Tuesday, February 19, 2013

My Bailey Girl

Today my Bailey girl turns 5!  I can't believe it.  Ever since she was born I always thought, "I can't wait until she turns 5!"  I feel like so many things start at 5--school, dance, I guess that's not a lot.  It's now here and I guess we'll see if 5 is everything I ever dreamed of :)

Every time Bailey has a birthday I think back to the day she was born and it blows my mind!  What a crazy day that was!  I can still remember every scary detail; I wonder if it will always be that way.  Some random things I remember: telling the doctors that I could still feel them as they were frantically trying to put me to sleep quickly to get her out of my belly; I remember waking up from the anesthesia and being so thirsty and all they could give me was this weird tiny sponge with a few drops of moisture on them to rub on my mouth.  I remember the first time I saw her I was so out of it that I felt I was floating.  All of the doctors and nurses were trying to explain things to me and make me feel better, but I had no idea what was going on.  I remember what a horrible thing it was to leave the hospital without my tiny baby, but how awesome/scary it was to finally bring her home.

Now fast forward to today, and here are some interesting facts about my Bailey girl:

*She LOVES making any type of craft/art project.  We could do crafts all day together!
*She LOVES Justin Bieber and often talks about how she's in love with him and will marry him someday.  She wants to know where he lives and what he likes to do. (good thing she's only 5 or else she sounds like a scary stalker)
*She started dance class and now likes to dance around the house, but does not like to dance on command or practice her dance steps for me.  I'm not her dance teacher so I don't know anything.  We do have dance parties all the time!
*She loves to learn new things, but is very easily frustrated.  I think she has a bit of perfectionist tendencies combined with some lazy bones :)
*She loves to be in charge and make the plans, but she would do anything to have an older sibling--especially an older brother.
*She is quite the storyteller these days (that's putting a positive spin on it--meaning she likes to tell little lies).  She had convinced her preschool teacher Miss Karen that I was pregnant and having a boy, so Karen sent me an email to check.  She also told me that Justin Beiber visited her class one day :)  I attribute this to her age, her creativity, and the fact that this girls wants what she wants and she thinks if she says it, it will happen.   *She wants a baby brother, but would take a baby sister if she had to :)
*She can be an amazing big sister!  She talks to Brooklynn in this crazy high pitched voice, but it's filled with love.  She performs random acts of kindness for me some days and starts cleaning around the house.  She's not one of those kids who is a people pleaser all of the time, but when she does it's with all of her heart.
*She is a very compassionate kid.  I hear stories from her teachers all the time about how nice she was to someone when they were sad or how she helped another kid in class when they needed help.  If there's a new girl in dance class, she's always the one to stand right next to her and help her out.
*She is the tallest in her class at school and in dance class, which is funny because she was so tiny when she was born.  I never knew if she would be a tiny preemie kiddo her whole life, but she definitely is not.  She gets mistaken for being way older than she is all the time.
*She is super smart and has a great vocabulary.  You feel like you're talking to a much older child when you talk to her.  She also like to argue/reason like an older kid, which is not too fun.  There's no tricking this one; she'll see right through anything.  I think she's going to love learning to read!
*She loves hanging out with her family and will come up with any excuse for a party.  She can be so fun to hang out with, just don't get on her bad side.
*She can make new friends so easily, but is also starting to think she's a little shy sometimes.   For her Christmas dance show, she was too embarrassed and just stood there.  I'm hoping to not have a repeat at her real recital in June.

Here are some picture of Bailey from her first days of life.  Back then I didn't know what her future would hold, but now I know she has the whole world in store for her.  Watch out world, here she comes!

 Her tiny incubator where we just sat and watched her.
 This was the first day we were able to hold her.  I love how tiny she looks next to Brian's hand.
 I've always loved this picture because she looks like a fighter.  Hands up and ready to go!  She's been fighting since the day she was born and I don't think she'll ever stop :)
 My pretty girl all grown up!

 She just loves life and enjoys every moment of it.
I love this girl with all my heart!  She pushes me to the edge and back almost daily.  Four was a rough year for us (nobody ever tells you to look out for 4), but like I said I have high hopes for 5!  I know that someday I'll be grateful for her strong will and feisty attitude.  It will help her stand strong in her convictions and not be swayed easily by others.  She's so much fun to be with and so fun to watch her every day as she grows up.  I'm so glad to be her mom!!



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