32 months old

Each month I think that the next month can't top what Rocco has accomplished, but this last month his vocabulary has grown so much I cannot even count the words that he is using. He's finally arrived at the stage where he repeats the words we say. He'll even try to make small sentences with them. For example, he'll say, "Mama and me dee-ah (play) ball." The other day he had a small conversation with me on the phone. It went like this. "Hey mommy! Rocco dee-uh nana's housh whoo whoo (trains)!" One of the sweetest things that he now says is, "Daddy's boy" and "Mama's baby." We're so thankful for the progress he is making with his language skills!

This month he began counting ("1, 2, sometimes 3 or 4, 5"). He holds up his fingers, starting at one and proceeds to five. After a few seconds of getting his fingers just right, he can hold up six and say it, too.

"Mommy, mommy!" he says all the time now. For every little thing he does he is so proud and wants me to watch him. Nana and daddy get the same requests, too. He certainly wants all eyes on him.

At this age, he's not a big fan of me loving on Jason or even having a long conversation with him. It's all about Rocco, and if attention turns off of him he'll let us know.

At home and in Sunday School we read God's Word. He knows that it is the "Bible." When I ask him where God is, he will do the sign for heaven. Sometimes he'll even say "Heaven."

Brushing his teeth is easy since we have a singing Thomas the Train toothbrush. Every time I start the music, he gets excited and starts doing the sign for song.

The newest Thomas video that we have is the Christmas one where it talks about snow. There is a singing section on it. It is really sweet to watch him sit in his little chair at Mimi's house and sing along. He says it like this, "No, no, no, no." I'll never forget the first time he asked me to watch that video. I couldn't understand because when I pointed to it, he kept saying, "No." In fact, he was telling me, "Snow!"

His latest thing is playing stuck, which he pronounces "duck." When he wants me to pick him up, he quits walking, pretends like he can't move his legs off the floor and cry, "Duck!" He also likes to place his trains in tight spaces to pretend like they're stuck. Then, he'll move them out, shake his head no, and cry duck again to tell me that they're not stuck.

He's very big on opposites right now. He will tell you when he is high or low, wet or dry, big or small "mall," and fast or slow. He also understands the opposites off/on, light/dark, and cold/hot.

At this fun age he loves to hide. We'll run in his closet and hide from daddy. Then, we'll jump out and say, "Boo." At other times he'll be laying in the bed and cover his eyes, thinking he's hidden.

It's funny now that he will tell you when something stinks by waving his hand in front of his nose and go "Shew!"

Lately he has become opinionated about what he wears. It's not just about wanting to wear his Thomas pj's every night either. If we put something on him he doesn't like, he'll get upset and let us know that he doesn't approve. I've started giving him choices. When I present him with 2 or 3 shirts, he'll tell me which one he wants to wear. Then, for about the next 3 or 5 minutes he'll point to the one that he likes and shake his head and point to the one he doesn't like and shake no.

Baby Sydney has been the newest change in his life. Although he doesn't see her everyday, we talk about her a lot and pray for her every night. He says that she is "mall" and that he is "big". He also reminds us though that there are 2 babies. He won't let us forget that he is the baby, too. The other day Jason took him to Tonya and Ben's house for a visit, and he had nothing to do with her. I imagine in a few months that will all change.

On on a funny note, the other day Granddaddy asked Rocco to go tell Nana he could not come because he was in the bathroom. Rocco came pitter pattering down the hall and told Nana, "Granddaddy tee tee poo poo."

Happy Thanksgiving

Look at that sweet face and there's no doubt what one of God's biggest blessings in my life is. Rocco! This was our second Thanksgiving with little man.

As usual, we all gathered at mom and dad's house for our family meal. Rocco and I came up Wednesday and spent the night. This is what we did last year. I find comfort in family traditions. You know what to expect, you look forward to seeing everyone in their place, and you know the food will be outstanding. Thankfully everyone was here for this Thanksgiving. I know not everyone can say that. One of my best friends lost her mother on Wednesday this week.

Following our dinner, I sang some songs for my family. Rocco joined in using his little microphone from his keyboard.

A few things were different this year though. For the first time I didn't watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Instead, we watched Thomas the Train DVD over and over and over. . . That was a good change. We also didn't get to listen to any Christmas music as we drove around shopping on Friday. Rocco had to watch Curious George and his Thomas videos.

Our family is also growing. That's another big change. My brother's girlfriend, Lauren, came to our gathering. She and Tyler are expecting a girl this February. They are naming her Dalyn.

Nana and papaw came as usual, but this was probably the first year that my nana did not bring any food. I always looked forward to her macaroni and cheese. Her health has really deteriorated; she's facing another surgery December 11th. My papaw has some health issues as well. Shortly after we ate, they went home to rest. We put the tree up without them this year. That was sad.

After we ate and Rocco had his nap, the two of us headed to my Mamaw Martin's house. She lives with my two great aunts. Mamaw is my great-grandmother; she's over 90. It broke my heart to see her because her mind doesn't work like it used to. She kept telling Rocco she was his aunt. For our two hour stay, I know she asked me twenty times, "Now how long have you had him?" She just couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that he was ours and ours for good. Mamaw would ask me several times if we would have to take him back. It's really sad to see people you love so much slowly lose their thought process. I dread the day when she forgets me.

Despite the changes, some good and some bad, life goes on. Though nana couldn't go with us, mom and I still went shopping on Black Friday. We kept in touch with her throughout the day on our cell phones. Our shopping adventure didn't start as early as usual (for Rocco's sake). We got out at about 8:30am and didn't' finish until about 8 that night. Rocco was a great sport, and so well behaved the entire day. He's really starting to talk more lately. While we were in Kohl's line waiting to check out, he looked up at me (fanning himself with my Christmas list) and said, "Mama, Rocco hot!" I love it. He is getting to where he can talk to me like a little man and communicate his wants.

What is Thanksgiving without giving thanks? I have to list them here. There are so many blessings that come from God, and I know I could never list them all. Here's just a few...

1) So thankful that I have a relationship with Jesus

2) Thankful for my husband and our marriage

3) Thankful for our beautiful, healthy son

4) Thankful that God has given me good health

5) Thankful for my family and Jason's family (Sydney is our newest blessing)

6) Thankful that Jason and I both have jobs in these tough economic times

7) Thankful that we have a home, food, clothing, and all of our needs met

8) Thankful we have a church we belong to

9) Thankful God answered prayer for Lillian (she is coming home from China to her parents this Christmas)

10) Thankful for girlfriends who I can call any time - my prayer warriors outside my family (Heather, Kim-Lan, Teresa, Gloria, Jennifer, Sandra, Carlene, Katherine, & Ms. Julie, just to name a few).

Rocco's New Bath Robe

Check out Rocco sportin' his new robe after his bath tonight. For several months now I've been looking for a toddler bath robe. No stores seem to carry 2T robes, although you can find plenty for babies. Well, my big boy needed a new one because his old robe came up above his knees. The robes on-line sold for $40 or more. (That's absurd because I know he won't wear it for more than 5 minutes after his bath until he wants to be a nudy bootie again. ) I found this plush robe at an upscale resale shop for $8. I brought it home, washed it, and it's like new. It fits him perfectly; it even has pockets which he really digs. He got a kick out of modeling it for me. He's a little ham!

Rocco's Baby Cousin Arrives

Sydney Marie Taylor made her way into the world today. Jason's sister, Tonya, had her baby around noon. She was 7 lbs and 9 ounces. Right after I left school today, the three of us headed up to see the newest miracle/addition to our family.

My in-laws, Gary and Carolyn, were in the room with Tonya when we got there. Proud daddy Ben was out getting a quick bite to eat since he'd had nothing all day long. Drew, our 9 year old nephew, was with his other set of grandparents. He was the first one to hold her and had already spent a lot of time with his new sister earlier in the day. He is one proud big brother. Jason and I took turns holding our niece. We are the proud aunt and uncle.

Rocco seemed apprehensive when he first met Sydney. After a few minutes we worked him into holding her. His expression says it all.

We all had a great laugh over Rocco's reaction. And those eyebrows of his didn't come back down for quite a while. It was as if he was saying, "What is this tiny thing in my arms?" I can hardly wait to see these two interact when Sydney gets a little older. Drew and Rocco are already the best of buds. Now that there are 3 of them, watch out Nana and Granddaddy!

We are so blessed! Just look at her precious face. . . and all that beautiful hair!

Only Two Cousins. . . But Not For Long

Rocco and his first cousin, Drew, are big "buddies". In fact, that's one of Rocco's newest words to say when he's around Drew. Those two boys are tight. Drew is one family member that Rocco will just love and love on.

After Sunday dinner at Gary and Carolyn's house, I took the boys outside to enjoy the nice, fall day. I got some great shots of them playing. This photo shoot was important because it was the last one we would have before Sydney comes along. Jason's sister, Tonya, is expecting her baby Friday, Nov. 14th.

He made a game out of throwing rocks in nana and granddaddy's driveway.

Here's Rocco sneaking around the hay bale trying to find his buddy.

Two friends just shooting the breeze.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

in Rocco's room! On this crisp and cool November day Rocco and I began to decorate the house for Christmas. The mission for today was to get little man his very own tree in his bedroom. While I was making a huge mess pulling everything out of the storage upstairs, Rocco was playing with his battery operated Thomas the train. He took it off the track and let it run wherever it wanted to go. "Stuck!" he kept saying. This game went on for the entire time I was working on his room. In the background was some Christmas music to get us in the Christmas spirit (Patti Page. . . brings back good childhood memories of being at my nana and papaw's house).

He really liked the idea of a big tree being in his room. "Whoa!" he exclaimed as I put it together. He also liked the white lights that flickered in a random pattern. When it was time to decorate it, little man did his part to help.

We really enjoyed our morning together. Daddy was busy hunting deer while we got his room ready. When he came home Rocco proudly showed him the tree in his room.

His rooms looks great; the tree's theme is outdoors, sports, and GA bulldogs all wrapped up in one!

Fall Fun at Mimi and Papaw's

What a wonderful way to start off the first day of November! Just chillin'. . .

and chasing the cat outside at mimi and papaw's house.

Enjoying the beautiful fall leaves and cool weather. No special occasion. Just coming. . .

and going with green, red, and blue flying in the air.

Rocco and his mimi

Uh oh! Silly papaw!