Baby Boy Alarid

We found out today that the newest addition to our family will be a little boy! We had a wonderful ultrasound appointment. The doctors were really nice and told us everything they were looking at. Everything looks good! Our due date is August 1st and we're very excited to meet him. Here's a first look at our little boy:

His profile


His first "Gig 'Em"


A 3D picture of his face


A 3D picture of his hand and knee

Disney World!!

Well, we're back from our big trip to Disney World! We all had a fabulous time and it was so much fun to watch Taylor and share in her excitement as she met all the characters and got to ride the rides and see the shows. We were very busy! This will be a long post as I try to recount our trip for you and for my reference later :)

Taylor met Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Mickey & Minnie, Daisy Duck, Pinocchio & Geppetto, Cinderella, her mice friends and the Fairy Godmother, & Belle. She was not one bit scared of any of them and almost seemed star struck when she would go up and hug them! She gave them all the biggest hugs and would just bury her face in them. They are, after all, her "friends"!

We took two days to drive to Orlando, stopping in Mobile, AL halfway. My friend Becky's parents live there so we got to see them on the way back through. We also got to eat twice at Big Time Diner which was so good! When we got to Florida, Jojo & Daddy Jack were waiting for us at their timeshare. It was amazing!! The condo was a three bedroom unit with a full kitchen, washer, dryer, screened porch, HUGE bathtub that could probably fit 10 people, and was overall a very nice place to stay. It was only a mile to the main road into Disney and we could literally be from our parking lot to Disney's parking lot in about 15 minutes.

Our first day at Disney was on Monday. We had reservations at the Crystal Palace to eat breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends at 8:05 am. Disney didn't officially open until 9am though, so we got to get into the park early and walk down main street without all the crowds! We got up super early and got to the parking lot before the parking attendants were even there so we got to park for free that morning. And we had the very first parking space! On our way down Main Street once inside, we ran into Joshua from Lufkin, TX. It turns out that he knew Patty's family from there and he was nice enough to give us a couple of "fast pass" tickets to use at the park. Then later at breakfast he came and found us and told us that he had put our names on the reserved seating list for the evening Spectromagic Parade! Very cool! Well, then we had breakfast with Pooh Bear and it was a wonderful time! The food was amazing and Taylor was in awe at seeing all of her friends in person. It was so much fun!
After breakfast we went all over the Magic Kingdom. We rode It's a Small World, Dumbo, Peter Pan, the carousel, and many more.
It rained a little that day but it wasn't too bad. We left for lunch and a nap and then returned that evening for dinner at Cinderella's Castle. Also a great experience! Taylor danced with Cinderella and showed her how to kick her leg up at the end of a dance. She loved watching the Fairy Godmother's routine at dinner and even got a Magic Wand! It was raining so hard during dinner that our waiter told us they would probably cancel the parade. Well, when we got outside another little girl who had been in the dinner with us said, "Mommy, I waved my Magic Wand and look, it stopped raining!" I was very impressed by her powers because it DID stop raining and we got to see the parade and the fireworks before we left for the night!
The next day we went to the Animal Kingdom and it was a sunny day but cold. We went on the safari ride and saw the Festival of the Lion King show. I think Taylor's favorite part of the day though was the "Affection Section" where she got to brush a goat! We ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and then headed back for the day.
Our last day at Disney was Wednesday and my birthday! This was great because you get in free on your birthday this year. They also gave me a "Happy Birthday" button to wear. It was still cold Wedsneday too. I think we picked the only cold week of the year to go to Florida! We still had a great day though at the Magic Kingdom again. Taylor cried out to ride on Dumbo again and we caught a few more rides that we missed on Monday. The lines were really short and we were able to mostly walk right on to each ride. That day we stayed until the 3pm parade but Taylor fell asleep about 10 minutes before the parade started and slept through the whole thing!
We had a great trip and can't wait to go back soon!

Merry Christmas!!

This is a video of Christmas Morning at the Alarid house. Taylor was very excited to see what Santa brought her and a little worried that he ate all the cookies! The video is a little long, but so cute! (Also, it's dark at the beginning but gets lighter quickly.) Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Taylor!!

Our sweet little Taylor just turned 2! She was so excited during the week leading up to her birthday. She talked all about her birthday party and singing to her and who would come to see her. I think she truly had a wonderful day! Thank you to everyone who shared in this happy day with us!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with a lot of our family this year. Eric's brother's and their families were all in town and we had all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents at Mimi's house for turkey day. Here are some pictures that Pam took of all of us that night. She did a great job, especially considering the chaos going on around her. (The kitchen sink started leaking in the middle of picture taking and all the men were trying to be plumbers!!)

The Tee Pee

Thank you Michael & Ann Thompson!! Taylor loves the tee pee you sent! She asks us to put up her "tent" and likes to look out the window at us. I'm sure she and her friends will enjoy many hours of pretend play with it!

For Aunt Becky.....

who's been begging for more pictures....here's a little of October with Taylor.

Eric and Rachel at the F-2 Reunion after the K-State game.

Anna, Kinley, Taylor, and Luke at the Houston zoo.
(in front of the bears)

Crashed out! Sometimes eating is just too much of a workout!

This was the first time Taylor had pigtails!! Isn't she cute??

Tay decided to pose for me. She is just so proud of her rainboots. She has even learned how to put them on all by herself. And if she's wearing boots then she MUST wear a hat as well!