Merry Christmas!

Over the past 2 weeks we have had a very busy Christmas holiday. We visited with our friends families and had our own celebration. With all the goodies and presents, it was overwhelming!

On Saturday December 20th, we went to visit with long time friends, Marty, Bruce, Elyse, and Bethany, to celebrate my mom's (Bushka's) birthday. Since it falls on Christmas Eve, we always celebrate a little earlier so she can enjoy it separate from the Christmas holiday. Everyone has a blast and it was so great to hang out with our friends. Taylor's godmother Bethany was there, and it was great to see them together.






On Sunday December 21st we went to the Henry Ford Museum to see the "Out of this world" exhibit, with some costumes from film and television. There we were able to see Santa. Taylor had a great time, and when it came her turn to see Santa, she walked right up to him and posed for pictures! Ever since she has been walking around saying "Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas!"


On Christmas Eve we went to Bushka's to celebrate with my family. My mom (Bushka), My step dad Mike, Sister Stacey, her boyfriend Ken, Tony, Taylor and myself were all there. We had a wonderful dinner, good conversation and then opened presents. Taylor received some wonderful gifts including a high chair for her babies, a Little People house set, and a doctor's kit. She was hesitant at first to open the gifts, but once she started Taylor never stopped! She tore through them and after she got the wrapping paper off each one we had to open the gift itself so she could play with it right then and there! When it came time to leave, she threw a fit, holding onto her highchair with all her might! Eventually she allowed us to put her in the car, after a very sad a pathetic goodbye to everyone!






The next morning we had our own celebration with Taylor. We opened presents and she was very excited! From us she got a few things like a pair of shoes for her baby, and some Cailou DVD's. But from Santa she got a ton of Little People, a Spiderman, Indiana Jones, and a Batman Galactic Heroes! She also received some building blocks, and a Little People book. She opened everything with a ton of excitement and had a blast!





From there we headed to Tony's brother Keith's house to celebrate with the Van Sant family. Everyone came including Keith, Josh, Kayla, Nick, Jenny, Zach, Jessica, Terry, Mary, Uncle Mark, Mark Jr, Mason and Carson. We had a great dinner which I think everyone overate on!, and then opened presents. Just to name a few things Taylor received, a Little People castle, a Care Bear, books, and the biggest of all (literally!) was a four wheeler! It fits her perfect and it runs via button so her little legs don't have to push a pedal! We all had such a great time.





On December 27th we went to my grandparents house to visit for a while. It was great to see Taylor want to be with her Great Grandparents, and she really enjoyed spending the time with them. she got the cutest little cloth house with 4 bears, a bed, chairs and blankets inside! She loves it! She also received an amazing tea set from my Aunt Donna and uncle Paul.

With the Christmas season now coming to an end, Taylor is still walking around asking for presents. She doesn't understand that it has ended. I am sad too, as this was a great holiday!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Love, The Van Sant's!

November Celebrations!

November brings us 2 special occasions throughout the month. November 14th was Taylor's 2nd birthday! We held a small birthday party for her, with family and a few close friends. We decorated the house with Elmo balloons and banners. She opened gifts and ate cake and ice cream. She received many thoughtful gifts. Thank you to all who gave her something. She loves her baby doll, rarely leaves without it, and the magnadoodle and art supplies are a huge hit! We think we have a little artist on our hands. Taylor enjoyed her birthday party and for many days following, every time she saw a candle or something resembling it she says "Happy Birthday to you!" Her stats are as follows for her 2nd year check up: weight: 21 lbs. height: 30.5 inches head circumference: 17.75 inches. She is still our little peanut, and she is still as of right now, in 12 month clothes, however, those are getting to be short on her. Her vocabulary is amazing us every day. She knows all the names of the people at her day care, all her animals sounds, her alphabet form a to g, her numbers from 1 to 10, and much much more. Her favorite song at the moment is the alphabet song and the itsy bitsy spider.






Being in Michigan, November also brings us our first snow. Taylor had a great time playing in the snow with her daddy and Danielle and Dominic. She enjoyed walking around in the snow and sledding. Her favorite thing was being pulled by Tony in the sled!




November also brings us Thanksgiving, in which we are so thankful to have Taylor in our lives. We went to spend the evening with my grandparents, and Taylor had a good time. My mother went (Bushka), my grandparents, my Aunt Donna, Uncle Paul, and my cousins Daniel and Kate. Taylor was shy for a few minutes but perked right up and became herself within no time. She didn't really care for the turkey that night but she ate lots of potatoes, and cranberry sauce! She had a great time and enjoyed everyone's company.

October in Michigan... so beautiful

This past month has seemed to be quite a blur. Our time has been spent very busily, and we have enjoyed every moment of it. On October 11th Tony, Taylor and I headed up to Frankenmuth, Michigan for Tony's family vacation there. We met up with Mary, Terry, Keith, Joshua, Kayla, and Nick at Bronners around 10:30am. We shopped around the town for a little while and Taylor seemed to be enjoying herself. She was busy the whole time, and she wore herself out. We went to check into the Bavarian Inn and played for while. Tay never got a nap that day, so come dinner she was riled up. In her usual fashion Taylor decided to fight her dinner and throw fit for a while. When that has passed we decided to hide the healthy stuff within the "good" stuff! She shoved that down pretty quick. Afterwards we went back to the hotel to swim for a while. The Bavarian Inn has five swimming pools, with one that was only one and a half feet deep. This was perfect for Taylor! She played for about two hours with us and Grandma and Papa, and the only reason we got out was because she was shivering! She was such a fish. She would lay on her belly and say "swimming" all while pushing herself back and forth! She fell asleep really quickly with Grandma and Papa, and Tony, Keith and I had a good time having a couple drinks. It was a great night! The following day we shopped around town a little while longer, and Taylor found a piano that was the perfect height for her! She played for quite a long time! We then headed home. Taylor was great the whole day!






On October 18th we took Taylor down to Erwin's Cider Mill in South Lyon. This cider mill is popular among the other parents at Taylor's school so we decided to give it a try. We headed down and when we pulled up we all got pretty excited. There were bounce houses, orchards, the shop, and an animal farm. We parked and headed to see the animals. We were pretty surprised when we walked up and discovered that Taylor could go in with the animals! We all went into the pen and Taylor was not scared! She wanted to pet all the animals and her favorite by far was the baby goats! They were the perfect size for her and they were not too busy. She was able to pet sheep, goats, a horse, donkey, duck, and llamas! We then headed over to watch the big kids play on the blow up stuff. We were shocked to find out Taylor could go inside the bounce house! She enjoyed herself and would not get out when her time was up! We got onto the tractor and rode out to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. I wish we had some pictures from that time but our camera died... but I have to tell you that it was cute! Taylor loved the cider but did not want to try the doughnuts! We also discovered that Taylor is not the biggest fan of pumpkin bread.




On October 29th we carved our pumpkins and this year Taylor wanted nothing to do with the insides! Instead she just wanted to play with a piece of the pumpkin and even that was short lived. She had a great time looking at the finished products and we cant help but wonder why she has such a huge grin on her face while she holds the knife in the pumpkin!?



On Halloween, we had the perfect weather. It was quite unusual for this time of year here in Michigan. It was about 65 degrees and sunny! Also with the time change later in the year this year we were able to have more sun later! Taylor had her Halloween party at her school. All the kids dressed up and trick or treated, made pumpkins and had family visit. She trick or treated at school with Grandma and made her pumpkin with Papa. We came for the evening and started to get ready for the night of fun. My mom "Bushka" came over and we all had dinner and headed out for the night. Taylor dressed up as a witch and got a ton of candy! She did not act to carry her cauldron but she did tell everyone "trick or treat" and "thank you." She had a great time being out with all the other kids and having all of there with her. When she had had enough of the trick or treating we came back to the house and she helped pass out candy with us. She was up late that night and she enjoyed every moment of it!





Yesterday was such nice weather that we decided to spend the day outside cleaning up the lawn. Taylor had a blast playing in the leaf piles and she is probably thankful for the Halloween decor from our party to be taken down!


And for those of you wondering about Tony and I, we had a great time dressing up too!

It has been quite a while since we have updated our blog and so much has happened in the past month and a half! As of August 26th we have been home with Taylor for one year... guess that means we have been home now for about one year and six weeks! This year has completely flown by and we think back on our time often. Taylor is really beginning to grow, and we see her blossom more and more everyday.

We have been very busy as of late, with outings to the petting zoo, seeing good friends attending birthday parties, and beginning school for both Taylor and I. The petting zoo was fun. We went to Kensington Metropark and saw all the animals, and surprisingly it took Taylor quite a while to get up the courage to pet a sheep! As much as she loves animals, I don't quite think that she realized how big they really are!


Taylor absolutely loves her friend Aubrie. They go together very well. Aubrie is 5 years old and adores Taylor without being overwhelming. We all went out to eat and they had a great time playing together.


Taylor has discovered how much fun pigtails and ponytails can be. Every chance she gets she has to have one in!


We attended our friend Sean's first birthday party and Taylor, being the flirt, made a friend right away. They sat and stared at one another for a little while and then they shared his hat! It was so cute!


Taylor is doing very well with daycare. Especially now that she knows that both her and I go to school. I think she thinks it is pretty special.
We are also beginning potty training! YAY! Taylor has her own potty and when she sees it she pulls it out, and attempts to get herself ready. However, since Taylor is still a peanut, her pants that are the right length (12 months!), are too big in the waist. So she wears a dog collar as a belt. She loves it, though she hates that she cant pull down her pants! At least it is only when she wears jeans!
We will be writing more this upcoming month as there are many exciting things happening. We go to Frankenmuth with Tony's family next weekend, then Halloween is coming, and then Taylor's 2nd birthday! Wow! I cant believe she will be two!

1st Gotcha Day!

On Wednesday, August 13th 2007, Taylor was placed into our arms as our forever daughter for the first time. On this day, Taylor was taken out of the baby house in Astana, Kazakhstan! In many ways, it seems as though it was only yesterday that we became a forever family. It is so hard to believe that it has been a year! Over the past year we have witnessed so many wonderful things and have never felt more blessed than we do now.

When we met Taylor, she was very tiny. But now she is a walking, talking, destructive machine! She has grown in so many ways, both in physical and mental means. She has such a vocabulary, and it still amazes us when she will walk into a room and actually point something out. Take yesterday for example, I broke my toe over the weekend so it is taped to another toe, and in walks Taylor, sees it and points while saying "Oh, Crap." I mean, she is astounding! Now, that was not something that we meant to teach her, but instead of saying something "else" we have been saying that. She picks up everything. We are even spelling things now and she just repeats the letters! Her height and weight is still small for her age, but hey she is following her chart!

Our lives have changed for the better and I cannot think of a better blessing. We are more patient (yep, had to learn that real quick!), and are always looking forward to life. Taylor makes us smile all the time, and we are truly happier because of her.

Now I know that this post sounds very cheesy, and I am getting emotional just thinking about the past year, but this is probably one of the best posts. Because Taylor is home with us, and this past year has meant so much, I cannot help but cry a little tear of happiness.

For Gotcha Day we celebrated both on the 13th with Taylor, myself, my sister Stacey and our friend Chris. We went for ice cream, played in the water, and made Taylor feel special all day. Tony had to work and had a meeting in the evening, so we celebrated with him on the 14th. We had a cake from Milford Bakery which had the Kazakhstan flag with "Happy Gotcha Day Taylor" on the side. Tony also brought home a flower made of cupcakes. We had cake, and all played for the evening. They were both wonderful days! Taylor had the expression of happiness on her face all day!

Happy 1st Gotcha Day Taylor! We love you very much!

Summer Fun and Firsts!

This has been an exciting summer so far. Not only have we been able to enjoy the "children's entertainment" again, but Taylor has been having a blast! Taylor has finally met her Uncle Chris, Aunt Jessica and Uncle Nicky, and loves them very much. Nicky came to stay with us a couple weekends, and Taylor really enjoyed his company!



We travelled to Tony parents a few times, and Taylor finally was able to ride the wave runner. We found a life vest just perfect for her tiny body! She really did enjoy it and screamed when Tony took her off. Apparently she was not ready to be done!



We went up north to Tawas last week and Taylor was really able to enjoy some swimming. Tony took her out into the deep part and they swam for a bit. They looked so happy! Taylor was able to see "Bushka" and ever since all I have heard is "Booka?!" While we were up there, the Iosco Country far was going on so we were able to take Taylor and see all the animals she has been reading about for so long! However, once we got there and she saw how big they were, she was a little intimidated! She really enjoyed the baby cow, that is until it came up next to her and moo-ed! She was able to see ducks, chickens, roosters, rabbits, sheep, cows, pigs and horses! It was great! My mom, "Bushka," put the swing up inside the cabin and Taylor loved it. She laughed the whole time!







We have been spending a lot of time at the Indian Springs Splash and Play which is about 10 minutes from our house. It is a great place to go! Taylor loves to play in the sprays, although she is not brave enough to venture into the middle where the kids control the water! I don't blame her... I have been sprayed too many times! She tries to drink the sprays, and on Sunday she was unaware that sitting on the jets even while they are not on, will get you soaked! She sat on one and a second later it turned on! She stood up going "oooohhh, oooooooooooooohh!"





Now, here is the big news! Taylor has officially received her first haircut! On Sunday, August 8th, we took her to Carnival Cuts where she screamed the whole time but got a very nice haircut! She had just the bangs trimmed (that was enough!), so now she looks great! No more hair in her face!

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