Bailey's First Easter!

For Christmas Bailey was so new and little that I didn't do too much for the holiday, we let the family do it all! Easter was the first holiday since Bailey was born that I stayed up late at night cooking and preparing for the big day! I LOVE LOVE LOVE holidays. They are the best bits of life. I dream about the perfect holiday where the family all gathers, eats an awesome meal, hugs, laughs and it's the amazing stuff memories are made of. One day I'll get there!! Haha. For now I do my best to make holidays memorable and special. Sometimes it's the little things that don't go right that make it the most memorable! I probably won't ever forget the year Betty ate all of the Christmas cookies and broke my platter. Or they year Isabelle screamed her head off because she was terrified of the fireworks on the 4th of July. Or the six Hallmark's it took me to find the "Baby's First Christmas" Ornament I had my heart set on last year. But... I digress.

Bailey's first Easter was a hit! I stayed up Saturday night making Key Lime Cupcakes with coconut frosting! Oh my goodness they were divine! I think next time I'm going to actually hunt down key lime juice (or maybe some fresh key limes)... but they were the perfect after dinner treat!

I also made my mom's specialty- the "Hopping Bunny Bread". Holy toledo this stuff is difficult. I swear it is much more difficult to be an adult on a holiday than a child. As a kid- I came downstairs in my pj's, chowed down on festive yummies, then ate myself sick on Easter candy, went to church and bounced off the pews, then came home, ate more candy and fell asleep with a tummy-ache. What a hard life.

As an adult- i stay up for hours and let bread dough rise 3 times so that I can braid it into little bunnies. Grate my thumb while preparing orange peel for the dough, knead the dough for 15 minutes, etc. etc. etc. THEN get to dinner and have everyone tell you they look like ducks. Sigh. I tried. Do you see ducks??? I see bunny butts!

Hopefully Bailey will look back on the pictures of the amazing meal (that I forgot to take, durn... I can only do so much!) at least the awesome pictures of her bunny not duck bread and know that her Mommy did tons of fun things out of love.

Next up: Easter Baskets!!!! I finally appreciate the thought and effort it takes to get one of these ready. And holy cow, when did candy get so expensive!! Bailey is the proud owner of a Build A Bear Lambie! :) We named her Bean just for our Bean. A lambie for BAA :) Get it? Yes- we are those parents. The cheesy corny ones that are starting a sheep collection for our BAA. Trust me- there's a little bit of it in all of us.

Mommy also made a homeade bow for the princess to wear with her Easter Dress! I thought it was so darn cute, and the perfect colors. Oh what fun it is to dress a little girl!

Doesn't she look soooo freaking cute in this picture? This is the picture she'll look at when she's 20-something with her own little on the way and say, 'Oh my gosh Mom- look how awesome you were!' Well... a mom can hope right?

Yummmmmmmmmm- DRESS!!!! Yes we're in the mouth stage. For the most part, I don't try to stop her. I like to let her explore. If the dog's ears or the dirty diaper end up in her hands though- you better believe they're getting taken away!

Dude... Mom- where's all the candy???

You got me a BATHING SUIT!??!? YIPEE!!!

Nom nom nom... sooo yummy!

And of course a little Easter mess had to be on the agenda. :)

I love my lambie! Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen? No. Well you're wrong. Because it is. :) Even if I am a little biased.

I, trying to be the over-acheiving Mommy that I strive to be- decided to take super cute Easter pictures of Bailey. So after church I set her down and ran to get lambie....

I came back to this. Fail Mom. I should know better than to interfere with naptime. I couldn't resist a few shots though... there really isn't anything more precious in the world than a sleeping baby. :)

Much cuter than a screaming, crying, spitting up, red-faced, poopie-explosion baby. Although that is just as adorable... in it's own ear-splitting, messy way.

I also conveniently missed out on snapping any pictures at our family dinner. Which went surprisingly well. The Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes were aaaaaaaaaamazing! (yes I roasted the garlic myself! see- more slaving away), the ham was delicious, the Corn Casserole was divine and lots of other yummies were simply- yummy! Elisabeth: 1 - Holiday Impossible: 0!!

Happenings...

Three weeks without blogging!? I stink. But I'm not sure if anyone is seriously interested in the ins and outs of our everyday life. We have established a pretty good routine around our house.

In the morning I get up and get ready for the day, nurse Bailey and head out the door! Work work work all day long, then come home and hang out with my little family. Then I start the day all over again!

Most days I come home to something like this:



She heard her mommy and was ready to get some snuggles!

I love seeing Little B's face after a long day of work. It's just what I need to brighten my day and make things all better!

Being a first time mommy is definitely hard! I am trying VERY hard to not freak out at every little 'different' thing she does and not rush Bailey to the doctor's office the second anything happens. So far I've done pretty well. Other than her regular montly check-ups
*like this one at 4 months*





(So happy before her shots! She's quite the champ!)



We have only made 2 trips to the doctor over "Mommy Panic" as I like to call it. The first one was when Bailey was about 3 weeks old. She woke up with her eyes all gunky and 'glued' together (ew)! We had been at a friend's house who's little boy had just gotten pink eye- so I freaked. Naturally right?

Our latest Mommy Panic was on Monday. Bailey hasn't been sleeping well and I assumed it was 4 month sleep regression. But since it kept getting worse and worse and she didn't want to eat, be held, rocked, etc. I decided it was time to go see the doc! I NEVER in a million years expected the answer we got...

TEETHING!!!! That's right, my four month old is teething. I suppose she'll be 5 months on Monday, but holy toledo. I did not expect that. Her gums are slightly swollen, I'm guessing it will probably take a few weeks for the little chompers to actually break through but at least we finally know what is causing our little punkin so much discomfort! A little baby orajel and a cold teether seems to make her happy as a clam. Along with an extra few ounces to eat before bed and we have our happy, smiley baby back! Wahoo!

After her doctor's appointment we grabbed an early dinner and Miss Thang was pouting because I asked her to hold my fruit. :) Silly girl does not like pears.

All in all we are absolutely loving being parents. There are some opportunities that may open up to us in the next few months, so we're trying to decide what the future holds and what is best for our family.

As of right now, Matt is being an awesome 'mannie' and loves getting to spend special time with his little girl. I'm chugging on through and working had in hopes that one day soon I will get to be home with my little love.

I just can't resist this face... after I got ready for bed the other night I came in to this!

What a cute little thing she is! I am so lucky to be her mommy!

4 Months

I've been so worried for Bailey to grow up too fast. Everyone says "cherish each stage" and I try to! As much as I loved her being a teeny and snuggly newborn, I am LOVING this stage! It's is so fun to watch her learn new things and interact with us more! At four months Bailey:

-smiles

-giggles

-does "crunches" trying to sit up!

-chews on her hands constantly

-drools like a fountain

-'talks' I love baby talk and she will talk back and forth with you!

-Sleeps like a champ

-naps 3-5x a day

-is eating solids

-she can bring toys to her mouth, but they fall right out

-she grabbed her foot for the first time last night

Some of the little milestones may seem silly- but it's so amazing to watch her grow and learn new things! She is such a precious little girl and an amazing blessing in my life!

PS. I'm having second thoughts about getting her ears pierced as an infant. I think I may wait until she wants them done. Any suggestions from mommies?

One Year

Whew knew that one year could change a life so much?

One year ago yesterday I woke up on Easter Sunday feeling funny. A little sore, didn't sleep well, and generally feeling 'not good'. I decided to take a pregnancy test. It couldn't hurt right? Matt slept soundly as I waited the agonizing three minutes. I picked up the test, low and behold... a line.

That's it- a tiny pink line. That's all it took for me to know that my life was changed forever. I bounded into the bedroom, threw on the lights at 7am, jumped on the bed and stuck the stick in Matt's face. "Do you see it?! Do you see the line!? There is a line right? Do you see it!?" He saw it. We were both so excited. The feelings that hit you are innumerable.



Will we be good parents, will we be able to afford it, what will we need, how do I take care of myself, I need to call the doctor, etc. etc. We were spinning. We went about the day with our family holding onto our little secret. And she was so tiny. I went the next morning and took a blood test, and continued to take home tests as well. I watched the little line get darker and darker. It turns out we found out we were pregnant at 3weeks 2 days!



One year ago marks the beginning of an amazing adventure. I got to watch my belly grow, and feel our sweet girl moving. On our second anniversary we got to find out that it was a girl! Nothing prepared me for the overwhelming feelings of love that occur the moment you see your sweet baby for the first time. It changed my life. One year later, I have a beautiful baby girl who is the light of my life. She is stunning and smart and growing so fast! I can't wait to see what the next year brings, and I cherish the special time I got to have her just with me.



Motherhood is a challenge, there's no doubt. There have been lots of sleepless nights and prayers said, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I adore my daughter and I love how special our relationship is. Watching Matt with her has made me fall deeper and deeper in love with him. I love my family.

"It is clear that some of those [under eye] shadows come not just from diapers and carpooling but from at least a few sleepless nights spent searching the soul, seeking earnestly for the capacity to raise these children to be what God wants them to be. Moved by that kind of devotion and determination, may I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you." (“Because She Is a Mother” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)

Solids!

Miss Bailey is soo itty bitty that our pediatrician suggested we start solids at four months!

I love trying new things with the princess so we gave it a shot. So far she's had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, green beans, bananas, peaches and pears. She LOVES cereal and bananas together and she loves her sweet potatoes! She hated the peas, peaches and pears lol. But they say it takes a few tries for them to really develop a taste, so we'll try again!

Seriously... is anything allowed to be that cute?



All that munching wore her out!



That brings us almost up to date! Wahoo I did it!

A Break...

A LOT has been going on in the Alt family lately. Lots of changes and opportunities have come our way. Job changes and losses, learning to be new parents, and just coping with the every day bits of life. It can get overwhelming very quickly. When it got to be too much, (at the suggestion of a smart friend!) I said to Matt...

"We need to go to the Temple."

Although we're a few short weeks from actually going through the Temple and being sealed, I decided that we needed a getaway. We needed a few hours away from the world where we could go and think about our family, decisions, and the things coming our way.

So we packed up Bailey and hit the road on a Saturday morning. It was her first road trip, and she did pretty well!



Mommy where are we going? How far is it?



Over two hours?!?!

What will we do when we get there?

It was a beautiful day. Not too cold, but a little cloudy and breezy. We walked around the grounds, went to the visitors center and the bookstore.

It was the perfect escape. The message of the Cristus is so amazing, Matt calls it "the most powerful 90 seconds you'll ever experience." We took some time to get away from the world and just feel the Spirit. I am so grateful that we have a Temple close enough to go to, and that we get to go through this sacred building so very soon.

While there a passerby said to Matt, "Now there's a man who is proud to be a Daddy." It was so special to hear! :)

I am also pleased to announce that we are getting a new camera!! We turned in the one I got for Christmas and cashed in on the warrenty. It was ROUGH! So hopefully I can start taking some 'not blurry' pictures!

Unsure...

Our lives revolve around this little girl. Sorry if none of my posts have anything else exciting to say! We are just going on with life, and loving every minute that we get to love on Miss Bailey.

At the end of February (Bailey was almost 3 months old) someone gave us a spare activity center. We thought it would be fun to put B in and see what she thought of it.

This was her initial reaction:

Once we propped her up, this is what we got!

1- I guess I can handle this...
2- Waaaaaaaaaah, Where's my BINKY?! :(
3- Do I even fit in this thing?!
4- Me: Bailey SMILE for Mommy!! B: Why are you making that face?!

She still isn't a big fan of the activity center... but LOVES her swing and jumperoo! :)