Ho Ho Ho!

December 2005

December 9th marked Danijela's 10th month on Earth. After posting Christmas images I'll attempt to blog as life proceeds versus giving you a retro glimpse of life since baby arrived. She is a hoot. Here she was very impressed with herself as she lifted herself to standing about 10,ooo times. I was a proud momma & gladly applauded each time with great enthusiasm.

Christmas Parade 2005

Danijela had her first DART train experience in December to see the Neiman Marcus Adolphus Children's Parade. This will be a family tradition for us (I hope). We decided to go at the last minute this year so just caught the tailend of the festivities. It was a gorgeous day.

November 2005

Danijela turned 9 months in November. We went to Amarillo to celebrate Thanksgiving. This time Danijela & I flew! First flight for her & she did really well. It was probably a good thing the flight was only 50 minutes (seriously). Beats the 7 hour drive & a screaming baby. We arrived early to spend extra special time with Great Mamaw. Danijela was pulling up all over the place. Below are some random shots from our visit.

Thank you to Uncle Johnny & Aunt Gail for keeping us! Danijela & I were not much help in the preparations department, but Danijela is good eye candy! Her favorite toys were a bottle cap and baby jar lids. Oh, and she fell in love with Johnny.

She did a little hiking in their front yard looking for leaves & eating them. She is actually good about not sticking random things in her mouth. However, she has a special thing for leaves.

I Love Tata!

These are what we refer to as the "Tata" pictures. Tata is her daddy. Uncle Robert & I were on the floor with Danijela taking pictures when her Tata came home from work. This was so impromtu and perfect. How sweet is this!

October 2005

Here are some funny October pictures. Danijela was 8 months. Below is Danijela with her "bitter beer" face. You know that commercial where the guy's face gets all puckered up? I have no idea what prompts this, but it makes me laugh everytime.

Danijela maybe sucked her thumb on one or two occasions. No, our girl sucks her pointer & index fingers upside down. She will do this when she is tired, but she also does it anytime her "bunny blanket" is within view. Below the bunny is in the lower right-hand corner. Take it away & the fingers disappear!

This is one of the first times I gave Danijela a cracker. She's not really sure what to do with it, but that doesn't stop her. I thought she was choking a couple times. I did learn quickly that a cracker keeps her entertained for quite a while.

This cracks me up too. Danijela went through a phase where she crinkled her nose & snorted (sort of). I can still get her to do it easily -- not sure snorting is something I should be encouraging though. Looks like it is time for another haircut too!

My Friend, Kiley!

Melanie & I met when we were both pregnant -- 1st baby for both. She was actually my small group leader for the Highlights Bible study & our friendship has continued (thank you, Lord). Melanie gave birth to Kiley just 10 days after Danijela was born. Kiley really has such a sweet disposition & boy can that girl smile.

I've taken care of both girls and thought to myself "Gosh, Danijela is very high maintenance compared to Kiley." I still think that is true to an extent. But I now understand that babies just tend to fall apart more when their parents are around. I could be in a different room & Danijela is fine. The minute she sees me or her Daddy she crumbles.

September 2005

Danijela turned 7 months in September. On our last trip to Austin we ended up with a small cash of Marti Gras beads that cousins Andi and Sam let her bring home. We love these pictures of her -- it's impossilbe for us not to.

Civilized Eatin'

Poppy & Grammy gave Danijela a rockin' highchair. This wasn't her first meal in the chair, but very close. The thing just swallowed the girl up. Mealtime is always an adventure in our household, especially supper.

August 2005

Here is our beauty in August. Danijela is 6 months old in these pictures. Her "little ole' man-ness" has disappeared. She is all girl now although somewhat of a tomgirl.

Food Fight!

In July Danijela tasted solid food for the first time. Not sure what I expected, but I'm sure it wasn't this particular response. We tried several days in a row and got the same result. We gave up for awhile. Today that girl rarely, if ever, turns food down.

July 2005

Happy 5 months, Danijela! We introduced the jumper in July. She wasn't completely sure what to think, but got with the program as we were laughing. Very cute!


What else? We went to Trey & Candice's wedding in Cross Plains. Danijela (sorta) saw her first movie at the Cry Baby Matinee -- more for mommy than baby. And the other truly cool thing was how Danijela discovered her own hands & how they are actually hers. It was very sweet to watch her gaze at them & move them around gently in the air.

My First July 4th

Happy July 4th! Our dear friend, Richard, invited us to celebrate July 4th @ his lake house. We took Jon, Paige, & Issac too! It was a very nice day & evening. There was a pool where we could all enjoy escaping the summer heat. Danijela rocks in her floppy hat and seahorse bathing suit (compliments of Aunt Kathy). This is not her first trip into the water. She went to her first swim party @ Tommy & Tracy's on June 18th. She really likes the water. Good thing because we bathe her every night!

Dallas Arboretum

In mid-June we went to the Dallas Arboretum with Uncle Robert. This first picture is priceless. It looks like she is in some jungle somewhere -- with the exception of the landscaped walkway and bench armrest! The last picture is by a waterfall-ish thing where we were both getting quite wet.

June 2005

In June Danijela rolled from tummy to back on her 4 month birthday. This was a big accomplishment. I have no idea why, but she also did a full out giggle at a hanger. I had her in bed with me one morning & she giggled again. It made me giggle which made her giggle which made me giggle (you get the picture). This went on for a while and I wasn't sure either of us were going to be able to stop. Oh, she also drank water from a glass this month. Pretty cool!

My First BIG Trip

Our first big trip was to Amarillo, Texas! A mere 7 hours drive from Dallas. My brave Mom came from Austin to take us to Amarillo in late May. Danijela cannot stand the car -- I mean purple-faced screaming can't stand the car. I love you, Mom.

Danijela is Mamaw's 10th great grandbaby. Mamaw is a true light in this world of ours. At 87 she still teaches Bible study & works in her beauty shop. Mamaw gave Danijela her first haircut which we captured on video. Below Danijela is all dressed up for a BBQ @ Uncle Johnny & Aunt Gail's during our trip.

Danijela cried for three hours straight in the car. We would stop & she would smile. That little toot. She finally konked out & my blood pressure dropped. The last picture is also from our trip. It's too funny not to include.

Is Your Mamma a Llama?

This is one of a hundred times we read "Is Your Mamma a Llama?" to Danijela. This particular time was before she started eating books. Picture taken May 2nd.

May 2005

Sweet baby girl. Oh, I love this image. Danijela is so beautiful & peaceful. She was all dressed up for her first trip to my office. I was on maternity leave and never returned. I think this was also a 3-month checkup day. What a beautiful little girl.

This next picture totally cracks me up. Tata would carry her around the backyard after he got home from work. He did this virtually every day to calm her. I guess it worked.

This is one of Poppy's favorites. She is wearing her first & only (so far) sweatsuit. It was a gift from Uncle Tommy & Aunt Cathy. Notice the ever-so-popular sitting position? It was just about the only way she would let us carry her. Whatever makes you happy, girl!