Nielsen's Grove Park

Saturday evening we packed Tay in the car and headed up to Orem to visit Nielsen's Grove Park. I was there with Taylor last week for a ward playgroup and wanted Sean to see it too. It's a really amazing park with lots of grass, a playground, duck pond, and two large shallow fountains for kids to play in.

We started our adventure at the playground, where Tay Tay was so excited to see the swings and HUGE slide that he almost kicked himself right out of my arms. His favorite part was climbing the gazillions of steps up to the top of the slide and then zooming down with Mommy. There weren't many people there, so I let him climb up at his own pace and I think he felt like a big boy.



Next up were the swings, where he seemed less than amused until I did the trick my dad always did with us when we were kids - stand in front of him and jump out of the way at the last minute as he swings forward. As soon as I started doing that he was squealing and kicking his legs so much Sean and I could hardly contain our laughter. I know these pictures of him are blurry, but they're cute anyway.


After the playground it was on to the duck pond where Taylor was entertained by the three ducks for approximately 30 seconds. I couldn't stop taking pictures of him with Daddy though because I just can't believe how big he's gotten since last year, but that's another post...

The last stop on our excursion was the wading fountain (Disclaimer: there are actually signs all over the fountains that say not to wade or swim because the water is untreated. Look at me being the responsible parent). At first we just kept Taylor in his regular clothes because I was sure that - like a few days prior - he wouldn't want to get anything more than his feet wet. Well apparently he was feeling much more adventurous this time around because he all but dove into the water fully dressed. We had to pull him out of the fountain kicking and screaming to change him into his swim diaper, and once he was allowed back in he was crawling all over the place. He splashed as hard as he could, and even when he got water in his face he'd just laugh and keep splashing. It was seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen. Really.

The hard thing was that he wanted so badly to play with the other kids in the fountain (I'm not the only irresponsible parent in Utah County apparently), but they were much older and wanted nothing to do with him. He had fun anyway, and we had fun watching him and taking tons and tons of pictures.

Here's a cute video I took too:



It was a really fun family outing and I'm so glad we went!

Veteran's Memorial Pool

After several frustrating hours of swimsuit shopping (I'm exaggerating just a tad, but it still wasn't the best experience of my life), my neighbor Bobbi and I took Taylor to the Veteran's Memorial Pool here in Provo. I have never been there before (mostly because of my lack of swimsuit and my lack of enthusiasm at wearing one) and it's actually a really neat place.

They have a large swimming pool with water slides, but the best part is the enormous kiddie pool complete with miniature water slides, fountains, and water guns. Taylor had an absolute blast, and there was so much to see and do that I think his little baby brain went crazy trying to take it all in. At one point he crawled over and sat under a small sprinkler that shot him right in the face. He'd start whining and Bobbi or I would pull him away from it, but he'd just crawl right back and stick his face in the water again.

The funniest part was when we were drying off; he lounged in his floaty (that he refused to stay in when we were actually in the water) and collected rocks that I'm sure he would have kept for years to come if Bobbi hadn't slyly thrown them away when he wasn't looking.


All in all it was a great day and I'm sure we'll be back there at least a couple more times before fall.

Random cuteness

I was just compiling some pictures to go with some blog posts and thought you'd enjoy these two random pictures that make me laugh.

In this first picture Tay was in our bedroom with me while I was folding laundry. He found a swim diaper amid the piles of junk in the corner and decided that the best place for it was on his head.


This picture was taken just after I gave Taylor a bath. His hair is getting long and I thought I'd try to put it into a fauxhawk. It worked fantastically (yes, that is a word. Look it up if you don't believe me).

A week in pictures

I thought I'd jump on and give a quick update on the adventures of Mr. Taylor. So without further introduction, I give you a week in pictures.


This past week Taylor has...


...laughed hysterically at the screen door...


...desperately wanted to play with the big kids across the street...



...played with ants and potato bugs (I'm pretty sure he also ate one when I wasn't looking)...



...perfected the yoga position of "downward facing dog" on our sidewalk...



...decided that the tomatoes don't need dirt...



...decided that dirt tastes disgusting...



And last but not least, he made this very sad face that I can't stop laughing at:



There you have it - a week in the life of baby Tay, as captured by Mommy.

Tay's new talent

Taylor boy has taken up singing songs. Usually he sings in a soft little voice that melts my heart, but yesterday he decided to sing Mom, Sean, and I a louder, more obnoxious song. Here's a video. Sorry the camera is so shaky; I was laughing so hard it was hard to keep it still. He is such a silly boy!

PS- Yes, he is playing with my hair dryer. It's his new obsession right now and he drags it all over the house with him. You'd think I'd learn to stop buying him toys and just give him hair dryers, whisks, and Tupperware containers.

A day in Daddy's shoes

Sean and I were lounging in the living room talking this last weekend when we realized that Taylor was just quietly playing by himself. We looked over and realized he was playing with Sean's shoes and already had one on his foot! It was the funniest thing and I was so surprised that he understood that they went on his feet. Sean went over and stuck the other shoe on, which Tay liked at first and then decided he didn't want anything to do with them. And so he did what he does with everything he's tired of playing with - promptly dragged them over to the baby gate, stood up, and threw them into the kitchen.

I think this kid is gonna be trouble. Hilarious trouble.

Splish splash!

Taylor loves water and he LOVES being outside, so we decided to combine his two favorite things and got him a pool! It's a cute little inflatable one and he's played in it at least a couple times a week. Well last week my friend Christine came over with her daughter Skylynn and Sky went for her first dip. Doesn't she look adorable in her swimming suit? Cutest little thing ever!

Christine and I were both surprised that she liked it so much - more than Taylor did actually. I think Tay was really excited to have another little person in the water with him, but kept getting annoyed when she'd play with his toys (don't ya just love that little toddler attitude?).

All in all it was a really great day, and the best part was getting some "mommy time." I love visiting with Christine - it's still crazy to both of us that we're moms now since we practically grew up together. It's just great to have someone that really sympathizes with the tough stuff that only us moms understand.

Anyhoo, Taylor and I have really been enjoying our summer, and at the same time I'm already dreading winter when my little outdoorsman will be cooped up in the house all the time. Guess I'd better enjoy this great weather while I can, eh?