HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY DREW!!!!

DREW HAD HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY SATURDAY AND HE WAS SO CUTE. HE GOT LOTS OF TOYS AND HAD TONS OF FRIENDS SHOW UP FOR HIS PARTY. TAYLOR AND DREW PLAY SO WELL TOGETHER. THEY DON'T FIGHT OVER TOYS, THEY JUST GIVE IT TO THE OTHER ONE. IT IS SO SWEET. TAYLOR HAD A LOT OF FUN WITH ALL THE BALLONS ON THE GROUND. HER FAVORITE TOY IS A BALL AND SHE THOUGHT THE BALLOONS WERE A BUNCH OF BALLS. NOW THAT SHE IS WALKING, SHE JUST CHASED ALL THE BALLOONS AROUND. IT WAS SO FUNNY.

WE ARE SO PROUD TO BE DREW'S GODPARENTS. WE LOVE YOU DREW AND HOPE YOUR 1ST BIRTHDAY WAS WONDERFUL!

Can't believe it, but she's 11 months old!!!!

Taylor Leigh is growing so fast!! 11 months have already gone by and I still feel like we just brought her home. Taylor is walking.. 6 0r 7 steps at a time, then sits down!! She just started standing up on her own (without holding onto anything) about a week ago, then she took a step. She gets better by the day and faster too!! I think she is watching the other kids at daycare and doesn't want to be left out.. so she decided to walk. She is so BUSY!! She is a very good eater and refuses NO food!! She is very talkative and extremely loud!! She loves to see her daddy when he gets home from work and play with him!! Taylor's favorite toy: A Ball!! If we ask her where her ball is, she always goes to get it, then holds it up and says BA!! New favorite foods: vanilla wafers, muffins, choc chip cookies, cheese puffs, and goldfish crackers!!

WE MADE IT!!!

this is taylor helping mommy with the CLEAN towels!! she dumped all of them out of the basket the second i took them out of the dryer

Well, we made it through the first week of school!! Taylor had a really good week and did really well sleeping on her little mat. Her teacher said she was so tired the first day that she went right to sleep... WHAT??? Then they told me this funny story about how she crawled off her mat during the middle of nap and crawled to the center of the room, looked around, and then crawled back to her mat and went back tpo sleep. If you know Taylor, that is definitley her personality!!

I had a WONDERFUL first week of school. We all got a big breakfast and roses on Friday for working so hard the first week. I can actually say that I have never been happier (job wise) in my life!! The kids are soooo sweet and the parents are even sweeter. It has been an amazing experinece so far and I can't wait to see how the year goes!!

Updates on our house hunting soon.... we found a house.. made an offer.. and we will see how it goes from here!! Laurel house still for sale!! Anyone want to buy it?? HA!! Say a prayer that it sells QUICK!!

Here are a few picks from the weekend. It was very relaxing and fun to spend all day with Taylor.

so happy she can finally wear a bow.. even though she yanks it out the second she realizes it is there!!

taylor eating a powdered doughnut before church thsi morning.... she loved it!!

showing mommy how she sleeps on her mat at school..

my baby girl!!

Back To School We Go!!!!!

she thought this was so much fun.. she is usually walking behind it.. not sitting on it!!


she is trying to let kane out of the kennel BEFORE we even leave the house!! excuse me.. the apt!!

she is getting so big... and so smart!!

once again i say.. why do we buy toys?? she would rather play with the box!!

taylor is walking SO fast behind this thing!!

taylor is feeding kane her animal cookie

Well, tomorrow is officially my first day back to school. We had to work all last week with meetings and getting the room ready! Friday, the kids came to sign up and drop off supplies so I got to meet my precious students then!! Oh I just love my school already!! Everyone is so nice and it is just totally a different world from the public schools!!!

Taylor is doing great with the new daycare!! She is actually moving up (with all the other kids in her room) to the toddler room tomorrow!! I am so sad, but happy at the same time!! She will have to learn to sleep on a nap mat which will really be a challenge, but hey .. thank goodness I am not the one having to teach her that one!! ha.

We are still LOVING Hattiesburg!!

Kyle and Sadie came to visit Saturday ( along with Lori, Ed, and Leslie) and it was great getting to see them. Of course, they really just wanted to see taylor but we had fun hanging out!!

Congrats to our friends Gavin and Lydia.. they just found out they are having a baby GIRL!!! Our little group has grown SO much in the past year and a half.. it's kind of scary! We ALL have kids or some on the way! Our friends, Micah and Kayla are expecting TWINS.... and will find out the sex at the end of September!! So, needless to say, our adventures to dinner have changed a little and will continue to change with all the new additions!! We had a great weekend and look forward to a great school year!! Updates soon on the new class and Taylor at school!! Goodnight!!

Summer Blues

Tomorrow will be a very hard day for me. I will be leaving Taylor at a NEW daycare after being with her for the past 9 weeks. She has gotten so attached to me because she has been home with me all summer. I had originally planned to take her one day a week at her old daycare to keep her in the routine and give mommy some time to get some stuff done, but we found out we were moving at the beginning of the summer, so we quit the daycare all together. Aside from that, I am really excited about her new daycare. The only thing I worry about is the fact that starting August 11th.... she will move into the toddler room(with all the other kids in her class) and they have to sleep on a mat... YES... A MAT!!! I am so worried that Taylor will give them fits b/c she is such a hard headed child anyway... but I have confidence that they know what they are doing and she won't be the only kid having to learn how to do this!! Having that said, she will be in a "big girl" room which makes me sad and reminds me that my baby is about to be a year old!To all you new mothers: time flies and you need to cherish every minute of it!! I have been fortunate enough to be able to spend the first 3 months of Taylor's life at home with her and the whole summer as well... and I can honestly say.. it's still NOT long enough!!
On another note, I start my new job tomorrow as well. The kids don't come until Aug. 11 but we have a whole week to get prepared!! I am so excited about teaching here. This is our church community as well so that makes it even better!! Here are a few pics of Taylor bug over the weekend.. she is a mess. And oh by the way.. she has a tiny bruise on her face from falling onto the metal table leg at my school (she was with me while working in my classroom.. needless to say i got NOTHING done) and a carpet burn on the other side of her face from walking too fast along the chair and sliding down it. She is getting faster by the day and I can just visualize my little girl with marks all over her body from being TOO BUSY!! Needless to say.. WE ARE ENJOYING EVERY SECOND OF IT!!!

PS: To all you moms out there.... you need to check this website out

http://www.tinysoles.com/

We had to buy Taylor shoes because she is walking along stuff so much!! We tried the pediped shoes.. and I highly recommend them. They have a soft sole and are great for beginner walkers. Anyway, this website has free shipping and no tax. Check it out!!