You Wanna Know What Goes On Around Here?

Sadly, not much! I get a lot of grief from family and friends that I don't have much to talk about, neither on this blog or in real life. I'm pretty sure everyone thinks I'm holding out on this vast wealth of super awesome stories that I'm hoarding all for myself. Rest assured - that isn't the case. I decided to document our Monday night so that you can see just how boring we really are, albeit I have a blast every single night with my little girl, but for most folks I realize this isn't the height of entertainment.

Playing in the pillow pile in the living room. This is pretty much where we spend all of our time.

Mom! What in the hell are you doing sticking your giant noggin in the pic with me?

We eat blocks.....

And we chew on random toiletry items like combs and toothbrushes. Seriously this kid has an odd obsession with her toothbrush.

Climb Every Sofa

I have to admit, I got very sad when Taylor really got to walking. I remember woefully telling Jody that our "baby" isn't a baby any more, and the only real milestones we have left to look forward to are sending her to kindergarten, and then college. That's it. As far as all the "baby" milestones, we're officially done. Well, as usual - I was dead wrong. I didn't realize that shortly after walking comes climbing. Oh, how aptly we nicknamed our child Munkie. The world (particularly my living room) is her jungle gym, and no furniture is safe. And if you take her in the backyard she can amuse herself literally for hours going up and down the stairs. As for the feeling that we are out of milestones, I'm realizing that every time I think she's done it all and tried everything she can still amaze me. Like for instance how she stealthily snuck into the bathroom the other day and got ahold of the toilet brush. There is no greater horror for any mother than discovering her child gnawing away at the handle of a poo-scrubber while she blissfully watches Sesame Street.

Oh, hey Mom! Don't mind me, just hangin' out.

AAAAAAAAARRRRGH!!!!!! Flying Burrito!

Yes, the Britney Spears style of parenting/diaper-only fashion statement strikes again.

Got a little Captain in ya? It's very rare to see her with both feet on the same surface these days.

Super Fun Weekend at Home

This past weekend Jody, Taylor and I finally got a completely adventure-free weekend to sleep in and do whatever we wanted. Needless to say, by Sunday afternoon we were all bored stiff, but we had a lot of fun relaxing in the meantime. Jody and I had a grueling Monopoly match Friday night (we were up til 3:00a.m. and the stupid game still wasn't over), and Saturday we mostly spent taking turns napping and cursing about how tired we are and that we're too damn old to be staying up that late these days. Sunday was a new day however, and we decided to get out and about early so that Taylor could play at the park before the day had reached boiling temperatures. She had a great time, especially once she discovered the wonders of gravel. Only my kid would be happier playing with rocks than running around on the toys, but hey, we love her all the more for it!

Alas, my daughter's hair makes her a dead-ringer for Justin Bieber :(

Look mom! I can fit a whole block in my mouth!

Are you sure this thing's safe?

And this is pretty much how the majority of our visit to the park was spent.

Jody was disappointed that he was too tall for the monkey bars.

That's right, I'm a princess! Holla!

Daddy and Taylor tandem lounging.

One Year Checkup

So is it still a one year checkup if you're a month late? Due to the changes in our health insurance we had to wait until after August 1 to take Taylor to the pediatrician for her vaccinations. The good news is that the doctor was very impressed with how well she is coming along, and told us to just keep on doing what we're doing, she's doing great. Ms. Priss is now 23.6 lbs (shocking, because she feels a lot heavier), and 32 inches tall. She is in the 75% for weight and 95% for height. We do still have to get a referral for a local ENT doctor, and ophthalmologist. Taylor is now refusing to wear her glasses at all, and I can't help but wonder if she's perhaps outgrown her prescription. Either way, we'll find out soon. Taylor has also really gotten the hang of this whole walking thing, she is now tearing around the house at breakneck speeds all by herself.

*Here's just a little preview of Taylor's one year pictures courtesy of our friend Layci. I swear that woman is so artistically inclined she probably poops glitter and ribbons.

Lazy Day

This weekend marks the first weekend that we've been at home since we moved back to Amarillo. Every weekend so far has held some sort of adventure, and though they've been fun, it's been so nice just to hang out at home. As you can see below, there has still not been any lack of entertainment around here. Lord knows the three of us can always come up with something to keep us occupied!

You can always count on Bill Morehead to supply whatever is required of your child-leashing needs.

Thanks Gomez!

Finally - a Video!!!!

Videotaping Taylor is usually a two man job. One person runs the camera while the other bribes her into reenacting whatever type of cuteness we're trying to capture. Jody and I were finally able to get some footage of Miss Thang walking around the living room just so that you all can see her mad skills, enjoy!

Look Who's Walking!!!!!

This past weekend in addition to the fun of the White Deer Rodeo, Taylor had a little walking boot camp courtesy of her Gigi. As previously reported, Taylor has been the champion of walking while holding onto a grownup's finger, but it's become pretty apparent that it's more of a necessity for security than for balance. Well, thankfully Deanna has more cojones than I do and forced Taylor this last weekend to walk by herself. After some tears and a few temper tantrums (Deanna had to keep forcing her to stand up after each fit) she finally walked the length of the living room! By the time Jody and I had gotten back from lunch in Pampa she was walking from the living room to the kitchen all by herself.

After we got home we were afraid that this newfound courage was just a flash in the pan, because she reverted right back to her old finger-holding ways. But lo and behold, today while she and Jody were at home she finally let go and took off! All afternoon she has been wobbling around the house sans finger, and has upped her distance rather impressively. I'm sure within a few weeks walking will be her new preferred mode of transport. In the meantime, I'm a little ashamed to report that this last major milestone has left me a little sad. My baby is growing too fast!

Wobbling around hands-free at Papa Val & Gigi's house.

What? Nothing out of the usual here. Go back to whatever it is that you're doing.

One day into this whole walking thing and we've already made another new discovery - climbing. Oh jeez, let the fun begin.

White Deer Rodeo 2010

White Deer Rodeo has been an annual tradition since I can remember. This year I was so excited to get to bring my little family along with me, and get to participate in the "kiddie events" that I've never really had an excuse to take part in. Unfortunately this year White Deer was competing with Hell as to who could serve up the hotter day - I think White Deer won. My poor child is definitely like her mama in the sense that if she's hot and tired, everyone's going to hear about it.

We kicked off the day with the annual rodeo parade. Jody made the observation that small town parades mainly consist of any vehicle in town that we can scrap up that has lights and sirens; oh, and don't forget the pig that was bigger than my van. No lie, someone put their pig on a flatbed and called it a float. I love my hometown.

After what felt like hours of wrestling with Taylor to keep her in the shade during the parade (someone forgot to slather her up in sunblock before exiting the car) we headed to the city park for Kick Back Day - basically a small fair-type event. Yeah, that lasted for all of 45 minutes before she was super peeved that it was a million degrees out and she hadn't had a nap all morning. We finally called it a day and headed back to Dad's house where there was air conditioning (hooray!), and Taylor could play with her cousin Kadey. So unfortunately the rodeo extravaganza was a bit of a bust compared to how I had built it up in my mind, but we did have a great time seeing family and old friends. Jody and I even managed to sneak away and partake in the age old tradition of tailgating at the dance. Sorry folks, but I'm old enough to know better than to take pictures of those type of events, so you'll just have to use your imaginations as to how much fun everyone had!

Taylor and I hanging with my longtime partner in crime Lenzi before the parade started.

Taylor kept laughing at something behind Jody - and we finally figured out what it was.....

"CAT!!!!!!" No sweetie, that's a deer. "CAT!!!!!!"

Aah, back in the AC. Taylor lounges with Kadey (translation: tries to steal Kadey's bugles since she ate all her goldfish)