Night out with the cousins

It is a new tradition, a night out with our cousins:) Mom and Aunt Sue were our babysitting warriors so BK, Wayne, Erin and I could bond with the cousins baby free. We met at Erin and Wayne's (new home) for appitizers and then went bowling. It was a fabulous evening. I am so grateful for cousins, and siblings that I can call friends. Here are some great pics from the evening.

Guilfoil Girls minus Julie (we missed you Julie)

Rebecca and Katie

Who is a better bowler?

Secrets with Ame are fun!

Dave introduces his new girlfriend Erin (she is fun)

Erin and Wayne share some love

Christmas

I can't remember a year I have ever been more excited for Christmas. I knew Quint would be so excited to open presents:) I wish he could grasp the whole meaning of Christmas but that will come in time. For now, it is fun to spoil him...or watch Aunt Rebecca, Grammy and Papa spoil him! As always it was a very festive Taylor Christmas! I was spoiled too, but like usually Rebecca surprised me the most with a remote car starter. When it is zero, I have to warm the car up for a long time before driving, so I always have to run out and freeze my booty off starting the car...not anymore!!!!

A Long Trip to NY

BK and I had a bad feeling about our drive to my parents for Christmas from the beginning. We even had Chuck checked out before the drive just for peace of mind. Monday night we loaded up and headed out. The trip should have taken 13 hours. Lets just say, we made it safely, but that was the best part. Here is our trip in a nutshell

20 hours

4 gas ups

10 episodes of Veggie Tales

1 patch of black ice

1 spinning car

1 crash into the guard rail

0 the number of seconds it takes for me to feel like we were going to die

1 semi truck with flashers on coming straight at us!

2 cop cars

10 dollars for rope to tie done the hood

2 hours in McDonalds decompressing and waiting for the sun to come up (no more driving in the dark!)

40 (the mph I would let BK drive after the accident)

4 safe family members

600-1000 the quote to fix Chuck so we can drive him home

It was traumatic! I am convinced I am not meant to live where their is ice and snow! Praise God for protection, it could have been so much worse. We are especially thankful this Christmas season.

Below Zero

Today the temperature never got above zero! Just in case you are wondering that is Fahrenheit:) It hovered between -5 and warmed up to -1 but tonight it is supposed to bottom out at a toasty -15! That is without the windchill. We decided to stay inside in our warm apartment all day. The snow is gorgeous, but we are dreaming of warm, sunny California winters:)

So Sad.

What a waste.
Beautiful beachcruisers covered in snow.
We can not wait till we can ride these again year-round!

By the way, in Iowa City yesterday the high was 10 with a -23 degree windchill!

2nd Lieutenant BK

BK swears in to the National Guard

Signing the papers to make it official

Quint, Russell, and I with our 2nd Lieutenant!

This has been in the works since we called to inquire over the summer when we were still living in NY. We researched and read everything thoroughly and we feel it is a win-win. BK is so excited to be a part of the military, where he will learn to shoot guns and lots of other cool skills. He is also excited to work with such an amazing patient population when he is officially a doctor. I am excited because there is just something about a men in uniform:) We are so grateful that it pays for most of medical school, what a tremendous blessing. Thank you so much to Kathy our fantastic recruiter who did so much work to get BK in the ASR program.

Russell is 6 months!

Russell has stolen our hearts. He is 6 months today. Here are a few things that we love about him at this age:

1. He is our rolie-polie. He doesn't crawl but if you look away for a few minutes he will be across the room. He pivots on his belly and rolls to where he wants to go. It is so funny because Quint rolled a few times to prove he could do it, but then decided to crawl. But, Russell seems to love to roll!

2. When you carry him he nuzzles right into your neck, wraps his arm around your neck, and holds on tight. It is so cuddly. I hope he never stops hugging like that.

3. He is a little chatter box. He is constantly cooing and exploring his voice, and laughing. It is so cute.

4. He is a social butterfly. He loves people, especially people who give him attention.

5.He is our baby giant. He is 97% for length and wears 18 month clothes:) Maybe he will be taller than BK someday.

6. He is so mellow. Loves to play, eat and sleep. If he is crying it is probably because he wants more attention:) He also just started sleeping 12 hours at night! Hopefully he will keep it up:)

He is a fabulous addition to our family. Watching him grow and change is such an amazing experience. We are bursting with love for our little Russ Rob.

Christmas is coming!

We took time to set our our trusty tree today. Our little tree has been in every apartment with us. Quint was a big helper decorating the tree. Russell and Dad took the pictures;)

Speaking of giving thanks....

How fantastic is this!

If you are wondering why unleaded plus is cheaper it is because it has some ethanol in it which is cheaper I guess. At least in Iowa:)
Either way thank goodness we don't have to sell a kidney to buy gas anymore!

Giving Thanks

When Thanksgiving comes around like most people we take time to reflect on what we are thankful for. Here is my list this year (in no particular order)

1. BK (my match in life)
2. Quint (the best surprise we ever got)
3. Russell (our rolie polie who stole our heart)
4. God's direction, provision, and grace
5. A submitted thesis
6. Old friends who have seen me though so many different stages of life
7. New friends who keep me sane in Iowa
8. University of Iowa admissions committees for believing in our team
9. Loving family members who support us and our vision
10. Our apartment with free heat and fantastic, caring, older neighbors

We have so much to be thankful for this year.

Sylvia Visits

Grandma Sylvia was able to come to Iowa for the week of Thanksgiving. It gave us a lot of time to visit and catch up. We also celebrated her birthday, which was the day before Thanksgiving. Of course, I had to make her the traditional birthday hat! It was fun to make a pink one because I usually only make ones in "boy colors". It was so nice to have family around for the holiday.

Sylvia was such a good sport! She wore her crown all around for us.

Grandma spent a lot of quality time with Quint:)

Grandma absolutely fell in love with Russell. She said, "there is just something about Russell". We have to agree, he just lights up a room.

Quint and David puree

It is such a blessing that I have started babysitting David and Elizabeth Monday mornings. Quint loves to have David over to play, and the extra money is a huge help. I was able to get both babies (Elizabeth 7 months, and Russell) to nap so we were able to do a project. Quint and David helped me puree carrots. They loved throwing them in the blender and cheered when the blender went off! It was messy and fun.

Early Morning Moments

Most mornings we are up when BK leaves for the bus. Quint loves to see Daddy in the morning and we have started watching him out the window. Just a little insight to what our family is doing most mornings around 6:30 am.

Brotherly Bond

I love this picture. To me it encompasses what I pray for in their relationship.

Aunt Rebecca comes to Iowa!

Aunt Rebecca came to visit Iowa for Quint's birthday. It was such a treat to have her here to celebrate with us:) We opened presents, ate ice cream cake, and went to a Hawkeye Volleyball game. We also managed to show her the sights which took a few minutes:) We feel very blessed that our boys have such a fabulous Aunt! They will realize it too, once they are football age:)

At the Volleyball game...Go Hawkeyes;)
Quint was a little scared of Herky the Hawkeye!

Quint Turns Two!!!

Quint turned two today! We have the new tradition of the home made birthday hat. I actually sliced my finger open making this one for Quint. BK wasn't even home to play doctor to fix it. It was a great birthday. Quint was spoiled by Grammy and Papa, Aunt Rebecca, and us. He is super cute two year old:)

Chalkboard from Grammy and Papa was a big hit!

I got into the excitement too!
Quint loved his ice cream pie as you can tell:)

Grammy and Papa visit

Grammy and Papa Taylor made it out to Iowa for a visit. It was super to see them and Quint was so happy. Quint especially loves Papa, they have a great bond, and I am so glad. Here are some pics from the visit.

Trick or Treat!

It was Quint's first trick or treat experience. We went to a few houses in our neighborhood. Quint was a little apprehensive but got the hang of it really fast! Russell came too but he did not trick or treat this year:) It was extra fun because Grammy and Papa were here for the experience.

Play group Halloween!

We are in a fantastic play group on Wednesday afternoon. This Wednesday all the mom's and children dressed up to celebrate Halloween/Delaney's 1 year birthday:) It was crazy but fun to see everyone dressed up. Russell was not thrilled with his bat costume...I think he wanted to be the lion...haha. Getting a group picture was challenging, this was the best I got:)