check out my girl.  she's 19 months now. 

I don't have much to say today, I just had to share these pictures I took of Blakely.  She's the best.  We're going to be finishing up our Christmas projects and cleaning house today.  Sounds fun, right?

One really exciting thing, Jeff is finished with finals!  YAHOO!!!  It's so nice to have him come strait home after work.  Only one semester left. The end is in sight, and I could not be prouder of him.  I have already started thinking about what I want to do for him as a graduation gift.  We shall see...

We're back

We're back, and I have to say I'm glad to be home.  I love visiting with my in-laws and other extended family, but I missed the hubs pretty bad.  Blakely did too.  Every time we would talk to Jeff on the phone, Blakley would take the phone from me and kiss it.  So sweet. 
We had such a great trip!  Blakely and I were busy shopping, visiting Santa {pictures to come...so funny} and cooking.  Lynn has a way better camera than me, so I left all the picture taking to her.  Once I get a copy, I'll be sure to post them. 
The whole Santa thing went surprisingly well.  Blakely was not to sure of the creepy guy in the suit, but she didn't cry.  Instead, she slowly climbed over me so I would be in-between them.  We also took her to Build-a-bear.  What a hoot!  Blakely was a bit overwhelmed, but was so excited we were in a store where she could touch/play with everything.  It was great.  She ended up with a cute little polar bear complete with all the accessories.
The Wright family ended up having their family Christmas party while we were visiting {kind of a spontaneous decision} It was so fun to be able to visit with the extended family too.  There were a total of 22 people there, I think.  It's a lot, but certainly not everyone.  Unfortunately, Blakely was already asleep by the time everyone got there so they weren't able to see her.  Maybe next time we're out there she'll be able to stay awake a little longer :)
I do have to brag on my sweet girl though.  Our flight home wasn't until 5 pm out of Salt Lake City.  I was sure Blakely would fall asleep on the flight, um, not so much.  She was wide awake thew whole time, but such a happy girl.  She smiled and waved at everyone.  She said "hi" about a thousand times.  It was the cutest thing ever.  I was just so proud of my little traveler.  I always make sure I bring lots of yummy snacks and her favorite toys to keep her busy on flights.  She had been kind congested during our trip, so I was worried about her ears bothering her.  Nope.  No trouble there either.  Don't worry--I totally realize how blessed I am to have such a happy easy little girl.
I hope to have pictures up soon.  I know that's the best part about blogging anyway!   

Utah...here we come!

Blakely and I are packing up and heading west to Utah.  My in-laws couldn't stand it anymore and just had to see little miss Blakely.  We miss them too, so we are stoked to go see them!  Poor Jeff has to stay behind to work and study for his finals, so it will be just us girls.  {Wish me luck on the 4 hour plane ride}I'm  hoping that we get some snow when we're out there.  I would love to see Blakely in the snow and let her play and make snowmen and snow angels.  There's a good chance considering they've had some snow already.  I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

We've been decking our halls around here, getting ready for Christmas.  Here's Blakely "helping"....

And our very first real Christmas tree

Our make-shift mantle

Anywho, I hope everyone is having a happy Monday.  ta-ta!

Liebster Award!

The Liebster Award!!!

Thank you Sarah from Sarahs high notes for awarding me with The Liebster Award! Love you and love your blog!  In return I promise to update my blog more often! :)

'Liebster' means 'favorite' or 'dearest' in German. This award, which originated in Germany,
recognizes up and coming bloggers!

In accepting the award, the recipient agrees to:

• ~Thank the person that gave the award and link back to their blog
• ~Copy and paste the award to your blog
• ~Reveal the 5 blogs you have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blog
• ~Pay it forward by awarding it to bloggers they would like to honor

The five blogs that I would like to award are:
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            1. Kelle Hampton

2. My Crack in the Grigsby Life
3. J and J Vela
4. Amber and Spence
5.Notes from the Nelsens

There are quite a few more blogs that I love to read, but I only put you five.  I really do love each one of your blogs!!  Thanks for letting all of us get a glimps into your world!

Thankful

I know I'm a few days late, but I wanted to take a second to finally write about some things I am especially thankful for right now.  Our Thanksgiving was wonderful.  We all ate way too much food, and laughed a lot.  I'd call it a success.  We also got to meet and get to know my mom's new beau.  Robert the Brit- good man.  Most importantly he makes my mom happy, something I've wanted for her for a long time.  You know what makes me the most happy?   These two.....

I am so thankful for my family.  Jeff is amazing.  He is the best dad and husband, and I am so grateful for him and everything he does for us.  And Blakely, my sweet girl.  I thank God everyday for her and what she's brought to our lives.  I am lucky to spend all day everyday with my little munchkin, and nothing brings me more joy. 

We packed up and headed to the mountains last weekend and it was the perfect getaway.  We stayed at a cabin in Blue Ridge, like we did last year {quickly becoming an annual fall tradition}, and had a ball!  We relaxed in the hot tub, took in the gorgeous views and let Blakely and the dogs enjoy the great outdoors.  The only wildlife we saw were a bunch of wild turkeys, I guess they escaped the dinner tables this year! 

I am way ahead of the game this year, for me anyway.  I already have most of our Christmas decorations up!  We are going to get our tree on Saturday, something I'm super excited though because this will be our first real tree!  I'm in the process of making a tree skirt, it should turn out pretty cute.  I'm trying to stay ahead of schedule because Blakely and I are about to fly out to Utah for a  week.  It will be SO great to see everyone, and I just love Utah in the winter! 

On a totally unrelated note-  I just had to share this picture.  Silly girl.

Feeling like Fall

I finally had to pull out my winter coat this morning when I took the dogs out.  It's nice and chilly and I love it!  This time of year always gets me excited.  It's like the kick-off to the holiday season.  Jeff was even whistling a Christmas song in the shower this morning!  We're going to carve our pumpkin this weekend and hopefully I'll find some time to work on Blakely's Halloween costume.  My mom bought her some fairy wings a while ago, so the costume ideas started there.  We'll see what I come up with.  Pictures to come.
Just like the changing leaves, I feel like we're about to have some changes in the Wright household over the next several months.  For starters, we will officially start house hunting!  I can't even believe I typed that.  You have no idea how long we've been waiting to get our little family into a house.  We have been doing our research on where and what we like and I am praying we find the perfect home for us.  I'm sure there will be many more posts on the home search to come.
Another change will be dependent on Jeff.  He'll be graduating in the spring, but the career search will begin before then.  He's actually had some interesting offers already, so we'll see where that goes.  We have been praying about it and know that God will lead our family to the right thing.  In reality, the job situation will have a direct effect on where we buy our first home.  We already know where we would want to live here in Georgia, but if his "new job" takes us out of state, well who knows where we'll end up!

In other news, my sweet nephew, Max, is finally home!!  I went to see him today and it felt good to finally have him in my arms.  I was way too scared to pick him up at the hospital when he was still hooked up to all the wires.  I left that for his mom and dad.  He is doing so well and growing more and more everyday.  Grady, his big brother, is so sweet with him.  Anytime Max mad a peep, Grady ran over to make sure he was ok.  I will admit it made me excited to think about how Blakely will be with a brother or sister one day.  I'm pretty sure she will be a sweet little mama and want to help me with "bebe" as she calls them.  She is already so sweet with her baby dolls.  She feeds them from her sippy cup and will pat them on the back and give kisses.  It just kills me.  She is so tender and gentle.  Let's just hope she's that gentle when it's a real baby!  Anyway, I'll be sure to take some pictures of this weekends festivities. 

a quick update

Little Max is doing wonderful!  He is being moved out of the NICU and mama is headed home.  Max wont go home for another week or so, but at least now Holly can get home and prepare for the little guy to join them.  He really is such a sweet boy.  A fuzzy little peach.

Blakely's been up to the usual



  Munchkin loves the park. 

He's here!

My sweet nephew was born yesterday at 3:45.  He's 4# 13oz and 18.5 in long.  He is healthy and strong and doing great!  Holly is recovering well and just anxious to hold little man some more.  He is still in the NICU for precaution, but he is doing so well!  All the nurses were impressed with him.  He was drinking chugging a bottle when I got to go in and see him.  He's not on oxygen or anything and has great color, nice and pink!  He looks just like his brother did, just smaller.  It's hard not to be able to scoop him up and love on him....and I'm just the crazy aunt!  I can't imagine how Gray or Holly must feel.  Holly was able to hold him last night for a little love-fest, hopefully more today.  But he is healthy and beautiful and that's more than we could have asked for.  He was just ready to meet the world.  So with out further adieu.....

He is on antibiotics and being monitored constantly, but he really is doing amazing.  We are all so thankful!  I wanted to thank all of you who were praying for this precious boy and his mama.  God is faithful, and He heard every one of you.  Thank you!!!!
p.s.~ They are still deciding between two names for this little boy {give them a break, we was early afterall}....I'll letcha know ;)

nephew #2 on the way!

I am so excited, but very nervous at the same time!  My sister-in-law, Holly, was admitted at Northside yesterday because, at 33 weeks pregnant, her water broke at home and the doctors told her to go to the hospital right away.  Not really sure what was happening, my brother called me and told me to meet Holly there because he was still 3 1/2 hours away {b/c of work}.  Anyway, I got there and waited with Holly to see what was going to happen next.  The doctors did an ultrasound to measure the fluid around the baby to see how much she had lost and how much was still there.  They said that the baby looked good and there was still some fluid there, but they wanted to keep her at the hospital because 1-they were worried about her getting an infection 2-her water being broken may put her into labor anyway and 3- they wanted to watch the baby's heart rate closely to make sure he wasn't getting stressed in there.  They said that they want her to stay pregnant at long as possible to give the baby a chance to develop a little more.
  My brother finally made it to the hospital and was able to start figuring out things with Holly.  Stuff like who is going to help care for my other nephew, Grady, while Holly was still in the hospital.  Who was going to take care of their dogs.  What they were going to do when the baby does actually get here.  I mean 33 weeks is still very early to deliver.  During the ultrasound he was measuring at about 4# 14 oz.  So almost 5#.  Holly was given steroids to help little guys lungs develop, but still....it's scary. 
  I was told this morning that the baby's heart rate was dropping occasionally.  With not a lot of fluid around the baby, it's easy for him to lay on or squeez the umbilical cord.  The doctors decided it was best to go ahead and do a c-section at around 3 pm today, unless it becomes an emergency.  I am just waiting at home for news.  It's kinda killing me to just sit here and wait but what can you do.  I am just anxious to meet the little man, and I am just praying that his little lungs are big enough for him to breath normally, and that his other organs are fully developed.  It is expected for him to be in the NICU for several weeks anyway, but I am praying for the best outcomes possible for mama and baby.  I hate feeling so helpless.  Holly is handeling this like a champ, though.  I'm not sure I would be as calm as she is, but I'm happy she is doing so great.  So I would ask all of you who read this to please pray.  Pray for my little nephew and his tiny body to be strong.  I'll try to keep people updated.  Thanks for your prayers!!

wow.  I can't believe it's October already.  Sorry I'm such a bad blogger!  We've been busy having fun at our house.  Playing in cooler weather, getting together with family, trying to take in all things fall.  An apple picking, pumpkin patch trip is definetly in order.  The weeks are busy with every ones routines, and mine is basically working around theirs, if that makes any sense. I guess that's what most moms do right??  We have been at "the park" practically everyday lately.  I say "the park" because we end up circulating between a few pretty cool parks around here.  Girls gotta have options! 
My wild child loves to go down slides head first.  On her belly.  Seal-style.  It's hilarious!!  To us anyway.  She stands up all excited with her hair sticking strait out!  I'll try to snap a few pictures to share, but usually my hands are busy trying to keep Blakely from breaking her neck!  She really loves to be around other kids.  No joke, my kid waves hello at everyone!  It's the cutest thing.  Most people wave back at her with a big smile.  I just love her.   
On another note, hello, my name is Taylor and I'm addicted to pinterest.  For real.  Facebook has gotten so annoying lately, pinning is just more fun.  Jeff usually gets home from school at 10:40ish and I'm sittin on the couch oogling the cool things people have posted.  I will say that every recipe I have tried from there has been a big hit, so at least theres that.  I have a couple fall dishes to whip up that I'm excited for!
I will leave you with this....

  Hope everyone has a great day!

who's that comin' down the tracks....

The time is here.......Georgia football!!  I have been sporting my Georgia shirts and even wearing my UGA hat.  I love football season, and I am excited to see the bulldogs play and pull out a winning season.  I'm gonna try my hardest to get to Athens at least once this season for a game.  Blakely will love it, I'm sure.  As for saturday, we will be cheering from our couch.  Goooooo DAWGS! Sick 'em!!

Last football season feels like forever ago.  I think it's because of how much Blakely has changed in just a year.  I mean look at my little bulldog just last year...

She was so chubby!!!  I miss that!  She's a little skinny thing now.  For real, she's weighed 20 lbs since she was 9 months old and hasn't gained weight since.  Now, not to worry.  I feed my child.  Really well actually.  She girl can pack some food away, and she's getting taller so she is growing.  The doctor has reassured me that she is totally healthy, she's just going to be on the skinny side.  Oh my little string bean.  I just love her. 

We've been having the best time lately.  Lots of hugs and kisses around here.  And the sporadic tantrum, I mean she is a one year old.  That whole trying-to-be-independent and still-can't-communicate-all-that-well thing, it can be hard on a girl.  I usually try to figure out what's making her so frustrated.  If it's over nothing, than I simply ignore the behavior until she's over it.  I'm not gonna lie.  My patience gets tested on a daily basis.  I know I'm not alone though.  I have a lot of other mommy friends out there who I know are going through the same thing.  I just have to remind myself to breath and not get frazzled.  I want to be a good mama to Blakely everyday.  I want to play hard, teach her and love on her.  I don't want her to see a stressed out mom who snaps at the littlest thing.  I want to let her get dirty, make messes, and spill stuff and not care.  This time, this life, is so short.  And she is only little for so long.  I want her to have nothing but the best memories of her childhood and of a fun silly mama who played and taught and loved.  And cheered for The University of Georgia!



and so it begins...

Jeff's crazy schedule, that is.  He officially starts school today which means we'll be back to the 8am to 11pm schedule.  It's a long day for both of us.  I'll admit I have it way easier, but still we miss him all day long.  I feel the worst for Jeff because he only sees Blakely for about 15-20 minutes a day.  That's what is so hard on him.  With Blakely doing new things everyday and just being the funny crazy little girl she is, Jeff feels like he misses out on a ton.  We'll just have to sneak over to his work to have lunch with him whenever we can, so they can have their daddy-daughter time!  Since we're getting back to "the grind", we decided we needed to send off the summer the right way.  What's that, you ask??

It was hot hot hot, but we had a great time.  Just the two of us.  Blakely spent the day with my mom, having a blast!  We wanted to soak up all the time we had left to just be with each other.  I know that sounds a little dramatic, but seriously this full-time work and school stuff is hard on us.  Good thing the light at the end of the tunnel is growing closer and closer.  Next spring can not come soon enough!

On another note....

HEEELLLLLLOOOOOO PIGGIES!!

I have been so excited to put this little munchkins hair in pig-tails!  Aren't they adorable?!  I'm sure I will have plenty of time to do hair.  I am going to try to tackle other projects with all my alone time too.  I have a ton of craft and sewing projects I have in mind.  Spending way too much time on pinterest!  

Our trip west

We're home!  It feels good to be home and back to our normal routine, but boy did we have a good time!  We started off our vacation at Jeff's parent's house in Fruit Heights, just outside of SLC.  We took a day trip to a working dairy farm still in Jeff's family.  Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, but once I get my mother-in-laws pics, I'll post them.  It was so fun!!  We got to see all the calfs that were from 2 days old to a month old.  SO freakin cute!  Then we went over to a barn that held all of the pregnant heifers.  The farmer told us that one cow in particular was close to giving birth.  Right after he said that, Jeff was like, "Uh, I see hooves!!!"  It was hilarious!  The mama cow was giving birth right in front of us.  We all decided to give her some privacy and went to go watch a group of them being milked.  It was cool to see how it all works.

The day we were going to drive to St. George {about a 5 hour drive} we all went to the zoo in the morning to get the girls nice and sleepy for the long drive.  It was so fun.  Blakely LOVES to zoo and looking at all the animals!  I do think that the highlight for the girls was riding the ferris wheel.  We went to the bird show they had and were entertained by all kinds of birds swooping above us.

The first day we were in St. George, we took the whole group to Zion NP and went on an easy hike that the little girls could enjoy.  The scenery there is absolutely breathtaking, so please excuse the picture overload!

The next day was for the grown ups.  We hiked Angel's Landing.  It's elevation is 5,790 feet and the hike itself is about 6 miles total.  BUT a half mile of that hike is on an extremely narrow path with sheer cliffs on either side of you,  You only have a chain to hold onto to brace yourself.  Talk about extreme hiking!  I'm not afraid of heights, but with cliffs on either side of you, you can't help but be a little freaked out!

So that gives you an idea of our trip.  It was awesome.  Being in that environment is good for the soul.  It makes me appreciate how big God is and how small I am.  Several friends have been going through some rough devastating times involving their babies.  Some still fighting for life, and some that have sadly lost their battle and returned to our Heavenly Father.  I said prayers for both of these families while I was perched way up there on Angel's Landing.  More on this later---

I can't wait to go back to Zion.  It was magnificent.

sorry for the picture overload, I couldn't help myself.