This is how I know Taylen is done with dinner:

Ryah Enjoys Minty Fresh Breath...

Bugs Bugs Bugs

This past weekend my girlfriend from high school (Rachael Lawson) came to visit us!
She brought her beagle puppy, Guinness, and Taylen just ate it up.

It was so good to have her with us for a couple days. Thanks for coming, Smach!!

On Saturday we went to a Bug Emporium in Rocklin. They had all kinds of exhibits where you could pet different bugs (note: stick bugs are aggressive and one climbed out of the bowl trying to grab Taylen's finger! I don't think she'll be petting bugs again any time soon), look at bugs through microscopes, look at birds, fish, amphibians and lots more. Our neighbor Kristin came for a bit, and we kept her daughter Millie with us to play with Tay. It was really, ridiculously crowded, but the girls had lots of fun!

Looking at baby mosquitos with a magnifying glass. Those

things are even nastier up close!

Peeking in an aquarium

Listening to the ocean :)

Painting with live maggots. That's right. You dip em in the paint and then let them roll around on the paper. Nice idea in theory, but the paint weighed them down and they mostly just laid there.

Taylen and Millie. Cute :)

And lift. And lift.

Ryah is very body conscious, and would never dream of just sitting around and playing with her toys wasting time. If she's going to play, she's going to exercise while she's at it...Would that we were all wise enough to learn from her. You'll also notice she is very good at ignoring me. It starts young.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A day in the life of Taylen...

So Taylen was on one today, and she had me either laughing at her or screaming at her the whole time. I thought that in honor of her freakishness, I would post some of the random things she said today. Just today. This does not include weirdness from previous days (that would be too overwhelming for the general public, I'm sure). So here goes...

1. "I'm cleaning the toilet so we don't pee on the grodies."


2. "My feet is turning into a slinky."


3. "I'm a beeeeautiful butterfly. But it's a secret."


4. "Mom, I peed aaalllll oveerr your tile...." (said with a sweeping hand motion to indicate said tile)


5. "We're both silly, Mom. Yay for sillies!!"


6. She was completely disobeying me at naptime, so I told her that she was going to get a spanking, but I aimed a little too high and got part of the small of her back. She started to laugh and said, "Mom, you missed my booty!" I'm glad she takes my authority seriously.

7. "It's not fair." (said after everything when she's in a bad mood)

8. "Mom, will you go away please?" (hey, at least she's polite about it)

9. "It's fair that I wake up now." (said when she decided she was done with her nap, though she never quite made it to the actual napping part)


10. *singing this one while eating peaches, just picture it* "Squish the peaches, squish the peaches, wipe it on your shiiiiiiirrrrrttt..."


And finally...


11. "Leave me alone cuz I'm dying." (i have no idea...)



So there ya go. Now you can all taste of the joy that is Taylen. Let the envying begin. :)

Sweetness

A little blurry, but still so cute! My Bear will be 7 months

old tomorrow (the 22nd)! I can't believe it.

She was a colicky nightmare when she was first born, but now she is just the sweetest little thing.

She is a very good natured baby, and has a smile for everyone!

I just love her so much...

Almost 3 years old! I can't believe that either...

If only I knew how to center the camera...

Aww... I don't know about you, but this

just touches my heart! Sweet sisters...

Party with Aunt Calee!

My sister Calee came to visit and Taylen

had loads of fun with her. Here is our silly hat party we had...

Quote of the Day

"You wouldn't care what people thought about you if you knew how seldom they did."

People Are Rude

So, people are rude. People judge. People are ignorant. People make assumptions, which end up being wrong most of the time.

I just got off the phone with a guy from LDS Employment Services (ah, the joys of finding a job) and he was blatantly rude to me about putting my kids in child care (as if I didn't realize how SUCKY it is to have to go back to work and have someone else watch my babies all day). And the lame part is that I know this will not be the last time I am judged because of my situation. Which is hurtful because it is a situation I did not choose--in fact, I tried everything within my power to avoid it. Everything. But there is a lot of judgement passed around, especially within the LDS community, and especially about divorce (for those of you who don't know yet, I guess now is as good a time as ever to spill the beans--Brad and I are divorcing. And it sucks).

I will get over it, but I guess the point of me spewing right now is to point out that we don't know what is going on in other people's lives or hearts. And the people we are most likely to judge are often the ones who most need our compassion.

San Diego Zoo

We went to the zoo a couple days after Christmas, and Tay had

a great time. Here she is downing some healthy cotton candy.

Taylen the Beautiful Swam (still at the zoo)

My sister, Calee, was nice enough to pay for Tay to get her face

painted (mom is more of a cheapskate, haha). But it was Taylen's

favorite part of the day! She chose the "swam" out of

a bunch of different designs, and even got a jewel on her forehead.

She ran around all day flapping her wings and making a weird

squawking noise. It was awesome.

Seeing herself as the Swam for

the first time...

Very happy with her little Swam self.

Mom and her swam.

More Zoo...

Calee likes turtle rides...

Taylen's had better...

I, however, am having a great time.

Perpetually happy goat.

Actual sign from the zoo...I'll stay away from

this cat, thank you.

Just a few Christmas pics

Taylen with Hunter and Logan Moore on Christmas Eve,

pretending to sleep so Santa will come. Ha ha. It's really

funny to watch all these huge boys (there are 6 of them and they range in height from 6'1 to 6'5)

who we've been friends with for 17 years (that's right, I counted) play with

my feisty little 2 year old! She ate it up, though.

Taylen with her Snow White dolly and her

matching Snow White princess dress (and shoes, and

crown, and earrings and purse). She

is all girl and then some...