The Girls

While I'm at it, I've got to include a quick update on the girls, too, of course. Tayler is already 6mo old now and still the smiliest baby I have EVER seen. I was with a friend the other day when he introduced Ashlynn to someone else as the happiest little girl but I had to correct him. Maybe she was a year ago, but Tayler takes the cake now. She is, however, discovering that she has a voice and she is not afraid to use it. So keep her fed and well-rested and everything is peachy.

Ashlynn is so fun. She's starting to say so much and so many funny things. Shannon would do much better at posting the funny things that she says so I'll try to get her to do that soon. For now, here are some of our recent pics of the girls.

Where Did Summer GO?!?

A few months ago we posted about a few of the things that happened during the first half of the summer. It's sad for me to admit that I guess it's already time to post about the rest of it. Man, we love summer. How is it possibly over already? Despite the hot and humid summer that we've had it went WAY too fast. We love fall, too, but when the days get cooler you always know that winter is sure to soon follow. And although the calendar insists that winter is only as long as the summer is short I remain skeptical.

Since being here in NYC I've joked (ok, it's not entirely a joke) about counting down the winters left in my life. This is in hopes to soon find ourselves somewhere much warmer. Now that we're down to one more winter here in NYC, and what we considered as our last winter left in life, we might be adding one more to this countdown. As some of you already know, we've been doing a lot of research, prayer, and consideration concerning what to do after graduating from dental school. Last month we decided that I will be applying to a couple of 1-year residency programs. Now that my applications are completed the next 4 months will consist of waiting for interview opportunities and receiving acceptance on Jan. 31. It looks like we'll be in 1 of these 4 cities: Denver, Seattle, San Antonio, or Salt Lake City. Can't wait to see what happens!

The rest of what we want to update can be done mostly through pics and videos. So, here they are:

Fun With The Girls

Ash is so funny sometimes. She's talking a lot. Not always great at it, but tries. Just watch this and you'll see what I'm talking about...



And don't these look like they should be seen in advertisements for Life cereal? After she finally got over her fatal fear of dogs, she and Bailey had a lot of fun. And we learned years ago that if you feed Bailey she's gonna love you. Looks like she's got a new best friend. Ash was so funny to watch; as she held the open box of Life in one arm she'd pull out 2 or 3 pieces at a time with the other hand, place them on the ground, and in the process spill the rest of the box on the floor. Bailey got more Life that day than any of us.

Ashlynn's TWO!!!

While in Colorado a few weeks ago we celebrated Ashlynn's second birthday with my parents, my brother Patrick, Steph, and her little cousin, Adam. She was so fun. Here are a few pics & videos.

Niagara Falls/Palmyra

A spontaneous trip to Niagara Falls/Palmyra, NY (for the Hill Camorah Pageant). At 3am upon arriving in Buffalo I got to wondering if this long weekend trip was a little TOO spontaneous. I felt like Joseph and Mary upon their arrival in Bethlehem. But after stopping at about 5 "inns" and a long story (one that involves being chased out by a bed bug and a moth) we found ourselves on the better side of luck when we heard that there was one mothless, bed bugless room left! Happy Day!!! Hmmm... just thought of something... maybe that's why Ashlynn hates bugs???

D.C. For The Fourth!

We've unfortunately been cameraless for the past few months and have, as a result, had little to post. I'm suspicious that there must be a curse on the second child in a family. I grew up hearing my sister claim that she was less photographed than I and I've since heard every second child echo that sentiment. So I was determined to try to become the exception for Tayler. We're off to a bad start though with our video camera & other camera battery both lost/stolen 2 weeks after she was born. We finally gave in and replaced those now so here's an update. Forgive us Tayler!

After 2 intense months of school we FINALLY had a weekend without daddy being in the library at some point. So we were SO excited for this 4th of July weekend to go get a little change of scenery. We've been eager for this specific trip to Washington D.C. for a very long time and for a number of reasons. Upon arriving in New York City almost 3 years ago (WOW, 3 years ago!) Shannon & I set a goal to go to the Washington DC temple to do work there for my family. The last time that I had gone to the temple there was about 27 years ago when I and my family were sealed together!!! So on Saturday we did just that. Ashlynn is exactly the same age now that I was then (23 months). What a special day!





During this same period of time we've also hoped to be in DC over a 4th of July. We loved it! We of course saw all the usual monument sites on the National Mall and made sure to take a long, cool stop inside the Air & Space Museum (it was HOT out there!!!!). But thanks to our great friends down there we also attended the 4th of July concert on the lawn of the Capitol bldg from which we watched the fireworks, too. it was unforgettable!

Introducing Tayler Day!

Our baby girl #2 was born this weekend on Saturday afternoon! She and Shannon are both doing amazingly well. Shannon's recovery has been relatively, I dare say, comfortable; even requiring a few reminders yesterday to "sit down", "you just had a baby", and the like. And the baby is beautiful and healthy. The fast labor of about 4 1/2hrs aided both of them, I'm sure. Last time we spoke to much of the family we still didn't know her measurements, or her name for that matter, and we have yet to send/post a lot of pictures. So let's fix that. Here's the skinny:


Oops, wrong skinny. (This was Shannon's last pregnant picture as we were leaving for the hospital.) You were probably expecting something with respect to the baby:

We finally named her last night: Tayler Day Reed (Day is also her Grandma Reed's middle name)
She weighed 7lbs 2oz and measured 18in long (not including her sweet mohawk, dude)!

Ashlynn got to see her yesterday (Sunday) afternoon for the first time. She was SO intent on her; whimpering when Tayler whimpered, shaking her finger at nurses who attempted to wheel her out of the room, and SO excited to hold her as you'll see in the video...