The BG's

We made another trip to the Botanical Gardens earlier this month. Taylor LOVES, LOVES, LOVES being outdoors. This trip was a little bit warmer than the last one, but it was still pretty windy. Taylor's favorite parts of the gardens are the bridges and anywhere where there is water. She loves walking back and forth over the bridges and sticking her hand in the water every chance she gets. I look forward to our future visits to see how things evolve as everything gets greener and prettier. Thanks to all of our friends who meet us there to have lunch and hang out!

Happy 1st Birthday, Noah!

We had Noah's birthday party on Friday, and Cari did a fabulous job! She made little signs that had pictures of Noah from each month of his first year, and she made one of the most awesome and creative cakes that I have seen someone- who is not a professional, mind you- do. Come on, Cari- can you at least rub off some of your creativity on me? ;-) We all had a great time and enjoyed spending time with all the family. Thanks, Mom & Dad Mayfield, for letting us crash your house! I hope it wasn't too much of a disaster after we left and that there wasn't too much dirt and mud tracked in the house. (Jared tracked mud all over our carpet when we got home that night!) Noah racked up on presents, too!! I just can't believe how big our babies are getting!

singing Happy Birthday to Noah

Noah eating/playing with his cake

Taylor enjoying Noah's birthday presents (he shared really well!)

Jared taking on Ty, Emma, and Gavin all at once

Miss Independent

Yesterday, Taylor and I met up with aunts and cousins at Madison Square Mall for lunch and a fun day at the mall. I wasn't really sure how Taylor would do playing around all the other kids. I figured she would want me to be right by her side the whole time, and when other kids got close to her, I figured she would cry or whine. It turned out just the opposite. It took her a few minutes to warm up, but then, she was all over the place. The older kids were running around her, bumping into her, jumping over her, but she didn't let them bother her. She just kept on going. I even had one mom come up to me and ask how old she was. I told her 15 months, and she said, "Wow! She's so independent. She must have an older brother or sister." I told her no and that I was actually quite surprised myself at how well she was doing. I'm so proud of my big girl! I think she especially loved the bridge that you could slide down, but she always laid down on her stomach and slid down feet first ;-)

Also, yesterday was my nephew Noah's 1st birthday, but we're having the big 1st birthday celebration tonight. Happy Birthday, Noah!

Videos

Just some extra cute videos of Taylor... (I'm not sure why she's almost naked in all of them. She really doesn't walk around the house wearing a diaper- or less- very often. Maybe that's just when she is the goofiest!)

I love how she picks up the baby, hugs it, and then slams it down into the stroller!

All of the water had just drained out of the bathtub, but apparently, she was not done having fun. She has gotten where she really likes lying on her stomach in the bathtub. She also likes to try to look down the drain.

In this one, she was just being goofy and laughing like a mad woman. This is only a glimpse of it. She was actually a lot crazier before I started videotaping.

Easter

March 21st was my brother's birthday, so we got together at my mom's house for dinner to celebrate and to dye Easter eggs since Easter was just two days later. The boys had a lot of fun dying the eggs, and I'm glad that Taylor was content just sitting in Grandma's lap and didn't feel the need to get up and get into all of the dye.



Can you tell that our family LOVES cookie cakes? We'll use just about any special occasion or holiday as an excuse to get one ;-)












Taylor looked very cute on Easter. Unfortunately, I didn't get any really great pictures of her. We didn't have time before church, and then afterwards, it was really cold and windy plus it was time for her nap so it just didn't work out. Taylor did get an excellent nap that day though. She usually falls asleep on the way home from church on Sundays, and then, we just pray that she'll stay asleep for a little while once we get home. It usually doesn't last long, so Jared and I have started skipping lunch and trying to get a short nap in while she's asleep as well. My mom was going to come by to bring us Easter baskets, and I figured Taylor would be awake by then. Well, I woke up to the sound of my mom knocking on the door and was surprised that Taylor had not already woken us up because I think it was already after 3:00pm. In the second row of the collage, you can see the picture of Taylor all sprawled out in her crib. Her left foot was even stuck between the railing, but she didn't seem to mind it too much. Mom brought lots of toys and candy, all of which Taylor has thoroughly enjoyed. (Taylor got a little preview of the chocolate when Mom babysat her while we were in Nashville). She got a cute little baby doll that Taylor loves to carry around, hug, and give kisses to, and she got a stroller to go with it. She got her a coloring book and crayons, which I thought Taylor would be all about because she has been really interested in my pens and wanting to write on stuff, but at this point, Taylor is more interested in trying to EAT the crayons. She also got two little toys that play music. One is a bear that puts its hands together and says a bedtime prayer and is actually quite sweet. The other one is a chick in an egg that plays "the chicken song" (you know- the one that they play at all sporting events and people flap their arms like chicken, shake their butts, and clap). Yeah- that one gets a little annoying after a few times... haha.. thanks, Mom! Taylor loves it though. Maybe when it gets warmer, we'll be able to go outside somewhere and take some better pictures of Taylor in her Easter dress.... and seriously, THANK YOU, Mom, for everything!

Trip to Nashville

For Jared's birthday, David bought him a ticket to a soccer game in Nashville on March 20th. That day, David, Jess, Jared, and I drove up to Nashville and went to one of the malls there. We browsed around some of the stores and ate dinner and then headed to the game. We had to walk across a big bridge to get to the stadium, so I was able to get some pictures of the stadium and downtown Nashville. The U.S. played Canada to qualify for the Olympics. We won 3-0! Jared was pretty happy because he's been to a couple other U.S. games, and in one of them, they tied 0-0 and the other one they lost, so it was nice to see a game where they played well and won. There is a video below that shows some of the highlights from the game.

Free Day at the Botanical Gardens!

Last month, Cari found out that the Botanical Gardens was having a free day for the public. I had never been before because it's not cheap, so I thought this was a great opportunity, and I had been dying to get outdoors and do something! We met up with Misty and the girls that she nannies and some other friends. We quickly ate lunch around some picnic tables and then let the kids go explore. It was a little chilly and windy, so we couldn't sit still for long. The only thing that Taylor was really interested in was walking around in the dead grass. I don't know if she liked the feel of it or liked how it crunched or what. She had grass all over her- and ME! I think Jared is proud to have a girl that likes to get dirty ;-) We've heard that the Botanical Gardens does a free day every month, so I think we'll try to make it a regular thing. The next free day is April 8th. Anyone who wants to join us is welcome to come!! Hopefully the weather will be nice (and a little warmer this time!). Thanks, Cari, for letting us know about this!