Accident Prone??

So today Alexa got her first major black eye (at least I THINK it's her first). She was playing with a friend and got bumped right next to her eye resulting in an immediate black eye. It doesn't look so bad in this picture but it definitely got worse (since I'm backdating this post and actually writing it from the future.....scary, I know!!!). But this incident started off a chain of accidents for our little lady. It seemed like every time she turned around, she was bumping into something or falling and scraping a knee.

Hopefully the stars will realign and soon move onto some other poor unfortunate soul!!

We are a happy fa-mi-ly!!

Once again, Alexa was playing out on the front porch while it was raining. I was inside folding laundry and heard her singing and couldn't believe I was successful in capturing some of it on video. At first, before I got the camera going, she was singing about waiting for daddy to come home. Then it switched to "happy family". What a cute girl we have!!

Rollin', Rollin'...almost!!!

Payton has been trying for a couple days now to roll from her back to her tummy. She's sooooo almost there, she just can't figure out how to get her little arm out from under her so she can fully complete the roll. It's pretty cute watching her try though.

**Rolling Update: The very next day, I went in to get her from her nap and her little head was peeking at me over her bumper pad in her crib!! Our little lady finally managed to complete the rolling over! Yay Payton!!

Singin' in the Rain!

Alexa LOVES the rain! We finally got her her very own little umbrella and to say she was excited was an understatement. After church today, she played outside in the rain for quite some time...loving every minute of it.

I just can't get enough...

...of her sweet smile, her beautiful eyes, her chubby rolls, those cheeks...ALL of it!!! We love this little girl sooooooo much and are so grateful she is a part of our family!

Twinkle, Twinkle...

Payton has become quite the talker. She jabbers on and on during the majority of her waking hours! This time though Alexa wanted to have her share of the limelight. And boy did she perform!! Usually she shies away once the camera comes out and she knows we're trying to capture some video. But I just love her rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...she surprised both Kevin and I by singing ALL of the words. We didn't know she knew it all so well!! Smart little girl!

Splish Splash I was Takin' a Bath...

...all of on a Saturday night!!

After the tailgate party tonight, I came home alone to get both girls ready for bed and decided to cut bath time duty in half since Kevin had to stay and help clean up. Normally the girls bathe separately but it was already way past Alexa's bedtime, and I just didn't have the energy to do it twice. So they got to have tubby time together. Thanks to the bumbo for keeping Payton safe while we scrubbed and rinsed.

I'm sure there will be many more shared splishes and splashes to be had in the days to come!

A-R-I-Z-O-N-A...gooooooo Wildcats!!

We had the 1st Annual Louisville 1st Ward Tailgate Party tonight. It was Kevin's idea and he was soooo excited. He has missed being able to see all of the Arizona games on TV, as being out east, they're not always televised. And he's definitely looking forward to moving back home to be able to tailgate in style. But we did our best for our ward party and totally thought we were going to win the award for most team spirit! Boy we were wrong!!! The V. family went out and practically bought out the UofL store...so we had to take 2nd place. But we had a great time and it was a fabulous ward activity. We're sad that we won't be around for the 2nd Annual!

Newfound Freedom....

...AND entertainment! Goodbye swing...hello exersaucer!! The swing is seriously a thing of the past...Payton has no interest in it anymore. She wants to be up, seeing what's going on in this crazy world around her!

First Piggy!!

Yay!!! We can do Payton's hair in pig tails now!! Actually, we probably could have done piggies on her right when she was born...but I wanted to spare her tender newborn head the pain!! Anyways, isn't she just the most adorable thing you've ever seen???? :-)

Aren't they BOTH the most adorable things you've ever seen???!!! I love my girls so much. And thankfully Alexa thinks her baby sister is pretty cool so we don't have to give her back!

Another First!!

We attempted to start Payton on solid foods..."attempted" being the key word. She didn't like the rice cereal at all. We tried it a couple of times and just no interest...and so we decided to hold off and try again after we get back from our trip to Arizona next month. I really didn't feel like taking a bunch of baby food with me...yeah, I'm lazy, what's it to ya???!!!

Look who's SITTING!!

Okay, so it's not a full-on, straight up sit - it's more like a three-point stance :-) ...but

Payton is getting there!!

Payton: 4 Months Old!!!

Our sweet baby girl is 4 months old today!

We had her 4 month well check yesterday and here are her stats:

Weight: 16 lbs 14 oz (97%)

Height: 24 1/4" (50%)

She also got 2 shots and one oral vaccine and she did great. She even got bandaids that matched her cute skirt...what a stylish little girl!! Some things that Payton is doing now: starting to sit on her own (albeit unsteadily), sleeping longer stretches (her good nights are 9pm - 4:30am), "talking" pretty much all the time, laughing on a regular basis (especially when Alexa is around), and has her mommy and daddy wrapped around her little fingers! She is such a joy to our family...I just can't get enough of kissing those cheeks!

Happy 4 Months little lady!!

Kentucky State Fair, Ya'll!!

Howdy Pardner! We ventured to the Kentucky State Fair today...our LAST State Fair in Kentucky! :-( And it was so much fun. Alexa LOVED it. And Kevin and I loved watching Alexa enjoy herself so much. We saw tons of animals - sheep, pigs, chickens, goats, cows, bulls, horses, ponies, bunnies, llamas, pigeons - and Alexa loved it all. She got a little scared when it was so noisy where the cows were, but other than that, she was in heaven.

This pig was HUGE!!!

And this was our favorite...they take their white supremacy seriously 'round these parts!!

Our little family enjoying watching the horses and eating some caramel popcorn.

This was so cool...an entire exhibit made out of balloons!

And Alexa was super excited about this....going on a "daddy bus". She's been able to go with Kevin on a couple occasions to ride the bus to school and absolutely loves it, so when she saw the bus, it was a must to go on for a bit. Even mommy and Payton ventured on!!

And then it was time for rides. We were a little unsure how Alexa would do as this was the first year she was big enough....and she LOVED it! No hesitation whatsoever. Our baby girl is growing up! Here she is enjoying the bumper boats.

She loved being able to drive this car by herself.

We all went on the Ferris Wheel and were lucky enough to be the first riders of the day...so we were all by ourselves and they let us go round and round and round and round and...you get the picture!! Alexa actually got tired of being on it several rounds before they actually let us off!!

And, of course, the carousel...Alexa picked out her own horse, the yellow one with pink hair...and she didn't want to get off of it!!

Then she went on the roller coaster all by herself. At first, you can see a little trepidation in her face...but by the second go 'round, she was having a blast!

All of us after enjoying some fair food...you can't go to the fair and NOT get some greasy, overpriced food!! The smell just lures you in! Payton even woke up for this part...not that she could partake of the food though, poor thing!!

It's sad to think that this was our last time going to the fair here. We've really enjoyed our time in Kentucky, but with each new "last" thing we do, the realization that "real life" is just around the corner, continues to set in. And with that, having to say goodbye to many, many wonderful friends we've made along the way. Sniff, Sniff...okay, we'll try not to think about that until the time actually comes!

Deep Fried Bliss!!!

A DEEP FRIED SNICKERS

If you have never tried one, you really have got to!!! It is amazing! Mmmmm...I'm still dreaming about it...warm and gooey and just plain amazing. Really, it's the main reason we go to the Kentucky State Fair!! :-) The picture below doesn't do it justice!

Enjoying our week's worth of calories on a stick!!! But oh so worth it!!! :-)