My Favorite Christmas Gift

When my grandma Roberts died, last January (on Bailey's 2 week "birthday") All I wanted was her cast-iron flat griddle. The "grilled-cheese-sandwhich-pan" I called it. But, apparently my aunt (one of 5 living children of my grandparents) went through the house and took basically whatever she wanted. So, I didn't get the griddle. It's all I kept talking about and Zach listened. He has NO idea how excited I am to have this! If you don't have one, you can get one, here. I cook EVERYYTHING on this thing. Of course, it makes a GREAT grilled cheese but it also makes great baked chicken if you want a little crunch on it. It is oven safe so you can grease it up for the stove-top or stick it in the oven. I make a lot of low-carb pizzas on this too. It makes YUMMY bacon, ham, and really anything that can be cooked flat. This is one kitchen item that I think is a MUST have :)

What we do on a snow day :)

Please ignore the purple socks. I put the socks on here before I picked out today's outfit :)

A Meaningful post

Ok, I thought I would share some meaningful information this morning since I haven't in a while. First of all, Bailey is COMPLETELY off the bottle! YEAH. She took to her sippy cup JUST fine and doesn't even need a "night~night" bottle. She gets a cup of milk before bed but no more bottle! Here is my recommendation for this... We used Nuk bottles with her. They are expensive (I won't lie) 12 dollars for 3!!! But, when Bailey was born she didn't like to stick her tongue out so the doctor recommended NUK bottles. The cool thing is, the NUK sippy nipples fit ON the Nuk bottles. Now, you can't buy NUK sippy nipples by themselves (or at least I have not found them anywhere). And, again, NUK sippy's are 6 bucks a piece.

Here is how to beat the cost!

Gerber makes NUK and Gerber and Good Start Formula have now joined to form a bigger company. Good Start is SUPER great about giving big formula discount coupons. For all of my ttc friends, or friends with babies, this is a GREAT idea...

Go to the Goodstart website and sign up for their coupons. They will send you SEVERAL 12.00 off formula coupons and coupons for NUK bottles. You CAN buy the sippys with the bottle coupons!

The Catch... they will ONLY send you coupons through your baby's 4 1/2 month "birthday" for formula (they send sippy and paci coupons until your baby is 2). So, here is what I recommend. Go to the website, sign up for the coupons but put in your babys birthday as a month from NOW. This way, even if your baby is a few months old you will receive ALL of the coupon offers.

The other GREAT thing, these coupons sell like CRAZY at THIS website. So, if your baby doesn't need them or if you are just needing to make a few bucks, this is great for you to do as well! Zach and I have saved SO much money on formula like this. Plus I signed up my mom, sister, friend... for coupons :)

It only takes a valid e-mail and mailing address. Also, I recommend signing up for Similac and Enfamil coupons. Then, you can trade with people or sell away. This REALLY will save you money! I think Zach and I probably paid full price for about 5 cans of formula during Bailey's first year. We probably used, 150 cans!

Birthdays

In honor of Bailey's January birthday, my February Birthday, and Zach's March birthday, I decided to change the blog layout! I think it's cute and I'm quite proud of it. I hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend!

"NO"

Come to my house and spend ANY amount of time with my 1 year old and this is a word you are sure to hear! Zach and I are not "proud" that this is Bailey's favorite word but she does hear it quite a bit. Let me put this in perspective for you... Bailey just had a birthday and has a MILLION toys! However, she would rather push buttons on the television, try to crawl down the steps in the kitchen, or climb the baby gate. "No, No Bailey." Is what we always say. She turns around, grins the biggest grin you've ever seen, and goes RIGHT back to what she was doing! The newest thing though is that she now wants to point her finger and us and tell us NO NO! She doesn't know what it means, and it's actually kind of cute. I just can't figure out the finger pointing thing, I don't ever recall us pointing our finger at her. "Oh dear" (another of her favorite phrases) what have we created???

Ouch!

OK, why did I let all of these papers pile up? Oh, how I love my job and HATE grading papers! I took a whole stack home over my long weekend and graded ONE class! Haha, isn't that how it goes!

Also, this morning my back hurt SO bad that I was literally FREAKING out looking for my medicine. Thank God Zach went to get my meds yesterday b/c I was out. THANK YOU ZACH! But this morning I couldn't find them. I felt like a freakin drug addict looking for them even though it's just a high dose of aleve. I must have slept wrong last night because I thought I was in labor this morning with all the pain and I'm not even pregnant! Anyway, I took a pill and felt better (but still not good). I feel bad b/c my back hurts all the time. It's like my one MAJOR ailment and it tends to control part of my life. I wish I knew what was wrong. At least I'm losing weight and the pain may end sooner because of it.

Is this my skin?

My skin is SO dry! I hate it! I use baby oil in the shower and lotion when I'm out of the shower. I still feel itchy! Anyone recommend a good lotion... and remember we have no money so it needs to be cheap. The wind in Oklahoma is NUTS. Bailey's little face is chapped too. EERR!
I wish this didn't happen!

~not-so-patiently awaiting spring!

Pet peeve~SOCKS

I understand that I am NOT the perfect parent. I need to learn from my mistakes as any parent does. However, the "mistake" which I will write about today is one that I would like to prevent you from ever making in the first place. I call it... STUPIDITY!

Bailey was born in Januray so from day ONE she has had socks on! If you ever see a picture of her without socks (ie. her birthday pics) it's because I intentionally allowed them to be taken off for a short time. It actually was 75 degrees the day of her party. She NEVER takes them off by herself because she is so used to wearing them. Now, I can't say she has never tried. Sometimes she likes to try to kick them off in the car (we wear socks religiously, shoes, she won't keep on). Anyway, back to what I was saying. I keep socks on B ALL the time. ALL summer she wore socks! When we would visit Zachs mom the first thing she would do is take little B's socks off! It really bugged me but I knew since it was summer I needed to lighten up!

The other day, I was at wal-mart. Does EVERYONE understand that it is JANUARY right now? It's NOT hot outside. This woman had her TINY baby in his carrier with NO blanket and NO socks! I absolutely HATE that. Why can't people keep socks on their babies? I just don't understand? Do you wear flip-flops when it's 40 degrees outside? I didn't think so! I also will say that Bailey has been VERY healthy. She's had a mild cold twice and NO ear problems. I'm not saying it's ALL because of the socks, but I will say that I think it helps.

SO... to all of my newly pregnant friends, and all of my ttc friends, PLEASE promise me that your babies will wear socks... AT Least in the winter! :)

Potato Salad Pictures

SORRY! I forgot to post these.

Nothing, really

Nothing new to report. I'm just bored. Bailey eats peanut butter now! I KNOW, I KNOW, they aren't supposed to have it until they are between 2 and 4. But, she's fine. She loves it and it's better for her than vanilla wafers! So, that's what she gets for snacks (SOMETIMES). I made potato salad last night (don't worry I didn't eat any of it... for those of you following the diet blog). But, Bailey acted like it was chocolate cake or something. First, she used her fork, then she just dug in! Have you ever had to clean potato salad off of a baby? ICK! I'll post pictures when I get home. I didn't bring the new camera to work to be stolen by an 8th grader. :)

UPDATE

Ok, here's the update on B's doctor appointment.

Please let me know what you think.

Doctor P (different from Dr. P, the ortho) and I talked about vaccines. DH and I discussed it several times and I asked Dr. P AGAIN today just to see what he thought. As a teacher I see kids with Autism EVERY day. Zach does too because he works at an elementary school as a behavior coach. So, even though there is NO medical evidence that proves that the MMR causes Autism, Dr. P and I talked about our options. He recommended we do the Hep A and the chicken pox vaccine today. He said we can do the MMR at her 15 or even 18 month check. He also said they can do the Rubella and Measles separately. I think we may do that. Dr. P is a great doctor! He prays with us at almost every visit and he's really good with Bailey.

I forgot the tylenol before her shots today so she's been quite fussy. She JUST went to bed and I hope she will sleep most of the night and sleep off the pain. The nurse said the chicken pox vaccine is quite painful. I gave her a dose of tylenol before bed so she should feel better in the morning.

Her weight was 29.6 and her height is 31.5! She's 3 inches taller than I was at her age!

Dr. Know it all!

Well, the appointment with the orthopedic doctor didn't go as planned (or at least as I had planned). Also, did you know that they spell Orthopedic, ORTHOPAEDIC??? Zach and I were both thinking 'are we morons?' "Is that really how you spell it?" Apparently it's the "FORMAL" spelling...
Anyway, Dr. P was REALLY rude to me! Maybe I'm overly sensitive but I left crying and wanted to hit someone! Zach didn't understand how or why I was feeling that way but I've been to So many doctors and I just want this fixed!

So, I'll start at the beginning. In 5th grade I was diagnosed with Scoliosis (curvature of the spine). My mother took me to all kinds of doctors and specialists to find out what we could do. I had it a lot worse than anyone else in my family. To make a long story short, ALL of the doctors said it was too bad for a brace, but not quite bad enough for surgery. They said if it started to hurt to come back and see them.

IT'S HURTING NOW!

So, my scoliosis specialist (whom I LOVED) in Little Rock recommended that I come see Dr. P here in Tulsa since I don't live in Arkansas anymore.

Dr. P thinks he is God (I think).
He was so mean! First, I explained to him why I was there. I guess he didn't like my explanation because he put his hand up in my face and told me I skipped like 3 years! NO, I said, I didn't see anyone for that amount of time! Then, he questioned me about being a diabetic. I said "I'm NOT diabetic, I had gestational diabetes and I have fertility problems which is why I take Metformin." I guess he didn't believe me b/c he put that I am diabetic on my chart. I said... (not that he really needed to know this) DH and I tried for a long time to have a baby. I don't have regular cycles and Met is prescribed to regulate them! Then he went on and on to tell me what Met is "actually" for. I said "I know, (about to cry at this point) but my gyno gave it to me so that I will ovulate! (again, none of his freaking business). There were several other things he did that upset me but I will spare you! I will say, though, that I think it is completely awful to LAUGH at a patient!

Ok, so now I'm rambling at all of my bloggy friends... sorry.

The outcome:
Please go have an MRI and come back to see me!
Oh, and you're obese so try to lose some weight.

I can't have an MRI right now (I can but I am choosing not too). It was going to cost over 800 dollars WITH my AWESOME insurance and I really do have good insurance. So, hints my "weightloss" blog. I am going to get some weight off and see if I feel better.

In other news,
Bailey's one year check-up is today. Time for the dreaded MMR. I hate when she gets shots! But, I watched "Private Practice" last night and I'd rather my child NOT have measles either! I'll let you know how it goes. She normally does well with her shots... nothing a little milk won't cure :)

The BIG 1!

Dear Bailey,

One year ago, today, I held you in my arms for the first time. When daddy left to tell everyone you had arrived I sang to you. Do you remember?

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away."

Mommy and daddy love you more than anything in the whole world! We are so happy to have you in our lives! You are a little sunshine! You make everyone smile! I had NO idea you would be so beautiful, special, and loved. You have taught me more about life and love than I ever thought possible.

Happy Birthday baby girl! You are So special!

Love,

Mommy

Here is Bailey's birthday party invitation. The first picture is the outside of the invite. There is a picture from each month and 2 for 11 months. The poem is what I wrote for the inside. They turned out VERY cute (and yes, honey, I KNOW they were expensive but B is TOTALLY worth it!)

For many months we prayed and prayed
And wondered and hoped until she came
The day she was born was the happiest of all
For mommy and daddy, we were in awe

And through the months we’ve laughed and played
And thanked God every SINGLE day
For our blessing from above
We never knew there was such love

And now our baby crawls and grooves
It’s oh so fun to watch her moves
A tiny baby, she is no more
The toddler years we are in for

Our little one is the most precious thing
And happiness she will always bring
So, please join us at her party so fun
For Bailey Grace is turning ONE!!

Enjoy the pictures from her birthday party!

Snacks :)

Bailey and Grandma Janet (my mom)

Let the fun begin...

My Own Cub Cadet

Bailey will be ONE on Tuesday as I've said! Yesterday, we opened our home to a lot of friends and family for her very first birthday party. It has been quite emotional for me... but more on the party later. I plan to update with pictures from the party on Tuesday with a special message for her!

First things first...

My dad sells tractors and lawn mowers in NW Arkansas. He bought Bailey her very first riding lawn mower for Christmas. We couldn't get it home in our Malibu at Christmas so grandma and grandpa delivered it yesterday and it held the presents at her party. It is quite possibly the cutest "non-human" thing I have ever seen!

Here are the pictures:

If you need a tractor or a lawn mower, or for information on how to get your very own "Baby Cub~Cadet" contact Brad at tractormart@att.net

The most special moment

Bailey and I shared a very special moment this morning. I took her out of the bath which she normally loves but today she was really fussy so I washed her and took her out early. She was NOT interested in getting dressed but finally, I was able to get a diaper on her and she helped me rub in her lotion (she has recently learned to rub lotion onto her tummy and she enjoys doing it). She was still fussy so I picked her up and rocked her. She was naked besides her diaper so I wrapped her up in blankets and held her close. Her beautiful little eyes kept looking at me as if to say "Thank you mommy." We rocked and rocked for about an hour. I kept looking at her and feeling the warmth of her little body and I realized... God chose me to be her mother. He obviously trusted me to be a good one and to do the best I know how. As I rocked her, her breathing steadied and I knew she had fallen asleep. I just didn't feel right putting her down. There is NOTHING in the world like holding a naked little one in your arms and feeling the way they calm when you hold them. I normally would have jumped up, put her in bed, and ran to the next load of laundry, dirty dish, dirty mirror, dusty floor or something else. But this morning I just kept holding her! I looked at her little face all snuggled into my chest and I thought to myself, this is the most precious little girl I have ever seen. I knew I loved her but this morning I realized how much. And I said...

Thank you God, for my baby.