Playing Outside

Yesterday, after the kids left, Dustin and I played outside with Taylor. Of course, I took pictures. There were so many cute ones, that I didn't know which to choose. So, I didn't.

Dustin and I think purple is her color!

Some pretty close-up's

I love her long, dark lashes!

Seriously, mom, do you have to take so many pictures!Letting that "long" hair blow in the wind
How do you get these things on?
I've almost got it!

Summertime

Last weeks blog topic was reasons you are looking forward to summer. Here they are...

1) To work on my tan. Goodness knows I need to!! I tan pretty easily, but pretty much stayed out of the sun last summer since I was pregnant. I am ready to tan this year! My legs are really pasty!

2) To be able to take the kids I keep outside. The weather is so unpredictable in the spring and I am ready for summer when we'll be able to go outside almost every day. It keeps me sane and allows the kids to get all their energy out. Plus, the babies love it, too.

3) Bar-b-que!! I love it when Dustin grills. And what a better time than the summer?!

4) 4th of July (especially 4th on Broadway!) I love all the food!! Plus, this year, we can take Taylor to the parade. It'll be so much fun!!

Pet Peeves

I am behind on the blog topics. Last weeks topics was your pet peeves. Here are some of mine...

1) Gum smackers. I hate it when people smack their gum! I can't focus hardly at all on what they are saying or what might be going on around me because I'm so distracted by their gum smacking! Please be polite and chew your gum with your mouth closed. :)

2) I get so frustrated when people drive the wrong way down the isles in parking lots. Come on people...pay attention to the arrows or the way that the cars are facing!

3) Along the same lines, I hate it when people take up two parking spaces or park so close that you can't get back in your car. Here's a story...when I was pregnant (and BIG pregnant and in a dress), some snotty little college girls parked their 4-runner so close to me that I couldn't get in the drivers side door. So, I stood outside by the car waiting for them to come out. It was in the middle of the summer and hot so I finally gave up and climbed my big pregnant butt (IN A DRESS) from the passenger side to the drivers side. I waited in the air conditioning until the girls came out and gave them a piece of my mind. Pregnancy hormones were BAD! Don't park too close to me...plus, what if it was a little old lady and she couldn't get in!!! :)

4) Bad grammer is another of my pet peeves. Jamie posted this one on her blog, so I sort of copied it. The one I hate the most (my mom pointed this out to me years ago) is when someone calls the floor inside your house the "ground" and the ground outside the "floor."

So, those are my biggest pet peeves. I'm sure I have more that I can't think of right now.

Machelle & Clint

Machelle and Clint were married last Saturday in a gorgeous ceremony in Canyon. I've known Machelle, her sister Malissa, and brother Michael for over 10 years now. We met at White River Youth Camp when we were much younger. I formed an immediate bond with this great family. I love seeing them because even though it had been too long since we'd last seen each other, I felt like I had just seen them yesterday!

Machelle and Clint are crazy and seem absolutely perfect for each other! They are so laid back! Even when Machelle was putting her bouquet together just a couple of hours before the ceremony and making boutonniere's, she remained so calm!! I didn't get any pictures done before the ceremony and we quickly lost light afterwards, but I think I still got some really good ones.

Congrats, you guys! I'm SO happy for ya'll!!


Machelle doing her make-up.

Machelle & Clint's adorable son Micah

Missy's little girl Maddie. She thought the tights would keep her warmer if they were pulled up high!

Missy helping Machelle get dressed

6 Months Old

Happy Birthday Taylor!!

Taylor was 1/2 a year old on Monday. We went to the doctor yesterday and the doctor said she looks great! She was 17 lbs 9 oz (70th %) and 26 1/2 inches long (90th %). She got two shots, but did really well with them and wasn't fussy at all yesterday.

Here are some of Taylor's favorite things:

• She LOVES to sit up! And she does it really well. If she gets excited or if music is playing (especially if Dustin is playing the guitar), she swings her arms like crazy. It's so cute!


• She loves to play in her jumper or her exer-saucer. She is so easily entertained and will stay in them for 30 or 45 minutes at a time!


• She loves to babble and hear herself talk. She squeals and giggles and babbles all the time. Occassionally, we'll hear a "ma-ma" or "da-da" mixed in with her babbling and we get so excited!


• She loves to eat her baby food. So far, she's had rice, wheat and barley cereal, green beans, peas, squash and carrots. She gobbles it all up! In fact, she has her mouth wide open for the next bite often before I can even get the spoon out of the bowl.
  
  

Here are some of Taylor's least favorite things:

• Taylor does not like it when you leave the room she is in. She starts screaming and crying until you go back in the room with her. When she sees you, though, she smiles from ear to ear.


• She HATES having her nose suctioned. Yes, I would be worried if she liked it, but she really hates it! She has allergies quite frequently, so I feel like I am constantly suctioning her nose. Poor thing!


• She also now hates tummy time. She liked it quite a lot at first, but now she doesn't like it for more than about 5 minutes. She's only rolled over twice, and the doctor said we needed to put her on her tummy as often as possible to give her the chance to roll over. I hope she starts liking it more, soon!


• Taylor also hates to sleep in her bed laying flat on the mattress, like most babies do. A few weeks ago, she was so stopped up that she couldn't breath laying down. We put her in the carseat and she slept all night without a peep. After her congestion got better, we tried to take her out of the carseat and she was not having it. I asked the doctor yesterday, and she said we should probably break this habit. So, last night was really tough!!! But we all made it!

Here are some new pictures of my sweet 6 month old and some of the kids I keep.

Such a sweet smile!

Laughing at Brityn

Checking herself out in the mirror

Playing with Brityn and Shelbi

Brityn loves Taylor!

Taylor and Thatcher enjoying some tummy time

MERRY EASTER?!

Wow, this weekend has felt more like Christmas than Easter!! We've had an awesome weekend, though. First, on Friday night Taylor stayed with her grandparents in Slaton, and Dustin and I had the whole night to ourselves! I started out the evening with a bubble bath and a glass of wine, relaxing to some Norah Jones blaring through the house. I wish I could start every Friday evening that way. It was great!! Dustin and I finished getting ready and went to eat at Olive Garden. We had a yummy dinner and great time just talking, catching up, and not having to shovel our food in because one of us had to hold Taylor. We slept in on Saturday (YAY!!), then woke up to the blanket of SNOW!!!! I had heard the forecast, but didn't think we were going to get that much. So, Dustin and I decided to run errands and then head to Slaton and spend the night. We had already planned on spending Easter in Slaton, so instead of driving back and forth with a baby on what could be semi-dangerous roads, we just decided to stay the night with Dustin's parents.


I was so excited to see my baby after only 1 day away! We had a pretty relaxing day on Saturday. We did take Taylor out in the snow in the big snowsuit that Uncle Lonnie and Aunt Suzie gave her (thanks ya'll!!!). She looked like the boy in the Christmas Story. We were going to sit her down in the snow, but she couldn't sit in the suit because it was too big! So, Dustin held on to her while I took some pictures. The wind was pretty bad and made her squint a lot, so the pics aren't great, but it was fun to commemorate her first Easter with snow on the ground! That evening, we were playing with Taylor on the floor and Dustin put his cap on her. She looked so cute and I think she knew it. She was sure posing for the camera. She's started sitting up completely by herself within the last week. She doesn't have to be propped up or steadied...she just sits up when we put her on her bottom! She's also started babbling a lot more and it's so cute. Gosh, I can't believe how big she's getting!

Easter Sunday was great! We went to church with Dustin's parents in Slaton. I saw a lot of people I knew growing up. Taylor was GREAT during the service! Then, we headed to Dustin's aunt and uncles house for good food and some Easter egg hunting indoors. I've had such a relaxing weekend and I'm not ready for the week to begin! I hope you all had a blessed Easter! I'm always thankful this time of year for our Resurrected Savior!


I apologize now for the image overload, but I just couldn't choose which ones were my faves...

My big girl in her "big girl" high chair

HAPPY EASTER

Hand-me-downs

These two onsies are hand-me-downs from Britten. We love all the hand-me-downs! The "Cutie" onsie is a 6-12 month onsie and the green one with butterlies is a 9 month onsie. And Taylor's not even 6 months old yet!! I can't believe she can already fit into these sizes. I'm glad, though, b/c with the cooler weather, it's nice to have some long sleeve onsies! Poor child, we never feed her!

She's looking in the mirror in this picture. She thinks she's pretty funny!

Brityn and Shelbi (the girls I keep) are making her laugh in this pic. She just LOVES them.

Weekly Blog Topic

I chose the blog topic for this week and had trouble b/c it seemed everything I could think of had already been done. So, I chose your most embarrassing moment or moments. Gosh, I could post about so many different things...tripping and falling (which happens frequently), peeing my pants b/c I laughed too hard, or saying something totally stupid before thinking it through first. I've narrowed it down to these two stories...

1) About 3 1/2 years ago, I had a membership at Gold's Gym. I was taking a Tae Bo class that I had taken many times before. The first 30 minutes of class is the group kicking and punching, just like you see on "Billy Blank's Tae Bo." The last 30 minutes of class are broken up into stations with partners. The stations focus on raising then lowering your heartrate, therefor burning more calories. For instance, the first station would be jump rope, then arm curls, then quick feet, then wall sits, etc. I was about halfway through the stations and doing wall sits when I started feeling dizzy. I asked my partner (whom I didn't know) if I looked pale. She got up and walked over to the instructor. Heaven forbid that I quit the wall sits!! The instructor came over and looked at me and said we needed to walk to the other side of the room where it's cooler b/c I was as white as a ghost. Next thing I know, I am sitting in a chair all the way on the other side of the gym with some muscle head repeating, "Miss drink this...Miss, Miss." He was handing me orange juice. Apparently I passed out in the middle of the gym and the instructor practically carried me to a chair on the other side of the room. You will be proud to know, though, that I did go back to the class and never passed out again!

2) My second story is sort of embarrassing for me just b/c I was involved and get embarrassed easily for others, but really it's more embarrassing for the guy in the story. Hang in there...it's kinda long! 3 of my girlfriends and I decided to go to Bleacher's one night. I was in college and single at the time. We were having a good time when this guy from a table close by to us said we should go over and join them. We were hesitant at first since we didn't know them and he was being really forward, but then my roommate realized that their dad's knew each other. So, we joined them at their table. Later, we were getting ready to leave, and they said we should all go swim in their above ground pool at their house. So, we got directions, went and got our swimsuits and met them at their house. The guy that had come up to our table and I were talking and he seemed nice. I was complaining about it being too hot in the pool, so he thought he'd be cool and set me up on the side. When he did, he set me too far on the edge and I fell about 5 feet onto the grass. He was so embarrassed and apologetic. But this isn't the best part. We were leaving and he wanted to get my phone number. He was standing with his back to the hallway and his roommates were in their rooms. So, when something fell to the ground, I just assumed his roommates threw something at him. Then, he bent down, picked it up, and put it on his head. I stared for a second trying to figure out what happened when I realized it was a toupee!!!! I believe his exact words were, "First I threw you out of the pool and now this. I think you should go." Needless to say, we never exchanged numbers and I never saw him again!

Happy Birthday Dustin!

Dustin's 26th Birthday is today! He's an April Fool's baby. I can't imagine what Sammy (Dustin's dad) thought when Diane said she was in labor on April Fool's...crazy!

The past 4 1/2 years of marriage have confirmed what I was pretty sure of...Dustin is an amazing man! He is so loving, kind and patient, and he is an awesome spiritual leader for our family. The last 5 months have amazed me even more getting to see him as a daddy. Taylor is one lucky girl!! Dustin, I don't know if you will read this, but mine and Taylor's lives are so richly blessed because of you and we love you!!!

Just so people aren't confused...this is Dustin and Britten last summer, it's not Taylor. I just love this picture!