The Baylor Family Blog

We headed up to Denver in the middle of March to celebrate all the March birthdays on the Baylor side of the family! We enjoyed a yummy pizza lunch, yard games, good conversations, and Eli’s favorite: more presents! Eli was thrilled to spend time with his older cousin, Nathan, who very patiently helped Eli opened his presents and took turns playing with the new things!

(Eli and Nathan)

(Eli and Great Grandad and Grams Klish)

(Eli and Nathan with Great Grandma Baylor)

Unfortunately, Abi wasn’t feeling very well as she was fighting off a double ear infection and as we learned the following day, influenza. She spent most of our time in Denver sleeping on Matt’s shoulders. Poor girl

On March 12, Eli turned THREE!! Since Abi had a birthday not long ago, he knew a little bit of what to expect and was extremely excited for his special day! Matt and I had a lot of fun shopping for him this year!

Eli requested a monkey cake and cupcakes with M&M’s (since Abi had cupcakes with M&Ms, which are his favorite!). So the night before his birthday, I iced cupcakes and Eli got to decorate them with sprinkles and M&Ms. Of course, he managed to eat a fair share during the process, but he had a lot of fun!

My amazing cake decorating husband shaped and iced Eli’s monkey cake! Eli has become a huge fan of Curious George, thus his request for a monkey cake. Eli loves the Happy Birthday song and was so excited to have it sung to him on his birthday! Unfortunately, Eli hasn’t figured out how to actually blow, so Matt and I helped him blow out his three candles! Eli felt very special, though he requested to eat a cupcake instead of his monkey cake!

Eli’s birthday happened to fall on Chick-Fil-A’s customer appreciation week. Eli had asked to go see the Chick-Fil-A cow, so it worked out perfectly! Both kids enjoyed free balloons and toys and we had a delicious, cheap lunch!

We bought Eli several small gifts, and I gave him a new gift every so often during the day. It made for a fun day and a very excited and happy boy! We had plenty of new activities and things to play with during the day! Eli enjoyed a new Curious George game, which we played at least a half dozen times during Abi’s nap! He also got  puzzles, several cars and trains, a Thomas sweatshirt, a Curious George helium balloon, a bubble tumbler, and a sprinkler. One of his favorite gifts was train tracks and a train table, coming from various family members, that he absolutely loves!

We were going to order pizza for dinner, but I ended up bringing Abi to urgent care for a double ear infection, so Eli ended up having some special daddy time instead! He didn’t miss a beat and still loved every moment of his day! I’m so thankful for the joy and energy and enthusiasm of our little guy!

Happy 3rd Birthday Eli!

I reached the ripe age of 28 years at the beginning of March. Though many may laugh at me, 28 seems so old to me! But, I sure had an absolutely wonderful birthday weekend!

I woke up on Saturday morning and got to eat some ridiculously delicious and warm coffee cake that Matt woke up early to bake! This, was my first birthday cake of the day…complete with candles! Lunchtime brought my second birthday cake of the day, also complete with candles and something I’ve been craving for literally months: White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. And oh my word, did it taste a-maz-ing!! I ate each bite so slowly savoring the taste!! Yummy!

As the kids went down for nap, I enjoyed going out to get a haircut (which is a bit harder to do with small children running around!). I came home and packed my bags for a surprise that Matt had planned for me. Matt’s mom arrived in the afternoon to watch the kids, and Matt and I headed out for what I learned to be our first night away from kids in three years!

Matt did an amazing job planning ahead, thinking of lots of little details, and making me feel very special and loved! We stopped for a stroll through the mall, a treat without kids, before heading to a getaway at the Inn at Palmer Divide. Dinner was magnificent. I think I spent 30 minutes reading through the menu, tasting the food from the extravagent descriptions, before I finally made my selection: Beef Tip Bourgonoun. And watching Julie and Julia very well may have influenced my decision! The food presentation, service, and taste of the food far exceeded my expectations! Oh, and did I mention there was a nearly three-foot tall arrangement of flowers waiting for me at the table….absolutely gorgeous!!!

We had a simple, relaxing evening. It was nice to just be “us” again. Though I thought of the kids, it was nice not to spend the whole time thinking and talking of them! It was nice to talk about other things and enjoy just being us! Oh, and an entire night of sleep without being awakened by small children was therapeutic to our weary bodies, too!

Morning did come and we enjoyed the brunch of all brunches! I couldn’t begin to list half of the foods we got to choose from! Matt returned frequently to the breakfast dishes, while I savored many of the lunch dishes. We saved plenty of room for  some of the gourmet dessert, too! What a meal!!

Matt and I were both excited to see Eli and Abi again, and we were so thankful to hear that both kids did great while we were gone…no barfing and they even slept through the night! We were so thankful to Matt’s mom for allowing us to get away! We had a very refreshing night away and I, a truly memorable birthday!

On Saturday, the day after Abi’s 1st birthday, we welcomed somewhere around 40 people into our home to celebrate! We are so grateful to the friends and family members who have walked beside us through Abi’s first year!

Matt and I carefully crafted a butterfly cake, with Matt as the head cake-icer! We enjoyed using some fun neon-food coloring to add some fun colors to the cake and some fun candies we found at a local candy store.

We served breakfast burrittos for the party-attenders to enjoy for lunch. Though Abi usually enjoys lots of the foods we put into burritos, I think she was a little overwhelmed during lunch and didn’t eat much. Or maybe she was saving plenty of room for cake!

Abi wasn’t too sure when we initially gave her the birthday cupcake.

Eli was quick to come to Abi’s side for encouragement!

Abi wasn’t too sure about the gummy butterfly at first, but she quickly grew fond of the taste and managed to gum down the whole thing!

Abi worked at eating her cupcake for about 45 minutes. I think the smile proves she thoroughly enjoyed it!

With her daddy’s help, Abi opened lots of presents, some bigger than she was! Of course, she had plenty of help from Eli and her cousin, Nathan, too! Abi was spoiled with many things, all which are being well-enjoyed by both Eli and Abi!

Abi snuggled right into her new heart pillow!

And Abi proudly posed for the camera in her movie-star sunglasses, which came in her brand new pink purse!

Of course, the kids soaked up attention from lots of people, including their Gran-B and Poppy.

To our delight, Abi seemed to be in a great mood and enjoyed having lots of people around to celebrate her first birthday! Thanks for all who made her first year so special!

…and I’ll CRY IF I WANT TO!!

One year ago, on January 22 at 5:17 p.m., we welcomed sweet Abi into the world. If I thought Eli’s first year went fast, Abi’s sped by even faster! My prayers were answered after delivery, and I got to experience holding and cuddling my new baby girl right after birth. Little did I know, hours later, Abi would land herself in the NICU with trouble breathing from an infection. The NICU was all-too-familiar for Matt and I, as we were greeted by many of the same staff we met during Eli’s stay. Those seven days felt eternally long as our family was divided, Abi and I at the hospital and Matt and Eli at home. Seven days of antibiotics later, complete with bili lights, a spinal tap, and oxygen, we were able to take Abi home. We survived two months of dragging an oxygen tank everywhere with us and numerous overnight oxygen tests. Abi overcame reflux, a milk allergy, pneumonia, a very long lasting GI bug, and plenty of other GI issues. Though small, she somehow managed to keep her weight barely on the charts, keeping the doctors from worrying to much! She has babbled and crawled her way right into our heart. Her calm demeanor and independence has been a pleasant addition to our family.

One year has come and gone. Little did I know that on Abi’s first birthday, I would be over halfway through the pregnancy of her little brother. Little did I know one year ago, that Abi would be extra special in my heart as my one and only girl.

Though I had big dreams of somehow making her actual 1st birthday extra special, Abi had other ideas. To fit with the rest of the week, she spent plenty of the day on her birthday crying and screaming, desparately clutching her blankie for comfort. She didn’t know what she wanted. She just knew she wasn’t happy. Perhaps her first birthday was having a bigger emotional toll on her than I realized. But we survived the day, much of it filled with preparing for her big party the next day.

We ended the day with a trip to our favorite local ice cream shop, Rizzutos. It was as much a little celebration of Abi’s birthday as it was a treat for Matt and I for surviving yet another day with a very fussy little girl. Abi had her first tastes of ice cream. It was amazing how the ice cream fizzled her tears away and her face instead filled with glee. That was more the face I was hoping to see on my little girl on her birthday. But I’ll take whatever I can get!

Happy First Birthday, Abigail Joy!
We are so thankful that you are part of our family!!

On May 27th, Matt turned another year older. To his request, I made him peanut butter cookies instead of a cake. And instead of making him blow out 32 candles, I put three candles on one cookie and two on the other. With the help of Eli, he was able to blow them all out!

The week before, the two of us headed out for an evening without the kids to a local Christian comedy show. It was good to laugh, and even better to be out together! Then on Matt’s actual birthday, he was treated to a Mexican dinner out by his parents.

For his birthday, Matt got Mario-Kart for the Wii. And we’ve had a lot of fun racing cars around the many tracks. He also got Pinocchio on DVD. We played a couple songs for Eli, but we decided it was a little too much for Eli to watch at the moment. But someday in the future, I’m sure we’ll enjoy the movie together as a family!!

Overall, I think he had a special day Happy Birthday, Love!!

That’s right! On March 12, Eli turned two!! I can hardly believe it myself! Unfortunately, despite it being an extra special day, Eli still had to follow rules, obey, take a nap, and go to bed on time. But I tried to make the day a little extra special! For example, he may have only spent 1 minute and 30 seconds in time out, instead of 2 minutes, because it was his birthday after all!

The first suprise for Eli was walking down the stairs in the morning to find a balloon! But not just any balloon, an ELMO balloon!! He walked around the house holding his balloon and saying “Mo” quite frequently throughout the day. Diaper changes weren’t even that bad when you get to hold the string of an ELMO balloon!

Though we tried to make it out for lunch, Abi’s schedule didn’t cooperate. So, instead, I brought Eli out to Chick-Fil-A for an early dinner and he got his very own kids meal! What a big boy! I think I ate half of it, but still!

The big treat was coming home to his E-L-M-O cake! Okay, truth be told, his cake was actually cupcakes!

He was quite excited not only by the Sesame Street stickers and sprinkles and icing, but by the two candles that he got to blow out! And blowing requires A LOT of concentration for a two-year old!

Of course, we had to have a celebration when all TWO of the candles were blown out!

And finally, the moment Eli had been waiting for since the moment he saw the cupcakes…EATING them! Yummmy!

Next, Eli got to open PRESENTS!! Not one, not two, but three of them!

Starting with the smallest present first, Eli excitedly ripped open a brand new Veggie Tales DVD. Of course, we had to watch the movie before he went to bed. How else could a kid sleep without knowing the full story of Rack, Shack, and Benny?

The next present entailed a special bonding moment between Eli and his daddy. You see, Matt gave Eli his very own laptop computer! However, you must understand, that Matt really wanted to give Eli his very own real-life computer. After some discussion and reasoning in his own mind, he compromised on a plastic laptop for kiddos that would likely endure more throwing and trips down the stairs than a real life computer would. Eli could care the less whether it was real or not…he LOVED the mouse on his new laptop!

Last, but not least, Eli opened his brand new Water Table! You must understand that Eli and water are practically best friends! He practices swimming in the bathtub every night! He’ll take two baths a day if we’d let him! Of course, we stripped Eli down to his diaper, filled the water table up in the kitchen, and let the boy go to work…splashing and dumping and soaking everything in sight! Eli had a blast and the kitchen floor needed mopped anyway (thanks, Matt!).

Of course, no 2nd birthday could ever by complete without a picture with Mommy!!

Unfortunately, every birthday must end. And this one did, too. What a great day. What a great boy. Happy 2nd Birthday, Eli!

With Eli’s birthday only a couple weeks away, we had an early birthday celebration with Grandpa and Grandma Davis! Eli doesn’t have a clue that he is turning two, but he definitely knows what to do with a wrapped present! He tore into his packages like a pro!

Eli is showing off his new bubble-making lawnmower with all-terrain wheels to his Grandma!

I don’t have a good picture, but Eli also got a Fridge Phonics game to help him learn the alphabet and letter sounds! He thinks its pretty cool. After only a couple days, Matt and I have been finding letters of the alphabet spread into all rooms of the house!

Grandpa found a special toy for Eli: Elmo Live. After using the toy to entertain Eli in the store while shopping, Grandpa ended up returning to buy it as a surprise. I wish I had a picture of the BIG smile that creeped onto Eli’s face when he saw Elmo (or as Eli calls him, “Mo”)! Elmo is Eli’s new best friend and has been carted up and down the stairs multiple times and even accompanied Eli down the slide.

Eli has been exploring every inch of his new Elmo. He even trusted Elmo so much that Eli stuck his face in Elmo’s mouth.

Shortly after this picture was taken, Eli gave Elmo a ride on his new lawnmower.

I can hardly believe our little guy will soon be two! But he makes us laugh so hard!! It was fun to have an early celebration with his grandparents! And to say the least, our little guy got spoiled!