Pieces Of Our Life

Kaylin's 1st FIRST day of school!

2011-10-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

I was just going to post a couple pics but I just could not just choose a couple! This was a huge moment in our lives! The very FIRST first day of my first child's school career!!! Taylor had to join in the picture taking of course! Love these cute little posers! (Where did they get that?!?!) Kaylin was so excited to start school! She has great teachers and has made lots of friends!

Kaylin is 4!!!

2011-10-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Kaylin turned 4 and of course, she had to have a princess party! She chose to wear her Snow White dress and Taylor couldn't make up her mind all morning but ended up with the Tangled dress.

I just cannot get enough of these two little princesses!! They are WAY too cute!!

Kaylin's little friends all wore their princess attire too...it was adorable!

We made crowns (I forgot to take pics :(...), then we searched for the buried treasure in the sandbox!

Kaylin was so proud of her Princess cake!

Kaylin was so excited about EACH and EVERY present she got! It was so cute. Even the little homemade cards! I hope she's always so appreciative! :)

You can see in this picture she was making the "AHHH" sound. She seriously did that each time she opened a gift! Like it was the greatest thing ever!

She's so excited to have some cash to buy some toys at the store! (She already bought a $2.00 pony purse. She thinks she's so big paying for her stuff all by herself)

I'm glad her Princess party lived up to her expectations. We love her so much! I cannot believe my little baby is 4! (Am I gonna say that every year?? Probably!) Time has flown and she is the cutest little thing! I'm gonna start doing Mommy interviews each year so hopefully I can post that tomorrow!

Whoops!

2011-09-02T07:59:00.001-07:00

Taylor turned 2!

2011-06-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Taylor turned 2 on the 23rd of May! She is so fun to have around! I'm so glad we were blessed with her sweet little self.

She loves her big sister (most of the time) and tries to copy everything she does, she loves being a mommy to all her baby dolls, she's finally actually trying to talk in sentences, she still calls Kaylin "Bada" and witches "sows". When she's trying to get my attention and I'm not listening she'll say "momma, Momma, (and then in a low, deep grunt) MOMMA". It gets my attention every time! Its so hilarious! We love her very much and are so lucky to have her in our family!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

Eating...

2011-03-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

...is HARD, hard work!

Princess Ballet!

2011-03-11T14:54:00.000-08:00

We got to go see the BYU Ballet last night. The girls loved all the ballerina princesses! Kaylin wanted to meet e.v.e.r.y single one of them!

They got to go up on stage and dance with the ballerina's during the intermission. They were in heaven!

I love these cute, little girly girls!

These are for Nathan...WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

2010-12-23T08:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas Dresses

2010-12-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

Boots

2010-12-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

This ones for you Grandma Solomon! I went to see Harry Potter last night and wore your boots! I LOVE them!! And I love even more that you used to wear these boots back when you were a young mom! I'm glad that I'm the only granddaughter that can fit into your shoes! :) Thank you for being such a great grandma and always being there for me! Love you! Can't wait to see you at Christmas!

I love sleeping babies.

2010-12-02T17:38:00.000-08:00

I am so blessed!

Pics from the last couple of weeks (mostly for Nathan :)

2010-11-28T09:48:00.000-08:00

Wildlife World Zoo with Careena and Gwen...

Kaylin got so excited about all the animals. It was so much fun just to watch her.

Let me just talk a little about Taylor...we were supposed to share a pizza and hotdog for lunch. Well after Taylor ate the ENTIRE hotdog (with the bun and all), she stole the last piece of pizza and ate that entirely too! I know I always talk about how much she eats...but seriously! where does she get that appetite of hers?? It blows me away everyday!

Bedhead + ketchup = awesome pic

and proof that my children aren't always perfect :)

Ready to go to Storytime at the library!

Paci in mouth and in hand...the only way to enjoy a story...(more paci pics to come!)

Watching a Wild West show at the downtown Mesa's Wild West Day.

The guns got loud!

Ready to ride the train!

Taylor has really gotten into dressing up...she picked this outfit out all by herself!

She insisted on wearing 2 bows...and having all three pacis...

I think this was right before we left to go eat Thanksgiving dinner.

Taylor has on {at least} 8 layers of skirts!

And Kaylin would personally like to thank her cousin Chaislyn for letting her borrow her "princess flowers" dress. She has worn it at least once a day since Thanksgiving.

Love these little girls! They sure do push me to the limit sometimes but they bring me more happiness then I ever thought was possible!

Crossing my fingers!

2010-11-26T11:55:00.000-08:00

My friend Courtney has this awesome Blog {The Beauty Mark}! All about makeup, fashion, skin care, hair...so much fun! They are doing another amazing Makeover giveaway!! And I really want to win!! And I'm sure you all do too (who wouldn't want a full day of pampering and then pictures to prove it all?)!! Go check it out!

Veterans Day Parade.

2010-11-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

We went to the Veterans Day Parade yesterday. It was lots of fun! It last for 1 1/2 hours!! The girls loved it! I just missed Nathan the whole time!

Taylor did get kinda bored toward the end, we just had to keep giving her candy...whatever works, right?!

Kaylin loved the "pricesses"! Of course! (like Miss Asia Arizona...since when was there a Miss Asia AZ???) She also loved the horses and marching bands!

Kaylin and her friend Byntlee had lots of fun dancing to all the music!

I definitely have a new perspective on Veterans Day now. All the Veterans and their families have sacrificed so much (whether they wanted to or not!)! Nathan's only going to be over there for a few months but every minute of it brings a new emotion! I just cannot wait til he can come home!!

Trick or Treeking!

2010-11-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

Kaylin was (and is still) very excited about her princess dress! After I bought it, she wanted to wear it ALL the time! I had to tell her a monster came and took it away and would bring it back when it was time to go trick or treating. She would pretty much ask everyday if the monster brought it back yet. She was so excited when he finally did bring it back! :) She had to wear it all day and to bed. The monster may or may not have taken it back to the woods for a while...

I was a geek...Kaylin said "Mom, your costume is beautiful!!" I'm so glad I looked pretty in my geek costume! lol

Taylor would NOT wear the bear costume I bought her...and she wouldn't even wear the ladybug costume (that she wore last year...and that Kaylin wore the year before :) until we got to the ward Trunk or Treat party (that's why there are no pics of her and Kaylin together at home before we left)! After she saw all the other kids in costume, she thought it was okay to put it on. She is soo soo stubborn!

Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella! Kaylin was so excited that her friend Lucy was Cinderella!

The best part of the night was of course the "trick or treeking", as Kaylin would say!

It didn't take Taylor long at all to figure out how to get the candy and put it in her bucket...she always tried to get seconds from everyone too...and most everyone let her!

Kaylin did not like this guy!!! She backed away right after I took this pic.

There's Kaylin standing far away...and there's Taylor just smiling at him.

And waving Bye Bye. So sweet.

The girls had lots of fun and got PLENTY of candy! And I've eaten more then my fair share!

Back to Louisiana!

2010-10-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well...I've been back to visit Nathan twice since we've moved back here to AZ. I don't have all the pics from the first trip....Nathan has them on his camera (which is now getting on a bus to go across the WORLD!) But we had a great time together! We drove to Dallas (after buying a new battery for the car...after the car wouldn't start...after the first gas stop...AND after the first hotel stay!) We went to Six Flags and ate lots of Shrimp Margarita's at Rockfish!

These next pics are from the second trip...I brought Taylor along with me and we stayed at the best Bed and Breakfast ever! The first night there were two other families there but the 2nd and 3rd night we had the whole house to ourselves! It was awesome! They had tons of chickens and Taylor got to get the eggs and put them in the basket.

So glad we got to see Nathan again before he leaves. Now the countdown begins!

Kaylin's {early} 3rd Birthday Party!

2010-10-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Birthday Girl!!! We love you Kaylin!

Careena, Gwen, and Taylor hanging out...waiting for everyone to show up.

The {upside down} cake!

She got alot of fun toys! Thanks everyone!!!

Kaylin with her cousins Logan, and Dallan!

Lincoln and Taylor trying to wake up Nellie!

All the kids riding the train!

Hope you enjoyed your early birthday party Kaylin!!!

Goose egg.

2010-09-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

We went to the park yesterday and had lots of fun! Taylor loved to drive the bus.

Kaylin loved taking Daddy's order.

Taylor loved squeezing her chubbiness into the swing.

Taylor also loved spinning around.

So did Kaylin.

She also loved getting a big huge goose egg on her head after running into a table.

Just in case you care....

2010-08-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

We got a new car!!
Welcome to the family Mr. Jeep Commander. Kaylin and Taylor love your built in DVD player and leather seats safe for spills. And I love your third row seat perfect for when we have extra riders! (Except for my mom and dad who still prefer to sit snuggly between the girls' car seats.)

I can finally put Taylor's hair in pigtails!

I highlighted my hair for $3.00!!

The girls love playing dress up...with anything!

And they are the cutest little models EVER!!!

Decorating...and table redo!

2010-07-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

Okay...if you haven't discovered thrift stores...please do so as soon as possible!! For real!! Seriously, thrift stores light up my life. Just come with me sometime and you'll see what I mean. Its like a caffeine high without the caffeine! (the wreath will be a future project I'm sure)

My mom bought me this mirror...I couldn't bring myself to pay $15. (see how cheap I am??...its a curse) But c'mon $15 for a huge mirror probably dating back to the 50's!??! She couldn't let me leave without it. Thanks Mom!!

Here is a before pic of the chairs (sorry, no before pic of the table) that we got from our neighbors FOR FREE!!! Please don't give me free stuff that feel like I have to use even if it doesn't go with my house at all! I had to make it match my decor and it was a pain in the you know what...but it was worth it!
I tried spray painting the metal white but it wasn't working too great so I found some "whoops" paint at Wal-Mart for $3.00 (it was a little more yellow then I wanted but hey, you can't beat three bucks for paint!)
And guess where i found this cute, cute fabric?!? Yep, you guessed it...the THRIFT STORE!!! For $3.00!!! I would have paid like $15 or more a yard for similar fabric!!! It was an old table cloth that I just cut to size and then hammered it on. (sounds alot easier then it was...just ask my fingers)
So... Free table, $12 on spray paint that didn't work (boo), $3 on yellow paint, $3.00 on fabric and I have a cute new table for $18!! Nathan will be so excited when he gets home! (Ha!)

New Orleans!

2010-07-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

Nathan's gone :( for training....again! He'll be gone til the 26th. So my mom and dad decided to come stay with me and the girls while he is away. Me and the girls picked them up in New Orleans last Tuesday and we stayed and played there for a few days. This post has a bunch of pics...thanks to my mom!
Eating at Bubba Gump's!!! It was SOOOOO delicious!!
Our friendly waitress who sang songs with Kaylin.

This was our hotel lobby. It was an old factory that they converted into a hotel.

Wore them out!
We on a swamp tour the next day and saw LOTS of alligators! Here's the nasty swamp water!!
And a nasty big bug on our boat!
And a NASTY alligator!

And an "alligator house" as Kaylin would say.
Later that day we went to an old plantation house. It was called Oak Alley because of all the old oak trees that were lined up in front of it. It was so pretty! The trees were over 300 years old!

We went to an aquarium the next day.

And then we went to the Children's Museum. The girls had a blast! It was one of the best children's museums we've been too.

They had the cutest miniature grocery store. Both the girls were in heaven!

These pics were from the next day in Baton Rouge...we decided to stay a night there too. We went to the Rural Life Museum were they had houses and antiques from the 1800's...it was really neat.

Another nasty big bug!!!

We missed you Daddy!!!!!

4th of July

2010-07-04T14:32:00.001-07:00

actually it was the 3rd...but since the 4th was on a Sunday this year all the celebrations went on on the 3rd. Keepin the Sabbath Day holy! We had the "Freedom Fest" here at Fort Polk where Trace Adkins gave a free concert!! We saw about half of it before Kaylin had an accident and we had to go home... :( She was too excited about dancing around with her friends to take a potty break. We were kinda glad to have an excuse to leave the cigarette smoke and drunks tho....and on the way home we remembered that Nathan and I both had lessons to teach at church today! Whoops! So we had some extra time to work on those.
Taylor girl is ALWAYS eating....for real....I'm not even exaggerating a little!
Kaylin was dancing with her {boy}friend Kyler pretty much the whole time. It was hilarious!
And of course here's a 4th of July family pic! Please excuse our sweaty, sticky faces...and my melted hair.

Sesame Street Live!!

2010-06-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to see Sesame Street Live! Well...all the girls cared about was Elmo. The first pic is of Nathan and Kaylin waiting to see Elmo up close....Kaylin was super bummed that she didn't get to hug him.

They gave out these spinny things to all the kids before the show started.
Kaylin and her friend Kyler waiting for the show to start!

Sleepy girls!

2010-06-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

Kaylin sleeping 5 min. after we walked in the door from church....

Taylor 5 min. after playing with Daddy...

California Trip

2010-06-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

We went to California with my mom and dad a few weeks ago. We had so much fun but definitely wore ourselves out! On the first day there we went to Disneyland.

On the Finding Nemo submarine ride.

Kaylin talked grandma into getting her a princess sucker....I'm sure it didn't take to much convincing.

Me and my brother and sister have a picture in front of this same door when we were little...now my girls have one too!

She's just too cute!!

Kaylin loved every second we spent at Disneyland! She didn't want to ride in the stroller at all...she did not want to miss a thing! She missed the fireworks both nights because she just couldn't stay awake any longer. (Nathan got us reserved seating for the fireworks show BOTH night...it was soooo awesome!! He also got us free parking the first day! He also got us to the front of a 45 min. line for the new Toy Story ride! And he got a free water with his turkey leg purchase! What would I do without him??!!)

Kaylin got to meet the princesses. She was beside herself!

On the 2nd day, we went to Knotts Berry Farms ( where we got military discounted tickets...thanks to Nathan :) It was lots of fun! Kaylin got to ride on lots of rides by herself!

All these theme parks were wearing Taylor out...she couldn't even finsh her cookie on the car ride back to the hotel!

On the 3rd day we went to the beach! Kaylin got sucked down by a wave 5 minuntes after we got there!! It didn't stop her tho! She thought it was so much fun!

Taylor wasn't so sure about the beach at first...but she warmed up to it and didn't want to leave when it was time to go!

I forgot to bring swimsuits for the girls ( I know....how could I forget swimsuits for a trip to Cali?? LOSER!!) So this is what we found at Goodwill for the girls to wear! At least their new suits offered lots of skin coverage from the sun!

On the 4th day we went to California Adventure...and I only took about 4 pictures...I really need to do better about picture taking. We did have lots of fun tho! Thanks for coming with us Mom and Dad! We love and miss you guys!!

Taylor is ONE!!!! WHAT?!?!!

2010-05-24T09:24:00.001-07:00

We are so blessed to have Taylor in our family. I can't believe she's already one!! Where did my baby go?!?

She's always busy and always wants to do whatever Kaylin is doing! She also knows what she wants and knows how to get what she wants!! She's learning how to pay Kaylin back for all the things she did to her as a baby...pinching and pulling hair are her weapons of choice.

And she STILL loves her some food!! Any kind...at any time!

WE LOVE YOU TAYLOR!!!!
Thank you Grandma and Papa for the $, ball, and bath toys! Thank you Aunt Raine and Uncle Dusty for the very cute dress and baby doll (Kaylin still thinks its hers!)! Thank you Grandma Sherwood for the rocking giraffe and doggy backpack!

Daddy's Here!!!

2010-05-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

Catch up time!!

2010-05-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

Well...here are a few pics from the past few months...

Taylor eating spaghettio's and Kaylin trying to steal the spotlight.

A few bows I made...thats about as crafty as I got lately.

Our cutie Kaylin enjoying a "pickle" (thats how she says popsicle).

We love her so much!

Playing with some bubbles at a festival we went to.

Sitting in a fire truck with Papa!

The 2 princesses riding in the princess car!

Kaylin meeting Dora! The best day of her life!

Spongebob was there too!

Trying to get Dora's attention again!

Kaylin had to go under her table to color so Taylor wouldn't get her book or crayons!

Not ready for this!

2010-04-29T14:17:00.001-07:00

Taylor is walking...

Kaylin refers to me as "Mom"...

Our babies are growing up!!

Easter 2010

2010-04-08T08:54:00.001-07:00

She was so excited when she finally found the basket that the Easter Bunny hid from her!

All Taylor wanted to do was chew on the eggs!

Hope you all had a Happy Easter!!

Pictures, pictures, pictures....

2010-04-08T08:30:00.001-07:00

These are WAY out of order...but that's okay. Here's Kaylin helping my brother Rial and my dad shovel some gravel. She kept saying "This is hard!" and grunting as she lifted the shovel. Haha.

Taylor and Lincoln swimming with Aunt Sophie!
Cute, cute babies!!!
Kaylin swimming with her new favorite person, Malorie!
Taylor playing at the mall!
Eating a messy popsicle!
Trying on Mama's {$3!!!} sunglasses!

Thanks for smiling with me Kaylin! :)
Playing at the Phoenix Children's Museum!

Trying to keep a baby entertained on a VERY LONG 2 1/2 day car ride....

Thank goodness for portable DVD players!!
Playing with Papa on the swings!

Happy Birthday Jana!

2010-03-07T16:37:00.000-08:00

"I loved you too much to be your friend, so God let me be your sister." -Author Unknown

My big sister Jana would have been 27 today. Words could never express how much I miss her. I'm so grateful for the times I feel her around me and feel the love she has for me. She's such an amazing person and example to me. I'm so glad I got to be her sister for the short time she was on this earth. I'm so amazed at how many lives she touched during the 19 years she was here. I can't wait to be reunited with her again someday!

I love you Jana Banana!!!

Crafty Crap.

2010-02-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

I hand painted these cupcakes and crown. (remember the "girly girl" sign you gave me Raine?? Its perfect in Kaylin's room)

I made this bouquet out of paper and spray paint! Copied from HERE.

And a denim hair bow! Copied from HERE!

I'm thinking about starting a blog called "Copy Cat Crafts"...since most of my crafts are copied from other blogs/people. Is that a good idea? Would any of you look at it?

I'm to sexy!

2010-02-22T15:31:00.001-08:00

For my diaper!

Taylor LOVES pushing this stroller around! Looks like I'm gonna have another early walker!

Ever wondered...

2010-02-22T15:26:00.000-08:00

...what a whole box of cereal looks like on the floor??

2010-02-14T19:51:00.000-08:00

I love it...

2010-02-14T16:41:00.001-08:00

...when Kaylin dresses herself right ater she wakes up from a nap.
This ensemble includes a red sweater dress, striped tights (can't see those in the pic), a dress up skirt, marti gras necklace, an unside down jacket (my personal favorite!), and some SERIOUS bed head hair! Oh and can't forget the halloween pumpkin purse!

Yummy!

2010-02-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

I guess I should have known better then to leave Taylor unattended in the kitchen with a plate of food within her reach! She was in H-E-A-V-E-N! Who needs a dog when you have Taylor to eat all the leftovers!?

Crawling...

2010-01-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

Taylor's been crawling for about 3 months now but I haven't documented it yet! So here she is! I didn't have to coax her to start crawling towards me for these pics...usually as soon as she sees me after I've been out of sight for a while (like 2 min) she'll start whining and come towards me.

At the park...

2010-01-29T11:16:00.000-08:00

We spend ALOT of time at the park. And Kaylin spends ALOT of time on the swing!

Taylor like the swing too but she mostly likes to chew on whatever she can.

Play- Doh!

2010-01-29T11:04:00.000-08:00

QUIT waking up my babies!!!!

2010-01-21T13:49:00.001-08:00

Here's a pleasant reminder to all the delivery people who keep waking up my girls during naptime. Lets see if it works.
This was super simple. I just used a piece of scrap glass, modge podged some scrapbook paper to it, painted on the words, glued on a ribbon, buttons, and jewels, and used some leftover material from my coffee table to hang it!

Ghillie suit....what??

2010-01-21T13:25:00.000-08:00

What the heck is a ghillie suit, you ask? Well, see for yourself! This is Nathan's ghillie suit.
And now your probably wondering "Where do I get one of those?!?" Well, you have to make it...and its loads of fun, let me tell you!!
First you get an army uniform (aka "ACU's") and you use some very stinky "Shoe Goo" to glue some fish net to them. Then you get about a bazillion little stringies of various shades of green and you tie them all over the fish net. Be prepared to spend HUNDREDS of hours on this part of the project...and call in some help from your parents (Thanks mom and dad for spending your vacation helping us with this! Love you!)
After you get the stringies tied on, you'll need to spray paint it various shades of brown to get the right tone so no enemies will spot you when your hiding with your gun. After you think you have the right tone to your suit, you'll need to roll around in some leaves and twigs to disguise yourself even more! And its as easy as that!!

Nathan is in Sniper School right now. That's what we had to make the awesome ghillie suit for. Its a month long course and we got lucky because they brought some guys here to teach it instead of Nathan having to go to Fort Benning, GA. So I am happy about that but he leaves early in the morning and doesn't get home til after 7 every night! UGH. I'll be so glad when its over.

Coffee table redo!

2010-01-18T05:27:00.000-08:00

Here was my least favorite piece of furniture we had. Nathan got it before we got married. It didn't go with my decor at all! So I fixed it!
First I added batting and a cute, cute fabric to the top.
(Please ignore the booger hanging out of Kaylin's nose) She thought this was her "fort" when I had the top up on chairs so I could attach the fabric.
Don't worry no babies were hurt during this project...even if she was sitting a couple feet away from some very dangerous things!
Here's the fabric all attached!
I used about 4 and 1/2 cans of white spray paint on the bottom and then I glazed it.
ALL DONE!!!

So excited the coffee table is no longer an eye sore in our living room!!!

New Do.

2010-01-08T08:32:00.001-08:00

Here's my newer, shorter hair. Nathan conned me into it...
but I'm glad he did.

Baby Phat!

2010-01-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

Taylor had her 6 month appointment today (ya, I know she's like 7 1/2 months old...no biggie). She's a whopping 20 lbs. 10 ounces!! This girl LOVES to eat....she scrounges for leftovers anywhere she can! Most times when she's missing from sight, she can be found under Kaylin's table eating crumbs.....

.....or digging through the trash, licking pudding cups.
{Kaylin, my skinny minny, weighs 25 lbs....5 lbs more then her 'little' sister}

Children's Museum

2010-01-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

Here's a bazillion pictures of the girls at the Children's Museum. Enjoy!

Callin' Baton Rouge

2009-12-31T21:06:00.000-08:00

"Papa" and "Bama" are still here so they watched the girls while me and Nathan took a little trip to Baton Rouge. We only stayed one night but it was lots of fun {even tho it rained the WHOLE way there and all night}. We were planning on going to the temple and we checked online before we went but it was closed! Bummer! But of course we still enjoyed our time alone. We did a lot of shopping, saw "Blind Side" {which was AMAZING and I recommend to everyone!!}, ate some very delicious sushi, scarfed down some cheap {2 dollars and sixty eight cents for 2 big cup fulls!!} frozen yogurt, had some deep discussions that inlcuded something about the difference between 'well' and 'whale';), and spent some lazy time in our hotel suite that included a jacuzzi! I also got a haircut...pics to come later....

Love you so much Baby!!

Thanks again Mom and Dad!

Santa was a little late...

2009-12-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

but he made up for it!! We decided to wait to do Christmas until after my parents got here, which was at about 7:30 Christmas night. Kaylin was so excited to finally get to tear into her presents.
My mom and dad got her a play kitchen. She LOVES it! She actually opened it the day after Christmas since we were up so late the night before opening the other gifts. She's had lots of fun cooking for us and bringing us "coke" to drink.
Taylor had fun trying to help Kaylin unwrap her presents....Kaylin had fun saying "NO...STOP!"

These next few are out of order{dangit}but you get the idea.
Nathan and I got her a Princess FJ Cruiser. She tried to run over Nathan after she finally figured out how to make it go.
She opened all her presents while sitting in there...she did not want to get out!
Very happy girl! It was so fun watching her be so excited this year!!
She wanted to get in even before all the wrapping paper was off!

Sorry there aren't more pictures of miss Taylor...she was asleep by the time we got around to opening present Christmas night. She loves playing with all the wrapping paper tho!

We got to feed the missionaries lunch on Christmas day and then they used our phones to call home. It was fun to have them here. I really enjoyed the special spirit they brought to our home. I also enjoyed seeing how excited they were to talk to their families! I certainly know how they felt with not being able to see their families during the holidays! We miss you all!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Last boring craft post for a while!

2009-12-18T09:56:00.000-08:00

I promise! Nathan's coming home tonight {YIPPEE} so I probably won't be in the mood to craft for a while. So you won't have to read about my boring crafts anymore!
I needed another toy box for Kaylin's room. So I decided to turn one of our laundry baskets into one...again I just used some scraps I had.

Kaylin was very helpful.

And this is how it turned out!! I used some chenille, like 5 or 6 glue sticks, and some ribbon! Super Easy!

Naptime craft

2009-12-15T12:38:00.001-08:00

I needed a Christmas card holder, so I decided to made one with some of my scraps.

Now I have a place to display all the cute Christmas cards I get!!

When Kaylin woke up from her nap she looked over there and said "WOooOW...cute!" LOL.
Thanks for the approval Kaylin!!

See you in 2 weeks

2009-12-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

Nathan is gone for 2 whole weeks. He'll be in Fort Huachuca, AZ of all places! He's doing a tracking class there. So its just me and the girls until the 18th! Of course I have to keep my mind busy so I made that cute "S" ornament. Too bad it only took about an hour. Now I have to figure something else out to do.

Anyone wanna come visit me??

I took this pic right before I got on here to blog. Kaylin was trying to get the crayons off the t.v. screen so she could color. LOL! So glad I have her to make me smile everyday!

Christmas Cards

2009-11-27T07:21:00.001-08:00

I need addresses for our Christmas cards! Email me your address if you want one!

samantha312@hotmail.com

Or you can leave it in a comment and I'll delete as soon as I get it.

Thanks!!

Bath time!

2009-11-26T04:52:00.000-08:00

Unit Family Fun Day!

2009-11-24T13:50:00.001-08:00

Nathan's Unit had a family fun day today. Basically is was to show the families what their soldiers do when they go to work. For the first 45 min. we got to stand in formation with our soldiers and listen to some speeches. The first pic up there is a guy in full camo. Usually Kaylin is pretty outgoing...not really the shy type. But we now know the one thing Kaylin won't talk to!

He tried to take her hand but she turned away as fast as she could and pulled her hands in!

We let her have some fun after being scared to death. {And No, Nathan does not get to jump around on these things when he goes to work :)}

Then we went on a bus so I could shoot some guns!!! Kaylin loved the bus ride! So did Taylor, she just sat on my lap the whole time and didn't move.

Safety First!

The guy told me to just hold down the trigger...so that's what I did. I guess you're not really supposed to do that, you're only supposed to shoot like 3 at a time. Whoops! It was so fun tho! Even tho all the guys were laughing at me. I got to shoot 2 laying down guns {Nathan's gonna laugh at me for calling them "laying down guns" but really...how am i supposed to remember all their names??}

Then I got to shoot the kneeling down gun. I was scared just holding it like that...thats a lot of power! But after a few shots I got used to it! So much fun!!!

MY Stud Muffin

2009-11-24T12:33:00.000-08:00

Nathan got his EIB {Expert Infantry Badge} last week.
"The EIB is awarded to U.S. Army personnel who hold Infantry or special forces military occupational specialities. To be awarded the EIB, the service member must complete a testing phase which is the culmination of weeks of training, leading to a final evaluation period. The EIB test is administered on the average once per year with pass rates usually averaging less than 10 percent, depending on the unit conducting testing." I copied that from the U.S. Army Infantry Homepage. They are supposed to get weeks of training before the final evaluation but Nathan only got to train for one week and out of 180 guys who started the training...only 30 something graduated...Nathan being one of them! And I might add that most of the guys he is standing with are Seargants, Nathan is a Private 1st Class. It was actually pretty funny when they were reading off the names. You heard "Seargant so and so, Seargant so and so, PFC Sherwood, Seargant so and so...." It was like he didn't belong there! Haha. But it just shows how awesome he is doing!

Here's Nathan's Platoon Seargant telling his team how awesome he is.

Here's the badge! {the blue one}

Here's all the guy punching the pins into his chest. He was bleeding pretty good when the were done with him.

Here's Nathan with his Platoon Seargant on the left and Team Leader on the right.

Good Job Baby!!! I'm SOOO proud of you!

Tip Junkie...

2009-11-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

...is having the 12 Days of Junkie Giveaway!!! Check it out!!!!

www.tipjunkie.com

Friday Night Lights

2009-11-19T16:59:00.001-08:00

Nathan got (had) to do Color Guard for the local Homecoming football game...uh...like 3 weeks ago (whoops!) because he's 6'4". It was pretty fun to watch him. He's the one holding the American flag. Sorry about the picture quality...I was trying to keep a 2 year old entertained.

Walking onto the field

Posting the colors (army talk for holding the flags on the field)

Leaving the field

He also walked in the Homecoming parade but I was about 15 minutes late and missed him so no pics of that.

Baby Food

2009-11-03T15:26:00.001-08:00

Taylor got to try baby food for the first time last night. I should have tried something a little tastier then peas....

Creative Juices

2009-11-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

My rag rug. This took forever but it was worth it. Its the softest rug EVER! I love it! I'll probably be making a few more of these.
{Before}

Here's what I did today today while both girls napped!

{After}

hAlLoWeEnY

2009-11-02T04:45:00.001-08:00

The cute little Lady bug and the pretty Fairy Princess!

We had a pretty eventful Halloween this year. Friday night we went to downtown Leesville for "Witch Way to Maine street" All the downtown businesses pass out candy. It was fun. Kaylin just enjoyed checking out all the costumes. The camera battery was dead...so sorry there's no pics from that night. Halloween night our ward had a Trunk or Treat. We had dinner and played games too. Kaylin had so much fun!

She tried throwing 2 of these rings but after missing twice she decided to just put the ring on the leg...much easier then trying to throw it!! Smart girl! I forgot to take pics of her trick or treating!! After the first few she finally figured it out to say "trick or treat" and then "thank you". She got so much candy!! Her bag got pretty heavy. I offered to carry it for her but she would not have it!
Nathan and I didn't dress up but Nathan said we could just say we were models...so here we are modeling with Rufus. (this was attempt #10 of trying to get a good pic with the self timer)

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!!

Pumpkin patch

2009-10-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

We had a pumpkin patch here on base last Friday. Kaylin LOVED riding on the "choo choo". It was actually a tractor and trailor.

We told her "okay, go get a pumpkin!" She just took off and ran and ran. We finally had to stop her and tell her to get a pumpkin.
After this picture she put the pumpkin down and tried to start running again towards the "choo choo". She didn't care too much about the pumpkin or candy, she just wanted to ride the tractor.

Base Housing...

2009-10-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pics of our house....well actually just 2. First is our living room...behind the couch where I'm standing is where the computer desk is. The front door is also behind me.
It was raining again today (like it does pretty much everyday) so I couldn't take a pic of the outside of our house but this picture is of the houses (or condos...whatever you wanna call them) across the street. Our house is identical to those except the siding is tan and our door and shutters are navy blue.
Our Kitchen. I'm standing in the dining room. We did get really lucky to get this house! We are the first ones to live here so everything is fresh and new. There's also a half bathroom downstairs and upstairs there's 2 more bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, and a laundry closet. Maybe I'll take some pics upstairs when I get the girls' rooms decorated.

2009-10-21T05:51:00.000-07:00

Wish I could go to this...

Guess I better just win the grand prize!

For those of you that can go...GO CHECK IT OUT!!!

More random pics

2009-10-14T04:35:00.001-07:00

Our big ole hunkin' moving van that Nathan drove almost 1400 miles....I followed him in my car....and 2 and half VERY LONG days later, we were here.
Taylor Ann....she is so fun right now! She's laughing and smiling all the time! She's rolling from back to front and trying to figure out how to go back to front. She's been sleeping pretty good too...only waking up once at about 3:00 am to eat.
Most the time Kaylin is pretty good with her but in an instant she can go from this to poking Taylor's eye or sitting on her or pinching her. I can't completely trust her yet. It is so fun to watch them interact tho!
Kaylin throwing a fit....I'm loving these terrible two's. Her and the corner are becoming very close friends.

TWO!!!!

2009-10-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Kaylin turned 2 on the 12th! I can't believe two years have gone by already! Here's some pics of her opening her presents from my mom and dad.
She's obsessed with Elmo right now...so this movie has been a life saver to me!
Stickers! Almost as obsessed with stickers as she is with Elmo!
Pop Rocks!! Lol...my mom just HAD to see what Kaylin did when she ate them. It was pretty funny. They also gave her a book and $...I'm sure I'm forgetting something...that bag was FULL! Thanks Mom and Dad!
Here they are watching the craziness on Skype! Skype is awesome! Kaylin got a play kitchen and cleaning toys from us...its so cute watching her play with it! AND I found both items at a garage sale for $15!!!!

I was gonna upload a video but its taking FOREVER so I'll try again later.

Taylor's Blessing

2009-10-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

Nathan was finally able to bless Taylor before we left. He gave her a beautiful blessing. He said she was just staring at him the whole time and smiling (and farting).

I'm so grateful for these sweet spirits that Heavenly Father has trusted us with. I pray every day that I'll be able to be the mom they deserve.

Louisiana Living

2009-10-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

'We went to Toledo Bend last Saturday...its a big lake that's about 30 min. away from us. It was really nice.
Nathan tried to do some fishing.

We walked around a lot on their nice walking trails. The weather is pretty crazy here....mostly its been hot and humid but for a couple days it was pretty chilly! This day was one of those days.

Kaylin walking Rufus. We got Rufus a couple weeks ago. Kaylin loves him! We got him for free even though he comes from a championship line because the breeder we got him from thought his face looked funny and his paws were webbed or something crazy like that...he looks perfect to us!

Kaylin thought it would be a good idea to eat sand....a little snack before the ride home I guess!

I guess it's time...

2009-10-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

I've run out of excuses for not updating my blog...so here I am...and I promised Nathan I would blog while he was gone for the next 4 days. I really don't even know where to start. But I guess I'll start with the Grand Canyon....we finally went for the first time after living in AZ our whole lives. It was awesome! I'm so glad we went!
This is a little hogan doorway...perfect for me...not so perfect for Nathan. (anyone ever noticed our 1 foot and 1 inch height difference? kinda hard to miss and it actually looks like a little more then that in this pic)
Okay...here's our crazy Asian experience! These people were OBSESSED with Kaylin!!! It was unbelievable! Seriously! They were taking pictures of her and talking to her (in Chinese...or whatever it was...we couldn't never figure it out) for about 45 min! And I'm not even exaggerating!
They kept finding us when we went to a new place and would want more pictures with her!
Then this guy wanted pictures with me! So if you find these pics any place other then my blog...PLEASE let me know!

Taylor trying a cold drink at Red Lobster on our way to the Grand Canyon.
She's so stinking cute!!!

See ya!!

2009-09-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

Well I do have lots to blog about but who knows when I'll have a chance to do it. But I have to blog and let you all know that we are leaving either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning to Louisiana! I really hope everything goes smoothly! Its been very stressful trying to get everything ready...Nathan didn't find out until yesterday that he could get time off to move this weekend! So annoying!! I am super excited but I will be very happy when this move is over!!

Taylor Anne's blessing!

2009-09-02T16:27:00.001-07:00

Nathan will be blessing Taylor next Sunday...September 6th. You're all welcome to come! Call me if you need the time and directions!

One, two, buckle....EVERYTHING!

2009-09-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

Kaylin has a new favorite pastime... ^Taylor's swing^

Have you guessed what it is yet? ^stroller^

^high chair^
She must buckle any buckle that can be buckled...and we've got lots of things that need buckled these days!

^car seat^
Cute? yes. Kind of annoying? yes.

Thunder theighs!

2009-09-02T16:08:00.001-07:00

Here's some chubby sweetness for your viewing pleasure!

WE GOT ORDERS!!!

2009-08-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

Ft. Polk, Louisiana here we come!!

North Carolina

2009-07-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

Well since we didn't get orders last week (surprise, surprise) I decided I needed to go see my hubby. Me and Taylor left Thursday (wish I could have taken Kaylin too...but I would have lost my mind trying to take 2 babies on an airplane by myself!!) We thought Nathan was just gonna have Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday off but he was able to get off Thursday night and didn't have to be back til Tuesday morning!! We are so blessed. The 1st Sergeant even gave Nathan a ride to the airport to pick up the rental car and I guess that is unheard of when your only an E2 like Nathan. It worked out so perfectly! We spent the first night at the E.R. due to some birth control issues (call me if you want details...not really appropriate for the blog! LOL). We got to the hotel at about 6:00 Friday morning and slept until like 12:30. Taylor was awesome!! She slept all night while we were at the hospital and all morning while we were catching up on our sleep! Friday we went shopping and just explored Raleigh. Not too exciting but it was just nice to be together! Saturday we went to the Beach!!! Don't let the pictures fool you...we were only there for about 20 min! Kinda hard when you have a baby who can't be out in the sun for too long! It was still nice to see the ocean and walk in the sand...and take some pictures!

Yes...Taylor is still a chub-a-lub! She's wearing 3-6 months...and she's only 2 months old!
Sunday we took a road trip to Ashville, NC...it was about 3 hours away. We went to the Biltmore...its the largest home in America! It was really cool!
Here were are driving around on the Biltmore roads....its on like 8,000 acres of land so there was a lot of driving around!
Taylor was SOOO sick of her carseat...so we took her out...don't worry, we were only going like 5-10 miles an hour!
This is what you saw when you first walked into the house! It was so cool!
Nathan took A TON of pictures of the house inside and got in trouble 3 times...one guy even called on him!! "There is a tall man with a hat who keeps taking pictures after I told him not to. His wife has a baby..." Nathan was talking to me while the guy was calling on him so I didn't hear it so I wouldn't worry. But he told me afterwards what happened...he's such a fart!
Here's the view of the front yard.
There was like 5 different gardens...we walked around like 2 before I decided we were done. It was SOOO hot and humid!!

Here's the road we were driving around on....so pretty!!
It was such a fun weekend! I hated having to say goodbye AGAIN!!!

Graco stroller??

2009-07-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

Anyone have a graco stroller I could borrow this weekend?? (thursday-monday)

Next weekend....

2009-07-17T14:20:00.000-07:00

Nathan MIGHT be able to come home next weekend....

after we MAYBE find out where we are going....

Cross your fingers for me!!!

Weight check again (for me this time)

2009-07-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back in the 120's!!!! YAY!! 4 more pounds til I'm at my pre-preg weight. 10 more for my goal weight!

Pilates and Tae Bo baby!!!

Can't wait to post before and after pics...I love those!

Here's proof!!

2009-07-13T16:42:00.001-07:00

Taylor can smile!! She's so stinking cute! And so stinking chubby!!

Playing Dress-up

2009-07-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

Kaylin's new favorite pass-time is Dress up! She is such a girl and I love it!!! Thanks Grandma Sherwood for all the dress up clothes!!
I kept saying "Smile Kaylin" and she just kept doing everything EXCEPT that!

Jeeperz

2009-07-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

We took Kaylin to Jeeperz a couple weeks ago. It was pretty fun. The AC was broken tho so we were only there for about an hour and a half! She LOVED the "choo choo" Thats all she wanted to ride on...I didn't get any pics of it tho...I know...I'm lame. But you can enjoy all the carasel pics that my mom took!

She went down this slide a bazillion times... And the last time was just as fun as the first!!

4th of July pics

2009-07-13T13:07:00.001-07:00

We went to Joe City for the 4th. It was a lot of fun! We watched the kids in the parade, then headed over to the park! They had all kinds of stuff there! Kaylin had a blast! She got to play all day with my cousin Brook's kids. (Love you guys!! Wish we lived closer!) We watched fireworks that night in Holdbrook...sorry no pics of that! They were really good tho!
Kaylin spent most of the morning in that little yellow pool in the background of this pic...I think at one point there were about 6 little kids squeezed in there! LOL! Shandi, your kids are so cute!

Church with 2 kids...

2009-07-08T20:14:00.000-07:00

...is interesting.

During Sunday School my dad was holding Taylor and she started to get the hiccups...really really loud hiccups. As soon as he got up to take her out (yes, they were loud enough to be disturbing the class) the nursery leader comes in with Kaylin because she pooped and Kaylin announces to the whole Sunday School class "MAMA POO POO!" I wasn't embarrassed of my kids but I was embarrassed that I could not stop laughing as I was trying to get my bag ready so I could go change Kaylin. Its the worst when you're trying to be quiet and you have the giggles!

UGH!!!

2009-07-02T14:40:00.001-07:00

Time to complain a little.

Nathan is going to the beach this weekend. I am happy that he gets to go do something fun...but why can't we have a holiday TOGETHER and have fun TOGETHER!!! I am sooo very very sick of all this. And its still going to be 4 more weeks before we even find out where we are going!! He's not even doing anything where he is. Its so dumb! Send him somewhere so he can actually do something! Send him somewhere so his wife will stop being so annoying and texting him 24/7! Send him somewhere so his wife won't get mad at him for not texting her back when she texts him 24/7! Send him somewhere so we can go to the beach together! Send him somewhere so we can be a freaking family again!!

Okay...complaint over.

Can I hear a HALLELUJAH!?!?

2009-06-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, Kaylin is eating Pizza...and she's not breaking out in hives!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!! She might have a normal life afterall! She still can't drink cow's milk and she still can't even look at peanut butter but I can deal with that!

Weight check...

2009-06-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

Taylor had her 1 month appointment this morning...

She is 11 lbs 7 ounces!! 90%!!! 22 inches long....75%!

I told you she loves to eat! Her growth chart is basically a straight vertical line!

Lets just hope my boobs will keep up with her!

1 month ago...

2009-06-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

I don't know why the first two pics uploaded so big...annoying. But anyway...Taylor is one month old today!! Holy cow! Seriously where does time go? She still is very easy going and so so sweet! She loves to eat and her weight gain proves it. She'll sleep for at least one 4 hour stretch at night and then 3 hour stretches after that. She just eats and falls right back to sleep. Can't complain! I'm really gonna miss her when I finally move her out of my (bed)room. Its nice to have some company on my lonely nights! She smiled at me today for the first time! I'll try to catch a picture of it! We love you Taylor!!!!

Bored, Babe?

2009-06-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

You'll need to click on the picture to see all of it...FYI

This is how bored Nathan was last week when he was on detail. Yep, that's our future house plans. He did put a lot of thought into these plans. First thing I asked him "Why is the kitchen all by itself in the back? I don't like that!" He said "Well you'll get so sick of picking up crumbs on the floor from the kitchen to the living room that you won't allow any food in there! And it will be inconvenient for me to get food to snack on while I watch t.v. so I won't get fat!" Nice thinking Babe! Kaylin and Taylor's rooms are right by the living room so they won't have any privacy. Awesome! We will have a storage room that you can enter from either the inside OR the outside. Pretty nifty! The laundry room was an obvious afterthought...its that tiny little area next to the kitchen...we'll have to do something about that. Oh, and the masterbath door is a "sliding one because there wasn't enough room for a normal door." Glad you thought that through!

Don't we all wish we had this much time on our hands??? Nathan hates it! But he'll be busy again soon enough.

Tomorrow...

2009-06-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

I'm going private tomorrow!!

You've been warned!!

Send me your email if you haven't already!

As of lately....

2009-06-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

This post will probably be all over the place so I'm apologizing for that right now. We took some family pictures (hence all the white shirts) and this ones probably my favorite (they didn't turn out too great). Nathan was sure he'd make it into an Abercrombie magazine. I have to agree! If you saw him with his shirt unbuttoned and his dog tags hanging around his neck you'd agree!
Here's Miss Cutie Kaylin! She's so fun right now...She has the cutest little personality. She got tubes put in her ears last Monday and its amazing how much better she's talking already. She loves to sing and dance. Her favorite songs right now are "Itsy Bitsy Spider" "Old McDonald" "Ring around the Rosie" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". I'll try to remember to record her and post it....it will make your day!
And Sweet little Taylor. She is such a good baby! The only time she ever fusses is if I take to long to pop a boob out. She takes her eating very seriouslly. She had her 2 week check up today and weighed 9 pounds already. I forgot how fast they grow at first! I really love her and the poopy messes I get to clean up daily!
Kaylin got jealous when I was takin pics of Taylor one morning...so we took one together.
I'm not gonna lie...I like crying baby pictures! It is cute...and you know it!
You can tell how hot it is getting by Kaylin's face in this picture.
Don't you just wanna squeeze the guts out of her!! I know I do! She really does love her baby. She always has to make sure we're bringing her baby when we go bye bye and she can't leave Taylor alone if I put her anywhere within her reach.

Nathan went back to Georgia last Thursday. He was here for 2 weeks and it was SOOO nice! He has one more jump to do before he can graduate Airborne school and he can't do that until next Monday...ya, everything's on the army's time. So this week he gets to do "detail" aka landscaping, janitorial work, errand boy...whatever they can think of to make him do. Not too fun. He'll be doing the same thing next week too after he does his jump until Friday when they will send him to North Carolina. I'll update again after that with whats gonna happen next because we really don't know yet!
I love you so much, Nathan!!! Can't wait to be with you again!

Its time.....

2009-06-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

....to go Private!!!

Email me if you still want to view our blog!!

samantha312@hotmail.com

The Birth of Taylor Ann!

2009-05-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well there's some more pictures for your viewing pleasure.

I'm writing this all out so I don't forget the details...don't bore yourself too much reading it!

Nathan surprised me Friday morning with a picture text of him in front of his truck (thats the first picture up there) outside the house. I had NO clue he was coming home! It was such an awesome surprise! I didn't know if I should be mad at him for lying to me or excited because he was home... So I just cried. I had a dr.'s appointment scheduled for 2:30 on Friday so Nathan went with me to that and we scheduled an inducing for me the next morning at 4:30. At about 12:30 Friday night I woke up with contractions. I laid there for a while thinking they would go away like they always did and THEY DIDN'T!! So I got in the bath to see if that would make them stop and they still didn't but they weren't very painful so I wasn't really sure. So at about 1:30 I try to go back to bed and they finally start hurting so off to the hospital we go. We get there at about 2:00 after we got a little lost...not a good idea when your in active labor!! We get to triage and I'm already 7 cm. Oh it was kinda funny cuz they called while I was changing and Nathan answered and they told him there were no beds so they couldn't induce me at 4:30....too bad...we're already here!! So they move me to a bigger area in triage since there were no beds in L&D. They finally come in to give me the epidural and poke me twice before they get it right...it felt like I was sitting there forever! That is the worst position to be in when your having contractions!! So I lay back down after they get the epidural in and I tell the nurse I need to push...so I do and there goes my water!! Then I push about 2 more times and Taylor Ann was here at 3:09! I felt every bit of it and it was an amazing experience! She cried for the first hour of her life and hasn't really cried since. She is such a good baby. We are so excited to have her in our family! Yes, even Kaylin is excited!

She's Here!!

2009-05-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

Taylor Ann was born on Saturday the 23rd at 3:09 a.m.

7 lbs. 13 ounces

20 1/2 inches long

I'll tell you the whole story later!

It's a hard knock life....

2009-05-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

Here's Nathan and a couple of his buddies from Jump School....
They went to Panama Beach, FL last weekend...
Must be rough huh?!?!?

He had to butter me up before he told me what he was going to be doing last weekend. It was pretty funny actually. I knew he really needed a break from all the Sergeants and yelling and immature guys so I was glad he was able to take a little trip. He said the beaches were so nice and the water was so clear! I was so jealous! He got super fried tho but that's what happens when you fall asleep on the beach for 2 hours!!

And here's me today...39 weeks pregnant. I've tried everything I can think of to get this baby out....guess she doesn't think its time yet. So I'll just keeping trying and waiting....I can't be pregnant forever, right?!?!

Yes I just posted 2 days ago (thanks Myke)...

2009-05-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

But I just want you all to know...

I'M SO SICK OF BEING PREGNANT!!!!!

GAAAAHHHH!!!!

Summer here we come....

2009-05-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

Just because its time for a little update...here's what we've been doing recently. Kaylin loves her little pool and the BIG pool which is a little scary but we've been having a lot of fun playing outside!

She's so cute!! She definatly keeps me on my toes! I'm so grateful to be her mom!

I had a doctor's appointment today and she checked my progress....
3 centimeters dilated and 60% effaced!! Better then nothing I guess...I hate this waiting game. I'm so ready to not be pregnant anymore!!

Hopefully my next post will be about Baby Taylor!!!

(sorry the pictures are huge...you can click on them to see them in their entirety)

Persistence pays...

2009-04-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer: This is NOT a post about tithing...)

If you know my husband at all you know he can be pretty persistent when he's trying to get something he wants.
Well while he was here we did (alot of) some shopping for him. He wanted a new backpack so we headed to REI...haven't heard of it? Well neither had I until he told me that's where we were going. Its like an outdoorsy type store. We got there and he picked out the backpack he wanted so we headed to the counter to pay for it....

Attempt #1 for a discount "So this is 50% off right?"....nope
Attempt #2.... "So I get a discount for being in the military right?"....No but you can sign up for an REI card and get 15% back at the end of the year...okay sounds good
Attempt #3....pull the I have a cute pregnant wife card....definatly a no
Attempt #4, 5, 6.....all a blur mixed into the very short conversation with the sales girl.

So I continue to pay for the backpack not paying any attention at all to the price and say Thanks and Goodbye, having been embarrassed one more time by my obnoxious husband. On the way to the car Nathan says "Did you see how much it was?"
"No I wasn't paying attention."
"So you just throw our money around like its nothing huh?"

Well we get to the car and Nathan makes me look at the receipt to see how much we paid...
Right there on the receipt it said "10% line disc." What is a "line discount"? We don't know and we don't care.

Nathan got us a 10% discount on a $160.00 backpack

because he's annoying.

Love you Babe!!!

Now onto the next phase....

2009-04-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple pics of Nathan and Kaylin spending some quality time together...AT HOME!!!
We weren't expecting Nathan to be able to come home. The plan was for me to stay in Georgia until Monday when we thought he had to be back for Airborne training. Well the day of graduation they inform Nathan he doesn't have to be back at the base until Wednesday! So of course we immediately find somewhere with internet access so we could find him some airplane tickets! $800 later he was home with us! (He even got on our same flight home which was awesome!) Oh and I didn't get to use the $220 ticket I purchased for Monday when I found out he had the weekend off...which we didn't find out until like 2 weeks before graduation....gotta love the army!!! Anyway...money issues aside...Nathan was here from late Friday night til late Tuesday night. It was so nice! I really cannot wait til we get to be together as a family again...this whole thing sucks!

So as of right now Nathan is in "airborne holdover". He's still at Ft. Benning just waiting to start Airborne school next Thursday....Hopefully. Airborne school is 3 weeks long and if I go into labor at anytime I can call and they will send him home for 10 days. After he's done with Airborne they will be sending him to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina where he will be training for the Special Forces. He was 1 of 4 guys chosen out of about 300 guys to go try for Special Forces! It really is an honor! And shows what a great job he did during Basic. The first month is kind of the "try it out and see month" where he can say nevermind or they can say he isn't fit for this. If he makes it through the first month then he'll go through selections (where they choose guys out of the few that made it through the first month). If he makes selections he'll be in Special Forces (Green Baret) training for about a year and a half. We're hoping that after selections I'll be able to go live with him while he trains. If he doesn't make it through selections then we'll be stationed somewhere.

Whew...hope you made it through all that! And I hope you understood it all!

Graduation Day! April 17th!

2009-04-22T11:14:00.001-07:00

The graduation was such a great experience! I can't believe it already came and went.
Here's the 2 platoons all lined up....they had to stand like this forever!!! It was crazy! Nathan's in the left group. He was in the front row too which was nice cuz we could see him the whole time. They line them up tallest in front to shortest in back...weird huh?? I'm not complaining tho since Nathan is 6'4!
Here he is...3rd one from the left. I just LOVE how he looks in his uniform!! I can't get over it!

Here they are walking around the field...they did this at the very end...the only time they got to move the ENTIRE time!!
Nathan's in the middle if you couldn't tell. :)
We got to go down to the field and meet up with him after the graduation was over. He DID IT!!! He said it was easy but I know he went through a lot to get to this point and I am SOOO PROUD!!! Wish you all could have been there!

Turning Blue Ceremony

2009-04-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics from Nathan's "Turning Blue Ceremony". It's when they officially become infantrymen. This was the day before he graduated. It was pretty cool! I got to put the blue cord on his shoulder (which you can't see in any of the pics...sorry). Isn't he SOOO handsome!?!?!
First time in 15 weeks we were together as a family!!! (I HATE being separated like this!!) And yes, I'm VERY pregnant. 35 weeks in this pic....cut off day for flying is 36 weeks so I BARELY was able to go!
Hope you can see Nathan in this pic...this is when they first walked onto field. (He's in the second group on the far left)
OH MAN!! Just look at him!! I am so proud of my husband! He's doing an amazing job! (3rd from the left in the back)