Payten's First Day of Preschool

Payten's very first day of preschool was today. She was soooo excited and ready to go to "big girl school" as she calls it. We got her into a very good preschool, thanks to one of my friends who works there. She goes twice a week and hopefully is going to learn a lot! I will hopefully be able to update my blog a little more frequently since I will have a few hours a week of free time while she is there. I go and pick her up in one hour so I am hoping she loved her first day. Usually we drop the kids off in the commons area, but today I got to walk her back to her class room. She was holding pretty tightly to my hand, but once we got back to the class she went on in and didn't seem to care that mommy was fixing to leave. I got to stand back and watch for a minute and I saw her teacher call them all over to the alphabet rug and she went and sat down next to a little girl and listened so well to her teachers instructions. I was so proud of her. She noticed me in the corner watching and she smiled at me and blew me a kiss. It made my heart melt. I wanted to cry, but I contained my tears. Well, it is almost time to pick her up. I will update on how her first day went later. Oh and below is a video of her walking in. You will have to excuse my video skills this morning. I couldn't see the screen b/c of the sun.... I guess my camera should have been turned the other way. :)

My Little Artist

Payten loves to color!!!!!!!! Every day she colors at least for an hour. I have stacks and stacks of her art work. The other day at the YMCA she decided to draw Mickey and Minnie Mouse. I came in to pick her up and this is what she was coloring! I thought it was adorable and really good for her age. I was so proud of her. I asked her who it was and she said Mickey and Minnie and gave me a look like, "Mom can you not tell who it is?" My Granny is an artist and so is Grandma Pregler so I am wondering if she has artistic talent running through her blood. :) Today at the YMCA her teacher brought me this and told me that Payten colored it all by herself without any help! She does such a good job staying in the lines. Payten was so excited to show me what she had colored and insisted that it go on the refrigerator. That's exactly where it is right now...for everyone to see! I want her to know that we are so proud of her art work!! Little Miss Payten playing around and being her normal self, happy and silly! When I told her to smile for the camera she put her hands on her hips and posed. Such a funny girl.

Fun weekend with Family

We had so much fun with Chris, Jenn and Cole this past weekend. They came in Friday around 1:00 so we decided to go to Willy's Icehouse for lunch. (The resturant with the really good chicken strips and sand box.) While we were there Jennifer decided to squirt Chris with ketchup!!!! It was a complete accident....but sooooo funny! The ketchup bottle exploded and went all over Chris. It was dripping from his hair, his face and all over his clothes. Great memories! :) We went to Katy Mills Mall and did some Christmas shopping, hung out at the pool, watched the OSU Cowboys win their first football game and played Mexican Dominoes. Did I mention we ate???? We ate so much food. I didn't eat the entire next day. Well not until that night. Thanks Chris and Jennifer for coming to visit us! You are welcome in Texas anytime!!!! That goes for you too....Colin and Brooke! Get your booties down here! :) Payten loves her cousin Cole. She fed him a bottle a couple times but after a few minutes decided she was done. She sat and played with him when he was playing on his play mat. Saturday night we went to Hasta La Pasta and these pics were taken right before we went to eat. We decided to get all dressed up for dinner. My Payten is growing up way too fast. It makes me so sad to think that she is three now. I know I have mentioned this before....but seriously can we slow the time clock down??? Well let's wait and slow it down in three months. I want to get this baby out of me before we slow time down! :) Payten is such a sweet heart. She is so complimentary of other people and really notices details. She told Jennifer that she really liked her clothes and when we were in their Tahoe she told her that she liked her car. Her hair is finally growing. Her best friend Alayna has long pretty hair so Payten is always talking about how she wants long hair. Everytime I get her out of the bath she wants me to blow dry her hair so it can be "longer". Silly girl. I love my Paytie girl very much!

Payten and Cole were both VERY full of poop this weekend! I don't know what was making these kiddos have to go to the bathroom so much. After we got home from Willy's I decided to give Payten a real quck bath just to rinse her off from all the sand and poop. She insisted that Cole take a bath with her. I thought these pics were so cute.

Crazy Week!

Here is the plaque my friend made for our babies room. I think it turned out so pretty and I absolutely love the verse!!! She also made a wood plaque for Paytie's room. I will post a pic of it as well tomorrow....or maybe the next day. Things have been a little crazy around this house lately and I get a D- for my blogging the past couple months. I have some really cute pics of Payten I need to post, so sometime soon I will do that. Sunday after church Matt, Paytie and I went to Willy's Icehouse. It is our favorite place to get the best chicken fingers and french fries. They also have a huge sandbox that Payten can play in while we are there. She loves going to the "sandbox" resturant as she calls it. Anyway on our way home Payten and I got rear ended by a huge black truck at a major stop light. He hit us pretty hard and made a beautiful dent on the side of our car. To make a long story short the guy wanted to pay us cash and he didn't want us to claim it on his insurance. Matt...being the nice guy that he is agreed to give the guy the benefit of the doubt and let him come up with the cash. Well the guy calls a day later after Matt had given him the estimate and he started saying it would take him a couple months to get the money to us. Well, I don't think so! That is not going to fly. Okay so we decide to go ahead and make a claim on his insurance. Well, guess who doesn't have insurance? Yep...you guessed it! :( I am sooooo mad!!!!!!! So now we are going to have to make a claim on our insurance and pay our deductible all b/c some stupid dead beat doesn't have insurance! Can you tell I am mad. And then I have a doctor's appt. tomorrow just to make sure that everything is okay with our little baby. I am pretty certain everything is okay...he is still kicking and squirming in there, but just for peace of mind my doctor wants me to come in and do an ultra sound. I am ready for this week to be over because Chris, Jennifer and Cole are coming to visit us this weekend! We are going to have so much fun. Jennifer and I are going shopping Saturday morning and afternoon while the guys watch the kiddos and then when we get back OSU plays their first game of the season!!!!! YAAAA!! I can't wait. I am soooo excited for football season. We love football season around our house. That means lots more pizza, chips and queso to eat. I really hope OSU does well this year. It is always more fun to watch a winning team! :)

Babies Room

Here are some pics of the babies room. Friday night I went to dinner with some friends and when I got home Matt had painted the room and suprised me! He did such a great job. We wanted to go with a darker paint color but the room is not very big and we thought a lighter color matched the bedding better than a darker shade. This weekend we also got baskets for the changing table and curtains for the window. I ordered some really cute stuff for the walls but it will take a couple weeks to get it in....I will post more pics when the room is completly done. I had to take a couple different shots b/c I can't get the entire room in one shot. The baby is growing and kicking like crazy! I went to the doctor at 22 weeks (last week). They did another ultra sound and it is still a boy! I have gained a total of 13 pounds. I have been working out 3 times per week to try and keep my weight down.....I know how hard it is to get off!!!!!! The baby is barely over a pound......and why have I gained 13 lbs???? :) He has all of his fingers and toes and looks so cute. I think he is going to look exactly like his Daddy. We'll find out before too long!

Payten's Potty Training Adventure

Well, we have had quite the adventure getting this little girl fully potty trained! But I can say, Praise God....she is finally there! In March we had her completly potty trained except for at night and then we went to Disney World and everything went downhill from there. We came back from the trip and all she wanted to wear was pull ups. We tried and tried to keep panties on her but she would pee and poop in them and then it would leave a huge mess for me to clean up. So instead of fighting the battle I decided to put her back into pull ups and let her decide when she was ready to wear big girl panties again. When we were in Oklahoma a couple weeks ago we hung out with Ady and Ashley for a night. She saw Ady go to the bathroom and she wanted to do it too. Since we have been back from Oklahoma she has only had two accidents and that makes us soooo happy! She gets extremely excited to see her poopoo!!! Everytime she wants Matt and I both to see it before she flushes the potty. And then once she flushes the potty, she will start waving to the toilet and say, "Bye Bye poopoo!!" I know sooo gross, but had to write it down so in 20 years we can embarass her! She really wants to get her ears pierced so we told once she goes an entire week without having an accident mommy and daddy will take her to get her ears pierced. Life has been MUCH more simple since Payten has decided to go to the bathroom on the potty. :) She has known for awhile how to hold her blatter and go on the potty, but she is a very stubborn girl and is not going to do anything until she makes her mind up. Congratulations Payten!!!!! We knew you had it in you. :) She always uses the big potty but today she decided she wanted to use the little potty. I don't care which one she chooses just as long as she chooses one!

Finally an update and trip to Oklahoma

We really enjoyed our trip back to Oklahoma! It went by so fast once again, but it was worth the trip. We got to spend lots of time with friends and family. Matt has his 10 year reuninion. We had lots of fun and I know Matt really enjoyed catching up with old high school friends. While Matt and I were doing reunion stuff, Paytie was having fun with Meme, Papa, Grandma Jan, Grandpa Mike, Aunt JJ, Uncle Chris and sweet little Cole. On Friday night she went to the Kiddie Park and rode the roller coaster a few times and other rides....we were told that she wanted to ride the roller coaster over and over again. She loves fast rides! Saturday my parents took her to ride horses and Hailey came to spend the night. They are such buddies. Hailey playes with her so well and is always so patient with her. I wish they could play more together. Payten loves her cousin Hailey! Sunday morning Mom made us a really good breakfast and we got to visit with my family. We had a really good, relaxing morning. Sunday evening we hung out with Matt's family and went to Charleston's. After dinner the entire gang hung out and all the kiddos played together. Well Cole slept, but the girls played. Payten had a little problem sharing toys with Kennedi! We are working on the sharing thing right now. Payten likes to hog all the toys. :) Kennedi and Payten played chase around the house. It was so cute to see them laughing and having a good time together. She loves her cousin Kennedi. We are so blessed to have such wonderful families!!! Here is a picture of Matt and I before the reunion on Sat. night. We had so much fun visiting with all of Matt's friends. There were about 6 other pregnant women there so I didn't feel so out of place with other mommies walking around! :)

Here is Matt holding Cole. Matt was getting some practice in and I'm sure he is ready to hold his own son!!! I know we are so excited to have him join our family. Only 4 more months!

Payten had her second dentist appt. She loved going to the dentist the first time, but this time she wasn't so sure about the whole thing. She sucks her thumb when she is tired and we always tell her that the dentist is going to be upset with her when he finds out she is sucking her thumb....well she was scared of him I think. He asked her if she sucked her thumb and she looked up at me and got tears in her eyes. She has only sucked her thumb a couple times since then. It was cute, but also a little sad to see her tear up!!!! :) On a good note, the dentist said she has really good teeth!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Payten!

Happy Birthday to my sweet, precious Payten Mackenzie. I can't believe three years has gone by. I was sooo happy on her birthday and yet kinda sad that she is growing up faster than I want her too. I am excited that she is growing up into a beautiful little girl......but miss the days that she was a tiny little baby. I will cherish everyday and I am so blessed to have her in my life. I couldn't imagine life without her and I love her more and more everyday. She is my little buddy and brings so much joy to my heart. The bible verse, "Children are a blessing from the Lord" is so true. Everytime I think of that verse I thank God that he blessed me with a precious daughter who is healthy, happy, joyful, and full of life. Payten is a spunky little girl that keeps Matt and I on our t0es....she will always be my "baby angel". (I have always called her this since we brought her home from the hospital.) On her birthday we celebrated by having her a family birthday party. She is having her birthday party with her friends next Saturday. We got up the morning of her birthday and played around the house. For lunch we went to Los Cucos and ate Mexican food. She loves their chips and green dip from there. After we ate our waiter and a few more workers came over and sang Happy Birthday and I think embarrassed her a little bit. She didn't know what to think when a huge crowd walked up and put this gigantic hat on her head and started singing to her. She warmed up real quick to the attention!!! After lunch we went home and sang Happy Birthday, blew out her candles, ate birthday cake that mom and I made her...Payten helped :) and then opened presents. She had so much fun on her birthday! The rest of the day Papa and Daddy taught her how to swing a bat and play t-ball. She did really well and we think she is a natural athlete! :) Just like her Mommy and Daddy! haha After it cooled off we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and let Payten ride her jeep. Her friend Zenden rode with her and we ended up walking for around 45 mintues. She was having way to much fun with Papa chasing her the entire time and he kept acting like Payten was running over his toes with the jeep and for some reason her and Zended thought it was hilarous. Little kids have such a sense of humor! Mom and I worked so hard on this cake. You can definitely tell it is home made....but Payten loved it! And that's what matters. :) She didn't care that the cake was a little crooked and the writing was a little messed up in some places. (By the way, mom the writing was pretty good....a lot better than what I could have done!) haha

I love you Miss Payten! Beyond words! I think it is so cute how you always tell me that you look just like me. You say, "Mommy, we have the same eyes and the same hair." You look up at me with your big brown eyes and smile and it makes my heart melt!!!