I don't know what it is about seeing my baby on a tricycle that I can't get over. She just looks so big. The only way she can get on this is to climb up the back (and I never even knew kids used those steps...I thought they were for Big Sister to push Baby Sister around). Well Daniley went down this slope and then quickly turned sharp. Needless to say there was a major crash. Here she is just 2 seconds before the crash. I barely got the camera button down before I heard screaming. I looked from the camera view to find her on the ground, trike upside down. That was FAST. (Click the picture to see just how big she looks!) I know it will be no time before she's riding a big girl bike. :'(
This is 30 seconds after crashing. I can't remember what I said to distract her but it was probably "Let's go get a snack." Instant turn-around.

This was a mostly good weekend. Friday we had lunch with Honey at ACIPCO. Honey is retiring today!! We got in one last visit to her office before she departed. We are most excited for her and hope she finds lots of new and fun hobbies to occupy all her free time. :-) WE LOVE YOU HONEY AND ARE SO HAPPY FOR YOUR RETIREMENT.
Saturday I was feeling artsy so I made up a few things. The first is a sign for Danslen's door in the hospital. I used my Silhouette to make it and I even glittered the stork blanket. (I love glitter!) We will write the baby's stats on the bottom left hand corner. :-) The second thing is a little mailbox (the other side says "Special Delivery") and it houses a shower gift. If Momma Massey happens to be snooping around on here, well I guess your only surprise will be the contents. ;-) The last thing is a onesie for Danslen. I embroidered the front but it's a surprise so you have to wait for hospital pictures to see what I did. This will be the first outfit she wears (but probably not the most important). This one is just for a cute photo opportunity. :-)
Saturday night we went to eat with my coworkers (about 40 of them). We took Daniley. She ate well and behaved well too. It was very nice.
Sunday I don't know if I was nesting or just tired of clutter but I cleaned out two closets and was happy to be organizing a few things. I got some junk out and re-organized Daniley's next season/size of clothes. I'm not sure how I'll organize clothes for TWO babies but one thing is for sure, I'm NOT stressing over it. I'll just figure it out as I go.
Finally on Sunday I had to attend a funeral for a dear person I knew as I grew up. Melvin was the dad of childhood friends, and the husband of my mom's best friend. It seems that I've been attending a funeral every two weeks for the last year. Perhaps that is the cost of having a big loving family and a lot of friends. It is sad to see my dear friends and family passing away. It reminds me just how short life is and that you best make the most of it while you can. Don't sweat the details...live large and love larger.

Over the last two weeks I haven't done much blog updating. I've mostly been lazy. I haven't felt my best, although I haven't thrown up in two weeks almost. At times I still feel nauseated and I was feeling very tight...but I must have stretched some more cause now it's not too bad again. After long days in the office my back hurts, but Dan helps pop it and massage it when required.
A couple weeks ago we went to Katie's birthday party where I found myself in the top of a blow up jumper pulling kids up a ladder. We all had a really good time. We dropped by Honey and G-Paws for a surprise visit but they were gone. It was ok, I enjoyed eating my pizza AND THEIRS TOO. haha.
This past weekend Sarah Katherine spent Friday night with us. I didn't take a single picture. I just don't have the energy to do it all right now....so we had our fun times and their brains will house the only memories from this visit. This was Sarah Katherine's first bath at my house that she hasn't screamed and cried. LOL. Both of the girls enjoyed the bath. Daniley loves having baths with other people. She gets to splashing and laughing and I have to say it's pretty fun just watching. Every time she gets in she invites me in too. I used to get in more but at this stage of my pregnancy (6 months) I don't feel like her crawling all over me. I can't wait til the baby is out so I can get back to my regular self and have the energy and motivation to be the Mom I want to be. At times I feel depressed because I just can't give what I want to. But all it takes is a plan for somewhere to go and my sorrows seem to disappear. :-)
Saturday night Daniley spent the night with Honey and G-paw. I think they spoil her pretty bad (like give her lots of candy and ice cream and all the other things grandparents do under the table) so she really enjoys a trip to their house. I have to say after Friday night with 2 girls I needed the break extra bad. Dan and I went to dinner on a Groupon and then to run some errands at the mall. I got me some more maternity pants and all I can say is thank GOD that I can wear comfortable clothes to work. :-)
Lastly, I failed my glucose test, which isn't a big surprise. I was gestational diabetic with Daniley so I was pretty much expecting this. I have to eat peanuts and such for snack instead of say, Reese's cups, and that does really suck. But it will help me maintain my weight and it's only temporary, so I'll manage just fine.
Thanks for stopping by my blog....it's 5:00 somewhere (like HERE) so I'm splitting! Toodle-oo!
PS. Blogger needs to update their clock. I don't care what time zone you are in, the last two digits right NOW are 02. (5:02, now that I had to come back and write in the PS.) :-P

New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve, we stuck with tradition, well kind of. We always go to Stix, usually with Daniley dressed in something really fun (last year she was the cutest astronaut!). Well I didn't plan the outfit in time so we just went to Stix dressed in normal clothes. And to top it off, I forgot my camera. :-(
After dinner, one of Dan's friends was having a party in Hayden. It was a little farther than we wanted to drive home from after midnight, especially in the rain, and with drunks on the road. So Dan decided that he wanted to get some fireworks for Daniley and come home and shoot them with her. He was so excited to share some mild explosives with a child that's probably just a little too smart to be fooling around with them. He and Daniley would go light the fireworks then RUN back to the garage to watch. Daniley liked them, for about 10 minutes.


Then she was just back to her usual exploring nature, seeing what she could find around the basement to get into. Check her out on her tricycle. I can't BELIEVE she is big enough to ride that thing. She steers and pedals quite well!

If it's not one kind of mess, it a kind of another. Oh well. Who expected to have kids and not have messes?
With that said, do note the Vaseline there on the nightstand. I had been sick and my nose was SO DRY that I had attempted to put some Vaseline in it, just so I could breath comfortably. This baby powder gave me a very nice reminder--the Vaseline has got to GO! (Click the picture to enlarge the mess.)

Top 10 of 2010, in random order
The Vaseline incident
Trip to Disney World
Camping in Key West
Having a kid that pees in the commode!!
Turning 30
Becoming pregnant
Getting a new sister-in-law and nephew/cousin
Dan getting a motorcyle (and me getting a helmet...so Dan can ride on the back behind me.)
Vacation to St. Augustine and Destin
Every day that is not one of these 9. Daniley makes every day interesting and fun! :-)
Looking forward to 2011. Big changes coming for us!! We plan to just take one day at a time. Actually, that's the only way we can survive. :-)

ATTENTION MEN
Sometimes when I lay in bed awake at night, I think of really intelligent things. So a couple nights ago, I thought it would be wise to clue you in a little bit on what it's like to be pregnant, since you don't seem to understand it at all. For the weak, turn away now...
These are typical pregnancy symptoms. Some women may have more or less. (Disclosure, this is in no way directed to my husband. Love you men, you just need a little help understanding!)

1. Nausea. Ok, this is the biggest pain in my a$$ I've ever known. Men, just think of all the moaning and groaning you do when you have a stomach virus. You can't get out of bed. You don't want to eat. Think of how tasty all that food is coming back up after it has soured in your stomach. Think how miserable you are for those couple of days. Now, try it for 9 months. Come on, you can do it. And by the way, get up and get to work on time, and while you're at it, cook me some dinner, do the laundry, and take the toddler to the potty. After all, it's just a little vomit, 24/7. Who needs sympathy?
2. Bladder leakage. Thank GOD, this has only been a symptom WHILE pregnant. But on the second baby, well lets just say your body has already been through "bladder destruction." Gotta sneeze? Oh my, hold tight, you might wet yourself a little. Gotta throw up? You might as well just SIT on the toilet and PUKE in the can. Cause if not, you can mop when you get done. Coughing hard? Hope you have some kind of pad in your underwear, or at least a change of fresh drawers. But if not, don't worry, no one will ever know. Oh yes, and when putting on your underwear, make sure you put them on right side out. It's very easy to do this wrong when you can't see ANYTHING below your belly button. And, make DOUBLE sure you don't wear them backwards AND inside out. But if you do, you'll be ok. It's pretty hilarious when you discover what you've done, and you can't turn them right side out...because one side is "dirty" already (Who wants to wear underwear dirty on both sides?)
3. Hunger. We're HUNGRY. Don't get between us and our food. Most women love food and have cravings and the like. For me, that is not true at all. How much food do you crave when you have that stomach virus we just talked about? Want a big plate of greasy comfort food? I'd say not. So what do you want to eat? Nothing! But you're hungry. But you don't want anything. But you're hungry. But you don't want anything. Men, in your infinite widsom, please tell me the solution to this.
4. Lack of sleep. You know I mentioned hunger? Well you need to get up to eat at least once or twice during the night. And since your bladder should look like a water balloon and now looks like a pancake, you're gonna have to get up at least three times to pee. And each time, you get to thinking about everything you have to do tomorrow, which causes you to lay in bed a good hour with every waking. And don't worry about the watermelon you have on the front...you can still lay miserably on our side. But don't worry, you won't be tired or grumpy the next day, per your spouse's request. If you are, you might get accused of being "hormonal."
5. Crying. Speaking of hormonal. Please don't show Oprah giving away a car or trip, don't show a new birth on TV, don't show anything sappy on TV, and whatever you do, please don't yell or be an idiot or a jerk. Otherwise, flood gates are open. But that's ok too, we know spouse will come running to wipe away all your tears and make sure you are all better and dry ASAP.
6. Constipated. Hormones cause the digestive tract to slow WAY down, which means, well, pooping is a real reason to celebrate. The good news is this means an instant weight loss, because the poops are like concrete bricks. Oh, and just for a little side drama, when you really need to poop and you just can't, nausea symptoms continue to increase until the big delivery.
7. Back pain. Once I asked a man to carry in each hand 5 lb. weights while we walked a few laps around a track. 2 laps in, I began to hear complaints. Well, now you have the luxury of carrying, oh just 30-40 lb (or more) strapped to the front of your belly 24/7. Your center of gravity has changed, but don't worry, your back muscles must have already somehow been developed and strengthened to carry that weight in that place. And by the way, please pick the older baby up and put her in the middle-of-the-car carseat (where it's safest). Don't worry about the EXTRA 30 pounds, cantilevered. Come on, you can do it. After all, your back muscles get a break after about 16 hours of this in a day. (And the bigger boobs aren't helping the matter either...but we know you love the bigger boobs, so lets don't complain about those!)
8. Foot pain. Using your back to balance your new weight? Well you're using your feet to carry it. Engineering mechanics makes this load path very obvious. Your feet are the footings and the pressure they carry is unusually high. They hurt. Why don't you give them a little rub? Why do we have to ASK?
9. Shortness of breath. All this extra weight and extra stress is causing you shortness of breath. Or, it could be your body is pumping 50% more blood than normal. Your heart hasn't grown by 50%, so just handle it the best you can. Basically, you feel like you have just climbed a mountain, always. But don't worry, you can still try to manage all your chores at the same pace you've always managed.
10. Headache. All the blood pumping, nausea, straining....may cause headache. If we say we have a headache, it's because WE DO. Get back on your side of the bed.
11. Baby kicking. I know you LOVE being punched and kicked in the stomach every once in a while. How bout once a day? How bout once an hour? How bout once a minute? Don't worry, baby will just punch his feet and hands in your lungs, ribs, bladder, and other organs. It won't hurt. It's worth it afterall....maybe your spouse will be able to see those beautiful bumps from the outside. Aren't they sweet?
12. HOT. You don't have any problem freezing us out of the car or home when you're hot. Well it's our turn now. What? You can't handle it? PUT ON A COAT. I can't take anything else off and not get arrested. Thanks for understanding.
13. Fat. Look, the belly is cute. But the truth is, you're fatter everywhere. Your body has retained fluid and fat in your legs, arms, neck, everywhere. I mean, afterall, you have a human living off of you. Might as well have a little fat to help it be well nourished. After the pregnancy, you can get in shape and have the body you've always wanted. You'll have plenty of time to get to the gym in between diaper changes, breast feeding, bottle making, and of course cooking dinner and doing the laundry.
14. Tight stomach. Men, you ever ate a bit too much? Nah, not you, right? Stomach get miserably tight? Harder to breathe? You ain't got a clue what stomach tightness means, so just sit down and shut up.
15. Swollen extremities. Your hands and feet, and possibly legs too, are swollen to the point that shoes are no longer comfortable. But don't worry, you can wear your spouse's water shoes to work. They are nice and cool, and hang off the back of your feet a good 3". Now that's comfort.
16. Gestational diabetes. I saved this one for last because "most" women don't have it. But I did, and probably will have again. For the last 3 months, don't touch sugar. Put away your cereal. If that's all you could find to eat before due to your nausea, I'm sorry. You'll have to find a work around. Also, no bread. No sandwiches. No chips or fries. No fruit. No jelly either, but what do you need that for since you can't have biscuits? Forget about pancakes and syrup and muffins too. No desserts. No cokes or sweet tea. No juice either. Water, meat, and eggs will have to do. Don't worry, throwing up meat in big chunks is one of the funnest things you can look forward to every day.
17. Grumpy spouse. Last but not least, your spouse is grumpy, because spouse just can't seem to figure out why you are so miserable! Spouse is getting tired of all the complaining, so get your a$$ in gear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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