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. :-)

At a birthday party last weekend before going off to Honey and G-Paw's for the night.

Weekend before last we went to the parade and fireworks at the Summit. It was part of their lighting ceremony. We had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (overrated in my opinion), then ran around the shops a little bit, then saw the parade and fireworks. We saw some cool characters in the parade, including people 20 feet tall, Dora, Elmo, and of course SANTA!! The parade was smaller than I expected. The fireworks were great. We all had a good time.

Daniley running through Baby Gap.
Daniley admiring herself in the mirror....
...then noticing her Daddy was peeking.
My newest sister-in-law Brooke joined us for the parade. She is so good to Daniley.
When Daniley saw Dora, she just ran into the parade to give her a hug.

Daniley loves her Dad, and she loves doing everything he does. She works with him in his garden, plays with him on the Wii, and recently she has become quite fascinated with working in his basement. She will go down there and sit for an hour. She loves to "fix" stuff. I have caught her with screwdrivers in the four-wheeler motor, screwing screws into inputs on the TV, and collecting nails in a trinket box that I continue to take away...yet she finds them again. (The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, apparently; Dan saves every nail/screw/washer/shaft that he can find...but also when something breaks, he doesn't disappoint!!) I love to sit on the futon and watch Daniley tinker at her Daddy's workstation. I hope soon she can outperform me.

I did some Angel Tree shopping last week. One of my tasks was to shop for a 2 year old girl. Pants size: 4T. Shirt Size: 4T Jacket Size 5T. I'm thinking WOW.
Advance a few days. Enter Danica, at my mom's to get age-and-size-2 Daniley after work. Mom says, "We bought Daniley some new panties today and you just HAVE to get some more for her." I say, "What's wrong with her current panties?" Mom says, "Well, she has too much stuff and they go in her crack. Here, buy these. (She hands me the packaging, boy shorts, which are underwear for girls but kind of like short boxer briefs.) She needs a size 6." After hysterical laughing, my reply: "Sounds to me like she has too much stuff." Exit Danica with big a$$ toddler.
Speaking of being loaded in all the right places....did you know they make Apple Bottoms for kids? (Like most everything, I found them at a yard sale, new with tags for $4!!) In case you aren't up on the hip fashions, Apple Bottoms are for people with, well, apple bottoms. They aren't so much marketed to white people, but hey, we can't help it that we're blessed.

The Big Reveal!
I'm asked on a daily basis, "What are you gonna name her?" Well I don't know yet. This is a complicated issue. Most people know I named Daniley by a poll. It worked out nicely so if it ain't broke, don't fix it! I did put on Facebook a call to suggest names, and I'd like to take this opportunity to make a few comments on those. If your name is listed below, hope you like my commentary. Here were the suggestions:
Dangineer--One of my favorites. My boss is creative with his bad self. Probably the most fitting of all the names.
Danger--Just reminded me of how many times Daniley has had a squirt of cleaning products for snack.
Dani Lynn--reminded me of Anna Nicole Smith...but did lead us to a name on the poll. :-)
DanaMaria--didn't Christopher Columbus sail here on that?
Danastie--Don't want to predestine her to porn-stardom.
Daneice--her aunts and uncles can call her that if they'd like.
Dannifer--if you name your kid after your sister-in-law, will it turn out like her? :-O
Dantastic--Dan reserved that for himself.
Dangit--Well every time I break something the kid would come running.
Danitello--well educated folks would know this kid would be brilliant and rest of them might think we named her after a turtle.

And one more note on the poll....there is one that Dan doesn't like so well...and if it wins, we retain the right overrule. :-P

LANGLEY STUDIOS is owned by my mom and stepdad, and this is their Christmas setup for this year. $150 gets you a photo shoot (an hour or sometimes more), an 11x14 which is matted to 16x20 (it's big!!), 2 8x10s, and 25 Christmas cards. View their website at www.photoshootusa.com or contact me for phone number info (I don't want to post that for the world!). ATTENTION GRANDPARENTS: The PERFECT gift is to sneak the kids over and get pictures for Mom and Dad!! :-)
Oh yes, one more thing, this sleigh is 150 years old and has been fully restored to original condition! It's very cool! :-)

IT'S A GIRL!!!
Thanks for voting. I don't know where all the girl votes came from because I think only one person has told me it was a girl. EVERYONE said boy. Dan is thrilled. I am scared to death!! ;-)

Friday night we took Daniley to Parents Night Out at Westwood. It is a shame how few date nights Dan and I have, so this seemed like a good opportunity for us to enjoy some time together. She had been whiney and we were concerned she wasn't feeling well. So we rushed to Michael's and Hobby Lobby and got back for her 2 hours later. The nusery keeper said she saw some silent tears rolling down Daniley's face, which as she put it, "was unusual because usually they want you to know something's wrong." This broke my heart. It was ridiculous how much we missed her while we were gone. Dan and I were both anxious to get back the entire time we were gone and we didn't enjoy ourselves nearly as much as I'd hoped.
Saturday was a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese. I'm making a committment now to family and friends that I will never reserve a party at Chuck-E-Cheese in Vestavia. (Remember parents always reserve a right to eat words. lol.) I will say Daniley had a BLAST!! Thanks so much to Dan for chasing her around. He is SUCH a great dad. Even in my maddest moments at him I can still look at him and say he is a wonderful dad.

(Those are her new Apple Bottoms jeans. She and I both LOVE them! She didn't want to take them off. She's got the goods to fill those jeans...she got it honest. :-P)
The last part of Saturday was SuperDad giving in once again...Connell dilemma. Mommy wants to watch football. Daniley wants to watch Mickey Mouse. Mommy says NO, you're not watching Mickey. Daniley whines. Mommy says NO. Repeat. Repeat. Then Daddy comes busting up on the scene with a spare TV....he's such a give in.... Hope he changes.....lol

What? What's wrong with this????

My Goodness, what a Monday!!!!!!!!
Chapter 1
My first ultrasound was scheduled today. I was supposed to leave work at 8:20. At 8:30 I was still trying to wrap up a project. I finally did get out of here, only to find my car wouldn't start. Then I found my lights still on. I got out my jumper cables and found someone to jump me off, only to learn my jumper cables were too short and wouldn't work. Finally I did get my car cranked and I was on my way. Time was getting short to pick up Dan so he was on standby-he might have to drive himself. I thought everything was gonna be ok. A few miles down the interstate, I see the lovely blue state trooper lights flashing in my rear view. :( I pulled off, put my head into the steering wheel, and just started balling hysterically. The trooper finally made it to my passenger window and asked me "What's wrong?" [Well isn't it obvious officer?]. I responded, "I'm just having a bad day." He inquired, "How so?" I said, "Well I'm trying to get to the Dr. to see my baby and my car broke down and now I'm being pulled over." I handed him my license and insurance card. He said my tag was expired. NICE. This happened last year. I swear the county must not have my correct address, I've not seen a notice yet. Tag expired in September. This is November. Then he asked me for registration. Well sorry, I decided some number of years ago that was worthless in my glove box (because they have never asked me for it before) so I took it out. I pretended to look for it. I didn't have that either. When I thought things couldn't get much worse, he asked me, "Do you have an insurance card that isn't expired?" OMG. Are you kidding me? I knew if what I gave him wasn't good, I had nothing else, but I pretended to look anyway. My insurance expired October 22. However I was confident I it was paid at least. I told him that (not like everyone doesn't), but anyway, I just continued to cry. I called Dan and the Dr., telling both I wasn't sure if I was going to make it or not. Please stand by. The officer finally let me off (easy). I got two warnings and a ticket...the ticket was for the insurance which he said could be voided by sending them the current proof of insurance. Sounded great. But I cried all the way to the Dr.

Chapter 2
Got to the Dr. Still crying. Receptionist is concerned. Waited. Peed. Watched a video. Waited. Counseled. Waited. Finally. Our turn. We arrive in the ultrasound room. I'm excited. Recall I've done the first trimester screening before. That's where they check for Downs Syndrome, Spina Bifida, etc. I was excited to see the blob. I remember seeing Daniley for the first time. It was Valentine's Day. She had hiccups. She was a moving blob. The moment the nurse put the thing on my belly, I saw the baby. What composure I had gained, I lost again. I knew what it was supposed to look like. That was NOT what I saw the last time. I heard the nurse say something with mixed confusion and excitement that I should remember, but I can't. I just was sitting there in shock. I could not believe what I was seeing.

Chapter 3
The next thing I saw was a big bone. Then I heard the nurse tell the Dr, "The femur is measuring 15 weeks." The Dr. came over there. "Who is your Dr.? Is this your first ultrasound?" I answered yes it was my first. The last Dr. visit I was only 8 weeks and we were just a tad too early to try to hear the heartbeat. He told me, "You're 15 weeks!!" I am supposed to be 11 weeks (and 6 days, so basically 12 weeks vs. 16 weeks). I sat there in shock. That would explain why the baby was basically waving at me on the ultrasound rather than just looking like a formed blob. I could NOT believe it. I knew immediately I was about to get an even bigger surprise.

Chapter 4
"WHAT IS IT?" The nurse just mostly ignored me. Nope, not going for that, I thought to myself. I know at 16 weeks it's possible to tell what the baby is. I gave her a few minutes and I told her, "You know what it is already, don't you?" She said, "Well I'm looking for other things." I said, "Well I'm not." LOL. I am still basically in shock at this point. I knew with a little begging I could find out the sex of the baby about 6 weeks sooner than I had planned. She moved the scanner around. She said "If the baby would turn and if I could get it like this....." Then she found it. She flashed it on the screen. I knew what it was. She confirmed it. Dan didn't cry this time. I did. I just couldn't believe I came for a test and left with a sex. Question is now, what do you think it is? Vote above. I'll be posting the answer very soon! (PS. If you already know the answer, vote for what you thought it was before you were told.)

Well, the following posts are a hodge podge of stuff I've been trying to post for two months!! I have plenty of valid excuses for not keeping up. I seriously have not had a free weekend since August. Dead serious. Add to that I'm pregnant and some combination of slightly sick and slightly lazy wreaks havoc on a blog. All of the pictures below are kind of out of order, but I guess that's ok. I'll try to do better in the future. :-)
PS. While I was posting this, Daniley just came in here with some comet spray cleaner. I said "Did you drink some of this?" "Yeh." "How much??" "REAL MUCH!" :-O

On Friday before Halloween we went to my old office (now Daddy's office!) to trick or treat and visit old friends. We had such a good time. This is Poppa, a devoted blog reader.
And here's the only picture of LeLe from Halloween.

A few days before Halloween we took Daniley to a magic show/costume party at the library. I wasn't overly impressed but it was still a good time.
I love having a minivan...you'd be shocked what all you can accomplish in the back!

These are some shots from James's party that I had to miss. :-( Happy second birthday to James Dexter!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay...going back 2 months ago, here are a couple more pictures from my birthday weekend that I wanted to share!
Life is Good!
Why kids love their Daddy:
Roll Tide!!

A couple of outfits I sewed for Daniley. :-)

I'm skipping around a little on the blog...we've been doing about 10 times more stuff than I've listed on here....a big part involving a very important wedding for which I don't have pictures yet. So when I get them, I'll write about it. In the meantime, here are some pictures from Halloween.
Friday we went to Daddy's office to trick-or-treat (pictures later). Saturday we went to LeLe's party and then trick-or-treated the neighborhood. Sunday we went to Honey's to play with James and Eli (and Honey and GPaw too!) :-)
I invited my nephews and a couple friends to LeLe's party. However I forgot to invite Sarah Katherine. Thank goodness Erin called me a few hours before the party and we got the details worked out. They came to LeLe's for the party and to trick-or-treat. We had a fun time. Crystal and Shane also came and they had AWESOME costumes.
Trick-or-treating was tons of fun!!!! Daniley ran into several houses (those containing pets--dogs, then fish tanks, then a cat). I don't mean she ran into the foyer and stopped. No. They opened the door and she shot out through their living rooms. I didn't know if I should bust in a retrieve her, and they seemed even more shocked than I was, and didn't know if they should pick her up and return her or just stand there and wait to see what she did next.
We used a wagon to get from house to house, but we'd let Daniley and SK out at street level and the two of them had to go to the house, ring the doorbell, and if the owner's were lucky they'd get a "Trick or Treat." Daniley ran the entire, whole entire time. If her feet were on the ground, she was running. Poor SK was having a great time but not quite as fast as Daniley Lightning. It was a fun night and they got lots of candy and we had a great time.
Sunday at Honey and GPaw's Daniley played with James and Eli but I didn't take any pictures. :-( We got there first and Daniley was acting pretty good, playing her ukulele. Then when James walked in it was like she went into overdrive and started hopping around and acting all silly. We finally gave James his late birthday present and they played outside, went trick-or-treating on Honey's street, and just had a really good time.

ATTENTION LITTLE KIDS!
Have your parents ever told you not to smoke? You should listen to them. Smoking is VERY BAD. In case you can't understand what your Mommy and Daddy are trying to tell you, here is an illustration:
First, someone gives you a candy cigarette, possibly for Halloween, when your Mommy and Daddy aren't looking.
Then they tell you, "Try it, it's good." It does look interesting, so you give it a puff.

Then you quickly realize you have been tricked. It's not good at all. And you feel loopy. Not only that, now you stink.
Take it from Daniley.....NEVER TRY CIGARETTES!!!!!!!