Goodbye 2007

Man, has this been a year. Brooks and I were going to write holiday letters this year with our Christmas cards (all handmade by me:), but we just couldn't do it. When we sat down and thought of everything, it was beyond overwhelming. We have had a lot of great things happen to us this year though, and even with all the negatives, we don't want to lose sight of that. So, we are happily saying goodbye to 2007 and looking forward to a great 2008. We want easy family relationships this year, we would like no more funerals or sicknesses, and most importantly, we want the kids to stay healthy, and to know they are loved.

In 2008, Brooks will celebrate his 2nd year with Carlson, we will meet little Jasmine Natasha, and move into our new home. We've got big plans for BizEMoms, and I am sure Taylor will continue to grow cuter and smarter everyday. The kids are really our reason for everything and we are super lucky to have them both. We are looking forward to another year of being the luckiest parents in the world.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas to All!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! My parents went up to Williams for the Polar Express ride, and celebrated their Christmas up there. On their way back through Phoenix, they dropped Katie off with us and we will have her for about a week, which means she also got to celebrate Christmas with us. Tay was very excited to see her, and he has been following her around ever since she arrived. We were very excited, because we thought this would be the first year where Taylor sort of understood the whole Santa thing. Brooks thought we should leave Santa five cookies and a glass of chocolate milk, but I asked Mrs. Claus and she felt two cookies would be best since Santa would be having cookies at many houses on Christmas Eve. Well, maybe I made the jolly ole' man unhappy because he left some very pretty and comfy pink slippers in my stocking-only bummer was they are too small :( Brooks got socks in his stocking, I think as a joke because he is always asking for socks and underwear, and he finally got it. Tay got the Smart Cycle from Santa and loves it! It is the coolest little video game system for kids, and he likes playing with it. He of course, got about 10,000 other presents, including an art easel from Grandma Kathy that he decided to open early, before we got smart and hid the Christmas presents. Gradma Marlene and Papa Dale got him a bunch of presents, too, his favorite is the extra sets for his GeoTrax. We also had a big Christmas dinner and Brooks made some great mashed potatoes. We have been experimenting lately, as we can't seem to make lump-less mashed potatoes. Last night they were great, though!

Dale and Marlene were supposed to fly back for Christmas, but Dale was taken to the hospital in Madrid, so they could not fly back. Hopefully everything will be OK, and in the meantime, Tay has been sending some video back with his emails. I think we are going to try to get set up with an account with VM Direct/Hello World so we can just do those all the time, and for both grandparents.

Katie leaves Friday, and we have a few more girly things to do before then. We went clothes shopping today and exchanged what we got her for Christmas because they just weren't cool enough. We also need to do our nails, and she is going to Angie's salon to get her hair cut and thinned.

Merry Christmas and hope Santa brought you all the right sized slippers!

Partying Down Carlson Style

We missed the Christmas Party last year when Brooks worked at The Pointe, because he had already given his notice that he was going to start working for Carlson. I was totally bummed, because that would have been a nice party for sure. So, this year I was really looking forward to the Carlson Party. They are a great company, and very secure. They have plenty of money, and are not afraid to spend it on their employees. So, I was totally psyched about where we would be going and what would be happening. Brooks remained calm and cool about the whole thing, but we don't get out much without the kids, so I was ready! Taylor tried a new babysitter and everything went great for him. He sat and watched some Sponge Bob with her and apparently laughed a bunch. He even took a bath, and get this-put himself to bed! She asked if he wanted her to lay down with him, and he said "nope" and went to sleep all by himself. He also apparently didn't notice that we were gone in the first place. He also didn't throw any tantrums or go wild and crazy, like he normally does for us. Usually around 8:30 or so he decides he is a wrestler and we have to deal with various wrestler moves when we least expect it. His favorite is "the plop" where he stands up and jumps on you. Jasmine could care less for that one.

Anyway, we happily left on our merry way to Old Town Scottsdale and a restaurant called Kazmierz. We'd looked it up on the internet before hand, and figured it was one of those uber trendy places. We entered through an unmarked door in the back. Which really was kinda silly, as we couldn't find it without someone pointing it out to us, and when I left to call Kristin and check up on Taylor, I had to point it out to a few people who were looking for the same door. We mingled around the bar for a bit, then went into a private room, and had our own wine connoisseur for the evening. The unpregnant people got to try five different wines, plus champagne set to complement their dinner. I smelled the wine and tried to teach Brooks a little about a proper wine tasting, but he could have cared less. That may be the one area where I am slightly more sophisticated then he. The appetizers were delish and Jasmine loved the brushetta best. The salad was next and sooooo delicious. It had arugula and pearl couscous-yum! The main course was an espresso rubbed steak with Yukon potatoes and some type of orange sauce on top. It was OK, but not the best steak I have had. But, for the price (free to us, a bajillion dollars for Carlson) I could not complain. Dessert was a warm brownie served in a cup, and a peanut butter and chocolate ball with a peanut butter cookie on the side. It was very chocolately and delicious! Carlson gave all their employees gifts from Tiffany's. The men received ballpoint pens and the ladies got sterling silver link bracelets-very pretty. We looked them up on the website later when we got home, and Brooks' pen was $150. He wants to sign out new mortgage papers with it.

It was so much fun to get out and have a nice dinner. Everyone he works with is so nice, and they all joke and get along together really well. I can't say enough how cool it is that he works for such a great company and how much they really do for their employees to show they care about them. There are some big changes happening with the company, and it is so exciting that Brooks gets to grow with them.

Jasmine's Close-Up

Yesterday little Jasmine received a 4D Ultrasound. We have been so excited about this, especially since it was not offered to us when Taylor was born. They had just come out back then, and now we were able to get one right at the doctor's office. She looks just like Taylor and was punching away. I am sure she was just practicing her cheerleader sparkles :) Taylor was very excited to see Baby Jasmine, and of course Daddy was there, too. She now weighs about 2 pounds 11 ounces and all bets are on as to whether she is going to be a chubby baby like her brother was. Everything looks great, and our next appointment is at 33 weeks.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

The world's cutest little boy turned three yesterday. We had his party at Chuck E. Cheese, and he had a great time. He had a Spiderman cake and got lots of cool presents. His best little friends came, and so did some of mommy and daddy's big friends. Daddy's friends played lots of games and won 1,000 tickets and let Taylor pick out a Spiderman lunch box from the prizes. We got Taylor a new big boy bike and he immediately got out his box of mighty tools to make sure we put it together correctly. Hopefully we did, as we were up til 2 in the morning working on it!He had such a busy day, Taylor fell asleep on the couch at 7:00.

I can't believe we have a three year old! And soon we will have another little one to spoil stinky rotten on her birthday. Being a mommy and daddy is so much fun.

Goodbye, Maggie

Taylor's Great-grandma passed away last Thursday night. She was wonderful in every possible way and we will miss her dearly. I am glad Tay was able to spend as much time as he could with her. We flew out there three times while he was in my tummy and three times since. She loved to travel, loved the Clemson Tigers and loved my grandpa. Since I am so far along in the pregnancy, we won't be able to fly out there, but will always remember Maggie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful, but busy Thanksgiving weekend. Brooks had the four days off, or course because his company will take the day off just to golf or sneeze for that matter. I think he wanted to rest and relax the whole weekend, but his crazy, hormonal wife had other plans.

We did chill out, actually, on Thanksgiving. We made ham (we are not turkey people), mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, chocolate mousse pie and cherry pie. Brooks helped quite a bit with the cooking, and we only managed to burn an oven mitt- between my forgetfulness and Brook's kitchen inexperience we did pretty well. It was delicious and very sweet that he helped out. In between cooking, we went and played basketball outside and Taylor ran around with his friends. Well, actually I watched Brooks play basketball. He is the best!

I had plans for us on Friday. We went to breakfast at Ikea, then bought a new dining room table. It is so nice to sit and eat as a family. Of course the table had to be assembled, so we did that too. We were nervous going shopping on Black Friday, but it actually was not bad at all. We got parking right up front and there was only one person in line in front of us. They were having a free delivery special, but the table easily fit in the car with the seats down. I wish we could have brought the leather love seat and chair to match the couch. But, hopefully later this month. After we put the table together, we brought out the Christmas tree and put it together. It is a fake tree but much easier then assembling a live one in a stand, and less mess although I miss the pine smell. Then we went to Walmart, and it was not busy there, either. Jasmine got a new Princess robe and Tay got a Bob the Builder potty seat for the big potty. Hopefully he will start using it :)

Saturday we went to our storage room to finally get rid of the last few boxes that had been in the dining room, but didn't fit so well with the table in there.We also picked up the big box of Christmas decorations. We whetted our sophisticated palettes at Taco Bell for lunch, then we all went and got haircuts at Angie's salon. Tay was such a big boy and sat in the chair all by himself again. I got a snazzy new haircut, of course you can't really tell with it pulled back in a pony tail, so you'll have to trust me. Brooks got his ole' reliable hair do, but he cold wear a potato sack on his head and still be handsome. Then we went to Ross and I got some new maternity clothes. Brooks was trying to find a new wallet, but they were all too boring for him. Once we got home, we all worked together and decorated the tree and house for Christmas. Tay did a great job, and he is so interested in Christmas right now. It is very cute!

Sunday we went to Toys R Us and bought Tay one of his birthday presents. It is pretty cool, and we know he will love it. We are trying to decide what else we'll get him for his birthday, what he'll get for Christmas and what he should ask Santa for. His birthday party is at Chuck E Cheese, and it should be lots of fun. We went to Cold Stone that night for dessert, and as Brooks says "chill-axed" the rest of the night.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Just one of those days...

Today was just one of those days where I was reminded of how cool it is to be a mommy, and especially, how great it is to be Taylor's mommy. He is the best little boy ever! So smart, cute and sweet!

Tay and Herbie

Taylor has lots of toys. He really likes them all, like monster trucks and his play kitchen and his many jets and Lego's and all those cool boy things. But, he really loves Herbie. He has three Herbie's: a big white Herbie he calls "mom Herbie", then there is a soft black Herbie that makes vroom vroom sounds, that's "black Herbie", then there is a small matchbox sized bug taxi cab, that actually is not a Herbie at all, but he calls it "Baby Herbie."Last night he was playing so hard, he just wore himself out and we found him asleep on the floor and snuggled up to mom Herbie.

Little Brooks

Hi everyone!

My name is Taylor Allan and I am almost three years old. I love my Mommy, but I love my Daddy, too! He is very silly and I like playing with him. He makes great animal sounds, and sometimes I call him "tiger" and he roars at me. I like to do the same things my daddy does. Mommy took this picture of me at the park, I was drinking water from the gallon, just like Daddy does. Sometimes, mom catches me trying to drink from water or milk out of the fridge this way. She gets mad when Daddy does it. One time, mom was making me and Daddy brownies and I got myself a spoon and dipped in in the brownie mix and walked away to eat it, just like Daddy does. The other day, I opened the cabinet and helped myself to a bag of chips and took it to my room to watch a movie. I thought it would make a good dinner. Daddy and I also like to eat the same things, like ramen and Totino's pizza. Daddy and I both like Transformers and he can pick me up and make me walk on the ceiling. We call it "Spiderman". Also, when I sleep I make the same face Daddy does, which mom says looks like I am puckering up for someone to kiss me. When I smile big or laugh, I make the same face as my Daddy, too. Since I am cute like my Daddy, Mommy usually does not get too mad at us. Lately, I like to pick out my own clothes, but Mommy says I look like my Uncle Ryan when I do that. I also like hanging out in my under ware, just like my Daddy. I like going places just with my Daddy, and sometimes I get mad at Mommy when she wants to come. Daddy buys me cool toys, and I love him very much.

That's our girl!

Here are Jasmine's 22 week ultrasound pics (finally!). She is super cute and wonderful. In her profile shot, she has her mouth open and looks very similar to Tay's profile shot around the same time. Looks like they will have the same nose :) In the picture of her face from the front, she is waving her hand behind her head, the other pic is her sweet little feet and toes. I hope she has little feet like her Mommy, but is taller-maybe not quite as tall as Daddy, but somewhere in between.

Have I mentioned we are very excited to have a little girl?

We have a name!!

The world's pickiest man finally decided on a name he liked as a middle name for Jasmine. We have looked at a bajillion different names. We wanted something unique, but not too funky. We were trying to find a pretty Arabic name, but couldn't agree on one. I like Aneesa, Ameerah, Rana, Aayliah-Brooks thought they were all too funky. We both liked Marie and Ann, but they were both not unique enough. I love the name Sarai, but he didn't. I also like Mia, Laurel and Lilly, but he liked Lauren, which is already the middle name of our sweet little niece (just spelled differently). Finally, he happened upon a name we both fell in love with- Natasha.

Jasmine Natasha Wintemute.

Sounds perfectly fitting for our sweet little princess. We also went to Babies R Us and set up a registry. We picked out the prettiest crib and some super cute princess bedding for her. This is going to be so wonderful! Of course, we bought Tay a toy because he was pretty patient while we were checking things out. He will be a great big brother.

Where did October go?

October was a busy, busy month. We held the first annual BizEMoms East Valley Bridal Affair. It was a success, but a lot of work. Check us out at www.BizEMoms.com. We have over 40 members, representing almost 50 valley business. At the expo, there were 63 unique businesses. I was in a bit of doo-doo with Brooks and I think he was tired of me running around and doing a bunch of stuff, so I have spent the week getting the house spic and span. Which is quite the feat with a spoiled stinky rotten two year old, and his many toys, and a dog who is questioning the need to go potty outside. My housewife must haves: my Dyson vacuum, my carpet cleaner, snuggle dryer sheets, cascade action packs, dawn with bleach and Kleenex cottenelle paper. All this costs a bit more, but is worth it!

OK, back to October. Tay also has a new friend. His name is Ray-Ray and he is three years old. He likes to come over and play and does so nearly every day now. He also likes chocolate milk and Cheetos, so I have to keep plenty on hand. Today he informed me that I should buy some starberry milk from the store, as well. He is super cute and although he is older, Tay could eat him for breakfast. They get along pretty well, but occasionally there are issues with sharing. Tay has also started picking out his own outfits, and loves one-on-one time with Dad.

Brooks is doing fine at work and things with the house are coming along slowly but surely. It will be great to be done with renting. We went to Maricopa last weekend on a reconnaissance mission to check out a restaurant for Carlson and it was delish! We also heard from our friends Farah and Hassam who have been MIA for a few months. They have two boys we had frequent play dates with, and will start up again. We are planning on a trip to San Diego later this month, and hopefully everything is OK with the fires. We are going to visit Sea World and the beach one last time before Tay turns three. We still have to go crib shopping and all that jazz, but will do so now that I have nothing but time (yeah right).With the success of the EVBA, we are getting calls and emails from people who want to know when the next one is.

Jasmine is doing well. Daddy finally felt her kick the other night. Her next appointment is this month, then December 11th is the 4D Ultrasound. We are super excited about that. She is a sweet little girl, much less rascally then her bother was in my tummy.

So, Hello November. Hopefully this is a more relaxing month.

Happy Halloween!

This was the first Halloween Taylor got to actually go trick-or-treating. It went over OK, he was a little scared of the older kids in costumes, but fortunately had the mighty daddy and the waddle-mommy to protect him.

We went out to dinner at Red Robin, then headed to my BizEMoms friend Jennifer's house for the first stop. She gave Tay tons of candy plus some play dough, which was a huge hit and dried up the first day as he didn't want to put it away. Then we went to another BizEMoms house and visited with Angie and her three doggies. The older two were dressed up like Snow White and Cinderella. We hit about ten houses or so in her neighborhood, then Tay was happy to go back and play with the dogs some more. He was totally pooped by the time we got home and so was I! It was an early evening, and I was out by 9:30.

It's a girl!!

Today was the big day we have been anxiously waiting on, for what seems like forever. I asked the ultrasound tech if there was anyway she could look at the private parts first, then tell us about the organs and all that. Of course, she looked at the most important stuff first, then after about ten minutes told us the big news- It's a girl!!! We are soooooo excited!!! We really wanted a girl! Of course, we would love a little boy, but we already have the best, cutest, sweetest, smartest little boy ever, so it would have been hard to top that. Now we will have a sweet, wonderful, cute and smart little girl. Oh this is going to be fun! Oh yeah, all the organs and measurments are fine. She is slightly more petite then her brother was, but she still has another 18 weeks to catch up.

Two's Good

The other day Brooks and I were talking about our decision to just have two kids. I brought up that I thought we might even be the type of people who would have been OK with just one. "If Taylor was the only child though", I said, "He'd be pretty spoiled." Brooks couldn't help himself, "Like he's not spoiled now?!" We are the parents who make the daily declaration that this kid does not need any more toys.

At all.

I am usually the one guilty of breaking this decision, but yesterday Brooks took Taylor out to run errands while I was teaching a CPR class and bought him a new red truck and a Wonder Pets movie. He said it was fun being the one to buy him things.

The new baby also has it's first fun little treat, even though it may not appreciate it as much as Mommy does. We bought a super awesome stroller for Taylor from Peg Perego. If you are having kids and can swing it, buy one of these. The stroller has such seemingly unnecessary luxuries as a three position backrest, 2 position foot rest, converts to a bassinet, ganciomatic wheels, reversible handlebar (my favorite and the big selling point), adjustable handlebar height for me, removable tray, and snazzy Italian fabric. Plus, it has a 60 pound weight limit, completely necessary for the chubby kids we seem to produce. The handlebar feature is super cool. You can reverse it so the baby is facing you or facing away from you, like on a traditional stroller. If Taylor fell asleep, I would just lower the backrest so he was laying down comfortably and switch the handle bar so he was facing me. But, we got this stroller when he was about one, so didn't purchase it as a travel system with the infant car seat. After some careful shopping, I found the matching car seat and we ordered it for the new baby so we now have the complete travel system. It is just as fancy as the stroller. This was tricky because Peg Perego changes their fabric each year, so I had to find a brand new one with the matching fabric. Those who know me well should never doubt my shopping abilities.

So maybe it's good we are stopping at two. I think if we had any more then that, we'd both be working two jobs.

36 Pounds of Cute

Being Taylor's mommy and daddy just seems to get better and better each day. He is sweet, precious, wonderful, cute, smart and the love of our lives and the reason for our existence. He has started saying lots of cute things like, "Mommy what are you doing?", "Daddy, what's happening?" and the other night came to our room about 3 in the morning and said, "Mommy, let's snuggle." How do you say no to that?

The big dilemma now is what do we do for his birthday? I mean, you only turn three once. We are going to San Diego and Sea World the week before his birthday, but still want to have some type of party for him. We can do either Pump it Up, Build a Bear, Chuck E Cheese, Peter Piper, Freestone or Desert Breeze Railroad parties...what do we do? We don't want to spend an arm and a leg because we would have just come back from a vacation, but we do want to do something special.

The Oreo Challenge

Brooks decided we needed to take the Domino's Oreo dessert pizza challenge. I think those commercials are a hoot, with the two guys working on their Oreo mustaches. Brooks tried his darndest, but couldn't seem to get it. Tay, on the other hand had quite an impressive Oreo stubble.

Hallelujah!

From the Book of Wintemute:
At first there were many boxes and no furniture. On the second day, and each day thereafter, a young child kept climbing the many boxes and saying, "Help! Help! I trouble!" On the third day and many days since, the situation created an unhappy pregnant woman. On the upteenth day of nagging, Brooks said, "Let there be a couch". And there was.

Yes! We have a couch! A beautiful brown leather couch that was just delivered today. Of course it came from our favorite four-lettered furniture store. So will the matching loveseat and recliner once we have the nice big house for it to fit in. Ah, it is awesome in every possible way. Now comes the hunt for a dinning set.

I am so happy I may just do laundry :)

Fun Weekened!

Tay and I just got back from spending the weekend at Grandma's. We drove down Friday after Brooks got off of work and first stopped in Tucson for Michael's birthday party. We had dinner at Araceli's then sang "Happy Birthday" and had baseball cake. Mikey got a pop up tube and tent play set, which Taylor was trying hard to break. So James packed it up and we started opening presents. I thought he would love the Woody and Buzz Lightyear we got him, but apparently Tay's beat-up Herbie car was much more interesting. The last time we were at Grandma's, Taylor discovered the Herbie movie and Sam's toy Herbie car. Try as I might, (and believe me- I tried!)I could not find a new Herbie car for him, so we bribed Sammy into giving Tay his old one. It is now missing a door, but Tay loves it. After the party, I headed to my mom's and Brooks went back home, where he slept in late and played Playstation, and watched movies all by himself. Ah, the life!

Meanwhile, Tay and I went to the Taiko drum concert on Saturday, which was awesome! Grandma is on the board of directors for the group, and this was Tay's third Japanese drum concert. He loved it, and made it through the first half like a champ. The second half he decided he'd rather be a wiggle worm, so we went outside and played. The best part was, we drove there in Grandma's bus, which he still thinks is the coolest thing ever.

Sunday we went to my aunt and uncle's house for a quilt making party for my Nana. Each grand kid and great-grand kid painted a square for the quilt and Araceli is going to sew it all together to give her for Christmas. Spanky made carne asada, which is to die for, and the kids played and had a blast. I brought Katie with me and she had a great time. It is always nice to see my cousins and Spanky and Terri. Terri said they wanted to have a baby shower for me, so we will definitely be back for that! I thought it was very sweet that they wanted to do that, and am excited to find out what the baby is so we can start planning!

Monday we went back into Tucson and met my friend Sybil for lunch. She just passed the bar and is a law clerk. We met her downtown and Tay thought it was pretty cool. We haven't really walked around downtown Phoenix yet, so he thought Tucson was pretty impressive. For lunch he had chicken noodle soup, chocolate milk and a cookie. I had a yummy salad with mandarin oranges, feta cheese, almonds and chicken. It is always fun to see Sybil. We have been friends since junior high, then lost touch and reconnected. She is a hoot and always has a funny story to tell. Plus, she appreciates my crazy stories.

Tuesday we came home, and Tay was very upset to have to say goodbye to Grandma. He cried some of the way home and then fell asleep in the car and once we were home we tucked him in to Taylor's bed. Daddy bought him a new truck with a trailer, towing a quad and he fell asleep with it in his arms. Brooks and I each get up a few times to check on him and he is so darn cute when he is sleeping. He is so cute all the time, really.

Oh, it was a fun weekend.

Getting Settled

We are finally getting settled down after this summer. We have a new apartment, which is only about a mile from our old one, but a little cheaper and definitely not as nice. But, in just a bit we will be in our new, beautiful house and this will all be worth it. I think if we had known our summer would be so much "fun", we would have just sucked it up and paid the higher rent, renewed our lease and continued on our merry way. I am down to the last few boxes, which have been getting unpacked slowly but surely as we are a busy family. This weekend Tay and I will be going back to Grandma's. Friday is Micheal's birthday, Saturday is the Taiko drum concert, Sunday is a quilt making party for my Nana, and Monday we said we would watch the kids.

The little baby is now 17 weeks and growing cuter and smarter each day. We are very happy to be a mommy and daddy again, and I am trying to make sure with everything that we have been doing, that this little one knows it is loved. We did not get an ultrasound at the last appointment, but Brooks took the day off of work to be there and we heard the heartbeat, which was very strong, and very wonderful. Our next appointment is the 19th of October and we will get an ultrasound, we should find out the sex and will schedule the 4D ultrasound then, which will happen at about 30 weeks. I can't wait to find out the sex so we can buy some baby furniture :)Jasmine will have pretty white wood, Shaun will have dark brown. Grandma has already bought the baby a cool saucer-type activity center, and a bouncer. Brooks bought a pack of yellow onesies and I enjoy looking at them and thinking about having something so tiny again. Well, tiny for a bit. If this baby is anything like it's brother, it won't be tiny long :) Jasmine-Shaun also started kicking so that I could feel it.

Speaking of big brother, Taylor is doing great. Daddy bought him a Cars race car driver costume he thinks its the coolest thing ever. He wears it around the house,and even out and about the town.Tay also got a new big buy haircut and sat in the chair all by himself. He goes to a real salon and so far has been sitting in our lap while getting his hair cut. This time he was a big boy and sat all by himself.

Brooks is good, work is great. This week the office is going to see Dana Carvey at a comedy club fundraiser for the ASU real estate program. Brooks starts his real estate licensing program next month. He does not intend to practice, but Carlson is paying for it and it benefits him with his work.

So, that's the haps. It feels good to be in our own bed, and unpacking our things and thinking about our new house. I am just trying to remember to take my prenatals and Omega Mom's each day and really enjoying being pregnant. I don't have morning sickness anymore, but am still tired all the time. But, there is so much to do!

Spider Monkey and Monster Trucks

The cutest, sweetest, most precious little boy ever finally got to go to Build A Bear this past week. I have been asking Brooks forever if we could take him. He did go to a build a bear-type place when we were at Mount Rushmore, but "Doggy" ended up getting lost during a day trip to Nogales. Doggy and Tay were best buddies, so I wanted to let him get another one. Daddy finally said yes, and off we went. Tay picked out a monkey, named Monkee, complete with a Spider Man costume. Somehow Tay has really gotten into Spider Man, which is really pretty funny. Daddy makes Monkee, the Spider Monkey do flips and twists and swings from chair to chair, it just cracks Tay up. Monkee comes everywhere with us, and I am hoping I can throw his "home" away soon. You other mom's know exactly what I am talking about. It goes between being a chew toy and a house for his other toys or he stuffs Monkee in it and bangs him around the place, since that box is nearly the size of Tay.

The other big thing is monster trucks. I found this video at Target for $1.48 and thought, why not? So I bought it and now monster trucks are the coolest thing. He watches the video and says, "Oh no!no!no!" "Watch out!" Oh, yes!" "Oh no, he lost a tire!" There is also a monster truck that is an Escalade, and today on the road, he pointed it out to us. "Is that an Esclade?" He asked us, then he said, "No, that's not an Escalade, it's a truck!" He was right, it was actually a Denali. And of course, he knows all the names: King Crunch, Grave Digger, Blue Thunder, Monster Butt (really it's Mutt, but he says Butt), Hot Wheels, Bounty Hunter-it goes on and on. I only hope when he is 16 he doesn't want either a monster truck or a VW Bus like Grandma. Maybe a Volvo?

Catch-Up

We have been having a great time at Grandma's but will be heading home soon. I have lots to do with the BizEMoms bridal expo coming up, and I am sure Daddy misses us.

We visited with Araceli and the kids, and ate some great Mexican food while we were there. Of course I forgot my karaoke machine so we didn't entertain the kids with our outstanding version of Whitney Houston's "Don't You wanna dance?" (at least I think that's what it is called, but I am sure you know the lyrics :)But, we had fun none the less. I also got to have lunch with Suzi, my friend from the nursery. We met at Old Chicago and Tay came with us. He entertained himself crawling around the floor and trying to play the video games. I got him one of those splat toys which was supposed to be a football or basketball, but turned out to be an eyeball. It was gross but he liked it. Mom and I went shopping, then ate some more great Mexican food, I went and had lunch with Katie at school, complete with my little carton of milk, and today we are going to go get sister pictures taken. We also got to visit with Erin and Tamar, and Tamar is just the cutest! I was calling her "honey" and now she calls me Auntie Honey. How cute is that? She even called me on the phone because she wanted to talk to Auntie Honey. Yesterday mom and I went into town because I had to get diapers for Tay and mom had a doctors appointment. We stopped and had lunch at Chuys, which was delicious. I have not had Chuys in forever and a day. It's fun being pregnant :)Tay also discovered how to unlock Grandma's glass doors, how to sneak out the doggy door and turn the hose on. He also cries like it is the end of he world when Grandma and Grandpa say no, which fortunately they have only done a few times. He has had a blast following Sammy and Katie around.

We have also talked to Daddy about 10 times a day. I do miss him, and I know Tay does too. Although he loves playing at Grandma's house, I am sure he wants to go home. We will have a busy next couple of weeks, but then hopefully will settle down. We have lots of shopping to do, things to plan and a new baby to start spoiling stinky rotten.

Bus Adventures

Today Tay and Katie and I went to the park in Patagonia to go play. Sounds like fun enough, except the big adventure was that we drove Grandma's VW Bus, Gus, to the park. I can't explain my parents sometimes, but they love VW's. They have normal cars- a 4-Runner and a Ford F250, then ehy have the VW's- Gertie the Bug, aDouble Cabbie they picked up in Colorado, and mom has Gus the Bus, a '71. I think they originally bought Gus for my older sister a few years ago when her old car died, but he was just too cool for her so she gave him back after a bit, and they happily took him back. Since then my mom has gotten him a fancy paint job back to his original color and some other restoration stuff I will probably never fully appreciate. He is now worth more then her 4-Runner. It's a hoot to see and hear my parents driving around in those cars. I can't explain it, but they love them and plan on showing them off at this year's Bugtoberfest in Tucson.

So, back to us and the park. I have in fact driven a bus before, but it was orange and the horn honked every time you used the turn signal. It also had a broken gas gauge and pretty much was a piece of dookie. So driving Gus today was like driving the Mercedes of buses, and a little like getting back on a bike. Once I made it slowly out of the ranch I was zooming down the highway on the 15 minute trip to Patagonia.There's a bunch of hippies in Patagonia anyway, so I figured I wouldn't be too much out of place. Tay loved it and had a blast riding in the back seat. After the park we went and had some ice cream. Tay and I shared a bowl, but really he ate most of it. This baby does not have too much of a sweet tooth, but it's older brother sure does!

Grandma's House

Tay and I are now at Grandma's house in Sonoita. It is very relaxing, and very green out here. Tay has been following Uncle Sammy around and trying to play with all of his toys. Katie, of course, is a great help and between the two of them for entertainment, Tay wants nothing to do with his poor mommy. I have been able to catch up on my bajillion emails and have been cleaning Grandma's house like crazy. Yesterday we drove into the big city of Sierra Vista and went shopping. Then we went and had lunch at Fernando's taco shop, my favorite kind of place. I could eat mexican food everyday and being my son, Tay could as well. I bought some new maternity clothes, which I very much need to start wearing. I have gained a bunch of weight so far, but I am sure the baby will be cute and healthy so it will be totally worth it. My first day down here, I went to vsit Araceli and the kids. She made her famous mole enchiladas, and sent me home with the leftovers. I woke up at 1:30 craving some, and it took all my willpower not to warm a serving up. As much as I can stuff myself during the day, eating at 1:30 in the morning just seems wrong.

There is an endless supply of toys here at Grandma's. Silly me actually brought a small tub of Taylor toys, which he has not touched at all. He found Sammy's Chevron cars, helicopters, jets and the big hit has been the micro-machines. He also loves Grandma's train room and so far has managed not to break anything. He loves playing out in the front courtyard and sneaks out there whenever I forget to lock the door. He is a sweet little angel though, and does occasionally need his mommy especially at bed time. He loves to snuggle and wraps his little arms around me very tight. I just love it! At the end of the day, there is nothing better than being with my little man.

First Look!

Today we had out first baby appointment and were able to see Little Jasmine-Shaun for the first time. Baby is very cute (was there any doubt?) and very active! We have been calling the baby "Jasmine-Shaun" since we do not yet know the sex, but absolutely intend to find out. We will also have one of those 4D ultrasounds done, but since I am only 10 weeks, we will have to wait a bit. We were very spoiled with Taylor and had an ultrasound at every appointment, this time we were just supposed to get one at 20 weeks, but the doctor had trouble hearing the heartbeat with the doppler machine and decided it warranted an ultrasound. Of course, baby was fine, just hiding. But as soon as baby figured out what was going on, we got quite a show! I figure if it is Jasmine, she was practicing her dance or cheerleading moves; Shaun was working on his jumpshot. We are so very very excited to be a mommy and daddy again and can't wait to meet our little one. Taylor doesn't quite have it figured out yet, but we have been working on it.
This pregnancy has been totally different that our first. I have been sick nearly everyday and am so exhausted all the time. But, I am so, so happy to be having this baby, that it is all worth it!

R.I.P. Fishy

Taylor's first pet, Fishy the Beta, has now gone to fish Heaven. He had a short, but fun life. Tay spent the first week staring at him and trying to show him his toys (as pictured), just in case he wanted to play. Brooks and I over fed him I am sure, as we do with all our animals. We often commented, "Wow, Beta's sure are hearty!" Unfortunately it was during a routine tank cleaning when Fishy just couldn't hold on any longer. Brooks speculates he probably wasn't doing so hot anyway. Don't tell PETA, but I am sure he will soon be replaced with Fishy #2.

South Carolina Visit

Taylor and I just got back for our week stay in Clemson, South Carolina. We had a great time, and it was just beautiful. We arrived about 11 pm the first night and stayed in Greenville, which is the small town the airport is in. My mom had flown in to Charlotte and was going to pick us up en route to Clemson the next day. Her flight ended up getting re-routed through Atlanta, so she actually drove to us in Greenville that night. Tay was the best little boy ever on the plane and once we landed, I called the hotel to have the shuttle pick us up from the airport. Unfortunately it had stopped running for the evening, so we decided to take a cab. I figured if I could fly into O'Hare, take a cab to Union Station, then the local train to my cousin's suburb all by myself, I could certainly handle a cab three miles to the hotel with Tay and just one piece of luggage. I asked at the airport information desk for the number to a cab company and she said she could arrange it for me. That's fine, I said, then I joked, it's not like it's a $40 cab ride. The nice lady looked at me sheepishly, then said, "We'll actually, it's $20". Wow! $20 bucks for three miles, looks like I am in the wrong business :)Tay and I were starvin' Marvins when we arrived at the hotel and decided to walk across the street to Logan's Roadhouse. It was a little after 11pm in Greenville, which is really 8 pm for us and the restaurant was ready to turn into a bar for the evening. I got a small steak, which was delicious and Tay had the mac n cheese while some one Kareoke'd to Lynard Skynard and the server swept up chewed peanut shells off the floor. I am sure we looked totally out of place, but Tay had a great time. He fell asleep shortly after we arrived at the hotel and I stayed up waiting for my mom and the kids. They were very excited to tell me about their new airplane, which was on Frontier Airlines and the minivan rental car we had. The next day we awoke, stuffed ourselves with breakfast and went to the zoo in Greenville. We got lost along the way, but managed to make it there. It happened to be "hot dog" day and there must have been the whole town of Greenville there. The kids ate hot dogs and Tay and I had ice cream and chips for 25 cents. It was a small zoo, and Tay picked out a stuffed penguin from the gift shop, then they played outside the zoo at this large playground. It was a nice morning, then we headed to Clemson, which is about an hour away. We called my Grandma when we arrived and she wanted to go to dinner with us, so we picked her up and went to the Keith Street Grill, which is by the University. There is a walkway with fishponds and a small waterfall just behind the open outside patio. Katie and Tay played most of the time, which was nice because I was actually able to eat at the same time as everyone else for once :) The next day, and for three more days that week, we ate at the Rivera, a yummy Turkish restaurant right by my Grandma's. It was one of my grandpa's favorite restaurants. A family owns it and they are very nice and the food is just fabulous. I ate the hummus and pita bread each time I went and took some back to the hotel so I could snack on it later. I took Katie to the store and bought her a kid's digital camera that looks like a pink cell phone complete with rhinestones as a thank-you for being so great with Taylor. Really, he wanted only to play with her and had no use for me most of the week. My Grandma also took us to this other restaurant, which is right on Lake Keowee (I think). We sat outside on the patio. There was a small playset for the kids and the view was just beautiful. You can see the University football stadium just on the other side of the lake. It sounds like we did a lot of eating out- and we did! We also went to the Chinese buffet that we went to last time we all got together, and this sandwhich shop in Pendelton, the Western Sizzlin' across from the hotel ( I don't think the walk burned off the calories from dinner) and ended the week at the Pizza Hut buffet. My aunt Karen came down from North Carolina with her new husband and kids who are from Brisbane, Australia. They were a lot of fun, and her new husband is super sweet. I guess I never figured Karen would ever get married or have kids and now she has two kids and a mushy husband who even paints her toenails! My uncle Jay came down just for a day, and so did a whole bunch of other family members. Even though we were there for my Grandpa's memorial, my Grandma wanted it to be a fun, and happy time and it was. She looks tired and weak, and has lost some hair and weight from her own cancer treatments. It was good to see her, but sad to see her at the same time. I don't know why it is decided that some people should die one way and others another way, but in this case it hardly seems fair. My Grandpa's memorial was beautiful and quite a few family members came in from all over the south to be there. My Grandpa had two eulogies read. One from another member of their church, and another from one of his co-workers who he had known for forty years. Him and his wife flew in from California just for two days to be there, and seemed like a fun couple. I met my mom's cousins who I had only seen in pictures, and saw my great aunts Norma and Barbara again. That morning, Taylor decided to practice his screaming banshee routine, so I left him in the church nursery with some volunteers so I could enjoy the memorial service. My grandma had asked me to do a reading, and I was very happy to. I started crying early on during the first hymnal, it just really touched me. As bad as it sounds, I haven't really ever paid much attention to the words of any hymnal, but for this one I did and they were just beautiful. I tried to stay smiling for Maggie and had some laughs while the rememberances were read by my Grandpa's friends. One told about how he fell asleep on a plane smoking a pipe and his tie caught on fire, or another time he tried to make creme brulee and the same thing happened, only this time his dinner guest's hair caught on fire. There was a reception afterwards and we talked and Taylor ran around and everyone thought he was "big for a two year old", but still very cute. It was a very nice service and a wonderful trip.

The Letter "Egg"

Tay has to be the smartest and cutest and most wonderful baby ever! We were reading stories and he started pointing to letters. "Look," he said, "The letter G!" I was amazed because as smart as he is, we haven't actually started working on letters yet. He does have the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics set, which we bought him before he was even one, but I didn't know he actually knew letters! But, the sweet little genius that he is, he did not stop there. "Oh, the letter egg!" (It was an A, but close enough :) He also pointed out "T", which sometimes is the letter "T" and sometimes is the letter "Tay". He knew "O", "B", "E", "Y", "C", and even some numbers, "1", "2", "4" and "10". So, of course we went out and bought him a new alphabet book. I am sure he will have the whole thing down in no time.

Look out Harvard!

Sick Baby :(

On Wednesday night/Thursday morning Tay woke with a high fever. He was miserable the rest of the day, but refused to take any medicine. We tried the liquid Motrin a couple of times, but he just spit it right back up at us. I tried crushing a Motrin a putting it in some chocolate pudding, but after one bite he figured out what Mommy was up to. I tried sneaking it in his drink with just as much success. Daddy stopped and picked up some Tylenol fast dissolves, but that went over like a lead balloon. He didn't want to eat and didn't drink much. Aside from being a stinker about taking his medicine, he is such a sweet little baby and it broke our hearts that he wasn't feeling well. Thursday night, Brooks started feeling sick too, so the boys ended up sleeping together and I crashed out on Tay's bunk bed. It was the best night of sleep I can remember in a long time! I slept solidly until 5 am when Tay came to get me and started throwing up. Brooks had a meeting at work, but planned on coming home early to share the joy of cleaning up throw up with me. But, it seems after Tay got the yuckies out of him, he was all better! A little while later he went to the fridge and started asking for cookies and cheerios, then mac n cheese. So after a breakfast of mac n cheese and lots of water, he was back to his old self.

Christmas in June!

Welcome to our new blog! There is always exciting things going on with us, so we thought we'd create this blog to share it all.

Dale and Marlene arrived back in the states this past weekend. Taylor was very happy to see Grandma and Papa again, and was showing off just how smart he is. Tay can count to 15 in English, 5 in Spanish, and has quite the vocabulary and imagination. He drew some pictures and shapes with Grandma and read a few books with Papa. Grandma and Papa watched Tay so we could go see a movie on Sunday, which happened to be our two-year anniversary. Brooks and I went to see A Mighty Heart, which was a great film. We, of course, ate like pigs at the theatre, had a hearty dinner, and left Grandma and Papa's house with a batch of homemade cookies.

Dale and Marlene brought us back lots of goodies, as usual. Tay got some cute T-shirts, as did Brooks, and I got a pink beach bag. We also received a wood picture frame, candy dish, and cheese board from Morocco, a beautiful porcelain statue from Toledo, Spain, and the coolest sword from Toledo, as well.