5 months

As promised, here is lil' Miss Bailey at 5 months.  Told ya...lots of chubby cuteness!  She's so much fun and has such an amazing little personality at a mere 5 months old ~ as you will see here in her many {silly} faces.  The first picture is of terrible resolution BUT I couldn't not post that face.  Pouty lips.  And yes, they get Daddy every time.  I mean, seriously, who could say no to this...      

time, the quiet and a trip

Time.  It's so precious.  And somewhat limited.  Especially when you have little ones.  Tonight I have 2 hours.  Of me time.  Only me.  Sister is asleep upstairs.  And the boys are out at the movies seeing Monsters University.  TV is off.  Lights are dim.  It's very quiet.  I like it.  And I'll soak it up.  For now. 

Please don't take that the wrong way.  I love my family.  All the noise.  All the messes.  All the drama.  All the spit up.  All the banging.  All the crashing.  All the stomping.  All the pouting.  All the discipline.  No really, I do love all of it.  Because that's our new norm.  That's our life now.  

But I LOVE quiet time too.  And that ~ the quiet ~ happens very seldom around here.  Which is a HUGE reason this blog is neglected.  There's just not enough time.  Enough of the quiet.  

So, now that I've got a little quiet to myself,  I'll take you back in time.  Back to May.  When we took a little trip to Georgia to see this handsome dude and his family ~ The Beatty's and The Christou's ~ that we do miss so very much.  They were our "baseball" friends from Dallas but now they are more like our extended family ~ out in Georgia.

It was just the 3 of us.  Sister stayed behind.  She had an ear infection the day before we left so she roomed with Nana and Papa in the country for a few days.  I'm sure she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.  She was SPOILED, I'm 100% certain of it.  So we did the same with brother.  We let him get away with no naps for a few days.  Let him stay up late.  Way late most nights.  We let him eat junk food.  Like a gigantic chocolate chip cookie for breakfast one day.  We let him watch lots of movies in the down time.  We just decided to give him a little slack and just let him be for a few days.  No big brother business.  And he did wonderfully.  His actions and attitude made it apparent that he appreciated and needed every minute of just having his mommy and daddy to himself.

And what trip to visit our "baseball" friends would be complete without the guys actually playing a little baseball.  As in, full on baseball TOURNAMENT.  No, they didn't win.  But they had a lot of fun.  And that's all that matters.    

On our last day of the trip, we decided to visit the Georgia Aquarium.  It's the world's largest with over 8 million gallons of water.  We got to watch a spectacular dolphin show and see lots and lots of interesting fish.  Along with some penguins, jellyfish and beautiful beluga whales.  My pictures don't do the whales justice ~ still learning my camera 2 years later...YIKES.  I'm sure it has something to do with having time.  And little patience too. 

And that my friends, was my 2 hours of quiet.  I feel so accomplished.  It's the little things.  Really, it is.  

On a side note, brother and I attempted to take pics of sister this afternoon, since she is now 5 months and all.  However, she was having NONE of it.  We'll give it a go again tomorrow.  Chubby cuteness coming soon.   

four months

Our sweet Bailey Raye is now 4 months old.  So, so much changes in a month.  Like the fact that she's awake a lot more during the day.  Which, in turn, means she sleeps longer at night.  About 11-12 hrs.  Praise the Lord.  I feel like a new mama these days.  She's a growin'...off the charts according to the doctors.  She's in the 100% percentile for her weight and height {18 lbs 5 oz 27 in}.  I cannot count the number of times I'm told, she's so big, she looks like a 6-7 month old.  To which {I would sometimes like to respond with}, well...her parents aren't small people.

She's learned to roll over.  And over.  And over.  It's her new favorite thing to do this last month.  She loves her big brother.  And finds him to be quite hilarious.  It makes my heart so happy to see her face light up when we pick Kaden up from school.  Her grin tells it all.  And her giggles all the way home let me know that she just adores him.  Every now and then,  I'll take a peek in the rear view mirror, and more often than not, her head is turned in his direction with the biggest smile ~ you ever did see ~ across her face.  Melts a mama's heart.        

I got out the fancy camera again this month and we had a quick little photo shoot.  This baby girl loves to smile.  Makes me feel like I'm doing something right.  Now, for those of you that know me well, know how much I attempt to shy away from the color pink.  Nothing against it.  I just think there are other colors out there for baby girls...besides pink.  However, Bailey's great Aunt Cynthia sent her this super cute outfit that I couldn't resist passing up.  It's absolutely perfect for a 4 month old little princess photo shoot.  

good for the soul

A couple of weeks ago, the kids and I spent a week at Nana and Papa's while Kass was in Houston for a training class.  I find that although it can sometimes be stressful to be away from home with a baby, it's always, always a good thing to get a break from our normal routine.  Kinda rereshing, in a way.  Especially when that break from the norm comes with the help of Nana and Papa.  It was so nice to sleep until the kids woke me.  Not have to rush anywhere.  Or cook anything.  Or do laundry.  Or worry with Kaden going to bed on time because he had school the next day.  There are things we get to experience while out in the country that we don't get here in the city.

Like watering the garden with Papa...

And checking cows.  EVERY.  SINGLE.  DAY.  It's his favorite thing to do.  

And helping Papa with his chores.  Even if it means {just} dragging a bag of trash.  It's always more fun at Papa's house.

And checking on Harvey, Papa's super duper old donkey.  At least once a day.  

And playing soccer.  In rubber boots.  With a volleyball.

And pretending that you're on Dancing With The Stars.

Even though this isn't the best picture, we got to see lots and lots of BlueBonnets.  

And some pretty awesome sunsets.

Although little chica wasn't feeling the best during our stay because she was battling an ear infection, she had fun too.  Bathing in the sink.

 

And just chillin'...  It's what she does best!

3 months

Our sweet Bailey Raye is already 3 months old.  I must admit that I have been terrible with taking pictures of this little beauty and keeping up with her month to month progress.  So, while big brother napped this afternoon, I got out the fancy camera and we had a quick little photo shoot.  She's full of smile and giggles ~ and a few rolls here and there too.  What can I say, I raise some healthy babies!   Lately, she had started {baby} talking ~ and a lot of it too!  Kass and I are in trouble if she talks as much as her big brother.  I am so in love with this little blue eyed chica.