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

Changes...

The Ferraro's have been quite busy the last couple months. We recently decided that we were ready to try and sell our house. Which meant lots of unfinished projects to tackle and new ones to start. We are finally in the home stretch and will have the house officially on the market next week. It is a scary but exciting journey we are starting. But it is by far not the best change that is coming. We are excited to annouce that Peyton will be a big sister in January!! From the beginning if you ask Peyton if she is having a baby brother or sister she will tell you sister. She is also convinced she will name the baby "Prosciutto." At my 12 weeks appointment Peyton came along to hear the heartbeat. It was very special to share that with both Peyton and Dominic. We will be finding out if we are having a boy or a girl. I am already counting down the days to the appointment (which is September 13th).

Even though there is a lot of stress right now we are very excited for what the future holds!

Chatter box

Peyton is an absolute chatter box lately. I think she talks from the minute she wakes up until the minute she falls asleep! It is wonderful to be able to actually communicate with her but the silence is also very peaceful at night time! The other day she was playing with one of her baby dolls and I asked her what her baby's name was...she thought about it for a minute and then said "Prosciutto"! Yes that is correct, she has officially named her doll prosciutto. It was hilarious but I thought like in the past that she would forget by the next time I asked her; however, she has not. She even remembers which doll it is. I love the things she comes up with! And the things she remembers...we are in trouble! There is no doubt that we have to be careful what we say and tell her because she will of course repeat it at some point again. But her memory is fabulous. She has memorized a handful of her favorite books and even chose to read them to Dominic the other day at nap time instead of Dominic reading them to her. She will even hold them up so you can see the pictures.

The things she says and does continuously brings a smile to my face. I could not be more proud of Peyton!

BFF's

Ellarie (18 months) and Peyton (2 yrs)

Ellarie helping Peyton up

"We all fall down..."

"Ring around the rosie"

Photos of big girl bed

Big girl bed!

Wow our big girl, Peyton slept in her new bed last night for the first time!

Our friends gave us their toddler bed recently, so yesterday we finally decided why not give it a try. With the crib still in the room and ready to go I explained to Peyton that she has to stay in her bed all night long until her sun comes on and Mommy comes to get her. I told her that if she needed anything to just yell for Mommy and Daddy. She was a champ. Fell asleep on her own and woke up right before her sun came on. She stayed in bed until I came in to get her. Right now we are working on naps...she is currently laying in bed talking but I do not hear her playing so that is a good sign. Crossing my fingers she will be out cold any minute!

I am sure there will be times in our future where we will hear her reading books or playing with her toys but that is ok. I am so proud of her for making it through the first night with no problems. She is very excited right now about her big girl bed. I will post pictures of her getting comfortable with it yesterday very shortly!

And for a funny Peyton comment to end this post....

One of Dominic's best friends left to go back to Europe a week ago. Peyton asked "Where is Christian" I told her "He is in Europe" Peyton's response "He is not in my up"! It was hilarious she heard your up instead of Europe. After trying to explain it to her again we ended it with saying he went on an airplane. Dom and I got such a kick out of it!

2nd Birthday

This weekend we celebrated Peyton's 2nd Birthday. I can't even describe how crazy it feels to think that she is already 2 years old. The last 2 years has flown by faster than I could have even imagined. Her birthday was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed. Including a home-made Mickey Mouse Cake. Peyton fell asleep that night signing Happy Birthday to herself.

These days Peyton is quite independent...or would like to be anyway. I guess this is the start of the "terrible two's!" I can't even start to list all of the words she knows now. You can actually have a conversation with her and she will give you a sentence back. It may or may not make sense every time but she is incredibly smart. (and yes I know I am bias) She wow's us every day with something different that she says.

She loves to sing. Her favorite songs are: ABC's, Wheels on the Bus, Old McDonald, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Twinkle Twinkle. Things are songs she can sing by herself. She can count to 13 sometimes 14 on her own. Like every other toddler she loves to run and jump and be outside. She has discovered how much fun digging in the dirt can be and would be content doing that for hours!!

In the next couple weeks we are going to attempt to move her into a big girl bed. Since of course she will not accept that she is a baby anymore. If you tell her she is a baby she either says "I am not a baby I am Peyton Ferraro" or "I am not a baby I am a big girl." We are also working on mastering our skills with drinking out of a cup and continuing to work on potty training (which has taken a back burner recently).

Cousin Maggie and Peyton coloring.

Present time. Peyton did awesome this year and opened every single one of her presents!

Smile BIG girl!!!

The famous Mickey Mouse cake.

Play Time

A day in the life of Peyton:

Hmm...color or watch cartoons?

Making PB and J for lunch

Painting

Just keeping busy

She is such a good Mommy to her dolls.

Mason and Peyton love

Peyton absolutely loves her cousin Mason. Grandma has been nice enough to bring Mason over a few times on her way to play with Peyton. A day does not go by where Peyton doesn't ask where Mason is. This is one thing I love about being a mom and being so close to my brother and his family. I hope Peyton and Mason (and of course Maggie and Gabby) have many years of fun times together.

Cooking

Recently Peyton discovered helping me cook. This now means I cannot make a meal without her insisting we get the stool out and letting her help. She is becoming quite the little chef!

Playing outside

Look Mama an airplane

How can you not love this face???

Working on her soccer skills.

With this non-winter like weather we have been having Peyton has loved spending her afternoons playing outside on the slides and driving her school bus. She is always driving to the store to get applesauce...funny because she doesn't actually like to eat applesauce. I can already tell this summer will be spent mostly outdoors.