March of the Toddler.

 

Isn't this spring weather fabulous?  Bailey agrees.

The Kids Next Door

 

These are some photos from yesterday's "play date" next door.  It was such a gorgeous day and Bailey is slowly learning the idea of sharing, although I'm not sure if she's actually learning anything.  But she was petted by Quinton.  What is it with little boys and petting?  Kona always liked to pet Bailey too.  Anyway, enlarge them and enjoy.

Backpack!

"Can you say 'backpack'?"

 

"Packpack!! Packpack!"

 

In case you are clueless, that's from Dora the Explorer.  Bailey now says, "packpack."

 

Also, we played outside with our neighbor's son and the two girls she watches.  Then Bailey decided to invite herself into their home, and then she found some bananas.  Mommy didn't let her have one of their bananas, so she threw a good fit.  She continued to throw the fit in her own home too, since Mommy hadn't bought any bananas yet this week.  Whoops.  Guess what Daddy gets to pick up tonight?

 

You guessed it!  For those of you who guessed, "backpack," you were way off...

Missing Pictures

Sorry about the lack of photos from last week.  Bailey's nose was snotty a lot, so I didn't reach my normal photo quota for the week.

 

However, here are a few photos from the last few days.

Pronunciation.

Just to fully understand Bailey's "sure," she says it, "SHooooo OH-RE."

Out and About, a Must.

All throughout yesterday, our darling daughter was very interested in leaving the house.  She'd been locked up since last week and it was wearing on her.  The poor thing, every time she heard the words, "to go" whether, "to go in the kitchen," or "go potty," she'd run towards the front door with wanting eyes.  By last night, she demanded to leave.  She truly DEMANDED it.  So, the three of us went to Walmart just so Bailey could remember what it was like to be outside of these plaster walls.

 

Well, today, I knew we'd finally be able to exit the yellow cottage.  Bailey agreed with this notion.  All I had to ask was, "are you ready to go?" and she was more than set.  She even got her coat for me, without me even asking.

 

On our way, she read her animal picture book for a really long time and talked to herself in a sing song voice.  Then she was snoring, and during her nap I ran a quick errand, then we stopped at Target.  She was quite excited to get out of the car and was helping me do so.  Inside, we found some photos frames (like SUPER cheap ones! $2.48 cheap!) and some cookies (Gerber Arrowroot) that she held onto for dear life.  She wasn't sure about allowing her cookies to be checked out, but then accepted them back with open arms.  She said her "byes" and we headed out to our next destination: swimming.

 

On our way to the Y, I guess I somehow had the Buzz on (a radio station for you non-KCers) and they were playing Mad Season's River of Deceit.  My daughter is going to be a grunge geek.  She was singing in her car seat, humming along having such a good time!!!  She's apparently also a fan of Pearl Jam's. Once this anecdote was shared with her father, he told me he wasn't speaking to me anymore.

 

The pool was completely empty, yet the dressing rooms were stolen, and even the big stall in the bathroom (with the changing table) was too!  We waited and we waited.  We waited some more.  Twenty-five minutes worth of waiting!  Try occupying a child pool side for that long...fun.  Finally, we got a room, but it wasn't the one she's used to, but after two seconds of protesting, she was willing to oblige.

 

She did really well in the water today and we stayed much longer than we have in weeks, or perhaps longer.  I'm not sure if I had mentioned that we went swimming once last week, and it was spring break time (which I hadn't realized) and TOO PACKED.  Anyway, we were alone today and spent a great time splashing and having fun.  She had my hair completely soaked and I couldn't see through my glasses for periods of time. 

 

After swimming, she got her banana (that she has insisted upon adding to our routine) and we decided to head to the Target by the Y.  I found more frames on mega-clearance (!) and we found some other fun things.  Bailey really loves the kids' gardening section in Target.  If you're unfamiliar with it, it's full of brooms, rakes, bug-designed wheelbarrows, bug houses, and other little outdoor contraptions just Bailey's size.  She loves that section!  She had to wheel around the snail wheelbarrow for a little bit.  In fact, she didn't want to stop.

 

After Target, she had my cell phone and she was putting it to her ear and saying, "hello," and some other things, just having a good ol' conversation.  When I finally retrieved my phone from the midget, I saw that she had managed to type in a number.  What number, you ask?  "666."  I'm not kidding.  It seemed rather appropriate though.

 

So, we're home now, after a very busy day.  She was getting sleepy in Target, but then came back strong.  On the way home wasn't quite as easy.  She crashed, big time. 

 

I wonder what's on the agenda for tomorrow....

News!

Bailey's website has a new story finally.  You should check it out.

Darth Kitty

 

 

 

Yes, courtesy of Bailey.  (The Vader helmet actually belongs to Darth Tater.  And no, I'm not kidding.)

The Giggle Box

Lisa, I want you to know that Bailey finds that cat video to be the most hysterical thing EVER.  She just laughs non stop in the most hilarious giggles Rob and I have ever heard.  She even knows exactly what I mean when I ask her, "Bailey, do you want to watch the cat video?"  "SURE. PLEASE. PLEASE." (And then she runs to the gate to be taken to the computer room.)

 

For everyone else unfamiliar with the cat video, it's a bunch of clips from America's  Funniest Videos or something similar.  Hysterical for a child of 20 months, and pretty darn funny for the rest of us too.

Daddy said that Bailey really enjoyed AFV last night too on television, especially the silly animal clips.  So that video came with perfect timing.

She saw the cat video for the first time around 5:30 am this morning when she had decided she didn't want to sleep anymore.  Something about me taking Bailey at night (or WAY too early in the morning) means to her that it's time to wake up.  I wish to remedy this false notion.

 

 

We're  having a "sure" week.  In case you have missed out on these, for the past few weeks, we've been in an "of course" mood.  But since this weekend, she's back to answering questions with "sure" and with a little "of course" every now and then, but then correcting herself immediately with another "sure."

 

She painted the bath tub last night with bubbles.  She made exactly two and a half rounds inside the tub, painting the entire portion of each side.  It was very a serious moment for her.  She had the serious face on and with the determination of Van Gogh, finished her masterpiece, and managed to do so leaving her ears in tact.  IMPRESSIVE!  To paint with bubbles with both ears?  That takes mega-skills!

 

Oh, when I came home last night from my dinner with Brooke (Mommy and Daddy had to postpone their anniversary plans because Bailey was still snotty), Bailey saluted me with the best words: "HI MOMMY!"  I love those words.

 

But you can still continue to address me as "Terra."  Please, feel free.

Fun little tidbits of information.

Bailey loves to march. 

She also likes to do the "thinking chair" motions from Blues Clues.

She's mastered answering "What do you say?" with "please."

And tonight, she now officially whispers.  Maybe she's done that before, but if she has...only in her sleep.

Very green.

Bailey awoke this morning with a festive spirit, and a very snotty green nose.

 

Then close to bedtime, I commented how she wasn't wearing green anymore.  Then we ended up having to change her diaper again and it was the greenest diaper I've ever seen.

 

She must have thought I was serious about the pinching.  (Not that I would've pinched her....her snot's green!)

 

I know, I'm gross.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

The pictures here were taken on her 20th (month) birthday, but I'm sure we'll take some today too!

A Secret.

I've been holding out on everyone about this....

 

But I swear, Bailey calls me "Terra."  Every day, it sounds even clearer.  It makes no sense.  Daddy always calls Mommy, "Mommy."

I try to ignore it, but it's hard because she'll say, "Hi, Terra."

Ready, set....

GO!

So, I'm checking e-mail, and Bailey's behind me right now.  I overheard her saying, "ready, set....GO."  Then she'd say, "one, two, theee, GO!"  I look behind me to check out what's going on and she has two bottles of bubbles lining them up and then knocking them down when she says, "GO!"

The Irish are coming! The Irish are coming!

Saturday, we strolled down to Brookside for the St. Patty's Day warm-up parade.  Oh, such a beautiful day and such wonderful photos taken too. 

It's good to be Irish, even for a day...or two.

Wow, very wow.

I just looked on the calendar to check the date and realized it's the 13th.  Do you know what that means?

 

Bailey's 20 months old today.  It's just crazy.

V'room.

Friday, Bailey and I kidnapped Daddy from his office and the three of us headed out to the Auto Show.  What a fascinating time for Bailey!  I mean, imagine her surprise to discover...CARS were at the auto show.  She loved pointing to all of the "cars" and running around on the carpeting.  She had to feel the carpet too.  Very plush.

We received a plentiful supply of compliments (shocker) and one woman told me I need to get her into commercials.  (I'll pass.)

But she definitely liked checking out the cars, trucks and the Mercedes Benz emblem.  Very cool.

 

...And no, we didn't buy anything. 

 

But we did have ice cream later, and then play Oak Park Mall in the play area, and then found Bailey's Easter dress.

We always know how to pack in a day of fun.

Pictures. Pictures. Pictures!

 

 

Make sure you click on them to make them bigger.  Even you lazy dial-up people.  Otherwise, you're wasting my time! :)

A Beautiful Tuesday

Being a typical Tuesday, we had lunch with Daddy, riding to our destination in her new car seat. Bailey awoke from a nap to discover herself in Daddy's arms and inside a McDonalds.  Wow...what a dream come true.  She had a fun time, and today, when we parted, she didn't cry.  She just sat nicely in the car.  It was a brilliant change.

We had arrangements to meet a lady from Freecycle (www.freecycle.org if you're curious) but first went to a Target.  We love those Targets.  Bailey had fun checking out the bubble section (one of her favorite sections, second only to the ball cage) and while browsing through the clothing department, Bailey discovered a pack of children, little girls to be exact.  They discovered Bailey as well.  They let me know that I had a very cute little boy (which made me smirk) and they started touching her and cooing about how cute his face was and hair, and hands.  They just kept touching her, and she LOVED every second of it.  She looked like she was in heaven as these children continued to rub her face.  She looked like she was experiencing the most heavenly massage.  I even caught her with her eyes closed for a second.

Their mother ended up  correcting them and breaking the news that Bailey is indeed a girl.  The one little girl didn't believe her and had to ask me.  I agreed with their mother.  It was kind of cute though.  The mother said, "she's in purple flowers.  of course she's a girl."  "Are you sure?"

I couldn't help but laugh.  But man, Bailey loved that relaxing massage.  She could've stood in front of them for hours, and they would've let her.  She didn't want to leave their side, and the feelings were mutual.  It was a shame to break up their newfound massaging friendship.

 

At the checkout, Bailey finally realized I bought a pack of bubbles and she was VERY excited.  (We were close to out.)  Of course, she didn't want the checkout lady to steal them.  I kept trying to convince her they were definitely hers.  The lady in front of us took forever writing a check, so I had to really break out my persuasion skills.  I felt like I was trying to convince a jury of 12 that Scott Peterson didn't do it.  It was tough.  But unlike those before me, I managed.

We met our Freecycle lady to give her her things we had for her, but Bailey was hesitant.  I had the stuff in a Target sack, which looked a lot like her bubble sack.  I had to go the persuasion route all over again.  Smiles were back once I proved to her in the car that I didn't give her precious bubbles away.  She could've hugged that pack of bubbles FOREVER.

 

We attempted to go swimming, but Mommy forgot the swim diaper in the car.  We returned to the car, but Bailey was more interested in a snack than a swim, and I'd lost my motivation to try it all over again.  Plus, I was still convinced at the time that it was going to rain.

 

...It never did.  However, it did reach higher temperatures than planned today.

 

On the drive home, she thought she'd sneak out of her car seat (she had her coat off by this time), and fortunately, this one is SO much easier to tighten than the other one was.  I even did it while driving.  Impressive, eh?

 

Back at home, she talked to the kids next door and tortured Kaitlin for a bit.

 

We did other stuff too, but I've long since forgotten. 

Hey, at least I updated.

 

Why?

Daddy asked Mommy on Sunday, why Bailey was pointing to all of the objects in her books that she DIDN'T know. 

Well, she obviously wants to solve that.

The Weekend in Pictures

The face.

Bailey has such a beautiful face and amazing facial expressions.  Sometimes, she gives this look of pure disgust.  For instance, there's this movie, DodgeBall, and sometimes it's on HBO, and yeah, she shouldn't even be around it, but she's seen a couple clips of it.  At the end, there's this morbidly obese guy dancing with his fat rolls, and that's when you can really see that look of disgust on her face.  Now I should be ashamed to type about this on her blog, but hey....you should see THAT face.

 

Earlier this evening, we were at Target and Bailey was standing in the checkout line with us.  A woman in front of us was there too.  She must have realized she needed something else and walked between us to get to it.  I'm going to be honest, this was an incredibly large woman.  She walked so closely to Bailey that for a second, Bailey's Daddy and Mommy were a little fearful.  You should've seen the look of horror on Bailey's face!  She had the "disgust" look!!!  It was there.  The look of sheer horror.  And it took all that we had not to burst out laughing.  We tried to keep our snickering to ourselves, but it was hard.

 

Before you think we're horrible people raising our child, it wasn't the size of the woman that was worth laughing about.  It was the look on Bailey's face.  She stared this woman up and down with just the most hilarious facial expressions....

 

Okay, I feel ashamed now.

Attempting.

I'm really harsh when it comes to Bailey's vocabulary.  She tries to say a lot of words, but I don't count them until they REALLY sound like the word.  But, lately, Bailey's newest word is "turtle."  She's trying SO hard to say it, but it comes out, "t'ull."  Kind of cute.

...And currently, my mind is drawing a blank on the other words she's been working on.  Ask me later.

The best faces

Our child makes the best faces, EVER.

 

You can't compete, so don't try.

 

 

Mardi Gras Photos

Okay, so updating Bailey's website with our Mardi Gras photos has taken a lot of effort and Advil.  I think I'm finally on the right road to success though after a few glitches and thought I'd share a few here that weren't going to work for her page.  So, you loyal bloggers get a BONUS.  You should be so proud.

 

I haven't updated this week because we've been out enjoying this fabulous weather!  78 in February, who knew?  80 on March 1?  But hey, we can't complain.

 

On Fat Tuesday, we swam, we shopped for spring/summer clothing, and we made a King Cake.  And of course, I took a rough estimate of 370 photos of Bailey. 

But does this honestly surprise anyone?

 

Tinkering.