February - March 2010
It's been a fun time here lately. There's rarely a minute that I get to sit down at the computer anymore. So hopefully these pictures are worth a thousand words (that I don't have time to write). This slideshow includes... Elliot at toddler art & gym class, a super visit from the Taylors, new backyard playhouse, our first snow!, a fun visit from Grandpa Okla, the cowboy breakfast, Round Rock Express baseball game, lion cubs at the zoo, a clown at a friend's birthday party, and more. Check it out...
Oliver's 4th Birthday
February 20 was Oliver's big day. He is now officially a big boy at four years old. He had a lot of ideas about his birthday party, and we ended up with a really wonderful dino party. We went to a local playground and had a dino egg hunt, pizza, cake, and lots of running around. The best part was that Nana, Grandad, and Aunt Kelly flew in for the weekend and shared the good time with us. He was beyond thrilled. Take a peek at the dino party...
January 2010
Happy New Year! All is well here. Still just busy keeping up each day. Mommy's birthday, cold weather, and silliness. Check it out...
Christmas 2009
What a magical holiday! Oliver and Elliot were so excited about Santa this year. It was so much fun to experience with them. We had a simple family holiday (no travel, no visitors). Oliver had written Santa a letter and asked for the following items for him and his brothers, and of course Santa came through with all these wishes...
- Oliver: sack of marbles, shark toy, Chick Hicks (green race car from Cars movie)
- Elliot: puzzle and trains, trucks, or cars
- Graham: bottles and binkies
Holiday Prep and Elliot's Birthday: Dec. 13
Today sweet Elliot turned two! It's hard to believe he's gotten so big. He's such a fun little boy who loves his family, especially his big brother. Elliot is not much of a talker (we're thinking we may need some speech intervention), but that doesn't hold him back. He loves trucks, trains, dinosaurs. His favorite color is yellow, and his favorite things to eat are bean tamales, goldfish crackers, apples, and all sweets. He's very artistic and visual and loves creating artwork as well as building things with blocks and doing puzzles. He's very sweet, and we look forward to this year ahead to see how he grows. For his birthday, we kept things pretty low-key and invited neighbors over for tacos and a pinata. The weather was ready for this fiesta and was 70 degrees and sunny. We got outrun by bees at dinner and we had some trouble with our pinata, but otherwise, it was a really nice evening for the birthday boy. Also in this slideshow, you'll see us bundled up for a few snowflakes, decorating our Christmas tree, and making gingerbread cookies. Oh what fun! Early December photos...
Looking Back at November: Nov. 29
The month went by in a blurry haze of just trying to keep up with our new life as a family of 5. The boys are all doing so well! Graham is two months old today, and he's growing like crazy. He now weighs 11.7 lbs. He's very smiley, happy, and cuddly. Elliot is such a sweet boy, and I can't believe he'll be two in two weeks! Oliver loves his role as nurturing biggest brother. We had a lovely Thanksgiving with the Oklas, and are very happy Grandma could make it before she has to continue with her treatments this winter. Much to be thankful for, indeed. November photos...
Newborn Photo Shoot
Our neighbor Kristi is a photographer and offered to do a photo shoot of Graham and 2 and 3 weeks. Her images are amazing. Please take a look...
Halloween
Halloween was a really fun time this year! Oliver was excited to be a police officer, Elliot ended up in a last-minute Bob the Builder costume. We trick-or-treated for the first time, and the boys were very excited about it. Halloween photos...
September 29, 2009: Graham's Here!
Graham Bennett Taylor has arrived today! He was born at 1:09pm. After my water broke, it only took 2.5 hours for his arrival. He is 7 pounds, 3 ounces and 20 inches long. The nurses have described him pensive, content, happy, and calm. Sounds good. If we can add "good sleeper" to that, we'd be thrilled. Oliver is so delighted and amazed by his brother, and Elliot shows no interest yet. We're just so thrilled that he is healthy and everything went so smoothly today. We're feeling overwhelmingly lucky to have such a wonderful BIG family! Here is a slideshow of photos from Graham's first day...
Here are photos from Graham's first week...
And here are photos from Graham's second week...
And here are photos from Graham's third week...
September 26, 2009
As I write, baby 3 is due any day, and he feels like he may come any minute now. Nana and Aunt Kelly have just arrived to help care for the boys for the next 2 weeks. I am feeling dreadfully pregnant and ready to pop! As baby 3 approaches, I decided to go back and look at photos from our boys birthdays. Check out the baby birth flashback:
This month, Oliver started preschool! He is attending school 2 mornings a week, and he is very proud of himself. The transition to school has been so easy going, and we're happy that our big 3.5-year-old is doing so well.
Elliot is now 21 months and has so much personality. He's at a very fun stage where he loves to explore new things. He loves playing, copying his big brother, dancing, doing art projects, and being silly. The boys play so well together and really enjoy each other's company. Very good times!
Here's a few photos from September thus far...
July and August 2009
Times have been hot and busy in Austin! We're suffering from a record hot summer (worse time to be pregnant!), but we're hanging in. Here's the latest selection of photo slideshows from late July and early August. Baby 3 is due in 6 weeks. Stay tuned!
- Bowling: Oliver and Elliot's first attempt at bowling. We had to say farewell to our good pal Ethan and his family in July, as they moved to Ohio. But a little bowling party was a perfect little outing for the 3-year-old-pals. Bowling photos...
- Back room remodel: We finally started phase 1 of the crazy back room off our master. Our super handyman, Larry, got rid of ALL the wood back there, and it's turning out to be a wonderful room. We'll plan to use it as a nursery for the next year or two, but then it would make a nice office space. In the future, we hope to do more work back there to deal with the strange shower and tub placement, but this remodel makes a world of difference for now. Remodel photos...
- Oliver's summer school party: Oliver has been attending a Spanish co-op one day a week this summer. He just loves it, and I think it will be a great help in transitioning him into preschool this fall. We had a little party for the families in his co-op down at Zilker park. Zilker party photos...
- Misc. July and August: Visits to the splash parks, Krsipy Kreme, baby bump photos, and more from July. Also Grandma, Grandpa and Gretchen Okla came for a visit this August, and as usual we had a great time. They hosted a baby-shower-themed playgroup at our house that was lots of fun. Grandpa took Oliver over to Amy's for an ice cream factory tour, and we had lots of fun just playing around town. Misc. summer photos...
- Kiddie Acres: Grandma and Grandpa Okla took us over to Kiddie Acres, a funny little amusement park for really tiny guys that's been around since the 1970s. It was definitely a blast from the past. Both boys had such a thrill on the rides. Kiddie Acres photos...
- San Antonio Zoo: Peyton took a few days off for a little stay-cation. It sort of feels like we're trying to pack in as many adventures as we can now, knowing that we'll be house-bound soon once baby arrives. The zoo was really awesome. The kids were laughing hysterically at the monkeys. They loved the Amazon and African areas. But the best part was a section for little kids that included an indoor playroom and creek with a beach. Very fun! Zoo photos...
Looking for previous posts? Go to the Archives.
Looking for Oliver's website? We stopped updating it when he turned two. But if you want a look back at his baby days, go here...
