summer of 2010

So far so good this summer! Greg and I were able to go on a vacation!!! We went with 3 other couples in mid-June to Parker Arizona, which is also known as "The River". We spent 6 days there "Taylor free"! Although I did feel a little bit of guilt leaving my baby for so long, that quickly dissipated. She stayed with Greg's parents, so she was in good hands! I felt like it was a lot to ask of them but my mother-in-law insisted we deserve it and reminded me that she had 6 kids at one time, so we took her up on her offer! It was so nice to recharge our batteries. We layed in the water under the sun all day and went to bed early every night. We managed to not get sunburned, but we also managed to put on a few lbs, so it evened itself out. Taylor had a great time with her grandparents and her great-aunt who kept her busy and happy. When we got home she looked like she saw a ghost. She wanted Greg and I to hold her at the same time, she was so happy to see us. It ended up being a great trip!

On other news, we found out we are going to be an aunt/uncle/cousin again! Jeff and Tracy are expecting their 2 baby in December! We can't wait to see the new family of 4!

I have gone back to work 2 days a week, and my clientele is finally growing! I really enjoy my salon and working.

Greg is doing well, running the dairy with his dad. We just need these milk prices to go up more and he'll be a happy camper.

Taylor is running around and doing the funniest things these days. It's so fun t just sit back and watch her. She enjoys touching everything with her pointer finger which results in either an eye being poked, or her poking other's behinds, or knocking stuff over at the grocery store. I'm teaching the whole "don't touch" thing, but it's a work in progress. She also loves to give kisses (with her mouth wide open). And she blabs all day, never making any sense. It's fun to watch her grow and learn new things. As for her summer, she is not caring for any kind of water unless it's her bath. We're working on it, cause in this 100 degree weather, we need to stay cool outside of the house!

9 month pictures

So I just wanted to post some new pictures of Taylor that we just received. These are her 9 month pictures but she is now 10 months old. I can't believe I'm starting to plan her 1st birthday party! We aren't doing anything big, not even invites, but it's just weird to think about. She is still walking (a little better now) around the couches and walls and such, but not on her own yet nor is she crawling. I do want her to become mobile cause she REALLY wants to be near someone ALL day, so maybe when she becomes mobile she can just follow me instead of scream. But as for now she's becoming quite fun to play with. She's a little baby chatter box talking all the time, and we love it! We probably won't love for long, but right now it's like she's telling a story in her own language and I haven't met someone who doesn't think that's cute! She also smiles like crazy! She smiles at anyone and everyone and people eat right up thinking that she only smiles at them. Kind of funny. She has been eating a lot more table food and we took away the pacifiers successfully, so all is going well! I am going to start working 4 days a week because one of the girls at my salon is having a baby and all of her clients are coming to me, so I'm excited about that! Taylor will starting a new/cheaper daycare that is located right in Tipton, so that will be super convenient! So we are doing well up in Pixley, staying busy. Here is also a video of Taylor pretending to scare daddy. She is finding out how loud her voice can get.

So many things, yet so little time.

Wow! I am surprised I even remembered how to get on this thing! I was used to having a computer that took forever to post a blog, but now there is no excuse! My dad and step-mom gave us a new laptop for Christmas and it's the most wonderful piece of machinery! Thanks again Dad and Michele!!!
Anyway I don't know if I can even recall all that has happened, but I will try.
Taylor is now 9 months old (as of the 20th of Feb) and she is growing and changing and doing new things every single day. Every month of her life I say "this is my favorite age", but seriously... This is my favorite age! She just took her first steps with the help of a couch yesterday (Feb 18th). She says "Dada" and "Dad" all the time now and Greg can't get enough. She's excited to see us and mad when we leave or even walk 2 feet away from her. She's been super attached to me and when I get up to wash dishes or change the laundry, she screams until I return. Sometimes even sitting next to her isn't close enough, she wants to be in my lap. It was cute for about 5 minutes and now it's a little tough listening to her scream when I walk away, but sorry sweetheart, mommy can't sit on the ground ALL day. She is for sure a cuddler and we love that.
I am still working 2 days a week and I've been getting busier, so that's good. Taylor is in daycare that's about 1/2 block away from my work and I think she's finally warming up to the idea. She loves all the "teachers", but she shows them how loud she can get when I leave. It's a nice break from the everyday grind of a mom, but I am ready to see my little smiling face when I return! Besides Taylor getting sick from the other kids, daycare is a good choice for us.
Overall Taylor has been just great! I've already been thinking about her first birthday party, so it must be fun, cause the time is flying by!
Greg is doing well. He is working on the dairy with his dad and they have set up a nice routine of things now. It's great having his parents here. Dar is a huge help when we need a babysitter and we get to play a board game about once a week.
Our Dog (Dakota) got hit by a truck a couple months ago and now we have a new puppy. He's a yellow lab that's about 3 months old. I thought it was going to be hard having another puppy, but he is working out just fine. I think because he stays outside, but I'll take it.
Well that's all I've got for now, but I might be posting something I forgot later. Hope you all are doing well too!

Our little ladybug

So for Taylor's first Halloween we went to a friends house that lives in town. As you may have guessed our house is really quiet halloween night and we wanted to see some trick or treaters again. So one of our friends had some people over and everyone had little babies of their own. It was fun to see them all dressed up! We hung out and watched all the trick or treaters come and go. Taylor didn't quite know what to make of her costume, but she didn't hate it so that was good!
One thing I hated though was the time change. It never bothered me until I became a mother. Taylor has her schedule and it was very thrown off when the time changed. I thought it would take longer than 2 days to get her back on schedule, but it didn't, and now we're back on and it's wonderful! Thats about it for now, hope to find you all in good health and doing well!

Darius Rucker and of course Taylor :)

On Teusday the 20th of October I went down south because my sister had won some tickets over the radio to Darius Rucker (the old Hootie guy). We had such a blast! It was a good group of girls which included myself, my sister, Tracy and Alex. Darius sure puts on a great show! We danced and sang, and we all went crazy when he played his Hootie and the Blowfish songs! It was fun! This was my first trip down south without Taylor. My mother-in-law watched her while Greg worked. Thank goodness for family cause Taylor was sick and I thought it best not to tote her around everywhere, and I didn't want to get my mom or Steve sick as well. It worked out well, but seeing as how I'm with her almost all day everyday, it was weird being without her for 24 hours. She is getting better now, but now I think I'm getting what she had. The joys of having a family, everything gets passed around.

Well now Taylor is sitting up for the most part, and eating baby food, and just growing and growing! She's so fun and it just keeps getting better and better!

Having a convo with Daddy

Baptism

So I was chatting with my mom today and she reminded me to put up some pictures of Taylor's Baptism that occurred on September 27th. I have some of those pictures from my camera and I'm still trying to figure out how to get the pictures my dad sent via email. They are coming up as attachments and not jpeg's. So here are a few pictures from my camera and some others that I just think are cute. The Baptism went perfectly! Every mother dreads their kid screaming in public especially in front of a whole congregation, so Greg and I timed everything down to the "T". We fed her right before and tried to work everything else from naptime to playtime just right. Well it worked because not only did she not cry, but she even smiled as the holy water was being put on her head! We were shocked and very proud of her! People came from all over to witness this baptism and we couldn't believe what they did to get there! Thank you to everyone who was there and who wanted to be there but couldn't! We can't wait to tell her how many people really love her! Other than that she is doing great! She's rolling over and started rice cereal and has been sleeping for 11 hours at night! We still have to nail down some naptimes, but we're working on it. She's getting so big and those baby blues are still there and as beautiful as ever! She is 4 1/2 months now and starting to find her voice. I have a little video to share of her talking to Daddy! I hope you all are doing good as well!