every four years

i LOVE the summer olympics! i especially enjoy track & field, gymnastics, and swimming. the trials have begun and my DVR is set (wasn't Shawn Johnson's vault amazing?). as my excitement mounts i've decided to force my dreams on jill. i can't wait...8*8*08



race from Alisha on Vimeo.

at least i don't have to worry about a false start at the 2024 (?) summer olympics.

on the topic of summer: if your not swimming your inside. it is SIZZLING HOT here! we've had lots of inside time to practice for the spelling bee...


spelling bee from Alisha on Vimeo.

or maybe pre-singing idol...

idol from Alisha on Vimeo.

harvest at a month

this year goal: have something to harvest from veggie garden.
next year goal: have normal looking harvest from veggie garden...


(i remember growing up and picking the carrots and eating them with dirt on them. i loved that jill and i ate dirty carrots together.)

last week cam hit one month. here's some sweet faces. rose bud lips.
oh my.
cam is SO smiley. i love it b/c jill wasn't very smiley as a babe. ( i promise that camille has eyes. i just can't seem to get a picture with them open.)

new (not-so-new) car

with the second taylor babe on the way jeff and i got anxious to up-grade cars. jeff had been driving the ol' black escort. awww, the escort... i love this car. it was my first big purchase. it got me through all of college and our newly-wed years. the best part about the escort was that it was a stick shift! i always feel like i'm a race car driver when i'm behind the wheel as my torso sways back and forth with every shift change.
then there's the mits. the most uncomfortable car known to man! i did feel cute driving it, but over-all it was a pretty ho-hum car.
anyway, both cars are small, and not very safe to drive in on these crazy arizona roads.
the day that cam was born we got this:



sweet huh? it is a 2005 nissan pathfinder, V6, fully loaded, leather interior, sunroof, third row seating, tow-package, 4-wheel drive, xm radio, after stock tires and off-road package. two best-of-alls': (1) we got it at an auction for a killer price and (2) it has awesome a/c with back seat upper air (this is a must in the arizona heat). even with gas prices we love the car and feel much more safe being up higher. oh, we feel like we look cool driving it too.
p.s. now we have an itching to get really out-doorsy and sporty with boating, kayaking, biking etc. we've always had this itch, but now we have something to tow the toys with...

so you say it's your birthday

jeff 's 28th birthday was last thursday. i gathered his family and we all meet at Logan's Roadhouse for dinner. jeff worked at this restaurant in his home town after his mission and loves the food. as we were waiting for our food the waiter came out and said that the fryer just broke, thus we'd have to change some of our order. we did so with a little distress (i really wanted my french fries), only to have him come back and tell us that ours was the last order that was made before it broke; we got our originally ordered food after all. over the next 30 mins. the place became more and more smoky. come to find out not only was the fryer broke but they were having problems with the ventilation system and had to shut down the restaurant. it was only 6:30 at night. as we were leaving our waiter was using her inhaler due to the amount of smoke! to top it off we still had to pay for the food and jeff was disappointed in his steak. my was yummy though. weird night.
after dinner we went over to the outdoor mall to chill and let the kiddos run around.

cam wore her white cake with confetti outfit for daddy's birthday.
despite my last post jillian is still a happy girl most of the time. jeanette caught some great faces.

jillian loves any playtime with her cousins...even when they make her show her pot belly :)

photos by Hayley

my dear friend hayley made the 1.5 hr drive to my house for a play date and to meet cam. she brought her sweet camera and we had a fun little photo shoot with the girls. jill and ava went swimming and we all got a taste of jills "new attitude" (note the pictures below). yes, that's right, jill has quit the 'tude lately. she is unbelievably good with camille, always kissing and loving on her. despite her sweetness with little sister, jill is a bit defiant with me and she screams a lot louder lately. at times i get frustrated and feel like telling her that she needs to act like a big girl, then i promptly remember that she's only 19 months old. now i have two sweet babes at home.

birth story

baby girl taylor with mom and dad minutes after birth.
the taylor girls. jillian was acting so silly the first time she met camille.

camille taylor's birth story as i remember it:
my neighbor and i had the same due date: may 29th. she was scheduled for a c-section on the 20th. as i walked to my car for a doctors appt. the day of the 20th i couldn't help but think that she was no longer pregnant. here i am: 30 lbs. heavier than normal, 110 degrees outside, sleepless nights, and a 19 month old kicking my belly at every diaper change. therefore, when given the option to have my membranes stripped at the appt., i took it. as the doctor began i promptly regretted this decision. she later explained that if i am days away from labor this will do nothing, however if i am going to go into labor in the next few days it "may" expedite the process. after the sweeping of membranes i was dilated to 3cm and 60% effaced feeling stupid for agreeing to it.
that afternoon continued as normal but with a bit more pressure in my pelvis. a friend came over to watch idol and stayed to visit. i began feeling a bit uncomfortable with back pains around 9:30. luckily, the conversation was keeping me occupied as i continually became more and more uncomfortable. as jeff and i crawled into bed i knew something was happening. i had jeff get me a pen a paper to track the contractions. i told him that this may be the real deal. he responded, "well, if it is stop talking to me. i need to get some rest", then promptly feel asleep. :)
my contractions at this time were lasting 30 seconds and were 5 minutes apart. having decided to have a "natural" (i.e. no drugs) birth i wanted to labor at home as long as possible. i tried to follow jeffs lead and "get some rest". at 1:30 i couldn't lie awake anymore watching the clock. i began pacing the house. when i felt like i couldn't walk through my contractions i started watching crouching tiger, hidden dragon (i love that movie).
at 2:30, each contraction was more and more intense, forcing me to pause the movie and just concentrate on breathing through them. i decided to track again. lasting 1 min 10 seconds each and 3-4 mins apart i wondered if i should call the doctor. :) (pregnancy brain kicking in). i decided to first look it up in a book. i found my what to expect when your expecting book. frustrated with the out of date information i searched for something to tell me what to do. i finally found a "new parent binder" that prompted me to go to the hospital or call the doctor (no kidding). living 25 mins away from the hospital and it being 3:00 am i choose the latter. after expressing my concern of not wanting to be sent home from the hospital the nurse stated, "you might be sent home. but if you don't come in, you might have the baby at home." i woke up jeff, got a priesthood blessing, and we were on our way. of-course, the road we needed to take was blocked off completely. after our little detour we got to the hospital at 4 am. apparently the hospital had received 8 l&d patients in the last hour. we waiting, contractions continued, jillian wondering what's up.
finally, around 5 am i was checked and admitted; 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. jeff took jill to his sister sarah's home and i started walking the halls. with each contraction i held onto the wall and imagined a wave rolling in and back out as i counted (like only a dancer at heart knows how): "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. 2,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. 3,2,3,4,5,6,7,8" randomly counting in 8's, 12's or 16's.
at 8 am i was at 7 cm and 90%. jeff and i went on another walk that seemed like one continuous contraction. this is the point when i thought, "this is what an epidural is meant for". jeff was great at keeping it light hearted and i found that by laughing i was able to deal with the contractions easier. jeff was my saving grace through it all.
at 9:45 i was 9 cm and we decided to have the doctor break my water. i was quickly in transition. from this point on i didn't know which way was up. i wanted a cool wash cloth, no i want a warm one, rub my back, wait don't touch me, etc. i was never like the crazy laboring women you see on t.v. but i felt like it. i remember very vividly gaining strength as i looked at jeff and he would tell me "you're almost done, you can do it". i pushed for approx 30 mins. and then sweet baby girl taylor came to us. our emotions were released.
jeff and i are happy that i went natural. it was the most difficult and intense experience of my life. it was an unbelievable and truly indescribable experience. i don't know that i'll never get another epidural but i do think every women and husband needs to experience a natural birth if they can.

baby

new baby from Alisha on Vimeo.

Camille Taylor
21.May.2008
10:58 am
7 lbs 13 oz
20 inches long

Jeff + Alisha = True Love

Four years and counting. I love this man more today because of yesterday.

what's your vote?

CAMILLE

vs.


TORI

mother's day

i got a piano for mother's day, anniversary and having a baby gift!!! i found it on craigslist for only $150!!! i love it. there is something special about being a mother and being pregnant too on mother's day. i'm not sure what is was but yesterday was such a good day. i woke up in a good mood that lasted all day long (a rarity lately). jill and i played the piano, jeff cooked, we went on a family walk, a zucchini is growing, my flowers are blooming, and amanda and ozzy are still together (parv winning almost broke my mood though).
since yesterday i have been more and more excited for this sweet baby to come. mother's day did my "late pregnancy bad-attitude" good!

mom and mom-in-law: i love you and thank you for teaching me and jeff continually.
.

coming soon...

i'm sitting pretty at 2.5 weeks to go until my due date arrives. at my previous ultrasounds the baby was breech so i had a follow-up on wed. and we are good to go. the baby's head is down, feet are noticeably in my ribs, and now i wait. i'm having a lot more contractions this time around than i had with jill. last night i had around 8-10 contractions in a row. i was crossing my fingers that i wouldn't go into labor yet because i still want to get a clean home first. i'm not as swollen (ankles and feet) which i attribute to working less this time around, but i am more out of shape.

last week hayley held a luncheon with friends of mine at cafe rio. yummy. don't mind the fat face and big ol belly. this picture is missing natalie, luanne and hayley.

if i can get my home cleaned today and packed for the hospital the baby can come anytime...

my husband the athlete

two saturday's ago jeff did a triathlon!! he had been training for about a month and a half. jill and i got to go watch. it was so cool. jeff and i were a little apprehensive about it because neither of us knew how it worked or really any information. the night before the race jeff "bic"ed his head for that extra advantage. once we arrived we realized how big of a deal it was. a ton of guys were sponsored and jeff said that he only saw 2 bikes that were worth less than his. he took 81 out of 110 for his group in 3 hours 2 mins. the race started with the swim, jeff's weak spot. . .

this is the athletes waiting for the race to start. . .must have been fun treading water. if you blow the picture up you can pick out jeff. he is near the back without a cap on.
once the horn blew the lake was full of activity.
jill and i then drove to transition point to wait for jeff to finish and start the bike. we waited and we waited and we waited. finally, after i saw an older women finish her 1 mile swim and mosey over to the bikes i thought "i must of missed him". i packed up jill and headed to the next point hoping to catch him at transition to the run. i was wrong. jeff was still in the lake. he came in dead last with a time of 43:16. he did however have to swim to the aid of another athlete and pull him to a safety kayak.



once jeff finished the swim he determined to make up time in the bike. this was no ordinary bike trail. it was 17 miles of off road desert mountain trail. the trail began with a 1000 foot ascent that they called "pack your bike". jeff said that not one person could ride up the mountain, everyone had to get off their bikes (they had to do this at one other point too). when the athletes came in on their bikes some helpers grabbed the bikes and helmets so the athletes can run down the shoot and change shoes, grab a drink and start the run.
at the transition point i waited and waited again. biker after biker came in and no sight of jeff. i had become temporary friends with another wife. this was her husbands second race. the longer we waited the more anxious we became. as athletes came in we heard of a racer down with a broken collar bone, another down with a bike broke in half, yet another with multiple bike wreck, the stories came in as if to make me and my friend more uneasy. i kept seeing racers come in covered with dirt and bloody. "this must have been a brutal trail", i thought. finally, her husband came in...now jill and i were alone in waiting. about 3-5 mins later i saw jeff come around the corner. my excitement was too much to contain, until i saw the blood and dirt on jeff. jeff jumped off his bike and i ran with him down the shoot (me on the outside). i asked if he was okay and jeff just said how much fun he was having. i felt so much better.

jeff's about to change into his running shows. i knelt down by him and tried to help him change shoes and pin his number on his shirt. he came in 78th in the bike at 1:35:37. movin on up!
the 4.5 mile run was through the mountains too. jeff is the one with the white shirt on.
as my temp. friend and i waited for the hubbies to finish the race i got comfortable. i decided to wait until her husband came in to get ready for jeff. all the sudden, he comes into view. i wasn't even at the finish line with my camera ready when he crossed. jeff took 64th (43:20) in the run passing my friends husband.

we had a great time. it was really fun to cheer jeff on and jill was a trooper too. i would love if jeff got into triathlons and raced more. jeff did enjoy himself and he felt very accomplished.
back to jeff' s wreck. jeff was going too fast (trying to make up time) on a down hill and hit a big rock. this caused an "endo" i.e. flipping over the handle bars and bike flying over the top. once jeff realized that all of his appendages were still in-tact he checked his bike. a few parts were jacked up but jeff was able to keep riding. on the way home we stopped by my work to have the doctor check jeff out. she stated that jeff needed a few stitches on his shin and 1 or 2 in his elbow. jeff refused because we'd have to check in, so we've been taking care of his battle wounds at home. . .
here's jill waiting for daddy to finish.

the past couple weeks

jill, sam, and caroline playing. i thought jill was the only one that liked all my shoes. apparently anyone between 1-3 likes my shoes.
jill loved having gma and gpa pete and jon's family to visit. it was really fun to see her run around with sam and to wake up so happy to see gma and gpa pete.
jill showed sam what us arizonans do in april.

these are the only pics i took of the last few weeks. a lot has happened though. i'll blame it on the cold and my foggy pregnancy brain as to why i kept forgetting my camera. i've been waiting to receive some pics via email or steal them via other blogs but to no avail.

jeff's dad had a birthday a few weeks ago and it was great to see everyone and let jill play dress up with her cousins. jill has really opened up to letting anyone hold her and even prefers others at times over jeff or i. i'm not going to lie...sometimes it hurts my feelings.

my grandpa turned 90 years old two weeks ago. the petersons had a birthday bash (as "bashy" as you can at 90) for him in mesa and chandler. on thursday we met at the Old Country Buffet for dinner. jill actually liked the OCB Bee (thier mascot) and wasn't scared of him.

i was the lucky one to have my parents a couple brothers fly in for the event. it is so nice to see family. james and valerie brought carrie and jon and kristen brought sam. we all went to the zoo on saturday morning and then to the party. jill loved spending time with sam and caroline. this was my first time at a real zoo and i loved it. i couldn't get over the giraffe. are those things really real?















(i did steal a couple pics from kristen). jeff took my dad and jon out golfing. mom, kristen and i joined in a few holes with the kiddos. it's fun to just ride around on in the carts.

the day of the party jeff ran in Pat's Run with his family. this has quickly become a Taylor tradition. i can't wait until next year so me and the girls can participate. i ran it two years ago, four months prego with jill. i just thought being 9 months prego and my family in town i'd skip this year.

( i also stole these pics)

last saturday jeff did a triathlon. it was so cool. i'll be post about it soon...

18 months

jillian turned 18 months old on sunday. it has become more and more difficulty to hold her with my big ol' belly while conducting and doing sharing time in primary. i was looking forward to sending her to nursery. jeff couldn't just leave her so he stayed in the room for the first half. i don't think jill even noticed that he was there or that i forced him to leave. she did great!! one month of baby free primary...then i'll have a brand new one at the hip.

i will admit that i sorta missed having jill with me though. she is just so dang cute during singing time.

she had her 18 month appointment on tues. she got a shot and didn't even cry!! i couldn't believe it. the doctor said "this is the easiest 18 month check-up i've ever done. is she always so cooperative?" the doctor must not have remembered her 1 yr check-up when she cried from the moment the doctor walked in the room to the moment i got jillian in the car. hopefully, jill will have pleasant appt. from now on. here's her stats: weight 26 lbs (75%), head 18.6 in (79.9%), height 34 in (97%).

sicko

sick and pregnant don't mix! for the last 2.5 weeks i have had a killer cold. between blowing my nose, losing my voice, and coughing up a lung, i was trying to get ready for company (some of my family came down) and get ready for the new baby. needless to say jill was a little neglected and became bff's with the tv for a week or so. oh, and my blogging went down the tubes. here's a few clips i did manage to get while i was sickly:


Untitled from Alisha on Vimeo.


Untitled from Alisha on Vimeo.

conference weekend

it's become somewhat of a tradition to have a pot-luck dinner at the TT house for the last session of conference. it's a little hard to listen with so many chewing mouths and a handful of sweet kiddos running around. i love any opportunity for jill to hang with her cousins. emma was laughing at her and said "it's funny when jillian talks because you don't know what she's saying". oh, of-course ballard and monson were hi-lites of the weekend.

What do you want to hear first?

BAD NEWS:
a few days ago as i was watering my flower sprouts that are up against the house i noticed that they were looking sad. on closer inspection i saw that each of them had a few bite marks and were missing some of their leaves. i'd be pretty sad too if i were being bitten all night. by the next morning every single last flower sprout was GONE!!! last night jeff went out there and saw two crickets in the area. i am sooooooo sad! what now? do you think some of my seeds might still sprout? can crickets dig and eat seeds too, or are they only scavengers of cute little flower sprouts? today i closely inspected my other flower sprouts and my veggie garden. no stupid bug has got to them yet. i have my fingers crossed.

GOOD NEWS:
less than two months to go to meet our new little girl. the last few days i've been touching my belly with jill and saying "come out sister". (stole it from hayley). jill doesn't really act like she knows what i'm saying though. lately at night i've had a bit of anxiety while i try and sleep. it's hard enough to sleep while big and uncomfortable but i feel like there is so much to do before she gets here. never the less i am getting soooooo excited. i can't wait to give birth (is that weird?). every time i have a contraction i get really pumped up for the whole experience. i don't think my belly has grown since the last pic but maybe i'll get around to documenting it with a photo some time. let the count down begin. 7.5 weeks to go...

the anticipation is KILLING me

last saturday jeff and i planted a veggie garden and a bunch of flowers. everyday since i've planted the seeds i've been dying to see what comes up!! the anticipation has been killing me. i thought i was going to have an aneurysm when i saw my first flower sprout. this is my cucumber and beans. i also planted some squash, cantaloupe and carrots. you have blow this pic up and look very closely for these four flower sprouts.
few more flowers.

this is really fun. i'll give you an update is a few months with my harvest.

Easter

jillian wasn't too excited about her basket after 8 am church. she needed a nap. we got to go to jeff's grandmas house for a wonderful ham dinner and an egg hunt. jillian loved to put the eggs in her basket and then take them out to throw them.

now for a few random thoughts:

i was thinking yesterday; why is it that christmas is the more celebrated holiday over easter? (i understand the hype over santa etc.) i'm speaking religiously. there are many more devotionals, more music, more everything for christmas. isn't easter what it should be all about? without the resurrection there would be no point. we would literally be in a lost state. today as i was reading the BoM, Lehi was teaching Jacob of this and how the resurrection was the key to salvation (2nd Nephi 2:8-10). after pondering my thoughts yesterday and then reading this this morning i will will now try and focus as much or more attention to the meaning of easter that i do to christmas.