Note to Self

Note to Self: Make sure all dining room chairs are completely pushed in, otherwise, little people can climb on top of them and then crawl onto the dining table.

 

 

...No, you won't be getting a photo of that.

YAY!

As we were finishing up our dinner, Bailey was drinking milk from her cup and somehow this turned into a game.  She'd take a good drink, set it down, and then clap for herself and say "YAY!" and expect us to do it too.  We kept this up for at least five minutes.  She'd take another drink and then set it down and make sure we were going to cheer with her too.  And she'd pick up the cup quicker and quicker as though it was a race.  She's so goofy.  Then she started getting really silly and pretend to just drink or just pick up the cup really quickly.  I think she was testing us and we'd say, "But you didn't take a drink.  That doesn't count."

 

....YAY!

A Busy Day

They had an adventurous day, darling Bailey and her Mommy.  They set out after 11 and picked up Daddy for a spontaneous lunch, and then set out for more fun and surprises.  They went shopping, exploring, shopping, and swimming.  Then they did more shopping and exploring, and finally picked up Bailey's 18 month photos.  Then, they met Daddy for dinner.

 

Wow, for such an exciting day, not much is being typed. 

 

...Mommy must be tired.

Lost Hats and Quiet Time

So, today was an overall pretty good day.  Bailey wasn't happy that we were out of yogurt, but she thought Jello was an okay substitute.  She also ate a whole bowl (adult sized) of Life cereal.  Hey Mikey, she likes it!  The cat was getting annoyed with her too because she really wanted that milk.

It all started because Bailey didn't want cereal, so Mommy fixed a bowl  for herself instead.  Bailey tried a spoonful, but ended up spitting it out, so Mommy continued to eat it.  Then, suddenly, Bailey really did want some and she ended up eating the rest in Mommy's bowl and even more after that.  That's not normal, but hey, we won't complain.

She was using the spoon (a big spoon) to eat with and was spooning up milk too and drinking it.  I wasn't going to discourage her because she hasn't been drinking at all.  She's boycotting liquids since Mommy and Daddy boycotted the bottles.  I HATE bottles.  Daddy was a fan of them, but bless that sweet miracle of a doctor, she told us to be gone with them.  FINALLY, Daddy was convinced.  YAY!  Of course, I should be insulted that he wouldn't take any of that same advice from his wife!

And no, you don't need to tell me about when your child was finished with bottles.  She never even took them all that much until it was time to NOT take them.  She regressed big time and I've been fighting mostly with her father on the subject!  Grrr...

Anyway, so back to the drinking of the milk via spoon.  It may have not been out of a sippy cup, but hey, it's drinking.

Oh, and while the cat was waiting for the milk, I thought I saw blood on her back paws.  No, instead, I found more artwork of Bailey's.  I'm not kidding!

 

Daddy agreed to give Mommy time alone in the house this evening (which Mommy was grateful for).  Bailey and I ran a few errands, lost her red hat, and then swam for seven minutes at the Y.  (A swim class was starting).  Daddy found us in the lobby after we were done dressing and we went to eat and then parted ways.  She was so adorable in the back of his car, reading her ABC book.  I guess it was still in there from maybe a night he took her and I went and ate with Brooke, and she immediately wanted it and started studying the pages vigorously.  I should ha taken a photo, because she was just so perfect back there, with a hat on (not the one we lost) and just looking at her book with her big blue eyes and pink jacket.

So, I got home right at 7 and had my second experience of being in the house alone since before Bailey's birth.  I baked a cake, put laundry away, and cleaned the bathroom with a vengeance.  I haven't had a real chance to scrub the tub in so long, to REALLY scrub it.  It felt nice.  I can't recall what else I did.  I guess they walked around the Mall of the Great Plains for a while and then went to Target.  Daddy said Bailey was the bully in the mall play area.  That made me laugh.

Now they're both home, both in their beds and I'm about to find myself there as well.  Oh, and the hat, I retraced our steps this afternoon via cell phone and it was at Hallmark.  Bless those card people.  Daddy and Bailey went and picked it up, so we can bless them too.

 

Good night, Bailey fans.

Calmer and with Regret

So for the person who probably read the previous post and stated, "What kind of idiot leaves markers in a drawer a kid can get to?," thank you, but I asked myself that already.  That was the primary root of my frustration, but I'm much more relaxed now.  The grinch's heart has grown again, times eight, and regrets ever frowning.

We went grocery shopping around 5:30.  Bailey was pretty helpful and talked me into buying two oranges and a green pepper.  I'm not sure why she wanted these things, but she was very excited over the produce today and this Mommy just sort of felt like going with the flow.  Maybe she might even take a bite, Bailey that is; after all, she felt like taking a bite out of the hotdogs in the package, twice.  You won't find me eating green peppers, but maybe I'll eat a hot dog.

She loaded the conveyer belt after a couple of outbursts in the store, but I don't blame her.  Sometimes I just want to yell in the store too, just for kicks.  We bought too many groceries, and then returned home.  She wanted to see Shrek 2.  She actually even said "Shek" and then clapped afterwards with "YAY!"  I'm serious.  She hasn't been interested in that movie for a couple months, and then all of a sudden, she says its name for the FIRST time.  I was impressed.

Oh, and she definitely does say "stars."  I thought so, but I don't count a word as said until I hear her do it a lot, and over a several day time span.  I knew she'd repeat the word "star" but she really does know what they are, alone and in plural form.  OH!  And she was trying to sing to a song earlier.  She was saying "eat eat eat," right along with them as they sung the "apples and bananas" song.  Star Search here we come...

 

 

And believe it or not, the permanent red came out of the oriental top.  I didn't think it was possible, but I must've acted fast enough, along with the help of detergent.  Thank you Tide Bleach for Colors, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  But Tide didn't save my day, Bailey did and all the wonder that is she. 

 

Marked Territory

Just to be quite honest, sometimes motherhood is the most exhausting experience.  And believe it or not, occasionally during that experience, it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  You have to really squint to see it, but you're too tired to even try.

 

Today was one of those days.  And it's only 3:20.

 

From 6 am till a little past 2:30 this afternoon, Bailey has been awake and in full force.  She stops for nothing.  Now this is not where you tell me about your child who sleeps until 9 and naps 4 hours.  Okay?  Don't even consider it.  You may lose your head.  Seriously.

Bailey is a very precocious child.  She's sharp as a tack and out to see the world and discover all of its mystery.  I admire that, I really do.  I love that about her, but sometimes, I wish she'd leave at least one or two stones right side up.

I don't get to shower alone, ever, or even enjoy my showers, and I've come to terms with that.  But every now and then, I'd really like the pleasure of going to the bathroom without having to say the word "no" fifty-eight thousand times or have something spilled, broken, or damaged.  Today could've been that day.  At least I thought it could've.  She demanded I put Monsters Inc in the DVD player.  Maybe she'd even watch it.  I was okay with that for I needed to use the bathroom for a few minutes.  Alone.

 

I heard her laughing and I really thought it was due to the movie.  I did.  She always laughs at that.  I came out of the bathroom and she had her pants and diaper off (no big shocker, really) but something new was added to her look today.  Something I didn't put there.  Something Mommy would NEVER have done.  Bailey's leg was covered in red permanent ink.

I was so upset I can't even quite remember to what degree.  Seriously.  But then she had it on her shirt!  Oh man, I could've torn through Vietnamese villages at that point.  I really could've.  I'd had that outfit on her for maybe TWELVE minutes.  I was dressing her for a mini photo shoot.  The most darling oriental clothing and the shirt is covered in RED.  I was seeing red.  I was out to kill.  For a mere second, I could've been on George Bush's side.  I was that willing to hurt people.

It doesn't stop there.  As I'm holding back that urge to smack her (and I'm being honest, so don't try to play the martyr), I see that the red doesn't end on her legs or shirt.  Oh no.  It's gone much further.  I was livid.  Furious.  Beyond angry.

I never spanked her, but I wanted to.  I really wanted to.  You can glare at me or laugh, or whatever it is that you people do, but I wanted to spank her and I wanted to leave.  I was angry because this is what happened with going to the bathroom.  You have no idea the few times I have gone to the bathroom ALONE (finally) has gotten me.  I never leave the bathroom and come back to something good.  It makes me reconsider why I'd ever think about it.

 

What about a playpen?  What about her bed?  You're joking right?  She got out of contraptions like that ages ago.  I doubt even a straight jacket could hold this child.  I could've used one earlier though.

I threatened to take pictures of her half naked body covered in ink, but I prefer taking photos when I'm enjoying my child.  I've never had to use photography in a vengeful way before, and I didn't start today.  I was far too angry.  I considered it, I even had the camera, and I did take a few later while I was scrubbing, but it would've been best the moment I found her.  You would've seen what I saw.

 

I searched endlessly for that darn marker.  I found it in her room on top of her huge stuffed dog.  Luckily, the dog wasn't injured.  But her rocking horse was and some blocks.  But her legs got the worst of it.  After a severe scrubbing in the bath tub (her second bath), her legs still have scribbling.  They really look like a work of Picasso.

By tomorrow, the hutch drawers that were to be latched since 5 months ago, they will most certainly be latched.  But now is not the time to place blame.  Now is not the time to see more red spots in my eyes.

 

I am to enjoy the fact that she's finally asleep for it is to be a long day still.

Maxim, Soap, and Fondue: Our Weekend.

I just finished adding new pictures from the weekend to Bailey's site.  It was actually a very casual and uneventful weekend, but we managed to make it interesting, of course.

A present came in the mail Saturday morning from David, Lisa, and Kevin.  It was for Bailey and she gladly ripped it open.  Also in Saturday's mail was our latest issue of Maxim Magazine.  We took a bunch of pictures of her opening her present, then when I looked at the photos later, I noticed the magazine was right there in the photos.  Honestly, yeah, we're perverts.  Beware.  And no, we don't read it for the articles.  Ha.

Anyhow, they got her the Leapfrog learning pad for babies, and in pink, which is just SUPER!  I never expected to like the color pink, but I now do.  I really, really do.  Daddy of course received the fortunate news that Mommy intends to buy tons of neat books and gizmos for this thing.  He says "thanks" you guys!

Later in the evening, after we went to Nebraska Furniture Mart (just browsing) and to Linens -n- Things (where we finally found a fondue set that we were okay with to replace the one that was on back order, then discontinued) we came home where Bailey decided to find a new resourceful way to reach the DVD collection.  In the time it took Daddy to enter the kitchen for a drink, Bailey pushed her Elmo chair up and used it like a step stool.  Daddy called out to a Mommy in the computer room with, "come see what YOUR daughter is doing."  Then I, naturally, grabbed the camera.  It's really hard for me not to want to get a picture of these crazy stunts.

This morning, she stole her bar of soap she's been infatuated with.  We don't actually use bars of soap (we use liquid, thanks), but I had this one that came with a bath set a couple years back, and she stole it out of the set and discarded its box and has been so intrigued by it.  I keep putting it up, but she got to it this morning and insisted upon holding on to it for a while.  I then caught her with one foot in her shopping cart and thought that was a cute Kodak moment.  Meanwhile, she was grating the soap like it was a block of cheese.  She's such an odd child.

 

So,we had fondue tonight, of the cheese and wine variety.  Yeah, I feel so posh....

 

She did well with that, using her fondue fork like she owned the pot.  She didn't eat much of it, but she really enjoyed playing with her fork and tasting the cheese.  (We had chicken and bread to dip.)  While we were working on the fondue though, she was given a whole bread stick, which was found mostly in pieces on the living room carpet.  It seems like she must have actually eaten some of it though.

 

And that basically sums up our weekend, doting fans.

A Very Sad Time

T'was a very sad day in the House of Hudson today.  The Sinatra ornaments have finally been packed away.  Yes, that's right, they've been out this long.  Shush, Perfect Person.

 

 

...Bailey's going to miss them too.  Oh how she loved those sweet melodies.

The Doctor's Diagnosis

Well, yesterday was Bailey's 18 month Doctor's visit and it's like she knew, because she woke up during the night cranky, and again once it was morning.  She was not a happy girl and there was no hiding it.  (The day before, we had so many comments at the mall on how happy of a baby she is, if only those people could have seen her yesterday morning...) 

We made it to the doctor's office and she remembered.  She definitely remembered.  She has a fabulous memory, she really does, and she can remember things from a store we've been in once, and months before.  But anyway, she knew where we were and she wasn't thrilled.

It was time to be weighed and she approached it like any woman would with severe hesitancy.  She did not want to be on that scale.  She fought it so hard, the nurse asked if we could just stand her on the big scale.  That was hard too.  We have no idea how accurate that is, especially since there was a lot of movement involved and the nurse had to act quickly.

Measuring her was such pleasure too.  She acted like she was being tortured.  She was screaming and fighting and squirming to the hilt.  She's such a drama queen.

So, we went back to the room and waited for our doctor and she came and checked Miss B's ears (and they're fine) and looked her over.  She asked us a series of questions, like, does she use a spoon?  Of course, everything she asked, we had the opportunity to answer, "oh, yeah, for months," or "definitely," or "yeah, since even before a year old."  Maybe they know you'll answer like that and just figure it's good for a parent's ego, either way, we have such a genius child.  We really do.

The shots came fast and were replaced by sparkly band-aids.  Bailey made sure to tell the needle-lady "bye bye."  She was quite glad to be rid of her.  She's so funny.

And now I must be bid thee farewell.  I've missed a few things to mention on here, so perhaps I'll do that another time...

 

Until then...

An Answer to the Best of Questions

This past week, Melle asked an intriguing question I don't think anyone else has ever asked me before.  No, I've been asked that one, but nice try.  Hers was much better.  She asked me, "Did you always know you wanted to be a mother?"  I told her "of course not," but I want to answer in even better detail.  Being that this IS Bailey's blog and all, this does qualify as important information pertaining to my beautiful 18-months-old-as-of-Friday child.

Sure, when I was a kid, I probably wanted children, or thought I did.  But I was a kid, and society does its best to drill into little girls' heads that when they get older, they get to procreate and cook and be happy little Suzy homemakers.  You can deny it all you want, Devil's Advocate, but it's true.  By high school, who knows what I wanted, I have long since forgotten that girl, but I remember the girl even 5 years ago, and no, she did not want children.  Then again, once again, she didn't know what she wanted either and in no way, shape, or form was prepared for motherhood.  She wouldn’t have even considered it.

One day out of the blue, yet gradual too, Daddy and Mommy somehow came to this conclusion that they wanted a child, as in only one.  You don't need specific details, but we thought in some way, maybe we would be good parents, or maybe we just thought we were bored and needed someone or something to spice it up.  Ha. 

I was a woman on a mission when I wanted to be pregnant.  Of course, no one really knew that, except maybe a couple people.  I'm very private about most things, and this qualified as personal and private in every way.  I was focused and ready for battle.  I get easily obsessed with things and well, this was definitely one of those things.  Plus, I had a doctor who gave me discouraging news, which luckily, later was proven to be false.

After a lot of focused energy and telling everyone I didn't want children (including my mother-in-law), I was not a happy person.  I had to ease up, but it was still there.  It was there so heavy that I started to ask myself a very important question: "Did I actually want a child, or do I just want to prove I can conceive because I like challenges?"  This question disturbed me because unlike a lot of questions, I couldn't answer it.  I'm not a gambling person, so this was a very scary path for me because I honestly wasn't going to know the answer until I did indeed get pregnant.

My answer came gloriously by the aid of a single drop of urine and two pink lines, because I didn't think to myself, "the doctor WAS wrong," I thought instead, “I’m having a baby!”  Of course, I later did point fingers, but that’s all in the past and that moment begun the most amazing adventure I have ever been on and I haven’t second guessed myself since.

There’s certainly no reason to. 

 

 

I will add this though; I’ve never been more vulnerable as a human being as I am being a mother.  I’ve also never been luckier.

Cat Tales

Bailey's fast asleep right now, probably because earlier, she was running around torturing Aerial (our cat).  In our house you could hear fits of giggles and "CAT!  CAT!" very loudly coming from the tiniest little redhead in princess pajamas.  She's so goofy and Aerial was so annoyed.  She kept this up for the longest time, just continuously chasing the kitty and calling out "CAT!  CAT!"  She even attempted to let the cat chase her, but Aerial wasn't taking the bait.  (Bailey will get in front of you and run and giggle in hopes you'll follow along, literally.)

 

Never a boring moment.

Huge milestones and unspoken disappointment

Since this is to be a family-friendly blog, I'm not going to get into today's details.  I will mention this:  Bailey hit a fantastic milestone which I have been awaiting anxiously.  She's officially 18 months old!  I've had 18 fabulous, beautiful months with her and many more to come. 

 

Besides that, nothing else should really matter, so I'll spare you any hostility I may have acquired during today.  18 months.  Isn't that amazing?

Days Jumbled

Tuesday's plans were canceled.  The moment I awoke to wet slush outside, I knew we would not be meeting Daddy for our noon tryst after all.  I usually don't like to risk driving in poor weather conditions, or potentially poor, if I can keep from it.  Pre-Bailey, it wasn't that big of a deal, but with Bailey, why go out in rain or snow if we don't have to?

Of course, by that late afternoon, we had to face facts.  We needed milk desperately, among other groceries, so we faired the weather conditions (which were fine and the snow was over by that time) and Bailey helped me pick out the right sausage and cheese and load it on the conveyer belt.  She even got frustrated with our favorite cashier and threw these brochures at her.  (Bailey was organizing the brochures in this container and the cashier made the mistake of offering to assist Miss B.  It didn't go over well.)

Back at home, we unloaded our groceries and bit through four apples.  Okay, so Bailey managed that one.  I talked her into trying to eat one (since they had already been assaulted by her teeth), and she was on board for a bit, until she decided it would be a lot more fun to make a pile of apple on the kitchen floor.  I included photos on her web site last night, so if you haven't seen them, you should.

Yesterday had other entertaining photo moments.  Bailey's been living dangerously, as always, and thinks the cat's perch of a toy is a fabulously hip place to sit and climb.  Of course, I've done that thing I swore I wouldn't do...take adorable photos of her latest stunts and then explain to her how she can't do that.  I really am ashamed.  But hey...those photos?  Yeah, they're hysterical.

I bought her a potty chair a few weeks ago.  Now, I don't expect her potty-trained by next Tuesday.  In fact, she doesn't even know what it's for yet.  I bought it to slowly introduce her to it.  I figured at some point, it is really going to spark her curiosity and soon, maybe I'll put her on it for real.  But for now, it makes for fabulous storage and a great toy while Mommy's in the bathroom.

I'm still on my Ebay mission, which hopefully ends tonight.  Then Bailey will have all of the pieces I aimed for and I'll go back on the wagon.  That's the plan anyway.

 

I apologize if you were expecting more excitement...

 

The Whirlwind of a Day continued (so read the other one first)

So, I'm crazy at this point (okay, crazier) and I drive all the way home in hysterics.  Bailey falls asleep on the way, I run into the house, find the M.I.A. purse and head back to return the menacing coat.  Normally, I would never do this much driving for something so mundane, but I was psychotic (yes, was).  SOMETHING WOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED BEFORE THIS DAY WAS THROUGH!

On the way, I'm calling STAR102 because they have this Loco for Mexico contest going on, and the oddest thing happened, I got in, the phone actually rang and wasn't busy and I actually reached a real person and was the TWELFTH caller, which yeah, is a good thing.  So, I'm qualified for some trip which I won't win, but one thing went right, so suddenly, my mood was changing.  Maybe I should be looking up.  Maybe I shouldn't be so stressed and crazy over something otherwise so simplistic.  Maybe I should appreciate my child who has been giggling or sleeping through all of this instead of focusing on the wrong...

I kind of felt like the Grinch right at the time his heart started to grow.

 

So, we return the coat and it worked much better with an ID (which I only needed because I had to write a check yesterday because my debit card is M.I.A. because somebody's midget broke it, yes, broke it).  Then it was FINALLY time for some lunch.  We stopped at some McDonalds out off 135th and it was certainly a nice one.  I had a better attitude now that I was reintroduced to Cindy Lou Who and so I filled up my drink, found a high chair, and proceeded to get our stuff ready at the table.  In the process, my drink gets knocked over making a wonderful waterfall of everything that is Diet Coke. Beautiful, eh?  The nice manager up front refused to give me paper towels like I asked for, instead he got his Mexican and made him do it.  I felt awful.  I was perfectly capable of cleaning up Bailey and my Greek tragedy of a soft drink.

We moved to a different table and pretended we didn't know who that mother with the brat was, and ate our meal, or at least most of it.  And yeah, I realize fast food hardly counts as a meal, thanks.  Bailey was really liking the look of their play area.  There were these bugs hanging from the ceiling, wind catcher bugs with spinning wings.  She was VERY excited about those.  If they hadn't been hung so high, I would've stolen her one.  Just kidding.  Honest.

It took quite a while to eat, which happens, and we finally arrived to Party City where we avoiding spilling soft drinks as best we could.  Bailey's into jewelry a lot lately, namely beaded necklaces, so we bought some Mardi Gras beads (that she won't need to earn) among other items and went to check out.  I knew this would be hard because my darling of a daughter had her grip on two of the necklaces.  She SCREAMED like a banshee as I ripped them from her so they could be scanned.  I was like, "HURRY, how long does it take to scan them!?"  Okay, so I didn't really say that, but I got them back to her as soon as I could before the store windows broke, and I'm typing the truth here.  After everyone's hair on their arms started to lie down again, we paid and left and felt much better.

 

And yeah, we finally did make it to the Y today.  It'd been way too long.  Somehow, the littlest monster knew where we were though.  She still remembered the building!  She was ecstatic.  We went to the family changing room and she jumped out and down and cheered to herself in the mirror pointing at the door to the pool area and then shouting "YAY" along with clapping.  It was mildly humorous.

She thinks she can swim, she really does.  I could let go of her, but I'd be too scared.  Something odd they make the babies do, they make them wear those bracelets that 18-20 year olds wear in 18 and over bars.  What's the point?  The pool doesn't serve alcohol and what good is a bracelet going to do when you're drowning?  Of course, I'm there with her.  Darn those people.  They won't let you just leave the kid alone in the pool. 

At some point, she was ready to get out of the pool, so we dressed and were going out the door and she grabbed onto the door edge and screamed, refusing to let go so we could leave.  It was kind of funny, because instantly, she stopped and then just started waving "bye" to all of the diligently exercising fiends.

 

So, that was our day...  I can't wait to do it again!

Our Whirlwind of a Day

Yesterday, I went out shopping by myself, and in the process, I bought a coat Daddy had been eyeing at Target on clearance in the size he wanted.  I was excited about that.  Then I get home to discover the coat had a button catastrophe.  It was missing buttons and the ones that weren't missing were close to falling off.  Fabulous.  So our main goal today was to return this mess of a coat and perhaps find a more fitting replacement (preferabbly with all buttons intact). 

While we were out, it made sense to also finally get back to the Y.  It feels like it's been forever since I've taken Bailey swimming.  Every time I consider it, her nose is stopped up again.  So we marked that on our list, as well as a visit to Party City in search of Chinese New Year's, Mardi Gras, and any other holiday items we may need in the upcoming months.  Don't laugh and don't question my motives.  Thanks. :)

So, after showering and thinking we're ready and making lunch plans with Daddy, I realize I have to get stuff ready to go swimming too.  Then I notice the most important part for swimming...um..yeah, I need to shave.  ACK!  So here went having plenty of time to get out the door...

While I shaved, Bailey found this as a perfect time to go through the tampons box underneath the sink and find many uses for the Tampons.  Now you may be embarrassed for me as I am typing this, but come on, I'm a mother, my modesty was stolen from me at the doctor's office by the second visit of the pregnancy and what little I had left was left at the hospital by the La Leche woman who took my breast out of my gown personally.  So while you're blushing, I'll continue...

So Bailey's playing with the tampons and I'm shaving my gorilla legs (that only a true mother can relate to) and I'm already finding myself exhausted at considering what's left to get us out the door.  Then it's time to get out her swim diapers and they're shoved at the back of her closet on the very top shelf and me being the short person that I am, of course, has no way of getting them.  I was beyond frustrated.  I really need to learn some patience.  It's a wonder I survive any day.

So diapers accounted for, legs shaven, drinks for the day prepared, Bailey dressed with shoes, wow, is any trip really worth all of this effort?  Of course.  So we set out on our journey....calling Daddy on our way out to cancel lunch because timing was becoming a serious issue at this point in the day. It worked though, because on Tuesdays, we have lunch on his long days, so it all works out in the end.  Joy, I get to experience this tomorrow too!  woohoo. Yes, that was sarcasm...

So, we get to Target to return this coat and consider lunch possibilities and the Y and other plans, and I think out loud, "let's do lunch first, after all."  So I go to get my purse out of the back seat and what had entered my mind during the drive ended up being true...yes, it was quite possible that my purse had been left behind.  I was already frantic and annoyed, this just added to my mood.

 

Luckily, Bailey was smiling in the back seat and laughing at me.  Leave it to her.

So, we enter Target after all to return the coat because at least we'll accomplish something, even if everything else isn't possible considering I have no money, no YMCA cards, no ID...  Yes, you can cry for me.  We grab a replacement jacket and are ready to complete the transaction and the chick asks for MY DRIVER'S LICENSE.  You have to be kidding me! 

 

Yeah, you really should be crying for me.

 

I should have recognized it this morning when Bailey used her spoon to whip a piece of cereal across the room and its sogginess of goo landed right in my face that I was not going to enjoy this day...

Real Love

So, most people who know me know all about my infatuation with Gymboree clothing.  It's pretty sick, honestly.  I need a support group.  But hey, at least I have a wonderfully dressed child in the most stylish of styles.

My latest conquest has been items from their line from last year, "Tiger Love."  I didn't want the stuff then, well I did, but for this year.  Of course, I had no idea what size she'd be, especially in pants, so I waited.  This stuff rocks because it says, "grrr" on it, and if it didn't, I probably wouldn't want it so badly.  But that "grrr" just makes me giddy.

And they have matching kitty ears in a head band so what's not to love?

Anyhow, just a few moments ago, I found a pair of the jeans I've been yearning for and bought them on Ebay, just like that.  I just love that "buy it now" feature.  More people should offer it.  Definitely.  Now I just need some of the other pieces...

Obsessed.  Yep, I really am.

Cows...they're not for dinner...

At least not tonight.  No cows for you!  "Cow" is one of Bailey's latest words.  She just loves those darn things all of a sudden.  We have this little flip book of photos of objects and their corresponding label and so I was asking what each item was, and we got to "ball," typically her favorite item in the whole wide world (followed by the dog) and she said, "cow."  Okay, so I stare at her blankly thinking, "what on earth?!"  Thank goodness I hadn't corrected her quite yet and looked down first.  It's a flip book, so there's a top and bottom page facing her.  Well, by George (or Pam), she was right!  The bottom page had the cow on it. 

It was kind of funny, to me at least. 

 

 

MOOOOOOOOOO!

 

Stuffed No More

I awoke this beautiful Saturday morning to the sound of paper ripping.  Bailey finally decided to break into her stocking some more and completely emptied the contents and unwrapped each of the items all by herself with Daddy as her witness.  She's loving her silverware sets that Santa had in there, one Elmo set and a Disney princess set.  She's been having fun pretending to eat the carpet.  She also found her Rainbow Fish bath book and vibrating duck (don't ask).  There was probably something else left in there too, but currently I can't think of it.

 

Now, she's watching Blues Clues with her Daddy and talking back to the video.  She's VERY excited.

 

Something I left out before, one of my favorite things Bailey does is that when she does open presents, she always does her best to go, "OH WOW," "WHOA!," "OH COOL" and "LOOK AT THAT!"  She has the best enthusiasm for life and many people can learn a thing or two from her.  I could learn more from her.

Frogs and floaties, under the table

Bailey's had a really rough morning.  I'm not sure if something is wrong with her health or if she's been possessed, but this morning has been a tough one, complete with massive temper tantrums, thrown food and shouting matches (with herself).

So we went to take a bath, and there's this funny thing she does in the bath tub lately where she gets on her stomach and moves her legs around.  She seriously looks like a frog!  And I know you're like, "huh?" so I have proof (and please excuse the bare bum).  Check out the pictures over there.  Who am I kidding?  You probably did that first...that is, if there is anybody out there.

As for floaties, she snuck her biter biscuit into the bath and that was fun.  She wasn't eating it anymore, it was just floating around looking mighty curious.  Forgive me, I didn't take any photos of it and it's now nestled snug in the trash can ready to give some mutant turtles in the sewers a scrumptious snack.

I thought a bath would cheer her up and I think it did, temporarily.  She continued to act like a demon.

Then, all of a sudden, she started laughing and squealing and playing under the table with her new biter biscuit.  And then just like magic, everything was quiet and she was out, with the biter biscuit tightly in her fist.

 

Those funny kids.  What will they think up next?

Choco-holics

I added yet another few photos to Bailey's site from Tuesday.  I like to take as many photos of that child as humanly possible.  I want no regrets as a mother.  Of course, there will always be something, like sometimes I wish I'd tried the new version of cloth diapers instead of suffocating more land fills on our planet, but whatever.  I am definitely a pseudo-environmentalist.  I can be idealistic, but I always go for the more practical route; the lazier route.

 

We headed to Lawrence this afternoon, just in order to get out of the house for a bit.  In an instant, Bailey crashed in the car, and with good reason.  Then, she slept the entire time we were in Target, and I took my time too.  I found a new sheet for her bed, the bed she barely sleeps in.  (She's been spending half of her sleeping time on the couch.)  The sheet has fairy princess bears on it.  I'm on this princess kick with her (big surprise) and I've been in the process of searching for toddler princess bedding that I really like.  I've found a couple options.  I also rearranged her room at least a couple weeks ago and it looks so much nicer and much more space.  The three of us are very excited about that and maybe eventually I'll post photos.

Bailey awoke just in time to return to her car seat, literally as I was opening the car door.  She conned me into sharing some chocolate with her (okay, so I was willing, but don't tell Daddy) and by the time we arrived to Kohl's (two minutes later since it's across the street, through a stop light), her face was covered in chocolate.  It was quite adorable.  She still had two bites, one in each hand, and didn't want me to take her arms through the seat belt loops in fear of losing either piece.  She's over-protective of her chocolate, and rightly so.  It was Choxie's.  That stuff isn't cheap and you're not given a lot.  Mommy could've stolen it back.

Bailey has such a marvelous memory.  Inside Kohl's, she focused on getting to the toy aisles so she could play with the globe there.  A trip to Kohl's is never complete without playing with the globe.  Thanks Daddy.  Needless to type, Mommy didn't get to look at the clearance racks for very long.  Awful.

She was quite happy singing in the back seat as we drove home.  When we got out of the car, she decided it was a better idea to play in the backyard with Kaitlin than go inside.  I cringed as she walked past each yucky doggie pile.

I swear, three times today, when I asked her a question starting with "Do you want..." that she answered me, "I do."  Those aren't exactly words her mother and father want her practicing anytime soon.  At all.  Daddy says she can wait until after at least her first doctorate and Nobel Prize.  I do love how fast she picks up her vocabulary though.

 

Our child is so incredibly gifted.  Oh, and she likes potatoes too.

 

 

 

Another year, more time to fly

This is unfortunately my first posting of the year.  My resolution would be to keep up a little better with this, but I hate making resolutions in fear of not keeping them.  However, I still strive to be better at this whole "blogging" business.  Maybe someday. 

We rang in the new year right.  The three of us were safe at home with movies to watch and cookies to eat.  Last year, my first photo of Bailey taken the whole year was at 12:17 a.m.  I wasn't that fast this year.  It wasn't worth waking her up, no one wants that.  She was exhausted, rightly so, after a long, but exhilarating day in Topeka (yeah, one can have fun in Topeka, surprisingly) shopping and spending quality time as a family.

As for New Year's Day, we had a party to attend.  It is weird to say we're partying on New Year's Day, and not New Year's Eve, but these were special circumstances.  The Wiggles were involved, as well as Kona turning two. You don't know who or what the Wiggles are?  You need to get out more. 

Bailey and Kona had a tremendous time playing and catching balloons and shaking tambourines.  They were absolutely precious in giggle fits and gazes of amazement.  Bailey bought Kona three Wiggles DVDs and a pair of Wiggles slippers that look exactly like the Big, Red Car.  He really liked the slippers.  He was showing them off like a little stud.  Meanwhile, Bailey was ready and willing to help him open other gifts and "share" his new xylophone.  Luckily, she has her own at home too.

Daddy had yesterday off, so Mommy got to have some free time and Bailey and Daddy spent some VERY quality time together.  Nothing is more quality than listening to Bailey throw a fit over a movie.  They actually had fun too.

I better sum this up rather quickly.  I need my rest as I have a Bailey to tend to in the morning and we have plans to explore the universe (or at least Oak Park Mall).

 

...Maybe someday I'll actually give someone this link so someone besides me actually reads it....