When asked I often tell people this is my favorite time in Bailey's life, but I also add (and slightly contradict myself) that it is also the most challenging. On particularly difficult days I like to stop and think of all the unique and silly things I love about my daughter. I am writing these in the blog so I don't forget them. Why 25? Well, she is 25 months old so I thought of something for each month she has been alive.
1. She has a cheese face right now (when taking pictures). See above.
2. When she wants to know if she's right about something, she will make a statement while already nodding her head, and I am supposed to knod in agreement if she's right.
3. Every once in awhile Bailey hunches over and pulls her elbows in and walks that way for awhile. She looks like a T-Rex.
4. Everything right now is either a daddy, mommy, or baby. If they are babies, Bailey is of course the mother and takes care of them.
5. Bailey is definately in the stage where she wants to be doing what mom and dad are doing. For example, her vacuum is no longer a toy, but used to help us vacuum the floors. She even insists on storing it in the same closet as the real vacuum.
6. Anytime we are in the car and headed out of Austin she wants to look for cows and sing "O, Where Are the Cows" made-up song modified from O, Where Is My Hairbrush from Veggie Tales.
7. Bailey's hugs are sometimes more like headlocks. I don't think she does it on purpose, but as she squeezes it turns into this. Poor Emmy- this happens alot to her. And watch out if your kiddo is off balance.
8. This summer Franny was teaching Bailey to lay down in her arms in the pool and relax. Franny had her pretend to go to sleep. Well, almost nightly Bailey goes night-night in the bathtub just like Nana showed her. Early on she would even tell me shhh if I was talking.
9. Anything can be a phone to Bailey- even a dinner roll as seen in the picture. Other things used to be a phone including a calculator, book, and banana.
10. She calls showers "rain baths".
11. Just the other day she decided that spaghetti noodles were really worms- see video.
12. She calls ladders- "up and downs", and uses a small step stool to watch/help in the kitchen. She is quite good at manuevering it around!
13. She loves to make silly faces. This is one of them and they are usually to get someone to laugh at her.
14. If one of her friends has a shirt or jacket with a hood, Bailey thinks it's a cup holder for her sippy cup.
15. She likes to fly places.
16. Bailey calls bread "guckie nummies" meaning food for the duckies. We were making sandwiches the other day and I asked her about each ingredient and she said: "guckie nummies", meat, cheese, and sauce.
17. She loves the movie Cars, especially the part where Mack is falling asleep and trying to keep himself awake. Basically Mack shakes his head back and forth, which makes a silly noise. She also loves for mommy and daddy to imitate Mack.
18. She really likes to ride Blue (our dog) like a horse. She will ask for help riding her over and over again until Blue accidently hurts her by bucking her off.
19. Our bedtime routine has become quite elaborate. Most people probably do bathtime, read books, sing, and maybe pray. Well, we also nightly go on a lion hunt. It all started as a way to find her lion lovie that she sleeps with if it wasn't in her room. However, we secretly think Bailey hides it now so that we can hunt for it each night.
20. Before meals, and sleeptime Bailey wants to pray. When you ask her who she wants to pray for she will always tell you Gigi, but recently she added Pa, Joel, and Katie (Emmy's dad and mom). Abby was the first person she wanted to prayed for, but she has stopped- sorry Abby.
21. She loves to play hide and go seek, which is really an endless game of chase. When she finds you she wants you to act surprised and run to a new spot for her to find.
22. Bailey is already starting to know her way around Austin. If we are headed South on 183 she starts asking if we are going to Nana's house. If we go further South to Mopac it turns into asking about Kyle, Ali, Owen, and "Becca" (can't quite say Rebecca). If we are going through the neighborhood near our house, she wants to know if we are going to Abby's house. And if we are headed out of Austin towards Liberty Hill, then she wants to know if we are going to Robby, Tara, and Bossy's house. Oh, the excitement when the answer is yes, Bailey we are going to __________ house.
23. On a similar note: every tractor is driven by her Pa, and every cow belongs to him also; all deer are hunted by Uncle Robby; and all red shirts of mine are work shirt; and she knows the makes of her friends/families vehicles and we say hi to you when driving around town (although it's really not you)
24. Oh, the crazy morning hair.
25. As soon as she wakes up in the morning she has something to say. You never know what it's going to be, but the usual topic is who she most recently saw and what their doing.
Luke as Oscar the Grouch. 
Last year as you might remember a group of our friends got together and did the Wizard of Oz.
So after a year of thinking about the perfect costume (yes, Katie Foshea I know you are laughing) we have decided to go as Sesame Street characters. Bailey as Elmo, Luke as Oscar the Grouch, and myself as Cookie Monster. We bought Bailey and Luke's costumes, but my extremely talented mom is again making my costume. Pictures to come.