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!

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).