Open WIDE!!

bailey went to her first ever dentist appointment yesterday morning and i couldn't be more proud. she was perfect! you know, it's hard to predict how she will respond to new things. when we were at the doctor's office a couple of weeks ago, she refused to open her mouth and i thought, oh no, how is she going to make it through an entire dentist appointment without pitching a fit? but she was great.

the receptionist, paula, let bailey play with her little plastic animals, so we started off on the right foot. paula is a sweet lady who i first met when i was pregnant with bailey. she adores bailey and has even watched her during one of my appointments.

the dental hygentist, nancy, was amazing with bailey. it was obvious that, although it was her first time in a big dental chair, bailey was comfortable and entertained. she got to use the mouth mirror and then politely waited for nancy to get started with a huge open mouth. she was all business at that point!!



nancy counted bailey's teeth, polished them with bailey's choice of bubble gum flavored toothpaste and introduced her to the most exciting feature of the visit, mr. slurpy. apparently, mr. slurpy is the water sucking tube thing that they stick in your mouth after they squirt water inside. bailey thought it was hilarious. she talked about mr. slurpy all the way home.

after her teeth were good and clean, our dentist got to take a look. i made the appointment because bailey's upper and lower jaws don't line up when she closes her mouth. her pacifier obviously makes it worse, but i wanted to know how much. in other words, i needed to know if it was time to ween the girl from her beloved paci. the doc said that it will get better when she quits the paci, but that it's still a bit too soon for it to really be an issue. so i guess we'll save that fun battle for another time. unfortunately and to my surprise, he did find a little cavity in her lower left molar, most likely caused by our good friends, raisins. we are just suppossed to brush after she eats them now and come back again in july.

all in all, bailey was a wonderful little patient and our first visit to the dentist was surprisingly enjoyable. i still can't believe how cooperative and still she was (we sure could use a little more of that at home and at school.) i continue to be impressed with my cute little girl :)

QT at BK

after hearing us rave about the place, several friends have joined reece and bailey's "private" weekly gymnastics lessons.





the past 2 weeks, we have been enjoying lunch together afterwards at burger king. it's not fine dining by any means, but it is just perfect for our little crew of 10. it's so nice to get to just hang out, chat and catch up while the kids play in the otherwise empty playarea. i'll try to get pics of everyone next time. we are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends to spend our days with :)

Puzzle

bailey's cousins gave her a series of fish puzzles for her birthday and she is really into them. almost daily, she asks me to help her do them. which means i squeeze my adult sized self into one of her little chairs (they used to me mine) and hold the example, as instructed and just take it all in.

it is fascinating to watch how her little brain works and i am always amazed at how she can figure things out. in these pictures, she is excitedly telling me "i see a little bit a green!!! where the green frog goes? here it is!! here it is!! now where the green words?" before correctly putting the puzzle pieces together. repeat with the orange fish, the blue fish, the brown starfish....you get the picture.

i helped her the first few times we did the puzzle together but she doesn't really need me anymore. i'd like to think she just knows how to look for clues as to where the puzzle pieces fit, but perhaps, she just has the picture memorized. regardless, it's pretty impressive. you can tell bailey is proud of herself when it is complete! sometimes, she is ready to quickly tear it back down and clean it up and other times, she "just wants to look at it for a little bit."

9 months

literally, i can't believe it.
neither can billy.
it just is not what we had planned.
it defies logic.
i can't believe we have done it.



what was supposed to be 3 months has turned into 9.
we have officially been in the apartment for 9 months today.
crazy.
i just had to document it.

Mommy's little helper

although the pictures pretty much speak for themselves, i just want to write a little bit about my girl.
bailey is most definitely interested in being my helper. "may i help you mommy?!" is a phrase we have heard a lot lately. coming up with ways in which she can actually be helpful can be challenging, but she is honestly quite good at putting the muffin liners in the cupcake pans. bailey also helps me throw trash away, hang up her clothes (she has a fascination with hangers), match socks, put the silverware away, carry in the bag of bread from our trip to kroger, put her clean bibs away and other random household chores.
and who isn't good at cleaning up the batter?! you may notice the yellow spoon in her hand. i think she is the first child i have know that actually wants to use a spoon when licking the beaters. she also requested a bath after seeing herself in the mirror. such a little lady :)

bailey, you are growing up and i love it! you are so much fun and i do appreciate your eagerness to be my little helper! i love you!!

Big steps

well, we did it. bailey went to mother's day out (aka, school) yesterday morning.

it was good for us both.

bailey, i was so proud of you. when i (finally) left, you didn't cry at all. i worked hard to make sure we got there early so we could meet your teachers and because you always do best when you are one of the first to arrive (as opposed to walking into a busy, crowded room). you were super excited about your "new school" and talked on and on about sliding down the indoor slides and making crafts. you proudly carried your lunchbox and wore your pink backpack over your giant coat. you didn't know what to think of your 3 nice teachers and, i hate to say it, gave them the daddy eyebrows when they commented on how pretty you were. i'm sure you will warm up to them soon enough.

once the other kids started coming, you plopped yourself into one of the several little blue chairs, declared it "mine!" and gripped tightly to a pink riding toy, it apparently being yours as well, which is one of the many reasons school will be good for you. admittedly, i was nervous when i drove away, hoping you would be the sweet bailey i know at home instead of the one i saw try to hit the little girl who dared to sit on the riding toy you were holding onto.

i spent the next almost 5 hours trying to get as much done as possible with absolutely no game plan. more planning on how to organize my new free time will definitely be done in the future.

when i came to pick you up, most of the kids in your class were napping. the room was dim, soft music was playing, and there you were, sitting on your pink mat, facing another little girl, talking, playing and even giggling. which is pretty much what i expected. conditions have to be perfect in order to get you to nap, but i was hoping that perhaps peer pressure would kick in and you would sleep a bit. once you realized i was there, you quickly stood up and popped that paci out for an excited "mommy!!!!" before you ran into my arms for a hug. such a kodak moment.

your teachers said you did great and i believe them. my sweet thing, you are your mother's daughter for sure. your teachers asked if you were normally quiet and i assured them that you will warm up soon enough. once you feel comfortable, i'm sure they will have a hard time keeping you from jabbering up a storm. in fact, that's pretty much what you did all afternoon, telling me all about your day at school, the stroller you pushed around, the slides you went down, the tricycle you rode, the craft you made, the craft you apparently did not want to make (some sort of mitten?), how you did not eat your sandwich (the teacher's didn't realize in was in the bottom compartment of your lunch bag and thought that we might be vegetarians), and how you played outside. the forgotten sandwich was gone before i had you buckled into your car seat. since you didn't nap at school, i thought you might at home. wrong. you talked and talked and talked in your bed and i finally gave up after half an hour or so.

bailey bear i am incredibly happy that you had a wonderful first day of school. in fact, you told me today that you are ready to go again a-morrow. so i let you put smiley face stickers on your calendar on all of the days you get to go to school, hoping to give you a visual reference as to when you get to go back. i have no idea if that will be helpful, but you enjoyed it and that's all that matters.

so, yesterday was a big day for us both and i am so proud of you. ahhhh, you are growing up!!!! i love you, my angel bear.

Mommy bunny

papa and mimi got bailey 2 cute bath towels with some matching hand puppet scrubber things that she LOVES! she switches off being the mommy bunny and the duckie bunny. these have made getting out of the bath a much more enjoyable process :) bailey loves to run and hop around the place wearing only her towel and is especially particular about having her hands in the little mitten places.

Party of Three

My cute little family

New Wheels

Dr. Bailey in the house

PRESENTS!!

christmas just wouldn't be christmas without presents. bailey really got into opening presents this year and often helped the rest of us out too. like most things, she takes her present opening seriously. i promise she was happy and had fun although you can't tell from the pictures.

the ever funny uncle adam gave bailey this wide assortment of pretend food. it was quite a hit.

uncle adam also drew this amazing picture on bailey's etch-a-sketch. it took him several concentrated minutes. that night, he proposed and stacey actually said yes!