Catching up....

Um, OK, so my long blogging breaks are becoming a pattern...See, I have every intention of blogging regularly. I think about blogging everyday. I go about our daily life and take pics and say to myself "that's so blog-worthy" and then the pics sit on my SD card for weeks and don't get edited. And then I think, really, do my readers really care what we did on a Saturday 3 wks ago? Seems kind of odd to post pics of our labor day festivities in the middle of October...Which reminds me I still haven't posted about Taylor's birthday party which was in May...um yeah, I'm a bit of a procrastinator even in my hobbies. But, heck, I've got to jump back in somewhere, right, so let's just play catch up. Who cares if they're not recent events I'm sharing with you...So, here's what we've been living that I should have been blogging about...

Our girl turned 5 and we celebrated with a special tea party with bright colors, cupcakes and closest friends.

We ended our summer with a trip to Canada to visit friends and family. Taylor got a taste of Canadian nature when we spent a couple of days hiking in Algonquin Park. This was the first time Taylor saw a fuzzy caterpillar, and the first time she saw chipmunks and black squirrels. She also had lots of fun playing with frogs in Grandad's pond.

I took lots of pics of these 2 girls. Sweet cousins! I absolutely LOVE this pic!

And when we returned, Taylor had her first day of kindergarten! She's at the same school that she's been at since she was 2. She went to preschool there and we're thankful they have a full-day kindergarten program. So, she'll stay there until next fall when she goes to 1st grade in a public school (gulp! - let's not talk about that yet, OK?)

And...as you can see from these pics, I'm officially a Soccer Mom. And, I'm lovin' it! It's been a challenge finding an activity for Taylor that keeps her interest, is challenging and fits her activity level. She's a very high energy kid and sometimes has trouble with sports or lessons that require her to wait her turn. We've tried gymnastics in the past, and while she loved it, she spent most of the time running around the gym, doing her own thing. Well, it appears as though soccer is her "thing". Taylor's been asking to play soccer since she could walk and talk. the Berenstain Bears play soccer, ya know ;) . We signed her up in the spring, and she asked to play soccer almost every night in the summer. She and John would kick the ball around in the back-yard. And, I'm not at all biased when I say, this girl's got some natural soccer skills. (Really, I'm not biased. at. all. ;) ).

Other very noteworthy events in our lives in the last few months....

- Taylor lost her first tooth and the Tooth Fairy made her first visit to our house and left a crisp $1.oo bill.

- Taylor's adjustment to kindergarten has resulted in an increase in her Sensory Seeking behaviors, and I'm certain we're on our way to a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder. I'm very, very thankful that Taylor is excelling in school, but these behaviors are becoming more prominent and more problematic at home. We were had an appt with our pediatrician today and she'll be submitting a referral for an occupational therapy evaluation. Now, we just need the referral to be approved. I'll definitely be posting more about this complex and often misunderstood issue.

- The highlight of the last few months is that I've reconnected with my brother! I'll spare you the details of my complex family and childhood, but I'll say that I grew up in Canada and I have a brother who is 13 yrs younger than me, who grew up in Pennsylvania. Well, he's now in the military and he's stationed in Southern California! Now that we're about 2 hours from each other, we've been seeing each other 2 or 3 times a month and we're having so much fun together. Taylor absolutely adores having her fun uncle around, and I'm loving having my 6'3" "little"brother around.

So, the last few months have been very busy and full of blessings. So, there ya go...I think we're all caught up!