Little Moments

These pictures are a reminder to myself to enjoy the little moments. There are lots of times when I don't because I am on the verge of sending my son away on an extended vacation :) Joseph is very stubborn and many times absolutely refuses to listen when you ask him to do something. If he knows you want him to do something, he will not do it! A trait that will eventually turn into a great blessing which will allow him to stand up to what he knows is wrong and not follow the crowd. But right now, as his mother, I do not enjoy this trait at all.

So, these pictures are of right before nap time. His bowels keep to a tight time clock, and every day at 1:30 he has a little pooping session. So as soon as he finishes I am really anxious for him to wash his hands, get his underwear back on, and get into his room for quiet time so I can take my much needed break. But I think he senses my anxiousness and therefore takes as long as he possibly can to do those simple tasks, and for some reason that drives me nuts!!! I have had many a migraine from trying to restrain myself from an unwanted outburst of anger. ("Just let it go" is much easier said than done!)

So one day I decided to practice my patience. I just watched this cute little boy wash his hands (for 10 minutes mind you) and I couldn't help but see, again, what an adorable little boy he is. I couldn't resist taking pictures of the cute faces he makes in the mirror. It was a good lesson for me to remember to appreciate all those sweet little moments.

So now instead of rushing him off to bed, I let myself relax and just enjoy a little extra time with him alone while Kimball is sleeping. Or, if his dawdling gets a little long I just go and check my email and let him wash his hands for as long as he wants :)

A Little Late--but here's some new family pics

So, here are the pictures we took at the Taylor Family Reunion May 2008. Poor little Kimball does not look happy because this is when he was coming down with pneumonia--poor guy. Now seeing this pictures I really wish I hadn't cut his hair--it was so cute!

All the grandboys with Great-Grandma and Grandpa Starkey

I've always thought my grandma is an angel, and this picture proves it!

Grandma and Grandpa Taylor

El Paso Zoo

We love our new little zoo here in El Paso. It's fun to see the different animals compared to Buffalo. One of Joseph's new favorites is the big alligator. But the most exciting is the Tiger! It's so cool to be standing 2 feet away from this huge animal. Thank goodness for that glass--I hope it's strong!a real roadrunner

Here comes the Tiger!

Every time I see the sea lions swimming around, I really wish I could be one for a little bit.
They look so incredibly peaceful and relaxed.

Humming Birds

I still just can't get enough of these hummingbirds! It's amazing to look out the window and see them tight there!

Silly boys

Since Dad was to tired to play, Joseph brought the toys to him while he slept.

Kimball loves to eat, and his newest passion is fruit smoothies. He can't get enough of them! They are a mixture of orange juice, frozen ripe bananas, blueberry yogurt and plums-uummm!

Family Swim Party

We have loved having our little pool in the backyard! It's so much fun to have our family swim parties. One of the best parts is how well the boys sleep after splashing around in the pool. Sometimes they can't even wait until they get to bed!

Drunk himself to sleep

Nothing was going to wake him

Backyard Boys

How can you resist a sip of fresh sprinkler water?

Kimball has recently developed a love for the bubble wand. I can just imagine his little mind whizzing as he thought, "If my thumb tastes good, and the wand tastes good, they must be amazing together!"

We love the Crayola colored sand!

Those little colored hands are so cute!

Pet for a day

The other day we were eating breakfast and Joseph looked at me and said, "Mom, there's a turtle in our yard." I thought "oh, what a cute, silly boy. He must see something that looks like a turtle." But I looked right out the window and, sure enough, there was a little turtle sitting right there on the patio.

Needless to say, breakfast was put on hold while we all ran outside to see our new friend. We got some food for him, but the poor thing was a little to freaked out by two little boys who were extremely excited to see him (or her, I have no idea how to tell).

Unfortunately, the turtle was gone in the morning, but it was fun to have a pet for the day. We later learned that the turtle belonged to our neighbor. He goes into the desert and brings back tortoises when he finds him. They are now all over his yard, and apparently, make visits to neighbors houses.Joey with his new friend. I love that you can still see his milky cereal mustache.

That turtle was the fastest little turtle/tortoise I have ever seen

Getting brave enough to hold it.

Kimball unfortunately thought the turtle looked like a yummy sandwich. Joseph was ready to push Kimball away and protect the turtle.

I love this close up because you can see that the turtle was ready to take a bite right back at Kimball. I wonder who would have gotten a nibble first.

Thunder Storms

We have been having some great thunderstorms here! It's nice and sunny during the day and then late afternoon or evening we get a storm. Joseph (and his mommy and daddy) really likes watching the bolts of lightning.