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!

Guess where we are!!

Filed Under Disney Vacation, Sixteen Months | 1 Comment

EDITED TO ADD: I had this scheduled to post while we were on our trip. I don’t know why it didn’t post… I knew you would all be wondering where I was for so long. We were in Orlando for a week, and we are home now. So this was supposed to post like five days ago. Stupid WordPress…

That’s right, we’re in Disney World. I knew you couldn’t live without me, so I wrote this ahead of time and scheduled it to post while we’re gone. Today we are at the Magic Kingdom and we even have a character meal today. We’ll be taking lots of pictures so I can bore you to death with them after we get home.

In the meantime, here’s the muffin

Talk to you in a few days!

Claire’s Baptism

Filed Under Friends, Hair, Parties, Sixteen Months | 6 Comments

My friend Sarah had her little baby Claire baptized on Saturday. We were going to go to the actual mass until we found out that her church didn’t have a nursery, and then my parents already had plans so we couldn’t get a free babysitter… and then at 4:55 Bailey was still napping so we decided to just show up for the party. Cause that’s how we roll. We’re classy like that.

I got a few pictures of Bailey before we left the house. I got her to sit still and actually put in good pigtails. She ripped one of them out in the car before we even got to the party, five minutes away from home. But here are the “Before” pics:

The party was really nice. They had it catered and we drank wine. Well when I say we, I don’t mean Jonathan. I cannot find a wine that he likes. He’s more of a foo foo drink kinda guy. I mean that in the manliest way possible, honey Bailey was being kind of a nut the whole time. She wanted to go outside and play in the playhouse and on the cozy coupe. Well, the only people outside were standing next to it smoking, so that was fine for a while but then we decided to come inside. Where she ran around the house like a chicken with its head off and kept trying to climb the stairs. She finally stopped to play with Claire’s carseat for a while. I don’t know why she thinks it’s so fun.

Then we caught her digging in the candy dish and biting the Hersheys Kisses. Sorry, Sarah, if we didn’t manage to get all the ones with bite marks out. But I think we did

And finally, a picture with Bailey and Claire together. Claire is being held by Sarah’s cousin Katie. Its fun to see her cousins because we used to hang out with Nikki a lot in high school. They are both engaged now too.

Children’s Zoo and Hippos

Filed Under Outings, Sixteen Months | 2 Comments

On Friday we went to the zoo with some friends and their kids. Amy and Kaitlynn, and Eileen and Gabe. We were trying to decide whether to go to the Children’s Zoo or the new Zoomagination Station. We ended up doing the Children’s Zoo since it was free at the time, and decided we’d try the Zoomagination thing another day. It’s basically a free discovery room for kids, and you can stay and play for an hour.

The kids had a lot of fun playing in the Children’s Zoo. Bailey’s favorite thing now is the treehouse. She loved walking up and down the steps. She ended up falling and cut open her forehead but she barely cried! I didn’t realize until later that there is a big scabbed area. Poor girl.

She still likes the jeep, too. They need to put two steering wheels in it like those cars that are attached to the shopping carts at the grocery store.

I wanted to get a cute picture of Bailey next to one of the frogs outside the Children’s Zoo. She wanted nothing to do with it. I swear, I have so many pictures of the back of her head.

We spent a long time walking around the zoo after that. Amy and I were just busy talking, and the girls seemed to like riding in the strollers and eating snacks. Usually Bailey doesn’t like being in the stroller for too long but I think there was so much to look at this time that it kept her busy. The weather was nice and kind of cool. It’s the first time I have put jeans on Bailey in months! She even wore a jacket for part of the morning. Here Bailey and Kaitlynn decided they needed to help us out and take a turn pushing the strollers…

My absolute favorite thing at the zoo was the hippos. I have never bothered to go up the River Walk area to see them. Well they were amazing. They are like the size of a small car, but they swim! Not like in pictures where you see a hippo just standing in water with a bird on its back. They really swim, underwater! They’re graceful like otters or something, and their feet are kind of spongy. You can see their squishy feet when they push off the glass in front of you. I tried to get some good pictures but it didn’t work out too well and then Bailey started getting a little concerned that we were too close. I am going to have to go back again to see the hippos!

This is how I usually picture a hippo:

We finished off the day by having a late lunch at the Lakeside restaurant. Of course, Bailey ate nothing but fries. I knew once she saw the fries it was hopeless. It was either fries or nothing, though, and I wanted her to take a nap! Which doesn’t happen very often on an empty stomach.

Ice Cream Cone Cuteness

Filed Under Firsts, Food, Sixteen Months | 3 Comments

Bailey ate her first ice cream cone last weekend at Lion’s Choice. If you never go there, it’s worth it just for the ice cream. They have kids size cones (dipped) for 29 cents, and the non-dipped ones are like 15 cents or something. (Note: She has had ice cream before, just not in a cone!)

We got Bailey a regular one because I thought she would be a little bit weirded out by the chocolate on the outside. Sometimes she is funny about biting into things with different textures. Anyway she saw that Jonathan and I both had dipped cones so we had to trade. I tried to teach her how to stick out her tongue and lick but it didn’t work so well. I wish I had remembered that I had the camera as soon as she started eating it, but here she is about halfway through. I couldn’t decide on just a few pictures to post, obviously.

Also, Bailey seemed to like the cone better than the ice cream itself (which Daddy helped her eat) so I would like to try to make her those little cupcakes in an ice cream cone. I have looked on my regular recipes website but I would rather use a recipe that someone actually recommends because I have heard its hard to get them to turn out right. Anyone made these before?

Little Bits From Today

Filed Under Church, Clothes, Home Sweet Home, Sixteen Months | 7 Comments

This morning we got up and went to the Tuesday morning childcare program at my church. My grandma and I had a class, and Bailey went to the nursery. The kids in the nursery were all different ages (just for today) but it never seems to phase Bailey. I watched her as an older kid tried to take her book, and she pushed her away and said, “No no no!” I’m glad she sticks up for herself. Also, she doesn’t cry when I drop her off, at least 90% of the time. I think it’s because she has always gone to the nursery or some type of morning childcare at least once a week. Also, we leave her with my mom and a few other people from time to time.

I thought she looked so grown up this morning so I took a few pictures of her before we left. I can’t believe my big girl will be in the Toddlers class this fall!

And finally, she cooperates!

Tonight after Jonathan got home from work, he was working on fixing some of our outdoor lighting and I was working on dinner. Don’t worry, it was just spaghetti and garlic bread. You should know by now that I don’t do anything too complicated. Anyway, I had the oven mitt out to get the bread, and Bailey found it and ran off with it. I just managed to find the camera and get a quick picture before she lost interest.

Then later this evening, I was working on cleaning my office. The endless project that never gets all the way finished. Although, someday it will, and I will show pictures! Bailey was wandering in and out while I was cleaning, and she found a Sigma Kappa hat from when I was in college. She had fun modeling it and ended up wearing it for quite a while. She announced “hat” and pointed to it every time she saw one of us. Just in case we weren’t sure.

Little Stink Found Raisins

Filed Under Into Everything, Sixteen Months | 4 Comments

Just to prove what a little stink Bailey can be- she got these raisins down off the kitchen countertop. By standing on a box. I was in the other room doing something and I found her like this when I came back to the living room.

(Don’t you love her ridiculous bed-head? It’s like this all the time before I fight it to lay down nicely. This was obviously before I cut her hair though! It has gotten a little less flyaway.)

And she realizes she’s been caught!

16 Months

Filed Under Into Everything, Milestones, Sixteen Months, Talking | 5 Comments

I have been getting bad about doing the monthly posts on time. Our lives are so busy and Bailey keeps us on our toes. She really is a little monkey. Anyway I just wanted to try to write down all of the things she is doing right now. I want to be able to look back and remember because I know a few years from now, someone will ask us when Bailey did something and I won’t remember. At least if the memories fade in my mind I can have them on my blog.

Her Fifteen Month Pictures, a little late as we still haven’t sent them out… oops…

She has figured out how to open all the cabinets/drawers etc so we had to install latches on EVERYTHING, which is annoying. Also, she turns the television on by herself, puts a dvd in the dvd player, turns it on, and sits down to watch a movie. Not even kidding. And if there’s already a tv on show instead, she actually knows how to press the source button (she found it on the back of the tv) and switch it to dvd. Gah. So now we have to keep the whole thing turned off in the back with a surge protector on-off switch.

One of the other things she really likes to get into is my makeup drawer. It has a latch but if she is in there with me while I’m doing my makeup, she likes to get the blush brush and pretend to put makeup on herself. It’s the only thing I’ll let her touch out of there. She figured out how to open my jewelry box (I used to keep it on the nightstand) and I caught her putting my good rings on all her fingers so that also got moved up higher. She also likes to stand on Mommy’s scale and it looks like she’s almost 23 pounds. Oh, and she likes to take her diaper off and pee on the floor. Which is lovely.

As far as physical stuff- she is running pretty fast and her feet swing out to the sides almost like a penguin. It’s the cutest. She also walks backwards and is working on jumping. On rare occasions she can get both feet off the ground at the same time for just a split second, but mostly it looks like she’s just bending her knees and picking one foot up. She can climb onto chairs and couches, and slide down off our bed. Her new thing is going up and down stairs “like a big girl” holding on the railing. She can do it herself but I have to be right next to her because sometimes she gets distracted and lets go to look around. She also is kicking a lot. If you put a ball on the ground she will run up to it and kick it while she runs. Our Parents as Teachers educator said she’s really coordinated. Jonathon wants her to play soccer

She knows most of her body parts and can point to them when asked- head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, tongue (sticks it out), teeth (chomps them to show you), fingers, tummy, belly button or be-bo, she will point to my neck but can’t find it on herself, foot, toes/pigs. The only body parts she actually says is “Eyyyyyyye” and “no” for nose.

Animals she can point out- bird, monkey, tiger, zebra, horse/nay nay, cow, duck, dog, cat, fish, frog, koala, giraffe, elephant, snake.

Makes noises for cow, horse, dog, cat, and snake. Oh and zebra, she has decided it also says “nay nay” which I think might be right…

Words she says regularly-
mama
dada
gah or mama-dada-mama (Grammy)
eye
no (nose)
no no no
nana (banana or Nana, her great grandma)
apple
cheesh (cheese)
fish
more
puh puh ssss (please)
book
baw (ball)
bird
buh!! (balloon, always said emphatically)
shoosh (shoes)
duh duh (Dora)
Mo (Elmo)
mm-vah (movie)
woo woo, or gee (doggy)
hi
rah rah rah (rock rock rock)
inkeeee (Pinky, her lovey)
up
buhbuh (bubbles)

She still signs occasionally for “more” or “I want that” or “all done” and she also will put her hands up and shrug her shoulders if you ask her where something is.

She loves putting together puzzles. She has several of those wooden puzzles where the pieces have the little knobs to hold them. She can dump them out and put them right back together. She has also recently started playing with legos and other blocks. She knows how to stick them together and loves to put them together and then take them apart again. We put away her Little People Zoo for a while so that she would play with something different for a while. Her favorite books right now are Goodnight Moon, Personal Penguin, The Little People Board Books, Where’s Elmo’s Blanket, and Baby’s First Words.

Here are the hair pictures, finally

Filed Under Books, Hair, Sixteen Months | 7 Comments

Today I managed to get Bailey to sit still long enough to take a few pictures of her haircut. And I couldn’t believe it- I even got her to look at the camera a few times too Most pictures I take end up being of the back of her head as she runs away. I don’t think it’s that she hates the camera, she’s just too busy to hold still for it. I envy those moms who say their kids love it when they get the camera out, and start smiling and cheesing.

I think her bangs turned out decent. I like bangs on little girls, especially little girls like mine who don’t have small foreheads

And the back. Much better than the shagginess that was becoming a mullet.

And one of her actually looking at the camera, even though she’s fake smiling. I think she’s just tolerating me for a minute so that I’ll let her go back to reading. She’s lifting all the flaps looking for Elmo’s Blanket. This kid sure does love to read. If you’ve been around her for any amount of time at all you know it’s her absolute favorite thing to do.

Works For Me Wednesday- Toddler Haircuts

Filed Under Hair, Sixteen Months, Works For Me Wednesday | 8 Comments

I have now given Bailey her second haircut. The first time was just her bangs; this last time I did her bangs and about an inch off the back. People have been asking me how I got a one year old to hold still while I did her hair. So I am going to share with you the brilliant tip I was given by one of my Avon customers.

When you need your busy, squirmy child to hold still for something, wrap a small bandaid around each fingertip on their left hand. Then they will sit and pick those bandaids off one by one. By the time they are done, you’re finished with their haircut!

I haven’t gotten a good picture of her hair yet- I just got my camera back tonight- so I will work on getting a picture tomorrow. I think it turned out pretty good. I mean, it’s even and there aren’t any chunks missing. What else can you expect from a novice haircutter and a one year old?

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, check out Rocks In My Dryer.

And just because I’m excited to have my camera back, here are the first pictures we took tonight at home!

So Sweepy

Filed Under Sixteen Months, Sleep | 2 Comments

Thanks to Bailey, who woke up SEVEN times during the night last night, and four the night before. The first time, we fell for it. She sounded panicked and wanted to rock. Then we realized that every time she turned over she wanted us to come back in and rock her back to sleep. Not gonna happen. I hate letting her cry but there is NO WAY we are falling into this trap. I also think her teeth are bugging her but she has had Tylenol. Please cross your fingers that she sleeps better tonight!