Outside, Outside, Outside

Literally as soon as we walk in the door from school Peyton is ready to go outside and play! She has even gotten past her need to eat as soon as we get home as long as we are outside playing. We have had gorgeous weather this week. I couldn't resist these pictures since she had on a super cute outfit and was having such a good time outside - enjoy!

How old are you??

Peyton now responds by holding out her finger to say "1", of course, she is always too shy to do this for anyone but Chad & I but eventually she'll shout it to the world, I'm sure! Here is her 16 month picture with Pooh -

How many birthdays are in March??

Well, with Daddy's side of the family, I believe there are 6 (hopefully I'm not missing any!). Since there are SO many birthdays in March we just have one big party! On Sunday we headed to Lexington to celebrate with Grandma, Uncle Landen, Uncle Clint, Wyatt, Papa & Danielle, whew! Peyton slept the whole way to Lexington so she was ready to party when we arrived. And it was even nice enough to play outside with her cousins Wyatt & Whitney. Peyton is always game for bubbles & sidewalk chalk!

Even though she wasn't a birthday girl she got to help Grandma blow out the candles (or was this just her secret way of trying to get some cake before anyone else?!?!) I guess we will never know! Peyton did enjoy her cake and ice cream - shocker!

Oh Grandpa, that tickles!!!

One of Peyton's favorite activities - emptying drawers. This goes along with her expertise of clearing off tables! I loved this action shot -

What can I say, Peyton LOVES her Daddy!

Professional Party Animal

Well, maybe not quite, but Peyton was quite beautiful in her dress when she attended a wedding reception last weekend with Grammy & Grandpa. Our good friends Kip & Marla were in town for their last weekend of packing so we enjoyed a super tasty dinner at Lidia's (after which I felt like I needed to be rolled home - it was SO good but I ate WAY too much, as always at Lidia's!). Grammy & Grandpa were already planning on being up in Kansas City for a wedding reception so they were super excited we ended-up with dinner plans so that Peyton could go with them! Peyton was a little unsure at first but by the end of the night was high-fiving several of her grandparent's friends - fun! Since 1/2 of Clinton was in attendance at the wedding Peyton was quite the attraction as most had not yet met her - I've heard they received several compliments (surprise, surprise! :)) and many commented how much she looked like I did when I was a baby. I still swear up and down she looks more like Chad but when compared to my baby picture even I have to admit she strikes quite a resemblance.

Here's a picture of Peyton with her proud grandparents!

Please take my picture

This girl loves to bring us the picture and then smile! Check-out the molar in this pic too! The molars have been no fun, for anyone, but I think we are on the downhill slide!

MUST - PUSH - BUTTON

So we have a large tub under the window in our closet and Apollo loves to put his front two paws up on it to look out the window. This morning as Chad was finishing getting ready Apollo was enjoying the view outside and making sure nothing was going on without him being aware of it! Since Apollo's tail only goes up and down and when he is happy it is usually curled up in the air his "bottom" was exposed. Peyton must have thought this looked a little like a button and started walking toward him with her finger pointed - she wanted to push his "button"! Luckily Chad caught her in the nick of time, Apollo was especially thankful!!!

Our little mimic

Peyton is very much into doing whatever it is Mommy & Daddy are doing (or have done). Here are a couple of cute stories -

This morning Apollo came in with super muddy paws so Chad got down on the floor to wipe them off. Peyton had walked under the attachable high chair behind Apollo and at first Chad was worried Apollo might accidentally kick her, that is, until he realized she had gone behind him to grab another towel that was on the floor to help wipe-off Apollo's feet - how adorable!

Each morning I take a small snack into Peyton's room when I wake her up - the girl is starving when she wakes up! Anyway, I usually give her a cereal bar and start by tearing it in half and then into several pieces. The last two days I gave her the bar in whole and as I was picking out some outfit options for her (yes, she loves to help pick-out her outfit from the options I give her) she started by tearing her bar in half and then into pieces before digging in! Guess she has been paying attention!

And then with both of us on many separate occasions Peyton has started helping feed Apollo. Peyton helps carry his bowl over to his food container and even helps carry it (full of food) back to his spot. If Apollo doesn't start eating right away she goes back over to his bowl and points at it and jabbers as if to say - "aren't you hungry Apollo - here's your food!"

First Day of Spring?!?

Wasn't it just last week that I was writing about how much we were enjoying spending time outside in the gorgeous weather??? It sure was! Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn't quite done with winter yet and last weekend we got another 4" or so of snow! At least it was warm enough to head outside for one more round of playing in the snow! Here are a few fun pictures -

Peyton helped Daddy make meatloaf for dinner on Saturday night by crushing-up the crackers with a wine bottle (and yes, we do have a rolling pin but it was way up in the cabinet - a wine bottle works just as well, right!?!)

And since the weather was a little frightful Peyton & I made some tasty rice krispy treats - Peyton loved using her cookie cutter and even hand delivered one to Daddy when we were done!

And one more pic from the weekend -

Girls Night Out

Last Friday we had a fun Girls Night Out at The Melting Pot to give Marla a proper send-off!! :) We enjoyed yummy cheese and chocolate - hard to beat!

Here's my Mommy & Daddy

Tonight on Peyton's school take home sheet there was a great story - "Peyton loves showing us where the picture of her family is - she likes to run over to the picture and point to and tell us her her Mommy & Daddy are." I love that she has a picture up at school to check us out during the day! Peyton also enjoyed dancing around with the kite she made during crafts time today with construction paper and colorful streamers - she really seems to like her new school! :)

A Preview of Spring

Mother nature decided to tease us today with a absolutely gorgeous day (before she hits us with snow on Saturday!) so we took advantage of the nice weather and headed outside as soon as dinner was over! Tonight's favorite activity - BUBBLES!!!! Well, that and of course just running around like a crazy toddler! It is so fun to be outside!

Date Night Part Deux

On Tuesday night, Evan & his Mommy were without a home since theirs was being shown so Peyton was super excited to have guests for dinner and fun afterwards! These kiddos are sure going to miss each other (as are their parents...).

One of Peyton & Evan's favorite games - who can make it to the top of the stairs the quickest? This round goes to Peyton! Of course, they had encouragement - it was bath time!!

It was super cute, before bath time Peyton wanted to sit up on the "love seat" and pointed to Evan and then pointed in the spot right next to her!

Peyton, the rule follower

Monday night was gorgeous here so we took advantage of the nice weather to play outside (oops – forgot our camera, next time…). Anyway, we got a toy or two out for Peyton but she was just as happy running up and down the driveway and playing “run around the tree” with Mom & Dad. I have a feeling we will be spending a TON of time outside as the weather starts to get warmer. When Peyton was running around on her own though she took a path down the sidewalk. I ran along behind her and told her to stop, pointed at the fire hydrant and said “we don’t go past the fire hydrant.” The next time she ran past it and looked back so we corrected her and she came back to us – the following time she ran right to the fire hydrant and then stopped, pointed at the fire hydrant herself and ran back. Will she be a rule follower? We sure hope so!

I can see, I can see!

That’s right, last Friday I had LASIK surgery done on my eyes and as of Saturday morning I am now able to see 20/20. The eye Dr. even said it should get better over the next two weeks – wow! I have worn glasses for probably close to 20 years, it is amazing to be able to wake up in the morning and be able to see without doing anything. One of these days, if the sun ever comes out, it is going to be nice to be able to get in the car and just throw on a pair of sunglasses without having to change them out for my actual glasses. Plus when I accidentally wear my sunglasses into the grocery store I will now be able to see what I am buying without looking like the strange lady walking around the grocery store with sunglasses on! ;) YAY!!

Grammy came-up to check on me on Saturday afternoon and the plan was for Daddy to get a chance to play a round of golf but since the weather wasn't cooperating Chad & I decided instead to do a little shopping, sans Peyton. Peyton is so much fun to have around, always, but does not really enjoy shopping too much right now so it was nice to be able to walk around and take our time up at the Legend's. I even found a new pair of sunglasses - double YAY!!! (I think Peyton & Grammy had a pretty good time too!)

MUST – WEAR – SHOES

Yes, this was the message that was heard loud and clear at our house last Thursday morning. Peyton’s school was having pajama day so after she got up I changed her into a pair of more Spring-like pajamas since her fleece pajamas would have been a little warm for that day. Unfortunately, I chose a pair of pajamas with the feet in them and that was just not going to work for Peyton! She all of a sudden started crying and I couldn’t figure out why – when I asked her what was wrong she pointed at her feet so I asked her, “do you want to wear shoes?” and through those tears she nodded her head and said “yes”. How could I deny that?! So we quickly changed her into another pair of pajamas, this time a pair without feet so that she could wear her shoes – whew, crisis adverted!!!

Date Night for Peyton & Evan

Evan's parents are in the process of moving to Iowa and since his Daddy has already moved Evan & his Mommy came over for dinner. We got a few fun pictures so I just had to include them on here!

Diaper & shoes, what more does a girl need??


"Please, please tell us that you won't pull out this picture when we are teenagers"


Yogurt - yummy!!!

Visit to Clinton

A few weekends ago – yes, I know I am WAY behind on my blogging – we headed down to Clinton for a visit as Grandpa’s brother and his family from Minnesota were back in town to visit Great Grandma Arthur’s old farm and attend a ceremony to honor Great Grandma Arthur at the church that I grew-up in. We had a fun time out at the farm (along with getting some work done) on Saturday morning. Peyton loved all of the open space and the wind blowing in her hair – the girl LOVES to be outside! She also was quite entertained with her cousin Claire (who was also quite enamored with Peyton!). Peyton spent the of Saturday afternoon hanging out with Grammy which entailed a nap, a visit with Granny & Great Grandpa Mintun and even a quick trip to an auction while Mommy & Daddy played golf with Grandpa and some of his buddies – what a fun day! Then on Sunday I had the chance to play with my Mom at church, it is always fun to have a reason to play since I don’t always find the time to play much at home while chasing after Peyton! The service to honor Great Grandma Arthur was very nice and it was great to have the chance to visit with Great Uncles Merle and Brian, Great Aunt Brenda and cousins Tom, Will & Claire. Here are a few pictures from the weekend -

Peyton right before we headed to church - she actually let me put a bow in her hair and left it in - wow!!!


Grammy & Peyton coloring -


Look at me, Mommy - I can run!!!


There is no step too big for me -


Grandpa, Peyton & Claire out on the farm -

Picture Time

Peyton totally gets what the camera is all about and now likes to bring us the camera in the evening and when we ask “do you want us to take your picture?” she quickly shakes her head (or really whole body) yes and cheeses for the camera – hilarious! As soon as the picture has been taken (or sometimes before we have a chance to take the picture) she is ready for us to show it to her on the screen. Man, she has learned fast!



And some new pics with Dad & Mom -

Peyton is a Big Girl!!!

Ok, ok - so I know I have some catching-up to do. For those that can make it to the end of this post, you should earn a gold star!! :)

What a little monkey – Peyton is quite a climber and has figured out how to climb on the arm of her Tinkerbell chair to fling herself onto the loveseat – her she is about ready to tackle this task -


Visitors – Grandpa Todd built Daddy some shelving so Grandma & Grandpa Todd came-up to deliver the shelves and visit last Sunday. Peyton showed-off how she likes to ride her new rocking horse and kept the grandparents quite entertained with her busy, busy self! After we visited for a while we headed out for dinner at Olive Garden and Peyton was an excellent diner. Of course, eating is always a fun thing for Peyton!


Putting on Socks & Shoes – Peyton doesn’t yet have this skill mastered but it is NOT for lack of trying! The girl LOVES to try and put on her own socks & shoes, it is so cute! She can sit there for several minutes at a time just trying and trying. One of these days she is going to surprise us and actually get it done! Peyton also likes to try and encourage Mommy & Daddy to put on shoes by bringing us shoes and sometimes even putting them on our feet for us. I hope this isn’t a sign of a shoe obsession to come…ought oh!!!



Our little helper – Peyton is definitely in a stage where she wants to help, with just about anything! She loves to - direct us where Apollo’s food and water go, tell us when Apollo is ready to come in and help us open the door, move laundry from the washer & dryer, help put clothes away (though she usually likes to put them away back in the hamper they just came from!) and empty the dishwasher (even if the dishes are not yet clean…). Peyton is also starting to learn what clean-up time means and is great at picking up her books and putting them back on the shelf at bedtime. What a big girl!

Morning Routine – Peyton has quite a morning routine down. Almost immediately after she wakes up Peyton is ready for her first morning snack (Mom has to come into her room prepared!). After snack it is time to get dressed (Peyton even picks out her own shirt every morning – something new for the last week which she seems to love – she even wanted to pick-out her own shoes this morning!) and go in and say good morning to Daddy. Daddy usually has Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playing (a fan favorite) which she watches while Daddy finishes getting ready for work. Of course, Peyton has to get in her morning work-out doing pull-ups just like Daddy – it is amazing how much of her own weight she really supports – strong girl!!! After she gets her coat on she now likes to give Apollo his good-bye treats. Peyton is now even holding Daddy’s hand and walking into school on her own – she is growing up so fast!

Dinner Time – We have moved Peyton’s bowls, plates & cups down to her level and she now loves to pick-out the plate she wants to use each night for dinner. Sometimes she tries to pick-out a bowl but as soon as we say, “no Peyton, pick-out a plate please” she goes right to her plates. Peyton is, however, not happy using her toddler plastic forks and prefers only to eat with Mommy & Daddy sized forks. Last night we tried a toddler sized silverware fork and that worked much better for her. Pretty much anything she can do to be like Mom & Dad is key (which is such a fun feeling). Peyton loves to stab things with her fork and is now a huge fan of dipping, especially if she sees ketchup on the table!

Vocab – Peyton hasn’t really added any new words recently but she is saying several words more clearly, including Dog & Duck, two of her favorites. She is also stringing multiple signs together which is awesome! Peyton likes to say “Hi” to just about anyone she passes and absolutely LOVES to try and talk on the phone. If she sees a phone she has to get her hands on it and push as many buttons as possible. After she pushes a few buttons she always holds it up to her ear and says hi – cute!