Life lately...

It's been awhile since I posted last... life has been so busy for our family! Duh... I wouldn't change it for anything, though. We LOVE our little PayPay... late nights, leaky diapers, spit-up galore, and all! There have already been little challenges... like I have no idea how to take a 2-year-old and an infant into Wal-Mart by myself without having a panic attack (it hasn't happened yet... I just know that is BOUND to be the outcome...) I also haven't established a good schedule for us during the day... this results in Parker going a little longer than he needs to without a bath... ok, include me in that one too... just WARN ME before you want to come over so I can at least put a hat on and put some body spray on! Maybe that was t.m.i... anyway, the challenge is fun so far! Here are a few of the fun moments:

Payton's first real bath! Her cord took FOREVER to fall off so her first bath was at 3 1/2 to 4 weeks old.

Daddy attempting to entertain Parker! :)

My sweet Mother-in-law came to stay with us while Kyle and his dad went duck hunting for Kyle's birthday! Can you tell we had a good time?? :) I have the best mother- and father-in-law you could ever ask for! We always look forward to their visits!

Nanna and Payton playing Patty-cake! She was smiling like crazy!

We've been getting Cabin Fever A LOT lately... so we do a lot of jumping around the house...

...and more jumping...

...and even more jumping!

That is one cute kid! My Parker-man has been such a good big bro!

While Kyle's mom was here we decided to have a photo shoot with Payton! :) I am by no means a photographer and never will be... but we caught her looking so cute! So just excuse the photo quality!

Look at my big girl!! Doesn't she look so old here?? She's been holding her head up since the day she was born!

Payton's Mammy (my mom) gave her that sweet bracelet! I LOVE it!

Payton and the boa! You can't get much more girly than that!

Oh! I actually caught him in the bath! :) My mohawk boy.

Parker and Mommy being crazy!

Playing dress-up is fun even at 6 weeks old! :)

One of the headbands I made for Payton!

Kyle with his babies on his birthday! :) The best Daddy in the world! This is the only picture we got on Kyle's birthday! I'm glad it's a good one!!

Long enough post!! I hope to post a sewing/crafty post soon! I have a few headband ideas and a dress for Payton brewing! Stay tuned...

Lately...

Disclaimer: There are a TON of pictures in this post... you have been warned.

Spring Break marked the beginning of about a two week long crazy streak for the Routh family. Kyle's mom, AKA Nanna, met us the Friday before Spring Break to pick up our little Parkie-man for a WHOLE WEEK! It's longest he's ever been away from us, and we sure did miss him! But we knew he was in good hands! :) I think he did a lot of playing and even took a trip to the zoo! After we got back from the backpacking trip (which I posted about here), Kyle and I along with our good friends Craig and Missy headed down to Jackson to pick up Parker. We then proceeded to Lake Bruin, Louisiana to relax at Kyle's parents' lake house! We had a BLAST! It was a nice break, and we SO enjoyed spending some time with the Daniels!!!

Parker drove the boat most of the time...actually he did help Kyle drive a lot!

Craig and their sweet puppy, Jake! Jake was a little scared of the lake and the boat...but by the end of their time at Lake Bruin, he LOVED it!

My guy and me...he wasn't too happy about having to sit still...

Missy, Craig, and Kyle waiting for the shrimp!! Kyle and Craig are expert shrimp boilers now!

It was delish!

Kyle and Missy fishing in the alligator-infested waters... a little exaggeration... but there ARE alligators in the lake, and Kyle, Craig, and Missy said they thought they saw one! Unfortunately, the fish weren't biting that weekend...

My guys.

Tiger says "RAWR!"

Getting ready to get on the boat one more time! We had so much fun and can't wait to go again!!!

A few days after Rox's birthday (she turned 27 on March 20... she can now say she's in her late 20s!!! haha, Rox), I got to head up to the Winebrenner's house to have a mini-birthday celebration for her! Well... the boys did most of the "celebrating" by screaming, yelling, running, making a mess, and being crazy!! I had so much fun, though!!

My dad's tradition with his grandsons is to take them to McDonald's for lunch. One-on-one, it's a pretty fun trip, but Dad knew that three toddlers at McDonald's would not be ideal... so he brought Mickey-D's to us!! We had an indoor picnic since it was a little chilly out...

Parker and Eli enjoyed a snack and a show before JuJu woke up.

Dad played in the backyard with the boys for a LONG time, and they had a blast!!! They used their little soccer goals and a blanket to make a tent!

Rox was being a big baby.

Eli loved trying on CeCe's shoes!

On my birthday I woke up to a lovely surprise!

Kyle made me a bench (without me knowing!) from Ana White! (This is when he gave me my jig-saw, too! I posted about it here!) Isn't it cute?? He even bought we cute little baskets to go in the cubbies! I can't wait to paint it!

Kyle made me breakfast and coffee, took me to lunch at Volta, and then we even got to go thrifting (this is when I found that cute little squirrel!)

We played in the backyard that afternoon since it was pretty nice out! Here's my little golfer :)

My little family!

Kyle made me one of my favorite foods for dinner: fresh spring rolls with spicy peanut sauce! YUM!!!

He also made me the the biggest chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich ever!! It was delish, and he came up with the idea all by himself!! I was extremely impressed! Oh, and excuse that giddy 5 year-old smile...I couldn't help but be so excited! :)

The next day, Kyle had me get all dressed-up to go on a surprise date. He said the babysitter would be here at three...I had no clue what he was planning...when I walked out of my room thinking the babysitter was here, I saw my family standing there and smiling!!! What a surprise!! I was so excited to get to celebrate with my fam!! (We missed you, Mom!! But we understand!! Can't wait to celebrate again! :)

Rox and Eli cuddling!

Rox, me, and Aly being weirdos.

Crazy. I know.

Mike and Kyle chillin'.

Dad was DETERMINED to figure out the complex childrens' puzzle.

Things stayed pretty crazy the whole time... I think this may have been a screaming contest??

Then, we had a drumming contest!

Kyle and Mike staying out of it.. haha.

Birthday girls!

It was a good thing Kyle made such a big ice cream sandwich!! :) I loved another excuse to eat some sweets!

There you have it. The last couple of weeks in pictures!

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special, especially Kyle who planned all of the excitement!! :)

A Goodwill find = INSPIRATION!!

I. Love. Thrifting.

My husband could tell you that... and he doesn't quite get it. BUT on my birthday, he agreed to come with me to our local Goodwill. I found a cute lacey Anthro-esque jacket for me, and Kyle found some brand-new-looking Polo slacks! Kyle also undercovered a decorating jewel...vintage-y looking KEYS! (I absolutely love keys right now and haven't been able to find any cool ones...these look like the "Secret Garden" keys!!!) And finally. The best find: this cute little wooden squirrel!

Isn't he awesome??? I immediately fell in love with this little guy and knew that Parker needed him in his room! The finish is TERRIBLE, but I knew I wanted to paint it anyway so my handy electric sander fixed him up for me! More on this guy another time....

I have the best hubbie ever. My sweetie-poo, Kyle gave me a jigsaw for my birthday this year! Now, I know what you're thinking, "That's one of gifts that you give because you are the one that really wants it..." Yes. But I have been DYING to try one out for some fun projects, and this little squirrel was JUST the inspiration I needed!

Before, I ventured on my jigsawing journey, I knew that I must practice "Safety First." So, here's proof. And I needed an excuse to put a goof-ball picture of me in the post...

Here's my AMAZING present! His name is Fred.

With a little (ok, a lot) of help from Kyle, I made my first ever...

Wooden squirrel!!! :) I needed to stay pretty safe with my first project and do something that I could pretty much just copy. I'm so excited with how squirrel #2 turned out!!

Here's a closer look... my sander helped me smooth out a few weird curves and round off the feet, nose, and ears. I'm planning on painting him green or grey... nothing too fancy. I'm a big fan of the simple, silhouette type look right now.

Next jigsaw adventure?? A Kara Paslay inspired bust/silhouette. I can't wait to try it!

Stay tuned for more birthday fun! Kyle made 25 the best birthday ever! :)