2013 in Review

 

      This is how we spent New Year's Eve last year, and it was a blast. We plan to bring in this new year in a similar manner, but before 2013 ends, I want to rewind for a second and think about all the amazing things that have happened this year. On New Year's Eve last year, Ryan was unemployed, Mary and Bailey were living with us, we were a family of 3, and I taught first grade. A LOT has happened this year!

 

       This time last year, Ryan and I were just beginning to start talking about adding on to our family. Who knew everything would happen so quickly, and we'd be bringing in 2014 as a family of 4?! Now I can't imagine life without my sweet Payton Joy. I'm looking forward to watching her grow in 2014 and seeing how her and Rylee's relationship develops as she gets bigger and able to do and interact more.

      These kiddos have grown so much this year, not necessarily physically, but they have definitely matured a lot. There's no denying it, these 3 are no longer babies, they are big kids with big ideas and big personalities. I cant wait to see what memories they create together in 2014.

     What does God have in store for us in this coming year? I have no idea. I cannot see how 2014 could be any better than 2013, and I'm a little sad to see this year end. I am thankful for all the big and little changes that occurred this year that led us to where we are right now.



Christmas 2013

      The girls started their Christmas celebration last Thursday with their preschool Christmas party. They participated in a gift exchange, making present for home, and they each received gifts from their teachers. When Rylee got home, she said, "I didn't eat the food, it was yucky, but I got a Barbie, and a pretend Santa came. So Christmas is over, now?" Sweet girl she would have been happy with just that one gift, but that's why it's so easy to spoil her rotten, because she's got such a good heart.

     As a family, we started our Christmas celebration last Sunday with our church's Christmas breakfast. We had a wonderful time in fellowship with one another, sang Christmas songs, and heard a great message on Isaiah 53. It was good food and a good time.

     Next came our intimate family Christmas celebration. It has been our tradition to open our presents on Christmas Eve and it works out so the kids get a chance to play with their toys, and there's no rush like there would be on Christmas Day. We woke up Christmas Eve morning and it was present time. The girls got so spoiled. But Rylee brought me to tears when she insisted that Payton open her presents first and she opened every single one of Payton's gifts for her before she even touched one of hers. It was definitely a proud mama moment. I swear Rylee is the sweetest big sister ever. She may express her emotions differently than other children, but she sure is a sweetie! After they opened all their gifts, we surprised them with their big gifts which were hiding in the playroom. Rylee got a huge wooden dollhouse and Payton got a jungle-themed exersaucer. They sure are spoiled!

     Then we headed to the Jones residence for our annual Christmas Eve party. We had a lot of fun exchanging gifts, watching the kids play, and eating junk food. We all got great gifts and the girls got even more spoiled. After dinner, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and ate cake. It was a good night, but both of my girls were a little over stimulated after a long day and after the millionth meltdown, we decided to head home and let them get a good night's rest before Christmas day.

      Christmas day was the busiest day of all. We started out by opening our stockings at home. We all got some great little goodies in there. Rylee got nail polish and insisted I give her a manicure right then. Of course, I loved to and was glad she liked her gift so much.

     Then we got ready and headed over to Granny and Paw Paws for Christmas breakfast. We ate and then opened presents. The girls got tons of stuff and got totally spoiled. After the presents were opened, we all sat back and watched Rylee, Austin, and Jenna play. They have such a good time together, especially since they don't get to play together very often. And little miss Payton got to enjoy being passed around and loved on by everyone.

      After we headed home for naptime, we headed over to Nonna and Granddaddy to celebrate with them and Mel, Josh, and Austin. We had a delicious Christmas dinner, during which Payton took a nap on the kitchen floor! And then we opened presents, and more presents, and more presents. The girls got SO many great things, and so did Ryan and I. We were all very blessed this Christmas. Rylee had the best time playing with Austin's new train tracks, and she got a new Nabi tablet from Nonna and Granddaddy. She is going to be too busy playing to have any time for anything else throughout the rest of this Christmas break!

     Tonight we wrapped up our Christmas celebrations with Christmas with my parents. Didn't the kids look adorable in their coordinating PJs?! We watched the kids ride fourwheelers, opened gifts, ate dinner, and enjoyed watching the kids play. After the evening was over, Rylee insisted on going home with Aunt Liz for a sleepover. she lasted about 2 hours, but when it came time to go to sleep, she decided she wanted her mommy and Uncle Brandon took her home. Overall, we had a fantastic Christmas and our kids got way too spoiled. Now I'm looking forward to spending the next week with my sweet girls, watching them enjoy their new toys!


3 Months

     Payton Joy will be 3 Months Old on Christmas day! She is growing up on me! She is about 14 lbs and 23 in long. She wears size 3-6 month clothing and size 2 diapers, but she can still fit into newborn size shoes. Little miss tiny feet! Ha! When she's drinking a bottle, she can put down 6 oz of breastmilk easily. Obviously, I don't know how many oz she drinks when she nurses. She eats about every 3-4 hours. She's not really on a schedule, I just feed her when she lets me know she's hungry. She goes to bed around 7 pm, and when we have school, she gets up around 5:30 am, otherwise, she will happily stay in bed until 7 or 8 am. She usually gets up once or twice during the night. Sometime around 11pm-2 am, and then once more in the early morning hours depending on what time she got up the first time. She still sleeps swaddled in her packnplay in our bedroom, but we are transitioning her to her crib soon. I think she will sleep better in her crib, she seems to find it more comfortable than her packnplay.

      I love this age, she is getting more and more reactive and playful everyday. She smiles a million times a day. She has great neck control and has started playing in some toys that require her to sit or stand. I'm careful not to let her spend too much time in these toys just yet, though. I don't want her to hurt her little neck! She and Rylee are 2 peas in a pod. Rylee loves to read to Payton, and she especially loves to have Payton come sit in one of her toys in the playroom while Rylee is playing. They are so darn sweet together sometimes I think my heart is going to explode!

    It seems like just yesterday, we were heading to the hospital to have her, I can't believe it has already been 3 months. I love this sweet girl more every single day, and I feel so incredibly blessed to be her mommy.

Passing Down Holiday Traditions

       One of my absolute favorite holiday traditions growing up was making and decorating Christmas cookies. We would dye my mom's homemade icing all sorts of pretty colors and decorate dozens of cookies. I wanted to pass this holiday traditions along to Rylee and eventually Payton because I always loved it so much. We invited Kade and Bailey over for the fun, and fun it was.

      So, I used store-bought icing and we only made 1 batch of cookies instead of batch after batch after batch, but it turned out even better than I imagined. The kids participated in every step of the process, mixing the dough, using the cookie cutters, and of course decorating with icing and candy. I love how the cookies turned out: too cute! And, of course, they had to taste test the sweets as they went along. I think Bailey ate half of the tub of icing, and Rylee and Kade were eating the mini m&m's by the handful, but that's the best part!

     After we were done, the kids were all smiles. I love passing along holiday traditions and starting new ones of our own with these sweet kiddos. I have no desire to have 6 children of my own, but I love how our kids are getting to grow up experiencing what it is like to be part of a big family. I love their bond and I adore watching how it grows stronger and stronger over time. Having a houseful of kids at the holidays makes them all the more fun!

Holiday Fun

      Last night, we took the kids out to dinner and then to Christmas City to see the Christmas lights. It was a little chilly, but we had a lot of fun. Rylee was the first one to meltdown, but in her defense, she had the least amount of warm clothing and she is usually in bed by 8, and it was just after 8 when she fell apart.

      It was too cold to get Payton out, especially since she has had a little cold all week. So Ryan stayed home with her while Rylee and I went to Christmas City. I missed Ryan and Payton, but I had a blast and I loved the chance to focus completely on my Rylee girl.

      Last weekend, we had a 3-day weekend due to a "snow day." Unfortunately we didn't get any snow, just yucky ice, so we spent the weekend inside in the nice warm house. The girls had a blast playing together, though. Rylee is loving that Payton is doing more now, and they just have a ball together.

      Today, we went tot church. The girls wore cute Christmassy dresses. After church, we went to lunch to celebrate granddaddy's birthday, then the girls went to Nonna and Granddaddy's house, while Ryan and I went and did a little more Christmas shopping. Plus, I had to get a new camera because mine stopped working suddenly last night at Christmas City. I was sad when it broke, but I am excited now because I have a new, even better camera to capture the rest of our holiday memories with!

Happy Birthday to me & my Birthday Buddy

      I've had the pleasure of sharing my last 4 birthdays with this little man. My birthday is December 2, his is the 3rd. He was born the day after my twenty-first, and we've been sharing our special days ever since. The day he was born was one of the best days of my life, and it was the greatest gift ever to be able to witness his birth. Ever since then he has been my little man, and my birthday buddy. I love him like he is one of my own babies, and I adore watching him grow into such an amazing little person. He is the most well behaved kid I know, and he has such an amazing personality. He can put a smile on anyone's face in a heartbeat. I love you, Kaden Scott Jones! I can't believe you're already turning 3!

      So all weekend we have been celebrating our birthdays! Friday night, we had a mini birthday party for me. My mom made homemade pizza, we spent time together as a family, and I got presents and oreo pie. It was a blast.

      Saturday was Kade-man's party. We got him a giant monster truck, just like he asked us to. :) It was a little cold, but all the kids had a blast playing at the park. It was definitely the perfect location for his firetruck party! He got so many amazing gifts. We went over his house to play with them all after the party.

     Today is my birthday. It should be against the rules for a birthday to land on a Monday, but otherwise it was a great day. Ryan got me the newest season of Big Bang Theory on DVD and the girls got me a card. We went out to dinner, and Kade-man chose Los Portales. That boy loves him some "big quesadillas!" :) I had a blast having dinner with all of the people I love the most!

     This is me. 24 years young. I feel so incredibly blessed. At 24, I have an AMAZING husband, 2 beautiful, precious baby girls, a career that is also my calling in life, and 2 incredible sisters that keep me smiling no matter what, not to mention so many other people I love that mean the world to me. I would say I've done pretty well for myself.

Payton's First Thanksgiving

      Today is Thanksgiving, and it has been a perfect day. Both of my girls were dressed to a T in their Thanksgiving outfits, and they looked gorgeous as always if I must say so myself. We got dressed up and headed to Granny and Paw Paw's for Thanksgiving lunch. We had a delicious meal and a wonderful time in fellowship with family. I had the best time playing with Jenna Brooke, she kept bringing me books and asking me to read to her, while Payton was being snuggled by Amber. Rylee just played toys most of the time, only stopping to eat a few fries, then go right back to playing.

      I have so much to be thankful for. I am so unbelievably blessed. I am grateful for my Savior, my girls, my husband, my family and family-in-law, my job, and all of my possessions that I don't really need but make my life more comfortable. Right now Ryan is out "Black Friday" shopping (on Thursday..?) getting us our Christmas present: a new tv, it's something that we don't need, but it's so nice to be able to have nice things. I couldn't be happier with where I am in life right now, and I'd like to believe that I'd be just as happy even if we didn't have anything but God and each other.

      Mostly, I am thankful for this. This picture is the perfect example of my life, it's imperfect but beautiful nonetheless. I love my sweet little family and every crazy, hectic, imperfect moment we spend together! Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! Hope you had a great one!

2 Months Old

      I can't believe it's been 2 whole months since my sweet Payton was born. She is growing so quickly. She wears size 0-3 onesies and pants but size 3-6 sleepers and long-alls. She wears size 1 diapers, but we're moving up to size 2 once we finish the pack we're on now. She drinks 4-5 oz of breastmilk every 3 hours during the day. She goes 4-6 hours between feedings during the night depending on the day. She still is exclusively breastfed, we haven't had to give her any formula yet-yay! We went to the Dr. today for her 2 months check up and shots, and she weighed 12 lbs 4 oz and was 22.5 in. tall. She did okay with her shots, but she has been a bit fussy this evening.

      She is getting stronger and more alert every day. If you tell her "hi!" she will mimic you and say "hi!" back. I know she's not really talking, but I think that counts as a first word! ;) She loves her playmat and her swing. When she's home she alternates between the two whenever she's not being held. She likes tummy time now, and is starting to play with her toys.

       On the left is Rylee at just over 2 months, and on the right is Payton at just under 2 months. I haven't really thought that my girls favored each other at all, but I can see that they do have some resemblances. Even though I may be biased, I think they are 2 of the prettiest babies in the whole world.

Thanksgiving in Middle TN

         Yesterday morning, the alarm went off at 4 AM, but it was okay because it was letting us know it was time to get up and get ready to go to Middle TN to visit Grandma and Grandpa for Thanksgiving! Ryan was sick with cough and fever, so we left him in bed to rest up and we were on our way. Both girls did great on the 3.5 hour car ride there, and again on the long ride back. I was proud of my sweet babies for being so good!

       We had a lot of fun spending time with family, and Payton was held nearly the entire time. As you can see, she really enjoyed all the cuddle time. She was a little unsure about the new experience, but overall she did great.

       Even though it was pretty cold, we got to spend some time outside. The kids would have been so upset if they couldn't play outside at grandma and grandpa's "treehouse!" After an amazing Thanksgiving lunch, we took a long walk through the woods. It was really pretty and good exercise after a little over-indulgence.

      After our walk, we came in and the kids helped decorate the house for Christmas. They enjoyed themselves maybe a little too much, and the results were a little chaotic, but cute. After all was decorated, we had some pie, the kids jumped on Grandma and Grandpa's bed one more time, then it was time to head home.

      Because Ryan was sick, I was awake much of Friday night. 4 AM came mighty early, and I was pretty worn out. On top of that, I drove the whole trip there and back. And taking care of both girls by myself in a different environment is more difficult than usual. Luckily I had lots of help in that area, and I'm thankful for my sweet family for looking out for my girls. However, by the time we were heading home, I could barely keep my eyes open. Mary rode with me and kept me entertained, but it was a LONG ride home trying to stay awake and alert. I don't think I have ever been so tired in my entire life. We got home a little after 10. Rylee fell asleep on the way home, and went straight to bed when we got home. I fed Payton, and she went down easily as well, and then it was my turn to pass out.

         Since Rylee went to sleep at 6 (on the way home) she was up just after 6 this morning, but once I gave her breakfast, she was content to play by herself in her play room, so I laid back down. I woke up and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the clock said 10 AM. Payton was still knocked out. She woke at 3 AM and 6:30 AM to eat, but otherwise slept from 10 PM until NOON. I guess roadtrips really are hard work! I am glad I was able to catch up on some rest as well. Ryan is still under the weather, and I still feel a bit worn down from such a busy week, so today is a lazy day for sure.

      We've already decorate our home for Christmas, so today I am going to wrap some presents. Then I think I may take a bubble bath and just hang out with my sweet girls for the rest of the day. I'm so glad I still have the next 7 days to spend with them!