Park Day

We were blessed with gorgeous weather this weekend, so we took advantage of as much outdoor time as we could. Sunday morning, our church had their 6th Annual Caring For Katy. Each year, instead of going to church on Sunday morning, we head out into our community and love on it. We all have different projects, and our class headed to the YMCA Day Camp to help build a deck and make homeless packages to hand out. It was such a blessing to work together to serve others, but even cooler by the fact that Mason was helping build the deck too. Taylor and Peyton were at the church in childcare, but apparently they made homeless care packages as well.

 

After some much needed naps, we decided to spend the rest of the day outside. We have a ton of awesome parks in our town, which means they never get bored.

 



 The bond between Mason and Peyton is so strong and I love how he watches out for her.

 

 Mason was nice enough to share his sunglasses with her.

 

 Taylor

 

 Sisters and best friends.

 

 She still fits in the baby swings.

 

 Peyton loved the wind blowing in her hair.

 

I adore these three!

Ouchies

Yesterday morning before taking Mason to school, I was busy getting breakfast made when Taylor announced that she needed to go potty. It had been awhile, so I knew she was busy playing in the bathroom, so I decided to surprise her by opening the door quickly. As I opened the door, I didn't realize until it was too late that I opened it right onto to Taylor's face, knocking her to the ground.

 

She began crying immediately and it was the type of cry where I knew she was hurt. I noticed a cut from the door knob under her eye. I felt like the worst mom and was so upset, but tried to hide that as I comforted her and cleaned it up. As soon as she was calmed down, I lost it.

 

Thankfully, as we drove Mason to school, Mason told her how she was the bravest little girl he knew. The biggest smile appeared on Taylor's face. He made her day! My mom also saved the day bringing Taylor flowers.

 

 Right after the incident.

Poor girl, such as sad face.



Taylor with the flowers from Mimi.

Friends, Life and Babies

God has blessed me with some amazing friends in my life. One of my best friends, Jeanna, I have known for 9 years. Honestly, we were destined to be friends because our friendship blossomed right away. God's timing is always perfect! We have experienced life together. We were in each other's weddings and now we both get to experience parenting together.

 We have traveled across the country together, twice, and didn't drive the other insane.

 

 New Year's Eve 2005.

 

 Jeanna and her husband sometime in 2005.

 

 She was one of the first people to hold Mason.

 

 New Year's Eve 2007, right before we moved to California.

 

 She was the first person I knew to run a Half Marathon.

 

 Celebrating her Half in 2010 at the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon

 

 Visiting us in Cali in 2010

 

At Jeanna's Baby Shower in December

 

Any day now, Jeanna will deliver a handsome little boy. The road leading to this pregnancy has been extremely difficult for her and her husband. They have prayed for this day for several years and now it is anxiously upon them.I admire her so much and all that she has endured to get to this point. She has loved on all three of my little ones and I honestly can't wait to love on Daniel.

My Valentine's

We had a very busy Valentine's Day, but I was able to catch some pictures with my sweet Valentine's.

Picture Overload

I haven't been able to upload any pictures or video for awhile, because Internet Explorer had a bug and wouldn't let me. I was too lazy to use a different browser and thankfully they fixed the issue. Here are a few pictures from the last month or so.

 Peyton at 15 months

 

 The headband lasted on her head long enough for me to take a picture.

 

 She will Taylor's tiara for 3 hours straight but getting her to wear a bow is difficult.

 

Eating breakfast

 

Taylor was given this adorable coat from her "Aunt Taylor" (my cousin Taylor) and loved wearing it to church one chilly morning.  

 Peyton finally let me put this on her head after 8 months of no bows or headbands. She actually wore it for almost an hour.

 

 Trying to get a picture with the kids is hard when they are constantly on the go.

 

 We have had some really nice spring like weather lately, and we are taking full advantage of outdoor time. A few weekends ago, we took the kids up to the school by our house so they could ride their bikes.

 

 Taylor is still trying to get the hang of things.

 

 Our local Chick Fil A hosted a Father-Son Night a few weeks ago.

 

 Mason and Daddy playing Table Football. Mason's principal is in the background with his son.

 

 I cannot braid hair, but thankfully my mom and sister can. Taylor took advantage of Mimi time the other morning and wanted to pose for pictures. So much sass!

 

 Peyton took her brothers sunglasses and tried them on. Super cool!

 

 Yesterday was the 100th Day of School for Mason. Each student was asked to dress as a 100 yr old person. I attempted to draw wrinkles on his forehead and put some baby powder in his hair.

This sweet girl is almost 4 years old.

 

15 Months

I have started writing this post several times, only to delete and start all over again. Our littlest is 15 months today and I love watching her change and grow. We are at such a fun stage, but to be honest, it doesn't come with concerns on my part.

Peyton is talking or babbling all the time and can express how she feels with no problem. She shakes her head yes or no when you ask her questions. I never knew how opinionated a 15 month old little girl could be. The other day I was trying to get Peyton dressed for the day and picked out her clothes. Unfortunately, she is in a stage where staying still during diaper changes is a struggle. Not only was she wiggling every which way, but she didn't like the outfit I picked out and let me know. She wanted to wear her monkey pj's and kept telling me no every time I tried to get her dressed.

The strong will is proving to be an issue with walking. That is correct, she is 15 months and is not walking on her own yet. This is where my concern lies. Little miss can get around rather quickly by "walking on her knees" or crawling, but she doesn't attempt to walk on her own. She will pull up on the couch, but lacks the confidence or will to keep going.  If I hold her hands, she will walk but that is only if she is in the mood. This is where her strong will comes to play.

Adam and I have discussed this and we have determined that we don't think it has anything to do with muscle mass. It takes more balance to "walk on her knees" than it does on her feet. Her legs are strong and she will walk in a walker, so that is where we think the strong will and confidence come into play. It's hard to see other kids younger than her walking. I try not to compare. I pray about it and work with her daily. The other day, she pushed a toy from her room all the way to the living room on her own while walking. I was so proud and this is the first time she had done it. I was able to capture the last of it on video.

Now that Peyton is older, I have really started to see the bond between Taylor and her grow. They play together, laugh and just love spending time together. Last night I sat in the living room as I listened to them laugh and play instead of going to sleep. I would have stopped them, but I enjoyed the entertainment. We are so in love with our sweet little girl and love watching her grow into a little toddler.


*****Edit******
I first wrote this post on Monday and today is Wednesday. Since then I was reminded of something pretty amazing, well at least it is amazing to me. My best friend and I were talking yesterday morning and she reminded me that God intended for all of us to struggle, even babies. We have to struggle to overcome and move forward. It was an "ah-ha" moment and I immediately thought of Peyton. Since Monday, she has preferred to walk(while still holding my hands) rather than crawl. Baby steps, literally.

Also I would have posted video and pictures but for some reason I'm having a hard time getting the blog to work this morning.

2012 in Review

 Peyton at 3 months

 Valentine's Day

 First time in the bumbo

 Taylor's 3rd Birthday

 

 Mother's Day

 Mason with Great Grandma O

 Taylor and Great Grandma O

 Peyton got her ears pierced at 7 months

 Silly cousins at the splash pad

 Taylor and Aunt Taylor

 Dress like a cow

 Funniest picture of Taylor ever!

 Peyton & Gram

 Mason turns 5

 Taylor's big girl bed

 Best Friends

 Pirates

 Mason's first football game

 Mason's first day of Kindergarten

 With my cousin Taylor at the first Baylor football game of the season

 Mason & Taylor at Floyd Casey Stadium

 With Uncle David

 Go Baylor Bears!

 Mason gets the Golden Ball

 Peyton & Granddad's Birthday

 Peyton turns 1

 Halloween

 First camping trip

Happy New Year!