Two Words

I overheard an interesting conversation between my parents the other night after Mom had roasted the pumpkin seeds from our pumpkin...


Mom: Wow, these seeds are awesome!

Dad: Nope. Didn't like them as a kid, not gonna like them now.

Mom: Have you ever had them roasted in butter, onion powder, garlic power, salt and pepper?

Dad: Nope.

Mom: You should really try them.

Dad: They came from INSIDE pumpkin. That's gross.

Mom: Two words for you Lar...pumpkin pie.


That Mom, she makes some good points.

Winterwear, Adventures in Omaha and My New Friend Jack

Did you hear the news? Winter is coming back. I know it was here last year, though I don't remember much of it. My parents kept me pretty well protected from the elements. It looks like this year I might not be as well protected. So Grandma Jan, Grandpa Bob and Mom decided they better start getting me used to winter apparel.



The Boots: not a fan.







The Snowpants: not a fan. Period.

The Jacket: not a fan at first, but have now resigned myself to the fact that it's a must-have item every day.



(We won't even get into The Mittens and The Hat.)


I've been working on a new skill the last week: dressing myself. Here I am trying to put on my pajamas OVER my day clothes. I got one leg of the pants on. But I think I did it backwards because there was a really big hole at the bottom and no way I was going to pull that skinny leg part up over my diaper-clad bottom. I think I was also going the wrong way with the top. But hey, I'm only 18 months old, cut a kid a break.

I hear Mom and Dad used to enjoy outdoor activities like skiing and snowboarding. I've got the look down, so Mom and Dad, whenever you're ready to take me to the slopes, I'm game to learn.

Last weekend we made another trip to Omaha. This time Uncle Neil, Aunt Katie and my new cousin Sibley were there. It was so much fun to see them and I really LOVED Sibley. I have a little trouble with her name so I call her Biby. She seems alright with that.

Grandpa Steve got a new camera and took a lot (I mean A LOT!) of pictures. As we've discussed before, Blogger isn't so quick for the picture uploading, so you can find more pictures of our fun weekend at my flickr site. flickr.com/photos/larajtay

Dad and Sibley...

Me "taking pictures" with Grandma Trish's camera when the girls were out to lunch...

Me dancing in the basement. (I love it!)

When we got home it was back to life as usual. Things like: a leaky kitchen faucet. I was a nice girl and got right down there to help Dad out.

Last night we carved a pumpkin at my house. Wow, what a messy job!!! First Dad lopped off the top and scooped the easy stuff out.

Then he sent The Big Guns (that's me and Mom) in to get out the tough stuff.

I dug right in. I think it felt kinda neat.

Then Dad was back to the table to give the guy a face. Mommy says that's when the pumpkin became a jack-o-lantern.

When he was done Daddy stuck a couple candles inside and lit him up. He tried to get a nice picture of Mom and me with our new friend, but seeing as the end of carving time was also bedtime, I wasn't really down with taking a nice picture. Here's to hoping for a good picture on Halloween.

Well, that's my news. Remember to check our more pictures of the most recent Adventures in Omaha at my flickr site.

Peace, love and candy!

Taylor

Bittersweet Ending

It has been a fantastic weekend! Mommy had a 5-day weekend and I got to cash in on some good Mom time. Wednesday morning she sent me to daycare for a couple hours so she could go to the dentist and then shop at Target without me. (Apparently I'm not her favorite person to shop with.) Then she picked me up and we went to visit Grandma Jan and the ladies at her work. I got to see my teacher, Mrs. Patty, while we were there and I interloped on her preschool class and played in the motor room some. (Thanks for letting me interlope Mrs. Patty!) After my nap, Mom and I did some shopping errands. These were very short trips, strategically planned so as to avoid a meltdown by any persons involved, child OR adult.

Thursday Mom and I went to Target so I could pose for 18-month pictures. I have to say, we got some very good shots. We'll share them with you when they become available. After pictures we came home for lunch and nap time. When I woke up from nap time, Mom took me outside to play. While I was sleeping, she had raked lots of piles of leaves for me to play in. Here are some cute pics of my outdoor adventures...





On Friday, Mom took me back to daycare so she could join Grandma Jan and Aunt Jenni at the Women of Faith conference. They had a break in the afternoon so Grandpa Bob, Megan, Nate, Uncle John, Dad and I headed to St. Paul to meet them for dinner. We got to play at a park before going to the restaurant.

Mom and I played on a crazy bridge that wiggled all over the place. Talk about testing a toddler's gross motor skills and muscle control!

Aunt Jenni did a spider swing with me. That was cool!

Dad even got in on the fun and had Nate spin him on the Spinning Monster. He didn't last long though. (Between you and me, I've got a couple sally parents and I don't know who is going to be able to go on rides with me at Valleyfair someday.)

Saturday Mom went to Women of Faith during the day but came home before dinner. Dad left then to go out for Guys' Night. It's something he does about once a year with all his guy friends. Mom and I hung out at home and walked over to the park for some serious climbing and fun. (Sorry, but Mom forgot the camera so no pictures of that.)

Sunday morning Mom and I made pancakes, sausage and eggs for breakfast. It was YUMYUM! I scarfed down two pancakes, 1.5 sausages and a scoop of eggs. If I had my say, every meal would be breakfast.

After making a serious breakfast, we had serious cleaning to do. So Mom and I donned our aprons and got to work. Grandma Jan made my apron for me complete with a big "N" for my favorite football team. (Nebraska Huskers for those that haven't figured that out yet.)

Now it's the end of our long weekend. Tomorrow Mom goes back to work. I go back to daycare. And Dad flies to Dallas, Texas for three days. We're going to miss him a lot. Mom and I manage to get by on our own, but life is COMPLETE when Dad is here. I'll see him Thursday morning when I wake up and I'm going to give him lots and lots and lots and lots of kisses!

TTFN,

Shnoogy Boogy (That's what Mom was calling me all weekend. She's special.)

Overgeneralizing

So I've gotten really into talking lately. But I haven't quite figured it all out. I've got this "overgeneralizing" thing going on as Mom explains to people. That means that I find a new word and use it to label more items than the actual one to which the name belongs. So here's a breakdown for my peeps out there...

Appo=apples as well as all things food
Goggog=dog and all other lifeforms not part of the human race (excepts Cawcaws, see below)
Mama=my mom and all other lifeforms that ARE part of the human race
Baw=balls and all other things round (including pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns)
Bumbum=all things transportation (nobody is sure but they think I derived this word from "vroom vroom")
Wawa=water and all other beverages
Buhbo=buckle, button, zipper, Velcro or anything else that fastens
Ba-pa=backpack and purse
Ha=hat and hood
Eyes=eyes and any other body part attached to the head as well as glasses
Cawcaw=any winged creature


I have one more word I use quite frequently that doesn't fit into the "overgeneralizing" list:
Ha=hot-this is my only adjective so far and one I use quite accurately when I point to the stove, Mommy's flat iron, hot food and anything else I know to be hot

So people, you've been schooled in Taylorese. Thanks for being such good students.

Toodles!
Professor Oster

Inspired

There's been an addition to my family and to my network. Her name is Madeline Grace Noe and she's Mommy's cousin's baby girl. She was born last Thursday and all went swell. I went to meet her this week. I brought her pizza but she couldn't eat any yet. I wanted to save it for when she's ready but all the parents told me it would be a little moldy by then. So I ate it myself and when Madeline is ready to eat real food, I'll be ready to share with her.




I gotta tell you, that girl is an inspiration! She's got quite a tripped-out blog for a chick that's only one week old. So I took the inspiration and ran with it. Be sure to check the sidebar of my blog for a new look to My Network and a following feature.

Welcome to the family Madeline!

Taylor

Apples Apples I Love Apples!

Is there anything better than fall? Husker football, Husker football gear, and apples. It's all a person really needs to be happy, isn't it?

On Saturday, Mom decided to bake an apple pie. She let me help her wash the apples. Silly Mom. I washed a couple then I just couldn't hold back any longer. I grabbed one of those apples and I went to town. It was delicious!!! When it got to the point where I could only get the core in my mouth, Mom cut the core off and gave me the good stuff to finish off.


Sweet sweet apple bliss.

I'm afraid those are all the pics I've got to share with you this week. Not sure what our excuse is...perhaps that I was sick midweek (I got the pukes and poops AGAIN) or perhaps there was just not much exciting to photograph...those reasons and the fact that we forgot to bring the camera to the awesome Germaine Annual Chili Party. Mom grabbed Auntie Jenni's camera at the party and took some pictures, so when we get our virtual hands on those digital images, we'll shoot them to the blog. How's that do ya?

I'm off to rest now. Gotta get ready to go back to daycare tomorrow so I can play with all my friends.

Kindest Regards,

TMO

Toddler Tidbits

It has come to the attention of my parents that I am a girly-girl. Sure I like my rough and tumble play (like tonight when I was head-butting my mom right in her sternum, and the other day when I was running head-first into the fridge), but I've found another passion. Dress-up! I inherited a toddler-sized vanity from Megan and lots of homemade beaded jewelery from Mommy. I could sit by my vanity putting on bracelets and anklets for hours-ok, maybe that's a stretch-I am only 17 months old after all. But seriously, I love me some dress-up time.



I also love to play in my tent. I think it's great when Mom and Dad both go in the tent with me. Mom and Dad think it's a special time-but only for a very short time. The air quality isn't so good with that much human inside a small tent. Here's me being camera-shy by my tent.

I've got this new thing I do at dinner-I pull Mommy's plate towards me and eat her food. Never mind that I have the same exact foods on my plate. I like hers better! Here I am having at a bone-in chicken breast that I procured off said parental unit's plate. Numnum!

I'm also a huge fan of apples. So much so that it's also my favorite word. And the word is such a favorite that I use it to label all things food. So a side note to any future babysitters out there-should you hear me utter the word "apple" (sounds like "appo"), don't assume I want an apple. Keep your mind open to other possibilities.

Our daycare went on a field trip to Applewood Apple Orchard last week. I got to pick my very own apples. The apples were the perfect size for my little hands. Mom and Dad were surprised when I grabbed an apple and started munching away. They kept a careful eye on me until I was done to make sure I didn't choke.

This weekend Mom and Dad finally took me to the Children's Museum. Grandma Jan and Grandpa Bob bought us a family membership for my birthday back in April and this weekend our crazy schedule finally allowed for the visit to happen. We were there for two hours and I had a great time! I think I could go back for another trip real soon so I could have even more time to see each and every exhibit. Check out all the pictures below...

Hanging up laundry with Mom.

Making a gear train with Dad.

Playing in the water exhibits-I really loved this one where you get to put a boat at the top of a ramp, then open the gate to watch it zoom down the river.

Then Dad and I made some bubbles.


(Just taking a break and looking adorable doing so.)


Time to dry my hands off.

GOLF! They even had golf for me and my daddy!

There was a round room with nets all the way up to the ceiling where you could throw balls all over the place. I thought it was really funny when Dad threw one right at Mom's head.

I found a neat round window with a great view of downtown St. Paul.


This ramp was killer on the quads!

All in all life is good. Well, truth be told, I've not been a fan of getting dropped at daycare since I came back from Omaha. But that's just something we're all hoping I'll get over very soon.

Peace out my peeps!

Taterbugger