Beautiful Ballerina

It's official...

...tonight, I booked a room & flights for Walt Disney World for Sept. 28 - Oct. 7. It is sure to be a crazy vacation, but we think that Zoe will love it!! Now, I have to figure out what/when restraurants we are going to eat in & how many character meals ... what parks/when ... parades/fireworks/cirque de soleil/waterparks/rent a car/don't rent a car ... whew ... I didn't realize how much planning is needed to visit "the happiest place on earth"!! Only 136 days away.

Happy Mother's Day to ME!!

For Mother's Day, Tony got up with Zoe & let me sleep in (something I always like). Then, we had a leisurely lunch & opened presents. Well, I didn't actually get to open any of them; Zoe did the honors - which I guess is appropriate because without her, I wouldn't get any gifts. I got a couple of books, a necklace, a shirt (picked out by Zoe), a few other things & my Coach wallet (which I love!!). We had hamburgers on the grill for supper, followed by watching the Survivor finale (see post). All in all, it was a nice relaxing day with minimal parenting by me.

Yeah, Earl!!

Tonight was the Survivor:Fiji finale, which Yau-Man deserved to win (bad, bad "Dreamz"), but the 2nd best man, Earl, won. A happy conclusion to what I think was the best survivor season yet!! I've watched all 14 seasons faithfully & really, really enjoyed this one. If you don't watch, I suggest checking it out.

Not a Baby Anymore

Bailey Chirstmas

Happy Birthday Daddy!! (Part 2)

To celebrate Tony's birthday, we played a round of *actual* golf at a par 3 course at the Lower Huron Metropark. We had beautiful weather & enjoyed that (if not all of the actual golfing). We both discovered that golf is an endurance sport & struggled to make it through the last few holes.


For dinner, we ate at Outback Steakhouse & then, saw Spiderman 3. The dinner was great, the movie okay (lots of plotlines in this one)!!

Well worth the money...

Today, Tony proved the money spent on his bachelors & masters degrees in electrical engineering was well worth it. Using the newly innovated, highly technical tool referred to as a phillips screwdriver & knowledge gained from 6 years of higher education, he fixed his parents doorbell. Said doorbell has for 14+ years has randomly rung when the microwave is used, the ceiling fan started or the basements lights turned on (& occasionally when the front or back doorbell was actually pushed). It is dawning of a new age in the senior Bailey house this week...

Happy Birthday Daddy!! (Part 1)

Saturday evening, after playing a round of artic golf, we celebrated Tony's birthday with a dinner of tacos & strawberry pie. All three girls helped him open his presents (each one helping with each present - quite a feat!).

Go, Diego, Go!

Saturday morning, Kathy, Emily, Shannon, Zoe, Grandma Bailey & I went to Go, Deigo, Go! in downtown Cleveland. Zoe had a good time (her favorite part might have been the entire bag of M&Ms she consumed though).

We had lunch at the Tower City food court followed by the throwing of many pennies in the fountain, lots of running around & even a ride on a mini Merry-go-Round.

A Picnic Lunch...

Today, Zoe & I meet Aunt Kimmy & Sarah at Kensington for a picnic lunch. We ate, then looked at the babies animal including a baby goat that had been born today. We even made a quick stop at a playground on the way out. It was a beautiful day & we had a great time!! This picture of them was taken during one of the rare moments of inactivity.

Daddy does what?

While driving to meet Kim & Sarah, Zoe saw a playground and the conversation went like this:

Zoe - "Are we going to that park?"

Me - "No, that is a day care center. It is where kids go whose both mommies & daddies have to work."

Zoe - "Daddy goes to work."

Me - "Yes, he does."

Zoe - "To make moneies, so we can buy stuff." (a line I have taught her in the past)

Me - "Yes"

Zoe - "And to cheer up people. His friends at work."

Me (laughing)- "Ummm, okay, that too!"

The what...? 5-2-2007

While playing this morning, Zoe asks me if I want to go to the "oil ball".

Me - "The what?"

Zoe - "The oil ball, Mommy. Isn't is pretty? See all the sparkles."

Me - "Oh, you mean the royal ball."

Zoe - "No, Mommy, it's the oil ball!"

Okay, okay, the oil ball it is...

Rothwell Visit 4-28-2007

This weekend, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Jason, Emily & Shannon came for a visit. Zoe has been looking forward to this *ALL* week. Daddy had mentioned that they were coming this weekend on Monday. Upon waking every morning & after every nap, she asked me if there were here yet. Thank goodness, they finally arrived on Friday evening.


Friday, we made a quick trip to IKEA where all 3 girls were able to go into the play area since they are 37 inches tall & potty-trained. What a nice way to shop!


We had a lazy Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, Kathy & I did a little shopping while the girls napped.


Saturday evening was Tony's poker tournament & being the Best Mommies/Wives in the World, Kathy & I took the girls to a park, then to McDonalds (complete with a little girl "stalker" for Zoe (who would not leave her alone & while we getting ready to leave leaned over & gave Zoe a hug & kiss, then coughed & exclaimed "I'm sick." Greaaat...we are waiting to see what disease Zoe develops). After a thorough handwashing, we stopped at Cold Stone for some ice cream. Once home, we gave them a bath in my big bathtub with bubbles. Needless to say, we were all exhausted (but somehow the mommies managed to stay up until 2:30am playing cards, the girls only lasted until 11:30pm).




Sunday we had a picnic lunch at the park & then spent some time at the playground. When it came time for Emily & Shannon to leave, all three of the were crying.

Lessons Learned 4-27-2007 @ 3:00 am

1. Don't let Zoe have entire sippy cup of milk 1/2 hour before bed time

2. Making a bed at 2:30am (after being asleep for 3 hours, then abruptly woken by a crying, wet child) should be an Olympic sport - I mean how many times can you turn a sheet before it is on the right way?

3. I hate vacuuming stairs - not that I have done this yet today being that it is only 3am, but I need to, really, really need to - before approximately 30 people arrive at my house this weekend for Tony's poker tournament

I am off to again attempt falling back asleep...

$47.00 4-24-2007

$47.00 at $0.10 per can/bottle = 470 cans/bottles

Maybe we should rethink the biyearly recycling plan...

WICKED!! 4-22-2007

This weekend, Tony & I travelled to Chicago to see the musical WICKED. It was a great time. We stayed at the Hotel Allegro which was 3 blocks from the theatre. The weather was beautiful, the show was terrific... a very refreshing weekend.

4-18-2007 Celebration Dinner

Zoe much enjoyed her celebration dinner at McDonald's - especially the ice cream!! (She even went #2 in the potty while we there). Yeah!!

YEAH!!! 4-18-2007

Well, today might be a break through. Zoe went #1 and #2 in the potty. We are celebrating with lots of candy, a balloon & a trip to McDonalds tonight for supper. It has been an exhausting morning, but hopefully this trend continues....

Daughter - what daughter? 4-17-2007

This evening, I had a sudden craving for peaunt butter bars - like the ones we used to have in elementary school. (Please do not read anything into the use of the word craving.) I went online looking for a recipe that I had used in the past. I found the recipe & discovered that we had about 1 teaspoon of creamy peanut butter (not quite the cup and a half the recipe called for). Well, we did have an almost full just of crunchy I could use. I start working on the recipe & discover it requires an egg (something we also don't have - we borrowed 3 eggs last night from our neighbor Susan). Next plan, I lovingly asked my husband to go get a mix for them at the store (& some eggs & peanut butter while he's there - can you tell I was on vacation last week & did no grocery shopping?). Anyway, Tony is not too receptive to this plan, so I decide to go myself. As I am getting my shoes, Tony says that he will go. But, no that's okay, I will go. He then asks if I want him to come with me. I laugh and say "Yeah, right!". He says, defensively, "I said I would go or come with you!!" To which, I reply, "What about your daughter upstairs asleep?" He says, "Oh yeah, I forget about her." Hmmm....guess his plan of us both going isn't going to work. Needless to say, I went by myself, procured the peanut butter bars and am now waiting for them chill. As for Tony, I am not sure how he could forget about Zoe since he spent half of his evening in the bathroom with her sitting on the potty, but not actually going potty.

Happy Easter!!! 4-8-2007

Travelling for the fourth weekend in a row, we returned to Columbus to celebrate Easter with Tony's side of the family. Zoe had a great time playing with all of her cousins, hunting for Easter eggs & finding her Easter basket (the candy involved may have been the best part). We also celebrated Shannon, Zoe & Grandma's birthday on Saturday - including a quick dip at what has to have been the coldest indoor hotel pool ever!! Nonetheless, the kids all had a great time. Sunday, Aunt Kathy prepared a delicious Easter brunch. We went to the noon service at their church where poor Shannon threw up during the service. Quite a memorable Easter all-in-all.

We stopped for dinner on the way home at my Aunt Kathy's to drop Zoe off with my Mom & Dave with whom Zoe was spending the following week. Zoe got even more candy in another egg hunt with Carson & Ava.

Easter Eggs 4-5-2007

This evening, Zoe colored Easter eggs. She had a great time with Daddy helping her color them & then Mommy helping her decorate them - as princesses of course.

Fort Rapids 4-1-2007

This weekend, we travelled to Columbus to Aunt Kathy & Uncle Jason's house. Saturday night, we cheered Ohio State on to its victory over Georgetown. On Sunday, we went to Fort Rapids where the three girls all had a great time. It is safe to say that all parties involved were exhausted by the time we returned home. (I do not actually remember being this tired anytime in the recent past.)

Roller Skating with the Easter Bunny!! 3-29-2007

This morning, Zoe went *roller skating* with the Easter Bunny!! Disappointingly, the Easter Bunny didn't actually roller skate. I mean, if you were "really" good, you could skate in one of those costumes.

Anyway, you will also notice there are no pictures of Zoe with the Easter Bunny as she was too scared to get much closer to him than 6 feet. This is Zoe's 2nd time skating and she did a really good job - actually skating a bit. Last time was entirely comprised of roller-walking. She did manage to take both of us down once & I took us down another time. Of course, the best part was the easter eggs - which contained chocolate candy.

Happy Birthday Zoe!! 3-26-2007

What beautiful weather we had today (sunny and 80 - haha to those people in Arizona, it's not *always* bad weather here). Zoe and I spent most of the day outside. We blew bubbles & played hopscotch. Then, after a birthday lunch of grilled cheese, we walked up to Cold Stone & Zoe enjoyed some beary berry blue ice cream. We stopped at the park on the way home and then she had a nap. For supper, Miss Susan, Daddy (with 3 balloons) & the Saunders met us at Red Robin for Zoe's birthday supper. She especially enjoyed her free ice cream sundae. Zoe had a good day (although I don't think she really understood that today was her birthday!!)

Zoe's Birthday Party!! 3-24-2007

Today, we celebrated Zoe's birthday with my side of the family. Zoe had a great time blowing out the candles & opening all of her presents - she now has an entire summer wardrobe due some very generous grandparents. Lots of princesses could be found at the party - including Cinderella's castle (one of the cakes), books, dolls and lots of clothes.

Making Supper 3-22-2007

This morning, while I peacefully (read accidentally) dozed on the couch, Zoe lovingly made me supper -- on the kitchen floor -- using new bags of powered & brown -- that she opened using scissors -- my good "fabric only" scissors (she tried to used the kitchen shears, but couldn't figure out to get them unlocked) -- the scissors were obtained from the supposedly "locked" den (locked due to previous incident - see below). This is the last of many such incidents in the past week or so. These include:

-> Putting on make-up - using an entire tube of lipstick & mascara
-> Rubbing an entire glue stick on the foot of our bed
-> Emptying 3 things of chapstick in various places
-> "Cleaning" her room - this means emptying everything out of her dresser onto the floor.
-> Getting black paint all over herself (including her hair - which may still have paint in it) & on the floor of the den
-> Squirting suntan lotion all over the floor of her room & her crib & the footstool & the wall & the book shelf & the books.

I've come to the only appropriate conclusion -- that the next stage of toddler development involves her being tied to a chair since she obviously cannot be trusted once she is out of my sight -- the suntan incident having occurred while she told me she was playing with her dollhouse...

Anyway, I was too furious about the other incidents to have taken a photo, but Tony asked me to document this one (apparently there is some doubt in his mind that they are actually taking place)...

3-18-2007 Trip to Louisville

This weekend, Tony & I went to Louisville, KY to see the Blue Man Group - as my Valentine's Day gift to him. We stopped in Blufton on the way down to celebrate Uncle Ben's birthday & to drop Zoe off. We left Bluffton Saturday morning and stopped in Cinncinati to watch the Ohio State BB game (very close to Xavier actually). We stayed at The Brown hotel in downtown Louisville - home of the famous "Hot Brown" sandwich - which neither Tony nor I actually had. Saturday night we went to the show - which was very good - with lots of stuff we had seen before, but lots we hadn't also. We headed home on Sunday.

3-16-2007 Happy Birthday Uncle Ben!!

We celebrated Uncle Ben's birthday on this Friday. Zoe, as always, enjoyed helping him blow out the candles and unwrapping his gifts. She even told him what was in them - before he opened them - as she had helped me wrapped them.

3-3-2007 Happy Birthday Uncle Matt!!

After going to the OSU - Michigan basketball game, we celebrated Uncle Matt's 18th birthday. Zoe helped him blow out the candles & enjoyed her frosting. (Yes, Uncle Matt is a Michigan fan, but we won't hold it against him - well, not too much anyway).

3-2-2007 Princesses on Ice

Today, Zoe & I went to see Princess on Ice at the Palace of Auburn Hills. It was a neat show & Zoe had a great time - especially since she got to wear her Cinderella dress to the show.

2-22-2007 Sesame Street Live

Today, we met Daddy downtown to go see Sesame Street Live. It was mass confusion, but Zoe had a great time (although her favorite part might have been the M&Ms.).

2-14-2007 Valentine's Day

We celebrated Valentine's Day at home with Zoe. I made a heart-shaped red velvet cake & even heart-shaped muffins. Zoe enjoyed her gift - most especially the jelly beans...

2-9-2007 Happy Birthday Ava!!

We travelled to Bluffton this weekend to help Ava celebrate her first birthday. Ava enjoyed her cake tremendously - even though she was exhausted. Zoe enjoyed ordering Poppa Dave around & even got him to put on some princess accessories.

Snow Play 1-30-2007

Today, Zoe & I went outside & played in the newly fallen snow. We had great time shoveling, making snow angels & having a snow ball fight. I may have had a bit of an advantage in the snow ball fight since Zoe couldn't make the snowballs, she had to wait until I threw one at her & then she could throw it back at me.

In the afternoon, we went to Target & we got her a little plastic shovel of her own. She must have mentioned shoveling the snow off the driveway about 20 times in the store. The fact we had already cleared the driveway did not bother her a bit. She had a great time using her shovel to put snow back onto the driveway once we got back home. Zoe & Daddy even played outside a bit when he got home. The snow is definitely a hit with her.

A Cinderella Day 1-29-2007

Today, Zoe watch her Cinderella movie while wearing her Cinderella dress & eating Cinderella fruit snacks. Once the movie was over, I put on Family Feud - on which a question was: "Name something that the Fairy Godmother gave to Cinderella". The answers were:

1. Glass Slippers
2. Dress
3. Coach
4. Prince Charming**

**The Fairy Godmother didn't actually "give" Cinderella the Prince. I like to think that Cinderella's own charm & winning personality actually had a bit to do with it.

Anyway, quite a charming day, here in the land of happily ever after.... :)

Notice Zoe is wearing two different shoes & carrying another two. Apparently, she is worried that she will lose her slipper like Cinderella did & has taken to stockpiling them.

Zoe's Pond 1-27-2007

Today, while playing Zoe created a "pond" for her pirate ship. She has quite the imagination. Of course, now I can no longer use my blanket since it is now a "pond"...a battle to be fought another day, I guess.

Zoe visits the Dentist 1-23-2007

To prepare Zoe for her first visit to the dentist, she accompained me to my dentist appointment this afternoon. She had a great adventure and was extremely interested in what the hygentist was doing. We had to tell her to move back a couple of times because she was so closely watching her clean my teeth. The "silly straw" was also fascinating & Zoe laughed every time I used it.

Whirlyball 1-20-2007

Tonight, while Grandma Carol & Poppa Dave watched Zoe (or maybe she watched them, sometimes it can be hard to tell), Tony & I played whiryball with a group organized by Lew (past events have included bowling & putt-putt). This event was slightly more physical. At point, I ran into wall going about 50 mph (okay, maybe it was more like 20 mph, but the guy running the place asked if I was okay). He then proceeded to remove the car I had been using from the court because it was too fast!! My hips are both raw and bruised from the seatbeat, but I'll live. Unfortunately, my team (the red team) did not do so well and only won 1 game - and finished in the bottom spot in the tournament (yes, there was a tournament - remember it was organized by Lew).

This is a video of Nancy running into the wall (not nearly as fast as I did though).

Anyway, it was lots of fun & there was much discussion about what the next event should be.

Zoe's Hives 1-17-2007

This morning, Zoe woke up with a lovely rash EVERYWHERE... We went to the doctor & she has hives, most likely caused by her body over reacting to fighting a virus of some sort. She is fine, but certainly does not look that way. She looks even worse in person... wish her well soon!!

Our beautifal Arizonan Sunset 1-12-2007

Thursday, we drove to Gates Pass in hopes of having a beautiful sunset to watch. We got cold & wind and not such a great sunset.