What We've Been Doing

In my month hiatus from blogging, here's what's been going on in case you were wondering:

In one week, Bailey came down with pneumonia and started teething. Needless to say, it was a really fun week! I took a day off to stay home with her while she was sick. Thank goodness that Toni wasn't back in school yet because she watched her for two days. I took a picture of the trail of toys that Bailey created the day I stayed home with her. She would get one toy out, play with it for a minute, then go back to the toy basket for another one. For being a sick, teething baby, Bailey was surprisingly happy during her sick days. Luckily, she's doing great now!

She's started teething and has two bottom teeth that have broken through. Since she's started teething, her days of chewing on my chin are numbered. I know that it looks really weird, but she has always loved chewing on my chin. I don't know if she likes how it feels or that I move it up and down, but I think it's really funny--and it hurts now with her tiny teeth!I've been attempting to get Bailey to drink from a sippy cup. As you can see from this picture, they haven't been really successful attempts. She always ends up chewing on the bottom of the cups or on the handles. I have about five different kinds of cups, but she doesn't get any of them yet. Any ideas on good cups to start with?Bailey's new favorite trick is to play with the drawers. She finally discovered that they open and that there's stuff inside of them--or I should say that there used to be stuff inside of them. She loves to open them, but smashes her fingers a lot because she doesn't realize that she has to move them when she closes the drawer. In the drawer up in our bathroom, she has emptied the Q-tip box one too many times!And last, but not least, I have been playing more dress up with Bailey. My new favorite accessory is leg warmers. I know that they're meant for bigger kids to go up to their knees, but I couldn't wait that long. The leg warmers are so big that they work more like tights for Bailey. I think it's so cute that her "chunky" upper thigh hangs out at the top.

Who needs tights or pants in February, when you have striped leg warmers?

The Sunshine Committee

One of my favorite things to do is to go walking. It's a very peaceful thing for me; it helps me to clear my mind and to really just kind of take a break from everything. My favorite route is at the beach, but there are lots of good trails around my house. Before Bailey was born, I would take Doby walking whenever I could; he has always loved to walk, but he would get tired or hot really quickly. Before I had a stroller on our walks, I would either carry him or just take a break when he was done. It was always kind of funny to me when I had to carry my dog, but I didn't mind. I would always get comments about who is taking who on a walk. Now that I have both Doby and Bailey, we go for a group walk. Doby will still walk for about 20 minutes, but instead of me having to carry him, he gets a ride with Bailey. There is a little bit in the front of the stroller that I know, was just made for dogs to sit--why else would it be there?! So Doby knows now that when he's done walking, he gets to take a ride on the stroller for the rest of the walk. The first time I tried it, I didn't know if it would last. Doby would try to jump off every time he heard my voice or saw me around the back of the stroller. Over time, he as taken quite a liking to his seat on the stroller. Now when I go walking and Doby is in his spot, I feel like the sunshine committee. Everyone that we walk by either starts to laugh or starts talking to me about how cute it is. We bring a smile to everyone's face! It makes me feel like I'm doing my good deed for the day to bring people a little bit of sunshine in their day. I know that it sounds really cheesy, but it makes me really happy to be able to brighten someone's day by doing nothing more than going on a walk with my dog and my daughter!

I've been meaning to take this picture for a long time, but I always forget to bring my camera with me when we go walking. I now realize that I should have taken this picture at the beginning of my walk because I look so beautiful, but really try to ignore me and focus on Bailey and Doby.

One Year Old Today!

I can't believe it! Bailey is one year old today. It has gone by so fast and has been so much fun. It's so weird for me to think back on what was happening in my life one year ago. I was miserable in the hospital, really drugged up, and worried that I was going to have my baby ten weeks early. Her arrival was really early and very scary, but everything has turned out so great. She amazes her doctors with every visit because she's doing so well. She weighs 19 pounds and is 28 inches tall. She's crawling all over the place like a little speed demon and laughing every step of the way. It's such a fun age right now because you can see her turn into a little person; each day we see a little bit more of her personality develop. She really is a fun baby who loves to smile, laugh, and be a little bit sneaky. She also talks all day long; she has a lot to say about everything that she sees. I love my little Bailey girl and I can't imagine what my life would be like without her. So happy first birthday today; we've made it so far for 365 days and have a whole bunch more to go!

Today she had a birthday party at Trish's house with all of her friends there. They ate cupcakes and opened up her first birthday present. She got an adorable pink purse that talks and sings; it's also filled with everything a little lady needs--lipstick, car keys, bracelet, mirror, and money! At my field hockey game today, one of the moms--Judy Kramer--brought Bailey a mini cake and her daughter, Sandy, brought her balloons. Bailey played with the balloons during the game, but was asleep by the end and missed the team singing her happy birthday, but we didn't let the cake go to waste. After dinner at my mom and dad's house, we let her thoroughly enjoy her first birthday cake. I was looking forward to this all day and it was well worth the wait.

She loved the cake and got more excited the more sugar she ate. After it was completely destroyed and she and the table were covered in frosting, she got a good bath in the sink. Here are some fun pictures of her first cake adventure:

This is the cute cake before it met its match--Bailey.

At first, she didn't know what to do with the cake. She'd touch it, then sit back and smile at us. Once she realized that she could attack the cake and that it tasted good, she went for it.

Two hands were needed for this job of destroying the cake.

Bailey is the champion! She looks so satisfied with herself in this picture, like look what I did.

This picture was a split second before the camera got a little bit of frosting.

She actually dumped the cake on the table in the end, which added to the fun and mess.

Even though she was stripped down, she wanted to go back for more. Toni acted as the body guard to make sure she didn't fall off the table, while the rest of us took pictures.

I'm so proud of my little girl and all of the obstacles that she has overcome in her first year. She brings such joy to our lives and we love her so much! It's been a crazy/fun first year and I can't wait for the rest to come.