"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

After Thanksgiving, Christmas is my favorite holiday, despite all the commercialism and expectations. Now that this is my 9th Christmas in Utah, (YIKES!!) I've grown used to having snow around and think that it adds that magical touch like in the movies. We might actually get a "White Christmas" this year, which is all the more exciting. It's been really nice not to have to work this year while trying to get everything ready for Christmas, which is why I'm not in such a rush this year and enjoying the season so much more. Plus it's fun to have a little one around, even though it gets busy keeping her away from the tree and having to find the "Little People" baby Jesus for the millionth time because she loves to take apart the Nativity and roll the pieces under the couch.

As the years go by and as I get older, Christmas has lost that excitement it used to have, like not being able to sleep on Christmas Eve. There are Sears commercials on right now that have home videos of people (both young and old) squealing with joy over their presents. Unfortunately, I haven't done that in years. Maybe it's because I buy the majority of my own presents, (like the punch bowl I just picked up) or because my poor husband is so afraid that I'll cry in disappointment like our first Christmas, that he'll only buy what's on my list, not leaving a whole lot of room for surprise. Both are my fault though and this year I'm more excited about what we got our parents than what I asked for. I think that excitement will return over time as Megan gets older and we'll be able to see Christmas through the eyes of our child/children.

My dad and brother arrived this morning and my sister will be here on Sunday. This will be the last year it'll be just the Taylor's since there's a 99.9% chance that my dad will be getting remarried in '08 (he's actually picking up the ring right now). So now we'll have not 2, but 3 other families to factor into our holiday plans. But then again, what's the Holiday's without family to share it with. I'm just grateful that my dad has found someone wonderful to share his life with again and is happier than I have seen him in years. Added bonus: Megan has someone else in her life to spoil her. I just feel really grateful for all that I have and that everyone in my family is healthy and happy. So, in case you didn't get our Christmas card have Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Fun Surprise

So, all week I've been trying to think of something to post and I just couldn't come up with anything. We've just had a busy week with Eric's Christmas work party on Monday, Young Women's on Tuesday, Enrichment on Wednesday, visiting teaching on Thursday, and trying to get our Christmas letter finished and mailed out. Nothing exciting or interesting to write about, just busy.

Well, that all changed about 15 minutes ago when my friend, Trista (the photographer) called. One of the pictures she took of us back in October (I've posted some pictures of Megan from the shoot) was downloaded and used in a music video. Not just any video though, it's the Daughtry "Home" video that was played at the AMA's. Crazy right?! We just did the photo shoot to get free family photos, not thinking anything like this will ever happen. The picture is of Eric dressed in military fatigues and I'm in a red shirt standing next to him. Here's the link the the video in case you want to watch it. We are shown about 2 min. and 47 sec. into it. http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid979078267/bctid1320139158

I'm not a Daughtry fan, but I've heard the song a few times and it's ok. It's quite touching though to watch the video with it's military theme. I do feel a little deceptive since Eric is not in the military and that's what the video is about, but we are a very patriotic family and pray for our service men and women daily. Eric is especially patriotic (I always tease him that it's because his name is in AmERICa) and even had an American flag on his birthday cake last year. So, I guess it's not that bad. Now I feel like I need to go to itunes and download the song. Not a bad ending to a very busy week.

I've been tagged!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player lists 6 little-known facts/habits about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Here are my 6 things:


1. I am super envious of my sister's talents and sense of style. She always looks so cute and I'm tempted to steal her clothes when we're together. Plus, she's a super talented artist and photographer. She has an awesome creative eye that can't be learned (believe me, I've tried). She cracks me up all the time and while I'm glad she's having the time of her life in the OC, I miss her terribly and am glad she's coming to see me for Christmas.

2. Among other things, I really wish I knew how to play the piano. For whatever reason, I am one of the very few kids whose mother never made them take piano, or any other instrument for that matter. My neighbor teaches lessons and have thought about starting lessons quite a few times. We do not have a piano though and I'm afraid I'll suck at it. Maybe that should be one of my New Year's resolutions.

3. My favorite gross Christmas food is the popcorn from those tins that have the three flavors in them: cheese, caramel, and butter. I don't know why I love it, but I do and it totally grosses Eric out. It's just not Christmas to me without pigging out on it while watching a cheesy Christmas movie. I actually bought one today.

4. I love fireworks! I think they're magical. They are my favorite part of the Summer and love that they have them on the 4th and 24th of July here. I am giddy like a little girl while watching them. I have to watch them every time I go to Disneyland too. When I was little and we lived by Disneyland, we spent many Sunday nights at the Disneyland Hotel watching the "Dancing Waters" show followed by fireworks. Our house overlooks Utah Valley from the back and you can see all the cities' firework shows on the 4th. It's the best.

5. I was expelled from Seminary when I was a Sophomore. It's a really long and complicated story, but basically my teacher was a psycho and total weirdo. He expelled more than half the class. I had to do bookwork to make up for it and actually learned a lot more that way than from attending class. I still graduated from Seminary and went on to BYU, so not a big deal in the long run. It did cause quite a commotion in our stake at the time though and makes for a good rebellious high school story.

6. I don't really like milk. The only time I have it is when it's in my cereal or with a chocolaty treat. You will NEVER catch me drinking it without one. Eric loves milk and we actually go through 3 gallons about ever 10 days. It makes me a little nervous about osteoporosis when I am older, so I try to compensate by taking a calcium supplement. I do however like yogurt, cheese, ice cream, and of course chocolate milk, just not the plain stuff.

I'm not going to "tag" anyone, but feel free to share a few of your little known facts/habits on your next blog.

So Long Fall... Hello Christmas

We have had a VERY pleasant October and November this year. Megan and I have been able to be outside for much longer than I thought. It was over 65 degrees the Monday before Thanksgiving. I had looked at the weather forecast and saw that it was going to be the last warm day, so I found a pile of leaves for Megan to play in and for me to take pictures of her.

Sadly, that nice, warm, California weather has left us. I think that's why I've been having such a hard time believing that it was Thanksgiving last week. It was just too warm. Normally we have some snow by now and are toting around huge jackets to keep us warm. I know I've been in Utah too long when I think there should be snow around Thanksgiving. I can't believe it's almost December. I have hardly any Christmas shopping done and am blaming it on the weather. It's been too nice to think that Christmas is less than a month away. Now that I have my tree and Christmas decorations up, though, reality has set in and I need to get on the ball. We did take our family Christmas picture, so at least I have that finished. This month has just flown by. I've had company on and off since the 8th, so I'm sure that had something to do with it. It'll be nice to get back to our regular schedule.

The Stairs of Death

At our house, we have what I like to refer to as "The Stairs of Death". They are the tile stairs that go from my kitchen down to the family room. I have on more than one occasions slipped on these stairs and almost killed myself. The stair edges are very sharp and they aren't really long enough for your feet - very awkward and very dangerous. We also have carpeted stairs that lead from the family room down to our basement and for some silly reason, those were the stairs that I was worried Megan would discover and fall down first. We even bought a baby gate to keep her from falling down those stairs. Needless to say, I was wrong. Since she can hear and see me when I'm in the kitchen, she wants to be where I am, and thus goes for The Stairs of Death. The other day I found her on the second stair making her way to me with no fear of all of the potential of death that awaited her. So, I ran over to make sure we didn't have an trip to the ER in the very near future, and then snapped a few pic's of my fearless baby. We have since bought a huge baby gate that will keep her corralled in the family room and far away from The Stairs of Death.

As you can see from the picture, we tried to block off the stairs with the laundry basket and the diaper bag. Megan just moved those aside. Nothing was going to stop her!

Halloween Fun

When I was pregnant last year with Megan I decided that for Megan's first Halloween I wanted to dress up as Cruela de Vil and have Megan be my dalmatian. I already had a black dress and white long coat, so all I needed was read gloves, a wig, and a dalmatian costume for Megan. Sounds pretty easy, right? Well, finding a dalmatian costume that was cute and affordable was rather difficult. I started to look in September and wasn't having any luck. I had looked everywhere including eBay, Disney, Target, Walmart, etc. and couldn't find anything. Thanks to my sister, Queen of the Internet Jill, we found one at Kmart. I was stoked that it was cute and only $12. Added bonus that it is a warm costume since it's been known to snow in Utah on Halloween (this year it was unseasonable warm). Megan and I had a fun night stopping by some neighbor's houses to say hi while Eric stayed home to pass out candy. I tried to get him to come around with us, but he insisted that we really needed to get rid of all the candy we bought at Costco, and sadly, he was right. I'm bummed that our ward doesn't do Halloween parties. It was fun to dress up with Megan and now I'm sad that I have to wait a whole year before we can do it again. Overall, a very success first Halloween with our little one.

Photo Shoot

I have a friend in our neighborhood who is a gifted photographer. She does a lot of photography for her website at www.istockphoto.com/imagesbytrista. She organized a photo shoot last weekend and invited us to be models. Mostly I wanted to do it to get cute pictures of Megan. It was a long morning, but Megan did really well. Some of the photographers have started to email me the pictures. Here are a few of my favorites so far. The one of Megan in the briefcase already has a download!

Miss Independent

Our little Megan is now mobile. She started crawling this last week. She's not very fast yet (thank goodness), but is quickly realizing how much freedom she has now and I'm acutely aware of how NOT baby proofed my house currently is. Megan's favorite spot to be right now is under tables. She crawled under one of our side tables in the family room on Friday and managed to unplug the floor lamp. I'm just glad I caught her before she pulled the lamp onto herself. We also have a set of stairs going down to the basement that need a baby gate now and she also likes to crawl on the tile. Yesterday she was trying to pull herself up on the bottom stair and was frustrated that she couldn't do it. My busy girl is just getting busier. It's fun to watch her learn new things though.

She's also become a very independent eater now and prefers to feed herself rather than me feeding her baby food. This weekend was spent looking up what 7-8 months old can eat by themselves. We've tried bananas, string cheese, and bread so far. I think I'm going to venture out to Barnes and Noble today and look for the super baby foods book my friend Mandy was telling me about because I don't know how much longer baby food is going to work.

This Time of Year

Wednesday was my sister-in-law's birthday and she had a BYU intramural soccer game, so Megan and I went to go watch. As I was walking through campus to the new Indoor Practice Field, I got all nostalgic for my days at BYU. I think it's the Fall - the cooler weather, BYU football games and the changing colors. I miss being in school this time of year, even though it's been 5 years since I've been in school in the Fall. It's like Tom Hanks says on "You've Got Mail", "Don't you just love New York in the Fall? It makes me want to go buy school supplies." I feel the same way, but for Utah instead of New York. I'm sure it will be sooner than I think that I'll have a little one in school and get to buy those school supplies again. Thanks to all my BYU friends that made my time there special and a period in my life that I will always look back on and can't help but smile.

I love tiny babies!

On Friday I took lunch over to my very pregnant friend, Natalie, and her 2 year old daughter, Addie. I told her that she should really have her baby this weekend, and I must be good luck, because she went into labor 20 minutes after I left. Eric, Megan, and I went to the hospital this afternoon to see her and her new tiny 6.5 lb. baby girl, Elizabeth. She had her baby at the same hospital I had Megan at and I got all nostalgic as I walked passed the room that I stayed in. It made me miss my tiny Megan. I know she's only 7 months old, but I almost cry when I look at her new born pictures. She's getting so big so fast and learning new things everyday. This evening she learned how to get her little cereal puffs into her mouth after a week of trying. It's exciting to see her grow and develop, but I miss my cuddly baby who would lay in my arms for hours. Now she wants to be big and would rather play on the ground with her toys than sit in my arms. I completely agree with my sister-in-law who said that if babies would stay smaller longer, we wouldn't want so many of them. Thanks to Natalie, I can get my newborn fix without having to have one right now. So, here are pictures of my tiny baby, who is no longer so tiny, and Natalie's sweet new baby, Elizabeth.

Eric is no longer left in an empty house. Megan and I got back from Northern California on Monday evening. We had a great trip. My dad turned 50 on Sunday, so Megan and I had to go and celebrate. My brother, Jef, is living at home going to school and my sister, Jill, drive up from Orange County where she is attending Cal State Fullerton. Although this was Megan's third airplane trip, it was our hardest. You'd think it would get better with each trip, but it gets worse as she gets older and wants to be more mobile. I think I only made it on the flight to Cali because of the nice man we sat next to who also has a 7 month old and was very helpful and kind. Needless to say, we will not be traveling for the Holidays this year.

Some of my mom's friends put together an open house for Megan and me for friends to stop by and see the baby since it was Conference weekend and it was the first time we'd been home since Megan was born. It was really great to see everyone and catch up on how everyone is doing. I had a couple of friends who drove an hour or more to see us, which really meant a lot. For those of you who don't know, my mom passed away from cancer about 3 years ago and it's very touching how the ward still cares very much about our little family. I called a few friends before I came to see if I could round up some baby gear so I didn't have to bring mine. It was so nice not to have to bring a car seat and port-a-crib. I was just very impressed with everyone's kindness this trip. Overall, we had a great time and it was worth the plane rides with a very wiggly 7 month old.

Home Alone...and it's raining by Eric

So...I am home alone. No Megan, No Jen. They are visiting "granddad" in Cali for his 50th bday. It is the first time I have been alone in like..forever. I don't mind it so much but it is kind of different. Coming from a family of 9 children, then a mission, then college, and now being married with a baby I really haven't had the opportunity to spend a whole lot of time by myself, unless you count driving in car to and from work- which I don't.

So I am left to comtemplate the silence, except for my ipod is on, rocking out way louder then Jen would tolerate.

So what am I doing....eating! What else is there to do in an empty house? I am preparing my breakfast feast for conference morning- Peach waffles- topped with...yes, more peaches and whip cream. Sounds good doesn't it? That is because peaches are the most delicious fruit. I nearly cried this last week when peach "season" ended. I have learned over the last few years how to extend the "season" out another week to 10 days. Have you heard of refridgeration?

So I have 11 left, and that is it until next September. Sad huh, well it could be worse. I could be home- alone and it could be raining, and have no food. Thankfully I live in the best country in the world, where we have food palaces full of everything you need to make it through nights alone, missing your girls. Happy Birthday Granddad, I can't think of a more fantastic present then to spend time with Jen and Megan. Living with them is attending a party everyday.

p.s. this is my first blog post ever in my life, so I have no idea how to attach a picture of me with my peaches. Rest assured I will savor every last one.

Sleeping Beauty

I like to check on Megan while she's napping. I'm not one of those overly paranoid mothers, but check on her because I think she's really cute while she's sleeping. I'm always amazed at how much ground she covers in a little crib though. Seriuosly, that chick is all over the place. I figured out how to turn my camera on silent so I can take pictures of her sleeping without waking her. This is the latest one. I thought it was pretty funny. Sometimes I'll go in to get her after she's woken up and she's pulling the bumper down. All I can see is a little head peaking through the bars. It's like she's in baby jail, trying to get out.

Spring Cleaning in the Fall

I missed Spring Cleaning this year due to the fact that I just had a baby and decided to play a little catch up. I was finally sick of my closet and drawers overflowing with clothes I no longer like or wear and cleaned them out on Friday. I didn't take that long, but I was AMAZED at the amount I got rid of, so I had to take pictures and post them. (That is Megan on the bed, and I don't leave her there unattended, so please don't call social services). For the record, this is what I took to D.I.: 11 skirts, 4 pairs of jeans, 7 pairs of pants, 3 capri's, 6 sweaters, 40 shirts, 4 dresses, 13 tanks tops, 5 pair of shorts, 1 purse, 1 pair of shoes, and 2 slips. Yes, that's right, 97 articles of clothing. You're probably wonder, "Does she have anything left?", and yes I do. The sad thing is, I probably should have donated a few more things, but am giving them one more year. But seriously, what was I doing with 13 tank tops that I never wear?! Well, I was so proud of myself that I got a babysitter and Eric and I went out. It was our first experience with a non-mother as a babysitter and it went really well. So well, that we might do it again this weekend.

Yellowstone

Every year my dad goes to Yellowstone to go fly fishing for a week or two and Eric and I usually go up and meet him for the weekend. We went this last weekend and it was quite a different experience with a little one. We stay in a hotel when we go because 1) I don't really enjoy camping, 2) we don't have much camping equipment besides some chairs and 2 sleeping bags, and 3) I don't really enjoy camping (did I mention that already?). I don't mind the outdoors and rather enjoy them, but I'm a little too partial to sleeping in a bed rather than an uncomfortable air mattress that will inevitably deflate by the morning and then I'm just on the hard ground. That being said, Yellowstone is much more enjoyable to me by staying in a hotel rather than camping. Well, Megan woke up for about an hour in the middle of the night Friday night, so there goes my good-night's rest. Megan did do really well all day Saturday while touring around the park. Normally she's quite the wiggle worm, but when she's outside in her stroller, she's completely still, just taking in the sights. She also likes to hold onto the sides of the stroller, like it's her throne and she is queen of the world. It's quite cute. We saw some elk and buffalo, with Eric being the most excited out of the 4 of us. It was the warmest it has EVER been while we were there, almost 80 degrees. Overall a very pleasant day, until very late that night when Megan woke up not twice, but three times. I was really wasted and starting to get a cold, so we bagged church and slept in as much as we could and then ate a delicious breakfast at the Running Bear Pancake House. The food is so good we ate there twice. I highly recommend it if you are ever in West Yellowstone in need of some breakfast. We drove home after feeding our faces with yummy pancakes and eggs. Megan decided that she had enough of the car after about 2 hours and wouldn't stop screaming. Fortunately, we were near Blackfoot, Idaho and able to stop where the trashiest people I've ever seen reside. After about a 30 minute break from the car, we got back in the car and Megan fell quickly asleep for the rest of the drive. Overall, a pretty successful trip, although not much sleep.

I'm giving in

Alright, I'm finally giving into social pressure and creating a blog. As if I don't spend enough time on the internet as it is, but I feel like it's a great way to keep everyone up to date with our goings-on. Mostly I think it will be pictures of Megan and what she's up to, but that's ok since Eric and I are pretty boring and not nearly as cute as Megan.