Happy Halloween!

Taylor's first Halloween was so much fun! She was dressed as a butterfly (thanks Lydia!) and looked ADORABLE! We went trick or treating and saw lots of our neighborhood friends! Taylor seemed very confused, but was happy to wave to everyone that she saw!

Mommy, would you like some candy? Close-up

Not in the mood to pose for mommy!
Saying hi to our friend Gillian!
Visiting with Roman and Maya!

11 Months Old!

Taylor Grace is 11 months old today! Time is flying by - I can't believe we are approaching her first birthday already! She has recently learned how to stick her tongue out when you do it to her, which is super cute so I'm going to let her do it for a little while longer!! She is fully eating table food now, which she LOVES. She has 8 teeth total, so she can chew pretty well now.

She has become very vocal about what she does and does not want to do (like when she wants to play with the garbage can and mommy and daddy say no!). She loves to hand things to you and waits for you to say "thank you" before taking it back! She also likes to take things out of buckets and put them back in.

We think that she might be on the verge of adding a few words to her vocabulary. As of today, she can say mama, dada, hi, and "deep deep deep", which are the last three words of her favorite book. She repeats them every night after I finish the story! We think that she might be saying "car", too, because she loves to watch the cars drive by from our kitchen door. She is going to miss the view when they build a house back there soon!

We spent the day today at Rock and Read, a literacy program put on by Minooka High School's NHS. High school students dressed up and read stories to kids, and there were crafts and snacks for the kids to enjoy as well. We went with our friends Madison and Bre! It was a really fun community event, although I think Taylor might get more out of it next year! She loved listening to the stories for about 2 pages, and then wanted to grab them. She also loved digging through the candy buckets, playing with balloons, pushing the stroller around, and looking at passing cars though the big cafeteria windows. It definitely was a fun way to spend the day!

Reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Clearly more interested in the bucket of candy!YUM! She kept taking them out and putting them back... at least she was tidy!Listening to The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything (mommy's favorite Halloween book)Hey, this reading thing isn't so hard!

Mom, have you SEEN how cool this is?!?

Pumpkin Patch #2!

Taylor got to experience her second pumpkin patch last weekend! Sam, Taylor, Grandma Pavelka, and I went to Dollinger Pumpkin Farm. It was a beautiful fall day, and Taylor had a great time! She loved playing in the pumpkins, and observing some of the goats at the petting zoo. She did NOT, however, enjoy the cows! She also got to meet Abraham Lincoln and General Custer as they prepared for Minooka's own Civil War reenactment. Taylor picked out a pumpkin with a ridiculously long stem. Afterward, we ate lunch at a great sub shop in Morris, where Taylor dined on her first kids' meal item- cheese raviolis.

We have thoroughly enjoyed all of these fun fall activities with our little girl!

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

Taylor and I visited the pumpkin patch today! We spent the day there with our friends Quinn, Colleen, Andy, Ali, and Michael. We went to Spiegel's Cottonwood Farm in Lockport. It was a beautiful sunny day, albeit slightly warmer than we would have liked! Taylor really enjoyed playing with the pumpkins, riding the train, watching the animals, and walking around the grounds. She also enjoyed picking up rocks from the ground and trying to eat them, despite mommy's protest! Here are some pictures from our fun day out!

Wandering around the pumpkins!

Sitting with my pal Quinn

Walking with Ali

Watching the goats!A little frightened on the train ride!Hugs from Colleen!

10 Months Old!

I love being outside!

I figured out how to open drawers!

Waking up with my BFF Polly!

My first time eating table food. On the menu: whole wheat spaghetti & sauce, turkey meatball, mozzarella cheese, green beans.
Check out my mess!!

Eating apple pieces... or gathering them on my bib for later!

Mommy wanted to get a good picture of us... but the ottoman looked really tasty!

I am trying to get the hang of spoon-feeding myself!

Watching daddy mow the lawn is so much fun!

Time is flying by! We are back in the swing of things at school, the fall season (and weather!) is finally here, and our little munchkin has become a girl on the go! She turned 10 months old on September 24th and, even though the last month has gone by fast, she has reached some tremendous new milestones! She is now super confident with her walking - she will let go of anything and walk wherever she wants! When she falls, she catches herself (most of the time!) and uses her hands to soften the blow, so she usually avoids bumps and bruises. She has learned to say "mama" and "dada" with meaning, and can wave hello and goodbye. She attempts to say "hi" while she's waving, but it just comes out as a scream with the "h" sound in the beginning of it!

She babbles like nobody's business - she is going to be a talker! She talks all day long in what seems to be her own language, but her facial expressions indicate that she is really telling you something important! She started eating table food with her hands, and can give herself her bottle, although she needs help with the last bit of it. She is still in love with her doll, Polly - she lays down and snuggles up with her at night, and that's usually how she will stay throughout the night.

She has three more teeth coming in, but has been doing surprisingly well with the discomfort. She is still sleeping completely through the night (7:00pm-6:30am) and only has small cranky moments where she'll try to bite things or put her fingers in her mouth. I think she is getting used to the discomfort though.

She loves reading, and will turn the pages for us now. She also loves taking the book and putting it on top of her head, like a hat - I don't know where she got this from, but she will do it with every new page! Maybe she is learning to read by osmosis!

I would make an updated list of Taylor's likes and dislikes, but it would look something like this: Likes - EVERYTHING, Dislikes - Being tired. She is really such a good girl and we are really blessed that she is so happy and easy-going!

9 Months Old!

We took Taylor to get her 9 month pictures recently. Here are some of our favorites!












Wow, it has been a busy month! Taylor turned 9 months old on August 24th, the day after mommy started work again! She has been thoroughly enjoying daycare. Ms. Karen & Ms. Ashley always have great reports about her behavior, napping, eating ,and playing throughout the day. She has even made a new friend, Isabella, who is about 2 months older than her.

We took Taylor to her 9 month checkup today, and here are her stats:

Height: 28.8 inches (81%ile)
Weight: 21 lbs 3 oz. (82%ile)
Head Circumference: 44.8 cm (68%ile)

She did great at the doctor today, although I have to share this funny story. As the doctor was taking off her diaper, she peed all over the table. We cleaned her up, and the doctor left the room to go get a diaper. When she came back, we looked at her and she was sitting in a puddle - she had peed AGAIN! Needless to say, we gave her a nice long bath when we got home!!

She has been such a joy lately. We can't wait to get home to see her every day. She has begun saying "mama" with meaning, and can pull herself up in her crib and jump around. She still loves to walk, but has figured out that crawling is much faster and she can do it by herself, so that has been her preferred means of getting around lately. Our home is about 50% babyproofed - it's quite a process! One of our favorite parts of the day is getting her pajamas on after her bath. She rolls around, shrieking with joy, on our bed for as long as we'll let her. Then, she plays a little game: we hold up her pajamas, and she buries her head in the bed and sticks her butt up in the air. She always picks her head up and smiles at us, like she is teasing us! We repeat over and over and over!

Here is an update of her likes & dislikes.

Taylor likes...
Playing with EVERYTHING (paper, crumbs, chairs, remotes, etc.), her dolly, standing in her crib, saying "mama", being tickled (her left armpit is her most ticklish spot!), her puffs, crawling, chewing on things (even our new leather ottoman...), her new daycare friends, getting her picture taken, dancing (especially to the Leapfrog table ABC song!), cuddling with mommy and daddy, and exploring.

Taylor dislikes...
Getting her diaper changed, actually having to put her pajamas on after bath, loud noises, when mommy sneezes (she looks at me like I've just insulted her!), when mommy leaves the room for any reason, teething, having a cold (she has one right now), green beans, and most of all - being tired!