20 Terrific Months

Tay --

It's already that time again!  You are twenty months old today and unfortunately for you, it wasn't your best day ever.  Last night, when it was time to get ready to go to Bible study, I kissed your forehead and you felt pretty warm.  When Daddy saw you crawl up on the couch, cover yourself with the blanket, and turn your head away from the tv, we really knew something was wrong.  So, we gave you some Tylenol, a glass of chocolate, lots of hugs and kisses, and put you to bed.

This morning when you woke up, you were burning up and looked so pitiful.  You didn't want to eat anything.  So, after two glasses of chocolate milk, I called the doctor and made an appointment.  It breaks my heart when you get sick.  I wish I could swap places with you.

We spent about two hours at the doctor's office.  They weighed you and took your temperature.  You weighed 23 pounds even and were running a fever of 101.  We waited for Dr. Morgan in one of the rooms and you fell asleep on my chest.  After some poking, prodding, and a couple of swab tests, we found out that you have strep.

There was only one thing left to go. . . get ice cream from Chick-fil-A, of course!  Between ice cream, a new Cars toy, and a bouncy ball, you seemed to be feeling better.  What can I say?  Your Mama is a sucker for sick kids. . . especially her own!

You continue to amaze me from day to day.  Your never ending energy and sweet smile are two of the things I adore about you.  You don't know the meaning of walk.  Running or galloping (that's a new thing) are the only two speeds you seem to know these days.

I love how instead of crying when you wake up in the morning, you still say "Hey Mama. . . hey Mama!" until I come in, scoop you out of your bed, and kiss your little buddha belly.  You are talking all of the time now and starting to string words together.  During church the other day, you randomly starting singing "Where is Taylor."  Of course, the words were in your own language, but the tune was spot on.  I hated to have to tell you to be quiet because it was just so stinkin' cute.

You are quite the ham and love the spotlight.  The other night we said "Hey Taylor, do you want to take a bath?"  You did your little Fred Flinstone run over the the bottom of the stairs and started dancing up and down on your tippie toes.  It was hilarious.  I told your Daddy that we needed to video tape how excited you get about bath time, so he went and got the video camera.  This time, instead of climbing up the stairs as fast as you could and running into the bathroom, you climbed a couple of stairs, turned around and looked at the camera, then gave your Daddy your "big smile" and said "Ceese!" (Cheese).  Then you proceeded to turn around, climb a couple more stairs and do it again.  You made your Daddy and me laugh so hard.  It seems your Mama may have a camera around you a little too often.

Here's something you'll be surprised to find out. . . you love the movie Cars!  Shocker, right?  You have a whole bucket full of the characters from the movie and you can almost name them all.  Watching Cars continues to be our morning and night time ritual.  You start the movie when you wake up in the morning with your glass of chocolate milk and then end your day with Lightning McQueen and a glass of chocolate milk.  Life is good, huh buddy?

You have definitely earned your buddha belly.  You love to eat anything that your Mama and Daddy are eating.  Your favorites are still cheese, bread, and sweets (which your Daddy says you "get honest" from your Mama).  You'll eat any of them at pretty much any hour of the day.  It's fun to watch you eat mac and cheese because you take a bite or two and then smile and say "Mmmmmm. . . mmmmm!" and then have a big orange rim left around your mouth.  Sadly, I am guilty of the same thing!

One thing you have been able to do a lot over the last month is play with your friends.  Of course, you love seeing all of the girls at Mrs. Joanna's house, but you got to play with Evan, Brayden, and Clayton a lot lately.  We either go to Mrs. Kristin's house (and make a mess over there), meet at the park, or at Chick-fil-A.  I can't wait until summer when we will really be able to have some fun!

 

I love you sweetheart.  I could write on and on about you. . . but you want me to hold you while you watch Cars.  Happy 20 Months love!  I hope you feel better soon.

Feelin' Crafty

I know it's a little late, but I thought I'd go ahead and post some pictures from last Saturday, when some of my girl friends and I got together with our "boys" to make Valentine's Day card.  Three of our husbands are firemen, so when the boys are "away," we find time to play!  As you can probably tell from the pictures, we seemed to be the ones that were into making the cards and the boys were humoring us. . . at least for a couple of minutes and then it was back to playing with trucks and trains and making messes.

 

We actually got all of the cards "signed" and were brave enough to get out the finger paint.  I must say, they turned out pretty cute and the boys were happy because the got to decorate cookies after we cleaned up our mess!

I have a feeling that these boys are going to get into a lot of trouble together. . . look out world, here they come!

A Whole Lotta Love

For some reason, I am one of those people who love Valentine's Day.  I can remember being a little girl and waking up on Valetine's Day morning to find a card and small treats from my Mama and usually a flower or two from my Daddy.  Those little things always meant so much to me. 

I was excited to do something for Tay this year and for him to be old enough to enjoy it.  Over the last couple of weeks, I collected little things here and there and when he went to bed last night, I laid them out on his little table for him to find in the morning.  I wasn't sure if he would be up before I left for work this morning, but luckily, I was pleasantly surprised.

He woke up while my sweet husband snuck out to get me Starbucks.  I took him downstairs and we went through our usual morning routine (get cozy on the couch under the big blanket, drink chocolate milk and watch Cars).  When Brent got home (and Tay finished his chocolate milk), I turned on the light and told him to look at the table.  A huge grin spread across his face as he yelled "Lightning 'Queen!"  He slid off the couch and did his little Fred Flinstone run across the living room.

When he got to his table, he crawled up onto one of his seats and just stared at everything.  He would point at different things and then look at Brent and me and smile.  We both said, "Go ahead buddy. . . you can touch it.  It's for you."  It was so much fun to watch the emotion of pure joy on his face.  It's amazing how the little things make the best memories.

Of course, we couldn't leave Bruiser out.  He got a card from Tay and a new toy (which didn't even last for a day before it was torn to shreds). 

 

I am so blessed with a wonderful husband, precious son, and wonderful friends and family.  Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!  I hope it's filled with a whole lotta love.



Poor Little Pup

Last Sunday, it was actually pretty and somewhat warm outside.  Okay, it wasn't really warm, but the sun was actually shining.  So, Bruiser went next door to play with Duke.  It wasn't too long before I got a call from Karen.  She said that Richard noticed that Bruiser was bleeding and it wouldn't really stop.

Brent was on shift, so I went next door to check it out.  Richard helped me get him all cleaned up and wrap an ace bandage around it.  When we got home, I wrapped some athletic tape around it, so that he couldn't bite through the ace bandage and hurt himself worse (and to keep from getting lots of blood on the carpet).  Of course, Taylor was there to help.  Baby wipes seem to solve all our problems these days. . . at least through Tay's eyes.  And if that doesn't work, a kiss fixes any boo boo.

The poor little pup looked miserable.  Turns out, he stepped on some glass when he was digging a hole and it cut him on the pad on his paw.  Brent took him to the vet the next day and they got him "all fixed up."  We had to keep wrapping more tape around his little foot to keep him from chewing at the dressing that was on it.  To cheer Bruiser up, Brent had Taylor sign his "mock cast."

An Elephant Never Forgets. . . But Sometimes Mommies Do

A couple of days after I wrote Taylor's 19 month update, I realized there were a couple of other things that he did all of the time, that I didn't include.  So. . . I jotted them down on a sheet of paper and then they got covered up by a lot of "stuff" on the counter.  I found the list and decided I better add them, before I forget or the list gets thrown away!

So, here is the rest of your 19 month update Tay. . .

You have become obsessed with airplanes, and talk about them all of the time.  You love to look for them during the day time and get excited when you are inside and can hear them flying over our house.  But, your favorite thing, is to try and spot them at night.  You let the whole neighborhood know when you've spotted one by shouting "Airplane, airplane, airplane!"  It never gets old and if for some reason, you get cranky in the car, all I have to do is slide open the cover to the sun roof and say "Do you see any airplanes Tay?"  It's an instant "mood picker-upper" (for both of us).

Another thing that you have come to love, is the "This Little Piggie" rhyme.  We usually end up doing it at the end of dinner, when you wiggle your "little piggies" around.  You crack me up because when I get to the "and this little piggie had none" part, you shake your head and say "had none."  Now, you've gotten to the point where you try to say the rhyme after I do. 

We all know that you are obsessed with the move Cars (let's face it, it is beyond love).  You like saying Lightning McQueen, Sally, and helicopter, but our favorite thing to hear you say is "Diddle Dee."  Every time you saw a police car (in a movie, in a book, or in real life), we always said "There's Uncle D."  So, now whenever you see the sheriff in the movie you scream "Uncle Diddle Dee!"  It's the cutest thing ever, but the sad part is that Uncle D still hasn't heard you say it.

The last thing I forgot to mention in your update, is a little thing we like to call "The Clean Up Song."  I know, I know, it's such a "teacher" thing to do. . .but it works (at least for now).  After you have thrown every toy and book you own out of your toy box and baskets, I start singing "Clean up. . . Clean up. . . Everybody everywhere. . .Clean up. . . Clean up . . . Everybody do your share."  And believe it or not, you (usually) start cleaning up with me.  Whenever it's time to go somewhere I'll say "Okay Tay, it's time to clean up."  You'll usually hop off of the couch and start singing "eh up, eh up, eh up."  It cracks me up every time.

Sorry I forgot to add these to your last update buddy, but they were too cute to leave out!  Better late than never, right?  Love you Tater Tot!

One Clever Kid

Sometimes, I am completely amazed at the things Tay says and does.  Last night was no exception.  My Women's League team had a soccer game, so while I was getting dressed, I decided to bring my bag in the living room so I could put on my shin guards and socks and still keep an eye on Taylor while he watched Cars.  When I was all finished and starting to pack things up and get ready to go, Taylor looked through the side of a mesh pocket and saw the top on a bottle of Gatorade.  "Ju, ju, ju," he said (asking me for juice).  "That's not juice buddy, that's Gatorade," I said.  He looked back at it again and pointed to the orange top and said "Dadda, Dadda."  That completely cracked me up because there are lots of nights that Brent will drink Gatorade with dinner and when Taylor asks for some of his "ju, ju" we say, "That's Daddy's juice."

Later on that night, when we got home from my game, it was time to get ready for bed.  After getting Tay a new diaper and changing him into his p.j.s, it was time to snuggle.  I fixed his chocolate milk and snuggled with him on the couch.  When he was finished with his milk, he handed it to me and I said, "Okay buddy, it's time to go night night in Taylor's bed," to which he immediately replied "Nooooooo" (in his playful voice).  I thought it was cute, but didn't let him see me smile.  "Alright buddy, time to go night night," I said again.  This time, he layed down on my chest, turn his face to the side, and started to fake snore!  This time, I couldn't help but laugh.  I cracked up, which only made him do it again and snore louder. 

This little boy is too small to be doing these things.  I think we are going to be in trouble when he gets a little older. . .

19 Months in the New Year

My Little Tater Tot --
You are 19 months old today!  Before we know it, it will be June and you will be turning two.  You are getting to be such a big boy these days.  You are turning into quite the little "clown."  There is never a dull moment in our house, because you keep us on our toes all day long. 

This last month has brought on a new year.  On New Year's Eve, we went over to Mimi and G-Daddy's house for dinner and to play games.  Daddy smoked a Boston butt and Mama made snowman cupcakes for dessert.  While you played with all of your toys, we played "Farckle" and another game called "Would You Rather."  Aunt Jessie and Uncle Patrick came into town and Aunt Manda was there too.  You had a good time annoying Cinnamon and trying to "help" G-Daddy play the game.

Daddy had to work on New Year's Day, so we went back over to Mimi and G-Daddy's house for a traditional dinner.  You are still a pretty adventurous eater and will usually try anything (at least once).  We had a lot to thank God for and prayed that he would bless us in the new year (and take care of Daddy, of course).

This last month has been filled with a bunch of "firsts," lots of snow and the word "no."  It started snowing the night of Sunday, January 9th and it decided to stick around for a while.  Because of the amount of snow (and all of the ice), they ended up cancelling school for the entire week, so we got to spend a lot of time playing in the snow, eating pancakes, and just lounging around in our p.j.s.  You had fun riding on the tube and playing with Ryleigh, but hated getting all of your layers on.

While you continue to learn new words every day, your favorite word these days is "no."  It seems to be the answer to every question and you think it is hilarious.  Daddy and I think it's pretty funny when you say it in your playful tone and drag it out into a four syllable "nooooooooooooooooo" other times, it is not quite so cute. What can I say buddy, you are an absolute mess!

These days, you don't walk anywhere. . . you have two speeds -- run and sprint!  It's hard to keep you still unless you are ready to eat (and you go over to your chair and try to climb up into it) or watching Cars (which we still watch at least once a day).  Other than that, your Daddy and I have to always be ready to chase you down.  Lately, it's been pretty difficult for you to get through Sunday morning worship at church.  You either feel the need to stand up on the pew, turn around, and say "hi" to everyone you can see or try to tell us everything on your mind using your loudest "outside voice."  Needless to say, your Daddy and I play "tag team" when it comes to taking you out to the nursery.

Over the course of this last month, you have started to cut one of your canine teeth (the one on the right hand side - when I am looking at you).  I am pretty sure you've started cutting your two year old molars too, because you usually have got your hand (or anything else you can find) pushed all the way in the back of your mouth.  I haven't been brave enough to stick my finger all the way back there because you've tried to use it for a "chew toy" before and it didn't feel so good.

One exciting thing you have started to do is use the potty.  On Friday, January 14th, you went pee pee in your big boy frog potty for the first time.  It was unexpected and your Daddy and I both got a kick out of it.  You looked at us like we were crazy, but then loved all of the attention you got, not to mention the Smarties you got to eat.  For four days straight, you went to the bathroom once during the day.  Since then, you've gone here and there, but we haven't pushed it.  I'm hoping that as long as you keep showing interest, potty training may not be too tough.

Another "first" for you, was spending the night by yourself over at Mimi and G-Daddy's house.  Daddy and I went to North Carolina to go snowboarding, so you got to spend the night being spoiled and having fun.  I wasn't sure how you would do, but Mimi said you were great. . . it ended up being Mama that had a hard time!  I never knew I spending the night away from you would be so hard on me.  When we came to pick you up the next night, you were "hard at play" and Mimi, G-Daddy, Aunt Manda, and Cinnamon were all worn out and curled up on the couch.

Tonight, you got to see your Nana and Papa.  They both came over to visit you and we talked them into staying for dinner.  You felt it necessary to "show out" for a little while. . . just so you could make sure that they didn't forget about you.

You are one lucky little boy Tay.  You have so many people that love you.  I know I may be a little bious, since I am your Mama, but I think you are an amazing gift from God.  For such a little boy, you have such a big heart and you find a way each day to you show your Daddy and me how much you love us.  Happy 19 months my little love!