Lacey Officially Turns 3!!!

We celebrated her birthday at the Georgia/Georgia Southern football game in Athens. Everyone had a great time despite the heat. (It was 88 degrees at kickoff.) The girls ran around the tailgate area playing and climbing trees. They loved it!!! I swear those girls have never been that dirty in their entire lives. From the top of their little heads to inbetween their toes, they were covered in dirt.

Our Finished Masterpieces

Here is are a picture of our painted pottery we did last week....Lela painted the pink dog and the red/green Christmas tree. Lacey painted the black Christmas tree and blue and black dog. I guess you can figure which one I painted?

Excitement In The Air

We had the girls open house for school, this morning. Next Tuesday is the big day for Lela, her first day of Kindergarten. Lacey will start on Wednesday because she just goes three days a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They both seem really excited, and so am I!!!

We met with the teachers even though we already knew them and the girls got to see their other classmates. I'm excited for both of them. Lela sat at the back of the assembly with her friends (it starts young not wanting to be seen with your parents) while Lacey sat up front with me and the other board members.

This school year has brought many changes in my life. I was asked to sit on the preschool board and as well as if I would be the room mom for Lela's class. I'm excited!!! I have some ideas, I just hope that I do a good job. Another thing I have volunteered to do is be a substitute teacher for the school when needed. Something I have never done.

Right now I can hear the song Changes by David Bowie going through my head. And I'm really excited about what lies ahead for the Daniell girls this school year.

Enjoying The Last Few Days Of Summer...

Well, seven more days and counting until school finally starts. YEAH!!! Can you tell I'm excited? It has been a long summer here at the Daniell Household. The girls are ready and I know I'm ready!!! Here is a picture of Lacey enjoying her last few days before school starts.....Can you believe this? It was our coffee table?

Lacey's 3rd Birthday Party

Lacey's 3rd Birthday party was today even though her actually birthday is not until this Saturday. (We are planning on taking the girls to their very first Georgia game that day, and it is also Labor Day Weekend. We figured with that combination the weekend before would work better for a party.)

Here are a few pictures from the big day:

Painting Pottery

For the past few weeks I had been promising the girls I would take them to paint pottery. It finally worked out that I could take them this afternoon. They were both so excited talking about what exactly they were going to paint.

I had never been to the studio but thought I knew where it was. Wrong!! After we drove around for 15 minutes looking for it I finally realized that we had driven by it about a dozen times. Only me.

We walked in and the lady who owns the studio was so nice. She took us around and showed us all the stuff we could paint, the play room where the girls could go to if they got tired of painting, etc. It was so much fun!

Lela had been saying that she was going to paint a dog and she did. She was sparkly pink with purple dots and black eyes. Lacey also did a dog, but hers was smaller. We are not quite sure what color hers will turn out because she used every color in the studio. I painted a coffee mug in my favorite colors - cream, brown, orange and lime green. I'm really excited to see them fired. Hopefully we will get them back some time next week.

I can't wait for us to go again.....

I Asked For It....I Got It!

The other day in the grocery store the girls wanted to make cupcakes. We bought the ingredients but I have been putting them off. Today, I gave in knowing what the consequences would be. Lela knocked over the bottle of sprinkles, so there were sprinkles everywhere. And Lacey in true Lacey form decided that instead of frosting the cupcakes she would frost her hands. Here's the proof....

Pictures Of Our "Snaggle Tooth"

Here is Lela's "new look." She is still in shock about having her tooth pulled and it didn't hurt :) Now all she can talk about is what she is going to buy with her money from the tooth fairy.

Eventful Day For The Girls

Lacey's has had a big day, today! This morning we met with her teacher at school "Miss" Cynthia and then she started her first day of dance.

Everything seemed to go well with Cynthia. I think Lacey will do fine in her class. I have been worried because she is one of the youngest in her class and I am not sure how she will do, but Cynthia assured me that everything will be OK. One of the comments she made was she couldn't get over the fact that Lacey wasn't already three; she spoke so clearly and even acted older. Kevin had even pointed out that her speech was a lot more developed than some of the three years old we had in nursery on Sunday. I guess since we're around her all the time we just take it for granted that she speaks so well. Cynthia gave her a book on animals and showed us stuff in her room. She had lots of seashells and sand dollars, so we were really excited seeing all those things. Lacey even was telling her about the lighthouse she had seen at the beach a couple of weeks ago.

The other big thing in Lacey's little life that happened today, was she had her very first ballet class. I was such a worried mom, but she did so good. I'm extremely proud of her considering she isn't even three, yet. She listened very well and paid attention, I couldn't have been prouder. Here are a few pictures from this afternoon....





And Lela's big event???? She lost her first tooth tonight!!! She is so excited the tooth fairy is coming. She told us that she was going to buy something tomorrow with all the money that the tooth fairy is bringing her. I hope she won't be too disappointed?

Yesterday.....

was interesting, we kept the three year old nursery during church. We had twelve of them. I think I spent most of the time going back and forth to the bathroom. I was so proud of Kevin because he got a couple of them to actually sit down while he read them a story. I wasn't sure how Lacey was going to handle the fact that Mommy and Daddy in were in there helping the other kids, but she did really good. The only time it seemed to bother her was when I was taking her and a couple of other kids to the bathroom. One of the little girls fell down walking down the hall, so I picked her up and loved on her. Lacey decided that she didn't like it, so she lays down in the floor and then proceeds to hit her head on the floor as if she fell down. So, then I had to pick her up and love on her.....anything not to be outdone.

Why Me!!!!!

I'm sitting her at the computer with a throbing headache trying to blog while my kids keep "irritating each other." I'm about to lose it! Is there ever any peace? My kitchen is a disaster. I'm baking brownies and a cake for our Sunday School class party tomorrow. If I can just make it for the next couple of hours, we'll be doing good. Kevin is outside mowing the lawn while I get to hear "Lacey, I'm gonna scratch you." Uh? Please, I need peace and quiet right now. What now....Lela is crying. "Mom, Lacey hit me." Why won't my aspirin kick in yet? How long does it take?

We had a Back To School Blowout today at church. The girls had so much fun. Lela got to see her teachers "Miss" Josey and "Miss" Patty. She is so excited about starting Kindergarten, it won't be long now. Tomorrow at church is Promotion Sunday, so all the kids move up into new Sunday School classes. Lela will have Aunt Laura and Uncle Ben for her Sunday School teachers, while Lacey will have "Miss" Sue and "Mr." Gary. She asked me today if "Mr." Gary was scary? So, Lacey.....Kevin and I have the pleasure of keeping the 3 year old nursery during the 11:00 o'clock service tomorrow. I'm sure that is going to be an experience.

Growth Stats

I totally forgot to put Lela's lastest growth stats from our doctor's visit yesterday. She weighs a whopping 36 lbs. and measures 42" in height. We were told she is in the 10th percentile for weight as well as height. She has basically been in this percentile for the majority of her life it seems.....I guess we could say she is just petite.

Target And Prizes?

Lela went to the doctor this afternoon for her Kindergarten checkup. We didn't tell her that she would be getting a shot because we didn't want her freaking out. After Dr. Whipple checked her out, Claudia his nurse came back in with the shot. Lela of course started getting upset but I held her down and told her to look at me and just focus on Mommy. She did just that and didn't shed a tear. (I on the other hand was a different story.) I was so proud of her. I told her afterwards that Mommy would take her to Rita's (her favorite place) to get some ice.

Later when we were headed to Rita's, Lela made the comment about how proud I was of her that she didn't cry. And she thought that I should get her a prize. I told her that we were "going to Rita's, wasn't that enough of a prize?" "No," she said. She wanted money. And then she said, "Just take me to Target." Oh, that is so Lela...Target and prizes?

The Boys & The Girls

I just had to post a few more pictures from our trip. Laura took these pictures of the kids outside of Mullet Bay after we had dinner. I just thought they were too cute!!

Busy, Busy....

that is what you could call our weekend. We have had a birthday party, errands to run, groceries to buy and church to attend. I feel like I'm trying to play catch up from being gone all last week. Not to mention we had to teach the kindergartners this morning during Sunday school. Laura got called into work late last night, so she asked if we would fill in. That was definitely an experience, we had thirteen 5 and 6 year olds. The boys were extremely rambunctious and could have care less about the lesson, the girls on the other hand seemed a little more in tune to what we were doing. Go figure?

More Pictures From Our Trip...

Daddy took the girls for a bike ride. Lacey obviously must have really enjoyed it - she fell asleep.







Laura and me on the sandy shores of St. Simons Island.










Lela at Summer Waves on Jekyll Island

















What a motley crew? Evan, Laura, Mom, Samuel and Lela.
















Lacey decked out in her beach wear.












Lovely Lane Chapel at Epworth By The Sea

We Made It Back To The Real World

After a drive that seemed to go on forever, we arrived home this afternoon. Everyone is tired and excited all at the same time. Lela was happy to be home because she missed her toys she told me. Lacey seemed happy, as well. We weren't home no more than five minutes, when crayons and markers started appearing all over the table, and their usual messes showed up. Now I have unpacking and laundry to do, sand to vaccum out of my car and groceries to put away. Sometimes going out of town is more work than its worth.

Here are some pictures of us at St. Simons this past week:

The whole family standing outside Lovely Lane Chapel, where we were married 8 years ago.


Lacey, Daddy and Lela enjoying the trolley ride as they take in the sights of the island.


Daddy and Lela standing in front of "her store" - Lela's.


Lacey and Lela having lunch at Daddy's favorite restaurant - Barbara Jean's.