My Little Gymnast

Yesterday was our first class at the Little Gym. Bailey loved it. She is already asking to go back. Austin and I enjoyed it very much as well. It is always fun to watch your little one enjoy themselves. It took her a while to warm up, but by the time we left she was sing the songs and joining in. She was happy when the class was over and all the kids left. She said "All the kids are gone, now I can play". She thought she could have the whole place to herself. We will go once a week for the rest of the fall. I'm sure we'll have lots more fun.

Bailey the Hilarious

Since Bailey Dawn has been talking she has been making us laugh. She is the funniest child I have ever known. People say they don't know where she got her personality. She is so much more out going than Austin and I and just down right funny. I don't know if she has been exceptionally funny today or if I had just forgotten since she was away for a week.

This afternoon we decided that we would go to the zoo. Bailey was so excited. She has been wanting to go to the zoo for a few weeks now, pretty much since the last time we went. It was cloudy when we left and had been raining earlier but we have season passes so we thought we'd take our chances with the rain. Bailey got in the van and was in there a couple of minutes by herself while I was gathering up some last minute things inside and Austin was in the garage loading the stroller. When we got to the van Bailey had gathered all the change in her little hands and proudly said "I have some money if we need to get a milk shake". We died laughing.

Shortly after we left the house it started misting rain. We were talking about alternative plans and Bailey kept saying she wanted to go to the zoo. Finally we decided that we would go get lunch somewhere close to the zoo and see how the weather was afterwards. We had not decided where we were going to eat yet (Austin and I can never make up our minds). We told Bailey our plan and she said "After I eat all my pizza we can go to the zoo". She is so subtle. I said I guess we are eating pizza for lunch.

While we were waiting on our pizza to come Bailey was playing around and making silly noises. I started picking on her and imitating her noises. She stopped, looked at me and said "Mommy, that's my line". I thought where in the world did she hear that. All these things happened within an hour. You've got to love two year olds.

My Baby Is Gone

Saturday afternoon Bailey went home with Nana. Today Nana and PawPaw met up with Aunt Ericka, Bethany and Micah. They went to visit Austin's Aunt Leigh Ann and Uncle Bill in Texas who also have two young children; Madison and William. I know she will have lots of fun. She will be gone until Thursday.

The idea was that I could be at home and relax to fully recover from surgery. We have done anything but relax. We have been on the go every since she left. We haven't eaten one meal at home. We have shopped, watched movies, looked at houses and almost got a massage.

On our way home from lunch today we were talking about how nice it was to have some time for just us. We've felt like newly weds the last few days. Don't get me wrong we miss our baby girl and are ready to see her already but every couple needs time for themselves.

The whole conversation started when I said "I think we'll be alright when our kids leave home". I've never had that thought before. I've always teared up at the thought of my precious baby growing up. I still do, but I realize that Austin and I, at this point, have a relationship that goes beyond just mom and dad. So many couples get so involved in raising a family and work that they neglect the relationship as husband and wife.

We are so blessed to be able to spend so much time together as a family, but we need to be intentional about keeping our relationship strong. Bailey loves her family. She likes it best when we are all sitting on the couch together real close. It almost never fails that she says "We're all together". She has done this since she could put a few words together. I have always heard it said that the best thing parents can do for their children is love each other. I have seen this many time through Bailey and I believe that is true. Make time for each other. Your kids will appreciate it. After all, happy mom = happy family, right?