Firsts and Father's Day

I'm baaaack! My last day of the semester was Saturday so I am frantically catching up on some blog posts! Afterall, we have a certain someone's 2nd birthday coming up in a week. On top of that, I need to get to our Colorado vacation that happened in June too! Baby steps...

To start, here is Father's Day which we celebrated with my parents on June 20th since we left for Colorado on the 21st.

In the suburb we live in (St. Louis Park), they have a "Parktacular" celebration every year which spans a few days. On Saturday we decided to partake in the days events starting with a morning bike ride!

Here is Miss Taylor all geared up and ready for the ride. Ponytail and everything!


After the ride, Taylor was pooped! She looks cranky, but she really was just zoning out while we were at the park. I think it was time to go home to have lunch, and rejuvenate with a nap!

Sweet picture with Taylor and her daddy.

Ok, we did manage to get a smile out of her while playing at the playground. She loves little houses!

After we rested up at home, it was back to the Parktacular! We went to check out the petting zoo and it was awesome! They even had a zebra (which we couldn't pet, but she was excited about).

Taylor feeding some goats, so much fun!

In action:

Another first for her, face painting!! She really wasn't sure what was going on during the painting, but sat there SO patiently and still. She loved her bumble-bee! She's a big fan lately which is why her birthday party theme will be ladybugs and bumble-bees. A garden theme of sorts. :)

The finished product:

Taylor donating $1 to the Great Dane rescue group. At least I think she was giving.... ;)

These dogs were so sweet and Taylor was in heaven! Such big doggies!

Having fun with grandpa (or Bumppa):

Not sure about Taylor, but Al sure looks excited about something. We saw this group with fire hoses and some tarp. Take a look at what they were doing at the next picture:

Fun!!! Al said that if he had known about it, he would've worn his swimsuit. The guy responded that Al was too big to partake anyway. Sorry honey!

Family dinner at an old favorite, The Convention Grill. We've been going there since I was 2!

(Sorry for the quality of these pictures, I had to mess with the sizes and now they all look pixilated. Need to reload a couple I think.)

Some Firsts and Miscellaneous Moments!

In May, Al scored a practically new "In Step" bike trailer for Taylor. He also invested a little in himself and bought his first ever NEW bike. We all bought new helmets and gear and headed out on our first bike riding adventure. Despite the fact that Taylor loves hats, she wasn't too crazy about her helmet. She obviously didn't have a choice in the matter and was a good sport. When we stopped at our destination though, she was quick to say "Off." to her helmet. Silly girl.

Here is our big girl posing with her trailer, a little moody because of the helmet:

Posing with daddy!

Happy as can be with her "Eeet-za!"

Another major first in our household, potty on the toilet! This was June 20th (22 months), the day we were celebrating Father's Day and we had gotten into the habit of putting her on the pot pretty frequently. Most times she would sit there and say "all done" after a few seconds. This day however, she looked at me and started going! Such a proud little girl. Since then, we have had moments here and there but are still a little while away from no diapers. Congratulations Taylor Jean! We're so proud of you! You go girl! :)

Some other miscellaneous moments and fun tid-bits.

Taylor is such a sweet and silly little girl. She is also independent and not a pushover. We love every single bit of it. She is such a little lover too. Always big on the hugs and kisses, even if she initially says, "no!", she will come right around and give in. It's all in the name of it being HER decision. Like I said, independent (and a little stubborn). ;)

Most things are "I do it" or "My do it". When she actually is able to do something by herself..like walk down our outside cement back stairs with no rail or help from us, we watch on with a mix of pride and a little bit of heartache that our little (almost) 2-year-old is already breaking into her own person.

One of her favorite things to do, hands in pockets. And yes, to our Kansas and Texas family/friends reading this, she was wearing a jacket in May. It took us awhile to get summer!

We love seeing how tender-hearted she is with everything and everyone. Including her "ba-bas" (Chew-Chew and Bobo as she calls them). Lots of hugs for those boys. Even if they get in her way when she's eating, "Chewy bahk-up!" she squeals, there is always a hug for them later.

Taylor loves her friends at school and is always so excited to see them, especially if it is outside of daycare!

She is also at the stage of being OBSESSED with babies. My cousin Ryan and his family stayed with us from San Antonio a couple weekends ago and they have a 3 and a half-year old (Abigail) and a 1 year-old (Mily). I honestly don't know if Taylor knew that Abigail was around much, silly girl was all about Mily. From the moment she woke up to any time we were not around her, Taylor would ask "Where baby go??". After they were gone that weekend, Al asked Taylor, "Taylor, would you like a baby to stay at your house all the time?". She said, "Yeah!". So then he keeps talking to her about it and asks if she would like a boy baby or a girl baby. She responded, "A boy baby.". Very matter-of-fact as if she had been thinking of it.

Ok, Taylor, we'll do what we can....just have to wait a little bit. :)

At the same time, she loves to be wrapped up like a baby in her bath towel after bath. She'll just sit there and cuddle for a little bit which hardly happens anymore. Then we'll ask, "Are you Mama's baby??" and she'll respond, "No, Dada's baby!" or vice versa. She is very into opposites. Such a little smartie.

She still loves to sign and loves learning new ones. One of her favorite things to do is sit in daddy's lap in front of the computer and look up a new sign. She will watch and do it after a few times. Not 100% accurately, but enough so that we know what she wants. It helps too because she isn't the most articulate yet with her speech.

Miss Taylor on her great aunt and uncle Joan and Bryan's bed. Looking at herself in the mirror. Such a precious face!

Reading to her two stuffed animals of the week. So far she's not overly attached to any particular thing, just needs a blanket of some sort and a few of her stuffed friends. The one she is particular to lately is the stuffed baby that fits into a peanut shell that her Nana bought her. It's her "baby".

Last picture, a little summer fun with our nextdoor neighbor's daughter, Jersey. We brought our water table over and the girls got to play on warm Saturday. Unfortunately they will be moving soon, we will miss you guys!

More fun to come, trip to Colorado, 4th of July cabin weekend, and a 2nd birthday on August 16th!!