The Stamford Balloon Parade

On Sunday, we took Bailey to the annual Balloon parade in downtown Stamford. The balloons are old balloons from the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade in New York City. They have been retired from there and are now used in Stamford. There were about 30 of them there.

We walked from our condo, which was about a 25 minute walk. Bailey was all bundled up with a base layer of long johns, and then a main layer of fleece. She has a white fleece that is about 1/2" thick and very comfy. We then lined her car seat with a fleece blanket and put another fleece blanket on her. She wore her favorite pink hat from Ashley, and her sunglasses from Grandma. She was nice and toasty!

As for the parade, it was great. Bailey seemed interested in what was going on around her. The balloons did catch her attention as much as I thought that they would, but she still liked being outside with so much to look at. It was a lot of fun to take her to her first parade. We didn't stay until the end because it was about 34 degrees outside. Susie and I got cold, so we walked home. Bailey stayed warm the whole time though.

tj

Lil' Texter!!!

Here is Bailey today texting her Daddy.  He stayed at the hospital last night as he was on-call and operating until 1:30 AM!  She just wanted to tell him that she loves him, misses him, and that she and Elmo are waiting for him to come home to play!

Outback out, Tribeca in!!!

After I re-tweaked my back one month ago, we started discussing upgrading the 2005 Subaru Outback. Last weekend we test drove a 2009 Subaru Tribeca, and couldn't believe how we were getting Bailey in and out of the small doors of the wagon! I could get in the back seat of the Tribeca with Bailey and the car seat on my lap and didn't even have to duck my head! It was great! So, it was cheaper to lease than to buy, so we went for it and I picked it up today. It is a pretty sweet ride--TJ calls it bad ass. Leather seats, moon/sun roof, 6-disc CD changer in-dash, mp3 hook-up, heated seats. Very nice. And very new. Gotta love that new car smell!!!

Golden Shower!

Oh dear goodness! When TJ has been on-call and staying overnight at the hospital, I have been bathing Bailey at the kitchen sink so I don't have to bend over in the tub. A couple of nights ago, I had her on the counter on top of her towel, and I was getting her undressed and ready for the bath. I got her naked, and started tickling her belly with my hair. Since I got it cut shorter last week, I have to have my head pretty close to her belly. After a minute or so, I kept my head down while she put her hands in my hair. I had my eyes shut, and suddenly, I felt a wetness on my lips! I opened my eyes, and saw a stream of urine shooting up like a fountain! It died down just as fast as it started, and I realized she was peeing! I jerked my head up so fast and grabbed a burpie rag and placed it over her. When I looked up, she was smiling at me and her eyes were sparkling. All I could do was laugh and smile back and wish Daddy was there to see it.

Polka dots and Rubber ducks!

Bailey has been fascinated by my small collection of flannel/fleece pants. I have a pair of green jammy bottoms that have white snowflakes on them and she tries to grab them and put them in her mouth. I've been wearing some cream-colored jammy's with blue/green/pink polka dots and she stares at them, even when she's eating. It seems to be quite distracting to her!

We just can't believe how big Bailey is getting and the new things that we get to catch her doing. Last night as TJ was giving her a bath, we gave her the yellow rubber ducky to float around with her. She was leaning forward and trying to reach out to it with her right hand/arm. Well, she got it, and pushed it over to the left side of her body, used her left hand/arm to push it close to her body and she picked it up! We were so excited we were cheering for her and all she could do was try to put the duck in her mouth. EVERYTHING she grabs she tries to put in her mouth, and even things she doesn't grab, like her hands. She'll slobber all over them and jabber away and even growl. TJ and I smile and laugh and realize how lucky we are to have a beautiful, happy daughter who, when she smiles at you, melts your heart.

Best Friends

Last night, the Parkers came over for pizza.  We ordered from SBC in Stamford.  They make really good thin crust Pizza.  Charlotte and Bailey got some face time.  They mostly just look at each other.  They are not too interactive yet, however, they did reach for each other at one point and kind of hug.  And, Charlotte managed to grab Bailey's binky out of her mouth at the end of the night which made for a good laugh.  It is fun to have friends over who are going through the same stuff that we are going through with a new baby.  We will miss the Parkers in 8 months when my residency is over.  

Now I Can Grab My Toes!

Before each bath, we put Bailey in front of the mirror. She used to look at herself and smile, but lately she has been looking at her toes. Last night, she actually reached out and grabbed her feet for the first time. She wanted to get them into her mouth, but she isn't flexible enough. She has tight hammy's.

Bailey's Future Ride

This is the car that my Dad bought brand new in 1971.  It is a Datsun 240 Z .  He gave it to me when I was 16, and I plan on giving it to Bailey when she is 16.  It is a fun little car.  I used to drive it around in high school and college.  Lots of people would ask about it.  When Bailey gets it, the boys are going to be so jealous.  My dad says it is too fast for her and that I should pull a couple of spark plugs to make it go slower.  What fun is that Grandpa?!

Hiking

The fall colors were amazing this year in Connecticut. We had Bailey outside a lot. She loves to be outside, just like her mom and dad. She was very interested in the crunchy colorful leaves. She spent a lot of time looking at the ground when we walked. She heard the leaves crunching under our feet. We picked some of them up for her to see and she would reach for them and try to put them in her mouth. Everything goes in the mouth these days.

We hope that Bailey keeps up her interest in the outdoors. We are going to do our part to help her along.

Halloween

This is Bailey's first Halloween. We weren't going to dress her up, but Nana sent out the cutest little pumpkin outfit...so we just had to do it. She looked very cute. Thanks Nana!

We didn't do any Trick-or-treating because it was too cold outside. But next year she will be walking and running around with her cousins in Boise, Idaho. I wonder what she will be for her second Halloween? A princess like her cousin Mackenzie? A truck like Max? It will be fun to see. We can't wait to get her back home.