Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Finally All Moved

Well it's been a week since I last blogged, and what a week it's been!  Last week was spent packing...packing...and packing.  We took a break on Thursday to eat Thanksgiving lunch with my in-laws, then got right back to it.  Friday we planned on relaxing a little, but after Peyton woke from her 1st nap we went over to the new house so Edwin could help clearing that house out.  We ended up staying over there the rest of the afternoon, came home and threw the last of our stuff in boxes after Peyton went to bed. 

Saturday the real chaos started!  Edwin and I loaded down our SUV and my parents Tahoe with all of our boxes and clothes Friday night, so when we all were up Saturday morning we were ready to roll.  We headed to the new house around 7am to start some massive cleaning.  THANKFULLY my parents designated that entire day to helping us.  We got most of the cleaning knocked out and all of our boxes, clothes, and smaller furniture moved in the house.  I helped as much as I could, but Peyton is so attached at my hip these days it was a little difficult to get away and do anything.  I was able to put her down for both naps next door at my parents house and my Mom stayed with her so I could get some stuff done.We finally headed home for our last night there!

Edwin and I were so exhausted but excited Saturday night, we could barely sleep.  It was like Christmas Eve and we were 6 years old!  Sunday was the "big" moving day.  A friend of ours was coming to help Edwin with the heavy lifting, as well as his parents.  My parents had done so much the day before and had church obligations, so we let them off the hook Sunday!  I stayed at my parents house while Peyton napped over there and my parents were at church.  When she woke up we walked over to the new place and I basically gave up any hope of getting anything done.  As I mentioned before, Peyton is insanely attached to me these days.  I've noticed it gets worse when she's cutting a tooth (which she is currently doing).  She wouldn't let my MIL take her for more than 5 mins at a time before she started screaming for me.  As long as I was with her, she was as happy as could be.  I got some cleaning and organizing done on and off while she played in her exersaucer.  I also utilized the heck out of my baby carrier, she has really started to love that thing.  Either way, 99% of the stuff from the old house was moved over by the end of Sunday and in its designated room.  We stopped for the day around 5pm to go over and eat Thanksgiving dinner at my Grandma's.  We came back and spent our first night in the new house.  I was amazed by how "at home" I felt from the beginning.  Usually it takes me time to settle in when I move, but it just feels like home here.  We were all so exhausted, we crashed early.  Peyton slept through the entire night and didn't wake until 7am!  Of course Edwin and I were wide awake by 5:45am...figures. 

We both took time off this week to unpack, organize, and get situated.  We've been treating this week like any other work week, and have taken Peyton to my Mom's at normal time each day.  I wouldn't get a thing done if she were home with me!  Plus I didn't want to throw her schedule off too much.  After working constantly for 2 days, I have every box unpacked AND my Christmas decorations up...at least the ones I decided to put up this year.  I have one more day off to finish up the last few things we have left to do.  I'll post a few pictures at the end.  My only issue with the house is the super busy wallpaper in the hall bath...sooo not my taste!  That will be painted at some point, but we're in no rush. 





We're so incredibly happy here, I love everything about the house.  I love the layout, being back out in the country, and being next to my family!  I forgot how wonderful it is not to constantly hear sirens, dogs barking, traffic, and just noise in general.  Now I have to focus on getting everything ready for Edwin's birthday party/ our housewarming party in less than 2 weeks! 

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Good News

Yesterday we received some wonderful news...we may have a buyer for our house!  Edwin's boss has several rental properties in the area and had been interested in our house for a while.  His wife had to have some surgery not long ago, so he wasn't sure if it was something he could do right now.  We went ahead and decided to have a Realtor come and appraise our house last week.  Edwin mentioned to his boss that we were going to fill out the paperwork and have it listed by Thanksgiving for a higher price, so if he was still interested now was the time to do something.  He decided it was too good of a deal and went to the bank yesterday to discuss a loan!  So now we have to have someone from the bank appraise our house and as long as they appraise it for the price we need, we have a buyer!  I'm trying not to get too incredibly excited just in case things fall through, but this is something we've been praying about for a while now. 

Also, this is officially our last week in our house!  We will be moving in this weekend and Monday...I can't believe it!  I'm so ready to decorate for Christmas, it's driving me nuts!

The only Peyton update I have is that it looks like we're ALREADY working on tooth #2!  I knew it wasn't far behind, and she's starting the same things she did the week prior to the first one breaking through.  Last night she woke up and cried for an hour, you could just tell she was in pain poor girl.  Thankfully she slept soundly the rest of the night.  Hopefully this one will come through a little faster.  I've always heard that the 2nd tooth usually comes in not long after the 1st.  Here's to hoping! 

And just a few pics of my Princess...




Monday, November 22, 2010

It's Official...

Peyton has her 1st TOOTH!  After months of teething it has finally broken all the way through.  It's so weird feeling that razor sharp little thing in her mouth suddenly.  Once it comes in a little more, I'll do my best to get a good picture of it.  It's obvious how much relief it was once it finally came through.  The past week or so has been really rough at night...waking 2-3 times, crying, fussing.  It was very apparent she was super  uncomfortable at night.  Saturday morning we felt the sharp little thing starting to poke through and by Sunday the whole top had come through!  Last night she slept all night and didn't wake until almost 7am, woo hoo!  Of course the tooth right next to it is close to coming through also, but hopefully it will be a little less painful now that she knows what to expect...maybe!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

A Police Officer's Wife

Due to the most recent officer shooting, I wanted to dedicate this post to how incredibly proud I am to be married to police officer.  Being a police wife is something that no one can fully comprehend unless you are one, it's really an entirely different world.  I remember the day Edwin became a police officer, and our lives literally changed over night. 

As a police wife you spend all of your time trying your hardest NOT to think about what he's doing or what could happen to him.  That was the hardest adjustment for me, especially during night shifts.  My mind would constantly run a mile a minute thinking all of these "what if's". Then you have the entire night that seems to drag on forever when they're not there.  I couldn't wait for it to be morning and hear his car pull up, then I would breathe a huge sigh of relief.  It went on like that for almost the whole first year!  5 years later, I've learned how to keep my mind off things and how to go on with daily life.  But those thoughts still creep up from time to time, especially anytime an officer is killed or injured. It seems to happen more and more often lately and it takes every ounce of strength I have not to break down in tears each time a story pops up on the news.  It's almost impossibly but to think "that could have been my husband". 

I had to get used to a lot of changes once Edwin became a police officer. You have to get used to a LOT of alone time, a lot of worry, and a lot of loneliness.  I've spent holidays without him, birthdays without him, and now he has to miss many of our daughters "firsts".  You learn to adapt though and learn to celebrate holidays and birthdays on alternate days. 

I've learned a lot of things in the past 5 years, like to always let Edwin sit facing the door when we go out to eat and I've gotten used to how over protective he is when I go places.  There are things he has seen and experienced that I couldn't even begin to understand.  I also had to learn how to help him balance personal life and work life.  A police officer can never fully "turn off" their job, but as his wife it was my responsibility to help him differentiate the two.  I do things and notice things after years of being married to him that other women don't think twice about.  He's done his own sort of training on me over the years so I'm not roaming around naive and thinking everyone is trustworthy.  The biggest change is that he's turned me in to a fan of guns.  I was petrified of them before I met him, now I have my own and am eager to go shoot with him!  I find myself A LOT more aware of my surroundings when I'm out by myself.  As a police wife you also find a lot of comfort in other police wives.  Don't get me wrong I have a lot of friends that have no police affiliation, but there are certain things I experience or feelings I have they just can't understand. 

I truly admire and respect my husband for the work he does everyday, for the husband he is, and the father he has become.  I could never do it, and I don't know how he and so many other men and women do.  They risk their lives every single day to keep us all safe...which includes protecting the scum that refers to them as "pigs" or says "F the police".  My thoughts and prayers are with the injured officer and his family.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Holidays are Upon Us....Now What?!

Ok, I would love for other Mommies (new and experienced) to throw out any and all advice/tips/experience my way for this post!  With the holidays rapidly approaching, I'm a little concerned about naps and schedules and how to maintain some sort of normality.  I'm not really a schedule Nazi, but we have a pretty good sleep and feeding system that works well for us.  Sure sometimes the naps are off an hour or so from one day to the next, but we have a general outline. 
I know EVERYONE wants to see the baby, but we have a lot of family and I've already made it very clear that we just can't do every.single.thing this year.  It was too much for just Edwin and I, so I know it will be too much with Peyton.  We have already planned out our Christmas stuff with our parents and my Grandma so we don't have to mess around with figuring out who's doing what on what day and when.  There will be a lot more family coming to us this year so Peyton can go down for naps and not get so overwhelmed with all the chaos (plus we'll have more space in the new house).  But there are also a LOT of holiday festivities that won't be at our house.  We have 1 day with 2 events back to back in the afternoon/evening and one is to the East and one is to the West.  They're both with family that we only see once or so a year and most of them have never met Peyton (even though they all live close enough to come visit us, but that's a whole other story). 
But somehow naps have to be inserted in to days like that.  Peyton can stay up for a lot longer between naps now that she could a month or so ago, but we definitely can't function off 1 nap or 20 mins here and there....when my girl naps, she naps!  So what do other Mom's do during the holidays with small babies?

Monday, November 15, 2010

1st Christmas Step

For those that know me, you know that I LOVE Christmas!  Usually I already have all my decorations up by the 2nd week of November.  Obviously since we're moving on Nov. 29th, that's not possible this year.  Now generally my husband could care less about decorating for Christmas.  That has always been my thing and I get it done in 1 evening every year.  I wait until a weekend when he's working night shift and I spend that Saturday evening/night decorating.  It's always so nice, I put on a Christmas movie and decorate the way I want.  I'm not sure about other husband's out there, but mine tends to get a little cranky when it comes to putting up lights and garland and trees...I'd much rather take care of it myself.  BUT this year, he seems to have been bitten by the Christmas bug!  He's so excited about moving and our new house, that he actually wanted to go ahead and put lights on 2 of the trees at the new place!  So yesterday afternoon we strung lights on the tree right outside the back door and sun room, then started stringing lights on another tree (but we ran out).  It's not much (yet) but at least we have 2 decorated trees ready for move in day!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Our New (to us) Ride

Here are some pics of our "new" ride (well factory pics).  We got a 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara Xsport this week, and I'm really liking it!  We consolidated vehicles, getting rid of our Saab and our Patriot and getting the Grand Vitara.  It has all the bells and whistles of the Saab and a little more room than the Patriot.  Not to mention we're saving a CHUNK of change each month by getting rid of the Saab.  Although I absolutely loved that car, it just wasn't practical after Peyton was born.  It has been driven twice since she was born in May!  It's just too small for us and a baby.  Plus Edwin has 2 take home work vehicles so he doesn't need anything to drive to and from work.  We'll eventually get some sort of 2nd car as a "just in case" vehicle, but not any time soon.  I have to say my favorite thing about it is the key less entry and start.  As long as I have the key thingy in my purse I can unlock or lock the car just by pressing a button on the door handle AND start it up just by turning the ignition (without inserting a key). It's great, I never have to get my keys out of my purse!  It's the little things that amuse me :)



Countdown...

2 weeks and 3 days until we move!!!  That's all for now :)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Mommy/Daughter Time

What a great 3 days it has been!  I took off work Friday because my parents were going out of town, so I decided to stay home with Peyton instead of sending her to our backup daycare.  We had such a great day together.  I took her by my office to see my co-workers since they hadn't seen her in a few months, then we met my husband and 2 of his co-workers at North Hills and had some lunch.  Peyton enjoyed some squash while Mommy and Daddy had Italian buffet....she quickly realized her squash and banana puffs didn't look quite as good as our food!
She slept all the way home, took a nice nap, then we headed out on a Wal-Mart run for a few things.  Not a super exciting day, but I loved every second.  It was such a great day to me, just because I was spending it with her instead of at work!  I wish I could do that more, but working part time (or not at all) just isn't in the cards for us. 

Saturday we had our first family Christmas pictures!  Peyton did great, but made us work for smiles.  She wasn't fussy in the least, but was SO preoccupied by the Christmas tree behind her she wouldn't look at us :)  We got a few smiles and all the pictures turned out great (see below).  Then we headed out to look at a few cars.  We've decided to consolidate vehicles.  It's crazy for us to have a huge car payment on the vehicle we NEVER drive anymore now that we have Peyton.  It's just too small and cramped for a car seat.  So I drive the Jeep everyday, but it's a Patriot and has awful cargo space.  Edwin has 2 work vehicles so we don't need 2 cars, it's just a waste.  We had them appraise our 2 vehicles and found an SUV we like that they had online.  It's at their Winston Salem lot, so they're bringing it here Monday so we can check it out in person.  It's a 2006, but only has 8,000 miles and is still under warranty.  The pics look great, so we're hoping it's not too good to be true.  If all works out, we'll be saving a lot more money each month!

Sunday we Edwin worked out at the new house in the yard and Peyton and I tagged along so she could see her other Grandparents who came to help Edwin.  We left at nap time the came back out for a while.  We have SO much to do in the next 3 weeks and it's finally hitting me!  Luckily we have this Thursday off so we're sending Peyton to my Mom's just like a normal work day so we can get some major packing done. 

Here are a few of our Christmas pictures...enjoy!



Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Happy 6 Months!

My precious little girl is 6 months old today!  I can't believe she's been in my life for 1/2 a year.  It has been the most challenging, rewarding, and exciting 6 months of my life.  I love her more every single day! 

We had her 6 month appointment Monday and she's weighing 16lbs 8oz and in the 50th -75th percentile (she was born at 6lbs 8oz, so she's gained exactly 10lbs in 6 months!) and she's 26.5 inches tall putting her in the 90th percentile for height...that's my girl!  Of course we had awful shots PLUS her flu shot :(  How she was smiling and laughing 5 mins after the shots were done, I'll never know.  They hurt me just watching.  She's always such a ham at the doctor's office, I'm not sure why she seems to have so much fun there but I'll take it!  Even when I had to take her in for reflux when she was a few weeks old, or her 1st ear infection a few months ago...as soon as we walked in you would never know she was sick! 

I won't go in to too much detail this time, but Peyton is right on track developmentally and even a little advanced with her motor skills (I'm her Mommy, I get to brag a little)!  She started trying to crawl at 5 1/2 months.  She can take a few "steps" on all 4's now and is ready to run!  She practices day and night, it's hilarious.  So we'll definitely be baby proofing the new house as we move in!  She sits up unsupported like a champ. 
She goes to bed between 6:30pm and 7pm (she was going to bed at 7pm, but I've noticed she sleeps better and longer when she goes down just a little earlier) and wakes around 7am with 1 early morning feeding.  Mornings are my favorite time with her because it's about the only time I can really cuddle with her.  She only wants to snuggle and watch her cartoons, I love it!
She L-O-V-E-S her solids.  She's had all of the stage 1's and we've started on some stage 2's.  There's not a stage 1 she didn't like, and sweet potatoes and corn seem to be among her favorites right now.  Still no teeth, but we can see her bottom 2 just hanging out right below her gums.  She still has that 1 corner that has broken through, but that's all.  They've been making her pretty miserable in the evenings lately and I try to stay away from giving her too much Ibuprofen or Tylenol (Ibuprofen is MUCH better now that she can take it) but some nights it's our only option. 

There are a zillion more things I could write about, but I'll end it here.  I'm so blessed to have such a beautiful and amazing little girl!  I can't wait for everything that has yet to come!

Monday, November 1, 2010

1st Halloween

Well Peyton's 1st Halloween has come and gone.  We had such an amazing weekend FULL of activities.  Friday evening we dressed her up and took her down to the church down the street's Festi-Fall.  They had trunk-or-treating, farm animals, food, games, and all sorts of fun.  I was wondering how Peyton would do since it started after 6pm (and usually it's pointless to take her out much after 6pm because she's so sleepy), but she was so amazed by all the decorations and kids.  She was 1/2 asleep for most of the festival, but she was determined to keep her eyes opened to see everything!  We left a little after 7pm and got her to bed...she was OUT in 5 mins flat. 

Saturday we went to the neighborhood down the street from us to see a few friends.  They were having their annual Halloween block party.  We couldn't stay long because we had some moving to do, and Miss Priss started getting super fussy.  Poor girl had a rough evening Saturday and was extremely fussy.  She went to bed a little early and slept like a log!  Teething has gotten increasingly worse the past week or so, I don't know how she does it!
Sunday...HALLOWEEN!  Unfortunately Edwin had to work, like every year.  They all have to work every single Halloween, which sucks.  He was so upset to miss her 1st Halloween, but at least he was able to see her in her costume Friday and for a little on Saturday.  Sunday morning/early afternoon Peyton decided it was a good day to just relax and prepare for the events later in the day....

So she did a little lounging


Some reading

and watched a little TV

Then her Great Aunt and cousin came by to meet her for the 1st time

Then we headed out for her Halloween date with her
 boyfriend Owen...

She totally attacked him lol

Deep in conversation...probably about how their silly
Mommies keep taking pictures!

Then we headed over to see my Grandma for a little before we came home.  We had a late dinner then my little munchkin was out for the night.  A friend of mine stopped by with her 2 boys, they had a Halloween present for Peyton which was so sweet.  They got her some Gerber puffs since she can't have candy yet!

All in all, a WONDERFUL Halloween!  I can't wait for her 1st Thanksgiving and Christmas now!