Yesterday I took Taylor in for her nine month checkup. She now weighs 14 lbs 13 oz and is 25 1/2 inches long. She is getting so big. They finally figured out how to get her her set up on the growth charts for Down Syndrome, so the percentiles are finally correct. She is in the 25th percentile for her weight and height and her head is in the 50th percentile. She had to have her toe pricked to check her iron levels and one shot and she didn't cry about either one. She is such a good baby! She does have a little cold but her lungs were clear, so that was good to know. Dr. Wilcox gave us a prescription and said to fill it if it isn't any better in a week or so. Hopefully she will get better soon, I hate watching my baby be sick, it's the saddest thing in the entire world.

Taylor has been talking up a storm lately, it's so stinkin' cute! Here she is jabbering away on our way home last night from Vegas.

Taylor had a lot of fun in Las Vegas this past week. On Saturday we finally put together her new jumper that Grandma Kerns bought for her. She loved the music and the lights on it. Although, she couldn't jump in it because her poor little legs don't quite touch the ground.

Bath time in the kitchen sink has been lots of fun too!
Saturday night I was reading the book "You Are Special" to Taylor and she loved it. Whenever I would read a page she would look up at me and smile SO big. It was so adorable.
This is Taylor with Aunt Courtney in her cute new dress she got from Aunt Crystal.

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, it was a little different though, because Derek's dad had to work until 3:00 pm that day, so we waited for him to get home before we opened presents. It was actually kind of nice because it made Christmas last a lot longer. Taylor had so much fun opening up her presents... okay, so she had fun playing with the paper and toys after we opened them up for her.

Later that night we were able to talk to my family via web cam which was really nice. It's a tradition in my family on Christmas morning to try to say "Christmas gift" to everyone before they can say it to you. It started with my mom's family. It's really hard to do over the phone, because of caller ID the person you are calling knows it's you and answer the phone "Christmas gift" before you can say anything. This year I had Derek call both my mom and my Grandma Roberts and while he was on the phone with them I grabbed it and said "Christmas gift." I'm pretty sure I didn't get anyone else besides Derek. I always think that it's so much fun to do, I hope to carry on that tradition with my own family. (Someday Derek will remember and I wont be able to get him every year.)

On Christmas Eve we got up early in the morning and drove to Las Vegas to spend Christmas with Derek's family. It took us seven hours to get there because I had to feed Taylor twice and we stopped to see Derek's Grandma Kerns in St. George. She was so happy to see us, especially Taylor. I was so glad that Taylor smiled for her a few times. Taylor traveled so well, she only fussed a little bit in Mesquite because she was tired, but she fell asleep a few minutes later and was just fine.

It has always been a tradition in my family to open up Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. It is usually followed by driving around and looking at Christmas lights and singing Christmas songs... but we omitted that part this year. Also, it was my Dad's birthday. He is such a good dad. He is the hardest worker I know. Love you Dad, hope you had a good day.

I decided since I mailed out my Christmas cards last week, I could finally post what it looked like. (If you didn't get one I am sorry, I have mommy brain and I forgot a lot of things. We still love you and you can consider this are getting a card.)

While we were in Roosevelt over the weekend we had an early Christmas with my family. They opened the gifts from us and we opened the ones to us from them. It seemed weird to be opening gifts early, but it was so nice to be able to feel like I had Christmas with my family too. Taylor loved the sound the paper made when she grabbed it. She got some cute pajamas, some clothes, bath toys, a play phone and a few other toys.

Yesterday was my mom's birthday, I meant to do a post yesterday but we were too busy visiting family and playing games. She is such a great example to me, especially as a mom. She has been the best mom in the entire world. She is kind, she listens, she unconditionally loves us, and above all she sacrifices things for us. I hope I can be as good of a mom to Taylor as she has been to my and my siblings. She also has the amazing ability to laugh and find the humor in life, which she has passed on to several of her children. I love you mom, hope you had a great birthday and sorry this is a day late.

My cute little niece turns one year old today. All of my family (except for Derek, because he had to work late; and Crystal because she stayed home with my Grandma.) celebrated her birthday last night. She has been such a fun baby to have in our family, she is usually SO smiley and has been since she learned how. She also has learned to scowl, it's pretty cute too. We love you Tikki Mouse, have a good birthday!
Here's a picture of all the granddaughters. Aren' they cute?

I took some pictures of Taylor today and she was sitting up like a pro. They turned out too cute, so I just had to share them. She made it 6 1/2 minutes before she fell over. What a champ! Miss Beth from PEEP came today and said that Taylor is doing amazing. She was very impressed on her sitting up skills and her balance control.

Next on the to do list is learning how to get out of the sitting position without face planting it and learning to hold herself up on her arms and knees and rock back and forth, so she can start learning how to crawl.

Wow, nine months have come and gone since our sweet baby girl joined our family. I still can not get over how quickly the time goes by. She is such a joy to be around. Everywhere we go people comment on how cute and content she is. We have been blessed with such a happy baby. She still never cries, she just whimpers a little until her needs are met, and then she is done.

Here are nine things about our little peanut:

1. She is such a good eater. She hasn't really rejected anything she has tried so far. Although peaches are not her favorite and sometimes I get funny faces from her when she eats them, she never spits them back out. Tonight we tried bananas, and she liked them. Pears are most definitely her favorite.
   
2. She has grown so much in the last month. Her legs are too long for the 0-3 jeans I bought three months ago, which then I had to cinch up to stay on her tiny little waist. Much to my dismay, I tried the 3-6 months ones on her... and I didn't need a belt! They are a little long, but that's good because they will fit her longer.
3. She likes to be wrapped up tightly when she goes down for naps or to bed. If she gets unwrapped, she wakes up.
4. She loves her hands. As you can tell from the previous video, she is always looking and talking to them.
5. Taylor has started sitting up for longer periods of time by herself. In the pictures I took of her today she is totally sitting up all by herself, I think it was 4-5 minutes. Miss Beth from PEEP is going to be so surprised tomorrow when she comes to see her, she has come a long way. Go Taylor!
6. She likes to sit on my lap while I'm sitting on the exercise ball and bounce up and down.
7. I recently brought her into the shower with me one morning when she was being a little cranky, and she loved it. She kept reaching out and touching the water and smiling so big. So I guess she just loves water, doesn't have to be baths.
   
8. She is still so patient. I had lots of shopping to do on Monday before we went to Salt Lake to see Derek's grandparents; she made it the whole day without getting fussy and didn't even get a nap. She was so good the entire day. (Unfortunately she fell asleep right when we got there and his grandparents didn't get to play with her, I felt so bad.)
9. She's doing a lot better at focusing and following things with her eyes. The eye therapist, Trish, came last week and couldn't believe how far she had come since the last time she saw her.

We love you Taylor! Thanks for being part of our family. You bring us so much happiness, there is nothing we would change about you... you are perfect!

Taylor started to sit herself up in the bouncy seat a while ago. It's been making me nervous to have it up on the table to feed her, because it starts to tip it forward. Needless to say, we finally broke down and bought a high chair on Thursday. It's so nice, I love it. I don't have to worry so much about her safety anymore, and I have table space again.

She was being so funny when I was feeding her in it. She kept raising her hand up and jabbering at it. She's so cute... I know I say that a lot, but she is.

Tonight for FHE we finally decided to hang up our Christmas lights on our house. We should have done it a while ago while it was still super warm, but oh well. It did give us an excuse to put Taylor in her snow suit, which she looked too cute in by the way. We ended up having a lot of fun, and I think they turned out alright. I do wish that there was more color, but we just used the lights that we had.

I gave Taylor baby food for the first time tonight, I started her out with pears. She seemed to like them. She ate about half of a container and didn't spit any of it back out. It's so crazy to be feeding her solids, it makes her seem so grown up!

I absolutely love Christmas! I love the music, the decorations, the lights, the food, the festivities, and the feeling that the season brings. So, when Derek got home from work Friday night, I made him climb under the house and get out the Christmas decorations. I was so excited to get them up Saturday during Taylor's naps.

We used to go get a Christmas tree with my family the day after Thanksgiving, but last year we broke down and bought a fake one. Which, honestly I really like. It's perfectly shaped, and my favorite part... pre-lit! I hate putting on the lights, it takes so long to get them perfect. I do miss the smell of the real ones, but I am willing to give it up for the perks of the fake one.

It's pretty basic, but I have a hard time justifying spending money on decorations that are only going to be up for a month. Especially when I am borderline obsessive compulsive about having to have them all match perfectly. So until I have enough money to buy an entire set, we just make do with what we have. This year I just tied raffia ribbons and hung them up throughout the tree with some berry garland. It's simple, but I think it works, and we like it and that's all that matters.

I hope that everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving. I know I sure did, I finally got to have it with my family for the first time in three years, so I was pretty excited about that. I have been thinking all day about the many things that I am thankful for, which I don't do nearly enough, I thought of so many things that I thought I'd put together an ABC list.

A: America. Even though things have been a bit rocky and I am a little nervous about President-Elect Obama, we are so blessed to live in such a great country. We are lucky to have the freedoms and the rights that we do.

B: Blogs. It is so nice to be able to keep up with everyone. Life gets so busy, and I am able to catch up on family and friends and see what they are doing in their lives. Plus, I am able to share Taylor with everyone without having to send out a million e-mails, and that has been nice too.

C: Christ. I am so thankful for the sacrifices that He made, so that I would have a chance to make it.

D: Derek. He is such a good husband. He is so good to me, he treats me the way that a husband should treat a wife. I am so lucky to have him in my life. He works so hard to provide for our family so that I can stay at home with Taylor. He is also such an amazing Daddy, Taylor loves him so much. He also has a strong testimony. I love him so much!

E: Examples. I have so many people in my life that are good examples to me. I am thankful for them.

F: Family. I love my family so much, both mine and Derek's. They do so much for us. They are so much fun to be around and they are all so willing to help out when needed. I don't know where we would be without them.

G: Gospel. Life would sure be different without the gospel in my life. I am so thankful that I have a testimony and that I am married to someone that has one as well. I can't imagine going through life without knowing what I know without a doubt.

H: House. Although it is very small, I am so grateful for our home. It is so cute, I love it! There are so many people that are homeless, and I am so glad that I have a home to live in.

I: Internet. I rely on it so much. It's how we do our banking, pay our bills, do some shopping, and whenever I have a question, it is there to answer it for me. It is also a great way to keep in touch with family and friends.

J: Job. I am so thankful that Derek has such a good job. I am glad he makes enough money to be able to support Taylor and me so I can stay at home. I am also glad that he has a pretty secure job so we don't have to worry about him losing it. It's not always his favorite thing to do in the world, I know there are some days that he wishes he could quit it, but there are a lot of people without jobs who are hurting pretty badly, and so we are thankful that at least he has one.

K: KitchenAid. I am so thankful that I have one. It's so much easier than mixing thing with a blender or by hand. I love it!

L: Laughter. Life would be so dull without it, and it really is the best medicine.

M: Mom. She is so amazing! I don't care what anyone says, I have the best mom in the entire world. She is the most Christlike person I have ever met. She loves everyone, and is always willing to help. She is always going out of her way to make everyone happy, and taken care of. Which means that she is constantly giving up things she wants/needs for the good of others. She has always been there for me and is one of my best friends. I am so glad that she is my mom.

N: Neighbors. We have the best neighbors, especially our next door neighbors. They were there to help us out when Taylor was in the NICU. They brought us meals and clothes for Taylor. They are also so willing to babysit her, and are so cute with her. One of them is a pediatric nurse practitioner, so that's always a plus too. We are so thankful to have them so close!

O: Oxygen tanks. Sounds silly, but it's what kept Taylor here when she was born so prematurely. Without it, she probably wouldn't have made it.

P: Pictures. I love pictures, I am obsessed taking them of Taylor. I am so thankful that I have them to look back on because babies grow up so fast and it's so easy to forget how little they were.

Q: Quilts. I love cuddling up in them when it starts to get cold outside.

R: Redbox. Gotta love paying only a dollar for a movie rental, and if you use the codes from insideredbox.com, they are free the first day, so if you take them back right after you watch them, you don't have to pay anything.

S: Sleep. I love to sleep! I am so thankful the nights that Taylor sleeps through the night so I feel refreshed when I wake up in the morning. I've decided that as long as I can get enough sleep, I really can do anything. It is priceless.

T: Taylor. She has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. I love her so much. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father trusted Derek and I enough to have in our family. She is the sweetest baby and gives the best hugs. I have no idea what we ever did without her.

U: Utensils. It would be really hard to eat without them.

V: Vehicles. I am so thankful that we have not one, but two cars to get us to places we need to go. I can't imagine what we'd do without them.

W: Willis. I love my puppy! He keeps us entertained, he is always good for a laugh. He also keeps me company during the day when Derek is at work.

X: XBOX. Okay, so probably it's more Derek than me who is thankful for it, but I couldn't think of anything else that started with an x. But, it is a good way for him to unwind from his long days of work and school, so I guess in a way, I am thankful for it too.

Y: You... if you're reading this than I'm thankful for you. (Cheesy, I know, but also hard a hard time with this letter too.)

Z: Zebra Tails. They are the best doughnuts I've ever had. They are the bar kind with cream cheese frosting with chocolate stripes across them. I have only found them in Podunk Roosevelt at good old Jubilee, but they are delicious!

Taylor turned eight months old today, which is crazy, because now she has been out as long as I was pregnant! It has definitely gone by ten times faster, but I guess when you are throwing up every single day, time tends to go by a lot slower. She has been changing like crazy over the past few weeks. She now rolls over to her stomach like a pro (which means I can't leave her on the bed while I go grab her an outfit, or throw a diaper away anymore) and she is getting a lot better and sitting up on her own, it won't surprise me is she can do it by Christmas. She has been so much fun, I feel so lucky to have her as my daughter. She is the sweetest baby. If she is tired or upset about something she only makes an "oh" sound. She never really cries. Don't get me wrong, she knows how, but it's rare if she cries more than twice a month. We have been so blessed! She has been changing like crazy over the past few weeks.

Here are eight things about our cute little peanut.

1. She is super ticklish right above her hips. She will giggle almost every single time she is tickled there.
2. She loves to snuggle and give hugs. (It's so cute and I love it so much!)
3. She still loves her baths and now that she has learned to splash, she loves them even more, if it's possible.
4. She gives the biggest smiles when I go get her up from her naps.
   
5. She loves to suck and chew on her fingers, especially her thumb.
6. Recently found out that she loves to look at story books. I gave her one last night and she got so excited every time I turned the page. She played with it for about a half an hour.
7. Loves to grab and hold onto faces, especially lips and noses.
8. Has found a new appreciation for toys, she has learned that they do different things. She loves to study them and figure out what they can do. (She is growing up SO fast!)