Beach Vacation 2009!

Here it is!!! The big beach blog!

We checked in on Saturday 2/7, and as amazing as it may seem...Mommy didn't take any pictures! Aunt Kat and Uncle Tony came over that night and spent the night. The next day Mommy was back to pictures as usual :)

Sunday 2/8/2009

First we were greeted by a beautiful sunrise

We all played on the beach

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day...Dani + her Uncle Tony = 2 peas in a pod.

Then a pigeon came to join us in our room thanks to the open balcony door.

After making him leave and saying goodbye to Kat and Tony, Dani decided it was time to get lovey with Daddy

Then she discovered the mirror behind the couch...and that fun little girl that was in it!

There was some cheerleading practice...this is for you Nana Susie!

She also wanted to practice her facial expressions

After that she decided to excersise her monkey feet by using them to eat her Kix

For dinner we had a local Italian place deliver, we do this every year. Dani LOVED her stuffed shells...

until they were all gone!

and that wraps up the day.

Monday 2/9/2009

This was a fairly lazy day, Mommy and Daddy slept in then went and bought Wii Fit. Most of the pictures of Dani for that day are half naked and since someday she'll be grown up...I just don't really want to post those.

Tuesday 2/10

We woke up to another beautiful sunrise

The sky and the water were both super blue and then a really nice sail boat came across the horizon

Grammie Becky came over and watched Dani so Mommy and Daddy could have a date day, which was fabulous

That night the moon was red...

Wednesday 2/11

In the morning Dani wanted to pretend she was grown up so she put on Mommy's shoes, then Daddy's shirt

That day we met Uncle Joel and Aunt MaryAnn for lunch at Our Deck Down Under during which Dani learned that she likes pickles...ALOT...I think the top left pic says it all

but then she got distracted by the birds

It was during this lunch that Dani got her first sunburn, luckily it wasn't too bad.

This was the last time we saw Mary Ann before Ellie was born!

That night Uncle Brian came over to spend the night. While Daddy was doing yoga on the Wii Dani wanted to play along

Thursday 2/12

AKA The Sundress Day

First Daddy and Uncle Brian went fishing with Tiny, but Brian had to leave before they were done. It was pretty much just a Mommy & Dani day. So of course Mommy took lots of pictures of Dani in her cute little sun dress

She really liked the mirror on the wall...and Uncle Brian's shoes!

Random playfulness

and being cute

Then we decided to hit the beach!

First we visited some sandcastles (that other people built)

Dani ate sand and you can tell by the next pic whether or not she liked the taste.

Mommy took lots of pictures and made some black & white, some sepia, some soft focus, etc

And a few of my individual favorites

But no matter how good the day is, or how happy the little girl is, at some point she's had enough. Eventually she gets tired.

That night it was kinda late when Daddy and Tiny got back.

Friday 2/13

Daddy and Tiny took off early to go fishing, later that day Kim came over with the kids. Mommy didn't take any pictures for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday 2/14

We had to be out early, it was a little more mad-dash than usual but we only forgot a few things.

And that's all for our beach vacation! We can't wait to do it again next year!

Mary Ann's Baby Shower

January 2009

The weekend before Danica's birthday party we went to a baby shower for her Aunt Mary Ann. The cake was not only beautiful it was delicious! It was tons of fun with lots of great food. It helps that Mary Ann has some really cool friends.



There was another tiny baby there, but I can't remember her name.



Dani had fun playing with Kodi, and I think he liked her too. (He is greatly missed).


There weren't many of the usual games but we did play a name game, which I was a winner of. I said I thought she should be named Ellie Marie which was one of the names they were considering. We painted onesies for baby Ellie which was a lot of fun. There were some really creative and talented ladies there! First is works in progress.


Finished products

Dani passed out on the floor and got to spend some quality time with Aunt Maryann. This was one of the first times I tried to put her hair up :)

Dani got her first kiss! The cute little boy is named Kyler (hope I spelled that right!)


And of course we had to have at least one big group shot.

We had a fantastic day all around.

18 Months old!!!

I can't believe it! My baby girl is 18 months old today! I don't have any pictures to post yet, hopefully I'll be able to add a few tonight. Until then... she is growing like a weed (even though she's still smaller than her younger friends), she is talking and signing like crazy, and has a head FULL of crazy curls. She has started getting an attitude about me combing her hair in the morning, but I can't blame her, she's a tender head like me. She hates wearing shoes and would prefer to go barefoot (just like me) with the exception of her pink crocks. I think that, if we would let her, she would sleep in those crocks. She is in love with the baby chicks we have and has to check on her "baby bird" several times a day. She has been in daycare/pre-school for a week and a half and is loving it. I've never heard her talk as much as she did after that first day. Now when she gets up in the morning you ask her if she wants to go to school and you get an exaggerated head nod, then she goes looking for her shoes so she can go. I guess she doesn't care if she's not fully dressed, her hair isn't done, or her teeth aren't brushed. Speaking of brushing teeth, the last time she went to the Dr. we had to pretend he was going to brush her teeth to get her to open her mouth. This coming Friday is her 18 month check up, I'll update with her stats then.

Princess Lizzy's Party

The day before her own birthday party Dani got a little practice by attending her friend Lizzy's party. Even when it's not her party Dani is still a princess.

Lizzy is the perfect princess coach!

And despite the age difference they are great friends.

Pony girl

At the beginning of February Dani got to ride her pony for the first time.

To start we put her on a saddle that was way too big for her and used the magic seat straps. I can technically fit in this saddle but it's cramped. Danica refused to hold on to anything! When he would walk she would put her arms out and try to post! I tried to explain to her that we ride Western not English but she wouldn't listen. Enjoy some pics!

Then we put her on my first saddle. Look how small it is compared to the saddle pad!!! Unfortunately one of the straps broke before she could really ride using it. But it still made for some cute pictures.

Party girl!

A few days after after her birthday we had Danica's party at a local park. There were soooo many people! I was amazed at how many friends our little girl has! While getting the place ready we took a moment to enjoy the beautiful day

Like I said, there were lots of people



who brought lots of kids

and lots of presents



And of course there was cake! There was the cake that everybody got to eat



Then there was the cake that Dani got to eat



She was very dainty about her cake, only eating the icing around the edges to start with

and as you can see, she wasn't sure what to think of the icing all over her hands

But, at the end of the day, all that excitement tires a little party girl out

Notice the sleeves are gone? That's because at the end of her professional photo shoot she tried to eat them!

And so ends the day of the party princess.

Birthday post!

Well, better late than never! Here's the birthday girl...

First I should show her sign.

On her actual birthday we had her little bear sing to her as soon as she woke up in the morning. She loved it! Dancing (bouncing) and smiling the whole time! This video is of the first time around, we had to play it several times to keep her happy.

This is one of the last times but I love her expressions at the end!

Once we were up and moving we had pictures done but you can scroll back and see those when I posted them on her actual birthday.

Next post...it's party time!