Thanks

Thank you for every one's prayers. They have helped and yesterday was a better day (only one tantrum at Target) which was encouraging!

I have a post coming later tonight or tomorrow on our backyard landscaping project...John finished phase 2 of 3 last night and I am so excited!

S-P-O-I-L-E-D

My daughter has become spoiled. Every book I read up to her arrival said you can't spoil a baby in their early months and to meet their needs to build trust and a bunch of other positive things...well somehow I have spoiled my child and have gone against every theory that I read.

Peyton doesn't like the bottle anymore and refuses (screaming and shaking) until I appear. She knows that mommy will feed her and if mommy isn't there that someone will call her and get her there soon. This has resulted in me missing the Rodeo and pretty much being tied down to being around her at all times. How am I ever going to wean her from breastfeeding...which was the goal in about two months from now? RIDICULOUS!

For awhile now Peyton will cry when she doesn't get her way. You are carrying in her into a store and as soon as you go to put her back in her car seat...she cries. You take something away from her that she wants to play with...she gets fussy. You change her diaper and she wanted to keep playing and she gets cranky. Again RIDICULOUS!

Peyton wants to be picked up or moved from somewhere and you aren't moving fast enough she screams at you. You are not paying attention to her when she wanted attention at that moment she screams. She is getting a little sleepy although it isn't close to her nap she will scream at you. What the heck?

Finally, after months of sleeping consistently throughout the night Peyton has realized that we exist when she doesn't see us and the quickest way to get some company or a snack is to cry uncontrollably at precisely 11:00 PM about 2.5 hours after she is asleep.

At first she did wake up one night several times and it came after a couple of days of congestion and coughing so I quickly used my motherhood medical degree and decided it was an ear infection. A trip to the pediatrician confirmed my diagnosis and we started the troublesome antibiotics (troublesome because she no longer takes a bottle which was the best way to get in her, the doctor suggestion of mixing it with baby food was nixed because wait...Peyton still thinks she is going to gag and die if she swallows any food and the juice in a sippy cup wouldn't work because we are still working on getting in our mouth and swallowing instead of soaking ourselves short of a wet t-shirt contest).

Well, she is on the antibiotics and still the past two nights have woken up promptly at 11:00 PM...maybe she is hungry...feed her and she still cries...it must be teething...right...well, until tonight where for the third night in a row she cried at 11:00 PM and it dawned on me that it might be teething but really...the same time every night she gets pain? Or is this an extension of our spoiled little baby and she just wants some attention? Because I don't know what it really is and I don't want to ignore her if she is in pain...we are still going in, patting her, giving her a kiss and then leaving. Tonight I had John only go into comfort her (helps if she doesn't see the milk lady to convince her she isn't hungry) and after only crying for 15 minutes...I am leaning towards she just wants to play theory.

Forget terrible two's I feel like we are having the terrible six month stage. She is really, really wearing me out. I feel like I never know what she needs anymore, she is always mad at me, that I don't know what to do or when to do things and that overall I am pretty much doing everything wrong. I know this is a common feeling of motherhood and that I will feel this way many times in the future and I know that this too shall pass but until it does...I need some prayer for some strength and patience.

The Houston Zoo

Part of me handling the money/budget was me implementing family outings that appear as a reoccurring bill every five weeks. This week was our first scheduled family outing! We were going to go the rodeo but heard that since it was the last weekend, that the majority of the animals had already left. Boo! Well, one place that you are pretty much guaranteed animals is the Zoo! So, it was a beautiful day out and we headed down there as a family for our first ever family outing (trips to Target don't count).


After navigating crazy traffic (what you get for going during Spring Break) around the zoo/medical center area we finally found some parking and had a great time. If anything this trip was great practice on us practicing communication and being sweet to each other in stressful family outings. We did very well and made it to a parking spot without any arguments. When we finally got into the zoo, made sure everyone had a second layer of sunscreen on and hats/shades...we went straight to big animals because Peyton was awake and I was hoping that she could at least see something and I figured the bigger the easier. We visited the giraffes and elephants and Peyton found that the fence and flowers were so much more interesting I don't think she even looked up! Funny girl!


She really didn't find or notice much of the animals but was very interested in looking at all of the people, flowers, trees and the different sounds. It was good to see her so interested in her surroundings and it was such a beautiful day you almost had to be outside. We went around to some more animals and then stopped to feed Peyton. After she ate she played on the grass and that was probably the highlight of her visit. If we had known that we could have just gone over to Granny's house! She thought it was fascinating how she could feel it and then pull it out of the ground.

We finished up our mini picnic and made it to the tigers and she actually looked at him. We were leaving the zoo when I saw the carousel so Peyton and I went on that and she was squealing with excitement! It was her first ride ever! So much fun to see her excitement and amazement! Don't worry she only sat on the camel for a second...the majority of the ride was safely on the stationary bench!

It was a great day at the Zoo followed by a wonderful evening catching up with some college friends (Elyse and Collin) over BBQ and watching some basketball (booo....the Horns lost). They graciously drove down to see us so we could let Peyton sleep and not have to be taken out again after her busy day.

A wonderful day filled with many memories and I am looking forward to many, many more family outings!

And this post could not be complete with a trip down memory lane...here is a picture from one of our early dates (I think it was our second or third date) when we went to the zoo. This was about five and a half years ago (7.26.03)...oh, how times have changed!

Spring is Here

Time to get serious

I have been fortunate to have been able to lose all of my pregnancy weight by watching what I have been eating (cutting out dairy really helped...thanks Peyton), breast feeding, walking, carrying around a 17 lb baby and all of her stuff and honestly....luck. But as any woman who has had a baby will tell you...even though the scale says I am the same weight pre-baby...things do not look the same at all. I am not sure where this weight has come off from because there are some areas that still have some significant weight in my opinion.

Anyways...my hope was to start running again and that would help tone things up. I got a jogging stroller for my birthday in October and so far it has become a nice walking stroller and another object to clutter up our garage. I don't know why it has been so hard to run but it has. Every time I start I feel like my chest is about to explode and my legs are going to fall off. So...it is a little discouraging and I tend to stop pretty early on.

Then I looked into Yoga classes. I figured this would be a great way to get a low impact work out in and also help me relax. I took one class at a studio I found and it was good but it was $15 a class. Well, take a class a week and you are paying around $60...there has to be a cheaper option (besides the free running).

So, I went to LA Fitness (a gym by us) and looked into memberships. It was only $29.99 a month with no contract! Great thing about this is that they have Yoga, other classes, weights and typical gym equipment and even better....A POOL! I love swimming and used to swim at least once a week or so for exercises/fun when I was at the University of Texas! So on Tuesday night for the first time in my life...I joined a gym. When you sign up they offer a free health assessment/training program set up with a trainer so I have that tonight. I am a little nervous because I know I am out of shape and also because I really hate gyms. Yes, I joined a gym and I hate gyms...makes no sense. Well, I don't hate all of the gym...I like classes, swimming, some of the cardio equipment...what I hate is the weights. I don't know how to use them, I feel self conscious and I hate all of the macho muscle guys that are all around them. I know it is bad to stereotype but you know what I am talking about. Anyways, I am meeting with the personal trainer tonight and am going to emphatically state that I do some weights but if he makes a plan that is weight heavy I will quit!

Overall I am excited and nervous. I want to get back to exercising and have more energy, feel stronger and just feel healthy. I have always told John, I would be happy with they way by body is right now if I knew that I was working out and in shape. I don't care how I look if I know that I am strong and healthy. My goal is to make it to the gym at a minimum 3 times a week and start running or walking twice a week. Ultimately I would like to do another half marathon either in October (Koala/Lukes Locker) or November (San Antonio...never done that one before) or December (White Rock...would like to beat my time) or finally January (Houston).

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Time to get crafty

The other day I went out and bought Peyton some bows. I have been wanting to make her more girly but just didn't make the effort to go out and buy any bows. Well, when I saw that they were around $5.50-6.00 and up a bow, I realized why I didn't do this before. Either way...I wanted one for Easter/Spring and then one for her St. Patty's Day play date today. This is what I bought....the green one is just a green bow that I added a button on.

So, later that day as we were doing errands I realized...it can't be that hard to make your own bows. I came to that realization conveniently enough while I was at Hobby Lobby. I got some ribbon and barrettes there and then more supplies at Michaels later and found random ribbon around our house from wedding crafts and now have an abundance of ribbon, alligator clips, barrettes, glue and fray check and several websites with instructions.



Stay tuned to see how crafty I can hopefully be...otherwise we will be stuck paying $6 for a bow or Peyton will continue to be bow-less.

Finally Finished....Master Bedroom

The master bedroom has been 90% done for a while but I didn't want to post any pictures because the 10% that was still needing to be done was the headboard. We finally finished that up last night and here is our newly decorated master bedroom...

Before....

After...

Rollin' with the Baby

So, yesterday Peyton had her 6 month check up and received three vaccinations. In the past she has been a little cranky but nothing too bad. Well, yesterday it took a toll on her and she was not happy!

When we were at the doctor's office she started crying during the exam which is not like her but I think it was because she was cold...it was cold outside, pediatrician keeps the office like a freezer, Peyton had to have her clothes off, the blanket was not providing enough warmth and the examination table was next to a window...I would be ticked off as well. After the examination she had her vaccinations which hurt and made her cry but unlike before she never really calmed down and was fussy until we got home. 

When we got home I put her in her bed since she was sleepy and it was supposed to be nap time and as soon as I put her down she started screaming. Not cute I want to play screams...more like turning red, clinching her fist and real tear screaming. I couldn't get her to calm down so I just went ahead and fed her. She was happy again and then we all played for a little bit. No big deal. After watching some Baby Einstein she was getting sleepy again (typically sleepy signals - yawning..rubbing her ears) so we headed towards her room and again as soon as we put her down...she started screaming. We picked her up, sang songs, walked the house, tried the swing...nothing. So we resorted to something that in the six months she has been here we haven't done....we decided to pack her up in the car and do some driving. We drove to the bank, to Starbucks, around Tuscan Lakes, around South Shore Harbour and finally we made it home with a well rested baby. 

So, the rest of the afternoon and evening went well but it then came time for the dreaded nap. This time Granny was over to see her and she thought that maybe she would have better luck crossing the threshold of doom into Peyton's room. Well, she didn't...and quickly retreated back to mommy and said, "Good Luck." We decided that maybe the best thing would be for a second drive so we packed it up and drove for 90 minutes around the League City area checking out subdivisions that we had never been to and making a trip to Whataburger for some milkshakes. 

When we got home, Peyton was finally her cute and happy self. She ate and then went to sleep. I sent a text message to my mom telling her that all was well finally and as soon as we were heading towards bed around 9:30 PM the monitor lights turned red. Not one light of red...all six or so were solid red! She was awake and angry! I couldn't calm her down so I thought maybe we could bring her to our bed and that would help. Well, kind of...she grabbed at daddy's lip when he was humming at her and then pulled mommy's hair for no reason. After about two hours of moving and being fussy she was asleep...for 40 minutes. She would then wake up screaming, I would get her to sleep and then she would wake up 40 minutes later. This went on until about 3:30 AM. At that time I picked her up and tried to enter her room. We made it past the door and towards the crib and I rocked her until she was out and then I put her in bed around 4:30 AM. Finally she was asleep and slept until 10:00 AM!

So far today she is a whole lot better, a little fussy at nap time but nothing like last night! I am starting to think that her teeth might be coming because one thing that calmed her down last night was if I rubbed her pacifier on her gums. 

All I can say is thank the Lord that she is normally not like this and to those moms who do have fussy babies...God bless you. I can handle nights like this because they only come every once in awhile and are very few and far between.

6 Month Check Up

Peyton had her six month check up today and is a growing girl! 

Here are her stats and percentiles:

Height: 27 inches (92%)

Weight: 16 lbs 14.5 ounces (60%)

Head Circumference: 17 inches (64%)

She is going to be tall and skinny little girl! I can't believe how tall she is and how much she has gained since she was born...a little over 10 lbs in six months! Everything else checked out well and she is healthy and growing! 

No Bottles....

Peyton has decided that bottles are no longer acceptable and that she will only eat from the real thing. Are you kidding me? Unfortunately not. She started this when she spent the night at Granny's however she cried herself to sleep and then when she woke up and I wasn't there she gave in and took the bottle. We were hoping it was a one time thing however we realized yesterday that it was not.

I went over to a friend's house yesterday to watch her little girl so she could get her house together (they just moved back into their house after damage from Hurricane Ike about six months ago). My mom agreed to watch Peyton so I wouldn't be too crazy with two babies and I left a bottle for her. Well, around 3:00 PM I get a call that Peyton is screaming crying and refusing the bottle. I headed over there to feed Peyton and when I got there saw a red eyed grumpy little girl. I tried giving her the bottle myself and more screaming. So I gave up and fed her myself.

So, then last night I asked John to try and you would have thought that we ripped her leg off. She was so upset. I went ahead and fed her on one side and then offered her the bottle and she took it but not very well.

I am REALLY frustrated as this means I can't be away from her for more than a couple of hours which doesn't work out well with me going to the Rodeo on Friday with my two sisters. We will be trying the bottle again tonight in hopes that I don't have to cancel my plans on Friday. Once again...what a turkey!

Glamourous Deal

I personally get pretty tired of reading baby/parenting books and magazines and I am too cheap to buy magazines at the grocery store so...imagine my excitement to hear about this great deal....

12 issues of Glamour for $1.50! Yes...6 quarters for 12 wonderful issues of mommy only fashion and makeup goodness reading material! I am sure many of you can just appreciate the great deal that it is even if you don't read Glamour.

Click here to learn more!

Pretty flower in the park

Today was a beautiful day and since it was so nice outside I decided to stop cleaning, put Peyton in a dress and head to the park to take some pictures! Grandma came along to help and we got some great pictures. I will upload the rest tomorrow but here are a couple. I think we will be making more trips to the park in the near future...it was so much fun!

Squash

Tonight squash made its debut at the dinner. The reviews weren't too high but I think it shows great promise. We will see how it goes tomorrow!

Eggplant, Pesto and Goat-Cheese Pizza

I made this a bunch of times when we were living in our apartment but haven't made it in almost two years so I decided to bring it back last night and it was as yummy as I remembered. It is really easy and quick to make and is a nice treat from plain Jane pizza.

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 eggplant cut unto 1/4 inch slices

Salt

Pizza dough (store bought or homemade. I normally buy Pillsubury pizza dough but make sure to use a non stick cookie sheet)

3 cloves of minced garlic

Fresh ground pepper

6 ounces of mild goat cheese cut into 1/4 slices

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup of pesto

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large non stick frying pan heat some olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) over moderatly high height. Season the eggplant with some salt. Fry the eggplant in batches, turning until golden about 10 minutes. Add more olive oil if needed between batches
2. Press pizza dough onto pan following the directions on the box.
3. Arrange the eggplant slices on the pizza crust. Sprinkle garlic and pepper over the top. Bake for 12 minutes. Put the slices of goat cheese on the pizza and sprinkle with the parmesan and then dot with the pesto. Bake until the chees begins to turn golden, about 15 minutes.

Another mouth to feed...

It is definitely time for Peyton to explore solids beyond rice cereal. She is so interested in food around her and is always grabbing for things, tasting and it is almost cruel to be eating in front of her.

So, Tuesday we made a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond to get all of the supplies (a better food processor, some covered ice cube trays and a couple of take along storage containers) we need to start making our own baby food. I have decided that since I am staying home now that I will try to make her own baby food and see how that goes. I have done an insane amount of research and true to my over organizational side...I made a binder complete with dividers for all of the information that I printed off from various sources. Beyond my research, I have talked to a couple of moms that made their own baby food and it seems easy enough. Just as a reference, the main site that I found the most helpful is www.wholesomebabyfood.com.

While we were out we also had lunch with Granny at La Madeleine where Peyton continued her interest in drinking from the cup, and tasted some bread. She kept grabbing at my salad but I think she has to wait on that. Finally we went to Kroger to pick up Peyton some fresh produce. She got butternut squash, green beans, sweet potatoes, avocados, apples and pears.

Then last night I started on making her food and it was so EASY! I started with bananas because the squash was baking and those were a breeze and then when the squash was done baking I made that up and it was ridiculously simple. In the end we already have over 60 ounces of baby food made (only squash and bananas though). I calculated that in order to break even I would have to make 76 ounces of food. I am doing pretty well considering how much more veggies and fruits I have.

So...since I have some yummy butternut squash cooked and pureed...guess what we will be doing this afternoon? Trying some squash! I am so excited to see her face!

Also, this week we have introduced a sippy cup to Peyton. She really doesn't get anything out of it the majority of the time but since she is so interested in our cups I figured she could have her own. She is doing pretty well though and is managing to get it right side in her mouth most of the time.

My Opinion on the Bachelor

I know this is a break from normal blogging topics...but I have a comment to make about the Bachelor..... "RIDICULOUS!" The Bachelor show is officially no longer worth my time and I have officially given up the idea that two people can fall in love and have a lasting life-long commitment by going on a show, dating 24 other women, having planned and unrealistic dates (blimp rides, million dollar necklaces, New Zealand...come one, like one can really do that all the time..if ever) and while being given insane amounts of wine for six straight weeks. I know it was a stretch to believe that it could work but after this weeks event...I have officially lost hope.

My thoughts were very well summed up by Big Mama's blog entry you can read here.

Although for the time being I have sworn off the Bachelor... I will be tuning in May for the Bachelorette. Why you may ask? Because I feel that a woman are might possibly have a better chance at choosing a partner out of 25 members of the opposite sex and honestly...could the new Bachelorette cry or be any more emotional than the last Bachelor...probably not...and finally, the new Bachelorette is a Canadian and we all know that Canadians have it together. I am looking forward to Jillian and supporting my fellow Canadian! As for Jason...ugh!

Big Girl Adventures

Peyton had a day full of big girl activities...which leaves me excited to see her trying new things but sad that she is growing up so fast. I can't believe it has almost been six months :(

First, we went to the grocery store and she tried out sitting in the cart for the first time. She thought that was pretty amazing and was fasincated by all of the toys on the cart cover. Thanks Uncle Ron for that!

While we were out we picked up a high chair for her! We went with one that pulls up to the table or you can use the tray. Well, she was in a great mood when we were eating dinner tonight so I decided to let her try it out and play with her bowl, spoon and cup. I figured since she is starting solids next week or so that it would be good for her to get used to her chair and be more involved with dinnner time to help peak her interest (not that she needs that since she is so interested already).

Well...I am in love with our new dinner guest....she is adorable and you should have her over sometime!

New Pictures

Grandparents and anyone else who is interested...I have uploaded a bunch of new pictures of Peyton under five months. Enjoy!

Slumber Party at Grandma's

Yesterday Peyton had her first slumber party at Grandma's!

John had a work party that night and since it wouldn't be done until around 11:00 PM we figured it would probably be easier for all for Peyton to just stay at Granny's until the morning. As you could probably guess...this was much harder for mom to handle than anyone else! Especially since this was the first time I have been away from her overnight or the first time she has woken up without seeing me.

Peyton got her bags all together including bottles for that night and for her morning feeding and was ready to go. She made sure to bring her own little suitcase that Auntie Ashley bought for her, as well....

Overall everything went well with Granny and Peyton (minus the meltdown because she didn't want to have a bottle) and John and I had a great time and a nice evening together. It was nice to be able to get all dressed up!

At the same time...this morning was the worst feeling ever. Well, it actually started last night when we got home and I realized there was no baby to be caring for. But it was even worse this morning. I had to get up around when she would normally to pump some milk (TMI...I know) and then we started getting ready for the day. It was weird to be so relaxed and not rushed but at the same time we both felt empty. I even went into her room and felt sick almost because I missed her so much. I went over this morning around eight to find a sound asleep little baby in Granny's bed and I was so happy when she woke up and I got my big Peyton smile. I know she had a great time since she constantly kept trying to look and play with my mom instead of me...hello...you haven't seen your mom all night! Either way....I am sure this will be the first of many slumber parties and we are so blessed that we have Granny so close to watch her.