Bailey's on Solid Food Like White on Rice!

Bailey is 4 months old now. She is able to start taking solid foods. We are starting with single grain rice cereal, like most parents seem to do. We mix a little with each bottle now to thicken it up (hopefully to slow down the "squirts"), and we give her some by spoon. The pictures are of her first time with thickened rice cereal from a spoon. She seemed really into it but also a bit confused. Most of it came back out as soon as I dished it in. And a lot of it ended up on her bib and hands. I think that she got 2 or 3 swallows down. It was funny when she did swallow, because she would get a surprised look on her face as if she was thinking, "what did I just swallow?" This very new to her, but she is taking it in stride. Hopefully this will keep her little belly full longer so that she can space out her feedings from every 2 hours during the day, and also allow her to sleep through the night. So far so good. Last night she slept for a full 8 hours, then another 2 after a bottle! That was great!

tj

Bailey and her Bumbo

We bought Bailey a Bumbo chair a couple of days ago.  It allows her to sit straight up without one of us holding her.  Our friends, the Parkers, have one for their daughter and love it.  They use it has her high chair for now.  We are doing the same and plan on starting Bailey on rice cereal very soon.  

Bailey loves the chair.  She can sit up and see things pretty much all around her.  She likes to play with her toys while sitting in it.  She looks so big and grown up too.  

tj

A Nice Sunday

Today we are hanging out watching football, blogging, and interviewing Nannys. Yes...we are looking for a new person to care for Bailey when we are at work. Our Babysitter had to give up her position for personal reasons. We have 4 candidates, and have interviewed 1 of them. She was a very nice lady in her 40's.

But besides that, we are just chillin' today. In the top picture, Bailey is wrapped up in a warm Deedee (Susie's blankie), fresh out of the dryer. And in the second picture, Bailey just finished a bottle and is sleeping. She has recently gone from eating 4 oz to 5 oz. She is eating, spitting up, and growing like a weed.

Well....back to the football game. KC is playing the Jets. Susie is rooting for Favre...of course!

tj

Bailey's Princess Leia Necklace

When Susie was a little girl, she had a plastic necklace that she would put on her head and walk around calling herself "Princess Leia." Susie doesn't remember this, but her mom told her about it the other day when we had Bailey on Skype. Arlene saw Bailey playing with the very same necklace! It is one of the toys that Julie sent to us. I guess that it was Susie's, and Julie's toy as well. Now it is one of Bailey's favorite toys. It is just the right size to fit into her little hands and she loves to bring it up to her mouth. She hasn't put it on her head and walked around yet, but we hope to see her do that soon.

tj

Bailey and her Books

Bailey has been really into all of her new books that people gave her during her baby shower in Boise. She loves to sit up and read them with me and Susie. As she learns to use her hands more she has been trying to hold the books and turn the pages. She hasn't quite mastered the timing yet. She likes to turn the page before we are done reading that page. But as long as she is happy, it's cool.

Bailey might be a Boise State fan...don't tell Nana!

Grandma Kemp and Bailey watched the Boise State Broncos kill San Jose 2 days ago.  And they did it dressed up in the orange and blue!  Grandma brought Bailey her own BSU shirt to wear during the game.  They looked good together, cheering for the Broncos.

I am not sure what Nana is going to think of this, given that she is a Vandal!  We might have to make her a shirt that is half Broncos and half Vandals.  

tj

Bailey attacks Elmo and growls

Bailey had made a new friend in the past week.  His name is Elmo!  She loves him very much...so much that when she sees him she talks to him for a few seconds, then lets out a big growl and attacks him!  She grabs him with both hands and pulls him into her face and sucks on his eyeballs.  It is hilarious to watch.  She is turning into a real slobber monster, with everything going into her mouth. 

Bailey Gets New Shades

Grandma Kemp arrived a few days ago to help us take care of Bailey while Susie's back heals.  She has been a huge help.  Susie's back is getting better each day.  We are searching for a new babysitter/nanny since ours had to quit.  It has been nice to have someone that we trust to look after our little girl.  

Grandma brought Bailey a new set of shades from Idaho.  They are pretty sweet.  They are pink, and have a elastic and velcro strap that keeps them snug to her head.  I wasn't sure if she would like wearing them, but it turns out that she does.  Especially outside when it is sunny.  She would normally wear a big sun hat that hangs over her eyes a little, obstructing her view.  But with her new shades, she can see everywhere!  She looks all around now on her walks.  

My mom met me at the Stamford train station a few days ago to pick me up from my commute home from NYC.  She brought Bailey with her of course.  Bailey was dressed in all pink with her pink shades and making quite the impression on all of the passers by.  

tj

Family Picture

It was a beautiful fall weekend in the Northeast.  Susie, Bailey, and I went to Bruce Park in Greenwich, CT for a picnic and a walk.  We decided to take some family pictures while we were there.  Bailey did very well.  She loves to be outside and she loved the attention that we were giving her while trying to get her to look at the camera.  We took over 100 pictures!  The best one is above.  We were all looking at the camera and smiling at the same time.  That was hard to accomplish.  

The fall colors were great.  It is our last fall in the Northeast.  We will miss the amazing colors that occur every year as the leaves turn.  

tj

Bailey Nails TJ's Wallet

So I was carrying Bailey up the stairs to take a bath and she did what she does best....SPIT UP!  This time though she managed to aim right at my wallet, which I keep on the stairs by the front door.  She hit my wallet from about 5 feet in the air!  I told her, "wow, nice shot Bailey!"  Susie was right behind us so she cleaned it up quickly and no damage was done.  We both laughed.

tj 

I get to take care of both my girls

Today, I got to take care of both of my girls...Susie and Bailey. I stayed home from work to help Susie take care of Bailey because Susie "threw out her back" yesterday. She has had some trouble with her back in the past, but not like this. She was trying to get Bailey up the steep stairs of the babysitter yesterday and twisting wrong and that was that. By the end of the day she could barely walk!

She is doing much better today. I am doing all of the lifting/laundry/diaper changes for Bailey. Susie is doing the feedings after I hand Bailey to her. In between feedings we are having fun playing with Bailey. Susie is resting and trying to get better.

My friend and spine surgeon Christian Brotea was nice enough to make a house call today to take a look at Susie's back. He said it is probably a bad muscle strain or ligamentous injury. He doubts it is a disk herniation, so that is good. We are going to see how she does over the next few days and possibly see him in his office next week if things don't improve. The next step would be an MRI.

Susie and I both have the weekend off together. We are planning on just hanging around and getting her back better. The fall colors are very nice right now in the Northeast, so we might go to the park to get a family picture.

tj

"Look How Big I am Getting!"

These were taken of Bailey today on her changing table.  She is getting so big.  I can tell when she doesn't have her cute little baby clothes on that her body is lengthening and growing.  

Sucking Thumb

Today I got to spend the afternoon with Bailey. We mostly just hung out. She loves to sit in her little boppie. I captured some pictures of her doing one of her favorite activities ...sucking her thumb. She has been able to get her hands to her mouth for a few weeks now, but recently she has figured out how to isolate the thumb. What is interesting is that she sucks her left thumb most of the time. Before she seemed to be right handed and didn't really know what to do with her left hand.

She also likes to grab the burpy press it against her face and mouth. Especially after she spits up or is tired. She tries to suck on it too, but mostly just drools on it.

"Can I play in the dirt?"

Bailey and I decided to go outside to get some fresh air tonight.  She likes to go outside.  It calms her down.  She usually looks around at the trees and everything, but tonight she was fascinated with the dirt in the planter.  She kept looking toward the planter,  so I brought her in for a closer look.   She leaned further and further toward the planter until she was right over the dirt.   You could tell that she wanted to reach in and play.  However, her little hands just aren't coordinated enough to do what her mind tells them to.  I guess we should be thankful for that, because she really seemed like she wanted to get in there and get dirty.  She will be doing that soon enough with her cousins in Boise in Papa's dirt hole by the shed.  Can't wait for that!  

Bailey rolls over!!!

Friday Oct 10 Bailey was doing some tummy time with Mom. Instead of resting her head on the floor the majority of the time and occasionally lifting her head up and looking forward, she was just the opposite today. I would put her on her tummy and she would keep her head up, and rest quickly by dropping her head to the floor and popping right back up. She is getting so strong! So Friday, she was doing that and she rolled over to her back on her right side! I got it on video (check the Video podcast in a few days). This morning she did the same thing for Dad 5 times in a row! It was pretty fun to see and so exciting to see her develop physically and conquer these milestones!

Susie Back to Work

I went back to work on October 1st. Not really back to work, as I started a new job at an independent pharmacy in Darien, just a few exits north of here. My previous store's hours were cut, and I was going to have become a "floater." (Filling in for pharmacists at various stores.) Among other reasons, I decided to leave and have a set schedule, as well as flexibility on days if I needed it. I now work 3 days a week and one weekend a month...kinda sounds like the National Guard Reserve! Out of the first nine days of October, I worked 7 of them. I think that was the hardest week of my life. I was exhausted--and still am--from working 9 hour shifts, getting Bailey ready to go to the babysitters. TJ picked her up early 2 nights, but still, having to come home and feed her/bathe her and tend to her needs while you are so hungry you could eat the a** off a skunk, is physically and mentally draining. Not to mention, she isn't sleeping through the night so I am up 2 to 3 times with her. Needless to say, I'm not getting my REM sleep. However, it is all worth it when you come home and she smiles at you and you can get her to giggle and jabber. We'll look back at this time period of massive spitting up/squirting and realize it was just a blip on the radar and a requirement to go through in her life's stages.

Boise Trip

What a whirlwind trip we had to Idaho. It began on Saturday afternoon and didn't stop for a week. After the all day flying we arrived at the airport where Nana, Papa, and Max were waiting for us. It was so great to back in Boise and to have Bailey with us to meet the families.

The next day Jenn Boyd had a shower for me and Bailey where the theme was "favorite books and activities for family fun." We generously received 31 books--no duplicates!--and some very fun toys and even some cute clothes. My best friend from high school came from Las Vegas to surprise me. She and her husband and just returned from 10 days in Germany and she told me she couldn't make it. It was a wonderful surprise to have her there and meet Bailey.

COUSINS! Bailey got to meet her 4 older cousins. Aiden-6, Mackenzie-3, Max-3 & 1/2, and Magnus-20 months. They all were interested in her at one point during the week. Max was showing her an email he sent to Nana that had a monster truck picture while she was sitting in her chair. Aiden held her on his lap very briefly, as he wanted to get back to playing with his matchbox cars. Mackenzie and Bailey posed for a picture, each wearing a headband. She would walk through the house and tell people, "Bailey's crying." And Magnus James probably did the most "playing" with her. Magnus' blankie is a burp cloth that has little frayed ends on the corners, which he likes to place up his nose. One day, he saw Bailey sitting in her chair with a binki. He took out the binki, and proceeded to place one of his corners of his blankie up her nose! He wanted her to experience the extreme joy that he gets from doing that. What a sweetheart. Nana saw it and wished she had some video! It will be more fun when Bailey gets older to have some more interaction with all the cousins.

We spent time at the Kemp's--the grandparents were in town--and time at the Bell's. Julie and her kids were up from Carbondale, Colorado so we had a full house but it was so much fun! I really miss my family and it was so great to be around them a lot.

Bailey grew a lot during that week. Literally. She outgrew some of her onsies. She started getting some more hair on the sides and middle-back of her head. She discovered her hands, and looks at them as if to say, "what are these things for?" It is really fun to watch her. And when we returned home and got back to feeding her in our glider chair, her feet were touching our legs when we would put her up on our shoulder to burp her.

Gettin' my poop on

This is a funny picture.  Bailey really struggles sometimes to go #2.  She gets very still, then takes a deep breath, clinches her little fists, and turns bright red for about 10 seconds.  2 or 3 pushes later, and she is done.  I don't know why it is so funny to watch.  It makes us giggle though.  

I found my toes!

I was bathing Bailey last night and she did something pretty funny.  I put her into her little bath tub let her splash around for a minute, like I usually do.  She loves to do that right when she gets in.  But this time she didn't splash.  Instead she lifted both of her feet out of the water and lifted her head off the headrest on the bath tub like she was doing a sit up.  With head up and feet out of the water, she just stared at her left foot.  She looked at it for about 30 seconds, just concentrating on it.  It was almost like she had never seen her foot before!  

Susie and I have noticed that she has been discovering her hands and trying to use them.  She seems to be right handed because this is the one that usually ends up in her mouth.  She just looks at the left one like, "what is this one for?"  Then she goes back to the right one and puts it back into her mouth.  

It is fun to watch her grow and discover things.  

tj