Daily Fess Up

Do you like laughing? Do you like seeing if others are at all like you? Do you dare to confess your inner-most secrets? Check out the new blog: www.dailyfessup.blogspot.com (make sure you leave a comment).

You'll love it. I confess that I do.

It's Fun To Be One!

Adalyn's 1st birthday came and went very quickly. It was such a fun day and it was great celebrating the first year of her life. She is such a blessing to us and has brought so much happiness to our family. Although I can't believe how fast it has gone, it has been such a joy watching her grow and learn new things. She is an incredible daughter and we love her so much.

Right after waking up Adalyn got to open some presents:















Later that evening we had a Family Party for her...































Time for Cake:















She was skeptical of the cake at first and only wanted to play with the polka-dots















Then she realized, "Wow, this is good!" and dove right in















The end result















PRESENTS!














It was a little hard to keep her focused on opening the presents, but it was fun nonetheless.































Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us (even if it was just over the phone!). We appreciate all of your love for our little 1 year old!


We also had a doctor's appointment during the day. Her current stats are 19 lbs. (17%) and 28.5 in. long (25%). They found that she is slightly anemic and they recommended giving her more green vegetables... anyone have some sneaky ideas on how to get a 1 year old to eat more veggies?

A Pre-Birthday Party!

In an effort to not overwhelm Adalyn we decided to have two separate parties: one for the kids she knows, and one for family. On Saturday we held the 'Kid Party' and it was so much fun! The kids played, ate cupcakes, and had a great time with each other. Adalyn absolutely loved having so many kids to play with and even refused to take naps so that she wouldn't miss any of the action. Here are several pictures of the day...

Bethany and Olivia
















Aunt Shannon, Natalee, and Carson

















Cupcakes!!






























Jessica and Jonas
















Heather, Jay, and Gwen (being held by someone else)















Adalyn even had her first sleepover with her cousins Natalee and Carson! She had so much fun with them and we loved having them over.














Thanks everyone!!

Egg Hunt

Last night Adalyn participated in her first ever Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Payne's. It was fun watching her, Natalee, and Carson searching for the eggs and then seeing the look of satisfaction on their faces as they found them. It was a fun night.


On your mark.... Get set....
















GO!!































All the kids with the spoils of their search...






























We also celebrated Papa Payne's birthday last night! Happy Birthday Buddy! You are an amazing man and we love you!

Happy Easter!

Tonight, as I was putting Adalyn to bed, I had the chance to really reflect on what today is really all about. After a very eventful day, Adalyn and I had quiet moment where I sang "I Am A Child Of God" to her. In that moment, looking at Adalyn, I recognized how much was given for our sake. God gave His son... His SON...I couldn't imagine giving up my child, knowing that so many would reject Him. Christ gave His life, after feeling the weight of all of our sins, He died that we might live. We have all that we do because Christ, our brother, so willingly laid down His life and because God, our Father, loves us so much to give us the opportunity to be Resurrected. Not only are we given the chance of living this life and receiving all the blessings that we do, but we are also promised to Rise Again. The promise of an Eternal life...being not only with our families here but our Heavenly Family as well... is such an incredible blessing that I don't think we fully understand right now. I feel so grateful that we have a special day set aside to honor the amazing gift that was given to us.

Here are some pics of our eventful Easter:











































My mom made this Easter dress for Adalyn... Isn't it so cute? She did a great job with it... Thanks Mom!
















Happy Easter everyone!

A Beautiful Experience

Over this past weekend we have had a very beautiful and spiritual experience. Devin's maternal Grandma was diagnosed with cancer several months ago. Last week she fell into a coma and lay waiting to return to Heaven. During the week there were several moments we thought we lost her, but she continued to hold on. By Friday afternoon she was still hanging on and Devin suggested that we go and see her. As we entered her room, Adalyn immediately reached out for her. We were quite surprised but attempted to get her closer. Adalyn continued to reach, and even became frustrated when we tried to hold her back. Finally we allowed Adalyn to touch her hand and for a moment she just laid down beside her. It was all I could do to keep from crying. This continued up until the time that we left. As we were leaving Adalyn reached out to each person in the room and gave them a hug. This completely shocked us because generally she has to warm up to people first. On our drive home (not 20 minutes into it) we received the call that Grandma Hancock had passed. At that point, we knew that Adalyn was aware that the gates of Heaven were opened. Grandma was being called home and our angel knew it. She was connected to both worlds and was able to show us how close the two worlds actually are. She then reached out to each person as if to tell them, "All is well."















The next days that followed were very reassuring. On Sunday evening a Family Viewing was held. Grandma was so beautiful and at peace. The funeral was a beautiful memorial to her life and reminder of what a loving, giving, and charitable person she was.




























We are so grateful for the opportunity we had to know this wonderful woman and for the beautiful experience we were able to share with her this last week. We love you Grandma!

Not Ready For This...

Yesterday Adalyn turned 11 months old. We are only 1 month away from our baby turning a year old and I don't think that I am quite ready for this. Time has gone by way too quickly, giving both Devin and I a mixture of feelings. On the one hand, it has been so much fun watching Adalyn grow and learn new things every day. But on the other hand, our little baby who depended on us for everything, is getting so big and independent. Addie used to look to us make sure if something was okay, and now she decides for herself. We were in Barnes and Noble the other day and decided to let her roam in the kid's section... she was everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. I was pretty grateful that I wasn't the one who had to clean that store...(this may be a new activity for us!) She found several kids to play with...some who didn't want to play with her, but she had no qualms about that, she just continued doing what she was doing. Because she just keeps getting more and more fun to watch, I guess we will just have to deal with the fact that she isn't our little baby anymore. Here are some things she has been up to lately...





Adalyn has been getting all of her hair back... her little fohawk looks so cute on her!




















Adalyn enjoys sliding anything and everything across the floor... it's so funny to watch.


Adalyn definitely keeps us on our toes these days, but we really love it. She has the cutest personality that we get to enjoy day by day.