Birthday Week

Jonathan and I both celebrated our birthdays last week. I have to say, I was a terrible wife in this department. After having a week off for Spring Break and getting back into the swing of things, I was so exhausted Tuesday night. Jonathan actually had told me that he would be working late, therefore I didn't plan anything. He ended up getting off at a decent time and I felt absolutely terrible. Payton and I tried to make up for it a little by making him cupcakes on Wednesday. Of course she was beyond excited. It was her first experience in the kitchen, and she couldn't get enough. I figure only one broken egg was pretty good for our first go. She loved helping, and was surprisingly a pretty good listener when I gave her directions.



Happy belated birthday to my wonderful husband. I appreciate so much all that he does for our family and what a terrific daddy that he is to our little girl.
Please excuse the terrible picture quality, I'm not sure what was up with my camera.

My birthday was Saturday, and I had been telling Jonathan that all I wanted to do was sleep as late as possible. He let me do just that. He and Payton even got out of the house early Saturday morning so I wouldn't hear them. Of course I was thrilled when they came home with Waffle House! It was so nice to get to wake up, turn on the t.v., and lay in bed for a bit. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I found out that he had planned for a babysitter Saturday night and that we were going to Mikata. To be honest, I was horrified with how Payton (and me) would do with someone different. This was the first time that she had an official babysitter besides family. Any way about it, we all survived and Jonathan and I were able to enjoy a wonderful dinner together. It was so nice to get to enjoy our meals and have a conversation. I am embarrassed to say how long it's been since we've had a "date night." As you can tell, Jonathan far outdid me in the birthday department (as he usually does), but I am very thankful to have some down time.

Spring Break Continued

I am so incredibly sad that spring break is coming to an end. Payton and I have had the best time hanging out, and enjoyed being with daddy every chance he was home. After getting home Tuesday, Payton and I both had appointments on Wednesday. She had her very first dentist appointment. I was extremely worried of how it would go, and it was pretty much as bad as I expected. I thought we were going to do okay at first, she was in the best mood playing with the train table outside. We spent time talking about what they would do, how she would open her mouth, that she wouldn't be scared, etc. It was all good until she turned on the spinning electric toothbrush to clean her teeth. From there on, it was BAD news. We survived anyways. She didn't officially get her teeth cleaned, but the hygienist did manage to brush them with the Dora toothbrush and the actual dentist got to look into her mouth, but not without me holding her down. We kept telling her that if she would just be a good girl, she would get a prize afterwards. In mid cry she would say, "Payton not scared." But then she would be right back at it. Of course when I was making her next appointment she found some blocks to play with, and I had to persuade her to leave. Go figure!

I had a 24 week appointment and heard sweet baby's heartbeat at 162. I go back in three weeks for my glucose test, and then will be going every two weeks from there on out. CRAZY!!!

Spring break has been so wonderful this year. We have stayed just busy enough to have things to do, but been laid back enough to enjoy a few lazy moments together. With Gary and Pam being here from Colorado, we have been with family pretty much every day and enjoying this beautiful weather as much as possible.
Ella and Payton making cookies...

What can I say, she's her mama's child!

Saturday we had a happy daddy, as we spent the day at the lake. Jonathan has spent several days there this year, he's just been spending them working instead of playing. We enjoyed the perfect weather. Payton could hardly contain herself from getting in the water, but I reassured her that it was way too cold. We did however feed the fish and go on a boat ride.



This Sunday was Payton's first day in the two year old Sunday School class. I was worried how it would go with the transition, but she seemed to do wonderful! I'm excited because in this class they do a little lesson, sing a song, etc. Apparently she was the only child who would get up and dance, which didn't surprise me at all. She loved bringing her picture out to us and we have been working on her memory verse. We still have some practice to go, but maybe when she gets it down I will post a video.

Sunday afternoon we went over to Grady and Vicki's for an afternoon of fun and eating. Aunt Vicki even let Payton pick some of her pretty flowers, which Payton thought was so much fun. Taylor and Ty helped Payton learn to bat for the first time.








To say that I'm sad spring break is over would be an understatement. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but I cherish the extra time with my little girl so much. She fills us with so much joy and happiness. Tonight as I put her in bed, I just had to remind myself that I am so thankful to have a job that has spring break and other holidays that allow us this extra time together. Nine more weeks.... Until then, I will be spending the next two weeks administering SAT and ARMT tests and hoping that my students do okay. We hope everyone has enjoyed their spring break and this beautiful weather as much as we have!

Spring break in the mountains

While trying to figure out what to do for spring break, Jonathan and I decided that instead of attempting to go to the beach and it just being cold, we could take a trip to the mountains instead. Jennifer, Doug, Ella, and Pawpaw all joined us and we had a great time. We headed up Saturday morning and stayed through Tuesday. As mentioned in a previous post, we are doing a little potty training. I knew that it was ignorant of me to start before we went on vacation, but against my better judgement, I did anyways. I was so proud (and horrified) when we stopped at McDonald's and Payton had her first public restroom experience. We played for a while at the play place, and headed on up the road. After being back on the road for 10 minutes, Payton told us she needed to go potty. The prepared mama in me was so happy that I had thought to borrow Nana's portable potty in case this happened. Picture us on the side of I75 just outside of Atlanta...all I could do was laugh hysterically. After letting her sit there for a few minutes, nothing happened. I told Jonathan just to load her up and keep going. As I was putting her pants back on, she insisted to tell me that she had to go potty. Thinking she was just fooling us and trying to stay out of her car seat, we put her back on the potty. Sure enough, she "unloaded" right there on the side of I 75. I can't imagine why she was distracted the first go around. We were parked right under a bridge with a choo choo going across, big trucks passing by, and rocks to play with on the ground. All I could do was laugh, and of course be proud of our big girl for letting us know that she had to potty!

The place had a playground within walking distance of our room. It was definitely a hit with the girls.


There was also an indoor swimming pool!! Payton has been eyeing Bamama and Grandaddy's swimming pool for months, but we have been reassuring her that when it got warm, we would go swimming. She was so excited to jump in she could hardly stand it. I laughed as I tried to take her picture sitting by the pool but she wouldn't take her eyes off of the water for a picture. She was fearless, just like last year. She even told me "Don't get me mommy, Payton do it." She did remember how to kick her legs and use her arms, but we have a ways to go before she can do it.


Monday we headed to the Ripley's aquarium and had a blast.





They had this really cool tunnel where the kids could crawl through the penguin tank. I think Payton could have stayed there all day.


We spent the rest of our time at the playground, playing putt putt, and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.





We are now home for the remainder of spring break and hoping to get a few things accomplished, lots of playing outside, and maybe a few naps squeezed in.

Kai's Birthday

Kai's 3rd birthday party was a couple of weekends ago. Payton loved going to Burger King to play on in the play place and of course eat some chicken and fries. I didn't get a great picture of the birthday boy since he was such a busy little guy. Happy birthday, Kai!

Doughnuts with Daddy and Stickers

Payton came home from school last week with the cutest little necklace that had a decorated tie on it. It was an invitation for daddy to come to her school for a Doughnuts with Daddy breakfast. Of course, daddy made plans to attend. They even got to lounge around a little later on Thursday morning since it didn't start until 8:00. I think Payton enjoyed taking daddy to her school, showing him her classroom, and especially all of the baby dolls that she plays with. I think they both enjoyed a little quality time together.

Today was forecasted to be nasty and rainy, so I thought we might try a little potty training. Let's back up to yesterday...during nap time Payton apparently took her pants and diaper off in the crib. When mom went in there to get her, she said "Payton go potty in the bed." Last night within minutes of me changing her diaper, she had taken her pants and diaper off and was running around naked. Now back to Saturday morning. In no way am I willing to say that we are potty training. I just thought, if there's nothing else to do today, why not give it a try? By around 10:00, I was convinced I never even should have attempted this and we were going to get dressed and get out of the house. Five failed attempts, and we finally made it. She is napping now, but did has manage to do an excellent job since that point. She even went #2!!! Each time she went, I was giving her a sticker. When she finally went #2, I gave her the remaining sheet that had 2 or 3 stickers left. I turned around for a quick second, and the little monkey had completely decorated herself with stickers. She was so proud! We'll see where the potty training goes from here. Any wisdom and advice is completely welcome!