A Taylor Made Family

Kate the crossing guard!

2011-05-15T07:56:00.001-05:00

Kate's first ice cream cone

2011-05-11T07:28:00.001-05:00

We celebrated Peyton's second birthday today and went to DQ. The girls were both covered and sticky by the time that we left. But they sure were happy!

Claddagh's Irish Pub in Maple Grove

2011-05-01T13:18:00.001-05:00

Kate approves!

We're Back (with the help of a little additional technology)!

2011-04-30T21:01:00.001-05:00

After a very long period of time spent away from blogging, I am back!

To get everyone up to speed I will let you know some of the things we have been up to over the last half year.

Kate is groing like crazy and has turned into an amazing mimick (in a good way). Most of the time she will try her best to repeat what we say to her and has begun to even sing parts of songs on the radio. I guess this means we will have to be extra careful of what we say around her now! She loves to ride her new bike to the park. She can not get enough of books, blocks, dolls, stuffed animals, pretty ponies, coloring, sesame street and Dora.

She's a handful but we are having a blast!

John and I are both doing great. We are gearing up for wedding season (five this year) and are super excited for are friends that are beginning to grow their families.

We went to breakfast this morning with my mom, my sister and her husband, so yummy!

We also just got smart phones, which leaves me no excuse not to start blogging again!

I hope that everyone is having as much fun in their busy lives as we are, and it is great to be back!

Talking About Talent

2010-08-30T08:56:00.018-05:00

I know that I have said this before, but I will now have to say it again, and again, and again... my friend Sarah of Sarah Belle Photography is an AMAZING photographer.

And of course, whenever I make such heavily weighted statements as the one above, I must back the statement up with physical proof. What would be more proof than the wonderful pictures she took of Kate, these are only a few (by a few I mean a ton) of the wonderful shots she was able to capture that day.

I would very highly recommend Sarah Belle Photography to any of my family, friends, or basically anyone out there. You can contact her through her blog or contact me and I can put you in touch with her.

From these pictures you would never know that Kate was at her crabbiest on this day, and the shots are still perfect!

Thank you Sarah for capturing so much of what we love in our little pumpkin Kate!

Uh oh, we may have a Star Trek fan on our hands. : )

Again, Thank you Sarah you did such a wonderful and amazing job!

Sleeping Babies

2010-08-25T07:38:00.004-05:00

"Always let a sleeping baby lie."

When Kate was first born this is something I did not do, mostly because I just couldn't help myself. I did have some rationale behind picking Kate up and cuddling her when she was sleeping. I figured since she was such a good sleeper, and slept all the time, a couple minutes of extra cuddle time here or there wouldn't hurt too much.

If she is reading this, my friend Heidi is laughing. When she found out I pick Kate up when sleeping she is the one who spoke this quote above to me while shaking her head. : )

Now that Kate is a year old, we couldn't have been luckier parents with her ability to sleep so peacefully throughout the night. But now I worry if we are about to change all of that.

At one year there is an abundance of things that "they" tell you to do or to stop doing. Some of these things that we have done, or are in the process of doing are:

switching from bottle to cup (this was not a hard transition for Kate, especially now that she can drink from a straw)

switching from formula to milk (this change did take Kate a couple of days to get used to, she wasn't too wild about whole milk at first, but now can't seem to get enough of the stuff)

switching from pureed food to all solids (this happened on its own, with Kate being more interested in solids than mush, do you blame her?)

That leaves us with our final major change...taking away the pacifier.

I know that these are suggestions and do not need to be done at one year, but should be done in the way that best suits your individual child. Knowing me though, I figure...why not try?

Kate usually only has her pacifier when she is sleeping or on long car rides, other than that she rarely ever has it in her mouth (unless she finds it while playing and plops it in there).

Last night, John put her to bed without the pacifier for the first time...and she went right to sleep. I know that this may not be the end of this battle, but it sure strengthens our decision that she probably doesn't need it to fall asleep any more.

I guess we'll see!

Guess Who?

2010-08-20T07:57:00.003-05:00

Which toddler (woah does that look weird) has grown to the height of 30 3/4 inches and is weighing in at 22 1/2 pounds?

That would be our little pumpkin Kate!

We all went together to her 1 year doctor's appointment yesterday, which was not as traumatic for us as it was for her.

All was well until she had to have her finger pricked, and it wasn't the pricking of the finger that got her all upset...it was the fact that we had to hold her hand (she hates this) and the fact that afterwards she had a bandaid on her finger (now we know she hates this). Each time she re-realized that the bandaid was still on her finger, she tried to get it off, but when she couldn't...then the Oscar-worthy tears and hysterics would come back. The funniest part about it though is that they would last for only about 2-3 seconds, and be over....can you say faker? : )

Here's a picture of her in her new hat (from Darby the crazy golden retriever) on her birthday last Sunday.

Photo Shoot

2010-07-12T18:54:00.002-05:00

An old friend from high school is an amazing photographer in Chicago...and she has just decided to give away a free photo shoot.

If you go out to her website Brisham Photography, and leave a comment, you could win!

Don't forget to let her know on her comment that you were referred by me, and maybe then Kate could win!

Good luck!

Dancing Baby

2010-07-07T16:38:00.002-05:00

Kate has been practicing her dance moves for her aunt Kristen's wedding, this is from a couple of months ago, but be prepared to be amazed at her mad skills!

Kate Dancing

Kate's First 4th of July

2010-07-07T12:55:00.003-05:00

Kate's first 4th of July weekend was filled with tons of fun, family, and friends! She was lucky enough to spend most of her time in the water on both Saturday and Sunday, and she loved it!

She had some bbq in Blaine on Sunday

More Grandma!

She got to sit in her very own chair.

She got to scream and yell, just for fun!

After too much screaming and yelling, she got dunked...just kidding!

She swam and splashed in a regular diaper.

She went for a horse back ride (Darby back ride).

She got snuggled by her Dad when her lips started turning blue and her toes started getting wrinkly from all the water time.

She spent some quality time in the pool with her best bud Darby.

She learned how much fun it is to pull up on the side of the pool...with no casualties believe it or not.

Big Cheese

2010-07-07T12:46:00.004-05:00

Kate loves cheese, well she did before she realized how much she loved fruit...all fruit.

How did we find out that she likes fruit way more than she likes cheese (not that she doesn't like it)?

When I filled up her tray last night for dinner, I put on the tray some chicken (she always only picks at meat), provolone cheese, raspberries, kiwi, and red grapes.

In her normal order she at the raspberries, then the red grapes, and then the kiwi. Finally she started on the cheese, with each tiny piece that she put in her mouth she followed with the same reaction...a couple of good chews (aka gums) on the cheese, then mouth open, tongue flailing, cheese back out onto the tray.

But, when we give her cheese first, she gobbles it all up. What a silly girl!

She has also started making some pretty cheesy faces once the camera comes out, hope you think they are as funny as we do!

Memorial Day Weekend: Monday

2010-06-06T14:28:00.005-05:00

On Monday of Memorial Day weekend we packed up five of the seven mammals that live in our house (we left the cats at home) and headed over to John's brother and sister in law's house to hang out for the day.

Here is Kate, after her nap, boy was that a tough one trying to get her to go down when she could still hear all of us outside!

This is Cole, Kate's cousin, and Kate. I'm not sure why she is so upset, but you can tell how excited he was to hold her, what a good cousin!

Kate...so big!

Cole and Alex, being cheeseballs!

We jumped on the trampoline, here is Alex showing me his tricks...doesn't he look like a dolphin in this picture?

And here is Cole's trick, looks pretty cool doesn't it?!?

Alex wanted me to take a picture of him on the stairs.

John, waving the flag. He might be just a tad too big for this playset, what do you think?

We swung on the swings, well they did, I don't think I would fit.

Cole and Alex even showed us how they love to swing on their tire swing...

Again, John might be just a tad too big for this one too! : )

Cole and Alex love animals, especially our beagles Nora and Puller. We still can't figure out how Nora was able to still long enough for this picture!

They even brought out the slip and slide. Though Kate didn't slip or slide, she played in the water at the end when the boys were done. That was enough for her, she loves water just as much as they do!

Another great day, full of fun with family (though you didn't see most of them in these pictures). I had a blast playing with Cole and Alex, and I probably burned a million calories, those boys just don't stop moving.

Can't wait for the next time!

Memorial Day Weekend: Sunday

2010-05-31T20:47:00.003-05:00

We had a great time this weekend spending time with family, spending some down time alone at our house, and we even got the garage cleaned out!

On Sunday we went over to my parents' house to spend the day, when we were there my dad and John got rid of some of the excess leaves in their backyard.

Kate got to break in and try out the new swing that her Grandma picked out for her. The faster and higher she was pushed, the happier that she was. Chances are she's going to be a roller coaster enthusiast when she grows up!

Kate chilled for a while in the grass in front of Grandma and Grandpa's house, waiting for Grandma to get back from the store, lucky girl didn't get bit by one mosquito...can't say the same for us!

So Big!

Kate and her pal Darby, these two have always been very intrigued with eachother. I think that Kate likes Darby's bushy, long tail, and I'm pretty sure that Darby likes Kate because she likes to like the leftover food off of her face and hands. : )

Kate likes to remind us just how big she is! This is one of the first tricks that she pulls out of her repertiore when she meets new people, what a showoff!

It was a great and relaxing day, can't wait for another like it!

Kate's Nine Month Stats

2010-05-28T09:11:00.003-05:00

Nine months in baby terms means another visit for a checkup to the doctor to make sure that everything is developing as it should be.

John brought Kate into her nine month appointment this morning (come to think of it I haven't been to one since I was on maternity leave).

She weighed in at 21 pounds which puts her in the 85th percentile for weight for her age.

She measured in at 30 inches long, which puts her in the 97th percentile for height for her age.

Everything else went as planned, and only one shot this time to finish up her hepatitis vaccination.

She's a happy, healthy, growing girl!

Mmmmm, Grilled Wrap

2010-05-27T07:32:00.002-05:00

Now with that title, it probably makes people think that I am talking about lunch-time food, right?

Nope, not right.

I am talking about breakfast.

I have the pleasure of working downtown in a very conveniently located building within minutes of walking distance from probably 30 restaurants and even more fast food restaurants.

My waistline though, must constantly fight this so called pleasure. : )

Anyways, one of my favorite breakfasts comes from Brueggers (besides a yummy Key's breakfast of course). It was something I fell in love with at my last job which again was conveniently located near a Brueggers.

They have a breakfast wrap that includes egg, ham (or bacon or sausage if you prefer), jalapeno cream cheese, and to top it off roasted red peppers.

This might not be an appetizing combination to you, but to me it is breakfast heaven. Warm and gooey, salty from the ham, smokey from the peppers, and with a little kick to get me going.

I don't get them very often, due to my fighting waistline, but I did this morning and found out that they just happened to make one of my favorite breakfasts even better!

Brueggers now grills its wraps. So add to the warm melted cream cheese with egg, salty ham, smokey peppers, and jalapeno kick...a crunchy but still softish wrap. Yum!

I can't wait to have another, but I better!

Reese and Kate

2010-05-24T18:46:00.002-05:00

On Saturday we went to celebrate a very special day with one of Kate's best friends. Here is a video of Reese and Kate at Reese's house to celebrate Reese's first birthday.

Yay Reese, Happy Birthday!

Reese and Kate

Not Me Monday

2010-05-24T07:56:00.006-05:00

I'm back again to spill my guts about all of the crazy, half-brained, last-minute, mix-ups that I encountered, and caused over these last two weeks.

To start it off, I didn't skip the "Not Me Monday" post last week becuase I couldn't remember anything that went awry the week before, there is always something that goes awry in the Taylor household.

I would never drive all the way to work, about 40 minutes, ignoring the fact that my cell phone was ringing, to finally call my husband back when at work to find out I took the carseat with me that morning. This would never serve as the perfect excuse to just take the day off...I never need those!

Staying on the cell phone topic, I would never neglect to check my phone for messages and miss a message from our daycare providor letting us know she would be closed the following day. This would not cause my husband to show up at the daycare mom's house only to find the door locked and everyone there still sleeping. And of course this would never lead to me begging Kate to "play quietly" until 11, at work, with me, so that I could get some stuff done before I, you guessed it, took another half day off.

Ah well, what good are kids for if not to get you out of working every once-in-a-while? : )

Bye Bye Swing

2010-05-21T07:46:00.002-05:00

Last night we finally did the inevitable. We took down Kate's baby swing. This swing has been an integral part of our child-rearing success to this point, which is why both John and I were/are still a little nervous about it being gone.

Every morning after I get ready, I wake Kate up and get her ready (dressed, fed, time to say hello to our pets, etc.). Then just before leaving the house I bring her upstairs, buckle her into her swing, and turn it on. Sometimes she sits there and plays while it is rocking her gently, and sometimes the gentle rocking helps her to catch some more zzzz's.

Through the last nine months if there has been a night or day where she is extra fussy, the kind of fussiness that a bottle, diaper change, toys, or cuddle can't cure, the swing has always been our fail safe.

I looked up online (as we bought the swing second hand and did not have the instructions) to see what the weight limit was. This research was brought on by the fact that I now had to put the swing at the highest speed just to get it to rock my growing girl, oh and it was starting to sway (a little).

Online at Fisher Price the weight limit was 25 pounds. Now I'm not quite sure how much Kate currently weighs, her nine month appointment is next week, but I know that it has to be more than 20 pounds. That may be a little to close for comfort for me.

So I told her (not that I expected her to understand) that when these batteries ran out, that the swing was going to get put away.

That didn't happen.

Two days ago I bought batteries for a new toy that we had at the house, the wrong size. There was only one other item in the house that used that size of batteries...the swing.

So I ran up, grabbed out the batteries and made the switch, at least she likes the toy, right?

Yesterday morning I put her in the swing, no batteries, and she was fine with it.

Last night I thought of how silly that was.

So, swing retired, and now Kate is lucky enough to play in her pack and play in our bedroom (newly set up at the end of our bed) and will surely wake John up for work if his alarm doesn't do the trick!

Without A Seat

2010-05-20T12:50:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I got a call from my husband as I was walking through the parking ramp at work, I had taken the car seat to work with me.

At this point he was trying his best to install the convertible car seat into his car in a rear-facing position (we aren't ready to have her forward face yet).

I'm pretty sure he was a little miffed at me at this point! : )

I tried calling a friend who I knew could bring over a seat to use (her daughter just switched to the convertible). Of course, I couldn't get a hold of her.

So what did I do? I took the day off of course, what a perfect excuse!

Plus I didn't want to have to drive all the way back to work (about 40 minutes) after bringing the seat home to my husband.

Oh and when you walk in the door and she is so excited to see you, it makes it that much harder to turn around and leave again.

We ended up having a really fun day filled with no plans, and those don't happen too often!

What We Did Yesterday

2010-05-13T16:31:00.001-05:00

Updated Pictures of Kate

2010-05-11T09:05:00.003-05:00

Kate sure does lover her Beagle Puller! Puller just loves to cuddle!

Sick of all the times we try to see her teeth, Kate decided to give Puller a dental check (don't worry we made her stop doing this, we're teaching her to pet them "gentle").

Watch out here I come!

Kate is very interested in the camera, maybe she's a future photographer. Then again she's also really interested in the remote control, does that mean that she's a future couch potato? : )

Kate's sassy face, I'm pretty sure she wanted her breakfast at this point.

Boy are we in trouble!

Necklace

2010-05-10T12:22:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to show off my absolutely perfect Mother's Day gift from Kate (my husband).

It was hand-made by the Etsy seller Sauce, whose jewelry is some of my favorites on the entire site!

The three flowers stand for our three family members. Fun huh?!?

Anyways, I love it!

"Not Me" Monday

2010-05-10T11:59:00.002-05:00

This Monday I did not give up trying to get the "Not Me" button working after only two minutes and decide to 'cheat' by naming MckMama's Blog in this hyperlink instead! (By the way, she's just updated her entire blog which turned out really fun, you should check it out!)

I would never order pizza at a restaurant, that had lettuce on top, just because in my mind it was "healthier". And to top it off add some sour cream to the mix to make it even more "low-cal". Mmmm, taco pizza!

When staying in a hotel room, with my 8 1/2 month old daughter and my mom, would not wake up (wide awake) at 3am and not fall back asleep. I would then not quietly walk to the bathroom and proceed to take an hour long shower (to kill time), and then come out of the shower only to fall asleep until 5:30am. This would never cause me to be dead tired for the remainder of the weekend.

Finally, I would never think how much I would enjoy entire house naps on a Sunday (Mother's Day) afternoon. Kate napping in her crib, John snoozing on the chair, Nora and Puller catching some zzzz's under the table and on the footrest, Madeline and Riley catnapping upstairs on our bed, and me stretched out (probably snoring) on the couch. I enjoyed it so much I could probably have "napped" straight through to this morning. But unfortunately that did not happen. : )

Don't forget to check out what Mckmama didn't do last week as well as many others! It's pretty amazing how many other people like to slack off like you do! :)

No Dancing on Tables

2010-05-10T11:49:00.003-05:00

Throughout life I am sure that Kate will get plenty of good advice from her parents, relatives, friends, etc.

Her most recent piece of advice she got from her daycare mom, Joyce.

Joyce likes to sit Kate down in the middle of the room, turn on the kiddie music loud, and watch her dance and wiggle away like crazy.

Then Joyce tells Kate, "You are such a good dancer Kate, just no dancing on tables!"

Thanks Joyce, hopefully she'll comply with that one! : )

Adventure

2010-05-07T10:14:00.002-05:00

Today Kate and I are embarking on our first adventure together. We are heading to Kate's aunt's bridal shower about 4 hours north of where we live.

Making this voyage with us will be Kate's grandma. We even get to stay in a hotel room (another first) so that should be interesting.

Hopefully all goes well, she does really well in the car so that is not my worry. And she'll get to play in the pool so she'll be tired, so sleeping isn't my worry.

I am just worried that I forgot something and will not realize it until it is absolutely needed an unavailable, but I guess that's just how my mind rolls. It could be why we both have our own suitcases that are full for one overnight trip.

I know you are wondering, how does John put up with it? : )

Well he gets a night off that he will fill with processed cheese, Beagles, Tax Cut Coalitions, War Movies, Chips, Beer...and all that other fun stuff he doesn't get to do when Kate and I are home bugging him. In all reality though I bet he'll miss us, or at least her : ).

Propped

2010-05-05T07:19:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I have posted, over a week. I know, I know, how could I ever neglect blogging to this extent. : ) Ha ha.

We had a nice relaxing week and weekend just hanging around the house. We went to John's parents' house on Saturday night and grilled out. For a while I thought we may have to change our eating arrangements because of the huge gale-force winds (exaggeration) that were blowing through the metro area. But fear not, Grandpa Jim was still able to grill up those cheddarwursts to perfection. And boy were they good! There's nothing like the first grilled cheddarwurst of the season, especially when it is paired with spicy mustard and tuna noodle ring salad! Yum!

On Sunday I talked (not really) John into traveling over to Albertville. It was windier there and of course Kate was under dressed. What great parents we are. But her Grandma blanket (the blue one that was made by Grandma Barb when I thought she would be a boy) was with and it kept her all snuggly and warm. Unfortunately I didn't get anything, can you imagine my pouting face? : ) John snagged a new pair of shoes from the Adidas outlet and his little pumpkin did too. She won't be able to wear them for a while but it is hard to pass up $10 Adidas with pink stripes...just so cute!

We started propping Kate up in the crawling position this week. She kind of sits there looking at something that she wants and then either dives or collapses before grabbing for it. We were both surprised that she kept herself on her knees at all. Before when trying this she wouldn't keep them straight, but would just sit froggy leg style on her belly instead. We know that she is getting closer and that we are helping her, but what we don't know is why we are doing it. When she is finally mobile I would bet a million dollars on the fact that we will wish she is immobile again!

We're looking forward to celebrating two birthdays in the next couple of weeks. Both Reese and Peyton turn one, which means that Kate is right behind them.

Crazy how the time flies, I can't wait to hang out with both of those little girls! Oh and their mom's too I guess. : )

"Not Me" Monday

2010-04-26T14:58:00.002-05:00

This week I did not put off working out until the very last minute, which means I of course do not have to work out at the gym every day until the end of the month to get my required days for our company discount. No way would I be that lazy!

I hope to not have a sassy child, which is why I for surely did not laugh after my daughter started grunting a sass back after being told no this weekend. And now this is what I have gotten myself into:

Kate reaches for her dish of baby food. I tell her, "Kate no" and move her hand away. She looks up at me "Grugh!". Lovely, yes?

Finally my entire family did not find it completely hilarious when Kate made up her own sign this weekend. Picture a flat open palm and then pound your fist into it once, hard. We're not sure what it means but we're pretty sure it isn't good! Is it funnier that she did it to Grandma first?!? : )

Immobile

2010-04-23T10:34:00.002-05:00

Kate is an immobile baby, which is something that we as parents are completely fine with.

She is perfectly content to sit and play with what is in front of her, which is awesome because it makes it a lot easier to keep her entertained!

Yesterday John found out about something that was happening at daycare that is not helping to entice her to become a mobile baby.

When Kate is at J's house for daycare and she gets bored with the toy or toys that she is currently playing with, she will do a shortened version of her pterodactyl scream (it almost sounds like a little bark, wonder where she is imitating that from--beagles). When the other kids hear this, they will actually stop what they are doing or playing with get up, grab another toy, and bring it over for Kate to play with.

She basically has them trained!

What a little stinker! : )

Biting Crackers

2010-04-21T07:48:00.003-05:00

Kate loves to eat crackers!

Usually she grabs a hold of one and it heads straight into her mouth for a good bit of slobbery mush-making.

Yesterday she showed me a new talent that she has, she can now bite the crackers.

She puts the cracker in her mouth, chews her gums a couple of times, and ta da there is a mouth shaped bite out of the cracker.

Making this activity easier for her is her new little tooth that has emerged, again, from her bottom gum.

Maybe this will make her cracker eating antics less mess? Boy would that make the beagles sad! : )

Just For Fun

2010-04-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

If you want to, go to Parents.com to vote for Kate's picture!

Link Here!

Not Me Monday!

2010-04-19T10:58:00.004-05:00

Our child never has a messy face, well she does, but it doesn't last long. That wouldn't be because we let our dogs, with their icky dog breath, clean her off. We always wipe her with a towel, not a dog tongue, of course!

I didn't do a new work out one day last week and neglect to do it again for the remainder of the week because I was so sore. I would never be that out of shape, would I? I would also never create a mantra that went a little like this: "Please don't poop your diaper." while running at the gym (who wants their kid to cause them to stop mid-workout, our gym childcare doesn't change diapers).

Finally I never would chase after my parents' dog, we were dog-sitting, down my street only to have her poop in someone else's yard. That would never happen! I also wouldn't walk all the way down the street with our pooper scooper in hand instead of a easy to conceal bag. Oh and this would never be done in sweats, with bed-head, and no makeup. (My poor neighbors!)

By the way, I would never create a "Not Me Monday" that centered around #2, no way, not me! : )

Eight Months Old!

2010-04-15T19:32:00.003-05:00

Kate turned eight months old today! I have heard people say that now is the time that babies go through the most physical ability changes that it is pretty amazing, and I would have to agree.

She loves to eat her solid food. Some of the newer things she has been eating are toast, cheese, eggs, Gerber snacks, turkey, and chicken. She has mastered the art of drinking out of the sippy cup, but would still rather have someone else hold it for her. When we give the cup to her to see if she will drink on her own, it magically transforms from a cup to a toy!

Her pack and play got transformed as we moved the level down to the bottom. She now gets to take her daytime naps with all of her "friends". Here she was sitting up and playing with them and then somehow ended up laying amongst them all.

This is the look she gives us when we interrupt her. She was obviously enjoying her time laying with all these stuffed animals she has grown to love!

For Easter we got to spend time with a lot of family. Kate of course was the coolest one there in her shades that she got from her Grandma!

She even got to play with toys that her cousins had played with when they were babies, new toys are always fun!

One of her favorite things is to sit up and play with her piano. She likes to get the music going and then will wiggle and clap her hands to it. We have found that she also likes the same music that we do through her wiggling, hand-clapping, and kind of singing when we play it. I am sure that this will change as she gets older, which is fine as long as she isn't in to Hannah Montana!

Basically we are having a blast, and it seems like she is too. She continues to find both the dogs and our cat Madeline very funny. Each morning when I take her out of her crib the first thing she does is look down for Madeline. You should see the smile she gets when she first spots her, it is blinding!

We are looking forward to teeth and introducing her to a whole new range of foods. The little tip of tooth that was sticking out a week ago decided to sneak right back into her gums. We are excited for the day that her teeth grow out enough to stay out, I bet she'll be even more adorable then!

Just a Little Peek (Peak)

2010-04-09T13:00:00.002-05:00

Kate's first tooth has decided to give us all a little peek and come out of her (sadly swollen) gums to say hello.

Or is that da da da da da da?

No wait, that would be Kate herself making those noises. Of course I should have expected her to start her babbling by transitioning from "the scream" to "da da da da da da" and not "ma ma ma ma ma ma".

She did cry at daycare the other day when she saw I was there to pick her up. : )

What a daddy's girl!!!

You Must Call Me Master

2010-04-09T12:58:00.003-05:00

Since last Tuesday I have requested that John call me, instead of Emily, Master.

Ha ha, just kidding.

Why that? Why that specific day?

Well it is probably because on Monday I officially finished my MBA!

Whew!

I started working on my MBA in January of 2008. It usually takes people two years to complete this type of degree program, but hey, I got married and had a baby during the process...give me a break! : )

(Now that that's done, on to my next challenge!!! CPA!!!)

Need A Great Photographer?

2010-04-06T13:51:00.005-05:00

My friend Sarah, who took some pretty amazing pictures of Kate, has put together some of her work on a new blog.

Here are some cute ones of the last time we got together (did I tell you how awesome it is to have a friend who can take photos like these?!?).

You can look at her more of her work here:

Sarah Belle Photos

She comes very highly recommended by Kate, and her mom of course!

Send her an email or post on her blog if you are interested in getting some more information from her.

Holiday Weekends

2010-04-03T21:28:00.001-05:00

Holiday weekends bring new people to my neighborhood, and of course bring my neighbors to other people's neighborhoods.

New people mean of course new routines and activities.

By this I of course mean the man that is jump roping in the street at the end of my neighbors' driveway. Strange, since it is in the street and it is dark out, but true. I guess that there is not a good place inside for him to get his jump roping done for the day.

Are there any weird things you have seen in your neighborhood over holiday weekends?

Kate's Busy Grandpa

2010-04-01T08:21:00.001-05:00

It's fire season!

Kate's Grandpa has been all over the news since yesterday, check it out!

(I promise that this isn't an April fool's joke!)

Challenging Myself

2010-03-29T07:38:00.002-05:00

I have decided to challenge myself. No, not to work out, climb a mountain, or learn something new.

I am challenging myself to ride the bus to work every day for a week.

This is something that I did for a long time when I first started working downtown. Unfortunately when I got pregnant, the motion and smells did not quite do it for me.

So I started driving to work, and got addicted to it.

Every time I drive to work this is how much it costs me:

Mileage: 50 miles round trip. My car gets about 16.5 miles to the gallon (economical I know). A gallon of gas right now is about $3.70. That comes to a daily expense of about $11.21.

Parking: I usually park underground in the winter and have begun parking in an above the ground structure now that it is warmer. The daily rate for parking is $7.25.

My total daily expense, not including wear and tear on the car, is $18.46. This would bring my weekly expense to $92.30 and my monthly expense to around $369.20.

Scary huh? When I look at it from that angle it makes me very happy that I rode the bus this morning. Just for kicks I will figure out how much the bus costs me to commute each day.

Monthly bus pass: $75.00 pre-tax, which I think makes it about $52.50 post-tax.

Mileage to park and ride: 22 miles round trip. Daily gas expense $4.93.

The total monthly expense for commuting via the bus is $151.11.

Really there is no question which of these I should be doing. So I challenge myself to start riding the bus again like I did before, EVERY DAY.

I will let you know how it goes. Reading while riding it to work today was actually pretty nice!

2010-03-28T21:33:00.000-05:00

Happy bath baby!

Funny Beagles

2010-03-20T13:23:00.003-05:00

Who knew that Nora and Puller were so funny?

Is it just me or is her laugh contagious?!?

Funny Beagles

More Funny Beagles

Calmness

2010-03-19T07:23:00.003-05:00

Throughout my pregnancy, and even the three days at the hospital before Kate made her first appearance, while still in the womb Kate was a very calm baby.

Because of preeclampsia I was going into the doctor three times a week at the end, and having two ultrasounds a week. She was usually just hanging out in there, probably snoozing, with her hands up by her face (she still sleeps like this).

Come to think of it the only time she was really super active in there was at the 12 week ultrasound after I had eaten a Snickers bar for breakfast and at the Bruce Springsteen concert around 26 weeks.

I should have known that she would be a calm baby after pregnancy as well! How lucky did we get?!?

Lip Hickey

2010-03-16T07:43:00.003-05:00

Kate, who I swear has been frantically working on growing in some teeth, has begun sucking her bottom lip into her mouth like mad.

This started yesterday while at daycare, and has now resulted in a hickey on her lower lip!

Ha ha ha ha ha.

When she gives us a chance to look at it I can't help but laugh, which of course makes her think she is funny, so then she laughs (it is a trait passed down through my family, we all laugh at our own jokes).

What a funny girl, now if I could only figure out how to get a good photo of it to use as blackmail someday...

30% Off: Gap, Old Navy,& Banana Republic

2010-03-15T07:30:00.001-05:00

Coupon!

A Math Problem

2010-03-11T08:27:00.001-06:00

What does irritability + diarreah + extreme diaper rash equal?

I think that Kate is finally working on some teeth! Hopefully for her sake it goes quickly. : )

No Way, Not Me!

2010-03-10T07:31:00.003-06:00

I know that I have missed the last few weeks of "Not Me Monday" that was started by Mckmama, and I know it is a Wednesday, but this I just had to share.

(I can picture my husband shaking his head as he reads this.)

Last night Kate made a mess, and it did not stay in her diaper. Me unsuspecting of this large of a mess picked her up from her high chair and turned around to lay her down in her pack and play to change her.

The next thing I know I have poop all the way up my forearm and all over my hand. I turned around to look at the highchair and sure enough, it was there too.

At this point I wasn't sure where in her clothing it was coming out so I picked her up and carried her upstairs (by her armpits, not that she even noticed) to assess and clean up the damage.

I should tell you that she did not have a cover on her changing pad at this point since she had an explosion the prior night as well.

As I was cleaning everything up I quickly washed my arm/hands and took my rings off in preparation to give the stinky one a bath...much needed.

I didn't put my rings back on until I was about to leave this morning, and it was in the dark.

I made it all the way to work and sat down at my desk. All of a sudden I realized that I could smell something a little funky. At first I figured I must have stepped in one of the dogs' gifts that they leave outside for us.

Do you see where this is going...

There was Kate poop on my ring. And not just on my ring, but on the main diamond.

After laughing to myself, that this would only happen to me. I quickly took the ring off and cleaned it up in the bathroom.

Ahh, the joys of motherhood! : )

Nervous Driving

2010-03-08T14:07:00.002-06:00

This morning I realized that my license tabs had expired on February 28. This means that I drove around for an entire week with out-of-date tabs and did not get caught. Whew!

I guess this might not be a big deal to most people, but when I lived in a house with four other girls during college, two of the girls got ticketed while their cars were parked out front for not updating their tabs. And if I remember correctly the fine was pretty high for the type of offense.

Our tabs cost so much more now with the new truck that I wouldn't want to pay any more than I have to!

A Case of the Black Tongue

2010-03-07T19:31:00.002-06:00

Earlier this week I noticed something kind of freaky with Kate. Her tongue was black on the top back.

I noticed it when I was picking her up from daycare, and in the hustle and bustle of going home I forgot all about it.

I didn't see it again until yesterday, which of course made me wonder about it again. She doesn't seem to be acting differently, which helped to keep me from freaking out, but I was still curious about it.

So today when we were at Target, John and I bought a baby toothbrush (yes we are now these parents...crazy) to try and brush it off.

Well that didn't work, especially since Kate got pissed when we stuck something into her mouth that didn't have food on the end of it.

So I of course took to the Internet and found out that it was the medicine she was taking for her ear infection that caused it.

The only really bad part about it, is what it is called...

Black Tongue a.k.a. Hairy Tongue

Now that's just gross!

Messy Wall

2010-02-28T17:23:00.003-06:00

While Kate was sick she picked a morning, while I was trying my best to get out of the door and get to work, to redecorate the walls.

You would think that this type of issue would only happen with a little boy, or even with children who are old enough to hold markers or crayons...but nope our resourceful daughter found a way to do it as well.

As she was laying down on her changing pad and was unfortunately between diapers, she coughed. This wouldn't be an issue, except that she also had diarrhea.

I was in shock and watched "it" spray on the wall, on Kate, on the basket holding all of her diapering supplies, on her diapering supplies, and start to drip down the wall behind her dresser.

Yuck!

I cleaned her up, carried her into the bathroom and woke John up to help me out.

After more coughing and "it" in the bath tub as well as on the carpet, her butt was finally covered and we were out of harms way.

That didn't stop her from needing a new pair of pants half way through the day as well.

What a mess!

The Plague

2010-02-26T12:28:00.007-06:00

It has been quite a long time since my last post, but I have a good excuse...the bubonic plague has swept through our family and our house.

Okay, not really the bubonic plague, but probably the worst cold any of the three of us has gotten for a really long time, like years (or ever in Kate's case).

Thankfully it is almost completely gone and only is evident by my/Kate's/John's lingering phlegm coughs as well as Kate's daily medicine.

Last Wednesday is when it really started to hit me, and by Friday I could barely breathe without coughing up a lung. Soon this spread to Kate who was coughing (surprisingly sounding a lot like me even though she is so much smaller), full of snot, and had a fever.

Kate sitting in her Bumbo while I worked from home, this was the day before the night we brought her into the ER. Though she was sick, she was always smiling!

We ended up heading to the emergency room on Monday night with Kate and found out that she actually had an ear infection, hence the daily medication mentioned above. The reason that we went was because she was having trouble breathing, which was only due to the large amount of crud in her lungs from the cold.

Kate relaxing in her chair, unless she was sleeping this is as relaxed as she would get, the stinker.

So after having everyone in the family miss either work, daycare, or family events we are all finally on the mend.

Our house has been cleaned, which I swear is helping us to feel better. There is nothing like killing all of those cold germs with a little bit (a lot) of bleach!

Winter Olympics

2010-02-17T13:58:00.003-06:00

John is a huge fan of the Olympics, especially the Winter Olympics!

He has been gearing up for this week filled period of winter sports madness. To help explain how much he loves to watch them, they are on at our house basically from start to finish. Last night, he was even torn, in a dramatic way, because his favorite show Lost was going to be on at the same time as the Olympics.

Whew, well we made it through that crisis. : ) Thank goodness! Lost won out, but I bet he is kicking himself today since I hear there were some falls during the skiing last night that I bet he missed.

Anyways, he remembers watching the Olympics with his mother growing up. She is as equally thrilled with them as he is.

And what does a guy, who grew up with the tradition of watching the Olympics do when he becomes a daddy?

He shares that tradition with her of course. It looks like she is enjoying herself doesn't it? (He looks like he would be enjoying himself more if I took the camera out of his face!)

Kate's First Valentine

2010-02-16T07:15:00.004-06:00

Kate received her very first valentine from a boy on Friday. Should we be nervous?

Ha ha, just kidding.

One of the little boys at daycare, Luke, brought valentines for all of the kids there (now why didn't I think to do that)?

Just like most girls, when receiving gifts from boys, Kate was smitten. No, not with the boy, but with the valentine instead!

She has played with this valentine all weekend, it is starting to get a little ratty. But she sure does love it!

Who Needs a New Bag?!?

2010-02-12T14:56:00.005-06:00

Anyone need a new camera/diaper/whatever bag?

Head on over to MckMama's blog to sign up for her giveaway!

Good Luck!

A New Fan

2010-02-11T07:24:00.003-06:00

It's not uncommon for people to gravitate towards a baby. Even before I had a baby of my own I would be automatically drawn towards others that were carting them around, if not to talk to the person, just to sneak a quick peek at the baby all cute and cuddly.

Kate, just like all the other babies in the world, is right on track in this category. Lately she has even been smiling at strangers which really surprises me and of course delights them.

Just last night when we went to the gym she charmed another onlooker (ie. worker) and added her to her ever expanding posse of fans. When I went to pick up Kate from the childcare center at the gym, there was one worker (who I later learned only has little boys) who was really disappointed to see her go.

As I was walking in I noticed her sitting down with Kate on some mats with a book, ready to sit with her and read a story. How cute is that!?! I let her know that we would be back the next day, and she was pretty excited since she would be working. Hopefully Kate does just as well.

A little end note: I never expected the childcare at the gym to be so attentive to the kids. We go to the YMCA and the staff there is amazing! The fact that one of the caregivers was going to read Kate a story and give her attention like that really solidified why we chose this gym.

(P.S. Heidi - we had to switch from Snap to the YMCA for the child care option...don't be mad!)

Talk About Self-Sufficient

2010-02-09T07:28:00.004-06:00

John and I were lucky with Kate and thankfully continue to be. Now that statement could apply to everything about her, but this time I am actually talking about how our little girl has been a really good sleeper from the get go.

Every night she gets her PJ's on, has a bottle, and then we put her to bed in her crib. She is out like a light as soon as we turn on her little music machine hanging on her crib and shut the door.

On Monday morning though when she woke up I guess that she decided she would rather just go back to sleep...

...so she turned on her music machine all by herself!

I heard the faint music playing through the baby monitor and peeked in to see her moved over to the side of the crib next to the music machine with both of her hands up touching the machine where the on button is.

Pretty soon now she won't even need us anymore!

Swimming

2010-02-05T10:06:00.003-06:00

About a month ago Kate got to go swimming for the first time. At no surprise to John and myself, she loved it. Here's a short video of her letting us know how much she liked it, and then telling mom to turn off the camera!

And here is a video that I have been trying to find the time to upload for a while now. Kate has learned how to role from her tummy to her back, but often forgets that she knows this trick. So here is proof that she does know how to do it!

A Letter

2010-02-02T07:53:00.003-06:00

Dear Black Audi Driver,

I want to begin by apologizing for not driving as close as possible to the car's bumper in front of me on the way home, Monday night. On second thought, this may have caused a prime opportunity for you, which of course you realized as you whipped over to the right lane skipped ahead of me and squeezed yourself back over. If my caution awarded you a quicker trip home, as you were obviously in a hurry, I will have to say you are welcome.

When we reached 694 I thought that I was going to lose you as you quickly moved over to the lane on the right of us. I was afraid that I had lost my drive home entertainment.

Alas, I was pleasantly surprised, as I am sure you were not, when instead of changing lanes and taking the exit, you came careening back into the left lane in front of me again. It must be so frustrating to have to change lanes so many times, by the way it was five, only to find that you are not able to get ahead of the other "slow/cautious" cars like you wanted to. I just want to let you know that there is someone out there who understands.

I noticed as the drive progressed up the highway that your hand waving must have been aimed at the car in front of you or maybe even on the side. It seemed to me that neither of those drivers understood the hand signaling language you were using to purvey messages through your vehicle and into theirs. Or if they did, they chose to just ignore it.

This must have frustrated you further as I also noticed your quick jab out with your fist towards the item hanging from your mirror. Too bad this action only resulted in the hanging item falling down and you slamming your fist onto the dashboard.

I can only imagine the dire circumstances that caused you to be in such a hurry to get home last night. As you provided me with an entire drive's worth of roadside entertainment, I felt bad that you were not receiving something of equal value to you in return.

By the way your car is beautiful. It was obviously brand new as you still had the yellow license paper stuck up in the window. It may be wrong of me to assume, but could you have needed to purchase a new vehicle after your driving heroics caused the demise of your old one? I hope not, as you definitely showed me how much you value your property as well as everyone else's around you through your close driving capabilities.

I will end this letter to you with another apology. To you I must apologize, not on my behalf, but on the behalf of the other 30 or so drivers that accompanied us home on Monday night. We collectively apologize that snowy and icy conditions can cause us to travel more cautiously. We also apologize that this cautiousness was not convenient to your schedule and that you were unable to change that for you.

Next time you are out, and are unable to navigate the roads in the quick manner that you crave, remember that more often than not, it is actions like yours on Monday night that will cause increased traffic congestion and in the end will cause your very apparent foul mood.

Good luck on all of your driving adventures in the future. Please do not take this personal, but I hope to never meet you on an icy/snowy road again, and I am pretty sure that the car in front of you would agree.

Best Regards,

Emily

P.S. Please let me know if you need a shop reference for your brake replacement, I can only imagine after such increased use as Monday night that they will need to be changed very soon.

Tummy Time Just got Harder

2010-01-27T07:36:00.003-06:00

So Kate has again pulled a new trick out for us to see. She can now roll over from her belly to her back. This means that during our forced tummy time (I say forced because she definitely does not like it) she can now just roll over and end her own torture.

Yesterday while catching this on video I would put her back onto her tummy just to have her immediately, and I mean immediately, roll back over.

Ah well, what can ya do?

Sick

2010-01-22T16:21:00.003-06:00

Our little Punkin' is sick. Not fun.

She woke up last night a couple of times, which is very out of character. Her crying was different, almost like she added a squeal to the end of it.

In the end I ended up downstairs on the couch watching I am Legend at 2am, with her cuddled up in multiple blankets until she fell asleep (ie. 3:30).

When I woke her up before leaving for work to feed her she was running a slight temp and then proceeded to fill three diapers in a half hour, ick!

Anyways, I was able to work from home and take care of her...which basically meant letting her sleep all day.

I never knew how easy it would be to care for a sick kid. Granted, the waking up part wasn't fun, but since she doesn't ever really do that I guess we could suffer through one night.

The really funny/sad part is though that even through all of the extra diapers, temp, and snot (who knew a person so little could produce so much) she still is smiling, most of the time.

That is what makes dealing with all of it easy.

Kate and Peyton Playtime

2010-01-21T07:00:00.006-06:00

You know you are a parent of an infant, when another infant spits up and you go to catch it in your hand...

Last night Kate and I headed on over to hang out with Chris and Peyton. Peyton is three months older than Kate, which means she is quite a bit more mobile...and has to just take what Peyton gives her.

Peyton kept tugging at her clothes, and I think trying to pet her head. : ) Then she started going for Kate's Nuk...which is something that one of Kate's other friends does as well (Reese).

I'm pretty sure though that Kate had a blast. She has started chewing on her tongue as of yesterday, could this be something that Peyton taught her to do?

Peyton is the biggest ham in the world, and with her super cute cheeks I don't know how you can't just fall in love with her! : ) It doesn't help that she makes cute Monkey sounds when she "talks" to you or gets excited. Oh and when I was holding her later in the night she laid her head down on my chest and cuddled in. My heart definitely melted. Kate didn't seem to mind.

Here are a couple pictures of our night, I would have had more but my learning curve on the new camera is pretty big.

Peyton, about ready to crawl.

Peyton close up!

"Hey, Kate is using my toy, not fair!"

Kate playing in Peyton's excersaucer.

Peyton has Kate's toy (in her mouth) but that isn't why she is upset...she's hungry.

This one looks like Peyton giving Kate her toy back...

Nope! But she'll show Kate how this other toy works!

Doesn't Fit

2010-01-20T07:21:00.005-06:00

Last night when I was picking Kate up from daycare I noticed that she had a different outfit on than when I picked her up.

Uh oh.

That means a mess of some sort happened during the day, the other big clue of this was the plastic sack tied to the side of her carrier with her clothes in it.

Anyways, I had been thinking off and on that I had to remember to send some more clothes to daycare with Kate since I was sure she had grown out of the extra clothes we had previously provided. Low and behold, the outfit she had on fit just fine.

At first I was really confused, because I knew the outfits we had given Joyce were size three months. If Kate doesn't fit into any of the other three month sized outfits that she owns how in the world does she fit into this one, and it was kind of loose?!

Do you want to know how?

It wasn't hers! Ha ha. It was an old one left over from one of the older girls Lila.

I washed it up last night and sent it right back with her, oh well. In the end I guess it all works out.

But guess what, even though I sent back the outfit that fit her that was Lila's, I again forgot to pack in some of her own that fit her as well!

Kate's Fifth Month Slideshow

2010-01-17T21:54:00.002-06:00

I just finished a slideshow of pictures from Kate's fifth month.

Here's the link:

From Movies

Kate the Screaming Pterodactyl

2010-01-15T05:58:00.002-06:00

Here's a little clip to the new soundtrack of our house, let me tell you, cute can only go so far...

From Movies

Five Months Old

2010-01-15T05:51:00.003-06:00

Kate is Five months old today!

(this picture would be a whole lot cuter without the spit up!)

Cable Guy

2010-01-14T14:30:00.002-06:00

(being said in the totally creepy way Jim Carey said it in that same title movie.)

Does anyone have any good, funny, frustrating, or even creepy stories relating to service people that have come to their homes to perform work? Well now we do!

A couple of weeks ago John and I decided to switch from our two separate Internet and satellite providers and bundle together with one.

Last night was our scheduled install time, from 4-6pm.

The service installer guy arrived at about 4:30. It was just Kate and myself home, so the house was pretty quite and it was getting close to her dinner time.

I quickly showed him where he should hook the new box up as well as where we wanted the Internet to come in. Then he got to work.

Not ten minutes after he had been there he asked to use our bathroom.

Now I understand that working in a position that puts you in people's homes, that there may come a time where you will have to use their facilities.

My husband's job puts him in people's homes quite a bit, but he does not even remember a time where he even thought to ask the customer if he could use their bathroom...

anyways...

I had him use the bathroom downstairs as it is void of any personal items, and fifteen minutes and one two minute phone call (that I could hear) later he was back to work.

That's right, he spent fifteen minutes in our bathroom. Let me rephrase that...he spent fifteen minutes in a stranger's personal bathroom while working. What amount of time would he have taken if he used the upstairs bathroom where I wasn't around? I am pretty sure I know what kind of bathroom was happening in there, but will not state it for the record, though I don't know how he could ever have the nerve to do that!?!

I sat there, feeding Kate, hoping that this was one of those days she would be a noisy eater. Fat chance! Go figure that the house was dead silent and I could hear everything. Lovely.

I will have to admit that the remainder of the time he was there (until around 7pm, I know...forever) I was a bit uncomfortable around him.

The best part of the whole event was watching John's face when I told him. It was right after he went upstairs to introduce himself and while making small talk asked about any crazy happenings on the job (people who have to go into other people's homes love to share their war stories).

I'm pretty sure even John hadn't heard this one before!

Oh Mr. Sun

2010-01-12T08:58:00.003-06:00

"Oh Mr. sun, sun, Mr. golden sun, please shine down on me..."

To any of you out there does this line instantly bring to mind the sweet and fun croonings of Raffi?

Well to me it does, almost instantly, and it isn't just becuase Kate received her first Raffi cd for Christmas and it has been playing in our house. It is probably the same album that I had as a child but of course not in tape form!

My musically inclined child (who loves it when you sing to her, thank goodness she hasn't started critiquing me yet!) is lucky enough to listen to Raffi at least a couple of times a week.

And when I say listen, I mean to the entire cd. So in honor of Kate's luckiness I have decided to share some Raffi with all of you. Here are some of my favorites, Kates to be decided...

Baby Beluga (this is the first song I ever sang to Kate)

Baby Beluga - Raffi

Day O (one of my all-time favorites, you don't even need a kid to get into this one!)

Day O - Raffi

Apples and Bananas (always there at the back of my mind to pull out if a singing distraction is needed!)

Apples and Bananas - Raffi

Peanut Butter Sandwich (I distinctly remember how much I loved this song as a kid)

Peanut Butter Sandwich - Raffi

Stop Being so Snotty!

2010-01-08T07:31:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure if this is a normal kid thing, or if we just lucked out (lucked being said in a very ironic-type tone).

Ever since the first bit of windchill decided to bless us all in this freezing cold state, Kate's nose has been plugged. Well not 100 percent of the time, but off and on. I would say it is on and off like a faucet, but usually it doesn't drip, but instead gets all full and stuck in her cute tiny button of a nose.

Because of this she was introduced to her #1 nemesis, the nose saline solution. This nemesis of course does not travel alone, but always brings her #2 nemesis, the nose sucker. Ahhhhh (a scared scream)!

I got the tip to use the nose saline from my friend Chris, I will thank her but I am not sure that Kate will. At that time Chris also told me that it really works to slightly prop up the crib mattress at one end to decrease the stuffiness accumulated while sleeping. I never tried this, don't ask me why, until Monday night.

It works! I don't know why I would ever think it wouldn't as all other tips and tricks she has given me have proven to be quite effective as well!

The other day due to Kate's very loud and tearful protest to me squeezing the saline solution up her nose, I decided to not squeegee and see where that left us.

It left us with an adorable girl, looking not as adorable with tons of dried bugs all over her face/hands/etc.

Of course I had to clean her up, but it was bath day so in the end it worked perfectly.

As I carried her into the bathroom and set her in the tub, in true embarrassing parent fashion, I switched around the lyrics to Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face" (which I don't really know anyways) to be:

Kate has a, Kate has a
Kate has a buger face
Kate has a, Kate has a
Kate has a buger face

B-b-b-buger face, b-b-buger face
B-b-b-buger face, b-b-buger face

Kinda catchy isn't it? : )

Tattle Tale

2010-01-06T07:32:00.002-06:00

John was informed yesterday morning by Joyce, Kate's daycare provider, that Kate has turned into a bit of a tattle tale! (Let me assure you that she thinks this is funny, and is in no way telling us something that we need to change about our four month old daughter!)

Every morning while the older kids eat breakfast, Kate sits at the table in her bumbo chair and watches them.

She really loves to watch kids, of any size/age/type. So I am sure this is probably one of her favorite times of the day.

Joyce happens to have a golden doodle dog named Kirby, who I am sure just loves it when the older kids "drop" (yeah right) food on the ground so that he can eat it.

Kate now though has decided to start making a squawk when anyone drops food on the floor. Is it because she wants it? Is it because she knows in our house that Nora and Puller (the beagles) love to "clean" the floor?

Joyce thinks she is letting her know that something is dropped, but I am pretty sure it is Kirby that she is giving the heads up to!

Do you fondue?

2010-01-02T10:51:00.003-06:00

We do!

Lutefisk

2010-01-02T10:12:00.004-06:00

My husband, John, has been teasing my dad that for our Christmas meal what he really wanted was Lutefisk. Well he didn't get it on Christmas...but the other night, he did!

Here are the heating/eating instructions the store sent home with my dad.

Lutefisk before cooking.

My Dad, excited to try the Lutefisk.

Into the microwave, yes the directions did say to cook it in the microwave (interesting and appalling, I know)!

Kate was not a fan of the Lutefisk/microwave smell.

Ta da! Done!

The Lutefisk did actually make its way to the dinner table.

We also had lefsa.

John getting the Lutefisk ready to try for the first time (also known as dousing the fish in butter, salt, and pepper).

John was brave enough to try the first bite.

All in all it wasn't awful. Besides the interesting texture, it basically tasted like butter, salt, and pepper. With the smell it created while cooking I was sure it would taste really fishy, but I didn't actually get any fish flavor from it at all.

No one really wanted to eat a huge portion of it, so tell me, what do you do with food you don't want to eat in a house that has a dog?

That's right, it went from being our dinner to being Darby's. Lucky for her my dad also mixed in some normal dog food.

First she basically just smelled around in it and looked up at us a couple of times, probably weary to what we had given her to eat.

She finally started eating, but really only picking through the fish to get to the dog food. In the end all that was left in the bowl was fish. There was less than what was put in, but I am guessing that she wasn't able to get it all off of her food and had to sacrifice eating some in the process.

Thanks dad, for a memorable meal and another thing that we can cross off of our list!

I don't think that John will ever request it again!

A Secret Love Affair

2010-01-01T14:50:00.006-06:00

**Warning** The following post may be too graphic for some readers...

Ha ha, just kidding.

I would like to share though, my secret love affair with a certain fast food restaurant. Some of my friends and family may know exactly which restaurant I am talking about, but most others will not.

If you do not, please do not feel offended that I haven't shared this most important secret with you, I only told those who do know on a need-to-know basis!

The first time I ever had food from this fast food restaurant, we'll call it X for now, was the day after I had my wisdom teeth out. (There are rumors that when we were younger my grandma would take us there sometimes, though all I remember is going to the Old Country Buffet with her!) Due to the food's softer consistency, and my strange lack of major pain (until a green bean got stuck back in there three days later), it was a perfect fit.

Boy was I glad that I had those wisdom teeth out! Without that experience I would never have had the need to eat softer food, and would probably have never had that most wonderful experience.

I carried this growing love for X into college, where one night during my freshman year my car actually broke down in the drive through. That was it, I needed help. That meant I had to start letting some people know that I actually at there! Thankfully I was able to dig through my mental list of friends to find a few that liked it as well, and would not ridicule me for my choices.

Though one roommate did find out about that night, and loved to bring it up to me with a huge grin on her face! I say that she didn't know what she was missing!

Through college we often would stop at X after a night of drinking to stabilize our stomachs. Eating at X was an okay standard to do after drinking and no one was ashamed of doing it then. The difference with my feelings for X is that I loved it even without the excuse of alcohol. But did I ever let anyone know, of course not!

My husband, John, also likes X. He does know how much I love X, but he cannot eat it like he could when we were younger (for reasons I will be happy to not share here).

When I got pregnant I thought, "This is the perfect excuse to eat at X all the time, and I can just blame it on cravings!"

That did not work as well as I thought. The first time I went to X after being pregnant it tasted to me like fish. My heart was broken...nine whole months with no food from X. And would this awful taste mind trick ever go away, what if after I had the baby it would still taste fishy to me? (I later learned that all dill pickles had that flavor for me during that time).

Kate is now four-and-a-half months old and I still have not tried it again.

Today I was on my own for lunch, and was thinking to myself what I should have...a Lean Cuisine or a salad of course! Did that happen? Of course not!

So I jumped in my car and headed for X. It had been too long, and I needed to prove to myself that my love for it was still there. The anticipation of my reconnection with X increased the weight of my foot on the gas pedal, which quickly made me realize that I was almost out of gas.

No worries, just a slight detour at the gas station and I was back on my way.

Finally I got to X, and ordered what I wanted from the drive through (of course I am too embarrassed to actually get out of the car and go in to get my food). Back on the road I couldn't wait to break into my meal, and guess what...

...it again was probably one of the best things I have ever eaten, and my life was whole again.

What you ask could be the purveyor of such fine food? Where is this fast food restaurant and what is it's name? Well here's a little hint, a picture of what I ate (but two with cheese):

That is right, my secret is out. I LOVE WHITE CASTLE. Funny as I type this I am almost excited to get my secret out into the world, maybe this will help lower the shame I often feel when eating it...or maybe not.

Ah well, I just hope that I can get Kate to like it just as much. What could be a better bonding experience than a mother-daughter secret trip to White Castle for lunch...I can't think of anything!

What do you do?

2009-12-30T07:41:00.003-06:00

What do you do when you get home from work? I usually reach right into the car seat that holds my little pumpkin, loosen and unstrap all of her multiple harnesses, and pull her up for a good snuggle and squeeze.

As you know we have recently switched over to full-time formula. There were a few bags of breast milk left, lonely in the freezer. We decided it would be easiest to send them with her to day care until they were gone. I may have changed my mind about that now...

Every day that Kate consumes the frozen breast milk, she spits up more. Before I thought that breast milk stunk less than formula, but that was not bringing into mention "frozen" breast milk. All I can even think about when I cuddle her close, as her neck and sometimes clothes reek of stinky milk, is how fast I can get her upstairs into a bath while holding my breath!

Yesterday when I picked her up, there was not much smell to be smelled. Testing my good fortune I brought Kate upstairs and began to play with some new (from Christmas) toys with her.

While changing her diaper the first bit of spit up decided to arrive...and let me tell you, even one small drop is enough to stop my nose in its tracks!

After outfit change #1 we sat on the floor to play. Not long after our sitting up escapades had begun, the river of spit up began to flow again.

No problem, I thought. While on the floor I quick whipped her out of outfit #1 and into outfit #3. A couple of swipes with a wipe later and we were good to go again.

Of course, after a flow that large there couldn't possibly be any more to come up...right? Wrong!

The river of spit up overflowed again, now onto the third outfit of Kate's day.

That was it, I decided that at this point a bath was eminent. Instead of tarnishing another outfit before bath time Kate and I continued our playing with her only in her diaper. Have I told you how much my kid loves being naked now?

Later that night John commented on how much laundry that Kate had...little did he know how it all got there!

Not Me Monday

2009-12-29T07:00:00.004-06:00

Have you ever done something, seen something, said something, or even heard something that caused you to stop and think, am I really doing this.

Or have you ever stopped after actually doing/saying something and thought to yourself, did I really just do/say that?

If so, MckMama has created a way for us to voice these crazy happenings. So if you do not have any to share, at least check out the "not me" Monday postings on others blogs, they will make you feel better about your own "not me" moments!

This week...

...it was not me who woke up at 3:15am and stayed up just so that I could take a longer shower in the morning, imagine the water bill this month!

...it couldn't have been me who ate dessert for breakfast three days in a row...and still counting!

...i never would have given my daughter a bath as soon as I got home because no matter how cute she is it is hard to snuggle with a stinky-milk-necked baby!

...and finally I never would have reached into my pocket to grab my keys while walking towards my car, thinking of what to make for dinner, humming a song in my head, and talking on the phone and not notice that the pink nuk in my hands will not unlock the door after all!

She Gets That From...The Beagles?

2009-12-23T11:35:00.003-06:00

Last night in her bath, Kate decided to pull out one of her brand new tricks since she had the undivided attention of both her mommy and daddy.

While John was talking to her (also known as sounding like a crazy person, which is an ailment most adults contract when within five feet of any infant or toddler) she was watching him and then she tilted her head to the side. Right away she brought it back up like nothing happened and John and I both kind of stopped. Then she did it again, and again, and even went back and forth from side to side.

(I will try my best to get this on camera, but as most people know, once the camera is out it becomes much more interesting than what was happening before.)

John thinks that it could be because he tilts his head when talking to her sometimes.

I think it is from all that time she spends watching her friends, the Beagles.

When talking to either Beagle, but especially Puller (I know, only crazy people talk to their dogs right?) they will often tilt their head as if to say, "I don't understand", or "I sympathise", or even "I am trying to figure out what you are saying to me".

We have many, and I mean many, pictures of them holding this pose, none of which I have handy to post along with this right now.

Great...my baby is going to be a Beagle when she grows up!

Just like at the Deli Counter

2009-12-22T08:58:00.002-06:00

I used to work in a grocery store, at the deli counter. I have had plenty of experience with the calling numbers method that is used at most locations.

It seems that this method may also soon find itself applicable with my family...

We have a suggestion from some family members, that when arriving at my parents' house on Christmas day, that each person would get a number. Then, every so often (timed period of course) a new number would be called. I am sure you wonder what would happen when this number is called, don't you?

The person with the number that is called will then be able to, for their allotted period of time...

hold Kate!

Ha, ha, ha! This funny idea definitely gave me a well-needed chuckle at work today!

As long as everyone plays fair, we shouldn't have to resort to these drastic measures.

Advice for the next grandchild to have a baby...

have multiples!

Merry Christmas from the Taylors

2009-12-22T08:38:00.004-06:00

Kate's Four Month Slideshow

2009-12-20T14:41:00.003-06:00

The Great Diaper Debate

2009-12-18T12:07:00.002-06:00

If you have had the privilege of parenting, grandparenting, or caring for a child in diapers you will agree with me that the amount of brands and types can be dizzying.

Because we are new parents, and also because we knew that there couldn't be that much of a difference between the premium priced diapers and the value diapers, John and I decided it would be best for us to try out a bunch of brands.

Below are listed the brands that we have tried and what we thought of them. This is only based off of our experience which means that other peoples' experiences may be different since no two kids are exactly alike. In case you happen to have a child that is exactly like Kate, this will help you shop for diapers for her/him.

Pampers Swaddlers (est. $0.23 each): One of the best, but also one of the most expensive. They hold throughout an entire night without leaking, unless there is more than one type of filler (if you know what I mean).

Pampers Baby Dry (est. $0.20 each): We liked these a lot as well, but were pretty much comparable to the Luvs brand if you don't count which type of character design is on the diaper.

Huggies Little Snugglers (est. $0.25 each): By far my favorite diaper! They are comparable to the pampers in their holdability but they have an inside flap in the back of the diaper. Do you know what that flap saves? It saves John and I time, wet wipes, a load of laundry, and most importantly it saves our daughter's back from being covered in you know what! If I have a coupon and these are on sale I will always buy them, but only then.

Huggies Regular (est. $0.24 each): Comparable to the Luvs.

Target Brand (est. $0.13 each): At first we thought that these would be the diapers we would always use. They are by far one of the cheapest and seem to be okay. After using them for a while we realized that we had to change them more often and therefor were not actually saving money.

Luvs (est. $.16 each): These are the diapers that we will probably purchase from now on, on a regular basis (except for the times that we buy Huggies). They seem to be exactly the same as both Pampers and Huggies regular types but are significantly lower in price.

All in all, for a newborn I would purchase the Pampers swaddlers. But after their belly button heals then I would definitely switch on over to the Luvs. When you look back as your child gets older you will be proud of yourself for saving almost half of what you may have paid while purchasing Pampers or Huggies!

Revving Her Engine

2009-12-17T08:14:00.002-06:00

Yesterday when I got home I had to go through the mail and the large stack of packages outside our door. Kate seems to like the Christmas tree lights quite a bit so I decided to put her in her Bumbo chair in front of the tree.

While I was opening/organizing/tossing I could hear her making noises at the tree. These noises were new and weren't like the "talking" that she has done in the past. The noises were more like a very small car, revving its engine over and over again.

At the time I thought it was pretty funny, and kept on going through what I was working on.

About ten minutes later she started to fuss a little and I was done, so I went over to see what was wrong...

About ten feet from her the pungent aroma hit my nostrils. By the time I made it upstairs with her (it smelled too rank to change her on the pad downstairs) I was practically gagging at the stench!

Ten wipes, an impromptu load of laundry, and a bath later I had one very happy and talkative little girl.

I guess I have learned my lesson...

Revving does not equal cute, it equals mess!

Four Months

2009-12-16T07:33:00.002-06:00

Our little pumpkin turned four months old yesterday!

This month has brought us some of the biggest changes so far for Kate.

She is weighing in at 14.5 pounds and is 24.75 inches long. This moves her from the 50th percentile in height and weight to the 75th percentile. We knew all that sleeping and eating was good for something...growing!

She is fitting into 3-6 month clothes now, in length anyways. The arms on all of her shirts are too long and the shirts themselves are way too wide. We may have a tall little girl on our hands...wonder where she got that from (in case you didn't know already, John and I are the tallest siblings by at least a head in both of our families)?

She has finally mastered the art of sitting in her Bumbo and loves to watch either myself or John make dinner, we like to call her our little sous chef!

Besides sitting in her Bumbo she loves to sit on peoples laps and has recently started whining unless you support her standing on your lap! The other day I propped her at an angle on our big chair and she pulled herself all the way into the sitting position...looks like we may have to start keeping a closer eye on her!

One of her favorite tricks besides sticking her tongue out at Grandma is to reach into her mouth and grab ahold of her tongue, it is quite a site when she smiles, sticks her tongue out, and still has ahold of it!

She is eating cereal every night for dinner and has recently started eating peas with that cereal. I think she is really enjoying eating food because yesterday when being held she went for a fry that her holder, Sue, was going to eat. After she realized that it wasn't going into her mouth she started to wail. I don't know how to explain to her that she is not ready for that solid of foods yet (if she is anything like her two cousins those fries will end up being only a way to get ketchup and ranch into her mouth)!

Talking has become one of her favorite past times. She talks to the dogs, cats, herself in the mirror, her hand, other people, the closet, the hanging toys, etc. Again, not too sure where she gets that from either! : )

With all of the new things she is learning each day I know that it will only get more exciting, probably both for her and for us. We can't wait!

Lion's Christmas Project

2009-12-15T07:21:00.003-06:00

Kate and I are on our way to volunteer at the Lion's Christmas Project today. I'm pretty sure that I will be doing all of the heavy lifting (wrapping) while Kate just soaks in all the attention that she will be getting from Grandma and Grandpa.

To get everyone in the holiday spirit I have finally remembered to upload the picture of Kate with Santa!

Enjoy!

Making Peace With It

2009-12-14T11:57:00.002-06:00

Since Kate was born she has been drinking breast milk. The amount that she drinks has differed greatly over her first four months. We have needed to feed her both formula and breast milk since birth.

Unfortunately I have never been able to produce the amount of breast milk that Kate is hungry for or needs. This has been a constant challenge for me over the last four months that has caused me both aggravation and increased emotions.

It has gotten to the point now where I can only express up to 12 ounces each day, when Kate is eating between 36 and 40.

I have tried the herbs and teas, increased water, etc.

Finally, today I have gotten to the point where I need to make a decision.

Is it worth the extra grief that I put myself through? She has technically been on breast milk now for four months, which is really good.

At this point I have finally made peace with the idea of feeding her only formula for milk. She doesn't seem to notice one bit between the two, and is happy either way.

I guess this means I better dust off my old gym card...since those extra calories I was burning will be burnt no more!

Christmas at Macy's

2009-12-13T08:33:00.002-06:00

We started a new family tradition yesterday, maybe one that will grow some more in the future.

John, Kate and I went to Macy's downtown to see the holiday display. The theme of the display this year is "A Day in the Life of an Elf".

This was the first time going to this event for both Kate and John, and after getting there John made a comment about how much he would have loved it as a kid.

I remember going as a kid, but this always included waiting in a super long line. The long wait takes some of the fun out of it, but not for us yesterday.

For some reason we arrived at the perfect lull in the action. There was no line to get to the displays and only about a fifteen minute wait for Santa. Definately worth it!

Kate did great, and sat on Santa's lap without a peep! The picture turned out so cute and we were able to get it digitally on a flash drive which is really nice. It was a bit spendy to do this but for $19.99 plus tax we got the one picture on the flash drive and parking validation. We figured no matter what other package we purchased, after paying $9.00 in parking this option was best.

Plus, now I can share her super cute photo with all of you (once I can remember to upload it)!

Peas

2009-12-10T10:23:00.002-06:00

My grandma hated vegetables...

My mom hates peas...

Kate loves them!

We started Kate on cereal about two weeks ago. Our little girl decided that even after eating gallons of breast milk and formula, that she should start waking up at night crying for more food.

The cereal transition has gone over seamlessly, we were both really surprised at her innate ability to eat from a spoon (a little tip for those who haven't had this experience yet, the thicker it is the easier it is for them to eat.)

So last night, just for kicks we decided to add some peas in with her cereal. John mixed in half a container (thanks mom for the shower game/food gift) and set her up to chow down.

After her first taste, she screwed up her face and kind of looked at John like "what are you feeding me now?" At that point I think we both thought we were embarking on an uphill battle.

**Side Note**
One of my biggest fears is to have kids that are afraid to eat anything except pizza and hot dogs (though John and I like those things, they get old really fast!).

John and I would not be deterred, our Kate was going to like peas and vegetables if we had to force feed them to her until she succumbed!

Thankfully that type of behavior was not necessary since after a couple more bites she was practically begging for more. And by begging I mean short little whimperings that soon turn into large wails if the spoon does not hit her mouth with food in it!

So my baby likes peas, is it weird that something this small feels like an accomplishment to me?

Christmas Presents

2009-12-09T07:28:00.004-06:00

What in the world do you buy for a four month old baby at Christmas?

Our families seem to be picking up the toy department for the holidays, so John and I weren't sure what we should do.

At one point we thought we would just deposit some cash in her savings account, which we might still do.

Then, I had a great idea!

Every little kid needs a suitcase to carry their things to grandma and grandpa's house, don't they?

I found the cutest little suitcase with wheels at Pottery Barn Kids and even was able to get her name embroidered on it. (Picture Kate on it instead of Ella).

I know that Christmas in the first couple of years is more for the adults than for the kids, but I can't help but buy something for her. It is amazing how much fun I get out of shopping for her, which is something she will probably enjoy when she gets older and wants to go to the mall!

Pretzel M&Ms

2009-12-08T13:52:00.001-06:00

Today my boss Kim pulled me into her office to try something new that she had...

Pretzel M&Ms!

Tiny balls of pretzel covered in chocolate and then the trademark candy coating.

I only got one, but it was awesome!

I went online to the M&M website, and they weren't even listed there, must be too new.

Anyways, if you happen to see them around I would definately suggest them!

Over-Tired

2009-12-07T11:28:00.001-06:00

We officially know what it is like to have an “over-tired” child.

Kate spent the night at John’s parents’ house on Saturday, and it seems she had so much fun that she forgot to sleep. Darlene said that she slept through the night, but I think that on Saturday night the excitement of being around a bunch of people ready to give her attention caused her to skip her nap.

We got her home on Sunday and I wanted to give her a bath. But when I sat her down on her changing table to start undressing her the tears sprung forward. Even after getting her completely naked (which she usually loves), she continued crying. As I picked her up to carry her into the bathroom she quieted down. Then, halfway through the air towards the tub she started up again.

This was the first bath since she was a newborn that she cried to, let’s just say I made it quick. Finally I was able to get her diapered and dressed, still through more crying. John picked her up and cuddled her close and she started quieting down.

We decided to try a bottle due to the ferociousness in how she attacked her nuk at that point. Six ounces later I had one happy, smiling, and talking baby.

Thankfully, not much longer after that she tuckered out. Whew, not fun! This morning though she was still tired but back to being smiley!

Daddy's Girl

2009-12-01T10:56:00.002-06:00

Could Kate look any more like John in this picture?

Shocking!

2009-11-30T12:22:00.002-06:00

Walking into my parents' house is always a big event. We usually have more than one bag and a carseat full of Kate.

My parents' dog Darby may be the happiest and clutsiest big ball of fun that I have ever seen.

On Sunday John was carrying Kate in her carseat, as usually Darby bounded down the stairs straight for him. Luckily John was able to grab ahold of her collar to calm her down, when all of a sudden he felt a vibrating on his hand.

My dad had hit the vibrate on Darby's training collar...good think it wasn't the shocker!

Kate's First Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T21:36:00.000-06:00

Overnight With Grandma

2009-11-20T15:19:00.002-06:00

Tonight John and I are heading out to celebrate a friend's birthday. Since this is an adults only event, we quickly found ourselves a suitable babysitter...

GRANDMA!!

Babysitting while we were gone quickly turned into an overnight with Grandma. This will be the first time that Kate won't be with us overnight.

Of course I completely trust my mom, and know that Kate will be perfectly fine.

The one who may not be perfectly fine is me. But like taking off a band-aid, I should get this first over night out of the way.

I'm sure it will be hard, but on the upside I will be able to sleep in! : ) (Which to me means around 6:00am)

As Big as Reese

2009-11-19T17:15:00.003-06:00

The other day as I was picking Kate up from her swing I stopped for a second and looked at her. I realized at that point that she is now as big as Reese was when she and her mom Heidi came to visit us in the hospital.

At that point I of course could not fathom that my small tiny peanut would ever be that big, or even bigger.

Once I realized that I just had to stop and smile, I really can't believe how much she is growing. It is amazing how much fun it is to be with her as she gets bigger and learns new things.

Then I thought of sweet Reesie Lou and decided it was about darn time to see her again, as well as Heidi of course!

I know I have mentioned this before, but it is such a wonderful gift to have two friends with daughters that are about three months older than Kate. As I watch both Reese and Peyton grow up, I get a little preview of what to expect with Kate.

And let me tell you, it only makes me more excited!

Naked Baby

2009-11-18T07:17:00.002-06:00

My once freeze baby of a little girl has now become the incredible naked baby!

It seems that Kate has now accumulated enough fat on her body so that when she has no clothes on she isn't freezing cold anymore. This change happened slowly, starting with her not crying when her diaper came off. Next she seemed fine while her clothes were changed.

Finally, she has gotten to the point where she loves to be naked.

Yesterday I decided to let her "air out" for a little bit on top of her changing pad. As soon as she had everything off, she was moving around like crazy. There were kicks, leg lifts, arm flails, and punches galore. She had even started rubbing around on her belly trying to grab it with her hands.

Along with this activity, she worked out a couple of good stinkers of course. After hearing, and smelling, a couple I started to get nervous. As most people have heard "Where there's smoke, there's fire."

So I reached down to get a diaper to quickly attach to her cannon of a bottom. When I stood back up the protective sheet over the diaper pad was wet (thank goodness it has a plastic lining) and she gave me the biggest smile.

While I was cleaning it all up, and laughing of course, she continued smiling away seemingly proud of herself for sneaking it out on me like that. What a stinker!

Three Months

2009-11-16T11:15:00.002-06:00

Kate is now three months old, here she is doing one of her favorite things (swinging in her baby swing).

A Love Affair With the Man in the Brown Truck

2009-11-16T11:01:00.002-06:00

There's no need to worry, this is not a post about a trashy romance straight out of my Grandma's old novels! It is a post about the love affair our beagles have with the UPS man.

When John and I got married we had a lot of gifts delivered to our house. This is the first time that our beagles, Nora and Puller, met the UPS man. Every time that he stopped to deliver a package when I was home, he would give the dogs each a treat.

Now this treat was not the normal small-sized milk bones that we give them, but was the extra large sized milk bones made for dogs the size of a mastiff. I am sure they thought it was one of the best things they had ever received.

It was basically love at first bribe.

Not long after this first meeting the dogs began to recognize the UPS truck and would bark hysterically whenever they would see it, no matter if they were inside or out.

Then, one day I opened up the door to pick up a package that was delivered when we were gone, and there were two dog treats sitting on top of the package. It seems that the UPS man didn't want to dogs to feel left out even if they weren't outside when he came by.

A couple of weeks later, on a Saturday, John let the dogs outside and immediately they started barking like crazy. He got up and started to go outside when he saw the UPS man driving down our street. The driver slowed down by our house, did not stop, but tossed out two bones that the beagles quickly gobbled up. The driver waived at John and continued on his way.

This special relationship is strengthened almost weekly through the tossing of treats out of the moving UPS truck as well as the treats that are left on our delivered packages.

Now I'm sure that there are others out there that have great delivery people, but I just wanted to take a minute to let people know how much our dogs love our favorite UPS driver!

Oh What A Night

2009-11-13T09:46:00.002-06:00

Whooeee, what a night we had last night!

Little miss Kate did not sleep very well at all. Thank goodness this is an unusual happening instead of the norm!

She went down at 9:30 and proceeded to wake up twice with John and twice with me, until she woke up for the fifth time at 1:30 in the morning with me again.

We tried changing her diaper, giving her the nuk, cuddling her, turning on her rain forest music machine, feeding her, etc. But no matter what as soon as we sat down with her or laid her down, she went crazy. Go figure that we ran out of batteries in the swing the day before and had not replenished yet (this is usually her favorite thing). The bouncy chair was just not going to work as a substitute.

Finally, I started singing to her...much to my surprise this worked! I started with some Raffi classics, then moved onto some nursery rhymes, finally in my sleep deprived state of mind I had no clue of what else to sing.

And of course as soon as I stopped she would start to whimper again.

Then I had a great idea (given to me by Kool 108) to start singing Christmas songs. After one round of "It's the most wonderful time of the year" and "Silent Night", she was down for the count.

So the other day when I shook me head as Kool 108 was playing some Christmas music (way to early in the year) I didn't realize that it would come in handy!

Kate's Funny Feet

2009-11-12T20:12:00.002-06:00

Here's a video showing how Kate likes to touch things with her feet instead of her hands. I swear she is more coordinated with them than anything else!

http://www.youtube.com/taylormadefamily3#p/a/u/0/0uEd7Ijubik

I Did an Awful Thing

2009-11-12T07:09:00.003-06:00

Last night on my way to dinner with my mom, I hit a dog with my car.

I barely saw it as it crossed the white line, and slammed on my brakes just as I hit it. Right away I couldn't believe that it had just happened, and pulled over onto the side of the road and turned on my hazard lights.

I kind of sat there for a second, maybe in a little bit of shock. Then I realized that I had Kate in the back and #1 shouldn't be sitting on the side of the highway in the dark and #2 didn't feel comfortable turning the car around and driving back to the gas station (by where the dog ran into the road).

As I was sitting there I saw in my rear view mirror, someone walk out into the road, pick up the dog, and walk back. I couldn't really see much more since it was dark. At this point I wasn't sure if I should wait there, go back to talk to the person, or keep on going.

It changes everything that Kate was in the car with me, and that it was just the two of us alone. When you have your young child with you in this type of situation, their well being greatly supersedes any other thought process that you might be having, or trying to have.

So I called 911, not really knowing what to do in this situation, and while I was waiting for the cop to come I pulled onto a side road right next to where I currently was. I finally gathered up the courage to get out of the car and look at where the dog hit. I was so afraid that any blood or hair left on the vehicle would cause me to completely freak out, that it took me a while to calm down enough to look.

I couldn't really see anything, so I got back in the car to wait. When the cop showed up he took a look and shined his flashlight there so that I could see as well. I explained to him what had happened, and it sounded like he was going to go back to the gas station to ask around. He said that it is a good thing that he will be able to let the owner of the dog know what happened.

All night, and still today, I couldn't shake the feeling that I got when I realized what had happened. I feel so sorry for the family that the dog belonged to. As many of my family and friends know, I have two dogs and two cats of my own. This makes what happened even harder for me because I understand how much of a family member a pet can become.

So thankfully Kate was not hurt, even the car was not hurt, but my heart...definitely was hurt.

Why Is That Any Of Your Business?

2009-11-11T13:28:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, as I was leaving the parking ramp, the parking lot attendant (who is always overly friendly) asked me if I was still breast feeding my baby.

He asked this while motioning to his breast and making a squeezing and pulling motion. I get this question a lot from people that I know, and I am fine with it. But when it comes from a complete stranger, who is not a doctor/nurse/medical professional that needs to ask these questions, and is accompanies by crude motions, I think I have the right to be offended.

Now really, is that any of his business?

Supposedly he asked this to lead into his next compliment..."Because you are looking very pretty." Sorry, that compliment kind of backfired!

Barely Made It

2009-11-10T07:04:00.002-06:00

I barely made it into work this morning and it really didn't have much to do with me taking too long to get ready.

I wake up at 4 every morning and by 5 I am ready with a bottle to feed miss Kate when she wakes up. Though there are times when she wakes up around 4:30, but she is perfectly content to swing it out in her swing while I finish getting ready.

After feeding her a bottle I bring her into her room to change her into her daytime clothes. This is a part of my morning where I often get sidetracked. Kate loves to lay in her changing pad, with only a diaper on, and coo and smile away. This is where we have our morning chats.

Today though, she was extra talkative, and when I put her back in the swing so that I could leave for work, she decided there were some more things to tell me. She was getting so excited, moving all around and smiling like crazy, that I just had to sit down on the floor next to the swing and hash it out with her. Ten minutes later, she was getting a little tired, and I looked at the clock and realized that I would have to drive or be late.

It's mornings like these that I wish I could take her to work with me!

You Know You Have a Daughter When...

2009-11-09T07:03:00.003-06:00

... your husband cuts his finger on the washing machine, cleans it up with a baby wipe, and covers it with a Hello Kitty band-aid because those are the only ones you have in the house!