it's girl scout cookie time!

pretty cute, huh? :) the girls are loving girl scouts this year . . . can't believe i am already breaking my rule of one after school activity . . . but they are really enjoying it! it is so "their thing" . . . crafts, outdoor time, games, and friends! :) could it be a more perfect match! and now they are excited to sell cookies! :) they would have gone out the night we picked up the cookies if i let them! :) too cute! they have a whole little "speech" to give too! :) how can anyone resist? now we just need to sell the 100 boxes of cookies to get them out of the house! :)

my nerdy girl!

these are the books ken came home from the library with today . . . "comfort foods" and "the alamo". hmmmm. not only did she choose these books she grabbed them out of her bag when she got home and couldn't wait to show me! :) she had already looked through the recipe book and found lots of stuff she thought we should make . . . and was extremely excited to get into the alamo book because there was stuff about "david crockett" in there and she learned about him in school. too funny! gotta love my little nerdy girl! :)

i'm 18 months old today!

oh my . . . my little b.c. is 18 months old today! he has changed sooooo much just in the past few weeks! saying more, doing more, becoming more demanding, and more clear on all of his demands! he is hilarious and loves to do silly things to make us laugh! he is such a monkey . . . full of energy and mischief . . . crazy . . . but so hard not to love! :) he is such an amazing little guy!

b.c. loves trains, trucks, and BUZZ! :) he loves to cuddle . . . for a second . . . and loves to give hugs and kisses . . . when he's in the right mood! he is a good eater . . . but becoming a little picky! he loves milk, cheese, nodddles, and bananas . . . a typical toddler! he is finally a good sleeper . . . but wakes as soon as he hears his sisters stirring in the morning!

the girls and i decided to make a really cool train cake for his half birthday . . . but as you can see, the train didn't work . . . so we baked a heart instead . . . and iced it in blue to make it more manly! :) the girls just love their little b! he has no problem playing ponies and barbies with them (yes, i know this will change!) and they in turn LOVE playing trucks and wrestling with him! :) can't imagine a second without him! :)

at his check-up b.c. weighed 23 pounds and was inches long. he is in the 15% for his weight and 50% for his height . . . his head is still hanging in there at around 90% (he's got a lot of brains!)! :) he did great is totally healthy! :) just an active little guy! :)

the goat that thinks he's a dog!

rocky now gets out of his pen EVERYDAY (peanut will usually stay put!). we swear he thinks he is a dog! he comes up to the porch and just looks in the window at us as though he expects to be let in . . . so we tried opening the door to invite him into the kitchen, but i think he was so shocked he just stood there! crazy goat! what is it with the baileys and crazy animals? :)

a choo choo ride! :)

the kids and i spent mlk day at the mall with friends for a ride on the train and the carousel. little b.c. is sooooo in love with trains these days! i got so excited about him riding on the train that i forgot to take any pictures except for when we first sat down! he was in awe and so happy the entire time . . . nothing like a boy and a train! :) the girls enjoyed the ride too . . . but they of course were too cool to ride with b.c. and me and chose a separate car! :) the carousel ride was a hit too . . . lots of excitement at getting to pick the animal you ride! :) and then of course the girls talked me into a little shopping at build-a-bear . . . doesn't everyone need a snuggie for their bear? then it was lunch at chick-fil-a and a long walk back to the car! made for some worn out kiddos! :) love when i get to spend the day with all 4! :)

bringing in the new year!

just the 6 of us at home . . . but we made it a party! we played all day . . . toys, wii, movies . . . the kids had fun! we had a great dinner - make-your-own pizzas for the kids and crab legs for us! :) YUM! we threw confetti, had noise makers, watched a movie, played games, and just enjoyed hanging out . . . and then we celebrated at "midnight in new york" time and all hit the sack! :) the girls were ready to party all night . . . us, not so much! :) it was so much fun watching them with the confetti and running through the house making their own parade! ken and mck enjoyed decorating with extra streamers, b.c. just loved being crazy, and kam concentrated a lot on learning to blow the horns! :) so much fun! :)

this time new year had a little extra special meaning . . . we need a fresh start! :) 2011 will be a great year for the bailey family! :) we are hoping to make EXTRA happy memories this year to make up for some of the not so happy ones of the past! :) here's to a GREAT 2011

celebrating with family

the day after christmas we travelled to grammy and grampy's for a two day visit! the girls had a great time with cousin s and we all loved meeting baby a! what a beautiful, sweet baby! we opened presents and had an amazing christmas dinner (i think it tasted even better when grammy does ALL the work - thanks mom!). we opened presents . . . $5 stocking stuffers for the adults (a hit again this year!) and the kids were spoiled by lots of great goodies . . . lucky, lucky kiddos!
the next day we met for an amazing pizza dinner and got to see the dancing fountains right outside! what a treat! it was so nice to have such a great visit with our family!
it was our first time travelling with "the machine" . . . uh! the dialysis machine! despite lots of alarms in the night from the machine, we were able to travel relatively easily . . . it's like having a 5th child!
after lots of playtime, cooking hot dogs and marshmallows outside on the fire pit, and assembling and decorating a really cool gingerbread house we headed home. a perfect ending to the christmas holiday!

christmas 2010

well, it's so hard to believe it's over, but i am happy to say that this year we made present opening last 4 hours! that's record! we took LOTS of breaks . . . breakfast, hot chocolate, a snack, time to play, but it was nice to stretch things out and enjoy each moment! the kids had a wonderful christmas! b.c. took one look at his buzz lightyear four-wheeler and was in love! he rode it around all over the house most of the day! kam was so happy with all of her pony goodies and her new baby doll! she wanted to play with each thing as she opened it! mck's favorite thing was her belle doll. what a magical look she had in her eye when saw her. she also loved the bed she got for her! ken can't wait to use her sewing machine and worked most of the day on her fairt tale book! gotta love my nerdy/crafty girl! :)
the big hit for the family was the t.v. for the playroom! now we are really ready for friday movie night! now we can enjoy the new couch and watch movies all cuddled up together! what a treat!
we hung out in our p.j.'s most of the day and just enjoyed playing with all our new stuff! we had a yummy pasta dinner, fun drinks, and a christmas ice cream cake for dessert! it's hard to imagine that christmas could be any better than this! :)

christmas eve 2010

what a wonderful day! the kids and i made sugar cookies most of the morning . . . the kids played while i finished up wrapping last minute things and daddy finished up a half day of work. we got dressed up and went to church . . . a wonderful children's service that the girls really enjoyed! we came home to our traditional christmas eve dinner of appetizers and ice cream drinks! :) then we decorated our sugar cookies - making special ones for the big guy! then it was present time . . . matching pj's for everyone! :) the kids were adorable in them! :) complete with slippers and scrunchies too! ken was really anxious for everyone to go to bed and kept asking what time it was . . . making sure it wasn't getting too late. she didn't want anyone to be up when santa came! the girls put out cookies, sprinkled reindeer food, and all put the snowman on top of the tree. . . then we read "twas the night before christmas and headed to bed. the kids were out in no time!
can't wait for christmas morning. each year is more magical than the one before.

making sugar cookies

the kids and i spent christmas morning rolling out and cutting sugar cookie dough! what great helpers i have this year! :) even little b.c. wanted in on the action! he got a big kick out of stuffing the cookie cutters FULL of dough! :) kam tried so hard to get the cookie cutter far enough into the dough to cut the shape . . . but only managed to make a few! :) ken and mck insisted on rollingout their own dough and cutting all their own cookies! kind of nice to not have to do all the work on my own! :)

grinch day!

we had a super fun craft afternoon. . . grinch day! :) 3 fun grinch crafts that we found at the store! the girls painted ornaments, made little whirl-a-gigs, and played with grinch stickers! :) ken is so independent with crafts these days . . . mck is so patient and will sit for a LONG time trying to get things just the way she wants them . . . and little kam just wants to get in there with the big girls! :) their crafts came out pretty cute and they had lots of fun hanging them on the tree! :)

a trip to the austin zoo

oh how we have missed our bff's! we had such a fun time hanging out at the austin zoo for the afternoon! so many cool things to see . . . and even better friends to hang out with! :) it truly amazed me how interested the kids were in the goats! hello, we have goats! they still thought it was so fun to feed all the farm animals! i think the highlight of the afternoon was the lion . . . roaring and spraying, the GIANT pig at feeding time, and of course the train ride! :) ken had a story about EVERY single animal in the park, b.c. LOVED the choo choo and talked about it the whole way home, kam thought the turkey was pretty cool, and mck was happy to be with a&d! can't wait to see our bff's again soon! :)

our gingerbread village

the kids had a blast decorating a gingerbread village this year. everybody picked a house to decorate and went crazy! :) kam was fast and covered her house with all sorts of treats! b.c. pretended to decorate while sneaking as many candies as he could into his mouth! ken sat for a long time trying to add all sorts of cool things to her house! and mck, well, mck decorated her house for A LONG TIME piling as much as she could onto the tiny structure . . . and managed to eat about a pound of sugar in the process! :) the little village looked great! :)

our little ham!

omg. b.c. is such a little monkey! :) he is such a ham in front of the camera and is such a smiley little guy! :) he is even showing off his forward rolls now! :) it's impossible not to love this little guy! :) seventeen months and full of personality! :)

playroom sleepover!

the girls had their first sleepover on the new playroom couch! what fun! :) they looked so sweet and cozy all cuddled up . . . nothing like a sister sleepover! :) can't wait to see many more of these to come! :)

who needs toys when you've got boxes?!?!

we bought a couch for the playroom . . . the kids weren't interested in anything but the boxes! they played in the cardboard boxes for the ENTIRE time it took us to put the couch together . . . and the couch was from IKEA, so you know that was a LONG time! :) they were so sad to see all the boxes go! :)

dancing at the library

kam was all smiles this morning for her dance performance at the library! :) she was so excited! she did sooooo well! :) and i must say she was the cutest little dancer there in all her PINK! :) the morning was topped off with hugs from santa, some playtime with her sweet friend m, and some goodies! :) now i am really looking forward to the recital in the spring! :)

ballerina baby BOY!

just wanted to capture what is becoming a regular occurance over here. . . dressing b.c. up so he can dance! :) the kids loves it! :) we may have a little dancer! :) poor guy! :)

a grinch hat for daddy

daddy brought home and plain santa hat and asked the girls to decorate it for him for a contest at work! :) the girls and i had a blast decorating it up with a giant grinch, some tinsel, and christmas balls! :) daddy even wore his grinch shirt to work to top off our amazing design! :) the best part . . . he won a $50 gift card! :) go girls!

let it snow!

we got to visit the snow room again this year! :) what a treat to watch all the kiddos playing in the snow! ken and mck acted like old pros . . . flinging snow and making angels right from the start. kam was a little more timid, but was all smiles after a few minutes . . . and little b.c. preferred to stand on the sidelines and watch the craziness! what a fun afternoon this was . . . and the best part was the money we paid to play in the snow is going to help some friends with three sweet little girls - one of whom is battling cancer.