Merry Christmas!!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas!  Ours was wonderful!  Payton was a lot of fun this year.  He was really into having Santa and his reindeer come to his house.  He had been talking about Santa for the entire month of December!  Once while we were shopping for presents we were at Cabellas, a hunting store, and there were deer displayed in and around the store and Payton told me and everyone else who would listen that those were Santas reindeer and they were coming to his house! 

 

We started off the Christmas festivities on Christmas Eve with Justins parents and sister.  They came to our house and we had a big dinner and opened presents.  We had a great time.  The only bad thing was that I completely forgot to get out my camera so I don't have any pictures to share from then.  Christmas morning we celebrated with the 3 of us in the morning and then that afternoon went over to my moms house.  My Grandma is visiting from Florida, so we got to spend Christmas with her as well.  Then on the 26th, I took the day off of work so Payton and I could stay home and play with new toys all day long! 

 

As much as I love Christmas, I was ready for it to be over and to get my house back in order.  We are also glad to have daddy home more and back to working normal hours instead of those crazy holiday hours.  I am looking forward to a happy, healthy and exciting 2008! 

Happy 60th Grandpa Gene and seeing Santa

I am a little behind on my blogs, so I am going to try and recap...

The weekend of the 16th I went to Iowa for a quick trip to see my dad for his birthday.  Happy 60th Birthday Grandpa Gene!!  While I was up there I got to visit with some of my friends and their kids.  Payton stayed here with Justin and while he worked mom watched Payton.  Mom, Lindsey and Kellen took Payton to see a Holiday train that had Santa on it!  Payton loved it!  I will put some pictures in the album section.

Happy Birthday!

Payton turned 3 this week!  My baby is such a big boy now!  We feel so lucky to have such a loving, caring, smart and funny little boy in our lives.  It is so hard to believe that he is already 3 years old.  But on the other hand, it is amazing  to see all of the things he has learned and how much he has changed through those years.  

 

3 months:

 

6 months:

 

18 months:

 

2 years old:

 

3 years old:

 

 

Payton had a fun birthday weekend!  On Saturday my mom and I took him to Union Station and Crown Center to see the holiday train exhibit and lots of Christmas decorations.  Then we ate at the Crayola Cafe.  On Sunday we celebrated his birthday with a Disney Cars themed party.  He had a great time and got lots of thoughtful gifts.  We started the party with a bit of a meltdown, but when you mix a 3 year old with no nap and presents and a cake that he can not have yet, it isn't pretty!  After the meltdown, then he was good to go!  On Monday (his actual birthday) he brought Cars themed cupcakes to school.  That night we took him to Chucky Cheese.  He had a great time there.  There were so many things to do there he couldn't decide what to do first!  He just kept running around he was so excited! 

I have added lots of pictures to the photo album of his birthday weekend. 

 

 

Thanksgiving

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Ours was nice and relaxing.  Mom got to host her first holiday in her new house!  It was nice to have us all together.  It has been five years since we have all been together for Thanksgiving!    After dinner Justin, Kristin, Payton and myself braved the COLD to head down to the Plaza for the lighting ceremony.  This is something that Justin and I have done every Thanksgiving since we lived here.  The pictures below are from the Plaza.  (They are a little blurry, I took them from the warmth of the car!)

 

   

 

We are now preparing for Paytons birthday next week.  It seems impossible that he is going to be 3 already!   We have an appointment this week to get his 3 year pictures done.  Wish me luck, we have yet to have a good experience getting photos taken!

 

3 year checkup

Payton had his 3 year checkup this morning and is doing great!  He weighs 29 1/2 pounds and is 36 3/4 inches tall.  That puts him in the 20th percentile for weight and the 45th percentile for height.   The doctor was not concerned that he is only in the 20th percentile, he said that he is growing steadly.  If you have aver seen his daddy, you know that Payton will probably not ever be very big! 

He is on target if not ahead on all of the developmental targets for a 3 year old. 

And it seems like our new asthma action plan that we got a few months ago is working so far.  It is more proactive then it used to be, but it seems to be helping.  When his asthma does flare up, it doesn't last as long as it used to.  The big test will be this winter though when all of the cold an flu viruses are going around.    But overall, the doctor said he is going great!

Halloween fun!

Payton had a pretty eventful Halloween this year filled with lots of parties!  The week before the actual holiday we went to a party at the day care that Aunt Kristin works at.  Then, that Friday, we had a party for all of the kids at my work.  It is a pretty big event where everyone brings their kids in and they go trick or treating throughout many of the floors in our buildings.  He became instant friends with the daughter of a friend of mine.  Then on Halloween day he had a party and a parade at day care and then that night we went trick or treating!  Payton loves Halloween!  He thinks it is great that he gets candy!  He was completely obsessed with his candy basket.  He would take it to his room and night and just hold on to it while he slept, even though we had hidden all of the candy.  Then on Halloween night, we were on our way home from Grandmas house and he fell asleep with a sucker in each hand!  

 

Payton started the 3-4 year old class at school last week!  It is a month early, but the director and the teachers felt he was ready.  He had been a handful the last couple of weeks and we think it was because he was ready to move up.  There were quite a few kids in his class that had just turned 2, so he was almost a whole year older then them and just getting bored.   This class is more like school.  He will actually have a monthly homework assignment!  Can you believe it, a 3 year old with homework!

 

Pumpkin Patch!

Today we spent the day at the pumpkin patch!  Payton had lots of fun seeing the animals in the petting zoo and going on a hay rack ride.  Then he found just the right pumpkins for our house.

 

Mom is now settled in her new house.  Last weekend all of her stuff from Iowa came and we got her all unpacked.  She is really happy to be all moved in.  It is a really pretty house and I think she feels quite at home in it.   Her house is nice and close to ours.  It is just a short bike ride away.  My Grandma from Florida came up to help mom get the house all spotless before she moved in.  While she was here she showed Payton a few songs on the piano.  He is very interested in it.  He would just stare her her fingers and try to copy what she did.  Now everytime we go there he goes straight for the piano.   I think we may have a future musician in our house!

 

Payton has been doing great.  He has been learning a lot of 'emotion' words at school.   Sometimes when he is just getting over being upset, he will try and hold back the tears and says, "I happy now."  Or, he sometimes says, "I make mommy happy."  It is pretty cute. 

The other new thing he is constantly saying is, "That's my favorite".  He says it for everything!  It can be food, toys, cartoons, anything, they are always his FAVORITE!

Payton loves to be mommy's helper.  I can pretty much make him do anything around the house if I tell him it would be a big help to mommy!  If he doesn't want to pick up his toys, I just say, "It would be a big help to mommy".  Then he does it!   Now if it were only that easy to get Justin to pick up around the house!!!