Out Takes!

We took family pictures for mom's belated Christmas card and managed to get a couple good shots - these are a few outtakes! It takes a 
lot of work to get the perfect shot (which doesn't really exist with 
a toddler in the scene.) Gramps took a TV time out to watch the MSU 
football game - Taylor decided to join him. She also snatched 
daddy's hat and posed for the camera!

Christmas Morning

Taylor received so many wonderful gifts for Christmas!  By far, her favorite was the baby doll from "grammy santa."  We really enjoyed watching her this year - Taylor was much more aware of what was going on and was able to enjoy the festivities!

Random Pictures from Michigan

Finally, a family picture!  

These are just a few random pictures from our fun visit with Grammy and Gramps.  

Enjoying a pizza with Gramps!  (she's such a ham)

As they say, the box was the favorite play thing on Christmas morning! 

Christmas Eve Fun

This is how our Christmas Eve has played out so far! (Santa has not made his appearance as of yet!) Taylor got up with Gramps and had her morning coffee (From Bigby - a local coffee favorite of my dad) Not actually giving her coffee (thank goodness) but the sleeve fits perfectly over her sippy cup! After running off all the steam from the "coffee," a nap with Grandma Follick was in order! (We fell asleep watching frosty on TV) Next, we suited up in our winter suit and headed out for some sledding! Daddy pulled Taylor and I on the sled to the school which has a pretty nice hill - it also has a wonderful playground and Taylor decided we should stop and play there instead! That's where gramps met up with us. He drove over and snapped pictures of our snow fun. Taylor gave him first dibs on a ride down the hill! After a few more trips it was time to head home - Gramps let Taylor drive! (not really - notice we're in the garage) But she DID enjoy honking the horn to let the neighbors know we were home! Merry Christmas everyone - God bless you as we celebrate the birth of His son and the gift he became for our salvation! 

Merry Christmas Pictures

We took Taylor to get her 18 month pictures taken on Thursday. We
decided to try the dresses on before hand as she's been growing like
a weed! (thankfully, they fit) I tried to snap a few pictures to
use in our Christmas cards (which ARE coming...) but had a very
uncooperative little one! Between the "no, all done, toys..." and
running fiercely away from the camera - we got a few decent ones.
Thought I'd share them with you.

Preparing for the Trip

While I was packing for our trip to Michigan, Eric and Taylor kept me company! Eric kept Taylor occupied by playing in the tub! We took off Sunday night, planning to drive while Taylor was sleeping but it didn't work out that way. She must be cutting teeth because about two hours into our trip home she started screaming - we stopped and occupied her with 45 minutes of "Monster's Inc." before getting back on the road. After a few more stops we finally had to rest for the night at about 3:30 AM. The next day we made good time and were able to stop for the night about 3 hours shy of home. We made a day of it on Tuesday, stopping at the outlet mall for some last minute Christmas shopping! We're finally here and enjoying the cold, snowy weather - I love it!!!

Visiting With Best Friends

Mom came down to visit and bring us some things we've collected at their house that are just too big to ship - so she was kind enough to travel all the way from Michigan with her car LOADED with stuff (some of the things were toys of mine when I was a kid!) While she was down, we were able to go over to the Ranch and visit with Lindsey and the twins. My mom and Debbie (Lindsey's mom) have been friends since we were about two, and consequently, Lindsey and I became best friends too! We love being so close to them again and seeing them so often - it warms my heart to be able to share in their lives again! Here are some pictures from our visit - Taylor has really grown fond of the boys, particularly Andrew, whom she loves to kiss and hug! (it seems Andrew was interested in her as well, as he kept saying her name - and it sounded pretty close!) Visit Lindsey's Blog to see some better photography!

Nashville

These are kinda old (from my birthday weekend, Nov. 8) but I finally got them off mom's camera and wanted to post them! We had so much fun on our trip (the same weekend we went to Western's homecoming and visited with Beth & John). These are pictures from our walk in Percy Warner Park - one of our favorite places to go when we lived there. Enjoy!

Christmas Wonderland

Last night we got bundled up (yesterday was cold, today it is to be
in the 70's!) and went to Zilker Park to walk through the trail of
lights. Its a good half mile walk through strings of lights,
figurines and music - just perfect for Taylor to "shake her booty!"
We had a great time. Taylor didn't stay in the stroller long before
she was ready to get out and explore the displays. She was amazed by
all the twinkling lights and loved the music. Here are a few
pictures of the evening.

They Love Me!

Today while I was at work, sitting at my desk, I heard a little voice say "tank u" and I thought... "hmmm, Taylor says "Thank You" just like that!" I turned around to see Eric struggling down the hall with flowers in one hand and Taylor clinging to the other, toddling beside him. What a surprise I received: Flowers, an Izzy (my favorite carbonated beverage), and trail-mix! I'm spoiled and I love it! Thank you, Eric and Taylor, for my wonderful surprise. I love you guys SO much!!

How I Feed Myself!

I decided to ditch the spoon and slurp my yogurt this evening -
which won me a bubble bath! Daddy made me a bubble crown fit for the
princess I am.

Daddy & Me

These aren't the best pictures but they show off my two favorite
silly people! Today we had workers at the house fixing our back door
(we replaced a sliding door with french doors) the workers were
thoroughly supervised by Taylor - she ran to the door every chance
she got to look outside and talk to them through the glass. There
was a bit of a language barrier - she spoke "Taylor" and they spoke
Spanish! Wish I could have gotten pictures - it was cute!

Play Date

These are pictures from our playdate with Kailey and her mom,
Lindsay. I met Lindsay at a baby shower for a mutual friend (who
was supposed to join us but had the baby on Tuesday!) We planned to
get in touch and let the girls get to know each other, so Friday she
had us over. We had a wonderful time visiting and were very
surprised to see how well the girls played TOGETHER! Most people
will tell you that they can't play together at this age - I disagree,
the girls so enjoyed walking around together holding hands, pushing
each other in the stroller and sharing toys. It was such fun and we
can't wait to get together again soon!

The Dance Star

If you've seen Taylor "shake her booty" you'll recognize some of these moves! (Eric did this online)

Happy Birthday Adam & Andrew!

We had, what turned into, a wonderful weekend with Lindsey, Kenny and their family! Taylor and I went to the party on Saturday afternoon and after getting lost, made it just in time for dinner! Since it was just the two of us, Debbie was so kind to let us stay the night - we had a slumber party! We had so much fun playing with the babies and visiting with our good friends - can't wait to see you again soon.