Peyton has always been a people lover having never met a stranger. I was hoping she would by-pass the stranger anxiety stage but recently it has hit full force. This afternoon we made a quick run to the grocery store and she did great until we made it to the check out counter. The lady at the register could not have been any sweeter, asking Peyton how she was and what Santa was going to bring her for Christmas. Peyton made very unfriendly faces at her and looked the other way. After paying and loading up the groceries I asked Peyton if she could say bye-bye and she suddenly became the sweetest girl ever - smiled, waved, and blew kisses to everyone that looked her way. If she has such mood swings already at this age, I am in for some serious trouble when she hits the teenager years.
Brad and I had a soccer game tonight and so we had one of Peyton's favorite babysitters, Wanda, come watch her. Wanda has been sick with pneumonia and hasn't been able to come by for two weels. Peyton must have forgotten about her because when Wanda came, Peyton was not friendly at all. When it came time for me to leave, Peyton threw the biggest fit ever - screaming, crying with the biggest tears I have ever seen, hugging me and wouldn't let go. It broke my heart! Wanda told me that Peyton did eventually warm up and they had a great night together. Still, I feel so bad! Hopefully she will get over this phase soon!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sorry for a lack of pictures, it really stinks not having a camera!
Peyton and Brad went to Florida for Thanksgiving since I had to work both Thanksgiving day and the day after. From what I understand she was on her best behavior and loved seeing all of her extended family. She even waved bye-bye for everyone! She has always been very sociable, never having met a stranger. Until recently. Nowadays, she has become very shy and requires a little bit of time to warm up. So it was great hearing that she did so well meeting people for the first time. When she came back from Florida, she even acted like she had missed me! This is a total switch considering how much she is a daddy's girl. The girl loves her daddy.
Today we went to a birthday party down the street and Peyton did well. She was very shy in the beginning but slowly warmed up to all the party goers. Sharing is not her best feature and that trait definitely shined today, but she is getting better. She played hard with all the little ones and took a three hour nap afterwards. She was pooped!
Tonight Brad and I had some friends over for football and dinner. Once again she was shy but eventually warmed up. At one point she was playing peek-a-boo with my friend and then the unthinkable happened. She said 'mommy.' As I mentioned before, Peyton has always been a daddy's girl and has been saying 'daddy' for quite some time. I love the fact that she is so close to her daddy, but I was becoming quite envious of how she refused to call me mommy. While she was playing peek-a-boo, she hollered 'mommy' and looked around as if she was making sure I was still there. It is amazing how one word will make such an impact. When she kept repeating the word, it took everything to not break down and cry. The word sounds so beautifully to my ears! My little girl is getting so big!
Peyton and Brad went to Florida for Thanksgiving since I had to work both Thanksgiving day and the day after. From what I understand she was on her best behavior and loved seeing all of her extended family. She even waved bye-bye for everyone! She has always been very sociable, never having met a stranger. Until recently. Nowadays, she has become very shy and requires a little bit of time to warm up. So it was great hearing that she did so well meeting people for the first time. When she came back from Florida, she even acted like she had missed me! This is a total switch considering how much she is a daddy's girl. The girl loves her daddy.
Today we went to a birthday party down the street and Peyton did well. She was very shy in the beginning but slowly warmed up to all the party goers. Sharing is not her best feature and that trait definitely shined today, but she is getting better. She played hard with all the little ones and took a three hour nap afterwards. She was pooped!
Tonight Brad and I had some friends over for football and dinner. Once again she was shy but eventually warmed up. At one point she was playing peek-a-boo with my friend and then the unthinkable happened. She said 'mommy.' As I mentioned before, Peyton has always been a daddy's girl and has been saying 'daddy' for quite some time. I love the fact that she is so close to her daddy, but I was becoming quite envious of how she refused to call me mommy. While she was playing peek-a-boo, she hollered 'mommy' and looked around as if she was making sure I was still there. It is amazing how one word will make such an impact. When she kept repeating the word, it took everything to not break down and cry. The word sounds so beautifully to my ears! My little girl is getting so big!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Monsters, Inc.
Is it too early to decorate for Christmas? I am just dying to get decorations up. I don't have anything fancy but I did notice today two good spots to put up wreaths on the front of my house. So sad how I get so excited about that. Definitely a sign of getting older.
Peyton is giving me gray hairs on a daily basis. Today her adventures included propping a part of the gate that we use to lock up the dogs against her red wagon and climbing up the gate into the wagon and vice versa. I finally had to move the wagon onto the grass so she wouldn't keep hitting her head on the sidewalk as she climbed out of the wagon. She has been practicing going down steps and I will brag a little about the fact that she is and has done pretty darn well with learning how to sit down then scoot down the step. That said, she has taken a few tumbles down entire flights at my parent's house. Thank goodness the only steps we have are to the basement (basement door now has two bolts on it) and steps from our front porch to the sidewalk. Today she miscalculated how close her feet were to the edge of the step and took a tumble down. Now, I have always been a klutz. As you guys know, I have the weirdest luck too. Deer crossing anyone? As I watch Peyton grow, I am close to coming to the conclusion that Peyton may just have inherited my luck. Remember the rare hemorrhagic eye virus? I mean, really? Really? I digress. So Peyton fell down the front steps today but she was able to break her fall by landing into the flower pot that I have on the bottom step, then tumble down the the ground. Thankfully she emerged with only a small scrape on her arm. She got up, I dusted planting soil off of her face, and she walked down the sidewalk, looked back at the steps with her eyes raised obviously wondering what the heck just happened, and then continued on to the wagon. The child has no fear.
Also, Peyton has now discovered the awesomeness of movies. She has never been a fan of the TV which has been ok with us. Every now and then she would watch the Einstein dvds for brief periods of time which was great for me when I needed to clean. Well all of a sudden about a month ago she is just the biggest fan of the movie, Monsters Inc. I actually bought this movie for myself a few years ago. So crazy to think that my own daughter would come to watch it. Craziness. So now the game room is 100% Peyton's room. We have it set up with a large flat screen tv, dvd player, two couches, and a makeshift coffee table thinking we would use it for rainy days and Brad's xbox. How silly we were to think we would have an big kid room in the house. It actually is perfect for Peyton. We moved her special chair to the room, put the pillows on the floor to help her climb off the couch (when I say climb, I mean fall), scattered her toys and blankets around, and boy she is set for life. She loves that room and runs in there several times a day to watch her Monsters movie. She even does the "scary feet" moment in the movie. So adorable. Also a great break for us while we try to eat and such. Good times!
Peyton is giving me gray hairs on a daily basis. Today her adventures included propping a part of the gate that we use to lock up the dogs against her red wagon and climbing up the gate into the wagon and vice versa. I finally had to move the wagon onto the grass so she wouldn't keep hitting her head on the sidewalk as she climbed out of the wagon. She has been practicing going down steps and I will brag a little about the fact that she is and has done pretty darn well with learning how to sit down then scoot down the step. That said, she has taken a few tumbles down entire flights at my parent's house. Thank goodness the only steps we have are to the basement (basement door now has two bolts on it) and steps from our front porch to the sidewalk. Today she miscalculated how close her feet were to the edge of the step and took a tumble down. Now, I have always been a klutz. As you guys know, I have the weirdest luck too. Deer crossing anyone? As I watch Peyton grow, I am close to coming to the conclusion that Peyton may just have inherited my luck. Remember the rare hemorrhagic eye virus? I mean, really? Really? I digress. So Peyton fell down the front steps today but she was able to break her fall by landing into the flower pot that I have on the bottom step, then tumble down the the ground. Thankfully she emerged with only a small scrape on her arm. She got up, I dusted planting soil off of her face, and she walked down the sidewalk, looked back at the steps with her eyes raised obviously wondering what the heck just happened, and then continued on to the wagon. The child has no fear.
Also, Peyton has now discovered the awesomeness of movies. She has never been a fan of the TV which has been ok with us. Every now and then she would watch the Einstein dvds for brief periods of time which was great for me when I needed to clean. Well all of a sudden about a month ago she is just the biggest fan of the movie, Monsters Inc. I actually bought this movie for myself a few years ago. So crazy to think that my own daughter would come to watch it. Craziness. So now the game room is 100% Peyton's room. We have it set up with a large flat screen tv, dvd player, two couches, and a makeshift coffee table thinking we would use it for rainy days and Brad's xbox. How silly we were to think we would have an big kid room in the house. It actually is perfect for Peyton. We moved her special chair to the room, put the pillows on the floor to help her climb off the couch (when I say climb, I mean fall), scattered her toys and blankets around, and boy she is set for life. She loves that room and runs in there several times a day to watch her Monsters movie. She even does the "scary feet" moment in the movie. So adorable. Also a great break for us while we try to eat and such. Good times!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween!
I am so bad at this! Since I lost my camera (and because of Peyton's meltdown), I was not able to get many pictures but here are a few....
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Brad and I received some sad news this past Thursday that I had suffered a miscarriage and needed surgery on Friday to help the process along. The surgery went well and the staff at St. Vincent's hospital could not have been any more kind and helpful; they were truly amazing during a difficult time. The chaplain came to see us after the procedure and said a few prayers and provided us with information about grief and how to embrace it and accept it. I am so appreciative that she came by; the visit truly helped me. We look forward to having our next baby at that hospital, and hopefully it won't be too long from now.
Brad has been incredibly supportive during this time which I definitely need. As a mother, I definitely went through the whole list of 'what-ifs' and searched for mistakes I may have made that could have caused this to happen. Brad has constantly reassured and comforted me. Although he readily admits he may not be the most sympathetic person, he definitely has come through for me and I could not appreciate it more.
So we are doing ok and resting at the house. Peyton is with my parents for the weekend so that will give us some alone time that is much needed right now. I do get choked up every now and then when I think that I will never be able to hold this baby in my arms but I understand that there was a reason why this happened. And Brad is always there to give me a hug when I start to cry. So, thanks to our faith and our strength, we will be ok and we are dealing with it as well as we can.
Brad has been incredibly supportive during this time which I definitely need. As a mother, I definitely went through the whole list of 'what-ifs' and searched for mistakes I may have made that could have caused this to happen. Brad has constantly reassured and comforted me. Although he readily admits he may not be the most sympathetic person, he definitely has come through for me and I could not appreciate it more.
So we are doing ok and resting at the house. Peyton is with my parents for the weekend so that will give us some alone time that is much needed right now. I do get choked up every now and then when I think that I will never be able to hold this baby in my arms but I understand that there was a reason why this happened. And Brad is always there to give me a hug when I start to cry. So, thanks to our faith and our strength, we will be ok and we are dealing with it as well as we can.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
4th of July
Peyton and I headed down to the lake house on Wednesday to celebrate the 4th. Brad had to work Thursday and joined us late Thursday night. We had a total of 15 people (and four dogs) at the house for the weekend - super crowded but super fun! My paternal grandparents were able to make the drive from Concord, N.C. along with my uncle Marshal (dad's bro), aunt Anna, and cousin Wainwright. We haven't seen them since December of last year so they were very excited to see how much Peyton has grown since then. Peyton absolutely adored all the attention throughout the weekend and hit another milestone for everyone to see! She took one step all by herself!!! Granted, it was a very wobbley step and she most likely didn't intend to take it on her own, but hey, it counts in our books. I just cannot believe she is almost walking. Crazy!
On the night of the 4th, 10 of us piled into the boat and went over to the amphitheater (located next to the lake where they often have concerts during the summer) to watch the fireworks. For some reason (we blamed the economy) the fireworks weren't as good as usual but it was still fun to watch. Peyton wasn't even the slightest bit fazed by them which surprised us all. While anchored, the boat was rocking at a perfect pace and Peyton eventually fell asleep on my chest. I love it when she does that and it sure is a rare event for it to happen.
I now completely understand why parents blame their children on giving them gray hairs. Peyton ventured off to the stairs many a times this weekend and just loved climbing up them. However, it's when she is at the top that gray hairs sprouted from my head. She would peak over the landing at the top of the stairs and decide that she wanted to climb back down. I tried to teach her how to do it the right way but that's similar to teaching a dog not to bark - just ain't gonna happen (well with my dogs at least). She would attempt to scoot down like a toddler would and this is not good for a infant who still doesn't understand the concept of center of gravity. The inevitable happened and Peyton tumbled forward and did a flip in the air after bouncing off the step. Thankfully I was only two steps away and caught her in mid air. Good Lord child. Give your mom a heart attack why don't you? We both cried for a second and then I burst into uncontrollable laughter for whatever reason as the rest of the family rushed to the steps to see if Peyton was ok. Oh boy, parenthood.
On the night of the 4th, 10 of us piled into the boat and went over to the amphitheater (located next to the lake where they often have concerts during the summer) to watch the fireworks. For some reason (we blamed the economy) the fireworks weren't as good as usual but it was still fun to watch. Peyton wasn't even the slightest bit fazed by them which surprised us all. While anchored, the boat was rocking at a perfect pace and Peyton eventually fell asleep on my chest. I love it when she does that and it sure is a rare event for it to happen.
I now completely understand why parents blame their children on giving them gray hairs. Peyton ventured off to the stairs many a times this weekend and just loved climbing up them. However, it's when she is at the top that gray hairs sprouted from my head. She would peak over the landing at the top of the stairs and decide that she wanted to climb back down. I tried to teach her how to do it the right way but that's similar to teaching a dog not to bark - just ain't gonna happen (well with my dogs at least). She would attempt to scoot down like a toddler would and this is not good for a infant who still doesn't understand the concept of center of gravity. The inevitable happened and Peyton tumbled forward and did a flip in the air after bouncing off the step. Thankfully I was only two steps away and caught her in mid air. Good Lord child. Give your mom a heart attack why don't you? We both cried for a second and then I burst into uncontrollable laughter for whatever reason as the rest of the family rushed to the steps to see if Peyton was ok. Oh boy, parenthood.
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