VBS, 23 Months and San Antonio...

Vacation Bible School was great... as it always is!  I am so blessed to be a part of a church that puts so much emphasis on the Jesus Journey.  Our church writes their own VBS curriculum and has an amazing team of ministers, assistants and volunteers to help things run smoothly.  This year, I was able to be a part of that team as a "Hallway Coordinator".  I know, it sounds pretty official, right?  Basically, I made sure the younger preschool and nursery classrooms had what they needed and the teachers were able to visit the wonderful goodie room. 

Ellasyn had a blast at "Bible schooo" and even sang herself to sleep on the last night singing..."Have fun Bible Schooooooo... Noaaaaah" (one of her sweet buddies). 

Because of the busyness of that week, I forgot all about taking her 23 month picture!  However, I did remember the morning that we were getting ready to leave town for a four day weekend and was able to snap a couple quick shots.  I am half sad and half relieved that I only committed to the monthly pictures through 24 months.  Relieved because it is hard to remember now that she is older and I am always late in making them.  But sad because that means she is growing up and turning into a little girl... no longer a baby. *glistening tear down my cheek and a big sigh*

Moving on....

We took our first McDaniel family of three vacation to San Antonio! Despite some naptime/bedtime difficulties, and a few squabbles over who needed to push the stroller and who needed to ride in it... we had an amazing trip.  Ellasyn loved the "Hotel Voom" and the fact that she got to sleep in a big bed.  Our hotel was right on the Riverwalk and she loved riding the elevator down the the water.  She kept asking to "Geh in!" Uh... no, I don't think so. Yucky.  We went to all the typical San Antonio attractions... Riverwalk, Market Square, Alamo, The Quarry, and my favorite... Sea World.

~ reading books with her animals during the car ride ~

~ claiming her bed in the hotel room ~



~ dinner on the riverwalk ~





We had fun at Market Square looking for a Mexican dress (you know the bright colored ones with the embroidered flowers) and a child sized belt to have her name branded on. 

We walked across the street from our hotel to the Alamo on July 4 to take some pictures and spent the rest of that day in Gruene.  When we came back we found out that it was the first time in the history of Bexar County that there would not be fireworks.  Sad. So instead we went on the river boat tour, and watched fireworks on tv.

~ This is pretty typical of Ellasyn's photo sessions ~
~ She is too quick to catch on camera! ~

~ red, white and blue family photo ~



The last day we were there was Sea World!  I have wanted to take Ellasyn ever since I heard of the new Sesame Street Bay of Play that they added this summer.  She loves Abby Cadabby and Elmo... even though she has seen maybe half of an episode of Sesame Street.  We have lots of books and the characters are on some of the Earth's Best products that she likes.  Right before this trip, she watched an episode of Abby's Flying Fairy School on the computer and learned that fairies have wings and fly.  She would flit around the living room and say, "I'm a fee-fee!"  So cute.  Ethan and I were a little disappointed in the "Bay" part, but Ellasyn loved playing in the splash area and seeing the character show.  

~ excited to go to sea world ~

~ waiting for the park to open ~

We watched another show called Azul. It was a beluga/dolphin/Cirque de Soleil type show with divers jumping and flipping off of the rafters in between the fish mammals. I was pretty impressed.

We visited the dolphins and E and Miss E got to pet them.  We saw fish and sharks, sea lions with their sweet tiny (not really) new pups, seals and sea otters. Ellasyn loved them all!

~ running through the splash area with Daddy ~

~ dancing while we wait for Elmo and friends ~

~ shaking her little booty ~

~ Zoe was a little too furry for E's liking ~

~ she liked Abby much better ~

~ her first ferris wheel experience ~

~ petting the dolphins ~



We stopped by the Lost Lagoon water park to ride the lazy river. It was a big hit!  Ellasyn loved "See-ming"  She wore a life vest and we were in tubes... but it was difficult to hold onto her.  We figured out that if we all wore life jackets it was easier to float along with her.  It was fun, but not shaded.  I got a little fried.

~ floating in the lazy river ~

~ playing in the kiddie pool ~



Before we got to Sea World we told her that we were going to see whales she got so excited and said, "Jonaaaah!"  She loves the story of Jonah being swallowed by the "Biiiig fiss". I am a little glad that she was asleep when we got down to the Shamu show... that theater was packed to the gills. Ha. (I know that whales are really mammals) Ethan and I watched for a little while from the very top and got to see the newest Baby Shamu. It was pretty cute to see him/her doing the tricks with the Momma Shamu.  On the way back from Shamu, since Ellasyn was sleeping comfortably in her stroller we just parked her in the shade  she and I waited in the shade while Ethan rode the Journey to Atlantis.



~ Ethan is in the last row on the far left ~

A full day of fun in the sun = free evening of entertainment riding the elevators up and down the 11 floors of the air conditioned hotel. 

~ who needs to pack bath toys when you have two cups and a spoon? ~

~ a little maraca seranade ~

~ my sweet girl in her favorite "Cars" jammies on the roof of the hotel ~

It took all evening, but the pictures are loaded. Enjoy!

Love,

Us

22 1/2 Months!

Where has the time gone? No. Seriously. Where??  My baby is almost two!  She loves to remind me... "ah-mose two".

Her vocabulary has exploded. She is stringing two, three, sometimes four words together.  She is also repeating things that she hears us say. Fortunately, the worst of it has been, "C'mon Doood!" 

Some of my favorite sayings, so far, are:
"Ah nee goves ahn!" (I need gloves on! She is a little obsessed with the gloves that her caretakers wear while changing diapers, and I am thankful that they wear them.  She reminds them to!)

"I hurt knee. Pay gahn." ( I hurt my knee on the playground.  She has just learned what "hurt" means.  After a broken arm scare... which turned out to be a bruised/strained elbow?... she now knows that you can get hurt on the playground.)

"ahp baby" (Wrap up baby.  This can be used when she wraps her baby, or when she wants you to wrap her up like a baby.)

"I see deeger" or " uhllah digger" (I see digger. Yellow digger. There is a digger that has been working near our house and she loves to see it when we drive past.)

"Ess-ahn's sahns" (Ellasyn's songs. She loves to listen to her Bible songs in Mommie's car.)

"Go-ging ah-side" ( Going outside. She loves to play outside!)

"Pat hiney"  "Mommie see dahn" "Mommie see cah-pet" (Referring to bedtime when I sit on the floor by her bed and pat her hiney or her back. Mommie sit down, or sit on the carpet.)

She uses "I see", "I need" and "Have that" more than I can count in one day.  It always makes me laugh when she repeats the same phrase over and over with exactly the same pronunciation and inflection and I have NO idea what she is talking about. 

Here is her rocking chair picture this month...

Toddler Bed and Mother's Day

We have moved Ellasyn to a toddler bed and the crib has been taken down. 

I used to say that I would keep her in a crib until either, 1. she could not fit, or 2. we needed it for another baby.  Well, neither of those things happened, but it just felt like the right timing.  We found a great deal on the bed we liked and it matches her 50's mod furniture pretty closely. 

The first night was a success. Actually every night has been successful... It is nap time that is challenging. Since the sun is still up and all.  Black out curtains can only do so much! 

My parent's came up for a visit, making my Mother's Day weekend a little extra sweet.  We went out for donuts Saturday morning, went shopping in the afternoon , and took Ellasyn to play her first round of Putt Putt that evening.  She had more fun running on the greens, dancing to the music, riding her golf club like a broom and chasing everyone's golf balls. She is such a silly little goose!

Here are some pics of the weekend happenings:

~ E loved all the concrete "ah-mohs" ~

~ Making sure Papa is counting all his putts ~

~ My two most favorite people in the world! ~

~ I had to add this one, so you can see what a goofball she is ~ :)



~ Be happy! ~




~ clapping her hands to the music ~
~ She loves to "Daas" ~



~ Action shot of her running down the putting green. ~
~ She loves her "boo shoos" from Papa! ~

~ Reading the "Hungy Pah-poh" with Marmee ~

~ Having a little imaginary snack with her puppy ~

These are from last week... but I had to add them, too. She loves to wear her rain "boose" and it finally rained so we got to go out and play a little.  She enjoyed splashing in the little puddle that was on top of this boulder.  She kept saying "Wah-ooh, wah-ooh"  (water) and "spash"!

Happy Mother's Day!

Love, The McDaniel Family

Easter and 21 Months!

We had a lovely Easter, I hope that you all did, too! This year was my first year to attend our church's Good Friday service and I must say that it will not be the last.  There is something wonderful about seeing people participate in the Lord's Supper while hearing nails being driven into a wooden cross. It was beautiful.

We celebrated on Sunday by attending church and having lunch and an egg hunt with the McDaniel family.  It was a little overcast outside but the rain held off.  Ellasyn had a blast with her cousins and was a great little egg hunter! She racked up $3.56 in change for her piggy bank and wanted to hold all of it in her "hanns" at once... she was so frustrated that she kept dropping her "mummy".

~ following the Reese's egg trail from her room to the front door ~

 ~ thanking us for her Easter basket ~

 ~ having a few puffs as a breakfast appetizer ~

~ our family picture attempt ~

 ~ her "Egg-cited" face ~

~ putting eggs back in her bucket after they spilled as she climbed in the chair ~

Ellasyn turned twenty one months on Monday! Oh my goodness... we have to start training her to answer "Two" when people ask how old she is.

She loves to count... "Ah, too, pee, fo!" (but only when you are not listening) and play with her "boss" (blocks/legos). When Daddy builds a tower for her to knock down, she says "boss fa dow" She still loves to put anything in a bucket or bag, pull on her rain boots and find her "keys", which are really a bunch of bangles zip tied together. She loves talking on the "pho" and playing with her stuffed "puh-pee dows".  She got her first scraped knees and we put on some Hello Kitty "ba bas" (band aids).  When those ran out she had to settle for "Daddy ba bas" (plain ole band aids). As you can see, her vocabulary is really picking up! Her first sentence was, "Daddy drives a school bus".  Which is true during football, track or cross country seasons.

Here are some pictures of our precious girl. No matter how old she gets, she will always be our baby.

She loves her shadow... and was totally
in awe of it standing right in front of her!

So like any of us would have done...
she gave herself a kiss. :)

Somebody found Mommie's lip STAIN!
Did you know that baby wipes take off just about anything?

Papa came to visit!

We took him to the art festival in FW and ate at Risky's BBQ.
E loved all the animals... especially the moose. (not pictured)

The three youngest McD cousins came to play!

Poor baby William was trying to rest,
but the girls thought it looked like to much fun not to join in.

~ 21 MONTHS ~

Twenty Months and a McDaniel Update

Ellasyn is twenty months and I can't believe she is so close to turning two!  She is pairing words together on a regular basis and surprises me each day with new combos.  My favorites so far are: Da-dees Bay-bee, Ma-mees Bay-bee, Pu-pee Daw and Schoo Bus.  We are still working on her own name, but she seems to have every one else's down.

She is a true toddler! She loves to run (away from me, mostly), climb and be in charge.  Her favorite toys are anything having to do with animals. She loves to put her puppy dogs in her easter basket and tote them around. She enjoys being outside and just become aware of bugs.  She is a little skittish of roly polys and ants and she always makes sure that I am aware that they are near by.

Our whole family has been going through some transition the last few weeks since I have started a new job.  It all started about 6 weeks ago when I got a call from the Preschool Minister at our church. After much prayer and consideration... long story short... I am the new Preschool Associate for First Baptist Church of Arlington.  I coordinate childcare and direct our Mother's Day Out program.  As most of you know, this is all new to me.  I could not and would not have done it with out confirmation from loved ones and most importantly leading from God.  I know that there is no way that this would have worked out with out HIS divine plan behind it. Ellasyn comes with me and stays in child care when it is offered. She has adjusted beautifully and only went through some minor attachement issues.  A big thanks to Ethan for being such a great husband and Daddy!

Here are some pictures of our sweet girl...

Twenty Month Rocking Chair Picture

I am ready for my close up!

 
Pictures from our Spring Break trip to visit Uncle Bubba, Aunt Merinda, Penny and Jude...
 

Scenic Overlook of the Ozark Mountains

~ My sweet little stinker ~





~ Cousin Bath ~

~ A little Sesame St. before bed ~