Happy Halloween!!

Here's our Great Pumpkin....

We had a fabulous time "Trick or Treating" in downtown Gig Harbor with Matthew tonight (thank you Lynn Oullette for covering for daddy). Matthew could care less about the candy but was totally entranced with all of the kids in costume. I'm thinking next year will be very different, so mom and dad better get in on the candy now while we can.

Smiley Boy

I swear that this boy gets cuter and cuter every day. And he's turning into quite the comedian.
I just got back from a conference in San Diego and although it was nice to get away, rest, and see my friend Kim, I missed the boys terribly. Scott did a great job as a single parent for five days. I think that he and Matthew both enjoyed some one-on-one boy time together.
There's not much new to report for the Taylor family this week. Scott returns to work tomorrow, but one of his colleagues was kind enough to offer to work Halloween for him this year. So we will go join the celebration in downtown Gig Harbor on Friday. Matthew is going to be a pumpkin this year. Stay tuned for pics of the round, bumpy pumpkin boy. In the meantime, I thought that I'd share these...

"I found my pockets"

What a crack up!

"I just love pasta"

Also I just wanted to say congratulations to my friends Joy and Daryle and their daughter Jada, as the welcomed little Mason this past weekend. May you have more restful than non-restful nights in your future. Congratulations and love, Scott, Cheryl and Matthew!!

Visit to Michigan

Well the Taylor Crew has returned from Michigan. And even though we were only there for 3-4 days and have been home for a day and a half now, I still feel jet lagged. We arrived back home yesterday about 11am, but I swear it felt like 6pm. It probably had something to do with the cold I've picked up somewhere along the way. Anyhow, we had a great visit as you will see below.
We arrived late Friday night and spent Saturday morning with my mom and dad at the apple orchard. Matthew had a lot of fun visiting the animals and checking out all the pumpkins (he seems to have a pumpkin fetish these days). Here's a cute pic of him with grandpa...

We then met my friend, Joy, for lunch. She's due any day now with kiddo #2. Her daughter, Jada, and Matthew had a fun time running around outside after lunch. Then it was off to the city for the Big Daddies to register for the Detroit half-marathon that they were all going to walk the next day. It is quite an event. Scott and I ran the full marathon back in 2006. It's a great course that takes you over the Ambassador Bridge and back via the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. After registration, we had dinner and the boys did some major carbo-loading on Italian food. Then it was up bright and early the next day for the race.

Having a little pre-race breakfast

Coming out of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel

The boys did great and place anywhere from 2nd to 9th in their age divisions for the non-competitive walk. Fantastic for first-timers!!!

That afternoon we were suppose to go out to dinner with my parents for an early birthday celebration. However, little did I know that my mother and husband were up to no good and had a surprise birthday party for me at my parents house.

Surprise!!!

It was a lot of fun and I was grateful to see everyone since our time in Michigan was so short. Thanks mom and Scott. But don't worry...you'll get yours someday (he,he,he).

My friend Pam and I

Some of the CTK clan

Matthew and Jada

The Great Pumpkin

It's been a fantastic fall so far here in the northwest. The trees are starting to change color and the weather this weekend was perfect- cool, crisp and sunny. We decided to make a trip to the pumpkin patch on Saturday. Despite the hundreds of pumpkins, farm animals and all kinds of entertainment, Matthew was drawn to this big sawdust pile that was full of toys at the farm. We still managed to get him interested in picking out a few pumpkins, especially when he realized that he got to take a ride with them.

"What are we going to do with these again??"

We also went to the Orting Pumpkin Festival, because of course, I love all things pumpkin. We had some pumpkin brownies that were out of this world. We might make the trip back next year for more.

Matthew's swimming class is continuing to go well. He is now jumping off of the diving board and totally loves it. It's a bit nerve-wracking to watch, but his huge ear-to-ear grin after he comes up is quite funny.

Life with this little guy is really quite entertaining. Every day there's something new. It is so incredible the way that he has transformed our lives. We are so blessed to have him.

Speaking of blessings, Scott and I also celebrated our 5th anniversary Saturday. It's been a wonderful journey together- for better or worse as they say. But I continue to love him more and more every year. He continues to amaze me with his love and dedication to this family. For this, Matthew and I are truly thankful. We love you honey!! Happy 5 years and many more to go!

A Little Delinquent

Sorry, I realize that I've been a bad blogger lately. I notice that there are fewer updates as the months pass. Mostly it's due to one crazy and energetic toddler that we all know. But between blogger, hotmail, facebook, snapfish, etc, etc.... it's getting a little difficult to keep up. I thought modern technology was suppose to make our life easier. Either way, my new plan is to post, at the very least, every Wednesday. So there will be some news or some pics at least once a week.

I'm a little short on pics of Matthew right now (I know, hard to believe). So here's a pic of Cleo with her new "buddy".



This is our neighbor's cat Maisy. Maisy is sweet and very patient with Matthew. Our neighbors are trying to sell their house right now. They have two little ones and every now and then will go and stay at her mom's rental in Tacoma to keep the house clean and neat for showing. We feed Maisy during these stretches (she's an outdoor cat). So she's kind of become a fixture at our house. It drives Cleo crazy though when she's on our front porch. One day, Scott and Matthew went for a walk down the street. I was upstairs and heard the beep that our doors make when they are opened. I assumed it was Scott and Matthew. But after a while I didn't hear Matthew or Scott and suddenly heard all kinds of hissing. I ran down the stairs to find that Cleo had opened the front door and her and Maisy were batting at each other through the cracked open door. Great! Not only do I have to worry about Matthew opening the doors, but now the cats too.