Family Visit and Mickey Mouse

So this week has definitely been better than last week, although its had its ups and downs too! We found a new babysitter and we're anxious for her to get started. She has three sweet little girls who just can't wait to play w Rylee. In the mean time Chris's family has been filling in as our sitter. Rylee's nana and mamaw came down last week and stayed w her while Chris and I worked. And of course spoiled her rotten every chance they had. Nana (Chris's mom) left Saturday am, but his grandma (mamaw) is staying w us through the rest of next week. Rylee has had lots of company this week. Aunt Nin and Uncle Larry (Jenny and Larry-Chris's aunt and Uncle) we're vacationing in Myrtle Beach and decided to stop by for a short visit on their way back through. They got here Saturday afternoon and left this am. So Rylee's newest thing is Mickey Mouse. This girl loves Mickey Mouse! We DVR Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for her that's how much she likes it! Everybody that comes over has to watch her reaction to Mickey Mouse on tv. When it comes on she just smiles and laughs and gets so excited. Well nana brought her a stuffed Mickey Mouse w a little mickey mouse blanket and this Mickey Mouse now goes everywhere she goes! She absolutely loves her Mickey Mouse! This picture starts the process of working to get her sock off. You can see her working on it through the other pictures. She decided to try a different position this time. I guess the other position wasn't all that great for trying to take your socks off? Aha! Finally! She finally got that darn sock off! Even funnier is how she's acting now that its off. Her mamaw was sitting to her right. That's who she's looking at. It looks like she's taking that sock and dangling it in the air just to say "hahaha Mamaw look what I did!" Rylee had just woken up from a nap when Jenny & Larry got here so she's looking at Jenny like "who are you and why are you holding me?" Awe! Cuddling w Aunt Nin!This has to be the cutest picture ever! She loves to sit outside and while nana was here she would get up every morning and sit outside in her walker. So this morning her nana was gone so she went outside w her mamaw. But she was still in her pj's and it was pretty cool out so she had to have shoes, socks, a jacket, and a hat. Obviously as you can tell in the picture the only thing that matches is her pj's. I was in a hurry trying to gather all these things so she could go out. She was getting impatient w me. She saw her mamaw going out and didn't care how cold it was she was ready to go out right then and there so I just grabbed the first things I could get my hands on. Oh but when it was time to come in she had a little tantrum! She was not at all happy that I made her come in! We got Rylee's pictures taken Saturday and I had her laying on the bed so I could get her ready. That bottle of lotion between her legs was making her so mad bc she kept trying to pick it up, but it was just a little too heavy. She looked so cute sitting here naked w her little headband on. Rylee couldn't decide which headband she wanted to wear to get her picture taken so she thought she'd taste test each one! I already know what you're thinking. . . it looks like she's talking to her diaper bag. Well, guess what. . . she is!!! But of course look who's right there w her. . . Mickey Mouse!! We were getting ready to go get her picture taken, but since her nana was on the road back to Indiana we had to take a picture of her all dressed up before we left. I almost think she was telling us to make sure and remember to pack Mickey Mouse.This girl LOVES to eat!!! I'd say her two favorites things are Food and Mickey Mouse. I have to strip her down naked before she eats bc she makes such a mess. She can't keep her fingers out of her mouth. I almost have to fight her to keep her fingers out of her mouth. Which is how the food gets all over the place is bc she puts her fingers in her mouth before she swallows the food and sucks the food off her fingers. Then while i'm working on getting another bite ready she smears the food all over the place.

When It Rains It Pours

This week started off with a bang and ended with a bang! Let's just say it's been a rough week! So here's a recap of how everything went down. . . Monday-Rylee has dr. appt. at 3pm for an ear infection (2nd one in 4weeks), babysitter texts and says she's sick, I stay home but Chris gets home around 10 to relieve me, we get to the dr. and end up waiting in a room to be seen for an hour and a half!!!!!! By then we had a very grouchy, very tired, very hungry little girl on our hands!!! Then to make matters worse the resident decides to dig wax out of her ear and makes us hold her down while she's screaming!!! Eventually I had had enough and told the resident that was enough. By this point Rylee was almost to the point of getting sick bc she'd been screaming so hard for so long! Mine and Chris's patience were already running a little thin considering we'd been there for an hour and a half already. So they give her a script and we go to the pharmacy to get it filled only to have to wait some more! Chris and I have been up since 5am and its now after 5pm! Then just when we thought things couldn't possibly get any worse the babysitter texts us and says she's leaving to go home to North Carolina Friday and doesn't know when she'll be returning! The only explanation we get is that "they have stuff they have to take care of." Now we're really in trouble bc we don't have a backup babysitter and we don't know anyone else! Thankfully my boss was understanding and was willing to give me the week off to get things together. After a few tears and a whole lot of anger Chris and I put our heads together and decided to see if Chris's grandma would be willing to come stay awhile. She agreed so now it was time to start searching for daycare. Tuesday-I called a daycare that we had looked at while ago when I was still pregnant and they had some openings so I decided to do a walk through again. Things change when you actually have the baby. I asked a lot of questions when we were there the first time, but there are only so many things you can think to ask when you don't actually have a child yet. So Rylee and I took a "guided" tour and needless to say I left in tears!! The 2 workers looked like security guards rather than caregivers. Neither of them smiled the entire time i was there nor did they even say Hi. There were about 5 "babies" in there. Two of them were laying on the floor playing w toys while the one lady just stood over top of them w her hands behind her back like she was "guarding" them. Never once did they laugh or talk to the kids. So I asked if they ever just got down w the babies and played and interacted. The girl giving me the tour said yes and tried to come up w excuses as to why they weren't doing that, but eventually just gave up and said I was right that there was no reason why they shouldn't be down there that very minute. Then she told me that since they are licensed by the state they're not allowed to put Rylee to sleep on her belly. And then she starts telling me that they will only give Rylee "certain" solids, bc some of them list water as their main ingredient and since they're USDA certified they're not allowed to serve those. Needless to say I thanked them for their time and left. As soon as i got to my vehicle I burst into tears! I just felt overwhelmed and have never felt so alone in trying to find someone who would care for Rylee the way we wanted her to be cared for. I spent the rest of the day calling sitters/daycares only to find out I was running into a roadblock. . . if they were state licensed then they were all going to have the same rules. Wednesday-I eventually remembered a girl from back home that lived here in Norfolk, so i asked her for some ideas on sitters. Thats when she gave me the name of her sitter Brandi. So I called her up and asked her some questions and set up a time to meet w her on Friday. I was already feeling relief after having just talked w her. Finally everything felt like it was all going to work out. Then I started to remember "Of course it was all going to work out. . . God was in control." What a relief that feeling was. If only I had remembered that in the beginning! Thursday-We had such a nice day. I felt confident about the babysitter we had found so now I could relax and enjoy my time off w Rylee. So Rylee and I left early and ran a ton of errands. She was so good! We were gone for 4 hours and she was wonderful the entire time. She was so cute in Wal-Mart. I let her ride in the shopping cart like a big girl and she loved it. She just squealed and giggled the entire time we were in there. She also started her "fake" cough! Which drew alot of attention. . . I could feel people looking at me like "Oh no this kid has the swine flu!!" hahahaha. Even worse was that I couldn't stop laughing when she would cough!! Friday-Didn't start off as well as Thursday. Chris had another appt. that morning to finish up his physical for the ship. He called and says he has bad news. . . the Nurse Practitioner he had just seen wouldn't clear him to go back to the ship. So that meant he was in limbo. . . his time was up on limited duty so it was time for him to either go back to the ship or they would discharge him from the Navy. My heart sank! I just thought "Oh no! I don't know how much more I can take this week!" So they called the Medical Officer on the ship and he said he wouldn't accept him on the ship either. Now we were really in trouble! The reason she wouldn't clear him was bc the surgeon had waived him from having to do the PRT (physical readiness test). The test consists of running a mile and a half in a certain amount of time, so many push ups/sit ups in a certain amount of time. So now he has to go back to the surgeon and see if he will clear him to do the PRT. If he does then as long as he passes the PRT everything will be ok. If not then we'll be seeing everyone soon!!! So after all that lovely news Rylee and I went to meet the sitter. She was wonderful, but of course the way my week has gone nothing is going to go smoothly. . . Rylee decided she was going to have a case of stranger anxiety. She wouldn't let Brandi near her. She screamed and cried everytime. This was not the way things were supposed to go! How could I go to work knowing that she was crying and not happy! So we set up a time to meet again hoping that the more time Rylee spent around her the better. So we're supposed to meet Sunday. We couldn't stay down for long though. At least not with this little girl around. She's so funny! She's growing up so fast and is always doing something that makes us laugh!

This was so funny! She's playing w his tail. The look he's giving her is the funniest thing ever. . .kinda like "What are you doing to me?"

You can acutally see her w a handful of his tail! Poor Rocky. . . he's so mistreated

When I laid her down she was in the middle of the floor facing the opposite direction from what she is in the picture! She slithers herself around and all over the place! Obviously you can see what's about to happen in this picture. Poor Rocky was just trying to take a nap. He had no idea what was coming! Finally after making sure he was asleep she went in for the attack!

Once again here she is picking on Rocky! She just thinks he's so funny! And the louder he is (barking, growling) the louder she laughs!

She's been holding her bottle for awhile now even when we hold her. So I thought i'd lay her down and give her her bottle and just see how she did. She had no problem. As long as she stayed focused and didn't get to engrossed in the TV. Which you can see in the picutre that she's looking to the side. That's bc she's watching the TV!

Rylee decided she didn't need help eating anymore! I did not give her the spoon! I'm still not sure how she managed to get it away from me? But she's looking at it like "I've seen mommy use this, now how did she do that. . . " "Oh I know. . . ."

This was actually taken last weekend, but I just now found it on the camera. It was a cute picture so I thought i'd post it.

New Orders

Well the wait is finally over. . . Chris got his orders on Friday. We're staying in Norfolk. He got orders to the USS Enterprise. Which is where the movie Top Gun was filmed. But the wait to see where he'd go was almost tortorous! Not being able to say where we'd be a week from now was starting to take its toll on us. The Enterprise was exactly where we wanted him to end up. We knew a little more about that ships schedule than any of the others.

Chris being on a ship is going to be so different. We've been married 2 years and he was only on a ship for a few months. I've definitely been a spoiled military wife. Having him come home every night, eat dinner together, go to bed together and wake up together is not at all the norm for a military family. So it's going to be a big change for all of us. For now we're just going to relax and enjoy our weekend.

Here are some pics from the last week or so. .

Kisses for Daddy! This has to be the most adorable picture ever! She was leaning down to give kisses to her daddy! Chris is saying "awww" as she was doing it. That's why he looks so funny here. Definitely my favorite picture!

She loves to sit up like a big girl. You can sit her down and turn Mickey Mouse on and put some toys in front of her and she'll sit like this for hours! Once in a while I'll sit her down and leave the room and when I look back in on her she's fallen over and is laying on her back. But you'd never know anything ever happened bc she just falls over and resumes playing like nothing ever happened.

I was obviously oblivious to the fact that my picture was being taken! Rylee on the other hand was all smiles! I think I was engrossed in Storm Stories. They were telling a story of a 2 families that were neighbors in Greensburg, KY. There was a tornado headed straight for them. The one family was a mom, dad, and a 9mo little boy. The family next door was a dad and his daughter. It was kinda intense bc the mom and little boy were home alone. The dad was a truck driver and was on the road. He happened to be on his way home so it was flipping back and forth between the dad trying to get home and the mom trying to decide where they should go because they didn't have a basement. Long story short. . . both sets of neighbors made it out alive and well. The tornado did hit and wiped out the entire neighborhood.

Who would've thought someone sucking their thumb could be so cute! She just started doing this over the last couple of weeks. She kind of sucked her thumb as a newborn, but this is taking thumbsucking to a whole new level! Although, she really only does it when she's tired or hungry.

She's just kinda giving me this look like "what are you doing now?"

I could never watch TV this way. It would kill my neck. But this is how she watches TV if she's not sitting up. I betcha can't guess what she's watching???? MICKEY MOUSE!!!!

She just got done eating (as you can see all over her face) when Rocky walked past. Although he wasn't paying a bit of attention to her she obvioulsy thought he was amusing!

This was after church last Sunday. We came in and I sat her down so I could get changed and when I came back in she was talking to Rocky who was laying on the couch. We have no idea what it is about him, but she is so amused by him. Most of the time he's not even paying any attention to her. He's usually trying to get my attention so I'll pet him. Even when he eats she just stares at him like he's the most interesting thing she's ever seen. Ok, so we bought this jumperoo like 2 or 3 months ago and couldn't wait to put her in it. We just knew she was going to love it. But she had her own opinion. . . she hated it! She cried everytime we put her in it. Plus she wasn't quite long enough to touch the ground. So we kinda set it aside for awhile and just recently decided to give it another try. She loves it! She bounces and giggles and looks at us like she's wondering where the heck this toy has been all her life.

Day At The Aquarium

I think Rylee was pooped after an exciting day at the Aquarium

Rylee loved the birds

Daddy and Rylee posing by the birds Nap? Who me? No Way!!!!

Just can't quite reach the paci

Roley, Poley

Last weekend we decided to have a "family day" and just find something to do as a family and just get out of the house for awhile. So we decided to pay a visit to the Virginia Beach Aquarium. Rylee of course wasn't all that interested, but then again neither were Chris and I. We were both very disappointed. They didn't have hardly anything in their exhibits. Everything had signs saying "under construction" or "waiting on new residents". So we spent most of our time in the bird sanctuary.

Overall though it was a very relaxing weekend. Chris went golfing that Saturday and Rylee chilled at home. She took a 4 hour nap and I actually had to find something to do!! So I read for awhile, watched a little tv, and played on the computer. I think this was the first time in a long time (5mo probably) that I actually said I didn't have anything to do!

It seemed that the excitement of the weekend continued through the week. . . Rylee started rolling over nonstop!! She rolled over the first time at 11 weeks. We had put her to sleep on her belly and found her on her back. Then a week or so later she rolled over again, but I was the only one around. That was the day before I went back to work for the first time in 3 mo. I had been so upset about starting back to work and missing out on all her milestones. I truly believe that God used that opportunity to reassure me and give me peace of mind. He knew how truly worried I was. After that day it was another 3 months before she would roll over again! Chris still hadn't seen her roll over until just the other day. She rolled over for the babysitter one day this week, so we brought her home and instantly put her on her belly in hopes she'd excite us w a roll! We weren't disappointed! Chris can now say he's seen her roll over. Now she doesn't stop rolling. Now we're done w the rolling and ready for her to start crawling!

Bittersweet Memories

This is one of Rylee's favorite "toys" now (thanks Jenn). She loves to sit up like a big girl!

Rylee and Poppaw

Mommy and Rylee at the beach

Nana, Rylee, Daddy, and Pappy

My grandpa passed away August 20th. This was the first and last time he got to see Rylee.

I have so many wonderful memories of my grandpa. . . I remember getting up w him on Saturday mornings to go to Hardees. Every Saturday morning he used to go to Hardees for breakfast and coffee w all the other old men. I would always tag along and he would buy me a cinnamon roll. I also remember frequent trips to the Dairy Queen for ice cream. All I had to do was say the words and off we went on another ice cream trip. Although every now and then I had to beg a little harder. . . hahaha! I can still hear him saying "Ah Les" when i would beg and beg. But of course he always gave in. I remember playing catch in the frontyard w him. There was a time when I lived w him and my grandma. During that time he would always drive me to school and be there when school let out to pick me up. I have so many fun memories of him. These were just a few of my favorite. I definitely owe him and my grandma alot. They are wonderful grandparents and have always been there for me when I needed them. And now as an adult w my own family I really look up to them. They were married for 61 years!! I still turn to my grandma at times for "marriage advice". Although she usually just laughs at me! Who better to give out advice than someone who has been married to the same person for 61 years.

Rylee is now 5mo!! I can't believe how time flies. She is definitely developing into her own little person already! She has already started solids and is now onto the 2nd stage of solids. Now this little girl knows how to eat! And don't think for one minute that she's cut back on her bottle. She eats just as much as she always has and now has added even more to her menu! She is sitting up w very little support and can even sit up unsupported for a couple of minutes. She's changing so much I just can't believe it. She no longers takes a bath in her "baby tub". We used to sit her tub in our bathtub and bathe her that way. Well about a month ago she decided she was too big for that tub bc it forced her to lay back. So now she bathes in the sink where she can sit up. Last night while I was bathing her she discovered the knob that turns the water on and off. She was so fascinated by this. It eventually made her mad though bc she couldn't figure out why it wasn't doing anything when she grabbed it. It didn't move, play music, or light up like all her other toys. So then she had a little fit. She balled up her hands into a fist and was smacking the water. Which in turn splashed out EVERYWHERE including all over me! She even knows her bottle now when she sees it. She got mad at me the other day bc it was time for her to eat and she was already fussin a bit so I went and made her bottle and when i walked in w it she stopped and her eyes got real big. Well i had to sit it down so that i could pick her up. Oh my goodness this made her so mad bc she saw me walk in w the bottle and then when i went to get her it was no longer in my hands!! She has developed quite a temper and is not afraid to show it!

Left Handed?

She's fascinated with Rocky! That's what she's laughing at in this picture. He was off to the side.

Me and Mommy getting ready for the Olive Garden!

Look at that big belly!!!

Yummy Peaches!!! She has to "assist" me when I'm feeding her which is how she gets so messy!

So, we've recently discovered that Rylee reaches for everything with her left hand! I thought it was too early to tell whether she'd be right or left handed, but Chris and I are pretty sure she's going to be left handed.

This weekend started off kinda crazy bc Chris and I found a house online that we fell in love with and it just so happened the price was right. This was definitely our dream house. . . completely secluded way out in the country with a little pond. Big beautiful wide open kitchen! So as we started looking into we found out that it wasn't completely finished and was now bank owned. So that led to the type of loan that we could get. There were two types of loans we were looking into that allowed you to put down less money. Well turns out those two loans have VERY strict guidelines and wouldn't approve a house that wasn't all the way finished. So then it was a scramble to figure out what the next step would be if any at all. Plus to add to the chaos we found out that someone had already made an offer on our "dream home" and it had been accepted, but they were willing to take the "best offer". So our realtor got the key and we rounded up our "favorite carpenter (Chris's stepdad)" and asked him to take a look and see what he thought. All of this was rush, rush, rush because there had already been an offer made and also bc there were still other people wanting to look at the property. Well after all that we decided to turn it down. Turns out it wasn't as kid friendly as we would've liked it to be. It had a pond on one side and the river on the other. Along with lots of rocks and hardly any flat land. So it's back to the drawing board. Although we're not in any huge hurry since Chris doesn't get out till 2011. So we'll wait and pray and see what God has in store for us. The one thing i'm not good at is waiting!!

Bauer Family Happenings

This has to be the most adorable picture! She looks so cute in her little beach hat!

Wow! I look at this picture and can't believe how big she looks here! This is the new "bouncy" seat that replaced her old one. This is her big girl chair!

"Sportin my new shades!"

"Chillin in my jammies!"

Wow! It's been a long time since i've posted anything and so much has happened in that time. Rylee is now 4 months old and growing faster than Chris or I ever imagined!! She's the size of a 6 month old. . . weighing in at 17lbs 26in long. She holds her head up all on her own now and is so close to sitting up. She hates anything that makes her feel as if she's lying down. In fact she even gave up her bouncy seat! Trust me that was a huge deal! We didn't think she was ever going to get tired of that thing even though she was way too big for it. Her butt dragged the ground when she was in it, but she didn't seem to care. We even went and bought her a new one that was more her size and should follow her till she's a toddler, but she hated it! The one we bought wasn't as entertaining. It didn't light up and play music continiously so she didn't want anything to do with it. So for a month or more it just sat here. Then about 2 weeks before she turned 4mo she decided she wanted to sit up. So anytime you buckled her into her carseat you could see her straining to lift herself up. Same w her bouncy seat. The old one kept her in a reclining position and she wasn't having any of that. She even enjoys sitting in her highchair watching me clean the kitchen. About the same time she started tryin to sit up her sleeping habits changed. She was napping after every bottle so she was taking 2 naps in the am and 2 in the pm and then sleeping 8 hours through the night. But now she almost refuses to take a nap during the day! She also started eating off a spoon for the first time. And let me tell you you better watch your hand if you're the one feeding her bc she's like a pirhana when she sees that spoon coming towards her! She's at such a fun stage right now. Chris and I are having a blast w her. She talks more than ever and laughs and squeals when you talk to her. She's starting to get to that point where you can actually play w her.

It's been a busy couple of months here. I started back to work in July, so Rylee has been going to a sitter's M-F while Chris and I are at work. The days just fly by. They start around 5am when Chris and I get up to start the process of getting ready for work and end when we go to bed around 8 or 9 that night. I really enjoy being back at work. I didn't think I would, but once I started I realized how much I missed interacting w other adults. Rylee does great at the sitters and the sitter is great w her so it makes it easier to leave her and go to work. About the same time we started leaving her at the sitters we started feeling better about taking her to the nursery at church and dropping her off while we attended the service. They do a good job w her too. And of course she loves it bc someone holds her nonstop while she's there!