The 18 Month was Nestled All Snug in His Bed. . .

Taylor -- It's Christmas Eve and you are officially 18 months old today!  Can you believe it?  Tomorrow, you will wake up and see what Santa brought for you.  I can't wait to see you open your presents and play with your new toys.  This will be a Christmas that you can really enjoy.

Over the last month, we have stayed really busy.  We went to see Santa and as you already know, you were not a big fan of sitting on his lap this year.  We got to ride the Pink Pig.  You thought the ride was awesome, but didn't love Priscilla the Pig.  We had lots of fun going to Aunt Holly's house for the Forrester family's Christmas.  You got to eat lots of sweets, open up presents, and run around with all of your cousins.

You have grown up so much over the last month and are doing so many new things.  You are "talking" all of the time now and love to talk on the phone.  When Daddy is at work and we call him, you say "Hey Daddy. . ." and proceed to tell him all about your day.  When you are finished, you say "I love you" and "bye-bye."

You have cut two new teeth (one to the left and the other to the right of your two front teeth on the bottom).  These two seem to be giving you some trouble because you are putting anything you can in your mouth. . . including Mommy's leg and Daddy's head.  We are working on making sure you understand what is off limits when it comes to biting.

I have to admit, you are a bit of a Mama's boy right now and while it may be a little annoying to others, I think it is incredibly cute.  You are so sweet and are always ready to give me a hug and tell me "I love you Mama."  In the morning, I know when you are up because you call out "Hey, Mama!  Hey, Mama!"  It starts my morning off with a smile on my face. 

You are also very jealous of your Daddy.  You don't like it when he hugs or kisses me.  You try to get between us and push him away.  The other day, your Daddy started tickling me just to see what you would do.  You climbed up on the couch, hugged my neck, and then turned around and popped your Daddy in the face!  I thought it was wildly funny, but it took your Daddy completely by surprise.  Usually, you get in trouble for hitting, but not this time because you were protecting your Mama!

In just the past week, you have begun to say the prayer at the dinner table.  When we sit down and say "it's time to pray," you hold our hands and start "praying."  We know you are finished, because you always end with a very enthusiastic "Amen!"

You are incredibly social.  You wave and feel the need to say "hi" to every person we pass on the street and on any grocery store aisle.  I've got to say that it doesn't get old.  It's cute to see people that looked grumpy light up after talking to you.  As we pass them, you say "bye-bye" and look for the next person to greet.

One of your favorite things to do is play with your friends.  When you are at Mrs. Joanna's house, you like playing with Ella, Ruby, and Caroline.  You especially love Mrs. Joanna's daughter, Rachel.  Whenever we get together with Evan and Brayden, you boys always have a good time.  And of course, there is never a dull moment when you and Ryleigh are together. 

You have gotten in the bad habit of hitting people or things when you get mad, which these days happens pretty often.  You don't like being told "no" when you have your mind made up.  You already think you are grown up and are starting to show lots of independence.  One thing you've started to do is tell us when you've gone to the bathroom.  The other day you said "Uh oh, poo" and then went and brought me the wipes.  Now if only there was a way to get you to start potty training early.

Right now, you are obsessed with the movie Cars.  You absolutely love it and we watch it at least once a day.  I guess I'm pretty lucky that you like a cool movie and not Barney or the Wiggles.  Aside from Cars, you still love Sesame Street.  Your two favorite books are still your "Look and Find" books.  You've started finding new things in them.  Now, you can say "Lightning McQueen" and "helicopter." 

Tonight, we got out the crayons and a plain sheet of white paper, so you could write Santa a letter.  I loved watching you lay on your belly with your tongue sticking out and your head cocked to the side.  Sometimes, you really seem to be concentrating on doing things just right. 

It's almost time for Santa to come!  Even though you didn't really like visiting the "big guy" this year, you have become pretty good at saying "Ho, ho, ho!"  I can hardly wait to see your face tomorrow when you see what he brought you.  It's going to be a great morning filled with pancakes and presents.

Sleep tight my little Santa Baby. . . morning will be here before you know it.

Santa Baby

On Friday, December 10th, Brent and I took Tay to see Santa at Phipps Plaza.  We went there last year and he did great.  He smiled and laughed and we got the most precious picture.  Brent and I weren't really sure how he would react this year.  But lately, since he's been a bit of a Mama's boy, we expected the worse.

When we got there, I showed him the other kids that were sitting on Santa's lap and talked to him about how he was going to see Santa.  Then, it was our turn and everything was fine until I took him off of my hip and reached him out towards Santa's outstretched arms.  Then it was the "Mama" heard 'round the world!  Tay proceeded to cry big ol' crocodile tears, scream "Mama, Mama, Mama!," and try to squirm out of Santa's grasp. 

 They ended up taking three pictures.  The first, was of Taylor looking over at me with a pouty look and the "I can't believe you are such a traitor" look in his eyes.  The second and third were of him crying with his mouth wide open.  In one of them, he was looking straight at the camera. . . so, that is the one that is now framed in our house.  The way I look at it, everyone needs at least one picture of their child screaming with Santa, right? 

We went from Phipps over to Lenox, so we could try and ride the Pink Pig.  We tried to ride it last year, but the line was way too long and way too cold for a little baby.  This year, the line wasn't so bad and the weather was actually pretty nice, considering what it had been lately.  We got our tickets and waited our turn in line as patiently as we could.

When we got close to the big tent, there was Priscilla the Pig all dressed up and ready to take pictures with the kids.  I told Brent that I would go stand next to her with Tay, so that we could get a picture.  Brent didn't think Taylor would go for that idea and he was absolutely right!  As soon as I tried to take a step towards her, Tay squeezed his thighs around my waist as tight as he could and started screaming "bye-bye, bye-bye!" as he waved good-bye to Priscilla the Pig.  Needless to say, that was the end of that idea and Taylor kept his eye on her like a hawk until we made it around the corner.

Overall, it was a really good day. . .drama and all!  What can I say other than I love my Santa Baby!

17 Months and Still Going Strong

Well. . . here we are again!  It seems like I just wrote your 16 month update last week!  This last month has flown by and we have stayed extremely busy.  Daddy and I are always "on the go" and you keep up with us without missing a beat!

What can I say Tay, you are precious my little love bug!  You still seem to have a motor in you that doesn't stop, except luckily for us, you need to "recharge" your batteries once a day with a nice long nap.  You love to play, play, play!  If it were up to you, you'd probably eat your meals "on the run" too!  The world is your playground and you are one curious little kid.  I love that I get to see the world through your eyes.  You make me appreciate the little things around me more. 

You are definitely our own little "Bam Bam."  You love to swing baseball bats, golf clubs, and any other kind of "stick" you can get your hands on.  You have quite the throwing arm too!  You have watched your Daddy throw tennis balls against the bottom of the fireplace one too many times, because you feel the need to throw any kind of ball, including golf balls, at the tv, walls, and kitchen cabinets.  I'm going to let your Daddy handle this one for now. . .

While other kids are attached to blankets and pacifiers, you my darling are an original!  When all else fails, all I need to do is give you a kitchen spoon!  You carry them around like they are prized possessions and it makes me laugh every time you spot one in the dishwasher or under the cabinet, because you won't stop saying spoon until you have one (or two) in your possession!  They seem to be everywhere. . .in the diaper bag, the backseat of my car, and even my purse!  I was out the other day and reached into my purse to get a pen, and pulled out a kitchen spoon instead!  I know the people around me probably thought that was a little odd, but it made me think of you, and all I could do was shake my head and smile.

Aside from your obsession with spoons, you love brooms and balloons!  You would find any way you could to get my broom out of the garage.  That is, until Mimi and G-Daddy bought you your very own broom.  It's hilarious to watch you "sweep," and by sweep I mean scatter all of the trash that I just finished cleaning up!  Now if only there was a way to teach you how to use the dust pan.  Hmmmm... I will have to work on that one!  And where do I even start when it comes to balloons?  We can't even go into the grocery store without you pointing at everyone and asking "please, please, please" (which still comes out "puh, puh, puh). 

You are the most polite 16 month old I know.  Whenever anyone gives you anything, you say "thank you" (usually without prompting) and when we say the prayer at mealtimes and before we go to bed, you enthusiastically say "Amen!" on your own.  You still love Sesame Street and can say "Elmo" and "Big Bird" pretty well.  A glass of chocolate milk and either Curious George or Between the Lions usually gets our day started and on the right track.  Books continue to catch your interest and I love seeing you start to really examine the pictures.  You have a couple look and find books and are so proud of yourself when we tell you to "Find the hat" (or ball, or car, etc. . .) and you can point straight to it!  You love the page with Lightning McQueen and the other characters from Cars and you take great pride in pointing at every car and truck on the page.

I am amazed by how much you can understand and do.  The other day I told you we couldn't go outside because you didn't have on shoes, so you started looking for them.  When I say "Where are your socks?" you search for them, bring them to me, and lift up your feet for me to help you put them on.  Yesterday, we went outside and the wind started to blow.  You looked up at the trees and the leaves started to fall down.  You started running, trying to catch the falling leaves, and were saying "Uh, oh. . .Uh, oh. . . Uh, oh!" over and over.  You knew the leaves were supposed to be on the trees and were worried about them!  I must say, that was super cute! 

You have a definite sense of humor.  Right now, you find it wildly funny to go into the bathroom and close the bathroom door whenever anyone walks in there.  You love to run and "jump" around the living room, spinning and twirling around and around.  You have perfected your jump by getting a running start while poking out your Buddha belly, swinging your arms in the air, and then getting on your tippy toes.  And you find it down right hilarious when you run around the whole downstairs part of our house (through the living room, dining room, kitchen and back to the living room) just to do a belly flop on a comforter piled up in the middle of the room.

Over the course of this last month, a couple of very special things have happened.  On October 28th, Daddy officially graduated from the Fire Academy.  He's already our hero and the best firefighter we know, but we were so proud of him when he won the Top Rung award for his class!  We got to go up to the front and pin him.  Chief Myers took you from my arms and Daddy and I both held our breath, waiting for you to start screaming, but you didn't. . . at least, for a couple of seconds.  You held it together long enough for me to take the badge in my hand before you started screaming "Mama!  Mama!  Mama!"  with arms wide.  The audience and Chief Myers found it hilarious.  Don't worry, someone got it all on film, so one day, maybe you will get to see it.

That night, you and Daddy surprised me with a 30th birthday party dinner.  You boys are definitely tricky!  We ate at Dominick's and I couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate.

On October 31st, Mama officially turned 30!  Daddy fought a fire the night before, so you and I picked up some lunch and it was nice enough for us to eat outside.  Daddy gave me a book he made on Shutterfly that had birthday messages from my family and closest friends.  After we went to church that night, we went Trick-or-Treating with the Chapeaus.  You had a blast!  You were a Georgia Bulldog, of course and in my opinion, the cutest kid ont he block!  We couldn't believe that you actually kept your hood on.  Daddy and I thought you were so funny.  You would go up and knock on the door.  Sometimes you would randomly say "Go Dawgs!" other times you would say "Trick-or-Treat" and proceed to try and go into complete stranger's homes.

 Now, you are kicking off your 17th month recovering from the flu, bronchitis, and pertussis (the whooping cough).  You poor thing!  If it were up to me, you would never get sick and I could take your place.  Daddy took you to the doctor last Friday and then we got the call that your cultures came back positive for the whooping cough yesterday.  Those things haven't seemed to slow you down much.  You are a pretty resilient kid!  Although, I would say that the steroids, two anibiotics, and breathing treatment may have helped out a little bit.

Happy 17th Month my little Turkey!  Here's hoping that this next month is filled with health, love, and lots of laughter!

Happy Sweet 16!. . . Months That Is

Well, my sweet little Tater Tot. . . another month has come and gone and you are already sixteen months old today!  You continue to change and grow every day.  Your personality continues to be huge and brings life, laughter, and smiles, wherever you go!

What can I say Taylor, you are an absolute (but precious) mess!  You keep Daddy and me on our toes every day!  The one word that best describes you right now is "busy."  It's like you have a motor in you that never stops.  Like the Energizer Bunny, you keep going and going and going. . .

My favorite thing you are doing right now is your signature "big smile."  Whenever we say, "Show us your big smile Taylor," you close your eyes, scrunch up your nose, smile as big as you can, while poking out your bottom teeth.  It is hilarious and no matter how many times you do it, I never get tired of it!

 When Daddy and I are at work, you spend the day with Mrs. Joanna and four other little girls.  You are already a huge flirt and a ladies man.  You love all of your friends at Mrs. Joanna's house, but your favorite is Caroline.  Mrs. Joanna told me she caught you leaning over and kissing her the other day.  You're a little young to start doing that buddy, right now, you save those kisses for your Mama!

Your vocabulary continues to grow all of the time.  You are saying so many new words right now, that I can't even list them all!  Here are a few of my favories: "I love you" (it tugs at my heart strings every time you say it to me), "Bible," "night night," "apple," "moon," "tree," and "bird."  Daddy has got you saying "Alright Dude" and "Hey Dude," which I must say is pretty cute.  On Friday, you said your newest word and it made my heart melt when you did.  On our way to Mrs. Joanna's house, we were saying our morning prayer and when I said "amen" at the end, you said it right back. 

On the subject of prayer, I think your Daddy and I have confused you a little bit.  When we pray for the food each day, we always tell you to close your eyes, but when we say that, you see us bow our heads before we close our eyes.  So, now when we say "It's time to pray Taylor.  Close your eyes."  You bow your head instead. . . which is incredibly cute.

You still love music and have started to "sing" along.  In the car, you have a Baby Einstein's book that plays classical music.  You love the button that plays "Flight of the Bumble Bee."  When it comes on, you put on your "big smile," shake your head back and forth and start shaking your body.  You also feel it necessary to have your own song book at church when we start to sing.  If you don't have one, you make it a point to let us (and every one else in the auditorium) know that you need one. 

Right now, you love to watch Sesame Street and Curious George.  You are also a big fan of all of the i-pod commercials that come on t.v (especially the one with Cake).  Whenever they come on, you stop whatever you are doing and start dancing.  You still love books and Daddy and I took you to meet Mo Willems.  We had a lot of fun listening to him read Knuffle Bunny Free and getting your books signed.

You still love cars and trucks and anything else that has wheels and a steering wheel.  One of the newest things you love to do is "drive with Daddy."  Sometimes, when we get to the top of the neighborhood, Daddy will let you "drive" home.  You like to have one arm on the wheel, while the other one (and your head) hang out of the window.  What can I say, you are a mess!

Your best friend is (and I'm sure will continue to be) Bruiser.  You love to climb, push, play, and jump on him.  When it's time for him to go outside, you think that you need to be right there with him.  You always make it a point to say "Bye-bye Boo" before we go anywhere and tell him "Nite nite" before going to bed.

You are on a definite night time routine and get excited when I tell you it's time for your chocolate milk.  You run into the kitchen and plop yourself down on the floor, so you can watch me get out the milk and the chocolate mix.  While I'm stirring it up, you start to laugh and shake your torso.  Then I say "Okay Tay, it's time to snuggle."  So, you hop up, run into the living room, climb on the couch, and wait for me to bring you your milk.  We snuggle under the big blanket while you drink your milk and then it's off to bed.

While we love your cute personality, you have started to show your temper a little more too.  Sometimes you become frustrated when you don't get something you want, even after saying "puh, puh, puh" over and over again and giving us your cutest smile.  Other times, you get upset when you can't get a toy to work just right.  When these things happen, you usually cry or throw yourself backwards for a few seconds. . . long enough to realize that you aren't getting any attention for it.  So, your newest thing is to either throw something at us (or Bruiser) or come over and try to hit us.  Which is how you have come to know about a little place we like to call "time out."  We put you next to the big chair and have you face the wall.  It's not for very long, but it's long enough for you to know that you are in trouble.  You usually start off crying, then switch to a pout, and then calm down.  You always come out giving hugs and kisses and we make sure you know that we love you.

I can't wait to see what this next month will bring!  Happy 16 months my little pumpkin!  I love you more than you will ever know!