Welcome Babies

We had a busy weekend welcoming two new babies in to the world! On Friday Bryce Charles was born. He is adorable!
On Monday, Lisa Bradbury, Taylor's new cousin was born. I have to say, Taylor loves all the boys in her life, but FINALLY a girl! She is precious!

14 Months

I am not sure where to begin with this one... there have been so many things going on with Taylor that it is hard to really capture just how much she is growing, learning, exploring, and understanding these days. It is so amazing to see her figuring out and trying new things on a daily basis.

(All the pictures are from a recent trip to Freddy Hill Farms where we had some ice cream, hung out with pigs, cows, goats, sheep, etc, and hit a few golf balls at the driving range- fun times)

Taylor is really in to sorting, stacking, and unpacking. She could keep herself busy for a VERY long time with things like a case of Sprite that can be unpacked, sorted, and put back. At two of our memorial day picnics she found enjoyment for at least an hour straight by getting ice from the chest, walking it to someone, handing it over, and going back for more. She also loves taking her clothes out of her drawers and walking them to our room and taking our clothes back to her room. This has been a favorite of hers for sometime now. I think I should give up on folding for a while since I hate to do it anyway, and she just rips apart whatever attempt I have made at keeping the drawers organized.

I love that I can have a conversation with Taylor and she can respond to what we are telling or asking her to do. We have started to teach her some signs and she is really using them to help us understand what she wants. The first sign she learned was "more". I think at first she thought it meant, "give me what I want" so she was using it when she was annoyed about having her diaper changed and wanted to get off the changing table, when she wanted to get up on to the couch, or when she saw food she wanted. I think she has now started to grasp the real meaning of "more" and has started using it specifically when she is eating. So far the few signs she has learned have been great to eliminate the pointing/grunting that she was doing previously

Taylor also starting to do things more and more that we haven't specifically taught her but she has figured out on her own... some good, some bad :) Recently she has figured out that if she takes a handful of Emma's food to Emma, Emma will eat it out of her hand. I appreciate her desire to feed Emma but on the few occasions that Emma declines her generous offer, Taylor immediately places the handful of dog food in to her mouth. Good thing we just upgraded Emma's food to a higher quality!

We laugh at Taylor on a daily basis. Her little sense of humor is great. Nothing beats her laugh. The thing that gets her belly laughing the most right now, is pointing a remote control at Maddie and pretending to turn Maddie on (she acts goofy) and off (she stops whatever she is doing). Ahh, it gets her every time! She also loves to walk around the house with her blankie on her head and we pretend we can't see her... hearing her laugh and pretend to walk in to us never really gets old!

Taylor's PopPop always says, "she isn't thinking about yesterday and she is not looking forward to tomorrow, she is just completely in the moment" So true and how great for her!

Two Days in a Row

What a great week for Taylor... hanging with Nolan two days in a row! Ashlynne called and said that Nolan had been talking about Taylor for a few days and even said, "mom, I have to check my email, I think Taylor emailed me to tell me she loved me." Is that just the cutest thing you have ever heard?

All that playing makes these little kiddos thirsty and what a great place to take a break!

Taylor certainly isn't shy when it comes to expressing her feelings for Nolan!

What a trooper Ashlynne is... 9 months pregnant and hanging on the trampoline!

I love each of their expressions as they gaze at each other!

Mother's Day

This was my present from my little Taylor on Mother's Day. I love it. Her little hand prints are so cute and to think of Mike getting Taylor to do this without me knowing, makes me smile.

I feel so lucky to be Taylor's Mommy. Everyday I fall more and more in love with her-this could be because every morning she wakes up cuter, smarter, funnier, and more beautiful then she was the night before. I squeeze her and kiss her about a hundred times a day and after she goes to bed at night I still get the desire to wake her up to kiss and hug her some more. I totally understand the saying "Momma squeezed the baby till her head popped off!"

Mike had a paper due Sunday night (obviously his professor has no Mothers in his life) so after making some pancakes for Taylor and I, he showed his appreciation of me by sitting at the dinning room table typing a paper all day. My mom and I went to IKEA. It was Taylor's first experience. I think she made out okay.

She walked right over to this chair and climbed in.

One quick smile to her Maddy while sitting in the chair and it was hers!

Taylor LOVES this chair and spent the first three days having it, taking every toy and book she owns to the chair, climbing on with the toy/book, and climbing back off. It was great entertainment, and come to think of it an extra little Mother's Day present to ME!

Nolan's Birthday Party

This weekend we celebrated Taylor's cousin Nolan's first birthday. It was a beautiful afternoon and Taylor had a ball playing in Aunt Lynn and Uncle Jim's backyard. She was in to everything, loved the swing set, couldn't get enough of the playhouse, played a little soccer, and even did a nose dive in to a mud puddle and got up for more. There were lots of kids, lots of playing, lots of laughing, and by the end we had one tuckered out little girl! Greeting the Birthday Boy

Loving the playhouse... and still kind of clean

For some reason Taylor really enjoys going up the slides rather then coming down- who knows!

Is it in her genes? I know it is making her Daddy and the rest of the Krepps family proud!

I love this picture... especially her dirty little knee!

In the playhouse with Aunt Jen

Nolan was a trooper all day but by the time it was "cake time" nothing was making him very happy- not even the green icing smeared across his face.

Not sure what Tyler was going for here, but it is a cute face!

Some Tricks

I really have so much to say about all of the things Taylor is learning and doing but due to having back to back illnesses in the house, first Taylor then me, our upstairs looks like a tornado went through it, so I must go clean. For now, here is a short clip of my little cutie doing a run through of her tricks!