brothers and sister

cutest kids

i love james

I just had to write a post about my wonderful husband.
Yesterday, he:
mopped and scrubbed the kitchen floor
put the clean dishes away
took every piece of furniture out of the living room and vacuumed the whole room
scrubbed the bathroom
prepared a very creative date
and several other things I am probably forgetting

Candace: "Levi, it's so fun to be a four-year-old!"

weeee-vi

Candace held the boys like this for about 15 minutes straight. She loves her little brothers.

On a different note, last night Candace slept the whole night through wearing her new flip-flops.

And on an even different and more hilarious note ... yesterday evening I was in the middle of changing Joshua's diaper when there was a knock at the door. I grabbed his hand and went to answer it - he was naked. Within 5 seconds of me beginning my conversation with Tarmy he started peeing all over the kitchen floor.

And finally here is a video of Joshua saying Levi and answering the question of how old he is.

chocolate chip cookies

This is so appalling that I just have to blog about it. James and I just finished off a 10 lb bag of chocolate chips in just 5 weeks. I believe we make more chocolate chip cookies than anyone, ever.

grandparents

Candace got a new bike for her birthday yesterday.

This morning she walked out of her room and exclaimed. "Now I don't want to hold Levi because I got my new bike!"

Who knew a brother could be replaced so easily?

This morning I was sittting on the couch with Candace and Joshua. Levi had yet to wake up. I asked James to go check on him. Candace said emphatically, "Mom, I already checked on him! You only have to check on Levi once a day!"

Candace was sitting on the couch holding Levi when she interupted the conversation that was going on. "Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Becky, Stephanie! Everyone listen.

Levi is in his favorite spot."

She said it so matter-of-factly that we all couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Picture a new mom trying to breastfeed her newborn and trying to do it modestly. She has a blanket placed over her and the new baby. Meanwhile a certain three-year-old girl wants to be involved. So she comes over, sits next to her mother and puts her head under the blanket and remains there for the duration of the feeding. This three-kid thing is very overwhelming already.

A cute quote from Candace about Levi's breathing: "Look at his tummy. It goes up and down, up and down very fast."

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