Spoon skills

I gave Olivia a bowl and a spoon for the first time the other day...she's getting the hang of it pretty fast.  And now wants nothing to do with me feeding her, she wants to do it all by herself every time!

A perfect SUNNY day for a picnic!

Today we met Kate and Ethan at a park near their house for a picnic lunch and to play! The boys had a great time running, playing and lots of swinging!  I'm sad this is the last sunny day for a while.

Ethan decided he was Jake the Neverland Pirate today and had his bandana on.

Peyt giving his sis a push

Kate got a great arm workout pushing the two of the boys at once.

BFF's

Park and the Ducks

It was a crisp partly sunny day yesterday so we decided to head to the park. Olivia wasn't a fan of the swing when we first got there, but loved it by the time we left. 

Um

Peyton did great pumping his legs and swinging 'super high!'

Peyton had me spin him up..

She was loving it..

On the way home we stopped at the dock on Mud Lake to see what the duckies were up to.

Olivia loved them and was chatting to them

Bible stories

Peyton's snotty-nosed rendition of the Bible.  I was unaware that Joseph's husband died.  LOL.

Copycat

13 Months

I was writing the date down for something the other day and realized that Olivia was past her 13 month mark! Oh how the time flies.  I must be having fun?
Olivia took her first steps this past month.  She prefers to crawl and will ONLY walk if she wants to.  I notice that she will walk more on the carpet in the bedrooms and is more reluctant to walk on the hardwoods, understandably.  She does love to push her baby in her stroller and push her wagon all around the house.
Olivia is babbling and "talking" like crazy.  Her favorite word right now is "yummy."  When she sees something she wants to eat, she will point to it and say "yummy yummy!!"
Another hilarious thing she is doing right now is nodding her head.  Whenever you ask her a question (i.e. "Are you a big girl?"), she will get this sly smile and nod furiously at you.  I'm trying to catch it on video but no success yet.
She's tried a couple new foods this past month: oranges, grapes, and eggs.  We are so lucky she is such a great eater.  And she loves to eat!
She's sleeping a bit better this month, but waking up earlier than normal.  I'm sure that's due to it getting lighter earlier.  I need to hang up her curtains soon.  I kind of think she's getting her eye teeth...she's been a little fussy and got the teething rash/cold she usually gets.

Here's a few videos from the past couple of weeks of our girl..

Chatty Cathy:

First steps caught on video:

We recorded the Grammy's and boy does this girl (as well as Peyton) LOVE this song by Bruno Mars.  We watch it every day.

And some iPhone pics:

Coldstone treat on her actual birthday

Looking cute in her new peacoat at Peyton's Dr. Appt

Eating Chicken Tortilla Soup that Kate made for us! She loved it

Getting ready to go shopping

{Hectic} Zoo Day

Yesterday we met Kate and Ethan for a crisp dry day at the zoo.  Despite the smiles in the pictures, Peyton woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was naughty the entire time.  It was extremely frustrating and made for not our best zoo trip, but thankfully today is a new and MUCH better day.  Olivia was mostly content in her stroller and enjoyed the animals.

FIVE

I can even remember what life was like without Peyton.  But yet it also feels like the past five years have flown by.  Peyt has really grown up and matured in the past year. He's had to adjust to a new sibling, which was hard for him to start with, but he's an amazing big brother.  I totally miss him as a baby and toddler, but I'm so excited for these upcoming school years to watch him change and grow.

Yesterday we went in for his check up and he's a very healthy boy! Here are his stat's at 5 years old:

Height: 46 inches, 97% (last year he was 43.5 inches)

Weight: 43.5 lbs, 50-75% (last year he was 37 lbs)

Dr. Hahn predicted that based on his growth, she guesses he will be in between 6'3"-6"5".  Yikes.

She had him write his name, and they also tested his hearing and vision which all turned out normal.

*Peyton is thriving in school.  He loves his school and loves his teacher Mrs. Horne.  We're working hard to keep him in this private school, while also hoping for me to get on day shift, which means paying for day care (another post in itself).  Keeping him there is important for B and I so we're hoping it all works out.  His recent progress report from school read this: "Peyton is such a joy to have in class. I love to hear his stories and imagination.  He has something to add to everything!  Peyton has added to his counting skills.  He has demonstrated that he understands the counting pattern.  He just needs help knowing which group of tens comes next.  He has added more letter sounds and is able to participate in class when we are sounding out words to write.  Socially, Peyton is friendly towards most of his classmates.  He especially enjoys sitting next to Lucia.  When these two are together, there is always joy and giggles." 

I've been working with him at home with sounding out short, one syllable words and he is catching on quick.  He often asks me to write words for him to read or asks me to tell him words to sound out and write.  It's exciting to think that he will be able to read books to me soon!

*Peyton still loves to eat.  He will try new foods and there isn't much he will turn down.  I've totally noticed an increase in my grocery bill, not just from the price hikes, but because he has grown and is eating a lot more!  His most requested meal is pasta, but he loves salad still and fruit is always a favorite.  And of course any sort of dessert or sweets! 

*Activities Peyton is enjoying now are: building legos, playing with his Cars 2 characters, drawing, coloring, crafting, helping me cook, helping me clean, riding his bike, running, or just being outside in general. Favorite movies/shows: Cars 2, Space Jam, Looney Toons, Backyardigans, Ninjago, just to name a few.

*I have to say that as Peyton is getting older, his stubbornness just increases!  He does not like to be told what to do and wants to have a say in everything.  This is totally frustrating at times, and we're working on ways to have him still have choices, but know that he is not in charge. Being consistent with him is key and we are all working on this! But Peyton is such a sweet, caring, and affectionate boy. He has turned out to be completely hilarious and has an awesome sense of humor.  He definitely has bits and pieces of both of B and I's personality.  He is silly like me, but can also be serious like his Daddy.

And I wanted to ask the questions that I did about six months ago and continue to ask every year at his birthday:

My favorite food is: Pasta.

My favorite toy: My talking Francesco car

My favorite sport to play is: Basketball

The best show on TV is: Looney Tunes

The coolest person on Earth is: God

My favorite thing to do in school is: Bouncy balls

If I could go anywhere in the world, I'd go to: Red Robin

My favorite colors are: Red and Green

When I grow up, I'm going to become a: A policeman

My current favorite song is: "Just a Kiss" by Lady Antebellum

The book I'm loving right now is: Curious George

Two words that describe me are: Loud and funny

When I was little, I used to: Play with my baby toys

My favorite season of the year is: Christmas

The best thing about camping is: Swimming

My favorite snack is: Bunny crackers and apples

One food I really dislike is: Onions and radishes because they are hot

My best friend is: Ethan

If I had one wish it would be: For the sun to come out so we can go to the park.

My best memory is: Playing legos with Austin.

We are so proud of our boy and look forward to this next year in KINDERGARTEN! Crazy!

We love you SO much Peyton!

Happy 5th Birthday Peyton!

On Peyton's actual birthday we celebrated with a Lego color/theme party! He requested Mexican food so I put out a huge taco bar spread, lots of dips and a chicken taco chili that was delish! Happy birthday to our big 5-year-old!

Eating his birthday breakfast.  Belgian waffles!

Making a wish.

Olivia loved her waffle

Lego-colored pom poms

Peyton requested Oreo pops like his sister had at her party

Peyton wanted to do Skittles for his party favor..but I totally forgot to give them out until after half the people left! 

Showing Uncle A what he built

New remote control Francesco car

Olivia was ALL over Ethan, hugging him, laying on him, kissing him, rubbing his hair.  It was hilarious!

Snuggling with Daddy

He got so much fun stuff

New tee-ball gear. He's signed up for this Spring

These two are best buddies!

The boys taking turns with his new toys

Aww cousin love!

Chocolate mint Coldstone ice cream cake!

Love him

We got him a full-size basketball hoop with adjustable height to get him started on some hoopin! I think I might be more excited than he is about this! I can't wait to start playing with him.

My nephew's girlfriend Jennica made these gorgeous picture frames on wood!  I absolutely love them

They also got Olivia the cutest outfits for a belated b-day gift, including this adorable pea coat.  I wish they had it in  my size!