Dear Bailey

my sweet little baby girl. a year. it's been an entire year and i still can't believe it. i knew you would change my life and i knew i would love you, but i had no idea how much. words could never do my feelings for you justice.


watching you grow and learn has been amazing. you are such a smart, sweet, fun and opinionated little thing! you are beautiful in every sense of the word. it is such a honor to get to spend this precious time with you.....to be your mommy. i don't want to ever forget how your entire face smiles when you are happy or what your tiny little giggles sound like.
as you walk away from your first year of life, i think back to the firsts we've been blessed enough to share. the first time they put your tiny, round, wailing little body in my arms. the first night home. your first bath. that sweet first smile. the first time you slept in your own room. the first time you sat all on your own. your first crawl followed by your first steps. your first words. i can't believe all you have accomplished in one seemingly short year. i love you, my little bailey boo bear, and i thank god every day for the blessing that you are.

Balloons, the decoration that keeps on giving

after most of her party guests left, bailey continued to play through nap time and had the most fun with a single pink balloon. she walked all around the backyard (well, really just the concreted part) and down the sidewalk clenching the balloon's string with the tiny white knuckled fist of a one year old.



we were outside a long time because a certain bailey boo would not walk back to our house. we would pick her up, walk back home a few feet and put her down facing the right way only to have her look at us with a twinkle in her eyes and a smile on her face for about half a minute. then she would turn around and continue on her happy way down the sidewalk. bailey really is a fast walker these days and is becoming more and more independent, which is something that makes me both happy and sad at the same time.

And you thought I was done with the birthday postings....

bailey was still groggy from her morning nap when she officially turned one at 11:11. she didn't quite know what to think of all of her grandparents, parents and even two great-grandparents singing happy birthday to her, which wasn't what i expected since her whole face glowed all the other times we sang this for her.




bailey got tons of cool birthday gifts, including these ducks that light up in the water. these flashy quackers were a big hit with everyone!

My baby is ONE

bailey had such a great time at her first birthday party!! it seriously was the best day of her life! we were surrounded by family and everything was perfect! and although she barely napped, bailey was the happiest i have ever seen her! we couldn't have asked for a better day!




bailey with her cousins reagan, everson and wylie
mmmmmmmmmm......cake!!! she didn't tear into it right away like i had imagined she would, but she loved eating it once she figured out what it was. thanks granna for a beautiful, delicious and healthy cake (well, as healthy as a cake can get)!

You have no idea how much we love you

but we love you enough to spend all day making this in your honor.
no, really, all day.....it took all day. and now, there's only about an 1/8th of it left because it was so good.

******okay, after reading the comments, i must add the my mom and i worked together on this (aka, i could never pull this off by myself). also, we are into cake decorating, it really is fun bonding time for us, so we enjoyed creating this masterpiece :) lastly, it took so long because it was the first time we made those particular type of fondant flowers, so we were learning as we go, and we had to bake the cakes and run a couple of errands that day too.

My angel

my precious angel girl.
i know i sound like every other mother out there when i say that i cannot begin to believe that you are about to be an entire year old. it really does seem like just yesterday when we brought you home from the hospital almost a year ago. well, maybe not yesterday, but perhaps just a month or so ago. your daddy and i laugh about how completely clueless we used to be. how your first bath took almost 45 minutes as i went back and forth from the section on how to bathe your infant in the "what to expect the first year" book and your little, wet not even hardly dirty at all body. how i called your doctor in a panic because you wouldn't stop crying one afternoon and the nurse asked me what you were wearing and it turns out, all you were was hot. i felt really smart then.

it was a year ago today that we learned that you were going to be introduced to the world by means of a c-section. at first, i was mad at your daddy and the big ole' head he was gracious enough to pass down to you, but i was also relieved that i would know exactly when i was going to meet the one who would make me a mommy. the doctor predicted you would be 9 lbs. 2 oz, give or take a pound, and i was shocked that you were already that big! and again, i was mad at your daddy for being such a big baby and wondering why you didn't inherit my less than 7 pound birthweight.

exactly a year ago was also the first time we got to see your beautifully chubby cheeks! ah, yes, your profile had this big, huge curve to it that is still very much a part of you today.

i still remember that day. i remember how excited and nervous i was. i remember feeling you move inside me and wondering what you would look like. what your personality would be. what it would be like to hold you. and we all remember how BIG i was and how, ha!, i couldn't wait for you to come so i could get some real sleep already!!

i couldn't have imagined a better daughter! you are everything i ever wanted and more, a true gift from god. i love you my precious angel girl!

Strolling around the neighborhood

bailey has really been interested in going outside lately. today, she went up to the front door and started leaning on it, looking at me and talking. while outside, bailey most definitely prefers to stay on the sidewalk and avoids the grass. she is able to carefully make her way down our front walk and walks/runs to our neighbor's house.

don't worry, i made sure she didn't attempt to go up the step without me and yes, i did have to run. bailey sure is fast these days!

after the excitement of making it all the way to staci's door (yes!), bailey suffers through the uneven, pokey grass in order to get up close and personal with the beautiful flowers. after studying them hard and taking a moment to appreciate their magnificent beauty, bailey pulls them out in handfuls and clenches them in her tiny fists until they fall apart, sometimes an hour later. the past few days, i've caught her trying to eat the flowers, which is something she normally never does.

bailey truly is starting to enjoy the great outdoors, suburb style.

Water on the rocks, hold the juice

i doubt you've been wondering, but along with denying my child fast food and sweets, bailey has yet to taste any juice. i apply the same idea to drinks as i do to the food i give her. bailey doesn't know such sugary delights as cupcakes, donuts, juice or "fruit" punch exist, therefore, as far as she knows, she isn't missing anything. bailey enjoys her water with an occasional ice cube and has just started to display a few picky eating behavior here and there. so, we pass on offers of juice along with mcdonald's happy meals because i'm just not ready to mess with a good thing.

however, she will be one in exactly one week and 36 minutes. which means an entire cake to herself. so, we'll see what happens to her eating and i pray that it's nothing.

The great outdoors

the weather here has finally started to cool off, so bailey and i played in the backyard yesterday for the first time. at first, she didn't quite know what to do. she was wearing some "new" shoes passed down by her cousin reagan that were still a bit too big, so she was being extra careful about walking. bailey also tried to take them off, as you can see in this first picture.




bailey did continue to spend a majority of her outdoor time on the solid concrete, but eventually she seemed to loosen up a bit and have a good time exploring the vast wilderness that is our backyard.

Bedhead.....literally

hey, at least she's happy!

Don't even think about it

mommy, these are for me

Our trips to the Arboretum will never be the same

Be afraid, be very afraid

these pictures were taken yesterday at playgroup. oh my gosh, i am so not ready for this climbing business.....

No pictures....please

Mamaw and Papaw

the entire family went to see billy's mamaw and papaw this saturday. we try to see them as often as we can, but it usually only happens once every 3 months or so. bailey changes so much between visits and it's exciting to share her new skills!

she wowed them with her walking!

she amazed them with her eating!
she astounded them with her quick mood changes.

she impressed them with her fascination with books!

as always, we had a wonderful time visiting :) we only wish they lived a little bit closer so we can see them more often!

Labor Day weekend

billy, bailey and i enjoyed a nice long labor day weekend. we spent time with friends and family all weekend but still got to relax and just hang out at the house.

bailey entertained us (and herself) by walking around the house holding random not-too-baby-friendly objects and banging on a pot with a measuring cup. her favorite toys now include the phone, the remote, my necklace, a goofy pen, boss's rope, and anything shiny.

and sorry, this dress caused several tara reid moments throughout the day. just like the actress, bailey didn't seem to notice or mind.

Bailey vs. Bo$$

round one starts as a happy, proud bailey prances around the living room with her prized possession of the moment.....a glorious, empty water bottle!! OH JOY!!!!! little did she know that her best friend, the bo$$man, had his eye (and teeth) on her treasure.




"hey boss, lay off my water bottle!! if you let go, i promise to drop extra food at dinner"
not a chance.......all hail boss, the champion of empty water bottle stealing!!

**fyi, this is the only time bo$$ ever wins anything at all when it comes to bailey bear