our phone number and Daddy's cell number and then proclaimed, "now I want to open presents." Video to be added later.

Tonight we belatedly celebrated Pa's 62nd birthday.

Drew and Will helped their Pa blow out his candles. Interestingly, the cake had a series of fingerprints in the icing almost as if some small fingered person kept tasting the sugary topping. But even under intense interrogation, no one cracked, it will forever remain a mystery who did it!

Last weekend we drove up to Kansas City for cousin Gillian's baptism.

Gillian's baptismal dress was worn by her mother Michelle and all her aunts Mary, Angela and Catherine as well as her Grandmother and Great-Aunt and Great-Grandmother.

The Godparents are Margie and Dan, two good friends of proud parents Matt and Michelle.

The Youngman side of the family who were able to attend: Angela and Josh; Matt, Michelle and Gillian; Don, Mary Drew and Will; and Jim and Lorraine.

Grandpa and all of his grandsons: Drew, Will and Josh.

Mary and the star of the show, Gillian, taking a well deserved nap.

Halloween is fast approaching so it was time yesterday to make the annual visit to Pumpkin Town.

Drew and Will paused momentarily for a photo before heading off to more fun activities. The picture was taken under a large tent which produced the worst lighting, only after many adjustments in Photoshop are the boys even recognizable. The best displays are under the tent, but maybe next year the "group" photo will be outside.

The first thing Drew wanted to do was the inflatable slide, he was so excited. Let's just say it wasn't like last year's fun slide. This was Mount Kilimanjaro. First, just getting up to the top was quite a task, there were no steps to speak of just a strap-ladder that was very difficult to climb. Next, the slide was awfully steep. Drew commented at the top, "I don't know about this!" What looked like fun from the ground turned out to be a little too scary on the way down.

Will's Great-Grandfather was a farmer and I think he just may have a little bit of Spiv in him.

Despite my urgings to the contrary, Drew insisted the pumpkins were too heavy to lift.

Will picked a big one for his first attempt in the pumpkin lifting contest. He's going to have to wait a few more years before he can get that one off the ground.

Drew also got to ride a pony named Buster and both boys played in a hay fort, rode around in a wagon and other fun activities. Pumpkin town is always a fall favorite.

With this the seventh and final chapter covering our whirlwind tour of the Midwest this summer, we close with some family photos:

Donelda, Drew and Will show off their love for the Cubs!

Grandma Danz with her favorite grandkids Drew and Will.

The entire Danz family. Grandma Danz, Don, Mary with Will and Donelda with Drew. Grandma and Grandpa Danz were only children, Donelda doesn't have kids and, so, this is the entire extended family on the Danz side. Unless you up a level to Otto Danz who was one of eleven (ten surviving) children.

Previously: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI

Continuing on with Part VI of the summer's heartland tour, Aunt Donelda took mama and the boys on a tour of some of Palatine Park District's newest playground equipment.

Fearless Will attacked the slide the best way he knew how. Fortunately, Aunt Donelda was there for support.

The twisty slide proved to be a fast one as Drew flew around the final curve. Click "Continue reading" for the group shot.

Mary, Drew and Will were all smiles in the playground tunnel.

Continuing on with the adventures of the Danz family summer Heartland Tour, in the Chicago suburb of Palatine, we all got to go swimming at the newly renovated Birchwood Pool.

Besides a zero depth kids pool, there were all kids of sprinklers, sprays and water attractions. Will, completely fearless of the water, is testing out one of the sprinklers.

The most popular attraction was the shark slide. Here is Drew in the heart of the beast.

Will got to go down the shark with Daddy's help. Drew was a near non-stop shark slider.

Because so many lifeguards had already left for college, there wasn't enough staff to watch the busy Labor Day weekend crowd. So, Will and Drew had to take their turns in the lifeguard chairs.

Will, Daddy and Drew.

Aunt Donelda, without whom none of this would have been possible. with Drew and Will.

Click "Continue reading" for a shot of Daddy you've never seen before...

Mama caught Daddy precisely half-way in performing a one-and-a-half off the high dive.

On the second leg of the 2007 Heartland Tour Mary and the boys visited Mary's college friend Stacey and her three children, Jonathan, Nicholas and Alexandra in St. Louis. They were fortunate enough to time the visit to coincide with Alexandra's second birthday party.

Stacey with Alexandra and Will.

Will, Drew, Jonathan, Nicholas and Alexandra.

While at Aunt Michelle and Uncle Matt's, Michelle, Gillian, Mary, Drew and Will got to go to the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead in Overland Park, Kansas. Established in 1978, the Farmstead was designed to depict a turn of the century farm and the promotion of family values. The beautiful and diverse park was renamed in 1985 in honor of Overland Park police officer Deanna Rose.

Michell and Gillian take a milk break while Will relaxes in his travel stroller.

Drew really enjoyed the 1900s one-room schoolhouse and writing on a slate tablet. Other attractions include a 5,000 square foot dairy barn, an Indian encampment with a 600 log earthen lodge filled with artifacts and furs surrounded by tepees, a nature trail with a butterfly garden, chime garden and repose area, a Johnson County Master Gardeners area and a prairie playground.

Other activities at the Farmstead include pony and horse drawn wagon rides, a fishing pond, stream mining, goat bottle feeding and making schoolhouse crafts.

Will in the dairy barn pointing to a cow, something he doesn't get to see every day.

Click "Continue reading" to see selection of animals the kids got to see.

In Kansas City, we all finally got to meet Miss Gillian! Will knew exactly what to do with her...hug.

Drew was incredibly loving and gentle with Gillian. He checked out her little fingers, gave her pats and got an opportunity to hold and rock her. At one point, Gillian almost even went to sleep in Drew's arms.

Both boys agree...Gillian makes a great pillow.

But nobody is as comfy as mommy Michelle and daddy Matt.

Will, Drew and Gillian.

Mary, being some combination of crazy and a saint, all by herself, came up with the plan: (1) the four of us drive to Kansas City on Saturday to visit her sister, brother-in-law and their new baby, (2) I fly back on Sunday to work during the week, (3) she drives alone with the boys to St. Louis on Tuesday to see a friend and attend her daughter's birthday party, (4) she continues on alone with the boys to Chicago on Wednesday to see my mom and sister, (5) I fly to Chicago Thursday to spend Labor Day weekend together and, finally, (6) we all drive back to Tulsa on Monday.

Will enjoyed the trip with his new neck pads which really helped support his head while napping in his car seat. Between naps, Will watched DVDs, wrote on the Magna Doodle and played with a long procession of toys handed back to him from the front. Drew, seen here kicking back watching a DVD, was an incredible trooper.

In Drew's lap is his Star Wars Transformers Boba Fett & Slave I. Drew was such a good boy on the trip to Chicago and all the time there that we bought him the transformer to play with on the trip back. The package says it is for children 5+ years and Drew is only 3 1/2 so we didn't know if it would be too hard or frustrating for him...how wrong we were. We waited until we were outside Chicago before giving it to him in the hopes of maximizing it's entertainment value during drive through the flat cornfields of Illinois. After an hour we figured we had gotten more than our money's worth. After two hours of transforming back and forth and playing with the resulting ship and guy we were amazed. All told, the trip took 13 hours of which about 10 were driving and we figure Drew played with the transformer for total of about 5-6 hours! The Star Wars Transformer was easily the best purchase ever...and there may be some more in the boys' future...*wink* *wink*.

Around the Danz house, bath time is bubble time...at least when Daddy gives the baths.

The trick to maximize bubble creation is to violently swirl the water in one direction near the spout while the tub fills. This creates extra bubbles in addition to those made by the spout, moves bubble to the back of the tub where they build up and keeps the water under the spout from becoming diluted of precious bubble making goodness.

Click "Continue reading" to see the action shot.

A video of Drew from June of him eating ice cream and shivering. It's the cutest thing!

Geek note: the video was a little washed out due to the backlighting coming from the window. I've increased the brightness and the contract in an attempt to balance things out. The window is overexposed, but Drew looks better.

As always, inferior YouTube version after the jump.

Last week Mary, Drew, Will, Ma, Pa and Aunt Catherine visited Aunt Mary and Uncle Joe, cousin Kathy and son Nicholas, and friends P.J., Vickie and son Patrick in St. Louis, Missouri and Auntie Annie in Springfield, Illinois.

Will didn't care much for the long car ride but did find some time to catch some Z's.

Drew kept himself busy with a number of activities and, without any prompting, wrote his name along with a smiley face on his Magna Doodle which he proudly showed off.

When traveling with Ma and Pa, before even leaving the neighborhood, Drew will ask if they can put a movie on the DVD player. Sometime along the trip, Catherine noticed Drew was watching a movie but wasn't wearing his headphones...Drew was giving Baby Bear a turn with the "earmuffs."

Auntie Annie is still pretty spry for 95 and the boys and her got along great.

Drew, Will and Nicholas hit it off immediately and had a great time playing together.

Cousin Kathy was a favorite with Will.

Drew has been signing his name to cards for some time now and he just recently started practicing the other 22 letters. Here he is working on his I's and K's. He is very serious about his penmanship, note his furrowed brow in the picture on the right.

And, yes...he already writes better than I do.

Oh, and he's only three...WE WANT OUR LITTLE BOY BACK!!!

Everyone came over this evening for dinner and to celebrate Will's first birthday: Ma, Pa, Aunt Catherine and Uncle David.

After dinner, Will had his first ever taste of cake! We started out letting Will use his hands, but he had no interest in the cake, or so we thought. Then we gave him a spoon and he went at like a champion. Turns out he liked the cake just fine, he just didn't like using his hands.

First taste of cake was followed by first taste of ice cream. He'd never had anything frozen before so, at first, he was a little unsure. But, after a while, he realized ice cream is a good thing!

After dinner, the unwrapping began. Will wasn't too interested in unwrapping. He might have been a little tired from all the goings-on. Fortunately, Drew was able to assist with opening packages.

Happy family with 3 1/2 and 1 year olds. Thank you everyone for making Will's first birthday extra special.

Gillian Grace Madison was born today to Aunt Michelle and Uncle Matt! From their website A day in the life...:

Gillian Grace Madison was born at 10:10 pm on July 12, 2007. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. and measured at 19 1/2 inches long. She has a full head of jet black hair and the hair is about an inch long.

CONGRATULATIONS Matt & Michelle !!!

And, if you haven't noticed, Will and Gillian share the same birthday!

Will celebrated his first birthday today! We just had a small party at home with the four of us. With Drew's help, Will opened a few presents and some cards.

The Playskool Busy Ball Popper game was a big hit with both the birthday boy and his big brother.

Will got to talk to Ma and Aunt Donelda who wished him Happy Birthday. Will was very excited to finally be one year old.

Finally, we finished off the evening with some good old fashioned wrestling.

Eleven month old Will got his first ever haircut today.

In just a few minutes, Will went from baby curls to a handsome young boy.

Vimeo continues to upgrade and improve their video sharing service. I think it's superior to YouTube in a Betamax over VHS sort of way. Here is our latest upload:

Will is quite the peek-a-boo player. And, I guarantee you, he will remain interested in playing peek-a-boo long after you begin to wonder, "How long will he do this for?" That is...unless you get a camera. YouTube version after the jump...why, I don't know.

The other day Drew was doing some computing with Baby Bear.

After hearing what Mary thought was Drew talking to himself, she saw Drew teaching Baby Bear to use the mouse and was able to capture the moment.

Wow, you really can't tell these guys are brothers! On the left, Drew at 10 months (2 1/2 years ago) and on the right, Will at 10 months.

The ever crafty Mary recently painted name signs for the bedroom doors of Drew and Will. Drew even got to help out and very carefully, with amazing patience, painted his double-u.

At least to me, "Drew" looks a little askew in the picture but it is only an aberration as the actual letters on the door line up perfectly.

(Ever wonder why it's double-u and not double-v?)

Drew enjoying a peaceful Friday night blowing some bubbles in the back yard.

As you can see, Will very much enjoys his baths. He's just as good natured in the water as out. It's best to keep his hands busy though, otherwise he'll splash up a storm.

Will is a heat-seeking missile when he's asleep. Nothing will keep him from finding a warm body and cuddling up as close as possible. Once contact is made he'll continue to periodically drive his feet like a football player pushing a practice sled. In the photo, Drew and Will started out parallel. But, Will sensed his target, turned 90 degrees and drove himself into his brother. Drew in his soccer shirt and rosy cheeks was simply too tired to protest.

Drew has two phone talking modes: walking in circles and chilling out. Here he is showing off the latter. In the future, young ladies, don't be nervous talking to Drew on the phone, just imagine him holding Ted and Baby Bear.

After graduation yesterday and staying up all night at her senior retreat, Aunt Catherine continued her busy weekend with her last dance recital for Miss Shelly's School of Dance. She was in three recitals at 1:30, 5:00 and 8:00 p.m, and performed nine different dances in the final recital we saw including ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance.

Because the recital didn't start until bedtime, Drew was ready with Baby Bear...

...and Will was all decked out in his sleeper in the comforting arms of his Pa.

About a week ago Aunt Catherine received the Mother Teresa Award for "keeping the flame of her love alive through Christian service towards others" during her four years at Bishop Kelley High School.

Aunt Catherine had a pretty good senior year having been elected to Bishop Kelley's Homecoming Court and Maid of Honor, runner up to the Homecoming Queen. She was also recently selected as Student of the Month. Way to finish up strong. You did a great job closing out the Youngman legacy at Bishop Kelley.

Today, Aunt Catherine graduated Bishop Kelley High School and ceremonies were held at the Reynolds Center on the University of Tulsa campus where she will be attending this fall.

Here is the entire Youngman family. Ma and Pa, five children, three son-in-laws and four and one-half grandchildren. Ma and Pa put five kids through private high school, four though college with the fifth one on the way. I keep looking for the money tree in their backyard but haven't found it yet.

Happy Mothers' Day to...

Ma Danz...

Ma Youngman...

and Mama!

This is the calm during the storm.

Prior to and after the picture, Drew played conductor of his motorized Thomas the Tank Engine and Percy, while Will played Godzilla. At first Drew wasn't all too pleased when Will would pick up a passing engine or tear apart some track, until I explained that he was just playing Godzilla. After that, it was pretty fun. When Will would make a move for something, Drew would exclaim, "Oh no, Godzilla!"

Will excitedly waiting for Daddy to come home.

My sister Donelda Danz was inducted today into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame as a player.

Three thousand were in attendance at the annual ceremonies which recognizes outstanding achievement in news media, friends of basketball, coaches, teams, officials and players.

Donelda was a four year starter and star of the 1977 Fremd High School girls basketball team that took 3rd place in the first ever Illinois girls state basketball tournament where she was selected for the All-Tournament Team having scored the second highest number of points of all the players in the tournament.

Congratulations Big-D!

Not much blogging lately. Been doing too much of the above. Actually, you can never do "too" much of the above. So, more accurately, I've been doing it "instead."

Ma Danz with Will and Drew all dressed up in their Easter best.

Drew and Will posing with the Easter Bunny.

Ma Danz and Aunt Donelda are in town for Easter and everyone got in on the Easter Egg coloring tonight.

Drew took a very hands-on approach to his Easter Egg coloring. So, if you see him later this week with blue fingers, you'll know why.

The result of everyone's hard work and imagination!

We went out to dinner tonight and, as usual, Will was all smiles and attracted the attention of everyone around him.

Here is a close up of Will's two-tooth smile. Not quite ready for steak, but he does a fine job on Cheerios. His top teeth will probably start breaking through soon as the gums are beginning to show some white spots.

Just over a year ago I started the Danz Family Forums "as a place for all persons with the Danz surname and their immediate relatives to meet, exchange information and keep in touch." It has now grown to 19 members from as far west as California, east to Maryland, north to Wisconsin, south to Texas and even overseas to Germany. Through the forums, I've learned the identities of my great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents and found amazing photos I never knew existed. Hopefully, the forums will continue to grow and provide other Danzes with equally valuable genealogical information.

The forums are closed to all non-Danz family members. However, I have opened up the forum about famous and infamous Danzes to the general public. In there are posts about a New York police officer killed on 9/11, an author and television personality, a reality show apprentice candidate, a Nazi concentration camp guard war criminal (we can't all be good guys), a theologian and hebraist, an opera singer and even a Star Wars character. So, if you are interested, feel free to check it out.

Hopefully, someday soon we will stop calling Will, "Baby Will." For the time being though it fits...although every day it's becoming less and less fitting. I'd been meaning to get a photo of Will's wrist which for some reason just cracks me up. It looks like he has a rubber band around his wrist. Alternatively, it looks like a toy hand that snaps on and can rotates 360 degrees.

Will also moved up to a big boy car seat this month. His feet had been hanging over the ends of his infant car seat and, whenever I carried him in it, I worried that I'd hit them on something and hobble him like a scene out of Misery.

Finally, all day today, Will was talking up a storm. And so, here is a very important message from Will:

Inferior YouTube version after the jump.

You will notice Will is standing up. Just a few days, less than a week, after Will learned to crawl, he started pulling himself up. It was scary at first, because he didn't know how to sit down when he'd fall backward and would do a stiff-prone backwards fall with his head hitting anything that was in the way. Fortunately, he's now learned to sit down when he senses himself falling. It seems like he spends half his time standing around. He'll crawl over to Drew or to whoever is sitting on the couch and stand there content to play with whatever is in his reach...the remote is always a popular choice.

So, maybe it's not Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy but that's what first come to my mind. Big Brother Drew and Little Brother Will show off their matching shirts. Drew is very proud of his little brother and Will simply holds Drew in awe.

Drew and Will have just started taking baths together. In some ways it's easier and some ways...it's NOT.

Also, I've updated the "Dinner Prayer" post below with a video!