Valentine's Day and Adalyn Learning to Read

For some reason or other my blogging has taken a backseat to all the other things going on in my life and I end up having to back track quite a bit in order to make sure that I don't forget something.  So back we go to Valentine's day...

We had a very low-key Valentine's but it was full of love and we were all together so it was perfect!

                      We made some Valentine's cookies a couple days before.

                            The girls woke up to a basket of Valentine's treats

And we find any excuse to get doughnuts... Valentine's is no exception!

Devin surprised me with this AWESOME bouquet of candy bars!  He knows I'm not so into the flower thing, so he got a creative.  What a husband!

The girls ready to deliver their Valentines.

And last of all we had a candle-lit dinner together.  

Now to switch gears a little... Throughout this past year I have been doing preschool with the girls, and part of it has been teaching Adalyn to read using the book Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  Here is the result (and we haven't even finished the book yet)...

She has done such a great job learning how to read.  She is so excited that she gets to go to "real school" next year. 

A Tangled Birthday

Quincy turned 3 on Sunday and she really wanted a Rapunzel Party.  We kept it simple but fun.  

The Decor

We draped Rapunzel's hair all over...

Had some Royal banners hung...

And some balloons for fun.

We also had our food at The Snuggly Duckling.

The Fun

Quincy had her own Rapunzel braid

The kids played 'Pin the Frying Pan on Flynn"

And had a treasure hunt to find Rapunzel's crown.

Quincy loved her Rapunzel hair cupcakes...

And couldn't have been more thrilled with all the presents she got. 

It was such a fun day for our little Rapunzel.  It is so hard to believe that she our baby is 3!  Here are some fun facts about Quincy at this age:

• Her favorites are: Food-Pizza and chicken nuggets; Color- Pink; Movie-Tangled; Friend: Alex
• She is totally a mama's girl.  Not that she can't be away from me, but she will pick me over anyone else.  Recently she and Devin had this conversation. Devin: Quincy, do you love me?  Quincy: No.  Devin: Why not?  Quincy: Cause I love Mama!
• She can be the biggest sweetheart at one moment and the biggest stinker the next.  She loves to share with Addie, will give loves to anyone, tries to comfort anyone who's sad, and LOVES to snuggle.  On the other hand she will say a simple but direct no to directions, she loves to push Addie's buttons (or anyone else that she feels like), and will sometimes purposefully do exactly what we ask her not to and then afterwards give us this mischievously sweet smile that makes it really hard to not laugh at.  
• She loves to dance, sing, and play with and follow Addie.  They are in a gymnastics class together and I think Quincy loves being able to do what Addie can do.  
• Quincy loves trying new foods and will often eat anything if I am eating it.  She loves salads, avocados, oatmeal, and most anything with extra spice or flavor.  
• She is afraid of rides, flipping over, or almost anything that moves.  She used to not be, but then we had a zip line accident that was pretty painful and scary and she has not been thrilled with anything that moves ever since.  
• She is deceptively smart.  She will almost never answer a question that you ask her right (What color is this? What shape is that?) But then she will say, "Mom look it's blue," or "Look it's like a  triangle." She also has zero attention span when it comes to games and even books sometimes.  
• She has a naturally funny personality. She loves to laugh and especially loves to make people laugh.

Quincy is such a firecracker of a kid and she makes life so much more interesting.  We love her so much!

Diagnosis: Serious Case of Bieber Fever

Months and months and months ago we were among a lucky group of girls (well, girls at heart anyway) who managed to snag some tickets to Justin Bieber!  After months of waiting, it came... and it was
A-MAZING!!  Absolutely exceeding our greatest expectations (and long anticipation).

                 Yep that's right... 2 teeny boppers and a group of women/moms, all 25+years, in Bieber shirts and stoked to see The Boyfriend.  Couldn't have asked for a better group to share this night with... Love these gals! 

We started the night off with dinner...

( Addie+Avery=BFF's)

And then the concert... Which started off right with Carly Rae Jepson. She did a fabulous job and was super fun and bubbly. 

I debated back and forth for months whether or not to bring Addie. I initially bought the tickets for her, but then started to wonder whether she would enjoy a whole concert or not.  Truth be told, the concert was so much more fun because she was there.  I loved watching her get so excited, cheering, doing the wave, dancing, and singing along.  I told Devin, "This is only the beginning!"

                      This is a really short clip but it was the only one I could get of her dancing away because it was too dark.  What a cutie!

                   

Just a taste of The Bieb's performance...

This was such a great experience and one that won't be forgotten soon.  We are Beliebers for life! 

P.S. Not a Bieber fan? Just a note... He was late for this concert because he was visiting a 7 year old girl who has been battling cancer for 3 years.  She had tickets to the concert but couldn't go because she was in the hospital.  You can read all about it here.  What a guy!

Happy New Year!

Our New Year's Eve was perfect for our small, young family.  We went out to dinner together, and then headed home for desert and this...

No lie.  We celebrated at 7:40 and the girls were in bed less that an hour later. I wonder how long we can get away with this?

Welcome 2013!!

Christmas in the Payne House

December seemed to fly by in a busy, overwhelming blur.  We always try to plan several activities to make this time of year extra special for the girlies, but this year we seemed to have way more going on than usual with Devin's school and traveling for work.  Still, we had a great month and an especially wonderful Christmas.  Some of our activities this month included:

Festival Of Trees

Forgotten Carols

Christmas Village

Finding Elves at Gardener Village

 Building our very own Frosty

Making cards 

We heard about a little boy with a terminal illness who's last wish was to beat the World record for receiving the most cards.  We wanted to help him with his wish and the girls were so excited to decorate cards for him.  

Decorating Cookies

Visiting Great Grandparents

Payne Family Party

Complete with Chimes and a Nativity

Wayment Christmas Eve Party 

Some things never change...

Christmas Eve Pajamas

After getting our Christmas Eve PJ's on, the girls were really excited about leaving milk and cookies out for Santa.  

Christmas Morning

Christmas Dinner with the Paynes

Christmas Movie

Devin surprised me with tickets to see Les Miserables on Christmas night.  It was an amazing movie and an awesome way to end the day!

We have been extremely blessed this Christmas and throughout this last year.  We are especially blessed with the continual love and service of our family and friends.  We can never seem to express enough gratitude for all that is done for our family.  My cup runneth over.