Florida 2008

The plans were not to head to Florida until the fall because of soccer tryouts and clubs merging. With all that was to be going on, I needed to be around town. Well, I got my rear in gear and made my team before anyone else! Suckers!(...not really!! hee hee) That allowed us to take a trip to Florida. It was last minute and Regan did NOT travel well, but it was a lot of fun. Check out the (bazillion) pics...

A first touch of toes to the sweet, salty waters...

I know I'm biased, but my girls are the cutest on the beach!

Taytum and her Gramps (my dad) making it happen in the sand!

I love the action shot of Taytum bringing water for her and Gramps to use for their castle!

Regan's first encounter with the sand was alllllll gud!

Just the feet this year...in a few years they'll be burying each other up to their necks!

I just LOVE this pic!! The backdrop is horrible, but what can I say?

...the dad and the granner (my mom) enjoying the day...

To me this picture screams, "what do you want me to do with that? i'm tired, i want my bottle and i want to take a nap. i'm done here."

So much for me getting a tan!! Mom is still needed!!


Taytum was trying to catch fish in the net. When she was unsuccessful she resorted to 'clubbing' them to death! HA HA HA HA!

Regan and Granny enjoying the beach!

Yes, we did spend time in the water! Here are the girls with Dad, Granny and Gramps. The water is awesome here and it was calm enough on most days for both of the girls to enjoy as well!

We actually had friends visiting Florida at the same time!! Two of the girls that I coach were down there with their families. One of the girls has a little sister that is Taytum's age. The two (Taytum and Lucy) usually get to hang out at soccer events and such, but now they got some time on the beach together. Lucy's family rented a house right on the beach. We packed up everything we needed for Regan and headed over for the day...

Here are the girls with Lucy's dad venturing out into the waters...

Not sure why she was running, but I dig the pic!

This particular beach was much more crowded. Taytum had a blast, but as you can see, she was very intrigued by much of what she saw...either that or she was tired and zoning...

Here's a good one of Taytum telling Lucy just how she is supposed to skim board. Mind you, my know-it-all child has never even tried it!! Then here she is turing to tell someone else that Lucy is doing it wrong! SHEESH!

Regan did take a bit of a nap at the beach house. When she woke up she was slow to join the fun but she eventually ventured out of the arms of her mom and dad...

The best part of when Regan finally ventured out on her own was that soon after everyone went their own ways for dinner. Regan found the little sand 'pool' that some of the girls had been playing in and claimed it as her own...

With a shovel and a bucket both as big as her, Regan was as happy as a clam (HA!) for quite some time. It was also a very peaceful time on the beach. Most of the beach goers had gone on to dinner... quiet, calm and peaceful... I could have stayed there forever!! Well, I did linger as long as I could!

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On one of our last days in Florida Gramps, who LOVES to fish, took Taytum out for her very first fishing experience. It was only to the lake in their neighborhood, but it was a first for sure!

Not many fish to catch. It was pretty darn hot! We didn't plan well so we went out in the heat of the afternoon! We did catch ONE fish, but that was it! Next time around Gramps promised to show Taytum some 'real' fishing! We can't wait!

Funny Bugs Grad

Once again Taytum finished up another semester at Little Gym. This time around she was a "Funny Bug." Here are a few pics of her showing off during "show week."

...a scale...

...walking up the wall...

...an attempt on her own...

...an action shot of her at the end of a 'monkey jump'...

...a front support...

...Tay and her buddy, Will, just goofing around...

...the medal ceremony...


...and one proud little girl!...

Zoo

A recent trip to the zoo...

Regan went bezerk when she saw the penguins! She loved watching them swim!
Not a great picture, but Taytum and one of her good friends enjoying a snack...

Shall I Apply Now?

I didn't even know what to call this post!!!

With the leotard, socks, boots and the face...should I just apply for therapy now?

How Time Flies

Oh my gosh how time flies! It seems like just yesterday this sweet little girl was starting pre-school...taking her little sister with her on her FIRST day!

And yet the year flew by so fast! How different both girls are now! Taytum seems so grown up...helping her little sister navigate the hallways on her LAST day of pre-school!
In my eyes teachers play a HUGE role in each child's success at school. Taytum was so fortunate to have two wonderful teachers that she loved very much. Both of them returned the love and made her feel very welcomed every day.
Taytum would go to school every day of the week, even in the summer time, if she could. I think both of her teachers have had a great impact on her in such a short time. I pray we are as blessed with great teachers in the years to come.

Twinkle Toes

A sweet garage sale find of mine was a few leotards for like 50 cents each! Here's Tay outfitted in one of them...the fanciest one...

And here she is doing one of the other things she loves...dancing! She got a princess dancing video for her birthday and it is a HUGE hit!
the twirl...
Check out the concentration!

Could she be a future ballerina?

Lord help me!!!

Taytum's Party

Our poor kid doesn't even PLAY soccer yet and her party was delayed TWICE due to soccer games! It's a good thing the other girls invited had sisters on the team! This was Tay's first official birthday party. She had a self chosen PRINCESS theme. Check it out...

T and her daddy on the big day!

We started off the party with a couple of fun crafts! Decorate your own princess crown and some way cool glasses...

Here's T outfitted with her crown and glasses. Check out her expression...do you think she's telling someone what to do? Sheesh!

Here are all 3 girls sporting their crowns and glasses! Aren't they cute?

Here they are checking themselves out! Hee hee hee!

Next up...a game of 'Pin The Crown On The Princess!' Drawing courtesy of Zack Schmitz!

Before the game began we had a bit of a 'melt down' on who would go first...Here's me putting out the fire! I just thought this picture was too funny!

Go Taytum!
The Princess cake...
The Princess and her cake! :o) And no better way to top off the party than with some dancing to some princess music!
Do you think they're pooped from the party or just falling down acting like fools? HA HA HA HA!

A fun time was had by all and I think the first party was a success. Small and sweet. The girls were all good sports...they had to wait all day through a few soccer tournament games before they could get into party mode! I flew solo at the party...well, Rob was there, but the other girls were brought by their dads. So Rob entertained and made sure the guys had beverages and were comfortable watching the game while I attended to the girls! It was a great time!

One Cool Gift

For Taytum's Birthday her Nana and Pops sent this really cool gift in a really big bag...

IT'S A LADYBUG!But not just any ladybug! If you squish it's tummy it makes a funny honking sound!

Even Regan joined in the fun!

Oh, it also seems to double as a great pillow...

or so Regan says!

On The Phone

A favorite thing of Taytum's is to talk on the phone. She'll talk to anyone for very extended periods of time! Most of the time I feel sorry for the person on the other end!

And this is what Regan looks like while Taytum is on the phone! Ha ha ha ha!
OK, and though it looks like Regan is covering her ears and saying, "Enough already!" she's actually signing the word 'phone' while her sister talks!

T's Birthday

Not much of an event on the actual day of Taytum's birthday. It was Mother's Day this year, and the day was spent at home. Here are some pics of the '4 yr-old' gifts...

The ever popular Crocs! Notice the gibbits...princess T! ha ha ha!

A Cinderella music box...
a new big girl bike!!!!...
a cinderella puzzle...
and a T (tennessee) chair!
"Oh my gosh! It's my birthday!"

Complete with Scooby Doo cupcakes!

Conversations With Taytum

While a lot of grumbling seems to go on in our house as I have my battles with my strong-as-ever-willed child, she says some halarious things. Check these out...

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We were riding in the car after a soccer camp that Taytum attended. The time of the camp was not the greatest...right around dinner time... On the last day we decided we'd get a 'treat' for dinner, so we were headed to Culvers...

Mom: Man, I'm hungry!

Tay: Me too!

Mom: I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!

Tay: I'm so hungry I could even eat a sheep!

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One night we were in our PJs at an unusually early time...we were actually in our PJs while we ate dinner!!!...

Tay: WOW, Mommy...those are some really nice pajamas! I really like those! How old are you again?

Mom: 27 (ha ha ha ha ha)

Tay: OK, well, when I'm 27, I'm gonna have pajamas just like those because those are really nice and I really like them!

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A trip to the bank is SO exciting because Taytum gets a sucker while we are there. This time we went to the bank with the drive-thru, but we were still able to get the 'requested' color of the trip, which was orange. The suckers have always been kinda cool because there is a letter on one side and a number on the other. When Taytum was learning her letters and numbers this was an added incentive. Anyway...

Tay: Mom, did we get orange?

Mom: Yes Tay.

Tay: COOL! I KNEW we could get orange if we just asked!

Mom: mmm-hmmm.

Tay: Can I eat it now?

Mom: Just a sec while I open it. Oh, how cool! Wait until you see what's on it!

Tay: What? What? OOOOOOHHHHHH...there's a "T" on one side and a "3" on the other! That is SO cool, Mom!!

Mom: Yup. The only thing cooler is if there was a "T" and a "4" on it!

Tay: No worries Mom, I can fix that. Just let me get out my magic wand. Where did I put that thing? Oh, here it is, I found it. OK...bipitty, bobitty, boop, orange number 4 come out now! Orange number 4 appear! Check it out, Mom! See the number 4? Can you see it? Isn't that cool?

Mom: That's pretty cool, Tay.

Tay: Yeah, my magic wand is awesome!

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More to come...