McDaniel Family Journal

Dear Baby,

This was the first day that we were really sure that I was pregnant with you! As usual, we spent the morning at Great Grandma Jeans opening presents, and by mid-morning, I was pooped! We came home and I laid down while Daddy and Brighton played in the living room. When I woke up, Brighton had just gone down for his nap, so I grabbed a sandwich planning on eating while catching up on whatever TV show I had recorded, but instead sat it aside and went back to sleep. I ended up taking a 3 ½ hour nap! I had been a little tired in the previous days, but this really solidified it for us. I must be pregnant 😉

Love,
Mommy

Filed under: Pregnancy Journal for Baby #2 on December 25th, 2008 | No Comments »

Well, the last time I caught you up was just before Halloween and I was all worried that you wouldn’t wear your costume…I shouldn’t have been 😉 Halloween was a complete success and you had an absolute blast going around the neighborhood. You’d would walk up to the door, knock, holler “Hello, open a door!”, and when they answered you walked right into their house! It was sooooo funny. You were very polite about taking candy and always said “thank you!”, but you really wanted to get it yourself. You didn’t like it when they put it in your bucket. So…everyone just let you do it.  Everyone thought you were sooooo cute!

Not too much happened in November.  You had a great time at Uncle John’s for Thanksgiving, and the day after, Grandma Ann and I took you to the Florida Aquarium. We’d never been before and were incredibly impressed! You loved looking at all the windows and tanks of fish. We saw huge 7ft flourescent green eel, 300lb turtles, sea horses, sharks, everything. You got to pet some starfish and get all wet and you loved it 😉  I love taking you to places like that. We go to the zoo (we went there just a couple of weeks before the aquarium), and in January, I plan on getting us some Sea World passes. You always enjoy going to look at different types of animals, and love to see the look on your face when you see something that you enjoy 😉

Christmas is just next week or so, and we have put the tree up of course. You “helped” with the ornaments, and suprisingly have pretty much left them on the tree. I’m shocked that they have stayed on! Last year, the bottom half of the tree was empty because you wouldn’t leave them alone 😉  The other day, I asked you “Brighton, what does Santa say?”, and you thought about if for a few seconds (and looked up at the ceiling as I do when I’m thinking), and said “Hi?”. I about died laughing, and told you “ho, ho. ho” It was soooo funny.  You’ve also taken a liking to signing “Jingle bells”. I am always amazed at all of the songs that you know all of the words to and sing on key. It is so very cute!

I think that’s all for now. At the end of this month, you are supposed to go to the 2 1/2 year old class at school, so I’m sure I’ll have an update on how that goes. I can’t believe how quickly you are growing up!

Filed under: It's all about Brighton, What Brighton is up to now on December 15th, 2008 | No Comments »

I don’t typically blog about myself or things that occur that are unrelated to Brighton, but I’m going to for this posting, just because I’d like to record it for future reading 🙂

As some of you may or may not know, I have never met or spoken to my father. I was raised by a single mother and have never had any type of father-figure in my life.  To make a long story short, my mother met my father while she was in the Army and stationed in Germany, and she never told him that she was pregnant with me.  Anyway, as I got older, she always told me who he was, his name, and a few other miscellaneous details about him, and even though I wanted to look him up, for fear of rejection or whatever…I never did.

As the years have gone by my curiosity as grown and grown, and since having Brighton and taking note of how similar he is to BOTH me and Rudy, I decided a few months ago that I would whole-heartedly search.

Well, I came across a phone number a few months ago, but couldn’t work up the courage to call it 😉  I hemmed and hawed and thought “What do I say?”, ” What do I do if I get an answering machine, or a wife?”. I was afraid of rejection, denial, a wrong number, everything 😉  So…after a couple months of procrastinating, and a mental pep rally to psych myself up, I finally called it last Sunday (12/7/2008). I was making Thanksgiving II (I hadn’t had time the weekend before), Brighton was taking a nap, and Rudy was at the office.  With my stomach in my throat, I called the number and the machine answered (ugh!). I left a message (of which I had not rehearsed) saying something about looking for (his full name) and that I might know an old Army buddy of his. Not a complete lie, I’m sure they were buddies 😉 – but not the whole truth either. I mean what do you say…Hey, my name is Carole and ….it’s a girl? 🙂

Well, I left the message and had gotten back to cooking when the phone rang about a hour later.  I swear, my heart skipped a beat.  I looked at the number and sure enough it was the one I had just called.  I answered and I really don’t know how, since I couldn’t even catch my breath 😉

He said that he was in fact the Daniel that I had asked for, and was wondering what Army buddy of his that I knew.   I had to take a second, so I said something like hold on, and I went an grabbed this piece of paper that I had that my mom had given my before she left.  It has his Battallion # and where they were stationed, etc. I wanted to make sure I had the right guy, before I dropped the bomb 😉

So, I was like “Well, do you remember a Patricia Griggs (my mom’s name a the time), and he was like “Yeah, I dated her for a while”, and again, I had to catch my breath 😉 I had to stop myself from laughing, as I get incredibly giddy when I get nervous, and because he said dated…I think they did a little more than date 😉 – So then I said “Alright, well, are you sitting down?” (LOL) and he said yes, and I proceeded with “Well, my name is Carole, I was born on October 20th, 1979, and Patricia is my mother.  She has told me that you are my father”. SILENCE

I was petrified and since I hate awkward silences, I started to say something (who knows what), but then he said “Well, isn’t that somethin’?”. I just laughed.   I don’t remember everything that was said after that, but he began talking about how he and my mom had met, how many kids he had, etc.   He told me that I sounded like one of his daughters and immediately asked for my address so that he could send me pictures. I was in shock.

Since last Sunday, we have spent 2 or 3 nights on the phone, and he is planning a trip to come see me and Rudy and Brighton in January.  He lives in Des Moines and with the 4 half-sisters that I already have from my mom’s previous marriage, and his kids…I have a total of 9 half-sisters and 1 half-brother!

To sum all of this up…. I couldn’t be happier 🙂 It has always been hard answering people when they ask about my dad. There’s not much to say when you’ve never had one, and you get tired of explaining, so I’m glad that those days are behind me.  It’s a very strange thing to not know where you came from, and I am very grateful that he is so excited to get to know me and shed some light on the other 50% of my DNA 😉

I’m also happy for Brighton. I can now share with him not just medical history and genetic traits, but a whole other family in Iowa that he can get to know and love.  He has two grandpa’s now 😉

Filed under: Family Events on December 13th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Hello everyone! I just posted a bunch of October pictures, including Brighton in his Lightning McQueen costume, and in his Lightning McQueen bed 😉 You can view them all on the 2008 Pictures page.

Filed under: Family Events on November 11th, 2008 | No Comments »

Well, once again, the past few weeks since I wrote up your last update have flown by in a blur 😉  Probably the most notable event worth mentioning is the addition to your very first “big boy bed” to your room.

A few weeks ago, Daddy and I decided that you were ready to move out of your crib and into a real bed. I got online and looked at all different types from toddler beds to twin beds, but stopped the search when I found a “Lightning McQueen” toddler bed. It is perfect. You absolutely LOVE Lightning McQueen and the Cars movie, so this bed was a slam dunk!

We hyped it up while it was being shipped and by the time it arrived, you were very excited about your new “big boy bed”. We put it together on a Saturday afternoon, you took a nap in it, loved it, and haven’t slept in your crib since. It was a seamless transition.  You go to bed so well anyway.  That was one of the reasons that we had decided it was time. Every evening at around 8:30 we tell you it’s time for bed and you just give kisses and walk down the hall to your room. Once the new bed was put up, that routine didn’t vary much. A couple of nights you have refused saying “I not tired, mommy”, but in both cases you walked back there on your own accord about 10-15 minutes later.  Not a big deal 😉

To keep the theme going, I also got you Lightning McQueen accessories like: a bedding set, stickers for your wall, a table cloth for your nightstand, an awesome lamp in the shape of Lightning McQueen, and I got fabric to make you some matching curtains. You absolutely love your room, and with all the new decor and space, you play in there much more often.  I am so glad that everything went well.  You are such a good kid!

Everyday that goes by your speech is more and more conversational. You answer questions in complete sentences, like I’ll say “Do you want milk?” and you’ll say “No, I want juice. I don’t like milk.” Or you’ll say “I want watch Little Einsteins, please”, and I’ll say “what episode” and you’ll “Sphinx!” or “Huff and Puff”. Those are currently your favorite episodes and you know immediately when they come on if I’ve put in the right one or not. You are too funny!

School is also going well. A teacher told another parent the other day, with me standing there, that you were incredibly intelligent, spoke very well, and were the sweetest and most polite child. She said that you could pass for a 4 year old 😉  The conversation started when they saw your most recent school pictures and said that you looked much older. It was very nice to hear that she thinks so highly of you. The teachers mention constantly how polite you are with all of your “please, thank you’s and your welcomes” 😉 I always joke that we’re trying to raise the most polite child ever 🙂  Your daddy and I just think that it’s very important to get you in the habit of using those words now, instead of when you’re older.

Your third Halloween is in just a couple of days, and this year you are going to be…Lightning McQueen! I found this awesome costume that hangs on you and makes it look like you’re driving a car. As of today, I can’t get you to put it on, so we’ll see how it goes 🙂 I don’t have a back-up costume, so you either wear it or you stay home 😉

We also took you to the pumpkin patch again (your third trip) and got a couple of good pictures. I’ll have to upload them to the gallery to share. This weekend I am attending a scrapbooking marathon session of sorts that Tammie is hosting. It’s from 10-7 and I’m going to work on your digital scrapbook. I realized a few months ago, that my perfectionist ways will not allow me to do traditional scrapbooking. I have to do digital to be able to align things just so and re-do sections at will. I’m excited to be done and get something printed for you to look through 😉

Well, I think that’s it for now. It always so hard to wrap everything up into one nice entry! I feel like you do funny and amazing new things every day.  You are growing up so fast and changing every single day. It’s hard to keep up!

Oh, I know…you are throwing some mad-crazy tantrums lately! That’s new! You did just throw like 2-3 a week, and I swear for the last couple weeks it has been 2-3 a day! I come home and I’m not sure what mood you’ll be in.  Your dad and I have started telling each other to “tread softly” if you’re particularly touchy or just had a huge meltdown. The only thing we can think to do is be consistent.  The first thing you think to do when you are mad is throw whatever is in your hand or nearest to you. That’s always the first sign of trouble 🙂 We immediately tell you that throwing isn’t nice and don’t do it again, or you’ll go to your room. Then (because you always do it again) you get marched to your room. No more discussion. You stew in there, screaming for 1-2 minutes, and then either come out and are good, or you slam the door in our faces and stay in there until you are ready to come out. Sitting for a timeout doesn’t work for you at all. You love an audience, but there are times, like in the mornings when you don’t want to get dressed, that we just bundle you up kicking and screaming and take you to school. I cannot wait for you to grow out of this. Eventually you’ll have to realize that regardless of what you want, you have to do what we say…right? 🙂  Like I said, we’re consistent…that’s all that we have going for us at this point. At least you know what your consequences are! 🙂

Okay, now that’s really it. I’ll post some pictures and work on your scrapbook this weekend. I can’t wait to see what I have to write about next month! I love you!

Filed under: What Brighton is up to now on October 29th, 2008 | No Comments »

Back in August, Brighton and I went to the Picture People to get his “2 Year” pictures taken.  It is very hard to get the child to do any type of pose, but in the end, we got some really great shots. My favorite is probably the one with him sitting on the box with a “2” on it. That is his smile and it’s always so great to catch it on film.

I hope you enjoy the pics. I’ve uploaded the lo-res for ease of viewing, but I do have Hi-res versions that I can send if anybody (grandma, grandapa?) want them 😉

Since Brighton will be 28 months old in 2 more day, I’m sure I’ll be on here again with more updates 😉

Filed under: It's all about Brighton on October 10th, 2008 | No Comments »

Brighton when to his friend Tristan’s 2nd birthday party on September 21st, and had a blast. Tristan’s parents outfitted the back yard with a couple of inflatable gym/pool things, set up a sandbox, had lots of balloons, and served all the cupcakes they could eat. It just couldn’t have gotten any better for Brighton.

I was able to get pictures not only of Brighton with his friends, but with his girlfriend, Mia. They are so cute! I am excited to finally have some pics of these kids…Brighton has been in class with them for over a year, but these are the first I’ve gotten. Who thinks to bring a camera to school? Well, I need to 🙂

You can see all of the pictures on the 2008 Pictures page.

Filed under: It's all about Brighton on October 2nd, 2008 | No Comments »

Well, Mr. Brighton, you are 27 months old today! When I dropped you off at school today I had two of your teachers tell me separately that you are well on your way to being potty trained! Are you kidding me?  They said that you are just a couple of weeks away from going to school wearing big-boy underwear. This is crazy. When did you become so grown up? Ahhh, the days of baby-hood are coming to an end I’m afraid, and I’m not quite sure if I’m ready for that 🙁

You are doing a ton of new things every single day. You are getting better at dressing and undressing yourself. Since I never offered you the option of doing that until a few days ago, you are doing rather well.  Note for when you’re older with your own children: don’t ever encourage the removal of clothing, shoes, etc. If you do, you may find your child naked at the oddest times 😉 Taking off a diaper for instance should NEVER be something that a kid should think they can do 😉

You are also speaking like a little adult now.  It’s the cutest thing ever, but at times very weird for me (again, I go back to that “where is my baby” rant).  The other day as soon as I opened up my car door to reach back and unlock yours, you stepped up and said “I’ll drive, mommy”. I looked and you was like “What?”. You didn’t smile, or even pretend that you were joking. You were serious and totally prepared to take us wherever we needed to go 😉 You are a character!

You also learn things at such rapid speed that sometimes it’s hard to keep up. The other day we were watching “Higgly Town Heroes” as we do every morning as you eat your cereal bar and I get ready for work, and the Pizza Guy character came on. He is your favorite. You love him. Every time he shows up you get very excited and shout “Pizza guy! Pizza guy!”. Well, when he left the scene, he said “Adios”, and of course you mimicked. You mimic practically everything that is said in movies and cartoons. Your language is at time out of this world. Anyway, I said “Adios, pizza guy. Adios means bye-bye in Spanish”. Fifteen or twenty minutes later we were heading out the door, and as always I said, “okay, go give Daddy a kiss and tell him bye-bye”, and you go…::”Adios, Daddy!” Too cute!

School is also going very well for you. Miss Georgy told me last week that you only drink out of regular cup in her class now (again, another of those skills that I purposefully did not want to pursue until now), and that you assist the other children in opening up their napkins and telling them to be careful on certain toys. She also said that you are very artistic and like to use lots of color and seem to draw with more purpose than some of the other students. I think that’s great…wink, wink 😉

You also have a little girlfriend in school. We have a birthday party to attend next weekend for another of your classmates, and I’m hoping she will attend so that I can get a picture of the two of you. She is adorable, and the two you play together, and hold hands, and make sure to hug and kiss one another when you sing the Barney song “I love you…”. It is soooo incredibly sweet. When you get to class in the mornings she is so excited to see you. I think it’s adorable!

I can’t think of any other “news” right now. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned in every other entry, you continue to amaze me every single day, and I think about how much you mean to me and how important you are to my life constantly.

I love that you are so sweet and loving.

I love your sense of humor. You love to pretend and make jokes.

I love that you dance whenever ANY song comes on and if we dance too, you mimick our moves.

I love that you’ve memorized practically every line and character action in the movie “Cars”.

I love that every single morning, the first person you ask for is me, the next thing you say is “Cereal Bar”, and the third is “Go see daddy”.

I love that you when we yell “No girls!” you drop whatever you are doing from anywhere in the house and run like a wild banshee into our room and get in your “fort” which is getting underneath our covers.

I love that you get excited about going with me to the Library, and always ask to “go bye-bye in momma’s car”.

You are a complete joy and I have absolutely no idea what I ever did to get such a great kid.

I can’t wait to see what happens this month! 😉

Filed under: What Brighton is up to now on September 12th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

Since school ended it has been my mission to get this site updated and up and running. I am so happy to say that I have done it! I still haven’t captioned all of the 1000 images that I uploaded, but the fact that they ARE uploaded is going to have to suffice for now 😉

The most recent images can be found on the 2008 Pictures page, but folks can also catch up on old times by looking through the 2006 Pictures and 2007 Pictures.

I am so excited…now I am going to work on Brighton’s scrapbook. I’ve decided to go digital, so I’ll make sure to post those as well.

~Carole 🙂

Filed under: Family Events on August 28th, 2008 | No Comments »

A couple/three weeks ago we went to Tortuga/Sanibel Island for our annual summer trip. You had a wonderful time. We were worried about the sleeping arrangements and the drive down, but you did fantastic on both fronts. To prepare I purchased about 40 new hotwheels, matchbox, and tonka cars and made you little gift bags.  Daddy also made you some Wiggles (your new favorite group) CD’s and put the movie Spirit on his PSP so that you could watch it in the car.

You did so well. We didn’t hardly need the cars, and you loved the movie!  Sleeping was fine to. You didn’t much like the pack and play so you slept with us for a good part of all three nights we were there, but all in all, it was no big deal.

Cassie brought her new boyfriend Mark along, and you fell in love.  I don’t know what it was about him, but he was your new best friend and you wanted to do everything with him! “Go Beach Muuark, Mama” “Go Pay Cars Muuark” ” Go Pool Muuark”. You were so cute. He was wonderful with you and didn’t seem to mind abit that you wanted to hang around him.

You were also a big fan of the gulf.  We’ve decided that you are a floater like your dad 😉 You two hung out at the beach for quite a while everyday and you loved that he was able to pull up a ton of sand dollars and some of the biggest (probably 12-14 inches wide) starfish I’d ever seen. At home you have a small pool toy (a dive toy, really) that’s a snake and we told you it was a “sea snake”, so the whole time you were out in the gulf you kept asking him to to find you a sea snake 🙂 Too funny.

In the past month your vocabulary has really grown.  This past weekend your Daddy was out of town for a conference and due to a storm our power went out for about 3 hours on Friday night. You loved it. We just sat on the couch and you talked. You asked me “Powa back on?” You told me all the things you do at school. You talked about animals and trucks, we sang songs (you know every single word to like every single nursery rhyme song that there is!!!). We had a great time, and when Daddy got back he remarked at how much more you had to say in just the 4 days that he was gone.

It is amazing watching you learn and seeing how quickly you pick everything up. The other day I pulled out some play-doh and after about 5 minutes of making shapes you could locate a heart, square, circle, star, and triangle. It was great. I love teaching you things!

I think that’s about it for now. Since Mommy recently graduated, I hope to be able to update you more and spend more time getting all of your pictures together.  I love doing this and am very excited to be able to have some spare time to spend on it now. 🙂
I love you 🙂

Filed under: What Brighton is up to now on August 12th, 2008 | No Comments »