Weekly Happenings - 1/23 - 1/29

1. Apollo has been fighting ear infections off and on for at least the last 8 months. When our vet exhausted everything they knew to try we headed to a pet dermatologist to try and find out if Apollo had allergies. Unfortunately, to have testing done he had to be off of all meds for at least 3 weeks which caused him to get yet another ear infection. So, Apollo does have allergies, the worst of which is yeast. Every time he gets an ear infection it is yeast based so not only did he have an infection but he was actually allergic to the infection - poor guy! Our big guy went through a lot but hopefully now that we know and have a treatment plan for his allergies he will be a lot healthier. Unfortunately, he now has to take 5 pills, have his ears washed daily and ear drops twice a day to get rid of his terrible ear infection. And to help his allergies he has to take shots every other day for the next 29 days and then twice a month after that. Whew! Here is a picture of Apollo right after his testing, again - poor guy!!


2. I love how Peyton likes to play with Garrison and always wants him to be involved in what she is doing. She brings him toys, shows him how to play with the toys and loves to make him smile! My two angels! :)


3. So this is one downside of being the little brother...Peyton insisted that Garrison needed a bow. This may be used for blackmail someday!


4. On Sunday, Peyton & I took Apollo down to Clinton for his vacation while we head to San Diego. Garrison & Daddy couldn't join us since Garrison was still not feeling well - we missed them but had a great time!! Grammy had found a cash register at a garage sale and it was the hit of the day - Peyton spent most of our visit handing out money, scanning items and of course running credit cards through the machine - what a blast! We also had fun playing with babies, cooking some meals and doing flips with Grandpa! Thanks for a fun visit and thanks for keeping Apollo for us, especially with all of his medicine and shots!




5. Garrison turned 6 months old on Sunday - what a big boy! While at his 6-month check-up we found out that Garrison has RSV and an ear infection. We are very thankful that his case of RSV seems to be very minor and really hasn't felt too bad other than a runny nose and a little bit of a cough. He weighed-in at 15 lbs 11 oz (20-25%) and measured 26.5 inches (50%). He is growing right on track and other than his current illnesses seems to be doing great! Garrison is still talking a ton and loves that he can sit-up now and play! Our baby is getting so big so fast!!




6. Since Garrison had RSV we decided we shouldn't probably take him out to eat on Friday night but going out to eat was supposed to be a bit of a reward for Peyton for having such a great week (not crying at swim lessons, her first all-day playdate with her friend Kate C., etc.) so instead of the whole family going out, Peyton & I had a date night at Chick-Fil-A. It was great to have some time with just Peyton - we had so much fun! After our dinner we picked-up ice cream and brought it home to enjoy with Daddy before bedtime.

7. So Garrison couldn't go to school on Monday because of his RSV - guess what happens when Mommy is multi-tasking on a conference call while trying to feed Garrison?? Garrison's extra long arms can reach his breakfast to smear all over his tray and throw the rest on the floor! Guess Mommy needs to put breakfast a little further away next time! At least it looks like he had a good time! :)

Weekly Happenings - 1/16 - 1/22

1. Garrison has quickly mastered sitting - seriously - how on Earth do we have a little boy that sits already! Garrison started the week only being able to tripod sit and by the end of the week he was sitting for 2+ minutes all by himself. We are very proud!!

2. Peyton has definitely found her favorite baby, at least for now. Caroline continues to be very much a part of our lives. On Monday Caroline even had to have her own chair at the breakfast table at school. On Thursday, Caroline had to stay home because she fell right as it was time to head to school and needed a band aid. Friday, Peyton asked me to take her picture with Caroline (who needed to be wrapped-up like Garrison). I love how she takes care of Caroline, rocking her, holding her, putting her to bed, feeding her, etc. Such a loving little Mommy!

3. Garrison learned something new this week - how to blow raspberries. Now that he knows how to, he rarely stops! Although it is super cute it does make meal time a bit more challenging!

4. Peyton started in her new class officially on Monday and she is growing leaps and bounds already. It is always amazing how much she starts to learn when she starts a new class and is around older kids. Peyton has started singing several new songs and counting with alligator chomps - she counted up to 20 without stopping! I'm so proud of everything that she is learning and excited that now she is starting to tell us more of what she is learning. Most of all, I love how excited she is to go to school in the morning and how she runs to her class, excited to start her day!

5. Peyton LOVES dance class, so much so that she asks to go to dance pretty much every day. Swim lessons were still tough again this week but on Friday, Daddy took Peyton to swim with him and now she seems to be even more excited about swim lessons. She assures us she isn't going to cry this week and even asked if swim lessons were going to be on Monday (and seemed disappointed when we said no, not until Wednesday). Here's to hoping swim lessons soon top her list, just like dance!

6. This weekend we had a visitor, Courtney, our friend from college. We had a great time visiting Union Station (Peyton LOVED the train exhibits), Crown Center, Trader Joes and having some very tasty meals out. Peyton wasn't quite sure about Miss Courtney for about the first 30 minutes she was here but after that Peyton was stuck to her like glue! It is so fun that Peyton is starting to show her super personality to more and more people (and more people are starting to realize that we aren't crazy when we say she talks non stop!).

Peyton has been saying the funniest things lately - hopefully this week I will remember to write them down as these are the things I hope to capture.

Weekly Happenings - 1/9 - 1/15

Mr. Garrison recovered from his cold by Tuesday this week, thank goodness! I know that I am VERY blessed with how well Garrison sleeps (typically 10+ hours a night) so this Momma was not handling the 1.5 hour sleep spurts poor Garrison had while fighting his cold. I am also very thankful that once he felt better, Garrison slipped right back into his normal pattern without a hiccup - what a great little man!

1. After recovering from his cold, Garrison decided to add a new a new skill to his skill set - we have a tripod sitter! He is sitting for longer periods of time every day and he seems to love this new view!

2. Peyton continued her swim lessons this week and she is doing great. Well, she is still crying during parts of her lesson but she did everything her teacher asked her to do this week and she made a deal with Daddy that once she makes it through an entire lesson without crying, Mommy gets to come and watch! I'm anxious to get to see her in action! Daddy caught this great picture of her floating on her back this week. What's great is even though she has cried during her lessons she is excited to go and excited to tell me what she learned at the end of the lesson - one step at a time!

3. We have been trying something new around our house - a sticker chart. The first "goal" we worked on was saying "please" without having to be prompted. After filling up her sticker chart Peyton got to pick what she wanted as her reward - she chose to go out for ice cream so on Friday when it was < 20 degrees we loaded up the car and went out for ice cream! Needless to say, we didn't have to wait in line and pretty much had the place to ourselves. As you can see, Peyton really enjoyed her reward and has already decided the next time she fills a chart again she wants to go for ice cream! I love that she is excited to work toward a reward. Now we are working on putting our shoes on by ourselves - she has been able to for quite a while but doesn't always "want" to...hopefully at the end of this chart it will be a well established habit!

4. On Saturday we had a GREAT day! Grammy & Grandpa arrived early in the morning and stayed with the kids so that Daddy & I could sneak away for a massage - what a great way to start a weekend! We had a busy but super fun visit which included lunch at Olive Garden, making cupcakes, lots of fun play time and Daddy & I even got to sneak away again for dinner at Bonefish, one of our favorites! Peyton has really started to enjoy playing games - here you can see she played her ABC game with Grammy and I think they even played a couple of rounds of Zingo. One of Peyton's other favorites right now is having dance parties - as we were leaving for dinner I heard her "teaching" Grandpa how to dance - if only we could have gotten that one on camera!

5. After a busy Saturday we had an awesome relaxing Sunday. We didn't have anything to do so we stayed in for the day and we had the best day. Our day was filled with all kinds of imagination play (something that Peyton has really started to take off with), dance parties, games (we even added Chutes & Ladders on Sunday night), bowling (check-out the pics - after Peyton was done with using the ball she moved to having Daddy use her as the ball and even using Daddy too!), playing princesses and lots more fun. Peyton has also finally named one of her babies and stuck with the name - Caroline. Caroline often eats dinner with us and Peyton takes care of her when she is sick (Caroline is almost always sick when Garrison is!). She feeds Caroline, takes her on walks and stands and rocks with her when she is tired. Sunday was the kind of day that I wish I could freeze in time in my mind so that I can remember it always.

Garrison started to come down with a cold again on Sunday so he took a couple of long naps. Hopefully this cold is shorter in length than the last one - poor guy just looks so sad when his nose is running constantly.

Weekly Happenings - 1/1 - 1/8/2012

The Todd family has been hit full force by some nasty colds over the last couple of weeks so we have been taking it a bit easier than usual; however, we have stayed plenty busy!! Luckily, Daddy seems to have fully recovered and Garrison is feeling well enough to sleep in his crib again (vs. sleeping in his swing). And thankfully, Peyton & I have remained fairly healthy and not nearly as impacted by the colds as the guys in our family. Now, if only Garrison could get back on track with sleeping through the night - here's to hoping that happens this week!!

1. On Monday, our last day of holiday vacation, Peyton & Daddy headed to Crown Center to spend a fun day with Whitney for her birthday. We were all supposed to go but Garrison had a fever so I stayed home with him. The first picture is of Peyton before they left - wow, she's getting big and looked absolutely adorable! When they got to Crown Center they met-up with Uncle Landen, Aunt April, Wyatt, Whitney, Uncle Clint, Ms. Christy, Grandma & Grandpa for some ice skating. Daddy said Peyton had a great time but it was cold so they were done after a few laps around the rink. They worked up an appetite so headed inside to enjoy their train-delivered food at Fritz's before heading to Kalidescope. Needless to say, we had one exhausted 3-year-old on our hands but she had a great time celebrating with Whitney & family! Here are just a few pics from their day.

2. Through Monday night Garrison still wasn't feeling well so Tuesday morning, Grammy & Grandma Mintun came up to stay with Garrison as he was not ready to go back to school and Mommy & Daddy could not miss work after such a long break! He had a little bit of a fussy morning but recovered and was on the mend by the afternoon. Thanks Grammy & Grandma Mintun for staying with our little man - he was much better and ready to head to school on Wednesday!

3. Peyton started swim lessons this week and this was an extra big deal this year since she is now in the pool without Mommy or Daddy - WHOA! She was a little timid (just as we expected) but listened well to her teacher and was excited to tell me all about it when she got home. I can't wait to go and see her sometime soon too and maybe snap some pictures. We have a busy little girl now with dance on Tuesday and swim lessons on Wednesday. Maybe she will be a swimming pro by the time we go on vacation later this month! :)

4. Since everyone had been under the weather for almost a week we had a pretty laid back weekend. Grandma & Grandpa Todd came up for a visit on Saturday and Peyton had a great time showing off all of her Christmas goodies and playing a game of Zingo which we had just opened earlier that day. Peyton can have all the toys/games in the world but a game of "getcha" still seems to top her list of fun things to do! After some play time we had a tasty dinner at Jose Peppers before Grandma & Grandpa had to head home.

5. Keeping with our laid-back weekend approach, Peyton stayed in her jammies a lot of Saturday & Sunday, something she LOVES right now! Peyton is also super excited that Garrison can sit with her sometimes, though he does still fall over a bit! My two babies!

6. Garrison continues to grow and try new things. This week he discovered how to splash in the bath and was quite proud of himself - those smiles were priceless! He is also learning to sit a bit more and staying in the "tripod" position for a few seconds at a time. Peyton claps and laughs with him when he is sitting and then falls over! Garrison is now eating all different types of vegetables with Carrots seeming to be his favorite so far. He even gets to add a vegetable at lunch time starting this week!

7. Peyton is our little Miss Independent and wants to do everything herself! She has become very self relient by finding her own snacks, dressing herself more and more and even going to the bathroom all by herself at home and while we are out. Obviously, Mommy & Daddy are close by supervising all of these activities but she really wants to do things herself. She can even put toothpaste on her toothbrush and brush very well before we help her get the tough spots. Peyton also seems to be coming out of her shell, at least a little bit! While we were at the mall on Sunday she ran around talking and when we went into Macy's she turns around and says, "Look Daddy, those fans are CRAZY." So cute! I should have written more down as she cracked us up several times on Sunday but now I can't remember what all she said. The last thing I remember was on our way home when she started to tell me something by saying, "Hey, Amanda..." Such a cutie!!

8. Last but not least, a few pictures of Garrison from school during the month of December. I love how they have play time with friends - so cute to see him in his element! Check-out the last one where he is wearing a Princess bib for his breakfast - poor guy, just can't escape the girly things in life! ;)

Weekly Happenings - 12/26 - 12/31

Although we loved our fun times with friends and family over Christmas it was nice to have a little quieter week this week!

1. Garrison turned 5 months old this week - woo hoo! Garrison is growing so fast and changing every day. We started vegetables on Sunday and he has now tried green beans, peas & squash. So far none have really gotten a reaction of any type from him, he has enjoyed them all! :) I can't believe it has already been 5 months since this little guy joined our family but at the same time can hardly remember what life was like before his arrival - time is going by too fast and my baby is growing up WAY too fast!!

2. Since the weather has been unseasonably warm this week we have enjoyed playing outside a few evenings after school and even got to visit with our neighbors again a couple of times - something I have missed very much and I know Peyton has too! I'm quite sure we will pay for all the nice weather we have been having sometime in January but I will take what I can get when I can get it! It was so fun for Peyton to be able to be outside and ride her car and practice a little more on her bike - how many more days until Spring again?!?!

3. Daddy had a pretty exciting week this week - he took scuba diving classes! Daddy has wanted to go scuba diving for years and was very excited to learn a new skill this week. Once Spring rolls around he will go down to Table Rock Lake to complete his open water training. Maybe one of these days I will learn to scuba as well so that we can scuba somewhere warm and beautiful on vacation! :)

4. On Friday we had visitors - YAY! Grammy, Grandpa & Grandma Mintun arrived early on Friday morning for a visit and we were excited to see them! We played around the house, did a little shopping and even snuck in lunch at Red Robin. Peyton always loves having visitors and after she woke up from her rest time (they left just before rest time) she asked when Grammy was coming back!

5. We had planned on going to a neighbor's house to celebrate New Year's Eve but unfortunately Daddy started not feeling well on Friday night and was down for the count on Saturday. Since I am a "turn lemons into lemonade" kind of gal, Peyton & I ran to the store to buy some goodies to have our very own New Year's Eve party - we made ants on a log, banana roll-ups, homemade biscuit pizzas, chips & dip, veggies & hummus and a cake! Whew! We had a great time putting our dinner together and for a special treat we enjoyed our cake downstairs at Peyton's princess table. After dinner we also had a dance party. Peyton now LOVES to dance (note - earlier in the day she spent close to an hour running around our upstairs playing and dancing in her panties - hilarious!!) so we turned on iTunes and danced the night away - what a fun evening!! Needless to say we rang in the new year in our sleep!

We have had an absolutely AMAZING year and can't wait to see what 2012 will bring.