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.

Our Girls

I know I have not added any pictures in a while....sorry. On Saturday I tried my hand at being the photographer for the girls. It did not go quite as well as I had hoped, but got a few pictures of them nonetheless. I apologize for Riley's crazy grin and was not able to capture Payton with one of her big smiles. I will keep trying, but for now these will have to do.

On Tuesday, Payton will be 3 months already! My how the time is just flying. This week will be my second full week and her first week at daycare. Mom was so nice and stayed with us last week to help me transition back to working mom again. This week will be the true test of getting two kids out the door on time and getting myself to work on time as well (actually I like to get there early, since I have things to accomplish before the arrival of the kids.) She continues to grow and change every day. No idea how much she weighs now, but we know she is constantly growing heavier and longer too. She teased me by sleeping through the night for 6 nights in a row, but has been up once the past 3. Guess I got excited too early. She is becoming more active, perfecting her smile, and finding her voice. I keep trying to capture this but when I try, she becomes completely silent. Hoping she adjusts fine to being at daycare.

Riley continues loving being a big sister. She is also excited that Payton will now be at the same place that she is. She has done an excellent job at transitioning back to going to preschool/daycare all day long. She continues to amaze us with how smart and grown up she is getting! Recently she has begun spelling out some words and is always asking us how to spell words so that she can write them out. It is too cute. The best are the notes she puts in daddy's lunch. She writes her name, then mommy, and then from. I know it brings a smile to Mike's face when he opens his lunch to see the note! We are so proud of the big girl that she is....and how well she has done with the changes over the past 3 months.

Just a few pictures

Here are a few pictures that I have taken over the past week of the girls.

One Final Outing

Today the girls and I met mom and dad at the zoo. I go back to work on Friday, so it was our last outing of my maternity leave:( It was also Payton's first time at the zoo (well, out in the real world that is...she took a few trips while in my belly). It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time. Payton was a super good girl, she only had to eat twice and just let her "mark" a few places around the zoo. Riley was her usual big girl self and had a blast having fun with Grammy and Papa. We thoroughly enjoyed our day and I am sad that it is our last big during the week adventure. It guess that is the life of a working mom though. Fortunately I will have many long weekends and breaks ahead of me. And school will be a quarter of the way done at the end of my first week. I think I can do it:) Mom is also going to be a HUGE help in helping me with this transition. She is going to stay with us for that first week, so Payton can have a week to adjust a bit to having me gone and so I can adjust to being a working mom again before having to get 2 to daycare. She really is the BEST...I know I say that a lot, but I really mean it.

Under the Big Top!!!

A few weeks ago I saw in the paper that the circus was coming to Channahon. I asked Mike if he wanted to go and he made a face, so instead I invited Grammy and Papa Bruce. And of course they said yes! Thursday was the big day and we had a blast!!!! The circus had way more than I had expected. Before entering the circus they had lots of animals to ride and see....elephants, camels, ponies, and snakes. I tried so hard to convince Riley to ride an elephant or camel, but had no luck. (She wouldn't even ride a pony....) Inside was just as much fun and way more to see. The circus lasted almost 2 hours including the intermission and had all the fun circus things...cotton candy, popcorn, and a green light sabre. There were many fun acts including tigers, clowns, a juggler, an acrobatic family, and a flame eater. I forgot my camera, but papa got lots of great ones that I will post when he shares them with me. Thank you to Grammy and Papa for going with me and Riley and to the Kelly Miller Circus for a great time!
(Mike and Payton enjoyed cuddling at home. She slept almost the whole time....even through a feeding!)