A Morning Hike

I love that I'm a teacher and have lots of vacation time throughout the year. Christmas break is no exception! Andrew and I have always had opposite working schedules. The busiest times at the golf course are the weekends so he has to work, and of course I'm off on the weekends. It doesn't give us a lot of days where we can spend the entire day together as a family, so on vacation weeks like these we're all about getting out of the house and trying something fun and new. Yesterday, we went for a hike with Taylor to Hamilton Pool. Taylor and Andrew have already made one excursion to Hamilton Pool on a Daddy Day, so finally I was able to go too! We picked a great day, sunny and warm. What a beautiful Austin area gem in the middle of nowhere.

Taylor loves hiking (or should I say "jumping"). He loved jumping down off of all the steps and rocks! He is so busy and active these days it's hard to hold him back for safety reasons. He is just happy as a clam to "go,go,go" not even realizing that his feet are not keeping up with him. With the help of our hands (when he would take it) and a little bit of carrying, Taylor made it all the way down and back up! His favorite part was throwing rocks into the pool. Props to Andrew for some awesome rock skipping! We all stayed dry and mud free so mommy was happy! Can't wait to go back when we're not in such a drought and the waterfalls are more prominent.

Enjoy the pictures:-)

The Christmas Loot...

A picture of all the BIG presents from the grandparents and from Santa. We actually managed to fit it all in the car back from Houston! We spent Christmas Eve in Austin with my mom and then woke up Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought. After breakfast and a few laps around the house on Taylor's new trike, we headed to Houston for Christmas (and more presents) at Andrew's sister's house. The following day was Boxing Day and that was spent at Andrew's mom's house...more presents there!! We had some delicious brunches, dinners, and wine! It was a great Christmas and Taylor thoroughly enjoyed himself..."more Christmas, more presents"!!! Only 362 more days until Christmas 2009. Thanks you to everyone!

Which present can I open first?

Opening my stocking on Christmas morning.

My First Trike!

Does Santa come through the doggie door???

Watch Out Tiger Woods...

Here Comes Pro-Golfer Taylor Michael Curtis-Wellings (I think we should definitely get extra points for practicing in 30 degree weather-not by my choice of course!) Stick with the video, it takes him awhile to get set up to his satisfaction:-)

From Mommy to Mom to Mother

MOTHERS

Real Mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it. Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox. Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids. Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of carpets. Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up. Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?' and get their answer when a little voice says, 'because I love you best.' Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade...It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother...

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.
16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it.

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

Killing Time Before Dinner...

Playing with pots and pans has been an all time favorite for Taylor, but today it reached an all time high. Never in a million years would I think about trying this one...but then again I guess kids are like pets...they like fun little places to put themselves.

Happy Anniversary

November 9th, 2003

Sunday, November 9th was our 5th wedding anniversary. We celebrated with some "wine" of course and then headed to Horseshoe Bay for the weekend. Andrew and I have never been to Horseshoe Bay since moving to Austin 3 years ago, so needless to say we were excited for the possibilities. First of all let me thank all involved in making this weekend even possible. My mom "nana" for coming to watch Taylor while mommy and daddy could have some grown up time together, and Brian Dees (Andrew's boss) for getting us the room at the resort! We had fun eating dinner at the Yaght Club, sleeping in, having breakfast in bed, playing golf (minature 18 holes), driving around the Texas hill country, and coming home to our beautiful boy. It was a nice relaxing weekend but we both missed our "Tay-Tay Bug" so much:-)

November 9th, 2008 (gosh I feel older...)

T-R-I-C-K O-R T-R-E-A-T

T-Tasty Halloween Candy! Taylor had a blast going from house to house collecting candy. The bag of raisins and marshmallows was from Marie and Mrs. Heather.

R-Red Race Suit! Taylor was a race car driver this year for Halloween. If you know us, last year didn't go so well in the costume department. This year was a breeze...Thanks Geegee for buying his "race suit".

I-Itchy Costume! All Taylor was able to wear under his costume was a diaper because nothing else fit in there. For once in his life his belly was too fat and the velcro wouldn't stay closed with pants or a shirt on. Due to this fact, Taylor was walking funny all night because the costume was "itching" his leg. He kept pulling on the suit, but it looked like he was pulling on something else and had to go to the bathroom!

C-Chocolate Bar! Taylor was allowed to eat one small "Kit Kat Bar" at the end of the night. Boy did he enjoy it! All he kept saying was, "more chocolate please". I'm not kidding about the please part. Manner words are a sure fire way to make me do something!

K-Kids! Taylor enjoyed watching all the kids in their costumes, running from door to door. He picked up on the whole idea of Halloween rather quickly. He was very curious about this one adult dressed head to toe as the devil...mask included. He kept staring and pointing, as if to say "who is he"? One of our neighbors even did a haunted house on their front lawn. Andrew made both Taylor and I go in together because I'm a wuss when it comes to those sorts of things. I wasn't sure how Taylor would react but we made it through and he was so brave that he wanted to go "again". He definitely gets that from his dad.

O-Orange Pumpkins! Taylor helped me crave our pumpkin patch pumpkins. He put the candle inside (not lit of course) and put the tops back on. He also enjoyed an orange pumpkin marshmallow candy when we got home-his first!

R-Ready Set Go! Taylor didn't want to stop trick-or-treating. He kept saying "more candy". It's amazing how we are all programed to love candy. Taylor never gets to eat candy but he knew right away how special this night was. He just didn't want it to end.

T-Treat Bag! Taylor loved his "ghost bag" that aunt Vikki bought him. It even said his name on the front. He was asking for this bag today so that he could have some chocolate! Andrew and I had to pull the ole switcha rue on the candy inside the bag. We were hoping that he wouldn't remember just how much candy he had. Seemed to have worked because he was satisfied with just a few pieces.

R-Realize! Taylor realized that pumpkins have "yucky, yucky, yucky" stuff inside of them. He wanted to watch Mrs. Heather cut the pumpkin top off, but wanted nothing to do with what was inside! Her daughter Marie was very curious about the gooey stuff inside and Taylor was content to watch her play with the pulp and seeds.

E-Eat Candy, Roasted Pumpkin Seeds, and Pumpkin Bread! Nothing better than this time of the year when you can get everything pumpkin. Taylor has been enjoying pumpkin bread with his breakfast. However, he still wants to call it "cake".

A-All Gone! October is gone, Halloween is gone, the pumpkin bread is all gone, the candy is all gone (thank goodness), the decorations are gone, daylight savings time is gone, and our carved pumpkins will be gone soon...I LOVE OCTOBER!

T-Time for Bed! After a very fun and exciting night it was time for a bath, to wash the chocolate face off, and to go "night, night". Till next year when we get to do it all over again!