Peyton: Stair Master!

Last Friday, as we were getting ready for swim class, I had to run upstairs to grab Peyton's after-swim clothes. I guess the gate didn't close behind me, but this doesn't usually bother me, as Peyton just runs up to the gate and pushes it closed.

Well, Friday was different. I heard him at the bottom of the stairs gate and then I heard nothing. I thought that he got bored and went back into the living room to read some books. I came downstairs and found him on the FIFTH step! He was climbing the stairs!!! Needless to say, I dropped everything I had in my hands and rushed down and scooped him up.

When James got home, I showed him Peyton's new skill. We've been letting him climb all weekend. He doesn't know how to go down yet, so we stay very close to him.

Here's a video we just shot this morning showing our little climber.

I really wasn't expecting Peyton to figure out how to do this on his own. My, my, my!

Walking!

As I mentioned in my 12-month post, Peyton started taking steps about 6 weeks ago. Last week, he actually started walking short distances (say, from one side of our couch to the other). Each day, he goes longer and longer and tries walking more and more.

Here's a video I finally was able to shoot on Tuesday (the camera was never right where I needed it before). I caught the second half of his walk from the far side of the couch into the dining room, with Dad right behind him in case he fell.

We're so proud!

Peyton and the Balloon

Peyton got to play with one of the balloons from his party yesterday. He loves it!

Peyton's First Birthday Party

We had Peyton's birthday party at Stafford Park in Redwood City yesterday. We chose it because it's a beautiful park, not because it shares our name...

Peyton enjoyed seeing and meeting our friends. While I was talking to Sandra and Jim, Peyton was looking at Daddy.



James was the host with the most yesterday. He prepped and cooked all the food, even grilling burgers to order! My hero!



Our friends the Gumberts and Rinaldis chatting.



My Mom and Dad enjoyed themselves (there was another party in the grass next to us).



We ordered cupcakes from the Love Bites Bakeshop. I've tasted quite a few cupcakes, but these are the BEST. Better than Kara's Cupcakes and WAY better than Sprinkles. We first tasted these cupcakes at Dominic's birthday party in March and I knew that I had to get them for Peyton's. Kathryn was a dream to work with (she bakes out of her home) and is a true professional! We ordered three dozen: Carrot.

Snickerdoodle (I think these are my new favorites).

And Peanut Butter Cup (James' original favorite, he now likes the Snickerdoodle ones best). I now need an excuse to order cupcakes at least once a month. Cupcake of the Month club anyone?

Everyone grabbed a cupcake and sang Happy Birthday. (Jenni and Jim brought their dog Pico - he was a huge hit with the kids!)

Peyton wasn't sure what was going on, but he really liked all the singing!

Dominic was eyeing the cupcake boxes, waiting patiently.

The patience paid off - he got to taste a Snickerdoodle cupcake with Mom and Dad!

Peyton was pretty tired after the party (he refused to nap yesterday), so I took a picture of him with a leftover Snickerdoodle cupcake this morning. He manged to scoop some frosting off and played with it.

I kept the cupcake as far as possible on the highchair table and he tried his very best to get it.

Sadly for him, I didn't let him taste the cupcake (Mommy's breakfast!), but I figured I would let him look at it. :-)

We'll be opening presents tonight. Peyton was just too tired to open them after the party yesterday (he was asleep within an hour of getting home).

Peyton is ONE!

Well, my baby is technically a toddler now, I suppose!

Yesterday, Peyton turned ONE! James and I cannot believe how quickly the past year has flown by.

Peyton is such a fun little boy! He loves to play and sing and dance. And while he knows how to stack things, he prefers to tear things apart: stacked blocks, the classic Fisher-Price stacked rings, everything!

He's eating meat, fish, and chicken now too. Now that it's Spring, peas are in season. As I have time, Peyton and I had fun tasting different varieties of fresh peas. His order of preference: snap peas, English peas, and snow peas. I'm still cooking all of his food using organic fruits, vegetables, and meats (grass fed steak, home ground; organic air-chilled chicken breasts; fresh-caught Petrale sole). This kid eats better than us! And, I started introducing cow's milk, which he didn't refuse. So things are great!

We took Peyton in for his 12-month checkup with Dr. Glinder this morning. Dr. Glinder continues to be thrilled with Peyton's development. As he walked in, Peyton was standing on the examination table with one arm leaning against James (to hold himself up). Dr. Glinder was amazed because he said he doesn't often see many one-year olds who are able to do that. :-)

Peyton is taking a couple steps here and there but hasn't mastered the art of walking just yet. He can go very short distances as long as he knows there's something waiting for him on which he can hold. That's A-OK with me as it's hard enough to chase him around the house as he's a very speedy crawler. He can crawl from the front door to the kitchen in about 25 seconds. He definitely keeps me on my toes!

Here are his 12-month stats:

Height: 29 inches, 25th percentile
Weight: 22 pounds, 11.5 ounces, 50th percentile
Head Circumference: 46.5 centimeters, 54th percentile

And just a few pictures of my little man!

Mama and Papa are Home!

My parents spent five weeks in South America and returned last week! Five weeks is a long time, but after a couple of days, Peyton was just as in love with his "Papa" (my Dad) as before. I swear that besides me and James, my Dad is Peyton's absolute favorite person in the world!

My parents came over on Monday afternoon for a visit and my Dad picked up Peyton to give him a hello hug. Peyton stayed in his arms for 15 minutes! These days, anyone is lucky to hold him for 2 minutes....







Sitting with Mama and Papa. Yes, he calls my Mom Mama. He calls me Mama, Mamama, Mommy. I have many names. :-)

Standing

Peyton has been practicing standing on his own a lot recently. I managed to grab the camera after he was standing for about 10 seconds.



One minute later...



And then, it was over!