Ok, so it's time again to update! I was feeling a little lazy this morning so I skipped school and decided to blog instead. Wise choice, I know. Wow, time flies so fast! I went to register at school the other day and my advisor and I sat down and looked at what I have left. Summer school, Fall Semester, Spring Semester in methods, and then Fall Student Teaching, the GRADUATION!! I knew it was close, but thank the Lord it's closer than I thought! I'm so ready! I got a scholarship for the fall and attended a reception so I could meet the donor. It was so cool. Their daughter was a teacher in Pampa who died really young, so they created this scholarship in her honor. It was so nice to be able to personally thank them for paying for me to get to attend school. Awesome!
Now on to what everyone who reads this really wants to know . . . what's up with Taylor these days? Well, two things I'm super proud of. She is going potty all on her own. She's been doing this for a long time, but now she's really good at it! Here's a super cute picture of her in her panties! She loves fun panties. These have Elmo and balloons on them. Her favorites are these ones with bright colored stripes on it. She really likes to pick out her own clothes. It's funny in the morning when Jackie picks out stuff. She says, "Daddy, that don't match!" She loves shoes, wonder where she got that from? She has a closet full! There are shoes all over our living room floor thanks to the two of us!
One other thing she has learned to do is blow her nose. Now, this might not seem like much of a feat, but if you have ever tried to teach someone how to do this, you know it is! We still have to use the ball booger sucker, but not very often! I can't believe how much she has learned lately. She knows all her letters and can count to 20. She is working on learning how to write her name. She loves to ride on her scooter. We are still working on the bike, she just has no interest in using the peddals. She LOVES to play chase. However, when you get close to catching her she sits down. We tell her she is cheating when she does that. The other day at Mom and Dad's we were all playing chase in the back yard and she sat down and said, "Granddad, I'm cheating." Her favorite thing outside by far is her tower. Jackie has been building her this awesome play tower. It has a slide, ladder, rockwall, and a rope ladder. She is always playing on it. She can climb up the slide and down the rope ladder now. That's a big deal. She is always climbing on stuff and jumping and running. She is an artist. She is always coloring and drawing and wanting to paint. I really like that. We have really cut back on the amount of movies she watches. It's made a huge difference in what she has learned lately. The movies she watches are Dora and Veggie Tales so they have good content, but it still is tv. I am really starting to believe all those studies that say how bad it is for your kids.
Yes, I know she has an OU shirt on. We were all needing a break so in March we took off and drove to OKC for the weekend. It was a much needed get away. While there we had to stock up on OU hats for Jackie because we can not find them anywhere for less than $20. We just won't pay that for his work hats. Well, while there Taylor insited that she needed an OU shirt because she has a lot of Texas Tech stuff. So, I gave in. She wanted to wear it right away. While in OKC we went to the zoo. They have a really good zoo, except for a few things. One, the elephants were in Tulsa making more elephants. Then the train was broken, and the giraffes were not out where you can see them. Taylor's favorite animals are monkeys, tigers, giraffes, and elephants. So we got to see half of her favorites. We had a lot of fun and she got a blow up giraffe there, so it was a great time! We did get to see a rhino, and she said, "Mommy, he's freaky!" I laughed, but it gave us a great chance to talk about how God makes people and animals in all different colors, shapes, and sizes and they are all wonderful, not freaky!
At the end of March, we drove to Dallas for a skin cancer check up. I have been so disappointed with the dermatologists here in Amarillo. I saw one right before we went to OKC and really was so frustrated. He didn't listen to my concerns and walked out of the room as I was asking him a question. I got in the car and was crying and called Jackie. He was so kind and patient. He said, why don't we just go see your other doctor you used to see and really liked. So that's what we did. It was so good to see her again and catch up! She is amazing and made me feel so much better. We removed a few spots and all is good now! While there I took Jackie and Taylor around to all my old favorite places. We were only there one day so it was hard to cram it all in, but we did pretty good! We took Taylor to the Rainforest Cafe. She did really good. She got a little scared a few times, but overall did great! She loved the fish, she always does!
That morning when we got dressed I had brought her a dress to wear with some sandals because it was already over 80 degrees there. She said, "Mom you forgot my pants!" She loved the dress! We are for sure going to need more of these before summer really gets here!
They have a carousel in the mall, so of course we had to stop and ride it! She also got her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. It was such a great picture. She has the cutest look on her face! We had a great trip, but were exhausted when we got home! Jackie drove much of the way so I could study in the car. We stopped so many times, but that's how it goes with a little one travleing too!
Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Not because of the eggs or bunnies, but because of what it's really about. Jesus dying for our sins and then rising from the dead! It has been hard to explain that to Taylor, but we have been working on it. The first time we talked about it. We talked about how Jesus died on the cross and was buried in the tomb. She said, "just like my Papa!" We said "Yes he died like Papa did, but God made Jesus wake up and come alive again." She had a hard time understanding why Papa wouldn't wake up but Jesus did. We talked some more and I hope she understands. When I ask her why we celebrate Easter now she says, "Jesus rose up from the dead!" So I think that's great for a three year old! We colored Easter eggs to put on our table. Mom and Dad came over and went to church with us and ate Easter dinner with us. It was a great day! Taylor was so excited to have them come to our church. After church we ate and then we hunted eggs and opened her Easter basket! It was so much fun! She looked so pretty and was so proud of all her eggs. One time was enough for her though. She wanted to play not look for more eggs.
Jackie and I have been teaching the 6,7, and 8 year old class. It has been so much fun! Last week we talked about baptism. I used one of Taylor's dolls and an illustration. When she got in the car after Sunday school she noticed her "baby" was all wet. She asked me how she got wet, and I told her we were talking with the kids about baptism and she helped me. Later in church she looked over at me and said, "Mommy why did you Babitize my baby?" Of course, she is loud and everyone around us laughs, but I was embarassed. She had a rough time in church last week, but I hope next week will be better. Sundays are a long day for her, but usually she does great!
Well, we bid farewell to the Macrocab Christmas truck last week. We are giving it away to someone because we fianlly afforded a new car! Jackie's poor truck. He has always been such a trooper and never complained about it once. While, I on the other hand complained about it all the time. See why I want to be more like my amazing husband? We talked about buying one in October, but really felt like we needed to wait. So, we saved money and paid off bills and now we are the proud owners of this . . .
A 2005 Ford Escape! We LOVE it! It has a 6 disc CD player. That is Taylor's favorite feature becuase she can listen to whatever song she wants when we get in the car. Her favorites are Big, Big House (Come and go with me to my Father's house, It's a big big house with lots and lots of rooms) and Down (I get down, He lifts me up, I get down, He lifts me up) by Audio Adrenaline, and Down in my Heart (I got the love of Jesus down in my heart Where? down in my heart). It's so much fun to watch her sing song about Jesus and how much she loves them! Three is a testy age, but most of the time she is a super sweet loving little girl! We are planning our summer vacation to Nashville, TN. We will be driving and taking the new car, so if anyone had any suggestions on things to do let us know! We will be going to see Graceland (Elvis's home), the Hermitage (Andrew Jackson's home), Grand Ole Opry, ride a big paddle boat, ride a duck, and maybe squeeze in DollyWorld, but it's a little bit of a drive. I will post pics from that trip after we get back!
