September

Us at the game

Enjoying one of Poppy's delicious end of summer tomatoes

Tailgating at the game

My great team! Except we lost, lol.

She was chowing down on some tailgating food. Ok, not really. She was eating barley and lentils with cauliflower hidden in there but she did also enjoy some chips and carrots.

Mike gave her her own xbox controller so she can play too. So cute!

Yeah, she definitely tried to wear my bra. She really enjoyed herself and would have worn it all day had it been socially appropriate.

She still loves that mama!

These are the awesome boots we bought the kid at a consignment sale. She won't be able to wear them long because her calves are little... well... we'll say chunky. Hehe!

Summer is almost over! We've had a great one though. The last few weekends have been busy, busy. Time seems to be flying. We're having a lot of fun just being a whole family again. This weekend we went to Chapel Hill for a football game and had a lot of fun. Bailey was awesome. She fell asleep the first 15 minutes of the game and then was awake for the rest of it and didn't start whining until the last 3 minutes of the 4th quarter. I was whining by that point too, though, because it was HOT! She fell asleep on the long walk back to the car in the sling and then slept in the car some too.

We took her to the ENT recently. He basically told us to wait and see because our pediatrician hadn't sent the records yet. We'll be going back in about 6 weeks for another visit. I'm hoping she doesn't have any more ear infections for a long time.

Bailey has been going through a whiny and testing phase lately. And she enjoys throwing tantrums when she doesn't get her way. That doesn't fly here but she keeps trying anyway. It's nothing we can't handle but definitely something we could do without. She is a very good girl most of the time, though.

Next weekend she'll be going to stay with Nana and Poppy so that we can get new carpet and vinyl put in the house. I'm excited for it but I'm already ready for it to be over. Fixing up the house is stressful! Even when we aren't doing the labor ourselves, lol.

Daddy is HOME!

Pretty girl wearing her monkey "leash."

Waiting on the plane!

She was so exhausted and hot and sweaty. But it wasn't that bad because this homecoming took place at 6:30 pm instead of midnight like last time.

Aunt Heather and Beau came with us to welcome Mike home.

What a patriot! You can't see her shirt but it says Welcome Home Daddy. She knew she was supposed to be excited but I'm not sure she knew what about.

The most nerve wracking time for me at green ramp (where the plane lands) is when they release the soldiers and there's a million people running around looking for their solider. We just stay put and hold up our sign that says HERRMANN while we wait for him to find us.

There they are marching to see us!

The plane has landed!

The plane was on the horizon here. But ya can't see it, lol,

Trying to keep the kids entertained while we waited. It was only about an hour but it was the most overstimulating hour of my LIFE!

Bailey made her own sign for Daddy. So sweet.

Seeing Daddy for the first time in a long time. It wasn't the best reunion because she was so tired and hot but they jumped right back into it the following morning as a perfect pair.

Finally here!

She finally let him hold her but he just cried on his shoulder. It was very sweet.

She kinda looks like "Mom, who is this guy?!" It was too much all at once, for all of us!

By the title of the post, you can see that we have finally gotten our soldier back. He's been home about a month now and I've been very lazy at posting these pics. We have so enjoyed having him back. He's had mostly light days and he and Bailey have been able to catch up a lot while I'm at work. They are so good together. The very next day he was home she was calling him Daddy and they just played all day.

Bailey is always doing new things these days. She went to the dentist for the first time this past month and got a clean bill of teeth health. She says any word that she wants to and her favorite past time right now is walking her doll around in her shopping cart and waving "bye bye" to everyone she sees.

We are looking forward to going to the mountains with her and Ohio in October. We'll also be starting potty training (for real, this time) the day after we get back from Ohio. I have 4 days in a row off and we'll be spending those days in the bathroom on the froggy potty. Shortly after that we'll be taking away the pacifier. Our little girl is no longer a baby.

No Daddy yet

Supporting her Uncle Justin!

Look at this kid.

Bailey fed herself her cereal for the first time for lunch last week.

Aunt Heather was here to photograph the whole thing.

She's such a good eater!

She randomly asked to be in the exersaucer last week for the first time in months. Then she demanded to stay in it for at least 15 minutes.

Silly kid was having a blast.

She loves to be in the rocker or any chair by herself so that she can be a big kid.

Oh fancy girl! Ready for the sunshine.

We are sooooooo waiting for Daddy to get home!

Well, unfortunately Mike is not home yet. That would explain why there's no homecoming pics up yet. Hopefully soon, though. We haven't heard from him in a few days so hopefully he's traveling and closer to home than before. We do know that he is out of harms way so that's a wonderful blessing in and of itself.

Bailey is super happy about Daddy coming home because she keeps saying "daddy" and kissing every picture she sees of him. We're praying that she will go right to him and call him daddy when she sees him. I really believe it's a possibility!

Not too much has gone on with us this week. We're enjoying more time together and my first full week as an official part timer was great. We had coffee and play time with Aunt Heather and I got a lot done. It's nice never having to set an alarm clock.

We went to Poppy and Nana's this weekend to play in the pool and hang out with the family. Grandma Sharpe was there too so she got to spend some time with Bailey also. We had a great weekend and are hoping that next weekend will be spent with MIKE!

I'm the worst

Right after dinner and bath, belly poppin'.

Pretty girl in her hippy dress

She was loving this little boy at Aunt Pam's wedding

All dressed up.

Pretty girls!

Ok, so I'm terrible at updating this blog. Especially as things start getting busier and the closer that Mike is to coming home. But alas, here I am. It is finally August! I have finished up working with one of my kids and now will only be working about 20 hours a week. This week will be my first week with all mornings off and I'm so excited about the time I'll get to spend with Bailey. August is also the month that Mike comes home. We've had a roller coaster this month as far as homecoming dates go. First he wasn't coming home until early September, then early August, then late August, now it's early August again. And he should actually be away from his FOB by now (spoke to him yesterday and he was leaving in a few hours) at a place getting ready to get on a big plane! We couldn't be more excited! I think maybe the only person that is more excited than me is MIKE! He sounded ecstatic to talk to us and tell us the news. Shouldn't be much longer now!

As far as Bailey goes, she's doing so much lately. Mike is going to have a treat to come home to. She's walking easily and even running. She just got in her 15th tooth and seems to be teething again, although I don't know where another tooth will go in her tiny little mouth. She can say anything she wants and I have lost count of the words she knows by now because she says new ones every day. She says "ohhh" a lot and "wow" and "oh yeah!" Her favorite words, I think, continue to be Beau and Mama. I'm pretty sure those are her favorite people too, and probably in that order. She continues to throw tantrums periodically but she's listening so well most of the time. She usually only needs a warning and then she gets it together before I have to punish her. She's definitely got a strong personality but then again, she is her parent's child.

Last weekend I went to buy her lots of toys from craigslist. She now has an outside climber with slide, a water table, and a basketball goal. She hasn't been able to play with them yet because it's too hot outside. I'm so excited to see her and Mike play together outside with these fun toys! I also bought her a play kitchen off of craigslist that was dirt cheap and looks brand new! That will be our big gift for her for Christmas, though. I hope I can wait that long. She's going to love it. That's all for now, I suppose. Hopefully the next time I update, there will be pictures of Mike's homecoming!

Update on my girl

As always, a sleeping picture of my beauty.

On this particular occasion, she was going back and forth between crying because she couldn't see the pictures on the camera and smiling for it, lol. Couldn't make up her mind.

"I do NOT want to take a picture with you mom!"

Loving herself some pizza!

I loved this when it happened but you can't see it well on the picture because of the flash. She was looking at herself in the "mirror" of the oven door and liked what she saw so much that she just needed to kiss it. So cute!

It has been a good month in the Herrmann household because it has been a fast one. Another month is gone and Mike will be home in only 2 more months approximately. Very exciting. And we celebrate our 6th anniversary on July 4th. This should be the last thing we have to celebrate without each other except my birthday but we're waiting to celebrate that when he gets home. What a great birthday present!

All's well with Bailey. Last time I wrote about her ear infection and how we had a follow up. When we went to that follow up they said her ears looked the same as before and even one that wasn't infected became infected. So they ordered her to have 3 antibiotic shots on 3 consecutive days. Oh, I cried! She cried! It was a big mess. But when we went last week she said they were looking better. She is still tugging at them but we have her 15 month well baby visit this morning so we'll see how it goes.

She just went to spend the weekend with Nana and Poppy this weekend and I got a break. It was so nice! I was able to clean the whole house and even clean out my closet. I'm deciding on either a yard sale or donating it all. Probably I'll just donate it. Who knows. What I know is that I enjoyed my time away from her but I missed her to pieces and was so happy to see her!

Next weekend is 4th of July and we'll be at Nana and Poppy's again. Good stuff to come!

Beach pics and fun

Mommy is working on doing this child's hair. It's getting easier! She just won't sit still, ever.

The saga continues between these two. They're growing more and more in love each day. Seriously, she kisses and hugs all over him and he reaches for her and loves on her too. It's so sweet to watch!

Cutie girl in her bathing suit and hat! She was ready for the beach.

I just think this is a cute little smirk.

She didn't mind the water too much but the sand was a deal-breaker for her. She did not want to be put down to walk in it or even touch it. It was very funny to see her touch the sand and then look at us like, "Get it off! Why is it still there!?!" I thought she'd get used to it and she did get used to the water more but the sand is one that we'll need to continue to work on.

She wanted Nana, Poppy, Mama, Poppy, Nana, Mama, Poppy, Nana, Nana. She just went back and forth the whole 4 days we were there. She wasn't happy in anyone's arms unless she was reaching for someone else.

The poor baby was overstimulated! She wasn't feeling very well while we were there anyway because she was getting over an ear infection and a mild cold.

Poor Bailey couldn't be seen past the palm trees! We had a great time at Margaritaville. She colored on a kids menu and even had her very first kids meal of grilled cheese and french fries. Of course she barely ate any because she was too busy eating everyone else's food. She did enjoy it again the next day for lunch though, haha.

She got her first pair of sunglasses this week and loves to look cool in them!

She had an ear infection that we go for a follow up on this Thursday. I'm hoping it's gone but she was tugging at her ear pretty hard tonight so we'll see. Then in two weeks she has her 15 month well baby visit because she's 15 months old now! Ahhh, where did the time go!?

Her newest things are picking her nose, saying "shhhh" if her beau is asleep or anyone is whispering, saying "ow!" even when she isn't hurt, growing more teeth (13 and counting!), and attempting to do the motions to The Wheels on the Bus song. She's such a handful these days. Especially because she just has so much attitude. She's hitting a lot more and I just keep telling her no and making her "say" sorry. When she continues, I put her in the pack n play for a minute of time out. Who knows if any of that is working but 99% of the time she's my sweet Bailey girl!