The Todd's

Happy Birthday Bailey

2011-09-30T00:54:00.004-05:00

These past 5 years have been amazing thanks to a special little girl. She made us parents! She is the sweetest, most caring little girl and the best big sister. She is so smart too! She's writing her name, plus more. She's drawing pictures that we can actually understand. She comes home daily singing new songs that she's learned at school. So, here are some of my favorite pics of our precious girl!

Our 1st good picture together, ie. I didn't look drugged and her eyes were open.

Celebrating Daddy's birthday

Enjoying some cookies

Her 2nd Birthday party

Bay and her best friend at the time, pabi

My all time favorite picture of her-3 yrs

3rd Birthday party

4 yr pictures

1st dance recital

1st day of school

5 yr pictures, coming soon!

Our little Kindergartener!

2011-08-16T23:24:00.003-05:00

Well sort-of.

Our Bailey Allison Todd is now in Kindergarten Readiness. It's a program for children that have late birthdays, to get them ready for kindergarten. In a way, it's like pre-k, but she goes to school and follows the same schedule as the school. And it's free! Woohoo!!!

She did great the first 1/2 day! She got a little nervous when we got into the school and asked to hold my hand.

Nana and Papa got to come too.

She settled right in

And quickly made a new friend.

Hugged Mommy goodbye,

And made herself right at home.

Her first full day is tomorrow. She's got her backpack ready and lunch packed! Now, it was a little exciting packing her lunch for the first time, I'm not going to lie.

Guess who's 26?!

2011-08-16T23:14:00.004-05:00

Yep, that's right. I turned 26! 4 years away from 30...

We celebrated at Nana and Papa's with a cookout and fruit pizza. Very Yummy!

The day before, Nana and I went to Charming Charlie's and I got to pick out my presents. Jewelry!! This necklace was a surprise for me and very special. My dear mama was 26 when she had me, so there is a '26' on the necklace.

If you know me you know that
1. I love purses
and
2. I go through work bags quickly b/c I carry so much. So a new one was in order.

Bailey had to try on my jewelry of course.

And Austin chilled w/ his fruit snacks.

And what would a cookout be w/o some swimming. Look at our little water baby!

We're Baaaaaaack!!

2011-06-13T19:41:00.005-05:00

Don't worry...We weren't abducted by aliens or fall off the face of the earth. We've been here. The problem is that we can only upload pictures from our desktop, which has gone w/o internet for some time now. And that means that I'm uploading pictures all the way back to last Halloween. Not fun folks!

Anyway, I thought I would start w/ our most recent pictures from a trip to the park. It was blazing hot of course and probably not the smartest place to go, but whatever.

Austin slept the entire time we were there. The slide made a nice little place for Mommy to rest too.

Bailey ran around and played, played, played.

And posed.

Did I mention that she posed?

Well, that's all for now! I have to take baby steps back into this whole blogging thing.

Our precious 4 year old

2010-10-24T10:03:00.007-05:00

Our sweet, sweet Bailey turned 4 (yes, nearly a month ago, but we're not going to focus on that little fact). So Nana, Bay, and I headed to Cannonsburgh to get some pictures. Bay did a great job! She loved posing and is a natural.

Another one for Bailey's "file"

2010-09-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Bailey got made at us the other night and ran off. We thought she was being super quiet and decided to see what she was up to.

Of course, we expected this.

Happy Helper

2010-09-09T18:51:00.002-05:00

Our munchkins just LOVE helping Daddy w/ the dishes. We are definitely going to use that to our advantage as they get older. Austin decided to help out the other night after his bath.

Isn't he such a sweet, sweet boy??

Just chillin'

2010-08-21T22:42:00.002-05:00

Don't ya love Austin's crazy "leave me alone mom!" look?

And our LAZY girls. They are so incredibly lazy!

Hmmmm

2010-08-21T22:36:00.002-05:00

Can you guess what this is??

I was very shocked (and unhappy) to find this lovely "work of art" by none other than the talented Austin Grant Todd! I was told that he was so very proud of himself too. He continued to try and do this for days after.

Any guesses?

Well if you said a towel and tons of toilet paper stuffed in the hall toilet, you were right!

I just LOVE how creative our children are!

Another year older

2010-08-21T22:20:00.003-05:00

That's right. I'm the big 2-5 (+2 wks). I feel so incredibly old! We had a nice relaxing birthday weekend. I got to celebrate it w/ all my loves, just as it should be!

Bailey was such a big helper, of course.

Teeny update

2010-08-18T20:12:00.003-05:00

Well, I finally looked at the blog and realized that my background was gone. So I changed it for ya! I'll add pictures and update soon (probably a month from now! ha) Honestly, I will try to do it sooner. I have to get on the other computer to download pictures and that's just a big hassle and takes more time. Time's a big issue for us right now. If we could add about 5 more hrs a day-for "me" time and sleep-I'd be a happier person. And my blog would be updated more often. ;)

Really not surprised...

2010-08-04T21:41:00.002-05:00

We've seen this similar sleeping pose before and I'm sure we'll see it again. Silly girl! Oh yea, notice that messy room?? We've given up.

Oh ya know

2010-07-20T22:30:00.002-05:00

Here at the Todd house, we sleep on the floor. In the doorway of bedrooms. Or if you can remember (b/c I don't have the picture on the laptop) sleeping is also ok on bathmats.

And the little stinker found another paci. But isn't she beautiful? And so peaceful. :)

Just a typical night

2010-07-17T00:38:00.002-05:00

Austin has quickly become our good sleeper. He goes down between 6:30-7 and will typically sleep 12 hrs. Bailey is another story...

She gets in bed at 7:30 at the latest. She gets a bedtime story and a movie. She'll take some toys into bed and play. Or she'll get up and play in her floor, but will run and jump in her bed if I walk by her room. Then she's "beally hunry". Then "beally thirsty". Then her movie's over and she needs another one. Then she has a really cool trick that she has to show me. Or as she has done lately, go through her drawers and play dress up w/ her clothes and shoes. And show Mommy each outfit for her fashion show. She is told only a gazillion times a night to get back in bed or her movie will be turned off. Of course I never follow through b/c I don't want to turn her movie off and listen to her scream until she falls asleep.

One thing that never changes is waiting up for Daddy. Every night. She likes to get things ready to show him or play w/ him later. At some point she slinks out of her room into the living room or usually mommy and daddy's bed. Tonight she kept calling "Daddy...Daddy...Daddy!! You need a hurry up!" Then she decided to hang out in the recliner and wait for him. Aparently she couldn't hang until he made it home.

Bailey the Ballerina

2010-07-10T00:12:00.007-05:00

Our sweet Bay has always been a dancer. She just loves it. So we were very excited to hear about a short summer dance class (super cheap!). She goes on Tuesday mornings and has a lot of fun. These pics are from last week when Nana took her. We have some from her first time, but can't download them yet. Hopefully someday...

After this program is over, we will sign her up for a monthly class. She may go where she goes now or to a dance school near home. The community center where she is now is nearly half the price of the school, so we'll see.

Snow White

2010-06-27T21:10:00.003-05:00

Pooltime!

2010-06-19T08:13:00.004-05:00

It has been ridiculously hot this week, so I decided the kids needed a swimming playdate. I ran to Dollar General and grabbed a pool and hose. Of course I would grab a "watering hose", where there are tiny holes all through hose to water landscaping. Took a little longer to fill up the pool...

Austin and Kinsey are both big water babies! They love it. They had a lot of fun together. First, Austin kept throwing the toys out. Then, he and Kinsey kept trying to climb out. Autumn and I stayed busy w/ those two.

Austin's favorite thing to do, mainly in the bathtub, is to jump up and splash down. He just giggles and giggles.

Austin decided he needed to get some sun. Poor kid's got some pretty fair skin, just like his mama.

We're back!

2010-06-18T19:41:00.002-05:00

So we're just going to pretend it hasn't taken a month to update, ok?

We've been very busy!! We have 2 new additions to our family.

Meet Miss Blister Bones Todd! She goes by Bones. We were going to try BB, but it didn't really fit. We just didn't feel right changing her name, when she already knows it. And Bay had no trouble saying it! She is the sweetest, laziest girl ever! We had a rough time in the beginning and decided to bring Miss Gracie to live w/ us and be friends w/ Bones. They were a little unsure of each other at first, but are now good. I'm sure they'll be the best of buds in no time.

She is extremely spoiled and like our other 3 yr old, she LOVES Mommy and Daddy's bed. She and Daddy nap together a lot!

See what I mean?? She even takes up the whole bed, just like Bay.

Bones isn't just any dog, mind you. She's a retired racing greyhound, w/ 22 (approximately) races under her belt. She even won 2 races. You can click on the link below to watch one of her 1st place races. She's in the 2nd race, she's #6 in the yellow.

http://www.youtube.com/user/racetime1234#p/u/238/vP4PL_xWnCY

Austin's 1st "Official" haircut

2010-05-16T18:47:00.003-05:00

Our sweet, sweet boy was beginning to look like a sweet little girl, w/ his hair that went so nicely behind his ears. So Mommy and Daddy decided it was time for a haircut. I honestly didn't think he would do that great, but I had no idea he'd react so strongly.

As you can see, he wasn't too thrilled.

He REALLY wasn't thrilled! These are the only two pics we got of the "during" b/c it took both of us to hold him down. Grant stood up and held him, while holding his head still, and I held his hands away. And of course we went at the time when there were a lot of people there. He screamed like we were torturing him, but I really don't expect anything different from our children.

And the "after":

He dried up pretty quickly!

We've reverted....

2010-04-21T20:24:00.002-05:00

I keep telling her that her teeth will fall out. Aparently that's ok with her.

Bath Pals

2010-04-19T19:55:00.002-05:00

We love our playdates with Kinsey! They usually occur after work, so we do the usual dinner, bath, and bed. This past time we just stuck the kids in the tub together. Austin and Kinsey had a blast playing together.

These will be fun to show them years from now! ha!

Bailey hopped in to play too. Definitely a crowded bathtub!

Wild Child

2010-04-03T08:31:00.002-05:00

Don't let this sweet little face fool you. He is WILD! Just look at his hair!

You can't leave this boy unwatched for a SECOND! He'll do things like climb in the bathtub in his pj's, or climb on top of Bailey's white table, or like this morning, splash in his milk. I went to change over some laundry and left Austin in the next room w/ his milk cup and some cheerios. I came back to milk all over him and his booster seat tray. He was splashing in it and having a blast. He gets into anything and everything. Keeps us on our toes!

And this sweet girl wanted her picture taken too. She's getting SOOO big! It is so fun to watch her play pretend w/ her dolls. She repeats everything she's ever been told.

We tried to get a sibling picture. I asked Bailey to put her arm around Austin.

He wasn't havin' it!

Big Helper

2010-03-21T09:26:00.002-05:00

We are beginning the process of painting our living room. Austin thought he'd get a head start.

Some things never change

2010-03-15T17:56:00.002-05:00

A few days ago-3 years old

A while back (don't have the time to try and figure it out)-2 years old

All in the family

2010-02-16T19:36:00.004-06:00

So aparently my ears aren't the only thing I've passed on to the kids. Oh and my crazy sleeping. They were lucky enough to get my allergies too! Daddy has no medicinal allergies that we know of and I have a nice hefty list. Our children are starting to build their own little lists too.

Let's take a stroll down memory lane shall we?

Me w/ a cephalosporin

Bailey w/ a cephalosporin

And penicillin

Austin w/ Penicillin

He's pretty much cleared up, but it keeps coming and going. We got a new antibiotic and are hoping it has worked on his ear infection. Now Bay and I are battling colds. Austin has conquered his and hopefully Daddy won't get it too bad. He's already run some fevers. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Mr. Independent

2010-02-09T19:02:00.001-06:00

The great Blizzard of 2010

2010-02-06T19:42:00.006-06:00

I have no clue exactly how much snow we got, but it was a lot! And it was bad! The roads were horrible and the van actually got stuck on the side of the road. We were sliding all over the grass b/c there was a sheet of ice over the snow. But it didn't stop us from getting out and playing in it!

She was "cold"

Her snowball

We were saying "Hey dad-dee"

Bay kept throwing snowballs at us.

And Austin did this every time he was put down on the snow.

Austin and I went in for his nap time and Daddy and Bay got some quality snow time.

She tried for a snow angel, but it was a little hard

Then Daddy and Bay decided to have a photo shoot :)

Bay and their snowman

Just so you know

2010-02-02T20:25:00.003-06:00

The blog isn't the only thing getting neglected.

This isn't just any Christmas tree picture. This is the "it's February and I'm still here" Christmas tree picture. And I have absolutely no plans to take it down. I'm thinking we may just leave it up all year to save on all the hassle next Christmas. I'm sure that won't fly with Daddy though.

Bailey and I finally got around to decorating our Gingerbread house or "candy house". Bailey LOVED decorating it, but was more concerned with eating the icing. She picked at the icing all day.

Beautiful huh?

We decorated the sides differently.

She was so proud of herself!

This has become her new picture smile.

Our "candy house" aparently wasn't very sturdy.

And Austin just hung out and watched

And Bailey acted silly.

Princess Bailey

2010-01-27T18:35:00.001-06:00

Yes I do realize that Bailey is more of a "Drama Queen", we'll stick w/ "Princess" for the time being.

Lilly's princess party

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

2010-01-17T17:32:00.006-06:00

Our sweet precious Daddy turned 28 last Sunday! We went and spent the day at Grandmother and Pappaw's. Daddy's gift from us didn't come in until the day after his birthday and he was ready for it! I tried to keep it a secret, but it wasn't supposed to come in until the 19th, so I went ahead and told him. Plus I was too excited!

Daddy's new present!

The rest of these are from Grandmother and Pappaw's.

Daddy and his best friend (according to Bailey)

Sweet boy w/ crazy hair. Can you see those teeth?!

Helping Daddy blow out the candles

She was SOO proud of herself

Grandmother, Daddy, and the kids

The Todd's!

Grant and Rachel aka Daddy and Rayrie

Bay thought that Daddy needed help.

Movie tickets! Which we used immediately :)

Austin took a special liking to Daddy's new pajama pants. He walked around with them forever!

I really can't remember the exact reason why she was so upset, but I think she couldn't get the box open, but didn't want to give it up. Honestly, who knows with her?

More goodies!

Christmas Day

2010-01-10T10:21:00.002-06:00

I know what you're thinking b/c I'm thinking it too. FINALLY our last Christmas post. At least we're only halfway through January.

Christmas Day we went to Grandmother and Pappaw's house. The kids had a lot of fun and got lots of fun goodies. We did too of course!

"Branmudder" and Bay

Rayrie with gifts

Pappaw cooking

Rayrie helping Austin open gifts

Rayrie and Fra-fre

Bay cheesing

And there is Christmas day!

Christmas Eve

2010-01-02T09:27:00.008-06:00

Alright y'all..I'm finally back. As usual, it's busy around here. Not to mention my random low-grade fever has returned and Bailey is sick. She's running a slight fever and threw up a few times this morning. On the carpet, of course.

Anyway.

On Christmas Eve we went to Nana and Papa's and then to Papa's Mom's (Nanna) for some fun.

Bailey playing the Wii. She really liked doing this. Hmmmm, maybe we'll get one someday.

David was all about taking pictures.

and Austin was most interested in climbing.

Daddy played on the computer

Could not get a nice picture of them both smiling.

Austin walking

and checking out the tree

being silly with Daddy

Bailey was VERY helpful with opening presents.

She conned the camera from David. Well truthfully she just cried until he gave it to her. But that's how a girl gets what she wants sometimes.

He liked his outfit.

Bailey's turn! She got lots of goodies~they both did.

A kickity-kick ball

A "puter"

She got upset about something and decided to pout

David got Guess Who!

"Jed" got a Walmart giftcard.

Adam and Allison opening their gift.

Nana's excited about hers!

and so is Papa!

Up next: Christmas day at Grandmother and Pappaw's!

Christmas Morning!

2009-12-27T06:08:00.006-06:00

I think this year was the most fun to play Santa, mainly b/c Bailey was actually anticipating him.

Everything set out. As you know, the chairs are not from Santa, but we thought it would be easier for them to recognize their area.

Bailey's area

Austin's

She LOVED her shopping cart. It goes everywhere with her! She flips out anytime Austin even comes near it and will pick up and put it on the couch. Daddy even set out all of her groceries in the living room so she could go shopping.

She loved her Belle dress too! It's the Holiday Belle dress, which is why it's red.

Austin played with his drum set

They both got some movies from Santa

Bailey got a penguin robe

And a bigger piggy bank, which has become her other piggy bank's mommy.

All of Austin's opened

All of Bailey's opened

Her favorite toy

His favorite toy

More Christmas coming up soon! There will be at least 2 more posts! I just know you're sitting on the edge of your seats! :)

Christmas at the Todd's

2009-12-24T08:18:00.004-06:00

Austin's Christmas tree

Bailey's tree

Our big tree~the kids have a very hard time not "decorating" the tree. I finally told Bailey that if she didn't stop taking ornaments off that we would have to take down the tree. And Santa can't come without a tree. I don't think any more ornaments have disappeared since then.

She added her own ornament

Nativity 1

Nativity 2. This is the one that Bailey LOVES to rearrange. At least she doesn't take it to include in her tea party. And yes, that's what she did with the ornaments.

Mommy and Daddy's Christmas presents!!

Gate

Camera! And not just any camera. An awesome Canon rebel, with carrying bag, 2 battery pack, and 2 extra lenses. I don't have the slightest clue how to really use it yet, but maybe someday.

Austin's birthday party

2009-12-20T18:58:00.004-06:00

We had a little get-together for Austin's Birthday and yes it's taken forever to get on here...sorry :(

Austin's party just happened to fall the same day that Daddy had his gallbladder taken out. We're really glad that he was able to make it home and have Austin's party as scheduled, but we hate he was in pain.

Austin had a great party, but he was a little bit tired. (For some reason, when I post pictures now it shows the text of the picture, rather than the actual picture. So they're most likely in a random order, and could even be duplicated! And it'll take too much effort to try and figure out what each picture is to add its own little caption, so you'll get it all upfront.)

He was so excited about his big gifts, and little ones for that matter! He got a carseat from Pappaw, that he thought was just another toy to climb up in. He got a cozy coupe from Nana and Papa, and his blue chair from Grandmother and Pappaw. We got him the tigger rocker. He got some clothes, puzzles, cars, and some musical toy. He has played non-stop with everything, well when Bailey actually lets him.

My cousin Kelly made his cake and I loved it! I wish I could say the same for Austin! :) He gagged just from touching it! That boy and his texture issues, I swear...

And now for the pictures:

When it rains, it pours

2009-12-11T15:01:00.003-06:00

Ok so the title may be a bit dramatic for what all's been going on, but this is one of those "this is my blog and I'll say what I want" moments...

:)

Well, maybe for us things have gone from a sprinkle to a steady drizzle... ?

Sooo As you know, our dear sweet boy turned 1 year old! Yay!! We had a little family dinner at O'Charleys, which is our family favorite. I got a little cake that said "Happy Birthday Austin", which of course he turned his nose up at. Hey, at least Bailey was happy about the cake. And Mommy didn't have the camera b/c it was a spur of the moment dinner, but we took some pictures when we got home.

And now for the low-down.

Austin went for his 1 year check-up on Monday. Mommy and Daddy were working, so Nana and Papa took him. He didn't get his shots b/c he was sick (fever started on his birthday :( ) Turns out he had an ear infection and some sort of viral infection. He's on antibiotics now and is feeling a lot better.

We've all known that Austin is a teeny little thing, no surprise there. His Dr. is a "wait and see" kinda guy. At previous appts he's said "he's just a small guy, we'll give him some more time, probably until about 2." Well at his last appt (10 mos~we were a month late) Austin was below where he should have been on his linear growth. (They chart their growth with some sort of line to show where they are percentage wise.) Austin has always been at 5% or less. His Dr. said that he was concerned at his last appt. So when this appt showed that Austin had only gained 4 oz, his Dr. decided it was time to check with a specialist to see if there's a reason why he's not growing. So we are being sent a referral for a GI specialist at Vanderbilt. They may find absolutely nothing, but we want to be sure.

And now for Daddy... He was admitted on Wednesday with sharp stomach pain. Tuesday night his belly swelled up like he was 5 months pregnant. They did all kinds of testing before deciding to take his gallbladder out. So it came out this morning (Sat) and he came home early afternoon. Austin's birthday party was scheduled for this afternoon and Daddy was determined to make it home in order to have it today. He's hurting pretty bad, but was still trying to help out. Because he's that awesome! But according to the Dr. there should be no more tummy pains! He just has to recover from the surgery, which shouldn't take too long.

Our sweet 1 year old

2009-12-02T21:37:00.003-06:00

Can you believe Austin is already a year old?! It's insane! This first year flew by SOO much faster than it did with Bailey.

December 3, 2008 7:37 am 7 lbs, 1 oz 19 in

Newborn photo shoot

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

1 year old!

Working gal

2009-11-29T18:23:00.000-06:00

My desk/cubicle. Isn't it cute?! Isn't it sad how excited I am about a cubicle?? I've never had a real space of my own at work. I had a locker for a while at the hospital, then we had to share. At MDO I had a cabinet, but it wasn't really mine. So I am very excited to have my own little area. I won't be spending a whole lot of time here, but it's still nice to have a little space to come back to.

Who needs a walker...

2009-11-28T19:51:00.001-06:00

when you've got a vacuum cleaner...

When the vacuum cleaner got stuck, mommy went and got the push walker. He liked that much better!

Go, Go, Go!

2009-11-16T10:00:00.003-06:00

I feel like that's all we've been doing lately. Grant wakes up at 2:30 or 4:00 to head to work. I'm up at 4:30, kids up by 5:30 and we're getting ready and heading out the door. They've been going to Nana and Papa's or Ms. Jessica's (awesome sitter!). Then I get to make my (usually) peaceful drive to work. The traffic is surprisingly not bad in the morning, usually takes about 45 minutes. But the drive home is TERRIBLE! On Friday it took 2 hrs to get home! There was a wreck on the interstate, so I hopped onto another road. There was a wreck there and a car broken down in the middle of the road.

But other than that, I'm loving work!! I really like the job (even though it's been orientation so far) and I think I will continue liking it. The kids are adjusting pretty well and are having lots of fun. But I couldn't do all this talking without leaving a picture!

Bay and her daddy in their Superman shirts. She was sooo excited. She picked out her superman shirt for bed and made daddy go put his on.

Allie Boo Bear

2009-11-15T19:44:00.003-06:00

About halfway through today, I realized that it was the 15th. Today signified Allie's 9th anniversary. Thankfully I don't remember a whole lot of that day. And thankfully I am finally at peace with God's plan for her life. I am just blessed that we were given Allie at all. She was the best little sister a girl could ask for!

Miss Allison Rebekah Williams

This is seriously everyone's favorite picture of her. It is HER. The hair in the face, just having fun, and looking an adorable mess.

We were such a happy bunch! :)

Bahamas trip~I'm thinking she's about 3 here.

Adam and Allie. She was such a roly poly!

Jared and Allie

Another one of my favorites!

School picture, though I'm not sure what year/age.

Well, thank you for letting my share some pictures of this awesome little girl. She will forever be the bravest and strongest person I know.

Oh yea...sorry for the random assortment of pictures. No scanner=choosing from what has already been uploaded.

Do you see it too?

2009-11-06T18:35:00.002-06:00

Me

Bailey

Austin

Me in my favorite sleeping place. There was just something about my closet that always put me to sleep. And yes, the door was always pulled closed.

Now there are a gazillion of random places that Bailey has fallen asleep. She aparently doesn't have a favorite. But this one was always my favorite to watch her fall asleep in.

Me

Bailey

Our 11 month old (plus extras)

2009-11-03T14:26:00.003-06:00

Our sweet little Austin is 11 months old today!! (I'm on time this month. Woohoo!) Can you believe he's that old already? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home.

At 11 months old Austin:

~still has no teeth! But he's working mighty hard on them.

~is wearing 9 month clothes.

~has a great appetite! He is eating foods that he wouldn't eat before, but still not going for cheerios or other table foods.

~is very adventureous. He has no problem trying to take that step, even if he does dive for the floor.

~LOVES the bath! He crawls back and forth in the tub (really fast), slapping the water, and diving.

~is the sweetest, most cuddly little boy ever!

We also got some pictures of Bailey. They really showed her personality...

See what I mean?

And for a blooper:

Her face is hilarious!

Trick or Treat Take 2

2009-11-02T17:35:00.005-06:00

We had a lot of fun trick or treating Halloween night! First we went to Grandmother's and hung out. Then we got down to candy business!

After that we went to Nana and Papa's to go trick or treating with David. Some of the trick or treaters that showed up at Nana and Papa's were my cousins and my aunt that I haven't seen in forever! It was SOOO nice to see them!

She did so good! She tried so hard to keep up with the boys (David and my cousin's 3 boys).

Austin had fun just hanging out in the stroller and watching everyone.

Checking out their goods

Austin and "da da" again. They're best buds :)

Austin and Nana before heading home to bed.

Trick or Treating Take 1

2009-10-30T21:54:00.006-05:00

Well, technically it's take 2, but we didn't take pictures at the Trunk or Treat, so this is 1. Okie doke? :)

We went downtown to the square to go trick or treating around all the shops. There were SOOO many people there. We only made it about half way before we decided to head home. Autumn and Kinsey went with us to make it much more fun!

Bailey wanted to walk with her "Aumum". Oops Cinderella wanted to walk with Aumum. When she's dressed up she's "Cindebrella". When I undressed her she said "Mommy I not Cindebrella anymore!"

Austin is Cinderella's pumpkin

Who knew collecting candy took so much concentration?

And Kinsey was Tinkerbell! She just laid back and collected her candy (for mommy and daddy of course!) Almost 4 mos old and already holding her own bag.

The kids in action

This is the picture that I found on dnj.com. Aparently the kids didn't want to put their best faces forward for the newspaper archives.

And I was so excited to come across this blast from the past! This was my first car!! Well not this exact car. Mine had a spoiler b/c that was soo much cooler... How fitting to come across this with the person who spent the most time in that car with me? If I had a scanner I would post a couple pictures of us in the car. But be thankful that I don't :)

Playdate with Rayrie!

2009-10-28T11:19:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday we tried to go to the Pumpkin Patch, but the line was ridiculous! And it wouldn't have given us long to play. So we decided to go to a park not far from the patch.

Bailey was SOO excited to play with Rayrie. She wanted her to go down the slide right after her.

And at the same time.

Bet ya can't guess what Austin did??

Yep, he slept....

And with a little help from Rayrie, Bailey made it across the monkey bars!

It must be a family thing

2009-10-22T22:34:00.002-05:00

I know what you're thinking...

2009-10-22T22:16:00.003-05:00

Where the heck have the Todd's been?! Right? WELL...the munchkins started running fevers last Friday night. The Dr. told us to just "wait and see" on Saturday. But when Bailey started wheezing we headed to a walk-in. They both had the flu :( We finished up their medicine today (Hallelujah!) That stuff was nasty and it was a bit of a battle. They are doing better, but are still hanging onto nasty, gunky coughs.

Oh yea, our computer's been sick too. AGAIN. Not happy about that, but it is supposedly virus free. But our computer had to be wiped clean, so I lost my photo program. I downloaded another program with tons of options, but am still trying to figure it out. These pictures look a tad blurred to me, but so does the screen. So either they really are blurred or my eyes are going out.

So we've been hanging out and having fun around the house.
We played outside with Daddy when he was off work on Wednesday.

Austin and Bailey are so incredibly silly! They were just laughing and laughing. So I listened carefully to hear exactly what Bailey was saying. She was yelling out "P-U!" And they were both just belly laughing! I caught them in the moment.

We also painted pumpkins! And not just any pumpkins, but special pumpkins that we got on our trip to FL. Because that's exactly what you go to FL for. Pumpkins. :)

Austin needed a bit more guidance with his.

The finished product

Bailey took a lot of time and careful effort with hers

Her finished pumpkin

Beach trip

2009-10-13T09:40:00.004-05:00

Right before Bailey's birthday we got to go on a *FREE* (woohoo!) trip to the Beach. Our friend Lisa rented a condo for the month and invited Nana and Papa to go for the weekend that she was going. So we said "hey, we'll go too!" haha! Daddy had to stay home and work though :(

The kids did really well on the way down there. They watched movies and took some good naps.

Panama City Beach

Courtney and Bailey
I used to watch Courtney when she was a baby and before we know it, she'll be watching Bailey and Austin! She did such a great job with the kids and they loved being able to play with her. Bailey just didn't want to give me a pretty smile.

She loved playing in the sand!

Austin did too, but his skin had a rough time with everything. We don't know if it was the sunscreen, sand, or the chlorine in the pool.

Courtney wanted to be buried

I can't stress enough how hard Austin is to handle in the water. He just wants to swim on his own! If we had a way to keep his head above the water, I really think he would swim all around the pool.

Bailey was all about swimming too!

Even in the ocean, she wanted to jump over the waves!

For some reason, the post about Bailey's party is in front of the posts with their 3 yr and 10 mo photo shoots. So you'll have to go past her party post to find those. But they're there for your enjoyment!

Photo shoot

2009-10-13T09:36:00.001-05:00

Tired and obviously over it at this point!

Party time!

2009-10-05T16:06:00.003-05:00

We had a really small birthday party at our house for Bailey. It was a Little Mermaid theme party. She loves watching that movie. We watch the original in the van and LM 2 in her room.

Isn't her cake gorgeous?? My cousin Kelly made it for me. Her cakes are just awesome! You can look at all of them on her blog: www.kellyskakes.blogspot.com

Bailey did so well~she was not shy at all!

Reading her card from Mommy and Daddy. It sings a little princess song and you better believe that's what she woke me up with this morning. Yea...

She kept doing these posed smiles and showing off her presents. It was hilarious!

Our little 3 year old had so much fun! Her toys have been at her side since she first got them. Her Ariel barbie even ate lunch with her today and her Barbie jeep slept in her bed last night.

Coming up: Bailey's 3 year photo shoot!

3 years old!

2009-10-05T10:44:00.006-05:00

At 3 years old, Bailey:

~weighs 28 lbs and is 36 in tall.

~is a very picky eater. Her basics are peanut butter crackers (sometimes sandwiches), chicken, cheerios, breakfast bars, cheese, and regular crackers. She loves cake, cookies, and "sketti".

~is very dramatic and has a fast temper, but is getting better.

~is VERY loving.

~loves to watch Little Bear and Max and Ruby when she's going to bed.

~sings all the time! Her favorites are Deep and Wide, Jesus loves me, Wheels on the Bus, ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She also loves to sing the theme songs for Max and Ruby and Wonder Pets.

~is such a girly girl. She loves dress up! She's wearing an Easter hat right now and is carrying a purse 80% of the time.

~is such a good helper, whether it be with Austin, laundry, picking up her toys, or making coffee. She loves to help!

~is such a Daddy's girl! She loves mommy, but there is no one like her daddy!

10 months old

2009-10-05T10:39:00.003-05:00

At 10 months old, Austin:

~weighs 15 lbs 15 oz and is 26 3/4 in tall.

~has widened his food preferences. He now eats dinner foods; chicken/apples, chicken/rice, turkey/sweet potatoes, etc. He'll be eating garden vegetables soon! He just doesn't know it yet.

~still refuses table food (cheerios, puffs, mashed bananas) and his cup.

~has a fast temper!

~is cruising all around the furniture. He loves to "walk" his crib when he wakes up from his naps.

~is working on standing on his own. I caught him yesterday standing in the middle of his crib.

~loves to play! He cackles over peek-a-boo and patty cake.

~is such a sweet, loving boy!

Happy Birthday Bailey!!

2009-09-30T20:18:00.005-05:00

At 3:38 am on Sept 30, 2006, our lives were forever changed by this beautiful, screaming 7 lb 5 oz little girl. She has truly been the light in our lives and has made us laugh and shake our heads more than we could ever count. We look forward to what she else she is going to bring to this world!

So...enough with the sappy stuff

We celebrated our 3 year old today with lots of fun stuff! We started off the morning by taking her out to see her present.

As you can tell, she didn't like it at all...

She jumped and played and had a good ole time.

And now for a flashback

Then we went to Chuck E Cheese and played all kinds of fun games

And saw Chuck E, but he was a little scary.

Air hockey with Daddy

Even Austin got to play

Then we went and got the birthday girl a BIG cookie!

And played on the playground

After all this fun it was time for a nap. So what if it was in the Kroger shopping cart??

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAILEY ALLISON TODD!!!!!!!!

Austin's 9 month photo shoot

2009-09-25T19:14:00.004-05:00

Yea yea I know what you're thinking. He's almost 10 months, so why are you just now seeing 9 month pictures. Because we just did that photo shoot. And because I said so! :) And just so you know, there will most likely be 10 month pictures up next week.

But anyway, I decided to put our little man in his adorable baseball outfit and get some pictures.

He LOVED it! He was so good and really gave us a lot to work with.

At 9 months our little handsome:

~wears 6-9 month clothes and can still wear 3-6.

~eats so much!

~talks and talks and talks some more!

~crawls all over the place.

~is cruising along the furniture.

~sometimes forgets that he can't stand and will let go.

~still has no teeth.

~is really beginning to show his temper. He will let you know how mad he is when you take something away or make him do something he doesn't want to.

~is the sweetest, most lovable little boy!

What happens when Mommy gets to shower

2009-09-18T16:24:00.002-05:00

1. Bailey avoids me, so I get a little suspicious.
2. Find cookie crumbs in the living room on the new carpet which is a huge (new) no-no.
3. Walk into the kitchen and see this:

4. And this

5. And Bailey does a happy jig!

Family Fun Year 2

2009-09-18T16:16:00.002-05:00

This past Saturday night we went to Grant's work cookout at Nashville Shores. We went last year when Austin was still in my tummy and if I knew how to link that post for ya, I totally would. But alas, I don't.

This year we met later so I didn't get the kind of pictures I was wanting. In fact I didn't think I was going to be able to get any pictures at all. Then my genius self realized that they did have lights out there for us, it wasn't pitch black. So I got a few pictures, but this was right before we left.

Austin was exhausted. But there was so much going on, he didn't want to give it up.

Bailey found a golf ball in the sand. She danced while watching Daddy play volleyball.

Such a silly girl!

My sweet loves :)

Don't worry!

2009-09-18T16:05:00.002-05:00

We're still here! :) We've just had a lot going on.

This past Sunday we moved to Nana and Papa's for a few days while the house was "unlivable". We had to move all the furniture out of the bedrooms to prepare for new carpet. Then on Wednesday we came back home and spent all day moving furniture back while the workers laid carpet. The most exciting part is that our new bonus room (formerly garage) is now usable!! Daddy has been working on it for a while now (with help of course) and carpet was the last part in being able to use it. There are still finishing touches that need to be done and the house is still in a bit of disarray as I figure out where I want things now. But when everything's ready, I'll take some pictures for ya!

Speaking of pictures....

This was one morning when Bailey went over to Grandmother's and it was just me and Austin hanging out. He went right to Bailey's room and started playing. Normally Bailey runs and pulls her door shut so Austin can't get in there, so he took full advantage of the situation. Look how happy he is!!

And something VERY exciting happened. Bailey went pee pee in the potty!!!!!! She was really stressing herself out over the potty. It was going to make her sick, it was too hard, and it didn't work. (She thought she would automatically go just by sitting down.) So I promised her it would be fun. I made her sit and we read books. We read about 10 books, probably at least twice each. Then she wanted a break so I let her play for a bit. Then I moved the potty to the living room so she could watch Max and Ruby. Then when she wanted to get up again, I painted her fingers and toes so she would have to sit longer. After a while she said "Mommy there's pee pee." and there was! Next time she had to go, it was a little late and it hasn't happened since. In fact while I was putting up her clothes today, I saw that she had hidden her panties. So we'll revisit the potty again in a few weeks.

Post 3 of 3: The beach

2009-09-10T20:31:00.002-05:00

And now, the final installation of our Mississippi trip!

We drove from Monticello to Gulfport (close to 3 hrs) b/c we were bound and determined to see the beach. The kids were super excited to get out and play on the beach. Austin just crawled, and crawled, and ate some sand, and then crawled some more. Luckily, the water was only about 2 ft deep as far as we could see and there were no waves. Bailey REALLY liked this. She wasn't scared at all! And of course Austin wasn't. He kept trying to get down and swim.

She was drinking her "cold water". She's all about some ice and cold water.

We had a lot of fun and wore ourselves out (as you can see!) There was a little damper on our beach experience, or it was for me. I got my very 1st bee sting. Standing in the dang ocean! Who would have thought there were bees at the ocean?! I just had to put my hand on my hip like I always do and aparently stuck my left middle finger right on his little stinger. Let me tell you, it was NOT fun at all! Very painful, and it still itches and is a little swollen. But, I'm done whining about it now. Hope you enjoyed hearing about our trip!

Post 2 of 3: The zoo

2009-09-08T21:45:00.003-05:00

We went to Jackson Zoo and had a lot of fun. Bailey really enjoyed seeing all the animals.

Especially the giraffes

She's being tall like a giraffe

The penguins were my favorite part. They just kept swimming back and forth and were so synchronized, like they were putting on a show for us. It seriously reminded me of Happy Feet! We made it for feeding time and I really wish we hadn't! If they swallowed the fish whole, it was fine, but if they nibbled on the fish, it was seriously disgusting!

Austin loved the penguins!

And hanging out with Pappaw

As you can tell, Bailey no longer smiles for pictures. It's frustrating, but hey, she's the one that will be embarrassed by them 12 years down the road, not me or Grant!

We did a whole lot of walking (mostly in shade, Thank you God!) and saw lots of neat animals.

Rhinos

Monkeys

Elephants

Zebras

Alright folks, that's the zoo. The best part was not captured in pictures, but on video. Bailey asked to get on the carousel and was so excited. Daddy tried to put her on a horse, but she didn't want that. So they sat together on a bench and she screamed and screamed and screamed! It was actually funny. She is just so dang dramatic!

Our trip to Mississippi, 1 of 3: Visiting

2009-09-07T19:27:00.004-05:00

We went to Mississippi from Saturday (29th) until the following Wednesday (2nd). And yes it has taken me this long to post pictures. Grant's still on vacation so we've been relaxing and working on the bonus room.

Anyway...
I decided to break it up into 3 posts: Visiting, Zoo, and Beach. Much easier that way!

So....
On we go with "visiting"!

We stayed at Mammaw and Pap's and got to visit with them and Pappaw the most. We also saw cousins, aunts, and an uncle. Lots of people!

Austin loved playing with Pappaw

Bailey liked playing with Zeke. She had a hard time sharing toys, but that's been her big problem lately.

She refused to get close and smile. I told her I was going to take her picture anyway! Zeke was cute as always :) And shame on me for not getting a picture of sweet little Lola. She is absolutely precious and such a happy girl! She and Austin got to play together (aka grab each other's feet, hands, hair, etc.)

Austin's favorite thing to do down there. I think he let everybody hold him while he slept.

Another Bailey sleep picture. Daddy wouldn't sit and play the piano with her so she got upset and put her head down. Next time we checked on her she was passed out on the piano bench!

Austin got to take a bath in Mammaw and Pap's sink

Hearing a story from Mammaw

We also got to go to Brookhaven and visit with Grandmother and Aunt Debbie. There was a lot of exploring to do, but Austin's favorite was to stand at the front door and look out.

Bailey couldn't let him have all the fun

The babies with Grandmother

Aunt Debbie and Bailey

And tomorrow: The zoo!

Oh Bailey

2009-08-28T13:52:00.002-05:00

Yesterday evening Bailey was so upset. I have no idea why, but she was stomping in our room yelling "I so mad!". I was feeding Austin or I would have found out what was wrong and calmed her down. (If I'm completely honest with myself I would have ignored her even if I hadn't been feeding Austin, but this is my story so I can portray myself as the caring mommy if I want.)

Anyway...

After a while it was really quiet. So I finally got up and found this:

Out cold on our bathroom rug!

What have we been up to?

2009-08-23T19:18:00.003-05:00

Aparently a whole lot of sleeping! Even mommy got to take a 5 hr nap today. Thank you Daddy!!

Our 8 month old!

2009-08-20T13:02:00.003-05:00

We went to Cannonsburgh and did a little photo shoot for Austin's 8 month pictures. He did great! There were SOOO many to pick from and these are my favorites.

At 8 (technically 8 1/2) months, Austin:

*weighs 14 lbs 13.5 oz.

*wears 6-9 mos, but can still wear 3-6.

*still mainly eats squash and sweet potatoes.

*has had a double ear infection.

*has been teething forever, but still no teeth.

*crawls ALL over the place.

*pulls up on everything.

*is the best snuggler. He grabs my face and just pulls it to his and just sits there.

*LOVES the pool. He really tries to jump in on his own.

*loves to chase mommy when I'm vacuuming, but he can never quite catch up.

*is such a happy boy, but has a temper when he doesn't get his way.

*already loves to aggravate his sissy. He goes for her toys and when she starts freaking out, he gets happier.

*loves to spit, mainly for the sound it makes, and say "da da" and "ga ga".

*has the prettiest smile and is very generous with it.

1st official haircut

2009-08-19T14:42:00.003-05:00

We decided to talk Bailey for her first big girl haircut. We thought it needed more style and less baby wisps. She was very excited b/c Daddy showed her how they would take her hair and go "snip snip".

Some before shots

She was a little unsure when she first got in the chair, but she did great! The looks she were giving were priceless.

And after!

"Camping Out"

2009-08-17T07:57:00.002-05:00

Because I'm a mean mommy, I turned the "meeska" (Mickey Mouse) video back in to the church library. So to make up for it (and to make Bailey be quiet at 10:30 last night) I set Bailey up on her nap mat in the living room so she could watch a meeska episode that was recorded. She couldn't sleep without elmo at her side, so out he came too.

Sigh...

2009-08-15T14:37:00.002-05:00

Can someone please tell me how I can keep my sweet baby boy from growing up so fast??

Yes, we're both excited that he can now pull himself up! But he just keeps getting bigger and bigger and it makes us a little bit sad.

OH, just so you know: Bailey picked out her mismatched jammies. Jammies are her outfits that she is allowed to choose all on her own. She gets choices with regular clothes, but she gets some guidance (aka coercion) on what she should wear.

Goin swimmin'

2009-08-14T17:49:00.003-05:00

We were too tired to get out of the house today, so I decided to let the kids play in the pool. I took a chair and my book, planning on a nice, relaxing time. However my time was spent keeping Austin in the pool, keeping grass out of it, keeping Austin from eating the pool, and swatting at a persistent bee.

I finally gave in and let him crawl out

He was excited to play in the grass, until I remembered that Bailey and I are both sensitive to grass and he probably would be too.

Bailey jumped out of the pool and said "I in the grass"

Then she'd step in and say "I all clean"

We have added a new member to our family. His name is Elmo and he does everything Bailey does. He talks to her (literally he talks) and Bailey tells me what he says. He plays with Bailey and her "pin pins". And he even had to take a nap with her.

"Shhhh Baby's seeping"

2009-08-12T11:53:00.002-05:00

Austin with his legs hanging out

Mommy with her leg hanging out

Birthday Fun

2009-08-11T09:24:00.004-05:00

Once again, it has been FOREVER since I have updated, but for good reason. Last Tuesday my sweet friend Crystal flew in from California. Her kids Jr and Bella have been here with their dad for the summer and she was coming back for them. They stayed with us until Saturday evening. We had a great visit, but jam packed full of fun stuff.

And as most of you know a special someone turned 24 last Friday! We spent the day at splash pad with all the kids, then had a fun night without them. We had a party at Nana and Papa's on Sunday too.

My yummy, "difficult" cake. Mom went to pick it up and it was white icing. As she says "the ONLY thing I asked for was chocolate icing." So they re-did my cake. They didn't want to deal with a cranky birthday girl who didn't get her chocolate icing.

Mr. and Mrs. Todd

The BEST family picture ever!!

Uncle Jed and Bailey

Mama and me

Papa and me

"the kids"

Allison and David

David and Uncle Jed

Friday night at Chili's
Crystal, me and Shannon

And of course the BFF "Aumum"

Well you are now caught up on our past week, besides Austin being sick. He started running a fever last Sunday and ran one off and on all week. He's just acted like it was his teeth, but his symptoms started worsening and it turned out to be a double ear infection. He looks sickly :(

Big Partiers

2009-07-30T22:48:00.002-05:00

Big tea partiers, that is.
Setting up her babies and "pin pins" (princesses) has become a favorite past time for Bailey. Austin and I had to sit and participate in the tea party, but Austin wasn't allowed to "eat". I wasn't either, but I played with everything to ruffle her feathers a bit. :)

After this tea party, she gave them baths in her kitchen sink and set them all up for bed. She was not happy when I made her move their beds from the living room to her room. But she got them all situated in her room and they all settled down to watch Snow White and go night night.

Picture Perfect

2009-07-29T21:21:00.000-05:00

Future Blackmail?

2009-07-25T12:29:00.002-05:00

He looks so happy doesn't he?

Bet you would never guess that he has had a HUGE explosion and has poop running down his legs. Or that it is all over the bottom of the exersaucer and he is squishing his toes in it. I certainly wouldn't have. But that's what was happening! He was going to get a bath anyway today, but I guess he just wanted to make sure. Thankfully he decided to wrestle with me this morning so I couldn't get clothes on him. That would have been even worse.

Our 7 month old

2009-07-23T10:59:00.004-05:00

Here's Austin's 7 month photo shoot. Once again, I'm a little late but hope to be on time with the 8 month shoot.

Austin at 7 months:

*LOVES to eat! His favorites are sweet potatoes and almost any fruit. He hates anything green and carrots. So we're basically left with squash and sweet potatoes.

*He is such a happy boy! He is always smiling and cooing.

*He loves his family so much. He lights up when his daddy comes home and loves to watch and see what his sissy is up to.

*He is very sensitive. If there's too much going on or a new face, he gets pretty upset.

*HE CAN SLEEP ALL NIGHT!!!!! I don't remember when Bailey started sleeping all night, but she was over a year old. He doesn't do it every night, but he is certainly capable of it.

*He loves to play and get into everything. He is constantly reaching for the keyboard, remote, or phone. Everything he's not supposed to be playing with. His new game is peek-a-boo! He is sooo cute playing it.

*Last but not least, he is CRAWLING! Can you believe it? He's growing up so fast.

Rites of Passage

2009-07-20T21:07:00.003-05:00

There are certain things that our babies have to do in order to grow up a little more. Not that they're huge milestones, but I think they're fun activities, so it's a law at the Todd house. :)

Here is Bailey playing with pots and pans, well it's technically pans and tupperware, but thankfully I'm not about technicalities. Bailey was a little over 7 months here.

And here's Austin! Also a little over 7 months.

Bailey had to get on it too. Austin's not allowed to do anything without Bailey getting a turn.

And another activity..

Bailey, her first time.

As you can see, Austin is growing along right on schedule, without mommy even really trying! I'm just that good. Ha! Seriously though, he is growing like a little weed.

Introducing:

2009-07-14T21:09:00.005-05:00

My "niece" Kinsey Annastyn Raffaele!! (Her last name will be Todd in about 25 years ha!)
She was born this morning Tuesday July 14 at 1:55 am. She weighed 6 lbs 10 oz and was 19.5 in long. Mama did awesome!! And Daddy did great at her side.

See that head full of hair?

The new little Raffaele family

Me and sweet Kinsey

Bailey loved her

Austin meeting his future wife :) It's set in stone. We've already decided on a dowry and yes a cow is included. He tried SOO hard to touch her! He got her hand and I caught that split second he finally got to touch her.

July

2009-07-13T13:17:00.004-05:00

I've got to play catch-up for July. I didn't even have a 'July' picture folder going yet!

The other day the kids and I went to the park. Crazy right? It was HOT but not nearly as hot as it had been. There was a nice breeze, so instead of us pouring sweat, we were just dripping. :) The park was practically deserted. There was one little girl when we got there and another one later. She came up to Bailey and said "Will you be my friend?" SOOO cute! Bailey looked at her, then looked at me and started running circles around me, laughing. She's such a goofball. Then we went to pay a "big bill". Who knew paying a bill would be so fun for a 2 year old? I showed her how we put the bill and the money in the container, send it back, then we get a receipt and a sucker. She really liked that part. She fell asleep with sucker in hand!

I just realized I never posted about our 4th of July. On the 3rd we went to a cookout at a friends' house and watched fireworks in their neighborhood. Lots of fun!

On the 4th, we went to church for a cookout. It was fun, until we got rained out, or in actually. Right before it started raining, Grant and a few other guys went and played frisbee. And they didn't stop when it started pouring. They came in soaked!

Austin loved the fireworks. He kept pulling himself up so he could be closer. Bailey didn't really care for them. They were too loud and scary, but pretty at the same time.

Bailey and some other cutie pies.

Coming up next: Pictures of Miss Kinsey Annastyn Raffaele!! Autumn is in labor as I am typing this and I will get to go see her tonight!! And tomorrow, and the next day. :)

Just checking in

2009-07-09T11:26:00.002-05:00

Sorry I won't have any pictures on this one. We are on a borrowed computer so I can't download any pictures. Our computer decided to croak and Grant's friend is working on getting it fixed. In the meantime, he lent us his tower so we can still use the internet. What a guy right?! I went one day without it and I thought I was going to go crazy!

At this moment, Bailey has ripped off her princess dress and it putting on 2 leotards. Over her pj's. (yes we're still in pjs at 11:30. We clean the house, then get dressed.) Anyway, I'm just happy she's dressing herself. She's been putting on her own shoes too. So what if they're on the wrong feet and don't match her outfit. She did it herself, right? I'm beginning to think this girl is going to go to kindergarten in diapers. She has no desire to actually use the potty. She'll tell me "I go to bafroom mommy" and she'll really go in there and sit, but that's it.

And our little handsome. He is just such a little cuddler! When I pick him up he'll just grab my hair and pull my face to his. He's gotten so much happier now that he's outgrown his cradle cap and reflux. I am really going to have to re-babyproof the house and keep a close eye on him. He's going up on all fours now and scooting backwards and sideways, or launching himself forward. It won't be long!

Well that's a little update for now. We're about to go walk the mall with my super pregnant best friend. Her due date was yesterday and little Miss Kinsey is showing her stubborness to join us.

Hi....

2009-07-03T22:39:00.006-05:00

My name is Katy and I'm a blog slacker...

Sorry to my handful of loyal readers. I have had NO motivation whatsoever lately. I have enough in the morning to get the housework done and that's it. Not to mention crumbs on the floor and no clean clothes give me tons of motivation. So thanks to the Blog Patrol (aka Grant) I have been given a tee-tiny kick in the rear to update. :)

So we'll start with Father's day~We celebrated with Papa the weekend before with a cookout. And maybe some swimming? I can't remember anymore. On Father's Day we had lunch with Pappaw, a relaxing afternoon, and dinner at O'Charley's. Daddy got some cute clothes, a sweet picture frame and the most awesomest gift of all:

Isn't he just the best daddy ever? They love him SOOOOOOOOOOOO much. And I do too of course! :)

This is the picture that I used in the frame. Nana took a lot of pictures and not one of them has them both looking at the camera and smiling. Not one! One will smile and the other will be frowning or looking away.

We have been doing a lot of swimming. Every Tuesday morning I go to a great Women's Bible Study at church and then we go to Nana and Papa's to swim. Bailey has really started to enjoy the water and Austin is a major water baby! He tries to jump out of my arms into the water. Seriously, he scares me to death sometimes. Bailey has been doing much better about trusting us. She'll wear her arm floaties and swim sometimes. It has to be on her terms of course.

Austin likes to fall asleep in the pool. He fell asleep against my face like this. :)

Right now we're dogsitting for Nana and Papa. Bailey LOVES to play with "Gwaquie" (Yea I dunno, it's hard to spell that pronounciation)

She loves to play with her house too. She puts her puppies in there and bosses an imaginary Gracie around. She'll go to the cage, open it up, go to the front door and take her out, then bring her back and tell her to get in her house. This is all the imaginary Gracie. The real Gracie is sitting on the kitchen rug watching her like she's lost her mind.

Well, there ya have it. Motivation or not, I pledge to do better at updating. It's crazy how hard it is to get into a groove with 2 kids. One week I've got it. We're going to the park and playing with friends, getting all the housework done, reading, etc. The next week it's as if I'm clueless on what to do with them. I've been told that time will make it easier. But we shall see. Austin is going to be crawling any day now so that will make things so much harder!

My poor baby :(

2009-06-20T11:47:00.002-05:00

Bailey fell in the kitchen and busted her lip. So what did she have to say about it?

"I sorry I got paint (blood) on your clothes Mommy"

When you skip a nap...

2009-06-18T17:45:00.000-05:00

you just might pass out while playing...

Austin Grant Todd's 6 month photo shoot

2009-06-17T21:56:00.005-05:00

Our little Austin is 6 months old! Well he has been for a couple of weeks, but we're slow moving these days.

Let's see, he is 13 lbs, 8 oz and 24.5 in. He's a teeny little thing :)

He can't sleep more than 5 hours at a time just yet, and he really likes to sleep on mommy's chest.

He loves his exersaucer and his sissy. Oh how he loves his big sissy! He lights up whenever she comes around.

He's trying to crawl, but not yet going anywhere.

He's still not too sure about food, but is now eating green beans (which he hates), sweet peas, and squash.

He's our handsome boy and we just love him to pieces!

A picture of his "backwards crawl". He can really go far with this.

And today he had his first official/unofficial haircut!! *Unofficial b/c Mommy and Daddy forgot to keep his lock of hair. Oops.

Before

And After!

Yes we cut off his curl, but it's short enough to spike up in a better mohawk!

Say hello to my early birthday present from Nana! It is a movement and sound monitor. In other words, it slides under Austin's mattress and monitors his breathing. If there is no movement for 20 seconds an alarm goes off. And you better believe I tested this thing like crazy. He can now sleep on his tummy, which is a big No-No these days in relation with SIDS. I'm still a bit nervous, but I have seen that the monitor does work. So hopefully I will be sleeping much better these days. Much of my insomnia was due to my fear of SIDS. If I was awake and watching Austin breathe, then I would be able to know if he stopped. So I've missed a lot of sleep, partly because of this.

Monkey see Monkey Do

2009-06-13T20:17:00.003-05:00

This post is inspired by this Mama 's own post about her "little mommy". I love to read her blog.

Anyway, we found Bailey doing this:

She was changing her kitty cat so of course she had to use powder. There was powder everywhere!

She has also been copying our sayings. Just yesterday in the car she told daddy: "Da-ee, I need you to be quiet, I talk to mommy. Da-ee, I need you to be quiet, Baby's sleeping. Da-ee, do you see baby? Baby aseep! I need you to be quiet." She's obviously heard this many times. :) What can I say? She's a loud 2 year old and constantly waking her brother up.

That's just a little bit of it. She gets ready with me by cleaning her face, brushing her teeth, putting on lotion, and putting on her make-up. She'll take a towel and dust the house. She'll get her vacuum and clean the floors for me. It's too cute to watch and see just what she tries to do.

4 years ago I became Mrs. Grant Todd!

2009-06-05T14:54:00.003-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my sweet, sweet hubby! He's an awesome hubby, daddy, and friend. I am so thankful that God brought him into my life. I knew we would get married when we first met over 6 years ago. Seriously! I knew he was the last guy I would date. It's fun to think back to that time, mainly b/c I was younger, skinnier, and had few responsibilities. But I am so thankful for where we are today and do know just how blessed we are. So Thank you Grant, for being the best husband I could have asked for! :)

For your listening enjoyment

2009-05-31T21:21:00.002-05:00

Miss Bailey Allison Todd singing her version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Don't you wish you were here and got to hear this ALL the time?? :)

Purging the phone

2009-05-29T10:54:00.003-05:00

I decided to empty the pics from my phone and just had to share. Keep in mind that these are from my phone so they're a little blurry.

Austin is sitting up!! When he gets excited, which is often, he throws himself forward or back. But other than that he's doing great! I can't believe he's such a big boy now. He still seems so tiny. I've also started sign language with him. He and Bailey, along with Bay's baby, watched Baby signs yesterday and loved it!

I put Austin in his UT t-shirt yesterday and put him in his bouncer before I remembered that I had an exact picture of Bailey like that. So ya know I have to share them both! :)

Austin almost 6 months

Bailey a little over 2 months

And they both have chubby little tummies :)

Bailey holding Austin while we worked on his "sitting" skills

And Our little copy cat. She has to do everything we do. Daddy's trying to get Austin to sleep and Bay is trying to get her baby to sleep.

We've been working on ABC's with Bailey. We'll say them and she'll copy. Sometimes she'll jump ahead to the next letter, especially from L to M. Now just a warning. I am not a singer nor will I ever be one, so DO NOT pay the slightest bit of attention to my singing. If you do, you're in trouble. K? ;) I can't deprive the girl of her "twinkle twinkle little star".

Our Cutie Pies

2009-05-28T10:09:00.002-05:00

And Bailey's 1st ponytail!! It was too cute, even though it didn't stay up very long.

Our artwork

2009-05-22T12:48:00.001-05:00

Beautiful right?! As you can tell, neither one of us has the patience to color in the lines. :)

Our little dancer

2009-05-19T21:09:00.001-05:00

Yummy! Or Not...

2009-05-19T13:48:00.002-05:00

Austin had his first bite of cereal yesterday! We were all very excited.

He didn't think it was too good. He literally gagged like I had put the most disgusting thing in his mouth. Luckily he did a little better this morning.

You know I had to throw in a couple of Bailey's "first cereal" pics.

She wasn't too crazy about it at first either.

I love this one! Bailey went and got all of Austin's little toys for him b/c she was determined that he have all his "stuff". I could go back and post pictures of Bailey and all her stuff, but that would just take too long. Y'all know how she is!

Austin's scoot

2009-05-15T18:52:00.004-05:00

I thought I would share how Austin moves around. You can't look away for a second or he's across the room. I have to hold on tight so he doesn't scoot off the end of the changing table. He's such a little wiggle worm!

This video is a little dark and he normally scoots much more and faster than this. As soon as I put down the camera he did just that. Guess he's a little camera shy.

Sweet little babies

2009-05-15T15:43:00.004-05:00

That's exactly what they are, just sweet precious babies. We have our good days and bad, but today was a really good one. It was really busy too.

We went for a walk this morning and then played in the yard. I planted some tulips, while Bailey "planted" some flowers. She got some flowers and was playing in a little patch of dirt.

Then we swept off the driveway and sidewalk. Bailey did the majority of it. That's one of the great things about being a parent: delegating chores :)

Austin did what he does best.

We came in, played, and worked on organizing toys and rearranging rooms.
Bailey put her baby to sleep. She actually walked around the living room while bouncing her baby and patting him on the back. She's such a good little mommy.

Where's Austin??

I changed things around in Austin's room so that he can start sleeping in his crib. I had him on his play mat in the middle of the room. I looked down and he was gone! I saw his little legs hanging out from under his little table. No he didn't crawl~he scoots. On his back. He arches his back and scoots using his legs and head. Whatever works for him. I just hope he doesn't think this is how he is supposed to crawl.

His first nap in his crib! He slept about 3 hrs!

4 days and going strong!

2009-05-14T17:13:00.002-05:00

You heard me right: Bailey has not had her pabi for 4 days now and we're doing GREAT!! When she gets super tired she'll cry for it, but we just remind her that she gave it to needy babies and that we are so proud of her.

We've been doing little rewards here and there. The other day she went and played with a new chalk toy with Daddy. Today she got to help Mommy make the bed. I know that one doesn't sound like fun, but she thinks it is. And I never really let her help me there, b/c it takes 10 times longer!

She got some nail polish and sandals from Nana and Papa. She was sooo excited! She did really well getting her finger nails painted.

This weekend we're going to try and do something bigger for her~park, CEC, Discovery Center, something. I'll be sure and take some pictures :)

Our crazy Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-11T16:24:00.005-05:00

We had a busy busy weekend. Saturday was our designated day to celebrate with our moms. We spent the 1st half of the day with Grandmother and the last bit for Nana's surprise party. We wanted to have a relaxing Sunday as a family to celebrate ME! ha! Not really, but ya know... :)

Nana turned 50 on Sunday! So we threw her a 50's themed surprise party. She was very surprised!

We taught Bailey how to say surprise that morning. She went around all day "prise!"ing us and giggling.

Bailey and Lilly had so much fun playing together. I told them to hug each other and give me a smile. This is what I got. Seriously. I tried for a few minutes and this was it.

Mom's cake! Isn't it cute! My talented cousin Kelly made it. Check out all her cakes at http://www.kellyskakes.blogspot.com/

We got pictures made through church and gave one of these to Grandmother and Nana. I got one too!

Austin loves his grandmother!

And all my goodies on Mother's day!

We went to O'Charley's for lunch (specifically for the caramel pie! YUMM!) Bailey ate 2 big chicken tenders! Can you believe it?

My babies

Big news! Bailey gave her pabi to the "pabi princess" this morning. The pabi princess is going to give her pabi to a baby that doesn't have one. Because only babies have pabi's and Bailey is not a baby! She cried for a few minutes at nap time, but I just reminded her that she gave hers to a baby that needed one and we are soo proud of her. She'll get little rewards and pretty constant praise. The rewards will get larger the longer she goes. We will see how this works out. It better! I took many classes on behavior modification and it's about time that I put it to use!

Splish Splash + One

2009-05-08T09:33:00.002-05:00

Bailey and Austin's 1st bath together! They loved it, in case ya can't tell.

Yes, I do realize that his washcloth has pink butterflies on it. We don't discriminate at the Todd house.

This wasn't an action shot. She posed like that. We don't starve her either; she's sucking in. Promise! :)

This one was too sweet not to sneak in. They sure do love their daddy!!