Photo attempt

Notice the title, ATTEMPT. We booked a mini photo session and Payton cried almost the entire time. It is not like her at all, but she was just not up for pictures. Here are a few that we did manage to get without tears.

You scream, I scream...

we all scream for ice cream! Payton went on her first ice cream date with Paxton this week. She enjoyed a chocolate baby cone. That is until she squeezed it so hard it broke.



In other news, we had a pretty rough week last week. Payton ran a high fever for several days and was not my nomral happy girl. We went to the dr. only to be told it was a virus, she had fluid on her ears, and there was nothing they could do. Of course :) Along with all of that, she has cut three new teeth in the past week. All of this combined = 1 miserable baby (and mama. and daddy.) However, I told Jonathan when he got home from work on Monday that we had our baby back. She is back to normal and happy as can be. We're enjoying hanging out together this week and trying to get outside and play every spare minute it isn't raining (which are very few).
Watch out, here comes trouble!

Here lately...

We have tried to enjoy every sunny day possible. Jonathan even took advantage and attempted a photo shoot a few weeks ago.




As usual, Payton is into everything. After not hearing her for a few minutes, we turned the corner and this is what we found...

My dear sweet childhood friend, Ashley, got married last weekend. We had a wonderful time celebrating. The wedding was amazing, and I couldn't be happier for her and Mark.

Lastly, we are ready for pretty spring days. We stood at the back door singing "Rain, Rain, Go Away" this afternoon.

The big ONE!

Payton had a wonderful time celebrating her first birthday with lots friends and family. I knew I didn't want to host it at our house, so Grady and Vicki were kind enough to allow us to rent the Grove Hill Clubhouse through them. It turned out perfect! The weather was better than we ever imagined it would be. You can't ask for much more than 67 degrees and sunny in February. The kids were able to get outside to play and bounce. Despite the large number of pictures that were taken, I am missing pictures of some of the kids. Thank you so much to everyone who helped Payton celebrate her first birthday. We were definitely reminded yet again of how blessed we are to have so many special people in our lives. Sorry for the overload of pictures, but how do you leave any out???























What do you want me to do with this?

Mommy helped get me started...

Oh, I get the hang of it now.

Mom, you should really try this!

We went to the doctor last Thursday and she had to get four shots. We were a little surprised by her stats. She weighed 19 lbs. 11 oz. (20th percentile), 28 6/8 inches (75th percentile) and her head was 18.5 cm. We are now completely on whole milk and she is doing great with it. Eating on the other hand has become quite a challenge. She really will only eat baby food, bananas, and oatmeal. She has been cutting some teeth lately and I am hoping that it is just that her gums are sore so it hurts to eat anything else. Maybe she will be off baby food before she turns 2!!!
The past year has been incredibly challenging, yet so fun. I can't count the number of times in a day that Jonathan and I tell each other "I love that girl." Happy birthday sweet angel! We feel very blessed to be your parents.

Adjustments

Being a mommy is by far the most rewarding, difficult, fun, and exciting job in the world. Of course there are lots of changes in your life when you have a child. After some resistance, I have accepted some of them such as not going to restaurants and living on a schedule. I have found that life is just easier when you give in. I am okay with that. There's no question that it is worth the sacrifice. However, two things that are still bothering me are this...

and this...

I do not like messes! I am having a very hard time tolerating messy eating. I know everyone says, just let it go, but I can't help it. I also can't keep my house clean for the life of me. Again, everyone says get over it. My hardheaded self just can't accept that answer. I know I will have to get over it very soon, I'm just having a very hard time.
With all that said, how can you be mad when you see this?

SNOW much fun!

Corny title, I know. The blizzard of 2010 has come and gone. Payton's favorite part was watching it from the back door window. When we first took her out, she loved it. But after she fell down and realized just how cold it was, she wasn't a huge fan.





In case you didn't know, Payton just wanted to tell you how old she would be in a few days!