Little Bear Cub

I hope you can tell from these pictures how Baby Taylor has decided to handle the tile that is throughout our house. I was thrilled that at first it seemed to act as a barrier, keeping her in whichever room I set her. This was effective when I was busy in the kitchen, or wanted the girls to stay in the playroom for a few "Mommy minutes alone" with my coffee. Taylor, however, had a different idea and a few days ago she started doing this bear crawl to get over the tile without having the discomfort of it on her knees and legs. Very funny, but very inconvenient. Unlike Nevaeh who was content in the small living room of our rental house, Taylor has made it her mission to navigate her way throughout the entire house, making her way under tables and chairs and into bedrooms and bathrooms. She is a very busy bee, and is keeping her mommy on her toes. But I'm loving every bit of it, especially this signature crawl and the victorious smile after she has explored a new area (preferrably unsupervised).

:-) I promise to learn to post video on here soon. You just have to see this in action!

Operations.

We have reached a couple milestones...time to let Taylor cry herself back to sleep because at 10 months she is still waking up many times during the night, and time to convert Nevaeh's crib to a toddler bed. Leave it up to Kaleb and I to attack both of these at the same time! (I don't recommend it.) But we pride ourselves at being a little brave (although some might say a little stupid). Anyway, the first night of Operation Tay was horrible. She screamed, not cried, for over two hours, starting a little after 11PM when she first woke up. Finally around 2 she fell asleep and slept until 5:30AM, when I fed her thinking we should tackle one wake-up session at a time. The next night was a million times better. She started crying, I gave her her boppy, and she went back to sleep, waking up for good at almost 8AM. Best night of rest for Mommy in over 10 months!!! YAY! That was a positive answer to prayer because it also took place on the same night as Operation Toddler Bed, which could have gone either way. It was a real gamble doing them so close together. I have to say, if you never thought Nevaeh was an angel-child before, you will now. She went to bed in her toddler bed without getting up once! And in the morning when she woke up, she stayed in bed talking and singing to herself until I came and got her. AND....no pee-pee accident either. Here are some pics from that miraculous night (which was just last night, so we may face a challenge with it yet...who knows. I'm just grateful the first night went so well!).

It looks so funny with the toddler rail. My little baby is growing up too fast!

Play Time!!!

I've taken another break from my thesis. Don't worry, I promise to get back to it in the near future. My first "break" was to read the Twilight series and see what all the fuss was about. I ended up hooked, and had to finish them (don't worry, this little hiatus only took about 5 days). But then, I've taken a longer break for this...

We love our playroom, and are so thankful that we found a home with a special room just to have tons of fun in!

While Taylor was sleeping, Mommy set up some paper and paints and let our little artist go for it! Ah, what a blessing out patio is. I didn't have to worry about messes or spills at all!

Can you tell Nevaeh is very serious about her artwork, and she is about most activities.

Taylor has discovered that life is so much more fun when you are mobile and can finally get to those toys that Sister is playing with!

Nevaeh loves to make goofy smiley faces, probably because Mommy asks her for just one nice one! Rebellious already!

So you see, you can't really blame me from taking a break from my boring, boring paper that I've been working on for years, now can you?!?!

New.

Why is Taylor so proud of herself in this picture???

Because she just crawled over to the pens! Yes, I said CRAWLED!!! Finally our petite little baby learned to hoist herself up and MOVE. We're thrilled...except when she gets into Mommy's books and magazines. We are definitely adjusting to having a very different little girl from our first! Taylor won't sleep, but she will get into EVERYTHING!

What a silly, joke-y girl Nevaeh is turning into! Also, she is asking the standard toddler/pre-schooler questions: "What are you doing?" "What is that?" and, my personal favorite, "Why?"

Baby Tay's First Ever Swim Lessons

Taylor and Mommy have lots of fun together during Mommy N Me lessons. Taylor can hold her breath and kick one leg. She's learning fast, but has a low tolerance level....probably because lessons are right before lunch- and nap-time. She cries a lot less than Nevaeh did during her Mommy N Me classes last year, though. For that I am thankful. Mondays and Wednesdays are very busy and tiring! But also very fun and rewarding to see little girls learning to swim.

Mommy teaching Tay how to kick!

Smiles and waves for her fans!

Mommy and BTay.

In the pool.

Nevaeh's Swim Lessons

Nevaeh's Swim Lessons! Year #2, First Private Lessons! We are so excited to see Nevaeh getting better and better with each swim lesson. She is still hesitant to jump in on her own, but she is learning to kick, kick, kick and swim to the wall and pull herself up. The first week she was upset and wary, but now she is all smiles and actually seems to be having a fun time. I'll get some more pictures of more recent lessons soon. Here are some pics from her first few lessons.

Playing with Friends

Nevaeh and Taylor love to have their friends come play with them in their new backyard! Here are some pics of them with two of their very best friends, Cole and Silas. Sand, water, and sun- what could be better for little ones?

Nevaeh is in charge of the hose, even though Silas had it first.

Taylor bouncing in her exersaucer, watching the big kids play.

Silas and Cole are very cautious around a girl with water!

Watering the dirt.