Last day of KDO

Walking to her classroom for her last day of preschool

Yesterday was Taylor's last day of KDO. Oh how I miss it already. Taylor loved going to school on Thursdays and I won't lie, I loved her going to school once a week. I got so much work done in that 5 hours that she was at school on Thursdays. Taylor won't be going to KDO next year because when they turn 2 they have to go at least 2 days a week. With my work schedule, I can't do 2 days a week. Maybe things will change by the fall, you never know.

Taylor learned so much at KDO it surprises me sometimes. I will turn on one of her CDs and we start singing along. Taylor will bust out some hand motions and knows all the words to some of the songs that I know I didn't teach her and I can bet Nathan didn't teach her. She will say words or identify things that I haven't taught her and I just know that it is because they are teaching these things at KDO. Nathan doesn't think a child needs to go to "school" before they are 2 because they don't really learn anything (meaning math, science, etc.), but they do learn social skills, verbal skills, and many other things we take for granted knowing that a 2 year old doesn't know yet.

For the last day of school, they had a Splash Day and a pizza party. I wanted to stay so bad to watch her play in the water, but I actually had some work to do, so I didn't stick around. I don't think the parents were suppose to stay, but I was hoping to stand from afar and watch her. That sounds kind of creepy now that I said it. Anyways, her teachers took some pictures of her playing in the water, so that works for me.

Memorial Day weekend 2009

What a fun, relaxing weekend. Too bad it went by so fast! We left Saturday morning for Lake Travis. We stopped in Waco to go to the Cameron Park Zoo. I worked at the zoo for a semester in college in the education department and I wanted to go back and see what new additions they had made to the zoo. The Cameron Park Zoo isn't too big, but it is a nice size and you can see everything in about an hour, hour and a half. When we walked into the zoo, Taylor asked to see the HIPPO. She must of repeated HIPPO 700 times while we were at the zoo. Nathan and I kept promising her that we would see the HIPPO. Well, the Cameron Park Zoo does not have any HIPPOs, so we felt bad and promised to take her to another zoo that had HIPPOs. Where she came up with that, I don't know, but she was pretty adamant about seeing a HIPPO. Luckily it started pouring while we were there, so I think she forgot about seeing the HIPPO. Nathan had packed our umbrella and Taylor's rain coat, so we were prepared, but we still got a little wet.

Taylor searching the map for the HIPPO

Elephant is a close second to the HIPPO right!?!

After the zoo, we headed to Ninfa's for lunch (yum!) and then drove on campus (Baylor) to go to the bookstore. My Baylor T-shirt has paint all over it and I love to wear it, but it was time to get a new Baylor shirt. I love driving through campus and seeing all the new buildings they have constructed since I was there. I can't believe that I graduated from college 6 years ago. Man it goes by fast!

We loaded up and headed down to the condo. We had talked about stopping at the Inner Space Caverns on our way down, but Taylor had finally fallen asleep and we didn't really want to wake her yet. She pretty much woke up right after we passed the caverns, so we ended up going patio furniture shopping. There are some really nice patio furniture stores in the area that we have been wanting to go look out. We shopped for a while until it started down pouring on us again, so we headed to the condo. No one was at the condo Saturday because my brother didn't get into Houston till 9:30 Saturday night from Moldova, so they all came up Sunday afternoon. We were all exhausted Saturday night from traveling and our adventures that day, so Taylor went to bed and Nathan was sound asleep on the couch as soon as Taylor went down. I read my magazines and played Sudoku (which I am totally addicted to right now). It was so relaxing and exactly what we needed. This was a good way to start off our mini vacation.

Chilling on the couch with Daddy!

We planned to get up Sunday morning, go to breakfast and then go to the caverns, but we ended up going to breakfast at Cracker Barrel and going patio furniture shopping again. My family got in around 2pm, so we headed back to the condo to see everyone. My parents, my brother and my dad's cousin Nancy and her husband Rich were all there waiting for us. We ate a late lunch and then went out on the boat. We were a little nervous about Taylor going swimming in the lake because last year she didn't want to touch the lake water. She did great! She wanted in the water immediately and then didn't want to get out. Thank the Lord! I think our swim lessons really helped her get use to the water and to trust us that we aren't going to let her drown.

Dancing with Grandma

The weather turned out to be perfect all weekend (except Saturday). Monday we went out on the boat and toured the lake. For those of you who haven't been out on lake Travis, it is long and narrow like a river, so it is fun to drive down it and see all the mansions that are built along the lake. We spent most of Monday on the boat swimming and tubing. Taylor will probably get to go tubing next year, but she is still toooo small to do it this year. I bet she would of tried if we would of let her.

Please, no pictures mom!

Taylor loved riding on the boat. She didn't love the lake eating her sunglasses. She walked over to the edge of the boat and flung her sunglasses out into the lake. They were gone instantly. She cried for about 5 minutes straight. I hope she learned her lesson. Luckily I had packed another pair of sunglasses. Silly girl!

Taylor sound asleep in my lap on our boat tour.

It was nice getting home yesterday afternoon and having some time to get stuff put away and in order for the rest of the week. It seems like you always need an extra day after a vacation to unwind from your vacation and relax. It was nice taking Tuesday off to spend more time with the family. It was good to see my brother again, we haven't seen him since last August when he left for Moldova. We are hoping he will get to come home for Christmas, but he doesn't think that will happen.

Giving Uncle Zach smooches!

Game night

To start off the Memorial Day weekend, we had a few friends over for dinner and games. We ate dinner on our new patio (yes I am so excited about the new patio). The kids played in the playroom and outside and we finally had to turn Mickey Mouse Club House so they would let us play our games after dinner. The boys beat the girls at Partini, but I won the first round of Uno and I think Nathan won the second game. We love playing games.

The grown-ups playing Partini

The kids watching Mickey Mouse (way past bed time!)

Tag, I'm it!

I've been tagged by Ally.

8 things I am looking forward to.........
1. My brother is coming home from Moldova tomorrow for a week
2. Nathan's future 4-door Jeep
3. Taking Taylor to the pool this summer
4. Running more 5Ks in the future
5. Sitting outside on our new patio in the summer
6. Taylor's 2nd birthday
7. Finding a hobby or mission to work on
8. Taking a vacation

8 things I did yesterday............
1. Ran 2 miles with Katherine
2. Took Taylor to school and picked her up
3. I worked
4. Watched the movie 'Taken' (Taylor will not be going to Paris - ever!)
5. Played with Taylor
6. Dinner with the Dunhams
7. Cleaned the house
8. Watched Ugly Betty

8 things I wish I could do............
1. Eat chocolate!!
2. Live on the beach and save sea turtles
3. Keep my house clean
4. Be addiced to working out
5. Not work, but still get a salary
6.Volunteer somewhere (this is a goal of mine)
7. Be a professional traveler
8.Win the lottery!!!

8 shows I watch.............
1. Greys Anatomy
2. Ugly Betty
3. Pysch
4. Biggest Loser
5. Chuck
6. Ghost Whisperer
7. Big Bang Theory
8. Friday Night Lights

8 people I am going to tag..............
1. Courtney C.
2. April H.
3. Katherine T.
4. Rosemond C.
5. Angie H.
6. Crystal L.
7. Melissa S.
8. April R.

Look! Look! Look!

Nathan called me around 8:30 this morning and told me that the guys are coming out to build the patio. Yea!!! Man they were fast, they were completely done in less than 5 hours. It was funny because I was sitting in the living room working while they were just outside the back door building the cover. It started to get darker and darker in the living room. It took me a minute to figure out that the new patio cover is going to block alot of the sun that came into the living room. The best part is, it will make it cooler in the house and keep our electric bill down this summer! Yea!! The roofer is coming out tomorrow to put the shingles on the roof.

Tonight after dinner we came out side and had a dance party. It was so cool and nice outside.

Our little dancing queen!

Nathan enjoying sitting outside - finally!

Flying kite

Have yall ever flown a kite? I have never flown a kite. I bought Taylor an Elmo kite several months ago and Charlotte bought us two kites as well. Today was such a beautiful day and it was a little windy, so we thought we should go fly those kites that were collecting dust on the shelf. We took our kites to the Duck Pond and proceeded to fly them. Nathan had to give me a quick lesson on how to fly a kite because I have no idea what to do, but there isn't much to it. Nathan and I had a great time flying the kites. Taylor was more interested in the ducks than the kites, but she did fly them for a little while. I loved flying the kites and can't wait to do it again!

Taylor trying to fly the kite

Nathan got the kite in the air for her and she did a great job flying it

Nathan flying the fish kite and Taylor was trying to fly the Elmo kite

Taylor's Elmo kite

Jennifer's Baby Shower

This afternoon I went to Nathan's cousins baby shower. Jennifer is 8 1/2 months pregnant and looks fabulous! They are having a baby boy who they are going to name Ethan. Taylor was invited to go, but it was during her nap time and Sunday naps are vital. Church wears her out and she usually sleeps 3-4 hours Sunday afternoons. Jennifer was mad at me for not bringing her to the shower. Sorry Jennifer - in a month, you will understand that you don't mess with nap time!

Pump It Up!!

Yesterday we went to Kaylee's birthday party who turned 4 at Pump It Up. Taylor had a blast and so did Nathan and I.

So much to tell you......

It has been a week since my last post and there is so much that has happened since then.

Friday when I was in the office, my boss told me about some work he had found for me to do and how it would run through August. I will be helping out with a project funded by the State of Texas and the best part is, I get to go through some training and get another professional license. The more licenses and knowledge you have, the better chances of finding a job are. It looks like I will be staying at Delta for awhile because of this project, so I am happy. For those of you who don't know, I was about to be let go from my company last week if we couldn't find any work for me to do. My boss dug deep and saved my job. I told yall Friday morning that when I saw the beautiful sunrise, that I knew it was all going to be okay. God answered my prayer!

Saturday morning we took Taylor to the Coppell Family Fish at the Aquatic Center and she got to fish in a stock tank and in the lake. She enjoyed watching the fish in the stock tank and pushing the rod down into the water as low as it could go. We caught a fish in the stock tank, but she wouldn't touch it. When we went down to the lake to fish for a while, Taylor was more interested in freeing the worms we were using as bait. We only got one worm on the line before she released all the other worms into the water.

Taylor getting ready to go fishing in the fish tank.

Taylor fishing with Nathan.

After our brief fishing experience, we went inside the aquatic center for Taylor's swim lesson. She is doing awesome! She is getting where she will walk into the baby pool all by herself and splash around in it. She is getting better about laying on her back in the water and kicking. She likes it when we get to use the noodles and kick boards in class. They sing songs like 'The Wheels on the Bus' and 'Ring around the Rosie' in the class to do swim exercises like kicking, splashing, etc. Taylor loves it when we get to sing and do the motions in the water. She doesn't care to have me dunk her, but she does like to blow bubbles in the water.

We came home, got cleaned up, ate lunch and Taylor and I headed out the door to go to Houston. We drove down to spend Mother's Day with my parents and my dad's birthday was Tuesday, so we stayed through Tuesday. Mother's Day was nice, we didn't do much, but that was the best part. Mom and I, well, mostly mom, worked on Taylor's birthday dress. Her birthday party theme is cupcakes, so we found some cute cupcake fabric and mom made her a dress. It is so stinking cute! Anyways, on Monday we met one of my best friends and her mom in the Woodlands for lunch and a little shopping. Ashley and Mrs. Sheila were our next door neighbors in Kingwood for several years and we have stayed in touch. I have known them since I was 5 - sot that would be 23 years I've know them - man that makes me feel old! I'm digressing, sorry. We had lunch and then walked around to do some shopping. There was a grassy area for people to hang out in in the middle of all the shops with a water fountain structure. I call it a water fountain structure because I don't know what it is really called. It was one of those water things where the water shoots out of the ground at several different points and the kids get soaked when the walk across it. Hopefully the picture will show you what I mean since I don't know what it is called. Anyways, Taylor loved it! Granted she got soaked, but she had a great time. We just stripped her down to her diaper for the ride home. Yall, she was sound a sleep within 5 minutes of us leaving. That night we took my dad out for his birthday dinner. Taylor and I left Tuesday after having lunch with mom at Chelsea's. I don't know if I have told yall about Chelsea's or not, but it is the best little deli in the world! Yum!

Taylor playing with her Mr. Potato head on the way to Houston.

This kept her entertained for 45 minutes straight!

Ashley, Taylor, and me on our lunch date in the The Woodlands.


Taylor playing in the water structure/fountain.

We got home Tuesday afternoon and it was nice to be home. Wednesday night we went to Nathan's basketball game and last night we had a nice, relaxing night at home. I was hoping for a slow, relaxing weekend here at home, but Nathan has a men's retreat tonight through tomorrow afternoon. Life just never slows down!

Baby Molden

Our dear friends John and Jen Molden had a precious little boy John Grant Molden III. He was born Tuesday, May 5 which was 5 days after Jen's due date. Tonight we went down to Presby Dallas to go welcome little John Grant Molden III. Baby and mom are doing great!

Magnificant this morning

On the way to work this morning, the sun was rising through the clouds and it was....magnificent. It was beautiful. The sun was a soft orangish-yellow color and the clouds had a pink tint as they strolled over the sun. I wish I would of taken a picture, but I was a little busy driving at the moment. Looking at the sun this morning, just made me stop for a minute and soak in the beauty of it. I've been pretty down lately because of my job situation and this morning looking at the sun, it gave me a sense of "it is going to be okay" today.

In bible study, we have been reading a book called, "Mission of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson (which is fabulous by the way and I recommend all mothers read it). Our last chapter was about teaching our children about nature and how God created everything living thing, etc... We talked in bible study about how our children will go outside and they get excited to see a tree, or a bird, or a rock and how it is always so amazing to them. Taylor loves to see the wind blow the trees. She will stop and stare as the leaves sway in the wind and make that rustling noise. She gets so excited and the other day I stopped and watched it with her. It was pretty neat - it is amazing how we stop noticing things like that the older we get. We can get so caught up in the things we are doing that we miss out on the simple joys in life like watching the wind blow the trees.

For me this morning, watching the gorgeous sun rise, was like the wind blowing the trees for Taylor. I could of stopped and sat and watched the sun rise all morning. It was....magnificent.

Cinco de Mayo

We don't usually celebrate Cinco de Mayo and we didn't today, but we do like to eat Mexican food for sure on this day. We went to dinner with the Huskeys tonight to Anameias for some super yummy Mexican food.

Yall, Taylor almost ate the entire bowl of hot sauce! I think it is relatively hot, hot sauce. It didn't seem to phase her at all. She is definitely related to her Nana. Nathan's mom can eat the hottest stuff there is and it doesn't even phase her. Holy Cow!

Girls night out

Friday night I went to dinner and Pete's Piano Bar with April and her best friend Dee from Houston. We had a great time. We ate dinner at Kenny's Fireside Grill in Addison and then headed to Petes. It was nice having a girls night out and just hanging out. Loved it!



Dee, April and me (Taylor standing infront of me)

Our first mini lesson

Since I am not very busy with work, I thought I would make little mini lessons for Taylor and teach her about topics. The mini lessons will be very short, but we will talk about a topic, look at pictures, read a story about it, maybe do a craft and if possible I would like to take her on field trips at the end of the units. I know her attention span is super short, but if I make it interesting enough, I think she will be able to stay focused long enough.

Today we are going to start our FARM unit and we are talking about barns. I have a coloring page for Taylor to color while I talk about the barn. We are going to go to the library after she colors her sheet and get a book about a barn.

Taylor isn't going to go to KDO next year and this is the last month of KDO before summer. They changed the plan for KDO and 2 year olds have to go 2 days a week. That doesn't work out with my work schedule usually. I had a hard enough time getting her to school on Wednesdays, so we finally changed to Thursdays. There is no way I could do 2 days and I don't want her to always be missing days and I don't want to make it hard on the teachers. Anyways, it is up to me to teach her about everything there is and to expand her mind.

Update: Our first lesson went great on Friday. Taylor is coloring a picture of a barn and the letter 'B'.

New Patio

We are going to add a covered patio on the back of the house. They poured the concrete today. We are hoping they can come build the cover sometime in the next few weeks. Now we need to find some patio furniture. We already have a table and chairs, but we want a sitting area so we can sit outside and watch Taylor play. We had contemplated putting in a screened patio, but we were afraid it would make the backyard look to small.

Taylor put her hands in the fresh concrete and made the cutest little handprints. Then she wanted to keep putting her hands in the concrete, so we have two little hand prints and three little finger prints in our new concrete next to the back door.

Before the new patio

Taylor watching them make the new patio

Taylor making her hand print. This is the face I get when I say "smile Taylor".

Taylors little handprints.

The finished new concrete area.

Patient Baylor

Taylor and I have been going to visit the precious little Baylor the Bulldog a few days this week while Kami is stuck at work till late at night and Brandon is out of town. Baylors' eye didn't look good and she was lethargic when we went to see her yesterday and Kami couldn't get home, so Taylor and I took Baylor to the doctor. Taylor loves playing with Baylor and loved taking her to the vet. After the vet, we brought Baylor home to play with Tait and Beaux.

Taylor loved walking Baylor around Petsmart.