Taylor starts swim lessons!

Taylor waiting in the pool for her lessons to begin

Taylor started swim lessons today with a swim teacher in our neighborhood who's husband works with Jason.  Taylor does NOT like water in her eyes, so we were pretty nervous to see how this would translate to swim lessons....and she didn't want to wear the goggles we bought her.  However, we have been talking about swim lessons all week and trying to get excited!

Practicing her kicks with Miss Debbi

Taylor ended up doing awesome and I didn't even have to get in the water with them.  The teacher was wonderful and I was able to watch in awe of how our little girl is getting way too big too quickly!

Swimming in the pool with her teacher

On a side note - Taylor and Addison's first cousin was born this past Tuesday!!  Paityn Sierra Epps was born on June 28th, weighing 8lbs & 9oz and 22 inches long.  Josh and Tara are going to make incredible parents and we can't wait to meet beauiful baby Paityn!

Conversations with Taylor

2 years and 8 months old

Taylor is just getting WAY too big!  Jason and I feel like she has grown so much in the last several months.   Her vocabulary and phrases that she says has really expanded.  We sometimes will just listen to her talk and just laugh at how freakin' cute she is!  I wanted to highlight some of the cute and funny things that she's been saying lately:

Taylor walked into the kitchen and saw all of her letters from the fridge on the floor (thrown down by Addison).  She threw her hands up and and said "Hey, what happened here?!!?"

After taking a bath with Jason, Taylor said "I wanna get out of here!"

She has been saying "huh" a little TOO much!

"Pome (Come) here Mommy, I tell you something!"

I told Taylor the story about David and Goliath, explaining how David beat the HUGE giant with God's help by throwing a tiny stone at his head.  Taylor's response was "No way!"

She is so sensitive, she will constantly ask us "What's wrong Mommy?"

"Wait Mommy, wait!  You stay here, I go get it."

"I no like that Bunny, he a bad bunny!"  Talking about the bad bunny in the movie Peter Cottontail.  That is still her favorite movie that she wants to watch at least once a week (thanks Grammy)!

"I want milk Mommy, milk makes my boo boo better!"

Too sweet!

A weekend at the pool!

My friend Cathy went out of town this past weekend and said that we could hang out at her pool all weekend, so we literally went to her house to swim EVERYDAY (Friday, Saturday & Sunday)!

Swimming all by herself in the DEEP END!

We had a great time!  The new life jacket that we got Taylor worked well!  It gave her confidence in the water but also pushed her forward so that she practiced kicking.  She did so good in the water!  She swam all over the place and used her arms and legs.  She wouldn't let us put her under the water yet, but she got more comfortable with the water as the weekend went on.  She also starts swim lessons next week!

Addison in her float

You would think that Addison would love the water because she loves taking a bath, but she only loved her floatie for a short time.  She was more interested in crawling around the steps in the water. 

On the way out of Cathy's house, Taylor fell down and got a scrape on her knee.  You would have thought she broke her leg with how dramatic she was, bless her heart!  She had to be carried around the rest of the evening, and if she did walk, it was in a crouched position (which was very funny to watch).  I got a great video of her playing outside in the crouched position.

After Taylor's rough night with her boo boo, she woke up a little grouchy Sunday morning.  As she was getting up, I was telling her that we were going to go to church and then we were going to go swimming again.  She is usually very excited to hear those options, but wasn't happy today.  I asked her if she wanted to go to church, and she responded "No" with a frown.  I then said "Do you want to go swimming," and she responded "No" again.  I said "Well, where do you want to go?"  And she said "I go to Walmart!"  I know that I've said this before, but I think we've lived in Arkansas WAY TOO LONG!

My mom and Rod also came into town last week to help out with the girls.  They had a super fun time playing, going on walks, and sipping on some tea!  Mom also got Taylor hooked on the movie Bambi.  Here's a great picture that I got of Mom and girls before my Mom's flight:

Grammy with Taylor and Addison in the backyard

Here's another funny conversation we've had with Taylor lately:

Jessica:  "Taylor, is that baby a girl or a boy?"
Taylor:  "Girl"
Jessica:  "Is mommy a girl?"
Taylor:  "Nooooo, Mommy is Mommy!"
Jessica:  "Is Taylor a girl?"
Taylor:  "Noooo, I Taylor!"

Ending the weekend snuggling in bed!

Addison's 10th month

Since Addison is about to turn 11 months old next week, I wanted to highlight some of the fun things that she is doing right now:

• She can stand up on her own
• Smiles and laughs during baths
• She'll be playing with a toy, then will look at you and just start laughing
• Still hates to be on her back while getting her diaper changed
• Continues to put everything in her mouth (dog toys, chalk, paper, etc.)
• Does a little laugh/snort thing with her nose (Taylor used to do this as well)
• Still has her Daddy's hairline
• Said her first word this month - MAMA!
• Wants to play with whatever toy Taylor is playing with
• If you sing a song to her or play one on the radio, she will start moving her body back and forth
• Still has her blue eyes (like her mommy)
• Blows her food at you
• Climbs onto everything and into everything

Our little stinker!

Yes........that is what you think it is!!!!