29 March 2008

fun in the sun

This week, Taylor and I were able to get out of our snow covered town and visit Jenni and her girls, along with her older sister Johanna and her 3 kids, for a day at the park! (Johanna is the same age as my sister and they were friends in high school also).We packed our lunches and our coats(it was a little breezy) and had some fun in the sun...which only came out for a little bit. Despite the clouds the day was actually pretty nice. Taylor loved the swings! Thank goodness for the bucket swings. I find myself looking for those swings every time I drive by a park! I didn't realize they are hard to find.


eating lunch...well watching mommy eat her lunch


tay-tay sitting with her friend Jada

swingin'


me, taylor, jenni, jada

We love hanging out with Jenni and her family. It is so nice to have a old friend so close. I am glad we try to take advantage of the situation and hang out as much as possible. I am already looking forward to going to Gardner Village and making little dresses for our girls! Can't wait, Jenni!! Thanks again for the fun time. It gets a little hectic with all those kids, but is makes it so much fun!

28 March 2008

The Big 21!

Happy Birthday Dave!



We love and miss you and are so proud of you!



24 March 2008

this & that

Like I said in my last post, my sister was in town again, and when she comes to town she always has things places to go and things to see. So we had an eventful weekend and got the kids out to do some fun things. It is always fun having the P* in town. We missed Aaron this time and hope to see him again soon.

Jack was a little on the sensitive side...as you may see in some of the pictures. I think he is going through a phase. He whines every time he hears the garage door, the curtain going up and down, beep from the car, or going underground. He gets hysterical and whines, whines, whines!!! He still managed to have fun, but man buddy...it can get old!!!:) Poor brit was getting a little worn out, because seriously the kid wouldn't stop. So the family gave brit a break a couple of times so she could have some alone time to breath. I think Jack is going through an attachment phase with his mom. He did love to see taylor though. He would always ask where she was. "Tay-Tay?"

Here are some of our highlights while there were in town. We look forward to the next visit here or there.

We did a little of this...


Discovery Gateway

and that....


girls movie night

and this....

bonding with dad before he goes back to work

and that...

SHOPPING and EATING
(osh-kosh, banana republic, Tarahumara, and home cooked meals)

and this...




Easter
-we went to church and dinner at Uncle Doug's-

and that...


The Living Planet Aquarium

Thanks for coming B! Sorry we didn't have any sister crafts...next time! See you soon!

22 March 2008

Skiing...finally

My sister is in town...again! We love it when she comes to visit! So we thought we would try to get in a little spring skiing. I haven't been up on the slopes for over a year(I was prego last winter), so it was nice to get up there. We had a great day of sunny weather, perfect snow...not to icy, and yummy lodge food. We left the kiddos with my mom, and me, my dad, eric and brit all hit the slopes. We skied until exhaustion kicked in...which comes pretty fast when you haven't been up in a long time. All-in-all, we had a great time! Thanks dad for a fun day and thanks for the Fast Tracks! That is the only way to go!!!






21 March 2008

happy 6 months!

Taylor turned 6 months yesterday and she has been so much fun! Everyday is so exciting, we just love her!

18 March 2008

girls day out!

WARNING...this is a really long post...feel free to come back to read the rest!

Today Taylor and I took a day to ourselves and revisited my past.

First
we went out to Pony, my old school, to visit my friends and fellow teachers. It was fun, once again, to see everyone and try to get caught up. It brings back memories and it does make me miss it, but not enough to come back. It was good to see the Ol' Pony. I always enjoy going down. Taylor did so well. She played in her stroller, ate, and even fell asleep towards the end, so mommy could socialize with her friends.

After that, I decided to take Taylor to the park. The weather was so nice and I had to take advantage of it because there is still so much snow at home. And with all the new housing developments around my old school, there are ton of parks. So we had our pick.

First we drove by the house that we almost bought and it just made me realize even more, that it was a good decision not to buy it. I am so glad we backed out of it, because when we have to buy later this year the prices are going to be so much better.

Back to the park! Once again, Taylor loved it! She loves the fresh air and especially the swings. There were no swings that I could put her in by herself. So we sat and swung together. She had such a good time. Of course Taylor is not quite ready to "play" at the parks, but I showed her how much fun it can be.

first we swung on the swings


then we sat on the bench


next, we took a break for lunch


then we played on the dinosaur and took some pictures



then we laid on the slide


then we went down the slide and played on the end



notice how she will never look up...she is taking everything in!

then we enjoyed the fresh air and played some more


...and last it was time to head home. She was not very happy when I put her back in the car. It was so much fun for her. I can't wait until the snow is gone up here!


"this is so much fun!"

Taylor also wanted to tell you about her day!

"I had so much fun with mommy and playing at the park!"

Second...on the way home I stopped buy the pool I swam and played water polo at in highschool (my senior year...before that we swam in an outdoor pool all year round...we were know as the polar bears...:) My old coach was there still coaching water polo. He was exactly the same. Good ol' Larry. It was fun to see him and get caught up. I spent so much of my time swimming and playing polo that Larry was very much apart of. We used to travel all the time and he took us so many fun places. I am so grateful for those times, and most importantly, my parents for letting me go. Here is what we did:

1-Florida Swim Trip '93
2-Laguna Beach (3 times) for the annual Seal Beach Open Water Swim
(we swam a mile in the ocean...such an experience)
3-California-water polo tournaments
4-Vegas(twice)-water polo
5-Maryland- water polo
6-San Fransisco-water polo

I loved these experiences and it gave me so many memories. Swimming and Water Polo were some of my favorite memories. Larry was my coach in age group swimming and water polo. I think I started swimming around age 10(mom is that right), all the way up to my senior year...so that is 8 years with Larry. He was such a fun coach!

Anyway, I know this is long, but has become more of a journal entry for me to document. Feel free to stop if you have had enough.

At the pool all our old pictures and trophy's were still in the case. It was fun to see all our accomplisments and I couldn't believe they were still there. While I was in highschool, our team was really good. We took Region 4 years in a row and State 3 years in a row. I was a state champ in my events a couple of times(don't mean to boost). I still even hold a school record in the 400 Free Relay, along with 3 of my team mates. It is fun to see that it is still on the board 10 years later~

notice my name is spelled wrong...I never caught that before

almost done...here are some pictures that were still in the case. It was fun to revisit my past...by myself, and to see that things were still there. Although... they have been pushed to the back. But don't worry, I moved some things around and put them in the front. After all the memories I even called my good friend, Adi(who I spent all my swimming and polo days with), to catch up.

these are some of the pics I found still there

It was such a fun day and such a fun time visiting old friends and memories. My coach is now trying to convince me to come play polo one night a week...yeah, gonna have to think about that one!

Okay...ONE more thing...

Tay-Tay has started to giggle when we try to tickle her. Here she is and her precious laugh.





17 March 2008

Random Tho'ts

I don't really have anything to blog about so I thought I would put up some random tho'ts about what we have been doing lately! Last week my parents took us out for dinner and Taylor has started to show us she wants to be a big girl. Usually we have her in her car seat the whole time, but now we noticed she doesn't like to be in there very long and must get out and be apart of the "big people" crowd. We went to dinner with one of Eric's college buddy last week also, and Taylor was a handful. She did so well, but we had to keep her entertained. Not quite ready for the highchair...but so close!



Here is Taylor with G.Pa Jim at Tarahumara...my dad's favorite Mexican joint(along with La Poneinta...sp)

Taylor has a new friend...her bug! We got this as a shower gift and it seems to be a hit with Tay-Tay! She loves to play with it...until she gets bored of course, and we have to move on to something else. I have noticed she likes to keep moving and trying new things...but then again, she loves to relax and be alone in her crib and have nothing to do. Down time...she loves it!




Taylor has started to find her sleeping position and every night when we go in to check on her, she is rolled to her side...legs out and both hands up by her face...in the angel position. Just like when she was a couple weeks old. So cute...and sorry no picture. Can't wake a sleeping baby right! She is so close to sitting up on her own! We practice everyday.

Taylor still enjoys bath time and there is nothing like a clean baby. Now that we have started her on solids it is nice to just plop her in the tub after she has made a mess at her feeding. The other night when we gave her a bath...she looked so cute and so relaxed. In such a daze!



As for us, still hangin' out! Eric has one more week and he is back to the office. Of course he is not excited to get back to work, but is bored out of his mind. We always want what we can't have, right? He is excited to work at his new job and it will be nice to have him back at it...although we will miss having him around so much.

I am sewing, sewing, blogging, sewing some more, blogging, and today I subbed. It was fun to get in the classroom and I had such a great bunch of 1st graders that is made it fun. It is nice to do it here and there, but I am in no way ready to go back full time. Maybe when our last kid is in elementary school, I will consider it. Until then, I am trying to get the business, Fingers and Toes off the ground. Who knows how successful it will be, but it has been a lot of fun getting it started. Tell all your friends!!!



14 March 2008

Taylor's 1st's

Of course when you have your 1ST child, you focus on all the 1ST's that they experience. I just hope I came remember to capture the rest of our children's 1ST's. I have enjoyed every moment of Taylor's life and watching her do things for the 1ST time. I never knew how much fun motherhood would be.I feel like I could have another baby already, just so I can go through all the 1ST's again. There is so much more to experience with Taylor, and like my sister just said in her last post, "cherish every moment."

I have been especially grateful that Taylor and I have had so much time with Eric. It has been fun having dad/hubby around. We get along so well, that I really haven't gotten "sick" of him. It has been so nice to just leave and run an errand while Eric stays with Taylor. That is all about to change in a week and a half. Eric starts his new job and it is back to just Taylor and I. I am glad Eric has been around so much to see Taylor's 1ST's.

So here are some of Taylor's 1ST's in her 5 1/2 months of life!

1ST photo
don't be scared by the leg...


1ST smile

1St day in harness & 1ST days out of it


1St signs of thumb sucking


1St trips (vegas & denver)




1St trip to the park


1St
food (rice cereal)


1ST solids (peas)

she loves it! rice cereal seems to be her favorite!!!


It is so much fun watching taylor grow. She makes us laugh and smile all the time. We can't wait for more 1ST's!


Such a sweet girl!