Colton

Colton hasn't had much time on this blog. But he has taken a lot of my time! Colton is an amazing little boy who is already 7.5 months old. His smile with those dimples melts my heart every time I see it. Even when it is 2am and he has already been up twice...yes we are struggling with night wakings. But I am confident (ok this is what I am telling myself) that they will be ending quickly. Colton mastered sitting up within the last few weeks and is already moving on to trying to figure out crawling. He is getting up on his knees and rocking back and forth. It will only be a matter of time before he is chasing after Peyton. And boy will I be in trouble. We didn't think ahead when we bought this new house because there really is no way for me to corral him in the living room...it is going to be interesting to say the least.

 All smiles

 Peyton helping

 First bath together (in Lincoln City with Grandma)

 First time eating - he LOVES food!

 Newborn

 Seriously the dimples...

 Working on crawling

Peyton can always even mid crying bring a smile to Colton's face. The genuine love they have for each other is amazing to me. Sure there will be some sibling fights and they will probably start as soon as Colton is crawling but I have no doubt that they will always be close.

School time!

It is unbelievable to me that Peyton is starting preschool. Just the other day she was learning to walk and talk. I truly thought this day would never come. I have been so excited for her to start preschool but I have also been very anxious. Peyton tends to be a little shy and unsure of new experiences. But she amazed both Dominic and I today when we dropped her off at school. She got right into playing house, gave us huge hugs and kisses and said goodbye. There were no tears!! I even choked back mine. I know there will be tough mornings but I also know she is going to have so much fun learning and making new friends.

Time...

It has been way too long sine I have taken the time to update this blog. And of course I am currently on a computer with no photos so those will follow shortly.

The biggest change since the last post was the arrival of our son Colton Dominic John. On January 24th we walked into the hospital early in the morning and welcomed Colton a few hours later. This birthing experience was far different than Peyton. This one was planned first of all but I am not sure I enjoyed that completely. It was very odd to walk into the operating room and be completely awake and coherant while they prepped me and gave me the spinal tap. After that I couldn't feel anything but I was still wide awake and aware of everything. I was very anxious and had a hard time relaxing until I heard Colton's first cry. Then I hear Dominic tell me he looks just like Peyton did. And sure enough he did...full head of black hair, dark skin and a face you could kiss forever!

Colton has been a much different baby than Peyton was. Colton actually likes to sleep! He is 3 months old already. He eats between 7:30-7:45pm, goes to bed and sleeps anywhere from 1:30am-3:30am, then is up between 6-7am usually. Last night he slept until 4am and then didn't get up for the day until almost 8am. He is also an incredibly happy baby. Even when he is upset, which isn't often, he will stop and give you a smile. He rolled from him tummy to his back last week for the first time. While he did it multiple times that day he hasn't done it since but we will keep up with the tummy time so he can master that skill.

One of the most amazing things since welcoming Colton into our family is seeing how much Peyton loves him. I was very worried about her reaction as Peyton has always been a mommy's girl. But since the moment she met Colton the day he was born she has been an a amazing big sister. She can even be over-protective of him at times. The last few months Peyton and Dominic's relationship has definately blossomed. Now Daddy can do things for Peyton that she usually would only let Mommy do. About a month after Colton was born Peyton decided it was time to get out of the diaper. So are very excited that she is potty trained!

Peyton is enrolled in swim lessons currently and shocks us every week. This time she is in the water without us there. She does amazing. Swimming around by herself, jumping in the water, and learning to float. This girl talks ALL day long. From the moment she wakes up until she falls asleep. She will even talk in her sleep occasionally...but some of the things she says are just the funniest things. I need to start keeping a journal so I don't forget them.

I will post some photos soon and get better about keeping up to date on both kiddos!

Christmas Time

Christmas this year was very busy but very special. We moved into our new house on December 15th and immediately got a Christmas tree. Peyton understood what Christmas was about and that Santa would be bringing her toys...a hula hoop and a jump rope to be exact! So it was important for us to get her into the house and decorated for Christmas.

Christmas Eve - present from Aunt Micki and Uncle Pat

Cooking dinner with Daddy and Papa on Christmas Eve

Visit with Santa.

Peyton holding onto baby brother. Mom at 34 weeks pregnant.

Fall

Cousins - Mason, Maggie, and Peyton

"Woof" the dog!

Fall has settled in here and with it has brought the pumpkins! Last night we celebrated Halloween. Peyton chose her own costume and went as a dog. She was the cutest dog I have ever seen...I am not biased!! For those that really know Peyton she can be quite shy so I was very impressed with how well she did last night. She walked as quickly as she could from door to door. Said "trick-or-treat" and even "thank you" at every house. I am not going to lie I had to remind her to use her manners when she said "I want candy" instead of "trick-or-treat" but none the less she did awesome. She even got hang out at the front door and handed out candy to the neighborhood kids (or guests as she kept referring to them).

Next week I will be 28 weeks pregnant. The time has flown by so quickly. With the holidays rapidly approaching the next 12 weeks are going to fly by! There really isn't even 12 weeks left until the baby will be here but for now I will continue to think I have more time than I really do. Hopefully we will be scheduling the c-section at my 28 week appointment so I can start to plan even more. Baby boy is still nameless and may be until he is here...depends on what Daddy decides! Peyton has really started to enjoy laying on, rubbing or talking to my belly. It is just so sweet and makes me want to cry (darn hormones) when she kisses my belly or talks to her baby brother. As nervous as I am to have a toddler and a newborn in the house at the same time, I know Peyton is going to be the best big sister this little boy could ask for.

All in a day's work...

Goggles a girl's best friend!

Showing her "cute" face while Mommy scrambles to get her hair fixed.

Sitting on the sprinkler

Again with the goggles - required when running through sprinklers!

Daddy and Peyton's first fishing experience together. Unfortunately they did not catch fish on this trip only seaweed. A couple weeks later we took Peyton to a small man-made pond where you are guaranteed to catch fish. She was excited until they actually caught the fish. When Dom tried to show it to her, the fish slipped out of his hands and started flopping around on the ground. She wanted him to put the fish back in the water. After that we spent most of the time swinging while Dom fished. Peyton would prefer at this point to cast and reel, cast and reel...the actual fish are over rated!

Seaside

With football season now in full swing it is important for me to make special family time. Dominic is so busy this time of year and Peyton misses him so much. So since there was finally a small break from football I convinced Dom we needed to head to the beach. So over Labor Day weekend we decided to head to Seaside for the morning. It was an absolutely beautiful day at the Oregon Coast. Peyton rode on the carousel, window shopped, and of course spent most of her time on the beach.

Running in the sand

She is striking her pose in this photo for me.

Dominic likely explaining about the waves and how to run away from them!

Precious daddy and daughter