Two Crazy Girls

Santa-Phobia

2011-12-20T11:44:00.000-06:00

The Santa picture is not happening again this year....

Trying to do the convincing....I even offered to sit with them. Taylor even offered to hold her hand *gasp*!

She may as well have been covered in double-stick tape; she was not letting go. And wouldn't even smile at the camera.

Not our Christmas Card

2011-12-16T12:06:00.000-06:00

You'll have to wait until the 23rd-ish of December to see the real card. And if you think you aren't getting one and want one, send me your darn address!

Cinderella Weekend

2011-11-16T13:04:00.000-06:00

While Andy enjoyed his first opening weekend with my Dad (and other male members of my extended family)...the girls and I camped out with my Mom. We went to the local high school production of Cinderella, and as a special bonus - there was a Cinderella Tea on Saturday afternoon. The girls got to decorate their own crowns, take pictures with Cinderella in her pumpkin carriage, listen to a preview of the songs from the cast, and meet any character they wanted to. They liked the Step Sisters a lot - but did not want anything to do with the Prince or the King. Guess that's good news for Andy for now :)

Decorating the crowns while Joy the ugly step-sister visited.

Orneriest princess in the whole place. While the show was going on - and it was quiet in the atrium area - Connor passed some gas while sitting on my lap. Then said "Poop!!" as loud as could be. I'm sure my face was the color of those red chairs.

Only one Princess was willing to stand with the giant pumpkin at this point.

With Cinderella in her Carriage. Connor was pretty apprehensive at first, but Taylor was an excellent big-sister and held her hand so she would do it.

Little Miss Serious intently watching one of the preview scenes.

The girls with the Step-Mother & Step-Sisters.

Learning how to waltz.....

So they could dance with each other - cause you know they would have nothing to do with dancing with the prince or anyone else!

Taylor's Pumpkin Patch Birthday

2011-10-25T23:07:00.000-05:00

Authors note: (haha- author is me - haha) It just took 42 minutes for blogger to upload these pictures. I do not feel like organizing them in order. Captions will be short. Deal wit it...

I call this "Life imitating Scarecrow"

All the little kiddos at Taylor's 4th birthday party munching on some cake.

When T opened this gift she exclaimed "Oh Quentin! It's just right!" Quentin would be the little blondie to her left. Such drama....

The gift of the coveted hula hoop.

Little pumpkin cakes - ala my mom. Delish.

"If the scarecrow looks right at mom's camera, then we should look the other available directions. Of course!"

"Hey, I'm almost 3 feet tall finally!"

Cannot open eyes all the way for pictures.

Candy & Trombones

2011-10-19T13:37:00.000-05:00

I know - it's a weird title. It may even attract weird people to this blog. But those are the only two things Taylor seems to care about when it comes to parades. We went to the annual Maple Leaf Festival parade last Saturday, and yes, we have plenty of candy now and we even saw some trombones. We rode the carousel, and ate a little fair food. We even learned that Connor has a 'trick': Put an entire tootsie roll in your mouth - finagle it around in there - and spit out only the paper - still in one piece. Yep, she's got talent.

All in all, I think everyone was happy.

*Special thanks to Allison for capturing these photos.

Belated Birthday

2011-09-21T11:51:00.000-05:00

I promised myself I would post pictures of Connor celebrating her birthday before Taylor's birthday. But in all fairness, having two kids born in the same month is crazy. Anyway, for Connor's birthday this year we had two family parties. The first celebration was a 'Pooh-l' party at my parent's house on Labor Day. Obviously, we wanted to use the pool, and we had a 'Pooh' theme.

She couldn't wait to get her little hands on her 'Bee-hive' cake.

Pool hair

Taylor is a fish in the pool...but was freezing when we took a break for cake

I just love T's face smiling up at Connor in this one

Oh yeah, she blew out her candle on her own...first try, no spit even!

Opening gifts

Snuggling new clothes

I love that they want to play with everything we opened

Connor is actually a really good present un-wrapper. I know, that probably does not come as a surprise at all.

Oooh! A shoe box!

Clothes! Yay, let me take them to the person who gave them to me.

And show you how they fit....

Reading cards

I had to explain what a 'piece of paper' inside of a card meant to Taylor. She got the concept when I said we could take it and go buy something at the store.

Oh boy - babies!

Taylor & Evan checking out her new Princess books

Another baby! - A Princess Baby even! OH MY!!! (Taylor was a little jealous, Aunt Steph told her she would take care of it ;) )

And this is how she spends most of her time with her babies, carrying them around in her little arm.

The day after Labor Day, we had Andy's side of the family over for dinner. I did a terrible job with the camera, so there are very few pictures of Andy & Connor opening gifts....

Allison and Connor were having a staring contest, apparently.

Musical cards!!

Trying on her new ~~Elmo~~ baby Jayhawk shirt!

Shop till you Drop

2011-09-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

Mid-snack, she finally passed out. At least Target has super sturdy straps to hold her in.

Taylor & Connor...Unplugged

2011-08-22T22:30:00.000-05:00

Friday morning I was woken by a hot, sweaty almost-two year old around 5:00am. I picked her up, and realized that our fans weren't running. Then flipped around and looked at the clock - to notice it was also black. A nasty storm had started the night before, and apparently knocked out our power. In an all electric house with a well, you don't get to shower when there's no power. Daycare called around 7:10 to let us know they were also without power - so we couldn't even let the girls escape our hot house. So - without power, AND water and all of us at home (because you know Andy shouldn't go to work without showering!) we went to Quick Trip for breakfast and bathroom breaks in the morning.

Donuts & milk from QT

She is the fastest donut eater I've ever met.

Coloring extra boxes...surprisingly entertaining.

Playing dress-up...or dress-down I guess. They thought sticking those sticky jewel things to their stomachs was so much fun.

And once we convinced everyone to put their clothes back on, Connor thought she should model Taylor's shoes. Shes got a lotta growing to do....

Power finally came back on at noon, but not soon enough for our milk and about everything else in the fridge. That made for a reeeeeally fun afternoon.

Friday Afternoon at Work

2011-08-12T14:04:00.000-05:00

I've accomplished all I'm going to get done this week. I've got a long list to start on for next week, but if I do it all now, what will I do with myself next week? OH right, go to the 60 hours of meetings scheduled for me. Well, I'll blog a little picture instead.

This is what happens when you have an almost 2 year-old who is crazy. Refused to put her clothes back on after getting her diaper changed at the pool. And decided to try and do a somersault into the pool....crazy.

Scatterbrain

2011-07-28T22:53:00.000-05:00

Stay with me on this one. It's going to be all over the place.

Taylor went to Sanayia's birthday in June (A friend from school)....pool party! They had a really great time playing.

I have no idea why Taylor is scrunching down so much in this picture. She looks like a runt in comparison, but really - she and Sanayia about the same size.

Then we hosted Meinen Birthday Fest 2011. Papa Tom, Grandma Ginny, and Anya's birthdays were all celebrated.

Grandma even made shirts!

Taylor went to another friend's birthday - Norah's Jump 4 Joy party. It was really hard to get a good picture of them having fun, but this is the big slide they spent most of their time on. Taylor is the one at the bottom of the slide in the pink tank...Norah is headed up the steps.

We've been swimming a lot. Cause, you know - IT IS HOT.

Uh - someone's glasses are a little crooked. And someone seems to be sticking out her belly :)

Last weekend we went to Deanna Rose Children's Farm in OP. Only $2 a person! We saw a cow getting milked, and hung out with some goats and took a tour of some teepees. And then, it was HOT. We'll definitely go again.

Parent Teacher Conference #2: Taylor

2011-07-25T15:17:00.001-05:00

Last Thursday was Taylor's conference. I took the day off and spent the morning at the Downtown Lawrence Sidewalk Sale, cleaned a bit at our house - then went to daycare. Taylor's teacher, Miss Debbie, is from a Montessori background, so she spent some time also explaining how they do learning in her class. Overall - very good report on Miss T.

Taylor is so thoughtful of others and very respectful. In the classroom, the kids aren't asked to 'Share', but to wait for their turn. Taylor respects the 'take your turn' rule very well, and when she is done with something, will make sure to pass on the activity to the next person waiting. (Maybe we should stop saying 'share' at home - pretty sure Connor doesn't give a toad's toe about either way you say it!)

She is very very well spoken and articulate for her age. No problems with expressing herself or verbalizing anything. She is very creative with language, and very imaginative. (no kidding...)

Loves dramatic play (again - Shocked) and dress up/make-believe time. Loves anything that they do in the classroom that has music or art involved.

When doing her art, she has a plan of attack for each project. Where some kids like to fill the entire page, if that isn't in Taylor's plan - she isn't going to do it. Everything is placed on the page(sculpture/item/whatever) with a purpose.

Enjoys 'social life'. Taylor has definitely moved past the parallel play stage. She has a couple of 'best friends' in the class, and she wants to do everything with her friends. She sometimes will make decisions just based on what they are doing. Miss Debbie said she is trying to make sure that she asks Taylor first some day's , so that she does what she really wants - not just to hang around her buddies. I was a little worried about that - but Miss Debbie really emphasized that she feels that T is purely after the social interaction. She said Taylor is very independent, knows what she likes/doesn't like and doesn't have any problems expressing those opinions. So...maybe unnecessary worry on my part. She is only 3.5.

Lunchtime is about 90% talking, 10% eating. But she eventually eats everything when she realizes that everyone else is done and off to play without her! (I received two detentions in my entire life, and they were both for talking. And I was shy. I'm afraid we are in for a lot of 'it wasn't my fault - they were talking to me first' when she is 13)

The only time they ever see tears or an upset Taylor is when someone invades her space. Miss Debbie was full of praise in the fact that T has never, ever shown physical violence towards anyone at school...even the boys who can get pushy and aggressive. She is very vocal about expressing her concerns, so she does a good job using her words instead of her appendages. She is very 'in control' of her emotions.

Overall - just a joy in class. She relates well to others, and loves to help.

There ya go...what I can remember anyway. Now for the schmooze: I'm reminded again how lucky & how great things are for us. Can't be happier with my two little girls and what they've accomplished.

The End.

Parent Teacher Conference #1: Connor

2011-07-13T17:01:00.000-05:00

Our pre-school started using an assessment tool in each classroom to help track, monitor, and enhance the daily lives of our kids. They started using the 'methods' back in February, and this week and next we have our first set of parent-teacher conferences.

Today features Miss Connor Anne. I am not sure what I was expecting, but I tried to re-cap everything the Toddler 1 Teacher told me:

She is completely in-line with all of the milestone's for her age-group. Even verbally, she is showing more expressiveness in language and babbles are becoming words. Again - tracking right on. Some other great things that Connor does:

She handles her emotions really well for her age. She knows when she is upset, and will go grab her blanket or a teacher for some 'support'. (Sometimes both!) Usually, after a few minutes of snuggling with one or both of those things - she is right back in a great mood. (They have apparently not seen the tantrums she can throw - as demonstrated below. OH - I know what's wrong - we didn't have her blanket here.....YES - that's it.)

She makes friends well in the classroom. She has 3 best friends (Ben, Amelia, and Desi) They love to dance and play with each other.

She comprehends and understands directions very well...and will act on a 'command' without a visual cue. For example - you tell her to wash her hands, she will walk over and do it. You don't have to point or show a hand signal.

Her communication and verbal skills have really begun to blossom in the last few weeks. She communicates really well with the other kids in the class - either in their own 'language' or in signs. Her words are now becoming less babbles and more understandable. She sings along to things - and can sing the tune of the abc's (although we can't understand the letters she is singing!).

Connor loves to participate in the songs that have hand-motions/actions. Like the itsy-bitsy spider, et al.

She is like a little mommy in the class for some of the younger kids. She pats them on their back at nap time and will bring them their blankets. (Sometimes she even pats her own back at nap time!)

She is really good at balancing and walking on the balance beam in the gym. She loves to do that whenever we are playing in there.

So - all in all, good review. The teacher said she really likes having Connor in class, and is just amazed at how much she's changed in the last year. I think she is really thriving there as well, and am again so happy we are at this daycare center. Don't worry - I told the teacher that, too :)

Zoo

2011-06-29T16:34:00.000-05:00

I mean really, if I didn't put captions on these pictures - don't you think you would get the idea of where we were at??

After the zoo visit in the morning, we went to the park and had a picnic. The same park that I used to go to when I was a little girl. A lot of it is the same - the same concrete animals and structures to climb on. They still have the train that goes around the park, but we didn't ride that this time. I miss that the big roller-slide is gone. Apparently it was a safety concern..but I loved that thing.

Later that night, we loaded up in the 95 degree, 100% humidity weather and went to our church's Mexican Fiesta. The girls loved the music, and we went and played in the park after we ate and enjoyed some of the entertainment.

Yeah, nothing's gonna stop this one.

It was a busy Saturday. You can bet that we didn't do much on Sunday.

Bedtime and Baby Batman

2011-06-22T22:51:00.000-05:00

I took these pictures to try and capture the bruise Connor has developed. She tripped one night (over SOMEONE's Size 15's...not naming names, though!) and smacked her head on the wood step up into our dining room. It immediately started to swell, she screamed, did not lose consciousness, and we called the on-call doctor to find out more. Long story short - all is fine, but she's sporting a smashing facemask now.

I told her to close her eyes, and this is what she did. I laughed so hard trying to take the picture!

Where were we....

2011-06-20T22:14:00.000-05:00

Oh, yes. We are now caught up to May. Taylor finished her second round of gymnastics class.

Working on their 'bridges' with the instructor.

Prancing...like a gazelle.

FORWARD ROLL!

Head Stands.

Let's not forget this one, shall we? Yes - she eats limes...and likes them. I know, you are probably not surprised. She also eats, bugs, dirt, food off a movie theater floor, her hair, and well...pretty much anything.

Case in point...I'm not sure if that is food in her mouth in this picture or what.

Catch Up

2011-06-18T00:02:00.000-05:00

These pictures are from the past month. Apparently, I neglected to download the pictures off my camera for a while. First, we start with a Taylor reward...dinner at Chuck-E-Cheese. We went through a weird stage where she would not stay in her bed all night long, for one reason or another. So we created a reward chart (I printed out a blank calendar) and every night she slept in her bed, she got a sticker. When she got 5 stickers in a row, she could pick a piece of candy out from the candy drawer (which....I should totally toss the whole drawer, but man - bribery can be a powerful parenting tool!). If she had so many stickers at the end of the month, we would go to Chuck-E-Cheese. Thus....we are all back to sleeping in our own beds (most of the time)...and we took a trip to Chuck's.

I would have normally been mad that she wasn't keeping her food in her mouth while eating, but we were at Chuck-E-Cheese....so we fit in. It was hard to tell her not to do something when every other kid there was worse.

Fast action hands!!

You can tell she played hard, her hair got more disheveled as the night went on.

The following weekend, we decided on a whim to go to a Royals game. It was Fireworks Friday and Buck Night - I think Connor & Taylor both ate two $1 hot dogs a piece. We took Uncle Marc also - which made the girls' day

Ok - I'm sleepy now. More later. Plus,we are apparently in a storm warning and I need to get Andy to move his truck to the barn...no more hail damage, please!

Divas

2011-06-14T13:37:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Aunt Steph, the girls were all decked out at the MKO parade. The tiaras had flashing lights - and a secret - the flashing lights never turn off! Guess what I had to hide under our bed that night??

A couple little things about the girls lately (most of you already know this stuff, but I don't want to forget it - and since the internet lasts forever, this is a saving place!).....

As we drove by construction workers on our way out of town, Taylor looked out the window and sighed: "Oh wow. Those guys have sure been hard workin'."

Taylor's class was lining up at pre-school, and as they did so they were asked to share their favorite food. Most of the kids chose ice cream or pizza...but not my daughter. The teachers note said: "Taylor proudly proclaimed that her favorite food is....MEAT!"

As I dropped off Connor one morning her teacher came over and said, "You know, Connor is becoming quite the class clown. She gets all the other kids to laugh a lot!". I don't know if that's more funny about Connor, or about the teacher.

Ew...

2011-06-13T12:07:00.000-05:00

You wanna know what makes more rings around your bathtub than dirt? Poop. And there's nothing I love more than scrubbing the bathtub at 8:30 at night to get the poop out of it, instead of reading books with the girls.

Pics from the weekend soon...maybe when I'm less snarky and not so 'pooped'. (ha, get it?! Ha..aw, come on)

Somewhere in the Middle of America...

2011-06-02T22:03:00.000-05:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Omaha for my cousin Geoff's wedding. I have no recollection of ever being in Omaha before, but I liked it! Their 'Old Market' area is really cool - and of course the zoo was great. Geoff & his new bride Julia are a great couple with fun friends, and their wedding really reflected that. We got to spend time with my cousins who I never really get to see anymore...and even spend ADULT time with them. Thanks again to the Grandparents for taking the girls back to the hotel early!

In true Megan fashion - I forgot my dang camera. So, all of my current pictures are from my phone. I'm hoping to steal some from my mom's camera soon.

In the 'Worlds largest Indoor Aquarium'. This giant turtle was swimming over our heads, I wasn't fast enough to take a picture of the shark!

My cousin Steph with Connor. Connor was showing her the very important pieces of her dress. Good news - Connor didn't bite anyone (other than Taylor & me) during the reception. And she was excellent during the wedding ceremony - because she slept through the entire thing!

The one picture I have of Taylor on my phone from the reception. Well, Taylor & Andy's hand.

Shopping is Hard Work

2011-05-05T13:32:00.000-05:00

After a long-overdue trip to the grocery store this weekend, we were beat. We need to work on our shopping stamina. Who am I kidding, I could 'shop' for hours - but the funds wouldn't be there to support me! Apparently, we wore Connor out. She wanted to hold the receipt as we left, and this is how she looked before we were even out of the parking lot.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-28T22:24:00.000-05:00

Happy belated Easter! Here's a pictorial of our egg dying experience....

Taylor woke up from her nap, ready to go...Connor did not want to wake up. So, we let her take her time.

T and I got everything prepped, and even some coloring done.

Everyone awake - happy with getting colored up.

"This egg...it's magical!"

And this egg is about to get thrown on the floor.

The end...what remained.

Lots of love from these Crazy Bunnies!

A big goosebump and Smore's....

2011-04-07T23:25:00.000-05:00

Two weeks, I received an email at work: "Megan, just wanted to let you know that Taylor fell down on the tile floor and hit her head. She has a pretty big bump, and we are monitoring her very closely. She is currently acting fine and playing, we also have been icing it and not letting her nap." Well, of course I left early to go get her. By the time I arrive - they are all outside playing and Taylor is running around like normal. As soon as she sees me, I hear her yell..."MOMMY! I HAVE A \GOOSEBUMP!" Apparently, she was dancing in the classroom and while attempting a pirouette (yes, she knows what that is due to a book from Aunt Steph), she bit it and she caught herself with her head. It wasn't too terrible looking that night, but over the next few days, the bump was just a little bruised.

The night of the incident...

Fast forward to a week later, and I get another call. "Megan, Taylor walked into the swingset on the playground today and hit her big bump." Sheesh. NOW, her third eye is pretty dramatic. This weekend it was starting to fade finally, but it still looks like she spent the day at church on Ash Wednesdsay.

After incident #2

The above picture was taken while we took our first camping trip in my parent's RV over the weekend. Only Saturday & Sunday, but whew...were we tired when we got home. 'Uncle' Marc came out to have dinner as well, and spent time with us walking through the woods looking for 'mountain lions' and reading some stories before the girls had to go inside and watch Princess & the Frog and fall asleep. We also ate smore's. I love burnt marshmallows. The girls learned how superb they were too.

Call him the Pied Piper...

2011-03-30T22:43:00.000-05:00

Rays of Sunshine

2011-03-22T12:34:00.000-05:00

Lately my job has become a little more stressful - more responsibility, more to do, more projects, and more people to 'follow-up on'. I knew last night I was stressed from work, so we played outside and enjoyed the nice weather instead of immediately starting our 'routine' when we got home. That put the girls to bed a little later than normal, equaling a slower start this morning. I knew today would be as stressful, if not more, than yesterday, so I decided to savor a little of my funny-bunnies this morning...hoping to post and look at their picture throughout the day today in order to keep my sanity.

Oh yeah - matching skirts, coats, shoes - and Harvard t-shirts I picked up last week while in Boston.

Tumble Upon

2011-03-10T22:35:00.001-06:00

Last evening was parent's night at Taylor's tumbling class. She really enjoys the class, and it was interesting to see how she interacts with kids that she doesn't see everyday (not like the kids at school). She was still talkative, but also not forceful. That may not make sense, but this is the situation. There is another girl who is ALL about the tumbling (so is her momma) and she would finish her turn and basically 'cut' back into line in front of anyone who wasn't right there ready. Not necessarily her fault because she was super eager, but it was interesting to see Taylor be so patient, wait for her name to be called and not complain if someone went ahead of her.

Ribbon Dancer

During 'Stretching' where Taylor was constantly talking

Little Sis cheesing it up. She did a great job sitting and watching the class for 45 minutes. Totally goofy mood.

On the balance beam

Ribbon dancing again. I should try and remove the hands of whomever was in front of us.

Sitting with the class waiting for their certificates

Miss T on the podium all by herself. She told me later the only part she didn't like was when everyone had to clap for her by 'her own'. Still a little shy I guess. She still loves tumbling though, and we've already signed her up for the next round. Good Job Taylor, we are so proud of you!!

Wired....

2011-03-02T23:14:00.000-06:00

I don't know why, but I am completely awake right now. It doesn't make sense, because I was up most of last night with Connor as she fights what seems to be 4 new teeth coming in at once. Maybe I had too much caffeine today in anticipation that I would be struggling at 7:00, or maybe I'm just getting used to living on 4 hours of interrupted sleep a day. Who knows, but I've got a lot of pictures to show ya....

Taylor helped my mom decorate Valentine's Day cookies....and mostly eat a lot of the icing.

That same weekend we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner and had a great time. Not only was it a first for the girls, but also for Andy. We all really enjoyed our 'chef' (not sure if that is really what he was called) and the food was really good.

Taylor and my dad laughing at the 'chef' making her shrimp. Every time he would put food on the girls' plates, he would call them 'Shrimp Baby' or 'Chicken Baby'. So fitting....

HEY! They can play together for short spurts now without fighting. Sometimes.

Yep - Chicken Baby.

And Shrimp Baby.

Oh, how nice of Grandma to let them have a picnic of warm chocolate-chip cookies on her light colored carpet.

Taylor has been taking a tumbling class through our Parks and Rec department. She loves it...she is also one of the youngest in the class, but clearly not the smallest. The two other girls on the beam with her are about to turn four. Next week is 'parent's night', where I get to sit in the room and take pictures or video as much as I want. Hope to have lots more footage of T in action.

This weekend my mom treated the girls (and I) to the circus. They loved it....Taylor was SO serious while she watched the trapeze artists. But she declared that the 'Rapeze' was her favorite part. And yes, Connor shed her shoes and socks about 2 minutes after we set down. She felt right at home.

I look a little dazed and confused in this picture - it must have been all the light up swords/butterflies/wands.

Connor loved the 'Dog Show'. The Dog Lady cracked me up (think Kirstie Alley in a yellow & pink sateen suit, parading dogs around in a circle - making them jump over/through/around each other...) Connor was too cute adamantly clapping for the 'ogs'.

Taylor rode an elephant! By herself! Unfortunately, I was at such an odd angle with the other people/cords/circus apparatus that I was never able to get her face above or around the bar.

After the elephant ride...very happy.

The girls all loving on Grandma at the end of the circus. They even behaved excellently. Thanks for the fun day Grandma!

Picture shuffle....

2011-02-23T15:08:00.000-06:00

This is the most random sampling of pictures....

Look at all of these mini-cupcakes we made for the girls' Valentine Day parties. Each topped with a pink-strawberry heart marshmallow. I am sure all of the other parents were reeeeeallly happy with me.

In the bath --Connor thought Taylor's silly faces were hilarious.

One of Taylor's Valentines included a mini watercolor kit. She enjoyed it - but I forgot to take the after picture where she was entirely covered in the water color water and paint. I'm sure you can imagine...

Snow Days

2011-02-08T20:54:00.000-06:00

In the last two weeks, we've had 3 snow days. I've been able to work from home (mostly) during these snow days and stay home with the girls...but trying to work and give the girls the attention they need is quite a struggle. To help offset the time that I had to be focused on work and not playing, we did try to do some fun things...

We baked cookies late at night, after bedtime. Connor didn't/couldn't make it that late - so it was just T & I cooking/eating.

While I had to be on conference calls, I pretty much just let the girls destroy/play with whatever they could in the living room while I was able to work and watch them.

Aunt Lisa made the girls these aprons - they both enjoyed wearing them while we made pasta one night - good news, the stains came right out :)

Finally, Taylor was able to play in the snow. The first week of snow, I couldn't let them get out in it because they were both fighting ear infections. Last week was a rough one for Connor - she wasn't able to go to school at all, due to a 'viral temperature' and still lingering ear infection. She did a lot of clinging to me like a leach for about 20 hours of the day. She seems to be so much better now, no more fever - back at school and we are all sleeping again!

OH and finally... I helped Taylor paint her toenails one night, and she asked if she could paint Andy's. Without hesitation, he peeled off his socks and told her to go for it. He is now sporting 10 sparkling blue toenails :)

A Baptism and A Snow Storm

2011-01-24T22:53:00.000-06:00

The second weekend of January, we set out on a road trip to Minneapolis for cousin Anya's baptism. We left ON TIME (I know!) and only stopped once, halfway there. Great trip up...the girls did great.

We stopped at Lego Land when we arrived....it wasn't near as 'hands-on' as I remember it being, but Taylor sure did love this Giant Woody!

The Wagner's and the Godparents of Anya.

A reeeeeally tired girl that semi-behaved during mass. If she only knew all the snow that was falling at our house while she was inside.

As our good friend Marc would say, when you travel always pack your swim trunks. Well, Andy & the girls were successfull at that. I apparently managed to pack only my top, so no swimming for me. I also managed to completely leave my wallet and the cash I had withdrawn specifically for travel at home on the kitchen table. It, and 8 inches of snow, were both waiting for me when we got back.

You say you want a resolution....

2011-01-04T22:15:00.002-06:00

My house is a MESS. An absolute disaster. Instead of cleaning during these quite few hours before I drift off into totally interrupted sleep, I've decided I need to update. And upon doing so, I realize that I have done an absolute piss-poor job of taking pictures this holiday season. So, as tradition rolls, here are some of my resolutions for 2011:
1) Remember to take photographs. There are a lot of important things I'm not capturing for Taylor & Connor to look at in the future.
2) Get all four of us to eat more veggies. With the holidays, most vegetables were replaced with fudge, cookies, candy canes, or hot cocoa. While that made me popular, that does not help anyone in the long run. We will all be eating more veggies in 2011, sometimes creatively or in ways they don't know!
3) Make my day to day life easier by forcing myself to get more chores done during the week and declutter. I will lose my mind by Groundhog Day if I can't get a hold of this fast.
4) Be a duck. I heard this once a long time ago, and it holds true for work, relationships, kids, family, etc. Basically it means to not let little things get to you, let the rain run off your back - just like a duck does. Or, it means I'm going to start quacking. Yep, probably that's it.

There are more, but if you've suffered through my long, terrible writing - you deserve to see some disheveled Christmas morning pictures:

The only thing Taylor would say she wanted from Santa was a princess doll & a horse for the princess to ride. A what?! Where, how, who did you see that from??! Well, thanks to some searching help from Aunt Ellie the Elf....Santa was able to deliver. And thus....Christmas morning was magical for T this year!

Connor said she wanted a tonk-tonk. Clearly, that meant a turtle that she can bounce on and it sings and adds more noise and fighting in our house. Good thinking Santa. Oh - you can also totally make fun of Andy when you see him about his pants or his hair or what fungus seems to be oddly growing on his face. I wisely took the pictures - you no see my morning beauty!

And finally, more outtakes from the Christmas Card attempts. I'll give the girls credit - they were tired when we did this...but oye. Here's hoping next year goes better...and gets done in November instead of December 20th!

I thought I liked this one at first, but then decided it was creepy. T wasn't using a normal smile really, and Connor looks like a possessed cowgirl.

The winner. I know it would have been ideal to NOT have Connor sucking her thumb, but well, this was still the best. There are 30 others you haven't seen!

Ahhh....Sisterly love. I'm counting on some epic fights in the coming years.

What, you didn't get your Christmas Card yet?

2010-12-16T21:44:00.000-06:00

Well, that is because trying to get a 3 year old and 1 year old to take a GOOD picture (or at least one where they are both looking at the camera) is nearly impossible. Don't believe my excuse? Fine, I'll prove it:

The first, and probably the best - except Taylor doesn't have her eyes both fully open, Connor looks like she is being held in (she was) and my awesome camera-skills are shown...why don't we zoom in to NOT have the bar in the background??

Um, no.

Taylor suggested that they sit on the step in front of the bar. Yep - the fully carpeted, 1977 style bar. Clearly, Connor thought that was hilarious.

After begging me to just take a picture of her....

Aside from the fact the two girls are in their own little orbits - this would have been a terrible picture because you see the Classy fake-tree pole exposed without presents under it.

Ok, for fun, this time - Connor, you look at the camera and Taylor - you become totally enamored with the carpet or sock or whatever the HECK WAS ON THE FLOOR.

Oh let's put this ornament on the tree together. Yeah, that's reeeeeeeeal cute.

See what I mean?! AND I didn't even post ALL of the outtakes. Thank goodness for digital cameras; just 6 years ago I would have had to develop all sorts of film for this. Keep your fingers crossed, there's still a chance that I can get a couple more pictures taken for the card before Monday.

Thanksgiving Part 1

2010-11-23T14:43:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful for a flexible job that allows me to work from home when needed. Because of this, I was able to attend the girls' Thanksgiving lunch at school, twice! I spent the first hour with Connor's class...messy 1 year olds. And the second with the CRAZY 3 & 4 year olds...Taylor's class made special hats for the occassion. Anyone remember when I dressed up like a Pilgrim in preschool??

Warning! The following pictures are not attractive!

2010-11-19T13:48:00.000-06:00

This is what happens when you take a tired baby & a crazy preschooler shopping....

One falls asleep in the cart.

The other walks around with a shopping bag on her head.

Arkalalah and Halloween

2010-11-07T15:49:00.000-06:00

I realize in the previous post I said 'tomorrow I would update', guess I lied. I'll stay away from words and just get some more of those pics uploaded....

Uncharacteristically, Taylor wanted us to all sit on this bench instead of riding the horses. I have to admit, I was kind of disappointed.

Connor & Papa...she was constantly trying to dive off his shoulders. She thought that was hilarious; I did not.

Connor & my Aunt Becky (with Grandma in the background). Both girls had lots of fun with Aunt Becky...just like I always did.

Taylor observing the parade from a little higher vantage point.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Halloween! It was impossible to get a good picture of both of them at once. Connor wouldn't wear her wings while we were at home either.

October - the fantasy month....

2010-11-04T22:39:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's because I'm incredibly busy at work right now, or I'm just slowly losing my mind....but October flew by. Which is a shame, because it's one of my favorite months. The weather was great, leaves changed and it seems like we were busy every weekend. Let's recap:

October 2nd - Taylor's Princess Party Weekend

October 8-9

We went to the pumpkin patch as a family, and didn't take any pictures. During the week though,Taylor and I went back to the pumpkin patch with her class at school for a fieldtrip.
October 16/17
Maple Leaf Weekend/Andy's Class Reunion
Miss Nora's 1st Birthday Party

Nora's mommy makes cakes.T could not wait to dig into these superb cupcakes.

Miss Nora!

Nora & Connor playing with Nora's new shopping cart.

October 23

We carved our pumpkins

Connor, that rag was to clean off the pumpkins, not to eat.

October 24

The Travelling Wagners came through town, and we all got together for a family dinner. Taylor & Kaleb were able to play with each other....and they were sooooooo excited.

Anya was not thrilled with the idea of picture taking.

October 30-31

Arkalalah Saturday
Started at the 'Pancake Feeder', as Taylor called it. Moved on to the carnival, then a 2.5 hour long parade. TWO AND A HALF HOURS of a parade. Taylor was happy that she got to see lots of trombones.

OH! My battery is almost done on my laptop. So, I'll finish up the pictures of Arkalalah and Halloween tomorrow. Good night!

Car-Cart

2010-10-15T15:15:00.001-05:00

Every time we go shopping, Taylor always asks for a car-cart. She will start the shopping trip adamant that we have to use a car-cart, and about halfway in changes her mind and demands to get out. She usually unbuckles Connor a few times as well...who is then crawling out the top of the cart. Connor also still puts her mouth on everything, so we usually try to wipe down all the surfaces with those handy sanitary wipes the store provides, but I'm sure that's not enough. Not to mention pushing these things are like pushing an actual car, and you can only carry 1/3 of the groceries you would normally get. But nonetheless....we tend to go for the car-cart experience when we can. Because I will take a 50% happy trip over 0% happy any day. The End.

"Now listen Taylor, if you start trying to honk my horn again, I'll pull your hair."

Not a Toddler

2010-10-07T23:30:00.002-05:00

I was folding a pair of Taylor's pajamas yesterday, when I noticed the tag was different than others. Instead of the normal '3T' labeling, this stated 'Toddler 3'. I laughed out loud. I don't have a three year old toddler. To me, a toddler is the stage Connor is on the verge of. Walks with caution, stands up just to fall down and laugh, eats with her fingers and still rubs it in her hair, still needs diapering, would eat a bubble wand if you gave it to her, and uses a language only her mommy & daddy understand. Getting Connor to hold still to read a 7 page board book is like getting our dog to not shed his hair.

Taylor is not a toddler. I have a 3 year old with an expansive vocabulary and who is able to clearly communicate her thoughts & feelings. She can run and kick soccer balls, climb ladders, go down slides, swing in big swings, hit a ball off a tee, and can blow all her own bubbles. She can get into her own car seat and buckle it. She is fully potty-trained. She loves to be read to and to read to you. She also still gets incredibly emotional, and can change from happy to monster in under 30 seconds. I guess that is why they are called 'pre-schoolers'. But I also understand that 3PS would look ridiculous on the tag of kids' clothes.

We celebrated this 3PS birthday over the weekend. We invited the kids from her class at school, and 5 girls and 2 boys showed up for the princess party. Taylor had a blast. I don't remember anything from that afternoon - it is all still a blur.

*Sidenote: I'm noticing that the pictures aren't organized at all as they are uploading, and I'm too lazy to try and drag and drop and fix them. Eh - you get the idea.

Taylor in her Fairy Princess costume in front of the Princess cakes.

Wee little Tinkerbell.

Aunt Steph helped T decorate her crown.

Some of the other moms helping their kids with the crown decorating.

Bubbles! Little Princesses!

A true princess always wears her tennis shoes, and rides the nose of the bouncy lizard.

On her actual birthday...

Tink again (Thanks to all the family and friends who watched this one while I was totally engrossed in the rest of the party. I was so afraid of losing someone else's kid at the park, even though they all had guardians of some sort watching them too.

Oh - again riding the bouncy lizard.

Speechless

2010-09-14T23:15:00.000-05:00

The Dare Devil

The Dancing Queen
(Ignore the background dorky-ness of my voice and the gift bags in the dining room. I've cleaned up the dining room, but I'm sure my voice is still dorky. Also, don't ask what is up with her outfit. It was an interesting evening...)

Little ONE

2010-09-07T21:56:00.000-05:00

I'm taking a quick break from finding and scraping layers of birthday cake icing off the floor to put up a few pictures of Connor's birthday party. It was a beautiful early fall day - the kind that is too warm to have your AC turned off but too cool to leave it on. We left ours off, and now I'm subsequently trying to kill 300 flies that ventured in and out of our really crappy screen door.

About the party - great turnout of our family and friends. We are very lucky to have so many great people around us. Okay, enough sappiness....that's about all you will get from me.

Pre-cake. Taylor was not so cooperative on the smiling at this point.

Connor's 'Block Cake'. Made by my mom and so tasty. I had one of the few remaining pieces for breakfast this morning (healthy, I know). Unfortunately, we didn't prep Taylor on helping to blow out the candle - so I think my mom actually did it. My head was too far up my camera trying to take a picture that I didn't even think about it.

Post-cake. You ask..no bib? Don't worry, the dress washed up miraculously well.

Little hillbilly baby chilling with her dad waiting to open the next present. I cannot believe I forgot to move the uber-trashy plastic basketball off the deck before the party. Oh well, probably went well with the mosquitoes.

Our attempt at a family picture. Andy and I were obviously misdirected on which camera we should look at. Our birthday girl finally had a dress on again, but I apparently was trying to show off her outie. And the princess was about 47 minutes into a frosting high. Gah. We'll try again on the 28th :)

ANYWHO - Happy Birthday sweet baby Connor. We love you!

Unorganized thoughts...

2010-08-19T10:11:00.000-05:00

One of our favorite ways to beat the heat this summer is with popsicles. I get the all-fruit, no added sugar kind...one) because they are healthier and two) because they are the kind I like. Yes, I will enforce my likes on my children while I still can!

Even Connor loves a good popsicle...Taylor and I like to say it helps her teeth. Or lack thereof.

We also went to visit my grandparents over this past weekend. My aunt & uncle were in town from California, which was supposed to be the reason we were there. However, the night before they arrived, my Grammie fell down the basement stairs and is pretty beat up. She doesn't have any broken bones, but her poor face looks like she stole Mike Tyson's tiger. Connor was a good snuggle buddy though - and this picture is the one I'm ok with posting because it doesn't show much of the damage on Grammie's face. : (

On a lighter note - Sunday, Taylor went to her first big-girl birthday party. Basically, the first party of a girl from preschool....and where we didn't know the parents. The party was at Zonkers - which is Chuck E Cheese on steriods. No mechanical singing animals though. There was a carousel...

There weren't any belts or anything to hold her on, and I was on the fence of riding with her and holding on. In the end, I just 'let go'....and she was happy as ever.

There also was a roller coaster and an indoor graviton thing too...those I had to ride with her the first time because she is not four...but after the first time, she and the other little kiddos rode together. Here's T with another little girl from school, Harper.

On the way out of the mall (Zonkers is in the mall...maybe I forgot to mention that), we were distracted by the quarter-rides. I didn't have any quarters, but Taylor still wanted to get in and play. Here...we are still riding the birthday-cake sugar high and crazy ride rush...

And not a minute later, the buzz is starting to wear off :) The girl slept HARD on Sunday night.

County Fair Time!

2010-08-09T23:44:00.000-05:00

Growing up, I loved the four days of the Pratt County fair. I could not wait to eat caramel apples and corn dogs, ride one thousand rides, have my fip flopped feet be covered in dust/straw/cow manuer, and to be totally freaked out by at least one carnie. I could play that Horse Racing game for hours, or until my money ran out. And, being friends of 4-H'rs, I would know the best nights to go look at their exhibits...check out what they had sewn, what flower arrangement they put together, or my favorite...their horse or cow or sheep. With all these great memories, I could not wait to get Taylor to the county fair here. Maybe being a parent has jaded my view point of these types of things, or maybe I just have glorified memories of the past. (Probably a little of both)

WOW is it expensive. WOW is it dirty. WOW is it dangerous. WOW are there some reeeeeally sketchy people....and I'm not even talking about the carnies yet. Nonetheless, Taylor was big enough to ride 3 of the rides, and we settled on riding one ride and playing one game.

She Miss America-waved the entire first lap, but I wasn't quick enough on my camera to get her waving until she had passed us. Andy was trying to take video with his phone, and I wasn't going to leave Connor unattended to get another picture (reference afore mentioned sketchy people).

The horns even worked. She was stoked.

In the right frame of this pic is the super nice carny for this ride. He was seriously the least creepy, nicest fair person I've ever met working at a fair. I think his only competition would be Navin Johnsnon.

The only game Taylor could play and be guaranteed a prize was the 'Pick Up The Duck' game. What a ripoff, but it made her happy. She could pick any of the small blow-up items: a lion, dolphin, monkey, AK47, pink lips, flower.....what did she pick, you ask?

That's right -- a GINORMOUS blowup sword. Of course.

Poor Connor....her first experience at the fair just left her hot & dirty. We didn't pony up for a $4.00 hot dog, but instead bailed and had pizza. We also went through the buildings and the petting zoo. Glorious memories aside, the Pratt County Fair 4-H'rs would kick the Douglas County Fair 4-Hr's butts. Who knew I would grow up and be such a snob about flower arrangements, baked goods, and home sewn clothes!

How We Nap....

2010-08-01T22:47:00.000-05:00

This freaked me out when I went to check on her. After I made sure she could breathe, I took a picture.

Taylor made sure that her puppy & Penelope (the pig) were both tucked in too.

Little Miss Helpful

2010-07-26T22:57:00.000-05:00

We probably read that book once a week. If you don't remember, Little Miss Helpful isn't really that helpful at all. Well, not my Little Miss. Occasionally, she's down-right productive. Her grandma would be so proud!

Seriously, check out the concentration. She also wants to help feed her sister, which sometimes works out. If you've ever witnessed Connor eat, you know that Taylor is definitely not going to be the reason that it gets messy.

For some unknown reason, Connor actually eats better when T feeds her. She doesn't try to grab the spoon from her, or spit in her face, or rub her messy hands in her hair. Yep, good times.

And then there's the 'Sorta Helpful' scenario:

Instruction: Move your magnet doll so Connor doesn't swallow the little pieces.

Action: Sure. I'll move Connor.

Result:

At least they are both smiling!

July-a-riffic

2010-07-15T14:48:00.000-05:00

We went to visit brand new baby Anya over the Fourth of July. Taylor and Kaleb were so excited to play with each other they just about couldn't stand it. We arrived Saturday evening, and took the kids to the park just down the street from Heidi & Jeremy's. Taylor & Kaleb are quite the little water bugs.

I especially love what's in the background of this picture....

Those two played so hard, but were so excited that they woke up at 4:45 AM on Sunday morning. I know this because I was awake with Madam Fussy-butt Connor. The 8 hour trip plus teething plus new-daycare-runny-nose was a little rough on her. Kaleb and Taylor (Kaylor/Tayleb?) finally took a nap before we went to big fireworks display....awww, cute little cousin buddies. I have fond memories of sleeping in sleeping bags with my cousins.

Finally we went to a great fireworks show on the river in St Paul ( I think we were in St Paul). The kids had their faces/arms painted....

Connor was a happy camper again after sleeping most of the day

Her first look at fireworks....it was a toe-grabbing experience

Monday we drove home and stopped in Ames IA for lunch. We ate at Pizza Ranch -- the whole idea of a pizza ranch still cracks me up. It's a chain apparently, and there is one in Emporia. It's basically a CiCi's pizza with a western theme. Andy and Mini-Andy had to pose in front of the wagon.

Later in the week, Connor fell asleep while eating her baby spaghetti.

Friday we went to my parent's house to help my mom celebrate her 54th birthday. HAHA mom - everyone now knows the truth!!

Grandma & T loved swimming in the lake

Connor swam later too, but she mostly enjoyed some chill time on the boat.

This weekend, we are staying home. We need to do some serious laundry and house cleaning. Exciting pictures will come from that, I'm sure.

A Big Week

2010-06-30T22:30:00.001-05:00

Papa Tom turned 60!! Happy Birthday Papa Tom!

Also, the girls started at their new daycare/preschool. I get a sheet every day telling me how things went for each of them, what they ate (and how much), how much they slept, etc. Connor is easy - she did great. I was worried how Taylor would adjust, but she also has done super. It helps that they did an art project on the very first day...they made a 'Cee-Pock'. Ahem...Peacock. I'm incredibly happy with the whole thing, and we are even happier that the girls seem to like it too. T already has friends, and a little boy named Braden whose somewhat smitten with her...that won't last long once she starts bossing him around. I have no idea where she gets that.

Anyway, obligatory first day of school picture:

I'll have a gin & tonic and 1 organic milk, please....

2010-06-22T15:44:00.000-05:00

So...A lady in town is upset because the owner of a local establishment (restaurant/coffee shop by day turned into bar at night) told her he thought it was inappropriate for her to bring her 11 month old son to the bar at 11:00 pm. This has exploded in hippie-town, and even migrated into a breastfeeding debate. But the root of the article is this: should kids (infants) be allowed in a bar at 11:00 pm??

No. No they shouldn't. That's the answer from this house....besides, can you imagine taking these two there? I mean, this one would try to get everyone to play hopscotch:

Or shove obnoxious amounts of fruit in her mouth

And this one would lick everyone/everything and try to pull hair

Nine Months

2010-06-10T23:07:00.000-05:00

I took Connor to her 9 month appointment Wednesday, and she is now a whopping 17.7 pounds and 27.75 inches long. Such a little fry!

We've been working on more finger foods, and avocado was one of them. Connor heard that avocado was great for your skin - so she not only ate it, but tried the topical approach. It was a lovely mess.

And this little butterfly...she's so funny lately.

Exciting news though, we are starting at a new preschool/daycare on June 28th! I'm very excited and Taylor is too. The program Taylor will be in is more like a pre - preschool...and Connor will have a room just for her little same age buddies. You even have to take off your shoes before you go in the infant room - what a change! She may be spoiled though when she gets home...I'm pretty sure our floor doesn't stay that clean.

Connor also started crawling, and it's craziness. She has no depth perception, so she's ready to go down the stairs, out of our arms, off the bed at any minute. Right, I know, watch your kid. Got it.

Just a little lazy...

2010-06-01T23:00:00.000-05:00

I hope you don't come here for the fancy backgrounds or witty commentary....'cause you are going to be sorely dissapointed with this post.

Drooler. Maybe we'll have teeth in the next month.

Ellie graduated from Journalism School at KU, and she took Taylor (and us) on a tour of the building most of her classes were in.

That's it for now.

Just a Coupon

2010-05-27T12:44:00.001-05:00

You know, I'm not sure who really still checks out our blog....but if you are a parent or friend of a kid, this coupon may be useful to you. I just got Taylor a sweet pair of summer sneakers - they have openings on the sides so they are like sandals, but they have the support of a tennis shoe. The combination is ideal for a dancing queen with sweaty feet!

Have a great memorial day weekend....

http://www.striderite.com/text/email/20100519FAF/employee25OFF.html

From my desk to yours

2010-04-29T11:40:00.002-05:00

I use Picasa for all my photo importing/editing needs, and I really love it. I also love that I can import a photo album and then directly have it 'sync' to my online Picasa albums...making it extremely easy for me to share photos when I'm at work and not on my home laptop. I use the photo collage tool all the time to create desktop backgrounds for my work pc - since I need a little ray of sunshine in this gray cube farm every once in a while. Here are the two pictures I cropped & cutely placed on my collage for today:

A little help from my friends...

2010-04-27T12:48:00.001-05:00

You know, buying a new camera is great...but you have to remember to take pictures. So, I'll post a few pictures that my mom sent me from the last time the girls stayed at their house. It was the last big snowstorm we've had...and hopefully the last one until November/December.

Always happy Connor!

We didn't pack heavy coats, because it was 75 when we left. What was I thinking, trusting March weather in Kansas?

Grandma even had to go out and buy the poor things hats & gloves because their mother didn't pack that stuff either.

I love how grown-up and little she looks all at once.

Minor Hiatus

2010-04-17T21:52:00.001-05:00

There's been a slow-down in posting due to the fact that Andy & I broke our camera a few weeks ago, and haven't replaced it until now. No blame will be placed on who actually broke it, but we were both involved.

We've been spending a lot of time outside enjoying the nice weather, so now hopefully I'll be able to take a few pictures of our fun. In the meantime, here are the first two pictures I took with the new camera (honestly, I can't tell a huge difference between the old one & this one!)

I'm only sitting down for 9...wait 8 more minutes.

2010-03-10T22:04:00.001-06:00

Andy & I have tomorrow off so we can watch some serious Big 12 basketball during the day, so tonight I plan on getting some house cleaning chores out of the way. In 8 minutes (it's now 9:52) I am getting up to sweep and then use my carpet cleaner on the living room & hopefully dining room. If I get the living room done tonight, I'll be super ahead for tomorrow. I have a pot of coffee on, laundry in, kids asleep. So, quickly, here are some pictures.

Taylor loves to scream "Naked Jaybird!!!" anytime she or Connor are somewhat undressed. Notice how glossy Connor's upper lip is; Taylor 'helped' me put some baby Vicks under her nose

Connor fell asleep in her play-walker-thingy while we were working out one morning. Guess she's not a morning person either. Thank goodness!

I'm a little too small for my high-chair still...but I need to eat my cereal & green beans!

Ever the helpers, Taylor & Huck 'cleaning up'

After bath-time the other night, Taylor would NOT let me brush her hair until she went down the slide 12 times. Too bad she gets confused after 11....we never hit 12 but went straight to 14. We'll work on that.

That's it. Dang it...4 minutes behind schedule. If Blogger didn't auto-save and 'pause' every two seconds, I'd have made it.

Not Good - 75% Sick

2010-02-26T09:26:00.000-06:00

Connor: Getting Better
Andy: Sick
Taylor: Sick

ME: Hoping for a miracle. Any suggestions to NOT get this too?

25 Percent Sick

2010-02-21T22:20:00.001-06:00

Poor poor baby Connor. She had her first ear infection two weeks ago, and right after that cleared up with some anti-biotics (yay)...she grabbed an awesome cold that has lingered since Wednesday. So now we are back to limited sleeping, hacking coughs, terrible appetites, and clingy-ness. Andy stayed home with her on Friday and took her to the doctor. Nothing in the lungs, no ear infections, just snot & congestion. Her advice, basically wait it out. It just breaks my heart to see her struggling with coughing this stuff out; fortunately now she is sleeping on Andy's chest peacefully. Surprisingly, Connor is the only one sick (so far). Taylor must have made herself immune by eating the dishwashing detergent tabs (don't worry, poison control said it was no big deal & to have her just drink lots of fluids). I am trying the Vitamin C immunity stuff, so I can help void the amount of germs that have been coughed, spitted, sneezed, and spewed in my face the last couple of days.

As long as I can get 5 hours of sleep tonight, we are starting week #2 of 30 Day Shred tomorrow morning again. Andy and I started last week...and it kicked our butts day 1. Day 2 was 1000 times better, but still not good. We are so out of shape. Maybe by April I can post pictures of our 'shredded' bodies :)

These pictures are all from last week (or before).

Princess Taylor, mid-dance move.

We went to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's. That's a lot of frosting...but that's all she would eat of the cake.

Driving a monster truck.

Her exact words during pound-a-shark: "POUND SHARK POUND SHARK!"

We stopped at Great Grandma Jean & Papa Wayne's house on the way home. Taylor was super giggly in this picture...sugar high from the afore mentioned frosting??

Too Lousy

2010-01-31T21:59:00.000-06:00

Really, the title should say 'Too Lazy', because I'm too lazy right now to walk the 45 steps it would take to get my camera and hook it up to the PC. As I typed lazy in the title though, it reminded me of something funny Taylor always says....when something is too loud, she dramatically says "OH, it's too lousy." I will say, "you mean too loud?" and she always responds "Yeah, too lousy." I don't know why. So, here are some pictures from last weekend (via e-mail from Grandma Sue):

All items from Grandpa Jack & Grandma Bonnie's house. The thing on her head is one of those 'sleeves' that protects the arm of a couch or chair. (I really have only ever seen them in my grandparents house)

Our daycare lady sent the pacifier home since Connor never uses it. And why would she, when her thumb is soooooo good.

Snuggling with Lucy the Love Bug. Can you tell Taylor is tired?

This may be one of my favorites of Connor so far. We see that smile all the time now, and love it!

This is actually not from last weekend, but the weekend before at T-Rex in KC. The look on Taylor's face explains sooooooo very much about her experience there!

All for Connor

2010-01-13T22:25:00.000-06:00

Can you believe she's FOUR months old?! Today we went to her 4 month well baby check, and the little nugget is 13.2 lbs and 24.75 inches. She's doing great...fighting a little congestion/cold thing, but nothing major. She is such a happy baby, as was Taylor. We've been really lucky!

So I really don't think her hair is 'that' red in real life, maybe it's just clean here.

She's grabbing everything lately, toes/clothes/toys/etc.

Taylor had a sick day last Friday - just a little stomach bug I guess. She was fine by Saturday. So, lest we neglect the little bear, here she is - lounging in her jammies all day.

When life gives you snow....

2010-01-06T13:03:00.000-06:00

Make Snowmen!

Taylor and her snowman building partner, my dad. Clearly this picture is old, since we are getting inches and inches more right now. Joy.

And finally, the Meinen cousins at Christmas-time. Let's hope their smile timing improves in the coming years.

The Attidues Inside Are Frightful

2009-12-21T00:15:00.000-06:00

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...

2009-12-09T09:50:00.001-06:00

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.

2009-11-08T12:50:00.002-06:00

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

2009-10-20T14:49:00.001-05:00

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

2009-10-13T10:35:00.001-05:00

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!

2009-09-30T10:58:00.006-05:00

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

2009-09-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

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

2009-09-10T21:57:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-23T22:33:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-03T12:29:00.000-05:00

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??

2009-07-23T22:04:00.000-05:00

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

The Month of May

2009-06-04T12:19:00.000-05:00

Weekend 1:

We cleaned our house and worked on our bathroom remodel project. What a mess...when it's painted, I'll post a new picture.

Weekend 2:
Aunt Lisa & Uncle Jake's Wedding Weekend

Weekend 3:

Amanda's Graduation Party

Royals Game

Weekend 4:

Memorial Day Weekend

Weekend 5:

B's Wedding in Beloit, and visiting the World's Largest Ball of Twine.

And now it's June...and it starts all over again.

This face means....

2009-05-14T21:49:00.000-05:00

a) This is how I smile for pictures

b) I just said "What's that?" for the 300th time and am laughing at my mom and dad for answering the question again.

c) I bite the kids at daycare

d) I'm going to be a big sister in about 16 weeks, and I'm laughing because my mom and dad are crazy.

Oh...yes, the answer is all of the above. By the way, if anyone has any name ideas for another girl, we are open to suggestions.

Easter

2009-04-21T21:08:00.000-05:00

Easter was two weeks ago? Whatever...here are some pictures from when we tried to decorate eggs. You can see that Taylor doesn't really get the concept of NOT smashing the eggs, not putting your entire hand into the egg-color, etc. We colored 12 eggs, but ended up with 10 in the crate - 8 that we were able to actually use.

There is actually an egg in her hand, you just can't tell because it was squished. It's part of Taylor's new game -- she hides something under her leg or in her hand and says 'Where go?'

This is what happens when you tell the child that the egg is edible and she can eat it. Except this is actually what happens AFTER she discovers how disgusting a plain hard boiled egg tastes...she's pulling it back out of her mouth.

Ooh - the finished eggs. Orange had a weak showing this year.

In other pictures:

We had piano lessons....it's actually pretty decent form for an 18 month old.

Yoko Ono, Yoko Ono Oh-Yes!

Thank Goodness For Grandmas

2009-04-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to my mom for sending me some pictures. I really need to organize myself...until then I'll post these pictures from a few weeks ago.

We went to El Dorado to visit this weekend, and mom and I dragged Taylor through the mall for a little retail therapy and a quick photo session at Penney's. Really, after a shortened nap and four hours shopping, T did a pretty good job - only 1 or 2 small meltdowns. Not shockingly, she was great during the photos....because she is such a cheeseball. Clearly, something she inherited from her father. She passed out in the car about 2 minutes after we loaded her in the car seat: one hand grasping her drink and the other her book...mouth open and drooling. Again - she is her father's daughter. Proof:

Once we were home last night - Taylor figured out how to barricade herself in the bathroom. She shut the door, and then pulled open the vanity drawers and was playing with her hair things, leaving only 1/2 inch of space to open the door from the outside. Andy mangled a wire hanger to try and reach in and push the drawer shut-- Taylor just grabbed the end and played with it. Finally, after what seemed like 30 hours of pleading with her, she closed the drawer. It was probably only 5 minutes, but I swear....not the way to end a tiring day of travel.

Hop Hop Hop

2009-03-23T15:59:00.000-05:00

Not really sure what the eek-eeks at the end are about...but maybe now this really awesome song will get stuck in your head too.

If you had to walk a mile in these shoes...

2009-03-11T22:09:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've updated, and mostly that is because I have completely forgotten to take pictures. We had friends over, and I didn't take a picture. Taylor got a new tooth, and I have no pictures. We had nice weather and were able to play outside, and I have nothing to document that it was actually nice last week. Even worse, we went to a luncheon for my Dad - he got a really cool award, and I didn't have my camera! (By the way, he's the Kansas State Special Education Administrator of the Year - just so ya know ;-) ) I did take a few of Taylor doing one of her new favorite things -- putting on Andy & my footwear. This probably wouldn't happen if we would put our shoes in the closet like they should be, but nay...that's not near as exciting as seeing your daughter fall flat on her face with your 3 inch heels on the wrong feet. Here she is sporting the 'out-doorsy' look...or the logger. Or the hick.

Please don't ask me what's going on with her hair. It's a lot like her mom's....it has a mind of its own.

The only other picture I had on my camera was of Miss T being super sleepy and looking kind of innocent. Perhaps that's why I took the picture -- the days where she isn't being mischievous are so few and far between.

Oh, pictures

2009-02-17T21:46:00.000-06:00

She is so going to need braces.

Being a goofball at dinner.

Aunt Ellie taught Taylor how to fist bump. Obviously, this picture is not of the fist bump, but of Taylor noticing that Ellie DOES have a nose.

It's a monkey!

She is big into giving hugs now.

(Taylor, not Ellie)

Enjoying yogurt in a tube. I think that is the most disgusting thing ever...yogurt should require a spoon. Of course, I don't eat the part of yogurt that gets on the bottom of the little foil lid either.

You give me fever....

2009-02-10T12:24:00.001-06:00

103 Degree fever, to be exact. I think it's the first time Taylor has had a fever that we've known about. But, the ear infections and chest congestion are gone! She's at home today with her dad, and of course, I've been checking in occasionally. We had a rough evening last night, and according to the doctor, we'll probably have a couple more. The only thing we can do for this 'viral fever' is to give her a dose of infant ibuprofen to help drop the fever and ease her pain. Tonight we'll add some pictures to this post -- sorry about that. I promise to get back in the habit soon.

Be the change....

2009-01-25T16:51:00.000-06:00

Inspired by the inauguration of Barack Obama, I felt it was time we changed what had been driving us (and so many vocal others) crazy. Yes, I cut Taylor's hair. Yes, that means she is no longer queen of "Hockey Hair" and no longer can be called "Miss Mullet". However, before you ask why, I did not cut the front. I do not want her to have bangs, and cutting the front would equal just that. It's not a huge difference, but you can definitely tell the difference!

Petting the Pony that Santa brought. She likes to ride it, but it causes her father and I to do a lot of work to make it 'go'. Her legs aren't quite long enough to propel herself yet.

It's also increasingly hard to take her picture while she's standing still. OH, that's right - that's because she doesn't exactly do that. Little busy body.

Voila. Short hair.

I dig that she likes to vacuum. Hopefully she'll be able to use some of her extra energy to help clean up!

And we're back....

2009-01-08T21:43:00.000-06:00

Let's start back in mid December. We did some Christmas baking and decorating. Taylor fancied up the season with her favorite beads....and some bedhead.

Taylor is sooooo helpful in the kitchen. Here she has on the oven mitts, after having pulled out the dishtowels. You can see Huck was helping as well.

On December 20th, my cousin Samantha got married. It was freezing cold, but a really beautiful service and my cousin made a gorgeous bride. Taylor had to change to her jammies at the reception...she was not up partying like her Mom & Dad that night!

Christmas morning, Santa came and brought an action-packed rocking horse. He even brought some peek-a-boo books that Andy was directed to read right then.

Taylor got to play with her favorite cousin Kaleb....Gosh, do you think they have the Meinen Cheeks?

Taylor stayed with my parents the week following Christmas. They took her to Pratt on New Years Eve and she got to meet my old kitty Kelsey! T loved her, and if you ever met Kelsey, you know how much she loved T back.

Working on her glutes.

We went to another amazing wedding on the 2nd, and Taylor was quite chatty. As the wedding party exited the sanctuary, Taylor waved and said (loudly) "BYE!" to each one of them. Amusing to the people around us, embarrassing to her parents!

I'm headed to Ohio on Sunday for work, so I doubt any updating will occur. I come home on Friday evening, and I'm sure the laundry will be done, the kitchen will be cleaned, the bathroom spotless, and the floors swept. :)

Lost & Found....

2008-12-29T09:46:00.000-06:00

The delay in updated pictures is due to my loss of the camera cable. I'm pretty sure I let Taylor play with it the last time we uploaded our pictures, and it is probably wrapped around some baby dolls' head somewhere. I'll finish cleaning the living room tonight and hopefully find it -- however I'm now thinking I've left the camera at my parent's house from Christmas. Hmmm...

Hopefully everyone had a great holiday, and is either still enjoying time off or is non-working like I am right now. I have an old picture of T from last Christmas here at work, so I'll post that. That should get us by until we find the cable, the camera, and our minds ;)

Damn Santa

2008-12-15T12:36:00.000-06:00

Scene: Saturday, Downtown Lawrence -- Attempting to sit with Santa

Taylor: "No no no no"

Me: "It's ok T, it's fine. Just sit on his knee for a minute. Santa is nice!"

Taylor: "wahhh wahhhh waaaahhh"

Santa: "Oh, no no- don't make her sit! Mom, you sit with me instead, and she'll think it's ok"

Me: "Uh, I am not sitting on your 70 year old lap! I'll break you! Taylor, just sit..."

Taylor: "Wahhhh wahhh waaaah"

--*Snap*--Picture Accomplished

Santa: (as I pick up a crying Taylor, with snot flying everywhere) "I didn't make you do it! Remember, it was your mom! Your mom is the one that made you sit!"

Is it like this for every one year old who is an hour behind on their nap? Maybe we'll do better next year.

My Girl Wants to Potty All the Time...

2008-12-07T22:50:00.001-06:00

Taylor has more new vocabulary words, a few of them: apple, banana, and potty. She correctly identifies banana and potty, apple is just randomly sprinkled in every 'conversation' we have. We'll work on that one....because repeating "Apple" over and over again tends to lose it's effect unless you are shopping for a new computer, or you are playing with Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter.

On the potty thing...we aren't pushing potty training, trust me. I've read over and over (and even Dr. Spock agrees) not to try potty training too early, that it will only backfire and lead to breakdowns and ultimately to a unresolved desire to overachieve as a teenager. Blah blah blah. Whatever. This just happened, we didn't DO anything. We simply talk about the potty, Taylor identifies it, and now will occasionally go sit on her little potty. She even knows the difference between the noun potty and the verb potty; the other day while getting ready for her bath, Taylor was standing in the bathroom-pointing at the potty. She said "Potty?", and I responded "Yes, the potty. Do you want to sit on the potty before your bath?". Again, Taylor said "Potty", this time as a statement, not question. She thus proceeded to pee while standing up, right on the tile floor. Perhaps we should have invested in a floor drain, or a urinal.

Long, long weekends...

2008-11-30T13:53:00.000-06:00

Having four consecutive days off is the bees knees. It gives one plenty of time to lounge around in their pajamas...

Where's Taylor? (Seriously, I saw this picture on my camera and could not figure out why I had a pic of the high chair.)

We were in El Dorado on Thanksgiving Day. Taylor "helped" Gram with the cooking. She did not help clean up.

Taylor cruisin' in her car at Gram & Papa's.

This is Taylor, playing the piano and singing. She was serenading me with "White Christmas" while I unpacked our Christmas decorations. The decorating process is underway, which has been quite an experience with a 14 month old. I'm not sure how much decorating actually is getting done, but I do know that between the 4 of us (Huck included) we broke 7 ornaments last night. The decor is definitely going to be minimilized this year...in order to save my sanity. Pictures hopefully soon....

Way back in '08...

2008-11-16T20:47:00.001-06:00

My grandma used to make references to really rough times, saying "we didn't have a pot to piss in". Thankfully, we still have the pot, at least...

Please note that we usually don't let our child put her diaper-only butt on a pot - but it was abnormally warm this day and we had to strip off her little jeans so she would stop sweating. It's in her genes to be sweaty. Also, notice that she is somehow sitting on the handle, and not tipping this pan over. That has got to be a talent worth something...

Early Jayhawk Curriculm

2008-11-10T21:55:00.000-06:00

This weeks' reading- Three Blind Mice (upside down)
Next week- Basketball: Its Origin and Development by Dr. James Naismith

If she plans on being a cheerleader, she most likely will be a base.

This man is NOT warm!

Happy Halloween...& a two week catch-up!

2008-11-03T21:15:00.000-06:00

I think Halloween is the best holiday, and cannot wait to take Taylor trick-or-treating. We, as usual, had a big goose-egg turnout for trick-or-treaters, but fortunately for me, the whole family got to dress up this year....as three of the characters from The Wizard of Oz....

The Cowardly Lion

Dorothy, The Scarecrow & The Cowardly Lion. OH, you think that's hot? You should have seen his socks.

Old News:

Two weeks ago, Taylor and I went to Ark City for world-famous Arkalalah. Taylor thoroughly enjoyed the parade, as seen here while she was sitting with Grammie

We did get to enjoy the traditional food of the pancake feed, chicken & noodles, and I got my roasted ear of corn. I could probably live on roasted corn and Dr. Pepper. But my complexion would quickly look like Pizza the Hut(sorry for the obscure Spaceballs reference). Anywho- we had a great time, and look forward to many years of Shriner's, candy, and two hour parades. We also witnessed timeless parade entries....

Every parade needs a very pregnant woman bouncing up and down on the back of a tractor.

If you can't read this, this float says "Jesus es el Camino". It's not supposed to be as funny as I think it is.

Just to prove that she still does look like her dad.

Finally - if you haven't done so already, VOTE TOMORROW! I'd appreciate it if you'd vote for Barack, but even if not, get out and be part of democracy. And then wave your stars and stripes flag while you whistle Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" (you are welcome for getting that in your head).

Did you bring your Canadian Tuxedo?

2008-10-14T22:13:00.000-05:00

Say hello to Denim Dan...

Sick as a dog....

2008-10-07T20:44:00.000-05:00

2 ear infections
1 respiratory infection
1 probably diagnosis of strep throat

Yep - that's my daughter. Other than the fact that she wakes up and sounds like she's smoked 3 packs a day for the last 30 years, and she can't sleep laying down...she is great. Do these pictures look like a child who is ill?

This season's hot gift: Baby in a Box. Or, it could be the next SNL skit.

Have your cake....

2008-10-04T14:06:00.000-05:00

So, you've been dying to see Taylor eat her birthday cake? AND you've been wanting to hear everyone sing Happy Birthday? Well, ok. Enjoy the two videos below. You know me, I aim to please.

More Fiesta....

2008-10-01T21:52:00.000-05:00

Fiesta de Taylor!

2008-09-29T14:04:00.000-05:00

Happy 1st Birthday, Taylor!

We held a fiesta in honor of Taylor's birthday, complete with Pinata, Taco Bar, Margaritas & Coronas...Taylor loves her Corona.

More pictures soon!

This Girl...

2008-09-23T22:01:00.000-05:00

A) Is turning 1 in less than 7 days
B) Can properly say Elmo when she sees him
C) Had her first glass of REAL milk today

and

D) Took her first steps on her own tonight!

Oh, the places she'll go.....

Poor Photography

2008-09-11T22:12:00.000-05:00

My what a large noggin you have.

It's either the angle of my camera or the leggings that aren't flattering for baby legs.

A little BLUE....

2008-09-04T22:08:00.000-05:00

Isn't it funny how a shortened work week can seem like the longest actual week in history? Maybe it's the amount of work to get done in a shorter time, maybe it's the weather, or maybe it is the damn Republican National Convention. I could go on and on about that, but I won't. Instead, I'll impress my liberal politics on my child.

Taylor can't understand why McCain thinks that women would vote for a presidential ( & vice) candidate based on gender, and not on the issues. She is clearly not amused.

She just figured out that we live in Kansas--a RED state. She has thus decided to eat her toes.

OOOOOOOO-bama!

A little of this, a pinch of that...

2008-08-20T21:56:00.000-05:00

It occurred to me that I hadn't posted any new pictures for a while; here are a few from the arsenal.

Reading one of our favorite books....and clearly engulfed.

Her O's sound Canadian.

Huck was telling jokes tonight.

Dancing to some music. I think this move is the car wash.

A few weeks ago at Uncle Marshall & Aunt Erin's house. This is their puppy Cosmo. He is 7 times the weight of Taylor.

What the french, toast?

2008-08-07T12:32:00.000-05:00

I don't know why blogger was being stubborn and not showing the pictures I tried to post the other day...they show up on my computer at home! So, over my 5 minute lunch break -- the pictures are reposted. You can choose your own captions.

At least it's not Hell....

2008-08-04T21:32:00.000-05:00

I was driving home from work today, sweat dripping down the backs of my knees, when I saw this phrase on a church sign: "You think it's hot here, this is nothing compared to HELL". Well, ok. Fair enough. It's hot though, dangit.

This is what happens when you take your baby to the Farmer's Market in this weather that doesn't compare to how hot Hell may be:

But we still love jumping.

And she loves avocado! And Feta Cheese! I'm determined to make sure she's not picky like her father.

Of Mice & Men...

2008-07-20T22:03:00.000-05:00

My good friend Lori is having a baby, and her baby shower was Saturday. I thought that we would be so creative and wrap her gifts in 'baby' themed paper. I bought brown wrapping paper, and the plan was to use the finger-paint paints to put Taylor's hand prints and foot prints all over the paper. Cute, right? Well, the best laid plans always go astray. (Photos by Andy)

She was fine until the paint started to dry and her diaper was sticking to the paper.

Would you wrap a gift with this? Our gifts ended up in a gift bag instead.

From The Mind of Taylor....

2008-07-16T22:20:00.000-05:00

"Ooh, Dad! Turn down the volume before Mom yells at you again!"

"Hang on, I need to take this...."

"I just found a piece of dog food and am saving it in my cheek for later!"

"I am sooooo not going to sleep tonight."

Too tired to type....

2008-07-07T22:11:00.000-05:00

I'm too exhausted today to write anything, so here are a few pictures instead.

She figured out how to go up the stairs. We do not have "Down" figured out yet.

Hangin' out with the coffee table