I took some pictures of Tayson yesterday, in his pink shirt, playing with my pink cell phone. I think later on in life, he probably will hate me for these pictures! But maybe not, Justin actually has a few pink shirts that he loves to wear!!! I think most guys look really good in PINK!!
So...here are my random pictures for my random post!! (Don't mind the wet spots on his jeans in the 2nd picture, his juice bottle was leaking)
As I am sure most of you know, Tayson stays at my mom and dad's house during the day! Well, my mom and dad have a cat, Tux. He is a rather large, black and white furball!! Tayson is infactuated with him!! As a matter of fact, Kitty, was one of his first words! However, Tayson doesn't exactly understand how to properly pet this cat. His petting is more like a pounding on Tux's back. Ordinarily, Tux is pretty even tempered and just puts up with Tayson. Well, yesterday was not a good day for him. As Tayson was attempting to "pet" Tux, Tux decided to strike back!! He left a pretty good scratch on Tayson's cheek that bled all over his shirt :(
I tried to get a few pictures of the battle wound, but Tayson kept turning his head (I don't think he wanted people to know that the cat won the battle). It really doesn't look too bad in this picture!
It doesn't matter though, after taking him home, letting him eat a chocolate sucker (or two), he is over it and still loves Tux like he did before this happened! Actually, the chocolate suckers are a whole different story. I was trying to do dishes in the kitchen, while Tayson played in the pantry (one of his favorite things to do). Well, I turned around and he had the foil wrapper off of two different suckers and was going back and forth between them. So, at that point, I couldn't exactly take them away from him!
One night last week, Justin and I were eating dinner and of course, I had the ranch dressing out!! I decided that I would let Tayson try it and see what he thought. Well...like mommy like baby. He loved it!! I just put a little bit on his high chair tray and he started dipping everything in it. He would put it in his mouth and say "mmmmmm."
On Thursday night, we went and ate at Grubs and I was eating ranch with my fries and Tayson kept whinning because he wanted some too. So, I gave in and let him have some. My parents were laughing so hard because he eventually just picked up the bowl and started licking it! I was trying to get my camera out to take some pictures but he was so messy that I ended up getting ranch all over my hands and didn't get the camera in time!!
So, on Saturday night, I was prepared! We went with Ryan, Amber and Kaid to the new Texas Land & Cattle Steak House at the Pinnacle Mall. Here are some pictures of Tayson and the ranch. (On a side note, the bowl of ranch was basically empty when I gave it to him so it isn't like he is drinking the entire bowl, but he was dipping the bread and croutons in it!)
There isn't much this boy won't eat!!!
Here are some other random pictures that I took of him in the car on Saturday. He always wants to take my sunglasses and try to put them on. So, I gave him his to wear, and he wasn't interested in that!!
"Here mom, you wear mine, and I'll wear yours!"
"No?? Okay, I'll just eat these then!!"
Okay...it is widely known, my baby boy needs a haircut! He has really needed a haircut since before his 1st birthday but I kept telling myself that I had to wait until he turned one! Well, he was 13 months old on Friday and still no haircut!! Why? Probably because this crazy woman that he calls "Mama" can't seem to part with that baby hair! I am so on the fence about this. I guess I am really not ready to cut his hair because then he will be more of a "Big" boy!! I know that I am going to have to do it at some point so I guess I should just get it over with, but it still is REALLY hard! Has anyone else had such a hard time with the 1st haircut or am I just crazy??
On another note, I am going to go off on a little tangent here! You will probably not be able to side with me and/or fully understand where I am coming from with this, unless you have a child or have siblings/nieces/nephews or something of that nature!! Last night, Justin didn't really feel like cooking dinner so we decided that we would just go to Hunan Manor in Fayetteville and grab some Chinese food! Well, we live in Springdale, kind of out towards Tontitown so this was a little bit of a drive!
We get there, they ask us if it is just us two and the baby. We say yes, and they proceed to seat us at a table. Well, we wait around for a few minutes while they went to get us a high chair. He comes back and says that they do not have any high chairs! What??? A resturant does not have a high chair? So, I look around the place and in the entire resturant, there are 2 other babies using, apparantly, the only 2 high chairs they have!!! So, we had to leave and go somewhere else!
Is it just me, or should a resturant of that size (they have moved and have a much bigger resturant now) have more than 2 high chairs? I was telling Justin that to me, it wouldn't be all that unlikely for ONE family to come in and need 2 high chairs just for their kids!!
I was just so frustrated by this because they are in a service industry and this was not good service! Yes, Tayson does have a Bumbo but his "little" legs no longer fit in it, so I stopped taking it with us! I think that I might call them and let them know that you can purchase resturant style high chairs in the Lakeside catalog for only $19.99. I know this because my mom and dad have one that fits perfectly at their dining room table for our little Prince!
While I am going on about this, another thing that really frustrates me is going to a resturant that does not have a changing station in their restroom. Yes, I know that these things can be nasty, that is why I have a cover that I lay over it, but it is still so much better than NOT having one! I can't tell you the number of resturants in NWA that do not have these. You never know where you are going to be when nature calls and you need to change a diaper. I have had to take Tayson out to the car on numerous occasions to change his diaper! This is so frustrating!!
Okay, so I guess I should just be happy that I have a baby who needs a high chair and needs to have his diaper changed. I am VERY happy about those things and know that I am so truly blessed to have him in my life. But...it still frustrates me! :)
Saturday afternoon, we went to Gage's 2nd birthday party. Tayson had sooo much fun getting to play with all of Natalie and Gage's toys. For Natalie's birthday, in January, we got her a shopping cart and a bunch of food to go in it. This was Tayson's favorite!! I think he pushed it around their house almost the entire party! I know he could walk, if he wanted to!!!
Here are some picutures from the birthday party!!
I don't know about you, but I think my Valentine's were the best!! Thursday morning they left me a really sweet card and a rose laying on top of it! I'm sure it took lots of consulting between the two of them to pick it out :)
Normally for Valentine's Day, we go out to dinner but because Tayson is such a busy body right now, we decided that there was no way we could go somewhere and wait for hours to be seated. So instead, we decided we would just stay home and grill steaks! I also went to Maggie Moos and got some Valentine ice cream cupcakes for dessert!
It was such a relaxing night, just hanging out at home! Plus, one of my new favorite shows, Lipstick Jungle was on!!
Here are some pictures from Valentine's Day! 
Don't mind the leg warmers, Daddy thinks they are girly!!
These ice cream cupcakes are delicious!!
Mommy helping Tayson open his Valentine gift from Grand and PaPa!
Happy Belated Valentine's Day everyone!!!
I was reading a blog the other day that was talking about some great buys and it got me thinking...Where do you shop? I LOVE to shop, this is one of my biggest weaknesses!! I especially love to find a good sale. I don't mind paying full price for things, but to me, it is so much more fun when you find things that are either on sale, or are just a really good deal. I guess for me, it is the thrill of the hunt, more than anything else.
I love certain stores for certain things.
Home Decor:
I especially love TJ Maxx when it somes to home decor and things of that nature. I also love Hobby Lobby for this same thing. Hobby Lobby is so great about having things 50% off, which makes it such a bargin!! Kirklands is another awesome place for good stuff!!!
Clothes for Justin:
I would have to say for Justin's stuff, 70% of it comes from Express. He loves that store!! He also loves Banana! We sometimes find him stuff at Dillards, Old Navy, and places like that. This man is just PICKY!! As a general rule, he will not wear stripes. He likes solid colored shirts!! Occasionally I will find him a shirt that is a very subtle stripe that he is okay with. He will not wear regular Polo golf shirts. He thinks the material is too heavy. He will wear Polo shirts but they have to be the softer cotten ones. So normally, I get these at Express because they are one of the only places that carry these.
Clothes for Tayson:
For Tayson, I shop everywhere! Old Navy has great prices and good quality for babies. I also have gotten some cute stuff at places like Target, Kohls, Dillards, TJ Maxx, Baby Gap (he has a lot of stuff from there), Gymboree, Childrens Place, just wherever. I have a big weakness for things at local boutiques like 3 Monkeys and Monday's Child. However, I hate to spend so much money on things that he outgrows so quickly.
As I am sure you have read before, I am a huge fan of Robeez and now Pedipeds! I also like brands like Kelly's Kids and Bailey's Boys!
I am a freak about him being comfortable though!! During the day, he stays with my mom and dad and I always put him in some sort of little cotton, sweat suit or something along those lines. I usually only put him in jeans and things like that when we go out to eat or to somewhere like that. The way I look at it, he is crawling around and playing all day and I want him to be comfortable!! Another thing I am a big fan of for Tayson is Old Navy's PJs. They are 2 piece sets (pants and shirt) and they come in all kinds of prints. These are wonderful!! They seem to hold up very well and appear to be very comfy!!!
Clothes for myself:
Again, for me, I shop everywhere!! Target, Express, Gap, Banana, Dillards, TJ Maxx, JCPenney, Old Navy (they have cute stuff sometimes but I have trouble fitting into everything there!), Victoria Secret Catalog (they have some really cute clothes, I wish they sold them in the stores), Macy's, Kohls, just wherever I am when I find something I like!! I also love places like Mason's, Maca and fun little stores like that but I primarily only buy purses or jeans there because if I am going to spend that kind of money, I want it to be on something that I will use/wear over and over again!
I know that there are stores that I am forgetting about, probably ones that I go to all of the time!! I also know that this is a very random post but I love to consult with my friends and find out where they are shopping because you never know when someone might have a fun little place that you don't even know about!! So...Where do you shop?
Friday night Justin and I actually went on a little date! I say "little" date because his parents actually went with us. But...we did get to go out to dinner and to the casino and my mom and dad watched Tayson. I must say, people tell me that the older Tayson gets, the easier it will be to leave him but at this point, it doesn't seem to be getting any easier! However, we did have a great time!! We went to eat at Mama Z's and then headed over to Siloam Springs. Normally when we go to the casino, I like to play either blackjack or roulette but this time, I decided I would venture out and try something new, so I played the slots. They were actually a lot of fun and I won some money!! I guess we were so wrapped up in everything that I forgot to take any pictures, sorry!
On Saturday, Tayson and I headed off to Gymboree, like we always do. Afterwards, we met up with Justin and one of Justin's best friends, Justin at Chilis for lunch. That afternoon, Tayson and I headed to the mall and Target for a little while to see if they had anything that we couldn't live without. We came up short! There are a lot of cute spring things out right now, but I am just not in ready to buy springtime clothes right now when I can't wear them for another month or so. I must say though, I love the bright springtime colors!!
Saturday night, we had Ryan, Amber, Kaid, Justin, Jenn, Matt, Lynn and Colin over for dinner and to play Apples to Apples. If you haven't ever played this game, you should, it is so much fun!! I think Colin had a lot of fun playing with Tayson's toys and Tayson had fun showing him how they worked :)
Sunday was a pretty low key day for us. We just hung out, cleaned the house, went to Old Navy (we had to check out the baby/kid sale that is going on) and got Gage a birthday present for his party next Saturday!! Tayson really wanted to play with Gage's present that we got him. He didn't understand why I bought this really cool toy and he wasn't allowed to open it up and play with it. Poor baby, if there had been more than one left, I probably would've buckled and gotten him one too. I am a BIG sap when it comes to my baby and I have a VERY HARD time saying no. Sunday morning I did venture out and try to let Tayson feed himself with a spoon. He is really trying to be a big boy and always tries to take the spoon from us when we are feeding him so I thought I would let him try it out. He was a BIG mess, as you can see. 
It didn't take him long to ditch the spoon and go right for the bowl!! Sunday night we went to my mom and dad's house for dinner, we do this every Sunday!! That was our weekend in a nutshell, I hope everyone had a good weekend too!!!
I recently found out this weekend that one of Justin's friends, Matt, is one of my blogs biggest fans. This is really big, seeing as how very few people actually read my blog and this tends to get discouraging at times. However, I just have to remind myself that I am doing this blog as a way to keep up with Tayson and the things that are going in our lives. I want to be able to look back and remember those years that flew by all too quickly!
Anyways, back to Uncle Matt, our biggest fan!!! Matt is one of Justin's best friends and has always been a BIG part of our lives. He was a groomsmen in our wedding and has been a part of our family since day one! He isn't a blood uncle to Tayson but nontheless, he is still "Uncle Matt" in our house! Matt is without a doubt, the funniest person I know. He always has a good time and is the life of the party. He is wonderful with Tayson and this means so much to me. He was commenting on the fact that he never has made the blog. At the time, I found this so hard to believe because he does so much with us and is such a big part of our lives. So...I decided that I would do a blog all about him.
Uncle Matt, you are truly a blessing to our family and we love having you around. We are so happy that you have met someone that is making your life so much fun right now. You deserve someone wonderful in your life and we knew that if you waited long enough, the right girl would come along. We wish you the best of luck with Lynn and want you to know that we are always here for you!
Go Hillary, Beat Huckabee!!! (just a little inside joke between Matt and I)
I can't believe it is Monday already!! Everyone in our house has been sick for the last week so we were ready to get out of the house this weekend and man it flew by! Saturday night Justin and I had a little double date with our friends, Ryan and Amber. We went to the new Shogun in Fayetteville and then we went to the movies. We originally had this planned for the weekend before but we were all sick so we had to reschedule. I say this was a date night, but actually Amber and I went and saw 27 Dresses and the guys went and saw the new Rambo movie. We loved our movie! For those of you that have seen this, I now love the song "Bennie and the Jetts!" I liked this song before but seeing them dance on the bar and have such a good time singing this, makes this song so much more fun. My parents watched Tayson and he had lots of fun there, as he always does!
On Sunday, we took a little family trip to Sams! I really don't let Justin go to the grocery store with me very often because he thinks that we need to purchase one of everything and it takes FOREVER!! However, I try and let him go to Sams with me once every 2 months or so, since he does do the cooking. Well, this trip was no exception. After him picking out steaks for OVER 15 minutes (no exageration), I was ready to go. When we went home, the boys decided that they needed a nap. I probably did too but I decided to work on filing our taxes instead! I know they say that you should try to rest and relax when your baby is sleeping but I have such a bad habbit of using that time to try and catch up on other things I need to do.
This year for the Super Bowl, we went over to The Pecks House. This consisted of the girls hanging out in Kaid's bedroom while the kids played with his toys and the guys watching the big game. Honestly, I don't think I even watched one full commercial. I was too busy trying to keep up with Tayson who was busy trying to explore new things!! Tayson had so much fun playing with Lynn's little boy, Colin! Hopefully Colin will come over soon to play with Tayson at our house!!
I was feeling a little domestic yesterday morning so I decided I would make cupcakes to take over there. I think they turned out pretty cute and they tasted even better!!
