Where are Taylor's Hands??

This was hilarious!! Taylor has a pair of pajamas that are tight going on around her hands. They are made to fit snug. It is always difficult to pull the over her hands, so I just put the top on first, then tackle the hands. Well, tonight she realized that her hands were missing, and she just sat there staring at the little green part of the pj's where her hands were supposed to be. Then she would just wave them around. It was very cute!

Laughing at Daddy's Foot

For some reason Taylor was very amused with Daddy's foot today!

Then she changed her mind and wanted the remote...

Just Hanging Out (Sitting Up!!)

I haven't had a chance to post that Taylor is officially sitting up on her own! She started on the 13th for just a few seconds (3 to be exact). I would sit behind her so she would not fall over and bump her head so she could practice her new skill. Now we use the boppy behind her. It works really well at keeping her from hurting herself if she falls, and it allows her to play on the floor by herself! I guess crawling will be the next thing to check off the list. Oh my!! Until then, I am going to enjoy my baby as she sits with her straight back playing on the floor with her toys!

Welcome Cousin Sydney!!

Taylor's new cousin Sydney made her arrival today at 2:12 p.m.! Blake was actually on the phone with Maggie at about 2:00 and she let him go because everyone was getting ready for her to push. Not many pushes later, and Sydney was born! Mom and Baby came through wonderfully, and needless to say, everyone is smitten with this new little addition to the family!

It is amazing how small she seemed compared to Taylor now! I can't believe Taylor was ever this small!

Uncle Blake holding Sydney for the first time.

Savannah wanted to read Taylor's new Elmo book to her!

Happy First Father's Day!!!

Taylor and I are so very blessed to have Blake in our lives! We could not ask for a better man to be a husband and Daddy! I am constantly amazed at how wonderful he is to me, and how great he is as a Daddy. I always knew he would be a wonderful dad, but he is more than I could have asked or imagined. He is so hands on. He is always willing to jump in and change a diaper, rock her to sleep, play with her, or anything else she might need. So, Blake, on your first Father's Day, know that you are very loved and appreciated by your two girls!!!

An Evening Swim

Our neighbors are out of town for the week, and they told us we could use their pool while they were gone. We took them up on the offer tonight and took Taylor swimming. She wasn't too keen on the idea at first because the water was not quite as warm as her bath water. She got a little more used to it and had a few minutes of fun! We are trying our best to keep her around water so she will not be afraid of it. Here is a Daddy / Daughter shot I snapped on the walk back to our house. Happy Father's Day Again!!!

An Early Father's Day Celebration

After a fun-filled day out, we came home and rested up for the evening activities. Taylor and I took Daddy out for an early Father's Day celebration. We tried out a new restaurant in town called Char. It was really good! We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. After dinner, we took Taylor on a walk around the square. We sat on a bench and watched traffic go by, then decided we should head home and get Taylor ready for bed. It was a nice family evening out to celebrate a wonderful Daddy!

A Walk On The West Side

Today was a "picks n grins" festival in downtown Cookeville. After Blake finished mowing the yard, we decided to check it out. We were pretty disappointed with the festival, but we did get to enjoy a nice Saturday out in our favorite part of town, The West Side. We ate lunch at Cafe Trio (formerly World Foods) then walked around in some of the shops, include discovery depot. They have so many fun toys! Taylor really enjoyed a pig puppet they had. Had it not been $50, we would have brought it home! Oh well. It was a nice day out for our family. Here are a few pictures from the day!
Loving the Pig!!

Tired and ready to go home and take a nap.

In The Gym Again...

Blake has had basketball camp this week at Tech, so we have had Taylor in the gym some more this week. Tonight Avery Trace played my old high school (Harpeth High), so I definitely had to go watch this game. Avery Trace won! Taylor enjoyed herself and was held by several of the parents there. I think everyone enjoys it when we are there because they can play with Taylor! Congratulations to Blake and the team for a great job at camp this week!

First Wednesday Night Class

Taylor went to her first Wednesday night class at church tonight. She was the only one in there, but she did great! We ended up staying right outside the class and talking with some other people that go to our class, so we got to peek in on her and see how she was doing. She seems to do really well with other people. I think she will definitely be a social little girl!!

Sing Yourself Silly!!

Every week when we go to the library, I pick up a couple educational DVD's for Taylor to watch. This week, I got a seasame street DVD. Taylor loves it!!! It is amazing how she will just sit and watch the whole thing! She especially loves the part when Elmo comes on. He may be becoming her favorite!! The sad part is that Blake and I go around singing silly songs in our head all day long! I guess that is what happens when you have kids!

Please Pass The Peas!

Today, we gave Taylor her first taste of food...PEAS!!! She did pretty good eating them. The funniest part was when she actually swallowed. She would shake all over like it was the worst thing ever that just went down! By the time we were finished, she had peas all over her face, but she was too cute! Hopefully, we will get the hang of eating food soon!

Shearer Reunion

Today we went to Monticello for the Shearer Reunion. It was amazing to think that this time last year, I was pregnant! My how time flies!! We had a great time visiting with family and introducing everyone to our sweet baby girl!

Hanging out with Grandpa.

Spending Time with Grandma.

Taylor's name tag.

Getting started early on a motorcycle!!

She started getting fussy, so Grandpa took her outside. They had been out there for a while, so Blake looked outside and this is what he found! They were both sitting on the chair as content as could be. When we opened the door to take the picture, Taylor turned around to see what was going on!

Saying bye to Grandpa!

6 Month Checkup

Taylor had her six month checkup today! She weighed in at 16 pounds 8 ounces and is now 27 and 1/2 inches long! Dr. Franklin said that everything looked great! So, once again, another excellent report. Of course, we know that we have a perfect baby, but it is nice to have it confirmed! We also got the green light to start baby food, so we will be feeding her green peas in the next couple days. Today was a much easier visit since Blake was able to come with us. This was his first doctor visit to come to. He definitely was not looking forward to the end of the visit...the shots, but it sure was nice to have him there to help hold her while I filled out paperwork. When we finally got called back, he helped get her undressed and entertained her when she got fussy. While Dr. Franklin was talking to us, she even fell asleep on him. I think the sweetest part of the day was right after her shots. I held her as I always do during the shots. The difference this time was as soon as the shots were over, Blake took her, and she was immediately quiet and laid her little head on his shoulder. She felt so safe and secure with her Daddy, and I think his heart melted right then and there. So far, these shots haven't been as bad as the last round (even though they are the same ones she got last time). She generally sleeps more after her shots, so hopefully that will be the only side effect tonight. Of course I am ready with the Tylenol to help her feel better if she needs it. We are going to bed a little later tonight because she napped later this afternoon. I think story time is about over, so I better go get her and put her to sleep!

Look at that hair!!!

Taylor woke up from her nap today with a new hairdo!!!

Today's Events

Today was a pretty fun day. Taylor and I met my friend Caroline for some play time and lunch. Caroline was my roommate in college for a couple years, and has been living in Texas and Washington D.C. for the last four years. We spent some time playing with her and John (her husband) and their dog Hank, as well as John's Mom and their dog Stella. Both dogs are much bigger than Taylor is used to (Hank is an 80 pound boxer). She did great with both of them! Caroline got some pictures of Taylor petting Hank. I forgot my camera, so hopefully, I can get her to send them to me and I will post them on here. After we played for a little while, Caroline, Taylor, and I headed out to lunch at Fazoli's. It was great to get to catch up, and I am looking forward to more time with her since they will be here all summer!! We came home and I fed Taylor then Blake took her for her afternoon nap. They napped together for a couple hours. During that time I was able to finish some laundry and edit some of Taylor's six month pictures (see the post below)! Later tonight, I was getting Taylor ready for bed with her nightly bath. She was cracking me up! She sat up on her own the entire time in the bath! Then she kept reaching up and trying to pull herself up on the front of her little tub! I really thought she was going to stand up on her own. Our little girl is growing and getting so strong! Blake was out tonight, so I had bed time on my own (he read her stories before he left). I laid her in her crib so I could empty her bath water and get ready to put her to sleep. She has a little sea horse that plays music that I sat beside her. She reached over and wrapped her arms around it, hugged it, then looked up at me with the biggest smile! She just melts my heart! I love this little girl so much! We definitely had a great day. She is sleeping soundly right now, so I will be headed off to bed pretty soon. I can't wait to see her in the morning and see what tomorrow holds for us!!

First Round of Six Month Pictures

Okay, here are the first official edited six month pictures! This is just the first pose! We actually took 107 of her with this background. (Yikes!) I guess we went a little overboard, but honestly, they were all turning out so good! (Of course you can't help but have excellent pictures when you have the most beautiful baby... if I do say so myself). Anyways, here are a few that I picked to post. There will be many more, and I will post them as soon as they are complete!

Basketball and more basketball

While I am working on editing six month pictures, I will share what we've been doing the last couple of days! Blake has had basketball camp at Tech the last two nights, so we have spent several hours in the gym. Taylor does such a great job while we are out. Several different people held her during the two games we went to, and she was so good. She even got in some yelling at the refs!! (That's my girl!) It has been a fun two nights in the gym. We are working on making our baby a basketball player yet!!

Sweet Kisses

Taylor has learned to give kisses! We can ask her to give us kisses and make a "kissy sound" and she will lean in and touch her lips to ours! It is the sweetest thing ever! I think Blake absolutley loves it because he asks for kisses all the time!!! We'll try to get some pictures of it soon. Stay tuned for six month perspective pictures as well!

First Time In Sunday School!

Taylor went to Sunday School for the first time this morning! Since she turned six months old today, we decided it was a good time to start her going to class. It was kind of difficult to leave her, but our friend Beth was teaching this morning, so it made it easier for us. When we came back down to get her she was in a new outfit. She had pooped all over her Sunday dress! At least I had an extra outfit packed for her. We did get a good report, though. She sat in the table the whole time and was very good! They said she was the most vocal one! (I'm not surprised by that at all). Her first Sunday School was a success! Hopefully they will all be that way!

Saturday At Burgess Falls

We spent the afternoon at Burgess Falls today. We packed up around noon and got some sandwiches from our favorite little market and took a picnic out to the park. We ate lunch, then hiked the gravel trail with the stroller to the falls. The weather was perfect! Taylor really loves being outside, so we try to get out as much as possible with her!Sitting in her carrier chewing on her bottle of water.
Don't worry, she was just playing with the bottle, not drinking it!

Too cute!
Looking out over the falls.