Tidbits

A few new random pieces of info about our growing little boy.

This past week I've been wondering if Peyton was popping another tooth by the way he was acting.  Well today I got a good look, and am almost sure I saw a white speck on his upper left gum!  It looks as though it's a week away from cutting.  It's super hard to see his upper gums, but I have a nifty little way to catch a glimpse - I raise him up in the sky and without fail, I get a huge smile.  It ends up being a workout for me, because of course I get super excited and before I know it, I've raised him 20 times in 1 minute.  :)

I finally went out and got a silver paint marker and wrote Peyton's name on his helmet.  I think it looks so cute!  I'm just excited about the combo of the Colts logo on the back and Peytons name on the front.  For anyone who doesn't know, we came up with his name because of Peyton Manning, quarterback for the Colt's.  We get tons of compliments on the Colt's logo and it's a big conversation starter, so this will just add to the fun.

This past week Peyton has been showing signs of crawling BIG TIME!  He started by scooting backwards, which I've heard is the fist step.  Then he's been trying to get on his knees, only to halfway make it on one, then give up.  Tonight, Steve gave him a boost and put him on his knees, and Peyton stayed up for quite a while!  Exciting stuff.  :)

In the Jenny and Steve department, I've started helping Steve out again with work and have been doing so for the past week.  I do as much as I can in my "spare time," all at home, of course.  It's going well so far, so I hope I can give the poor guy at least a few extra hours during the week to... get more work done.  One day he won't be so busy, and that's why he's working so hard now... if that makes since!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and four day weekend!  We have fun plans this weekend, which include our families getting together at my moms tomorrow (yaay! no going to both of our parents houses, they'll all be at my moms!!) and Flagstaff! 

Loves daddy's drum!

(don't mind the xmas tree, 

there's a story behind it)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Eight Months!

Believe it or not, Peyton turned eight months on November 14th.  CrAzy!  Will the shock ever go away that he's getting older?  :)

Let's start at the beginning of month eight.  (Some of this might be a repeat!)  Peyton started signing "milk", it was a little messy and hard to see, but he was doing it.  By the end of the month, he had done it very clearly all on his own a few times.  He's not doing it consistently, but he has done it.   I'm now wondering if he's waving "bye" as well.  Leaning towards no, but he's doing something with his hands that makes me wonder.

He officially cut his second tooth earlier this month.  I don't see any more in sight, but it's a lot harder to see his top gums than his bottom, so who knows!  The two teeth that he does have are getting very big and I've noticed they're very white!

Earlier this month he started turning onto his belly in his crib and sleeping that way.  By the end of the month, he was all over the place -- I would put him down on his back facing South, and he would wake up on his tummy facing North.  Funny little dude!

Peyton started waking up around 2am for a few nights, mid-month.  I pushed his bedtime back 30 minutes and problem solved. (Thank you, Megan!)  He's been UHH-MAZING (knock on wood) with naps.  I think he's finally trained in that department.  I can lay him down in his crib and shut the door, and by the time I get downstairs and turn the monitor on, I hear a peep, then a minute or two later, he's out.  He's taking 2-3 naps a day, anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours.

Around 7.5 months, Peyton got his Cranial Band.  He's had it for two weeks now and is still doing great.  There's days where it seems I can already see a difference, and days I can't.  His next appt is in two weeks, where he'll be measured and we'll know for sure then what the improvement is.

With the Similac recall and Peyton's sensitive tummy to begin with, we've had a very rough few weeks where we just couldn't get it right -- his normal soy formula was discontinued and thus hard to find, then it was recalled so it was really hard to find, so we put him on a new one and it didn't work, and FINALLY, we found one that's not soy (I'm beyond excited about this!) that's working!!  It's lactose-free and seems to suite him well.  :)  With both of our families having major lactose issues (haha), it's no wonder this was the answer.

In the funny department, Peyotn started making some super funny gargling noises a few weeks ago that he did non-stop.  Then he started saying "dada," and now he sticks his tongue out all. the. time!  He doesn't like the shade on his car seat being over him anymore (or he just noticed it) and pulls it down the moment I put it up.  It's a battle to keep there, so finally I decided to just let it be.  Sun in his face and all.  BUT, he likes it!  :)  As mentioned in an earlier post, we think he's giving hugs & kisses now... he is a busy kid!

In the super funny department, Peyton has been doing this "crinkle" face.  It all started the day after I babysat the Hulihee brothers.  I honestly think I took so many pictures and the flash was in his face so much, that he started squinting.  Either that, or my face squishes up when i smile, and he's mimicking me.  Either way, he's truly turning into a ham.  Pictures below!

He's fits into 9-12 month clothing best, with 9 month still fitting for probably another two seconds, and 12 months being a little too big.  PJ's however, are 12 months.  He's eating three meals a day and gets four, eight oz bottles.  He's enjoyed an even bigger variety of foods this past month, all still homemade.

 Eight Months!

The TONGUE!

Funny video!  Every time he takes a bite,

he spits it out with his tongue.  He's not trying

to actually spit it out, he's just sticking his tongue out.

Sorry the quality is kinda bad, it's taken from my iPhone.

Crinkle face!

...And more kisses.  :)

"Babies are a link between angels and man."

-Unknown

Shutterfly

Even though we have yet to get through Thanksgiving, I feel like Christmas is already in full affect!  With the weather finally cooling off and the stores putting out their Christmas gear, it's starting to feel like the most wonderful time of the year.

With that comes Christmas cards!  Here's a sneak peak into what type of cards we're doing this year from Shutterfly:

I LOVE monograms and there's quite a selection at Shutterfly!

Get the idea?!  haha.  I won't ruin the surprise for the one that we've chosen, but it's along these lines.  Along with their selection of Christmas cards and Holiday cards, they have some super cute Calendars that are always fun gifts for family members.... Think... 12 months of PEYTON!  :)

If you're a blogger and are planning on sending out Christmas cards, then go HERE to sign up for 50 free cards from Shutterfly.  All you have to do is write a post about it!

ASU Tailgate

Saturday was Peyton's first ASU tailgate!  He had a great time, and it was beautiful weather for him.  My mom & Bob came to the tailgate too, and took Peyton back to our house afterwards, while we went to the game with Dennis & Joan.

After the game, we went to a bar on Mill to watch the Pacquiao/Margarito fight, which Steve had been looking forward to for months.

We didn't get home until 11:30pm, so a BIG THANK YOU to mom & Bob for babysitting, and with an hour drive for them, they got home SUPER LATE.  Thank you guys so, so, so very much!

XOXO

About three weeks ago, Peyton started doing this new thing, where he'd pull our face into his mouth and "kiss" it.  It's always very forceful, with his drool & sharp teeth in full effect (ouch!).  Steve mentioned a few weeks ago that he thinks Peyton is giving us kisses when he does that.  I thought, no way, he's tired or teething, and wants something to chew on.

Then, last week, he did it to my mom, who said, "I think Peyton is giving kisses!"  Okay, that's two people who said it now, and my mom had no idea that Steve had even thought that.  So now, I don't know what to think, but I think he is!  I don't think he's giving us kisses for the same reason we give him kisses, but I do think he's imitating us.  He gets SO MANY KISSES that I think he's finally picked up on how to do it back.

About the same time, I noticed Peyton putting his arms around my shoulders and "hug" me.  Again, not sure if he's really hugging me, but it sure feels like it.  So we're going with the idea that Peyton is giving us hugs and kisses!  XOXO!!

HUGS

AND KISSES  :)

PEYTON GIVING AUNT JULIE A KISS <3

"Happiness is an unexpected hug & kiss."

-Unknown

"Dada!"

This past week Peyton started saying "dada" and "mama."  We noticed him starting to say the "mmmm" letter a few weeks ago, which somehow progressed into a full on "dada!"  :)

We know he's not using it for it's meaning, but it's soooo cute to hear.  I especially love how his mouth moves up and down several times before the word comes out.  Love that!  Here's a video I took last night at dinner!

Random info!

I'm trying to catch up on a bunch of things I've been wanting to post, so there may be a post overload!  I need to get better at posting things as they happen, as opposed to a few weeks later.  But, better late than never!

On a quick side note, I'm planning on turning my blog into a book at some point, so this is not only a means for everyone to keep in touch with us, but it's also a personal diary.  Sometimes you may wonder why I'm blogging this or that, but I try to blog about things that will interest my audience and things that I personally don't ever wanna forget; things that I would write in my journal.

I hope everyone is enjoying their (hopefully) day off!  Thank you to all of the veteran's and current men and women who have fought for our country.  Your courage and dedication is not forgotten.

Last but not least, a random post deserves a random quote!

"Whatever you are, be a good one."

-Abraham Lincoln

Peyton's Six Month Pictures

We had a fun mini session with Adrian at Canyon Photography back in September to mark a mini milestone - six months!  Most of you have seen the sneak peek, which I posted a while ago.

We got a ton of amazing shots, but unfortunately I won't be posting any of the full body naked shots, because we (Steve, haha) don't feel right having them on the internet.  So no blog or Facebook.  But when you come over, you can see them proudly displayed on our walls!  (which I have yet to do.)

We're in love with her work, and can't wait for Peyton's one year photo shoot, which will include birthday cake and balloons!

"Sometimes", said Pooh, "the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."

Sign Language

Exactly two weeks ago today, Peyton showed me his first sign, completely on his own! (as in, without mommy or daddy showing him first.)  This was one of the proudest days in my entire mommy life.  Sounds ridiculous, but it's completely true, it was such an accomplishment for both of us.

He was sitting in his high chair and I was across the room.  I was about to feed him solids, not even thinking about his milk.  The bottle was not in sight, it wasn't on my mind, there was NO MILK ANYWHERE!  Suddenly, I look up and he's staring at me, all while doing the sign for "milk" clear as day!  It was so unexpected that I felt as if I had seen a ghost.  And I'm not exaggerating!  Oh and he was right, it was time for his milk.  We communicated and it was amazing!

The past two weeks I've been patiently waiting for another moment like this, but nothing.  Just as I was starting to question if what I had seen was a fluke, (possibly, but my motherly instinct is telling me that he did it) it happened again!  And this time I got it on video!

"The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children."

-Elaine Heffiner

Peyton's Cranial Band!

The Decision

As many of you know, we've been keeping an eye on Peyton's flat spot since he was about 2.5 months and have spent the last 4 weeks deliberating on whether or not we should go ahead with a Cranial Band to correct it.  He has some brachycephaly mixed with a teeny tiny bit of plagiocephaly.  It seemed to peek around 4-5 months, and has drastically improved since then, however, after talking with three specialists and a month of contemplation, we decided to go ahead and just do it!


There's only one time to fix this problem and that is NOW (literally).  We couldn't bare the thought of this being something Peyton is self conscious about later in life.  Most likely that wouldn't be the case since it's so mild, but by correcting it, there's zero chance.  Peyton is priceless!  

He'll spend the next 2-3 months in it and all our worries will be behind us.  What caused this?  In Peyton's case, it was most likely from sleeping on his back & from a bit of torticollis.... that's the gist!


The First Days

It's been 8 days since Peyton has been wearing his band.  The first few days were spent getting him used to it, and by day 4, he was already wearing it 23 hours a day!  There were only 2 incidents within the first few days where he got super hot and fussy, which was caused by some irritation of the band.  After a trip back to the doctor's office & them correcting it so it didn't rub against his cheek, he was in good shape.

We then kept it on for naps, and he did great!  So then, we got really brave and kept it on for nighttime sleep and he didn't make a peep.  Thank goodness!  Half of my worries were that he'd be miserable in it, and so far he doesn't seem to even notice it!

First real outing was to Chili's!

The Colts logo on the back - always a 

conversation starter!  "Peyton" will

be written on the front soon.

Visiting Aunt Julie at work.

At Peter Piper Pizza with Grandma,

so worn out.

Playing hide-n-seek with Aunt Julie!

"It is the nature of babies to be in bliss."

- Deepak Chopra