Four Months!

On July 14th, Peyton celebrated his 4 month birthday!

Today was his 4 month doctor appointment. All looked well, and he got 6 more shots. He cried, but as soon as it was over, Steve cuddled him and he was back to smiling. The whole drive home he was smiling and talking. :) This is definitely harder on us than him, I think. Steve & I both shed a tear, and Peyton didn't have any tears at all, just a big disapproving cry!

He weighed 16 lbs, 3 oz, which puts him in the 70th percentile.

He's 25 1/2 in, which is the 60th percentile.

His head is 16 3/4 in, and the 50th percentile.

Band-Aid Boy :)

The doctor said he looked great, but I was definitely shocked by his stats. I thought for sure he would be taller and around 15 lbs. He grew 3 inches in the first 2 months, but only 1 1/2 in the last two months? Doctor said that when they measure babies (laying on a table, stretched out), it's not precise and it's only to give us an idea. Until they can stand on the scale, the height isn't always accurate. So who knows for sure.

The peditrition told us to start feeding Peyton rice cereal, and at 6 months, he'll start puree foods. We'll probably wait another month or so before we do this, though. I'm planning on making all of his baby food starting at 6 months (& his rice cereal too, if possible). There's some pretty nice gear out there that will make this fun & easy. Since I couldn't breastfeed exclusively, I feel this is the next best thing I can do for him. Knowing his food is organic and fresh puts me at ease. Plus, it's cheaper!

New things Peyton enjoys:

• Baths! He loves to kick in the bath water.
• Mirrors! He especially likes to sit in his Bumbo in front of a full-length mirror.
• TV! If it's on, he's watching. Of course not for the content, it's the bright light that he loves. He'll do the same with our computer and iPhones.
• Action! He absolutely loves being around people - the more noise the merrier.
• Talking to his toys on his play mat. He loves to grab them & put them in his mouth too.

Things he doesn't like so much:

• Getting out of the bath. For a while, I didn't know if I was hurting him when I lifted him out to rinse off (very awkward). Soon I learned he just loves the bath & doesn't want out!
• Getting strapped into the car seat.
• Getting dressed. He doesn't like clothes going over his head!

He's eating 6oz bottles (7oz in the morning) and fits in 6 month clothing. He still fits in a lot of his 3-6 month clothes too, but not for long.

The past month:

..AND THE BEST FOR LAST?

If you know my dad, you would know these were from him! Hilarious!

"When that kid looks into your eyes and you know it's yours, you know what it means to be alive."

-Anonymous

Exersaucer!

A big THANK YOU to my mom & Bob, who came over yesterday to visit Peyton and brought him an Exersaucer! We've been wanting to get him one of these, since he's "standing" so well now and playing with toys. He's gonna love it!! Thanks again, mom & Bob!

~Mom, Bob, & Peyton~

~The Exersaucer!~

Hospital Pictures

Here are two other pictures that I finally uploaded. These were taken in the hospital - Peyton wasn't even 48 hours old yet. I can't believe how much I already miss him being this little!

"You knit me together in my mother's womb."

-Psalm 139:13

Comparisons

I finally got around to uploading some of our baby photo's. These are the best comparisons I could find. I think when Peyton was born, he looked a lot like me. As he gets older, he looks more like Steve, although I see us both in him all the time!

Steve (they have the same hairline!)

Peyton

Steve

Peyton (they have the same profile)

Steve

Peyton

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Me - I'm the baby in this pic

Peyton

Me

Peyton

Me

Peyton

Photo Shoot

Here are some pictures I took of Peyton while in Carlsbad. I love how hotel beds are so fluffy and white. I couldn't resist taking pictures of him every time I laid him down! And then, of course, I had fun editing them. :)

"Babies are bits of stardust, blown from the hand of God."

-Barretto

Carlsbad!

I haven't written in almost 3 weeks - which means there's SO MUCH to talk about! First things first, we had a blast in Carlsbad, CA. We spent 11 days there. This was the longest amount of time we've spent in Carlsbad, and it went the fastest... having a baby adds to the fun and makes the trip go by quick!

This was my 9th year going with Steve's family & they've been going for 21 years! This felt like such a different year for many reasons. 1 - We have a baby. 2 - It was cold and cloudy. 3 - There was an earthquake.

It was in the 60's the whole time & the sun hardly came out. One of the days was a record for being so cold. I'm NOT complaining because it was a welcomed change, but it was hard to sit on the freezing beach all day, which is our usual thing to do. Then, there was an earthquake! It was a 5.4 that hit near Palm Springs. Steve was in the elevator when it happened, and I was feeding Peyton in the room. Exciting stuff! I'll have to make sure I tell Peyton someday that he was in two earthquakes by age 3.5 months... especially since he'll probably only be in 2 earthquakes his whole life!

Let's talk about milestones - Peyton was on a roll last week! I believe that all the interaction really pushed him along. 1 - Laughing. He's been laughing for about 1 month now, but one night out of the blue, Steve was rattling his keys and making funny faces. Peyton was straight faced and tired. Suddenly, this huge laugh came out! Then Steve stopped and the laugh stopped. He kept repeating it and the laughs kept coming. I have a video I'll post later. Then, on the drive home, I was singing to him and the big laughs started again! 2 - Standing. With help, of course, this boy loves to stand. His legs are so strong (which I knew from kicking in the womb) and when you try to put him down, he locks his legs and just wants to stand. He can go for well over a minute. 3 - Talking. Another thing that he's been doing for a while, but O.M.G., he's not just cooing now, he's squealing, screeching, yelling - all sorts of sounds! And his face is the best afterwards... he either scares

himself, or is sooo proud. I love it! 4 - Rolling. He's got a while before this one happens, but he finally showed an interest in rolling over! 5 - Sitting. I think this will happen soon. He can sit without help for a split second. Such a BIG BOY! 6 - Grabbing. Another thing he's been doing is swatting & grabbing toys on his playmat. I'm not sure if I never noticed, but he's now grabbing them, holding on, and putting them in his mouth consistently. 7 - Sleep. Although this isn't a milestone, I have to mention that Peyton did so well being in a new place, crib, schedule, etc. He is so easy going, will do anything anywhere. He kept up his sleeping in until 6am and on late nights, he even slept till almost 8am. I know we've been blessed with a good and easy baby, and I hope our next one is just as good, otherwise we'll really be in for a surprise!

As for the rest of us, we spent our time on the beach, in the jacuzzi, shopping, farmers market, eating out, morning walks, San Diego, watching movies, napping... all the good stuff.

It was such a great trip and was so hard to leave, I almost felt homesick last night after we got home. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end!

A big thank you to Dennis & Joan for such a great family vacation!

~Sandy Toes and Salty Kisses~

"Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone."

-Annonymous