* * * * * * A Day in the Life of Little T * * * * * *

We've Moved!!!

2011-08-07T13:32:00.000-04:00

It's taken me 4 months, but I finally started a new family blog. The blog name teaganavery was a little out of date. From now on, you can follow the adventures of Teagan and Declan:

HERE, aka
teagan-declan.blogspot.com

This blog will remain for now, but dont expect any new posts :) All of the posts prior to this have been exported to the new blog already. We hope you'll join us!

iPhone photo round-up

2011-08-05T21:10:00.000-04:00

Just a little iPhone photo round-up from the last week or two...

I love this series - Teagan was being such a sweetheart big sister

Teagan and Declan both made the "artist of the week" display wall in the daycare lobby

Mr Declan being a big boy, and posing with Aunty Melissa and Big Sissy T

Teagan at play, puppy buns, and sleepy snugglebug

Happy Boy, sitting up nice and tall in his jumperoo, and showing some DMB love

3.5 Months

2011-08-01T20:44:00.000-04:00

More cuteness!

Family

2011-08-01T20:35:00.000-04:00

We had a fun visit from Uncle David, and cousins Emma and Jack. They were just in town overnight but we had a great dinner and breakfast and Teagan enjoyed playing with E & J!

Oh Hi!

2011-07-31T21:16:00.000-04:00

Happy Boy

2011-07-25T20:20:00.000-04:00

Declan is developing his own little personality and I love it. I call him happy boy - he is really turning out to be quite a content baby 95% of the time. When he is well rested and fed he is SO happy, fully of smiles and coos and kicks and recently even laughs. His smile is infectious. I just want to eat him up he is so sweet. This is the time period when I really start loving babies (of course I love them before I even meet them, but the first three months are HARD, let's face it!). This is when it really starts getting fun! Knowing what he needs, having a routine, and being rewarded with happiness and snuggles and smiles make the hard months and the hard days all worth it!!! I love you, little Bub!

Summer Fun

2011-07-25T20:12:00.000-04:00

We beat the heat this weekend by taking Teagan to the splash park in town. We met Teagan's friend Joshua and his family there in hopes that Teagan would actually GO in the water if she had a buddy. They were reluctant at first, but Teagan got nice and wet and we finally had to leave because she was cold. Declan chilled in the shade with Mama, but enjoyed watching the kids play and feeling the breeze.

T Funnies

2011-07-22T21:12:00.000-04:00

It's Friday (ahhhh, deep sigh of relief). Declan did well with bottles today (ahhh, deep sigh of relief).

I thought I would catch up to date on the list of "Teagan funnies" I have been jotting down on my phone. She is a funny one, that Teagan. I'll also leave you with some updated snaps of the kids from my phone.

Recent Teagan funnies:

1) Matt found a cherry pie in the back of the freezer. It had been there 2 years. He decided to make it. After it cooled, Teagan wanted to try a piece. A minute after it was set in front of her, Matt and I heard a very concerned "ooohhh nooo...there's CHERRIES in here". Matt said "Teagan, it's cherry pie, what did you expect??"

2) Sometimes it is necessary for kids to refer to certain body parts. I am a big believer in using the right names, rather than cutesie names. But Teagan still often referred to anywhere her underwear covered as her butt. One day, she pointed and said "it's not my butt it's my ja-jina". Correct. And also very hilarious!

3) A gem like 2 above is hard to top. However, I kid you not, the next words out of her mouth were "But you can't eat your butt, that would be yucky". Yes, yes it would be.

4) Driving through the walmart parking lot
T: "loook Mommy, EAGLES!"
Me: "no TT, those are SEAGULLS"

5) T: "I wanna ring the bing bell" (doorbell)

6) Declan has been such a happy boy, and is doing a lot of cooing. Teagan and I talked about him cooing and how it was his way of talking. A day or two later I was in the kitchen and D was kicking on the floor in the family room. Teagan was playing him, and I hear "Mommy, Declan's pooing". I said "Teagan, I dont think he's poo....ohhh, do you mean COOing?" T: "yeah, he's cooing". Oops!

7) She used to say Wegmans properly. Now she calls it Megwins. Love it.

8) Bamilla ice cream. 'nuff said.

9) She was running in the grass and said to Matt and cousin Alysa "come seek and hide with me!!!"

10) This morning I said "Teagan, I love you SO much". She looked at me and matter of factly replied "I don't love you so much, just a little bit". Given my fragile emotional state this week that could have upset me, but I actually just laughed. I think the excitement she showed when she saw me this morning and then 8 hugs and kisses she gave when I dropped her off were proof that she does in fact love me SO much!

Quick update!

2011-07-21T17:39:00.000-04:00

It's hot. I'm busy. Trying to juggle. Stress. Little boy who doesn't like bottles. Tired. Sooo tired. Hence the very brief update. No time for full sentences :)

Three and change

2011-07-17T21:17:00.001-04:00

(meaning, three months and change). Just here to post some kiddo pics. Cutie Mr. D is getting so social. Smiling, even letting out a laugh every now and then. I can't wait until he gets to full on belly laughs, I love those! He is finally, dare I say, adjusted to daycare. We are starting to get into a routine and I think he is becoming more easy going by the day as a result of daycare. Love it, I can't get enough of him!

Dog days of summer....

Visit to Alysa's in Painted Post...

Blue Angels

2011-07-17T21:12:00.000-04:00

It was too hot to actually attend the Rochester Air Show this weekend, especially with two young kids in tow, but we headed over near the airport today to watch the Blue Angels show. We got there just in time to see them do their stunts and had a great viewing location in the shade. Teagan liked watching the planes and Matt took some awesome shots of the show! Hopefully next time the Blue Angels come to town the kids will be old enough to take in all of the festivities at the Air Show!

Summa summa summa time

2011-07-10T15:37:00.000-04:00

Kiddos enjoying the summer...

My growing boy...

2011-07-10T14:57:00.000-04:00

Consistency in these pictures is turning out to be a challenge! Between lighting changes and replicating angles and wrangling a squirmy baby - this is the best I can get! I can fix some of it in editing but it's tough. Maybe at the very end I will need to tweak some of them to get the desired final result.

Three Months!

2011-07-10T14:54:00.001-04:00

Ok, so technically he isn't three months until tomorrow! But given that it's the weekend, I wanted to grab some official three month photos of Mr. Declan today. I also weighed him today at 13 lb 13 oz, which is just shy of a pound gain since his 2 month appointment.

and 8 days old for reference:

Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-10T14:46:00.001-04:00

As promised, here are more photos from our 4th weekend adventures:

picnic at Robert Treman State Park

Playing in the stream

he has the longest most awesome lashes!!!

June Update

2011-07-10T14:37:00.000-04:00

I am finally getting the time to upload some misc. photos from the month of June. It was a busy and fun month.

Cool polar bear shot from our family trip to the zoo

Tour de Cure bike race - aka Daddy & Teagan's Day of Fun:

Teagan & Mommy's Day of Fun at the Zoo:

Family Fun Holiday Weekend

2011-07-04T21:56:00.001-04:00

This was my last weekend before I return to work full time starting Wednesday. We have gone out of town for the 4th weekend every year since I can remember. This year however, mostly due to my return to work immediately after the holiday weekend, we decided to stay home. I think in the long run it was a good idea because we were able to catch up on stuff around the house and get things ready for this week. But we wanted to still do some fun family activities, mostly for Teagan's sake. Saturday was spent running what felt like a million errands and having lunch with Grandpa C. Sunday we planned a day trip to Robert Treman State Park in Ithaca. It was a nice drive down along Cayuga lake (with Teagan asking every 5 minutes of the 2 hour drive "are we at the waterfall yet?"). The park has a waterfall, and the stream is dammed to create a nice, natural swimming pool at the bottom. The surrounding landscape is gorgeous and although the water is chilly, the swimming is nice. We brought a picnic lunch, which we ended up plowing through because someone was anxious to swim. Then we changed and Teagan was finally able to swim. I didn't end up swimming because Declan was super tired so I put him in the carrier and wore him while I watched Teagan and Matt swim. Teagan didn't last too long in the water, because at 62* it was a bit chilly! She was in and out a few times, and enjoyed jumping off the ledge and having Matt catch her. Her blue lips chattered every time she came over to say hi to me. She did love the waterfall so we watched that for a while, and watched the people jumping off the diving board down 10 feet into the water.

After everyone dried off and changed we had one last stop at the park - the stream actually flows across the road so Teagan got to splash in that for a few minutes. This was really just for my benefit because when we went camping as kids we played in the same stream. After we left the park we made a quick stop at Jillian's Drawers, which is a cloth diaper (and children's) store in downtown Ithaca. They are one of the most well known internet sites for ordering diaper supplies, but it was cool to see the store in person. Since we paid the state park fee for the day, we drove into Taughannock Falls SP for a quick drive to the falls overlook. Then it was on to Cayuga Lake Creamery for some ice cream. They make all of their ice cream so we enjoyed a delicious treat (that was almost free, since we all used our birthday coupons!). Then we headed the rest of the way home in time for baths and bedtime! Teagan seemed to have a really great day, and Matt, Declan and I had fun too.

Today we stayed in town, but crossed some more things off our "fun things to do" list. Teagan and I made ice cream in the morning with the ice cream machine (it was technically frozen yogurt). Then we got ready and went to the splash park in town. We had a quick lunch and Teagan took a nap. After nap, we made driveway paint using cornstarch, water, and food coloring and Teagan painted away while D enjoyed kicking away on a blanket in the grass. Matt and I just enjoyed the warm weather and watching our kids enjoy themselves! We grilled dinner and ate on the deck. Teagan had some playtime with Matt and I and then was off to bed! It was such a great weekend. In a way it feels like the "end" but really summer is just beginning so I am sure there is a lot more fun to come!!!

I have photos from real cameras and also video to share, but for now, some iPhone collages to go with the weekend recap!!!

LPGA

2011-06-26T21:29:00.000-04:00

We went to the LPGA event today with free tickets Matt got from work. While we both like to watch golf and go to the LPGA almost every year, when you have kids its too stressful to watch golf - they hold up the "quiet" signs and my heart starts racing fearing that Teagan and/or Declan will start talking/crying/screaming/laughing/etc and distract the golfers. But we enjoyed still ourselves by visiting the "free stuff tent" which is set up with table after table of free samples of food and products (and is air conditioned!) and Teagan had an absolute blast on the bouncy house devices in the kids area. Another enjoyable part of the day for Teagan was riding the bus to and from the parking area. Declan was good the whole time and enjoyed snuggling with Mama in the carrier and even Teagan got in on the babywearing action by riding in our 2nd carrier on Matt's back. And we did get to watch a little golf there too.

Black on Black

2011-06-25T21:54:00.000-04:00

Teagan has had a rough week in the injury department. A record THREE incident/injury reports came home from daycare in one week. She fell on the playground and hurt her back, then was pushed by a classmate and got a black eye, and then was bumped in the face hard and got another black eye (on the prior black eye, but much worse!). It started out as almost a rug-burn like scab, and a swollen, red, and bruised eye. The swelling was worse today and the rug burn has turned a very deep red. Poor babe.

Various views of the damage:

Otherwise, here are some more fun iPhone photos from the week/weekend so far. In a nutshell - little pup after his bath, my kiddos, Mommy's cat vs. Teagan's cat, the eye. Then our walk today - baby riding, little bub snoozin', blowing bubbles & paci face!

And for my own records - Declan slept almost 9 hours last night, we're making such great progress at night time! I was awoken to a cry through the monitor at 4-something so I sprang up to go feed Declan and it turned out it was Teagan making a little peep. So back to bed I went for a little longer because Declan was still sleeping like a champ! He is still having some sleep/nap/fussiness issues during the day but I am trying to be patient! The weekend has been nice to have some tag team action! One more week at home before I start back to work, so I am sure that will throw a wrench into any habits and routines he has developed!

And while I am getting the chance to actually add some words to my post (hehe, instead of just slapping up some photos), here are some recent Teagan-isms that have made us laugh:

#1
Erin: "Teagan do you want a granola bar"
Teagan "No, I don't WANT a bamola bar....but I DO want a bamola bar. I like bamola bars. I want a purple one" (purple = mixed berry because of the purple box)

She just haaas to exert some sassy 3 year old attitude by always saying no to everything first and in the same breath saying she in fact does want what we are offering! I constantly get "I dont WANT ____...but I DO want ____" or "I dont LIKE dinner....but I DO like dinner, I'm hungry." And the emphasized words are always the same!!

#2
Erin: "Do you want to go to Old Navy with Mommy?"
Teagan: "I don't want to go to Old Baby"

#3
In our bathroom while I'm getting ready, Teagan starts to close the door
Teagan: "I'm going to close the door, just call me if you need something"

This made me laugh because if I leave her in the bathroom to brush teeth, go potty, etc I always say "call me if you need something"

#4
Teagan: "Daddy lay on the floor and go to sleep"
Matt lays on floor
Teagan: "I'm going to rub your back and cuddle for one minute. Close your eyes. I'm going to go make you some food" T runs off to her kitchen and brings back a meal of play food

Again, mimicking us because we always say "I'll cuddle for one more minute" when she is stalling at bedtime.

#5
Sometimes she leaves off the first consonant of words, even though she knows the word and generally speaks very clearly and very well.

"But Mommy I EED it" (need it)
"We can go play in the ard" (yard)

#6
Teagan's lyrics to Farmer in the Dell - "the farmer takes a ho". She later said "the farmer takes a hose" but not before sending me into an uncontrollable fit of laughter (which was contagious because the more I laughed, the more she laughed)

#7
Old Navy cashier to Teagan: "are you doing anything fun today?"
Teagan: "we're going to the zoo"
I stand there and shake my head no to the cashier because we aren't going to the zoo
Old Navy cashier to Teagan: "well what's your favorite animal at the zoo?"
Teagan: "umm, I like the zebras"
I laugh and shake my head no again and point out that there aren't any zebras at our zoo

#8
Teagan: "I want to wear naked to daycare today"

#9
Teagan: "Daddy can you zip my best?"
Matt: "You mean your VEST? With a V like vacuum?"
Teagan: "Right, with a V, like bacuum"

#10
Erin: "What did you have for lunch today?"
Teagan: "a burradio" (burrito)

This one stuck, so since when Teagan was a baby we called her "our little burrito" when she was swaddled, we started calling Declan "our little burradio" when he was swaddled, which Teagan thought was quite funny

10 weeks

2011-06-22T21:03:00.000-04:00

Some phone pics from this week -

(kids in laundry, Teagan in the carrier, Teagan helping Matt wash the car, cute belly buttons and sleeping babies, etc)

Zoo zoo zoo

2011-06-22T13:04:00.002-04:00

We took the kids to the zoo last weekend. The weather was great and the animals were so active. Teagan enjoyed seeing all the animals and the sea lion show. We even got an up close look at the polar bear swimming in the water from down below! Also included are a few shots of Mr. Declan at 9 weeks.

Mr Cutie Pants at 9 weeks:

Father's Day

2011-06-20T14:04:00.000-04:00

We had a great Father's day - here is a photo recap:

(In summary - fun, Daddy time, silliness, happiness, and

CHOCOLATE PB CAKE!!! - what more could a Daddy ask for???)

And in other photos in the last week:

Hopefully I will get through some "real" photos soon - pictures from the zoo and Declan bumming around the house! They are downloaded to the computer I just need to convert the files and upload!

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

2011-06-16T10:08:00.000-04:00

It was August 18th, 2008 when I last made a post like this. That time it was for Teagan. This time, it's for Declan.

DECLAN SLEPT 8 HOURS LAST NIGHT!!!!!!

9:30 - 5:30. Heaven. I woke up at 230 and again at 430 and checked on him. I made a comment to Matt at 10:45 before I fell asleep that I thought he would be up soon to eat, and boy did he surprise me. In a VERY good way!

Outside fun

2011-06-15T21:51:00.000-04:00

I couldn't leave my girl T out of the photo love - here is what she was up to this afternoon. Matt worked late again so I had the kids outside enjoying the nice weather. We took a walk and then played in the yard. We played ball and frisbee and T was wild and crazy on this bouncing ball with a handle and we looked at ants and spiders. We had shoes off to remove a rock which turned into barefoot frolicking in the grass - ahh to be three again!

Mr. Smiles

2011-06-15T12:15:00.000-04:00

I love watching Declan develop a little personality right before my eyes. He was such a happy guy this morning!

Declan's 2 month stats

2011-06-14T13:53:00.000-04:00

Declan weighed in at a healthy 12 lb 14 oz (75th%) and was 24" (80th%). He is a healthy boy and handled his shots like a champ.

Here are some kiddo photos from my phone from the last week or so!

TWO months!!!

2011-06-11T08:45:00.000-04:00

Declan is two months old today. Time is flying! He has grown so much - we will get the official stats on Monday at his doctors appointment.

Princess Party

2011-06-08T15:43:00.000-04:00

Teagan's friend Evelyn had a Princess themed 3rd birthday party. Teagan isn't much into princesses, but she had so much fun playing dress up. She still puts the whole get up on and says "look Mommy, I'm a princess". She had so much fun!

My Little Loves, Part II

2011-06-08T15:12:00.000-04:00

Some more photos (and outtakes) from the other night:

My super sweet big girl:

Little man chillaxin' in the heat:

Now presenting.....

The Many Faces of Teagan (and Declan):

Randoms

2011-06-08T15:03:00.000-04:00

Little bub in the big tub - he actually liked this bath!

This would have been cuter when he was

brand new - but he's still rockin' the onesie from the Dr's office

Smiles - LIVE!

2011-06-07T19:53:00.002-04:00

My Little Loves

2011-06-06T21:50:00.000-04:00

I love these kids so much I could just eat them up. Teagan was a little hesitant to participate after my initial photo idea went awry. Perhaps jealous that I was photographing Declan alone? A popsicle bribe did the trick and I am SO glad I tried one more time to get her involved in some of the two of them together. These photos make me all mushy inside - I love them (the photos AND the kids) so very much. More to come, I just can't edit fast enough (or maybe I share too many photos???)

Smiles...they DO exist

2011-06-06T21:32:00.000-04:00

Declan started out a little stingy in the smiles department - only flashing them here and there, and certainly not near a camera!!! But each day he is blossoming and giving me more and more gummy grins, which as you can imagine melt a Mama's heart!

Three Year Stats

2011-06-06T11:58:00.000-04:00

Teagan was 38.5" (80th%) and 32 lb (60th%) at her three year check-up. Perfectly healthy and happy (although not so much with the booster shot she received)! Next up, Declan's 2m appointment on 6/13!

Week in Review - 5/30

2011-06-05T18:35:00.000-04:00

It's a shame to not share some iPhone pictures so I am doing a weekly round-up this week of some of my favorites. The filters are from Instagram.

Teagan Turns THREE - the formal edition!

2011-05-31T11:56:00.000-04:00

Teagan cooperated for some three year photos. Dare I say she even had FUN doing them? She really just wanted to go play in her sand box!!!

Teagan Turns THREE

2011-05-31T11:40:00.000-04:00

Teagan had an awesome third birthday. She opened some gifts in the morning and had a blast at her party all afternoon. It was such a special day shared with family and friends!!!

May Random Photos

2011-05-26T17:13:00.000-04:00

Random pictures from the month of May.

Picnic dinner at the Chase Corporate Challenge watching daddy's race

Trip to the playground:

5 weeks

2011-05-17T16:05:00.000-04:00

Little Declan is growing so fast, I am trying to take a moment here and there to capture the photos of how small he is before it's too late! Since he doesn't really *do* anything I have to get creative with mini photo shoots. Soon enough he will be more active and awake but for now I take the little awake & alert times when I can get them.

Party Planning

2011-05-17T15:58:00.000-04:00

Someone is turning THREE in less than two weeks. Miss Teagan is having a Yo Gabba Gabba themed party - she was very excited to get the invites in the mail! How can my baby be three already?

One Month!!!

2011-05-11T20:34:00.000-04:00

Declan is one month old today! I can't believe it, where has the time gone? It has been a great month, that is for certain. I can't wait to see what each and every month brings!

Family Photos

2011-05-09T11:53:00.000-04:00

The result of my Mother's Day photo shoot. I LOVE these photos! I still may do more with edits and mainly cropping, since they were taken with a tripod there is no uniqueness to the composition and framing, but that can be fixed with a little crop work. For now, here they are!

First, some family shots:

Here are some additional photos we took:

And finally, a few practice shots and outtakes worth sharing:

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-09T11:42:00.000-04:00

I was surprised on Mother's Day with breakfast in bed made by Teagan and Matt. It was a great start to a perfect day. Part of my gift was a photo shoot Matt wanted to give me to get some photos of myself with my two kids - a much appreciated gift from a photography lover such as myself! We were also able to use the tripod and timer to get some family photos which was even better! We enjoyed the nice weather with a walk and playing outside, a picnic dinner on the deck, and I even managed a short nap! It was a perfect day spent with my favorite people!

Pretties

2011-05-09T11:32:00.000-04:00

In honor of Mother's Day - some nature shots from around the yard this weekend...

(confession - the gorgeous tulips are *technically* in my neighbor Dave's yard. The pear blossoms are my own though!)

Mish Mash

2011-05-08T14:49:00.000-04:00

Just some random photos of my cuties! And yes, I did take pictures of Declan in Teagan's doll bed!

Bath time!

2011-05-07T22:06:00.000-04:00

Declan's first bath in his baby bath tub:

Birth Photos

2011-04-27T10:25:00.000-04:00

I love the look of black and white birth photography. Matt helped grant my wish my taking photos of Declan's birth just moments after he was born, followed by his exam and clean up and the first time I got to hold him. He took all of these photos (minus the one I took of Matt holding Declan's hand when I was up out of bed). I just did some basic editing and black and white conversions and voila! They are perfect!

Sibling Love part 2

2011-04-25T22:11:00.000-04:00

These make my heart melt!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T22:03:00.000-04:00

Teagan had a great Easter this year. It was a nice low key day. Mame and Aunt Melissa came over for the day. Teagan found Easter eggs and her Easter basket. Declan had a nice first Easter - almost 2 weeks old and just one day after his due date.

Declan's first week

2011-04-25T21:53:00.000-04:00

Declan had lots of visitors during his first week. Below are just some of the photo highlights. Not pictured are Aunt Jenna and Chris.

Sibling Love

2011-04-25T20:25:00.000-04:00

I have more of these to share but not enough time in the day to post. Here is a sneak peak of some pictures I took of Teagan and Declan on Sunday. More to come soon!

Declan had his 2 week checkup today. He has now surpassed his birth weight and weighs in at 8lb11oz!! He slept through the entire exam, but all is healthy and well.

Declan - Newborn Photos

2011-04-20T09:47:00.000-04:00

I took these formal newborn photos yesterday - Declan was 8 days old!

He was fairly cooperative and sleepy for me, and we even got some awake shots at the end. I am not sure if Teagan warned him that this is the first of many many many photo shoots to come! On the flip side, Teagan has actually been ASKING me to take her picture recently, rather than running from the camera!

You can click on the pictures to make them bigger. Enjoy!

Day 5

2011-04-16T21:09:00.000-04:00

Declan had another weight check visit at the pediatrician this morning. As of his pediatrician visit Wednesday (48 hrs old) he was still down in weight.

Birth - 8lb1oz
Day 2 - 7lb13oz
Day 3 - 7lb11oz
Day 5 - 7lb12oz

As of today little man is headed back up in weight so that makes Mommy happy! Everything else checked out well at the visit so we will go back again when he is two weeks old. Teagan enjoyed helping take Declan to his appointment, she has an obsessive interest in doctors recently.

He has been sleeping and eating well and is a very sweet baby.

Melissa and Josh visited today and enjoyed their time holding Declan and playing with Teagan. Declan was very sleepy and snuggly today! Teagan was wild and crazy and liked the extra attention!

We also gave D his first bath at home - just to wash his hair and body a little where needed. Teagan was a helpful big sister and watched as he had his hair washed and even helped comb it.

Declan Stone George

2011-04-14T09:11:00.000-04:00

On Monday we welcomed our little boy, Declan, into our family! Teagan is SO excited and in love, as are Matt and I. Teagan is a great big sister so far and loves to give kisses and "gentle hugs" as she calls them.

Here are the official stats:
Declan Stone George
Monday, 4/11/11 7:42am
8lb 1oz, 20.5"

Due to a fast labor and great timing, Teagan got to come meet Declan and spend some time admiring him in the hospital when he was only just over an hour old!

We came home from the hospital on Tuesday and have been trying to adjust to life as a family of four ever since. Here are some pictures of our little guy and our awesome big girl!

Some additional pictures from Grammy Sue's camera:

Silly Lilly

2011-04-03T16:20:00.000-04:00

Teagan had a visit from Lilly and Brad and Kristen today. She had so much fun playing with Lilly!

Flying kiddos!

Little Baby Gap model

Birthday Party

2011-03-19T19:46:00.001-04:00

Teagan helped her friend Amelia celebrate her 2nd birthday today. There were lots of 2 year old girls running around to play with, and Amelia got a slide that was a big hit with Birthday girls and non-Birthday girls alike. Teagan even got a nice shiner from doing her own post-slide flip. There was yummy food and CAKE! Happy 2nd Birthday Amelia!!!

Fun spring party outfit complete with pigtails and bows (borrowed from her build-a-bear!)

Quick picture break while waiting for the slide

Cuteness with her party hat!

Nice scratch and bruise (looks worse than it was - she didn't even cry she

just jumped back in line for the slide so she didn't lose her turn!!!)

Nope, there was no "hands free cupcake eating contest" - Teagan just wanted to eat hers that way!

This picture is too funny not to post - funny expression as she took a big swipe of frosting on her finger

Baby Brother's Nursery

2011-03-06T11:13:00.000-05:00

Teagan has been very helpful in getting her old room all cleaned out and set up for her baby brother. She has also enjoyed taking over the baby gear (swing, bouncer, play mat, diapers, pacifiers, etc) for her baby dolls. The furniture was delivered yesterday so we are feeling more "ready" than we were a week ago. The clothes have been washed and stored in the dresser. There is still more to do but I wanted to get some pictures before time got away from me. I am not sure if this is the final home of the crib - Teagan's sat below the cutout animals - not sure which configuration will work better in the long run.

boy clothes cuteness

fluffy diapers

I had to break out my wide angle fisheye lens and get a shot of the room from every angle!

Can you find Teagan in some of them?

A few bonus pictures of Teagan and her baby playing in the room:

giving baby a bath

the crucial butt wipe...

...because baby had "biiiiig poooops" according to Teagan

Playing with Lilly

2011-02-05T15:46:00.000-05:00

Teagan played with baby Lilly today. She was sooo excited for this much anticipated visit. It was nice practice for big-sisterhood! Teagan did a great job of not totally smooshing Lilly. She is going to be an awesome big sister!

Giving Lilly her toys

Cutie pie Lilly

Taking pictures of Lilly with her new camera from Brad & Kristen

Mommy's little photographer!

Love this one of Lilly!

Apparently Teagan thought her baby needed in on the play mat action!

Lilly was probably staring up at Teagan in this shot!

Sledding hill

2011-02-02T19:29:00.001-05:00

There isnt much contrast of snow on snow, but by special request here are some more detailed pictures of Teagan's sledding hill...

Bath Friends

2011-01-30T15:33:00.000-05:00

Teagan loves to play in the bath. Today she had fun lining up her Yo Gabba Gabba bath characters and knocking them off the ledge. What you can't see in these shots is that all three baby dolls were in bathtubs of their own in the bathroom too!

Playtime

2011-01-23T19:46:00.000-05:00

Teagan and I played baby dolls and in her kitchen this afternoon. I took the opportunity to snap just a few candids before she started acting like I was the paparazzi. It was a cold, snowy indoor day!

Sledding

2011-01-16T14:23:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2010

2011-01-16T14:20:00.000-05:00

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T21:07:00.000-04:00

Carving pumpkins:

Sitting nicely for a pre-ToT picture

With neighbors Joshua and Sophia - you can feel the excitement!

Starting out in the wagon - that lasted about 1 house!

Trick-or-Treat!!!

Lovely looking storm clouds rolling in

Wind! Hail! Snow! Rain! We saw it all!

Stopping by Mame's house for lots of goodies

Teagan's daycare Halloween party and parade (Friday, Oct 29)

Quick Catch-up

2010-11-03T20:48:00.000-04:00

I have been a blog slacker in recent weeks (ok, recent months). Things with Teagan have been busy and Summer gave way to Fall and before I knew it November was here. One notable new thing with Teagan, as many of you may know, is Teagan is going to be a big sister in April! We are very excited and while Teagan doesn't fully grasp the concept she does know and talk about being a big sister! The first 15 wks have kept me feeling not so hot, so it's often a struggle to pick up my camera, let alone take pictures, edit pictures, load pictures, post pictures, etc. But I am trying my hardest!

Here are some random shots from some of the many activities we have been busy with over the last few months.

Skinny dipping in the back yard (Aug '10)

Alzheimer's Memory Walk (Sept '10)

Bills Game vs. NY Jets (Oct '10)

Playing outside & practicing our tongue rolling skills (Oct '10)

Setting up a new room and new Big Big Girl bed (Oct 30 2010)

And of course, the big one, Halloween 2010, which deserves it's own post for the big day and all of the fanfare and excitement leading up to it. So stay tuned!

Mini Photo Shoot

2010-06-27T20:26:00.000-04:00

Teagan met her friend Evelyn and Mommy's friend April at the park for a quick photo shoot. Teagan was a very good model, and loved getting her bribe treat - M&Ms (or as she calls them - M's). She ran and rolled through the wet grass and got all messy but still cleaned up nicely after a little photoshopping! Cute stuff!

Ice Cream, Alysa, and Rooney.....oh my!

2010-06-27T20:22:00.003-04:00

Teagan went to visit cousin Alysa in the southern tier on Saturday. She had lots of ice cream, fun playing with Rooney, and fun with her cousin! Mommy and Daddy had a lot of fun too!

Updates

2010-06-22T20:27:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed a blog re-design. If you didn't you need some new glasses! Blogger has updated their selection of backgrounds so I decided to switch it up! You may see it change from time to time as I get bored with it. Teagan's banner picture above is in serious need of an update, but that feature appears to not be working right now, so watch for that change soon!

Evening Fun

2010-06-22T20:22:00.000-04:00

Just a few pics of the kiddos playing outside the other night. This is their ritual several nights a week - it's wagon rides or bike riding or playing at each others houses with slides and swings and bubbles and chalk and water and anything else that excites a two-year-old! We have had some gorgeous weather and the summer is just getting started!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-22T20:15:00.002-04:00

Teagan celebrated her very special Daddy on Father's day. She made him a few gifts and helped Mommy get a special framed picture for him. We had a nice family breakfast, followed by lunch with Grandpa C, then the three of us enjoyed an afternoon baseball game. It was HOT outside but Teagan had fun. Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Mommy and Grandpa C

Misc. Birthday Weekend

2010-06-22T20:09:00.000-04:00

Teagan had a busy Birthday weekend, including lots of play time with her new toys. She rode her trike, played T-ball, utilized the sprinkler, and played in her tunnel.

Birthday Tradition

2010-06-13T15:02:00.000-04:00

Last year Matt and I painted a special birthday plate for Teagan with the idea that it would be her cake plate for her birthday every year. With the chaos and commotion of Teagan's party we forgot to use the plate (despite the fact that I had set it out that morning and told everyone in the room to NOT LET ME FORGET!!!). So, the next day Teagan got an extra piece of cake so we could recreate the birthday tradition.

Happy 2nd Birthday Teagan

2010-06-01T19:54:00.000-04:00

Teagan celebrated her 2nd Birthday on Saturday. She had a great day from start to finish, with so many family and friends and important people with her to celebrate. She got a shiny red tricycle from Mom and Dad and lots of other fun gifts. She enjoyed cake and playing in her water table and being the center of attention all day long. At her 2 year check-up she weighed 25 lbs and was 35 inches tall! In the last week she has been talking up a storm, including singing twinkle twinkle little star, ABC's, and Happy Birthday! We love you Teagan and can't wait to see what another year brings!!!!

2 Yr Portraits

2010-05-26T21:17:00.000-04:00

Just a sneak peak at some of the "2yr portraits" I took for Teagan and Joshua tonight. There are still a lot more to edit but with the party preparations in full swing this is all I could get through tonight. This age is a....challenge...the kids run in every direction, fight over balloons, no smiles, no listening, no patience (oops, never mind, that's me). But, we get the shots we can and if we have to take more on another day (no balloons of course) then so be it! I'll probably look back at these years down the road and laugh at it all in the long run.

2010-05-23T18:36:00.000-04:00

We spent the weekend in Buffalo for Matt's work hockey game. Teagan was pretty well behaved, even including Sat. night where she stayed up almost 3 hours past her bedtime!!! Highlights included lunch at Ted's, an afternoon with Aunt Melissa, climbing up and down the bleachers at hockey, pizza dinner, and swimming on Sunday AM.

Eating a pickle at Ted's

Daddy and Aunt Melissa

Rockin' the Ted's chef hat

Showing off her pedicure before swimming

SO excited to swim

Blue lips, teeth chattering, but doesn't want to get out of the pool!

Daddy's hockey game

Teagan cheering for Daddy (and climbing the bleachers over and over and over and over....)

Taste of Summer

2010-05-21T20:09:00.001-04:00

Almost 80 degrees today - what a great taste of summer. Teagan ran around outside, took off her shoes and felt the grass in between her toes, played with the hose, and had a carefree evening.

Showing me her dirty feet

Sun-kissed hair

Wheeeeeeeee!

Sitting for a nice picture at Mommy's request

Saturday Afternoon Fun

2010-05-15T19:10:00.002-04:00

Lilac Parade

2010-05-15T13:47:00.002-04:00

Today was Teagan's first parade. We took her to the Lilac Festival Parade which she enjoyed. There was a lot of anticipation (we had to sit a long time waiting for the parade to get to us) but the police motorcycles (bikes!!) kept Teagan entertained. We had lots of snacks and Teagan brought her little chair. Once the parade began Teagan enjoyed watching the trucks, cars, bikes, horses, dogs, clowns, marching bands, etc and waving to everyone who went by.

Eating snacks while waiting for the parade to start

Smiles (or half smiles) for the camera

mischievous smile because she is pulling flowers off the lilacs without me notcing!!!

Teagan and Mommy - she can't tear her eyes from the excitement for a picture (she saw a BIKE! - see below)

The BIKE!!!

Horses!

Teagan liked the fire truck....

....but not the loud siren!

Build-a-Bear

2010-05-12T19:34:00.002-04:00

We took Teagan to Build-a-Bear on Sunday to make her very own bear. She was a little tentative about "making her" at first but loves her bear and plays with her every day (yes it's a girl bear, with a pink outfit). Well, she did have an outfit, but it seems to end up everywhere but on Ms. Bear.

Pushing the pedal to fill bear with stuffing

Watching the stuffing spin and the bear get filled

Warming the heart in her hands before she puts it in the bear

Waiting for her bear to be stitched up

Brushing the bear and giving her a "bath" to remove the extra stuffing

The finished product - I can't even pose her for a photo before T is grabbing for her!

Teagan and her bear!! (and yes, my kid still wears her santa jammies in May, they are cozy and she picked them out herself tonight!)

Lilac Cutie

2010-05-05T21:44:00.000-04:00

Some cute shots of Teagan with the lilacs at the park today!

Playtime

2010-05-02T19:43:00.001-04:00

Just some fun photos of Teagan and her BFF Joshua playing outside in the evening. Double trouble!

Teagan and her "shobel" (yeah, yeah, we all know it's a rake but my kid calls it a "shobel" and it's too darn cute!)

All (fake) smiles...

...then great big huge tears

Family

2010-04-30T19:10:00.000-04:00

Teagan enjoyed a visit from cousin Greta (and of course Uncle Chris and Aunt Naomi (Omi) too)

Aunt Jenna read Teagan a book and played with her

One more...

2010-04-27T19:54:00.003-04:00

These two photos capture the current essence of Teagan so well. Composition imperfect, but considering the subject is a crazy, wild, running, jumping, climbing toddler, not too shabby. Plus I have Mommy Goggles on as usual :) Canon 20D 35mm f2

Major catch-up

2010-04-27T19:00:00.004-04:00

Dear Blog and all zero of its followers,

I am sorry I neglected you. Life is BUSY. That, and blogger is kind of a pain in my rear sometimes. No excuses though. Teagan is a busy girl these days, chatting up a storm and learning and growing every day. Her recent phrases include "wash your hands" and "don't tickle me" among a ton of other cute toddler-speak. Hard to believe she turns TWO next month! I don't have time for a blow by blow of what we have been up to these past two months so hopefully a few cute photographs of Teagan will satisfy you. I promise to try and update more frequently!

Sincerely,

Blog Slacker

Easter with Grandma and Grandpa George (and lamb cake!)

Weekend visit from cousin Greta (and Uncle Chris and Aunt Naomi) in mid-April. Here they are with Mayme.

Lots of playing outside in the nice spring weather - there is no place Teagan would rather be!

Wagon rides in the 'hood with Mom and Dad (ok, so this picture doesn't show a wagon...or the 'hood, but trust me, it was taken on a wagon ride...plus it's just CUTE)

Exploring outside - sticks, grass, bugs, worms, oh my!

Eating Mommy's lens cap (payback for the eleventy billion pictures I subject her to!)

That's all for now - more to come soon!

Misc. Update

2010-02-21T13:04:00.003-05:00

Miscellaneous pictures from the last month or so. I have been really bad about updating the blog. I still need to post Christmas pictures. Or maybe that ship has sailed.

Making peanut butter brownies with Mom:

Silly girl:

Modeling new clothes from K&B (love the sweater!):

Teagan's Valentines gift - a doll (+stroller, highchair, crib, etc):

Baking Valentine's treats to share with friends at daycare:

I love how this captures the randomness of toddlers - carrying a collection of diapers and boots...huh?!??!!?

Sledding adventures - the fun!

2010-02-21T12:58:00.003-05:00

Fun!!! The first one was taken yesterday, a little overcast. All of the rest today with the new and improved track. Last photo - gorgeous blue skies!

Sledding adventures - the hill!

2010-02-21T12:41:00.003-05:00

Matt is so proud of his sledding track that he asked me to devote an entire blog post to showcasing it. I have to admit, it is pretty cool. And Teagan sure enjoys sledding down over and over and over until we drag her inside. It's a pretty big hill for a small fry like Teagan, but she safely coasts down thanks to the side walls! More pictures to follow of Teagan enjoying the ride! Whistler Sliding Track has nothin' on this.

Play

2010-01-16T13:31:00.003-05:00

Family photos

2010-01-16T13:22:00.002-05:00

Teagan participated in a massive G/B family photo op at Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving

2010-01-16T13:09:00.003-05:00

Our Thanksgiving celebration started with a family lunch at Teagan's daycare classroom. Matt and I got to sit on teeny tiny chairs and eat with the kids. Teagan loved having us there, and loved showing off for us afterwards - diving on the mats, bringing us toys, chasing with her friends. We were both sad to leave her and go back to work for the afternoon.

For Thanksgiving day we celebrated at Aunt Pam's house in Buffalo. There were lots of good times, and Teagan enjoyed her first real Thanksgiving dinner (last year doesn't count, she was barely eating solids!!!)

Matt's Birthday & Grammy's Birthday

2010-01-16T12:57:00.003-05:00

We celebrated Matt's birthday dinner (11/3) at Red Robin with Jenna and my Mom. Teagan was well behaved and enjoyed following the big red robin man around the restaurant and getting a balloon.

The following weekend (11/8) was my Mom's 60th birthday, which we celebrated by throwing her a surprise party! She was *shocked* to say the least, and had a great afternoon with her friends and family. Happy 60th Mom!

How is it possible that my last post was Halloween???

2010-01-16T12:42:00.003-05:00

I have been swept up in the wave of life! Life with a busy toddler, life as a working Mom, a wife, a homeowner, a pet owner. Somehow I have neglected this poor, poor blog for over 2 months! I can guarantee one thing - it is NOT because I have a lack of pictures to post! I constantly have a camera in hand and am snapping pictures all the time. I guess it's the uploading, editing, posting, blogging thing that I fail miserably at!

Teagan has been growing and changing these past few months. Shortly after she turned 18 months (11/29) her vocab list grew to over a 100 words. I have lost count at this point. She is a climbing monkey, up and over the couch arm, climbing into her highchair by herself, up the stairs, down the stairs, round and round the house she will chase. Recently, her favorite activity is going outside to play in the snow, or "ousside" as she demands just about every night. Matt even made a sledding hill down the steps of the deck, and created a little sled path with the saucer sled. Teagan loves to go down, over and over.

Teagan was a blast at Christmas time, ripping open packages and playing with each and every toy. She has so many new toys and books to play with and explore. She travelled to CT over New Year's weekend, to visit Uncle Chris & Aunt Naomi, as well as Grandma & Grandpa George, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Krenz, and the whole extended Bassett family. During the trip, she went to her 8th state - Massachusetts.

I am going to post some pictures and try to play "catch up" with my entries. Each entry may be brief but I want to have a record and share the event of Teagan's life with everyone who reads this.

Halloween 2009!

2009-10-31T20:49:00.004-04:00

Teagan had an *awesome* halloween. Thanks to an interrupted mid-day nap, she ended up taking a second nap from 4:15-5:15 which made for a happy camper come ToT time. Miss Bumblebee got all dressed and ready to go out. It was windy and chilly and for a moment even a little rainy but Teagan had a blast. She loved holding out her basket for candy and being carried, walking, or wagoning around the neighborhood. We went to way more houses than we originally intended, but she was having so much fun. Her favorite stop was at Grammy Sue's house where she got Hershey's chocolate bars and hugs & kisses. Teagan ended up doing her ToTing with her buddy Joshua (a.k.a Batman). Luckily Mama ran home to grab mittens - T's hot pink mittens coordinated well with the bee costume, although the fact that they were thumb-less hindered the candy grabbing!

When we got home Teagan buzzed around the house in her bee costume, clearly hyped up from the evening's activity (it wasn't from sugar because she didn't have any candy!) She chased around and had a blast and helped answer the door a few times for ToTers before heading to bed. Fingers crossed she "sleeps in" as much as possible considering the time change does NOT work in our favor.

Halloween party and costume parade

2009-10-31T20:38:00.002-04:00

Teagan had a halloween party and costume parade at daycare on Friday so I snuck out of work to attend. The kids had special snacks (Teagan had a pumpkin shaped sugar cookie I sent in for her). The kids put on their costumes and did a parade around the center. She had lots of fun having Mama at daycare with her for an hour.

October '09

2009-10-26T19:49:00.005-04:00

I will warn you, this post is going to be long and random. Lots of fun events going on in the month of October!!! See captions below for details!

Teagan is saying so many new words - in total I think we are in the 25-30 range. Her recent favorites are all done, more, and no. She knows lots of animals (cat, kitty, dog, puppy, cow, pig, bee, duck, turtle), and can follow directions like putting things away or bringing you an object. She ditched her pacifier permanently in the beginning of September (with some assistance from Mama and Dada) so she is officially a big girl! She is running and climbing all over, even diving off furniture and laughing wildly afterwards! She's growing up too fast - we are just trying to soak in every moment!

We stopped by the open house at our local fire department. Teagan was feeling a little under the weather but she had fun climbing on the fire trucks and trying some cider and donuts!

Grandma and Grandpa George were in town for a quick weekend visit

We went to the pumpkin patch to pick some pumpkins and take in a beautiful fall day!

Aunt Melissa and Grammy Sue came with Teagan and I to watch Matt's crew race

Go Daddy! His boat is the closer one with navy blue shirts - they won in a photo finish!

Family photo at the race

bathtime fun

Trying on Mommy's shoes

New winter jacket - it's a little big but she'll grow into it by the end of the season! We have long winters in western NY after all!

Visiting Aunt Melissa in Buffalo - she brought Teagan a shirt from Vegas - "what happens at my Aunt's stays at my Aunt's!"

Riding the zebra at Andy's 1st birthday party

Big girl in her footie jammies

Teagan cashed in on Christmas a few months early - new table and chairs from Mom and Dad

Pumpkin head. She didn't want to cooperate for this picture but before this she was walking around with the basket on her head!

Teagan G. Bumblebee

2009-10-25T12:59:00.003-04:00

As promised, here are the pictures from today! I think they turned out really cute. Teagan was super happy to run around in the park and go wherever she pleased. She liked picking up leaves and sticks, and playing with the fun distractions I brought (all conveniently fall/halloween themed!) I took a few hundred pictures so I had a very hard time narrowing it down to 5! I know I promised more blog posts but I just don't have it in my tonight. Hopefully this week I can update everyone on what else Teagan has been up to.

For now, I give you Teagan G. Bumblebee:

Stay tuned

2009-10-24T20:40:00.003-04:00

I am failing as a blogger - my lack of posting has been terrible! Tonight I was playing with some photos from last month, tweaking their look with a little editing so I figured I would share them to keep my 4 blog followers happy until I can provide some real updates. I hope to do that tomorrow. Teagan is quite the busy body these days (aren't all toddlers?). She keeps me racing and chasing all over the house.

The following are mostly photos I didn't love straight from the camera, but with a little editing I like them much better! Photography is a hobby of mine and recently I have taken a renewed interest in spending my free time learning the tricks of the trade and dreaming about photo shoots I could set up, equipment I could buy, and classes I could take.

In fact, tomorrow I am taking my favorite victim...err, I mean subject to the park first thing, with the hopes of catching some beautiful morning sun rays, some gorgeous fall colors, and some super cute halloween costumage.

Tomorrow I hope to post: Matt's crew race, a trip to buffalo, pumpkin patch, and lots of Teagan randomness. Until then, enjoy!

Catch All

2009-10-04T19:20:00.005-04:00

We've had a very busy September, so my blogging has been infrequent. This post is a catch-all for highlights of our activities. I can't believe it's already October! The days and weeks seem to fly by. The pictures below include an outdoor photo session of Teagan, the Alzheimer's Memory walk, which we participated in last weekend, pictures from Strong Museum, the Bills game, and a family photo shoot we had in the park (still waiting to get the family photos taken by a friend, the ones included are from my camera). We look forward to going to the pumpkin patch soon, as well as Halloween at the end of the month, so expect more pictures soon!

Back yard photo shoot:

Alzheimer's Walk:

Mom and Jenna

Daddy and Teagan

Mommy, Teagan, and Aunt Jenna

Strong Museum:

Teagan grocery shopping at the Wegman's exhibit

Teagan-sized chess pieces

Racing cars with Daddy

Riding the carousel

Buffalo Bills game:

Our send-off from Teagan, sporting her Edwards jersey

Family photo shoot at Highland Park: