The Toothless Wonder

Right before Christmas, three teeth in A.'s little mouth started to wiggle.  Then on December 29th, the first one came out.

It's hard to see, but there is a tiny little tooth in her hand.  After it fell out she made the observation that if the other two were to fall out shortly thereafter then the toothfairy would owe her "major bucks!" 

Wouldn't you know it, the second tooth popped out three days later on New Year's Day.

Then the third tooth fell out about a week after that.  Yep folks, that toothfairy ended up paying her some "major bucks!"

My Apologies to the Readers

I don't know what happened.  I swear I took more pictures.  I mean, it was Christmas for crying out loud and we were in Utah spending the holidays with family.  So I should have been snapping photos left and right, documenting every second of this special and momentous intersection of the lives of so many of our loved ones.  But alas, when I came home and took an inventory of my photos, I was dismayed to discover that all I really have on my camera's memory card are shots of my kids wildly opening up their gifts.  It makes us appear so materialistic.  And maybe we are.  So my apologies to the readers that the following entry is basically a documentation of our children's Christmas gift-opening frenzy.  I swear, we did a lot more than just open up presents.

Here's a shot of the Christmas tree that A. and P. decorated all by themselves on Christmas Eve at Gma M.'s house.  (I guess I did get at least one photo that doesn't have a present in it.)

Au. examines her sisters' workmanship.

And the present-fest begins!  First we see what Santa brought us.  (Thanks Santa!)

Then we open what Grandma gave us.  (Thanks Grandma!!)

Then we drive to our other Grandma's house and open up even more presents there with our cousins.  (Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa!)

And when we're all done opening up our presents, we help Grandpa open up his.

Au.'s just glad she didn't get lost in all that ripped up wrapping paper!

Gearing Up for Christmas

Santa's little helpers spread holiday cheer in the season's latest fashions.  Didn't you know?  Pink is the new red.

P. perfects the art of playing the role of a reindeer in her pre-school holiday recital.

A. gives Santa some helpful gift suggestions in a letter than she wrote and addressed all by herself.  She even drew a stamp--it's a self portrait.

And the Taylor family continues in their new favorite tradition of a special Christmas campfire.  The hot dogs were plentiful, the s'mores were divine and Dad helped us all remember the reason for the season as we listened to him read the story of Jesus' birth while gazing at the starry Arizona sky.

A Splash-tastic Birthday!!!

A. Turns Six 

I have an extraordinarily talented friend who, from the genius of her very own head, comes up with cute and creative ways to throw amazing birthday parties on very tiny budgets and then blogs about it.  So when it came time to throw a birthday party for A., I tried to take a page out of my friend's book (er, blog) and see what I could come up with. 

M.M.--this blog entry is dedicated to you. 

 

A. decided to commemorate turning 6 by having an "Under the Sea" themed birthday party.  Here she is all decked out in her Ariel costume standing next to the "pin the tiara on Ariel's head" game.  No, I didn't make it--I bought it at Party City so no points scored for being creative here, but I thought the food ideas I came up with were somewhat original.

 

 Starfish Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches--Go star shaped cookie cutters!

 Seaweed Salad made from fruit roll-ups.  It looked totally cute in the serving bowl but then the fruit strips starting sticking to each other making it hard to dish out.

Apple slice sailboats floating on a pool of blue colored water sealed inside ziploc baggies.

And here's everybody enjoying the food.  We also served goldfish crackers to round out the "fish" food theme. 

 We hung streamers in front to the kitchen in hopes of making it look like a waterfall but we ran out of streamers before we were able to create the effect. Who knew that I would need more than 200 feet of streamers?!?

 After lunch the girls went outside to paint an underwater mural.

Once the mural had been painted, the games had been played, and the presents had been opened, it was time for cake.  No, I didn't make this cake either, the grocery store did, but it was free (I got a coupon in the mail).  So no points scored for creativity but I feel that I should definitely get some extra credit for being economical.

Here's the birthday girl making her wish.

And one final shot of the hostess who actually had quite a bit of fun putting this all together for her little girl.  Happy Birthday, A.!  I love you!!

Come Ye Thankful (and Hungry) People

We were truly grateful to host our neice and nephew, S. and J., for Turkey Day.  This year we did Thanksgiving in two parts:  Part I consisted of playing lots of X-Box Kinetic and eating a non-traditional meal of steaks, pasta, salads, and cheesecake.

Here, J. & A. show off their stuff as they play the river rapids game.

 For the first time ever, I got to use the china and candlestick holders I received ten years ago for our wedding.  I must say, it was a quiet little domestic dream come true to host my first ever holiday gathering for family in my own home.

Thanksgiving Part II consisted of a roadtrip to Tucson to feast with our good friends, the Ross's.  But before the meal, we stopped by to see the Pima Air and Space Museum.  Here is J. (currently in the Air Force ROTC at BYU) looking into the cockpit of an A-something-or-other (you'll have to ask him what the exact designation is).

Jay and Au. pose in front of an SR-71.

After feasting our eyes with all things aeronautic, we returned to the Ross's to filled our tummies with a traditional (and very delicious) Thanksgiving dinner.  Thanks so much J. & C.! 

Oh yeah, my one contribution to that meal was a made-from-scratch-double-crusted apple pie.  Had to snap a photo to document it for posterity.

The pinks and mommy with our gracious hostess.

Soccer Star

This year represents A.'s first foray into organized sports.  According to her, soccer is all about spending time with friends, wearing your hair in braids, running around in a cool t-shirt and, oh yeah, if the ball happens to come your way, you should probably kick it.

See A. Run!  That's her in the maroon shirt running ahead of the ball in an attempt to cut off the opposing team's attack!



More Visitors!

In early November we were treated to a visit from Grandma D. & Grandpa G.  And more visitors means more fun!  Here we are playing at the Phoenix Children's Museum 

Grandpa G. keeps Au. warm while the family cheers on A. at another soccer game.

Time to Trick-Or-Treat

This year it was up to one very adorable ballerina, one exceptionally sweet ladybug, and one tiny little Halloween monster to tame all the spooks with an overdose of the cutes.

P. and A. designed the faces for their respective Jack-O-Laterns themselves!

We Love Visitors!

In late October we were lucky enough to receive a visit from Grandma M. and Aunt M.A.  All sorts of fun things happen when we host visitors (which is why we like them so much). Here is a picture of us gals at the Desert Botanical Gardens...

cheering for our favorite soccer player....

and making "ghost" treats out of Nutter Butter cookies and Tootsie Pops.


We also took Grandma M. and Aunt M.A. to A.'s school fair where carnival treats...

and bounce houses were enjoyed by all!

 

When Scorpions Attack!

Yep, you guessed it!  That's a scorpion--in our bed.  It's dead, but it wasn't two minutes before this photo was taken when it stung Jay shortly after he'd laid down to go to sleep.  One scorpion is bad enough but this is actually the second scorpion that has stung Jay while he's been in bed.  This first scorpion managed to sting him twice before we were able to kill it.  Poor guy.  (Jay, not the scorpion)  

School Daze!

It's the first day of class for Pink #1 and Pink #2

A. strikes a pose before heading out the door to her first day of Kindergarten.

A. took to Kindergarten like a fish to water!

P. was all confidence at home on the morning of her first day of Pre-School.

That confidence waned a bit upon arrival, but once she got through her first day, she became one pre-school loving Pink! 

"Hey!  What about me?"  Au. gets comfortable in her car carrier as she accompanies Mommy on carpools.