Party at The Little Gym

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Friends, Gifts, Gymnastics, One Month- Taylor, Parties, This Rocks, Three Years Old | 1 Comment

Bailey had her 3rd birthday party at The Little Gym, where she takes classes. They did a fabulous job and really took care of everything, including cutting and serving the cake. The kids all had fun. She went crazy opening her presents this year and couldn’t do it fast enough. It was fun to watch- she was just so full of joy the entire party. Constant smiles! Tons of pictures so I am uploading them small. You can click on them to enlarge.

Pre-birthday

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Clothes, Hair, One Month- Taylor, Sleep | 1 Comment

The day before Bailey’s birthday… also known as tax day… she rocked these red boots.

And this bow is from my friend Beth. Isn’t it cute? It coordinates with a shirt that Taylor is working on growing into

Her brother didn’t want to be left out. Actually, Mommy didn’t want him to be left out.

And here is my last picture of her as a two year old, taken at about 11:30 p.m. I had to kiss her one last time before she turned three! Silly, I know, but it’s crazy to see my baby growing up so fast. When I can pull my thoughts together about that, there will be a long third birthday post.

My sweet angel girl is three.

Bailey’s Family Party, Part 1

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Cooking/Baking, Food, Twenty-three Months, Two Years Old | 6 Comments

Bailey has been soooo excited for her party. She has been saying, “Beelay’s happy birthday! Can-do’s! (Candles) Cake! Eat it! All friends! Ah cream! Elmo!” and singing Happy Birthday for days now. So when she got up from her nap yesterday and we told her it was time to get ready for her party… well she was pretty thrilled.

I tried to get a picture of her in her cupcake shirt before the party. We are saving her party dress for her “friend party” on Saturday. Once again she wasn’t cooperating the best because we were at Grammy’s house.

Guess why I didn’t want to bake an Easter cake- I made an Elmo cake for Bailey! It’s not perfect but I think it turned out fairly well!

The cake wasn’t hard to make… just time consuming. I enjoy doing crafty stuff so it was fun for me. It would have been more fun if MIL hadn’t been leaning over my shoulder. Jonathon finally told her to go away and give me some space. After I gave him The Look. You know, the “Get your mother away from me right now” look.

Anyway back to the party. Bailey LOVED her cake. She does not really like cake in general (in fact she informed me before seeing the cake that she was ONLY going to eat ice cream). Here she was waiting for someone to start serving her food! This look cracks me up. And yes, she is topless under that bib. We stripped her down to a diaper for her cake and ice cream. There is an entire bottle of red food coloring in that icing! My right hand is still a little stained, in fact.

But when she saw the cake…. she couldn’t help but put her fingers in Elmo’s mouth, nose, eyes etc and taste all the different colors of icing. She loved it and we just let her do it since it was her own cake. I mean, it was just family…

This is what her plate looked like after mixing the cake and ice cream together and squishing them. Yum.

And now I am tired of blogging. Three posts in one day, that’s like a record for me lately. I will finish with the family party pictures later or tomorrow.

2008 IN REVIEW

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Christmas, Cloth Diapering, Daddy, Disney Vacation, Eighteen Months, Eleven Months, Fifteen Months, Firsts, Fourteen Months, Hair, Halloween, Nineteen Months, Play, Professional Pictures, Seventeen Months, Sixteen Months, Ten Months, Thirteen Months, Twelve Months, Twenty Months | 4 Comments

We were so blessed with a wonderful year. No major catastrophes, no deaths in our families, a daughter who has stayed healthy (with the exception of a few colds) and continued to grow and learn and amaze us… Here are the highlights of our year.

January- please note her lack of hair, compared to now

February- and Bailey is walking!

March

April- happy first birthday, Bailey!

May

June

July

August

September- Jonathon and I went to Disney World

October

November

December

Happy New Year!

Bailey’s Birthday Party

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Family, Food, Friends, Gifts, Grandparents, Twelve Months | 3 Comments

I guess it is time that I post pictures from Bailey’s party. I really feel okay about it. We had a good turnout with lots of friends there. The food was decent (just stuff I put together like a fruit bowl, veggie tray, watergate salad, chips and dip, etc). Her cake turned out cute even though she wouldn’t eat it. There weren’t any disasters, just a clingy, teething baby.

Bailey with my mom and our neighbor Jeannette

Friends Amy and Kaitlynn

Opening presents

See the little flower thing she has in her hand? She’s obsessed with it and takes it everywhere with her. That and the wand for the bubbles that Kelli gave her.

Bailey loves balloons. She has started trying to say “balloon.” She points to them and says “Buv!”

Sharing her toys with AJ, my friend Jen‘s little boy

With my college roommate, Sarah

Birthday cake

We stripped her down to her diaper just in case she decided to eat her cake…

But she didn’t! She wanted nothing to do with it and cried until I got her out of her high chair.

Here she’s signing that she wants out

She’s glad all that nonsense is over so she can sit by herself and play her xylophone!

Happy birthday, sweetheart. We’ll try the cake again someday. If you’re anything like your mama, you will love cake with buttercream icing!

Bailey’s Birthday Celebration with Avie and Juna

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Gifts, Playdates, Toys | 1 Comment

Today we went to Mae‘s house for a playdate. Bailey had a good time playing with Avalon and Juna… and she was just fascinated by Miss Boo. I think it was mutual, actually.

I delivered Mae’s Avon order and she gave Bailey her birthday present since they couldn’t make it to the party. Remember the really cute pink shoes with bells on them? She got them for Bailey in a bigger size! I love them so much and I had planned on cramming her squished toes into them until she turned thirteen, so she is very thankful to have some bigger ones.

Here is a shot where I actually managed to get all three of the babies. That’s Avalon on the left, crying Juna is in the middle, and Bailey is on the right.

She also got a Disney Princess cell phone. Just what every toddler diva needs, right? She’s busy texting in this picture.

Bailey’s Party

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday | 4 Comments

I have to get in the right mood before I do the post about her party. That’s why so far, I have only mentioned the gifts. She was kind of a teething mess for her party and she refused to even try her cake. I felt bad for her and for myself. It wasn’t exactly what I imagined. But I will write about it and share pictures another day. It wasn’t all bad. I think she had fun for most of it and tolerated the rest of it. I had just pictured something different. That’s what happens when we get our expectations up. Poor kid had no idea it was even her birthday party. How was she supposed to know to cooperate?

Bailey’s gifts

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Gifts, Twelve Months | 2 Comments

She got some really fun stuff for her birthday. My parents gave us money to pick out a playhouse for her, to put in the backyard. They also gave us a cute picture frame and my dad got her a little girls Ping golf hat. I think this is the playhouse we are going to get. I was looking on Craigslist but couldn’t really find anything we wanted.

My grandparents contributed more money to her college savings account, and gave her this little guy from Kohls who she just loves every time we go in there.

Jonathon’s parents sent her two books. One of them is this Elmo music book that she is obsessed with right now.

My friend Faith got her this cute swimsuit from Target, and a matching coverup and towel. Hopefully we will get to the pool a lot more this summer.

She really likes this zoo that she got from her Aunt Jen.

Here is a Children’s Place dress she got from my other friend Jen, that I managed to find a picture of. Because I am way too lazy to actually get my camera out right now.

Some of her other favorite toys are a set of wooden alphabet blocks and a circus that you can take the animals in and out of. She likes to put the wooden blocks inside the circus tent. She got so many nice things. Lots of cute clothes and fun toys. We are going to wait and introduce the other toys maybe one every few days so she can enjoy the “newness” for a while.

No DVD

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Complaining | Leave a Comment

One thing that really upset me about Bailey’s party today. I have been asking Jonathon for forever to make a dvd to show at the party. Not like to make everyone just sit and watch it, but to have it playing in the background. He stalled and then didn’t get it finished. I just wanted to show some things from when she was really small Anyway he tried to blame it on how fast it was converting or transferring or something and said he needed a new fiber cable or some such garbage. Grr. I normally hate to complain about him on my blog but that just really disappointed me

Celebrating Bailey’s Birthday

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Outings, Twelve Months | 3 Comments

On Wednesday, we took Bailey to Penneys to get her pictures done. They turned out so cute. She wore this dress:

Jonathon took a half day off work and met me while she was getting her pictures taken. Ms Rita was having a horrible time with her (we always use the same photographer-there is one woman there who is horrible and Rita gets the cutest shots) anyway Bailey kept leaving the room. She just wanted to walk around the mall. So it took almost 40 minutes to get her pictures done! But we got some really cute ones, and it was so worth it. Anyway by the time we were done, we just had time for a quick lunch so we went to Chick Fil-A. Bailey got to share little bites of my chicken sandwich and fries. She loved it!

She also got a balloon from the guy at the counter. (Note that she had already gotten TWO balloons the day before: One at the grocery store and one at Oberweis!) She loves them but they drive me crazy and I usually cut a hole in them and deflate them after she goes to bed. She gets her feet so tangled in the strings and I am always afraid she’s going to pop one and scare herself.

After we finished eating, we left the mall and went to Gymboree for the open play time. She had so much fun. There were only two other kids there. The weather was really nice, but we had already decided we were going to take her there for her birthday. In fact I am announcing now that we are having her party there next year. So no stealing my idea. Here are some pictures of her playing. She mostly like playing with the balls (we got her the small ones with the holes in them and also a bumpy little one, and we got bubbles). So almost all the pictures are of her with a ball She walked around a lot too and even climbed a little bit.

These bubbles seriously last forever. The little girl Alison who I used to watch had them, and they would last literally overnight. If I came back in a room the next day there would still be some left on the floor.

Oh yeah and she got a balloon at Gymboree too. That’s four in two days.

Twelve Months, One Year…

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Twelve Months | 13 Comments

Either way you say it, you’re not a teeny baby anymore. You are a one-year-old. As of 9:38 tonight, you have been outside of Mommy for a full year. I think of you more as a toddler now and not so much as a baby… maybe that’s because you’ve been walking for over a month now. Maybe it’s because you are so smart and chatty and you have enough personality for ten kids. You amaze me and fascinate me and frustrate me all at once.

Keeping up with you is a full-time job. You race through the house in a mad dash to throw anything in the toilet or to empty my purse before I can catch you. You love opening and closing cabinets. Sometimes I find your toys in our rubbermaid bowls. You continue to love to read. You have two bottom teeth and four on the top (that last one is just breaking through). You clap and wave and can reach down to pick things up without falling over. You like to pat our arms and shoulders while we hold you. You are more affectionate now and lay your head on my shoulder when I hold you. I love that you like to snuggle now. You still love animals. Just the other day, we went to the Children’s Zoo and you said “Woof” to all the goats.

You are still picky about solid food and right now you prefer to have us feed you baby food. I wish you’d kick that habit, because it’s not cheap! You still nurse in the morning and at bedtime but you take bottles most of the time during the day now. I am just so happy we made it to “our” goal of one year breastfeeding! We had such a rough start.

Another thing I just remembered. You love when I open your closet so that you can see all your clothes. You get so excited. You also like us to carry you around and let you look at all the pictures in our house, and the wooden bell and the frog. You know quite a few objects by name, including sconce, which makes me laugh. You point to the items when we ask you where they are.

I can’t wait to see what this second year of your life has in store for us. Lots of adventures, trips to the park and the zoo and Grant’s Farm as the weather gets warmer… music classes and walks and playdates with friends… probably you learning colors and lots more words and maybe starting to try to use the potty. I don’t know if I’m ready for all of this! Go easy on me, little muffin. We’ll learn together.

I love you.

Mommy

Bailey at 9:38 pm on April 16, 2007

And at 9:38 pm on April 16, 2008

Oberweis

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Eleven Months, Firsts | 3 Comments

Bailey had Oberweis ice cream for the first time tonight. We took her to celebrate her birthday with just Mommy and Daddy. She had birthday cake ice cream and really liked it. For about 1/4 of a kids size bowl, then she refused to open her mouth again. I tried it and it was really, really sweet so I think it just got to be too much for her… which is good because she doesn’t normally eat much dairy OR sweet stuff and I was worried about her little tummy. The girls at Oberweis loved her and gave her the ice cream for free, and also a free balloon. She ran around the store with her balloon for a while after she finished eating.

I realize I posted about a million pictures. But these are my last pictures of my child before she is a year old. Yes, I am getting sappy. Tomorrow I will post her big 12 month/one year post.

Two Days Until The big 0-1

Filed Under Bailey's Birthday, Friends, Playdates | 4 Comments

Today is Monday. Bailey will be one on Wednesday. In just a little over 48 hours. Wow. We are trying to make this week really special for all of us. Today we had a playdate with my friend Kim and her daughter Mackenzie, who is two months younger than Bailey. I think the girls had fun together. I know Kim and I did. We got to hang out and talk, have lunch together, and go for a walk around the lake by her house. The weather was nice and sunny and it was so good to be outside! Tonight we went out to dinner with Jen and Aaron, to El Maguey. Bailey was very well-behaved during dinner. Which is always a relief, especially when we are out with friends who don’t have kids!

Tomorrow I work at my church in the morning and hopefully I can get some stuff done around the house in the afternoon. Jonathon is planning to cut the grass. Then in the evening, we are going to take Bailey to Oberweis to have ice cream for the first time! (other than the times I smuggled her a small bite or two, don’t tell Jonathon!) We will have to bring the camera. I hope she likes it. We are still holding off on chocolate for at least a few more months, possibly another year. Normally I’m not super picky about what she eats except for obvious stuff like no honey, strawberries, or fish yet. But my mom is allergic to chocolate and I don’t want Bailey to develop an allergy to it!

Wednesday for her birthday, we are going to go get her one year pictures done. I know I am a little behind on that. Then Jonathon is meeting up with us and we are going to grab some food and take her to Gymboree. She hasn’t been there before to play so I hope she likes it! That is her little birthday surprise from us

Thursday and Friday my parents are going to help with Bailey so I can hopefully get things more ready for her big party on Saturday. We are doing a butterfly theme. I still haven’t decided what we are doing for food or anything, and I need to order the cake. I’ve got to remember to do that tomorrow. We have all the decorations and the party favors. It’s just a matter of putting things together and doing food. We can do this. Right? And we need to clean the house and set up things a little differently if it ends up being inside. And work on the garden decor in case it’s outside… that means finishing to repaint the wrought iron chairs we got, cutting the grass (Jonathon) and putting some partyish stuff outside. Pray for good weather!

Cute Flower Bowls

Filed Under Avon, Bailey's Birthday | 3 Comments

Check out my new bowl set from Avon. I got them to use at Bailey’s birthday party- which will definitely be a pink and green and purple butterfly party! It’s all separate pieces and they are all stackable and have lids. I thought they’d be really cute with snacks and dip. They were only $24.99, and they have a whole bunch of other stuff that matches, like placemats and glasses and stuff, but I have to remember not to spend everything I make!

I’m such a dork but I just don’t want to use them before her party!

Organization

Filed Under Baby Gear, Bailey's Birthday, Church, Daddy, classes | 1 Comment

Friday night I went to a ladies night thing at my church. I know, you are thinking “Exciting Friday night, Tara!” It turned out to be a lot better than I expected. I mainly signed up because my mom and grandma wanted to go. They had snacks and then we got to pick three classes we wanted to take. The first one I chose was about organizing your busy life. Scheduling everything- including a cleaning schedule. I know some people think this sounds neurotic, but it’s the kind of organization I need if I am going to get anything done. We also talked about communicating better with your spouse to divide up responsibility/time with kids/etc. The second class I did was card making. They had a Stampin Up! rep help us make three cards and a gift tag. They are really cute. The last class was a cooking one. The lady kind of drove me nuts who taught it. She was one of those people, who wants you to know that she has money. Like she kept talking about “having the girls over after golf and just putting together a little lunch” and “I try to buy from the Smokehouse and keep them in business” but it was the way she made her comments. It was just kind of funny. But the recipes were good. She made a chicken dish, salad, bread, and banana dessert. Also we got a recipe for a fish soup that I am going to make for Jonathon.

Sat morning Jonathon got up and took some stuff to the bank for me, then went and bought me flowers! Then I got our bedroom a lot more organized and sorted through our closet to pull stuff out for Goodwill. I ended up with two boxes and two big bags! Yay! I need to do a lot of work on the rest of the house and purge every room, but I’m glad I started. Then in the  afternoon, Jonathon went to Lowe’s and got a board to fix our ghetto baby gate setup and bought more lightbulbs for all the burnt out lights in our house. I am glad he finally did this because it was starting to drive me crazy. But I am working on not bugging him/nagging him about stuff that needs to be done. He also picked up Bailey’s big birthday present while he was out!

Saturday night we had an event for Jonathon’s work. My parents watched Bailey and of course they all had a great time It was nice for us to dress up and get out together too.