First Bath

Matt and Sophie right before we put her in the tub

I love this little girl



Daddy's hand for comfort




We have been giving Sophie little baths in the sink because she is so little, but finally she got moved up to the big tub. We just got some pictures of the little bug and her first real bath.

"Trueness"

Avery with the kids


Josh and Megan with Sophie

Sophie was just staring at Josh

Josh and me

My cousin Josh and I have been close since we were little. We were always so excited when we got to be together. Our favorite thing to do was play He-Man and She-ra together. I was so sad when Josh had to move to Arizona. But, I'll never forget one day in the mail I got a package and on the return address it said from "Trueness". He had taped like 5 or 6 episodes of He-Man and She-ra for me and sent the tape. He has always been there for me and we just have a really special bond. He and his beautiful wife Megan came over and were able to see Sophie. Their little girl Avery is so darling and played so good with the kids. We ate Chipotle and went swimming. Thanks for coming you guys, you are always "true"!!

My 2 Weeks of Bliss

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Ever since Sophie was born it has been such a special time for me. My mom came and stayed with me and it was the most amazing experience. I don't know how I let her go. She would wake up in the mornings and take my kids to Jack-A-Box (that's what Connor calls it) and then to Albertson's so that I could rest. Then, she would fix us amazing meals. It was so fun to just have her there for support and for my emotional sanity. Words will never be able to express my gratitude or how much it truly meant to me. Hopefully, through all of my tears of emotion she could tell. While my mom was there my sister's Jessica and Whit flew in. Jess left her girls in Idaho with Brodie so that she could come. I really appreciate her effort and sacrifice to do so. It was so much fun and we were able to go to movies and dinner, and get 44 drinks. Life was so good!! After Jess left, my dad flew in for a couple of days. He is so busy with his calling and work, but I want him to know the effort was not unnoticed or unappreciated. He makes me cry with one look or hug, just because he is so loving and I just adore him. Doug and Krystal are both back east for the summer, but will soon get to see her too. All of Matt's family will be able to see her when we come up in October. We are anxiously awaiting that time.
Another funny thing was my mom dressed Sophie up in Sadie's doll clothes and put her in the doll stroller. It looked so funny! Anyway, thank you so much to everyone for their support and love at this time. These last couple of weeks I will never forget! Now Matt gets to deal with the aftermath of everyone leaving. Poor Matt!! He is amazing though and it is fun to have some special time with him and the kids.

Sadie's 6th Birthday!

Sadie's birthday was so fun for her. I wish I could have been feeling a little bit better, ( I have mastitis) but we did our best to make it special. Matt got her a flower, balloon, and donut and we went and sang to her to wake her up. Then, she went to school and when we picked her up I took Sadie and Connor to lunch. We then opened her presents! After that, she got to go to dinner and then have her cake. It was such a special day for a special girl. She is such a sweetheart and I love her so much. I am so grateful for her and feel so blessed to be her mom.

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First Day of School

Sadie & Connor - first day of school

My little girl

My little boy


My mom and I the night before I had Sophie


She falls asleep with her hand on her ear

So polite

Sucking her fingers


I have dreaded Sadie going to Kindergarten for so long now that I am just glad to have it over! She really loved it and I knew she would. I had my little breakdown and now I am fine! Connor started his pre-school again and his improvement is nothing short of a miracle. I am so grateful. My mom being here has been an indescribable blessing. Jess and Whit flew in and got to spend time here with us and so I will post those pictures as soon as I get them.

Sophie Faye Payne

Well, my little angel miracle is finally here. Things got a little scary at the hospital, but everything worked out and I am so grateful. My mom and Matt didn't leave my side all day. Matt got to help with the delivery even though I pushed for one contraction and she was out. It was a one-minute delivery. She was 5 pounds and 8 oz. 18 1/2 inches long. My cousin Jill took my kids for a couple of days so that we could just have some time with Sophie. Thank you so much Jill - you are a sweetheart! My kids are still talking about it. Anyway, here are some pictures from the hospital and a couple of when we have been home. Thanks to everyone who has called and been concerned. It has meant so much to Matt and me. We are so excited for our new little addition.

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Just An Update

Well, I probably won't be blogging for a couple of weeks because of the baby, but here is an update on what is going on.
Sadie lost her front tooth, do you want to know how?? One guess, yep, Connor knocked it out with his Ninja Turtle Sword. She is so excited to get a little sister though!!
Connor still thinks he is some sort of super hero. It changes each day of which one he thinks he is.
And, little Sophie will grace us with her presence on Tuesday, July 29th. They are inducing me at 5 in the morning. I am like a 2 and over 70% thinned, so I am there! I can't wait. So, that is just a little of what is going on in our lives. I will post pictures of the baby as soon as I can.
Oh, and I can't forget Matt, he is taking his 4th year boards the middle of this month, so he is studying for that. He has been so amazing, and he gets to deliver Sophie, so that will be special!

Connor's Birthday!

I can't believe Connor turned 4 years old. He is my baby, at least for another week or two. (I went to the doctor today and I am dilated to a two and 50% thinned, so we will see). Anyway, he was so excited all day. He got a donut and chocolate milk for breakfast, then we took him to Garcia's for lunch so he could get his free ice cream. Then, we went to the water park for a couple of hours. For dinner we invited Lexi Heaton to come to Chuck E Cheese's with us and they had a blast. They didn't even want to stop for pizza. Lexi gave Connor, "Mr. Incredible Hulk" and he loved it. Then we went home and opened the rest of his gifts, and had his cake. It was funny because I didn't know that the candle's were "trick candles" so he had a hard time blowing them out! It was such a special day for him and he fell asleep at 7:30. He played way too hard. I love my little Connor!

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I love my kids!!

Well, I just wanted to say a couple of things about my kids. Even little Sophie who isn't even here yet! I went to the doctor today and I am dilated to a one. Which is very uncommon for me. I usually don't dialate for another couple of weeks. So, my next appointment (in a week) we are going to see how much I have progressed and then schedule the date. So that is really exciting!!

My little Sadie is the sweetest thing ever. Whenever something is lost she prays to find it. There has never been one thing that she has prayed to find that she hasn't found. Even little rocks and shells. Well, her latest is her little cat Twila. And, when I say little I mean little. She is holding it in this picture. She lost it at the pool two days ago. We went out the next day to find it, but it really is like finding a needle in a haystack. There are drains, and sand, and so many places it could have been. Not counting other little kids who are out there that could have taken it. Anyway, we looked and looked and couldn't find it. Pretty soon she came up to me and said, "Mommy, I just said the sweetest prayer to find Twila." Well, we still couldn't find it, so that night when Matt got home we went out to the pool again and pretty soon Matt showed Sadie that he found it. He had pulled out one of the drains and it was covered with sand and flowers in the middle of it. It really is amazing how strong the faith of a child is. I was so proud and then had her go say a special prayer to thank Heavenly Father. How sweet that He answers even the smallest of prayers.

Then there is my little Connor. He is such a sweet boy. But, when I say boy, I mean he is ALL Boy!! He loves the ninja turtles, power rangers, batman, spider man, superman, and now the Incredible Hulk. It is so cute though because of Mr. Incredible from The Incredible's movie he calls the hulk, "Mr. Incredible Hulk". He rips off his shirt as he yells in a bizarre voice that he is Mr. Incredible Hulk. He is so cute and his speech is coming along so well. He says "W" for "L" so the lizard is a wizard and his friend Lexi is Wexi, little is wittle. Anyway it is adorable, plus he has a Jersey accent which I have know idea where it came from. Especially when he says, "Why not, Where, Because" I love my kids so much!! I feel so blessed to be a mom.

4th of July

Matt and the kids before Kung Fu Panda

Showing off their Kung Fu moves

At our swimming pool

The kids love to swim

Just relaxing


At the waterpark


Coming down the Big Slide

Daddy and Connor go together



In our 4th attire!




Best friends!!


Well, first of all I have to say how much I missed Idaho for the 4th. It just wasn't the same! However, we did try and make the most of it since we were stuck here anyway. It actually turned out to be fun. It was very hot so we spent our morning swimming at our pool. The kids played with Lexi Heaton and Natalie and I were able to discuss our discomforts since we are only 3 days apart with our due dates. And, both wishing we could have been with our families. Thanks Jared and Natalie for entertaining us!! After the pool we ate lunch and took the kids over to the water park by our house. The water felt so good! After a long day of swimming and eating the kids were exhausted. Since you can't do your own fireworks here we put the kids to bed and Matt and I watched one of our very favorite shows - Transformers. Matt also took the kids to Kung Fu Panda a couple days before so I posted those too. Happy 4th!!