Beware of headbutting

For those few people who make the short list of being special enough to hold Peyton (she has high standards), they are now at risk of Peyton's newest token of affection - being headbutted. You read that right. No, it wasn't a typo. Peyton likes to headbutt you smack dab in the forehead, sometimes on the cheek on those rare days her aim is slightly off. She likes to throw you off and lean in for a kiss, then WHAM! You are the proud owner of a new bruise with a side of migraine. Not sure where she learned this charming behavior, but I know she's too young to have seen Zidane's famous headbutt (2006 World Cup for those who are clueless). Perhaps she is watching YouTube when I am not looking?

Another fabulous behavior Peyton is showering me with is the eye roll. The kid has officially mastered the dreaded eye roll. At 19 months old. Do you understand how bad this is? She is nowhere close to being a teenager. Heck, she's nowhere close to being a preteen and she is already giving me a 'tude in the most annoying way possible. How, how, HOW is she learning this??? I would immediately point my finger at any (maybe all) of Peyton's Sewanee "Aunts" but only Lauren has met her and she is just too sweet to do this to me. Right? The other night after a rather long day of Peyton letting me know every minute that I was doing something wrong, I asked her for a kiss before I put her to bed. She actually rolled her eyes. She was nice enough to slightly lean in so I could give her a kiss, but not before letting me know she wasn't the biggest fan of my loving. I've said it before, but I truly think my mom is laughing herself to sleep at night seeing how much trouble Peyton is giving me and Evans with Clare. Clare and I weren't the best teenagers growing up and mom would tell us "Just you wait until you have kids!" Well, the day where she says "I told you so" has arrived and came with a massive bang that will keep my ears ringing for years, possibly decades. But no matter how loud the bang, I will still be able to hear mom mutter those words accompanied with an evil laugh.

Fetch anyone?

Today was a rather long day since Peyton woke up in a foul mood and didn't hesitate to let me know every second of every minute of every hour. We did manage to make it to Chik-fil-a with Clare, Evans, and Brooks for a lunch/playdate. Peyton did fairly well and we escaped with no major breakdowns. Clare convinced me to run a quick shopping errand to The Pants Store (if you haven't checked this store out, you need to do so asap) after lunch, and unfortunately Peyton did have a breakdown there. But, it was after she did a faceplant and came back up for air with a huge egg on her forehead so it was to be expected. Back home we went and I put Peyton straight down for a nap. So didn't happen. I was exhausted at this point. I grumbled some adult words to myself, got her up, and back to playtime it was. I fought a losing battle trying to get her to eat some dinner, but she is positively the pickiest eater ever - something I know my mom is laughing to herself about since I wasn't the best eater growing up. Payback is a certain 5-letter word. Soon it was getting close to bedtime and she was still wired. I even let her play in the bathtub for a long time, but then I was grossed out with how wrinkled her feet and fingers became and immediately plucked her from the tub. Still wired. Finally after getting her dried off and dressed for bed, I sat on the couch and just watched her play. I was pooped out. Then, she came across the soccer ball. She hurriedly picked it up and threw it in my lap, excitedly waiting to see what I would do. A light bulb went off in my head. I said to Peyton in an overly dramatic voice, "hey, let's play fetch!" I tested my idea out by throwing the ball across the room and sure enough, Peyton was game. She ran after the ball, scooped it up, came back, and threw it in my lap eagerly waiting for the next throw. We did this for 20 minutes until Peyton was sportin' flushed cheeks. I was so proud of myself. I gave her some milk and asked if she was ready for bed. She didn't protest; instead, she actually led the way to her bedroom. I was certain she was going to be out in a few minutes. I kissed her goodnight, and laid her down.

An hour later and she is still playing in her bed. Guess we need to try longer distances next time. Oh well, I tried.

My baby's got a fever

Poor Peyton has her first real fever. Unfortunately we have been trying to find a decent thermometer for the past 18 months and have never been able to accurately check her temp when we thought she was feverish. I finally "accidently" brought home one from work and finally gave up with trying to get a temp from her armpit; instead I apologized profusely to Peyton and got a temp from a certain area that belongs in the diaper. Poor thing was so surprised and looked at me like "WHAT are you doing lady?" 100.2 - her first documented fever. Granted it's not much of a fever, but for someone who has never really had a fever, it counts. She has been pitiful all day. She did help me with unloading the dishwater but broke down into a dramatic tantrum when she couldn't get the door open to one of the cabinets. Poor thing isn't feel too hot.

So here we go with Tylenol and rechecking the temp in an hour. If it's the same or higher, time to call the pediatrician. I've got her settled on our bed with some water and popcorn, watching The Princess and the Frog.

Apparently Peyton is well-trained

Tonight I came home from work and was sitting on the couch watching Peyton play before it was her bedtime. Brad decided to use some leftover hot dog from Peyton's dinner to practice some commands with the dogs. As Brad told the dogs to sit, Peyton immediately sat down and repeated the command, adding the letter H in her version of the word (I still giggle every time, so sad). Brad told the dogs to lay down, and again Peyton followed the command and laid down immediately. This went on for a few minutes back and forth between sitting and laying down and my smart little girl got every command right every time and she was very well darned pleased with herself. I couldn't tell who was wagging their booty from excitement the most, Peyton or Ranger. I'm not sure if she ever realized Brad was trying to practice with the dogs, but hey, Peyton likes hot dogs - just like her momma.

So, apparently Peyton is well-trained.

After the mini training session, it was bedtime. Peyton recently has developed this oh-so-fun habit of screaming bloody murder till she turns blue in the face to announce her presence in the world in case you already didn't know. Well tonight as Brad was changing her and putting her PJs on, she decided it was once again time to remind the folks that a little girl named Peyton lived in Homewood, Alabama. She saw me about to say something to interrupt her screaming and then before I could even get a word out, she put her finger to her mouth and told me to "Shhhhhh." She thought it was so hilarious she did it again. Screaming bloody murder, followed by a very serious "Shhhhhh." She alternated between these two until her poor lungs cried "mercy!" Of course by then Brad and I were bent over in giggles, and once again, Peyton beamed with pride. My sweet angel could not be any cuter.

The Terrible Twos

That's right folks. Peyton has hit the terrible twos at 18 months old. At first I thought/hoping she was sick, but it's looking more like just a terrible phase of major grumpiness. There are very rare and very brief moments where she is a happy camper, but almost anything and everything upsets her and she launches into a full-blown temper tantrum. She gets so angry and frustrated if she can't do something by herself, or if a toy is laying the wrong way on the floor. It has gotten so bad at points, I just lay her on the floor and walk out of the room. That often surprises her and calms her down to a degree. But almost nothing is working to help her get over this stage. Her grumpiness has rendered people speechless, stunned by the dramatic flailing of arms and legs, her evil eyes, and her screaming. Who the heck are you and what have you done to my precious blue eyed blonde hair child??

I am really hoping this phase will end soon. I am exhausted between work, insomia, and not throwing up and often find myself with little patience. Thankfully Brad is around and helps with Peyton. She definitely is still a daddy's girl and I am pretty sure she always will be. Until it's time to start dating and Brad scares off all the boys with his gun.

Other than that, Peyton does love her new table that she is able to sit down at and color and eat. She loves the independence of feeding herself with her fork, so she has been more open to trying new foods and it has been going well. I desperately need to take her to the pediatrician this week for her 18 month check-up since I totally forgot about her 15 month check up. She has not been to the doctors in 8 months!

So, what do you think this means?

Snow day!

It snowed several inches on Friday, February 12th. Peyton hasn't been the biggest fan of the snow previously but today she was thrilled! She would have spent all day outside if I would let her. She loved walking around in it, digging her hands in it (yes hands, she wouldn't wear gloves), and tasted it several times. We walked around the block a few times and she could not have been any happier. She loves being outside, especially now when it is snowing! Here are some of the pics from that day: