road trip!!!

Last week the Bailey family took a crazy car trip to Texas to visit my mom & dad. They had planned on being in my home town visiting family for Thanksgiving. Since we weren't going to see them for Christmas or until next summer possibly, we thought it would be great to meet them in the middle. Well, perhaps not the exact middle.

So, we took three days to drive down south, and we stayed with family & friends along the way. It took Kate awhile to get used to the fact that we weren't going home every night. By the seventh night she was wanting to know why we weren't going to anyone's home??

We spent three days in McAllen, and got to visit not only with my parents but with my great girlfriends Jamie & Imee as well as all of our extended family. We stayed with my great aunt Clara, and the girls had a real ball getting to know her.

Over the past years, I have seen my usage of the word "home" in reference to south Texas gradually be replaced by "home" referring to Georgia. This transition was made more concrete as I drove around my home town & didn't recognize streets, shops, and restaurants. Of course, all of my major landmarks were there, my home, my elementary school, middle, and high school. My grocery store. My park. But there was a disconnect that made me a trifle sad. I even thought that I've been driving around Georgia longer than I drove around Texas. Weird!

It was wonderful to be with our family for Thanksgiving. We ate (a lot), and apparently, Josh thought the food to be right up to par with a Bailey Thanksgiving.

Kate, o shy one, did pretty well meeting all the various groups of people. She did best in small groups, so Thanksgiving Day, when she met most of her cousins, was a crazy day! She was quiet as a mouse, but they wanted to please her so they kept bringing her toys and really took great care of her. As people gradually trickled out, she became more friendly & talkative. It was a little bit hilarious. When she took her afternoon nap, all of the little cousins kept coming up to me asking, "When will Kate wake up?" Elizabeth, the 10 year old, did a great job being the "babysitter." Kate really liked meeting with Jamie & Imee since they were able to give her undivided attention. Her favorite! She did very well on the road with mom's special stash of books, coloring books, cds and dvds. Elmo DVD was high on the list of favorites. The DVD highlights parts of the body, and she kept showing me different moves from the movie. The one she actually learned how to do was hop on one leg. We also had a few potty adventures, too.
Rachel was so wonderful! She did great on the road. Unbelievable, in fact, when you think about the fact that she can't really entertain herself. So, she sat next to Kate and pulled off Kate's blanky, played with her toys, and took cat naps. She did great with all of the new people. She's just the right age for that. She also started scrunching up her nose when she smiles. I love when she discovers these new things about her body. Ah the joy of being six months new.

Day 1: Met cousin Ethan for the first time! Stayed with Jana & Ethan for a night. We had a lot of fun. These are two Johnson cousins of eight to be born within 12 months. Talk about a baby boom!

Day #2: We stayed with Imee & Phillip one night. Kate really warmed up to Imee very quickly & even did some reading in Spanish with her.

Yum!

Thanksgiving Day photo shoot. (Rachel had just been woken up)

This picture just makes me laugh. Cousin Elizabeth & Kate -- this is Kate's fake smile. I think I promised her an olive if she smiled.

Another day at the park with Jamie! Woohoo! Jamie taught Kate how to play I Spy!

Would I do it again? Not tomorrow! But, it was the golden time for traveling. To have this golden time again, we'll have to wait until these two are 2 and 4 yrs.

dress-up

Look who's wearing the cowstume this year??? This golden oldie has been worn by Lydia, Lauren, and then little Rach.

My beautiful ballerina & the cutest cow on the block!

What is it about costumes that are soooooooo irresistible for parents? I don't care two licks for the candy at Halloween & trick-or-treating would be Kate's worst nightmare (having to smile at strangers?????), but I just can't resist a little kid in a costume! We went to the Fall Festival at our local mega church, and Kate had a lot of fun. Although they also have typical games like ring toss & fishing & cake walks, we spent most of our time in the inflatable games area. Sometimes, I get little glimpses into how much Kate is really growing up. We don't go to places like Monkey J oe's very often (a play place with loads of inflatable jumpers & slides), so the changes in Kate are pretty obvious. She used to be too small to go on most of them; she also used to be too shy to just play in front of so many strangers. Last night, my shy Kate was bouncing a long with the best of them, and clambering up using hand holds & sliding down big old slides. She still had a moment of anxiety when she saw a guy dressed up in a full body gorilla suit. He was a little scary even to me! Not to mention that when we happened to catch a glance of him, he was shoving another adult. Probably a very friendly shove, but nevertheless, a bit frightening for the little girl staring up, up, up at a big, hairy, black gorilla!

easter weekend

Saturday was an Easter Egg Hunt at the Johnson's. The girls had a blast. Laurie discovered the treats the fastest & her picture shows exactly what she did -- she sat down & started snacking. Lydia & Kate were much better at finding eggs, and kept calling out the color of the eggs they found.




Suffice it to say, I should never plan to take pics with Kate after church on Sunday. This is NEVER a good time for her. I coerced her to wear her bow for a few pics, but the smiles were not readily appearing. So, content yourselves with ok pics of her & better pics of the adults.




Not perhaps the most beautiful shot, but it captures a little moment, and you can see a different view of my belly. :-) "Where's baby?" "Right there, momma!" (like, don't you know yet?)

interpretations on a smile

One reason I love taking pictures is that some moments that happen too quickly for the mind's eye to register can be captured on film. These images can enrapture us or cause us to giggle. I find this particularly true with children because their expressions can change a mile a minute. Adults have usually figured out what to do when they are in front of a camera. Don't put your finger in your nose, don't blow bubbles, don't look at somebody you aren't dating yet with eyes of adoration & love. You get the picture! Well, this picture captured these cousins in a moment. Even my grumpy child adds some character to the shot! I can't get her to smile these days (for pictures, that is!). Enjoy....

Nathan (4.5 years), Lydia (3 years), Caroline (19 mos), Kate Sourpuss Bailey (20 months)

I can't figure out what this expression is saying. She knew I was taking pictures of her. . . Jennifer, can you fill in here?



She's smiling behind her choc-ate finger licking goodness. She helped Mima make the frosting for the brownies. yummy!

Nathan had a great time in the pool although he didn't enjoy the bigger kid's splashing, so he stayed in the hot tub w/ Lydia most of the time.

Bonus reel:

memorial day

The annual Memorial Day Picnic is always memorable in its own way. Two years ago I was pregnant & sat inside most of the time feeling kind of yucky. Last year, Kate was a young'un and we still spent most of the time inside, although I had a MUCH better time than the year before. This year, Kate had a blast. The Howlands set up pools for the young ones to cool off & play in.

Per usual, Kate took a while to get "warmed up" to the idea of getting IN the pool. Once she did, she wouldn't get out!

Funniest picture ever! We forgot to pack a swim diaper, so we just left a regular one on. It just kept absorbing water until it was simply humongous. This was yesterday; today she had on a swim diaper, and I just couldn't get over the fact that they make regular diapers to absorb so much liquid & swim diapers to absorb so little. Diaper technology!

Sweet little AJ, one of Lauren's fellow summer o' '07 baby girls. Look at those eyelashes!

Ooh, someone splashin' me. Stop that!

Megan managed to enjoy herself even though she spent a lot of time baby watching.

First ice cream cone. (ice in Kate's language) She absolutely loved loved loved it!


We came home after the picnic & we had a nice time as a family on the porch! Our new deck furniture is helping us use our outdoor space so much more!

Even Josh joined in on the ice cream fun. Two scoops, of course. Kate was fascinated by Da-dee ice and Ma-ma ice.

Hiya! Kate loves to greet everything. This morning I heard her say, Hi Bee! to a spider. :-)

christmas day

Christmas Day was so much fun! This was Kate's first REAL Christmas & she really joined in the fun! I woke up first, like a little kid, and couldn't wait for all of the fun to begin. But, like an adult, I got up & took a shower, trying to get a head start on the day! Once everybody woke up, we opened our stockings. Kate's favorite gift was her DVD from dad, Charlotte's Web. I have no idea why she loved it so much! I guess it was plastic & had a fun picture on it. Then, we gathered all of our presents, some breakfast food, and snacks for later and wended our way to Winder for Christmas morning brunch with Mima & Papa. It was so nice to be able to use Christmas china and have it all washed up within 15 minutes -- only possible because we had only 4 adults there! That was the upside to a smaller than usual crowd. Jen & Ben joined us later for some present opening & dinner, but of course, we missed Jake (and Brittny). And, we usually have my parents around for the holidays as well, but they visited my sister & b-i-l in West Virginia this year. They'll be back tomorrow, so we'll just have to spread out the Christmas joy!

Yes! Dad knew what I really wanted. Enough of these practical things like pacis & spoons -- dad brought the good stuff!

Dad, why are you taking pictures of me again?

Lydia had a learning Christmas.

Laurie-boo even made out pretty well. She got a cute little ball, a doll, and a little teether doggie. Super cute! She really enjoyed all of the curling ribbon & present opening, although she did have a great deal of fun from her parents.

One of Kate's cutest gifts -- a matching purse with mommy. Soooo adorable!!

Moseley Family Christmas Party

Christmas Time is Here!

The soundtrack to this Christmas has been Michael W. Smith's new Christmas CD. We've really enjoyed it! Lots of big orchestral & choral works. It's perfect for trimming the tree or just wanting to get into the Christmas spirit. Last week, we put the tree & decorations up in stages. Kate has taken the whole thing in a stride. Lydia came over Friday night when Josh was putting up the Christmas tree. Since that time, she got it in her head that "Josh made the Christmas." Josh tried to tell her that he only installed the tree. I tried to get some good candidates for Christmas cards, but unfortunately, in most of the best pictures one of our extension cords is in the background. Try again! Sunday night, Lydia was over again at "Kate's home" and she got really excited about taking pictures with the Christmas. I haven't seen her so tickled to be "acting" in front of the cameras in awhile.

Lydia & church Pup (church Pup has one whisker loose.)

What a cute real laugh!

Here's she's talking on the phone with me. "Auntie Liz!!! (high pitched excited voice) How are you, Liz?"

Posing with a little double chin action and a Christmas bear Grandma Kathy gave her when she was born.

This is the second to last of a series of shots. She reaches for the ornament, grabs it, pulls it off the tree, and here is her expression of elation. This little ornament does an adorable jig which she thinks is just wonderful!

I was trying to get her to pose with the Christmas bear, but Pup had to be in the picture. Then, I tried to take the bear away, but no, he must be in the picture as well.

Another conquest from the tree! I purposely put all of the wooden and soft ornaments down at the bottom so she could have a lot of fun with the tree. I also DIDN'T use the metal hooks to hang them. I can't believe I actually thought of that before she stuck one in her mouth.

We have quite a few Christmasey stuffed toys: Santa, a moose, a Christmas bear, several snowmen. Kate thinks they are GREAT! She loves to pull them around the house as she goes.