Introducing...

our little Train Conductor. I said in a previous post, Grandma JeanAnn had brought Kayson some overalls... just like Great-Great Grandpa wears. He had a pair when he was little and we loved them... and these are just as cute! After making sure they fit - Ryan and I decided that we should use them for his Halloween costume... including the Thomas hat he has. It was perfect, and he didn't have a fit wearing it! ;)

Two other important people/things to introduce. Saturday afternoon, Kayson and I went to Clarion to take the Hardy Grandkid pictures for this year. We have two new additions to the Hardy family.

Meet Co-Co (chocolate lab) and Pickles (yorkie).

Co-Co appeared on my parents farm several months ago... followed Dad around for a couple days... slowly making her way in and having Dad fall in love with her. Dad, being the responsible one and not sure if they really needed a dog - took the dog up to Belmond to stay at the vet and see if anyone would claim her. If no one claimed her in 2 weeks, he would take her. 2 weeks later, she has a new home on the farm. She's a beautiful lab... and SO SWEET. I heart her. ;)

Pickles is Eden's new puppy... she's all puppy and SO cute. It brings back memories when Quincy & Murphy were that small.

Brrr!

It's COLD in the mornings!!!

Five Question Friday

1. If you could be a fly on any wall, which would you choose?
OH... haha... that makes me laugh out loud. I have this conversation with a couple good girlfriends a lot!!! I would love to be a fly on the wall in MULTIPLE places... probably because I'm nosy!!

I'm the type of person that loves to learn from people... so I could choose a lot of walls... One in particular would be the White House... I'd love to see how things work there, and how life is for the President and his family. In general - people's homes to see how people live and communicate, etc.

2. Do you budget your Christmas shopping or just get it done without budgeting?
Absolutely!! We try to keep each person's gifts in a decent range - say $50 or less. We have a lot of people to purchase for, so we typically keep it under $40, but are ok if we go up to $50 or so. Christmas is expensive, but it's also a great feeling to see someone open a wonderful gift we've given... family & friends are super important to us (obviously), so that feeling over powers the spending part.

3. What is the craziest fad diet you have ever done?
None. I don't diet, I'm lucky. Before having Kayson - I ate whatever and whenever I wanted... I worked out regularly and I stayed thin. Now that I've had a baby... it's harder. Things are different, my body is different. I've tried working out and typically fail - meaning, it doesn't last very long. I get bored. However, over the past month, I've done REALLY well with the working out. I'm actually really proud of myself. I've ate a little better (not as big of portions), and I'm actually seeing some results - on the scale, but not on the body. That'll come... I hope!!

4. Is there a TV show that you have seen every episode/season of?
Oh yes -- FRIENDS. One of my favorite shows... I was super sad to see it be done.
And as for current shows -- Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy.

5. What one song always pulls at your heart?
When You Say You Love Me - Josh Groban
That song was introduced to me about 4 years ago... and was used in a wedding I was in and now they are divorced. That's the first part that pulls at my heart... the sadness... and then the happiness is that the words are beautiful and it actually reminds me of Ryan and I - what I feel when he tells me he loves me... such a warm, nice feeling... I can only hope that Ryan feels the same way when I tell him I love him.

Cold Start for Ryan

Ryan is in MN for some of this week... Just got a phone call from him and he didn't sound too 'awake'. He proceeded to tell me that the hotel they are staying at didn't have any hot water today... OMG - Brrrr and not fun!! He said it was the fastest shower he's ever taken!!! AND to top it off... he was walking outside into the SUPER windy conditions and there's snow on the ground. Again - NOT FUN. ;)

Don't bring that crap home with you honey!

22 Months & Other Stuff

Holy cow - another month... another number to Kayson's age. 22 months old today. Yesterday we got his hair cut again - he does SO well for Aunt "Ce-Ce". And man, does he look so handsome. She really cut it short and it looks SO good!!! (I'll get some pictures this week).


We had a great day yesterday... a few errands were ran, a great nap was taken, and we played hard. It was nice to be home and just hang out with Daddy being home. Kayson talked and talked - he out-talks us by far! ha. We worked on colors and numbers and so many things... and he soaked it all in and repeated several of the things. One big thing was he put two words together (a couple of times yesterday). That's big. He said "More Please". Ryan and I both looked at each other and just smiled... what a great feeling!


Um what else:

• I finished my baby shower shopping for Aunt Tina. I picked up the most perfect gift yesterday for Baby Taylor... and I simply can't wait to give it to her. It's perfect and means a lot to us (even Ryan!)
• I love my laundry room... Momma's Art looks so nice!
• JeriAnn Ritter says today is going to be the warmest day for a long time... I'm prepping myself for the cold weather to start. You all know - I hate the winter - I hate snow - I hate ice. Ryan and I have been talking about getting me a different vehicle for awhile now, and now that the winter weather is approaching, I'm really hoping that works out. We'll see... wish money wasn't a worry all the time! We (or maybe I should say, my accountant husband) are just very money-consious people. Anyway, I'm not really ready for the cold!
• Kayson slept so well all weekend - great 3 hour naps both days, and slept in both days... Last night, he was up 3 times in the middle of the night and then ready to go at 6 am. Stinker!
• I've mentioned that Kayson is 22 months old today - however, I have stopped really saying that 'month thing' out loud. If people ask how old he is - I now just say "He'll be 2 on Christmas".

That's it for now... We finally decided what Kayson will be for Halloween... thanks to an outfit that JeanAnn purchased for him. Little did she know, we would use it to build a costume! More to come on that later in the week!

Saturday Fun

Saturday, Ryan & Mike headed over to Iowa City for the football game... disappointing loss for the Hawks... big bummer.

While they were gone, Kayson, JeanAnn and I hung out all day. In the morning we did a few errands - looked around at Toys R Us, did a Target run and had a quick lunch. Kayson took a 3 hour nap, which was wonderful! (He's been acting so tired on the weekends - I think daycare wears him out!!) JeanAnn did a couple errands while he was napping - I layed down for about 20 minutes... then did a few things around the house...

When Kayson woke up, we baked some sugar cookies! Thanks to Grandma JeanAnn for the idea and all the 'stuff'. Kayson did so great - helping roll out the cookies, patting them down and sprinkling the sprinkles on. It was so cute!! Thanks for the fun JeanAnn... he loved it, and this can be a "Grandma thing" and not a "Momma thing"!!! ;) Here are some pictures!

Five Question Friday

1. Who is the better cook - you or your spouse?
Hmmm... I honestly feel I cook well, but Ryan does too... he does certain meals, and I do certain meals... we share the love in the kitchen.

2. Are you adventurous in the kitchen or stick to the recipie?
I stick to the recipie. I'm too scared that I'll screw something up!!!

3. How often do you talk to your Mom?
Oh... this week, I've talked to her probably 5 times... but last week, it was just 1 time. It's kind of random!!

4. Is your second toe longer than your big toe?
It is! I've heard that means you are intelligent! ;)

5. Do you dress up for Halloween?
I don't... not something I'm interested in... but I sure do like to hear stories about adults who do dress up.

SOLD!

Exciting news at the Taylor household tonight... well, exciting, but also a little sad (for Ryan). We sold his Monte Carlo tonight! He bought the car new - back in 1999. He's had a lot of memories with that car... it's been a great car actually for him. When we found out we were pregnant, we got the Tahoe and the Monte sat. It sat in storage at my parents farm for awhile, then Ryan's Dad drove it for awhile, then it sat some more... and just about a month or so ago he went to drive it to Minnesota for work, and it wouldn't start. DAMN. So after another couple weeks, he took it in to get it checked out... $600 later we have a new battery and alternator... Wowza. That night Ryan said "We probably should sell it."

Jump ahead to last night.

Around 9pm, Ryan put the car on Craigslist. This morning he had 4 or 5 responses asking about it and wanting to see it. After back and forth with one guy, him and his son came to test drive it tonight... and drove away with it... and we have cash in our pocket. The $600 will be paid off and we have some for left over... Ryan says maybe that could go towards something for me. ;) We'll see about that!

Either way, it's sold... and that was easy. I hope it's a great car for that kid for another several years...

Art

Kayson loves to color with crayons/markers, etc... the 'art' time doesn't last long, but he likes it! I originally started calling this time 'Craft time' and I think at daycare, they call it 'Art'. We've had some 'art' projects around the house lately... This is proof of some of our weekend art.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I painted our laundry room. Well, in the midst of painting, I hear Kayson and Daddy talking... and Kayson kept saying "Momma Art, Momma Art". The word art doesn't come out all that clear, but as he kept saying it... we finally figured out what he was getting at. Momma was doing art - Painting! It was so sweet! Even a couple days after I was done painting, he would walk into the laundry room and say "Art".

Room is now a slate gray color - really pretty with the white trim... and an added touch of Uppercase Living (which was a pain in the rear to put up!) But I love it!!

We also did art outside. Kayson pulled out the chalk and we drew and drew on the driveway. This is Dadda drawing Kayson... Dadda then drew Momma, and Kayson attempted to draw Dadda. It was pretty fun.

Good!

Great weekend thus far.

Friday evening we decided to enjoy a High School football game. Ryan's brother, Blair, coaches middle school football in West Marshall... and he also helps with the high school games... we've gone to watch them in the past, but didn't go last year... We really enjoyed it, and Kayson did too.


Today has been a full day of this and that. I decided that I was finally going to paint our laundry room... I started when Kayson went down for his nap (which ended up being only an hour and a half!!), but continued throughout the rest of the afternoon, and finally wrapped it up tonight. I will do some touchups tomorrow... I'm really pleased with it...


Kayson and Daddy played HARD while I was painting... and I would take breaks too, and we all would play hard. With the short nap, he did get pretty crabby late this afternoon... so bedtime came a little early for him.


It's nice having Ryan home... he laughed and laughed with Kayson today and that was so nice... and Kayson showed Dadda how much he talks!! Each day words get clearer and clearer and Ryan was able to really see that today.

Side note:

Blair & Martina gave Kayson this shirt. Perfect for when Kayson meets Baby Taylor for the first time. ;)

Running Late

When it's just me and Kayson, we run late. Period. I can't get out of bed... and I HATE waking Kayson up! So putting aside those excuses... we just plain run late in the morning - apparently there's more to do in the morning than I think there is!

This morning I actually felt we were doing pretty good... I was all ready, Kayson was eating and not fighting me, the dogs had pottied twice. As I was taking the dogs to their kennell, I hear Kayson hollaring for me... As I walked up the stairs, I see Kayson with his plate on his head. One would think - that's just fine, he's being funny... little do you know - that plate was full of syrup from his pancakes and syrup. OMG. I then hollared at him... and he says "No No" back to me... I take the plate off his head... and there was his nice clean hair all soaked in syrup!!! There was no way I would be able to just use a washcloth and wipe it off... So... I put him in the bathtub and washed his hair. That was probably the fastest bath he's ever had - 2 minutes top - enough time to wet his hair, soap it up, rinse. STINKER!

Five Question Friday

1. What is your favorite Halloween candy?
Well... first, I'm not a HUGE candy fan. I'll eat it, for something different - for something sweet, but just not often. I'm also not a fan of chocolate. However, if you have a Kit-Kat to offer me, I would eat that. I know, weird... there must be enough of that 'crunch' in there, that it passes over the chocolate. Either way, if I eat candy, it makes me unbearable thirsty for more water!

2. Do you fold your socks?
Yes, I do... roll them together.

3. What is something you wish you would have been warned about?
Now that I'm older, I never really realized how easy I had it when I was a kid/teenager... I had no worries back then, I thought I was invincible! Just like every other kid these days... growing up was/is hard still...

4. Where do you like to go to relax?
My quiet time includes watching some of my shows that I've DVRd. I typically watch these late at night - in bed when it's quiet. That's my time.

5. What are three words you would use to describe yourself?
Maternal - now. I've always loved kids, but never quite imagined how it would really affect me and change me... and now that I'm a mom - I love it. I love the challenges and the fun.
Funny - Some of my closest friends would say I'm funny. I don't tell jokes, I just sometimes have funny stories to tell... and I guess they think that's fun and funny. ;)
Friendly - I want friends, I want to know people, I want to learn from people - so I'm friendly in general. (or at least I hope people think that!)

So many things to say!

Kayson talks all the time... pretty much non-stop. If there's a time when he's not talking, I'm worried. ha. At bedtime tonight, we did our routine, and after reading... he asked me to "Rock" him. Of course I will. "Sing" I sang a little... Lord - thank you for us being the only ones in the house tonight! "More... Rou Rou" (Wheels on the Bus go Round & Round), so I sang a few more songs... Then we talked about other things like - "NiNi Boo" (Night Night Books), "NiNi Yight" (Night Night Light), "Dar" (Dark), "Winnie", "ELLLLMO", "Dadda Wor" (Dadda Work), "Moo" as he points to the sky (Moon). Then we jumped to "Truck", "ChooChoo", "Aipane" (Airplane). He talked for nearly 8 minutes (I watched the clock) while I rocked him and just helped him along with the words and his thoughts. Unbelievable how much he knows.

Ryan is travelling this week... so it's Kayson and I ridin' solo. Tonight we fed the ducks at the Jordan Creek pond. I tell you what - those ducks/geese/whatever they are were HUNGRY. They came SO close to us while we were throwing bread... almost too close for my comfort actually! I should have had my camera - it was crazy!!

Hope everyone is enjoying this great weather!!

Cracking up!

It's Sunday... blah!!! However, we had a great weekend!
I was busy with two family photo shoots over the weekend. One family included 6 adults and 6 young boys - BOYS - from the age of 8 to 1. I was sweating. ;) I also hosted a Tastefully Simple party for one of my closest friends... I had a great turnout, that included some little ones too... so the house was full of people and noise! I was exhausted by the time it was over! We've kept busy and just happy this weekend... Kayson's been wild and fun. I'm guessing it's the weather - and being able to be outside again... which has been great. I'm sure the nice weather will be short lived, but we are enjoying it now!

Here are some fun pictures from the weekend... and the last two are Kayson cracking up... thanks to Dadda.

Five Question Friday

1. What do you listen to while driving?
If Kayson is with me - we listen to "Little People" music... but normally, I listen to 102.5 (Big Ken & Colleen). They crack me up!

2. What is your least favorite thing about fall?
Not knowing what to dress myself and Kayson in - it's cold in the morning, but warm in the afternoon!

3. What does your dream house look like - inside & out?
BIG. But not too big, then that'll just mean I would have to clean more than I do now! I would love a really large family room - lots of floor space for the kid(s) to run and play... and enough room for Ryan and I to be on the floor with them. (We have a good amount of floor space now, which I love). I'd like a master bathroom with 2 sinks and a jacuzzi tub. I'd also like lots of bedrooms (at least 5) - fill them up with kids and guests!! ;)

Now... with all of that being said - I've always said I have good taste - meaning a champagne lifestyle on a cheap beer budget! It did ask for my "DREAM" home!

4. Would you ever own a minivan?
Absolutely.

5. Do you wash new clothes before wearing them?
Typically yes. Somtimes no. I guess it depends on how badly I want to wear it! ha.

Crabby Pants?

"Take your crabby pants off!"
Wow, we had a crabby kid on our hands this morning!! The funny thing is... Kayson is crabby and awful whiny, then he gets one bite of food in him and he's a whole new kid. ha. If we could skip the waking up, changing diaper and getting dressed part, we would be golden.

When I think back about 3 years ago - I was a crabby morning person. I remember vividly a co-worker of mine said to me that he doesn't stop by my desk til at least 10am some days just because I'm not talkative in the morning. Oops -- wake up call for me! From then on... I tried changing... I tried hard! Well, now that we have Kayson - I really don't have time to be crabby... it's not about me anymore... it's about making Kayson smile and laugh... which then leads into me smiling and laughing. Ryan has always been a fairly happy person in the morning... he talks, sometimes whistles, and is just ready to go. It's different for everyone... but it sure does help when at least 1 person is happy! ha. What I'm trying to get at is - I've changed... I'm happier, more friendly in the morning... and even my co-workers have noticed. ;)

Are you crabby in the morning??

Tailgating

Kayson experienced his first tailgating fun this weekend. We made the trip to Iowa City Saturday late morning... Kayson snoozed on the way there (perfect), then we played outside in the chilly weather for hours. With our cold fingers and red noses, we fought through it and we had a great time. Kayson was SO good - running around, playing bags, throwing the football a little, eating a little, taking breaks in the back of the truck... it was just a good time. We got to see some friends we hadn't seen in awhile too - so that's always nice.

When the game kicked off, Kayson, myself, Holly & Gillian went back to their place... while the boys (Ryan & Clay) enjoyed the night game. Perfect birthday gift for Clay. Holly & I had such a wonderful time (once the kiddos were asleep!) - we talked and talked for hours... it was perfect, just what we both needed.

And today we headed back to DSM. We are all sleepy... a tad grumpy, but that just comes with being tired and knowing it's Sunday, right?!?! All and all - we had a great weekend... glad we were able to let Kayson experience Iowa City, and so thankful for our close friends, the Schultes. Here are some pictures from the couple days. (I'm noticing that my point and shoot camera takes awful pics)... disappointed!

Taking one of his several breaks - snacking (and getting out of the wind a little).


Playing bags - he's a great shot!


I'm pretty sure he was dancin at this point... there's always good music being played!


Hawkeye family!

Miss Gillian... tiny little thing... they played really well together!

On our way home, we hit a farm that was selling pumpkins.

Five Question Friday

1. Do you feel guilty spending money on yourself?
Most of the time, yes... cuz I probably don't really NEED it. But sometimes shopping makes me feel better - to get a new outfit or shirt, just lifts my spirits from time to time!

2. How well do you know your neighbors?
We are getting there... one couple we've hung out with several times this summer and we have a ton of fun with them. The others we are getting to know slowly. Everyone seems very nice and am looking forward to our growing neighborhood!

3. What age are you looking forward to being?
Hmm... that's tough. I really like my age now. I'm happy - I have a family - we are settled. Seems perfect to me. I don't want to get old, however, I do wonder how our little family will be in 10 years... and even 20 years... Crazy to think about that!!!

4. Do you get excited when the mail comes? Why?
Not really - typically it's bills. Yuk.

5. What is your earliest childhood memory?
Playing with my hot wheel cars on our pool table with my neighbor, Pat Reiland. We had a pool table that rarely got used for pool --- instead I would set up a 'town' with dominos and hot wheel cars.

And playing Atari with my sisters.