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.

Following in Mom and Dad's (Running) Footsteps

Well, Matthew ran in his first race last weekend. He ran the diaper dash in Tacoma last weekend. He did great, of course. And then daddy ran the 5K later that morning. This was to benefit 4US, a group that purchases ultrasound machines for pregnancy counseling centers in the area. The weather was icky (as you can see) but we had a great time. Next year it's the toddler trot for Matthew.

Puyallup Fair Take 2

We made our second annual trip to the Puyallup Fair today. It's quite an event. Matthew was thrilled that many of his favorite things were there- mostly trucks and other kids. He did seem to like seeing all of the different animals as well. Although all of them were referred to as "ki-ki".

We got him out of his stoller in the horse barn and he ran right up to the fence, grabbed the railing and squated down to sit and watch the horses eat. It was pretty darn cute.

He was a little afraid of the geese because they made all kinds of racket when anyone walked by.

He also had his first taste of chocolate milk at the dairy farm. It took a little getting used to and I'm still not sure if he likes it or not.

It was a great day and lots of fun. We look forward to taking him again next year when he can ride all of the kiddie rides. I'm sure he'll have a blast.

What A Difference A Year Makes

Swimming Class

Well Matthew has now graduated to the toddler swimming class. He had his first class last Wednesday and did great. It was great to see some of his old friends from his infant class that had graduated a while ago. It was evident during Matthew's last few classes that he was ready to move on. He's become quite the splasher and kicker (check out the pic below with dad). It's kind of a bummer not to be getting in the water with him anymore, but it's neat to see him doing new things. He's going off of the diving board now, which just about gives me a heart attack sometimes, but he loves it. The only time he cried last week was when he had to get out of the pool. The pics below are from his last infant class.







Here's a couple more pics of our visits with Tim and Beatrice...







Here's Matthew and Tia playing at a party we had a few weeks ago...




And just a few cute, misc pics...

Back to Business As Usual

We had a great time with our friends Beatrice and Tim who visited over that past few weeks. Now it's back to business as usual in the Taylor household. We're gearing up for our fall schedule. I have MOPS starting soon and will also be going to a mom's bible study at our church on Mondays. Matthew will start his new swimming class Monday's and Wednesday's and will be going to St. Nick's for a few hours on Thursdays for "Mom's Morning Out". Crazy- I think Friday's and the weekends are our only free days. What did I ever do with all of my time??

Matthew's been doing well but is a little crabby lately because his molars are taking FOREVER to come in. I swear he only had four teeth for the longest time, now he's getting six at the same time and they are all coming in so slowly. I think we've been fighting this battle for a couple of weeks now.

I've posted some pics below of our day out on the water while Tim and Beatrice were visiting.

Waiting at the pier to get picked up by dad and Timmy

Here comes our ride

Beatrice under the Narrows Bridges

"Somebody get this stupid life jacket off of me!!"

Distracted Driving

I think this qualifies as distracted driving. Thank goodness he didn't get a ticket ; )

Sorry we haven't had a post in a while. It's been pretty busy here. We returned from Connecticut and now have some out-of-town guests. Our friend, Beatrice, is here for a couple of weeks and then Godfather Tim comes this Wednesday. Plus we had a visit from Matthew's Grandma Karen and her parents on their way home after an Alaskan cruise. It's been wonderful seeing everyone and Matthew's having a ball with all the new faces. Speaking of boy wonder...he learned a new feat this week. He's now able to open doors. I think we have some time before he figures out the locks, but I see some creative childproofing in our future. We just graduated to toilet seat locks last week, so it's something new all the time.

Stay tuned for more pics and news...

A Little Sun and a Lot of Sand

We just got back from Connecticut a couple of days ago. We all had a great time. Matthew loved the beach and was covered in sand everyday. We even found it in his diaper! Now we're just trying to get back to life as usual. We have a few friends coming to visit over the next few weeks, so we're looking forward to getting out and doing some fun things.

Here's some pics from the trip out east...

Matthew getting some beach toys from Aunt Meg

Running on the beach with mom

Hanging out in the baby pool with Grace and Rachel

Matthew and Rachel just watching people on the beach

"I just love the sand"- mom burying Matthew's feet.

Aunt Sandy checking out Jenna's graduation gift.
The bracelet was actually fake and purposely gaudy as a gag gift.

Should I bet high or low??

Matthew and Rachel

Warning!! The Following Is Meant for Mature Audiences Only.

Just kidding. You got to love naked baby pictures...

Okay- So we took the racy pictures of Matthew down, but if you want to see very funny photos of the boy, just email us and we'll email the pictures to you! It'd be great to hear from you as well!

We are heading to Connecticut to spend a little R+R at the beach with family. More posts later!

Out on the Water

Hey everyone! Just thought I'd put up a quick post and let you know what we've been up to. This month has been a little busy. Scott picked up some extra shifts to help out a colleague, so our week off last week was very short. During his stint off, we decided that it would be a good idea to treat ourselves and go rent a boat for a little while and tool around the sound. Our first attempt ended up being a scratch since I forgot to pack Matthew a bottle and he was completely freaking out at the dock once we got his life jacket on. Our second attempt was much better since Matthew was with our babysitter and it was just the two of us. In hindsight, it was probably a better idea for just the two of us to go for the first time anyhow. It was so great to get out on the water. It made me very, very happy. I just love being out there and could stay all day. We cruised up to the Narrows Bridge and Fox Island. It's amazing to think of all the times that we drive over the bridge but have never been under it.

The old bridge (Sturdy Gertie) is on the right and the new bridge that opened last year is on the left.

We then headed over to Point Defiance and saw a ton of seals. The salmon run over at the point (great fishing) and the seals head over there for feeding. It was amazing to see seals everywhere.

A view of Mt. Rainier, Point Defiance and the Port of Tacoma in the distance.

It was a fantastic trip and we look forward to heading out on the water sometime again soon. Maybe with Matthew next time- we'll see.

Now the update on Matthew... He's doing wonderful. He's loving the summer and wants to be outside all of the time. He has quite a handsome farmers tan going on. Sleep and eating have been a little challenging lately because he's teething again. He's getting two more teeth on the bottom, so he doesn't eat much and then wants to get up and eat in the middle of the night.

Matthew and mommy

Following in dad's footsteps?

Matthew's latest thing is giving "zerberts". He started with dad's belly and now gives them to just about every animate or inanimate object. I will leave you with this pic below of Matthew giving the door a big, old zerbert....

Ride 'Em Cowboy!!

Here's Matthew on his rocking "zebra". We bought it after visiting the Steve and Julie in Seattle last Easter. Their daughter, Tia, had one and Matthew appeared to be interested in it. He really hasn't played with it much until recently. He has figured out that his feet touch the floor on both sides and he can bounce and turn like crazy. It's really quite humorous to watch. The only drawback- the music sounds like it's from a bad 1970's sitcom.

Life Is Good on Fox Island

Yep, we're still here. Sorry that it's been a while since my last post but we've been pretty busy with life and such. Summer finally arrived a few weeks back and it has been beautiful ever since. It is really the best time of year here. Even our drive home is stunning. The bridge to Fox Island has magnificent views of the Olympic Mountains on one side and Mount Rainier on the other.

(These are the Olympic Mountains from the island)

Now that the weather is improving and everyone is healthy we're getting out and about. We've been up to Seattle a couple of times which is always fun. We've been joking that we're no longer tourists because we actually shop for food at Pike Place Market and the summer crowds there drive us crazy. Matthew went to his second Mariners game last week (and we actually won!!). For us, it's much easier taking the ferry from Bremerton rather than driving to Seattle. Part of the reason is that Matthew can run around for an hour or so rather than being stuck in his car seat the whole time. He just loves running all over the boat. Front to back, inside and outside- you name it. I told someone recently that I think it's a cruel irony that the more active kids become, the less that they sleep.

(This pic is on the ferry the day of the baseball game)

Matthew has finally achieved a full recovery from his plague. He's now back to normal and is eating like he should. He's eating pretty much everything these days. Although his main staple is still formula (until we use it all up) and baby food, he's really enjoying trying out new things. We can no longer get anything for ourselves without a reaching arm coming our way with a "uh, uh, uh". He's really been quite entertaining these days with all the new things that he's doing. He's so proud of himself and laughs so hard when he does something new. It really is quite cute. His new things are walking backwards, dancing (basically jumping up and down), slapping his legs to music in the car and tickling mom and dad. He is quite a ham! He's still in swimming class and will hopefully be moving up to the next class this fall. His old buddies Brody and Jonas are in that class, so it will be fun to be reunited with them.

We stayed home for Fourth of July because Scott had to work, but we still had a great time. We just got new furniture for our deck- just in time for the holiday. So we were able to sit out beck and watch fireworks from the Fox Island Yacht Club (which is just a few blocks from us) and across the water in University Place from the comfort of our home while sipping a beer. Life is great here on Fox Island!

Well I've got to run for now. I hope everyone is having a great summer. Take care!

Fun with Pudding

How did we get from this......



To this.....

Perspective

Well, my poor husband had a crappy Father's Day this year. I felt really bad for him because he really hasn't had a picture-perfect Father's Day yet. Last year, he was on the road to Washington while I was bringing Matthew home to my parents house. Although I know he really enjoyed the trip out west and time spent with our friends, it was killing him not to be in Michigan with me and our new son. This year we started out Father's Day in the ER at Marybridge Children's Hospital. He had to work evenings the night before at Good Sam and then met me at the hospital in Tacoma about 2am. We were there until 7am while Matthew got some IV fluids. I turned to him at one point and said that I was sorry that this wasn't what we had planned for Father's Day. He responded with "That's ok, this is what it's all about" as he was holding a completely exhausted Matthew. And I suppose it's true, it's not about the cards, gifts or little planned surprises, but the fact that we have this wonderful little boy in our lives and what an incredible gift he is, one that can't compare to anything else that we could buy Scott.
Happy Father's Day to the most wonderful husband and father that we could ask for. Thank you for taking such good care of our family and truly giving of yourself to "Team Taylor". We love you very much. Love, Cheryl and Matthew (and Caesar and Cleo).

Summer's here- finally!!!

Well it's been a little chilly here in Washington. Folks around here have been calling this month Janu-June. But I think the weather has finally made a turn. The past two days have been absolutely beautiful. We've been out doing some walking and playing at the local park with Matthew. Unfortunately, I think we're home-bound today. Matthew got his 1-yr shots on Wednesday and has a fever. So it looks like it's naps, baths, Motrin and Tylenol today- no playing at the park.
We do have some great pics below of him on a ride in the airport in Boise recently.

Blessing of the Fleet

Yesterday, Scott, Matthew and I went to the Gig Harbor Maritime Festival. It was a great time. One of the events was the Taste of Gig Harbor where 12 of the different local restaurants were selling some of their different dishes. Lots of good food!! They also had a Croatian band and dancers in full costume. But the highlight was the actual blessing of the fleet. Gig Harbor still has an active fishing industry with a fleet of about 10 different ships that sail north during the summer.

Our pastor from St. Nick's, Fr. Hung did the actual blessing.

It was really neat to see this community celebrate it's ethnic, religious and industrial heritage. I highly recommend the event for anyone who wants to come out and see us next summer.