Merry Christmas! Ho Ho Ho!

Christmas has come and gone and what a memorable year this was. I think Christmas is much more exciting when you have a little one. It brings back the spirit of the season! My sister and her family got into town 2 days before Christmas. My dad happened to be watching Bailey that day, so she got to be there when all the fun started. Before Andy and I made it down, I got multiple calls and text messages about how much fun Bailey and Jake were having together: outside in the snow, inside playing "family shopping" and more. When I finally got to my parent's house, I didn't get the usual greeting from Bailey. Instead, it was more like a, "Hey mom" and that was that. Guess it's a good sign that she enjoys her cousins.
Christmas Eve morning we went to the Santa Experience at the Mall of America. Bailey hadn't seen Santa yet this year and I wasn't sure what to expect. It was the neatest way to see Santa. Santa started by talking with Jake and then he went out of the room to let his helpers get Jake, Abby and Bailey in place for the picture. Once they were all distracted with toys, Santa snuck back in to sit behind them for the picture. It was great! No tears by anyone and all three kids are actually looking at the camera for the picture!
Christmas Eve we spent with the Sieberer family. It's always fun to see all of them since it only happens 2-3 times a year. We started with just the immediate family and had fun watching all the girls open their gifts - although Shelby wasn't as excited as I thought she'd be (I mean come on, a 2 week old should be enjoying the gift opening, not sleeping through it, right??)!!! Then the rest of the extended family joined us and the real fun began. 26 people in one house makes for a lot of noise and a big mess of presents! None of that kept us from having a wonderful time. Bailey especially had fun with Andy's 12-year-old cousin Savannah. They played most of the night together, including Bailey having to sit on a "Big girl" chair to eat her dinner. Christmas Day we woke up to my nephew Jake yelling, "I'm awake!" He was told that he had to stay upstairs until everyone was awake. Then we would all go downstairs together to see if Santa made it to Gram and Gramp's house. He and Bailey had some fun playing in Gram and Gramp's bed until the whole family was up and ready to go. Thankfully Santa made it and left the kids lots of loot! My sister and I realized after each of the kids opened up about 2 gifts that it could've stopped there. We spent most of the day in our pajamas, opening presents throughout the day, having time to play with new toys, and making a birthday cake for Jesus. Andy, Bailey and I did have to change after nap time to head over to Pickar (Andy's mom's family) Christmas for about 2 hours. Then we had a delicious Christmas meal of fresh salad, garlic bread and my sisters amazing lasagna - topped off with birthday cake!Even though Christmas comes and goes so quickly, it's always a time for me to sit and reflect on the past year and all the events that occurred. It also reminds me of the great love of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Hello.....are you still there?

Ok, so it's been a while since I've posted anything. I can give multiple excuses as to why:
#1 - It's the holiday season. Any spare time I get I'm out shopping, decorating, or wrapping gifts
#2 - I just finished my latest class for grad school so I've been busy getting my final project/presentation ready
#3 - I work full time, am going to school, have a 15 month-old to take care of since my husband doesn't get home until 8pm, works Saturdays and has baseball practice on Sundays

But that just sounds like whining, so I'll just say I haven't had time, but now I'll catch you up on the last month.

Bailey and I spent Thanksgiving in Watertown, WI with my mom's side of the family. Andy was in Arizona with his baseball team for another tournament. We missed him a lot, but had a great time with Gram and Gramps. It was nice to spend some time with my aunt, uncle, cousins and their families since we only see them 2-3 times a year.

Some of my favorite things that Bailey started doing this month:
*She tries to dress herself - which basically means she takes her clothes and wraps them around her neck
*Whenever I get out the camera to take a picture, she catches me and says "Cheese".
*She loves to put on necklaces - or in most cases, my elastic headbands
*Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has become an absolute favorite in our house. Needless to say, it's really the only show that we actually put on for Bailey, so she really doesn't know anything else
*She is signing and starting to say more words. We are now able to communicate with each other fairly well -- except for those uncontrollable temper tantrums that happen out of the blue.

Here are some random pictures from November:

Catching up!

WOW- it's been a busy fall! Here is a look at a typical week day for our family. Katie gets up at 5:30, wake up Andy around 6:30 to wake up Bailey and get her ready, drop Bailey off at day care around 7:15, Katie gets to work at 7:30, Andy leaves for work around 7:45, after school Katie either a.) has a meeting b.) coaches Knowledge Bowl c.) prepares for the next day d.) head to Grad school class e.) pick up Bailey at day care f.) all of the above, get home around 5:30, feed Bailey dinner, play for 45 minutes, take Bailey up for a tubby, put Bailey to bed around 7:00, Andy leaves work between 7:00 & 7:30, Katie makes dinner (which consists of frozen pizza, pot pies, grilled cheese, or soup these days), Andy gets home, eat, catch up on the day, watch some TV, write some papers for Grad class, hopefully get in bed around 10:00. I'm tired just writing about our week, but I wouldn't change anything. Life may be crazy, busy and hectic, but we are loving every minute of it.

Over Halloween, Andy was in Las Vegas with his 14U baseball team. They finished 3-1 and Andy was so proud of the way his boys played. Some people wonder why I don't ask Andy to quit coaching since it takes up his weekends, but if they would've heard him talk about how they played in Vegas, anyone would understand. He is so passionate about coaching and is extremely good at it too. He received an email from one of the dad's a few days after getting back. His words of gratitude and how highly he spoke of Andy as a coach amazed me. If only every coach could be so positive and such an outstanding role model for kids, we would have a lot more Derek Jeters out there!

Here are a few random pictures from October.

Happy Halloween

So my plan was to use the tutu that Bailey wore for her 1 year pictures, add some wings and she would be a cute little fairy. Of course as Halloween approached and the weather changed, I realized that we do live in Minnesota which means costumes that are warm and layered. Luckily our good friend Kelsey had already offered us daughter Ella's chicken costume. Man was I glad that Bailey was a chicken instead of a fairy - not because of the weather, but because she was the cutest chicken I have ever laid my eyes on! If only I would have video tapped......watching her "waddle" from behind was the funniest little walk on the block! Of course my little chicken was the only kid who wouldn't cooperate. What can I say? She's a chick on the go!Dora and Boots (Ella and baby Tenley).
Bailey did not want to ride along in the wagon. She was on the move, walking the streets, climbing stairs, waving bye-bye and blowing kisses to every one she saw.

Apple Jack Orchard

Bailey and I made our 2nd annual trip to Apple Jack Orchard today. Unfortunately Bailey is fighting a cold and this has been the worst day for her yet. But we have been planning on going today because it was basically our last chance. So after her morning nap (which she woke up from in a very lethargic mood) we packed up our things, picked up my friend Amy, and headed to the orchard.
We started by checking out the goats, chickens, and turkeys. Then it was time for some pumpkins. We finally made our way to the apple trees although, due to some frost last spring, all the apples were already picked and off the trees. Last we went into the store to buy our Honeycrisp apples and Apple spice doughnuts! It was extremely busy since it was such a gorgeous day, but we were still able to get around and have a good time. The only thing that was missing was Gram (she went last year with us).

Fun with the animals! Bailey and Mommy Bailey and Amy Pumpkins Walking through the apple treesWatch me grow! This is the picture from last year....look at how big Bailey's gotten! Mommy still has to hang onto her so that she'll stay still for the shot!

See you September!

The month of September brings about some big changes for our household - the biggest probably being that mommy goes back to work and Bailey goes back to day care. That would be the main reason why I haven't been able to update our blog for over a month!

September flew by so quickly that I can barely remember all that happened. Like I said, I am now back at work teaching 23 fourth graders. My class this year is great so far, so it definitely makes my work days go by quickly. Bailey is really enjoying day care this year. She misses her old buddy Nolan, but enjoys her new friend Connor, who is only 7 weeks older than Bailey. I am also back to my grad school classes. We meet every Wednesday night and a few Saturdays. The class I'm currently taking is a lot of work, so it's been a pretty grueling month.

Andy is coaching Blizzard baseball once again which means practice and games every weekend. We have spent a few weekends down in Inver Grove with my parents or my parents have been up at our house to watch Bailey while Andy coaches and I go to class. We haven't really had one weekend at home together this fall. Unfortunately our mess of a house goes to show it. Oh well, someday we will catch up on all the house work.

Here are a few pictures from the past month:

First time trying to use a spoon on my own.

First time eating spaghetti!I LOVE my car!!!!Cheese!Hanging out with Torre.

Cupcake Party

Bailey's birthday party was a cupcake theme. We used the phrase "Our Little Cupcake is Turning One"! We were so thankful to all of our friends and family that came to help us celebrate. Once again, Bailey wasn't too into her cupcake, but she had a couple of bites. Guess she's not like her mommy who was able to eat her cupcake in no time! Here are just a few pictures from the exciting day!

1 year old photo shoot

The day after Bailey's birthday, we had her one year pictures taken. We used the same photographer that did her 6 month pictures and I absolutely love what she does. This time we did Bailey's photo shoot at a park in Inver Grove. Unfortunately, Bailey was not really feeling up to getting her pictures taken. We had lots of random tears, Nuk breaks and snuggle cuddling. What shocked me the most was that when it came time to take pictures of her diving into her cake, she cried and basically freaked out about the whole situation.

The "sneak peek" of her photo shoot came out today and you can check them out here:
http://graceparkphotography.zenfolio.com/p316583041

Bailey is One!

Bailey has been one for exactly a week now. Thankfully she survived her marathon weekend of celebrating!
On her actual birthday, Andy got off of work early so that we could take Bailey to the Como Zoo. Before we went, we gave Bailey her birthday presents from us. The first gift she opened was one of two pairs of new shoes. Even through opening up books, bath toys, stuffed giraffe, Crocs and her bean bag chair, she continued to hang on to her new brown shoes. Just goes to show you that the female fascination with shoes starts early!

The zoo was a blast! This was the first time that Bailey has been to a zoo and I'm pretty sure she liked it. We think her favorite animals were the giraffes, tiger and monkeys. Some of the animals were laying down or sleeping since it was so hot and humid, so Bailey didn't get as excited about those animals.

After the zoo we took her out for a special birthday dinner at Panera. Nothing like a little mac 'n cheese and yogurt!