Mama Mia!

It's official...she knows who we are. Tammie and I just love this video and play it over and over again (which I'm sure you will too!). Apparently Bailey didn't like having video taken of her becasue she is the one who reached around and turned off the camera (sniff--my bright little girl...already a computer genius).

Dada?

One year and two weeks...wow!

Bailey is growing every day (and learning new words every day...guess Tammie and I have to start watching what we say) and she is a joy to watch. Every new morning brings a little more personality with it (and these days a "special" prize. We try to make it to daycare before that one drops) and new things for Tammie and I to experience with Bailey. But this past Friday she wound her daddy around her finger a little tighter.

Bailey has been saying "mama" and "dada" for a few months now. For a while there, each one was her favorite word, and depending on the day we heard "mama/dada" ALL day long (don't get me wrong. Tammie and I love to listen to her talk. But we are trying to nurture a linguistically superior mind here...let's try some variety in our word selection). Lately when I'm around her, everything is dada. The flowers on the wall, the pictures on the refrigerator, ...the dogs. As we all expect, she was just pointing (her new favorite activity) and saying her favorite word at the time (dada...it's so cute).

However, when I picked Bailey up from daycare on Friday, she turned and saw me coming in the door. She then laughed as loud as possible, waved her arms in the air, then pointed at me and pronouned "dada." 

I was surprised to say the least.

And what made it even better, was she waved at me, crawled over to me and put her hands up to be picked up (is it being prissy if a man cries at being called dada?). Well, I didn't cry, but I can tell you that she made my week! This was the first time that Bailey has ever shown that she associates the word with the object (or person in this case. Because people aren't objects. Especially women. They should be loved and treated with the utmost respect. Women fought hard for equality, and I for one will not objectify women...except for some of the actresses on TV and in movies. But hey, they're ASKING for it!). Now I can delude myself into believing that all those times she pointed at objects and said "dada," she was really saying, "Dada, what's that?" or "Dada, look at that!" (I'm a first time parent. I'm allowed to make these kinds of assumptions...right?).

Needless to say, I have shared this experience with ANYONE who will listen. And now you know too...

(There needs to be a little clarification. When I say that Tammie and I need to "watch what we say," in no way am I implying that we are being foul-mouthed sailors in front of our child. As a matter of fact, we are already trying to be careful with our choices of words when the little squidget is in earshot. She mimics things so quickly that she can really surprise us with what she says. 

So far we are up to the following:

dada, mama, mmmm...., uh-oh (current favorite), titty (Grandma Burke SWEARS it's "pretty," but I'm not so sure), hi, whoa, wow, ta-oo (thank you, I think), uh-uh (another favorite, unfortunately), and various assorted swear words that I have "no" idea where she picked them up (had to be daycare...had to be).

More to come, I'm sure.)

Quick and Cute

Just a quick and cute story about Bailey...

Bailey has a friend at daycare, Alex, who is the cute granddaughter of Miss Rubie. Yesterday while I was dropping Bailey off, I had put Bailey still in her carseat in the chair. Alex came running up to Bailey like she does everyday and pointed up to Bailey saying "Aylay" (baby speak for "Bailey"...cute huh?). Bailey then had to respond in kind, so she blew her kisses.

And I mean full on, hand to the mouth, (*smack*) kisses! Advice: always teach babies to blow kisses. It's cute and they LOVE to do it. Bailey blows kisses to her mother every morning as we are pulling out of the driveway and blows kisses to me in the mirror all the way to daycare most mornings.

Cute!

Birthday Video of Bailey

I tried to add this to the earlier post, but time got away from me (and the upload was taking FOREVER!). Here is a short video of Bailey after she has "enjoyed" her birthday cake.

This is what she thought of the whole birthday experience...

From Bailey's 1st Birthday

(You'll never realize what it actually took to upload this video.  Good lord, I thought this was supposed to be easy.)

12 Months? 1 Year Old??? Oh My!

Well, it's official (really, really). Bailey is ONE YEAR OLD!!!

I first would like to thank everyone for the support and well wishes over this past year. It has truely been the most exhausting, frustrating, wonderful and happy year that Tammie and I have ever spent together. Having a child isn't easy (as most of you know...and Billy and Tyfany are starting to find out), but it is the most rewarding thing that Tammie and I have done.

And now for the news...

Over the last month, all three of us have gone through one kind of infection or another. Tammie started things off with a sinus infection (and probably spread the virus to the rest of us...thanks dear) and was put on antibiotics. Shortly thereafter, Bailey got an ear infection (we didn't catch this one early. We all took the brunt of it this time...no sleep, only sleeping in mom and dad's bed, crying for long, LONG periods of time, not eating...yeah). And just as Bailey was starting to make a turn for the better, dad get a sinus infection (what do they say about the family that goes on antibiotics together? No seriously...what do they say. I'm curious.).

All of us are feeling much better, and thankfully just in time for Bailey's first birthday. And now what you really want to hear about...the birthday party!

Well...

Bailey didn't get a nap before the actual festivities began, so unfortunately we wound up with a pretty grumpy birthday girl. There were good moments (fleeting as they may have been) when we would get a smile and a little chuckle, but one thing is for sure...ALWAYS get a nap in before a party (I would even recommend this to the adults...everyone can benefit from a few zzzzzzz....).

Bailey was great and the party went well. Lots of food and a spectacular Eeyore cake for Bay (Bay = Bailey...just in case you haven't slept very much and are in a fog. So how are things going Billy and Tyf?). After a short (3 hour) nap, Bailey woke up just in enough time to say goodbye to her grandma and grandpa Acuff before they headed back to the coast. Tammie and I fed her and tried her birthday cake again...

SUCCESS!!!

Bailey LOVED the cake (especially using it as a hair styler), and really enjoyed playing with her new toys. She chased her new balls all around the kitchen, banged away with her very own drumsticks (courtesy of her dad, of course), hugged every Eeyore she got and kissed her bag of new Bathtime Letters and Numbers (English major perhaps? Lets all hope not...I can't spell and don't want Bailey correcting everything I say).

And then bathtime...

Her new inflatable Rubber Duck Bathtub was a hit. She just loved bouncing against the sides and poking him in the back of the head (a little mean spirited if you ask me, but cute nontheless). A little more playtime, a good bottle and it was off to bed for the birthday girl. Aparently she needed it too...she slept until 9 am this morning (you know, I used to look at sleeping in as 10  or 10:30. Now if Bailey sleeps past 8 in the morning it's a good day).

Once again, thank you for the birthday wishes (both mine and Bailey's) and for all the support and prayers throughout this first year. Please keep them coming (as I figure it, we still have 17 more years to go) and please keep in touch. I have updated Bailey's photos on Picasa. If anyone would like copies of the pictures there please let me know (I don't think I uploaded the full size pictures, but would be happy to send ones to you).  Take care and I hope everyone has a safe and happy year.