2 months old!!

I find myself often wanting to write, but Bailey wants to be held. I can not resist to sit and gaze at her while she coos, smiles, and even fusses. I love how she wants me to cradle her, look at her, and hold her hand while she is trying to relax. She fits perfectly in my arms (and always will). She is beautiful. She has all sorts of new noises she has developed. While she is sleeping you can hear her breath and she lets little awws out as she slowly goes to sleep, when she is looking around she makes noises and tries out her new “voice” as she discovers everything she can see in the world. The best moments are when she stares into my eyes with all the love a baby has for her Mommy, that melts me to pieces (as tears come to my eyes right now).

There are soo many things I do not want to forget about: her stretches, a full body one when she wakes up from her nap- her arms extend soo long, as she wrinkles her face and her legs then go out to the furthest extent; the noise she makes while talking and having her “binkie” in her mouth like a gurgle gurgle la la sound; her heavy breathing while she is asleep (which she is on m lap doing right now) I could spend hours listening to her breath, it is soo peaceful (her Auntie Farrin said we should record it- I need to do this!!); her new set of cries (I thought I was kinda crazy when I started to notice she had a set of cries- and I thought I knew what they meant), but as I learned babies develop a set of cries) she makes a “Neh” cry when she is hungry, she has a (what Tony calls) complaining I want Mom cry which is more like a yelling voice more than a cry, a “Owh” cry when she is tired and a really dragged out version (it is sad) when she gets REALLY tired), she has a new found “I am scared” cry, and a couple others :)!

In the last couple weeks, really last two weeks she is growing!! Not just in size but also in skills. Bailey can hold her head pretty steady, pick her head up to look around, she has starting to grab things (like my cell phone, my necklace, our faces, and anything else that she wants), and she looks at everything absorbing the world and all it has to offer and she follows our voices . She is long and thin, she is not out of newborn diapers, we have recently switched to cloth diapers , which Tony and I think is the best move we could had made, we LOVE them. They are soo easy, and work great. We have not had to use a single disposable (or buy one!). Of course we will use disposables as back up and on trips! We use Bumgenius ( http://www.bumgenius.com/ ) One Size diapers that fit from 7 pounds to 35 pounds! Besides the savings on money (Tony and I sat down and calculated verses disposables--yes we even factored in washing costs), savings to the land fills, and it is FAR BETTER for Bailey (disposables contain MANY chemicals that are in contact with her skin). Cloth Diapers may not be for everyone, but they work great for us, I have a routine and it is not too difficult at all. We figure any little thing we can do adds up!!

Bailey has been doing a lot this month!! She goes everywhere with me. She is a good girl, very adaptable. She is an awesome sleeper, she sleeps a minimal 6 hour stretch at night, most consistently a 7 hour stretch and occasionally an 8 hour one (YAY!). I try to keep her busy all day, with small nap breaks (I do not get much done but I do get some sleep at night)!! She has made many trips to Grandpa and Grandma’s house, to restaurants for lunch and dinner, to work with me and help my Dad out, to Daddy’s work to have lunch and see him, to get a Christmas tree, to see Santa, to Santa Monica to visit Auntie Farrin and go to Farmer’s Market, Shopping with Auntie Laurie and Grandma and MANY other places. We consider her a pro shopper now (how can she not be with her Mommy!!) She has a love of cute outfits and toys!! Tony and I cart her everywhere, she has quite the audience everywhere we go!!

Tony and I are trying to enjoy every minute with Bailey. We are trying to stay relaxed and love her as much as we humanly can, which is unconditionally. That unconditional love is amazing. I would do anything for this baby, I mean anything. It s special to have that. Now I know how my parents felt, and how watching your child grow up is very hard, yet rewarding. Tony and I both love this baby to pieces. I hope she always know that.

Bailey is a great baby, she makes us proud, feel loved, and smile daily! We love you Bailey!!

Bailey's First Christmas!!

This year was extra special for us filled with much meaning. Unlike other years where it was mostly about us, this year was all about Bailey, as every year from now on (and of course any other babies we have). Bailey was like my Christmas present that I have wanted for a little while now, so it was really unreal to have her here with us. We did not get each other gifts this year, with the economy, our bills from living and Bailey’s birth, the income difference with me staying home, and well just lack of money we decided to play it low. We really made an effort to cutdown everywhere. My brother, Farrin, Laurie, Tony, and I agreed not to exchange gifts ( I mean what do we need anyways, right!! We all agreed to go out to dinner together--spending time together is better than a gift, the only problem, we still need to do it!!!). On Christmas Eve Tony and I had a nice breakfast together and then headed to my parents for our traditional tamales, beans, rice, and all sorts of yummy food. It was a nice night, it was wonderful having my brother and sister there.

We woke up Christmas morning at like 8 am, OH MY Bailey had slept 8 hours in a row and so had I, thank you Bailey, what a great present for Mommy!! Bailey is an excellent sleeper, so usually she sleeps 6-8 hours in a row, I am very very fortunate!! We all hung out in the bed together, mostly Tony and I marveling at Bailey and her cuteness. Then we headed out to the tree where Santa had brought Bailey “binkies” (Thanks Santa for saving our ears!!). We had a special stocking made with Bailey’s name on it, Santa left her some bath toys, and other little things. Bailey also had MANY other gifts!! She got soo many things!! She got a Doggy named Violet that says her name and sings about her (programmable by USB cord), I think it is soo cool!!

We opened all of Bailey’s presents, then we headed over to my parent’s house! They were excited to see Bailey (as they are EVERY time :)!!) We had an awesome and huge breakfast and then opened presents. Bailey was spoiled this Christmas! So not only did she get all the above fun toys, but she got an exersaucer!! I am soo excited about this one, I have heard that children LOVE them and I hope for a break to get somethings done while she is happy and playing!

We then headed to my Grandpa and Grandmas home (Bailey’s Great Grandma and Grandpa) where we visited and enjoyed some time, we also visited her Uncle Steve and Aunt Stephanie later that day! Bailey got to visit her cousins there, she loves when Sierra and Elaina hold her! It is really neat that Bailey has her Grandparents Anderson soo close, Great Grandpa John, Great Grandparents Anderson, Great Grandparents Woodyard, all of who she has met!! Bailey also has many aunts and uncles who all love seeing her, and many people who have “adopted” her :)! It was nice having family time on Christmas, just hanging out. It was special having Bailey with us even though she was not old enough to really understand. Christmas is about family, about love, and being together, we feel blessed to have all of these things!!

Bailey we hope you enjoyed your first Christmas and can not wait for the years of fun times to come!! We are sure there are many memories to be made!

Candy Making

“My favorite food memory as a child would have to be my Mom making Christmas candy. My parents did not have a lot of money when I was growing up, so making christmas candy became a gift for everyone. Every year a couple weeks before Christmas she would make homemade fudge, english toffee, pralines, chocolate balls (which consisted of a very rich chocolate with the consistency of soft fudge rolled in coconut or nuts), and sugar cookies. I remember watching her make all these and wanting to help, taste, and roll the chocolate balls. The smells are what I remember most vividly, of cooking chocolate, the sugar boiling, of butter (I mean who doesn’t love this smell!), and tasting everything after she was done. Now, I have continued the make all this candy also, and every time I do, I remember when I was younger. That is the amazing part of food and our senses. I hope I can now share this tradition with my daughter and family.” (This is my exert on Gaby’s website, she asked us to write about our favorite holiday food memory; her website is: http://whatsgabycooking.com/ she has some awesome recipes so check it out!)

I got the chance to make candy with my Mom this year!! I was very excited. It was great to have a lot of help, because with Bailey who knows what would get done. We had a great time and accomplished a major load of goodies. We made English Toffee, Fudge, French Chocolate Balls, Spritz Cookies, and a batch of Gingerbread Men, and bears (for my Dad :)!) We had a fun day and took a break to go to lunch. I LOVE hanging out with my Mom, and with Bailey also!! Here are some pictures from our day:

Disclaimer: Baby did not receive any chocolate (my mom would be the last one to feed her that, LOL!!) She was interested in it all though!!

All I want for Christmas is "binkies" please...

We decided that Bailey needed to go and have her first Santa visit. My Mom, Dad, Tony, Bailey and I ventured to the Thousand Oaks Mall to visit Santa. We dressed Bailey up in her holiday dress, she was too cute!! Bailey was sleeping, so we woke her up just in time!! She was awake and alert. Santa asked what she wanted for Christmas and she said “binkies”, okay so we helped a little!! We had a great time watching her and then enjoyed a nice dinner at The Cheesecake Factory with my parents!! What a great way to start off the Christmas Season! I wonder if Bailey will make the nice list and get “binkies” for Christmas??

Check this out: http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/168423-cyndmarie/

What, No Baby??

Yes, the first time I went out without the baby!!! Tony had a Christmas party for his work, so we decided it would be the perfect opportunity for Bailey to stay with her Grandpa and Grandma Anderson. They were nice enough to come to our home, and let us have a nice dinner out before the party. Tony and I enjoyed a nice dinner at Piatti’s, I even had my first martini in I think about a year or more!! It was good! We then went to the party and had a great time out. It was great to have some couple time. It felt weird not having to think about taking care of Bailey! It was the first time since Bailey has been born that I actually put time into getting myself ready (and Bailey was NOT A HAPPY CAMPER AS THIS HAPPENED!!) It was really nice because I did not have to worry about Bailey at all. I trust my parents with her all the way! So when we got home we were soo happy to see Bailey! I guess she was a good girl for my parents, so that is a good thing!

Thanks Mom and Dad, we had a terrific time!!