The Starkey's

Wade's Surgery, etc.

2012-01-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

Well, Wade's surgery is finally coming up on Friday. Little dude is getting his umbelical hernia fixed. It's currently not painful for him, nor does it bother him, but does need to get fixed due to the size and fact that it will never be able to repair its self. The surgery will only take around an hour and is out patient.

Taylor, Wade and I will be travelling to Canton on Thursday after preschool to spend the weekend with Daddy and surgery will be on Friday morning in Akron. Taylor has been telling Wade that the surgery will be no problem and that he'll do just fine! She's awesome and has a surprise waiting for her at daddy's house - a new Leapfrog Leap Pad! We are excited to get this surgery over with - but the hardest part (like with Taylor at 9 months with her ear tube surgery) will be handing our baby to the doctors and walking away. Breaks my heart to even think of it. Thankfully, Taylor can keep us entertained and busy in the waiting room :)

Please pray for Taylor's patience and understanding, and Wade's doctors, his surgery, his recovery and his comfort. And pray for mom and dad not to get overwhelmed.

Here's a before picture - loves his John Deere tractors:

Wade is walking!

2011-12-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

Wade is walking!
He started taking a few steps around objects a couple of weeks ago, but in the last week has ventured out and taking more and more steps each day! Here's a video I took tonight - sorry, he's in the buff, but it was close to bath time and I had just changed a diaper!!! Enjoy!

Update on our House... finally! :)

2011-11-17T16:37:00.000-08:00

Well, a long over-due update on our house! Sorry!! Life just happened!

I can't get my pictures in order... so you'll have to imagine them as they are! Sorry!

Wade's Room!

Wade's Closet

After nap-time!

Wade's Room

Guest Room (used to be a small sewing room)

Guest Room

Taylor's Room! (that door leads to her closet - which used to be part of Wade's Room)

Taylor's Room - she picked out her multi-colored fan too!

Taylor's beautiful room!

Taylor's room!

Hallway upstairs! Original woodwork - including banister!

Hallway

Kid's bathroom! We made the towel hook - and designed the cabinets!

Look closely - Taylor's catepillar experiment from this summer is hanging on the wall!

Gotta love Potterybarn!

Kid's upstairs play area

Play area!

DOWNSTAIRS

Our Room

Downstairs bathroom - it used to have blue carpet and a tub - also, we put in cabinets where a closet used to be and changed the window from one, to three high ones!

Love these cabinets, and tall sink!

Shower

Potty (a.k.a. - Wade's favorite toy right now!)

Our office

The office... used to be our "pink room"

The hallway!

Kitchen.. we took out the cabinets on the bottom to refinish the wood floors (where carpet used to be)

Kitchen - with our oversized refrigerator from Montana (thank goodness it fits!) and a new microwave (we had to cut some cabinet out for it to fit), new oven and dishwasher.

Kitchen - original cabinets and countertops

Kitchen!

Dining room - used to have carpet - and now we have refinished hardwood floors and this beautiful new hand-planked cherry Amish table!!!!! (I still give a shout-out to our awesome table that now has a warm home with the Powers' in Billings!!)

Piano!

Living Room! New carpet and tile at the entrance laid by Joe and I (don't check it with a level, please)

Living room - with new electric up by the TV! :)

Dining Room (beautiful built-ins - original)

Living room - and stairway to the upstairs

Living Room (don't mind all the random stuff on the mantle!)

Another view...

LOTS and LOTS of hard work... and we are here!

Back to the Buckeye state....

2011-07-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

Well......

In April - Joe interviewed with Chesapeake Energy with the hopes of getting a position back in the Ohio area. In June, we found out that we were, in fact, moving back to where Joe grew up - - Waterford, Ohio. We have wanted to move home for a while, especially with two kiddos. We have been missing out on so much with our families and want our children grow up knowing all their cousins, aunts, grandparents, etc.

So.....

A few years back, we purchased a house on main street with the hopes of moving home within 10 years. Here is the house we bought... it was built in the 1920's and is in great shape. However, it needed some remodifications before we could move in. Therefore, we are currently living with Joe's mom, Jeanette. Thankfully, she lives just a few doors down from our new house. She and all our family have been such a big help since Joe has to be gone during the week while working for Chesapeake. He loves his new job, and I love/ am adjusting to my new role as full-time mom to Taylor and Wade. We do miss working for ConocoPhillips and living in Montana but nothing can take the place of family....

We are working on the house now and have a deadline of getting in by September 27th... Taylor's 5th birthday. She has never had a birthday party with all her family around, so we are pretty psyched about getting in the house and Taylor's big day. Here's what we have been up to...

Our new house...

the front room.

joe, playing with power tools...

going up stairs. downstairs has a dining room, family room, office, bathroom, master room and kitchen. and then there is a full basement (currently containing all of our earthly possessions)

jeanette working on getting the crappy black tar off the kitchen floor left behind from the carpet...

my herbs...

the dining room after the red clay-like pad was removed - after a few weeks of elbow grease, our brother-in-law greg found out that we could use a sander to get the old mat off the hardwood floor. so, we get to save three rooms (kitchen, office and dining room) and use the original hardwood floors after some more preperation and finishing...

mom, there's a hole going from the dining room to the front room. well. it got fixed :)

it got fixed with some wood we removed from the entrance where we are going to put tile...

the garage and the kitchen cabinets (to the right is the garage door but it was a sunny day when i took this picture) ...

time out for some cute kid photos...

our five and a half month old... with a mohawk. yes, he has an umbilical hernia. no, it doesn't hurt him and will be fixed at a year. he is the happiest baby ever...

he is a week away from being 6 months and ready to crawl. he is a mover and a shaker.

miss taylor is awesome and unique as ever. here she is making cookies for the upcoming arrival of her 5th first cousin miss estella lorraine doak. her momma is going to be induced today (july 27th, 2011)

wade. he is now on to homemade sweet potato, applesauce, squash and peaches.

he's doing awesome and i am enjoying making his food straight from jeanette's garden :) ...

back to the renovations ...

looking from the kitchen into the "pink room," a.k.a.. the office.
all the rooms will be painted next week!

the "new" sanded wood floor next to the "old" clay padding that had melted to the wood floor and mad a major, awesome mess...

new drywall and the primer going upstairs...

upstairs - the new kids' play area.

there used to be three bedrooms and four closets (including two attic spaces).

now... there is a bathroom, air conditioning and heating, three bedrooms, three closets and a play area.

new sidewalk will be poured soon...

next up . . . . . .

dry wall is being finished this week and paint will start next week. then the original trim will be put back up. tile, carpet will be delivered in 3 weeks. cabinets are being made for the bathrooms and finish the hardwood floors.

in five years . . . . . .

new addition to the back with a new kitchen :)

hopefully i will get some updates sooner than later!

Easter!!!

2011-04-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

Wade's first church service on Easter! Poor dude passed out!

On Saturday - right before the Easter Egg hunt!

Taylor dying eggs... she was so creative with her eggs this year!

Yep, this is the best one we got of the two!

Beautiful Taylor posing away! She loves wearing dresses!

And handsome Mr. Wade!

Eleven Weeks!

2011-04-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

Well... I have got to update more often! A lot has happened over the past (almost) 3 months...
We had about 7 weeks of visitors and help! We are blessed!
At 7 weeks, we (crazily) decided to take the kids to Disneyland..... Joe's idea! Haha, but the trip was awesome and both kiddos did great! We only spent one day at the park and one day in LA/Santa Monica. So, it was a quick trip and one that Taylor needed to take before I went back to my desk job. I am so glad we went, but it was definitely tiring!!

At Wade's 2 month appointment - he weighed in at 14#7oz. When he arrived into this world, he was 7#14oz.... he is growing so much! At around 5 weeks, he started waking only one time per night, so we are SO thankful for that. He started going to daycare 3 weeks ago and has been doing really well. His care providers have actually complained that he sleeps too much! But, he's our growing boy!

Going back to a desk job this time has been extremely hard. I have really enjoyed my time at home with #2.

Here's a picture of Wade (aka - Joe Jr.) at 8 weeks. He LOVES to smile and has started to make giggling sounds!

And here is Miss Taylor Janel - she is such an ornery ham these days - always trying to make everyone laugh! I catch her (often) singing to Wade and watching him laugh at her. She's so sweet.

Disneyland

2011-04-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

3 weeks

2011-02-28T10:26:00.001-08:00

Two weeks...

2011-02-19T10:35:00.001-08:00

Introducing... Wade Harmond Starkey "Charlie"

2011-02-06T10:25:00.000-08:00

We are in love with our new addition... Wade! Big sister Taylor still calls him Charlie - and we've all decided to do the same. He was born on February 3, 2011 at 7:29AM in Billings, Montana. He was 7lbs, 14oz and 20.5 inches! He is perfect. We got to the hospital at 4:30AM with labor pains every 4 minutes. As you can tell, it went fast! He is doing great and Taylor is the best big sister in the world!

Baby Boy Starkey - February 7th, 2011.....

2010-12-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

These 4D pictures are amazing... notice the hair... this is the first time in my life I have ever had heart burn! And hand-sucking. He is going to be a lot like his big sister!!! Can't wait (well, can wait 8 more weeks) to see this little guy in person!!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We are headed back to Ohio on Friday for a long (needed) vacation with family and friends! Taylor has spent the last few months circling everything in the Walmart and Target ads... but only asked Santa for one thing... a hair salon. What to do with this? I am not sure, but we did find hair salon stuff at ToysRUs and had it sent to Ohio. She also wants a kitty cat, a puppy, a new fish (current one passed away while we were home for Grandma Bonnette's funeral - but I told her he went to his mommy's for Christmas), make-up and everything she sees on TV. We have been singing lots of Christmas songs and talking about Jesus' birthday. I am thankful she understands the true reason for the season...

We are also getting ready for baby #2. Joe has a name picked out - we'll see what happens when Jr. gets here. We are ready with blankets, clothes and a bassinet.... diapers will come next. Just got the car seat washed (has been sitting in our garage for 8 months now!) and put together. So we physically feel prepared... still praying for peace about delivery and patience with upcoming lack of sleep and new baby crying... but as always, God is in control over all of that.

That's about it... Have a most WONDERFUL Christmas and New Year!

Love, The Starkey's

Taylor..... 4!

2010-10-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Okay - it's the big day - Taylor Janel Starkey is 4 years old. She is a sweet, smart and beautiful little girl... she loves playing pretend, dressing up, dancing and watching movies. She can giggle and make your whole world better. She is sassy and precocious and sometimes acts more like she's 13 than a little girl. We... are so blessed with Miss Taylor and there isn't a day that goes by where she isn't trying to make us laugh and perform for us. She still loves her thumb-sucking ways and dragging her mickey (blanket) to bed with her every night. Taylor bug, you are growing up fast, but we are so thankful that God let us be your mommy and daddy and we can't wait to see what's in store for us over the upcoming years. We love you!

At her party on September 25th! We had friends from the neighborhood and work and about 10 kids running around. Taylor had a great time....

Taylor has been taking Tap, Jazz and Ballet for about a month and LOVES it! She is awesome and loves going each Thursday! It's our first official organized sport for her.... I am sure, many more to come!

After school on her birthday! She had a great day... well, we celebrated for 3 days straight, so she loved it! She also loves school, thank you God. She has been doing awesome. She is awesome.

Fuzzy Taylor, but this is the big gift she got this year... a wooden doll house with lots of furniture to go inside thanks to family! She plays with this every day!!!

It's a BOY!!!!

2010-09-22T13:42:00.000-07:00

We are having a BOY!!! We are so happy and excited for this brand new adventure! Most importantly, the ultrasound showed a healthy and growing baby. Thank you, God. 

During the ultrasound, the technician said that the baby was a "Boy!" and Taylor responds with... "um, no it's a girl." Hahaha

AWESOME NEWS!

2010-07-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

We are Pregnant!!!

Yes! We are 3 months and counting and awaiting baby #2's arrival February 7th, 2011!!

We found out we were pregnant 2 weeks after moving to Montana! I guess it took a lot of stress and moving to get pregnant! haha. We told Taylor right away and our family. Taylor likes to call the baby a few names, including "Janessa," "Tiana," and "Gisella." She went to the doctor with us when we got this sonogram and it helped her understand more that even though mom kinda still looks the same, there is in fact a baby growing inside her belly! :) Anyway, glad we are finally sharing the news with everyone!

Have a wonderful day!! :)

Summer in Montana!

2010-07-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

Billings, Montana - summer 2010 has brought us a tornado, torrental rains, more tornado warnings, and very warm days. It's been a great summer so far and we are excited about all the visitors we have had, and who are coming out still.

Here's a recent picture of Taylor.... being Taylor. She's a star!

Eating icecream at our own ColdStone Creamery!!! Mmmm

We went to Ohio for 10 glorious days... and I really have no pictures. But I did capture a great trip we had to Nelsonville for a train ride! Here's Taylor with ther Grandma Nezzie!

She loved the train!! Such a sweet girl!

New post next week with some exciting photos! :)

Our little Girl....

2010-06-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie, Taylor has taken her good ole time getting adjusted to the move and her new school. But today was a wonderful day on the way to school and at the drop off. She even hugged me, walked away and said back to me "mom, look, i'm not crying anymore!" Then she ran to me and gave me the biggest hug ever! Days like this morning make it all worth it!

Side note - she crosses her legs just like my dad did. She is pretty special.

Welcome to Billings, MT

2010-06-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

I am going to post more pictures about our pituresque new home... but until I get motivated and get the Canon out, I am posting about our recent TORNADO!

On Sunday, June 20th in the afternoon, sirens went off and clouds combined to create a tornado 5 miles from our house. It touched down 100 yards from the office we have been using for the past 3 weeks. Fortunately/unfortunately, we moved into our new office this weekend and aren't on that side of town anymore to see the actual destruction and damage done to the large complex and fairgrounds where it hit.

Below is a picture of the damage from the rain and hail... this has happened twice in the past week! Thankfully, we have great neighbors who helps us clean it up! We need to design a new landscaping plan so we can have fun this summer - not continue cleaning up the road! haha.

Our new house!!

2010-06-03T07:31:00.000-07:00

Here's our new house.... it's really too big for us, but Taylor loves running around and going up and down the stairs! She loves it!

Joe and Taylor coming to the house for the first time!

The layout... I am missing a bedroom, the basement and two bathrooms here, but you get the picture!

The Chaotic Kitchen during unpacking!! YIKES!!!!!

We are all settled in and getting our bearings... we started work and school on Tuesday... both are going well. Hope to see you all up here soon!!!

Our trip to Billings!

2010-06-03T07:22:00.001-07:00

We took 3 days to get to Billings... we headed up through New Mexico, and stopped in Denver to hang out with family friends. We headed to the awesome Denver Zoo and Taylor LOVED it! We got to hang out with our friend, Liam, he was SUPER! Taylor loved seeing all the animals and ran throughout the entire park. We were super tired!

This is our trip to get some furniture for the house... Taylor thought this bed would be perfect in her new room. She did not get to take it home! :)

Last Days in Midland!

2010-06-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

I can't even talk about how much I miss the Midland people... so I'm not going to talk about it... rather, post pictures of our last two weeks and the memories we have made!!!

One of our last adventures in Midland was a HUGE rain storm. No, this is not a river, it's our road! :)

Pack and load days were on the 24th of May... Tay had a great time watching all the comotion!

So much crap!!!

Easter 2010

2010-04-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring!

Well, spring is here and it's been great weather down here in Texas! We had a great Easter with many friends from church and work. Taylor enjoyed learning more about the reason for Easter this year... she is understanding so much and interested in everything these days!

We just found out that our move date to Billings, MT is June first. And we got our transfer started yesterday... thus beginning the count down. We are having the house put on the market within the next week and getting it market-ready has been quite the chore! Then, we are headed to Billings the first week in May to look for houses... Taylor wants a Princess house. AKA - a house with stairs! :)

As our time winds down here in Texas, it's a bitter-sweet reality. We have made so many close friends and enjoy the day-to-day of living in western Texas. We have come to really appreciate this town and all it has to offer and we will truely miss the place we have called home for the past 3 years...

I owe it to Abbe.....

2010-03-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

It was brought to my attention that I have forgotten to post a very important event in my life. And for that I am sorry, so I am making up for it today..... Introducing (at 6 months old) my nephew, Mr. Jay Patrick Lackmeyer!!!!!!!

He is such a sweet boy and we love him so much!!!

And here is baby Reagan who is about to be a year old next month! Isn't she a beauty!! I love thos cheeks!

New Hair Cuts!

2010-03-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

Taylor and I had some much needed hair cuts this past weekend! We had a great time. This picture really shows just how big she is getting! She is Miss Independent in so many ways. She is 3 and a half and is more fun than we ever imagined! Her latest loves include helping me make dinners and doing the dishes. Yes, there are many messes, but who cares?! She has a blast!

In other news.... we are moving to Billings, Montana come this summer! We are moving with our company and are really excited... but super sad to be leaving Texas and all the friends we have made here over the past 3 years.

january 2010

2010-01-21T13:13:00.000-08:00

Boy, it's been awhile since I posted anything! Here are a few pictures from Christmas and January! The kids had a great Christmas in Ohio where it snowed a bunch!!!

Here, Braun and Taylor had opened their Christmas presents at Mamaw's house... each getting lots of toys and clothes including cowboy boots and hats!

Here is Braun, Mamaw and Taylor reading a story before going to bed!

Joe and I...

All my sisters and their families together in one place!

(L-R) Jimi, Jamie (my twin sister), my mom Nezzy, Reagan, Me, Tay, sister Abbe, Jim and Jay, Joe and sister Gretchen!

Taylor playing in the backyard when we got back to Midland!

Taylor's new big-girl room and bed! She LOVES it!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! Here are a few pictures from the past month!

Enjoying our first snow of the year in Midland, TX! A kid's dream!

Waiting for the chance to get out in that snow!

Play date with the Jantses! We had a great time making Gingerbread men!

Hanging out with mommy after church and before nap time. Such a sweet and happy girl Taylor is!

We had our third annual candy-making day and made these (BUCKEYES), toffee, truffles, turtles and cake pops. It was a great day!

Have a very Merry Christmas!

super sweet most fantastic friend.....

2009-11-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful surprise this morning when filtering through my spam box, an email from my friend Dena who lives in Tulsa and who we are blessed to spend Thanksgiving with this year. She had the opportunity to attend a book signing with Pioneer Woman! We both (and our significant others) LOVE her site, her awesome recipes and beautiful photography. Dena was SO sweet to get a picture of her with PW and a sign she made for me. What a sweet friend I have!! Thank you Dena! You are truly awesome!

three blessed years!

2009-09-30T15:16:00.001-07:00

Our little girl just turned three years old. Seriously.... the time has gone by very fast and we are so thankful for all the love and joy this little girl has brought into our lives. She is so many things, and I would like to share this long list with you....

She LOVES to snuggle, give hugs and kisses and fix boo boos with colorful bandaids.

She LOVES Dora, Diego, and Cinderella

She sleeps in her big girl bed in her big girl underwear!
She LOVES to go on walks and looks at EVERY rock on the way.

She smiles SO big whenever she sees her daddy after a business trip.

She hates for her golden curly locks of hair to be touched or brushed!

She LOVES to wear dress-up shoes, no matter how red and squished her feet get!

She hasn't slept one night without her beloved "mickey" blanket since she was born.

She loves giving hugs to kids she's never met, especially at story time in Barnes and Noble.

She had us sing "Happy Birthday Princess" about every 5 minutes on her birthday.

She says prayers everynight before bed.

She loves "Kicks 99" and "Oldies" on the way to school and home.

She can count in English and Spanish

She LOVES sucking on her thumb

LOVES pop and candy (yep)
LOVES saying "mommy, mom, mommy" over and over and over

She LOVES being ornery

LOVES singing "Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I love you, Tomorrow....."

She LOVES Popsicles, and Icecream

........

She is one special girl, and this list could go on and on and on.

Happy Birthday, sweet Taylor Bug.

Taylor wanted a Princess Castle Cake.. this is what her momma chugged out. It only took about 8 hours. Or so.

We had Taylor's Birthday Party at a Jumping Party place. She had 16 friends ( we were limited on kids, or else we would have had EVERYONE come!)

Blowing out her candle - she did such a great job!

And..... 30 cupcakes we made for her preschool class!

the bug

2009-09-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

T and I have been spending lots of time together... it's been FUN and frustrating all at the same time (gotta love this toddler age!)! here are some funny pictures!

our birthday!

2009-09-05T19:29:00.001-07:00

jamie and i celebrated our 20-something birthday at the end of august... to my GINORMOUS surprise, joe had kept a huge secret and my mom, jamie and jamie's baby reagan flew down here for the big day!! i was SO happy to have everyone here, even if her visit was literally 24 hours! my mom got to stay till monday! it was AWESOME!

some of the pictures are a bit fuzzy!

abbe-dabby-do

2009-08-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

my sister abbe is 36 weeks pregnant! i am super excited to meet mr. jay patrick lackmeyer! abbe, you look awesome!

PINEAPPLE FLUFF!!

2009-08-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

growing up, you always have that favorite dish that your grandma makes, well our Neenee would always make PINEAPPLE FLUFF! it's amazing. i found the recipe yesterday and can't wait to make it - it's been a few years since we all had it!

chicago...

2009-08-14T14:38:00.001-07:00

joe and i were able to get away for a few days! thanks mamaw jeanette for watching taylor bug and nursing her back to health after a double ear infection!!!
we chose chicago because i just became joe's southwest companion and he had a free flight, so we took up the free flights and went to a city we haven't been together before!
enjoy the pictures! i especially hope that my dear pregnant sister abbe is happy with this post. she has been hounding me to put a new post up for the past few days. i figured that i should do so. you really don't want a pregnant lady to get snippy with you! :)

joe's dream come true - riding on seg-ways! it was a great tour/great time to goof off! it was a true blast!
eating our first chicago hotdogs at portillos! yummy. too bad we didn't get a before picture!

joe should advertise for these guys! not.

millenium park!

we got to hang out in wrigleyville with my roommate from college, beth and her husband james! we had a great time reconnecting!

one of our many train rides!

the navy pier!

the cubbies were in new york, so we saw the sox and got some new get-up to wear!

Summer in Ohio 2009

2009-07-05T19:41:00.001-07:00

On her first train ride in Nelsonville with Nosey, Gretchen and Daddy

With awesome Uncle Greg at his fire house in Marietta!

Getting serious about driving!

Beautiful girl!

Baby Reagan!

2009-06-23T13:31:00.001-07:00

Baby Reagan is getting so big and here is her first swim lesson with my sister Jamie! Super cute bathing suit! She's 2 and a half months old and doing awesome! And Jamie and Jim are awesome parents!

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

2009-06-16T13:33:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Momma Nez.....

2009-05-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you!

joe's birthday; part 2!

2009-05-20T18:38:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures of Joe's weekend with his family!!! We had a great time:

Braun man!

Taylor and Janis eating cake.

Joe's Birthday! Tres Leches cake! It's what he wanted! Look at Taylor licking her lips!

Taylor's chip apparently landed in Braun's belly button!

Playing in the tub together!

On a walk Sunday morning before Church!

Sweet kids - they are so good together!

Grandma Jeanette with her two granchildren!! She's in heaven with these two! I can't wait till we go to the beach in June with the Braunster, Doaks, Bonnette's and the Starkey's- we're are going to have a blast!

Joe's Birthday Weekend!

2009-05-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

Joe's birthday was May 16th! As a surprise, Joe's Mom, sister and nephew came down for the weekend! The kids (Braun is 1.5 years old, Taylor is 2.5 years old) played SO well together and had a blast watching Elmo, eating cookies, going on walks and playing in the water! I am so glad they got to come down! The kids were SO good at a Sear's photo shoot too!

trip to indiana!

2009-05-06T06:25:00.000-07:00

i took a trip to see my twin sister, jamie, baby reagan and my family at the end of april. it was a much needed trip away and much needed time with my sisters, mom and aunt jane! i was only gone for 4 days, but it recharged me and caught me up on relaxation and sleep! joe's been gone on business trips almost every week since january! so it was nice to get away for a bit! Me, Reagan and Jamie!

Gretchen, Abbe, Reagan, Jamie and me!

and here's a picture of taylor and joe's adventure to the annual company picnic while i was gone! they had a blast!

taylor has a new cousin..... Reagan James!

2009-04-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Reagan was born this morning to my twin sister Jamie and Jim. She weighed in at 7.1lbs this afternoon at 1:03pm (EST). Jamie was induced at 6:30 am, so it's a blessing that it didn't take all day!!

Baby Reagan!

Jamie and Reagan! Both looking beautiful!

visit from aunt jane!

2009-04-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

My aunt Jane came to visit this week! We have LOVED having her here. She and Taylor have been super busy playing, reading and going on walks! Here are some pictures of her visit! Tay and Jane getting a picture... it didn't quite work out

A new family picture!

In our jammies!

Jane and Taylor played outside when the wind wasn't blowing them over!

Taylor playing with our glasses! She's a hoot.

Cheesin for the camera!

handy joe!

2009-03-16T06:58:00.001-07:00

we had a water leak in Taylor's bathroom a few weeks ago. As a result, Joe cut a hole in the wall to find the problem. After a plumber came to fix the problem.... we still had a big hole in the wall or as Taylor liked to say "wall has owey!" So Joe, with a little help from our friend Rob, fixed the wall! See the before and after pictures! I think this should be Joe's new side business, don't you!?!!

BEFORE

AFTER

Great Job Joe!

fun times!

2009-03-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

Taylor bug after a shower! In her super cute jammies from Auntie Beth!

This is a strange picture for anyone who doesn't know how little Taylor eats. She actually finished ALL her cereal and orange juice!

Brian, Ashton, Cheyanne and Erin Petty came over for a nice dinner on Saturday! Everyone says Taylor and Cheyanne look like sisters! Here's a good picture of the two!

Taylor wearing big girl panties to school!

Taylor after getting her Easter dress in the mail from Mamaw! Thank you!!!

2009-03-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

Our future lawn girl!

Nosy and T getting some face time

Nosy and T dancing with undies on their head (well, on Nosy's head!)

Me, T and Nosy... three generations

grandma nezzy's visit!

2009-03-06T05:33:00.001-08:00

my mom is in town! yay! she came wednesday evening and will stay till tuesday! we have had a blast with her. it was so nice on thursday evening that joe was able to fix a broken sprinkler. of course, he needed to test it out, and strategically placed t in a spot in the yard before turning them on! poor girl. she had a blast though and she and joe decided to show off their scary faces! i'll post more pictures of mom's visit soon!

knock knock.....

2009-02-26T06:11:00.000-08:00

So, I had this really cute dialogue with Taylor on the way to school this morning. She has known her last name for awhile now, but just made the connection about the rest of her family....

Me- Knock knock
Tay- Who’s there?
Me- Taylor
Tay- Taylor?

Me- Knock Knock
Tay – Who’s there?
Me- Taylor STARKEY
Tay- Taylor Starkey??

------------------------

Tay – Knock knock
Me – Who’s there?
Tay- Mommy Starkey!

Tay – Knock Knock
Me – Who’s there?
Tay – Daddy Starkey

Tay – Knock Knock
Me- Who’s there?
Tay – OTIS Starkey!

(* Otis is Mamaw's (Joe's mom) dog!)

She is so funny and at such a great age right now! We are 95% potty trained and super excited about the cost savings there! She is also really into airplanes and babies... weird combination, I know. She is also all about a DVD I picked up at Big Lots one day randomly. It's called Koala Brothers and it's about two brothers in Australia who help people and fly around in their airplane all day! It's cute and at least it gives us a break from her Dora obsession for a while!
Have a great day! Love, Katie

a mom and her girl!

2009-02-09T11:58:00.001-08:00

2009-02-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

well - winter is sure to bring two things - cold weather and sick kids! everyone around midland has been hit hard by the sicky blues lately. taylor bug started throwing up thursday morning from 1:30 - 3:30AM. it was a tough time for t and i; joe was in denver. then the fever came. today during her nap, ms. taylor was quite out of it and took an uncharacteristically long nap of two hours! she's actually feeling/acting better! thank you God!

January, 2009 round-up.....

2009-01-31T19:10:00.000-08:00

Playing with her baby today! She loves that baby so much!

Our little Taylor bug got into my card making stuff and found an ink pad and before we knew it....
And here's her photo shoot afterward!

Wondering how she got a mustache/beard!

This will be on Taylor's boyfriend application when she gets older... "must be secure enough to paint my nails!'

taylor's new dog!

2009-01-15T18:08:00.000-08:00

PSYCH!
so, funny story.... we came home from Christmas vacation in Ohio to find a few planks on our fence knocked down and lots of doggy poo in our yard. OH, and not to mention our outdoor thermometer sensor chewed to pieces. I felt the need to run to the next door neighbors and demand they fix the problem. Joe nixed that idea. Then we headed to Ohio again and came back to the following pictures, in addition to three (3) dogs in our backyard running around! Note - the temporary barrier they put in place to keep their dogs out of our yard! Give me your opinions!!!!!

2009-01-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone - Joe's dad passed away this morning. His painful struggle with bone cancer is over and he is heaven-bound. Thanks for all the prayers over the past 6 weeks. Please continue to pray for Joe's family as they are going through this painful time. And for our travels to and from Ohio over the next 7 days. Love, Katie

Finger Paint Date!!!

2009-01-02T09:31:00.001-08:00

While home in Ohio- we had a play date with my girlfriend Beth and her son, Tariq. It was awesome!

Christmas in Ohio

2008-12-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

We're ready for our presents now! Taylor with cousin Braun man.
Braun (14 months) Taylor (27 months)

Taylor with her Papa John

We are back in Texas after 10 days in Ohio. We are happy to be back, but miss family already. We had a great time, even though two nights it happened to dip down into single digit temperatures!

Taylor made out like a bandit like always, and Joe and I couldn't have asked for a better time spent with family and friends. Taylor got so many gifts - and the ones that made the top of her happiness list was a princess dress from cousin Ellen that she wore for two days, a toddler-proof camera from Grandma Nosy (we tried to call my mom GMA Nezzy, but Tay had other ideas for her name), and a Little People's town from Mamaw and Papa.

Taylor was absolutely perfect on the plane ride home Monday - falling asleep on my lap after each take-off and waking up as we landed!!!!!!! I think she was detoxing from all the sugar and candy her grandmas kept feeding her!! I'll get you both back some day! :)

Happy New Year!!

Love,

Katie

Our non-racing trip to Dallas.....

2008-12-14T18:06:00.000-08:00

We headed to Dallas this weekend. Orinignally we planned for cousin Emily from Ohio to come to Midland to help take care of Taylor and Joe after Joe's toncilectomy on December 10 while I raced in the White Rock race in Dallas. Everything changed - Joe cancelled his surgery, and I got sick and had to stop training just two weeks before the race. BUT, we still had Emily come down and we all decided to take the trip to Dallas, support the team for Mr. Will and get some Christmas shopping done! We had a great time and here are the pictures from the past few weeks....
Emily and Taylor on a break from driving!

Taylor hanging some ornaments from Aunt Jane!

Drinking and driving on a fun new toy a coworker was so kind to give to us!

And this is currently how our potty training is going. Yes, she sat on the sidewalk and peed. Oh, and this doesn't show how about an hour later she poo-d on the living room floor. Thank God for sidewalks and tile!

fun weekend with the starkey's!

2008-11-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

random pictures from this past weekend...

make sure she gets the last drop of cheerios and milk!!

getting caught!!

hanging out at fiddlesticks with the rest of ConocoPhillips.

joe and taylor sliding down the slide!! she loved it, joe was a bit scared!

playing in the sand!

CHRISTMAS!!!!

2008-11-16T17:52:00.000-08:00

yes! we put up the Christmas decorations early so we could enjoy them!!taylor helping us out - having great conversation with joe during the assembly!

we found this barbie doll during the unpacking process! she loves it! thanks aunt kathie!

drinking hot chocolate and loving every second of it!

long leg taylor enjoying the "leg lamp" christmas story ornament! :)

the candy day.....

2008-11-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

i LOVED halloween growing up because it meant eating tons of candy. right?! well, as a parent of a well-aware toddler, i dislike this day very much. however, after her sugar rush, she slept 12.5 hours. the down fall - all her teeth will fall out in the near future. just kidding. we dressed taylor up for our office trick or treat party this year. they created a safe area where the kids could walk around to each office and we got to take a few hours to socialize with our coworkers and their kids. we dressed taylor up in her flower girl dress and added hot pink wings, hot pink tights and her white striderites, added a tiara and woala - she's a punk rock 80's fairy! enjoy... taylor, our little fairy

"cany, cany, cany!!!!!"

still time for a conference call in between tricking and treating.

ah yes, the joe dirt wig made an appearance last night as we were getting ready for bed. she so looks like the real little joe dirt!

Random Fall.....

2008-11-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

i found some random pictures when getting Taylor's halloween pictures up here. enjoy...

taylor wearing her cool new horse turtle neck from aunt jamie. fortunately we were able to run into lyndsy dunn's family at HEB so of course, we'll be getting one for josiah now too. he was quite fond of it.

taylor sleeping in the car

taylor and mommy on the slide

taylor on her new bike... she'll be able to ride it in the next few years!

new shoes, and stuff

2008-10-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

taylor's grandma jeanette sent two new pairs of tennis shoes that arrived yesterday! i had taken taylor's diaper off and let her run around the house as we are attempting to potty train again. so, i have this naked butt that wants to try on her new shoes while doing a webcam with grandma jeanette. after a few minutes of chatting taylor ran off and this is where we found her - she had climbed up onto one of the dining room chairs and had grabbed a banana and sat there just like this until she finished the entire thing. classic...

Pumpkin Patch!

2008-10-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

sunday, joe, taylor and i checked out the pumpkin patch at st. luke's here in midland. it was quite the time! taylor loved it. we would have bought her a large pumpkin, but they were super expensive, so taylor got to bring home the cheapo 75 cent gourd. she loves it all the same!

what is happening!?

2008-10-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

such a crazy week here in the starkey home! it started out with me returning from a great weekend women's retreat in NM to joe and taylor sick - taylor with the stomach bug and joe getting strep. joe went out of town on monday so T and i were venturing out on a week where i didn't know how she would feel and if i would be able to go to work. well, we didn't miss a day of school nor did we have to go to the doctor, so that's a blessing.

miracle #2 - taylor was placed in the 2-year old class this week (tear of sadness that she is getting bigger!). the first day in the class, i went to pick her up after work and the teacher said that this was a potty-training class and that taylor didn't need her diapers anymore. i shrugged it off remembering the horrifying first attempt joe and i had with potty training a few months ago and told her that T wasn't ready for that. her reply..... "taylor has used the potty all day with the other girls and boys and tells me when she has to potty. she also wants me to pull down her diaper like the other kids." UM, WHAT?! that's NOT my child! apparently, watching the other kids go potty encouraged her to as well. Yay for not torturing my child anymore at home on the potty!

so, i thought that if she can use the potty at school (we purchased big girl underware and pull-ups for school) then she will do it at home, logical, right?!?! not. we were getting ready for dinner last night and were in the bathroom trying to potty and washing our hands. taylor sat on the potty, but produced nothing to flush. however, stole some toilet paper and put it in the potty before i could stop her. moments later, she and i were in my room and i was changing for my oil painting class i had later that evening. the pants i wear to class are old with lots of paint stains on them. she took one look at my jeans and said "ewww mommy" then she ran off. i finished getting ready and ran out to the kitchen to finish dinner when i saw taylor running towards me with what looked like ice. as she got closer, i saw that it was the piece of toilet paper from the toilet she had thrown in..... and then she proceeded to wipe my pants where my paint stains were. i was in a state of "what do i do".... yell because she put her hand in the potty which is a no-no, or thank her for trying to clean my pants?! needless to say, i couldn't stop laughing as soon as it was all over!

pray that our potty adventures go well and that T uses the potty as a potty, and not as a potty AND a sink! :)

rockin' out with the 80's!

2008-10-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

my sister abbe sent me this site - i couldn't find a picture of me (likely story, right?!) so i uploaded a picture of taylor, and this is the result! she looks so good as an 80's chick, don't you think!! :)

www.yearbookyourself.com

stats

2008-10-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

we went for taylor's well-check on monday and here are her 2 year-old stats:
weight - 27lbs (we got to stand on the real scale this time!) and in the 60th percentile. height - 35 inches (90th %). and if it rings true that you double this for adult height, she'll be as tall as her momma - 5'10"

we didn't have to get any shots but decided to get her the flu shot since we had it last year in january and still got the flu. we'll see how this works this year!

other than that we are back down to just the three of us. she is into pretending everything! it's so much fun - especially with the new baby doll grandma nezzie gave her. she will wipe her face, burp her and have her sleep... "baby seepin!" she is also having fun immitating joe and i, with the ocassional finger point followed by a smile and "no, no, no!" oh the things to look forward too!

happy second birthday sweet taylor....part 2

2008-09-29T10:53:00.001-07:00

taylor sweeping before her party. such a hard worker!

joe, me and taylor on taylor's second birthday...

taylor taking the party to the bathtub with her!

random picture of taylor when her cousin braun came to visit! 11 months.

happy second birthday sweet taylor....

2008-09-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

taylor's birthday!
opening presents with grandma nezzie on her birthday.

kissing our friend peyton - who made this super cute card for taylor. she would make a special (weird growl) sound every time she saw his face! love, i'm sure.

playing with ms. dora, a special gift from aunt abbe!

testing out her new dora pillow from aunt jane!

getting ready for her party. our little baby looks like such a little girl now!

grandma nezzie made taylor a strawberry cake...

birthday and such.....

2008-09-26T05:51:00.000-07:00

taylor bug is turning 2 tomorrow!! yippeee!
my mom is in town and i'll post pictures from our day and party with her.
i can't believe how fast these two years have gone! she has the best personality, she gives the best hugs and kisses, and we love watching the person she is turning into. we are truly blessed!

so much.....

2008-09-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

long time no post! here's a cute picture of taylor turning off the light! she had just finished a chocolate covered strawberry!
for my 26th birthday (8/26) joe was out of town. however, he was sweet enough to order a dozen chocolate-covered strawberries to be delivered to me from edible creations! they were the best! i shared with taylor and she was more than thankful that it was my birthday and we both got such a treat!

other happenings in the starkey household:
1. taylor screamed everytime we put her on the potty during our potty training labor day extravaganza. once joe and i realized that she was obviously NOT ready, we cut our loses and decided to try again later. note: she LOVED the potty before we started, but once it was an every couple of minutes issue, she decided to pee on the kitchen floor, bathroom floor, mommy's leg, daddy's lap, the sofa...... and this was in the first three hours.
2. taylor the comforter - at daycare taylor has a sweet friend her age named jillian. in the mornings they sit in the cafeteria before class. the last few weeks, jillian has been crying when we get there. taylor will always go up to her and say 'it otay' and give her a hug! so sweet.
3. becoming a girly. taylor actually sat still enough and wanted me to paint her toes AND fingernails the other day before our friend will's birthday party. she even blew on her fingers while they dried! last night she ran in and grabbed the polish because a few of her nails were chipped! oh my.
4. safety taylor. taylor knows not to go in the road on our walks, but to stay on the sidewalk.... last night during our walk, joe was walking beside us, but he was walking in the road. taylor stopped and said 'daddy, help' and offered him her hand so that he would get back up on the sidewalk! joe decided to see if she'd do it again and stepped back down into the road. sure enough, taylor had him get back up on the sidewalk!

taylor turns 2 at the end of the month (9/27) and we are just enjoying how wonderful this age is. yes, the terrible twos have found their way into our home, but we are having such a blast with taylor.

Our entire San Francisco Trip......

2008-08-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO!!!

2008-08-08T10:03:00.001-07:00

We are back from our awesome adventure to San Francisco and Santa Cruz, CA! We have many stories to tell and lots of pictures to share. But, that will have to wait until we have rested some!! Upon arriving home a day late because of Hurricane Eduardo, we came home to a dead car battery in the airport parking lot and a dead deep freeze at home. Which left a DEAD smell in the house. Yuck. So, once we have recovered, we'll share our awesome memories!!!

But for now...
Stopping the waves with cousin Coleen in Santa Cruz
Chilling (literally) out on Fisherman's Wharf. Yes, her hat say's "Alcatraz Swim Team!
Cracking us up at lunch on Fisherman's Wharf

HAIR!

2008-07-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

time for haircuts!

this past weekend, taylor and i got our hair cut at the same time! it was a fun adventure. joe took care of taylor and she did great, just like her first hair cut. she's stylin' now! i also decided to get my hair cut - at least 6 inches! it was getting too hot for the long hair! here are our before and after pictures!

dress up time..

2008-07-11T18:41:00.001-07:00

joe brought back some clothing items from my mom's house for taylor. my grandma made smocks for my twin and i when we were growing up. i put one on taylor and needless to say, it was TOO big. i actually tucked it into her diaper!

and here is taylor in an apron. mom sent this too and taylor decided to wear it with her sunglasses while watching veggie tales. too cool for school...

in Ohio with daddy!

2008-07-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

right before the fourth of july, joe and taylor headed up to Ohio for a few days. they spent a few days with my mom, and a few days with joe's parents. during that time they got to see lots of family and friends, and attend a family reunion! taylor did so well on all the airplanes and joe had a great adventure with her by himself. i spent the time (re) painting our bedroom and our bathrooms, yardwork, baking and watching LifeTime Movie Network - Christmas in July! enjoy these fun pictures!
at grandma nezzy's playing chase with aunt gretchen..

so much fun!

playing in grandma jeanette and grandpa john's backyard....

lots of mud...

LOTS of mud...

too funny!

eating corn with daddy. she loves corn.

here kitty kitty!!

playing with cousin braunster...

a christmas story -

2008-06-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

joe and i had a great lunch with taylor on sunday. she was slowly eating, having a good time and all of the sudden, we look over and taylor is eating her lunch directly from her plate! we laughed hysterically because it reminded us both of the christmas story movie and we couldn't resist saying "show mommy how you eat like a little piggy!!"

grandma nezzy is a graduate!

2008-06-17T18:46:00.001-07:00

this weekend was such a wonderful time - i had the awesome opportunity to go back home to ohio to watch my mom graduate from college with a specialized bachelor's degree. joe and taylor stayed back in midland but they were there in spirit for this special day. i also got to spend the weekend with my awesome sisters, family and friends from high school. i had so much fun that i pretty much peed my pants at times. the overall best part of the weekend was watching my 60-year old mom achieve one of her life-time goals. GO grandma nezzy! we love you!

more wedding pictures -

2008-06-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

The Family
Various...
Abbe, Jim, Jamie, me and Gretchen
Taylor "walking" up the aisle -

aunt abbe's wedding!

2008-05-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

hello! we are back from our long weekend to cincinnati, ohio for my sister abbe's wedding. we had such great flights and weather the entire time we were up there. taylor was such a great traveler this trip! she had so much fun playing with all the family and other children. she was perfect. we got to hang out with not only my family, but joe's family came down too! it was quite the trip. abbe and jim had a beautiful outside wedding. as you can tell in the pictures, it was quite green! they are now vacationing in maui! how fun. i will upload more pictures of the actual wedding when i get them. but for now...

taylor being beautiful as one of the flower girls!

my sisters and i before the wedding. (L-R) jamie, gretche, katie and abbe!

beautiful taylor bug.

first hair cut!

2008-05-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

before her haircut... sportin' the shaggy do!

drinking kool-aid (provided by the salon!) and being a good little girl!

the "after" picture with the balloon that she and daddy gave me for mother's day!

new carpet:

2008-05-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

the last few weeks have been busy for us. we painted and got new carpet. here are the pictures of the new carpet et al! enjoy....

18-month stats

2008-04-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

taylor had her 18-month check-up yesterday and did a fabulous job!
33.5 inches in height
25.4 ounches in weight
she's also doing super well in everything else and the doc said we could stop the allergy meds after may, so that's a blessing!
she's such a trooper with the doctor and sits very still and quite during the check-up. she was so good that they let her wear the stethoscope for a few minutes! it was super cute and i wish i had my camera!

tay's new room......

2008-04-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

joe and i got pretty ambitious this weekend and painted taylor's room canary yellow. and then we rearranged her room. she doesn't seem to notice any difference, but we are happy with the result! we are going to paint the guest room and our room this weekend too! YIKES! pray for us.

shirts to love!

2008-04-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

here's taylor in a very controversial shirt! i have three sisters.. and we have been fighting/sharing this one particular shirt for years. one sister will have it for a while, and the others try and steal it whenever the chance arrives. i haven't had this shirt in about 3 years... when aunt abbe stole it from me when i was in the shower! aunt gretchen somehow got it, and mailed it to us this past week.... we decided to take this picture in hopes that it would make aunt abbe jealous!! as you can tell- the shirt is a bit worn out! and quite see-through!! we love the game, and had to get tay involved sometime.

i LOVE dr. pepper. my mom got this outfit for taylor and we love it. she hasn't actually tried dr. pepper yet, but some day she will love it like her momma. she had fun playing outside in the great weather this weekend!

easter 2008

2008-03-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

March with the Starkeys!

2008-03-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

breakfast with the easter bunny (aka... daddy)

2008-03-12T07:32:00.000-07:00

We met the Easter Bunny this past weekend... played by Joe! He was a great sport and all the kids loved him at the March for Babies fundraiser. Taylor loved it and would constantly be walking by her daddy as if she were his body gaurd! Grandma Nez was down and had a great time with us. We also gave Taylor peanut butter this weekend- and I am extremely happy to say that she isn't allergic! Yay... I know how happy this makes Aunt Gretchen!

doing what we do best.. play

2008-02-24T12:38:00.000-08:00

ready for church

lookin super cool

hiding from mom!

another cheesy smile

2008-02-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

here's taylor and her now famous cheesy smile. it's so great. everytime (when she's not ignoring us!) that we say "SMILE" she smiles great big- so big that she has to shut her eyes! she is such a happy little girl and loves playing. we have been able to get outside and play some- and she has a blast. she's also getting pretty good at pointing to her head, shoulders, knees and toes- eyes, ears nose and mouth when prompted to. she is growing up pretty fast, but are making sure to enjoy every minute of it.

happy valentine's day everyone!

2008-02-12T18:39:00.000-08:00

i didn't send out valentine's day cards this year, so here's my electronic card. hope you all enjoy it!

daddy bought this outfit for tay, and she is modeling it!

2008-02-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

can we say cheeeeeseeeeee...

happy as a lark in the morning..

i got moves...

Starkey Look-alike Meter

2008-01-31T06:59:00.001-08:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

new pictures...

2008-01-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

new pictures of taylor back in the groove of things. she loves her rocking chair and playing with her plastic cups and plates. enjoy..

our christmas experience

2008-01-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

we had a great time during christmas. we were able to see all our family and friends back in ohio and west virginia. taylor didn't get too mad at santa, but didn't like sitting on his lap. she received so many gifts that we had to send 5 boxes home. so every time one arrives at the door, it feels like christmas all over again!

christmas07

2008-01-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

we are back! hope everyone had a great christmas and new year. this is a picture of taylor being ornery at my aunt jane's cabin....

getting ready for christmas in OHIO!

2007-12-09T19:11:00.001-08:00

here are a few pictures from the past few weeks. enjoy!

catching a ride at the conocophillip's children's christmas party!

eatin' nanners for breakfast!

hanging out with my fav guy,

playing at the children's museum

christmas candy!

2007-12-07T07:06:00.001-08:00

christmas is here once again and we are super excited this year because Taylor notices all the lights and loves the christmas tree! as tradition goes, i make candy around this time of year to share with friends and family. on sunday, i had made lots of candy with a coworker and planned to take some of it to my mother's group. an hour before i left, joe and i heard a huge CRASH from the dinning room.... as we ran in there, we found miss taylor sitting on the floor in the middle of glass!!! first of all- let me tell you that not one scratch was found on taylor from this accident- a pure blessing! she had gotten up on her tippy toes and had pulled the glass dish with all the candy in it from the dinning room table off! i had no idea she could reach that hight! she is a tall girl, but who knew!? any who- this is a picture of the barracade we set up so that we could clean the mess without her getting into it! she thumb-suckingly obliged! and just to let you know (mother's group readers) we threw out all the candy from this accident and started fresh with some candy we had reserved!

thanksgiving and san antonio!

2007-11-25T16:11:00.000-08:00

hey! we had a great thanksgiving here in midland! we were able to spend it with friends and the unexpected snow fall! on friday, we headed to san antonio with my mom to see my sister gretchen's basketball team play in a tournament. they did great and taylor got to entertain the crowd in between games with showing them how to say and do "touchdown." we had a great time and are enjoying grandma nezzy's visit this week!

ohio...

2007-11-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

here is the first of many pictures to add from our visit home to ohio!

and, we're walking!

2007-10-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

we started walking a little last week and take more and more steps each day! look out world, here comes taylor!

i stole this picture from stevie jantz! thanks!!

new cousin!

2007-10-22T08:01:00.001-07:00

taylor's new cousin braun chesley doak was born on saturday, october 20 at 5:30pm. he weighed in at 8lbs, 5oz and is 21 inches long! big boy! here is a picture of the proud family! and we will be visiting on sunday! Uncle Greg, Cousin Braun and Aunt Janis

new pictures of taylor!

2007-10-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

here are some pictures of taylor we took this past week. we are getting better at walking around the house and may take a step on her own any day.... pray that when we fall, we fall on something soft!
cute new outfit- i actually had these same pants in the 3rd grade.

the first time we kept the glasses on for more than 2 seconds!

taylor's first quilt show in midland. she only screamed when the older ladies asked her not to touch the quilts!