Video- no more crib!

Filed Under Sleep, Twenty-three Months, Video | 1 Comment

Just realized that I hadn’t shared this video of Bailey. It was during the saga of moving her into her big girl bed, about a month ago. Here we had taken apart the crib and she was supposed to be sleeping on just a mattress for the first time. You can see how much energy she has- that is about average for her if that gives you any idea of what I do all day long!

Oh and sorry that it’s sideways. I took it on my regular camera instead of the video camera and I couldn’t figure out how to rotate the file so you’ll just have to turn your head!

Last Day as a One Year Old

Filed Under Twenty-three Months | 2 Comments

Yes, I am a cheesy, sappy mom sometimes. Yesterday was Bailey’s last full day being a one year old. Here she is before her class.

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.

Easter 2009

Filed Under Holidays, Twenty-three Months | 1 Comment

We got up and went to Easter service at church. Then everyone came back to our house for the Easter Egg Hunt (where Bailey was the only hunter). It was basically a bunch of adults sitting around watching her. It made me think of two years ago when I was still pregnant on Easter and wanted to meet Bailey so badly. I can’t imagine NOT having her now.

Jonathon’s parents were in town, and my grandparents and my parents came over as well. We had ham, deviled eggs, stuffed celery, potato salad, and beans. Then for dessert I bought an apple pie and ice cream. No time for baking but you will see why in my next post.

Here are a few pictures of Bailey opening her basket. She didn’t pose for any pictures- we couldn’t get her to settle down and do “nice” Easter pictures because of the chaos.

She was so excited about the egg hunt. We used real eggs which maybe I shouldn’t have. It was fine, but she wasn’t exactly gentle. We heard lots of eggs cracking as she threw more into her basket. At least it was funny.

Mom, Dad and me

Happy Easter to everyone!

Bailey’s Big Girl Bed

Filed Under Milestones, Sleep, Twenty-three Months | 1 Comment

Oh I did not think I would be saying this any time soon. Bailey climbed out of her bed. I know, she’s almost two… but she used to LOVE her crib and never tried to get out. My girl is growing up! On Friday 4/10 at naptime she climbed out of her crib. She said, “Beelay fall. Crying.” Once Jonathon put her back in she was fine and slept there but then got out at the end of nap and knocked on her door to be let out.

Well, Friday night she wanted NOTHING to do with her crib and kept getting out so I had Jonathon take it apart. Thinking she would just sleep on the mattress on the floor. Then she cried and asked him to fix her crib, and completely freaked out over it. So he put the crib back together and took the front off so that it was like a toddler bed. After crying for a few minutes she went to sleep on her rug. Then Saturday at nap same thing, and I moved her onto the mattress on her floor. Saturday night same thing. Sunday she slept on the wooden part of the crib, the flat board the mattress rests on. Sunday night she willingly slept on the mattress. Monday nap she slept SITTING UP next to her crib with her head resting on the wooden part, for over an hour!

On Monday night we brought the toddler Dora bed home from my parents house to use. She got in it willingly and I sat next to her until she was pretty drowsy. I think she was just unsure about it and wanted some comfort with me there. Then today at nap she asked me to rock her and fell right asleep so I put her down. She is really doing pretty well in her bed so I think it’s just a matter of her getting used to falling asleep in it on a regular basis now.

Her crib is packed up in the storage room One more step toward being a big girl.

One Week From Today

Filed Under Birthdays, Professional Pictures, This Rocks, Twenty-three Months | 9 Comments

My beautiful BABY will be two. But instead of dwelling on the fact that she is growing up entirely too fast, let’s just look at some amazingly gorgeous pictures. We had these done today.

(And no, I did not know the flowers would be those colors. No, I did not see the background in advance. No, I did not turn her bracelet so that you could read her name in the pictures.)

Beelay’s Match

Filed Under Gifts, Learning, Travel, Twenty-three Months | 1 Comment

Thank you to Casey and Addison for the fun matching game! Bailey is obsessed with it. We spent at least a full half hour matching the cards this afternoon before nap… then more time after nap… then when Jonathon got home I was like “Hey honey, check out Bailey’s new game! Come play it with her!” (Moms always know how to make an escape, right? LOL

Finally Jonathon got tired of playing it too. Bailey kept walking around the house asking us both… “Match? Please? Beelay’s Match!” Then if I said, “Do you want to play your new game?” She’d nod really enthusiastically and smile and say “Yaaaaahhhh.” Really, how can you say no to that? She also convinced Teddy and Pinky (her stuffed guys) to play “Beelay’s Match” with her when a sub was needed. Honestly, I am glad she loves it so much. She was in need of something new and fun. And it’s even educational. Check out the look of concentration-

We Stayed Home Today

Filed Under Play, Twenty-three Months | 3 Comments

Normally I *hate* staying home all day with Bailey. We both like to get out and do stuff… but we both slept a little later than usual (8:30) and had a lazy morning. I put in my Avon order and we played in the living room. I spent a while on the phone with my district manager. I got the laundry put away. But mostly we just played with blocks and Little People. She is really into pretending and it is so fun to watch. I also think it’s easier to play with her for long periods of time now because she talks more constantly so at least we’re not just sitting in silence!

Tomorrow, though, we have plans. We work at church on Tuesday mornings. As much as I love hanging out with Bailey, we can’t just chill at home all the time. Later this week we are also going to get her TWO YEAR pictures taken. Can you believe it? I can’t. The in-laws are coming in town this weekend and we are celebrating Easter as well as doing her family birthday party on Easter Monday. I am going to attempt to make an Elmo cake. Which I may or may not post pictures of!

But here is something that I will post pictures of. Bailey playing dress-up with her blankie. She tells me that it’s a coat. This started back when her class at church did the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors. It’s one of her favorite things to do now- and in this picture there is also the nice addition of Jonathon’s black shoes. We might need to get her some real dress-up clothes at some point…

Bailey’s Zebra Purse

Filed Under Clothes, Twenty-three Months | 6 Comments

Bailey fell in love with this zebra purse a while back when we were at the store… so I had to buy her this outfit so that she could get some use out of the purse! She brought it to church this morning and told me she was a “bigger girl” because she had a purse. I love that she likes all the girly stuff! So much fun.

Lots to Say

Filed Under Talking, Twenty-three Months | 2 Comments

Bailey is a constantly chatty little girl. I so enjoy listening to her. She says the funniest things. Just a few snippets of our conversations lately.

(In the car yesterday)
Bailey: Oh no, cwash!
Me: Did you see a crash? (Looking around for a car accident)
Bailey: Yeah, boogie cwash! Oh no! Get it, mama!
Me: You dropped a booger on the floor?
Bailey: Yeah, all gone boogie! Find it. More boogies.

Kiss you me please Mama.

Hold you. (She wants to be held)

(In her crib in the morning)
Bailey: Mama! Daddy! Up please. Barney. Elmo. Snack.
no answer…
Bailey: JONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! (She has learned to get Daddy’s attention by yelling “JON!” just like mommy does, oops!

She sings Old MacDonald Had a Farm: “Donalds farm, EIEIO. Had duck, EIEIO. Quack quack…. long pause… EIEIO!”

Kangaroo food= Baby food fruit (logical, right?) she says “kamaroon” for kangaroo
Mouse food= cheese
Monkey food= banana

She loves to talk about the “cold bears” or “poker bears” at the zoo =Polar bears

(At the gas station)
Bailey: Mama, see awwcycle (motorcycle)
Me: Yes, I see it sweetie.
Bailey: Awwcycle noisy. Stop it mama.
(then as we are walking inside to pay)
Bailey: Hot drink?
Me: No, I’m not getting a hot drink today. I’m getting a mommy drink (Diet Coke)
Bailey: Beelay’s mommy drink too! Big girl!
Me: No, you can have milk. Mommy drinks are only for mommies.
Bailey: Beelay mommy.

God help me, the child is a negotiator already…

(Talking about her birthday party)
Bailey: Beelay party. All friends.
Me: All your friends are coming to your party?
Bailey: Yeah. Elmo, Zoe, Cookie Monster, Abby Dabby…
Me: What about Addison? Or Mackenzie?
Bailey: Yeah. And Grover!
I think we confused her when we were telling her that her family party was going to be an “Elmo party.” LOL

Wordless Wednesday- I love how she sleeps

Filed Under Twenty-three Months, Wordless Wednesday | 4 Comments

Consignment Sales

Filed Under Frugal, Toys, Twenty-three Months | 2 Comments

I should remind myself that I like BABY SALES and GARAGE SALES, not consignment sales. People selling in consignment sales tend to think they can get much, much more than their items is worth. Like a Carter’s infant romper for $6? Really? You probably didn’t pay that much when it was new.

I got up early to go to a baby consignment sale today. I scored one pair of Gymboree capris for Bailey (which now I am searching to find a top for on eBay) and a dress. But the exciting things I got-

Little People house with all the pieces, looks new, $8

Little People Minivan, $3

My daughter has been sitting on the kitchen floor playing with her new toys for over an hour now. She has always liked her Little People zoo animals. But in the past few weeks she has gotten into a lot of the LP stuff (my mom has a huge collection at her house). So even though I didn’t get much in the way of clothes, I guess it was worth it for the toys

If you live in the St. Louis area, there will be a baby sale next Saturday (April 4th) at Lafayette Church of Christ on New Ballwin Rd. It starts at 7:30 or 8. Then on April 25th there is a big sale at John Burroughs School, and the first Saturday in May is the Baby Mania sale. If anyone wants to go shopping with me I would love some company!

She’s Cute As a Cupcake

Filed Under Twenty-three Months | 2 Comments

Isn’t she? She looks like such a baby in this picture. Trick photography, I tell ya. Because she looks more like a two year old every day, and less like a baby. This was taken last weekend:

And these were taken just a few days later. After she had her bangs trimmed.

We have obviously developed a “picture taking spot” at our house. Do you always take pictures in the same place, too?

Bailey’s First Easter Egg Hunt

Filed Under Easter, Firsts, Outings, Shopping, Twenty-three Months | 2 Comments

We went to an egg hunt at a local outlet mall last week. Casey and I rode up there together with the girls. I figured that they would be fine with their carseats next to each to each other because they get along so well. Um, no. Bailey turned into that friend. You know, the one who doesn’t give you any room to breathe. She’s like the friend who calls a little too often. In her defense, she was SO EXCITED to have Addison in the car that she wouldn’t leave her alone. Addison looked like she wanted to crawl back in bed. So it was not a good combination. I thought they were holding hands when I took this picture (I swear we weren’t on the highway at the time) but looking back later, Bailey is definitely just hanging on to Addison’s sweater.

Once we got to the mall, we registered for the egg hunt. We also had a chance to join some sort of kids club but it sounded like it wasn’t even worth the $5. So we got a free stuffed bunny and got to find a few Easter eggs. But we had to wait a few minutes so we (by we I probably mean me) stood outside the Gymbore outlet and tried to decide what I was going to buy!

I was wondering if Bailey would understand the concept of hunting for eggs. Although she is pretty good if I ask her to find her shoes, or her sippy cup, or something else that she misplaced. Well, she would pick up one or two eggs but then put them down because she found different ones, or she would re-hide the ones she already had… but she definitely had fun anyway! Here she is with her friends Kaylee and Addison. Kaitlynn was there too but they got there a little later and did the egg hunt after us.

While we were at the mall, we got to do a little bit of outlet shopping. We got some seriously cute stuff at the Gymboree store. They are doing Gymbucks (earning) right now so we had to spend enough to earn Gymbucks. That is how I justify it. Then we went to Carter’s and just got a shirt, although Casey got a lot of super cute stuff for Addison. Children’s Place, we didn’t have quite as much luck but I managed to get her some jammies for $1.99 and a pair of shoes and something else but I forget what. I was bummed to find out that they closed the Nautica Kids outlet. In the past I had gotten some really good deals there for Bailey. I kind of wish we live closer. BUT I am kind of excited that Casey needs to return a few things to Carter’s because I want to go back with her. (You like how I invited myself?)

And then on the way home… Addison fell asleep and Bailey was STILL going crazy. She kept putting her foot on Addison to try to get her attention. She really gets a little over excited and over-stimulated sometimes and it is hard to get her settled down again.

St. Patrick’s Day

Filed Under Clothes, Grandparents, Twenty-three Months | 1 Comment

I wrote a post about St. Patrick’s Day that was deleted. I talked about visiting my grandpa at the rehab facility where he went after his knee replacement. He is home now and doing great. But that whole post was lost when my blog crashed about a week ago.

So let me post the most important part again: The picture of Bailey (being held still by Grammy) !  I forgot to dress her in green for St. Patty’s but she rocked her new Bon Voyage outfit, didn’t she? Even though I had to roll the pants down at the top and up at the bottom! They were capris and she has short legs just like her mommy. Poor girl.