Bailey and Crawford's Blog: June 2007

Rain, rain, go away!!

it has been raining like crazy here for what feels like forever.
excessive rain + toddler who now likes to throw fits = grumpy mess

so, we've been to the galleria play area a couple of times these past few weeks and bailey absolutely loves it!!!! she runs right on in and starts playing immediately, which is unusual because she normally enters large groups of playing kids slowly and with my encouragement.

these pictures were taken a week or 2 ago and you can see that it's not exactly swimming with kids. yet, several weeks of rain later and the place is a madhouse with kids of various ages running, screeching, laughing, climbing and sometimes pushing their way everywhere. when bailey and i went with our friends courtney and josh this week, i had to be on mommy patrol the whole time and i barely got to talk to courtney. some of the kids were just being so rough and their parents either were no where to be found, were busy with other things or simply ignored them. it reminded me of recess duty, except i'm sure not everyone would have appreciate my "redirecting" and time-out. oh well, bailey had fun and was able to play some energy out, so i think it was a success and i bet we'll be back soon!

Goldielocks and her three bears

hello from the world of a sick toddler, where friends are advised to stay away, the tears flow more freely, the walls of our apartment slowly close in and the highlight of our day is elmo's world (which ends at noon).

also, when daddy comes home.

but, even through this drought of wellness, bailey and i have managed to make it through each day just fine. one thing that has helped, wait, make that three things that have helped, are bailey's three new best friends, her bears.

this week, bailey has really taken an interest in caring for these bears. when bailey colors, the bears sit in a chair with her, each sitting on a crayon that must have fallen out of their hands somehow. when it's time for bailey to clean up, the bears' hands help to pick up her mess. when bailey wakes up, does she say "good morning, mommy, i love you"? nope, it's a chant for her bears until she gets one or all of them. "berrrr, berrr, berrrr, berrrr, berrr......

"

she shares her food with her bears, gives them kisses, hugs them while sweetly saying "oh, berrrrr",puts them to bed during bed and nap time, and has a strong desire to take them, yes all of them, with her at all times. which is hard because, you see, bailey has just 2 hands and 3 bears. the math is not in her favor. the poor purple angel bear falls out of her arms an average of 4 times each car ride.

it's been super cute to see her little mothering instinct already showing :)

Perfection

which one is your favorite? i think mine is the first one.

simply beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!

beachy

wow, we have been so busy lately (catching a theme here?) that i haven't even posted all of our vacation pictures!

you know, we had such high expectations for this year's beach experience. bailey loves splashing all around in the tub and playing in sandboxes so much that i thought, perfect, she will just love the beach! and she will entertain herself, provide endless cute photo opportunities and probably cry when we leave.

it started off pretty great. thanks to the early rising sun, bailey and i were fed, changed, sunscreened up and on the beach by 7:30 the first morning. she was thrilled with everything, the sand, the shells, the waves, the birds......she was all smiles. i was so mad that my camera was broken, but thought, oh well, we'll get plenty more of these happy, splashy, commercial-style shots later on because, look at her, she is a beach girl! bailey was sooooo happy! she even sat down and let the waves gently crash into her while screeching and laughing very hard.

i was so sad i was the one getting to enjoy her, but she will probably be this way all week......right?!?

although she still liked going down to the beach, her enthusiasm dwindled as the week went on, although you can't tell from these pictures. bailey did have a great time, as did we, but once again, my expectations were too high. next year, we'll bring more indoor toys and another (additional, sorry for the confusion, mom) set of grandparents :)

I have finally forgotten

when you have a baby, you get to hear so many cliches.
"your life will never be the same"
"children are little gifts from god"

"they are little for only so long"

yada yada yada

the one i always thought sounded great but just didn't quite ring true was "you'll forget what your life was like without them". sure, sure, it's easy to "forget" what it is like to sleep in on a saturday morning, meet up with friends after work, make plans without thinking twice about whether or not you need a baileysitter or go out of town at the last minute. there are plenty of reminders of those days long ago when your life could revolve solely around you (and your husband) and those reminders are loud, shrill and, usually involve a diaper change and/or temper tantrum.
that was, until these past few months.
i don't know what changed, but someone flipped my switch.

i now honestly can't imagine my life without bailey. without her little bouncing blonde curls, bright blue eyes and oh so round tummy. the soundtrack of my day is filled with her giggles, songs, requests, "conversations" and pretend playing with her berrrrs (bears).

i cannot imagine not waking up to her talking, singing, calling for "maaa-meee" or "da-deeee" or "baaaass" or occasionally crying.

i cannot imagine my weekly trips to the grocery store alone, without someone to taste the turkey and say "thain too, maa-mee" after every bite, point out everything elmo, ask for a "titker" and give everyone a big "bye-bye" complete with an airblown kiss.

being in the car alone and listening to something other than ralph's world or veggie tales is a strange and rare occurance these days. when this happens, i often find myself checking the mirror for bailey and having a split second of panic when i see an empty carseat.
although bailey has not been all fun and hugs this week (she is almost 2, you know), she is my life and i love her so incredibly much. i have grown so much as a person by simply being her mommy and i would not trade my life with her for anything in the world.

Elmo does it

oh.................

do i dare blog about bailey's most recent development..........

or will sharing it ruin her streak?????

everytime i share (okay, brag) about something awesome bailey is doing, it stops.

but, for the sake of documentation and inquiring minds everywhere, i will do it!

warning: some people might find what i am about to share inappropriate. the rest have babies or toddlers and will probably give me a deserving high five next time they see me.

here goes!!!!!!!!!!!

bailey has pooped on the potty every day since last tuesday!!! sometimes, even TWICE! we ask, and she lets us know if it is time :) sometimes she just tells us without us bugging her.
wow, she's still pretty young, how did you get her to do it, you may ask.
simple.
i told her that's what elmo does and she was game. no questions asked. nevermind the fact that we have been talking about and practicing for about a year now (i read a little about something called elimination training or something like that). ELMO poops on the potty, so BAILEY poops on the potty. easy enough. we don't even have that elmo potty time video or anything. i'm sure it will stop as soon as i hit the orange publish button and my carefree days of not changing a single poopy diaper will become a distant but fond memory, but i just had to share :)
billy and i even proudly talked about it at a couple's baby shower this weekend.
so, that's the most exciting thing that has happened around here lately.......jealous?????

*****a few short hours later, guess what she just did.........the curse of the blogging continues :(

***************aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! we are 0 for 2 in the potty pooping department today (tuesday). blogger, you are not my friend :(

New hairstyles

F

The pool

bailey really loved the pool this year, although it was a bit cool (at least to me)! she would rotate among the various pool floaties, spending about 5 seconds on each one before saying "down, please" and moving onto the next one. we also played some hoops, but what bailey enjoyed most was walking back and forth on the "bench" that was the length of the pool. well, that and "swimming" (i was amazed at how unafraid she was of the water).