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!!