PUMPKIN PATCHES AND LADYBUGS...

We had so much fun this month!! Of course, we loved celebrating Taylor's first birthday. And the Halloween festivities gave us priceless memories and SO MANY PICTURES!!!

One afternoon, Taylor and I went to the pumpkin patch with Aunt Sarah and Braylin. Unfortunately, the pumpkins had already been picked through, but we were able to get some cute shots.


Wednesday before Halloween, Ray and I took Taylor to Pumpkin Shine on Line. Gammie, PopPop, Aunt Sarah and Braylin met us there. The girls rode around in the wagon, admiring the jack-o-lanterns....those glowing and those painted alike.
And, then, the big night arrived....HALLOWEEN!!! Taylor was a ladybug! She loved her costume!! And she did pretty durn good with trick or treating! Taylor couldn't seem to keep her shoes on. So, I would carry her up to the doorstep where she would stand, usually holding candy and not her bag, and smile a big 'ole smile. At one point, I noticed she was gnawing on a wrapped Snickers in her hand. Come to find out, Taylor had opened a small hole and sucked out the candy bar, bit by bit.

OUR LIL PUMPKIN JUST TURNED 1...

I know, I know. This post is about 2 weeks too late, but I figure better late than never. So here it is...

TAYLOR IS 1!!!!!!!!!!

We had so much fun at her birthday party. Taylor had a blast playing in the yard with all of her friends and cousins! And present time was so exciting! She received so many toys and books and cute outfits. Taylor's Mommy and Daddy gave her a rocking horse. Taylor saw this gift before the party started and took Patches for a ride before her guests began to arrive.

The real show came with the cake. Taylor was so unsure of the pumpkin cake. She touched the icing with one finger, stared for a moment with intent and then dove right in. That's right, face first. Taylor enjoyed her cake lick by lick. She eventually dug in deep with a few fingers, but Little Miss Priss doesn't like to get her fingers dirty.

Thank you to all of our friends and family for sharing in the fun and excitement. It is so hard to believe that Taylor is already one!!

BAPTIZED IN CHRIST.

This past Sunday, Ray and I presented our beautiful baby girl for baptism at First United Methodist Church. Taylor is such a blessing to our lives. We thank God everyday for our baby girl. And we pray for the strength and ability to guide and encourage Taylor in the development of her faith and her walk with Christ. And we are so very grateful for all of the friends and family that Taylor has to support her through this journey called life.

CRAZY LIL GAL....

WHO DAT?! Football season has started and Taylor has been practicing her cheerleader skills....TOUCHDOWN!!!!
One afternoon, I left Taylor to play in her bedroom for a few minutes while I traded out laundry. I came back to this scene...dress off, books strewn around, and, almost, every shoe out of the box and one the floor. Crazy girl. Taylor then proceeded to bring a shoe over to me, set it on the ground, and placed her tiny foot on top of it.

(Did you notice....a pink cowboy boot?)

WHAT A BIG GIRL!!!

That's right, we are riding in a big girl car seat now!

And that's not all. Yesterday was Taylor's first day at Mother's Day Out! She is going to "school" on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Broadmoor United Methodist Church. How did it go? Wonderful, of course! There were no tears. When Taylor and I arrived at her room, she was just a wigglin' to get down and out of my arms. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she took off and started playing. Because she is walking, they bumped her up to the 1 and up class! Her class starts with a snack. They then go to the gym for playtime. Playtime is extra special for Taylor, because Braylin's class plays at the same time. So, she gets to play with her cousin! Taylor and her friends then go back to the classroom for more play time, lunch (finger foods, which she must feed herself) and then a nap. And Taylor's mommy gets to have a few hours of peace.

She and I are both looking forward to tomorrow....

LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!!!

Oh boy, did we have a fun week! On Wednesday, Taylor and I took a spur of the moment day trip to the Tyler Zoo with Aunt Sarah and Braylin. And we could not have picked a better day. It was 85 and overcast. We never broke a sweat and the crowds were thin. The girls had so much fun. Braylin was naming all of the animals...elephants, giraffes, and tigers, leopards, fish, and monkeys, and, of course, PINK FLAMINGOS!!! We took tons of pictures, practiced our animal noises and made plenty of memories.

Taylor was wide eyed with wonder, sometimes laughing and sometimes a little scared...Some of the animals (the ones with sharp teeth) seemed a little to close for comfort...
Braylin and Taylor got a souvenir...some super cool zebra sunglasses and zoo animal bath toys!
On Thursday, we did a bit of our own monkeying around, when we met Daphne and Jonathan at the duck pond. That's right, Taylor's first trip to the playground. And she did her best to keep up with Jonathan. She tried to chase the ducks, she sat on the rocking horse, she climbed the playground set...
She rode the slide...She loved to swing...
And, oh yes Daddy, she chased a boy...What a great week! We had so much fun. Thanks for all the memories!!

SMILE, WE HAVE TEETH!!!

Taylor is now showing a nice toothy smile, 6 teeth! In Dental talk, all of her lateral incisors and her bottom central incisors have come in (in normal folk talk, she has all four of her bottom front teeth and on top, she is missing her middle teeth). That's right, Taylor has not yet cut her to front teeth. Her dentist daddy was a bit curious. So, Taylor had her first xray. And what did we find...TEETH!!!!That's right, those central incisors are up there and based on the image, they should be cutting through soon! If you look really close, you will see Taylor's permanent teeth, too!

On a side note, props to Dr. Jarvis and Kimberly on getting such a great shot! I haven't seen Taylor sit still for more than 30 seconds in the past 4 weeks. Good job!

TO TEXAS WE GO...

This past weekend, we took a road trip accross the border, the Texas-Louisiana border. Ray and I wanted to introduce Taylor to Mama Lou and Aunt Ruth.

We started with a visit with Mama Lou outside of Grapevine.
On Sunday we headed towards Kemp to visit Aunt Ruth.

Taylor had a wonderful time and we took some adorable pictures!!

UPDATE! UPDATE!

Although Taylor is VERY mobile now, up until this past week, she hasn't been getting into too much trouble. Taylor would play with the cabinet doors, but had very little interest in what was inside the cabinets. And, then, this happened.. From this cabinet she went to three others in the kitchen and those in the bathrooms. So, Ray spent his Sunday afternoon installing cabinet locks.

Taylor has begun to show an obsession over pairs of matching items. If we are holding one ball, we must find another ball for the other hand. A stuffed animal in the left, and stuffed animal in the right. A dish towel in one hand, her blanket in the other.

Of course, we could have assumed this from her standing at 6 months, but this child is a little dare devil. She climbs up and squeezes under and tumbles and inevitably takes a tumble from time to time.

Taylor is getting so big! We are ounces away from riding in a forward facing big girl car seat! And one of her NYC souvenirs finally fits!!!

SUMMER FREEDOM PHOTO CONTEST...

For some reason, I just loved our title picture of Taylor. Her chubby cheeks, her precious pink pout, the red white and blue, I just love it! I was messing around on Shutterfly (uploading the 606 pictures from our beach vacation) and came across this competition. So, I figured "what the hay? The theme is 'summer freedom' and our baby girl is very patriotic. Lets enter!" There is actually a $1000 grand prize and two $250 runner up prizes. I highly doubt I will win anything, but I just couldn't resist.

So... I need your votes!!! Follow this link and vote, vote, vote! Unfortunately, I do believe you have to create or use a Shutterfly account. Lucky for you and me, Shutterfly accounts are free! The link will guide you through starting an account.

http://contest.shutterfly.com/contests/showentry/333575

Thanks for your support guys!!!

AND WE CAN BARELY KEEP UP...

Oh goodness, I know you all are itching for more pictures. But, I tell you what, its hard to catch pictures of our baby girl. She has total confidence in her steps now and is FAST! Taylor is walking less and less like a Baby Frankenstein and looks like she is ready to break into full on sprint.

With her new found joy of being super mobile, has come a few more 'new' things. Taylor is now enjoying diced fruits, veggies, and meat-like sticks in addition to her baby food. She really likes carrots, nibbles on sweet potato, sucks on strawberries...mmmm yummy goodness.

Taylor now waves when you say hi and bye. She claps when you clap, say 'yay' or she hears cheering. And, she will nod her head up and down when she hears you say yes! And mimic she will... the sound of coughing, a dog barking (although its more of a squeal for her), beating the tabletop, a pat on the back, sticking out her tongue, and the list goes on and on and on.

And the most exciting...Taylor said her first legitimate word today. Sadly, I missed it, but it meant the world to her father! Ray was holding Taylor in his arms at my parent's house. Gammie said "glad to see your Da-Da?" Taylor responded, "Da-Da" and laid her head on his chest. It melted his heart!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!!

Yesterday was Taylor's nine month birthday! Its so hard to believe that we are only 3 months away from her first birthday!!! In honor of Taylor's 9 month day, we celebrated at the beach with fun in the sun, barbecue, and a grand finale of some waterfront fireworks. Well, all that was really for the Fourth of July, but it still made for a fun day!

Before we left town, we took a trip to meet Taylor's new pediatrician. The appointment went great and Dr. Cush-John was very impressed with Taylor's walking! Her nine month weight...19 pounds, 3 ounces.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

So much to tell! Taylor is now eating baby food (stage 3) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She loves it! Well, she still doesn't like green beans and she isn't a fan of broccoli. She is also snacking on Little Graduates finger foods...cheesy puffs, strawberry stars, mixed berry yogurt melts, and her favorite, cinnamon maple lil' crunchies. Don't let the names fool you, they all melt upon contact to her tongue. With 3 teeth, she can't do too much chewing, but she is pretty good at mushing. Taylor is reaching for our food constantly. So, Ray and I have given Taylor a few tastes...strawberry, pineapple, potato, steamed carrot, and a few others. And then we broke the rules....now, I assure you that we are good, responsible parents every day of the week. But even the best Mommy and Daddy slip up at times. Traditionally, Baby's first taste of sugar is on his or her first birthday. And I know there are many reasons for this, but none seemed to come to mind that Thursday evening in May. Ray and I were enjoying a yummy slice of cookie cake. I don't know if it were Taylor's begging little eyes or that we just temporarily lost our minds, but Ray took a small dab of icing on his fingertip and raised it to Taylor's lips. She slowly and cautiously touched the white dot with her tongue. Taylor slowly mashed it around in her mouth, the gears in her head turning and cranking. Suddenly, she lunged forward and sucked his finger clean. We have created a monster. Don't worry, we haven't given her anymore.

With the heat as it is right now, I have been worrying about Taylor getting hot and thirsty. For the paste few weeks, I have been working to get Taylor drinking fluids, something other than formula, which she only has 3-4 times a day. We have tried water. We've tried juice. We have tried water and juice mixed. Different flavors. From and bottle. Out of a sippy cup. NOTHING WORKED. Taylor wanted nothing to do with liquids. Then, yesterday, we met up with Gammie and Braylin at Target. Braylin was very thirsty. So, we picked up some cartons of peach/pear juice. Taylor was watching Braylin sipping on the box drink. You could see her mind working, then she started reaching across buggies for her cousin's juice box. So, I figured, its worth a shot.

Well, I'll be durn, she hasn't been drinking because she didn't want to drink from a sippy cup. She wanted a straw! So, we are now drinking from straw cups!

And, now, the most exciting news...this past Tuesday night...TAYLOR TOOK HER FIRST STEPS!!!! That's right, our little 8 1/2 month old took 2 steps. She wasn't really paying attention, it just happened. She has been walking, assisted, for a week or two. But this was totally unexpected! She took two more last night. Ray and I have to work on our remaining calm and quiet when Taylor is stepping, because, the first few times, we would both gasp and then she get all flustered and sit back down.

We better get ready! She is already into EVERYTHING! And she is a little speed demon while crawling!

DANCING QUEEN...

Anytime there is music, we start dancing...

These are the only 2 videos I have of it so far. Who knows, we may be dancing with Beyonce soon!

In other news...We now officially have an attachment to our blankie! Taylor reaches for it when she is sleepy, cuddles with it at night, and always tries to steal her cousin, Braylin's.

Also, Taylor is adjusting to a change in her Daddy. Ray got braces this past Monday! So, he looks a little different and sounds a little different, but he is still her Prince Charming.

PEEK-A-BOO....

This is one of Taylor's new favorites. She could go on for hours....

ALL SETTLED IN...

We've done it...unpacked all the boxes, hung most the pictures, cooked our first few dinners. We are officially living in Shreveport! Although our apartment is slightly less square feet than our previous 2 places, it feels like it has so much more room. And closet space, oh my word, so much closet space!!!

I have to tell you, Taylor LOVES it!! Our place has carpet throughout. So, she is a crawling speed-demon. What else does she love? THE POOL!!! One of the pools is right next to our building. As soon as I pull out on of her swimsuits, Taylor starts going crazy. She kicks and splashes. If you set her on the side of the pull, Taylor gets a jumpy and then reached and falls into your arms. We have so much fun!

Taylor is working on getting a few more teeth. And she now will stand, on her own, in the middle of the room. She will bend down, pick up and toy and stand back up! Sometimes, she will walk with assistance.

Oh, for those of you that are wondering, Ray and I had a fantastic trip to NYC. Lots of great food, several celebrities, the sights, the shows. It was fabulous. But, boy did we miss our baby girl. Of course, I am not so sure she missed us. Taylor had an absolute blast with Gramma and Big Daddy! And what did we bring our baby girl from the Big Apple? A custom designed Muppet!! That's right, we brought her a new friend named Franny.

DADDY'S A DENTIST!!!

Strike up the band, light the candles, Ray did it....HE GRADUATED!! Ray is now Dr. Jarvis!!We took one final trip down to New Orleans for his hooding ceremony, a celebratory dinner, and commencement! Typically, I use this page to brag on our beautiful baby girl, but I do believe a little bit of bragging on my husband is in order. At his hooding ceremony on Wednesday, Ray was recognized 3 times. He received an award from the Academy of General Dentistry for being one of the top students (only 3 given), the Dental Implant Student Award from the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and an opportunity to participate in an all-expense paid week of intensive study at the world renowned Pankey Institute in Key Biscayne. Taylor and I were so very proud to see him graduate, but then to see him recognized amongst his peers, so special. Then Thursday morning, he walked across that stage, picked up his diploma and realized...I did it, I finished, I am finally starting the next chapter...

"So Dr. Jarvis, now that you have graduated from dental school, what are you going to do?"

"I'M GOING TO NEW YORK CITY!!"

That's right, we are taking a vaca to the Big Apple! We leave on Sunday and come back next Saturday. We are so very excited! I know what you are thinking, 'taking a 7 month old to NYC?' Nope. Taylor will be spending the week in Houston with Gramma and Big Daddy. When we booked the trip, a week away from Taylor sounded like no big deal; but as the date of departure creeps up, I am getting a bit more anxious about not seeing for 6 days. However, I know she will be in GREAT hands and this trip is definitely deserved. If anyone has suggestions for dining, clubbing, or touring please feel free to post them in the comments. Thanks!!

EAT 'EM UP,EAT 'EM UP, CHOMP, CHOMP!

What is that....

Could it be...

It is...

TAYLOR'S FIRST TWO TEETH!!!!!!

They cut through a couple of Fridays ago, but are just now super visible in pictures! So cute!! Her daddy was so excited!!

BOOGIE NOSE BABY....

Sorry I have not been blogging...between packing to move and trying to get well, no time for blogging. Yup, sick again. Ray, Taylor and I have been passing around the crud. I hope to blog a big update in the next few days.

UP, UP, AND AWAY....

Pulling up is our newest trick! This fearless little 6 month old no longer wants to sit around! She pulls up on everything! Needless to say, nap time is somewhat nonexistent at the moment. All Taylor wants to do is stand on top of her bumper and look out over the top of her crib.

As far as Taylor's 6 month stats...26" long and 17lbs!!!! And she is now a formula baby. It was a bit of an adjustment, but it sure is easy.

TAYLOR IS A WATER BABY!!!!

Saturday was our first Water Babies class! We had a BLAST! Taylor was the youngest out of 10 babies. This, in part, must have had something to do with her being one of only 3 babies that did not cry in the class. She is too young to be afraid. To Taylor, this was nothing more than a giant bathtub, and we all know how much she loves bath time! We practiced different positions, 'swimming' on our tummies, bouncing on mommy's knee, and the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme helped introduce her to the idea of 'falling' into the water. And, finally, we submerged. I must admit, I was terrified! Dunking my 6 month old baby under water. Bounce 1, bounce 2, bounce 3, blow in her face and into the water Taylor went. At that moment I felt my heart skip a beat, my breath quickened...would she scream and cry?! Nope. For a split second, she looked at me with an expression of shock, 'why would you do this to me' was written across her face. Guilt began creeping over me. I managed to keep a smile and cheer on her achievement and, then, her eyes began to brighten and a smile came across her face! We submerged 2 more times. Ray and I were so proud. What a brave, beautiful little girl we have! We are going back again next Saturday!

6 MONTHS AND COUNTING....

That's right folks, this past Sunday was Taylor's 6 month birthday!! Can you believe it?!This past month was a blast. I have WAY too many pictures! Here are a few highlights...

Taylor got her first pair of Keds!
Taylor took her first flight in PopPop's plane!

The 'headset' didn't really fit, so she wore Infant Earplanes instead. She did great! Only cried for a few minutes. Spent a good part of the time out of her infant carrier looking out the window and playing with the maps.

Taylor and I spent a week in Shreveport. We stayed with Gammie and PopPop. They just ate her up!

Taylor's first Easter!! She looked beautiful!!

Bathtime!! Loves her bath toys!! Especially her new 'Elmo Gets Clean' book.

Is she crawling yet? Well, Taylor now gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. She looks like she is preparing to take off across the room. Then, just as she begins to slide one knee forward...

she decides that this crawling stuff is for sissy babies and it would be far more fun to stand up like Mom and Dad...

The docs told us that Taylor would be flexible, but its just plain crazy. She can totally do the splits! And this is one of her new sleeping positions...

More than anything, we get compliments on the fact that Taylor is almost always smiling. And its true, she is a very happy baby. BUT, we are now officially teething. So, we get a few less smiles and a few more of these faces....