new in Townes

a clever gift from Bella

we are just smitten with the newest Taylor.

all of us.

his face is irresistibly kissable and his little body fits perfect in my arms.

life with 2 is proving to be incredibly sweet, rewarding and high-maintenance (is that the right word??)!

therefore i have been unable to share on this ole blog.
also, i had a paper due on Sunday and i've chosen to use JR's nap times to make my Mamaw Jo's oatmeal cookies (amaze-ING!), clean the house, do homework and stare at Townes.
priorities!

T-dubs has had a very busy first week of life and has been a dreamboat!
seriously, he is the sweetest thing.
you should meet him!  you'd fall for him- hard and fast.

more pictures, more details, more stories to come but, for now...i'm gonna cuddle one boy and chase another

Townes Wesley Taylor

Townes Wesley made his grand debut Tuesday, July 8th at 2:15pm, weighing 7lbs 12oz and 19 3/4 in long.

he is learning how to function in this world beautifully!

so far, in the 40 hours that i've known him, he is fitting into our family quite well and is proving to be a fine young man.

at this point, i just can't get enough kisses and he seems to enjoy giving them

 his big brother has taken to his new role like a champ (kind of surprising me, if i'm honest) and seems to genuinely be interested in his new bff. 

he constantly asks about "bay-bay" and gives him the sweetest snuggles 

he is actually way more interested in Townes than me!

we are going home today and i am pretty eager to have our new family of 4 under the same roof. 

in the meantime, little buddy is still trying to figure this whole thing out

thank you so much for all the congratulations, sweet texts, phone calls and visits!

we are so grateful to be surrounded and loved by so many and to know that our boys are loved so well.

more to come on our newest!

for now, we shall spend all of our time staring at him 

celebrating, rejoicing and waiting!

CELEBRATE!!!

Today at noon marked 4 years since I became a wife.

4 years since GT became a husband.

and I think it's been the best year yet! 

we have accomplished a lot in these 4 years.

we sure have learned a lot

and changed a lot

our family has changed and grown 

and for all of that...the growth and changes, i am thankful.

four years have been good to us

and because of that, we celebrate!

REJOICE!!!

we have a niece!!!

Grace Monroe Taylor was born last evening to Chelsea and Ty (GT's bro) 

isn't she the prettiest thing you ever did see?

I just can't wait to love on her and kiss those cheeks

a niece

how does that sound? pretty perfect, to me.

yet we will have to wait to meet her in person

WAITING.....

waiting, waiting, waiting on our little guy to arrive.

i'm ok with waiting.

really

i've never known a baby not to come out.

i'm all about some full term, healthy lungs

so, waiting is our game 

 i feel pretty great actually and i'm getting a lot of schoolwork completed

so, waiting isn't the hardest part, so far...

let me officially reach 40 weeks on Monday and we'll talk then.

a Good Times Garden

This was mine and my dad's 1st year to do a summer garden.

So, we allowed ourselves some grace and didn't expect much.

Luckily, we have had a rare rainy month of June and our little seeds have sprouted some incredible produce!

We have planted, tended, weeded, watered, nurtured, harvested and eaten.

the verdict is out: it is good.

and we are already giddy thinking about next years or this Fall's bigger and better garden!

plans include
1. better deer proofing- those suckers are sneaky and greedy
2. more purple bush beans- so, so, so good!
3. less squash seeds per pod- they are very productive and get heavy very quickly
3. more tomatoes, better spacing- can never have enough and they need some space, me thinks
4. more blackberries, inside of the fence- more for us, less for deer and other sneaky animals
5. longer rows
6. higher fence
7. wider walking paths- maybe?
8. more aesthetically pleasing gate (that's my idea, obviously)
9. add zucchini and some type of greens
10. perhaps maybe not be pregnant and not in grad school

my dad is definitely the planner, organizer and realist.

i'm the excited harvester, cook and overly hopeful (and not perfectionist)

some photos.

from planting day- April

to roughly 2 weeks ago- June

we have so enjoyed this little garden

i have really loved learning alongside my dad
some trial and error, adjusting our plans and harvesting our rewards!

it's fun to get excited over a new cucumber or a tomato turning red with him

i'm excited to watch Judson become a gardener and grow up learning to appreciate good food and how to work with the earth.

there really is so much more to this little garden than the veggies

it's good for our family, good for our bodies and good for the soul.

it is good and it is satisfying to eat something that you planted and watched grow from a little seed.

and the tastes!!! oh, how those tomatoes and peppers taste...so tasty!

it's not much, but it's ours.

our little garden.

our Good Times Garden

captain America crashes the party!

Beau's party to be exact!

his 4 year old party!

celebrating Beau is so much fun!

He is our oldest nephew, so we are learning the ropes from him

He is always up for a party and loves to be with his family

the party was at Jamie's sisters house about a month or so ago and the guests included our family.

it was just perfect. 

honestly, Beau loves being with his cousins more than anyone. So, it was the perfect guest list for him!

well, it was once Captain America showed up (points for my brother!)

it is so hard to believe that Beau is 4!

i truly adore him and am so thankful that he made me an aunt.

it is so much fun to watch him grow and learn new things.

he's becoming quite the conversationalist and is always spouting out something hilarious.

he's the big kid in town now and i'm so glad that Judson will have Beau to follow!