Shall We Take Another Look Back?

Not much on the blog to really look back at I don't guess.  But one year ago today, my Dad booked Sid and me a room in Meridian so that we could stay at the hospital and  not have to worry about driving home late at night on New Year's Eve.  He was also hoping we would take ourselves out to eat and try to take a few minutes for ourselves.  We packed our bags, thinking we'd stay at the hospital and ring in the new year with our new one, then head to the hotel and get some sleep, and be ready to get back to her ASAP on New Year's Day.

But....Bailey had other plans for us....as she has ever since this moment in time.  We arrived at the NICU doors and rang the nurses station on the phone like we'd done a million and ten times before, waited for them to pick up, told them who we were, as if they couldn't tell by the TV monitor (I mean, they'd seen us for 9 days straight, multiple times a day at this point), and of course were told to wait, like they always told us.  When the doors opened, we started to go through them, gearing up to scrub in and put our lovely paper gowns on.  But were immediatly stopped and told that if we'd just wait outside, they were preparing to bring Bailey to us....TO US!!!!!  On New Year's Eve 2009, Sid and I got to experience normal parenthood.  We had a hospital room reserved for us, right there on the L & D floor, and actually roomed in with our baby girl.  She was still hooked up to the oxygen monitor, but I think they had to do that for protocol reasons.  They sure didn't come running when I unplugged the darn thing, the thing was messed up and would not stop  beeping.  They never noticed.  She was also getting break milk from a bottle, so they brought bottles to us.  But other than that, we were on our own.  And life has never been the same since.

Unfortunatly, I have no pictures for this 24-hour time period, as I was just happy to be with my baby and my husband...and be preparing to get the heck up out of that place.  My MIL had to go to our house and get clothes to bring for Bailey because I had no idea I'd need them.  She didn't come home in anything spectacular because I hadn't gotten that far before she was born and nothing in her closet fit but one premie outfit that we had gotten as a gift. 

Today, Sid and his brother have been working on moving the TV to another wall, it needed a jack to move there, and moving furniture around our den so that we have enough room for Toyland.  Tonight, we will all go out to eat and Sid and I will ring in New Year's 2010 with our little girl right beside us, where we've been so happy to have her for one entire year now. 

And I leave you with this picture.  At 1, Bailey can raise up just one eyebrow at you, and give you a look unlike no other.  And when you get it, you know you've been up to no good..  I put the big lens on so I could zoom in as far as I could and really try to capture this little look.  We love it!  And we love our Bailey girl so much!

Looking for this picture, I was reminded of a picture I took yesterday, too!  Bailey had to go for her 1 year check up and I was so dreading the shots for 1 year.  But she has an ear infection, which I did not know, so we couldn't get the shots. Everything else looked great, of course, and the pedi. made the comment about how she'd really just grown into herself and come out of her shell.  That she has.  Yesterday, she and I went to Chick-Fil-A and to Books-A-Million.  It took her over an hour to eat because she was so busy people watching.  People even commented about her people watching.  But when we got in the car, she threw down not wanting to get in the car seat.  Then when we got in BAM, she would not sit down in the buggy and instead insisted on standing up.  Those of you who know me know that I'm so obsessive about kids and buggies, so I put her down thinking she might walk with me for a second.  No such luck, she just saw all those books that she could pull off the shelf and throw.  So we had to hurry and get out of there, but I was thinking that maybe I needed a book on parenting a head-strong 1 year old, no joke!!!  Anyway, I've been wanting to take a picture of her in her big girl carseat for a few days and just keep forgetting, so I got one before we left yesterday.  It was raining outside and we were parked in the carport, but these pictures turned out so dark.  That's her new Bitty Baby, we named her Marlo!

Shall We Take Another Look Back?

Let's Talk About Something Different

 I thought I'd spare you all the misery of re-living Bailey's NICU stay with me for a day or so.

But I have to tell you that she has been so bad today.  I did not think that the terrible two's started at exactly 1!  I'm sure it's because we are all out of routine and she so needs Ms. Susan at First Baptist Child Ministries.  I can tell she misses her so bad, because she just gets ill with me.  No really, I can tell that she has been out of childcare for well over a week now because I can't even go to the bathroom without her screaming her head off. Every time I'd walk out of the room and leave her, I'd count the milli-seconds in my head until she started screaming!

 Sid went hunting again after work and I had to just load her up and go for a ride.  We ended up at NeNe and Jerry's, and before we left, they saw exactly what I was talking about.  NeNe did something to make her mad, I think maybe Bailey had taken her glasses off her head and NeNe made her give them back, or was it that she was changing her diaper?  I can't remember, but whatever it was, Bailey would not even look at her before we left.  She's that stinkin rotten!!  We are sooooo going to have our hands full.

But here's the actual reason for this post.  Have any of you seen where you can turn your blog into a book?  Like a real-live hard back book, where your pictures are even printed out in good quality and in color?  I had never heard of such but think that is just the most wonderful invention since Dr. Pepper if it's true.  I saw some pictures of a few bloggers who had done it and they put the websites of the places they used to make the book.  I haven't had the time to look it up yet.  And don't really know the cost, but that's what I'm wondering.  Have any of you seen this, done this,  what was the approximate cost, where you happy with the end result, was the process to get it from blog to website lengthy, what site did you use, would you do it again........  I would absolute LOVE this and would LOVE LOVE LOVE to do this, BUT I don't have a million extra hours to upload almost two years worth of a blog to another site and I really don't have the random extra money right now if it's going to cost more than $100 or so.  On the other hand, something that is reasonably priced is probably well worth it in respect to the amount of money it takes to do real scrapbooking.  I could so be a scrapbooker if it didn't take so much to get started and I didn't get so over-whelmed with all the choices every time I went into a scrapbooking store.

Anyway, if you are a reader and have heard of this or done this, please let me know.  I'd seriously like to check it out!

It's almost time to ring in the New Year.  Anybody got any big plans???  Guess what we did on New Year's a year ago?

One Year Ago Today

If you will go back and read this you will remember that today one year ago was the first time we got to hold our sweet bundle of joy!  And if you will look closely at that picture of her daddy holding her, you could already see at that point that she looked like he spit her out instead of me.  Oh, what a bitter-sweet day!  We got to hold her alright, and then quickly give her back because we had the nurse nazi's who wouldn't let us hold her for than 20 minutes three times a day.  They even went so far as to put a sign saying so on her crib.  Yep, that's right, a sign, telling this new Mama and Daddy when they could hold their baby girl.  Later, the doctor explained why and it made perfect sense-but those nurses-they needed a class on friendliness to new parents with sick babies.

Ok, ok, that's not what this is about, but seeing those pictures brought that memory back, too!

Guess what?  On New Year's Day we got to bring her home and so it won't be long and I'll quit making you remember this with us. 

So what's our sweet girl up to this morning?? Well, it looks as if a the toy aisles from BOTH Target and Wal-Mart exploded in our den and she is busy over here playing with her diapers and wipes and breathing treatment machine.  In the middle of typing this, I noticed she found the twist off caps of two medicine things that go in her nebulizer, and of course promptly stuck one her mouth.  When I reached to retrieve it, she crawled away as fast as she could go and went even faster when I got up.  She gave up the one in her mouth pretty easily, because what  I didn't know that she did know was she had ANOTHER ONE to replace it.  That one was a little harder to wrestle away from her.  I'd say this Bailey girl has come along way in one year's time.  I haven't talked much about it, but she is indeed walking...still crawling mostly....but can and will walk when she wants to!

If there is anything I've learned about this girl in the past year, it's that she get more and more like me AND Sid with each passing day.  Let me tell ya, that ain't good!!!!  

Yesterday I asked her to blow me a kiss and she blew me a two handed kiss....melted this mama's heart I tell ya!

Just A Little Something

I meant to post this on Christmas Night when we got home, but there was just so much else to do.  So here it is!

Today is Christmas.

Whether it's a holdiay you celebrate personally, or one you sit out, we hope it's a time of love, joy and peace in your life. 

It isn't always that way, even for those of us who extol Christmas the most.  The moments we want to be filled with warmth adn togetherness instead leave us lonely and cold.  Our unrealistic expectations dissolve into disappointment and tears.  We stress over iteneraries and preparations, and miss out on the magic.

Then again, it's sometimes hard for the magic of Christmas to break through our mundane circumstances, our heartaches and our pain.  Whether we have lost loved ones, experienced financial setbacks or otherwise been dispossessed of our thrill for living, holidays can be a grim reminder of what we don't have.

May it not be so for you today.

May today find you with your family, or your friends and your sense of humor.  May it find you receptive to whatever smiles come your way.  May if find you with enough hope to last for today and maybe enough to get you going tomorrow.

Remember:  The blessing of Christmas doesn't live under a tree, wrapped in festive paper and adorned in bows.  It resides in our hearts and in the hearts of the ones we love.  It lives in the songs, the sounds, the smells and the sights we will cherish long after we've forgotten who gave what to whom.

We know, we know:  Every now and then, a perfect and unforgettable gift comes along, and that's something to celebrate, too.

Indeed, for Christians, that is the spiritual meaning of this holiday. Christmas marks the birth of Jesus and all that it signifies:  the arrival of God in our midst, the rebirth of hope in a fallen world and, ultimately, the redemption of mankind.  But what even Christians sometimes forget is that the perfect gift arrived in quite imperfect circumstances.  Jesus didn't arrive in the best house with the best tree and the best presents;  he was born in a barn.  Out of this striking simplicity springs abundant life promised in return for our faith.

Remember that today.

There's something all of us can take from a holiday that encourages us to look beyond what we need and want, and to try to search out the yearnings of others.  At its best, Christmas calls on us to reach beyond our "significant" others, to remember the poor child across town who might not get a present, the new widow on your cul-de-sac who might not have an invitation anywhere else, the homeless man whose Christmas dinner might come from a garbage can.

Christmas calls on us to give.  By all means, do that, with a cheerful heart.  But never forget that the best gifts can't be bought at the mall.  Better yet, they cost nothing.  The gift of time.  The gift of service.  The gift of hospitality.  The gift of love.

Give them, and you won't have pangs of buyer's remorse when the credit card bill arrives in January.

Merry Christmas, Friends!

I wish I could say these were my words, but they aren't.  I bought a paper on the way out of town Friday on the way back home to have something to read.  This was on page 6A of the Birmingham News Christmas Day, 2009.  It spoke to me on so many different levels.  For some reason, for the past few months, I have felt a small calling towards something to do with mission work and for those less fortunate.  I won't get into that now.  But it also spoke to me on a much more personal level - on the level of being a Christian and having that Faith and wanting me and my family to always remember the reason for the season.  This year, Sid and I did not get each other gifts.  He got a few things that he wanted this month and I got a new laptop a few months back, so we called it even and didn't spend the money just for the sake of having a gift to give each other.  In some ways, I think we both missed the gift giving to each other.  However, even though I can't speak for him, I can say for myself it gave me the opportunity to reflect on the gift that we have in each other, and the gift that we have in being a family and being together.  I think at one point I told him that it didn't bother me that in his head I got my Christmas back in September, because I'd much rather have a few good memories with him and Bailey than a gift under the tree anyway.  In some ways, I wish that we could cut out giving or receiving gifts altogether, but then at the same time, I want Bailey to grow up having the experience of Christmas and Santa and such.   I'm sure we will never really fully act on the whole "cut out the gifts and just make memories" but the thought is a nice one. 

When Santa was making his stop at Mimi's house for Bailey on Christmas Eve, we realized that we really didn't get her all that much.  But we also stopped to remember that she really didn't know the whole Santa deal or what presents were all about, so we embraced the opportunity to not have to worry about what she wanted and make sure we didn't leave anything out.  Not to mention that two of the big ticket items we planned to get were gotten by other family members, some not even knowing it.  I know I've mentioned this before, but in the future it will be really important for me to instill a since of giving and serving in Bailey and so hopefully as she gets older, she will learn this it isn't about getting, getting, getting.  She will learn just how fortunate she is and I won't stress out about what she is or isn't getting. 

Yesterday, Sid and I went to see a movie, and while standing in line getting popcorn I made the comment that I shouldn't get it because it hurts my stomach.  Sure enough, before we could even get home, the curse of the corn had struck and I'm still feeling the effects today.  So while I was up last night, and it was quite, I was just thinking and having some quite time and praying.  And I was thinking about how God has a plan and in our faith we know that, we believe that, and I felt a little nudge saying "Yes, God has a plan, but so does the devil."  Ahh, it's that pesky little devil we have to watch out for, as he knows our weaknesses just at God does.  But instead of protecting us, he comes to destroy.  I believe that if we don't take the time to serve others, and what better time to do it than at Christmas, we are allowing the devil in and keeping God from blessing us and us remembering the true meaning of Christmas. 

Last year, when Bailey was in the NICU, we received a package from a family that had a baby in the NICU at Christmas time many years before.  It was such a nice, thoughtful thing, and meant so much to us at such a scary time.  They just wanted families that were spending Christmas in the hospital to feel some love and support and to know that someone was thinking of them.  Too late in the season this year, I told Sid that we should do something for those families that are there this Christmas season.  I won't let that opportunity pass us by next year, I can promise you that.

As much as I made a conscious effort to not forget God this Christmas, it is just so darn hard to do.   I'm making it my New Year's Resolution to make serving others a priority so that at Christmas time it's not something I have to figure out.  It's already a part of our daily lives.  Something that is natural to us, to our family.  I want to encourage you to do the same.   Leave me a comment if you already do something on a daily/weekly/monthly/yearly basis like this.  I'd like to know your ideas and what you do, what your family does to serve and be the hands and feet of Jesus in our world.  And if we can't do something because of time/money contraints, like the article says, it doesn't take much to just give a smile.  Might be the only smile someone gets!!

Merry Christmas 2009!!!

Let us not forget that on this night one year ago, Sid and I were at home fast asleep while our new baby girl was in the NICU down the road on the vent under a strictly enforced minimal stimulation rule, which meant we really didn't even get to talk to her, much less touch her.  At this point, we still had not gotten to hold her yet.  You can go back and read my post from last Christmas Day here. 

But tonight, on Christmas Night 2009, we are ever so very thankful that she is fast asleep in her bed with her new Bitty Baby, as she has been since before 7:00 p.m. because the past week has just worn her slap out.  The sweet girl celebrated her first birthday on Saturday, December 19th, went to her great-grandmother's to celebrate Christmas with the Williamson side of the family on Sunday, December 20th, went to her Mamaw and Papaw Whitehead's on Monday, December 21st to celebrate Christmas with them, turned 1 on December 22nd, headed to her Mimi and Poppy T's in Alabama on Wednesday, December 23rd, celebrated Christmas with my side of the family on Christmas Eve and of course had Santa early this morning, plus made the trip back home to Mississippi.  So, again, let me reiterate how worn out she is!  Oh, and I forgot to mention that on Christmas Eve she decided she needed a little walking action to get around all those people and presents that were at Mimi's so she has been walking much more, not to mention she has jabbered up a storm for the past 48-hours!  I'm not sure if we should be thankful or not to not be able to understand her at this point.

So, let's recap this in pictures, shall we???

When we first got to Jerry and Nene's (on Monday, December 21st), not everyone was there yet, but Mason was pouting for some reason.  I never really did understand it, but Mamaw was puling his leg about something to do with a bull and he was having none of it!

I watched Bailey and Brady sit in the floor nose to nose and have a chat about something and didn't think to snap a picture until she was crawling away.  So this is the best I got, but it was the cutest thing and I'm sure she was trying to sweet talk him out of that i-phone.

This is the new thing, for Bailey to get in the back of the dump-truck and Mason will usually drive her around, but he must have been off doing something else at this point so I got to snap a few great pictures of it.

Uncle Ben got some tool, you can read there on the box what it was, and for some reason Bailey was all up in his business.  She crawled all the way up in the tool box when he had it opened.  Finally he got her out of it enough to snap it shut but she still wasn't too sure about letting it go.

Eveybody knows that Bailey LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Kylie and Ben and the boys got her this mickey that is on a rocker so she can ride him and rock  AND you can press either of his ears and he plays music too!  She cracks me up riding him.  She doesn't quite get the prop your feet up thing and rock, but she tries, and she especially loves the music and loves talking to this Mickey!

Funny story, we got Mason a huge thing of Lincoln Logs and Bailey was fascinated with them for some reason.  She loved to get in the big bucket and throw the pieces out and she also would not leave what he was building alone.  At one point he told her to go play somewhere else and Mamaw told him he had to share his toys, that he wasn't being very nice and that some little boys and girls don't even have toys to share.  And in the most serious voice, he said, "But she DOES have her own toys."  Like, that might be true for some, but for Bailey it clearly isn't so she needs to move along.

Finally, he gave up and decided to ride his "bull."  And apparently she got interested in a box.

And then she was done for the night!  Oh, those tired eyes.  Bless her bones!!  You don't see her Daddy around because he was passed out on the couch after having thrown up for two straight days and going to the doctor that morning and getting some shots.  The doctor reported that he had fluid on his ears which was what was making him dizzy and throw-up.  Apparently, the shots kicked in just about the time supper was over and we finished opening presents.  Thank goodness the next morning he was like a new man! 

Unfortunatly, I have NO pictures of the birthday girl on her actual birthday, but she was tired of the camera anyway, and we took a break for the action that day and stayed in our pj's all day and didn't leave the house.  

Now, on to Christmas at Mimi and Poppy T's.  We decided to leave a day early and I'm glad we did for serveral reasons.  We weren't as rushed and the weather was cold and rainy on Christmas Eve so we skipped having to travel in that.  We spent most of the afternoon at Maggie and Bo's, which is where the pictures of Bailey in the sleigh were taken, and then of course went to the Christmas Eve service.  Then the whole family went to Mom and Dad's for Christmas Eve supper and to open gifts.  I took pictures of the table and decorations at Thanksgiving that mother did and I just had to get them again at Christmas.  I love to blog and read blogs, and this Christmas there was an on-line Christmas tour of houses.  Of course, I didn't participate because the best part of our decorating this year was outside, aside from our tree that I just loved, but if you will remember, most of my collected Christmas decorations have been "misplaced".  So I didn't participate in the fun, but I sure wish I'd had these pics of Mom's house and I would have posted them.  She makes an ordinary house seem so magical at times.  Some call her Martha Stewart, but sometimes I think she is better than Martha herself. 

Mom and Dad's Christmas tree this year.  It's white, covered in a thick layer of fake white snow and the lights are those ole timey big bulbs that were pre-strung before the snow was sprayed on.  It is quite possibly the most unique Christmas tree I have ever seen.  I think she used this one last year, not sure, but you never know with her.  We might not see this tree for a few more years and instead see a grand real tree.  You just never know!  But this one is fun and neat!

The table all seat of Christmas dinner!

A view of the table and tree from the other end of the room!

Desserts!

Those big lantern things that I photographed at Thanksgiving and were used at Bo and Maggie's wedding last December outside the church.  At Thanksgiving, they weren't lit, but on this night there were all a-glow!

The center of the table!

Frosty the snow man!

I noticed this afternoon as we were leaving that there were many more decorations downstairs that I never even saw.  So what you see here is the tip of the decorating.  It just feels so magical to come in from the cold after being at the Chirstmas Eve service and smell the ham cooking and see all the lights and decorations and know that you are home.  Which was even more important to me this year because I'm sure it will get harder and harder to be out of town with a child on Christmas Day with the whole Santa thing. 

I read on a bunch of blogs this year that alot of parents weren't participating in Santa, or weren't telling their kids that Santa was real because this was like lying and Santa isn't the reason for the season.  I also read that some parents give their kids three gifts to re-represent the 3 kings that brought gifts to Baby Jesus.  I grew up believing in Santa and I don't think it made me feel lied to or ripped off after finding out Santa wasn't real.  I do think that our society has commercialized Christmas way too much, but to me Santa is part of the magic of the season.  Don't get me wrong, I do want Bailey to know the real reason and always be able to keep that at the heart of the season.  I'm sure as she gets older we will incorporate things into our Christmas activities to to not lose sight of this, like maybe adopting an angel or supporting a child through Compassion or serving meals to the homeless somewhere as part of our family Christmas traditions.  But to not let her share in the childhood memories of Santa-I just don't get it!

Are your eyeballs bleeding yet?  I know this is long but I was behind and I didn't want to leave anyone out so I'm getting it all in there.

My sweet Erin!Doesn't Pappaw look great????I had taken Bailey's jacket off while she was eating because it was about 100 degrees in the house with the fire and all the cooking going on!

We all opened presents after supper, but I was too busy opening all my stuff and Bailey's to take pictures.  But afterwards, I caught her playing in the bag of tissue paper, because, you know, all those toys and her new Bitty Baby wasn't enough!!!

With all the excitement, she was up until about 10:00, so I was hoping she would sleep in, but no such luck.  She slept with Mimi and Mimi was too excited about Santa coming that she got up before 6, so Bailey go up sometime right after her.  We were up before 6:30 a.m.!  I thought we'd have at least one year of not having to get up soooo early.

I took several pictures of her with her Santa stuff, but couldn't help posting this one of her in her new rocker with those cubby little legs.  She is so cute trying to get out of it, scooting down until those toes touch the floor!

Again, we couldn't be more thankful for God's mercies on this sweet baby this year and we look so forward to what He has in store for us in the coming year.  In a way, we are so ready to say good-bye to 2009 because it has been a hard year for more than a few reasons.  We are very real to the fact that things could always be worse and try not to complain too much about it. 

Ok, so even if your eyes are bleeding, mine are about to pop right on out!  So, Merry Christmas!!!!  Oh, and who is going out shopping for the day after Christmas tomorrow? I was shocked when I saw stores were opening at 5 a.m.  Now that's bad!!

Santa's Got A Helper

I am soooo far behind on my blogging.  I still have not posted pictures of our Christmas with Sid's side of the family and after tonight I'll have pictures from my side of the family to post.  And of course Santa and Christmas morning. 

But I couldn't help to go ahead and post these!  Maggie and Bo have this sleigh in their bedroom and it's not the sturdiest thing in the world.  But it sure did make for a cute Christmas Eve picture.

We are chillin at Aunt Maggie's and Uncle Bo's and Bailey has tried to unwrap every present under their tree.  It's raining and freezing and supposed to get even worse as the night goes on.  We sure hope Santa is careful in his annual delivery route for all the excited boys and girls who have been good this year.

Bad weather or not, we couldn't be more happy this Christmas Eve with this sweet bundle of joy and surrounded by family, instead of in a hospital room with a baby in the NICU down the hall.  We will be heading out to the Christmas Eve Candle Light Service in a little bit.  Then to Mom's for Christmas Eve dinner. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!!!!!!!

Headed to Mimi's

We have decided rather unexpectantly to head to Alabama earlier than Christmas Eve, and are making a mad dash to get out the door in the next hour. 

In case I don't get to blog over Christmas, we here at the Whitehead household wish you and your's a very Merry Christmas.

May the light and love of Christ, the reason for the season, shine brightly in each of your home's and heart's!!

I AM ONE!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAILEY!!!!  WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!  

On this day, one year ago, at 2:32 in the afternoon, the biggest joy of our lives made her grand entrance into this world.   Although it was a little early and a birth that landed her with a 9 day NICU stay, this bundle of joy brings nothing but sweetness to this household.  What a boring old life  her daddy and I would lead if it wasn't for this princess.  We are thankful every day when we get up and thankful every night when we go to bed and all those in between times. 

I have alot more to write but I was afraid I was not going to get to all of it today.  I just didn't want today to go by without a Happy Birthday post to my sweet angel.

Bailey, you have gone from this

to this....

Your Da and I love you so much that we cannot even put into words.  We love to hear your hands patty-cake first thing in the morning and snuggle with you last thing at night.  We love your smile and we love your cries (although we try not to let you do it too often).  We just love you with every fiber of our being and  although this past year has seen it's ups and downs health wise, we wouldn't trade our time with you for anything in this world.  We look forward to many more years and birthdays and memories.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL!!!!!

Bailey's Fisrt Birthday Party

So, there has been tons going on around here since the last post, the biggest and best of all being the FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY, of course!!!!!  This is sort of lengthy and with tons of pictures.  So get ready....

The day started out with Aunt Maggie and Uncle Bo coming over early, with some good Mickey D's coffee to go with the great breakfast stuff that Sid fixed us.

Maggie wanted to go ahead and bring Bailey's Christmas present since it is a toy that will help her learn to walk.  So Bay got to start the morning off by opening presents. 

Look at that butt, is it not the cutest thing you have ever seen?  She did so good with it.  When she moves from the carpet and it hits the wood floors, she just takes off and looks as if she is going to get carried away with herself, but she doesn't.  We have plans to move the TV to another wall and open up our "den area", so hopefully soon she will have even more room to learn to walk and use all her new toys.

I got her cake made at a cake place in Meridian, so Uncle Ben picked it up for us Friday afternoon.  If you look closely, there is some stray icing on the cake board and the cake is a little crooked on the cake board.  That's becasue Uncle Ben is the best driver in the world and kept from having an accident so as not to destroy the first birthday cake.  But, unfortunatly, in the near-accident, the cake did a little sliding and this is how it ended up.  We are thankful that the cake didn't get hurt and was presentable at the party.   We are thankful that Uncle Ben picked it up for us and saved me a trip to Meridian just to get it, and that he did not have an accident and his truck is still in one piece and he is unharmed. 

Speaking of cake, let's skip right to the cake part of the birthday party.  I did not get Bailey her own smash cake because what's the point in spending more money for her OWN cake to just play in when her cake was plenty big enough for her to have a big chunk of I forgot.

Family picture before the singing of Happy Birthday! 

She had a little help from cousin Erin blowing out those candles and it's a good thing because she really didn't know what to do or thing.  She finally reached over and got the "1" candle from the cake.

Of course, it still had hot wax on it, but that didn't seem to bother her.  She enjoyed the candle more than the cake I think.

Waving at everybody since she had everyone's attention.  I mean what else does a girl do when she knows all eyes are on her but give a big shout out to the crowd!

Still not sure what she supposed to be doing.

And still got holding onto that candle, she figured she'd see if I wanted a bit.  This is problem my most favorite picture of the entire day!

 Still got that "1" candle, we finally put her in her highchair so she could dig in with her big chunk of cake.  Based on all the pictures leading up to this one, I think she had to have help putting the candle down and diggin in, but I was busy cutting the cake so I'm not sure.  She did seem to enjoy herself and got cleaned up in the kitcen sink, with cold water because the water would NOT get warm.  I felt so bad, her little teeth shivered and I've never seen them do that before. 

I skipped right to the cake part, but before that we had good ole Sid hamburgers and a few dips, with Nene's homemade lemonade.  Sid had his hamburger meat freshly ground and everything and Bailey chowed down her her's.  Then we did the cake and presents.  Once the party was over and we were cleaned up and back at home, Bailey had some special spend the night company.

Bo and Maggie were in town again for the night and Chris stayed with us along with Erin and Andrew.  We had the best time at our house after the party.  We all came home and put our pj's on and just chilled watching TV, talking hunting, and loving on us some sweet babies.  The water at the church might have been cold, but this bath water was just right!

It was way passed Bay's bedtime at this point and she was having a good time until Aunt Maggie walked in the bathroom and Bailey saw this as an opportunity to be saved from the madness.  haha!  Bless her heart! (The water is not as dirty as it looks.  Bailey got some tub pens and they make the water turn colors.)

She got her a bottle and called it a night.  I should add that this is the second time she fell asleep with Aunt Maggie yesterday.

Ok, I have to stop here because we are about to head to Sid's mom and dad's house to have our Christmas with them.  BUT, you will NOT want to miss the pictures I have left at from the post from this night.  I took so many pictures of all the babies and I'm telling you that Andrew Self is the cutest little thing I've seen.  I have pictures of all of them in their pj's after their bath and just some random one's.  So I'll try to finish up when we get home. 

But I have to say here that I am so thankful for my sweet Bailey and the fact that we celebrated her birthday on Saturday.  Tomorrow, her actual birthday, will just be a day of mixed emotions I'm sure, because the time has just flown by but at the same time she just makes this house such a happy and special place to be. 

WE LOVE YOU BAILEY BOO!