Baking and Waiting....

We decided to bake part of Payton's birthday cake this morning before her nap...she laughed at the sound of the mixer and couldn't wait to get her hands on the contents of the bowl...and it is pink!
"Oh yea! This is what I have been waiting for!! Yummy cake batter!!"
"Can I have some more please mom??!"
Here she is anxiously awaiting her finished product in the oven...it smelled so yummy!

We were practicing dancing to "happy birthday"...I think tomorrow is going to be a great day! I still can't believe that she is going to be one tomorrow! Such a big sweet girl!

House of Mirrors!

We have learned that staying at home doesn't have to be so bad all the time...who knew you could have hours of fun with a mirror! She is so expressive and has a blast that you can tell...she blows kisses by putting her hand in her mouth, she hasn't quite grasped pulling her hand away yet.....and I haven't grasped the concept of keeping the camera at the right angle! I use my digital camera for these short clips and I am so used to turning it on its side that I forget that you can't rotate the video clips! Well...I am sure that you can, but I haven't figured it out yet. I think she is starting to say "hi" you can judge for yourself...Enjoy!

We have Payton's big 1st birthday party this weekend so I am sure there will be some cake pictures coming your way soon!

Almost a year!

Gee this year has gone by fast...Payton's birthday is fast approaching. Don't worry the sappy blog will come later. But the last couple of weeks have been so fun because her precious little personality has been developing and it is so much fun!
"what....I had to ride back from Ava's house?? Are you crazy mom?" And the answer is, "YES!" Now that Payton is walking everywhere I decided we would take a stroll 4 houses down to our friend Ava's house. Needless to say, it took us probably 15 minutes and we stopped to pick every weed along the way and taste a few...What was I thinking! I still can't lift her, so I had to wait until she was ready to move on. Thank you Jessie for letting us ride back in Ava's car...it made the trip much easier and she loved getting to try out a new toy!
Brian and I have been dreaming up this growth chart for the last couple of months and so finally I got on the ball this week and got it done. It was so fun to do a project for Payton that she can use to measure herself from years to come. I remember my chart on the back of my grandparents laundry room door and how I would stretch to try and make the mark grow higher and higher......Brian designed the whole thing and was pretty opinionated about the clouds and flowers....what a fun dad!

Trout fishing at the Jones Center...

Tonight we went to the Jones Center to see Trout Fishing in America. They are such a fun band for kids! We met our friends the Stams there as well as the Butchers. Even though it was hot, it was fun! All the kids were so cooperative and were so cute! We are entering into a new phase where we do things with other kids and they actually sort of socialize with each other....how sweet!


Here is Payton eating her 1st Popsicle....it was so hot we couldn't resist! She loved it and came back for more!

Payton and Elijah hanging out before the concert...

Payton and Presley in their Razorback chairs from Granna Sue...What big girls!
Payton and Daddy enjoying the music...
Presley enjoyed the concert too...(she might want to turn her chair around...)
Payton was keeping the beat with the music!
Payton and Ruth were so sweet! They were loving on each other...friends till the end!

Can't wait for the beach!

Payton meeting Asher for the 1st time... "What...we get to go to the beach with him?! Yea!"
Saturday night, I got to go t0 a Surprise party for Sharon's dad....Elvis was in full effect...oh yea!

While we were in LR we made the most of our time and got to see our friends the Cowells who were in town from DC. We are going to the beach with them later this summer....

35 days for those who are counting... and so Payton got to meet their newest addition, Asher. She was so sweet to him and kept patting his head and even leaned down to give him a kiss!

I'm a big girl now...

Uncle Mitchell helping Payton get into her new car seat...
We are ready for a road trip....and a nap!
And we are fast asleep....my new seat is so comfy!
Can you believe I am 11 months old! I can not believe this year has flown by and it is time to plan a party!!

We have had a good week at home this week with Daddy as he helped us out with the lifting....he has been such a sweet Daddy and has gone over and beyond the call of duty to help me. Thank you my sweet husband!

Today was a big day! As we headed to Little Rock with our Uncle Mitchell, we got to use our new big girl car seat! Payton still fits into her infant seat, but since we had the wreck, we are having to get a new infant seat (which will be great for baby #2 who is long away...) so we used her new one! She did great on the drive, she slept her usual 29 minutes and then she was so happy the rest of the trip. She was laughing and talking almost the whole way. It was a very delightful 3 hours!

An unforgetable American milestone

Happy 4th of July everyone!! I hope that everyone is enjoying the freedoms that we have been so blessed to receive, and we thank everyone who is working so hard to keep those freedoms we have been given....
On July 3rd we went to Gully Park in the rain with our friends the Carter's. We made it through the first rain storm and got to hear Big Smith play a couple of songs before we saw the black clouds to the south...and decided it was time to head home :) Payton loved the music and dancing to the unique sounds of the band.

Here was the beautiful rainbow....what a cool sight.
Here is mom out in public sporting her new neck brace...can't slow me down!
Happy 4th everyone!
OK.....here is our milestone.....yea!!!! Enjoy the video, I am sure there will be more to come! We are walking!!!! It started this morning when she took about 10 steps after breakfast, she finally just let go and took off without realizing what she was doing. Then, throughout the day she would become more and more confident as she walked from one place to another. We are so proud of our little sweet pea! She is growing up so fast!!