Happy Birthday to Taylor!

Okay, so I'm a couple of days behind on Taylor's birthday blog. Shame on me, I know. lol. But, truth be told, I've been a little busy lately. Imagine that, a mom to 3 kids . . . busy. =D On Friday the 13th, he had a sleepover which was a lot more mild this year than last. Last year, I think there were about 10 boys that ended up showing up at the party and this year a mere 3 made it. It was perfect for Taylor though. He tends to get a little overwhelmed with too much all at once. The party got off to a very late start because there was a really big accident on the 198 (the highway by our house). One of the boys lives in the next town over, so he didn't show up until 6:30 and it took Mark until 7 to show up with the pizzas. The boys were all good sports about it all though. Everyone got along great and had a great time. Taylor got flag football, which he was thrilled about. I didn't know that they sold flag football kits for kids to play with. He's looking forward to clearer weather so he can play. He also got legos and bionicle guys as well as cards from family and lots of money in them too! He's pretty excited about all the money he got and can't wait to spend it all. I'm trying to convince him to save it, but he's not into it. We'll see. After the party we headed down to San Diego to visit with some of our best friends. That of course, wasn't the sole purpose of the trip. Trips to So Cal are usually associated with Mark leaving for a period of time on the ship. This time was no different. We celebrated Taylor's birthday with a lunch treat at Yogurtland. It was pretty delicious! I think I had the healthiest yogurt of all. I had strawberry yogurt with strawberries, bananas, coconut, crunchy granola and a teeny bit of cheesecake. Everyone else loaded up with chocolate and sweets. We also went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner, where the kids had a blast, of course. The service was ridiculous and the games were half broken, but that didn't stop them from having fun. Anyhow, so here are the pictures from his sleepover all the way through our trip down to SD.

And, as I have done in birthdays past, I will talk about the day Taylor was born. First of all, I never would have imagined (8 years ago) that I would have three beautiful kids at the age of 26!
I still remember the day I found out that I was pregnant with Taylor. It wasn't a happy day for me. I was only 17 years old. I was scared, no, terrified. I didn't know how I was going to take care of a baby. I didn't know what to expect. I was shocked. I was also sick for the majority of my pregnancy. Mark, unfortunately was sailing the blue seas for pretty much the entire pregnancy. He was only there for the last two months of it all. The night before Taylor was born (Valentine's Day) Mark and I were at dinner and I kept slouching and was very uncomfortable the entire time. I didn't eat much, and Mark said if I wasn't careful, I'd end up having him right then and there. lol. I had read and researched and learned all I could learn about pregnancy, labor and delivery, but nothing really tells you how labor feels, so I was oblivious that I was actually having contractions. I called my mom at 1AM, who thank heavens was still awake. I told her I couldn't sleep and was in some mild pain. Before long, Mark and I were walking around the neighborhood, stopping every 10 minutes and going back home because I felt like I needed to pee. We ended up going to the hospital closer to our house, which wasn't the hospital my Dr. worked at, so they gave me 2 shots to stop premature labor, and sent me home. I told Mark to go to work anyway, and I'd call him if I needed him. Well, by about 9 or 10AM, I was calling him and we were on our way to the hospital in his extremely bumpy car that hit every single crack, rock and hole in the road during a contraction. I know I yelled at him more than once. haha. Anyhow, we got to the hospital and were admitted right away. At 1:35 PM, Taylor Jay Rummel was born. He had some problems breathing on his own, so he was admitted to the NICU. He weighed 5 lbs and 10 oz, the biggest of the kids. It wasn't until later that night that they came in to tell us that he had a VSD which of course scared me beyond belief. Thankfully, it isn't anything major and doesn't affect him at all. =D I still can't believe that he is EIGHT years old now. He makes me feel so much older with every birthday he has. He is such a great kid, and he is so athletic. He's great at pretty much everything and excels in all aspects of his life. He's laid back, calm, and shy. He's a lot like me, but he's also a lot like Mark. I am so thankful for having him in my life, as well as Austyn, Ryleigh and Mark! I have such a wonderful family. =D