The Diaper Helmet

As you can see from the previous post and this one, sometimes the kids like to be creative with their undergarmets.

Taylor Rocks the Drums

Taylor insisted that we all wear our "rockstar hats". Autumn and I were quick to oblige him.

Mommy's Helper in the Kitchen

Taylor likes to help Mommy in the kitchen. Tonight they made brownies. Taylor looks pretty tough with this brownie batter gotee.

As of today, these are Taylor's four favorite songs:

1. Meant to live - Switchfoot

2. Choas - MuteMath

3. Diverse City - Toby Mac

4. Harder to Breathe - Maroon 5

Taylor's Trailer

Taylor came up with this one all by himself.

Recent Pics

I caught Taylor "reading" Autumn a book today. Pretty cute.

Taylor and Molly looking proud.

The grumpiest girl ever. This is the face she gives me every morning when I wake her up. Just kidding. Not sure what this face was for. Her little buddy, Ahna Rosenau, looks on with bewilderment.

Sibling Affection

China Music

Today I took the kids to the Nashville zoo. At the zoo they have a specific section dedicated to animals that live in China and Japan, etc. When you are walking through they have oriental sounding music playing. Taylor quickly noted:

"Dad is that China music?"

"Yes", I said.

"Dad, I think we should move to China cause they have pretty music"

I said, "I'll think about it."


BTW - Autumn has started to say "icky" very clearly now.

Baby Ruth

I have been home by myself with the kids for a few days since Kim has been on a mission trip. To kick off our special "Daddy time" Autumn left a couple of presents in the bathtub for me to clean up on consecutive nights. Maybe this is her protesting Mommy being gone. Whatever it is, we better not go 3 for 3 tonight or I am going to have to make an emergency call to Kim to have her come home right away!

The Fountain Park

Yesterday we went to "The Fountain Park". Basically it is just a very interesting series of monuments dedicated to the state of TN near the state capital. Close to one of them there are all these different sizes of fountains that shoot up from the ground. On a hot day, children of all ages come out to play in them and it makes for a great free activity for the kids. Here are the pics...

Taylor the T-Rex

For all those who haven't seen this yet...

They never cease to amaze me

A few minutes ago I was working a bit on my computer. Autumn was in her room waking up from her nap and Taylor was in another room doing who knows what. Suddenly Taylor comes bounding into where I was like Tigger and exclaimed, "I got Autumn out of her crib by myself!!!" Shock and horror instantly filled my mind as I envisioned a broken neck at worst and some bad bumps and bruises at best. But then again I didn't hear a screaming child or hear the sickening thud that usually accompanies your child taking a bad spill. Right then around the corner, Autumn walked in happy as can be. I said to Taylor, "How did you do that?!" Captain obvious said, "With my arms". Classic.

I couldn't let it go just like that; I had to see him actually do it because I couldn't believe he actually could pull this off. I marched them back into Autumn's room and said, "Ok, show me how". Keep in mind that he probably weights 40 lbs and Autumn is right around 30. Think about lifting another human being that is 3/4 your body weight over a barrier that is at about the same height as your chest and then stepping down about the length of your leg. It's quite the task.

He really did do it. I didn't know whether to give him a time-out or a high-five. I think I just said, "Dude, you are amazing".

I had to document this on video, so I made him do it a third time. You can see the result below.

Blocks

Taylor is very into playing with blocks these days. This a method that Papa Lynn taught him. Looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright house to me.


Towers are very popular for him. He was very excited about his tallest tower ever here.

Rockstar

The other day I asked Taylor who his favorite rockstar was. Usually he says Switchfoot, or Matthew West, etc. Today he said, "Myself".

rocket toes

Taylor told me today that he had rocket toes. They help him run fast and jump far. Pretty cool!

Coloring

Taylor has started having quiet times instead of naps. One day I let him take his markers and paper into his room to color during his quiet time. I was so proud at how well he was doing and how long he was being quiet without being reminded until I went in and saw this. He was doing a great job coloring, just on the wall instead of his paper. Thank goodness for washable markers!

Round II of Dress Up

Taylor takes it to the next level here. They look like they are ready to suit up for the Hawkeyes!

You look like a boy!

Taylor dressed up Autumn in his clothes today. Why she has shoes on her hands, I'm not sure. Upon further reflection, the fact that he actually was able to get her fully dressed is quite remarkable. I have a hard enough time doing it some days!

Early Mornings and Bear Feedings

Usually the kids wake up between 6am and 6:30am. Frequently Kim or I will plop them down in the chair to watch Mr Rogers so Mommy and Daddy can sleep for another half an hour.


Today I walked into Autumn's room and she was "feeding" Taylor's bear. Notice the spoon in her right hand.

Kisses

Sometimes Autumn bear the brunt of her older brother's 3 1/2 year old spaz madness, but deep down he loves her so much.

Taylor's Favorite Pastimes

Taylor loves to play with blocks. Here he has created a family of giraffes.


Like most kids his age, he also loves to make forts.

Taylor and Molly (our dog)

Taylor just turned to me and said, "Sometimes Molly and me like to lick tongues cause we're both gross". Gross indeed!

The Water Diaper

One of the great joys of experiencing the summer with your kids has got to be the soggy water diaper. Personally I find it quite entertaining. How it slowly fills and fills till you think it is going to burst like a balloon. How it barely hangs on by those two velcro-esque diaper straps. (Those babies are begging for relief from the strain.) How there is always a hink of butt-crack that shows from the water weight pulling it down. How the poor child is forced to walk a little more bow-legged from the huge mass between his/her legs. It's all pretty funny so I thought I would document a bit of it here:

Besert

Taylor calls desert, "Besert" (ba-ZERT)

Tonight after dinner he said, "My belly is calling for besert!!"

"Come on feel the noise!!!"

Taylor likes to bring the rock. Please note his "rock face". Soon he'll grow into a guitar rig of his own. If I leave my guitar out, usually this is what happens.

Autumn under the bed

Autumn got stuck under the bed this morning. It was funny to watch her try and get out. She didn't think it was that funny.

8 Shirts

One of Taylor's favorite things to do for awhile now has been to put many, many layers of clothes on. This morning he came out of his room and said "Look Dad, I have eight shirts on!!"

First Bike Ride Together

Autumn's Kitchen

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Autumn loves to play in her kitchen. Whenever she pretends to eat or gives her "customers" something to eat she says "Num, Num"


Great to see she knows where a woman's place is. (wink)

Autumn's First Words

As of today Autumn is saying, "Mama, Dada, Wow, Bye-Bye and Ball" She continues to growl quite a bit and do whatever her big brother is doing.

Mic Stands and Towers

Taylor like to "rock the mic" like his old man.


Taylor also is very fond of building towers.

Fun From the Last Few Days

Since Mommy and Daddy don't have room in the budget for a pricey work out facility, Daddy uses these two as his weights.


Taylor wanted to have Clifford get dressed just like him in the morning. Please note the pull up diaper on his head.


Daddy's shoes are very popular these days.

"How did you get to be so big?"

This evening I gave the kids a bath as Kim was out with a girlfriend. I finished up with Autumn first and as I was drying her off I marveled at how big she was getting. I said to her, "Autumn, what a big girl you are!" Then I asked her rhetorically (since she can't talk),"How did you get to be so big?" Taylor quickly replied with, "I think she ate too much."

Classic.

Sometimes they surprise you

A few nights ago I put Taylor to bed by myself. After we read a couple books out in the living I told him to go jump in bed while I had to do something quick. When I came into his room he was "reading" (looking at) a new book. He said he wanted to read this book too. So we prayed together and then I told him that he could read the book by himself and if he got tired then he could just fall asleep with the light on and I would come and turn it off later. It was about 9:10pm when I left his room as he was "reading". After I left his room I fully expected him to be jumping around in his bed or making crazy animal noises or peeing in his closet or something like that, but to my wonderful surprise I walked past his room at around 9:25 and he had turned off his bedside lamp by himself and was fast asleep! What a blessing!

Mousey

Taylor has an imaginary friend named Mousey that he likes to talk about. You would think that Mousey is a...well, mouse, however, Mousey has the rare gift of being able to turn into different animals. Whatever animal he is, most often a squirrel or panda, Mousey is very big, "like a giant". He is also often seven years old. When Taylor talks about Mousey doing something, I often ask what he is (mousey is a actually said to be a "boy-girl" but I'm not sure if this should be encouraged :)). Tonight, in line with our frequent potty theme, Taylor told me that Mousey was a toilet! Interesting, but it gets more creative then this. Taylor adds that no, Mousey does not mind if you go potty on him, he has arms and helps you get down after you're done". What a wonderful and loyal friend; he certainly will do anything for you!

Mommy and her baby

This pic was taken awhile back, (as you can tell by Autumn's appearance) but I wanted to post it because I think it is rather stunning.

Taylor's Latest Outfit

This is Taylor's latest expression of creativity in the form of bodily clothing. He did this on a Sunday morning and I tried to explain to him that he couldn't wear this to church that day. He was not easily swayed to my position.

Highlights of this outfit for me would have to be the underwear around his neck and the pull-up diaper on his head under the hat.

(FYI - if you click on any picture on this blog, it will open up bigger in a new browser for better viewing)

iPod

Today I taught Taylor how to use Daddy's iPod. A boy of three needs to know these things you know? Currently his favorite song is by a band called MuteMath and the song is called "Choas". If you are interested in Taylor's taste in music you can watch MuteMath perform this song live on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson by clicking here.

As a side note, for all those who are wondering what the heck Taylor has on in the second picture, it's just a shirt that he uses as shorts. He thinks it's pretty funny to put his legs through the arm holes in a shirt and wear it around like a big baggy diaper. He is wild.

Travel

Yesterday I embarked on an adventure with my little 16 month old, Autumn. My Grandfather, Elwood Taylor, passed away a few days ago and thus Autumn and I flew back together since Autumn is able to fly for free since she is under 2. All I can say is that small confinded spaces are not exactly ideal for a child of her stage. Praise the Lord for the glories of modern technology. Here is a pic of what kept her busy for at least 15 mintues of two 1 hour and 20 minute flights: Watching a kids DVD on Daddy's laptop.

first words

Autumn has already been saying "mama, dada, bye" for a little while. We've been waiting for more words to come, but she hasn't really seemed interested in trying to much more, at least more than once. Yesterday, while changing her diaper, I kept teasing her that she was so stinky. She normally waves her hand in front of her nose, but she actually starting saying "tinky". Great time to choose to talk Autumn! I thought maybe she would try "Taylor", "Molly", animals or any number of word. At least she said mommy and daddy before stinky :)