end of a long day

This was where we found Taylie after a very long day of running errands and playing. She was supposed to go take a bath, but we found her plopped in her pile of stuffed animals

I really made this....

I just had to brag...I made this cake all by myself. I promise!!! I know that those of you who know me really well are quite skeptical but I really did!! It tasted really good too.

I think I did a pretty good job, especially considering that some of the directions were missing. It is a yellow cake mix with a cream cheese/dream whip frosting and a strawberry topping.

Bedtime

We love bedtime in our house. Each of us have our little special bonding time with Taylie. Jacob gives her the bath and drys her off and plays with her in the tub and I get to dress and diaper her while she drinks her milk, then we both give her hugs and it is time for bed.

This was after the first time that dryed her hair and it stuck up everywhere. She was my own personal troll doll! It is also Dad's job to brush her teeth. It used to be mine, but I always made her cry and she is as sweet as pie for her daddy.

we try to give her a chance to brush her teeth all by herself too because she feels like such a big girl!!!

dynamite comes in small packages....

Just when I think I have it all figured out, she finds a new way to get into trouble. I believe this was around Christmas and we decided to give her a little treat. Now we know to belt her into her highchair. After she got it all nice and slobbery, then she decided to climb all over the couches and onto me and pretty much everywhere she could go, she did....and left a trail of blue behind her.


I started using baby gates to block Taylie out of the bathroom when I take a shower because one morning I got an unexpected visit when she decided to come in with me, clothes and all. Of course, when I try to deter her behavior, she only finds a way around it (or over it). This was the day she learned that she was almost able to climb over the gates. I decided after that to take them down, because I decided an unexpected visitor is better than a broken head.

Maybe dad didn't think that she knew enough ways to get into trouble, so he decided to teacher her how to sword fight with my kitchen spatulas, turners and whatever else they could get there hands on. Now that she is tall enough to open my drawers and reach inside, I am constantly getting swatted by kitchen tools.

Once she realized that she couldn't beat dad, she decided to grab two things in one hand and try that way. She still lost, dad gets the belly button everytime!!!

nurse in training

Poor Taylie was sick so much this winter that she learned very quickly how to take her temperature using an ear thermometer. She can turn it on and put on one of the protective covers and then stick it in her ear and take her temperature. She also likes to take her monkey, Stanley, and stick it in his ear to get his temperature too.

Christmas 2007

Because Taylie's birthday is about 3 weeks before Christmas, it made for a busy shopping season. It's okay...she the only one, we are allowed to spoil her!! By the time Christms got here, she had plenty of time and experience from her birthday to learn how to unwrap presents. She still needed a little help from dad.

Even with all the toys, the wrapping paper is still better....

She got a little basketball hoop, (you have to start them young!), a magna doodle (great for church), and a baby doll complete with her own pint size basketball (we added that last part into the package). Note that not one of these makes noise. We thought that we were being so smart! Not quite.

Now we cannot forget that Taylie has 3 sets of grandparents, so all of this stuff that we bought her, only accounts for about 25% of the day. We still got to go to Grandpa and Grandma S'. house and play with their presents, all of which made some kind of sound (except the clothes). Thanks for that by the way.... just kidding. Grandma Linda gave her a sesame street toy that lets you listen to Ernie, Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch sing songs. There is no volume control. Grandpa Jon and Grandma Karen got her a little scooter car that comes complete with horn and many other button that play music and make various other noises. It also has a seat that can lift up and things can be hidden in it. I usually find chicken nuggets and other such snacks days after they have been put there. Again, there is no volume control. Taylie had a very good Christmas this year, and we are still enjoying it....everyday in the voices of Elmo and Ernie and so on.

This is Mr. Bear. He belongs to Grandpa S. Taylie loves to go and find the bear as one of the first things that she does when she come over to their house. She welcomes him with a big "HI" and likes to poke him and sit on him. Mr. Bear recently broke into about a hundred pieces. So we consider him retired.

Happy 1st Birthday!!

On December 2 we celebrated Taylie's 1st birthday with a small family party....which quickly turned into a big family gathering. It is a tradition in my family to get a cookie monster cake for the 1st birthday, so that is was this is.


At first she just wanted to eat the cookie, but when she figured out what cake was, she was all over it.






This kind of shows the progression of the mess that I got to clean up. It wasn't too bad until it got into the hair. We also found frosting in her ears and other places when she got her bath that night.

helping dad....kind of

We got a new chest of drawers for Taylie and so they had to be baby proofed. It was quite a project....for Jacob. Taylie decided that she wanted to help by taking his drill bits and hiding them, chewing on the latches, and poking him with the drill. As you can imagine, she was not a huge help, but it is the thought that counts.

She wants to help do everything. I should give her some credit though, she does a very good job with unloading the dishwasher and putting in the dirty plates and silverware. She can also help pick up her toys (that is more of a selective chore...)

When you do not pick up your toys....

Taylie has always been facinated by Jacob's gaming systems because they have always been in a room that she is not allowed to go into. It is always blocked by baby gate or a closed door. One night daddy forgot to secure his toys and Taylie decided that it was her turn to play!

.......and this happened more than once. I guess sometimes you just never learn!

Eating Time!!!

Apparently food tastes much better
when it does not quite make it
into your mouth .


We have about a million of these...