Halloween Preview!

As we were trying on Taylor's costume tonight (you know, the night before Halloween!!!), Anderson said, "Is she a pig?"

Nope, not a pig.

Today someone asked Anderson what she was going to be for Halloween...poor thing genuinely didn't know. I selfishly never showed her the costume because I knew that she would want to wear it everyday for an entire month. We busted it out tonight and she is very excited about being Minnie Mouse!!! She made sure that she could see it in her room from where she was sleeping because mama didn't let her go to bed in it. I'm sure she will be dressed for trick or treating at 7 am.

She is a little pink BUNNY!!!

Not a big fan of the bunny ears.

But she sure does look cute!!!

Anderson would not let me take her picture! (she was, however, very into looking at herself in the mirror!!)

I'm sure we will have more pictures in the costumes tomorrow during trick or treat time!

The Flu!
Does Anderson look like she's got the swine flu? Um, no. Does she act like she's got the swine flu? no. It's strange really. After we got home from the game on Saturday, she slept fine and got up and went to church. (My deepest apologies go out to everyone at church...we really hope she didn't get anyone sick!!). On the way home she told us she was tired and she refused to eat lunch. I sent her to bed and when she woke up several hours later, she was burning up with fever. She laid on the couch for a while and then walked into the kitchen and threw up in her chair? Five minutes later she was jumping on the couch. I called the on-call nurse who asked if she had any congestion/coughing and I told her no. She said it wouldn't be the flu...so since she still had fever on Monday morning I took her in and told them we were probably there for nothing. Umm...the flu? We've been cooped up in this house for too long!!! So we've had to be creative...we've pushed each other around in a diaper box...and we've even pushed Lucy around in the diaper box. (P.S. She did not like this). Anderson did not understand why Lucy didn't want to stick around and play longer.

I took Taylor to the doctor today for her 9 month checkup. We figured she probably had the flu as well, but the test came back negative. Hopefully she's either already had it or she won't get it. I've given up on keeping them apart...it's pretty much impossible (so I stuck them in a box together and let them play away :))

Her 9 month stats were:

Weight: 18 pounds, 6 ounces (50th percentile)

Height: 28 inches long (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 44 cm (50th percentile)

She is the same length as Anderson at 9 months, but a good 3 pounds heavier :)

Go (Puppy) Dawgs!!!
Saturday we went to the MSU-Florida game. I will have to say, it was one of the funnest days I've had in a good while. And not because we left little bit at home with Mimi and Poppy (but that was kinda nice to have one kid for the day). Anderson was still a handful...don't get me wrong. She had a blast though. She apparently was not scared to run off by herself. Once again, she thought she was really cool in her cheerleader uniform. She ate tons of junk food right off the tailgate table, got paw prints painted on both hands (because she was scared to get them on her face), and she even had her very own maroon and white pom pom (which she did not like to share and kept trying to steal Rebecca J's). We have a few things to work on in the sharing department :0). She was very intrigued by all of the fans in the stadium...and she was right when she repeatedly said, "That's alotta people!" (a new stadium record was set!!) She also LOVED the band, the Gators flags and their two gator mascots. It was very fun. Thanks to Matt and Emily for inviting us, providing us tickets, and letting us tailgate with them!!!

A few days before the game, I taught her to say "GOOOOO DAWGS!!!!" She woke up on Saturday morning and I asked her what she was going to say at the game and she said, "GOOOO PUPPY DAWGS!!!!...okay, whatev.

No clue where Anderson was at this point...probably off drinking out of a random Sweet Peppers cup that she found on the back of someone's tailgate!!! Oh- and how smart was I to cheer on the bulldogs in a blue shirt. Hey, it's more of a Carolina blue than Gator blue :)

I was VERY impressed with the tailgating scene in Starkville...it's come a long way since I was there a few years ago. Definitely want to go to another game soon!!!!

Dress up and sticker books!
Anderson loves to dress up and dress herself. I think she changes clothes more than her dad (which is alot when you see how much of his laundry I do!!!).

She also loves stickers!!! I really was dreading Taylor being able to crawl because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep up with two, BUT I would have to say the hardest part about Taylor crawling is that she (like her sister did) puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. I can't tell you how many times she has choked on something Anderson left on the floor (STICKERS!!!).

For some reason, she likes them on her face.

Happy Baby! So sweet!

Anderson vs. Taylor

I don't typically think my girls look alike, but these two pictures threw me for a loop. Who is who?

Taylor is at the top, Anderson is at the bottom. Do you think they look alike? The have the same CRAZY hair!!!!

A little behind...

This might be the longest we've ever gone without blogging...there just isn't enough time in the day. And if I am not at work, we are running errands ("runnin erins" as Anderson calls it...she always thinks that means that we are going to see her cousin, Erin!), cleaning the house, changing diapers, giving Anderson m&m's for tee teeing in the potty, retrieving random objects from Taylor's mouth, doing laundry, cooking (hmmm...sort of), or sleeping. Anderson and Taylor are growing up way too fast. Taylor now has 5 teeth that have popped through and Anderson has finally finished growing all of her baby teeth. Two year old molars are NO FUN!!! These few pictures were taken today before we went out to "run our erins"!
Anderson is potty training...she's done very well. She either gets m&m's or temporary tattoos but she learned the beat the system by tee teeing the smallest amount possible...and then going every 5 minutes or so. The first few days we went through lots of m&m's and she had more tattoos all over her body than her daddy could handle. We were running our of places for them to go...and Michael just didn't think it was very appropriate. Not to mention, we had a heck of a time getting them all removed before school :) Now she knows she has to go a lot in order to get her prize. I'm not sure if this is the BEST possible method of potty training (bribing with candy????) but its working for now. Don't judge. We also have a Minnie Mouse Pez Dispenser hanging from the wall that she will get when she goes #2 in the potty. We'll see how long that takes!

Sweet Taylor is all over the place. She's crawling and pulling up on everything. She loves Lucy (the cat) and will follow her all over the house. She also loves Anderson and I can't help but grin when they interact with each other. Anderson has figured out how to make her laugh...but we are struggling a bit on the sharing issue. One day Taylor is going to be big enough to fight her own battles.

My little cheerleader!
Anderson had to dress up as a cheerleader for Camp's birthday party a few weekends ago. Of course, we didn't have anything to wear so Natalie let us borrow one of Rebecca's uniforms. Anderson thought she was SO COOL! She kept running aroung the house saying, "Mama, I a cheerleader!!". I honestly didn't know that she knew what a cheerleader was???

She is so funny. She is going to turn into Mac & Cheese because that's all she wants to eat for every meal...We drove by Chuck E Cheese (the old empty location) and she said, "It's Chuck E Cheese mama!" (she's has been once...a few months ago with her daddy and it was at the new location)...when we drove back by later on she got a little confused and said, "It's Mac & Cheese!!!"

Today we went out looking for garland for a project that I am working on...she wanted to hold it in the buggy until she spotted the candy bracelets at the checkout line....she took one look, handed me the garland and said, "here's your grass."

Oh I could go on and on...thankfully she can be really sweet and funny because she can be equally B-A-D!

Tay Tay!

Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby!

These pictures were taken the day after I got home from California. I spent the entire day getting back into the swing of things with my girls.

California

Brae and I spent some time in California a few weeks ago...we had a great time! This picture was taken after we hiked up the steepest road I've ever walked up...my legs were sore for 3 days! This is *Lombard Street in San Fran...aka the Crookedest Street.
The greenery was beautiful!

Alcatrez...

These were seals on the beaches in Monterrey, CA. We also visited the Aquarium there which had the best seahorse and jellyfish exhibits...sounds dumb, but they were really neat. Did you know that the male seahorse is the only creature that carries and births their babies? Their bellies literally contract and they shoot the babes out. Quite fascinating.

Cat was a great host and took us to an awesome redwood forest. The trees were huge!! I should have taken more pictures! We had a great time and it was very refreshing to get away and sleep late :) I did miss Michael and my girls though.

Saturday with Daddy!
Michael gets lots of quality time with his girls on Saturdays (unless he can sneak away to play golf)... :)

...so they had some fun play time in the den. Note: they were still in their pajamas when I got home from work at 5:30pm. Father of the Year!!

The Beach and Pool...

Don't let this big smile fool you...she doesn't really love the beach and pool...but she can hang in there for a few hours.

Playing in the sand...

It's really fun to pour sand back and forth, back and forth....this also works with bottled water, diet coke, etc. It's not very fun when she does this with a beverage INSIDE the condo.

Sink Bath

This was the easiest way to bathe little bit at the beach...she didn't mind it at all.

Sitting Up!

Taylor is sitting up pretty good these days. Every now and then she will fall...and every now and then Anderson will go knock her down for the fun of it. She can get on all fours and rock around, so life is about to get a bit harder with two mobile ones.

Sisters...being silly!
A few days ago I was running around putting away the laundry (which I hate) and I heard giggles coming from both of my girls. I couldn't imagine what they were up to so when I walked into the den I found Anderson shaking her head and hair in Taylors face...they both thought it was hysterical. Of course, then I got my camera out and all I got was Anderson's hair going everywhere.

They did sort of pose for me after all their fun!

Taylor's just so sweet...I might change my mind when she turns two, but for now I will keep telling her that she shouldn't watch her big sister too closely.

***That would be drool all over her outfit.

Girls Trip to Oxford
A few weekends ago several of us went to Oxford to see Barrie and her family. We weren't there long, but we had a lot of fun.

It was great to see Barrie, Guy and her two sweet kiddos! We are so happy that they are in MS!!!!

Happy Half Birthday Taylor! (July 22nd)


Happy 1/2 birthday to Taylor....we celebrated (like we did with Anderson) with half a cake. This was Taylor's first food (icing) and she didn't particularly care for it.

The 1/2 cake....
She made a pretty good mess out of it...

Then for "dessert" she had her first baby food. And she......HATED IT!!! (applesauce)This was the gagging picture and then I will spare you the picture of the throw up that Michael zoomed in on. Thankfully, the baby food is getting a little better. She loves sweet potatoes but that's about it. We had her six month checkup several days later and her stats were:

Weight: 16 pounds, 13 ounces (75th percentile)

Height: 2 ft. 2 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 43.25 cm

Summertime!
Anderson was dressed and ready for the pool (even though she hates the water...) but Michael was trying to get the grass cut before we left. He finally finished and we hit up the pool for all of 45 minutes. Anderson spent 30 of those minutes eating a bag of chips on the side of the pool and rest of the time trying to throw her towel in the water. She is so well behaved! hmmmm

Her very noticeable bobo was from a few nights before when she tripped and fell into the window in Taylor's room. She kept saying that she wanted to go see her "bobo in the picture" (which translates into "bobo in the mirror"). A few nights later I noticed that we might could get rid of the scab so I picked it (gross I know) when she was brushing her teeth. She looked up and noticed that it was gone and she kept asking where her bobo went.

Her new favorite saying is "I'll be right back..." and she uses it while pointing and shaking her finger at me (this almost always means that she is going to get into something that she shouldn't). She's also figured out how to climb up on Taylor's changing table where she gets into the wipes, diaper rash cream, and infant toothpaste.

Taylor actually had fun at the pool. I kept her in the water for about 20 minutes and she didn't make a peep.

She will be 6 months old tomorrow!!! In honor of her 1/2 birthday, I've ordered half a cake for her (um, well, us/me). As silly as it is, we did it for Anderson, so we will follow our tradition and do it for this little girl too. Any excuse for a cake is good enough for me!

Teeth! & Some Crazy Hair!!
Taylor still has 2 teeth! Anderson's 2 year molars are almost all the way through (thank the Lord)...those were some trying 3 weeks. Thankfully she is back to sleeping late...and being much nicer to her mama. Whew! I thought I might have to give her away for a few weeks there.

This is what this kid's hair looks like when she gets out of the bed...nighttime or naptime. I have no idea what she does but sometimes I think she might grow up and sport dreds. It would take all of 2 days to get them going!

We had an interesting day yesterday. We took our first trip to the dentist because "little bit" face planted into the hard wood floor and hit her front right tooth. If you look really closely, you can see the bruise above it in this picture...anyway, she hated the dentist just like she hates any other kind of doctor. We paid $75 for him to look at her teeth for 20 seconds...but oh, we got our money's worth, don't you worry. We left with an "earring" (a ring), a pink bracelet, and a pink princess toothbrush. The good news is that the tooth is still intact...and the bad news is that we won't know for about 6 more weeks if the tooth will change color or not. We shall see.

We got home and she fell again. Then she was running in Taylor's room, tripped over a blanket, and smacked her forehead into the window seal. That's her newest bobo! She can tell you where they all came from too!

I finally decided it was time for bed...thankfully she can't hurt herself in the crib!

Michael asked her to say cheese...I think she's got it down pat!

Chunky Monkey was supposed to be on her back, but I found her sound asleep on her tummy when I went to wake her up from her nap. Um, yea, I WOKE her up from her nap. It was painful. Never wake a napping baby. BUT we had to get to our dentist appointment!!!

This kid LOVES to brush her teeth. Unfortunately all I hear is "me do it!", "me do it!"...so she gets to do it herself for the first half of teeth brushing time, and then it's mama's turn! A couple of things I learned at the dentist:

1) She has no damage from the pacifier (she hasn't had it in three weeks...and if anyone gives her one, you will pay.)

2) She cannot have toothpaste with fluoride in it (the kind you swallow). Yea, guess what kind we have been brushing with all of these months? The kind with fluoride. Read the back of the tube that says, do not give to children under the age of 6. She's 2. It tells you to call poison control if swallowed. She's been swallowing the stuff for months. She's fine. Oops.

3) The dentist asked if she drinks water. Sometimes. Apparently there is important fluoride in TAP water (not bottled) that is essential to the proper development of the permanent teeth. Guess what Anderson had with her lunch today? Tap water on ice...in her favorite Dora cup, of course!

This kid is just squishy and sweet. I love her.

Busy and Paci-Free!

Taylor is sporting a Christmas gown that was Anderson's...so I guess we are having Christmas in July around here. I went through all of Anderson's old clothes to see what Taylor could wear...Anderson had so much fun trying on old clothes and shoes that were way too small (imagine that). This gown is too cute and too soft for Taylor to miss out on. These two are keeping Mama really busy!!!

We had a really fun weekend with Brae and Seth in town. Not sure if they had as much fun as we did (they did have several people ask, "Why are you going to MS for the 4th?")...because they love us :) Brae thought Anderson was really sweet for about the first 30 minutes that she saw her. Downhill from there!!

My favorite news of all is that we are paci-free (well, at least Anderson is). Her babysitter misunderstood my instructions about the pacifier (I told her that she was only allowed to have it at night-time and nap-time but she thought I meant that she couldn't have it at all.) The funniest part is that she told her that "she ate it". She actually took a nap that day without it so I decided to run with it. Any time she asks for her beloved "paci", I simply say, "Ms. Mary ate it. I'm so sorry." Then I change the subject. It's worked like a charm. It's almost been 2 weeks!! Taylor still has hers but luckily they are different kinds and Anderson knows the green pacifiers are Taylors. YEA!!!!!! I have worried and worried about how I would get that thing from her.

I got a new camera for my birthday so I will be posting more pictures soon!!

Family Pic....sort of...
Ryan came over the other night while I was taking a picture of my favorite boy and two girls...so he told me to hop in the picture. That explains why Taylor looks so goofy. You can't help but be goofy when Ryan is around.

The Beach and more...

Dinner with the White's...without our 4 kids. :) Wait, I don't have 4 kids. I have two, the White have two. Also, this was before Mikey's head injury!

Sweet Baby Taylor...she is growing up way too fast. She just turned 5 months old and and has two teeth. I want my gummy baby back!

I attempted to get a picture of my two girls TOGETHER...but finally gave up. No one will cooperate!! Maybe one day!

Don't let this picture fool you...she doesnt normally sleep in the car. Just ask Jennifer (or Ellie) how Anderson does in the car. She literally screamed, "hold you, mama" (which means, "mama, Hold me!") for 3 hours straight. This picture was taken on the way home...she finally fell asleep the last 30 minutes of the drive home so I had to get documentation for Jennifer.

Ellie even kept saying (who by the way was sitting next to her during the 3 hours of screaming...): "Becca, Anderson is still crying!!!" To which I replied, "Ellie, yes she is. I promise I can still hear her."
Well, at least they are both looking at the camera.

Happy 2nd Birthday Anderson!!!
We had Anderson's Mermaid Birthday party at our house on Saturday. She had so much fun!!
We had pizza, cake, fish cookies, goldfish, and cake pops! It was all yummy- especially the cake and cake pops that we got from http://www.theshortcakery.blogspot.com/ She did a fabulous job!
The mermaid cake looked almost identical to the birthday invite that Jenny Holloway created. See the link on the side of my blog for her site: Jenny Holloway Designs. I might post a copy of the invite too. It was so so cute!
Some of the kiddos in the baby pools. We also had a big pool that had a slide down the middle. Some of the bigger kids loved it!

Anderson loves her new swing!!! And thanks to Emily H for the cute swimsuit...she also gave Taylor a matching one...(that my mom put on her backwards).

Anderson was not so sure about all of the people singing happy birthday to her. Thanks to MK for taking pictures for me (and for being the cake cutter :))

Ellie and Carter were having fun on the double glider swing. I could not get a picture of them both looking at the camera!

Loving the slide! And Rebecca J was loving the swing. We missed Natalie and Brandon who were out of town, but Tutu was so nice to bring Rebecca over for the party.After most of the guests left, Anderson started getting into the presents. It's a known fact that the kid loves shoes...so we weren't too surprised when she opened a total of 13 (THIRTEEN!!!) pair of shoes. She was so happy! She is also sporting some new pj's that Carter gave her (because she wanted them ON right when she opened the box).

Carter helped Anderson open most of her gifts. Anderson woke up this morning and asked if she could play with all of Carter's toys. I think she was a little confused. I told her that Carter did help her open them, but that they were hers.

We were on our way to church (after a crying battle over which shoes she was going to wear!), and Michael asked if he thought she was getting spoiled. I told him probably so, but it was her 2nd birthday and that it was likely that she would get some fun new things. Then this is what we heard from the backseat:

Anderson: "Dada, I want more."

Michael: "You want more what?"

Anderson: "More toys!"

I think we are set until Santa comes for Christmas!!!

Anderson turned 2 years old on Thursday, May 28th. She was at the beach with her Mimi, Poppy, and Aunt Lala. Although we missed her, it was a vacation for the rest of us too!

When she got home, there was a surprise waiting for her: a new swing set!! She loves it and wants to swing ALL the time. Maybe I'll be big enough to play on it one day.

I think her daddy missed her the most...then my mom, and then me (I finally got some attention around here!!). I am glad that she's home. She is pretty entertaining!

4 months old!

Taylor is 4 months old today! I feel like she's been here all along, but I remember her birthday as if it was just a few days ago.

We tried out the exersaucer for the first time a few days ago. She loved it. And she accidently rolled from her back to her stomach last Friday.

She is so so sweet. Maybe it will rub off on her big sister. Speaking of, big sister is turning TWO on Thursday!!!!

Anderson- 2 years
Taylor- 4 months





I am trying to figure out where the time went...and when Anderson turned into a little girl and when my itty bitty baby turned 4 months old!

We had a doctor's appointment today. Anderson had to get her finger pricked and got one shot. She really acted awful! Hopefully we won't have to go back for a while.

Her stats were:
23 pounds (10th percentile)
34 1/2 inches (70th percentile)

And my big (sweet sweet) baby, Taylor, got one oral medication and 2 shots. She was grinning from ear to ear at the nurse right before she stuck her. I felt terrible about it!

Taylors stats were:
14 pounds, 11 ounces (75th percentile) **gotta love the rolls!!
24 1/2 inches (75th percentile)
41 cm (head circumference) (50th percentile)

***as you can tell, Anderson is a little obsessed with bows right now!! Mimi did this while I was at work!

Friends...and Sisters!
Ellie and Mason came over last night because the dads were out on the golf course (imagine that!). We attempted a group picture...this is the best we were going to get. I can't wait to watch all of these girls grow up together.

Sisters!! Hopefully they will be sweet to each other.

Rebecca and Anderson took a bubble bath the other night. They were so funny! Rebecca is about 10 shades darker than Anderson...and if you saw my legs compared to Natalie's, you would know why!
Another group shot!

She is SO SO SO sweet...You just look at her and she gives you a big grin. I love her! I tell her everyday that she is NOT allowed to act like her big sister when she grows up! :)

My Sweet Girl!
Taylor apparently likes Ellie...

And she loves it when you talk to her...or sing Pat-A-Cake!

She's a chubby thing. The kid has too many rolls to count. I love it!

Big eyes like her daddy and big sister...they are still dark blue so we are waiting to see if they turn???

And our little sleepyhead! We all like our sleep around here.

Priss Pot!
This girl LOVES some shoes. She really doesn't care whose they are...and will tell you to take your shoes off so that she can wear them! We went to Reunion the other night to hear a band and when I went to pick her up from the kids room, she had on a pair of this little girls shoes. I found the one who was barefoot and said to her, "You were so sweet to let Anderson wear your shoes." to which she QUICKLY replied, "I didn't let her have them, SHE TOOK THEM!!" I should have known.Mama's shoes are neatly organized in her closet...but SOMEONE always gets in there and makes a BIG OLE mess! Nothing like a tshirt and some heels...right Natalie?

This is what I came home to the other day after work. Aunt Bethany helped Anderson get all dressed up and she kept saying that she was cute!
She is finally starting to like her bath...hates having her hair washed though. The bath crayons help.

Crazy Kiddos!
Hi, my name is Taylor. This is my big sister Anderson. She is a crazy kid! My mom made homemade Cowboy cookies and Anderson tried to shove the entire thing in her mouth. She loves a cookie. She apparently loves milk too because this is the conversation that I heard last night:

Mom: Anderson, what do you want for supper?

Anderson: Milk.

Mom: Well, you need something else besides milk. What else do you want?

Anderson: Milk and Apple Juice.

Mom: You need something for supper besides milk and apple juice.

Anderson: Supper and Milk.

After a healthy supper my mom asked if she wanted anything else....to which she replied, "CANDY!"
Oh dear!
Anderson also loves her new swing. Well, actually Aunt "Caffey" (Cathy) gave her this swing for her 1st birthday, but we never had anywhere to hang it...until we got our nifty new deck a few weekends ago. Now she is obsessed and cries and cries when you take her out of it. Oh, and she doesn't like to share her swing.

I'm getting a little too big for my pillow. I slept like this for a good 45 minutes!

She is insane, I tell you!!!