Mommy fail again... Peyton turned 2 in September, obviously, but here it is one month later and I am writing the blog. Such is life when you're working 12ish hours a day, but this blog isn't about me so let's get on with the Peyton... :)
Weight- At your 2 year appointment you were just over 27 lbs. Still nice and small. Just about in the 50th percentile. You did get to move onto the 'big girl' scale. After the nurse bribed you with a sticker, you stood on the scale like a champ.
Hair- Still great hair! We introduced 'hair pretties' recently. You got some great clips from your Auntie Dinah and the Florida clan, so we put those in along with the ponies.
Clothes- I was just cleaning out some clothes today! You are certainly in the 2T range for shirts, dresses, etc. Pants are quite the conundrum though... You are pretty petite in the waist, but you're getting kind of tall so it's like pants weren't meant for tall skinny kids at this age. They're all enormous around the waist or short on the legs... Oy!
Teeth- You are getting pretty good at brushing your teeth now. One of the most hilarious parenting things we've tried yet... teaching you to spit out your toothpaste.. If you think about it... it just seems like something you've always known how to do.. well it's not.. .At first, you would try to lay all the way down on the counter, stick your head way into the sink and kind of let the spit fall out.. we've gotten pretty good about it now, but you still have that little line of spit most of the time that we have to wipe off. What a silly thought..
New Skills-
So much to share...
You can ride your trike at least a little.
You recognize many places we go, Costco, Target, Home Depot, Mocha Coffee (Starbucks), and that's fun!
You passed your developmental tests at the doctor (a little impromptu 'testing' at the doctor because we had scheduled the appoinment late)
Counting- You can say the numbers up to ten, but you don't always say them in order or include them all. You can solidly count 1-7 from what I heard. You recognize all the digits 0-9, though sometimes you think the 8 magnet is 'glasses.'
'Reading' You know so many of the things in the books that we read, it's so great! We read many of the same books over and over and that's been fun as you help to 'read' them.
Not really a 'skill' but you've moved into favorite 'movies' Finding Nemo, Ice Age, and now as of this weekend, Puss in Boots.
Foods- Nothing new here...
Favorite moments-
You're birthday party! We did a Hungry Caterpillar party, and it was fun. Daddy organized ALL of it. I have been so crazy busy this year. He made a great giant caterpillar cake, and we had all the snacks that Caterpillar eats on Saturday. I really can't contribute much to this one. We had fun with your friends and got some fun gifts to play with too. I was bummed that the weather wasn't as nice as last year. We stayed inside.
Watching you play and grow is so fun. You have little routines that you're used to. We read, we play, we snuggle as we watch movies. We eat dinner together. We walk to get the mail and more. I just adore all the time we have together, especially since I've been so busy lately.
Least Favorite moment-
You had a cold again, that's kinda gross.
Not being around a lot is definitely a least favorite moment... It definitely makes me appreciate the time that we DO get to spend together!
Anything else?
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
23 Months for Peyton, Where does time go?!
Weight- 25.4 pounds, give or take a bit as I found out multiple times one day since you discovered the scale and wanted to stand on it, 'again' and 'again please' over and over :)
Hair- I don't know if I've really mentioned this, but you have some beautiful curls at the back of your head, they are simply adorable! Little soft ringlets, only in the back, straight as a board on the front! Still rockin' ponies, piggies, and that's about it. I'm not sure you'd sit still long enough for anything else, or that it'd stay in yet.
Clothes- You are solidly in 24 month and 2T clothes these days. I laugh when we try to put you in an outfit only to discover that it's like 12 month pants or something... I put you in some jammies tonight that had footies (warm weather fabric) and you hadn't been in footies in awhile. You thought they were hilarious because your feet disappeared "Where'd toe's go?" as you pointed out. Also, scarily, that was the first time you had worn those, grandma just got them and they're pretty snug!
Teeth- You had your second dentist appointment! You got a bit further in the 'routine' You wanted to sit in the big girl chair, you wanted to wear the sunglasses and bib. Then you were done when the gal started to move the chair. "All DONE" was made very clear. Then it was back to what we'd done before. You sat on my lap, I leaned you back so the dentist could check things out, he sealed them and off we went, with a toy of course, a gorilla squirt toy this time.
New Skills- Your sentences are just getting longer and longer! We're working on asking for something with 'may I, .... please?' and you're getting better and better at it.
You can blow bubbles!
"Boo, I LOOOVE YOU!"- and "Boo, Where AAAREEE YOOOUUU?" from anywhere in the house
Sometimes we put an AC in your room and you can push all the buttons, good and bad...
We learned how to Skype this month! We bought a tablet and decided to try it out with grandma and Poppa up in Birch Bay. You were hilarious, taking over the camera, and talking to them. It was fun and I look forward to more Skype dates!
Playing Peek a Boo and Chase games are some of your favorite! I am amazed that you still like "Where's Peyton" when you cover up with a blanket, that's an old one!
You are in love with Eric Carle Books. We keep two board books in the car and you read them all the time. My favorites are "Big, Fat, Cat-a-peela", "Ka-Koon" and "Beetiful Butta-fly"- I am fairly confident we're going to do a Hungry Caterpillar Birthday party next month!
You are also IN LOVE with Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons, a book you got from the Shinners' for your first birthday. I have probably read that book like 20 times this month. You can repeat parts of it though which is hilarious and I think that book is responsible for you being able to recognize 3, 1, and 0 as written digits. That's pretty cool. "Pop, Oh NO", "Goodness, No" and Pete's song are all things that you can repeat, I highly recommend the Pete the Cat books!
Finally, as a not quite 2 year old... you can already ask for money! Uh Oh we're in trouble!! It's all our fault... we give you the money to hand to the cashier at the store or what-not. The other day we were waiting in a drive through for Starbucks and daddy had taken the cash out, from the backseat, "money please, money please, money please" and at first we were confused because you also call your Bunny, Money... and that was at home. Then we realized that you were asking for the actual Money!! Oy!!
Foods- Still eating most foods, and you're a pretty hearty eater. Sometimes that's not the case, but it's mostly true. You will at least TRY most foods, but some are 'yucky' and you want to spit them out.
Favorite moments-
Interacting with you and being around the house to watch you interact with daddy! You're just so fun to watch. I also love that when we go to a park these days, we can almost just sit back and watch as you have fun. Every park is different, but for the most part, you get it and figure things out.
Our mommy, Peyton date last Sunday was fun! Vancouver had organized an event downtown where they shut down the roads for cars and made a loop for families to walk or ride. We went down there to check out some of the various stations and events. We ended up doing almost the entire 4.2 mile route and it was so much fun! You rolled in the stroller, and we stopped and played at a few places. The entire thing was to entice families to get out more so everything was activity based.
Least Favorite moment-
I'm not sure anything too terrible happened this month... Last month I noted your difficultly in returning to your schedule. We're pretty much back at it. You go to bed about 8 these days, but other than that, we're back to sleeping for a good long chunk.
No big booms for Peyton and that's nice!
Anything else?
Hair- I don't know if I've really mentioned this, but you have some beautiful curls at the back of your head, they are simply adorable! Little soft ringlets, only in the back, straight as a board on the front! Still rockin' ponies, piggies, and that's about it. I'm not sure you'd sit still long enough for anything else, or that it'd stay in yet.
Clothes- You are solidly in 24 month and 2T clothes these days. I laugh when we try to put you in an outfit only to discover that it's like 12 month pants or something... I put you in some jammies tonight that had footies (warm weather fabric) and you hadn't been in footies in awhile. You thought they were hilarious because your feet disappeared "Where'd toe's go?" as you pointed out. Also, scarily, that was the first time you had worn those, grandma just got them and they're pretty snug!
Teeth- You had your second dentist appointment! You got a bit further in the 'routine' You wanted to sit in the big girl chair, you wanted to wear the sunglasses and bib. Then you were done when the gal started to move the chair. "All DONE" was made very clear. Then it was back to what we'd done before. You sat on my lap, I leaned you back so the dentist could check things out, he sealed them and off we went, with a toy of course, a gorilla squirt toy this time.
New Skills- Your sentences are just getting longer and longer! We're working on asking for something with 'may I, .... please?' and you're getting better and better at it.
You can blow bubbles!
"Boo, I LOOOVE YOU!"- and "Boo, Where AAAREEE YOOOUUU?" from anywhere in the house
Sometimes we put an AC in your room and you can push all the buttons, good and bad...
We learned how to Skype this month! We bought a tablet and decided to try it out with grandma and Poppa up in Birch Bay. You were hilarious, taking over the camera, and talking to them. It was fun and I look forward to more Skype dates!
Playing Peek a Boo and Chase games are some of your favorite! I am amazed that you still like "Where's Peyton" when you cover up with a blanket, that's an old one!
You are in love with Eric Carle Books. We keep two board books in the car and you read them all the time. My favorites are "Big, Fat, Cat-a-peela", "Ka-Koon" and "Beetiful Butta-fly"- I am fairly confident we're going to do a Hungry Caterpillar Birthday party next month!
You are also IN LOVE with Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons, a book you got from the Shinners' for your first birthday. I have probably read that book like 20 times this month. You can repeat parts of it though which is hilarious and I think that book is responsible for you being able to recognize 3, 1, and 0 as written digits. That's pretty cool. "Pop, Oh NO", "Goodness, No" and Pete's song are all things that you can repeat, I highly recommend the Pete the Cat books!
Finally, as a not quite 2 year old... you can already ask for money! Uh Oh we're in trouble!! It's all our fault... we give you the money to hand to the cashier at the store or what-not. The other day we were waiting in a drive through for Starbucks and daddy had taken the cash out, from the backseat, "money please, money please, money please" and at first we were confused because you also call your Bunny, Money... and that was at home. Then we realized that you were asking for the actual Money!! Oy!!
Foods- Still eating most foods, and you're a pretty hearty eater. Sometimes that's not the case, but it's mostly true. You will at least TRY most foods, but some are 'yucky' and you want to spit them out.
Favorite moments-
Interacting with you and being around the house to watch you interact with daddy! You're just so fun to watch. I also love that when we go to a park these days, we can almost just sit back and watch as you have fun. Every park is different, but for the most part, you get it and figure things out.
Our mommy, Peyton date last Sunday was fun! Vancouver had organized an event downtown where they shut down the roads for cars and made a loop for families to walk or ride. We went down there to check out some of the various stations and events. We ended up doing almost the entire 4.2 mile route and it was so much fun! You rolled in the stroller, and we stopped and played at a few places. The entire thing was to entice families to get out more so everything was activity based.
Least Favorite moment-
I'm not sure anything too terrible happened this month... Last month I noted your difficultly in returning to your schedule. We're pretty much back at it. You go to bed about 8 these days, but other than that, we're back to sleeping for a good long chunk.
No big booms for Peyton and that's nice!
Anything else?
Monday, July 29, 2013
Peyton at 22 Months- Almost 2!
Weight- Should I just get rid of this... I am so terrible at it!
Hair- Well I have tried to do one pony, but we lose some of the fine hairs in the front and those fall in your face. It makes you look so OLD, I mean as old as a toddler can look... Anyway, I love doing your hair and you look adorable :)
Clothes- I've been purging the 18 month clothes getting them ready for Makena. Your summer outfits are nice. We have had to improvise jammies.. Your sets are just too warm for you so we find comfy shorts and a top for you instead.
Teeth- Nothing too exciting here.. You have a denstist appointment this month, number 2!
New Skills- Still new words all the time. You are willing to repeat just about anything (beware).
You figured out how to get out of the crib... For about a week before our vacation, you would get out of bed, grab some toys and get back in bed with them. So you still didn't just play in your room, you played on bed. Since we've come back from vacation, you have yet to return to the routine.
You're getting ready to run... getting your footing a bit better and that's been fun to watch.
You have just started taking your shopping cart with you when we go get the mail... it's adorable.
Shoes- You can successfully put on your shoes as long as you don't get frustrated.
Time-outs... ok not a super impressive 'new skill' but it's worth mentioning. We have dedicated a spot on the floor in the hall to the laundry for your 'time out spot' You haven't had to go there a lot, but you have had to go... I can tell you to go and you do it! You will also put yourself there if you're really frustrated. It's kind of cute.
Foods- Blueberries were fleeting... I bought a giant container at the Farmer's Market and all of a sudden they were 'yucky'. You seem to be kind of picky lately, might be that whole upset of the routine thing. I'm sure we'll get past it. Oh a new fun one... I can peel a banana and give it to you and you'll eat from it. It's pretty cute to watch you look like a little monkey :)
Favorite moments-
Watching you hang out with Gramma and Poppa in Birch Bay was really fun!
You did pretty good in the car for what we put you through, it was a long trip!
On 4th of July you did great! We went to the Campbell's for a BBQ and some fun. We weren't able to stay late since Daddy had to work, but we were there for plenty of fun. We even lit off some fireworks and played with sprinklers. You normally don't really like loud noises so I was hesitant. The Shinners' brought extra ear muffs and you did great. The sparklers intrigued you and you loved watching the other 'Big Booms' as we learned that phrase that night.
You have stopped falling out of bed for the most part.
Least Favorite moment-
The "Red Robin" incident was awful.. and it was on your 22 month-day. If you didn't see the trip post... just to recap, Peyton was in a booster on the outside of the booth (our mistake) and she wiggled, fell over, and dropped about 3 feet right onto her head. Big old goose egg and lots of crying and grumpiness :(
Loss of our Routine.. It seems that since we've been back from the vacation you've had trouble particularly with the sleeping routine. Pre-trip: Bedtime between 7 and 8, up between 9:30-10:30, and a 2ish hour nap mid afternoon. Post-Trip: Bedtime between 8 and 9, up between 8:30-9:30 and we are getting you up 1 1/2 hour into nap as we try to return to the routine. Also, you were fine with playing in bed before sleeping or after you got up. Lately, you cry before going to bed and you whimper pretty pathetically when you wake up... I'd like that Pre-trip routine to return!
Anything else?
Hair- Well I have tried to do one pony, but we lose some of the fine hairs in the front and those fall in your face. It makes you look so OLD, I mean as old as a toddler can look... Anyway, I love doing your hair and you look adorable :)
Clothes- I've been purging the 18 month clothes getting them ready for Makena. Your summer outfits are nice. We have had to improvise jammies.. Your sets are just too warm for you so we find comfy shorts and a top for you instead.
Teeth- Nothing too exciting here.. You have a denstist appointment this month, number 2!
New Skills- Still new words all the time. You are willing to repeat just about anything (beware).
You figured out how to get out of the crib... For about a week before our vacation, you would get out of bed, grab some toys and get back in bed with them. So you still didn't just play in your room, you played on bed. Since we've come back from vacation, you have yet to return to the routine.
You're getting ready to run... getting your footing a bit better and that's been fun to watch.
You have just started taking your shopping cart with you when we go get the mail... it's adorable.
Shoes- You can successfully put on your shoes as long as you don't get frustrated.
Time-outs... ok not a super impressive 'new skill' but it's worth mentioning. We have dedicated a spot on the floor in the hall to the laundry for your 'time out spot' You haven't had to go there a lot, but you have had to go... I can tell you to go and you do it! You will also put yourself there if you're really frustrated. It's kind of cute.
Foods- Blueberries were fleeting... I bought a giant container at the Farmer's Market and all of a sudden they were 'yucky'. You seem to be kind of picky lately, might be that whole upset of the routine thing. I'm sure we'll get past it. Oh a new fun one... I can peel a banana and give it to you and you'll eat from it. It's pretty cute to watch you look like a little monkey :)
Favorite moments-
Watching you hang out with Gramma and Poppa in Birch Bay was really fun!
You did pretty good in the car for what we put you through, it was a long trip!
On 4th of July you did great! We went to the Campbell's for a BBQ and some fun. We weren't able to stay late since Daddy had to work, but we were there for plenty of fun. We even lit off some fireworks and played with sprinklers. You normally don't really like loud noises so I was hesitant. The Shinners' brought extra ear muffs and you did great. The sparklers intrigued you and you loved watching the other 'Big Booms' as we learned that phrase that night.
You have stopped falling out of bed for the most part.
Least Favorite moment-
The "Red Robin" incident was awful.. and it was on your 22 month-day. If you didn't see the trip post... just to recap, Peyton was in a booster on the outside of the booth (our mistake) and she wiggled, fell over, and dropped about 3 feet right onto her head. Big old goose egg and lots of crying and grumpiness :(
Loss of our Routine.. It seems that since we've been back from the vacation you've had trouble particularly with the sleeping routine. Pre-trip: Bedtime between 7 and 8, up between 9:30-10:30, and a 2ish hour nap mid afternoon. Post-Trip: Bedtime between 8 and 9, up between 8:30-9:30 and we are getting you up 1 1/2 hour into nap as we try to return to the routine. Also, you were fine with playing in bed before sleeping or after you got up. Lately, you cry before going to bed and you whimper pretty pathetically when you wake up... I'd like that Pre-trip routine to return!
Anything else?
Holm's Go on Vacation
We were fortunate enough to find some time off for Chris to take and where I didn't have any school related duties. We planned a big ol' trip around the state for various reasons and here's a recap!
Phase 1- Yakima Valley
Schilperoort Farm
Purpose- To visit Julie and the family, see some animals, and break up our greater destination eastward toward Spokane.
We were there Tuesday afternoon through Friday morning. We did a little wine tasting, ate some delicious dinners in giant Army size (they feed a lot of people over there) visited the farm orchards to see cherries and then another farm to see animals. We also played A LOT of games. This was one of the first trips over there where we've had time after putting Peyton down for the night to play games. We played a game called Forbidden Island and that was really fun. It's a cooperative game which meand you all win or you all lose... It was pretty awesome! So overall, phase 1 was a total success visiting family and playing games.
Phase 2- Spokane
Spokane Club Inn, Bozarth Mansion, River Front Park
Purpose- To attend the wedding of my good friend Erynn
We arrived Friday afternoon and checked into our Hotwire hotel, Spokane Club Inn. It's a country club and it was built in the 1920's so things were a bit old, but it was a nice stay and very affortable. On Friday we got situated in the hotel and then went to check out this big park in hte city, we walked around discovered some falls and took a few pics. Then we went over to Old Spaghetti Factory and had some dinner. First night in, we put Peyton in the closet, propped the doors a bit and waited... It took an hour and a half for her to go to sleep, then Chris and I quietly drank wine, and he watched Netflix while I read my book. On Saturday we went back to the park this time to ride the Skyride. It's like a tram thing that goes over the falls. It was totally a touristy thing but we had fun, despite the 90 degree temp in the tram thing. Then we walked around again and headed over to Red Robin for lunch. We had a big accident at lunch, it was sad! We had just set Peyton in a booster seat, but we made the mistake of setting her on the outside of the booth. She wiggled a bit and it all went down... I mean Peyton on her head... from like 3ish feet high onto a hard tile floor... Oh man, the bump formed immediately, she cried for quite awhile... we eventually calmed her down but she was grumpy most of the day.
Anywho, after a nap, we got ready and headed up to Bozarth Mansion for the wedding. It was BEAUTIFUL. All of it, the setting, the friends, the couple, the wedding goods (food, music, etc). I loved it. All my happy hour girlfriends were there and we had a great time... except Peyton... She didn't make it 5 minutes into the wedding before declaring 'all done'. Thankfully, Chris took her out to the car to hang out. During the reception, she was also super grumpy. Chris eventually took her on a little trip to Fred Meyer to get her some aspirin (I figured maybe she hurt from her fall). They ate and hung out. When she came back, she was great! They also had a photo booth there and we got some fun family pictures. Overall, it was quite a wonderful way to spend the day. Congrats to the newly formed Torrey family!
We headed out on Sunday to Phase 3
Phase 3-
Birch Bay, Washington
Purpose- To spend time with Chris's parents at their house, we hadn't been there since 2010.
Despite the total 9 hour drive to get from Spokane to Birch Bay, we had an amazing time! It was so nice to have a place where Peyton knew someone other than us, and she settled right in. She loved spending time with gramma and Poppa. We went down to the beach for the first time, adventured down to Western so I could reminisce, and ate some great food! Peyton loved playing on the deck and gramma even pulled out a big bucket to play in the water. It was so relaxing!
On Wednesday it was time to head on to the final phase...
Phase 4
Shoreline, WA and Seattle WA
Purpose- A conference for me and then visiting with James'
We left Birch Bay super early Wednesday morning as I had a 'internship' conference in Shoreline. Overall I am glad that I went. It helped to get my head in the game about my internship and start to re-focus on school stuff.
Conveniently, James only lives about 15 minutes from where I was 'conferencing' so Chris and Peyton headed down there. After my conference we went to a park where Peyton enjoyed getting her feet wet in the water, but not standing in the sand. There was a cool swing too that was huge (I've got pics). Then we headed back to the house where Chris and James did up an amazing dinner and we enjoyed one of the bottles of wine we got back in phase 1. We chatted and just hung out. The next morning we went to a nice little breakfast place that served up some delicious food.
Then the drive home....
We made a pitstop from James' down to UW for Chris to do a little reminiscing. Peyton didn't even make it back to the freeway before she was out. We made it down to Centralia before she woke up. We stopped at a nice park there that was totally shady (score!) and then we had lunch and headed toward home.
Overall, it was so nice to get away for a bit and spend time with so many people that we care about. I'm thankful that Chris is at a job where he can do that and that we had so many people willing to take us in, that always helps!
I'll post pics, they're on the other computer :)
Phase 1- Yakima Valley
Schilperoort Farm
Purpose- To visit Julie and the family, see some animals, and break up our greater destination eastward toward Spokane.
We were there Tuesday afternoon through Friday morning. We did a little wine tasting, ate some delicious dinners in giant Army size (they feed a lot of people over there) visited the farm orchards to see cherries and then another farm to see animals. We also played A LOT of games. This was one of the first trips over there where we've had time after putting Peyton down for the night to play games. We played a game called Forbidden Island and that was really fun. It's a cooperative game which meand you all win or you all lose... It was pretty awesome! So overall, phase 1 was a total success visiting family and playing games.
Phase 2- Spokane
Spokane Club Inn, Bozarth Mansion, River Front Park
Purpose- To attend the wedding of my good friend Erynn
We arrived Friday afternoon and checked into our Hotwire hotel, Spokane Club Inn. It's a country club and it was built in the 1920's so things were a bit old, but it was a nice stay and very affortable. On Friday we got situated in the hotel and then went to check out this big park in hte city, we walked around discovered some falls and took a few pics. Then we went over to Old Spaghetti Factory and had some dinner. First night in, we put Peyton in the closet, propped the doors a bit and waited... It took an hour and a half for her to go to sleep, then Chris and I quietly drank wine, and he watched Netflix while I read my book. On Saturday we went back to the park this time to ride the Skyride. It's like a tram thing that goes over the falls. It was totally a touristy thing but we had fun, despite the 90 degree temp in the tram thing. Then we walked around again and headed over to Red Robin for lunch. We had a big accident at lunch, it was sad! We had just set Peyton in a booster seat, but we made the mistake of setting her on the outside of the booth. She wiggled a bit and it all went down... I mean Peyton on her head... from like 3ish feet high onto a hard tile floor... Oh man, the bump formed immediately, she cried for quite awhile... we eventually calmed her down but she was grumpy most of the day.
Anywho, after a nap, we got ready and headed up to Bozarth Mansion for the wedding. It was BEAUTIFUL. All of it, the setting, the friends, the couple, the wedding goods (food, music, etc). I loved it. All my happy hour girlfriends were there and we had a great time... except Peyton... She didn't make it 5 minutes into the wedding before declaring 'all done'. Thankfully, Chris took her out to the car to hang out. During the reception, she was also super grumpy. Chris eventually took her on a little trip to Fred Meyer to get her some aspirin (I figured maybe she hurt from her fall). They ate and hung out. When she came back, she was great! They also had a photo booth there and we got some fun family pictures. Overall, it was quite a wonderful way to spend the day. Congrats to the newly formed Torrey family!
We headed out on Sunday to Phase 3
Phase 3-
Birch Bay, Washington
Purpose- To spend time with Chris's parents at their house, we hadn't been there since 2010.
Despite the total 9 hour drive to get from Spokane to Birch Bay, we had an amazing time! It was so nice to have a place where Peyton knew someone other than us, and she settled right in. She loved spending time with gramma and Poppa. We went down to the beach for the first time, adventured down to Western so I could reminisce, and ate some great food! Peyton loved playing on the deck and gramma even pulled out a big bucket to play in the water. It was so relaxing!
On Wednesday it was time to head on to the final phase...
Phase 4
Shoreline, WA and Seattle WA
Purpose- A conference for me and then visiting with James'
We left Birch Bay super early Wednesday morning as I had a 'internship' conference in Shoreline. Overall I am glad that I went. It helped to get my head in the game about my internship and start to re-focus on school stuff.
Conveniently, James only lives about 15 minutes from where I was 'conferencing' so Chris and Peyton headed down there. After my conference we went to a park where Peyton enjoyed getting her feet wet in the water, but not standing in the sand. There was a cool swing too that was huge (I've got pics). Then we headed back to the house where Chris and James did up an amazing dinner and we enjoyed one of the bottles of wine we got back in phase 1. We chatted and just hung out. The next morning we went to a nice little breakfast place that served up some delicious food.
Then the drive home....
We made a pitstop from James' down to UW for Chris to do a little reminiscing. Peyton didn't even make it back to the freeway before she was out. We made it down to Centralia before she woke up. We stopped at a nice park there that was totally shady (score!) and then we had lunch and headed toward home.
Overall, it was so nice to get away for a bit and spend time with so many people that we care about. I'm thankful that Chris is at a job where he can do that and that we had so many people willing to take us in, that always helps!
I'll post pics, they're on the other computer :)
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Peyton is 1 and 3/4 years old!
Weight- Still haven't put you on the scale, but I'm still figuring in the mid to upper 20's for your weight.
Hair- So much fun to do your hair! We'll it'd be a lot easier if you would sit still, but we're making progress. I can't believe how much hair you have! We can get it into two piggy tails if we try really hard, but some of it flops back into your face so usually we just do two piggies and some is down in the back. Or I will do one on top kind of off to the side. It's getting dangerously close to being long enough to put ALL in a pony at the back, but not quite.
Clothes- I love putting you in summer dresses, skirts, and shorts! The weather has been pretty nice lately so that's always fun. You have a huge stock of clothing so I am pretty sure that we could dress you differently every day for like at least a month, it's nice to have options.
Teeth- Still coming in, still brushing your teeth, not much in this department. I am thankful that you've been an easy teether. I mean, we've got friends that when their kids are teething they are up in the middle of the night and cranky and that's just unfortunate :( I mean you have your bad days but I am pretty sure that I never really know when you're cutting new teeth. I am thankful for that!
New Skills- Vocabulary overload! I think we're getting to the point where we really have to watch what we say because there is a lot of mimicking. You still only get 2-3 words correctly out at a time, but you will repeat whatever we ask. Just today daddy said "I love you" and you said, "I love you too". You even knew to get the 'too' in there, it was perfect.
You are also officially sleeping 'cage-free' Perhaps I should re-name it, range free, isn't that the more expensive chicken... anywho... On Thursday June 20th you slept for your first night without the front railing on your crib. You have fallen out both nights so far, but you cry for a few minutes and crawl back in bed and off to sleep again. That's AWESOME! I think the funniest thing about this new adventure is... so far, you stay in your bed and don't climb out until we come get you. Then you climb on down. I don't know if that's because you're afraid of getting down, just don't get it, or you are just so used to the bed routine that you just stay there.. I will be interested to find out when you figure out that you could climb out of bed and play..
You can climb into your high chair, so when you're hungry, that's where you go, you even grab the buckles to put yourself in there.
You also figured out how to flush the potty. I think it's kind of nice that you're not afraid of it. I hear that some kids are. You think it's just fine. I will only let you do it after you've tried sitting on the potty. I also give you a square of toilet paper to wipe and then you put it in, get down and flush. It's a start...
Foods- Still eating most things... lots of fruit, not so much meat, mostly what we're eating. I can now give you an entire 1/2 PB and J and you can eat it. I just bought a 1/2 flat of blueberries at the farmers market. Now I won't feel guilty wanting some berries too!
Favorite moments-
Your new room is pretty awesome! You and daddy went to visit the Schilperoort farms for a couple of days while I was finishing my school year. It's cherry season over there. More on that in a minute. SO while you were gone, daddy and I had talked about switching the office and your room to give you a cooler (temperature) room. I decided to make the switch while you were gone. I figured that would be easier since I could literally just trade stuff. There was a lot to do! I'll spare you the details, but I did it! This is also part of the reason that you got the front rail off your bed now. I read somewhere that it's easier to make that transition while there are other changes to. Part of me wanted to keep you caged as long as possible, but daddy made a good point, you have to learn sometime... he's right! Also, a fun fact, when I was disassembling the crib to move it, I had the directions out and it said that when your child is 35 inches you should convert anyway, I bet you're close to that.
Your trip with daddy. You had a daddy daughter trip to Schilperoort farm. It is cherry season so the whole fam is over there. Daddy has Tues/Wed nights off, and I was still busy so you guys went over there yourselves. That was a first. It sounds like you had fun hanging out with family, meeting lots of new dogs and looking at various farming equipment. Daddy said he had to carry you around a lot because it was kind of overwhelming with all the big loud equipment. It was a successful trip over and back though, even with the 3 hour car trip. Way to go.... gearing you up for the 6 hour drive to Spokane next month :)
Least Favorite moment-
It's pretty hard to listen to you fall out of bed... twice... You cried and I wanted to come check on you, but I want you to be independent and figure it out so I let you be. Now it was maybe 4-5 minutes before you were silent again so I am glad I did that, but still that's sad... we put a few blankets under the front of the mattress to kind of angle it a tiny bit back toward the wall. We'll see if that helps. I also do have a big comforter as a crash pad so you're not just landing on the floor.
Not much to complain about here.. You've been really good lately!
Anything else?
Not that I can think of.... summer's here! We have a few things planned and I work a good chunk, but we'll still have lots of extra time together!
Hair- So much fun to do your hair! We'll it'd be a lot easier if you would sit still, but we're making progress. I can't believe how much hair you have! We can get it into two piggy tails if we try really hard, but some of it flops back into your face so usually we just do two piggies and some is down in the back. Or I will do one on top kind of off to the side. It's getting dangerously close to being long enough to put ALL in a pony at the back, but not quite.
Clothes- I love putting you in summer dresses, skirts, and shorts! The weather has been pretty nice lately so that's always fun. You have a huge stock of clothing so I am pretty sure that we could dress you differently every day for like at least a month, it's nice to have options.
Teeth- Still coming in, still brushing your teeth, not much in this department. I am thankful that you've been an easy teether. I mean, we've got friends that when their kids are teething they are up in the middle of the night and cranky and that's just unfortunate :( I mean you have your bad days but I am pretty sure that I never really know when you're cutting new teeth. I am thankful for that!
New Skills- Vocabulary overload! I think we're getting to the point where we really have to watch what we say because there is a lot of mimicking. You still only get 2-3 words correctly out at a time, but you will repeat whatever we ask. Just today daddy said "I love you" and you said, "I love you too". You even knew to get the 'too' in there, it was perfect.
You are also officially sleeping 'cage-free' Perhaps I should re-name it, range free, isn't that the more expensive chicken... anywho... On Thursday June 20th you slept for your first night without the front railing on your crib. You have fallen out both nights so far, but you cry for a few minutes and crawl back in bed and off to sleep again. That's AWESOME! I think the funniest thing about this new adventure is... so far, you stay in your bed and don't climb out until we come get you. Then you climb on down. I don't know if that's because you're afraid of getting down, just don't get it, or you are just so used to the bed routine that you just stay there.. I will be interested to find out when you figure out that you could climb out of bed and play..
You can climb into your high chair, so when you're hungry, that's where you go, you even grab the buckles to put yourself in there.
You also figured out how to flush the potty. I think it's kind of nice that you're not afraid of it. I hear that some kids are. You think it's just fine. I will only let you do it after you've tried sitting on the potty. I also give you a square of toilet paper to wipe and then you put it in, get down and flush. It's a start...
Foods- Still eating most things... lots of fruit, not so much meat, mostly what we're eating. I can now give you an entire 1/2 PB and J and you can eat it. I just bought a 1/2 flat of blueberries at the farmers market. Now I won't feel guilty wanting some berries too!
Favorite moments-
Your new room is pretty awesome! You and daddy went to visit the Schilperoort farms for a couple of days while I was finishing my school year. It's cherry season over there. More on that in a minute. SO while you were gone, daddy and I had talked about switching the office and your room to give you a cooler (temperature) room. I decided to make the switch while you were gone. I figured that would be easier since I could literally just trade stuff. There was a lot to do! I'll spare you the details, but I did it! This is also part of the reason that you got the front rail off your bed now. I read somewhere that it's easier to make that transition while there are other changes to. Part of me wanted to keep you caged as long as possible, but daddy made a good point, you have to learn sometime... he's right! Also, a fun fact, when I was disassembling the crib to move it, I had the directions out and it said that when your child is 35 inches you should convert anyway, I bet you're close to that.
Your trip with daddy. You had a daddy daughter trip to Schilperoort farm. It is cherry season so the whole fam is over there. Daddy has Tues/Wed nights off, and I was still busy so you guys went over there yourselves. That was a first. It sounds like you had fun hanging out with family, meeting lots of new dogs and looking at various farming equipment. Daddy said he had to carry you around a lot because it was kind of overwhelming with all the big loud equipment. It was a successful trip over and back though, even with the 3 hour car trip. Way to go.... gearing you up for the 6 hour drive to Spokane next month :)
Least Favorite moment-
It's pretty hard to listen to you fall out of bed... twice... You cried and I wanted to come check on you, but I want you to be independent and figure it out so I let you be. Now it was maybe 4-5 minutes before you were silent again so I am glad I did that, but still that's sad... we put a few blankets under the front of the mattress to kind of angle it a tiny bit back toward the wall. We'll see if that helps. I also do have a big comforter as a crash pad so you're not just landing on the floor.
Not much to complain about here.. You've been really good lately!
Anything else?
Not that I can think of.... summer's here! We have a few things planned and I work a good chunk, but we'll still have lots of extra time together!
Yummy food time! This is a semi-frequent level of messiness, though not always.
Look at how her heel is up. so cute.
Peyton and mama did some work in the garden. It was BAD. Peyton is a good helper, even in a skirt!
We had the teeniest dinner club event, but it was great company. Ian, Emily, and baby Kensie! Peyton was intrigued.
Ok... maybe not intrigued. More like, who is this and what are they doing in my house? No worries, someday you'll be besties :)
One of our first warm days when you could play in the sprinkler. You get wet in sections. Your head, or your arms, or you push your belly way out, etc.
Then a little nakey sprinkler time!
On Father's Day we did a daddy/Peyton photo shoot since it'd been awhile since we got pictures. Here you guys are, daddy is having you help shuck corn for dinner.
Looking for the chickens. Our neighbors have chickens (and I think a rooster too) over there.
Sometimes instead of kicking or throwing the ball, you like to sit and bounce. This one made your dress look funny :)
First time on daddy's shoulders, you are unsure. Though you do like being high enough to 'fluff' the trees.
Daddy sharing the secrets of grilling. *interesting side note, Peyton and I drove WAY over to New Season's for those chicken kabobs on the grill. They were Poblano Peach flavored, except they weren't. It was just tasty grilled chicken, but little other flavor. I ended up emailing the company, and I just got a $20 gift card in the mail from them because they felt bad that I got 'naked chicken'.
Taking a break in the chair...
Aunt Julie! And Zane out at the farm :)
Landon, Grandma, Julie, Peyton, Grandpa, and Zane. Really hard workers taking a moment of time to capture this moment :)
Peyton in a cherry bin. She's so sweet!
I lOVE this picture.
Here Maia, want a snack...
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Happy Father's Day 2013
Another Special day in the books! Father's Day 2013 was another success. Peyton and I made a card for Chris at Barnes and Noble Story time. Curious George just so happened to do story time that day too! Peyton is in love with dress up characters. So we made a card then went on a hunt for some other gift... We ended up finding some new lighters for the BBQ and in the process I decided to get Chris a lounge chair for outside. Well they didn't have what I wanted at Target. As a result, Chris ended up going with us to find the gift :)
So later on, we went wine tasting with Megan and Richard. Nothing to do with Father's Day, but fun none the less. Megz joined this wine club and it was their pick up party. We ended up buying two bottles ourselves. Grabbed some dinner at Who Song's and headed home.
Today, Sunday I wanted to make things special again, but I had already bought the gift, so what else do you need... good food!
So I took Peyton to New Season's because they have some great marinated meats. New Season's win's coolest place to take kids! Not only can you pick up free fruit to eat in the store for the wee ones, but they also have Mini shopping carts for kids. Peyton LOVED pushing the cart around the store. I bought some chicken skewers, bread, and corn on the cob for grilling.
We also ended up getting Cinnabon and coffee for 'lunch' since Chris sleeps late on the weekends.
Overall it was a nice weekend, I got some shots of Chris and Peyton in the backyard that I'll have to post later :)
I hope that all the father's out there had a great day! Chris is a fabulous father to Peyton and I love watching him in this role in life!
So later on, we went wine tasting with Megan and Richard. Nothing to do with Father's Day, but fun none the less. Megz joined this wine club and it was their pick up party. We ended up buying two bottles ourselves. Grabbed some dinner at Who Song's and headed home.
Today, Sunday I wanted to make things special again, but I had already bought the gift, so what else do you need... good food!
So I took Peyton to New Season's because they have some great marinated meats. New Season's win's coolest place to take kids! Not only can you pick up free fruit to eat in the store for the wee ones, but they also have Mini shopping carts for kids. Peyton LOVED pushing the cart around the store. I bought some chicken skewers, bread, and corn on the cob for grilling.
We also ended up getting Cinnabon and coffee for 'lunch' since Chris sleeps late on the weekends.
Overall it was a nice weekend, I got some shots of Chris and Peyton in the backyard that I'll have to post later :)
I hope that all the father's out there had a great day! Chris is a fabulous father to Peyton and I love watching him in this role in life!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
20 Months for Peyton... Uh, just a few days-ish late
Weight- I'm going to guess about 24-25 lbs. now. I haven't put you on the scale in awhile. It's funny how weight works for little tykes like you. You seem so petite, but there are SOO many clothes that just don't fit (see below) how is that?!
Hair- Ponies all the time now! You get them in shortly after you get up, a re-do after nap, and you're good to go. I was shocked at how easily you took to them since you were never a headband wear-er. You usually leave them be. We DID go through an entire afternoon thinking you had eaten your hairties while napping because we couldn't find them, I just assumed they'd pass.. right? We did end up finding them tucked into a blanket in your bed though so phew, no worries. Also, you are the one to put your hair ties away, very cute, we pull them out, and you go put them in the bathroom drawer every time.
Clothes- Holy Moly, growth spurt? We noticed that your cute little tummy was sticking out of many of your shirts.. so I decided it was time to look through your next set of clothes. Now I had a super small stock of '24 month' clothes, and seriously 3 bins of T clothes, not sorted... that was a chore.. regardless, I pulled out all 2T spring/summer clothing and same with the 24 month stuff. My darling you will NEVER be cold... I have like 6-10 winter coats just waiting for you... Oy! So anywho... it's kind of fun, you have LOTS of options now, but it amazes me that you can be wearing T clothes, but you're so tiny. To be fair, there is a fair stock of the clothes that are still put away because they are too big, but I'm glad I started digging through there, so much cuteness!
Teeth- Still using the brush your teeth trick so I can do your hair. I have graduated you to the counter though instead of sitting IN the sink. You're ok with it, especially if you get to rinse your toothbrush at the end. I think you're about to break through your canines. You have all your front teeth and many molars. Thankfully, you've been a pretty easy teether throughout... or at least if you were grumpy about teeth we were never sure...
New Skills- I'm not sure a day goes by that I'm not impressed by your abilities. Just tonight we were reading an ABC book, and there are some words you know like Apple for A, but then I pointed at B and said what's that and you said what astonishingly sounded like Butterfly (which it was). You are willing to try saying just about any word, and the frequent ones are getting clearer and clearer by the day. I love to listen to you babble, so fun! Other than verbal developments...
Getting better at 'running' I love how it's a whole body experience for a toddler to run, bounce, bounce bounce.
You are petting Boo nicely these days, you used to just give kisses.
You are getting better at kicking a ball. Mainly, it gets pushed with your foot, but that's ok.
You are doing well at puzzles. You have an animal wooden one, and then a gear-like caterpillar that you can put together. That's fun, I'd like to get you more puzzles to work with. You do still try to shove pieces in with brute strength, but at least they're usually the RIGHT piece, just turned the wrong way...
Foods- Major Fruit kick right now! You can eat "BooBerries Peees" (blue berries, please) like they're going out of style! You are very interested in anything we're eating, and we're fine with that as long as it's not too spicy. We usually let you try something, but so far, you're not a fan of strong spices. You love to eat crackers, cereal, breads, and more. I have made a few PB & J sandwiches and those are fun. Grandma took you out with Auntie Megan to Spaghetti Factory and they said you LOVED your pasta and even tried to twirl your pasta like you saw someone else doing. Too cute :)
Favorite moments-
All of them! Seriously, you never cease to amaze me.
You reading books is so fun. You love to look at books (we did accidentally 'love' one too much...see below) You will sit and allow me to read a book, then you say 'all done' 'Peyton's turn' and you will then flip through the pages again 'reading' the book to yourself. You talk about what you see, make the animal noises, point out things and more. That's cool. I hope you continue to love reading
Mother's Day and my Birthday were both this month, you give me a reason to a second 'holiday' and that's pretty awesome. Daddy treated me right on both days and you were pretty good too :)
Oh I've got one! So one Saturday at Barnes and Noble, there was a special story time. They were going to have Skippy Jon Jones visit for story time. So we went, because who doesn't LOVE the siamese cat who thinks he's a chihuaha (sp?)... No? Just us? The books are hilarious! So anywho... we go and wait, and wait.. .Skippy was running late you see... Then out comes a fully grown Skippy Jon (person in suit) and you went NUTS! Your body got tense and you were squealing... terrified? NO! You were simply delighted. You wanted to love on Skippy SO much! So Skippy came out, they put him on the little stage and started reading the story. Well... we had to leave story time because you just wanted to join Skippy on the stage and show him loves. So we patiently waited far away from story time for it to be over.. .Then Skippy was nice enough to allow hugs or high fives. You loved it! That was so fun for me. After Skippy, we made little paper flowers for mother's day.. you ripped mine up...
Least Favorite moment-
Remember that 'loved book'? Well.. it was a library book... yep we had to do the walk of shame and take the book back that you had ripped the page out of. It was a clean rip though! They 'reviewed it' and said they thought they could fix it. They said thanks for being honest and not just throwing it in the slot, letting it be someone else's problem.
What I'll call the 'Peyton Show'. Now both daddy and I love you VERY much, obviously... but sometimes it's hard for you to understand that the world doesn't quite revolve around you... maybe we're bad parents and it should.. regardless. It's hard for you to understand that sometimes you don't just get everything you want... tough lesson to learn... Or that you have to wait for things sometimes. For example, I can't pick you up while I am also trying to flip a grilled cheese sandwich no matter how well you smash yourself between me and the stove, or when it's downpouring rain out, I'm not going to play in the backyard (perhaps if it were warmer in the rain) So that's kind of tough because then there's crying... and well. just a lesson to learn. We do love you though and usually, you're pretty easy to distract.
Anything else?
I'm so excited for summer! I think it will be less busy than I've had in a long time too! Perhaps I will even get some pictures up. There's some good ones!
Hair- Ponies all the time now! You get them in shortly after you get up, a re-do after nap, and you're good to go. I was shocked at how easily you took to them since you were never a headband wear-er. You usually leave them be. We DID go through an entire afternoon thinking you had eaten your hairties while napping because we couldn't find them, I just assumed they'd pass.. right? We did end up finding them tucked into a blanket in your bed though so phew, no worries. Also, you are the one to put your hair ties away, very cute, we pull them out, and you go put them in the bathroom drawer every time.
Clothes- Holy Moly, growth spurt? We noticed that your cute little tummy was sticking out of many of your shirts.. so I decided it was time to look through your next set of clothes. Now I had a super small stock of '24 month' clothes, and seriously 3 bins of T clothes, not sorted... that was a chore.. regardless, I pulled out all 2T spring/summer clothing and same with the 24 month stuff. My darling you will NEVER be cold... I have like 6-10 winter coats just waiting for you... Oy! So anywho... it's kind of fun, you have LOTS of options now, but it amazes me that you can be wearing T clothes, but you're so tiny. To be fair, there is a fair stock of the clothes that are still put away because they are too big, but I'm glad I started digging through there, so much cuteness!
Teeth- Still using the brush your teeth trick so I can do your hair. I have graduated you to the counter though instead of sitting IN the sink. You're ok with it, especially if you get to rinse your toothbrush at the end. I think you're about to break through your canines. You have all your front teeth and many molars. Thankfully, you've been a pretty easy teether throughout... or at least if you were grumpy about teeth we were never sure...
New Skills- I'm not sure a day goes by that I'm not impressed by your abilities. Just tonight we were reading an ABC book, and there are some words you know like Apple for A, but then I pointed at B and said what's that and you said what astonishingly sounded like Butterfly (which it was). You are willing to try saying just about any word, and the frequent ones are getting clearer and clearer by the day. I love to listen to you babble, so fun! Other than verbal developments...
Getting better at 'running' I love how it's a whole body experience for a toddler to run, bounce, bounce bounce.
You are petting Boo nicely these days, you used to just give kisses.
You are getting better at kicking a ball. Mainly, it gets pushed with your foot, but that's ok.
You are doing well at puzzles. You have an animal wooden one, and then a gear-like caterpillar that you can put together. That's fun, I'd like to get you more puzzles to work with. You do still try to shove pieces in with brute strength, but at least they're usually the RIGHT piece, just turned the wrong way...
Foods- Major Fruit kick right now! You can eat "BooBerries Peees" (blue berries, please) like they're going out of style! You are very interested in anything we're eating, and we're fine with that as long as it's not too spicy. We usually let you try something, but so far, you're not a fan of strong spices. You love to eat crackers, cereal, breads, and more. I have made a few PB & J sandwiches and those are fun. Grandma took you out with Auntie Megan to Spaghetti Factory and they said you LOVED your pasta and even tried to twirl your pasta like you saw someone else doing. Too cute :)
Favorite moments-
All of them! Seriously, you never cease to amaze me.
You reading books is so fun. You love to look at books (we did accidentally 'love' one too much...see below) You will sit and allow me to read a book, then you say 'all done' 'Peyton's turn' and you will then flip through the pages again 'reading' the book to yourself. You talk about what you see, make the animal noises, point out things and more. That's cool. I hope you continue to love reading
Mother's Day and my Birthday were both this month, you give me a reason to a second 'holiday' and that's pretty awesome. Daddy treated me right on both days and you were pretty good too :)
Oh I've got one! So one Saturday at Barnes and Noble, there was a special story time. They were going to have Skippy Jon Jones visit for story time. So we went, because who doesn't LOVE the siamese cat who thinks he's a chihuaha (sp?)... No? Just us? The books are hilarious! So anywho... we go and wait, and wait.. .Skippy was running late you see... Then out comes a fully grown Skippy Jon (person in suit) and you went NUTS! Your body got tense and you were squealing... terrified? NO! You were simply delighted. You wanted to love on Skippy SO much! So Skippy came out, they put him on the little stage and started reading the story. Well... we had to leave story time because you just wanted to join Skippy on the stage and show him loves. So we patiently waited far away from story time for it to be over.. .Then Skippy was nice enough to allow hugs or high fives. You loved it! That was so fun for me. After Skippy, we made little paper flowers for mother's day.. you ripped mine up...
Least Favorite moment-
Remember that 'loved book'? Well.. it was a library book... yep we had to do the walk of shame and take the book back that you had ripped the page out of. It was a clean rip though! They 'reviewed it' and said they thought they could fix it. They said thanks for being honest and not just throwing it in the slot, letting it be someone else's problem.
What I'll call the 'Peyton Show'. Now both daddy and I love you VERY much, obviously... but sometimes it's hard for you to understand that the world doesn't quite revolve around you... maybe we're bad parents and it should.. regardless. It's hard for you to understand that sometimes you don't just get everything you want... tough lesson to learn... Or that you have to wait for things sometimes. For example, I can't pick you up while I am also trying to flip a grilled cheese sandwich no matter how well you smash yourself between me and the stove, or when it's downpouring rain out, I'm not going to play in the backyard (perhaps if it were warmer in the rain) So that's kind of tough because then there's crying... and well. just a lesson to learn. We do love you though and usually, you're pretty easy to distract.
Anything else?
I'm so excited for summer! I think it will be less busy than I've had in a long time too! Perhaps I will even get some pictures up. There's some good ones!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
An Update on the Family... not just Peyton :)
While Peyton certainly is a bright light in my life, there are probably a few updates I could provide that involve Chris and myself...
Ok well first off, I am stoked that I have just one week of classes left in this term. I think I last left a cliffhanger out there around new years about what I was doing in terms of my admin program. Well, I jumped in and took two classes. I was in school Wednesday and Thursday nights from January through next week. I took a law and finance class. They were both great and the work load, while great, was manageable for sure. I will be glad to regain some evening time though :)
Along those same lines, I interviewed and was accepted through the district to do my admin internship next year. I don't have many details yet, but hopefully I will be here at iTech with Christina. That's at least what we're planning. The district doesn't accept everyone, so hopefully I have a good chance at a job at some point, though I am not in a super rush.... In the fall, I will have one class left to take in addition to my internship work. Both the class and the internship are rumored to be a TON of work, so I may need copious amounts of chocolate and wine to make it through, but I'll get through :)
I can't believe I am almost done with my first year at iTech. We have done a ton of great work and I am proud of that, and we have some great ideas for next year as well. I am so thankful to have had the opportunities this year that I have. I LOVE middle schoolers. They are perfect for me, and I know that takes a special person to say that... (or perhaps a little on the crazy side... which I am sure is more correct).
Other than work, I don't do much outside of family time... I did do a weight loss competition with some co-workers from January-March where everyone puts up $100. If at the end of the set time, you lose 7% of your body weight you get your money back, if you don't.. those that do, get to split your money. I got mine back and I made $40 off of some people in Texas that my co-worker Becky had in the competition with us. It was great! I also completed Jillian Michael's Body Revolution. It's a 90 day program and I actually did it all with minimal misses. I love the program ( repeating it) and it's the first program that I have actually stuck with! Since January I have lost about 15 pounds, and I know I have developed some muscle in there too! I am doing Jillian again, but I haven't been as good as I was the first go round, but hey I need to remember that I aim for 7 days a week exercise, if I miss one or two, that's still 5 times a week and that's more than many people right?!
Still loving my various friend groups and I truly cherish the time that I spend with them. It's hard to do stuff without Peyton though because my time with her is already limited because of work and school that I think it is unfair to choose to be away from her any extra time. That's why I am so thankful to have friends with kids in the same age range. It's great to see the kids starting to play around each other (they won't really play WITH each other for quite sometime yet, developmentally).
Now Chris... most recently, his pool team came in second place (missing first by only 3 points!) in the spring league. They start playoffs this week and if they win they will play in the regional tournament (Tri-Cup) in June-ish. They have been to this before and took home... second I think... from that. It's nice to see them having a great season and hopefully I will have good things to report sometime later...
Chris's work schedule recently made a bit of a change. He was asked to train to be a 'lead' truck driver. This means that on certain work shifts he will be one of the lead guys that puts together a bunch of the necessary paperwork for the night. For us this means that two nights a week he now works at 9pm instead of the original 11pm and during those extra two hours, he gets paid at a higher rate. It's nice that Chris is getting recognized as a hardworker when he's only been on this job for 4 months. I mean, I know how hard he works :) I'm not sure there's really a 'next' step after this upgrade, but we'll see. Chris just really likes that this job now provides benefits (woohoo!!!) and allows him to stay home with Peyton during the day while allowing us to pay the bills :) Plus he now acrues time off, I had almost forgotten what vacations were!
We got to go out on a date day last weekend (thanks mom) and we ended up doing some wine tasting in the Portland area. Little did I know there are several wineries/tasting rooms in the area! We typically go out the Gorge. We bought a little passport (20 bucks) and it waives the tasting fees at all of the wineries inside. I think there aer 7. We visited three in the afternoon that we went out. We certainly have another date saved up in there :)
That's probably about all for us... just thought people (as if I have people) might want an update on someone other than the wonderful Peyton (yeah right :)
Ok well first off, I am stoked that I have just one week of classes left in this term. I think I last left a cliffhanger out there around new years about what I was doing in terms of my admin program. Well, I jumped in and took two classes. I was in school Wednesday and Thursday nights from January through next week. I took a law and finance class. They were both great and the work load, while great, was manageable for sure. I will be glad to regain some evening time though :)
Along those same lines, I interviewed and was accepted through the district to do my admin internship next year. I don't have many details yet, but hopefully I will be here at iTech with Christina. That's at least what we're planning. The district doesn't accept everyone, so hopefully I have a good chance at a job at some point, though I am not in a super rush.... In the fall, I will have one class left to take in addition to my internship work. Both the class and the internship are rumored to be a TON of work, so I may need copious amounts of chocolate and wine to make it through, but I'll get through :)
I can't believe I am almost done with my first year at iTech. We have done a ton of great work and I am proud of that, and we have some great ideas for next year as well. I am so thankful to have had the opportunities this year that I have. I LOVE middle schoolers. They are perfect for me, and I know that takes a special person to say that... (or perhaps a little on the crazy side... which I am sure is more correct).
Other than work, I don't do much outside of family time... I did do a weight loss competition with some co-workers from January-March where everyone puts up $100. If at the end of the set time, you lose 7% of your body weight you get your money back, if you don't.. those that do, get to split your money. I got mine back and I made $40 off of some people in Texas that my co-worker Becky had in the competition with us. It was great! I also completed Jillian Michael's Body Revolution. It's a 90 day program and I actually did it all with minimal misses. I love the program ( repeating it) and it's the first program that I have actually stuck with! Since January I have lost about 15 pounds, and I know I have developed some muscle in there too! I am doing Jillian again, but I haven't been as good as I was the first go round, but hey I need to remember that I aim for 7 days a week exercise, if I miss one or two, that's still 5 times a week and that's more than many people right?!
Still loving my various friend groups and I truly cherish the time that I spend with them. It's hard to do stuff without Peyton though because my time with her is already limited because of work and school that I think it is unfair to choose to be away from her any extra time. That's why I am so thankful to have friends with kids in the same age range. It's great to see the kids starting to play around each other (they won't really play WITH each other for quite sometime yet, developmentally).
Now Chris... most recently, his pool team came in second place (missing first by only 3 points!) in the spring league. They start playoffs this week and if they win they will play in the regional tournament (Tri-Cup) in June-ish. They have been to this before and took home... second I think... from that. It's nice to see them having a great season and hopefully I will have good things to report sometime later...
Chris's work schedule recently made a bit of a change. He was asked to train to be a 'lead' truck driver. This means that on certain work shifts he will be one of the lead guys that puts together a bunch of the necessary paperwork for the night. For us this means that two nights a week he now works at 9pm instead of the original 11pm and during those extra two hours, he gets paid at a higher rate. It's nice that Chris is getting recognized as a hardworker when he's only been on this job for 4 months. I mean, I know how hard he works :) I'm not sure there's really a 'next' step after this upgrade, but we'll see. Chris just really likes that this job now provides benefits (woohoo!!!) and allows him to stay home with Peyton during the day while allowing us to pay the bills :) Plus he now acrues time off, I had almost forgotten what vacations were!
We got to go out on a date day last weekend (thanks mom) and we ended up doing some wine tasting in the Portland area. Little did I know there are several wineries/tasting rooms in the area! We typically go out the Gorge. We bought a little passport (20 bucks) and it waives the tasting fees at all of the wineries inside. I think there aer 7. We visited three in the afternoon that we went out. We certainly have another date saved up in there :)
That's probably about all for us... just thought people (as if I have people) might want an update on someone other than the wonderful Peyton (yeah right :)
Happy 19 Months to Peyton
Weight- You were 23 lb 9 oz at the doctor on April 5th which was your 18 month check up. You only gained about 3 lbs in six months which was kind of shocking to me, because you seem SOO much bigger than you did around your one year birthday! I suppose your weight distributes differently as you grow though...
Hair- Finally accomplished something here! You frequently sport pig tails on the top/side of your head, or one pony on top. We finally got you some hair ties right before spring break. Your hair was getting so long it was in your face all the time and when you had a runny nose (or had food on your face) your hair got stuck to your face.. icky! It was time. Now I had to win daddy over on the ponies but I think he's finally convinced that they are simply another avenue to your cuteness! Plus it cuts down on clean up to not have food or snot in your hair, win win in my book!
Clothes- We've finally had some nice weather which has allowed us to wear some outfits in your 18 month stock that you couldn't yet. I was kind of bummed that there was one dress that I took you easter egg hunting in (green one) and it was probably the only time you'll wear it. It was kind of tight across your upper body. I was just noticing tonight that your 18 month jammies might be getting on the short side... Well some at least.. .Thankfully as we get into the warm weather you won't need footies and you'll be good to go for awhile in the non footie jams.
Teeth- Not much new in this department, I mean I'm sure you're getting more teeth but I've kind of lost track of which ones you have and don't have. Now perhaps this belongs in this 'teeth' section... To get you to sit still while I do your hair, I have discovered a trick... I give you your toothbrush and let you brush your teeth while sitting in the bathroom sink and I can do your hair. It has worked this month... we'll see if it continues. I love how much you want to brush your teeth, but you still need some help since mostly you wiggle it around a bit and suck the toothpaste off.
New Skills- You have made many improvements at the park in skill development. You are very proficient at slides, and you are getting better at climbing up small steps on just your feet instead of 'crawling' up them. You are still very safety conscious (which I appreciate) and if a step is too big, up or down, you use your old skills of crawling up or scooting down backward.
Your words are great! You know every animal sound in "The Very Busy Spider" which we keep in the car. You can also name a few animals, dog, cat, bird, turtle, monkey. You are getting good at two words and we'll start working on three at a time. You know several foods, which is helpful. You still have a very helpful nature about you. We can ask you to throw things away, push buttons, load silverware in the dishwasher, get your diaper, put your hairties away, etc and you will do it if you know how. Now sometimes you say No, but you do it anyway which I think is kind of funny :) You have got a few phrases down and I really enjoy watching your development as you learn routines. You know exactly what to expect like at bedtime or when it's time to get ready to leave. You get the right stuff and you go to the right places. It's so cool to watch you become a little person!
Foods- Most things... This month the most exciting development is your progress in using utensils. You are getting so much better at using forks and spoons. You know how they work, essentially how to hold them and how to get food into your mouth with them, WIN! Now sometimes it takes you longer than you'd like so you'll still use your other hand to shove the food in, but we offer you utensils with each meal and you at least attempt them probably 50% of the meal.
Favorite moments-
I love to watch you explore your world, inside our house and outside too. You spent a good 20 minutes playing with diapers the other day (hold your horses, they were clean!). You were in your jammies and we were playing for a bit before bedtime. You would get a diaper, sit on the floor, stretch it out, open it up, and shove it toward your crotch since you know where it goes. Then you'd toss it aside, get up and repeat with a new diaper. You probably did this with 10-12 diapers one at a time, then since you had a big pile, you gathered them up all into your lap and kept shoving them onto yourself. It was hilarious as I just sat off to the side observing, daddy asked a few days later.. what the heck happened to all these diapers? Just little moments like that are so precious.
You are fascinated with rocks outside, touching them, picking them up, moving them, giving them away, putting them back. It's fun!
You are the director of your own life for sure! Just tonight, daddy and I were sitting on the couch chatting, you were wandering around, you came over said 'please' and held out your hand wanting mine, I got up followed you... you took me to the stairs, and wanted to go up.. it was apparently time for bed, and you were taking me to get you ready! How great is that!? I hope that sticks around, it was about the right time and everything. This has happened a handful of times lately at bedtime and it's incredible!
One more... the other day our said 'up please' and 'diaper' and you needed a new diaper! How great is that... potty training sometime soon?
Least Favorite moment-
Last night!!!
No seriously, you had gone to bed all wonderfully... and daddy and I were about to go to bed. I seriously finished brushing my teeth, turned out the light and you started crying.. after letting you cry for a few, I went in to try and comfort you. We snuggled, I laid you back down, you went nuts... so I decided that we could go downstairs for a bit. That usually works, take you down for maybe 20 minutes, let you forget about whatever woke you up in the first place, and away you go....
Well we were downstairs watching Charlie and I decided to see if you wanted to snuggle against me. I lay you down so we're chest to chest, you immediately lay down for about 5 seconds, then lift your head and... barf... right between us, not a lot, but enough to scare you and totally gross me out... So begins... I go up, wake daddy up to help clean us up and walk you to the bathroom (all this with us sandwiching the barf between us. Just as we're headed into the bathroom, you barf again... well I will spare you all the details but we went through 5 pairs of jammies, both big living room jammies, countless kitchen towels, one bath/shower, two pairs of jammies for mommy, both bathrooms got cleaned... oh and my fave, your special blankie had to go through TWO cycles of wash! (ok that should give you a clear picture of our evening) yucky! We called the advice nurse for the first time ever because you were sick so many times in such a short time. I felt so bad for you, no one likes to be sick, but when you're so young, it's just scary! I think that you had just overeaten and had an upset tummy because when you awoke today you were happy as a clam. (I say you overate because I think in a two hour span you ate a can of peaches, a piece of cheese, and probably 2 cups of applesauce. Why so much applesauce? Well you were so good at getting it on your spoon that you just kept eating it and wanting more!) Needless to say, it was not an awesome evening in the Holm house!
Anything else?
I am sure I will be amazed throughout your entire life, but I can't believe how much you've grown in the last few months. You don't look like a baby anymore, you are like a little person! You're lovely and I am so thankful to have you and daddy!
Pics? Tomorrow? maybe? -- hey I would like credit for having this posted ON your 19 month date :)
Hair- Finally accomplished something here! You frequently sport pig tails on the top/side of your head, or one pony on top. We finally got you some hair ties right before spring break. Your hair was getting so long it was in your face all the time and when you had a runny nose (or had food on your face) your hair got stuck to your face.. icky! It was time. Now I had to win daddy over on the ponies but I think he's finally convinced that they are simply another avenue to your cuteness! Plus it cuts down on clean up to not have food or snot in your hair, win win in my book!
Clothes- We've finally had some nice weather which has allowed us to wear some outfits in your 18 month stock that you couldn't yet. I was kind of bummed that there was one dress that I took you easter egg hunting in (green one) and it was probably the only time you'll wear it. It was kind of tight across your upper body. I was just noticing tonight that your 18 month jammies might be getting on the short side... Well some at least.. .Thankfully as we get into the warm weather you won't need footies and you'll be good to go for awhile in the non footie jams.
Teeth- Not much new in this department, I mean I'm sure you're getting more teeth but I've kind of lost track of which ones you have and don't have. Now perhaps this belongs in this 'teeth' section... To get you to sit still while I do your hair, I have discovered a trick... I give you your toothbrush and let you brush your teeth while sitting in the bathroom sink and I can do your hair. It has worked this month... we'll see if it continues. I love how much you want to brush your teeth, but you still need some help since mostly you wiggle it around a bit and suck the toothpaste off.
New Skills- You have made many improvements at the park in skill development. You are very proficient at slides, and you are getting better at climbing up small steps on just your feet instead of 'crawling' up them. You are still very safety conscious (which I appreciate) and if a step is too big, up or down, you use your old skills of crawling up or scooting down backward.
Your words are great! You know every animal sound in "The Very Busy Spider" which we keep in the car. You can also name a few animals, dog, cat, bird, turtle, monkey. You are getting good at two words and we'll start working on three at a time. You know several foods, which is helpful. You still have a very helpful nature about you. We can ask you to throw things away, push buttons, load silverware in the dishwasher, get your diaper, put your hairties away, etc and you will do it if you know how. Now sometimes you say No, but you do it anyway which I think is kind of funny :) You have got a few phrases down and I really enjoy watching your development as you learn routines. You know exactly what to expect like at bedtime or when it's time to get ready to leave. You get the right stuff and you go to the right places. It's so cool to watch you become a little person!
Foods- Most things... This month the most exciting development is your progress in using utensils. You are getting so much better at using forks and spoons. You know how they work, essentially how to hold them and how to get food into your mouth with them, WIN! Now sometimes it takes you longer than you'd like so you'll still use your other hand to shove the food in, but we offer you utensils with each meal and you at least attempt them probably 50% of the meal.
Favorite moments-
I love to watch you explore your world, inside our house and outside too. You spent a good 20 minutes playing with diapers the other day (hold your horses, they were clean!). You were in your jammies and we were playing for a bit before bedtime. You would get a diaper, sit on the floor, stretch it out, open it up, and shove it toward your crotch since you know where it goes. Then you'd toss it aside, get up and repeat with a new diaper. You probably did this with 10-12 diapers one at a time, then since you had a big pile, you gathered them up all into your lap and kept shoving them onto yourself. It was hilarious as I just sat off to the side observing, daddy asked a few days later.. what the heck happened to all these diapers? Just little moments like that are so precious.
You are fascinated with rocks outside, touching them, picking them up, moving them, giving them away, putting them back. It's fun!
You are the director of your own life for sure! Just tonight, daddy and I were sitting on the couch chatting, you were wandering around, you came over said 'please' and held out your hand wanting mine, I got up followed you... you took me to the stairs, and wanted to go up.. it was apparently time for bed, and you were taking me to get you ready! How great is that!? I hope that sticks around, it was about the right time and everything. This has happened a handful of times lately at bedtime and it's incredible!
One more... the other day our said 'up please' and 'diaper' and you needed a new diaper! How great is that... potty training sometime soon?
Least Favorite moment-
Last night!!!
No seriously, you had gone to bed all wonderfully... and daddy and I were about to go to bed. I seriously finished brushing my teeth, turned out the light and you started crying.. after letting you cry for a few, I went in to try and comfort you. We snuggled, I laid you back down, you went nuts... so I decided that we could go downstairs for a bit. That usually works, take you down for maybe 20 minutes, let you forget about whatever woke you up in the first place, and away you go....
Well we were downstairs watching Charlie and I decided to see if you wanted to snuggle against me. I lay you down so we're chest to chest, you immediately lay down for about 5 seconds, then lift your head and... barf... right between us, not a lot, but enough to scare you and totally gross me out... So begins... I go up, wake daddy up to help clean us up and walk you to the bathroom (all this with us sandwiching the barf between us. Just as we're headed into the bathroom, you barf again... well I will spare you all the details but we went through 5 pairs of jammies, both big living room jammies, countless kitchen towels, one bath/shower, two pairs of jammies for mommy, both bathrooms got cleaned... oh and my fave, your special blankie had to go through TWO cycles of wash! (ok that should give you a clear picture of our evening) yucky! We called the advice nurse for the first time ever because you were sick so many times in such a short time. I felt so bad for you, no one likes to be sick, but when you're so young, it's just scary! I think that you had just overeaten and had an upset tummy because when you awoke today you were happy as a clam. (I say you overate because I think in a two hour span you ate a can of peaches, a piece of cheese, and probably 2 cups of applesauce. Why so much applesauce? Well you were so good at getting it on your spoon that you just kept eating it and wanting more!) Needless to say, it was not an awesome evening in the Holm house!
Anything else?
I am sure I will be amazed throughout your entire life, but I can't believe how much you've grown in the last few months. You don't look like a baby anymore, you are like a little person! You're lovely and I am so thankful to have you and daddy!
Pics? Tomorrow? maybe? -- hey I would like credit for having this posted ON your 19 month date :)
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Holm's visit the farm :)
I had forgotten what it was like to go on vacation! I mean yes I did travel a bit last summer, but that was work related. Other than that, for the last two and a half years, we hadn't travelled further than we could return in one day due to Chris's work schedule.
So you may not see this so much as a 'vacation' but it was blissfully relaxing and a great way to get out of the house.. .and on a budget no less!
We went over to the Yakima Valley to visit the Schilperoort's! (That is... Julie, Landon and the crew). We left WAYYYY too early for the first day of vacaction (um I was up at 3:30am showering for a 4:30 pull out) ew! I drove over in an incredibly quiet ride as Chris and Peyton slept. We arrived in time for breakfast.
Then it was time to go to the farm. Julie and Landon recently purchased a 100 acre farm, so we went to see how things are going. I might be off on my facts a bit, but from what I recall, 60 acres are cherries some bing and some rainier. the other 40 were recently cleared and wheat was planted. They have a tractor and we went for a ride. Chris's secret desire is to become a farmer I am sure! Peyton was less sure of the tractor. She was ok for the long ride out... but of course she decided she was done as we were furthest from the car... I made her tough it out and ride back (screaming most of the way). I think she was scared of the noise and motion.
Then we went to Julie's in-laws where there were BRAND new baby sheep born that morning, SO cute! We also saw a totally pissed off turkey, and some horses.
After that we went to meet Landon for lunch in a diner. We haven't taken Peyton to many restaurants since she likes to move so much. She did great!
Naps for everyone, followed by a trip to the park. Now the parks in the valley have gravel for the 'ground' around the play structures... this was the best feature of any park we could have visited. Peyton is in LOVE with rocks right now...
The next day, we toured 3 other parks, played games, and had dinner at Bob's burgers and Brews. Again, Peyton did wonderful! (We may be able to visit restaurants again, instead of just getting take out!).
Some highlight features include Peyton getting to practice so many farm animals, watching Peyton interact with family, and just relaxing away from home. Peyton was able to sleep in an unfamiliar place just fine. This was definitely a slight concern since she has slept in her bed almost exclusively since she was born (except a few naps at my mom's).
Before we left on Wednesday, we visited one more park (making for 5 different parks in 2 days), watched Julie's fish awhile longer and then we packed the car to head home.
Now we tried to time it so that Peyton would be ready for her nap when we got on the road... yeah... about that... She spent the first hour babbling and blowing spit bubbles (effectively soaking her shirt, ew) we stopped in Goldendale and she finally settled down to sleep just outside of the Dalles and got about 1.5 hours of sleep in the car.
Overall, a very successful trip, I'm glad we were able to spend Chris's days off and my spring break together with family :)
Photo Story :)
So you may not see this so much as a 'vacation' but it was blissfully relaxing and a great way to get out of the house.. .and on a budget no less!
We went over to the Yakima Valley to visit the Schilperoort's! (That is... Julie, Landon and the crew). We left WAYYYY too early for the first day of vacaction (um I was up at 3:30am showering for a 4:30 pull out) ew! I drove over in an incredibly quiet ride as Chris and Peyton slept. We arrived in time for breakfast.
Then it was time to go to the farm. Julie and Landon recently purchased a 100 acre farm, so we went to see how things are going. I might be off on my facts a bit, but from what I recall, 60 acres are cherries some bing and some rainier. the other 40 were recently cleared and wheat was planted. They have a tractor and we went for a ride. Chris's secret desire is to become a farmer I am sure! Peyton was less sure of the tractor. She was ok for the long ride out... but of course she decided she was done as we were furthest from the car... I made her tough it out and ride back (screaming most of the way). I think she was scared of the noise and motion.
Then we went to Julie's in-laws where there were BRAND new baby sheep born that morning, SO cute! We also saw a totally pissed off turkey, and some horses.
After that we went to meet Landon for lunch in a diner. We haven't taken Peyton to many restaurants since she likes to move so much. She did great!
Naps for everyone, followed by a trip to the park. Now the parks in the valley have gravel for the 'ground' around the play structures... this was the best feature of any park we could have visited. Peyton is in LOVE with rocks right now...
The next day, we toured 3 other parks, played games, and had dinner at Bob's burgers and Brews. Again, Peyton did wonderful! (We may be able to visit restaurants again, instead of just getting take out!).
Some highlight features include Peyton getting to practice so many farm animals, watching Peyton interact with family, and just relaxing away from home. Peyton was able to sleep in an unfamiliar place just fine. This was definitely a slight concern since she has slept in her bed almost exclusively since she was born (except a few naps at my mom's).
Before we left on Wednesday, we visited one more park (making for 5 different parks in 2 days), watched Julie's fish awhile longer and then we packed the car to head home.
Now we tried to time it so that Peyton would be ready for her nap when we got on the road... yeah... about that... She spent the first hour babbling and blowing spit bubbles (effectively soaking her shirt, ew) we stopped in Goldendale and she finally settled down to sleep just outside of the Dalles and got about 1.5 hours of sleep in the car.
Overall, a very successful trip, I'm glad we were able to spend Chris's days off and my spring break together with family :)
Photo Story :)
Peyton sittin' on the tractor... I should have known from this face that she wasn't convinced it was a good idea..
Pretty Peyton in her wagon ready for an adventure on the farm, waiting for daddy to get his tractor lesson from Julie.
Daddy and Julie conferring about the operation of a stick shift tractor :)
Here we go! Daddy the farmer
This really captures the moment if I do say so myself, the trees on the right are the cherry trees, getting buds. Bees were brought in the day after this to get to pollinating!
So this is at the top of a hill overlooking the farm. Julie and Landon have dreams of building a house up on this hill. Peyton was thankful that the tractor ride was over for now..
Family picture! on the hill mentioned above. The farm is down there somewhere...
In the above shot, we're on this rock... Now Peyton decided to climb the rock, in this picture, I have just discovered bird poop on Peyton's butt as I reached down to help her up onto the rocks... eww!
See the tears? This is on the way back down to the car, Peyton was a sad baby!
Aww much better, I like the quiet orchard and standing on my own feet!
Even when you're sad, you're adorable!
Daddy livin' the dream! I'm going to send him back up there in June to help harvest cherries!
Remember the sheep mentioned above... these are them, born just that morning! fun fact, these sheep have hair not wool... making them essentially decorative/pet sheep, since the Schilperoort's have no use for them... The flock sure has grown though!
Horses! On Wednesday we went to visit all these animals again before leaving. That time the horses actually came to say hi and Peyton got to pet them!
Tom the ugly and really mad turkey. He's super puffed up, who knew they could do that?! He was supposed to be last year's turkey dinner, he's still here, how can he complain... Peyton thought he was a rooster so she 'cock-a-doodle-do-ed' each time she saw him.
In case you weren't convinced that Tom was ugly...
Well there you have it, The Holm Family finally left Vancouver! Boo missed us terribly and was happy upon our return, Peyton did great in the car, and I look forward to more trips this summer!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Peyton 17 and 18 Months!!
Disclaimer- I am not a total slacker... I have just been excessively busy and instead of blogging, I opted to spend my free time with you Peyton, so please forgive my lapse in posting last month! :)
Weight- I definitely need to throw you on the scale because you have definitely had a growth spurt since last post!
Hair- I think IF I had little hair ties and YOU would sit still long enough, I could get some pretty cute little ponies in your hair. You are getting more and more by the day. At the bottom in the back it's all curly and cute, and in the front its wispy and straight. You can still get some ragin' bedhead but overall your hair is quite cooperative.
Clothes- Because of my slacker behavior, this seems like a big jump, but you are firmly in the 18 month clothes for most things... pants are still pretty baggy around the waist and some are really long, but the 12 month pants are pretty tight. You can still squeeze into some 12 month onsies and shirts, but we're slowly pulling them out of the laundry getting them ready to pass on down.
Teeth- Well your mouth is filling right up. I never know quite when you're teething, it just seems to be all the time! You had a dentist visit at the end of January, you did pretty well. I got to hold onto you and when the dentist was ready to look in your mouth, I tipped you backward, you cried, he looked and coated your teeth with a sealant. I was shocked that they do this so soon, but he said there's no harm in the coating and it just helps to prevent cavities. It took all of about a minute. You cried longer than the whole thing! Also at this age, you get a TOY instead of a sticker (that's good, you eat stickers...) You got a rubber ducky with wings, very fun! You'll go back in six months.
New Skills- This section is my biggest regrets for not having broken up into two months... I am sure I will have forgotten something cool...
Talking- You know lots of animal sounds now both by seeing a picture or us asking what does ___ say. You can get 2 words together like "Up Please" which has taken a lot of work. You run three words together sometimes, but it all sounds the same 'buh buh boo' is bye bye Boo. SO you're getting there. You know many food items also.
Motor skills- obviously walking is down, now you can move very quickly almost on the verge of running... You are working on terrain differences by getting outside more as the weather gets nicer.
You can get your jammies off in bed and have been known to only be in a diaper when we get you in the morning (thank goodness you're still in the diaper!)
You help to put things away and seem to be grasping what things are and where they go, like if you bring us a canned good from the pantry and then we ask you to 'put it away' you usually can.
Foods- Still into fruit, you can eat an entire can of fruit in one sitting! You also enjoy peas (way more than when they were in baby food form) cheese is still a fave, eggs, bread, crackers and cereal. I would say the one thing that you don't eat much of is meat. Perhaps it's the texture... maybe the flavor, clearly you didn't get this from your parents..
Favorite moments- So many! Where to begin?
I love the continued increase in communication, that is always helpful
You are really nice to Boo, and give her kisses ALL the time (more than us, I'm a bit jealous) and kudos to Boo for being nice most of the time.
Going exploring outside is fun, and watching you begin to do 'big girl' things
Listening to you talk and babble in your room, you practice words all the time!
Daddy got the flu one day so I took the day off to hang out with you so he could sleep. We went to storytime at the library which you managed to make it through (with a tiny bit of participation) and we also went down to the red and white park downtown to play in the afternoon. That park has many things that are more accessible to someone your size than our local park. It's so fun to watch you wander around there.
We went to the mall for something... and I let you play in the little playplace for the first time. You had so much fun! I think my favorite was... there are these three little bug scupltures in the ground, you would lay across them, put your arms out, and 'fall' forward and off of the bug, only to get up and do it again. This was of course accompanied with 'aaahhh' in a fun way. *Picture the sounds we'd make going down a roller coaster, but on a much smaller scale :)
Least Favorite moment-
Well... most recently you earned a fat lip right before your 18 month day! You were playing outside with daddy and working on 'running' and you kissed the pavement when you fell! Your poor little nose got scraped up and you also got a fat lip which neither of us noticed for about 20 minutes... sad day!
Crying fits.. sure bound to happen, but I am still in amazement at how one even learns to throw a fit! I mean it's not like when I don't get my way, I throw myself on the floor crying, so where on earth does a child learn to do this? We try really hard not to laugh at how ridiculous you look when you're throwing a fit, and when you calm down we try to figure out the communication that you aren't getting across...
Anything else?
I love watching all of your growth. I swear you learn something new every day and it just lights me up on the inside. You are so sweet and caring to others. You still share toys and try to be 'helpful' by bringing stuff to people. Like at dinner club, you took Roman's milk to him, or gave Makena a toy to play with. I hope you keep that sweet nature. I still miss you and can't wait for this term to be over, as it has been CRAZY busy!
Pics- If not this weekend, during spring break (one week away!!) I will get some pics up, I know there are some funny ones on the camera!
A cold winter day at the park
Riding the slide on her own for the first time. Not sure about this...
How do I get back up there? That was too fun!
Self-family shot, if you look closely.. it was snowing... didn't stick around long, but it was pretty.
Feed me!!
For awhile.. if you asked Peyton to 'smile' this is what you got... Chris tried to teach her 'wink' at about the same time, so we're pretty sure that's how she got all sorts of confused... goofy girl
Notice that she has the wrong end in her mouth? Somewhere along the way Peyton picked up the 'talent' of feeding herself what's on the fork/spoon and then she takes it out, turns it around, puts it in her mouth and that's how my precious baby will return the utensil to you... isn't that great?! :/
Grandpa and Peyton sharing a story. I love that Peyton LOVES books! A girl after my own heart!
So the squinty look was one phase... then we moved into the stoic look... Chris has like 10 shots with Peyton essentially like this... She just stared at the camera with NO emotion... At least she's cute, someday she'll figure out 'smile'
We're getting closer with this one...
Silly girl playing in her chair. If you cock your head to one side while she's eating, she'll do the same.
Finally getting to play outside some... Still chilly and often wet, but it's nice to get out of the house.
Right before this shot, she was looking for good rocks on the ground, it's a favorite past time.
Weight- I definitely need to throw you on the scale because you have definitely had a growth spurt since last post!
Hair- I think IF I had little hair ties and YOU would sit still long enough, I could get some pretty cute little ponies in your hair. You are getting more and more by the day. At the bottom in the back it's all curly and cute, and in the front its wispy and straight. You can still get some ragin' bedhead but overall your hair is quite cooperative.
Clothes- Because of my slacker behavior, this seems like a big jump, but you are firmly in the 18 month clothes for most things... pants are still pretty baggy around the waist and some are really long, but the 12 month pants are pretty tight. You can still squeeze into some 12 month onsies and shirts, but we're slowly pulling them out of the laundry getting them ready to pass on down.
Teeth- Well your mouth is filling right up. I never know quite when you're teething, it just seems to be all the time! You had a dentist visit at the end of January, you did pretty well. I got to hold onto you and when the dentist was ready to look in your mouth, I tipped you backward, you cried, he looked and coated your teeth with a sealant. I was shocked that they do this so soon, but he said there's no harm in the coating and it just helps to prevent cavities. It took all of about a minute. You cried longer than the whole thing! Also at this age, you get a TOY instead of a sticker (that's good, you eat stickers...) You got a rubber ducky with wings, very fun! You'll go back in six months.
New Skills- This section is my biggest regrets for not having broken up into two months... I am sure I will have forgotten something cool...
Talking- You know lots of animal sounds now both by seeing a picture or us asking what does ___ say. You can get 2 words together like "Up Please" which has taken a lot of work. You run three words together sometimes, but it all sounds the same 'buh buh boo' is bye bye Boo. SO you're getting there. You know many food items also.
Motor skills- obviously walking is down, now you can move very quickly almost on the verge of running... You are working on terrain differences by getting outside more as the weather gets nicer.
You can get your jammies off in bed and have been known to only be in a diaper when we get you in the morning (thank goodness you're still in the diaper!)
You help to put things away and seem to be grasping what things are and where they go, like if you bring us a canned good from the pantry and then we ask you to 'put it away' you usually can.
Foods- Still into fruit, you can eat an entire can of fruit in one sitting! You also enjoy peas (way more than when they were in baby food form) cheese is still a fave, eggs, bread, crackers and cereal. I would say the one thing that you don't eat much of is meat. Perhaps it's the texture... maybe the flavor, clearly you didn't get this from your parents..
Favorite moments- So many! Where to begin?
I love the continued increase in communication, that is always helpful
You are really nice to Boo, and give her kisses ALL the time (more than us, I'm a bit jealous) and kudos to Boo for being nice most of the time.
Going exploring outside is fun, and watching you begin to do 'big girl' things
Listening to you talk and babble in your room, you practice words all the time!
Daddy got the flu one day so I took the day off to hang out with you so he could sleep. We went to storytime at the library which you managed to make it through (with a tiny bit of participation) and we also went down to the red and white park downtown to play in the afternoon. That park has many things that are more accessible to someone your size than our local park. It's so fun to watch you wander around there.
We went to the mall for something... and I let you play in the little playplace for the first time. You had so much fun! I think my favorite was... there are these three little bug scupltures in the ground, you would lay across them, put your arms out, and 'fall' forward and off of the bug, only to get up and do it again. This was of course accompanied with 'aaahhh' in a fun way. *Picture the sounds we'd make going down a roller coaster, but on a much smaller scale :)
Least Favorite moment-
Well... most recently you earned a fat lip right before your 18 month day! You were playing outside with daddy and working on 'running' and you kissed the pavement when you fell! Your poor little nose got scraped up and you also got a fat lip which neither of us noticed for about 20 minutes... sad day!
Crying fits.. sure bound to happen, but I am still in amazement at how one even learns to throw a fit! I mean it's not like when I don't get my way, I throw myself on the floor crying, so where on earth does a child learn to do this? We try really hard not to laugh at how ridiculous you look when you're throwing a fit, and when you calm down we try to figure out the communication that you aren't getting across...
Anything else?
I love watching all of your growth. I swear you learn something new every day and it just lights me up on the inside. You are so sweet and caring to others. You still share toys and try to be 'helpful' by bringing stuff to people. Like at dinner club, you took Roman's milk to him, or gave Makena a toy to play with. I hope you keep that sweet nature. I still miss you and can't wait for this term to be over, as it has been CRAZY busy!
Pics- If not this weekend, during spring break (one week away!!) I will get some pics up, I know there are some funny ones on the camera!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Peyton at 16 Months
Weight- 23.2 pounds according to daddy and putting you on the scale, way to go dad!
Hair- Still just growing, you definitely have a lot more now, still very fine. I wonder if you'll get thick tresses like me.. Right now you're rockin' some great bedhead if you sleep on it funny, but other than that, it usually brushes nicely.
Clothes- The 12 month jams are officially too small. You handed some to daddy the other night, since the laundry was downstairs, and after saying 'night-night' daddy obliged and put you in them. When I was feeding you a bottle, I noticed that you could barely straighten your legs, yeah you're done with those... You seem to have a TON of 18 month jams which is kind of funny, why the surplus this size? I busted out your 18 month shirts/onsies also. The other shirts in particular are allowing your tummy to stick out. This is probably the first time that you've ever jumped ahead in the size scale. Although the 18 month pants look excessively long... how does that work for matching outfits I wonder?
Teeth- I tried to dig around in there this weekend, and I think I got 12, but you're breaking the surface on a few more front ones too. You also have your first dentist appointment at the end of this month. For all my friends.. apparently you are supposed to start taking children to the dentist when they get their first teeth or at one year.. oops, oh well. It's mostly a lap visit and info for us anyway...
New Skills- Last month I seemed to have a ton, this month...
You are quickly progressing from walking to running, you have greatly increased your balance as well.
You are working on walking up the stairs. You do it while holding our hands, but on the bottom stairs where there is a good railing, you are doing it yourself. You are very independent.
You love to crawl in and out of things, like laundry baskets, boxes, and empty tubs.
You play in the kitchen and 'sizzle' food in your pans.
You have begun to ride on your giraffe in the forward fashion, though you still push it most of the time.
You have taken interest in your shopping carts, but mostly you pull them.
Your vocabulary continues to grow in leaps and bounds. Of note this month is "please"- we got tired of your whining at us for stuff, so we taught you please. (when we also have 'cheese' around these words sound exactly alike!)
Random side note... where do kids even LEARN to whine when they don't get something they want? It's not like I go around whining when I don't get something (mostly) so where do they pick this skill up?
Foods- VERY into fruit this month, as are mommy and daddy. You will eat it all day long. You have become more picky at other things, but you're pretty good about letting us know you don't want it, rather than having to throw it on the floor...
Favorite moments- Your growing sense of independence and personality are SOO much fun! I love being able to interact with your more and more each day. You understand so much. I love our walks outside as you explore all new things, though it's been super cold so we try not to be out for long.
You have started this thing where you'll grab our finger and take us where you want us to go, whether it's to the kitchen (you're hungry) or to the closet for shoes, coat, etc (want to go outside) or just a different room in the house, pretty stinkin' cute.
Least Favorite moment- that 'tude from last month still rears it's ugly head when you don't get something you want, but I'm sure it's just you trying to assert your 'authority' or control or something, regardless, you'll learn :)
Daddy and I both don't appreciate the whining when you don't get something that you want, but we're trying to teach you to use your words and adjust.
You have a bit of separation anxiety when it comes to you and I. For instance, you and daddy stayed in the car while I ran in to get us two smoothies from Jamba Juice. You went HYSTERICAL! Crying, tears, the whole bit.. You could literally see me from your seat, but you thought I was leaving or something. This happened after you and daddy left after seeing me for lunch one day also. It's rough on everyone involved!
Anything else?
I miss you! Since I'm doing school twice a week and a host of other projects for work, I haven't seen you as much as I'd like (which is all the time!) That's tough!
Pics to be loaded if I find time next weekend...
Monday, January 7, 2013
Peyton's First Year!
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