Thanksgiving Weekend

Keenan and I had Thanksgiving lunch at our home this year...kinda been tradition since we moved here. We have MORE than enough good food to choose from. This year was a little easier on me since Keenan bought us all new kitchen appliance a few weeks ago. It really sped up the cooking process. Thank you, honey! Keenan's mom & my mom also helped make food to take the work load off of me. THANK YOU! I did a first this year, I made my 1st ever pie! Boy was it GOOD! Sawdust Pie using Patti's (in Grand Rivers, KY) recipe. ---Thank you Gloria for that. Now I have had a couple of requests to make that my trademark pie every year at Thanksgiving...I think I will..It was EASY!

(In the pic: Great Grandma, Grammy, Mommy & Bailey---4 Generations)

After we had our bellies full, we traveled up to Bailey's Aunt Tracy & Uncle Dan's house to celebrate her Grandpa Wendell's 46th birthday. Even though we were too full to eat birthday cake, we managed to squeeze a piece through the cracks. We had a great time visiting with everyone.


When we got home we went ahead and got the Christmas tree put up after Bailey went to bed and I decorated it the next day while Keenan went fishing down at Barkley with his buddy. As you can see from the pic, he had a good time.

Keenan's 30th!

Keenan celebrated the BIG 30 on Friday! I think I was more freaked about it than he was! He said he feels like he is 26 still! Ha! He started off his day with birthday wishes from his staff. He told me he hadn't told anyone of his bday so, on his way to work, I called and told them!!!! They put up signs, got cards & even a big cookie cake!! Then we went to K's mom & dad's Friday evening for a little surprise pizza party & a cheesecake from Piece of Cake. I had a cookies & cream cake from Cold Stone awaiting us when we got home too...afterall, I had to have some birthday cake since I don't eat cheesecake. :) Saturday for lunch, Keenan's mom babysat Bailey during her nap while we enjoyed Biaggis. We hadn't been there since his birthday last year!!! We don't get out much! :) We enjoyed our date and maybe even hope to get another date while grammy is up for Thanksgiving! (wink wink).

Sunday afternoon we all enjoyed playing outside in the leaves. Sunday evening, our friends invited us over for dinner. We had a great time! Thanks Kim & Gloria....delicious food!---And the COLTS WON!!!----

Bailey NOW has a cold (what a way to kick off being 13 months old & the Thanksgiving holiday). It started when we got home last night :( I took her in to see the doc this am. She was up all through the night coughing and snottin! We had to rock her back to sleep at 9pm & midnight. We hadn't done that since the days of the ear infections, so we panicked and called the doc. Plus, her chest was congested when she woke up, but cleared by the time of the appointment. We unfortunatley might have to thank Aubs for the illness. Bailey said she enjoyed her playdate a LOT, but is sad that they are both now sick. :(

Bailey is doing a tad better with finger foods. She now loves grilled cheese and eats 1/4 of a sandwich for lunch and another for dinner. Since that is all she wants, I started getting whole grain bread & have been sneaking broccoli, fresh spinach & chopped up shaved ham in there. She gobbles it all up! (she was going to town on the grilled cheese, the next thing I knew there was a big piece of broccoli on her nose. I had to take a pic!!) She has recently tried pineapple & craisens. She loves them. She also ate carrots the other night & a few bites of little smokies, but that didn't last long. She still wants baby food too. So, sparingly I am still giving her the veggies just to get some nutrition in her until I run out, then I am not buying any more. I HOPE!
Last Thursday we had a little "flurry" action outside. Bailey was quite fascinated. It was her first "snow" she's gotten to actually see since all last year she slept during the day! She was quite excited.

A Breath Of Autumn's Fresh Air

Bailey hasn't been outside to play since she's learned to walk. I decided I would brave the cold temps (46 degrees) & wind to see how she would like playing outside from a whole new perspective. ( I am a wimp when it comes to cold weather!) Bailey, LOVED it! Thank you cousin Amy for the birthday coat & shoes to keep Bailey warm on days like today. We didn't stay out long, because I am paranoid she will catch a cold. WHY AM I THIS WAY? AHHHH! When I brought her in & got her outerwear off, she started crying while standing at the back door & pointing outside. :( It made me sad. It was time for her nap anyway. Maybe I'll brave the elements and go out after nap & snack time. BTW, this is the 2nd day of 1 nap/day. I am not a big fan of it (due to crankiness in the evening) but this has been on her terms, we'll see how it goes.

Grammy has already informed me that "Bailey looks just like ME when I was her age!" He he he he. :)

And She's Off.....

It's official! Miss Bailey Paige is WALKING! Even though I was warned at how fast it would all happen, Keenan and I are still both amazed at how fast she took off. She's doing great and is walking from room to room, from toy to toy... all over the place. She still has to pull up to stand, I am sure that will be soon to follow. I can't get over how cute it is to see her turing a corner from another room and see her walking toward us with a big smile on her face. It is so cute....Once again, my baby is growin up!!! I can't believe from Thursday night walking several feet to Saturday walking everywhere. AMAZING & I am glad that Keenan was home to witness her first steps and the first time she was "walkin."

Do We Have A Walker?

Friday Pics













I don't know what exactly determines a walker, but Bailey is pretty close! She took her 1st steps on Oct. 15, a week before her birthday, did great for a week. Then, on her actual birthday, that was the last time she took steps for us.

We try and try, usually her just getting into crawl mode. We had tried this evening, same thing, then, after her bath, she decided to walk across the living room floor from our couch to the TV, not only did she do that but kicked the ball 3 times in a row without falling on her way to the TV!!!! Were we surprised/shocked? YES!!!! Did I have my camera, oh no! I got excited and called my mom. She said, why aren't you video taping???!!!! OOPS! So I hurried up and got the camera rolling, and this is what I got. She went to bed shortly after these vids were taken! Knowing B she'll either "take off" from this point, OR she will not walk at all for another week. Pretty dramatic, my girl! :) Enjoy!!!




Bailey gets so "tickled" when we give her kisses....TOO CUTE!


Bailey a little too tired to play "Pat A Cake!"


CHECK OUT BAILEY'S SCRAPBOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF BLOG IN THE SLIDESHOW!!!!!

Louisville Zoo Adventure

B Petting Donkey @ Yahoo! Video

After we left Bass Pro Shops, we decided to "check out" Louisville Zoo since we got in free via our Mesker Membership. It was awesome & we only got to see "maybe" half of the zoo. Bailey was in dire need of her afternoon nap & we had to carry her what parts of the zoo we did see (2 hrs worth!) She only fussed if she was in the stroller, so it was worth it to have a happy baby-to carry her. Didn't want to let that ruin our day. The exhibits were huge, we wished we had time to see more, but we will be making many more trips back to Louisville...for sure! Bailey's favorite part of the zoo was the "petting zoo" portion, with goats, pigmy goats & donkeys. Really neat, and she didn't even hesitate to get close!


The was the meanest looking gorilla we saw, he actually charged at the people in front of us with his arms up, trying to intimidate them.







As you can see, Keenan has a good grip on Bailey, for fear she would try and sit down or try to touch the GROSS ground! YUCK!

Bailey's 1st Trip To Bass Pro Shops

Bass Pro1 @ Yahoo! Video

Bass Pro 2 @ Yahoo! Video

This trip has been in the works for some time now. We were waiting for a beautiful day & we got it!




As always, we were a little nervous about how Bailey would do since I typically keep her on a pretty specific routine/schedule. Today was anything but routine and she did great!!! We had every finger and toe crossed for Bailey to have a happy day, and she had a VERY happy day! YEAH!


After Bailey ate a hearty breakfast consisting of, 1 French Toast Stick, scrambled eggs & a Stage 3 jar of fruit & milk, we headed out at 8:30 AM...first stop: Clarksville, IN--to the 2nd largest Bass Pro Shops in the country.



Keenan went on a shopping spree as his "EARLY" 30th birthday present. We were there for 2 hours shopping, looking at all of the stuffed wild animals, streams, waterfalls, fish and more fish! We all had a ball! Daddy was feeling generous and bought Bailey 2 SUPER cute shirts because she was such a good girl. I really wished they had a BPS closer to Evansville, that is just as good as going to the zoo.