Update

Oh how we love this cutie!  Seriously, I know there are a lot of cute kids in the world, but come on, you have to admit this guy is so handsome.  He is walking everywhere and getting in to all sorts of trouble (his favorite things to play with are my phones, the copier, our computers, the toilet, the garbage, the electric pencil sharpener, and the tv remotes).  Anything he can't have, he wants it.  Anything he can't do, we wants to do it.  He is starting to throw little tantrums where we falls over, lays back (very carefully, so he won't smack his head) and starts to cry.  He cries everytime Jack leaves for school and Kent leaves for work.  Not so much because of them, but because they are going outside.  We've also entered that stage where he is taking some tough falls and/or hits.  He's getting confident in his walking and getting around, but has some goose eggs and bruises to show he is still learning.  His official first words or I should say sounds were, "choo, choo" and the monkey sound, "oo, oo, aa"

This is what a California girl does when her mom says, "Jordan, lets go play in the snow!  Go get your snow pants on."  Clearly, she did exactly what I said, but didn't know that snowpants, unlike a swimming suit, go over all your other clothes.  You got to laugh, this was her first time seeing snow since she was one year old. 

Now, this is more like it.  Hitting the beach in mid-January. 

 Jordan's 4 years old!  She had a Minni Mouse party with a few of her friends that were still in town before Christmas. 

 Jack's kindergarten class celebrating Chinese New Year.  He loves school and riding his bike there everyday and I love that he only has 14 kids in his class.  Jordan's learned to ride with no training wheels lately, so now I'm running after the two of them trying to keep up. 

This kid has great hair.  He sported a faux-hawk for a "wacky hair" day at school.  We've been trying to get him to let us cut it for weeks, but he whines that it keeps him warm during the winter. 

As for Kent and I, we are doing good.  Kent has been super busy with work (it's busy season!) but helps me out a ton in the morning getting everybody up and ready for the day.  Ryan's been waking up early lately and Kent takes him most mornings, letting me catch a few more minutes of sleep.  I'm forever busy with the kids, apartment managing, primary, and just trying to have fun every day.  We love California and can't believe we've been here 6 1/2 years now!  Will we stay forever?  Who knows, but I still feel lucky to be here.

Sir Ryan

Little Ryan is getting more mobile by the day and is getting more and more fun to play with.  The other day Jordan put this knight helmet on him.  He thought he was grand and loved it...for a minute anyway.  He is TEN months tomorrow!  He started really crawling in the last two weeks and is now standing up to everything and walking along all the furniture.  He also is standing up in his crib and screaming like a mad man during the night.  We've had the older two sleep in the living room the last tthree nights to have him "cry it out" again.  It's like the moment he wakes up he stands up and starts jumping in his bed and then doesn't know how to get back down and go back to sleep.  Fun times here at the Taylor house.  Good thing he is like the cutest little guy in the world.

Stanford fans?

So, we've become Stanford football fans this season.  Kent and I got to go to the Stanford/USC game and then Jack and Kent went to the Stanford/Arizona game.  We just ride our bikes down the road about a mile and a half to the stadium.  Jack loves watching football and can get a little emotional when the team he is rooting for doesn't win.  We've had fun following them this year, although our hearts are still in Cougartown. 

Whale Watching

When I heard that a blue whale had washed up onto a beach about 40 minutes from us near Pescadero, I knew I had to go and check it out.  It was incredible.  It was about 80 feet long.  It was injured by a boat.  It was pregnant when it died, so you could see the baby whale (in the last picture it is the long white thing you see to the left of the mom).  The kids thought it was fascinating, especially Jack who could have stayed and studied it for hours.  Due to the awful smell, I limited it to about 15 minutes before we headed to the other end of the beach.  Now I can imagine that Jonah really was swallowed by a whale.  Before seeing this incredible mammal, that story seemed a little "fishy."

Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween!  I know it was a week ago but we are still dressed up over here.  We had a great Halloween this year minus the traditional trick-or-treating.  Between Jordan's joy school party, Jack's school parade, class and school parties, and our ward party we got our fill of costumes and candy.  

I like 'em BIG, I like 'em CHUNKY!

I like 'em round, I like 'em plumpy! That's our Ryan these days. (sorry, if you haven't seen Madagascar 2, then this probably isn't that funny). He is three months now and is probably 16 pounds. At 8 weeks he weighed 14 lbs 8oz., so the 16lbs is a guess, but he's not getting any skinner that is for sure. We love him and just want to eat him up. He is smiling a lot now and my favorite is when he starts cueing and talking back to me. (not like the other two talk back, just sweet sounds and I'm sure he is saying how much he loves me and thinks I'm the best mom...at least that is what it sounds like :)

Katie's Cupcakes

My dear friend Katie made the most beautiful and delicious cupcakes for Ryan's blessing dinner. They were amazing and I had to make a special post just for her. Thanks Katie!!