first christmas

Christmas was so great for us this year.  All because of our newest member of the family.  Children are what give such purpose to holidays, and Dare has for sure done that for us.   He never quite figured out the whole gift opening part.  He just liked the paper, bows, and the item once it was unwrapped.  We had fun helping him figure it all out.

A tradition growing up in my family was to dress up as the different characters in the nativity story.  So, this year at our family party, the Bailey clan got roped in to dressing the parts of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus.  We were ever so thrilled to be robed and swaddled ;)  haha

Auntie Shalise is so creative and artistic.  She did this letter for Dare, and said that each year to come she will do one for him.  He will have quite the collection someday!  It is such a cool thing, and I am so grateful that she shares her talent with us!

 

He LOVES the drum from granny and papa!!

 

The 3 (out of 4) of us, we were missing our lil sis Raenie today! 

 

 (But, it sounds like her clan in Colorado had quite a fun Christmas with a new Karaoke set!)

He got spoiled with lots and lots of things that he SO does NOT need!  But, he'll have loads of fun creating messes with it all... just for mom to chase around and clean up! 

 

(mom may have to hide some of his new things, wrap them up, and re-gift them on his birthday!)

the paper is so fun!

 

Merry Merry Christmas! 

Love, Dare.

 

 

charlie b

My good friend Char gave Dare a Charlie Brown stuffed toy for an early Christmas present.  He instantly loved it!  It is so funny because they kind of look alike!  We decided he would make for a good Charlie next Halloween!

santa

Dare was so excited to put on his winter coat and hat so that we could all get in the truck and go visit our favorite Santa on 90th! 

He and Titan were so brave.  They decided that they would experience their first visit with Santa together...  something about safety in numbers!!  Taylor and I were just so happy that they didn't cry!

 

Hanging out like Besties do!

The whole clan!  It is always nice when the kids come to visit!  They sure love their dad and their new baby brother!

ipad

Quality time with the Ipad

snow

Dare's first time touching snow.  He wasn't so sure about that cold white stuff!

First, my Daddy had to clear our driveway, and 2 of our neighbors, then we got in his truck and headed to grandma and granD's.  They need help too.  It was so fun watching my dad out the window while he sprayed the snow with the snow blower!

up

It seems like this year although it is up, it is almost time to take it down!  We love the holiday time, we just need to remember to ENJOY it, instead of just hustling and bustling right on through it!

 

pucker

Out to lunch with mom and dad....I think I'll have myself some sour.

Limes are delish!

happy thanksgiving

Each time my family gathers around the Thanksgiving table, before we begin the meal we are reminded of the story of the 5 kernels of corn.  We then go around the table, and we each take turns naming the things for which we are most grateful.  This year Amanda and Emma included this poem at each place setting.  I thought it was perfect.  Short and sweet, and exactly true. 

 

 

And then after dinner, auntie Miggie gave Dare and his 2 cousins LuLu and JuJu a bath.  A special treat to have them visit from Colorado!

 

note: JuJu (to his right, is 3 months OLDER than him.  He is like 3 in taller, and 7 lbs heavier!)

i love pickles

Dare's new favorite teether.  Baby Dills. In his Boon food clip.  He LOVES them. 

Can't get enough of those stinky things.

Mom says: "whatever makes you happy, and helps you feel better, it's just fine!"

recent faves

I post on Instagram quite a bit, but try to remember to file some of my favorites onto my journal/blog.  Here are 2 of my recent faves.

guardians

For different reasons that are very near to my heart, I have felt that my grandparents (mom's parents) are very much present to little D.  I have been meaning to get their photo out for a good while now, just to see his reaction to their faces.  I finally did, and here it is.  I showed him photos of a bunch of others as well, but he was not interested.  But, when he saw his grandma betty angel and grandpa g angel... his face lit up.  He laughed.  He grabbed for them.  He smiled and giggled.  He was "chatting" with his eyes.

It confirmed even more what I have known.   They are with him and he knows them well.

They help him have sweet dreams, and keep him "evened out on both sides" while he sleeps.

 

dear tommorow,

someone once told me that the sun will come out for you.  I sure hope that is true. I have not experienced this side of motherhood until today, and I am not going to lie...I am asking for early retirement if an intervention doesn't happen soon.  So, teething demon please go away!  Can't the tooth fairy wave her magic wand and let those puppies break through already?  I really do not know who this little person is, but I sure would like to know where he is hiding my sweet, happy Dare. 

In the meantime, could someone send over their finest bottle of Cab?  It's my favorite, and I really need one.  Yes, the whole bottle.  It's only 7pm, but I am DONE.

poor bogey

 

Brenda and Giovanni invited us over for dinner on Saturday evening.  We told them we would be over as soon as we were done with our family photos that we had scheduled for that same evening.  Consequently, we had Bogey with us so he came along to their home.  Erin (Gio's daughter) and her friend Kimmie were there and quite quickly discovered that it may be lots of fun to play dress up with their new buddy Bogey. It was quite hilarious.   Here is what happened: 

 

He was such a good sport, but we could tell he was SO DONE... it was nice of Miss Erin to have a little snuggle with him when it was all over!

 

six month check

Six month Check up for our big little guy. 

Here he is before Dr. Paul gave him his exam, and Nurse Cindy gave him his shots.  I was hoping that his reaction to his shots were the same as last time, which was NO reaction.  But, I thought that was pretty wishful thinking...

 

So, I got him almost all dressed before she gave him his shots, thinking that he was not going to be a happy camper once injected, and therefore not a very cooperative baby while I needed to dress him... But, amazingly, he was as cool as a little cucumber once again.  He had 3 shots and one oral, and he winced for a sec on the second shot, but then let it go, and was fine.  Such a good baby. 

 

Here he is sporting his cool kiddie band aids, but no tears or squirms.  

Just cute fat thighs!

 

Stats:

20.12 lbs

27 in.

littles

 

 Dare was given 2 Halloween costumes and we purchased one for him. Since he is only 6 months old, and not going out to trick-or-treat, it is all about the photo ops! 

So here is our LITTLE:

Lion

Bumblebee

Sock Monkey

 

 

 

Gangsta Halloween boy

Lion Pumpkin Holder

 

TIRED lil Lion

 

and... our little TV watcher!

We were watching Breaking Bad the other night, and he was just sitting there like he was in a recliner, totally fixated on the episode.  Eyes wide open...watching just as intently as his lazy parents!  So funny!