Monday, April 25, 2011

Easter Weekend

We went to the same egg hunt at Town Creek Park that we went to last year. Payton wasn't so sure when everyone took off all at once, but she quickly got the hang of it. Notice the neck hold strategy...cracks me up!




Saturday night we dyed eggs.




Sunday after church we headed to Bamama's house to enjoy spending time with some of my family. We decided to try a little photo shoot when we got there. Please pay close attention to Payton's pink dress up pearls that she insisted were so beautiful and matched her dress. She told Jonathan Sunday morning, "I'm gorgeous, daddy!" Of course he agreed! The first few pictures cracked me up because these are some of the facial expressions that we see from her on a regular basis.









We then headed to Trippi and Lisa's house for a quick stop to visit with Pawpaw. Of course I didn't take my camera inside to grab a picture! We then headed to Nana and Pop's for a quick egg hunt. I cannot stand the pictures of me below, but since it's not all about me, I decided to include them anyways. If I could only work Photoshop this would be a lot easier!



By 4:30 I think all three of us were so exhausted. As blessed as we are to have our family all right here, it sometimes makes for crazy holidays. By the time we make our rounds to see everyone, we are all so tired we can't see straight. Besides being tired, it was a wonderful Easter and we enjoyed the wonderful company of our families!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

26

Payton is 26 months today. I feel like she has already changed so much since her birthday. I also realized that I never posted her two year old stats. This post is pretty much for us to look back and remember Payton at this age.
At two years:
Weight: 25.8 lbs (around the 40th percentile)
Head: 19.1 inches (75th percentile....this is the first time we haven't been in the 90th percentile!!!!)
Height: Somehow I copied down the wrong height, but I do remember that she was somewhere around the 50th percentile, which would be about 33 inches.

At 26 months she: hates shoes, loves broccoli, loves giving hugs and kisses, picking flowers is a favorite hobby, thinks bubbles are the greatest thing ever, still terrorizes Mollie, pretty much knows all of her letters, is a daddy's girl, has a come apart when her castle (blocks) fall down, has started eating at the big table, is very opinionated, independent, and strong-willed, still snatches out a bow in .2 seconds, could be entertained with stickers for hours, and loves to dance.

I feel like her imagination has really developed lately. Last week while driving in the car, she was singing several different songs to us. She told us that she wanted to sing the cup holder. After telling her that we didn't know that song, she proceded to make one up. Something along the lines of "Oh cup holder, lalalala, cup holder." It was hysterical, and it only continued from there.

She is loving her naps right now. It is nothing for her to sleep 4 to 4.5 hours in the afternoons. She goes to bed anywhere between 8-8:30 and on a good day wakes up around 6. Some days she decides she wants to start her day bright and early at 5, while others you have to drag her out of bed to get dressed. She is still doing great sleeping in her big girl bed. We took the rail down a few weeks ago, and I think it only took one fall for her to realize not to roll that way. :)

And then there's potty training. Not fun! We started back in March...everything was going pretty much as good as possible. I guess at that point it wasn't new and fun anymore. She digressed some, but now I'm realizing that it may have been my fault. Consistency is key with Payton. She loves it. As much as I hate it sometimes, the child runs on such a tight schedule and routine. I have realized that she does better when pull ups are no where in sight for several days at a time. She has had two days accident free when we have done this (one of which being today). Of course, that's all easier said than done. I'm just trying to stick with it right now. I have contemplated several times stopping, waiting a month, and trying again, but I feel like we have gone too far for that.

She is getting very excited about the arrival of her baby sister. She loves to tell people how she is going to help take care of her, share her toys, etc. She loves to rub my belly and talk to her. She has also voted that her name should be Pacifier. Maybe we should consider it... Hopefully a baby post is coming soon.

If you're still reading, here are some pictures from her Easter egg hunt at school today. I was so thrilled to get to attend since it was during my planning time. It didn't take her long to learn that there were treats inside of each egg. From that point on, she had to stop and open each egg before moving on to another.




We also went to another egg hunt hosted by some teachers at my school this afternoon. They even had an Easter bunny and baby chicks! She had a blast at both. I think we're ready for the big Easter weekend now!


Saturday, April 16, 2011

Party Animal

We have have celebrated quite a few birthdays in the past few weeks. On April 2, we went to Emmerson's 1st birthday party. She had a pony, pigs, and a baby goat to help her celebrate.







We continued with the farm theme at Chase's birthday on the 3rd. Payton was not in the best of moods at the party, therefore we don't have many good pictures of her. I honestly think that she enjoyed the juice box more than anything!





Lastly, we celebrated Kayden's birthday party today. Jonathan wasn't able to go, so I was trying to play photographer and make sure Payton was behaving. Payton was thrilled when we arrived to find that her best friend, Sophie, would be in attendance. It was neat to watch Kayden, Payton, and Emmerson play (and argue) together with the toys. It's just a reminder of how much they have grown! Kaitlyn did a fabulous job with the cute decorations and cake.





I think we are done celebrating birthdays for a little while. Now we are just gearing up for Easter next weekend!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Loving the sunshine!

We had a wonderful and busy weekend. Payton ended up spending the night with Nana and Pop Friday night, and from what I understand, had the best time. Saturday morning we started out with a playdate with Ava, Kai, and Kaden at Felton Little. Payton had a blast and enjoyed seeing her sweet friends. She was very interested in building sandcastles, which she has never really done before. Maybe it was with Kai's persuasion, but it makes me excited to take her to the lake and play in the sand.




Saturday afternoon I went to a shower for a sweet friend who is expecting her baby boy in a few weeks. Payton hung out and enjoyed some daddy time. Somehow Payton and Ella ended up playing with a water hose. Sunday after church we went to visit Paxton and baby Barrett for a little bit. After a good nap, we decided to give the new pool that Ella gave Payton for her birthday a try. It was definitely a hit!



Each weekend that goes by is making me long more and more for summer. I look forward to spending the weekends not stressing about getting everything done before Monday morning. I ended up grading papers late Sunday night that had been staring at me all weekend.

I still have some catching up to do with pictures. Stay tuned for pictures from Emmerson and Chase's birthday parties, as well as a video if I can ever get it figured out. :)