Meira Turns 2 With Elmo

Happy 2nd Birthday on May 27th, Sweet Meira! One of Meira's favorite characters right now is, of course, Elmo. Consequently, we decided that it would be fun to have an Elmo birthday party. Meira told random strangers in the supermarket for weeks about her Elmo party and what we would be doing at it. "I have an Elmo party!" she would exclaim. We played Pin-the-Nose on Elmo. Meira especially liked when daddy pretended to accidentally pin the nose on Meira instead. Then we played Hot Elmo (instead of Hot Potato). Finally, as the grand finale, we did the Hokey Pokey with Meira in the middle dancing and loving it. It was so much fun and Meira was so excited.

At two Meira is very smart and fun. Everywhere we go people are amazed at her language skills and memory. Of course, as her parents, Mark and I think that she is a genius. She can say full sentences which means a lot of cute things are said. On our anniversary in May we asked Meira if she could say happy anniversary mommy and daddy. She smiled and said, "Happy in the nursery mommy and daddy." We laughed and thought how appropriate her connection was. What a cutie.

She loves to play outside, catch bugs, color, play with Play Doh, sing songs, dance, go on the carousel or ferris wheel, and swim at the splash pool near our home. She has grown into an amazing little girl that we adore.

Meira got an Elmo doll that actually talks to her and says her name from mommy and daddy. He is her buddy.

Grandma chased Meira through the "hot Elmo fire" entrance to the party. She loved that the most of all the decorations.
Meira received sunglasses, a bug hat, a bug raincoat, and a bug pinwheel from the Tippet's family. She loves them all and can frequently be seen outside looking like a little bug herself. We are grateful she likes being covered in the sun and it's a double bonus that she looks so dang cute. Thanks Tippets. Meira got her first tricycle from grandma Rayback. We can push behind until she learns how to petal herself. She seems to like it, but hasn't caught on to petaling. Bubbles are so much fun. Meira loves to chase and pop them. Here she is giving a try at blowing them herself. Most of the time the wand winds up in her mouth and the bottle spilt. Notice all of the RED! We wore red in honor of Elmo, of course. When we went to Red Robin for dinner they knew right away who was in our group.
Last, but not least. Meira had Elmo cupcakes which she snuck into all throughout her party. I hope that people didn't mind that they had their Elmo ring taken off and sucked on before they got a taste themselves.

Make a wish Sweetie Boo! Happy Birthday our big 2 year old. Thank you to all of our family who came and made this party such a memorable hit! We love you.
Meira and grandma playing with her new Elmo doll and high chair. Elmo frequently eats meals with us now.

Having Another Girl!

You got it folks, we are having another sweet little girl! She is due June 18th and we are really excited. Although Mark is excited I think it will take him a little while to accept the fact that he is so outnumbered. One of his main concerns is that he won't have anyone to watch Star Wars with. I assured him that our little girls could love Star Wars too if we show it to them young enough. :-) Meira already loves football and cheers, "Ootah, Ootah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!" There couldn't be a better daddy for little girls though. He is wonderful and we love him.
Our little girl is healthy, wiggly, and already sucking her thumb. It looks like she will follow her big sister's footsteps in the thumb sucking. We feel very blessed to be adding onto our family and to have everything going well so far. We'll keep everyone updated.

2009 Update!

I saw the owl wall paper and had to use it. Meira is in love with owls right now. As a matter of fact, when she saw it come up on the screen she immediately starting hooting and saying, "OWEL!"
This will be a no picture update. I suppose that an update is better than no update at all, right? I have to download many new pictures that I have, but I am not patient enough for our slow computer to get the job done.
2009 is starting our great. We are aware that the Lord has given us many blessings starting with Mark's new job working for Siegfried & Jensen. This is a fantastic firm that handles a variety of personal injury cases. Mark is handling all of their Spanish speaking cases which is great because he is fine-tuning his Spanish speaking skills from his mission.
So far Mark loves his job. The people he works with are all very nice. He has more time away from work and a lot less stress. But best of all, Mark no longer has to travel!!! We are thrilled that Mark gets to be home with the family more. It is especially nice news because we are pregnant with baby #2.
Yes, our 2nd bit of news for 2009 is that our family is growing. We are due June 18th and can hardly wait to find out next week if we are having a boy or a girl. We don't care either way. Like most parents, we just want a healthy baby.
I feel like I am an official mom now. We bought our first van this past weekend. We are the proud owners of a Toyota Sienna van. I can't believe that I am a "van mom" and for some reason that just makes me feel old. Don't think that I am complaining because this van is going to be awesome to take lots of baby stuff and get babies in and out of, but do you know what I mean? I guess it's just a new chapter in life that I am entering. I embrace it with open arms.
Meira is growing like crazy. She is our parrot repeating everything that we say. She gets her colors in her box right about 90% of the time now. She recognizes and remembers people she meets, including their names (which is better than me). She loves "Ring Around the Rosies) and will have anyone sing and repeat it as many times as bearable. It is also the first song she has attempted to sing. Spinning in circles she says, "pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, ashes." We are sure that we have been given a genius child. But then, we know that most parents feel that way about their children. We are just thrilled with her desire and ability to learn every day. We adore her and love the little girl she is becoming.
I am busy at home with Meira and trying to get ready for baby #2 who will be here sooner than we can imagine. I really enjoy being at home to take care of my family's needs. I look forward to another baby in our family. I know that that update sounds really plain and boring, but anyone who is a mother or father can appreciate all of the unwritten details that accompany motherhood. My life is busy, full, and fortunately happy.
The Taylor's are well beginning 2009. I'll get some pictures and details of what's been going on as soon as possible.

Summer is gone...fall is leaving...here is our blog...finally...

Hi Everyone!
Let me fill you in on the details. My brother Ben is engaged to his girlfriend, Sarai. We are really excited for them. Mark has taken a new job with a new firm that will be less time at the office, no travel, and less stress at home. We are REALLY excited about that. We are doing really well and are all healthy and happy. I know that I promised to stay more updated on our blog, but I have gotten behind once again. Sorry. Enjoy the updates and make sure that you see them all. You may have to hit "older posts" to see them all.
Love, Mark, Rachel & Meira

Halloween with Cousins in Colorado

Meira has been watching mommy put on her make-up every morning. One morning while I was getting ready Meira found a pen and decided to put on her own "eye liner." Visiting my sister Shauna and her family in Montrose, CO for Halloween was so much fun. This is some of her family standing in front of their new pediactric dental office. Derren & Shauna have done an amazing job incorporating a pirate theme for kids.

She looks scared, doesn't she? I think it was the flash that took her off guard. This picture was taken in a kids haunted house at Thanksgiving Point. It's not the clearest, but it was cute.Thanksgiving Point had a Scarecrow Festival. We went with our friends Dan, Jill, and their two kids Ceili & Keller.We took our little ones down the huge blow-up slides. Meira squealed with delight and immediately said, "meh, meh!" (more more) when we reached the bottom. Little Levi. He's 2 months younger than Meira.

She loved these glasses. They really become her.

Grandma with all of the grand kids...and Daisy. Alyssa, Josalyn, Levi, Meira, & Katey.

Here's our cookout night. We had s'mores with all of the Halloween candy as the chocolate. The Reeses Peanut Butter Cups were good.

Mr. Camper

Mom really cooked her hot dog.

Grandpa finds a rock to take a break from all of the walking.

Trick or Treat

Pebbles & Dino!

She has a real dog bone in her hair.

Daddy walks Meira and Dino through the costume contest.

The fly and the spider. The Spider can't keep his eyes off the fly.

All of the loot! Lots and lots of candy.

My pumpkin that won 2nd place in our neighborhood carving contest. I won a $50 Visa! I think the other pumpkin carver had more friends that were voting for them. ;-)

Gardner Village Starting the Halloween Season

In our opinion, one of the most fun things to do during the Halloween season is to walk around Gardner Village to see all of the funny looking witches and decorations. Meira really liked the witch hats and the pumpkins. She especially liked this little stool in one of the stores though. Anything that is her size really makes her day. I could see why living in such a big world. :-)

My Mission Trainer Comes to Town!

I am sure all of you have had people who have come into your life who have made your life better forever. One of these people in my life is my trainer, Alli Condie Louthain, from SLC, UT. She lives out of state now and came to visit her home last week. We were able to spend a few hours together at Gardner Village looking at witches, trying to keep children entertained, all the while catching up on nearly 4 years of absence. We could be apart for years and reunited feeling the same love we felt as we served together. She is one of those people who know how to make anyone in their presence feel loved and special. I learned so much from serving with her. I love ya Zolonda!