Possible Job Opening

One more thing before I turn in for the night. I've made the realization that my photographer is not fulfilling her duties. For example, you wouldn't know it by today's post, but the family went today to cut down a Christmas tree. The reason you don't know is that there is no photo documentation. The woman forgot the camera! HOW do you forget the camera the FIRST time the family goes to CUT down a CHRISTMAS TREE?!?!?

So what I'm saying is, I might have a job opening available. Problem is the job doesn't pay much. If you can work for kisses and hugs, please send your resume and application.

With Kind Regards,
The Photographically Neglected Child,
Taylor

Tis the Season!

I now understand what people mean when they say "tis the season". Tis the season to be busy, that is!!! But I won't complain-this holiday thing is fun stuff. But let me catch you up first...

I haven't gone potty on the potty yet, but I'm still trying every once in a while. I think I might take a break during these busy holiday times, but I'll get back at it eventually. After all, it is a really great place to get some reading done.


Grandma Trish sent me a pre-Christmas care package. In it were two Advent calendars. One sticks to my fridge and had a magnet you can use to count down the days until Christmas. Notice I used the past tense back there..."had a magnet"...Mom and Dad had to take it away because I thought it was really funny to put in my mouth and then run around the house. They don't find the same amusement I do in choking hazards. Maybe I can earn it back next year. Mom does let me have my special "oma" (that's my word for all things that write) to "write" on it.

(Note from Taylor's mother-the ink has been removed from the special oma. Genius!)

Grandma Trish also sent me an Advent calendar that has CHOCOLATE inside of it. Starting tomorrow I'll get to open one window every day and enjoy a little piece of chocolate delight. I'm just giddy with anticipation!

Two weekends ago, Dad went out of town for the weekend to see a Notre Dame football game. He said it was the best sporting event of his whole life. Mom and I were very happy that he got the chance to have that experience. He took lots of pictures. When Dad remembers to bring home his camera cord, he'll upload some pictures onto the computer and put them on our flickr page.

While Dad was away, Mom had to sneak her showers in while I was sleeping. On Saturday morning, she didn't quite make it before I woke up and then Grandma Jan called and needed us to come to her house to help her out with something. Mom put a bandanna over her crazy hair and I insisted that I needed a "ha" (hat) as well. So Mom hooked me up with this sweet bandanna:

With this look I bet I'd fit in real well with Aunt Jenni and Uncle John's motorcycle friends.

For Thanksgiving weekend, we went with Grandma Jan, Grandpa Bob, Aunt Jenni, Uncle John, Megan and Nate to Superior Shores. We went there to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa's 60th birthdays. Grandma turned 60 on October 24th and Grandpa will turn 60 on December 25th. (Yep, he has the same birthday as Jesus!) Superior Shores is in Two Harbors, Minnesota on the north shore of Lake Superior. Being able to vacation to The North Shore is one of the perks of living in Minnesota. It's a beautiful place!

We even had some snow while we were there. I got down real close to check it out. See, Mom and I have been having a little argument about snow. I call it "ushy" and Mom tells me that's it's beautiful and I'll love it when I learn how to play in it.

I don't know...maybe it's got some potential...

We had some real lazy time on our vacation. Meggie and I had fun laying in the big bed watching television. She's so much fun!

We also celebrated Thanksgiving while we were there. Mom and Aunt Jenni were in charge of dinner. I was having one of my picky eating weeks, so I didn't eat much of it, but everyone else said it was great. They made a turkey, sweet potatoes (with marshmallows-just like Uncle John likes it!), green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy (Mom and Uncle John did a bang up job on that stuff!), and Grandma Jan's wild rice stuffing.

But personally, I think the best part of the meal was the pie. I had the pumpkin. Aunt Jenni's homemade whipped topping was superduper.

I don't have a ton of pictures from my vacation, but I'm hoping maybe Dad, Aunt Jenni and Grandma can come through with some more for me that I can put on flickr.

I have a new hobby I'd like to tell you about. In honor of the hibernating animals, I'm trying my hand at squeezing myself into tight spaces.

Like Mom's closet. This one was nice-cozy but big enough to bring in a magazine.

I also tried out the cabinet in the entertainment center at our condo at Superior Shores. A little dark with the door shut.

And today I tried the bottom shelf of this decorative piece in my living room. Definitely the tightest spot and none too comfortable.

I'm off now to a more comfortable cozy place-my bed. Good night all. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite!

TaterBugger

Last Saturday my cousin, Nate, celebrated his sixth birthday. We got to go out to eat with the fam on Sunday to celebrate. Here's a picture of the birthday boy himself. Pardon the cheeseburger oozing out of his mouth.

Meg was there as well, of course, sporting a new short sassy haircut.

Megan and I worked in a game of darts between bites of food.

And Mom put me in some kind of crazy wrestling hold when I was trying to run away from the table for the 47th time. Yikes.

Last night I got a little silly between bathtime and bedtime. I thought a diaper, socks and shoes were appropriate nightwear:

But when Mom laid me down (at my request of course) I realized maybe my legs would get a bit chilly so I asked her to help me put my pajamas on. Then I proceeded to dance in my crib. Yep, still with the shoes on...

That's all I've got for this week. Take care!

Taylor McKenna

Surprise Visitor!

Well well well, guess who showed up for dinner tonight...my Grandpa Steve!!! He's in town on business and made time to fit us into his schedule. We met for dinner at Jake's in Eagan. (I highly recommend the mashed potatoes.) It was a short visit, but definitely a sweet one!!! (Especially the part where we shared the ice cream sundae for dessert.)

Mom caught a couple shots of Grandpa and I...

What a special visit and a great time with Grandpa Steve!!! Thanks Grandpa!

Love ya!

Taylor

Rainboots and Potty Seats

Well hididleyho there friends. How are ya? Good? Alright, then let's get down to the news...

Ever since I started walking (back in March) Mom and Dad have wanted to get me a pair of rain boots. Mom finally got lucky at Target this week and found me a super cute pair. Check 'em out:

I love love love them! I love to wear them when I eat bananas....



I love to wear them when I'm sitting on the potty*...

(*No, I am not potty-trained. I've yet to actually pee in the toilet, but I do like to sit up there like a big girl and look at magazines and books. I tell Mom and Dad about five times a day that I want to try by pulling on my diaper and saying "I potty" but they only let me try one or two times a day. Maybe they'll take me more seriously if I actually pee in the toilet...)

On Friday I wore my boots to daycare. We were having our first snowfall of the season, and since Mom and Dad haven't gotten me winter boots yet, Mom thought the rain boots were an okay idea. I also wore my pajamas to daycare for pajama day. You'll notice that I'm wearing The Mittens and The Hat that I talked about back in this post. I'm happy to report that the wearing of these winter garments is going much better than it was then. (Big relief for the parents.)

Another love this week: salad from Angelo's. Mom decided on Dad's sixth night away (which also happened to be ECFE night, a night which is always a little hectic as we try to eat, clean up, and get out the door by 5:50) that it was time to let somebody else do the cooking. She ordered Italian Fries and an Antipasta Salad. The fries were alright, but really hard for me to chew. What I really got into was the yummy yummy salad.

Bath night has become even more fun thanks to my Great Aunt Mary. She gave me these adorable wash cloth puppets. Thanks Auntie!!


Last night there was a very special treat at our house. Mom made pudding parfaits for dessert. Heck, I thought dessert was only something you got on holidays and birthdays. Dad said not to get too excited because the next holiday or birthday will probably be the next time dessert happens for us.

Pudding makes me happy!

Today we got to go over to Uncle Cooney's house to watch the Vikings and the Packers play football. There were snacks on the table and I was having a little trouble navigating my way to the food so Cooney decided to help me out by getting me this little step stool. What a guy! I was able to reach the Doritos and dip them right in the queso. Yummy!

I was a little jealous that Dad and Cooney both had hats on so I asked if I could wear one of Cooney's. He thought it would be funny to have me wear this Iowa State had. Dad, Grandma Jan, what do you think? (Riley, I bet you like it!)

That's all my news for now. For those viewers in the Midwest experiencing this turn towards winter, stay warm out there!

Love!

Taylor

Post Halloween Debriefing

I did it folks. I survived another Halloween. It's still hard to fathom that I'm on my second round of holidays already. Wasn't I just born?!?!

Thursday night, Mrs. Patty let us wear our Halloween costumes to ECFE class. Here's the lot of us. I'm the butterfly in the front. You'll recognize my homeboy Quinn in the rockin' astronaut costume to the right and Riley over at World According to Riley donned the ladybug getup you see front and center. We also had a Tigger, a belly dancer, a pirate (ahoy), a giraffe and a hobo.

(Speaking of "on my second round of holidays," I thought y'all would like to mosey down Memory Lane with me and see the picture of our ECFE class at Halloween one year ago. I'm the pumpkin, Quinn is the turtle, and Antonio (now a hobo) is the hot dog. We've all come a long way!!!)

Back to the present time...sometimes it can be very frustrating when parents want us to dress up in silly costumes.

My solution to that frustration is to simply remove the costume. See diagram below:

My mom and dad were very happy when I was more cooperative about the costume on the actual Halloween holiday. Here I am posing with Mr. Pumpkin.

After posing with Mr. P, I decided to flit about the front yard a bit since I was dressed as a butterfly. When in Rome...

After my fit of flitting finished, Mom and Dad took me to "downtown" South St. Paul for a Halloween gathering. We got to go trick or treating at the businesses on Marie Avenue. We also got to eat hot dogs. Yummy.

Quinn and I had a good time hanging out together. He was a really good boy and completely ignored the candy in his bucket. Mom and Dad should had me in a devil's costume the way I was acting. I dug into the bucket and came up with a sucker which I promptly stuck in my mouth, wrapper and all. Mom tried to take it away from me but since she hates to have conflict in public, she removed the wrapper and gave it back. Ha, she's such a softie!

On Saturday, Daddy left for Las Vegas. He's going to be gone for six days. Yuck. I don't like it when my daddy goes away. But Mom and I know this is our life, so we just suck it up and deal with it.

Since Daddy couldn't come along, that meant Mommy and I made road trip to Great Grandpa Noe's house all by ourselves. When we got there, we joined Great Aunt Judy, Grandma Jan and Grandpa Bob in some decorating festivities. Yes, we realize we were putting up Christmas decorations 55 days before Christmas, but Aunt Judy is leaving tomorrow to go to Florida for the winter so we all decided to get together to do the decorating then give her and Uncle David a nice sendoff.

I was a good helper with the decorations, handing tinsel to Mom and Aunt Judy.

But I was even better at eating grapes. I think I ate approximately 1.5 pounds over the course of the day. You should have seen my diaper on Sunday morning! Mom didn't get an official count, but she thinks there were probably 97 grape skins in there. Nasty!

An update on my dressing skills: I have not mastered the coat yet. (Note the hood in the front.)

That's all I've got for now peeps. Catch ya on the flip side.

Peace out-

Butterfly