And so it begins

It's a historic moment for me. I'm introducing Dani to "A Charlie Brown Christmas" at this very moment. She's far less interested than I am, but I do see a slight sparkle in her eye. Maybe there's hope... maybe she's got the Christmas gene after all!!
At any rate, I figured I should show her who Pig Pen is so she can see why we call her that.
Good Grief, Charlie Brown!!

Swooshing

Dressing herself?

Our alone weekend

This is the big perk of being alone for the weekend. Making cookies and getting both beaters all to myself... yum!!

This is what Dani was doing while I was making cookies.

All our flowers are dead for the year (apparently you have to water them or something), but there are two beautiful roses that bloomed for our viewing pleasure.

Not sure what this is. It's been showing up all over the front and back yards and even in the driveway. Any ideas?

Dani loves her nature!

Our pretty trees... and there's Emma by the firepit looking cute as can be!

Dani was so proud of her new orange clogs, so we had to take a picture.

Daddy called and is having a great time in Kansas with Randy. All your girls miss you Daddy!

Pics from Grandma

Poor Grandma got dragged up there quite a bit!

Brushing da teeth!

She like to wear her pants low like a gangsta.

CHEESE!!

Never a dull moment

This is Danica's handywork. She was being a monkey on the chair; standing on it and rocking back and forth with her tummy against the back of the chair. In slow motion the chair went backwards and then over sideways. And not a peep out of her the whole time (she loves that kind of action). When she hit the ground I was sprinting toward her waiting for the cries, and all I got was a, "DOH!" (Homer Simpson style). What a kid. Notice Emma looking on in the top picture. I'd give my pinky toe to know what she's thinking most days. I'm sure it's something like this, "Honestly, what's wrong with these people??" Never have I seen a dog that can make you feel like an idiot with just one "you're a dumbass" look.

We were folding clothes and it turned into a trying on Mommy's undies thing.

She was caught in the act of ripping a page in one of her books today. As soon as she saw me looking scoldingly at her she says, "No ripping paper... YOU HEAR ME??" Now I ask you, how am I supposed to keep a straight face during that?!?!

Warm fuzzies

I love a good naptime day.
After reading "I Love You, Mouse" three times, I told Dani it was time for a snooze. While I picked her up and carried her to the crib, she looked up at me, gave me a gentle smooch on the lips, and said, "Night night sweetie pie."
It only takes a moment to make the whole day worthwhile.

The joys of fall

I just realized that I rarely blog if I don't have any pictures to share. That's so silly since there are things to share all the time! So here goes...
A few days ago we all went out to dinner (which is always an adventure). When we got home we decided (Dani decided) we should play outside a bit. We hardly ever venture outside in the evenings anymore, which is a shame since the weather is beautiful now in the evenings. Dani and I found ourselves in the way back of the yard where all the pretty yellow and brown leaves have fallen. So I took advantage and taught Dani how to swoosh through the leaves. WHAT A SOUND!!!!!! I'm convinced that the sound of dried leaves, the smell of fall, the soft evening light, and the crisp cool air is the ideal portal to back to childhood. I was immediately 6 years old with my mom, walking on Bennett Street. Going back in the house, I half expected a cup of hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows and some of Amma's Special K bars, but I guess I had already gone back through the portal... cuz a dirty diaper and whiny baby brought me back to reality. It was good while it lasted! And the thought of her someday teaching her daughter to swoosh through the leaves left me with some very watery eyes.

Deer

Weekend

Mornings are my favorite time of day!

What a profile!!

Yup, stuck again.

She was loving her new shoes and wanted Mommy to take a picture.

Loved the new gloves as well! It was in the 60's, but she insisted on wearing them outside that day!

SO happy Grandma came to visit!

There are dear back by the pole (hard to see), video to come in the future.

Having fun with Grandma.

Duane and I had lots of fun in Milwaukee, even though it was such a short trip. It sounds like Dani had lots of fun with Grandma while we were gone. When we got back, she definitely let us know how she felt about our absence!! Although it's always hard to be away from our precious girl, it made it much easier knowing she was home with Grandma safe and sound and having a great time. Thanks Mary!

Playhouse

@$&% #@&*

She LOVES to brush her teeth and LOVES to put on Daddy's hat.

Look closely in the playhouse window. Where's Waldo?

She has so much fun in this playhouse, it's impossible to get her to go back inside.

Having fun in her house.

This was an Austin Powers moment. She somehow got the car stuck between the couch and the coffee table. Forward an inch, backward an inch, forward an inch, backward an inch.

Help?

I've been debating whether or not to tell this story, as I'm afraid what you'll all think of me and my friends. But it's just too funny not to tell. I brought Dani to work with me the other day so I could meet with my manager for a bit. Dani usually plays on her own in the playroom while we work, so I wasn't too concerned with her whereabouts. My manager Cheryl, the office manager Brianna, and I were just chatting about random things. Somehow the conversation got around to a subject we probably shouldn't have been talking about at work. Cheryl was telling of a friend of hers that does something disgusting with her husband (you'll catch on in a minute). She said, "Ya, I told my friend that her husband is gonna get a ---- ----." Dani must have been right outside the door, because she came in, looked at us, and said very matter-of-factly, "POOP DICK!" I nearly vomited from laughter. I guess it's time to censor the conversations.

Party pictures

Watching Barney and rocking away!
Get outta the way, dude!

This is my boss Cheryl, her husband Lance, and their neice Bella.

Dani and Bella hugging (Dani's on the right)

I just put this on to show how darn fast these little ones are. When I started pushing down the button on the camera, they were still hugging. When the picture flashed, Bella was off and running! Either I'm turning into Amma or that's a seriously fast toddler!!

Super Readers!!

Danica has a new favorite cartoon called Super Why. The other night Duane and I were reading her stories, and apparently we weren't exciting enough, cuz she yelled out, "Super Readers to the rescue!!!" That's one of the catch phrases of the show. That's the first time she's ever quoted a t.v. show like that, and it took us about 10 minutes to stop rolling on the floor laughing at her.

We had our party yesterday. It was a lot of fun. A few of the people couldn't make it, so there weren't as many kids there for Dani to play with, but the one that counted was there! Her bestest friend, Bella (you may know her as Bel-la-la). OH BOY was she excited to see Bella! They were awfully cute together playing all day. They even got a few hugs and mooches together! We had a pretty good turnout... about 16 or 17 people came and brought some yummy food and fun games. Dani and I cleaned up this morning and all that's left are a couple more sneaky flies. But I'll get those buggers!!!! How do flies know when you're going to get the fly swatter? That's what I'd like to know. I think we greatly underestimate the brain of a fly.

Random pictures

Our new potty! Dani says, "Wanna go pee?" Not sure who taught her the word pee. I'm trying to change it to "potty," but she's pretty stuck on pee. ??
No training yet... just getting used to the potty and sitting on it with clothes on for now.

Cutie little Emma all cuddled up in the blankie. How can you not love her???

Big D and Little D... reading and brushing teeth.

CHEESE!!!!

Love those piggies!

Dani found the word no. A couple days ago she started trying it out on Daddy. Now everything is a big fat, "NO!!!!" And it's not a nice polite no, it's a screaming in your face no. UGH!!

Cabin fun

Checking out the murky water at the pond. You can see Spike in the background hunting for frogs.

ICK!! I had to let go of my own yuck issues and just let her have fun in the muddy water. Lucas is in the background having a great old time playing in the mud.

The fishing gang - Owen, Jack, Lori (the mom), Ella, and the one posing is of course Danica. The girl can work a camera!!

Precious!

Not so precious!

The girls had SO much fun playing in the dirt. They took bowls full and dumped on their heads (obviously), and also dumped on Emma. We all took baths when we got home!

Did you call me a redneck?