Toddlers + Photo Shoot = Madness

We are just loving Halloween in the Pollard home. It feels like we've been celebrating since September. We've made a couple trips to Lambardi Ranch, got dolled up for my sister's Halloween party, and attempted a photo shoot today with Tay's little play group. My nephew Logan is the Lion and our little buddy Landon is a cowboy. Poor little things were tortured at Picture People by a comatose photographer who took only 15 pictures in 45 minutes! Gurr. Fun times. I was going to wait until after our Halloween block party tomorrow to post pictures, but I think I'll just do a separate post entirely for that and take advantage of Tay's nap time while I can.=) Taylor is Dorothy from "Wizard of Oz" this year, thanks to Aunt JJ who bought her costume 2 months ago. She has good taste, because it fits Tay to a tee and she doesn't seem to know that she's wearing a costume which has worked in our favor. Aside from the occasional complaint that it's, "Too tight!", she doesn't seem to pay much attention to it. Her little red stride rite shoes that Nana got her just top it all off. Love this kid.

So I had my 27 week apt. and a diabetes test today. No fun. In case you've never had the pleasure, it involves downing a bottle of basically pure sugar in under three minutes, while a nurse watches on cheering, "Chug! Chug! Chug!" Kinda like a very uncool frat party. Any-hoo, I don't know the results yet, and I'll most likely fail like I did with Taylor and need to take it again. Ugh! My Doc then proceeds to lecture me on how 18 lbs. is too much to have gained at 7 months pregnant. I think my jaw hit the floor. I don't feel obese. I gained about 30 total with Tay, so why should this pregnancy be any different? Weird. So now I have to "lay off the carbs?" Well he can just bite me. I will watch my carbs for the sake of the baby, but not because I'm subscribing to any male-made theory on how much women should gain during pregnancy. If I want a chip, by golly I'm ganna eat one! And if I want to dip that chip in something creamy and fattening, I WILL! I'll be damned if I stress about my weight while I'm pregnant, so Dr. "Eat More Veggies" can just kiss my pregnant butt. I'm even thinking of marching downstairs to the kitchen and having a protest meal of muffins and cookies....I'm not hormonal! I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!

Tay is 2, and we've been married 7 years!

It's a been a super long week, but we made it through. Taylor's birthday was yesterday, and I still can't quite believe she's 2. It seems like only yesterday she was born, and the newborn stage that felt like it would last an eternity is all sort of a vague memory. It's even harder to remember a time when Tay wasn't around. She is the heart of this house and has brought so much happiness to our entire family. She makes me laugh constantly and I feel like I'm going to just burst with pride most days. She is so smart and has so much love in her heart for her family and friends. I told myself I'd write down all of the funny and clever things that she's been saying lately, but there are too many! But I will say that she said her first 8 word sentence last week!"Oh my goodness, I dropped the baby flower!" She is a blabber mouth and LOVES to know what things are called, and her imagination is so fun to watch. It's such a fun age when they can finally have a pretend tea party or make their dolls have a conversation in the doll house. I'm just so proud of her!

We had our family over for a birthday dinner, and Taylor had no doubt that it was HER party! She loved being sang too, and was extremely excited about her birthday cake. But most of all she just seemed to love having her family around. Her Great Grandpa came down from Vegas to be here too so she had 3 great-grandparents there, which is such a treat. Friday, her official birthday, we went to Underwood Farms and had a birthday play date where we all sweated in the 95 degree weather. I'm sure next year we'll be taking her to Disneyland or Chuck E. Cheese, so it was nice to keep it simple this year.

We also attended Wes' grandparent's 50th anniversary party last night. Wes' mom has been planning it for a couple of months, and it all went smoothly. Bill and Arlene even renewed their vows with their Bishop presiding, and we all had a chance to hear the story of how it all began. Bill, or "Pa" as we all call him, proposed pretty shortly after meeting Arlene, or "Ma", and sealed his proposal with a ring from his cigar. 50 years, 6 kids, a bunch of grandkids, and 2 1/2 great grandkids later, they're still very much in love and it was so touching to see. My grandparents were married 55 years, so we definitely have a lot to live up to. The party was a lot of fun, and Tay had a chance to dress up and run around with her two little guy pals, Logan and Landon. She was such a good girl and even let me curl her hair before the party.

Wes and I will have been married 7 years tomorrow! It's really flown by. We met at a church dance but didn't "date" until after his mission, when we hung out by ourselves for the first time one night playing Nintendo and driving to the beach where we talked and talked and sang primary songs. After that, it was pretty much a done deal. A sort of "no-brainer" decision, and the best one I've ever made. There are a lot of reasons why I love Wes. Too many to list, and I'm sure he'd be way too embarrassed if he ever found out that I posted it on my blog.=) But when I think of my grandparents and his grandparents, I know we'll be right behind them having our own 50th anniversary one day. This year will be pretty low key though. We're celebrating by going to dinner and maybe, just maybe, we'll stay up past 9:00 p.m. We're so wild!

(Our wedding invitation)

Wes came home today with another woman. He gently sat me down and explained that I was to look at her as a new addition to our home. She's younger, a novelty, and some might even say she's cute. Wes has been holding her a lot, and has asked me to help her feel at home by sharing my things with her. I'm understandably upset. After all, I've always been the center of his universe and now, BAM! It's over. He's so tired from staying up late with this new chick, that he barely has time for me.

This is how I'm picturing Taylor's reaction to the new baby in January. I'm pretty sure she won't be stoked to have a baby around, seeing as how she screams and bawls when I hold any other child. I've done a few test runs with my friend Tanya's new baby boy. The second that kid is in my arms, Taylor is an emotional mess and has even tried to hit me (or the baby, I don't know who she was aiming for more.) This won't be pretty.