b goes to pre-school

b started pre-school today. just once a week. . . but omg you would have thought i was leaving him forever. he was so excited at the idea of going to school, packing his lunch, playing with new toys, going with kam, but when it came right down to it, i don't think he realized i wouldn't be staying with him! he was holding onto me like a little monkey . . . and wouldn't let go. he was screaming for a good ten minutes . . . i was crying outside his classroom. it was NOT a fun morning. but his teachers called and assured me he was having a good day. he was thrilled to see me when i picked him up and talked about playing and painting.
not sure i am cut out for pre-school at two! we are going to give it a month to see how it goes. . .

more please!

b is not a cookie kind of kid . . . but today we showed him how to dunk oreos in milk . . . he gobbled them up! now he wants oreos for snack alllll the time!

kam's first day of pre-k

little miss kam started pre-k today. three days a week! it's a big adjustment for me . . . she is totally fine with it . . . excited actually! this year is so different at her school . . . no more babying. they are expected to sign-in, put their stuff up themselves, make their mat up for rest time . . . oooooh. too much growing up! she is loving every second of it though. looks like it will be a great year!

our little cheerleaders

ken and mck are giving cheer a try this fall! we joined a little late so we had so catching up to do, but they are having lots of fun learning all the cheers. ken catches on really quickly to the words . . . and mck just looks like a cheerleader. it's really kind of cute to see them busting out with cheers all the time . . . in the backseat, at the dinner table, while outside playing! this is a fun change for them!

our little gymnast

kam wanted to give gymnastics a try this year . . . this will be the first time in 5 years that we haven't gone to the ballet studio, but it is so great that the kids want to try new things. kam was so excited and was not scared at all . . . although i was sitting on the bench gritting my teeth because everything she was doing was new and challenging . . . and they had a sub coach this time so he didn't know she was new! she did so well! i cannot wait to see how much she grows through the year!

first day of school 2011

reality hit at 6:15 this morning when i had to get the girls up and ready for their first day of first and third grade. summer is officially over.
ken and mck looked adorable in their coordinating (not matching - their choice!) outfits. so grown up! daddy had to miss out on the first day chaos because of a dr. appt. in houston, so we had to snap extra pictures for him. the girls were good sports even though it was so early. they wanted to make sure daddy saw how cute they looked!
we had special sprinkle donuts then loaded up to take the girls to school and walk them to their classes. they knew just where to go and just what to do. they were happy to have us there, but didn't need me. i sure do hate this growing up stuff . . . but it is awesome to see my two beautiful confident kiddos strolling into their classrooms.
in the evening we celebrated with a dinner of mac and cheese and hot dogs (their choice) and special cupcakes that the little kids and i made. it was a perfect start to a great school year!

a visit from the backpack fairy!

the backpack fairy made her annual visit . . . times FOUR this year! :) she left sweet notes and filled the kids backpacks with lots of fun goodies . . . erasers, water bottles, mini pillow pets, squinkies, a special book, fun tissues, lunch wipes, hand sanitizer, and more.
the kids had so much fun opening their treasures. the girls loved the squinky stuff and b couldn't wait to get water in his water bottle. then it was off to bed to get a good night's sleep for an early wake up tomorrow!

a messy treat

as an end of summer treat i let the kids go for a week without picking up the upstairs. this was a lot . . . for me! :) i had to take a deep breath before rounding the corner each time i went up the stairs. it was a crazy mess of toys. when they needed room they just shoved toys to the side in a big pile. the crazy thing was . . . it didn't take too much longer than a normal mess to clean up. i think maybe i could get used to this! :)

meet the teachers 2011

ken and mck were all smiles to meet their teachers tonight! i cannot believe how independent both of them are now. they knew just where to go and were not scared to walk on in and introduce themselves. they are both going to have a wonderful school year. i still cannot believe i have a 3rd and 1st grader.

summer vacation 2011

this was a MUCH needed little getaway for us all! :) we stayed close . . . only traveling to the dallas area, but it was a getaway all the same! :) bailey had to work for a few days at the gaylord hotel, so we just tagged along and got a couple extra nights. their new water park opened early in the summer, so we were just a shuttle ride away from kid paradise! :) the kids played hard all day . . . and all night! the hotel was wonderful and had so much for the kids to do . . . braiding, caricatures, tattoos, lots of yummy food, a candy shop, trains to watch, giant cowboys, balloon makers, fish, waterfalls . . . it was wonderful! i don't think any of us realized how much we needed a little vaca!

while bailey was working, aunt sarah joined us for a day at girl heaven aka the american girl store! ken, mck, and kam spent awhile just taking it all in . . . it is beautiful and overwhelming at the same time! they brought their dolls and looked for outfits for them. kam was quick to decide on a cute pink camo outfit for her bitty baby! mck took a little longer, but settled on an adorable purple flowered outfit for her bitty baby. and ken, well, ken couldn't decide for a very long time . . . and then ended up picking one of the most expensive outfits in the store . . . but kit looks adorable dressed in her school outfit! even little b had a great time - he found a stuffed deer when we walked in and tried to ride it around the store! then we got kit's ears pierced (too funny!). ken has been waiting a long time for that! then we settled with our dolls for sweets at the soda counter! ken got a huge chocolate milk shake, kam and mck picked sweet mini cones with sprinkles . . . and b got the biggest brownie sundae EVER! :) we topped off the fun day with dinner at the rainforest cafe . . . YUM and FUN!

from the gaylord, we were super spoiled and stayed at the mansion on turtle creek. . . a five star hotel that aunt sarah was interning at this summer. we got the royal treatment there . . . they knew our name at check-in, gave the kids all little stuffed turtles, delivered warm cookies and milk and tea to our room, had AMAZING iced coffee and cookies in the lobby, an amazing swimming pool, the most comfy bed (well, it would have been comfy had i not been sleeping with two toddlers!), and the most amazing staff. we got to see g and g, tim, missy, cousins, and aunt sarah. it was a great night. and we visited the most amazing animal exhibit . . . the dallas world aquarium. it was so cool! the kids are still talking about it! sadly, being spoiled only lasted a night (that's all we could afford even WITH the friends and family rate!) :) thanks sarah for the hook-up! it was amazing!

kam with curls!

kam decided she wanted to sleep with rollers . . . this was the result!

omg. so cute! you gotta love her!

b goes on a daddy date!

it was guys nite . . . a trip to the monster truck show . . . and some much needed daddy/son time! b was sooooo excited and looked so cute heading out the door with his airplane backpack filled with "monster truck" goodies!

daddy said he was in awe and staring at the trucks. he thought it was so cool! he came home so worn out, but was wide-eyed ready to tell the girls all about it . . . "monster truck SMASH da car!".

on a happy note, the girls and i got to spend some quality time shopping for school clothes! :) everyone had a happy evening!

kam's mommy date

"me and mommy went swimming. we went to the rec center. it was fun. we were swimming, jumping, and playing with my new purple mermaid. we went to the dollar store and i got a treat at mcdonalds. it was fun!"

meet graham

our newest family member and ken's very early christmas present!
sweet little graham was born may 31st and arrived in the bailey household on july 24. what an awesome puppy! he is sweet and so playful . . . i could do without the morning wake ups, but know that will pass. ken is being so responsible . . . taking g on two walks a day, taking him out several times a day, and giving him lots of treats! she even had to assist in his first vet visit! g and cooper haven't quite figured out what they think of each other. . . but we're sure g will win him over soon!

bye bye dialysis! :)

looking back, i should have had all of us pose for this one! we are so happy to have said "GOOD BYE!" to the dialysis machine. this giant suit case arrived the other day. we sealed it inside and today they came to pick it up! even the kids were happy to see it go. what a difference a kidney makes! after two months it is amazing how many ways our lives have changed. we owe so much to our angel. we love to tell the story (and i don't think it will ever get old!) and hope that just one other person will be inspired by what susan did for us! good bye dialysis! we've got a kidney!

frozen paint!

saw this cool idea in a magazine to mix tempra paint with water and freeze it in ice cube trays for a cool way to paint. the kids loved it . . . although the colors were a little too dull on the paper, they made a great design on the driveway! next time we are skipping the paper! it was much more fun to make a mess on the pavement! a fun way to get messy and stay cool!

mck loses tooth #6

after WEEKS of wiggling mck finally lost tooth number 6! she was thrilled! :) she put her tiny tooth in her tooth envelope, set it next to her tooth fairy light, and tried to wait up! :) lucky for us, the tooth fairy arrives pretty late! she even wrote her a sweet note with ken's help! the tooth fairy forgot to write back but left some yummy gum and FOUR quarters!

mck's mommy date

"mom and i went swimming and had fun together. i jumped off the diving board a lot of times. it was 12 feet deep! i jumped in and got diving worms and rings! i got candy at the pool on our break! we went to starbucks and went to the bookstore too. then went back home. it was very very fun on my mommy date!"

ken's mommy date

"mom and i went and got TONS of dog stuff because I am getting a new puppy! it was a big surprise that i was even getting the dog. it was so much fun! we even got him a little outfit. after shopping we went to starbucks. i got a vanilla bean frappucino. it was the best day ever! i can't wait till my next mommy date!"

playing "cake boss"

so, clearly none of the kids are too old for play dough! this time, ken and mck decided they would play "cake boss". too funny. they were each doing a job for the bakery and half way through asked me if i could turn "cake boss" on in the family room so they could hear it in the background while they played. gotta love it!