Big Girl! :)

We can't believe how old Payton is starting to look in all her photos!!  My goodness, she is growing.  We just know she will be crawling soon, as soon as she can figure out how to get her tummy off the ground, haha! She has also been much more vocal lately.  We actually had to step out of church last Sunday because she was talking so much.  Also, she has just started reaching for people.  She reached out for me this week, and it just melted my heart!! 

Mommy and Payton have sure been enjoying our days at home!   We have been trying to savor those last few days of summer by taking lots of walks in the stroller and playing in the pool!  :)

5 Months Old!

We are officially another month older!  Little Payton celebrated her 5 month birthday this week, and boy have we had a busy one!  Grandma Kelly and Aunt Kyla got to spend a couple nights with us.  On Wednesday, we spent the day at the zoo and then headed over to Louisville to do some shopping and enjoy some girl time.  Aunt Kyla is getting ready to go back to school soon, (where has the summer gone?!) and wanted to spend some quality time with Payton before her semester starts.  It was a nice little get-away!  On Saturday, Miss Payton had her first play date with her friend Addi, and we got to visit my close friend Laurna, who is on bed rest at St.Mary's waiting on the arrival of her precious twin boys, Keaton and Kendall.  Visiting her is always an inspiration to me as a parent.  I look back and think about all the little things I complained about when I was carrying Payton and how it doesn't even compare to what she is going through.  The other admiral thing about talking with her throughout her whole experience is how I have never heard her say anything negative about her 32 days of bed rest in the hospital!!  All she will ever mention is how excited and grateful she is that her boys are growing healthy.  Hearing her say that is a constant reminder of how we really do become mothers from the second we learn that we are expecting.  It seems like every one of our child's wants, needs, and desires instantly become OUR main wants, needs, and desires no matter what it is we have to go through.  Ryan and I talk about this often, for there have been many nights when we were either out with friends and had to leave early because Payton just was not having it, or we were out to dinner with a group of friends and were taking turns to eat due to the fact that one of us had to either be feeding or entertaining little Payton.  We joke that we are probably scaring our friends out of having children, but the reality is that no matter how exhausting the situation may seem at the time, our top priority intantly becomes making sure Payton is content and happy, rather than enjoying a nice dinner. (not to say that we don't REALLY enjoy a quiet meal when we get one, haha!)  This is one of the most amazing aspects of parenting that we have experienced so far, the tremendous amount of joy that goes along with being able to meet Payton's needs and desires.   I think this is probably the closest we can get to understanding God's love for us!  So, thanks Kendall and Keaton for reminding us what life is all about!!

Payton's 5 month birthday comes as a significant mark for me, because it would have been when I returned to school, had I decided to not stay home for the year.  I am SO grateful to my husband for working hard to make this possible for me.  Although I am going to miss starting another school year and meeting another group of students, I know that I would regret not spending time at home with Payton during these first few years of her life if I knew it WAS possible for me to stay home.  I am very aware that this is not a reality for some people or the best choice for some mothers, and I SO respect and admire the strength of working moms!!!  However, it is the best choice for us during this time in our lives, and I am going to do my best to enjoy every minute and not take a day for granted!!!!

Payton is now starting to get up on all fours in preparation for crawling.  She has been eating her cereal twice a day now, and we are still on the hunt to find more food that she likes.  She surely can't live off sweet potatoes, haha!!  She is also very close to sitting up by herself and is starting to hold her own bottle.  Wonder when she is going to get bored of mommy and daddy and need a little play mate??????  Not sure dad is quite ready to think about that yet.......who knows!!

Messy Smiles!

Well, we finally found a food that Miss Payton likes.......sweet potatoes!  So far, I have tried carrots, apples, and peaches, and she didn't seem to want much to do with any of them.  However, yesterday we decided to give sweet potatoes a whirl, and sure enough, little Payton was all smiles.  Boy are we a messy eater!  I have about decided that maybe she just wasn't quite ready for the spoon before, so we are going to give the other foods a second try again soon. 

Since my last post, Payton got to spend some more time with cousin Harper.  I always know that Payton is growing more and more everyday, but I never realize exactly how much she has grown until I see her next to Harper, who is now 6 weeks old.  What a big girl we have!!  They sure are 2 little sweeties!