Birthday & Santa Claus Photos

My sweet baby turned 1 on November 29. 

We had a whole week of celebrations:

Opened lots of presents and cards!

Blew out a candle with Daddy's help!

Enjoyed a few cupcakes...

Took a few baths to remove said cupcakes...

Got dressed up to see Santa Claus..

2011 & 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

One Amazing Year with Peyton

In one short year our little peanut went from this:

To this:

And then this:

While her actual birthday is November 29th, we are making it a week long celebration!

We are celebrating her birthday this weekend with her Nana. Next weekend we will celebrate with her maternal grandparents, aunts, uncles and surrogate family!

What have we learned this year?

* Spit up rags are necessary and must be placed strategically around the house.

* You think you want your daughter to roll-over/sit-up/roll around/ crawl/walk... until it happens and then you spend days baby proofing things you didn't know you needed baby proofed.

* Technology, like many other things, is extremely helpful in child rearing... until your child realizes that Sesame Street comes from your phone/laptop/tv and you have to wrestle it away from her at nap time.

* Car trips can either be extremely enjoyable or a "terrible-horrible-no good-very bad" idea... Our child got so excited about her week at church camp at Flathead Lake with mom that she didn't want to leave. She screamed the entire 4.5 hours home. I thought about sending her back on the bus. 

* Food is very very exciting... but at some point your child could develop a healthy love of fruits and vegetables and reject the idea of noodles and meat. The second it goes in there is a pause, then a terrible face, and finally everything comes back out. The second and third attempts ended the same way.

* Teaching your child to play with animals gently is a very good idea... it might be good to teach her to play with other children the same way. You know, so she doesn't try to claw their eyes out.

* Trimming fingernails is not fun... but necessary. 

* The saying "sleep when baby sleeps" is nearly impossible but also necessary. Even if its only 15 minutes.

* Just because your child has never been around, personally seen or had a "temper tantrum" demonstrated to them... doesn't mean they can figure out how to throw one all by themselves. 

There are so many "momservations" that I could post here but we can save those for another day.

Everyday Peyton learns something new that just astounds us. One day she just started waving at people. The next day she was clapping her hands for everything. Last week she decided to start blowing bubbles in her bath tub. Her favorite game is chasing mommy and daddy down the hallway after a diaper change or bathtime.

She makes us laugh, cry and shake our heads each and every day...

And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Time Moving Faster...

I feel like I should be blogging more often but when you have a little monkey this cute:

Yeah... it's hard to get anything done around here these days!

In lieu of blogging a long rambling post I will sum up the last three months in short meaningful phrases.

1. I had no concept of how fast babies grow. No seriously, despite frequent interactions with the little blobs turned toddlers... I had no idea Peyton would change so quickly.
2. I didn't fully comprehend how high pitched they can be when they are happy, hungry, tired, grumpy, want a different toy, lost their binky and last (but not least) have teeth coming in.
3. Peyton cut her first two bottom teeth at camp the first week of August. This process seemed relatively painless as it seemed like one day she was drooling and the next thing we knew she was leaving two little indentations on everything from foam blocks to skin.
4. I wish I could say the next two teeth have been this easy. They have not. We have gone through bottles of teething tablets and ib prophen. Still no teeth.
5. We have been to the doctor twice for what seemed like a medical anomaly (or at least nothing her dumbfounded parents could find online). The first time she had a cold, the second time she was covering and grabbing at her ears because of her upper teeth pain. $70 worth of parental-responsibility relief.
6. Peyton has not crawled yet. However she pulls herself up on anything she can get two hands on and has recently figured out how to pull into a sitting position and scoot on her bottom. Surely running is not far behind.
7. We have had the house baby-proofed since November. This is not because we are trying to protect our little presently immobile baby... its so that Bobby can figure out how to work the little child-proof door handles before Peyton does.
8. Everything is new. I have a new found appreciation for our dogs and cat for their constant entertainment for Peyton. I love taking her on walks and watching her watch everything! I love going to the duck pond and her excitement for the waddling creatures is contagious. I love it!
9. No matter how many times people ask me "Oh, is she named after Peyton Manning?" I have not punched anyone or rolled my eyes... yet.
And lastly...
10. I try desperately to dress her like a little girl. When in doubt I attach a hair bow. Inevitably it falls out when we are in public and someone will ask "Is it a little girl or little boy?"...
Bobby wants so badly to respond to them with "We are waiting to find out..." (just to see their reaction.) But of course, he is never with me when they ask!

I LOVE BEING A MOMMY TO AN (ALMOST) 10 MONTH OLD!

Janna, Bobby & Peyton (aka: Peanut, Petri, Booger Butt and Little Monster)

PS: Please take a moment to vote for our little Gerber Baby everyday from now til Sept 24th!
https://nestle.promotions.com/gerberps3/mobiledetail.do?entry_id=25845
The prize for each milestone is a $10,000 scholarship and the grand prize is $50k!!
We think she is a winner either way!

The Difference between Today and Yesteryear

One year ago... I had no idea what to expect when I was expecting.
- I read books.
- I searched blogs.
- I used Babycenter.com like a bible.
- I read my bible.
- I watched horrific birthing videos.

Seven months ago... I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.
- I read more books.
- I found new blogs.
- I still use Babycenter.com like a bible.
- I read my bible... on my phone with a baby eating/sleeping/playing in my arms.
- I remember our birth story (thankfully no videos were taken).

Today I... still have no clue what I am doing most days.
- I woke up to a smiling, cooing baby kicking away happily in her pack and play in the basement where we slept to escape the boiling heat.
- I watched her examine a new toy and test out its whirly gigs, twirly knobs and spinning blocks.
- I fed her cereal which she enjoyed smashing all over her face.
- I fought like hell to get her to take a nap and finally gave up and put her in her swing.
- I turned around for just a second and when I looked back she was fast asleep.

- I read my bible and the verse for the day is:

1 John 4:17-19

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. 

The Difference between Today and Yesteryear is more than just routines and habits.

- Yes I shower quicker and less often.

- I eat while feeding a little monkey. 

- I watch more cartoons than grownup TV.

- I use my iPhone as a baby entertainment device more often than I care to admit.

- I sleep when she sleeps and sometimes that means sacrificing laundry, chores and blogging/facebook.

BUT....

- I love more.

- I live better than before and eat healthier and take long walks.

- I appreciate things I had forgotten from my childhood.

- I am learning who I am through the eyes of my daughter. 

1 John 4:17-21

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁷ And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

¹⁸ Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. ¹⁹ We love each other because he loved us first.

This is the new love I feel in my heart. 

Little Bunny Foo Foo (4 Months)

Peyton's 1st Easter - Great Falls, MT 

Little Bunny Foo Foo (professional photo by Ally Jones)

Hopping Through the Forest (Check out my bow!)

Scooping up the Field Mice (Posing in the yard with her egg finds)

And Bopping them on the head (Looking cute)

The End (Our little family)

Three Months - Learning a Routine

We have a routine...

We celebrate 3 months with lil Peanut Peyton this week and we finally feel like we have a handle on things (you know before teething and the next growth spurt).

Routine:
Wake up 5:30-6am.
Mommy starts feeding #1 in bed.
Daddy Changes Peyton and gets ready to leave for work.
Mommy and Peyton watch a round of Netflix - start feeding #2
12:00 noon Mommy starts a load of laundry, chores, vaccuming and makes some lunch
MAT TIME
Mommy and Peyton start feeding #3 around 1:30-2pm
Peyton takes a nap, Mommy pumps for a later feeding.
4:00pm Daddy comes home from work.
TUMMY TIME
5:00pm Daddy starts feeding #4 - Peyton and Daddy often fall asleep.
6:00pm Mommy and Daddy Dinner and Netflix downstairs
7:00pm Mommy pumps for Daddy to feed Peyton #5
8:30-9:30pm Bath time and bedtime prep including lotion massage and reading.
10pm Daddy or Mommy starts feeding #6
11pm Peyton is asleep for the night.

Alternating days: a walk to the school to meet daddy, earlier bedtime depending on crankiness and whether Peyton got a nap.
Weekends: similar schedule, more naps for mom and dad. :)

We have attempted to put Peyton's bedtime routine into effect earlier (around 6:30-7) but she wakes up screaming at 2-2:30. Hoping for longer night sleeping soon? Until then we'll just keep tweaking here and there until she 's happy.

I tell people that babies can be like slot machines. There are three or four things that make them happy and sometimes it takes several tries to get the right combination.

Now... a PHOTO BOMB! :)

Daddy and P-Diddy Outfit for Superbowl


Sleepy Smiles


Knee time with Daddy


Naptime in Swing


Tummy Time


On the mat


Milk Coma


Bumbo

7 weeks old tomorrow!

And growing like a weed! :)
9# 9oz 21 inches long!