Canada Trip Day 5: Laughing in the Snow

Peyton laughed today! I have been waiting and waiting to her laugh and she finally did. She only did it a couple of times and wouldn't do it the rest of the day but it is a start! We were playing on the floor with Grandpa and I was telling her that his whiskers were going to come and get her and then I would tickle her checks. It was so cute to hear her laugh!

That day we went out to try and do some errands and also to get out of the house. We first went out to Zellar's (kind of like WalMart but not as good) and picked up some cookbooks that I like and you can only get in Canada. I also picked up some of my Canadian honey that I like. We then wanted to go to mainstreet to look around and went into a couple of stores. We quickly realized though that it was way too cold and also a pain to bundle up a baby and go out and about. My love of snow quickly vanished and I was thankful for my Texas winters. When we got home John and I decided to plow the driveway since the guy who normally does it didn't show up. That cemented my dislike of snow. It was way too much work and it would have made me really mad if it snowed again. Luckily it didn't.

We also took the time to take some pictures of Peyton with the Grandparents and all of us so we wouldn't forget.

Canada Trip Day 4: SNOW

Today we went for a drive around Bracebridge with my Grandparents. It was fun for them to show us all of the different houses they have lived and places my grandfather had worked. I had seen most of them before but it was nice to be reminded of the stories associated with them and the memories that they had.

When we got back from our drive around town, we decided that now was as good as time as any to get Peyton's picture in the snow especially since it was pretty sunny outside so it wasn't too cold. We bundled her up in her snow suit, and then Grandpa dug a seat for her in the snow bank, put a trash bag down on the seat and then placed her in the snow. I quickly took some pictures and then rushed her inside. I am glad we got the picture and she looked adorable!

Later that da it started to snow! John and I were pretty excited so we ran outside and started to take pictures. After about 15 minutes of being outside we decided to head in as my Grandparents neighbors were starting to look outside their window and give us weird looks. What...we don't get snow that often!

That night Peyton had a great time playing with her keys that she got from Grandma Martha for Christmas. She is getting to be much more aware of her toys and how to play with them. It is so much fun to watch her explore and use her fingers. It is great seeing her develop!

The rest of the night was spent cuddling with the grandparents and then having a nice bath. It was another great day and we were so happy to be able to see snow fall...well, until the morning....

Canada Trip Day 3: A Canadian Hurricane?

Today was WINDY! The winds got up to 80 mph! It felt like a hurricane was going on outside. The winds resulted in the power going off and on throughout the day but luckly we had power for most of the day unlike the majority of the province which still didn't have power when we left.

Mostly we hung out at the house and had a nice lazy day. Peyton's Aunt Chrissane came by in the morning and Peyton enjoyed sitting in her lap for most of the morning. Later her Uncle Trent came by to visit as well. Peyton spent much of the day rocking with Great Grandma which was a favorite thing to do on our trip as well as lounging around with me in the same recliner. It was really a nice relaxing day!

Finally, I made dinner tonight, Chipotle Chili, which was a great way to warm up!

This is a picture from the back of my grandparents house! Snow is so pretty!

Canada Trip Day 2: Who are these people?

Today we headed up to see the great grandparents and the rest of the Topping clan!

We packed everything up, got the rental car and away we went. We had to bundle Peyton up in her snow suit to go and get the rental car and she was pretty adorable. I don't think she was too fond of all of the layers but as always was a trooper.

It was raining and very foggy but we will take that over snow/ice anytime. We made it up to Bracebridge without too much commotion...kind of. We headed out from the airport looking for the 400. Since it was so foggy John was driving pretty slow so it seemed like we had gone further than we really had and since it was foggy nothing really looked familiar. We thought we had gone too far so we exited to turn around and when we exited we found a Tim Horton's. I deemed it fate! For those of you who have not been blessed to have visited a Tim Horton's, it is a chain in Canada that serves coffee, donuts and also some lunch food. Pretty much they are known for their donuts and also their Timbits which are essentially donut holes. I love Timbits! I don't like donuts very much but love Timbits! I especially love their brown sugar ones or the chocolate ones! While at Tim Hortons I said to John, "I don't know if I want to become an American." I said this after realizing how much being a Canadian means to me and how I wasn't sure if I wanted to let go of that connection (for more on my dilemma on whether to become an American click here to see a post from October). Anyways, I was trying to have a meaningful discussion about heritage etc and John's response to me was, "What, one trip to Tim Horton's and you are all Canadian again." It was pretty funny! After we left Tim Horton's we continued our journey to find the 400 and after a couple of loops around realized it was the next exit after Tim Horton's. We just hadn't gone far enough!

Once arriving in Bracebridge we realized that they really did have an insane amount of snow. It was kind of crazy! We got to my grandparents and got settled and then Peyton started to receive visitors! First, my cousin Troy and Cory, Cory's girlfriend Katie, my Aunt Candy, and her boyfriend Shawn were all there. Aunt Candy gave Peyton a Christmas present and one of the parts was a Frosty the snowman bear that became a favorite mostly because the carrot nose stick out and is perfect for sucking on. It was great to visit with everyone, catch up and introduce them to Peyton. She was talking away, playing on the floor and putting on a show for everyone. A little later, my Uncle Terry and his wife Christine came by for a visit and then after everyone left. My cousins, Cole (8) and Emma (5) came by. They both thought the baby was pretty interesting and once they got over their initial hesitation wanted to constantly hold her. They both did a great job and Peyton did a good job not getting too upset considering it was past her nap time!

After all of her visitors that day we had a good nap, continued getting settled and were able to spend time with my grandparents. Peyton immediately warmed up to my Grandma (probably because my mom is so much like her which I realized more and more this trip) and was a little wary of Grandpa but by the end of the night was all smiles. John spent part of the evening chipping up ice of the driveway so he got his winter workout in! Then before Peyton went to bed we all played with her on the floor and she did great holding her head up on her tummy. Probably the best she has ever done which I attribute to the fresh Canadian air!

Canada Trip Day 1: Traveling

Today is the day we headed up to Canada! We have been planning and planning for this day and left the house feeling pretty optimistic that we would successfully navigate our first major trip with our new addition. The night before we made sure we had everything, got the car packed and also sat down and talked through the day and what each person's roles would be and what our expectations would be. I HIGHLY suggest talking through the day with each other! It was great to know who was responsible for what and how we would handle things before we got in the situation.

Anyways, we feed Peyton and headed out to the airport around 7:00 AM or so. Our original plan was to park in short term parking, go in and check everything in and then have John go and park the car in one of the economy lots. Well, as we were driving in we realized that the majority of those lots were already full! So, we looked at how much parking would be at the airport and when we looked at the cost we deemed it worth it to just park at the airport and pay the premium. It really wasn't too much of a difference and the convience factor and rain made it a smart move. Peyton was asleep when we arrived so we just put her in the stroller and she continued to nap. We headed into the airport, got checked in, and went through security and everything went great! Peyton woke up as we went through security and proceeded to talk to everyone around her which was pretty cute. We then headed to the gate where we got settled and played with Peyton. She was talking away, playing with her toys and we were all having a blast. I then decided to feed her before we could board and then we were off to get on the plan. It worked out well feeding her when I did because as soon as we boarded and got settled, she was out and slept the entire flight which meant she went an extra hour between feedings! She had a little bit of an uncomfortable face taking off and landing but took the pacifier and never woke up.

Once we landed we waited until everyone left the plane so we had room to bundle Peyton up (when you land in Toronto since you are on a small plane you have to get off and go down the stairs and walk outside to the terminal) and then we headed into the terminal. It wasn't too cold when we arrived but it was not Texas weather! Since Peyton was overdue for a feeding we found a chair, feed her and changed her and then headed to customs. We went got through customs fine, got our bags and then headed into the airport. We had decided a couple of weeks ago that we would stay at the airport hotel that night so we could rest and regroup prior to making the three hour drive to my grandparents. We figured that we would all be tired and it might be too much to continue and since it would be dark when we left the airport we didn't want to drive in the dark especially since it might have been snowing. Staying the night was one of the best things we could have done and we highly suggest to break up your trip so you aren't going all day.

When we got to the hotel Peyton sat up on the bed and started talking away. It was adorable! We continued to play until she had to eat and then we went into the airport to get some lunch/dinner. Afterwards we all hung out in our room, watched a movied, played, had bath time and really just had a great time as a family. Also, today we realized that Peyton has been playing with her hands more. She has been bringing them together and playing with her fingers. It is pretty cool!

As we were playing with Peyton I was thinking how that day was one of the best ones we have had as a family and it was on our first trip! How funny! But the more I thought about it, I realized that sitting in that hotel room we were able to just relax and be parents, not think about what needed to get done around the house or what we needed to do the next day etc. but instead sit down and enjoy our little girl. I hope that now we continue to be in the moment even when we are at home.

Overall a wonderful day and we couldn't have asked for better!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! What a wonderful day! I love the Christmas season and feel so blessed to be able to start sharing that with Peyton! This has been a wonderful first Christmas full of many memories! Yesterday we had John's mom and brother, Ron over for a Christmas Eve lunch before heading to church. Following church we made it over to my parents with the whole gang for snacks and games! It was a great time of fellowship with both families. We ended the night with the traditional reading of the Christmas story, the Night Before Christmas and writing Santa his note. We then headed home and Peyton went to bed to wait for Santa. We woke up this morning at our house and started unwrapping presents. Santa was very good to Peyton this year and mommy and daddy did pretty well as well. You can see some pictures of our day by clicking here but here are some of the highlights. Daddy liked his air compressor with nail gun. I was also informed by Ron that no man's garage is truly complete without one...how did John survive this long?

Then John pulled a sneaky little trick on me...I opened the one gift that I had under the tree that was in a pretty small box (immediately thought jewelery) and found an 8 GB Memory Card...what?

Then Ron came out with another box which based on its size I know was the Cannon Rebel XS SLR camera that I really wanted but really didn't expect to get. I was pretty excited and have spent the day starting to learn how to use it. One of my New Year's resolutions is to develop my desire to do photography. I have always wanted to develop that hobby and never made the time. I have found some classes that I was to take and am planning on taking the first one in February.

We finished up the morning with breakfast at our house and then packed up for a second Christmas at my parents house. We were greeted with more presents from Santa! Peyton was asleep for most of this Christmas celebration despite my planning but she gave me power of attorney to open her presents. Between both celebrations she made out like a bandit and her parents did pretty well as well. She woke up towards the end which was the grande finale...

My dad had a card and small box at the end to give to my mom (John and I knew the gift as it had been at our house since yesterday) but no one else knew. You can see the sequence of events by clicking here but here is a description. She started reading the nice thoughtful card, then opened the little box, had a look of shock on her face and then cried because she had the keys to her 2008 Infiniti G37s! She had been looking for a car and thought that they Here is her posing with her new ride.

We finished today off with a wonderful Christmas dinner. We will be heading home soon to finish getting ready for Canada and then we are out early tomorrow. Hope everyone has a great Christmas. We are so blessed to have such a loving God who would send us his only son to die for our sins so we could have a relationship with him. How beautiful that is!

By the way...we won't have internet in Canada so I will not be updating until we get back on the 31st.

Down to the wire...

Today we went out shopping with my dad. He always leaves his shopping to the last minute and goes out on Christmas Eve but this year he decided to get it done early...on the 23rd. So to make sure he was on the right track buying gifts for my mom he brought all his girls along including Peyton. It was tons of fun shopping with everyone and as always Peyton was wonderful! She is so easy going and just had a great time in her stroller with her moose, had a nap and then ate at Starbucks (I made her pass on coffee and stick with milk). Before we left my mom's we had a little clothing change due to a seriously dirty diaper and my mom took this picture of her. How cute is she!

5 days until Canada...

Yes, I know that Christmas is in 4 days and we are not skipping that at our house but I feel like a trip on an airplane to another country involves more planning than Christmas. I am prepared for Christmas, not so much for our trip.

So here are our plans, we are leaving on the 26th, our flight leaves at 10:00 AM from IAH and arriving in Toronto. We decided to stay at a hotel near the airport that night so we are not rushed and also not driving in the dark with mounds of snow (us Texas drivers don't really have snow experience). The next morning we will be getting up and driving to Bracebridge to see the great grandparents. We then head home on the 31st getting into Houston around 8:00 PM. 

Step one in trip preparation is to make sure you pack clothes appropriate for the weather. I

knew it would be cold so we have been getting Peyton warm clothes for the past month or so. But we checked the weather today to see what the snow was going to do and here it is...14 degrees Fahrenheit and feels like 3 degrees with light snow! Oh my...we are going to freeze! If you would like to see what it looks like in Bracebridge, here is a live webcam.

Step two is what we are working on today, pulling down suitcases and starting to pack. I wanted to start today so we had three days to get it done and not have to deal with it on Christmas eve or Christmas day. We are planning on taking the following: two suitcases, a pack n'play, a stroller, a car seat, a diaper bag and one other carryon. Hopefully we can fit everything because I am not sure how we can carry anymore or afford anymore in excess baggage.

Only other thing we are trying to sort out before we leave is what stroller to bring. I got a nice umbrella type stroller that reclines slightly that we put Peyton in yesterday to see how she did. Since she is sitting up assisted pretty well I thought it would work out. She looked comfortable and happy but I am not sure if it is a good fit for our trip. Her travel combination stroller on the other hand works great but is pretty big and will take up a large amount of room in the rental car. So we will be thinking about that. We did take some pictures of Peyton hanging out in her new stroller. She thought it was pretty fun and enjoyed sitting up some.

Grandpa's Home for Christmas

Grandpa Hill is back in town! Peyton thinks he is pretty cool and he is having fun with her! It is fun to see her interacting with him and he is having fun since she is so much more alert. We had dinner over at their house yesterday and she wore her Santa shirt in honor of Grandpa since he loves Christmas so much.I am so happy he is back home and can't wait until he is finished with his job in Baku and can be back here. 

Sugar Cookies and Presents

I realized today that I forgot to blog about Peyton's day on Sunday...and there are some other things from today that I wanted to blog about as well.

Well, she started out by wearing her moccasins because her feet were a little chilly. These were a gift from Aunt Shannon and are pretty cute and according to Aunt Ashley and Grandma are her werewolf feet...

Well, that afternoon we went over to Grandma's house to take part in our family tradition of icing sugar cookies. Like every year, Grandma makes way too many and about 1/2 way through

we all start complaining and eating the cookies pre-icing but also every year we look forward to the creativity, the competitions and spending time as a family. Peyton joined in the fun and even had a little bit of cookie to go along with her milk. She tried to be sneaky and hid it but the green icing gave it away. She really had a great time and was talking away at us and would really examine the cookies when I showed them to her. She is getting so curious and investigating things with such intent.

Well, today the Christmas fun continued for Peyton as she got her first package from the UPS truck! It was pretty crazy to open the door and see a package addressed to "Peyton Acord." Well, Megan and Jason sent her a Christmas gift and we allowed her to open it up. It was a Fisher Price Noah's Ark set and is incredibly adorable! It comes with a couple of sets of animals, Noah and the Ark. The best part is that she could play/hold/eat the animals now and then when she gets to be older can really use the ark and still play with it. Here is Peyton examining her new gift....

Finally, today I realized what an amazing Barnabas I have in my life. What are you may be asking...well, for some background, one of the blogs I read is written by a girl that I went to high school with. We were not really friends but mostly acquaintances and knew each other through friends but as I read her blog and learn more about her heart for her family and the Lord, I kind of wish we were friends. Anyways, in an entry titled Paul, Timothy and Barnabas she explores relationships in the New Testament and how certain people in your life mirror the type of people Paul, Timothy and Barnabas were. Well, long story kind of short, I realized today that my Barnabas is my friend Diane. She is my friend, my buddy and someone who is always there for me, always helping. We support each other, challenge each other, hold each other accountable and speak truth to each other even when that is the last thing we might want to hear. Yesterday as she called me on my 1.5-2 hour drive home just to say hi and catch up and instead she got me unloading all of my frustrations and emotions on her and what was her response, to remind me that God has a plan and then to offer to bring me dinner today. She is busy, she has her own worries but when I needed her most she was there and brought me Lupe Tortilla. I thank God for my Barnabas.

Have a happy Friday everyone!