Daily with the Daniels

We took the children to a local pumpkin stand (really wish we could have gone back to the pumpkin patch but it just didn’t work out this year) there were lots of pumpkins to choose from and Reese was very picky when it came to picking out the perfect one!

Reese said we needed big pumpkins and small pumpkins!

We had a successful pumpkin picking trip, grabbed some hay bales and now we have some fall decor in front of our house!

Happy Fall!

Since Reese’s actual birthday was on Labor Day this year we decided to have it a few weeks later (hoping for cooler temps as well…) but it was still pretty warm out!

This year she told me she wanted a “polka dottie” birthday party.  So I decided to get a little crafty and go with the Polka Dot theme.

I made this balloon wreath (there are 288 balloons on that thing!)

Although I made it for this party I have decided it may just become the “birthday” wreath….maybe.

Here’s a closer look:

I also made circle labels for the food:

I tried to use round food or make the food round, my favorite item though was the round Rice Crispy treats I made

The kids  (and adults) got to decorate their own rice crispy treat with frosting and sprinkles… can I just say YUMMY!

Cousin Lakeley (above) and the Birthday Girl (below)

Harrison and Uncle Chris sharing a treat!

Blowing out her candles!

(why I didn’t move the cake closer to the edge of the table is beyond me….)

The Birthday Girl with her “pink” Cake (her request) and milk.

My brother and Harrison

and on the way out was the party favors…. Bouncy Balls and Lollipops!

Our sweet little girl is 3 years old.  What a fun and challenging age.  Doing things with her now is so much fun because she understands so much.  She tells big long elaborate stories now, run on sentence kind of stories and we just laugh!  She is so full of love, entertainment and a little bit of sassiness!  She understands the concept of friends coming over to play or vice versa and will now ask us if she can have a friend over to play with because she is done playing with Harrison! ha! (she doesn’t say it in a mean way, its more of a wanting a friend other than her brother to play with)  She is very forgiving of her brother.  If she is playing with something he really wants and he throws a fit for it she gives in and will say “It’s okay Harrison, here you can have it!”  I love that about her!   They still play so well together, we love that they are close enough in age to enjoy playing together and we hope it last.  We are so proud of the little girl she has become and can not wait to see what God has in store for our her.  Each day is a blessing (even when I want to go in my closet and be alone), each day is a learning lesson (for all of us) and each night is bitter sweet, no matter how the day has gone our bed time has to be our most favorite time.  She crawls in bed, daddy sits at the foot of her bed and I kneel at the side.  We sing ring around the rosie, Jesus loves me, and then say Prayers (now I lay me down to sleep…) then she prays for people by name, seriously puts so much joy in our hearts!

Then….Born on the same special date, as Miss Reese, three years later…

Here is my precious new niece!

Steve and I took Reese to Disney on Ice this year at the fair.  We were so excited to see how excited she would be when she saw Minnie and Mickey and the Princesses!  She is really into all the Disney characters right now and to think of how cool it would be for her to see them in person was so exciting!  We tried to get a picture of the three of us before we left but she was having one of many 3 year old melt downs for no reason, because as you all know it is SO tough to be 3!

so this is the best…

Once we got to the fair she was all excited.  When we were finding a parking space she said “Mommy are we parking so we can go to Disney?” then once we parked and got out of the car she asked “how do we get there, to see Disney?”  Little did we know we went in the gate that was right by the petting zoo, so she made a dash straight to see the animals!

She absolutely loves petting zoo’s, not because she wants to pet the animals, but because she wants to feed ALL of them!

On our journey to see “Disney”  she spotted the water fountain and had to go check it out.

Then she spotted some rides…she really wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel but we were able to get her attention on to the big slide and obstacle course….which she loved!

I love this picture!  So lady like to go down a slide in a dress…hee hee!  This big slide was a huge sharks mouth and it was REALLY tall, so tall that she was climbing up and after a few minutes I was worried that she got lost because she hadn’t come down yet.

Then she was on to the next one… It was an obstacle course apparently the LONGEST one EVER

(so the sign said!)

There were a few strawberries on her skin after all this but boy did she have fun!  She loves bounce houses and slides!

So finally we were on our way to “Disney”  once we were in the doors we slowly managed to find out seats through the crowds of people!

Here we are in out seats with the hottest buy of the night…a… AHEM… $22.00 light up twirly thing that was sure to hit anyone within a 3 feet range!  I tell you what, Disney is very proud of all their products!  Pretty sure we also bought a box of $10.00 popcorn because Mickey and Minnie were on the box and of course we had to have some cotton candy because it came with EARS….

Hee Hee…Gotta love the Mickey/Minnie ears!

She loved the show, loved the fair and did not want o leave!  What a special memory for Steve and I, to see her face light up when she saw the characters on the ice, to hear the excitement in her voice as she would point out the characters she saw and  most of all to have a date night out with daddy!  Thanks daddy for taking us to see “Disney”!   We love you and appreciate all that you do for us!

Three years old!  Our sweet Reese Kate is 3 years old! This birthday has been so much fun!  She actually understands the concept of her birthdate and how old she is.  All week long she would tell Steve and I “its almost my birthday!”  She was so excited this morning when she woke up and we walked in her room singing Happy Birthday to her!  She loves telling you how old she is and holding up 3 fingers.

We had lunch today with family and then came home to open presents and eat some YUMMY cookie cake!

This little girl just amazes her daddy and I.  She has such a sweet kind heart and is so fun to be with.  I just want to bottle her up right now so I don’t forget these wonderful times!

Well for the two of you who have mentioned you have missed my blog post…  here is the last three months in review!   I really do not know how I have gone this many months without any updates.  I guess it is laziness….I always have good intentions of posting all the fun things we do and then….well I guess it is obvious…I fall short!  So this post will be a little recap of our last few months.

We have had a family fun filled summer!  It started off with little miss Reese’s first ballet recital.  She did amazing, remembered her dance and had a blast!  We are so proud of her!  I just can not get over how much she has matured in the last 6 months.  We have had so much fun!

These two play so well together!  We are so blessed that they truly love each other and love playing together.  Reese is usually awake before Harrison and she just can not wait for him to get up in the mornings.  She will ask me “is it time to get Harrison up yet mom?” and when he finally decides to get up (which sometimes is after 10am!) she loves going into his room and telling him “good morning bubby” and he always laughs!  It is the most precious things ever and it happens every morning!   I snapped this picture one day as they were sitting in the floor in our room watching tv.  You can not really tell but Reese was sitting down and Harrison walked over and sat in her lap and so she gave him a hug!  She always looks out for Harrison and includes him.  We cherish these moments and hope they continue forever!

I took the kids to their first parade.  We went to the 4th of July parade in downtown Edmond.  It was super humid and started raining towards the end of the parade, but the kids loved it!

Reese loved sitting on the side of the road waving her american flag and watching all the excitement.

We went to Chester’s Party Barn and played with the animals.  There were lots of goats and I mean LOTS!  They were everywhere.  Reese loved feeding them and boy did they love to eat!

Harrison wasn’t too sure about the goats.  He would watch them but did not want to get to close.

However, he LOVED riding the pony!  He smiled from ear to ear and laughed the whole time!!!  He thought this was the greatest thing ever!  When his turn was over he cried and cried and cried!  He was devastated to have to get off the pony!

We have spent a lot of time at the pool this summer!  Reese took swim lessons at the beginning of the summer and became a fish!  Every night she says to me “tomorrow mommy, were going to go swimming!” and when I say every night I mean it, she just went to bed and as I was leaving to close the door she said this to me then said “okay mommy” I said “okay Reese” and she said “night night!”

We have played hard, stayed up past our bed times, eaten a lot of ice cream, played with friends and family, made lots of memories and had an amazing summer!

They have played so hard that they fall asleep in their car seats quite often!

We have spent a lot of time at Oak Tree National chipping, putting, and playing in the sand bunkers.  Reese and Harrison love going to “National Oak Tree” (that’s what Reese calls it) to get M&M’s and milk and to play golf!

These are memories Steve and I will forever cherish.  These little munchkins bring so much joy to our lives!  Reese is always keeping us on our toes with her knowledge and willingness to learn and Harrison is just as sweet as they come.

Ok so now that I have caught up on the summer here’s to hoping I do not get this far behind again!  There are lots of things I left out and I hope to post those here soon!  Until then, I hope you enjoyed reading about our summer fun!

I took the kids to the park the other day and man, it was so much more HOT outside then I expected!  It didn’t help that the humidity was extremely high and there was no wind!  The kids had a great time, running around, sliding, swinging and sweating!  Did I mention it was HOT!

I’m sure this was just the first of many trips to the park this summer!

I just feel the need to share with you all some of the funny, sweet and sincere moments we get these days with Reese.  She is at such a fun age!  She is 2 years and 8 months old and so fun to be with!  She goes to mothers day out and has learned so much!  She loves to sing and loves songs with hand motions that go along with the words.  I’ll never forget (she was 2yrs 1 month old) the first time she came home and told me “God made me Wonderful!”  (hand motions…God – pointing to the sky, mad me – pointing to herself, wonderful – arms open wide)  It melted me heart and I was SO proud!  I could not wait for Steve to get home so she could share it with him.  Soon after she started coming home and singing all these cute little songs!  Some of them took us awhile to learn the exact words she was saying but man it is the greatest thing ever to listen to her sing songs!  I took a CD to her school and asked for the songs that they sing in music class and I put them on her iTouch and now she can sing along with her songs here at home!

She is very supportive.  She tells me “Good job mommy” when I do something, for example; I change Harrison’s diaper she tells me “Good job mommy”, she even tells Harrison good job when he does things.

She is thankful.  She says “Thank you mommy” or “Thanks mom” for example; I fix her hair…”Thanks mommy” I get her out of the car “thanks mommy”  I get her clothes for the day “thanks mom”

She is kind and caring. She loves her friends and family.  Always asking about them, where are they, when are they coming over ect…  She says her prayers every night and prays for everyone by name! She tells us “jesus loves me”  and “that we are her best friend” She gives the best bear hugs and kisses, never letting you leave our house with out one of each and a wave bye bye from the driveway!

She is funny.  One morning Steve and I were still laying in be and through her monitor we hear “Mommy” -pause- “say it louder” – pause- “Mommy”  -pause – “a little bit louder now”  – pause-“MMMMOOOOOMMMMMYYYY!”  (with each mommy getting louder as she tells herself to say it louder) Both of us cracked up laughing!  It was the funniest thing ever!  She is constantly saying some funny things or doing something that just makes us laugh out loud!

She is smart.  She knows where she lives (name of the neighborhood) and can direct you to our house from the entrance.  She counts to 20 in english and 10 in spanish (thanks Dora!) She can count with you, meaning you say 1 she says 2 you say 3 she says 4 and so on… She knows her alphabet and the sounds the letters make.  She is a whiz at the game memory.  She knows this from that, over there from over here and which shoe goes on which foot.  She knows her colors and shapes. She can sing all the words to the songs from these shows, Dora the Explorer, LIttle Einstein, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Wow Wow Wubzy and I’m sure there are some I am forgetting.  She talks to you like a child much older than she is and loves to tell stories!

This little girl is the light of our lives!  We love her so much and thank God for letting us be her parents.  Steve and I just look at her with amazement in our eyes.  We tell her all the time how much we love her and how proud she makes us.  I wish you all got the opportunity to be with her as much as we do because it truly is a blessing!

Harrison does whatever his sister does, if she climbs on the couch he climbs on the couch, if she runs around the house, he runs around the house behind her, if she sits down to read a book, he sits down with a book, it seriously is a monkey see monkey do relationship!  He adores her and she adores him.

He gets frustrated when there is something he can not do that she is doing and he will throw himself a heck of a fit until someone helps him.  He doesn’t say much, grunts and points.  (Doc says keeping up with sister is a priority in his developmental life right now and talking will come later)

He loves going to school too and loves to be outside!  The words “lets go” or “bye” can not be said unless you are ready to walk out the door because he will run to the door and bang on it until we leave.

He has a smile that is so contagious!  He is so happy and loves to laugh!

He is sweet.  He still loves to snuggle! yay!  He will rest his head on my shoulder and just lay there…ahhh it is pure bliss!  He likes to sit in my lap and play with a toy or look at a book.  He runs to daddy when he gets home from work laughing with his arms open wide!

He is determined.  He knows exactly what he wants and will not settle for anything else.

He climbs….. On EVERYTHING!

He is funny.  He loves to play peek a boo and laugh laugh laugh!  He will go pet Cooper while Cooper is sleeping and just laugh!  If he does something and is proud of himself he laughs, for example, figures out a way to get on Reese’s bed..Ha! He cracks up!

He is smart.  He knows exactly what you are saying to him and what to do.  For example, I say ” Lets get Cooper some treats and put him in his cage” he runs to the laundry room stands by the counter waiting for me to get the treats, I get the treats he holds one in each hand then runs to the kitchen to put them in Coopers cage, shuts the door to the cage and Reese locks it!  I say “you want a snack” and he runs to the pantry or the fridge for whichever kind of snack he wants.

He is busy.  He is on the go all day long!  Busy busy busy…lots to do, lots to learn!

We love him so much and are so thankful to God for blessing us with a little boy.  We are so excited to see what the future holds!

So I finally transferred all my pictures from my phone to iPhoto (um…there were 1524 pictures…going all the back to when Reese was 13 months old!)

Once they all got transferred I started looking through them, so I thought I would share some of the recent one.

This cracks me up…it is so Reese! Here’s the story…We were at Old Navy and had finished checking out an Reese says to me ” Mom, take my picture with my new friends!” as she runs to the manequins to hold their hands and wait for me to take her picture!  Once I took the picture she turned to them one by one and said “Bye Bye Friend!” Gave them each a kiss on the hand and off we went!

She’s a NUT!

Reese has two baby dolls that she plays with, she has named them “Pink” and “Yellow”.  Where these names came from we are not sure but none the less these are their names.  Here lately Pink has been going everywhere with us.  She goes to the grocery store, she goes out to eat with us, and when Reese goes to school I have strict instructions to tote Pink along with me while I run errands.

Pink and Yellow get put in time out, they take naps, they get fed and occasionally they get dropped!  She rocks them, sings to them, pats them and tells them “you don’t need to cry” and “its okay”.  She is so sweet with these two little babies of hers.

Sometimes she lets Harrison play with Yellow, but never Pink.  Sometimes she leaves Yellow in her bed to sleep but never Pink.  Yellow is more likely to be put in time out (I’m not sure what she does to deserve that) but never Pink.

So I thought you all needed to meet Pink, since she is such a big part of Reese’s life right now.

This picture was taken one morning after I had dropped the kids off at school.  Before Reese got out of the car she buckled Pink in and told me ” Mommy, Pink is all buckled and ready to run errands with you.”

Oh how I love my little Reese Kate!

We took the kids to the Edmond Arts Festival this year.  It was a great evening.  The weather was great and the food was even better!  After having my fair share of an Indian Taco, bites of Reese’s corn dog, a few fried pickles and an adult beverage it was time to take the kids to the kids area.  Reese immediately saw the ponies and wanted to ride,

Then it was on too the big inflatable slide,

Lucky for me, she wanted me to ride with her!  yay!!!

Then she was ready to go all by herself.

and of course Harrison needed to go down the slide so once again….lucky for me I got to go again!

Our attempt at a family photo again…not so easy these days!

Then Reese decided to sit and watch the “Choo Choo Train” go by!  We had a great time, Reese did not want to leave.  She kept telling us we needed to go down the slide “one more time” then we could go. Precious little girl!