These will do...but where are those big ones?

Despite not being able to find Mommy's flip flop collection yesterday, Peyton managed to continue her love of flip flop modeling through the house with one of big sis' pairs she found by the door. Although I could tell they weren't as fun to her as Mommy's that are 10 sizes bigger!

Light Blue + Orange = A Great Game

Kylie's t-ball game today was vs the orange team. It was another great game with a lot of good listening, batting, fielding and sportsmanship!


On the run!

"Mommy I don't have time for that (a picture) right now!"

"Ok Mommy if you want to take one picture that's fine."

Good game, good game

Peyton sneaking away quietly with her poptart. If Mommy's concession stand wasn't open each game she would be outta the park faster than you can say "batter up" :)!

Bookworm #2

1 1/2 & Tall!

Peyton turned 18 months on May 16th and got a clean bill of health at her wellness appointment today! One of her ears still had a slight pesky ear infection but not enough to even go back on her antibiotic.

Hgt: 33 1/2 (92%!)
Wgt: 23.8 oz (50%)
Head: 18 3/4

The Dr. was impressed with Peyton's cooperation with him as well as her independence! The biggest stride made this month was that it's going on a week that Peyton has slept 12 hours a night without getting up even once!!! This is huge as there were so many sleepless nights, EARLY morning wake ups and confusion as to what could be the cause for her to wake up so frequently for almost 2 years. It's great because that means that nothing's bothering her enough to wake up, she's taking in enough calories and is wearing herself out enough during the day- Mommy can vouch for that one as she collapses from sheer exhaustion at the end of each day :)! I'm sure there will be the occassional wake up call from teething or the sniffles but for now we are definitely enjoying the quiet nights!

We're so glad to have you healthy and happy Peyton- Happy 18 months!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

We salute all who have fought and fallen for our country- God Bless the USA!

Play ball!

Kylie's Stonebridge Sandlot t-ball season kicked off this past Saturday. This year she is on the light blue team and game one was a face off against the red team. It was nice for Kylie to see some old faces from last year as well as meet her new teammates. The most exciting moment was seeing her round all of the bases (even bypassing those that were already on base but not moving) to end the game! Despite being a bit bothered by flying bugs out in the field, she didn't wander off even once or make a plea for a snack- a strong improvement from last year :)!

Go light blues!

Whose little toes walked off with Mommy's flip flops?

Peyton's!!!

The "What?!" moment of the week

On our way back from the park yesterday afternoon Kylie somehow bumped her cheek on the handlebar of her big wheel. She looked up at me and said, "Will I be ok Mommy or do I need a CAT scan or an MRI"?...Mommy- "What?!"

It took me a minute wondering where the heck she would've learned those words and then I realized- Melman! He is the hypochondriac giraffe in Madagascar which is the movie of the month here both girls will watch.

I really have to be on my toes these days because I honestly never know what will come out of Kylie's mouth next. But one thing I do know is that whatever it is it's usually good for quite a chuckle or a jaw drop!

An after dinner ride

After enjoying the warm, sunny day at the park this afternoon the girls got to enjoy some of the warm, evening air as well when Daddy loaded them up for a bike ride after dinner. Peyton rides in the bike seat behind Daddy and Kylie rides in the trailor with whichever additional passengers she decides to bring along. They have a great time and get lots of smiles from people they pass along their way!

Thanks Daddy for giving me the alone time to watch the tv finales tonight! I know the bike rides are really fun and special for just you and the girls. And you don't have to worry about Mommy even trying to maneuver the setup you have- I think I would be dangerous :)!

Shoe love

I had to post a picture of the summer sandals Kylie got this morning. She pretty much lives in her Crocs as soon as it's warm enough to, but she really wanted a pair of dressy sandals as well so today she picked out these. They are the WalMart brand so we haven't broken the bank yet but we should recognize the "habit" forming already :)!

When we were at the store this morning just passing through the shoe aisle it brought me back to visits to DSW several years ago. Kylie had practically just started walking and she would go straight toward the brightest, highest heels she could find to "try on". She LOVED shoe stores (or maybe it was the dozens of open boxes at her level to peek in and choose things from)! If I had more time right now I'd dig up the picture I remember of her and Grandma B. striking a pose in the store. Since she is about a size 11 now, I'm seeing more big girl styles peeking through in the choices for her. At this rate, she'll be eyeing yellow, glitter stilletos at age 10!

Happy Belated B-day Uncle Mark!

Since Mommy was so sick and out of it on the 9th, we didn't get to send you a Happy Birthday post! We know you had a great birthday so our wish for you came true! Here are the pictures of Connor with the girls from Kylie's birthday weekend - the pictures that I've been trying to get together for you for almost a month now!

The pictures posted here are a bit backwards as far as the weekend went but those taken at the house are from the birthday party, outside shots are of our trip to the park after the party and the others are from our trip to Odyssey Fun World the following day.

Apologies for the pink crown and beads- Connor was a good sport- ha ha! Enjoy!

Peyton's Stage of the Month

Peyton is very curious, determined and messy in what she likes to do these days- some may call it "creative exploration" :). Some of her favorite activities are searching through the kitchen cabinets and drawers for any fun gadgets she can find, pouring items from any kind of container to another, and essentially going through the house looking for any new things to pick up and disperse in any other place than where she found them!

Here are some pictures from one afternoon earlier this week where Peyton was very busy with some of her snacks and noodles Mommy gave her to "be creative" with: pouring, transporting and leaving a trail wherever she went :)! There were definitely many "uh uh oh" moments that came out of these activities- but all in good, old fashioned fun!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Fun with Kids

I love taking pictures like this for future torture.............

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Salud!

A First at 5

As Kylie is now 5, her "firsts" have become less frequent of course since all of her early "firsts". As I've mentioned before, hair is not Kylie's thing- nor Mommy's for that matter! When you have fine hair as we do that's prone to getting lots of knots, you tend to run when you see a comb coming- and that's what Kylie has done for as long as she has had her blond locks!

Until this week. And the following pictures are proof. Yay Kylie! Maybe it was the hot pink color, or the cool flower attached to the rubberband, but we did it- Kylie loved her hair up and out of her face. Apart from the occassional barette or headband in for a limited amount of time, this is a First! She has even asked to have her "ponytail" put in! I'm slowly but surely learning which battles to choose on this journey called parenthood, because some things are just going to click when the timing is right and aren't worth pushing when there really isn't a true reason to.

It looks like our project of growing Kylie's "Hannah Montana" hair is still on- and it's looking more adorable by the inch :)! We love you Kylie- long hair, short hair, no hair- you're a very sweet girl on the inside and out!

Seven on Saturday

I got to thinking that I really needed to post a list of Peyton's recent "doings". Not just to update you, our loyal reading audience, but for a Mommy reminder as well! She is developing into quite the busy toddler with places to go and people to see. She's constantly on the go unless it's time to eat one of her many meals a day at the table or to recharge in her crib (which she still isn't a big fan of!). As her 18 month birthday will be here in just a few weeks, we're able to see into the little person she is becoming more and more- full of energy, full of curiosity and full of love!

1. Hugs and Kisses- Adorable. Not only can Peyton now blow us kisses (muuuuwah!), she can pucker up and give us real kisses! And she has definitely figured out the right times to do it to be extra cute and to get herself out of the most sticky situations with Mommy. Nothing beats looking up and hearing that smooch come your way or looking down and feeling a squeeze around your leg accompanied by an "awww"- whatever the reason :)!

2. Coloring- Peyton LOVES to color! Give her a piece of paper (or a wall, or a wood floor, or a...:)), and a crayon, marker or piece of chalk and she is in heaven. She assumes her position on her tummy on the floor or sitting at the little desk and does a great job with drawing in color after color! Little does she know what excitement lies ahead for her in the art department- paints, glue and all kinds of fun AND messy supplies!

3. "Uh Uh Oh"- Uh Oh has now become Uh Uh Oh. And yes with the double "uh uh" has come double the concern with what has just happened for her to be saying that :)!

4. Walking, Running, Climbing & Sliding- Peyton is everywhere now as I think I may have alluded to just a few times already :). Along with her ability to get where she wants to when she wants to has come an extreme amount of independence. Are we surprised? Look who she has as a big sister :)! Peyton has the "no fear" look in her eyes when she wants to climb ladders, slide down slides, swing on the "big kid" swings, run in the opposite direction of where she should be going- she wants to do it and she wants to do it ALONE :)! Not so fast my princess, Mommy needs to be there to catch you if you fall- at least for a few more years!

5. Singing & Dancing- Not only does Peyton have quite a few dance moves she also recently started "singing". Some of her favorite chart toppers are Elmo's World, Wiggle Bay and of course "Monkey Dance" from Wiggly Playtime. It is the cutest thing to watch! I feel many at home productions to come straight from the "Kylie & Peyton Show"!

6. Morning Wake Up Calls- As Peyton typically does not sleep through the night yet, it's inevitable that either Mommy or Daddy end up in the guest bed in Peyton's room at some point in the late night or early morning hours. If Daddy is the lucky one, watch out! Peyton will wake up, crawl past Daddy, get down off the bed and make her way to her first victim. Most of the time Mommy is the one to be awakened all the way downstairs because Mommy = Peyton's breakfast cook! But once she is successful in waking up one it's on to the next after a short while. It usually doesn't take Peyton long to realize that big sis is still upstairs sleeping so up she goes for her second wake up call of the day. Although sometimes still sleepy, there's nothing Kylie loves more than having Baby crawl up into bed with her and tap her to wake up!

7. "Talking"- Peyton says about a dozen words at this point and dozens of others that only she understands! Some of the most frequent ones she uses are: the multi purpose "bu ba!" (mama, dada, bubble, puppy, Barney...), ba ba (bottle), ball, there it is, this, "mo more" (MORE!) & bath. It won't be long until the rest of her mysterious syllables transform into words that I'm sure will make us laugh and make it much easier to understand just what she needs or wants from us!