Who needs chicken nuggets when there's ranch?

Yep, as you can see, all of the nuggets mommy so carefully broke apart so as to make it easier for her little monkey to eat, were UNTOUCHED as Claire went to town on the Ranch. Guess I shouldn't have given her the "dippy."

What a ham:

Crafts, Crafts, Crafts

Recently, I've been kind of obsessed with making crafts. Here are the latest ones I've made:

Magnetic recipe card holder/note holder thingie...some people put "RECIPES" on the block down below the metal board, but I'm just not into vinyl unfortunately, and I also want to use it for other things. (This is the craft we're gonna make at the cabin, girls!)

Quilted shoes. This picture does NOT do them justice. These are for my friend Natalie, and her baby, Siena, that will be born in July. Yes, that's a while from now, and I was supposed to not show these to her, but I did anyway... They are SUPER easy and you can do them in a variety of different fabrics, etc.

Pincushion. THIS one is hard. Well, it's not hard if you can sew, actually. I did just fine with the piecing together of the fabrics until I had to sew the side strip to the circular top and bottom pieces!! Fortunately, Megan was there to help, and after unpicking it like 3 times, using a million pins, I was advised NOT to pin it and that was WAY easier. Anyway, I'll probably make more and perfect them bc let's be honest: look closely and you'll see how many mistakes I made!! (I made this out of the leftover fabric from Claire's quilt)

Anyway, next project? Ready?

"Baby Booties" by Heather Bailey. It's a free pattern you can get on her website AND you can see an online gallery of the booties tons of people all over the world have made with this pattern on Flickr!

Ok and these girl ones are to die for, aren't they??

I definitely can't stop doing crafts. It's a disease...

Upon trying this recipe, you will NEVER make Bisquick waffles again!!! (unless you're crazy, of course)

Are you sick of hard-as-rock, way too dense waffles? I can just never seem to get them right, and I've tried a lot of different recipes. Well, I don't have to try ANY more. I found a SUPER EASY, delicious one, that is light and fluffy and has that great chewy texture...you know what I'm talking about--that spring when you pull off a piece. Man, I have such an incredible vocabulary. I should really be a food critic...

Anyway, here it is: And it only took me 4+ years to discover it was in the Essential Mormon Cookbook by Julie Badger Jensen, RIGHT under my nose (well, right in my cupboard all these years...)

Best Waffles Ever.

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup butter, melted

In a bowl, beat eggs. Add buttermilk, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and melted butter and beat until smooth. (I mixed it really well--you don't have to worry about "overmixing" with these!)

Cook like you normally do! They were wonderful even though I used that powdered buttermilk stuff too! Yield: makes about 4 cups of batter or about 4-8 waffles, depending on the size of your waffle iron. Mine is really big, and I halved the recipe so it made about 2 waffles.

PS. The other recipes in this cookbook are amazing too...

Weaning = No Fun.

Today I dropped her last feeding (the nighttime one) and it's really depressing. I know this may sound cheesy or weird to those of you who don't/haven't nursed a baby, but I love nursing her and feeling that closeness and that bond. But apart from that, the WORST is the feeling that she is now growing up, and soon she won't need me anymore.

That is my fear. I'm having a hard time thinking about how she will grow up, leave home, not talk to me every day, not give me a hug every day, not depend on me anymore. I don't want her to be a teenager one day and maybe not like me all the time, or care about me. I don't know if any of you feel or felt that way about your children, but I find myself having this same fear all the time. Am I crazy?

And dropping breastfeeding is yet another part of letting her grow up.

OK, I think I'll go cry now...

All I have to say is...

There is a God. And he is against the Obama healthcare reform plan.

Claire's First Birthday (Gollaher Party)

Why have one party when you can have TWO? Well, I didn't realize that a child's FIRST birthday was such a momentous occasion...I guess I'm just out of the loop! Anyway, we celebrated Claire's birthday yesterday with my side of the family, and it was really fun!

Some pictures of the event!

So I actually decided I'd be a good mom this time, and make her a cake! I don't know why I didn't think of that before! Crazy. Anyway, we call her "Sweetie Bug" a lot, along with all of her other millions of nicknames, so thought a "BUG" themed cake would be appropriate :) I also made it with the most delicious frosting on the PLANET!!! (see frosting recipe. It is to DIE for...especially if you love whipped cream as much as I do, in which case, I'm not sure anyone does, but maybe...)

Aren't the bugs SO CUTE??

Here's the birthday girl with cousins, Becca and Kiera and Mommy. They got her some REALLY cute tights, bibs, plate and fork and knife set, and some really sweet homemade cards! Thank you girls!!

Becca was so cute with Claire!

Uncle Jay and cousin Lauren...being themselves...yeah

The Barnums! Soon Heather will have a cute little boy!

Kristin & me!

Daddy & Claire

Grandpa & Grandma with Claire... she got an awesome set of bath toys from them! I'm so excited to put her in the bath with her new toys tomorrow! (after she gets her food in her hair and everything, that will cause me to have to bathe her a couple of times, of course...)

Thank you for a wonderful time Grandma and Grandpa!! And thank you to Barnums and Colemans for coming! It was so fun!

Claire's First Birthday (Taylor Party)

Finally, I get to post about this--I was waiting until BOTH birthday parties happened, and they were within 2 weeks of each other due to Jordan's crazy work schedule!

Anyway, on Claire's birthday, we headed over to Jordan's parents' house and had a wonderful time celebrating with them! Here are some great pics of the event:

I like to call this one: "Calvin Claire" terrorizing the world...

And she gets her Hobbes from Auntie Camille!

And a Little Mermaid card that, when you open it, sings "A Whole New World." She liked that!

And here is the lovely Auntie Camille. Claire also got a Cabbage Patch doll from Grandma and Grandpa!

Um, this picture of Sam is just TOO CUTE. In a few months we'll be celebrating his 1st birthday too!

Claire with Mommy. LOVE her face here, haha!

Claire with Daddy!

Grandma brought home a BIG balloon from work :) Claire loved it!

Singing Happy Birthday! Daddy helped blow out the candle.

And then, there was the CAKE. This video is a MUST-SEE :) Ha!

And some pictures of the cake-eating occasion :)

Posing like a monkey, of course...

"What?" "I'm eating."

I think Sam is jealous...

But I'm sure he was happy to share the tub afterwards with Claire!

We made individual pizzas!

And then, of course, we had to top off the night with a game. That's MY idea of a GOOD TIME! Thanks for turning one, Claire :) And thank you Grandma and Grandpa for such a wonderful party and Camille for staying in town for the event! You guys are awesome!

Claire at 12 Months!

Our little lady is a YEAR OLD. I can't believe it. It feels like I was just pregnant...gag me. What a great result to those awful 9 months though!

First, the stats:

1. Height: 29.8 inches (73rd percentile)

2. Weight: 18.6 pounds ( 13th percentile)

3. Head circ.: 17.9 inches (64th percentile)

So she's a tall skinny little munchkin with a medium sized head :)

Here are a few things she's doing right now.

1. Claire does NOT understand any part of the word "NO." She gets into everything anyway.

2. Claire doesn't seem to like to eat her vegetables sometimes, but is fully interested in eating drywall. Loves it. Caught her 3 times. Finally taped up the small hole we need to patch in the wall.

3. She walks now! Just like Frankenstein. (my dad started that one) No joke.

4. Claire absolutely loves getting into drawers and cupboards, of course, like all kids her age! She opens the drawers, proceeds to chucking all of the drawer's contents on the floor, and in this case, she gets in:

5. Her favorite thing to do is feed other people. I gave her a fruit snack at Walmart the other day, and she was offering it to a little kid like 6 feet away. It was cute. She's definitely into sharing...on her terms at least! :)

6. And this is how she eats: When I put small pieces of food (cheese, turkey, little vegetables, etc.) on her tray, she will put one in her mouth, then take another and chuck it on the floor. (it's like "I'll eat this piece of cheese, but not that one) This will go on with her eating one, chucking one or two, etc. etc. until she's done, at which time, she will pull on her bib like she wants to strangle herself, to tell me to take it off and get her out.

7. Also about eating: she will try something, spit it out, put it back in her mouth, spit it out again, put it back in...and on and on. Until it either ends up on the floor or she's swallowed it. That is how she gets to know new foods I guess!

8. And again about eating: She LOVES Gogurt. And loves to eat it, get her hands all sticky, and rub them all over in her hair. This usually means more than one bath a day. But it's funny, when I just try to wash her hair out, or comb it with a wet brush instead of bathing her, her hair smells like "cotton candy" all day long...it's a great shampoo alternative. Here she is below, not with Gogurt in her hair though (fortunately, this was dinner, so bath time was inevitable afterward), but some nice greasy pasta... (sorry not a great quality picture)

So I guess if you want to know what Claire's had for dinner, all you have to do is smell her head.

9. Claire sometimes cries when Daddy goes to work. :(

10. Claire has really started to get attached to her little pink dollie and pink teddy. She wants them in bed with her, and likes to give them loves :) It's very cute. In this picture below, she is giving loves to her little barking puppy. One of her favorite Christmas presents!

11. Claire loves playing in her car seat. Hates getting INTO it to go places, and cries half the time, but loves just playing in it at home, rocking it back and forth, etc.

12. Claire knows where her bellybutton is, and will point to it when you know, is not on the SPOT :), and she SOMETIMES knows where her eyes, mouth, and nose are.

13. Words: Claire can say Daddy "dah-eee," and says Mama, eyes, and ya! Pretty sure she has NO idea what she's saying, but it's still fun :)

14. She now drinks whole milk and is drinking more and more of it. Her appetite is increasing as well, so maybe she'll pack on the pounds soon! I am weaning her now, and she is down to one feeding in the morning and one at night. Hopefully will drop the morning one next week to get her weaned completely pretty soon.

Anyway, enough TALK, here is a nice little video of Claire's best and funniest moments of late:

We sure love our little baby girl. She is the sweetest, cutest, most amazing piece of our lives.

*Stay tuned! Birthday post coming up next!!

New Years' Eve Extravaganza!!

ex⋅trav⋅a⋅gan⋅za

1.	a musical or dramatic composition or production, as comic opera or musical comedy, marked by a loose structure, a frivolous theme, and elaborate costuming and staging.

2.	any lavish or opulent show, event, assemblage, etc.

So I think, minus costumes, uh...lavishness...opulence...etc. we pretty much EMBODIED the word "extravaganza" with some amazing vocal talent at the Taylor home on New Years' Eve.

First. The SPREAD:

And that wasn't even ALL of it. We had delicious corn chowder, meatballs, desserts, etc. etc. that aren't even SHOWN here. Is your mouth watering yet? I'm getting hungry...

Um. LOVED this. Jonathon and Rach brought this, and I should give credit to the ARTIIIST, Jonathon. They wanted to do "2010" but let's be honest, do we really need that much cream cheese? No. So we have "10." (which does very well in reminding me about how I was born in 1980, and I will be 30 this year. Yes. 30. Although the McDonald's guy today told me I didn't look it. Maybe I shouldn't go around telling people I'm "practically 30...")

So, Aubrey & Britton were there! Cutest couple ever.

Holly & Dean were there!! Um. I have a photoshopped copy of this in hi-res for you guys--you look HOT!

Megan & Gillis! Always ready for a partaaaaayyyy!

Rachel & Jonathon (yes, his name is spelled with an "on" at the end...I'm a good speller, I promise.) ps. I can't believe Jonny was so...normal...in this picture. Even if he still looks homeless with the beard going on :) Rach, I have to say, I kinda have a crush on you in this picture. You look like a little hot tamale!!

We were there. Yep. We didn't bail. Weird cheesy smile there (not Jordan's, mine...)

Jenny & Peter came too! Jenny, no one is as cute as you preggers. And look at how SKINNY her face looks!! I wish my face didn't explode like a blowfish when I'm pregnant :)

And then, of course, party animals, Natalie & Rob!

So, I got a bunch of us on VIDEO playing American Idol Karaoke Revolution!! But I didn't get Holly, so here is a lovely shot of her. See how Randy is just LOVIN' her vocals??? Yep. I don't know, but we sure did!!

And NOW. The moment you've ALL been waiting for, I'm sure!!! I have a video presentation for you all right here. You WON'T be disappointed. I am now a PRO at making movies! (OK, not, but I actually did figure it out w/out Jordan's help--now THAT is saying something...)

Wasn't that awesome?? Yep. We should all be trying out for AI next season. It was the best when Simon told us how amazing we were, like:

"My advice would be if you want to pursue a career in the music business, don't."

"Did you really believe you could become the American Idol? Well, then, you're deaf."

"That was utterly horrible. Painful to watch."

And the dancing! Especially MY dancing. (Becca, are you impressed with how well I shake my booty???) Too bad I didn't have a video of my solo. Dang. It was so good, Simon cried. (NOT.)

And then we watched the ball drop. With Ryan Seacrest, and a totally WEIRD JLo in a freaky catsuit thing. I would show a picture, but I'd have to take the time to completely censor it.

And we took pictures of ourselves kissing and all that jazz. But I have to post the best kissing picture of the night here:

Jonathon, who really resembles an Amish person here, is kissing his very willing wifey. Now, Rach did not like her "seven chins" (A quote from her, and TOTALLY a lie, but that's what she thought... but let's be honest, I think I look kinda chubby in the video, so you know, you are your worst critic) and so I told her I'd censor the picture. So, I did! With a pink box. Because anyone who knows Rach knows she LOVES pink. Baby pink especially, and would totally wear it every DAY if she could! She wishes she saw the world through rose colored glasses...literally. That is how much she loves pink. OK, I'll stop now. It's like 1am as I write this. Obviously. And I'm starving. Double whammy.

Um...Claire woke up a couple of times throughout the night... we must've been loud or something. So, when she woke up right before midnight, we figured she might as well enjoy her very first New Years' Day.

With some Martinelli's:

She received a lot of love from the gang :)

And she loved them back :) Peter had a good time "practicing" for fatherhood here :) Claire is very cuddly when she's tired, so she went to everyone!

Well, just to finish this post and finally go to bed tonight, I have to say that all of you who were invited and couldn't make it, I have a New Years' Resolution for you:

"I will do everything in my power to attend the "2010 New Years' Extravaganza." It was incredibly fun, and I totally missed out, and must go this year.

Hopefully THIS resolution won't fall by the wayside like those exercisey-eat-healthy kinds, and we'll see you next time!! It will be more fun with you!!! But it was SOOOOOOOOO fun with all of you who could come, and thank you for such a great night!