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 

Turning One is So Fun!

 Today was Lily Michaella's first birthday! We had an amazing time the past two weekends celebrating with both of our families so today we invited some close friends to the park. It was so great to hang out and enjoy the beautiful weather to celebrate Lily turning one! Mike and I can't believe 12 months have flown by this quickly but as everyone keeps reminding us, kids grow up so fast. 

Looking at these photos one year ago is on the left and today was on the right. All I can say is WOW! Lily is the best gift we have ever been given and we can't wait to watch her grow more every day. 

She is the most outgoing, sweet, crazy, silly and content little girl I have every met. She fights laughing so hard but when you can get her to giggle it is totally worth it. She has her own little language and is such a ham in front of an audience. I love the moments she will sit, cuddle and watch the world around her and then during playtime Lily shows off her independent side. Lil, Baby Girl, Lily Girl, Stinker, Lil Lil, Silly Lily are only a few of her nicknames. She loves watching TV with Mommy in the morning. Lily likes to sing some tunes or dance as she crawls. She loves to chase Daddy around the living room. Watermelon and Cheerios are her favorite snacks. Lastly, her favorite toys are balls,any kind, which explains why we got her an awesome ball pit for her birthday. She played with it for 35 minutes straight!

This is my most favorite picture of the day. I love my little mini me. 

Oh and of my awesome Hubs who has been an amazing Daddy to our daughter. I love watching them together and their precious relationship.

Looking over the last year has really made us appreciate our soccer family. We live far away from our parents so most of the help and support we get with Lily is from people we know from our large soccer family. I don't know what we would have done without their love and support the past 12 months. So a big "Thank You" to you all. Lily is so loved and  I know our parents appreciate it too, knowing that we have people out here who care about us so much :)

11 Months Coming Through

Someone is exactly one month away from turning 1 and it's this girl! Lily is 11 months old today. I can't believe that we will be celebrating her first birthday so soon. Of course I have been perusing the net for months to see what presents are best for one year olds and what kind of healthy cake to make her, but I am sure no matter what we do she will love it.

Anyway, this month Lily did a lot of fun thing like....
1) Was in her first wedding as a flower girl for my brother's big day.
2) Attended her first wedding as a guest for her two best friends as they tied the knot.
3)Went in her first full sized pool with her play date buddy.
4) Was tricked into standing on her own but prefers to sit and crawl as fast as possible. It is seriously crazy how fast she can crawl.
5)Went to her first town fair and won a prize with some help from Daddy.
6) Tried a lot of regular solids. She loves celery sticks and gnawing on carrots. She is also a big fan of Italian food.
7) Has her 6th tooth coming in.
8) Lily can now wave hi and goodbye without someone waving to her first. It is adorable.
9) Learned to drink from a regular cup and always smacks her lips afterward.
10) Because I am incapable of ending at 9, Lily is the best girl ever!!! We are so lucky to be her parents!

Watching her become a toddler is crazy but so much fun. I am already excited to share her first birthday celebrations and I am sure there will be so many pictures to post!