Updated Design

This post more pertains to those who have blogs...

I have been receiving a few questions about my recent updates to the design of my blog. I have to tell you that I learn by trial and error with this blog thing. I do steal whatever information someone else will share.  Thanks for my friend EMILY who is much more talented than me and recently shared her insights. Check her post out HERE. It probably takes me much longer to get things done then people who know what they are doing. But here are a few of the things I recently learned...

where is your background from?

blogger has recently updated their design template section

there are many new backgrounds and options that I don't recall being available until now

spend some time on there and you will realize I just played around a lot!

how did you add the new sidebars?

again, i went to blogger and spent some time on the page design adding gadgets

look for a new gadget tomorrow when i am going to try to do a poll

where did you find your new fonts?

emily listed in her post Kevin and Amanda's blog for fonts

i spent a lot of time on there getting new fonts

check out the tutorial section for great blog design ideas (i am still working through these ideas, hoping to add more soon)

how did you get your pictures so large?

i updated my post editor

here's how:

dashboard ->

settings (should already be on basic tab) ->
scroll to bottom 

choose "updated editor" in post editor

when you post pictures you will see new options for XL pics!

i am sure there are many other new options, i am still learning

my camera?

up until last week, all pics were taken with my handy Cannon powershot SD 750 elph (yes a point and shoot) and i would touch up a bit in iphoto (poor man's photoshop on my mac)

while in florida i bought my brother and sister-in-laws Cannon Rebel XT EOS 350D

now i am so ignorant on cameras i might not even have given the correct name

i am really trying to learn how to use this bad boy

if you are interested in some great tutorials on aperture and shutter speed check out Pioneer Women's tutorials, i have learned a lot

if anyone has any insights on headers, let me know, that is my next project

now that you know that I steal other's ideas and make many mistakes in my learning process, feel free to steal anything from me and learn from my mistakes!

Payton Pictures

Since family members really check the blog for pictures of Payton, here you go

What summer looks like for Payton ....

Eating Snacks

Playing outside as much as we can, often getting dirty

Playing in the pool

Mommy learning I water the concrete if I am standing outside the pool, change of plans to inside the pool :)

The ultimate Sno Cone with Daddy

Cleaning all the dirt off my body

Refreshed before bed time, and ready for another hot summer day tomorrow!

July Florida Trip

Back from Florida! Yes we have spent 4 of the last 6 weeks there. Coming home Steve asked me if I was going to miss Florida, and I said no, I was glad to be going home to Kansas, I love home! We had a wonderful time. Spent the first part of my time hanging out with my best friends for an amazing girls weekend. Another post will follow with more details there. Just a teaser though, check out the photo shoot we did while we were there, Jessica is an amazing photographer, and we had such a blast. I would highly recommend her to anyone in Florida looking for a photographer! She took some pictures of Payton too, but those aren't up yet.

http://www.jessicalorren.com/blog/ (follow the link for more pics)



Then Steve and I attended IYC (International Youth Convention) that is help every 2 years. It is such an amazing time, we are honored to be able to work beside a stellar team of people for the convention. Every time we go, I am blown away at God's spirit moving among teenagers. I love being reminded how teenagers who are passionate for the Lord worship him uninhibited. It is sweetness to my soul to be able to work the convention. We also get to catch up with so many friends from around the country that we often don't see.

Mom kept Payton most of the 2 weeks I was in Florida. I think I was only with her 4 days of that time. Payton had such a fun time with Mimi and Grandpa, I don't think she even missed us. She has all the family members names down from the Wiens side now. My favorite is Colin sounds like cong (like a chinese word). She knows which family members go together as well. Everytime Colin (or tio as she sometimes refers to him) is mentioned, she says Caya (Cayla). She knows that Jodie, A (Anderson), Jodan (Jordan), and Jam (Jaime) all go together. She is such a verbal sponge right now.

Mom taught her a few other tricks while we were gone, I had to get my Payton update from her so I knew what she was saying. I also had to put my Payton ears back on to understand her words. She is such a precious little girl. I think being away from her rejuvenated my patience with her. She is in a trying stage, but such an adorable stage. It is amazing how love flows so freely for your children. I loved my time away from her, and I love now being back with her.

Trying to get caught up from being gone so long, will try to post more pictures soon.

Payton 18 months

Payton Elizabeth is 18 months old!!!!

Here she is less than an hour old....
Jan 14th 2009 8lbs 12 oz 19 inches - 16 days overdue!


Here she is at 1 years old, check out my post HERE for a reminder what she was doing then



And now, growing more and more, 18 month old little girl!!!!



No more baby, she is a toddler...



One and a half-year-old Payton
- right under 24 pounds
- 32 inches tall
- Has more words in her vocabulary than I can count, she really amazes me with all her words, even ones we never worked on together
- Has all of her teeth except her 2 year molars
- She is so much fun right now, playing games and exploring
- She has started to show her strong personality and independence with tantrums and fits
- Would eat all day long if I fed her every time she asked
- Says Please and Thank You
- She loves brushing her teeth and would around all day with her toothbrush if I let her
- She loves reading books together and turning the pages herself
- She is starting to cuddle a little more, only for a brief moment, but at least there are moments
- She is in her big girl bed room, but still in the crib, getting used to the room for the transition in a few months with the new baby
- Loves dirt, cars, and balls (not sure about babies too much yet)
- Loves dipping any food into any "dip"
- Mimics all the time
- Loves her daddy and playing rough

Baby Bump

I am showing much more than my last pregnancy. People say you show earlier with your second, I am hold to that.

Here I am 15 weeks along with Payton, 2 years ago exactly (making it look like I have bump)



Here I am 16 weeks with this pregnancy. I have no torso, and my muscles know how to relax and go straight out again!



Whatever happens to the belly, I am just glad to have a healthy baby and healthy momma!

4th of July Weekend

What a great weekend. Friday afternoon Steve and I drove to Wichita for my college friend Aaron Varner's wedding. He is a missionary to Germany and ironically he married a girl who grew up in Wichita so we were some of the few college friends that made the wedding. Zack and Hilary kept Payton over night for us and we had a great night at the wedding catching up with friends and enjoyed sleeping in, having a great breakfast and making our way back to KC Saturday afternoon. We are so thankful for our time away.



Sunday right after our church wide picnic, we loaded up the Explorer with Zack and Hilary joining us for a quick overnight trip to the lake. For almost a year we have been trying to get them down there with us, schedules just never worked out before. Steve's parents and brother and his girlfriend Jordan were down there and we had a great quick 24 hour trip. Amazing firework shows all over the lake that we could see right from our own deck.



Payton does love doing things all by herself. Once the boat was parked, she got to drive the boat.



She takes her job seriously, making sure everything is in order.



The neighbor Norm took the whole gang on a ride in his boat. Great afternoon for a ride before we had to head home. I think we chose the right place to be for the night, as KC had a lot of rain and we had a lot of sun!



Zack and Hilary



Norm driving, my in-laws and Ben and his girlfriend Jordan. This was our first time meeting Jordan, she is a really sweet girl.



Hope you all had a great 4th!

Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

Payton and I finally made it to Deanna Rose, a local petting zoo and park. I quickly understood the hype, it is an amazing place with so much to do for all ages. Best of all, it is free Mon-Thurs and only a few dollars on the weekends. Below is a photo I found online, it was much more green yesterday.



Payton wasn't too sure what to think about the goats. They were pretty aggressive as they are used to people feeding them and they fight for food. They were her height and kept coming up to her face.



A little safer from behind the fence.



There were so many animals and she would squeal with delight when she saw another one. Even the fish were interesting to her.



The funny part is that she doesn't say the names of the animals, she just says their noises. So the cows were moooooo. I think one thing she also loved about the park is it is full of people. Payton loves watching people. If we are in a crowded place, she will just sit and watch others (you can see by her eyes in this picture that she was watching someone else).



We had a great time and look forward to more visits before they close in October for the season.