No Longer Toothless

James got his first two bottom teeth about March 12th. We would have put pictures up sooner, but it was so hard to get a good one. So, I finally pinned him down and took some here they are:

He always gives me this suspicious look.




Here are some more pictures for good measure:




There's that look again.



Hurray he's almost holding the bottle sans help.

Time With Daddy

This is how you clean the house when you have a baby. And here is a fun video we took; Stephen is teaching James how to be a fighter.

Happy Birthday March Babies

Happy Birthday to all Taylor's and Brinton's, and descendants. This months a real doozy...

Grandma Brinton March 1st

Uncle Rod March 9th

Aunt Sarah Bragonje March 12th

Uncle Jeff March 16th

Cousin Roxanne March 17th

Aunt Becky March 19th

Cousin Clara March 21st

Aunt Megan Winn March 22nd

Grandpa Taylor March 26th

Cousin Anna March 31st

We love you guys!!!!!!!

Ports of Call

The three ports that we went to were Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. Each port was a lot of fun. In Puerto Vallarta, first we went to Wal Mart to get James some more formula. THANK GOODNESS they have a Wal Mart. The city was so big that it made it difficult trying to decide what to do first. We spent a lot of time looking at souvenirs and just walking around. Stephen bought me some beautiful silver amethyst ear rings for a very decent price. I have been wearing them ever since that day. We ate at a quaint restaurant near the cathedral, and then went inside the cathedral to marvel at the beautiful artwork, symbols, and stained glass windows. We then returned to the boat.








The next day, we went to Mazatlan. That stop was our favorite. We spent the whole time with Sarah and Michael. We went to old downtown to a lot of old buildings and souvenir shops. We went to a church, and then we went to the beach and swam and sunbathed. The scenery was beautiful. We bought some souvenir silver bracelets from some hawkers at a really good price (less than a quarter of what they originally asked for, thanks to Stephen's mad skills). After the beach, we caught a open-air taxi back to the port.










The next and final port was Cabo San Lucas. There was no port big enough to accommodate the cruise ship, so we had to wait in line to disembark on tenders, special boats that carried us into port. We had very little time at the last port, because they had to set sail at 2:00 pm. So we ate breakfast at a restaurant on the pier, looked around a bit, got a few more souvenirs, and went back to the ship. The rest of the ride home was a bit rocky, as the ship picked up speed to make good time for the return journey.











I would also like to mention that Stephen's parents gave us a wonderful brake by taking Baby James while we were at port so we didn't have to worry about taking him with us and worrying about kiddnapping and carseats, etc. It was extremly generous and we are so thankful that they did that, AND that they were willing to take us on a cruise. It was very generous. Thanks again. hopefully someday when we have more money we'll treat you guys on one. :D

Overall we had a great time relaxing and spending time with family. And, between returning to Long Beach and catching our return flight, we got to spend time with my sister Mindy and her family. They live in Laguna Hills. While there, we both had a very strong feeling that in the end, California is home to us, and we feel like we should be there. So we really hope that everything works out with Stephen in the CHP soon.

The Departure

As I mentioned before, Stephen and I went on a cruise and we just got back a little over a week ago. The cruise was a lot of fun but since there were a lot of things that happened, we will be breaking up the goings on into a couple of different posts. Well, taking off ended up being a very stressful occasion. The day before the cruise, the upstairs girls' apartment laundry room started flooding down into our laundry room. I was in the bathroom trying to clean the house to get ready to go and when I came out of the bathroom, it sounded like it was raining, but in the house. So, I went into the laundry room, saw what happened, called Stephen home early from work, and we spent several hours trying to fix the problem, cleaning up the water, etc. But the rest of the cleaning didn't get done. We left the house with a sink full of dishes, dirty floors, full trashcans, and four hours of sleep. In other words, I was feeling very stressed, especially since I hate flying. The one consolation, however, is that Stephen did such a good job taking care of James during the flight that I was able to have my panic attacks in peace. After a bumpy flight we landed in Long Beach. We were the first ones to get to the port and board the ship. However, immediately after we boarded the ship, they closed the port because of a tsunami warning due to the earthquake in Chile. We were literally the last people to board the Sapphire Princess before they stopped the line of passengers and retracted the gangplank. After they told us why, I desperately wanted to get off of the ship. It didn't help that while waiting to hear the news in our cabin, the movies playing on the television were Titanic and Poseidon, the freaky movie about the capsizing cruise ship. I turned off the TV, afraid that the next channel would have Speed 2: Cruise Control. Finally, they opened the port again, and the rest of the Taylors and Joneses got on the ship. Stephen and I watched as we sailed away, and the excitement started to build. I went back to my cabin to take a shower, and the minute I stepped out, I was hit by a huge wave of seasickness. That same moment, Sarah and Michael came to our cabin to visit us. We handed them James, as I asked them very politely but forcefully to leave, because I could feel my lunch about to pay me a second visit. Luckily, I don't think they saw anything. (Right?) After my second contribution to the trashcan, I was very tempted to ask if I could get on one of the lifeboats to be taken back to shore. But fortunately, I had some seasickness pills with me, which helped me to feel a lot better, and the next day I was able to explore the ship and all of its wonders. (Originally, I was going to take the pill ahead of time, but the doctor advised me against it because I'm still pumping. Luckily we brought formula with us, so I was able to still keep pumping and throw out the milk, and after the cruise was over and I stopped taking the pills, I was able to resume James' feeding schedule.) I would like to make known here the saintly manner in which Sarah and Michael helped me feel better, cutting me up green apples, bringing me ginger tea, helping with James, and altogether cheering me up. Thank you Sarah and Michael! The first thing I would like to recall about the boat is the fabulous food. There were several restaurants, including a 24 hour buffet. I ate shrimp literally every single day of the cruise. They had fresh fruit, Swiss chocolate cake, all sorts of different types of sandwiches, stews, soups, curry dishes, cooked lamb, a full salad bar, unlimited strawberries, and not to mention, excellent room service.
I especially liked how they had someone going around with cookies and milk in the afternoon. Something else that was enjoyed was formal dinner nights. I was able to wear the two dresses I made for the cruise. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring our camera to the formal night, so I'll have to post pictures of the final creations later.
Stephen enjoyed spending time with Michael hunting big game in the video arcade, and attending trivia nights with Gabe. He also enjoyed being epically defeated by Nathan in a ping pong tournament. James had his first real encounter interacting with his cousin Preston. Stephen would also take James in the stroller along the deck to look at the ocean and give me a chance to recover from my daily pangs of seasickness. The pills helped, but I still felt a little woozy sometimes.
On the cruise, they had all sorts of entertainment. Singers and dancers, a movie theater, a children's play area, five swimming pools, spas, nightclubs, ballroom dance classes, shuffleboard, library, bands playing, and a good time walking outside with Stephen and James, just watching the ocean roll by. Here are some pictures.

So Long Farewell

I'm trying to backtrack a bit, but no worries the cruise will be the next post. The weekend before the cruise Stephen and I drove down to St. George to spend our last weekend there with my parents. We went to a Dinosaur Museum and drank a lot of juice. My parents just got this juicer and have been juicing like crazy. So, when Stephen and I got back we took out our juicer and have put it to good use again. They have since then moved up to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. Speaking of which, yesterday Stephen received a letter from the Coeur D'Alene police department regarding his application. They are starting the testing at the end of this month. I just hope Stephen can get the time off considering we just went on vacation. So things are moving forward with the job application process. I'm sad that my parents moved, but I guess we weren't going to be here much longer anyways, so... Bye mom and dad and Jeff, we'll miss you!