Buh-bye

Yesterday was Chris’s last day at the Country Club of Asheville. Of course he is thrilled to begin his new career as a Financial Advisor with Wachovia Securities, but is was hard to say goodbye to the membership and his coworkers. He had been at CCA for over six years – That job is the reason we packed up and moved to Asheville. And we are both very grateful for the friendships formed and experiences shared while he worked there.

We also had to say goodbye to Ryan yesterday, as he packed-up his Jeep and headed back up north to start his next adventure. I can’t stress enough how wonderful it was to have my brother-in-law staying with us for the past month. And not just because he helped with the cooking and cleaning, mowing the lawn, planting flowers and running Ruby. Ryan provided some much needed comic relief after Chris’s knee surgery – No one makes my husband laugh harder than his brother. And no one can beat Chris as badly in video games as his little brother either.

Taylor will of course miss having her uncle chase after her and swing her in the air.

And the Rubes is so depressed she can hardly eat. Her buddy gave her more attention in the last month than she had gotten since the princess was born.

And I will miss having Ryan around to share in the daily adventures of motherhood.

So, yes, yesterday was a bit emotional for everyone. But today we are packing up our swimsuits and party hats to join my family on vacation. Tomorrow morning we are dropping Ruby off at the kennel and then making our way down to Birmingham to join my family and help celebrate my cousin, Matt, graduating from high school. On Wednesday we are all making our way to the beach, where we will be swimming, tanning, drinking umbrella-drinks and watching Taylor-tot run in the sand. The Young family hasn’t all been together since Thanksgiving, and add on the Graffeo’s and my Granddaddy – Let’s just say I feel sorry for anyone who will be within a two-mile radius of our house. It’s gonna be a party.

My little tulip

This week’s weather was about as perfect as it can get in Asheville, 72-degrees in a beautiful Carolina-blue sky with a cool mountain breeze. Heaven. And while Chris has been busy putting in his final days at the Club, Ryan and I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and take Taylor to the Arboretum on Wednesday. Asheville has both an Arboretum and a Botanical Garden, and while I don’t know what makes one different than the other, the Arboretum was featuring a Bonsai exhibit so we picked that one. And because we had just got our hands dirty planting flowers the week before, Ryan and I appreciated all the hard work required to keep everything alive and manicured more than the average spectator.

Taylor started the adventure rather unamused in the stroller.

And then we made the mistake for getting her out for a photo with her Godfather.

And after that brief taste of freedom, she decided she was done with the stroller. Well, done RIDING in the stroller anyway.

If you’re happy and you know it

Another reason Asheville is one of the best places to live is the impressive music scene. Last weekend the region celebrated LEAF (LakeEdenArtsFestival), which basically collaborates both local and national artists and musicians to raise money for youth outreach programs. And as an aftershock to the weekend, The Lee Boys put on a kid-friendly performance at the Orange Peel on Monday morning. And because we LOVED The Lee Boys performance at last year’s Xmas Jam, we decided to check-it out and take Taylor to her very first concert. If you don’t count when she listened to a Black Crowes concert two years ago while she was first existing in my belly.

The Lee Boys specialize in a form of soul music that jumps from blues to gospel, which essentially results is a lot of dancing. And for the first few songs, just Chris, Ryan, about 25 kiddos and myself were the ones dancing while Taylor-tot played the wall-flower. A wall-flower with a kung-fu grip around my leg, which made it pretty hard to boogey.

But then, while she and Chris were taking a time-out, The Lee Boys played If You’re Happy and You Know It. Which, lucky for us, is one of the three songs that Taylor knows, and it forced her to loosen-up and start to bounce and run with the rest of the kids. She was a natural – And we are some proud parents.

Business in the front, party in the back

Something I failed to mention in my monthly archive is how long Taylor’s hair has grown in the past few weeks. Well, mostly in the back.

Yes, my baby has a mullet. And all is want to do is wrap some pigtails into those curls, but every time I get close to her with an elastic band or barrette she grabs them out of her hair. So we’ll be going with the Redneck-chic look this summer.

13 months old

So, I bet many of you thought I’d be done sharing my monthly Taylor-tot updates now that she’s the big O-N-E. You’re wrong. Let’s just plan on the tenth of each month being dedicated to my daughter and all of her cuteness. Mark it on the calendars - Taylor Day. And I guess since today is technically MY day, and every other mother on this planet’s day, my daughter and I will share the tenth this month. Just like we’ll share an ice cream sundae tonight.

And if I do ever miss a month, just assume that either, A) I finally invented a time machine to stop her from aging at turbo-speed, or B) The exhaustion of motherhood finally took it’s toll. The only thing that will change with the monthly updates is I’m deciding to nix the date-placard. Mostly because I was running out of crafty ways to display it without her shoving it in her mouth or bursting into hysterics.

I can say, without a doubt, that the best part of her twelfth month of life was having her Uncle Ryan staying with us. She has enjoyed having Ryan here about as much as eating birthday cake. Not only is he another person to watch cartoons with, chase and tickle her, but he can make her laugh just by looking at her.

And he apparently doubles as a teething charm, as Taylor has cut three teeth since Ryan’s been here. Her mouth is twice as full as it was a month ago with six teeth. Which makes her look more like a little girl than my little baby. And one day the teething pain was so bad that we had to take an emergency trip through the Sonic drive-thru to get her an apple juice slushie. And she was so excited by her new treat she danced around the room. Until she got brain-freeze and spiked the cup on the floor.

Other big one-year milestones that we passed this month were ditching the formula for cow’s milk, which she loves, and turning the carseat around so she can look out the front. Which has made my car-time much more enjoyable as I’m frequently turning around at stops to grab her thunder-thighs and make silly faces.

She found a new toy-love this month with a baby doll that my friend Chele gave her for her birthday. I must say, Taylor’s an equal opportunity employer when it comes to her dolls, as she still give lots of love to her other baby. She pretty much has one of them attached to her at all times, which is cute, but also makes it hard to click her into her carseat, bathe or feed her without dislodging her baby de jour.

We worked a lot on name recognition with her this past month. It’s amazing how much she already know – At night, when we’re ready for bed, I’ll say, Taylor, let’s go UPSTAIRS. And she’ll totally bee-line for the stairs. She clearly recognizes her name, Momma, Daddy, Ruby, Baby, Book, Kisses, Hugs and a few more. And we can now include Belly and Nose. We’ll say, Taylor, where’s your BELLY? And she’ll stop, pull up her shirt and slap her tummy. It’s about the cutest thing in the whole world. Especially the other day when she was wearing a onesie and couldn’t find her tummy. Panic.

So my little baby is practically a toddler. Even Ryan is shocked by how much she’s changed in the past month that’s he’s been here. Month 12 was one that brought lots of growing, learning, teeth, personality and new faces. Miss Taylor put together enough new expressions to fill a book last month. Some that make you shake your head -

And some that make you laugh out loud –

And some that melt your heart -

Slightly used golf shirts for sale

So we have some exciting news to report from the Amys house as Chris accepted a new job as a Financial Advisor with Wachovia Securities last week. After weighing all the pros and cons of switching careers for some time, he followed his head and heart and began interviewing with a few local finance firms a few months ago. And then he found the perfect opportunity with Wachovia Securities, and they decided they found a perfect prospect in Chris. Which says a lot to get hired in the finance industry during the worst economy in decades.

It will be hard for him to leave the Country Club of Asheville after more than six years, but his sights are now set on the stock market for a paycheck and the golf course for entertainment. And, let’s be honest, after his knee heals, he’ll be able to actually PLAY golf every weekend. Yes. I will have my man home EVERY WEEKEND. Many of you nine-to-fivers take two day weekend’s for granted, but the only days Chris and I have had off together for the past six years are Mondays. And we also get holidays together. I am very much looking forward to the first Fourth of July we’ll spend together in the ten years we’ve known each other.

Back to his knee, he’s recovering at lightening speed following last month’s surgery. His doctor was amazed at how fast he’s progressing and that he can already walk without crutches, drive and ride the stationary bike. He’ll be running after Taylor in no time.

So his last day at the Club is Saturday, the 16th, and then we are leaving to join my family at the beach for the following week. He’ll start with Wachovia Securities on the 26th, and he then celebrates the big 3-0 on that Saturday, the 30th. So, yes, we have lots of excitement coming our way.

Another breakthrough

Miss Top Left joined the party in Taylor’s mouth late last week.

And, not to be outdone, her bottom set of chompers cut through a fourth tooth yesterday. Yes, lots of teething in this house. And lots of Oraljel. And even more vino.