Katie going to sleep.

I love it when your kids can effectively train you. Let me explain. When your baby is tired she will cry.

Crying can mean so many things though... i'm hungry, i've got gas, i don't like how you are looking at me, etc.

Lately Katie has been letting me know in other ways & I finally got it on camera.

This first video is a little hard to watch because she is in her swing.

This next video actually catches her falling asleep so this may be the best one. I included the first one for the grandparents.

I'm Famous

I have A LOT of blogs that I follow, thank goodness for Google Reader is all I have to say! So I saw a give away for some do it yourself doll houses using cardboard. And I said to myself "I have a lot of cardboard!" So I went to her Etsy shop... "I have peg people!" said Jenn who was getting even more excited! Since I already had everything that I needed I decided to buy her patterns.

So Payton helped me to decide what everyone would be wearing & who we were going to make.

From left to right... Payton, Donald, Me, Katie, Grandma, Grandad, Ryan, Tyler, Melissa, Casey & Sydney.

I didn't mention in my last post that Ryan, Payton, Donald & myself went to the opening social with us. Everyone & I mean EVERYONE met her Peg Family. Oh joy! Even in this picture they are completely done. I have finished them but they are currently MIA at the moment. :(

So I ended up contacting the seller because I misread the description & wanted to ask her a question. We ended up exchanging emails & I sent her a picture. With my permission she posted this to her blog.
http://dollsanddaydreams.blogspot.com/2010/08/peg-doll-dolly-wraps-to-rescue-one.html

I still haven't finished the doll house. I hope to do that this week. I've been able to start crafting again & wow does it feel good! I'm still getting caught up on here but I'll post as soon as I finish any crafts. Thanks for being patient & not sending emails asking for new blogs! More to come soon.

Children for Rent...

We went to a opening social for Donald's school. We were very late because I had an unwilling participant that was throwing a tantrum. I've learned that Payton can get over it & get all her naughty energy out then she can be VERY pleasant afterwards. We walked into the Atrium, when was the room that had all of the tables in it, & it was so noisey. Payton asked me if there were bees in there & it really did sound like a bee hive. So when we arrived we found Donald at a table talking with some friends, he had been there for about 45 minutes or so. When we arrived he took Payton to go get some food & came back several minutes later. It was very crowded but I figured he just stopped to talk, we are talking about Donald here. When he came back I gave him Katie & he went to go get me something to drink. After about 10 minutes I went to find him. He didn't even make it to the drinks yet. I didn't think too much of it.

So apparentally NO ONE can resist Katies cheeks. Donald would walk by a group & someone in the group would oooh & ahhh over Katie & then the conversation would stop & Donald & Katie were at the center of it. He wasn't able to pass by more than 1 group without being stopped.

We were talking to a group of guys at the end & they were commenting as to how hard it was to join a conversation so they could get to know more people & here's Donald who just has to walk by & the conversation turns to him. I told them that if they wanted to risk bodily fluids I would gladly rent them one of my children.

I mean seriously, who can resist this face! Donald may have started out as one of the more popular ones. Our kids were the only ones who were there & needless to say that there were more families at the events to follow. Not trying to say that it was because of Donald but I think that others may have seen the benefit to having their kids there.

Watkins Glen State Park

We had a Stake activity at Watkins Glen State Park. It was about 40 minutes away & was really fun. We couldn't leave until 12:30 because Donald had a class (yes a class on Saturday... during orientation, yeah we are NEVER going to see him!). We got there with enough time to catch the end of lunch.

A quick story... So we were trying to get our food to a picnic table where our neighbors were sitting. Payton knew them so I told her to walk towards the table & she said she recognized them. So I sent her on her way. I went inside to get us drinks & came right out. When I next saw her she was holding her plate of food & sobbing uncontrollably. So the lady that was helping her took Katie from me & I started talking to her to see what was wrong. I thought that she got turned around so I didn't ask why she started crying. We got a few steps from the table & she finally stopped crying enough to say that a spider jumped on her & she couldn't get it off because she didn't want to drop her food cuz she was hungry. My poor baby! So I held her until Donald came & then she starting sobbing again when she started to explain it to him. And then I saw it, the jumping spider, I'm not trying to be funny, it really did JUMP! It was very small but still it jumped. For some of you this may be a common thing but not for me.

They had a very nice pool there & Donald got in with her.
After the pool we went on a hike down into the gorge. Yes Payton is holding a hotdog, the perfect hiking food right?
Katie was there too. And didn't complain at all. Everyone that walked by us commented on her cheeks, which we accentuated by the carrier.
This is what happens when you run down a gravel path. She had just gotten done telling me that she didn't need to slow down because she was being careful.
My legs are starting to shake just remembering this hike!
The signs on the trail head boasted that there were over 800 steps in the state park... This is just a sample of the steps.
But without the steps we would have never been able to see the beautiful waterfalls.
When I see pictures like this it just confirms that I need to learn how to take better pictures.
Below is the waterfall that is in the dark background.
If you can see behind it, the walkway goes behind the waterfall when was really cool.
Below we are behind the waterfall.

It was so beautiful there & I would like to go back & do it again when I am in better shape.


So peaceful.




I got to this point & Katie started fussing so I decided to turn back so that I could get back to the car & feed her. Sounds logical right? WRONG!!! If I would have kept going I would have had 2 maybe 3 small staircases to go, but I turned around & had at least double that, plus a long hill to climb up. My legs were shaking & lets just put it this way, I survived.

Primary at the Hicks House

Payton loves Primary! So much so that she holds primary every day (a few times every day).

Above she is whispering the scripture or prayer into the bears ear... & yes you would be right if you thought that she was reading from the scriptures that are in front of her.

I have yet to get a video because when ever I pay attention to her she gets embarrassed & stops. I've tried several times but I don't have the sneakiness required. I will keep trying & hopefully I'll get it for you.

Our new crib...

So the day that our stuff finally arrived we discovered that my beloved couch would not fit in our apartment. It was very sad. About 5 minutes after making the discovery I received an email stating that the free crib that I saw on craigslist was mine if I would only drive 20 minutes to the other side of the lake. So I was off.

Isn't it awesome! The lady I got it from was so nice & gave me the bumper. Katie loves it & will just stare at it when she wakes up. It fits perfectly in our room & when the girls start sleeping in the same room it will work in there too. Getting it for free was such a blessing. So now we have money to find a couch, something we were not expecting at all.

Here are some pics & videos of Katie.

She is really starting to show more personality & I love it.