Welcome to The World Baby Girl!

Adison Thornton

September 25, 2009

8:10 a.m.

7 Lbs. 3 oz.

19 inches

Great delivery and so far so good on the recovery end. We are so excited to have her here healthy and beautiful!

No Explanation Needed

House Hunting is Fun?

So everytime that we have moved, I always go into the move looking forward to finding a new house. Should be easy, right? Especially in a large city like Birmingham? We have spent the last 4 or so weeks searching for the right house for our family. Birmingham is a great city with lots of great attributes and just like any other city there are places that you should and should not live based upon the needs of your family. For us the most important things were the schools, the house, and then the commute. We found some houses that would have worked, but they were either in the wrong schools or were a horrible commute. Finally last week we narrowed down our search to 2 areas of Birmingham that met the school and commute criteria, we just had to find the house. And WE DID! Finally after viewing what feels like a million houses we found one we really like and that meets all of our needs. Yeah! We hope to close by the 30th of this month and move by the second week of October.
By the way, 5 more days until I meet my little one! Can't wait!

Why Not??

As if life wasn't busy or crazy enough we have decided to really make things exciting around here for the next couple of months. Last month Jeff received a promotion with his company and as a result we are moving to Birmingham. I approach this move with mixed feelings because we have really enjoyed living in Oxford, our current location in Alabama. We have great friends, a great house, good schools, great branch, we are close to family, etc.....However, Jeff and I are very excited about his new job and the opportunities that will come with it. We have moved quite a few times in our 9 years of marriage and fortunately Birmingham is close enough that I feel that we won't such a dramatic move. So the last 2 weeks we have been SEARCHING the Birmingham area for homes. What sounded really exciting at first has become quite exhausting, however we do have a few good prospects. We are just having a hard time pulling the trigger. Hopefully by the end of the week....

Why the rush on finding a house? Because in only 17 days we will be adding another little one to our household. I am very excited and definitely READY physically to have her here. I still have a bit to do to have things in order here at home, but I need something to keep my busy over the next 2 1/2 weeks, right? If she is not here by the 25th of September, I have a scheduled induction that day, so I do know that the end is in sight! After she arrives, we plan on moving in the ensuing couple of weeks so that we can get Bayley and Kendal to their new schools as soon as possible. The kids are excited, but a bit nervous about the move. Bayley especially is now old enough to understand what starting over in a new place will entail.

So if my blogging is a bit sporadic over the next couple of months you now know why...

It's Great To Be 8!

A Bayley party would not be complete without a pinata

I can't believe my oldest turned 8 last week. Things have been a bit crazy around here as of late, however, we did have a great time celebrating her special day. She has been looking forward to turning 8 for a couple of years now. Not only did she get to choose to get baptized and confirmed a member of our church, but she also got to choose to have her ears pierced. In OUR family, the rule has been that our girls can choose to get their ears pierced when they reach the age of accountability, which for us is 8. Bayley and Kendal both have questioned us numerous times about why we have this rule and how unfair it is that they have had to wait. Despite their pleading and attempts at getting us to give in, we have held firm to the "wait til your 8 rule" and have now survived one daughter having her ears pierced.

The finished product

Bayley began her birthday with, what has come to be a tradition in our house, Lamar's donuts. Grandma Nancy surprised her by driving down from Indiana to be here for Bayley's birthday and baptism. So at Bayley's request, Grandma Nancy, Trey and I took one of Bayley's favorite treats, pumpkin chocolate cookies to share with her class. The cookies were a hit and after the snack we checked the girls out and headed to get Bayley's ears pierced. Bayley was worried about the pain that she might feel getting her ears pierced, but was willing to make that sacrifice.

Bracing for the worst

Fortunately for all of us, she barely felt it and didn't shed even one tear. That evening Bayley had a small birthday party, which was just fine with her mom, but a bit longer in length of time. She invited 3 girls from school and they had a great time, decorating cupcakes, swimming, opening presents, playing games, and eating. I think she had a great time.

The day after her birthday, Saturday August 22nd, was the day of her baptism. Grandma and Grandpa "G" joined us and we spent most of the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the pool. That evening was the actual baptism and afterwards we went to our favorite family restaurant, Chick-fil-A for dinner. It was a great day.

Proud Dad and Bayley

Sunday Bayley was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and was able to have Grandma Nancy, Grandma G and Grandpa G there to support her. Bayley is such a special girl who more than most 8 year olds, truly appreciates the fact that she is now a confirmed member of the church.

I am so proud of my beautiful 8 year old and the decisions that she is making at this time in her life. Any one who knows Bayley knows just how sweet, smart and mature she is. She makes a great big sister, not only by what a great example she is, but also by how she is most of the time very willing to include her younger brother and sister in what she is doing. She loves school, riding her bike, dancing, swimming, reading, anything crafty, and cooking. Once again, I can't believe how quickly 8 years has passed and I can only imagine how another 8 will fly by....

Trey Turns Three!

2 years old

August 10th is Trey's birthday. This year he also shared his birthday with the first day of school, so it was a BIG day for the entire Thornton family. Going into the day Trey and I had a definite plan of what he wanted to do for his birthday. He made it very clear that he wanted donuts from Lamar's (a local donut shop) for his birthday breakfast. So after making sure the girls were settled in school, we headed to Lamar's for donuts. He picked out his donut and then proceeded to pick out one for his sisters and his daddy, which was very thoughtful of him. After a few quick errands we headed back to the house for swimming with Erin (who is actually better friends with Kendal, but was kind enough to join Trey on his special day). Trey's friend Eden also joined us for lunch and play, which made our day much more exciting and fun. After the girls returned home from school, the kids went out to the pool for more swimming so that Trey could show off his new toy for the pool....a little mini-slide. For dinner, Trey requested pizza...I love easy picks! After pizza, presents and cake it was time to call it a day! Fortunatley for me, Trey got some great presents for his birthday that have kept him very well occupied this week. In fact, I was worried that he would want to watch TV all day now that he was without playmates at home, however I don't think we have turned on cartoons once the entire week because he has been so busy with all of his new toys and activities.

Now, some of the stuff Trey is up to at 3 years old:

• Trey has turned into a chatter box. A year ago we were worried that he might never speak, however our concerns are GONE. He does a good job keeping up with his sisters when it comes to conversing, which as most of you know can be pretty tough to do.


• Trey hates having his hair cut, but likes having his hair "just right". I think I have finally figured out how to make it through a haircut without him screaming...I just threaten to buzz it all off. He is too particular about his hair to have it all gone.


• Trey loves to be a jokester! He loves to make his sisters and parents laugh.


• Trey is a great bike rider. I have a feeling that before the passing of another year he will be without training wheels. He loves to ride his bike and does a decent job of keeping up with his sisters.
• Trey loves to swim and is getting better at it every day. I have to force him to wear any type of flotation device, but most of the time I let him swim without anything on and just keep a very close eye on him!
• Trey loves bubbles, bouncy balls, and games. His latest obsession has been games of any type. We play a modified version of Old Maid with him and he will play and play and play some more. In fact last week alone I bet he played the game at least 100 times with anyone who would play with him. He is learning to be a better loser...saying "sometime you win, sometimes I win" to make himself feel better when he loses. The first couple of times he lost we had complete meltdowns, so he is doing much better!


• Trey is a VERY LOVED little boy!

First Day of School 2009

Monday the girls started back to school. Both were VERY excited. Kendal especially was READY to see what school was all about. Both wanted to ride the school bus on the first day of school, so I put them on the bus and then I met them there so I could take a picture of them in their classrooms. Kendal took one good picture and then she was ready for Trey and I to leave. So far she is doing well. The only issue seems to be her need to TALK a lot. The first two days her teacher noted her excessive talking during class. I guess it is a pretty common theme amoung the kindergarteners because after talking to her teacher she wasn't very concerned, she just didn't want it to get out of control. I didn't get a picture of Bayley in her classroom because by the time I made it up to the 3rd grade classroom all of the kids were already seated and working on their first assignment. Over half way through the first week and both girls still seem excited about school...we can only hope that that excitement last 176 more days!