The Adventures of Lil' Bit

Steam engine comes through College Station

2010-04-12T18:57:00.004-05:00

Yesterday on our way to church we made a quick stop to watch an old fashioned steam engine come through College Station. Tony & Bailey love trains so it was a fun and spontaneous stop which was enjoyed by everyone! The videos pretty quick but you should get a good idea about the size (yes this is the small version) and sounds that this little beast made... thankfully I stopped the video before it went through the crossing right in front of our truck!

Hope you enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed seeing it live!

Favorite Bailey-isms:
- "Mommy you look great!"
- "Water make it all better..."
- "Daddy/Mommy is my buddy."
- "What's that?"
- "I have issues... you have issues?"

February turns to March turns to April

2010-04-08T20:55:00.009-05:00

We've been busy, busy bees so here are some highlights of what we've been up to. Bailey is growing up (she grew another two & a quarter inches since January) and she expands her vocabulary almost daily it seems.

2-15-10: Bailey & Grandaddy being cute!

2-20-10: Bailey's first gymnastics meet (who knew 30 two year olds would sit and wait their turns for 1.5 hours - they even stood & put their hands over their hearts for the Star Spangled Banner... so cute).

2-20-10: After the gymnastics meet & nap time Tony, Bailey & I took a walk to a near-by park and Bailey actually wanted her picture taken!

2-21-10: Lately Bailey has been totally obsessed with playing on the fire trucks, so every time Tony is on shift we have to make time to have some quality time with the equipment.

2-23-10 : Tony, Bailey & Me with the snowman we built in our front yard.

2-28-10: Bailey's first bounce on her new trampoline (don't worry, we have the net around it now but at the time Bailey couldn't wait to try it out).

3-13-10: Bailey making the most of one of our first sunny days by getting sometime on her bike (with some push power from Tony).

3-19-10: Bailey & Tony fishing at Gibbons Creek Resevoir.

3-26-10: The Easter Bunny bags that Bailey, Moe (my mom) & I made for Bailey's gymnastics coaches plus Jamie, my mother's trainer, & Amy, my trainer.

3-27-10: Bailey double fisting Easter eggs at the annual Easter egg hunt at the George Bush Library.

3-27-10: After the Easter egg hunt Bailey wanted to climb this tree, so Tony helped her and even convinced her to pose for a quick picture.

4-2-10: Bailey dyeing Easter eggs at Moe & Grandad's.

4-2-10: Tony & Bailey dyeing eggs (I had to include this picture because I think the look on Bailey's face is priceless).

4-2-10: Moe & Bailey posing for a quick pic after dyeing Easter eggs.

4-3-10: Bailey at St. Mary's after the blessing of the Easter Baskets.

4-4-10: Nicholas, Launa Grace, Bailey & Brayton (left to right) search for Easter eggs behind Station 2.

4-4-10: Bailey opening all of her Easter eggs after the hunt.

4-4-10: Nicholas & Bailey check out the ladder truck (looks like they know what they're doing, doesn't it).

4-4-10: Bailey atop the engine playing with the deck gun.

4-5-10: Tony & Bailey playing chess. Tony started by telling her her options about moving, but she picked it up pretty quickly and even made a move or two which took Tony by surprise.

4-5-10: All smiles from Bailey & Tony.

Bailey astounds us every day with the comments which come from her mouth so we figured that we would share a couple which make us smile on a regular basis!

Favorite quotes from Bailey:

- "I've got an idea...."

- "What a great idea!!"

- "My favorite part... What's Mommy's favorite part? What's Daddy's favorite part? What's Itsy Bitsy's favorite part?...."

- "Now I lay me down to sleep"

- "Father, Son, Holy Spirit, knees & toes"

An Anniversary & A Trip To Phoenix

2010-02-14T20:42:00.008-06:00

For our 7th anniversary I had a dr's appointment in Houston so Tony & Bailey tagged along and after our appointment we decided to drop in on our friends Carmen & baby Jacob. After a nice lunch at Panera Breads, Carmen & Jacob had to head out to a dr's appointment so Bailey, Tony & I headed to our favorite park in Katy... the Choo Choo park as Bailey calls it!

Feburary 1, 2010 - Bailey playing the piano at Carmen's

Bailey climbing the rock wall all by herself (our little girl is growing up so quick)!

Bailey climbing up the tunnel slide.

Tony, Bailey & I pose on the swings for a quick family picture.

On the 4th of February Bailey & I headed to Phoenix, AZ with my parents to visit family for a week. This would have been the longest time that Bailey & I had been separated from Tony but unbeknownst to everyone Tony & I planned a surprise visit so he could visit with everyone too. Tony flew in Friday evening and left Sunday evening but was able to visit with most of our extended family on Saturday at the Train Park in Scottsdale, AZ.

February 4, 2010 - Gigi, Moe, Bailey, Missy Girl, & Me with Aunt B in front.

February 6, 2010 - Aunt B, Gigi, Tony, Bailey & Moe (my mom) riding on one of the trains at the Train park.

Bailey, Me & Tony on the choo choo train!!

2nd cousins - Riley (3), Bailey (2.5), & Elyse (3)

Elyse & Bailey headed over to ride the train.

Tony, Elyse, Aunt Nita, Me, Bailey, Riley, Aunt Linda, Aunt B & Moe riding on the train.

Bailey & Riley go to explore the Pullman cars.

We had a great day at the train park and were glad that everyone had a chance to hang out for a little bit & the kids got a chance to play. There is more of this visit to show but its getting late & we have a crazy week ahead of us. I'll do my best to get another update up soon, until then we hope everyone had a fantastic Valentine's Day.

Long time no blog...

2010-01-30T21:43:00.008-06:00

Happy 2010 Everyone!

So we realize that its been over two months since our last blog entry and for that we are truly sorry. It was one of those things that we kept meaning to do and yet never made the time to do, with the holidays it was just too easy to put it off for tomorrow. Thankfully with the holidays over & our back to back celebrations almost at an end, we are taking a chance to breathe just a little bit.

Here is a quick overview of the last two months:

November -

* I set up the Lil' Bit Boutique at the Aggie Mom's Camp in College Station

* We hosted the annual family thanksgiving at our home

December -

* We started a new family tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree
* I set up the Lil' Bit Boutique to the Arts & Crafts Show at the Brazos Center in Bryan, TX for a weekend
* Uncle Brett flew in from DC to surprise my mom for her birthday & we had a fantastic visit with him capped off with a wonderful dinner with him & our family friends, the Rosetti's, at Christopher's World Grill
* We organized the 6th annual Clovis Court Food Drive and raised 100 lbs of food for our local food bank
* Bailey had surgery to repair a herniated belly button (mom's take note - Bailey herniated her belly button out by pulling on it so watch your kiddos if they like playing with their belly button)
* We attended the annual Kotch Family Christmas party a mere two days after Bailey's surgery, (children's recovery from surgery can be an incredibly quick process)
* Bailey, my mom, Tony & I enjoyed our annual tradition of making & decorating tons of Christmas cookies for friends, family & the residents of Clovis Court (my dad enjoyed his annual tradition of testing the cookies as they came out of the oven)
* We decorated our Christmas & Bailey instructed Tony as to the perfect placement of each and every ornament
* Tony had both Christmas eve & Christmas day off so we spent lots of quality time as a family
* Tony worked both New Year's eve & New Year's day so Bailey & I had lots of mommy/daughter quality time and lots of fun playtime at the fire station

January -
* We celebrated Tony's 33rd birthday and although Tony was on shift, Bailey helped to make and decorate the cupcakes we took to the fire station (and she truly enjoyed the made from scratch icing)
* Bailey is officially potty trained!! In only two days, with the help from a little mermaid named Aerial, Bailey bid farewell to pull-ups (although she still finds panties confusing, if she goes comando she never has an accident)

Bailey is growing up like crazy. She loves reading & gymnastics along with everything to do with the outdoors. Here is a little video from the other day of a newly discovered talent, thankfully she cooperated and let me film her. The first time she pulled this stunt Tony & I simply found all of the clothes from the hangers on the floor of her room, with her in the middle trying to figure out what to wear.

January 25, 2010

A quick closing picture of Bailey sitting on her bed with Tigger & Piglet.

Hope this finds everyone well, we look forward to catching up on reading everyones blog as well as keeping you informed as to the adventures that 2010 has in store!

The El Paso Zoo

2009-11-09T21:26:00.006-06:00

Our last day in El Paso Jocelin had to go to work at Fort Bliss so McKenzie, Bailey, Tony, Canaan & I headed out to find and explore the El Paso Zoo. The zoo, although tiny and partially under reconstruction, was incredible. Since we were there on a Monday, the zoo was pretty much empty and we had a front row seat to see all the animals.

Before we left, McKenzie was considering taking a nap in Tony's arm.

Bailey pushing McKenzie up to the ticket booth at the zoo.

Canaan & McKenzie watch Sunny the sea lion "perform".

Canaan, McKenzie (in front of Canaan), Bailey & another little boy get an up close view of the sea lions in one of the underground viewing areas.

Bailey & Tony pop up in the prarie dog exhibit.

Canaan & McKenzie pop up in the prarie dog exhibit.

McKenzie pushing Bailey through the zoo.

Tony enjoys a ride on the chicken on the merry-go-round.

Bailey loving her first merry-go-round experience on a giraffe!

Canaan helping McKenzie to stay on her zebra.

Bailey getting a quick elephant ride after the merry-go-round.

Tony riding a tiger!

Canaan holds McKenzie while she touches some dried elephant poop!

Bailey posing for a quick picture in front of the elephants.

The Ray Family in front of the hummingbird garden, which sadly had no hummingbirds.

Bailey & Tony and the gynormous El Paso moon.

We saw a ton of animals at the zoo including an ocelot, a Galapagos tortoise, some Mexican wolves, two spectacled bears which Bailey thought they looked just like they do on Diego, a Malayan tiger, a Malayan tapir, an orangutan and lots of different birds and monkeys! After exploring the park for a couple hours, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed off to visit with Jocelin at the veternairy clinic she runs at Fort Bliss. She gave us a great little tour but had to get back to work so the rest of us headed to the comissary for some groceries, which brought back a ton of memories from my childhood, and then back to the house to play, relax and prepare for dinner!

We had a fantastic trip to El Paso. Honestly I didn't know that there were so many cool places to explore and so many fun things to do. We didn't have time to visit everything and sadly had to pass on the exhibit of gigantic bugs in downtown El Paso. We are truly blessed to have friends like the Blakes who let us invade their home and then share with us so many great experiences. It was a blast to see Bailey & McKenzie interact and I hope that over the years they grow to be friends, as their parents have.

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

2009-11-08T22:51:00.003-06:00

On Sunday, November 1, we headed to the White Sands because we couldn't pass up the opportunity to sled down a sand dune! On our way there we passed the White Sands Missle Range and tons of beautiful mountain scenery. Once we reached the White Sands National Monutment, which really is an oasis in the middle of the desert, we eagerly searched for the gift shop to find us some toboggans. We did take some time to look through the visitor's center but after a two hour car ride the girls were ready to hit the dunes.

Tony instructing Bailey on how to properly wax a sand toboggan.

Tony and Bailey head up the sand dune for the first time.

Bailey & Tony's first slide down the dunes.

McKenzie not sure she's ready to slide with Canaan.

Bailey's second solo slide down the dune.

Me & Tony atop our dune with the parking lot & more dunes in the background.

Tony & Canaan racing down the dune.

Tony & Bailey take a quick break to pose for a picture in the toboggan.

McKenzie enjoying the dunes.

Our crew: Jocelin, Canaan, McKenzie, Tony, Bailey & me.

Getting ready for the Daddy/Daughter races.

My second slide down the dunes - I totally lost control & fell out at the bottom!

Jocelin maintaining control of her toboggan & filming her ride to boot!

Tony & Bailey buried in the gypsum sand.

The Blake Family

The Ray Family

Bailey thought being buried was really neat!

Bailey passed out as soon as we got back in the van for the ride to Alamogordo for a late lunch/early dinner.

For those of you that are interested, White Sands is 275 square miles of gypsum sand dunes. It is the world's largest gypsum dune field and is one of the most incredibly beautiful places I've been.

Hueco Tanks State Park

2009-11-07T11:46:00.002-06:00

I'm sorry that I haven't gotten more pictures of our vacation to El Paso up sooner, but life kinda snuck up on us when we got home on Tuesday. Last Saturday, for Halloween, we headed out to explore Hueco Tanks State Park and its volcanic rock formations. We were ultimately pleasantly surprised at the incredible sights as well as how much our little girls enjoyed the hike. Tony & I went a little crazy with the camera due to the beautiful scenery so we hope you enjoy the plethora of pictures that we just had to share!

Canaan & McKenzie ready for our hike.

Tony & I on the way up one of the trails.

Canaan with McKenzie, Bailey & Jocelin working their way up the trail.

Bailey getting a little help from me.

Tony & Bailey stop to get some water from our camelback.

Me, Bailey & Tony with the great scenery.

Canaan, McKenzie, Bailey & Jocelin with the beautiful scenery.

Bailey with the best pictograph we found.

Tony helping Bailey down one of the steeper parts of our descent.

A sleeping McKenzie, Canaan & Jocelin as we try to find some more pictographs.

Bailey carrying the camelback & getting some water while we head back to the trailhead.

Bailey was so pooped after our hike that she actually fell asleep while trying to snack on some raisins (check out her hands).

After we got home McKenzie & Bailey played in the backyard while Canaan carved the pumpkin.

Bailey & the finished pumpkin, which we lit up using glowstick.

Bailey all dressed up in her scrubs trying to sneak some candy.

Bailey & Tony taking one last look at our pumpkin after an evening with no trick-or-treaters.

The pumpkin!

This was just the beginning of our explorations of El Paso and the surrounding areas. I'll do my best to get the pictures of White Sands, NM and the El Paso zoo up soon as well as some fun pictures of our crazy life since we've gotten home and some new fun factoids about Bailey's growth and development.

El Paso, finally, plus Wyler Aerial Tramway State Park

2009-11-01T20:05:00.006-06:00

Friday morning at 610am we begun our second trip to the airport in our attempt to visit our friends the Blake's in El Paso. Continuing our adventures from Thursday night, we somehow made it to the ticket counter to check our bags a mere 30 minutes before take-off. Of course because of our belated appearance all three of our checked bags had to be screened by TSA. As if that wasn't enough, as we went through the security screening they decided that Bailey's milk and her diaper rash cream had to be individually tested. This wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't gone through the entire rigamarole only 12 hours before. Thankfully we made it on our flight to Houston and arrived safely at IAH and made our way to the terminal listed on our boarding pass.

Just to be safe, when we arrived at our gate I went up to the counter and asked the information agent there to verify the gate and that the plane was on time. He quickly typed something in his computer and then said "Yes". Appeased, Tony, Bailey and I settled in to wait for boarding to begin even though the sign above our gate said "Omaha". Twenty minutes before our flight was supposed to leave we decided to ask another gate agent if we were in fact in the correct place, much to our dismay we were no where close. So Tony took off at jog from B63A with our bags in toe in hopes of making it to B73 before our seats were given away and I trailed behind with a very cranky and clingy Bailey. Thankfully we made it on our plane and to our seats with moments to spare (we weren't even the last ones to board). Once on the plane, we quickly pushed back from the gate only to find our that our plane wouldn't start... something wrong with the starter. All I can at this point is that, at least the delay gave Bailey a chance to catch some much needed shut eye.

Looking out the window as we approached El Paso.

After finally arriving in El Paso, we found our luggage & Bailey's carseat, met up with our friend Canaan, and then headed to his house to drop off our bags and make some plans for our day. We ultimately decided to check out the Wyler Aerial Tramway State Park in the Franklin Mountains, about a 20 minute drive from his house, then pick up his little one from daycare and head back home for some lunch and much deserved relaxation.

Bailey on our ride up the mountain in the gondola sporting her new vest & blue flame hat.

Uncle Canaan & Bailey enjoy the view on the ride up.

Our gondola carrying people back down the mountain.

The view from the top.

Tony & I at the top of the mountain, elevation 5,632 ft.

Canaan, Bailey, Tony & I in front of our gondola after reaching the bottom of the mountain.

The gondola ride was a great way to kick off our vacation in El Paso. After the ride we picked up McKenzie, Canaan's daughter, and headed back to the house for some grub and to catch up while we waited for Jocelin to come home from work. Although the road was a bit bumpy getting here, our visit is off to a great start with more adventures in store.

This week, before we got to El Paso...

2009-11-01T19:04:00.007-06:00

We had a very busy Halloween week including three days with Robert Thomas, one Kindermusik class and two gymnastics class' for Bailey and two workouts with a trainer for me along with all of the normal everyday chores... not to mention our week was only four days since we were supposed to leave for El Paso thursday at 435pm (more on that later)! One of the main joys of our week, aside from the cooler weather, was the fact that it was costume week at gymnastics and the kids got to play on a blow-up obstacle course and the trapeze!

10-27-09 : Bailey in her doctor scrubs before Tuesday's gymnastics class with Robert Thomas, Abby (far right) and Izzy (far left). Bailey not only wanted to be a doctor for Halloween but she also picked out the fabric for her scrubs which Mo put together for us.

On Wednesday afternoon Bailey wanted to play in the backyard by herself (a normal occurance) and when we didn't hear much, Tony & I decided to check in & this is what we found. Bailey had moved most of a brick pile from the center of our back porch into the top of her sandbox and was constructing a building of her own.

10-28-09 : A view of Bailey building through our screen door.

A better view of Bailey's construction.

Bailey helping me pin the fabric for some special ordered burp cloths.

Bailey was very excited that she was allowed to help.

Bailey counting the pins that she had selected for me to use pinning.

Thursday morning started with the arrival of Robert Thomas & dropping Izzy off at the vet to have surgery to remove two moles which had been growing very quickly. Thankfully Izzy's surgery went well and the day, although hectic, got off to a relatively smooth start.

10-29-09 : Bailey had to wear last years costume to gymnastics on Thursday because her scrubs were dirty (amazingly the rose costume still fit).

Bailey shower off her spider tattoo (upper left arm) which she named itsy bitsy.

Bailey last year in her rose costume a couple weeks before Halloween.

Thursday afternoon we were supposed to leave for El Paso but four lines of tornado producing storms between College Station and Houston delayed our flight until after our flight from Houston to El Paso had departed and there were only two seats available for next (and final) flight so we were forced to reschedule. We could have called it a night at that point but on the way home we decided to pick up some pizza since we had been planning on having dinner in El Paso. After waiting three hours in the airport and 40 minutes for our pizza, we finally headed back to the house to eat and grab some shut eye before our very early flight the next day. As we drove home, we were stopped at a red light a half mile from our house and were rear-ended by a young lady going between 25 and 35 mph. Thankfully Tony, Bailey & I along with the young lady who hit us were all ok, although our bumper is a loss, as was the pizza which ended up crumpled in the box after flying from the front seat into Bailey lap. I guess this was our first hint that our trip to El Paso was going to be a huge adventure!

Last Weekend

2009-11-01T10:08:00.001-06:00

Since both Tony & I worked on Saturday of last weekend, we started the weekend on Thursday with a walk to Lick Creek Park with Mo & Grandaddy. This was the first time that we had been out there in a long while and it was really great because we didn't have to keep Bailey confined in a stroller. Bailey ran everywhere we went and enjoyed getting up close to all the different types of animal tracks as well as checking out all the different trees, bushes and flowers.

10-22-09 : Bailey running off down the trail (notice the hiking boots with shorts)!!

Bailey & Mo find a new use for the bicycle rack.

Apparently if you go over, you must go under!

While Tony was at work at the fire station and I went to work at the challenge course, Mo, Grandaddy and Bailey headed into downtown Bryan to enjoy the Fall Festival. Bailey had a blast on the dozen different bounce houses and the obstacle course. She also saw a cow milking exhibit, made a her own crown and played games where she won fake money that she used to purchase her very own Hanah Montana necklace.

10-24-09 : Bailey ready to head out to the Fall Festival.

Bailey enjoying a quick rest in front of the cow milking demonstration.

10-25-09 : Bailey helping to pull the guts out of the pumpkin.

Bailey watching Daddy cut along the lines she drew to outline the pumpkins face.

Tony & the finished pumpkin.

Bailey & her finished pumpkin.

That concludes last weekends excitement. At the moment we are headed out to see Alamogordo, White Sands & Las Cruces, more updates & pictures to follow.

Habitat for Humanity Pumpkin Patch Visit

2009-10-22T22:30:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, Tony had the day off from Teex, the paramedic class and the fire department so we decided that we would head over to the Aggie Habitat for Humanity pumpkin patch. Robert Thomas was spending the day with us so we packed him in the stroller and set off on our half mile jaunt to the pumpkin patch.

We made it about a block from the house when Bailey decided it was time for a ride on Tony's shoulders, she wasn't tired she just thought this mode of travel would be more fun!

Bailey at the pumpkin patch. Since we were visiting at 10am on a Tuesday we thought we'd have it all to ourselves, boy were we wrong!

Bailey picking up the first pumpkin she saw while Robert Thomas checks out a pumpkin of his own.

Robert Thomas really excited about the pumpkin he picked.

Bailey very happy with a pimply pumpkin she found.

Robert Thomas sitting in the pumpkins enjoying the breeze.

Bailey trying to give Robert Thomas a kiss on the cheek.

Me & Bailey posing for a quick picture (Bailey requested that I be in the picture).

Tony, Bailey & Robert Thomas (we improvised and seated Bailey on the handlebars since neither Tony or I felt like carrying her - I'm pretty sure that she liked our solution).

Robert Thomas didn't make it far from the pumpkin patch before falling asleep. We didn't want to wake him when we got home so we just left him strapped in and he slept from 1045am-115pm, he was totally tuckered out.

Tony taking Robert Thomas for a quick spin on Grandaddy's lawn tractor (I wasn't quick enough to capture Bailey's ride).

Tony & Robert Thomas riding off into the sunset!

We have tons of crazy events coming up including costume week at gymnastics and a trip to El Paso not to mention Halloween. But if Bailey has taught me one thing in the past two years its to expect the unexpected because you never know what crazy shenanigan's she will come up with next.

St. Mary's Annual Church Bazaar

2009-10-22T21:46:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday Tony, Bailey & I headed back to Tony's hometown (about 45 minutes north of us) to attend the annual bazaar at his families church. It was a great day and although we didn't get to spend a ton of time with Busia, Dza Dza & Uncle Paul because of their duties for the bazaar, we did get to see plenty of the rest of the family that was there to catch up and share a beautiful fall day.

A quick family photo before we headed to Bremond.

Bailey running off energy before we headed to Bremond.

Bailey climbing around in the big jumper at the bazaar.

Bailey climbing up the ladder to the big slide at the end....

and down the slide.

Bailey & Tony waiting for our trip on the hayride to begin.

Bailey & Dza Dza ready for the hayride - our cousins Joseph (next to Dza Dza in the 12th Man jersey), Francesca (on the tailgate in the white shirt), and Isabella (on the tailgate in the pink shirt) came along for the ride as well..

A closeup of Bailey & Dza Dza.

Petting a horsey that someone brought up to the bazaar.

A very tired Bailey on the ride home, she fell asleep mid-sip on the water in her sonic cup.

We had a great day in Bremond and really enjoyed seeing our family. After Bailey's performance on the huge jumper that they had the bazaar, I think we are going to be spending more time at Bounce in the future! Stayed tuned for our next adventure, these days they seem to be waiting around every corner!

The Beginning of October... the final update!

2009-10-20T21:41:00.001-05:00

The first weekend of October found us visiting Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa Ray in Linden, TX. They have a beautiful little house and were gracious enough to let Tony, Bailey & I invade the evening before the Annual Ray/Shelton Family Reunion. We ended up getting to Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa's a little later than planned but enjoyed a quick walk to stretch our legs, a yummy dinner and shared some photos before heading to bed at a decent hour.

10-2-09: Bailey heading down the driveway for our quick walk to the mailbox.

Bailey testing out the fleece jacket we got for our trip to the Gila Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico.

We had some time in the morning before we headed off to the family reunion to play around Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa's property. Bailey loved all the different types of trees and loved picking up all of the acorns & pine cones she came across. It was fun to empty our pockets after our walk and look at all the different things that had caught Bailey's attention.

10-3-09: Bailey swinging from the branches of an incredible oak tree in Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa's front yard.

Bailey & Daddy going on a walk to the mailbox.

Bailey headed back towards the house after visiting the mailbox.

At the family reunion
Standing: Paul, Tony, Busia, Grant, Martha, Betty
Sitting: Me, Bailey, Dza Dza, Great-Grandpa, Great-Grandma
Photographer: Cindy

After the family reunion, Tony, Bailey & I drove Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa back to their house and after visiting for an hour or so began the 5 hour ride home. Our visit was short & sweet but definitely left us wishing we had had more time to stay and visit.

10-7-09: Bailey swinging from a tree in our front flower bed, practicing the skills she learned at gymnastics.

Tony & I felt we had to include this picture simply because of Bailey's face.

Our pretty girl posing for a quick picture.

This is what Daddy's are good for (amoung other things)!!!

Since my mom spent a couple days in the hospital this month having her heart monitored, Bailey had the opportunity to explore & investigate all that the hospital had to offer. She particularly enjoyed her walks to the cafeteria with Grandaddy as well as her walks to the nursery with Mo & I.

10-10-09: Bailey & Grandaddy watching a movie on Grandaddy's portable DVD player in Mo's hospital room.

To set the scene before you look at the next couple of pictures you need to know that we were unexpectedly caught at Walmart in downpour with a dirty pull-up & no diaper bag. Needless to say we ran to the truck and poor Tony stood in the rain while he changed Bailey's very stinky pull-up. Bailey ended up with a clean pull-up but nothing else because Tony was understandably tired of getting wet. When we got home we "borrowed" the ladybug rain jacket that Bailey had dressed her duckduck in and thats how we ended up with...

10-13-09: Bailey entertaining herself inside since their were torrential downpours outside.

I knew their was a reason we kept this hamper.

Bailey walking around the house wearing a clean pull-up, a ladybug rain jacket & a hamper.

The view from our dining room window when the rains finally stopped. Usually the front portion is completely dry and although the part behind the burm normally has water you normally can't see it.

Thanks for hanging in their while I caught you up on our comings & goings. Now that we're caught up you can look forward to our pictures from the Bremond Bazaar & our visit to the pumpkin patch with Robert Thomas.

Finally the end of September...

2009-10-19T22:25:00.001-05:00

It blows my mind to think of all of the things that Bailey picks up and wants to try after seeing Tony or I do them, everything from words we say to imitating a silly face we make. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when she started pantiming putting diapers on her stuffed animals or wanting to feed them her snack. I was floored however, when Bailey started wanting to assist Robert Thomas in getting his puffed corn snacks in his mouth (apparently his pincher grasp wasn't accurate enough for her liking).

9-23-09: Robert Thomas eating out of Bailey's hand

Bailey gets comfy on her table so she can sit & continue feeding Robert Thomas.

A very proud Bailey.

One of Bailey's newest talents.

9-24-09: Bailey's clown face from her Thursday gymnastics class.

Bailey helping Tony spread the tomato sauce on our homemade pizza.

Now the cheese...

And finally, the pepperoni...

9-28-09: Bailey taking over making the Chicken Quesadillas for dinner.

Scooping the filling into the tortillas...

Bailey the taste-tester.

I thought this was an interesting picture because it has everyone's footprints - the top center is Bailey's, with the next print to the right being mine and then Tony's on the outside right (sadly I'm pretty sure that all of the doggy prints are Abby's, sorry Izzy).

9-29-09: Bailey helping to give Robert Thomas his morning bottle.

One more update & we'll be all up-to-date!

Next update... almost back to the present day

2009-10-18T18:55:00.010-05:00

It's amazing to me how rapidly Bailey is growing up, everyday she does something that absolutely floors me. A couple days ago, as I put Bailey up on her changing table to prepare to change her pull-up, she looked up at me and said "Change diaper?". I said "No Bailey, baby's wear diapers, you wear a pull-up." That's when she looked at me and said "Bailey not baby. Bailey not big girl. Bailey little girl." I was floored at this but there's more. Since we've been trying to potty train Bailey for sometime now and normally we say that big girls wear panties and go 'stinky' and 'tee-tee' in the potty and that she is a big girl now, I had to ask "Bailey, who's a big girl?" Her response... "Mommy's big girl." I can't believe that she connected all the concepts. We keep saying that Bailey understands what we are trying to teach her about potty training and she's just not ready to accept it... guess this conversation proves that!!

9-16-09: It's like where's waldo but it's where's Bailey instead!

I loved this picture of Bailey so I just had to show everyone!

This is one of Bailey's cute summer outfits, this was the first time the shorts fit and I thought they were too cute so I had to take pictures for Tony.

9-18-09: Robert Thomas playing out on our back porch.

Bailey telling Robert Thomas not to play with the bricks that were stacked on our back porch.

Robert Thomas ordering some "walk-through" from Bailey's snack shack.

9-19-09: When we went to Houston to pick up some furniture from our friends the Davies and to see the Whitman's new home, we had a quick minute to run into the Bass Pro Shop at Katy Mills Mall. Tony & Bailey were in hog heaven! Here they checked out one of the tents & a cot that were on display.

Bailey checking out one of the kayaks (she checked out several, along with a couple canoes).

Tony & Bailey checking out the fish tank. Notice Bailey's outfit - pink dress and Winnie the Pooh hiking boots - 100% her choice.

9-21-09: Bailey & Grandaddy's first attempt at flying the dragon kite.

We weren't getting a ton of wind at Mo & Grandaddy's house so we decided to make take the short trip down to the pool with the hopes that the wind would be better out on the island. When we got out at the pool we decided to try the breeze in the parking lot before making the short trek out to the island. While we were testing the breeze, Bailey decided to practice her balance beam skills.

Bailey practicing hard.

Grandaddy & Bailey finding some wind for the dragon kite out on the island.

Robert Thomas enjoying the time outdoors and exploring the prickly grass on the island.

Bailey helping Grandaddy hold the line to the kite.

Bailey & Grandaddy holding the kite string.

Bailey running across the bridge off the island.

9-22-09: Bailey's clown paint from her Tuesday gymnastics class.

Hang in there, this update bring us within a week of the end of September! Hopefully I will have some more time tomorrow & Tuesday to blog so I can get the pictures from the bazaar at St. Mary's in Bremond up along with pictures from our upcoming trip to the pumpkin patch on Tuesday. Stay tuned!!

Updates September 10th through 14th

2009-10-14T21:20:00.006-05:00

As one of my earlier posts alluded to College Station has been hit by a deluge of rain in the past month but I'm not sure that Bailey has considered it a bad thing! Thankfully it was hot and rainy so there was nothing to preclude us from enjoying the rain.

9-10-09 : Bailey heading out to play in the drainage next to our house, notice that the back of her shirt & hair are still dry.

Bailey making sure that the back of her shirt gets wet.

Splashing in the rain run-off.

Running & smiles.

9-11-09 : More rain caused a repeat of yesterdays performance.

9-12-09 : Tony & I at the Woodlands enjoying a Jimmy Wayne, Dierks Bentley & Brad Paisley concert.

9-13-09 : Bailey & Tony switch shoes for a trip around the kitchen.

Although Bailey's shoes matched Tony's shirt, I think she got the better end of the deal!

9-14-09 : Bailey sporting her favorite hat that her Uncle Brett gave her this summer.

Bailey helping her Daddy back the F-250 up our driveway, backwards!

Bailey sharing a snack with Eeyore - she buckeled Eeyore in, put the tray on the seat and then tore up his half into tiny little pieces.

Bailey helping Eeyore to brush his teeth, 100% her idea!

I know that more days are passing as I'm trying to catch y'all up but I will do my best to wrap up our updates by this weekend. The benefit of going through all of these pictures in such a short period of time is that its shown me just how much our little girl has grown up in just the past couple of weeks.

Update #2

2009-10-11T20:40:00.006-05:00

For those of you who haven't heard, I started watching one of our friends little one's while Mommy works at the local high school and Daddy is on shift at the fire department. Sheridan & Lewis are great friends and Bailey & I are really enjoying having Robert Thomas around. At eight months old he is definitely giving Bailey a run for her money. It's been a lot of fun to see the two of them interact. Hopefully I'll get some more pictures of their escapades up soon.

9-2-09 : Introducing Robert Thomas.

Bailey helping Tony give Robert Thomas his first bottle at the Ray Family Daycare.

9-4-09 : Bailey helping Mo wash blueberries.

Reading a book with Grandaddy.

Dinner at Mo & Grandaddy's with Bailey, Me & Nana (with Tony taking the picture).

For Labor Day our friends Erin & Ben came down from Dallas to enjoy First Yell Concert at A&M with Jeff Dunham headlining. To continue our weekend of fun the five of us headed down to Katy, TX to catch up with another friend of ours & her family. Carmen, her husband Clay & their adorable son Jacob were fantastic hosts & we shared a splendid day playing at the park, cooling off in their pool and taking shelter during a magnificent thunderstorm to enjoy some incredible hawaiian hamburgers, YUM!

9-5-09 : Bailey super excited to be back at the "choo-choo" park. I'm not sure if it's the fact that its a park that Bailey loves or the fact that it reunites two of her favorite things - parks & trains.

Jacob's first time down the conveyor belt slide with his daddy, Clay.

Bailey enjoying yet another trip down the conveyor belt slide.

Ben and Erin at the top of the rope tower.

The happy hosts - Clay, Jacob & Carmen.

Bailey & Tony heading out to explore another part of the park.

Erin, Carmen & Me enjoying yet another part of our journey as friends.

9-9-09 : Mo, Bailey & Nana at the College Station airport enjoying every last minute of Nana's visit.

Grandaddy & Bailey "flying" the plane downstairs in the waiting area while waiting for Mo & Nana's plane to depart.

Yes, Bailey is wearing a jacket... it was a little chilly outside and she asked for her jacket but no worries it was back around 100 degrees the next day!

Look forward to our next update, it promises rainy days, more fun with gymnastics and tons of enjoyable antics with Robert Thomas.

Anyone seen September??

2009-10-05T20:38:00.006-05:00

Many apologies for the fact that I haven't blogged in ages. I hadn't realized exactly how long it had been until I was reading several of my friends updates & realized that I was at the bottom of their blog lists because I hadn't posted anything in so long. This will be the first of several updates in an attempt to let you know what we've been up to since the end of August.

8-24-09 : This park is in Katy, TX at Franz & Avenue D and it is 100% handicap accesible. If you get a chance our family definitely suggests a visit and we will gladly accompany you if you like! There are a ton of things to do! Bailey loved running up & down the ramps and since the park was handicap accessible, Carmen & I were able to keep the sleeping Jacob in his stroller and still keep up with Bailey.

Tony & Bailey's first trip down the conveyor belt slide... wicked fun for little kids & bigger kids!

Me & Carmen took a minute to investigate and climb a cool rope tower at the park.

Tony at the top of the rope tower.

8-26-09 : Bailey's first Freebird (actually it was mine but Bailey picked it up & went to town).

8-27-09 : Bailey & Daddy play at the park at South Knoll Elementary School.

Daddy & Bailey driving a school bus at the park.

Practicing walking on the balance beam with Daddy.

Bailey hanging from the rings while a nervous Daddy looks on.

8-29-09 : Mo, Bailey & Nana getting ready for a delicious dinner made by Mommy.

9-1-09 : Bailey with her coach Ms. Shannon.

Ms. Shannon showing Bailey where to put her feet (Bailey now does this at home on the bar over her trampoline).

Bailey being Bailey.

Bailey lounging on a window sill with Mo.

Our life has been a bit of a whirlwind with tons of activities pulling us in what seems like a million different directions. Bailey is really enjoying her gymnastics classes and has been enjoying taking her Busia, Grandaddy & Daddy to Kindermusik with her. Daddy has been busy at the fire station along with helping out with recruit academy and paramedic class. As for me, I'm keeping busy with my trips to the fertility doctor in Houston, work at the high ropes course and trying to prepare for two upcoming craft shows plus I started keeping one of our friends little boys, Robert Thomas but more on him in the next post.

Rain in Central Texas?!?!

2009-09-14T21:08:00.004-05:00

After a summer of praying for rain, our prayers have been answered this week and we have received close to 5 inches in the last four days. As thankful as our yard was, I think that Bailey was even more thankful as she has apparently inherited her parents love of rainstorms & their aftermath.

Bailey running in the ditch next to our house.

I know that it has been ages since our last blog. Aside from the Challenge Course, which was crazy busy for the last couple weeks of August, and the eleven trips to Houston for fertility treatments over the past four weeks, I started watching a friends little one while Mommy & Daddy are at work (more about that later). I will do my best to catch y'all up this week on all the comings & goings of our little family and the fun happenings that have taken place over the past several weeks.

Couple of Cute Pics of Bailey

2009-08-23T20:30:00.004-05:00

Bailey has recently decided that unless she's in the mood, there will be no picture taking and most definitely no posing for pictures. So you have to imagine our surprise when she requested that we take her picture on not just one but several occasions between yesterday evening and tonight. I've included a couple of the pictures that Bailey wanted taken.

Yesterday Bailey spent the morning with Grandma & her friend Ms. Nancy while Tony & I worked at the Challenge Course. Tony had to return to the firehouse at 2pm so I headed over to meet up with everyone & enjoy some of the birthday cake (banana pudding) that Grandma & Bailey had made for one of her Teddy Bears. Sometime in the afternoon Bailey found a pair of Grandaddy's glasses and begun wearing them all over the house, the result was too cute & thankfully she posed for a quick picture while Grandma held her.

This morning before church Bailey saw my camera on the counter and struck this pose for me. To top it off, she actually held the pose while I turned the camera on & focused it... silly girl.

Playdate in Houston

2009-08-15T19:46:00.006-05:00

We've had an incredible "early" weekend, that started yesterday with a trip to the doctor in Houston for me. Tony & Bailey accompained me, which meant a 6:45am wake-up time for Bailey. Tony & I figured she would go back to sleep on the hour and 45 minute trip to Houston but we were wrong. She ate raisins, drank her milk and had long discussions with the dalmation Spot which "lives" in our truck. Bailey behaved perfectly at the doctors office only pushing the alarm button in the room once. After the doctor's we headed to Aunt Carmen's house out in Old Katy for a visit with her & Baby Jacob who is almost three months old. We visited for a while, ate some lunch & then headed to the backyard to enjoy some swimming once Baby Jacob went down for a nap.

Bailey enjoying the floating chair.

Aunt Carmen & Baby Jacob, we didn't get much swimming in before he woke up from his nap and wanted to join in the fun.

Baby Jacob chilling in his lounge chair watching Bailey go from the big pool to the baby pool (hot tub) and back again.

Bailey spitting water from the hot tub over the waterfall onto Daddy (Tony had just shown her this trick & she was quick to repeat it).

Bailey showing Baby Jacob how to use the toys on his lounger, afterall she had the same one when she was smaller.

After close to an hour & a half in the pool, it didn't take long for Bailey to fall asleep on the way home.

We had a fantastic visit with Aunt Carmen & Baby Jacob and we can't wait to go back and do some more swimming and visiting. It's hard to believe that Bailey it wasn't very long ago when Bailey was just as small as Jacob. Time sure flies! Once we arrived back in College Station, we had dinner at freebirds with Aunt Katie & headed home for a bath & an early bedtime.

After such a busy day yesterday one would think that Tony, Bailey & I would slow things down today but that just wasn't in the cards. Tony made breakfast tacos for breakfast and then my parents showed up around 1045am to pick Bailey up so Tony & I could head out to the Challenge Course to set up and run the high events for the Rice Soccer Team. Grandma and Grandaddy got the priviledge of taking Bailey to her friend Naomi's birthday party at the Children's Museum in Bryan. After several hours of high energy playtime Grandma, Grandaddy & Bailey returned to their home and everyone took a nap! Bailey had a great time at the party (sorry I don't have any pictures) and we can't wait to have more playdates with Naomi and her little sister Grace!

Tony & I finished at the Challenge Course around 315pm and headed home for showers & a quick rest before my parents brought Bailey home. Once Bailey got home we headed back out for mass since Tony is on shift at the fire department tomorrow. After mass we had our picture taken for the permenant parishoner get-to-know-you, then home for dinner, bath, storytime & hopefully an early bedtime for everyone.

Horseback Riding, George Strait, New Friends & A Big Girl Bed

2009-08-11T18:42:00.010-05:00

It's been a busy couple of days followed by some technical issues so its been a while since we last posted. Wanted to take a minute before bedtime to let y'all know what all we've been up to.

8-6-09 : Bailey & Daddy playing horsey. We aren't quite sure where she learned that you hold the reins (daddy's shirt) or that you kick with your heels to make your horsey go faster but Tony assured me that these are things our little tike knows... maybe when she's big enough we will try horseback riding lessons.

8-6-09 : Bailey posing for a quick picture while "encouraging" her horsey down the hallway.

8-7-09 : Bailey all dressed up with her cowboy hat from the library & Mommy's chaco's.

8-8-09 : Bailey has been very vocal lately about which clothes she wants to wear and for several days had really wanted to wear her Easter dress. On Saturday morning we agreed since Tony & I were taking her to Grandma & Grandaddy's for the day. Before we left the house she put on all of her beaded necklaces as well as socks & her tennis shoes (I guess she wanted to be prepared to go to the park). Even though she was all gussied up, Bailey refused to let either Tony or I or Grandaddy take her picture but this picture was the best view of her outfit.

8-8-09 : For father's day, Bailey & I got Tony tickets to the George Strait concert in Houston at Reliant Stadium. We went down to Houston a little early and had dinner at the Taste of Texas resturant (its a fabulous steak house), then checked into the hotel and then headed to the stadium. Julianne Huff, Blake Shelton and Sugarland preformed before George Strait took the stage at 9pm. Even though we missed seeing Julianne Huff because dinner ran late, we thoroughly enjoyed the other acts and George Strait was phenomenal! It was crystal clear that he loves what he does and truly appreciates that people enjoy listening to his music.

8-9-09 : Before we headed back to College Station to pick up Bailey, Tony & I dropped in on a friend of mine from high school who was in town for her sister's baby shower. This was the first time that Tony & I got to meet her little boy, Evan, and we had a great time playing with him and catching up with his Mommy.

8-9-09 : Katy, Evan (ready for a nap) and me. It was a bummer that Bailey couldn't be there to meet Evan too but that will just have to wait until next time!

8-9-09 : Bailey officially slept in her big girl bed (her crib minus the front railing) for the first time today at nap time. She was really excited about it and happily climbed in at nap time. Sometime during her nap she managed to roll onto the floor without waking up, so after naptime Tony installed the partial side railings to help keep her from falling out again. So far its worked!

Things have been kind of crazy around our house so please bear with us if you've phoned and we haven't returned your call or emailed and we haven't emailed you back. Tony is busily preparing for a confined space class he is teaching at the fire department and I've picked up a bunch of work out at the challenge course along with the normal assortment of doctor's appointments. On Bailey's side she is growing like crazy and amazes us daily with the vocabulary she picks up. She loves the park and is looking forward to starting gymnastics classes in two weeks. Hopefully once we get into September things will slow down but realistically we know that that probably won't happen. Good thing is we can't get bored with a schedule like this!

Birthday Celebrations

2009-08-03T20:59:00.003-05:00

I had a fantastic birthday yesterday and enjoyed a low key celebration with Bailey, Tony, Grandma & Grandaddy. It's actually been a bit of a drawn out birthday since I received an edible arrangement on Saturday August 1st (they don't deliver on Sundays), then we had the celebration on my birthday and then Tony, Bailey & I met Busia, Dziadzia and Uncle Paul in Hearne at the Dixie Cafe for dinner tonight. Dinner with the Ray's has become an annual tradition seeing as my birthday is the 2nd, the Ray's anniversary is the 4th and then Busia's birthday is the sixth. So much to celebrate! I didn't think to snap any pictures this evening but I wanted to share a couple courtesy of Grandaddy in which Bailey helped Grandma make my birthday cake.

8-1-09 : Bailey trying to sneak a piece from my edible arrangement.

8-2-09 : Bailey helping Grandma get ready to ice Mommy's birthday cake.

Bailey taking a minute to play the drums on the unopened frosting.

Helping Grandma mix cool whip into the frosting.

Making sure there are enough sprinkles on the cake & that they are in exactly the right place.

Bailey's new favorite place to chill out is the top of the couch. She was completely laid out just like Tony until she saw me grab the camera and then she tried to get up before I could get a picture. It's hard to believe that she used to be such a ham for the camera but now it seems she'd rather take the pictures.

I had a wonderful birthday celebration & I really appreciate the many people who took time to send a card, call, email or send me a note on facebook.

On a side note, we had to take Bailey to the doctor today because she seems to have picked up a little cold over the weekend. For the most part there was nothing new but her height took Tony & I totally by surprise. At two years, 1 and a half months Bailey is 38.25 inches tall. That may not seem all that remarkable but it notes growth of 2.25 inches since June 15 at her two year check-up. How crazy is that! I'm starting to think that she's going to be taller than me!

Running in the Rain

2009-07-31T09:56:00.004-05:00

Thankfully College Station received some much needed rain in the last couple of days. Yesterday the storm hit just as Bailey and I were getting ready to venture up to the Texas A&M campus to visit Aunt Cindy & see if we could catch up with Daddy at his HazMat drill, so we decided to delay our visit a little and play out in the rain. Bailey had a blast running, trying to dodge rain drops & splashing in the puddles on our front walk. She was having so much fun that I had to capture a couple of shots to share.

Bailey running out in the rain in our front yard.

Bailey taking a quick break to sit on the front door step. That's Abby behind her wondering why she can't go play in the rain too.

Bailey wondering just what rain is & why its falling from the sky.

Bailey running back in from the rain.

Bailey jumping in a puddle, I'm not sure how I managed to get her completely in the air.

We had a great time playing in the rain & ultimately enjoyed our trip to campus as well. In the afternoon, after Tony came home and the rain had stopped we ventured out to Grandma & Grandaddy's and spent some time in their neighborhood pool. Earlier this summer Bailey seemed to have an aversion to the pool & didn't want to get in the water, let alone go swimming but today was different and she eagerly swam in both the baby & adult pools and even jumped off of the side of the pool to Tony and I. I guess she needed to do it in her own time, kinda like the whole potty training thing!

On a side note, if you happened to hear about the fire at the chemical plant in Bryan yesterday please don't worry about us. Tony was not on duty so he did not respond and the smoke did not come anywhere near our home.

Washing Dishes

2009-07-27T22:25:00.006-05:00

Today after lunch Bailey surprised both Tony & I by attempting to do the dishes. I had taken the plates off of the table and put them in the sink but when I turned around Bailey had climbed up her "ladder", turned on the water and proceeded to rinse both sides of each of the plates.

Bailey washing her hands.

Bailey washing the plate she used for lunch.

Making sure to wash the back of the plate too.

It never ceases to amaze me how much she picks up just by watching Tony & I do routine tasks around the house. I wonder what chore she'll pick up next??

Pigtails

2009-07-26T20:51:00.004-05:00

Today was our first attempt at pigtails & since Daddy was at the fire station and didn't get the chance to see them I thought I'd post a couple of pictures.

Bailey & her pigtails with the pose she selected & her socks pulled up to her knees because that's how she wanted to wear them! She cracked me up when she struck this pose, I felt like it was picture day at an elementary school.

Here is a view from the back of Bailey's slightly lopsided pigtails, not bad for a first try!

I'm sure that their will be tons of pigtails in the future but I couldn't resist capturing our first set on camera. Oddly enough, Bailey seemed to like the pigtails better than a ponytail and way better than barrettes.

Book Recommendation & Some Fishing

2009-07-25T19:51:00.006-05:00

I know that normally JuJu is the one to recommend & review books but I have to take a quick second to tell y'all about the book I just finished, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Recently, I've gotten into reading for fun, a practice that pretty much ended when I embarked on my Master's & PhD programs. It's sad but I'd honestly forgotten how great it was to "devour" a book. This book is historical fiction unlike any I had ever read before and although it came highly recommended, I was slightly hesitant about its 975 pages. But as soon as I read the authors forward I was hooked, worse than that I was addicted! The plot lines were always running through my head & any spare moment found me deep within its pages. There are a couple of parts that are pretty intense, graphic &/or bloody but the characters had depth & breadth and the storyline was enchanting. For a work of fiction, it honestly seemed plausible. Anyways, I wanted to let y'all know that if you're interested in what it took to build a cathedral back in the 1100's or even if your not... you should definitely read this book! My only hope is that y'all enjoy it as much as I did!

Now that I've got out of the way here are some pics from our trip to the park out by my parents house this morning. Its a great park because it has a play set for Bailey to play on plus a pond that Tony can fish in. The water in the pond has receeded quite a lot since the beginning of the summer so Tony, Bailey & I took the fish we caught and released them in the bigger lake across the street in the hopes that it might save some of them.

Just to show off what a big girl she is Bailey decided to climb up the curly pole to get up onto the play set today. She did all of the climbing herself but needed a little help figuring out how to move around to get off onto the play set.

Tony managed to catch another fish today! He may be tiny but its a pretty big fish for the small pond he was caught in. Sorry about Tony's funny face but we were discussing whether or not this fish was bigger than the one he caught a couple weeks ago when I snapped the picture. Silly me!

We've been wicked busy lately between play groups, Kindermusik & the library for Bailey, work at the fire department & the Brayton Fire Field for Tony and cleaning house, dr's appointments & trying to get ready for a garage sale for me. The days are definitely flying by and it was nice to spend some time as a family relaxing at the park, playing & doing a little fishing!

Hail in July?!?

2009-07-21T15:15:00.003-05:00

We've had a realitivly odd start to the week as far as weather including hail, high winds & heavy drenching rain. Although we can't complain about the rain since we haven't had any in almost two months, Tony & I were surprised when it started hailing on us on our way to church on Sunday. As if the marble size hail at our house wasn't strange enough, on Monday we had more storms with thunder & lightening galore along with showers & high winds that were mistaken for funnel clouds in several areas around our home. Thankfully there is no notable damage to our home or either of our vehicles and the momentary reduction in temperatures was enjoyable to say the least. Here are a couple pics from this past weekend.

7-18-09 : Bailey after her bath sporting a fancy updo courtesy of Tony, he said it made him think of a palm tree.

7-18-09 : A better pic of Bailey's updo.

7-18-09 : I really like this picture of Bailey so I had to include it!

7-19-09 : A couple of the pieces of hail from our backyard & Tony's size 13 Aggie Ring.

7-19-09 : The rainbow after the storm (from our front door). It actually made a complete semi-circle which was really neat.

So far our week is off to a great start, Bailey went to the park with Grandaddy Monday morning while I went to Houston for a dr.'s appointment and then this morning we had Kindermusik & a visit to the Children's Museum with the MOMS group. We ran into some friends from the fire department at the Children's Museum and were even treated to a story reading by a local celebrity, Bob French, he's our weatherman. Don't really have anything exciting planned for the rest of the week but with the way things have been going you never know what kind of adventures we might get ourselves into.

Play time with Nicholas

2009-07-18T17:55:00.004-05:00

Today we had the treat of having Nicholas (22 months) join us for the morning since Jaime had to work & John had a meeting at Teex. To top it off Tony had to go to Blinn for his EMS instructor class and that left Bailey, Nicholas & I to entertain ourselves. I'm not sure that either of them slowed down the entire time Nicholas was here, except of course at snack time. Oddly enough, I was more productive today than I am most days when its just Bailey & I, why is that? In anycase, the three of us had blast & I actually took a couple minutes to capture a couple pictures of our morning.

Bailey & Nicholas playing house in the backyard, Nicholas loved ringing the doorbell. The fire truck in his arms is one of Baileys and he carried it around for most of his visit. Its strange but even at this young age I think that somehow they both inately understand that their daddies are firefighters & what exactly that means.

Bailey sliding & Nicholas waiting his turn.

Bailey giving Nicholas some help, y'all should have seen when they both tried to sit inside!

Bailey & Nicholas playing with Bailey's animal figures while I did some embroidery.

We had a great time playing with Nicholas this morning & hope that he can come over again soon.

Anybody seen the month of June???

2009-07-16T08:08:00.002-05:00

In honor of Bailey's 2nd birthday, which was June 11th, we decided that we would change up the format of our blog entries just a little bit. The hope is that the change will help us to keep the blog more up to date, thus keeping you more up to date about all the new developments in our lives. Now that that's out of the way, on with the pictures!

6-11-09 : Bailey & Tony take a walk along the nature trail next to the Guadalupe River right below Canyon Lake.

6-11-09 : Tony in the conductor's seat at the train museum in New Braunfels.

6-11-09 : Me & Bailey relaxing in our room at the lodge.

6-11-09 : Bailey in her New Braunfels Fire Department helmet & a super silly face.

6-11-09 : Tony & the only thing he caught on vacation!

6-12-09 : Bailey taking a turn at the wheel.

6-12-09 : A billboard outside Startsville... made us giggle!

6-13-09 : The spread for Baily's birthday party.

6-13-09 : Bailey in the jumper at her party.

6-13-09 : Bailey, Nicolas, Mason & Jolie playing in the sprinkler hose at the party.

6-13-09 : Bailey enjoying the first bite of her birthday fishy cupcake.

6-14-09 : Bailey playing peek-a-boo in a bag from one of her presents.

6-15-09 : Family night at recruit academy at Brayton Fire Field where Tony is an instructor. Tony is in the yellow helmet. The recruits were practicing their attack pattern & making sure that their nozzles were working properly before the propane tank was set on fire.

6-15-09 : Recruits in their attack pattern as the propane tank was lit (Tony is on the left in the yellow helmet).

6-15-09 : Bailey & Grandma watching the recruits put out the fire.

6-18-09 : Bailey riding her stuffed goat through the house.

6-21-09 : Bailey & Tony on father's day.

6-22-09 : Bailey coming up with another use for her basketball hoop.

6-24-09 : Bailey running through the sprinkler in the backyard.

6-24-09 : Tony & Bailey in the sprinkler.

6-24-09 : Bailey & Tony all wet!

6-24-09 : Tony & Bailey making guacamole for dinner.

6-29-09 : Bailey helping GiGi to rock. GiGi & Bailey had tons of fun during the three weeks GiGi spent in College Station, hopefully she'll come visit again soon, maybe when its cooler!

7-3-09 : Bailey finding a way to play at her table even when I'm vaccuming.

7-3-09 : Bailey using the kitchen chairs as a jungle gym while I vaccum.

7-5-09 : Bailey & Uncle Brett and the matching pajama pants that Grandma made for them.

7-6-09 : Bailey & Grandma entertaining each other at the airport while waiting for Uncle Brett plane to board (Bailey pushed Grandma on the baggage cart too).

7-6-09 : Bailey & Tony's water fight.

7-6-09 : Where'd Bailey go?

7-7-09 : Tony & the fish he caught with watermelon at Clovis Point Park.

7-7-09 : Bailey sitting on the dock at the boat ramp on the lake in Indian Lakes where Tony set his little fish free.

7-10-09 : Bailey being Bailey.

7-12-09 : Bailey & her ponytail, not only did she let me put it up but she even kept it in for while!

7-12-09 : Tony giving Bailey a ride in the wheelbarrow.

We hope that you enjoyed the photo safari through our last month. Things have slowed down a little since GiGi & Uncle Brett returned to their respective homes and we are finally getting back into a routine of sorts. Hopefully this means that we will have some free time and can regularly update the blog.

Almost forgot, we went to the doctor for Bailey's 2 year check up on June 15th and Dr. Suarez said she is growing & developing just perfectly aside from some mild anemia. Here are her stats: 31 pounds (90%) & 36 inches tall (95%) with a head circumference of 19 inches. We also had our first dental cleaning at the pediatric dentist on July 7th. Bailey held her mouth open the whole time without any complaint which really Tony & I. To top of our month she began cutting her 19th tooth, the 2nd molar on the top right, this past Monday, July 13th.

Peace, Love & The Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

2009-06-10T21:12:00.003-05:00

This morning I thought we were going to stay around the lodge and go swimming and maybe fishing or for a hike but Mommy and Daddy had something else up their sleeve - the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. Mommy and Daddy said that they had vacationed in San Antonio before and had visited the Natural Bridge Caverns but hadn't had the time to visit the wildlife ranch which is right next door. They thought that I needed to be a little bigger to take a shot at the mile and a half walk you do in the caverns but figured that the wildlife ranch would be right up my alley.

Daddy and I started the morning by feeding the deer some feed (don't worry we weren't feeding them tostito's, just using the bag to carry the feed from the 50 lb bag we bought).

After feeding the deer we headed of to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, and African Safari Texas style (Mommy said it was a way larger scale of the YO Ranch safari).

Since you drive your own vehicle through the safari, Mommy and Daddy took me out of my carseat so I could throw feed to the animals.

Me looking out the back window at the longhorns & watusi which were walking by.

A young aoudad (goat) in a tree, I watched him jump up there from the ground!

Part of the way through the safari I crawled up front and sat on the armrest next to Daddy.

There were tons of babies out with their mommies - this wildebeast looked like she had had a pair of twins, neither one ever left her side!

About halfway through the safari I decided I wanted to give driving a try. Daddy controled the speed and kept his hands near the wheel but he actually let me steer!

A herd of scimitar horned oryx that we found.

Me looking out the window watching all the animals.

A mommy & baby blesbok.

Me leaning back to get a better view of the two white rhinocerous in thier pens.

A male ostrich with a herd of llamas behind him (if it looks like he's headed toward our truck, he was, he came and pecked at Daddy's window five or six times).

After we finished our safari, Mommy & I headed to find the gift shop because it housed the bathrooms!

Me, Daddy and a giraffe (Mommy & Daddy were amazed when we drove up to pay for our entrance into the ranch and I looked through the windshield and said 'giraffe').

Me and the goats at the petting zoo.

My first icee.

Me feeding a buck out of my bucket.

Me going back to Mommy & Daddy after chasing the ducks.

The deer got a little impatient while waiting for me to throw the feed out and decided to just go into the bag and get it herself.

Distracted by food this female deer let me pet her repeatedly.

Today was incredible! I got to see so many different types of animals right outside the window of our truck! If you are ever around the New Braunfels area I highly recommend that you stop by and visit the wildlife ranch, its awesome! I can't wait until we can go back, hopefully I'll be big enough that we can visit the Natural Bridge Caverns too!

Peace, love & the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch,
Bailey

Peace, Love & SeaWorld

2009-06-09T21:09:00.004-05:00

Today started off like any other day of vacation with the feeding of the deer but quickly changed as I found out what was in store. Today would be my first visit to SeaWorld San Antonio! I was so excited to see all of the fish, whales, dolphins, horses and all other animals that Mommy & Daddy showed me pictures of, that I didn't even want to stay and watch the deer eat.

Aunt Gail would be proud, instead of feeding the deer corn all the time Mommy & Daddy bought a bag of feed at a local store. This was the first time that we had tried the feed and I think that they liked it!

The mosaic at the entrance to SeaWorld showing the killer whale, Shamu, that I would get to see later in the day.

Me & Daddy getting up close and personal with a dolphin, if my arms were a little longer I could have petted him!

Me looking at all of the fish in the aquarium at the entrance to the Coral Reef exhibit.

I could of sat here all day watching the fishys swim round and round.

Me clapping for the beginning of the Shamu show, Believe!

Shamu jumping out of the water with one of the trainers on his nose, how cool is that!

Me blowing Shamu kisses.

Me feeding the statues of the killer whales a piece of my granola bar, I also shared my raisins!

Me, Daddy & my stuffed Shamu checking out the penguin exhibit.

After the penguin exhibit we headed to see the Lorakeets and the Seal & Sea Lion exhibit but I fell asleep on the way over there, guess I'll just have to catch them next time!

Me picking through the box of trail mix to find the chocolate pieces.

I had a really great time at Sea World and I can't wait to go back again soon (maybe when its a little cooler or I'm big enough to play in the water park). It was really neat to see all of the different types of animals that can be found on Earth. Mommy and Daddy said that their is another place where you can see all sorts of animals called a zoo (for animals) and an aquarium (for fishys). Maybe I'll get a chance to visit one of those later this summer!

Peace, love & SeaWorld,
Bailey

Peace, Love & New Braunfels

2009-06-08T20:06:00.008-05:00

This morning begun our exploration of the towns around Canyon Lake. Up until this point we have stayed pretty close to home but today we ventured out to explore some of the sights of New Braunfels and see what all the town has to offer.

We started off the morning by inventing a new game that Daddy and I call "fishing for Bailey's", if you watch the video you'll understand why! Then, before we could leave for the Children's Museum, we had to feed our friends the deer some corn. We spent a couple of hours at the Children's Museum and then headed to Landa Park to eat the lunch we packed and ride the mini train that runs through the park. From there we headed back to Canyon Lake to investigate the Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country. Not only did they have some really cool dinosaur tracks but they also had a room dedicated to the building of Canyon Dam, which was really interesting to Daddy, and another room that was all about the settlers and Native Americans, which Mommy & I really liked. After the Heritage Museum, we headed to a feed store to get something other than corn to feed the deer (its like chocolate for humans, tastes good but not much nutrition) and then Mommy, Daddy and I decided to go for a swim in Canyon Lake.

Fishing for Bailey's... our new game.

A really cute baby deer that came down with his mommy when she came to get something to eat. He was really little and wouldn't let me get very close to him.

Daddy feeding two bucks (male deer) out of one hand!

A buck eating out of my bucket while I reached to get more out of Daddy's bucket.

Me exploring the cabinets in our kitchen at the lodge.

Me & Daddy outside the Children's Musuem in New Braunfels.

Me driving the ambulance while Daddy rides shotgun.

Me checking Daddy out at the grocery store.

Me filling my basket with all the fruits & vegetables I could find.

Daddy & I exploring the water exhibit.

Me playing at the train exhibit.

Me pretending to be a bank teller.

Me test driving a kayak.

The engine of the mini train at Landa Park.

Me pointing to the water in the pool and asking if we could go fishing there.

Me enjoying the train ride through the park.

Me & Mommy on our train ride.

Daddy & I enjoying our post-train ride ice cream sandwich.

Acrocanthosaurus tracks (think of a T-Rex type carnivore).

Me listening to our guide, Toni, and looking at all the dinosaur tracks.

Iquanodon tracks (great big herbivore).

Some more Acrocanthosaurus tracks that have been colored in using a paste of charcoal and water (they are testing it to make sure it doesn't degrade the tracks).

After our swim I wanted to put on my hula skirt that came with one of my bathing suits and figured that since I was dressed, I would demonstrate my best hula dance. I think that I may need to get some lessons for Aunt Jocelin & McKenzie!

Daddy's use for a hula skirt.

I hope that you are enjoying my quick rehash of the days events as much as I enjoyed making the memories themselves. If you would like to visit any of the places I've mentioned just drop me a note and I'll make sure my Daddy gets you good directions!

Peace, love & New Braunfels,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Guadalupe River Fishing

2009-06-07T20:28:00.009-05:00

This morning everyone planned to get started bright and early since I normally wake up about 7:15am but when I didn't get up until 7:40 things got bumped back just a little. While Mommy & Daddy cooked breakfast, Uncle Ben & I took a stroll around the deck in our pj's. After we had filled our belly's with Daddy's delicious breakfast tacos, we headed out to the park at the bottom of Canyon Lake where the lake feeds into the Guadalupe River. While the boys jumped right into another chance to fish, Mommy, Aunt Erin & I decided to hike along the nature trail that was set up. By the time we convinced the boys to head for the lodge, there was time for a quick bite to eat and then it was time to say goodbye to Aunt Erin & Uncle Ben. I was super sad that they had to leave so soon but Mommy said we would see them again soon and I'm holding her to that! When I woke up from my nap, Mommy, Daddy and I decided to take a walk and this time Mommy was the one who wanted to take a dip in Canyon Lake.

Uncle Ben & I out for a morning stroll around the deck.

Aunt Erin, Mommy & I decided to walk down the nature trail that follows the Guadalupe River right under the Canyon Lake Dam while Daddy & Uncle Ben went fishing. One of the stops on the nature trail was a meditation point, where I spotted Daddy fishing on the river below (can you find him in the background).

A close-up of my Daddy fishing.

Daddy & Uncle Ben fishing. Although this trip turned out unlucky for Daddy, Uncle Ben did manage to catch one little fishy! Guess Daddy will just have to try again later in the week!

Mommy & I on one of the benches at the meditation point.

Mommy & I headed down the trail (notice the unplanned matching outfits).

A close-up of me while I was playing down by the river.

Me carrying one of the frogs which adorn the front step of our lodge around while waiting for Daddy to finish cooking lunch.

Video of me & my new favorite game... throwing rocks into bodies of water!

Daddy & I on the shore while Mommy stood in the water and debated taking a dip.

Mommy helping me to walk out in the water. This was a big surprise for all of us, since I have been pretty hesitant to get into any body of water lately (the bathtub, the pool, the lake before today).

Mommy giving me "good job" hugs for walking out in the water to her.

Mommy & I smiling post-dip (Mommy went for more of a swim).

I had a great time swimming with Mommy and I'm pretty sure that I've gotten over whatever hesitations that I had about water (although I'm still not 100% sold on showers). Stay tuned for whatever adventures await us tomorrow!

Peace, love & guadalupe river fishing,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Canyon Lake Explorations

2009-06-06T20:03:00.008-05:00

Today officially begins my families exploration of the area which we will call home for the next week. Since Aunt Erin & Uncle Ben showed up last night after I went to bed, I spent a couple minutes this morning reaquainting myself with them. Once that was out of the way, I jumped straight into my plans for the day. First on the list, see what I look like when jumping on the bed (the wall of mirrors at the head of the two beds made this super easy not to mention tons of fun). Next, all of us headed out to explore the shoreline around the lodge and see if there were any easy spots to get in the water (there weren't) and if there were any decent fishing spots (there were). After that, we piled in the car and headed to the Canyon Lake Dam to explore. This took us up to lunch & nap time, then we filled our afternoon with some fishing, some chatting, some bocce ball and a bunch of deer feeding. Here are some pictures to walk you through our adventures.

A good morning bounce on the bed.

Looking at the deer which were walking around downstairs.

Daddy trying out the water in Canyon Lake. We walked down past the end of the closed boat ramp which is next to where we are staying.

Me & Daddy in front of a map of Canyon Lake next to the boat ramp.

Uncle Ben, Me & Daddy throwing rocks into Canyon Lake from the shoreline straight down from the main lodge.

Uncle Ben, Me & Daddy headed back up the hill to Mommy & Aunt Erin.

Me & Aunt Erin

Me telling Uncle Ben, Aunt Erin & Daddy what we are going to do next.

Me in the tree above the picnic tables where Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Ben & Aunt Erin stopped to chat in the shade.

A couple of deer that came by to see what we were doing.

Me feeding a deer a carrot from my hand while Uncle Ben looks on.

The view from the parking lot to the left side of the Canyon Lake Dam.

A view of the Canyon Lake Dam from the parking lot.

Daddy, Me, Uncle Ben & Aunt Erin walking down the hill next to the dam to get to Canyon Lake.

Mommy & I throwing rocks into Canyon Lake below the damn, while testing out the water.

Daddy & Uncle Ben fishing out past the end of the closed boat ramp, just down from the lodge.

Daddy's big catch (no, it's not a fish)!

Daddy juggling bocce balls while holding a beer in his mouth.

Me chasing a pair of ducks.

A shot of all the bocce balls in play. Erin, in blue, won the round and the girls eventually beat the boys 5 to 3.

My silly Daddy trying to help his bocce ball to pass Mommy's so the girls wouldn't win the round.

Daddy after the boys bocce ball loss and just before his first dip in Canyon Lake.

Me & a deer getting used to each others antics.

Me feeding another deer a cherry tomato by hand.

As you can see we had quite a busy day. I'm so thankful that Aunt Erin and Uncle Ben could be here to experience this with us. I know that tomorrow holds some more fishing for the boys but I guess we will all have to wait and see what adventures await us!

Peace, love & Canyon Lake explorations,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Our First Family Vacation

2009-06-05T20:24:00.006-05:00

Today offically begins my first family vacation! We have visited other places as a family but it has always been for a family function or for a wedding or that sort of thing. This marks the first time that my Mommy, Daddy & I have taken a trip someplace where we don't have to do anything or see anyone. I get a whole week of one-on-one time with my Mommy & Daddy, how cool is that! Of course before any vacation gets started you have to get everything packed & in the truck. Mommy packed us up this morning, while doing a last minute load of laundry, and Daddy spent most of his time getting the truck we weren't taking to fit into our garage. After three coolers, two bags of clothes, a toiletry bag, a fan, a couple fishing poles, a box of towels, a box of pots & pans, a small bag of toys and a computer bag... we were ready to roll.

Just in case anyone was curious, yes the Ranger did fit inside our garage. It took a storage space at the local U-haul and some persistance, but it did fit (the last time it was in the garage was was before I was born when Hurricane Rita threatened Houston).

Me sleeping as we leave College Station. I only slept for 20 minutes out of the 3 hour ride because I wanted to take in all of the scenery.

Daddy driving

The sign of the place where we are staying as seen from the deck outside our front door.

The scenery from the deck out the side door of our room.

My first deer sighting (I wouldn't let Mommy & Daddy put shorts on me after my diaper change).

A video of my first shower experience and yes its mildly embarassing. I had to take a shower since our bathtub only runs water through the shower head.

Me enjoying the shower, it was kinda like playing in the rain.

Shower smiles

I didn't really notice it but apparently our shower is only for short people, look where the shower head comes up to on my Daddy!

So far our vacation is off to a really good start. We got here safe and sound and Aunt Erin and Uncle Ben will be here after I go to bed. I'm pretty sure that Mommy and Daddy have some really cool things planned for this week, like a trip to SeaWorld, aside from the hiking, swimming and fishing which are right outside our doors.

Peace, love & our first family vacation,
Bailey

Peace, Love & The Children's Museum

2009-06-04T19:59:00.000-05:00

Today Mommy and I took a trip into downtown Bryan to meet the MOMs group at The Children's Museum. We met several nice Mommy's and some really sweet kids and I had a ton of fun playing in all of the exhibits! There was a music room, a painting room, an ambulance/ doctor's office room, a grocery store, a puppet show room, a room with a big tree and a place with a rocket that you could climb up and down. Everything was so interactive and I never once got in trouble for making a mess or playing with something, it was as if everything was made especially for me!

The sign out front of the museum, I had a blast running up and down the ramp and even gave a couple of high fives to the decorative hands.

The grocery store was one of my favorite places. I loved filling up my basket and then going through the checkout line. Another little girl was being the cashier so I even had a chance to pay my bill like a big girl!

This is my finished grocery cart, all fruits & vegetables plus one can of beans.

My other favorite room was the music room. I really loved spinning this wheel. It made up the center part of the guitar that had been painted onto the wall.

Me playing the piano. This was super neat because my Mommy even played a little bit with me even though she said she was "really rusty", whatever that means.

Me posing for a quick picture while playing the piano.

I really like trains, so when I saw this one as we left The Children's Museum I had to get up close and personal with it. I tried to climb it but Mommy wouldn't let me. Mommy said that their were trains like this all over College Station and that they were all decorated differently, hopefully we can visit some more of them soon.

I had a blast at The Children's Museum and I can't wait until I get to go back and do some more exploring. I'm really glad that my Mommy found out about this MOMs group and I hope that I get to hang out with my new friends again really soon.

Peace, love & The Children's Museum,
Bailey

Peace, Love & A Rabbit

2009-06-03T22:55:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite things to do during the day is sit at my little drawing table next to the window in the dining room and look out the window and watch the birds. A couple weeks ago Mommy & Daddy bought a birdfeeder at walmart to "encourage" more birds to come closer to the window. So far the feeder has been a great success and I've seen lots of different birds, we've even seen a couple that Mommy & Daddy didn't know right off the bat. Imagine my surprise this morning when I looked out the window to see what birds were at the feeder and I saw a bunny rabbit! Silly rabbit, bird seed is for the birds!

Our bunny invader!

I didn't mind the bunny eating some of the food that the birds had dropped and the birds didn't really seem to mind either. I guess that they knew that they should have been less messy or maybe they just wanted to share with their friend. In either case, I guess one bird's trash is another bunny's breakfast!

Peace, love & a rabbit,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Our Trip to Houston

2009-06-02T22:37:00.007-05:00

Today Mommy, Daddy & I headed into Houston to visit with an old friend, Great Grandma KiKi, and to make a new friend, Baby Jacob. This morning Daddy and I went to my first day of summer Kindermusik and as soon as it was over we took off for Houston. Our first stop was at Eagles Trace to visit with Great Grandma KiKi. I brought her some bright flowers that I picked out at Hobby Lobby, everytime I see them they make me smile so I thought I'd bring Great Grandma KiKi a bouquet of smiles!

There is a little garden in front of Eagles Trace with tons of flowers and a cool fountain. We ran around for a little bit before heading inside to visit Great Grandma KiKi.

Me leading the way inside.

After our visit Mommy & Daddy let me run around in the garden a little before getting back in the truck to go see Baby Jacob.

Me getting to meet Baby Jacob for the first time, he was only three days old. Daddy and Uncle Clay were showing me how to touch Baby Jacob without hurting him.

Me watching Daddy hold Baby Jacob... he's super cute!

Me giving Baby Jacob a kiss on his head while Mommy holds him,

Aunt Carmen, Baby Jacob & Mommy (they have this same picture from when I was only four days old).

Proud mommies & their little ones - Aunt Carmen, Baby Jacob, Mommy & Me.

It was a whirlwind trip but we really enjoyed getting to see everyone and visit with them for a little bit. Hopefully we will get back to Houston soon to see Great Grandma KiKi and to play some more with Baby Jacob. I can't wait to teach him all the fun things I know!

Peace, love & our trip to Houston,
Bailey

Peace, Love & The Equestrian Show

2009-05-31T22:35:00.002-05:00

This morning Grandma & Grandaddy Doc picked me up bright and early for our coolest excursion yet! We went to the Special Olympics of Texas Equestrian Competition which is in town at the Brazos Expo Center for the weekend. Anyone who has spent any time around me lately knows that I am all about horseys, so when Grandma heard about this she thought it would be the perfect chance for me to see some of my favorite animals up close & personal. Although I was a little scared at first and didn't even want to be taken out of the stroller, as I got accustomed to the sights and the smells, I warmed up to the idea of getting closer to these beautiful creatures. Mommy and Daddy had to get some work done at home so they weren't able to come with us and boy did they miss out!

Grandma & the horsey's owners showing me how to pet it & how gentle the horsey was.

Me pointing at one of the horsey's.

Me feeding one of the horsey's some hay from the bunch in its stall. The horsey ate right from my hand, how cool is that!

Trying to get a look at every horsey I can from my perch on Grandma.

I had a great morning at the Equestrian Show and I can't wait to see more horseys up close and personal. My friend Porkchop at the fire station has a horsey & Daddy said we would go out and visit him this summer, maybe by then I will be ready to pet the horsey or even ride him! Wouldn't that be neat.

Peace, love & the equestrian show,
Bailey

Peace, Love & A New Pool

2009-05-28T19:08:00.002-05:00

A week or so ago Mommy & Daddy purchased a new swim pool for this summer (since last years had a hole in it) and for my birthday party which is quickly approaching. Today while Daddy was at work I pulled it out and Mommy and I decided it was time to blow it up. After about 15 minutes of huffing and puffing Mommy pulled out the air compressor and we were ready to add water in no time. My new pool has three rings for its sides and since we were just filling it up for the afternoon, Mommy only filled it with enough water for it to be 3/4 of the way up the first ring. It was plenty of water for me to practice blowing bubbles, kicking, and splashing!

Blowing bubbles

A close up of all of my curls which have been growing like crazy since January.

Playing horsey on the side of the pool.

Practicing kicking or maybe it was splashing...

Getting a drink from the hose.

A quick video of me playing horsey, blowing bubbles & running around in the pool.

I'm so excited that summer is here and all of my summer toys are getting dusted off and ready for the summer season. I'll have to add a video or some pictures at the end of the summer so you can see how much my swimming skills have progressed.

Peace, love & a new pool,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Big Wheels

2009-05-26T17:21:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Grandma & Grandaddy surprised me with my very first big wheel and I aboslutely love it, even though my feet don't completely reach the pedals yet. Recently Grandaddy started riding his bicycle & pulling me behind him in my little buggy when we go to the park and ever since he started doing that I been really into bicycles and my big wheel, of course. I don't even mind wearing my Dora the Explorer helmet anymore!

Me trying to get the hang of pedaling my big wheel.

Stopping to look both ways before exiting the garage.

I can't wait until I am big enough to pedal my big wheel but until then I'm okay with Grandma, Grandaddy or whomever else may be handy pushing me!

Peace, love & big wheels,
Bailey

Peace, Love & My McKenzie Playdate

2009-05-23T19:55:00.005-05:00

This afternoon Mommy, Daddy & I got special treat when Uncle Canaan & Aunt Jocelin stopped by with McKenzie for an impromtu playdate. Mommy & Daddy were glad to get some extra time to catch up with their friends & McKenzie & I had great time playing with & checking each other out. I had a great time showing McKenzie all of my cool tools and I know that she really enjoyed playing with my little rubber ducky that is dressed up like a cow.

Daddy, Me, McKenzie & Uncle Canaan

As you can see, I was more than a little upset when I found out that McKenzie had to leave. Mommy & Daddy tried everything to get me to stop crying for the picture & in the end just ended up taking the picture anyways. After the picture, Mommy had a chance to explain that we would see McKenzie another time but that they had somewhere they needed to go. I was ok after that. I even gave Aunt Jocelin & Uncle Canaan a hug before they left and I gave McKenzie a big hug & a kiss before she got in her car seat. Mommy & Daddy said that maybe in September we can go visit them in El Paso... I can't wait!

Peace, love & my McKenzie playdate,
Bailey

Peace, Love & A Party For Friends

2009-05-22T22:18:00.004-05:00

I'm super excited to report that I got the chance to meet McKenzie for the first time tonight! McKenzie & her Mommy & Daddy came to College Station (from El Paso) for the long Memorial Day Weekend. We kicked things off this evening with a party at Uncle Kevin's house. It was tons of fun because all of us kiddos got to play together & stay up way past our bedtime!

Me & Ty discovering chalk.

Me taking the chalk for a walk... we had finished playing with it so I think I was trying to figure out where to put it away, but I'm not totally sure about that!

Ty & I putting the chalk into the cup holder of one of Mommy & Daddy's chairs.

Aunt Jocelin & McKenzie (9 months) - don't you just love McKenzie's pigtails!

Mommy & Daddy weren't really focused on taking pictures of me playing with all my friends but I promise that Gabby & Nicholas were there too! I had a ton of fun playing with everyone & can't wait until we have another party, for whatever the reason... turns out that when you get a bunch of firefighters kids together, they can have just as much fun as their daddies.

Peace, love & a party for friends,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Backyard Fun

2009-05-18T20:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday after we got home from eating at C&J's with everyone, Mommy, Daddy & I decided that since it was such a beautiful day we needed to spend some time outdoors; so we grabbed the dogs, the camera and headed for the backyard.

Me helping Daddy push the wheelbarrow full of compost to fill in holes.

Posing for a quick pic.

I didn't want my picture taken but that didn't stop Mommy from clicking away.

Rolling down the hill in the backyard.

Me & Abby

Daddy helping me to practice my forward rolls.

Taking a quick snooze with Daddy in the shade by the fence.

Me & Mommy

Mommy & Daddy

Family picture - me, Mommy & Daddy

Helping Daddy push the empty wheelbarrow back to the garage.

What a great day! Not only did I get to see Busia & Dza Dza plus a bunch of other family members (too numerous to name here) but I had time to relax with Mommy & spend some quality time with Daddy. What a glorious day!!

Peace, love & backyard fun,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Benjamin's Baptism

2009-05-17T14:46:00.006-05:00

Today was my cousin Benjamin's baptism, so this morning Busia & Dza Dza drove in from Bremond to drive with Mommy, Daddy & I to Plantersville. Benjamin was baptized in the same church that his Mommy & Daddy got married in and where his sister, Jolie, was baptized isn't that neat! The church is an old-fashioned painted church that was beautifully restored only a couple of years ago. The stained glass inside is goregous & the painting was absolutely breathtaking. This was the first time that I had been to the church & I enjoyed every moment from when I walked in the front doors of the church to the pastries we shared with the parishoners after the service. There were a couple of other children that were baptized with Benjamin including two girls... one's name was Bailey & the other little girls middle name was Rose, just like me!

The stained glass above the entry to the church.

Godparents Mike & Theresa with Brittanie, Benjamin & Andy

The priest & Benjamin

The ivy covered cross in front of the church.

Me pointing at the cows in the pasture across a little dirt road next to the church.

Me & Daddy

Me & Mommy

Mommy & Daddy

Me playing in the fountain in front of the church (if you were wondering, yes I am wearing croc's with my Easter dress... they are the only shoes I wear)!

Me picking leaves out of the fountain.

The mass for Benjamin's baptism was beautiful & the preacher was pretty funny so this mornings expedition was definitely a success. Plus we got to see loads of family members & were able to catch up with everyone while we dined at C& J's bar-b-que in Bryan.

Peace, love & Benjamin's baptism,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Pedicures

2009-05-16T20:52:00.008-05:00

Guess what, while Daddy was fixing the sink in the bathroom Mommy kept me occupied by giving me my very first pedicure.

Bracing myself against Daddy's leg so I can blow on my toenails to help them dry faster.

The finished product - ain't it cute how our toenails match!

I can't wait until I get my next pedicure, hopefully I won't have to wait until Daddy has to fix the sink again!

Peace, love & pedicures,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Fingerpainting

2009-05-16T16:13:00.003-05:00

I love to fingerpaint. I would fingerpaint everyday, all day if Mommy & Daddy would let me. This afternoon when I woke up from my nap, it was pouring rain outside which meant we couldn't go to the park or the pool like Mommy & Daddy and had promised. To keep me occupied after my snack Mommy pulled out my fingerpaints & turned the kitchen tabel into my canvas. Since Mommy & Daddy won't let me stand on the kitchen chairs, I pushed my little table up next to the kitchen table & stood on it to do my painting.

Do I really have to stop painting to take a picture?

A finger painting smile!

Dirty little fingerpainting fingers (I wasn't leaving them on the table long enough for Mommy to take a picture, so Daddy put his hands down first to show me what to do).

Palms up!

Mommy & I are getting better at not making an enormous mess when we fingerpaint so hopefully we can start fingerpainting more often.

Peace, love & fingerpainting,
Bailey

Peace, Love & My First Boat Ride

2009-05-10T22:04:00.002-05:00

Today Mommy, Daddy and I took a ride to Conroe to visit Uncle Lewis, Aunt Sheridan and baby Robert Thomas. When we got there Uncle Lewis had grilled fajitas so we had something to eat & then headed out on their boat to cruise the lake and soak up some sun.

Uncle Lewis taking Robert Thomas (4 months) for his first dip in Lake Conroe.

Aunt Sheridan & Robert Thomas enjoying walking around in the water.

Me & Daddy!

Aunt Sheridan & Rober Thomas looking cool in their shades!

Aunt Sheridan, Robert Thomas, Daddy & Uncle Lewis.

Me climbing the side of the boat (yes, I attempt to climb everything)!

Me showing Robert Thomas where his belly button is.

Me & Daddy playing on the bank since the water was a little chilly for me.

Me & Mommy heading back to the dock.

I really enjoyed my first ride on a motor boat or any boat for that matter! I hope that we get the chance to go back and visit again when the water is warmer so Robert Thomas and I can play some more and I can show him how to kick in the water.

Peace, love & my first boat ride,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Birthday Party Fun

2009-05-09T18:54:00.002-05:00

This afternoon I went to Kaylie's 2nd birthday party out at her grandparents house. It was lots of fun! They had great snacks, a supersized play set, an oh-so-yummy cake & a really cute gift bag that Kaylie's mom embroidered my initials on! I had a great time playing with all of the other kiddos my size.

Dusting myself off after test driving the slide!

Swinging with one of the other party goers!

Playing in the sandbox with one of the sets of twins that was at the party. I had never met twins before and there were three sets at the party, how cool is that!

At the top of the slide...it was super tall, had a twist & was so much fun I went down it something like 30 times!

Climbing up the ladder to get to the slide (I only climbed up the rock wall once)!

Climbing up the ladder

Me & Kaylie on the double swing.

Me motoring on the double swing by myself.

I had a great time at Kaylie's birthday party. Seeing all the fun that everyone had plus the yummy cake, I can't wait for my party!

Peace, love & birthday party fun,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Big Girl PJs

2009-05-08T21:44:00.005-05:00

Today was a super special day because I graduated from my footy pajamas to big girl pjs! We went shopping for them the other day but I had to wait until Mommy had a chance to wash them before I could wear them to bed. Mommy & Daddy couldn't believe how grown up I looked when I tried them on for the first time after my bath tonight. Along with a picture of me all grown up in my big girl pjs is a video Mommy took this after noon of me walking around in her chacos. For the last couple of days I've been trying on and walking in Mommy's chacos whenever I can find them. Today Daddy helped me out by tightening them up so I wouldn't trip over them quite so often.

Me successfully mastering how to walk in Mommy's chacos.

Me in my big girl pj's ready to brush my teeth.

The picture only shows one of my three new sets of pjs. This is one of the sets that Mommy picked out for me. I picked out a nightgown with Dora the Explorer on it & when I wear it I'll have to get Mommy to take a picture so I can post it, its super cute & totally my favorite!

Peace, love & big girl pjs,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Spaghetti Flashbacks

2009-05-07T21:36:00.003-05:00

I know that I showed pictures of my love of spaghetti last week but Mommy found a random picture of me eating spaghetti when I was super tiny the other day & so I thought we should take some comparison shots! Since tonight was leftover night & I had spaghetti, the timing was perfect!

Me loving my spaghetti on August 26, 2008!

Me loving my spaghetti tonight... notice the noodle stuck to my chest right above my shirt, I was saving it for later!

A close up of spaghetti smiles!

I'm sure there will be many more meetings of me & spaghetti, but hopefully as I get better with my fork there will be less mess and thus fewer photo opportunities!

Peace, love & spaghetti flashbacks,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Hiding Places

2009-05-04T21:29:00.003-05:00

Today Mommy, Daddy & I had a nice relaxing day around the house. While playing a revised version of "Duck, Duck, Goose" with Daddy, I came up with a great hiding place & thought I'd share it with anyone out there who might fit... in case you are wondering, my Mommy & Daddy didn't fit, we tried!

Me in my hiding spot. Although I got in all by myself, I was too busy posing for a picture to close the door & Daddy found me!

Me giving Mommy kisses after she failed in her attempt to get into my hiding spot.

Daddy & my self-portrait

Proof that I don't always smile for the camera!

If you get the chance to use a similar hiding spot in your house or have an idea that I could use, please let me know! I'm always looking for new places to keep my Daddy on his toes... one day I'll find a spot that he won't think of!

Peace, love & hiding spots,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Creative Wrapping Paper

2009-04-30T21:10:00.002-05:00

The other day when it came time to wrap my present for Ty's birthday party Mommy realized that she didn't have any appropriate wrapping paper. Luckily she had bought some plain brown paper to wrap packages that she had to mail via the post office so we ran over to Grandma & Grandaddy's to use the finger paints and this is what happened!

My present for Kaylie's party next week.

I had so much fun doing my presents for Kaylie & Ty that Mommy let me decorate the present that we got for my cousin Isabella for her birthday at the end of May.

Mommy said she wasn't sure where she got the idea but I'm glad she had her ephipany when she did. Not only do I really enjoy decorating the packages but everyone at Ty's party thought it was super neat (sorry there are no pictures of Ty's package but Mommy forgot to take one before I gave the present to Ty). To top it off, Mommy & Daddy even got me some more finger paints so I could have different colors! I had tons of fun mixing them to decorate Isabella's present.

Peace, love & creative wrapping paper,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Spaghetti

2009-04-29T21:13:00.002-05:00

Mommy said I needed to post some photos of me & the spaghetti dinner we had this evening, although I'm not really sure what the big deal is. You see, Grandaddy, Mommy & Daddy all love spaghetti and yet they rarely fix it because of the "clean-up". Apparently enough time had passed since the last time we had spaghetti for dinner that Mommy & Daddy had forgotten about what a mess I make of myself, so tonight we embarked on another spaghetti adventure!

Me smiling at Daddy right after we said grace and in case you had any doubts, it doesn't take me very long to get dirty, no matter what the medium!

Making a spaghetti fishy face!

Me realizing what a mess I'd made of myself.

After dinner it was straight into the bath... here I'm cleaning my hands before tackling my face!

I always love spaghetti night but I'm starting to understand why Mommy & Daddy don't make it that often. Maybe I can convince Grandma & Grandaddy to make it when I stay over there in between the times that Mommy & Daddy make it, then I'd get spaghetti way more often... now there's an idea!

Peace, love & spaghetti,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Teeth

2009-04-28T22:15:00.003-05:00

It's official! We have two confirmed sightings of what I have known all day... my lower right 2nd molar has broken through. Now if I could just do something about the top right or the lower left ones. Just wanted to let everyone know.

Peace, love & teeth,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Off-Road Fun

2009-04-26T20:56:00.006-05:00

Today I went to Ty's 2nd birthday party, he is the son of one of the fire fighters that works with Daddy. We got there a little late because we went to have dinner with Grandma & Grandaddy Doc and the Rosettis first but that just meant that the party was in full swing by the time I arrived. They had the slip & slide out which Ty loved but I stayed away from plus a fire truck from the local volunteer fire station had come by. Soon after we arrived Ty received one of his gifts - a new Ford F-150 truck! It was really neat & he took turns giving everyone rides!

My first ride in Ty's new F-150

This was the first birthday party that I've been to that I can remember & I had a lot of fun playing with everyone & seeing all of the neat gifts that Ty received. Makes me really excited to go to Kaylie's birthday party in a couple of weeks & even more excited for my birthday party in June!

Peace, love & off-road fun,
Bailey

Peace, Love & My Original Carseat

2009-04-24T22:34:00.005-05:00

I know that these pics may look like a bit of a flashback but I promise that there is a funny story that goes with the rewind. So this is my original car seat, you know the one Mommy & Daddy brought me home from the hospital in! Somewhere around the eight month mark I outgrew it and since then Mommy has been using it as a prop to display the baby blankets she makes. When Daddy pulled it out for the Aggie Moms Boutique last weekend (the 17th & 18th) Mommy noticed that it had gotten pretty grimmy sitting uncovered in the garage, so on Monday she washed it.

All week I've been trying to get into it... I've climbed boxes to try and get in it, I also pulled it down off the boxes it was on top of and tried to get in it. Today all my trials paid off when Mommy pulled it down to put the cover back on and finally conceeded to letting me get in it. This wouldn't be a big deal if I hadn't told Mommy "Seat, truck" after getting in and then attempted to strap myself in. I would have succeeded if there had been a litte bit more slack in the straps!

My first time to ever be strapped into a carseat.

Ready to leave the hospital & take my first ride in the truck!

Today... is this a carseat or a jungle gym?

Trying to buckle myself in (even though Mommy let out all the slack I still couldn't fit my shoulder in to the chest part or buckle the straps around my legs).

Smiling for the camera!

Ever since I let her snap these shots Mommy keeps saying "it really puts into perspective how much you've grown". I'm seven weeks from being two.... have I really changed that much???

Peace, love & my original carseat,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Mischief

2009-04-21T21:42:00.004-05:00

Today was the perfect day for mischief! As a rule, I normally try to get into as much mischief as possible but today offered up more opportunities than most. What is a girl to do?!?

Me hanging underneath the tables Mommy has set up in the living room to make blankets for the Lil' Bit Boutique. The tables definitely add a new element to my play space! I can't wait until Mommy doesn't have fleece all over them so we can make them into a fort!

Mommy mowed the lawn today at noon and left her yard shoes in the kitchen. I don't think that she was expecting that I would try them on, let alone walk around the kitchen in them.

Headed toward the refrigerator. Good thing Mommy's shoes were big on me because I had them on the wrong feet - Oopsy!

Pausing at the fridge for a photo op!

The audio is a little odd on the video because Mommy was on the phone with Aunt Erin. So feel free to watch without the sound on.

I know that the two little episodes I've just showed you may not seem like all that much mischief. To put it into perspective you should know that all of these pictures were taken within a two hour span and both occured while my Mommy was on the phone & Daddy was on shift at the fire house. Plus, I thought up both activities 100% on my own, after all a girl has to keep herself entertained!

Peace, love & mischief,
Bailey

Peace, Love & A Speed Square

2009-04-20T21:23:00.003-05:00

Lately Daddy & I have been doing lots of construction while Mommy has been busy doing Lil' Bit Boutique stuff. Today I set out to investigate the pile of boards that Mommy, Daddy and I collected yesterday while Daddy finished installing the pavestone border around the air conditioning unit. Daddy paused long enough to run inside and snag the camera from Mommy and snap these pictures before getting back to work.

Me with my pencil & trusty speed square.

Taking a break from the speed square to measure another board with the tape measure.

Mommy & Daddy constantly marvel at how I suddenly know how to do something. For some reason they don't quite understand that you only have to show me something once, even if I'm not paying close attention when you show me. I'll be the first to admit that good or bad, I'm a total sponge!

Peace, love & a speed square,
Bailey

Peace, Love & The Doggy Door

2009-04-19T21:57:00.003-05:00

Since the weather has begun to grow warmer Mommy & Daddy have taken to leaving the back door open so that the puppies can go in & out freely throughout the day. This also means that I can come and go into the backyard as I please. Although I am tall enough now that I can unlock & open the screendoor to get outside, I'm not quite tall enough to open it to come inside. That means that if I want to come inside I use the doggy door, thankfully the puppies showed me how.

I tried to follow Daddy when he came inside to get the camera. Since I was snacking on raisins coming in wasn't my top priority and I hung out halfway in & halfway out of the doggy door long enough for Daddy to snap a couple pics.

Daddy eventually got tired of holding the doggy door flap open so I made the decision to come inside. I did pause long enough while coming in to smile for a picture!

Trying to get Daddy to stop taking pictures & come outside to enjoy the beautiful day with me.

Peace, love & the doggy door,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Lipstick

2009-04-16T21:19:00.004-05:00

Today Busia & Dza Dza made a special trip to College Station so Busia could take me to Kindermusik at 1030am & babysit me while Mommy got her allergy shots at 130pm. While Busia & I were at Kindermusik I kept trying to get into Busia's purse to get her lipstick, comb & compact. So when Mommy picked us up to take us home, Busia decided help me put on a little lipstick. During the drive Busia & Mommy got to talking and failed to notice that I had taken the top off of Busia's lipstick & was attempting to put on more lipstick by myself. When Busia saw what I was doing and alerted my mom, they both started laughing! Then to top it off Mommy reached for her camera instead of trying to find something to get the lipstick off my face!

Since Mommy was driving, Busia took a picture for prosperity.

Then Busia lent me her compact so I could check out my handiwork!

When we got back to the house we had to show Dza Dza, who had followed us home from Kindermusik, what I had done. Then an hour later, when Daddy got home for lunch from the fire field, we all had to go through the pictures again. You would think that I was the first little one to get into their grandmothers lipstick from the way everyone has been acting!

Peace, love & lipstick,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Playing Horsey

2009-04-13T21:09:00.002-05:00

Wanted to share a quick picture of my Daddy & I playing horsey! Don't you see why I love it when he's home!

Me & Daddy playing horsey!

Izzy decided that Daddy & I shouldn't be the only ones playing & wanted in on the action!

Peace, love & playing horsey,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Blessing The Easter Basket

2009-04-11T20:22:00.003-05:00

This morning was an exciting day in our house. Today at noon was the blessing of the Easter basket & the official end of lent, that means Daddy could have Dr. Pepper again! To finish preparing our basket we spent the morning boiling the Polish sausage that Busia brought us, making cupcakes and putting other odds & ends together for our basket. Last year Daddy worked the Saturday before Easter so this year was my first Easter Basket Blessing Ceremony. The blessing of the Easter Basket is a Polish tradition that many in my famliy grew up practicing; including my Daddy, Uncle Paul, Busia, GiGi & Grandma.

Daddy trying to get me to try the cupcake mix. Unlike my Mommy & Daddy, I just wanted to wait to enjoy the finished product.

Daddy trying to teach me how to lick the cupcake mix off of my lip!

Examining one of the Easter eggs that Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Grandaddy & I dyed yesterday evening.

"Am I supposed to eat it?"

Taking all of the colored Easter eggs out of the carton so I can decorate them with my Easter egg stickers.

When the stickers did not stick to the Easter eggs, Mommy & Daddy opted to let me draw on them with Sharpie markers.

One of Bailey's masterpieces.

The finished product! Our Easter basket had Dr. Pepper for Daddy, colored Easter eggs, boiled Polish sausage, dewberry jelly, a pineapple, Gummi Bears for Bailey & King Hawaiian rolls.

A traditional Easter basket brought for blessing contains eggs, breads, meats, sweets & dairy or other foods which are given up for the season of Lent. I know that our basket was a little unconventional but I'm excited that I got the chance to experience this tradition first hand. If you are interested in coming with us next year be sure to let my Mommy & Daddy know, we'd love the company!

Peace, love & blessing the Easter basket,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Making Salad

2009-04-10T20:00:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite things to do nowadays is help make dinner. Since I'm not quite old enough to help with the grill, oven or stove, I usually help with making the salad. Tonight we were over at Grandma & Grandaddy's so I helped Grandaddy wash, tear & spin dry the lettuce.

Me giving Mommy the "look"
(aka Mom will you please stop taking pictures so I can get back to washing & tearing the lettuce and then putting it in the salad spinner).

Grandaddy holding the salad spinner while I spin!

After I helped spin the lettuce dry, I helped by adding the peppers, raisins & feta cheese! Grandma, Grandaddy & Daddy have definitely helped me develop a love of cooking, Uncle Brett will be so proud!! I'm sure that I'll be helping make the main dish in no time!

Peace, love & making salad,
Bailey

Peace, Love & The Wet Swiffer

2009-04-09T20:19:00.000-05:00

Tonight after my bath I still had some spare energy so I decided to help Mommy & Daddy clean before I headed off to bed.

The vacuum wasn't out so I used what I could find to help clean the carpet in Mommy & Daddy's room.

It was pretty tough to pull the wet swiffer back away from the dresser.

Silly smiles while pushing the wet swiffer.

Finally out of Mommy & Daddy's room and onto the wood floors (it was much easier to clean out here).

I had a really good time helping Mommy & Daddy to make a couple of rooms in the house pretty & clean. At least I found a chore that I can help out with!

Peace, love & the wet swiffer,
Bailey