We're going to the SNOW!

We just booked our first trip with Taylor to the snow. We're going to a cute cabin up in Big Bear for three nights, this coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday, check-out on Sunday.

I am so excited for some time away with Taylor and BJ, making snowmen and pulling Taylor around on a sled. Yay! Now we just need to make sure that these So Cal residents have adequate snow clothes!!!

Here is a picture of our cute little cabin...

Something Only a Mom Would Do...

Actually, maybe only this mom is crazy enough to do this.

Taylor received a small pink blankie at my baby shower (so "we" received it) and I don't even remember who bought it for her. It became her favorite blankie and it actually helped us transition her away from the pacifier when she was younger. During a trip to Nanni and Papa DuCharme's house, it was somehow lost. Nanni bought TWO new blankies for Taylor, both with bunnies on them, and brought them home to us, hoping we would not be too upset. We weren't as long as Taylor was okay with her new blankies. She was just fine and is now attached to one of the blankies that Nanni bought her, the brown bunny one.

Well, quite some time later, BOTH BJ and I (if he admits it to you or not, he has to me!) miss that blankie! I have no idea if Taylor would even remember it but for some reason, whenever I think of it or see pictures of it, it truly brings back good memories and I get sad that it is gone. Yes, I am now sounding like a crazy mom! I went online looking for another one but for some reason they are not made in that color anymore and sold in the big department stores. The other night though I actually found one sold in a cute boutique in Georgia. It was THREE times as much as the same one sold in a different color at the big department store but I FOUND IT AND BOUGHT IT! I even paid shipping fees for this darn blankie.

It came to my work today and it was like I was reunited with the long lost blankie. I have taken pictures of it and will take more tonight when we reunite Taylor with her long lost blankie. Who knows what she will feel or what she will do when she sees it, only time will tell! Maybe I will be sleeping with a new pink blankie.

More to come...

The blankie in a cute package


Here it is!


Playing with her new blankie




She's attached...at least for now.


By the way, it actually is not the same as the original. :( It is a slightly brighter pink and it only has square and round tabs, no triangular tabs. It also has a flowery design on some of the tabs which the old blankie did not have. Oh well, as long as she likes it. I fulfilled my need to get the blankie back.

Webby Dance!!!

We signed Taylor up for dance class about 2 weeks ago but she didn't start until today. She was sick last week when she was gobng to start so she had to wait a week and boy was she excited about today. She has been saying, almost everyday, "Webby dance with Rachel and Hannah (two of her friends in class)!"

So, today she had dance and when I picked her up from school she was in her new t-shirt from the dance company...looking oh so big and so cute. Our little girl is growing up!

These are pictures of me TRYING to capture a good moment but all she kept doing was teasing me by running around and laughing (while eating bread).

Taylor is in a "Big Girl Bed"

We did it! After Taylor got up from her nap today mommy did it...I finally took the gate off of her crib so she could have the freedom of a big girl. Since Taylor is potty trained during the day I started thinking about the night time. Since she is young I don't want to push it but I thought I'd set her room up so that she can have successes if and when she decides to night train. She was very excited to have a "big girl bed" and when I put the portable potty in her room she was even happier! She immediately climbed out of bed and used the potty before it was really night-night time. Good practice!

Below are pictures of our girl in her new bed (same ole' crib just no gate). Notice the support pillows in front of it...just in case...haha! She actually slept all night with no fuss and no getting up from her bed, not even when we put her down. BJ and I reverted back to when she was a baby and actually set up the monitor and had it on all night long. Ahhh, I miss those nights. She didn't make a peep though and never got up or fell out. I couldn't ask for anything more from our baby girl. She never ceases to amaze us.

Dinner at Cadin's house

Saturday night we went to Aunt Lisa, Uncle Danny, and Cadin's house for dinner. It was such an enjoyable evening we can't wait to do it again!

Taylor and Cadin were so amazingly wonderful; they played with each other all night, no fusses, copied what the other did, didn't get into any arguments over not sharing (except for right before bed), and were just so darn cute! Some of the fun moments included:
1. Cadin and Taylor playing at the easel together, on the oppostie side from where we were so all we could see were their cute four legs together.
2. Cadin and Taylor putting craft pom-poms onto the train table and "choo-choo"ing the trains through the ones they put on the bridge.
3. Cadin eating two bowls of macaroni-and-cheese!
4. Taylor squeezing glue so perfectly onto ALL of the Valentine hearts that Aunt Lisa had probably for Cadin to make art projects with. She then put pieces of tissue paper, gem sitckers that Cadin opened, and doilies onto the hearts. That art at school really pays off!
5. Taylor going potty on the "little potty" in the bathroom and Cadin going in to see her then sitting right in front of her with his legs stretched out around her potty, talking to her! Soooo cute!
6. Reading books together on Baby Julia's play mat.

The four of us adults were able to play Skip Bo, only interrupted by wanting to take pictures or videos of our adorable kids together! Our night flew by and we actually stayed until past midnight! Not only did we play Skip Bo (and were completely dominated by Lisa and Danny) but we also played a round of Mexican Train. Many bottles of wine later, we headed home happy that we had just had such a wonderful night with such awesome friends. We are so lucky!

Two years and one month old


Cadin closing the lid of the potty seat after Taylor went potty.




Taylor did "art" for sooooo long!


Cadin sharing gem stickers with Taylor


Way past their bedtime...trying to get in some last play time together.


Thanks for the fun night Lisa and Danny!!

Pink Eye!!!

Taylor has had an icky cough and runny nose for a few days now but today (Wednesday) she woke up with a crusted over eye!!! I immediately thought the worst, wiped it out, and considered her staying home for the day. I had tons of work appointments so BJ and I divided and conquered. I kept Taylor in the morning while my wonderful coworkers covered appointments for me and BJ took Taylor in the afternoon.

As the morning went on Taylor's eye ended up not being pink and she was in the best mood ever (still with a horrible cough and runny nose). I thought she fooled me!! I just didn't want to be THAT mom, sending her child to school with pink eye and getting every other kid sick. So, she stayed home and we went to our doc appointment at 11:00. Taylor was so excited to go see Dr. Julie. She calls her "My Dr. Julie, non mommy's Dr. Julie." It's so cute...she is so excited about going. I told her she would not get pokes today and she was even more excited (although I think she kind of wanted them, especially after she didn't get a lollipop because I told her that they are special treats for pokes). Dr. Julie confirmed the crust and said we caught it early; there were definite early signs of pink eye.

While I was at work daddy got Taylor's prescription filled, ready for me to pick up on my way home (an entire other post that I won't do just because it's annoying to rehash the horrible, unorganized process of CVS's pharmacy). After I got home from work, Taylor's eye was bright pink with goo coming out of it the rest of the night! Thank goodness for mommy radar and catching this icky thing early. She's on medication and hopefully ready for daycare tomorrow. Yay!

Here she is one day after...we had to keep her home and no daycare. :( Pink eye is in her right eye...hardly noticeable!

Taylor- starting off 2010

Taylor has started the year 2010 with so many amazing qualities, I couldn't help but share them with everyone.

Taylor's language always amazes us and at two years old she is talking in full sentences, using such big words for her age. It is truly amazing. The other night she pulled out the word "doesn't" which was so cool. She was unscrewing a lid on a water bottle and it got stuck so she said, "It doesn't open." Wow, so gramatically correct! Today I gave her a Danimals Yogurt (the ones you drink) and she said, "Don't spill it," and "Don't shake it." She used to say "No spill it," and "No shake it." I'm just so amazed at how the complicated English language is learned so easily by typically developing children. Amazing!!

Taylor also went through a "Leave me alone" or "Leave it alone" phase where whenever we would touch her or her toys when she didn't want us to she would pull out one of those phrases. The funny part was that she says her "L's" so well that she would really emphasize them and expand them out. So it would be like this: "Llllleave me allllone!" During the same phase she also loved the phrase "I do it!" That was a few weeks of constant "I do it" and "Leave me alone" but she has since relaxed with those phrases and uses them sporadically, or a little nicer.

She's very independent, as seen from above, and she likes to help and do many things all by herself. Brushing her teeth is one of the big ones. She likes to get the toothbrush head from the holder herself, put it on the handle by herself, we put our foot down about putting the toothpaste on, and she then likes to brush her whole mouth by herself. Of course, mommy and daddy have to take a turn after Taylor finishes. :) She likes to pick out her own clothes, get dressed by herself (undies, pants, socks and shoes...not yet the shirt), and even help et meals ready. I often make the joke that she is going to be ready to live on her own at 5 years old! Haha!

One proud moment to end this post. Taylor and I were watching the Tinker Bell movie (her absolute favorite!) and the Queen came on the screen. Taylor said, "That's Tinker Bell's mommy." She then scooted over to me on the couch, locked her arm in mine, put her head on my shoulder and said, "That's Taylor's mommy" in the sweetest voice ever. Ahhhh. My heart melted.

Big Bump on the Head

Today we went to mommy and me and when we got home we were walking in the house from the garage. I came in and held the door open for Taylor while I was turning off the alarm. All of a sudden I heard a thump and delayed whining. I turned around and Taylor was on her hands and knees winding up to scream. I picked her up, just thinking she tripped but immediately saw a huge indentation about 3 inches wide (like a horizontal slice)on her forehead. She had tripped most likely on the rug that lays over the stair and then her head flung forward and hit the metal strip that is at the bottom of the door jam. Ouch!

I immediatly started thinking the worst. I am taking a brain injury class at school and so my mind started to wander. I got her ice pack and opened my textbook to see what part of the brain would be damaged from injuries to the forehead. All my mind kept thinking was "brain injury is the biggest silent epidemic" and "brain injuries aren't identified in children until they are older when the delays are more apparent." The indentation slowly started to go away and the area of impact just turned red and blue. She was acting normal, could walk, count, and do all the things she normally could do. I decided to hold her until the babysitter got here to see how Taylor would react (Taylor LOVES Katherine, the babysitter). When Katherine got here, Taylor immediately said, "Tinker Bell movie with Katherine!" She was fine!

So, I left for work a little while later and Katherine just kept an eye on her throughout the day.

Below is a picture of her battle wound now (not too bad).


Here's Taylor playing at night having so much fun in mommy's heels.

Camping for New Year's Eve

This year we went camping in Anza Borrego State Park for New Year's Eve. Our friends Silas and Julia as well as Jeremy and Morgan joined us for our celebration.

On Friday, the day we were leaving, BJ was packing up the jeep and getting it ready to go and low and behold he found that the whole transfer case (I could be making up that word!), or the thing that holds the transmission in place, was cracked and hanging on by a thread basically. So, we called our friends and asked how bumpy the road to the campground was. We typically go to a spot that takes a somewhat offroad vehicle to get to (you have to climb over rocks and stuff). He said it was pretty flat with some sandy spots but a non-4x4 should make it. So, we threw everything into our Saturn Outlook and headed out. Sure enough, we made it and it was a wonderful place for Taylor to be, a very large open lake bed so all the cacti were up on the hills but not where we were camping. It was great! Below are some pictures of our fun time.

Here I am getting comfy in the tent and playing with mom's make-up. Mascara on the lips!!


Mommy climbed a big rock so of course I wanted to go up to her.


Taylor helping daddy put together glow-in-the-dark bocci balls.


Snacking with the ladies and...the dog without a name (Silas and Julia got her just a few days before!).


Jeremy playing washers


Taylor being oh-so-cute!


Taylor so cold in the morning before the sun came up.


One of the best things about the trip was that Taylor learned to go pee-pee behind the rocks (on the ground)! She squated and Iheld her under her arms and she thought it was the coolest thing. We have an official camper!

Taylor's 2009 Art Work

Here is a fun slideshow of all of Taylor's art work from daycare from the year 2009. Enjoy!!!

San Diego Wild Animal Park

Today we woke up at the Wickett's house and enjoyed some left over tamales for breakfast with scrambled eggs...yummy! I (Mommy) forgot comfortable shoes to walk around the animal park in so I headed off before breakfast to get some after Christmas discounts on shoes. If only we weren't going to the animal park...the outlets were awesome! Not crowded at all! I enjoyed a morning by myself with my latte from Starbucks, walking around the outlets for a bit. Although I didn't find the shoes I was looking for, I found another pair that I have come to like a lot and had a very relaxing, enjoyable morning. Below is a slideshow of our day at the animal park with both sets of Nannies and Papas, Tia, mommy and daddy, and Aesa's family (Yay!).

Christmas afternoon at the Wickett's

After we opened up gifts at our house we got dressed, packed up, and headed down to Nanni M and Papa Bill's house for Christmas weekend. We lounged around when we got there, enjoyed some wine and eachother's company, and then got ready for a really yummy tamale dinner. After dinner we watched football for a bit and then opened some more gifts at half-time. Mellow is the word that describes our afternoon and it is exactly how we like to enjoy our Christmas with family. Taylor skipped her nap that day so after some Christmas movie watching we said goodnight to her and not long after we all had an early bed time in preparation for a fun Animal Park day the next day.

Taylor enjoying a quick snack when we got to the Wickett's


Playing with Papa Bill


Throwing a ball (of course still with her jewelry and purse on)


So proud of her throwing


What does Taylor do best?? Eat!!!


The yummy tamale dinner


Our family Christmas


Tia and mommy


Brother and sister (Tia and daddy)




Getting some help from my nannies to play gently with the ornaments


Taking my baby for a stroll in my new outfit from Nanni M


Too cute!


Reading a book with Papa'Al


Taking a rest with daddy


The family


Nanni relaxing


Hangin' with Nanni M


Hangin' with Papa'Al

It's Christmas Morning!

[Written by mommy]

This morning Taylor slept in just enough to let us take showers. We woke her up early so that we could take our time with presents but finish early enough to get down to Nanny M and Papa Bill's house to enough Christmas with them as well. This was Taylor's first year that she truly understood Christmas, that she had to wait to open her presents until that morning, and that Santa would be bringing her more presents when she was sleeping. It was a truly magical year for BJ and I to see our daughter so amazed and so excited about the entire Christmas process that we are creating for her as our family tradition. Christmas has changed for us, from looking forward to opening gifts with our parents to spending time with family and seeing the joy and excitement in our daugher's eyes.

Taylor first seeing what Santa had brought!


Her first go at the presents


Her first stocking stuff present to open of 2009


Nerd's Chapstick (she LOVES chapstick!)


And there she goes...


Wow, jewelry!


Santa brought books...just as she asked!


A special present from daddy for their weekends of football watching when mommy is at school


Two of her favorite things...Tinker Bell and books!


Santa brought mommy and daddy matching tray tables


Ooooh, a tool bench to work on with daddy in the garage


A sleeping bag of her very own for camping (from Nanni and Papa'Al)!


A baby which she has named Baby Julia (after Cadin's sister)


Helping Papa'Al build all her baby's furniture


So cute...she immediately put the blanket over the baby in bed, just like what she sees with the babies in their car seats at mommy-and-me.


Daddy's surprise gift from mommy...what is it?!


No way! His wedding ring that he lost years before and mommy found the week before Christmas behind the shoe rack.


The "after-Christmas" mess


Taylor all ready to go with her new vest from Riley (for her birthday), her Christmas comfy outfit, her warm beanie and scarf from Santa, her purse from mommy and daddy, and of course, LOTS of chapstick on.


Notice the chapstick