The Attidues Inside Are Frightful

You know, 2 year-olds are funny little things.  For instance, I started this post LAST weekend...a weekend where Taylor went from Angel to Heatmiser in under 2 minutes, 24 times a day.  But this weekend, when I finally sat down to load the pictures, I erased everything I had written, because the little bug has been pretty darn awesome all weekend.  Sure, we had a couple of Heatmiser episodes, but she was just in a better mood all weekend than last.  Which leads to me being in a better mood all weekend as well.  Maybe I'll only need one coffee tomorrow.  Right, let's not get cocky...

Taylor went to her first Jayhawk basketball game last weekend, and she was great at the game.  She's got the Rock Chalk chant down...and is getting pretty close on the special clapping on the second verse of "I'm a Jayhawk".

Last weekend we decorated cookies my mom had made (I don't like to bake - too many exact measurements needed).  I did make the icing, so these bad boys turned out super sweet.  Also - I have no idea how much food coloring you are supposed to add, so the colors are VIBRANT! 

Yellow stars...have a little cookie with your icing.

With the green trees, I decided it was time to put the apron on. 

Hey, let's say Taylor did these too.  (They are red gingerbread men...shut it, I am not a good cookie decorator.  Ask my mom)

Oh there were sprinkles.  Were there ever.  I guess I did a poor job of explaining the concept of sprinkles on every tree. 

You were just getting ready to ask what Connor did during all of this, weren't you?  Well, there was thumb sucking involved, and kicking off of socks.  But all of it was done in her favorite place - the BOUNCER!

And after all that decorating, we had to take 'a bathtub'.  According to Taylor, that's a Santa beard. 

"Don't forget about me! I smile, I laugh!  My hair has the same style as Kate Gosselin!"

We're good with God...

Connor was baptized the weekend after Thanksgiving...here she is with all of her 'parents'.  Our good friend Jovy & good friend Steph are her Godparents.  We had a big party (that Taylor was STOKED for) at our house afterwards. It was a good time.

This is what you bring your kid to eat after Black Friday shopping...she loves the chocolate long john!  Please also note her H1N1 tattoo on her right arm...that thing just came off yesterday.

In other news, Connor is officially 3 months old!  She's a whopping 11.6 pounds and 23 inches long.  Still, not as big as Andy when he was born :)

The quickest update...ever in the whole world.

Are all two-year old's overly dramatic?  Because we hear 'ever in the whole woooorld' probably once a day...about everything.  I don't know where she got it, but it's pretty funny. 

Woot! It's fall!

Connor sleeps. 

It's parade season!

Two little ladybugs.

This ladybug sleeps.

This ladybug prances.

'Playing'

OOH!  SHE SMILES!!

Taylor Tuesday

We've been working on the alphabet with Taylor, so I'm stuck in alliteration mode.

  For her birthday, Taylor got the coolest hooded towel from Aunt Steph & Uncle Bryan.  Here she is modeling it...and unknowingly doing her best imitation of the 'DinkDinks' from SpaceBalls.

Last weekend was Maple Leaf, and Grandma & Papa came up for the day.  Grandma and Taylor and I went to the parade while Papa and Connor stayed at home.  (Andy was at the KSU football game with Uncle Marc)  The only thing we bought at Maple Leaf was this 'Crown' for Taylor.  She was a Jayhawk Princess. 

And finally, Sunday evening Taylor decided to apply some of her Dora chapstick.  Or all of her Dora chapstick.  All over her head.  I don't think this picture does the 'coverage' justice.  We could have the next Tammy Faye Bakker on our hands.

Oh - I guess since Taylor occasionally calls Connor "Tonnor", I'll post one of the little bug.  I can't get the timing of my camera down to capture her smile yet, but this is close.  Note that she basically has her pants pulled up to her chin (and lack of neck) in this picture....babies are like old people. :)

Punkin' Patch

A couple of weeks ago we went to the local pumpkin patch. (http://www.schaakespumpkinpatch.com/) Taylor loved the farm and the hayrack ride, and kept asking what the 'fractor' was doing.  Connor was as enthused as usual...you'll see her striking her famous pose below. 

Taylor Turns Two!

We celebrated Taylor's 2nd birthday this past weekend with a family cookout at our house on Sunday. Taylor was SPOILED by everyone...and we have tons of fun stuff to play with now (aka tons of stuff for Mom to clean up!). Andy and I thought it would be a great idea to get her an easel, since she likes to color so much. She loves it, but is a little over zealous with the dry erase markers. We will need to get new carpet in about 60 days at this rate.



Monday was Taylor's actual birthday, and we tried to make the day just a little different than regular days. We all went to a park and played on the slides and swings for about an hour. Then we went to dinner at McCallister's...one of T's favorite places because they apparently have killer mac 'n cheese. (Their kids' meals are like $2.00 too, which is awesome!) We even had a pink-colored bubble bath when we got home. Yes, I am still trying to get the pink out of the tub.


All in all, it was a great couple of days. Both Andy and I went to bed feeling very lucky, and very tired, to have such a fun, sweet little girl.

Connor's experience at the park.

She loves to swing.

On the big girl slide (the swirly one).

No thanks, daddy. I do it by myself.

Two Weeks Later

We've made it two weeks now as a family of four...and I won't say it's been all roses. BUT - we are getting the hang of things and all of our adjusting is starting to work out. Taylor really loves Connor, but still struggles with the fact that I'm not available for her all the time anymore. She also is still waking up some evenings when Connor wakes up, and she wants to "hep me". So, we change diapers, make bottles and try and get Connor back to sleep together...in the earliest hours of the morning. It's actually a really sweet gesture, but we sure are tired!

Aunt Steph and Uncle Bryan sent Connor a little sister shirt to wear -- we tried to get the girls' picture together, but Connor isn't so good at showing her whole shirt when sitting in Taylor's arms.

Taylor engulfed in one of her favorite pastimes...reading cookbooks.

At Connor's two week appointment, she weighed in at 8lbs 14oz. And her stinky belly button finally came off! Everything is great with her, now I will go feed her again and hope to get some sleep.

Connor Anne

Connor arrived September 3rd, at 9:36 pm. She weighed 8lbs 13 oz and was 21 inches long. She is the easiest baby ever - which is almost scary. When I'm not so tired from her big sister, I will update more about Connor's birth day, etc.

Patience = not my thing

I really don't want to take advantage of Taylor's blog as a place for my complaints...so I will try to be quick. Could this kid come out soon, please? I know I know, I've got 11 days until the actual due date (Sep 3rd). And I am honestly thankful that everything seems to be perfectly fine and healthy in there. But I don't like waddling, I don't like not being able to bend down, and I hate that I can't carry Taylor around or let her sit on my lap. Etc etc etc. I'm done now. AND I refuse to blog until we have baby #2. Enjoy these few pics.


We typically don't take naps on the sofa, but when watching Mary Poppins, one can only stay awake for so long.

She now 'gets it' when you tell her to smile for the camera. Too bad her mom can't keep her hair out of her eyes.

Cheesing it up before we went swimming last week. Everybody needs a pair of over sized shades.

A Real Big Girl Bed

A while ago we moved Taylor to a toddler bed, and it has worked out wonderfully. But as part of the 'transition' to moving her dresser/crib into the new baby room, we now have a new dresser (with mirror!) and REAL twin bed for Miss Taylor to sleep in. And she loves it. We had our first nap in it yesterday. At bedtime, I asked if she would like to sleep in her little bed, and the adamant response was 'No no! - I sleep in my big girl bed.'

She looks so little!

What? People actually check this??

I've been told to update this with some more recent pictures. Hold on to your hats....

Cousin Molly's wedding in Springfield. My, I've put on a bit of weight...right in that trouble tummy spot.

We went to Minneapolis to visit Jeremy, Heidi and Kaleb for the Fourth of July. Taylor thinks Kaleb is the coolest. She loved playing in the park, and in the sand.

If you've been around Taylor for more than 20 minutes, she will let you know that she likes to "Fwing". Oh, you don't understand 2-year-old? Fwing = Swing. She also likes Fwimming.

Kaleb looking a little apprehensive about sitting in a turtle. I don't blame him; this is an odd situation to find yourself in.

Everyone's happy jumping up and down on the bridge.

Cool...3-d glasses at the science museum.

Downtown Minneapolis waiting for the fireworks to start. They were amazing, and the kids behaved like champs. Taylor's reaction to the big fireworks...."oooooh-- HI!"

*****

Andy and I just got back from a weekend in Philadelphia. The major purpose of the trip was to attend a wedding, but we snuck in some fun sightseeing and some actual SLEEP :) If you would like to see the pictures...click on this link :

Summer 09