Drawings & Resolution Update

Payton drawing of a "gurl" (girl).

And here is Dylan's "beautiful girl".

{smile}

*****

Oh and since it is the end of the month (and I didn't post it last month), I thought I would update you on my New Year's Resolution.  I am a little behind.  I read thru May 14th so far.  Having a baby thru me off for a little while, but now I am back and catching up as quick as I can.  What I am really enjoying is seeing how 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles parallel each other.  I never put that together when reading in the past. {Doh!}
How are you doing on YOUR New Year's Resolution?

Nature Scavenger Hunt

I had come across a "Nature Scavenger Hunt" on Pinterest and I set up the kids to do it today.  Here they are with their lists:

And here they are with some of their finds!

It lasted about 30 minutes but the kids had fun doing it.  Here is the link if you want to do it too!

Source: thetaylor-house.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Memorial Day

Dylan loves being the big brother and getting to hold Rylan.

It was beautiful this morning with a cool breeze.  So Dylan and I sat out back and played Monopoly Deal.  It's a very fun game.  I was teaching him how to play and he beat me...twice.  How does that happen?

Rylan was snoozing next to us.

He sleeps so peacefully.

Dylan holding Rylan has proven to be very helpful at times!  Here he's holding him while we get ready for linner (lunch/dinner).  Chris and Craig made BBQ Ribs...yum!

Today we give thanks to all the veteran's, and military who have sacrificed to serve our country and fight for our freedoms so we CAN enjoy peaceful days like this.

One Year Ago Today

We made it to Georgia after driving cross country for 5 days. 

We had left behind everything that we had ever known in California with the hopes that we were following the Lord's leading.  Praying that this is where he wanted us to be.


We drove up as a family of four, to a new place, where we knew only Chris' parents, Chris' brother and his family and our friends, the Tappan's.  We were both excited and nervous, but looking forward to what God had for us here.

Fast forward to today - We are now a family of five, things are becoming more familiar, we have an awesome church family and wonderful friends. 


The road hasn't always been easy (I miss my family a lot), but the Lord has always been faithful.  I look back and see all of His blessings... and see that this is where we are supposed to be.


Jeremiah 17:7 - "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord."  May we keep trusting in the Lord for everything!

First Day of Summer 2012

Rylan was all business in his tie.

We took the kids to the pool (it was 92 degrees today - woot woot!).

Rylan slept most of the time.

It got a bit too hot to hold him like that so we made a make-shift bed for him.

We will be here a LOT this summer!

I got his picture of Rylan sleeping this afternoon.  Does it look familiar?

I took almost the same picture 3 weeks ago.  Click {here} to see it.  Wow has he changed!

Last Day of 2nd Grade

Today was Dylan's last day of 2nd grade...

Click {here} to see how he looked on his first day!

While he was at school we spent most of the day outside enjoying the 90 degree heat.  (And it was a beautiful day.)

Plus this was my view.

And I got to hang out with this sweet thing.

Chris is an amazing dad.  He filled up over 100 water balloons to bomb all the neighborhood boys as they got off the bus.

Talk about making some amazing memories!

Literally a second after I snapped this picture, Chris dumped a big bucket of water all over them.  WISH I captured that moment!

SUMMER is HERE!

Awards Day

This morning started out with this:

Then Rylan and Daddy had a little conversation.

Then we went to an Awards Ceremony at Dylan's school for the 2nd grade.  

Afterward his class had an "End of the Year Beach Party".

Payton even got to participate....she really wanted to be one of the second graders. 

She even made friends with Mrs. Curtis, Dylan's teacher.

Who is won.der.ful.  She is such an amazing teacher.  She was able to handle my little ball of energy and help him excel in school.  Nothing ruffled her feathers.  And she "has her way" of dealing with each kids personalities.  I wish she could be Dylan's 3rd grade teacher next year!

{Brag Alert!!!} Here are all the awards Dylan earned today.

Award on the Left:

Green "P" sticker - Young Author's Fair Participant

Green paw print sticker - 2nd Grade Completion

Gold paw print sticker - Attendance Merit Award

4 Red stickers + the medal - "A-B" Honor Roll for all 4 quarters

Award on the Right:

"Curiosity & Creativity" award + the tiny pin on the left - only given to two 2nd graders (out of 5 classes) and Dylan was one of them!

Needless to say - we are super proud of him.  His last day of 2nd grade is tomorrow and then we will have a 3rd grader!!!

One Month Old

Today Rylan is officially 1 month old.  So sad that we are done with the "__ weeks old".  Time needs to sssslllooooowwwww down just a little bit.

We had his 1 month check up today and he is 10lb, 7oz (68%) & 22"long (also 68%)!

Some things about Rylan's first month of life:

He has obtained a few nicknames over the past month:  RyRy, Ry Guy, and Chewy/Chewbaca (because of the noises and grunting he does at night)!  His one dimple shows when he smiles.  He makes the greatest faces while sleeping.  His dark hair is lightening up and is super curly when wet.  He has the deepest blue eyes.  His has super long fingers and toes.  He loves being in the Moby Wrap and the Baby Bjorn.  He and his daddy have great "talks" already.  We all LOVE him so much.

4 Weeks Old

Really?  Four weeks have flown by.  I wish he could stay little just a little longer.

[pictures clockwise] 

1.  Rylan still loves to keep his hand up by his head when he is sleeping.  I'm pretty sure that he did that in utero. 

2.  Picture time.

3.  "Awe mom, I'm sleepy!"  

4.  "Zzzzzzzz."

Love you Rylan!

Bird Watching

People who are from Georgia must think that we are complete geeks when it comes to wildlife.  We see some of the most amazingly beautiful animals here, and some we've never seen before.  I even saw my first chipmunk a couple of weeks ago.  He was so cute, so tiny, and looked just like Alvin and the Chipmunks...

Sans the clothes, and scurrying on all fours of course!

My in-laws have this beautiful property with TONS of trees on the back half of it.  When we sit out on the screened-in porch we get to see some really cool wildlife.  Here is what visited the bird feeder last night at dinner:

I would guess it is a blue jay, but only because that is the only kind of bird that I know of that is blue.  Isn't he pretty? He was such a royal blue color.

He also shared the feeder with this bright red Cardinal (this one I KNOW is a Cardinal).  Of course all conversation stops, we all stop, stare, TRY to get good pictures and of course show the kids.  You would think that we have never seen a bird before!  LOL! 

Last Game

Dylan played his last game of the season today.  Goooooo Mustangs!

Isn't he so handsome?

Tongue-Tied & Sleeping

Rylan has a "shortened frenulum of tongue" or is tongue-tied.  Today we had to take him to a pediatric ENT to get it clipped.

Yes, he cried.  It was sad.  But it is a quick procedure with short lived pain.  Here he is asleep on the way home.

Later when we got home, he was sleeping (again) {yes I am jealous} and started laughing and smiling.  I quickly grabbed my camera and was able to still get some funny expressions from him.

So Sweet...

Payton got hurt today and Dylan was trying to console her.  Isn't it sweet?

Mother's Day 2012

This is my first Mother's Day as a mom to 3 kiddos.  I am so blessed!  Payton got to sing on stage today at church.  She was so cute.  At home she hams it up and this morning she was a little shy.  Pastor Will shared a great sermon about peace.  It was so perfect for today!

After the service, our church had a Mother's Day brunch for all the ladies to partake of.  

Quiche, cupcakes, cake, fresh fruit and juice.  It was yummy.  Have I mentioned how much I love our church?

Then this evening Dylan and Payton "decorated" my side of the bed.  Isn't it cute?

I missed being with my mom today {Hi mom!}.  But we got to webcam - which makes it a little easier! Happy Mother's Day to the most amazing mom in the world!  I love you so much!

Oh and did I mention that Rylan is 3 weeks old today?  Wow - that went by fast!

Hanging Out

Here are the boys, just hanging out.

I love how tiny his hand looks grasping my thumb.

First "Real" Bath

Rylan's "belakin cord" (as Payton calls it) finally came off and he was ready for his first real bath.

He liked it way better than a sponge bath.

Special Agent Spies

I love when Dylan and Payton play well together!

All About Teeth

Today was my first outing alone with all 3 kids.  I had planned a LOT of extra time between stops which helped out a lot.

This was Payton's first time at the dentist.  She was really excited!

She did awesome and has no cavities!

Dylan did awesome and has no cavities too!

Dylan had lost his tooth yesterday and then really "lost" it.  He couldn't find it at bedtime for the Tooth Fairy.  We back-tracked his steps and realized that he had thrown it in the trash and we were able to find it!  So he was able to stick it under his pillow with a note that he left for the Tooth Fairy:

"Dear tooth farie can you try too giv the toot back to me thank you."

 How could the Tooth Fairy not let him keep his tooth?  =)