Bedtime and Heels

I LOVE Peyton to pieces! Once you think you have her figured out she totally does something so off the wall that you would have never seen that coming.

Last night when we were coming home from visiting with some friends who had a baby three months ago but she unfortunately was very, very early and has been in the NICU. But God is the ultimate healer and he has rained his favor down on her and she should be coming home either this coming week or next! How awesome is that! Although we didn't get to meet the precious baby we did get to bring dinner to her parents and spend time in fellowship with them which was so much fun!

So...when we got in the car to come home Peyton saw her dress up shoes from my parents house in the back seat and asked to wear them. We put them on her and then when we got home got ready for bed and well, she still wanted the shoes on her! She insisted on going to bed with her purple, sparkly high heels! What made it a even better sight was that I haven't done laundry in forever so she had no real PJs left besides a shirt she got from my sister Shannon one time when we were over and Peyton got her real clothes all wet playing with the hose. So off she went to bed with a too big t-shirt, purple high heels and her Buzz Light year!

She managed to sleep with her heels all night and even woke us up at 5:30 AM to let us know that they fell off and she must have them back on prior to sleeping! She got up around 7:00 AM this morning, walked into my room with her heels and climbed into my bed with them on and cuddled and now we are watching cartoons with her sparkly heels! She is still wearing them and just makes me laugh!

What a sight!

Full of Energy!

The past two days have been busy at our house! Yesterday we went to meet the teacher day at Peyton's new school! For the past year while I have been working Peyton has been going to a more day care like school and although it has been great, had wonderful teachers and I loved the Chapel time she had every week, it was expensive and was a tiny drive from work.

This year she got a spot at our church preschool program called Pee Wee School and so she starts next week. Not only is it cheaper, it is right below my office! Yesterday we had meet the teacher day and she got to play with Bingo markers and color. She loved it! She has three wonderful God loving teachers and I am excited to see her grow with their guidance and love this year!

Following meet the teacher we went to pick out a lunch box and without any hesitation she picked out the Shrek lunchbox that burps when you press his belly...gross! Not that I thought it would be much of a choice I was a little surprised how convicted she was in choosing Shrek! As soon as we walked up to the wall of lunch boxes she looked them all over and within seconds picked up Shrek and walked off. It was pretty amusing and I only wish I had a video of the experience!
Today we started gymnastics! John had his Friday off this week so he came with us! The class started off with her being super shy and not participating at all. She just sat by us and kind of whined but once we had free time in the gym she was all over the place and her loud, silly self! We had more free time in the gym today than we will most weeks but that was just what she needed to feel more comfortable with the place, the coach and the other kids. It was so much fun and she has to be exhausted.

Here she is climbing up the ladder. She did great and figured it out right away! She was the only kid to figure out the crawling up the ladder like the coach showed. I was so proud of her!

Jumping into the foam pit was so much fun! She wanted to go in so badly and would count and count but couldn't figure out how she could jump in so she would have me help throw her in and as soon as she would climb out she would ask and sign "more."

She was a balance beam pro! She would do it with only holding one of my hands and it was a good lesson in paying attention! She has such a hard time looking forward and paying attention when she walks so it is a good exercise in watching when you are walking.

And if you look close enough you might be able to see my baby bump! Trust me it is more noticeable when you capture a side profile of me.

A fun morning for sure and we all had a blast until it had to end and Peyton was NOT happy about leaving. She kept crying, "play, play." Poor thing did not understand that we would be back next week!

Following gymnastics we were all hungry so we had a super early lunch at Chick Fil A and then more playtime. I think we made her so tired that she is having a hard time having her nap!

I am super excited to see her grow and explore new things through gymnastics and this is right up her alley!

CitraNatal B- Calm

I mentioned that during my last doctor's appointment that my doctor prescribed me a prenatal vitamin with B6 to help with my nauseousness. This is my last option before taking Zofran which I know many, many women take during pregnancy and many women need it but I really would like to try to not have to take it just for personal reasons and since I have gained a pound and am keeping some foods and all fluids down, my doctor and I decided I could wait on Zofran until later and take it in my second trimester if I am still not able to eat as much as I need to.

Anyways...here is what I waited all weekend for!


When I went to fill the prescription they said that they had to order it and it would be in on Monday. John picked it up for me on my way home and I decided to wait until this morning to take it because I figured that it would help to take it first thing in the morning so I could combat being sick throughout most of the day. Well, when I went to get it out of the package imagine my surprise when it is not one vitamin a day but THREE! Are you kidding me! I can barely take one vitamin a day but three! When I looked more into it, I saw that it was one big prenatal vitamin and then two mini pills of the B6 portion which makes sense because that is what is supposed to help with the nauseousness.

I got the first pill down this morning, the second just after lunch and then the third after dinner.
Results....well, I was a little sick feeling during the afternoon but once I ate a snack I felt fine. Then tonight I was able to down a whole meal and not feel like I was going to die afterwards! I do feel pretty nasty right now but it has been a long day of work and playing Mommy so it is understandable. I am really praying today was not a fluke and once I get more of this goodness in my system I will feel even better! I am really wanting to go walking (on the treadmill at the YMCA) or take a Yoga class or any other light work out but I am so worried about being super sick so hopefully this will help and I can work out! PLEASE!

Other baby news....although I have gained between 1-1.5 pounds, I have expanded for sure! I am still in my regular clothes but with the assistance of a Belly Band since I can't comfortably button my shorts. Looking back at my 11 week Peyton pregnancy posts (I am rounding up slightly) I have gained the same amount of weight and am in the same stage clothing wise but I know that I did not have this much of a baby pouch this soon! Oh the joys of an already stretched out uterus! I will work on getting a picture up soon....John and I just keep forgetting.

Toddler Gymnastics

Last year Peyton and I did Kindermusik together during the fall. It was a fun way to have a consistent Mommy and Peyton activity that also taught her to be in a class format. Well, this year we were talking about doing the same thing and were going to do Kindermusik again.

But then I started thinking about Peyton, her personality and what she would enjoy and I realized that she would have fun in music but not as much fun as she would in gymnastics! She is at that age where her preferences for things are coming out and she would much rather do an active, climbing, jumping and tumbling class then a music class. She still really loves music and dancing but she is such an active little and she is more advanced in her mobility skills and I think would benefit and love a gymnastics class.

So, we registered for a toddler "Diaper Devils" gymnastics class at this gym close by called Acosports. It is a weekly 55 minute class and we are going on Fridays. I am super excited and think she will love it and glad we went out of what would be comfortable/routine for Mommy and did something that she will hopefully enjoy more.


I am a little concerned about how much my growing belly will get in the way in the months to come but I am sure we will manage! And I did it on Fridays because John has every other Friday off so he could have fun with her as well.

We are counting down until Friday!

Doctor's Appointment - Almost 10 Weeks!

So, I will be 10 weeks on Sunday! Kind of moving along but I am really keeping my eye on the 13 week goal where I hope I will no longer feel so bad!

Today I just had my monthly appointment and all is well with Baby Acord! I was expecting a normal visit of peeing in the cup, checking blood pressure and asking how I was feeling. Well, all that did occur but they decided to try and see if they could find the heart beat. The nurse made sure to tell me that it was pretty early and not to freak out if they didn't pick something up but she thought that since I am pretty small she could find something. After a long time searching she did find the heart beat! It was a strong 150! I loved it! Made all this sickness worth it and reminded me that there is a precious little baby in there and that I can do this!

As for being so sick, the doctor was going to give me some medication for it but I am so anti medicine when I am not pregnant and even more so when I am. So, she said that there is a prenatal vitamin with lower iron and the B6 vitamin in it that is supposed to help calm your stomach and help with nauseousness and since it is not a chemical based medicine, I was all about trying that! She did give me the proscription for the real medicine but I didn't fill it. The vitamin has to be ordered so it will be in on Monday and I praying that it works. The doctor did say that if I don't feel better when I get into my second trimester she would like me to take the real medicine because I will need to start eating more and gaining weight. So, prayers are for the vitamin to help and in three weeks for me to enter the second trimester and feel awesome!

I have some fun Peyton posts I want to do but I am working on getting some pictures of her. Hopefully this weekend! Well, daddy came home from work a little early so I am off to take a nap and Peyton is off to play!

Ugh...

No new posts from me mostly because it is way to hard to type and vomit! I know that is gross and too much information but that is what is happening here. I am SO SICK! When they say that no pregnancy is the same that is very much true! I got sick once with Peyton and only after thinking it was a good idea to down a glass of orange juice and then run out the door to work. This time, I get sick with anything....even opening up the car and getting inside to realize it was 106 degrees inside and the heat made me get out and get sick outside. Gross!

So, other than being very sick, tired and pretty much no fun we are doing a whole lot of nothing. Lots of sitting around, watching movies, having Peyton bring her toys to mommy. We were going to start potty training soon but I think that will have to wait a couple of weeks until I have the energy to tackle it and the stomach to handle accidents because right now it is all I can do to change some diapers.

There have been several funny things Peyton has done lately but this is the one that I remember the most...so I leave you with a funny story from my little turkey....

One afternoon, Peyton was playing in her room by herself and mom was assuming her normal position of laying on the couch when all of the sudden I heard her in the bathroom and the toilet lid being lifted. I called and called and she didn't come and so I went in to check on her and she was sitting on the floor facing the toilet. I asked what she was doing and she put her arms around her tummy and groaned. Then it dawned on me...what has she been seeing mommy do daily (multiple times) for the past two weeks. I asked her if her tummy hurt like mommy and she said yes so I explained that mommy has a baby inside her belly and because it is growing it makes mommy not feel good but Peyton doesn't have a baby in her belly. She looked at me, said, "no baby?" pointing to her belly and I told her yes, she doesn't have a baby and she went on her way. So far no repeat performances but I can't believe she was doing that! Poor thing! Oh the joys of mimicking toddlers!

Well...gotta go....John is home with my requested Wheat Thins...another new pregnancy symptoms...cravings and since I am so sick I really can only eat certain things and when I want it, I need to eat. I only made John go to the store a couple of times with Peyton and so far I think tonight's trip is number two and we have just started. So, that means John went out at 10:30 PM to get me some Wheat Thins. What a good man!

And then there were four....

With much joy we are so excited to announce that we will be a family of four in March 2011!

Yes, Peyton will be a big sister! And Titus will have another little one to play with (or pester him)! I will be 9 weeks pregnant on Sunday and feel awful so I guess that means everything is growing like it should.

And here are some pictures that we took to help spread the word to family. She loved her sparkly shirt and kept telling me that there was a 'B' on there.

I love how she was trying to call her people to tell them the news!

Please be praying for a healthy pregnancy and baby! We are super excited to see Peyton as a big sister and have another baby in the house!

Let the pregnancy posts begin...plus the toddler development and other family news!

Benefit for John's Aunt Cheryl

I can't even begin to go into how much John's Aunt Cheryl has meant to him and his family. Her and her family have stepped in and helped John's family out through some rough times and he honestly would not be the man he is today without their help, love and care. Her and her family have not only helped out John but their community. They are very involved in the Katy area and give so much of their time to the schools, community, friends and so much more.So, it saddens me so much to hear that his Aunt has been diagnosed with mutiple cancers. She just had a tumor removed from her neck. They have found six more tumors on her brain, cancer in her left lung, chest cancer as well as cancer in each hip. It breaks my heart to know the battle she has ahead of her.

Since this is not only going to be a battle physically but also financially, Jay Baker, owner of Good Ole Boys Catering, is planning a fundraiser for Aunt Cheryl Acord. $10 tickets for Barbeque Plates loaded down with three meats and three sides. There will also be music and an auction.

Yes, many of you don't live in Katy, Texas but you probably do know someone who does or someone in Houston. Please pass this along and even if you don't know Cheryl, attend and get some awesome BBQ and help out a family, we will be there and you can always use an excuse to drive out to the Katy area, get some lunch and then go shopping at Katy Mills Mall!

For those...... of you who would like to participate, here is how you can. First, please go to the website for all information. http://www.cajun-eats.com/acordfundraiser.htm And if want to get a ticket please email lprat@aol.com or leave a comment and I will pass your information along. And if anyone has anything to donate for the auctions it would be most appreciated. Let me know and I will make arrangements to pick up and deliver. Lastly, you can always just give a financial donation on the website above.

Most importantly, please pray for Cheryl and her family.

Friends....please repost this on your blogs even if you don't live in Texas or have friends that do or don't see the point. You never know who will see this and feel the urge to help!

A Parent's Precious Prayer

I really don't have much to blog about since we have spent a large amount of our time relaxing inside because it is way too hot outside. We will be starting potty training this coming weekend (if mommy gets enough courage) but other than that, things have been low key at the Acord house.

So, I wasn't going to blog until I read something in a daily devotional book I have. Since I normally don't have time to sit down and have a real devotional/study time until the afternoon during Peyton's nap (I typically clean/pick up for about 30 minutes, have a 30-45 minute devotional and then relax for the final hour), I always start the morning while I am brushing my teeth with a quick daily devotional to start my day focused on God and truth. Currently I am looking through Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado.

This was what I read this morning....

"All your children will be taught by the LORD, and they will have much peace." Isaiah 54:13

Never underestimate the ponderings of a Christian parent. Never underestimate the power that comes when a parent pleads with God on behalf of a child. Who knows how many prayers are being answered right now because of the faithful ponderings of a parent ten or twenty years ago? God listens to thoughtful parents.

Praying for our children is a noble task. If what we are doing, in this fast paced society, is taking away from prayer time for our children, we're doing too much. There is nothing more special, more precious that time that a parent spends struggling and pondering with God on behalf of a child.

Where my people at?

Since we have been home we daily go through a running of Peyton's people! Apparently she has noticed that she isn't seeing everyone at the same consistency she is used to and this is her way of checking up on everyone!

She normally asks whenever we are driving and it is adorable!

This is how it normally goes....

Peyton: "Daddy?"
Mom: "He is at work, he misses you and will be home tonight"

Peyton: "Titus?"
Mom: "He is at home"

Peyton: "G?"
Mom: "She is in Canada, we will see her soon"

Peyton: "Papa?"
Mom: "He is in Canada with G, they will be home soon"

Peyton: "Oshey?"
Mom: "Ashley is at her house, we can see her soon"

Peyton: "Max?"
Mom: "Max is with Auntie Ashley at her house"

Peyton: "Shhh"
Mom: "Shannon is in California, we can call her later"

And then repeat again and again and again until she decides to find something else to say. She LOVES this game and I love hearing her ask about all the people she loves in her life!

NO MORE PACIFER

One of the big changes since we got home from Canada (you will have to wait for the other ones) is that Peyton is pacifier FREE!

While we were in Canada and had the support of my parents and the added distractions of every possible activity known to man we worked hard on limiting her pacifier use to just at night time and just working through it being restricted. Well, I let her have it on the plane when we were landing because her ears were hurting bad but when we got back we still worked on the restricted use.

But being back...I was finding that without additional support/distractions she was using it more and more. So, that Sunday....we threw them ALL away! I know that some people do all these creative good bye ceremonies but honestly with Peyton that would be more traumatic. She is so strong willed she could care less what we were buying with the pacifiers or anything so we just decided to throw them out. When she asked we would just say that they were "all done" or "gone" and she would shrug her shoulders and go on her way.

It has been over a week and she doesn't even ask anymore! I love it! And the best part was when she went to school that following Tuesday and saw a boy with his paci she walked up to him and said, "NO PACI." Thankfully she didn't pull it out or anything but she knew that he should not have his paci!

I am so happy we have crossed this bridge and that it has not been as traumatic as I feared and that it went so easily! I love seeing her without her pacifier!

The Monster Ball

One of the reasons I came back from Canada when I did was for the Lady Gaga concert that my sister Ashley and I went to that next week! Yes, Lady Gaga is weird but her music is fun and she put on a good show!

What was almost more fun than the show was the people watching and all of the costumes! I wish I took more pictures of people's outfits but I was too shy to walk up to strangers and take their picture! Here is one that I got...she was wearing a bubble wrap dress and managed to do her hair in the Lady Gaga bow!
My sister and her friend dressed up but not nearly as out there as some people...even with my sisters purple wig! I thought it was super amusing that Ashley and her friend were dressed up and I was dressed normal yet I looked out of place!

This was just one of MANY costumes that Lady Gaga had on! It was such a good show and she is a great performer and it was really interesting to hear how motivating she is and how she had a really good lesson on being yourself, loving yourself and accepting who you are.

It was a fun and very late night! I am not used to getting home at 1:30 AM! I am glad I worked diligently months ago to get tickets and had fun!

Canada Update

We have been back from Canada for a couple of weeks now but have had no time to blog about our time! But I finally sat down this morning and have a list of posts I need to do and finally got the pictures organized!

We had a wonderful two weeks in Muskoka and loved every minute of it! We both did not want to come home at all! Besides really missing John, I could have easily stayed for another month!

I will try to capture all of the fun from our trip but we did so much and Peyton had new experiences almost everyday!

Everyone who comes to the Cottage has to help out in some way! One year, John and I, came up for a weekend just to help build the deck, last year's project was the beach, so we all joke how you have to come prepared to work and apparently no age is exempt.Helping "G" in the Garden


After a hard day of work, everyone should just sit back in their chair on the deck and enjoy the sunset! Isn't she funny!

We did her first fire experience one evening and as soon as she saw it she said "hot"! Granny taught her how to put the marshmallow on the stick and roast it. She wasn't too sure about the marshmallow and finally tried it and was somewhat impressed but not as much as she was impressed with watching them burn in the fire. We went through MANY marshmallows but ate only a few!

We spent many days playing in the water at the beach and exploring the sand/mud. One day she saw fish in the shallow water and after that asked that Mommy check for fish prior to proceeding. She likes fish but not in her swimming water!

Every night or multiple times during the day we would enjoy a Popsicle or ice cream! I love how she is doing a "cheers" with her Popsicle!

Granny a.k.a 'G' broke her foot shortly after we caught there....something about a big giant animal attacking her one night. So, when you are out at the cottage you leave the screen doors open all day but close them at night to keep out the raccoons etc. Well, it is DARK outside when you close the doors and most people would turn on a light to see what was on the other side of the door well, my mom has always thought how she should turn on the light but didn't and when she closed the door something jumped in and jumped on her and she flipped out, jumped back and landed badly on the side of her foot! When we went to find the culprit we found a toad! Pretty amusing but her broken foot was not so amusing.

So, we used an electric scooter for much of our trip which Peyton liked greatly!
Peyton and I went kayaking a couple of times which she LOVED! Check out her experience on the jet ski's here. I love to go kayaking around the lake and loved that Peyton wanted to come with me. We only stayed really close to shore since she was with me but it was fun!

Then my dad decided to put the swimming raft in by paddling it out with the kayak attached and then when trying to get in the kayak from the swimming raft...well, this is what happened! Peyton was not too impressed and somewhat concerned.

Our next big adventure was heading to Santa's Village! It is an amusement park that I went to when I was Peyton's age or close to it! It is nothing to impressive to an adult but to a little kid it is the perfect size and Peyton was in awe! When we were walking into it she kept saying, "wow," over and over again!

First stop was playing on some slides and then we checked out the reindeer! She loved it! She would tell them to come "back" when they would walk away and notice her doing the sign for "more" in one of the pictures? She kept wanting to feed them. We even came back at the end of our adventure.


We rode the train (twice) and she thought it was so cool and enjoyed seeing the whole park!

We tried to see Santa but as soon as we got close she told me to go "outside," so he wasn't a hit with her. Instead we went on the Ferris wheel that looks like Christmas ornaments. I hate heights and I HATE Ferris wheel's but I went with her but that is what mom's have to do. She did great and loved it but got a little bored the second time around.

We rode the Swan paddle boats and let Peyton steer. She did great!

I didn't think she would want to play miniature golf so we were just going to walk right past but she insisted and did very well. Papa helped her and once I reminded him that she was left handed it went really well. She was not too impressed with the last hole though where the ball disappears and looked for it!


Here we are as we are leaving Santa's Village! She had an amazing time and could tell she was thinking, "why haven't we come here earlier?" Peyton fell asleep as soon as we got in the car, went to bed early and then even had a really long nap the next day so she was worn out! So much fun creating memories and watching her explore things that I did when I was younger...also a little weird that I was taking my daughter to Santa's Village!

Our last night in Canada consisted of another fire but instead of marshmallows, Peyton was interested in the pine needles so Papa went to the forest and collected piles for her. She was in love!
Papa also caught two fish in the net on the last night and Peyton was so excited. She thought it was amazing and as soon as we let them go was determined to use her net to catch some more. She had been playing with the net all week but you could tell once Papa caught the fish it clicked what it was for!

Finally....this is one of the many things I miss!