I just have to say that as a parent you "re-learn" everything...from a new perspective. I have to give credit to my Mom and Dad. Getting up on Christmas and putting out the spreads we used to get could not have been easy, especially trying to keep 3 kids who are doing their best to hear Santa Claus jump down that chimney from waking. It's hard for me even to get up....and be quiet....and I can't IMAGINE putting together toys all night. We will (hopefully) always have everything put together and batteries inserted before the big delivery.
We woke up around 1am to lay out the toys and Daniley popped up and said "I WANT TO TAKE A SHOWER!" (That's our normal early morning routine.) No showers on Christmas Eve at 1am, dear! "GO BACK TO SLEEP" so we can get this over with and get back to bed. :-)

Christmas around lunch we then headed off to Pleasant Grove, to Honey and G-Paw's house. There were a lot of family there, so it was hard to get a lot of pictures just because the view wasn't often clear. Honey and G-Paw gave us a marvelous Christmas, not too big, not too small, but just right. I was pretty happy that all Daniley's presents fit in one bag (even if it was huge). Honey did a marvelous job picking out just the right things...her favorites were the flashlight and princess chapstick.
Introducing the Gorilla Fairy
Christmas night, she would NOT go to sleep. So at 10ish, Dad gave up and took her to watch her new Tinkerbell movie. She stayed up for its entirety, and finally crashed at 11:30pm. (I know, ridiculous. But it's Christmas. They do whatever they want to, right?) :-)

Finally, the morning AFTER Christmas, we went to LeLe's. Danson (my "little" brother) got a new toy.
Daniley had a fit, a nap, a couple of presents, some hot chocolate, and then a bang trim.
She LOVES nothing more on this planet than getting a hair cut. She can be in the middle of the biggest fit you ever saw and you say "Do you wanna get your hair cut?" and the world just seems to stop for her. :-)

Christmas morning, Daniley slept until about 7am. She didn't wake up remembering Santa came. So I told her. She didn't seem to care. Then we went to potty, and suddenly, she started yelling I NEED TO GO IN THERE. I NEED TO GO IN THERE. Here's me trying to hold her back. We had intended for Dad to be there first waiting with the camera, but unfortunately our 2 year old can outrun our 33 year old. :-) So this is what we got: And here's her Christmas spread. It's not too overboard in my opinion. The mucho expensivo Pottery Barn washer and dryer I bought off my company classifieds for only $55. I got her several things from yard sales too so that helped control the budget! :-)

Christmas Eve, we had dinner at my house with Mawmaw, Pawpaw, and the crew. Notice Daniley's display of jewels as the slideshow progresses. Every time she opened a present she had to stop and put it on or play with it. Then you see her giving Pawpaw a cupcake out of her bakery Aunt Brooke bought her. It is so cute! She's been playing in it a lot. She's starting to pretend on a fairly deep level. We're going to make her some shelves to go in there so she can serve all her family and friends.

Wednesday night before Christmas we went to Zoolight Safari. There we met Honey, Jenn, Jeff, James, and Eli. We had a rockin' good time. Daniley was wild as a buck, as she tends to be when she gets around Honey's crew. She just gets so excited she can't control herself (and I can't control her either, LOL). She can't even walk (only run). And if you think Ms. Independent is going to have her hand held you might as well rethink. (But she will hold James' hand.) She "petted" the chicken in the Safari and it bit her. Response? Hysterical laughter. I'm tellin' ya, she ain't scared a nuttin'. :-)

Bailey, our cat, lets Daniley just absolutely abuse him. He has never scratched her or tried to bite her, even when she pulls his skin nearly OFF and bents him into an octagon. She gets so excited and tickled when we let him in and let her carry him around (which is rare). She says over and over, "I love you Bailey Buddy." It's so sweet. These pictures are not of her just picking him up. This is how she carries him. (Bless his heart, LOL). I rescued Bailey from the sewers in Birmingham when he was a kitten, so he's just happy to have a nice home.

Sunday was wonderful. The day after the Christmas party Daniley slept until 9am. I cannot ever remember her sleeping that late. So of course we all slept that late. I was hoping to attend early service for church but needless to say, we did not make it. Not long after I woke up I noticed it was snowing. So we got Daniley all bundled up--3 layers, and sent her out with her Daddy to play in the snow. After a few minutes, I noticed them from the sunroom window where I waved and smiled. As I stood there, I just thought about how lucky I was to be standing in my warm sunroom with the Christmas lights twinkling beside me, watching my beautiful child and her wonderful Daddy playing out the window. Daniley is so special and sweet. I love the small moments that we have together, the playing, the laughing, the conversations, the singing, I love it all. I love her manners, when she says please and thank you, and "May I PLEASE....?" I love when we look in the mirror and I say, "How do you look?" and she replies, "Perfect." She is. I pray for her future, her safety, her health, her wellbeing. We are blessed more than words can describe.

20 weeks (about 5 months)--half way there.
Well if you are offended by "crude" images, then you might want to click off now. LOL. I woke up Saturday morning feeling somewhat decent (translation: I didn't have to RUN to the kitchen to eat in order avoid vomiting!) So I had a few minutes to document a health phenomenon. LOL. This is me, when I woke up, my stomach was basically empty, and granted, I'm "sucking it in" as much as possible. Looks pretty "skinny." (Think relatively people! It's at least smaller than my a$$)And then here I am again Saturday night, after a long day, no "great" eating, just enough to get by. And here, I am not sucking in, but I ain't pushing out either. Enjoy! LOL.Oh what a difference a day makes!

Praise God for Daniley's wonderful grandparents (and greats)! We love you all!

The Christmas party was AWESOME. I had sooooo much fun. I think everyone had a really great time. It was so meaningful to be able to spend time at Christmas with family and good friends. All of Daniley's little friends are just so sweet and precious!! We thank you all for coming and look forward to seeing you next year. I will add more pictures later...I haven't gotten around to cleaning off my camera card yet! I have lots more stories to tell. Check back soon.

Here is my FAVORITE STORY from this weekend.
We have two picture books that stay in the coffee table. Occasionally, Daniley will get one out and flip through it and narrate as she turns the pages. Last night, she got out the one that Maurice made for me. The first page has a picture of me holding Daniley when she was just a few days old. She got the book and laid under the Christmas tree, illuminated only by the Christmas lights. I sat watching and admiring her. She opened to the first page, and said, "Once upon a time there was a lovely Mom." Then she bent her head down and kissed herself in the book, and then she kissed me in the book. I am so glad I was there with her at that moment, and I hope I never forget how I felt.

I don't have access to my pictures right now, and I have lots to post from a very busy weekend! I'll catch up with that soon. Until then, here's a little conversation from the weekend that made it GREAT!
Daniley, in Santa's lap.
Santa: Have you been a good girl this year?
Daniley: Yeh, I've been good at evewything I do. (This is the line that nearly made me lose control. LOL)
Santa: You've been good at everything you do? Well, then, what do you want for Christmas?
Daniley: PWESENTS!!
(I got this on video...will post if it is audible.) :-)

Saturday morning, trying to take a picture of how skinny I looked (lol)
Mom: Dan, what's wrong with this camera?
Dad: I don't know, let me see. (He gets it and looks at it.)
Daniley: Dad, what awr you figuwin' out?
(Not really all that funny, but unexpected word choice from her.)

Monday morning, getting ready for work.
Daniley: Dad, what this?
Dad: I think it's [whatever it was] (I can't remember, sorry).
Daniley: Hmmmm, smawt thinkin'!
(I swear when they start talking you never quit laughing!!!!)

So, Daniley's stingy, a little more stingy than all the other 2 year olds. I don't like it, but I realize it. I know what some of you have been thinking....if she were in daycare, she wouldn't act that way. Well that may be so. Do I think it would be great if she has social skills when she enters kindergarten? Absolutely. Do I think she needs to be socially DEVELOPED by the time she enters kindergarten? Absolutely not. She has 13 years of school to learn to deal with people. People often ask me if I am going to put Daniley in daycare, like she isn't going to "turn out right" if I don't. I believe that is a complete misconception. Are stay-at-home mom's under pressure to put their kids in daycare? I don't feel like they are. Most people see this as the ideal solution to raising children and would do it if they could. My mom and grandma are the next best thing for Daniley, so really what is the difference? Do I think that strangers can take care of Daniley better than my mom and grandma? Heck no! Do I love not having to pick Daniley up if she throws up or has a fever, Heck yeh! Yes, she is missing a certain set of skills, but she is also learning a certain set of skills. She can ride a horse, feed chickens, help set a fence post, pick vegetables (especially collards) from the garden, she knows when the 4-wheeler breaks you put a screwdriver in it or take it to Perry Willis (yes, she calls him by name). She knew her colors and numbers before she could talk, and now she can even spell her name. She can take a book we have read and flip the pages and tell you what it says very accurately. She has the verbal skills of some kids twice her age. Some of this is because she is smart, (I wonder if some of it is due to breastmilk, just because they say it makes babies "smarter"), and a great deal of it is due to the attention she gets at her grandmas' houses! I love my daycare arragements. If they don't work out, I'll have NO PROBLEM putting Daniley (back) in daycare. But until then, I'll be counting my blessings and thanking God for people who love Daniley and look forward each day to caring for her! (And just to clear up another common misconception, I DO pay for my daycare, not because I have to but because I choose to.) And about Daniley being stingy, I'd rather Daniley fight for what she wants than stand there and cry when someone takes it away. As long as no licks are passed, children should have a shot to work out their own problems, even if they are only 2 years old. That methodology is what makes Daniley as independent as she is, even if it gets her in trouble sometimes. I thought I was going to have to send some adults to time out at the Christmas party for trying to solve all the problems themselves! ;-)

Friday Daniley and I ran errands...until we dropped. Saturday we went to Alabaster's Christmas parade and I have to say it was SPECTACULAR. Daniley LOVES parades. She had so much fun. Even Dan and I had fun. The parade lasted an hour. Longest parade I've ever been to. We got TONS of candy. I can't wait to go again next year.

We had plans to go to Columbiana's Christmas parade Saturday afternoon. (Yes, that's two parades in one day.) However, LeLe called Saturday morning and said that she had fixed Daniley up a "ride" and wanted her to be in the parade. I saw no problem with that. Didn't know if she'd cooperate but I always try something before I say NO. (That's called gaining experience, and it makes you wise.) Anyway, her car was SO CUTE and she did fine until she passed by me, then she just wanted her Momma. So they exited the parade about half way through the loop. :-) She was definitely the cutest "float" in the parade.


Sunday afternoon I cooked (Dan grilled the meat) for Honey's late birthday lunch. It was delicious, at least I thought so. I didn't want "china" when I got married but I recently inherited some from Honey's folks and I wanted to eat on it for the first time on a very special occasion. It was very fine. And for those of you who think I can't cook--that's not at all the case. It's just that I don't usually want to. :-) When I cook I think everything should be fresh. Nothing comes out of a can. We had filet mignon tenderly cooked on the Weber, sweet salad with sugar roasted pecans, strawberries, and raspberries, rice pilaf with fresh onion strips, baked potatoes with all the trimmings, smoked mushrooms, rolls with cinnamon butter, and for dessert, berries with homemade whipped cream. For the first time in the pregnancy, I felt like I couldn't eat another bite. :-) Happy Birthday Honey!!!!!

Daniley called me yesterday from LeLe's, and said very dramatically, "MOM, I WANT YOU! BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU IS!!" I busted out laughing! (and who taught her ebonics? CRISSSSYYYYY!!!!!!!!) lol

Today Daniley helped me put lights on the Christmas tree. You can see the part she did all by herself. :-) (oh yeh, and if you are wondering, my tree is upside down.)

This afternoon we went to Book and Unc's for hamburgers. They were delicious (in fact I'm eating a take-home right now!). :-) I loved all the food. My sister JoAynn makes the most FABULOUS baked beans, and Brooke made fruit salad. And we had chips and dip, which I really like right now. (When I feel sick at times I eat nothing but that for a whole meal.) Then we had cupcakes. Then we watched Cinderella. Thanks to Brooke for checking on "Disappearing Daniley" a few times. I LOVED just laying lazily on the couch.

Saturday night James AND Eli spent the night with us. After a 2 hour nap by three kids, we went to Chick-fil-A for dinner where Daniley and James were jumping on the seats like a trampoline and yelling and giggling like there might not BE a tomorrow. I was feeling a little, uh, weird, like people were staring at me thinking "Good Gracious do you know what birth control is?" I had 3 kids 2 and under and I'm pregnant and there is no hiding it. One kid was eating chicken, one was eating boogers, one was eating crayons, and one Momma was eating words. (Ok, actually no one ate boogers, at least not that I could see.) Well after a bit a Grandpa came over to our table. He said, "You know when I was your age I used to worry about how my kids acted. Then when I got to be a grandparent I realized that they are ALWAYS cute...so just quit worrying about how they're acting." So after his advice, I continued to....try to keep them under wraps. LOL. We just needed to get enough chicken down that I could actually say Yes, I fed them dinner. Then off to the play area we went! It was too bad I didn't take my camera.
When we got back home, we just played inside. All three of them played on the slide and even Eli went down.



After a bit it was bedtime. Daniley and James were going to sleep together. They seemed pretty happy with their arrangements but Daddy missed Daniley so he brought her to our bed.
When we woke up, we had breakfast and then went for a bath. Did they make a huge mess? Absolutely. Did they have a great time? Double absolutely. Eli stood on the side of the tub the whole time and watched. I had a beanbag behind him in case his legs gave out but it was much too interesting to fall down and miss the action.

Then, we headed home....
...and they confirmed they all had a good time. :-)