little b turns TWO

my sweet little guy. two, alread? it doesn't seem possible. you have grown from this beautiful bundle of joy into this handsome little ball of energy. your smile melts my heart and brightens up the whole room. your giggle is contagious. you love to climb, wrestle, rough house, play cars and trucks and trains. you love to jump off everything and run laps through the house. you have become so much more independent. you sleep through the night (YAY!) and are starting to use the potty! you still need your mom . . . but are happy to play for long periods with your sisters. you have all of us wrapped around your finger! the girls know to get you to ask for things they want . . . you cock your head to the side and say so sweetly, "please?". it is almost impossible to resist. you are talking so much and take in everything! you love thomas and toy story, spidey and batman! you are 100% boy! i cannot imagine life without you my sweet guy! happy second birthday!

although we celebrated . . . big time! . . . on the weekend we made b's actual birthday special too! he woke up in a great mood! and had donuts for breakfast! :) then he decided to tear into the two presents i had wrapped for him . . . he was thrilled with the gifts, but we had wanted to wait! :) he got thomas bedding for his new train bed and a cool dino from toy story! he was one happy guy! we spent the day playing at the quarry and then came home to eat dinner outside and celebrated a little more with some cake! what a perfect ending to a perfect day . . .

fun with friends at the quarry

we met up with t and her crew at the coolest new splash park . . . the quarry! it is a huge hit with all the kiddos because there is sand AND water to play in! and a hit with me . . . because there's no standing water so i can actually enjoy watching them play! the girls love playing with the w boys! it is so cool that each of them has a pal! the kids played hard for several hours . . . in the 100 degree heat! a perfect summer day!

last day of swim lessons

two weeks of swim lessons has turned these kids into little swimmers! omg. it is truly amazing to see how much progress they have made. ken was doing every stroke really well and loving every minute of her lessons - although she was worn out from doing all those laps across the pool. it was strange to see her doing lessons in the area where she couldn't touch at all! lots of water treading! :) mck was just great - volunteering to go first all the time, beating the boys in little races they had, and really doing well at everything they asked her to do. it was great to see her so independent and confident. and little kam . . . well, kam walked in rather shy and timid, but by then end of lessons she was telling the instructors to back up so she could swim farther! she was amazing! in fact, she passed both pre-school levels. wow! she was so fun to watch. what a treat lessons were this year. b and i chilled on the side watching the girls and playing with toys! what a difference a year makes.

hula hoopers

the kids and i made hula hoops at a playdate today. what an awesome idea! thanks ms. b. and ms. j.! we are in love with our new creations. the kids have hardly put them down since we got home. they are hula hooping, swinging them, hopping in them, jumping with them, lining them up . . . they are their new favorite toy! ken is already pretty good and can go for a long time . . . mck is getting it . . . kam is just adorable to watch trying . . . and little b.c. just carries his everywhere. i think this is a new summer tradition. does it get any better then a homemade hula hoop?!?!?

train crawl 2011

we wanted to do something fun for b.c.'s birthday . . . trains are his latest thing . . . so the idea of the "train crawl" was born! :) we left just before 11 to ride all the local kid trains we could find! :) b.c. was in heaven. no rests. no naps. just several hours of car rides and train rides. pure boy heaven!

before we left for the day we woke b.c. up (check out the middle picture! he knew it was his day!). we did the usual morning gifts . . . clothes and a book . . . he loved his thomas shirt and train book. then we went downstairs where he saw his new bed and was beyond thrilled. a giant, over the top, totally cheesy thomas the train toddler bed. he was so happy. he sat right down and said "ride?"! he was in love with it. he opened his other gifts, ate a donut breakfast, and then it was off to the trains!

our first stop was the williamson co. park train. b.c. was all smiles as we rode. he held his little people guy (which he insisted on carrying!) and sat up straight through the whole 20 min. ride. it was great to watch him so serious about everything.

next stop was kiddie acres . . . a very old kiddie amusement park, but kid heaven. the kids would have stayed all day. we all rode the train around the park twice and let b.c. use the extra tickets we had to ride the planes and the cars. the boy was happy. he thought he was pretty cool and started catching on to the idea of riding more trains! :) it was really cute!

b.c. starting falling asleep on the way to our next stop so we went to the park to eat a picnic lunch. we were so close to our new fav place, so mayfield park it was! :) and this time we had food, so we fed all the creatures. it was awesome. the kids were so excited . . . but alread hot and tired!

our next stop was zilker park. we played, checked out the swimmers, and then realized there was a 30 minute wait for the train. it was 103. we were all pretty hot and miserable. so we had snowcones and hung out in the shade and waited for the zilker zephyr! well worth the wait. it was a 25 minute ride around the park! everyone loved it . . . b.c. was commenting on everything he saw while ken tried to hold him in place so he wouldn't fall off! :) b.c. and kam both crashed on the way to the next train. b.c. woke up saying "more trains?".

i'm not sure if it was a great train or not, but the last stop was air conditioned, so it was our fav for sure! :) the train at lakeline mall doesn't run on a track but through the mall . . . and this ride lasted a long time. it was great. the engineer was very entertaining. and b.c. was all smiles again . . . but still sitting straight up and paying attention to every little detail!

then it was to pluckers for dinner (because their mac and cheese is SO yummy and it's b.c.'s fav food!) and then home for cake and play! :) it might be tough to top b.c.'s number two! :) he had a pretty amazing day . . . and then drifted off to sleep in his new train bed. doesn't get much better than that.

a new fav place

we have a new fav park. this is so awesome. . . peacocks just inches away from the kids . . . peahens and peachicks too! and even some eggs! it was sooooooo darn cool! :) there are turtles and fish and beautiful plants. this will be our new picnic destination when the cooler weather arrives. a 40 minute drive to be this close to so many beautiful things is worth it!

mommy dates

this summer has been so amazing and we have had so many quality moments together . . . but it is tough to have all four kiddos all the time. most days only b takes a nap, so the girls really don't get too much individual attention. so, in an effort to start spending more time with each kiddo individually i started "mommy dates" this month. a chance for me and one kiddo to spend some time doing something that they want to do, that doesn't cost a lot of money, for a few hours, once a month. after the date, the kiddo gets to tell me about the date to include on the blog! i can't wait!

swim lessons

here's the girls on the first day of swim lessons. all smiles! they were so excited! all of them did SOOOOO well! :) it was fun to watch them all swimming at the same time! can't wait to see how they progress through the week!

tie dye 2011

so it is now an annual tradition . . . tie dye shirts for the bailey kids! what fun! the kids were so excited to to the colors themselves this year . . . so i tied the shirts and the kiddos squirted the colors! :) they are so proud of the job they did! thanks ms. j for the idea and for joining us again! we love our shirts!

backpack shopping 2011

as much as we are in complete denial about school starting in a month, we went backpack shopping . . . we had to get a good deal! :) the kids had fun picking them out . . . and grammy offered to buy them! :) b.c. is so excited to sport blue camo, kam got an adorable cupcake one, mck chose purple with funky things all over it, and ken chose owls . . . cause she knew aunt sarah would like it! :) the kids even sported the new packs around the outlet mall for the afternoon! gotta love it!

the FOURTH 2011!

what a wonderful day. it was hot. awful hot! but we wore our matching shirts and headed to g'town with our old friends the c family. the kids loved the petting zoo - okay we all did! we had snow cones and got sweaty then headed to sonic for drinks! then to the house to make dinner . . . a feast of real american food complete with brisket and grilled stuffed jalapenos. we hung out and the kids played. we ate lots of yummy dessert. and then headed to watch the fireworks together. they were magical and the perfect ending to a beautiful day . . .
this fourth had extra special meaning. it was exactly a year ago that we knew something was wrong with bailey . . . he ended up at the hospital just a couple days after the fourth last year. it is so amazing to look back at everything that has happened this past year . . . how much we have been through . . . and to feel like we came out on top . . . we came out ahead! so much has changed. we value family time even more than ever before. we look at the little things the kids do and really try to remember each and every thing. wow. what a difference a year makes. what a difference an angel makes!

camp crestview 2011

we returned home from houston just in time for the girls to head to camp! they were so excited. it is the most amazing day camp . . . full of fun, bible studies, singing, and more fun! both the girls had a wonderful week and made some new friends too! it was so wonderful to see ken being so protective of mck when they headed to camp each day! they were excited to be doing something without the rest of us! i sure missed them each day!

butterflies!

after a very long morning at the hospital we took the kids to the science museum to see the butterfly exhibit. it was breathtaking and amazing. all of them were in awe watching the butterlies flitter about. it was truly magical. the girls loved the big gemstones and b.c. was in awe of the dinosaur! it was one of bailey's first real outings since the surgery . . . and it was great. nice to be out and about as a family again!

painting fun!

the kids had so much fun painting these dragon creatures from some wonderful friends (thanks ms. s!). they really took lots of time to make them extra sparkly! :) and then they hid them throughout g&g's house as a scavenger hunt for when they return from italy! they got so into finding the perfect spot . . . so cute!

swimming with cousins!

we met a and s for a pool playdate at their neighborhood pool. the kids were in heaven. it was a real treat . . . waterslides, falling water, and a giant baby pool! the kids all had so much fun. and then to top it all off . . . an amazing meal from t and m! homemade lasagna! delish! what a perfect way to spend a day!

just two weeks post surgery!

we met s and j for lunch in spring when she came for her two week check. it was a mini-fmaily reunion! s looks amazing . . . so does bailey. what a lucky family we are! (and how cool is s? she has been wearing a necklace ken made for her from a shell ALL summer! wow! ken felt so special!)

little fishies!

the kids and i have been passing the time away at grammy and grampy's by swimming EVERYDAY . . . and i mean EVERYDAY! it is so wonderful to have an instantly fun activity right in the backyard and i am starting to wonder how this could ever get old. everyone is happy! everyone is all smiles! i think i see a pool in our future!

"A" you're adorable!

omg. does it get any cuter? kam was thrilled to head back home for her very first recital! it was a girls night . . . daddy was still recovering and b.c. hung out with grammy! we had a wonderful evening at home (after being away for several weeks!) and got to get ready for the recital all through the morning. ken and mck kept helping kam practice her routine . . . she was dancing to "'a' you're adorable" sung by john lithgow! so much fun!
she did such a great job. the twist at the beginning was the cutest part! we gave her flowers, took some more pics and then got on the road to head back to houston for a little while longer! can't wait to show daddy the video!