November and December!

November was a very exciting month!

On November 7th Tony and Taylor took me out for my birthday. We had a dinner at Johnny Carinos and they wait staff there was amazing! It was 8pm when we finally sat down for dinner and Taylor was beginning to get slap happy. She was a bundle of energy, and was having a great time. Because our birthdays are one week apart, Taylor tried to explain to everyone that it was my birthday and hers was the following week. But in two-year-old language, it becomes a little jumbled. At the end of our meal the waitress brought out an ice cream mouse for Taylor and I to share for our birthdays! Taylor thought it was so cute!




On November 14th Taylor turned three! Our little girl has officially become a "Big Girl" and she will tell you so! On her birthday, November 14th, we had a birthday party in which many of her friends came. Many were from school and many were from her home life. It was a great success, and the weather was one of the best days we could have asked for! It was the middle of November, sunny and 60 degrees! The kids were all able to play outside, and the party itself was a lot of fun! The theme of the party was Dora the Explorer, so the cake, balloons, and decor all matched. Taylor received a lot of fun things for her birthday, among them was a bed, stroller and high chair set for her babies, which she absolutely loves! She also received a new Barbie, a Dora doll, Wonder Pets figures, Disney Princess sets, Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, and Memory. All the kids received a little gift bag too!
After the party ended, Beth, Dave Corrie and Mike stayed and we all went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Milford. Taylor loved the food and had a great time! We then went to Brighton to go bowling! Taylor had a lot of fun rolling the ball down the lane, but her favorite part was the fan on the ball return! Cosmic bowling began around 9pm, and Taylor thought it was really neat! Taylor had so much fun that on the way home she asked "Do we have to go home?! This has been a great day!"









Thanksgiving was spent at Tony's Mom and Dad's house, with Uncle Marc and my mom. Dinner was amazing and everyone had their fill. During dinner Taylor and my mom played "bad guys" with spoons and awesome sound effects. They were absolutely adorable! Bushka, Taylor and I played Candyland and then Keith, Jenny and Jessica arrived. Shortly afterwards we all headed home.




December was the month of Christmas! December 5th we went to the Toledo Zoo to see the "Lights before Christmas." It was a cold evening, but well worth it. The amount of lights that were out were awesome, but Taylor was a little sad that the animals were not out. That is until we realized that Santa was there! She was very excited, and even knew what she wanted to ask Santa for for Christmas! While waiting in line, she ran around the auditorium and played, but when we got really close she began to get very excited! When it was our turn, she walked up to Santa and looked at him and paused... Santa asked what she wanted for Christmas and she she shyly replied "doggy stickers." They took a picture and she ran up to me and said "I told Santa what I wanted!" It was wonderful!




Throughout December her preschool began a little project in which every child was able to take home "If you take a mouse to school" and the stuffed mouse. Taylor had her turn and was very excited to play with him! He ate dinner with us, played with Taylor and even slept with Taylor. When the day was complete, we wrote in the book what they did together and placed a picture of Taylor with Mr. Mouse.



On December 21st, Tony's family came over for dinner and gifts. The dinner was great, with ham, beans and a casserole. Everyone ate and then we opened gifts. Taylor received an amazing doll house with a ton of furniture! Everyone was very happy with the gifts they received, and Kayla even sang to us on her new Karaoke machine!





December 22nd was the Christmas party at Taylor's preschool. They sang songs, read stories, played "Where's Rudolph" in which Taylor was a reindeer twice, and made a Christmas tree out of food! But the best part was a visit from Santa! Each child brought a book to exchange, and when they saw Santa they recieved a book! Taylor was very excited! the children sang for Santa and his helper read them "The night before Christmas."




December 23rd we all went over to Marty's to celebrate Bushka's birthday, which falls on Christmas Eve. Marty cooked an amazing dinner, and Taylor received a Christmas gift from Marty, Elyse, Bruce and Beth. Taylor and Bushka opened them and were very silly with what she got! The shirt, sweater, pants and dress are adorable!



December 24th Bushka, Grandma and Papa came over for dinner and gifts. For dinner we had Golumpki and mashed potatoes with an apple pie for dessert. After dinner everyone enjoyed the complany and talked for a while before opening gifts. Because it was Bushka's actual birthday we got her some flowers from Taylor. When it came time to open the gifts, Taylor ripped them open! She recieved some pretty cool things! She got a Dora plate set, some puzzles, and a Zhu Zhu pet! After dinner Taylor, Daddy and Bushka sprinkled "reindeer food" on the snow so that the reindeer woudl know where to go. After everyone left we put our cookies and milk for Santa, and Taylor headed off to bed.





Christmas morning Taylor woke up and immediately asked of Santa was here. When Daddy explained that he came while she was sleeping she replied with "I missed him?" We ran downstairs to see if the cookies and milk were gone, and sure enough they were. We then had to check Taylor's stocking. We took it down and Taylor opened the gifts inside and ate alot of the chocolate for breakfast! She then opened her gifts from us and Santa, and looked really excited by what she recieved! She was even genuinely excited about the clothes! When it came to the final present she asked "Is this a baby?" Sadly, it was not. She did recieve however, a fit pack game for the TV, Lincoln Logs, Hi Ho Cherrio, Cootie, Hungry Hippos, a full art box, a vaccuum, a ton of books, and much more. She got over it fairly quickly and immdiately wanted to open the toys.





After we all played with the toys for a while, we all got ready to go to Great Gram and Great Gramps. It was great to see the family, as we have not seen them in over a year. Taylor loved playing with her cousin Lauren, and had a great time with the rest of the family. After the amazing dinner spread, Taylor recieved even more gifts! This time she finally recieved the baby doll she wanted! The doll is from Great Gram and Great Gramps, and it moves its mouth to feed, opens and closes its eyes, cries, laughs and babbles. She was so happy!


The cousins: Dan, Kate, Lauren, Me, and Taylor

September and October!

I cannot believe it has been 2 months since I have posted! These two months have flown by, but they have been very fun. Throughout the month of September it was back to reality for Taylor and I, as we both went back to school full-time. The change was smooth at least, and we now have the routine down. Taylor is used to going to school 5 days a week and is making many friends very fast. She is in the Nursery School/Preschool room now, and is loving it!

Spetember 12th Taylor, Tony and I went to the Renaissance Festival with Beth, Dave, Coorie and Mike. She had a blast and loved seeing all the royal shops and people that were walking around.


Taylor, Beth and I all had our faces painted and then Taylor rode the horses with Corrie. This time she rode bare back, without a saddle or reins to hold onto. She did a wonderful job and wanted ot ride them all day! After riding the horses, we went and saw a show called "The Zucchini Borthers" where they did a bunch of tricks and humor using fire. Taylor watched the entire show very intensely.





Her favorite was the royal jousting. It lasted about 45 minutes and she watched every minute of it. We had a great spot where she was along the railing and had a great view of the horses. She was in awe every time they trotted by.


Taylor played at the Chidlren's area for a while, and made a magical wands that she used to make wishes! When she waved it ove rthe tree stump she made the feathers fly!


After the fetival Taylor, Tony, Corrie, Mike and I headed to Halloween USA to look for halloween stuff for our party. While there Taylro decided to dress up and chase me around the store!


October has been a month filled with fun. October 10th Taylro went to her first formal wedding and did very well. She sat through most of the wedding service, and had a blast at the reception. She loved being with Evan and dancing with Jenn. She was all smiles, loved to dance and the best part was, during the toasts, when Tont asked her to be quiet she replied with "No! This is my wedding!" She had a great time and even made a friend her age!





October 25th we met up with my cousin Amanda and her family Gentry, Jackson and Lilly at Erwin's Orchard. Taylor had a great time playing with her cousin Jackson and they could not get enough of one another. They played on the small bounce house and then went to the boig one and actually had a great time! From there thye went to look at animals together. We said our good-byes and Tony, Taylor and I went out to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch to get our pumpkins. The whole day was wonderful, and we all had a great time.






Halloween! Our Little Princess Belle!
Taylor had her Halloween party at school on October 29th and had a blast! She made a lot of things and got to play with her friends all day...all while wearing her costume!





That evening we carved pumpkins and Taylor actually had fun playing in the pumpkin
guts! She was so proud of her little pumpkin!




Halloween night my mom came out and went trick-or-treating with us. Everyone had a great time and Taylor got a ton of candy! Our neighbors Gary and Karen even gave her a mini backpack full of candy! Taylor loved being Belle and is wearing the costume!





And for those of you wondering about our costumes this year- Meet Lady Luck and a Southern Gambler!:

August, Gotcha Day and Labor day!

This summer has been wonderful. The month of August was packed with fun things, celebrations and more fun things! Taylor has decided (yes she decided for me after I asked her how come she peed in her pull-ups and replied with "you'll just put a new one.") to become potty trained! She had a few accidents for a while, but for about 3 and a half weeks we have been accident free. Taylor doesnt want to start nght training so we are not going to push it. She stays dry all day and during nap!

Taylor has had much fun on the wave runners this summer, riding with almost everyone! She no longer wants to putz through the water, but she wants to go 25 mph!

Gotcha Day 2009 came and went very fast this year. August 13th marked the day that Taylor was placed in our arms forever! We have officially been a family for two years! It is so amazing that we will forever be a family and we feel so blessed. We celebrated this year by going up north and having some friends visit. Jeff, Renee, Danielle and Dominic came up to celebrate with fun on the lake, shopping and cupcakes in Kazakhstan colors! We had wonderful weather and Taylor really enjoyed playing in the lake with everyone! After the kids went tubing, Taylor wanted to go too! So we put her in the tube and pushed her around for a while. She loved it.





This summer Taylor has really shown us how much she has grown and matured. At the playground she wants to climb everything, without help. When she realizes that she is so small and may have difficulty doing things, she figures out ways to do them! Climbing bars, swings and low slides are no match for Taylor! She will conquer all!



August 31st Tony, Taylor and I went to the Toledo Zoo. She enjoyed every minute of it! At first she was afriad of the giant polar bear as it swam towards her, but once she realized the the animals were behind glass and cages she wanted to be real close. Her favorites were the polar bear, the sloth bear, and the fish. She did not lihe the spider crabs, stating "I don't like those Mommy. They are scary!" The Toledo Zoo has a new childrens discovery area this year. It has a playground with a stream to mine in, and a little house that perfect for her! It was a great day and Taylor has a blast! Afterwards we went to dinner where Taylor (our social butterfly) asked where her friend was. When questioned about who her friend was she pointed to our waitress! Taylor then continued to amaze us. When asked how old she was she replied "2, but I'll be 3 in November." We all looked at one another and laughed!




Labor Day Weekend was a lot of fun. We all went to visit with Grandma and Papa. On Saturday we all enjoyed the sun and played outdoors, and on Sunday Grandma, Papa, Daddy, Taylor and I went to the Fulton COunty Fair. This was Taylors first experience with carnival rides, but not with the animals. She loved looking at the horses, goats, sheep, pigs and rabbits. She went on her first carnival ride and then rode a whole bunch. We warmed her up with the train but then went onto the Crazy Bus, the cars, the carousel, the strawberry and a pony ride! Taylor also got her face painted to look like a kitty! She sat still the entire time and loved how she looked when it was done. She moewed the rest of the night!









What a great summer!

June and July! and our 80th post!

This is our 80th post! Wow! June and July have sure flown by!
June 18th Tony and I celebrated 5 years of marriage! On June 20th Tony's brother Keith and his fiance Jenny were married! The wedding was held at a park in Ohio and was very casual. It was so much fun and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Taylor really enjoyed being able to play wherever she wanted, and she loved meeting all the new people. It was a great day of ceremony, play and swimming!



Fathers Day was spent enjoying the sun and Milford. We went out to eat at Milford House and walked around downtown. Tony got what he really wanted: relaxation!


June 24th Taylor, Tony and I headed up to Tawas to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We were blessed with wonderful weather, and we enjoyed every minute of it! We went to Tawas Point where Taylor and Tony swam in the freezing water, went on a bike ride along the point, and played in the sand. We visited in West Branch for a day and enjoyed some shopping. We also went to Oscoda for their art fair on the beach! Taylor had a lot of fun playing in Sand Lake and running around the cabin! We rode our bikes around the lake every morning, and we of course enjoyed eating at G's Pizza and making friends at Marions!








Two years ago this month (July 5th to be exact) we met our precious little Taylor! It is hard to imagine life without her, and everyday she reminds us of how lucky we are.

July 5th 2007:


July 4th 2009:


July has been full of fun. Our neighbors and us had a 4th of July party with food fun on the lake and fireworks. Taylor enjoyed swimming in her clothes (see the picture above!), and really loved the fireworks. She loved playing with Isabella and Gianna. Taylor enjoyed having our friends Mike, Corrie and especially Tony over too. She really liked Tony and seemed to follow him around! It was a lot of fun with great people.


During July Taylor also got to spend some time with her Uncle Nicky! She loves him so much. It was great for them to have some time together.


July 22nd we went to see "If You Give a Pig a Pancake" with our friend Alyssa and her two kids Brayden and Cheyene. It poured the whole time, and all the adults were crowed under the umbrellas, but the kids wanted to be out in the rain! It was a good time!



To end the busy month, Taylor and I went to Canton's Summit Park to spend some time with Heather, Aubrie and Mark. Taylor was so excited, and the girls played so well. After all the heat and action of the day it was great to relax and have some ice cream!

Kazapalooza 2009

This year we spent June 4th through the 8th in Nashville, TN to celebrate Kazapalooza 2009. Muriel, Gretchen, Michelle and Kristen did a wonderful job hosting the event and we all had a blast being able to see our friends again! Some we have not seen since we were overseas in Kaz! This year there were over 60 families that came to the event!


We came into Nashville a day early and stayed at the beautiful Opryland Hotel! We took Taylor to the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere Friday morning and met up with Sarah, Andy and their kids Zach and Addie. We had a blast and Taylor loved seeing the Meerkats and Elephants. That evening we met with all the families at the hotel and got to see old friends and make new ones.




Saturday was the pool party where we spent hours, and then we headed to Opry Mills for the afternoon. Taylor was able to pet the stingrays, however she thought they a little scary. She did enjoy seeing them though! Afterward we headed to Dave and Buster's for the big celebration. There was a raffle for the charity Two Hearts for Hope, dinner and dancing. Taylor loved the dancing and had a blast.






Sunday we did breakfast with our gang from Astana, Annette and Marwan and their daughter Kate, and Peter and Maren with their son Rinat. It was wonderful to be able to spend that much time with them, just like old times! We said our goodbyes to the families leaving that day and we headed out for a tour of downtown Nashville. Taylor was able to ride her first bus and could not get enough of it! Taylor and Kianna also had their first bar experience while on the tour! Taylor wanted a shot of tequila but they refused her due to her size. Sunday night we went to dinner with the remaining families and we were able to catch up with our good friends Steve, KJ and Tougy.






Every night we spent the evening at the Delta Island where there were dancers and music. Taylor was able to eat ice cream, dance, be with friends and stay up REALLY late. I don't think she was in bed before 11pm EST. Taylor and Tougy tried to break into the toy store on the final night but they were unsuccessful.




Overall this was a wonderful trip and we all had the time of our lives. Thank you so much to Muriel, Gretchen, Michelle and Kristen and we cannot wait to see you all next year in Milwaukee!