Who has more?

Autrey: Shilo:
Dylan:
As you can see G-ma just brought Dylan a bunch of shoes she got at half price from our 'special store', as well as some cute clothes and fun toys. It was like Christmas in July. By the way, these shoes go from size 2 to size 6. He only fits the top row of 2s right now. So pick your jaw up off the ground and stop thinking my child is more spoiled than he is.

Slowly Coming Out of the Dark Ages

Guess who finally owns their own computer? I do! Well, Autrey too. But I'm really excited about it. After 5 years of using a work laptop from my teaching jobs, we finally have our own. The screen is 17" and has HD, something our TV does not. Now, don't get any funny ideas about us going all willy-nilly with technology. We still do not have cable. Neither one of us use Twitter. Autrey refuses to text message and I still don't have a Facebook account. Remember, I am the girl who didn't get a cell phone until my senior year at BYU when I was engaged to Autrey. (So stop complaining, Desiree', that you had to wait for a phone until last month for your 16th birthday. Yeah, yeah, times have changed. Blah, blah, blah.) However, we do email. I had to get a new one because Parkway is about to kick me off the island and delete my other one. My new yahoo address is shilo.duke, and don't forget the dot or you will send a message to a different Shilo Duke. And I thought I was unique. Email me so I have your address on my new email account. Don't waste your time trying to explain how to put my old addresses into my new email account. I think it doesn't work from the school account. Also, I am still very allergic to technology and wouldn't understand anyway. On that subject, I tried to switch the text color on my blog and couldn't figure it out. *hanging head in shame* Help...

Daddy's Work

Dylan and I went to visit Autrey at work so we could have lunch with him and meet his co-workers. I made oatmeal raisin cookies for them, which happen to be Autrey's favorite. They must have been good, because the plate came home empty that night. Actually, they were great. I may have had some...for quality control, of course. The girls played with Dylan...and I think we wore Ted (Autrey's boss) out, haha.

8 is Great

Little buddy is now 8 months old. And how did we celebrate? By making a Texas sheet cake and going with Matt and Allyson to see the fireworks at Grapevine Lake. It was Dylan's first time since there were not any in Ruidoso on the 4th. He loved them. He just stared, totally captivated. Here are 8 other things Dylan loves at 8 months:

*He loves the food I make in my baby food grinder, especially sweet potatoes, bananas, and applesauce.

*He loves to army crawl everywhere, occasionally donking his head on the coffee table and bottom of the bed.

*He loves to crawl to the edge of the bed or couch and try to dive off.

*He loves to play with his own/other people's hands, feet, shoes, and electronics.
*He loves to laugh and he jabbers constantly, which can be heard in the background of phone conversations with me.

*He loves to splash in water, in the bath and the pool.

*He loves when daddy gets him from his crib in the morning and bathes him at night before bed.

*He loves to take field trips to the store to look at people and all the stuff. I love it when people tell me how cute he is. By the way, he is looking more and more like G-pa. Dad, this is what your son might have looked like.

These videos are of Dylan crawling and playing with Tommy on his "shoshie":

Euless, TX

Well, we made it to our new home: Euless (just think, "Hey, YOU LISten to me!"). We really like our new apartment and are getting close to being totally unpacked, which is impressive considering we had to entertain Dylan when he wasn't napping. It was funny to watch him try to stand on the boxes Autrey was carrying to different rooms. He was also my little helper baking Autrey's birthday cake while strapped in his carrier. Dylan sure loves his daddy. His present was that he started making the sound "dadadada." Autrey was thrilled he said it before "mama," of course. We went to Ruidoso for Autrey's birthday/4th of July weekend to see Nana and the rest of the extended Taylor family. Autrey is working and loves his new physical therapy job. The clinic and his co-workers are very nice. Our new ward has been very welcoming. It is very diverse. It kind of surprised me to have a stong Tongan presence here. Autrey, Dylan, and I have been enjoying the jogging trails and pool near us. I went with Allyson to see the new Twilight movie. We loved it. We love being close to Matt and Allyson. Tommy may be the most excited. What I would give to know what Dylan is thinking right now:

Making Us Look Good

If you are in the St. Louis area and want a photographer who takes fabulous pictures, look no further than Christie Halverson. The woman is a goddess. Seriously. She makes you feel like a celebrity during the shoot, then makes you feel like a million bucks by posting incredible pictures and writing things like this about you on her photo blog:

"Oh. My. Cuteness.

What a fun shoot this was! This adorable family is moving next week after finishing grad school and are ready to face the world. Their spirit and laughter were absolutely contagious. They make being gorgeous look like such easy work.

Their sweet baby boy gave nothing but smile after smile. I got to hold him for a minute while mom got settled in for a pose, and, man, was it hard to pick that camera back up again. I could have held him all day.

Best of luck, family D. You guys are amazing. Thanks for a fabulous session."

There are so many good pictures to choose from, so of course I'm posting them all. I need help deciding which one to put over our mantle. Suggestions?

I love that we were featured on her blog the day after they were taken in June. Check out some of her other recent sessions at:

http://www.halversonphotoblog.com/

To book a session or for more information, go to:

http://chalversonphotography.com/