Saturday, May 21, 2011

7 Months


My sweet pea turned 7 months old today. After I took the monthly picture of her in the chair with her stuffed bunny,  was looking back on the pictures on my camera to make sure that I had gotten a good one of her and I noticed how much she really has changed in the last month. in the picture I noticed that she is now starting to get a neck and is kind of thinning out. I mean don't misunderstand me, she still has some baby chunk which I LOVE, but she really looks like an "infant" now and no longer a newborn. It's funny how it took me seeing a picture of her to really notice the difference. I guess because I see her every day that it's much more subtle to me as she changes compared to someone who sees her less often.

Before, most people thought that she looked just like Matt, but now most people are saying that she looks a little bit less like him and that they can definitely see both of us in her. In addition to her "new look," she is constantly surprising me with all of the new things that she is learning to do. She is now sitting very well by herself, and can transition from sitting to her tummy and chooses to do so quite frequently. I have to really watch her these days because she can go from sitting to her tummy in no time flat, even when I am changing her clothes or playing with her in my lap. Her favorite new thing to do when playing toys is to bang two toys together or bang one toy on something stationary nearby. Some of her favorite toys these days are her cookie jar which is really a shape sorter toy and a little tikes kitchen that my mom and dad gave her. The kitchen has a little oven door and a microwave door and Peyton has learned how to open them. She has also managed to turn on the aquarium in her a crib a few times during the middle of the night. She continues to love playing peek-a-boo and this seems to be a guaranteed way to make her laugh. This month she has also started reaching for us to pick her up (which I love) and occasionally crying when we walk out of the room (which I thought she was a little young to be doing.....). She is proficient with picking her paci up and putting it in her mouth, as well as playing with it by pulling it in and out of her mouth and chewing on it. She has been showing signs of teething for months but I haven't seen or felt any teeth yet. She seems to love her oatmeal in the mornings and her baby food but wants nothing to do with the baby food that I have made her, including chicken, apples, green beans, carrots, squash, and mashed up avocado. One of our biggest changes this month is that she has started napping in her crib. Although she has been sleeping through the night in her crib like a champ for several months now, the same has not been true for napping in her crib. In the last 1-2 weeks she has started taking at least one nap, sometimes 2 in her crib. I know that you are probably thinking that it is nuts that she is just now starting to do this, but she really wanted nothing to do with napping in her crib before. I tried and tried and tried and she cried and cried and cried. Then it's like all of the sudden one day it clicked and she was ready. She definitely knows what she wants and when she wants it. She continues to be a really sweet, happy baby.  In fact, a lot of the time when we are out, people comment to me on what a good baby she is and how happy she seems. She is very social and lights up when she sees her mommy and daddy.  Matt and I really are so blessed to have such a sweet baby.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

First Mother's Day

 
Today was such a special day for me...my first Mother's Day! I couldn't have asked for anything better than to have spent the day with my sweet baby Peyton and the rest of my family.  The day started off with Matt and Peyton wishing me a happy Mother's Day before I had even gotten out of bed.  I was so excited to open my Mother's Day cards from my two favorite girls, Peyton and Ellie. I also received a late birthday card from Matt because he "ran out of time" to get me one on my actual birthday. After spending some girl-time with my sweet P this morning, we headed to church where we met my parents, Trey, Becky, and the boys.  

After church, we all headed to Leonardo's (one of our favorite restaurants) for lunch. Matt's parents met us there so we were able to celebrate Mother's Day with both our moms.  Although Jamie wasn't able to come because she had to work tonight and needed to get her beauty rest before she had to go in, her fiance Will also joined us.  Poor Peyton was so sleepy that she was falling asleep in the highchair!  I couldn't stand it so I pulled her out and she took a nice little nap in my left arm while I used my right hand to eat my delicious lunch.  Peyton did however wake up just in time for a quick photo of all 12 of us before we left.

We made a quick stop by my aunt's house after lunch so we could wish her a happy Mother's Day and then we went to my grandmother's to visit with her. Needless to say we were all worn out when we got home and took a well needed late afternoon nap!  

I am so thankful to have been able to spend my first Mother's Day surrounded by all of my wonderful family.  I am blessed to have such a loving, giving, selfless, devoted mom who continues to take care of me even though I am now myself a mom.  I am also thankful for my great mother-in-law who raised my wonderful husband.  And most of all, I am especially thankful for my sweet daughter who is more perfect and sweet than I could ever have imagined.  She truly is a gift from above.  She has made the last 6 1/2 months the best months of my life.  I am so proud and honored to be her mom.  

The BIG 3-0

I turned the big 3-0 this past Thursday and to be honest, I've kind of been dreading it. I'm not sure why because I don't look at others who are 30 as old, but there's something about saying goodbye to my 20's that makes me sad. With that being said, it really turned out to be a great birthday. I spent most of the day with my mom and Peyton, and then Matt treated me to a nice dinner at Botega while my parents watched P.

The birthday celebration continued into Friday night. The plan was for us to get together with my parents, my brother and his family, and Jamie and Will at their new house for dinner and cake. When we got to their house, I was surprised to find that they had planned a party for me with some of my closest friends and family. We had barbecue from Full Moon, my mom's baked beans, and matt's mom's hash brown casserole for dinner and ice-cream cake (one of my favorites) for dessert. The house was decorated with streamers, balloons, and flowers arranged in old patron bottles. They had napkins that said "thirty" on them and they even had 30 candles on my cake. It really was a special night spent with my sweet family and friends. Thanks Matt, Mom, and Jamie for all of your hard work!

thanksgiving

Thanksgiving- This Thanksgiving Matt and I have so much to be thankful for….on the top of our list is our sweet baby girl Peyton. We are also thankful for our wonderful family and friends and all of the love and support that we have received this past year.
I guess I lucked out this year by having a newborn because it meant that I didn’t have to cook anything. All I had to do was show up with a good appetite! Although I have to admit that I usually don’t have to make much but in the past I have at least made sweet potato casserole.
Since we were going to both sets of grandparents’ houses today to celebrate Thanksgiving, I decided it was the perfect time to put Peyton in one of my old dresses. The day that we told my mom I was pregnant, she pulled out a tub of old baby clothes that she had saved hoping that one of us could use them one day. I’ll never forget how excited she was as she showed me some of the sweet little things she had saved. Once we found out that I was having a girl it was all over! Before I knew it she had pulled out, washed, and ironed little baby, dresses, sweaters, bonnets, and shoes that had been mine and my sister’s. One of those dresses was the dress that Peyton wore home from the hospital. Because Peyton is still pretty little, I wasn’t sure which of the dresses would fit her. After trying on a couple, I finally decided on this cute pink one with smocking at the top. Even though it was a little big, it looked precious on her. There was also a matching bonnet but it was way too big for her so we decided we would have to wait until she grew into that to wear it. As it turns out, this was a dress of mine that one of my dad’s sisters, Patty, made for me when I was a baby. How special is it that!?! Of course there were no shortage of pictures from today.




Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Jamie and Will's Shower

We were definitely in party mode this past weekend. First we had my surprise birthday party on Friday night and then a His/Hers shower at Dave's Pizza on Saturday night for Jamie and Will. They had a great turnout and racked up on of great tools, gadgets, and household items. We can't wait for their big day on May 21!