Payton's 1st Day of "School"

Well Payton had her first day of school/mothers day out yesterday!  She will go two days a week from 9-2:30.  Unfortunately, my camera was completely dead Thursday morning so I was stuck with my phone- which doesn't take great pictures.  Payton did great at school!  She walked right in her classroom and didn't look back when I dropped her off.  Mamma may have shed some tears but she was trooper and didn't cry a bit.  Her teachers said she did great!  And she was in a great mood when I picked her up.  I didn't really know what to do with myself after I dropped her off lol.  I got so much done with my alone time.  I know in a few months that will all change because I will have another precious baby girl to take care of but I sure am enjoying it now :)

Yes I took a picture of her lunch lol

Doesn't seem too excited...

When I first put her backpack on she fell over

Goodbye Summer 2012

Well Summer is over!  And as much as I love the summer, I love fall and the holidays even more.  I am so ready for football, pumpkins, cooler weather, leaves falling (although not looking forward to picking them up), getting dark earlier and all the smells that come with fall!  I know the cooler weather is still a little ways off but I am excited for when it comes!  So I made a summer "bucket list" in May.  Lets see how we did :)

1.  Lots of Swimming-  We sure did a ton of swimming!  She loves swimming at her Nana's and MeMe's.  And since it is still hot outside- the swimming days are not over just yet :)  (just a few pics- I didn't take too many of her swimming cause we did it a ton)

 

 

2.  Dallas World Aquarium-  Unfortunately, we never made it to the Aquarium.  We were going to go last week but because of all the mosquitos around I decided not to take her.  I did take her to the Children's Museum instead.  Maybe one weekend we will take her.    

 3.  ZOO-  We did make it to the Zoo this summer, despite the heat.  We went in the morning for a few hours so it wasn't so bad.  Payton loved the Zoo.  We will be going a lot more once the heat goes down!  We went with Joanna, her cousin, and her cousin's two boys.  Payton loved being with older kids!

  

 

 

4.  Little Gym Class once a week-  She loved going to the little gym.  Because school (and its so expensive) we will not be doing little gym this fall.   

 

These were taken last semester.  I didn't take any over the summer!

5.  Play dates-  We had a few play dates this summer.  Not as many as I would of liked but because of work and not feeling great we didn't get to squeeze more in.

 

6.  Water Park-  Didn't make it to a water park this summer.  I feel like she is a little too young for that still.  

7.  Library Story time-  Nope :(
8.  Lots of Park time-  Yup!  Payton loves the park!  And we were there whenever the weather was nice enough!  

9.  Ranger Game-  Yup!  I made it to 4 Ranger games this season!!  I love Ranger games.  Jonny made it to two!  We are going to take Payton to one next month.  Hopefully it will be cooler and she will enjoy it.  

 

 

 10.  Picnics-  We had one at the park! 

11.  Children's Museum-  Yup!  We made it to the children's museum last week.  It wasn't as cool as I remember as a kid but it was nice to be out of the house and Payton enjoyed it.  She loved the Aquarium there way more than the Science part. 

12.  A week with Aunt Maddie in Plano-  While I was in Alaska Aunt Maddie took Payton for a week.  They had lots of fun!  And I think Maddie decided that she is not going to have kids for some time lol.  

13.  Lake Fun-  Nope :(
14.  Date Nights-  Yup!  We did enjoy a few date nights!  And we celebrated our 4th Anniversary!  Thankful for Jonny's parents who kept Payton over night several times so we could have time alone and sleep in a little :)
15.  Gender Reveal Party- YES!!  We found out we are having a precious little girl!  Thankful for the family who came to celebrate with us.  We can't wait to meet her. 

 

16.  Clean Garage-  We still have some work to do but its getting there :) 

17.  Move- We are still looking at houses- taking our time.  But we are in the process for sure! 
18.  Catch up on my scrap-booking and journaling-  Still have some stuff to do but I am way ahead :)
19.  Get back yard nice looking
20.  Have a girls weekend-  Sadly it never happened :(  Just too busy with everyones schedule

So 15 out of 20 isn't bad!!  Thankful for a slow summer with work so me and Payton could hangout and do lots of fun things!  

My baby is growing up!

Where did my baby go??  I can't believe Payton is almost 2!  Although it seems like forever ago that we were bringing her home from the hospital- I still can't believe how fast she has grown!  So Payton starts "school" on Thursday.  She will be going to Fielder Road's ECC.  I am a little sad but mostly excited for her!  I think she is gonna love it.  And its only 2 days a week from 9-2.  We had parent night Monday and then meet the teacher today.  Her teachers are really sweet and she already loves playing in her classroom.  She has been walking around the house all day with her backpack on her back.  It's super cute.  Hopefully, the drop off will go smoothly and there won't be much separation anxiety.  She has been with me, my mom, or my brother everyday since she was born so we will see how she adjusts!  Im excited for all this semester is going to bring :)  And I am a horrible picture taker so this is all I got of her meeting her teacher- not great but here they are:  

27 Weeks.

I am 27 weeks today!!  That means I am a week away from my 3rd trimester!  I am feeling pretty good these days.  The nausea and headache days seem to be in the distant past- Praise Jesus!  Got to hear our sweet baby girls heartbeat today.  She sounded great :)  Also had my glucose test this morning.  Everything looked great!  She is pretty active- mainly at night when I am trying to sleep :)  We still don't have a name for our little girl but hopefully it will come to us soon.  We are open to suggestions :)  Can't wait to meet this little girl!          

Today we went up to daddy's work to eat lunch with him.  I love Payton's face in this picture- pure joy!  She loves her daddy so much and loves spending time with him!  It was such a treat to see him during the day!!

What's going on with Baby??  Your baby's lungs and brain are beginning to mature. Although he'd have a good chance of survival if he were born now, he could use a few more weeks of growing. Added layers of fat are continuing to form. These layers will help your baby regulate his temperature once outside the womb and help keep him warm.

What's Next??  Baby Shower :)

Stats:

Baby's Size:  Cucumber (15 inches and 2.2 lbs)

Baby's heartbeat:  151 bpm 

Momma's weight: 134

Weight Gain:  6 pounds!!  

Days to go:  13 weeks!!!

Child like Faith

Since becoming a mother the Lord has grown me in ways I can't imagine.  Given me a deeper understanding of what His love is (though we will never be able to fully grasp it).  Through Payton, I have learned so much about Gods love and grace in my life.  Daily I am reminded of His blessings, forgiveness, peace, and presence.  Not only am I reminded of these things but God uses being a wife and mother to teach me and convict me- daily.  Today I had one of those moments.  After playing at the park and eating lunch, I put Payton in her crib for her nap.  She immediately sat down put her hands together, said "ray" (pray), and closed her eyes.  Man did my heart swell with pride.  She sat there with her head bowed and eyes closed as I thanked God for the park and nice weather.  Once I said Amen she threw her hands up in the air and said "Amen" and then laid down and closed her eyes for her nap.  This has been the 3rd or 4th time in the past 4 or 5 days she has reminded me to pray (wether before dinner or bedtime or just because she wants to).  After leaving her room, I started thinking about my time with Him this past week.  The Lord was convicting me about my lack of time in prayer and reading of His word this past week.  How easily I have been distracted with everyday life and getting things done.  Thankful for my sweet 21 month old daughter who reminds me to pray without ceasing- to pray in all things.  Thankful for teachable moments through simple things.  Thankful the Lord draws me near to Him when I am unfaithful.  Thankful for forgiveness and grace.  God is good to me indeed :)  Just gonna leave ya with a little bit of Scripture I meditated on today:

"Praise the Lord.  Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.  Wealth and riches are in their house and their righteousness endures forever.  Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.  Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.  Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.  They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn will be lifted high in honor.  The wicked will see and be vexed, they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing."  Psalm 112 

  

            

Park Day

Is it really August??  Man this summer has just flown by!  And the weather today feels like fall...  I love it!  I can't wait for fall/holidays.  Today is a beautiful day!  It hasn't reached 90 degrees yet :)  So me and Payton hit up the park this morning.  We have only been to the park a few times this summer because the heat is unbearable and I haven't been at my best the first months of my pregnancy.  Thankfully, I am past that!  Payton LOVES being outside.  We spent almost 2 hours at the park.  Then we came home and ate some lunch and she was ready for her nap.  So I thought I would blog real quick to post these precious pics.  Here are some other pics: 

She is such a big girl.  She can do it all by herself now!

She just melts my heart

She was so happy

Payton starts her "school" next week so we plan on doing some fun things and scratch some more things off our summer bucket list.  Payton will be going to Fielder Road's school/mothers day out program this year.  She will only be going Tuesday/Thursday for the day.  I think she is going to really enjoy it and it will help me be able to get some work done as well.  

Enjoy this beautiful day that the Lord has made :)