Crush.

So I have a confession to make.  I'm a little obsessed with a guy named Eddie Vedder.  Don't worry, my husband knows and trust me, if there's one guy he'd be okay with, it's Eddie.  After all, it is my husbands fault I've fallen for this man.  :)

A little history for those who don't know -- Eddie Vedder is the singer of Pearl Jam and this is my husband's most favorite band in the entire world.  If you know Steve even in the slightest bit, you would know this.

So for the past 10 years, I've been listening to Pearl Jam, hearing about Pearl Jam, and I feel like I know more about every member of this band than I do my closest friends.  (Thank you, Steve)  After all, we considered naming Peyton, Eddie (too bad I extremely dislike the name Eddie, NOT to be confused with disliking the man himself).  I've been to more Pearl Jam concerts than I have Britney Spears.  Get the gist?

Anyway, Pearl Jam is celebrating 20 years together and on Tuesday night we saw a documentary on the band.  It was so awesome and for some reason it really impacted me.  It was great to piece all the tid-bit's I've learned over the years together.  Every person has a story, and they are no different.  I loved their story.

So I've been listening to tons of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Temple of the Dog (all on my own!) the past few days.  These three bands have a combined history together that I finally was able to understand after the movie.

Here's some pic's from their last tour that we went to.  We traveled to LA where we saw them 2 nights in a row, then followed them down to San Diego where we saw them one more time.  I think Steve is pretty excited that I'm becoming a big fan of his favorite band (even if it's because of a crush).  I already can't wait to do another road trip next time they're on tour!

Here I am wearing Steve's vintage Pearl Jam

jersey he bought at a concert in 1998.

Second night in LA.

Jamming out.

Taking a bow.

Eddie Vedder circa 1993.  Need I say more?

"Once you hold the hand of love, it's all surmountable."

-Love Boat Captain, Pearl Jam

One and a half!

Last Wednesday, Peyton turned 18 months!  Where oh where does the time go?

Here's all my thoughts and feelings about the big 1.5 mark:

The biggest change I've noticed is in myself:  It's safe to say that I officially feel 100% confident with leaving him overnight (or two, or three) with a sitter.  If I had or wanted to, I would feel completely ready to go back to work and leave him all day, and I feel if I were to pop out another baby at this exact moment, I would be able to handle two.

Peyton is 100% toddler now and I'm sure that has everything to do with why I'm feeling this way.  He's hit all of his major milestones that you just don't wanna miss, he's independent enough to where he can feed himself & tell you what he wants, and is mobile enough to where I don't have to worry about him rolling off the couch, falling backwards when sitting, etc.  (i.e. I could drop him off at the gym daycare and not have to worry if the 18 year old caretaker is watching his every move... because you know they aren't... :))  Yes, along with this independence comes a different side of danger, like opening the front door and taking off down the street, but he's not as fragile as he once was, and with that comes a sigh of relief (and some major tears).  

Okay, onto the details of what the Peytor Gator is doing!

He had his 18 month appointment today and his stats were:

Height: 35" (98%)

Weight: 28lbs, 3oz (75%)

Head: 19" (65%)

And this is what that looks like (promise he's a happy boy):

I like to see his height continue to be near the 100th percentile.  I like me a tall, handsome boy!  =)  Doc said he is healthy and looking good.  We talked about potty training readiness.  It'll be awhile, but I have seen some signs like - pointing to his diaper when it's soiled, pooping in private (usually under the table), when I say poop or pee, he'll point to his diaper, and definitely finds pleasure in watching mommy and daddy use the toilet.  Also, if I say, "let's go change your diaper," he'll head upstairs (*or shake his head no, haha).

As of the last month, Peyton has discovered the TV.  He never had any interest in TV until then.  However, he's only interested in Baby Einstein videos (or Family Guy, ha).  He'll pick up the remote, say "more", walk to the DVD player and hit the buttons, until I give in put it on.  I'm glad it took this long for him to want to watch TV, but I also know he shouldn't be watching TV until 2 years old (and as I learned today, especially Baby Einstein videos!  oops!  The reason is, is the AAP says it's worse for your toddler to learn via TV as opposed to one-on-one and books (duh).  So if I'm still reading to him and offering plenty of one-on-one time, then it's okay.  And of course, I am.  There, it's justified.  :)  But I will try to delete it from our days for the next 6 months nonetheless.)

Peyton's sleep schedule is fabulous.  He sleeps on average from 8pm- 8am at night and a 3 hour nap from around noon - 3pm.  Lately he's been taking almost 4 hour naps, and I live by the saying "sleep begets sleep."  This saying has always proven true from the day he was born.

He's becoming more picky with what he eats and still won't eat any meat. He doesn't finish off his milk like he used to, and probably drinks around 18 oz a day.  He loves water and has never had juice.  He wears 2T perfectly, with 3T around the corner.  He has ALL of his teeth in but his 2 year molars (and the kid won't eat meat!)  He's still pretty timid at times when I think most 18 months aren't - for instance, he likes to play on the playground at the park, but he won't climb up the slide or really go anywhere without me there.  I don't wanna be a helicopter parent and enable this, but I also know he can't play on the playground without me being right there (safety reasons.)

Animal noises he makes:

duck

bear

cow

bird

snake

pig (our personal fav)

horse (a very close second)

lion

cat

frog

dog

monkey

He can point to his:

head

ears

nose

eyes

tongue

teeth

mouth

cheeks

chin

hands

knees

feet

toes (wiggle them)

and... wiener.  :)

(*Notice when asked where his eyes are, he blinks.  He usually points to them, which cracks me up.  He also sticks out his tongue when asked.)

It takes no time for him to learn something.  Steve just showed him how to do a touchdown with his arms, and the next night Steve said, "Peyton!  Touchdown!" and he did it.  Blew both of us away.  The doc said at 18 months they know almost everything you say, and between now and 24 months we'll see a drastic improvement in him being able to communicate back.  He'll start putting two words together, etc.

Peyton's so much fun right now, but boy is he a handful.  This is by far the most physically exhausting part of parent hood I've experienced thus far.  He doesn't sit still, there's always a mess to clean / toys to pick up, and he's no longer content on his play mat in the living room - you've got to keep him entertained and it's draining!  But... boy is it fun.  :)  

"The fundamental job of a toddler is to rule the universe."

-Lawrence Kutner 

This is my world.

My little family means more to mean than they'll ever know!

Signing "more".

I stopped doing the "more" sign with Peyton a while ago because he actually says the word "more" now.  Whenever he'd sign "more" in the past, it would look like he was clapping because he didn't have the coordination to be precise with his fingers.

A few days ago out of the blue, he started doing the "more" sign and it was perfect!  We couldn't believe it, because (1) I can't tell you the last time we did it with him, and (2) he was doing it exact!

So now he's back to doing the "more" sign every once in a while, which is a VERY nice thing, because hearing, "mo! mo! mo! mo! mo! mo! mo!" 50 times in a row can get pretty annoying, pretty quick.  :)

*notice in the video how nice & quite it is.  ;)

The new wave.

About two weeks ago Peyton started waving like a King (as we call it).  We don't know where he learned it, but he just started doing this new wave when saying goodbye.  He'll raise his head high up in the air and wave with his wrists.  It's hilarious and we LOVE it, we have him wave now all. the. time!

Imitation at its best.

A favorite place - inside the dog kennel!

Peyton is almost 1.5 years old and imitation is HUGE right now.  I see him do it all the time (super cute) but I just couldn't get over how funny it was when I saw his do this:

A few nights ago after dinner, I took Peyton out of his highchair and he went straight for the ground - he got on his belly and started licking the floor.  What the heck?!  Yes, my thoughts exactly!  Then, he started gobbling down the food that he had thrown over his highchair (for his partner in crime, Ginger, who was already locked up in the room for this reason alone, hence there still being food on the ground).  He sat laid there on the floor, licking up the food with no hands.  Now this takes talent!  It took me no time to figure out he was acting like a dog!  Steve and I got such a kick out of this!

Then yesterday, he did it again.  This time, it was even more gross.  I noticed he was under the kitchen table (a favorite place) and he must've been acting like a dog again, because he came up to me pushing something black out of his mouth with his tongue.  I pulled it out and to my horror, it was a dead bug.  I'm pretty sure it was already dead (thanks to our real dog) but it was super gross and I realized this has got to stop before it gets worse!

So the fun is over, from now on when he gets on his belly and sticks that tongue out, I tell him, "NO!" as if he is a dog.  Hey, at least I can play too.  =)

"Imitation is the highest form of flattery."

-Brian Molko