Baillio a la East Coast

Making Most of the Break

2012-01-02T20:23:00.003-06:00

A New York Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T21:12:00.003-06:00

Macy's Day Parade!

It was REALLY crowded! I don't know how Marcia saw anything. Brad had two kids on his shoulders and I had one on mine.

The best two ballons

Keeping the Kids Busy, while we were cooking.

Doctor Barrand fixing a patient.

The Boys attacking the turkey

Other boys hanging out

Playing on the Streets of New York, on the the way to the Muppets movie.

Checking out Grand Central Station

Watching the falling ice skaters at Rockfeller Center.

Trying not to get run over by the bikers on Brooklyn Bridge.

Superhero's saving New York

For the Barrrands on Brooklyn Bridge Pictures go here:
http://celestebailliophotography.blogspot.com

October

2011-11-09T22:14:00.002-06:00

An expensive jaunt to the Air and Space Museum. Brad got a speeding ticket on the way down and Celeste got a speeding ticket on the way back. But Celeste is awesomer cause her ticket was twice as much. :)

Brooklyn wanted a scary pumpkin and Hunter wanted a smiling pumpkin- Should that mean anything????

Ocean City with Barrands

2011-09-17T18:57:00.003-05:00

Ocean City with Baillios

2011-09-17T18:51:00.003-05:00

A Walk in the Woods

2011-08-29T07:37:00.001-05:00

Grandma Barrand Visit

2011-08-21T19:47:00.003-05:00

My wonderful mom came for 6 1/2 days. What a help!! She played Noah's ark with the kids, swept and mopped the floors, cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed the whole house, she changed 90% of the diapers, she stained our fence, she weeded our backyard, bought us new plants, laid down mulch and planted flowers, took us out to dinner and bought the kids toys, babysat the kids so we could go on two dates, she was company for me, she drew pictures for the kids, went swimming with them, and took us to THE COW for yummy treats. Oh, It was awful that she had to go. I wanted her to stay forever. I don't know how I'll live with out her!! Thanks mom, we love you and miss you!!!

Ethan's Baby Blessing

2011-08-21T19:44:00.001-05:00

New York with The Barrands

2011-08-01T20:35:00.003-05:00

Splashing Summer Fun

2011-08-01T20:04:00.004-05:00

Ethan Glamor Shots

2011-07-11T16:30:00.004-05:00

I don't like this shot very much because his arm looks strange, but he's smiling while he sleeps, So I had to include it!!

Of course Iron Man and A Knight had to be in the photo shoot as well.

Ethan or Hunter???? Take a guess!

2011-07-08T18:23:00.004-05:00

One Lucky Guy

2011-07-07T20:02:00.003-05:00

Fresh Laundry

2011-07-07T13:30:00.000-05:00

Ethan is Here!

2011-07-04T21:11:00.005-05:00

June 30th, 9:53pm 7lbs 10 ounces.

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-05T20:06:00.003-05:00

We went camping, threw some rocks, flew some kites, and played Frisbee Golf, and spent some time with family.

First Wedding

2011-05-22T20:13:00.007-05:00

A friend in my ward asked me to do pictures of her daughters wedding. Since I'm highly inexperienced, and don't really know what I'm doing, I did it for free of course. I learned a lot in the process, and there is a whole list of things I would do different. But here's a link to my photo blog, if you want to check it out!
http://celestebailliophotography.blogspot.com/

Brooklyn's 4th Pirate Birthday

2011-05-22T16:07:00.002-05:00

Pirate Party! Arrggg! We played pin the treasure on the Map.

Brad was a pirate in a ship that the kids had to "throw cannonballs" at.

They had to "walk the plank".

Dig for "buried treasure".

And go on a Treasure Hunt.

Here's the "Treasure Map" cake.

And Daddy got her a bike.

But her favorite gift was a Iron Man costume, in which she quickly ditched her pirate costume, and blasted people with her super powers the rest of the party.

Hunter enjoying the candy from the party with a fellow pirate.

Cousin Camp 2011 Branson, MO

2011-05-22T15:37:00.004-05:00

Traveling for 8 hours (4 hours plane, 4 hours car) to get to Branson to meet the other Barrand cousins!!

Silver Dollar City Amusement Park, we got drenched!

But the next day was much nicer.

Everyday we went to the pool, and the children attacked each other with water guns.

We had a "Special" Olympic games.

And enjoyed a evening walk with our glow sticks.

Brooklyn Had a pirate party with AWESOME costumes that grandma made.

And the kids put on a puppet show.

Not pictured:
Kids making mother day gifts, the adults went out to eat and on a shopping spree, learning about Chicken Little, making tie dye shirts, crying, fights, tantrums, messes, laughing, giggling, and making lots of memories!

Easter and Sherwood Gardens

2011-04-27T11:43:00.003-05:00

New Swing Set, Hunters Birthday, and Zoo

2011-04-27T11:39:00.001-05:00

March Madness

2011-03-29T09:44:00.006-05:00

We had one day of 74 degrees. I raked up 10 bags of leaves and the kids swam. Now we are back to 45 degrees. Blegggg.

Friends, Russell and Lindsey came to visit us.

The kids are obsessed with camping. Our front room is always taken over with camping equipment. And we are constantly searching for firewood and making smores.

For Brad's Birthday we went to to New york without the kids. (thanks to Kat, for watching them for 18 hours!) We went out to lunch with Hailey and Ben Smith friends from Utah, that I haven't seen in 5 years. I barraged her with questions about life in New York, and we ended up going on the wrong subway train, and being a hour late to lunch.

We walked into "Spiderman the Musical" with one minute to spare, and they scanned our tickets, and they told us our tickets were for the wrong day. Yikes!! I felt sick- thinking we had come all the way up to New York, and not be able to see the show and losing all that money. But luckily the box office gave us some extra tickets, and we were able to get in.

The musical was awesome about 50% of the time, the other 50% was kinda messy. But we enjoyed ourselves, and hopefully have a jaunt up to New York again soon!

The Flood

2011-03-07T13:30:00.005-06:00

Hunter woke me up at 5:30 in the morning, I heard water running, and headed down to the basement. As I stumbled through the dark I stepped down into 1 foot of icy cold water covering the entire basement. Our hot water heater had sprung a leak, and was pumping water into our basement, and nothing was being drained because our sump pump had been sealed for radon testing. Hunter and Brooklyn both wanted to get on their swim suits and go swimming, but as soon as Hunter fell in and started screaming at the icy cold water they changed their minds.

The worst part was 6 scrapbooks of my life from birth to 25 years old, had gotten soaked. And the play programs of plays I've been in. I'm so glad the insurance company is trying to get them restored. Hopefully!

We had to drag out all of our stuff to dry.
They have torn out all the drywall and insulation a foot from the floor. And now we are just waiting for them to fix it all back up again.
I just hope the insurance company comes through and we will be ale to cover all the costs.

We went Outside! And the Aquarium.

2011-02-27T19:30:00.002-06:00

No snow, a little warmer- so we enjoyed.

You might ask "Did you cry again at the dolphin show?"
Answer: Yes of course I did.

2nd List I'm Sharing: Top Ten Movies in Genre's

2011-02-16T16:31:00.004-06:00

After a long discussion at Baillio family get together, my head was so disorganized I HAD to make this list.
My feeling is you CANNOT have a top ten movie list. There is just TOO many genres. SO here's my list.

I'd really like to know what feelings you have, What movies I'm a missing!??? What movies do you think I'm crazy for.

Animation
Toy Story 3
Horton Hears a Who
Incredibles
Cars
Kung Fu Panda
Prince of Egypt
Bugs Life
Finding Nemo
Emperors New Groove
Mulan

Musical Movie
Fiddler on the Roof
West Side Story
Hairspray
Phantom of the Opera
Wizard of Oz
Across the Universe
Moulin Rouge
Oliver
Throughly Modern Millie
Newsies
1776
Willy Wonka and the Choc. Fac.

Action/ Adventure
(I have too many in this category! Help me eliminate!)
Braveheart
Gladiator
Indiana Jones 3
Batman Begins
X- Men Trilogy
X-Men Wolverine Origins
Spiderman 1,2
Iron Man
Mission Impossible
Sherlock Holmes
Italian Job
Oceans 11
The Prestige

Fantasy
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Avatar
Jurassic Park
Harry Potter Series
Edward Sissorhands
Princess Bride
Stardust
Hook
Neverending Story

Sci Fi
Inception
Matrix
Star Wars Trilogy
Back to the Future Trilogy
Star Trek (2009)
Serenity
Contact
5th Element
Signs
6th Sense

Drama
Amadeus
Forest Gump
Saving Private Ryan
Shawshank Redemption
Schindler's List
It's a Wonderful Life
Truman Show
Dead Poets Society
Far and Away
Empire of the Sun

Comedy
Dumb and Dumber
What about Bob
Rat Race
Waiting for Guffman
School of Rock
Maverick
O Brother where art thou
Clue
3 Amigos
Napoleon Dynamite

Romance
Jane Eyre
Pride and Prejudice
Emma
Gone With the Wind
Anne of Green Gables
The Notebook
Shakespeare in Love
Romeo and Juliet

A list fanatic

2011-02-15T18:41:00.002-06:00

I LOVE making lists. I have many lists saved in my documents. It helps me organize my brain. So I thought I'd share a few with you. I have made I list of fun things that we are going to do this year.

March
Lexington Market- Lunch w/ Elephants
Maple Sugar Festival 12th, 19th
Washington Museums
Zoo
New York- Brad's Birthday

April
Peep Show 8-16th
Tulip Garden/ Zoo
Great Falls/ Mount Vernon
Ladew Topiary Gardens
New York- Girls Trip

May
Dutch Wonderland- Kids Ausement Park
Camping- Corodus
Baughers- Pick- Your own Cherries
Civil War Reenactment Farm Museum
Lancaster County

June
Annapolis- Sandy Point Park
Baughers- Pick your own Strawberries/ Cherries
Hershey Park
Hon Fest- 11th

July
Bengies Movie Drive-In
Union Mills Hampstead
Cunningham Falls State Park

August
Raspberry Picking- Larriland Farm
Baughers- Pick your own Peaches
Virginia Beach/First Land./Richmond/Bot. Gardens
Colorado

September
Ocean City
Baughers- Pick your own Apples
National Apple Museum, Gettysburg
Little Sykes Railway/Piney Run Park Apple Fes.

October
Renaissance Fair
Strasburg Railroad

Anyone have other suggestions, or want to come????

Weekend with Fam

2011-02-12T10:05:00.002-06:00

Valentine's party with the cousins

Kodak moment with Grandma

Pink and a Shiner

2011-02-04T15:17:00.013-06:00

Brooklyn modeling her pink ensemble for Pink Day at Preschool.

Hunter fell this morning and conked his forehead pretty good on a door frame.

"Hunter- point to your ouchy"

Ocean City in the WInter

2011-02-02T14:41:00.008-06:00

Needed a break. Went to Ocean City which is 3 hours away. I kept imagining as we were getting closer that the temperature would rise 50 degrees and we could soak in the sun rays and salt water and sand. Well it wasn't 50 but at least it was 10 degrees higher !!! Enough for me! We started out having breakfast at the diner.
I just asked the kids to smile. Of course this is what I get. Tongues.
I say "Open your eyes!"
Finally, a good one.
Swimming at the pool- It was supposed to be "heated". Our chattering teeth and goosebumps would tell you different.
Hanging on the boardwalk.
Children heating themselves in the corners of the buildings. We are not punishing them!!!!

Sand look warm and inviting? Brooklyn wanted to take off her shoes.
Brooklyn trying to get the birds to go away by throwing popcorn at them. Didn't work to well.

The whole gang of friends we went with.
Ending the trip at the arcade with an intense game of canoeing.
We'll see you in the summer Ocean City!

Cleaning out the camera

2011-01-26T14:59:00.006-06:00

Brooklyn first day of preschool. I told her as soon as she was potty trained she could go to preschool. She said "I want to go on the potty train!"
Potty Training was a hard process, and took a very long time, it finally just cost a lot of money in fantastic new toys. ( Thanks to Grandma for pitching in.) Even though it was expensive it was worth it.
She loves preschool, yet when I pick her up from school, I ask what she did that day- and she just says "I don't know". Grrr. I guess I deserve that cause I probably said that to my parents. However I did get out one story. That she likes to hug a boy named Jason, but he doesn't like it, and her teacher told her to stop. Can't wait to meet this Jason kid!!!

Can I just say, January is really boring? I'm obsessed with summer. I miss waking up to the birds chirping and fresh fruit. I wash my hands in my favorite orange soap frequently just to smell the summer. I've checked out several travel books for Maryland and Pennsylvania, I've already checked out several times before and been already making our monthly summer fun trip plans.

We spend a lot of time in the basement, playing with toys and watching movies. The kids were obsessed with Pingu, then Diego, and now thankfully they are on Backyardigans, which is less annoying than the previous two. I can't wait to get outside, and do real things!!! Brooklyn loves playing with blocks, her favorite things to make include- rockets, castles and "mommies".

Brooklyn, so sick of the winter season, has regressed back to Halloween, and frequently puts on her witch costume and trick or treat's. And I have to fork out some kind of treat!

Our first snowman! Brooklyn named him January. See how boring and stupid he is! Just like his name.

Brooklyn got expensive this month, and started dance class as well. She loves it. She teaches me how to dance and corrects me at home.

Annual Unveiling of the Barrand Family Christmas Picture

2010-12-15T16:15:00.005-06:00

Click it to make bigger.

4 Amusement Parks in 5 Days!

2010-12-05T19:47:00.009-06:00

For Thanksgiving we headed off to Orlando with my parents.
We stayed in this great condo, that had a lame mini golf, but a awesome pool and water slides.
First day we went to Sea World. The Dolphin show was incredible, I cried both times I watched it.

Both kids conked out in the stroller. It was only the first day! 4 more to go!!
At Disney Hollywood Studios, The Playhouse Disney Show was our favorite. There was puppets of our favorite characters. I honesty felt I was in a rock concert, signing along with all the songs and seeing my favorite animated friends.

Magic Kingdom
Daisy- Brooklyn's' favorite character- worth 45 min wait???? I think yes!

Our little pirate.

Universal- Islands of Adventure
Harry Potter Wizarding World!! Amazing- It's was like walking into the movie- I want to live there!
The Harry Potter ride was incredible, like soaring on a broomstick encountering Dementors, large spiders and riding through a Quiditch game.

Butterbeer! I recommend it!

Meeting all our favorite Superheros! Spider man ride was the Best!!

Suessical Land. The Kids Favorite.

Ended our trip back at Sea World, to catch a kiss for Shamu.
And a hug from a Otter.
Overall- Sea World and Universal were our favorites. Sea World brought tears to my eyes with the beautiful animals and the awesome Manta roller coaster. Universal was incredible because it catered more to kids then Disney and Harry Potter world was wowing.

The kids did well all five days, and I was impressed with their stamina. I definitely felt like we ran an amazing race. We couldn't have done it without my parents helping with the kids, and Dad running around the park getting our Fast Passes.

Anyone what to come with us next time???

A conversation

2010-11-16T14:29:00.004-06:00

At Lunch:

(Brooklyn drops her sippy cup)

Brooklyn: Mommy can you get my sippy cup?

Me: No Brooklyn, you can get it yourself.

Brooklyn: (Howling) Mommy sippy cup!

Me:No Brooklyn, I'm not your servant.

Brooklyn: Yes you are my servant!

Me: Brooklyn, I didn't drop it, you did, so you can get it.

Brooklyn: (Still howling) But my arms are to low to reach!

(This exchange goes on for a minute more)

Hunter: (gets up from his chair, goes and picks up Brooklyns cup and holds it out for her).

Me: Hunter! That is so nice, Thank you!

Brooklyn: (Shrieking) Hunter, I wanted to pick my own cup up!!!!

(Hunter and I exchange glances)

Me: (Sighing) Okay Brooklyn, ask Hunter to drop your cup, nicely.

Brooklyn:(with restrained anger) Hunter, please drop my cup.

(Hunter looks at me again, and drops the cup)

Brooklyn retrieves cup.

Sometimes I yearn for some more adult conversation during the day.

I'm Pregnant!

2010-11-13T09:14:00.004-06:00

There, you know the whole of it from the title. This time I think I took the test correctly.

October

2010-11-01T14:17:00.006-05:00

Our little witch and dragon.

We've been taking some walks around main street in Westminster. These are some of my favorite buildings.

I love this Dentist office, because the house number is 19 1/2.

I was also in community production of the murder mystery "The Mousetrap". AND No kissing 19 year old's this time! Whew!!!
Everyone accusing me of something.
Brooding over the horrible situation were in- Boy I look serious!
Every night the director put a hat in a box that I had to pull out. The last night she put this little number in. I definitely lost it on stage.

The whole cast.

Strasburg Railroad in Beautiful Amish Lancaster County

2010-10-23T12:06:00.007-05:00

I took all these pictures from the moving train.

Another Portrait Attempt with Brooklyn- with some success.

2010-10-02T20:07:00.004-05:00

"Please, Please, Brooklyn- Please just stand still and smile!"

-This is what I got

But there were some winners, go here for the keepers.

Antics

2010-09-25T22:55:00.003-05:00

So you want to be a tiger? Grab a green and red marker- Instant transformation!

Come on! EVERY airplane flier needs umbrella wings, orange goggles and a red Lincoln hat.

Just trying to get a nice portrait picture, but the model wanted to be a dragon that eats trees.
Don't ask me what she is doing to the tree here.

Apple Apple Ding Ding Ding

2010-09-19T22:28:00.002-05:00

Ocean City

2010-09-13T15:53:00.008-05:00

Peaches, Nursey Rhymes, and the Beach

2010-08-29T20:12:00.003-05:00

Utah, Colorado, Texas

2010-08-21T21:07:00.009-05:00

Animals, Bye-Bye Spain and Poppins

2010-07-26T06:39:00.003-05:00

We have been going to the Zoo a lot this summer.
We said goodbye to our Spanish Student, Ignacio.
But made him play some Heroscape before he left.
Brad took me to Mary Poppins for my Birthday. I cried six times during the course of the show. Dont' ask me why, I just get all emotional!
Supercalifragislistics and Step in Time were the two best numbers.

We also saw Inception this weekend. It was awesome!!!

Now we are off to Utah, Colorado and TX for two and half weeks!

Goodbye Jensen's Sniff....Sniff...

2010-07-19T15:35:00.007-05:00

Our friends the Jensen's left us for "Boise, Idaho". (Who lives there???) Well they claim it's awesome, so they ditched us here. So here's a tribute to them, and how much we are going to miss them.

The Indian club.

Sophie waking up Brad the giant.
The day that their 3rd child was Born. (Also the night we gave them a deadly virus, called the "swine flu".)
This is actual photo evidence that Brooklyn gave Quincy the swine flu.
First day of preschool.
Brooklyn's 2nd birthday.
Probably the most difficult photo shoot I've ever done.
Sustainable living Fair. Some other random kid was in this picture and I cropped her out.

Ahh. Such fond memories........

Bye Jensen's.
I hope you have a miserable time in "Boise".

Please winter don't ever come. I hate you.

2010-07-04T16:07:00.004-05:00

I'm already feeling overwhelmed that June is gone. Yikes! only two more months for summer- how can I fit it all in before the dreaded cold comes!

We have a Exchange Student from Spain staying with us for a month. His name is Ignacio. He is really fun,and I like him cause he politely laughs at all my jokes. We took him to Gettysburg and to Chuck E Cheese. How more American can you get.

Tribute to my Dad

2010-06-20T20:01:00.002-05:00

I love these photos of my Dad and my grandmother.

Isn't this one great! He's in the middle. Classic 70's.

I love you so much Dad, thank you for your sense of humor, your testimony, your love and your good looks. Ha Ha!

A Force to be Reckoned With

2010-06-08T12:20:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday a wave of crazy washed over me, and I wanted to do something exciting and different and new. So ...I knocked down a wall.
It was a half wall separating our kitchen and dinning room. I've wanted to do it for a long time, and Thursday was the day.
The kids watched me and Brooklyn kept saying "Put the wall back, put the wall back please!"

Sorry Brooklyn- that wall is never going to be back, but you can still look at it, for now it is a pile of trash in our yard waiting to be taken to the dump.

It was exhilarating doing something that awesome- I highly suggest to anyone out there whose wanted to take down a wall, TO DO IT. (whether that be literally or figuratively.) You'll feel like a force to be reckoned with.

Of course it only took 30 minutes to take it down, and 2 days to fix the hole in the floor, paint and lay tile. But whose thinking about that when the crazy waves come!

Also, one place you don't want to put your phone:

A flushing toilet. Cause you can pretty much kiss it goodbye.

Cause the flushing waters of a toilet are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Branson

2010-06-06T14:23:00.006-05:00

Sisters. Cousins.

2010-06-03T21:05:00.002-05:00

My sister Danica and I.

Our daughters- Hmmm I wonder who belongs to who.

Finally Summertime

2010-05-22T18:39:00.004-05:00

We went to "Dutch Wonderland" a amusement park for kids. Where Hunter and Brooklyn could go on any ride they want.

We have a membership to the zoo, and took our friends the Jensens. During our visit a big black snake about 10 feet long came out of the bushes where we were walking and slid right in between me and Brooklyn. I was screaming and children and adults all around us were screaming. Image if you saw a 10 foot snake loose in a ZOO!! I was to terrified to jump over the snake to save Brooklyn so suddenly a big black man came over and picked her up. She had no idea what was going on. Her mom is screaming, she is standing right next to a huge snake, and suddenly she is swept up in a strange mans arms. Well the snake finally slid off, and we all recovered. But about 5 min later we ran into a metal statue of a snake, and after the horrible experience with the loose snake outside- my friend Kristen jumped about 3 feet back screaming. It was a good laugh.

Kristen also had this MARVELOUS idea to have the kids throw rocks into a puddle. Well Hunter skipped the rock part and jumped right in. He had a great time.
We went camping this weekend, it was beautiful and wonderful. The only problem was the kids thought tent time was playtime and crawled all over us giggling til midnight.

We then played Frisbee Golf in the morning. Brad was really good.
I wasn't so hot at it. But Brooklyn picked up the words" Holy crap", from her daddy, and kept repeat it over and over again. We got to start watching what we say now!
And Brooklyn threw rocks in the lake, and tried not to get as much into the water as possible, without getting her clothes wet.

Midsummer Nights Dream

2010-05-15T13:56:00.008-05:00

I was recently in the community's college production of "A Midsummer Nights Dream". I haven't been in a show for 4 years. SO it was fun be back on the saddle again doing my same routine. The idea behind the show was the "Hollywood Hills", so my character had a Paris Hilton spin to it, so stiletto heels, and my hair is featuring a "bump it".
I loved getting time away from the kids and being in my element. But in the end I missed my family tremendously, and it will be hard to fit another one in. Plus it was really weird kissing a 19 year old boy, when I'm 30.

Brooklyn's 3rd Birthday

2010-05-11T14:14:00.005-05:00

We had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday for Brooklyn. Since Daisy is her favorite character, we tried to dress her up as Daisy. (There is NOTHING you can buy for Daisy. There is stuff for every princess you can think of, but NO Daisy. Brooklyn does NOT like princesses.)

We had pin the bow on Daisy.

"Don't Wake the Giant" (Brad was the Giant)

No party is complete without blanket and Mr. Bear that go with her everywhere.

She got ALOT of chalk. But she LOVES it.

Her 5 year old friend, Sophie had all the kids tear down the crepe paper, wrap it around their heads, and anyone who had a juice cup and a goodie bag- was in the "Indian club".

I'm especially proud of this little number. It's the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You make think it's not that awesome- but it was a big step for me- because I always just use sprinkles on top.

I also made a Mickey Mouse head pinata. As soon as the children starting hitting it. Brooklyn ran inside the house and hid in her room because she didn't like to see the kids hitting Mickey. I had to gather some candy for her. I'll know next year no violence to favorite Disney characters. (But I probably could get away with a princess.)

Happy Birthday Brooklyn! I'm so proud of you! Now I wish you would go to the potty!

Car Repair

2010-05-01T11:59:00.002-05:00

I'm turning a new leaf and developing a valuable skill. I've had the privilege of fixing up my car twice in a month! I fixed the rear brake pads on the Saturn one weekend. My friend from work helped me out. He's experienced and has all the right tools...including a torque wrench! Then about a week later the serpentine belt exploded when Celeste was driving to rehearsal. Turns out the tensioner pulley disintegrated and that was the end of the belt. So I replaced the tensioner and replaced the belt. Replacing the belt involved jacking up the engine and taking off an engine mount. Again, my friend came and helped me since I was nervous embarking on such a dangerous mission. Nonetheless, the belt got replaced and the car runs great! It turns out that there are a lot of little repairs on your car that are pretty manageable. I'm excited to see what breaks next!

Tulips and Zoo

2010-04-18T18:51:00.007-05:00

I caught the spirit of adventure on Friday and took the kids to the Zoo and a beautiful flower garden. When I ask Brooklyn to smile- this is what she gives me. She is a tough little model to work with.

Since the Zoo was a impromptu visit, I didn't pack the kids lunches. I had six crackers to share between us. A lady who was sitting near us, overheard our situation and offered us a bag of sliced apples. Oh joy!! We were able to enjoy the rest of the day without starving. I will now remember to be generous to stupids moms like me in the future.

We are still waiting for our grass to grow. Oh please come!!!!

Hunter turned 1!! Congrats little guy!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-07T11:37:00.005-05:00

#'s for this Weekend
36 Plastic Easter Eggs

1.2 Mile walk (50% Brooklyn walked)

100+ smiles from Hunter

3 tantrums from Brooklyn
$50 for a 5x5 sand box
360 feet of tilled ground for new grass seed.
2 blisters on hands
5 trips to Lowes

Unknown Hours of Fun to be had....

1 New Mac Computer with a 27 inch screen (bigger then our current TV).
We are now Skype ready!

Preschool

2010-03-28T21:39:00.003-05:00

This is the first week I've been diligent about doing preschool with Brooklyn, she LOVES it. She always wants to do more. Lets hope I keep it up!

This is how I find Brooklyn every afternoon when she wakes up from her nap. She is a AVID reader.

Amish- they're great aren't they?

2010-03-21T22:34:00.004-05:00

Grandma, and Grandpa Baillio came for a quick visit, and what better way to spend a day, then gawking at some Amish people.

My Baby Broken!

2010-03-03T17:38:00.006-06:00

Saturday, Hunter was playing with a swim noodle. Next we know Brooklyn has the swim noodle and Hunter is on the floor screaming. We couldn't find any cuts, bruises, bumps, broken bones, so with didn't think much of it. He kept crying through the rest on the day and Sunday morning unless one of us was holding him. He wasn't using his left arm much. So I took him to urgent care- they sent us to get a x-ray and this is what we saw!

A broken collar bone!! Oh the horror!! Poor little guy. They say it's a common injury and it will heal fast. He is in a little makeshift sling, cause there isn't one small enough. He acts like it's not even there. He is crawling around on it, putting wieght on it. You wouldn't even know he had a broken bone.

I'm so thankful for our amazing bodies that heal themselves.

Brooklyn getting her picture too.

By the way- Two dumb places to put your cell phone:
The washing machine.
The library book drop.

Vacation

2010-02-18T19:20:00.011-06:00

We had a great trip to California. We went for the blessing of Luke Baillio. Austin did a great job giving the blessing. I was particularly touched when he spoke about the significance of the name Luke. In the Bible, Luke 2 is a detailed account of the miracle of the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ. And Austin said the birth of Luke was equally a miracle for he and Sarah. It was a great blessing.

It was also wonderful to relax in the sun and catch up with my family. It has been 1 1/2 years since I've even seen Adam's family, Austin's family, and Aaron.

Then we went to Disneyland, which was a fun, although different, experience. We realized we can't really do Amusement Parks for ourselves anymore. It's all about the kids.
It just gets too complicated to manage otherwise. So we thoroughly enjoyed the Dumbo ride, Peter Pan, Casey Jr. train, and even Small World. The only downside was Brooklyn's sheer terror at most of the big attractions. She cringed in fear at both parades. During the Pixar parade she leaped up, bounded into the stroller, and tried, in vain, to pull the sunshade all the way down to encapsulate her in a bubble of safety. I had to hold her after that. She didn't like the Finding Nemo ride, or the Monster's Inc ride. Basically, if it was overly loud, and had big animatronic things, it was scary. Oh well. Better luck next time.

Then we came back to this.......................

The Shoveler

2010-02-11T10:09:00.002-06:00

I feel like all I know how to do lately is shovel snow. I'm getting so good at it, I actually kinda like it. I caught myself shoveling snow I didn't really need to shovel. What's happening to me?!

TuesdayMomMusings

2010-01-19T12:27:00.003-06:00

So I'm going for the messy, wavy hair look lately. And someone said it looked liked a "birds nest". Should I be insulted? What if they had said "rats nest"?

I take a shower at the gym, and today I forgot to pack a few items. Lets just say yoga pants and a sweaty t-shirt are not as absorbent, as say, a towel is.
I did manage to bring two extra pair of socks though. Now that I think about it- I should have used them.

When you start feeling heat emanating from the trash- it's probably time to take it out.

How come my 9 month old son's sign of affection for me is screeching and clawing at my face?

Is it bad when you are talking to someone, and you are not listening to what they are saying cause you are imagining plucking their eyebrows?

At Chuck E Cheese last night Brooklyn was having a fabulous time climbing around the play area.You know the play area's that don't allow anyone over 45 inches in? When it is time to go, she comes down the slide leaving a streak of poo behind her. We quickly wipe it up with a napkin before anyone can see and we fly from the restaurant. On they way home I keep having images of what else was left inside the play area. But we couldn't do anything more, right? There is a height limitation people! Come on!

I figured out why doctors are rich- "weight checks." If your child doesn't weigh enough to fit the "average" weight bracket, Guess what!!! the doctor tells you to come back in a month for a "weight check". And they charge a for a office visit! As if I can't weigh my own child!
But now I'm catching on- I'm going to open my own office,weigh children, mark a chart, tell them to eat more, and charge 60 bucks. I'll be rich!
I got a catchy title for the office too- "Weight Checks Here".

You know you are having a bad day when both your children are screaming and you want to pull your hair out. You know you are having a good day when both your children are screaming and crying and you just laugh at them.
Today was a good day.

Brooklyn is ready to be potty trained if she poo's in the bathroom, and comes and tells you, Right???!! Nope, I wouldn't count it if it's in the bathtub. Especially cause you can't flush a bathtub.

Is it mean to make your child clean up their own poo? What if you paid them?

Conversations with Brooklyn

Me: Brooklyn, I need you to pick up these orange peels you dropped.

Brooklyn: I can't Mom- I'm too short.

Me: Brooklyn!You just dropped this entire carton of eggs- and broke them all!

Brooklyn: I'm sorry Mom- don't worry, Dad will fix them.

MondayMomMusings

2010-01-11T14:06:00.005-06:00

I kinda like that none of my TV shows have had new episodes lately. I read more.
But will I watch them when they come back on? Of course I will dummy!

My sister with 3 kids, 3 and under, told me she was dealing with two temper tantrums at the checkout at Walmart, and the lady behind her kept rolling her eyes. OOOOooooooooooooo, that gets me so angry. If I was there wish I could have said something to her- or just kicked her in the face.

January is the worst month ever. Seriously. Name me one good thing about January.

I forgot to take my birth control for two weeks. hmmmm.

Is it bad that I feel like I have to dress up and do my hair to take the kids to the doctor? And I have to have a REALLY good story for each bruise and cut they have.

Anyone scared of Doctors? Does anyone have doctor friends? Are they normal?

Is it wierd that my husband went to see AVATAR with a another man? That they were sitting in the dark next to each other sharing candy and wearing 3D glasses?

I LOVE my green coat that Brad got me for Christmas. It makes me think I'm wearing grass.

Does anyone want to live in Disneyland with me?

2009 Barrand Family Picture

2010-01-08T10:56:00.000-06:00

I'm dreaming of it

2009-12-19T12:35:00.003-06:00

It's been snowing since 10 or 11 pm last night. Constant snow. We have a foot or more piled up on our deck and steps and driveway. It's supposed to keep snowing until 6pm tonight. Here's to a White Christmas! :)

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T19:00:00.003-06:00

This year's festivities took place in Denver with the Barrand family. We had lots of fun doing sports activities, playing boardgames, going Black-Friday shopping, and eating.

We also took some great photos with Celeste as our photographer. For those that don't know, every year the Barrand family does a crazy family photo. We all get dressed up to theme and take a photo for the Christmas cards. This year was Circus themed. We got some good pics, and Celeste has a lot of post-processing work to do.

Here is a sneak peek:

Isn't Celeste so hot? And my kids are super cute!

2009-11-16T22:00:00.002-06:00

We went to Gettysburg last weekend, and had a try at being confederates.

I love this doughy boy. Brooklyn never had rolls of fat like this kid.

All Hallows Eve

2009-11-03T13:05:00.003-06:00

What do you do in the Fall?

2009-10-27T14:15:00.003-05:00

Hunter asks "What do you do in Fall?

Celeste says, "Well you can visit with family!"

"Ooo that is exciting." Hunter gasps

"Or just try to imagine that it's warm, and go swimming." says Celeste.

It's all about the computer

2009-10-12T20:56:00.003-05:00

I'm figuring out things with a imaging software. I tried fixing this first photo that was over exposed.

Just added some color to these ones.

Smoke Free

2009-10-03T08:32:00.005-05:00

We spent last weekend house sitting for a friend so we could run an OZONE GENERATOR to try and eliminate the smoke smell from our house. Even though the EPA discourages the use of these generators and discredits their ability to successfully remove odors, I have to say that it totally worked! We just made sure to air out the house before coming back in. But it's so nice to have a fresher smelling place. The kitchen has a lot of wooden cabinets which we think have absorbed a fair amount of smoke. So there's still a very slight smell in the main level of the house, but the rest of it smells SO MUCH BETTER! It's amazing the difference. We can actually smell our fresh clothes after a wash.

Anyways, so that's been our focus this past week. For the next two weeks I'll be out of town again on business so Celeste will brave it alone. Luckily I get to come home on the weekend. Otherwise things are pretty mellow here. We're sad we aren't going anyplace exotic for the holidays but we're super stoked that Mom is coming here for Halloween, and that Mom and Dad are coming for Christmas. And of course, we're excited to see Austin & Sarah and their new addition in February.

An Apple a Day

2009-09-20T15:02:00.005-05:00

Some day I'd like to be a fancy photographer, so I saved up my birthday money and got a expensive SLR camera. It just came this weekend. So for my first attempt- we headed to an apple orchard.

Final Summer Adventure

2009-09-17T17:19:00.006-05:00

The Grandparent Barrands came to visit for four fun filled days. Us Baillios had to keep up with their fast pace as we dragged our two kids around the state of Maryland.
Fort McHenry

Inner Harbor of Baltimore and eating in Little Italy.

The whole gang came to see Celeste's play at a elementary school. Don't have any pics, but will have some soon. The best part of the week for Celeste was the Dolphin Show at the aquarium. She only cried 5-6 times. What amazing creatures!
We raced of to Washington DC.
The most thrilling part of the week, is we joined the March on Washington. Nothing is more exhilarating then being in the capitol of your country and walking down the street protesting the government. We could be killed for that in other countries! We were at the tail end of the parade but there was a TON of people there. We didn't bring any signs, but we found some ditched ones, so we picked them up and began to march.

Battle of Antietam. Mom wanted to see reanactors so bad, she talked about it all week. When she finally met one, she found out, why the magic has worn off for us in Maryland. The are everywhere! And they Talk!! and Talk and Talk!! They love to tell you about the time period, their clothes, their guns, etc. etc. Although very cool, sometimes annoying. Mom wanted him to pose in a picture with her, but this guy just kept talking about the fabric of his uniform.
Hapers Ferry
Brooklyn's Dinner

If you come visit us, we promise you an adventure too!

Usually I Hate Crap Like This

2009-09-16T18:46:00.003-05:00

This is Brad. Normally I don't do these things. But since two brothers did it, I decided to do it too. It is interesting where we overlap and where we differ.

Red = Did It
Blue = Almost Did It
Black = Never Done It

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Why is this someone's goal?)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb (Does a baby goat count?)
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (We took the boat taxi. It's basically the same thing)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Depends if you count Louisiana or France)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Emphasis on the Had)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (I bought a homeless dude some food at a convenience store once...)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Ok - I got the camera to work. 2 posts in one day.

2009-09-07T19:07:00.004-05:00

While Brad was away on business for two weeks in the desert, testing programming codes and being bombed at.......... I got to go see my family in Colorado. It was a blast! It was the first time we've been all together since my sister's wedding 4 years ago!

I've also started doing preschool with Brooklyn and Hunter. He grows so fast!!!
Just kidding- that's one of Brooklyn's friends- Quincy.

I'm so sorry Brooklyn- you got my stringy, wild hair.

Camera on the Fritz

2009-09-07T15:52:00.002-05:00

So our camera lens won't open all the way. Until we can get it fixed, we are having fun sans camera. Thus we can't entertain you on the blog properly.

Here's a quick pictureless update none-the-less.

Celeste's vacation went well. She had tons of fun seeing her family again and especially having some solo girl time. You can check out more from her sister, mom, and dad. She had the first 4 performances of her play, and it's a great little show! She'll have so much fun this fall on tour. And she makes one alluring Evil Queen! I wouldn't mind getting trapped in her castle (wink, wink).

My trip to New Mexico went well. It was an intense week & 1/2 of testing, and we got a lot done. It was also a nice breather from the family. When I got home I realized how much I love them all and how beautiful and precious they are to me.

It's been a super Labor Day weekend, full of barbecues, food, and friends, but most of all, time alone at the house goofing off with the family. There's nothing better!

A Mryiad of Faces by Hunter and a little dancin by the girls

2009-08-16T19:26:00.004-05:00

Transition

2009-08-06T18:06:00.004-05:00

So we've had a rough couple of weeks. Things have been absolutely crazy. We finally finished painting the house and otherwise getting it all prepared for our move-in. We got our stuff all moved in and unpacked. And we also played host to my Dad and my sister and her 2 kids. It's been about a week since we officially moved in, and we feel that things are finally settling in a little. Life is still very hectic since Brooklyn and Hallee (my niece) spend every day together. They're both 2 years old, and can't be separated. They also can't get along! Well, it's not that bad, but they do have their moments. Even with 2 mommies at home, they're still a handful.

Amongst all this craziness, we have been having fun too. And altough summer is almost over, to me it feels like it has just begun. August and September are our months to take some time off and relax. So we're looking forward to that.

Enjoy the pics.

Leave of Absence

2009-07-26T12:55:00.004-05:00

Do you feel overwhelmed?

We sure do. Where have we been? Well, I'll tell you. We closed on a house Friday 17th, and sealed our fate. We are proud new first-time homebuyers with a fabulous new (and expensive) hobby. And boy have we been hitting it hard!

Our main dilemma has been getting rid of the smoke smell. We busied ourselves on the 18th with washing down all the ceilings and walls on the main floor and painting the two kids' rooms. Then we learned about Kilz, and spent the next 4 days putting 2 coats of Kilz on the entire main floor, as well as priming and painting the master bedroom. Oh, and by the way, we chose a Spring Green for the master bedroom that turned out Neon, so we repainted that room twice! Friday and Saturday we put the finishing touches on the upstairs paint and ripped up all the carpet. We also finished painting the main floor in 3 colors we really like. We replaced the air filter and installed some new lights. All we have left to do is finish off the trim and touch-ups and a closet and the upstairs bathroom, let's not even talk about the basement, and something else......Oh Yeah! MOVE IN!

So we're in the thick of it. But we are genuinely excited to get into our new house and enjoy the fruits of our labors.

July 4th

2009-07-05T06:44:00.003-05:00

We went to Annapolis to get into the spirit of the 4th. The Naval Academy was really impressive. Walking into the gift shop, I wanted to start watching Navy football. Touring the grounds, I wished I had studied in Annapolis. I also learned that more graduates of the Naval Academy have become astronauts than anywhere else.
Not only did the Academy impress, but the city was quite charming. I imagined Annapolis would have been a bustling metropolis. It's not. It's more like a sleepy beach-town. We had some delicious lunch at a Creperie.
We also visited William Paca's House. He had some beautiful gardens.

On the 4th, we went to a Mormon gathering at a farm. They had lots of food and had some interesting guests, like the Congressman for the area, Mission President, and some notable war veterans. That night we watched fireworks from the balcony, after putting the kids to bed. It was a fun weekend.

Heroscapin' it

2009-06-28T20:31:00.004-05:00

Got some locals to try out the time-warp. We had fun. They're already beggin' for more.

Hershey Park

2009-06-21T12:02:00.003-05:00

Summer Days

2009-06-14T12:33:00.007-05:00

Offer Accepted!!

2009-05-31T21:06:00.003-05:00

We are so excited were are going to be home owners!!
It's a 3 bedroom 3 bath duplex, right across the street from our apartment complex. This pictures really don't do it justice.
We are excited about the finished basement, real hardwood floors, big backyard, parking (it's hard to find out here actually), new kitchen cabinets and granite countertops. We move in July 17th, and can't wait!!

Basement

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-29T19:58:00.005-05:00

Well, because of my awesome 9/80 work schedule, we had a glorious 4-day weekend! Friday was spent looking at more houses. We finally found one we both really liked, and were both excited about. We put an offer on it, and we're waiting for this weekend to hear back from the sellers. There's a competing offer, so we're anxious/nervous going into this weekend. But, let's get back to Memorial Day weekend. Saturday we hit the Farm Museum and the sustainable living fair. It would have been cool to investigate the solar and wind power companies if we had a house. But we don't. One cool thing we saw was blue-jean insulation. It's amazing what these wackadilies think of to be sustainable.

After we ate lunch at the fair, we were packing our stuff up and Brooklyn fell off the picnic table pretty hard. Her lip was bleeding a bit and she was crying pretty hard. Then, instead of allowing me the time and focus to comfort my child, some nutso lady came by and started blabbing away about the amazing powers of homeopathic magic crystals that seriously reduce bruising. Of course my polite sensibilities kept me from doing the right thing, paying attention to Brooklyn! Instead I nodded my head and feigned interest. This lady was about to give some of her crystal powers to Brookyln but I think she finally realized she was an absolute stranger (crazy?) and that administering mysterious pills to children wouldn't fly too well. So she finally left us alone, but it bothered me that she didn't have the decency to allow me to comfort my child, and also that I didn't have the nerve to dismiss her immediately to do what was best for my kid. In the end, Brooklyn was fine and we had a lovely rest of the day, but I definitely won't make that mistake again.

Sunday was routine church. Busy, busy, busy. But Celeste and I both enjoy our callings and serving the ward.

On to the main event of Memorial Day celebrations! We took a trip to the National Zoo! We saw pandas, lions, monkeys, exotic birds, cheetahs, bald eagles, sea lions, and elephants. It was fun...except for 20 minutues in when Brooklyn fell down, skinned her already scabbed knee, and started bleeding all over the park, crying her eyes out. And continuing to cry for 10 minutes afterwards. Yeah, that part wasn't so cool. But the rest of the day was great.
After the zoo, we went to a friends house in the ward for a BBQ. It was delicious food (especially the jello!) and great company. We're really starting to settle in here, and we're looking forward to getting into a house and putting down more roots. Celeste just got cast in a children's production at the community college, and she's taking a photography class, and she's started doing some grading to bring in extra skrill ($$). Work is going great for me, and I'm excited that we're starting to test our physical robots in the field. That's the best part!

ANIMAL PICTURES!

2009-05-19T11:51:00.005-05:00

Kyle Payne our brother-in-law took some amazing pictures of Hunter while they were visiting us. Thanks Kyle!!

Check out the website for more!
http://gallery.me.com/kyle_payne/100396

Whirlwind

2009-05-09T14:16:00.008-05:00

It's been a bit of a whirlwind even since Hunter arrived. So this post we'll be playing whirlwind catch-up. Let's start with my family's visit.

Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Megan, Uncle Kyle, Hallee, and Madie all came down to visit the end of April. They came to be here during Hunter's baby blessing, and also so that Megan and Kyle could visit Temple University and scope out Philly. It was a lot of fun to have them all here, but our 2 bedroom apartment was hardly adequate to cope with 10 people for 5 days. And not just 10 people, but two 2-year-olds! Brooklyn and Hallee had a blast playing with each other, but they had lots of energy that was tiresome to contain. Although our visit wasn't completely hassle-free, the best thing was the baby blessing and just spending time together. We got some cute action shots of the time my family spent here.

To add to the maelstrom, I just got called into the Young Men's Presidency. I was immediately thrust into a flurry of responsibility, being called on to teach every Sunday, chaperone an all-day event/dance, and prepare for a flurry of summer activities coming up. I love it. I love being able to serve and help.

This week has been eventful as well. Brooklyn officially turned 2 today! We had a small birthday party in the park on Friday. We had cupcakes and Capri-sun. Mom and Dad actually put forth the effort to buy Brooklyn a birthday present, and I think we got it right: Lightning McQueen toy car. She loves the movie Cars.

In order to celebrate our anniversary coming up, we took the family to Bengie's Drive-In theater last night. It was so great! $8/person for a double feature! We saw Monsters vs Aliens and Star Trek. They were both great movies. I thought MvA was going to be better than it was, but it was still cute. Star Trek was incredible. The only thing I missed was some of the science talk that the tv shows have. The one thing I didn't like about it, is that it was over too soon! I wanted more, more, more. And with the way things ended, I'm sure J.J. won't disappoint.

Mom, Come Back!!

2009-04-21T19:26:00.005-05:00

Mom Barrand came to visit, and we want her back!! She entertained Brooklyn, bathed and burped Hunter, fixed our futon, bought curtains and a bedding set for Hunter, sewed a awesome wall hanging for Hunter's room, cleaned our bathroom and kitchen, and helped with shopping, and much much more.
I don't know how many times I said during her four day stay, "How I'm I going to do this once your gone?."
She is a wonderful creative woman and we are so glad that she came!!

We went to the Annual "Westminster Peep Show Contest". Here are some of the highlights:
Peeps Rubix Cube

Peeps Hells Kitchen

St. Peepers Lonely Hearts Club Band

And just a cute picture of Hunter- Giving a senior pose, classic hand under the chin.

Projectile Sneezing Poo

2009-04-12T17:33:00.004-05:00

Hunter was up last night from 11:30-3:30. While I was changing him, he pooed all over the new diaper,I went to the 2nd, and while I was placing that one, he sneezed, and a shot of poo, flew all over me, my leg, his new clothes and the 2nd clean diaper. I've never been shot with poo before- it was awesome. On to the 3rd diaper- At least they were free!

Confession- I was interested in Hunter's uncircumcised boy parts, (never one seen before), and while poking around, he peeded and got me in the face. Guess I deserved that.

By the way- I'm mad at Brad for posting that picture of me in the previous post. I know everyone understands i just went through a c-section, but there should be a universal law against taking pictures of the mother during the entire hospital stay. Why is it during the most "picture-taking" moment of your life- you have to look so awful! Grrr- Sigh.

Cid Hunter Baillio

2009-04-11T13:54:00.007-05:00

We knew the time was approaching, and Celeste wasn't showing any signs of labor. So we planned for a C-section on April 9th. We cleaned the house. We brought out the baby bouncer, baby clothes and bassinet. We decided that the futon-as-a-couch just wouldn't cut it. Ever since the move, our futon cushion hasn't stayed on the frame. It slides down constantly. We don't even need to sit on it, and it starts sliding down. I think the frame is bent, and the cushion has lost its stiffness. So, we shopped around and decided to purchase a nice reclining couch! Our first major furniture purchase. So Wednesday we bought that to prepare for Mommy and baby's homecoming on Sunday. Late Wednesday night we dropped Brooklyn off at a friend's house for her first sleep-over. She loved it!

Thursday morning we woke up early, and got to the hospital at 6:15 am. The prepped Celeste and by 8:30 we were in surgery. I watched the whole thing again. I couldn't see a whole lot of the cutting part, but I could see/smell all the smoke coming from the cauterizer(?). They were using a heat gun to cut through things and close up bleeding things. Then at 8:43 am, Hunter was pulled out into the world. He was so cute and small. They cleaned him up, and sewed Celeste shut, and we spent the next hour or two in recovery. Hunter took to nursing right away and was very good at it.

Everything's gone well since. Celeste has been having a few wrinkles in recovery (too nauseated by the Morphine on day one, and a dizzy-spell after a shower on day three) but she's happy and excited to come home. Hunter is healthy and happy. He sleeps a lot, cries little (yeah!), and eats well (double yeah!). We're hoping our Easter Sunday includes not only a celebration of resurrection and atonement, but of new life in the house when Mommy and Hunter come home. If not on Sunday, then Monday for sure.

Brooklyn was a bit weirded out when she first saw Mommy all trussed up in the hospital bed, with machines and tubes and a new baby on her lap. It took her a while, but she warmed up to the idea of a new baby.

Daddy has the house prepped, the new couch in place, and he can't wait to have the place full with his new family!