Savannah!

Daniel Isaac, Noah David and I ventured on over to Savannah, GA to visit Dorsey for a few days last week. We had a blast, and it was so wonderful getting to visit with sweet Dorsey who is due with her first baby next month.

ROAD TRIP! We only stopped ONCE on the way to Savannah! We stopped at a gas station when DI urgently expressed his need to teeee-teeeee! It JUST SO HAPPENED (thank you, Lord, for taking such extra special care of the boys and me!) that the gas station we stopped at about an hour from Savannah had a mini PETTING ZOO, and the boys and me got to feed the animals! What a fun way to start our road trip!

Road trip oh yeah!

GOATS!

Llama and geese! (The llama was really ugly, and DI was much braver than me to feed it!!)

Sweet brothers visiting the geese, goats, llama and emu!

Noah David INSISTED on feeding the goats after observing his brother's enthusiastic feeding! He loved it and was so brave!

Daniel Isaac feeding the greediest goat of all! So funny!

Playing at a park Dorsey took us to in downtown Savannah.

The boys and me sliding at the park!

DI (aka "Flash" that day) swinging all by himself...he can pump his legs so well to swing really high!

Noah David loved riding the duck!

Dorsey took us to the Mighty 8th Air Museum...super cool!

A REAL fighter plane we could touch!

Fighter bomber...and two really cute boys!

Spray park on post right down the street from Dorsey's house. Such a fun way to play and stay cool! The boys and Mommy LOVED it!

Look at the squishy lovin' on that back! Yum!

Dorsey and the boys in downtown Savannah Saturday night at the candy store. Dorsey let DI pick out his very own tin lunch box (Power Rangers he chose and he hasn't put it down since!) and fill it with candy from huge barrels that he got to pick out! WOW!!!!

Yummy...enjoying our candy!

And our only stop on the way home was at Lane Peach farm. We ate lunch and played on the playground and tractors before heading home to Daddy who we all missed so much!

Thank you, Dorsey, for giving us such a wonderful time! Your cooking was so yummy, and we loved getting to be with you and have so much fun!!

Daniel Isaac's First Day of SonShine Preschool 2010

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!