Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

We hope that everyone had a great Christmas surrounded by the ones you love. We felt truly blessed to have so much to celebrate this year and to spend it with so many people who love us. 2010 was a great year for us and we are looking forward to the wonderful things that 2011 has in store for us. Even though it is a little early, Happy New Year!

Last of the gifts exchanged.....

Today we headed to Chrissy's to deliver that last 2 gifts under the tree. Riley and Lucas had a blast playing together. After some happy meals, they also could not wait to try and Riley's present....moon dough! (If you have never played with it....it is an experience all in itself. Not quite sure if I like it yet. But a Riley always says, "it is magic dough because it never dries out!") Layla and Payton had some fun playing on the floor. Layla would have loved to crawl all over Payton if we would have allowed it. It was super cute too because totally unplanned, Layla and Payton had the exact same outfit on, just in different colors. (And even in the same size!) Chrissy and I of course had fun chatting and catching up. Dave was on vacation too, so it was nice for all the adults to be together....and discuss the big IOWA win from the other night. Here are a few pics of the kids.

And a few of them playing with the moon dough.

The day after Christmas

Today we headed out finish our celebrations. We went to Mike's grandma's nursing home and were joined by his dad, Uncle Rod and Aunt Carolee, Matt, Lisa and Jim, and Shannon and her family. Grandma Warren was of course there as well as Grandpa Warren. It was great to all be together to enjoy each others company. We also shared some pizza, sides, and homemade cinnamon rolls (thanks Shannon!). Sorry, but once agan the camera did not come out:( Thanks to Papa Larry for organizing this family get together and making it so nice. It was a wonderful end to a great weekend of celebrations!

Riley continued her fun with a sleepover at Auntie Shannon and Uncle Mike's! She tested out all of their new toys and had a blast:) It is so great that there are so many of them so close in age. In a few years, I am sure that Payton will want in on all the fun!

Christmas Day

Surprisingly, Riley and Payton slept until 8:30 (guess they were worn out from the fiesta last night!). Once up, Riley was downstairs to see if Santa had come and before we could make it down, already unwrapping things. She was so excited to open ALL of our stockings for us. She even sorted things out together that were similar from our stockings. Once she finished stockings, she then opened up her presents. Santa put everything on her list under the tree and that made her very happy. She then opened Payton's presents, which I don't think were quite as exciting. After all the presents were opened, she began playing with them immediately. We had breakfast and then on to get ready for the day. I headed to church soon after and Mike and the girls stayed home to play and get ready. When I got home from church, I was greeted by the cutest thing...wish I would've had my camera. Mike was vacuuming with Payton in the baby bjorn. Riley was helping too I believe and it was just the cutest daddy-daughters moment. (Sorry I only got a few pics of the present opening and all of Riley. Payton was on my lap and it made it tricky to get her in any of them.)

In the afternoon, Erika, Grammy, Papa Bruce, Nana, and Papa T all joined us to continue the celebrations. This year we were also joined by Aunt MaryJo, Uncle Denny, Zach, and Lil! It was so nice to have them here with all of us too. They are usually in Hawaii and therefore it was a special treat. We had lots of great conversation, good food, and of course more presents. Riley helped every person open their presents....no one had to do any work. She was in the Christmas spirit you could say! It was another wonderful day! (Sorry, I did not take any pictures since I was busy being the hostess. Dad got a few and hopefully he will share:) )

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we headed to Granny and Papa Dan's for a fiesta. It has been decided that each year we will celebrate the holiday like they do in other countries. This year we began with Mexico. There were some delicious Mexican foods....even homemade fried ice cream for dessert! There were sombreros, special ornaments, maracas, margaritas, and even a pinata for the kids. Before presents Granny helped them all fill out the passports that she made for them and collected their boarding passes. While waiting on the "plane" she even read them a traditional Mexican Christmas story! The kids listened so intently and really enjoyed the whole experience. (Especially getting weighed and measured for their passports....) It was a great way to celebrate and a lot of fun. Not sure what country is up for next year. Granny set the bar pretty high at this first celebration....not sure if I can volunteer to host one.



And as always, the cousins had so much fun playing together as you will see from some of the pictures.

Payton's 5 Months!

The big day was Sunday, but as usual, I am behind. She has now tried 3 veggies...sweet potatoes, green beans, and peas. The carrots are made and waiting and I cheated and bought the squash, so within the next week she will have tried all the first veggies. And she loves all of them! She continues to not quite get herself to roll over by herself, but she is starting to think about wanting to sit up. If you have her leaning against your legs, she pulls herself up to sitting, and then almost immediately topples forward into your chest. It is a start....and Riley says she just wants to hug me:) She is also reaching for more things and almost everything is going into her mouth (much to our frustration...especially her hands during feeding time...so messy!). Christmas will be so much fun this year...we cannot wait! Riley is pumped for Santa and the girls got some new stockings (which seemed kind of large upon arrival, but oh well!). Tomorrow out fun 3 days of festivities begin!!!!! And I will try my best to capture some of these on film:)

Riley has already begun playing dress up with her little sister!

Fun Videos

Here are a few cute videos of the girls that I have captured over the past few weeks. As you can see, I have been more succesful in getting the Payton giggles on tape. All thanks to big sister Riley! She really can get Payton laughing...and usually by doing the silliest of things...singing songs, walking over her, jumping on the bed, or shaking her from side to side (I promise, it really isn't that rough:0)

Sweet Potatoes and Antibiotics

On Thanksgiving, I whipped up some sweet potatoes for Payton. After her eating cereal for about 4 weeks, we decided on Sunday that she was ready to try some of her first veggies. We thawed a cube and she was all set! I think it is safe to say that she loved them. She ate every bite and did not even spit any out like she does with her cereal. (Which by the way, she is not as in love with.) Today was day 2 and same result at dinner. At the store this weekend I also bought some peas, beans, and carrots so I will be whipping up some more firsts for her soon. Don't know if I will make all of her foods, but my first time proved to be super easy.

Today Payton also had her first trip to the doctor other than a wellness check. She has had a cold for about a week and a half and a cough that does not seem to want to go away. Today I finally decided I would call the doctor and of course given her age, and I think the season, they wanted to see her. She again had a "goupy" eye when I picked her up, so it was probably best she get checked out. They were not too concerned and gave her some medicine for the cough and congestion, as well as some antibiotics since whatever it is keeps hanging around. She took this medicine like candy out of the dropper....we guess she will eat anything that we put into her mouth. Just hope it all helps her get quick fast. Oh and they of course weighed her again. She had all her clothes on but weighed 17 pounds and 13 ounces. I cannot believe how fast she is growing!! I know I keep saying that, but I think that Riley was only 19 pounds 4 ounces at her 1 year check up. A great big thanks to Riley for being such a trooper and great helper on the impromptu doctor visit. Even when we had to run around like crazy since I had no diaper bag and Payton decided to make me a nice "gift"..... (I did have emergency diapers and wipes in the truck thankfully!)

Ready for the Holidays

Today we are finally getting our house ready for the holidays. The tree is up and almost all of the decorations too. Riley was a huge help with the tree and Payton enjoying watching us and playing in her exersaucer. Yesterday I was also able to get some cute photos of the girls that will be coming to a mailbox near you soon:) It really is beginning to feel like the holidays around here. Just this week and next at work for me and then 2 weeks of vacation. It will be so much fun this year for Riley since she is really into Santa and fun to see Payton experience it for the first time (even though she won't really understand much.) Here are a few pictures from today.

Here are some pictures from the "holiday photo shoot" that the girls and I had yesterday. I am pretty pleased at myself for capturing some good ones since both of the girls were not feeling well and I was attempting this all by myself.

First Snow of the Year

While we were sleeping last night, we got our first snow of the year. Riley was so excited to look outside the window when she woke up and couldn't wait to get outside and play. Both Riley and Payton stayed home from school yesterday with Grammy because they were sick, but this wasn't stopping her. After breakfast I bundled her up (think Randy from a Christmas Story) and she and Mike headed out. They shoveled the driveway and then had a blast playing and sliding down the hill. They even made a mountain and she stood on top like the Queen. Mike snapped a few pics:) Payton and I stayed inside and she took a little snooze. When Riley came in she was ready for a bath and then asked to take a nap (I know she wasn't feeling well....). After 4 hours I woke her up...wow!


My goal for the day was also to take the Christmas card photos and despite 2 kids who were not feeling well, I was successful. Here are a few and you can see the rest in another post. Mike was at the Bull's game with some friends, so the girls and I relaxed and cuddled.

My sincere apologies!

To all of our blog followers...I apologize! Since going back to work, I have had a hard time finding the time and energy to update our blog. Having internet on my phone, I can check things quick and don't find myself on the computer much. I am going to do my best to add all of the events I have missed sharing in the last month and a half or so and promise to try and be better with my updates. (Key word is...TRY!) You will need to scroll back in October to see some of the things that I have missed and I will try to put some photos where they fit the best.

Happy Thanksgiving

We hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We felt so blessed to be able to spread ours in 2 great days of food and family!

Here are some pictures from our Sunday Thanksgiving with my family. We had a great meal and enjoyed spending time together. Payton got some Nana and Papa loves and Riley had fun with her Auntie Bika!(And a few other miscellaneous pictures from November.) (Please pardon the lack of Riley photos....she was off hanging out with her Auntie Bika and has also entered the "don't take my picture phase" sometimes.)

On Thanksgiving day we headed to Granny and Papa Dan's. Sorry but the camera never came out:( The cousins once again had a blast playing, the men had fun watching football, and the ladies planned Christmas:)

4 months!

On the 19th, Payton turned 4 months and my how she has changed in the last 4 months. She is now a pro at holding up her head and has good body control when she is sitting up, being held on your hip, or holding hr straight out in the air. She can roll to the side...always seems to the left and if you give her a little nudge she can go all the way over. She is beginning to tolerate tummy time and giggles an babbles up a storm. Lately she also wakes up in the middle of the night, happy as can be, and entertains herself. Mommy can sleep through this but daddy does not enjoy these awake periods. Needless to say we have all been a little tired lately.

At her doctor appointment today, she got the all clear to begin solids. We will try cereal for a bit and then there is no specific time we need to wait for veggies and fruits. I am even going to try my hand at making some of my ow this time too:) She is a super happy baby and fills our house with so much joy! The girls complete us and make us a happy family! (I am not closing the door on more later down the road....even though Mike doesn't agree with that:) )

Here is how Payton measured up at her check up:
16 pounds, 4 ounces (93rd %tile)
25 1/4 inches ((84th %tile)

She is bigger than what Riley was at 4 months...but who is surprised?! Not to mention that she started off almost 2 pounds bigger:)

(And since I am posting these after the fact....I can cheat a little:) Here are some of her first attempts at cereal.)

Halloween 2010

We had a great Halloween this year. Yesterday, the neighbor had a kids party and Riley had a blast! Se loved all the games, wearing her costume, and playing with all the kids. Payton enjoyed the party from the baby Bjorn and even fell asleep in it for a bit:) After the party, Granny and Papa Dan came over for some fun. We had pizza and carved pumpkins. The kids had a blast with them and Riley had fun carving the pumpkins and riding around on Papa Dan's shoulders. Check out this cool pumpkin Mike and Riley made.....

This year Riley may have had more fun handing out the candy then actual trick or treating:) She was so cute as all the kids came and at one point even took her chair outside to wait for more visitors! She was extra sad when we told her that it was over and no more kids would be coming. This is a big step from previous years, when she was afraid of all the costumes. The neighbor and I did take the kids out for a bit and each year we see how much better they are getting with it. This year, we were able to stand at the side walk and the 3 of them would go up to the door all by themselves. Payton had a little stuffy nose, so she stayed at home with Daddy and snoozed in the swing.

We hope that everyone had a great Halloween!

Payton wins!

My friend Chrissy's little girl, Layla, is a petite little girl. She started out under 6 pounds and has not packed on the weight like Payton has. Layla is 3 months ahead of Payton....

Today we headed over to keep Chrissy, Lucas, and Layla company....Dave was camping with a friend. We can never resist comparing the two girls and surprisingly for the difference in age, Payton is bigger! We snapped a few pics of the girls side by side and our little girl is not only heavier but probably longer too:) Chrissy and I enjoyed our time chatting and the kids had fun playing.

3 Months

Today Payton is 3 months. She is adjusting very well to daycare and all the ladies there love her. Mommy is doing just fine too and Riley is loving that her baby sister is there with her now. They have even let her "sneak" over to the baby side to see her sister before nap each day, which makes her so happy.

As I was giving Payton a bath tonight, I realized I have not gotten any bath shots recently. Which by the way she loves her baths and no longer uses the newborn insert, so she is beginning to experiment with kicking her feet in the water. I still could not since I did not have my camera, but snapped a few when I was getting her in her pj's. It has been a while since you have seen her in her diaper...so enjoy:)She is definitely going to be a bigger baby than Riley was. Mike and I both agree that we would both guess she is about 15 lbs.