2015 and The Three Bairs

2015 sure has been an amazing year! So many great changes for The Three Bairs!

We will start with Mike. This year started with Mike working in customer service for a flooring company. Fast forward to May when he received his Masters in Higher Education, stopped working at the flooring company and started coaching soccer full time. This is something Mike has been wanting to do since before he graduated with his bachelors in 2011! Soccer Camps through out the summer, acting as the Director of Goalkeeping for his club, coaching 2 club soccer teams, and assisting at Geneva, plus other individual sessions; I think he stayed busy! During his free time, Mike is an amazing Daddy to Lily. Watching the two of them together makes my heart smile.

Lily's first time bowling!

For me (Meg), I was back to the office in 2015 and loved every second of it! I grew so much as a person. Being home for 18 months with an infant was a different pace than I was used to. I loved being with my little girl but I was ready for a change. I continued to coach my club soccer team and  Olympic Development team through the spring/summer, but decided that after the season ended I would take a break from coaching. I now enjoy my free week nights and weekends (I know what is that?) supporting Mike in his various coaching roles, hanging out with our friends, and having Mommy and me time with my favorite mini me.

Lily and Mommy enjoying some ice cream.

Last but certainly not least is Miss Lily, little girl, Lil, stinky, and the many other adorable things we call her. She started walking in 2015 and now that we have to chase her everywhere I miss the crawling days. Lily started daycare this year and we have seen huge growth in her vocabulary! Every day we are amazed with what comes out of her mouth. Her singing "Jingle Bells" and "I love you, You love me" ( Barney Song) are two of our current favorites. 

Lily's personality is showing through more and more. She is a very affectionate, caring, spirited, and active little girl. Her stubbornness, smarts, and innocence make us giggle all the time. Some of Lily's favorite things are trains, Daniel Tiger, dancing, singing, Mickey Mouse, and stickers. This holiday season has been really special as Mike and I see it through a 2 year old's eyes. The smile on her face looking at Christmas lights, finding baby Jesus in every nativity scene, and getting all excited when she hear's a Santa say "ho, ho, ho."

Our 2015 Family Christmas Card Picture!

A year in review always reminds me how blessed we are. God gave us an amazing daughter who we get to love on every day and a marriage that we will be celebrating our 5th anniversary for on 1/1/16! 

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family and may God bless you for a happy and healthy 2016!

**And now enjoy some pictures of Lily from 2015**

2014 in Review

To review a year in a blog post is such a weird concept. How could I possibly encompass 365 days in a post that doesn't take (days) weeks to read?

I think I will make it short and sweet this year because in about 10 minutes Lily is going to get tired of Veggie Tales and will want to play :)

2014 was filled with soccer as per usual, Mike restarting his Masters degree, and Meg becoming a stay-at-home-mom. Lily did what all infants/toddlers do which is be cute and do whatever she wants. She is our little princess and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. This year she began to talk, became a speed crawler and could probably pass as a competitive eater for the under 2 division. She loves her food and isn't too picky as long as you let her feed herself. Although tantrums and stubbornness are starting to rear their ugly heads, there is no question Lily is our child. Her favorite toy is a ball, no surprise there, and she loves her plethora of teddy bears.

This little video just cracks me up! Anyway, Mike has been working on his masters since the fall of 2011 so we are excited to have him finish up in May. Balancing a full time job, coaching 2 or 3 club teams depending on the year and assisting at the college hasn't been easy but Mike has pushed through and is pumped to have his degree. 

Meg went back to work in retail from Nov. 2013 until June 2014 and then determined the minimal hours wasn't worth the hassle. Now she works in direct sales, can challenge herself as much as she wants and still gets to stay home with Lily. The perfect setup! She also continues to coach one club team and her regional Olympic Development Program (ODP) team. 

This year we traveled much less than years prior because Mike no longer works in admissions which had a very demanding travel schedule. We have also found that like most first time parents, having a child changes everything. This is probably the first year I haven't gone to most of Mike's soccer games to support his team because let's face it, Lily can only handle so much soccer. Poor girl is at the field too much as it is. Though here is the kicker (pun totally intended) Lily can't walk yet but can intentionally kick a ball and pull a ball back with the sole of her foot. Mike is already making sure she doesn't favor one foot over the other. #coachingproblems

Lily setting up her cones.

Alright and to round out the year here a couple of pictures from Lily's first birthday party. We celebrated it over 3 weeks because why not!

2014 What a year! May God continue to bless our family in ways we could never imagine in 2015. We know we don't see friends and family as much as we would like so feel free to check back here to see what's going on. Click subscribe and enter your email address in the upper right side bar if you are lazy like Meg and just like posts to automatically come to your inbox.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!!

Love,

Mike, Meg & Lily Bair 

Bossypants

So one of my resolutions for 2014 was to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Yea that isn't going to happen unless reading board books to Lily counts :) I am happy to say that I definitely read more this year than in years past. So far I have completed 4 books!

My favorite so far was "Bossypants" by Tina Fey. I love her as a comedian so when it was time for my mom's group Book Club, I volunteered to host and voila! I had gotten it from the library before and read less than half so this time I had motivation to read the whole thing.

The book is an autobiography sort of... It doesn't have a story line in the true sense of the word but there is a beginning and end and what is in between those parts makes sense. Here are my two cents about the book.

It surprised me how much my parenting style and general thoughts on being a mom matched with Tina Fey's, despite our completely different lifestyles. I appreciated how down to earth she was. I am tired of reading "mom books" (not that "Bossypants" is really a mom book, just a book written by a mom) and talking to other moms who say all the right things. Let's be honest, half the time being a mom is a complete mess and that's okay! Fey showcased that multiple times in the book and I kept finding myself saying "I feel the same way." Woah, who knew Tina Fey and a random 25 year old SAHM could feel the same?

Anyway a good, quick read if you can get past the random curses, crass comments, and otherwise rough humor.


**Next on my reading list is something very different and the same. "Life on Planet Mom" by Lisa T. Bergen was given to me by a wonderful neighbor from my MOPS group. I just started it but so far it seems to be exactly what I need to be reading.**

My First Anywhere Chair Review

I was so excited to purchase a Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair. Because of Lily's small size I decided to go with the "My First Anywhere Chair." It arrived in two packages, one large box that contained the foam and a bag with the slipcover. When the slip cover arrived a couple of days after the foam pieces I immediately put it together. I was really frustrated when the velcro strips inside the slipcover did hardly anything to keep the foam in place. The personalized initial was also much smaller than the website advertised.

After watching the Pottery Barn Youtube assembly video I understand why the new design of slipcover does not have the defined shape the older PBK Anywhere Chairs do. The fabric sleeves with Velcro strips held tight to each piece of foam, especially in the flat seat area. In the new design, the inch wide straps with small Velcro squares barely stick together let alone hold dense foam in place. It is really a shame because the PBK Anywhere chairs are such a great product otherwise but I do not want that lack of stability in a chair used for small children.

The customer service for Pottery Barn Kids was very nice and helped me walk through the return process. She also got me the special permission required to return a personalized item since the slipcover was monogrammed. Tomorrow my PBK My First Anywhere Chair makes it way back to the warehouse and I try to find a suitable replacement. Lesson to be learned, don't change a good thing!

That Time I Wore Fake Nails...

Someone special aka my brother is getting married tomorrow and I am really excited for it! I am a bridesmaid with my beautiful sister who I knew was getting her nails done. I have rarely gotten my nails done so much so I think I could count on one hand all the times I have gotten a manicure. Anyway being the sporty lady that I am I have also never used fake nails or press on nails. Yesterday that changed! I tried Nailene's So Natural Short Everyday French artificial nails from Wal-Mart. The kit comes with a manicure stick, cuticle pusher, glue, adhesive tabs and nails. I really liked how there were 28 nails and 14 sizes to pick from to best fit my nails.

Anyway, the process for putting the nails on was really easy. Buff your nails and clean them with the tools provided. Then begin to pick the adhesive tabs and nails that fit you best. I would suggest picking the sizes and setting them out before you start, which is not what I did and wish I had. I found myself fumbling around with these very light nails with half my nails on and half off. Bad idea!

Here are the before and after shots. My natural nails are in good shape but look how regal and long they look with the press on help! For the 20 minutes it took me to put them on and, did I mention the $5 out of my pocket, I will take it!


I put these bad girls on after my little girl was put to bed so I got to enjoy them hassle free for a good 12 hours. The only problem was when the morning came I felt like I couldn't do anything! Picking up bobby pins was hard, texting on my phone wasn't easy, scratching my head was rough, and taking care of Lily was another story. I felt like I was scratching her every time I picked her up and opening her formula can took some work. I am curious how people wear these all the time, obviously not press on, but having long nails is hard work! Needless to say these fun nails didn't even stay on until 9am. It was a great experience but for a mom of a 10 month old, not for me. Maybe I will try them again someday but for now so long pretty nails.

Good news, taking them off was a breeze! Press down on the nail and slide off. There was some leftover adhesive but it rolled off under my finger and I cleaned up the rest with nail polish remover. Great product but not for ones with young children :) Now I am off to decide if I want to pay for a mani or go DIY, decisions, decisions.