Bailey Family

Seth – his first halloween (in the hospital) – and a month later Seth is 1. Seth is 2. Seth is 3.   Seth is 4. Seth is 5. Seth is 6 (and in kindergarten). Seth is 7 – in first grade, loving his new backyard and his room back to himself, and waits with anticipation on visits from uncles (to even out all the girl drama around here)! (This picture is from his trip with Uncle Will to the state fair – a one-on-one time with him – he’s been wanting ‘turkey on a bone’ for a while – Will said he ate 2 bites and wasn’t hungry anymore!)

Yes, it is true - in our house, green beans have become like unto french fries. If you ask which they'd want, hands down french fries! But when green beans are served, the ketchup had better be on the table - especially for Carolyn! She got Kaitlyn into the new fad last night.... And I could care less whether they dip their green beans in ketchup - I'm just happy they're eating them!

Solution: use the fireplace in the “playroom”. Rob had to guard it all afternoon. Rob and Jacob had fun putting stuff in the fire – scrap wood, cardboard boxes, pieces of tree branches fallen, the file folder of stuff waiting to be shredded… And with no chairs in this room other than the computer desk (it is the playroom after all), we all sat on the floor in front of it. The kids thought it was fun. We had no grate (?) – the thing that blocks the little sparks/ashes, so Rob propped a board against the white bucket (empty of scrap wood) to protect us. Now, hurry up home warranty repairman and get here! There’s no fire today – all the pyro’s had to go to work!

We're getting ready for Rob's mom (parents) to get here to celebrate "Memere's Birthday" (which was actually at the end of September). I've almost got everything cooked, and Carolyn gasps, "We need something pretty for the middle of the table!" (So she went to find the "beautifulest centerpiece" she could "ever find".) :) Already a little relief society sister in the making... (centerpieces are part of my 'homemaking education' I think I must have missed!)

Tea Party (Kaitlyn says hers is chocolate milk and Natalie says hers is white.) No, we didn't fix hair today - this is the 'natural look' - and Natalie was dressed in matching clothes, but she changed herself into something to fit her personality (meaning, it's loud and she ignores me all the time). This is the same video I posted a while ago - but this is the long version with Carolyn blabbing the whole time that a few family members wanted to see. So...it had to be really small to be uploadable - it's a little fuzzy because of that.

I meant to post this earlier in the week, but forgot. Last Saturday (26th) was Smithsonian Day, and lots of museums throughout the country were participating for free admission (2 per household, so we still had to pay for Seth and Carolyn), but $6 to take our whole family to the museum…that’s not bad! Here are some pictures – a lot actually! They really enjoyed it (and actually paid attention to me read some of the signs) :) Pre-historic Stuff – Seth’s favorite! Trains/Transportation The best we could do with a timer… I see stars….maybe? illusions/science – fun hands on stuff! An old schoolhouse And the “discovery center” – the ultimate favorite (we saved for last): I’m not sure if Seth or Rob had more fun with the blocks?? We went from 10-1 (opening until Kaitlyn was pooped!) Then, we got free frosty’s at Wendy’s (coupons from the library summer reading program) – and we got some food too – What a fun d...

Natalie's newest fascination is to yell out potty words (example - "doo doo") and then laugh. Or...to end a sentence with it just to hear her siblings laugh. (Because we don't say "potty words" outside the bathroom.) Rob was indexing (translating census records) this morning, and told me he'd found a butler...and that just set things off for the three girls! All day, Natalie has been running around yelling, "Butt-ler!" (I'm going to let her think it's a potty word b/c that's not embarrassing for her to yell out in the grocery store.) :)