Payton's Currency!

Payton is usually very good, but lately she has started on a rotten/defiant streak. The best thing to happen to me is to figure out her currency. Let me explain. Payton is very stubborn, VERY! So the problem that we have been having lately (especially because it's harder for me to bend over & pick up toys) is that she doesn't clean up. And if she does decide to humor us with a little effort it is short lived. I hate being the one to tell her to pick this or that up & take it into her room.

SO one day Donald told her she had to clean up a small mess before getting on the computer. Me being the Doubting Thomas that I am just stepped back & watched & waited for the meltdown to come... and I waited... & watched while she picked up every toy, she even ran at times.

I am so grateful to have someone who is willing to 'try' new things, especially when I know it won't work. :)

Payton gets on the computer at least once a day & she picks up her toys all by herself. She has even expanded this to her room. I caught her cleaning up her room without being asked & was amazed. I asked her what she was doing, she said that she was cleaning 'just in case'. Wow! Who are you & what have you done with my daughter?

So the moral of the story is once you find what your child is willing to work for (aka their currency) life can become a lot easier.

Master Hunter

This year we only ended up doing 1 Easter Egg Hunt so Payton made the most of it. She ran around like a mad woman getting as many eggs as she could.

It was always so fun to she her expression when she would find some.

She loves hanging out with all of her cousins (2nd cousins) & loved loved loved finding eggs. She is really getting into the holidays lately. Last year for easter she kinda did but not like this year. She's been hiding toys around the house & making Donald & I find them. She'll even stay in the bathroom or bedroom while we hide them for her (she not mastered the whole patience thing yet... well niether have I) & enjoys it so much.

Hoppy Easter

A friend of mine Dana posted this a few days ago & I saw it & thought... now that is something I could do & finish in 1 day, HA! Well it took 2 days (with one day off in between, so really 3) but we finished.

Actually I should probably say that if the bunnies were the only thing that I was doing then yes it would have been completed that day but I always complicate things & tend to make projects bigger.

I let Payton 'paint' on the faces above but she wasn't interested when I pulled out the rest of them to do (remember I mentioned how projects I do have a tendency to just get bigger). I've never been good at following directions & there are always consequences of not following direction like our little wandering eye'd bunny on the end.
You see you are suppose to paint the faces on then sew them. Needless to say I was a little bit nervous when Payton wanted to paint the faces on the finished project rather than the unfinished ones. She did really good until the end... Sorry little guy. She was insistent on doing it & I only had time past the first morning to pull it out at night so it had to be that way... but now it has character... right?
So I'm now following the directions....

The other thing I added was the eggs. I spent a while cutting out shapes & Payton decorated all of the eggs. It took literally all morning to cut & then get Payton to finish with the eggs. We glued on the shapes & put them aside until it was time to sew... sadly the glue didn't do anything so I had to put a few stitches thru each shape to get them to stay on. So I have several more eggs to stitch & then 2 more garlands to assemble. Even though it was a lot of work I think they turned out so cute.

Yeah to me for finishing a 1 day project in 2 days! I'm not going to count the extra ones I'm doing...
And a double yeah to me for posting something current!

You want me to what?

Payton was walking around with Donald's head lamp on. I asked her to give me a smile so I could take a picture. This is the face I got. Cute... yes. Full of Personality... absolutely... with a dash of attitude.

On the Edge... asleep

Every night before we head to bed we check on her. This is what we found. What you can't see in this picture is that she has all, & I mean ALL of her 'babies' neatly & methodically tucked in next to her.

So why is she sleeping like this?

Because she is being a good mommy & leaving plenty of room for her babies. She is going to be the best big sister... now if she can only stand to wait another 8 weeks. This pregnancy has gone so fast for me, but so slow for her. I know she doesn't understand how much this new baby is going to rock her whole existence but I do know that there has not been a more excited girl on a crash course with reality. But having said that, she will do great & I can't wait to see them together.

Marching to her own drummer...

Payton likes to change what she's wearing at least once every day... actually it's a good day when she only changes once... that would be more accurate. Sometimes the outfits she puts together just have to be documented.

So we have a Winnie the Pooh Jumper w/ matching pink shirt. A flower summer dress that is a jumper as well but she wanted to wear it like a skirt instead. & my tennis shoes. She was very proud of herself & kept saying that she could find something beautiful for me to wear. Yeah with my expanding waist there's not much that fits me so I told her she could help choose what the baby will wear every day & you would have thought she won the lottery.

I just love her personality, now if only she were more coordinated so that she didn't fall & hit the side of the wall while trying to walk/dance/ice skate/whatever it was, while wearing my shoes. Yep that's what happened right after this picture was taken.

The best cared for bears...

While Payton was sleeping in our room after the carpet in her room got wet again we had her on a pad in our room. She usually would put the bears to bed at the foot of her bed (like she doesn't in her own bed), but this night was different.

I walked in & couldn't find her. When I turned to Donald he was just laughing then he pointed to the bed. When I asked Payton the next morning why she slept in our bed she said that the babies slept on the floor & their mommy (her) slept in the mommy bed.

I think it might be time to pull out Goldilocks & the 3 Bears to read.