Pictures of Levi

Here are a couple of pictures of Levi. We'll upload some videos a little later.

Levi Nathaniel Taylor

Levi Nathaniel Taylor has arrived! He was born on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm. He weighed 8 pounds and 1 ounce and was 20 inches long. Mother and baby are doing great and enjoying being pampered at the hospital. He definitely looks like a Taylor and belongs in our family. We keep resisting the urge to call him Joshua. He reminds us a lot of what Joshua looked like at that age. Candace and Joshua have both visited and held him. We will have some fun adventures ahead of us! We are so grateful for all the help and support we've received already. We will post some pictures as soon as we can.

We cleaned Candace's room tonight before bed and I asked her if she thought Heavenly Father's house was clean or dirty. She thought about it for a minute and then said, "Clean." So I went on to explain how we should try and keep our living spaces clean like Heavenly Father's house. Before I could finish Candace interupted me and said, "But I think his house has a little bit of blood in it." When I asked her why she replied, "Because Jesus died for us."

While driving James to school this morning Candace said, "Dad, Jamie said that our mothers are the toothfairies." James thought for a second and replied, "You know what..... she's right!" Candace hasn't even lost her first tooth yet. I think I'm more upset than anyone that our three -year-old knows this already. She was perfectly content with James' answer.

When Joshua woke up this morning with a raging fever I was holding him on Candace's bed next to his crib. I looked for his beloved stuffed animals that he sleeps with and saw them all on the chair. Candace remarked, "Last night Joshua wouldn't stop talking to me so I took his animals away."
Poor Joshua. He has two mothers.

Candace: Mom, do you know why I want to watch you do the dishes?
Mom: No, why?
Candace: So when I'm a big mom I'll know how to do all these things.

easter sunday

Vacation Day II: Bowling

This (extended) weekend, our family is having a vacation between the winter semester and the spring term. On Day I of the vacation, James and Natalie were overanxious to see a movie at the theater, so Bryan babysat while they went and watched the 10 pm showing of "State of Play." While Russell Crowe was excellent (as always) in the lead and Robin Wright Penn was very good in a supporting role, the rest of the cast was humdrum and the story line/plot twists were a snooze. James was bored from about 10 minutes in, and we don't recommend the movie. Worse, James and Natalie realized they hadn't brought enough money, so they had to suffer through the whole thing with only a medium popcorn and no drinks (gasp!).

On Day II, the whole family went bowling together at the BYU Games Center. Candace and Joshua both got to bowl, and they loved it. On one of Candace's first turns, James was helping her aim a guide used to help her bowl, Natalie was videotaping, and Joshua was standing behind James and Candace as Candace pushed the ball down the guide. At least that's where we thought Joshua was...

Joshua and Candace each had fun, at least during the first game. Sometimes, Candace wanted to try new things by using a heavier ball or by bowling without the guide...

Joshua loved to give the ball a shove, too...

Natalie and James learned that two games is one too many for a three year old and a one year old. The first game was a fairly low-scoring affair, but the second game was much more well-played, with Candace (read: James) winning with a 196 (so close to 200!), James and Joshua in second, and Natalie (read: James and Candace) in third...

We'll update more on the vacation later!

digging

lellow

this is a post for you, grandma jones...

can't make it off the ground

fairy tea party

Our family at the Draper Temple Open House. We learned several things from this experience. One thing was that bringing our 13th month old wasn't the best idea. It was a beautiful temple and we really enjoyed the experience despite the loud screeches from Joshua. At the end Candace asked, "Where is Jesus? I thought this was his house." I'm not sure I satisfied her with my answer.

The next two pictures depict two different formula spilling episodes. I have since learned to keep the formula out of reach of a 13-month old (Joshua) and a 10 month old (cousin Pierce). They made quite the mess.

The next picture shows the horrible effects a sticker can have on a baby's cheek. I had no idea this was going to happen when I pulled it off his face the other night. He now has a quarter-sized raspberry on his cheek. It was pretty painful.

Getting ready for church: