The baby of the family

for approximately six more weeks! It makes me so emotional to think that my baby boy is about to be a big brother. He will no longer be the baby of the family.

These nearly two years have been so special. Taylor changed our family in big ways! He is an amazing, charming, lovable little guy and we couldn't imagine life without him.

He made me a mother of two and Andy a father of two.

He made us the parents of a son.

He made Lily a big sister.

He put me through my longest period of sleep deprivation ever by not sleeping through the night consistently until he was 11 months old.

He nursed until just after his first birthday.

He broke his right leg just after his first birthday.

He split his right eyebrow open a couple months later.

He is allergic to eggs which caused big changes! While I was nursing I had to eliminate eggs from my diet. And now I am vigilant about what he eats.

He loves his pacifier unlike his sister who never took one.

He is attached to two blue blankies and carries them around throughout the day. And sleeps with them. It's reminiscent of Linus.

He still takes a bottle.

He is all boy and makes boy noises which nobody taught him.

He loves balls. He has a good arm and people can't believe how well he throws and catches for his age.

He has huge, chubby feet and it's hard to find shoes for him.

He loves to take baths and runs to the tub when I say it's bath time.

He puts up very little fuss when it's bedtime. Usually he waves to say nigh-night and is quite ready to go. He goes down about 7 and is up between 6 and 7. And when I say between 6 and 7 I mean 6:01.

He currently takes a great afternoon nap - about two hours or so. His big sister took about a one-hour nap at this age. =) He also likes to stay in his crib for awhile and have some "alone time". =) Once I hear that he's awake I usually give him about ten minutes before I go get him. Otherwise he's a little grouchy.

He likes Mickey and Minnie Mouse. His big sister also has a Daisy Duck that he thinks is pretty neat. And she has a baby doll that he sometimes likes to carry around and give a pacifier to.

He wants to do whatever his big sister is doing. Therefore, he is done sitting in a high chair or booster. Occasionally I still try to put him in there to keep him confined during a meal (less stress for me) and he gets pretty mad. He prefers to sit in a "big person chair" like Lily.

He walks up and down the stairs and has for several months. IT MAKES ME SO NERVOUS. I finally gave up trying to get him to crawl on his tummy, because he simply wants to do it the big kid way.

He likes to sit at the kitchen table and color with Lily.

He is a big fan of his daddy. When he hears Andy come home from work he usually shouts, "Daddy!" and runs toward the door. The two of them do lots of wrestling and playing. He also recognizes Andy's workplace and points and says, "Daddy!" when we pull into the parking lot to visit.

He loves his grandparents and gets very excited to see them.

He's more cuddly than Lily ever was at this age. He's definitely getting more independent, but he'll still sit with me for minutes at a time just to snuggle. I. Love. It.

He went through a phase this year where he had a hard time being left in the nursery during church or MOMS. It seems like he's coming out of it and does much better getting dropped off lately - I attribute that partly to the fact that he's getting more familiar with the people that are in there watching him. But having my child cry when I left was new for me because Lily never cared! Her attitude was, "See ya later, Mom!" I have to admit that it was hard to walk away and leave him in tears. But we both survived!!! =)

He's very friendly and is starting to say hi to people at the grocery store, church, or wherever.

He is a SMILEY kid. He just has a great, pleasant nature and is a pretty happy kid.

He likes to brush his teeth.

He folds his hands nicely when we pray and loves to say with enthusiasm, "Amen!".

He sometimes comes into the bathroom with me (going in there alone is a rare and special occasion for me) and helps me pull my pants up! It is HILARIOUS. Such a helpful child. =)

He likes to close doors. That includes the dishwasher and washer/dryer.

He sometimes runs his fork through his hair during meals. Drives. Me. Crazy.

He likes to wash his hands.

He likes things to be in their place and is good at picking up toys. He recently accidentally knocked a container of markers off the kitchen table. He immediately got down off his chair and picked them up without being asked.

He likes to put things in the garbage. Most of the time this is pretty helpful. Other times we find things like spoons in the trash. =)

He likes shoes and likes to wear other people's shoes.

When we're ready to go somewhere he runs to get his shoes and sometimes brings me his coat, too.

He usually doesn't like when we leave Lily at preschool and has cried as we've driven off.

He is adding words to his vocabulary. Here are some of the newer ones:
hi
bye
ow
puppy
on
oat (out)
doe (door)
dar (car)
gakey (blankie)
chup (ketchup)
oop (hoop)
be (please)
a-ee (thank you)
baby
bo (bowl)
egg (thanks to Easter!)
chetch (catch)
Ninnie (this is both Mickey and Minnie)
Nana (princess tianna - can you tell that he's seen the movie with Lily once or twice??? the poor boy has seen a few princess movies!)
chubby (his sister taught him this one and it is one of his favorites to say! he says it often!!!)
bubbo (bubbles)
la-lu (love you, formerly ollie)
lellow (this is both "color" and "yellow")

Silly baby playing with one of daddy's hats

Wearing my shoes around the house

Getting kisses from his sister. Most of the time this is okay with him. Once in awhile he whacks her.

Wearing pretty beads because Lily was doing it, too. You can see another little boo-boo on his forehead. He got this one on Palm Sunday morning just tripping and falling into something.

Easter Sunday

Watching him carry that basket around and hunt for eggs is one of the cutest things I have ever seen. He was so precious.

My precious-about-to-be-a-big-brother-turning-two-in-July-boy!

We love you so much, Taylor! You are a delight and a gift from the Lord!