6th Picture in your 6th foder

my friend annalee did this and i thought it was a fun idea. i just got this laptop in june, so my pictures aren't that old and are almost ALL of taylor. i loved going back and seeing taylor when she was smaller. this picture is of my two favorite people! it was father's day and taylor's first swimming experience.

now go to your 6th folder and 6th picture and post it. if you do, let me know so that i can see what you find too!

Taylor Tuesday

Okay, so I know it's now Wednesday and I'm just now posting Taylor Tuesday, but yesterday was my one day a month to work. Plus... it was Taylor's big 6 month birthday, so anytime not at work was spent playing with her! We started off the day with a yummy breakfast of cereal and applesauce. Taylor still gives me funny looks every so often, but ends up eating the whole bowl anyways. She really likes to try holding the spoon herself.

While we have been celebrating Taylor's achievements, I didn't realize that it would make picture taking more difficult. I was so excited that Taylor would finally be able to sit up like a big girl in the chair for her picture, that I didn't think about how distracted she would be with toys on the floor of her room. Here are my attempts at a few pictures:














Then came the mommy don't take my picture looks or the why did you just take that caterpillar toy away from me looks.

Finally, here are some that actually turned out cute of our little girl. I just love that drooly smile!




















I just can't believe that our little girl is already 6 months old and half way to her first birthday! Here are some of the things that Taylor has been up to this past month:

• Nicknames: Pea, Tay Tay, Frog, Ranita
• Foods eaten: Rice cereal, carrots, and applesauce
• 17 lbs by my estimate on the scale. We'll find out her real weight next week at her check-up
  
• Favorite toys: Coco the monkey, ladybug, the bunny on her changing pad, ducky book, the bug teething ring, toy keys/llaves, the TV remote control, computer mouse, our telephone
• Sitting up on her own while playing with toys
• Going from a crawling to sitting position
• Crawling(check the video out below if you haven't yet) and boy can she move
• She wants everything I have or am holding
• Continuing to put everything in her mouth
• Loves to make noises
• Discovered Sadie(dog) and Tessa(cat)
• Still hasn't noticed her earrings, but loves jewelry on everyone else
• She figured out how to turn the aquarium in her crib on by herself. It's funny to find her in the morning or after a nap just watching the fish.
  

I can really tell the differences in the past month and the BIGGEST one is crawling. Boy does Taylor keep me on my toes(on knees crawling after her)! Guess it's time to get all those outlets and cabinets baby proofed!

~Wendy

Fabulous Friday

I'm so excited it's Friday!!! So in honor of a great day, I have listed some of my favorite things:



1. Sonic Happy Hour - is it sad that I plan my outings around when happy hour is at Sonic so that I can stop by on my way home for an unsweet tea with lime or a lime slushy... Boy do I love my Sonic stop and I'm sure they know my car by now.






2. Dark chocolate - my ultra fav is from Ethel M's, but that is a rare find since you can only get it in Vegas. My best friend rocked when she brought me back chocolates during my pregnancy!!! I have put myself on chocolate restriction for the next week and a half so that I look my best in the bridesmaid dress for my cousin's wedding. :(



3. Taylor's new Fisher Price Rainforest booster chair. Because of this chair, I have been able to eat out a restaurant with Taylor and the family 4 different times without her getting fussy. I know this sounds like a funny thing, but I missed being able to eat a meal without having to hold her. I love being a mom, but I like enjoying a good meal too. The other night Taylor was having so much fun that she kept playing until it was time to leave and was upset to have to get out of her booster chair. Plus, the chair folds up so that the chair back is a handle to carrying it by. To my fellow April moms, if you don't have this it is well worth the investment!

4. Trashy gossip magazines - I know they keep the paparazzi in business and with very little free reading time, it amazes me that this is what I choose to read, but I love knowing what Britney is doing now or which 15 year old star is pregnant.



5. My phone.. Blackberry Pearl - I love that I can keep track of all my contacts, appointments, and to-do lists in one place. See next fav to explain this more




6. To-Do lists - I LOVE to-do lists. This is how I function on a daily basis and make sure that I accomplish more than just play with Taylor all day long. As much as I love to play with Taylor, I do have to work somedays and lists help me make sure that I get everything done on time so that I can play more. There are lists all over my house, on my phone, in the top drawer of my nightstand, and on my laptop. OCD a bit much???

7. Christmas and it's only 76 days away. I have already stated looking for Taylor's stocking and can't wait for her to see the Christmas tree in all it's beauty. I also can't wait to see her eat the wrapping paper instead of care what the actual presents are. Just think... lights, music, presents, family and only a few months away!

8. Stamping - I love stamping, but only when I have a specific goal in mind. I need to have a reason or person to create a card for. This way I can customize the card for that person. I got into my craft room late Wednesday night and did some creating. Watch for a post about that once I actually get pictures of my creations.(Another thing on my to-do list)


9. My DVR - this should be higher on the list, but I'm too lazy to move it up and redo all the pictures. I love that I can watch a show anytime I want and without commercials. I thought this was a great invention before Taylor and now I appreciate it even more. Plus, I still haven't found many good shows after about 10 am and this becomes a great time to catch up on prime time TV while playing with Taylor.

10. My family! It starts with my wonderful husband that goes to work every day so that I can watch the DVR, eat chocolate, go to Sonic, play with Taylor, and my to-do lists. Next it's my beautiful baby girl that makes me smile everyday. Yes, I do have moments that I have no clue why she's crying or wish that she would stop getting up at 5:30, but I love her all the same. Plus, she helps remind me of how much I love using my imagination.(You ought to hear the stories and lullabies that I come up with on the fly) I also love my mom, Chris' mom, and Chris' dad for being such amazing parents to me and grandparents to Taylor. I could go on and on to explain how I love each of my family members but it's more important to let you know that I can't imagine life without family around. They are part of what makes me who I am!

Now that you've made your way through this longer post without any pictures of Taylor, what are some of your favorite things?

Wendy

Little Flashdancer

I bet your wondering if Taylor has decided to flash back to the 80's and get her Flashdance on with leg warmers and the answer is no. Taylor is trying out her Baby Legs that Chris' cousin gave her. They are the cutest leg socks that protect her legs while she is crawling/scooting her way across the floors. I picked her up the other day after she had been playing on the floor and she had little red carpet burns from crawling. Before I put her back down, I pulled out her Baby Legs. Not only do they keep her little legs safe, they are adorable.

They're still a little big, but the way Taylor is growing it's nice to have that extra length. I also love that her feet are free so that she can move around easily. Plus Taylor has figured out how to pull her socks off, so these are great until she figures out how to pull them off too.

I thought I would throw this last picture of her in too. Taylor just loves playing on the floor with all her toys. She is also much faster at moving around and keep me almost as busy as she is. Well off to get a few more things done before nap time is over.

~ Wendy

Taylor Tuesday

Can you believe that we are already a week into October? Not too long before you'll get to see a Taylor Tuesday picture of Taylor in her Halloween costume! I'm actually on top of things today since I took the picture yesterday. Taylor was just having a very cute moment so I thought it would be a cute one to share. We moved on from cereal to carrots Friday, but they weren't well received, so we went back to plain cereal yesterday. Little Miss thinks that she does a better job of getting the cereal in with her fingers in between bites with the spoon so I grabbed the camera. I wish I had some pictures of her face while trying carrots. She would take the bite and then give us a face like 'what in the world did you just put in my mouth?' The funny thing is that she would then open her mouth for another bite a few seconds later and then the face would come back again. I tried the carrots twice and then figured we'd give up those for a few days. We are going to move to apples next to see if she likes the sweet fruits instead.

Have a happy Tuesday!

Taylor Tuesday

I hope this Taylor Tuesday message finds everyone doing well. Can you believe that it's already the last day of September? Not too long and we'll be celebrating Halloween! This first picture is from this past weekend when we were at my mom's house. Nothing cuter than a baby getting a kitchen sink bath. Nana bought Taylor some bath toys to play with so that she didn't try playing with the sprayer again. You can also see Taylor's earrings in this picture. She still doesn't even know they are there except when I make her lay still so I can clean them. I have more pictures from this past weekend that I will post later on. Just think 80's...

As a bonus today you get footage of Taylor's newest milestone.

We were have anticipated this coming any day now. Taylor has been up on her knees and arms rocking like she is ready to go and has really shown a greater interest in her toys lately. She shows an even greater interest for the TV remote! Yesterday afternoon we saw her make some half attempts at crawling, so Chris grabbed the camera and put a toy out of reach for her. Within minutes she took off across the bed! Boy oh boy is my daily routine about to change again! What happened to those days when I could just lay her on the bed and run to the bathroom or brush my teeth? Chris is now realizing that it's time for baby proofing around the house. Sorry to the family members that I told I would post this last night, but Chris and I were busy rearranging living room furniture until midnight. More about that in a later post...

Have a wonderful Tuesday and I will be back later on to post about our weekend and more pictures of Taylor!

Love,
Wendy

Fun Onesie's

I came across Starpansie Designs today and just had to share it with you. She creates onesies with any phrase you want, but I love some of her phrases that she has on her blog. Here are a few for you:

• My Family Tree is Full of Nuts
• My Mommy is A Hottie
• Bald is Beautiful
• Does This Diaper Make My Butt Look Big?
• Don't You Wish Your Baby Was Hot Like Me?
• This Is How I Roll
• Lock Up Your Daughters
• I'm A Boob Man
• This Is My Lucky Onesie
• I Drink Until I Pass Out
• My Mommy Rocks
• My Heart Belongs to Grandma
• My Heart Belongs to Daddy
• I'm A Keeper
• Chicks Dig Me
• My Daddy Rocks
• Boobaholic
• Ladies Man
• Milkaholic
• I Just Did 9Months On the Inside
• Daddy's Girl
• Pirate in Training
• Daddy's Fishing Buddy
• Princess
• Daddy's Little Princess

and my favorite is....

• I Cry When Ugly People Hold Me

I know there are a few other moms with babies that read my blog and thought they might get a kick out of her cute creations too. Now to figure out which one to order for Taylor!

Wendy

Cereal Time

And I'm not talking about Cheerios or tiger cereal as my niece calls Frosted Flakes. Taylor has been reaching for lots of items lately, including our food so we decided to let her have a try a rice cereal. When we went for Taylor's 4 month checkup, the doctor said we could try cereal at 5 months, but that she might not respond well to it. So we were prepared for a BIG mess and our little girl surprised us by being very interested in smacking the new food around in her mouth and grabbing for the spoon.


In between bites of cereal, she was deciding which tasted better, the food or her fingers. Good news is that as soon as she saw the spoon, she took her fingers out of her mouth.

Chris even took a turn a giving Taylor a few tastes of the milky mush.

Since Taylor did so good the first time with cereal, I decided to try it again a few days later.

This time I made it a little bit thicker so we weren't feeder her milk.

She liked this even more and has continued to have cereal about every other day. I figured I would space it out to make sure she doesn't have any weird reactions to it.





After I got done feeding her, I gave her the spoon since she kept trying to feed herself. She just loved playing with it. Keep in mind that I took a few of these pictures while actually feeding her so they aren't centered like they should be.



After we had some cereal in our tummy, Taylor played for a little while and then I looked over and she was sound asleep with her Dolly. I don't think I could have posed her and created a cuter picture!


~Wendy

No hair...no problem

Our little girl was born with quite a bit of hair compared to when I was born. I was actually prepared for a bald baby and was shocked when she had enough hair that the nursery nurses created a little mohawk with it all. As Taylor has grown bigger, her hair has stayed about the same on top and she's lost a little in the back. We joke that she looks like an old bald man because she has tons at the back bottom. If you haven't noticed, I LOVE bows and there just simply isn't enough to put in a bow and what is there is very fine like mine. I think I was almost a year old before I really got any hair and was often called a little boy. It's amazing to me how people think your baby is a boy when SHE's dressed head to toe in pink or purple. Chris would die if we had a boy and he wore either of those colors. Well... my parents ended up piercing my ears at around 8 months to stop all the confusion on if I was a boy or girl and I always loved having the ability to wear earrings. I even took it a step further when I was in 6th grade and got my second hole on each ear so that I could continue to wear my diamonds(which my dad threatened to take away if I didn't start wearing them again) and whatever fun/cool earrings I wanted. I had always visioned that my daughter would get her ears pierced too, but wondered how Chris would feel about additional accessories for Taylor. Surprisingly, he was almost as excited about getting it done as I was. I have learned that it is a Mexican tradition to pierce the ears of baby girls. How cool that we would be able to carry on a tradition that is part of Taylor's heritage. Well after talking about it and talking about it... Taylor got her ears pierced today. I have to say that I the lady at Claire's did a great job and Taylor only cried for a few minutes and then needed a little cuddle time with mom and dad. Here are some pictures from our adventure today.

Taylor pre-piercing. I think she's tyring to figure out what the lady was doing.

Here is Taylor after she got both ears done. Look at those red eyes! Her cries almost broke my heart. I hate seeing her in pain!



Daddy and Dolly helped her calm down a little bit.

Here is a picture that I just tried to take so that you could actually see her pierced ears. She is happy and playing like nothing ever happened. As you can tell, she is too focused on her toys to look up for me.

Now wish me luck as I take care of her newly pierced ears!

Wendy

Lots of Laughs

Over the weekend, my mom(aka Nana) got tons of giggles out of Taylor and I have been bound and determined to get her to laugh like that for me. The other day I got her to laugh but the camera was no where near by to film the best sound in the world. Taylor little laugh just warms my heart each time I hear it. Somehow I managed to get her to laugh by making a grunting noise, so please forgive my strange noises, but it kept her laughing. This is especially for Nana who goes to my blog everyday to see pictures Taylor and just loves the videos too!

Happy Birthday

This very happy birthday wish goes to
my sister-in-law/ Taylor's Aunt KK!

I also have a belated happy birthday to Mia!

Her birthday was on Monday.

Taylor and I love both of you tons and are so lucky to have you in our lives!!!

Love, Wendy & Taylor

5 months old

I'm a few days late for this, but Taylor turned 5 months old on Sunday. I have to say that this past month I have seen the greatest changes in her. Playtime is a whole new world now that she can grab for toys and absolutely EVERYTHING goes in her mouth or at least she tries to get it in there. Our monthly picture became a little more adventurous this time. I was thinking that we were going to get a good picture as I've been working on Taylor sitting up with assistance, but this time was more about discovering elephant. Poor elephant didn't spend more than 15 seconds in the chair before she grabbed him and took his ears straight to her mouth.





But then it didn't take long before I got her to smile one of those smiles that just warms your heart. I think everyone in our family just can't wait until we get one of these smiles. There are even some mornings that she gives Chris one of these smiles before he leaves for work. I had heard him say on more than one occasion that this makes his day!







Here is Taylor's 'Official' 5 month old picture. We are working on taking a picture without showing our diaper and we're getting better, but no such luck yet. I think she's giving me a look that says 'I'm only going to sit still for 2 more minutes and then I'm going to grab the elephant again.'







In order to head off this dash towards elephant again, I brought in Taylor's new favorite lovey... Dolly. Dolly was given to her by my cousin Autumn. This is so appropriate because Autumn and I(only 9 months apart in age) grew up playing dolls together. We would have a small bag for clothes and 3 or 4 bags of Barbie dolls wherever we went. I loved that I had a girl cousin so close in age to grow up with. I hope Taylor is as close to her cousins.





So here are some of the things that Taylor is doing now:

• Can grab a toy from your hands when you hold it in front of her
• Rolls over several times to get somewhere
• Moves all over her crib at night(main reason for keeping the bumper pad on no matter how bad the books say they are)
• Puts anything she can in her mouth
• Is at least 16 pounds
• Loves to stand up in your lap
• Still a bit of a momma's girl and sometimes can only be soothed by me
• Has tried a high chair at restaurants 3 times now
• Has had a few big belly laughs, but lots of giggles. Nana has the most giggles so far.
• Loves her weekly time with Mia
• Likes to her the different levels of her voice
• Loves kisses from Mommy
• Loves naps with Daddy
• Is really starting to interact with all the toys on her exersaucer
• Figured out that she can grab her feet and in the past few days figured out that they can go in her mouth too. Diaper changes are even more challenging now.
• Realized that I always keep her bunny blanket(a bunny head with a blanket for a body) on her changing table and reaches up for it as soon as I lay her down.
• Still does not like a wet diaper, but normally doesn't cry at muddy ones
• Drools all the time and I think there's a tooth ready to make an appearance
• Is starting to grab at everything and even take interest in our food
• Still nurses like a champ

I am loving that I get to stay home with Taylor and see her change and grow everyday. It is such a blessing that I have been given. I cherish my time with her and no that she will change more and more each day. I look forward to the months to come as we introduce Taylor to all the fun fall holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and my favorite Christmas!

Stay tuned as I keep you updated with all of Taylor's fall adventures.

Love,
Wendy

More Stamping

So, after I finished the Lola cards I kept on stamping. Plus I had a few events coming up and didn't want to go to Hallmark for the cards. So here are more of my creations. This first card is for my niece's birthday. I wanted something fun and whimsy for her. It also matches the the dots on the gift box.


Stamps: Fairy Girl from Amuse Stamps, JustRite Curlz stamp
Ink: Stampin Up Basic Black, Pixie Pink; Pixie Pink, Summer Sun, Apricot Apeal, Bashful Blue markers
Paper: SU Bashful Blue, Pixie Pink, and Whisper White; not sure where the circle paper is from
Accessories: Sheer blue ribbon and white stickles for wings

We headed up to Fort Worth this past weekend for my cousin's wedding shower. I decided to take a different approach to the typical white or ivory wedding card. Her wedding colors are black, white, and pear so I created a green card. I love the color white, but when it comes to cards, I like a bit more color.

Paper: Stampin Up Gable Green, polka dot paper unknown
Ink: SU Basic Black
Stamps: SU Heard from the Heart
Accessories: Corner rounder(boy do I need that scallop edge punch!) and white grosgrain ribbon

I really liked my design on the last card, so I changed it up a little for my grandmother's birthday card. I had pulled out the polka dot paper for my cousin's bachelorette card, but couldn't find a good way to incorporate it on the front. I love how it fit in perfectly here. Plus I found this cute heart paperclip in my drawer for that extra touch of love.

Paper: Stampin Up Chocolate Chip, Pixie Pink, and Whisper White; polka dot paper unknown
Ink: SU Pixie Pink
Stamps: SU Heard from the Heart
Accessories: Corner rounder(boy do I need that scallop edge punch!), heart paperclip from Wal-Mart, and white grosgrain ribbon

This last card is for my cousin's bachelorette party gift. The theme of the party is pink! I love the Bella stamps for their sassyness and style. The inside of the card says 'Time to CELEBRATE'.


Stamps: Blingabella from Stamping Bella
Ink: Basic Black; Chocolate Chip, Pixie Pink, Apricot Apeal Markers
Paper: Whisper White, Pixie Pink, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: White grosgrain ribbon, ring charm from Stamping Bella, pink bling, ticket corner punch from SU


I hope you enjoyed my stamping creations. Can't wait to get back in my craft room soon!

Wendy

Lola

I knew it was fate when I saw this Vespa Girl stamp from Amuse after my friend Misty ordered her own Vespa. I just had to have it and found a few other stamps that had to come home with it too. If you stamp, you must go visit their newly updated website. When I got the order, there was even some ribbon with it as a bonus. It has been a while since I've had time to stamp, but the stamp only got the creative juices flowing. So, I sat down to start creating and my first card was cute. FYI, Lola is the name of the Vespa and definitely deserved her own announcements.


I liked the creation, but needed to keep trying. I got my order from Stampin' Up in and continued creating.


The 'Lola' part of the card was created using the Just Rite stamper. This stamp makes it so easy to personal your cards with initials or names. I liked the card above, but made a few modifications and came up with this card as my final creation. I have to give credit to Chris for coming up with a way to use the green bling I found. Checkout the headlight!

Hope you enjoyed my creations!
Wendy

Stamps: Vespa Girl, Beep Beep(on the inside), JustRite Curlz Monogram Stamp set
Paper: Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip, Green Galore, Whisper White, & Chocolate Chip Designer Series Paper.
Ink: Chocolate Chip; Close to Cocoa & Green Galore markers
Accessories: green bling, scallop punch, circle punches, Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, Green Galore grosgrain ribbon