Hats and shoes

Taylor has learned that she likes to accessorize...


PJs and a hat... I guess that's OK since her Dad wears safety goggles in the house (there's a reason- just ask him about amberizing glasses)...


Shirt and shoes, but no pants...


Cute little face...


Funny little face...


And searching for something new to try on!

Anniversary, Graduation, and Christmas... oh my!

It has been a busy, busy month! My brother Bryan confronted me about not updating my blog enough, and I admit I have been a delinquent blogger but it's hard to find time to blog when I have so many other things to do!!

December 18th was our 5th Wedding Anniversary!! :) 5 wonderful years... I couldn't have asked for a better spouse and companion and father for my little bug. I am so thankful to be married to someone who I am best friends with. We have so much fun together and I love him more every day. Joel surprised me with a dozen roses and a heart-felt card while I was at work. It was so sweet of him! When the roses died I didn't want to throw them away so I cut the heads off and put them in a bowl that i made in 9th grade pottery class. Aren't they still pretty, even though they're dead?



My parents flew in on the 19th- their flights got all messed up because of weather in Chicago, but they made it. It was so much fun to have them here! Taylor LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES her grandma and grandpa and asks about them all the time now. For some reason she calls them "Biggeye" (grandpa) and "Bigga" (grandma). Who knows where that came from- she called my dad grandpa when she was 11-months-old so I know she can say it. On Saturday night we were in the parking lot of Sam's club and my dad was holding her and she said, "I love you Biggeye!" It was so cute. She was just sitting on my lap and saw the pictures I am posting and she said, "I see Biggeye again!" I wish we could see Biggeye and Bigga more often too. :(



Joel's graduation was great. The ceremony didn't last too long and going through the motions of a formal graduation ceremony finally solidified the fact in his mind that he is DONE! He couldn't stop smiling! I am so proud of him and all of his hard work and sacrifice. My parents took us to Hunan, Joel's favorite restaurant in Fort Collins, for dinner after the ceremony. The next morning we drove them to the airport so they could fly back to Vermont. Their flights home were an adventure too, to say the least. They ended up having to fly from Chicago to Boston (instead of Albany) because all of the flights to Albany were cancelled due to a HUGE snow storm. So they rented a car in Boston, drove to Albany, picked up their car, dropped my mom off at the hospital at like 2 AM since she had to work a 24 hour shift the next morning and my dad got home at like 3 or 4 AM. What troopers! We were really thankful they made the trek out here to celebrate Joel's big day with us!



Christmas was fun! I think it will only get more fun as the years go on! Taylor opened one present and was happy- we had to keep giving her more presents so she could get through them all. It was fun to see her excitement. She just kept yelling, "Toys! Toys!" Yesterday my sister asked her on the phone if she had a good Christmas and she said, "YEAH! Toys!!"

Joel's parents sent Taylor a rocking horse that sings and talks. She loves her new horsie!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!! Love to you all! XOXOXOX!

Taylor loves spaghetti.... and her new potty... and my piano

So it's been a while since I've updated my blog and quite a few things have happened. My sister announced to the world that she's pregnant. Well, actually, her husband hacked onto her blog and put up a baby ticker and sort of announced it for her. I'm SOOO excited!! Her little munchkin is due in May! I can't wait to meet the little one. She and Nathan (her husband) moved to Vermont in June, so lucky her, my mom is doing all of her prenatal care and will deliver her baby too!! My mom works about an hour away from our house, so hopefully they can make it to the hospital long before the baby comes. Hopefully her labor won't hit as hard and fast as mine did and she'll have some warning and time to prepare!!

Joel is graduating in like a week and a half. He's been done with school for a while, but the actual ceremony is on December 20th. I'm so proud of him and everything that he has worked to accomplish. He has been getting up at 3 AM to work at Whole Foods for almost 5 years now so that he could work while he was attending school. I am so thankful to have married such a hard-worker. My parents are flying out for his graduation next Friday. I'm so excited to see them I can barely stand it.

And Taylor... my goodness... she learns and changes and amazes me every day. I can hardly believe what I hear come out of her mouth sometimes. I have to remind myself that she's only 17-months-old. 3 weeks ago she and Joel and I were at Target and she spontaneously counted to 7! She has been saying more and more of her alphabet every day and she is even recognizing letter and numbers. She is such a precocious little one. I pray all the time that I can be the mother that she needs me to be- that I can help her learn and reach her full potential because she is one very special, smart little girl. She points to things and asks me ALL the time, "What's that?" and I'll tell her what the object is and then she'll repeat me. And she remembers EVERYTHING. Here's an example of our conversations. She pointed at the moon one night and asked, "What's that?" I said, "The moon! Isn't it pretty?" And she asked, "The moon?" And I said, "Yes, the moon." Now whenever we're outside and she sees the moon she points it out to me. One of my favorite things is that she tells me that she loves me now. It's so cute. She'll just spontaneously say, "I love you momma!" It melts my heart. We bought her a potty the other day, not that I expect her to potty train right now or anything, but I figure the sooner we introduce the concept of the toilet the better off we'll be, right? So she loves it. Now every time she sees it she says, "Potty. Poo Poo. Pee Pee." Not that she's actually used it yet, but hey, it's a start. And boy is she ever a ham. A ham with a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT of energy. Just ask anyone who is in my ward (church congregation). She doesn't sit still. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother going to church because all we do is chase her around. We constantly have to try to find ways to channel her energy. Joel brought colored pencils and paper and books to try to make it through sacrament meeting. And still she managed to escape and run about 1/2 way up to the front of the chapel. The girl doesn't walk anywhere. If she's going anywhere, she's running. It's a challenge sometimes to try to keep up with her! I had to laugh because one of my friends just had her 4th baby (and 3 of them are 3 and under) and she was sitting across from me. I asked her if she needed any help since her husband has to sit in the front (he's the bishop) and she was like, "I think I'm OK." Well, she had better control over her 4 kids than I did over my 1. Hmmm. AND I even had my husband's help!! Emily, I need lessons from you!!!!!!! Anyway to the good stuff- here are a few new pictures from the last couple days.

Examining the potty. She stripped down to "use" it so I had to make the picture modest. Yes, my job makes me paranoid of psycho perverts... I can't help it. And no, we don't keep it in our kitchen. It's in a bathroom. She just couldn't wait to get it out of the box when we brought it home from the store, so that's where it was when I took the pictures.

rocking out on the piano...