Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Bailey Family Wild Animal Park! Our bumblebee and "kitty jaguar" have been SO EXCITED for this holiday. They've been playing "trick or treat" at home for weeks, using legos, puzzle pieces, and just about any other small toy to represent their sweet treats.

Our day was busy, filled with costume enjoyment at Gymboree, and our second Pee Wee basketball game, where Camryn made her FIRST BASKET in a game! Yahoo! (More pics to come later...)

We still had lots of evening fun ahead of us, but before we headed out, we had to get a few photos of the wild things in their natural habitat...





After our front yard photo session with the wild beasts, we headed down to Daddy's work to do a little indoor trick-or-treating, sponsored by the student council. The girls ended up with a MASSIVE HAUL of candy. They literally couldn't carry their overflowing buckets by the time we were done, and had to park them in Daddy's office in order to enjoy the rest of our time there. Even though Aubrey's bucket weighed nearly as much as her, as she dragged it down the hall, she was very hesitant to let me carry it for her, and shrieked as I pried it from her fingers. Luckily, when I offered her a sucker in return, she was happy to oblige.

We ended our evening with a yummy pasta dinner together and some more trick or treating at our friends' and neighbors' houses in our neighborhood. It was a very fun, festive, family day!

Memory Lane

These are my girls all dressed up for Halloween '09, with a lot of personality, and a little bit of sass!


And here they are, just one short year ago. Didn't they look sweet and innocent? What a difference a year, (and a co-conspirator) makes!

Fall Festival 2009

Tonight was the annual Fall Festival at my school, and once again, the Bailey girls made their appearance. This was Aubrey's first opportunity to realize what the words "Trick or Treat" can do for a girl. Let's just say she caught on quick! :)

We saw lots of friends, ate some sugary treats, and practiced for "the big show" tomorrow night. More pics to come then...

Snapshots of our weekend

Camryn's first basketball was this weekend, and it was pure entertainment. There was a lot of movement; not all of which was part of the game. We also saw lots of skipping, twirling, waving, running to the sidelines for high fives, shirt-over-the-head-flipping, and even nose picking. Camryn's biggest claim to fame so far is her need to "suck it up."

Twice she was injured during the game. She ended up with one handful of jammed fingers, and one bonk on the head when another child's aim didn't make the basket. Instead of shaking it off like the others, she took her injuries very personally, and cried, eventually needing to be escorted off the court. Brian and I took turns riding the bench with her while she recovered from her injuries. Overall though, she got through it, and enjoyed herself. Afterward, while trying to catch his breath, Coach Z. said it perfectly, "It's like herding cats!"

That evening, we headed to the Olson's for their annual pumpkin carving party. Camryn ended up not carving the pumpkin we brought for her, because she was having too much fun playing dress up and practicing trick-or-treating with her friends.

They took turns answering the door and ringing the doorbell, just to yell, "Trick or treat!" at each other. (And for the record, yes, I think their Halloween decorations are slightly disturbing. The kids didn't seem to mind, though. They just called this one "Mr. Guy," and laughed at him!

On Sunday, we celebrated Uncle Dan's birthday with him by having lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ. Man, were we all stuffed afterward!

And tonight, we finished off our weekend by carving all of our pumpkins and baking pumpkin seeds. It's been yet another weekend where we feel like we need an extra day to recoup. Fun, but exhausting!

Thoughtful friends

The past few weeks have been a little hectic. Okay, more than a little. A LOT hectic! To ice the cake, Aubrey started acting fussy and crabby last Friday. (Nothin' like a call from daycare mid-day. It's a working mom's greatest fear.) She also refused to eat or sleep most of the weekend, and by Monday, I was convinced she was suffering from another ear infection.

But after a quick ear-check appointment with Dr. D., it turns out she's instead been suffering from a common cold, as well as a major case of "I-consider-myself-almost-two-and-I'll-be-crabby-and-do-whatever-I want-to-itis." Unfortunately for me, there is no cure. :(

Fortunately, however, the family of one of my 'Fab-Four' cohorts at work understands our pain. They have a four year old and an almost-two year old themselves, and saw the desperation in my eyes, and the blatant need for some pampering and distraction for the girls. So they put together the most fabulous little care package for Miss Aubs and her Big Sis, and delivered it to our house tonight. The girls were so excited by the toys, books, and treats, they were completely distracted, and miraculously both happy, and healthy!

So thank you, Cutsforth family, for your care and concern, and for taking the time and effort to think about us. We appreciate it more than you know!

P.S. Do you love the boots over the PJ's, or what? It's one of the most common symptoms of her ailment...

Animal sounds

Thankfully,we have finally passed the stage when Aubrey's every answer to, "Aubrey, what does the (fill in the blank with your choice of animal) say?" was "Moo!" I was beginning to prepare myself for the possibility that she would one day be headed to kindergarten still thinking that pigs, dogs, ducks, and even kitties said "Moo."

Judging by today's conversation though, she's made some headway. And she's got a sense of humor to boot! Enjoy...

Mommy: What does the cow say?
Aubrey: Moo!
M: What does the lion say?
A: Raaaar!
M: What does the the doggie say?
A: Hehehehe (tongue out, panting)
M: What does the monkey say?
A: Ooo, ooo! Ah, ah! (with underarm-scratching hand motions)
M: What does Aubrey say?
A: Ooo, ooo! Ah, ah! (with more armpit-scratching motions). Giggle, giggle.

Point taken.

My little artist

Camryn has been bringing lots of art home lately, and more and more often her drawings are becoming identifiable!

This is especially exciting since we are used to saying, "Wow! Tell me about this!" in order to glean enough information to figure out what to comment on. :)

This week she brought me the perfect image of a ladybug on a rose, complete with leaves, and all. Can you see it???

Self Esteem

Camryn: Look Mom and Dad! It looks like I'm crying, but I'm not! My eyes are just watering!

Mom: Why are your eyes watering?

Camryn: I don't know. Maybe I just look too good!

The Pumpkin Patch '09!

While they were here, Mimi and Papa got to join us on a trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful, crisp, fall afternoon, and and the girls had a great time choosing their pumpkins, running through the hay maze, and even getting their faces painted. Camryn was a little wiped out after working so hard at basketball AND skipping rest time, but overall a good time was had. Aubrey especially loved the hay wagon/tractor ride and kept yelling, "Choo-choo tain!" (We just went with it...)

It is really tough to get these two to sit still and look at the same camera! Much harder than you might think...

So tall!

The hay ride out to "the patch"

Silly Aubs! :)

Sweet girl :)

Picking pumpkins with "Meems" and "Pops"

How about this one, Mom?

This one was before she decided she was tired and cranky...

This one was after...

And so was this... Classic Camryn...

Afterward, a little face paint cheered her right up! :)

Our littlest pumpkin :)

Another busy weekend!

Mimi and Papa came to visit this weekend, and we had all sorts of fun activities planned! Mimi went to Gymboree class with Aubrey and I and watched her play with her little buddies. Aubrey was quite the show off, and especially enjoyed crawling through the tunnel and squealing, "Pee-boo!" :)

Peekaboo!!!

Parachute time

Brave girl!

Later that afternoon, Camryn had her first basketball practice, and Mimi and Papa got to sit in the stands and cheer. According to her father, "She wasn't even the worst one! She actually made a few baskets!" (Which is quite an accomplishment, as she tends to follow in my footsteps when it comes to athletics. Poor kid.) She had a blast though, and is excited to have a few friends on her team. We can't wait to see an actual game!

Coach Z explaining the basics. (Their hoop is set at just 6 feet.)

This. Is the ball. This. Is how you shoot the ball.

Good form? I'm not really sure...?

October fun

Our weekends so far this month have been spent together. Relaxing, having fun, and seeing family. Anything to get away from the insanity of the month of September in the household of two educators. Anything. Like:

Enjoying Saturday morning cartoons with Sister...

...doing a little rock climbing...

...but mostly just hanging around. :)

Haircut!

...And what a haircut it is! After many months of arguing, negotiating, and digging in of heels, Camryn finally allowed me to take her to Chelsea and get her cute little bob back. What, you ask, could have possibly changed her mind so certainly and so abruptly? Why, a brief remark by one of her 5 year old friends, of course, who happened to mention that sometime in the near future, she was thinking about cutting her own locks.

That was it. That's all it took. No more wrestling with tangles. No more stringy, lifeless hair begging to be put into braids, pigtails, or clips. No more gallons of conditioner. Just one comment. If I had known it would be that easy, I would have paid Taryn five bucks to say that about six months ago.

So the good news? I got Camryn into the stylist's chair (or pink hot-rod, as it were) without any tears, kicks, or gnashing of teeth. The bad news? Our beloved stylist misinterpreted my personal definition of "chin-length" to mean "earlobe length." Or, perhaps I wasn't clear enough? Either way, it turned out significantly shorter than Camryn or I intended. The best news? Though much shorter than we anticipated, it still looks darn cute on her, and it will certainly grow to the desired length quick enough.

My takeaway lesson of the day: Never underestimate the power of a child's peers. And always have a five dollar bill handy.

Classic Aubrey

I think this photo pretty much speaks for itself, but I'll give you a little background anyway.

First of all: Yes, I am aware that it appears that she is 19 months old, going on 19 years.

Second: On this particular afternoon, Aubrey was talking to her Mimi on the phone, and this photo was taken just before I asked her to give me the phone back, to which she promptly responded with an ear-piercing, "No, Mommy! Noooooooooooooo!" as she ran in the opposite direction from me.

Third: This is the outfit she chose for herself after completely and violently rejecting my selection for the day, which happened to be very cute, and very stylish, thankyouverymuch.

See what I mean? It's like she's a teenager in a tiny little body, which, as you can see by the t-shirt, she fully embraces.