October 2013

Ever since I started a family, October seems to be one of the busiest times of year. This one was no exception. Amy and her boyfriend were able to come visit us for a night. George has family in Dallas and they were up there for a long weekend. I was excited to spend time with them but wished it was longer. Hopefully they'll be back soon so we can show them around our little town.

Jill and Camille started fall soccer. Jillian has moved up to a bigger age group and with it, a bigger field. Jill has been on the same team each season. We love these coaches and Jill really loves soccer.

Camille enjoys soccer too but it's more of a social thing for her right now. She says she doesn't want to play next season but if her friends are playing I'm sure she will.

Sarah, Caitlin, and Becky drove over from AZ to spend their fall break with us. It was great to get these sibs together again.  

Here's the Taylor grand boy's.

We all made a trip to San Antonio. We saw the River walk,

and the Alamo.

I let the girls skip a few days of school, but not all week. The cousins went to school lunch one day to see the girls.

We all went to a UT Volleyball game. We have gone to the games a lot this year and always have a great time there.

We also showed them a few of our family favorite spots, like Twin Lakes. We had a great week and tears were shed when it ended. I hate being away from family.

With the rest of the Taylor's living in AZ, we are so happy and lucky to have Stan in TX with us. Coco and him have a special bond.

Jill turned 7 this year. We had a fun party for her with many of her new church, and neighborhood friends. We did crafts, played red rover and bingo, had a pinata,

a donut cake (as requested),

and of-course did our traditional balloon launch.

Jillian is a very special girl. She has grown up to be an amazing big sister, great friend, and very kind spirit. She struggles with math in school and is a bit of a perfectionist. She has always been shy but is working on it and has improved greatly in this past year. She's very excited to meet her new little sibling and is always trying to make sure I feel okay. She is the perfect fit for our family as a #1 child. We love her so much.

On her actually birthday we had our neighbors (who are basically family at this point), the Rattray's, over for a small celebration. Can't wait to see what another year with this sweet girl brings.

One of Jeff's greatest friends, Brandon, was married at the end of the month. Jeff, Coco, and I flew over to UT for the wedding, while the girls stayed with the Rattray's for the weekend.

They got married in the SLC temple. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I will always have a very special spot in my heart for Brandon. We went through the temple for the first time together and Jeff was his escort. The next day Jeff and I were married. Brandon was part of the most important days of my life. He has also, always been a wonderful example and friend to Jeff. I love that man and am so happy for him and his new wife. Hopefully, I can get to know her and maybe not be the only girl going on buddy trips anymore.

Here's Jeff, Nate, and Brandon. My three favorite dudes.

With all the busyness of Oct, I wasn't too creative for the kids outfits for Halloween. They were both witches. We went up to our old neighborhood and trick-or-treated with friends. It was a long fun night.

Jeff was dressed as Duck Dynasty member, and Coco as Batman. I was lame and didn't get have a costume. Oh-well, maybe next year when I'm not pregnant.

September 2013

My 20 wk ultrasound went well.  I didn't find out the sex of the baby. With all the previous babies I have found out the sex. I just wanted a new experience. Jeff didn't agree with me.  I almost didn't let him come to the appt but he search my phone and found out when it was anyway, so I let him come.  The u/s tech knew I didn't want to know so when she needed to do the measurements etc on the lower half of the baby she made me look away. After she was done Jeff asked her the sex and she still wouldn't say. She said, "if the mother says no, I don't tell". I could sense that Jeff was losing a little bit of patience so I let her tell him. He has sworn not to tease, drop hints, or tell anyone the big secret. Hopefully, he can hold out. The baby looked healthy and had all the right parts in the right places and that's what really matters. The baby was throwing up signs for all the pictures. Here's an 'I Love You', Jeff thinks it's more of a Longhorn sign.  

The girls ask me to meet them at lunch everyday.  I've been able to go a few times. Jillian has really done better this year with being away from me. I'm sure it's because she sees her sister at lunch and frequently in the halls. Camille is thriving. She is so outgoing and loves everything about school.

Coco is super attached to me and loves to crawl all over me. It's getting a little harder to handle this big boy with my growing belly.

Jeff's dad's Uncle Jess died this month. It wasn't a surprise as he's been on the downhill for quite a few years. I've meet him twice and he is really a sincerely loving man. We made the trip up to Dallas for the service and met up with Sarah's family and the TT house who all drove over from AZ. We have sorely missed having our cousins around! 

The service was wonderful and I learned a lot about Uncle Jess. It made me ponder once again (done after Grandpa Pete's funeral) the legacy I'm leaving. I want to be remembered for my love and devotion to my family mostly. I want my friends to recall happy, funny times we've had and I really want to be remembered as a kind person.

I hit my 6 month mark at the end of the month. I've continued to workout 4-5 times a week and am feeling overall pretty good. My tailbone is the biggest problem. It hurts non-stop. I ice it frequently and on bad days have to take tylenol. I have found that it hurts whether or not I exercise so I figure it's better to do it than not. I feel about the same size as my other pregnancies but my weight is higher. Here's me and Jeff trying to be artistic with my belly shots.

August 2013

As the summer started to wind down Jeff needed to get some fishing done. We spent the day at a family favorite swimming spot, Krause Springs, then went to Lake Travis to fish. We caught a fish every time we cast. I was nervous with Coco around the open dock but the girls and Jeff had a great time.

The girls finished up their basketball season and ended up really enjoying it.

We made a trip to Sandy's ranch for a weekend to spend time with Jeff's old friend Josh. We all love to be out there on the land with all the animals.

Coco

I turned 31 this year and our sweet neighbors took the kids for the afternoon so Jeff and I could go out.  I got a massage and then we headed downtown.  We went to a burger joint called Hopdoddys.  The burger, fries, milkshake, and Cesar salad was to die for.  We then went to Allens Boot Shop and Jeff bought me my first pair of real boots.  They were shooting a film downtown too so we hung-out and watched that for awhile. It was really a great day.

The girls had back-to-school night at their new school Fern Bluff. Camille has Ms. Moloo for kinder and Jill has Mrs. Shepherd for first.

They were both rather excited for the first day of school. I was pretty lonely. The school is super strict and I wasn't allowed to walk them to class.  I hate that.

The night before school started the girls got a blessing from Jeff and I gave them a Best Friends necklace. They told me after school, on the first day, they saw each other in the hall and ran together to put their necklace together. I'm so glad they have each other.

We ended the month with the UT season opener. It was packed and blazing hot but so fun.