19 months and counting

Hello, everyone. Taylor stayed with Pop and Grin a few weeks ago for an entire week. She had a blast. Clay and I also had a blast doing absolutely nothing. We were kid free for a week and all we did was work and hang out at the house. I was nice not to have to get up and get Taylor ready in the mornings and not to have to worry about her at night too. Although we thoroughly enjoyed the time away from her we missed her very much. I was so happy when she got back. I was ready to get back into the swing of things. Pop and Grin stayed for the weekend and we had a great Fathers Day with them here. We did the balloon festival and Taylor got to go the beach with Pop and Grin while Clay and I hosted a baby shower. It was a crazy weekend. To end the weekend Grin took us to Ihop for Fathers Day breakfast which was fabulous. Taylor loved it and ate so much. Then Taylor and I went shopping for a little while and got some great gifts. I believe Taylor showed off some of her shoes that weekend too.

I hope you all had a great long 4th of July weekend. I know we did. Saturday we went swimming, Sunday we went out on a boat, Taylor did not because honestly I was just a little nervous about that. She stayed with Papa and Honey. Monday we put a boston butt on the grill, along with some bacon wrapped hot dogs. Yummy!! Monday night we got to watch fireworks from our backyard. Taylor didn't see the fireworks because she was already asleep. She was exhausted from a long, fun weekend.

I look at Taylor now and think she no longer looks like a baby anymore, she is growing up and looks like a little girl. Its so amazing how fast she has grown up. We were looking at pictures the other day of her in the hospital. We were telling stories of Clay changing his first diaper. The memories are so great. Taylor is such a big girl and is learning new things everyday. We are working on learning the alphabet and numbers 1 to 10. She knows lots of songs and loves to do the motions to the Itsy bitsy spider, wheels on the bus, the monkey and alligator song, row your boat, if your happy and you know it, and lots more. Taylor also still loves her books. Most nights she wants to sleep with a book. In the mornings she will wake up, sit in her bed and read the book she slept with. It's adorable. Taylor also loves shoes. Her favorite pair right now are a pink pearl color with a bow on them that Grin bought her. They are church shoes but she will wear them all day around the house. Well, all day until she finds another pair to strut around in. Yes, Taylor struts her stuff.

We have gone swimming a lot this summer. Taylor absolutely loves the water. She will put her face in it, she will jump off the side of the pool to you, and she is learning to kick. I actually took her swimming this morning and she floated on her back. She had a floaty on but that was awesome for her because she does not like to lay on her back in the bath tub much less the pool. I was so proud of her. We have also been to the beach a few times. Taylor has such a great time in the water. She is not to fond of the sand but after some time she will start playing in it. She just doesn't like the sand sticking to her. It's actually kinda funny.

So, I started this blog last week and never had a chance to finish it until now. Anyway, this weekend was just as much fun as last weekend. It was a weekend of family time. Friday night we all went to bed pretty early. All three of us were exhausted from a long week of working hard. I am teaching pre-k right now and love it but its just as exhausting as being with 5 to 6 toddlers all day. Taylor has a new teacher at school and it was the best thing for her. It's still hard sometimes(if she sees me she is really wanting me) but she is slowly getting adjusted. The other day she came up to me and instead of crying and wanting me to hold her she just looked me up and down and said she was going outside, bye mommy. It was a good feeling. She also likes her new teacher very much. Oh, back to the weekend. Saturday we got up, made breakfast, played inside for a little while then went to Fairhope to see Mama June and Pop pop. We also stopped to see Bob and Mary and their new baby boy Sam(Tay says Sm). When I held Sam I think Taylor was a little jealous. Bob just took her outside to see their dog Mac. Outside will fix anything for Tay. After Bob and Mary's we went to the pool in Fairhope. Taylor loves this pool but the baby pool part was closed so we did not stay very long because the big pool was very crowded. Today we went to church, had some lunch and later we are going swimming again.

Taylor has definitely grown up so fast. To think she is almost 2 blows my mind. I also keep thinking I have got to start potty training. I am not looking forward to it. So if you have and tips please let me know because I don't know where to start. She does sit on the potty right now but nothing has happened. I am thinking about as a reward giving her an m&m or sticker or something along those lines. Its going to be tough especially since she is not in a class in which they go to the potty. When we start I will let you all know and I'll let you know how her progress is. This should be very interesting.

I hope you all enjoy the pictures.

Ashley