Daddy's Girl

Goodbye 2011

It's almost the end of January and I'm still reflecting on all that 2011 was and all the 2012 promises to be and I feel like this verse encompasses both:

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:19

2011 was a year of extraordinary blessings and challenges: George's business partnership and creation of Harvest Land and Minerals and Remora Petroleum; the healthy birth of our adorable son; Ainsley's eye surgery; our baby girl turning 2 years old; the diagnosis of my back pain and the subsequent ups and downs with treatment; Ainsley and Bailey's first trip to the ocean; my 29th birthday; George's torn Achilles and subsequent surgery; George's 30th birthday; our 6th wedding anniversary; Bailey's first steps; and all the daily joys, struggles and grace that come with trying (and failing) to raise two small children in the way of the Lord. It has been a crazy year that has just flown by!

In 2012 I have resolved to organize more, stress and worry less, and to daily be content in what the Lord has provided. Content in the blessings of the ordinary day-to-day. Content in whatever pleasant or trying phase our kids are in. Content in my personal health or pain and content in not knowing when I'm going to be done with this struggle. And content in knowing that I'm doing my best even if the house is a wreck, we have take-out for dinner, and I haven't showered. :) I resolve to grab control of my thoughts more often and to rely more heavily on the Lord throughout it all.

Lil Sleeper

I wish this lil guy would sleep this soundly at night. But gosh, he sure is a cutie!!

Bailey's Ninth Month

Weight: 17 pounds, 13 ounces (10th percentile)
Height: 29 inches (75-90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17.5 inches (25-50th percentile)


I simply cannot believe that Bailey is 9 months old already!! It blows my mind and breaks my heart a little that time seems to be going so much faster with Bailey than it did with Ainsley. Our little guy is just getting SO big! This month he transitioned from being able to take a series of steps to walking basically 100% of the time. And if he ever is crawling, he puts his head down like a battle-ram and crawls really really fast. Whether walking or in battle-ram crawl, sometimes I literally feel like I have to jog a bit to keep up with him, so he is certainly moving fast. He is just such a cute little walker. Sometimes I'll be watching him toddle around and it just amazes me. His body is still so little that it almost looks silly seeing him walking around. I'll admit that his mobility made life more challenging since he is faster, can already reach things off the table, can climb up the stairs (and has already fallen down two of them - ahhh!!), is into everything, and I am constantly hearing Ainsley yelling "Baby is bothering me!!". Now that he is up and about, she definitely sees him more as an equal which has both its endearing moments of play and its frustrating moments of yelling on both ends and separation.


Bailey had his well-check this month and the dr gave him two thumbs up. He's still tall and thin and as expected with how active he is, his weight did drop a little percentage-wise but our dr isn't worried. She did say that he is delayed in his verbal skills and that if he wasn't so advanced in his motor skills that she would be a little concerned. This month he has started chatting with us more by making "ahh" noises back and forth but most kiddos by this age are doing more consonant sounds and he just isn't there. We aren't worried since its clear he's focusing his growth in one area but we've started trying to work with him more on getting to mimic different noises. Since the appt. we have gotten him to repeat a "ma ma" sound, so that's progress. :)


Eating... Bailey has taken a turn this month and become a very challenging eater. This started about 2ish weeks ago and I thought it was just a phase related to teeth but we're still there. :( He wants to be independent and feed himself but isn't interested in picking up anything but baby puffs and mum-mums (baby crackers). He has the ability to but just won't. So, he literally eats 4+ mum-mums a day. I try to squeeze spoonfuls of baby food past him chomping on the mum-mums but it is a challenging and can be pretty frustrating. I remember Ainsley going through this phase where she ate less but I didn't stress about it then because she was sleeping so well, which Bailey is not. But he is still nursing about 4-5 times a day and taking a few oz of formula in tge afternoon so at least I know he is getting those calories.


Sleeping... This boy is killing us when it comes to sleeping! A few weeks ago when he was teething and had a cold and started not eating as well during the day he also quit sleeping as well. And he has never gone back. Ugh!! It's awful and we still feel like we have a newborn. But we feel so stuck because he is waking up legitimately hungry and will take a full feeding in the middle of the night. Since he is eating so poorly during the day we feel so badly letting him just cry it out at night because he's not just waking up to hang out, there is actually something he needs. But it's awful and both George and I are ready for a full night's rest. That said, he does sleep well during the day taking two 1.5-2 hour naps a day.


Milestones... This month Bailey's upper left side tooth appeared. It's not the middle tooth but the side one so when it comes in all the way, he's going to look like a jack-o-lantern! He learned to clap early this month and often cheers himself on. He also learned to mimic us making popping, sputtering, or clicking noises with our mouths. He gets such a kick out of playing with us in this way.


Other loves... Bailey is a bundle of joy all day! He happily goes from one toy/activity to the next with ease and is at such a fun playful interactive stage. He loves to play under the kitchen table and chairs whether we are eating dinner or not. He also loves playing peek-a-boo with himself with spare blankets and this one specific basket that holds some of Ainsley's toy food for her kitchen. It's hilarious because he has deemed that his basket and will often dump everything out so that he can put it on his head to play peek-a-boo. Silly boy! He has started really liking books this month and loves to be read to and loves playing with books and trying to flip through them by himself. Reading stories to him is one of the few times he is still, so it is extra sweet time. He also loves, loves, loves playing outside and being in the bath. And sadly, he is taking after his daddy already and loves to get into things he isn't supposed to. In a whole room full of toys, the first things this little guy goes for is the outlets, the lamp cord, the night light, the humidifier full of water, or the diapers I just put away or the clothes I just folded. Sigh.


Dislikes... As happy as he is most of the time, man can he throw a fit if you take him away from what he wants and what will likely electrocute or hurt him. He certainly is determined. He also hates to be left out and crys anytime anyone goes outside without him. And if George is rough-housing with Ainsley he gets so sad not being in the mix. It is pretty sweet to already see him want to be apart of the family so badly.


My favorite thing about this month has been that Bailey has learned to snuggle by laying down his lil head on our shoulders. These snuggles usually happen when we get him out of his crib in the morning or after nap and they tend to be short lived but still I cherish every second of them. I just can't get enough of him resting his sweet lil body on me - I love it! Although I have to admit that he doesn't just snuggle on us. He will also flatten his body completely out on his belly and lay his head down on the floor or a pillow and be still for 15-30 seconds. It is so funny to see and oddly surprising to see him just be still for a while.


Despite all the sleep deprivation this lil guy causes, we just cherish him and love him to pieces and couldn't imagine life any other way!

Lil Snuggler

These pictures are from a few weeks ago when Bailey was teething and had a cold. He had been up a lot during the night and since he wasn't feeling well, he would actually stay in one place for a while and snuggle. It was a tired mommy's dream!! Now Bailey has a lil stomach bug (read lots and lots of diarrhea diapers!) so we are getting a bit more of this snuggle time this week too. I feel badly that he's not feeling well but I'm enjoying the silver lining! :)

Ice Cream Date with Mommy

Who's day isn't brightened up by ice cream and a toddler who was more excited than anything about the frozen treat! Ainsley's flavor of choice was without hesitation vanilla with gummy bears and m&ms... But only because they didn't have any jellybeans. :). I love these special moments with this little girl!

Ainsley 2.5 Years

*** Warning - I've been writing this post over the course of two weeks so it is LONG! I just don't want to forget anything about the way Ainsley is at 2.5 because I know it won't last. It is more for me to remember so feel free to skim. And I'm a proud mommy so there is gushing. Be warned. :) ***

Ainsley is two and a half years old and we just adore the little person she is becoming! Her personality is developing more and more and she is constantly surprising us with how kind-hearted, smart, energetic, friendly, and whiny she can be. On a daily basis she makes my heart melt with the things she does, makes me laugh with the things she says, and tries my patience with her toddler antics.


She still sleeps in her crib and isn't showing signs that she wants that to change, which I'm pretty thankful for. We only need one kiddo walking us up at night at a time! I think she technically knows how to get out because she climbed out/fell out one evening when she was upset but I think it scared her too much to try again. After nap some times she'll say "I get out all by myself" but we've told her that only mommies and daddies get her out... and she seems to accept that. Although she goes through phases, she is still taking a 2ish hour afternoon nap (which is my saving grace most days) and goes down for the night at ~7:45 pm and wakes up between 7 and 8 in the morning. She sleeps with a thousand stuffed animals in her crib but did miraculously and painlessly stop using her pacis mid-fall with only a little nudge from us, but I'll do another post on that. :)



She plays with her dollhouse daily where her imagination just goes crazy. I always hear fake crying and calling for mommy coming from the playroom and it took me a while to realize that she is just playing pretend. I love to watch her pretend and that type of pretend play is reaffirming to me. Kids pretend what they see and all her pretend play is sweet (someone lost their mommy and she helps them, or brother and sister are playing games, or mommy and daddy are saying that they love their kids very much) and value-based (sharing toys, or someone is having to sit in time-out for not listening and obeying). Seeing her play like this and repeat things that we tell her makes me feel like we have created a positive environment for her and are doing something right as parents. I need that! Although it does make me sad to see her pretending about my hurt back... I just wish that wasn't a part of her reality. Other pretend games she plays is that there is a tiger chasing her and she has to hide. Or that she is cooking in her kitchen or making 'soup' with water at the bathroom sink. She also does a LOT of pretending that she is a mommy feeding her babies (usually in the high chair or with a bottle - not nursing her babies very often anymore), putting her babies to sleep, taking them to the store, and changing their poopy diapers. She could spend 20 minutes changing her babies' poopy diapers over and over and over. It is kind of hilarious to watch because she does the same exaggerated faces and noises that we do with her stinky poopy diapers. Her imagination is just amazing!


On the topic of diapers, Ainsley is not potty trained and isn't showing many signs that she's ready. I'm trying to be patient because it seems like that is when it is most successful.... but I sure could be done changing her poopy diapers which have the tendency to stink up the whole room for 30 or so minutes after she's been changed.


Another thing that amazes us all the time is Ainsley's memory, both how she remembers things we do and say or past things that happened, and how quickly she picks up new skills. She knows all her colors, can recognize most of the letters in the alphabet, and can count to ~17 although that's not completely consistent with everything. She also is very good at remembering things such as me mentioning I bought M&Ms/Jellybeans at the store and is sure to ask if she can have some. She also annoyingly remembers the placement of certain things and gets finicky if they aren't in their correct spot. Of course she isn't particular about the placement of anything helpful like keeping her shoes in the shoe basket or her coat hung on the hook, or her toys where they go. It is more random things like the foam roller for my physical therapy, the humidifier in her room, or George's ear plugs. Weird girl.


She loves to go to school ('school-today' she calls it), the library ('I be really quiet'), swim lessons ('OHHH, I get in a floaty and wear a swim diaper!!!!), the park ('Maybe see peoples? And go down big slide?'), and loves to have friends over to her house ('You come to my house later?') but also really likes her down time. She often says that she doesn't want to do additional errands or activities because she needs to play ('I need to play a little bit. Baby not want to bother me'). She is always super social when she's around us and will often walk up to people and start a conversation but her teachers tell us that she can be reserved and slightly timid in class around her peers.


Ainsley loves music and often request to listen to it. She knows the words to several songs and I'm always surprised that she is able to remember verses and hand motions to songs that we learned in music when she was less than a year old. She loves to have music parades around the house or playroom where she marches and plays instruments.


She still loves stickers but is much more particular about them. She likes certain ones more than others, although I'm not able to see a pattern, and is picky about where she wants to put them whether on paper, her sticker house, or in her sticker books. She also loves reading books! She asks us to read her several books a day but typically before we finish she asks to "read" the book to us. Over the course of the day she probably spends about an hour lining up her animals and "reading" to them. It is pretty sweet to watch and she is surprisingly accurate with the words and details of the stories. And she loves her Daddy! I know that she loves me too but most of the time Daddy wins out - she is just a Daddy's girl at heart! :)


Ainsley of course has trying moments of non-stop whining but for the most part is a sweet, well-behaved, easy-going little girl. She has a natural desire to want to obey and most of the time accepts the things we ask of her and doesn't push the limits. She gets plenty of time-outs (time-ups as she calls it) but often just us being stern with her is enough to bring her to tears for disobeying. I'm trying to enjoy all of her rule acceptance because I think our sweet Bailey-boy is going to be a whole other story!

We just love this little girl so much!!