What's up lately...

Taylor is now a whole nine months old!  

She....

•  can occasionally stand by herself without holding on to anything
•  can say "ma-ma", "ba-ba" (bottle), and "la-la" (sing)
• can give kisses
•  loooooves to sing and dance
•  loooooves baby dolls and Barbies
• looooooves animals
•  can crawl up the stairs
•  is a thrill-seeker like her brother
• still goes into a literal trance when I kiss on her face or neck
•   looooooves food, even collard greens with vinegar
• is super duper giggly

Potty Training a 9 Month Old

Ha! Not quite.

We needed a urine sample from Taylor.  The doctor gave us a little bag that tapes on, but it never quite worked properly.  So, we improvised.

The whole process took about an hour and a half.  So, we had to dig out almost every single toy in Christian's room to entertain her.  (She thinks Christian's toys are way cooler than her own.)

Anniversary Weekend

Last Friday, we took the kids and all stayed at Great Wolf Lodge.  At over $300 per night, even with our company discount, it was very overpriced for what we got.  The breakfast buffet was bland, cold, and -again- overpriced.  Christian fell asleep in the car on the way to the resort.  Since we had to wake him up mid-nap, he was pretty cranky when we first got there. 

It was not all so bad, though.  They did have some cute things.  The kids got some little wolf ears that they really liked.  There was also story time at night and, afterwards, the kids get to meet one of the wolves.  This time it was Violet, the girl wolf.  The water park was a blast (once our eyes got used to the heavy chlorine fumes).  I loved that the majority of the park was available for Christian.  He gets excluded from a lot of rides because of his size.  At GWL, he got to ride everything he wanted to.  My favorite part was cramming our whole family into a dual tube to float the lazy river - TWICE!  Taylor sat in my lap and CK sat in Ryan's lap.  That was fun.  The lazy river had lots of waterfalls and things that splashed (including a bridge where annoying kids could spray us right in the eyeballs).  It was so cute to see Taylor's reaction when her face got wet. 

On Saturday afternoon, we went across the street to the Gaylord.  This is our absolute favorite resort.  It feels like home to me since I have been there so many times.  We met Ryan's parents there and all went to the Ice! exhibit.  Afterwards, we ate dinner at their brand new coastal Italian restaurant.  Wow!  It was sooooo good.  I love fish and I love Italian.  Put them together and its heaven.  While I put the kids to bed, I sent Ryan on an excursion to find me some Reisling.  Luckily, there is a fantastic wine shop downstairs.  Their brand of Reisling was so good.  I could have downed the whole bottle all at once!  We sat out on our balcony and looked at all the pretty lights while we drank our wine. 

The next morning, we made an attempt to shop around the mall.  We may have been there only 45 minutes.  Both kids were exhausted.  I was irritable.  Taylor had spilled her milk all over her clothes.  It was a disaster.  So, we wrapped it up earlier than planned and headed home. 

Anniversary weekend accomplished.

All the kids are supposed to wear their pajamas to story time.  The trees and animals were all animated.

We all really enjoyed the story.  It was super cute.

We met Violet the wolf.

At dinner, the kids got wolf ears to wear.  Taylor left her's on all night.

This is the attitude I was dealing with that night.  Grumpy! 

 CK really liked the arcade, even without any quarters.  Ha!

We went to the arcade right after story time, so the kids were in their pajamas.

We got the Wolf Den room.  CK really liked the top bunk bed.

Taylor really liked the mural on the walls.

Handsome little guy.

Cute baby girl.

This was our favorite part of Great Wolf.

The beginning of the Ice! exhibit.

 This is my favorite wine! 

 This was the view from our balcony.

We were trying to do a lover's gaze.  How's that workin' for us?

"Don't cry because its over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

This year, I made the kids little costumes.  Well, I guess I do every year.  But this time I actually sewed!  Scary!! 

Christian's cat feet are women's slippers.  We just crammed his shoes inside of them.  Taylor's hair is a feather boa that I sewed to one of Christian's beanies. 

We partied at our church's festival they put on.  It was awesome for the kids!

I love this smug snobby look she gets when she is content.

And then there is "The Solution" - as seen in all his orange glory.

Lip gloss, blow out, spray tan and all.

I was sick with 2 ear infections and a sinus infection.  Hello immune system!!!  I am too old for stuff like this!!!

Four Legged Angel

My friend of 17 years left us. 

Pudge was such a good boy and always put up with whatever we were doing to torment him.  I used to dress him in my little siblings' clothes.  He once was accidentally hit in the head with a baseball - and HARD!  He tolerated numerous young pups pulling and yanking on his ears and tail. 

Even in his old age, he was the only dog that could catch an unwanted rodent lurking along the fence.  Not even the hunting-type dogs (dachshunds and beagle) could catch a rat the way he could.  He was the brave one.

His best friend, Maggie the beagle, taught him how to howl.  We always laughed at his whiny attempts.  In return, he would escort her on her escapes just to make sure she returned safely.  Though, we usually ended up having to hunt them both down.  The two names always seemed to go hand in hand... "Pudge-n-Maggie."

He was a friend to many and will be missed by us all.
What a hard day.

We sure love you, sweet boy.

Doo Doo Duty

I was at home with the kids while Ryan was at his game.  I put both kids in the tub and then ran out to the garage to grab something.  It makes me nervous leaving Taylor in the bathroom with Christian, even if there is only 4 inches of water in the tub.  So when I heard a scream, I ran back inside in a frenzy.  Christian was standing in the hallway dripping all over the carpet, stark naked, and freaking out.  I picked him up on my dash to the bathroom, only to discover Taylor sitting contently in the tub - smiling. 

What happened, Christian?

(still very stirred up and breathing heavily) She pooped!

Where did she poop?

Its in the tub!  Her pooped in the water!

After assessing the scene, I noticed there was poop on the floor - which I also noticed I had stepped in - and poop on the wall!  Now, I have seen this baby poop up her back, defying gravity, but never have I seen her poop horizontally on neighboring objects.  After clearing up some details with Christian I realized that he had tried to shovel it out as it came, thus splashing doo doo on every other surface in the bathroom.  After seeing his efforts were defeated, he abandoned ship and panicked. 

I laughed so hard my sides hurt, then laughed again when I called my mom to share the story, and laughed hard all over again when I told Ryan and Shane what happened.  I could just picture him scooping his little hands together to shovel out the nasties as quickly as he could, probably accompanied with short quick breaths and irritated squeals, only to fly out of the water to avoid being overtaken.

I should have mentioned...

Ryan and Shane's baseball team, Goodwood, won the tournament! They were super happy. They skipped around the house, holding hands, and screaming "YIPPEEE!!!".

Maybe not all of that happened. 

But they definitely did win the trophy.