Mike's Farm with Blair

Bailey and I decided to take Daddy to Mike's Farm this weekend. We just love their food and atmosphere! (Not to mention this pregnant momma was craving their ham biscuits, mac n cheese and sweet tea). We had a great time with lots of food and friendship.

The Cellon clan
Waiting with Daddy


Bailey and her boyfriend Jace swinging in a rocking chair.Daddy showing Bales the animals at the very small "zoo"


One of the main attractions

Day at the park

It has been an absolutely gorgeous day. We went for a long walk and Bailey got to play at the park when we were done. She loved having Daddy play with her!

We are a family again!

Pics courtesy of Allison- thank you!

More Pics of the Homecoming

My good friend Allison was at the homecoming with her son (and Bailey's boyfriend) Jace. These pics are courtesy of her! She also kept Bales yesterday for a few hours to give me time to get ready and finish some last minute tasks. Thank you so much! I can't believe this deployment is over. We are doing well and looking forward to the relaxing weekend ahead (he is at work right now for a few hours).

First time seeing us!
Bailey seeing Daddy again
Daddy trying to help Bales up.
Bales was not quite into the whole let's leave Mommy thing....she has since warmed up very well! Daddy shared some of his breakfast and lunch today- I think she has a new best friend :)
Getting re-acquainted.

WELCOME HOME DADDY!

Waiting for Daddy with our sign.
Yea! It is Daddy!
Blair and the Bales....she took quite awhile to warm up to him...she was more interested in the doggy that was there :)
Daddy and Bales playing for the first time.
Cute, cute.

Today is the day!

Tonight Blair will arrive home after a very long 7 month deployment to Iraq. He has been gone 14 of the past 18 months. Oh how we miss him! I look at the below picture and am just amazed how much Bailey has changed. Thank you everyone for praying for our family the past 7 months. I am so glad it is over!

Bailey is 18 months!

Today Bailey is 18 months old! It is hard to believe that my baby girl is now full-fledged into toddlerhood. Her daddy is set to come home tomorrow and I couldn't think of a better gift for her than that! He left right before she turned 11months (she started walking a few days later), so they have lots to catch up on.
We haven't had her "vitals" done in awhile, but will post those after her 18 month well child check in a week. I do know that she is starting to outgrow her 18 month clothes! It will be all 24 months for the summer and probably 2T for the fall!

What she has been up to:
Loves:
cheese
juice
Elmo
balls
running
making baby go night night (elmo is her baby)
playing with play food
climbing stairs
eating cold cereal with soy milk
shoes of all kinds
massive destruction

Dislikes:
Milk
Most meat/veggies
getting hair done
getting nose wiped
being immobile

Old Man Winter has been active!

I almost can't believe I am saying this, but it has snowed again! I was very surprised to wake up this morning and find a good bit (well for this area) of accumulation of the white stuff. This is the fourth time this winter that it has snowed....pretty crazy! While it is pretty and fun, I have A LOT of errand running to do today to ready for Blair's return in 2 DAYS!! Hopefully, by the time Bailey and I get ready the roads will look good.

Last Saturday without Blair!

Blair is due home in less than a week now! He will be leaving Iraq in a few days, so please be in prayer for his safety in traveling. Here are some pics to let him know what next Sat. morning will entail :).

We don't like to sleep in on Saturdays, no siree, we are up at 6:45am. Yipee! (dripping with sarcasm of course)
How could you sleep in with this cutie waiting for you?
We like to keep our hair all-natural from the day before (left over pigtails :)).
Do you want to play kitchen with me Daddy?
I'll cook you up some good breakfast real quick!

New Haircut

I have been wanting to change up my hair for awhile and thought it was a good time to do so! I love the end product! This is the first cut that I won't be able to pull ALL my hair back in a pony, but I have finally reached a stage of (increased laziness?) life where that isn't necessary everyday to work out. It seems fairly easy to do and since my hair is so straight, even if I just wash it it will look ok.

Forgive the pic of my face. Look at the hair. Closeups stink. My face actually looks less long in real life with this haircut...

Bailey Update: Egg Allergy

We had another appointment with Bailey's allergist today. They did another round of skin prick testing and Egg White/Egg Yolk was still extremely positive. The doctor did not feel comfortable giving her any amount of egg (even in baked goods) for at least a year. We are know the proud owners an Epi Pen Jr. to use in case she does come in contact with an egg product. I am a little sad for her, but it is rare that the allergy will continue past 5, so hopefully she will outgrown this within the next few years! For now, I am starting to become pretty good at egg-free cooking/baking. The hardest part is when we go out to eat. Oh well, after all we've been through just having one food allergy seems like a walk in the park!

Menu Planning Monday

I have been following a blog that has ladies post their menu's for the week every Monday. It is so interesting to see what people are making and has given me a lot of ideas. I have started doing this more consistently for a few reasons: I am trying to be a better cook, get some meals for the freezer for when after Taylor arrives, and eat healthier (less eating out). It is important to note that Bailey has a severe egg allergy and cannot have any food with any amount of egg in it. I have been able to save a lot of $ by planning my menus! Here is my food plan for the week:

Breakfasts:
Cereal with soy milk (a bailey fav!)
Oatmeal/ Cream of Wheat hot cereal mixture
Mini whole wheat bagels with cream cheese

Lunches:
PB +J (Bailey), cheese stick, fruit
Egg Salad sand (me)
Shredded BBQ Chicken sand with baked beans (shredded chicken already cooked in freezer)
leftovers

Snacks (for me):
Veggie sticks
Fruit
Tortilla chips (I seem to crave a few of these every day!)
Cheese cubes

Dinners:
Pork fried rice without egg (using already cooked pork tend. from freezer), fruit
Spaghetti with whole wheat pasta, green beans
Mexican Bake (from freezer-made 2 last time), side salad
Easy Chicken Pot Pie (chicken/veggie mixture over biscuits)

Next time I will try and post my recipe links. These are all mostly "in my head" :). I am excited for the Pork Fried Rice- I actually have never made Fried Rice before!

My friend Olivia

Bailey and I had the pleasure of having Olivia last night while her parent's enjoyed a night out. Olivia is almost exactly 1 year older then Bailey and it is always neat to see what Bales will be doing "in the future". Olivia is very advanced in talking for her age though and kept me laughing with some of the things she said. Needless to say, we had a lot of fun!

Olivia and Bailey saying "Cheese"

Cousin Alice!

Bailey and I were able to visit with Jonathan, Lindsay and Baby Alice this weekend. We had a blast getting to know Alice...she is really a good baby. Lindsay is an awesome Mom! We were able to have a couple of Alice's first outings. Bailey really never paid attention to Alice, which I think is good in a way- hopefully we won't have major jealousy issues (especially since Daddy can give her some extra attention). She loved when Uncle Johnny got home and chased her around the house.

Thanks for letting us come visit guys! We miss you so much already. Soon, ANOTHER girl cousin is on the way :).

Taylor and I at 30 1/2 weeks. Getting big! (no signs of major fluid retention/ blood pressure issues :))!
Bailey, I and baby Alice.
I lover her so much! Miss you baby Alice...don't forget your Aunt Sara. (Taylor didn't like it so much when I was holding Alice on my belly- she would fight for some room :)).
Um, what is this?
Cousin love! (17 months apart)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I received these gorgeous flowers in the mail today...yes, mail! It is the company called ProFlowers that sends the flowers UPS. They look great- Gerber Daisy's are my favorite! Thanks Allison (and Jason) for letting us know about this company. Blair did very well :).

A friend and I took our girls to a drop in daycare and went to see a movie this afternoon. I even splurged on a drink and snack! The movie was good and Bailey did fairly well at the daycare.

Only 3 more weeks to go!

Pizza night :)

I have tried to be very diligent with having a Menu Plan weekly and USING it :). Pizza is one of Bailey's top foods, and well, mine too :). I have been wanting to give homemade pizza another try and this one turned out a winner! I cheated and used the crust you buy in the roll (dairy isle), but I had a commissary and manufactures coupon so it was cheap!

For this pizza I made 1/2 BBQ Chicken (with chicken, pineapple, onion and bbq sauce) and 1/2 Hawaiin. These are my two personal faves...I wasn't sure if Bailey would like the BBQ one. They both turned out well, especially the BBQ Chicken! It was healthy and yummy.

On the menu for this week:
Crockpot Stroganoff- turned out very well! (I found a beef strip steak on sale 50% off this week!)
Pork Fried Rice (no egg)- have yet to make
Pizza
Beans/Rice/Sausage
I also made some eggless whole wheat applesauce bread that we have been enjoying for breakfasts/snacks.

Close up of the BBQ chicken half

1/2 and 1/2
Bailey thought it was good. Isn't she just the cutest?
Eating some stand alone pineapple
Bailey of video enjoying her pizza.

29 weeks

I am now 29 weeks and doing much better :). I have been seeing a nutritionist and have gained ZERO pounds in the last few weeks. This is really good news, as I was gaining weight a little too much too quickly. Hopefully this trend will continue and I will be able to stay on target from now on out.

Blair is set to come home in about 3 weeks!! We are getting very exciting that the time is winding down.

29 weeks
Bailey and I (at least an attempt :)).

Bailey says her words

Watch Bailey say some of her words! I couldn't think of them all....These are the ones she says consistently that I can currently think of. She adds more it seems everyday!
Dada
Mama
Cat
Car
Jace (her boyfriend)
Juice
Eat
E (she can recognize this letter)
O (she can recognize this letter)
Ball
Book
Banana "nana"
Block
Cookie
Cracker (sounds a lot like cookie)
Cheese
Frog "Grog"
Dog "Gog"- she barks now too :)
Fish
Crab
Bug
Bye bye
Night night
Duck duck
uh oh
We are working very hard on please and thank you, but they have yet to take hold!