11 months

 This 11th month has been an emotional one. I feel like my baby is slipping quickly into toddlerdom and I'm both sad and proud of that fact! He is becoming mister independent with his love for bathing by himself, standing by Himself on December 11, and taking his first steps on December 23. He is still breastfeeding, but not for much longer, and we will be letting him 'cry it out' in the next week. (We would have earlier but with all the move we didn't want to put more change on him.)

He has started scrunching his nose this month, which is so adorable, gives high-fives and waves hello and bye-bye like it's his job. He loves looking at family pictures - there is something wonderful about seeing your kid's face light up when he looks at a picture of you and your husband.

Peyton is a pro at turning lights and ceiling fans on. He loves 'yanking the chain' on anything that you will let him reach. He also loves to open and close doors, although if he achieves closing it all the way it makes him made that he cannot swing it back open.

My baby is at such a fun stage when it comes to playing. He is beginning to play with little people and gets a big grin whenever I pretend that they are kissing him or talking to him. He loves banging on drums and is beginning to figure out puzzles. I would say his two favorite activities are reading and throwing ball. He will hand me books constantly and likes to flip the pages. He usually gets about halfway through a 5 page book and then closes it and hands it to me to start again. :) He will play ball with himself -  throwing and then crawling to catch it, but definitely loves having a partner to play with him. :) Peyton also is beginning to figure out how to put puzzle pieces back together instead of just taking them apart. Oh and he calls people all the time on his phones.

Let's see, what else is going on with him. He now has 5 teeth although you still can't see the top three very well. He doesn't watch much TV, but when we do let him (for the 5 minutes he sits still) he is just so cute. He can feed himself with a spoon. Oh, and he loves Hiro... except when he doesn't. :)  Shew, this kid is learning new things every day! Drew and I are thrilled to be called his parents!!

It's getting more and more difficult...

 To take monthly pictures of this little man. He is a busy bee! Also, I know these are almost a month late. I received an message the last time I tried to upload pictures saying I had to pay so I didn't upload any but then couldn't figure out how pay later. Anyway, I randomly tried it and it worked today. So here they are, his 10 month pictures at almost 11 months. :)

Decorating for his first Christmas

 We were so excited to set up our tree for Christmas since it is Peyton's first. He sure is a curious fellow. It took us two days to decorate since his nap time kept getting in the way but it was worth the weight. He loves looking at it and yanking the ornaments off the tree. We put the nonbreakable ones towards the bottom and don't mind if he takes them off. Since he is learning to throw right now, he enjoys watching the balls bounce around. He basically plays fetch with himself. ;) Daddy helped him put the star on this year, but it won't be long until he can do it!

 He also promptly broke an ornament while we were putting them on the tree.. This one apparently did not get put up high enough! Whoops!

10 months

Oh sweet Peyton how you keep your mama and daddy on their toes! :) It has been a crazy month but you have adjusted amazingly!! You are the sweetest, most patient baby I have ever met. Even when you are tired or overwhelmed, you are still just as smiley and content as you could be. :) You have been super clingy through all of this moving from place to place and having big brown things (boxes) strewn all over your house, but you make the most of it, exploring as long as your mommy is near. :)

This month we have started to say 'no' to you and you are not a fan. I promise that it is for your protection that we don't want you to stick your fingers in outlets or chew on wires. I know you love playing with your turtle night light - but you are going to be sad when you break it! Right now you laugh when we tell you no, but we are working on it!

You love to feed yourself... and make a mess doing it! Bread is your new favorite this month, but you also love cheese, goldfish, applesauce, sweet potatoes, and yogurt. Thankfully you still love your milk as well - not to mention your straw sippy cups.

Peyton I love your adventurous streak, watching you roam around the house - opening cabinets, playing in toilets, unrolling toilet paper, sucking on windows, and reaching high for the ceiling fans. You are a smart little boy and I am sure you will be walking before you are one. You are such a big boy trying to stand on your own - although failing after a second or two - and cruising around everything! Although you're brave, you are still cautious when you go from standing to sitting. I have never seen a baby ease down with such caution...

You still wake up a lot during the night, which I'm assuming is due to all the changes... so mommy and daddy are patient with you. Just beware, the day is coming where we will have to change that! I love that you have to have your feet propped up when I rock you to sleep, and the long, sighing noises you make when you're super exhausted make this mama's heart happy.

My dear son you sure do talk a lot... and LOUD. Daddy and I are pretty sure you've said 'mama' a couple times but your favorite is definitely 'gaaa gaaa'. Diaper changes are a chore because you LOVE being naked - bath times sure are fun these days aren't they buddy?? :) Oh and we can't forget the love you have for Hiro. Especially for uses as a step stool and the mouth open kisses you give him. (I try not to look at that. YUCK!)

Never a dull moment I tell  you. We wouldn't want it any other way!!


[I tried to upload pictures, but it said I've used my quota for storage space... anyone know what that means and how I need to fix it??]

footie pjs

there are no words

an update of the crazy

We're here! We have actually been in North Carolina since last Wednesday but we have been shuffling through the boxes, emotions, school work, family, meeting new friends and getting to know the area. There was also some sleeping, although I am not sure I will ever feel that it is enough.

First off I want to say Oakland has been so kind and supportive through this process! We were overwhelmed with all of the hugs, prayers and gifts before we left. It was so encouraging to hear we will be missed but they wanted what was best for us. We will definitely miss our church family, and are grateful we are only a couple hours away. We also got several promises to come visit so I'm holding them to it!!

Moving is new to me. I've moved houses many times, but never my hometown (besides college of course). It is definitely going to be an adjustment, and sad at times, but we are so excited to see how God is going to use us here. We have seen Him working in so many ways through this transitional time that we can't wait to see what he has for us!

We have not met a stranger yet. Everyone at Highland Park Baptist is so friendly and wanting to help make this an easy transitional time for us. Even though we have only visited twice prior to moving here, we already felt like we were part of their family. Sunday night we had a Thanksgiving service where we had food and people shared what they were thankful for. I loved seeing this part of the church. They were praising God for all sorts of things but I kept seeing the common theme of being thankful for what God is doing - not what they are doing. Highland Park is growing. They are seeing many salvations, but they acknowledge it is nothing they are doing but what God is doing through them. THAT is exciting. Drew and I are excited to be apart of it.

We also got 'pounded' on Sunday night - where people brought us household goods to stock our pantry. Wow did they!! I think we could make it a year on all the corn and toilet paper we received. :)

A couple in the church is allowing us to stay in their basement apartment until we found our new home. It has been so kind of them and is a great cozy space. :) We are so grateful for this, although are looking for an apartment of our own. I think we will feel less in transition when we set up our house somewhere. We are actually looking at a couple places this evening and then will probably have a decision made by tomorrow.

Peyton is adjusting fairly well. It was a rough couple days but he has slept through the night the past two nights so we are hopeful. He is a huge reason we want to get our own place on the earlier end. Boxes and new places have been way too 'normal' for him lately and we want him settled at home. He of course has a smile through all the crazy... except when he doesn't. HA

So all in all things have gone well. We have been trying to get school done (we are in week 5 of 8) and spend some time together, just breathing. It sure has been a whirlwind of a month but God is right beside us so we can get through anything!

packing the important things...

I think we will take him with us!

ruff ruff

Our Peyton was a puppy dog on Sunday and Wednesday nights for both Oakland and Lakeside's fall festivals. :) He played  about 3 games and won candy for mama and daddy. :) He only did well in the games were you picked up duckies or balls because he just wanted to stick the balls in his mouth for the toss games. It was a lot of fun to catch up with friends and eat yummy foods!

9 months

Didn't I just write an update. I can barely keep up with this fun-loving, fast-growing, crazy boy!

My baby loves kissing himself in the mirror. He walks around furniture and crawls everywhere. He loves standing up but then has a hard time sitting himself down.

He is still eating a ton, and LOVES to feed himself. It is amusing seeing him eat cheerios, definitely a hoarder! He looks for the bottle at bedtime and gets so giddy over it. He jumps and laughs and grabs for it. SO cute. He also loves sucking on his wrist in between bites... a slightly weird quirk but I love it.

Peyton has started laughing at himself. I look over assuming I did something funny, but he is just in his own little world laughing. He's also super talkative.

My baby is so well behaved. I sometimes forget it's past his bedtimes because although he gets clingy when he is tired, he rarely fusses - especially when there are other people around. I feel like he almost gets slighted because we will finish up where we are at even if it's late because he doesn't fuss - even when he needs his sleep.

He gets excited when Daddy comes home from work, and loves looking over the rail and watch for him.

Peyton is a huge fan of being outside, but he still won't crawl on the grass. He will crawl on sidewalks or concrete but not the grass - guess he would rather sit and eat it. :)

He still hasn't met a stranger. He usually will hold tight to mama when someone reaches for him, but once they take him he is fine. 

He was a puppy for Halloween. Be. Still. My. Heart. 

9 months old... good times