2011 Review

Can you believe another year has come and gone?  The older I get, the faster they fly by.

2011 was such a fun year, filled with so many memories!  Here's a peek back:

In January,

We watched (from the comfort of our own home) Auburn defeat Oregon and win a National Championship!

We saw that beautiful trophy, and even got interviewed by the OA News while we were there!

In February,

I took cake decorating classes!


In March,

Not a whole lot happened.  We spent Eli's 7 month birthday in the hospital getting some good doses of IV antibiotics, due to an infection (see the beginnings of it underneath that left eye).

In April,

We went on a family vacation to Daytona Beach for Spring Break.

Eli also got his very first haircut!

In May,

I celebrated my very first Mother's Day!  : )

My brother, Zach, graduated from the University of Mobile, and my brother-in-law, Clark, graduated from Dallas Baptist University.

We also made a trip to Texas to visit with my sister and her husband.  We attended a few baby showers for little Madelyn to celebrate her upcoming entrance into the world!

In June,

We went to Disney World with Ginny, Pops, and Aunt Katie!  You can start reading about that trip here.

In July,

Eli got his very first pair of shoes!  (They still fit, btw.)

We went to NOLA to celebrate our second wedding anniversary.

From NOLA, we quickly headed West to make it back to Texas in time for cousin Madelyn's birth!  We just made it.

In August,

We went back to school.  I started my 5th year of teaching and Wesley started his 3rd year.  Wow, time flies!

Eli got tubes.  Since then, we've only had 1 ear infection-what an improvement!

Eli turned ONE and we celebrated with a tailgate-style birthday party.

In September,

We went to Birmingham to meet Emily Ann, the daughter of some of our closest college friends.

Nana, Puddin, Eli and I competed in the Get Your Rear in Gear, 5k Diva Dash.  Wesley helped work the race.

Football season also started and of course we were there to cheer on our Tigers!

In October,

Little cuz came to visit and we tailgated and went to the Auburn/Florida game.

 Eli and I went to the Pumpkin Patch.

We ran in the Family Fun Fitness 5k.

Eli dressed up as Bam-bam, and trick or treated with his buddy, Abigail, who was Pebbles!

In November,

We did some fun things like making a trip to the beach,

and to a really neat playground!

We celebrated Thanksgiving.

Eli attended his first Iron Bowl game.

In December,

Eli met Santa!

We also celebrated Christmas several times over (beginning here)!

2011 was an exciting year.  The Taffs are ready for 2012!

Christmas Day

This year Nana, Puddin, and Uncle Z spent Christmas Eve night at our house.  Christmas Day we woke up early so that we could have presents and breakfast done in time for church.

Santa left Eli some new shoes and pjs in his stocking!

Eli still wasn't completely sold out on ripping the paper.  I'm sure next year he'll be a pro though.

Squirmy Bug sure did love climbing the presents though!

Our family on Christmas Day!

After opening gifts we had to go outside.  Santa left a present in the backyard...

a playset!!!

Uncle Z helped Eli slide down a few times.  It's a much bigger slide than what he's used to.

We got a little bit of playtime in before all the rain came.

We went to church and came home to a traditional lunch of Christmas ham and all the fixings!  Mom and I also went to the track to run off some of those holiday calories.  We only made it one mile before the rain REALLY started coming down and we had to head home.

After that Nana, Puddin, and Uncle Z headed back to Dothan.  The Taffs took afternoon naps, and then we headed to Mrs. Taff's house to spend some time with Ginny, Pops, Aunt Katie, Mrs. Taff, and all of the Hornes.  We ended up at Denny's for supper.  Sadly, I have no pictures!  : (

Then, Ginny, Pops, and Aunt KT came back to our house to play some more with Eli.

It was a great day of celebrating and spending time with family!

Stay tuned for more posts of Christmas....this is the year of 5 Christmases!

16 months old

Firsts: Big boo-boo from playing at home-you/Daddy smashed your fingers in the refrigerator.  They're blistered up, skin is missing, and are a little bloody, but we all survived.

News headlines: North Korean dictator, Kim Jong II, dies, 2012 Presidential politics are in full swing, LSU and Alabama will face each other in a rematch in the National Championship game, Auburn will play Virginia on New Years Eve in the Chick-fil-A bowl.

Milestones: You have so many tricks!  You know where your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth are.  You can find your "button".  You have a 'monster' face and make your whole body shake!  You can spin in circles, march, walk on your knees.  You throw things away in the trash can if we ask you to.  You spit after you brush your teeth.  If we ask you what a train says you make the motion with your arm and say "choo!"  You LOVE to dance...you do this whenever you hear music.  You will also give sugars to anything or anyone we ask you to.

Measurements: Size 3 diapers, size 12 and 18 month clothes, 23-24 lbs and 30 inches

Like Mommy: LOVE books, quiet in big crowds

Like Daddy: You looove licking peanut butter from a spoon (Daddy got you hooked on this).

Favorite Toys/Games: cleaning with the broom, playing with boxes, and several new toys you've gotten from various friends and family members are captivating your attention, you also love to play peek-a-boo, and you have caught on to saying "uh-uhhh" and wagging your finger back and forth (you learned this at school) and you'll do this now sometimes and laugh!

Sounds: all of your words from 15 months plus - this (dis!), baby, bubble, Nana (although I'm not sure you completely associate it with the person), and Buzz (as in, Lightyear).  When you see something that interests you, you point and say "OOOOHHH!"  (It made looking at Christmas lights VERY entertaining!)

Challenges: WOW-You climb on EVERYTHING!!!--babygates, ovens (closed and off, but that was a little frightening nonetheless), dishwashers, chairs, tables etc.  You always want to feed yourself.  You aren't interested in much help from Mommy or Daddy

Our Days:.  You sleep well through the night (and always in your own crib).  Bedtime varies, and is later than usual, since we're all on vacation right now, but you're usually up between 7:30-8:30.  We eat breakfast, you play, have a morning snack, and are ready for lunch by 11:30.  You take a 2 hour early afternoon nap (just after lunch), and sometimes a late afternoon cat nap.  In between we play, read, and sing!

Funny/Favorite Moments

Mommy's Favorite: Of course it has to be staying home with you all day while we're out of school.  I also love just the everyday-you do so many fun things now and are always making us laugh!  This Christmas season was also very fun and memorable

Daddy's Favorite: Christmas morning

Nicknames: any variation of Squirmy (Squirms, Squirmy Bug, and more), Doodle or Doodle Bug, Daddy calls you Big Man, Mommy calls you Little Man

Upcoming Events: Today is Christmas day!  Maddie, Aunt Caitlin, and Uncle Clark come tomorrow.  We are looking forward to spending several days with them!

Cookies for Santa

On Christmas Eve Eve we got together for a play date with several of our friends to make cookies for Santa.  We had so much fun that we've decided to make it an annual affair!

Little man kept his interest long enough to help Mommy get one cookie iced, and then he was so hungry from all of that hard work that he had to eat the fruit of his labor!  : )

Eli not only consumed sugar, but he also gave some away!  This is his good buddy, Brentley.  She's made a few appearances on the blog before, and is in Eli's class at school.  We also work with her mommy.

(I love the expression Brentley's mommy, Heather, is making! haha!)

The kids didn't last too long, then they hopped on down to play while the mommies worked hard on the rest of the cookies.

 The cookies were so gooood...we even managed to save a few for Santa!