Parenting styles...

 Mother = Nail cutting, food giving, bath administrating, book reading, baby dressing, errand running, clothes washing, diaper changing, nap bestowing friend.

Father = ball throwing, basket placing, piggy back riding, air tossing, hide and seek playing, piano jamming, bike riding, floor sliding friend.

Playtime!

 Jack loves the new play saucer that our friend Abby is sharing with us. He spins in circles talking to each of the toys.

This is the first step to play sports with Daddy. Next he'll hand him a hockey stick!

Happy day before baby!

  

jj

Mom and I made a baby diaper cake to celebrate the day before Kim's baby was born. It was really fun :)

That bad, eh?

This is probably a good humbling experience for me. I have often tasted something I made and thought to myself "Amy Taylor, you are a pretty good cook." I acknowledge that I didn't come by this achievement on my own. Hours of time in the kitchen with my mom, sister, Anne, and others have molded my style and skills. That said, I am usually confident that people will like what I make to eat.

Until now. My son spit out the very first decadent dish I ever prepared especially for him and offered him on a padded spoon! Monday morning I slaved over the stove preparing cereal for him, and ended up wearing more than he swallowed. 

"Jack looking fearfully at the spoon in trepidation that I'll ask him to eat this bite too."

 

Day #1 - Jack gets ready for an adventure

 

Getting accustomed to the tools of the trade

Eating approximately 1 teaspoon of cereal by the end. About 1 tablespoon splattered everywhere else.

 Day #2 - Feed the baby before getting him dressed, and bathe inbetween eating and dressing.

Baby swallows about 2 tsp. and begins the discovery of self feeding. Said discovery did not aid in eating.

 

Day #3 - Brilliant breakthrough! Feed baby naked. Outsource to Grandpa. Grandpa successfully got about 1 tablespoon into baby's tummy.

All this to say that I won't give up this easily. My son will appreciate good food even if we have to spoon feed him!

Baby V!

 This is our new nephew! Josiah Weslee was born at 2:22 pm. He is a lightweight champ at 5 lb. 3 oz. and 18 inches long. He should have taken off his hat for the picture, he has soooooo much hair! I must feel pretty keenly about keeping him in the family because I text a friend to announce his birth and told her his name was Josiah Weslee Taylor. I felt very silly when she asked if he had two middle names :)

 "Baby's born, to celebration.

The joy of life, oh what a sweet communion,

Shared with you."

The Kid's Crusade

 This weekend my sister Brittney and her mom and sister Bristol came to visit in Kansas City. Saturday afternoon our house became a happy lively place with their combined 7 kids, my two neighbor girls, and our Jack. We ended up with 10 kids under 9 years old running around our yard playing dodgeball, games with our giant parachute and gobbling pizza around a table with Jon as the only adult. I warned our visiting parents that their children might come up with some strange games and ideas after sitting still with Jon that long...he did not disappoint me in that :) I love a place full of kids.

 

Crazy Corrie

 Sweet Tess

 

Shrieking Trent

 Cade-man

 

Guess which one is oldest.

Lovin' the leaves

 

Jack is an outdoor boy. He will one day be happiest when covered in mud.

 

I used to be amazed at how well Jack slept. For about 6 months I was in awe of how quiet the nights were...until this last month. Last night we had a typical "sleepless parents of a baby night" awake at 10:30, 12:30, 2:00, 4:00, 5:30, 7:00, and finally 8:00. I think God makes babies so cute so that we can easily forgive them of such wrongdoings before they know what trespasses (on my slumber) they have committed. I have to say, he has been really adorable this morning. Maybe he is penitent afterall?

Baby on the way!

 My sister is beautiful. I have learned so much about child training by watching her with little kids. Today she went to the hospital to have her own little kid. I am super happy for her. She is going to be an amazing mom. I can't wait to find out if I have a niece or nephew!

 Daniel always makes me laugh with Jack, but despite his strange habit of holding him in unique positions and putting him in soup pots, I have a feeling their baby is going to have one cool dad. It is going to be really fun to watch Kim and Daniel with a babe.

This was taken the day before Kim was put on bedrest. She is being induced today, but the last week and a half have been a whole new adventure hanging out while she wasn't allowed to sit up. God is so good to sustain and encourage.

Sore Winner

I would like the world to know that I just beat my husband at Stratego. I was not a gracious winner. I grabbed his flag piece and did a victory dance right then and there. I have never understood Stratego. I still don't. But, I think I might like it now. ;)

the chameleon kid

 

It amuses me how much Jack looks like me when he is with me and looks like Jon when he is with him. He can sit up pretty well on his own now, not so many dive bombs. He is also in full throttle teething, with no teeth making a debut despite his noble efforts. He loves to chew on everything, especially if it is cold or it looks like an adult might want it soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday Jack celebrated his first Thanksgiving with us. Daniel thought he should have an active part in the dinner...

It was my first attempt to make a turkey, and if thinking about something can make it taste good, the turkey should have been the yummiest turkey ever in existence! I "thought-cooked" that bird thoroughly. In the end it was a pretty tasty turkey! I was relieved. We had the Davenports, Kim and Daniel, and Mr V. and Peter join us. Jack was so thrilled about his first big food holiday that he went to sleep at 5:50 and slept until the next day. He wasn't exactly the life of the party :) 

 Cooking it was a big enough adventure to last me a year, so I bequeathed the job of carving to Papa V.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to the rest of the world!

The happiest helper

 

Monday marked one of the happiest days Jack has had in a couple of weeks. He was so snuggly, giggly, kissy, smily, happy, chatty, and cute. Just a fact for your Thursday.

Happy Mistakes

I laughed. The blender exploded with my pumpkin spice latte experiment in it and I laughed! I was so glad that it didn't settle on my morning as evidence that I was failing from the get go. Sometimes I am sick of my flesh and the lies that I believe. When the blender exploded, it was because I quadrupled the recipe. I never asked the blender how it felt about this additional burden...I had some forethought though, I covered the top of it with the hot pad (look up) to prevent the liquid from soaking me. This is truly the pattern that formed as the liquid surged from the tiny glass canister, soaking the counter, the hot pad, the blender, the front of my dry clean only skirt...and then I looked down at the hot pad and had to laugh because it was already smirking. God is really nice to give me laughing hot pads to help me see how inconsequential honest mistakes like these are.

The guardian in our church

 

Meet Nate. This is a good friend of ours that we are honored to know. His heart stretches around a group with always room for one more. He has been caught serving by doing dishes or putting things away and denies it even still. He is especially gentle with the youngest kids in our fellowship, and each Sunday you can spot him with a baby or toddler in his arms before during or after church, he would like it to be all three if the mothers of said children would simply stop retrieving them. At the wedding we went to this weekend he scooped up a bored Jack and had him happy and playing for a good long while. I am grateful that God has him right here. I like the safe place kids can find with him.