Bailey's Best Friend and Nolan Updates

I've had so much fun watching Bailey this year. Pre-K is now over and she will start Kindergarten in the fall....WOW. I can't write too much about that or I will get really sad, so we'll save that for when the transition is right around the corner and the sentimentality is replaced by excitement for a new year!!



One of the great things about Pre-K was that Bailey really developed a great friendship. She's always found friends wherever she goes (remember me telling you about how she latches on to kids at the McDonald's playground and then thinks they're going to be BFFs?), but she has really developed a best friend in Kate and they are adorable together. I think, as a mom, I'm always worried that kids won't reciprocate Bailey's intensity, but Kate seems to be just as crazy about Bailey as Bailey is about her. Their teachers say they are inseparable and the only time they have problems is when one of them feels the other has been mistreated by another classmate. They go on playdates most Fridays after school (Kate stays with her grandmother just like Bailey does with Jeanne), and I have now traded info with Kate's mom so that we can keep it up over the summer. Bailey's first words after waking up the first day after school concluded were "I miss Kate." So cute.

Here are some pics of Bailey and Kate from recent end-of-school activities.

We didn't plan the semi-matching outfits, but you better believe they LOVED that they were similarly dressed.

This was at "Happy Happenings" and I'm sorry it's a dark picture. "Happy Happenings" is where the pre-schoolers and Kindergarteners gather in the chapel and sing songs first thing every school day. We got to see them in action at both Moms and Muffins and Dads and Donuts. They sing all Christian and character-driven songs, and then recite the Pledge of Allegience and Pledge to the Christian flag. It's pretty amazing how much they know. Of course, Bailey can sometimes only remember the words when she's actually doing it with the group, but that's okay!!

This one was at "The Amazing Race," their Spring fundraiser. Each class got pledges and then ran a race in the field behind the school. I didn't have enough sense to turn around so they weren't looking into the sun for this picture. Scrunched noses!!

What Nolan is Doing...

-Says hello, bye-bye, Bailey, momma, dadda, grandma (sounds an awful lot like momma), pop pop (grandpa), more/no more, all gone, uh oh, doggie, bubbles, bathtub, bottle, cold (accompanied by a hand on his cheek because I usually touch his face with cold things), hot (accompanied by him acting like he's blowing on something since that's what we do with his hot food!), pancake, and pee pee (when we're changing his diaper). This actually seems like quite a few words, but he doesn't say them very often.

-"Sings" (it's jibberish) songs and knows when to do the right motions....i.e., "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands." My favorite part is the 3rd verse when we sing "say amen" and he very emphatically does the hand motion.

-Gives real kisses with a closed mouth. LOVES to hug, especially Bailey. Is very sweet, but you may not always catch him in "affection mode."

-Runs everywhere. Not sure what his walk looks like anymore.

-LOVES to look at all the pictures on the walls. This is usually our after-bath routine. I point out every family member in the pics, and talk about what we were doing at the time. I'm not sure if he knows which ones are of Bailey and which are of him, but he definitely likes the Bailey pics best.

-Still a hitter. We pretty much take objects away from him as soon as he acquires them.

-Still not sure what he likes to eat. The only constant is pancakes or waffles. Everything else is subject to mood, temperature, texture, ability to be flung across the room at sister, etc. Oh, he is also a psycho about ice cream and coke. We have to hide drinks from him or he'll freak out. And, we went to Braum's on Mother's Day and Nolan literally almost hyperventilated as he watched the guy make Bailey's cone. He does tell us what he doesn't want to eat with a very exaggerated head shake and accompanying "uh uh."

-Is finally starting to get the hang of drinking out of a cup, but is still attached to nap and bedtime bottles. I think I'm just going to have to throw them away (maybe this weekend??) so that we don't revert back to the routine when he's screaming and crying for one.

-Mimics us playing the Wii.

-Is around 23 lbs. if we accurately weighed him (Jason holding him on the scale minus Jason on the scale alone). If this is correct, he'll be out of the 5% range and into the 10-15% range.

Here are a couple of cute pics of the kids. Bailey decided to play like she and Nolan had long hair by putting tights on their heads. Surprisingly, he let her. Anyway, I think they look more like they are about to rob a bank or something! Also, I think you can tell that Nolan has put on some lbs. in this picture!


Finally, here's a great picture of Bailey and Jason. Aren't they cute?!