Soooooooooo.......

Some of you may have been wondering what the heck we've been up to the last few weeks. I am sorry to report that my faithful blogger tool, my laptop, has taken it's final breath (the actual cause of death was a "fried motherboard", but I think this sounds so much nicer). Not to mention that my camera charger was MIA for about 2 weeks, so not much blogging going on with a dead computer and a dead camera! Luckily I found the camera charger, but Kyle and I are still trying to figure out what we want to do about a computer. I've been working on a laptop for about 10 years, and now I'm itching to finally get a real "big girl" computer. Not just any computer either. I was really hoping to make my next purchase an iMac, since my iPhone has got me pretty much obsessed with Apple technology. Kyle and I just made a big purchase though, we bought a new sectional couch for our living room (no more sitting on lawn chairs for our guests, yipee!), so we're trying to decide how much money we really want to spend... anyway though, I was able to upload some of my pictures on my mom's mini laptop to show you guys! I can't edit them though, so no cropping or red eye removal... you guys probably don't care though :)

This weekend we went to the aquarium in Newport with our good friends the Boases. Matt is Kyle's co-worker (he's an english teacher at the high school), and he's head coach of the girls basketball team that Kyle is helping. They have a little girl named Summer, and we've really enjoyed hanging out and spending time with them!

Look at all the fishies!

Checking it all out



The girls!

One of my faves :)



The Boases!

It was a very fun day trip, and we topped it off with a trip to Mo's. Kyle loves their clam chowder that comes in a bread bowl, and they make a mean grilled cheese!

Payton is so BIG, it's hard to believe her birthday will be here again in just two short weeks. She is speaking in sentences, she seems to be spouting off at least one new word everyday. We've been told that she's a really great talker for her age, it seems like she is always chatting about something! We enrolled her in a gymnastics class for toddlers at a gym in Corvallis, which has lots of fun activities for her to do with kids her age. She's pretty shy at first, but once she opens up she has so much fun! Kyle and I think it's a really good confidence booster for her, and encourages her to get out there and try new things. I think it's just as beneficial for her emotionally as it is physically. Plus she's perfecting her forward front roll! :)

Payton's favorite things at the moment are her babies and Elmo. She is OBSESSED with Elmo right now! She asks to watch him from the moment she wakes up until we tell her it's time for her bath. We really don't want her to just veg and watch Elmo all day, so we've been having to get creative about playing with her to keep her interested in other things too. I will admit though, Elmo definitely has it's perks... Kyle and I got a portable DVD player for the car, and yesterday on our trip to Newport (about an hour and a half each way) we put on Elmo and it was the most peaceful car ride ever! Totally worth it! We only bring it out for road trips, so it seems like a special treat to her. She likes the music one the best, she loves singing songs. Baa baa black sheep and the alphabet are her favorites at the moment. She has two bottom teeth coming in right now, the last of her baby teeth. She's still sleeping great though, thank goodness. She is a great sleeper at night, we are very lucky!

We've had a few recent experiences with the "terrible twos" lately. Tonight she wanted me to lay down on the floor so she could put a blanket on me and pat my back (I guess she picked that up at daycare). She told me "mommy down! mommy get DOWN!" I guess I didn't move fast enough, and she burst into tears, still yelling "mommy down!" She started getting hysterical, so I just removed her from the situation and took her to her room, where she eventually calmed down. It was like she flipped an emotional switch! Kyle and I joke about how she's going to do with a sibling because she's pretty possessive of us. One time Summer was sitting on Kyle's lap and when Payton saw that she started crying and saying "my daddy!" We laugh about it, but I think it will be a pretty big adjustment for her when it happens. She'll probably look at US and say "my baby!" :)

These are a few pictures I recently took in our backyard. I wanted to do a fun photo shoot with an umbrella, but Payton wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Pretty cute though!





"Cheeeeeeeeese" :)

Let it... snow?

Hello everyone! Hope you are all staying warm, safe and dry in this weather. I have to admit I was pretty skeptical when the forecasters predicted snow, but it looks like for once they were right!

Sunday morning we heard Payton get up around 8:30 (she has been sleeping in lately, which is VERY nice!), and we brought her into our bed and the three of us looked out the window while the snow fell. She actually seememd pretty interested in it, until she realized it was time for breakfast. After she ate we threw some warm clothes on her and headed outside before it melted!

Hmmm... what is this stuff??

Daddy and I checking ourselves out in the video camera

The only other time she's seen snow was when we went to Sunriver when she was about 10 months old. She wasn't too excited about it, and didn't even want to play in it. But now that Dad taught her how to make snowballs that was a different story!



So fun!

Very intense about this snowball business...

Payton has been developing so quickly lately that it's almost making our heads spin. She has been putting sentences together quite a bit, and saying lots of words that I didn't even know she knew! For example, we were in Target one day with Kyle, who had walked ahead to get something, and Payton turned to me in the cart and said "Where Daddy go?" I just stared at her and all I could do was point at him! She can also say "I want cracker", "I want cheese", etc. She uses those quite a bit! She has even started really responding to us; one night I told her I loved her, and she said "I love you too momma". My heart melted! She can point out so much too. I was reading her a book and she was looking at the pictures and naming things off like trees, flowers, cars, trucks (she REALLY likes saying hi to trucks when we're driving to daycare), and she even said "Papa's truck" when I pointed to a picture of a firetruck :) She's really into Elmo right now, I let her watch one Elmo video and now she'll point to the TV and say "Watch Elmo? Watch Elmo momma?" She loves to sing, but if you sing with her and get too loud she will actually "shhh!" you! It's hilarious! She has so much personality, and it's becoming more and more obvious all the time! My favorite observation that someone made about her is "wow, she really walks with a purpose, huh?" Yep, she definitely has quite the strut!

The other day I heard Payton in the bathroom saying "baby potty, baby potty". When I went in to investigate, Payton had put her baby on her potty and was sitting next to her like we do when she sits on the potty! SO cute!

Stay safe on the roads out there!

Happy New Year, welcome 2012!

I figured I had better blog before the angry mob starts sending me nasty e-mails :) I was hoping as the holidays wound down that we would have more free time, but of course that is never the case! We had a wonderful Christmas though, it was so much more fun this year now that Payton (sort of) understands what is going on.

This used to be mommy's wrapping paper bin. I thought it was funny to dump everything out and climb in :)

She knows who Santa is (but won't go NEAR him to get a picture!), and loves playing with our stuffed snowmen, she gets really excited when she sees them. We tried telling her that Santa was going to leave her some presents this year, but I think that is one we'll have to work on for next year :) She must have understood more than I realized though, because when family started showing up on Christmas Eve with presents to put under the tree, she screamed "TOYS! TOYS!" and started running around like I had given her an IV of sugar water. She was obsessed with the presents, picking them up, touching them, moving them from one side of the room to the other. We tried to have her play "Santa" and help pass the gifts out, but she kept taking them from people's piles and moving them around. She was into unwrapping them at first, but after a few (because she is very blessed and had many!) she got over it and just wanted to play with the toys she had unwrapped.

Look at all the presents!

Helping Uncle Tanner

We had Christmas Eve at our house, so that we could get Payton to bed at a decent time but still all get to hang out. It was fun hosting our first family event at our new home.

We had a lot of family and gifts!

Reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" with Grandma Joy

My new Christmas jammies from Grandma Jo :)

After Payton went to sleep, Kyle and I got to work. Payton's big Santa gift was a kitchen, and we also got her a little fold out couch to hang out on.

Tada!

At first Payton only noticed the little stuffed Elmo we had gotten her. Out of all the gifts, she picked the least expensive one! But then she sat on her couch and thought that was pretty cool, and we asked her if she had seen the kitchen yet. Then she looked at it and said "kitchen!"



Coffee anyone?

Hanging with Elmo

My couch turns into a bed--fun! :)

My new kitchen comes with a phone, so I got deep into conversation with... someone!

Grandma Joy got me a ball pit for Christmas, which has been a blast!

Daddy climbed in with me!

My new dress was a huge hit at Christmas dinner! So cute, thanks Grandma Jo!

Unfortunately I was on call for the weekend. It was something I anticipated and understood since I was a new employee (we get the crappy holidays), but I am very glad it's over and I won't have to work Christmas again for several years. I just didn't want to get called Christmas morning, I really wanted to see Payton's expression when she saw her big gift. Luckily, I got to enjoy Christmas morning with my family, at least for a while. It ended up being a busy weekend, but not during the times I really wanted to be with Payton, so that was good.

The following week my parents and Chelsea came down, and even though I had to work, it was so fun to get to see them, and for them to get tons of Payton time.

Drawing in some of my new coloring books with Grandma Jo

Washing my hands before I make everyone some food

I played on the drums while Grandpa Scott practiced his bagpipes!

I wish everyone could have stayed longer, but they had to head back on NYE. After Payton went to bed we had Rick, Sue, Bryan and Lindsey over for drinks and games. We were having so much fun that we didn't even notice when 2011 ended and 2012 began!

This week, it's just been adjusting to real life again. Kyle's back at work, and he was given some exciting news. They are going to hire him part time next semester as a math teacher! He's going to be helping the kids that are struggling with their math proficiencies, and since he will have classes every other day, he can still sub too. He will be an official staff member at West Albany High School, which is a huge step in the door for him. We're hoping that when a social studies teacher retires (and there are two slated to retire in the next year!) then they can give him a couple social studies classes and then he will be full time. We have been so grateful for all of the opportunities he's received at West, and since that is Kyle's dream job, we're really keeping our fingers crossed that everything works out! Kyle's also been keeping busy by helping coach freshman girls basketball, which he is really enjoying. I take Payton to their games whenever I can, and she LOVES going! It's nice because the high school is literally down the street from us, so it's easy to come and go. Whenever I say the word "gym" she looks at me and says "basketball?" :) She just sits there and watches, which is pretty amazing. Hopefully being exposed to sports so young will help her be much more athletic than her momma!

2012 is shaping up to be a good year so far. No big trips planned, but a couple weddings so far, and I have a birthday party to start planning already :) Plus my sister asked me to be her matron of honor, which I am so excited about! Lots of wedding ideas to discuss! Kyle and I would like to plan a long weekend together somewhere maybe this summer, so hopefully that will work out too. This month marks a year I've already been at my "new" job too, which is also crazy to think about.

I have to confess, I have a new obsession which probably hasn't helped my lack of blogging. I decided that since I made a lot of money working call over Christmas, I would splurge and finally buy myself a kindle. I've thought about it before, but haven't had a lot of time for recreational reading, and I wasn't really sure if I would like reading on a screen instead of a book so I've put it off. Well, I LOVE it! I've had it less than two weeks and am already on my fifth book. I'm just sorry I didn't buy it sooner! Kyle laughed at me and asked me the other night who I would save in a fire; him or the kindle? I had to think about it :)

Anyway, hope you are all enjoying the new year! Talk soon!

Merry Christmas to all...

It's still hard to believe that Christmas is upon is, isn't it? The year 2011 has come and almost gone. I was reflecting just the other day on what an intense year this has been for us; it has been full of so many ups and downs. It all started with us making a major life changing decision and moving to Albany in January. It meant leaving a job and people that I loved and moving in with my husband and our baby into his parents house, and starting new jobs. The following month our little girl turned a year old, which was a huge milestone. In April Kyle graduated with his Master's degree, and finished his student teaching in June. In May my sweet grandmother lost her long and hard fought battle with cancer. She was one of the kindest, most generous, wonderful women I've ever known, and her death has really affected me. I had always counted on her as one of the most supportive and important people in my life, so to lose her was devastating. I think about her daily, and I always will. In June we finally decided to put our house in Portland on the market; it would take five months for it to sell, but was definitely one of the hightlights of the year! In September Kyle started officially teaching at his alma mater, West Albany high school. It was the culmination of many years of hard work, and he loves what he does. In October we closed on our home in Albany, and moved out of Rick and Sue's. It was nice to be in our own place again, but bittersweet because we had such a great time staying there with them, and they were so wonderful to us by taking us in until we got on our feet. Which brings us to now... I'm not going to lie, I am excited for 2012. I hope it brings prosperity and peace to all!

We've already been in our new house 2 months now, and finally starting to feel settled in with all of the improvements. Our new carpet arrived a few weeks ago and has made a HUGE difference! It looks nice, but more importantly the house smells so much nicer. You're not assaulted by the smell of cat pee every time you walk in the door. 100% worth it!

Ahhh, new carpet. I swear the wall isn't that bright, my camera's flash makes it look funny.

The new carpet in Payton's room

Our stockings :)
e hallway


My grandpa dug this out of his attic, it's a table and chairs that Chelsea and I used to use. Payton loves it!

This is the face she made when I told her to say "cheese!" (with her baby of course!)

Payton has been so much fun to watch, she is saying SO MUCH these days. If you haven't seen her in a while, you would be amazed at how much she's developed! Every morning I get her up, we go down the hallway and she says "Tree! Tree! Hi tree!" We went for a walk tonight and she had to say hello to everything. "Hi bush! Hi car! Hi truck!" It is super cute, she pretty much chatters nonstop. She can sing her abc's all the way through, and even count to ten. She likes identifying everything and everyone. If we're in a room with a bunch of people, she will go around and say hello to each of us, mutliple times. She's getting pretty bossy too :) We jump when she says jump, literally! She loves her books and her babies, and spends most of her time playing with them or following us around. She likes to be doing what we're doing, whether it be laundry, cleaning, getting dressed, you name it. She repeats everything, she seems like such a little sponge. Last weekend we took her to a place called The Little Gym in Corvallis. It's a class where the kids are in a certain age group (Payton's is 19 months to 2 1/2, they're called "beasts"). They sing songs, tumble, play, throw balls, identify colors, that sort of thing. She's usually pretty shy with new people, but after the introductory song she was up and running! She had SO much fun, and Kyle and I had so much fun watching her. We will definitely be going again! Her favorite part was when they had a big parachute that the kids all got to slide on and go under. She was laughing hysterically, it was so cute.

So I know I never posted Thanksgiving pictures (I'm lame). Here are a few for you!

Snuggling with Grandma Jo

Singing songs with cousin Kyanne!

Reading with cousin McKenna

A very special tradition... Great grandpa Book reading Hucklebones

Grandma got me a new purse

See my pretty bracelet?

One of the highlights of the weekend; Zoolights!











Checking out the fish tank...

We had a great weekend! It went by waaaay too fast. Back at home...

Supervising daddy putting up the Christmas lights

I love this one :)

So much fun to explore

We took Payton to an event called Storybook Land that they do every year at Christmas the expo center. It's free, and it's really neat for kids. Payton loved it!



Kyle and I are so excited to watch Payton enjoy Christmas this year. It seems like forever ago that we bought her gifts, and we can't wait to watch her face when she gets to open them. Her big gift from Kyle and I is a big girl kitchen, which we think she will love. The ladies at her daycare told us that she's pretty obsessed with thiers, so I think she'll love having one at home. We were watching home videos from last years Christmas and it is amazing how different Payton is in just a year. Last year she just sat there and stared at everyone; I can only imagine what she will be like this year! Running around, laughing, talking up a storm. We can't wait! :)

Merry Chirstmas everyone! We will miss you Casebolts/Books/Walkers/Cooks. Wish we could be there!

And congratulations to Richard and Chelsea, the future Mr. and Mrs. Falk!!! :)