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!!! :-)

For your viewing pleasure...

CHEESE!!

Our little mama loves to help out with her baby sister...even though sometimes Payton isn't always so happy about it!!

But she is a very happy little baby!! We love to hear her laugh!

Is it Christmas yet????

A wonderful and MUCH NEEDED gift!!

Yesterday, my fabulous friend Cassie called and asked if I had plans for today. I told her I didn't and so she said she and Shanah, another fabulous friend, were going to kidnap my girls for the day so I could do whatever I wanted!!!! REALLY????!!!! Could it be true...some time JUST for myself??? This couldn't have come at a better time. Both girls have had sleeping issues lately and so I've been very sleep deprived which doesn't help with all other aspects of my life at this point. It was JUST want I needed.

So this morning, knowing my girls were in very capable hands...I set off to run a few errands that were MUCH easier without two kids in tow. And then I came home and had an uninterrupted nap until these sweet ladies brought my girls home. It was heavenly, to say the least. Although, the entire time, I had feelings of guilt for leaving the girls, combined with feelings of relief for not having them with me....and then more feelings of guilt at feeling that relief. It's a vicious circle!! But it definitely rejuvenated me. So thank you again Cassie and Shanah, you both are wonderful!!

Bathing Suit Beauties!!

Can you tell who is who???

(Top/Left: Alexa, Bottom/Right: Payton)

Some peeps have told me the pics appear side by side on their computer but they're showing up top and bottom on mine??!!! Weird.

I seriously get a kick out of how much these two look alike!!

Summer is quickly passing us by! :-( And it's been a very rainy summer at that. So when a sunny day comes along...we try to head outside and make the most of it. This was Payton's first actual dip in the pool. She's been TO the pool many times before, but this was her first time wearing a bathing suit and actually getting the the water. She enjoyed it for about 10 - 15 minutes and then preferred sitting with daddy on the side. Alexa, on the other hand, would live in the water if we would let her. She's become quite the fish this summer. We might have to enroll her in swimming lessons soon!

Payton's Nursery - Custom Made!!

Here it is!!

When we found out we were having another girl, I decided that it would probably be best to get all new crib bedding as Alexa was VERY attached to her crib at the time. I figured she would adjust better to a new sibling using the crib if it didn't look like her bed at all anymore. And since I LOVE pink & brown together, I wanted to go with that color scheme. However, I just couldn't find anything that I really loved. But I told my mom that pink and brown were the colors if she wanted to make a quilt to go along with whatever bedding I chose.

Days and weeks passed and I finally decided I'd just order or buy something while my mom was here instead of before since we didn't move Alexa from the crib until just 3 weeks before Payton was born. And in order for her to make the move to the big girl bed, we had to completely take down the crib...so I wasn't planning on putting it back up until Payton was a couple months old and ready to move into the girls' room...so we had time.

Well, my mom shows up with this BEAUTIFUL quilt she made, PLUS all the leftover material and says, if I want, she can just make a crib skirt to go with it. And just like that, she whipped up a crib skirt with no pattern!! Amazing. So we got pink sheets to match and a brown bumper pad and we were good to go. I absolutely LOVE my custom made crib bedding. Thank you mom, it turned out wonderful and I know Payton will love her quilt and pillow for years to come.

She's been sleeping soooo much better since we decided to put her in her own room. So that's what we spent last week (Kevin's week off) doing. Getting everything organized and moved around so that both girls could have their own room...and it's worked out great.

See...she already DOES love it!!

Although, silly me, I thought by them not sharing a room, I wouldn't have TWO kids up all night long, but the past several days, Alexa has done just that regardless. Not sure what's going on in her little world these days...but she better start sleeping ALL night long again soon before this tired mama goes crazy!!

And here's the grouping of pictures I put above Payton's changing table. Thanks again Amanda for taking these beautiful pictures. To see more of Amanda's fabulous talent, go here.