Keeping up with the Taylor Tots

Paul arrives!

2010-02-16T10:56:00.001-08:00

Paul Warwick Taylor entered the world at 3:37 am weighing 7 lbs and 20 1/2 inches long. I was able to have another natural delivery, although Paul's birth was much calmer than Alice's. My water broke as I was waking from a nap at 4:30 in the afternoon on Wed the 28th. No contractions yet...calls made to Robert, our Doula, and all the grandparents were made. By the time Robert came home my contractions had begun and we began making final preps for the night ahead...overnight bag-check, MaMa here for Alice-check. Our Doula Lin arrived just after 9:00 and contractions were 4-5 min apart and lasting about 45 sec. I labored around the house and took a walk around the neighborhood with my "labor posse" watchin my every move! around 11:45 things started to get more serious and we called the doctor. We checked in around 12:15 and I was measured at 7 cm, 100% effaced and baby was engaged. I was attached to an IV to receive fluids and an antibiotic and the fetal monitor briefly...then I was free to wander again. Our Doula had our lights down low, some calming aromatherapy, and instruction for quiet voices and no talking policy during contractions to allow me to focus. I also had my ipod humming with some tunes from Sting. I didn't wander around long...I entered transition and was ready for pushing shortly after 3 am. The doctor announced "you have a boy" and it was a very surreal moment. I remember looking at Robert and seeing the huge grin appear across his face as he looked for the first time at his son. We named him Paul to honor my father and grandfather, and Warwick to honor Robert, his father and grandmother. Alice has grown into her role as sister quite nicely and is a big helper when it comes to Paul. Their first meeting was fraught with jealously and Paul was promptly removed from Mommy's arms so that Big Sis could claim her spot. By the second day she held his hand and kissed him. Now she protects him whenever other toddler friends want to touch her baby brother (my Paul!) and will run to get his paci when he cries. I can tell they are going to be a great team!

Okay, seriously it's been too long...

2010-02-16T10:36:00.001-08:00

Alright, I know it's been almost a year...and I have had the best intentions. So obviously this post has some Pre-Paul photos on it. I love these pictures so much that I had to share them first... I think it was the hottest day in October when we shot these at Hampton Park. AND Alice was in a serious funk...thank you to my friend Melanie who shot us and captured some great Alice moments!

Hold that Tiger!

2009-03-03T20:08:00.000-08:00

I Love this winter coat! It is so stinkin cute it makes your stomach turn! It actually has a tail that looks like it is wagging as she walks. Alice will actually ask to hold the coat so she can "pet" it, and says "saaahhft" (soft).

Cousins come to visit!

2009-03-03T19:53:00.000-08:00

Alice's cousins Savannah and Tori came to Charleston! The girls had so much fun! Tori and Savannah took turns carrying Alice around the house and then chasing each other around. Talk about a three ring circus! I hope that the girls will spend a lot of time in Charleston this summer and we look forward to the day when they may be able to move here!

This is how much the dogs love Alice...

2009-03-03T19:12:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not when we adopted Zeke and Zeus they were both very protective over their dinner bowls. We could not even pet them while they were eating, let alone put a hand inside the dish. Zeke was the one who freaked out once Alice started becoming mobile and actually growled and snapped at her once. Man, they have come a long way...

This is Zeke allowing Alice to put a ski glove in his dish while he is eating.

Alice now will take food out of their dishes and run around the house with it in her hands and fall down in giggle fits when the dogs chase after her trying to sniff out the goodies.

Zeke is the first one to go in to get Alice out of bed in the mornings and after naps. We can't go to bed at night without saying night-night to the dogs. They love her and she loves them!

Chili Cook-off

2009-03-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago we went over to the Ailstock's home for the Annual Chili Cook-Off. Their daughter Helena is 9 months older than Alice, they had a great time playing around while the adults sampled over 10 chilis. Can you say heartburn? They have got a HUGE backyard and there is nothing that Alice loves more than running around outside. Congrats to Charles for the all around winning chili...ingredients including coffee, chocolate and tequila. What's not to love?

Our Trip to Arlington

2009-02-04T18:55:00.000-08:00

God Bless my Mama, that's all I have to say! I have wanted to go and visit my cousin Jenn in Arlington since she delivered her beautiful baby boy Grant before Thanksgiving. Well after much back and forth and comparing weekend plans I finally decided to go last weekend. My mom never passes up an opportunity to love on a baby, and thank goodness for that! Mom, Alice and I left on Thursday afternoon to break up the drive into 2 days. We had a great time visiting with Jenn, Grant and Greg. They are such a gorgeous new family! It made me truly nostalgic for those new baby days! Which is crazy because during those new baby days I remember thinking that women were nuts to wish for sleep deprivation, sore breasts and a hormonal rollercoaster ride! Nonetheless...I was longing for those days when all Alice wanted was to be asleep in my arms. Alice could not be tempted to nap in the car or elsewhere, I guess she feared missing something important. She was largely unimpressed with Grant and only worried about him when he was taking up important space in her Mommy or Grandma's arms. Grant is a looker and a Talker. He could definately hold his own in a conversation. He did some great cooing and snuggling. We ventured out on Saturday to the National Building Museum, they had a pretty cool set up for kids 2-6, a free building space with all kinds of blocks and a kids room with building themed toys. Alice enjoyed having Mommy chase her all throughout the gallery and knocking down every tower in sight. Jenn managed to get pooped on by the lone winged resident of the museum...Ha! It caught her right on the tail, what are the chances! It was so great to spend a little time with Jenn, we were both equally distracted by our children...such is life! I hope that we will be able to visit again soon! Pictures to come as soon as I can get them from Grandma's camera!

Our Trip to visit the Wrights/Leeths

2009-01-20T18:26:00.000-08:00

Been a year since we saw the Wrights...the kids grow sooo fast! I had blast hanging out with my "second" family. We laughed, chatted, played games, had PIZZA-thanks Jim!
Beleive it or not Simon is only 5 months older than Alice. They were so sweet together watching the big kids through the window and sitting on the bottom step together and playing with trains.

Julia and Lil fed the horses that the Leeths board on their property...Girlfriend and Suddenly.

Alice was not daunted by the size of Kara's great dane Tucker and decided to climb all over him. Tucker was, of course, unfazed.

Liliana enjoyed every last bit of the popcorn while waiting for her turn on the rope swing

The Last Christmas Post...I promise I will move on!

2009-01-20T17:39:00.001-08:00

I just want to say that I have always loved Christmas, I love everything about it! The shopping, the decorating, the food, the family, especially family and of course celebrating the birth of our Savior. I often wish we could bottle the wonderful feelings that we have during the season and pull them out on our bad days! Those of you with children of your own know that kids make every holiday bigger...especially Christmas. I know I just want to soak in every minute and record every cute/sweet/hysterical/new thing that is happening.

Alice's gift to me this year was independent walking! Being a physical therapist and having some background in pediatrics my concern was growing about her gait development (coupled with her small size). In my heart I knew Alice was developing normally at her own rate, but the inner PT voice was distressing. I even choose her big Christmas gift around the goal of gait. So imagine my joy when she LET GO and walked across the room like it was NOTHING!

Alice's first encounter with a piano...she's a budding composer!

Alice was Nelson's new best friend after he discovered that she drops food.

Okay, more Christmas stuff....

2009-01-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

On Christmas morning all of the Grandparents and Robert's brothers Michael and Thomas as well as cousins Alan and Nik all piled into our cozy living room for breakfast and gift opening. Alice tickled us all by digging into her gift wrap, boxes and presents with the appropriate ooohhhs and aahhhs!

Alice zonked out on the way to Great Granny's in Lumberton, NC...zzzzz

Alice didn't hesitate helping Great Granny open her gifts.

Alice struck a pose at the front door in her adorable Christmas outfit...Robert calls those pants her clown pants!

Christmastime in Charleston

2008-12-28T21:31:00.001-08:00

The Santa at the SC Aquarium really freaked Alice out!

We had a grand time at the Toogoodoo Tree Farm choosing our tree and taking a train ride around the farm. Alice had a blast on the toys that the family keeps around for the visiting kids!

Alice is Walking!

2008-12-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

Alice started walking last week! She just decided it was time...she still has that wobbly unsteady gait with the hands high up in the air, it is just soo cute.

2008-12-19T19:56:00.000-08:00

We took these photos about a month ago when Alice first discovered that she

could climb up into her rocking chair on her own.

Look at how Proud she is of herself!

I just Love that she has that little book

upside-down in her hands!

She sat and rocked, and rocked, and rocked !

I know, I know...I haven't been keeping up regularly with the blog. I hate that I haven't because so many really neat things have been going on here. Alice is such a smart little girl...it just amazes me to see her develop into a little peson with her own ideas and opinions. One evening after bath time I was getting her ready for bed and she was holding onto the bottle of lotion that I had just finished applying and said her version of balloon (which sound more like baaoon) So I of course said "no sweetie, that's not a balloon, that is lotion." At which point she said balloon again, a little more forcefully...I looked at the lotion and sure enough there were 3 balloons on the front of the bottle! She can say up, down, mom, dad, dog, ball, balloon, rock/rock, book, hot, fish, some kind of version of please which I can only identify because she signs please at the same time, of course "no", ho ho ho in honor of Christmas and some others that we have only heard once or twice like truck and tickle. She has remained very cautious about walking and has weaned down from requiring both hands held to just needing a pinky finger in her right hand...she likes to keep the left one free to pick stuff up with. She has walked stretches as long as 10 feet without any help, but she still likes us close. She is changing so much...less my little Baby, more my little Toddler.

Koi Pond

2008-11-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

While touring the historic homes in St Augustine we came across Alice's favorite sight seeing...Fish.

St Augustine

2008-11-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

Alice and I took a trip to St Augustine last weekend to visit with Jackie and Dave Scott who had traveled from Granbury, TX.
We took a sunset boat cruise and had a great time seeing all the sights from a new angle and learning a little history.

"Fish or Treat"

2008-11-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

The South Carolina Aquarium has a cool little event for the kiddos for Halloween. We met a few of Alice's friends for some fishy fun and another opportunity for some costume wearing. We were missing a duck, a bunny and a pirate in this photo. And for those of you wondering about the little one on the left...Neve was the costume contest winner in her Starbucks Latte with whipped and chipped topping.
Alice was a flower in her pink and yellow tutu and green leggings...I just think she was so adorable!

Unfortunately Alice was not feeling so well on Halloween day and spiked a fever prompting a doctor's office visit. No biggie, just a fever and was feeling much better after a nap and some Tylenol...we went out for a brief tour around the neighborhood later that night and then later regretted that decision. We ended up keeping our germies away from Neve's (the Latte) Halloween party on Saturday...bummer we had to miss it!

I thought it was so awesome that even the big tank scuba divers got in on the costumes too!

Gardening

2008-11-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

Alice enjoyed helping Mommy and Grandma out in the garden, look at that dirty bummy and the cool little Alice-sized shovel!

Carving Pumpkins

2008-11-04T16:45:00.000-08:00

Alice helped me clean out our pumpkin prior to carving it, she had a good time playing with the goo inside but it was difficult to keep her from putting the goo in her mouth...yuck!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

Right across the street from our neighborhood is a church that sells pumpkins every fall. I remember when I was in college coming out to the pumpkins to take pictures with our friends. Never thought I would be living across the street and taking photos of my 1 year old little girl here!

Alice had the best time crawling over and through the pumpkins...from the itty bitties to the ones that outweigh her by 20 lbs....

Childrens festival

2008-10-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

Robert took a slide with Alice at the festival in Mt Pleasant. Alice also got a chance to jump in an Alice sized jump castle...which was fun to watch! And we also got to check out the cool firetruck...

My Poor Little Gamecock Fan

2008-10-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

This is my sweet little fan before the game....

...during the game...

....and after the game.

The Tigers don't look too much better right now either. We are a sad football house right now!

2008-10-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

We visited our neighborhood bar for some Oktoberfest delights. We enjoyed some German brews and bratwurts while listening to some traditional German music. Alice got wild and danced on the tables with her kazoo!

Children's Festival

2008-10-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

In late September the Children's Museum had a festival complete with pony rides, face painting, parade, balloon animals, races and crafts. Alice had fun checking out the pony and playing with the sidewalk chalk. We had lots of fun watching Alice explore!

Additional birthday photos

2008-09-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some additional photos from Alice's party...
Snuggling with MaMa

Hanging out with Granny Leigh

Piggy back ride with PaPa

Our "Little Bug" turns ONE!

2008-09-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

Alice had a big time at her birthday party! She did a fantastic job at smashing that cake. Grandma put together a lovely angel food cake garnished with strawberries and cool whip. Alice picked her way around the cake eating the strawberries first and then diving into the center for the whipped topping. Her onesie was a green handprint of hers with a little lady bug on it...a darling little memento.

I have to preface all of the food photos with the statement that I always think that my friend Lauren is so funny for posting pictures of the food whenever they have a party or gathering...So Lauren, this is for you,take a gander of KK's yummy salsa! Oh and also take a look at the adorable ladybug strawberries Cassy put together for the party!

Alice was getting full towards the end and began sharing her cake with Daddy and Eva (my friend Cassy's oldest). We stripped Alice down and bathed her in the sink after cake, the bottom right hand photo is the remnants of her cake.

All of the kids had fun playing out back in the playhouse. Pictured are 2 of Cassy's girls Eva (the oldest) and I think that is Mya in the window (one of the twins), Holly (Ashley's) is holding onto the shutters.
Here is Alice playing with the Andrus girls.
We had a great turnout...All of the grandparents, Aunt Ashley with Cousin Holly, Uncle Michael Taylor, Ida and Kara Leeth, the Andruses, the Nixons, along with Finn, Ellis Anne, Peyton, Neve and Michael all from Alice's playgroup (with their awesome parents too, of course).
This is Alice on her new wheelybug. If you hadn't noticed, we had a bug themed party...

Happy Birthday Alice

2008-09-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

On September 8 Alice turned 1!

MaMa came to visit and give some birthday hugs.

She is such a beautiful girl and I just love that everyday I get to look forward to watching her learn, discover, and do new things.

When asked "what are some cute things that Alice does?" Dad replies without hesitation "Everything Alice does is cute, babe." I think that says it all....

Alice 1 year updates:

Alice has started a little vocabulary...she says Mama, occaisionally will say Dada, as clear as a bell said duck and ball the other day. Says the Uh part of Uh Oh (always right before she drops something). Her favorite expression is "OOhhh!" while pointing. She can identify her own nose (she usually wrinkles it when you say nose) and point to mommy's nose and eyes. She knows foot, shoes (good girl!) and pats her belly when asked to. She loves hiding, peek a boo, and being chased. She can high-five. She gives great hugs and hums when she does (I guess that's what I do!). And of course the open mouth kiss. She does a pretty good air kiss too! She waves at everyone, especially dogs.

Alice is getting closer to walking...she cruises and pulls up on any object-even the walls, and she is FAST. She still does the "Cayman Crab" a single hand crawl with the left leg pulling out in front and the right leg and bummy schootching on the floor. She loves to climb.

Alice is a dainty girl for her age...while she continues to be a tall girl at 28 1/2 inches, she doesn't pack many pounds at 16 lb 8 oz. She eats everything in site...I'm not sure where she puts it sometimes. She is such a busy girl, she never stops! She has 2 lower and 2 upper teeth, she still loves broccoli, cheese and yougurt above all else but likes just about everything we have ever given her.

Alice loves her dogs...Zeke and Zeus are instant entertainment and a cure for any cranky pants. They chase her and she chases them.

We just love her so much and are so thankful to have such a precious child!

Labor Day

2008-09-18T19:32:00.006-07:00

On Labor Day we were able to go up to Pawleys Island and visit with our good friends Candi and Jim Wilson and their daughter Laura who is about 5 months older than Alice. The Wilsons live in Macon, GA and it was so good to be able to spend the day with them...we wish they were closer! The boys played some Bocci ball while the tots chased the balls down the beach and the moms sat and chatted.

Robert took Alice on a couple of wagon rides...which she loved, that is until the 4th or 5th ride that she objected to heartily. We later found the reason why...she had a bruised bummy from a quarter-sized raised spot in the bottom of the wagon! The bruise was a perfectly round spot and had us baffled for a couple of hours. Laura (as you can see by the 2 middle/right photos) did not want anything to do with being inside the wagon. I can't say that I blame her after seeing Alice's bum.

Bluegrass and BBQ festival

2008-09-18T19:32:00.005-07:00

August 31st we went to Boone Hall Plantation to listen to some good music and have some good eats. We met up with several of our good friends and enjoyed a beautiful, although a little hot, Charleston day picnicing and playing.

Alice had fun drenching herself with the waterbottle, she actually did a pretty good job drinking from it...but I think it was more fun for her to spill it.

Playgroup at the Beach

2008-09-18T19:32:00.004-07:00

One of the biggest perks of living in Charleston is that we get to have playgroup at the beach. We met out at Folly Beach and it was so much fun to see all of the little ones doing their thing. It is so cute to see all of their little personalities come out...some of them are timid, some throw caution to the wind, some love the sand and being dirty, some avoiding the sand and water completely. I particularly love the photos of Alice and Neve sitting facing away from each other doing the exact same thing...playing with beach debris. We are going to miss the beach as the weather cools off.

College Football Season Begins

2008-09-18T19:32:00.003-07:00

Alice and I surprised Daddy with her Gamecocks t-shirt the Thursday college football football kicked off with USC vs NC State. We went to Granddaddy's house to watch the game (Granddaddy is a Wolfpack alumni). Poor kid hasn't got a chance to pull for a winning team between Clemson and Carolina!

Dresser Drawers

2008-09-18T19:32:00.002-07:00

Not quite sure what the allure of the dresser drawers is, but Alice sure does love opening and closing them as well as pulling all of their contents out on the floor. The other week I heard her in her room opening the drawers and went to peek in and see what she was up to...
I found her here grinning at me and scaling the dresser, what a clever little girl!

Granny visits

2008-09-18T19:32:00.001-07:00

Granny, Aunt Tootsie and Uncle Hubert came from Lumberton to visit Aug 24th for Cousin Nik's 16th birthday. We got to spend some time with them on the Yemaya. I thought this photo was special: 4 generations of Taylors beginning and ending with Alice and 2 Roberts in the middle!

Ravenel Bridge Picnic

2008-09-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, way back in August we went for a "hike" to the highest point in Charleston...the top of the Ravenel Bridge and had a picnic. Poor Alice had a small reaction to the sunscreen...you'd think that after spending 2 weeks drenched in it in Cayman that we would be in the clear.

It was a beautiful day and I must say that it was probably the coolest place in the city.

Stingray City

2008-08-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is the whole crew of us that were down in Cayman. With the exception of Robert and Alice (we were on the boat for 4 hours...too long for the little bug). Good looking group, huh?
Mom wasn't too keen on holding/touching the stingrays...but she did it!
Check out the big smiles! This is always a highlight of our trip!

Dad's getting a little fresh with the sealife isn't he? We always knew he was a little weird!

Ohh, I'm so behind!

2008-08-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, it seems like everyone is playing a little catch up on the blogs! This summer has been incredibly busy, and now with the Olympics taking up all of my free time in the evenings...I will be happy when I can go to bed before 12:00 again. Quick catch up for us...we have been relatively boring since returning from Cayman on August 2nd (I will post more photos from our trip later!). Just catching up on all of the normal day to day stuff. Alice has been busy popping out 2 new teeth on the top (this picture was the result of a sleepless night due to some mouth discomfort, I got kicked out of bed our last night in Cayman!) We were all happy to have our own beds back! We have been playing at the aquarium, the children's mueseum, the beach, picnicing on the Ravenel Bridge, etc...

Alice will be turning 1 on September 8. I can't believe how quickly this year has gone and how much happiness Alice has brought into our lives. She is such a beautiful girl!

This morning at the beach

2008-07-25T10:29:00.001-07:00

We spent the morning on the beach...nothing is better than eating breakfast by the water. I struggled to encourage Alice to keep her hat on. In the end she won (as usual) . Who can say no to that face?

Room with a view

2008-07-25T10:09:00.001-07:00

For the first week we have a condo over looking the ocean (Saturday we will move into a poolside unit while Dad and Leigh move into this one) Pretty tough to beat, huh? Most of what you see here had to be rebuilt after Hurricane Ivan devoured the resort (one of the original condominium buildings still has not been reconstructed). The dock and restaurant decking were not here when Robert and I last visited in 2006.

Future scuba diver

2008-07-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

Alice was checking out our dive gear...

We have gone on 3 dives so far this week (Robert is off at one as we speak). My new gear is awesome!(Thanks Babe!) We did Sunset House on Tuesday and saw the Mermaid statue and wreck, Eden Rock on Wednesday with swim-thru coral formations, Babylon on Thursday a "wall" dive (you cannot see the bottom from 100 ft below the surface) the coral reef was absoulutely gorgeous. And today Alice and I plan on going to the bird sanctuary while Robert is with Dad, Leigh, Jackie and Tom doing a dive and boating to Stingray City.

Cayman Baby

2008-07-25T09:38:00.001-07:00

We have been having so much fun with Alice on the beach! She loves the sand, sun and surf! She gets so tired from playing that she has taken to napping for 3 hours straight in the mornings! Daddy has built sandcastles and Alice has destroyed them, thankfully she hasn't eaten too much sand

First airplane trip

2008-07-25T09:08:00.001-07:00

We travelled to Murrell's Inlet on Sunday afternoon and spent the night at Matt and Allison's home so we could cut our car trip time on Monday morning. Alice settled to bed well on Sunday night (surprisingly since she has had trouble with sleeping in the Pack and Play) but woke up at 12 am and had trouble getting back to sleep. Now our alarm was set for 2:30 so we could get to the airport by 4:00...talk about some tired pups! Alice was able to fall asleep at the start of both flights for around 45 minutes and did pretty well during takeoff and landing. We arrived in Cayman at 1:00 pm eastern time and by the time we got our bags through customs, got the rental car, stopped at the grocery and drove across the island to the resort it was after 5:00. Alice crashed (and so did mom) right after dinner and slept straight thru the night over 12 hours...refreshed and ready to go!

Go Riverdogs!

2008-07-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

Alice enjoyed her first baseball game, we had fun cheering on the Charleston Riverdogs on July 1st with friends. Unfortunately the hometeam did not win...but we had a good time. Alice also enjoyed her first fireworks show after the game...she was not frightened by them, just sat and watched! It was good to hang out with some friends, Alice was such a "good sport"!

From left to right: Jerry, Laura with Alice, Doreen and Pat

That's Jay and Leigh Anne with me

On the 4th of July we kept up with tradition and went to the Yemaya to watch the fireworks off of Patriot's Point with a whole bunch of family and friends and family. Alice actually fell asleep during the fireworks show!

Alice's Baptism

2008-07-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Alice was Baptized on Sunday at our church Blessed Sacrament. She was absolutely beautiful in her white gown and did so well at church, the baptism service and the luncheon we had afterwards at home. Alice's Godparents Charlie Neely and Kim Warner were present as well as Charlie's wife Kelly and Kim's fiance Matt. Alice's grandparents (except Granddaddy who is still travelling for work in FL), Aunt Ashley, cousin Holly, and friends Cassy and Eva Andrus also were able to attend. We had such a good time celebrating!

Happy Birthday Granny

2008-06-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

We want to wish Granny a very special Happy Birthday! We were so lucky to have been able to spend time with Granny over the weekend, it was a very good surprise to hear she would be coming to town. Her great grandchildren were so glad to be able to spend some time with her (as well as her grandchildren and children!) Savannah and Torie were also visiting from Atlanta (Robert's sister Tonya's girls) Our only wish would be that we could see her more often and hope to be making a trip to Lumberton to visit soon.

Granny Alice and Baby Alice checking each other out!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-18T07:34:00.001-07:00

I wanted to wish all the Dad's out there a happy Father's Day! Robert and I were glad to spend the weekend with family. Robert spent his day working on the boat with my Dad, his Dad and our brother-in-law Michael and then we went over to Dad and Leigh's to grill out and swim in the pool. I hope Robert had a very happy Father's Day! Alice is so blessed to have such a caring Daddy and I am ever grateful for my wonderful husband!

Alice is 9 months old

2008-06-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

Alice was 9 months old on Sunday!

We went to the pediatrician on Tuesday for her check up...which confirmed what we already know...that Alice is a "string bean", albeit a healthy string bean. She is 15lbs 6 oz which puts her under the 5th percentile for weight and 27 3/4 inches...over 50th percentile in length!

Alice is commando crawling quickly now, and on June 1st was found sitting up in her crib. She finally figured out how to do it...and now she does it all the time! She has broken ground on tooth #2 (I felt it for the first time on May 29th, and now you can just barely see it) and by the newest photos you can see #1 very prominently now.

She is tentative about pulling to stand and prefers to do so only when she can hold onto a person at the same time, but has been cruising a bit along the ottoman and the back of the couch. She is eating meats now...very ground up meats, but still meats. Her absolute favorite is plain yogurt and anything that she is allowed to feed herself.

Alice has learned how to roar like a tiger (like every good Clemson fan should). She still says "mama" mostly when she is upset, and otherwise is just a babbling. She definately knows what she wants although she isn't always able to convey it to us yet...And my does she have a temper!

Boat Excitement

2008-06-11T08:44:00.001-07:00

While we were on our sail last Saturday we had a bit of excitement. We were cruising around the Charleston Harbor heading out toward Sullivan's island when Captain Alan got a phone call on his cell phone...a distress call from another captain who was also out sailing and had managed to run aground on a small sandbar out toward the jetties that protect the harbor. We sailed over and spotted them and brought down our sails, sent out Alan's son Nick in the dinghy to attatch a tow line to try to pull the smaller sailboat off the sandbar. After 2-3 hours of attempts trying to manuever a 60 plus foot sailboat against a strong tidal current in shallow waters and ferrying the passengers from the listing sailboat to the Yemaya in the dinghy...Alan was finally able to free the troubled sailboat from the sandbar!
In this photo you can see the sailboat on the left, Nick standing in the middle and the dinghy on the right

More Boat Excitement...

On the next day, Sunday, Robert was so excited to be putting the finishing touches on repairs to the Marathon (Robert's Dad's boat that has been sitting idle in our driveway for 2 years) newly upholstered seats, freshly repaired alternator, bilge, etc...He was planning to take it on a test run and then pick up Alice and I.

And then this happened as he was pulling it out of the driveway...

The axle on the trailer broke as he was coming out...Maybe one day we can enjoy putting our boat in the water!!! Poor Daddy! Last night he picked up a new axle and I am sure that will be the first order of business this weekend!

"Bathing Beauty"

2008-06-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

I caught a little video of Alice while she was in the "hot-tub" on the Yemaya, she had a great time alternately splashing and then rubbing her eyes. She is sitting on cousin Jenn's lap who is now expecting her first baby in December! She announced the news to family this past weekend...(I have had to keep the secret from Uncle Mike, Jane and Max AND my Mom and Dad...Jenn-you are lucky you are cute!) We are so excited for Jenn and Greg and we know they will be fabulous parents!

Visiting with fam

2008-06-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

We have had a very busy week with out of town family visiting...Uncle Mike, cousins Jane and Max visited from Atlanta on Tuesday. And cousin Jenn flew in from DC on Thursday. We went to the beach on Wednesday, the Aquarium on Friday and sailing on the Yemaya on Saturday. The fam also made several side trips to King St shopping as well as the Farmer's Market. Alice has also been making progress on her 2nd tooth!

Beach trip 6/4/08

Alice's 2nd time out to the beach...Out to Folly

Aquarium 6/6/08

In front of the 400,000 gallon deep water tank at the aquarium

Cousin shot while at the aquarium with the Ravenel Bridge in the background

Sailing 6/7/08

Alice hopped into the jaccuzi with cousins Jenn and Jane while on Yemaya, she had a great time splashing and laughing. She is definately a Taylor...she loves the water! Check out that tooth!

She was such a trooper...we ended up on the boat from 3 till 9, wow-no nap while on deck...too much to see and do.

A little shot of the out of towners as we got underway on our harbor cruise. Jane is recovery from knee surgery and was able to keep up with us all on crutches this week and hopped around the boat on 1 foot!

The 'Hawk returns!

2008-06-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

We just can't help ourselves! That is all I have to say about that!

Bon Voyage!

2008-06-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

For Fanny's final evening with us before returning to France we went sailing on Robert's cousin Alan's boat the Yemaya. We did a harbor cruise at sunset and Alan grilled steaks and boiled shrimp. And of course we had cake! This was Alice's first trip out on the water although we have been on the Yemaya several times at dock before now. We saw dolphin and Alice enjoyed playing with princess Bailey (Bailey and her folks just got back from a 6 month sail in the Bahamas). We will miss Fanny dearly...we have loved having her so close for the past 9 months while she was studying at Davidson. We hope she comes back soon!

2008-06-04T06:55:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day we cooked out over at my parents' home where Alice's Aunt Ashley, Cousin Holly and honorary Aunt Fanny were visiting. Mom and Dad roasted everything out on the grill...chicken, potatoes, corn...yum! We had to leave a little early as Alice had some kind of allerigc reaction while we were there. She had a rash on her chest and one eye got really inflamed and itchy. Robert got her a little Benadryl and we washed out her eye...she was better quickly. Hopefully its just an unusual occurance.

Playing around...

2008-05-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of cute photos I took while we were playing yesterday. Alice is commando crawling everywhere. She has pretty much given up on rolling as her primary means of moving around, she turns on her belly and will now scootch forward to get where she is going. Still loves to chase the dogs...Zeus handles it all by licking her in the face which is enough of a distraction to make a clean get away. Zeke is not so suave and has earned himself a couple of spanks because of growling and snarling when she intrudes on his space, which is unfortunate because Alice thinks he is the funniest. Alice loves to get into the toy baskets under her crib, she has mastered tipping them over to get to the contents. Oh...I almost forgot...check out our pretty new pink carpet! White does not work with 2 dogs and a kid.

Beach trip!

2008-05-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

We braved the Memorial Day crowds to take Alice to the beach. Looks pretty deserted there at Folly Beach at 9 am doesn't it? It was a beautiful morning and Alice had fun playing in her little sun shade. I helped her dip her toes in the water and dig them into the sand. She wasn't too sure about the water and the sand, but she loved the wind in her face and waving to everyone strolling the beach...especially the dogs. Alice tried eating the sand several times (of course she did). We had a fun time!

The root of our sleepless nights

2008-05-26T11:42:00.001-07:00

Alice has been keeping this baby under wraps. She hasn't let anyone get a good look at this, so consider yourselves lucky. It's twin has been giving her some discomfort as well. I'd say we got about 1 week reprieve before no. 2 started giving her trouble. The toothless grin is officailly gone:(

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

I hope all you moms out there had a fabulous Mother's Day! My first one was extra special! Alice gave me some beautiful tulips and a card, then took me to IHOP for breakfast. Then as you can see we took a trip to the Aquarium and visited the turtles. This was also Robert's first trip to the SC Aquarium. We had a great time, and bumped into some other friends while we were there. Alice did like sitting in front of the big tank and watching the big fish and divers swim by...I'm sure all of it was quite puzzling to her!

Pulling to stand

2008-05-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

Alice has discovered that the sofa is the perfect height to pull up to, and she does it quite well now...We are still safe...she hasn't figured out how to get from lying to sitting, and although she rolls all over the place she is not crawling yet. When she figures that one out we won't be able to keep up with her! But for now if I leave her sitting, she will be sitting when I return...if I leave her lying down, she will be lying down when I return-just not in the same spot.

A hair-raising experience

2008-05-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

I think anyone would agree that the mohawk is making a big comeback! Alice has the attitude to pull this off! Her hair is certainly getting a bit longer...I may be able to get barrettes in it soon (she will have to relinquish the 'hawk though) The second photo shows a very familiar sight of last week-the hands to the cheeks/ears, her gums sure bothered her. It kinda looked like the "Home Alone" pose to me!

We missed Dad!

2008-05-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

We took this photo the day before Daddy left for San Diego. Daddy needed a little snuggle time with the bug before taking off for 5 days.

While Daddy was gone Alice and I were very busy...hence not updating the blog for several days. Alice began breaking ground on her first tooth...very exciting! Very exciting at all hours of the night! Needless to say we did not get as much sleep as we needed. After Robert had left on Sunday I discovered that our deep freezer had been without power for several days and most things were either thawed out and still refridgerated or beginning to thaw out...as a result I spent a great deal of time while Robert was gone in the kitchen cooking and making casseroles. We had 40 lbs of shrimp and 25 breasts of chicken as well as my stockpile of breastmilk (which I did cry about because, of course, I had to throw it away).If that wasn't enoughI also took on redecorating Robert's office with my folks assistance...a little "while you were out" project. Which Robert was very happy to see when he came home on May 8. When I can get photos of both finished projects I will post them...Alice won't let me look at her mouth, and the finishing touches are still going into the office.

Afternoon at the park

2008-05-01T18:11:00.001-07:00

We spent a great day at the park and met Cassy and her daughters Eva, Sadie and Mya. We had a picnic lunch and did some swinging. The weather has been chilly for the past couple days but was fabulous at 75 today. Alice enjoyed swinging and even took time out to eat carrots while sitting in the swing. She did a little sliding with Eva as well, and Eva took an interest in teaching Alice what sounds farm animals make.

Learning to Wave

2008-05-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

Alice is beginning to wave at people! She thinks it is the cutest trick...probably cause we all go crazy when she does it. Her little personality is coming out more and more everyday, she really is such a neat girl. She gives the greatest kisses and will do Eskimo kisses too!

Busy Bees

2008-04-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

We've been busy folks since our last post. I went last Friday to pick up my parents at the airport in Columbia, unfortunately it was past Alice's bedtime and a 3 1/2 hour round trip drive- so they had to wait until the next day to catch up with little girl. Mom and Dad were over ASAP on Saturday!

Alice was supposed to have her "6 month" photos on Saturday...they have been cancelled and rescheduled for an assortment of reasons. The latest reason was a beautiful mark on her face that she got at playgroup. One of the kids had some neat laminated flash cards with photos of her family on them that Alice jammed in her mouth and cut her in the corners several different places...it looked like she had whiskers drawn on her face (wish I had a photo of it now). So we waited it out 1 more day and did them on Sunday.

Alice has perfected her sitting balance and is now working on her next big skill...pulling up to stand! We caught her on the video monitor during a "nap" on her knees in her crib. Needless to say the mattress was lowered immediately! She has been having fun standing up holding on to the back of the couch and looking out of the window and of course...jumping! I caught these shots at our ottoman, which I love the fact that it is SOFT! Also...check out Grandma's face in the upper right-hand corner shot!

Can't wait to see Grandma and Grandpa

2008-04-15T14:47:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa come back to the states on Friday and we will certainly be glad to see them. They have had a wonderful time in Italy, and are keeping up with us on the web!

I'm sitting tall!

2008-04-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

Alice is doing lots of sitting these days, she still hasn't perfected keeping her balance...she loses it backwards quite often which keeps me on my toes. And as for our weekend away...Alice was well loved on at MaMa and PaPa's...and I survived! I thought I might throw up as PaPa was leaving with Alice in his car from Jacksonboro where we met up. We were able to sustain on periodic reports and amazingly enough we slept horribly through the weekend, and once Alice was back with us on Sunday we all slept through the night "like babies".

A weekend away

2008-04-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

Robert and I have an out of town wedding to attend this weekend and Alice will be staying with MaMa and PaPa in Aiken (Robert's folks). This will be may first weekend away from Alice and I am very anxious! I always laughed at my girlfiends when they described to me how upset they were when leaving their little ones for the first time (even when it was Daddy caring for the baby) or would decline travel plans because it involved leaving their children in someone else's care! I have negotiated with myself all week long and will probably continue negotiating through the weekend!

We are also missing Grandma and Grandpa this week! My mom and dad are in Italy for 2 1/2 weeks. They have had an awesome opportunity to go to Rome with their St Mary's church choir to sing in the company of the Pope. They will also be traveling to Venice and visting with some friends before returning home. Grandma usually cares for Alice while I work 3 days a week, and we have all missed her greatly.

Now for Alice updates...last week she was a babbling fool saying "bababa" and "mamama". This week she has opted to be a little quieter and doing more forceful and short squeals. Personally I like the mamama's. She is eating her solids a bit better now...after I let her start feeding herself! She will pick up the spoon and feed herself afer we load up the spoon for her. What an independent little girl! She is sitting for several minutes now independently and is on her way to perfecting the jungle crawl. It is more like a roll to one side and stretch forward, roll to the other side and stretch forward. We went to our final Kindermusik class this week and Daddy was able to join us. She really loves seeing the other kids and playing with the music.

Alice goes to Aiken for the weekend

2008-04-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

Doing the Wash

2008-04-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

Alice likes to hang out in the laundry basket and play peek-a-boo and "hide" in the sheets.

Helping with Laundry

2008-04-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Alice enjoyed getting in the laundry basket and "helping" mommy with the laundry. She loves to "hide" and play peek-a-boo.

Alice is mobile

2008-04-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Alice loves her new mobility, she is not crawling quite yet but rolls, scoots and inches to her desired locale. She loves going "under" the ottoman, the crib and the rocking chair, which is the same rocker I crawled under and chewed on as a little squirt.

Alice tries apples

2008-04-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

Alice is still getting the hang of all of these new tastes and textures and hasn't gotten the hang of solids yet. She makes all kinds of faces, gags, and much to our dismay blows raspberries...anything but eating! She is a pro at handling a sippy cup and loves to try drinking from a glass when assisted.

Jumping Bean

2008-04-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

Alice LOVES her jumper! We remind her that she may just jump her brains out if she doesn't rest every once in awhile!

Easter Dinner

2008-04-06T19:57:00.001-07:00

My mom and dad hosted a fantastic Easter dinner which was well attended...Mom, Dad, Robert, myself, Alice,my sister Ashley and her daughter Holly, Robert's Dad and Leigh, Robert's Cousins Alan, Nik and a friend Sinclair, Fanny our friend visiting from France, neighbors Angela and Bobby, and my dear friends Cassy, Kevin and their daughters Eva, Sadie and Mya.

Family Photo

2008-04-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

Egg Hunt

2008-04-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

Eva, Sadie, Mya and Holly hunted Easter Eggs while the Moms looked on. Alice supervised this year.

Checking each other out

2008-04-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Alice and Cousin Holly had a good time on Grandma's lap. Alice was captivated by Holly's paci and took it out as soon as Holly put it back in. Aunt Ashley said Alice could help Holly quit the paci just by sitting next to her more often! Holly was such a sweet girl and just loved stroking Alice's head.

Eva's 3rd birthday

2008-04-06T19:33:00.001-07:00

Cassy's oldest daughter turned 3 and celebrated with a dance party, Alice donned her tutu and praticed some dance moves.

A little cranky

2008-04-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

After lots of dancing and socializing Alice was quite tired. Zeus had to check in to make sure Alice was OK.

All better after a little cry

2008-04-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

Alice rallied so I could take a few photos of her in her first tutu.