Ouchie!

Aunt Elaine and I took Miss Bailey to see Dr. Nix and she has a double ear infection! Poor baby showed NO signs of an ear infection at all! He said the coughing and everything else is just from a normal cold so that is good and gave us some safe decongestant/coughing meds for her. She is sleeping now and NEEDS it big time! She is such a trooper though as she was pretty happy all day long! Now if she will just sleep through the night that would be great!

PS...our little preemie is now 35 lbs and 35 inches tall!!!

Poor Bailey!

Our poor little Bailey didn't fair so well last night! She has a bad cough that kept her and I up most of the night. I felt so bad as there is only so much you can do for a cough! This morning her nose looks like the kitchen faucet and the cough is still there along with some(TMI warning) bathroom issues. It looks like we will be taking a trip to Dr. Nix today at 1:30 to make sure it is nothing more then a cold(hopefully)! My parents are still away but Aunt Elaine is in town staying at my parents so we are going to get showered up and head in that direction. Hopefully, today and tonight go better then last night! I will update on Bailey later this afternoon.

Beach House!

So the craziness of Christmas is over and what better way to unwind then heading to the beach house! My parents, Bailey, and I headed down yesterday to spend a few days relaxing beachside. Joe had to stay behind in Houston for work which sucks but there wasn't much he could do about that. We do miss him though!!! My cousin, Trip, who just returned SAFELY to his home in Michigan from Iraq is heading down tomorrow which will be fun! We saw him last about a year ago right before he deployed so we feel blessed that we can see him again right after his return! Trip is visiting with a currently deployed man's family and will then head down here. We are going to treat Trip to a nice prime rib roast and a Jack Daniel's Gift Set! Him, Bailey, and I will then head back to Houston on Monday night.

Joe has to work Monday and Tuesday but will then be off for the following week and a half so we will get to finally spend some quality family time together!!! It really sucks that between his work and mine we don't get to enjoy the same time off but unfortunately for now that is just the way the chips fall. We don't really have any major plans for this coming week other then hanging out and putting all the Christmas stuff away. My Aunt Elaine will actually be in town staying at my parents home so I imagine that we will meet-up with her at some point.

WARNING: Christmas picture overload!!!

Checking it out!

Beautiful Dahling!

THE Kegerator!

Grandpa's mini-kegs

Taking a break with Costco

YAY Mr. Potato Head!

One of Joe's present with a fav pic in it

Bailey helping Grandma open her gift

Bailey helping Grandpa open his gift

Handy Manny!!!

Opening her 1st gift at Grandma and Grandpa's

Talking on the Elmo's World phone

Using her "big" gift as an art table

Bailey opening her Elmo outfit!

Bailey giving out hugs! I LOVE HER!!!

Opening a Mickey Mouse Kareokee book

My totally awesome set of pots and pans!

Joe with his XM MP3 Player Car Conversion Kit

The "big" gift as an easel

Bailey's "big" gift

Opening the Car Kit

An Elmo's World Phone!

Tadoodles are exciting!

Enjoying a little Elmo Christmas music

Bailey Opening her 1st present!


Gosh, how to explain Christmas with a child in the family is pretty much impossible!!! I think had no one gotten anything but to see the joy on her face we would have all been happy! Last year was fun because it was Bailey's 1st Christmas but this was the 1st year that she somewhat understood and could enjoy what was going on so it far exceeded that 1st one. While she doesn't get why we were all getting presents, the Fisher-Price Nativity Set that she LOVES, the Baby Jesus who she knows but doesn't know what he really stands for, and all else that went on she still completely understood the joy of the day! The looks of surprise and joyous laughter that came from her were the best present I could have ever gotten! I cherished every minute that we had today just being together.

As far as presents, man I was blessed this year in more then just material items. I have such an amazing husband, parents, sisters, in-laws, friends, and of course, niece! Even in the tough times that our world is seeing I can say that I am beyond taken care of and couldn't ask for anything more. Okay, maybe 1 more thing but with faith and patience that 1 thing will come!!! ;) We are all healthy, thriving, and will end the year just as blessed as ever!

Okay, on to the material things that pale in comparison to the above but are still just as fun! For Bailey her main gifts were an easel/art table, Sleeping Beauty vanity, and a Handy Manny tool box in which all the tools move up and down and they sign the "Jump Up" song. She got a lot of stuff for her easel/arts table, Elmo stuff, and a huge Mr. Potato Head set. My dad's big gift was a mini-kegerator that are all the rage this year and is very neat looking! Of course, him and Joe already "tapped" into it to break it in! He also got quite a few small gifts such as a Costco membership, Whiskey Stones(http://www.teroforma.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=00331!VTSOA), a wine set, and more. Joe's big gift was the XM radio car conversion kit for his XM MP3 player. He also got The Ultimate Car Kit, Whiskey Stones, a Texas Tech frame(with a pic of him and Bailey in it), a camera case, and more. My mom's big gift was a gift card from my dad. She also got the Ziploc Food Vaccum(she wanted it!), a cool beach sign, a Ralph Lauren sweater, and more. As for me my big gift was a new set of gorgeous, durable pots and pans! I know lame to most people as Jackie pointed out but to me a gift I will cherish for a long time! I also got a Barnes and Noble giftcard, movie tickets and a promise from Joe to see Twilight, a clip-on LED light for books/lap-top, and more! See, I told you we were all very good and lucky this year!!!

My heart was full but we were missing many family members that couldn't make it home and that was VERY hard for Joe, my parents, and me. I know that we spoke to them over the phone many times through-out the day but it just isn't the same as hugging them and sharing in the enjoyment of the day. Christmas is about celebrating our greatest gift with family and friends and for us we were lacking in that area a bit. I hope that they all know that we were thinking about them and feel blessed to have them in our lives even if we couldn't spend the holidays with them.

Cookie Making with Bailey

Bailey and I decided to try out a new recipe that a coworker gave me for Ginger Cookies. Similar to Gingerbread cookies but softer. I have never really had Bailey help me make anything semi messy so this was a big experiment as I have never made the recipe and was letting a toddler help...yikes! We had a blast together and Bailey did a great job helping me dump all the ingredients in as we counted out how many of each needed. After you roll the dough into the balls you roll them in sugar(a toddlers best friend!) before placing them on the cookie sheet and Bailey was a "big" help with this....haha as you can see from the pics a "big" help might be an overstatement but she enjoyed it immensely which made us both happy! She had eaten a tomato before so she had that dribbled all down her shirt and then any sugar that didn't make it in her mouth was all over her...see pics for the after math!!! The cookies ended up coming out really tasty and the recipe is a definite keeper.

P.S. The cookies are just for us so no poor soul has to eat these very unsanitary Bailey made cookies!!!

My Husband's New BFF

So, while I mentioned that all the TV's in the house worked when the satelite guy left last night the job was evidently not done because he is once again here. At this point him and Joe are chatting out back enjoying a drink but never the less he is here. He graced us with his presence once again to hook-up the rest of the rooms in our house for satelite tv. I think the job is FINALLY done after a week of him making himself at home here! Luckily, he is a great guy who has a very witty, funny sense of humor and since he is away from home trying to make a living for his family during the holidays I welcome him to chat with us as he pleases! I sent him on his way last night with some goodies such as the homemade Chex Mix that Bailey and I made the other day and hope he will take some more goodies with him tonight! I think tonight will be the last we see of satelite guy but let me tell you he will not be soon forgotten!!! :)

In other news....Bailey has been a ham all day and I am just loving it! Anyone that knows us knows that Bailey doesn't much enjoy sleep and doesn't like anyone around her to sleep either. She has been this way since birth and doesn't show any signs of changing her habits. When she does sleep it is a treat and she defintely gave me a Christmas treat last night/this morning. After going to bed a little late(9:30 pm) she slept until 2 am got up for a bottle of water and fell back a sleep. She then woke-up at 7:30 am so I thought okay we are up for good! I got her her morning bottle of milk and she fell back a sleep until 10 am!!!!! :) She woke-up in a great mood and has been in that mood ever since! We didn't do too much today as the holiday traffic is horrendous! We met Joe for lunch and then Bailey fell a sleep(that's right after sleeping that late she NAPPED too!) on the way to Target so we went home. After a short nap we headed to Target, I am not sure why as we could have gotten what we needed at the corner store but oh well it got us out of the house for a little while on this rainy day! We were successful and even ended up with more in the basket then necessary but hey that is the glory that is Target! After braving the long lines at check-out and grabbing an Icee we headed home where we have been ever since.

Where's My TV!?!?!?!

It is now 10:40 pm here in Texas and the satelite guy is STILL here! This all started a few weeks ago when my husband decided we needed HD tv. Okay, sure why not we have the big flat panel tv that deserves to have shows viewed in high def! It started with them supposed to be out between 12-4 on Thursday. Then on Thursday they called and said between 12-2 then it was 3-6pm. So 6 pm hits and no satelite man. Joe calls and finds out he is on his way but he got lost and was running late...no problem we are a little annoyed but fine with it. He was here until 10:30 pm and NO we did not have HD when he left! He then came back on Friday in the afternoon for several hours and again NO we did not have HD when he left! At some point he was here again and still NO HD when he left! So here we are now almost 11 pm on a Monday night and he has been here for almost 4 hours!!! This POOR man....he is here in Texas from Georgia because there is no work for him there and is missing Christmas with his family! I have now missed "essential" tv the past week because my husband who RARELY watches TV needed HD! ;) (I love you babe!) Oh my in the time it has taken me to write this my husband and satelite guy have been SUCCESSFUL!!! Off to watch some HD tv!!!

Sleep Is For the Weak

So I have 2 weeks off from work for the holidays which is amazing! For these 2 weeks Joe and I will have Bailey the whole time which we are excited about! Usually we only have her on the weekends which is NEVER long enough! Well, what is the ONLY thing wrong with this plan...oh that is right she STILL does NOT sleep through the night! I must say though that this little bug snuggled up under "the blanket" beside me watching Imagination Movers is WORTH every minute of sleep I don't get! I mean how could you not love that toddler to the right?!?!?

I should mention I will get a reprieve when we go down to my parents beach house for a long weekend after Christmas. They will get up with her at night so I can get a few good nights of sleep! Hopefully we will get lots of good nights where Bailey is only up once in the next few weeks!

Disney Playhouse Live Recap

So I HIGHLY recommend Disney Playhouse Live for anyone that has children who enjoy the shows involved! Bailey had the time of her life! She is really into Handy Manny right now so she loved that the most. They did a thing at one point where they had a black screen come down and then had Handy Manny's tools projected on to it for the "Jump Up" song they do and immediately Bailey started jumping up and down! Of course, the merchandise was every where so we had to buy her something! ;) My mom and I really weren't sure what to expect and were nicely surprised. We both enjoyed the show and the reactions that we got to see from Bailey! Ahhh life with Bailey is just way too much fun! It really makes me giddy to do things like this with her! Heck it makes me giddy taking her on a walk and seeing her react to birds and airplanes! She really does bring a joy to my life I never imagined possible! I love my "little" bug!!!

Disney Playhouse Live!

So today my mom, Bailey, and I are headed down to the Toyota Center to Disney Playhouse Live! Bailey is really into Handy Manny, The Little Einsteins, and Pooh and Friends. They will be putting on a live show in which all the characters of those shows plus more will be involved in some type of adventure! I think that Bailey will be beside herself with all the characters in real life! I am hoping that they have the characters available before or after the show to pose with the kiddos! Since Bailey did great with sitting on Santa's lap and doesn't mind Chuck E Cheese I am hoping she will LOVE posing with Handy Manny and such. This is just the first in our many adventures while I am off from work for 2 weeks!

Christmas In a Whole New Light

Here we are several days from Christmas and I am beyond excited! Don't get me wrong I have always loved Christmas but since Bailey's arrival almost 2 years ago I have discovered a whole new side of the holiday season! I never imagined how much joy I would get out of walking through Target looking at Christmas decorations just to see Bailey's face light up. It truly takes me back to childhood and all the excitement of waiting for Santa, taking rides to look at lights, seeing cousins that we only saw at holidays, the special cookie tree made by my mom, etc. I can't even imagine what the holidays would be like without our precious little bug to brighten our days as she has turned them into something I didn't even know existed.

First Blog Ever

So after finding that more and more people are using blogs as a way to keep in touch, update, and just plain get their feelings out I figured I would check it out. I will see how it goes and if I am any good at all this!