Oh Baby!

I wondered if this day would ever come. For over 4 years I've dreamed, imagined and prayed like the dickens to experience another pregnancy. And finally, our prayers have been answered. We always knew we were working on God's timetable and not our own, but year after year it became harder and harder to understand why God wanted us to wait to have another child. And although the answer may never been 100% clear, I do know that in the past 4 years I have grown intimately closer to God and have strengthened my marriage and my faith like I never thought possible. So although thousands of tears have been shed throughout the process, in the end, I know it was necessary to go through the pain to get to this point.

Now, onto the fun stuff! Several people have asked me to post some "belly pics" on the blog, so I finally took some this morning. I will be 5 months pregnant in 2 days, which seems almost impossible. Last Friday we had our sonogram which confirmed my suspicions that we are having another boy! We couldn't be happier. Truly. All I prayed for was a healthy child, but in the end, I think having a little brother for Payton is the best scenario possible. He is so excited and every night he prays, "And thank you God for my little brother..." it's SO cute!

So even though most of you who read this blog have already seen this first ultrasound photo (his profile picture), I wanted to post a couple more that I thought were particularly cool. I wish I could post the video the sonographer took during the ultrasound so you could hear all of Payton's little comments while she was pointing out certain things. Especially his reaction when she pointed out his "boy parts"... oh my, did that get a laugh!

The picture below is of his arm and hand. It looks like he's actually giving a "Thumbs Up" sign which we thought was so funny. As you can see the sonographer had fun writing things on the screen like "Go Gators! Beat Tennessee!"

This next image is of his little tushy, leg, and foot, which is so clear, it's astonishing. I can't believe the things you can see on a sonogram these days. Modern technology never ceases to amaze me.

So there ya have it. Our little boy. Our miracle baby. Our gift from God. We can't wait to meet him in 4 more months! Thanks so much to all of you prayer warriors out there who never gave up on our dream and kept on praying right along with us. We love you all!

Grandparents... oh how we love them!

I often remind Payton of how very, very fortunate he is to have both sets of grandparents living so close to him. He's never known any different, so it could easily be something he takes for granted. But we constantly remind him that all of his cousins have to use an airplane to see their grandparents, so he should be so very grateful that it is only a short car ride for him.
We were reminded of this incredible blessing this past week when Payton's school had "Grandparents Read To Me Day" in honor of Grandparents Day. Brian's parents made the drive over (my parents were in the Bahamas on vacation) and had the opportunity to read to Payton in his classroom.
I was shocked at how many grandparents turned out for this event! The entire school cafeteria was filled with grandparents (and it was only grades K-2 who participated) for the breakfast they served that morning. Then we each went to our respectful classrooms where the kids were SO excited to see their grandparents.
Payton's two tablemates did not have their grandparents there that day, so Brian's parents (and Brian) were nice enough to read to the entire table. The kids had such a great time and Payton was so proud to have them there.
Thanks so much to both sets of Grandparents for your vital role in helping us raise our son (and future child). We couldn't do it without you! We love you all so much!

Tooth Fairy

So many changes and all at once... somebody help me! Not only did Payton start Kindergarten, but he also lost his first tooth... at school. Fortunately, his sweet teacher was nice enough to send it home in a ziploc bag so he didn't loose it (not sure how the Tooth Fairy knows to come to your house if you don't actually have the tooth).
So, we excitedly put the tooth under his pillow that night and anxiously awaited the Tooth Fairy's visit. Payton was thrilled the next morning to find 8 shiny quarters and 1 dollar bill with a sparkly-glittery note from the Tooth Fairy reminding him to keep on brushin' those teeth!

1st Day of Kindergarten

Much to my dismay, the first day of kindergarten still arrived bright and early this morning. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to get back into a routine and have Payton involved in a more structured learning environment (plus not having to hear Super Mario Brothers during the day is an added bonus!). It's just that I had a very hard time coming to grips with the fact that my "baby" is old enough to be starting kindergarten. How could that be?!? They grow up fast... way too fast.

It was raining so hard this morning that we couldn't take our traditional outside 1st day of school photos, but I still managed to snap a few inside
before heading to school.

Once we got to school, Payton happily found his seat, got his backpack situated, and started coloring the craft that his teacher, Mrs. Scagilone, had set out for them. He was happy as could be!

I guess the teacher could tell that I was hanging around so she nicely said, "Okay, mom, we'll see you this afternoon. Have a great day!" I looked at another mom in the room and said, "I better get out of here before he sees me cry." She sympathetically said, "It's impossible not to cry." So I hurried out of the room as my first tear streamed down my cheek. Then stood at the door and peeked in the window while doing the "ugly cry" for the next 5 minutes.

I was so proud of him though. After I walked out, he saw another boy who had a Mario Bros. backpack just like his and he walked over to show him. He was making new friends in the first 5 minutes!!!

So now I have the rest of the afternoon to get caught up on work, errands, etc. A whole day to myself! But all I can think is... "how many more minutes until I can pick him up?" Man... this is going to be harder than I thought.

Banana Bread - YUM!

Do you cook with your kids? Yes, I know the idea of letting them even go near a canister of flour can send shivers down my spine, but a little planning can make cooking with your kids so much fun.

Payton joins me in the kitchen when I'm cooking something he likes. Usually that "something" involves chocolate chips. On this particular day, I was making one of his favorite recipes - banana bread. It's a super easy recipe and fun to make with kiddos because they get to mash up the bananas (see above photo) and mix in the chocolate chips. He's even getting pretty good at using the mixer (although his arm usually gets tired after a minute or so).
Of course the best moment is licking the beaters. Do you remember doing this as a child? I sure do, and it brings back wonderful memories to see my own child do the same.
So the next time you have a couple of over-ripe bananas in the house, don't toss em... make banana bread. Trust me, it's delicious and you'll want to make it over and over again! Enjoy.




Stacy's Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
2 eggs
2-3 ripe bananas
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter or spray with Pam a 9x5x3" loaf pan.
2. Cream sugar and butter in large mixing bowl until light & fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. In a small bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Mix in milk, cinnamon and vanilla. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing until flour disappears.
5. Fold in chocolate chips until evenly dispersed.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. set aside to cool for at least 15 minutes.

Friends

From Collages

Do you have one of those friends that you've had since you were a child? How about since you were a baby? You know, one of those friends that you don't have to see or even talk to every week but the minute you get together it's as if no time has passed since your last visit. That's how Lilly and Payton are. They've know each other since they were babies, and pick up right where they left off the minute they are in the same room.

It's such a special experience as a mom to watch a friendship grow and bloom throughout the years. Seeing them go from toddling, babbling infants, to little girls and boys that have full conversations together about issues that are important to them - like food, imaginary friends, and the next game they are going to play.

Last week Payton and I had a wonderful mini vacation with Rachel and Lilly at their beautiful beach condo, and we definitely got to experience how much they have grown and changed. It was a wonderful getaway and full of fun moments and great memories.

The kids had an absolute ball swinging from the vines in the courtyard, playing in the water, discovering new sea creatures that Rachel kept finding in the ocean, and going on a pretend sea animal expedition inside the condo.

And even the fact that that Tropical Storm Bonnie rolled through while we were there didn't dampen their fun... it just gave them huge waves to "surf" on with the boogie board.
Thanks so much for inviting us Rachel & Lilly! We had a great time!

Summertime Fun

First, I have to tell you that our camera recently died. I haven't taken it to a camera repair shop yet, but I'm hoping it can be fixed. In the meantime, we are using our old camera, which doesn't quite compare to our newer one. So, I apologize for the blurry, dark, hard-to-see photos. Okay, now that that's out of the way, onto my post...

We've had a very laid-back summer lately. Lots of days spent playing with friends, lounging at the pool, and occasionally sleeping in! I've collected some random photos from the past month that I thought would be fun to share...

Our Busch Gardens pass includes their "Summer Nights" program where the park stays open later and they perform a light/pyrotechnic/gymnastics/dance/music show called "Kinetic." We went a couple weeks ago and Payton loved the show! Actually, we all really enjoyed it. It was kind of like a really crazy version of Cirque de Soliel. Of course he had to ride all the crazy rides while we were there too. Here are some photos of that evening...


Of course we've also had our share of rainy afternoon thunderstorms too. In which case, Payton and I often retreat to the guest room for a serious game of Mario Kart on the Wii. These other pictures are of our neighbors down the street whom Payton loves to play with under any circumstance - come rain or shine!


Lastly, I had to post these photos that Payton took the other morning when we were walking Rohy. The first ones turned out really quite good! Then the last ones made me laugh out loud when I viewed them on the camera. He's such a funny kid! Enjoy...