Sydney's First Tooth!

Sydney's first tooth was discovered by Nana today at FIVE GUYS burgers. The girls and I had met Nana, Julie, Aiden and Kenzie for lunch in BoDo. Syd had been drooling and gnawing on anything and everything she could get in her mouth the last few weeks. Nana stuck her finger in there and, there it was! Bottom left front tooth was sharp and coming through her gums. Who knows how long it had been there...TJ and I hadn't checked around in there for a week or so. So we'll call it today when she got her first tooth. Just about a week shy of 8 months old. I'm trying to get a picture of it, but every time I open her mouth with my finger, she sticks her tongue down over her lower lip!

More pictures...

Bailey has been learning the alphabet and the sounds that each letter makes at school. Combine that with her love for drawing and we got an "A" the other day! We were so proud of her! She was proud of herself too.

Sydney and Daddy playing in the evening. Upside down!

Bailey and Daddy dunking their peanut butter and honey sandwiches in milk. The best!

Fall Fun

Here are some pictures of the last month or so. Paging Doctor Bailey (10.20.11)... Bailey and her pumpkins (10.27.11)...Sydney's first time in the swing (10.30.11)...Bailey in the leaves (11.6.11)...and Bailey hugging Syd on the couch (11.17.11).

Oct 8, 2011: Bailey got some index cards out of the trash for me, as they weren't totally used up (written on). She was pretty proud of herself and said, "That's so nice of the Bailey."

Last night in the bath, Bailey asked me if I wanted some "cold water milk." I asked what that was and she said, "It's organic!"

I asked Bailey what she wanted from Santa Clause this year...she said, "A play paper towel!!"

Halloween 2011

We all met at Scott and Jenn's for their traditional chili dinner before going out trick-or-treating. The whole gang was there. Next we went to trick-or-treat Grandpa and Jason. Bailey rang the doorbell and just walked right in! We hoped she wouldn't be doing that to all the houses that night! Then we headed to Surprise Valley to trick-or-treat with Aiden and Kenzie. We had to make a stop at our house, as Sydney was crying freaking-out hungry and it was getting to be bedtime for her. TJ put her down and Bailey and I went to Julie's. We got a later start than last year, but still had plenty of candy. Some guy at a house back in the cul-de-sac had jumped out and scared Kenzie. She was pretty shaken up the rest of the night. Nana and Papa joined us towards the end. They got a lot of loot! Bailey was Silvermist (from Tinker Bell), Kenzie was a witch, and Aiden was a baseball player. Sydney will be able to go with us next year!!

Sydney is 6 months old!

Sydney is 6 months old today! Wow, has the time flown by. She is showing her personality day-by-day and it is so fun to watch. She is still a spitter; though she has some good days and some bad days (6 shirts in the morning)!

She checked out at the doctor A-O-K. She weighs 15 lbs, 14 oz (50th percentile) and is 26 1/4 inches long (75th percentile). Her head circumference is 16 3/4 inches (60th percentile). We have started solid foods including rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots and squash. She tried green beans the other night but didn't particularly care for them. TJ has some great video of the faces she was making while trying to swallow them down.

She loves her satin-trimmed DeeDee and pulls it up to her face when we lay her down for a nap or for the night. She is a snuggle bug. Sometimes after having a bottle, she will attack your face (cheek or chin or even neck) with her mouth and slobber all over you. TJ and I think it is so funny; Bailey not so much. She doesn't like to get slobbered on by her little sister. Whenever Sydney hears Bailey in the next room, she turns her head and tries to find her big sister. When B enters the room, Syd just follows her around with big eyes and a smile. She just can't wait to play with her.

She is getting used to a predictable schedule. She wakes up between 6:30 and 7:30. Diaper change and medicine immediately. That settles in her tummy for about 15-20 minutes, then oatmeal, followed by 4 oz of formula for breakfast. Then she plays in her exer-saucer or jumper, or sits on the floor and plays. Roughly 2 hours after she wakes up - 9ish - she lays down for her morning nap. Anywhere from 1 to 2 1/2 hours. Up at 11 or 11:30 for lunch. We just added apples to the mix, so that or a vegie, then about 4 oz formula. Then some more play time, then down for afternoon nap about 1ish. Sleep hopefully 2 hours, up at 3 for 6 oz. formula. More play time. Dinner of a vegie mixed with oatmeal to thicken it up at 5:30. Play time while we eat, usually on the tray of the high chair so she joins us for dinner. Then bath around 7pm, downstairs for her medicine and quiet time. We read some books or watch Baby Einstein. By 7:30-7:45 she is hungry and eats about 6-8 oz of formula upstairs in her room. Then a few books, then she is ready to get in her crib. She has been sleeping through the night more nights than not.

Time to Get Messy: Pumpkin Carving

We bought a couple of pumpkins today and decided to turn them into jack-o-laterns. Last year, we had pumpkins, but we didn't carve them.  Bailey was so excited to stick her hand in there and get all the seeds out, even though it was messy!  She wanted to make sure to save the pumpkin seeds.  Daddy told her how he saved the seeds, baked them in the oven and then ate them after he carved his pumpkin as a little kid.  Afterwards, we had to go outside on the deck to light them so she could see the pumpkin-turned-jack-o-lantern flicker.  Sydney was long asleep...she'll have to join in next year!

Fall Days

These are a couple of cute pictures from October. We have had an "Indian Summer" with some nice fall days in the 70's, but this week looks like back to the 60's. I have finally made the summer-to-winter switch for both girls' clothes. Sydney probably has 30 pairs of pants! All thanks to Aunt Julie and cousin Mackenzie for passing along the clothes...and Nana, as she probably bought a lot of them too.

Bailey is very excited about the "fall" weather, the leaves turning colors and falling off the trees, and upcoming Halloween. She wants to be a superhero...and a worm. Two costumes in case she pees in one, according to her. Not sure where she got that. She says, "I have a butt crack," when she means she has a wedgie. Lots of "Guess what?" to begin any sentence.

We have started Sydney on rice cereal 2 weeks ago and she attacked it! We have a great video of her first time and Daddy stopping to clean up a spill. Sydney grabbed the spoon and put it directly in her mouth! Very coordinated! This weekend we started Oatmeal which she seems to like as well. Next week we'll start some fruits and vege's! We'll probably try sweet potatoes first--as that was Bailey's first food and she loved it. Sydney is getting closer to sitting up. She'll balance for a few seconds, then begin to topple over before being caught. She is getting stronger each day. And when she is on her belly--and especially reaching for a toy--she can spin 360 degrees! She's getting more mobile each day. I can't believe how fast these 5+ months have gone. She'll be 1-year-old and walking before we know it!

Harrison Classic Oct 2011

Bailey ran the 2011 Harrison Classic today. A one-mile run/walk for kids 13 and under. We were in the last group to go, with the strollers, as Sydney and I ran and walked it with Bailey. Daddy was on-call yesterday and had cases today. We saw Magnus and Scott at the start as well.

It was a beautiful fall afternoon--sunny and in the upper 60's. We started off running but soon switched to walking. We went back and forth the whole mile. I told Bailey it was fine to walk and take a rest--I wanted her to have FUN! She sure did. She got an apple, string cheese, organic baby carrots, and chocolate milk at the end. And, a medal for finishing! On the walk back to the car, she told me she wanted to get some more (race) numbers so she could have five in her room to play with. I think I will start a binder with all her race numbers. It was a great day!

Bailey earns Bowling game!

We started a sticker chart for Bailey for incentives to help around the house and take care of herself. She was so excited and proud of herself when she got a sticker. We told her when she received 50 stickers, we would take her bowling. It only took a little over a week. We had a wonderful time bowling. B bowled 66; Mama knocked down 80, and Daddy had a whopping 154! Four strikes and 3 spares! Bailey and I each had a spare. Bailey tried kicking the ball like a soccer bowl on one turn. By about the 6th frame she got bored and wanted us to play with her hair. She needed a buddy to bowl with! After the bowling, we played some video games and skee-ball and she got a lot of tickets. Instead of turning in the tickets for a prize, she wanted to keep them for herself. We had a great time and Sydney did great too--she slept through the whole thing!

Sydney Rolls Over!

Sydney rolled over today, on 9-10-11. She had been so close this week (yellow shirt). Lying on her back she would swing her hips to the left and start to get her shoulders over, but just couldn't get all the way over...beyond her left shoulder. Saturday she did it! These pictures are immediately following. She looks a little surprised. Her left arm still looks a little stuck under her body. She can really squeak and squawk while she rolls. Great job Syd!

UPDATE 9/17/11: The very next Saturday she rolled from belly to back! Although she doesn't go that way often, she can still do it. She usually gets mad and starts squawking when she is tired of being on her belly.

First Day of Pre-K Blue

Today is the first day of school for Bailey. Three-year-old preschool. Some days she tells me she wants to stay home with me and Sydney. (I can't blame her. I dropped out of 3-year-old preschool because I wanted to stay home with my Mom and little sister!) She is in the Blue room and will be with the same two teachers for the next two years. Miss Whitney and Miss Chinoah will help Bailey and her classmates prepare for Kindergarten. We are looking forward to learning a lot and having a great year!

TJ goes to South Africa

TJ was gone for 9 days on a work trip to South Africa. It was a special course on spatial frames and he got to do a lot of hands on learning. The girls and I had a busy week without him, but we were so glad he returned home safely. And Bailey was so excited because there were presents in the suitcase!

Bailey Quotes

Bailey and Sydney and I went for a walk this morning. Bailey saw a bird in this pine tree. She tried to point it out to me and said, "In that pineapple tree!" I proceeded to take the picture of the tree to put here on the blog...and afterwards, she said, "The tree isn't smiling Mommy!" Oh right. Why would I take a picture of something that isn't smiling? Her comments made me giggle.

Bailey was wanting to play with her DeeDee while I was feeding Sydney a bottle one late morning. She had a corner and wanted me to grab the other corner with my feet and hold on. I did and she would laugh as she pulled and then I would let go. She would say, "No DeeDee for you!" I responded "No soup for you!" -- the famous line from one of the Seinfeld episodes. She ran to the kitchen and returned with a Cars the Movie can of Chicken Noodle Soup and shouted, "Yes! Soup for me!!!" We ended up eating the soup for lunch.

I started to do an Ab routine on an App from my iPhone one day. Bailey asked what I was doing. I commented how I was working on getting rid of my tummy after being pregnant with Sydney. She came over and lifted up my shirt to take a look at my belly. About 5 minutes into the routine, she came over to me and lifted up my shirt again. "Is it all gone Mommy?!" she exclaimed!

On a side note, Bailey has started to call me Mommy instead of Mama. Pretty much around her 3rd birthday. Not sure where she heard that...I kinda liked Mama. But Mommy is good too!

Bailey's 3rd Birthday - Part 1

We had a couple of parties for Bailey's birthday this year. We had a family BBQ at our house on the 7th.

Bailey Swim Lessons

We signed up Bailey for Parent-Child swim lessons through the Boise Parks & Rec for 2 weeks. Four days a week, 30 minute sessions. She had a great time and learned about "ice cream scoops" for learning the crawl, kicking, blowing bubbles and listening to the fishies (putting her ear in the water). We played Ring-Around-The-Rosie, Sharkie-Sharkie, and Motorboat. The water was cold, but it still was a great experience to get her in the water. Aiden and Kenzie had lessons at the same time, so Julie was able to watch Sydney while I was in the pool with Bailey. Thank you to Grandma Kemp for coming and cheering her on and taking pictures!

Bailey Quotes

Sisters in the crib.

Like Mother, Like Daughter....Bailey wanting to "pump." I turned it on her belly for a second...she thought that was so funny!

Bailey's Beta fish Dorothy died recently. She received the fish from Uncle Ryan and Britt on her 2nd birthday. She didn't notice she was dead until her cousins Max and Magnus came over and saw her at the bottom of the tank. Bailey got real sad and kept saying, "Poor Dorothy." Magnus told her she should get a rainbow fish. A week later, driving in the car, Bailey says to me, "Um...she's (Dorothy) dead, and when she goes flushed down the toilet, there's some guys down there, and they're making her a rainbow."

Bailey's imaginary friend is Dugoff (DU-goff). We learned today that he has dark, curly hair and wears a suit. He comes over when she is eating at the table and I let him in the back door. They play at "Old MacDonalds" (McDonald's), which is currently our devoid-of-furniture living room. She loves to run races in circles, spin and twirl, and shoot hoops. She pretends it is closed and runs out and stands in front of the office doors in the foyer. Mama and Daddy have to run out too. Then she'll shout, "It's open!" and we run back in and run in circles. This comes from our February trip to Bend, when, on the drive home, we stopped at McDonalds and the playland was closed because the roof above it was leaking. We kept on the road and the next time we stopped -- at Carl's Jr's -- she got to play on the playland. She was running around shouting, "It's open! They fixed the leak!!"

On an especially tiring day, I say to Bailey: "You're driving me crazy!" She replies, "I'm not driving!"

6-27-11: Bailey started a movie on iTunes all by herself. The movie was already set up, so she just had to push the spacebar to unpause it. She says, "I got the movie already myself on!!!"

Seeing a spider on the ceiling above the kitchen table: "Go away spider or Mama will get the vacuum and vacuum you in the dust!"

Bailey Quotes

Upon Daddy returning from an evening bike ride: "Daddy, your feet smell today." Daddy lifted his foot up to her face for her to smell and said, "Smell 'em." Bailey looked up at him with a furrowed brow and said, "I don't think so!"

The Royal Wedding

Bailey woke up earlier than usual today...around 7 am. We came downstairs and cuddled on the couch. Prince William and Kate Middleton got married overnight, and the festivities were still going on early in the morning. We turned the TV on to NBC and saw the kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace. Bailey is at the stage where she is asking a lot of "Why?" questions, so I talked to her about marriage and weddings, and the flags in England. I told her Mommy and Daddy were married, and she asked Why? I said "Because we love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together." She thought about this for a few seconds, then said, "Can I come too?" I thought that was so adorable.

The TV would go to commercial and she would freak out..."where's the wedding?!" She really was enthralled by the whole thing. It was on the news this evening and she'd hear the anchor mention the wedding and she would come running from her play room to see the TV. Pretty funny.

Potty Training

Bailey's first time going #1 on the potty actually occurred last year, March 2010, while we were living at the condo on Camelot. She sat on the little plastic potty chair and peed on the toilet paper that she already put in the bowl.

We started seriously working on it around the beginning of March 2011 at 2 years, 8 months. We had some big girl underwear (elmo- and princess-themed) and if we were home she would have them on. We still used a diaper when we would go out on some errands or be in the car. There were many accidents, of course. Her daycare at the ELC also encouraged us to send her in underwear, with extra clothes of course, and they have helped her along the way as well. They go to the bathroom in groups and I think having Bailey see the other kids use the potty has encouraged her to do it herself.

Now, it is the end of April, baby Cookie will be here in about 3 weeks, and Bailey is doing so well! She is letting us know when she has to go: "I have to go potty." And we get up and run to the bathroom with her. She can pull her pants and underwear down, hop up on the stool and sits down and goes pee-pee. We still cheer and clap and she gets a big smile on her face. We have stopped doing treats (2 M&M's) for #1, and have saved those for #2. Up until about 2 weeks ago, she wouldn't tell us she had to go #2. She would tell us AFTER she had already gone in her underwear. But 2 days ago, she told me, "Mama, I have to go poop!" and I started to run to the bathroom with her but she stopped. She turned to me and said she could do it herself. She came out a few minutes later and I went to check how she did. She had gone poop, wiped, and pulled her underwear and pants up. She showed me in the toilet that she went. She just needed to flush and wash her hands! Daddy and I are so proud of her. And the timing couldn't be better...

Bailey's Imagination

Bailey sure keeps us laughing. Lately, she is into making up friends' names, and even names for herself. Last night, she said her other name is "Do-off." She also had a friend named "Boog-off" come over to play. We opened the front door and invited him in. She played in her toy room with him for a few minutes, but quickly forgot and ran off to do something else.

She'll also talk to parts of her body. For instance, she'll be sitting at the table and see her feet dangling. She will look at one foot, and say, "hold still foot!" Or to her hand, "Hand, do you want some tic-tacs?......OK!"

Two nights ago we walked to Blue Cow Frozen Yogurt and as TJ was looking to add some toppings, she would get so excited about each new bin her eyes fixated on. "Ohhh! I LOVE strawberries!!" and "Ohhhh! I LOVE gummy worms!!!" and "Ohhh! I LOVE cookies!!!" Daddy and Bailey's bowl was quite a concoction.

Bailey Skis....round 2

TJ took today, Friday, off of work and we headed up to Bogus in the morning for some skiing with Bailey. The forecast showed rain/snow showers in the afternoon and we couldn't have timed it any better. We got up there about 10:15 and had blue skies and bright sunshine. It was absolutely gorgeous. For someone who is 8 months pregnant and longing to be carving some turns, I was drooling. Freshly groomed runs, 3 inches of new snow from yesterday...I wanted to be swooshing down the hill!

But, enough about me; today was for Bailey--her second time at Bogus. Grandma Kemp joined us for the trip. We slathered Bailey up with sunscreen, got her snow gear on, boots and skis, and she was ready to roll. TJ was going to take her on the Coach chairlift for the first time. She saw the "swing" and was excited about riding. TJ took her to get lined up and as they waited for the chair she just kept looking forward. TJ picked her up by the harness and she sat close to Daddy. She said, "Ohhhhh....this is cool!" She liked looking at the "sparkly" snow--the crystals on top of the fresh powder from the day before. TJ helped her get off the chair and she was off. Went through some powder at the top of the run. Wanted to go fast. Wanted to "catch up to that kid" that had fallen down. Wanted to eat snow. TJ got the reins out after the first run. She was balancing well and he could tell she shifted her weight when she wanted to avoid someone ahead.

A wonderful morning of skiing with good conditions. Bailey did awesome! We can't wait until next year to get her into some lessons. She'll be carving her own turns in no time!

Bailey Milestones

Just a few things for her "baby book."

Bailey is 2 years and 8 months.

Counts to 14.

Is 35 inches tall and weighs 27 pounds.

This is our third week potty training. She does great at school. At home she has good days and bad days.

We just finished parent/child swim lessons--her first real lesson. She did well. Doesn't like the tickle of water in her ear so we are working on floating on our back in the bathtub.

Bailey's First Ski Day

Today we took Bailey skiing for the first time. Jason joined us for the trip up to Bogus Basin. She had her 80 cm skis and boots that were a bit too big (the smallest you can get) and her harness. We lucked out with the weather--it was sunny and not too cold. I stayed at the bottom to video and take pictures, as I am unable to ski with Cookie in my belly. She rode with Daddy up the "Magic Carpet" and skied between his skis. She absolutely loved it! She kept saying, "Let's do that again!" and "I'm doing it!" and "I wanna go fast!" The first few runs she would just relax and lean forward while TJ held the harness. She would also "bounce" and bend her knees like she was bobbing up and down during the run. After the 5th time, she got the hang of the balance and was really going down on her own. They probably did about 10 runs. Way more than we thought she would be up for. Of course she had to get some snow at the top to eat, and held the little snowball in her mitten for more than one run. Afterwards, we went to the lodge for some hot cocoa and lunch. It was a wonderful day!