Pumpkin Patch

We took Taylor to his (and Jason's) first real pumpkin patch experience. And what I mean by real is that it was not set up in a parking lot by the mall like in San Diego. It was at a real farm out in the country, and there was lots of mud, and rain, and fall leaves. We had a blast taking the hay ride out to the fields, picking a pumpkin off the vine, and carting it back to the farm where we washed it and weighed it. They had a pumpkin launcher, which was fun to watch them send a pumpkin flying through the air way out into a field. Then on the top floor of the barn, there was a hay bale maze. I think it was meant for kids because the maze was not very high, so Jason and I cheated our way through. It was a wonderful day as a family full of memories and muddy shoes.

Like Father Like Son

Jason's mom photo-shopped this picture of Taylor to include a picture of Jason when he was a baby up in the corner. See the similarities?

Gap Baby

Baby Gap was having a casting call for some new models, so I decided to send in a few pictures of Taylor. The last day to enter is October 24th, then judges select 5 from each category: 0-4 yr old boys, 0-4 yr old girls, 5-12 yr old boys, and 5-12 yr old girls. If you are selected, you fly to San Francisco for a photo shoot, and from those pictures the public gets to choose a winner from each category. I'm sure it is a long shot, but we think Taylor is pretty cute, and we get comments everywhere we go how handsome he is. So, if he makes it to the top 5, we'll let you all know. Vote for Taylor! Here are the entered pictures.

Duck Hunt

Taylor absolutely loves his bath time! The second he gets in the water, his mission is to find the fireman rubber ducky and kick him. It is funny how focused he gets on catching it in his feet, of pinning it against the side of the tub. He also loves to splash and investigate his hands. But his favorite is when we get in the bath with him so he can swim around more. Here's Taylor and daddy. (Don't worry, daddy has his trunks on). :)

Fall Day With Nana & Grandpa

Yesterday we spent the afternoon enjoying a beautiful fall day! The sun was out, the air was cool, and the leaves on the trees were glowing reds, yellows, and oranges. We went to a park called Kelsey Creek, where I spent a lot of my childhood since it is right by my Nana and Granddad's house. They have huge barns full of horses, fenced in pastures for goats, sheep, cows, and pigs, and cages full of bunnies and chickens. They were having a big family festival, so they had music, a pumpkin patch, Kettle Corn, and arts and craft centers. We just wandered and enjoyed the day. Though Taylor couldn't participate in all the activities, it was still fun to go and see all the excitement in the other kids' faces. Someday he'll be running around and wanting to do everything.

"Ah-Choo!"

Well, after Jason's fabulous weekend at Nascar, he tired him self out so much that he got a cold, and a bad one. Of course, what goes around comes around, so Taylor got his first cold. I think it could have been worse, but he was kind of stuffy and did not enjoy me sucking out his nose. He also wasn't feeling all that great the first few days, so we resorted to giving him a little Tylenol to help him sleep better. I also got this infamous cold, but it stopped at a mild sore throat and slightly stuffy nose. We are hoping this all passes quickly because it is not so fun right now. Bring on the vitamin C!

Talledega Nights

This weekend, Jason got the opportunity of a lifetime: he was invited to the Talledega Nascar race. It was our friend Allen's birthday, so his wife Sandy had planned a big surprise trip to the race since Allen is a huge Nascar fan. She didn't want to go, so she invited Jason along. I'm not sure if he knew what he was getting himself into.

So the two flew first class to Atlanta, where they were staying at a nice Hilton. The first night they just tried to adjust to the time change and calm their excitement. Jason called me at 1am their time and couldn't sleep. Allen was headed for the gift shop to find some NyQuil to help him fall asleep. The next day they were picked up by a motor coach and taken 200 miles to the race track, where they got to tour the pits and walk around on the speedway (I think that is the right terminology). The weather was sunny and humid, of which I was jealous. They had a great time exploring around seeing all the action up close.

The next day was the big race, so they set out again for the 200 mile drive in on the motor coach. I never realized how big these races were, but I guess over 200,000 people attend, so you can only imagine the traffic in and out on the small Alabama roads leading to it. Well, to solve that problem, their motor coach had a police escort, so people pulled over for them and let them through! Talk about the royal treatment! It was a great race day: nice and warm, seats right in the middle of everything, and an endless sea of rednecks for Jason to gawk at and joke about. I mean, these are true rednecks. Jeff Gordon won that day, and all was well. As they drove back out to the hotel, they passed miles and miles of people camping just right off the road for this big event. Monday morning they flew home, and though very exhausted, Jason had the time of his life

While he was gone, Taylor and I had the weekend to our self. I had been working a lot up to that weekend, so I was very excited to spend some time with him. Saturday we went with Sandy to Salmon Days in Issaquah, an annual celebration of the salmon migration upstream to spawn. (For those who didn't grow up in the northwest, this means they swim miles up stream back to where they were hatched, lay and fertilize their eggs, and then die). We had a fabulous time wandering the booths, watching the salmon try and jump up the latter to the spawning area, and eating a foot long corn dog (which I regretted later). We also grooved to the tunes of a fun 4 man singing group. They had everyone up and dancing, and as they sang, "Sing a song, and you will make it rain", it began to rain!Then that night Taylor and I went to our new parent playgroup, where we had a great time singing songs, playing on the floor, and enjoying a great potluck.

It was a great weekend for all of us, but we were very excited to be reunited on Monday.

Playtime Picts

Do The Puyallup

Fair, that is. For those who are not from Seattle, this fair is one of the biggest events of the summer. You've got to get there very early in the morning to avoid the 2 hour traffic jam trying to get in later in the day. For 3 weeks in September, the fair grounds are busting with food booths (Fisher Scones are seriously to die for), barns full of animals, rides, and a pavilion with people selling stuff from blenders, to massagers, to toy helicopters. When I was in high school they used to take the whole school to the fair every year, so I hadn't been since then and was very excited to go back and introduce Jason and Taylor to the Puyallup. My first line of business: find a Fisher Scone. I love these warm buttery pieces of heaven so much that a friend from college, who was also from the Seattle area and loved the fair as I do, brought me back a dozen when he went home to do the Puyallup a few years back. Oh, it was so good, even better than I remembered. We then went wardering through the barns full of horses, cows, pigs, and bunnies. Taylor had fun looking at all the big animals, at least when he was awake. He was such a good boy and took a few naps on the stroller. We watched the Clydsdale horse show, which was very cool. They also had a Dock Dogs competition, where owners try to get their dogs to jump the furthest off a dock into a big pool. Some jumped in very willingly, others where not about to get in. And a fair favorite: Muttin' Bustin'. This event entails little kids getting placed on the back of a sheep, which is then released from the pin and the kids have to hold on for as long as possible. Some are lucky to make it 2 seconds, while others crash and burn right at the beginning of the ride. Taylor get ready. Next year it is all you. Other than that we just wandered and ate lots of bad food. Oh, small world, I ran into the friend from college who had brought me the scones (who still lives in San Diego, but was up with a bunch of friends who came to go to the fair). So good to see you John Paul and Sammer! Ok, now Taylor wants to tell you about it in his own words.

"Mommy, I'm trying to eat here and you're getting scone crumbs in my ear!"

"Hey, if its so good, can I have a bite?"

"Just call me T-Dawg"

"Daddy, why do those horsies have bows and braids in their manes?"

2 Month Photoshoot

For Taylor's 2 month pictures, I decided to take him to JC Penney. I heard they were pretty good for the price, and I want to capture each age as he grow (because he is changing so fast!). They said come a little early, have him well rested and fed, and ready to go. My appointment was at 10:40 (they opened at 10), so I got there early, fed him, and changed him. Well, they didn't call us in until 11:10, so by that point Taylor was asleep! So I had to jiggle him awake and try to get him perky looking for his pictures. The photographer had me sit to the side of him and hold him from behind so he wouldn't fall over. Then to make him smile, she started making these possessed tropical bird noises and sneezing loudly in his face. He just looked at her like she was from another planet, as she kept clicking pictures. I was getting frustrated because those weren't the kind of pictures I wanted. I wanted ones of his precious smile! So I tried to lean in and get him to smile. But then the lady said, "Back up, you're blocking the light!". Ooh, I was mad, but non confrontational me did nothing. I also wanted to incorporate his little lovey blanket, but she just ignored me when I told her. She finally got some smiles out of him, but I was not a happy camper. She also made me get in some pictures (which I was not planning on), so I had no makeup and a big puffy sweatshirt on. When it was over I was ready to go home because I had to work that night, but they told me I had to stay around and view them that day. Oh, and that they wouldn't be ready for 30 minutes. When it came time to view them, it was this high pressure, try to sell me on everything event. I just wanted to push the guy away from the computer and tell home to let me look at them on my own. Along with non confrontational, I'm also indecisive, so it took me a long time to figure out which ones I wanted. All the while the guy kept looking at his watch and trying to rush me. When it was all over and we were ready to check out, the price was not what I was thinking it would be. "Oh," he said, "The ones we enhanced in black and white or sepia are $15 a sheet, not $4". So you wait till we are checking out to tell me this!!!!! Grrrr! Thankfully some of the pictures turned out, but I will not be gracing my presence at JC Penney Portraits again.