Happy Retirement, Mom!

Today marks the end of many many years of hard work and dedication. You not only took wonderful care of your own family, but you have touched so many other lives along the way. Look back in total satisfaction and look ahead to your new peaceful life. It's now your time to live each day to the fullest. Enjoy your well deserved retirement, Mom! We love you very much and we are always so proud that you are our mom! OK, Dad, it's your turn to retire now!

A day in the park.

Dad got off work early so he took the family out to find a new park. We went to the Wheaton Regional Park. We found a very beautiful botanical gardens area and great trails for hiking with the jogging stroller. The park also has a miniature train that carries passengers through the woods!

Peace, Dude!

Tyler believes in world peace.

Busy Few Days

Last night, Tyler laughed out loud for the very first time! It was the cutest laugh, we had ever heard! Steve was shaking his hand and I guess he thought that was funny and laughed. This morning, he rolled over on his belly for the first time! He did it twice this morning so far! On Sunday, he grabbed his foot for the first time! Also on Sunday, when we were at the mall eating at the food court, he grabbed our food tray and pulled it towards him. It sure has been a busy few days filled with a lot of firsts! This is a very special time in our lives right now and we are enjoying every second of it!

Breaking NEWS:

After several hours of rain, the water level on our patio rose past the sliding-glass door frame. Water soaked the living room carpet and poured into the kitchen. We called the 800 number to report the leak at around 10 p.m. No one called back or came to our apartment to help out. The man over the phone said that there had been several calls about water already. This building is about 20 years old. So this can't possibly be the first time this apartment has flooded. Actually, I would guess this probably happens every time.

Self Service

Everyday Tyler is learning new things. Today we noticed he held the bottle as we were feeding him. We don't often feed him by bottle, but today we had a few errands to run and so I made a few for the trip.

Tyler goes to the Jungle

OK Mom, I'm ready to go on a safari! Let me look through these binoculars to see if I can spot some giraffes or lions.

Happy Belated Birthday, Larissa!

Yesterday was Larissa's birthday. We met Larissa while stationed in Sicily, Italy. We arrived in Sicily on the same exact day and thus we were in indoc class together. We were also neighbours while we lived in Belpasso. Every Friday night, we would go out for dinner and then for dessert, we would go for a gelato or granita at Condorelli, which they still enjoy and like to remind us how good it is...gee, thanks! Congratulations to Larissa for her re-enlistment into the navy, which will take place this Friday. Larissa and her husband CorEy, along with their daughters Aya and Danielle, are moving back to the States in the fall. We look forward to seeing them again! We miss you guys! Good calda ciccolata? Stock up before you leave!!!

Tyler Turns 4 Months Old

Today marks Tyler's 4 month birthday! In some ways, I just can't believe our baby is 4 months old already, but in other ways it really feels as if he has been with us forever. He has grown so much and so quickly. It's hard to take into perspective when you look back at his other photos and to think that in just 2 months time he will be half a year old! He sure has changed a lot. I find he is looking more like a little boy each day, and gradually losing his little baby look. He also has such a cute personality now. He is just so much fun to be with! God has truly blessed us!

Preparing for Crib

Tyler's choice of bed is his car seat. He absolutely loves his car seat! In fact, he has trouble sleeping anywhere else. It all started when he was about a month old. We would put him in his bassinet and he would cry up a storm, so we tried the car seat and voila, he was happy and content. This worked great, but we were quite concerned how this would affect his spine, so we asked our pediatrician and to our surprise, she was actually fine with him sleeping in his car seat and said this happens more common than we think. She said it is the result of them feeling more comfortable because they are more enclosed similiar to what they were used to sleeping in their mother's womb. However, she did say as he gets older and becomes more mobile, we will have to eventually move him into a crib. Steve and I have decided the sooner we can get him into a crib the better, so now we are slowly getting him used to sleeping in more open areas. For his daytime naps, we place him in the middle of our bed. We've been doing this now for almost 2 weeks and so far, it's been working out wonderfully. Within the next couple of weeks, we are planning on buying his crib and we are very excited!

Fun in the Park

Steve took this photo yesterday when we were out geocaching. I love the adorable look on Tyler's face and his little feet sticking out. We noticed there were a lot of other first time dads out in the park yesterday enjoying their Father's Day with their babies. It sure was a beautiful day!

Father's Day Out

For Father's Day, we decided to check out some local parks in our area. Of course, we also managed to get some geocaching in along the way. We found some great parks where we can take the bikes and the stroller. We hope you had a wonderful first Father's Day! Thank you for taking such good care of Tyler and I. You are such a loving husband and father and we are so blessed to have you in our lives. I just know that you and Tyler are going to be best friends. We love you always and forever!!! XOXOXO

Dad's First Father's Day

This was a very special day for the Smith family. It was Steve's first Father's Day. Dad got cards from Mom, Tyler, and even Uncle Jeff and Aunt Toni. For Dad's gift, he received two National Audubon field guides. One is about weather and the other is North American mammals. He always wanted the set and now he has some to get him started.

Buddies

While in Florida, Angie and I had the boys photos taken at a Sears Portrait Studio. It was a lot of fun! Prior to the photo shoot, we went shopping for matching outfits. We are planning on making this a tradition as Tyler and Garret grow older. Angie is married to Steve's brother, Mark; their son Garret was born exactly a month before Tyler.

Sleepy Sweetie

The most common question we get asked about Tyler is whether he is sleeping through the night yet. The answer is yes, yes he is..thank goodness! He has been sleeping through the night since he was about 2 months old. He usually goes to bed between 9:30 and 10:30pm and wakes up between 5-6am. Of course, the odd time he will wake up through the night, but he always falls back to sleep right after his feeding. He cluster feeds between 6:30pm and the time he goes to bed, which really helps him prepare for his overnight sleep.

Our Little Talker

Tyler is making all sorts of different kinds of cooing sounds now. He says 'ah-geeee' a lot, which I'm hoping he is trying to say Mommy or Daddy because it is usually when we are in another room, like he is calling us to come see him. He also says the word 'Hello' often..well, it sounds similar to it. We often have " conversations" with each other. It's a lot of fun. I love it when he squeals in excitement! The other day I was reading to him and every time I would turn the page, he would making a squealing noise. It was so funny! I just love this little guy soooo sooo much!!!

Uh Oh!

Did I hear someone say that I lost another sock???

Love My Swing

Caught this photo of my cutie pie, after he feel asleep in his swing. Swinging is his new favourite pastime. When we first tried him in the swing, when he was younger, he did not like it at all. Then when we moved here and we were busy unpacking, we had to find something to keep him occupied, so we tried the swing again. To our surprise, he took an immediate liking to it. Now he just loves swinging and giving his mom and dad lots of smiles during his ride. Notice the missing sock! Somehow he manages to lose a sock almost everyday.

Welcome Kendall Elizabeth!

Congratulations to Steve's cousin, Laura, who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on Friday, June 9th. Kendall Elizabeth weighed in at 7 lbs 13 oz and is 20 inches long. Her sister, Reagan, loves to hold her and give her kisses. I'm sure Laura's sister, Kara who lives near us, just can't wait to go home so she can meet her new neice for the first time.

Back to Work

Today is Steve's first day of work with his new command in Washington, DC. He has to leave early in the morning to get there on time because of all the traffic; it is only a 20.5 mile drive, however it takes aproximately 45 minutes to drive. Eventhough Steve just left 15 minutes ago, I miss him so much already!!!! Best of luck on your first day, and we love you soooo much!!!!

Kitchen Flood 2

Two hours have passed with no sign of the maintenance man. Steve went back to the office. They told him that the maintenance man was paged several times. I don't understand how an apartment community of this size has only one person on call. And that person doesn't answer calls or pages?

Breaking NEWS:

At around 12:30 p.m., we heard a loud splash in the kitchen. Upon further investigation we noticed a large stream of water draining from the ceiling. The upstairs washing machine obviously has a leak in its drainage pipe. We informed the lady upstairs through her child who was outside playing. Steve then ran to the leasing office to inform the staff.

Introducing Andrew Barrington

Andrew is 5 weeks old and he is just so adorable! He is the son of Mara and Darren. We are looking forward to meeting him inperson for the first time when we go home to Cape Breton in August. Mara and Heather grew up together as friends and neighbours and it is now hard to believe they are both mommies to such beautiful babies. Tyler and Andrew are so close in age that they will probably be playmates when Tyler becomes older and goes to visit Grandma and Grandpa Walker. Congratulations to Mara and Darren. You sure have a sweet little guy!

Aliens Have Landed!

Tyler loves his new jumpy chair! Well, not really. I think he will enjoy it a bit more in a couple months. By the time I took the pictures, he was all the way down.

Last Night in Florida

Wednesday was our last day in Florida. To end our vacation, we had dinner with Cindy, Brian and Jason. Cindy and Brian made a fantastic dinner and we spent the night catching up. Now it is their turned to come and visit us. A special hello to Cindy and Brian's girls, Delaney and Emma who are cute as a button!

Tyler First Trip to the Beach

On Wednesday, we packed up our things and headed to the beach with Steve's sister Chellee and her two girls, Bryanna and Abbi. It was not only Tyler's first visit to the beach, but also Abbi's. Everyone had lots of fun. Tyler ended up falling asleep under the umbrella. Abbi turned 1 year old yesterday. Abbi and Brye are our God children.

Visit with the Hoffmann's

Steve has known the Hoffmann's since high school and has been in touch ever since. Tonight we got together for a nice dinner out and visit at their home. We are very blessed to have such great friends to introduce Tyler to. Mrs. Hoffmann even dug up a few plants from her garden for us to take back to our patio in Maryland. It was nice seeing you all again. Thank you for dinner and our new gardening project!

Abbi's Party

Tyler visits with Grandma and Mom at Abbi's first birthday party. Grandma brought a present for Tyler too. He got new clothes! Thank you, Grandma!

Travel Buddies

Tyler and Abbi ride side by side on the way to meet Grandma. We all went to lunch and then shopping. You can view the Taylor Family Blog to see some more pictures!

Going to Lake City, Florida

What a busy schedule we have while on vacation. We loaded up the car and drove two and a half hours north to Mark and Angie's house. This was our first visit to Lake City and we absolutley loved it! Mark and Angie have a very nice house out in the country. Mark does all the work on their house himself. After a long visit and pizza for dinner, it was back down to Orlando. We brought along Chellee, Abbi and Brian too! Thanks for having us up, Mark and Angie!

A day with Mark & Angie

Steve's brother Mark and his wife Angie came down from Lake City, Florida to spend the day at Walt Disney World with us. We all got rooms at a resort close to Downtown Disney in Lake Buena Vista. The next day we got up early and headed out for EPCOT Center and the Magic Kingdom. We had a great time and it was nice nice to get to see them.

Napping at Disney World

There seems to be something in the air at Disney World. Maybe it was all the sun and fresh air. Little did Tyler know, he made quite a few people smile as we passed by.

Tyler goes to Walt Disney World

Tyler has a great time visiting with Chip n' Dale at EPCOT Center at the Walt Disney Resort. Actually, Tyler took quite a few naps today. All that walking aound with Dad can wear a guy out!