Milestone!

Danielle made her first deposit into her potty tonight. Well, actually, she peed into it two nights ago, so that was probably the first milestone; this is the second. And it was just an ink drop-sized pooplet. Whatever. I like the trendline.

As you can see, Danielle is a sophisticated young lady now.

More Danielle pics!

OK, I've got some really cute Danielle pictures coming up(which is the only reason you read this blog, I know), but I'm waiting for Aunt Lizzie to get me a CD of the shots.

ZZ babysat last night, so that Mary and I, Diana, and Matt could all go to the One World Theater last night, courtesy of a radio contest that Mary won. Great venue, good (free) food, and "limo" ride.

And upon our return, Daddy got to watch the Steeler game on DVR. Love that modern technology.

Bountiful harvest

Danielle had a Christmas blast at Cita's house. Watching her surrounded by gifts and wrapping paper reminded us just how much our cups runneth over: we are all together (save one), healthy, happy, and, obviously, not suffering financially, due to the economy.

Willie joined us a bit after these photos were taken. We were grateful to be spending the holiday as a family. Cita's house is always cozy and welcoming for us, and Big D really enjoyed herself. She spent the most time playing with the small stocking-stuffer gifts that Cita bought, which TOTALLY justifies my philosophy that our kids get just two presents: an empty box for Christmas, and a stick for their birthdays. Hasbro, Mattel, and Playskool combined are no match for a child's imagination.  :-)

Willie and his girlfriend Katherine found a perfect memorial for Dad: an inscribed paver stone that will be part of the Dallas Cowboy's new football stadium. Perfect!

Cita's sister Elizabeth and her kids Aubrey and Josie took Danielle under their wing, and even babysat her (along with Lizzie) for a morning, giving Mommy and me a much-welcomed little break.

Lizze promises to send us a CD of the photos and videos that we shot on her cool digital camera, so I'll post more of those when they come in. Here's a few in the meantime.

Happy Holidays!

Danielle Christmas shopping at Macy's

We fought the madness that was The Mall on Saturday night. Danielle insisted on carrying our bag of shoes. Well, not so much carrying as dragging. But it's the thought that counts.

Danielle discovers Dandelions

We made a quick day trip today to visit my Mom and stepfather, who live between College Station and Huntsville. It wasn't a long visit, but we took Mom to lunch, and we all ran around the fields outside the Navasota football stadium, where Danielle had fun picking dandelion seed heads and watching them blow out of her hand as she ran around. Alas, my crappy iPhone camera shutter was too slow to catch any of those action shots.

Mom loaded Big D up with presents, including a new purse and cute musical reindeer (life expectancy: 30 days). She also sent us back with a homemade cherry pie, baked by one of the local town ladies. Yummmmmm.

On the way back, we stopped at a Dairy Queen, where Danielle chomped down a Dilly Bar, then decided to "share" with Mommy.

Oh yeah- during dinner, Mary helped me figure out my "special purpose" (apologies to Steve Martin).

Long day, but lots of fun.

The Danielle Show

Big D being silly at home.

Family time

Danielle had a fun visit to Grandma's last month. She decided that Grandma Janie's rollers were about the coolest thing going, so she made Momma put them in her own hair.

Later she had fun trying to keep up with cousins Patrick and Broderick, and visiting Aunt Caroline.

Danielle does Disneyland

Whew!

Danielle, Mommy, and Daddy took a whirlwind tour of Los Angeles, which served as a business trip, vacation, catch-up time with old friends and new, and a recon mission to see where (and if) we might want to live in L.A.

We answered the "if": the answer is yes, we're going, barring serious unforeseen disaster. Nevermind the foreseen disaster. Life is short, and we've been broke before, so there ya go.

As for the "where", we got lots of help from old friends, and new friends, like Dad's friend Cliff. In order of preference, it looks like:

1. Santa Monica
2. West or North Hollywood
3. Burbank
4. Glendale
5. Sherman Oaks
6. Silverlake
7. Eagle Rock.

Meanwhile, Danielle's new favorite uncle and Disney Benefactor, Reagan Brown, scored us free admission to the Magic Kingdom. Danielle wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she was out of her mind with joy. I was amazed at the logistical precision of the place. Danielle was amazed at how many kids there are in this place!

I've created a photo album of some of our favorite pics here.

Horns spank Mizzou; brunch with Cita & Lizzie

Sunday morning, the day after the UT Longhorns consolidated their grip on the BCS #1 ranking by dismantling the Missouri Tigers, Cita treated us all to brunch downtown at Pecan Street Cafe. Lizzie, Mary, and I took turns walking Danielle around so the rest of us could eat, until we figured out that Big D really loved the "fizzy" sounds that jelly beans make when you put them in water with lemon. The waiter loved us. ;-)

Danielle had a blast, and insisted on a two-arm swing ride from Aunt ZZ and Momma to cap off the morning. Then we dragged her off to a bunch of appointments and errands, including Daddy picking up his new baby: iPhone 3G. Yeaaaaaaah, baaaaabeeee. Momma inherits The Original.

Danielle and Zach visit

Yay! Daddy finally remembered to get some video and photos for the blog!

Well, sort of. Actually, it was Mommy who remembered. But hey, who's counting?

Aunt Lizzie and her boyfriend Zach came over for dinner, and thoroughly entertained our daughter Danielle, who was jamming to "Wheels on the Bus". Zach just moved to the ATX- welcome! - and Aunt ZZ just completed her freshman midterms at UT. They're both feeling out the city.

Z got a scary taste of Life in the Big City last weekend when a crazy redneck with a gun started acting up at a popular eatery on the Drag. Fortunately, she's packing Dad's pepper spray! I told her I would give her self-defense lessons, if she wanted.

We did grab some video of Danielle rocking out with her Aunt. If you listen closely, you can hear her say "ZZ" and "Zach". We were so glad they came over. Hope to see them again soon!