Peyton's Big News

We've told our families, so now we can share this little cutie's big news...

Baby Girl Thelin #2... Coming October 5, 2011

"Spring"

I feel like it's been ages since I posted last. In Oregon, especially, where the weather is pretty much constant from November through May, these last "spring" months seem to crawl by. I say "spring" in quotes because our "spring" is no different from our winter; there are just more flowers around. I don't want it to seem like I'm complaining too much- it is beautiful, and I truly can't imagine living somewhere else, even if the weather is on average 25 degrees cooler here than I would like. Needless to say, not too much has been happening around here since my mom and little brother left. Peyton has been wrapping up the spring term of ballet and gymnastics, and she hasn't gotten sick of them yet. When I asked her if she still wants to do either, she replied with a fervent "Yes!" I love that she loves dance and gymnastics. I hope it stays that way through her youth- I think it would be way more fun to watch dance recitals and gym competitions than softball games (of course that's just my personal preference- I know everyone enjoys different sports). We went to the zoo on a decent weather day. Peyton hadn't been there in probably 7 months, so she was super excited to be there. Jade and his brothers took his dad on a little overnight shooting/camping adventure for his birthday. They'll use any excuse to get out together for some man-time. I had a much needed girls' night out with my girlfriends. We didn't get back home until 12:40 am! That is very late in mommy-time.

I had a great Mother's Day. Jade took Peyton all morning and I got to sleep in. They woke me up with breakfast in bed and Peyton was as cute as could be, and shared my breakfast with me. Peyton wished me and every other adult or teenage female "Happy Mother's Day" every time she remembered the occasion. The men in our ward took over all the 3rd hour classes, so all the women were able to go to Relief Society. It was nice, but I wasn't used to just sitting in a class. I felt a little antsy, like I needed to be doing something. Primary sure is a different ball game. Jade and his brothers and dad handled our Sunday family dinner, so none of the women had to cook anything. That was a great treat. They made steak, chicken and vegetable kabobs on the grill, with a yummy fruit salad and garlic bread. Jade recreated the famous Pazooki dessert (from Valentine's Day), and it turned out amazing. It was a great day, and I just kept thinking over and over again how lucky I am to be a mom! I really can't imagine doing something different with my life. It's funny how things turn out. When I was 17 and going into the Air Force Academy, I wasn't sure if I ever really wanted to be a mom. I was all about schooling and an exciting career. Now I can't imagine anything that could bring me more fulfillment than being a mom. Sometimes I wonder if I'll go back and get my Masters, or get certified to teach pilates or zumba, or go to aesthetics school, and while all those things sound fun, I can't even imagine wanting to take time off from being a full-time mom to do them. Maybe things will change when all my kids are in school, but for now, I am so happy to just be with my little girl 24 hours a day. I never, ever get sick of it (even when she's driving me nuts and I have to take a time-out and have a candy bar). I'm so grateful to be a mom, and to have a spectacular little lady to be a mother to.

We had a double date FHE with one of our oldest friends, Branden and his new wife. It was so good to see him- it reminds me of the dating days (Branden's brother Bryce was the one who set Jade and I up). We also had another double date with a new couple in our ward who are so cute and so fun. We went to a really trendy restaurant downtown, which Jade and I never do, so that was really exciting. We decided we need to get downtown more often. We helped one of Jade's teachers with his Eagle Scout project. It was a 5K to raise money for a garden at a hospital that he'll be building. Peyton and I did the "fun run", which was just running laps around the church building. She was so cute running- she just wanted to talk the whole time, and she would alternate between running, walking, and complaining about wanting to go inside the church and eat. She cracked me up. In the end, we made it 5 laps, which was pretty good for an almost-3 year old.

Justin and Jade took the kids for a "fun" morning of gun shopping.Ever since my mom was here, Peyton has become obsessed with washing the dishes. She asks to do it every time we eat, and sometimes at other points in the day too. We try to ration it, so she thinks it's a privilege.

And if that wasn't a red flag for OCD, this sure is. Peyton tells me she wants to put her food (apple slices here) in straight lines. She also has taken to "hiding" all the time. If one of us leaves the room or is about to enter the room, she "hides", usually behind her shirt or hands. This time; a dish towel.

Last class of the season with Coach Tasha and Coach Monika

Last ballet class of the season, with Miss Katie

I was packing my clothes for our Las Vegas vacation, and Peyton told me she was going to go get her bag packed, too. She came back a few minutes later with a suitcase full of shoes!

Jade and some clients played in a charity golf tournament in Eastern Oregon. They won 1st place!!

This would appear to be my suitcase, but look closely...

I have a little stow-away!

Jade tried to teach Peyton that there are better hiding places than behind her hands.

Happy spring everyone!

Easter Sunday

We had a great Easter this year. Since Peyton is old enough now to finally "get" a lot of things, we spent the month doing our Family Home Evening lessons on what Easter is really about. They're quite rudimentary, but she retains the information pretty well, and in my heart I believe she is actually even learning a little. Easter morning we were lucky enough to be joined by my mom and Chaz (their flights left around noon).

I need to preface this story with a little background information. Every day, when Jade gets home from work, Peyton hears the garage opens and says "I'm going to hide" or "I need to hide!" Then she jumps behind our couch in the living room, and giggles until he walks into the house. Then she usually yells something along the lines of "I'm hiding" or "You can't see me" or she just squeals and laughs. It happens every day, and it's always the same place. That is where the Easter Bunny hid her basket this year.

When Peyton woke up around 7 we had a little chat with her about the Easter Bunny, that maybe he (is it a she?) came in the night and filled up her Easter basket. We told her to run downstairs and look for her basket. She was so excited. She ran into the kitchen and stopped dead when she spotted the lilies (aw) Jade surprised me with. She was a little confused, I could see it in her eyes. I think she was trying to process if that was what the Easter bunny left for her. We reminded her that the bunny had hidden her basket. We asked her where it could be hiding. She ran right to her usual hiding spot and spotted her basket. She was thrilled. She brought it out to where she could sit down and look through it. I was really excited about her basket this year, it had some great stuff; 2 nice (not dress-up) bracelets, a duckie towel, 5 Fancy Nancy books, Pinkalicious (a book), sidewalk chalk, bunny shoes (that are the same kind as her doggie shoes that she loved but outgrew a couple months ago), a beach ball (since hers popped and she was so disappointed about it), a Fancy Nancy notebook, magnets, and pen, bubbles, and some other good stuff. Notice that nothing in the basket was edible- by design. She already had tons of candy and snacks; I thought she would be more excited about the presents. I was wrong. About halfway into her basket, she asked in the most innocent (not snotty) voice, "Where's the treats?" I was flabbergasted. How did she even know that treats were missing? Luckily Noni saved the day. She told Peyton about how she really wanted to give her a fun Easter present, too, so she brought her a little gift. She pointed her to Tink's toy box, where her present was. Peyton loved this one. All sorts of treats (thankfully for my sake, there was nothing too crazy). I guess next year I know what she'll be looking forward to.

After she looked through her gifts, we had a nice breakfast of eggs and bacon and cinnamon rolls. Peyton looked up at my flowers and asked, "Who gave those to me?" I think she thought everything on Easter was for her. As I was putting something in the microwave, I got a huge surprise. An Easter basket for me! My sweet mommy had brought Jade, Chaz and me each an Easter surprise! She is so thoughtful. After breakfast it was the sad time- time to take our visitors to the airport. It was sad, but we'll hopefully be seeing them again really soon. After the airport, it was time for nap, then church, then family dinner. Grandma and Grandpa Thelin set up an Easter egg hunt for the kids- Peyton, the triplets and Taryn had their own hunt, and the older kids had a separate hunt. It was fun to watch them all go for the candy- Peyton was by far the most competitive "hunter" of her age group, and scored quite a bit of candy.

When we finally got home from all the festivities, we cleaned up our mess of a house, and as I was about to climb into bed, Jade pointed out that he had made me a little Easter egg hunt of my own, and I hadn't even noticed. He was actually right, I was so interested in getting cleaned up that I had missed the eggs! My sweet and thoughtful husband knows what a big deal holidays are to me, and made an extra special effort to make this Easter wonderful for me. He succeeded. I was like a little kid, running around our room looking for my eggs. When I found them all, I opened them and saw that each had a piece of paper with something Jade loves about me. He told me that instead of "10 Things I Hate About You" (that's a movie, in case you don't know) he made "10 Things I Love About You." SO sweet. I am one lucky girl.
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Waiting to go downstairs.

On the run

Cutest sunglasses from Noni

Peyton was so excited to wear her "fancy dress" to church. After breakfast she disappeared, and came back downstairs wearing the dress, backwards, with some too-big patent leather shoes. It was so cute. She really had her heart set on me wearing my "fancy pink dress" to church, so that's what I wore. She's all girl.

I love this crooked smile

She was very sad that her shoes weren't fancy. They actually were really cute, but she wanted patent leather ones. I guess now I'm on the lookout for some white patent leather shoes.

I wanted to get a cute side shot of the dress, and instead I got a nose-pick.

I love this little girl more than anything in the world.

After every egg she picked up, she opened it and examined the contents. Luckily her fellow "hunters" weren't competitive either, or she would have ended up with just one egg.

Easter Egg Hunt/ Fair

I thought it would be really fun for my mom to watch Peyton do an Easter egg hunt (grandmas love that kind of stuff), so we took Peyton to the Washington County Fairgrounds to do the Easter fair. They had a candy hunt for the 2 and under kids, and surprisingly Peyton was very successful. My mom was coaching her before the hunt, "run to the middle to get the candy, because all the kids will stop on the sides." Peyton ran right out to the middle and got a bunch of candy. She was so proud of her loot- she held onto the bucket for dear life. It turned out to be a gorgeous day in Portland- capping out around the high-60's and sunny. Everyone wanted to get out and soak up sunshine, so it did get pretty busy toward the end. At the fair they had crafts for the kids, jump houses/inflatable slides and obstacle courses, a petting zoo, and Peyton's favorite activity- pony rides! Peyton picked her pony first, and when she sat down, the girl told her that the pony's name was Tink! Peyton was thrilled. She had a great time running around and choosing what she wanted to do. She got to go inside a fire truck, and thought that was pretty neat, but she didn't want to go near the police car, because the sirens kept going off and they were too loud. After the fair Peyton needed a nap, so she and I went home, and Jade took my mom and brother to the famous Nike Employee Store. After their shopping spree, Chaz and Jade went to the golf course and played around, and my mom and I took Peyton to her friend Brooklyn's 3rd birthday party at Gymboree. She had a blast, and it was so cute watching her. She danced almost the entire time. She has some serious moves. At one point I was dancing along and Peyton came up to me and said, "No dancing mommy." I guess maybe I was embarrassing her. To cap off our fun day, we met the boys for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. All in all it was a very beautiful and fun day.

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Before the hunt. She was pumped up.

Can you spot her in the crowd?

Showing off her candies.

Frosting a cookie with Noni

Some of you might remember our experience with the Easter bunny last year...
Needless to say, I was a little worried about the whole bunny thing this year. A few weeks ago we were at the mall and she saw the Easter bunny. We walked by him and waved, and she really wanted to go say hi to him. So we went in. She was a little nervous at first, but eventually warmed up to him and gave him a hug. When she saw that he was at the fair, she was adamant about going to see him. We waited in line, and when it was her turn, she was totally cool with him. We were pleasantly surprised.

Jade was shaking the tube when Peyton was in it, so she kept losing her balance and falling and couldn't get out. She thought it was the best game ever. She was laughing and kept wanting to do it again and again.