Danika has so much...well.....PERSONALITY. :) She just cracks us up because we never know what she is going to pull next. And the daycare we take her to is just top-notch. They love her as if she were their own child, and they know how to handle her little "moments." But there are days where we show up to get her and we have to be informed of some difficulty she put them thru while we were gone.
And then there are the days that it can't wait until we pick her up.
I was working on February 5th and I received this picture message on my phone from Leah, one of the daycare workers:
"This is your daughter after she filled the toilet with toilet paper...she got a time-out but it was hilarious!"
"...we sent her to the room and she put herself in the corner....haha"
Yes...a whole role of toilet paper. That's my little girl. *sigh* And I can't even blame it on Doug, because we both know that she is me on the inside...through and through.
That means this is only the beginning....she is going to torture us when she becomes a teenager.
John is SO CLOSE to crawling I can't even explain it. He is super strong and determined to be mobile. But, much to his dismay, all he has mastered so far is going backwards. If I leave him alone in the middle of the living room floor for a few minutes, I inevitably find him wedged against a wall or piece of furniture by the time I get back. Several times now, however, I have found him wedged UNDER my antique table. It has a cut-out front and it is just high-enough to get his lower body under it, but not his gigantic upper body. :) So, after walking out of the room, I hear squawking and eventually angry bellowing and I enter the room to find this:
Danika recently turned 3 and we had a little shin-dig for her. It was tremendously fun.
One of the gifts Danika got was just plain awesome....our friend Courtney made Danika a fancy little apron, and made a bigger version of the same apron for me so that we could match in the kitchen. Danika was SO excited....and so was I! What a fun gift. My little mimic will get lots of use out of this thoughtful present!
So...she has been dying to wear it, but the next night when she was very, very vocal about wanting to wear the aprons I was busy feeding John and it was Daddy hard at work in the kitchen doing dishes and clean up. I confess that I may have whispered in her ear that Daddy would look good in Mommy's apron. :) That was all the encouragement she needed. She pulled her stool right up next to him and started begging to help him with dishes and looking at him with those big brown eyes asking if he would wear an apron to match her.
What could he do? Daddy's little girl was asking so nicely with those giant brown eyes looking at him. :)
He's going to kill me for this. But it is SO cute...I have to post it. :) The things we do for the love of a child. :)
I love my crazy feisty 3-yr old red headed girl. I love my incredibly strong, slobbery, ALWAYS hungry, fat little 6 month old boy. I love my patient, supportive, gentle, funny, incredible husband.
And when everything else in life gets overwhelming....those three incredible blessings right there tell me that whatever seems overwhelming can't really be that bad.
I hate snow. Living in Erie, I have had to adjust to the white stuff out of necessity, but we are still not "friends."
We have recently endured a LOT of lake-effect snow..with more to come. This is what it looks like outside my back door right now.
The interesting thing is that all this snow has become "normal" for me. I don't even get worked up about it anymore. It's just part of living in Erie. Sad but true!
So...of the things I'm known for, being anything like Martha Stewart is not one of them. It is a given in our family that I'm not real gifted in the home-making arena. Thank God my husband loves me anyway. Give me a large event with speakers, attendees, and activities to organize, I'm your woman. Give me a house and a kitchen to take care of...well...not so much.
But, it is my hearts desire to grow some in this area. I doubt I will ever be "that mom" that has all the perfect gifts bought and cookies baked and the decorations up for Christmas...but I do want to create a wonderful environment for my family to enjoy during the holidays...and all year round actually. And so, I have been picking certain very meaningful things that are important to our family and trying to learn how to do them.
Recently, I have had a few things turn out pretty good...and considering the track record of the woman who is attempting these activities...well...the mere fact that the house is still standing is reason for celebration.
I have the Christmas tree up and decorated.... ...I made a batch of Doug's favorite cookies.... ....and I learned how to make Gluten Free Coconut Cream Pie from Dolly McLallen! (This is a picture of my first solo attempt. I made that pie Christmas Eve...and I was VERY proud of it!) I recently announced to Doug that I am a domestic goddess. :) He laughed. But at this moment, I feel like one...because even if this may not seem like a lot to you, for me this is pretty doggone amazing!
