Weekly Report

It was a busy week for me as usual. I did the standard daycare routine Monday to Wednesday. But my daycare family left for a vacation on Thursday so I got a four-day weekend. Mommy stayed home with me Thursday and took me to Daddy's office for a visit. As usual, all the people there loved me.



On Friday Daddy stayed home with me and took me to Mommy's school to visit. I haven't been there for a visit since I was a little teeny tiny baby. Daddy ate lunch with Mommy and her work friends while I ate/explored the classroom. Right before I had to leave, Mommy's afternoon class came to school. Get this! It's ALL boys, NO girls! I thought they needed a little bit of chick in the mix so I joined them at circle time. Good thing I go to daycare and know how to do this type of thing...



We had some freaky weather this weekend. It snowed! Now I know, I know, we live in Minnesota and these kinds of things happen, but really? On April 26th? Not necessary.

While I was cooped up in the house, I decided to do an impression of Mommy so I put on her Crocs (all by myself!) and grabbed a bottle of her favorite stuff, Diet Mountain Dew. (Don't worry, I didn't drink any of it.)

After the snow melted Saturday, we all went back up to Great Aunt Deb and Great Uncle John's house for cousin Derek's confirmation party. Great Grandpa Larry let me drink some of his iced tea. I really wanted to get in there and get the lemon out but I didn't have any luck.

I got to play with my cousins Lindsey and Haley. Mom tried to get a good picture of us three pretty girls but I was having a little trouble sitting still and it didn't happen. I wonder if it was the iced tea...

Daddy's coworker, Lisa, gave me this next ensemble when I was born. I tried it on today, but I didn't get to wear it long. Mom and Dad said I'll have to go visit Nick and Lacy or Greg and Dre or John and Deb if I want to keep it on for any length of time.

I decided to behave like a true Wisonsinite as long as I was wearing their colors...

In parting, I'd like to update you on how smart I'm getting.

Taylor's List of Smarts...

1. I can put two words together! I say "Hi Dad!" when Daddy comes home from work.

2. I run away from Mom and Dad when they need to change my diaper.

3. I run away from Mom when I have her hairbrush and she wants it.

4. I know how to turn the burners on the stove up and down. (But the knobs mysteriously disappeared after I did this the first time)

5. I bring things to Mom and Dad when they ask me to.

6. I sit down in the bathtub when Mom says "Please sit down".

7. I crouch in front of the smaller babies at ECFE and talk to them.

8. I brush my hair with a hairbrush. And a toothbrush.

9. I know how to put on shoes as long as their at least seven sizes too big for me.

10. I almost know how to use a fork and spoon.

Well everybody I better go get some rest so I can keep getting smart.

Love and hugs!

Tay

Busy Busy Busy!

I've been very busy this week what with turning one and all...

On the night of my birthday, Mom and Dad took me out to DiGidio's. It's an Italian restaurant on West 7th Street in St. Paul. But see, we got there, and Mom started pulling food for me out of the lunch bag. Really? You're going to take me out to dinner on my birthday and make me eat the same old same old? Well, I showed them. When Dad wasn't looking I reached over and grabbed his garlic toast. Cha-ching! That stuff was grubbin.

I fit into clothes I have no business fitting into. Like this ubercute poofy vest from Aunt Jenni and her family. It's size 2T. Doh! I'm so big!

Friday night we went out to dinner with The Behnken Clan for Dad's birthday. But the lighting was bad and Mom didn't get any pictures for me to post. I will tell you the funniest part of the night was when I was all done with my green beans and dumped the rest in Mom's lap. Funny stuff people, funny stuff.

Saturday we went to have family pictures taken. Being the photogenic family that we are, I'm sure they'll turn out great.

After pictures, we went over to Great Uncle John and Great Aunt Deb's house. Dad bought his cousin Derek's old amp to go with his new guitar. Oh yeah, that. By the way, my dad has a guitar now! You may remember me mentioning that Mom was going to get it for him for his birthday. Well he did and it's a really pretty, shiny red electric guitar. With Daddy and Great Uncle Lars on guitars and me on percussion with my Bee Bop Band, we plan to take our show on the road.

It was a great visit, anyways, and I had lots of fun playing with Great Aunt Deb.

Oh my oh my oh my. Why do I do these things to myself?!?! Mom made me macaroni and cheese for dinner last night. I also scored some black beans. I was really into my dinner, let me tell you. Thank goodness it was bath night!

Here's the problems. 1. I like to comb my hair with my fork. 2. I like to dump the bowl upside down when I'm satiated with each food. It's messy, what else can I say? Also, no more formula! I used up the last of that last night and it's all cow for me from here on out. It's going alright I guess. But I don't so much like drinking cold milk. Must be 'cuz I've had warm milk all my life. Mommy tried to give me a cold bottle before bed tonight. I talked her into warming it up for me. That went much better.

What a glorious day today was!! It was so nice that Mom rigged up a seat for me to eat on the patio. And check out my sippy cup in the lower left corner. No, it's not suspended in midair. Mom got me a fancy doohickey called a No Throw. She saw it months ago in a magazine but forgot what it was called recently when it became apparent I should have one. Lucky her, she ran across it today when she was at Walgreen's picking up my prescription.

Oh geez, there's another story I've got to tell you. I've been coughing and wheezing for a few days now so Mom and Dad and I took our first trip to Urgent Care this morning. The doctor said I was REALLY congested and prescribed some medicine to try to help my with my breathing. Mom and Dad think it's kinda working. Hopefully I'll get better soon. Mom says it makes her chest hurt to hear me breathing like this.

LOOK AT ME! I'm front-facing! Mom tried to fight it since it's better for me to be rear-facing if we ever get in an accident. But my legs are getting so long it just had to happen. So here I am, like a big girl. I got to ride like this up to Grandma Jan and Grandpa Bob's house. It was cool to see the things coming instead of going.

Tonight I learned about softball. I think I'd like to try it out when I get a little older. (You might notice a cut by my right eye. That would be from when I tipped over in the folding lawn chair that Mom put me in when she probably shouldn't have because I really wasn't big enough for it. Oops.)

I even helped Grandma pitch to my cousins.

Well y'all, that's my story for the week. It's time I get to gettin' now. I'll catch ya on the flip side.

Peace out,

T-Money

Happy Birthday to Me!

Holy schnikees. I will be one whole year old when I wake up in the morning. If I wake up before 6:00 AM I won't technically be one. But since I'm nice to my parents and sleep until 7:00 most of the time, this shouldn't be a problem.

To honor this very special occasion, I thought you might enjoy a step back in time to my first days...

Dr. Cady and Nurse Mary helped Mommy and Daddy deliver me. They were fantastic!

Mom is so silly! She pulled my pants all the way up to my armpits. I guess they were kinda big on me.

Here's me and Dad. We were both exhausted! It was quite a busy weekend for my family. See, my Great Grandma died just three days before I was born so there was lots for Dad to do besides just taking care of me and Mom. If you ask my mom, she'll tell you Grandma Gert (and maybe even Grandma Fern and Grandma Lil) had something to do with the fact I decided to be born when all of my family happened to be in town.

I had so many nice places to relax when I was a tiny baby. This one is my papasan.

Here is an early family photo of us. Mom wasn't having the best hair days back then, but that'll happen when you're up most of the night. And the day.

Sometimes I did sleep. And man did I look beautiful and peaceful when I did it!

Look at how little I was! I take up way more of that chair now!!

It looks like these stuffed animals could eat me! Don't worry, I can hold my own against them these days.

Well, I hope you liked that stroll down memory lane. If you'd like to see more of the older pictures of me, visit my flickr site.

Happy birthday to me!

Tay

Spring is Really Really Here!

When I got home from daycare today, Mom took me outside to play. It was great to be out in the fresh air. It turns out we have grass here, like in California. Only ours must be a different breed because it's much longer, more brown than green, and is laying down flat on it's side. Maybe I can get in touch with the person that cuts Quinn's hair and see if they can help my grass out.

Mommy took some cool pictures of me while we were playing and I thought I'd give you a bonus post and share them.

I hope everybody took the time to step outside and enjoy a little bit of the beautiful weather.

Until next time...

Taylor

Whirlwind Weekend

What a weekend I had. Let me tell you about it...

Thursday night my Grandma Trish, Grandpa Steve, Aunt Steph and Uncle Klayton got to town. It was a low-key night of pizza for the adults and lots of playtime for me. Friday Mom and Dad had to go to work so I hung out with everybody else. Uncle Neil and Aunt Katie got here on a plane that brought them from Texas and we all went to lunch with Great Grandpa Larry.

Here is a picture of me playing with Aunt Steph during some of our down time Friday.

Friday night I had another sleepover at Grandma Jan and Grandpa Bob's while the aforementioned "everybody else" went to O'Gara's in St. Paul for Daddy's 30th birthday party. They tell me it was a great time. They were all really quiet the next day. They were really tired and Dad and Uncle Neil kept taking medicine for headaches.

Saturday was the really busy day. In the morning we had a birthday party for me. It was fantastic!! I especially loved the part where they sang the happy birthday song to me. But they very goodest bestest part was when Mommy gave me a cupcake. Not even just a little bit of hers-she gave me the WHOLE thing! I didn't mess around-I ate it all before anyone could take it away from me.

Here I am welcoming my guests...

And here I am playing ball with my cousin Jackson.

I gave Jackson lots of hugs at my birthday party. Did you know he came here from Texas, just like Aunt Katie and Uncle Neil. He came with his mom and dad. His dad is my dad's cousin, so really, that's makes us something like third cousins, but you know how the logistics of a large family tree make my head spin, so let's just leave it at cousin.

Mom helped me open my cards and gifts. People were so generous! Thanks everybody for the great gifts!

Dad pulled double duty and loaded both Jackson and me onto his lap.

Blue-Eyed Girls, me and Aunt Katie. I bet my cousin that's hanging out in her belly will have beautiful blue eyes just like us.

Grandma Trish got Mom and me some turtles to put in our garden this summer. If you're wondering why a baby would get turtles it's because I really liked the turtles in California and Mom really likes her garden. Get it?

{drumroll...} Here are the pictures of me and that glorious cupcake. I salivate to think of the delicacy. I can't wait until Thursday, my REAL birthday, when I get to bring cupcakes to daycare and do it all over again!!

Next us girls loaded up the car and headed over to Great Aunt Kris' house to have a baby shower for Aunt Katie. She got lots of presents to use on my new cousin that's coming in August. I'm so excited to meet her! I tried to talk to her this weekend...I sure hope she heard all the important things I was telling her. Mostly I was telling her about our supercool grandparents.

Aunt Katie got some great gifts at the shower. A lot of the stuff looked vaguely familiar to me.

Mom had Grandma Jan make a baby wrap for Katie. Mommy decided she should show Katie how to use it. It's been at least seven months since Mommy has put me in our baby wrap like this so she had a little trouble remembering what to do and didn't quite get it tight enough. Hopefully Aunt Katie has better luck when she uses it. Maybe Aunt Katie's sister can help her out. She's a mommy too and sometimes mommies just know these things.

Since I was too big for the demonstration, Jackson volunteered.

After that party the whole clan headed over to Great Aunt Sue and Great Uncle Lars' house for another shindig. I got to stay up late and audition for the band Daddy and Lars are starting when Daddy gets the guitar that Mommy is going to get him as a birthday present. I'm going to be the drummer because Mommy and Daddy got me the Parents Magazine Bee Bop Band.

Sunday was a little less busy. Uncle Klayton and Aunt Steph left really early to drive back to Omaha. Grandma, Mom and I took Aunt Katie and Uncle Neil to the airport so the airplane could take them back to Texas. I was sad to say goodbye to them. I've only gotten to see them three times. 1. When I was born. 2. At Steph and Klayton's wedding. 3. This weekend. I know I'm going to see them again in December when I go visit for Christmas and to meet my new cousin, but I don't know if I can wait that long.

Mom and I hung at home all day while Dad worked a trade show, Grandpa did church and visited the trade show (Dad and Grandpa both work in The Business) and Grandma and Grandpa went to an anniversary party for some friends of theirs.

Sunday night we went to dinner at McGovern's. I was there once when I was a wee baby. This is Grandma's favorite pictures from that night.

We came home after dinner and I got in a little bit more playtime before it was time for me to go to bed. I gave my Grandma and Grandpa goodbye loves and saw them off. I'll miss them lots and I can't wait until I get to see them again. We always have such a fun time.

Here are pictures of Daddy and I in the window waving bye-bye. I blew lots of kisses to Grandpa and Grandma to save up and take home with them.

Life is good people. Life is good.

Have a great week. I know I will-three days to my birthday!

Taylor McKenna