Baby Name

I am sorry to admit that we are not really naming our baby ClaraBelle. We will be saving that name for when we decide to purchase ourselves a fat cow. So now you are all dying to know what FABULOUS name we have picked out for our baby.... so are we!! But it seems that we are unable to agree & settle upon a name for this little babe. We have a short list & have even tried to get Hannah to help make the decision, but rather than choose one of the suggested names, she throws out names like ClaraBelle.

So for now we lovingly refer to her as Thing 3... as we tend to refer to the other things as Thing 1 & Thing 2, but I am starting to think we should call her Sweet Thing. Looks like we will be naming her in the hospital, I suggested letting my Dr. pick the name & Jeff suggested drawing a name out of a hat. The only thing I'm sure about it the fact that my mom will most likely NOT like whatever name we decide on... but that is okay with me, she'll get used to it... that small crowd that didn't like Milo got used to it.

Baby ClaraBelle

I had another ultrasound to check the baby & a few things that were of concern at the previous ultrasound. It was quite fun to get a sneak peek of her at 32 weeks... It did feel like I was cheating, getting to see her so developed. Everything looks great & it got me very excited to meet this little girl in couple of months.

A Little T&A Surgery...

No, not that... (Get your mind out of the gutter, mom) tonsils & adenoids. Hannah just loves a little medical attention while I'm in my 3rd trimester, & who am I to stop her. Hannah & I just got back from her consultation with an ENT & just as I thought, he recommends having her tonsils & adenoids removed. She will have the surgery in mid-June, but the recovery isn't nearly as long as it was for Jeff & I when we had ours out 6 years ago.

Babysitting Swap

When we moved to this lovely place nearly 4 years ago we learned that there was a group of 3 families that had a babysitting swap going on. They had a set day & time each week.... Saturday from 5-8 (I'm not positive on that time, but you get the idea.) Each family took a turn each month. So you babysat all the kids for one evening & in turn you got 2 Saturday nights out-kid free-for free! I LOVED the idea! This group didn't need anyone else, the had learned that 3 families was perfect, because there was always 4 Saturdays, (sometimes 5) in a month, so this allowed for a little swapping things around due to schedules/holidays/etc. I began asking around, & at the time I just had a very young Hannah & everyone I found who was interested had 3 kids. They didn't feel it a fair switch for me.... and to be honest I was a little scared being a mom of one, having to watch a total of 7 children! YIKES!! Even if I did have help from Jeff.

Well 4 years have passed, I now have 2.. almost 3 & I am still loving the idea. There are so many of my fellow Oklahoma friends that don't have the budget to get a sitter & go out regularly & so it is those of you I am talking to. Anyone interested? Anyone want to give it a trial run? It seems like a good time of year, the weather is warming up & kids can play outside, so there can be a little less damage on the inside of your house. Just think... 3 hours of CHAOS for 6 hours of date night. (We could adjust the time to what works best for people.)
Let me know!

Morning of Testing...

Don't be fooled by these faces... they aren't as innocent as they appear!

My little people spent the morning testing their mom... testing to see if they could still push her buttons, & just how far. Testing to see if they could be destructive & if I would allow it. Testing to see what level my patience was at & where the breaking point was located today. I'm not sure how they felt about the results... there were time outs (multiple) there were quiet times in their room, (one of which was when I decided to take a quick shower.) But I personally think I passed the tests today... no, there wasn't much patience to test or push by 11:30, but we are all alive & still managing smiles. (I'm smiling now because they are napping... hehe.) The good thing is I've already decided that the afternoon shift is going to be better than the morning.

Perhaps I should do some testing on them...

Cinco de Mayo

Last year I read so many fun posts about fun Cinco de Mayo festivities, that I decided I wanted to start some fun traditions... it will take a few years for me to agree on a set tradition, but luckily my kids are young. This year we made a pinata in the afternoon, & after enjoying a yummy dinner of steak tacos we busted into our homemade pinata.

The kids loved the pinata, but not so much the insides. Jeff thinks it's because they helped fill it, but I think they just enjoyed beating the thing with a bat.

The one thing I did wrong was underestimate Hannah's batting skills. I opted to hang the pinata from a wire hanger that Jeff could just hold out while the kids took a few swings. (I thought I taped it lightly, but come to find out I should have taped it even lighter.)

Do you do something for Cinco de Mayo? I'm up for more ideas.

A Public Thank You!

**Warning: I know people hate posts that talk about how great a husband is, unless is Father's day, I'm one of those people... but this is deserved, so skip it if you must.**

Dear Mr. Taylor,

I wanted to publicly thank you for the last few weeks. Yes, you are always a great help with the kids... but with the events of the last few weeks you have been FABULOUS!!

Thank you for a great birthday! The stuffed french toast breakfast was delicious & is a new favorite of mine. The cake was divine & I'm glad that you invited friends to come over & indulge with us.

Thank you for letting me take my 4 day trip to SLC alone, & while I was having a delightfully selfish weekend you complete with sleeping in, lots of mexican food & a spa day...
You were home playing Mr. Mom! Entertaining the kids for that long without a break is exhausting, I know, but you did it!!

Thank you for supporting me once again this last weekend as I prepared & enjoyed another Saturday evening Culinary Group dinner. It is a lot of work to be in charge of those dinners, & that means lots of single dad time for you... Yes, I know it was over 24 hours. Yes, I realize you have very short notice, & this was the 3rd weekend of you being super dad. You not only did it for me, but you held your tongue... something I'm sure I wouldn't have done.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

I appreciate your willingness to help me, & I love that our kids are going to have a great bond with their dad because you do so much to help make my job easier.

Love Ya!

P.S. I promise that it won't always be like the last 3 weekends...
well except for this one, since it's Mother's Day... hehe.

Easter

(This is a picture from a couple weeks ago.)

I must admit just how pathetic I am... no pictures of Easter, none from Saturday morning while we colored Easter eggs. How sad is that?!? Well don't judge me too quickly, I have some excuses.

Jeff went camping with some friends of his Friday afternoon & returned Saturday afternoon. So I was alone with the kids during the whole egg coloring ordeal. (Note to self: Wait until Jeff is around to help, if possible.) Living through it without ruining anything in the process was my goal. So walking away to get the camera, or to bring the camera to the dye filled party wasn't really a thought. But we did have fun, Hannah loved it & only managed to break 3 eggs, 2 of which were while she was loving them too much. (She treats everything like it's her baby, & the eggs were no different.)

Sunday we got up & had a little egg hunt inside, due to the rain outside. Then of course we all ate too much candy, and as for the lack of pictures on Sunday... I was going to get some of the kids dressed for church, but they both were sick & stayed home with Jeff. Is that a good enough excuse? Not really, I know. Due to the snotty noses & coughing we weren't going to join our friends for Easter dinner, but we were told to come anyway. So after debating we opted to go for dinner, after telling Hannah she wasn't allowed to cough while there, & giving Milo some medicine to try & dry out his snotty snout. We enjoyed way too much food with good friends, & no cameras.. Sorry!

Milo Update

I took Milo in for an 18 month check up last week & he was 24.8 lbs... I didn't catch his length, since I had to pin him down to get the measurement & I forgot to ask. I have tried hard to not compare him to Hannah at that age, because she was advanced in her speech at his age. I had decided that he was fine, because he understands what we say to him, but still questioned the doctor what is normal for his age. She asked how many words he says & I told her about a dozen. She said that an 18 month old should know about 7 words.

He has really taken to signing the last few months & that really helped us get beyond our communication barrier. His signs include:More, Please, Dog, Bird, Cat, Dad, Bath, Water, Milk, Juice, Eat, Hot, Thank You, Baby. Some of the words he knows are: Dog, woof, Dad, Momma, bird, tweet-tweet, balloon (this is our favorite, we ask him to say it over & over every day), juice, ball, bye-bye, hot, shoes, more (mo), please (Pease), side I know there are more than that, but I am drawing a blank right now.... and in the last week since his appointment he has started saying: star, Milo, hello, poop. (These lists were more for my record... sorry.)


(Sorry I didn't cut this down, I just didn't feel up to it, so you'll have to hear the whole family.)

It is amazing to watch him learn daily, if not hourly, & I love it!!

**I have so much more to blog about & update, if nothing more than for my own info & to look back on. The thought crosses my mind & I feel guilt... that is a good sign right? So hopefully I'll actually get around to it.**

Walking Disaster - Clarification

You can read the clarification here.