A New Look

At Adalyn's 4 year check-up we discovered that there was something wrong with her eyes.  She wasn't handling the eye test as well as we thought she would.  So they sent us to an optometrist where we discovered that she is farsighted, and extremely so in her right eye.  The severity in her right eye has caused the brain to stop using that eye causing it to occasionally wander.  So, the solution?  A prescription that has given her a new look...

She was able to try a bunch of different glasses on and when she came to these ones she said "I want these ones!"  It is going to be a bit of a lifestyle change for her but doesn't she just look darling?  

A 4 year Dream!

Life with Adalyn has literally been a dream.  I remember vividly how unbelievably excited we were the day we found out that we were pregnant with her. How devastated we were when we thought we lost her, and then relieved when we found out she was okay.  I remember the instant love we felt the day she was born, and how much that love has grown throughout these last 4 years.  We have laughed with her in her happiest moments, and cried with her in her saddest moments.  We have showered her with praise and laid down the law.  We have taught her what we can and watched her experience her self-learning moments.  We have seen her personality on every inch of the spectrum... angry, happy, sad, sweet, frustrated, loving, etc. And looking back on all of it it feels surreal and dreamlike (some days nightmarish), but most definitely hard to believe that she has been with us for 4 years!  At four years old her stats are Height:37.5 in.(10%) and Weight:33lbs 2 oz (15%).  And some things about her that we want to remember...

 (Addie climbed up on her counter and is watching for Grandma's car, waiting for Grandma to come take her out for her birthday.)

• Addie has become very, very inquisitive.  She always has a question about something or other.  "Why is he a boy?" "Why did they do that?" "How come she is sad?" I can't even count the number of questions I answer each day.  I love how eager she is to understand everything.  
• She is generally very independent and is determined to figure out things by herself.  I love how hard she works sometimes just to be able to say "I did it all by myself!"  Occasionally though, she gets a little needy.  She has days when she wants to be held (which I can't deny that I love), and would rather that I do everything for her (but who doesn't have those days where they want to be waited on hand and foot?).  
• Addie is in the stage where she is trying to understand and control her emotions.  She can go from raging mad to sweetly apologetic in 5 seconds flat.  As frustrating as this can be sometimes, I love that she is beginning to recognize and fix her mistakes.  It is becoming so much easier to reason with her!

                                                           (I love the look she is giving me here!)

• Some of Addie's favorite foods are spaghetti, chicken noodle soup, mac and cheese, bread, strawberries, smoothies, grapes, bananas, ice cream, and apples.
• Addie loves coloring, painting, playing dress-up, going to the "chicken play place"(Chick-Fil-A, and you all know I never say no to that!), riding her bike, giving talks in church, playing pretend with Quincy and Devin, reading, helping mom, jumping on the tramp, telling stories, and playing with her friends.
• Adalyn loves to wear dresses.  It makes her feel like a princess.  On the days that I have refused to let her wear dress (due to the weather) she will exclaim "I am NOT a Princess!"

• She still has such a sweet demeanor. My absolute favorite moments with her are when she just randomly says things like "I love you mom." or "When I get big, I want to be just like you." I love watching her teach Quincy something, or stick up for Quincy when another kid has hit her.  I love watching her with Devin and how excited she gets when he comes home from work, or when she lovingly puts both hands on his cheeks to give him a kiss. She has such a kind and loving nature and I hope she is always able to keep that.    
• Adalyn has a great sense of humor. She loves to make people laugh and it is so fun to watch the silly things she comes up with to get a laugh out of someone.

Our little girl is growing up so fast.  She is so eager to be a "big girl" and it breaks my heart a little every time I realize that there is one less thing that she needs me for.  She fills our life with so much happiness and love and we couldn't ask for a better big sister for Quincy.  We love her so much! 

One SWEET Birthday!

Adalyn recently discovered the game Candyland and has become quite obsessed with it (we play at least 10 times a day)! It hit me one day... What a fun birthday party this would be! So I asked her what she thought, and the decision was made! From there the plans began, and I will admit it turned into a snowball effect! But it was totally worth it! She had such a great time and it turned out to be a great day! So sit back, there are a lot of pictures ahead! Here we go...

Addie's friends arrived and we got a quick picture of the group...

Then we headed out to the backyard where a life-sized Candyland game was set up. First stop... The Gingerbread Tree!

Here the kids decorated gingerbread cookies...

Next stop... Peppermint Forest! Here the kids got a candy cane from Mr. Mint...

Then we headed off to Lollipop Woods where the kids sat down to make foam lollipops...

After that we made our way to Gumdrop Mountains where we played bean bag toss and croquet...

We ended the game at Adalyn's Candyland where the kids filled up on all the sugar they could possibly get!

Then we opened presents and sang...

After Adalyn's friends headed home we had family over for dinner...

Where Quincy sneaked as much candy and treats as she could get away with!

We opened more presents...

And with the overload of sweets we decided cake would really be over the top. But we had to have something to put candles on...

That's right... Playdough icecream. It was the perfect way to end such a SWEET day! Our SWEET little girl is 4 and we loved celebrating her birthday. Thanks to all our family and friends who helped us celebrate! And a special thanks to my baby sis for finding all the supplies to make this party so fun!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

A little while ago Devin mentioned to the girls how fun flying a kite would be. Since then we haven't heard the end of it. Adalyn has a memory like an elephant so you can bet that if you mention something to her once you will hear about it again (and again, and again)! So while we were out and about one day we ran into a kite and just had to get it. So glad we did...

I think Devin found as much enjoyment in the kite as the girls did! What a fun Spring activity!

Easter Sunday

As is typical of our holidays, Easter Sunday was a long and fun filled day. The girls woke up to candy trails outside of their rooms, which led to their Easter baskets.

After that we all sat down to watch He Is Risen to focus on why we really celebrate Easter. At this point this was the Easter message we got from our 3 year old:

In the video, Jesus had just been resurrected and was talking to Mary Magdalene.

Addie: "Why does she love him?"

Me: " Well, do you love Jesus?"

Addie: "Yes"
Me: "Well she loves Jesus too."

Devin: "And she was probably His wife."

Addie (with a sharp look): "No, we share Jesus!"

Have to love the innocence of kids... I love having a child's perspective in our home.

Then we headed off to church, with the girls in their new dresses.

After church, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Payne's for our first Easter egg hunt. The girls had a blast looking for all the eggs with their older cousins.

Then we headed up north to Grandma and Grandpa Wayment's for another Easter egg hunt and dinner. We had such a great time hanging out with family and watching the kids play together.

We had such a wonderful Easter! We have so much to be grateful for!

March Madness!

So, most of you have probably heard me say that Devin loves sports (and that is an
understatement). I now have proof! Devin and his friend Matt (also an understated sports
fanatic) cooked up a plan to spend the weekend watching March Madness. As a way of making it enjoyable for the wives and children as well, they decided to rent a house in Hurricane/St.
George for the weekend. Here are the weekend adventures with the Jensen Family...

THE NARROWS:

Adalyn and I climbed through the narrows twice, and she could have just kept going!

SAND HOLLOW

While the boys were busy with basketball, Jenny and I decided to take the kiddos to Sand Hollow State Park. It was wonderful. We stopped and got the kids some dollar buckets and shovels and it was absolutely worth it. We dug, built sand castles, and even walked around in the lake a bit.

We had so much fun during the day, that we decided to bring the guys back with us that night. We were also a bit smarter and put the kids in their swimsuits so they could play in the water a bit more. It was such a great time.

ST. PATRICKS DAY

On St. Patrick's Day we decided to head out for some small town fun. Springdale has an annual St. Patrick's Parade and the town just happens to be right before Zion's National Park. So we did some small hikes through Zion's and then headed back to Springdale for some yummy food and a fun parade.

(All the kids got along so well, but for some reason Adalyn had a special little bond with Miles. She could always seem to make him laugh, and he asked for her first thing in the morning. It was really cute!)

We ate at a cute little place called Oscar's. If you are ever in Springdale, you should definitely eat here. It was fabulous!

Of course we had to get a picture of the boys taking in all the March Madness...

We had such a great weekend. Warm weather, fun activities, good food, great friends, happy kids, and definitely happy husbands... couldn't have asked for more!