Baby Tayn Pool

What’s up, peeps? 

Thanks for coming back! This blog wouldn't be here if you didn't keep coming back! I appreciate you for taking time out of your busy schedules and checking out this blog! It means a lot! 

Before we get started, I want to take a  second to give a shout out to my sister, my brother-in-law, and their new baby Jackson! Jackson entered the world early Monday (the 24th) morning at 12:06 am weighing in at 7lbs 6oz and stretching out to 20in long! He is perfect! Perfect health to baby and momma! So happy and excited for her and Josh! My sister is amazing and they deemed her a "rock-star" at the hospital for how well she did! Love her and their new addition! :)  #jacksonchristopherforrest

In this edition of the blog, we'll go over one of my favorite topics that will help us all understand other people and ourselves better. You'll want to make sure you read all the way through the end, though, because there is an awesome Baby Pool game and we'll be giving away two prizes to two winners! Oh yeah, and just in case you didn't catch on in the past couple posts, anytime you see a word or words in orange/maroon/auburn font, that means that they are links (usually relevant YouTube videos or websites -- no virus' or spam!) that you can click on. Everyone ready!? Ok, here we go!!!

I wanted to take some time in this blog to talk about something that has been on my heart to share with more people for awhile now. It deals a lot with relating and connecting with people, starting with the most important human being to connect with – ourselves. The topic is The 5 Love Languages. It is more than just a book written by Gary Chapman – it is a way that each and every one of us is loved and how each and every one of us loves others. Knowing what your “love language” is is very important for understanding how your love tank gets filled. It is also important to know what love language those around us are, for we can help fill their love tank and make our relationships with them even better and deeper!  I’ll use many text references from the book, so I’ll use bold font to let you know it is from the book and I’ll type in plain font when it is my own words. So, let's begin...

The Five Love Languages are: 

1)      Words of Affirmation

2)      Quality Time

3)      Receiving Gifts

4)      Acts of Service

5)      Physical Touch

Words of Affirmation

Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important – hearing the meaning behind those words send your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.

I particularly LOVE this love language, because it just so happens to be mine (for those of you who didn’t already know)! This love language doesn’t just mean that you love to talk, or that you love to be talked to, but in my case that truly applies! I obviously love writing and I love reading and, for those of you who have met me, I LOVE talking! In fact, when I was growing up, my parents always knew when I had come down with a cold or wasn’t feeling well. Every time I would be quiet for an extended period of time (usually ten minutes or so), they would ask if I wasn’t feeling well. I always wondered how they knew!? Not only do people with this love language love compliments and hearing words like, “I love you,” but they also care more about what other people say about them. Instead of having the attitude, “I don’t care what anyone thinks,” they care deeply what people think and do what they can to get people to think and say good things about them. Comedians tend to be words of affirmation because they try their hardest to say words that get a reaction of laughter from their audience -- like this guy. #tellmewhatyouwantwhatyoureallyreallywant

Quality Time

In the vernacular of quality time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there – with the TV off, the fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby – makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

If you have this love language, spending time with friends and/or significant others will always leave your love tank filled! You could care less if someone complimented you – it doesn’t mean anything unless they prove it with actions. Knowing that someone else’s undivided attention is all on you is huge! You love to do things together with your loved ones, like running errands or going on a picnic or out to dinner and a movie. Whatever you do, do not say you are going to do something or be somewhere with someone who has this love language and then cancel on them! This is earth-shattering! #qualitynotquantity

Receiving Gifts

Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or hasty thoughtless gift would be disastrous – so would the absence of everyday gestures.

If this is your love language, it’s more than just a gift. You don’t care what your birthday gift is, your love tank gets filled in knowing that someone remembered that it was your birthday and was thoughtful enough to get you a little something. Though this isn’t my primary love language, I definitely love to receive gifts. Again, it’s not the gift itself as much as it is the thoughts behind it. I love when Holly will surprise me with a gift or something she bought for me. It’s the surprise that I love the most, but I’ll take the gift since it was offered! ;) #thethoughtthatcounts

Acts of Service

Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most wants to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language that their feelings don’t matter.

A person who speaks this love language is always trying to prove their love by doing some sort of action. An example of this is someone who loves to cook for other people. If you want to put a smile on their face ("and make the world a better place.."), let them cook you a meal (which would put a smile on my face) and then let them know how good it was! This love language, like all of the love languages, can be flipped around too – meaning that the person who loves to have meals cooked for them is also acts of service. This love language is definitely a productive one. In fact, a lot of perfectionists speak this love language. #iwoulddoanythingforlove

Physical Touch

This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary love language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face – they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect and abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.

Now all of you take your minds out of the gutter and re-read the first sentence from the book explaining this love language. It’s not ALL about the bedroom. A lot of times when people are physical touch, they LOVE back and foot massages, as well as hugs and kisses! You ever talk with the man or woman who always has to touch your arm or shoulder while talking with you? That dude (or lady) would definitely be physical touch. For me, that kind of freaks me out. I don’t want someone I don’t know that well touching me. I’m a person who has a personal bubble around me and my “space” (not MySpace).  In fact, have any of you ever experienced the guy who has to practically stand right on top of you while talking with you? You take a step back because you’re feeling an invasion of your privacy – then they have the nerve to take a step closer to you! We call him the "close-talker." That guy may have a little bit of a physical touch love language. #iwannaholdyourhand

The 5 Love Languages all work two ways. You can either love other people by these love languages (meaning that’s how you express your love), or you feel loved by other people with these love languages (meaning that’s how you feel loved by others). I’m sure you all have a good guess as to what your love language is. If you’re unsure or would like to test it, there is a cool little assessment you can take on The 5 Love Languages website – or you can take it by clicking here.

If you’d like, go to the Contact Me link on the right side of the page to leave a personal comment! I’d love to hear about your experience or know what you discovered to be your Love Language! #rememberiamwordsofaffirmation

Now on to the most exciting part of this blog! We’ve all have played in those fun game where we try to guess the weight and date/time that the baby of someone close to us is born. I’m going to incorporate that game with Baby Tayn on this blog! The two winners (you can only win once – sorry geniuses’) will receive a Ribbon Gift Album! If you don’t know what a Ribbon Gift Album is or have never heard of it, check out the list of items you get to choose from if you win (you get to redeem your choice of one of them) by clicking here.

Here’s how to play:

-The person who comes the closest to Baby Tayn’s birth weight AND length will win one of the gift albums.

-The person who comes the closest to Baby Tayn’s birth date AND time (seconds count) will win the other gift album

-Enter to win by either:

• Emailing your guesses by sending us a personal email (either you know it, find it on Facebook, or by clicking on contact me on the right hand side of the blog, which sends us a personal email)
• Sending your guesses via a personal message on Facebook to either myself or Holly
• Tweet your guesses by either a Direct Message or @ reply to me on Twitter @ATay_47
• Sending your guesses to either Holly or me via text message
• You can't tell us in person unless you mention that you read about it on this blog

Make sure to not only list your guesses, but also your name (just in case I don't know lol). The cut-off date for entering will be on Tuesday, November 15th -- so be the first one with your guesses in! Once I get a lot of entries, I will put them into an excel sheet of some kind and post it on the blog (and update it as more people enter) so that everyone can track who won and see how close they came, or didn't come, to winning! In case you need some help on the weight, I weighed 12lbs 6oz when I was born (yes, you read that right -- it's not a typo) and Holly weighed 7lbs 7oz. Holly is currently 33 weeks pregnant, making her due date 12.10.11. #letsdothis

Certain restrictions apply. No purchase necessary. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Geographic and service restrictions apply. Standard SMS message rates apply. Open to US residents only. Offer valid through 11/10/11. See me for details. 

"A practice is an action that may work in one situation but not necessarily in another. A principle is an external truth that is as reliable as a physical law." 

                                                                      -John Maxwell

Four Oranges

What is up peeps? I thought about asking how you have been the past week, but then I realized you wouldn’t be able to respond to me (since only one of you has figured out how to leave a comment at the bottom of the blog – thank you Scott Family).  Don’t you all realize that I don’t have much going on in life besides checking my blog to see how many page views I have and who has left a comment? Just kidding (kind of – please don’t ask Holly to confirm or deny this statement). Anyway, now that I’ve gotten all my bitterness out…er, I mean…all of my “made up stories” out, let’s make like my favorite dirt-band and get to the nitty gritty (<--- Click) #fishin’inthedark

As mentioned in my last blog post, we were blessed to have gotten so many gifts for Baby Tayn at the baby shower! We spent the first part of the week going through all the gifts and assembling them where required. This brings me to my second tangent – owner’s manuals and instructions. Just because I am putting together baby furniture, a stroller and a pack-and-play, it doesn’t mean that the owner’s manual and assembly instructions should look like they are written by or for a baby! Some of the things I put together didn’t even have words. It just had pictures with numbers, as if to assume that just because there is a drawing with a huge arrow pointing a certain direction, I’m supposed to understand what it means. Or other items will have the directions typed out in great detail. It actually has so much detail, that if you get bored and want to know how to put the dresser or stroller together in Spanish or French, it gives you those instructions too! Then other directions and manuals explain things like they are talking to a child with ADD (sorry Anthony, I know it’s not funny to make fun of people who—HEY LOOK OVER THERE AT THAT SHINY OBJECT!!!). Those directions will remind you at every step that if you “Don’t know how to properly apply the cam-lock, please revert back to page 3.” #handyman

This past weekend was definitely the highlight of the past week! After work on Friday, Holly and I drove down to Louisville, KY for a leadership conference. As many of you know, we are Independent Business Owners through the $9.4 billion/year Amway Corporation.  Without going into great detail in this blog, on one side of most businesses, there is a good or service. Our “good or service” we get through access to Amway. On the other side of our business is a support system. Our support system is a team of entrepreneurs called Leadership Team Development, or LTD for short. A few times a year, LTD will put on a conference or leadership that is apart from the Amway Corporation. Here, they highlight success stories, provide motivation, training and knowledge, as well as invite many popular key-note speakers. In the past, they have invited speakers such as Oliver North (retired US Marine Corp officer and host of the Fox News Channel show called War Stories with Oliver North), Chris Gardner (the man who Will Smith played in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness), David Barton (American History guru and founder of WallBuilders), Jerry Lucas (former OSU basketball player and NBA All-Star), and have recently made a partnership with the word doctor himself, Frank Luntz, as well as John Maxwell (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week bestselling author who has sold more than 20 million books on leadership and success principles). This past weekend, it was John Maxwell who we got to hear from for over an hour! He spoke on his new book entitled The 5 Levels of Leadership.  He explained in great detail the five levels of leadership, which include: Position, Permission, Production, People Development and finally, the Pinnacle. I’ve just started reading the book and love it so far! From the looks of all the notes I took in just one hour of hearing him speak, I know it is a phenomenal book and I highly recommend it to anyone in any type of leadership position (no, being the owner of a fantasy football league does not count as a leadership position, but I still recommend the book to you)! #successprinciplesdontchange

Also this weekend, we had our first of four baby classes. It’s just a basic course given at St. Ann’s that is either split up into four classes or one eight hour class. This was a decision that was harder to make than you think. At first, I thought the idea of having just one class on one day and getting it out of the way sounded nice. Then I realized that I’m a Bengals fan and they play on Sunday afternoons, so if I (we/Holly) chose to split it up, then I (we/Holly) got to miss four loses instead of just one! The irony is that the Bengals won Sunday, so they are currently 1-0 during baby classes!  #WhoDey

The baby class was quite interesting. I learned many things about babies, pregnant women and the female body that I didn’t know prior to attending. Here is a quick recap of some of the many things I learned.

Lesson #1 – The day before the baby class, one of our friends, and mother of two, used the term, “I went 4 to 10 in (such-and-such time)…” . Right away I thought (and said – that seems to happen a lot with me), “Hold the phone, what did you just say!?” Well, Sunday, I learned that during labor, your cervix dilates in three phases. During early labor, it is 0-3 cm. Active labor is 4-7 cm. Transition is anywhere from 7-10 cm. 10cm is considered fully dilated! So, going from 4 to 10 is completing the labor cycle! (Sorry if I made you single guys a little queasy-- man up!)

Lesson #2 – I learned about warning signs of going into labor. This also included lessons on “True Labor” and “False Labor.” I also learned about contractions (who knew, this isn’t a term used to describe negotiations between a team and a free-agent), how to time them and what those timings mean. I also learned about things that help with coping with contractions and other things that actually help speed-up the labor process (which include taking long walks and having…well, to keep it family-friendly, let’s just say I was excited about the second option ;) )

Lesson #3 – I learned that in week four of our baby classes, I will have to partake in an activity called “Empathy Belly.” When I first read this, I thought us dad’s were going to learn techniques on how to make your wife feel better about having a huge belly. Then I quickly discovered that it was a device used to put on the husbands to simulate a real breast and belly of a pregnant lady. Our instructor said this would help me have empathy for our wives and a way for us to feel how they feel being pregnant (I thought about saying, “Oh, trust me, I already feel those effects loud and clear!” Then I wisely let that joke go like a silent passage of gas). Before any of you get any crazy ideas, I want you to know once and for all, no – there will be no pictures, videos or images of any kind from the empathy baby experiment (do I make myself clear!?).

These are just a few of the many things that I learned from just one week of the baby classes.  Other things include (warning, I’m about to get emotional on you) being reminded of who my best friend in life is – and that is my amazing wife! Sometimes it is easy to take things for granted in this life. We are given so many things and opportunities and blessings that often times we over-look huge opportunities and blessings in and around our life that are placed there with and for a purpose. We get so caught up in everyday life that we downplay these blessings and miracles and turn them into mundane, boring or menial things. I realized, once again, that there may be people who don’t agree with everything I say or do, who bad-mouth me, criticize me or tell me that I can’t do something; but one person who will not do any of the above is Holly. She is an absolute angel and blessing and I will never take that for granted. I have her back and I know that she has mine. She has done so much good in my life and helped better me and lead me down a different path in life; a narrow road who so few go down. She is not my rock, but daily leads me to my rock and I’m so blessed that we have our foundation set in Jesus Christ! I love her with everything and more (ok, ok…why don’t we just go get a room and speed up the labor process already?) #winkwink #nottryingforbrowniepoints #truth

I’ll leave you with some closing stats on Baby Tayn:

Week: 31

Weeks to go: 9

Weight: Approx 3.3lbs – equivalent to holding four oranges

Gender: haha nice try – still waiting!

Movements: tons of them daily/hourly

Well, that’s about it for now. So, until next time, keep smiling, stay positive, and everything will be ok! #moretocome

"Success demands more than most people are willing to offer, but not more than they are capable of giving. The thing that often makes the difference is good leadership." -John Maxwell

Baby Showers Bring Daisy Flowers

 Hello, everyone! Welcome back! It’s been a great week and so much has happened, so let’s get you all caught up to speed…

 Our week started with a check-up with our midwife at the doctor’s office. We’ve progressed from our usual ‘every-four-weeks’ appointments to the ‘every-two-weeks’ variety. Going to the baby appointments are pretty interesting.  For one thing, doctors' offices always seem to get angry and threaten to reschedule your appointment if you’re more than 15 minutes late, but if you show up 15 minutes early, it seems like they penalize you and make you wait in the lobby longer. We showed up to our 9:30 appointment at 9:15 and didn’t get to go back to see the midwife until 10:30. Our check-up lasted all of ten minutes and then we were out the door by 11:00. Next time we’re showing up 14 minutes late, just to see if my theory is correct. It wouldn’t matter as much to wait in the lobby if you had your own personal room to wait in. It’s always interesting to look at the other people waiting and complaining (<--- they must have gotten there early) in the lobby with you. Some have screaming kids or kids who can’t behave and moms who don’t care. There’s always that little boy with a 4-inch cowlick who looks like he dressed himself in the dark. But anyway, I’m not going to complain about it, just makin' everybody aware (Michael Vick reference). 

The appointment itself went great! It was funny when the midwife tried to get Baby Tayn’s heart-rate though! She put her gooey, gel-like substance on the end of her drumstick-like, heart-rate measuring tool and proceeded to press it onto Holly’s stomach. She said instantly she felt Baby Tayn moving and wiggling around like crazy, which makes the heart-beat harder to find. The midwife said we definitely have a very active baby and that the baby was dancing away in there! This is funny, because the night before our appointment, I was trying to feel Baby Tayn move by pressing my hand down on Holly’s belly. I waited and waited…and waited and couldn’t feel anything. Then I put my head down on her belly- ear faced down, and started to talk to the baby. As soon as I got a few words out, I felt one of the biggest kicks or punches I have ever felt right on my cheekbone! So, baby will either be a good soccer player (Please, God no!!!) or an awesome fighter (this is where Holly says, “Please, God no!!!”)! #hitmebabyonemoretime

This past week I also put together the dresser we ordered for Baby Tayn’s room! Since I get off work at 2am, I figured that was as good a time as any to have some alone time to put it together. Everything was coming together great – that is until it came time to nail on the back of the dresser. It was just after 4am and the thought of pounding nails into the back of the dresser (or ANYTHING for that matter) didn’t sound right. A peacefully, sleeping pregnant wife, coupled with the fact that we have a 60-year-old and her mother (you read that correctly, double old-timers) living in the apartment below us made me wait out the ending of the dresser. For whatever reason, 7:30am sounded a lot better, so I pounded away then – which only created a sleepy, half-conscious turn from the pregnant wife and who knows what from the old-folks down below.  #operationbabytaynsdressercomplete

The week ended with a ton of baby shower preparations, since Sunday was the big day. Holly picked up the cake and went shopping for a dress while I watched the worst Ohio State football game I have ever seen! Horrible effort, horrible play-calling and horrible outcome! That is all I will mention of the football game, since that’s about all there is to say. 

So, the rest of Saturday night and early Sunday morning was spent helping Holly put together stuff for her baby shower. Wait, what did I just say? I HELPED with the shower stuff? You mean I gave Holly my credit card to go buy her decorations and I commented on party favors and other decorations with a, “Looks nice, babe.” NO! I helped! Sorry to all you guys out there who just got in trouble while your wife read this – there’s a reason behind it all! Holly’s sisters were supposed to come up from college in Virginia to help her with stuff, but they, and her brother, got in a car wreck shortly after they started their commute. It wasn’t a serious accident and thankfully there wasn’t much traffic, but in the end, the car wasn’t in good enough shape to make it the rest of the trip, so they headed back to their campus. By the grace of God, though, they are alive and safe! This only meant that I would be relied on more to help with preparations, plus it was a golden opportunity to gain some well-deserved brownie points! It actually turned out to be some good quality time spent with Holly, though I know that is not what most people would consider quality.

I helped with the party favors, while we got to talk and watch a few Criminal Minds and Numbers re-runs. Actually, it was funny because one of the decorations was party favor boxes with colorful (Holly is always so colorful-thinking) candy Sixlets. I was in charge of counting and putting 40 Sixlets in each of the 60 boxes. We started laughing when we realized that it’s hard to concentrate on counting while watching Numbers (get it..ha..ha!)! As a side note, we ended up running out of Sixlets due to some “taste testing,” so I went to Party City in the morning and got some more to finish up! #10browniepoints

Sunday was game day. We went to the Hilton to help set-up for the baby shower with the awesome and amazing host, my sister, Amanda. My mom and dad and Holly’s mom and little sister Summer met us there to help set-up too. After helping set-up, it was time for the party to begin- which meant it was time for Dad and I, along with Travis (one of my big bros) and Braylon (my little nephew) to get out of there! The room would soon be filled with more estrogen than is safe for any man to be around! ;) We guys went to Wings and Rings to eat and watch the Bengals win (WHO DEY)! Since I wasn’t at the shower, here are a few pictures of the set-up and decorations:

This one, below, is my sister on the left and Holly on the right. My sister is about 36 weeks preg!

As the shower was coming to a close, I had a surprise up my sleeve (really I was holding it in my hand, but up my sleeve sounds cooler). Holly’s back was to the door as she was opening her gifts and facing the tables of attendees. With the help of my cousin, Tina, who acted as a spy for me, I waited till the last gift had been opened and then sneaked up behind Holly and handed her some flowers (awwwww)! I gave her a big kiss and won over the hearts of 40 or so women in the crowd (that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it)! #1,000browniepoints

Here are some pictures taken after the shower:

 Grandma Kathy and Grandma Marj with Holly and Baby Tayn

 

 A few of Holly's family members

Holly and Baby Tayn with some of Holly's high school friends

These are some of our business partners and friends

My Aunt Cherri and (her future daughter-in-law) Marlena with Holly and Baby Tayn

Holly and Baby Tayn with Gert (my aunt) and Renee (my cousin)

Holly and Baby Tayn with (my brother) Travis' family

Holly, Baby Tayn and me with a few of my mom's sisters

Who has a preg sis and a preg wife with two thumbs up? This guy!

Romeo (me), Holly and Baby Tayn

So, the shower was a huge success and tons of fun from what I hear! We got so many cool and thoughtful gifts, toys and clothes for Baby Tayn! I know Baby Tayn will love everything and judging from all the movements we felt that night, Baby Tayn loved the shower and the entire day (and all the food)! We thank everyone reading this who helped plan and/or attended and/or purchased a gift for Baby Tayn! We all love you and appreciate you so much and feel so blessed! #thankful

Well, that’s about it for now. So, until next time, keep smiling, stay positive, and everything will be ok! #moretocome

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“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” –Psalm 127:3 NLT