Fun Weekend

Just thought that I would post some cute pictures from our weekend - on Friday night, we had a surprise party for Matt at our house to congratulate him on his promotion to manager at E&Y - way to go Matt!! He works so hard - TOO hard for my liking - but what can you do? Taylor helped me color posters for him...she was so excited for all of her friends to come over...

She had her first soccer game on Saturday, which was a much anticipated event at our house (at least for Matt). She is playing on Coach (Uncle) Jay's team with her one (and only) teammate Brockie! Yep, it is just the three of them - only two on the team - the dynamic duo.

How cute is she??? I love the uniform :)
Sadly, Taylor wasn't having it this Saturday - she just wanted her sucker. (The one we used to bribe her to play for more than 30 seconds). So pretty much most of her playing time was spent whining, with me dragging her up and down the field.She was still the cutest soccer player there though!! (Brockie was almost as cute...)

Definitely Matt's Daughter....

This morning when she woke up, Taylor stayed in her bed crying. (I know the difference because she is usually banging at her door, saying that she is done sleeping). I went in and asked her what was wrong....

Taylor - "I scared."
Me - "You're scared? Of what?"
Taylor - "Of the dinosaur..."
Me - "The dinosaur?"
Taylor - "Yeah - the dinosaur. I fight him with my muscles..."

Classic.

It has been awhile...

Well, Matt is back home visiting Virginia this weekend - after a short business trip to Baltimore - and Taylor is at a Grandma sleepover tonight - and I am so sick of seeing my last post on here - SO I will attempt to give a quick update of what we have been up to! Jackson is GROWING!! Way too fast for my liking - he is so sweet and wonderful - and might I just add that he LOVES his mommy :) I am definitely his favorite person - with Taylor coming in at a close 2nd (sorry Matt - it is the truth).

He was blessed back in the beginning of August - this is the afghan my mom made for him - so pretty.We then just went to Las Vegas this last weekend for Jordan (Matt's brother) and Julianne's (Matt's sister) babys' blessings for Baby James and Baby Allie. We decided that it would be fun for us to first have a quick little family trip to Laughlin, NV - just the four of us. SUCH A BAD IDEA!!! Who goes to Laughlin??????? And who goes with a 3 month old and a toddler??? NO ONE. Regardless - it is already fun to laugh about now (now that we are home) - and we will never forget it. We stayed at the glorious Tropicana Express - for a few reasons - it boasted of newly renovated rooms. True. The hot-pink painted and creepy hallways...not renovated. Second reason was that it has a train that runs through it that you can ride. Taylor is TOTALLY into "choo-choos." The only problem: train runs Saturday through Wednesday; we stayed Thursday and Friday...ah, but of course. Highlight of the trip (and I am not joking) - finding a Target, Kohls, and Burger King on the outskirts of Laughlin for our Friday night activity :).

Taylor did well in the car - thanks to crackers, M&Ms, juice, and Care Bear DVDs.

This is the gang - leaving the hotel - on our way to Vegas - hallelujah.

Goodbye Laughlin - may we never return again.

We have spent the rest of the last few months hanging out with family - playing with cousins - and of course - sleepovers at Grandma Janet's. This is Taylor tonight getting ready for Grandma's (minus the whole getting dressed and doing her hair part) - she loves her backpack.

Another highlight of this week was that I was supposed to go and get another crown put on one of my back molars - and instead, the dentist told me that my tooth was past the point of saving and he PULLED MY TOOTH!! So, I am officially 85 years old. My hip replacement is scheduled for the Fall. It was a terrible experience - and of course, it was the day after Matt left on his long weekend trip. Fabulous. A big thank you to my grandparents for my terrible teeth...my mom just informed me that my grandma had dentures in her early 20's - so I guess I am doing well, considering.

Just some more cute pictures - my cute little Taylor Tots and her Buddy Boos...

Me and my sweet little Jackson - I couldn't ask for a better baby.

Taylor and all of her favorite people - her "friends" and cousins...

Taylor and the boys :)

Happy 4th of July!

Well, Jackson made it through his first 4th of July! This is of his 2 boy cousins closest in age to him - for now - Talon and Beau. He will be getting two more next week! One this Monday - and one the following Monday - assuming all goes as planned with his Aunt Ashley and Aunt Julianne. Take your pick of baby...small, medium, or large :) Boys, boys, and more boys! And this isn't even all of them! We are missing three more from my family - and four more from Matt's. Crazy. I had to take the picture from upstairs to fit them all in.

And what would the 4th of July be without Grandma's "God Bless America" march - my mom taught all of the kids that song - and gave them the hats and the flags - and they cannot and WILL not stop singing it! Taylor always asks to sing "Amereeki" - I am pretty much done with the song.

The March of the Cousins...We all went swimming at Aunt Lori's house for the 4th - Taylor has been in lessons now for two weeks - she is almost swimming all by herself - it is crazy how quickly they learn - and crazy how fearless she is. It makes me pretty nervous.

Swimming to the side by herself....

Coloring Disaster

The culprit....she knows she is busted. Serves me right for leaving her alone for 30 seconds...

More Pics of Jackson and more...

First outfit - the one that I wanted him to wear ended up being too small! I bought a collection of 3 outfits in Preemie size - dumb idea.

Taylor taking care of mommy - she wanted to sit with me in my bed.

Another picture of Jackson - day 2. He is such a cutie!

This is Taylor meeting her little brother for the first time. I am not sure what she thought about the whole thing. She seemed much more concerned with mommy's owies than with the baby. But it was a really cool moment for me to see her with him.

There is really no feeling as awesome as this! When they hand you the baby - and he is healthy and darling! He looked EXACTLY like Taylor did when she was born. It was such a huge relief to have him out and know that he was okay.

We waited in the triage for two hours before the surgery - I was really calm at first - but the more time that went by and the more nurses and doctors that came in and talked with me, the more freaked out I became! About 15 minutes before I had to go back, I decided that I had changed my mind, and I would much rather leave and go and get a cheeseburger instead :) (I am not very good at fasting.)

Right before we left for the hospital...Taylor was excited to go and play at Emma's house...

Jackson is here!

Jackson James Peel - born Wednesday, June 11th at 5:33 PM. He was 8 lbs 6 oz.

Now are family is at four!