Big Bro Syd

Everyone who knows our cat Syd was a little nervous about how he would act once Taryn joined our world. Well, I'm happy to report that he's been the best kitty big brother! Throughout my pregnancy he was super clingy to me and always wanted on my lap (even when I had no lap because of my giant belly). And here's proof that he really is a good cat!

A Chavez Christmas

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Winter Park, Colorado where we spent Taryn's first Christmas. It was so special to spend the holidays with family in such a beautiful setting. I know it sounds odd that since all of us live in Texas that we decided to go to Colorado but a destination Christmas was GREAT! Meme & Gramps drove, while Aunt Tiff, Uncle RJ, Cookie and Larry all flew from Houston. I was nervous about flying with Taryn but she was the perfect traveler and slept on my lap for most of the flight!

Taryn's first flight

The snow was beautiful but SO cold! Ev and I only skied one day because it was only 6 degrees with a windchill of -12! When my fingers got so cold they started burning I knew it was time to call it quits. We snow tubed, took a sleigh ride and some people took sleds out to a hill near our condo.

It was a week full of lots of great memories with our family and a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ! Here's a few pictures from the trip!

Christmas morning in her big red bow

Christmas morning in Winter Park

Taryn laughing at her giant stocking made by Cookie

She loves her Aunt Tiff

Cookie & Larry trying to stay warm

Meme & Gramps

Sporting her cute scarf made by cousin Sarah

RJ & Tiffani sledding

RJ & I both got Snuggie's in the Secret Santa exchange...one size does not fit all

Snow Bunny

Look who's trying out her Colorado attire in this cold Dallas weather! We're heading to Winter Park for Christmas this year and she's sure to be the cutest snow bunny. And I'll go ahead and apologize in advance for anyone who may be traveling on the same flight as us to Denver :) Hopefully she'll be a little angel baby!

1 Month Old & More

Taryn turned a month old last week...time has gone by so fast because it seems like just a few days ago we brought her home from the hospital. Our world has definitely been turned upside down but in the best way possible! I had her weighed this week and she was 8lbs 3.3oz! Lately we've noticed so many changes. She's VERY alert and it's fun to watch her follow us with her eyes and start to smile a little bit. She's got the cutest little dimple on one cheek, watch out little boys, she's going to be a hot one!

We think she might be a little spoiled already because she cries whenever we put her down or try to let her have some alone time. So this week we're trying to work on her independence a little bit. She's just so darn cute we can't help it that we hold her a lot. At least she's been a good night sleeper and goes around 5-6 hours between feedings (most of the time)!

Tired Daddy but wide awake Taryn

Last weekend Uncle RJ and Aunt Tiffani came to visit from Houston. Their flight got canceled because of the snow but we're SO GLAD they decided to make the drive and bring their new, cute dog Chester. Every year we celebrate my mom's birthday by doing all our holiday baking and candy making together. It's always fun and everyone gets involved and has a job...yes, even Gramps gets to stir the toffee. I just scolded Evan because he didn't take any pictures of the action in the kitchen. We had quite the mess going on but everything was so yummy...peanut brittle, toffee, peanut butter bon-bons, Good As Twix bars...I feel my waste line growing already!

Turkey Day & Black Friday

Every year it seems we are so blessed and have so much to be thankful for. We know all our blessings come from Him and this year we had even more to celebrate on Thanksgiving. We have a healthy, beautiful baby girl which is the biggest gift!

We had a great Turkey Day 2009 at my parents, Meme and Gramps. We were spoiled and didn't have to bring anything except Taryn! My mom cooked a delicious meal and as usual the desserts were my favorite! Next year Taryn and I will be in full swing to make some treats. We even had to take a picture of dessert to send to Aunt Tiff since they couldn't make it up this year (we missed them tons)! Evan's dad made the trip out from Ruidoso, NM to spend the holiday week with us. This was only his second time to Dallas and it was great to have him here for a few days, especially since he got to meet his first Granddaughter! Taryn pretty much slept away her entire 1st Thanksgiving. In a way it was kind of a blessing because because we were all able to sit down to eat together and no one had to attempt to bounce her bouncy seat while eating (much harder than it sounds) and trying to keep her happy. I thought for sure she'd wake up when we were done to get me out of doing the dishes and cleaning up but nope, she slept right on through dessert too!

Our first Thanksgiving as a family

Mommy, Taryn and Meme

Gramps, Daddy, Taryn and Grandpa Robert

Thanksgiving Dessert - Pumpkin Cake, Pecan Pie and Chocolate Pie

The past few years we've always gone Black Friday shopping, not the 4am shopping at Best Buy or anything crazy like that but 10am usually at the mall and a few other places. I wasn't sure I would go out at all and if I did I planned to leave Taryn at home with Evan so I could get a few things done. I was also afraid of a repeat of our last trip to the mall! I was talking to my mom on Friday morning and she thought it'd be fun if she came over and the 3 girls ventured out for shopping together. It was a GREAT day and Taryn redeemed herself by doing so well in the stroller. I wouldn't have done it by myself but with my mom's help we got lots of shopping done and had tons of fun at the same time! Hopefully she'll be a bargain shopper like her mom before we know it!

The First Three Weeks

Get your party hat out because today is Taryn's 3 week birthday! The time has flown by and she is changing so much every day. Her little cheeks are getting plump and she makes all kinds of cute faces. My personal favorite is her 'O' face! She loves to stretch really big which makes me laugh because she's so little! Let's be honest, learning to take care of a newborn baby is HARD work. We had no idea what to expect but we've been taking it one day at a time and learning so much about Taryn. My favorite times of the day are the mornings when she's so alert and curious. Her eyes dart all around as though she's trying to figure it all out. It must be complete shock for her to have gone from my dark, cozy belly to the real world with so many new sights and sounds.

We've had so many 'firsts' over the past three weeks so let's see if I can remember the highlights.

Taryn's first big girl bath went a lot better than we expected. I know, the crying face makes it seem like it was horrible but she only cried at the beginning. I think she actually likes the feeling of the warm water on her skin. We haven't quite figured out how to style her hair and usually after an hour it ends up sticking straight up. Do they make baby hair gel? I keep thinking I can see a few curls when it's wet but once it dries it's pretty straight.

We took advantage of the nice fall weather before it gets cold to try out the stroller. I'm sure the neighbors would have laughed if they saw us stopping every few feet along the way to take pictures. Our neighborhood has a great park with a walking trail around it so I'm hoping the weather continues to stay nice so we can venture out for afternoon walks more often

Our friend, Melissa, came over two weeks ago to take Taryn's first photoshoot. Melissa has her own photography business http://www.melissadarst.com/. I did some baking for her daughter's 1st birthday over the summer in exchange for a session. It was fun for all of us to be in the photos and despite a few little outbursts Taryn did really well. We tried to take more photos a few days later in her tutu from Meme but she didn't think she wanted to take photos that day. So stay tuned for tutu photos in the future!

We also got to take our first mini vacation when Evan came down with strep throat:(. The doctor said he would be contagious for 3 days and we couldn't take the chance of Taryn or I catching it so we packed up the car and headed to my parents, Meme and Gramps. I called them nearly in tears because I was so afraid of Taryn getting sick but at the same time I didn't want to leave home. They took such good care of us and we loved spending a few days at their house. Taryn and Meme had late night hang-outs so I could get some rest and then she got to snuggle in bed with Gramps in the morning! Thank you SOOO much for taking in your girls with no warning. Looking back I'm really glad we didn't risk staying home and being around Evan's germs. But he's all better now!!

And lastly, what I might consider our first failure was a trip to the mall. I'll spare you the details but we didn't intend for the first diaper blowout to take place inside JCPenny! I was a frazzled mess so this outing lasted about 10 minutes and we all returned home without shopping bags. We'll have to practice getting out the house a little more in the upcoming weeks so we'll be ready for serious shopping with Aunt Tiff and Cookie!

2 Week Check-up

Wow, where have the past two weeks gone? Yesterday morning Taryn had her two week check-up with her pediatrician. We love Dr. Robert already and this was only our second visit (thanks Lisa for finding him and giving us the recommendation)! He's so great with Taryn and usually answers all of our questions before we even have a chance to ask. She fussed a little when she was getting measured and checked over but for the most part she was a well-behaved little girl. She doesn't like having her clothes off but as soon as he swaddled her up she immediately calmed down. I guess when you work with babies all day long you pick up some tricks...sometimes I wish we had some of his Baby Whisperer tricks at home!

We're so proud of Taryn because she's gaining weight and growing so fast! When we left the hospital she weighed 6lbs 6oz and they had us a little concerned that we needed to make sure she was eating enough and gaining because otherwise we'd need to supplement with formula. No need for that because she's put on a whole pound in just two weeks! When else in your life can you be so excited about gaining weight?!?! Here's a breakdown of her stats:

Weight: 7lbs, 6oz (35%)

Height: 20 inches (25%)
Head: 14 1/4 cm (55%)

We know already she's a smart one which is why her head is a little bigger than the rest of her :)

We haven't taken any pictures this week but here's a quick snapshot of her snoozing in her bouncy seat tonight. Can you believe how much she's already changing??

Welcome Baby Taryn

Welcome to our beautiful baby girl, Taryn Faye Chavez! Taryn made her debut on November 2, 2009 at 2:53pm weighing 6lb 14.8oz and 19.69 inches long! From the moment we laid our eyes on her we were in love. Seeing her little face and holding her for the first time was unlike anything and we can't even begin to describe it! We created this beautiful, perfect little person and now it's our job to raise her to be a servant of God. What a amazing gift!


And welcome to our new blog, "Each Day with Taryn Faye!" I wasn't sure if I wanted to start a 'mommy blog' but now that Taryn is here we're realizing how fast she is growing and changing. Since most of our family lives of town and we thought this would be the best way to keep everyone updated on her latest developments. And it's also a great way to show off all our bragging photos! Did I mention how beautiful she is?? We all know Evan is usually the man behind the camera in our family but hopefully I'll be able to capture him in action with sweet little Taryn!

Thanks to all our friends and family for your love and support!