to blog or not to blog....

when i started this blog, it was to jot down the day-to-day life of newlyweds. 

(my first husband)

our families were spread near and far and we i thought it would be fun to keep everyone up to date!

i quickly realized that i was among bagillions of "20-something newlyweds" doing the exact same thing.

already, i had a list of blogs that I enjoyed reading...namely, The Pioneer Woman and A Cup of Jo.

others started landing in my blogroll as i joined the community that is the blogworld.

naturally i began by jotting down my ramblings about our homemaking, traveling and marital bliss.

then i started thinking that i wanted to write/document like other, better blogs.

soon, i started creating posts that resembled an achingly, terrible, and amateur photographer, chef, lifestyle coach, emotional guru. I am many things in this life...but I am none of those things I was trying to be via blog posts.

looking back-there are many post that make me cringe. what was i thinking? 

i was thinking that i wanted my blog to look like other blogs.

error. error. error.

abort mission.

I'm really not sure what I want from this little space.

currently, I do not feel like it is where I want, or need to spend my time.

but i also appreciate the space for documenting our happenings and my thoughts. 

I have enjoyed documenting JR's life here. It has become his baby-book and that works for me. 

Also, our family can keep up with his little life here.

It's very easy for me to feel overwhelmed right now

... and the last thing I want, is for this space to become a source of anxiety or obligation.

 I feel the need to share my heart with "real" people...that I can see and share with face-to-face.

our life is full of wonderful things, events and people. 

big and small.

important and not so big of a deal.

i'm not sure this is where i want to talk about them.

so i'm trying to figure it out....

in the meantime

you can keep up with us over at the Instagram: goodtimestaylor

have a Happy weekend!

I'm not so big into pop culture or music.

So my knowledge of the current hits is rather limited.

Occasionally, I'll hear a song while out and about and get hooked...like most of the world.

So, I'm waaaaaaay late to this game, but don't you love Pharrell's "Happy"????

it's sooooooooo.......well, happy!

This past weekend, we were in Georgetown/Austin, Tx for a friends wedding and we stayed at GT's grandparents house. Which, was truly delightful!

We were playing 42 (dominoes) Friday night and GT's sister, Kim, was singing this little tune.

A tad bit later, grandad (age 87!) chimes in and sings the chorus.

It was just surprising and so awesome.

This is also the same man who had come in AFTER the rest of us that night, around 10pm-with grandma, from playing 42 with their friends.

young pups!

I sure hope you find yourself finding something to do that will make you happy this weekend-whether it be playing dominoes or dancing.

For me, I will be in Shreveport for class tomorrow and doing homework.

but, I plan to spend the rest of the time with my fam and church family!

I came across this video this morning and it just made me...you guessed it- Happy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN! from Bas Berkhout on Vimeo.

15 or 16 months

I started this post about a month ago, when you were still 15 months old. 

now you are 16 months and some change.

that might not seem like a significant portion of time to you- just one month...

but, good golly, it sure is!

just in the past month, your vocabulary has sprouted some wings!

you attempt to say just about everything that we say and it surprises us each time.

there are words that you say that most everyone can understand:

mama, dada, Pa, Papa, ball, deer, cracker, cookie, milk, cheese, please, berry, baby, book, tv, dog, down, pig, eat (with a strong head nod), bye-bye and a few others that i can not momentarily recall.

other words still require some translation:

"nunny"-honey, "ditty"-mickey, "da-duh"- all done, "trat-o"- tractor, "dint"-drink, "nak"-snack

Trigger, "bee"- either bed or bear

and every single animal noise-not their name (except "chich-en")

i can not emphasize your love for cows enough.

you are seriously OBSESSED with them, "moo-ing" all day long.

if you don't see a cow, you look at us with your hands raised in question "moo?"

so recently, we've been on a dairy-farm documentary kick. thank you youtube.

you want to be a big kid soooo badly

when a new kid walks into a room, you raise your hands, holler and welcome them with so much joy! typically, the kid does not reciprocate your excitement, but luckily you're easily distracted and move on. 

you nod your head in affirmation rather than saying yes. this is the best.

"Judson, are you hungry?" head nod.

"Judson, are you ready to go home?" head nod.

"Judson, do you love me more than your dad?" head nod.   i'm kidding, calm down.

you can walk backwards and do so with a sneaky little grin. surely this is a developmental milestone

you can climb. hooray! 

or not

you continue to woo me with your incredible sleep habits.

 i commend you for that and encourage you to continue if you want to keep your title of My Favorite Son (this title is soon to be back up for grabs)

your sleep is necessary and life-giving. 

when you are awake, there are not two consecutive seconds in which you sit in the same spot or keep your mouth closed. this is ok by me, because you provide hours of entertainment and you are so very happy and quite hilarious!

sometimes you can be rather dramatic and run towards me, arms stretched up and your eyes squeezed so tight. as if saying, "i just can't stand it anymore, i can't even look, just hold me".

your coordination never ceases to amaze me.
you have an incredibly strong sense of purpose, a very inquisitive mind and a ridiculously capable body.
independently, all of these things are wonderful.
but when joined as one force in a toddler body without inhibition....you are a very dangerous, 25 lb human being, my son.

if you see something that intrigues you, you will find a way to climb over/squeeze through/crawl under/side-step around/open the door in order to wiggle to it.

someday, this energy and coordination will be put to use.
someday it will be beneficial.
as for now, we will continue our survival tactics.

you are learning to obey and do not like it when i get on to you.

luckily, you seem to be a very quick learner and catch on rather quickly.

you follow commands (even if it takes me 10 times) and know when we mean business.

although you are feisty, you know how to look me in the eye and listen (for the most part...mostly, sometimes, most of the time)

we simply adore you little Judson Ray.

you are a true delight, typically in a wonderful mood and eager to be with people.

you are fiercely independent

incredibly curious

rather uninhibited

strongly spirited

delightfully friendly

increasingly silly

happy, happy, happy

and a positively absolute joy!