Happy Birthday Julia!

On Saturday, Sydney attended a birthday party for her friend Julia. Personally, I think Aaron & Allison deserve a pat on the back for braving a birthday party for their two-year-old hosting six other children that are all 2 & under plus the parents!
The look of wonder in Julia's eye is due to the ice cream cake that her mom is carrying towards her. A little girl after my own heart! Would rather have anything but a regular birthday cake! Sydney was one of the "big" kids and got to sit at the picnic table to eat her lunch. Good job Sydney!!!

Baby News! Baby News! Baby News!!!

Grab your attention??? Well, it is not our baby news that we are talking about. We learned this week that cousins on each side of the family are having a baby in May 2006- congratulations Stephanie & Mike and Scott & Jill! Steph & Mike came to see us this spring & I had feeling after they left that baby news would be within their not too distant future. Scott & Jill's news however, surprised us. Them too I think as Jack only JUST turned one. We also had 2 new babies born into our circle of friends. Ian & Rachelle had a baby boy, Brandon James, on November 24th. Laura & Patrick had another baby girl, Marley Lauren Ilona, on November 25th. Congratulations to all the new parents & you too Morgan...you are a big sister now!

The week of November 20th has been an interesting one...
On Sunday we had a social outing at Noreen & Shawn's. Will isn't even three months old and they are throwing themselves into entertaining already! Way to go guys! We had a good time & Sydney spent her time running around with a little boy named Cole. Should I be concerned that she is already choosing the boys rather than the girls to play with??? I was so busy stuffing my face with the yummy food, I didn't get a shot of them. I do however have one of Will.

Very early Monday morning I was picked up for the airport & did my first out of town trip since Sydney's arrival to our life. She was left in the very capable hands of Daddy, Grandma & Grandpa during my absence. I'm not even sure she noticed I was gone, but I was happy to be greeted with her smile on my return. I really love Chicago & typically love any excuse to go, but this time...I really just wanted to be home in my bed. The Thursday before my departure I started to come down with a cold & over the past week I have been feeling like varying degrees of crap. By the time I arrived home, I was exhausted & did not stray too far from the couch for the entire day on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday were a little better, I at least lasted through the day before the couch called to me. However, no matter how bad you feel, bathtime can always bring a smile when you've got a happy, little girl who loves to ham it up.

This weekend was spent partying (Julia's birthday party), shopping, and vistiting with Santa. After the birthday party Sydney was a little too wound up too sleep, so I ended up bundling her back up, putting her in the car, and heading back to the mall. As luck would have it there was not too many kids in line so we go the picture with Santa done & out of the way. Sydney did a great job (as did the photographer's assistant) and we did not have any tears or any yanking of Santa's beard!

Well, we missed Santa

Yesterday we did not make it to the Santa Claus parade. Miss Sydney has quite the cold & we figured sacrificing a nap to go stand in the cold (although it was a sunny day) waiting for a parade that we were not sure if she would be interested in, just wasn't worth it. Good call by Mom & Dad, Sydney had a 2.5 hour nap in the afternoon which is quite a rare accomplishment for her at home- yes she does it at Nola's, but not at home.
After her nap we went over to some friends that we made during my maternity leave. Tara & John have a little girl, Evelyn, who is 3 weeks older than Sydney.
Sydney & Evelyn are quite cute together, but I was caught without my camera...so I had to have Tara send me a couple. Although the kids look a little dozey, I think they did have a good time.

Brad's Going to Send Me Back to Work....

Last week on our Friday together Sydney & I hosted a play date with her friend Ellie. We have not seen Ellie since before I went back to work & it was neat to see them interact with one another after so long. You couldn't really say that they played "with" one another, but I do believe they enjoyed each others company.

Ellie is very tall for her age & is often mistaken for a two-year old. Sydney is bordering on average for her age (but really she is kinda short), so next to Ellie I am becoming convinced that Sydney too will struggle with the "pant" dilemma. Any cool pair of pants she wants will need hemmed & well, let's face it...I'm not too great at that. My mom would concur since she has probably given me 3 lessons now on my sewing machine. The machine is a relic that with the proper user (like my Grandma- its previous owner) could do great things...but with me, I procrastinate so long that when I sit down again to finish a project, I need a lesson all over again to remember how to use it. However, if Sydney is going to be on the shorter side- I am going to have to figure it out, because I don't want her to be ridiculed because her pants are way too long, have a terrible cuff, or were just cut off.

Last week's day off was fun & cheap. This week's Friday off will probably result in Brad banning me from the mall or from going alone. I had a few items to return & ended up coming home with twice as much as what I went there with. But all of the items were "needed" items in a girl's life. Since there are two separate Christmas dinners to go to one day after the other...well she needs two Christmas dresses & the second one was found on sale- so you must take advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself, right? We also found some shoes for her Christmas dresses. Red patent leather- no only match both her dresses, but are very cool! How could I resist these? Sydney also has a birthday party to attend next week & needed to have something cool to wear to it! Velvet pants- she'll probably kill me in 15 years, but they really are cute! I don't think she will be able to wear her new shoes though...not a good fashion statement!

Well...Miss Sydney is waking up (much earlier than I hoped!) & now we are off to see Noreen & Baby Will. This time I must remember to take a photo! We hope to go to the Santa Clause Parade tomorrow...so hopefully I will have some pictures to share.

Happy Anniversary to the Taylors

Within the last week, everyone in Brad's immediate family have celebrated an anniversary. Robb & Michele celebrated their 6th anniversary on October 30th. We do nothing special to celebrate each other's anniversaries...just say "happy anniversary" if we see/talk to one another.

Brad & I celebrated our 3rd anniversary last Wednesday. Actually, to be truthful I went out with the girls for our monthly "Mom's Night Out" on Brad & I's anniversary. I don't feel guilty about that either, since it is a Wednesday night thing & it was just the way the day fell that it happened to be our anniversary. If Monday had been our anniversary, I am quite certain that Brad would not have missed hockey to spend it home with me. Brad took Friday off work & we spent the day in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We went for breakfast, browsed in the shops, hung out by the water, & visited a couple of wineries. Although windy, it was warm & sunny and a very nice day.

The big anniversary was today...and boy did we mess it up. Brad's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary today & we nearly missed doing anything to commemorate it. We knew it was their anniversary, but did not realize until this morning that it was their 40th. So after a rushed call to Robb to find out what him & Michele did ...we had to plan what we were going to do & put all four heads together. We knew Graham & Dale were going to the theatre, so we planned to deliver flowers, wine, chocolates, and bubble bath while they were gone. Well guess what? We timed it wrong & they were still there! I don't think they were too upset to ruin our surprise because they got to see all of us (but we really know it was Sydney & Max they were really happy to see) & say the typically "you guys didn't need to do this!"

Although Brad & I are still rookies with only 3 years of marriage under our belts, I do know that marriage does take work & doesn't always come easy. I am, by nature, a planner and I was horrified today to realize that I had not "planned" something more to celebrate Graham & Dale's anniversary. Forty years is a long time to spend with one person & deserves admiration, acknowledgement & celebration. I often watch the way Brad's parents are with one another and I hope that Brad & I are still that connected & in love after so many years together. So I say, thank you Graham & Dale for setting a good example for us of what a happily married couple looks like after 40 years. Happy Anniversary, love your family xoxo

Here are some pictures from our day in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

You have to love the fall in Ontario. I wish the leaves had still been on the trees on our wedding day.






We obviously need to work on our timer shots. Brad almost lost his head.

Sydney participated in Halloween this year

Last year at this time Sydney was still working on the basics of life, if I remember correctly it was to master her smile. So her involement in Halloween consisted of her wearing a shirt that said "I love my Mummy" and watching the festivities from the sidelines. Well this year she was right in the game and it was much more fun.
On Sunday she helped Daddy scoop the seeds out of the pumpkin. But, after the first scoop she was more interested in eating the seeds than having any further involvement in crafting the jack-o-lantern (which was actually quite a rush job before going to Grandma & Grandpa's). Since Sunday night is her night to stay over at Grandma's & Grandpa's, I went there after work on Monday to get her dressed and take her out. She has seen her costume before (thank you for the hand-me-down Cousin Regan), but this was her first time having it on. It was quite entertaining. Once she got over her screaming fit with me trying to change her, she laughed at herself when I put her in front of the mirror. And as the picture shows, she was trying to see her costume head while it was on her head as she walked down the hallway.
Since Sydney cannot have candy yet, Grandma & Grandpa got her a little Sesame Street violin which although has volume control- always seems to be on the loudest setting. I think Daddy is enjoying playing with it as much as Sydney (argh!).
Our first stop on the costume display (since you really can't call it trick or treating with her) was to Nola's to see if we could get a picture of all the kids in their costumes. What was I thinking!!! Try rounding up 7 kids (because of course they were all there) to get their picture taken right before they head out the door. Didn't happen, this is the best I got.
Other than that Sydney visited some of our neighbours & after dinner we hung out outside to watch all the kids come by in their costumes. It was a great night and I think Sydney had a good time. Uncle Robb, Aunt Michele, and Max came by & we tried to get a picture of Sydney & Max together...but it required some force by the Mommy Squad. Max was Count Dracula & Robb & Michele were his victims (in case you are wondering why Michele looks a little pale).

Putting her to work

Yesterday was our day to clean out the flower beds. Take all the old flowers out & get the bed ready for the winter. Although we brought toys out for Sydney to play with, she chose to be our little helper. Although it is nicer out today than it was yesterday, I am thankful that we did it when we did. I think Sydney is a Daylight Savings kind of girl...because she sure has been a little grump since she woke up this morning, which thankfully wasn't until 6am. I was afraid she would be up at 5am with the time change...so I count us lucky that she was content to stay in her crib until 6:30am.

There's a new Logan in town...

I was talking to our next door neighbour today & he said that the couple across the street had their baby this week. A baby boy, named Logan. Hopefully Sydney will have a little playmate in a couple of years- we'll need to be sure she understands the rules for crossing the street. I doubt that Logan, our Logan, will be too impressed when a little boy comes over to play who not only hogs the atttention that our Logan feels should be hers, but has taken her name too.
Well it took a little over a week, but Sydney's bruises on her forehead healed. This weekend almost escaped without a mark to be added to her face. I say almost because Sydney fell down the stairs just before lunch. We are not sure how many stairs because Mommy thought Daddy was watching her while Mommy got lunch ready. Daddy thought Mommy was watching her while he put groceries away. Daddy went upstairs and Daddy's little girl obviously wanted to follow..but didn't quite make it. So now, Mommy feels horrible & Sydney will probably wake from her nap with a couple new bruises to make Mommy feel even more horrible.

Dear Cousin Regan...

I know that you really like my horse & would like to have it at your house to play with while I am too small. But I've decided that since I am not big enough to get on and ride her everyday, that I will at least try each day to take her by the reins and lead her on a walk. You are more than welcome to ride her whenever you come to visit me.
Love, Baby Sydney xoxo

Still cruisin' & bruisin'

This week was my first official reduced work week & Friday was my extra day to spend with Sydney. We had an appointment in the morning at MacMaster & in the afternoon Noreen and "Baby Will" came for a visit. Our visit to Mac was for a one year follow-up for Sydney & I. Before Sydney was born we registered in the "Family Study" that is studying allergies, obesity & eating patterns in children. I was a little nervous about taking my very bruised daughter to the hospital, but no one really made me feel like an incompetent or abusive mother. While we were waiting for the nurse we saw Dr. Meuller who was my obstetrician and assisted Sydney's entrance to this world. Sydney wasn't too interested in the meeting, she was too busy walking up and down the hallway showing everyone her belly...literally, pulling the shirt up and all. Our follow-up went well, Sydney took the allergy test like a pro & liked to sit on my lap to watch them do mine & take my blood.
I was curious to see what Sydney would be like with Will. She was very curious about him and when I was holding Will, she didn't freak out. So, that was nice. Hopefully someday if she has a brother or sister she will continue to handle Mommy holding another baby well. Noreen & baby are doing well...which is quite an accomplishment for them both since Will (hence Mommy) has had a few curve balls thrown at him since his birth. Since she was feeding him, I did not take a picture...I will share soon.
It's been a cold, rainy weekend so a lot of time has been spent indoors curled up with a book. Hope everyone kept warm and dry. Yes, that is Logan's pillow that Sydney is hogging. I know, poor Logan.

No parent wants to get this call...

This morning at work I received a call from Nola (Sydney's daycare provider). "Kelly, Sydney has had a bad fall. I think you should have her checked by the doctor." My heart stopped & my hands started shaking. All is well, but the bruises that she gathered over the weekend don't come close to comparing with the ones she got today.
Sydney was crawling up the stairs & slipped and hit her eye on the moulding of the step, then when she tried to keep going she totally missed the step and whacked her forehead on the ceramic tile of the landing.
We went to the doctor and all is well, no concussion, but they did ask me to report back next week to let them know about her "clumsiness". Her eye is a little red now & will probably be black tomorrow. But the goose egg she had on her forehead is now a great big, black circle. Sydney seems totally fine about it...but I think it will take Nola a few days to get over it.
At this rate, I think we are going to have to buy this kid a helmet!!!

This kid is obviously using her head...

This kid is obviously using her head, but for all the wrong things- like stopping her fall. This is the new bruise that Sydney developed today (ignore the spaghetti sauce from supper). The question is...did it come from a fall today? or is it from one of the many falls on the weekend? Is this a result of the same freaky bruising phenomenon that her father has??? Who knows, she goes way too fast & tumbles too much to keep track of these things. She rarely cries from her tumbles, so it is hard to connect a bruise with a fall. Grandma & Grandpa had her today & said she had quite a few tumbles...probably from being tired, but too stubborn to sleep...so they aren't sure either.
Boy, what until Nola & the kids at daycare see her tomorrow! They were calling her Bruiser last week. Last week's bruises were nothing compared to this one.
By the way, aren't her pearly whites cute?

Poor Logan...

Since Sydney came along, Logan definitely feels that she is getting the short end of the stick. Can't blame her really. She used to get our undivided attention, plenty of one on one interaction, more really good walks than she gets these days and when the camera came out she would sit pretty to pose. I'd like to say that we have done a good job of balancing our attention, but really we haven't. There was even a time when Sydney was about four months old that I was willing to give Logan away (but only to Grandma & Grandpa because I really didn't want to lose her).

I promised myself that this weekend we would do something that Logan really likes. A walk on the trails where she can run free & chase squirrels. Well we did do that yesterday, but do you think I took one picture of Logan to show how much she liked it....no! My friend Laura, her little guy Hayden, and their dog Guinness came with us too. The trails are here in town & they are maintained by the community and have signs posted to advise that it is a leash free zone. I think Logan and Guiness loved it, but I have no picture to prove it. So instead I have posted one of my favourite pictures of Sydney & Logan...and vow to have a Logan only post some day soon!

So, although yet again Logan was excluded from the photo op. ...Sydney & Hayden were not. It really was a momentous day though. It marked the first time that Sydney successfully shared her "chariot". My friend Tara and I went for a walk a couple of months ago & tried to have Sydney & Evelyn sit together in this stroller...but no go! The camera was with us hoping to get some shots, but with both girls screaming we thought the people around us would think we were horrible mothers by letting our children cry just so we could get a picture. Brad is already looking out for his little girl & thinks Hayden is trying to feel up Sydney's inner thigh...Hayden you naughty little boy! :) Oh yeah...I made Brad push the kids yesterday while Laura & I gabbed. Lots of hills, roots, and logs to work his way over...great workout! The kids didn't seem to mind and actually the bumpier the ride got, the bigger Hayden's smile got (although not when I was pointing the camera at him!).

Once we let the kids out to play in the leaves, this is the closest shot I could get of the two of them before the battery died in the camera. Still pretty cute though. I can't believe Logan or Guiness did not even make it into the background of a picture...man, poor Logan. She used to pose when the camera came out. Now she will hardly lift her head.

What's in a name....

When Sydney was first born, my pet name for her was "Muffin". Don't know why, it's just what I called her. When we were in the hospital all the nurses would call her "Peanut" (which I am sure they called all the babies) and it drove Brad crazy. He vetoed the nickname "Peanut" right off the bat. So, since he approved of "Muffin" that is what I continued to call her (and Grandpa used it quite a bit too). Somehow she just seemed too tiny to call her "Sydney" just yet.

Well, I am not sure exactly when it happened, but "Muffin" turned into "Monkey" before I really realized it. Looking back, I think I it started when she began to move around on her own. Once Sydney started to move independently, her personalilty was definitely more demonstrative. Now I find I am often using her nickname as a term of endearment as often as I am using it in replacement of calling her "a little bugger"...which just doesn't seem appropriate.

Well...at 13 months, Sydney is now on to her 3rd & 4th nickname. The kids at daycare are calling her "Bruiser" and Nola (her daycare provider) calls her "Miss Bruise". Since she refuses to stop or crawl, even when she is too tired to walk with any competence...she seems to always have bruises on her face. Hardly a week has gone by in the last month without her having a bruise or multiple bruises. I think the current count on her face is five. We don't even know how & when she gets half of them. I am beginning to wonder if she is like her dad in this way. Brad will get hit with a puck at hockey on Monday night & have a red welt for a bit to show where he was hit, but the bruise does not show up until Friday...it is really weird. For Sydney's sake, I hope this is not the case.

So although I am continuing to call her "Monkey" (affectionately & in mild frustration), it is fun to know that Sydney has demonstrated enough personality to earn 3 nicknames in only a year.

I was told...

Since I am only returning to work four days a week, my Aunt Deb informed me that I will have no excuse to not have updates on this site. I am hoping that by only returning to work four days, that Sydney and I can spend that time doing neat things together that hopefully you will like to hear about.

For this I am thankful...

Holidays are good for many things. Great food, time with family, and an extra day off work. However, after all the rushing around to do all these things I sit here tonight & remind myself that you need to also remember what the holiday is about...being thankful. After reviewing my pictures from the weekend, here are a few of the things that I am thankful for:

This time last year my brother was undergoing cancer treatments. Thankfully they were successful, so I am thankful for his health and the time that we can all share with his children.

Cousins...lots of little cousins. When I was little, I loved the time that my cousins and I got to play at family functions. There are a total of 16 of us of varying ages, but there was always enough of us to have lots of action going on...now that we are having children, I am thankful that again there are a lot of little kids to "energize" the family functions. I'm sure Tyler is wishing there were little boys in the mix though.

Beautiful days...it is not too often that you can go to the park on Thanksgiving weekend, kick off your shoes, play in the sand, and enjoy the bright beautiful blue skies. Brooke is taking full advantage of the slide before the rush starts.

Caterpillars...believe it or not I am thankful for caterpillars. When I was little, I remember them being the only "bug" that I would touch. Seems that Regan is quite taken with the caterpillars as well. Bailey & Hayleigh join Regan in the tunnel for the picture.

Slides...one of the best inventions ever! Obviously a big kick for the girls...they all lined up and waited their turn with "minimal" pushing.

Tyler...yes I am very thankful for Tyler. For a long time, Tyler was the only great grandchild. Now he has others to join the mix, but as you can see he has lots of little girls around. But, Tyler is great with the girls. It is obvious how much his twin sisters adore him, Sydney is smitten & Regan loves to try his patience. Now he is adding Hayleigh & Emily to his fan club and he is taking it all in stride.

I am thankful for competition and the details of competition. The kids were trying to see who could make the fastest time down the slide. Although Brad was just making times up, all the kids were focused on having the fastest time (they obviously did not catch on that Brad was pulling their leg). When we threw in another detail to the competion (best finish pose), Emily was the only one to get it right (she is about 2 years younger than the other girls too). Emily is shown here with her "Taa Daa" pose while Bailey is fast approaching.

I am thankful that Brad's brother also has a little guy (Max) so that when the Taylor's get together Sydney has a cousin to play with. They may be calm now, but this time next year it will be a different story with another year under their belt.

And finally, I am thankful for Sydney. Brad & I are very blessed to have a healthy, happy little girl who is just as happy to play with a blade of grass until she gets big enough to keep up with all her cousins.

Sydney's First Birthday

Since Sydney's first birthday fell on a weekday, she had the pleasure of having her birthday celebration stretch over 4 days. The morning of her birthday we opened her door to greet her & snap a flash in her face. Poor thing just wakes up and we are already snapping pictures of her (OK, I was snapping the picture- not Brad). But come on...would you not want to mark this day in your child's life with proof that she wakes up a smiley, happy kid 99.9% of the time? Especially when she is 16 years old & is grumpy in the morning refusing to get out of bed? This photo can be a happy reminder to Mommy & Daddy...and appropriate guilt treatment to Sydney.

Then if it wasn't bad enough that we snap a flash in her face before she has a chance to say "Good Morning", we take her down stairs, put a goofy tiara on her head, hold her hands & take her picture. The tiara obviously did not stay long on her head.

My birthday was on the Saturday & I am still selfish enough to want my birthday to be "my birthday". So, Sydney's party was on the Sunday. There was food, cake, fun, and more fun. I think all the kids had a great time & it was great that all of Sydney's cousins could share her special day.

Regan was here for the whole weekend, so she helped us get Sydney ready for the party.

Sydney is more than happy to pose for pictures, but it is more fun with her cousins Tyler, Regan, Brooke, and Bailey.

Sydney's cousin Max came to the party too & had a swim with Sydney in the afternoon.