Christmas Fun!

What a wonderful Christmas! We started the week out on Sunday in Kilgore with Chad's family. Taegan had a great time playing with her cousins Emma and Brady. We enjoyed lots of good food, good fun and good company. We left Kilgore on Monday and headed for Pasadena to my family. Again we enjoyed lots of good food, good fun and good company. We stayed at my parents until Saturday and headed home that afternoon. It is always good to enjoy a nice long visit! Once we got home Christmas officially ended as the tree and decorations were packed away for another year. Taegan loved Christmas this year...especially the presents! As another year comes to an end we have many happy memories to reflect on! I hope you and your family enjoyed Christmas as much as we did!

A pink guitar?!?!

All throughout the month of December when Taegan was asked the question "What do you want for Christmas?" her answer has consistently been a pink guitar. She loves music and she loves to play and sing with her daddy. One night when he was playing and singing I asked her if she wanted to go listen to him not surprisingly she headed upstairs to him. While standing beside him watching she told us she couldn't play because she didn't have a pink guitar. Well, last night we exchanged our gifts and you will never guess what Taegan got...well you might. Taegan got a pink guitar! She was so excited. It needed a little tune up job so when she handed it to her daddy she told him to be very careful because it was very special. We had several mini concerts as the night went on with some beautiful playing and singing. Here is a little bit of one of her performances...the song is a Taegan original!

We rode the train!

On Thursday Chad picked Taegan and I up school and we headed to Palestine to ride the Polar Express. Taegan was dressed in her Christmas pajamas and very excited about riding the train. During the drive over she would ask if we were going to the train and tracks. When I told her yes that we were on our way she would look out the window and say "I don' see the train and tracks." She was very excited when we finally arrived at the station. As we waited for the train to arrive she was very excited. When the train pulled in to the station it was a little loud for her, but with her fingers in her ears watching it pull up to the gate you could see the excitement in her eyes! We boarded the train and the adventure began. First, the conductor came and punched our tickets, Taegan couldn't get over the mess he had made on the floor, then we were served hot chocolate and chocolate Santa's. Soon we came upon the North Pole and saw Santa and his elves waving as we rolled by. Much to every ones surprise after a short stop in the North Pole Santa came in to our train car delivering reindeer bells! On the way back to the station everyone sang Christmas carols. You could hear the bells ringing and the laughter and happiness throughout the train. A fun time was had by all!

We saw Santa...

On Tuesday Santa came to school to see everyone and take pictures. Taegan was excited that he was coming, but when it came time for pictures she didn't have anything to do with him. At the end I finally convinced her he wasn't so bad and she reached out and touched his finger. I think she did it just to please me, so I could get a picture. She is very excited about him coming on Christmas, but still isn't sure what she wants him bring. She said surprises are good, but the one think she does want is a pink guitar so she can play with daddy!

Where did November go?

I can't believe it is the end of November already. I haven't had any posts since Halloween...that is really bad...especially with a precious girl like Taegan in the house. She keeps us on our toes and in amazement with the things she comes up with. She told me the other day while trying to put her hair in my mouth that her hair tasted scrumptious...where did she learn that?!? Saturday she was helping me decorate the Christmas tree and she kept trying to turn the lights off on the tree because she told me it was wasting power. Our days are filled with lots of fun Taegan moments. We are so blessed to have her in our life.

Our little glamour girl loves to get in to mommy's lipstick! Isn't she gorgeous?


She loves bubbles...inside or outside!


Every girl needs her hat!

Our fancy girl...

Taegan dressed up as Fancy Nancy for her Halloween Day at school. The kids got to go "Trunk or Treating" with their class this morning collecting lots of candy from the many trunks of parents in the parking lot. The day was then full of fun activities ending with carving a pumpkin at home with mommy!

Here is our fancy girl ready to go to school.


She had to check out all of her candy on "daddy's" bed!


Our kitty cat pumpkin!

recent pictures

Wow...October already?!?!

Where has the time gone? I can't believe it is already October. OK...where do I begin? Well...Taegan has completed her first month of preschool and is loving it! She is always singing and counting at home showing us things that she has learned. She has really turned into a little chatter box; she talks so big and comes up with the funniest things! Our dear friends in Louisiana had the most precious baby girl last Tuesday so Taegan and I went to see them on Wednesday. Taegan loved sweet baby Landry and her little nose, fingers and toes! She loved looking at her, but when she was asked if she wanted a baby at her house her answer was "NO" with a little giggle like are you crazy! Our girl knows who is queen at our house and she does not prefer to share her castle! We had some very special house guest this weekend; my mom and sister came up to visit and go to Canton. We had a great weekend enjoying the Fall weather and shopping together!

Oh boy...Preschool!

Yesterday was Taegan's first day of preschool...She loved it! She wasn't so sure when I was leaving her, but she ended up having a great time! I am teaching a pre-K class right down the hall so I got to peek in on her a few times during the day. She was always playing and having fun when I saw her. I think it is going to be a great year!

A mud bog party?!?!

Taegan went to a birthday party today for her good friend Cullen. Cullen loves to dig in the dirt and play in the mud so...he had a mud party! I wasn't so sure what Taegan would do but she never ceases to amaze me. My question before going was will she play or will she watch? It turns out she had a great time!

She wasn't so sure what she thought at first.


She decided to give it a try.


Well maybe it's not all that bad afterall.


You never know what you might catch!


In the end she decided it was fun!

My little cowgirl

When you live in East Texas a girl has to have her hat, but she can't forget her sequined flip flops!

The last bit of summer fun...

I finally downloaded the last few weeks of summer pictures.

Taegan got a new swimming pool for her birthday that we finally blew up for her. I think she got to play in it once before all of the rain came. I know we really needed the rain, but it sure is good to see the sunshine again!



We also went to the water park in Canton for the first time. Taegan's favorite part was the lazy river where there wasn't much splashing going on. She also like the outer edges of the kiddy area...you'll never guess why....well, maybe you did...no splashing there either! We went with some friends from church and had a great time!





Our summer has been filled with lots of fun and memories!

Fun at the Beach

My parents rent a beach in Galveston for a week every summer for the family. We went last week and had a GREAT time! THANKS Mom and Dad!! We look forward to the beach house every summer. It is fun to be with everyone and watch the kids play together.

Fun at Mom and Pops

We had a great visit with my mom and dad. We swam, shopped and did lots of playing! They have a lot of caterpillars in their backyard that feed on their plants and later turn into butterflies. Taegan enjoyed checking on the caterpillars everyday! If you look very closely she is pointing at one of the many caterpillars.

Taegan also has a very special friend she likes to visit with when we go to visit. She LOVES my niece's boyfriend Jacob! She talks about him often at home and always wants to see him when we visit.

Home Sweet Home

Taegan and I have had a wonderful 2 1/2 weeks of vacation while Chad worked. We spent 1 1/2 weeks at Mom and Pop's house (my parents) and then spent a week at the beach with my parents, sisters and nieces and nephews. We had a GREAT time! It is always hard to head back home and get back to normal life, but we had a couple of things to look forward to when we got home. The first was Chad/Daddy I don't think we have ever been apart for that long (since we've been married)...I know Taegan hasn't. She kept him in very close range when we got home. The second was a new bathroom! We have needed to remodel our bathroom since we moved in 6 years ago and now it is finally done. The best part was that we were gone during the whole remodel. It looks GREAT! Sometimes I just go stand and look at it. From what I hear the house got pretty dirty during the remodel process, but my wonderful husband had it cleaned for me before I got home! Here are pictures of our new bathroom. I will post vacation pictures in a separate post.

Where has the time gone....

It seems like time is just flying by this summer. We are staying very busy. Taegan has taken swimming lessons, visited some friends in Louisiana, and she went to Vacation Bible School. She has a lot of fun doing all of these things, but everyone was worn out afterwards. We spent last week having some lazy days and relaxing before the busy July 4th weekend. We went to visit with Chad's family on the 4th. Taegan had a lot of fun playing with her cousins! We spent the next day at some friends house playing and swimming. It was a great weekend, but I think we will need a few lazy days at home to rest up. Here are a few pictures of our little princess!

Taegan was doing some cooking while waiting for daddy to get home.

Cousin Emma brought Taegan a princess dress and some books.

Taegan and Daddy played everyone a little tune for the 4th.

Taegan is relaxing a little before heading out for another day of fun!

Sweet Daddy

Taegan loves her daddy! She picked out a very special card to give him on Father's Day. When we were shopping she found a very cute card with Tinkerbell on it that plays music when you open it. She found others that she liked, but they didn't play music so they didn't make the cut. I was letting her sign it Saturday night to get it ready for Sunday and again she was amazed by the song. So...the card didn't make it until Sunday. We quickly put it in the envelope, sealed it up and set off to deliver to daddy upstairs. As she heads up the stairs she is telling him she is coming with a card for him. When she makes it to him she climbs up in his lap and precedes to open the card for him and then claim it as her own. For a big hug and kiss her daddy quickly agrees that it is hers! Chad is such a wonderful daddy and Taegan is an amazingly wonderful little girl...I feel blessed beyond measure to have them both in my life!

Swimming Lessons...Oh my!

Well, Taegan started swimming lessons on Monday. I was so proud of her because she let the teacher take her under water twice. For some one who doesn't like water in her face this was huge! Tuesday was a little different. She wasn't about to go under water again, but she would go with her teacher to kick and blow bubbles. I know her neck had to be sore by the time we left from stretching it so far to try to keep it above water. She looked like a little giraffe stretching her neck out. The lower the teacher would get her in the water the longer her neck would get. It was kind of a funny sight! Today was totally different. She didn't want anything to do with the lesson at all. The teacher and I both thought that if I would stay hidden she might do better...boy were we ever wrong. She lost it today and several of the other mommies tried to comfort her, but she just needed her own mommy! We did finally get her back in the water and a few smiles even appeared. Her teacher is so good and patient! It is very hard to learn to swim when you won't get your head wet. I know Taegan and when she is ready she will do it! She gets things done, but always on her time schedule!

It's been a while...

Where do I begin? The last few weeks have been a little crazy for us. We have celebrated Chad's birthday and done some traveling. Chad and I spent some time in Nashville for the first time and had a great trip. On our last night we went to the Grand Ole Opry and saw Carrie Underwood along with some others. We had a great time! Taegan spent some time with her Mom and Pop and did some visiting with her aunts and cousins. I know she had a great time because she came home pooped! THANK YOU Mom and Dad for keeping her! Taegan is now wearing big girl panties ALL the time! Yeah Taegan!! We are so proud of her! Today she started swimming lessons. I wasn't sure how she would do because she doesn't like water in her face. I was very proud of her because her teacher took her under water several times and and she didn't completely freak out. Don't get me wrong it wasn't her favorite thing to do, but she survived. I am really looking forward to the rest of the week to see her progress. This is the short version of our time lately, but it gets you caught up to now!

Fun in the Sun!

Taegan enjoyed the sunshine today, but it was a little bright!

After deciding the water wasn't that bad

she chose to just sit in the bucket and relax!

She really enjoyed the spraying ball!

Potty...what's a potty?

Our little angel has decided that being a big girl and using the potty really isn't for her. After 3 1/2 days with no accidents I guess she decided it was too much work. All of a sudden it was like we had a little puppy in our house and I was constantly having to clean up after it. I got a taste of what it was like to live without diapers and I really liked it! I hope she decides to be a "big" girl again soon!

She's finally doing it!

I never thought the day would come, but she is finally using the potty. It has only been 3 days so I know it's just a beginning, but I hope it continues! When we went for her 3 year check up we found out she had an ear infection and came home on antibiotic. Through taking the medicine for the ear infection she ended up with a terrible diaper rash. After a day of her screaming every time I tried to change her, I decided she would go bare bottom to help her bottom heal faster. Through the time of bare bottom she started using the potty. She is now wearing big girl panties and telling me when she needs to go tee tee and poo poo. I think our little girl is really growing up!

Sandbox Fun!

Happy Birthday Taegan!

Our baby turned 3 years old today! She got a new Dora bicycle and helmet. She has waited very patiently for several months now to go get her Dora bicycle and helmet. She rode it to the front of the store and out to the car. The big THANK YOU and SMILE in the car was priceless!

After a dinner of her favorite potatos we all enjoyed some strawberry cake with strawberry icing.

Every princess needs her beauty rest after a day full of fun!

The past three years have been so much more then I could have imagined;

I can't even begin to imagine what the future holds!