Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving was extra special for us this year.  Miss Elin was old enough to enjoy all the yummy food, and Payton got to have an additional Thanksgiving celebration with her preschool class.  Ryan and I were able to attend Payton's Thanksgiving Feast at her school, and it was the best day! Payton enjoyed all of the games and snacks with her friends and teachers.  She also volunteered to say the prayer for the meal.  We are so proud of her bold, confident, and sweet spirit!

Thanksgiving day was spent at my parents' followed by dinner with Grandma Hester.  We are so thankful for all of God's wonderful blessings.  Our creator, our savior, our family, our children, and our health....those alone give us so much to be grateful for.  To God be all the glory! 

Psalm 100:4 - "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

Happy Birthday, Elin!

I really can't believe it, but our little Elin Cole celebrated her first birthday this past Friday.  It's crazy to think that it was a year ago when we were trick or treating with Payton at Eastland Mall, and I suddenly went into labor.  Miss Elin was in a huge hurry, and quickly made her debut at 11:22 pm on Halloween night.  How blessed we have been this past year to watch this little girl grow, develop, and come into her personality! We thank God everyday for the blessing of having two healthy, happy little girls!

Elin can now say "ma ma" and "da da", can take several steps, can wave "bye bye", and loves to clap her hands and dance.  She also loves to eat and loves to play in the bath tub.  She is a very happy baby and loves to play chase with big sister Payton.  It's been so rewarding watching Payton and Elin interact more now that Elin is a bit older.  Payton loves to push her on the swing, take walks in the stroller with Elin, and to try to get Elin to laugh (which isn't too hard! lol!) Having a little sister has also been quite the learning experience for Payton, as she is now having to share her toys and her mommy and daddy.  Although this can take patience and be quite the challenge at times, we know that it is SO good for them, and that one of the greatest gifts that the both of them will ever have is each other!

It's funny because, I joke with Ryan that no one ever told me that birthdays were THIS important to mommies! It seems like I always look at birthdays as a time to reflect on everything we've accomplished the past year as a family.  God seriously teaches us SO much as we embark on this parenting journey.  I don't think we have ever been more thankful for His mercy and grace.  The other night, as I was reading before bed, the verse Philippians 1:6- "And I am sure of this, he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ," really hit me hard.  God seemed to remind me through reading that verse of how our children were given to us by Him to be stewards over, and that He has created them with a Godly purpose that we as parents must help guide and lead them to discover. 

Ryan and I recently took a baby dedication class through our church in which we had specific assignments to discuss and complete together.  One specific assignment asked us to list character traits that we wish to instill in our children as they become adults. This proved to be quite the task, as there are SO many things a parent wishes for their child! Also, the weight of responsibility weighs heavily on your shoulders when you begin to think about the task that God has entrusted you with. However, we managed to sum up our list to a "top 4," and are going to do our best to reflect on these traits every birthday and view them as a "road map" for us as we continue to parent. So, to wrap up Miss Elin's birthday post, we thought it would be appropriate to list these traits as a way to document them.

1) God loving- We feel so strongly that this is the number one, most important trait, as hopefully all other traits will be a reflection of this.  We pray that our children will fall in love with God as their creator, master, father, friend, source of joy, and comforter.  We hope that they will develop a desire to please Him and that they will fall in love with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

2) People Loving- We hope to instill a love for God's people within our kids.  We pray that they will have a desire to glorify God through self sacrifice and service to His kingdom.

3) Joyful- We pray that our children will understand where their source of joy should come from, not through earthly things, but through Godly and eternal things.

4) Hardworking- We hope that our children will work hard at whatever it is that they have been called to do with their focus being on pleasing and glorifying God.

Elin Cole- We pray everyday for God to give us the tools and wisdom that we need as parents to help us lead you to Him. He has given you such a sweet spirit and joyful personality! We cannot wait to see His plan unfold in your life. We will constantly be doing our best to remind you of Philipians 1:6- "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."  Happy First Birthday little angel...We love you with all of our hearts! :)

Enjoying her special birthday pancakes!

I Love You, Mom!

As I sit here tonight holding Miss Payton while she sleeps, I keep replaying a certain moment that I had with her several months ago. The two of us were laying on the couch and had just finished up reading some bedtime stories. I kissed her forehead as she snuggled up next to me to drift off to sleep. I closed my eyes for a quick cat nap next her like I usually do as I put her to bed. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes to see if she was asleep enough for Ryan to carry her to bed. As I peaked over at her, to my surprise, she was watching me, and we instantly made eye contact. As soon as I looked at her, she whispered, "I love you, mom."

The significance of that moment is that I instantly knew that Payton was telling me this because she sincerely FELT it. Sure she had told me she loved me several times prior to this. but something about this time was different. She wasn't saying it to make me feel good, get praised, to be kind, or because I said it first. She was saying it because she actually FELT it.  It's one of those parenting moments I  hope to never forget.

Welcome Fall!

Although it is always somewhat sad to see summer come and go, our family is loving this cooler weather and the changing season!  Fall is a favorite around our house as we love to be outside, enjoy God's beautiful creation, and take many visits to the pumpkin patch.  Payton is now 3 1/2 years old and full swing into her first year of preschool.  Little Elin is 11 months and growing like a weed!  We just know that she will be taking her first steps soon.  I thought I would take a minute and give a brief update on what is happening with our family.

Payton is loving school!!  This makes us so excited, because we weren't sure how she would do being away from us that often. She has phenomenal teachers, which I think makes all the difference.  Each morning she is so excited to go, and this makes things so much easier than I anticipated.  I prayed long and hard that this would be a smooth transition and that God would lead us to the right place for her.  This is just another example of how He really does guide us and provide us with the wisdom and direction we need when it comes to parenting.  So thankful for His constant provision! In addition to preschool, Payton is taking Kindermusik classes again this fall.  She really enjoys going to music and it gives her an opportunity to be around different kids in a different environment.  We are anxious to begin these classes with little Elin soon.  As far as interests, Payton is still really into the Veggie Tales and is starting to really get into the Disney Princesses and playing dress-up.  Its been so fun and rewarding watching her grow from baby to toddler to little girl! 

Miss Elin is getting SO close to her first birthday!  I seriously cannot believe that it has almost been a year since we welcomed her into our family.  Her personality is really starting to shine these last few months.  She is a very happy baby, and it is so easy to make her laugh out loud.  Payton is usually the best at this.  Miss Elin REALLY loves her mommy! lol!  We have some pretty intense separation anxiety going on right now, which can make things challenging at times, but we know she will outgrow it, and mommy is enjoying feeling the love. ;)  Elin is still a great eater! Her favorites now include green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, eggs, plums, oranges, and bananas.  I am amazed at how much easier it is to have a non-picky eater!  Elin will always feed herself and eat almost anything that's in front of her.  I NEVER experienced this with Payton when she was younger.  Sleep on the other hand, isn't going so hot.  Miss Elin can't seem to get on a good sleep schedule.  She wakes quite a bit in the night.  I'm hoping that this will start to smooth out the closer we get to her first birthday.  We are so anxious for her to take those first few steps though.  She is standing on her own and clapping her hands as if she's so proud of herself.  It's too cute!

As for Ryan and I, we are so enjoying this stage of life right now.  Parenting two little ones can be exhausting and stressful at times, but I love taking moments like this to reflect on how blessed we are to have these two precious girls.  Ryan has went through some changes at work, and is now managing the engineering coordination department with his company.  This keeps him very, very busy, but I am so proud of what he is accomplishing with his career.  I am loving being at home with the girls and feel very blessed to get to spend my days with them. 

We are always anxious to move into this time of year where there are lots of holiday celebrations and time with family! It's crazy to think that my next post will probably include pictures of Elin's first birthday.  However, as bittersweet as this is, we have discovered how rewarding and fulfilling it is to watch our children grow.  We are SO thankful for God's goodness, love, and abundant blessings that he shows us everyday through our kiddos!

Daddy and his girls

Matching PJ's!

Picture day at preschool!

 

Playing at school!

Enjoying the weather!

Mommy and her girls! (Payton is going through the cheesy smile phase! Haha!)

Pretty girl!

Mayse Farm Market!

 

 

 

First day of School!

Sisters!

The girls have really been interacting with each other more the last couple of months. I am so thankful that they will always have one another! We are so blessed!

 

Preschool!

I really cannot believe it, but we are now the parents of a preschooler!  Payton's first official day of school was last Thursday, and it was definitely bitter sweet.  She seems to really be enjoying it, and we are SO thankful for that!  We know it will be a great experience for her and are anxious to watch her develop friendships, become a bit more independent (tear!), and learn new things.  It will also be nice to have some alone time with little Elin, as I was able to do this all the time with Payton when she was Elin's age. 

It's funny because I could no way picture Payton being the least bit excited about going a year ago.  She was shy and hesitant to go around new people.  It is so crazy how quickly kids can grow and develop within a year's time. On the first day, she took the teacher's hand, looked at me with a quick "bye mom!", and anxiously ran into her classroom.  I couldn't help but tear up a bit when she eagerly hurried into the classroom and didn't look back.  When I picked her up, she was all smiles, so we know she really enjoyed the day.  We are SO proud of our little Payton, and watching her grow, develop, and learn new things is definitely one of the most rewarding aspects of parenting! What a big girl we have! :)

Elin Cole- 9 Months!

I cannot believe our Elin Cole is already 9 months old!  It pains me to say this, but time seems to fly by even faster the second time around.  She is such a precious little girl with such a joyful personality.  Elin will smile at almost anyone who looks at her, and it is so sweet.  She is also SO easy to make chuckle out loud, which is really fun.  Payton can usually get her laughing more than anyone, and it is too cute. 

Elin is very close to becoming mobile.  She gets on all fours and can scoot backward.  We just know it will be any day before she is moving all over the place.  She is also showing interest in trying to pull up to things, so I am sure that as soon as she is strong enough, this will come.  She really enjoys playing with toys and will sit in the floor for quite a long time and entertain herself with books and toys. We can now say "ma ma" and "da da." I'm thinking that this was right at around the time Payton started saying those words as well.

Miss Elin is a terrific eater!  This makes me so happy since I already have one picky eater at home.  She loves all her fruits and veggies.  Some of her favorites include sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, pears, bananas, and peaches.  She is a big fan of yogurt and cheese as well.  She has already starting picking up finger foods.  Ryan and I joke, because we will be out to eat, trying to shove food in Payton's mouth while little Elin sits and feeds herself. Haha!  Crazy how different sisters can be!  It makes sense that she likes to eat, because we went to the doctor yesterday for her 9 month check-up and little miss is in the 90th percentile for height and 80th percentile for weight.  She also has 6 teeth!  Dr. Hurlock is very pleased with her growth, and we are too!

We feel so blessed to have two happy, healthy little girls! 

That 3 Year Old Attitude!

Payton is full force into her 3's, and we've got the attitude to go right along with it!  She has such a sweet spirit, and we love her precious soul to pieces, but this little miss has a BIG personality, which can lead to some dramatic meltdowns and some attitude!  We've been told its normal, and are pretty confident that its just a phase, so we are working through it with discipline and patience.  However, we've noticed that if we can find the humor in certain situations, it makes some of the challenging moments a bit easier to deal with.

The other night, Payton was in the bathroom trying to go potty.  After noticing that she was having some trouble, Ryan went in to try and help her.  I quickly heard her say, "No, I want to do it myself!" (Also with the 3's we are noticing a huge independence streak where we want to do EVERYTHING on our own.  Both good and bad, I suppose.) I then heard Ryan say, "Alright then, I was just trying to help." He quickly left the bathroom.  A few minutes later, Payton came running out. After pausing to play with her toys for a few minutes, she came into the kitchen, turned around, and quietly asked me, "Mommy, did I do it right?" The picture below is what I saw. I couldn't hardly contain the laughter. :)

Holiday World 2014

The girls and I got season passes to Holiday World this year.  Payton had so much fun last summer, and this year can do so much more, so we thought it would be worth the investment.  So far, we have taken trips with our friends Stephanie and Addy, Lindsay, my mom and sister, and Brent, Ashli, and Liam. I think we have made some pretty good memories!

 

 

 

Elin really is the best baby to take anywhere. (As long as momma's in sight! lol!) She loves watching all the people and will nap in her stroller pretty well.  Payton is our wild child and would probably ride any roller coaster if I would let her.  We actually had a couple meltdowns, because we weren't tall enough to ride certain rides! lol! All in all, we have SO enjoyed our trips!