Taylor's first OFFICIAL haircut

She was a little nervous bit did great! Thanks Amber! You are the best.

Playing with Ava, Ryen, and Dax (Amber's kiddo's)

Their future wedding photo. I love Tay's hand gently resting on his chest... too cute.

Playin' and swimmin'

Now that I am finally feeling better from my surgery last week, I thought I better update the blog with some pictures of our recent happenings...

She absolutely loves Sugarhouse park, but anyone that has been with us knows she is THE most cautious child on the planet. How is it that we end up with so many accidents?!

Atop the slide. Very impressive for the timid Taylor.

I love this photo. As you can see, now I am the cautious one when it comes to the sun. I made her wear this hat (that obviously doesn't fit her head, especially with braids) while we ate lunch. Her expression basically says it all- "Take it off mama!".

She loved feeding the ducks her leftover Cheetos.

We went swimming together right after I got back from Mexico. I took her to the Fairmont indoor pool in Sugarhouse and she loved it. I enjoyed it because I didn't have to deal with sunscreen, and there were tons of fun things to keep her busy- A slide, several fountains and a lazy river. We will definitely go again.

My "skinny minny"

All wrapped up and warm... It was a great day!

Puerto Vallarta

I just returned from a six day trip with my office to Puerto Vallarta. What a great time it was! It was the perfect vacation consisting of relaxing, sunbathing, swimming, shopping, and eating. It doesn't getter better than that, especially when it's with a bunch of girls I love. Thanks Dr. "Rudge"! You are the best.

Hallelujah to the heavens above

After MONTHS AND MONTHS (and MONTHS) of looking at every possible home in Draper, Sandy, Highland and Alpine, I am happy to announce that we have FINALLY decided to build. Here are a few pics of our 1/2 acre lot only ten seconds away from Christy and Rommel. Our builder has promised us we will be in by the end of October. I am beyond excited.

Justyn is taking this picture at the curb of our future home. If you can see two little pinhead people, it's me and Tay standing at the property line. Notice our excitement. I am envisioning a home all to myself where I can walk around naked during the day without worrying someone will see me. Or where I can have some peace and quiet whenever I feel like it. Tay is thinking about her future swingset and trampoline. Maybe even a pool.

At last, I can finally see the light at the end of the dark tunnel...

Taylor's Top Ten

Here is Tay's top ten in no particular order (except numbers one and two), courtesy of my sister-in-law Emily tagging me...

1. Her green silky blankie and pink bunny. She CANNOT and WILL NOT live without them. They accompany us in the car everywhere we go, although I do have to limit where she actually takes them. We honestly don't know what we would do if she lost her blankie. I have bought several other Little Giraffe blankies that are identical yet different colors and she wants nothing to do with them. I think it's the worn-out effect on the silky edges that makes her love it so much.


2. Her left thumb. As an infant, I forced a pacifier on her, but to no avail. She loved her thumb from day one. We even have ultrasound pics of her with thumb in mouth! I am guessing that Murphy's Law comes into play here, being that I am a dental hygienist and know how much easier it is to take a pacifier away versus cutting the thumb off. Oh well, I figure she'll stop at some point. I'll let her enjoy it a little longer.

3. Books. She would rather read books than play with dolls anyday. And she loves the library class we go to weekly and the dozen or so new books we bring home each time.


4. Waffles and chicken nuggets. As of the last few months, ask Taylor at any meal what she wants and you will get one of these two answers. I'm not so big on the chicken nuggets, because she would rather have them from McDonalds (ick) than the dino nuggets from Costco.



5. "Shiny Diamond Things". She is definitely all girl. She loves lotion, makeup, lipgloss and specifically jewelry. In December we took her to the mall to see Santa. She jumped up on his lap and told him that she wanted "shiny diamond things". It was the first time we had heard that, and we laughed and laughed. I guess she is just like her mama! Notice the "diamond" crown from "Santa Gib".


6. Being outdoors to swing, take walks, look at/smell flowers, etc. Especially with grandma's and grandpa's. She made me laugh yesterday when she insisted on getting her gloves out so she could garden. They were winter mittens. It was so funny-I wish I would have taken a picture.


7. "Shows". She has a few favorite's which include Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, and the (dreaded) Comcast on demand shows that last around 10 minutes or so. It's great because I can use them to get her to do something or I can take away the priviledge of watching one if she is acting up. I can hear her now- "I wanna watch a show, pleaaaasssee..."




8. Cousins/family/friends. She is all about being around family and gets so excited when we tell her that she gets to see a grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle or cousin.



9. Coloring and drawing. The best Christmas present we got her this last year was an easel with a chalk board on one side and a dry-erase board on the other. It also has a roll of paper at the top so she can paint. (We have yet to do the painting part-Maybe someday in our own house...)


10. A "kiss, love and squeeze". Anyone who has been around Taylor knows that you won't get out the front door without one of these. And if you just try for a kiss only, she will request all three again. What a doll. I love her kisses and squeezes.

I tag: Isabel, Cami, Logan, Addyson, Jane and Dax

Slow and steady wins the race

I am happy to report the Salt Lake Half Marathon was a success, especially with as little training as I did. I think my official finish time was right around 2:23. Despite the strong wind gusts along the course, it was, for the most part, a good run. I got really tired between miles 8 and 10, but after gagging down some "delicious" strawberry GU (I wouldn't recommend that flavor to ANYONE, EVER), I gained a little bit of steam back and finished. Christy was about 5 minutes ahead of me, Rommel about 35 min ahead! I woke up this morning feeling a little sore around my hip flexors and I am afraid I may lose my big toenail, but other than that, I feel pretty good. For those of you who have never done a long race, it really is a great feeling and sense of accomplishment when you cross the finish line. Everyone needs to experience it. And if you are thinking that there is no way you could do it, my recommendation is to go to a race and watch people (especially family) cross the finish line. It is so inspiring. I experienced that when I watched Christy do her first 1/2 marathon several years ago and my mom felt the same way yesterday. Maybe I can convince her to do the Disneyland Half in August...