Happy Birthday Brandon!

He's courageous...

He's a Christian...He's a little white trash... He's a rocker...

He's a wizard...

He's a Clipper's fan... He's dirty...

He's tender...

He's a husband...

He's daddy...

And he's F'in - 27!!!!

Brandon was born October 30, 1981 and we celebrated by going to Disneyland and eating his favorite- pumpkin pie. Brandon means so much to us and we are so blessed to have him!

Gangsta'

My good friend Leann got this cute M&M outfit for Bailey when I first found out I was pregnant. I have known Leann since the 7th grade and one of our favorite things to do is munch on M&M's and watch movies or just talk. We are a bit more self-controlled these days but as kids we would eat M&M's until we were sick.

I think Bailey looks like a gansta'.

On a side note; today Bailey got introduced to the 'sippy cup' and leggings. I got her some stylin' leggings because our house is all tile and wood floors and as Bailey is scooting around the house (still backwards) her little legs get so cold and red that I got her some protection for the no pants days.

Pumpkin Carving

We had a family pumpkin carving party the other day at my parent's house. We ordered pizza and carved pumpkins from scratch-no stencils and it shows. Ryan and Brie had to leave early but Ryan's pumpkin was voted best because he carved a clean mustache on his. Good job Rye.

Brandon and I's master pieces. Mine is on the left and Brandon's on the right.

Play Date

Last Friday Bailey and I met Natalie and Emily and Nicole and her daughter Hadlee at Irvine Park for a picnic. Nicole was in Natalie and I's labor class and so it was fun to all see each other with our little ones.

It was so fun to see the girls interact. They pulled hair, stole pacifyers, borrowed each other's toys but they were totally happy and content.

Bailey stole Hadlee's pacifyer out of her mouth then tried to stick in in Emily's ear and Hadlee kept pulling Bailey's hair. At least Emily is well behaved.

Nice day in the park.

7 Months!

Bailey was 7 months old on the 15th.

She has two bottom teeth and her top two front are coming through. Her favorite foods thus far are carrots and peas. She waves "bye-bye" with her whole arm and sometimes both arms. Bailey is getting closer and closer to crawling and actually crawls backwards pretty good. If she wants something she will often scoot backwards than turn a 180 to get it.

She needs more desire to crawl I think. Frani is definitely her biggest desire to move forward but she will eventually get over it and play with a toy or her knew favorite thing is to take apart her mat. We got her a foam padded puzzle mat because we have all wood and tile floors so this way she is comfy and safe on the floor. However, she discovered that the mat is a puzzle and she was so excited to discover how to take it apart. So for now, why crawl or go anywhere when you can take apart the floor?

Bailey's personality is showing more and more. She is still a happy content little girl but she has become much more vocal with little squils and coos and she loves to be vocal in restaurants or the overflow room at church-lovely. She lights up and goes crazy when Brandon gets home and then Brandon breaks out in "The Happy Baby" song and dance. She also gets very excited to see my family since they see her so often and she is enthralled by Frani and Murphy (the dogs.) I sometimes want to leave for a while just so I can get an exuberant welcome back from her.

She's our little sweet pie and bugaloo. Oh yes, the baby nicknames.

Apple Festival 2008

This year is a start of a new tradition for the Bridgman family. We waited a whole year for our apple tree to bloom and when if flourished we were anxious to taste them. Luckily, the apples are delicious and they cook very well. So, we threw the first annual Apple Festival!

While the boys were hard at work, my mom, Jenni, Tawnia, Brie, Natalie, and I cooked apple recipes all day for a huge dinner.

For Dinner we made:

- Grilled Chicken with Apple Salsa
- Baked Apples stuffed with Butternut Squash
- Apple, Feta and Candied Walnut Salad with home-made Vinaigrette

- Apple Bread
- Apple Iced Tea
- Apple Sauce (for the babies)

And for Dessert:
- Apple & Cheddar Cheese Pie
- Apple Pie Bars
- Apple, Blackberry and Blueberry Crisp
- Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Apple Martinis (home-made apple juice)

While we were busy in the kitchen Bailey and Emily played very nicely together. They are finally taking notice of each other and it is really cute to watch them interact a little.

A little extra treat was that Brandon got off work early and surprised me with beautiful flowers. Thanks luvies.

The boys took the girls on an afternoon walk while we finished up and then they grilled the chicken.

The food turned out even better than we imagined and it was a great night with family and friends. Definitely a great way to kick off the fall season.

Fun Saturday

Brandon, Bailey, Frani, and I have a Saturday morning tradition that we have been doing quite consistently since only a few weeks after Bailey was born. We stay in our sweats and take amorning walk through Old Town Tustin to our local Starbucks. We get our coffee and sit outside with Bailey and relax. So here we are enjoying the cool saturday morning-loving that it was cold!

We then went to our friends house Stacey and Ben for a late breakfast. They made wonderful omlets. We meet about once or twice a month with a group of friends and rotate houses and meals. Wish I had a picture-next time but great fun.

So, if you have been over to our house in the past year you may have looked at our front yard tree and thought, "why do they have a dead tree in their front yard?" Well, when we moved in about a year ago we planted a Jacaranda tree. Very soon after it was in the ground it lost all its leaves and looked very ugly. I called the nursery and they told me it should revive around summer. So, we waited a whole year and kept questioning the stick in our front yard and sure enough it never revived and we have had a dead tree in our yard for a year now. HOWEVER, we got the tree replaced and now have a live Jacaranda tree!! It has leaves and all! Brandon and my dad planted the tree in the afternoon.

We are excited to watch Bailey and the tree grow together.
And to finish off the day Brandon and I had a date night! For father's day I got him tickets to see The Swell Season (the music from the movie Once). The show was at The Greek in LA which is a beautiful outdoor theater surrounded by pine trees and you can see the stars. The show was awesome and their music was very passionate and real. Brandon and I loved cuddling up with some hot chocolate and listen to some great music.

Here is Glen Hansard.