It's the Most Wonderful and Craziest Time of the Year...

Merry Christmas friends and family!

I can hardly believe that Christmas is only 6 days away. This has definitely been our busiest holiday season since kids. My classic comment over the past two months is that it looks like someone threw up on our calendar. It seems like every little square has been filled in. Despite being somewhat overbooked, we have enjoyed a number of memory making events.

For Thanksgiving, we visited the Burrill side of the family in San Jose. We even snapped a bunch of family photos, which I will say went much more smoothly than I had anticipated. The cousins had fun playing together and the weather was beautiful. Of course we ate more than our fair share of food, but who didn't?

Normally I wouldn't post picture of the girls' artwork, but the turkeys were sentimental. After Thanksgiving we put out our Christmas decorations, which logically meant putting the Thanksgiving ones away. I know I'm a horrible mother, but I told the girls we had to get rid of the turkeys and that we could make new ones next year. Danyka was devastated. I think she's mostly over it now, but I informed Scott that we were not going to create Future Pack Rats of America. Yes, I am a bit of a minimalist.

Last week had a fabulous time visiting my parents in Colorado. Since we are staying home for Christmas this year, we decided to visit in mid December and help my dad celebrate his 60th birthday. Since our birthdays are only three days apart, we got to celebrate mine as well. It was great spending time with the family.

While we were in Colorado Whitney had her ears pierced. She cried briefly, but she's been excited to show off her ears ever since. We let her pick out her earrings and we were quite happy with her choice. You never know what is brewing in a 2 1/2 year old's mind.

For Granddad's birthday we visited the North Pole amusement park in Colorado springs. Danyka and Whitney loved wearing Grandma's scarves. We had to wear lots of layers because it was VERY cold.

Whitney loved visiting Santa and even asked if he could join us on the rides. She would have sat with him all day long. Danyka thought she wanted to see Santa but she was overcome with fear when given the opportunity to sit with him. As you can see, there is no picture of Dany and Santa.

Most of the rides were geared toward small children but Granddad was glad he had the opportunity to sit with Whitney on the carousel and Danyka on the old fashioned cars. We all had a great day.

On Sunday, the day before we left, a storm hit. By the time we went outside to play, there was plenty of fresh snow and it was a whopping -8 degrees outside. As you can imagine, we didn't last very long. I'm glad there was a little snow because both girls stood in awe of the crystalized snowflakes that fell from the sky.

As soon as we arrived back home, life's reality set in once again. The next morning Scott and I joined Whitney for her last Mommy and Me dance class. She is such a ham. Although she won't be 3 until March, she will start in the 3 year old class come January. She is little miss independent and she is ready to move on without mommy.

The following night we packed up the family and headed to the church for Danyka's preschool Christmas performance. It was precious. This year she stood on risers and was particularly careful not to fall. Our favorite part was when Whitney yelled hi to her sister who then responded by saying, "Hi Whitney, I'm on the stage." So cute!

Last night Danyka had her final dance class for the fall session. She is learning a lot and it is a joy to watch her doing something she loves. She did not participate in the fall recital but we are hoping both she and Whitney will in the spring. I have to admit that I like watching the tap more than the ballet. It's so amusing.

Although this blog has been long, it is only a glimpse of what has taken place over the past few weeks. We are looking forward to a less busy calendar next month but we are anxiously awaiting Christmas morning. The girls are so excited and that makes the holidays so much fun. Danyka is really beginning to understand the true meaning of Christmas. It is so tender to see Jesus from a Child's perspective.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I'm sure I won't get around to blogging again for a while.

PURE Entertainment!

As stated in earlier blogs, our house seems to be all things princess. When my mom came to visit several months ago, she was fully entertained by the girls dancing to the music from one of the Barbie movies. The funniest part is how particular they are about their dance moves and who gets to sing what. I have to admit that you don't get the full effect from this video, but we still think it's pretty cute.

I also thought since I hadn't posted in a while that I would include some pictures from Halloween. They seem to suit this post just fine because the girls wore the same costumes for Halloween as they did in this video. Our evening was a blast. We spent about 30 minutes at our church Harvest festival, ate a quick meal at On the Border and then we went trick-or-treating in our court. Whitney kept saying, "Look at all my trick or treats." So cute!

Biker Babes

Over the weekend Scott and I purchased bicycles for the girls. We had thought about getting them for Christmas, but we decided it would be more fun to get them now while they could enjoy riding in the nice fall weather rather than rain.

Today was a perfect day to play outside. We promised the girls they could ride their bikes after lunch and then again after dinner. The first time we walked (ran) around our court with them while they rode. Whitney was a speed demon; Danyka was slow and cautious. Both of them were frequently reminded to pay attention to where they were going. We ran over a few of our neighbors' lawns and even fell on at least two of them. Hopefully they won't mind. The girls had a blast and Scott and I were all smiles. We are loving this stage of life.

After dinner we traveled to a local elementary school where the girls enjoyed free reign of an entire parking lot. Danyka's confidence began building and she pedaled herself all over the place. Whitney seemed a little tired. She often demanded help starting her bike. Fortunately, even after she took a spill to the asphalt, she still wanted to ride. We're wondering how sore their little legs will be tomorrow.

After our lessons today, I informed Scott that he will be teaching them to drive. Bike riding makes me anxious enough.

We had a fabulous weekend and according to the forecast, we should have great weather this week. If you are trying to find us, just search the great outdoors. We will be busy practicing.

Best Friends Forever

I think every parent hopes their children will be close. Scott and I have been truly blessed to have two little girls that call each other "Best Friend". Like all siblings, they have their moments, but most of the time they are inseperable.

(Proud to wear their baby rings)

Beyond the enjoyment of playing together, you can tell that they have a deep concern for the needs of the other. If one of them is hurt, the other will try to comfort them and make sure an adult is present. If Scott and I don't hear a comment, it will be repeated by sister until it has surely been made known.

Recently they have been so sweet about sharing their food. Whitney often shares her potty rewards (two candy corns) with Danyka and Danyka usually saves something from her school lunch for Whit. The best part is that these actions are not prompted by anyone.

Our hope is that they will stay Best Friends Forever. Scott and I are so proud of them and anxious to see what God has for them in the future.

Mommy Fix It!

(The Culprit)

This morning Danyka was using scissors to cut some shapes out for her homework. I was busy finishing last minute details for the craft show. Whitney was coloring.

When Danyka was done with the scissors I told Whitney she could use them. She's used them quite a few times so I wasn't particularly worried. I continued to work and I heard the oh so common words, "uh oh".

I turned around and saw Whitney holding Dora's head that she had just cut out of her flannel pj's. It was funny and frustrating at the same time. There was about a quarter sized hole where Dora's head had previously been.

Fortunately, Mommy came to the rescue. I stitched Dora's head back on and there is no longer a hole. I have to admit I was proud of my workmanship, although it's very obvious where the hole was.

Needless to say, we had a discussion about only cutting paper in the future. This just felt like such a classic mom story. I'm sure all of you moms out there can relate.

Getting Ready...

This Friday I will be selling hair bows in my first craft/vendor fair. I am really excited. With my license in hand and lots of inventory, I am hoping for a fun and fruitful evening. The girls have been picking out their favorites. Danyka requested a pink sparkly bow and Whitney asked for a blue one. Of course, their wishes were granted. We are running out of room for bows in this house, but I'm sure we'll scrounge up some space for a few more.


The show on Friday is at an elementary school in Elk Grove. I am also participating in a craft show at the end of the month at the Elks Lodge. I love the holidays. It's fun making festive crafts and seeing all of the creative ideas that other people come up with.


If you are local and interested in checking out one of the shows, let me know.

Addicted!

I believe there is an addiction in the Burrill house. Our girls, like many others, are fully enthralled by all things princess. The favorites right now are Princess Anneliese and Princess Erika from Barbie's Princess and the Pauper movie. We own the movie and the soundtrack, which we have all seen and heard countless times. The girls love to role play these characters and we recently bought them the dress-up gowns as a gift. Danyka is ALWAYS Anneliese and Whitney is not allowed to say any of Anneliese's lines or sing any of her songs. Can you tell who is boss? It's really cute to watch them dance to the music. My mom witnessed one of their most recent performances and was completely amused.

Scott and I are loving this sweet phase and we're pretty sure it's here to stay for a while. Danyka has been eyeing up the newest Barbie movie. The Disney princesses are very popular as well. Cinderella is ranked #1 on Danyka's list and for today Belle is Whitney's favorite. It wouldn't take much guessing to figure out what they want to be for Halloween.

Maybe someday I'll post a video of them reenacting their favorite scenes, but for now I must curtsy and say farewell. Be like a princess and live Happily Ever After.

Binky Boxes

Yesterday we finally faced one of our biggest challenges thus far in child rearing. We said our tragic goodbyes to the girls' dearly loved binkies. It took a lot of creative thought to figure out how we could make the process go smoothly.

My mom came up with the creative idea to have Princess Anneliese, the girl's favorite princess, send a letter with ribbons to attach to the girls' blankets. The girls were ecstatic when they received their letter in the mail and they loved rubbing their ribbons.

We also let the girls pick new jammies to wear and a toy to sleep with. Of course they picked Belle and Cinderella dolls. Are you getting the princess theme in our house?

The last thing we did was pack baby boxes that we will keep and give to our grandchildren someday. Danyka is very sentimental and was excited to pack a box for her "Real" baby. (We haven't discussed the possibility that she might have a boy.) We put some outfits from when the girls were first born into the boxes along with some baby shoes and their binkies. After the boxes were packed we prayed together. It was so sweet.

Whitney cried off and on for an hour during naptime. She continually asked for her binky. Danyka didn't cry but she also didn't sleep. Without sleep, they were pretty crabby for the rest of the day.

Bedtime was better. Neither one of them cried but it took between 1 1/2 and 2 hours for them fo fall asleep. Whitney thought it was joke cracking time. She kept telling Danyka to laugh. Danyka did her best to keep quiet, but it's pretty hard when your little sister keeps saying, "Daddy has a stinky bum bum". I think she's a natural comedian because we have never said that.

Both girls slept through the night, which was a shock and a blessing. Since they both slept so well we decided to meet the Musni's and Uncle Kevin at Apple Hill. We had a fun day.

Pray for us during this transition time. Hopefully tonight will run as smoothly as last night.

**A note from our previous blog... the computer didn't make it and we lost most of our pictures from the summer. It's really sad, but the hard lesson has been learned. We still have a lot of software updating to do on our new computer.

CRASH!

Yesterday I woke up to a very unpleasant message on our computer. It read Operating System cannot be Found. Unfortunately my futile efforts to restore the computer failed. The saddest part is that our pictures from the last few months, including Danyka's 4th Birthday, family get togethers, Marine World and other fun summer pictures are all on the system. It would have been wise to back them up or upload them, but I didn't that, nor do I have hard copies. Lesson Learned...that's for sure. The system is at Circuit City and they are hopeful that they will be able to retrieve my files, but there is no guarentee. We're pretty sure the hard drive failed.

The fun part today was getting a new computer. We knew that the other was drawing near it's end but you never want to shell out the money for a new one. We replaced our old HP with another HP and we are pretty excited. There is a lot of work to do to get it up and running like we want it to, but we'll get there.

You can say a quick prayer for us that our important files will be saved. We would appreciate it. Thanks for reading my sob story. I promise more happy stories to come.

Danyka's Video

Pure Innocence

Last Friday Danyka had her first tap/ballet open house class. It was so precious. She had a hard time adjusting to a new class and new teacher but she loved learning little routines.



Although she was the youngest in her class, I thought she did a great job. It will be fun to watch her improve over the next year. We will start a new session next week that will end in mid-December. I'm still deciding whether I want to put her in the recital or not. December is a really busy month and I'm a little nervous she won't perform. I've got a few weeks before the final decision.

Whitney has her own dance tutor. Danyka comes home and teaches her what she's learned. They are so sweet. Shuffle step. Shuffle step. Plie'. Plie' These are the moments I treasure.

Goodbye Summer!

Summer is rapidly disappearing. It's still warm but the fall activities are already beginning to fill up our calendar. Where do the days go?

Danyka started her 4 year old Preschool class on Tuesday. She is a frog this year. Even though she was a bit tentative on the first day, my exit was much easier than on the first day last year. She is ecstatic about the computer station in her class and she loves craft time. Several of her friends from last year are in her class again this year. That definitely makes the transition easier.

This past weekend the girls had a wonderful time visiting with extended family. Granddad stayed on Friday and Saturday night. Danyka loved reading "The Boo Boo Book" with him. She is overly obsessed with even the slightest little injuries. This book has already helped her understand more about boo boos and she's been sure to point out casts, bandaids and rashes on just about everyone she sees.

Uncle Dan, Aunt Desi and Jacob also joined us on Saturday. I think the adults had as much fun as the kids did. We spent several hours in the pool playing horse. Poor Granddad had a couple of rough games. As always we had to try to make the most obscure shots. That's what keeps the game entertaining.

We are looking forward to some fun upcoming events. On Saturday we are going to spend some time with college friends and their 9 month old son. We haven't seen them since their son has been born. We are also gearing up for the start of Heart 2 Heart, a Golf trip with Scott's work and a craft show at the end of October. Our lives have become much busier over the past year. I think that's due to the fact that we are able to do more now that our girls are getting a little older. For the most part it's fun being busy but I've got to admit that I love the down time and peace and quiet just as much.

Super Dad!

Without a doubt, Scott has won the "Super Dad" award. The picture below was actually taken last week, but it just goes to show how much he cares about his family.

After an awesome weekend, we started the week with a rough day. Mid-morning I came down with a nasty bug. I won't go into details, but I could barely walk and was unable to take care of the girls. Scott took the rest of the day off to take care of the girls...and me. He is so amazing!

By midnight I had a few sips of water, several saltines and half of a Jello cup. Fortunately I was able to keep a couple of Tylenol pills in my tummy so I was able to sleep. I am getting better now but I am pretty weak. This wasn't the weight loss plan I was looking for.

Scott took the morning off and took Danyka and Whitney to Dany's 4 year old preschool orientation. He fed them, put them down for naps and headed back to work.

I know that missing work is hard. Scott stayed up late last night working from home. He will probably do the same tonight. I am incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful husband!

Family Fun

This past weekend was a first for our family. I was supposed to go on a retreat for church but it was cancelled. Since our weekend was free, we decided to take a family vacation. We were nervous about sleeping with our kids at a hotel, since we've never done it before. Fortunately they did great.

Early Friday afternoon we headed to Monterey. We arrived there in time for dinner. Our meal was nothing to brag about but it gave us the energy we needed to play miniature golf. The course was indoors and everything glowed in the dark. It was fascinating and the girls were hilarious to watch.

On Saturday we went to Dennis the Menace Park. What a great place for kids! The girls particularly liked the green bumpy slides. To be honest, they were pretty fun for adults too. After the park we headed to the aquarium. It was extremely crowded and the girls only lasted about an hour; we decided to get our hands stamped and come back later.

For lunch we had Willy's BBQ. It was delicious. After lunch we reenergized with naps at the hotel. The rest really helped the girls. We were able to return to the aquarium Saturday evening and truly enjoy our experience. Barely anyone was there the second time.

Dinner on Saturday was a hodge podge from Walmart. We were tired of greasy food so we picked up the fixings for sandwiches and sides. We ate pretty late since we had stopped at a local cinnamon roll shop on the way out of the aquarium.

Before we left on Sunday it was absolutely necessary to visit the beach. This was the one request Danyka consistently made. For those of you who know her, you understand what "consistently" means. Both girls thought it was pretty but neither one of them was interested in staying long. Each of them picked a rock to bring home and then they were done. Our beach days will come in the future.

Our final activity in Monterey was a biking adventure. Scott and I pedaled a funny looking bike along a beach path. It was quite amusing and a pretty good workout. Whitney didn't like wearing her helmet but she forgot about it once we gave her some food to snack on.

We couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend. We're looking forward to a return trip sometime in the future. Now that we know our girls will sleep in a hotel we are beginning to consider a Disneyland trip. I can't wait. Danyka has been telling us for months that she wants to go. That trip will be quite the adventure and I'm sure it will be a blast.

Room Renovation

After spending lots of time thinking, analyzing, praying and researching, we decided to put Whitney back in her crib. The girls are still sharing a room but we took out the twin sized mattress that Whit was sleeping on. We turned the bottom part of Danyka's loft bed into a dolly play area.

Both Scott and I were a little nervous that Whitney would be upset about not sleeping in a big girl bed, but to our surprise she almost seemed relieved. We haven't had any problems except a few that we were already dealing with. It is still a mystery to us how many days our kids need to nap and what their consistent bed time should be. With a nap the girls will not fall asleep until after 10, but at least they stay in their beds and just play.

So far our weekend has been relaxing. Scott took the girls to Home Depot to do a project this morning and they had a ball. Tomorrow we will spend the afternoon at a BBQ/swim party with some friends from church. Who knows what else we will come up with.

Chores Chores Chores!

This weekend we spent quite a bit of time cleaning and organizing. Once I start I always seem to find another task that "should" be done. Scott and I both went through all of our clothes and some of the kids toys. On Sunday he took four garbage bags to Goodwill. Of course the house cleaning is never done, but it felt great to get so much accomplished.

Fortunately the entire weekend wasn't devoted to cleaning. We also spent a bit of time playing. The girls entertained us by dancing and playing dress-up. Scott even played a game of Pretty Pretty Princess with them. It was adorable to watch.




Late Sunday afternoon Scott's parents came to hang out and see the girls. Uncle Kevin joined us for swimming and a BBQ. The evening was fun and relaxing. We even convinced Rod to play the Wii with us after the girls went to bed. He is a natural bowler. =)

This morning Rod and Ginny took the girls to the park while I ran a quick errand. After lunch they headed back home and the girls took their naps. I worked on my newest craft, which is making ruffled ribbon socks. I definitely have a thing for ribbon. Now my girls can having matching hair bows and socks. I'm so excited.





Although our cleaning left us somewhat tired, our weekend was very nice. On the downside, Whitney got a cold. We're hoping it will be short lived and that the rest of us can avoid it. Happy Monday. Let's rejoice in the Lord for He is good!

We've Made it!

Can you believe it? The Burrill Family has made it's way into the blogging world. No promises that we will keep this page updated, but I thought we would make an attempt.

After a fun trip to Colorado, to visit with my parents and sister's family, we are trying to get back into our daily routine. Our trip was great. We spent time swimming, playing at a local amusement park and soaking in the rays at Waterworld. The girls were well behaved and they made lots of memories with the family. Whitney constantly informed us that she was "hungray" and Danyka's recurring question was "When are we going to do something fun?" Dany's expectations are high now that we spent a week engaging in so many fun activities.

Now that we are home, Whitney has made a new discovery. She figured out how to get out of her bed. We thought Scott's fix would give us a little more time, but we were wrong. With her in a big girl bed, she won't nap. Hopefully we'll figure things out before too long.

We are looking forward to the weekend! I've got quite a bit of laundry to do from our trip and some cleaning, but otherwise, it should be relaxing. Thanks for taking the time to read our first post. God Bless!