Nothing too Exciting

Grayden and I went to the Galleria yesterday and put flyers out on cars in the garage. I think it was around 200 or so. Grayden was great. If he is in the sling and gets to look around he is as content as can be. Surprisingly someone actually wrote me an email asking about my services. The guy has a HUGE project he wants to do and he wanted to know how much it would cost. I have not heard back from him...

My next plan is to pass out much more impressive flyers to peoples' front doors. I am not sure how I will actually get them out. There is no way I could take Grayden out for that.

Grayden is as cute as ever. Troy snapped this picture on Sunday afternoon.



Thankfully Grayden is still relatively immobile so I was able to take a catnap with him in my lap!

Hurray for Grayden

I put him down for a nap and instead of whining and falling asleep he got really quite. I was in the other room waiting to hear him, but not a peep came out, so I went to check on him. This is what I found him doing. He discovered that he can use his arms and elbows to prop himself up and see even more! Before this he would just lift his head as high as he could. I guess he was in awe because he did not make sound and sat there like that for about five or so minutes.

I've Been Tagged

OK, so apparently when one gets tagged they must write six things about themselves that most people don't know. I will do my best to reveal something new.

1. When I was a teenager (17 to be exact, sadly) my friend and I attended our first Hanson concert at Sea World. This particular concert involved several hours of waiting to get in. Anyway we went and had fun, oh and we were definitely not the oldest, nor we the minority in age... Well years later as a college freshman this same friend and I heard they would be having a concert in Austin. It was September, which is the month of both our birthdays and we thought it would be a fun celebration for us to reminess. One morning before the concert, after we had purchased tickets, we both were happening to listen to the same radio talk show where they were giving away backstage passes. Oh I forgot to mention a few days before this my friend and I went to a blood drive to try and get them, but Bobby Bones didn't fork them over. SO, I called my friend and we commiserated about how we happened to here this and then she said "call the radio station". Now this was not my territory. She was a pro at this so I was like NO! Then for some reason I said yes. I called. Bobby Bones said he would give us backstage passes IF we came in the following morning to sing a song about him on the radio, otherwise he would broadcast my cell number. Well we went to the concert and met Hanson, believe me we were not the crazy ones, and sang the next morning. We rewrote words to "Baby Got Back" and basically made fun of Bobby Bones.

OK so this was long, but one more thing. We actually met them again the following May at another concert. And for all you Haters, don't judge until you listen to their latest stuff! ALSO, I would like to mention that we were not obsessed, honestly it just looks that way.lol

2. I once was a construction work, thats right, I dug holes, lifted concrete bags, used many saws, screw drivers, and nail guns. It was rough, but an interesting experience.

3. I once was the subject of a Documentary about people who worked in College. It helped that I worked for Amy's Ice Cream as a Pit Boss, which was a cool job, accept that I did not get home until 2:30 or 3:30 am the nights I worked...

4. I got a poem published in High School for something I wrote on my math book cover my junior year. I DO NOT consider myself a poet, but it got me extra credit in my English class senior year. You can look it up at poetry.com under Mariah Campbell. (its not that cool)

5. My favorite music is usually singer song writers or Americana; Patty Griffin, Jewel, Ben Folds, Eastmountainsouth etc...love,love,love them

6. Maybe this should not be one of them, but it was something cool that happened and totally something one would only find in a movie. In High School this guy I dated, my "first love," bleh, made a music video expressing how he felt about me, it was cute, using a David Byrne song. The video entailed socks, cereal and other miscellaneous items spelling out my name. It sounds sort of dorky, but it was totally cool.

7. Since I mentioned the above story, I think I should also mention something else about Troy, which is even cooler. When he was on his six month Bachelor party in Brazil he randomly sent me a vase of flowers at work. It was a much needed gesture, as you can imagine.

Whew!

Ahhhh A Haircut

I got a cut today. Its refreshing to say the least. The last one I had was March I think. I felt like I looked like a ragamuffin most days because long hair and I dont get along well. Of course the cut is shorter than I wanted. This has happened now the last 3 times I got it cut. The time before these was the greatest cut of my life. I have been trying to get it back ever since. At least this time the cut that is too short looks good. Troy likes it, so thats a plus. By Christmas it should be about the right length.

Dresses Dresses Dresses

Ok so I want to go shopping super bad, but the clothes I want are pretty expensive, so I have to wait until I am rich... I have a sort of obsession with 1950s dresses. This is probably the first one I will get.

Milestones

Grayden has been trying to roll over for the last few days. Today he managed to move his legs 90 degrees from trying to turn over so many times. I give him til Thanksgiving, but I will be surprised if its not by Sunday!

Oh and his communication skills are diversifying. No longer are they oohs and goohs, but squeals, grunts, and loud throaty calls. Its getting exciting here in the Taylor home.

Finally something new

We rented a steam vac this morning. Our two neighbors went in with us, so we only spent about 17 bucks. It was totally worth it. The dog decided to poo on the carpet yesterday while we were at church. It was imparitive to clean the carpet to say the least.

The results are good. It was well worth it and I recommend it. By the end of it though, Grayden was done being patient. He did sit calmly for a good hour and a half watching me, so I must give him a lot of credit. I am grateful.

oh funny note...

Yesterday Grayden pooped during Sunday School, again. This time however it was longer and louder. Lets just say I was not the only one laughing. At least six other people were looking and snickering with me as I left the room to change him.

Some Pictures We Took

I talk about the pictures in Thump thump thump...

Thump thump thump

Apparently our dog is to loud. Just after an exasperated return from Target, Grayden needed a nap, and he was drifting off when a hurried banging rapt at the door. I was only slightly alarmed. A big, obviously perturbed man stood before me. He said that he keeps hearing thumping and it has been "desturbing his rest" for the past two months. I was taken aback to say the least. It was sort of an out of body experience. I did not know what to say. It ran through my head to blame Troy, but what good would that do. All I could muster was "thanks for letting me know" before he went to the office. I had planned on making him bread as a peace offering and thank you, but dinner turned out poorly (after several hours prep) so I decided to eat it instead. Maybe tomorrow.

I suppose a little drama keeps life interesting.

One fun note: Grayden and I had a short. but productive photo shoot today. I actually got several descent pictures, and two pretty good ones.

CUTE CUTE CUTE!

I had to post this picture I took today...

My Sleeping Giant Angel Baby is Cutting Teeth

I know its crazy, but true. Grayden has three maybe four white buds trying to jump out of his gums. All are on top. He has had all these mysterious symptoms and after my discovery of the pearly whites Saturday I decided to do some research. The coughing, runny nose, irregular diarrhea, incessant sucking and biting, AND occassional (not normal for him) crankiness have all been clues. Nobody is going to believe me when I tell them my 17+ pound baby with front teeth is only three months old! (Today marks his calendar 3rd month.)

Bad Day for Pictures

After several months of waiting, the verdict is in. The once coveted and adored SLR, (camera), circa 1974, we found, stowed in the dark recesses of Mary Ann's hall closet has proven almost useless. The majority of the pictures taken were so dark they were not printed. The others, which are some I took, were fairly dark, but still not even worth framing. Its obviously something to do with exposure, but there's also a grainy look to them. Its been a while since I took any classes on the subject, so I am not sure who the culprit is, camera opperator, film, camera or a combo. Upon refection, I have decided to give it one more tryout before benching it. I think I will try two things, another film speed and take more pictures outside. The darkness could be a combo of film speed and lens angle (not just fstops) so I will also take that into account...

Along the same subject line, of pictures, but this time digital, I experienced another great tragedy. Please excuse the melodrama, but I cannot resist. I spent much time preparing. For the scrapbook/keepsake book I assembling for Grayden, I made three comic strip photo collages. I was very excited to have them printed today, but as it turns out the resolution was not good enough to make an 8x10. Luckily this is not the end of the road. I can hopefully reexport them at the highest resolution. I will promptly go to the store on Monday!

*Update* The more I think about it the more I think it was a camera operator malfunction! The cobwebs are clearing. I vaugely remember something about crystals and film speed which if not properly aligned/calibrated can cause graininess... So much for being disappointed. At least there is SWEET HOPE...

Flattering or Creepy?

Escapades to the grocery store are always eventful. A three month old, plus a husband obsessed with the meat department is generally a sure fire way to make things interesting. Either I am roping in an extremely carnivorous husband or speaking babyese in the isles. Today Grayden wins most captivating performance for cuteness.

Upon entering the cereal isle and its golden walls of cornpops, captin crunch and cheerios a lady laid eyes on him. She swooned and complimented my little guy and then thanked me for letting her "enjoy him". Later, in another isle, this one lined with silver cans of green beans and tomato sauce, the lady caugt me speaking the famous foreign tongue. She beamed with gushy adoration and I smiled back. Slightly awkward. I am chalking it up to Grayden's enchanting ora, who can resist it? We movied on to look at some produce, including overpriced organic bananas (no we did not buy them).