The Bailey Chronicles

I set us up with Portrait Innovations to get our pictures done for Christmas cards this year.  I have decided after this experience that I will not do studio photos again.  Or at least not for a while.  Not because I didn't have some cute pics to choose from, but because of the following reasons:  Even though we had an appointment we still had to wait on a studio room to become available... my 2 yr old was in good spirits upon arrival but by the time we finally had our studio she was in mid tantrum,  she desperately wanted to play with the other children getting their photos taken... which is not appropriate when they are in the middle of a shoot, the location we went to was in West Plano and there were way too many uptight snooty Plano Moms in there that were hard to ignore, but really the biggest let down was that they didn't have an option for me to just buy the disc so that I don't have to purchase a million of the same image... I mean really who wants so many of the same photo???  Makes me think I should have my own studio room with cool lighting... how do I get one of those I wonder??  The cutest image was of a santa hand holding a plate of milk and cookies with Bailey in her xmas pjs reaching for them and looking up as if she was actually looking at Santa so that is the one that I have 40 prints of.  But I also ordered xmas cards from them that have three images... the one I just mentioned, one of her crying because that is how the photo shoot went and it made me laugh, and one of our family where Bailey is looking super happy, John is looking cute and I, well I just look extra fat in the face because I was in an awkward pose and trying to see around Bailey so it brought out an extra chin... nice.  But the whole point of dragging us all down to the studio was to get a descent family photo...  I should have just had Candi do it!  Want to see them???  You'll just have to wait until they arrive in your mailbox :) 

We got home and I felt like Bailey needed some good creative fun for being dragged through that process.  So I set her up with some of the leftover craft paints from her Olivia party and some card stock in her high chair to make some one of a kind Bailey hand painted Christmas cards.  And I snapped some photos but she didn't mind this time because she was a busy little B painting away!

For Bailey's 2nd birthday I went all out on her Olivia the Pig theme.  I crafted some awesome piggy party hats, a really cool Happy Birthday banner... gosh I wish I had a cricut machine!  and set up three tables.

Table 1:  Nacho bar w/ queso, taco meat, RED salsa, RED and Black chips (and some normal ones), sour cream, jalapenos, guacamole.  The nacho bar was mostly for the adults... a nice change after eating turkey all weekend. and for the kids we had PB&J sandwiches cut into star shapes with RED strawberry jelly, a fruit tray, and Pigs n' a blanket (all beef little smokies, so no pigs were hurt in the making of this buffet).  Olivia Party hats each in its own special design, and awesome RED and WHITE striped cups with twisty straws for each of the littles to enjoy juice, water or milk.    

Table 2:  Present table with Bailey picture books for guests to view and RED and WHITE striped party bags.  Party bags were filled with Olivia coloring pages printed out from the Nick Jr web page, play doh, Crayons with Olivia sticker that said thank you for celebrating Bailey's 2nd bday, and Olivia stickers.  Guests were also encouraged to fill up their bags with treats from the dessert table.

Once it began to get dark it was too cold for outdoor play.  We brought everyone in for the birthday girl to be sung to and to blow out her candle, to eat cupcakes which each child had a definite preference for which animal they would like to eat on their cupcakes, and a few tears where shed over the wrapper removals because they liked how pretty they were LOL.  Bailey had figured out the whirly pops at this point and preferred them over a cupcake.  Then we opened gifts!  She received lots of crayons, coloring books, baby dolls and Olivia loot from all of her sweet friends!  Bailey passed out at 7:30 that night and slept all night long.  According to the other parents, their kids were out by the time they got home.  Yes, I went overboard.  But everything went exactly as I imagined.  The kids were super excited about each piece the party had to offer and that made me happy.  But I was most pleased with how super excited Bailey was throughout the party and how much fun she seemed to be having.  Even though she will not likely remember this particular party I know that it was her best night that she's had of her life so far.... and that's how parties should be.    

Dear Bailey,

On Thanksgiving day you turned 2 years old, and truly you are our biggest blessing to be Thankful for!  We have experienced a lot together over the course of this year.  You learned to walk fairly quickly after your first birthday, it was an overnight transition really.  You took your first steps several different times throughout the day and by the next day you were walking all over the place like a pro.  You could turn corners, stop regain your balance, pick things up and carry them... you just seem so fearless, cautious but fearless.  

You overcame your fear of grass shortly after Easter.  For the longest time if we tried to put you in the grass your legs would fly up over your head (you're very flexible) and you would try to climb up us like a monkey.  We took you to the arboretum where the grass is pleasantly soft, bright green and cut short and after a while you began to warm up to it, eventually kicking your sandals off and running through the fields bare foot.  And now you love playing in our backyard, running, and chasing bouncy balls and footballs.   One day I spread out a king sized soft blue blanket in the grass and you rolled around snuggling that blanket and looked up at the clouds for over an hour in pure joy.  

A blanket in the grass is your happy place and now you take great pleasure in noticing the things in the sky like the clouds, stars, and the moon which you think is a ball.  You love balloons, but find them even more entertaining when you set them free and watch them drift up into the sky.  We first discovered freeing the balloons after Ava's birthday party this summer, but more recently I took you to an arts festival where the flower shop gave you a balloon.  When I tried to tie it to the stroller or to your wrist you cried very loudly because you wanted to watch it sail away.  I thought for sure that losing your balloon would make you sad but you proved me wrong when you instantly cheered it on and tell it bye! 

This year you have developed your own special relationship with Mr. Kitty.  You have always been fascinated with him, but he never let you touch him.  Now that you can walk, and even run, you have learned to keep up with him.  He was pretty unsure of this for a while as I tried to teach you to pet him softly, but then one day I found you resting your head on him as he laid there and excepted your hugs.  He actually seemed relaxed and it was then I realized how much he has bonded to you.  He doesn't like many people, but you have always lit up when he walks by you and I think he likes that about you.  His meow is one of your first words, it sounds identical to his and I have a hard time distinguishing which one of you it came from when I hear it.  As you chase him throughout the house the two of you meow back and forth as if you are talking to each other.  Now you feel you are the boss of him and you tell him to "GET DOWN!" when you seem him perched up on the bathtub.  I am not sure why you yell that at him because I don't think I or Daddy have yelled at you or him in that way, but sometimes you just have to use your outside voice.  

You have become my little helper in doing chores.  Sometimes your help causes bigger messes but I always appreciate your interest in the things I do.  You are a fast learner, I show you how to do a chore and you are quick to figure it out and take over such as picking up you blocks, or clothes, or crayons, washing the table or high chair, throwing trash away etc.  Your favorite of these chores is sweeping the patio, this can keep you happily busy for quite some time.  You may be getting your own Bailey sized broom for Christmas this year.  

Daddy and I have noticed that you have many hiding places throughout our house for your many treasures such as remote control batteries, cell phones, sippies, pacis, shoes, toothbrushes, brushes, toothpaste, Daddy's contact lens cases, sunglasses, your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,  etc.  I have found these stashes tucked away in the drawers of our kitchen, in the sub woofer, under the chair cushion, in the clothes basket, in the bathtub, behind the blinds, in the seat of your push car and I am pretty sure there are some I have not yet discovered because if I search the house for your sippy and ask you where it is you wait until I leave the room before you some how locate it.  I admire this strategy and mostly find it amusing.  The fact that you remember where you hide your stuff must come from me because as you know you certainly didn't get that from Daddy.  You help him look for his missing stuff all of the time, whether it was lost because of him misplacing something which is usually the case or if you hid it from us.  One morning he lost his keys and ran frantically through the house trying to find them.  He kept saying, "Where are my keys?  Bailey do you have them?"  and you promptly found your set of plastic keys and chased after him trying to give them to him.  A big help indeed ;)  

You are super cuddly and I love this the most!  You climb up in our laps and hug our faces tight and will not let go for a while.  As you do this you sway back and forth saying "ohhhh!"  As I do the dishes you run up to me and hug my leg tight.  As we grocery shop you pull my shirt so that you can pull me in for a hug as I push the cart and it's just so lovey of you!   It makes strangers stop and coo at you because it is adorable of you.  In the mornings we dog pile onto Daddy if he is still home and laying in bed when you wake up, and we do it at night when he walks in the door.  You love talking to him on the phone when he drives home from work and as you tell him about your day in your special baby language you show him toys, share pacis, sippies and snacks with his picture on the id.  When you hear a car door shut in the evening, or someone at the door your ears perk up and you freeze to listen more closely.  If you hear nothing else then you look at me puzzled asking "Daddy?" and I say "no he's still working!" but if you do hear the keys in the door you scream "DADDY!" and run to the door.  As he opens it you throw your paci at him (this is something you often do when you are excited) and tell him all about how much you missed him and the things you were up to in your baby talk.  

 Some of your favorite things are:  you love Nick Jr and most of the shows on it but specifically Olivia, Yo Gabba, Fresh Beat Band (not Mommy's favorite!),  and Little Bear.  Your favorite books are Five Little Pumpkins, Once Upon a Potty, Hop on Pop and all of the vocabulary/picture books specifically the great big one that Andrea sent you for Christmas last year.  Your favorite toys are definitely bouncy balls, a little wooden push cart from Ikea that Holly got you for your first birthday and the Laugh and Learn Fisher Price Puppy.  Your favorite songs are the Itsy Bitsy Spider, If you're happy and you know it, most Incubus songs (that's my girl!), and a few of the 30 seconds to Mars songs.  You love reality TV.  You don't like leaving the house with out your blanky, your paci, your juice which you call Dee Daah which means juice please, and your crayons or a random stuffed animal.  You love jumping on the bed or stomping around with happy feet.  You love for your cousins to push you around in your stroller or in your push cars.  You REALLY love Bella, I think your cousin Skylar might be jealous so try not to show too much favoritism ;)  Your favorite fruits are fresh sliced apples, blueberries, raspberries and purple grapes.  You eat raw carrots cherry tomatoes and sugar snapped peas, but I have a hard time getting you to eat any of your other veggies this year so I find ways to sneak servings into your foods.  You love dips like salsa and guacamole, but you don't like ranch even though you want to like it because of it's dippability.  You like pizza, which you call PEE-pa (Pee is in all caps because you say it in a high pitch), specifically spinach bacon artichoke Dee-light from Papa Murphy's or plain cheese.  You love yogurt and cheese but hate milk.  You do not like a lot of meats but just recently you've been giving chicken another chance, you'll eat turkey lunch meat and fish sticks.  Your favorite games we play are Here comes the little mouse, Where's Bailey? as you hide behind the curtains giggling, and knocking on the doors and opening/closing them waiting for me to pop out around the corner to scare you.  We are also quite fond of chasing you around the racetrack design of our kitchen/ living room.  You are pretty strategic in this game as you check the reflection in the refrigerator to reveal our hiding spots or you change up the direction on us and sneak up behind us.  When we scare you in play you come running towards us laughing with arms open ready for hugs.  I find you delightful in every way!  Happy birthday baby girl!!!  

"On the paper please" is the phrase I find myself saying over and over again. Monkey seems to have an uncanny ability to locate a stray pen or highlighter within minutes of waking up. Having a husband in sales means never having a shortage of writing utensils. Originally when she would locate one of these treasures she would find the nearest wall and begin to create her masterpiece. This is not something that makes me mad because its just a wall and it can either be magic erased or touched up but we cant have our blooming artist expressing herself on whatever she pleases. So that means mean mommy would come along and take away her newly found toy and tell her no. This would turn into instant tantrum and it seemed like a never ending cycle until finally my montessory training kicked back in. She was genuinely upset that i wasn't praising her for how lovely her newest creation was turning out to be but obviously the wall is not appropriate coloring media. This time instead of prying the pen out of her tight little munchkin grip I simply found some paper and asked her to color on that and showed her the difference between right and wrong. She instantly dried her tears and listened to the lesson as I praised her art on paper and said coloring on the wall is a no no. For the last few days I have reminded her of the rule but have not had a single tantrum or slip up with wall art. Sometimes its hard to remember that two year olds can be reasoned with and not have to be sat in a time out or whatever punishment style you choose with endless heartbreaking tears and some times migraine worthy screams, but it is encouraging and even refreshing when they prove you wrong and show you they can listen and learn without the tears. And rules can be enforced without a battle. Its moments like these that show what a bright and receptive young lady she is turning out to be, and how proud I am of her.

Snapfish was doing a special around Halloween for buy 1 photo book get 2 free!  I was so excited to receive my 3 books today!  I know I take a gazillion pics of my baby, but I really don't have many that are printed.  So you can imagine how happy they make me.

I've been doing a lot of crafts lately to get ready for her 2nd birthday, can't believe it's already here!  We are doing an Olivia themed party.  Who's Olivia?  She's a cute little pig that has her own series of books and a show on Nick Jr.  Monkey loves her, and loves the fact that she has a black cat, and a brother named Ian.  So Olivia is her party theme, and for some reason she's not extremely main stream like Dora and Yo Gabba.  It's very difficult to find pre-made party themed Olivia items unless you go on etsy, which can be spendy, so it's a DIY event I guess.  The good thing is is that her colors are red, white and black and with Christmas around the corner it makes finding the color theme pretty easy with lots of wonderful choices!  Candi is going to make her a custom outfit, and wouldn't you know they are either sold out or discontinued on most Olivia fabrics.  Luckily I scored a FQ on eBay for $7.95, the next day it was selling for over $20... crazy.  Still though $7.95 for a quarter of fabric... robbery I tell ya!  I have decided not to do her party on Thanksgiving this year, even though her actual birthday falls on it.  For one it's too much to try to coordinate in one day, for two I would have to do it early in the morning if I expected anyone to come and it seems too early to chow down on cupcakes and candy and then sit down to a super filling meal.  The date is not totally set yet, but I'm thinking the Sunday after Thanksgiving will work best for everyone involved.  So until then I will be meticulously crafting, cooking, planning, cleaning, decorating, shopping, etc.      

I don't know what it is about Yo Gabba, but they seriously have a song that can apply to almost all aspects of life.  Here I am minding my own business and then something is said or done that pops one of their little tunes into my brain.  Brainwashed I tell ya!  

As a homemaker for the past several years I have been trying to broaden my scope of recipes.  Cooking is not something I fully enjoy doing.  I don't mind doing it, but it seems like a lot of effort.  I think between cooking and cleaning I honestly get more enjoyment out of cleaning.  However, with that being said, I am still pretty good at cooking, I just don't want to do it.  It's one of those things I have forced myself to keep after in hopes of one day truly enjoying it... maybe.  The good thing is my husband likes just about everything I make and has full confidence in my ability to recreate recipes from meals we have tried.  He is also willing to try anything and is not incredibly picky. 

If I choose to cook I usually opt for the easy way out.  A few ingredients, one pot dishes, crock pot options, etc.  Last year my cousin Jennifer turned me on to this blog, A Year of Slow Cooking, and it has shown me many easy options to just throw in the pot and forget about.  A few weeks ago she made a post stating, "stop, look no further.  Hands down best Brussels Sprout recipe in the world!"  Brussels Sprouts?!  Ok, so I've only tried them once as a kid and I thought they tasted the way feet smell.  But to their defense I used to be an incredibly picky eater so despite my previous experience with them and their bad reputation I decided the recipe looked easy enough to give it a try.  

What you'll need:

1 lb brussels sprouts

1 tbs of Dijon Mustard

3 tbs of butter

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 c water

   

I had a budget costume of a witch.  Originally it was just going to be a witch hat, but then I found cool eyelashes and black light make up when I was picking out a Halloween pale for Bailey yeah.  I never did find a black light to see the overall effect :(  maybe next year?   

Our friend Ian came to trick or treat with us.  He was a cute little hobo, and was totally ready to put on the charm to get some candy.   

That night Bailey and Ian crashed early, so Holly and I carved up our pumpkins.  Better late than never! I did the haunted house, and Holly did a spider in a web... her candle was going out in hers so this was the best pic I could get of it (I liked how the spider's eyes were glowing).  We also watched the movie Paranormal Activity with John, the first one, I hear the second one is WAY more intense.  All three of us are total scaredy cats when it comes to ghosts and scarey movies... so it was interesting haha, we probably couldn't handle the second one.  It took everything I had to resist playing some mean jokes on John later that night when we were going to bed, but I resisted and let him freak out on his own doing.     

I have been looking forward to the Sachse Pumpkin Prowl for quite some time.  It was featured in our local newsletter as a free event for Halloween set up like an Easter egg hunt but with mini pumpkins.  This was to happen on Saturday evening, the day after we returned home from Colorado.  I had planned to dress Bailey up and meet a bunch of friends w/ kids around Bailey's age to hunt for mini pumpkins together.  But mother nature had other plans and rained us out.  Sadly the event was cancelled :( maybe next year.  I ended up shampooing the carpets instead... not nearly as fun or photograph/blog worthy.

My sister invited us out to to Ghouls on the Lawn in Mckinney last minute, another fun pre Halloween event.  So I dressed Bailey up in a custom vintage Cowgirl outfit that Candi made so she could see it on her, plus I need to make some adjustments to the umpa loompa costume that cousin Annie loaned us (I seriously can't wait to see her in it!).  I have some cowboy boots that my mom bought me when I was Bailey's age when we were moving to Texas, so it completed the outfit (but she took them off on the car ride home so they are yet to be photographed on her).  Bailey and I would be arriving late, because it took me a minute to figure out Bailey's last minute "Jessie" costume and a last minute vampire costume for myself.  By the time we got close to the event traffic came to a stand still.  Then the emergency vehicles came roaring down the street.  Rats, a wreck.  They block off and evacuated the street that I need to be on. We had to turn back :(

The Carminati's were good sports about it and met us at Fuddruckers in time for Johnny to get off work.  They said they were feeling worn out from the event since they had been there for about an hour and a half.  It may have been for the best because Bailey did not like seeing her favorite people in weird hair and clothes.  She may have hated seeing people in full zombie costumes roaming the streets.  We got home and I took at home pics instead.  Hoping that these Halloween events will start working out for us sheesh!

seriously I have over 200 pics that I love from Colorado so picking just a few favorites for the blog is tricky business.  These are just some scenery and pumpkin patch photos I took that need to be blogged about because you know how I love Fall :)

We were a couple of weeks too late to get awesome sunflower pics, but I found the dried ones pretty interesting anyways.  Just look at all the seeds in them!  And the trees were soooo beautiful!  I swear they would glow they were so rich with color.  Some of the trees were full of deep reds and other in golds and bright yellow with just a few green ones.  Absolutely breathtaking with a mountain backdrop full of evergreens. 

We would love to make this an annual trip since John is always in need of a vacation before the holiday hit and I can't think of a better place to celebrate Fall than in Colorado.  We are thinking of looking in to finding a cabin to rent since it would be an off season for tourists it might be pretty affordable.  If so, we'd love it if cousins and friends wanted to join us next time ;)