Merry Christmas!

(Getting ready for Christmas Eve Candlelight Service)

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with magical memories. This was a very special Christmas for my family, with our newest family member, Taylor Bell, taking part in all the festivities. Even though she is only 6 months old, she gave Christmas a whole new meaning...I love you baby girl! You are Mommy's best gift ever and I thank God for you every day!

(Taylor's adorable Christmas dress...given to her from Uncle Kevin and Aunt Carly)

(Ole! Grandma bought this for Taylor when we were in Cancun for Kevin and Carly's wedding!)

(Christmas morning...loving all these packages!)

(The Big one is from Grandma and Grandpa Fen)

(Taylor was so excited about her "Belle" doll from Grandma!)

(This present is bigger than her!)

(Mission Accomplished...all the presents opened! With crazy bed head to top it off!)

(We gave Taylor a toy where the air blows balls out of the top of it...she decided it would be more fun to have it blow in her face...too funny!)

(Taylor playing with her house from Grammy and Grandpa Fen...she loves the music and all the different buttons to push)

(Grandpa Fen teaching her how to play the piano)

(This kept her occupied forever!)

(Taylor absolutely loved the lights and ornaments on the Christmas tree...Luke took this picture and I love it!)

(More gift from Aunt Nancy and Uncle David...she is getting the hang of this)

(Taylor trying to hold onto the baseball for dear life and telling Tristan (cousin, 15 mths) "Are you seriously going to take this away from me?")

(Taylor's new trick is to fall back against the boppy and roll off...she keeps doing this over and over again)

(and she Loves it!)...side note...she has more rolls than a country dinner!=)

(Our 2nd child Maverick, who doesn't get photographed nearly enough...passed out from the exhausting week, keeping his new goose very close to him)

(Who needs a pack n play when you have laundry baskets....seriously...I think we are on to something here!)

We had an amazing week with our friends, family, baby girl, and new camera. Merry Christmas and God Bless! Enjoy the last few days of 2008!

Me too, Me too!

So, I couldn't take it anymore...I had to have one...so we did it! Luke and I bought a Canon Rebel XSI...and we LOVE IT!! It was our Christmas present to each other...and I tell you what, I had to practically wrestle it away from him these past few days! My sis (http://www.katiedayphoto.com/) has already given us a few workshops...and we can't wait to learn more. Here's to capturing the moments of life...Merry Christmas!!

Bell Family Photo

Family Photos! Woohoo!! Luke's sister, Ginger, had a great idea that since we were all getting together in Wichita on Saturday for Christmas...that we should make our way to Portrait Innovations and get some family photos taken. We managed to get the first ever Bell Family Photo that included everyone! (no one was missing or pregnant, (that we know of))=) It went so smoothly...we dressed in brown and managed to get some photos with the babies smiling...or at least not crying. Here are a couple! Merry Christmas from the Bells!

Merry Christmas from the Bells!!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/1rpgbyLI0kXdLisd

6 month old!!

Happy 1/2 Year Birthday Baby Girl!

1 month old!

Can you believe it?!?!? My baby girl is 6 months old today! A 1/2 year old!! She has been smiling and laughing like crazy, reaching for toys and sitting up like such a big girl. Her favorite toys are her jumparoo and tummy time mat (even though she doesn't like being on her tummy much at all...we are working on that!) Happy Half Birthday Taylor Tot!

6 month old!

Bath Time!

Well, my chunky monkey is officially too big for her baby bath tub...I can't believe it! But, Taylor loved her new bath seat....it allows her to sit right in the water and splash around. She would have stayed in the water for hours! She is definitely my water baby and we can't wait to see how she likes the pool and ocean in Cancun next week! More pics to come of that!

Love you chunky monkey!!

Taylor and a chip bag!

It doesn't take much these days to entertain our little girl! She spent about 30 minutes the other day playing with an empty chip bag. She just couldn't get enough of that crunchy sound! Why do we insist on buying tons of toys when she would be happy enough with a piece of trash!!

Taylor and Daddy goofing around!

Taylor's new favorite toy!

5 month pic...Way late!

As we are getting closer to Taylor's 6 month picture...I thought I better post her 5 month pic that we took awhile back! Look at her sitting up all by herself! No propping this girl against the crib. Now the true task is capturing a pic with a smile on her face=)

Taylor Likes Vegetables!

Orlando with my Hubby

Luke had a business trip to Olrando, so my mom convinced me to go along and Grandma and Grandpa Fen watched the little one from Wednesday night to Sunday night!! That is a long time away from my baby girl, but we are having so much fun! We have spent our nights eating out at fabulous restaurants, drinking margaritas at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, and even playing a round of minature golf. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for watching Taylor and letting Mom and Dad get a little time away! We love you all!

Yes, I beat my husband....by 5 strokes!

The famous Hurricane drink at Pat O'Brien's piano bar! (they were dangerous)

Oh how I love a good Margarita!=)

I love you Hubby!

Halloween Pics

My little mouse was so cute for her first Halloween! We had a lot of fun driving her around to all of our friends' houses in Lawrence. The poor thing kept falling asleep between houses but she was trooper and got lots of candy for mom and dad!

Taylor and her boyfriend the Turkey (Hayes)

This year it was so warm on Halloween that this costume was almost too cozy!

I love this picture of her smiling at Daddy! (outfit courtesy of Aunt Kenna)

Too cute to Scare! (outfit courtesy of Aunt Nancy, Uncle David, and pants from Grandma=))

BOO! (outfit courtesy of Aunt Carly and Uncle Kevin)

Taylor meeting Halli

Halli Kate

Taylor and I finally got to meet my friend Kristen's baby girl, Halli, on Saturday! She is absolutely beautiful and so light! (compared to my 18 lb chunk!) We wished we lived closer so we could see each other more often, but we will make it a priority to at least get together once a month so these gals can get to know each other=) Welcome to the world baby Halli!

Pumpkin Patch

Taylor just loved this=)

Nealy, Emmitt, Taylor, and me

This is what having kiddos is all about...enjoying simple things like trips to the pumpkin patch! I know Taylor won't remember this trip but Luke and I had a lot of fun with our friends and their kids. We all met up at the pumpkin patch in Gardner, Taylor will definitely have a lot of fun in a couple of years because they have everything from a petting zoo to a zip line. Halloween is the kick off to the holiday season and I just can't hardly wait to experience all these new things with our little one. So much fun!

She'd about had enough=)

One more time!=)

The men and their kiddos.

Our little pumpkin.