So Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Bridgman's had a very nice day and we're excited to have Bailey share in the holidays with us.

We slept in and loved hearing the rain! We bundled up and went on a nice brisk walk to Starbucks really enjoying the weather.

Brandon then put up a baby gate where our kitchen step is, and I started the cooking. We made stuffing, deviled eggs, and Brie en Croute. Bailey sat in her high chair and fed herself cheerio halves for the first time. I gave her cheerios for the first time yesterday and she really got a kick out of feeding herself.

Poor Bailey and Frani-they looked at us like we were imprisoning them. Even though the sick truth is that Frani could've just walked around through the other room...he shared in Bailey's pain.

The family met at my parent's house and we had a very scrumptious meal; all the fixings. It is crazy how large my immediate family is now. The six of us has now grown into 13 of us. Brandon, Bailey,Tim, Tawnia, Caden, Brie and Aunt Peggy have all been wonderful additions; oh and of course the dogs-Frani and Murphy, that makes 15!!
Michael and Tawnia began to move into their house yesterday which is about 1/4 of a mile from my parent's house. We all live within a mile of each other! I am so blessed to have my family so close and we all have a great time together.

Here is Bailey eating meat for the first time;turkey of course. We pureed turkey and gravy for her and she actually seemed to like it. She made a face at first but then seemed to enjoy it.

Brandon and I have been discussing how good the Lord has been to us. Giving us a beautiful daughter, a fun and loving marriage, a house, wonderful families, great friendships, the Wii got Tetris...I mean, I can go on and on. It is truly a day to be thankful to friends, family, and the good Lord.

A Weekend with the Benders

Over the weekend Brandon, Bailey and I drove up to Santa Barbara to visit Ricky, Keri, and Caleb (a.k.a "chubs") for Caleb's 4th Birthday party. We were lucky on our drive because staying coastal we had no fire traffic. We saw practically every fire burning from Socal to Santa Barbara from a distance-so sad. However, we had smooth driving and a sleepy baby.

Saturday we went to down-town Santa Barbara to get lunch and walk through some antique shops before heading to the Pirate Party.

The Bender's just moved into a beautiful new home right next to the ocean with new shops and parks. We drove through flower fields and strawberry fields before arriving at their home. Very beautiful.

Chub's birthday party was pirate themed and every child and adult had a costume on. I made Bailey's by cutting some pants and a onsie jagged, adding some black with a sharpie, and had a friend draw a skull and cross-bones on her shirt; it worked.

Sunday morning we went to Brit Merrick's church 'Reality' in Carpinteria. This is one of Brandon's favorite Bible teachers and so it is always a treat to visit the church. Unfortunately for me, the nursery was full and the cry-room was a little crowded and cramped with a very loud and playful Bailey, so I sat outside and missed the service.

After church we went to Vons, got some sandwiches and went down to the beach. It was a very nice and warm day in mid-november. But I am ready for winter.

Bailey's 8 Months

Saturday the 15th Bailey was 8 months old. She wowed us that morning with climbing up the kitchen step. Since she now crawls she is always wanting to explore everything. She has become increasingly confident and independent now that she can crawl places she so desires. She follows Frani mostly and goes to areas you don't want her going. She unfortunately bumps her head a bit more now that she is trying to climb things or by turning her head into things or just toppling over. She also has 4 full teeth and two that are almost all the way in.



Bailey's personality is really coming out more and more and she has a love for all dogs; even just a picture of one. She also gets ecstatic over other babies and children. She is a picky eater but with work she is getting better. She laughs at me when I tell her "no;" this worries me. She is clingy to me when we are around strangers and I love that I am her preference. Bailey loves it when Brandon gets home and she welcomes him by flapping her arms and crawling to him. Bailey is joyful, sweet, and so much fun to be around. I love doing everyday life with Bailey.

She is in a home-made pirate costume.

Less of a Caveman

My wonderful friend Natalie showed me how to reformat my videos so I can post them on youtube and thus on my blog. I also figured out how to edit videos! I had so much fun adding music and adding a transitional heart in between videos. I am so proud of myself but keep in mind this is my first edited video. Thanks Natalie, I am now able to go further in life.
This is Bailey's first 2 days of crawling. She wiggles more than she moves but since then she has gotten much quicker. She still army crawls but she is more coordinated and smooth. We are so proud but she keeps me busy!

Bailey's so Smart

This is the first thing that I sat down and taught Bailey that she learned right away. I was so surprised! I try to teach her funny things all the time but she never seems to care but this she picked up instantly.

Bailey like Frani

On the Move

November 1st Bailey started to crawl. We were at Michael and Tawnia's house, which they are in the process of purchasing, and Bailey crawled after Tawnia's camera. We kept moving it back slowly and watched her scramble and wiggle towards it. We are so proud of her and love watching her have so much fun with her new found freedom. I have baby-proofed the house but I daily find new hazards as she seems to find new ones every day.

I have really cute videos of her crawling but I am such a caveman and have tried numberous times to down load the videos; it just does not work for me for some reason. So, unfortunately I can not share her truimphant moment.

Bailey's favorite thing to go after is of course Frani. She scrambles across the entire house to touch him and they are very sweet. She also likes to go after these shiny plastic balls-kind of like Frani. I worry that she will imitate Frani more than us.
We cuddled Bailey up to go on an evening walk to vote.
Helping me do laundry.

Happy Halloween!

We look forward to Halloween all year because of Jenni and Tim's spectacular Halloween parties. Any excuse to wear a costume is always a good time for us. We think of Halloween costumes all year but we still are always scrambling to get something together the day of.

Here is what we came up with.

Tim is White/Gold from the milk commercial; Jenni is a jockey; I am the Chiquita Banana, Brandon a banana and Bailey a monkey.

This picture does not do Jenni's costume justice so I must show a full view shot.

There were some creative costumes that provided for good laughs.

M.J. and Raggedy Ann

Ideal Breakfast

Gold Digger

1950's Prom disaster Cutest little monkey

Wild and crazy dancing