Christmas Eve

Oh man...I'm behind. Here are some pictures from our Christmas Eve Excursion. We went to go see "Alvin and the Chipmunks, the SQUEAKquil". That, I am pretty sure, was the longest 2 hours of my entire life. Has anyone else found it disturbing to watch the Chipette's shake their goods to "All the Single Ladies"? I dunno... I just thought the entire movie was torture.

On the PLUS side...my kids LOVED the show. They loved all the music, all the stinkers (and the accompanying sound to go with said stinkers) and all the kids in the show. I mean, what is Christmas all about really? Chipmunks!

Oh, I am sooooooo kidding there. We really know what CHRISTmas is all about. We went to the movies, came home, watched the Nativity Story and then finished up the night with ol' Mr. Krugers Christmas. (It was the first time Chance has watched that one...and, no, I didn't miss the eye-rolling the ENTIRE show)

I will post some Christmas pictures here shortly. I just wanted everyone to know we are still alive and kickin here. :)

Here are all the kids before leaving for the movie.

Little Gage content as can be.

Crede was in awe at all the movie displays in the theatre.

Grace trying her very hardest to behave herself.

Morgan being her cute self.

And Gage right before succombing to Dad's magic spells that he seems able to cast. He fell asleep shortly after this one. Cute little boy.

Aaaand here's Crede again...trying HIS best to behave before they let us in the theatre to sit down.

Ode to Grace

Today's post will be directed towards my 2nd child - Grace. I'm going to focus on her today because she is taking me for a ride. It's like a puke-inducing ride that you would get on at "Six Flags." There are some days where you just don't feel like getting on the ride because the ride doesn't EVER slow down, and it makes your stomach drop at inopportune times. Once you get on the ride you find yourself enjoying it. (That is IF you weren't motion-sick to begin with.) There are even parts when you can't help but laugh out loud. When the end of the ride eventually comes you find yourself thinking, "Let's do it again!" That's my Grace. Never a dull moment.

She is such a funny person. She is just happy to be alive. She is ALWAYS smiling (except for when no one is paying attention to her or she is in trouble.) and she is always full of very funny antidotes.

Grace, we love you. I hope that you get a child just like you.



struttin' her stuff in her new skirt. (Her very favorite thing to do in her pettiskirt is to "shake her rump" to see her skirt shuffle)



The "pre" photo-shoot glamour. I wanted to see what hot rollers would do to her hair. Needless to say, she didn't enjoy them too much.



Well this is how we started our morning today before church. If you want to read the entire story, go here: www.onesmallglimpse.blogspot.com

Official photo shoot.

I've officially started a new venture. It's called emily bailey photography. Yeah, I know...reaaaaaaaaaaaaaal original. I took my kids out today for a photo shoot and I realized something. You know what it was?

Taking pictures of 4 kids by themselves aged 6 and under is not an easy task. All of my "group" pictures don't look the greatest, but I had a fabulous time with their individual pictures. This just tells me that I'm going to have to practice and practice. You're welcome to check out my official website with other photos on it at www.emilybaileyphotography.blogspot.com if you feel so inclined. If not, that's great - here are some of the photo's from today:

Grace cheesin' it up

Crede's signature look. Little stinkpot!! He goes into this world of "I'm not going to look at the camera even if you bribed me with pure sugar." and will NOT look at me. This is when he was finally coming out of it.

What a sweet big sister. Gage wasn't too enthralled with our photo shoot today. He sure looked sharp though. Sharp and round at the same time. Go figure.

Our Morgan I know this one is just a tad out of focus...but I still am enjoying looking at it.

Happy Birthday Chance! The big 4-0!! (not really.....)

If ya' want to read the whole "mushy" post I wrote about him, you're welcome to go to my other blog, www.onesmallglimpse.blogspot.com and check it out. Otherwise, here is my favorite picture of my favorite partner in crime.

Happy Birthday, I love you!!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! We started off our festivities this year with a little pumpkin carving. This year Chance stepped up his game by adding actual horns to his pumpkin. Usually his pumpkins just have a deer carved right into them. Morgan got to draw the face on hers and we carved it out for her. Here are their pumpkins. Cute cute. Grace and I carved the ol' standard Jack-O-Lantern face...nothin' too exciting there.

Here are the kids after carving their pumpkins. Cute little kids in their PJ's.

The day of Halloween I had planned a very exciting day. Our neighbor gave us this gingerbread house kit (which LOOKED so cute.). When we got it out of the box I noticed that you needed to be a professional cake decorator to do some of the details shown on the box. Come on people!! The dumb icing didn't hold up like it was supposed to, and I wasn't about to sit and wait 2 hours for it to harden up before moving onto the candy part. Anywho, as you can see below, my impatience and lack of professional training helped our house to look like this.

Here's a nice close up for you too. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......gooey.

After the gingerbread, I wanted to take my kids out to take their pictures in their costumes. Morgan and Grace did really well. They held still, and I got some really cute pics of them. Crede, on the other hand, didn't want ANY part of it. He ran around, giggled, and wouldn't look at me to save his life. Gage was asleep in the car and I didn't want to wake him, so we only have pictures of my 3 kids instead of all 4. Oh well....maybe next year, right?

Here's Morgan:

She was a "charm school" witch this year. Her hat was huge so we took some without it.

Here's Grace, our little ladybug. She was so stinkin' cute in her outfit.

Check out those eyes!

And finally, our stinker, Crede. He was a skunk. He wouldn't let me put his "hat" on, so this is whatcha got.

And lastly...all 3 kids with their bags ready for the fun to begin. Candy here we come!!

Well there you have it. Our Halloween. Gage, next year you will have a lot more fun, I promise. Love you kids!

My New Camera Update...

I originally posted some pictures taken with my new camera, but deleted that post because I needed to tweak them in my "darkroom". So.......here the are - officially.

Morgan: my favorite thing is the freckles.

Grace: My favorite pic is this first one. That's just a classic look.

Crede: This is the only really good shot...he just doesn't sit still!

And Gage: He's so much fun.

I love this part of babies...the neck rolls....aaaaaaaaaah sweet baby smell.

And of course the feet. So cute.

The Kind of Mother....

A good friend of mine posted this on her blog. SHE got it from her Mother in Law - who found it in the newspaper. It brought a smile to MY face today, so I thought I'd share it too. (Thanks Rea!)

"Sometimes motherhood is like being on a merry-go-round that just won't stop turning. Even when you're getting a tad too dizzy, some ornery kid gives it another push.We have to try to hang on and enjoy the ride.

Kids make sure the excitement never stops - don't even think about sitting down to rest - they need a drink, a toy from the high shelf, a bandage for an aching wound you can't even see... some urgent issue is bound to arise just as you put your feet up.

Sometimes, amid the cracker crumbs, foot-impaling plastic toys and sibling squabbles, we need to reaffirm what this job is all about. We must remind ourselves.

We must remind ourselves that the perfect mother is one who recognizes that family life isn't perfect. It's all about making sweet lemon bars out of a sour lemon kind of day, and not worrying to much about the high sugar content. Just this once.

Instead of muttering to myself in a corner, I share my affirmations with you, fellow parents, grandparents and curious gawkers.

I will be the mother who holds her children's hands a little too tightly, always thinking of the awful what ifs in this world.

I will be the mother who serves her kids the same meal I'm eating, refusing to give in to the chicken nugget diet youngsters wish to subscribe to.

I will be the mother who sometimes gives them the Popsicle they really want even though they already had a cookie and a doughnut that day.

I will be the mother who won't give her kids soda, because I said so.

I will be the mother who teaches them to play by the rules and also makes sure they win sometimes.

I will be the mother who lets her kids watch television and make no apology for it.

I will be the mother who won't let her kids listen to iPods and send text messages throughout dinner.

I will be the mother who doesn't really care if the kids make their beds.

I will be the mother who care very much about how the children treat people.

I will be the mother who sometimes says "yes" when I shouldn't.

I will be the mother who sometimes says "no" when I shouldn't.

I will be the mother who loves my children more than they can imagine, on the best of days and the worst of days."

Smiles everyone!

This nationwide event happened last Sunday. Okay, maybe not nationwide...not even statewide. Let's say - This BAILEYwide event happened last Sunday.

Gage has been very elusive and shy about showing his emotions. I know, I know - men. I keep telling him, "Gage, it's really okay to show your soft side. You can laugh and STILL be a man." He just keeps flirting with me (wait - not flirting - that would be weird). He just keeps TEASING me and TESTING my attention span with his smiles and fake coughs.

Last Sunday was THE day. I started in with the soft tickles on his cheeks to get him to trust me. See you have to go in like you don't really WANT him to laugh. He didn't even see it comin'. I went in for the under-the-chin ... in-between-the-fat-rolls tickle that seems to be so popular with other babies these days.

Aaaaaand voila! Gage laughed.

Je t'aime Gage. (deep french laugh) hhhhaughhhh haugghhhh hhhauuugh

Fall Fondness

It's about time I update our family blog. We've had quite the uneventful month. Don't get me wrong, I have a crazy everyday life (you can read about that in my other blog: http://www.onesmallglimpse.blogspot.com/), it's just we don't do anything notorious. We DID have the privilege to bless our little Gage in church at the beginning of the month. I should probably say CHANCE had that privilege, I just have the privilege to be married to him. That was neat, and, as always, a HUGE relief once it was done.

Let's begin with the pictures that document our month.

ME

I am in charge of a "Scrapbook Getaway" every 6 months, and it fell in September this time. We get a hotel, provide all the meals and prizes, and have about 30 people come. It's a lot of fun, and a little work. We also stay up all night (if we can). This first picture was taken the night after I got home from the overnighter. My eyes are totally bloodshot, I'm a little queasy because I'm so stinkin' tired, but Gage is the one that gets to sleep anywhere, anytime. I envy that little boy. One little disclaimer: I totally hate pictures of me...especially when I'm still trying to lose 10 more baby pounds. So take that however you would like to.


CHANCE

Did I mention what a good husband I have? This picture was taken after Gage's baby blessing, in our backyard. The REASON I took this picture is because Chance is over on the left-hand side, and he's talking to that table full of family. Do you want to know what he was talking about? Hunting. He was telling (in INCREDIBLE detail) a story about a deer he saw and "stalked" and didn't get. Seriously, his stories are verrrrrrrry detailed. I'm NOT going to say long, because that would be mean. Love you Chance. The only one that looks interested in his story is his Mom. That makes me laugh. Anyway, cute picture.

MORGAN

This is our BIG little Morgan playing with her cousins after the baby blessing. She's on our swing set (which I should include a picture of THAT too.). Our swing set is made out of telephone poles. It's as tall as our house. The kids absolutely LOVE it. Our backyard is ginormous, so it's not like it takes up the entire backyard, so that's good. Morgan's on the right, waving at me. Cute little girl.


Here she is again. This is just a cute picture. I took this when she lost her top tooth. She looks so funny now without a tooth there. It is really weird to think that I have a 6 year old who goes to first grade. She's getting so old! She is doing so well in school. She brings her homework home and gets it done in about 20 minutes. (It's supposed to last the whole week). I can't take any credit for her "smarts" either. She just completely absorbs all information given to her. Take TV for instance: She watches a show once, and she remembers specific lines from that show. I think people think that all she does is watch movies and TV, but it's just that she remembers everything.

GRACE

Oh Grace. My little time-bomb. You NEVER know what is going to come out of her mouth, or what she is going to do. This first picture was taken after Gage's baby blessing. She got into a chocolate chip cookie that had been sitting out a little long. The chocolate was all melted, and she thoroughly enjoyed that cookie. Here she is, proud as can be. My little cookie monster.

Now here is Grace on a sunny afternoon playing outside. I first caught her with my watering can, watering our rocks in the front yard. I don't know why I buy white shirts for her either. They obviously don't stay white. Here's one of her silly faces that she pulled as I was taking the picture.

Oh yea. If you want to read the entire story about THIS picture, you can go to my other blog. (http://onesmallglimpse.blogspot.com/2009/09/she-looks-innocent-enough.html) This was taken after her haircut, and after the hairspray was involved. What did I tell ya'. Her hair looks like "Something About Mary". It's a good thing she's cute. That's all I can say.

CREDE

This picture was cracking me up. We sometimes have the TV on during dinner when Chance isn't home from work yet. It's mainly to keep MY sanity. So this evening we were watching "Babar" on the QUBO channel. There was a spooky part on the show and Crede was totally enthralled. He didn't BUDGE for about 10 minutes. The only thing that DID budge were his eyes. He kept going wide-eyed whenever it was super spooky. I was laughing. I didn't, however, get a great picture of it. He's not fully wide-eyed here.

Here's Crede after the baby blessing chowing down on a cookie. What a HANDSOME little boy I have.

GAGE

Yes, this is his blessing picture. He was NOT in a good mood that morning. His face is BEET red in this picture, and I just get a kick out of his fists. He's just MAD.

This picture is what happens when I leave him alone with Dad for 5 seconds. Chance is always keeping me smiling. He has a very subtle humor (most times). I walked into the room and Gage was just sitting there, content as can be. Chance was just sitting next to him, watching TV like nothing happened.

Here's Gage in his Halloween onesie that I bought while I was pregnant. I was pretty excited that it actually fit, and it's actually only a month away. I think that Gage is going to be a tootsie roll for Halloween. I love this time of year. This is only one picture out of about 25 that I took. I get a little crazy with my camera sometimes. Cute little boy.

That's our family for yet another month. We don't do much, but we are happy. I love my little family. (Except I need to stop saying we're little...there's 6 of us!)

Life with 4 kids.

Well I am still here, and still kickin'. (on the days when I have enough energy to kick... heh heh). Everyday I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants. No plan, no organization, nothin'. Just pure instinctual survival. Outlive, Outlast...what's that Survivor motto?

I've also been itching for a new project. My right side of the brain has been feeling neglected lately, and I've needed a creative outlet. What to do, what to do. My good friend Amie gave me the idea of keeping a blog 365 days of the year. Each day I take a picture and blog about it. I started that, and I'm finding that I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It has been fun getting my "photography" self out again, and actually "thinking" about my photo's. If you're wondering where this blog is, here's the link:

http://www.onesmallglimpse.blogspot.com/

I have listed it in my blog's on the side of THIS blog too if ya want to check it out. I am finding it a nice outlet for journaling and photography. Nice.

Well this month has been pretty eventful. Not only have I tried to balance 4 kids, I'm trying to find my sanity as I am by myself for 2 weeks while Chance is gone hunting. Baaaaaaah! It's been interesting to say the least. Here are some photo's of our month.

Here's a picture of what I do best ... and that is to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Is that considered some sort of talent? I sure think it is. I mean, who else can fall asleep in 5 seconds flat?

Here's another one of me holding my little boy - I have to apologize for the blur - I mess with the settings on our camera all the time, and as a result - Chance doesn't know how to change them back. I turned the flash off for some reason. Anywho, that's why it's blurry. I had to laugh at Gage because he was looking at me and his face seemed to say, "who is this crazy woman holding me? Is she REALLY my Mom?"

Now this is the other end of the spectrum. Chance gets all the smiles and giggles. Well not really giggles yet, but all the smiles are his. This next picture just melted me. I love the fact that Chance's face has just as big of a smile on it as Gages does. My cute boys.

After I took that last picture, Grace wanted in on the action, so I handed her my camera, she pointed it at Chance, and this is the picture that she got. Lovely.

Ahh little miss Morgan. She started first grade this month, and she has absolutely LOVED it. Her teacher is very nice, her name is Mrs. Hagen, and her very good friend, Breauna, is in her class. This is her picture on her very first day.

One night after putting Grace to bed, she came running downstairs saying, "rainbow Dad!" So Chance looks out the window and says, "Lets go see!" This rainbow was huge, and right over our house. This picture really doesn't do it justice, but pictures never do.

This is the only action our treadmill has seen recently, sad but true. Grace was just entranced with her cartoon watching this day. Her favorite thing to do is climb up here, and balance for a second, and then climb down. She just kinda got stuck up there one day. Crazy girl.

I felt ambitious yesterday (now today was a completely DIFFERENT story...you can read about it in my other blog listed above) and took the 3 youngest kids to the park after dropping Morgan off to school. It was BEAUTIFUL weather, and it was a lot of fun for all of us. Gage did great, and it felt nice to get out and get fresh air. Here's cute Grace gallivanting around the bigtoy.

Right after having Gage our cute neighbor girl volunteered to babysit for me 2 times for free. Her name is Elizabeth, and my kids absolutely LOVE her. This is the day that she came to OUR house for a few hours and just played with the kids while I got stuff done. Elizabeth, we sure appreciate and love you! And P.S. - Crede's silly face is pretty impressive dont' you think?

Here is my cute little boy playing at the park. I am not sure that I'm biased - I really doubt that I am, but Crede is the CUTEST little boy around. Oh wait - I'll now have to say that he is the cutest TWO YEAR OLD around. Love you little boy.

Now for the cutest NEWBORN boy around... Gage. He went to church for the first time this last Sunday, and he looked sharp if I do say so myself. I had to take his picture right before. Too cute.


Well that sums up my month for the most part - We're just barely gettin' by and loving every minute of it.