Jon, Ruthanne, Emily, and Myra Taylor

December 2010

2011-02-08T18:19:00.000-08:00

First Christmas as a family of five.

The girls coming out on Christmas morning.

I love my sweet boy.

We made Santa Claus shortbread cookies with butter cream frosting, I think he liked them because they were all gone by morning.

Emily is so fun to hang out with all day. She is always chatting and being silly, she's at such a fun age.

These are both Emily's dress-ups but some how the Cinderella got designated as Myra's, and Snow White is Emily's, they never switch.

I love Emily's face as she unwrapped her dress-ups.

For Emily's 3rd birthday she requested a pink kitty cake. I was pretty happy that it turned out, considering I didn't have a lot of time, it was easy though, and she was happy.

Myra is such a cute little stinker, she loves to nibble apples then leave them in secret places.

2010-12-26T18:48:00.000-08:00

Trying to take a picture for the family calender...

Every year our stake does a nativety display and they decorate the whole church with hundreds of different nativety sets. Members and non members participate every year. It was really beautiful, everyroom was set up with all the different nativeties and Christmas trees, and you would walk through and look in the rooms.

We got to take a picture in the manger. Jeremiah was the perfect baby Jesus!

Just some pictures we took for fun.

Jeremiah is 3 weeks in these...

Jeremiah's first week

2010-12-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

We are having so much fun with this little guy! I can't believe he is almost 4 weeks already, he's almost not a new newborn anymore, how does it go by so fast? He is the sweetest little boy ever, he definatley had my heart from the moment I laid eyes on him, and I just keep falling more and more in love. The girls and head over heels as well. Emily loves to hold him all the time, and she is always happy to help take care of him with baths and things like that. He is such a good baby, and so cuddly, and cute as a button!

We loved having Nana here, it was so sad when we had to say goodbye. I of course cried all the way home from the airport. Emily was very sweet and empathetic, she kept saying "Oh, do you miss your mommy? It's OK she'll come back" With sweet little tears in her eyes.

Turkey dinner! Jon did all the cooking this year and it was great!

This is the face Myra does when you tell her she can't have anymore Tok-at (chocolate). Yeah, she knows how to work it.

Halloween 2010

2010-12-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

Almost forgot to post pictures from Halloween this year, here's my little giraffe and butterfly!

Things are wonderful! (submitted by Jon)

2010-12-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

Emily's face says it all. We are happy.

Child birth is easy. Follow a few simple steps: 1.Show up at random hospital. 2.Conform your manner of dress to the hospital dress code (the governing rule is cheeks free to the wind.) 3.Take a nap. 4.Experience pain 5.Welcome new baby.

I find that if done correctly childbirth is a wonderfully relaxing experience, I'd do it anytime. I love naps and babies.

Although appearing barbaric the newcomer undergoes various hazing rituals before gaining acceptance into the group.

Emily presents her trophy to Nana while, "I'm not the baby anymore" settles into the deep corners of Myra's soul. On a further note, thank all the powers that be for Nana. Not only is she by far the girls' favorite person on earth, her patience and endurance made a lot of this possible...Especially good ol' step #3.

The rituals continue...The rituals will never end. By the time the boy is 6 we should have plenty of embarrassing photos.

When not being bombarded with affection or hazed, the boy prefers chillin.

This is me right now...

2010-11-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

No wonder I feel miserable!

38 weeks....

2010-11-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

I really haven't documented much about this pregnancy, I've been busy with my two little snug bugs, and soon I'll have another snug bug but still only two hands... not sure how I'm going to handle that but I will!
To anyone else the next 9 days will fly by, but for me each day will be it's own small victory! For some reason the last month or so has been hard on me, I hurt a lot more than I did with the girls. My back, hips, strange muscles I didn't know I had are bothering me. I'm big, I can't sleep very well, the heartburn is a constant annoyance. On top of that I have to settle screaming matches and prepare and clean up after meals, bathe, potty train,and all the million things moms do. OK enough complaining!

I just can't wait to get my reward for this 9 month journey, I can't wait to hear that precious cry, to know that he's here SAFE, for those eyes to connect with mine, the sweet smell of his little head, those quiet moments that I get a little taste of heaven, and our family will be that much more complete.

Summer Wrap-up

2010-10-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

This is me at 26 weeks, now I am 35 weeks and much bigger!
Jon and the girls before church
Jon was mowing the lawn and found a family of baby bunnies, the girls thought that was great.
My mom had her 50th birthday while we were in Utah and we threw her a suprise party.
This is the awesome cake my sister Camille made!
Preparing for the party while Karen out with my mom stalling.
Emily got lots of good cousin time, she loved it!
Playing at the splash park.

We got invited to swim at our friends neighborhood pool, that was fun!

For something new we tried out the this lake beach. It was actually a really fun beach, they loved playing in the waves and digging in the sand.

We went on a family camping trip this summer, here we are at the lake trying some fishing, when that didnt work out some of us went swimming.
Myra with aunt Laura.

Our little back yard swimming pool turned out to be $20 well spent. It saved us on those days that it was too hot to go anywhere. We had a good summer, but I'm glad it's over! Being pregnant was rough, but now we are loving the beautiful fall weather and anticipating the arrival of our little guy, only 5 more weeks!!

Myra 18 months

2010-09-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

More pictures from Utah

2010-09-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

I took some shots of the girls after church.

This is my mom with the girls at the ward breakfast/parade on the 4th of July.

Myra having fun at the splash park in downtown SLC.

Emily loves hanging from things, she has since she was 1, I think we need to put her in gymnastics.

My sisters, the olderst 4.

Four generations, Me, Emily, my mom, and her mom.

We went to a fishing pond one night with Camille and Darren and their kids, we didn't catch anything but it was fun!

We got to go pick up my Sister Karen from the airport! This was so exciting for our family. Karen served her mission in Ukraine where she spoke Russian and we all missed her so much! She was an amazing missionary that we were all so proud of, we loved getting her emails every week. Her mission was seriously tough but she worked her butt off. It was great to have all the siblings together at the same time. I love my family!

Myra wearing a Ukranian hat.

Emily loved playing dress up with Jon's cousins girls. I think I know what to get her for her birthday! Ever since then she tells people that we meet she is Snow White.

Emily loves her Nana so much, she would beg to be held the whole time we were there and insist that Nana got her juice, changed her, and anything else she could think of. She would cry when she saw her holding another grandkid. My mom is the only one Emily has fallen asleep with like this, she fell asleep on her several times during the visit. My mom is so sweet, all the grandkids adore her.

Salt Lake Temple

2010-09-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

We were able to go see Temple Square while we were in Utah. We were already downtown for a family reunion so we went over to walk around outside the temple and also go in the visitor center. I think this is such a beautiful temple, it's so majestic. I miss the tradition of seeing the lights at Christmas time as well. There is so much history behind it, and I love knowing that my pioneer ancestors helped to build it. This is where Jon and I were married five years ago, so it was neat to come back with two (and 1/2) kids and think about how much life has changed since then. Andy came with us too, he was so nice to come along with us and help with the girls.

2010-08-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

One of the things we did in Utah was visit the farm, I love the Wheeler Farm. I remember my mom would take us there a lot when we were little. We took Emily there when we lived in Utah, so we definatley wanted to go. It's free and the kids get to see all the farm animals. I love getting together with my sisters and their kids!

Coleen and Suzy pay us a visit

2010-08-06T14:21:00.000-07:00

Back in May my sister Coleen and her baby Suzy came out to visit for a few days. Thank you, Seth Ure, for letting us have your wife for a few days! It was so fun, I was so excited to have her here, Especially since their family is getting ready to live in China! We had a good time just hanging out, cooking, talking, laughing, eating icecream cones and playing with the kids. We swam, went down to the stockyards, and went to Botanic Gardens. I loved having someone around to hand out with all day!

When they're helping they're Happy!

2010-08-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

This picture makes me laugh, I can just imagine them singing, "it's a hard knock life, for us!"

My girls love when I let them help, it makes them feel so big and important. Even though 'help' might not be the right word...sometimes it makes more of a mess...but they love it. Let's hope this enthusiasm lasts!

Even little gals can lend a hand.

Look who's walking!

2010-05-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

Spring Flowers and Easter dresses

2010-05-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

Crazy kids

2010-04-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

Wow this week has been rough! It has been fun but exhausting at the same time. We were able to get out and do some fun things, we went to the zoo one day, we went to see wild flowers and walk some trails another day, (pictures to come), and we went to the botanical gardens yesterday. That was beautiful but I didn't bring my camera, we will definately do that again though. It's nice to get out of the house. These two girls wake up with a mission to make as many messes as possible. It seems like as soon as I turn my back they are playing in the toilet water, then while I'm cleaning that they are pulling all the tupperware out of the cupbaord, and before I can get to that they have pulled out the DVDs and they are scattered all over the family room. And on and on it goes, it's a losing battle. I know I'm not the only one who has dealt with this, I'm just trying to figure out how to keep my house somewhat decent and not lose my mind. Jon is finishing up his last few weeks of the semester so it's just me most the time. I sure do love them though, they are growing so fast I can't even believe it. Here's some pictures from this week.

Emily has been on a nap strike for a while now. The other day while she was supposed to be napping I heard her door open and she came skipping out to the kitchen giggling to herself. I thought 'Oh great she figured out how to climb out of her crib' But no she had jumped on it so much that it finally broke! She told me her bed was broken and it needed batteries. Dad fixed it when he got home.

Emily loves to push Myra around in the stroller.

No explanation needed.

Jon put Myra in her doll's clothes, we all thought it was pretty funny they fit!

Bed head.

Easter Fun

2010-04-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

We had a really good Easter this year. We took the girls to the park for a little easter egg hunt. Emily would find an egg, open it, eat the candy, and find another one. Myra is always up for anything, so she had a good time too. I love these little gals, they make everything so fun. Easter morning they both had fun finding more eggs around the house and eating more candy. I loved that conference was on Easter weekend, what a perfect, laid back, spiritual weekend!

The last few weeks....

2010-03-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks, she's all mine!
Hello Gorgeous Girl
Emily with 'the friends'. It was my turn for the babysitting rotation, something a couple girls in my ward and I put together so we could have date nights.
We took the girls to the Childrens Museum, it was really fun. They had a little pretend hospital where the kids could pretend to be doctors and take care of new babies, Myra loved this baby.
Emily loved grocery shopping
Buying all her food
At the park
Emily posing for me
Being silly

I forgot to post Myra eating her teddy bear birthday cake

Happy Birthday Myra

2010-02-21T19:05:00.001-08:00

Myra is already One, we can't believe it, it seems like she was just born. We love our tiny little girl with such a big personality. She is very sweet and mild but also feisty and knows how to get what she wants. She starts dancing whenever she hears music. She loves to be held and snuggled in her blankie. Her smile always melts my heart, I'm so happy she's ours. I made her a teddy bear cake and she got some new toys, books, and some jammies and a remote control kity from Nana. It was a fun day!

This sweater was made by my Grandma Smith, isn't it sweet?!

This video is from a few months ago, I've been meaning to post it.

Trip to Utah, January '10

2010-01-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Utah. It was so fun! We stayed for a week and had a blast hanging out with the family. I couldn't believe how much the grandkids had grown. It was so good to catch up with everybody. Emily had really missed Nana (my mom) and took advantage of every second with her. She insisted on being held and had to be put to bed by her too. I can't even tell you how much I love these people, they mean so much to me and it's been so hard being away from them. But that just makes it all the more special when we get to go visit, can't wait for this summer when Karen gets back!

Our first Christmas in Texas....

2010-01-24T15:32:00.000-08:00

Was awesome! It was just our little family, and we enjoyed a quiet, cozy, laid back holiday. No parties, just sugar cookies and hot cocoa, a ginger bread house and the traditional ham and potatoes dinner. It even snowed on Christmas Eve, which Emily was very excited about. It was fun watching the girls play with their new toys. I'll let the pictures say the rest.

Happy Birthday 2 Emily!

2009-12-13T20:58:00.000-08:00

She had her cake and ate it too!

Myra wanted in on the action

Emily loved her present from Grandpa and Nana, she got some cute clothes and some princess make-up and jeweley. She even has a little purse to put her cute little things in. She loved putting it on and being pretty!

Emily's friend Madison has her birthday the day before Emily's, so had a little party for them at McDonalds. They got to eat cupcakes and play in the playplace.

I can't believe how big she is. Emily didnt get to be the baby very long since her sister came along when she was only 14 months. But she has adjusted so well and she is such a great big sister, I'm so pround of her. I love hanging out with her and teaching her letters and colors, reading books together in my bed, and getting her juice all day long. I love Emily!

Emily Faith

2009-12-12T11:56:00.000-08:00

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and the
world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me gives me
strengthens me
when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand
around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart
has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy
she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes

The Zoo

2009-11-28T09:41:00.000-08:00

We love the Fort Worth Zoo, we have an annual pass so we go about once a week. It's fun because Emily is so fascinated by the animals, she asks to go all the time, "I want go ZOOOO!" She is learning all the names and she can point out most of them by name on her own now. She says cute things like "Hi monkey!" and "Hippo go swimmin'"
It gives us a reason to get out of the house! :)

Sorry this is another Longy....

2009-11-25T20:11:00.000-08:00

I have been pathetic at blogging lately! But I am committed to posting more regularly now. So anyway, this is October in a nutshell. It was a great month, we got to go back to Utah for a wedding, we went to the pumpkin patch, the zoo, the the stockyards, and lots of trips to the park. Texas is beautiful in the fall. I seriously love it. I guess if you can indure the steamy summers you are rewarded in the fall with perfect weather, and we spend a lot of time outside!

I love sweater weather and fall leaves!!

Jon made me this cake for my birthday, didnt he do a great job?! It was so good! I couldnt stop eating for like 3 days, it probably made me gain 3 lbs.
Emily loves to give Myra baba's.

This was the day I was watching DH on the computer and Emily took a magic marker to the walls...

....and her face (she pointed to it and said 'mama's make-ups')

.....and streaked bare-bummed down the driveway.

My little Ladybug and Skeleton at the ward Trunk or Treat

Our trip to Utah

2009-11-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

All the little cousins hanging out at Nana's house

We got to spend some time with Jon's family, Emily loved playing around with uncle Kevin and Grandma and Grandpa Taylor at the park.

Laura and Tom's Wedding

2009-11-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

My sister Laura was married in the Salt Lake Temple to her sweetheart Tom. That meant we got to go home to Utah! It was so great to be there in the sealing room with my family, the Temple is such a special place. I'm so grateful for the principle of eternal families. Here are a bunch of pictures from that day. Waiting for the happy couple to come out on the temple grounds, and the wedding breakfast afterwards. The little grandkids are so stinkin cute!

The Reception

2009-10-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

Lake

2009-10-15T19:26:00.001-07:00

Just a small lake we saw and decided to play in...

The Park

2009-10-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

We found another park, this one is probably our favorite. Emily calls it "Froggy Park" because it has a frog bouncy thing. I'm glad its cooling down and we can be outside again!

These last two are from a while ago, I just wanted to show how Myra is scooting around, she will usually scoot backwards, this time she backed up under the couch!

Bouncin' Bonanza!

2009-09-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

This week for play group we went to Bouncin Bonanza! It was really fun, we will definatley be back.

Once Emily got used to the idea, she went nuts, the only hard thing was getting her to come out and go home,

This is some of the moms that go to play group from my ward

This is Sara and her boys, Jacob, Issac, and Stratton. We actually grew up on the same street and she graduated with my sister, small world!

Emily and Myra playing while mommy blogs

I love my babies

2009-09-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

Here some pictures of just hanging around the house. These first pictures are really yellow, not sure how to fix that. I really need to learn photoshop, maybe one of these days I'll have time for things like that....not likely I hardly have time to brush my teeth! Anyway Myra got to try a little pizza crust, she loved it. Emily is getting so big, it's crazy to hear her putting sentences together! She loves her hat from Nana. I'm so glad my shows are starting againg, still laughing from the office. Well I'm going to bed, Good night!

2009-09-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

Well this is a little late but....

Myra is 6 months old!
Strike a pose!

She is getting better at sitting, and is always smiling, I love her!
Look at those blue eyes!
Myra loves taking baths with Emily, she just laughs out loud, it's so cute!

She lets Emily cover her head with stickers, she just loves her big sister.

Myra is such a blessing in my life, I can't even begin to describe how special she is to me. I can feel her Christlike spirit and I am truly humbled. I can't believe she is already 6 (almost 7) months, she is still my tiny sweet little baby.

The Park

2009-08-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

I decided we need to get out of the house so I packed up the girls and started driving. I remembered seeing a fun park so I ventured out hoping to find it, and eventually I did! It is seriously a huge park, with 5 or 6 different playgrounds and a splash park as well, and tons of grass to run around, it was fun. I met a cute girl with little kids who also happens to be in my ward! (a friend, yay!) It was good to sit and chat, and she let me know where all the fun things to do are, etc.
Something funny that happened yesterday was this lady came to my door selling meat, she kept saying ( in a thick southern drawl) "my boss says I can't come back with any meat in my freezer" I asked how much it was and she said " if you look at the price you are already blocking your blessing, I want to bless your family today," I thought 'not for 15 bucks a pound!' People down here are funny, most are baptist I think.
The girls are doing great, I have them on a bit of a routing now, Myra takes her first nap at around 10 and they both take a nap around 1. Myra is becoming a pro at eating solid foods, I just gave her peas for the first time yesterday, she liked it. She is a sweet little baby, her smile always melts my heart. She loves watching Emily's every move. Emily is talking so much now, I love her head strong little personality.

My mom and the girls on our fromt porch

The Forth Worth Zoo

Back in Utah, my sisters and I took the kids to the farm, my double stroller became a triple stroller, it didn't work too well.

Emily and Sophie looking at the ducks

Hello from Texas!

2009-08-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well since I am so behind in blogging, rather than trying to catch up on everything that's been going on this summer I will just start from now and randomly add pictures from the last couple months on future posts. So we moved to Texas, that was fun. I seriously have the best family ever, we had our whole house packed up and scrubbed from top to bottom in 3 hours. Jon drove down with all of our stuff, (26 hr drive..poor guy!) When he got here some ward members came and helped him unload. I stayed at my mom's house for a few days. We shopped, ate, talked, and just hung out.
It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone. We are a close family, the last night everyone was there and we ate Thai food and doughnuts and ice cream. My mom flew out to Texas with me and the girls. She is an angel, there is no way I could've done that be myself. We made a good team, Emily and Myra did suprisingly well.
We spent the next couple days getting settled. We went to the Fort Worth Zoo and went out to eat some Texas BBQ. Poor Emily gets heat rash every time we go outside, she' not used to the humidity, neither am I. It's extremely hot.
Today we took my mom back to the airport, I cried. No matter how much we like it here it will be hard to be away from family. At least we get to go back in October for my sister's wedding. Anyway it's time for me to catch up on More to Love. I will be posting more regularly so check back soon.
P.S.
DONT MESS WITH TEXAS!

Just a poem I like...

2009-07-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

Where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into the here.

Where did you get your eyes so blue?
Out of the sky as I came through.

What makes the light in them sparkle and spin?
Some of the starry spikes left in.

Where did you get that little tear?
I found it waiting when I got here.

What makes your forehead so smooth and high?
A soft hand stroked it as I went by.

What makes your cheek like a warm white rose?
Something better than anyone knows.

Whence came the three-cornered smile of bliss?
Three angels gave me at once a kiss.

Where did you get that pearly ear?
God spoke, and it came out to hear.

Where did you get those arms and hands?
Love made itself into hooks and bands.

Feet, whence did you come, you dear little things?
From the same box as the cherub's wings.

How did they all just come to be you?
God thought about me and I grew.

But how did you come to us, you dear?
God thought of you, and so I am here.

Random pictures from the last few weeks

2009-06-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

Myra has recently started holding her head up while on her tummy, isn't she sweet?
BFF's
Emily is only ready to go when she has her blanky, sippy, and Pandi
Bathtime
Emily loves helping with Myra's bath
We went to my brother in law's cabin and went swimming at a pool nearby, this is Sophie with her dad
Emily looks cold!
The "besties", Suzy Q and Myra, 10 weeks apart

Emily's handi work
HMMMM, what could I get into next?
He loves me, he loves me not
Our Memorial day BBQ, Jon loves grilling, and he's a pyro

This Year's Crop

2009-06-23T18:35:00.000-07:00

This is my little garden, in this picture there are tomatoes, squash, cucumber, zuchini, pumpkins and watermelon. Since I took this picture I've weeded a few feet back and also planted bell peppers, hot peppers, egg plant and more zuchini. That's about all you can plant this late in the season, I've procrastinated.
My little helper.
This first pretty little tomato, proof that I do't suck at gardening! Too bad I won't be around to enjoy the fruits of my labor, oh well it's still fun.

2009-06-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

I was going through some old videos, this is Emily at 6 months, I was going to post a more recent one as well but my computer isnt letting me.

2009-06-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day!

2009-06-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

To this wonderful Dad. WE LOVE YOU!

Emily made a finger painting for Jon on Father's Day, she loves painting!

Gettin' Down on the Farm

2009-05-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

All about Myra Anne

2009-05-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

What can I say about Myra? She's just the sweetest little baby, she really is so special. I just love her to peices! I can't believe she is already 3 months, time goes too fast. She is smiling so much now, I love it. She loves getting baths and massages with lotion, and she loves getting swaddled up tight. She is so patient with Emily who loves to smother her with hugs and kisses (and the occasional swat)I love holding her on my chest, she always gets lulled to sleep to the rise and fall of my breathing. I just love everthing about her and can't imangine our family without her, I love you Myra!

April Birthdays

2009-05-12T00:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Camille! Here she is with her son Gavin, he loves to pull funny faces when someone taks a picture,
And he's always willing to help blow out the candles!
This is Laura's birthday a week later. That is Tom, her boyfriend in the back. Laura is in Spain right now and rumor has is when she gets back there will be a ring! [Sigh]... My little sister getting married, that's crazy!
Gavin is so cute, he gets so excited about birthdays.
Sophie getting ready to take her first steps.
Gorgeous.
Cute Ethan, my nephew. He has really warmed up to me, the other day he let me cuddle him for a while, what a sweetie!

Welcome Home Kevin

2009-05-12T00:46:00.000-07:00

Jon's younger brother Kevin returned home from his mission a few weeks ago, he served in Alaska. Jon has missed him a lotand we were all so excited for him to get home. We were waiting at the airport when he came down the stairs. I yelled out "Hi Elder Taylor!" When he saw our family he got emotional and didn't say anything for the fist few minutes, just hugged everyone. He did such a great job on his mission. Afterword we all went to breakfast, it was fun.

Welcome Baby Suzy

2009-04-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

My sister Coleen had a baby girl, Susan Aimee on April 23. She will go by Suzy, I think that is the cutest name. We are so glad she is finally here! She is beautiful! She has a full head of gorgeous honey blonde hair. Coleen woke up with contractions and by the time she got to the hospital she was begging for an epidural, she progressed really quickly. Good job Coleen, and congradulations!

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

All the grandkids in their sunday best, minus Myra

Coleen is a week away from delivering her baby girl, I'm so excited!

My parents are so cute, I love them!

Impatiently waiting to start the hunt

Emily finding her basket on Easter morning

Myra sleeping peacefully, next year she will be looking for eggs too!

Swimming

2009-04-01T13:59:00.002-07:00

Last week we took Emily swimming at a pool in Lehi, and we met my sister and her husband and little boy Ethan. I sat and watched on the side with Myra. They had so much fun swimming, they didnt want to get out. I forgot my camera so I stole these off Coleens blog (thanks!)We will definately do this again!

Myra

2009-03-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

I love this little baby. She is so sweet and mild, and hardly ever cries. Can someone please tell her that she is supposed to sleep at night and not all day? She is still a little mixed up on that, and I need more than four hours of sleep at night, thanks.
Emily is doing great, every day it seems like she gets smarter and understands everything we say to her. She has such a cute feisty little personality, I love it.
We decided that we are for sure moving to Texas for school sometime this summer. It will be a huge change for us and I know I will miss my family a ton. But it's the right thing to do for our family. I'm excited for the adventure, but really not looking forward to the actual move, hopefully everything will work out.

Snow Fun

2009-03-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

We had fun playing in the snow, but hopefully this was the last snowstorm! I'm ready for spring! I love my sweet babies. Having two kids is so fun but leaves time for little else! Gotta go one of em's crying....

Myra's Birth

2009-02-18T16:23:00.000-08:00

Myra is already a week old, and it has been a crazy week! She has had jaundice which means 3 trips to the lab for blood work and several trips to the Dr. for weight checks, and keeping on the bili lights. Just like Emily they brought a bili bed to our house and we had to keep her in there at all times except for feedings and changes. Today however I got the good news that her bilirubin levels are down so we are in the clear.
Myra was born Friday, February 13, 2009. I had a scheduled induction and I was told to call the hospital at 7:00 am so they could tell me what time to come in. I called and they told me to come right in. So we got Emily up, got her ready, I got ready and finished packing, we took Emily over to my mom's and got the hospital at about 9:00. My Dr. checked me and I was still at 1 plus cms. He broke my water and they started the pitocin and about 10:00. For the next hour I just hung out and talked to Jon, I could feel some small contractions but nothing too painfull. The nurse increased the pitocin and I got a few huge contraction which about knocked me over I and asked for the epidural. I really don't know how people could go natural, I don't handle pain very well! So the anestheisiologist came in a few min and gave me the drugs and AAAAAHHHHH heaven. So for the next several hours I steadily dilated and at about 3:20 I was complete and ready to push. I pushed for about 25 minutes and got a small epesiotomy and she was born. It seemed so easy! She was a lot smaller than Emily. I was just as amazed as the first time, it was so amazing the fist time I held her.
Emily loves having her around, whenever she waked up from a nap she says "baby" and points to where her swing is. She loves holding her and looking at her. She hasn't been very jealous, she just needs to have some attention and spend some time outside everyday and she does pretty good.
Emily on the way to Grandma's the day Myra was born.

I was doing thumbs up because my epidural had kicked in and I felt great

Love at first sight

Emily meeting her sister for the fist time

All ready to leave the hospital

Meet my new little girl

2009-02-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

Well I could'nt have asked for a better delivery, everything is going great! She is such a sweet little girl. Here's some pictures for now, more pictures and all the details to come!!

Myra Anne Taylor
6 lbs. 6 oz., 18.5 in.

2009-02-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

I'm writing this in an attempt to not fall asleep...Emily woke up last night drenched in sweat with a temp of about 102. I gave her tylonol, a cool bath (which she hated) and it took a while to get her back to sleep. She has been such a good sleeper lately it's hard to get used to waking up again. Anyway, she has been on amoxicillan for 9 days for an ear infection and it doesn't seem to be helping so I'm taking her into the Dr. on call after her nap. She is over the cough and runny nose but now she is having a fever and she's just not herself, this has lasted almost two weeks, I really hope she gets better before the baby comes!
Speaking of the baby, I'm getting induced in 5 days! I'm so nervous/excited/relieved! I swear my belly grew over night, I feel so huge! I'm expecting another 8 pounder. Everyone has been telling me that I don't look big enough or "ready" and I was a little worried but now I definately have that look that says "I am ready to have this baby!" I feel embarrased to go out in public like I'm some kind of spectacle. It's always suprising how big we actually get. I still feel pretty good, I'll let you know if anything exciting happens!

2009-02-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

We decided Emily really needed to get out of the house today after being couped up too long with being sick. There is a little park within walking distance that she really likes. Jon took her there this morning and when they came back he told me she could climb up the steps and go down the slide all by herself. So ofcourse I had to come see for myself. We took her back later and she had such a great time going down the slide over and over. I love the faces she makes. She is such a big girl! I can't get enough of that toothy grin, how did I get so lucky?

We got a new swing and Jon was putting it together today. Emily tried it out and thought it was great, then she put her baby in and rocked it back and forth, she is so motherly.

MTC

2009-02-02T20:56:00.000-08:00

We said goodbye to my little sis Karen. last wednesday, it was a sad day with lots of tears, but also very spiritual. You could just feel the anticipation and excitement of all the missionaries and it was just really cool to get a glimpse of the amazing force of missionaries our church has serving world wide. Just like the last time I was there sending off Jon's brother almost two years ago, I felt a little bit sad that I didnt serve a mission, I was a little jealous of Karen. Someday Jon and I will serve a mission together.
Saying goodbye was hard and I know we will all miss her a ton. She is an amazing person!

2009-01-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

Emily actually really likes bubble baths, I think she was just ready to get out at this point.
Well I wish I had something exciting to blog about, but I know everyone is at the edge of their seat waiting for me to post so here I go. The last few weeks I have felt the need to clean and organize, I guess it's that nesting instinct kicking in. So far I have scrubbed out the frige, clean, ironed, and folded every piece of clothing in this house( too bad it dosn't stay that way), I got out all of Emily's newborn clothes and washed and folded them, basically I'm always cleaning and I still feel stressed out that it's not clean enough!
I've been feeling pretty good, this baby is constantly moving, sometimes it's a little exhausting! I got some awesome heartburn medication so that is under control. I'm not at the point where I feel miserable yet, I'm just getting really excited to see this little girl! I saw the doctor on Monday, I was dialated to 1 1/2 cm and 50 % effaced. Also he said I could schedule an induction for 1 week early so I will be having the baby in three weeks! I can't believe it, it really has gone by fast this time.
And I have an announcement to make... Emily is walking! She actually took her first steps a couple weeks ago but now she is walking confidently from one side of the room to the other. I will post video of this later. She is also saying more words and even doing some signs. I'm amazed at how fast she's learning and showing more and more of her cute personality. I've really enjoyed the time when it's just us. We have a good little routine down: she wakes up at 8:00 am, we snuggle on the couch while she drinks her juice, then play for a while, then she has her oatmeal, we play some more, she has a bath, we read a story and she takes a nap at noon. When she wakes up we eat lunch, play with toys, sometimes go on an errand, play with Dad and eat dinner, and she goes to bed by 7:30. I really hope we can stick to her routing after the baby comes. I still need to think of a name!

Girls night

2009-01-10T07:52:00.001-08:00

This is all my sisters, there are six of us! (I also have two brothers) Since Karen is leaving on her mission in less than three weeks we went out for a girls night. We went to Spaghetti Factory, it was so fun we sat and talked for over two hours. They are all such beautiful and amazing women, I don't know what I would do without them! I am going to miss Karen so much! I know she will do great in Ukraine.

Two pregant ladies! This is me at 34 weeks and my sister at 24 weeks.

Also we recently celebrated my Grandma's 80th birthday, doesn't she look great? I love my Grandma! She is so talented! She has been playing/teaching piano the Japanese method called Suzuki her whole life and still studies under a master suzuki teacher. She also knits beautiful sweaters and dresses for all the great grand babies. She loves learning about health and nutrition. I have never met a more kind, generous and Christ-like person than her, she is amazing!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T20:59:00.000-08:00

Can you believe how seriously cute these kids are? I really didn't take enough pictures this Christmas but it was a good one. We hung out at my parents house Christmas Eve and had a great dinner of honey baked ham, potatoes and all the treats. Then we had a game of bingo, with great prizes provided by my mom. Emily got a recorder flute thing which she loves to play. We also had a little nativety play with the grandkids (who were really too little to know what was going on) and read the story of the first Christmas night.
Jon and I exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve, I dont know why but it was fun. The next morning we went back to my parents, our car barely made it in all the snow, for a traditional waffle breakfast and played rock band and opened presents. This year my parents gave us 300 pounds of wheat for our food storage, awesome! It was fun to see Emily so happy and spending time with family, I can't ask for more than that on Christmas.

GOING PRIVATE

2008-12-26T12:53:00.001-08:00

Please leave me your email! Thanks

Emily's 1st Birthday

2008-12-21T20:02:00.001-08:00

Emily's birthday was fun, we had some family and over for cake and icecream. Here are some pics from the party.
I think I was more excited about the presents than Emily, because I knew they would keep her entertained for hours!
Emily loved opening up her presents, she lovingly held each doll or stuffed animal and played with each toy before graciously giving it up to her cousins to try out.
This is the baby doll from Jon and I, she loves this baby, she hugs it everyday.
Having some birthday cake
Emily had a great time
Coleen holding the little buddies. They usually play nice together, we just have to keep an eye on them in case tempers flare.
This is the cake I made
Other than that we are just trying to get ready for Christmas. We went to a family Christmas party last night with my moms side, for the past two years we have put together hygiene kits for the humanitarian center as part of the activities, it was pretty fun.
Jon is now finished with nursing school, Yay! I'm so proud of him he has worked really hard the last two years. He will just be working until we go back to school next fall, it's so nice to have him home a little more!
As for me I just keep growing, I'm almost 32 weeks now so I'm going to the doctor every two weeks. So far I've felt really good, however I think I'm just barely entering the "uncomfortable stage", where it's hard to sleep, and my hartburn is out of control. I'm so excited to have another baby! I think delivering babies is pretty much the best thing ever, you get to literally take part in a miracle! Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Getting ready for Christmas

2008-12-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

We got a real tree for the first time this year! I had been searching everywhere on black friday looking for a good deal on an artificial tree but could'nt find one I liked so we looked at lowes and found this tree for only 32 bucks. I'm so glad we got it, it makes the house smell sooo good! We actually got it the day after Thanksgiving but I still haven't decorated it yet...maybe I will today.
This is Thanksgiving with my family
Just Emily being cute. I can't believe her birthday is in a week! I think I've been in denial about it, I just can't believe how fast this year has gone by, my little baby is almost a year old and I'm having another one in 10 weeks....CRAZY, but I wouldn't trade my life for anything!

Emily's new friends

2008-11-23T21:30:00.001-08:00

Tonight we celebrated Thanksgiving with Jon's side of the family. It was so fun to see everyone and the food was delicious. I intorduced my mother in law to egg nog
mixed with sprite and she liked it. The hightlight of the night for Emily was this little puppy that one of the girls brought. She loved it and wanted to squeeze it..I was trying to teach her to be gentle with it but she would get so excited and just grab it's poor ears and tail. I think the puppy's "mom" was really nervous whenever Emily was near the dog but the other cousins kept bringing the dog to her because she would squeel and giggle so much. Jon thought it would be fun to get Emily a dog but I think not for a few years.

This is Emily's cousin Alicia who she also loves to hug and squeeze. Alicia didn't appreciate it too much.

Cute Kids

2008-11-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

Wow this has been a crazy week, where do I start? Well last Sat (the 25th) Jon and I got to go to a BYU football game, they won UNLV that was way fun. Then on the following Sunday we celebrated my sister Karen's birthday who turned 21, who by the way recieved her mission call to UKRAINE! She will be speaking Russian and leaves the end of Jan. I'm so happy for her and will miss her a ton!

My nephew Gavin turned 3 and we went to his birthday party on Tuesday. Halloween was fun, we took Emily out trick or treating for a few houses, she thought it was neat but obviously didn't really get it. Then we went to my parents' house, they have a little party every year and saw all the other cousins
My sister Marie and I share the same birthday and we celebrated that on Sunday. My mom made the best fish tacos and carrot cake! I can't believe I'm 25 now that's old! But it's a good time in my life! Yesterday was a bit dramatic, I woke up with a back ache (but I still voted!) and started getting bad stomach cramps, which got worse so I called my doctor and they said to go to the women's center to get evaluated. It turned out I was having mild contractions (which were really painful or maybe I'm just a wimp) Anyway after a few hours they gave me a shot of morphine for the pain and that made me sick but it stopped the contractions so they told me to take it easy and sent me on my way. Today has been a lot better, let's hope it's smooth sailing from here!

Park fun

2008-10-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last sunday we took Emily to the park to play. She had so much fun crawling around, and she looked like such a big girl! It makes me sad that she's getting so big and independant, wasn't she just barely born? On the other hand it's fun for us as parents to see her discovering new things and getting so much joy out of it.

Emily seriously loves the swings, as soon as she saw them she started getting so excited.

This is Emily's winter coat, I bought last spring on clearance and I thought it would fit by now. It's really big on her, oh well it will fit next winter too maybe.

The Last Little While....

2008-10-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

If anyone still reads this I'm happy to say we have internet once again so I am back in the world of blogs. Can't wait to see what all of you have been up to. I am now 22 weeks along and found out I'm having a girl. We are so excited to have two little ladies running around here, and Emily will have a little sister to play with. I'm feeling really good, the baby is kicking a ton. Jon is counting down the days till he's done with nursing school, he will graduate in December. Emily is doing great! She is crawling everywhere and has 4 teeth. She is 10 months now. She loves to dance to music, play with us, and eat whatever she can get her hands on. She is just so dang cute and we love her to bits. Here are some pictures of the last little bit....All ready for church, you can see she's getting some hair!
Emily loves playing with the pumpkins, there is one for everyone in our family, even the new baby!
Hangin out
Enjoying a peach
She really loves peaches! And apples and tomatos and cheese....
This is when went camping with my side of the family. I thought it was cute Emily held her cousin Sophie's hand.
Sophie, Gavin, and Emily camping
Sweet shades
Look at this flower! I had no idea it was in my yard, so pretty!

Goodbye summer!

2008-08-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

We finally got Emily's picture taken, she was very scared of the photographers so this is the best smile we got. I like it though, I think she looks kind of angelic. I got the tutu and hedband from a blog called tickledpinkbyklorissa.blogspot, she did such a good job. Anyway, this summer has flown by, we camping a couple times, went to the park a lot, and had about 50 bbq's. But I'm glad that fall is on the way, I'm so excited for all the hollidays.
I read Breaking Dawn, I think I'm done with Stephanie M., it was just too weird even for a book about vampires, and her writing is a little too explicit if you ask me. I wouldn't let my teenage daughter read it.
I find out what I'm having in about three weeks, can't wait! My sister and her family got back from Atlanta, yay! We missed them so much, it's hard when part of your family is on the other side of the country. Well I don't have internet anymore to save money, so I can't post as often unless I use my parent's computer, haha. P.S. can't wait for The Office, DH, and Lost!!!

Yellowstone camping trip

2008-08-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

There are a ton of pictures here and it's only a fraction of what we took, it was so beautiful up there. It was so fun to get away for a few days.

We're headed out of town!

2008-07-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

We just decided last minute to go on a little camping trip up in Yellowstone. Aaahh I'm so excited to get out of here, get a break from this horrid heat and enjoy beautiful Yellowstone. It will just be our little family. I really hope Emily does good, it will be pretty chilly at night and we are camping in a tent. She is a really good sleeper but we'll see how she does snuggled in between mom and dad instead of in her crib. We're going to be cooking on the dutch oven, does anyone have any good recipes for dutch oven cooking? There is so much to see there I'm excited, I haven't been there since I was ten.
And since our families all know I will go ahead and make the official announcement to all my fellow bloggers.. I'm pregnant! Yes, #2 is on the way and he/she will arrive the end of February. We are so excited to have another baby and for Emily to have a little friend to play with. One more sweet little spirit in our home, what an amazing blessing. It took us a while to get Emily here so we were beyond suprised to learn we were pregnant so quickly but couldn't be happier. I have been quite a bit more sick this time around but that is starting to wear off.
Emily is learning new things everyday. So far she says "Dada, baba, and nana". Still waiting to hear "Mama". Whenever we say "clap clap" she claps, it makes me wonder what other words she understands.
Here are some pictures from the 24th of July, we had a BBQ with the Smith side of the family, it was fun.
Emily loved sitting in the grass
I had a wet paper towel on her head because it was so hot!
Lydia and Page
Gavin swinging and Marie
Karen and Emily
Poor Andy, he biffed pretty hard on the waterslide.

She just keeps growing...

2008-07-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

Emily has shotgun! Just kidding we always put her in the car seat, it just looked funny.

This is Emily's cousin Sophie, she is a month old now, and still so tiny! What a sweety.

This face just makes me laugh

Enjoying some of her newest toys! My sister let us borrow this Johnny Jump Up and walker, Emily has had a lot of fun!

Wow I can't believe Emily is 7 months old already. She is in the 95 percentile for height and 75 percentile for weight. She has just about mastered sitting and standing holding on to something. Not that I'm worried about hitting certain milestones it's just fun to see her developing. She is so fun especially when I get her out of bed in the morning or after a nap, she is so happy and I get a big hug and a wet kiss, that is the best part of my day! She is loving solid foods and just about anything we feed her. She loves to clap, that's her new favorite thing. Well that's all for now!

She's an American girl...

2008-07-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

Swimming, Parks, and Lounging about...

2008-06-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Wer'e having a fun summer and trying not to work too hard! Jon is very busy with school and work and Emily is busy getting teeth and possibly crawling in the near future! Any time we can all spend together is priceless. We hope ya'll are having a great summer!

Cookies

2008-06-23T20:25:00.001-07:00

I have a confession to make.... I just made no-bake cookies, again. I made some yesterday after church and Jon and I devoured them and just now I was wanting something sweet so I made some more! ( I eat way too much sugar, it's a problem) They literally take 5 min to make and I always have the ingredients. I don't know why but they always remind my of when I was little. Yesterday I added some peanut butter and Jon really likes them that way, but this time I added a scoop of cream cheese instead and they really are amazingly good. I really like this recipe because they set up firm, I've made them in the past where they never set up and they're just a goopy mess. The trick is boiling at least 1 min before you add the oats.
Emily is wonderful, I have a bunch of cute pictures to post but I left my camera card at my parents' so I'll post them later. She got her first tooth! I was suprised she just barely turned 6 months. That was an ordeal but she is now back to her happy self and sleeping all night thank goodness. I love her.
This weekend was really fun, we went to Country Fest which is a carnival at the South Jordan park. We met some friends there and my sisters Laura and Karen also came and brought their guys along. It was just a perfect night, not too hot. We got Emily's face painted and it was really cute. They had lots of booths and food. We tried some hawaiian food which was some kind of pork and rice and salad from a booth and it was delicious. They had lots of rides, I free concert by Darryl Worely (he's a country singer, he sings 'Have you forgotton' and 'I miss my friend' among others) I didn't even know he would be there but I really love his music and the concert was a blast. We were dancing around and acting dumb. Also my friend from high school sang before him, she is very talented, she did great! Then there were fireworks after and Emily really liked that even though it was way past her bed time.
On sunday we celebrated by brother Andy's birthday, he turned 12. I got to see my new niece again, she is a doll. Oops Jon's home I gotta go act like I'm cleaning or something:)

Welcome Little One

2008-06-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

My sister Camille had her little girl! Her name is Sophie and she was born on Father's Day. She was 7 lbs 7 oz and 19.5 inch. She is beautiful! I love the sweet spirit that you feel around brand new babies. She is so sweet and tiny. She looks a lot like her brother but also has her own look. I'm so excited she is here! It was fun to go see her because Jon works at the hospital she was born at so we got to see him as well. Hope he had a great first Father's Day! Congradulations Camille and Darren!

Family Pictures

2008-06-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

We had a fun little family outing today at the park, we decided we need some pictures of the family and so we set up the camera on the tripod and set the timer, it's not professional but hey it's free. We also got some cute ones of Emily which is good. She's at such a fun age right now! She's so smiley and fun. The last few months she's made a lot of progress, she eats rice cereal and sometimes vegetables, she always wants a taste of whatever I'm eating, she's sleeping really good, she's started to really like playing with toys, and she can almost sit up by herself. She's so alert and picks up on everything. I can't believe she is almost 6 months old! I love being her mom! Here are some of my favorites, get ready for a picture over load!

On these ones I was hiding behind the tree holding her so she wouldn't fall

Happy Birthday Jon!

2008-05-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

This week Jon turned 26! We had a fun day just relaxing at home, we got take out from our favorite thai place, and had cake and sang happy birthday!
Also I made a really good salmon dish the other day you will love and it's very easy:

4 salmon fillets (1 lb) skin removed and thawed
1/4 cup mayo
2 T grated parmesan cheese
1/8 t cayenne pepper
2 tsp lemon juice
10 ritz crackers or 1/4 cup sliverd almonds

Preheat oven to 400, mix mayo, cheese, and pepper, set aside. Place salmon in shallow backing dish, drizzle with lemon juice. Spread cheese mixture evenly to cover salmon, sprinkle with cracker crumbs or almonds. Bake 15 min or until salmon flakes easily with fork. makes 4 servings

I've tried with cracker crumbs and with almonds and it's good both ways.
Also good news! I discovered there are three peoni bushes in my back yard and it totally made my day! I'm so excited for them to bloom they are one of my favorite flowers!

Cute

2008-05-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

This is just a picture Jon edited, I think it turned out cute.

2008-05-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well we got back from Atlanta a few days ago and we had so much fun. It is so pretty there and it was very hot but Coleen and Seth are so lucky to have a pool to cool off. Coleen and I took the kids to Stone Mountain which is a really cool historic park with lots of old fashioned little shops and a train ride. There is a huge lake in the middle of it and a stone mountain with carvings in it. On the last day Coleen drove us to the airport and we stopped at The Varsity on the way to eat, it's the biggest drive in restaurant in the world and I had the best chili cheese slaw dog and onion rings ever! On my way to my gate in the airport Emily had a blow out so I had to change her whole outfit, (thank goodness right before I checked my bag I grabbed an extra onsie just in case) I heard them making a last call for my flight so I booked it to my gate and barely made it on the plane. Well the weather went from perfectly sunny to raining and lightning, as well as a tornado watch! So we sat on the plane for almost two hours before taking off, and needless to say we didn't make our connection, and had to spend the night in the Denver airport, yeah it sucked. The good thing was I had enough diapers and formula in my bag to last the night because they wouldn't let us get to our checked luggage. Emily slept most the night in my arms. So that's my adventure, it's good to home with my hubby we missed him. Here's some pictures of Emily at the pool in her cute swim suit. Coleen and I were trying to get a picture of the babies together and there was no way they would sit still so a started recording, Ethan is so full of energy, and he had such a fun personality! Thanks for having us Coleen! Love ya!

Georgia Aquarium

2008-05-17T07:31:00.001-07:00

Emily and I came out to Atlanta to see my sister Coleen and her family; her husband is working out here for the summer. The flight was exhausting but it went ok. Thank goodness I sat next to the nicest lady and she helped me a lot with Emily. Yesterday we went to the Georgia Aquarium and it was really fun. I wanted to show Jon the picture of Emily sitting for the first time, ( we miss you a ton babe!) I was so excited to see her sit by herself but it kind of made me sad at the same time because that means she's growing up and needs me a little bit less. Well we are having a great time and the kiddos are getting along well. Today we are going swimming and maybe going to check out some historical sites in Atlanta, it's beautiful here! So many trees and green everywhere and everyone is so friendly. We went to walmart yesterday and everyone said hello and smiled, and it's very humid here!

Zions Nat'l Park

2008-05-12T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have to brag a little here, these are just a few of the pictures Jon took down in Zions, he is actually really good at photography, these havn't been edited, just sooc, (straight out of camera) Enjoy!

Mother is love

2008-05-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

Well since Mother's day is around the corner I thought I would share some thoughts about moms. First these are some excerps I borrowed from Dr. Laura's blog:

TaShanique: I began listening to your radio program before I got pregnant, and when I discovered that I was expecting, it was clear what I had to do. My husband gave me the go-ahead to quit my stressful job in March of 2007, even though my son wasn’t due until late July. I was prepared to be a stay-at-home mommy. One thing I wasn’t prepared for was all the backlash that I received. I heard that I was being arrogant in assuming that I could teach my child everything by sheltering him from the world; I would be spoiling my child by not exposing him to other people. Also, after church one day, I yawned and someone said to me ‘Why are you yawning? You don’t have a job so you shouldn’t be tired!’ I thought it was a joke, until I saw he wasn’t laughing.
This may have not bothered most people, but I was suffering from postpartum depression and had a hard time with such negativity from others. I also hadn’t been receiving my regular ‘dose’ of Dr Laura, so I started to second- guess myself as to whether or not I had made the right choice.
However, it seems like everything changed in one day. I got stuck in traffic and turned to your broadcast and listened to you encourage mothers to ‘go do the right thing.’ When I got home, my husband greeted me with a big hug and kiss, and told me that I was doing a great job and that he’s proud to have me as his wife and the mother of his son. I was doing the right thing; I was being my son’s mother and my husband’s wife.
That same evening, a person who had been the most critical toward me called me and was very upset. The pediatrician who cares for her daughter begged her to remove her daughter from day-care because she is constantly ill and underweight. She was upset at the pediatrician, and asked me what she should do. I told her to go do the right thing, which she took to mean that it was time to criticize me once again for making the choice to stay at home. I told her that I had to go make dinner for my family and hung up. What she had to say didn’t bother me.
My husband and I are planning on having another baby next year. This time I will be well prepared. I am currently creating a list that contains the reasons why I stay at home. That will ensure that even through postpartum depression that I won’t forget that I did the right thing.”

Excelsa: I am a stay-at-home mom to my 1 year 7 month old daughter. Each day I teach her several words and she repeats them after me. I started with the simple words and progressed to more difficult ones. I went through all the body parts, then animals, then constellations and other miscellaneous words. Well, just when I was beginning to wrap things up, I said to my daughter, ‘Honey, can you say love?’ She smiled her cute little smile and said, ‘Mom.’
Oh, my heart just melted. My husband was listening, and he just picked up our daughter and gave her the biggest kiss and said, ‘Yes, honey, Mommy is love.’
Just thought I’d let you know that this is such a defining moment for me as a mother, and that I know I am doing a great job raising my daughter.

I'm so glad I get to stay home with my baby, I truly believe that the most important job on earth is to be a parent( let's not leave Dad's out-they're great too!) And I know the most important as well as the most fulfilling work I will ever do is in the home. Emily is such an angel. She had shots last night and she only cried for a few seconds and then she was smiling again. However today she has been very uncomfortable and fussy, I was glad I could just drop everything else and comfort her. Jon is down in Zions, he took a well deserved get away with some friends and hiked the subway, we miss him a ton!

Some pictures of my girl

2008-05-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

"No more pictures, feed me!"

Yeah....Cool Beans!

2008-04-30T20:17:00.001-07:00

The last little bit....

2008-04-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

This everything I'm planting, I'm also doing tomatos and corn, It's been really fun for me! Whenever the baby is napping I run out and do as much as I can until she wakes up. I hope I get some good veggies!

This is my garden, you can see I've planted about five rows so far.

Our cute little house

If anyone is missing their two ducks, we have them. They like to hang out in our front yard pretty much every day.

I'm glad it's finally warming up, I love this tree in my back yard, spring blossoms make me happy!

Picture of the Week

2008-04-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

These two are my world! I love them so much!

April Fool's Day... Not so fun

2008-04-01T11:22:00.001-07:00

This morning I played a trick on Jon, I put a raisin in the toothpaste, so when he got some on his toothbrush it looked like there was a bug in it. He was so grossed out. Mostly he was mad he forgot to do something to me. Then I guess Emily decided to play a trick on me. She had the biggest blow out ever, it went all up her back and as I as trying to clean it off her back somehow her hand got in the diaper and got a handful of the stuff. I caught it right before she put it in her mouth! So when I was trying to clean off her hand the stuff that was still on her back got all over the blankets! Oh boy, adventures of a desparate housewife, so I finally gave up and put her in the tub, but I did get some cute pictures of her in her bath robe.

Easter Fun!

2008-04-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

We also celebrated my brother Darren's birthday. Gavin kept blowing out his candles, we had to re-light them three times

I love Easter!

For some reason Jon wanted to see if Emily would fit in her easter basket...she didnt think that was too funny.

My sister Karen running like heck to find some eggs

A proud grandpa

Cute cousins

Park fun!

2008-04-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Jon's nieces and nephews came down to hang out with us and we had so much fun! We played at the park, then went to McDonalds then bowling. They are so cute and absolutely love playing with Jon!

Bizarre!

2008-03-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

I just read that Dell Schanze, the former owner of Totally Awesome Computers, (Super Dell) is running for Governor...like the governor of Utah....What in the world? This guy is never going to stop popping up in the headlines!

Look at me I'm 3 months old today!

2008-03-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

2008-03-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!

TEN WEIRD/RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME

1. I'm a germ freak, especially since I've had a baby. And I don't believe in the 10 second rule, if the binkie falls on the floor, I have to wash it.

2. I HATE scrapbooks! I will never make one, way to expensive and time consuming. Besides, I would rather look at a photo album than one picture on a page with a bunch of glitter, stickers, buttons, and other nonsense. I know some people really enjoy them, I just don't need that kind of stress in my life.

3. I would love to have six kids; three boys and three girls.

4. I gained 45 lbs when I was pregnant (yikes!)

5. I'm a pretty good cook, Jon is too. We have a lot of fun cooking together and trying new recipes off of food network.

6. Someday Jon and I would like to live kind of out in the country and have a huge barn with horses, cows, chickens, and cats and dogs, as well as a huge garden and tons of fruit trees. How fun would that be?

7. I take piano lessons from my grandma, she teaches the traditional Japanese method called Suzuki. She is amazing!

8. I love cake decorating, my sister and I took a class on this a while ago and it was so fun, someday we want to get really good and start a buisness doing wedding cakes.

9. I love taking baths, if I ever have a ton of money I want to have a spa-like bathroom like as big as my bedroom with a big jetted tub.

10. My favorite shows on TV right now are Biggest loser, Lost, Little People Big World, and John and Kate plus Eight. The last two are on TLC if you were wondering.

2008-02-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

I love how she pursed her lips, so cute!

Well since Jon had to work till late on Valentines day we celebrated it on Wednesday. We took Emily to my Mom's and went to dinner at The Roof. It was so good! I love this place because they have a buffet with the best food, (prime rib, sea food, decadent desserts and tons more) someone is playing romantic songs on the piano, and an amazing view of the Salt Lake temple all lit up at night. We sat at the same table right next to the window looking down at the temple we did three years ago the night we got engaged so it brought back a lot of memories. Thanks Jon for the romantic evening! I love you! Also that night Emily slept 8 hrs in a row, nursed, and went right back to sleep for another 3 hrs, WOW! Go girl!
Then on Thursday I took Emily to the doctor for her two month appt. She weighed13.5 lbs (85%) and was 24.5 inches (95%). She got shots, one in each leg. It was so sad, I held her while they did the shots and her little body just jumped when the nurse jabbed the needle in and then she just screamed. But that only lasted a few minutes and then she fell asleep and slept for the next 4 hours. Much less traumatic than I expected but still so sad.

2008-02-23T09:59:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday the 17th we had Emily's baby blessing. It was such a special day for us! Hearing Emily's blessing made me so grateful for her and the amazing person she is and will be. Also I'm so thankful for my husband and all he does for our family! It was so fun to have everybody over afterwords.

Here comes the sun!

2008-02-11T18:07:00.000-08:00

The days are getting longer now! I just can't wait to see the trees blossom and smell my favorite smell-lilacs. The high today was 45 degrees, which compared to the last little while felt like a virtual heat wave. Well, not really but it was pretty nice, so Emily and I went for a stroll in the park. It's so important to get fresh air and sunlight! It definately put things in perspective after a long and miserable night. It seems like us bloggers only like to report the "good news" especially when it comes to our babies sleep. I understand, it makes you feel like a failure when your 8 1/2 week old wakes up 5 times in one night, and absolutely won't take a nap some days. But I am ready to admit that I do not have a champion sleeper! It's sad her mom has no idea what she's doing. But some nights are really good, she'll go 8 hours with one feeding in between. This is not the norm but it gives me encouragement. So I'll keep trying and learning and eventually we will both be well rested. I am enjoying being a mom though, i can't believe this sweet little baby is my very own! She is my heart.
Just a side note 'The Biggest Loser' and 'Lost' are so good this season! I don't even miss DH and Grays. I predict Mark will win the biggest loser if everyone dosn't boycott and kick him off.

2008-02-09T21:49:00.000-08:00

I feel like I havn't blogged forever! I've been so busy. Last week we moved to this house and we are so happy to be here! We really feel at home here. It's nice to have more room and we can actually park our cars in a garage which is a first. Also there is a big yard so I'm going to attempt to have a garden this summer even though I have no idea what I'm doing! Things have been crazy with trying to unpack and having boxes everywhere but today we finally got everything organized.

2008-02-09T21:15:00.000-08:00

Bath time! She has started splashing in the tub, it's so cute

Thanks for the coat Coleen! She looks so cute like a little eskimo baby, it works great for the car seat too. Emily 7 weeks old. My little girl is getting so big! She weighs about 12 lbs now and is already growing out of her 0-3 month clothes.

2008-01-20T21:58:00.000-08:00

Well this has been a great weekend! On Friday I got to see Emily first true smile! It made me so happy I almost cried. Then on Saturday we had our friends over for pizza and a movie. We watched Hot Rod which I thought was hilarious. And then on sat night Emily slept really well, she only woke up once all night which was amazing! I woke up feeling like a new woman in the morning. It's amazing how good you feel having adequate sleep after so long without it. Sunday was just really relaxed, I got to finish a book, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It was really good I would definately recommend it. Then we went to my parents for dinner and had a fun time. This week Emily will be six weeks this thusday, I can't believe how fast she's growing! She is so cute and sweet, my life revolves around her, but I love it! Other than that this week I will be starting to pack because we are moving out of our apartment and into a house in West Jordan. We are getting killer deal on rent so we our super excited.

Those cheeks are really starting to fill out!

Hangin out with the gals

My mom and Emily and I

Jon and Andy on Nintendo Wii

What an angel

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

The holidays came and went so fast, we barely even noticed, I think I left the house like five times since Emily's been born! We went to my mom's for Christmas and had a really fun time. Then on New Years we just ate food and watched Pirates of the Carribean 3 and went to bed at 11:00. Yes we are party animals! I have several new year resolutions including losing this baby weight so I'm better hit the gym! These last three weeks have been so nice having Jon home most the day, just hanging out with the baby, watching movies and relaxing, not doing a whole lot. He goes back full time on Monday and I'm kind of nervous to do this on my own! We've been calling Emily our little "sleeping beauty" because she slept so much the first two weeks and was so calm and serene. Now she is a lot more fussy and seems to want to eat all the time, and the nights can be really hard. She sleeps better being snuggled so I don't always get much sleep. I have to remind myself that this is normal and nothing is wrong with her, but she is still so fun. She seems to be more alert and makes the cutest faces. She is still a bit too small for most her clothes

The sink works much better for baths, she loves it!

Emily and Ethan's first Christmas!

Emily's First Week

2007-12-21T07:41:00.000-08:00

Ok I know this is a lot of pictures but I can't help it I have to show off my beautiful baby! I can't believe it's allready been a week this is going way too fast. Things are going really well, I feel better from the episiotomy and nursing is going good, it was hard at first but it gets easier everyday. Thank goodness I have my mom and two sisters who have been through it who I can call any time!

With aunt Coleen

With Grandma and Grandpa Taylor

With aunt Karen With aunt Camille and uncle Darren With uncle James With her cousin Ethan. He is so cute! With Aunt Stacie and cousins Ransom and Kylie She had pretty bad jaundice so we had to have her on the bili-bed the first 4 nights home from the hospital. Now she's good. With Grandpa Ward With Aunt Camille Baby's first bath So sweet
All ready to go! Big yawn! With Grandma Ward With Aunt Laura With Aunt Marie With uncle Andrew Jon likes holding her while he watches ESPN.

2007-12-16T21:46:00.000-08:00

She is so sweet, seriously such a little angel. We can't get enough of her. She was 8 lbs, 7 oz, and 20.5 inches long.