and a couple months later...

I have been horrible about keeping up this blog. I've been so busy I actually forgot about it. It is now November and this year is almost over and I have NO idea where this year went to. It has gone by so fast I can't quite believe it.

Lucas is now 10 months old. He has 4 teeth with another 2 pushing their way through. He is crawling ALL over the place. I have to watch him way more closely now because even though I think I have baby proofed my house good enough he always finds something he shouldn't have. Or something mommy didn't clean up good enough. He also is learning to entertain himself more and more which is nice. We have to revamp his toys b/c I think he is getting bored with his baby toys. He still doesn't sleep through the night but I have already decided I probably will never sleep through the night again so it is ok. He is learning new stuff everyday and makes mommy and daddy laugh all the time with his silliness. Right now both Lucas and Daddy are sick with a cold so this momma has been busy taking care of her boys.

Me and Stephen are doing good. Just keeping ourselves busy. I started taking care of my nice a couple times a week so I now watch 2 babies and Lucas. Luckily I usually don't watch them at the same time.

We went to vacation in September. Stephens dad came and visited. It was the first time he met Lucas. We just hung out around Lewistown and enjoyed each others company. Then we went to Fargo and visited Stephens sister. We shopped around Fargo and hung out with his sister. Then off to Detroit Lakes we went. We went to Stephens old church and talked with some of his old friends. We hung around Detroit Lakes and it was so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of life in Lewistown. We were able to relax and enjoy family time. Even though it stinks living out of a car for a couple days! Then we went up to Grand Rapids and visited friends that used to live in Lewistown. It was so nice to see Jason, Mandy, Miriam, and Danny and Chels. We still miss them very much but it was nice to catch up in person!

Then we had Halloween. Which was great! Brittany came down for the weekend so we got to hang out with her which is always wonderful. Then Lucas was a monkey for Halloween and he was the cutest monkey ever. We went to the nursing home and took him around and then just went to a couple houses trick or treating. It was fun he liked holding his candy basket. We also had a fun night with my nieces Emma and Jordan. We carved pumpkins make cupcakes played with toys and watched silly and not so scary Halloween movies.

That is all that has happened over this way. Staying busy with youth group which has been going great. It was great watching the youth group grow and hopefully it will just keep growing. It is just so fulfilling being able to pour our hearts and lives into these teens.

Getting excited for the holiday seasons! Can't wait to post more on that!

late

So I have been informed by a friend that I have yet to write an updated blog (thanks britt) so here one is......

Lucas is 7 1/2 months old and he is just growing and getting bigger all the time. He is becoming quite the chunk. Its cute. He now has his 2 bottom teeth. They are quite cute now when he smiles! He loves to be the center of attention and he loves to make us laugh. He hasn't crawled yet but he is starting to become more interested in moving around more but he is still my cuddle bug. This past month he had his first real sickness he had a pretty bad ear infection and now that it is over I NEVER want it to come back. I had never been so tired in my life and lucas was so sick and helpless it was just so sad to watch him be sick. Well I had woken up in the middle of the night to him running a fever and we gave him some tylenol and he still had one in the morning so we took him to the er and she said she couldn't see his whole ear but what she could see was a little infected so she gave us some antibiotics which made him poop like crazy btw...and so he had his fever off and on from a thursday night to a saturday night...and we were doing medicine pretty much around the clock we had to give him his antibiotics every 12 hours tylenol every 4 and motrin every 6 hours and let me tell you each time was horrible b/c lucas did not like it at all...but anyway we went to the doctor that monday to make sure everything was healing up ok and found out the his ear infection was just horrible and we would have to extend his antibiotics some more but after another week of torture we went to the doctor and he was all cleared up! So hopefully we won't see another one of them anytime soon.

Stephen and I have just been working on house projects we cleaned out the basement of the trash we did some more decorating in our room we are working on some outside yard stuff. We have just been trying to incorporate more family time in our busy schedule.

We have a new niece she was born Aug. 17. She was 6 lbs 13 oz and she was 19 in. long. She is a little thing and super cute. Michelle only had to do 2 pushes and the baby was out. I feel like she had it pretty lucky! She is just so little she seems like she has no meat on her bones she legs are like little toothpicks. I guess I'm just not used to such a little baby b/c lucas was just a big boy when he was born.

Not much else is going on right now school starts next week here and so youth group and such should start to pick up so we will keep ourselves busy with that. That is pretty miuch it for now. Oh and on the book race me and stephen are having as of right this second we are tied but i should be finishing a book today so..

Teeth, weddings, and much more!

So it is now July! I can't quite believe where this year has gone. It is already half way over! Well anyway lots have been happening in the Taylor household.

Lucas is now 6 months old. He first tooth just broke through his gum. It isn't all the way in yet but it is getting there. It was pretty weird b/c we just woke up and I checked his mouth b/c he was being kinda fussy and there was a tooth! It is still bothering him now but he is being a big boy and mommy is trying to sooth the pain as much as I can! Also he can sit on his own now. It isn't perfect but he is definitely learning. He is such a little bundle of joy and totally can brighten up the house with one of his smiles. He is the best.

Lily and Thomas got married on July 3rd. Stephen was the best man and Lucas was the little ring bearer and I walked him down the aisle. It was a lot of fun but oh so very tiring. And it was a lovely wedding and I can't wait to see all the pictures that were taken and such.

The new youth pastors have moved into town now. We seem to have a lot in common with them and can't wait to start on all the new ideas Andrew has! Should be exciting.

This past weekend on July 11th was Stephen and I's 2 year anniversary. I feel like it has been way longer than that sometimes. I feel like we have just grown up so much since we have gotten married! Well for our anniversary since we have been really super busy and had about zero family bonding me, Stephen, and Lucas went out of town to Great Falls and stayed in a nice hotel and just took away all the distractions that can so easily distract us here in lewistown and were able to relax as a family. We went swimming and did some shopping and went out to eat and Lucas was great the whole time which I was kinda surprised b/c usually when we leave home it is not that fun! But he was an angel. Lucas did almost drown while swimming but that is a whole other story that can't really be explained in just a few words but he was fine and didn't even realize what happened. Luckily mommy has quick reflexes and daddy is lucky mommy is sooooo forgiving!

Well this next month we are hoping things are going to slow down a little big so we can relax before things pick back up. In August we have 2 babies being born that are close to us and in September we have family visiting so please July be good to us!

Can't Believe

I can't believe it is summer already! Well technically month wise it is summer but it has been raining like crazy here so not much fun summer weather here but hopefully soon it will clear up so we can have some outdoor fun.

Lucas is now 5 months old!

He is quite the character. He is getting more and more of a personality and he is pretty funny and cute and wonderful...I love him can't you tell! This past month he had is 4 month shots and he did wonderful. Which I was really dreading shot day b/c when he was 2 months old it was horrible just horrible! But this time was smooth and he didn't even cry too much. We also started him on solids this past month. We started out with rice cereal and he broke out in a rash and had crazy diarrhea, and we looked in my baby book and found out that I was allergic to rice cereal too! So we switched to oatmeal cereal and it has been fun. We are going to start some fruits and veggies soon. Lucas went to his first baseball game. And he pretty much fussed and slept the whole time. Brandon is in Redbirds this year so it has been fun watching him play.

We finally finished our bathroom 100%. We had one wall that we just kept putting off but we finally got our butts in gear and finished it.

I said he looked like an oversized Oompa Loompa. Brandon said he looked like a marshmellow.

On May 21st I turned 20. Goodbye teenage years! I had a good birthday. The day before my birthday Chelsea and Danny surprised by making dinner..yummy lasagna! Then the next day Stephen surprised me (kinda) by making dinner (chicken parmesan) and had Lilly and Thomas come over. And Stephen got me some books and movies that I had been wanting so all in all it was a great birthday!

But other than that all has been pretty much the same between babysitting, youth group, and childrens church!

Oh I had to post this picture Lucas made a classic Stephen look the other day so naturally I have to post it!

Well I'm here just updating the happenings in the Taylor house hold. Lucas is now 4 months old. He is getting so big! He is talking a lot and starting to laugh more and his nickname is Mr. Smiles b/c he loves to smile. He loves his daddy! When Stephen comes home from work for lunch or right when he gets off for the day Lucas just loves playing with daddy. They have lots of fun games together. And I know this may have taken us forever but he finally sleeps in his crib all night. No more bassinet. It was really hard for me to take him out of our room but I was definitely ready for it by the time we moved him in there. He has also been falling asleep on his own. Which is a really big thing b/c to get him to fall asleep we would have to pace and rock him back and forth for about 15 to 20 min. to try to get him to sleep but now he does it all by himself!!!

I have also started babysitting 3 times a week a 4 1/2 month named Skyler. It is fun to have two babies throughout the day but it definitely hard work. I'm quite tired on the days I have both. They wear me out. But it is fun to play with both and gives Lucas someone to watch and talk too. It is quite cute to see them together.

Stephen is keeping himself busy between work, school, helping lead the youth group and now doing more stuff for childrens church. It usually turns into a crazy week for him but we have been able to really relax also throughout all this craziness so that is nice. We have some house projects we are going to be working on. Finishing up the wall in the bathroom and cleaning out the basement.

Also this month we have had to deal with Montana's crazy weather. This past week we got like 2 feet a snow and our power was out for five hours! And just the week before that it was 60 degrees and sunny. So unpredictable. But right now we love montana and it is hard to see us any other place.

Well this summer is going to be kinda crazy with everything we got going on but we are excited for our vacation and 3 couples we know are getting married so in between all this craziness we are going to have some fun times and i'm so glad that now we have lucas to share all these fun times with. It is weird to think that a year ago this week we had just found out we are pregnant and now little Lucas is here and he is 4 months...Pretty amazing!

Easter

So another month has past and gone and Lucas is now 3 months old. Can't quite believe it myself. He is growing so fast and he is almost rolling over and giggling as well. He smiles a lot and likes to play with mom and dad. His favorite is the airplane with dad. It is getting more and more natural everyday being a mom and I love it. He is so much fun.

Stephen is working back at Montana Fiberglass now. He is working hard and I am so proud of him. I know some days he feels overwhelmed with everything that is on his plate but he comes through and grows and I absolutely love him he is turning into a more handsome person everyday.

We have had to make changes in our relationship and we are still working on them since Lucas has come we have had to rearrange our priorities and rearrange how we spend our time and it has been a challenge but me and Stephen are both working on being more open and communicative and so far this month we have come a long way and I just hope we continue to grow.

This past weekend was Easter and Lucas's first one and I think we had lots of fun. We opened up his easter basket in the morning and we had gotten him an easter egg thing that dances and plays music and lights up, and we got him a little photo book, and a reading book, and some candy well the candy is for me and stephen. We then went to church and enjoyed a good service. Then my whole family came over to my house and me and stephen hosted easter lunch. Stephen and I also did an easter egg hunt for my nieces which they had fun running around finding the eggs. We just enjoyed being a family on easter and remembering why easter is so important it is to celebrate the time Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins and then conquered death by rising from the dead. Amazing!!!

So this is what is new with the Taylor family!!!!

Books of 2010

So me and Stephen are so in love with reading we decided we are going to have a reading contest this year. We are going to see who can read the most books. So far he is winning but I'm close behind. We haven't decided on what the prize is yet but it will be something good i'm sure. Well i'm going to document my book reading journey here with a description of each book and whether I recommend it or not....

Well the first 3 books of the year 2010 were the last three harry potter books by j.k. rowling i have read the series quite a few times but never the last book so i reread the series to finally finish it so in 2010 were the last three books which of course are the best. i really like the harry potter books and i know some people have a issues with them and i totally get it but i really take the story for what it is...a story and i really enjoy them i am able to really imagine them and they take me away to a fantasy world of danger, love, and intrigue. I of course recommend these books they are a great series to read. I would describe them but I think most everyone knows what they are about so I'll just skip on that.

I read the book the Tales of Beedle and Bard which goes along with the Harry Potter Books in a way. It is magical nursery tales like Goldie Locks and the three bears or Little Red Riding Hood. It was a cute book but nothing to engage my imagination and it was relatively very much a kids books so it was nice to read because of the Harry Potter magical world aspect but other than that it was so-so.

I then read the Gospel According to Lost by Chris Seay. I loved this book and if anyone watches Lost and is a Christian they would definitely enjoy this book as well. This pastor Chris Seay takes a look at Lost from a christian perspective and applies christian principles to the lost story. And it is amazing to see how much lost really does have in common with the bible and makes you wonder how much of it is really coincidence. As I said I would definitely recommend this book to any Lost fan or Christian lost fan.

Next I read Children of Hope by Vernon Brewer and Noel Yeats. This book broke my heart. It is about Children in Africa that are the victims of aids and war and poverty. Gosh those stories can make the hardest of hearts melt. It made me think differently about the war on aids and the crisis in Africa. I pray earnestly for the people that work over there they truly are blessings of God over there. I recommend this book as well if you need an eye opener or if you want a book to make you cry here is one for you.

Lastly I just finished this book called Ulterior Motives by Mark Andrew Olsen. I greatly enjoyed reading this book. It is a christian suspense novel. It is about this disgraced soldier that has come to find Jesus and he is in a prison ministry, and the government finds him for a mission to befriend one of the number one terrorist that they have captured and bestow on him the love of christ all in the meanwhile also trying to stop the biggest terrorist attack america has ever seen. This book is all about forgiveness of Christ and how to accept it and apply it your life and live it out as well. It was a great amazing book with twists and turns and all the while talking about the love of Christ...love it...so yes I definitely recommend this book.

so those are all the books of read so far this year i've started another that i'm really excited about but we will just have to wait for that description later...

long time

It has been a while since I last wrote. I thought I might update on what has been going on with our family. Well in the past month we have had to battle colds and the flu. I haven't gotten sick but Stephen has had a really bad case of the flu and a really bad cold. Lucas also had to get over his first cold and it wore me out. But we are all pretty well again no more sickness and hopefully it will stay like that for a while...crosses fingers...Also Stephen is going to go back to Montana Fiberglass at the end of the month. Which I think will be good for us. Stephen is kinda sad because he really likes the accountant work that he is doing right now but going back to Montana Fiberglass will be more stable for all. Even though the Yogo is like trying to sell their soul to try to keep him but Stephen can't be bought by money or promises so off we go back to Montana Fiberglass. Stephen just had his 24th birthday on the third. It has been a good week with celebrations and stuff. I love birthdays even if they aren't mine. Lucas is now 2 months old and he is growing too big. He is 11lbs 5 oz now and 25 1/2 in long. He is in the 47th percentile in his weight and 97th percentile in his height so I think we are going to have a tall boy. And he is just learning so much too he is kicking more and talking more and smiling more he has also found a new friend...his thumb..we are trying to not start that habit but everytime our back is turn he has that lovely thumb in his mouth. We have started a night time routine with him at 8:30 it is bathtime and then jammy time and then book time and then bed time and it is working pretty well some nights are better than others kinda depends on what we are doing but it is slowly getting into motion. Well I am loving staying at home with him it is my joy to be able to spend everyday with my son at home and it is nice to have those times with him without stephen here too because we just have mother son talks and we snuggle in the bed and play with toys and it is just fun to have that special time with him.

One Month

Our baby was one month on Feb. 2. I can't believe it. Time has gone by way too fast. He is getting so big. You can definitely tell his looks have changed. He is starting to look more like his daddy than his mommy now. He is still a wonderful baby to have around. Not too fussy and most of the time very happy. He has been though fighting to go to sleep. I would think that would come along later but no my one month old is doing it. He likes to fight me for about an hour or two at night before he finally passes out. But it just teaches me patience and I just learn more and more about my baby. Stephen and Lucas have been having father and son reading times. It is really cute. He has kinda been on a Dr. Seuss reading kick. Lucas usually falls asleep but once in a while he listens and just stares at his daddy. He is still a big snuggler. And I absolutely love it. I hope he never grows out of it. He just wants to snuggle with mom and dad all the time and I just love feeling loved by my little boy.
We sold our car this week. Which was a huge blessing and will help us out a lot financially. So now we are back to a one car family which is fine with us because we have barely used the other car all winter anyway.
Also the last season of Lost started this week which we are quite excited about. I'm interested to get some questions answer. And with the first episode they already answered some questions but also got a few more new questions. So season 6 here we come...
Today I'm going to be starting the woman's bible study at my church. I'm pretty excited about it. I am involved in the youth at the church and the children at the church but not the ladies at the church so I think it is going to be really fun to go and it is going to help me grow as a mom, wife, and lady.

Snow...Snow...Snow

So once again another week as come and gone for the Taylor household. Lucas is growing to be such a big boy. He moved out of newborn diapers this week. We are on to size 1. We had a little bit of a scary moment as I was changing his diaper a scab from his circumcision got ripped off and lets just say it was a little bloody so after Lucas had his freak out and mom had her freak out we realized it wasn't as bad and it is once again healing up nicely. He is still a very snugly boy and just loves to cuddle with his mommy and daddy.
Also this week my best friend Kelsey turned 20 years old. And we had a murder mystery party for her at my house. It was fun we had 7 people over to play and we laughed and joked and dressed up all silly. I made yummy spaghetti and this amazing peanut butter cake which I have to say I have consumed way too much of. Happy Birthday Kelsey Rae!And last but not definitely not least, starting on Saturday we got a crazy amount of snow. We have way too much snow. Stephen got stuck outside our house and everything. So to say the least me and Lucas are stuck inside for the next few days. Hopefully the snow won't last long but they are predicting more next week so I think it might be a while. So if you need to know where we are I believe we are officially snowed in....

2 Weeks

My little boy is now 2 weeks old.
This past week has been quite a big week for our newborn.
All of his umbilical cord is now off!
He got circumcised!
He weighs 8lbs 9 oz now!
He stayed with Nana for the first time by himself.
He has even grown out of some of his newborn clothes already!
He is just growing way to fast for mommas liking. The biggest thing we had to encounter this week was his circumcision both he and momma did not like it at all. It was gross looking and he cried every time you changed his diaper and he was just so sad and pitiful. But when we went to the doctors he had gained another 4 oz! The doctor checked him all out and she said we had a very healthy boy, everything was good. Which is such a relief you always worry that something will be wrong but nope he is a healthy boy. He also got baby sat by Nana for the first time. This was the first time he has been away from mommy and daddy. And lets just say when mom was suppose to be focusing in her meeting I had my mind on my little baby pretty much the whole time. He also started with a new favorite thing. He wants to sleep with mom and dad. I mean granted he sleeps really good in his bassinet but this past week he has preferred his mommy and daddy and we have evidence for ya...
I mean he is just so cute how can you say no?....right?

Stop and Listen

So I've started this new devotional book and the first day it talked about the story of Martha when Jesus came to visit her and her sister Mary. Martha was so busy doing things FOR Jesus and not spending time WITH Jesus. I took a look at my own life and I realized that I can catch myself doing that a lot. Stephen and I are involved in lots with the church and we DO a lot of things FOR Jesus but how much time do we really spend just being WITH Him. I just need to get my priorities in order. Especially since Lucas has come into our lives I feel like I can find a million things to do instead of just stopping and spending time with my Savior. So right now daddy has Lucas and mommy is spending time in her Bible and worshiping her heavenly father.
Luke 10:38-42

Diapers

Diapers
That is what my life has become. It is amazing how much diapers a baby can go through. I mean everyone always tells you, you go through a lot and I had this mental image about how much "a lot" is and well I was off by a lot.

This cute little thing
Can produce this
In just a matter of a few days.
Thank goodness for the diaper genie or we would be swimming in diapers I think. And we would probably smell horrible too! But on the bright side of so many diapers at least I know my baby is getting enough to eat! We went to the doctors on Monday and he had gained 2 oz from his birth weight. So they said he was just a healthy boy. Speaking of healthy boy I hear him crying so before he wakes up dad I better go get him!

one week

It has been a week since our son was born. Stephen and I love being parents! But it is definitely emotionally draining. I think we have felt every emotion under the sun this past week. We have felt happy, excited, relieved, blessed, loved, proud, encouraged, and just plain wonderful. But we have also felt frustrated, angry, inadequate, scared, nervous, and lonely. Weird how all these emotions can be going on all in one day. But I know that every time I look at Lucas that this is exactly where we are suppose to be and that I wouldn't change anything for the world. He is the best and watch out ladies he is way to handsome he will probably blow your socks off! We gave him his first bath a few days ago he did not like that and I realized I didn't like giving it to him. He was just so sad and I felt horrible that I was the one making him that way. But then I had to think of all the times in his life where I am going to make him upset just for the simple fact of protecting him and that I'm going to have to get over it and learn that it is more important sometimes to make your child mad and upset than the consequences if you don't. Stephen and I have also felt truly blessed for all the people that have come and visited and our friends that have provided meals and company for us. We are seriously some of the luckiest people in the world. I have also had to deal with a different emotion this week, I have actually missed work. I think I just miss the routine of it all and I definitely miss the girls. And I miss it because I was good at it. I knew what I was doing. And I've realized and felt that with being a parent I don't really know what I'm doing sometimes. I just know that I love this child with a love I didn't know I was able to. And maybe that is all that really matters I mean essentially is to just love and you'll figure the rest out as you go!

LUCAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After long anticipation our son Lucas finally arrived! He was born on January 2nd, 2010. He was 8 lbs 3 oz. and 20 inches long. What a great way to start off the new year. Stephen and I were getting a little discouraged because we really wanted Lucas to come before the first but the new year rolled around and it didn't look like Lucas was coming any time soon. Stephen and I had decided that on the first we would have a few friends over for games and a movie. We finally got everyone out of the house by 12:30 a.m. A few hours later at 4:00 a.m. I woke up to my water breaking. About a million emotions hit me right then. I was nervous and scared and happy and a little bit more nervous and scared. Stephen and I packed up the car and worked our way up to the hospital. I wasn't feeling any contractions yet but by the time we settled and got admitted into the hospital I started feeling them. And the next 11 and a half hours was the most painful crazy time ever!!!! But I did it all naturally which I was quite proud and when it was all over the pain was definitely worth it. We had our very healthy son who everyone says looks like me. I still can't believe everything we have been through the last few days. Last night was our first night with Lucas at home with us and we were kinda scared how it was going to go but he is a good eater and a good sleeper it is mom and dad who have to adjust now! We are feeling pretty good today though trying to fit into our new role as parents. This blog is going to be dedicated to that adventure and watching our son grow up and become the man of God we know he will be.