Weekend pictures for you...and a video, too!

Sunday night is here, and while watching the Pro Bowl with Ryan, I sit here and go through our pictures from the weekend, and it just confirms the feeling that weekends go too fast! Time F-L-I-E-S when you are having fun - it is true, true, true!!

On Friday, Taylor's new convertible seat for the car was delivered. She hadn't completely outgrown the "baby" carseat, but it was definitely getting a little more snug.
Here we are trying it out in the living room, we think she likes it!

It does allow her to sit more upright in the car, and is higher so she can see out the window better. Ryan also loves the fact that the driver's seat could be moved back a few inches because it isn't as long as the other car seat. So far we have had mostly happy travels in the car since it was installed, an extra bonus for Ryan and I! We'll see how she does during the drive up north next month!

Also, for church today, I put Taylor in another little dress that my mom passed down to me that I wore when I was a little one. Little cutie...

(Can you tell she likes to wave a lot?! :-D)

Last, while I was out for a run in the sun today, Ryan and Taylor had some daddy-daughter play time, and this is the video that was taken during some of their fun together. :-)

Taylor-isms :-)

We have taken a lot of videos over the past few months, and these clips highlight things about Taylor that we are loving right now. In this little video montage, you get to hear her excited screech when playing with Frosty (she also does this when Ryan or I give her lots of kisses or tickle her :-)), you get to see her do her little bouncing dance-dance move, hear her say "uh-oh", play with her sippy cup, and also see the side of her right before she was put down for nap time when she is getting tired and is easily frustrated. Our little cutie does have a tendency to get a cranky at times, as you can see when she is getting fed up with her little walking toy. :-) We love all these moments as her little personality continues to emerge - such a joy!! Next video to come - waving and reading books. :-)

Happiness

That describes today!!

I got to spend a whole day with this little cutie. It was so, so nice. No agendas, no reason to leave the house, we even had an excuse to stay in because it was SO cold outside!!

I got my workout in early at the gym before Taylor woke up so the rest of the day was full of play.

Usually Taylor has her baths in the evening before bedtime, but today I decided to give her a bath in the morning, and let her play, play, play until her fingers were like little prunes. Then she had her first experience with getting her hair dried with a hair dryer (just a little bit, on the lowest setting, which helped tame her wavy, soft hair, and keep her nice and warm after tub time), and we trimmed all her little tiny finger and toe nails. A little Taylor pampering. :-) How is it possible that babies have such soft hair and skin? Love it. 

We both ate oatmeal and fruit for breakfast in our comfy clothes on the couch. 

Taylor got a workout in, too. :-) We went back and forth across the living room, through the hallway, into the bedrooms countless times. That girl just wants to move! She gets so excited by this new found ability, can you tell by her face?

We played follow the leader, I crawled and she would follow, and then she would crawl somewhere and I would follow. :-) She thought that was quite funny. At one point I was cleaning her breakfast dishes and I found her in her room getting into her "paci stash" (where her pacifiers are when she is not sleeping - we try to keep them to nap times and bed time only) and pulling her blankets and monkey out of her crib.

We read lots of books, watched the snow out the window, and took great naps.

Then when Ryan came home, he walked quietly into the living room, and when Taylor realized he was there, she literally threw her toy to the side, and crawled to him as fast as her little arms and legs would carry her. :-)

And one of the best parts of today? The fact that it is only Friday, which means tomorrow we get to do it all over, again, only with Ryan here, too! Bring on the long weekend!

On the move!

We started noticing that Taylor was pushing some of her bigger toys around while she was standing, so we took the brakes off one of the Christmas presents we bought her to see how she would do with a toy with wheels. It only took about one try, and she was off! Here is a little video (don't mind my background commentary - just focus on the little cutie :-).... go, go, go!

An extraordinary 11 months...

There is no other way to describe it! Taylor is 11 months old today, and at this stage, I often think about what we were feeling a year ago when we were getting so close to the end of the pregnancy - excited and anxious to meet the newest member of our family! Sometimes I forget what it was like before we were pregnant with Taylor because she has added so much to our lives, and changed both Ryan and I in ways that I never expected. I LOVE seeing how Ryan interacts with his little girl. She loves him SO much. When Ryan gets home from work, as soon as he opens the door, Taylor gets the biggest grin on her face. It is priceless, and one of my favorite parts of each day. He is so caring with Taylor, and loves to show her off - a proud daddy!! I find myself trying to embrace each of these moments with Taylor, and hope that I can hold onto these memories of how Taylor is right now.  At 11 months she definitely recognizes people that are familiar to her, and even though it is hard to deal with the separation anxiety sometimes, there is a part of me that loves that she WANTS to be with Ryan and I. :-)


Taylor - here is a glimpse of you at 11 months... :-)

* Wearing 12-18 month clothing and size 3 diapers

* With the exception of last night, you have been sleeping through the night - 7pm to 7am - every single night for the past month! Yay! (I think a cold is to blame for last nights wakings, and I didn't really mind the snuggle time as you fell asleep pretty quickly with me in the rocking chair with your little hands holding onto mine)

* Your morning naps are around 45 minutes to an hour, and you go down between 9 and 10. Your afternoon naps are longer - up to 2 1/2 hrs - that start between 1:30-2:00. You still love your pacifier at naps and at bedtime, as well as snuggling your face in your little green and brown taggie blanket. You can be heard chattering for almost a half hour before falling asleep at times, and if I peek into your crib later, you will be laying in a contorted position, with a leg or arm through the slats of the crib, in a deep, peaceful sleep

* Waving all the time! You love waving to people, with one hand or both at the same time

* You have become our little imitator - if we laugh, you laugh, if we blow raspberries, you blow raspberries, if we wave, you wave... you will also say "uh oh" just like us!

* You do really well with playing independently - thanks in part to all the fun toys that have lights, sound, music and moving parts that you got for Christmas - but also have plenty of moments where you just want to be by mom and dad

* You still LOVE having stories read to you, and like to be the one to turn the pages. We often will catch you just looking at books by yourself - making little noises and chattering as you turn the pages

* One of my favorite faces you make is when you are excited by something and say "oooohhh", with your little mouth in the shape of an 'o'

* You love to munch on a slice of apple, breaking off little pieces at a time. Also, you still love puffs, any kind of fruit, and one baby food vegetable that you always eat well is carrots. You also really enjoy your sippy cup and will happily sit for a while, sucking on it and chewing the little spout

* You have your second tooth breaking through on the bottom - slowly but surely, they are coming in!

* We are hoping to get you a convertible car seat soon, and hope that maybe helps you enjoy the car a bit more

*You used to be curious about the vacuum when I would clean, but are now scared of it, and I have to hold you WHILE I vacuum, making the chore quite a workout!

* You are going to be ONE YEAR OLD in one short month, and I cannot believe it.

Pictures, pictures, pictures!!

5 month picture (comparing what she looked like just a mere 6 months ago!)

11 month picture (the only way I could get Taylor to happily lay still was to give her a sippy cup)

Bath time!!

Taking apart puzzles - a fun past time!

Reading books - she LOVES reading books (and in this picture Taylor is with her favorite monkey and green/brown taggie blanket)

Making her "ooooh" face

Loving her sippy cup

Our little musician

Play, play, play

  

Sweet, sweet girl

First week back...

I think it took all of us a little bit to get back into the "normal routine" after the long holiday break. Taylor took a few mornings to transition back to early mornings and being at daycare, and my students and I had to get back into our groove, again, but the week FLEW by, and now the weekend is here! Love, love, love weekends.

To update on my last post - we are still going strong with our restful nights! Yay!

Taylor and I were hanging out this afternoon, and as I was taking pictures, I definitely felt like I caught many of Taylor's faces that she makes.

In the middle of blowing raspberries...

So serious...

Scrunchy nose...

Anyone else see that little dimple?? (by the way - I love her side profile, always reminds me of that first glimpse we had of her at the ultrasound)

Tongue out, a very common sight...

A little concerned...

Happy girl!!

Also, we finally had some new snowfall here, and one afternoon it was quite gorgeous outside with big fluffy flakes falling down. Taylor spent a lot of the afternoon standing by the window and making little "ooh" sounds and loud laughs.

Silly girl...

Feeling the COLD window...

Curious...

And even though the snow and sun are really pretty today, I can't help but think to myself - how many days until Spring Break?? :-)

One word: Sleep

So I had to do a quick post, mainly for myself, so I could remember this moment in time. :-)

It has been 16 days straight that Taylor has slept through the night. 12 hours straight. Going to bed around 7:30, waking up around 7-7:30am. It has been 10 and a half months since I have had this kind of sleep. This streak will at some point come to an end (teething, sickness, different stages of life), but for now, I am trying to fully appreciate these uninterrupted nights of sleep. Taylor is rested, happy, and ready to play in the morning, and I am starting to remember what nights were like before being a mom. :-)

So here is to long, wonderful nights of sleep!!! :-D

Happy New Year!!

Ryan was the only one in our house who made it up until midnight last night, but he did come in and give me a kiss after the ball dropped. :-) It has been a great holiday break. Ryan was able to have this whole week off, and it was so nice to have so much time together (without any worries about work or grad school)!

We have some pictures to share of our little cutie from this week, but first, I HAVE to share some pictures from the other night. Taylor and Brady got together to open stockings from each other, and they are just SO cute together! (I have to credit s.j.v. for some of these pictures :-)).

Getting ready to open their stockings

Taylor just kept watching Brady

Such a handsome little guy!

Playtime

Scrunchy nose

Love her! (Wearing her new ladybug bow from Brady)

Other pictures...

Munching on an apple

Reading a book with daddy
First, a parable...

Then, a little Michigan football education

Taylor by one of her new favorite spots to stand in the living room (now that the tree is gone)

So curious! (She is making her "ooooh" sound in this picture)

Playing with all her new toys

And last, here is Taylor and I in our new Christmas sweaters :-) (I couldn't just pick one out of the bunch :-))

First pair of khakis!

It has been a great week!!