Taylor Time

It's Christmas Time Again and Taylor was ready to go. The "12" days of Christmas started for us on Friday night with Kevin's work Christmas party and then on Saturday night we got together with the Moberg side of the family (sorry no pictures). Sunday night we headed up to north to have dinner and open presents with Grandma Debbie, Jeff, Brittney, Amanda, Jonah, Ashley, Shawn, and Zachariah. Taylor is playing with her new stroller in this picture. If you look at the lights on the tree you will see how fast the kids are running around! Monday morning it was back to the Moberg's for brunch and gifts. Taylor is wearing her Aunt Angela's old Christmas dress in this picture. Monday evening we celebrated with the Floreks. We opened presents with Grandpa Scott, Laura, Anna, Amanda, Jonah, Ashley, Shawn, and Zachariah at our house then we headed to Olympia for a larger Florek gathering. Taylor had a great time running around with her cousin as well as relaxing w...

The Gingerbread House I was so impressed when Kevin came home with a gingerbread house kit. He said he saw it at the store and thought it would be a fun family activity! Ahhh how sweet! =) Taylor wasn't too into the construction of the house, but she was definitely concerned about where the candy was going. She ate it as fast as we put it on the house. I've already had to replace 3 jelly beans on the front walkway.

This is how much I love my pacifiers! I can't get enough.

Our new pet Wednesday night our small group had a $5 gift exchange and this is what I got to take home- a gold fish. I knew Taylor would be excited. She has named him/her Fishy!

The Lights of Christmas This past Sunday we went with Grandpa and Grandma Moberg to The Lights of Christmas in Stanwood, WA (north of Everett) at Warm Beach Christian Camp. We had a lot of fun! Taylor was a little grumpy, but she's been sick for a couple of weeks with a cough and fever so her behavior was understandable! They had a million lights displayed and it was beautiful. There were all sorts of activities such as pony rides, train rides, draft horse wagon rides, animals to pet, sitting on Santa's lap and more. They also have yummy treats like kettle corn, Bavarian cream stuffed churros, and fresh, made right in front of you, cinnamon and sugar doughnuts. We highly recommend this place to all families, it is worth the drive! Taylor petting the rabbit. Notice Taylor's fashionable "mittens"? We recently bought Taylor proper mittens, but the dryer monster seems to have eaten one of them so I had to come up with a plan B to keep her little hands warm. So, thank...

Sorry - we have slacked on our postings big time! I took some time to catch us up so there are several new postings, be sure to scroll all the way down.

" Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow" It snowed today! Our snow is already gone, but it sure was fun watching it come down.

Happy Birthday Great-Grandma! This last Wednesday was Great-Grandma Smith's birthday. We drove down to Centralia to enjoy a delicious birthday dinner with her. Taylor was Grandma's helper. Blowing out the candles! Happy Birthday ~ We love you lots!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went on a Christmas tree quest. We visited The Red Barn tree farm and found this year's tree. Taylor had fun running through the forest of trees and riding on their train.

Thanksgiving We want turkey! Some of my family Playing Great-Grandma Smith's piano Taylor got to have 2 Thanksgiving dinners this year. On Thanksgiving day we went down to Centralia to Taylor's Great-Grandpa & Great-Grandma Smith's house. She had a lot of fun playing with her cousin, Zachariah. Then on Friday (sorry Moberg's we didn't take any pictures) we went to her Grandpa & Grandma Moberg's house for round 2.

Now that Thanksgiving is over Taylor is all decked out for winter and the cold weather that has started rolling in. Taylor was clued into the shopping madness that is "Black Friday" last year and jumped into her shopping cart ready to join Mom on her shopping blitz this year. Needless to say she was a little disheartened when she found out Mom wasn't going to be taking her along. Hanging out with Dad worked out alright - we went to Sears, bought some tools for work, and then drove over the Tacoma Dome to watch her first live football game. Cascade Christian, Dad's old football team, was playing in the state semifinal. She slept through the 3rd quarter, but enjoyed being up close to the action as well as clapping and cheering along with the crowd.

"Working" with Dad Kevin is starting a job next week at the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal so Taylor and I went with him to check it out. Here we are on the beach. Taylor thought sand might be yummy so she took a bite. Oops - apparently it DOESN'T taste good. Do you think it stopped her from trying it again???? Taylor suddenly laid down and started making sand angels, it was pretty funny! Rocks! Taylor LOVES rocks! Random Taylor facts: She has 15 teeth now. She learned to say yes this last week and it is ADORABLE! She even uses it correctly. She named her pacifer "paci" She is in the 97th percentile for her height (2' 8 3/4") She weighs 23 lbs. 14oz

Mt. St. Helens Sarah & Rebb, Meredith & Eric, Kevin & Taylor Taylor celebrating the end of a long car ride. A little hike for a better view. Taylor was told to stay on the path... The weather was wonderful, but not the best for picture taking. Here she is Mt. St. Helens Taylor learning about lava. A couple of weekends ago we took a day trip down to Mt. St. Helens with some friends. Our trip was inspired by the permanent closing of the Coldwater Visitor Center (due to lack of funding) plus the Johnston Center was closing for the winter. We had a great time. The only thing Taylor wanted to do was play in the rocks! She was distracted for several minutes by a grasshopper, but then she went straight back to the rocks. This would have been okay, but technically that is against the rules! Everyone is supposed to stay on the path. It was challenging for Taylor to understand!

Look who we found wandering in our backyard - ELMO Taylor was decked out in muppet fur and ready to go The only problem was an empty bucket Don't worry, she quickly figured out how to fix that problem - Nothing's better than candy from the King The afternoon ended with a full bucket and an exhausted daughter We started the afternoon up in Des Moines with her cousin Zach. The local businesses all hand out candy and Taylor was quite the trooper. She walked door to door (over 10 blocks) and quickly learned that she was supposed to reach in, take some candy out, and put it into her bucket. She can say trick-or-treat, but got gun shy around strangers. Who would have thought - she has no clue what candy is - but that didn't stop her from this joyful quest. The evening ended at a harvest party at my parent's church. Here the goal was to work yourself around the gym from carnival game to carnival game and the prize was always candy. The only problem is Taylor was now "...

Happy Birthday Daddy! Today is my daddy's birthday. I drew him a picture! I got to help him open his presents. And I got to help him blow out his candles. I hope you had a great birthday Daddy! I love you!!!!

It all started with Taylor selecting the pumpkin of her choice She was eager to dive right in Forget the top, she wanted the whole thing Mom stepped in and lent a helping hand That is, until a minute later when Taylor decided she'd had enough So Dad ended up with a little more than his fair share of the work However, the next morning Taylor was proud to show off her new Jack O'Lantern The finished product - An Elmo inspired masterpiece