Happy New Year!!

Soooo...welcome to 2011 (13 days late, ha). We had a wonderful Christmas, got to ring in the new year with the kids (minus Chas), and have even had a snow day in the past few days. It's been wonderful. Except the day that it snowed, Chris got creamed right in the side of the car so we are out of a vehicle for who knows how long. It's taken them 4 days to pick up the vehicle so if thats' any indication as to how long this is going to take, we're in for a long wait. The thing that sucks most about this is that Chris has to have the Armada to drive to work everyday so we are pretty much stuck here everyday. Boring. Boring. Boring. I'm not one to sit at home every single day so just the thought of having to frustrates me to no end. Nothing new really going on with Emma. She's standing more and longer. She's crawling alllllllll over the house. She loves when the kids are here so she can go back in their rooms and hang out with them. They get slightly frustrated because she gets in to their stuff. Her other favorite spot in the house is my bathroom. Weird, I know. But she stands at the bathtub and turns the water on. I realized (several hours too late) that she had knocked her shampoo in to the bathtub and it ALL ran out. And I found that out after I had returned from Walmart. Ugh. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my last post and frankly I'm too lazy (at least I'm honest, right?) to go back and look but Emma had a fever virus a few weeks ago, Chris had strep, and I've had numerous sinus infections. Ohhhh the joys of the winter season. I was glad that Emma got to see her first snow fall and go out for 30 seconds...just long enough for us to take her picture because I don't think she really cared for it too much. And ever since then, her cheeks have been red like they are wind chapped. What's the best remedy for that? I put lotion on her face everyday but not sure if that's the right thing to do.

I got two steroid (the medical term would be "trigger" shots) shots in my back yesterday and I have to go back next week for nerve/pain blocks to see if that's what's causing my back pain. They put me to sleep to do this so hopefully I won't be too out of it and I can still take care of Emma when I get home. They are either doing the left or right side next week and then I go back in 2 weeks to have the other side done. After this is all said and done, we've got to schedule Chris' procedure to get "fixed" again. Emma is almost a year old so I'm very surprised that he hasn't had it done before now. I don't really want him to have it done but we can't afford another child any time soon sooooo...I don't really have a choice. Hopefully, I will post again in the next few days. I don't make resolutions because I never keep them but one of my goals is to blog more. And, it only took me 13 days to start :)

The kids got a Kinect for Christmas and we all love it! 

Boxing with dad

Crazzzzyyyy hair :)

Took the kids skating during Christmas break b/c they got skates for Christmas!

Emma loooves it too...when Chris stopped she would cry!

Watching brother blow bubbles :) 

Catching snowflakes on her tongue :) 

My windchimes...I just thought the picture looked neat. 

Her first snow!!!! 

Eating icicles 

Merry Christmas!!

It's been almost a month since I've posted and if you'll remember correctly...I warned everyone that I'm not good at the whole posting thing. I'm not going to even try to go back and remember everything that's happened in the past month. I will just hit a few of the highlights. Emma is standing!!!!!! That is, by far, the most important highlight. And I turned 26 on December 20th. Chris bought me a very nice Nikon camera that I have wanted since before Emma was born. That has pretty much kept me occupied since I got it.

We went for Emma's 9 month check up earlier this month. She weighs 20 lbs and is 28.5 inches long! He said she's in the 80th percentile for GIRLS her age...not just all babies, which is crazy tall!! She is a lot more verbal and will eat anything you put in her mouth. She gets a really awful look on her face like she's going to hate it but then she wants more. Her favorites are french fries (duh), hamburger helper, mashed potatoes, ritz crackers, and cookies.

I'm beyond excited about this holiday season. I don't know if it's because it's Emma's first Christmas or what but I just can. not. wait. I think I'm going to be more excited to see the look on the kids faces this year than anything. It's going to be a busy 3 days with a lot of traveling in there. Today we start off by going to my moms to stay the night. We wake up Christmas morning and open presents there and the guys cook breakfast for everyone. Then we head off to pick the kids up and we're going to stop at the house for an hour or 2 and let Emma rest. Next, we will head to Heber to open the restaurant. This is the first year we are doing this and we will see how it goes. Then we will come home and put everyone to bed so Santa can make a special appearance at our house and all the other houses of kids who have 2 families. We open presents at home the 26th with Chris' parents and last but not least, we go back to my moms that afternoon and let the kids open presents. That is A LOT of driving but we love (hate) it, haha. I will leave you with some pictures....

Thanksgiving!!

First of all, this post may take a while to actually post from the time I'm sitting down to type it. Since last Tuesday (when I last posted), my little princess has begun pulling up on everything. And I mean everything!! So I'm constantly right behind her just waiting for her to let go and fall. And I have hardwood floors sooooo I'm a little more nervous than I would be if I had carpet.

Thursday morning we got up and got ready to head to Walmart. I was dreading this decision BUT it was actually fairly empty. It was rainy and nasty so for this, I was thankful. We then headed to North Little Rock to get 2 out of 3 of my stepkids. We were having lunch at my moms in Benton at 1 but we weren't able to pick the kids up until 1:30 which put us in Benton at 2:00. So by the time we got there, everyone was done eating and lunch was rather cold. It was okay though because I wasn't too hungry and I'm not a big turkey eater anyways. Emma looked soooo adorable in her tutu. And wouldn't you know, I forgot my camera so I'm relying on my mother to send me pics as soon as she can and then I will post them. We stayed there for a little bit visiting because my uncle, aunt, and cousins were in from Texas. We left there abt 4:30 and the weather was even worse and colder than it was when we got there. So we made the decision to wait to pick up my oldest stepdaughter Friday morning because she lives in Quitman and we had heard it was sleeting there and weren't prepared to brave that. When we finally made it home Thursday night we started preparing some things for lunch at our house the next day....and when I say "we" started preparing, I mean Chris, haha. I kept a handle on the children :). So Friday morning I woke up with the worst tooth ache! I can't remember I have had a tooth ache and it was awful! But I've come to the conclusion that it was sympathy pains for Emma because her first tooth has cut thru the gums!!! And I think we're working on a 2nd one. My baby is growing up :(. Chris' parents picked Chasity up and they got to the house around 11:00 and we had some family friends that also came over about 2:30 that afternoon. We just hung out, talked, laughed, and enjoyed each others company. Everyone stayed fairly late and the kids had a blast!! They all slept good that night and even slept in the next morning....except for Emma because she was up almost every hour due to her gums. I felt so bad for her. Saturday we stayed in our pjs as long as possible. The kids started getting cabin fever so Chris took all 4 kids to the store to get the ingredients to make them chocolate chip pancakes. They also had family movie night in their bedrooms this time because I wasn't feeling well enough to stay up late with them. Chris took the older kids to see Tangled Sunday afternoon while I stayed with Emma. And next time it will be my turn to take them somewhere. We ate at Dairy Queen before taking them home and then we crashed when we got home. I hated seeing the weekend end because we had an extra day with the kids and I loooove that! I will post some pictures later today but I'm getting ready to put the Christmas tree up and finish decorating :)

The Weekend, Yesterday, and Today...

This weekend we celebrated 5 years of marriage...wow! I can't believe it's been 5 years already. I've known him for 10, we dated for 2, and then got married. Friday Chris had to work so just us girls hung out at the house for a while. Saturday morning Chris had to go to work..I worked on cleaning the house because his parents were keeping Emma and his mom's house is always spotless so I feel like when she comes over, my house needs to be spotless, too. He got home and after saying a drawn out goodbye to miss priss, we headed out. First stop was Babies R Us. I bought Emma's First Thanksgiving onesie there to go with her tutu. I also picked up another really cute outfit and bottle brush, haha...I think that's probably about the 20th brush we've bought. Next stop was the new Target. It wasn't too different from the one here in Conway, maybe just a little bigger. We went to the mall next and ate..weird, huh? But we were already going there to go shopping and we were hungry and this way we could both eat something we really liked. After the mall, we went downtown to check in to the hotel. That was probably abt 6:45 so we just relaxed for a while and then went to The Flying Saucer to watch the Hogs win, yay! By the time we left there it was getting really cold outside so I suggested driving across town to Barnes and Noble for some hot chocolate. While we were there I picked up a few books for Emma. I loooove reading to her and she sits so still while I'm going it. At that point it was past 11 so we went back to the hotel to go to bed. Sunday we got up, headed home, and our celebration was over, haha. We took the in laws out to eat as an appreciation for keeping Emma and just went to a few stores close to the restaurant. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera Saturday and Sunday so no pictures of our anniversary outing.

Yesterday was a day devoted to shopping!!!!! My friend Robin and I headed to Little Rock at about 9:15 and didn't get home til almost 5 pm. And we only went to Hobby Lobby, Garden Ridge, and got something to eat at McAlisters. We also went to Hobby Lobby in Conway because the one in Little Rock didn't have what we were looking for. Emma did soooo good for us being gone for that long. We came back to my house and immediately got to working on my mantle. So far its the only thing I've got done besides the wire trees by the front door.

My beautiful mantle..pretty proud!

Everything "extra" on the garland was added by yours truly :)

I still have a lot to do...ugh.

And today, I had to go to the doctor. Sinus infection #4580922 for the year. I hate sinus problems but I'm so prone to many many allergies that I get them allllll the time. I went by our restaurant so Chris could see Emma and now we're home. I've got to go to Walmart later but I may go after Chris gets home from work. I'm just not up to getting Emma out of the house again. Who knows though.

Hope everyone has an amazing God filled Thanksgiving!!!!

Sisters.

I grew up with 3 sisters. Triplet sisters. Who are 21 months older than me. Needless to say, we didn't always get along. Amanda is the oldest. She was born with CP (cerebral palsy). That hinders her body and motor functions but it does not hinder her mind. She is very smart and reads all day every day. Brandy was born next. She is very opinionated and strong willed so we don't always see eye to eye. She is the single mom to Bailee and Cambree. Cristy is the youngest of the triplets. She is the quiet one. She's also the one that I can tell anything to. She is the mother to Jackson...the cutest little man in the world! Growing up I was always referred to as "Oh..you're the triplets younger sister." I was never Emily. And I guess I resented them for that a bit. Like all sisters do growing up, we fought. But when we were friends, we were best friends. I love them and would do anything for them.

Chasity is the oldest of my stepdaughters. She turned 13 this past June. Jacinda will be 9 in March. She has, and probably always will, looked up to Chasity her entire life. And in the past year or 2, Chasity has become much more patient where Jacinda is concerned. It used to make her soooo mad when Jacinda would go in her room or mess with her stuff. Chasity went thru a phase where she didn't really care to be around any of us and just kept to herself. Now that Emma is here, Jacinda will go thru that phase when Emma gets older. She's not going to want Emma going in to her room and getting in to her stuff. I can see it now. But, for now, Jacinda is really really good with Emma. Sometimes, almost too good, haha. I loooooove my girls!

We had her playing in Jacinda's room...of course, Jacinda wasn't here :)

Just a phase?? I hope.

Sooo the weekend went by wayyy too fast...like it always does. We did get to get the kids. Christopher ran a very low grade fever Friday morning but he was feeling better and we just kept him away from Emma as much as we could. Friday night I took the kids to get something to eat and we just came home and chilled. Saturday morning I got up early and ran to Walmart to buy the groceries. We didn't want to get Christopher out too much and this is usually something we do as a family but not this time...it was also a good excuse to get out of the house for an hour or so by myself. Chris' parents came over that afternoon to visit. We had originally planned for my sister to watch Emma so we could go to the movies but my niece, Bailee, ended up with the stomach bug on Friday so we had to change plans. I really wanted the kids to have some sort of project or something to do this weekend so after his parents left, we went back to Walmart and bought a tie-dye kit and some white shirts...and a white onesie for Emma. We also picked up some steaks so we could grill dinner and bake cookies. After dinner, it was time for baths and putting Emma to bed so we could start family movie night. The last time we did this, I fixed surprise popcorn. This time the kids opted to have hot cocoa with marshamllows and chocolate syrup. After they finished their cocoa, they were disappointed with their decision because cocoa doesn't last as long as surprise popcorn. The movie of choice was The Karate Kid. The girls were completely against this choice but they ended up really enjoying it as did Chris and I. Sunday was a lazy day. Every Sunday in the Bailey house is a lazy day. But around mid-afternoon we did the tie-dye shirts. They have to set for several hours so they were still in plastic bags by the time the kids went home. They didn't turn out all that well. The only one that looks half decent is Christophers.

This weekend is going to be great! Friday is our 5th wedding anniversary so Chris' parents are coming over to stay the night and we are going out and will stay in a hotel! Which leads me to the heading of this post. Emma is NOT sleeping! And I don't mean shes' just getting up 3 or 4 times a night. She's getting up almost once every hour and just fusses. I don't know what's going on with her. But the pattern seems to be that if she doesn't take a good nap during the day, she doesn't sleep good at night. She didn't get a good nap all weekend so she didn't sleep good all weekend. Yesterday I had a meeting in LR all day so she stayed in Heber with Judy and she didn't take a good nap. Last night was probably the worst night we've had since she was a newborn. She was up most of the night starting at 11 pm. I thought maybe it's her gums and I even gave her Tylenol before she went to sleep and it did no good. Needless to say, I'm exhausted. Today she took an hour nap from 11-12 and then slept from 3-5:30. She went to bed at 8:45 and is still asleep now (11:45 pm). So tonight will help with my theory about the naps. I will update that tomorrow or later in the week.

Goodnight!

Ready for the weekend..

This time change has me completely screwed up. And half of that may be due to the fact that we've changed some clocks in the house but not all of them so I never really know what time it is unless I look at my cell phone. One good thing about the time change...Emma has slept in her bed all night for the past 3 nights. I'm hoping this isnt just some fluke and she has really started doing this. I've probably just jinxed myself..but I digress.

I'm ready to see all my babies this weekend. I call them my babies but they are really 13, 10, and 9. Not babies at all, huh? And that's if they still get to come over. Christopher had a fever today at school and had to go home early. Emma just got over being sick and it was one of the hardest things I've had to go through since she was born and I'd really really hate it if she got sick again. So if he's still running a fever tomorrow, I'm thinking we are going to have to switch weekends. That sucks b/c we haven't gotten to see them in almost 2 weeks. But if they are coming over, it's going to be a family weekend! Friday we won't get to do anything because Chris won't get home til 9 or after. Saturday my sister Brandy has offered to keep Emma for a few hours while we take the older kids to the movies. We don't get to do much with them alone anymore. Saturday evening will either be family game night or family movie night. Last time we did family movie night it was a major hit! Especially the popcorn with surprise. I'll have to figure out how to top that. And Sunday is usually our relaxing day.

Tomorrow I'm getting out of this house for a bit! I'll have Emma so we won't be going far but I've got to get over to Target. It's been so long, haha! I'll leave you with some pics...again, they were taken with my cell so the quality isn't all that great!

Wishing she could have some Cream Soda :)

Isn't this sooooo sweet?

Look at that smushed up face

Already reaching for the computer!

Dad's new way of helping her in the bath tub

Such a big girl!!

This is how we get her to take a good nap in her bed...add a pillow :)