Payne family camping trip

We had a fun camping trip with my Mom's side of the family. We went to the Heber campground for a night and were grateful for good weather most of the time. The only part I got pictures of was going around the little lake on a paddle boat. Amazingly Lyla actually let us put a life vest on her. She usually fits and screams! Such a sweet picture of Lyla with Paul:

Love how well my life vest fits over my belly! :)

Group shot:

St George Skiing Trip

Lyla and I went down to St George for a quick family trip last week and had a blast! We went out on the boat a few times while the others did wake boarding and skiing. Lyla loved playing with her cousins and just riding in the boat. Whenever the engine started she would stand in between my legs like this: she even fell asleep in that position one time.

Her other favorite place to be was with her head on my belly. Not sure what she's going to do when it's not a big pillow for her anymore! (Don't judge me by this gross picture of me!) Kaitlyn also enjoyed snuggling with her mommy while we rode.

Lyla eventually warmed up enough to get in the water which felt great since it was so hot!

We also went for a very slow ride on the tube with Alyssa.

Cassidy took lyla swimming in the pool at my parent's house- although i guess we forgot to put on her swim diaper and swim suit. They are planning on building a pool at some point which will be nice, but until then it's fun to have this one to cool off in. I was really feeling the heat this visit because of the pregnancy. One night the air conditioner wasn't working upstairs and it was miserable!! Definitely makes me grateful for modern technology.

Lyla loves running around in a towel.

After the St George trip, we had lunch together to celebrate Jeanne & my mom's birthday. We always love some girl time!

34 weeks

I've been so bad at taking pictures during this pregnancy, probably because the time is flying by! I thought I would add a few to document how big I'm getting. This isn't the best picture but this was at 31 weeks:
And this is now at 34 weeks:

I can't believe how soon we'll be meeting our little boy! I'm so excited but also nervous about the next few months and how well I'll be able to handle a newborn the second time around. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten everything I learned with Lyla so I feel like we're doing it all for the first time. I'm worried about keeping Lyla entertained during the first few weeks and months. I don't handle lack of sleep very well and now i won't be able to nap when the baby sleeps, other than during Lyla's short nap time. I'm very grateful that my mom is going to come stay for a week and welcome any other visitors who want to come play with my energetic toddler!! :) Also I'd love any tips on getting through those weeks of sleepless nights and still being able to function enough to keep a toddler happy. I'm just praying that it's still warm enough to play outside until November, but i know that isn't extremely likely. It will be an exciting adventure and I know it will all work out well!

Fun videos of Lyla

Alyssa helped me to capture some of the fun things Lyla loves doing. She loves to do the actions for Eensy Weensy spider:

Popcorn popping:

Here are several random videos of her doing cute things:

She loves to dance so we've captured many moments of her crazy moves:

Wheels on the bus:

Alyssa's visit

Alyssa spent almost a week with us and we loved every minute!! Lyla had so much fun playing with her and she cried when Alyssa got on the shuttle to go home. We went for walks, played outside, cooked, watched movies, danced, and talked. I love being with Alyssa and am so grateful that we are so close. I can't believe she is starting college in a few weeks- when did she grow up??

We went to the zoo one day so Lyla could show off her favorite animals. Lyla and I actually got a picture together when she is actually smiling! It's been difficult to take many pictures lately because any time we get our camera out, Lyla starts doing everything she can to get it from us and there's no chance of her smiling or doing anything else cute.

Here's a shot of my growing belly...

These are Lyla's 18 month pictures. She's changing by the day and learning so much. She loves talking and tries to repeat everything we say, although it doesn't always come out right. She can be a great little helper by putting clothes in the dirty clothes, getting her diapers out, throwing trash in the garbage, helping me cook, combing my hair, picking up her toys, etc. The tantrums have continued and her new favorite thing to do when she gets frustrated is to dive face first to the ground. We've had some challenging shopping trips when she is screaming and kicking in the middle of the checkout stand and I'm trying to hold her and calm her down which is getting harder as I get bigger. She still insists on being carried more than she should so hopefully we can change this habit in the next two months. Some days lately have been extremely hard for me because her behavior wears me out, but overall I love spending so much time with such a sweet little munchkin!

Lyla's Amazing new car!

Grandma Rumsey sent a big surprise to Lyla this week- a new little tikes cozy coupe!! She absolutely loves this car and wakes up in the morning asking for it. She couldn't wait for Paul to put it together and she tried driving it without the wheels or the top. I love summer and being able to spend most of the day outside playing with my sweet girl. She can be such an angel when she wants to be and we have a blast together.