It's been too Long...

I haven't blogged since Jordyn's first birthday....that was in the middle of September! Oops! Sorry! We have had a lot happen since then! Payton turned 3 on November 14, 2012; we spent Thanksgiving in Chicago with my family; we spent 12 whole days in Nebraska with Halley's family for Christmas; and enjoyed a child-free Faithwalkers (our church's annual conference).

Thanksgiving was SO much fun, see!

We also had a great time in Nebraska for Christmas!

The girls thoroughly enjoyed the puppies at Grandma and Papa's house. They still talk about them and are excited to go back and see them sometime.

Januray has brought lots of cold weather, the beginning of Preschool for Payton, and longing for summer days at the park.

Happy 1st Birthday, Jordyn!

It's hard to believe that it has been one year since Jordyn was born! She has grown so much, and I can't imagine life without her! Jordyn was such an easy, easy baby. I was truly blessed to have her as my second child, because it made life with two seem bearable.

Here are a few pictures of our little girl :) 



And now, here are some pictures of our big girl!

My how she has grown! Jordyn is such a beautiful girl, and I wouldn't trade her for anything! Jordyn loves to play with her big sister, and she especially loves to be chased or chase after her. It makes my heart melt to see them when they are playing together. I am just so excited to see how their relationship will grow as they get older, and as Jordyn can do more things with Payton.

Here are a few things about Jordyn:

• She absolutely LOVES her dad, and will cry when he gets home from work because she doesn't know how else to express to us that she just wants Halley to hold her. The second he picks her up, she is all smiles and gives him immediate hugs!
• She does not like to be left in a room by herself, and so my day is full of little pidder pats as I walk around the house.
• She is a great sleeper - unless sick or teething.
• Eating is a different story. She is quite picky, but you never know what she will choose to be picky about on what day - she sure keeps me on my toes though!
• Teething is painful for Jordyn (unlike Payton).

I guess I could go on and on about how wonderful Jordyn is, but I won't! I NEVER imagined that I could be SO in love with a little girl, let alone TWO little girls. My girls are such a joy. Jordyn is such a joy!

Happy Birthday Jordyn Nicole! I love you more than words, and I wish I could express how much I do love and cherish you. You have been an amazing "baby", and your dad and I can't wait to see you grow up (but don't do it too quickly please!).

Creativity at its FINEST!

If you know me, you know I am NOT creative...not in the least. God must of left that gene out of me! BUT, today, Payton and I were extremely creative if you ask me! We made a homemade bird feeder. Now, I don't know if this is really how you do it, or even if it will work. But we will wait and see!

I saved a few toilet paper rolls, bought a LARGE (I couldn't find a small bag) of bird seed, and we of course had some peanut butter on hand. So with these three ingredients and an excited two and a half year old, we were set to go!

We first spread the peanut butter, then rolled it in some bird seed, glued it to a paper plate, and VOILA, our own bird feeder! Oh what fun we had!

Payton was SO proud of herself! She did enjoy eating the peanut butter at the end of our process!  While we waited for the glue to dry, we had a small snack to ease the waiting period.

She was SO proud of her creation!

 

Then came the hard part of deciding where to place our bird feeder. We tested out a few places. One was on top of the grill...it was a tad bit windy, so I had to convince her to find another place. We ended up on the table, and we have been anxiously watching and waiting to see if a bird will eat anything! As of now, we have had no sitings....but I hope we do see one soon! Payton will be so sad if a bird does not endulge her sweet sweet creation!



I sure hope that this leads me to find more projects for my girls and I to do together! If you have any easy ideas, send them my way!!!

4th of July!

Where has the summer gone?! I am such a bad blogger, forgive me! But here is a new post with tons of pictures!!!

For the Fourth of July, Payton, Jordyn, and I headed out to my dad's lake house on Tuesday morning. We made the 6 hour drive to Lake Villa, Illinois and the girls did do incredibly well! 

We had somewhat of a longer stop than when we are with Halley, but we enjoyed our time out of the car, eating McDonalds (very rare!), and stretching our legs. 

As you can tell, even Jordyn enjoyed the visit! 

The minute (literally) we arrived, it was non-stop fun! Swimming, boat rides, waverunner rides, swimming, playing kitchen, and SWIMMING! Here is a picture of the beautiful lake. I grew up here in the summers, and enjoyed it SO much. What better way to enjoy the 4th of July then with this view! 

Jordyn had a great time exploring a new territory, as well as "helping" me load the dishwasher...as you can see, she was unloading it for me! 

 It was so much fun to see a lot of our toys and baby items that were saved throughout the years. Here is our high chair!

Play Food...Play Kitchen...what could be better! Payton had a blast enjoying all the play food that Jenny and I played with growing up. It was so much fun! Here she set the table as she anxiously awaited Halley's arrival on Friday. 

Since the 4th landed on such a silly day, Halley was unable to take work off. But he did get to join us on Friday! After work, he flew to enjoy all the fun, and Payton literally couldn't wait to show him everything! 

Such a sweet photo! Payton didn't leave his side once he got there! They enjoyed the sunset together, which is one of Halley's favorite things to do! 

Safety first, right?!! 

Payton also just adores her Aunt Jenny! I don't think Jenny has ever had this much fun in her entire life!  Ha! Payton had her going, going, going all week long.

Snack time! Payton was eating TONS (which for my child is rare) while we were at the lake. She was a non-stop ball of energy, so had to refuel often!

Jordyn loved all the water activities - and here she is before we left the dock on a boat ride! She is ready to GO GO GO! 

In Lake Villa, the fireworks were on Saturday night. This was great, since Halley didn't get in till Friday. Halley loves fireworks, so I am glad he was able to enjoy them with us! Payton lasted about 5 minutes, until our neighbors decided to let off crazy loud ones. She then got scared and asked to go to bed. Yes, my daughter asks to go to bed! But I was able to capture this sweet picture of them before she ran off! 

We had an awesome week, and it feels good to be back home. Our girls are growing up, and enjoying summer so much. We are so blessed to be able to see family often, as we are heading out for another vacation in just two weeks with my mom! We are looking forward to a girls week plus Halley (he will be fed well!) in Michigan. My mom, sister, and grandma will all be there, so we should have another vacation filled with lots of water activities! 

Payton's First Hair Cut

Payton got her first haircut today, Sunday, April 29, 2012! I don't know why I was so worried about her getting it, but I was! Halley asked me this morning if we should do it today, and I said, oh no, Sarah is too busy I am sure with her family to be able to cut Payton's hair. But alas, Sarah was more than willing, and did a great job! Sarah is one of our dear friends, who does an awesome job at many "beauty" related items. I have decided she will be my new hair stylist!

Here was our before picture. Payton was a little skeptical, but she did a great job!

Sarah just talked Payton through everything she was doing, but Payton sure did love having her hair wet by the squirt bottle!

My gorgeous little girl!

And here we go!

Sarah was very kind, and didn't cut too much off her hair! She just evened it all out, so that it wasn't so choppy! Here are some little curls on the ground! There was more hiding, but you get the point :)

And of course, we had an audience from Lucy and Jack! Payton loves playing with these two and was very sad when we had to leave!

I am SO thankful for great friends who take time to also care for my children just like their own! Thanks again Sarah, you are the best!!