All play on Labor Day

This Labor day was the first time since before I started working that I had Labor day off. That's just how it goes when you work retail. You have to work when everyone else wants to play.

My parents wanted to get the family together and go do something. We were babysitting my cousin Tara's son Jayden and we thought it would be fun to take him to the zoo.

It had rained a ton the night before and all morning so we didn't get there until about noon. The rain had stopped and it was overcast and very nice outside. It was the perfect day to be there. It wasn't crowded at all. I had forgotten how much I love watching animals. Teagan would look up from his stroller when the animals would move around and he smiled up at them. He seemed to like watching the animals. Jayden also had a great time seeing the animals. He said he liked the "pink ones" the best. I later realized that he meant penguins. The penguins were swimming around in the water and were very entertaining.

My favorite animals have always been the odd shaped ones. I love elephants, girrafes, and hippos. It is also really cool to watch the monkeys. We saw a young orangutan that was so curious and was swinging and playing in his cage. He finally came up to the glass window and stuck his tongue out at us. It was like something you'd see on a movie.

After the zoo we went bowling. Devin, who had to work earlier and missed the zoo, met up with us. Garrett worked that night so he missed out but we still had a good time. We kept changing each other's names while the other person was up bowling. I went from Rachelle to Rashizzle to Darth Vador to all kinds of names that my siblings thought I would hate. We had a lot of fun. It was really refreshing to do something out of the ordinary. I lost my camera but Ste got some good pictures and I am just waiting for her to email them to me. I guess I can add them later.

Bath time!

Teagan LOVES taking a bath. He has enjoyed sitting up in the bath lately and splashing the water everywhere. After a diaperchange disaster, I decided to give him a bath in the kitchen sink. (It was the closest thing I could get to and I scrubbed it out afterward.) He really had himself a good time. He tried to eat the bubbles and splashed everywhere.



He found something interesting on the other side of the sink.


He isn't asleep in this picture he just looked down right when I took it. He slid down into the water and kicked his legs. It was adorable but this was the last picture I took before the camera battery went dead. (Also, the bubbles are a lot higher than the actual water level. No babies were harmed in the process.)

The cutest little bumblebee

Teagan started eating baby food a little over a month ago. He hated it at first and wouldn't eat it. I know it's hard to imagine my little chunk not wanting to eat anything, but it's true. I was persistent and it finally paid off. He is now a good eater and gets excited when you put him in his high chair. It's funny.

His latest thing is paper. It all started with the doctor's office for his 6 month check up. He was laid down on that paper they put over the beds and he loved the crinkly sound. He rolled back and forth and kicked his legs. He was so happy. Well after that, every time he sees paper he dives straight for it. He tore apart the entire newspaper about two weeks ago. I sat and watched him do it, so I obviously wasn't upset over it, but I was excited to see him explore something new. He loves any kind of paper. Napkins, newspaper, magazines, etc. I realized that he shouldn't be given paper so he won't want to tear up everything. My little brother Garrett tore up my scrapbook with most of my baby pictures in it when he was little and I don't want Teagan to do the same sort of thing, but how do you take it away when he loves it so much?

He has reached an age where he is so aware of his surroundings. (Even more than before.) I took him outside in the back yard on Monday and though he has been outside several times, he acted like it was the first time he had seen anything out there. He looked at the birds and trees with such wonder. It was so fun to see him experience things for the first time.

He has such a cute personality. It had been so fulfilling to be a mother and teach him things and watch him grow. (Even though it happens so fast!)I can't believe it's been seven months already. It seems like yesterday I was miserably pregnant and counting down the days. (I am certainly glad that is over.) I am so lucky to have the family that I do. I couldn't be happier. Darryl spoils me and Teagan is just the perfect baby. I feel very blessed.

Olympic Spirit

I love the Olympics. It's good that it only happens every two years (I love both winter and summer games) because I am glued to the TV for the entire duration. I love the spotlights they do on the athletes. Who wouldn't want to know what Michael Phelps eats for breakfast? Thankfully we have Bob Costas to tell us these things. I stayed up way to late watching Nastia get her gold. I was intrigued by the drama surrounding the French swimmer who is competing against her ex-boyfriend's current fling. I love it all. I feel so patriotic cheering for the U.S. athletes. I really love most of the events. (not crazy about water polo)

I get excited about the promising athletes and have high hopes for them. I have been a Phelps fan since his Olympic debut and was disappointed to hear about the Hamm brother's injuries. I love the spirit of the Olympics. It brings the world together in a peaceful, non-political setting and allows America to show how much we dominate! China's proved a tough competitor this time but we still have them on the total medal count. It never gets old watching the pride and honor the athlete exudes when the flag of their country is raised and their anthem plays.

If I had realized my love for the Olympics years ago, I would have picked a sport and dedicated my life to it just to be able to compete in the Olympics. Preferably a sport less people are interested in, so I had more of a chance. If backgammon is ever an Olympic event, I would take the gold. It's the only thing I get competitive over. I better start training just in case they make it one. Anyone wanna play?

Interesting . . . well just facts about me

Several months ago I was asked to put a list of my quirks on my blog. I am slow at getting to it, but here it is. I am a rather strange person so the hard part was narrowing it down. Here are a few facts about me.

1. It's really awkward to hold Teagan with my right arm. It's also uncomfortable to have my purse or really to carry anything on my right arm. I am severely right-handed and like to keep that arm free. I typically load up my left arm with as much as I can carry and have nothing but my car keys in my right hand.

2. I am quite unromantic in a lot of ways. I don't celebrate my anniversary or Valentine's Day. I think it's pointless and a waste of money. I like being spoiled everyday not twice a year. :) My idea of something romantic is when I come home from work to find that the dirty laundry I hadn't been able to get to is clean and folded neatly in my drawer; or when my gas tank is running low and the next time I get in my car it has been filled. I don't need flowers or jewelry, just my wonderfully thoughtful husband.

3. I Q-tip my ears obsessively. It happens at least two to three times a day. Usually right when I wake up, then after I take a shower and before I go to bed. If I think about it during the day, I have to Q-tip my ears. The idea of having wax in my ears is disgusting.

4. I get physically sick when I see bloody things. I get chills and I get nauseous and start dry heaving. It's so bad that I couldn't help one of the customers that came into the pharmacy because they got some chopped liver from the meat department and wanted me to ring it up with their prescription. It was in a clear plastic container that looked like a bowl of chunky blood. I took one look at it and ran to the bathroom and puked. (No. I wasn't pregnant at the time.)

5. I hate massages. I don't want someone rubbing my back. I don't even like a massage from Darryl unless I am in a lot of pain and even then it only takes 30 seconds for me to remember why I don't like being massaged. I am a no touch person. I get that from my dad. I don't like to snuggle, hold hands, etc. I have gotten so much better about being physically affectionate since I got married, but I have to remind myself. (It's not hard to be affectionate to a baby. Teagan has brought out a whole new affectionate side to me.)

That sneaky little guy . . .

Teagan is such a little wiggle worm these days. He has discovered that if he arches his back and wiggles enough, you will put him on the floor. Once on the floor, he will sit and play for a minute or two and then either starts crying wanting to be picked up again, or will flop onto his tummy and you find him two minutes later about five feet away from where you placed him. I have seen him push himself up on his hands and knees but he doesn't move when you are watching him. I have seen him scoot a tiny bit but nothing that would move him five feet in a matter of 2 minutes. He is so sneaky.

Family Pictures

I wanted to get a family picture taken since we have lots of pictures of Teagan, but not many of all three of us. Last year we had pictures taken with Darryl's family in his Grandparents backyard and I liked the setting so we (well, I) decided to take some of our family in the same setting. It's tough to get Darryl to want to have his picture taken. It's certainly not his favorite thing. Darryl's parents were in town from California and I had my mother-in-law, Reita and my sister-in-law, Aimee help with the pictures. Reita takes nice pictures and Aimee has become a pro at getting Teagan to smile. It should be fairly simple, right? Thankfully my mother-in-law is a very kind and patient person. It took a while to get something good. We made the mistake of putting Teagan barefoot on the grass for the first time and got some interesting expressions from him. Here are a few of the "interesting" ones. We took about 30 pictures and between Teagan having strange expressions, Darryl closing his eyes, and me squinting too much or talking, (imagine that) we got 2 pictures that turned out well. Thanks again to Reita and Aimee for taking the pictures.

Now we just need Teagan to look less miserable and Darryl to open his eyes. (Darryl told me to write: "My husband looks so smart! Obviously you can see in this picture why I married him.")

We finally decided to pick him up off the grass in hopes that he would smile.
I'm not sure what this expression from Teagan is, but I laughed when I saw it.

Here are the ones we thought turned out the best:

I am still squinting but my boys look so handsome!