Morning Routine

We have a pretty standard morning routine on work days - I get up early to get ready and after I am ready I wake-up Peyton to nurse before I have to head to work. Within the last week or so Peyton has added a must-do activity to our morning routine. See, we take Apollo's collar off at night so that he doesn't shake and wake Peyton up in the middle of the night. Well, Peyton has seen Chad & I put his collar back on him in the mornings for a while but has taken it upon herself to take over at least part of this job - too cute! In the morning she points to his collar and if we walk over close to it she leans over, picks it up and then carries it until we get over to Apollo. We then take the collar from her to put it back on Apollo. I love it!!!

Another special morning moment - the last couple of mornings after she is done nursing while she is sitting on my lap she has been leaning over to give me a kiss - absolutely melts my heart!!!

Walking

That's right, Peyton is now walking! Granted, it is usually only two to three steps at a time and a lot of the time she is so excited to be walking that she ends up falling forward because she is leaning too far forward but she is taking little baby steps all by herself - what a BIG girl!! Every little thing that she learns is so amazing to me. It is great to look at her when she tries something new and see the smile on her face as if to say - "look Mom, I'm doing it!"

Lake Time!

Thursday and Friday last week Chad had the chance to help-out with the Nationwide Tour Event held here in KC. He was a walking scorer and got to meet several of the players. I think he had a blast walking the course with professionals - what an opportunity! Hopefully a little of their skill wore off on Chad! ;)

Last weekend one of my Dad's friends invited Chad & my Dad to play with them at Porta Cima down at the lake. It is a GORGEOUS course that you have to know a member to get onto so they were very excited! After work on Friday we headed down to the lake. We took a short break in Clinton to drop Apollo off at Great Grandma/pa's house for his vacation before making the rest of our journey down to Great Aunt Mary and Uncle Mark's condo. Shortly after we arrived Peyton was down for the night. We are so lucky that she is such a flexible little baby! Saturday morning Grammy, Peyton & I headed to the outlet mall for a little shopping while Grandpa & Daddy went to the course. All had a great day! We planned on a boat ride with Great Uncle Mark and Aunt Mary to go see Grandma & Grandpa Todd but when we all got in the boat we realized the battery was dead - bummer! They were able to get the battery charged so Chad & I went on a boat ride with Mark & Mary while Grammy & Grandpa stayed behind with Peyton since it was past her bedtime! Sunday we had a relaxing morning and went by to visit Grandma & Grandpa Todd on the way back home. Grammy & Grandpa picked-up Apollo for us at Great Grandma/pa Mintun's house and we had lunch at their house before making our way back to Olathe. We had a great weekend!! Here are a few fun pics from the weekend -

Wow - and I thought Apollo was big!! Here's Peyton posing for a picture with Mark & Mary's dog Leonard

Peyton is quite fast behind her walking toys and since she was on tile floor everyone kept a close eye on her. Here's Great Aunt Mary helping Peyton steer!
This was at our house before the weekend but I love the look - what? I'm not doing anything wrong! ;)
Play time with Grammy
WEEEEE - Peyton loves the pool!

9 Month Check-up

I still can't believe how fast the last 9 months have gone! Last Friday we had Peyton's 9-month check-up and it went great! Peyton weighed-in at 18 lbs 1 oz (35-40%) and measured 28 1/2" (50%). I don't remember for sure what her head circumference was but it was in the 25th percentile. The pediatrician checked her over and said she looked great! He was quite impressed with her development and how well she eats! She's a growing girl!! :)

We only had one shot this time - YEAH - but unfortunately had to do a finger stick to check her iron levels. The shot was a breeze, the finger stick not as much. Let's just say Peyton is hoping that doesn't happen again for a LONG time!

Our little mover & shaker

We had a great weekend last weekend! Thursday night Grammy & Grandpa came up to spend the day on Friday with Peyton since her school was closed for a teacher in-service day. Shortly after Chad & I had to head to work for the day the fun started. From what I have heard Peyton enjoyed some time swinging outside on the back porch, taking a dip in the pool and even a trip to the mall. I think everyone had a fun day! Since we had babysitters in town Chad & I took advantage by going out to a nice dinner Friday night. We headed back up to our favorite sushi place, Stix for great night out.

Saturday morning Chad had to go to some training for the upcoming Nationwide Tour event that he is volunteering at and Grammy, Grandpa & I headed to Portrait Innovations for Peyton's 9-month pictures. I think Grammy & Grandpa were quite shocked at all the excitement going on at the picture place but we had a fun time. Peyton did GREAT for her pictures (see my previous post). We then met-up with Daddy for a quick lunch before it was time for Grammy & Grandpa to head home. We spent the afternoon relaxing and hanging around the house before packing-up and heading over to the Mayberry's for a fun movie night. Evan's grandma & aunt were also in town (since school was closed) so we put Peyton to bed at Evan's house and they kept an eye on her while she slept so we could enjoy a movie. Yep, that's right, Peyton went to sleep at Evan's house, even in Evan's bed - oh my! I hope she realizes that sleeping in a boy's bed is not going to be acceptable here in a couple of years! ;) We went and saw The Hangover which was hilarious! I am usually super tired and have a hard time staying awake at late night movies but not this one - it was great! We visited for a while after the movie and then packed Peyton up to head home. She transitioned to her own bed well and slept the rest of the night - what a fun night!!

Sunday was a bit more relaxing. We hung around the house and even all snuck-in a nap in the morning. The rain finally stopped in the afternoon so we were able to take a walk.

Updates - Peyton continues to crawl like crazy and likes to climb up steps now. In the first picture below Peyton crawled up the two steps to the front door to check-out what Apollo was looking at - the picture is a little fuzzy but too cute if you ask me! Peyton is also starting to walk more and more behind her walking toy - she can really truck across the room. Before long she's going to be taking steps on her own - look out!

Peyton & Evan tackling eachother for toys - hilarious!
Peyton walking across the floor - man is she determined!
Grammy & Peyton swinging
Grandpa & Peyton on their shopping trip

Peyton's 9 Month Pictures

Sloppy Kisses

There’s nothing better than a sloppy wet kiss from a baby but it is extra special when it is your own little one. Over the last couple of weeks Peyton has been giving Mommy & Daddy more hugs and kisses sporadically on her own, sometimes even giving her own form of kisses with her forehead! ;) Apollo even gets in on the lovin’ every once and a while. But last night Peyton was in an extra affectionate mood and crawled-up on my lap at least 3 times to give me a kiss – melts my heart! Then, this morning she wasn’t wanting to wake-up so I picked her up out of her crib still asleep and she snuggled with me for several minutes before it was really time that we had to get started with our routine – I love those cuddle time moments!

Family Pictures

Over the last couple of months we have taken several larger family pictures - here is the Mintun clan at our Father's Day celebration.

And here are the Sanders grandkids and great grandkids at our Easter celebration.

Hands Across Generations

Around Mother's Day I got an e-mail that had a picture of 5 generations of hands all in one picture - amazing! Since I thought it was pretty cool we took a 4-generation hands picture with Great Grandma Mintun, Grammy, Peyton & me - kinda cool!

The Three Musketeers

Here is Peyton with her partners-in-crime, Kate & Evan, at school - aren't they adorable??

New Pictures

Leah & Peyton - relaxing bathtime after a hot evening!
I like being a big girl and drinking out of your water bottle Daddy!
All ready for some baseball! Amanda, Peyton, Katy, Zack, Tara & Leah
Grandpa, you're so funny!
What are you doing Grandma? I'd rather just chew on the pieces!
All smiles!
I love my Daddy!!!

Peyton chillin' with Grammy & Grandpa

Fun Weekend!

Wow - another weekend has come and gone and we were super busy! Saturday morning we got up and around and after Peyton's breakfast we loaded-up in the car and headed to Lexington for a visit. We started with a visit to Nana & Papa's. When we got there we found not only Nana & Papa but also Grandma & Grandpa Todd. While we were there, Peyton showed everyone her stellar crawling & pulling-up skills. She flashed her little dimples and even talked a little bit too! Before long it was time to head toward Grandma & Grandpa Todd's to change and get ready for Janelle Todd's bridal shower. Peyton was quite snazzy in her halter-top dress, including her pearl bracelet and hair bow. It is so fun now that she has enough hair for a bow!! :) Janelle's shower was a lot of fun and Peyton did well. She even took a little nap during the gift opening on Grandma Todd's lap. After the shower we went back to Grandma & Grandpa's to play for a little bit before heading out for dinner.

Saturday evening we met-up with some of my college friends at Jack Stack down at the Freight House district. It was quite entertaining to see our table of 6 adults & 3 high chairs but all the kiddos did great! It was fun to visit with Tara, Kyle & Leah as well as Katy, Chris & Zack. After we wrapped-up dinner we went to Kauffman stadium to take-in a Royals game. It was HOT to say the least but the kids again hung-in there and did well! It was actually cooler in our seats than it was walking around so we enjoyed the breeze in our seats up high. The Royals even won - YEAH!! We had such a great time!!! Thanks everyone for going to the game!! After the game Tara, Kyle & Leah came back to our house and the girls took a bath before going to snooze town. I even read the girls a few books while Tara finished getting everything ready for Leah to go to bed. Then after staying up way to late talking all the adults went to bed too. Sunday morning we relaxed around the house before going to the mall to have Peyton & Leah's pictures taken. Needless to say it was quite an adventure trying to get a picture of a walker & a crawler but we did manage to get a few - too cute!!! After pictures and a bite for lunch it was time for the Calton's to head home. :( We had a great visit - thanks for coming!!

We then wrapped-up our weekend with a dinner/play date with the Mayberry's. Peyton & Evan had a fun time playing and were both exhausted by the end of the night. Peyton even got to try asparagus and fresh green beans for the first time - tasty! Us adults had a tasty dinner - a big thanks to the Mayberry's for having us over, we had so much fun!!

Lots of Updates

Ok, Ok. So I know it has been a VERY long time since my last post but things have been kind of hectic over the last week or so.

Last Friday we had a relaxing evening at home and Saturday woke-up for a relaxing morning. Peyton slept in big-girl pajamas on Friday night and looked so cute (and I’m sad to admit so big) that I left her in her PJs until it was close to lunch time! She can’t get around in her footie pajamas very well (at least she can’t stand too well yet) so big-girl PJs worked a lot better for chillaxin’! :) Saturday afternoon we headed down to Clinton since Chad & I were playing in a golf tournament with my dad early on Sunday morning. Since we had babysitters and needed a little bit of warm-up for the tournament, Chad & I walked 9-holes on Saturday. It was gorgeous weather and we had a great time! Sunday morning we headed to the course early while Grammy & Peyton visited Great Grandma/pa Mintun before heading to church. Peyton got to spend some extra time with Great Grandma Arthur and play in the nursery at church since Grammy was playing the organ. From what I hear she had a great time! Sunday night Chad & I had a nice dinner out at Bonefish Grill while Grammy & Grandpa stayed with Peyton. We came home to a happy baby but also a baby that was exhausted from all the crawling and pulling-up she had been doing! Peyton went to bed shortly there after – we had a great weekend!!! I know I say it often but man, the weekends go by too fast!!!

Peyton hasn’t really mastered any new skills recently, though they have told Chad at daycare that she likes to clap when they sing “Patty Cake” (we have yet to see her clap on her own). She likes to bang toys together, chase after Apollo and in general explore the whole house! Peyton also likes to pull-up on just about anything (from tables to glass doors) and now “cruises” a bit around furniture and sometimes in-between pieces of furniture. Every once and a while she will let go of what she is holding on to but quickly re-grasps the furniture of falls down to her bottom. I am obviously biased but I think she is pretty darn cute with everything she does, even when she goes after the dog bowls that she fully knows she shouldn’t!!

Parents as Teachers came for a visit on Tuesday this week and they said she is doing GREAT! We talked about all that she has been doing and things that will be coming up in the next couple of months. I read a ton of things about baby development online, etc. but it is nice to have an educator come to your house to make sure you are on the right track and give you additional ideas – what a great program!!

Last night I went to my church mom’s group and had a great time! Our church is HUGE, especially in comparison to the church I grew up in so the mom’s group is a great way for me to get to know a few more people in the church. This meeting was mainly just a catch-up meeting from being off for the summer but next month we are having a speaker from the police department about safety, etc – should be interesting!

Peyton also continues to be a fantastic eater and gobbles up pretty much whatever you put in front of her. One of her new favorites is blueberries. I think she would eat them non-stop if we let her!