Biter Biscuit

Auntie Jen is so good to us! At Braden's birthday party she gave Jarem his party bag and inside were baby treats especially for Jarem. She included some biter biscuits for us to try with him. She warned us that it would be messy but WOW! Jarem took messy to a whole other level. We didn't mind though, that's what baths are for. He really enjoyed the biscuit and ate almost the entire thing. Good job baby boy!



... Full Post...

Merry Christmas!

Well for Christmas we didn't really buy that much for Jarem. He already has so many toys and is truly blessed with hand me downs from cousins and friends. One of the things we did buy him was a 100-pack of Mega Bloks (basically large Legos). We didn't think he'd use them yet but thought it was definitely something he could play with as he gets older. Well on Christmas Eve we went to my sister's house after mass and had the best time with family. Braden and Emma have large Legos and Jarem found them. He held that Lego in his hand for a half an hour and when Eric tried to take it away from him Jarem actually cried. That's the first time he has ever cried for a toy. It was almost funny. In any case, Christmas morning we opened up the pack of Mega Bloks for Jarem to play with. He really loves the bright colors and the bloks are perfect for soothing his poor teething gums.

Jarem's many Christmas presents he received for his first Christmas included two teeth and an ear infection. Needless to say he was quite uncomfortable and really didn't get why we had to keep going from house to house. He was exhausted most of the day from crying most of the night and was quite resistant to nap. But this is one small moment we captured of him on Christmas day that was soooo precious.

All in all Jarem did great with the holidays and madness they can bring. We enjoyed spending time with all of our family throughout the past two weeks. We are so very blessed. Here are a few pictures from Jarem's first Christmas, too.

Christmas morning in front of our little tree at home.
Christmas Eve at Jen's house.

Christmas day with Joanna's family.
Jarem playing with his godmother, Joanna.
Happy boy!


Poppa and Miss C got these PJ's for him. Thank you!

Can you tell Jarem had just woken up? Tired eyes...

... Full Post...

Happy Birthday Braden!

Today is Braden's 4th birthday. He is so big though that it seems like it should be his 6th at least. Not to mention how good his vocabulary is and how good he is with his letters. He is such a smart boy. He is also the best superhero! He loves to be Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man, Wolverine, you name it. He is great at getting into character and making you call him by his alias. He has a ton of nicknames for Jarem and I love hearing what he thinks of. One personal favorite is Spideybaby.

He is having a Batman birthday party this year and has been telling me what he wishes for for months. He tells me, "Auntie Jamie, I wish for a black Batman with a black bat mobile and a black motorcycle and a green joker." I was able to find everything but the green joker. I am really excited to see him open his present tonight. Jen has been doing so much work on planning his party. It's going to be amazing! There is even going to be guest appearances by Batman and Joker themselves. SO COOL!

Thanks for being such a great godson, nephew, cousin and love bug. We love you!!
Be sure to watch this video all the way until the end. After the cuddles comes my FAVORITE part. I love hearing what Braden and Emma have to say...

... Full Post...

THE BEST SOUND IN THE WORLD!!!

Oh my goodness!!! This is going to be my ring tone. I'm going to have Eric pull the audio from this and make this my ring tone on my cell. HOW ADORABLE!?! Great belly laughs...so contagious. I love it!

... Full Post...

CAUTION: Baby at play!

So I really don't want to do that whole my baby is so smart and amazing thing in every post. But I'm honestly just amazed at what he knows. I feel like I miss so much when I'm at work. His brain is constantly learning and growing. Auntie Jen has this toy which I'm sure we've all seen. You move or turn or flip something and the door pops open with something underneath. I had no clue that Jarem would know what to do with this toy. I was completely amazed at how focused and determined he was on making sure that every door stay closed. I LOVED IT! I love being able to play with him now and watch him figure things out. He's just started to push things over the edge or drop things on the floor and see what happens. It's a favorite game of his in the bathroom to push everything off the ledge of the tub onto the floor. Then he pulls up to standing and stares at everything lying on the floor. (His aftermath hehe) I'm so proud of you Jarem! Keep learning all these fun new workings of the world... I love you bug! ... Full Post...

Sleeping Angel

Well this is short but too sweet not to share. Auntie Jen took this video. She was admiring him in his sleep which I honestly thought I was the only one who found that interesting. I love watching him sleep! But apparently Auntie Jen really does love him as much as she says. Cause she didn't just watch him sleep, she taped him. We are so incredibly lucky to have her watch Jarem for us! Thanks Auntie Jen for this precious video!
... Full Post...

WOW! The changes a week makes...

Okay, check out these two videos. These were taken a week apart. The first video is about two days after we first noticed Jarem pulling up on furniture to standing. The second video was taken two nights ago. This is just crazy how fast he learns and perfects things. He went from struggling with something as sturdy as a bathtub to mastering a Fisher Price piano to prop up on. I am so amazed at my little man!

The other thing I have to mention, check out the size of his belly hanging over those ASU shorts! So handsome...

... Full Post...

Where's Jarem?

This has to be one of the most precious videos... Braden played this game all on his own with Baby Jarem. He and Emma are the best cousins! It's so amazing how much they love Jarem and don't get sick of him coming to their house everyday. They ask, "Can we borrow baby Jarem today?" And most nights Emma asks if Jarem can spend the night. It's so adorable. Well this video shows Braden playing with Jarem. He was doing this all on his own while Jen was changing Jarem's diaper. Jen grabbed the Flip real fast to tape the boys playing and that's when Braden looked at the camera. Man, we are so lucky to have them loving on baby J all day. My favorite part is when Braden calls him Spidey Boy. Braden loves, Loves, LOVES superheroes so it's only fitting for him to say that. I love it... ... Full Post...

Strong Arms

I love my baby boy! His upper body strength is insane! The first video is baby J crawling to mommy and then switching into his army crawl. I can't get over how strong his arms are to be able to pull his 20 pound body across the carpet so quickly and easily. The gun show must be in town...hehe. The second clip is one of his little quirks that make us laugh. He plays with his Fisher Price tables and loves to pull up to standing and push all the buttons to hear the noises and see the lights. But every now and then he'll just push the table around or take the legs off and I swear it's like he's just trying to show off his brute strength. Whatever the motive, he's so cute doing it and we love watching him push his toys around.
... Full Post...

Standing and playing with mommy

Well, as promised, here is the first of a couple videos to come. This was taken this past weekend so it's recent. Daddy is much better at getting Jarem to stand and walk that I am. But it's still cute to watch him try. Enjoy the video...
... Full Post...

A long past due update...

So we have a number of excuses for not blogging lately but not enough time to write about those. Plus, it’s way more fun to write about BABY JAREM! So here’s the cliff notes on how he’s doing and what he’s up to.
He says Dada regularly and is starting to babble a little mama here and there. Last night we were in the dining room and he was playing in the living room when a loud and clear “mama” came out. We both stopped and smiled at each other. Eric has been loving all the Dada's but now it’s time to share the babbles.

Jarem has also started to crawl. He’s been doing his army man crawl and getting better and faster for the past month or so. This past weekend he actually crawled a good 3-4 strides before switching back to army crawl. We are so proud!! We got some good video that we’ll post this week…PROMISE!

Man, really sorry it’s been so long. Jarem’s first Thanksgiving was good but uneventful. He had Gerber 2nd foods Sweet Potatoes and Turkey. Yummy!

Jarem has also been such a good boy and taken a couple more trips with us. We flew to Washington again and visited all Eric's family. It was such a great trip and we saw so much family. It was nice not having anything to do but enjoy good family time. Jarem did great on the flights both there and back. We found out this past week that he burst his ear drum again. I wonder if it was from the flights. He never complained though. He's such a good boy!

This past weekend we drove to Page, AZ. For those not familiar it was about 6 hours away and on the Utah border. Again, he was an angel boy in the car and did fine with the cold weather. It snowed most of our drive home which was kind of fun. It was mine and Eric's first time ever seeing the Grand Canyon in person, even if it was from afar.

The biggest news in our lives is that Jarem no longer goes to Kindercare!! My sister offered to watch Jarem and we absolutely jumped at the opportunity. Jarem gets to spend all day playing with his cousins and amazing Auntie Jen. She is so good with him and loves him more than we ever thought another person could while we’re at work. We have been so blessed not only having them here in AZ with us to see and spend time with but now with the opportunity to see them every week day!

She takes some great videos during the day, I’ve just been slacking on posting them. I’ll post a bunch and get caught up soon. For now, here are some pictures she’s taken for us. More to come soon…

Jarem's first time on a swing. He was pretty tired as you can see...

Jarem playing in Auntie Jen's exersaucer.

Superbaby!! Such a happy boy...

Oops, I meant Supercousins!!!!! Notice all the Superman attire. What good looking cousins!

Another ride on the swing. He enjoyed it much more this time around. He's starting to get the hang of it I think. (I've still never seen him on a big boy swing. Only on his baby swing in our living room.)

GO ASU Sun Devils!! Jarem wearing Uncle Bradley's hat. SO HANDSOME! This is my favorite picture of him. I love those eyes...

Okay, this is kind of a long story but a fun one. While in WA, everyone tried on this blond wig. Eric's mom had it from Halloween, she was Tina Turner. We were all trying it on and taking pictures when Jarem woke up. I went and picked him up and he was very happy and alert. We decided to put the wig on him, too. He makes a good looking blond, huh? ... Full Post...

Baby Schroeder

Play that piano babyJ ... Full Post...

Bellagio Hotel

I have been a part of the United Way steering commitee again this year for US Airways. What that basically means is that I am part of a team of about 6-10 loyal members of employees who volunteer extra time and come up with ideas for fundraising and getting our employees involved here in the Hangar in PHX for US Airways. We've had our most successful year yet! We've perfected ideas from past years and also come up with new ideas that have been a hit! Here are some of the events we have had over the past month: Jet Pull, Hot Dog Eating Contest, Bake Sale, Breakfast at your Desk, Silent Auction, Early Bird Raffle, Happy Hour at your Desk and the 1st Annual Putt Putt Golf tournament
The Golf tournament was such a hit!! The idea was to assign 18 departments a hole, their par number and a theme. From there it was up to each department to design and create a miniature golf hole to be a part of the course. Not only was it cool because Doug Parker golfer along with other officers from US Airways, but it was also cool because the departments completely got into it.

We decided the overall theme for the tournament would be Las Vegas. Departments were assigned hotels and places from Las Vegas to use as their theme for their hole. My department was assigned the Bellagio. Luckily, when Eric and I were first dating his family did a trip to Las Vegas and we spent a lot of time walking around the Bellagio on one of our sight-seeing excursions. I headed up my department's planning, design and execution for the hole.

We got third place in the overall competition and were beat by some truly awesome holes. The first place team, Treasure Island, actually turned a desk into a boat and did an amazing job in decorating and carrying the Pirate theme throughout. The second place team was the Hoover Damn and they actually had a pump with water and a replica of the damn for the ball to play on. Very cool...

Enjoy my miniature tour of the Bellagio hotel in Phoenix. I took about 15 hours to actually hang and decorate everything. I hope you like...
... Full Post...

SO TALL!

We can't get over how big baby Jarem is getting...

Hi daddy! I see you...

I've got my eye on you...
YUMMY!!

See my cute puppy dog eyes? Don't you want to pick me up??

... Full Post...

Are you Kidding me?!

What a cute kid!!!! Jamie just got baby J a ball cap. Look at how cute my boy is!!! Sorry, I've always wanted to say that, 'my boy'. And now that he's got a cap, I can say it! Thanks babe. Oh, and yes, that is drool on his side! ... Full Post...

Weird naps

Today was full of weird naps for Jarem. When I first got to daycare Jarem's teacher Miss Jamie told me that Jarem fell asleep on the tile while hugging an elephant. She snapped two pictures with her cell phone and texted them to me. Sorry for the poor picture quality.After picking Jarem up from daycare, Grammy, Jarem and I were headed home. Poor Eric had to work late tonight so Grammy was going to bring Jarem and me home. Well while on the freeway we got a flat tire. BUMMER! We immediately took Jarem out of the car and hiked up the shoulder to get away from the car. Well at first Jarem LOVED IT! He loved all the noises and watching the cars pass. It was amazing how amused he was by the whole thing. The wonder wore off after about 10 minutes though and he fell asleep on Grammy's shoulder on the shoulder of the freeway. Talk about the weirdest place to nap--ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY
In any case, four new tires later and 4 hours later we got home. Jarem was such a good boy and really is the best baby. He slept through most of the ordeal and just went with the flow. We walked to Denny's from Discount Tire and had dinner there. He was so happy and making so much noise that almost the entire restaurant was in smiles watching him play and shriek. We are so lucky to have Jarem in our lives. He brings us so much happiness and love. Even during a hairy mess (flat tire) he still found a way to keep mommy and Grammy happy and grateful that we got through the whole thing safely. ... Full Post...

WELCOME HOME!!!!

Oh My Goodness I LOVE my wife! She has been working nearly every day for the past 3 or 4 months to help my mom get a house down here in the AZ... My mom's and gary's visit this weekend was a multi-purpose trip, visit BabyJ, celebrate my B-Day and check out some houses. Well they found a house and loved it... a few minsutes before my party they put in an offer AND today, their offer went through!!!!




There will be more details to come, but I just wanted to share my excitement with the world!

I'll work on more pictures too!

YAHOO!!!
... Full Post...

6 Months

So our beloved baby Jarem is 6 months old!!! Holy smokes, where has the time gone? Oh yeah, into loving our boy! You know, everyone said, "enjoy the time, because it goes fast" and I believe them 100%. We're doing our best to document as much as possible from our life, so that when our memory gaps start to become more frequent, we'll be able to look back and be reminded of how wonderful our life really is.

Here are a couple of videos from Jarem's 6 month check up. The first one is hilarious... all of the Doctors and Nurses were just Gushing over him... who wouldn't right? The second one is us waiting for the nurse to come back. What do we do? We play of course. Check out the videos after the jump.


So here are the important details. Baby J is 19 lbs 7 ozs, 27" long. Both of those figures are in the 90th percentile for his age. Dr. Sudah said that he's a perfect square! To which mommy said, yeah but he's ANYTHING but boring!

Enjoy!

... Full Post...

Prayers

I am profoundly saddened by the news that Barack Obama's grandmother passed away today. On the eve of potentially what would be the proudest moment for any grandparent.

I can't believe it and while I know that everything happens for a reason, I just can't stop myself from thinking about how unfair it is.

To all of our grandparents, if you're reading this, I want to let you know that Jamie, Jarem and I will give you many reasons to be proud of us.

Thank you for being such wonderful influences in our life.

Love,
The Baileys ... Full Post...

Immitate Daddy's laugh

So just a couple notes about the attached video. So many people have asked us this so I guess I should write about it. We haven't cut Jarem's hair lately. It is honestly just falling out at rapid pace. His crib sheet and car seat have hair all over them. He's shedding his baby hair. We'll see what his new head of hair looks like in a couple months I guess.

Secondly, Jarem loves to immitate laughing. If you laugh at him he chuckles back. It's so cute! His favorite person to immitate is daddy. They love laughing back and forth at eachother. It's so cute!! Jarem is definitely finding his voice and becoming a lot more vocal. He is growing up so fast! He watches the cats and gets so excited when they walk close to him. Jarem also loves to watch TV. We have to be careful cause it will be on in the background and he'll just stare at it and hone in on the screen. He just cracks us up. Enjoy his big belly in this video
... Full Post...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Okay, this is Jarem's real costume. We'll get some live shots tonight of him in it and post those, too. But we took these a couple weeks ago of our little spider. He sure has us caught up in his web. What a cutie!?! More pictures
















... Full Post...

Outfits 5, 6 and 7

I'm sporty! There's no telling what sport I'll play when I grow up but since the glove fits, I'll say Baseball for now. That's safe... But then again, maybe I'll be a superhero. What should my name be? Auntie Jen has an idea of what I should be called...My Auntie Karen has another idea of a name for me. Her little pea. Ahhh...More pics



















... Full Post...