Peyton went pee pee on the potty!

I totally forgot to blog about this in my October blog marathon, but Peyton went pee in the potty!

At the end of Oct, I put him on the potty for about the fifth time ever, and he pee'd!  It was HILARIOUS!

He was pushing it out and grunting.  It would stream out, then he would take a deep breath and push again, and it would stream out.  After about 5 breaths and pee streams, he couldn't push anymore out and then looked at me and said, "more! more!"  He loved it!  But he had no idea what he was doing.  :)

I made the biggest deal about it to him and congratulated him over and over.  He didn't take it in, he didn't smile... he didn't know what he had done!  Which unfortunately means it was a fluke.  :(  I knew it wouldn't be that easy, but it sure was funny!

Little Suckers.

I debated on whether or not to post on this, but decided it's been such a big part of our lives the past month, that it'd almost feel like I was lying if I didn't.

If you're in my family, I'm sure you're sick of hearing about this by now.  But hopefully this will be the last talk about it for a very long, long time!

About five weeks ago, I spotted two tick's in Ginger's ear.  This is the first time in all of our four years we've owned her, have I seen a tick.  I FREAKED (& that's an understatement).  I rushed her to Banfield Hospital at Petsmart.  They couldn't get her in for a few hours.  After booking the appointment and reluctantly putting her back into the car, I drove home and called my friend Genny, an animal lover and "retired' veterinarian.

She told me they're nothing to be afraid of and how to remove them myself.  After taking her advice & watching a how-to video on YouTube, I decided I was gonna tackle this little sucker on my own and save the $60 plus dollars at the vet.  After all, it was just two ticks...

So I pulled out the two from her ear with ease.  Not so bad!  Then, I decided I'd better check the rest of her body.  TWO HOURS LATER, I'd pulled 20+ off her poor little body.  Yes, you read right.  I get the hibijibi's just writing it.  Actually, I get the worst anxiety ever just thinking about it!

Let me tell you, I am the tick master.  I now know everything there is to know about ticks.  No joke.

So anyway, then moving day comes.  Thank goodness I de-ticked Ginger before we moved (my thoughts).  She has Frontline on her now (something I will never stop putting on her from now on) and I was confident she was tick-free.

After a week in our new home, I started finding ticks crawling on the floor, the wall, and what felt like everywhere.  Another phone call was into my dear friend Genny.  :)  She informed me that if we're seeing them crawling around, we've got an infestation.  She suggested we check every nook & cranny on ourselves and Peyton.  Thank the Great God Above that we didn't find any on ourselves!

The next day (which couldn't come fast enough) we called pest control to come spray our house.  In the meantime, I change Peyton's diaper and find a tick sitting on his hip bone (NOT attached, thank God again!)  This time, I just cried.  And cried.  At this point in the game, I felt so defeated and helpless, there was nothing left for me to do.  Sound dramatic?  Unless you've dealt with ticks before, you'd probably think so.  Trust me, it's not fun.

I then pulled myself together just in time to spot one crawling on the back of his shirt.  Another short outburst, and I was okay.  The lifesaver (aka tick guy) came a few hours later and was super nice, answered all of my questions, and sprayed the heck out of the house, furniture, and yard.  He also informed me that the East Valley is experiencing the worst tick problem in years due to all the construction.  He asked if I happened to be from the San Tan Valley area and I said, "YES!"  That's the worst, he said.  At this point, I'm feeling a little better.  :)  Also, the few people I called before this guy informed me that ticks are a huge problem right now and they're getting 3-4 calls a day about it.  Gross. But glad I'm not the only one!

Sooooo, I start finding dead ticks (phew!) and a few live ones still after the spray.  I found one more crawling on Peyton's pants.  Why oh why do they have to be on him!  I was literally praying that they would be on me before him.  But that was the last one I found on him, and neither of us found any on ourselves throughout this mess.

Now we're going on three weeks of this madness.  Let me explain:  we just moved in, the ticks could be anywhere because clearly we brought them with us, I don't want to unpack anything because who knows where one will be, our house is a mess and all I want to do is unpack, and I'm spending every possible minute OUT of the house to procrastinate and ease my fear of running into one of these suckers. I can't put anything on without checking it, I can't get into bed without checking it, and I definitely will not sit on the couch. I'm continuing to find one or two on Ginger every few days, and we decide to take her to the vet because she's shaking (as in shaking off something) constantly.  What if they're in her ear canals?

The vet checks her out and she's fine.  She's most likely shaking from all the scabs she has.  Yes indeed, that was it.  She itches!  But now she's on fish oil and a medicated wash to help.

Fast forward to week four and we're all good.  Now we're at week five and I haven't seen any in almost two weeks.  I've been finding dead, crusty ones, but I can handle that.  I think we're in the clear.  Although I'm expecting to find one live one per month for the next few months (per the vet), but that's okay, because the worst is over.

A lady in Steve's office who lives in Mesa said they find a tick per month in their house, and they spray monthly and the dogs are on Frontline.  It's just something they can't get away from.  Reason #50 I'm happy we moved to Phoenix.  :)

We were told to bring Ginger back in a few months for a blood test to make sure she didn't contract any diseases from them.  Lyme disease thankfully, isn't a problem in the Valley, but there's others out there.  And let me add before anyone thinks we're horrible pet owners, that this could've happened in one week.  I was for sure she'd had them for months in order for this type of infestation to occur, but they said it could've been as little as one week.

So anyway, I'm off to the vet tomorrow because Ginger's been limping for a week plus.  I can't find anything in her paw.  I was telling Steve that it's so strange she limps only at night and in the morning.  She doesn't seem in pain when I touch it.  He suggested it could be joint pain.... I google "dog joint pain" only to find it's a symptom of tick diseases.  Yup, that's right.  When it rains, it pours!

I'll keep you posted on what happens with our poor little Gingie and please keep your fingers crossed that we don't find anymore ticks in the house!

Gingie and her best friend.  :)

Thanksgiving 2011 (& a forward facing car seat...)

We spent Thanksgiving in Flagstaff this year.  We headed up Wednesday night and came back Saturday afternoon.  

*Side note: we turned Peyton's car seat around a few days prior and this was our first big trip with him facing forward.  Let me quickly say that the law requires them to ride rear facing until 1 year and 20 lbs, but the new recommendation is that you should keep them rear facing until the age of two.  We fully intended to make it to two years old, but decided 1 year & 8 months was pretty good.

It was so awesome having him face forward and has been ever since!  (I feel like a horrible mother saying his enjoyment is more important than his safety, but you can look at it in many ways. :))  The pros I never knew that are actually very beneficial, is that he can see EVERYTHING going on.  He is learning sooooo much by facing forward.  He points out the cars, trucks, tress, birds, he even said "fish" one day and I looked around to see a Long John Silver's sign with a fish on it.  Never before was he so involved when riding in the car. 

Another plus is that he's exercising his eyes - I read an article that says kids who spend more time outside have better vision because they're not just focusing on things right in front of them as they do when they're inside.  When outside, they're looking ahead at trees in the distance, airplanes high in the sky, etc.  And when he's riding forward facing, that's just what he's doing - looking far ahead at all the things going on.  So again, a little justification as to why this mommy & daddy is happy to say that our son is forward facing before the age of two.  :)  Now I still do intended to go as long as possible with our next kid rear facing, even after discovering the pros of forward facing.  Safety is first, but in this situation we did follow the law... and then we followed our hearts.  ;) 

Anyway, so we had the most fun ride to Flagstaff with Peyton, he enjoyed all the big rigs on the highway and we enjoyed him being SO QUIET.  I must've looked back a hundred times to check if he was asleep, only for him to be WIDE AWAKE with the BIGGEST wide-eyes I've ever seen!  He was taking everything in & it was a whole new world for him.

We rolled into town just in time to meet all of the family and extended family for dinner.

Thanksgiving was hosted at Dennis & Joan's house the next day.  It's always a fun time of year because that's when you can almost count on all of Steve's extended family to be there.  We had a nice time seeing everyone and a very delicious dinner. 

Friday was spent hanging out and we went over to Aunt Terri & Uncle Gregg's house to watch the ASU game.  

Saturday we headed home after a lazy morning.  It was a great Turkey Day weekend!

Here's a ton of pictures of, who else but Peyton, on Thanksgiving Day!

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues."

-Cicero

Be Thankful.

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?


Be thankful when you don't know something,
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.


Be thankful for the difficult times,
During those times you grow.


Be thankful for your limitations,
Because they give you opportunities for improvement. 


Be thankful for each new challenge,
Because it will build your strength and character.


Be thankful for your mistakes,
They will teach you valuable lessons.


Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
Because it means you've made a difference.


-Author Unknown


I saw this and loved it.  What a great way to look at life -- and, it's so true!

We're off to Flagstaff this afternoon for Turkey Day!  I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

I'm anxious to catch you up on our crazy November, something I'm looking forward to doing after this weekend!

I took this picture this morning.  I'm definitely thankful for these two!

Stye.

Last catch-up post for the day to wrap up our October!

We took Peyton to the pediatrician in early Oct for a puffy, red eye.  After several weeks of thinking it was allergies "or something," my mom & Steve's dad, on separate occasions, suggested we take him in.  My mom thought it was a stye, and she was right.  The pediatrician prescribed us some eyedrops and we were on our way.  

Stye's aren't contagious and Peyton wasn't in pain, so that was a good thing.  We were told to come back in two weeks if it wasn't gone.  

Fast forward three weeks and the stye looked better, but it was still there.  *Side note, thank goodness it's under his eyelid instead of on the eyelid, like most styes.  Now that the redness is gone, you'd never know it was there unless you pulled his lid down.  Phew! 

So, we went back to the pediatrician and he referred us to an eye specialist because he wasn't quite sure at this point what it was. Great.  

We then go to a pediatric eye specialist, only to find out within seconds it's what's left of his stye.  Nothing to be worried about and it could be there for months.  We just need to keep an eye on it (no pun intended!) and scrub his lids at bath time, then come back in the Spring if it's still there. 

I guess stye's are caused from the oils in our eye lids that get blocked.  Peyton's apparently in an environment where he's susceptible to get one, and I'm sure combined with his skin type, he's a good candidate.

So thankfully it's nothing.  But I really hope it's gone by the Spring and it doesn't have to be surgically removed.  It doesn't look like it's shrinking much,  but I vow not to worry until then.  =)

I do want to gripe about our pediatrician (who wasn't the one we normally see) for telling us it should be gone in 2 weeks when we learned they can last for up to 10 months!  The eye specialist also wasn't sure why he was given drops, since it wasn't an infection.  (Although they did seem to work.)  I know doctor's aren't specialists in all subject areas, but what made me upset the most is that I could sense he didn't know what he was doing and I didn't ask to see another peditrition in the office.  Instead I paid for two visits and then for an eye specialist.  So annoying!  

Okay, I feel a little better venting!  

On a random note, today was Regis' last day from Live! with Regis & Kelly and that makes me sad!  I loved that combo and will be curious to see how it is with a replacement.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  And GO DEVILS!  BEAT THOSE CATS!

Halloween 2011!

Halloween this year was a bit hectic.  With moving day being Nov 1st, our house was a mess, as you can imagine.  We also had a huge U-Haul in our front yard, which wasn't very appealing for trick-or-treater's.

But, we made the most of it, and it was a great time.  We ordered pizza, got Peyton dressed, my dad, Julie, and Andy all came over, and we walked the block.  We usually sit in our driveway and hand out candy, but this year Peyton was old enough to trick-or-treat and thank goodness for that, since our driveway was all U-Haul.  :)

Peyton was a cop for Halloween and he was a very good one.  The outfit he wore was the same one Steve wore as a toddler.  It was very special!  I've since gotten it dry cleaned and is waiting to be passed onto him someday.  {for those of you who don't know, both of Steve's parents work for the Phoenix Police Department.}

It took about 1-2 hours for us to go up and down a mere 3 blocks.  I couldn't believe how long it took!  I was picturing us walking the entire neighborhood, only to find out his pail was maxed out and we were exhausted after only a few blocks.  I guess with a slow walker it takes awhile and it didn't help that we talked to everyone at each house (mainly about how cute Peyton was, haha).

I was also surprised at how well Peyton picked up on just what to do!  He would walk up to the door (with either a little encouragement or with one of us), pick out a piece of candy from the bowl - let me stop here...  He knew to pick out ONE piece of candy and he would sit there and examine the bowl before picking up a piece, as if he was looking for his favorite kind.  Where did he learn this?!  Then after he picked out a piece, he would gently drop it into his pail and move on.  He loved to carry his pail!

At one point he stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the group of people passing us.  There was an adult dressed as one of the characters in Where The Wild Things Are and had a hairy mask on.  After Peyton stared him down, he let out the biggest "ROARRRRR!" we've ever heard him make!  It was hilarious that he thought he figured out what it was.  We played along with him and said, "Yeah! A lion!"  =)

We had a great time this year.  It's definitely different when you have a kid.  I can't wait for all the Halloween's to come!

After all the fun was had and Peyton was in bed, we did a little more packing and hit the hay for our last night in our house.  

For the story in pictures, "read" on!

Getting ready to head out!

Telling us what a pig says. 

Who's at the door?  Trick-or-Treaters!
We pinned a pig tail on Peyton for kicks & giggles.

The pics are kinda bad, but this picture says it all.
He was SO HAPPY and lead the pack.

Daddy & his boy.

Aunt Julie & Uncle Andy sharing Peyton.  :)

Another one that tells it all -
he quickly became a pro!

Loved the pumpkins.

Loving this little guy. 

He even knocked on doors. 

Holding Grandpa's hand.  :)

With Aunt Julie, looking at something
scary in the distance, I'm sure. 

Walking up to one of the last houses.
This one was very foggy and decked out.

Scary of Ginger, but the point is, Peyton
started crawling - he was so tired!

Picture with Uncle Andy!

Funny story - we saw a cop car in front of the neighbors house
& wondered what drama happened.  Then, he gets out of the car
& comes over to us and tells us the U-Haul is blocking the sidewalk
& we needed to move it.  HA!  He was super nice about it and stopped
for a picture.

This is what happens when you attempt a family picture
after you make the rounds.  :)

Peyton is dazed & confused.  And we didn't mean
to get this in front of the U-Haul, but now we
will never forget.  ;)

A fun time was had by all!

"Witch and ghost make merry on this last of dear October's days."

-Unknown 

Happy Birthday, Grandma Willits!

A little late, but I wanted to wish my dear Grandma a very happy birthday!  She turned 91 years YOUNG on October 22nd.

I love you, Grandma!  (and yes, she will see this post - she's so awesome that she reads my blog!)

A shout out to Peyton's Great Grandma on her actual birthday.

Grandma with her great grandsons in May 2011.

"A Grandparent has the wisdom of long experience and the love of an understanding heart."

-Author Unknown

Pumpkin Carving Party & Aunt Laurie Visits!

My friend Mandy had her annual pumpkin carving party back in October.  It's always such a fun time and she does a great job of setting up and getting everyone into the Halloween spirit.

We usually do a pumpkin carving party too, but I wasn't in the mood this year, not to mention we had a lot coming up.  Next year I hope to start it back up again!

Anyway, Peyton had a fun time playing with all the kids and we realized we need some serious outdoor toys for him.  He just loved all the stuff she had in her yard!

Here's a few pics from the evening, I wish I had taken more!:

Cake pops I made for the host!

A pre-party shot.

Peyton playing w his buddy Owen.

The pumpkins - mine is the bedazzled one on the left.  :)

Mandy's cutie pie, Reagan.

The next day I picked Laurie up from the Phx/Gateway airport and she stayed the night with us.  She was a huge help and played with Peyton a lot while we got stuff done.  We wish Aunt Laurie lived closer!

Yard Sale.

So... it's been awhile!  A lot of good things have been going on lately (hence the absence), so instead of cramming them all into one post, I'll take the next week to blog about everything separately.

Let's start where I left off - the end of October!

As you all know by now, we moved! (more about this in a later post).  We're now in a comfy & quaint 1,300 sq ft home and as you can imagine, we had A LOT of stuff we needed to get rid of.  We had our first-ever yard sale at the end of Oct and it was a hit.  Dennis & Joan came over to watch Peyton for us and ended up saving us from a potential first yard sale disaster -- they thought of things us rookies never would've thought of, like needing a ton of $1 dollar bills for change, for starters.

Now that we know the ropes and how easy it was to get rid of stuff and get paid for it (goodbye Goodwill!), I'm totally into it.  As a matter of fact, turns out we didn't get rid of nearly enough stuff and will be having another one this weekend!

Might I add, I can't get over the good deals everyone got.  We're talking $5 bucks for something I paid $50 for a few years back and used once.  I say that I want to be a yard-saler now & cash in on some good deals myself, but it probably won't happen until I find more time.  :)

I wish I would've gotten a picture of our front yard.  Oh well.  A big thank you to Dennis & Joan for helping us have a successful first yard sale!