Peyton's First Superbowl

Superbowl Sunday was exciting for us. From the beginning of the season, James and I both said that if the Colts weren't in the Superbowl, then we wanted the Saints to win. So, to have both teams make it to the Superbowl made for an interesting game. :-)

Of course, James is grooming Peyton to follow in his footsteps as a Colts fan, thus dressing him "appropriately" for the game.



Peyton is still really enjoying playing with the coasters, and we thought it would be fitting to let him play with the Peyton coaster.



We were invited to our neighbor's annual Superbowl party. It's always great fun, and this year the majority of the attendees were rooting for the Saints.



We had a great time! Peyton has definitely started having separation anxiety and is quite clingy when around strangers, so I spent most of the time with him in my arms.



Everyone was in good spirits when the Saints took the lead.

The Colts fans were still in good spirits after the game. We got a family picture.

And even though the Colts didn't win, we were very happy for the New Orleans Saints and the amazing season they had. It was wonderful for the city of New Orleans, the inhabitants of which were still in need of something good. Who Dat! :-)

Swim Classes

Yesterday was Peyton's first Waterbabies class. At long last, our little bath splasher got to go into a big pool with Mommy and other kids. The Waterbabies class isn't so much of a structured swim class, as it is a 30-minute class with toys and songs and activities. Depending on the child's level and comfort in the water (and age), some kids start swimming during this class. But, as Peyton is only 8-1/2 months old, he couldn't grasp the concept of kicking.

The teacher gave each child a toy at the beginning of class.



Of course, Peyton started eyeing another child's toy...



He took an interest in the water.



Splashing!



More splashing!

We played the hokey pokey (Peyton was more interested in his frog).

His interest grew when we got to his feet.

He liked watching the other kids.

He really likes his feet. :-)

More hokey pokey.

The pool requires that all babies wear a disposable waterproof diaper with a reusable swimming diaper cover.

We got to play "London Bridge".

The teacher was really sweet. Peyton is starting to have separation anxiety so he didn't really like her holding him.

After we quickly dunked him under (which he didn't like very much), we went over to the edge where he got to play with the toys again. Look at his long eyelashes!

We spent most of the time singing songs.

He likes it when I sing to him.

While the other kids moved on to kicking (the next three youngest kids are 13-months old), I kept Peyton at the edge with the toys. He wasn't really enjoying being in the center of the pool with the other kids.

He's really good at picking things up now.

My parents came with me to yesterday's class, as the other boy they care for went up to Tahoe for the weekend. Unfortunately, there won't be any more pictures during future classes. The camera proved to be a distraction for all the kids.

Peyton is 8 Months Old!

On his Aunt Tracey's birthday, Peyton turned 8 months old! Happy Birthday Tracey!

I must apologize for the lapse in posts (I've backfilled some posts for the past couple of weeks). The past month has been a bit crazy now that Peyton is crawling. He can really zip around.

Two weeks ago, Peyton mastered the art of standing up! He likes to crawl over to the entertainment center (with the mysterious shelves full of stuff that is trapped behind impenetrable doors - glass).



As you can see, he spends a lot of time here.



He still really loves to play with James' work badge (which we've affectionately named "Badgie").



Ruh, roh - he seems something that prompts him to climb up (but he can't).



He really enjoys playing with his activity center. He loves all the music, as well as the English and Spanish language sounds.

Another of his favorite things to do these days is sit by the floor register and wait for the warm air to blow up at him. While he waits, he likes to read books and play with his other toys.

I saved the biggest news for last - Peyton is showing signs of walking! Shortly after he started standing up, he started taking small steps.

And, here you'll see that he's getting close to standing up without support.

His language skills are really advancing as well.

So, as you can see, we've been staying pretty busy around here!

We go back to the doctor next month but for now, we're estimating his weight at about 20-21 pounds and his height at about 26 inches.

Babyproofing

Now that Peyton is really getting around - he can crawl across the living room floor in less than 10 seconds, we continued the babyproofing by installing outlet protectors and door guards for our floor cabinets.

The outlet protectors are really neat. They are twist-and-turn cover plates that fit directly over your existing outlet (including the plate) - you just have to replace the screws with the longer ones that come with them. As you can see in the picture below, the unused outlet is now at an angle - well, the plate is at an angle - you plug your plug in and twist it to fit normally into the real plug (as demonstrated by the top plug).



In the kitchen, we installed these cabinet door guards. You push in a button on one side and then push up from the bottom in order to open them.



Peyton tried, but couldn't get into the cabinet. Though, he didn't show any interest in the cabinets, untill we put in the guards. Hmmmm.....

Karen!

Peyton got to meet my beautiful guardian angel Karen over the Christmas break. Karen, Tim, and their twin 5-year old sons, Patrick and Adam - aka the "twinado" - came up from San Diego to visit Karen's parents.

Peyton LOVES his auntie Karen (and she loves him back).



The boys were staying busy with a giant floor puzzle.

Tim was in the kitchen making a super yummy veggie lasagna. Thanks for a great night!!

Go U Northwestern!! (Boo Hoo)

We spent New Year's morning watching Northwestern play in the Outback Bowl. To celebrate, I put Peyton in his Northwestern t-shirt from my good friend Erik.

Purple suits him well!



Peyton enjoyed playing with his activity table while we watched.



A full shot in the t-shirt (it's a size 2T, which is why it looks so big!).



NU took the game into OT; we all got quite excited.



Sadly, after four hours (marathon game!), Northwestern botched a trick play and lost 38-35. :-(

Happy New Year everybody!!

Opening Presents

Christmas morning began with opening all the wonderful presents we received for Peyton's first Christmas. We are truly grateful to everyone who thought of us this holiday season! Here are the highlights from all the present opening fun.

Peyton had been eyeing the presents all week, and enjoyed touching the wrapping paper, so now he finally got to hold a present and rip, rip, rip away!



A wonderful outfit from his Aunt Tracey and Uncle Dave.



Our friends Mark and Trish sent a beautiful pewter personalized ornament and a super snuggly outfit.



Peyton enjoying his gift from his cousin Lisa (Matthew and Kathryn's daughter). He loves books!



A Wisconsin Badgers outfit from Angela and Tony!

Peyton really loved the personalized Christmas ornament from my friend Tracy and her daughter Ava.

We held off from opening the BIG box from Grandma Barb and Grandpa Jim. Peyton took his time playing with the ribbon, then ripping off the wrapping paper, and then we had to open the box for him.

Look at all the goodies from Grandma and Grandpa (including a very soft MONKEY for our little monkey).

But wait, there's more! The rest of the goodies from the big box!

And finally, we opened the gifts from Shirley and Patrick - including swimming pants (to cover his diaper).

Peyton loved all his presents so much, and James got to have some fun with OUR present - he stuck a little bow on Peyton's head. :-)

Our little cutie!