One year ago today...

11-30-2010

Holy COW!  (literally!)

One year ago today, I was a nervous wreck.  I was scared to death of having surgery the next day; I was anxious that everything would be okay with my sweet baby; I was nervous and sad about leaving Sydney for a couple of days; I was a total sap at Sydney's day care's Christmas program that night.  It was a rainy, cold evening, my parents were with us, and I was trying to stay sane... or at least make it look that way. 

Little did I know that the next morning, I would be holding a beautiful, dark-haired, 10 POUND, 22" long baby in my arms.  Everything would be okay, and Taylor would be perfectly healthy. 

I am so very blessed!

Taylor = Movie Star?

My friend, Ashley, was watching a movie on HBO and took a picture of this baby...

Movie Star Baby

Taylor

What do you think?  Do you see a resemblance?  Maybe Taylor has a long lost twin out there?  Oh wait, nevermind... I think I'd remember that. :)

Thanksgiving Break Recap

Ahhh, I LOVE my breaks from school... but it's back to reality tomorrow!

I had a really good week off- it was a good balance of friends, family, work, and play.  We went to our friends' annual Turkey Day feast last Sunday; I got all my Christmas shopping done and wrapped; went to dinner with the neighbors; Stephen and I cleaned the house from head to toe (I'm talking, toothbrush to the grout, vacuuming everything from the mattresses to the fans to the blinds to the floors, etc.); I decorated the house for Christmas; went to my parents' house for Thanksgiving; tried out some new recipes; did some late-morning Black Friday shopping; watched the Dawgs beat the Jackets (oh, yeah!); had a "date night" at the Melting Pot with one of my best girl friends; and had Taylor's birthday party.  Plus, I attempted some work today so I hopefully won't feel completely overwhelmed tomorrow.

So, now I can go to work knowing I have a lot of things that I kept putting off done.  Working full-time and having two kids really leaves me no time to get the little details done.  I get the necessary things done every day, but little detailed things keep piling up and I usually only tackle them when breaks come around. 

So, in short, this break was much needed.  Back to work tomorrow, which I'm actually looking forward to... and then winter break is in 3 weeks!  I can do it!

Taylor's Birthday Party!

We had sweet Taylor's 1st birthday party today!  Her birthday is not until Thursday, but this day worked the best for our family.  We kept it intimate, with my parents and my sister's family making the long journey down to Loganville to celebrate. 

Poor Taylor was not in her best mood... she woke up with a cough and runny nose, and her nap schedule was off.  But, she had a great time and was so tuckered out that she went to bed at 6:30 PM. :)

Here are some highlights from the day!

Taylor's first 12 months in photos

Hot chocolate bar... didn't count on it being 70 degrees outside! ;)

Cousins and Uncle Stephen

She went against all odds... we thought she'd dive into the cake.  She really wasn't into it!  She scraped her fingers on top and that was about it.

I gave her a taste of the icing and she couldn't stand it.  She obviously doesn't get that from me!

Ta-da!  I'm (almost) one!

Was hoping for a family shot, but Sydney was so not interested in taking a picture.

It was a great day with great company!  Now, I think I need to go to bed.



Laughter is the best medicine

There isn't much in the world that is better than hearing a little kid laugh... and both my girls are really good at it.  Taylor has the most infectious belly-laugh, and Sydney gets a kick out of so many things in life.  Hopefully these will make you smile (I definitely did!):

Spelling Bee

If Sydney's 3 year-old class has a spelling bee, she would win it.  Check out my little smarty pants!

Hair School?

My daughters' teachers at daycare are fabulous hair-fixers. Almost everyday, they come home with some beautiful hair-dos.  I need to get some tips!  Here are some phone-taken pictures of their hair from when I picked them up on Wednesday.

Taylor

Sydney

Monkeyin' Around

Here's a taste of post-bath, pre-bedtime at the K-Bash household.  Check out my little monkeys!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

We spent the day at my parents' house- mom did most of the cooking, with me contributing a casserole and dessert.  It was just my parents and our family, as my siblings always do Thanksgiving with their in-laws.  But, it was a great time had by all... A beautiful day to celebrate all that we are thankful for (and I have so much to be thankful for!!).

I also had some fun experimenting with the new camera.  My parents have lots of greenery around their house (something ours lacks!) so I had some fun with the girls outside.  Sydney also had fun with D-Dad up in the treehouse he built.  Here are some pics from our day:

Hanging out in the treehouse.

Relaxin' in D-Dad's chair.

A still shot of Taylor walking!

A Pinterest-inspired photograph.

It was a fantastic day!  Happy Thanksgiving!



He's baaaaaaaack...

Yes, the Elf on the Shelf has made his appearance.  I was too cheap to actually buy the book (If I remember correctly, on Amazon it was about $30 for the book and the doll!- so I settled for paying $12 for just the doll) so I don't know the actual ins and outs of when he should make his debut.  So, we do it K-Bash style... on Thanksgiving day, he'll come out and stay until Christmas. 

Sydney thinks he goes back to the North Po1e every night to tell his "best friend", Santa, how good of a girl Sydney was that day.  She has been hamming it up for the elf, let me tell you.  Can this elf be a year-round tradition?

Sydney also wrote a letter tonight to Santa.  She's already decided what she wants, so I helped her write it and we put it in the mailbox.

Randomness... and exciting news!!

So, life has been hectic lately... I'm officially in my new role and am loving it.  I will now be working with 3 different schools, and I've gotten to go to all three of them, meet the administrators, the teachers, etc.  This job will definitely keep me busy, and I will be learning a LOT, but I'm very excited.

Both girls have been sick the past few days, and I'd like to give a shout-out to my wonderful mom for taking care of them!  Luckily, we are all on the mend, Stephen is back in town, and it is almost Thanksgiving break!  Woohoo!

Last weekend, I started getting in the Christmas spirit.  Christmas is my favorite season, and I love to decorate for it.  I tried two Christmas crafts that I saw on Pinterest... check them out!

Thanksgiving break is usually when I break out the Christmas decorations.  If it were up to me, I'd be like Walmart and have them up before Halloween. :)  But, my logical husband sets me straight.  I have done all my Christmas shopping for the girls, though... is that weird?

And for the exciting news... Taylor took her first steps tonight!!!!  We were cleaning up after dinner, and Stephen told me that Taylor had just tried to make a movement with her feet while she was standing on her own.  I didn't really think too much about it, but as she was standing the next time, me, Stephen and Sydney watched... she took about 2 steps on her own!!  Sydney was so funny, she screamed so loud that Taylor got scared. :)  We went upstairs where it's carpeted and tried some more... she was more into playing with her toys, but she did eventually take three steps on her own later!  I can't believe how big my sweet Taylor is!