Our "first" Halloween

 Not really his first Halloween, but at 11 days old last year, he wasn't in much of a mood to get in costume.  And neither was mom, ha. So this year we had Taygan the Tiger!

 Since Cruz and Taygan can't really go trick or treating, and it was suppose to be was freezing on actual Halloween, we dressed them up and took them to Taylor Ranchfest on Sat before Halloween.  Look at that little Tiger standing all on his own!

They had an absolute blast!  It was a perfect fall day.  Taylor Ranch had a kiddie corn maze set up with hay bales, and in it was this long tunnel for them to crawl through.  Taygan LOVED it. He watched his friends Rowan and Koltin do it, and then he followed suit.

 At the ranch, Taygan got to pick out a pumpkin since he was in costume so we were really brave and let him paint it a couple nights later.  With non-toxic, all natural, washable paint of course.

 I am not sure if he or Dad had more fun.  Taygan did not put those little paint sponge marks on himself...

 After Taygan put his artistic work into one side of the pumpkin, Kyte painted the other side.

 And this was Halloween morning :) I had to sit him outside in the 30 degree weather to get him to sit still with the pumpkin haha!

 and as a side note, on Halloween we celebrated my sisters closing on her first house  with a dinner in Greenville...congrats Aunt Mate!!!  We are so proud of you!

 

365.

It's true.  Taygan turned 1. And this is one loved kid.  I can't even begin to tell you how blessed we are with all the friends and family we have.  The first birthday party was a HUGE success (sorry to those of you of fb, you have already seen most of these pics once.  But hey, who doesn't want to see pics of this adorable face over and over again?)

Taygan loves when the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse music comes on, so I decided to do his party with a Mickey Theme.  The cake was from Tiffany's Baking in Candler and it was AMAZING.

Since I splurged on the cake, I made most all of the other deco myself (with some ok fine, A LOT of help from Pinterest.)

I am super proud of the balloon wreath.

 

The "1" picture collage was one of my favorite decorations!!

 

 

 

 

 

And then of course there was the infamous "Smash Cake".  He didnt go super crazy with it, but did dig in after Kyte convinced him it was ok :)

 

After cake we headed outside to let the kiddos play in the inflatable bounce house/slide that we had borrowed from a friend.  Taygan's is so lucky to have so many friends his same age!

 Harper would have went down the slide for hours, she loved it!!

 Look at those big kids, they have grown so fast :(

 

 And here are some highlights from the past month:

-Mommy and Daddy became jungle gyms, he is a little monkey.

-Toilet paper become a fun toy.

-He started walking with the assistance of a walker. But hasnt figured out how to turn it once he hits a wall, so that leads to some pitching of fits.

-He had his first little stomach bug (luckily no throwing up).

-We still have 8 teeth.

-"No" how in heaven's name do you teach this word to a child?!? We are attempting it with the fireplace, but he finds it hysterical.

Ok, I think that's enough for one post :)

30 days from 1

 

How is it possible that 11 months have come and gone?! I am in total awe when I am around my friends babies that are newborns. It is simply amazing how much changes in 11 months.

-I now try to remember to put shoes on him when we go out in public, he loves to stand on his own and move between things.  Which can make for really dirty feet if I forget shoes. Ewe.

-He has gotten much better with his balance and letting go of one object to move to another.

-Crawlers should not be able to move so fast.  I swear he gets up and runs when I am not looking.

-We are working on getting in a back right molar which will make for 9, yes NINE teeth.

 -Sticking his tongue out is one of his favorite things to do.  I attribute pray that its only teething.

 -I can't even remember all the new foods he tried this month, some of them were kiwi, melon, salmon, crab legs, pizza (on whole wheat crust ha!), spaghetti, eggs, goldfish.

-He is obviously a good eater.  For now.

-We switched to a big boy car seat this month so falling asleep in the car has, for the most part, become a past time.

-The house has been babyproofed.  Every cabinet, drawer and toilet locked. Gate at top and bottom of the stairs. No picture on any table. No decoration on any surface.  Every door to every room closed.

-He still loves being outside.

-No to him means "I am going to flash a really cute smile, shake my head no, and keep doing whatever she is telling me not to do"

 -He learned how to clap this month and does it when ever he hears excitement in someones voice or hears other people clapping and cheering.  Or when he finishes his meal.

-The kid loves to dance and pat to the rhythm of music.  If any kind of music is playing, he will be moving.

-He has a strange obsession with humidifiers.  and a great memory where they are in the house.  Turn your head for 2 secs and he is either in our bedroom or in his trying to get to the water in them.

 -Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is his favorite show, thus the reason my house is going to turn into a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Oct 20.

-So much for not using multi-media as means of entertainment. whoops.

-We dropped down to just 3 bottles a day.

-He still enjoys going for runs in the stroller, yay!

 -He also started waving and saying "bye bye bye bye" this month.

In the pic below, he was waving to people as they walked by on the street while we were waiting on Kyte to meet us downtown. 

And to close, something I forgot to include in last months blog...Since Taygan could focus on Kytes name tag (it has a brushed gold finish) he has been fascinated with it every evening when Kyte comes in from work and says Hi to him.  As he gained control of his muscles he started reaching for it, then developed control of his pincher grasp to where he could grab it, and last month became strong enough to pull the magnets apart and success! He came away with Daddy's name tag.   Kyte and I have just found it fascinating to watch him grow and develop in doing what to us is such a simple task.  Needless to say the name tag went in the scrapbook and Kyte got a new one for work :)

Beach Babes!

We are so lucky to have such good friends with a little one that is Taygan's same age. Friends that understand dinner may have to be at 5pm in order to have a baby that doesnt scream through it. Friends that understand it may be easier to order pizza for dinner and watch football at the condo than try to go out to eat, even if it's at 5pm.  It's hard to beleive how much our beach trips changed form Memorial Day to Labor Day.  We suddenly have babies that are turning into little boys.  Babies that dont just hang out, they want to be on the go.  They want to have their hands in the sand, and the sand in their mouths.  And we wouldn't change it for the world. 

No more just sitting on blankets, these two were everywhere!

Using the furniture to navigate the condo.

Silly boys!

Our set up, thank goodness for the GoPod to contain at least one of them at a time.

Sweet boy, love that smile.

Looking to see what is getting his feet.

Not sure who is having more fun here, haha!

My boys!

big smiles with Daddy.

He loved sitting in the sand and waiting for the ways to come hit him.  He would clap for them haha!

I can't get enough of that toothy grin!  It melts my heart every time.

"What Dad? I swear havent been eating sand."



10 Months came Too Soon!

10 Months has come way too soon.  We are having too much fun and time is passing way too quickly.

-Big boy got his first haircut, below is his after pic:

-A 9 month old can have a very serious conversation with you, hand gestures and all, without you understanding a word.

-He is sleeping 11 hours a night.

-He sat himself up from laying flat for the first time.

-New foods introduced this month include tofu, cherries, strawberries, cheese, blueberry pancakes and muffins.

-Our lives changed forever on Aug 13.  He started crawling.

-Everything in the house has been baby proofed including the toilets.

-A lady downtown told us that this laugh/noise he does sounded like a billy goat.  We however think its the most adorable noise ever...listen for yourself.

-The hate he has for a walker is intense.  He cries as soon as you put him in it.

-We discovered this month that he can roll his tongue.  He will imitate you if you rolls yours.

-It's hard to believe that he and Cruz have went from sleeping babies in carriers to climbing on each other.

-His favorite thing to do is pull up on our coffee table.  Then stand there and leave precious little hand prints all over it.

-He learned how to wave. Here it is:

-Fresh fruit and string cheese is his favorite snack.

-Nap time turned into party time now that he can sit and pull himself up.

-He is such a ham when he sees the camera out.
-Mommy tries to remember to have him brush his teeth every morning and night.

-Daddy's blueberry pancakes are his favorite breakfast snack.  

-I honestly never dreamed we would have this much fun with him, he is such a happy, happy baby boy.  And for that we are blessed!

-He and Kyte have the best time together, I will leave you with a collage of Kytes famed self portraits.  My two favorite men.