Yay for the Holidays

Well, I am finally posting again now that Madeline is a month old. Life has been a whirlwind since she came into the world. Just a few days after she was born, my entire family came into town from all over the country and the world. It was so great to see everyone again and spend time with them, even though I was slightly out of commission and had 1 very post-baby emotional day (slightly embarrassing). We were able to bless Madeline and Blade, my brother's baby, on the same evening, which was so wonderful to have all of my family and Kyle's family there to be a part of it. We also had a great Thanksgiving feast, played games, talked a lot, and just had lots of fun. Then thankfully my parents were able to stay another week to help with the house and the kids, giving me more time to sleep and Kyle and I some alone time. Then I had a week to myself and the kids while Kyle was working and going to school and finishing up the semester with a few ten page papers. Let's just say that week was eventful....Then his sister Lisa came into town for a week before we were all to head to Albuquerque for Christmas, so having her there was also blessing because, again, it gave me more time to sleep and clean and adjust to 2 kids. Finally we headed down through a Utah blizzard to New Mexico to spend the holidays here. I am still adjusting to having 2 children, but I love each of my girls so much and I am so grateful for them and for Kyle for helping so much and being such a great husband.


This is at the hospital. Hallee loves her little sister.

This is one of the newborn pics Kyle took of Madeline when she was about a week old.

This is when we were blessing Madeline and Blade. My parents, me, and my brother, Adam.

This is part of our holiday photo session...look for more in your Holiday cards in the mail!
I will post more later when the festivities have ended.

Madeline Grace Payne

Madeline Grace Payne was born yesterday, 11/20/08, at 12:17 p.m.  Megan was scheduled for an induction and the hospital called her at 5 in the a.m. asking her to come in at 6:15.  After dropping Hallee off at my aunt and uncle's house in Orem we made it to the hospital and were in the room around 6:30.  They started the pitocin at 7:30, she got the epidural at 8:45, they broke her water at 10:45, and she had the baby at 12:17.  Everything went really well.  Once Megan began pushing it only took 4 contractions and Madeline was out.  She screamed for maybe two minutes and since then she has been very calm and peaceful.  Here's a couple more pics for your enjoyment!

Finally

I am being induced tomorrow....finally time to meet baby Payne #2. I am kinda scared. Wish me luck.

14 days and counting

Last weekend I had a little baby shower that my good friends threw for me. Thanks to all who came and helped and for the love and support from so many people. It was so fun and I got all the things I was hoping to, as far as winter clothes, diapers, and things of that sort.
So, we are 14 days away from my due date....waiting is the worst part of pregnancy for me. But, that being said, we also don't have a name yet. Girl names are so hard for us. So, I thought hearing what other people thought may help our decision. There is a poll to the right. Input is invited. Probably wont determine our decision, but it will be nice to hear what you think. THANKS!!

Halloween over already???

So, we had so much fun on Halloween. It was so fun to actually have a child that somewhat understands what's going on. Hallee was dressed up as a mouse and she was sooooo cute! She really did a great job, had so much fun, and never cried or whined about anything. She even kept her hood on the whole time. She also learned after a while to knock on the doors, which of course was a light tap tap. Then she would say "treat" (teet) for trick-or-treat and put the candy in her bucket herself, then she would sign "thank you" which people thought she was blowing them a kiss. We didn't correct them. We just decided to let them enjoy that moment. It was so fun I wish we could go out and do it again! Anyway, we just went up and down a street in our ward, then around our townhouses. And of course a majority of the candy goes to mommy and daddy!!! So, here is a series of the events that took place....kinda. And a few extras.





And here is a photo of me currently, 3 weeks away from my due date, and ever so ready for that day to come!

Say what??

So....long story short...we got a new car! Ever since we found out we were pregnant again, we knew that we would need a bigger car, because I don't know if anyone has tried fitting 2 carseats in a Mazda3...but it's NOT easy! So, the last 6 months we have been saving, researching, and praying about what we should get. Finally we narrowed it down to the 2009 Subaru Forester and the new Volkswagen Tiguan. Ultimately the decision maker was who gave us a better deal. And, amazingly, it was Volkswagen. Seriously, I don't even know how it was possible to get the car at the price we did. Really, I am still dumbfounded, but very happy with the decision. We really aren't paying much more a month than we were for the mazda. So, twice as much room for not much more. We are so excited and I actually feel a lot more ready for this next baby because of this.



Besides that, not too much has been going on. Just getting ready for family to come and baby #2 to come in less than 5 weeks! We had a major cleaning and organizing day today. It was amazing! And much needed! I think it's all the nesting stuff I must be going through. I just really need to get everything exactly the way I want them before the baby comes. And....I am almost there! My best friend Val is throwing a little baby shower or "sprinkle" for me in a couple weeks. That should cover everything I haven't done or gotten yet. It should be fun too! Also, just to highlight Val, she is in the musical theater world and she has been getting several call-backs for the Broadway musical Wicked, and next week she will be going to New York for another call-back. The part is for Glenda too, for those of you who have seen it. Anyway, I am so excited for her! And, that's about the latest with us! This is the series of pics of Hallee eatiing a lemon....I know, we are mean!

Sickies and LSAT

So, this week has been interesting. Monday evening we were able to go out with Val and Cody for Val's birthday, and we had Kyle's sister watch Hallee. That night sometime in the night Hallee threw up but didn't cry about it, so the next morning we woke up to a baby crusted in throw up. She threw up a few more times Tuesday, and we took her to the doc to find out it must just be a stomach virus, which they can do nothing about...She gradually felt better and by Tuesday night she felt fine and could hold down food again. whew! THEN, yesterday I started to get extremely nauseous around noon and couldn't eat all day, and eventually threw up, and had similar stomach issues that Hallee did, aside from the crusty throw up in hair. :) So, 24 hours later I am 5 pounds lighter and able to eat a little bit. This was the first time Hallee has ever gotten throw-up sick. It was kinda scary for me. But, we are now feeling better and hoping for a sick-free conference weekend. Everyone keep Kyle in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow as he will be taking the LSAT!

More pics

Hey so Kyle posted more pics he took of Hallee the other day on his site. Instead of posting the pics again here, I will just say, hey, go look at his site and the cuteness that is Hallee.

A Photographer's beginning

So, if you haven't already noticed, Kyle got a new camera and is very excited about building his portfolio to start a photography business. SO, if anyone that lives close enough would like to have pictures taken, he would love the experience. AND he will give you free pics for doing that for him. Basically, pretty people, he needs your faces! :) So, go look at his blog, leave some comments and see day one of his photographing, then let us know when you're available!
Thank you friends!

First words

I just thought I would write down all the words Hallee can say at this point, being 14 months old. I would like to have it documented somewhere, so I thought what better place than my blog? I am so proud of her and thought I would share in my delight.

daddy
mama
baby
teeth
cheese
purple
red
bubble
hi
bye
ball
book
duck
please
peek-a-boo (pee boo)
eyes
(signing) more and thank you
"there it is!"
But best of all are the animal sounds she can make:
lion
monkey
elephant
sheep
bunny rabbit
goose
tiger
dog
cow
duck
owl
skunk (pee-yew)
I think that's all of it. Anyway, she is so fun!

How the Lord can answer our prayers

So, I have been feeling blue lately. Not really sure why or if it was related to just being pregnant or something. Then....tonight so many answers came flooding in to help me out. The visiting teaching message this month telling me to remember who I am, what my potential is, and that I am a child of God. THEN....I read my friend Heather's blog, and she had posted exactly the way I feel. Heather I hope you don't mind that I am sharing your thoughts, but I don't think I could express it any better. It's just EXACTLY how I have been feeling. So here it is from the words of Heather:

"I catch a glimpse of your lives and I sometimes envy you. I see all the cool, crafty, artsy stuff that some of you do and I want so badly to be crafty. I start to wonder why I can't sew something other than buttons on shirts. I also see how perfect some of you are as mothers and wish I could be more like you. It's funny because I can tell these thoughts are usually brought on by Satan and I immediatly try to push them away, but yesterday I was having one of those days where I just couldn't let it go.
At one point I was even talking to Chris about this trying to figure out how I need to pick up a new hobbie so that I could feel fulfilled. I was looking at myself as weak sauce in need of a little extra spice to be ridiculously cool and good looking.
Well, as it usually happens when I feel this way, I found something that helped me snap out of my pouty, whiny-face state when I stumbled across this blog that totally changed my outlook. The author of this blog made me realize that "our worth is not defined by our skill at hobbies." She posted about being true to one's-self and helped me realize that we all are unique and special in our own way. So what if I can't sew, make a quilt, take amazing pictures, or even live in a fatty house. All of these things do not define who I am. All I know is that I am a Daughter of God and dog gone it I am special in my own way! I have plenty of talents and even if I didn't, who cares. I have two beautiful children and the most amazing, sexy husband (who, by the way, edits all my blog posts because my English skillz suck) and I have no reason not to feel fulfilled in my life.
President Hinckley said,"You are very precious each of you, regardless of your circumstances. You occupy a high and sacred place in the eternal plan of God, our Father in Heaven. You are his daughters, precious to Him, loved by Him, and very important to Him. His grand design cannont succeed without you."
So if you have ever felt like I did yesterday or if you find yourself feeling blue, take some time go check out this post, it's seriously worth the time. Plus, she talks about SYTYCD which is the greatest thing since shopping malls. You are all awesome!"
(slightly condensed version of Heather's post)
--Heather

I also have realized that I am unique and talented in my own ways, and people love me for different reasons, and most importantly, God loves me for who I am and the person I have become. Truly, that is most important. I will continue to try harder to be a better me, but at least I will have peace knowing that I am a daughter of God while doing it.

Finally

So, since we haven't really been taking any pictures at all lately, and nothing has really been going on, I decided to just take a couple pics with the web cam....I know, still really bad quality, but at least you can see my hair better....and the humongo (is that a word?) belly. Enjoy!

Last week

So, this last week was fairly uneventful. Kyle and I both got out hair cut. His is just a buzz cut, but kinda longer buzz, so it looks pretty good.

Here is mine. I took the pic with a phone, so quality is not so good. So, it's darker and it's an A-line cut. I will try to take better pics this week since you can't really tell.

Kyle also got the white iPhone 3G. He got his old iPhone unlocked which means other companies can use it, so he could sell his old one for more than the new one costs. So, he is very excited about that!


Friday, we went to the Bean Life Science Museum which is a museum on campus up by DT and saw all the taxidermy animals. Hallee absolutely LOVED it there. She loved looking at all the animals, and of course her favorites were the lion, monkey, and elephant. She just had the best time, walking around everywhere, pointing at all the animals, and "talking" excitedly the whole time. It was fun to watch her that way.
Anyway, life is good. Hallee is growing tons and starting to talk a lot and she understands a lot more. We have 16 weeks left until we have another baby. And, no, still no names yet. That's about it!

Youth Conference

This last weekend we went to the Ward Youth Conference, since Kyle is an advisor in the Priest Quorum. It was quite interesting to do with a 1-year-old. It's a lot different than the Youth Conferences I remember. It was just the ward. And there were no dances. Weird huh? And there were about 35 youth. Anyway...We went down to Fairview Utah, where a member in the ward has a ranch house with horses and other ranch stuff.

So, the girls slept in the house, and the boys and other leaders slept outside, in tents or just outside. So, we did a little camping for the weekend.

The first day they all went to the Temple to do baptisms, came back for lunch, then we went to Genoa, Ut for a Service Project. We cleaned up a playground for an elementary school for children that are illegal immigrants, I think. They were all spanish kids. And the bus said "Migrant bus." Anyway, the playground was all overgrown weeds, and it was dirty and sad. After we were done with it, it was beautiful. They also gave us Horchata with strawberries in it....yummy.




Next day we went to a state park...basically a lake. They had the kids in groups and they had them build boats like Nephi, using only materials provided like inner tubes, doors, and rope. They had a gimp person that couldn't help at all, a murmurer like Leman and Lemuel, and a blind person. It was really fun to watch them build these boats. Then they had to go a certain distance in the water and come back without getting certain items wet. That was fun. Then they had all those inner tubes and they rented a few canoes and just played out in the water for a few hours.




That night after dinner they had the kids do a blind walk. The night before they did this where certain people were leaders and they had to lead the groups in a field blindfolded, and they had to trust and listen and have faith. So, this blind walk was different because they had them walk over a mile, blindfolded, to symbolize the Nephites in 3 days of darkness before Christ came, to help the youth get a feel for a long period of time in darkness. They had people like the Bishop, YW president, and other leaders like that leading each group, and they could only lead using their voices. When they got to the top, they shined a flashlight in their eyes, with the blindfolds on, to show that it was a special place. Then they took off everyone's blindfolds and they had campfires and the bishop spoke about coming to Christ. Then they had a testimony meeting and all but 2 of the youth bore their testimonies.
Saturday we just packed up, ate breakfast, and Kyle gave a devotional/spiritual thought about overcoming temptations, and obedience with exactness. He used Teancum as an example who stabbed Amaleki in the heart, killed him, and then stabbed Ammoron near the heart, which didn't kill him, and the guard woke up and killed Teancum. So, if you just skirt around a temptation, it can come back easier. But if you stop it right away, it's less likely to come back. And that they need to be proactive in being examples and for standing up for what is right.
Anyway, this is a long post, but I was very touched by the strength of the spirits and testimonies of these kids. I am so glad we got to go too. I really love our ward.

Pics of Hallee!

So we just had some pictures taken of Hallee yesterday from this Photographer that I won a photo contest with. Everyone NEEDS to go look at a sneak preview of Hallee and the wonderful photography skills of Melissa Davis. Here are the links.

http://melissadavisphotography.com/blog

AND

HERE!!

for the rest of the pics of Hallee and us!

Oh yes, and today we found out..........We are having another GIRL!!!!!!

Independence Day fun!

So, Kyle was actually able to get off work Friday night, so we considered watching Myley Cyrus at Stadium of fire....not really. We decided to go up to Park City where at the Park City Resort they do fireworks. Kyle's grandma has a condo up there, so we went up after Kyle's day shift, and we ate dinner, went swimming, then went over to watch the fireworks. It was amazing! You get to sit on the bottom ski run, on some blankets, and the fireworks feel like they are on top of you and will fall right on you. It was great! I haven't seen fireworks that close up in a long time. And, Hallee did great, and enjoyed the fireworks too! Oh yeah, and this Friday we get to find out (hopefully) what we are having!!

Hallee's Birthday party

Hey go to gallery.mac.com/kyle_payne to see pics from Hallee's birthday party. It was lots of fun and Hallee had a great time. We had it at the clubhouse in our townhome complex and we had a bbq and one of those big bouncer things. There were about 40 people there. Hallee having a birthday was really just an excuse for us to have a big party! Thanks Hallee.

Vacation #2

So, I know it was a week ago, but life has been slightly crazy since being home. Anyway, Hallee and I had a really fun trip to Texas to visit grandparents Baillio and friends. We just hadn't seen them in a while and thought we would take a little trip.
We definitely did a lot of shopping

Swimming in a little pool


Visiting Great-grandma and grandpa Redd and celebrating Hallee and Grandma's birthdays


Having a fun birthday party for Hallee, with friends from high school and the ward




And just hanging out and relaxing at home.

It's still not quite Hallee's birthday but mom and dad won't be there for her real birthday so we decided to have a little party for her there. Hallee and I actually got sick while we were there, so we weren't completely our happy-go-lucky selves, but we still had a really fun time. Thanks mom and dad for all the fun!