Christmas Day

Santa came to vist Taylor!!! He was pretty low key with presents, but only because Taylor's family was so generous. Too much of a good thing IS possible when you're only 14 months! One of the most popular gifts was the Hokey Pokey Elmo from Uncle Scott. Here are a few pics from the day...

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to everyone!

We all want to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas! While we will miss spending time with our family out of state, we're thinking of you and loving you lots. Taylor is blessed to have such a big family who all have been generous during this season. We can't wait to see you all soon!!!! Love, Scott, Karin and Taylor

So big!

Sometimes I have to stop what I'm doing and ask myself who is this little girl who wants to do everything herself? Her baby days are long gone.

It's Tuesday... and Tuesday means Swimming!

This is Taylor and me at swim class. She is doing really well with it, and is so much better than she was 5 or 6 weeks ago when she cried the entire time. Now, she dunks her head under water, and loves playing all the swim games. Here she is swimming with a noodle (with limited support!) and holding onto a red ball. The red ball is important... she loves it, and she calls it "Bah Bah Bah Bah Bah" and tries to swim towards it with the help of the noodle.

Happy Birthday, Gram!

Taylor wishes her Gram a Happy Birthday! We all hope you have a great day.

Happy Birthday Mama!!!

Mama, Happy Birthday!! I love you!!

Taylor's First Steps

Taylor has recently been flirting with steps all by herself. For a while now she's been standing and balancing but we really didn't think she had any interest in walking. Well, this week while I was at work, Taylor decided to take a few steps. Scott called me to excitedly tell me what was happening and I said, "get the video camera out and send me a video! I do not want to miss it!" He had a hard time doing it by himself because her path is right into someone's arms. So far, she does not walk anywhere that doesn't have a comfortable landing (she's no dummy!). So Scott waited till Gram came over (it happened to be a school day for Scott) and filmed her while she walked into Gram's arms. Thank God for technology! Even though I was at work, I got to see her first few steps over and over (and over) again. Admittedly, not a lot of work got done that afternoon.

Her first solo steps... they're very tentative and careful and check out that look of concentration!

Taylor's First Halloween

Taylor had a very fun day on Friday!! We started the day with some breakfast. Taylor likes to start with some grapes, a few cheerios, and then a waffle. This is her favorite meal.




After breakfast, we took Taylor out to run a few errands. She loves the fact that her car seat faces forward now.



Then after we got home from errands, we said to Taylor, "It's Halloween! Do you know what that means? That means you get to dress in your costume and get candy!"

So, off Taylor went in a hurry to get in her new costume.



We could barely keep up with Taylor. Next she made us take her upstairs and put her in her costume. Here she is dressed as a ladybug!

Finally, we got to take Taylor to get some candy! Here she is in her new wagon, and off to get some goodies!

Happy Birthday, Papa!

We will celebrate next week with you, but Taylor wants to wish her Papa John a very happy birthday. Have a great day!!

Thank you!

Taylor would like to call all of you to personally thank you for your birthday wishes and amazing gifts. However, her cell doesn't get the best reception. So we'll post a big "Thank you" for her! She really is a very luckly girl to have so much family and friends who love her!!!

Birthday Girl

Today...
One year ago...

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!!!!

Today is your birthday, and if only words could express exactly what we feel for you. Although you were a total surprise, you'll never know how much we wanted you. We prayed and wished that you'd be healthy every day of the first trimester. At the end of that very long period we not only found out you were perfect, but we found out you were a girl! Would you have blonde hair or no hair? Would you be shy or boisterous? Would you be serious or giggle? We couldn't wait for the day!!!! Then one quiet, early Monday morning we headed to the hospital. It was one of the most excitings moments of our lives.

Since then you have made our life so full. We are blessed and amazed every day as we watch you explore and discover. As it turns out you have "darkish" blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, a smile that lights up the whole room, and an outgoing personality that makes us laugh. You wave at just about anyone (and have stopped traffic to boot!), smile nearly all of the time, and use your giggles sparingly (but when they come they make us laugh too!).

At one year old, your loves include:

• doggies


• going barefoot


• chicken nuggets


• your first bottle of the morning


• music and dancing


• those silly monkeys jumping on the bed


• going for walks


• riding in the grocery cart


• your Bitty Baby


• banging blocks together


• telling everyone what a dog says (woof woof!)


• the Itsy Bitsy Spider song


• your upper lip on the outside of your paci


• swinging at the park


• standing and holding on to just about anything (the ottoman, the stairs, our pantlegs...)


• matzo balls


• high fives


• sleeping on your stomach at the foot of the crib


• Elizabeth and music class


• waffles


• tickles from Dad


• cuddles from Mom

At the risk of sounding cliche or "mushy", you make our life complete. We can't wait to see what the next year ahead will bring. And don't worry, we'll be right there to capture it on film or video so we can post in on the blog! :)

We love you!

Mama and Dada

Pumpkin Patch Saturday!

Click here to create the same image in your own name!!

We took Taylor to pick out pumpkins on Saturday. We had a blast...cider doughnuts, music, the pumpkin patch, and kids everywhere!

Taylor has a big week coming up! Her birthday is on Wednesday and her big party is on Saturday!

Snarls

Anyone see a resemblance?

A visit at work!

Scott and Taylor came to visit me at my office today. It was such a treat for me! Scott took this picture with his cell phone...I think she might be a number cruncher in training!!!

Singing and Dancing (And Reading!)

Happy Birthday, Great Grandma!

On the Mend

Taylor has been down and out for the last few days. It all started with a fever on Saturday night that didn't seem to want to break until the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday. With the fever came a yucky head cold and (to top it off) her two front teeth pushing through. She hasn't been to daycare since last Thursday and dad has been home with her during the day trying to take her mind off the general "ickiness" of this bug. The good news for T is that means ignoring the rules. This translates to lots of videos of Vinko on tv, juice in her bottle, and late bedtimes.

Now the good news is that today there's no more fever, the cold seems to be getting a little better, and the teeth have broken through. So...today she's on her way to daycare....

To spend the next two days saying good bye to all the friends she's made and to say, "see ya next year!". Friday is her last day. Scott will be hanging with Taylor during the day and transitioning to full time student as he earns his Master's in Education at Salem State! I think Taylor is excited to get Dad all to herself ;)

Happy Belated Birthday, Uncle Scott!

Taylor is bummed she missed posting birthday wishes for her Uncle Scott! She was down the Cape having fun in the sun and had no way to get to a computer and post. So here is her public apology for saying Happy Birthday 6 days late. Taylor loves her wicked cool uncle!

Our week-long vacation down the Cape!

I'm sad to be making this entry on the Monday night before I have to go back to work. The last 10 days have been heaven and I guess it must end sometime. The last week of August, Scott, Taylor, and myself spent a fantastic week on the Cape. We rented a small condo at the Ocean's Edge Resort in Brewster, MA where we: swam in the pool, rented bikes, played mini golf, ate ice cream, and went to the beach. It was a little different from vacations-past in that everything was done in 2 hour blocks. Taylor would wear down after 2-3 hours (understandably!) and we always made sure to make time for naps...which Mom and Dad indulged in too!

These pics are from Taylor's first "real" day at the beach. This time she loved it and wasn't scared at all of the ocean. She ate the sand, kicked her toes in the water and smiled the entire time. We were prepared to be there for anywhere between 15 minutes and all day. Taylor lasted about 2 hours before she needed a nap and couldn't manage to settle down enough under the beach tent to nap there. So we packed it up and headed home for naps. All in all, a very successful first day at the beach!

The next pics are from the pool at Ocean's Edge. There was a large "grown up" pool and then a small toddler wading pool. We would start the day out at the bigger pool. As soon as Taylor was used to the chilly temp of the water she was all about splashing and kicking in the big pool. Then we'd bring her to the toddler pool where she could have a little more independence. Scott and I can't get over how much of a "fish" she is!

Just a couple more pictures from our mini golf match (Scott beat the combo team of Taylor and Karin) and then a trip out for some lobster! Taylor didn't have any fish but she LOVED the sherbert at the Lobster Claw :)

So tomorrow marks the end of the summer. We had a ton of great experiences with Taylor where we watched her discover a lot of "firsts". It's been our complete pleasure and joy to watch her learn and grow and become such an amazing little person. What a personality she has! She makes friends everywhere she goes (especially since she learned how to wave!).

New Video Time!

Taylor at 10 months old, and up to her new tricks.

Where does it end, daddy?

Taylor's first experience with the beach was pretty tame. She wasn't dressed for the sand and she thought the water was way too cold! So today was more of a "get our feet a little wet and look out at the vastness" kind of day. I must admit, I'm not too upset by her fear of the ocean just yet. It's much safer in Daddy's arms.

Our weekend in Chicago

We got back from our trip to Chicago a little later than planned, but all in all our trip was a great one! Grandpa George and Sue threw a big BBQ and we got to spend time with a lot of family we rarely get to see. There were burgers and brats served, bean bag toss tournaments, swimming, and a lot of laughs. We had such a great time. Below are a few pictures of Taylor with some special people.


Top left is Taylor and her Grandpa George (I especially love this one because you have two great baseball teams represented!), top right is T with her Uncle Scott, bottom left is Taylor with her Great Nana (mommy's Nana!), and bottom right is Taylor with her very cool 2nd cousin, Meghan.



Thanks, Dad, for hosting a great tradition. We'll be back next year!

Keeping up with Taylor

Keeping up with Taylor has been slightly challenging. I guess you could say we were a little naive about how long we'd have to get around to babyproofing. Scott and I were always telling each other we had plenty of time to babyproof. We realized that it only took her about an hour to go from not being able to crawl to crawling everywhere and getting into everything! I remember so fondly when we could put Taylor in the jumperoo for a good 30-40 minutes and have a few minutes to ourselves. Now she'd rather be crawling underneath the jumperoo than being confined in it!

HEY EVERYBODY!!!!

Wow, Taylor will be ten months next Friday. It's really unbelievable to us. She's gone from this little itty bitty thing that had a hard time gaining weight to this beautiful girl with so much excitement and energy. So with that said, I wanted to take the time to share all the changes and everything Taylor is up to!

- Crawling. She loves to crawl. Everywhere! No longer can you put Taylor down and have her sit still while you try and get something done. As soon as you do that, Taylor is off to the races. She'll move from one room to the next, sometimes stopping in between to do a mini-hand stand. Often, she stops after crawling for a little bit and looks up at me or Karin, or whoever is around, and smiles and waves.

- Waving. All you have to do is say the words "bye-bye Taylor," and she waves. Of course she doesn't know what it means, but she likes to wave. Also, she might be a little delayed, and you may start to walk away, but she'll be sure to wave at some point!

- Standing. Crawling is clearly something to keep her busy until she can finally stand. That's her goal, and she knows it!

- Eating. Oh, does she like to eat. Her favorite food is cheerios. I tried to mix in some Kix this morning, because they are kid tested and mother approved, so I figured, well, what the heck, Karin approves of it. Well, Taylor didn't. They looked funny to her and she pushed them aside and waited patiently for the cheerios. Her other favorites are graham crackers, baby cookies (they're good!), chicken and rice dinner, cold cuts like turkey, all kinds of fruit, sweet potatoes, and of course bread. DO NOT take her bread from her. This is an advanced warning.

- Toys. Taylor loves her blocks, and loves mirrors. But, she also is fond of her tupperware (See above picture)! Taylor has musical instruments that she shakes and she loves playing along to music. Clearly, she'll be loving singing and dancing when she starts to better understand, because she definitely reacts to music now.

We continue to be amazed by her. I am looking forward to spending more time with her and teaching her more awesome stuff. Taylor really is a great kid and we're proud of everything that she is accomplishing and learning!

Our trip to Roanoke

We're just back from our trip out to Roanoke to visit Taylor's Nana! While there we visited with Nana, Bob, Aunt Stacy, and Libby (Bob's daughter). It was really a lot of fun and we enjoyed every second. Nana and Bob live in a beautiful home surrounded by gorgeous scenery (notice the mountains in the background!). The trip was nice and low key and allowed Taylor to go for lots of walks, spend the afternoon in a pool only big enough for her, and make an exciting trip to pick peaches (I say exciting facetiously because Taylor fell asleep on our jaunt for peaches and it turns out she didn't miss too much)! Taylor also made some huge progress on her crawling efforts and I think we can declare her an official crawler now. I love the crawling but something that makes Scott and I nervous is the fact that she's also attempting to (and succeeding half the time) pull herself up on anything she can grab on to. Last night we put her down to sleep and I walked in to check on her to find her standing up and holding on to the crib bars for dear life. She's good at pulling herself up but not so great at getting herself back down :)

We drove the 12 hours to Virginia during the night and Taylor slept the whole way. I'd do it again this way because we spent less of our awake vacation time making the drive and Taylor was so comfortable and quiet. Thanks to Dad for driving most of the way!!

Our next stop on Taylor's summer tour is Chicago. We leave on Friday Aug 8th and return home on Sunday the 10th so it will be quick!!

9 months today!

I can't believe it's been 9 months since that crazy morning in October, when Taylor decided to make an appearance a few weeks before plan! She changes every day and continues to crack us up with the funny things she comes up with. We went to the doctor's office this morning for a well baby check up and confirmed what we already knew - T is perfect! She continues to remain strong on that 95% line for height and weight (22 lbs and 28 1/2 inches) and developmentally is doing all of the things typical 9 month olds do.

Taylor continues her summer tour next week, when we leave for Roanoke, VA to visit her Nana and Bob. And then 2 short weeks after that, a visit to Chicago to see Grandpa George and Sue! Whew - we get tired just thinking about it :) See you soon!

Do you like teething, Taylor?

This weekend Taylor has been enduring some teething pain. Her first tooth has made an appearance and is breaking through! She's been a trooper and hasn't been too cranky though. Here's our latest video....

Taylor's Crawling Efforts

Hi everyone. Taylor has been really working on her crawling efforts lately. She really, really wants to start moving around and she's made a little progress. She has accomplished an inch-worm type maneuver, where she moves forward with her legs first, and then pushes her chest forward with her legs. We're both excited about her accomplishments and nervous about what life will be like with Taylor on the go! Here's a video I shot this past weekend, it doesn't show her moving forward but you get the idea of how hard she's working and how bad she wants it! Any day now...

Florida in the Summer Time

This past weekend we all packed up and headed to Florida. We were slightly nervous about how Taylor would handle a 3 hour plane ride; however, there was no need to be nervous. Taylor did a great job and traveled like a pro. As soon as we got there, Taylor was introduced to second cousins she had never met. It was no surprise she met them all with her giant "cheesey" smile (crinkled nose included)!

Taylor LOVED swimming in the pool, and who could blame her. Florida was hot! On Saturday evening we celebrated Poppi's 90th birthday and what a celebration it was!

Taylor loved meeting some of her extended family from New York and also seeing cousins she hadn't seen since December. But the most important of all was visiting and getting kisses from her Gigi and Poppi! Taylor is Gigi's #1 great granddaughter (we'll call her #1a) and is blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family.

Father's Day

I had a great first Father's Day! On Friday night, we took Taylor out to eat and then up to New Hampshire to get a video camera that is going to get a lot of use over the next 18 years!

But first, I picked Taylor up from "school" on Friday afternoon and was very surprised to find out I had my first ever Father's Day present from Taylor. A tie!




She smiled real big when I said "THANKS, TAYLOR." Here is Taylor ordering a margarita. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't understand the whole "you can't drink until you are 21" concept. But we let her indulge and think that she might get one of these colorful drinks.

Saturday morning I awoke and Karin had started using the new Flip video camera. Obviously, we need to share one of Taylor eating my favorite food, a bagel.

Without a doubt, it was an incredible weekend with my wife and daughter, and I am looking forward to sharing more fun moments of Taylor's life with everyone, especially now that I can capture it all with a video camera!