Baby Ryan is here!

Finally! We are so happy Ryan is here safe and sound. We are just soaking him in and enjoying the first few magical days of having a newborn. We think he knew exactly what he was doing coming when he did. First, he was thinking of me and didn't come on my birthday. Second, he was thinking of Kent and came on a weekend so that he wouldn't have to ask for too much time off work and we would have a full week with Kent next week. And third, he was thinking of the kids because as of January 21st the hospital where I delivered lifted an age restriction that said that no kids under 14 yrs old could visit at the hospital, so the kids got to come and see us and have that special moment. It was so sweet to see how the kids loved him at first sight and had to take turns holding him over and over and over.

Here are his stats:
born: January 22nd at 7:44am
weight: 8lbs 6ozs
length: 21 inches

I wish I had some digital copies of the pictures of when Jack was a baby (we were old school then and just had a film), but we think they look SO much alike. Oh, and his offical name is: Ryan Morris Taylor. Morris is Kent's middle name, Kent's dad's middle name, and Kent's grandpa's name. We love him so much and are so thankful for him!

O.K. You Asked For It!!!

Alright, here is to hoping that no weirdos, strangers or just that very few people actually look at this blog. After having gone through two pregnancies and not having a single picture of my big 9 month pregnant belly, I decided that like it or not, it had to be done. Hopefully no one is sickened or offended by the skin picture! (mom or dad!!!) Still no baby, but I'm relieved that it won't be on my birthday. Here's to hoping for tomorrow :)

The New Mini

Here she is: the new minivan. We don't have a name for her yet. (we always name our cars...it's tradition since I first met Kent and he drove "Gina") I have LOVED it! I will admit that I'm so glad we decided to get the leather and automatic doors. The kids think it is a playground and they always try to jump out of the door right before it hits them when it is shutting. We are official now: the Mormon Minivan drivers.

40 weeks and counting...

So, you're all probably amazed at that I'm actually posting, but more amazed that I'm still pregnant! Me too! This is what happens when everything on your pre-delivery checklist is done and you have nothing else to do while you wait to go into labor. So now it is the eve of my birthday and while before tonight I was doing everything you could think of to get this baby to come (including a run to the park) now I'm going to sit on the couch and try not to move a muscle for the next 27 hours. Call me selfish, but I really don't want a baby on my birthday. A baby is a great present, an incredible present, but it is still awesome whether it's on your birthday or not. Just because I'm writing about it, I'll eat my words and it will happen tomorrow. Everyone needs to combine together and pray that I can hold off for one more day, then in our little family we would have birthdays on the 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd. We'll keep you posted...

Saying Goodbye...part 2

Jordan made a (somewhat forced) New's Years Resolution of no more binkies! We were blessed to catch her on the right day, at the right time, in the right mood. I wanted her to give them up willingly and knowingly. We told her we would take her to the toy store and buy a new toy if she would throw all her binkies away. She was a brave girl and actually didn't even hesitate as she threw them into the dumpster in our parking lot. That night and the following were pretty brutal, but by the third night she did great. She has actually been a little better behaved and not as whiney.

Saying Goodbye

For almost a year Kent has been driving our 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix with the transmission not working very well. It would pop out of gear every time he turned left. Good thing on this way to work in San Jose everyday he only had to turn left once. With baby #3 on the way we decided it was time for a minivan, so we decided to donate Kent's car and keep our other car. It was kind of sad to say goodbye to it. It almost had 200,000 miles on it. It was a great car. We'll miss "Goldie."

Christmas 2009

We had a nice Christmas at home in Palo Alto again this year. We did go to Half Moon Bay on Christmas Eve. It was a beautiful day and had fun exploring around the point near the Ritz. We had a really fun night with our friends the Asays, Steigers, and Johnsons. Janet did an incredible job making her house and the dinner table look so fancy and festive. The kids acted out the nativity and we played a few fun games later. Our little family has started the tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve and then reading "The Night Before Christmas" right before going to bed. Christmas morning was so much fun. I LOVE watching the kids open their gifts. Jordan would have been set with her stocking full of candy. That occupied her for a long time and she didn't even bother to open some of her presents for a while. Jack on the other hand tore into everything he could as fast as he could. When he first got on his bike in the living room he was a little tippy and unbalanced (it is really big for him), he got off of it and said, "it could be for next year!" He really loves it now and I feel like I have to really cruise along on my bike to keep up with him. Jordan loved her new dolly, dolly clothes, tea set, and cash register. Poor girl came down with a fever on Christmas day and was pretty wiped out by the afternoon. We missed being with family, but love being able to give our own kids lots of time and attention. We had the missionaries over for brunch and walked to a park with them. It was a sunny, beautiful day. Oh, Kent got me work-out clothes (I guess I really have to start working out after the baby comes) and he got me a bluetooth (since I got a ticket for talking on my cell phone while driving my car about a month ago). Kent got a surprise trip to Las Vegas to watch BYU play in their bowl game. He met Kenneth down there and I think they had a great time. Thanks to Emily for arranging that!

Jordan's 3!!!

Jordan and her two friends Abby and Emily had a princess party for their 3rd birhtdays. The three little girls were born just 6 days apart. They got to decorate crowns and have a special visitor from Cinderella (a girl in our ward really did have a job in Disneyland as Cinderella and even has the dress and glass slippers!) The girls were mezmorized by her. Jordan actually isn't into the the Disney princess thing, but did like getting her picture taken with her. The picture of Jordan in the princess dress was only obtained after bribing her to put on the dress. She's funny. She's a bit of a tomboy, but loves the color pink and playing with dollies.

Jordan's Ballet Recital

Jordan and her little ballet group performed a sugar plum fariy dance at a recital in December. They did pretty good performing on the spot. We liked it so much that we had them do it two times. Right in the middle of the second time through, Jordan ran to me announcing to everyone that she needed to go potty! I guess that's better than peeing during a performance!

Christmas in the Park

We've made it a yearly tradition to go down to San Jose to Kent's work to see Santa and then go to Christmas in the Park. They have hundreds of Christmas trees decorated, fun little Christmas scenes, entertainment, and our favorite a ferris wheel ride.