Pavelka Family

Snowman Obsession

2012-01-18T22:06:00.004-06:00

Taylor has a new best friend - the decorative snowman that has been under our tree. It was love at first sight - as soon as we brought him up from the basement, Taylor gave him a hug, and they've been attached at the hip ever since.

Snowman is the first person that she greets in the morning. She loves his "silly nose" and tries to dress like him, wearing hats, scarves, and boots all around the house. He eats at the table with us, watches tv with us, and snowman has been known to play guitar, blocks, puzzles, and even color with Taylor. Sometimes, Snowman joins us in the kitchen when we are cooking dinner! We haven't put away our Christmas decorations yet because we're afraid that she will be devastated when he's gone! Plus, it's so darn cute watching them together! :)

Watching "Super Why"

Posing with her friend

Giving a big hug!

He even joins us when we have guests!

Helping her cook! Note that she gave him her apron!

Fears and Tantrums

2012-01-18T21:48:00.005-06:00

Our little girl is growing up and reaching milestone after milestone. She is potty trained (with #1, going #2 is still an issue) and stopped using the Nuk when she naps and goes to sleep. She has a wonderful imagination, and learns lots of fun ways to use it from her favorite shows, which are "Barney", and "Super Why".

However, with this imagination and independence comes some interesting fears. She becomes extremely frightened by random things, such as the lamp in my parent's living room, or the sun when it comes through the front blinds. Our favorite, however, has been "the letter u". Let me tell you the story!

One afternoon, we were reading books in our bed, when Taylor suddenly panicked. She kept screaming "The letter u! The letter u!" and clinging to us as if her life were in danger! We were looking around and couldn't figure out what she was talking about. Finally, we looked out into the hallway, and noticed that our hall closet was open, and on the top shelf was a light bulb box that looked like this:

Apparently, this u-shaped symbol terrified her! We brought her over to see it, and she asked if she could touch it, and now she and "the letter u" are best friends. In fact, we have to open the closet before she goes to bed so that she can say goodnight to it! She also has become quite taken with the "shovel" that is next to "the letter u". She says goodnight to him, too!

We have also had quite a few tantrums at bedtime lately. She goes down fine, but then immediately gets out of her bed, goes to the top of the stairs, and screams at the top of her lungs any combination of the following phrases:
"I'm scared!"
"Dada/Mama, I'm crying here!"
"Just tell me what's wrong!!" (our favorite)
"I need you!"

Here is a picture of her, mid-tantrum, where she brought her stool to the top of the stairs, took off her shirt, and screamed:

Winter Wrap-up!

2012-01-18T21:19:00.006-06:00

Wow, it's been quite a while since my last blog! This have been hectic with the holidays, and then getting back to work. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Even though this season has given us very few wintery days, we have still enjoyed many winter activities together! Here are some pictures from Channahon's Winter Wonderland:

Petting a real reindeer!

On our sleigh ride! Taylor kept screaming "Wow this is fun! We're going so fast!" even though we were going about 3 miles an hour!

Decorating Christmas cookies!

We had a wonderful Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve at Uncle Jeff & Aunt Maureen's house, and then stayed in on Christmas Day and had our parents and Kim over. Taylor somewhat had the concept of Santa. She knows who he is and that he gave her presents. She also understands that it is Jesus's birthday, and loves to "play birthday" with the nativity set under our tree!

Family Christmas card photo

Playing the piano with Mar

Hanging out with Aunt Mimi and cousin Wyatt

All of the cousins!

On Christmas morning, excited to see what Santa brought her!

Ripping through those presents!

Grandma and Grandpa Pavelka (can you tell Daddy dressed me?)

Taylor Turns 2!!

2011-12-01T20:40:00.006-06:00

Happy 2nd birthday, Taylor Grace!

Taylor turned 2 on November 24th, which happened to be Thanksgiving day! We had a wonderful time celebrating Taylor's birthday last week. Sam and I were both off of work Wednesday through Friday, so we took Taylor out to GymQuest and Red Robin on Wednesday to celebrate as a family. She loved every minute of jumping on the trampoline and falling into the foam pit at GymQuest, and loved it even more when the servers at Red Robin sang to her and gave her a balloon!

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and we had a wonderful time at Grandma and Grandpa Forst's house. Taylor was in rare form, enjoying her blocks and jumping off of the first step of the stairs (over, and over, and over!).

On Friday, we had fun bowling with the Pavelka clan! Taylor rolled a couple of bowling balls down the bumper lane, which she loved!

Taylor is growing like crazy. She speaks in full sentences now. Our favorite repeated sayings are:

"It's ok mama, it's just ____ (random item that she decides to be afraid of that day)"
"Mama/dada, I need to ask you something" (and then doesn't have any question for us)
"I love you mama/dada!"
"OH WOW, look at that ____!!!"
"Holy moley!"
"Aiy-aiy-aiy!"

She is on her way to being potty trained - she usually goes #1 in the potty 3-5 times per day, and she lets us know when she needs to go. She has gone #2 once, but still seems hesitant. We are going to potty train her hard-core when we are on winter break.

She is also fully into her terrible twos: we hear a lot of "Leave me alone!" or "Don't touch/look at me!". She also chooses to refuse to do certain random things, like brushing her teeth, eating, or cleaning up, which lands her in time-out. She also decided to take mommy's wedding ring before mommy was awake and throw it into her diaper pail. We spent an entire day frantically searching the house for it. I don't know what made us look in the diaper pail, but we are sure glad we did!!

Here are some pictures of Taylor celebrating her 2nd birthday!

Loving rolling around on the mats!

Admiring the big kids doing flips!

Rolling around!

Falling in the foam pit!

Testing out the balance beam!

Getting our haircut at Boozle-B's!

The "after" picture!

Taking a big spoonful of birthday ice cream at Red Robin!

Bowling!

Our Little Chef!

2011-11-10T20:45:00.006-06:00

Last Friday, we had a fun night of making pizzas together! Taylor loved spreading the sauce, sprinkling the cheese, and shaking the spices and herbs that we used in the sauce. The pizza ended up being disgusting, but the cooking process was worth it!

Can't wait to begin!

Spreading the sauce

Concentrating too hard to stop and pose for a picture!

We didn't even have the pizza in the oven yet, and she was taking chunks of cheese right off of it!

Sneaking some cheese

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-10T20:20:00.003-06:00

Happy belated Halloween! Taylor went as a strawberry. She loved her outfit so much that she insisted on wearing her strawberry hat throughout the month of October. She loved trick-or-treating this year! After a couple of houses, she seemed to get the hang of it. We, of course, had a few extra grabs in people's buckets (which we put back!), some leaves, rocks, and sticks that made it into her candy bag, and one big fall which left her in tears and ended our trip early. She was also slightly afraid of some of the bigger kids in their scary costumes. She kept saying "It's ok mama, it's just a boy in a mask! That's all!" over and over and over! In fact, she STILL says it whenever she is tired or hears a noise in the house!

Overall, Halloween was a success, and we are looking forward to many more years of trick or treating (and the candy that comes with it!)!

Ready to go!

Family pic

Holding on to her beloved hat!

Her pal, Evelyn!

I had to sneak in a picture of my first grade team - we went as Things 1-7, and our kindergarten teacher was the Cat in the Hat!

Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-28T22:11:00.006-05:00

Last week, we took a trip to Dollinger Family Farms to pick out a pumpkin! We enjoyed going in the playhouses, sliding down the slides, and petting all of the animals! Taylor was a little less afraid of the animals this year - it was a completely different experience! Our friends Jon and Julie joined us, and we all went out for pizza afterward!

Family Photo

This is the closest we could get her to it!

Picking out the perfect pumpkin!

Taking a break!

Loving the silly things the goats were doing!

Petting a horsie!

Goodbye summer - welcome fall!

2011-10-09T22:21:00.005-05:00

We spent the day today at Kuiper's Family Farm picking apples, riding on the hayride, and eating yummy cinnamon doughnuts! Taylor loved it! All day long, while we got ready to go, she kept saying "We go pick apples mommy?" and "Raise your hand you like picking apples!". The experience did not disappoint her - she loved the bumpy hayride (particularly because it was pulled by a "Big T"), looking for apples under the trees, and tasting every apple she picked (sorry Kuiper's, I think we broke the "don't waste any apples" rule!) !

On the hayride!

Enjoying the bumpy ride!

She was equally proud of the leaves she picked off of the trees!

Posing for the camera

Just taking a break to taste some apples!

Yum!!

Exploring the "Big T"!

Summer Recap!

2011-08-06T22:27:00.016-05:00

Well, we have had one busy, fun summer! It's been quite a white since my last post, so let me give an overview of some of the fun we've had!

Fourth of July
Grandma and Grandpa Pavelka, Grandma and Grandpa Forst, and Aunt Mimi came over for a day of fun! We grilled, set up the sprinkler and kiddie pool, and enjoyed the day!

Family Vacation!
We took our first family vacation together to Wisconsin. We had a blast! We spent the first three nights in the North Woods, visiting Uncle Wayne and Aunt Lou with the Pavelka clan. Then the three of us spent three more nights in Milwaukee, visiting the Children's Museum, the Zoo, and swimming in the hotel pool!
North Woods:

The whole group!

The kids! Taylor, Ryan, Mark, and Haley

Taylor and Haley on the boat! (it was nearly impossible to get them both to look at the same time! )

Taylor's version of fishing

Taking a ride!

Milwaukee:

Driving through the pretend drive through at the Children's Museum!

I love the Children's Museum!

We spent a lot of time on the slide at the Children's Museum!

Petting the goats at the Milwaukee Zoo

Getting up close to some butterflies at the zoo's butterfly house!

Taylor's favorite part of the zoo... the bee stand! She still talks about it, 3 weeks later!!

Random Summer Picture:

I had to share this one, because I love her expression!

Big Girl Bed:

Her first night in her big girl bed (Aug. 4th) was very exciting! She couldn't even wait to put her pajamas on!

Like I said, it's really been a wonderful summer. We still have 2 weeks left, but it is going by fast. Our little girl is growing up - we can't believe she is in a bed already! She's been doing well though: her first night, she got up once, but overall night time has been a breeze. Naps have been a little tricky, but we think she is getting the hang of it!

I hope everyone else enjoys the rest of their summer!

Summer fun!

2011-06-27T20:48:00.006-05:00

Taylor and daddy have been taking swim classes on Saturday mornings, which she LOVES! Here are a few pictures of our little fish in the water:

Today, we spent the day at the Children's Museum with Grandma Forst! We had a BLAST! Here are a few pictures of Taylor exploring:

And everyone had a good laugh watching mommy, Grandma Forst, and Aunt Kim compete in the Warrior Dash this year! It was a ton of fun, and we can't wait to try it again next year!

SOOO big!

2011-06-18T20:27:00.005-05:00

Showing off my muscles!

I've got my purse, sunglasses, and Barbie car... ready to go shopping!

I LOVE shoes! Even if they are my daddy's!

Mommy cleaned out my closet! Look at all of the clothes that I've outgrown!

This is my pretend "angry" face! Mommy has been trying to capture this on camera since I started doing it!

18 Months Old!

2011-06-06T20:16:00.011-05:00

Our little munchkin is now 18 months old, although sometimes we swear she is a teenager-in-training! :) She has developed such a personality and is QUITE the talker! She has begun stringing 2-4 words together into mini-sentences. She can also identify all of her basic colors, and her two favorite shapes - heart and star.
Some of her favorite phrases include:
"Dada/Mama/Nuk/Baby where are you?"
"Rain, rain, go away"
"Bye bye mama/dada/etc."
"Hi, big T!" (big truck)
"All done!"
"More milk please"
"Oh boy!" and "Oh man!"
"Good morning, ants!" (yes, we have ants at our front door)
"No night-night!" (not our favorite one!)
"Love you, mama/dada" (this one is our favorite!)

Here are some of Taylor's current likes and dislikes:

Taylor likes... Playing with her dolls, playing outside, being tickled, naps & night time, reading and being read to, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (the book and the dvd), climbing, Barney, her crib, playing dress-up, throwing a ball, singing (especially "Rain Rain Go Away", the ABC song, and "I Love You" from Barney), dancing (particularly to "LaBamba"), eating fruit and breads (she's a carb girl), anything purple, ants, bunnies, birds, airplanes, spiders, dragging mommy and daddy while saying "please!" to show us something insignificant like an ant, coloring, milk, brushing her teeth

Taylor dislikes... Doctor visits, getting her nails clipped, being told "no", motorcycles, loud claps of thunder, being tired, nightmares, water bring poured on her head, getting her diaper changed, putting her pajamas on, cleaning behind her ears

Current stats:
Height: 33 inches (84%)
Weight: 27.4 lbs (82%)
Shoe Size: 5-6
Clothing Size: 24 months
Diaper Size: 4

We are looking forward to a wonderful summer at home with our daughter!! We have signed her up for a toddler dance class, as well as a parent/tot swim class. I hope to keep this blog much more updated than I did during the school year! :)

Happy Easter!!

2011-04-24T20:06:00.004-05:00

Taylor turned 17 months on Easter Sunday. We had a wonderful holiday weekend - we did some landscaping on Earth Day (still in progress...) spend Holy Saturday with the Forst side of the family and Easter Sunday with Sam's parents. We had gotten together with the whole Pavelka clan two weeks ago to do an egg hunt and some games. Taylor has been loving seeing her grandparents and extended family lately! It is so great to see her becoming more and more comfortable with her loving family members!

Taylor colored eggs at daycare, and did some Easter-related crafts. The Easter Bunny visited overnight and brought her two small dolls and a bunny book! We had our Easter egg hunt at the Pavelka's, and she was able to find some Easter eggs full of cereal and cookies and Grandma and Grandpa Forst's house too! What fun!

No, we did not get to visit the Easter Bunny for pictures this year... Taylor is not very comfortable around strangers at this point and we probably would have had a terrified child on our hands if we attempted to put her in the arms of a furry, plush, giant walking rabbit. Maybe next year! :)

Potty Training 101

2011-03-28T19:37:00.007-05:00

Lately, Taylor has been showing early signs of readiness for potty training: she knows when she is going to the bathroom, and will say "pee-pee" or "poo-poo" and point, she follows us into the bathroom and seems to anticipate each step of the bathroom process (toilet paper, flush, hand washing), and she is becoming increasingly uncomfortable in a wet or soiled diaper.

We introduced her to the potty this weekend. We figured we would show it to her and let her play with it for a few days, and then move it into the bathroom and slowly begin the potty training process once she is comfortable. She was SO excited, and played with it for about an hour! It was adorable! What can you do with a potty for a whole hour, you ask? Well, here are some pictures!

I'm so tall standing on the potty!

Hmm, I wonder if anything is in there?

She loves her potty so much, she gave it a kiss!

I wonder if my baby can fit in here......

Or if I can fit in here?!

Where did she learn this from?!? I swear, we did not set this up! She got a book, sat, and read comfortably! :)

So proud!!

Our Little Chatterbox!

2011-03-20T23:15:00.009-05:00

I love talking on mommy's phone... even if there's no one there! I will have conversations with myself, mumbling and talking to no one. I've become very imaginative!

I'm also good at multitasking while chatting.

"Shhhh... mom, I'm on the phone!!"

"I'd like to speak to the manager, please!"

"Mom, can't you see I'm having an important conversation?"

Here is an updated list of some of the words she can say now: hi, bye, hello, go (as in 'where did it go?'), please, more, baby, dog, car, wow, me, my, night-night, mama, dada, uh-oh, eat, bath, mouth, pee-pee, poo-poo, ear, up, no, yeah, done, go, woof, neigh, moo, woah, baba (grandpa), Mimi (Aunt Kim), Polly, color, purple, blue, girl, star, ball, water, boom-boom (her favorite book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom), and milk.

Just doing some light reading...

2011-03-19T08:50:00.003-05:00

Taylor spend much of her evening Friday night sitting on our recliner, pretending to read "The Joy Luck Club"! She was very comfy and content! Maybe she is gifted! :) Haha!

15 Months Old!

2011-02-28T19:43:00.005-06:00

Wearing Auntie Kim's hat!

Having fun in the bathtub with dada!

Trying to see if her baby will fit down the hole for the plastic ball

Taylor is now 15 months old, and can be described in one word: curious! She is trying to figure out how everything works. She points to anything she sees until we tell her what it's called. She loves reading non-fiction books with a lot of photographs so that she can point to the pictures. Her favorites are "Smiles" (a book of pictures of babies smiling), "Leaves", and "Snow". We've started letting her walk alongside of us on the way home from daycare, and the half-block walk usually takes 20 minutes because she loves watching cars go by, kids playing, water draining down the sewer, and anything that might fly by us in the wind.

She has also given us a taste of what her terrible two's might be like - yes, tantrums have begun! When she doesn't get something that she wants, she will cry and give us a pouty lip. It's cute but the idea that full on tantrums are on their way is a little frightening!

Taylor also amazes us with how much she has learned. She can point to and identify her hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, hands, and feet. She can also identify and say her favorite shape, which is a star. Inconsistently, she has also pointed out the colors purple, blue, and black when we asked her to find them. She loves coloring and has figured out how to move the crayons back and forth, rather than pounding them on the paper or trying to eat them! She knows some animal sounds; when asked what an animal says, she will say that a dog says "woof", a cow says "moo", and a horse says "neigh". She has been showing some early signs of readiness for potty training, even though I'm sure it's still far from being executed. She has been waking up dry some mornings, and sometimes points to her diaper right after she goes. Let's keep our fingers crossed that she's an early potty trainer! :)

She is also becoming quite a talker, learning and repeating new words every day. Here is a list of some of her common words: hi, bye, hello, more, baby, dog, car, wow, night-night, mama, dada, bath, mouth, ear, up, no, yeah, done, go, woof, neigh, moo, woah, baba (grandpa), star, ball, water, and milk.

Caught in the Act!

2011-02-09T20:57:00.003-06:00

Well mommy didn't think I could open doors yet, so while she was doing the dishes, I decided to let myself into the bathroom and close the door behind me. After frantically searching for me and calling my name, here is what mommy walked in to see me doing:

Needless to say, we took a bath shortly afterward!

Snowpocolypse 2011!

2011-02-09T20:24:00.009-06:00

Well, we survived the big blizzard of 2011! What an amazing storm! We enjoyed the "thundersnow" and watching the blizzard from our back door. We also enjoyed our two snow days! Here are a few pictures:

My attempt at taking a picture of the blizzard... all I got was snow!

Our window well

Our neighborhood in a blanket of snow.

Huge snow drifts!

After Sam spent all afternoon shoveling the driveway, the plows came through and pushed it all back!

Damage to the house next door

Taylor loved watching the snow, and putting her fingers on the cold glass!

By day 2, we were a little stir-crazy, so we spent the afternoon at Jump-Up in Channahon. We had SO much fun! Taylor LOVED climbing and going down the slides - we probably went down the same slide about 30 times! She was so excited she couldn't even contain herself - she kept squealing with delight! We will definitely be back there soon!

Catching up...

2011-02-02T22:11:00.013-06:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a month since my last posting. Life has been so busy, but I do apologize for not keeping up on the pictures and updates! Good thing I have these bonus snow days to catch up! :) Here we go...

To start, we had a wonderful Christmas! We spent half of Christmas Eve visiting with my side of the family, and the other half at Sam's parents' house. Then, the next day, we hosted a small Christmas gathering which included my parents, Sam's parents, and my sister Kim. Taylor LOVED opening presents, but HATED Santa! Maybe next year!

New Years Eve was very low-key. We had Kim over and our good friends Lydia and Ross and their youngest, Gavin! Taylor actually went to bed early that night. Her bedtime has been holding steady between 6:30-7:00 - anytime after that, we risk a meltdown!

We thoroughly enjoyed our winter break at home with Taylor, but it went by too darn fast! We took her out in the snow for the first time. She hated it, until we started pushing her around in the sled. Even though we went back and forth in the same spot, she could have done that for hours!

Taylor now goes to a new daycare. Our friend down the street started her own daycare, and we made the switch right after winter break. She loves it there and everything has been working out wonderfully! Whenever we pick her up, she always comes to hug us and then runs to get something to show us, specifically something that she did or learned that day! It's great to see her so happy there!

Taylor is now 14 months old. She continues to amaze us every day with the new things she is learning to do. She has a lovely little song that she made up that she sings all day long, which sounds like "abba, abba, abba, AHH!" We think it is her attempt at the ABC song, which is her favorite song. Every time it comes on, she gets a big smile and dances her "butt dance", and then says "again!" when it's over. She's got quite a personality! She is very determined and loves to figure out how things work. One hilarious thing that she does is follow Sam when he has to use the washroom, and she'll bang on the door and say "dada!" until he comes out. She is discovering all of the different things that her body can do, so we'll often see her bending over into downward dog position, trying to squeeze in between furniture (and consequently getting stuck!), or climbing on the couches or her little chair. She loves giving kisses and looking out the front and back windows and observing the world. She also loves playing with her dolls, trying on clothing, reading books (especially non-fiction), and exploring. We had our first injury too, which required a trip to the emergency room and some glue adhesive to the forehead.

Wearing Aunt Kim's hat!

Hugging her dolls.

Playing with all of her dolls.

Diva!

She can say quite a few words now: hi, bye bye, hello, no, car, mama, dada, yeah, bath, water, baby, awwww (she says this when she's giving a hug), more, night-night, and ball. She's attempted more words, but these are the ones that she says consistently. Some of her favorite foods include meatballs, bread, all fruit, peas, carrots, whole wheat pasta, cheeses, yogurt, chicken nuggets, waffles, and pancakes. She is in size 4 diapers, 18 month clothing, and size 4 shoes. She is growing up fast, and we are loving every moment with her!

Thanksgiving, Birthday Party, and Random Pics!

2010-12-20T09:52:00.008-06:00

Thanksgiving at Auntie Susie and Uncle Phil's (and singing to Taylor!):

Taylor's first birthday party:

First time in the bath without the infant/toddler tub!

At the daycare Christmas party!

Stealing mommy's apple!

Above, I have posted some pictures of Thanksgiving, Taylor's first birthday party, and a couple of couple of cute randoms from home. It's hard to believe 3 weeks have gone by since Taylor turned 1! We recently had her year checkup at the doctor's office. Here are her latest stats:

Height: 30.3 inches (80%)
Weight: 24 lb. 1 oz. (87%)
Head Circumference: 45.7 cm (66%)

With only a few more days until Christmas, we are finally on winter break and have some down time before the craziness of the holidays begin! I hope everyone enjoys the holiday season, and hopefully everyone will stay warm through the upcoming snowstorm!

My First Birthday!!

2010-11-24T22:19:00.008-06:00

Waking up on my birthday!

Good morning, mommy!

How do I get out of here?!

Climbing up the slide!

Playing with hula hoops!

Learning how to color with daddy at Red Robin!

Listening to the waitresses at Red Robin singing "Happy Birthday" to me!

Infatuated with our waitress's flair!

All tuckered out after my big meal!

Today, we celebrated Taylor's first birthday! What a year it has been! We have watched our little girl grow and change in innumerable ways. She has gone from being an infant, completely dependent on us, to a little toddler who is constantly trying to figure things out and do things on her own. She continues to amaze (and entertain!) us every day. She is the love of our lives, and we are looking forward to seeing what an amazing little girl she is going to become! We are truly blessed.

We had a wonderful day today celebrating her birthday!! Mommy was off of work and daddy had a half-day. Mommy and I went to Tot Time at the Channahon Park District in the morning, where we played with our friend Gillian. Taylor loved it - she especially loved the hula hoops, the slide (she mostly enjoyed sitting at the bottom of the slide and putting her shoes on it, or trying to climb up the wrong way!), and the push toys. Also equally amusing were the lights, fans, and people running the track! She was very social and enjoyed waving and pointing to everyone she saw. Later in the day, Sam, Taylor, and I went out to Red Robin for dinner, where she dined on a delicious quesadilla, broccoli, and melon. When we got home, we had a nice visit from Grandma & Grandpa Forst, and Auntie Kim! What a fun day!

We don't have her well visit for another couple of weeks, so we don't have her current height and weight. Here are a couple of other stats: Teeth count: 8
Diapers: size 3 (almost ready for size 4's)
Shoe size: 4
Words she can say: mama, dada, no, stop, car, hi, door, good girl, Nuk (she has said others, but these are the most consistent)
Favorite foods: chicken nuggets, whole wheat waffles, bread & butter, quesadillas, any kind of fruit, carrots
Here is an update of her likes and dislikes!
Taylor likes...

READING BOOKS, Polly, her cookie jar toy, putting things into places and then taking them out, going through drawers and opening doors, listening to music, dancing, pushing chairs around the kitchen, cuddling, sleeping, remote controls and cell phones, eating, exploring different things and places, playing with boxes, running around the house, climbing on the stairs, rolling around on mommy and daddy's bed, playing in her crib, being outside
Taylor dislikes...

Bathtime, putting her pajamas on, getting her fingernails clipped, being in the car bundled up in her winter coat, green vegetables (will eat them eventually, but needs to be "tricked" into eating them!), being told "no", having toys taken away from her

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:24:00.011-05:00

Taylor's first Halloween was so much fun! She was dressed as a butterfly (thanks Lydia!) and looked ADORABLE! We went trick or treating and saw lots of our neighborhood friends! Taylor seemed very confused, but was happy to wave to everyone that she saw!

Mommy, would you like some candy? Close-up

Not in the mood to pose for mommy!
Saying hi to our friend Gillian!
Visiting with Roman and Maya!

11 Months Old!

2010-10-24T15:56:00.005-05:00

Taylor Grace is 11 months old today! Time is flying by - I can't believe we are approaching her first birthday already! She has recently learned how to stick her tongue out when you do it to her, which is super cute so I'm going to let her do it for a little while longer!! She is fully eating table food now, which she LOVES. She has 8 teeth total, so she can chew pretty well now.

She has become very vocal about what she does and does not want to do (like when she wants to play with the garbage can and mommy and daddy say no!). She loves to hand things to you and waits for you to say "thank you" before taking it back! She also likes to take things out of buckets and put them back in.

We think that she might be on the verge of adding a few words to her vocabulary. As of today, she can say mama, dada, hi, and "deep deep deep", which are the last three words of her favorite book. She repeats them every night after I finish the story! We think that she might be saying "car", too, because she loves to watch the cars drive by from our kitchen door. She is going to miss the view when they build a house back there soon!

We spent the day today at Rock and Read, a literacy program put on by Minooka High School's NHS. High school students dressed up and read stories to kids, and there were crafts and snacks for the kids to enjoy as well. We went with our friends Madison and Bre! It was a really fun community event, although I think Taylor might get more out of it next year! She loved listening to the stories for about 2 pages, and then wanted to grab them. She also loved digging through the candy buckets, playing with balloons, pushing the stroller around, and looking at passing cars though the big cafeteria windows. It definitely was a fun way to spend the day!

Reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Clearly more interested in the bucket of candy!YUM! She kept taking them out and putting them back... at least she was tidy!Listening to The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything (mommy's favorite Halloween book)Hey, this reading thing isn't so hard!

Mom, have you SEEN how cool this is?!?

Pumpkin Patch #2!

2010-10-21T20:53:00.005-05:00

Taylor got to experience her second pumpkin patch last weekend! Sam, Taylor, Grandma Pavelka, and I went to Dollinger Pumpkin Farm. It was a beautiful fall day, and Taylor had a great time! She loved playing in the pumpkins, and observing some of the goats at the petting zoo. She did NOT, however, enjoy the cows! She also got to meet Abraham Lincoln and General Custer as they prepared for Minooka's own Civil War reenactment. Taylor picked out a pumpkin with a ridiculously long stem. Afterward, we ate lunch at a great sub shop in Morris, where Taylor dined on her first kids' meal item- cheese raviolis.

We have thoroughly enjoyed all of these fun fall activities with our little girl!