Granna and Poppy

poppy is working hard to coax a smile out of bailey! she is just staring at him, wondering why he wears the daddy eyebrows too. apparently, poppy is the originater of the daddy eyebrows.











bailey is showing off how well she can sit up for her granna and poppy! they were so proud (so was she)! note, she is playing with the kitty her daddy gave her for valentine's day. see daddy, she does like it!


bailey loves her poppy and granna!!! thanks for stopping by! we hope to see you again soon!

Mom and Charlie's visit

oooooohhhhhhhh bailey, look at you eat!!! grandma was extremely impressed with how well bailey was eating her rice cereal.

grandma lovin on her most precious girl in the world. my mom always adds a "besides you, of course" . bailey is just lovin on those pearls.



my beautiful mom and i!! love you mom!

cool, something new to play with! bailey really liked charlie's facial hair. i was a little worried that she might be scard of it, but instead, she tried to pull it off. charlie knew she would like facial hair and started growing it a while ago. he knows a lot about babies and is always giving me tips :)

although we spent most of last weekend doing wedding stuff and thus, didn't get much down time, we did enjoy another wonderful visit from my mom and charlie.

GUESS WHAT!?!?!?!?!?

i just worked out at the gym, that's what!!!! it's high time i get my bigger butt on a treadmill and start feeding it my extra baby weight. funny, it hasn't just fallen off by itself... it wasn't much, but it was a start. i pray that bailey doesn't get sick from hanging out in the gym's child care area. seriously, i am so nervous about this. i went to pick her up and there she was, in the exact spot i left her. she was quietly watching all of the other babies from her seat in an exersaucer. the ladies in there proudly told me that she was great, didn't cry or anything and happily chewed on a set of teething keys......ummmmmm......we don't own a set of teething keys. gross. gross. gross. i hope they were clean. really, please pray that bailey doesn't get sick. seriously.

Time for square 2

blair, bailey, caleb and noah are so sad that this session of square one is over. bailey is going to miss seeing these friends every thursday :(

part of the whole crew, still so upset

all the beautiful babies at our first meeting, january 12. look how calm, still and tiny they all are! reece is missing since he was too young to come


blair, camden and bailey at the first get together.

bailey and i have officially graduated from square one. we liked it so much the first time that we went back for another session. although i absolutely loved going, we are not going to embarrass ourselves by becoming the first three-peaters. plus, we already know all there is to know about babies and being a mommy, so we wouldn't get much out of it anyway.........yeah, right!

okay, let me back up a bit. for those of you who have no idea what in the world square one is, let me tell you. it's a ministry our church (watermark community church) started to help new moms and their babies. it is AWESOME!!! we met so many new friends and looked forward to each meeting. it was great to be around other new moms, share stories and advice, and learn from the experienced moms who were there. this is where we met and/or really got to know all of the mommies and babies you see in this blog. i would highly recommend it. motherhood can quickly turn into a very isolating experience before you know it. there have been days where i've stopped to think, wow, i haven't left the house in three days. square one made me leave my house, which is a very good thing. plus, it obviously was super baby friendly so there were no worries when bailey was a bit fussy, needed a diaper change or was hungry. we all just talked over the baby commotion, something moms become great at!! after writing all of that, i'm pretty sad to graduate from square one. however, a playgroup is being established out of some of the friendships made in square one. so, bring on square 2!!! i think we're ready!!!

Happy 5 month birthday bailey boo!!

our first family photo!!!

the first time i held you. you were so tiny, yet so big for a newborn. i couldn't believe that i was actually holding my daughter. i also couldn't believe that this perfect little life came out of me. what an experience!!

welcome to the world, little girl!!! your lungs haven't changed!

daddy's first time to hold you. you've been wrapped around his little finger ever since! you can't tell, but he's smiling under the mask :)




i can't believe that you have been with us for 5 whole months, bailey boo! i love you so much it hurts!!! i am so proud to be your mommy and i will do all i can to teach you and help you grow into a beautiful woman inside and out. you are amazing and we have so much to look forward to!! i thank god for you everyday and pray that i am the best mommy i can be to you. thank you for adding so much to our lives! we both love our sweet little girl!!!

Bailey dressed herself today!!!!!!

bailey is such a big girl now!!!!! she dressed herself today! now, that's what my grandma calls advanced!

yes, today, bailey decided to put on her fussypants. although she opted for a happy and entirely pink ensemble for yesterday's mall outing, the fussypants were back in full force today. just when i thought she had decided to donate them to goodwill or something, they're back on, snug as a bug. i've noticed that they are quickly becoming part of her favorite outfit. i keep trying to hide the fussypants. i shove them to the back of her drawers, hide them underneath the growing pile of "stuff" in her closet, continue to wash them even when they are clean just to keep them out of sight, but she keeps finding them. i'm doing all that i can to destroy the fussypants, but it is obviously not working. she must have climbed out of her crib last night and changed into them before i went into her room this morning. she has been wearing them ever since. i hear her in them right now, actually. i'm hoping she will outgrow them someday. soon.

and i've seen them. they aren't cute. they aren't pink, yellow, blue or any other cute baby color. they are faded black with poo and bleach stains. they are ugly. i don't like them. at. all.

Here comes the baby

bailey is staring at mary lynn, wondering where she has been lately. please come for a visit!!!

the happy couple! congrats nathan and jennny!!! bailey thanks you jenny for introducing her parents. without you, there would be no bailey......
the whole family!!! thanks mom for the new dress!!!! :)

martha finally gets her turn with bailey! mary lynn is in the background, making sure martha is doing everything right and letting her know that her one minute of bailey time is almost up (i'm just teasing you mary lynn!!!)


bailey attended her first wedding this weekend. the first of many, we're sure!! actually, she hung out with jacob, a cute three month old, in the nursery during the actual wedding, but seemed to tolerate the reception better than we thought. my mom had a wonderful time showing bailey off to her friends and passing her around. she not obnoxiously obsessed about her first grandchild or anything (you know i'm teasing you, mom). billy and i wanted to stay longer, at least long enough to cut the cake (mmmmmm....wedding cake), but bailey's little head was drooping lower and lower and her little eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. she was trying so hard to stay awake and the band helped by playing their music entirely too loud (gosh, i sound like such an old fart, but it was really loud). all in all, we had a great time!!! jenny looked beautiful and we are so excited for her!!!

Fun times with mommy

i can usually get a smile out of bailey by simply lifting her up into the air. it's her newest favorite thing to do besides stick anything she can into her mouth.

Splish, splash, bailey's taking a bath

she was all smiles right before this picture.....promise! apparently, she gets camera shy. that, or she's taking picture tips from her uncle adam. nope, nope, not going to do it, i'm not going to smile. it's not funny.

when bailey was a tiny baby, she hated her baths. my, how times have changed!!! she loves loves loves to take a bath now!! she really enjoys kicking and splashing water everywhere and doesn't even cry when she is being dried off anymore, either!!! it is so cute! it's one my favorite things that we do together.

after (and during, actually) the drying off session, bailey continues to show off her mad kicking skills. we are so impressed!!!!

and bailey is officially my child again. last night, she talked non-stop for about an hour!!! what a chatty cathy/talkative tara she was. she must have really had a great time and was telling her daddy all about it. we talked about all of our fun friends and how blessed we are to have them. she hasn't been talking to me lately (oh no, did she temporarily morph into a tiny teenager), so i was a bit worried, which was silly, i know. it was nice to have our girl time back and she sure had a lot to say. she must have been saving up.

when i curled up in bed last night, my cheeks were hurting from all the smiling i did yesterday. now, that's a sign of a great day!!!!!
as i was writing that, it made me think of my grandpa's favorite joke. here it is:
"does your face hurt?"
"no, why"
"because it's killing me!!!!"
ha ha ha!!!! grandpa jokes!!! i love you grandpa!! :)
you too, grandma!!

I love the Arboretum!!!!

five beautiful babies squinting in the bright sun!! from the bottom and clockwise: penelope, bailey, camp, max and grayson


wait a minute....
is that????
could it be?????
a real live picture of the mommy?!?!?!?!?! just a few million pounds to go!

bailey and her friend/possible future boyfriend camp. they were born just minutes apart (13 minutes, i think). how cute!!!!! and yes, he has a ton of hair!!!!!

so, bailey and i made our first trip to the arboretum and it was awesome!!! we both had a great time! not only was it beautiful, sunny weather, but we had some fun company too! there were five mommies (anne, kristen, sarah, kirsten and me), five darling babies (penelope, max, camp, grayson and bailey) and five strollers full of baby stuff. we were quite a sight and got a few cute comments from some older ladies. the one i liked the most was something about it being a group of the future or something like that. it sounded really good when she said it. my poor fading brain. anyway, i love love love spending time with my new mommy friends and their sweet babies!!! we stayed there a long time and just enjoyed everything about the arboretum! i'm thinking about buying a membership although it isn't that close by.

and GUESS WHAT happened when we got home?!?!?!!?!?!

bailey LAUGHED FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!! it was so cute, i seriously almost cried!!!!! we quickly called daddy and he was able to hear it over the phone too! how fun, i get to put something new and exciting in the baby book :) what an awesome valentine's day we have had!!!

p.s. my pictures turned out just okay.....what about yours girls????

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

bailey is shocked by the wonderful handmade gifts daddy got for valentine's day.

i was so proud that i was able to keep the handmade cards a secret from daddy. some new mommy friends got together over here last week (yes, i said last week, you know that just killed me to keep it a secret that long) to make cute cards for our hubbies. we had so much fun, but it is a lot easier to be creative without taking care of a baby.
mommy's first attempt at making a cookie bouquet. it took forever, but was worth it! bailey helped by playing nicely by herself in her exersaucer. her favorite thing to do in the exersaucer, stare longingly at the mirror with the beautiful baby in it.

a happy bailey boo!!
WE LOVE YOU DADDY!!!!!



HAPPY FIRST VALENTINE'S DAY BAILEY!!!

Sitting pretty

look, look everyone, quick, oh my gosh, bailey is sitting for the first time by herself, how exciting!!.......oh, oppps, ok, i guess bailey WAS sitting.......sorry little girl! the camera took too long. her little bottom looks so cute, though, doesn't it?!

and nice job there, mommy. great "catch". way to put your child first instead of trying to capture the moment.

look, no hands!!!!! although it was short lived, it was an actual independent sit. i'm so proud. i'm wiping a proud tear.




still sitting. this lasted a whole 3-5 seconds. what a momentous occasion. i don't know if this counts towards filling in the sits alone spot in her baby book. i'm thinking we need to give it a bit more practice before we consider it a task accomplished.


and no, the toys were not holding her up. they were there as an incentive to keep sitting. they worked....kind-of.



okay, who noticed that she was wearing non-gender-specific yellow with purple stripped socks? see, i don't always dress her in pink.

I wish I had a bigger wedge

here is how i put bailey down for her nap
here is how i found bailey after her nap.

how did she do that?!?!?!




ha! i would have never typed or uttered that statement just a few months ago (the title, that is)!! when my definition of a wedge had to do with underwear. my, how things have changed. i'm so mature now.....

as you know, bailey has been waking up several times at night because she has rolled herself over. i thought that this baby wedge that my neighbor let me borrow might solve this problem. it did......once...... for a super long 3 1/2 hour nap (woo-hoo!) now, my smart, strong little girl knows how to outsmart the wedge. we keep using it, though since it's better than nothing. but, now i wish i had a bigger, whole-body-encompassing wedge to keep her from wiggling herself awake.

What is THAT?!?!?

although boss has been very aware of bailey, bailey just discovered that boss exists. she is really interested in him and loves to watch what he is doing. bailey also enjoys petting boss' soft fur and he loves loves loves to lick her face or hands, something i don't allow him to do that often (ewwww, dog germs). boss doesn't appreciate bailey too much now, but he has no idea what fun food treats toddler bailey has in store for him. i'm thinking it's going to be a love/love relationship pretty soon :)

oh, and bailey told me that it hurts her feelings when i pretend to be giving her new friend away. so, rest assured bossman, you aren't going anywhere soon.

also, boss has been somewhat of a bad influence on bailey lately. i think she's been immitating his whines. she's been getting my attention lately by making these high-pitched sad squeals. not cool. not cool at all.

Her highness

what is THIS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
i attempted to make some rice cereal with water instead of mommy milk the other day. as you can see, she hated it and refused to swallow any of the foreign tasting food. this is too bad since using water is so much easier. the look on her face when i put the first spoonful in reminded me of when it is summer, you're hot and you take a big gulp of your ice water.....and discover it's lemonade instead. not a nice surprise. sorry bailey.
her royal highness in her highchair. not too happy, but not crying either. notice that you can't see her hands. her mean mommy has temporarily trapped them under the highchair tray. this has made eating "solid" food a lot easier. and doesn't she look so tiny??!?!
mmmmm.......highchair toys. this is much better than that other stuff they try to put in my mouth :)

Blessings

alright, i've been feeling quite guilty for all of my whiney, negative, complainey blog entries lately. especially after my square one meeting and an episode of oprah where there were all these tiny sick babies that didn't have enough to eat (i can barely write that, it was so sad). i know i have a ton ton ton to be thankful for. god has blessed me in so many ways and i take way too many of them for granted. like, the fact that i have a pantry full of food, a house that i can complain about cleaning, clothes to wear, a wonderful, supportive husband, a loving family, an inspiring church, awesome friends.... the list could go on for days and days.

so, today's blog will feature one of our many blessings. we live next door to the best neighbors i've ever had!! and if you've even been to my house, you would have an additional appreciation for these awesome people. we love staci, scott and wesley a lot and have loved doing all sorts of things together!!!! they are the BEST and the deal is whenever they decide to move, they have to find 2 houses so we can still be neighbors :)

ALRIGHT THEN!!!! apparently, blogger doesn't want me to attach my cute pictures of bailey and her next door neighbor/friend/potential future boyfriend wesley. by the way, this did not get onto my blog until monday morning, even though it says saturday on it. i've tried all weekend to upload two pictures. seriously, i think i've been told that there is an unexplained problem and they are sorry about 15 times. i guess just look for their pictures in a later entry :(

ahhhhhh, i can't end my blog entry about my many blessings complaining!! honestly, i am very fortunate not only to have a home computer (thanks mom and charlie), but to also have the time it takes to create entries on bailey's blog. i really am blessed :) really

Wake-up!!!

uuggghhhhh, i need to learn how to put pictures in order. the last one was taken first and the second one was last. it is frustrating me and making my blog less cute. i like chronological order here!!!!!

okay, here is how i've been finding bailey in her crib!! you can even tell she has little tired eyes like her daddy!!! and, of course, i got a shot of the daddy eyebrows, which i got after a few pictures. hey, i understand, i wouldn't like it if someone took pictures of me right when i wake up! now, if only she could figure out how to roll herself back over onto her tummy.....

also, notice the paci clearly out of her mouth, another reason why she needs me in the middle of the night. that's okay, it's what mommies are for :) my sweet baby girl is alseep again today. i think it's a record. she really must be feeling bad. how sad :(

First fever

i finally sort-of figured out what in the world was wrong with my poor sweet little girl. she had her first legitimate fever last night. although we got different reads from the pacifier thermometer and the regular on you stick in her armpit, the average temp was 100.4. by the way, i love to take my temperature when i'm sick. it's weird, i know, but it becomes an obsession to me and i get all excited when it changes. okay, back to bailey.... no wonder she wasn't sleeping that great. i thought that she was just extra tired from her lack of sleep when she was all cuddled up in my arms early last night. i can't believe i missed the initial signs of her not feeling good. poor little thing has to deal with her mommy who is learning as she goes. good news is that she doesn't have a fever today, but she sure has been extra clingy. which i kind of like every now and then :) we even took a nap together in our bed, just like the old days! although it means i get nothing done around the house, i do love it when she sleeps on me. she's all warm, cozy, tiny and so cuddly. definitely worth every minute. and her light snoring and baby noises are icing on the cake! sorry daddy, your snoring and, ummm, nighttime noises aren't cute at all. not one bit. but i do love that little girl and her daddy more than i could begin to express!!!!!

Bailey thinks her mommy is fat

bailey must think her mommy is fat. that is the only explanation i can come up with. she had me going up and down the stairs at least 7 times last night between 10:30 p.m. and 8:45 a.m. i might put up a post-it note on the stairs tonight to help me keep a more accurate count because my brain seriously can't work right right now. like i've said before, the stairs are great for the post-baby bod, terrible for the mood. watch out jenna, i too may have buns of steel soon enough. twice, she had turned over onto her back which i would be so excited about if it was regular day hours. she is so tired right now and actually just stopped screaming. i thought i could count on catching up on some much needed sleep this afternoon during her long nap, but once again, an exhausted bailey fought sleep. i seriously don't think i got more than one hour of sleep at a time last night and i am in such a bad mood (what......you noticed). oh, the ear-piercing crying is back. pretty soon she won't be the only one around here with real tears. i feel like boss, who has joined in the cry-fest. my apologies for this whiney blog. oh well, at least the picture of bailey attacking billy's nose made me think of smiling.