And she walks!!!!

 Bailey officially is walking more than crawling this weekend :)  She started taking more steps at the beach and then as soon as we got home to her comfort zone she started walking across the room and all over!  We video taped her and as soon as John puts it on the computer I will post it too!

We joke around that she looks like E.T. when she walks and Jackson imitates her and it is hilarious!  He is just fascinated that she is walking :)

 My Mom came over to visit on Monday and brought the kids their birthday gifts b/c they will be out of town for their party.  We all had sooo much fun and the kids LOVED their presents!

Allie's Engagement Party!

The future Mr. and Mrs. Hayes!!

                           

 Our group of girls, minus Alijeh :)

 The Groomsmen!

The Bridesmaids!

Valerie had the best party for Allie, it was so much fun and the food was so good too!!  Can't wait for all that is to come this year :)

Gulf Shores 2011

All the Ballard Grandkids :)

 We love the new pool the State put in, it is awesome!!

This is how they were all week! They loved to chase each other!!

Bailey's first boat ride!!!  She seemed to like it :)  Jackson is like a zombie when he rides the boat and basically has that same expression the whole time!  LOL  However, he did learn to drive the boat (daddy steered while he determined what speed we would go!) and he LOVED that!

Mimi and Diddy with their grandchildren!  I LOVE William in this picture...so sweet how he is leaning on Diddy!

And here is a picture of the whole family!!  We get bigger every time we go! We had a lot of fun and John and I would have loved to do more, but it does get more difficult when you have a little one still taking two naps and you can only drag them so many places in one day ;)  We had both of them sleeping in our room and they both had colds the whole week.  So we didn't get the best sleep b/c of their coughing and Jackson trying to sneak out of the room a million times, but it was well worth it~the kids had SOOO much fun playing all day together and we loved hanging out with the adults after bedtime :) 

We will miss you Grandpop

Today my Grandpop went to join my Grandmom in heaven.  I will miss him and hearing his stories so much.  He lived a very long and good life up until a week ago.  Last Monday I got to visit with him while he was in the hospital and we really did have a great visit, all things considered.   He asked me if Bailey was walking yet and how Jackson was.  He even told all the nurses that I was his grand-daughter and I had had 2 of his great-grandchildren :)  I will never forget that day and those last wonderful moments I had with him.  I am so thankful that John told me we needed to go and that night to visit him.  I know John is thankful too that he got to talk to him one last time.  He enjoyed Jackson and Bailey just as much as he did all of us & I am so grateful he got to know John.  We often met him for meals at IHop which was his very favorite place to eat :)  He always remembered things that happened at each lunch or breakfast, like how Jackson would pick out the blueberries from his pancakes :)  He was a very devout Catholic, loved to sit in the front, and hated when we talked in church ;) He was a "tell-it-like it is" man, often grit his teeth when he talked , & he would do head stands constantly to entertain me and my cousins...I will miss those things the most I think.  His stories were often about when he served our country or about his favorite person in the world~my Grandmother.  I will never forget how he always got down on one knee to tell you stories.  He would even get down on one knee and tell my grandmother how beautiful she was..."Gertie, you are so beautiful" he would say (they were probably about 80 yrs old at the time).  His love for her was just so amazing.  He was not perfect, but he won her heart and I know he has been waiting for the day when he can be with her again.   As some of my best friends told me, I am lucky that I can take my memories of him with me through the rest of my life.  I miss you already and love you Grandpop and know you will be watching us up in heaven with Grandmom.

11 Months and More!

I love this picture, because she really is always watching him and wanting to be with him.  It is sooo sweet :)

 Jackson being silly at the pool!

 Ashley came to visit us at our pool for Labor Day and we had such an awesome time catching up.  I LOVE me some Ash/Fish time :)

 Ashley caught a great one of Bailey doing her favorite thing...blowing raspberries...she does it ALL THE TIME!!!

 Yep, that is the reaction of a boy who has never painted inside the house before and only one time outside!  I am trying to get better about him making a mess...he absolutely LOVES to paint and color and I have been really trying to let him do it more :)  I think we are finally at the point where it doesn't take longer to clean up/set up, than it does to actually paint :)

 That's the face I see often!!  My wild Bailey Boo Boo...soooo sweet!!!

We also had a shower for Sloane and Marshall's new addition on Labor Day and it was so great to catch up with everyone and we had a blast!!

Here is what Bailey is up to this month:

• She no longer will eat baby food from a jar...she literally spits it back at me and won't eat it! Ugh...so I have been on the hunt for things that are soft enough and will fill her up good :)
• She LOVES Gerber Graduates pasta pick-ups! I just cut them up in half and she goes to town on them! She also loves bananas, strawberries, cut up cooked carrots, peas, string cheese in little bites, stuffing, grilled chicken, turkey, gerber banana cookies, chicken nuggets, & french fries (of course!)
• She started drinking milk out of a sippy 3 weeks ago and has been loving it! 
• She has 3 bottles a day
• She says "uh oh" when she drops things, dog, dada, mama, and baby
• She is still only taking a step here and there, not walking just yet!
• She gets BIG tears and a HUGE sad face when you tell her no! It is actually pretty sweet and funny...breaks my heart sometimes, but she has to learn what is not ok.  Like playing in the dog bowls constantly ...ughhhhhhhh so gross!
• She loves to blow raspberries and have you blow them back at her, it's her favorite game!
• You would think I am torturing her when I change her diaper...she does NOT like to sit still!
• She loves her brother and ALWAYS wants to be where he is and playing with whatever toy he is playing with.  It's a constant battle that I am sure will go on for years ;)
• She FREAKS out when John comes home and crawls as fast as her little legs can go to get to him! Heaven forbid he put her down to go to the bathroom or eat when he gets home, she is certainly Daddy's little girl :)

Sweet Teachers email

Jackson did great his first day and not so good the 2nd day ;)  His note home said, "needed reminding-he was hitting instead of using his words".  Well of course my face turned RED in the car and I asked Jackson "Who did you hit at school today??!" and he said "I hit the kids Mama"-very matter of fact!  (they tell on themselves very innocently at this age!)  So of course John and I talked about it NON-STOP with him for the next 2 days until he went to school again Thursday.  I wanted to be sure he had a better day, so I wrote the teacher a little email and this is what she wrote back to me...

Hi Mrs. Ballard,

Have no fear, Jackson's not the only goldfish forgetting that he can talk (altho' I know that doesn't make you feel any better). I hate sending home disappointing news, but I know most parents would rather know as soon as something happens. I'm not the least concerned since it's a huge adjustment learning to function and share with nine other people. And it's obvious that he knows that hitting isn't a good idea, he responds very well to "Oh, Jackson, hitting hurts, we don't hit at school. Please say you are sorry" We also say things like, "please be gentle" or "we need to be kind to our friends". Eventually it will sink in and they all learn to diffuse their frustration.
He has a lot to figure out - new people to deal with at school and a sister on the move (and probably getting precariously close to his stuff). For very young children, "turf wars" and personal space are one in the same. And we don't expect adult reactions from young children learning to socialize. So, I see Jackson's guarding his "stuff" from friends (hitting when they get too close) as a normal response - not how an adult would respond, but perfectly normal for a young three experimenting with social interactions. Lots of reminders, showing him alternatives and occasional time outs will get the point across. And he's seeing the repercussions when the other children do the same. The learning curve is quite rapid in the goldfish room. Right now we are spending LOTS of time learning, experiencing and talking about HOW to play with many other children. I am completely confident that Jackson will use his words and figure out how much fun it is to play with others.
We had a great day today - all of us have a blast at water day. He especially loved chasing bubbles and eating a popsicle! We wore ourselves out. My favorite thing about Jackson is that he wants to do everything - he's not afraid to try paint, the playground, new toys, silly songs and dancing - makes my job so fun! And he's very proud to use the little potty all by himself!!! The only thing he does not like to do is get in line. As soon as we say "line" he starts to cry and seems a little distraught. Once we start moving/walking, he's fine. Go figure! I think he does not like to stay in one spot too long :)
Thanks for keeping in touch with me and sharing your thoughts. It really helps me get the know the kids. I am very glad to have Jackson in my class, I'm already seeing him warm up to the new room and new routine (quite a different pace than Mrs.J's old teacher's room).
 Hope you have a fabulous holiday!

Blessings,
Mrs. _______

Well, needless to say...I love her and that was such a sweet note.  She already knows our little man soooooo well and it's only been 3 days!!!  They are just amazing at his school and I am so glad he has a teacher that loves him :)  Her email made me feel so much better and I will continue to work with him on everything she wrote to me about and keep you updated! :)

Mr. & Mrs. Pelick!!

 At the rehearsal

 The picture above and below are from the rehearsal dinner.

 We had such a great time at dinner, the slide show we did for Nicole and John turned out pretty good-it skipped 2 slides from the end, but thankfully kept going!  I was pretty happy with how it turned out!  A HUGE thank you to John who always has to set up & bring all the electrical equipment for me and is always prepared!  Also, to Ashley for allowing us to use her projector!!!

 Me and the next Bride-to-Be, Allie at the wedding!  Can't wait for her big day in April!!!!

 My Mom and Dex came too!  They said I did pretty well with my reading~and poor John had to listen to me do it out-loud a whole bunch ;) hee hee

 ALL of our group of girls (it's hard to get a picture of all of us) !  If you ever hear me talk about my girls dinners every month~this is our group!!!  Some of us have been together since elementary school and we formed a very close group~a group that has survive many things and many years!  They are my very best friends & I know they would do anything for me!  (minus Jessi who lives by me!!)

 Soooo glad I got this picture!  It means a lot to me :)  And so happy for them and their beautiful day.  It truly was a magical night...so much fun!!!  I know A LOT of effort was put in by them, their families, and friends.

 Ash, Mer, Allie, and Fish :)

I love this picture of Grandpa and Grandma!  They just look so great!!  So glad they got to be a part of the night, we had so much fun! Congrats again to the happy couple!!