Talor Jonathon's 3rd Birthday

Hi everyone,

On November 25, 2008 Talor turned three years old. We celebrated his birthday a few days earlier (a shared party with Layla too) with friends and family and then had Nana, Grumpy, Aunt Amanda and Uncle Rowan over for dinner on the actual day. Talor got very spoiled and had a very good time. Thanks to everyone for their generosity towards both kids.

A few days after the kids' birthdays we spent an evening at the zoo. Every year they throw a big party and have Santa come in. There is live music and lots of games and treats. This year was the third year that we have attneded and we had a blast once again. The zoo continues to be one of Talor and Layla's most favorite places. Here are some highlights from the night.

Happy 3rd Birthday Talor Jonathon!

Hi again everyone,

On Tuesday we celebrated Talor's 3rd birthday. We had Nana, Grumpy, Aunt Amanda and Uncle Row over for dinner. He got a bunch of Chinese takeaways and opened lots and lots of presents.

Also, yesterday we received a great big parcel from Aunt Susan and Uncle Norbie from Michigan. Thank you so much for that...we (including mum and dad) love the gifts and appreciate it!

Enjoy the video!

Talor and Layla's Birthday Party

Hi everyone,

Here are some of the pictures and videos from Talor and Layla's party today. Shell's mom made the cakes...Layla didn't really dig into hers a ton...we really thought that there wouldn't be any left. Oh well. Enjoy!!

Happy 1st Birthday Layla Hope!

Hi everyone,

As many of you know, today is Layla's birthday and Tuesday is Talor's. The other day Shell was able to record Talor getting ready for the big day. We will get some more videos/pictures and get them on here either this afternoon or in the coming days. Enjoy!

Bacarella Updates

Hi everyone,

I know that it's been a while since we've uploaded new photos and videos, so here are some of the latest. Talor and Layla are turning 3 and 1 next weekend, and Layla is REALLY starting to walk more everyday. Click below to see a video of it happening today at the zoo.




As I said earlier, we went to the zoo today. It was Kashin's (one of the two elephants at the Auckland zoo) 40th birthday. They ended up painting the two elephants in all sorts of colors and then brought them to the band rotunda where they had a ton of waiting people. Kashin and Burma ate birthday cake and were sung "Happy Birthday" to. We stuck around for a while and below are some of the photos and a video of them coming into the area.

Not only did we get to celebrate Kashin's birthday today, but we were also able to see the new tiger cubs for the first time as well. We were just about to walk away and give up when I saw one of the cubs in the walkway between enclosures. We watched for a while, saw the cubs and their mom walk through the walkway and then were able to see them enter the enclosure and search for their food. It was VERY cool!

The following photos are just random ones. Talor was caught eating dirt from the garden and Shell wisely took a picture of it.

Grumpy came by a few weekends ago on his motorbike for a quick visit. Talor watches that bike every time we are at their house and he took advantage of the opportunity to hop on for a few pictures.

Lastly, a couple weeks ago we took Talor to the circus. We have seen it around the different areas in Auckland lately and Talor REALLY wanted to go. There were all sorts of acrobats and goofy things, but Talor loved the clowns most. We had a good time.

New Car

Hi everyone,

I know that it's been a while since we've posted an update, but we will be doing it again soon...I promise. For those of you that hadn't heard, the transmission on my old car went out while my mom and Jud were here and we weren't able to get a replacement...so we have got a new ride now. It's a Hyundai Lantra and we like it a lot. We got a good deal on it and after it gets some work done on it this weekend it should be a good car to have with our growing family. Talor spent quite a bit of time inside of it yesterday playing with the stick shift and pretending to drive...I think he likes it.

The kids' birthdays are coming up next weekend...if anyone can make it out on Sunday for the party you are more than welcome. We'll be sure to post pictures and an update on how it goes, so stay tuned. Have a good weekend.

Tropical Tree Frog Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

Wow, look at this great costume I found on one of the blogs I follow

Tropical Tree Frog Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

She has amazing stuff and I love checking out her latest creations :)