The World According to Bailey

Since time goes by so quickly and I just as quickly forget what's going on in the here and now, I thought I'd take the opportunity to document some things about each one of the kids. I've seen several parents interview their kids to capture fun anecdotes, so last night I prepared and asked Bailey the following questions. I've typed her answers exactly as she provided them to me.

1. What is your happiest memory?

When I found out my mom is having a baby. Not Nolan, but the new baby.

2. Why do you like about being a kid?

Being young because you have a lot of time until you get old and die.

3. What is one word that best describes you?

Weird!

4. What advice would you give your parents?

That I don’t lie ALL the time. (*Note: As you may be able to tell, we're having an issue right now with those little fibs to get out of trouble.)

5. What do you like to do for fun?

Roller skate.

7. Tell me about a funny time in your life.

Well, one time Mrs. Dobbins made a fart noise with her mouth when she didn't like something someone said, but no one knew it was with her mouth. It was really funny.

8. What do you love most about your sibling?

He likes most of the things I like, except foods. That kid is strange.

9. What is the nicest thing you've done for someone?

One time when we were at the nursing home, I helped a man hold his cookie so he could eat it because he was having a hard time with it.

10. What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now?

Getting all A’s in high school.

11. What do you think makes a person good-looking?

Their eyes.

12. Name two things you like our family to do on the weekend.

Go see movies and shoot hoops.

13. What is the grossest thing you can think of?

Someone eating bugs.
14. What do you think your husband will be like?

He will be a loving person.

15. How many kids do you want to have when you grow up?

3

16. How old is your Mom?

36 (*Note: Ahem, I am not 36 until April 26, thank you very much!) 

17. What is your Mom's favorite color?

Red.

18. What is her favorite TV show?

The show where the women scream at each other. What's it called? (*Note: She means the Real Housewives!)

19. What does your mom do for work?

Helps people with marriages and having babies. (*Note: I'll take it. This explanation is probably just as good as the one others in my family would give.)

20. What do you like best about your mom?

That she’s having another baby.

21. How old is your dad?

39

22. How strong is your Dad?

VERY

23. Where does your Dad work?

Well, right now he works at school and some hospitals for school. And at home.

24. What is Dad's favorite TV show?

That show about digging gold. (*Note: Gold Rush)

25. What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?

Go to movies or go roller skating.

26. What do you like best about your Dad?

That he’s good at every sport.

Well, that was fun.

As I've said before, Bailey is growing up and it's both exciting and scary - for us and for her. She's on the cusp of asking questions that will be the end of some of childhood's magic (SANTA), and has already asked some that are the beginning of her journey to adolescence (SEX). To be honest, I think I handled the latter much better than I will handle the former!

She does very well in school, loves to read, and each of her teachers thus far has shared with us how helpful Bailey is in the classroom, particularly with students who need additional help with their work. I think Bailey takes pride in helping her teachers. Actually, I think she likes helping others in general, as she looks forward to volunteering at the Food Bank, visiting nursing homes, etc. If only we could figure out how to make this work the same way at home!

Bailey is well-liked by her peers, but Bailey is like me in that she does better with one or two good friends into which to invest her time. Many times, though, she matches herself up with the social butterfly type who is a little bit invested in a lot of people, as opposed to a lot invested in a select few. This has yielded a few teary conversations about friendships. I know that this is all a part of the learning process, but I feel for her because I remember those same emotions from my own childhood.

This is also the time when kids start to be concerned about how they look. Bailey hasn't expressed too many concerns just yet, but she did make a passing comment this week that she hates her full lips. Jason and I both reacted with incredulity as this is a feature of hers we, 1) don't know how she got since neither of us have full lips, and 2) think is one of her best features! But, of course, she doesn't care what we have to say on the subject. I'm sure this is just one of many complaints to come in the future.

As for activities, she continues to play basketball and soccer, and she dances jazz and hip hop.  We had a great soccer season as we decided to play her in her own age group (U8), so now she's the oldest kid instead of the youngest. This, coupled with getting on a great team with a great coach, was a good move and she gained a lot of experience and skills. In basketball, she plays co-ed, which we're not sure we like at this age, but she is holding her own against those aggressive boys. She even scored 17 points at her last game! Finally, she loves to dance....it's yet to be determined whether she'll stick with it long-term like I did, but she does well and enjoys it for now.

Finally, this is no surprise if you know her personally, but Bailey is extremely headstrong. This is challenging for us in terms of dealing with back-talk and an otherwise "know-it-all" attitude most of the time. I recently started trying to give her piano lessons and each and every lesson is torture since she's always right and I'm always wrong. :-) This dynamic is something we're working on as a family, but can sometimes overtake our days because we often feel helpless to effectively communicate with her about contentious issues. Parenting ain't easy, folks! While I definitely do not like this part of our journey, I do try to remember that hopefully being headstrong will benefit her when peer pressure starts to enter into the picture!

I guess that's it for now about little Miss Bailey. We love her so very much and know she's going to be a wonderful big sister to the new baby!!

Never Getting Back Together

Yep, this happened. Taylor Swift would be proud. Or not.

I'm Baaaaack!: New Year, New Blog Name, New Posts

What can I say? I've been busy for the last, ahem, 2 years!

I stopped writing here because I was asked to contribute to another blog and simply didn't have the time or the brainpower to manage both responsibilities. Long story short, my friend who asked me to write for said blog is no longer the editor, so I reluctantly relinquished my writing responsibilities. As much as I loved writing on a regular basis, I wasn't interested in a non-paid gig for a non-friend. That said, I really have no current excuse not to resume posting family updates here, so I've pledged to resume maintaining this blog.

I realize there is a problem with the small lapse in time. Never fear, for I have the perfect solution.....a beloved Top 10 list!!

Top 10 Things You've Missed Over The Past 26 Months

10. Bailey has teeth. The last time I posted, she was fairly toothless. Now, she has most of her adult teeth (in the front, at least), which corresponds with a more mature look about her.  She continues to be one of the tallest kids in her grade, despite being one of the youngest. 

9. Nolan is no longer a baby. Lots changes between 3 and 5 years of age! Nolan is a rambunctious little guy who attends Pre-K, loves watching movies (over and over again) and is extremely loving. The first picture below is from his first day at Pre-K. The second illustrates his little personality (and mine, perhaps). The third is him listening to music in the car on the way to church, and the last is from his Superhero birthday party.

8. We went to Disney. While we've taken several small trips (Dallas, San Antonio, Houston), Disney is our most recent big adventure. Best. Trip. Ever! We can't wait to go back in a few years when Jason is back in the working world.

7. My office moved downtown. After working in the same location for 12 years, this is somewhat noteworthy in my world. A large oil and gas company purchased our building and all the tenants had to move out. It was a challenging process to find a 37,000 sq in a new building, but we finally did it and moved in stages last summer. We are now the sole tenants of this building in Bricktown. It's a cool building with a lot of character.

6. We got a puppy. A casual mention to my boss a few years ago that the kids wanted a puppy for Christmas resulted in a new family member. Oliver is now a 10-pound Maltipoo. Jason can't believe we have a small dog, but he is just the right size for the kids and he doesn't smell or shed.

5. Nolan has finally realized his dream of playing "real" sports. He's been waiting so long to start soccer and basketball (and would play anything else we let him)! We have enjoyed watching him put his natural athleticism to good use. He's now obsessed with Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma Thunder and recently attended the Thunder basketball camp. The first and second pictures below are from his first season. The third includes some members of his current team. The last two pictures were taken at the Thunder basketball camp he attended last month.

4. Jason had his 20-year high school reunion. Talk about feeling old! Regardless of age, we had a blast with good friends in San Antonio. The first two pictures below were taken at Jason's high school. He had fun touring the school after all this time. The third picture is of Jason, his friend Sergio, and the Cox and Flores kids. Finally, we had some good Mexican food (and shared a giant drink!) one night. 

3. Jason and I had our 10th and 11th wedding anniversaries. Even though Jason likes to joke (hope it's a joke, at least) that it's been "11 years of h-e-l-l", we're still going strong and enjoying life! We don't look too shabby, if you ask me.

2. Jason closed his wireless business and went back to school to get his BSN so he can save lives for a living. He spent two semesters getting his prerequisite courses out of the way, has one semester of OCU's nursing program under his belt, and has just started his second semester. While it's difficult for him and for us, we are so very proud of him! The following picture was taken at Jason's induction ceremony at the beginning of his first semester.

1. We're having another baby! Call us crazy given #2 on this list, but we realized we simply aren't done growing our family. The flip side of this is connected to #5, so we needed to get moving on said family growth. We are super excited to be having another little boy, and can't wait to meet him in mid-April. Here are a couple of belly pics. The first is at 22/23 weeks and the second at 26 weeks. 

Well, that's it for now. It's good to be back. 

Kendy

Kid Updates

Time sure does fly! Nolan is about to turn 3, and Christmas is right around the corner. I'm coming to terms with it...slowly!


Most moms share my feeling of being totally enamored with my children (I mean, they are enamored with their OWN children, not mine...smile). Bailey, as my first born, will always hold such a special place in my heart and I continue to watch her grow up so beautifully. Nolan steals my heart every day, and I find myself falling more and more in love with that little guy. Here are a few updates on each of them:


Bailey
-She is reading and writing so well! I particularly love reading her "story prompt" pages from school. I think they are so telling about her thoughts and feelings. For instance, I now know that she thinks it's a really special moment we share when we make cookies together. AND she thinks my cookies are the most delicious EVER! I won't tell her that some people make cookies from scratch rather than spooning already-made dough onto a sheet and cooking!!

-I've always known she is a bit more like me than Jason. From the emotions to the bossiness to the need to be right all the time....yep. Lately she's become very hard on herself when she can't master a skill the first time. I try to calm her down and tell her that it's not important for her to be perfect at everything, especially the first time.....all the while remembering how hard it was for me when I wasn't good at something as a child.

-She is toothless as she's missing her two top front teeth. The big teeth are nowhere in sight, but I have my suspicions that things won't be pretty once they grow in, so I actually prefer toothless. We are saving money for the orthodontist. :-)


Nolan
Having always been a great sleeper, we are now facing 1) extreme nap reluctance, and 2) a refusal to sleep in his own bed or, when we win, needing to sleep with the light on. I blame Halloween for the latter, as he fears monsters. Sometimes a sweep of his room to slay the monsters helps, and other times he's just plain scared. He does reassure himself by offering, "Monsters are NOT real, momma." Sometimes, however, there's a bit of a question mark at the end of the statement, rather than a period.

-He's a man of extremes. Sometimes he's the most lovable kid you've ever seen, offering kisses, hugs and effusive "I love yous." Other times, he snubs people without batting an eye. Further, he's learned the art of hurting your feelings on purpose, sometimes saying "I don't love you" with a devilish grin. He'll change his tune when you act sad, though.

-His speech is getting a lot better and we can carry on a fairly good conversation with him. There are still times, however, when we're stumped and this leads to major frustration and potentially a temper tantrum. He'll say "I can't say something" when he isn't able to articulate his thoughts or when we don't understand him.

-Most people comment on how high pitched his voice is. I don't notice it as much, but he does sound a little like Mickey Mouse. :-) I think this is so funny since people have always commented on how LOW and raspy Bailey's voice is.

-His forehead scar doesn't seem to be fading a bit. Most days it doesn't bother me because I can put it all in perspective....it's such a tiny minor thing compared to so many other things in the world. But, I do hope it fades as he ages because it's pretty noticeable and still quite red.


That's it for now....here's a pic of the kids from our recent family pictures!

My Little Singers

As you've noticed, I've been MIA. My excuses are: 1) The camera I bought after my old one took a dip in the ocean is hateful to me.....I have to resize every picture before posting and it takes forever. I attempted to post pics from Bailey's birthday (August!!) and got frustrated! 2) I've been writing for another blog, http://reddirtchronicles.com and this has taken up quite a bit of my free time.

Here are a few recent videos. The first is Bailey at the Justin Bieber concert. Second is Bailey singing in church (it's short, as I first tried to video on our other camera), and the last is Nolan trying his hand at the same song (not in church!).

The Great Fall of 2010

Well, it's been almost a year since Nolan had to get stitches so I guess the universe thinks that's too long. Nolan fell into a chair at church Sunday, so we headed out to have his head stitched up. This cut was a little deeper and is vertical down his head, as opposed to the other scar which can be covered by his hair if he wears it a little long. Oh well, chicks dig scars.

Here are some pics.

Nolanisms

While Nolan is talking up a storm, his pronunciation and word choices are still questionable at times. But, we're making progress and conversations with him are pretty fun these days. Now, if he could only learn his colors....

I thought I would share some words or phrases he says and compare them with what he actually means.

-Wopkin - this means "napkin." Every time he says it, we go through the whole process of having him repeat it correctly, which he does, but he seems to simply like the word "wopkin" a bit better.

-Bay yay - this, of course, means "Bailey." He definitely gets 2 syllables in there, but the "l" sound is difficult.

-Oh that gosh - this is soooo cute. He says it quite frequently, with a very concerned look on his face. Obviously he means "oh my gosh" but this is so cute, I don't even correct him.

-Stool - he is constantly saying "there's Bay yay's stool" when we drive by her school. I hope no one gets the wrong idea.....

-He either speaks in third person like LeBron James or says "Me want....." We're working on the use of "I," but thus far we haven't been successful.

-He also has a few phrases he uses constantly. Unfortunately, they aren't ones I want him to use! He calls everyone a "silly poopy pants." This is always followed by a belly laugh that tends to be contagious. Or, better, he says "me farted" just to get Bailey laughing and then they both say it 500 times until they lose interest in their little game (that takes awhile and we are usually in the car when this exchange begins).

-He's following in his sister's footsteps and trying to manipulate us in times of discipline. When he's in trouble, he'll stick out his lip and say, "Daddy HATE me." Of course, the desired result is an abandonment of the disciplinary course and a big hug for the little persecuted guy. It doesn't work, but it is a little sad that he actually knows that word at age 2. We can thank Bailey for that one! On the flip side, he likes to love and cuddle and spontaneously voices his love for all of us.