Roller/Almost Crawler/Talker

This child is freaking me out! Bailey is just now 5 1/2 months and she has been log-rolling everywhere for a couple of weeks. For the past week she has been ALMOST CRAWLING! She is pushing with her legs and pulling forward with her arms. Once she figures out how to hold her body up on her hands and knees she will be off! I AM NOT READY FOR THIS!!!! She is way too young and my house is totally not baby proofed yet!!! Avery didn't crawl until 8 1/2 months! Granted, Bailey sleeps on her tummy so I knew she would be stronger in these areas earlier, but come on...this is freaking me out! I can't believe things are happening so fast with this little rolly polly! She is also beginning to jabber consonant sounds. Today she was jabbering up a storm and said "Da Da" several times. Yes I know she doesn't know what "Da Da" is yet, but still! Craig was proud and Avery was pretty proud herself! :) She was amazed that Bailey said Da Da because it seems like we are always saying "When Bailey gets bigger she will be able to_______" (fill in the blank). But now she IS bigger and she is doing so many things!!! STOP GROWING UP SWEET GIRLS!!!!

Please ignore the lovely spit up on the left hand side of this video. :)

Best Big Sister

Again, I am bragging on my Avery. She is the absolute best big sister I know. She is so good to her sister and always helpful. Here she was reading Bailey a book to keep her happy while I made Bailey's cereal. She is constantly wanting to hug and kiss on her. She gets excited when we make Bailey laugh. She is always trying to entertain Bailey and make her smile. I just love the love they have for each other and I am going to do everything I can to make sure it stays this way!! (Oh yes and Christy... that chef's hat from Chloe's birthday party is still a big hit! :)

Daddy's nap

We are always respectful of Daddy's naps. We try not to bother him and we try to be quiet around him. We are always sure to tiptoe and whisper when he is napping. Daddy's naps are very important.

Texas Trip

This past weekend we were in Texas for another great time at Nona and Pop's. The girls and I even got to stay a few extra days and it always goes by so fast!

Avery and Bailey's cousins came over one day to swim and play together. Avery just loves them to pieces and could seriously live with them and be fine. Here they are having a picnic after they swam for a while. Have I mentioned that picnics are one of Avery's FAVORITE things?!

Ashley is now 10 and I tell you what--she could move in with me and be my full-time nanny and assistant. She is so good with babies and adores Bailey!

One of the things we did was go to the RODEO!! We have been meaning to attend this rodeo for years and this was Craig and Avery's first rodeo ever. It's right near my parents' home and my dad got us tickets a while back so we could all go. It was fun... HOT, but fun. Avery really enjoyed it although I think the snowcone, popcorn, and treats were at the top of the list. Although when I asked her what her favorite part was, she said the barrel racing. Maybe one day. My dad can dream, right?
I think this pouty face is a put-on. She loves to pretend many things and I really don't remember her being sad the whole night especially not after Aunt Jenna caught her this frisbee!

Avery's favorite--barrel racing.

Look how hot and sweaty she was. We were all worse than her. It was really late, too, and I don't think she got in the bed until around midnight which is probably the latest she's EVER gone to bed! She slept until 8:40 the next morning and that's the latest she's ever slept!!

I think she ate a whole bag of popcorn all by herself!

Can you see her shirt? My mom got it for her--it says "Rodeo Girl." So cute!

Another event of the weekend was to saddle up my dad's new mule. Craig really wanted to ride her and he did a good job. Avery wasn't interested which surprised me because she has been on a horse before. I think she was too busy playing. Bailey had her first picture on a horse/mule, though, and loved it! (Or had no idea...whatever.)

What kid hasn't played in a 5 gallon bucket of water? When I was a kid, that's the only swimming pool we ever got!!

My mom found this old umbrella of mine from when I was a kid. Avery loves to play "It's raining!!!" whether it really is or not.

They stopped for a pose during some time of digging in the "diggy" dirt. Avery came up with that term a while back when she was digging in some hard dirt and told my mom she needed some "diggy" dirt. I love it!!

Nona's Girls

My mom was here for a few days last week and I loved this picture of the girls both in her lap as Avery played games on the computer. I don't do much when she is here. :)

First Swim of the Summer

Here are just a couple of pics of the first swim of the summer at Uncle Gary and Aunt Joyce's pool. It's so pretty out there and we all love to hang out there. Bailey hasn't gotten in yet but she had a fun time playing on the deck and "talking" to Uncle Gary. Little Fish Avery had a blast and even though the water was a little cold, her blue lips and shivering body still didn't want to get out when it was time to go!

Another First for Bailey

You know how when you have your first baby and you're so excited to do all the "firsts"? Like you can't wait for them to roll over and you can't wait for them to crawl and you can't wait for them to talk, etc., etc., etc. Then after you do all the firsts with your oldest you are a little wiser the second time around because you know that once they start to move you can't expect them to stay where you put them and once they learn to talk they won't be quiet when you need them to, and on and on! You learn to wait for some of those "firsts" with some patience and really enjoy the stage they are currently in. Well, I wasn't planning on starting any solid food with Bailey until 6 months because let's be honest--it's a huge mess!!! It isn't necessary until then anyway. Well even though I hadn't planned on it, the doctor suggested going ahead and starting rice cereal with Bailey in an attempt to curb the huge amounts of spit-up we get from her. It's really outrageous how much...you have no idea. It helps some but it has been a learning process over the past week of getting the cereal in her tummy instead of all over her! She is finally learning not to just push it all out with her tongue and I think we get most of it down now. Here are just a couple pics--ignore white, pasty, frumpy Mommy in the back. Of course Avery had to feed her a few bites and she wanted to pick out the spoon. It was sweet really. After I cultivate all of her best intentions, she will be a really wonderful wife and mommy one day.

Anyway, enjoy these messy pics from the first couple of cereal feedings. YUMMY!

Wedding Outing

One of Craig's cousins got married a couple weeks ago in a town 2 hours away from us. We made the trek with the girls and I just knew it was going to be one of those days to remember. Bailey is doing better now but she went through a time (and may again) where she just hated her car seat. She pretty much screamed the whole 2 hours there and the whole 2 hours back. It was a nightmare! It was extremely hot this day and very windy and we pretty much all changed in the car when we got there and had to thaw out Bailey's frozen milk for her bottle in a sink with no hot water in the back of the chapel. She finally passed out and then had to be bounced the entire reception so she would stay asleep because she kept waking up everytime people would applaud. Avery had a RARE RARE accident once we got in the car so I could nurse Bailey before we drove home. Then 10 minutes onto the highway we had to pull over on a gravel road so she could go AGAIN (yes on the side of the road)! I tell you what, it's a good thing we both love each other's families because I could've done without most of this day! We did manage to get a few good pictures and already I can laugh about that day. It was one for the books....and I didn't even tell you everything! :) I love the frosting on the side of her lip!

Look closely for the ever present spit-up coming out of Bailey's mouth!

Avery acting silly.

bouncing the screamer :)

Daddy's girl

Swimming Lessons

Avery has started swimming lessons at Miller Swim School. She loves it and even though she is the youngest in her class, she is probably doing the best job out of all four kids. (OK just allow me some bragging rights!) The parents have to sit in the "viewing room" but she can see me and I can see her. She waves to me and then pays attention and takes her turn practicing skills. She dives down to get a ring and has jumped off the diving board and floats on her back! She is such a little fish and loves the water! Sorry the first couple pics aren't great. They were taken through the window of the viewing room.

Girl Party

Today we got to babysit Kolbi and Kate at the same time! Lisa went to the hospital to have baby Callie this morning and Sara had a doctor's appointment, so I told them both to just bring their girls on over and Avery, Kolbi, and Kate played so well together! There was not one single issue between them the whole time. Bailey took a long nap, so she was only up for part of the time they were here. When she was up, I had to take some pictures of the four of them. I couldn't resist. I was thinking if I had had four baby girls one right after the other, this would be my daily life--a 3 year old, 2 year old, 1 1/2 year old, and 4 month old! Yowza! But actually it wasn't bad at all and they totally entertained each other. What's also cute is that besides Bailey, the 3 older girls are all big sisters each with a little sister! (Although Kate's sister won't be born for a couple more weeks.)

Sweet girls

They were just like stair steps.

Their legs hanging off the edge of the couch were so cute. It reminded me of the "More Bars in More Places" Cingular commercials. And look at all those bruises! I'm glad my daughter's not the only one. Well she does have the most, though. :) I guess kids are clumsy.

This was cute because Avery was upset that Bailey wasn't sitting by her. So at the end I had to move Bailey down by Avery and take a picture of the two of them. Ignore her big foot stuck right in front of the camera! Do you think they look alike?? I'm not sure.

Bailey's Newest Trick

Here is Bailey's newest trick. I have been waiting for the toes to go into the mouth any day now and finally she is doing it. I just love the feet in the mouth stage! It's so cute! She has been doing it much better than she is in this video, but I had to document it. Also, I couldn't get her to do it in this video, but lately she has been turning on her side and trying to "get" the polka dots on her changing pad cover! It's so cute and she just can't figure out why she can't grab them. It's hilarious. Hopefully I can get her on video doing that soon.

Going Away Party for Chris & Sara

This past Saturday night, we had a going away party at our house for our friends Chris and Sara and their daughter Kate. Chris just graduated from medical school and he is starting a residency in Little Rock, Arkansas in just a couple weeks. Sara is about to have another little girl, Addison, so they are a busy little family. Sara has become one of my closest friends over the past few years. We have so much in common and have really helped each other out with our girls when we needed a sitter, etc. We have done MOPS together, been at church together, and just really clicked in our personal lives. I am going to miss her so much but I pray that God will bring them back to Tulsa one day!

Here are some pictures from the party. Pretty much our whole Sunday School class was there and there were little kids and babies everywhere! I LOVED IT! I wish I had gotten more pictures but when you're the hostess, you're kind of busy. We tried to get a group picture of the kids, but you know how that goes. When there are around 14 of them, it ain't gonna happen! Even Avery, who is always a wonderful big sister, let her sister take a nose dive on the concrete because she was tired of holding her up for the picture! (Don't worry, she was fine. :) Besides the bigger kids, there were 5 little babies...and Bailey was the oldest one! They ranged from 2 weeks to 4 1/2 months. It really was precious to see all these little kids and babies all over the house and backyard. Made me think maybe Craig wasn't so crazy for wanting a house full of them.

Cloth Diapers

I have been meaning to post about this for a while now. I took the plunge and decided to use cloth diapers with Bailey. I so regret not doing it with Avery now that I know how easy they are!! These are not your grandmother's or mother's cloth diapers.

This day and age they are cute, have velcro, have a waterproof outside so you don't have to use "plastic pants" and they are really a breeze to clean! I really do love using them. It saves money and is great for the planet! At least I am not contributing much to the millions of disposable diapers that go into dump sites every day. I do put her in a disposable when we go to church and usually if we're going to be out for very long just so I won't have to deal with the cloth diaper while we're out. Not really a biggie if it's wet, but if it's dirty, I just wouldn't want to mess with it if I wasn't at home.

It's really a trendy thing these days to use cloth diapers and my friend Super Mom...I mean Emily, has a new blog where she talks about what we do more in depth. Instead of spending time doing that, I will just let you read her blog since we pretty much do the same thing! http://thedomesticnotebook.blogspot.com/2009/05/converting-to-cloth.html

The only thing I do differently is I use Kushies disposable liners inside the diaper. It's just a thin liner you lay on top of the diaper and it goes against their skin. It helps minimize poop clean up when they have a dirty diaper. You just flick the liner into the toilet and flush! Less clean up for you. Also, I only use BumGenius one size diapers. They are awesome and are supposed to fit from newborn until they are potty trained! They have a snap system that lets you adjust them. I think I have only had 2 leaks with these diapers and that's because I left it on too long. I mean through the night (12 hours) plus a couple more because she slept late. Give them a try!

Boots and Bunny Slippers

I think this post is self explanatory. :)

Grandma Alexander turns 90!

Craig has one living grandmother and she turned 90 years old this past Friday! What an accomplishment. I hope I live to be 90! She was having a good day and I think she enjoyed the dinner and the cake. This was her first time to meet Bailey and we got some pictures of her with the girls. Bailey didn't make dinner very pleasant as it was getting too close to her bedtime, and she finally collapsed into a sleepy but precious heap in Craig's arms. Avery was a doll and very well behaved. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of her all dressed up for the adult dinner.

Pretty Girls

For some crazy reason we have actually been ready for church early for the past few weeks. We took the extra time to take pictures of the girls in their dresses since we really never get to do this on Sundays. I thought they looked especially cute on these two Sundays!