Music

Hi all!
You'll notice there's now music on the blog. If you don't want to hear it or can't hear the videos over it, you can click on the pause button on the right side of the screen to stop it. Thanks for the inspiration Jill!!
I picked these songs because they make me feel joyful, and these are the songs that go through my head when I see my sweet girl. I hope they make you feel the same!! Enjoy!

Daddy's home!

What a welcome Daddy gets!

Stayin Alive

We LOVE it when Daddy's home to dance and play!!!

GRRRR!!!!!

The naked bandit strikes again.

Oh geez

Well, I've just been french kissed by my 2 year old daughter.
I was petting Emma and she gave me a couple puppy kisses on the nose. So Danica came over to get some attention too. She puckered up her lips to give me a kiss, so I leaned in to kiss her, and all I got was tongue. Apparently she liked the way Emma does it better. I got a big old lick on the lips, then a lick on the shoulder, then the couch got a couple french kisses too.
One of us is going to need a lot of therapy after this one.

WE MISS YOU DADDY!!!!!!!!

Okay parents, this one you'll definitely relate to. Remember the times when you had to be the tough guy parent, but your kid was so dang funny that instead of being tough you laughed your butt off?
Dani's been in her crib for an hour now, not sleeping. She usually goes right to sleep, so I'm not sure what's keeping her up. I've gone in a couple times to tell her to stop playing and take a snooze. I hadn't heard anything for a while and thought I was in the clear to take a shower. On my way to the bathroom I heard this boom, boom, boom, boom. Sounds familiar... I slowly opened her door and sure enough, she's jumping in her crib having a good old time. She didn't see me open her door so I said, "That's enough, lay down and go to sleep." Before I got out my first word she plopped down on her tummy (from mid-jump), face down and eyes closed. I'm hoping she didn't see or hear me start laughing on my way out of the room.
Sometimes I wish there were cameras following her every move because I'm sure I don't do justice to her hilarity.

Fun with family

Duane and Dani went to Garrison Saturday for the buffalo feed - I stayed home because I'm sick... again!! They had a great time with the rest of the family.

Oh boy, don't they look like angels? They're practicing their "We didn't do it" faces for the teenage years.

Sitting in the teddy bear chair with her best friend, blankie!

Looks like someone got to go sledding!!!

Dani must've had a great time because she's still talking about everyone and can't wait to see them all again.

Last night we got to see Grammy, Papa, Amma and Afi too. Amma spent the evening with us while the rest went to the basketball game. When Dani woke up this morning she said, "Wanna go see Amma?" She was pretty upset to learn that they didn't spend the night.

nursery rhymes

Dani is enjoying her nursery rhyme book lately. The last one she says is Ring Around the Rosie, in case you didn't get that. I was reading it for her the other night and got quite disturbed at one. Take a read:

Goosey Goosey Gander where shall I wander, Upstairs, downstairs and in my lady's chamber. There I met an old man who wouldn't say his prayers, I took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs.

WHAT?????!!!

Goofball

This is how Danica's been waking us up in the morning:
In her most sing-songy voice she yells, "Moooommmyyyy, it's meeeeeee, Danicaaaaaaa, waiting for you to come get meeeeeeee!!"
And now everything's become a web site with her. When she wants to watch a certain cartoon she asks, "Wanna watch sem street dot org slash kids?" "PBS kids dot org slash kids?"

Peek-a-boo

A fan favorite at bedtime... next I'll try to get the Barnyard Dance on video.

A good workout

At first I thought they were just "puttin out the vibe," but after I realized they were stretching, I figured it was a Kodak moment.

Stretching out her "hammie" just like Daddy.

A nice thigh stretch.

Feel the burn!

One more!

Daddy's teaching her how to show off her guns (muscles for you older folk).

I'm not so sure she understands... but she's definitely got the face down!

The puppy pound

We puppysat for some friends on Friday and Emma was not thrilled about it.

She spent a lot of time hiding behind Mommy's legs.

Ace Ventura - pet detective

(and yes, that's a different dog - we puppysat for a different dog on Saturday)

The Pritchard genetics strike again

Well, I just made my first call to the poison control center. I knew having that number posted would be handy some day!
Danica found our hand sanitizer up on her dresser and was having a sweet old time with it. I asked her if she ate some and she said yes, so I smelled her breath and she smelled suspiciously sanitized. I remember getting an e-mail a few months back about this very thing. It said to get rid of all hand sanitizer in the house because kids eat it (cuz it smells good) and the alcohol in it can get them drunk or worse. Guess I didn't listen too well, cuz we didn't get rid of it.
Not to worry though. The nice lady told me what to do - give her a sugary drink and a snack and watch for signs of drunkenness. ???? Drunkenness??? I knew this day would happen... she is my child after all, but so soon?
It's been over an hour, and not a slurred word has been spoken, not a tumble, not a trip, and she hasn't asked for a cigarette. So I think we're in the clear.

Building safely

Safety first!

"Hmmm, let's build something!"

Sweet baby Brenna!

Learning

Watching a little person learn new things is so fun.
Danica has such a thirst for knowledge, and I'm amazed at her 'study skills.' She often will ask, "What's this?" I tell her what it is and she repeats it a few times, like, "It's a post-it, it's a post-it." Then she teaches someone else what it is (the best learning technique for anyone). She'll go show Emma and say, "Look, it's a post-it!"
I'm happy to think that maybe she's got her Grammy's smarts and hopefully will keep up her good study habits as well.

FYI

As Danica is enjoying her snack of bluedablewwies (did ya get it?), I'll share a bit of knowledge that I gained today. Just like with people, if dogs have the hiccups, scaring them gets rid of it. The dog will most likely be really ticked off and want to eat your face, but it won't have the hiccups anymore!

Older, but not always wiser

It's 9:30 pm, and Danica has duped us once again.
Scene: Me in the bathroom, Duane in the living room, Danica in bed
We hear, "MOMMY! Got poops Mommy! MOMMY? Got poops?"
Slight concern from all parties since there has been considerable (and very unpleasant) diarhea the past few days.
Duane was in there before I got there. Lights on, Dani fully awake, diaper and wipes ready, jammies coming off. No poops! She got us.
Operation Never Sleep Again is in full swing with Danica as the evil 2-year-old mastermind.

Turkey

I've just been outsmarted by a toddler. She came up to me and said, "Got a poops Mommy, change a diapes?" So we went to change her diaper. She asked for a wipe (she loves to play with them... and 'clean' with them) and I proceeded to change her diaper. There was no poops!! She just wanted a wipe. In the words of Joe Pesci in Home Alone, "I think we been duped by a kindeegadena."