Our last Big Girl

It is finally over - the days of diapers!!! Caitlin is officially out of diapers. It took two days of constant reminding to go potty - and the girls had it down. I must say, it was the easiest potty training I have ever dealt with (not that I have dealt with much). She does number one and two in the potty and is staying dry throughout the night so when her last pullup has been used, the waterproof mattress covers go on, and she is all underwear!! I love this girl - she is so independent. Now she wants to go to school but thanks to California, the cut off date for kindergarten is moving back from December 5 to September 1 so it will be a whole nother 3 years!!! (Yeah - I know her birthday falls after December 5 but only by a month - I was really hoping to push her in as she will be so ready. If it wasn't for writing and knowing all her letters and numbers, she is ready now - mainly socially!) For her reward for being diaper free - we went to the zoo and as she continues to do good (for a whole month), we will be going to Great America at the end of September. She is so excited for that!!

So babies are done in the McDaniel household but we do have a little baby niece on the way - congratulations Auntie Melissa!! February will be here before we know it and another little beautiful girl will be in the family.

US Soccer - Watch Out!!

Delilah decided she wanted to do soccer this year. Although not the most coordinated, she has proven herself with determination. The first two games, she has played goalie (as well as out on the field). The first game, she stopped a couple of attempts. The first time she stopped one, she got so excited that she turned into rugby gear and took the ball and kept running. :-) The next game, she learned her lesson with that and did a good job throwing the ball out and not leaving the box but when she wasn't playing goalie - she forgot that she wasn't. There was a chance for her to have possibly scored a goal, but instead of kicking it - she picked up the ball. I can definitely say, she keeps it lively for us!! We are proud of our lil' soccer player and her dedication and determination to learn a new sport. Maybe next year we will get Mikayla out there - but for right now, she is enjoying learning to play piano and cheering Delilah on from the sidelines.

Our 1st Graders

I can't believe our oldest daughters are finally first graders. Wow!!! They had a good first day of school... had the same teacher... and 8 of the same classmates as they moved into first and got a whole new 10 kindergarteners. They are loving being the older kids in class and being able to help out the younger ones. We haven't decided yet, and won't do it for some time, but this may be their last year together - or maybe not. As of right now, it doesn't cause a problem with them being together. They each have their own friends and do their own thing and don't talk much in class so we will see.

Delilah Bungee Jumping

During our trip to Six Flags, Delilah wanted to do the skycoaster.... Michael videotaped us doing it and Delilah laughed the entire time and afterwards said she wanted to do it again! What do we have in store for us??? An adrenaline junkie. It was a blast though however, I must say it is not as much fun doing it with my 6 1/2 year old daughter just thinking if something happens - it will happen to her too.

Our Summer Trip to Colorado

We made a trip out to visit my aunt and uncle in Palmer Lake, Colorado. It was a long drive but the girls did wonderful. On the way out there, we stopped in Utah for two nights. During the full day that we were there, we went to the dinosaur museum. The girls loved it and really enjoyed seeing the dinosaurs they did reports on this past year at school. The next day, we drove through Wyoming and down to Colorado. We stayed at Aunt Dee Dee and Uncle Hugh's house and they showed us a wonderful time in Colorado. We went to the Garden of Gods and hiked there (as much hiking as one can do with a 2 1/2 year old); the next day we met Aunt Dee Dee and Uncle Hugh's grandsons and went with them to the Cheyenne Mountain zoo and the girls got to feed the giraffes and we took a ski lift ride to the top of the hill; girls got a treat going to American Girl store - very overwhelming with so many dolls and accessories but the girls loved it; went to Focus On The Family that has a huge 75 foot slide and a whole area for the girls to play in that had Adventures of Odyssey stuff to dress up in (as well as the Narnia wardrobe); drove around the campus of the Air Force Academy. We had a lot of fun spending time with them and Colorado is as beautiful as I remember. Now lets see if we can get Michael out during the winter!!

Our drive back was a quick one - only one night stay in Utah and then off we went to get back home as soon as possible. It is always nice to go on vacation but so nice to be back home!!

One thing we were reminded about during this trip that we want to share the three key ingredients to a wonderful life: First - God; Second - Family; and Third - Friends.

And Mikayla follows...

I haven't had chance to upload it yet but Mikayla tried today and picked it up quickly. She got the riding part but had a huge problem starting. She currently has the mentality that if she can't get it every single time - she failed and then she can't do it. After a long talk, she got back on the saddle and started up like a match on gasoline!! I am very proud of both girls. Our next step will be to take the training wheels off of their real big girl bikes. The ones they are riding right now are 12" bikes - allowing them to have better control. Their 16" bikes are the ones that we will have them conquer next... then hills... and then some serious family bike rides. CAN'T WAIT!!!

Off She Goes...

It was just another day in our backyard when Delilah saw two tiny bikes behind mommy and daddy's bikes. She says - I want to try that again. So with a little hesitation, I got it out. I figured she would get frustrated and stop after 5 minutes. I was 1/2 right. She did get frustrated but that girl had some serious determination. In our backyard we practiced for a good 30 minutes, over and over, with me following behind. She started to get the hang of it in little spurts so we took it over to the school and she was off. I got a video of her on her first try over at the school. From that point on - she just kept riding and riding. However, we need to get her to practice stopping now. She ran into 3 poles during the 3o minutes we were over there. Thank goodness for helmets but wished there was so padding on her legs too!

Tomorrow, Mikayla wants to try to do it now. Hopefully I will post another positive outcome tomorrow!

Easter 2010 Weekend

We started the Easter festivities on Thursday, doing 4 of the 12 Resurrection eggs each day - ending on Saturday before we went to Easter services. The girls LOVED searching for them each day and also learning more about Jesus. Mikayla gets teary-eyed every time we do it and she even was sad at church about how much hurt Jesus went through for us. LOVE IT!!! She has so much passion for learning about Him right now. Praying she will make it through Vacation Bible School this year - she might actually fill herself up with a lot more knowledge. (she didn't make it through last year due to too many kids and too loud - this coming from the loudest child of all!)

On Saturday, we dyed some eggs. The egg scrooge only allowed 12 eggs but next year, we will dye them when the egg scrooge is not around. :-)

After getting back from dinner after Easter services.

Caitlin's Easter basket

Delilah's Easter basket (which had the game that she wanted to buy soooo bad. And Mikayla said - "The Easter Bunny got it for you - now you don't have to spend your money." HA!)

Caitlin did an awesome job for her first time. Her eggs were all on one side of the front yard.

And the girls were on the other side... Delilah finding some near the rose bushes

Mikayla found some behind the mailbox

All done and ready to go check out their goodies...

Yummy....jelly beans and chocolate

Yeah - her hair is looking kind of wild. It was one of those Easters - no where to go - just enjoying family and daddy's yummy cooking. And of course, enjoying chocolate easter bunnies!

Hee hee - I bit the ear off.

Who me?? I didn't take a bite.

Hope every had a beautiful Easter with family and friends. Thank you God for sending your Son to die on the cross for us so that we can live forever in your arms. He is risen!

Spring Break - Day 5 - Dinner at Susumo's

Hmmmmm!! There is a place up here in Roseville that is similar to Benihana's but way better (at least compared to the one here in Sacramento). The place is called Susumo's and was so delicious. The girls enjoyed watching the food being cut up and cooked in front of us and mommy got the most delicious dessert. It was called the Chef's special but was some banana grilled/flamebeed with brown sugar and cranberries and ice cream. Ohhh - I was in heaven!!

Spring Break - Day 3 - Fishing at the lake

After getting Caitlin her own pole this year (a Dora fishing pole), we headed out to the lake with a picnic lunch. The lake was so full of water and I think if it wasn't for the cold weather and the loud girls banging on the boat, we may have been able to catch something. But not this time. Oh well - we all had a blast (until about 15 minutes before we were getting ready to leave). Mikayla had to say bye bye to her princess fishing pole. She threw her cast and as the line was going into the water, the pole slipped out of her hand and we found out that not all kids poles float. I think even the fish in Tahoe heard the cries of a little girl. Sorry fishermen all over California on Monday. :-)

As we were leaving, all the sheep were roaming around the lake to eat the grass up. Caitlin loved it and I had to take pictures. If you look closely at the second shot - I actually got a picture of one of the sheep going to the bathroom - oops.

Spring Break - Day 1 - Fairytale Town and Dinner in the Park

Today was the first day of spring break for Daddy and the girls. We started off heading to a birthday party at Fairytale Town. The girls were a little "shy" at first meeting Gavin and his older brothers but then started to have fun.

Caitlin (Tin Man), Mikayla (Dorothy), and Delilah (Starstruck Scarecrow)

Mikayla and Caitlin on the turtle

Delilah, looking like a superstar.

After the party, we ran some errands and finally decided to go get something for dinner. Of course, as soon as we started driving, Caitlin fell asleep (this was day one of her not taking naps at home for a whole week. Sometimes not even taking a nap). So we headed to the grocery store, got some chicken, rolls, vegetables and drinks (that momma packed) and headed to the park to enjoy a evening picnic and fun as the sun was setting.

Mikayla hanging from the tree

Delilah doing her ANTM pose - wait till you see the next pic (from sweet...)

to sour....

Caitlin looking as sweet as she can when she is nervous of being up in the tree.

Surprise Trip to Monterey

Although financially it has been a little tougher with Michael having his "furlough" Mondays twice a month, it has also been nice having that extra day with him especially this past weekend! On Thursday we decided let's go to Monterey Bay Aquarium but didn't tell the girls. So I packed overnight bags for everyone (without the girls knowing) and after a birthday party on Saturday, we headed down to Monterey. We finally arrived at the hotel around 5 and they were so excited to be at a hotel but even more excited to find out it had an indoor swimming pool. How fun!!!

After swimming and all the excitement, Caitlin was pooped out and slept for the first time in a big girl blow up bed (no more pack-n-plays)

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium - outdoors looking for whales and other sea animals

Girls playing in the kid zone

The seahorse exhibit - so cool!

The little thing that Delilah is pointing at is a tiny little seahorse.

Daddy and his girls in front of one of the large tanks

Beautiful - closest I will ever see these beautiful fish in this habit as I will never go scuba diving.

A penguin squawking at Delilah

Don't laugh at Delilah looking like a chicken - she won a contest with Radio Disney and got a Wii pony game. :-)

The drive home seemed to be a long one but hopefully we will go back in summer!! We didn't get to go to a cool local park called Dennis the Menace park. The girls were exhausted with all the fun they had so we didn't want a melt down and just got back on the road. At least Michael had Monday to recuperate.