*TeN MoNtHs*

Griffin is 10 months old now!!

I can't believe how fast this time has gone.

He is such a sweet little guy, and definetly a mama's boy.

I love it!

He is definetly on the move these days. He pulls up and climbs on everything.

He somehow manages to get himself stuck underneath tables and chairs constantly.

He is learning to express his emotions very clearly. For instance, when I change his diaper and there is something he thinks he should be doing instead....he will ball his fists up and scream at me.

Not cry, but scream! It is so funny but sort of scary at the same time.

I also love that I can start planning his birthday party! I am thinking about a country boy theme.

I ran across the coolest Mossy Oak brand table cloths, plates, etc. online.

I guess you have to be from Alabama for this to be appealing. ha!

I am working on ideas and taking suggestions for a camoflauge cake.

The ones I have found searching Google Images arent very appealing.

I also considered a "dirt cake".

(((((Crushed up oreos and frosting??? Um, yes! thank you!)))))

Anyway, since my 9 months post was only a week or so ago...there isnt much more to update.

Only a week til Christmas! WooHoo!

the kid that doesn't grow

2007

2008

2009

What do all of these photos have in common?

I'll give you a hint.

It's brown.

That's right. Aubree has worn the same cute little Baby Gap coat for 3 years now! My kid is for sure economical when it comes to clothing.

Although she has grown "on paper", you would never know it by looking at her wardrobe!

The sleeves are getting short so I guess this will be the last year for the precious coat.

It is bittersweet!

9...almost 10 months!

I completely forgot to post a 9 month update on Mr.Griffin.

My Baaaad.

He is doing lots of new things!

For starters, he started to crawl on his 9 month birthday.

Coincidentally, the same day I broke my foot and became immobile!

Perfect right???

He started pulling up on furniture......the next day.

I was like, ok, this is too much......

lowandbehold....

he sprouts a tooth that very afternoon

(((and another one since then)))

Phew, I cant keep up with this kid.

So far he can say: mama, dada, baba, bite bite,
uh oh (my favorite), and bye bye.

i realize all of these sound the same from the mouths of babes...

but you can SO tell that he means different things when he says it.
I have lots of new photos, but i cant find the cord I need to upload them. I will soon though, I promise!!!!

another art class...

...and another great night out with Emily!

Here is what I painted last night.

I am addicted.

Rolling on the FLOOR!

I got this email this afternoon and I just HAD to share it.

This does hit close to home.....

A WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE GYM
Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, I purchased a week of personal training at the local health club.

Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

________________________________

MONDAY:

Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god-- with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines... I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!

________________________________

TUESDAY:

I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me.

_______________________________

WEDNESDAY:

The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members.. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other crap too.

_______________________________

THURSDAY:

Butt hole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late-- it took me that long to tie my shoes.

He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny witch to find me.

Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine-- which I sank.

_________________________________

FRIDAY:

I hate that jackass Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.

Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the darn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

________________________________

SATURDAY:

Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel..

________________________________

SUNDAY:

I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun-- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

It's Veteran's Day

God bless our country and those who protect it!

Major. League. Yum.

Last night Zach and I cooked dinner together.

We cooked Ribeye steaks

(from the 1/2 cow we purchased, YAY for organic meat)

Whiskey Glazed Carrots

and....

 Twice Baked Potatoes

I am off to do about a million crunches now.....

It was so good.

I think I will have leftover carrots with my sandwich for lunch today :)

Ya'll try that recipe. You wont be disappointed, I promise!

i love rainbows

((especially double rainbows))

...and we found this one in Auburn last week.
Isn't it pretty?

I just ran across this picture and I had to post it.

I love this girl!!!!!!!

Where have I been???

i just realized how LONG it has been since i posted.

phew...

well, in my defense, we have been out of town for the last two weeks.

first, to auburn...to watch the tigers kick booty on halloween.

then, to ohio. the kids and i accompanied zach on a business trip.

what is there to do in ohio you ask???

 NOTHING!!!

...but there may have been an indoor pool and hot tub at the hotel we stayed at.

..shhhhh!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The kids were as adorable as ever on Halloween.

Aubree was Dorothy and Griffin was the Cowardly Lion.

Their costumes were handmade by Zach's grandmother.

She did an amazing job!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had to take Griffin to the doctor yesterday.

He has been "cruddy" (like my new word?) for like 2 months now.

Turns out he STILL has an ear infection. We are trying another antiobiotic to see if it helps.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not much else to report....enjoy a few pictures from the past week or two!

She was so proud of her red shoes.....

Isnt he a doll???

War Eagle......Zach and I at the Auburn game.

More Spirited Art

Emily and I painted again last week.

Let me just tell you, it doesnt get much better than a paintbrush in one hand

 ........and a milkshake from Cheeburger in the other :)

Here is my creation.

It looks better now because the lavendar swirlies are camouflaged behind the gold.

My Spirited Art

I have been meaning to blog about this and I cannot believe I forgot! We have found the best new thing in Huntsville for Girls Night Out...

"My Spirited Art"

Check out their website. You pick which night you go by what you would like to paint.

Pay your $35.00....

You bring something to sip on...

wine or diet coke...whatever floats your boat....

grab a friend and have a blast.

I went with my bestie Emily a few weeks ago and we are hooked.

I am just wondering where I will put all of these things when I am done!!?!?!!

Here is my first creation.

me??? Kreativ..wow!

I have been nominated by Miss Kriss as a Kreativ blogger! Thank you ma'am!!!! Miss Kriss was nominated by another blogger and chose to pass it along to 7 of her blog pals.

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.

5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they've been nominated.

..:::.. Here are the 7 things you may not know about me ..:::..

(1)

I am deathly afraid of frogs. It's abnormal. I know, I can admit it. I just hate the little boogers!

(2)

I have man hands. I probably wear the biggest ring size of anyone who will read this. My hands are gigantic!

(3)

Like Miss Kriss, I secretly LOVE all of the teeny bopper music. I have a Britney Spears CD in right now AND I may or may not have spent a crazy amount of money for Aubree and I to see Miley Cyrus in concert this November.

(4)

I love to cook. Notice I said cook, not bake. Baking is really not my thang.

(5)

I met my husband when I was 15 and I knew right then that I would someday be his wife. I honestly can't tell you why I knew it....I just did.

(6)

I love to travel. I think I may like it too much. The idea of planning a trip and packing for it and then going makes me happy. I love the parts most people dread.

(7)

I would like a do-over wedding. (to the same man of course!) I was young and there are so many things I would do differently this time around.

 

There you go, 7 things you didnt know about Alyse! Won't you sleep better tonight now that you know?

 

Here are my nominations for Kreativ bloggers:

Kim- At home in the Cove

Becky-The details are in the Fabric

Melinda-VanZoeren Adventures

Melissa-Kyle+Melissa=Kylissa

Molly-Sweet Mondays

Jessica-The Misadventures of Bitty and Bubby

Jamie-Two plus Jilly

 

 

What a Weekend...

We seriously have had the must fun family weekend ever!

I guess I should start on Thursday since Zach took the day off. We went to Columbia, TN to fish. His family has some land with a "lake" and we enjoy going up there to camp and fish. Zach caught the biggest bass of his life! This thing was a monster and weighed at least 8, if not 10 lbs.

This fish was as big as Griffin!!!

Then, Friday night we went to Oktoberfest at Redstone Arsenal. We filled our bellies up with Schnitzel and Saurkraut and then rode rides that were clearly designed to make you revisit your dinner. Aubree had a BLAST. She says her favorite part was the Farris Wheel. I think its because that was the one and only ride brother got to participate in. There is just something relaxing about hanging 50 ft in the air in a squeaky metal bucket with the man you love and you sweetie kids! We stayed there til' midnight...yes MIDNIGHT with a four year old and seven month old. Am I mother of the year or what?!? HaHa.

Saturday, we woke up bright and early and headed up to Tennessee to visit Grandmother Linda's farm. It is such a sweet little place. You cross a creek just to get up the driveway and the house is older than I can explain. It's a "shotgun stlye" home and I just think its cute as a button! We had barbeque and ALL of the fixins including Homemade Pecan Pie. Yum!

The farm as you pull into the driveway.

Aubree with Grandmother and EP the dog riding the 4 wheeler

Griffin relaxing with GiGi on the front porch.

This girl has mad frisbee skills. Haha

After we left the farm we headed home to get ready to watch some Auburn football. I made homemade ranch dressing to go with our home cooked hot wings and we watched the game with Josh and Emily.

Oh, and by the way, War Eagle.

Sunday we skipped church because both kids were coughing their heads off and since the first Alabama swine flu case was a gril from our church I think everyone is a little freaked out at coughs and runny noses right now. I helped host a baby shower for a family friend and had a great time chatting with all of the ladies in attendance.

All in all, it was a GREAT weekend.

.::.Oink Oink .::.

It's the Swine Flu.....
Last week I was told by the doctor that I had a sinus infection. 

I never got any better so I went to another doctor today and I have H1N1 Flu Virus.

The kids both are coughing and have snotty noses so I am guessing they have it too.

Their pediatrician said only to bring them in if they spike a fever so were hanging around the house for the next few days.

Hopefully we can get some cleaning done and maybe start on a few projects for Christmas.

 I did get to finish my book this morning. (Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah)

Strangely enough, Miss Kriss reccomended this book in her blog and I was already half way through.

It is a great read. Make sure you stop and get some tissues on the way home from the library though.

 It's a tearjerker!!!

7 MONTHS ALREADY??!??!

Griffin is 7 months old today!

 I just can't believe its been that long already.

This photo (sorry for the bad quality) was taken this morning while he was playing dress up with Sissy.

He is such a trooper. He just smiles and laughs while she has her way with him.

He is progressing so well.

I imagine he is about 15 1/2 lbs now.

He sits unassisted and is showing interest in crawling.

These are both great milestones for him because he is given an "adjusted age" developmentally because of his prematurity but so far he is on par with "normal" 7 month olds.

He loves his baby food. His favorites are sweet potatoes, peas, and spring vegetables with brown rice.

He still only says "Mama" when he is crying. No "Dada" yet.

He sleeps in his own room and is such a good boy at night. We lay him down and he talks himself to sleep. His big sister NEVER did that.

He is wearing a size 6-9 months clothing. Thats a big step up from those preemie clothes he started out in.

He looks just like I did when I was a baby.
I will steal a picture from moms and scan it in soon to prove this.

what a great night!

well, we're at the beach again for another of zach's business trips.

this time he had to inspect an ET (external tank).
we just happened to be lucky enough to catch the launch of discovery (STS-128) last night.

(((i wont admit that we prayed hardcore for it to be scrubbed monday/tuesday

...and thank goodness it did)))

im sure we were the only ones praying for a launch to be scrubbed but oh well!

it was a night launch and it was a-ma-zing!

aubree and i watched a discovery launch when she was 2 and it was a daytime one so lucky missy prissy has seen day and night of discovery!

----Aubree's view of the Launch of STS-120 in October 2007----

last night was incredible! the entire sky lit up when it ignited. it looked like it was 10a.m and not 12 midnight!

it is just so inspiring to see that thing go up. it really makes you proud to be an american!

i wish i had some photos from last night but it was so dark its hard to see anything until it goes up and i dont wanna be taking pictures while its going up! here is what we saw though!

Photo courtesy of Nasa.gov

This is when things got good!

Today is August 17, 2009.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

This means I have been a mama for 4 years now.

HappY BirthdaY sweet Aubree. I love you!

check it out...

So, last Saturday we had our "Griffin's 6 month session" with Mrs. Apryl which quickly turned into the whole family plus a car getting pictures...lol. Thank you Apryl for sharing your skills with our family and your PATIENCE!!
Click here to see Apryl's blog post with our "sneak peeks". I cannot wait to see them all!

oh, my lordy, what a sweet little girl

aubree just continues to melt my heart!

as i type she is fast asleep on the couch with baby bro.

just as she was about to fall asleep, she whispered..."mommy, i think i need to cough,

im afraid it will wake up my brother"

seriously, who does that???

im his mom and im sure i have never held in a cough sneeze or anything in fear of disturbing him.

i hope they always care for one another this much!

for the love of pete...

PUHLEESE!!!

check this site out.

I stumbled across it because Becky (one of my oldest friends!!)

posted a blog about her delicious weekend

...........with Chicken Scallopine :)

I especially like the Cowgirl food section. Y-U-M!

I cant wait to go to the grocery and get the stuff to make the

Penne a-la-Betsy

or the...

Pioneer Womans favorite Sandwich

or the...

Farfalle with Zucchini

sick day pizza

aubree has been sick today

...well actually we all have.

she started doing "that thing" at about 6 am

then i started...

then griffin started...

ekh!!

she finally got an appetite at 5 o'clock..

what does she ask for???

~~~~~~~

pizza?!?!

~~~~~~~~~~

now, i know pizza isn't a sick person food but who am i to deny her the only thing that sounds good to her poor little taste buds?

so i rummaged through the pantry and came up with some ingredients and this is what i threw together.

alyse's sick day pizza (cute huh?)

grease pizza pan

use one can of refrigerated pizza dough spread it on pan to desired thickness

spread about 1/2 cup pasta sauce from the jar on to uncooked crust

sprinkle with oregano, crushed red pepper, salt

i didn't have pepperoni so i thinly sliced some smoked sausage spread on crust

along with chopped green pepper and onion

cover, and i mean, cover, in cheese

bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes!! yum.

lets just hope she keeps it down!!!

Oh sweet little boys...

Ok, I love love love my Aubree

but

there is something about a little boy...

OH! They are so sweet :)

I have the pleasure of watching Mr.Silas today and let me just tell you---he is a doll!

I mean really, 3 kids in the house and I am sitting here blogging....

now,

Aubree may or may not be wrapped around his little finger

and following him around like a little puppy but hey. whatever works!

Thank you, April, for letting us play with this sweet angel.

Its here!!

Ok.

I gave in.

I ordered it.

Your baby can read.

I was very skeptical but my mom in law is an occupational therapist and has client with Downs Syndrome and he is reading at 2 years old with this system!!!

I will post updates

(and videos I am sure)

with our progress!!

more blueberries

....and with more blueberries

....come more blueberry recipes....

and this one is yummier than the first.

as a matter of fact..dont cook the first one

do this one :)

there is one ingredient that could easily scare you off

dont let it. i promise it is so yummy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

blueberry crisp

*4 cups fresh blueberries
*1 cup all-purpose flour
*3/4 cup white sugar
*1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*1/2 cup mayonnaise

Preheat the oven to 350
Place the blueberries into an 8 inch square baking dish.

In a medium bowl,

stir together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon.

Stir in the mayonnaise

until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle over the top of the berries.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes

in the preheated oven

until the top is lightly browned.

Thank you Aubree...

Thanks to Aubree, we will be having some delicious Blueberry Cobbler tonight.

She went with our neighbors this morning to pick blueberries

and brought back half-a-grocery-sack of the yumminess!

Here is the recipe I am going to use.

I got it from Meredith,

who got it from Brett...

It is so yummy and SO easy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4 cups blueberries

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 of a lemon

1 egg

1 stick of butter, melted

~~~~~~

place blueberries in baking dish

squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon over berries

mix egg, flour, and sugar

drizzle melted butter in to mixture

pour over berries

bake at 375 for 30 min.

Here are the pictures from this weekend.

Griffin LOVES the water.

Great-Great Grandaddy John Houston Taylor. Zach and Griffin's namesake. Possibly the sweetest man on earth. Can you believe he is 92?!?

5 Generations of Taylors.

Our Weekend

we had a great little weekend here at the taylor house.

friday night we had dinner with zachs family for an early fathers day since his grandparents were heading off to the smokies on sunday morning.

it was soooo yummy. we had grilled salmon with a ginger glaze, oven roasted potatoes with rosemary, and fresh beets with homemade raspberry cobbler for dessert.

ahh, it was so good!

saturday we woke up and zach got to work in the yard.

he was tired of being murdered by tree limbs as he cut the grass!

i decided this sounded like a great time to take the kids and go swimming :)

after we spent a few hours at the pool we came home (exhausted) and i couldn't believe all the work he had gotten done! the yard looks much much better.

saturday night was also his parents wedding anniversary.

they invited us to join them at the melting pot.

y-u-m.

it was our second time there since it opened in huntsville and we haven't been disappointed yet! by the time dinner was over we were both so tired

and full

and miserable.

even though we had a babysitter for the night, we decided just to head home.

sunday was fathers day.

let me just say, i have loved my husband since i was about 15 years old, BUT i love him more now because of the dad he is.

this is nothing against zach....but i had NO CLUE that he would be such a good dad.

he had like zero kid experience when we had aubree but he just jumped right in and he is so awesome.

i love him so much and i am so glad he is the father of my children.

anywhoo...

the weekend before he had gone on like a super shopping spree and got him some new fishing lures, and a rod and some line so we decided we were pretty much set in the gift department. our big fathers day event was at his parents house for dinner.

we had a good `ole' fish fry.

i made my homemade tartar sauce (yum) and we swam and took some five generations pictures with his grandfathers.

ill post those up once they get emailed to me.

all in all it was a great weekend.

hope everyone else enjoyed theirs as well.

Another Giveaway..

this time a tote and Yankee Candle...check it out!!

Fab Giveaway!!

Ok, you must drop everything and check this out!!!

Little Miss Southern is having a giveaway on her blog.

Trust me, just go.

Its adorable!

new look

i love my new background!

i just wish i had a better header...im working on that :)
visit this site!

she has lots of cute stuff!!!

Carrots...

..are yummy, just ask Griffin :)

(picture quality is bad, zach had my "good" camera)

He went to his 4month checkup today and we got the green light to start introducing baby food on top of the cereal he was already getting.

His stats were:

Weight: 12lb 2oz -7th percentile

Length: 23 inches -3rd percentile

The doctor was very please with his developmental skills and said there is no reason to use an "adjusted age" with him so far because he is doing great.

He has a few hemangiomas that we have to keep an eye on, but more on that later!

guess who...

is 4 months old today...
he is getting so big!!!

he laughs at everything and always has something to say!

he rolled over for the very first time today too.

what a great birthday present to himself :)

its hard to even remember that terrible two weeks

when he was here but i couldnt hold him in my arms.

i am just glad he is here now and doing great.

he goes for his 4 month checkup tomorrow so

i'll post all of the stats from that visit later!

Oh, its been a while...

well, i dont even know what to say.

so much has happened in the 3 weeks since i last posted.

ill try to ramble on til i get it all in here.

first of all, cotton row run. i did finish. i was not last. yay, i win

then we had a camping trip. here are some photos

thank goodness for self timer

cant go anywhere without miley

she fell asleep in her tutu and boots

picture of the old boat and dock

next, we tagged along with zach on a business trip to the cape.

why, did we tag along?

because this is where we stayed!

ahh, paradise!

he is a natural born beach bum.

so is aubree...

such a daddy's girl

napping together after a long day on the beach!

we had so much fun!

it was a long drive down, but the kids did GREAT!

we left home about 10pm. we had to wait for aubree's dance recital to be over.

here is a picture from that.

she looks so grown up. i had to pile on the makeup so she could be seen onstage.

of course, she didnt mind!

ready ready ready ready...

ready to ruuuuuuuuun!

well, not really.

im up super early eating a banana and praying it doesn't rain!

let me just say...my only goal is to not be last!

Happy Mothers Day to me...

this mothers day was super special. i have a beautiful new baby boy to love and enjoy along with my super amazing daughter. here are some pics taken by whitney and anthony at emilys graduation party this weekend.