Rayna's First Day of Preschool!

Rayna has started Preschool this year, and loves it! Here is some pictures of her first day. I find it amusing that she chose to wear the same dress her sister did on her first day of preschool even though she has a closet full of other things! She goes to the same Preschool as Taylin did, Peace Lutheran, and has the same teacher Taylin had. I think she remembered coming and dropping Taylin off, so it made it a very easy transition. She goes to school on Mondays and Fridays, and on Wednesdays she stays home with the rest of us to have Discovery Day with a few other homeschooling families.

Here she's a little anxious.

Feeling more confident.

"I can do this!" she says.

"Alright, go already. Your embarrassing me!"

A Nurses' Heart

We have had the flu bug in our house for the past several days, and last night it finally hit my rock, Daniel. So, today he was laid up on the couch feeling miserable and sleeping for most of the day. Somewhere around elevenish, I found Rayna sitting on the couch next to her big dad, stroking his forehead and rubbing his hair. I thought this would maybe last a minute or two, but she actually sat there for at least 15 minutes pampering him. She does seem to have a very loving and nurturing nature in her. I only see it come out every once in a while, because the other times she is too busy just doing something. She was much more sympathetic to her Dad then I was (maybe because she had just gotten over it herself and remembered how bad it was). So, here is my little nurse in training.

Rayna's 4th Birthday!

Here are finally some pictures of Rayna's 4th Birthday! It was quite a day. Full of fun and excitement. We started out the day with presents and a favorite breakfast, then church, her birthday party, and then cousins still to play with!

Rayna definitely had the present thing figured out this year. Maybe a little too figured out! Daniel and I were like, "Slow down girl!"

Sporting her goods.

Rayna's lovely posing. We had her birthday party at a park this year. We BBQed, had a water balloon fight, rode bikes, had sidewalk chalk and bubbles, a good old pinata, and of course cake!

It's always fun having cousins up for your birthday!

Taylin's sporting Rayna's new bike and helmet!

Yummy chocolate cake!

Rayna's partner in crime (Isaac)!


Yeah for water balloons!


The kids refilling their squirt guns!


Daddy's always good for a good water fight.

Yeah for water on a hot day!

Here's a little bit of the footage!

Crashed out after a long hard day!

(Taylin, Rayna, Jennica, and Henry)

A Girl's Got to have Her Shoes!

Normally, I am pretty practical when it comes to the girls' shoes. I stick to what's on sale and what they need. For some reason, I felt for Rayna this last time we went shoe shopping a few weeks ago. We went for both the girls. Taylin needed some brown shoes and Rayna needed some crocks that she could put on herself. Well, we didn't find either one of those types of shoes in our small town of Flagstaff, but we came across some beautiful pink ones that Rayna loved. She had absolutely no need for these shoes, but I could see it in her eyes, the longing was definitely there. Rayna most of the time gets Taylin's hand-me downs and doesn't get as many new pairs of shoes as Taylin. For some reason I caved. I didn't stick to our plan and I bought these pink, sparkle shoes for Rayna. Taylin also ended up with a pair of shoes, but they were black dress shoes, that she needed. Both the girls wore their new shoes home from the store and were in high heaven! Nap time rolled around and Rayna was heart broken that I was making her take her shoes off to nap, "their beautiful," she said with a sad face as she took them off. When she woke up from her nap, still groggy, I went to snuggle her to find that she had already placed her shoes back on! And that has been our routine lately! She has worn her new, pink, sparkle shoes every chance she can. She has only taken them off to sleep, or when I have forced her to wear a different pair of shoes!

Rayna's 3rd Birthday!

Rayna has been counting down her birthday for a long time and it is finally here! She is the big 3 now! She woke up to Little Mermaid decorations and some birthday presents from Mom and Dad. She got her favorite breakfast of bacon and eggs and blueberry muffins! She then got a house full of people when Grandma and Grandpa Troup arrived along with her cousins Jennica, Henry, and Kolton! Then we were off to church where Rayna really began to feel like the big girl because she got to move up from the toddler class to the preschool class! After church was over we had a little party for Rayna with her cousins and friends Hannah and Isaac. Rayna definitely had a fun day feeling like the big birthday girl!

Opening presents in the morning

Eating lunch

Rayna's Dora Cake

More presents

Pin the Crown on the Mermaid!

Sissy's quite the poser!

Sweet birthday hugs!

More lovin!

Henry's playing in the house

Kolton's being the big cousin pushing the little ones

Jennica and Tobyn


Hannah and Tobyn

1st Haircut!

The other day Rayna and I went to get her first haircut! She was such a big girl. She sat so still the whole time and just starred at herself in the mirror. After the stylist was done, she asked Rayna what she thought. With a big smile on her face, Rayna fluffs her hair with her hands and says, "It's beautiful," as she is looking in the mirror. She is so precious! It's amazing how all of that beauty stuff just comes so naturally girls!

The Mind of A Two Year Old

Here are some cute little convo's that Rayna and I have had lately. She tickles me pink with some of the things that come out of her mouth. It never ceases to amaze me at how her little mind works!

Convo #1

A fun, family night that was designed for the girls turned a little sour when Rayna decided to have issues at the dinner table. Please understand that Rayna is our good eater. She never really complains and usually eats just about anything. So, this night I made hot dogs, french fries, and fruit, kids favorites, right? Also keep in mind, I don't ever make hot dogs (their bad for you if you didn't know!), but this was a special family night. Rayna had eaten all of her french fries and fruit but had not touched her hot dog. She said she didn't like it. I told her to just eat one bite of it and then she could be done. I have a hard time making her eat something that's not very good for her anyways. So, she puts one bite in her mouth and proceeds to chew it but after a while, she tries to spit it out. At our house we have rules that you can't spit anything out. Once its in your mouth, you finish it. So, of course I have to follow through with this rule and tell her she can't spit it out. I again remind her, that as soon as she is done with this bite she will be finished. After I had been cleaning up the kitchen for about 5 minutes, I turn and look and realize Rayna still has the same bite in her mouth and has not yet swallowed. I was trying to get her to just swallow the bite and be done with it, but she just was not into it. So, finally after several more minutes of coaxing I told her that I was setting the timer and that if she didn't swallow this bite within the next five minutes then she wouldn't get her brownie for desert. I was thinking that was a sure win, right? Wrong! The timer goes off and her bite is still in her mouth. I tell her that she can't have her brownie now and of course she starts to cry (with a full mouth), and now reminding her not to spit out her food. Now what do I do? With Taylin the next consequence is usually an early bedtime, so I guess that's the next option. I proceed to tell Rayna that I'm setting the timer again and if she doesn't finish her bite in the next five minutes then she has to go straight to bed and will miss out on the family movie we had planned and popcorn. I'm thinking this has got to work, she's not going to want to miss out and its just swallowing one bite! Right? Wrong again! I finally let her spit out her bite, and because I have to follow through now, I get her ready for bed. I have to admit this was a really hard follow through for me. Taylin is the one who is our worst eater and she's never had to miss out on a family night, and this was all over hot dogs! It was one of those battles I wished I never would have entered, but I did, and I'm Mom so I have to finish it, right? So, as my devastated, crying child is being tucked in I tried talking to her about the situation, explaining to her how she could have chosen differently and none of this would have happened. I ask her, "Rayna, what are you going to do next time, are you just going to swallow it?" Her immediate, sobbing response, "No, you just shouldn't make it next time. That was yucky!" After all that, I still didn't win!

Convo #2

As Rayna and I were pulling away from the duck pond a man came up to a car that had been parked near us. Obviously, it was his car as he proceeded to open it and pop open his trunk. Rayna asks, "Whats he doing?"

I reply, "I don't know, he's looking in his car."

Rayna, "But that's a girl's car."

Stopping to take a closer look at the car, I realize its a gray, four door sedan. "Why is it a girl's car, Rayna?"

"Because, boys are suppose to have trucks," she states as a matter of fact.

Convo #3

I had a list of errands to run and I just wanted to get out of the house as fast as I could. So, when it came to getting the girls hair done, I simply was wanting to brush it and put in barrettes. I did Taylin's hair and then it was Rayna's turn. "I want braids Mommy." "No, we're in a hurry this morning and we're just doing barrettes," I tell her. "Then I want ponytails," she says. "No, just barrettes." Feeling like this was going to be an obstacle I said, "You pick out the one you want." Rayna proceeded to pick out a purple barrette. Then when it came to putting it in her hair she started to get whiny and stated she didn't want it. Again, telling her we were in a hurry and that was all we were doing she replied as she started to cry, "Its not beautiful, though." Where does she get her ideas!

Chase has become one of Rayna's best buds. She loves to ride him, tackle him, and squish his face. He probably loves her just as much. What dog wouldn't? She feeds, he gets to sit under her as she eats, and she probably gives him the most attention in our house!

Big Girl

We finally got Rayna a new carseat today, a booster seat! She is very excited and has been wanting one like sissies' for a long time. We had told she could get one after Christmas and she definetly remembered that promise! The thing is, I think I'm just as excited as she is! The idea of the ease of taking the carseat in and out, and the less room it takes up, just thrills me! Although, eventually that extra room will be gone by the third carseat that will soon be there. Oh well, for now I'm excited!

Best Buds

The other day I was watching my friends' children, Hannah and Isaac. It just so happens that sometimes this can make my day easier because everyone is more entertained. Today I rarely saw Rayna and Isaac unless they were running by playing make believe animals of some sort. They really are the best of buds, and even by the end of the night they were still the best of buds.

What Can I Find?

This is a typical adventure that we often find Rayna on!

The Duck Pond

Rayna and I have started to make going to the duck pond part of our routine while Taylin is at Preschool. We go and usually bring a picnic and feed the ducks. She loves the ducks! She is so much more daring than Taylin. I can remember Taylin running from ducks at her age, and Rayna says, "Let me pet them," as she is chasing after them. Its a nice relaxing time that we have been able to spend together. The duck pond is becoming mommy's and Rayna's special place. By the way, I think I might be taking a leave of absence from blogging, it appears there is something wrong with my camera, as you can tell in the pictures below.

Rayna's moment of stillness eating lunchOur duck with the crazy hair due!"Come here duckie" Rayna commands

Their all coming for the food!

A Day in Daddy's Shoes

Rayna quite amused us a few mornings ago, by waking up happy and ready to go way before the rest of the family. But its always nice to wake up to her happy smile and playful mood. This morning she thought it was a great idea to try to walk around in Dad's shoes. The picture is hilarious to me, hope it amuses you!

Rayna's Friend

Rayna has a lot of little friends that are boys, but she doesn't have really any friends that are girls who are the same age as her. So, its always fun to watch Rayna when she gets to play with Lilah, our little girl who lives downstairs. Their very cute in their natural mothering ways.

Potty Training!

One day, Rayna, will absolutely kill me, but this was just to cute to pass up. So, we are in the process of potty training our littlest one, and she is definetely not all the way there, but she's starting to get it. She tickles me pink, so I thought I would share with you the fun! So, here's the star of the show!

A 2 Year Old's Picture of God

Last night as I was putting the girls to bed, I asked Taylin if she wanted to pray. She said, "No mom, I want you to pray." So, I asked Rayna if she wanted to pray. She said, "Yeah, I pray!" This was her first time at volunteering, so I said "okay, Rayna go ahead." She immediately says, "Hi, Lord!" Then she looks at me like, is that okay? Oh, only if we all could come to our Father, our Dad with the enthusiam of a two year old!

Rayna's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe Rayna is two years old! She is developing into quite a unique personality. It is her second birthday, but if you ask her how old she is, she will tell you she's four! Ever since sissy birthday she is four, too! And there is no convincing her otherwise! Rayna had a fun little BBQ with her cousins and grandparents, and she ate up all the attention! When it came time to sing to her, she dance in her chair as everyone sang and then blew out all her candles by herself! I think her chocolate cake ended up more on her face and clothes, but she loved every bite! June 7, 2008