Brave

Something I always want to remember about Adalyn is not necessarily the number of trips to the instacare that we have taken, but how incredibly brave she has been through every one.  Even when she was very little she hardly cried during shots.  Our most recent trip to the instacare was last night to fix the cut she got on her chin after slipping on some wooden stairs.

She needed stitches and never once cried, flinched, or even moved when she was told to stay still.  I think it was harder for me to watch them stitch her up than it was for her to get the stitches put in! I always try to make things easier for her in these situations, but her ability to stay strong makes things much easier on me!  I love her brave, understanding soul!

I think next trip to the instacare I am going to ask for a punch pass: come in 9 times and get the 10th time free! Have to love it!

Payne Family Reunion

The Payne Reunion was held in Colorado this year.  Gavin and Becky graciously allowed all of us to stay in their home and we had an eventful and fun filled weekend.  It started with our 8 hour drive there...

Half way there we stopped at one of our favorite spots, Glenwood Springs, CO.  They have a fun little Adventure Park that we stopped and played at.  They have a tram that takes you up a mountain to the adventure park and the girls just loved it.

On the first day of the reunion we all headed to Estes Park to walk/hike around the lake...

 This group wanted to take a steeper hike than the walk around the lake.  As soon as Adalyn saw them head off she eagerly followed.  I told her that it was going to be harder and she responded with, "I can do it. I am a big girl. Remember mom?"

 And she was right.  She kept right up with the other kids and wasn't afraid to climb as high as them.

 The kids found a chipmunk friend to feed.  It kept them entertained for quite some time.

That night we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant, Heaven Dragon. YUM!

The next day we went to a playground/water park/river...

Devin holding the newest member of the Payne family, Maggie...

 That night most of us headed to a Rockies vs. Angels game while Grandma and Becky stayed home with the little ones...

On Saturday, the men took the kids on The Amazing Race that Grandpa had prepared for them.  Meanwhile, Grandma had prepared a shopping/lunch trip for the women...

We had such a wonderful time!  Adalyn and Quincy were so sad to leave their cousins.  Thanks so much to Gavin and Becky for letting us invade your home.  And a special thanks to Mom and Dad for putting it all together and showing us such a great time!

Wayment Cabin Trip

Over Memorial weekend we went to my parent's cabin for a weekend with my family.  Unfortunately, the weather did not want to cooperate with us.  It was cold and rainy for the majority of the time, so this is what we spent most of our time doing...

                                                           (Photos courtesy of Adalyn)

In the random spurts of clear skies, we all hurried and grabbed our sweaters and ran out to do this...

Even though the weather wasn't the best we definitely had some quality family time!

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!