Sissy is here!

We are excited to introduce Tate's baby sister: Landry Jean Taylor! She is perfect and tiny and completes our family of four!
Landry was born on June 4, 2014 at 9:55 a.m. She weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. We had a scheduled C-section and everything went smoothly.
Everyone keeps asking us how we got her name. We've just always liked the name Landry for a girl, and even had the name on our list when we had Tate. Jean is after Blair's mom, Jean Ann.
We are adjusting well and home. It's been perfect because Blair and I are both on summer break.

 

 

Tate was so excited to meet his little sister. After Mom and Dad, Tate was the first to hold her. He was very proud!

 

Kisses!

 

Nana and Papa Siemers

 

\

 Papa and Nana Taylor

 



Sweet Baby Girl

 



 



Family of 3!

I decided that I better make one more post before we become a family of four! We will be meeting our baby girl in just a couple days! We're getting so excited and I can't stop 'nesting'. A person can only clean, organize, and rearrange so much, but it just makes me feel so good. At first, I didn't think I'd have the feeling to 'nest' as much this time since we'll be moving in just 6 weeks, but I was wrong. I just want everything to be clean! :)

We are officially done teaching at Colo-NESCO and West Marshall. It's kind of sad, but I'm excited for this next step in our life. I just keep praying that God will only give us what we can handle, and make this transition somewhat smooth. We still haven't found a house for sure yet, and we're waiting for Blair's contract to get approved. We DID sell our house. Eight days on the market! I couldn't believe it. It's been a nice little house. I remember the first time we moved in I never thought I'd fall in love with it enough to want to stay forever. How I can say I love it! I love how cozy it is, how awesome our neighbors are, and how we've just made it our own. It's been a great 5 years on 14th Street Place. :)

I'm so excited for Tate to be a BIG brother, and I think he's getting very ready too. He knows that it's close. He's been very clingy and wants us near him at all times. Bed time has been rough because he always wants us to lay by him or keep checking on him. He knows we'll be going away for a couple of nights, but I don't think he understands that he's going to be with us at the hospital some of the time too, and getting spoiled by his papas and nanas. He's in for a big change, but I think he'll love his little sissy very much!

I can't wait to introduce our little miss to the world and announce her name (if we ever decided on one).

Here are some last minute pictures of our family of three!

Goofy Boy!

 

Last family of 3 pic!

Swimming in his new pool!

 

 

Neighbors

This weekend was WONDERFUL! The weather was beautiful and we were able to spend lots of time outside.
On Thursday night and Friday, Blair and I went to Sioux City to begin looking at houses, to get acquainted with the area, and to visit his school. I was impressed with this school! It's a new beautiful building and everyone was so nice and welcoming. The house hunt was a little stressful, and we didn't fall in love with anything yet. I'm guessing we'll have to go back just after the baby is born and look again. We have our house listed so we have a little bit of time. I'm praying that God gives us the courage to be patient, and know that something will come along for us. I was thankful that my mom came and stayed with Tate so the two of us could just go on our own and do a little looking.
Yesterday we had out first house showing so I did a little cleaning and organizing while the boys went to Jenna, Blair's cousin's, tennis meet. I then joined the boys and Mike and Jean Ann for lunch in Ames. It was very nice! That night\ we had to hit up a couple graduations and spent some time outdoors with our neighbors.
Today was amazing. The weather was perfect and we got a lot done around the house and yard. After church, we came home and grilled a nice lunch. Tate napped and Blair and I cleaned out the shed and both vehicles. I did some more things to get ready for the baby. This evening, my neighbors had a diaper and dinner shower for me. It was so nice. Everyone provided a frozen meal and a package of diapers. Our neighbors are wonderful. I'm going to miss this neighborhood! Everyone is so kind and generous! I'm especially thankful for Tricia and Stacia for hosting. The food was awesome too!
AND to top off the evening Dennis and Jan stopped by tonight and bought a new airplane for Tate and a Cabbage Patch Doll for Baby Girl. Anyone who knows me knows that I love Cabbage Patch. I'm so excited for a little girl.

Anyways, we have LOTS to be thankful for. We have so many caring people in our life!
It's Sunday evening, and I'm realizing that I'm getting ready to start my last week at Colo-NESCO Schools. It's sad, but I have to admit that I am ready for summer. It will hit me in the fall when I'm not preparing a classroom!

I snapped a couple pictures at the shower and I also wanted to share pictures of the baby's room.

The Hosts!

Bittersweet

We're getting ready for lots of changes in this Taylor household. Not only is Baby Girl about to arrive, but we just decided that we'll be moving! Blair was offered an assistant principal job at Liberty Elementary School in Sioux City. We are excited, but it's also a bit sad. We've grown to love the area that we live in now, and we're going to be leaving lots of family and friends. I still remember when we moved into our little house on 14th St. Place. We knew it was going to be a starter home and that we'd one day move, but it's so bittersweet now. We have lots of memories in this great little house, we love our neighbors, and have just made it our own.
I'm currently praying that I won't have to look for a full-time teaching job and will be able to substitute teach and spend some time at home with our kiddos. We want to get Tate enrolled in preschool, and find a daycare. This will take some time. It's going to be an adjustment, but it's also exciting.
I'm very proud of Blair. He finished his masters classes and will now be spending some time finishing his portfolio. It's an exciting time! :)

So, Sissy is about here and she's going to be coming at a very hectic time. We still had to get her room ready because we'll probably be here for six weeks or so after she gets here. We spent some time this weekend getting her room all set up. Thanks to Papa and Nana Taylor for the beautiful furniture. It's perfect! Thanks to my parents for helping with odd jobs around here!

Today is Mother's Day. I got to spend the day with my little family and my parents. It was a nice day. Tonight Tate and I were cuddling on the couch and out of nowhere he said, "Thank you for being my mommy." It was so cute! I asked him why he said that and he said, "Because it's Mother's Day."

I have lots of gals in my life who make WONDERFUL mothers. Happy Mother's Day to my mom, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and Blair's grandmas! We're so lucky to have you all in our life!

I would love to post pictures from the weekend, but we are currently sitting in the basement. We're in a tornado warning, and I thought updating would be a good activity for me! I wish I was in bed! ha! Anyways, I'll post baby room pictures very soon!

Easter Weekend!

I'm so happy to say that I have a FOUR DAY WEEKEND! I couldn't be happier! It's been such a nice little break. We spent a lot of time outside and with family.

Before the actual weekend, we had a sick little boy on our hands. Wednesday evening Blair and I went out for a five year anniversary..just dinner and a little shopping. It was so nice!!  Our good friends watched Tate for us and when we got there to pick him up he was on fire! We brought him home, took his temp, and within minutes he was throwing up. Poor guy was miserable all evening long. Blair stayed with him for the morning on Thursday and then I came home at noon to be with him. His temp spiked to 104, but he was no longer getting sick. He just continued to act lethargic and cried a lot. I decided to take him to the doctor. Well, his throat and mouth were FULL of sores. He ended up with Hand, Foot, and Mouth. How miserable!

On Friday, he was finally starting to feel better but I kept pushing the Tylenol. He and I drove to Emmetsburg. We left Blair at home to work on grad work. My mom scheduled me a Peek-a-Boo ultrasound at the Emmetsburg hospital. We got to see Baby Taylor! The 4D ultrasound is amazing, but she was a little stubborn and didn't give us the best view. She had her hands up by her face. We got a couple good pictures. I just can't believe that she'll be in our arms in six short weeks!

On Saturday, my good friend Kendra had a baby shower. The shower was very nice, and she got lots of awesome baby girl things! On Saturday evening, we headed back to Nevada and my parents also headed down to our house to celebrate Easter with us. We got home just in time to dye Easter eggs!

Today we got up and made a big breakfast and headed to Easter Mass. Of course the Easter Bunny came too! :) Mike and Jean Ann came for the afternoon. We grilled a big lunch and played outside all day! We had a very nice day!  Tate was very dirty and exhausted. He was promptly in bed at 7:57 this evening. He was a tired boy, but had a wonderful day playing with his Nanas and Papas!

I'm SOOO excited that I still have tomorrow off! We're heading to the doctor in the morning for a quick check on Baby Taylor!


Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

 

 

 

Creston

I feel like spring  weather is starting to get here and this weekend we got to enjoy a little of this nice weather! We went to Creston on Saturday for Grandma Janis' birthday party. The whole Taylor clan came to Mike and Jean Ann's…even Grandma Ann came. It was so nice to see everyone and Tate loved playing with all his cousins. The food was so yummy! We ate so much and had a nice time visiting with everyone.

Before all the company arrived on Saturday, Papa Mike took everyone (Kayson, Cora, and Tate) to the fire station. Tate's been wanting to go check out all the fire trucks. He was in heaven!! He's been talking about it ever since! 

Every night when we put Tate to bed he asks me to tell him a story. The stories always have to be about something that has happened in his past. The stories we always tell usually have something to do with Papa Dick's farm but tonight when I was tucking him in he said, "Mommy, tell that story of that time when we went to the fire station with Kayson and Cora." haha! As if it was so long ago! :) Even though it happened three days ago it's like it's this story from way back when and he loves hearing the same stories over and over. 

Anyways, on Sunday we celebrated Easter with a yummy lunch and an egg hunt. Grandma and Papa even gave Tate a 'big boy' basketball hoop for outside. Tate has turned into quite the little basketball nut, and this was the perfect gift. We had to come home on Sunday and put it together. After a failed nap and a trip to the hardware store, Daddy finally got it put together. It even started raining and he continued to shoot and shoot. He was filthy and looked like he had eaten dirt by the time we made him come in for a bath. I know that basketball hoop is going to get lots of use this summer!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend-

 

Fire truck!!!

The boys giving Core a ride!

Colby and Tate

 

Easter baskets!

Daddy working on the basketball hoop...Tate waiting patiently.

 

Playing in rain!!

 

 

 

Weekend Get-a-Way!

This past weekend we got away and headed to Minneapolis! We had a great family of 3 weekend! We needed it! Things have been very crazy around here. Poor Blair has been swamped with his grad work. He had a few days off from teaching, so he was able to get some school work caught up…we thought it would be the perfect time to get out of town. Blair and I both have good friends from back home that live in the cities, so we thought it would be perfect to catch up with some of them and just have some family time.

We headed out on Friday when I got home from school. We stayed at my friend, Bridget's house on Friday. It was fun to see her house and we just ordered pizza and cheered on ISU.

On Saturday morning, we got up and headed to the Mall of America. Tate rode some rides with Daddy, we went to Lego Land, had lunch, and did a little shopping. Then we headed to our hotel to do some swimming and relaxing that afternoon. That evening some of our friends came to the hotel and we had supper. It was fun to see them. Gabe and Gretchen have Everleigh. She is almost one, and this was the first time we got to see her. Also, Zach and Pia joined us. It's been a long time since we've seen these Creston folk! :)

On Sunday, we went to Ikea and stopped at the Medford outlet mall.

I'm so thankful we had such a nice weekend AND we were home in time to cheer on the Cyclones Sunday evening.

Here are a few pictures from my phone:

Our weekend

We had a wonderful weekend! The weather was awesome!
Yesterday Mike and Jean Ann came and we all went to the ISU basketball game. It was so much fun and it was a great game. Tate loved it, but towards the end he started to get sleepy. Pretty soon he crawled up on my lap and crashed. It was so loud in there. Everyone around us was shocked that he was sleeping through all the noise!
After the game, Nana Jean and Papa came over to the house and played for a bit. Of course, Tate had to play basketball with them.

 

 

 

 

 

This morning we went to church and then came home to have a big breakfast. After Tate's nap this afternoon, we played outside. It was beautiful! We rode bikes, played with the neighbors, went to the park, and went on a couple walks. Now I'm officially ready for spring!

Baby Taylor is doing great! We are about 27 weeks! It's going so fast.  I'm feeling very large! :) Baby Girl is growing! :)

Baby Taylor Update

On Friday, I decided to take Taterbean with me to a doctor's appointment. We were heading to a play date afterwards, so I thought I'd be brave and give it a try. He did really well, and I know that Dr. Gessner loved seeing him. She even made him come into her office for some candy and explained to him that she was the first one to ever hold him!

Baby is great and I feel great! It was about a a five minute routine check. Her heart rate was in the 140s.  Tate covered his ears the whole time when we were listening to her heart beat. He said, "That is too loud." haha! I disagree…I think it's the best sound in the world!

We are currently 23 weeks along. We don't have a name yet, but have a very LONG list. We can't seem to agree on too many. The joy of being teachers- every time one of us mentions a name it's sparks a memory of a student one of us had in a previous teaching year. It's funny how one school year with a feisty student can make you dislike a name. Isn't that terrible of me? But on the flip side, I got Tate's name from a first grade student I had during student teaching. So it isn't all bad.

Anyways, we have a little time to figure out a name! In the meantime, I'm going try to avoid giving into the temptation of buying pink. I have this addiction to Etsy and can't stop searching for girly things! I'll probably end up with the biggest tom boy ever. I'm ok with that, I remember tromping around the farm in pigtails and rubber boots, and I still wore pink every now and then.

:)

Let's go Broncos BABY!

Well, today is the Superbowl and I have a very nervous hubby! :) We are having some neighbors over for a small party. The basement is all rearranged and ready to go for a Broncos party. We even had to move the couch from upstairs down there so we had plenty of room for people to sit.

I'm excited for an evening with friends and lots of munching. 

Anyways, I decided that it was probably time to put a baby bump picture on here. Today I am almost 22 weeks! I feel great! Baby Girl is starting to get more active and I feel like I'm growing like crazy! 

 Let's go Broncos, Baby! :) 

3 Year Stats

We had Tate's three year appointment and pictures this past week! His appointment went well, and luckily he didn't need any shots! He is 34 3/4 inches tall and weights 24.2 pounds. He's in the 0 percentile for weight and height. The good part is that he grew three inches from last year. Dr. Nau was very happy about that!
On Saturday, we got his pictures taken. We even decided to do a family shot since it will be the last time as a family of three! They turned out ok. He was a wild man, so I'm glad we got a few keepers! :)

We are having the hardest time getting this little man to eat supper at night. I think we've tried everything. Tonight he was at the table for almost an hour before he finally gave in and ate a little bit. The little stinker has turned into a garbage gut. He wants everything that's NOT healthy! At least he eats pretty well for Deb at daycare. Thankfully, he still drinks milk and loves fruit, yogurt, and cheese. He likes his dairy! :)

Here are a few pics from the weekend:

 

 

A 3-Year-Old

I can't believe that our Taterbean is three!! How is it possible? We had such a fun time this year celebrating. On the Saturday before his birthday, we had a small family birthday party. He picked the theme this year and went with John Deere. It was pretty cute- a perfect theme for a little boy!
He had such a blast and was spoiled like crazy.

Playing tractors with Kayson

Cora taking Tate for a spin

Impossible to get a good family picture, but this one is pretty funny

Godparents

Tate the referee

Getting spoiled

On Tate's real birthday the three of us celebrated by going to his favorite restaurant, Hickory Park. How could he not love it? Grilled cheese, ice cream, and they sing to him! :)

Hickory Park birthday treat

We have his three year appointment this week and I can't wait to see how much he's grown.
 But for now, this is what's Tate's been up to:

-LOVES tractors of all kinds and has farm shows daily. The sweetest part about it is that he always mentions Papa Dick when he plays with his farm things. So precious.
-Is also into Disney Cars and Planes. He loves watching the movies.
-Has been working on letters and sounds but sometimes he's just not interested.
-LOVES books. Some nights we read for an hour before bed. He is such a good listener!
-Has been very into his daddy. In the month of December, Blair was less busy because of winter break from his classes. Tate took advantage of this, and now usually chooses Dad over Mom.
-LOVES to sing and dance. If it involves music, he's hooked. I love riding in the car listening to him sing his little heart out.
-Is getting used to the idea of have a little sister. He often talks about her, and asks when she's going to get here. When we ask him what we should name her he always replies, "Baby Tate." I always tell him that I can't have two Baby Tates and he just says that he's not the baby anymore! :)
-Is obsessed with his cousin, Kayson. It's funny because he wants to do everything like Kayson, but sometimes when they're together they fight like crazy. Most of the time they play pretty well together though.
-Is excited that we visited a preschool. He will most likely go to preschool two days a week in the fall. The only problem is- he thinks he's going to ride a bus. I don't know how we're going to break it to him that there won't be a bus quite yet! ha!

Christmas AND some very exciting NEWS! :)

The last month has been like a whirl wind, and I've completely lost track of time. I have lots to blog about so I better get right to it! :)

First I'm going to share our EXCITING news! Tate is going to be a BIG brother! We are expecting Baby Taylor #2 on June 4, 2014! Today we found out that IT'S a GIRL!
We couldn't be happier, and I'm feeling so blessed!!  How amazing!

We brought home PINK cupcakes to share the news with Tate. He knew right away that he was having a sister when he opened the box. It was such a fun way to share the news with  him!

 

 

 

 

Ok, so now I have to move on to Christmas. Before Christmas we had a major scare. As we were getting ready to go to school on December 20, I got a call from my mom saying that my dad was being rushed to Mason City because they found some blood on his brain. Without knowing the severity of the situation, we got right in the car and headed for the hospital.

He was put in the ICU. The doctor had said that the bleed wasn't too large and that it wouldn't require surgery, but  later in the day things started to go down hill and it was determined that the bleed had tripled in size. The situation became critical at that point, and he was taken in for a craniotomy to help relieve the pressure and remove the blood from his brain. The surgery went well. Dad was able to come home on Christmas Eve. What a blessing! He does have a long recovery ahead of him, but he's strong and Mom has already seen improvements. He continues to receive daily therapy at home.  He has some vision loss and won't be able to drive for quite some time. Poor guy. I pray that God gives him the patience to get better and not get too down. I know this hard on Mom too because she's the one that deals with it all day in and day out.

 

On Saturday the 21st, I stayed at the hospital with Dad but Tate and Blair headed to the big Taylor family Christmas. I didn't want them to miss it, and I know they had a great time! I know that this year was a bit different without Grandpa Dick.

 

Our Taylor family!

Tate, Cora, and Kayson with Great Grandma Janis.

 

ALL the cousins!

 

 

On Sunday the 22nd, I met the boys back at our house in Nevada and we had our own little Christmas before we headed back to the hospital on Monday. It was nice to have our own little time and open gifts between the three of us.

 

Tate and Daddy!

 

 

We were so thankful that we were able to be with Dad on Christmas so we spent the whole week of Christmas at my parents in Emmetsburg. It was wonderful. Tate was thrilled because Santa knew to come to Nana and Papa's to find him! We had a nice time and did lots of relaxing. Tate was spoiled by Nana and Papa of course!

 

Tate and Nana Dawn looking for Santa!

 

KD and Tate putting milk and cookies out for Santa (and carrots for the reindeer).

 

Tate and Papa Tim

Santa came! Tate got all new John Deere things!

 

On Friday the 27th, we left Emmetsburg and headed to Creston to Blair's parents. We went out for supper Friday night, and then Saturday Ryan, Janelle, and the kiddos came! We had a blast. The kids played so hard. We opened gifts from Nana and Papa and everyone else. Again, we were all spoiled! 

 

Papa Mike and his Grandkids!

Our family of 3

 

The boys playing with the new kitchen set from Nana and Papa!

Janelle and I got each other the same shirt. Funny! I guess great minds do think alike.