Toddler Bed!!!

I finally broke down after a few days of Lydia being able to get out of bed on her own to changing her to a toddler bed.  It was a step I'm not sure I was fully prepared to make and was fighting it for the last 2 days but finally had it today when she would not take a nap.  She kept getting out of bed and playing with her toys but then I wondered if she would actually get back into bed if she could.  I was at my ropes end today though because when she doesn't take a nap, she is a nightmare!!  When Gregory got home from work, we ate dinner and then started the process of switching her crib to a toddler bed.  She LOVES it!!  She has only gotten out 2 times and has gone right back to bed when we asked her to.  Maybe this will be a good thing.  I was hoping she would wait until after Jason was born, but this might actually work out for the best getting her used to sleeping on her own before I'm terribly sleep deprived with a new baby.  Hopefully her naps will be just as easy, I'm not holding my breath though.  We will see tomorrow, but for tonight, she is so excited to have a big girl bed that she has been great.

Thank You Tia Marta

As always Marta got Lydia a fun Christmas dress and she wore it to church last Sunday.  As Lydia is not a big picture taker, I had to get what I could.  I wish she was smiling in them but getting her to smile in a picture is hard work. She is her fathers daughter.

I love this picture of her doing a little kissy face!

New Christmas Books

The other week we got a package in the mail addressed to Miss Lydia from her Grandma in Utah.  We opened it up and there were a few Christmas books!!  We didn't have any Christmas books so it was a welcome early present.  Lydia has loved them and wants to read them every night.  Thank you mom!!!  We are very grateful to have some fun Christmas books around.

This was her attempt to say "cheese" but she was more interested in reading the books.

Santa Baby!!!

Last night we had our Ward Christmas party complete with Santa!  I was a little worried that Lydia would be scared of Santa because she can still be shy around family she's been seeing for months.  As soon as we walked in the door and she saw him, she ran past all the other kids in line and tried to get on his lap.  Everyone was laughing because it's odd to see a child her age be so excited about Santa.  Once the line died down a bit we took her to see Santa and she couldn't get enough.  She loved being on his lap, talked to him and then we left.  Well, she wandered over to him 3 more times with me and there were no kids in line so Santa was awesome and let her keep coming to sit in his lap.  She was in heaven.  Then I found out that when Kelvin was watching her she went back a 5th time just before he left to give Santa a hug, sit on his lap and talk with him some more.  After he was gone for the night, she would wonder around the cultural hall calling for Santa!  What a crack up!  Santa actually ended up being one of her nursery leaders so he was cool with her fascination with him thank goodness, otherwise we'd have a stocker on our hands!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Yesterday morning Lydia woke up and went searching for her daddy as she sometimes does out of the blue.  Well she was so disappointed when she realized that he wasn't home that she took his hat and wore it around for the morning.  Kelvin had been trying to get her to wear it for a couple of nights now but she wouldn't have it!  It was almost like she was wearing the hat trying to be somewhat closer to him while he was gone.  I absolutely love this girl!

Daddy Daughter Date

Our Stake sponsors a community Christmas Nativity program that last for about 3 days.  Church's from all over the area bring their nativities and choirs and we have LOTS of visitors from Texas politicians to high ranking church officials from different church's.  It's actually pretty cool but a lot of work and everyone was asked to volunteer or contribute something.  Kelvin signed up to host one night and we decided that we would sign me up too if there was a place I could sit down.  So Friday night he volunteered and Sat night was when I volunteered. I received some fun pictures on my phone of what those two were up to in the rain while I was away.

They are blurry because they were taken on his cell phone, but needless to say they had a good time.  When I came home, Lydia was bathed and ready for bed and they were watching "How to Train Your Dragon" while eating popcorn.  It was so adorable.

Big Boy!

Yesterday I had an ultrasound to check how big Jason was and the position of the placenta.  Luckily the placenta had moved so we are in the clear with that complication, but Jason is not slowing down any.  He is measuring as a 32 week gestation baby when I am only 28 weeks.  That's 4 weeks LARGER than normal babies.   I feel everyday that he is a large baby because he is very strong for this age (Lydia didn't kick this hard until 8 months, right around where he is measuring), but also because my sciatic nerve has been his primary target.  I have a hard time going places because sometimes without warning, my hips will come out of place.  I know there are other women who have normal size babies who have this same problem.  I had it with Lydia but not this bad.  There are times when my legs will actually go numb and I can't walk.  It's crazy and I always pray that it will only happen at home where I can deal with it and sometimes have Gregory home to help me.  Having a baby will do strange things to the body but it seems that I am better able to handle things this go around because I KNOW what the problem is.  Lydia's pregnancy no one would tell me anything so I was constantly left worrying, but this Dr has been so open and honest that I don't freak out when I can't walk for a period of time because I know what's going on.  It's been a very uncomfortable pregnancy and I can't wait for it to be over, but I have been strengthened to bear this burden.  It's been in our prayers every day that I will be strengthened up to be able to physically endure this challenge and I really feel like I have.  It doesn't mean it's easy or not painful anymore, just I am able to handle things better.  It does however make us worried to have anymore because each pregnancy will  just get worse.  That is a bridge to cross at another time.  Right now, I am just grateful that I am healthy and have such a supportive husband who does so much for me.  We are so excited to have our little boy here and tell him everyday that he is welcome to come anytime as long as he's healthy.  He's truly a blessing!

Putting on Her Shoes

Sunday morning we were getting ready for church and Lydia decided that she wanted to put on her own shoes.  We let her have them to try not thinking that she would be successful, but were we ever wrong!  Yes, she put on both shoes by herself!!!!!!  Can't believe how smart that little girl is sometimes.

Christmas Decorations

We decorated for Christmas on Sunday while Lydia was taking a nap.  We thought that would be the best time because she wouldn't be in our way at that point but Gregory would be able to see her reaction when she say them for the first time.  This is the first time we have decorated for Christmas with Lydia being here.  We ended up moving from our apt with my parents the week after Christmas last year so it was pointless to decorate.  I must say we had a lot of fun putting up the decorations and I forget how the decorations can bring such a spirit into your home.  The tree in particular.  I could turn on the tree lights and sit and stare at it forever!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas time.  Probably for the same reason that there is a spirit in the air all around, regardless of the crazy people driving and shopping.  Her reaction was so fun.  She was so excited about everything she didn't know where to go or what to do next.  I was nervous about the ornaments on the tree, but she has been really good at not breaking them or touching them too much.  Christmas is going to be so much fun this year and both Gregory and I agree that it will probably be the best one yet.  Lydia is going to be so much fun and I can't wait to see her that morning when she see's what Santa brought her.

She wasn't sure about the dancing Santa at first but now she loves it and wants it on all the time.

Guess who gets to be Santa this year.....

I love this picture of Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus.  I think it captures the intimacy with the new little family so well, before all the people came to see Christ.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year.  Krystal came in from Utah and we all went to Lisa's house for our dinner/lunch.  I must say, I think we had the BEST turkey I have ever tasted.  It was so moist that it was literally falling apart in our mouths.  I don't think that Brandon likes being the one in charge of the turkey every year now, but he is really good at it.  After eating we hung around and talked and did a small birthday celebration for Gregory's dad's birthday.  After the presents all the guys went upstairs to watch a movie while the girls talked and played with the kiddos.  When it was time to go home, Gregory told me that he wanted to try to go Black Friday shopping that night since the stores opened at midnight.  I told him that was fine since we have been saving for a TV for a while (ours is almost dead).  There was one he had his eyes on for $200.  Unfortunately, it didn't work out because there were TONS of people in line by the time the guys got there.  They tried 2 different places but both were almost worthless trying to even get in the doors.  Friday morning we went to Kelvin and Maritza's for breakfast to send Krystal off and thought we just might stop by Best Buy to see what they had left. It was about 9 in the morning and we found a 32' TV for $220.  We decided in the end to get it because it was a really good deal and we didn't think we would find a better deal than that for quite a while.  So we are proud owners of a new TV and it is a huge improvement over our other one.  We love it and I'm so glad that we didn't pay and arm and a leg for it.

The table for Isabella and Lydia.  They loved being able to sit together.

The big kid table!

Some of the yummy food.

She loves coloring and had a blast coloring with the girls.

Learning to Throw

Lydia has gotten really pretty good at kicking balls, especially when she plays with her daddy.  So the other day daddy thought it was time to learn a new skill.  Can I just say she was quite pleased with herself!!!  She did really well when he went over the basics with her and was so excited that he would get so excited.  It was a lot of fun to watch!

 

Bailey's 30th Anniversary

Kelvin and Maritza celebrated their 30th anniversary this month and so the kids put on a little surprise party for them.  It was lots of fun and people stopped by to say hi and celebrate with them.  I wish I had more pictures but I forgot my camera at the party.  Anyway, I honed my cake decorating skills and put them to a new level when I decided to make the cake for the party.  It was a fantastic carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and tasted fabulous.  I was really excited about how it turned out especially since this was the first time I had tried to do the little flowers.  It was surprising to me how little time it took.  I was expecting hour and hours of work, but I got the hang of things pretty quickly and it only took me about 2 hours total.  They were pretty impressed and everyone thought it was from a bakery.  When they found out that I was the one who made the cake, I got a lot of compliments.  I must say, I am pretty proud of my work and how it turned out.  This has opened up a lot of fun ideas for me and I am getting excited about fine tuning my skills and having some fun cakes down the road.

Baby Shower

With expecting our second child, I never expected a baby shower.  Then one day Lisa told me that because we were going to have a boy this time that she wanted to throw one for me.  It was so sweet!  I was thrilled that she would think about that for us to help with the burden of a whole new wardrobe and of course it turned out to be a success!  There were some games planned that we unfortunately didn't get around to because we were waiting on a few more people, but I was so blessed and received many things to help us get our start with a little boy.   Thank you to Lisa, Maritza and Carolyn who let us have the shower at her house.  

What would a baby shower be without some great food.

I am not sure why this picture insists on loading sideways, but it does.  At least it was an awesome cake!

I was truly showered with gifts!  Thank you to everyone.

Weekend With My Parents!

My parents flew in on Thursday afternoon and I couldn't wait for them to get here.  All day long I was telling Lydia that they were coming and she was going to have so much fun.  I think my excitement got to her because she was too riled up to take a nap!  When they pulled in we were outside waiting for them and Lydia ran right up and hugged my mom.  Then she took a step back and had a second thought.  She ran to me and started sulking all the way up to the apt.  She decided that she wasn't very happy that these people were invading our house.  After about an hour or two she warmed right up to my mom though and only another hour or so after that she was all putty for my dad.  Kids just need a bit to remember sometimes.  We spent the afternoon talking and showing my dad the place (it was his first time here).  We went out for a great steak dinner at Salt Water Steakhouse that night and then turned in for the night after some talking.  The next day was pretty low key, the guys all went to Athens to ride four wheeler's and shot guns (they were in heaven) and mom watched Lydia while I went to a Dr's appointment.

The Dr's didn't go so well since I hadn't been feeling Jason move much for almost 3 days.  We heard the heartbeat though and it was good but the Dr still sent me to a high risk Dr to get an ultrasound to check the placenta position and the amount of amniotic fluid.  Turned out everything checked out just fine thank goodness but he sure gave us all a scare there for a while.  After a trip to Target with my mom and Lydia, we met the boys at home and made some pizza for dinner.  It was another night of talking but we didn't stay up too late because Sat was going to be a busy day.

Lydia didn't take a nap on Friday either so we ended up putting her to bed early that night.  I had really hoped that she would be alright for Sat morning before we went to the zoo, but she was acting out and VERY tired so the boys went to pick up a few things and I stayed home and put Lydia to bed.  She stayed in her crib for about 30 min and wouldn't sleep again.  She did seem to be doing better so we decided to just go to the zoo. We had a ton of fun there!  All the kids were dressed up and we put Lydia in her duck costume that Marta had given us a while back.  She was adorable (when she wasn't pitching a fit if we put the hat on).  She was very tired and not quite herself so we were sad that she wasn't more excited about the animals but she had a good time anyway.  She lasted about 3 hours which was pretty dang good and then she had had it so we left. We were all pretty beat at the end of the trip but took the long way home because Lydia fell right to sleep in the car.  We drove around the site where Kelvin works and showed my parents that and made it home in about an hour.  Lydia slept the whole time and was happy again when we got home.  We rented the movie "Soul Surfer" and called it an early night.  Lydia had seemed a little warm when we put her down for the night but my parents said they would handle anything that came up.

Sunday morning came and when we emerged from our bedroom, we found out that poor Lydia had been throwing up all night and very hot.  My mom offered to stay home with her during church but Lydia was so sick by the time it came to leave that I refused to go.  I told Kelvin to talk with the Primary President and tell her I was sorry but I wouldn't be able to teach my class.  I felt bad with it being so last minute but I was not about to leave my very sick child.  The guys left and we took her temp, it was 101.  I gave her some ibuprofen and after about an hour she seemed to be doing better.  We put her down for a nap but she only laid there for about 30 min.  When the guys came back from church my parents got all loaded up and headed out the door. Lydia screamed because she felt so awful that all she wanted was her daddy to hold her but he was driving them to the airport.  I cried when they left!  It is hard being away from your family.  When Kelvin got back, he sat and held Lydia the rest of the afternoon.  She sat perfectly still in his arms for all of Tangled and Finding Nemo.  I took her temp again because she seemed to feel a lot hotter.  Low and behold it was 102.5!!!  I gave her some more ibuprofen and tried again in 30 min and it hadn't changed.  We put her in a bath and all she did was sit there.  It was so sad to watch.  I remember what it feels like to have a fever and it was heartbreaking to me to watch her be so sick.  We put her to bed really early and she only got up a few times.  She didn't throw up any more since the morning but wouldn't eat or drink.  We took her temp once more before bed and it had come down to at least 101 again.  The next morning though the fever was gone!  It had broken in the night.  I decided to just watch her during the day and not take her into the Dr and she did fine.  She is even better today.  So grateful that it was only a quick bug but this sick season has really been pounding on us and every other family!

My parents made it home safely even if tears were shed on their part too.  I can't wait to see them again in a few months.  We didn't take too many pictures (we were too busy enjoying each other) but we did get some fun ones of he zoo.

Feeding the birds!

Feeding the ducks, she caught on pretty fast to throw it in the water.  She didn't even try to eat any.

Not so sure about this daddy!

Little stinker totally stole my ice cream cone!

All tuckered out from a day of fun!

The only decent shot of her in costume!  She hated the hood and refused to wear it.

My Dancing Diva

You have seen videos of Lydia dancing before and here is yet another.  This girl loves to shake it and loves it when we join her.  I am predicting many nights of family dancing in our future.  She is now tall enough to turn the keyboard on and off and also knows the button to turn on a rhythm beat.  Such a smarty pants. We love this girl so much!!!

A New Testimony

Ever since I have been in Relief Society I have heard about Visiting Teaching and how inspired it is and what a good tool it can be.  I have always believed that and when I have been in leadership positions have even talked about the same things talking about others amazing experiences with this inspired organization.  I have not had visiting teachers visit or talk to me for at least 5 years plus years.  It's never really bothered me but I always thought it would have been nice to have some.  Well, I had a visit this month from my visiting teacher in this ward and I was blown away!  Not only did she come in and we had a spiritual discussion and then just chit chatted for a while while our kids played, she really wanted to know about me and then started talking about bring in meals, organizing play dates and the like when our baby comes.  I was shocked that someone would be so thoughtful.  Usually when I've had a visiting teacher it was always the "is there anything you need" question and I am not one who asked for help.  Maybe it's a pride issue, I don't know.  I just hate the thought of putting someone else out to help me so I just never ask for help even when I need it.  When she started talking about the play dates I was very grateful that someone would think about that need before I had even thought about it.  Then she told me that she could come by a few times and get Lydia to take to her house so she can get used to being there and asked if next week would work.  I said yes and yesterday she came to pick up Lydia for a couple of hours so I could take a nap.  I was crying when she loaded Lydia up into her car and she asked if I was okay.  I told her I was just tired and emotional but I was totally overcome with gratitude that someone would be that kind.  I got some rest and a little cleaning done and when Lydia come back she had had an incredible time.  My VT told me that she was just in love with Lydia.  They went in her backyard and put her daughter on the trampoline with Lydia and she said she had never heard a child laugh so much.  They adored her and Lydia gets along really well with her kids.  I am still emotional about such a wonderful person coming into my home and not asking, but seeing a need and then filling it.  She magnified her  calling and I will ever be grateful that my personal situation matters enough for others to step in and not just "understand" or ask if there was something they could do because in all honesty I would have just said no, I was alright.  I have gained a new testimony of Visiting Teaching and will now always try to be that sister who comes in and can fill a need without necessarily needing to be asked.

Sicky Baby

Lydia had a cold last week and I didn't think too much about it until the weekend when it got MUCH worse.  Poor thing would just lay there and watch her shows.  Her looks to us were heartbreaking because you knew that she felt awful and she wasn't sleeping well.  The mucus in her nose turned green which is a sign that an infection has taken over.  Poor thing couldn't breathe, was coughing a lot, clawing at her nose and was just plain miserable.  I got some decongestant and started giving her that and Ibuprofen on a regular basis.  She started to do much better after 2 days of being on the medication so I thought she would get over it soon and maybe I wouldn't have to take her to the Dr on Monday.  Monday morning came and I just had the feeling I needed to take her in.  I called the Dr and got an appointment then packed up and we left.  Once we got in the Dr looked at her ears.  The right was fine but her left ear was really infected. So infected that the Dr told us we needed to come back in 2 weeks to make sure everything was cleared up.  She also had a sinus infection and they saw pus on her tonsils that they thought might be strep.  I was praying that it wasn't because we went to the park with Lisa and her kids on Sat, saw his parents on Friday and with me being preggo the whole strep thing would not have been good.  Luckily it came back negative, it is just a virus.  So we left with a strong antibiotic and other recommendations for OTC drugs to help.  She has seemed to be doing a little better after a couple days on the antibiotic and we are hoping that tomorrow she will be feeling great because my parents are coming into town.

Our van had been having problems the week before and it almost didn't start on me when I was taking Lydia to the Dr.  I said a quick prayer that it would get us to the Dr, the store and then home again and then it could die if it needed to.  We ended up taking it into a local shop to get checked out that night and we even were able to get it there.  I had assumed that it was the starter because that is what it sounded like to me but the sound changed after a day and we were so blessed because it ended up only being the battery.  The Speedometer stopped working on Monday morning as well and a tail light was out so we got those fixed to.  Can't say how blessed I feel to have it only be a small problem because we need the van for this weekend when my parents come and didn't have a lot of money to fix a big problem.

Here are some pictures of my baby girl and how she has been at home all weekend.

She tips the chair over herself and then climbs up usually to sit or play but all she has wanted to do is lay down.

It's so sad to see her laying down all the time because she is such an active child.  She is usually up and dancing around with her shows and not so passive.

She gave me the most pitiful "cheese" when I pulled out the camera.  It was so sad.

We've Picked a Name!

After mulling over names for a while, we came up with a list just like we did when trying to decide with Lydia.  I was already tired of names after a couple weeks and didn't care anymore.  Kelvin seemed to fair better in that regard.  With Lydia we had 2 different names and finally I think it was a couple hours after she was born we chose one.  I thought we would be the same with this little guy because I have decided I like to see my baby before I name them.  Everything was getting a little stressful for me in the name department but Kelvin really wanted to have a name long before the baby came and I could completely understand his point. 

So after narrowing the list down to 2 names, we decided on Jason Leroy Bailey.  Kelvin REALLY likes the name Jason and loves the fact that it's Greek (Lydia is also Greek).  For those who don't know, he kind of has a small obsession with Greek mythology and stories.  Okay, maybe it's not an obsession, but he loves things that are Greek (except the food oddly enough). 

Leroy is Kelvin's Great Grandfather's name and was more like a father to Kelvin's father.  He is a very special man to the Bailey's and after learning more about him, I thought it was appropriate.  We want our children's names to have meaning not be just a cute name.  Lydia is named after my mother and now Jason will be named after his Great Great Grandfather.  I thought it was interesting that we kept coming back to that name even without knowing the history behind the man.  We knew a little bit but learned more when we announced the name.  For some reason it kept sticking in our minds even when I had turned it down once before.  I'm not saying it was inspiration or anything just that from what I have learned about this man, I hope my son can be like him and am excited to have a good strong name passed on. 

Needless to say, we have already done a little shopping for Jason.  Both of us are VERY excited and waiting in anticipation for our little one to come.  Me especially because I can already tell that this baby is a lot bigger than Lydia was (and she was really big for me).  He is strong and I am starting to get worried that he will break one of my ribs or something in a few months when he is 3 or 4 times the size he is now.  It's definitely the Bailey's genes coming through on their birth size. 

Kelvin got both of these on his birthday.  He chose the one on the left and got the one on the right as a surprise.  He loves them both.  He will hold the little onsie's up to his face and get the sweetest expression.  he is very excited to be a daddy again.

I got to chose this one.

And my mom sent up Kelvin's birthday present (thank you mom) and along with it sent these onsie's!  ADORABLE!!  I love them!

So we will keep you updated about the progress with this baby and hopefully all the complications will not be an issue or work themselves out.  But no matter what happens, Jason Leroy Bailey is going to be very loved!