The Dugas' Visit!

This past weekend, our friends Tony and Angela and their son, Oliver, stopped by for a visit. They live in Madison, Wisconsin, and planned a fantastic road trip West to visit friends and family along the way! We were very happy to be on their list of stops. :-)

Ollie had fun lining up some balls on the patio table while the adults chatted.



To celebrate Tony's birthday, we drove up to Thomas Fogarty Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains and enjoyed a tasting.



I watched Ollie play games on Angela's phone and got to play some too.



We walked around the winery and I got to get a picture with my birthday twin (we were born on the exact same day, Angela is literally about 10 hours older than me).



It was a warm, but hazy day in Silicon Valley that day. You can barely make out San Francisco in the haze (you can see it on a clear day).

Peyton doesn't really like to sit in the car for very long, so I took him to my Mom's for the afternoon. When he got home, he got to play with our guests!

He and Tony having some fun:

The next morning, Ollie had fun emptying Peyton's toy catch-all and lining up all the toys.

Then he and Peyton had fun in the now-empty catch-all.

More fun!

We loved seeing the Dugas' and can't wait to see them again!

Dancing

Posing for the Camera

Peyton recently started smiling for the camera. As you can see, he REALLY smiles. Well, you can see all six of his teeth now. :-)

Grandma and Grandpa Stafford's Visit

James' parents came out to spend a week with us in early June. We had a fun-filled week with them!

On Saturday, we went up to the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County for wine tasting. Our last stop was Arista winery which had such beautiful grounds.

The tasting room:



A view of the vineyards:



Although it was quite foggy that morning, by the afternoon, the skies cleared up making for a nice view of San Francisco while approaching the Golden Gate Bridge.



As there was a lot of traffic, we decided to drive down the coast. It's just a prettier view. :-)



Peyton absolutely loves Grandma Barbara (and she adores him)!

My parents came over for a dinner to spend time with Mom and Dad Stafford. It gave me an opportunity to get pictures of Peyton with his grandfathers....

and grandmothers!

Mom and Dad had a ton of fun playing with Peyton. I couldn't resist filming this tickle fest!



I wish I could bottle that laugh!

Thank you so much for making the trip Mom and Dad; we love you soooooo much!

Swim Class with Dad (New School)

James' parents flew out from Pittsburgh at the beginning of the month to spend 8 days with us. James was able to take the day off on their first full day in town which finally gave him the opportunity to go to Peyton's new swim school and participate in the class!



They certainly had some fun before the class started.





When it was time for the class to start, they got in the pool and met the substitute teacher for the week.



Peyton enjoyed showing Daddy how he "swims".

The substitute added a new element to the class - sliding into the pool! Peyton loves sliding.

Peyton's favorite activity in swim class is the toy swim (he grabs a toy from the ledge, then "swims" it to the teacher and throws it in her bucket).

For the past month, Peyton has started to play when he's supposed to crawl across the mat... Though he's not supposed to do this, it sure is funny to watch!

Our Little Soccer Player

We've got a future futbolista (soccer player) at home! With the World Cup matches constantly on, I guess Peyton has been paying attention.

And yes, that is the Brazilian uniform - I couldn't resist at the local SoccerPro store... Alas, he'll never be able to play for Brazil. :-(

Breakfast 'Al Fresco'

This morning, I had a really difficult time feeding Peyton breakfast inside. As it was a beautiful day, we moved outside to the deck!



Peyton was so happy playing in his high chair outside.



And, success! He ate all his breakfast too. :-)



The things we do to get our kids to eat....

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!