Last night I got two phone calls about Daniley's behavior at her first night at Bible School. As I was told, the theme for the crafts was CRAZY CRAFTS. When the children got in there, the teachers told them to act crazy and they demonstrated such behavior by shaking and wiggling. Daniley does not need any demonstration of how to act crazy. When she gets around Mawmaw, Pawpaw, and Unc (most of whom where standing in there) the kid puts on a show people in Vegas would pay to see. I have only seen it once and I wanted to crawl up the chimney I was so embarassed. It's almost like she has an out-of-body experience she gets so excited. So anyway, there they are, being ENCOURAGED to act crazy. Daniley stood there stiff, and informed them, "My mom told me not to be acting crazy!" I am so glad to know the kid is listening and I MIGHT be making an impact on her life. :-)

Last week was ChickFilA Day...dress like a cow, eat free Chicken! I participate in this every year. Now I have two calves. Danslen had a good time, but she's a little snobby about the way you hold her. Sugar Booger didn't have it just right, so the Little Darlin' was telling EVERYBODY about it. She's so cute, even when she's screaming. I have reached that euphoria that I had with Daniley, the one where you just keep sitting there staring at them, thinking how cute and perfect they are. I always knew I wanted kids but I never knew it would be this wonderful. I hope God continues to bless us, because we ARE blessed!

Daniley: "Mom, Do I have diarrhea?"
I was backing out of the garage. She was in her carseat. I thought PLEASE NO. She had it for about a week a few weeks ago.
Mom: "I don't know. Are you pooping in your pants?"
Daniley: "No. If I don't eat boogers, I won't get diarrhea?"
I don't know who might have told her one causes the other. I wanted to laugh, but this opportunity was too golden to miss.
Mom: "YES! If you eat boogers you'll get diarrhea again."
[The End. Nothing else said. No boogers eaten. LOL]

This has been one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. We didn't over plan. Usually I don't like hanging around the house too much, but this weekend we did some going and some resting (resting to me is NOT laying around or watching TV--it's usually playing in my craft room or organizing something) and it was wonderful. We went to see the fireworks in Alabaster and played and hung out and it was a lot of fun. The girls' second cousins from Louisiana (Honey's sisters' granddaughters) were in town and went with us. They are sure sweet girls; I hope mine take after them. ;-) Then Sunday we went to Honey and G-Paws for a little grill out where Daniley, Danslen, James, Eli, and Andi and Raeleigh and Mia all played and laughed all day long. Other than that, I took a bike ride by myself and dropped the bike in the Belk parking lot. SHOOT I screamed. LOL. How did that happen? Let me tell you, it's quite funny. I got off the bike and walked off. I didn't put the kickstand down. Oops. LOL. At least I can pick it up. I was really hoping the clutch didn't fall off because calling Dan was a call I did NOT want to make. :-) Maybe some swimming later and we'll call it a holiday weekend!!!!

Last weekend was Liberty Day and cousins James and Eli finally got to come!! Daniley and James actually opened the parade. They were Car Numero Uno. They were so cute. Mom walked beside them and threw candy. She reported Daniley couldn't drive straight for waving at everyone (it showed we had practiced, LOL), and James couldn't do anything except eat candy out of the bed of the gator. As soon he finished one piece he just turned around and helped himself to another. :-) I let them drive down Main Street and around the corner. Then I pulled them out so they could watch the rest of the parade. It was a FABULOUS day!! Lots of fun, those two kiddos!

This band had at least one fan.

Daniley is a very free spirited child. God gave her just the right mother, because I have the energy, patience, and sense of humor required to keep up with her. I just sit back and grin; I know there isn't another place I'd be rather than watching her in a moment like this.

Argument this morning:
Dad: DANILEY, YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE IN SERIOUS SERIOUS TROUBLE.
Daniley: I didn't mean to. (I hear this line 100 times a day; she thinks it's the anti-whip.)
Dad: YES YOU DID. YOU PULLED THAT WHOLE THING OFF. (dental floss--it was hers, I don't know why he gets so mad!!It's not like we're actually flossing. Besides you put your finger between the gaps in her teeth. Who needs floss?) YOU ONLY NEED A LITTLE BIT. I'M GONNA TAKE THIS AND CUT IT UP IN SMALLER PIECES AND PUT IT IN THE BAG AND WHEN YOU NEED ONE YOU CAN GET ONE. THERE'S IS NO NEED TO PULL IT OFF LIKE THAT. YOU HAVE SIX FEET.
Daniley: No Dad, I have two feet.
Mom: Hysteria.
Dad: (I don't know, I didn't hear anything after "I have two feet.")
hahahahah

Daniley went to the dentist for the first time last week. For about 20 seconds, she was a little uneasy. Then the hygeinist started showing her all the utensils, and it was only about 20 more seconds until Daniley had her convinced that SHE needed to run the tools. She filed her nails, shot water across the room, and looked around with the mirror.




She did GREAT during the entire visit. She can't wait to go back to the dentist, which is a good thing, because she has one CAVITY! :-o

Here are the rest of the beach pictures.

We took our first family-of-four vacation last week. We went to Fort Walton Beach. It was loads of fun. I don't really find traveling with a baby all that difficult. You just have to pack a little extra. Here are some pictures for now. But I intend to upload more. There is nothing on this Earth better than vacation with my little family! I look forward to many more!
Hunting for crabs
A goober
A wiener no I mean WINKER
A Happy Camper
Here Comes Trouble
Definition Of Cute
Two BEAUTIFUL kids (even if I must say so myself)
Also known as 2 daddy's girls...
And one cozy, very happy family

Our first park trip...Danslen was just 2 weeks old. Daniley actually TOOK the picture. She's a very talented photographer!! I love these girls. They're a handful. But I have really big hands!!

Daniley likes to get my camera and take pictures. Luckily I wasn't the target this time. But I'll refrain from saying who it is. He/She may recognizer him/herself though.

For desperate moms....
Babies sleep very well on the countertop when the dishwasher is running. :-)

Our first dinner for four....We went to Lucia's, about a month ago. Actually the baby was exactly one month old. It was lovely, spending time with just the four of us! And yes, my child has pigtails...they are so stinkin' cute. However I finally cut her hair back short and she looks MUCH cuter with shorter hair.

Cousin James holding Danslen. He was very interested in her and did a great job holding her.

This is what 3 great friends looks like having dinner with kids. We always have a great time. However conversation doesn't get as deep with 3 kids at the table. ;-)

Daniley is absolutely excstatic about joining the Connell Motorcycle Club on her very own motorcycle. Her first ride was to Honey & G-Paw's house last night!

MEMORIAL DAY
First, I say thanks to my Pawpaw Raymond and Pawpaw AJ for serving in wars. I also thank ALL the military today for your sacrifice so we can be the great United States of America!
Mooving on, there was too much down time for my liking. So we headed over the TreeTop. It was pretty fun. I didn't get to be as adventurous as I wanted, well, cause I have a newborn. :-) But it was a blast. I wish the putt-putt was a little more animated. The "green" is sort of boring. But until we get to Florida, it will have to do.

So here we are...my first day back at work. It's going unusually normal. Although I wasn't thrilled about leaving maternity leave I am pretty happy to be back to work. I love this job waaaay too much to even think about being unhappy today! When I came back to work after Daniley was born, she was at BEKare and we had previously dropped in several times for play dates. I was totally comfortable with her there so I had no issues going back to work. There was all the excitement of a new place, new friends, new everything. Today Danslen and Daniley are both at my Grandma's, where they will be staying, and I'm just a phone call away from the direct line in to their "classroom." :-)

Bless my Grandmother's heart....she is so wonderful to those kids! I'm not sure if she loves them or if they love her the most. To top off dropping in TWO kids for her to handle, we (perhaps on bad timing) took Daniley's passy away yesterday, hopefully for good. We went through mourning at naptime, complete with crying, losing breath, screeching, body stiffening (she'd get all straight and tighten all her muscles), it was pretty bad, although brief. Then at bedtime I expected another breakdown, but to my surprise, we had no issues. I told her, "I'll bring you your passy right after you go to sleep." She rolled right over and went right to sleep. LOL. I'm such a bad Mom. ;-)

This weekend was Alabaster's CityFest. We don't really go for the music, but instead just for Daniley (now, the "girls") to have something fun to do. The music was so loud, even way in the back at the kid's area, that I was actually concerned about their safety & health. Daniley jumped in the inflatables until her cheeks were what I call "fat kid red." After about an hour we went to get something to eat. While we were deciding Daniley started crying that she wanted to go home. I think she was seriously overheated. So we skipped the $5/cup lemonade and headed for Chick-fil-A for dinner, a shake, and some air-conditioned playtime. I was glad to see at 6pm the kids' area was still going strong. I think next year we'll plan to arrive even later. We had a great time, even though it was brief.

While Daniley was jumping and riding the carousel, we got some great shots of Danslen...and here they are. :-)

My in-laws moved into their new home tonight. I am so excited for them. They have been through so much in the past 35-or-so days. It has been a challenging time for them, as well as for me. I basically came home with a new baby and two in-laws all at once. The timing of the tornadoes could not have been worse from my perspective. My attitude, hormones, and emotions have been up and down, and all over the place. I am returning to work Monday and I really don't know where my maternity leave went. I am so sad that it's already over. When I think about it I find myself crying. After Daniley was born, by the end of 6 weeks I was ready to go back to work. This time I'm really not ready at all. But life needs to get back to normal, and "work" needs me. I do have lots of vacation time left for this year. I hope that I can take some time off to relax, something I don't do very often. I scheduled a vacation at the beach so I can sort relax and de-stress from everything that's been going on.
Honey and G-Paw have moved just down the street and I could not be more thrilled about that. I have always wanted them out of the Grove (Pleasant Grove, that is) and I'm sad that the tornadoes blew away their home but I'm thrilled "home" for them is now Alabaster. I never DREAMED they would live in Alabaster...well maybe I did dream about it, but never thought it would be reality. We are actually close enough that Daniley can ride her bike there (tricycle for now). We took our first trip there yesterday via 4-wheeler. It was so lovely.
Honey and G-Paw are great in-laws--and since I know you are reading--I love you very much....but I'm not gonna miss you for a little while. ;-) I know you are looking forward to some QUIET TIME which I KNOW you have not gotten here. Daniley is wild as a buck and Danslen cries when it's time to go to bed. I know you haven't gotten any rest since the tornadoes and I wish I could have taped up Daniley's mouth for the past 35 days. LOL. We wish you all the best in your new home. This is an unexpected time in your life for a new beginning. But it's very exciting nonetheless!!

Side note: Daniley is about to drive me INSANE and I can't get enough snuggles from Danslen. Anyone who wants Daniley to spend the night....just ask. :-D LOL.