Curling.

Our home has watched an incredible amount of the winter olympics this year. It has been very enjoyable. The one thing that I have NEVER watching before this year is curling. Let me just say that I have absolutely fell in love with this sport! Throughout the duration of the olympics I have seen crude and mean comments about curling on Twitter and Facebook. After watching almost every game they aired I can honestly say that other than hockey, curling is the best olympic sport to watch. It is definitely a game of strategy, concentration & major skill.  Hats off to the Canada team for getting the gold. They were alot of fun to watch!!

Update.

Bailey is growing so fast. It is so hard to keep up with and record everything she is doing. Everyday something new happens. She is becoming very active and more curious now that she has hit the toddler stage. I can't believe my baby is a little over fifteen months.

I am going to attempt to list words that she is saying on a regular basis. We are very consistent working with her on names of family members and everyday words to communicate but there are some words that she can say much better than others. She pronounces her "c" words with "t". And she has trouble with "g". She is really good with her "w". Mama, Dada, eat, boo boo, baby, Bailey, mail, bath, hot, hat, hair, knee, elbow, toes, ear, eye, eyeball, nose, mouth, teeth, shoulder, feet, shoes, clothes (with a "t"), shirt, sit, pants, down, up, out, bubbles, fish, cat (with a "t"), dog, bear, open, water, more, please, thank-you, pop-tart, cracker, truck, car, food, beans, pizza, blueberries, pancakes (pantates), pillow, duck, horse, happy birthday, Jesus, Mimi, Pops, Ashy, Adam, Natty, Nana, "D" for Daniel, Will, Lilly, Ava, Paw-Paw, socks, phone, hello, hi, bye, Bible, Fifi, Barney, spoon.....ok really, I didn't realize how many words she actually says. I am stopping right here because the list goes on and on. Put it this way, she can copy everything you say and do!!!

Bailey's teeth are coming in quick. She has eight full teeth (four on top and four on bottom) in the front. But all four "eye" teeth or "fang" teeth have already broken thru all the way. She also has a molar on the left side of her mouth. Altogether thirteen teeth. Wow!!! She is cutting another molar on her right side. Talk about drool!!! She has had a clear, runny nose and drool for the past two weeks from teething. This has been a challenge. She chews on her pointer fingers ALL day long. Yesterday I decided to put my finger in her mouth on the side where she is cutting a molar so she could give her finger a break. She loved it. It was quite funny. She got the biggest grin on her face and continued to chew.

Peanut butter has become an obsession with my child. Every time I open my pantry, whether she is in the kitchen with me or in another room, she comes running in there and literally shoves me out of the way and grabs the peanut butter jar, looks at me and says "peet but". Hahaha! Then she goes to her drawer to pull out a spoon. Just today I had given her some peanut butter and she went and got the jar and brought it to me and said "more please". At least it is organic! She loves peanut butter and raspberry jam sandwiches for lunch. She also loves Late July saltine crackers. We will give her one and before she has even had it in her hand for two seconds she wants another one. We have to tell her she has to finish that cracker first and then she will get another one. She immediately crams it in her mouth and reaches for another one. It always makes me laugh.

We are so blessed to have such a vibrant, active girl. She is very balanced. I am praying this continues thru toddlerhood! Especially with her sharing. She loves to share right now. Her favorite to share with is her life-sized tiger. Everything she gets, whether it is a cracker or her cup of water, she shares it with her tiger. She puts the cracker in his mouth and turns the cup for him to drink. It is so precious.

I could go on and on but I'll save it for a different post. My baby is growing up! :(

Bubbles.

Thank you Mimi for the awesome bubble machine!!! It is so much fun!!!

Books.

Bailey's Great-Granny and Paw-Paw ordered her some books and had them shipped to the house. They are in the shape of eggs and came in an egg carton. They are so adorable. Each book has chick on it and a story inside about the the chick. All of their names start with a "B". Bailey has enjoyed carrying these little books around and pretending like she is reading. She also says "bock bock" when she is looking at them (that means chicken). She likes to spread them out across the bottom of the stairs to look at them. Thank you Granny and Paw-Paw for the wonderful gift!!!

Warm.

Yesterday was so beautiful to not be outside. So we got Bailey dressed and played in the sandbox with her for a while. The sand was wet and her backside was soaked by the time we finished playing, but we enjoyed the warm weather for bit. It definitely sets in spring fever.

Tractor.

Ritual.

Bailey's Great-Granny (My Dad's Mom who makes the quilts) has given her two very plush, toddler size stuffed animals since she was about nine months old.Bailey has always loved sitting with them and playing with them. "Bear" and "Dog" sit in the corner of her room underneath her hanging stars. For the past couple of weeks, every morning and after most naps when I walk into her room to get her out of her crib she stands up and runs over to the right side of her crib where the animals are and says, "Dog....Bear"! I then have to take these humongous stuffed animals and place them in the crib with her.She gets so excited she starts running back and forth with the little room she has and throws her arms up and starts dancing. Her smile is so priceless when I put Dog and Bear in the crib with her that it is too cute not to capture. Yesterday she actually said "share" and was giving Dog her blankie. It's moments like this that make being a parent so worthwhile!

Anxious.

Where has the time gone? I have been really great about blogging but now that our house in on the market it has become crazy!!! I have been so wrapped up in cleaning, meeting with our realtor, Bailey's swim lessons & looking through magazines on designs for our new home that I haven't even thought about the computer. There's a first.

I am so anxious to sell our house. But I know my prayer needs to be what God's will is for our family. We truly feel like God is directing our path. He is already blessing us beyond belief. From places to live after our home sells to helping me manage my time and balance my relationships with my husband and Bailey while maintaining a spotless home.

God is good all the time and all the time God is good. These next two weeks will be a test of the weeks to come with our home. We pray that people will get there feet in the door and realize what a great deal they will actually be getting! PRAY BIG!!!

29.

Yesterday I turned twenty-nine years of age. Wow! Am I really one year away from 30? Scary. My birthday was absolutely wonderful. I had alot of cleaning left before our house goes on the market. For some reason it was very enjoyable. Most people would have thought it a chore. Especially on my birthday. Not for me! I loved every bit of cleaning with my little Bailey by my side. Everything I wiped down she came in right behind me with her rag and wiped also! What a team!

My mother also came to visit me yesterday with a balloon, card and gift and a rotisserie chicken for lunch. It was so nice to enjoy my mother's company while Bailey napped. Even more fun when Bailey woke up. She was so happy to see her Mimi!!! She was definitely showing off her recent dance moves and new words.

Bobby & Bailey got me two long-sleeve t-shirts from Bert's Surf Shop, emergency tool thingy for my key chain & more K-cups for my Keurig along with some very sweet cards. Mom and Dad got me my perfume (more to come on this), lotion (in my perfume scent) & a Pandora charm for my bracelet! Love it! It's orange!!! Ashley got me the sweetest sister card and a special song (bahaha). Daniel had his guys come and clean up my yard, cut my crepe myrtles and put fresh pine needles down! I also received cards from my Granny & Paw-Paw and Bobby's Grandma.

What a great day! I am cherishing every bit of this year. Next year is the BIG #3-0!  No turning back!!! I can say that I definitely don't feel this old. It's a good thing! I do need to working on having another child before I am thirty though. :)

364 days and counting........

Selling.

I am pleased to announce that we are putting our home on the market. The paperwork should be completed by next week so we can move forward. We built our home and closed in January '04. We have truly enjoyed living here. However, the drive has really become a burden for my husband. We also want to build closer to work for Bobby and me and school for Bailey. Clayton has always been our home and our church is here but being closer to Youngsville is ultimately what we are striving for. We also need more space if we plan on having anymore children! Our plans are to sell the house and get an apartment for a bit. We would like to save a little more before we start looking in a different area.

Our prayer is that the house sells quickly for our asking price. Our goal is to be debt free and this is our step in the right direction. Please pray with us that the perfect family will find our home and fall in love with it and that our move will be a smooth one if it is God's will for our house to sell.

Speaking of selling, I have been getting everything in order. I finally cleaned my microwave and oven yesterday. I also cleaned all of the kitchen cabinets and our closets (except the Master bedroom). Today I will be busy cleaning baseboards, bathrooms & vacuuming every nook and cranny! I need to dust the ceiling fans and blinds. What a task!! I am hoping to get some pansies planted this week also. WOW!! I want this home to feel very inviting when that family walks in.

SO THE JOURNEY BEGINS.......

Valentine.

For Valentines Day we decided it would be fun for Bailey to do a little craft. She is very into stickers right now (that phase will probably last a while...mine never ended) so I went out and bought some foam board and Valentine stickers for her to decorate. I enjoyed watching her put the stickers on the foam and then pound them to make sure they stuck. Doing crafts with your children is so much fun!!! Especially at Valentines!

Happy Valentines Day to the most wonderful husband and sweetest child a Mommy/Wife could ever ask for!!!

Beach. (Family)

Beach.

Thank you so much to the McKoy family for allowing our family to use their beach house. We had a wonderful time and made some lasting memories. This was Bailey's first trip to the ocean. There will definitely be many more! This little girl was obsessed with the sand and shells. She kept wanting to roll around on the beach.

There are too many pictures to post on this blog. I will be uploading ALL of them on Facebook but here are a few of my favorites from our trip!

Packing.

Before we left for our beach trip I had quite a bit to pack. I decided to pack the morning before we left and let me just tell you how much Bailey enjoyed the suitcases. Usually we pack our things in my big Vera Bradley bags but this time I figured I would take our suitcases. It is so much easier to get things in and out of the suitcases!!! Even toddlers!! :)

Football.

Below was our set up for the Super Bowl. Even though we didn't have a party (because we don't pull for either team) we thought it would be fun to set up the projector in the garage and wear our jerseys. We had alot of fun!!!

Chill.

Apparently they were watching something very interesting after Bailey got up from her nap. If you notice, Bobby was napping also. What a pair!!!

Bed.

I have to admit that ever since I had Bailey I have always laid a little blanket on our bed to change her diaper. I used her changing pad on her dresser maybe twice. I have always found it easier to change her on something lower than a dresser or table because of my height. Anyways, she has always been accustomed to be being on the bed to get her diaper and clothes changed.

Lately I have been getting her up in the mornings and turning on her favorite channel, Sprout, and sitting her in the bed beside me. The funny thing is she actually sits there with me holding her little baby. I absolutely love this cuddle time. Bailey is not much of a cuddler in bed. She has never slept in our bed and she will not fall asleep ANYWHERE other than her pack 'n play and crib. So you must know that I cherish every bit of her sitting beside me in bed and leaning against my shoulder.

Apparently she likes this too much now! :) You know the saying "Too much of a good thing will kill you." Yeah.....now when she walks into our room she comes over to the side of the bed and says "UP PLEASE" and gives me a big grin. If I tell her no ma'am she goes to the other side of the bed and starts all over. She likes to test mommy by standing on the bed. Of course it's not funny. However, when she does stand she yells "SIT" and plops back down in the sitting position on the bed. That is funny! Maybe she got that from me. I tend to yell "SIT" when she starts poking her hiny up in the air. The last thing I need is for her to run clear off the bed and injure or break something. But at least she knows that she will get in trouble.

I love how verbal and physical Bailey is getting with affection. It makes me smile everyday!!!

Swim. (continued)

Sign.

I think it is so neat how God works in our lives. Today my devotional reading came from 2 Peter 3:1-9. The devotional was talking about how this world is at such a fast pace and how we can sometimes get caught up with that pace and wonder why God seems so slow. God is just trying to teach us patience. Everything is in His timing.

While this was a great devotional I messed up with my reading this morning. I accidentally read 1 Peter 3:1-9 instead of 2 Peter. Let's just say that once again God is confirming submission to my husband. Lately I have been really frustrated at Bobby's eating habits. I just want my WHOLE family to be healthy and Bobby doesn't eat vegetables or fruit. Instead of being quiet about it I become verbal and completely irritated with him. This happened yesterday when I cooked some baked chicken for all of us. He put the chicken in a bag after Bailey and I had ours on our plates and began to get out another pan to make FRIED chicken nuggets that are processed. I wasn't happy. But this attitude is WRONG! Peter says to submit to your own husbands.....that they may be won without a word but instead by the behavior of their wives. He says to let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and QUIET spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

Wow!!! To some women this is translated about winning their husbands to Christ. My husband is a Christian so this passage spoke to me in a totally different way! God doesn't want me to be angry with my body language or my words. Instead he wants me to be encouraging and find things that work for Bobby. Because one day that will be rewarded and my husband will take notice.

I find it amazing that God's timing is impeccable. He knows the very longing of our hearts. And He knows how to speak to us through His word and to give us wise counseling. For me it isn't about God changing my husbands eating habits, it's about God changing MY heart!!!

Clarify.

In my last post I may have come across to harsh when I mentioned the whining and screaming children in Bailey's swim class. I ,in no way, meant to offend anybody and will choose my words more wisely next time. The intention of my blog is to document what goes on in Bailey's life so I have a compilation of written stories to share with her when she is older.

For the record.....my child screams and cries until she breaks out in hives when I drop her off at her class at church. I am very sure that the workers cringe every time I walk through the double doors. They end up calling my number EVERY time and week by week I spend quality time in the lobby watching the TV and letting Bailey run around. Hopefully this is just a season. However, this season has lasted quite a long time. PRAYER!

Swim.

This morning I got up early to get everything packed up for Bailey's swim lessons. Her lessons begin at 9:10am. She usually sleeps until 9:00am. Since her lessons are in North Raleigh we have to leave at around 8:30am so we have time to get there and de-robe. I realized the night before that I had packed away my bathing suits. I really wanted to wear my speedo suit. This mornign I got up in the attic only to realize that Bobby had taken my "summer clothes" bin and put it in our storage at work in Youngsville. That meant we had to leave even earlier to run by Target and pick up a swim suit. Because I was in such a rush I picked the crappiest suit. I wanted to be modest and they don't have much modesty with their itsy bitsy bikinis. So I found a black top that I thought would be fine. The only problem was they didn't have my size. I got the next size up thinking it would be fine. Yeah....no!!! I felt and looked like grossness. I will definitely be prepared before the next class. You can be sure of it. But enough about my short-comings.

Bailey absolutely loved it. It was funny to see all of the other toddlers holding onto their parents and crying. If I would have let go of Bailey I think she would have taken off and done a couple of laps. No joke. This chick loves the water. This comes as no surprise. Bobby and I both have always enjoyed being in the pool, lake, ocean, whatever. I am just glad my child was excited and loving it. I am not going to lie, some parents needed to take their kids and leave. Do you really want to be in the water teaching your child to swim with a screaming child next you clawing the skin off of his parent. Really?! Your kid doesn't like the water, get private lessons or start giving him more baths at home. NOT IN PUBLIC PLEASE!

I will post pictures but Blogger is not letting me right now!!!

Purple.

Yesterday I decided to get Bailey out of the house and attempt to go do something fun. I thought taking her to Monkey Joes again would allow her to run around unihibited and let out some energy. It has been pretty nasty and cold all week and we needed a change of scenary.

When we arrived at Monkey Joes I was disappointed to see that the toddler playground was not blown up. Are you kidding me? She is too tiny to climb on the big blow-ups. I was ticked but figured I was just going to have to take her down the slide a thousand times and climb in the big kid areas with her. They told me it would be about twenty-five minutes until they patched a hole in the toddler unit. I don't know about you but twenty-five minutes is a long time with a toddler who wants to be able to run around by herself!!! So we waited and God blessed our patience. They got it fixed and Bailey was able to do her own thing. She did keep saying slide though and running over to the big slide. I definitely got a work out!

It doesn't end there. Monkey Joe (their purple mascot) decided to come out and visit all of the children. Now most children Bailey's age aren't to excited to see a furry, purple thing walk around and try to give them high fives. Bailey was a different story! She RAN over to Monkey Joe and threw her hands up to be held. Seriously!! She wanted her purple buddy, Monkey Joe to carry her around. And he did. Let's talk about how unhappy she was when it was time for me to give Monkey Joe a break. I never thought my little girl would dread coming to a real human.

Morning.

I know what you all are thinking. I mean, what mother goes into a "not quite awake" child's bedroom to snap photos of them waking up? Was I asking for a cranky day? Of couse not!!! I just wanted some morning pictures of my sweet little girl. So she isn't too fond of the flash first thing. But after she realizes I am snapping pictures she was quick stand up and strike a stunning, morning smile for me!!! What a ham!!