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 :)