Trick or treat

Today is Taylor’s very first Halloween. Which means starting tonight and lasting until she makes us stop, we will be dressing her up in ridiculous costumes and letting her know that for once a year it’s totally okay to accept candy from strangers. As long as you give your Momma some of your candy. Lots and lots of candy. Mmmm… candy.

And two nights ago, after Taylor went to sleep, Chris and I opened a bottle of wine and carved our pumpkins on our living room floor. And mid-carve, we realized that we needed this pumpkin practice because next year Taylor’s going to be old enough to help. Which means that Daddy is totally going to be Mr. Pumpkin Guts Remover for the next umpteen years. The stringies gross me out. We had a blast and created our best pumpkins ever. It’s fun to have fun.

Finger licking good

Well, we are on week three of solid food and it’s clear to say that Taylor is still LOVING her sweet potatoes.

She loves them so much, as you can see, that she devours her hands after each spoonful in order to savor every bite. Which is flattering for me, because I actually cut, steamed, peeled, pureed and froze these morsels. But it also concludes that we’re going to have start saving for etiquette lessons.

Mama, I’m coming home

That’s right, bloggers. The Famous Amys traveling band will be visiting the motherland for Thanksgiving. I haven’t been back to Iowa since January, and that was just a quick solo trip in order to have my parents rub my preggo-belly for good luck. And now that Libba and Dirk have confirmed, it’s going to be a good old fashioned Young family throw down. I can’t wait to show Taylor the farm and introduce her to her Uncle Will, while Chris is looking forward to hunting birds and drinking Fat Tire, and Ruby is eagerly awaiting the chance to run, run, run to her knee and heart’s content. Cross your fingers that she’s healed. Do it. Cross them.

SO. Who else of my sassy blog buddies will be back in Pirate territory for Thanksgiving? I’m still pretty bummed that I missed some of you at the Doxtad-Vollmar Wedding aka the Wedding of the Year aka A sneek-peek of James opening for ACDC. So maybe we could meet up for adult beverages? At a kid-friendly arena, of course. There are a lot of itty-bitty cheeks out there I am looking forward to squeezing, and I’m sure most of you have been itching to get your hands on these…

Come waste your time with me

Five years ago today, Chris and I stood on the side of a mountain and promised to love and honor each other for the rest of our lives. There in front of God, our families and closest friends, we exchanged our vows and began to mold ourselves into the friends, spouses and parents that we are today.

And let’s not forget the party afterward. I’m pretty sure Homewood is still reeling from that Midwest invasion.

Happy anniversary to us.

The sound of Chris's heart melting

I wonder if it will have the same affect on him when she's sixteen and wants to borrow the car.

So a ladybug and a duck walk into a bar…

Today was one of those beautifully perfect autumn days that are usually reserved for postcards. Leaf season in Asheville is to die for, and watching the trees turn into pops of yellow and red help remind me exactly why we live here. And since Chris was working, Paige and I decided to make a few mommies-special-coffees, dress the girls up in their Halloween costumes and find some pumpkins for a photo shoot.

And while the concept of our little munchkins hamming it up in their costumes sounded like a good idea, we were hard pressed to get very many smiles out of them. I’m sure they were uncomfortable in their gear, but we had to have some sort of a trial run before Halloween. I mean, baby’s gotta work the charm to get Momma some candy, right? Not to mention that Taylor’s ladybug costume is almost too small for her. Looks like we’re on baby slim-fast for the next few weeks.

By the end of the hour, Elliot had ripped her hat off and Taylor was eating her shoe. And while the babes didn’t have a blast, the Moms did. Maybe it was the coffee.

Sippy, sippy

Now that my Taylor-tot is six months old and eating real food, everything I’ve read says that I should start introducing water into her diet. I’m all for it, especially if it helps resolve some of the digestive issues that have surfaced as a result of the sweet potatoes. Moms, you know where I’m coming from right now. Grossness.

Anyway, the books and experts all suggest using a sippy cup, and not just putting water in her bottle. Because using the bottle would be way too easy for me. Yes, now that I’m juggling her newfound mobility and the never ending need to be entertained, let’s also coerce her into learning how to drink from a new and totally confusing sippy cup.

This is obviously something we’re going to have to work on. After a few days of practice I can finally get her to put the spout in her mouth, but instead of drinking the water she blows back into the cup. Resulting in water shooting out of the airhole and up her nose, and then her throwing the cup on the table. But at least it’s spill-proof. And apparently Taylor-proof as well.

Professional Grandparents

We are all coming down after having Chris’s parents here last week. Taylor is adjusting to not having someone singing, dancing and playing with her 24/7, and therefore I am having a hard time doing ANYTHING that requires not holding her. Even though Greg and Sue have only been grandparents for six months, I would say they’ve got the spoil-your-grandchild thing down pat. They once again exceeded the normal definition of generosity, indulging Taylor in enough clothes, toys, kisses and hugs to sustain a small country. And she returned the goodwill with enough smiles and giggles to last them their long drive back to Texas.

We were also lucky to have the three-fourths of the McGaw family visit us from Virginia Beach over the weekend. The McGaws are such good friends they’re practically family, and it was wonderful to finally be able to introduce Bill, Diane and Ashley to our baby girl. On Saturday the guys golfed and we girls went to the WNC Nature Center for Hey Day, where we introduced Taylor to a few furry friends and people watched.

Here we are waiting for Lloyd the llama to spit on us.

Having a blast with Erik the horse.

We even braved taking Taylor to church on Sunday at the Basilica. I only had to step out with her during the first and second readings, otherwise she did alright. And I stress ALRIGHT. The days of me enjoying a church service are long gone. They are now filled with me lining the pew with soft, quiet toys and sippy cups. And to reward me for not losing it along with her, Greg and Sue treated me to pancakes and sausage afterwards. We then tested Taylor’s rocking ability on one of the itty-bitty chairs outside, to which she totally redeemed herself by just being cute.

And yesterday, right before Greg and Sue left, we made a quick stop at the pumpkin patch to pick out our Halloween decorations and get a few snapshots of Taylor.

So, as you can see, we had a busy, fun-filled week with the grandparents in town. It’s always hard to say goodbye to family, especially when we are a million miles away from everyone. We cherish any chance we get to spend time with those we love, and we hope they all know that our house is always open to them.

Six months old

Happy half-year birthday, my sweet Taylor-cakes! My girl is six months old today. And looking at pictures of a brand spankin new Cora Michelle, I have to concede the my child is no longer a newborn. She’s a BABY. And now that Taylor’s been out of my belly for six months, why in the world am I not fitting into my skinny jeans yet? I blame the cheese and the peanut butter. Or maybe it’s because I don’t want my daughter to have the only thunder thighs in the house. My protective momma-bear instincts have already kicked in.

Yes, a newborn she is not. She’s a happy, healthy six month old baby, as proven by the doctor this morning. My daughter’s new stats are 19 pounds, 4 ounces, and she is 27 ½ inches long - Still placing her in the 95th percentile of all six month olds. All of her clothes have 12 month tags and she wears a size three shoe. We actually had her feet measured at the shoe store, and then they tried her shoes on her. Like a real shopper. It was a significant milestone in her fashion history. And last week she moved into stage three Pampers Cruisers. I’m pretty sure the next step up is underwear.

Last week we had a few friends randomly drop by and as soon as Taylor saw them she got the frowny face and threatened to cry. I was immediately concerned that I was raising a timid crybaby, and my sister also encouraged me to socialize her. And while I’m not quite ready to drop her off at the YMCA daycare, Paige and I decided to force her and Elliot to play last week. And while it took Taylor a minute to warm up to Paige, she immediately went after Elliot. Pretty aggressively, actually. So my daughter’s more of a bully than an introvert. Great.

This month saw a lot more action and physical maturation. I’ve already noted that Taylor’s scoots and rolls her way around the nursery, and now that she can sit unassisted, she is so content just sitting and playing with her toys. And I love watching her try to figure out her toys, what buttons to push and rattles and shake. You can actually see her thinking, and I know I’m a bit prejudice, but I’m pretty sure that my baby’s a genius.

And yesterday morning, after two consecutive nights of not great sleeping, Chris brought Taylor into our room early-early and I just fed her in bed. And after we got done nursing, we snuggled under the covers with both of our heads on the same pillow, and I just sat there and kissed her forehead while she babbled and cooed. Mamama. Dadada. And after each adorable outburst, she would look up at me and grab my face. And I can say, without hesitation, that it was one of the happiest, most fulfilling moments of my life. And if this is the amount of love that I have for her after only six months, I’m pretty sure my heart is going to explode by the end of the year.

My little sweet potato

Right after I found out I was pregnant, I was all, I am going to be coolest, hippest earth-momma ever. Mostly to blend in with my fellow hippy-dippy Asheville mothers. Because peer-pressure doesn’t end in high school. So I threw away the harsh cleaners and over-processed foods and started buying organic and natural whenever possible. Aside from refusing to use cloth diapers - Sorry, Mother Earth - I wanted to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Including making Taylor’s baby food.

So now that my nearly six month old baby girl is ready for solid foods, I went to Green Life the other day to purchase the organic sweet potatoes and pears in order to have a baby food making party in my kitchen. I found the sweet potatoes no problem, but was curious if I could get the pears already peeled, cut and frozen. I mean, Momma’s got to save time for blogging and reading her People magazine, right? And when I got to the freezer section, there, right next to the organic fruit, were frozen organic baby fruit and veggie purees. Already peeled, cut, steamed, pureed and frozen in the appropriate fashion. All organic. All natural. And the earth-momma integrity scale in my head shifted and forced me to put them in my basket.

And just so I’m not a total poser, I immediately went to the bookstore afterwards and purchased a baby food cookbook. And as soon as we’re through with these wonderfully easy frozen pockets of goodness, I will start making and freezing her food. Maybe.

Well, regardless if I made them or Happy Baby made them, we are on day five of sweet potatoes and Taylor absolutely LOVES them. We have temporarily said buh-bye to the rice cereal. The book I purchased suggests waiting four days before introducing another new food, just in case of allergies, so tonight we’re going to try bananas. Her reaction is priceless. And with Chris’s parents visiting, we let her Grandpa give her her dinner the other night. And his 50+ years experience of licking the cake batter bowl clean allowed him to salvage a few extra bites out of the dish that most people would have rinsed out. Taylor was in sweet potato heaven.

Cashing in

Yesterday morning, Taylor and I made a quick trip down to Cashiers to visit with my Granddaddy, Aunt Jane and Great Aunt Lula Rose. Lula Rose summers in the mountains, and Granddaddy and Jane came up for the weekend to help her transition back to Birmingham. Of course they were all super excited to see Taylor. Everyone loves a baby. Especially one that smiles a lot and has cheeks the size of catcher’s mitts.

It wasn’t a long visit, but we had enough time to take a short walk, eat lunch and catch up with everything. My family holds such a special place in my heart and I cherish any chance I get to see them. Taylor was an absolute dream during the visit. She was super cute and outgoing, and wore herself out as she slept the entire ride home.

And then, as if the day couldn’t get any more exciting, Chris’s parents got in late yesterday afternoon for their visit. Which means that my little girl will be held, coddled and played with nonstop for the next seven days. And I’ll have a babysitter. So I can run errands without an 18 pound baby on my hip. Hallelujah.

And we’re back

Whew! That was horrible. Two whole days without the Internet. I broke out in hives. What did Stay at Home Mom’s do before the Internet? How did they stay up-to-date with celebrity gossip or Google baby illness symptoms? Luckily, not only is my man extremely good looking, but he’s also an amateur computer repairman. To which I totally rewarded him with a shoulder rub and silence during the Cubs game.

So what does a person do without Internet connection? Well, drink LOTS of coffee and have Paige and Elliot over to play. At first the three month age difference between Taylor and Elliot felt like three years, but they are slowly starting to even out. Elliot is getting so big, she now has FOUR teeth and is crawling. And now that Taylor is sitting up, the two of them were able to play by themselves for the first time. And by play I mean grabbed at each other. And as if that wasn’t cute enough, we added bows.

Technical Difficulties

Well, all of the swearing at my computer has finally taken it's toll. We are having some serious problems with our computer and Internet connection. So until it gets fixed, Famous Amys will be on hiatus. Sorry for the inconvenience.