A-Choo!

Woe is me. There will be no New Year's celebration for me tonight. I got sick. All the running around caught up with me I guess. But I'm getting what everyone wants when they're sick - my mommy!!!! Grammy and Papa are coming to babysit tonight. It was going to be just for Danica, but now they'll also be babysitting the biggest baby of the house. Me!

Cute update:
Danica's latest habit is waking us up with some very loud demands. She starts by saying, "Watch Elmo (or Dora or what-have-you) on t.v.!" We don't go in of course because we're still delusional enough to think that she'll go back to sleep if ignored. So after 10 seconds of no mommy or daddy, she says a little louder, "Watch Elmo on t.v.!!!!" Nothing. So she YELLS, "WATCH ELMO ON T.V.!!!!!!!!!!!!" One of us gives up pretending we're asleep and goes to get her. But I'm considering trying a little experiment soon. Just how loud will she go? Lets wait and see.

Pics from Ali

Grandpa and two of his girls... he's running out of arms!!

There was a hug... I just wasn't quick enough.

Weird guy in a red suit? Not a big fan of his.

Already got that Pritchard (Freeman?) rhythm!!!

Having a tea party!

Having a tea party and watching porn?

Already these girls are trouble!

Grandpa being a goof.

Pics complements of Grandma

There's no place like home

Dani's new dollhouse

Doesn't he know it's dangerous to fall asleep with the stove on?

The "sunglasses" - a.k.a. goggles - were a favorite of hers at Grandma Doris' on Christmas day.

Her puppy bag is lots of fun. She takes the puppy out and puts the bag on her head. ??

Amma and Dani having a nice quiet moment together.

Boy, that is a very serious game!

Helping Grammy with the dishes!

What a mean Grammy - putting my babies in a box to ship them away. I know she was teething and cranky and all, but geez Grammy!!

We had a great time in Bottineau for our Christmas celebrations #4 and #5. It was great to see the Sandens and Yarkes again for Christmas Eve! We all survived the chaos with very little bodily damage. Christmas day at Grandma Doris' house was just as bustling... again, survival was our main focus. The next night brought a night out on the town for us - the first in a very long time! It was great to see old friends again.

Saturday took us to Bismarck for our celebration #6. We had a short but very nice time with the O'Shea family. We decided to cancel our celebration #7 for Dani's sake and for our own sanity. We were planning to go to Flasher to see Melonie, an old friend of mine who hasn't met Dani yet. Thankfully she understood completely - we love empathy!!

We all had lots of fun seeing everyone, but it sure is nice to be home again too!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
What a great way to celebrate all that God has done for us! By getting together with family and friends and eating, drinking, and being merry. We're looking forward to getting to Bottineau tonight to see some family we haven't seen in a long time. Dani is especially excited to see Averie and Tate! And I'm vowing to remember my camera this time so I can actually capture some of those precious moments. Stay tuned...

sassy sick girl

Dani and I went out to Target this morning to get some sick-friendly items (yep, she's sick). On the way out, we had quite a hike to get to the van, and then some under-the-breath cussing from Mama as I tried to get her and everything else in the van before I froze to death. Once I got in I asked her, "Can you believe we moved here... what were we thinking?" And without missing a beat she yelled, "NOTHING!!" Wise beyond her years, that one.

Playing with her new toys

Having so much fun with her tent!

She got her very first Bobby (Barbie) from her cousin Anna.

And there's her new Dora DVD (or DD, as she calls it) in the background.

This weekend when we were at Kate & Gary's (the BIG Klabunde Christmas), Dani was walking down the stairs, and I was trying to help her because they were hardwood and slippery. She said to me, "I can do it! All by myself! Watch dis!!"

Too cute.

Tis the season!

Christmas #1 and #2 are now a memory. We had a GREAT time in Garrison this past weekend. Saturday we spent the day with all of Duane's family. Danica had a wonderful time playing with Hannah and ignoring baby Brenna. :)
We had a very yummy dinner of Oyster stew (didn't try it), Nefla soup (did try it... very yum), and chili burgers (OF COURSE I TRIED IT!). Then we opened gifts downstairs by the Christmas tree. Hannah and Danica were very helpful passing out gifts to everyone... boy, was that cute!! And they were VERY excited to open their presents. Everyone got some very nice gifts. Danica's favorite so far is a Dora tent that Grandma and Grandpa bought her with a tunnel attached. I'm sure it will make for hours of fun, and for that, I THANK YOU!!! :)
Yesterday was spent at Kate (Brian's sister) and Gary's new beautiful, and very big, house. Dani had the best time running around with all the kids. The first hour or two were pretty shy, and then we don't know what happened, but she became the life of the party! All the way back to Minot last night she was talking about playing with the kids. She was so wound up, she wouldn't go to sleep! Not the greatest end to a great weekend, but it'll do.
Now we have a couple days of rest, and then off to Bottineau for Christmas #4 and #5... #3 is spent with just our immediate family Tuesday night.
Hopefully some very nice brothers and sisters will send us some pictures soon so we can post them... I forgot my camera, of course.

Serenity

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next."
Amen.

During all this hustle and bustle, I think remembering this prayer can be very helpful. I especially need help with the part about taking the world as it is, not as I would have it. I struggle with wanting things and people to be a certain way... the way I want them to be or think they should be. When really they are the way they are supposed to be. God's way, not my way. What do you struggle with?

Kind of amazing

I took Danica to K-Mart this morning because there was a gift that I could only buy there. I don't think I've ever in her life taken Dani there before. We drove into the parking lot and she said, "Going to K-Mart?" HUH????? So I asked her, "what?" And she said again, as plain as day, "Going to K-Mart?" Whenever we go to Target or the Mall or the grocery store she always tells me where we are, but we've been to those places many times. I have no idea how she even knows what K-Mart is. But I'm a little bit amazed by her.

No more naked!

Sweet success! I put Dani's jammies on inside out so she couldn't unzip, and it worked. I just checked on her, and she's a sleeping beauty fully clothed!!! WOO-HOO!!!!!! It's a small but meaningful victory for all of motherhood.

Chillin'

Our girl sure does know how to lounge!

Always got her shawl on... and a hat. She's very into style. ;)

We're having a lovely little girls' time now that Daddy's gone for a couple days. Although I think Dani is wanting some testosterone around. She started asking to go see Papa, then to go see Grandpa and then to go see Afi.

A bunch of clowns

Tonight we're going to try putting on her jammies inside out. Say a prayer that it works!

Walter Mathow and Jack Lemmon are in my kitchen putting in a range hood. Who needs t.v. and movies when you've got this kind of entertainment!!

The pee parade

Last night brought another night of putting clothes back on our nudist and cleaning up pee. She's getting good now... learning how to spray it all over. It was on her sheets, the crib rails, and the floor. I'm trying to think of a way to keep those jammies on... safety pins, sewing on snaps, etc... Any ideas?

Exhibitionist

We're really battling with our little nudist. We're having to go in and check on her while she's still awake so we can catch her in "the act." It's happened a couple times now. If anyone's been through this with their kids, let me know what you did. She seems to think it's pretty darn funny. Last night as I layed her down for the night, I told her to keep her clothes on... don't take off the jammies. She cracked up laughing at me and gave me a very unsettling, "okay." Two minutes later we heard over the monitor, "MAMA! Clothes!!" Yep, they were off. Sheesh!

We went to Duane's uncle Jay's house yesterday so Duane could watch football and Dani could play with the kids. She had so much fun... even though she was a mute for the first 2 hours! She was so excited about it, she layed awake in her crib until after 10:00 last night! Just couldn't settle down I guess. Or maybe she was just figuring out a master plan on how she can be naked all the time without getting caught.

Her first hair cut!

Being such a big girl before her very first haircut!

She wasn't quite sure what to think.

She kept her head down the whole time with a very pessimistic look on her face.

Starting to get a little worried now... a little pouty.

My cute girl and her new bangs!!

Getting the pouty lip out... hurry up lady!!

And it's a whole new you!!! What a beauty! She was so good and so brave. We kept her little locks of hair and they even gave her a certificate for us to put in her baby book.

Everyone in the mall was going, "Aaawwww!"

Labeling

She goes through spurts where she has to label everything for me. I think she thinks I'm an idiot and don't know what anything is. Maybe she's right. Maybe all the toddlers are right!

Loving the new house

She's been insisting on wearing this hat the past couple days.

She's loving Averie's old Dora robe.

Another hat she found!

Such a cute outfit from her big cousin Averie!