sharing

Taylor and Ella did a good job sharing their snacks... goldfish, and cheez-its, and ice cream...
Taylor was a bit persistent about the ice cream (despite the fact that when given her own ice cream she never wants it!)

playing nice

i'm thinking Taylor might be a soccer player...

family reunion

Yesterday we went to a family reunion in Waterford. Unfortunately, it decided to rain on and off through the day (this however made for a comfortable temperature if we're looking on the bright side) and Taylor definitely had a great time... we all did! :)

Ella insisted on playing in the rain...

while Taylor enjoyed a snack

Taylor and Ella may have secretly called each other to coordinate their outfits (Erin and I were unaware of it!) 

Someone was a little shy when people started showing up... She was all about hanging with Poppy though

Josie decided that a family reunion was a great time to take a nap... it was raining after all

 Taylor met her (i think third cousin?) at the reunion and enjoyed playing with him all day!

more on that later...

pigs and goats and horses... oh my!

We had paid for a pony ride for Taylor (which i thought she would LOVE) but after seeing that she was scared of the horses we didn't even attempt to put her on the pony. They were very nice and refunded our pony ride ticket. Maybe we'll have better luck in the Fall or next Spring. I'm starting to wonder if Taylor is really my daughter... she doesn't love ice cream or horses... how can that be?!?!?

Flamig Farm

Since we were having such great weather, Pat and I decided to take Taylor to Flamig Farm on Sunday. We purchased "petting zoo" passes so that we could see / feed all of the animals... First stop - the donkeys!

Forest Park Zoo

Taylor and I went to the Forest Park Zoo (in Springfield, MA). Its a small zoo, but just perfect for the attention span of an 18 month old. All of the animals (well most) are standing right up against the fences so Taylor could actually see them and was very excited! Of course, she thought that most of the animals were "doggies!!!!" :) and when we saw the large wild cats and i asked her what cats say, she promptly responded with "meow". I explained to her that those cats say "rarrr" and not "meow". 

Taylor said "bye bye" to all of the animals, and then we made sure to get ice cream on our way out. It was a perfect zoo day!

Bear!

Taylor and I went to the zoo today with Kate & Shane. We saw a black bear at the zoo, and i remember saying to Taylor, "let's hope we don't see any of these at our house"... well... i think i jinxed us because at 6:40pm, guess what came strolling through our backyard - YEP, a huge black bear...

cupcakes

Of course, all of the kids were excited about the cupcakes (which were delicious by the way). I think Shane had a great birthday party (thank you for inviting us!) Taylor was more than happy to help in the cupcake eating department :)

Happy Birthday, Shane

playing with the boys

On Saturday Taylor and I went to Shane's 1st Birthday party. Taylor was the only [baby] girl at the party, and was a little thrown by all of the boys! She wasn't too interested in socializing, until she realized that there was a water table, then she finally let her guard down and had a great time!

anti-social play

surprisingly, she wanted nothing to do with the sprinkler

now we're having fun! :)

artist

Taylor had her first real painting session today (as in she used brushes and didn't eat the paint)! She was commissioned to do a painting for the basement (which has gotten a much needed makeover) and my unbiased opinion is that she created quite the masterpiece!
I think she's a natural :)

confession: i helped her slightly  :)

her other "pieces" from today. Her collection is called, Flower Garden