Weekly Happenings - 11/18 - 11/24

1.  Wow - on Wednesday, our baby girl turned 5!  I still can't quite believe this is happening but we are so very proud of Peyton.  She is smart, beautiful, busy, sassy and loving.  I don't know how she is already 5 - seems like just the other day we brought her home from the hospital!  I can't imagine what the future has in store for her but am thrilled that I get to be a part of her finding her way!

2.  To celebrate her birthday, I treated her to a Mommy/Daughter afternoon which included her first pedicure!  Of course, she had her fingernails painted to match as well - pink with gold glitter.  So exciting!!  We also had lunch with Daddy at her favorite - Blue Moose!  Our fun day was wrapped-up with a visit to meet our new nephew & cousin, Lucas!  He is a super sweet baby!

3.  On Friday, we celebrated Save a Turkey, Eat Spaghetti with the kids at their school!  They both enjoyed having us for lunch and it was great to see them with all of their friends!  Peyton ate for at least 45 minutes straight - she was a hungry girl!

  

4.  Also on Friday, Peyton had her 5-year check-up.  She did a great job listening to the Dr. and is right on track!  She weighed 41.5 lbs and measured 42".

 5.  On Saturday, we started our holiday celebration by decorating for Christmas!  The kids had a great time trimming the tree with me and both helped put the angel on the top of the tree!  Of course, their favorite is all of the singing snowmen decorations we have - they need to be hidden for those wee hours of the morning!

 

6.  On Saturday, Grandma & Grandpa Todd also came up for a visit and to bring Peyton her birthday present - a dollhouse that Grandpa built for her!  She has had a great time playing with it (and we are trying our best to keep Garrison from sitting on it!).  After a short visit we went to Cinzetti's for a tasty lunch.

7.  This weekend, Daddy took on a big project - painting our room including the vaulted ceiling!  The kids were enthralled with Daddy's project, especially his ladder, so they got in on the fun.  Check-out these professionals!

 8.  Another project for this weekend.  Yep, we were busy!  Leaves, leaves and more leaves!  I love our mature trees and big back yard but man, we have a lot of leaves!  Peyton had a great time playing in the piles even though it was below freezing outside!

9.  MILESTONE: Also this week, Peyton passed her deep-end test!  She swam the length of the pool at swim lessons without help.  Big time now doesn't have to wear her bubble during play time!

Weekly Happenings - 11/11 - 11/17

1.  On Monday & Tuesday, we had a mini staycation at Great Wolf Lodge (also known as Howling Wolf to Peyton which was the name of one of the slides).  Grandma & Grandpa Todd had given us a gift card for Christmas last year and we were excited to get to use it on a really cold couple of days!  Around naptime on Monday, we took the long way around 435 to get to the resort and by the time we arrived, we were ready to play!  We got checked in and headed down to the waterpark.  Needless to say, it was awesome!!  Lots of slides, big and small, a treehouse with a bucket that dumped 1,000 gallons of water every 5 minutes, pools with basketball goals, a lazy river and lots of splash areas.  The kids felt like they hit the gold mine!  They were measured when they walked in the door so they knew exactly what they could and couldn't ride but both could ride all but one slide with us.  We played for almost 2 hours then our room was ready for us to change and get ready for dinner.  The kids loved our room - they had their own "Wolf Den" with bunk beds and their own TV!  As you can see below, Garrison almost fell asleep watching Mickey while waiting for dinner to arrive - kiddo was exhausted!  After dinner, Daddy & Peyton went back to swim for a bit while Garrison & I walked around the resort a bit and relaxed.  They were both ready for bed on Monday night!

On Tuesday, the park didn't open until 10 so we enjoyed breakfast at the resort (we were NOT leaving - it was < 15*!) then tried-out the arcade.  The kids played wack-a-villan, skeet ball, tried driving a motorcycle and Peyton helped Daddy play Terminator!  They thought it was great fun earning tickets and luckily earned enough for both of them to pick out a small prize.  Then it was time to swim some more!  On Tuesday, Peyton even tried the tube slides she had to go down by herself and she fell in love!  I think we have a certified water slide junkie on her hands (just like me!).  It was so great to see her excited to try more things and was ready to go again as soon as she got to the bottom - we had a hard time keeping up!  After lunch, Garrison snuck-in a quick nap before check-out time and we kept on playing until mid-afternoon.  Garrison's favorite was the pool with the basketball goals and thought it was great fun to be up high in Daddy's arms!  After a sweet treat, it was time for us to head home.  It was a quick visit but we had a blast (and ALL slept well on Tuesday night!).

2.  On Saturday, we had Peyton's 5th birthday party - a Snow White party!  Her party wasn't until 3 and it was hard for her to wait all day for the party but it was great!  She had 11 friends join the party, plus Snow White, of course!  Snow White told a great story about Princess Peyton, they passed several fun "tests" to earn their treasure and went on an adventure walk to get to open the treasure box!  The girls had such a great time!  Then it was time for cake!  Peyton wanted a Snow White cake with the 7 dwarves and I was able to make the cake again this year!  It was so awesome for her to come home on Friday evening and to see her face when she saw her cake for the first time!!  Today, Peyton told me she was sad Snow White had to leave and she hopes she comes back sometime soon!  

3.  On Sunday, Chad & I wanted to go see Thor so Grammy & Grandpa came up for a visit and to stay with the kids while we had a date at the matinee movie.  We went to the Fork & Screen and had a tasty lunch and an awesome time at the movie!  While we were away, Grammy & Grandpa took the kids to Freddy's for a tasty lunch followed by a nap for Garrison and some outside play time and card games for Peyton & the grandparents!  I think a good time was had by all!!

4.  Peyton is getting more into pretend play and comes up with some interesting scenarios.  Tonight, she was Carbella, my hairdresser.  She also spent a lot of her day "watching videos on her iPad" which was actually a keyboard!  All while wearing her "weddin' dress".  Love her!

5.  Garrison looks up to his sister like crazy and wants to always keep up with her.  Tonight, after watching Peyton color some pictures, he drew everyone a picture and gave them to each of us saying, "I color for you."  So cute!!  He was very proud of himself and he should be, he is growing up so fast!  Love him!!

Weekly Happenings - 11/4 - 11/10

1.  On Friday, I took the day off to spend with some of my girlfriends - it was an awesome November weather day for visits to a couple of wineries and a little small town shopping!  We wrapped-up our day with dinner at Lidia's (one of my favorites!) and the lots of girl talk before bed.  It was a perfect way to spend the day and am thankful to have these girls in my life!!

2.  When I got home on Saturday morning, I found that the kids & Daddy had been busy!!  They had made a trip to the grocery store, the paint store and even went out to The Egg & I for breakfast - what a treat!!  They had also picked-up the house and done a little cleaning.  This Momma felt a bit spoiled when I got home!  Shortly after saying our hellos, we embarked on a family walk.  The kids had a blast exploring a nature trail near our house and were excited to find a playground along the way!  Peyton even brought Big Baby along for the ride.  What a great way to spend part of our Saturday!!

3.  On Sunday, we started our day with a trip to the zoo where Grammy, Grandpa and Grandma Mintun met us!  The kids had fantastic time exploring and showing the grandparents around to their favorite parts of the zoo!  The highlight this time, a trip to see the new penguins!  The exhibit was awesome and I can't wait to go back and visit many times!  We also rode the carousel, train and tram and finished-up our visit with a picnic - outside none the less!  After our visit to the zoo, everyone came back to our house for dessert and a short visit before they left to go home.  

4.  Garrison is learning so much right now.  He has officially mastered his colors and is counting about every time he gets the chance.  He can make it to about 13 before missing a beat but then tends to jump to 17 - the boy LOVES saying 17!

5.  Peyton's phrases are to die for these days.  One night when Garrison was having a rough evening, he had calmed down but then got upset again.  Peyton says, "Ugh, here we go again!"  She also told Grammy today that she wasn't sure which of her friends were "available" to come to her party but hoped most would be able to attend.  

Weekly Happenings - 10/28 - 11/3

1.  This week was big for Mr. Garrison - he moved to a big boy bed!  The first pics are the last with his crib (that was also Peyton's and my crib!) - checking for pacis underneath, just before bed and fast asleep.  Fast forward to Thursday after school and the big man was checking out his big boy bed.  He ran in saying, "big boy, I big boy!"  He was very excited!  The kids love the top bunk too and Peyton can't wait to sleep in his room on the top bunk!  He fell off the ladder once and out of bed once during nap on Sunday - not too bad.  Even when he fell out during nap, he crawled right back into bed and fell back asleep without making a peep!

2.  Thursday was also Halloween!  I had a chance to go to both of the kids' parties and walk with them for trick or treating at a few nearby businesses.  We had a quick break for Mummy Hot Dogs for dinner then it was off for more trick or treating!  We walked around with our neighbors and the kids had so much fun!  Peyton was Merida and Garrison was Superman.  Garrison went to about 5 houses, Peyton about 20!  What a great Halloween!

3.  On Friday, Grammy came up to spend the day with me!  We shopped, we had a tasty lunch, we shopped some more!  It was great to spend the day with my Mom!  Grammy went with me to pick the kids up at school - they were surprised and excited!  Since Grammy was in town, she stayed with the kids so Chad & I could have a date night - sweet!  Peyton was a little disappointed she wasn't going on our date with us, well, until Grammy treated the kids to their own "date night" by dining at McDonald's (vs bringing it home).  They had a great time and so did we!!  The kids had a hard time saying good-bye when it was time for Grammy to head home on Saturday morning.

4.  On Sunday, Peyton was super excited to check-out all of the toy catalogs that came in the paper!  She spent quite a bit of time combing through the catalogs and circling her favorites.

5.  Then, we made a special trip to Toys R Us!  Peyton got a birthday card with a gift card that was burning a hole in her pocket!  She got the full birthday treatment - balloon, crown and an announcement over the loud speaker that it was Peyton's birthday!  She told me it was the best part of her weekend!

6.  Garrison is getting so big - he is putting sentences together, has pretty well mastered his colors and learns new words every day.

7.  Peyton has had a flare for the dramatic recently - hilarious (at least in hindsight!).  When she sees something she wants or thinks is cool, I hear, "Mommy, OH MY GOODNESS!"  

8.  Tonight, I received my first unsolicited "I love you, Mommy" from Garrison.  MELT MY HEART!