http://thetaylorsboys.blogspot.com

Well... we all knew the day was coming.... when I would have to start sharing in my stardom.  Dawson's Days has to now change to Dawson's and Davis' Days.  Check out our new blog - Taylor Times!  It is going to take awhile for me to get it fine-tuned, and I may be back-dating some posts in order to keep the information chronologically accurate.  Please save us in your favorites, link us to your blog, comment on our posts, and share in our Taylor times! 

So Much to Say....

I will be quick to tell you that I am older and wiser and MUCH bigger since my baby brother came along. I have so much to say, and it's something new every day - sometimes insightful, sometimes inquiring, and sometimes just plain funny.

• While running errands, "Oh well, mommy, let's go. We will just have to get a bath in the rain today."
• "I'm asking you a question." - my favorite sentence right now - I repeat it until I get a response - and half the time I'm not really asking a question. I just like to know that I am being listened to and insist on getting a response. So, after I say something, if it's not immediately acknowledged, I repeatedly say, "I'm asking you a question. Answer me." We've been doing English 101 trying to learn the difference between declarative and interrogative statements. I'll let you know when I finally get all of that figured out.
• "Daddy, what are you doing?" I'm spraying weed killer. (long pause) "What does it mean to kill?"
• "Here mommy. Let me hold Davis while you cook dinner." (Mommy got a great picture of my first babysitting moment. We will post it as soon as we find the time to get pictures loaded on the computer.)
• Actually is my very favorite word right now; and actually, I even use it correctly!
• I'm very observant and you never know what I'm going to pick up on. Last week, I was getting a cereal bar out of the pantry to take in the car for a snack. I proceeded to unbutton the top two buttons of my polo shirt and stick it halfway into my shirt. When asked what I was doing, I said: "I'm putting my breakfast bar in my shirt pocket just like Daddy does when he leaves for work."
• While driving through Chattanooga, we drove over the river. "Look! We just passed the Hard Dock." (The Hard Dock is one of our favorite restaurants in Decatur and it's on the Tennessee River.)
• A couple weeks ago, Gigi came for a surprise visit. No one told me she was coming, and she arrived late Thursday night after I had gone to sleep. She had taken all of her things upstairs to the guest bedroom but left her laptop computer on the kitchen table. When I woke up, I noticed her computer on the table as I was going to get my milk. I went into my parents' bedroom and asked, "Mommy, is Gigi here?" Why are you asking me that Dawson? "Because her computer is on the kitchen table." Wow! You sure are observant! She is here and expecting you to wake her up this morning, so go see her! "Oh boy! Thank you mommy! What a great surprise!"
• We had a big family lunch at Great and Aunt Sherri's house yesterday. Afterwards, I looked around the table, listed every food we had eaten and said, "Wow! That was quite a snack."

I love ribs!

I ate ribs for the first time at Great's and Aunt Shewee's house last weekend. They were delicious! My favorite part was the sauce.

No More Tonsils!!!

Where have we been? Why haven't you seen any pictures lately? Well, things around our house have been very crazy. I'm going to attempt to update you on all of it over the next few days. Computer time for me these days is extremely limited! Davis is growing like a weed, eating all the time, and sleeping lots. Everything we hope for. I'm working on a slideshow of his first few weeks and will hopefully have it posted real soon. We have had family with us pretty much nonstop for the past six weeks - which has been a total dream come true for me! I've had a permanent live-in playmate. It's been aweome! I had my tonsils and adenoids removed on August 20th. It's something we've been thinking about for several months now and decided to do after talking to 3 different ear, nose, and throat doctors. I had the surgery at Daddy's hospital, and everything went well. It was about 2 weeks of pretty intense recovery. Gigi and Becky took turns staying with us and helping with me and Davis (who was only 2 weeks old at the time). During the first few days, I didn't want to eat or drink anything - not even special treats like ice cream or popsicles. Eventually, I started getting presents for drinking cups of juice and water. I thought that was absolutely wonderful!

This is a rug/mat with roads that I can use for driving my "Cars" and matchbox cars which have been my favorite toy lately.

I watched a lot of t.v. because I couldn't do any physical activity for a week.

The Backyardigans is my favorite show right now. I got Uniqua to add to my collection. Now, all I need is Tyrone to complete my collection.

The Backyardigans and me watching one of their movies that Nana bought me. It's a little embarassing how much I have seen of that movie and all their other shows lately. I'll be feeling better soon and t.v. watching will be monitored again, so I must make the most of it!

Eating the first real food I requested - a pretzel! Yes. One might think that hard and salty food would not be the best food for my recovery. However, the doctor said to let me eat whatever I wanted, so I reminded them of that. Supposedly, wanting salty foods is very normal during the recovery process. After bribery, I enjoyed many Capri-Suns and Gigi's homemade smoothies.

I've been asking for a jump rope for several weeks now. I finally got one and used it to celebrate my one week recovery ending!

We are all very thankful that this whole process has gone as well as it did. Everything looked great at my 3 week checkup! Praise the Lord!

Playdate

Avery came over to play and meet baby Davis. She also gave me a really cool big brother present. We had a great time together.

Davis Matthew Taylor

Welcome home baby brother!

I made welcome home signs for mommy, daddy, and "baby brother." Mommy and Daddy told us his name when they got home.

I got to hold him as soon as he got home. I also had fun showing him our house and his new room. He was excited because he thought it was a lot better than that hospital room he had been in. We also spent some time on the porch that afternoon, and I loved the idea that it was his first time to ever be outside. I pointed out everything - the sky, trees, grass, flowers, wind, etc. I can't wait to teach my baby brother everything I know!

Baby Taylor was born on Monday, August 3rd at 12:14. He weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces. Mom and baby are doing great. I am very excited and full of questions. We look forward to sharing his name tomorrow and many more pictures by the end of the week. We are praising God for this joyous time and appreciating our many blessings! Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.

Tuesday, August 4th

our first meeting upon his arrival

Fun summer activities

"Camping out" in the den was one of my favorite activities for about a week. I pulled everything off of my bed and drug it into the den and then brought in books and toys. It kept me entertained for a long time, and cleaning up did too!

I participated in a Kindermusik class in July.

Daddy and I love to work in the yard.

Fun Times in Nashville

Nana took me to the zoo, and it was a perfect day for it - overcast, cool, and not rainy. I saw some big boys looking at a map and of course had to read my map the rest of our way through the zoo.

Thursday afternoon was very exciting! Nana and I went to the Franklin library to see one of my all-time favorite musicians - Roger Day! It was a great concert; I watched in awe. I've been listening to Roger Day since I was a little boy and knew several of the songs he played. I always enjoy live music, and it was fascinating to hear all of his songs come to life!

Gigi met us at the mall on Friday. We rode the carousel and ate Mexican food (one of my favorite meals) for lunch. Then, Gigi and I headed home to Sparta to prepare for my baby brother's arrival on Monday.

8 DAYS AND COUNTING!

My baby brother will be here in 8 days!!!! Wednesday, July 29th is the big day, and we are so excited! No, he still doesn't have a name. Mommy and Daddy are considering offering a grand prize for the winning suggestion. :) Feel free to comment with your vote. We have had a great time with all the preparations and are probably as ready as we'll ever be. I talk about "my baby brother" a lot but am still not real sure what to expect. I frequently offer to share things with him and excitedly put random things in his crib at totally random times. I discovered a couple blankeys that mommy had set aside for him and decided I needed them for myself. One was actually my old reject from over a year ago that I would have nothing to do with replacing a missing one. I offered to trade "my old green blankey because it has holes in it now." Well, that trade lasted most of the afternoon - at least until bedtime. :) One of the parts I'm still most excited about is having someone to ride in the backseat of the car with me. It will be an exciting next few weeks! That's for sure!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a wonderful time on Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Charles' boat! We had lots of snacks, swam, ate dinner at the Marina, and watched fireworks. I was mesmerized this year by the fireworks - partly because I understood more this year and partly because I was exhausted. I conked out on the boat ride home in Nana's lap. It was a great day!

Swimming, Carnival, & Conductor Jack

I had a fun weekend. Nana took me swimming twice to practice what I've been learning in swimming lessons. Also, I went to a carnival at Grandma Taylor's and had a blast. I "fished" for a goody bag which I was thrilled to find out had candy AND toys. I had my face painted for the first time. Initially, I was very uncertain about it. After Nana had her face painted, I decided it was going to be alright. After watching very seriously in the mirror, I was pleased with my blue bird. There was a moon walk and a dunking booth - neither of which I participated in but enjoyed watching. One of my favorite parts of the carnival was listening to the live jazz band while we ate lunch. Avery and I were both so excited to see Conductor Jack at the museum. We had not seen him in several weeks. As soon as Mommy told me we were going, I excitedly ran to my room to get my "Conductor Jack hat," which Avery gave me as a party favor. Conductor Jack was happy to see me in a hat that matched his. This is his magic coloring book. He let us use our imaginations to fill in the pictures and then color them.

Swimming Lessons

I'm taking lessons every day this week from a teacher in Sparta. She does a great job. However, I'm not having a lot of fun. I'm very good at kicking and making "shovels," but I hate going underwater and cry every time I know it's coming. My friend Avery is in the class with me, and that has made it much more enjoyable. As you can tell from the looks on my face, I take this all very seriously and cautiously.