Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas Happenings


I hope you all had an amazing Christmas, I know we did!  I won't bore you with every detail of our vacation or a list of what Peyton got, but here are some pics of our get togethers. 

Here are some from Christmas Eve.  We have the big Killette Family Oyster Roast every year, and it's always a blast.  This year Peyton and her cousin Mikey were actually able to run and play...they had a blast together!
(Sorry for the bad pics, we forgot the camera!)

Christmas day was packed fun of family, fun, and food!

Here is Christmas morning, checking out the gifts from Santa...

Christmas afternoon with the in-laws...

Christmas evening at my Grandma's house with my parents, Nana, my Uncle and his wife...



The day after Christmas we spent with my parents at their house.  We had shrimp and grits (we were tired of the traditional foods we ate multiple times the day before) and opened our presents and stockings.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera, and I haven't gotten any from my Mom yet.

It was an amazing Christmas, and I'm definitely sad the lights and decorations will soon be gone.  There's something so warm and inviting about Christmas lights.  I am glad to get Peyton back on a normal schedule.  She got a little overwhelmed and exhausted by all the coming and going, people, and presents!  Today has been spent in our jammies, relaxing, and taking it easy.  I plan on enjoying every second because tomorrow I go back to work.  Thankfully it's only a 3 day week and will be VERY quiet in my office, then we're off Monday for New Year's!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!



Monday, December 19, 2011

Life

Life has just been crazy lately....crazy, chaotic, and fun!  I know I've been slack with my posts, but the free time I have had has been spent wrapping presents, cooking, and cleaning!  A week ago we had a packed weekend filled with Holiday Express, family get together, I hosted a baby shower for a friend, and celebrated the hubby's birthday.  It was exhausting and fun all at the same time.  Holiday Express was probably  my favorite part of that weekend because Peyton absolutely loved it.  A local park puts this on every year and they actually just opened after a year long remodel.  They have the place decked out for Christmas, the carousel, choo choo train, live entertainment, hot chocolate, food, Santa's workshop, the works!  Peyton's favorite part was the carousel, hands down.


This past weekend we had a birthday party (more on that to come) and another family get together on Saturday, then church and small group on Sunday. 

The birthday party...
I took Peyton to a friend's 3rd birthday party at Monkey Joe's Sat. morning.  If you've never been, it's full of all types of inflatables.  I had to go alone because the hubby was on call and has to be able to get to work within an hour of being called in.  We had a blast, Peyton loved every second, and refused to stay in the toddler area.  My daredevil wanted to do what the big kids did, and she did for a whole hour.  Then we had a "bounce house mishap" that almost caused me to come unhinged.  I was in the bounce house with her and she fell and jammed her wrist...of course I didn't know it was just jammed at the time.  She was holding it and crying, refusing to close her hand.  She wouldn't even reach in to her snack cup...that's when you know it's bad for Peyton! 
I was a complete wreck on the inside, but thankfully I was able to hold it together on the outside so I didn't freak her out more than she already was.  We quickly left and I fought back tears as I put her in the car seat.  She was crying, holding that tiny arm, and it hurt my heart.  After a call to the peds, they gave me the address for an urgent care nearby that does x ray's on site.  I got her out of the car and realized I was at the WRONG urgent care and needed to go about a block further.  When I was gently putting her back in I realized she wasn't whimpering anymore and was acting like she was OK.  I gave her some M&M's for the short ride, and when we got there I noticed she was eating her candy...with her hurt hand.  So I got in the back seat and made her show me how she could clinch her hand, twist it around, lift it up and down, etc...  Praise the Lord, she was OK!  We never even went in.  I was so relieved, I went by McDonald's and bought the poor girl a happy meal.  I'm so thankful we averted a crisis, I just knew my poor baby would be in a cast for Christmas!

Here are some pics from the past however long!  Enjoy!





Monday, December 12, 2011

Photo Card

Mod Merry Ornaments Christmas
Don't send boring Christmas cards , personalize them at Shutterfly.
View the entire collection of cards.

Friday, December 9, 2011

When a Police Officer Dies

For those of you that don't know, yesterday we lost 2 fellow LEO's in the line of duty.  Officer Deriek W. Crouse and Deputy Rick Rhyne were both shot and killed yesterday.  Officer Crouse was shot during a traffic stop.  He was sitting in his car and a man unrelated to the traffic stop walked up and shot him in the head.  Deputy Rhyne was shot while arresting a man that had a warrant for outstanding child support. Both of the murderers later committed suicide.  Tell me, why couldn't they have just offed themselves in the beginning?!  Why did they need to take the lives of these men who were both husbands, fathers, brothers, and grandfathers??  The loss of a police officer hits me hard every time, and I can't help but think what if that had been my husband?  Our LEO family extends far beyond our department, town, or even state.  It's a bond few can, or will, ever understand.  

With that being said, I'd like for you to take a minute to jump over to A Life in Need of Change and read her post When a Police Officer Dies.  She takes the words right out of my mouth.  Below is a small excerpt from her post...

This is my open letter to those who point a gun at an officer of the law and shoot:

He’s a man. Just like you. He breathes in and out, sleeps, eats, laughs and He comes home to his wife and children each day. They want to keep it that way. Point a gun at him and you take away a husband, father, son, brother, man.
When he pulls you over, HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
When he writes you a ticket, HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
When he pulls you out of a burning car on the side of the road where no one else can hear your cries, HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
When he risks his life to keep you safe, HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
When his wife lets him walk out the door every day, leaving his family to protect yours, HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
When he works overnight so you can sleep in safety, HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
When he crouches behind cars with an assault rifle looking for a madman, HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
When he pulls over your son for driving drunk, HE’S DOING HIS JOB (& keeping other people alive).
When he arrests you for drug use, HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
When he’s hunting you because you broke the law, HE’S DOING HIS JOB.
HE’S DOING HIS JOB

Thank a police officer for DOING HIS JOB today, because he might die for you tomorrow…

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Christmas-y Photos

These aren't Peyton's "official" Christmas shots, i.e. the ones that will be on our card, but we snapped a few Christmas-y pictures last night after one her ensembles came in the mail. 

Speaking of ensembles, I had a really hard time finding a cute Christmas outfit this year for Peyton (thanks so much for the help Hannah and Paige).  Everything was either super dressy, which is pointless for us, or it just wasn't cute...wasn't Peyton.  I finally found a cute black dress (with an adorable ruffled bottom) and some sassy sparkly red tights, an awesome dress from Etsy which should be here any day now...that's her official outfit, and then a holiday sweater dress. 

I love the sweater dress, but you can imagine my distress when after all of my hunting they shipped me a 12M instead of an 18M.  I knew I didn't have time to exchange or return it because our Christmas get together's start this weekend.  What's a girl to do?!  Just for grins I decided to try it on her, and wouldn't you know it actually fit!  Thank goodness she's so stinkin skinny.  The only way I can tell it's not 18M is because it's a little short, but it works and it looks adorable.  So enjoy a few Christmas photos!






Monday, December 5, 2011

Christmas, and tantrums, and teeth...oh my!

Hold on for another really long random, all over the place, post!  I'll try to follow in the order of the title. 

This weekend we took Peyton to a few Christmas celebrations, and had a great time (for the most part).   Friday night our small town had the annual Christmas tree lighting, and Nonnie and Pa Pa were there playing hand bells.  Peyton had a good time, with the exception of a melt down because she couldn't follow some dogs that were there.  She got to hang with her boyfriend Owen, so that cheered her up.  We dropped her off back at home with my in-laws, and headed out for our church Volunteer Appreciation night.  We had a blast.  Saturday we went to the local library for their Christmas party.  It was great, they had crafts, stories, cookies, and Santa.  Her boyfriend Owen came, and he actually sat with Santa.  Our Santa experience did not go quite as well.  There was no massive meltdown or tears, but she made it very clear we would NOT be getting a picture with Santa and clung to me with the death grip.  She did, however, make sure to get her candy cane from Mrs. Claus! 

** I thought the Santa visit might work because she seems to be over her fear of men and has been really in to hugging and kissing EVERYONE lately.  But alas, that did not carry over to Santa. **





Saturday night was a rough one, which brings us to tantrums.  I'm not bragging, and I know I've said this before, but Peyton has always been an awesome sleeper.  I can count on one hand how many times I've had to get up with her in the middle of the night in almost the past year, so when she started screaming on Saturday night at 10pm I knew it wouldn't be good.  I went in her room and felt A-W-F-U-L.  We have a tower heater that automatically turns on and off based on the temp you set it at, well she apparently hit a button so it just stayed on...it was 87 degrees in her room ya'll.  Mom of the year right here!  On top of the heat, I determined she's cutting her bottom 2 k9's, and she had some tummy issues earlier that day.  Long story short, she screamed from about 11 until 2:30am non stop.  If I went in there, she wanted me to hold her, as soon as I left she flipped out.  Usually if she has any issues like that, she'll cry for 5 or 10 mins then go to sleep but not Sat. night.  I think between teething pain and tummy issues, it was just too much.  She finally went to sleep close to 3am and then was up at 7:45am, so basically we all had about 4 hrs of sleep.  She woke up covered in diarrhea so we had a nice early morning bath, but thankfully she was in a good mood. 

We had a lazy Sunday while Daddy worked the Christmas parade.  Peyton seemed to feel OK, she was just dragging from the lack of sleep (so was Mommy).  I decided to put her down for her nap a little early and cue the 37 minute long tantrum, yes I timed it.  Oh.my.word.  It was obvious she was over exhausted and I expected a tantrum, but this one was off the charts.  She spent pretty much the entire time running through the house completely naked (except for her socks) and screaming at the top of her lungs...all because I tried to put a clean diaper on.  I finally just sat back in her room until she decided she was done.  Eventually she came back with her juice, crawled up in my lap, let me get her clothes on and read a book.  I'm still recovering from that tantrum. 



Tantrums seem to be very prevalent over the past week at our house.  She goes weeks with none, then a week of 100.  They come out of nowhere.  One second she's fine, then I didn't pour her juice right and she's stomping her feet (her newest tantrum trick) and screaming. 

I know I'm whining, it's my blog and I'm allowed to!  As exhausting as this whole toddler hood thing is, I wouldn't trade it for the world.  For every bad day, we have tons of good ones.  This age really is so much fun, you can just see the wheels constantly turning in her head and everything is so new and amazing. 


Monday, November 28, 2011

Thanksgiving



Thanksgiving was wonderful, and the time spent with my family was even better.  We had 2 big meals, took Peyton to visit Nana at rehab, did some Christmas shopping, I got to sleep in, wrapped all the Christmas gifts, watched lots of Lifetime and Hallmark channel Christmas movies, completely decorated Nana's house for when she comes home, and just enjoyed life. 

Here are some pics from the long weekend (sorry for the funky lighting on some of them from my phone)...






 Family Photo...take1


Family Photo...take 2


Family Photo...take 3


Clearly "Take1" was the best...





I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving!


Tuesday, November 22, 2011

WHAT??? Only One???

Why is it that any time I mention that I may only want ONE child, I get the same crazy shocked look from people?  "Only one, are you sure?"  "But Peyton will be lonely"  "Don't you want a sibling for her"...good grief, let it go! 

Now I'm not 100% sure that I only want 1 child, but I'm not 100% sure that I want more than 1 either.  I myself am an only child (feel free to gasp now), and as crazy as it may sound I really enjoyed being an only child.  I wasn't lonely and I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.  Actually when I went to stay with friends that had brothers and/or sisters, I was usually ready to come home to some peace and quiet.  It was fun for a few hours, then I was over it. 

And believe it or not, I was not spoiled rotten.  I worked from high school on with a break my freshman year in college so I could adjust (plus freshman parking was impossible).  I worked and I appreciated the things I was given. 

I just hate the stigma that's given to only children.  Just because you're an only child doesn't mean you're a brat and it doesn't mean you're sad and lonely.  I also can't stand the blank stares like I'm completely insane for even mentioning the possibility of not having a 2nd child!  I haven't tossed out the possibility at all, I'm even leaning towards it some days but there's nothing wrong with either decision. 

I'll step down from my soap box now!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Randoms...

It's been a while since my last post, life has been a little crazy.  You may remember me asking for prayers for my Grandma's surgery.  Well thankfully her surgery went well, but recovery has been a very slow process. 

I stayed home with Peyton Monday and Tuesday so my parents could devote all of their time to being at the hospital.  Thankfully my Dad stepped up and kept Peyton the rest of the week so I could get back to work.  I was able to go to the hospital a few times during the week and of course deliver several beautiful cards Peyton made for Nana.  As of today, she's still in the hospital.  We're hoping she'll get to go home (or rehab) by tomorrow.  She's been getting up and walking some and my Mom said she fixed her hair and was in her robe sitting up yesterday...great news.  The main issue is that she's just not eating like she needs to be.  Continued prayers would be greatly appreciated! 

Besides all of that, we had a great weekend.  Edwin went to the gun and knife show with friends all day Saturday, so Peyton and I had a girls day.  We ended up staying outside from the time she woke from her nap at 3pm until we couldn't see anymore around 5:30pm. 

Sunday I went to church, and Edwin stayed home with Peyton who was recovering from a cold.  A few of the girls from church and I went to lunch and then to see Breaking Dawn Pt 1....it was absolutely wonderful, I'm ready to see it again! It was so nice to have some much needed girl time.  I came home, fixed a green bean casserole, and we headed to our small group's Thanksgiving dinner.  The family that hosted last night basically has a farm in their back yard...Peyton was in Heaven.  She got to see sheep, donkey's, a dog, and some kittens.  Not to mention she completely made herself at home in their play room...she played hard!  By the time we got home she was out like a light, and was still asleep when I left for work this morning. 

Speaking of kittens...
Almost 2 weeks ago, this adorable cat showed up at our house.  She's small, around a year old if I had to guess, and was clearly and indoor pet at one time.  I ignored her for a few days, until I just couldn't stand it any longer.  I put some food out for her and the poor thing sucked the entire bowl down in a matter of minutes.  It was all over after that.  Edwin swore we would NOT keep the cat, but the cat had other plans.  So after 2 weeks of asking everyone on our road if they lost a cat and posting it on the SPCA's website, it looks like we have a new pet (because we didn't have enough!).  I'm making an appt with the SPCA to get her spayed and her necessary shots so she can safely be around our other animals and Peyton.  Peyton has named her Belle (after Belle in Beauty and the Beast obviously) and is in love with her.  For now we leave the garage door cracked for her with her bed and food in there, but my plan is to get her inside once she's fixed and vaccinated.  I know I know, we already have 2 dogs, a cat, and a toddler inside but it's going to get really cold and there are a lot of dogs that roam out where we live.  Damn my bleeding heart!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Christmas Shopping, Date Night, Long Weekend!

I'm so incredibly excited to have another LONG weekend this week!  Tomorrow I have plans to go Christmas decoration shopping with my friend Carmen.  We're (of course) going here...


I'm getting out my Christmas decorations this weekend too, and I can't wait.  Go ahead and mumble all of your "ba humbug" comments about how Thanksgiving isn't even here yet, I don't care!  I L-O-V-E Christmas, I love everything about it.  I find it ridiculous to get all my decorations out just for a month.  Last year we moved in our house at the beginning of December, so I didn't get to do any "big" Christmas decorating.  I'm going to the Pottery to look for some exterior decorations.  This is the first house we've owned with a big porch, so I really want to do some roping on the rails and lights on trees.   Not to mention this is the first Christmas that Peyton will really have a sense of what's going on! 

After a morning of shopping and lunch with Carmen, my plan is to come home and drag down the Christmas decorations so I can start working on the interior of our house sometime during the weekend.  Then some quality time with the munchkin of course. 

Friday night we're going out for a much overdue date night!  I'm not 100% sure where we're going or what we're doing yet, but it will be fun regardless and you can bet some yummy food will be involved. 


**On another note, I want to ask you all to keep my Nana in your prayers.  She was diagnosed with colon cancer about 2 weeks ago, and it was a very emotional time for my family.  Luckily, we found out the cancer has not spread and is very operable.   In fact the surgeon said if you're going to have colon cancer, you want the tumor to be where hers is.  Her surgery has been scheduled for Monday around lunch time and the doctor said she should be in the hospital anywhere from 3-7 days depending on her recovery speed.  We'd really appreciate your prayers, thanks! 

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Mommy Language

Friday I took the day off and had a Mommy/Daughter day, it was wonderful.  We went to story time, did arts and crafts at the library, then went out to lunch with my friend Erin and her son Jonah.  While we were at lunch, I got tickled thinking about how Mommy's really have their own language. 

For example, this is how most of our lunch went...

Erin:  Are those the jeans you got at Kohl's...Jonah you need to eat
Me:  Yes, they...Peyton, no ma'am don't touch that....are.  They're so comfortable.
Erin:  They're really....Jonah stop that, come over here and eat...cute. 
Me:  Thanks, I wish...Peyton what did Mommy say?!  Come here and drink your juice...I had gotten
        another pair. 

It's hilarious to me how we can have a conversation about something, while screaming at  redirecting our kids at the same time.  Just add that to the list of 167836 other things we can multitask!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Belle, Mama, or Both?!

I know you all know who the pictures below are of...Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  Well, it's Belle to most of you.  Not to my daughter, to her it's Mama! 
She is 100% certain that I'm Belle.  I can't say it doesn't flatter me! 





I recently bought this movie for her so I can start collecting all the Disney classics for Peyton.
*Quick side note - I sometimes hate technology.  I have almost every single classic Disney movie...on VHS.  Not very useful now is it?!

From the moment she saw the DVD case she started pointing to Belle and saying "Mama, my Mama".  Yesterday Edwin called me at work and said "do you realize your daughter thinks you're Belle from Beauty and the Beast".  Silly girl.

Now when she sees the Disney Princess commercials, she starts yelling "MAMA, MAMA" when they show the Belle doll.  I guess I need to go ahead and buy her a Belle/Mama doll for Christmas!

You know, when I was a kid I always wanted to be a princess.  I guess this is my chance! 
It's nice to know I'm a beautiful princess in my daughters eyes. 

18 Month Update

I can't believe my little baby girl is 1.5 today!  She's officially closer to 2 than she is to 1!  We had her 18 month appointment today, and she did a great job.  She handled her shots like a champ and only cried for about 30 seconds...when she realized she had Bugs Bunny band aids on.  This kid loves band aids, she likes to show everyone in a 2 mile radius her "boo boo's".  So here are the stats...

Height - 32.75 inches (still tall in the 90th percentile)
Weight - 23.75 lbs (still skinny in between the 25th and 50th percentile)
Head Circumference - 46 cm (still a little head in between the 25th and 50th)

It's funny, she grew almost an inch in the 3 months since her last appt but only gained .50 of lb and her head size stayed the same.  I think it's safe to say she's going to have my body type. 

  • She goes to bed at 8pm
  • Wakes between 7:30am and 8am...sometimes later depending on how tired she is
  • Naps at 1pm for anywhere from 1.5 hrs to 3hrs
  • Eats...a lot!  She's still a "foodie" and loves to eat pretty much anything.
  • Has sippy cup of milk in the morning, at night, and sometimes in the afternoon.
  • Drinks a mix of juice and water during the day (about 75% water, 25% juice)
  • Now has 12 teeth!  The top molars are finally all the way through and I noticed today the bottom 2 are about 1/2 way through. 
  • She's talking ALL.THE.TIME these days.  It's hilarious listening to her conversations.
  • She loves to sing and dance.
  • Books are still one of her favorite things...besides playing outside.
  • Her new obsession is spinning around in circles.
  • She's starting to put 2 words together.  It amazes me, it's like we woke up one day and she was saying "I pooped" or "Kitty-Kitty no"
  • I can't for the life of me get her to say "yes", but she loves to say "nah"...and yes I think she does it on purpose!
  • We're still having some awesome tantrums.  Some days we have none, some days we have 5, it all depends on her mood. 
  • She's a total sponge these days.  She knows exactly what we're talking about at all times, so Mommy and Daddy really have to watch what they say!
  • She's still 100% a Mommy's girl.  Sometimes it's exhausting (like when she throws a fit b/c I leave the room to take a shower), but most of the time I eat it up. 
I could go on and on, but I won't bore you with any more information.  I couldn't thank God enough for this little girl if I tried.  She's amazing and wonderful and my entire world! 

Here's a pic of her today at the pediatricians office putting socks on her baby doll so her feet didn't get cold :)

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

We started our Halloween festivities Friday night by hitting up trunk or treat at my parents church.  Peyton had a blast, got to hang with her boyfriend, and is now a trick or treating pro (which will be helpful when we go out tonight).

We also did a little fall photo shoot at our house on Sunday since the weather was so beautiful.  So basically this post is all pics!  Enjoy!

Let's just start with the difference a year makes! 

Here is Peyton and her boyfriend Owen in 2010...


And then this year!

And now for some more cuteness...