What the...?

On our way to the Pancake House for a double-date with the Johnson's part II we saw this cruising through Tustin.

There are two full grown men in there- not midgets like we first thought.

Three wheels. European license plate.

A Month of Mania

"Please no more projects" Brandon begs as we finished all "our" nesting goals today! Bailey is napping, and for the first time this last month I can relax knowing there is nothing pressing that needs to be done for me to feel settled when the little guy arrives.

Some of the big projects conquered included organizing the last 3 years worth of home videos. I have grown into a more mature Mac user and have learned to reformat my videos from my PC and convert them to be used in imovie. I then organized and burned all our videos to DVD so I have them saved and accessible. I then reformatted my back-up hard drive to be compatible with my Mac. I now can back-up all my computer info! This seriously took me a year to figure out... and a very dedicated 9 months to organize.

We also have organized all the closets, re-organized and re-decorated Bailey's room for her brother, organized Bailey's baby album, pre-pared all my Jr. high studies for the rest of the year and gave my sub everything she needs in-case I go into labor, moved and cleaned under all our furniture, we rented a carpet/upholstery cleaner and cleaned our rug and couch, cleaned all windows and screens, made our backyard more open and toddler proof, built a shed with a concrete foundation, planted an herb garden, ALMOST bought Bailey a sweet floppy-eared bunny and am really glad I didn't, and our biggest project - the Garage!

Our garage was a nightmare! It is so beautuful and organized! We organized our attic and rafters too. Brandon and I wanted to sleep in there when we finished we were so excited. We worked 4 non-stop days on it!

Brandon had nasal surgery! He had a deviated septum fixed and some other weird stuff done with a lazer in his nasal path-way making it so he can finally breathe through his nose! It was successful but it was a tough and painful weekend for him. Bailey was very gentle and sweet to her uncomfortable daddy. She especially liked helping him drink his smoothies!

But we have also had a lot of fun! Bailey has been doing a gym/music class this month and we have a blast each week! She is fantastic at the trampoline, balance beam, and bar. She also participates very well with all the songs and games we play. I am very proud of her!

Great times with friends.

Emily and Bailey (BFF)

Bailey and Ethan

Mother's Day was amazing. Brandon spoiled me with doing everything for me, Bailey, and himself and I got to relax in my parent's huge Jacuzzi bath tub!! We walked around the Orange Circle, ate at Rutabegorz, and got a frozen yogurt. It was a perfect day for me!

Brandon and I have been going on as many dates as we can! Going to the movies, reading at coffee shops, bike rides, and recently home-made fondue! Yum-yum

Brandon is working in the office now at work! No more 12 hour days, no more oil-stained husband, no more near-death experiences (I hope!), and many other perks. Brandon comes home earlier, cleaner, and a lot less tired these days! He just started as an Engineering Technician. He is basically an assistant to the engineers and does what is called "digitizing." Here is a picture of him on his first day of work in the office- so cute.

Other than that, my belly is huge and Bailey is cuter and funnier everyday.

Bailey talks all the time now! I am daily surpised with what comes out of her mouth and what she thinks about. She was such a quiet little thing and now that she figured out language, she talks constanstly and it cracks us up. She has a major crush on Peter Pan and usually talks about him and acts like he lives with us. She will even go as far as carry around the video case that has his picture on it and talk to him. She has a rich imagination which we love and have lots of fun with! She may even yell at you "watch out! the cannonballs are coming!" The scene in Peter Pan where Hook shoots cannon balls at Peter. Bailey likes to pretend that cannonballs are coming at us and we hide and make sounds like they are whizzing past us. I love reliving childhood.

One last picture just for fun. Bailey was "helping" me put away laundry the other day. She put on every pair of clean underwear I had. Two year olds are the best!

Bring on the boy!

Night Night Mama

While enjoying some play time with Bailey today before her nap time, she suddenly stood up, grabbed her baby doll and blanket and said "night night mama." I asked "are you putting your baby to bed?" and she replied "yup." This is a normal occurrence of her placing her baby in my and Brandon's bed then coming back to me. Well, she didn't come back and it was very quiet so I went to find out what Bailey was up to. I found Bailey in our bed with her baby doll, head on Brandon's pillow with the blankets pulled up to her chest sucking her thumb. When I saw her I smiled and said "oh, are you ready for a nap too?" She said yup and pointed to the window saying "dark, dark." I shut the curtains for her and sat on the bed next to her. However, she said "no mama, night night." I was really entertained now so I asked her if she wanted me to leave so she can sleep and she said "yes." I kissed her head and left the room expecting her to get bored and come back in the living room. However, after about 5 minutes in went in to check on her because I never heard a peep and Bailey was sound asleep just as I left her. I barricaded her with pillows so she couldn't roll off and left very surprised at my little girl's independence.

Normally, before naps and bed time we rock Bailey for at least 5 minutes and she protests if we ever try and skip the rocking. However, today she did not need me or her own bed- my little girl is growing up too fast, but very responsibly.

Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful Easter weekend of enjoying the blessings the Lord has given us. We enjoyed His creation on a hike, church at Rockharbor for Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and a nice time with family while coloring eggs and doing and egg hunt.

Caden and Bailey- quite a messy experience but fun. Bailey loved having her hands dyed for the day.

Bailey's Easter dress; she's packed to go to Nanna and Papa's with all her new toy items from her Easter basket. Oh, and of course the pearl necklace. Bailey has been wearing this pearl necklace every day for about a week now.

The Easter egg hunt was super fun! Bailey and Caden loved it. Caden looked for green and blue eggs which were hidden more difficultly while Bailey searched for yellow and orange eggs.
The highlight of the day was releasing Bailey's butterflies. We have had them since they were tiny caterpillars and watched them grow and make cocoons and eventually turn into Monarch butterflies. We had five butterflies to release and Easter was the perfect day to do it. They were so calm that we got to hold them in our hands for at least 30 seconds. Bailey was so excited and did great at holding still and watching the butterfly sit in her hand while opening and closing its wings. I want to make this a yearly tradition.

The Lord is good and Easter is a necessary time to reflect on His promises and His mercy.

The Death of Owl

Bailey's pet Beta Fish 'Owl' died this week. Bailey picked him out about 8 months ago and named him, gave him 'fishy-kisses', and fed him regularly. We felt like we were good to the little guy but this was his third attempt at suicide and was successful this last time.

The first attempt was a jump out of the bowl but we were all in the kitchen to witness it and Brandon quickly swept him back into the bowl to safety. Bailey retold that story for about a week.

The second time, Brandon was cleaning out his bowl over the sink and Owl again made a flying leap out but managed to land in the garbage disposal. Brandon thought he was a goner but reached in and pulled him out by his tail. Owl was a bit disoriented and his tail was shredded but he bounced back.

Then this week I went to get some water before bed and saw a still Owl on the table. I gasped and told Brandon to come get him. His gills were moving very slightly so Brandon put him back in his bowl. Owl swam around a bit but kept floating to the top and then swimming a little more; it was a sad scene. Brandon even tried playing the guitar for him to motivate life but Owl was not looking good. So, we decided to give him through the night to see if he made a miraculous recovery.

However, in the morning when I woke up I came across this:

Although, I was deeply sad for our fish, I got at good laugh out of this. So, here is to Owl and the memories he gave us, and for us to explain to Bailey when she notices that Owl is in heaven now with all his fishy friends and Jesus.

Birthday Video

Bailey's 2nd Birthday

It was a beautiful warm day today for Bailey's birthday with a couple hours of extra sunshine. Bailey is two years old today and we are winding down from a weekend long of festivities. Saturday we celebrated her birthday at Irvine Park with some members of the Bair family and today we went to disneyland with the girls; Nanna, Auntie Jenni, and Auntie Brie.

It is amazing to me to look at our little girl who is now running, talking, having an opinion, her own unique personality, all with her own beautiful original facial features that have a hint of Brandon and I in them. God truly is incredible in how He creates life and trusts us to love and mold His little children. We are such blessed parent's to have Bailey in our lives and we are daily grateful for the gift of a child and now a second on the way.

We have been loving this stage of Bailey's life. She is still our sweet cuddly baby when she is tired or wants some love but she is also tons of fun to run around with, explore news things, dance, and play games. She makes me laugh and smile all day and fills Brandon and I's lives with so much joy. Our most precious time of the day with her is at bed time when we are in her room and we pray as a family. She folds her little hands and sits real quiet as we pray. She will then list off people or animals that she wants to pray for. Then Brandon or I rock Bailey to sleep and she snuggles up, rubs our face with her hands and gives kisses and hugs while retelling her day of activities until she is tired enough to lay in her crib. She is so enduring and sweet when falling asleep and it is during these times that I never want her to grow up.

Bailey as a two year old has accomplished many things and definitely knows what she likes and does not like. She is weened off of the bottle, which to my surprise was no problem and she never once protested! Bailey is very socially conscientious and often interrupts conversations when she knows what we are talking about and will attempt to give her input. Most of her language is one or two word "sentences" but she gets her point across without the use of many pronouns and filler words.

She has also made up some of her own words for things such as calling Frani (our dog) "Ruff" and calling all babies "Rock" and that is because she used to do the rocking motion with her arms when talking about babies and that has turned into using the word "rock." She does an adorable fishy-face for fish and calls butterflies "flies" while flapping her arms.

Bailey continues to enjoy the outdoors and loves butterflies and ladybugs. Her favorite color currently is yellow, her favorite movie of the month is Peter Pan and she loves Carousals. She has become an excellent climber and climbs everything in sight to our fear. She has mastered many a park's climbing features and will attempt to climb anything in sight that seems possible. She really wants to climb trees but beyond a reachable sitting branch where we can hold her, we aren't ready for that one yet. Bailey also can climb out of her pack n' play now which we discovered over at the Johnson's house recently. Bailey was thought to be sleeping upstairs in their house when we heard a door shut. Brandon went upstairs and found Bailey smiling outside of the crib. We then set up their video monitor and watched her tricks from down stairs- quit entertaining.

Bailey repeats the alphabet one letter at a time with us and counts everything that is at least a double. She has also mastered taking off all of her clothes. When she was thought to be sleeping, we heard her saying "uh oh" and when we went in to check on her she had achieved taking off her pj's and diaper and was very proud of herself as she giggled and jumped up and down in her crib.

We are so proud of our little girl and we look forward to the two's and meeting her little brother soon! There is a new story every day and I want to remember as much as I can. There is always something new and entertaining when a toddler is in the home.

Our next goal is potty training!

Happy Birthday Lovies!

**More to come: A birthday video will be up soon**