Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all! We had a great day today and we hope you did, too! We hosted our first big holiday meal. We were able to do so because we have some newly inherited dining room furniture. It couldn't have come to us at a better time and we are very thankful for it - Thanks Terrie and MeeMee! Robyn's parents and one of her aunts came over and everyone brought yummy dishes, so it was a great group effort. We didn't brave cooking the turkey. Neil took care of that for us. I am very appreciative for everyone pitching in - if I had to do it all myself I would have been a little stressed to say the least. All of the food was delicious and I think everyone enjoyed it! We hope y'alls Thanksgiving meal was just as delicious as ours and that you have taken time to count your blessings and be thankful for all you have.

Thanksgiving Photo Shoot

Tay Tay and I had a little photo shoot this morning on her new swingset while Mama was cooking a feast. I love some of these pics so I had to share.

Deuteronomy 6:5

Here's a sweet video of Taylor saying her Bible verse. It's very neat to hear her say her verses. We didn't even know that she knew the chapter and verse of this passage until she said it for this video.

Go Canes!!

"Fall Harvest Party"

Today Taylor had her very first party at MDO. They were celebrating "Fall Harvest" but we all know it was really a Halloween Party. :) They had a pretty normal day until 12ish when the party started. Basically they just ate lunch and then some of them played. On Tuesday they painted on small pumpkins, so they brought those home today, along with a "treat bag" with little goodies and lots of candy. A few of the other mothers brought stuff to put in all the kids bags...but not me. I mean, it did not even cross my mind to bring gifts or goodies for the teachers much less the kiddos! I'm still kinda new at this whole mom thing. Perhaps I'll have it all together and know what I'm supposed to be doing by the time she's in Kindergarten...one can hope. Anyway, back to the party. It was fun and I'm so glad I was able to go. My mom and step-dad were able to come, too, which was fun. It's almost 2:00 as I type this and Taylor is in her crib just singing away - I wish you could hear her. I'm not sure why she isn't tired. Certainly it couldn't be that she's wired from the juice box (which she's never had) and THREE cookies she had at the party. That's probably not it. Hopefully she'll crash soon. Enjoy the pictures!

Zoo day

We took a family trip to the Audubon Zoo yesterday and had a lot of fun. We've been talking about it for a few weeks so we picked a date on the calendar and hoped for good weather. The weather was great in New Orleans and we were thankful for that. Tay Tay has been very excited about going to the zoo. She loves animals. Her favorite animal lately has been giraffes so that's was she really wanted to see. But she also wanted to see the elephants, monkeys, tigers, gators, and bears. We were able to see all the animals that she wanted to see but the zoo was so big that we couldn't see everything.

Just so you know, there are a good bit of pictures in the slideshow so be prepared.

Let It Be Known...

Taylor said she missed me today!!! You better believe I'm gonna mark the calendar! :)
AND I got my first phone call from MDO this morning saying that she fell in the classroom but was ok. I'm glad they weren't calling to say she was sick, or that she had been bitten by another child, or something like that. As soon as I heard the voice on the other end I knew who it was. After she introduced herself, she said, "Taylor's fine, but she had a little fall in the classroom..." and then went on to tell me that she cried and her mouth bled a little but that she was ok and was now playing in the gym for her "movement" class. I know that will not be the last time she gets hurt when she's away from her Mommy or Daddy, but to my knowledge it's the first. They said she may have hurt her finger a little, too, because she was holding it funny the rest of the day, but was bending it some. I'll be keeping an eye on that. She's now napping, hence my opportunity to blog!
The picture has nothing to do with this post, in case you're wondering. I took it at my Dad's house when Taylor and I stayed there a couple of weekends ago while Nick was out of town. She climbed up to the table, put on T's glasses, and started "reading" the paper as if she does that everyday. Nick and I don't get a newspaper, so she doesn't see us do this. But I guess she had seen Poppy and T do this the previous couple of mornings, and thought she needed to too. Silly girl!

Need your advice/opinions, please

Taylor is 2...and has been since July 28th. Since I'm a horrible blogger and NEVER posted about her 2nd birthday, you might not know that. And with the age of 2 come some transitions, among other things. Transitions that need addressing are potty training, kicking the thumb-sucking habit, and moving to a big bed. To be honest I really haven't tried very hard at all with the first two and am just now toying with the idea of the third. There is no rush to get her out of her baby bed and she doesn't try to climb out (not that her short legs could reach), so I kinda want to leave her in there for as long as possible. So what do I do first? I don't want to try too many transitions at once or too early. And as far as the thumb-sucking goes, where do I begin? And what are some different methods that some of you have tried and found successful? I might try this little doll called "Thumbbuddy to Love" but not sure. We have everything we need for potty training, I just haven't really put forth much effort. Soooo, this is where I need your advice/opinions - not to be confused with stories of you bragging about how it was sooo easy with your own children...kidding...kinda ;) But really I would like to hear (or read) how you other Mommy's have done it. Ok, go ahead to the comment section and type away...especially those of you with former thumb-suckers. :)

Funny a.m. Conversation

If you know Nick well, you are aware that he is rather particular about some things. A bit of a neat freak, if you will. And a little OCD. This is the conversation that took place this morning as he was putting on his tie. (He does this weird thing before he starts to actually tie it.)

R: As soon as I heard that noise I knew just what you were doing.
N: I don't even know why I do that. It's just something I do.
R: You are so OCD.
N: You think I don't know that? Dude, I'm clinical!

At least he knows. And at least he's not as bad as those people you see on documentaries who have to do things like touch the doorknob 3 times before they leave the house, or weird things like that. Not yet at least. :)

No Love for the Mama

This is the conversation Taylor and I have everytime I pick her up from Mudder's Day Out.

Me: I missed you today!

Tay: I missed Daddy. I want Daddy hold you.

Me: Daddy can't hold you, he's at work. Did you miss Mommy?

Tay: I missed Daddy.

I guess it's true what they say...absence makes the heart grow fonder. And since she's away from Daddy much more than Mommy, her heart clearly is fonder of Daddy. Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful that they love each other so much! It would just be nice to hear her say she misses me, too. :) I kinda think it's a game now, though. One can hope, right?!