Saturday, December 27, 2008

Impromptu Photo Shoot

Our good friend, Lee Funes, is a really great guy to have around, mostly because he is so fun and nice, but also because he has an expensive camera and a good eye! One sunday afternoon he offered to take a family picture for our Christmas card. We just drove down the street from our neighborhood hoping to see a good backdrop for the occasion. About one mile from our neighborhood we drove past this setting, which happens to be the entrance to a new fancy neigborhood, which I'm sure is currently on hold in this market! As soon as we got out of the car Maxwell began posing solo for the camera, as if he were some hotshot celebrity. It was hilarious. Then he wanted to hold Capri so she could get in on the modeling action too. I remember Capri being really cooperative, but she must have had a moment, because we captured a great picture of her painfully screaming! Sophie is obviously a natural poser as well, because she looks nearly the same in every picture, even the one when were all supposed to do silly faces! And yes, I know my boobs look big (my sisters all told me). I'll just blame it on breastfeeding...even though Capri is bottle fed!





Saturday, December 20, 2008

Capri's Blessing Day

What an absolute angel our little Capri is. She looks like a porcelain doll in this picture with her Daddy...which would be Steve! He gave her such a beautiful blessing that was so filled with the Spirit and heartfelt. It even brought tears to his own eyes. Actually, I don't think it was his words that brought the tears, I think it was the overwhelming feeling of love he has for his daughter that brought the tears. I was true to form and cried from the moment the first words fell from Steve's mouth!


Grandma Smith has a very treasured tradition of sewing each of her grandchildren a blessing outfit...in all of her spare time (which would be the wee hours of the night)! I really really really love this dress. My Mom spent hours and hours sewing all the gorgeous stitchwork BY HAND. Don't seamstresses call that "couture"? Capri may have some pretty high expectations for sunday wear now!


Just look at that face. That is the face of a nearly perfect child!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

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?


Wednesday, November 12, 2008

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!





Tuesday, November 4, 2008

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!

Friday, October 17, 2008

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!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

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!

Friday, September 12, 2008

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.





Wednesday, September 10, 2008

First Day of School

I have no idea why my kids are such posers, seeing as I just learned how to camera smile less than a year ago at the ripe old age of 33!

Don't you love it when their backpack is over half the size of their body. It is even more comical when they come home with one lone piece of paper in it!

Isn't it Ironic?


This is a picture Maxwell drew during primary a few weeks ago. Obviously the lesson was about being kind because it says "I can be kind" at the top of the paper. What's so kind about a tank and a man with a machine gun shooting at each other? That's my sweet little boy! By the way, art is not one of Maxwell's gifts, but just for the record, he was drawing with his left hand because the right one was in a cast.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Cousins are the Best!!

I have lots of cousins, several of whom are some of my dearest friends. I am so grateful that my kids have lots of cousins, and am sure they will be dear friends as well. I didn’t get to live by cousins after we moved to Kansas in 3rd grade, so a I am also grateful we get to live so close to cousins – the closest being a 5 minute bike ride!! Here are a few recent excursions with cousins.


While the dads and older cousins were away on a week long backpacking trip, the rest of us partied in Sun Valley.
Not a bad plan would you say?

Emily (6) became Sophie's favorite buddy and caretaker.
I think we have a future babysitter fast approaching.

Maxwell and Elle boating at Lake Cascade.
Elle is such a sweetheart.
I have a feeling Maxwell will be dating her friends in 10 years!!

Sophie and Sicily at a condo in beautiful Donnelly, Idaho.
These two cuties play so well together.
I have a feeling they will be dating the same boys in 13 years!!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Stay off the Sidewalks!!

For my Mom's birthday we all gave her a new scooter...yes, it's street legal...so watch out. Actually, she is one of the most annoyingly cautious drivers I know, so I'm not worried about her driving, I'm just worried about the drivers around her. She bought a bright yellow hunting vest to wear so she will be ultra visible to other drivers. I had so much fun picking this retro looking scooter out for her. I almost picked a bubble-gum pink color, but my Dad vetoed that choice just in case he ever took it out for a spin. Picture a 60 year old, 200+ pound man in dockers and a dress shirt on a pink retro scooter. How's that for a hilarious mental picture? Anyway, after practicing in parking lots for a few days, and getting licensed, she now drives this scooter quite often, and gets up to speeds of nearly 50. It actually will go a bit faster, but even I think that is kind of scary. No more gas guzzling beater Cadillac for her, at least for the summer.

What's cooler...broken arm or missing teeth?

Maxwell broke his arm about three weeks ago and has a bright orange cast (his choice) for all to see. Of course the cast prompts lots of people, old and young, friends and strangers, to ask what happened to his arm. He says, "I broke my radius". How cute and accurate is that? When they want to know more, like how it happened, which is what they were wondering to begin with, I have heard Max say several times, "Hey, do you want to see something really awesome? Look at my missing teeth (there are now two)!" Since when are missing teeth more awesome than a broken arm?

Thursday, July 17, 2008

What I've learned this summer





I've learned that when a 3 year old, really smart and independent little girl is not yet potty-trained, forcing the issue doesn't work. I also learned that when that really smart and independent 3 year old decides she's ready to go on the big girl potty two weeks after Mom's miserable failure, she can go all by herself without ANY help (including wiping and accompanying her in public restroom stalls). Yea for smart and independent 3 year olds!

I have also learned that when your 6 year old breaks his arm playing Indiana Jones on Grandma Smith's rope swing, it is not necessary to rush him to the ER at 10 pm because the orthopedic surgeon on call will not want to come in at that hour so the ER doctor will try to reset it but will completely fail, and then the orthopedic surgeon will have to reset it the next day at a surgery center resulting in two hospital bills. Next time we are using Dr. Steve Payne's prescribing ability to drug our kid for the night and will then take him to the specialist in the morning.

I have also learned that camping is more fun than I remember. Especially when the kids have their favorite playmates (their cousins) as camping partners. Having playmates for the kids allows the parents to actually relax occasionally. I also re-learned that I should bring sleeping pills with me when I go camping because even though I'm a really brave and strong woman (!!) any sound outside the tent is a big hungry bear!