Just Like You

Lately, I continue to notice more and more how observant Wy is.  Even when I think she isn't picking up on things or seeing me or paying attention, I am learning more and more that this little girl sees, hears and catches on to everything! 

Realizing this has caused me to really think about things lately.  What I say, how I say it, how I respond to situations, what I show is important, etc…  

But today, while being reminded of this lesson once again, my heartstrings were pulled and were a bit flattered all at the same time.  

Wylie walked down the stairs all dolled up.  Nothing out of the ordinary for this to be occurring.  

She walked down the stairs as I was exiting my bedroom and she said, "Look at me mom! I'm going to dress like you tomorrow for school."  

After I shed some invisible tears in front of her because she looked 10 , I smiled.  

My sweet girl had been so observant of my style for work today that she went upstairs and attempted to copy it to the best of her ability.  Complete with skinnies, a denim jacket and her flats, my baby girl successfully dressed in a standard get up her mommy often sports!  

I am so thankful for my baby girl.  Our special little moments together are helping to create a special bond that will be forever.  I am touched that she considers me important and that she desires to be like me despite the-Target-fashion-shopper-that-I-am!!!!  Bubba tells me all the time that she wants to be just like me.  I hear him say it.  I listen.  But today, his words hit me like a ton of bricks.  My baby girl wants to be like her momma!  This delights my heart and also panics it.  I am honestly and truly flattered that she loves me enough to think I am the best, when really, I am just ordinary and plain.  

Nonetheless, my heart smiled today, and it was all because of Wy's love for her momma. 

Precious, true and honest love! 

Is there anything more rewarding than your baby wanting to be just like you? 

Today, right now,  my answer is no. 

Wylie girl, I love you more than words will write! Our mornings together start my days off just right and are memories that I will cherish forever!  You are a beautiful little girl and to know that you are mine is a blessing and a gift!  

Lots and Lots baby girl! 

Celebrating Little Squirt!

Fun Fun Fun… all just for you!  There's so much fun to be had when you're 3 and no longer 2!  

For the past what seems like week, our family has been celebrating one our lives greatest blessings!  

Three year ago, we thought our lives were filled with laughter and energy… and then… Ben entered the world!  

Three year ago we met a boy full of life and zest for learning!  A child who today we find seizing every chance he can to play with red cars, act like "bad guys", run around the house chasing his siblings, or hide in tents to play his legos! This same little boy who can melt most hearts with his little hugs and precious "I Love You's!" His little tiny body seems so "little" but this "little" body is one tough fourth child who can handle most crazy falls, bumps and bruises like a champ!  Never does he seem to tire, run out of steam or be "winding down".  Each day his little motor is going full speed with no sides of ceasing!  

It was only fitting we celebrated Ben's birthday by having a Red Theme birthday party!  Everyone was decked in red and in any place I could find, I placed more red!!  Never have I had a child who is so in love with a color!!  And if that is his most favorite thing in the world, then that is what his birthday theme will be!!  

(This photo was snapped during my late night decorating session!  GUESS WHO didn't want to sleep at 10:30!!!) 

The house was decorated in Red Car gear and as much red as I could find!  

All Ben wanted was to have a "red car cupcake" for his birthday!  After our first, last and only experience with red icing, I knew this was NOT going to happen so I opted for this precious cake instead!  Ben was thrilled to "Red Car" and Mater on there and I was excited it turned out so adorably!! 

Without any prompting at all, everyone showered Ben with RED gifts too!  He is beyond blessed to have so many people who love and care for him! 

Thanks RahRah for the new red blanket for his bed!  There hasn't been a night yet where this has not been a staple for the nighttime routine!  

Thanks YaYa for the new Red Car Legos!!  Now Ben can finally fit in with his older brother in the current Lego fascination he is in !! 

Ben has been practicing since Christmas on making his fingers show he is three!  Now, he can show you as quick as you can blink how old he is on his fingers!  I savor the video I have of him trying so hard to learn this!!  But over these past 2 months, this little boy has practiced and making a three with his fingers is another milestone he has reached!!  

While I know one day I will be feeling differently about Ben being a heart throb to the many little girls he will be surrounded by… today I am thankful that Ben's hearth throbs are some fabulous ladies!!  Wouldn't have been a wonderful evening without friends and family to help celebrate this special little boy!! 

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt Ben enjoyed his special night beyond measure!  I am also pretty sure 5 little girls enjoyed it just as much too! 

These 2 don't leave each others sides when they are together!  Bessie Boo and her Taylor!  Precious little ladies that I look forward to seeing share a long friendship!  Pretty sure one of these days, we will be flipping through their photo collages as we prepare high school graduation and wedding videos!  

Every birthday party needs a fashion show!!  Complete with microphones and tap shoes, this group of divas had it going on!!  Do it Lillie with your glamour shot pose!!  

And bless AB's heart!! She just wanted to eat that bottle!  Thankfully, there were plenty of grandmother's around here to hold her!!  

 Three years ago, a few minutes before noon, Bubba and I welcomed a little boy into the world that completed our family!  His joy and spunk are endless !  Our hearts were wrapped the minute we saw him and each day they seemed to be wrapped a bit more!!   

But the fun can't seem to stop around here!! Just the next day, Ben awoke from his nap to find EVEN MORE fun awaiting him!!  His own frogs with RED rocks!!  Thanks to Aunt Amy we now have 2 more frogs to join Bess' frogs!  Yes, "Tiana", "Jasmine" and now "Amy" and "Jay" (yes, Ben really named his frogs Amy and Jay) are sitting in our kitchen!  

OH Ben Ben!!  You are my last little baby and savoring these little moments with you is all I want to do!!   I am so thankful for all that you are and all that you bring to our family!  My words will never be able to express to you how much my heart feels!!  You are a blessing like no other !  

Now, please stop growing… and always promise you will stay my little baby boy!

Lots and Lots! 

They wanted to put on … their, their, their , their, their boogie shoes!

Gotta back track a bit!  Wouldn't ever dream of leaving this special memory out of the blog world but with Snowstorm Pax and birthday week, I haven't had a good chance to post this!

For several years now, Bubs has had the pleasure of taking either one or 2 of the girls to the annual Father Daughter Dance at St. John's.  His first experiences were a bit shorter than they seem to be these days.  The girls were not into the loud music and really didn't "get" what the whole experience was about!  

Those days are gone because now these little princesses are ALL ABOUT some Father Daughter Dancing!!  

While Daddy was gone, the girls wanted to primp and get ready!  So of course we had a mani pedi party in front of the fire!  

We washed our hair and dried it to perfection before heading to the closet to pick out the perfect dress for the dance!  

Both girls were bursting with excitement for this special night!  

Before they knew it, their Prince Charming was ready and waiting to whisk them away to White Horse for a round of cheese sticks and Coke!  The perfect dinner for the Daddy Daughter Dance!  

As much as I would have loved for Bubs to have taken my camera with him, he did not.  However thanks to the iPhone, I was never far away from knowing what was going on!  

The pictures aren't the best but it was clear they were dancing the night away!

These little girls are very lucky!  I happen to think their daddy would be the one sayin

g he is the lucky one!  These little loves always seem to turn on the charm and make their daddy crack a smile or open his arms for a giant hug!  The girls and I are blessed beyond measure by this man and thankful he loves us so! 

Legos and Looms

These days the Bailey Bunch world is consumed by 2 things: Legos and Looms!  Rainbow looms that is!  While Legos have been around for ages the craze of Rainbow Looms is sweeping young girls of all ages and my house is no exception!

Wylie has been a "loomer" for quite some time now and needs none of my You Tube tutorials to assist in her bracelet making!  

However, my precious little Bessie Boo wanted so badly to be able to do a rainbow loom just like her sister!  I will have you know it took me numerous You Tube tutorials and many failed bracelets but alas my friends, I have mastered the Rainbow Loom.  (One the beginner easy bracelet tutorial is a creation I can claim, but I can rock em out friends!!)  

I did all of this tutorial fun for my sweet Bessie Boo!  And worth it was it!! 

Together, Bess sits and lets me hold her in my lap and together we loom away!!  I eat it up!  Once I get her going, she can create the pattern on the loom and then together we use the pick to make our latest fashion statement!!  

Oddly enough, I really do find this looming a bit therapeutic!  I also have learned I can have chaos going on around me and still be able to loom these creations while holding a conversation!  Multitasking at it's finest!!  

What melted me the most about this whole fashion fad was how desperately Bess just wanted to do what Wylie had been doing!  She was so excited when together we created our first on -- THAT ACTUALLY WORKED!!!!   I was thankful for her relying on me to figure it out and help her do what she wanted to do!  I realize looming might not be necessary for college acceptance, but if that changes, Bess and I got it under control!! 

Thanks to Snowstorm Pax, this momma has found herself going from looms to the other most popular event of our house!!  Legos!   

Charlie has just recently discovered Legos and it is ALL THE RAGE with him!!  I must admit, while rainbow looming reminds me of the good ol' friendship bracelets I use to make with thread and clipboard, my familiarity with Legos is a bit lacking!!  

So when approached with the request to help him read his "constructions" for his newest Lego purchase, I was a bit worried for us both!!  Thanks to the fabulous Lego "construction" books (as Charlie calls them) I was able to go step by step with pictures to guide me in the creation of our  Super Rad Police Man Car and our Seriously Super Monster Truck!  It was impressive and I must admit I also found this little activity therapeutic as well!!  

While my little love has them simply tossed in his Lego container and not organized by color or size, I was able to impart some Lego wisdom to him by explaining a system to keep big and microscopic pieces separated for easier finding!!  It was the least I could do!!  

We worked super hard and time flew by quickly because what I thought would take 20 minutes lasted over an hour!  Now, I will admit we had to redo the entire car 2 times but it was my first go at lego making so I considered that appropriate!  

Before you knew it, my sweet little boy was happier than he had been all day thanks to the moments of time we spent together bonding over Legos!  And I was again so thankful I had taken the time to stop and spend it with him!  

After both of these "little" moments, I looked around and realized there were still dishes in my sink, my laundry had not been switched, the messy kitchen floor still had not been mopped and I was 100% perfectly okay with it!  

I say it all the time, I don't want to miss moments and I know that I often get too busy in my checklist of chores that I don't stop and enjoy these precious moments happening right before my eyes!  

I am so thankful for today for pointing out that those things can wait.  But my babies being babies is changing right before my eyes.  

Little loves, I love you lots and lots!  Thank you for our fun day of looming and Legos!  Wouldn't have wanted it to be any different!  

Heart Attacks & Corny Love Treats 2014

This year I was more in love with Valentine's than I ever have been!  Not exactly sure why but it just seemed like everywhere I turned, there was a great Valentine idea and I couldn't stand it!  I was hooked and wanted to shower my favorites with a few fun and festive signs of love!

Thanks to another blog I read, last year I noticed a mom doing this for her children.  It is called Heart Attack!  Each day she placed a new heart on their door letting the child know one thing she loved about them!  How perfect and easy was this!  This was my first festively fun I did for everyone in the house!  

Charlie's Door 

Charlie's Heart Attack Messages said things like:  I love that you are all boy, that you are such a good reader, that you love playing sports , that you give me surprise hugs when I don't expect them, that you try to be a good big brother , that you like to sleep late…  and many more!  

Wylie's Door

Wylie's Heart Attack Messages said things like: I love that you get up early to get dressed with me, that you call me your best friend, that you like to be organized, that you make pallets for your baby dolls to sleep on, that you are a great helper to your brothers and sisters and that you have a gorgeous smile.  Wylie was REALLY into this little festive fun!  She was always quick to keep a count as to what day it was and how  many hearts she had on her door.  I did forget one morning to put them up and she told her Daddy that I did not get it up that morning and couldn't understand why she was short a heart!!  Bless!!   

Wylie also took it upon herself to create her own hearts for doors.  If you notice towards the bottom left corner there is a set of hearts she did for herself.  They simply said "I love you Wylie."  She made these for everyone in the house and would randomly leave them in the mix of my hearts taped to their door!  She has such a precious heart!  It makes me melt!  

Bess' Door

Bess' Heart Attack Messages said things like: I love that you wear cowboy boots with everything, that you insist on wearing pigtail braids, that you love to have dance parties everywhere you go, that you have a "Drew Barrymore" lip when you cry, that you love to eat salmon at supper with me, that you like for me to do your nails and that you have an adorable little voice.   

Since Bess and Wylie share a room, Bess' heart attacks were placed on her closet door.  It was the perfect spot for her to see them as she was in her bed or right as she walked into her room!  

Little Bennie Boo's Door

Ben Ben's Heart Attack Messages said things like:  I love that you want me to play "Duck Duck Moose" with you, that you insist on sleeping with your red cars, that you are using the big boy potty, that you know all the words to You Are My Sunshine, that you love red, that you run to hug me when I come in the back door and that you keep our lives interesting!  

Each night before I left Ben's room, he would insist on me reading these hearts to him.  Since they were in random orders, he never really understood that all had been read to him so this process took a bit of time!  He would just giggle as I said "Duck Duck Moose" each time I read that heart!  Preciousness!  

Bubba's Door 

I couldn't do this Heart Attack festive fun without including Bubs!  So he too got a heart a day to remind him of the wonderful things that make me fall more in love with him all the time!  

His Heart Attack messages said things like:  I love that you bring home grocery store treats , that you are an incredible chef, that you hold dance parties in our bedroom with our kids, that our girls adore you, that you love Reese Cups too, that you let me do my little corny things and that you let me have my "visions" of what things should look like!!   

Also note the hearts Wylie added throughout these 14 days for her daddy!  Some say I love you Bubba, some say I love you Dada and some just have a smiley heart face of him!  

 After almost a week and half of my leaving hearts on their doors, I came home from work later than normal.  Bubba had been at home with the kids and I walked in to find supper done, kitchen cleaned and homework done!  It was just dreamy.

Thinking I had an easy night ahead, I headed into my room to change into my comfy clothes and discovered this!

 The kids and Bubba had worked on a heart for my door too!

Seeing this made my eyes puddle and my heart swell with love for all of them!  The thought that they put into creating this was truly precious and I adore this heart sign I was left!  

Over the remaining days, Wylie continued to add hearts to my door also!  She was so proud of herself! I was so thankful for her sweet spirit in doing such a thoughtful thing!  

Seeing the success of Heart Attack 2014, there will most certainly be a Heart Attack 2015!  

Another Fun Festive Treat for the kids and Bubba was what I am choosing to call 

A Bit of Corny Love!  

Each day the kids would wake to find their Valentine bags hanging on their kitchen chairs.  Attached to the chair (or sometimes inside the bag) I would write a Corny Love Note to them and leave a small treat!   

This was so much fun!!  

Their treats were simple things and the messages were corny and full of love!  A few things that "The Valentine Bunny" left were :  

Cereal because I "cereal"ously love you!  

Blow Pop because You "blow" me away! 

Pencils because You are just "Write" for me! 

Gummy Bears because Life would be "unbearable" without you! 

Peeps because You are one of my favorite "peeps" ?

Bananas because I am "bananas" over you! 

It was easy and for the most part not that pricey!  Which is always a good thing!  

And of course if you do something for the kids you wouldn't want to leave your hubby out now would you!  Each day Bubba also got a little treat as well!  Sometimes he was the same as the kids but sometimes not!  

I left little heart notes with his treats and hid them around the house and his car!  

I had so much fun doing this and loved waiting to hear that he had discovered his treat!  

Bubba's Corny Love Treats included things like:

An oven mitt because he is too "hot" to handle! 

Crush side because I have a "crush" on him!

Little Debbie Brownie Hearts because I "heart" him! 

Extra gum because I love him an "extra" lot ! 

A new button up shirt because he is as cute as a "button"

Chapstick because he needed to "read my lips" that I loved him ! 

Again, I loved doing these little treats for them with all my heart!  

Nothing is as great as a corny little bit of love around this time of year!! 

But tonight, the long awaited "Love Feast" is happening!! 

Every Friday night the Brazzell's and the Bailey's join together for Friday night food and fun!  Usually the kids are in attendance!  But tonight we are down from 6 kids to only 2!!  My boys will remain upstairs so we can enjoy a delicious meal together!  There is just nothing like the boys making us seafood stuffed salmon and grilled kabobs!!  

It will be a meal fit for kings and queens!  

I ,again, can't wait!!  

It is able to easily be said I am totally guilty of "hearting" Valentine's Day!  100% !! 

To those I love dearly, I hope you know that my heart loves you more and more each day!  Thank you for letting me be the corny mom and wife during these 14 days!  I have loved showering you with messages and treats!  

Until the Season of Love 2015… 

Lots and Lots!