On the move

Peyton continues to expand her movement skills - on Thursday she rolled the other way, across her right shoulder, from her tummy to her back.  She only did this once but she was again quite proud of herself!  She is also starting to move more when she is on her tummy.  As I type, she has moved from laying beside me to where she is now looking at me - I guess she must like a change of scenery when she is doing her tummy time.  Although Chad hasn't seen her turn over yet, he has witnessed her moving around on her belly.  She also likes to "fly" when she is laying on Daddy's chest lifting her arms and legs and balancing herself on her tummy - so funny!

Peyton seems to like the taste of her hand as she chews on it off and on every day.  She found her hands quite a while ago but is still amazed by them and sometimes when one comes across her eye line, her eyes get real big and excited and she just stares at her hand like "wow - what's that?  Oh cool, I can do things with it like pick-up my rattle and then the rattle moves!"

We have had a great family day today, running errands and just hanging out at home - you just can't beat family time!

Here is a pic of Peyton chewing on her hand...

Ladies Who Shop (well, window shop anyway...)!

Today it finally warmed up enough for us to leave the house - it has been WAY too cold the last few days to even consider taking Peyton out unless it was absolutely necessary.  Anyway, it is supposed to be close to 40 today so right around lunch time I loaded Peyton up and we headed to the Great Mall of the Great Plains which is pretty close to our house.  It is a fairly empty mall but is a complete circle so it is great to walk around.  We didn't buy anything but walked around the mall 4 times!  Do you think some of the store owners thought we were a little crazy??!?

Otherwise, not a lot new has been going on.  Peyton has decided now that she has rolled over a couple of times for Mom that she has already accomplished that task and doesn't need to do it again!  She hasn't rolled over again since the first day earlier this week but I'm sure she will again one of these days!

Unfortunately, my maternity leave is quickly running out.  I really wish that they would stop the countdown for the DTV conversion, every time I see the countdown I am reminded that I have 5 less days that the current countdown until I have to go back to work! :P  It has been wonderful to have so much time off with Peyton, I am very lucky!  Although I know it will be very difficult to leave her here in a couple of weeks, there is a part of me that is looking forward to going back to work for the challenge and adult interaction.  I will just have to make sure to enjoy all the time I have with Peyton after work and on the weekends! :)

Rollin' On

That's right - Peyton rolled for the first time today from her stomach to her back - YEAH!!!  It was so amazing to watch.  The picture below is the start of her roll - I never thought she would actually accomplish it today, but she did!  She tucks her left arm under her chest and then swings her legs on around.  She just did it again as I type this blog - it is so exciting!  Can you tell I'm a proud Momma?? :)  When she did it the second time she just looked up at me and gave me a big smile - priceless!!!

Peyton is also starting to use her hands more and more.  Here she is helping hold the bottle when I was giving it to her last night - too cute!
This being a parent thing is even better than I imagined!

Peyton's New Best Friend!

Yesterday was a fun day for the Todd family!  We headed to Clinton to celebrate January birthdays with the Mintun clan.  Everyone enjoyed seeing Peyton and we had a great family meal and visit.

After the birthday meal, Peyton got to meet her new best friend, Leah (and her parents, Tara & Kyle too! :)).  Although Peyton slept through the majority of their visit, probably a hangover from her shots on Friday morning, we captured a few shots of the two girls and some with us Moms too.  I managed to get one with Leah smiling and Tara got one with Peyton smiling.  Check-out Tara's blog here.

2 Month Check-up

Well, all the stories I've heard about how hard shots are were true, but Peyton made it through her shots without too much trouble at all.  She cried, of course, and when the shots were over, she just looked up at me like "how could you let them do that to me!" but she settled down fairly quickly and has been snoozing ever since - I'm sure the shots made her tired!

Peyton's development is right on track, which was great to hear, and she is growing strong!  She weighed-in at 11 lbs. 7 oz. (70%), measured 22 1/2" (50%) and her head circumference was 15" (50%).  All-in-all, the Dr. thought she was doing great and we are good to go until her 4 month check-up! :)  

Is it Spring?

Unfortunately, it isn't, but today sure felt like Spring! :)  It was about 60 degrees today so we decided to take full advantage of the nice weather.  This morning, Peyton & I did our grocery shopping and then around lunch time went for a walk.  After lunch we had a chance to visit with our neighbors in the back yard.  Later in the afternoon we took a second walk, this one much longer.  I am slowly getting more adventuresome with Peyton & Apollo on our walks.  Apollo really does pretty well but still gets distracted now and then with a fun scent that he just MUST check-out!

We had such a good time today, though Peyton seems more tired than usual.  She was just fussing a little bit so I picked her up and swayed with her for all of 2 minutes and she was out!  I'm sure she will just take a little cat nap but I couldn't believe how fast she fell asleep!

Big Girl Bathtub

Peyton graduated to taking her baths in her infant-toddler tub quite some time ago but I finally got around to taking some pictures of her bath time last night.  She never was a big fan of the sponge bath process up on the counter but now loves to take baths in her tub.  Since she sits on the sling in the tub she has a ball kicking her feet in the water and always tries to slide further down into the water.  It is so much more fun to give her a bath now since she coos and talks to us instead of screaming! :)

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Peyton!

Yesterday was Peyton's 2 month birthday! :)  Here is an updated pic with Pooh - we still can't believe how big she is getting!  We go to the Dr. for her 2 month check-up on Friday so I'll have the stats up shortly there after hopefully.  She also gets 4 shots so that won't be any fun but its all a part of growing up!

Yesterday we also met a couple of my friends, Jessi & Melissa, and their kiddos, Ayn & Alex, at the mall.  It was nice to get out of the house for a little while, especially since it was colder than we expected it to be yesterday.  We are hoping to take a walk later today since it is supposed to be close to 50 later today - let's keep our fingers crossed!

A scary new trend?!!?

Last night after our date night I came home and fed Peyton to get her belly really full before bed time as we do just about every night.  Last night, however, between her typical cluster feedings she started to fill her pants.  It seemed like she was doing a pretty good job of getting the full use out of her diaper - I just didn't realize how good of a job she was doing!  My leg started to get warm under Peyton's bottom and then I realized that she had fully blown-out of her diaper and gotten her cute WHITE sleeper dirty!  She had even dirtied herself half-way up her chest - so funny!!

Then, tonight, again between feedings, Peyton got a very serious look on her face and started to clench her fists.  Yep, again tonight she managed to overfill her diaper and explode all over her onesie and sleeper.  Hilarious!  We'll see if this trend continues but what else can you do but laugh, right?  At least she is always happy after she is done! :)

Visit with Grandma & Grandpa Todd

To round-out our three-day weekend we headed to Lexington for a visit with Grandma & Grandpa.  Uncle Landen, Wyatt & Whitney even surprised us by being at Grandma & Grandpa's house.   We all enjoyed a tasty lunch and fun visit!  After having a chance to spend some time with Grandma & Grandpa, we also visited Nana & Papa.  Peyton was an excellent traveler yet again and only fussed a little bit on our way until she was lulled to sleep by the car.  She even slept all the way home and let Mom & Dad have a bite for dinner before waking up for her nightly eating routine.  We had a great time and I know Peyton enjoyed seeing everyone!!!

Here are several pics from our trip!  

Date Night!

Sunday was date night for Chad & I.  Grammy & Grandpa came-up Sunday evening so that Chad & I could head-out for a little couple time.  We went back up to The Legends and first hit the Ann Taylor outlet so I could do a little shopping.  I really hadn't shopped much for me for the last year or so since I was pregnant so I was very excited to try on some "real" clothes again!  I found several new things and can't wait to give them all a try!

After browsing in a couple of other stores we went to dinner at Stix, a Japanese Steakhouse/Sushi/Asian resteraunt that we first tried when I

 was pregnant.  We sat in the Asian dining portion of the resteraunt and enjoyed several different sushi rolls and honey crispy chicken/shrimp - tasty!  We then had "dessert" by stopping by a coffeehouse, Scooters, for some candy bar coffee.  All-in-all, we had a great date night!  Attached are pictures with Grammy & Grandpa as well as a fun one of Dad with Peyton taking a quick snooze!

Shopping Trip

On Saturday, Uncle Landen, Aunt April, Wyatt & Whitney all came-up for a visit.  We met them out at Cabela's and then hit a few shops at The Legends before grabbing dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise.  Peyton had a great time visiting with everyone and was quite a trooper during our shopping trip.  Since it was chilly outside we covered her car seat up when we were going between shops - every time we covered her up she started to fuss but was happy again when she got to see what was going on around her.  I think Dad was right when he said that she liked looking at all of the colors of the clothes in the shops - she was mesmerized!

We also now feel like more seasoned parents after this trip.  I ended-up nursing Peyton in a dressing room, in the car and even in a bathroom!  Dad also tried his hand at changing a diaper in the car, which was made even more interesting by the sloping front seat of a car.  He did a great job and even got it changed quickly!

Bath Time for Mommy :)

When I was pregnant I really enjoyed taking a bath now and then to relax.  Since I had Peyton I have wanted to continue this trend, at least every once and a while.  This morning, probably just because it is so darn cold, I really wanted to take a bath but hated to leave Peyton in her crib in case she didn't want to sleep as long as I thought she would.  Usually when I am at home by myself I try to sneak a quick shower in while she takes her morning cat nap but a bath just takes longer than a shower...So, this morning I decided to try a new trick.  Once Peyton fell asleep after her breakfast I put her in her car seat and took it upstairs with me.  She snoozed just outside the tub while I enjoyed a relaxing bath.  It worked out perfectly! :)  I have even been able to hop on the computer to catch-up a little this morning, though I think she is starting to call my name!!

To Grammy & Grandpa's House We Go

Yesterday was a big day for Peyton (and Mommy & Apollo too!).  After Peyton finished her "breakfast", we hopped in the car and headed down to Clinton.  This was my first longer trip traveling with Peyton by myself so I was a little nervous but she did GREAT!  Peyton slept the whole way down and Apollo was a very calm traveler (which he never used to be) so the trip was uneventful.  We first headed to Grammy's office to visit her co-workers as many of them wanted to meet her.  After that, we headed to Grandpa's bank to continue showing off little Miss Peyton.  Needless to say, she was quite a hit wherever she went!  We also enjoyed a visit with Great Grandma & Grandpa Mintun, including a tasty lunch after our "office" visits.  Later on in the afternoon we also had a chance to visit with Great Grandma Arthur.  Peyton was a ham most of the day showing everyone how she can smile now and even made some fun cooing sounds every once and a while - so fun!

After dinner and having a chance to have a visit with just Grammy & Grandpa, we headed back to Olathe.  Peyton was a little fussy but by the time we got to the 70 mph zone just outside of town she was down for the count!  She slept from about 7:30 when we left Clinton until 3:15 and then went back down until 6:30 this morning.  Although she napped quite a bit yesterday, I'm sure she was a little tired from all her visiting!  We had a great day!! :)

Here are a couple of pics from the day...

Little Sneezes

Peyton has the most adorable little sneezes (and quite often too!).  I keep thinking about trying to catch them on video but so far I never seem to have my camera close when she has her little fits.  Just to give you a visual, she usually has her arms completely off to her sides and when she sneezes she squints her eyes and pulls her arms together.  One is funny but when she gets on a roll we can't help but laugh out loud at her.  Luckily, the sneezes never really bother her! :)

Also during dinner tonight, Peyton was quite vocal.  It was almost as if she was wanting to participate in our conversation - adorable!

Play Date

Peyton had her first play date yesteray, though I think it was much more for the Moms than for the kiddos this time!  I met-up with my friends Jessi & Melissa for lunch (thanks Melissa for hosting) and we had a great visit.  Melissa's little boy Alex was napping when we got there and Jessi's little girl Ayn went down for a nap after her lunch; however, Peyton chose to only cat nap yesterday because she wanted take everything in!  We had a great time and hope to do it again a few times before I have to go back to work.

Peyton is also starting to interact with us more and more.  On Sunday, Peyton started repeating sounds now and then with Chad - I missed it the first couple of times as I was at the gym but saw it later in the day and even experienced it myself - it was GREAT!  She is also smiling more and more and really making eye contact with us.  She is so fun!

Here is a pic of her after her play date yesterday - can't you tell she had a fun time!

Weekend Update

Not a lot new is going on in the Todd household but I thought I would write a quick blog...We had a pretty quiet weekend which was nice!  I managed to make it to the gym twice (YEAH!) over the weekend, Grandma & Grandpa Todd stopped by for a visit on Saturday and we relaxed and had some fun family time both on Saturday & Sunday.  Apollo even got to go on a long walk with me by himself on Sunday since we had another nice day (Peyton was taking a long afternoon nap).  

Peyton continues to do great with sleeping (knock on a BIG piece of wood!).  The last couple of nights she has gone down anywhere between 8-9 and usually sleeps through until 5:30-5:45.  After a quick snack she then goes down again until about 7:30.  Have I mentioned how lucky we really are?  We have had this pattern for 3 nights now so hopefully it is the start of a wonderful pattern of sleep (though as I type this blog at 8:30 she is fighting going to sleep)!

Peyton has also decided that maybe the bouncy seat isn't so bad after all.  When she was stuffy a few weeks ago she slept in the bouncy seat for a few nights (back when she was small enough to sleep in the bouncy seat) but then she hasn't cared for spending much time in it.  Friday was the first day that she was content in the bouncy seat for almost 15 minutes.  I think she is starting to realize that the vibrating seat feels pretty good and is a nice change from the swing and her tummy time mat.  Hopefully the bouncy seat will continue to grow on her so she has a change of scenery every now and then!  (See the first pic below).

Peyton is also learning to sit-up by us pulling her up.  Since she can hold her head really well now she loves to just sit with us holding on to her for quite a while.  The second pic below shows this new trick!

We hope everyone had as good of a weekend as we did! :)

Beautiful Day

Today is just gorgeous in KC so Peyton, Apollo & I decided to take a walk.  This is the first time that I have taken both Peyton & Apollo by myself and it went pretty well.  Apollo always likes to sniff a ton but he did pretty good all in all walking right next to the stroller the majority of the time.  Although it was nice out, Peyton still got pretty bundled up for our walk - check-out the pic below. 

Future Sprint Employee?!!?!

Peyton made her first visit to the Sprint campus today for Daddy & Mommy to show her off to some of their co-workers.  Prior to her visit she enjoyed (i.e. slept through) lunch at On The Border.  Although we didn't make it around to see everyone, Daddy & Mommy loved showing off their pride and joy to those we were able to catch in their cubes.  Peyton was such an excellent baby during the visit that some people asked us if she was breathing!  Peyton slept through pretty much the entire thing, only peaking her eyes open a couple of quick times.  I guess she was catching-up from only sleeping 2 hours during the day yesterday!  We figured after her 3 hour visit on campus it was probably time for her to head home before she applied for her first job at 7 weeks old!

1 Month Pics - a little delayed...

It's Been a Few Days

Well, it has been a few days since I last updated the blog and several have asked about what has been going on with Peyton!  Really, things have been pretty quiet and everything has been going very well!

On Sunday after a visit with Grandma & Grandpa Todd, Peyton attended her cousin Whitney's Princess birthday party and even opened her eyes to visit with everyone a little while we were there.  

On Monday, Grammy came for a visit to watch Peyton while I headed to the Dr. for my  6-week check-up.  My Dr. visit went very well and he released me to fully resume my old activities, which means that I can now start going to the gym again - YEAH!!!  Yesterday afternoon I went and signed-up at SNAP Fitness which is a 24/7 gym close to our house so that I can head to the gym some evenings after Chad gets home from work.  Since I was somewhat restricted on exercise during my pregnancy I am VERY excited that I will now get to start working out again.  I've already made it to the gym for two workouts while Grammy held down the fort and it felt great!

Peyton is obviously continuing to grow and change every day.  It still amazes me how much time I can spend just looking at her and seeing all of her wonderful expressions.  She is also getting stronger and stronger, holding her head more on her own when we sit her up and also lifting her head up for longer periods of time when she is doing tummy time.  I think one of her new fascinations is looking at herself in mirrors.  She has one on her tummy time mat and also on her swing and her eyes really pick-up her reflection.

Here are a few new pictures as well!

My Favorite Things

Peyton is discovering new things every day.  My plan was to attach a couple of video clips of some of her favorite activities - sitting in her swing & playing with her activity gym but I have been trying to attach them for the last 30 minutes and it never seems to complete!  Oh well, I'll keep trying...  

Peyton has now discovered the mirror & moving bees & leaves while she spends time in her swing and is starting to push up while on her tummy more and more.  It really is priceless if I can ever figure out how to share the videos!

Visits with the Grandparents

Peyton continues to have a busy social calendar!

A couple of days ago, Grandma & Grandpa Todd came-up for a visit. Peyton was awake off and on during their visit but was wide awake by the time we made it to the resteraunt. After finishing about half of her "dinner" bottle she decided it was time to fill her diaper...only she managed to overfill it soaking her clothes, blanket and even Grandma Todd a little! And since Mom had forgotten to replace her sleeper that we always keep in the diaper bag after we had to use it at Children's Mercy so Dad had to run home real quick to pick-up a new sleeper - thank goodness we decided to go to dinner somewhere close to home!

And then today, Grammy & Grandpa Arthur came-up for a visit. Peyton was a little fussy when they first got here but Grammy was able to get her to settle down and she went down for a nap. Peyton was quite the entertainment at the resteraunt (even though she slept the whole time) since we were the only people there for the majority of our meal! Guess everyone decided to sleep-in a little on New Years Day! At least this time I had remembered to put a new onesie & sleeper into the bag (even though we didn't need it) - better safe than sorry!

Thanks to all of our visitors for coming up to see us!! :)

I've now taken a couple of videos using our digital camera of Peyton in her swing (her favorite activity) and on her tummy time mat. Hopefully I can figure out how to post them to the blog. She is growing so very fast and getting so strong. She now pushes-up with ease while on her belly and even tries to rock her hips back and forth. She'll be starting to roll-over before long!