4th Picture Tag...this is one I couldn't resist

This is the 4th picture in the 4th folder in the "My Pictures" folder. A really hip and cool picture of my sister Hilary and her husband, Andy, during their engagement photo shoot. I thought this should be one of the pictures on their wedding announcement, but Andy thought it was too "BYUish" (which I guess equals cheesy). I sure didn't let any guy lay his head on mine at BYU. I think it was against the rules!


I thought it would be fun to see what the 5th picture in the 5th folder is. Maxwell in the early stages of coloring. The 6th picture is pretty cute too. Max is deep in thought. Maybe thinking about what color to choose next?

Yummy Scrummy

Yummy scrummy...need I say more? Actually, I'll say a little bit more! A big thanks to Cheryl Bennett (a.k.a Cheryl Bennett Photography) for these teeth gritting photos I will always treasure (does anyone else grit their teeth when they see a little baby or do I need therapy?). And a tip for anyone still in the baby producing stage...take newborn pictures before the baby is three weeks old. They recognize their nakedness after a couple of weeks, and therefore won't sleep through naked baby photo shoots!

Baby Hungry? Then Don't View This Post!

If you have children then these pictures should bring back memories of when they were newborns. Remember the adorable sleeping positions? This is Capri's sleeping position of choice. Irresistible isn't it?


And the stretching is hilarious. It's like they haven't had good sleep in days, even though they slept 23 of the last 24 hours! This picture doesn't show it, but I especially love the wrinkled up forehead stretch!

Calling All Boys and Ghouls!!

When Steve and I were first married I was asked to make a flyer for the Elders Quorum Halloween Party and the first line of the flyer said "Calling all Boys and Ghouls". I thought it was pretty clever, but Steve teased me about it, and 10 years later, continues to do so!

Speaking of...my little boy and ghoul looked as cute as ever this Halloween. Sophie wore her Supergirl costume, just like Mommy requested, but Maxwell was not fond of the itchy dreadlocks on the Jack Sparrow pirate costume I picked out for him, so he made the choice to wear his Power Ranger costume from last year instead. It was a little tight in the area Steve's brother, Dave, refers to as the front bottom, but I doubt people were paying much attention to that!


Grandma Pat wanted to see the kids costumes, so we made a lunch date of it. I had to bribe Maxwell with Gameboy playing time to put his itchy dreads on for this picture!

After the ward trunk-or-treat we headed over to the Albert's house for a great Halloween party. Sophie joined her friends Brecken and Shayden Albert for some more candy gathering with the Dads, along with the bigger boys. The next morning we asked the kids if they wanted to trade their candy for a toy of their choice (under $10) from Target, after they each picked their 5 favorite pieces. The toys were a hit, and they haven't even asked for more candy, even though it is sitting right on the counter still. When Max got home from school yesterday he asked for a snack and I told him he could eat one of his pieces of candy. He replied, "but then I'll only have four pieces." All five pieces of candy are still sitting on his bedside table!

Attack of the Clones!!

Steve and I have created another clone!! Here are pictures of each of the little munchkins. The pictures don't quite do it justice because they are each taken at different stages of the facial unswelling process! They are in age order, starting with Clone Maxwell, then Clone Sophia, and finally...Clone Capri! By the way, her full name is Capri Alexis Payne and she weighed in at 7 lbs. even.

The family of five.

Next time the photographer needs to tell me that the person of the hour (baby) is covered by her mass of hospital blankets!

Maxwell cannot get enough of this little sweetie. He doesn't even want to go to school or soccer practice because he hates leaving her. After school yesterday he wouldn't let her go until I forced him off to soccer. He is such an amazing brother to Sophie, so I knew this would be no different. He really has a sensitive side. I tell him all the time that he is going to be just like his Daddy when he grows up, which by the way is a very very good thing. Just before we left to the hospital on Wednesday morning at 6:30 am (and no sleep for several days) my sweet little guy, who by the way had already woken up because he was so excited for the big day when Capri would arrive, called in to my bathroom as I was brushing my teeth and said, "Mom, you look beautiful...no, you look more than beautiful." If that doesn't make a pregnant woman feel good I don't know what does.

Sophie also can't get enough of Capri, but in an independent 3 year old way...hands everywhere! I know this will wear off soon because Maxwell was the same way when Sophie was born, and because I am not a germphobe, it is actually quite adorable, in an annoying sort of way! I also now have two extra arms for doing the little things, like getting diapers and wipes, throwing diapers away, getting bottles...you name it, Sophie will get it, and she does it on the run!

I had forgotten how little newborns are. She looks like such a little munchkin in this car seat. And I love that her sleeves and pantlegs are each rolled up three times!

Art in the Park...or Fart in the Dark!

Steve's mom loves going to the annual art festival in dowtown Boise called Art in the Park. Her four sweet and sensitive sons, some of whom did not inherit her love of the arts, lovingly refer to it as Fart in the Dark! Grandma Pat especially loves taking some of her grandchildren each year to the children's art tent. They have so many really cool and totally free art projects for kids. Sophie and Emily were the last grandkids standing after the art projects so she and I enlisted them to join us to peruse the "big girl" part of the festival...shopping! Grandma bought each of the girls an adorable crocheted hat. Sophie really wanted a bright purple one but my fashion instincts caused me to talk her into the brown and orange one instead. I have a feeling her fashion instincts will soon be overpowering mine, but she is still very impressionable! By the way, the splotches of paint on Sophie's cheeks are actually pink ice cream cones from the face paint booth. So cute!

Steve...the Surprising Sweetheart

Our 10 year anniversary was last week and I was under the impression we were going to just have a nice dinner out...without the kids. Steve, who is not known for surprises (understatement), surprised me with a four day trip to Seattle. He sent me a really sweet e-mail, and told me he had flights and babysitting all arranged but he needed my help with renting a car, booking hotels and planning our activities! It's not that he isn't capable of doing those things, he just knows how good I am at it!

We had a fabulous time just being together and doing all the typical Seattle tourist things. We spent an evening down at the pier, went to pike's market (and drooled over the beautiful and CHEAP fresh flowers), visited Snoqualmie Falls, went to the music and science fiction museums, ate good food and shopped. Steve felt bad about the timing in regards to shopping...being this pregnant only allowed me to shop for my kids and my feet!

By the last day we were really missing the kids, especially Steve, and were really excited to come home to them. However, within about 30 minutes of being home, without the expected greeting from either of them, we wondered why we missed them so much! Sophie was beyond tired when we got home, which equals whiney, and Maxwell was playing x-box with his cousin, which equals zoned out! Even though we had just had a 4 day break from the kids we still managed to be exhausted and relieved when they went to bed that evening!

I won't go into all the mushy details about how much and why I love my husband, I'll just leave it at...I truly couldn't have married anyone else. He is perfect for me. And all of you who know him well, or even just know him, know exactly what I am talking about.