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!

Finally an update

Bailey helped me prepare for Grandma's arrival. I made her bed, she took out all of Daddy's books so she might have some good reading material.

Bailey visited with Grandma for a little while. They walked a lot like this. She doesn't even need to do this anymore because that next week she just took off walking. She officially walks more than crawls. Just like everything else, once she wanted to do it she mastered it quickly. One day about two weeks ago she just took off and every day she has been walking more than the next.

She still enjoys watching the Daddy dvd every night on TV.

We just take lots of silly pictures. Lately she's more interested in looking at the pictures on the camera than smiling for it.

Well, Mommy gave up on potty training. She still sometimes will do our sign for it and I'll take her but it was just too much for me at the time that I started it. I plan to do it some time in the coming months. Now that she's walking it will be significantly easier too. I may or may not wait until Mike gets home. She's ready, I just wasn't.

We've been spending lots of time with Heather and Bailey's Beau (Pilot). She just loves this kid. Mostly she pets him and tries to give him his paci but every so often she just gets too rough. Don't worry about Beau though, he's quite durable and loves her a lot too. Seeing them together is so sweet and special. He just smiles up at her and looks for her when she walks away. So sweet!

See? Look at this kid loving her boy.

After bath time she sits in the sink so I can dry her off a little. She's so silly. This night she decided she needed my toothbrush and my comb, as well as the floss.

It's been a long time since I've updated because we've just been busy and it seems like writing in here is such a chore! I just need to do it weekly instead of letting it build up. We have visited Nana and Poppy twice in the last month and even got a visit from Uncle Justin and Grandma last weekend. It's been a good month that has gone by fast.

Bailey walks all the time now and has fallen twice and busted her lip. Two days in a row! She's getting more used to it now but definitely still looks like a stumbling drunk sometimes, especially when she's tired. She is has developed an intense interest in belly buttons and has no sense of appropriateness, as she tries to study mine in public! She's also learning where her ears and nose are. She's got the ears down but nose is harder. And of course she knows where her belly button is. The funniest thing she's doing right now is saying yes to everything. She nods her head yes to everything except when someone wants to share food with her. She is adamantly against sharing food and will shake her head NO if you try! We're working on it, lol. She has about 14 or 15 teeth now. A very full mouth! My little girl is growing too big too fast!

Only three more months until Daddy is back. He had a bit of a close call this month. He got a concussion when someone in front of him stepped on an IED and he was thrown back from the blast. The soldier that stepped on it lost half of one of his legs but will be ok. It was very scary receiving that news but we continue to pray for his safety and for no more close calls. Three months! We're 75% done!

Success!

Just updating to say potty time is a success! Yesterday after I posted, she went on the potty at 4:00 and stayed dry until 6:00 when she went again. This morning she woke up at 5:50 am dry, I put her on the potty and she went immediately! Since then she's gone once more. This kid is a rock star! We went to buy training panties and plastic covers this morning and some pull ups for just in case times. I had no idea she would do this well but looks like we're on our way!

Potty Time!

How cute is this kid with her hair curling up?!

That's my sweet girl!

We've had a rough week with sleep. Last night and Wednesday night Bailey didn't get to sleep until about 9:00, which is an hour and a half past her bed time. She just was whiny and needed to be rocked and held. Usually she goes right down and soothes herself to sleep but not those nights. As a result, we're trying something new today. I kept her up rather than putting her down for her usual 9:30 am nap. She ate lunch at 11:30 and then down for her (hopefully much longer) nap at noon. She's been asleep for an hour and I hope to get at least one more hour! So I guess this means she's ready for only one nap. I'm really hoping this works to help at night too and maybe even get her to sleep a little later than 6:00 am!

Last night while I was cooking our dinner she decided she needed to enjoy her water inside her old bouncer that's still out because Pilot uses it when he's over. Silly girl.

One morning this week Bailey woke up with a dry diaper and had been dry for 14 hours! After freaking out and calling the nurse line to hear that if she didn't go in a couple hours I needed to take her to the ER, she finally peed. As a result, I figured this meant we could start trying with the potty. So we went to Target yesterday and bought a potty and some special potty treats (organic vanilla flavored smiley faces, lol, she thinks they're treats) and we've already spent a while on the potty in the past 24 hours. No pee yet but at least she's very receptive to it. We have had a great time looking at pictures on the camera, reading books, and playing her piano.

This week Bailey cut her 10th tooth. She now has two molars and a bunch of other teeth! No walking since the once she walked with Mike and then the once she did it with me a couple weeks ago. She's getting more brave about standing without holding onto things but still no walking. I feel like she may never walk again!

She got two shots this week too and they definitely affected her this time. She was very whiny and didn't sleep well at all. I hated every second of it because I knew she was sore and feeling terrible. It wasn't fun at all. She didn't scream at the sight of the doctor's office but I'm afraid she will next month when we have to go.

In other news, deployment is 8 months down and 4 to go! It's been a rough month but I'm happy that May is here and we're one month closer to seeing Mike again.