Noah David turned ONE!

Our Sunshine Noah David turned ONE July 2. We celebrated with a poolside birthday party full of family, friends, and lots of joy! Noah David really is a sunshine...bringing so much light and brightness and happiness to our lives. His huge smile, sparkly big blue eyes, cotton top head, and "squishy" rolls are all pieces that make up the masterpiece, of our Sunshine, NOAH DAVID! Being Noah David's mother has been a profound experience an opportunity. He is so full of joy and has flooded our lives with that joy. Noah David started walking the eve of his first birthday and enjoyed this new skill at his party! Below are some pictures of Noah David's party. (I mixed up the order of the pics, but oh well!)

Mmmm...cake! Better eaten with a spoon, Mama!

See? Wanna try?

Opening presents is so much fun!

Sunshine balloons and tule sunshine in the pavilion.

Sunshine cake and smash cake.

Noah David's new favorite song is "Happy Birthday"...he's about to blow out his candle here!

The Sunshine food table...

Noah David LOVES balloons or "bawuuuu" as he calls them!

Noah David's gift table; our party guests wrote special notes to ND in the sunshine book for him, celebrating the first year of his fabulous life.

Mmmm....

Daddy and Daniel Isaac remain two of Noah David's favorite people in his world, and they return the admiration in abundance! ND wakes every morning saying "Dada and Daa", his version of "Daddy and Daniel Isaac"...so sweet.

A special thanks to Heather and my mom for all of the help with the party (and Dad for cooking)! Also thank you to everyone there to celebrate this blessing's first year of LIFE...Daddy and Daniel Isaac of course! Grandmama and Papa, Nana and Pops, James, Hilary, Elijah, Adin, John David, Jess, Hannah, Grandmother, Race, Heather, Caroline, Pierce, Holt, Eli, Ana, Josh, Alli, Noble, The Baker Bunch-Jamie, Cynthia, Hannah Beth, Micah, John-Mark, Jonah. We love you all and are so thankful to have you share Noah David's special day!

Beach Fun!

We've enjoyed another great beach vacation...with my family this time in Watercolor (still oil free, thankfully!). The boys love the water and have worn themselves out faithfully each day! We are so thankful for this family time and to Mom and Dad for providing such a beautiful family trip...full of great memories for all of us! See a few pictures below...

Dumplin' and Buddy

The Boys (Daniel Isaac, Dad, Noah David, John David)

The girls! (Hannah, Sarah, Mom, Jess)

Beautiful, pregnant Jess and John David...Baby Jake due in September! We can't wait!!!

Daniel Isaac smiling...yes, he was bribed with candy. :)

Crazy shot...this is pretty accurate.

Pops and Nana

My three sweet, wonderful, handsome super heroes!

One big, happy family. :)

Long time, no post

Daniel Isaac giving ND a Mommy milk bottle when I was having a girls' night out. So sweet...

DI and ND riding in those cars at the mall on the day we searched this whole town for cute velcro tennis shoes wide enough to fit DI's feet. No luck, but ordered some great ones online!

Daniel Isaac enjoying ice cream at this cute little candy/ice cream shop in Homewood the day we went to B'ham with Daddy for work.

Noah David enjoying something...he refuses to eat anything unless he sees US eating it. It must come from our plate or look similar enough for him to even try it. I quit buying baby food and baby cereals months ago. Little stinker. What a doll!

So...it's been a very long time since I have posted in blog land or even read blogs for that matter. Life has been busier than usual, and I am soaking up these two boys and Daniel as much as I can. Daniel Isaac and Noah David continue to grow and amaze me more every day, and being their mama is the greatest role I've ever filled.

Daniel Isaac's imagination continues to soar. He makes up elaborate stories and sees the world differently from anyone else. It's beautiful. He has vivid dreams that are sometimes ok and sometimes really scary. He told me the other night, "Mommy, I'm scared. I feel afraid." So I proceeded to do the whole "fear talk" with him about how God is protecting and watching over us, and when I got the Bible out to read some verses on being afraid, he lit up and said, "I know, 'Do not be afraid, for your prayers have been heard.'" He learned that particular verse at CBS and what's more wonderful is that the Word is not only written on his 3.5 year old heart, but he knows how to use it...he knows how to draw his sword. I have a feeling Daniel Isaac will need to keep his sword drawn for most of his life, and I'm praying that each of the pieces of armor will also remain on him as he grows and learns...and as the enemy attacks. Ephesians 6:10-19 will become the next verses and lessons that will fall from my lips, hopefully onto his heart for a permanent implant. He loves super heros and warriors, and he is truly brave at heart.

Daniel Isaac's SonShine preschool is finished for the summer until next year. I am really glad to have all day every day with him, but on the other hand I cannot say enough wonderful things about this program (it's at First United Methodist Church in Opelika). His teachers, Libby and Virginia were so wonderful and fun and patient with him. They taught and corrected him, and they really knew and embraced him. We will hopefully post some video of some of his performing at school soon. :)

Noah David is growing so very fast. He is a super fast crawler and stomps like a dinosaur all through the house. He is quickly pulling up and has stood on his own a lot but then plops down on his bottom. He likes "walking" while holding our hands, and I think he's going to be so thrilled once he masters walking on his own. He loves to explore, but he remains pretty cautious while doing so. If he finds a "choking hazard" as we call them, he usually holds it up to me first with his eye brows raised like "Is this ok?". He can say several words including, MaMa, Dada, dog, ball, water (wawa), woof, leaf and a variation of Dada for Daniel Isaac. He loves water and gulps it down like it's liquid candy. I'm just relieved he can ask for it now with his little index finger pointing to the kitchen "wawa" "wawa". His big blue eyes, white-blonde hair and big grin are captivating to all passersby. He's very friendly and waves at everyone he sees any time we're out and about. He squawks at them to get their attention some times if they aren't properly acknowledging his wave and grin. Noah David is the loudest child I've ever heard. He squeals and squeaks at ear-piercing decibels, whether he is happy or mad. It's a habit that I reaaaalllly hope ends soon. If not I will have to purchase a large pack of ear plugs and not only wear them but hand them out to the general public any time we leave the house. :) He continues to bring us loads of joy and wonder. I cannot believe he will be ONE in just a month. Where has the time gone?

Daniel continues to be an incredible husband and super-hero dad. The boys adore him. They cry...no sob, when he leaves for work in the morning and are beside themselves with glee when he returns in the evening. He's been really busy with work, but he remains so good at making sure he's present with us and making us a priority. He really is our hero. We adore him and couldn't ask for a better husband and daddy.

We enjoyed a WONDERFUL trip to the beach with our bff's the Cannons week before last. We had 7 kids ages 5 and under, so it wasn't exactly quiet, but it was a BLAST! The kids loved the ocean and pool and sand. Noah David enjoyed several samples of eating the sand and would've crawled straight into the ocean if we'd let him. Daniel Isaac, Caroline, Pierce and Holt enjoyed jumping the waves and playing in the sand. Eli enjoyed running free along the shore line with a grown-up at his heels...both always laughing with delight. Seeing the beach through the eyes of a child is refreshing and fun. The grown ups got a double date one night, which was AWESOME. On our way to the restaurant, we rode in silence and then all laughed at how wonderful that sound was. :) Heather and I got some great girl time, thanks to the Daddies, which was long overdue and so much fun. We are indeed blessed to have such wonderful friends and to have had such a wonderful time making unforgettable memories!

Well, that's a little update on life with the Taylors. Hopefully, I will at least post pictures this summer of all the fun we're having. OH, and I'll have to post pictures of our home as it's coming along getting "freshened" up and as personality is being splashed back into it. ;)

Thanks and praise be to God our Father, the author of our lives!

Quick Update...

Here are a few blurbs...more will follow with updated pictures and VIDEO of Daniel Isaac's Spring performance. :)

Noah David...

~ is crawling and officially "into" stuff. He doesn't like for me to be out of his sight for too long, so that (so far) has minimized too many mishaps.

~is pulling up! I wondered how he'd develop this skill since he doesn't sleep in a baby bed, but he has not wasted any time figuring out how to get to the couch or a chair or one of us lying in the floor to pull up. He can't figure out how to get down from a standing position yet, which is sad and funny all at the same time when he's "stuck", but it'll be only a matter of time before he's chasing DI around this house I just know it!

~ is also VERY proud of his ability to wave and clap and dance. He giggles at himself and his new tricks.

~has two bottom teeth!

~has begun taking naps in his pack 'n play in DI's room. (sniff sniff) BUT he's done GREAT and loves to be able to stretch out.

~as of last night, slept some of the night actually IN the co-sleeper and not right beside me. We're all having to adjust to this, but since he's been crawling, he needs more space to move around in his sleep...sweet boy. We all still love sleeping closely, though.

~weighs 23 lbs and 3 oz. and can fit into DI's 18 month clothes...we'll get more of an update at his 9 month check up soon. Still enjoying nursing a lot and lots of different food. Big tub of joy!!!

~continues to be super happy and delightful. He is such a joy and is truly a gift and blessing. Wow, we adore this precious squishy angel!!!

Daniel Isaac...

~reported last night that he plans to ask Caroline to marry him when he is 4, 5, or 10 years old. He also plans to get her a "jewel" instead of a ring. He says it will be a pink jewel.

~told me he wants 15 kids when he's a daddy. We may need to warn Caroline now.

~officially looks like a "little boy" and not a toddler. This is both happy and sad.

~LOVES tumbling and is really good, too!

~LOVES anything super hero, and wore his cape to CBS and slept in in last week. And yes, he fully expects to be called by whatever super hero he's impersonating that day. Thank Goodness for sweet, understanding teachers. And yes, he does fly from furniture.

~is hysterical, smart, adorable and totally delightful. Below is the most recent laugh we got...

Daniel was asleep with Daniel Isaac in his bed this morning. (Sometimes Daddy falls asleep lying down with him and is so tired from all his hard work doesn't make it to his big boy bed with Mommy...and while Mommy and brother miss him terribly, we think it's really sweet and know it's a special treat for DI, so we don't wake him) DI wakes up and says...

DI: "Daddy, it's light time!" (He makes this announcement every morning at sunrise or just before)

Daniel: "How can you tell?"

DI: "Daddy, I'm an expert in light time."

Daniel: "Oh."

DI: "I'm also an expert in ice skating."

Be looking for another post with pics and video soon!

DI & ND @ 7 months old

Noah David...sweet boy!

Daniel Isaac...sweet boy!

These boys bring so much joy to our hearts and home!

Snow Pictures! (better late than never)

We got to experience the snow with our best friends, the Cannons. Daniel Isaac had a blast throwing snow balls at and with Caroline, Pierce, Holt, Daniel and Race. Here are a few pics!

A Wal-Mart conversation to remember...

(This picture was taken in our bathroom during bath time, not in the Wal-Mart restroom...actually the picture has nothing to do with the blog...I just wanted a pic of both boys to share.) :)

Friday I went to Wal-Mart with both boys...Noah David in the sling and Daniel Isaac riding in the buggy helping. It was our "big" trip, so I had really geared Daniel Isaac up to be big helper. He did wonderfully!!! He helped put items into the buggy and then helped unload them onto the check out counter. He also reminded me of the items he didn't want me to forget: marshmallows, strawberry milk, and a special snack for his p.j. movie night with Nana and Pops. Noah David happily napped most of the time when he wasn't grinning at fellow Wal-Mart shoppers.

So...we successfully get all the groceries bagged and out to the car, and as I'm unloading, no stuffing, them into the car and Noah David is waking up, Daniel Isaac declares, "Mommy, I have to go poo poo! Now! Hurry, hurry!" So, I say, "Baby, do you think you can hold it until we get home?" To which he replies, "No, Mommy, I can't hold it." So I hurry to get all the bags stuffed into our trunk piled on top of all of our card board that needs recycling and rush back inside Wal-Mart...ND still in the sling seeming to giggle, looking from my eyes down to his brother, knowing what's going on and DI running beside me holding my hand. We make it into the restroom and thankfully the large stall was open! Except the toilet wasn't flushed, and it was one of those automatic kind. Daniel Isaac explains to me, "Mommy this is the kind of potty that flushes all by itself," as I'm trying to figure out if there's some little button or trick to flush it. So we patiently waited for the automatic potty to realize it needed flushing while Daniel Isaac did a wiggle poop dance. We finally make it to him seated on the potty (meanwhile I'm praising the Lord for elastic waist band pants that he can pull down himself!!!) and he gets into conversation mode...

"Mommy, I'm gonna do a biiiiig poo poo."

"Good, Baby."

"Mommy, it's gonna be a loud one! [Makes poop sound effects with his mouth]"

"Yep."

[He goes.]

"Did you hear it, Mommy?!"

"Yes, sweetie."

"It was loud! " [More poop sounds from DI's mouth to recreate his moment.]

"Mommy, now you need to wipe my booty." (Thanks for the reminder, dear.)

"Mommy, this potty is going to flush all by itself!"

[We wait for potty to flush...forever.]

[Potty flushes.]

"Bye bye, Poo Poo!" Daniel Isaac yells and then adds a few more poop noises for effect.

Then the three of us emerge from the stall to a full bathroom of smiling, giggling women waiting their turn for the automatic potty, Daniel Isaac totally oblivious to his audience. What freedom and innocence...well, that's one way to look at it. Another by stander might think, "That mommy should work on teaching her child about potty mouth and manners..." :)

I walked out of Wal-Mart with my heart beaming in gratitude to our Lord for entrusting me with these two boys and for the opportunity to get to be their mama...and experience their poop emergencies.