Where has the summer gone?

Hello all...if you are still out there :) I know I haven't updated our blog in a VERY LONG time! This summer has been C-R-A-Z-Y (that is an understatement). But it's been great...I can't believe we're almost into September though - that is just unbelievable!!

So where do I begin? Well, we've gotten to see lots of people this summer...my close friend Sarah and her fiancee Nate came out at the end of July for a visit. We had a big meal one evening with Nate, Shyla, and Jackson; Paul and Danielle; Nate and Sarah; and Jason, Landon and I. It was fun - Landon LOVED playing with Jackson!! Nana and Pops were also just here for a visit. It was nice for us to see them since we don't get to see them often. Landon had grown so much since we saw them last at the beginning of July. We went camping with my family a few weekends ago - that was a lot of fun! This weekend we are going to a Yankees game...it will be Landon's first Yankees game (his first baseball game too). In a few weeks we will be going to Dorney Park with my family. We may also be going up to MA for the 50th wedding anniversary of one of me relatives. We've also been very busy with different things going on in our church. But it's been a good summer!

Landon has really grown up in the past month. He is crawling EVERYWHERE and pulling himself up and getting into a LOT of things :) He can walk if you hold his hands; he'll even walk if you hold just one of his hands. But he's still a little unstable, so I think it will still be a few weeks before he's walking on his own. Plus, he LOVES to crawl...so I don't think he's in any rush to learn how to walk. He has recently added new babbles and words to his dictionary! He talks NON-STOP now :) It is just so fun to "listen" to him "talk" - he loves to carry on a conversation with you! He also likes to copy/mimick sounds that you make...if I cluck my tongue, he'll cluck his; if I smack my lips, he'll smack his; if I blow bubbles, he'll blow bubbles too! It's so fun...he's just at a really fun stage!!

My business with Southern Living is going pretty well. I didn't have many parties this summer, but partly due to the fact that we have been really busy. I've really enjoyed it though and it's been a great little "hobby" - plus, I just love their products, so I love the opportunity to add to my collection!!

We've had LOTS of babies born lately. My cousin Darcy and her husband Steve just welcomed their first little baby to the world - Liam Keene Riggs was born August 5. And two of my friends, Shyla and Ginny, just welcomed baby boys into the world! My sister-in-law is due in 2 months witha girl (she actually started labor last night...not good), Jason's cousin is due shortly after her with a boy, and my cousin's wife is due with a boy around that time too! A co-worker of mine is also due mid-October with a boy. LOTS of baby news (and lots of BOYS)...some of it makes me want to have another one :) I wouldn't mind having another baby, but just the thought of being pregnant again makes me want to cry! So we'll see...I guess we'll see what happens!

Here is a little slideshow with recent pics:

Well, that's it for now - Landon is sleeping and I have lots to do!! Hopefully I will be back to post again sooner than last time :)
~Taryn

We're back!

We're back from vacation...YAY!! It was nice to get away and see some family, but as always, there's no place like home! Landon did pretty well - he did NOT enjoy sleeping in his pack-n-play, but he absolutely LOVED having his cousins to play with!! We went to the family lakehouse at White's Pond, MA. It was VERY hot and only one room in the house was air-conditioned!! Needless to say, we spent a LOT of time in that room! Here are some pictures from our vacation:

The first picture is of Landon and his Pops; the second is of Landon taking a bath in the sink of the lakehouse; the third is a picture of Landon and his cousins Sasha and Sierra; the fourth is a picture of Landon watching alpacas at an Alpaca farm; the fifth is a picture of Landon and his cousin Sierra; the sixth is of Landon and his cousin Sasha.

Landon continues to grow like a weed! He now has two front lower teeth and he's cutting his upper teeth - we can see one almost about to poke through. He started crawling last Sunday, so he is all over the place now! It is SO cute to watch him crawl...he gets so excited and all you hear is the little pitter-patter of his hands :) He is just so much fun to watch!! In just a couple of weeks, he's going to be 9 months - AGH!! Where has the time gone?

We are enjoying our summer. Jason has been busy with our garden. It's done fairly well, so we're happy for that. We have lots of cucumbers and beans and peas right now. There are a gazillion tomatoes, but they are still green. We have green peppers that are looking very nice. And then there is the corn and the lettuce - but they aren't ready yet.

Well, I need to go - sorry for the quick update!
~Taryn

ARGH - I know, it's been awhile!

OK, so things have been super busy and I know I need to blog more often, but it's been so busy! So if any of you still read this, I'll write a quick update :)

We are doing well! Landon is growing up SOOOOO quickly!!! I just fall in love with him more and more each day! He is truly such a blessing and I am so thankful that God blessed us with this amazing little boy. His first tooth came in on Monday and his second one came in yesterday. So he isn't a very happy camper right now, cutting two teeth. But he has been doing pretty well! He is still an amazing sleeper and I am a very lucky mama!! He sleeps from like 8:30 at night until 7:45ish the next morning - it's awesome. And he usually takes a 2 hour morning and afternoon nap. I know it won't always be this great, but I'm pretty fortunate for the time-being.

This summer has gone well! Landon keeps me busy. I am also now a Southern Living consultant and I love it! I haven't had many parties yet, but that is my choice. I want to do this part-time only, so it's nice that I can do it as much or as little as I like. I really enjoy it! I LOVE their products and I've loved getting out of the house on occasion and getting to meet new people!

We are leaving next Friday to go to the lakehouse in MA. We are really looking forward to seeing family and also enjoying a bit of a relaxing vacation. Hopefully Landon will do well! He didn't do well on our last road trip to NY, but hopefully this one will go a little better.

Here is a little slideshow of some recent pics:

Well, I need to go - Landon is waking up from his nap and he's been pretty fussy all day, so I need to go give him some lovin' :)

~Taryn

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by Ginny, so here goes...I'm supposed to give 8 random facts about myself, right? Well, let's see if I can even think of eight...here goes:

1) I HATED chocolate when I was a child - my mom would make a separate bowl of chocolate chip cookies just for me...they didn't have chocolate chips in them, so I guess they wouldn't be called chocolate chip cookies, would they?

2) I have a big gap between my big toe and the next toe (whatever it's called).

3) I used to get in trouble all the time when I was younger for making prank calls...but then again, that carried on over to college because we did it all the time :)

4) I dated two guys at the same time...AGH!!! But it was only for like a day or two...this is starting to turn into a confessional!

5) I refuse to walk over the grated things on sidewalks and roads...manholes or vents or whatever. I'm scared that one day I will fall in. Jason makes fun of me all the time.

6) When they would give the weather report and mention "wind chill" - I ALWAYS thought they said "windshield" - not really funny, except that it wasn't too long ago that I figured out that they were really saying WIND CHILL...oops!!

7) I get made fun of because I never say that "g" on words that end in -ing or -ang or -ong or any -ng's :)

8) I can't believe I made it this far...they are all pretty random things though...hmmm, an eighth? I was born in the same hospital as my high school history teacher, Mr. Randy Stone - my teacher at High Point in Geigertown, PA. And that hospital was in Cortland, NY.

Phew...I was able to think of 8 things. I now tag Jennifer M., Kelli, and anyone else who reads this :)

~Taryn

I would like to announce...

that I am now a Southern Living at HOME Independent Consultant!! I will be having my first business launch party on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. so please pray that all goes well! And, if you are local, please feel free to attend! I am very excited about this new opportunity, but at the same time, a little nervous! I just hope everything takes off well - you just never know and I'm not a huge risk-taker, so it's a bit nerve-wracking! I love Southern Living products though and I think this is something I will enjoy! Hopefully I'll have a website up and running within the next few weeks, so when I do, I'll post the web address and you'll have to take a look!

Landon is going to be SIX MONTHS tomorrow!! Where has the time gone? He is just more fun each day! He is sitting all by himself now (although, I don't usually go too far because sometimes he gets excited and falls backwards). He is really a fun boy and I love how he's so responsive now!! He goes for his 6-month check-up and shots this Friday - hopefully it will all go well!!

We are getting down to the end with American Idol...I'm really hoping that the final two are Melinda and Jordin...they are my favorites! I just haven't been impressed with Lakisha lately and I'm not sure how Blake will hold up against the other girls. So we'll see who goes home tonight!! It shall be interesting!

The month of May has been flying right by! My brother, Jordan, has a birthday today...HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE JORDAN!! Jason's parents will be coming up for Memorial Day weekend, so we are looking forward to that. Jason may be going up next weekend to MA to help his uncle with a few things around his house. It's crazy how time is just going so quickly...life just never slows down!

Well, I have a ton of invitations to write out, so I better get started while Landon is sleeping :) Hope everyone is doing well!
~Taryn

Oops...it's been awhile!

So sorry for the delay - I've been caught up in so many things lately that I just haven't had much time to really post anything!

Landon has now become Mr. Roly-Poly - all he does is just roll around EVERYWHERE! It's really cute, but we really have to keep an eye on him now! I can't imagine what it's going to be like when he starts crawling and walking...AGH!! He is sitting very well, although he's not quite ready to be left alone on the floor...sometimes he gets a little tipsy :) We just started him on some baby food from the jar and he's done pretty well. He HATES green beans (just like his mama), but he loves peas, applesauce, and a new one today: pears! He's growing up so fast though...he is so full of giggles and smiles, he is such a joy!

Not much has been new around here. I've been working the past 3 Saturdays in a row, so this will be my first one that I don't have to work - YAY! We are planning to get our garden started this weekend. We started some of the plants indoors and they are doing really well! It will be interesting to see if our garden turns out well! Neither Jason or I have the greatest green thumbs, but we are learning!

Landon has been sleeping MUCH better - I am afraid that it's not going to last though because it's almost too good to be true! He sleeps through the night now - from about 8:30/9:00pm - 7:00am. And he's been taking 1.5-2 hour naps in the morning and in the afternoon. He's been doing really well, but I'm sure it won't last forever. He has a little bit of a cough - I'm not sure how he got it...we've been so careful with him! I don't know if he picked it up from the nursery or if it's the nasty weather again (rain, rain, rain), but hopefully it will go away quickly.

Here are a few pics that I took recently:

Well, I have lots to do today - I am so glad it is Friday and I'm really looking forward to having Jason around all weekend...YAY!!! Family time :) Have a great weekend everyone!
~Taryn

Bya-Bya Sanjaya!

Hooray!! Sanjaya has been voted off American Idol!! I didn't think we'd ever see this day...America will now be a better place now that we can all get back to our daily routine - especially the girl who went on an eating binge until he got voted off (she must be STARVING) or the guy who has been living in a tent on top of a radio station's office (hope he survived the Noreaster!).

I have more to write, but it's getting late and I will write more some other time...just had to celebrate this momentuous day!

~Taryn

HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter everyone...a few days early! Landon had his first Easter egg hunt last weekend. Jason's employer, Penske, rented out a local baseball stadium and held a little egg hunt for the kids of employees. So we took Landon, all dressed up in a cute bunny suit. We didn't think he'd do anything, but when we put him down in front of an egg, he picked it up and put it right in his mouth!! It was cute to watch him...he picked up about 4 eggs, but unfortunately an older boy came by and took them all from him (although, I took one back...he had to take at least ONE home!). Anyways, here is a little slide show of his Easter egg hunt:

He is feeling MUCH better...thank goodness - he is pretty much over what he had. I had it pretty badly for a few days, but I'm just slightly congested now, so that's good. And thankfully, daddy didn't get it either.

We are having a good time with daddy home from work today! We had movie night at gramma and grampa's house last night and we ended up staying the night since it was so late and we didn't want to drive back. Now Uncle Jordan is at our house and he's going to spend the night and then we're all going out bowling tomorrow...fun, fun! So, it should be a fun weekend!

Please pray for my little car...it's the first car I've ever owned (I got bought it used right out of college); but it is really falling apart and we really need it to work for us!!! Car problems are not fun at all!! Sometimes it would be nice if money grew on trees! Anyways, it needs many repairs at the moment and we're just not sure what to do with it, so hopefully we will get some sort of answer soon!

Well, Jason and Jordan are taking a break from X-box, so I better go spend some time with them while Landon is sleeping :) Hope you all have a great weekend!
~Taryn

The sickies have hit our house :(

Yup, my little baby boy is SICK!! He has been sick since last Friday and I have now gotten it. I took him to the pediatrician on Tuesday because he was vomitting (from coughing so much) and had diarrhea and was very congested. So he has a virus...they gave us a nebulizer because he was wheezing (sp?) and it has worked WONDERS! He is starting to get much better...we go back tomorrow for a check-up. No one told me how sad and heart-breaking it is to watch your baby/child be sick. I was in tears so many times because it just broke me heart. And it's hard when they are this young because there just isn't anything you can do or give them besides lots of love and care...and he got lots of that! I'm so glad that he's starting to get a little better. He still has a yucky cough and runny nose, but he is starting to keep stuff down and he's acting much more like himself. I'll put a picture of him doing his nebulizer below...he is such a good boy with it. His nebulizer is a penguin (you'll see in the pic) and it comes with an igloo carrier to store it in. Thank goodness they now come with a paci attachment because the mask kinda scares him. Anyways, here's the picture of my sick little boy...he's actually pretty happy in the pic:

So besides being sick, everything else is going well. So far, daddy hasn't gotten it, so hopefully he'll stay nice and healthy!!

OK America, what is going on with American Idol. First off, Sanjaya's hair...what in the world? Great, now he's going to start getting "hair" votes. This is a message to all of you voting for Sanjaya...I am going to hunt you down and steal your phones. I was sad to see Chris go - I know he didn't do well this week, but like my good friend Amy said, he has one bad week and goes, but Haley, Sanjaya, and others can have multiple bad weeks and yet they stay? As much as I am addicted to this show and enjoy watching it from week to week, it really is disappointing that it is no longer a singing competition. I think the judge's should vote and their votes should take up a certain percentage of all total votes. Or maybe we should vote for who is the WORST. I don't know...I'm just not sure how much longer this show will continue to run with the way voting has been. Oh well...as long as Melinda doesn't get voted off, I'm OK, but I really wish Sanjaya would get the boot!

Well, I know this is a little short, but I am not feeling well and I'm sure Landon will be waking up soon and then it's time to give him a bath, feed him and then tuck him in for the night (hopefully he'll sleep well so I can catch up on some much-needed rest).

Bye for now!
~Taryn

It's been awhile...

Landon went for his 4-month shots this past Friday (although he was a little over 4 months). He did OK, but he definitely does NOT like those needles, but who does? He was a little off for a few days, just not quite himself. He weighs 14 pounds and 1 ounce and he is now 25.5 inches long! He's a long skinny boy!! He is doing very well though and we are SO thankful for a very healthy beautiful boy.

Our pediatrician told us to start him on cereal - he has not been nursing well (bad nurser = low supply) and the pediatrician said it is time. So we have started him on it (GASP, I know, it's early). It has been pretty messy - here is a picture from the other day. It's not the greatest picture though because I took it with one hand while I was holding him.















He is so fun! He is still trying to learn how to get it off the spoon - he usually licks it, but he's starting to get the hang of it a little more each time.

For those of you who are local, you'll remember that the weather was TERRIBLE that day (Friday). Well, I decided to go to his appointment anyways because the pediatrician is like 2 miles away and I didn't think the roads were that bad. I was wrong and I ended up hitting a bank and stuck in a ditch. I was only going like 15 mph on a FLAT road - I was even behind a school bus, so I definitely wasn't going too fast. I must've just hit a bad spot. After about 20 people drove by, two guys in a truck finally helped pull/push me out. They were just driving around helping people out of ditches...it was very nice of them. We were fine, but our SUV needs a little fix. I'm just thankful that no one else was coming in the opposing lane or I would've hit them head on and who knows what could've happened! I'm so thankful that it was not worse.

OK, so American Idol chat. Last night was pretty interesting, but I have to say that the funniest part of the entire show was watching that girl sob her eyes out the entire time! I laughed harder and harder each time they kept showing her - how funny was that? I really hope that Haley, Sanjaya, and Phil are in the bottom three tonight...I'm also not a Gina fan. I've gotta say, I'm rooting for Melinda, but I also like Chris Sligh, Blake, and Jordin. I like Lakisha too, but her song last night was weird and the whole thing was just a little odd. The rest can go home :) So we'll see what happens tonight.

Well, he is finally down for his afternoon nap, so I better go get some cleaning done. Hope everyone is doing well!
~Taryn