When Bailey Feeds Herself...

...SHE MAKES A MESS!!!

At dinner the other night, Scott and I figured we'd give Bailey a shot at feeding herself.  She loves playing with her spoons, and she's started to get frustrated with me spoon-feeding her and only wants to eat finger foods that she can pick up herself.  So we figured, why not?  After she finished her dinner we gave her a spoon and a container of yogurt and let her go to town.  She started off really well.  Grabbed the spoon, dipped it into the yogurt and put it right in her mouth!  The spoon was upside down so she had some maneuvering to do, but she ate better than we expected her to.  After a few minutes, though, she realized that she could get MORE yogurt into her mouth WAY faster is she just dipped her hands in the container.   So off she went.  And here are the results of her labor.  I'm not sure I've ever seen such a messy, messy child.  But she had fun...and she's learning!

Great attempt at using the spoon all by herself!

Absolutely covered in food

There was no question about her needing a bath after this!

Long Time...

I should be ashamed of myself for going so long without updating here.  But, strangely enough, there just hasn't been too much going on here these days now that the hoopla of Bailey's birthday is over.  Miss Bailey IS making leaps and bounds, though!

She's graduated to a sippy cup with a straw, although she still isn't drinking milk yet.  Doc says we can't start her on it until she has bloodwork done to make sure she's not anemic...and I just haven't been able to bring myself to strap her down and plunge a needle in her arm.  Luckily, though, my mom and Scott are going to take her on Friday (I just can't do it to her).

Bailey is THIS CLOSE to walking.  She's taken a few steps here and there, but hasn't quite made the connection that she can stand up and walk to where she wants to go.  At this point, crawling is much faster and comfortable for her...but she's close!

We've got a little chatterbox on our hands!  In addition to "mama" and "dada", Bailey has learned something new, thanks to her Mimom and Grandpop.  She now wags her finger and says, "No, no no".  It's actually really cute, with the exception of "no, no, no" when it's time to change her diaper.  She's saying "nice" (like when we make her "be nice" to someone instead of hitting them), and she's working on "hi" and "bye" and "night night".  This, in addition to all the babbling she does throughout the day.

For all her cuteness, I must admit that Bailey is becoming quite a drama queen.  If things don't go her way even the slightest bit she completely loses her cool and all bets are off.  In a matter of seconds, she can go from my little sweetheart, smiling and playing peek-a-boo to a raging lunatic, screaming like a psycho and throwing herself on the floor.  Seriously...seconds.  She's like a baby version of Jekyll and Hyde.

We just got back from our vacation in Ocean City this weekend, and we had such a great time while we were down there.  It's not easy sharing a house with your entire family (especially after you've lived on your own for awhile), but we made it work and everyone had a blast.  We hit the beach most days and the boardwalk every night...and we all made more trips than we should have to the ice cream shop on the corner.  I'm still kicking myself for forgetting to pack my camera.  Thanks to the rest of the family, I've got some pictures from our vacation (and am still waiting to see if there are more).

Being on vacation this year made me think about what vacation was like last summer, as a brand new mother.  Bailey was barely 3 weeks old  when we went and Scott and I were clueless as to what the heck we were supposed to do with a newborn at the beach.  Do we put sunscreen on her or leave it off her brand new and sensitive skin?  Should we put a bathing suit on her even though she won't be going in the ocean?  Do we pack her stroller?  How many diapers will we need?  Where is she going to sleep?  What if she wakes everyone up in the middle of the night?  The planning and packing was endless last year.  This year, however, I think we did a pretty good job.  We slathered on the baby sunblock, packed her 4 bathing suits and a few cover-ups, brought a box of diapers, put her in a pack-n-play to sleep, and weren't really worried about her waking anyone up in the middle of the night.  And we all survived and had a great week.

I thought that, to wrap things up, I'd share some pictures from vacation...both this year's and last years.  Check out how big our girl has gotten!

This time last year, she was a tiny little thing:

She was a peanut last year!

Three weeks old and so teeny

Who could forget the angry hat face?  Sassy

Tiny, tiny swimsuit

And this year...such a big girl!

Riding in Maddy's wagon on the boardwalk

Walking on the beach

Mommy and Bailey in the sand

She loved the ocean!

Beach babe

Fun with Uncle TJ

And, for your viewing pleasure, I'm tossing this picture in, too.  It's not from vacation, but it's one of my new favorite pictures of Bailey...love the big, toothy grin!

Daddy's so funny!

Until next time!

Just Had To Share...

...these pictures!  They crack me up, so this is what you get in lieu of a long post today.  Enjoy!

Who, me?

Bailey with the Stride-To-Ride Dino she got for her birthday

She somehow managed to climb on top of this...while watching tv.

Strike a (yoga) pose!

Goofy Girl

And here's one of my favorites....check out THIS face!

They don't call her "Brutus Beefcake" for nothing!

I also wanted to share this gem of a bib that I found at Target yesterday...quite fitting, isn't it?

'Til next time!

Party Hard-y!

Bailey's birthday party was this past Saturday and we had a blast!  She got lots of presents, got to spend time with all of her friends and family, ate (and made a HUGE mess with) cake, and had a great time.  It was wonderful to see all of the people who love her in one place together to celebrate her first birthday.  I got a bunch of pictures (see below), but didn't get any of her eating her smash cake!  She loved it and made a mess and I have nothing to show for it, so if any of you have a picture of it please let me know...I'll be eternally grateful!

I will admit that I got teary-eyed as we brought out her birthday cake.  We had a big sheet cake for everyone and then Bailey had her very own "smash cake" that she could dig into.  When we brought out the cake and everyone started singing "Happy Birthday", I just kept thinking of the last year and everything we've done and been through that's brought us to where we are today, and I couldn't help but be happy and sad at the same time.  Someone referred to Bailey as my "toddler" at the party and kept thinking, "No!  She's my baby, she can't be a toddler yet!".  But the more I look at her, the more I see that she IS becoming a toddler and is moving further away from the baby stage.  She's doing more, thinning out a bit (although anyone who's picked her up recently would disagree), she's developed a unique and funny personality, and she does something new every day.  She's amazing...

As we finished singing "Happy Birthday" to her, everyone started clapping.  Bailey waited a beat, then clapped and yelled "Yay!" loudly.  It was like she just knew this was all for her.  Happy girl!  I could go on and on about her birthday and her first year, but instead of keeping you all reading for the next few hours, I'll just post a few pictures from her party.  Enjoy!

Bailey and Grandpop reading a book

Uncle Drew and Maddy

She LOVED playing in the buckets of ice

BFFs

Love her little tutu-ed tush!

Checking out her presents

Opening presents with a little help from Daddy

This blanket was her favorite gift!

Bailey and aunt Diana

All in all, it was a great party.  Scott and I were touched and happy that so many people came to celebrate with us and with Bailey.  She may not remember this birthday, but mommy and daddy always will!

One Year Well-Visit

Just a quick post today!

Bailey had her 12-month well visit today and it went well, as usual!  She's tipping the scales at 22 lbs. and is 29 (and some change) inches long.  She's hitting every developmental milestone just fine and is growing healthy!

The only "advice" we got from her doctor was to start weaning Bailey off the bottle.  She drinks wonderfully from a sippy cup (remember the days when I was freaking out because we couldn't get her to drink from a sippy?) but she still takes her formula in a bottle.  He said to start getting her used to drinking formula in a sippy cup, but that we could continue with a bottle at bedtime because it's part of her soothing and comfort routine.  So, here we go.  Day one of formula in a sippy cup has been a fail!  But we'll keep working at it and I'm sure that, just like everything else, she'll do it when she's ready.

Bailey got two shots at her appointment (poor thing cried like she was being tortured and quartered).  The nurse who gave her the shots wasn't her regular nurse (although she was in the room with us), but a student who had graduated nursing school and needed to do a certain number of vaccinations for the office.  They asked if I'd be okay with her doing the shots and I was...but, of course, it didn't go quite as smoothly as it does with our regular nurse, Michelle.  The first needle went in with no problem.  It definitely hurt Bailey, and she tensed up just before she started crying.  But the second needle was difficult to get in and left an ugly red spot where the nurse just tried to push it in...not much finesse was used and I was upset that it hurt so badly for Bailey.  She screamed for a good 2 minutes and then calmed down, but still made sure to make all her "sad" faces, complete with a pitiful squeal or two) at anyone who looked at her on our way out.  My daughter the drama queen.

We were also told that she's need to be tested for anemia and to have a lead test before she can start on cow's milk.  I can totally understand the need for both tests and will be getting them both done.  Unfortunately, though, they normally are blood tests and we'll need to go to a lab and get her blood drawn.  I can't stomach the thought of her having a needle stuck in her arm for however long it will take to fill one (maybe two) vials of blood, especially given the fact that she's a mess when it comes to getting a needle in her leg...I can't imagine how she'll handle a blood draw and I'm not willing to put her through it.  So come Tuesday (since all labs are closed Monday for the holiday) I'll be calling every blood draw lab I can think of until I find a place that can just do a simple finger prick.  Cross your fingers that I'm able to find one!

Tomorrow is Bailey's birthday party and we're so looking forward to it...I can't believe we're celebrating her first birthday already!  Lots to do to get ready for it, and I'll be posting about it later on.  Until next time!