Holiday photo shoot- take 1... take 2... take 3.......

O.K. people, Trying to get a decent picture of a toddler can be challenging under the best of circumstances.Taking them of a toddler with a cold and with a point and shoot camera with a delay is even worse. I won't even talk about trying to add the dogs into the picture. It has been our mission over here for the last several days to get just one good shot. I was just about ready to give up when even hours of editing and head swapping with photo shop could not produce a usable print. We decided to forgo the group shot and take individual pictures instead . That made it a little easier. After the 3rd try I think I finally got the shot. You'll have to wait to see that one though. Below I have included the "best of the worst". I know those of you with little ones will identify at the least. You should get a kick out of these.



This one above is my favorite!

Notice the pickle in the shot above. This day he would not sit still without a pickle.
I somehow thought the tie painted on his shirt and the silk scarves tied around the dogs would make these a bit more formal and sophisticated. How wrong I was. In the shot I took after this one he was picking his nose.

1st Dentist appointment

Today was Payton's first trip to the dentist. It just so happened that he was my (and my brother's) childhood dentist. I was very glad to find out that he was still practicing. They actually had to kick me out when I was 19 and did not fit in the chairs anymore.

We prepared him as much as possible and practiced saying "Ahhhhhhhh". Things go a lot smoother with Payton if he has adequate information and preparation.
I would say it went really well. I don't think you could expect any 1 year old to be thrilled with a dental exam but he did great. He got to sit in my lap while the Doc checked out his chompers. He cried but as soon as it was over he gave Dr. Doss a high five and clapped for himself. He has 6 teeth on the top and 2 teeth on the bottom. A little unusual but normal. The official report was "No cavities"! He is good about letting us brush his teeth and thinks it's really funny when we get to spit afterwards.
How do we celebrate having no cavities?...
Chocolate cupcakes of course!!! Which, by the way, Payton helped me make a few days earlier.

Bubbles & Giggles

We had the best time the other day blowing bubbles! Payton loves them but what he really loves the most about it is watching the dogs try to eat the bubbles. He will laugh and laugh until there is no more sound coming out. Of course when you hear a baby laugh like that it is impossible to keep from joining in yourself. Hope you all have fun watching this video clip of our bubble time.

"ALL ABOARD!" chuga chuga choo choo.......

We decided to take advantage of this beautiful day and go for a train ride with Payton!This was his first time on the Trinity Miniature Railroad. It is a 40 minute ride that runs along the Trinity river, through the park and around the duck pond.
Payton was ready to go wearing his uncle Wesley's train conductor cap that he wore as a little boy. He received several compliments on that hat today.
He loves to be outside so this activity was right up his alley. There were so many things to see... turtles, birds, squirrels, water falls, trees and ducks.
The train stops at a little depot to let you stretch your legs and get some snacks half way through the ride. He walked along the river with his dad and played in the leaves. He lost his shoe and we didn't realize it until the train was already leaving. We had to drive back to the park to search for it after the ride. Luckily it was laying right by a tree and not buried in the leaves.

First Steps

Ladies and gentlemen, We have a walker!!! Over the last month or two he has been experimenting with a step here and there. Not enough to really count him as a walker. He is now up to about 10 steps with no assistance. He gets really excited about practicing and will run back and forth in between me and his daddy. You really want to teach/motivate your kid to walk...Take him to Chuck E. Cheese's! We just got back from our weekly play date there with his buddies. He would just take off from one game to the next. I was so proud of him, when he would start to fall down he would catch himself, regain his balance, straighten back up and take off again. It is so cute because sometimes his feet move really fast and he doesn't go any where, just stamping away in place with his arms straight up in the air. With each milestone comes the greatest joy and the biggest sadness. My baby is growing up! My baby is growing up:-(


This video clip is of him practicing with his daddy last night. Sorry it is a little dark. This is my first try using video clips on the blog.

ARRRRGH MATEY!

Happy Halloween! Payton was a pirate this year. We went to the carnival at our church to have some fun. Boy did he have fun. He had a blast playing the carnival games, getting candy (for mom and dad) and eating pop corn. He loves an excuse to be outside anyway. There were games where you had to throw a ball or a bean bag and he would just get so excited he couldn't bring himself to let go. He would act like he was going to throw it and then he would just laugh. It was so cute watching him have so much fun. When we were headed out to the car to leave he kept pointing back to the "fun" and crying. He wanted to stay so bad.
This was his favorite game. You would fish out a rubber ducky and there would be a # on the bottom that determined how many pieces of candy you got. He had more fun throwing them back into the pool. He didn't want to leave this game but he quickly realized that there were more games and more candy every where you went.

Our Little Pumpkin

Payton had his first trip to the pumpkin patch last week. He was very impressed. Every where he looked there were more gourds.









Those pumpkins were very very heavy! He kept trying to pick them up. The problem was that he couldn't decide which one he wanted. It was hard to keep him still enough to get a good picture.





























It is so amazing seeing the world around you for the first time through the eyes of your baby! Everything is new and exciting. It reminds you to enjoy the simple things and just have fun.

Garbage Disposal A.K.A. Payton

I realize that I just posted yesterday but I have to share this. This little guy eats like nothing I have ever seen! I really think people don' t believe me when I tell them. He is so active that he burns every calorie he consumes. He is actually on the small side for his age but he eats more than I do some days. I looked on a baby web site at a sample daily menu for a baby his age and Payton has already eaten more than that before his first nap. Last week at Chuck E Cheese he ate 3 slices from a large pizza then asked for a snack as soon as we got home.

Here is a list of what he ate yesterday.

1 1/2 cereal bars,
a banana,
5 animal crackers,
box of raisins,
chicken patty sandwich,
slice of cheese,
a few chips,
slice of multi grain bread,





another banana,
4 large strawberries,
juice,
a handful of Goldfish crackers,
Matza with cream cheese,
milk,
4 more strawberries &
a few more animal crackers!




These pictures were taken during his feeding frenzy. At one point he had to stretch out on the
couch- to make more room I guess.

13 months old/baby model

My good friend Lynsey A.K.A. DFWBirthPhotographer came over last Friday and took these amazing pictures of Payton playing in the living room floor. What a blessing it is to have a friend with a good camera who likes to take pictures of your kid! When I have pictures taken of Payton I want them to show Payton, not some backdrop with props and a cheese smile. Payton really likes "Lynz" so that helps in capturing his cute personality not to mention those amazing blue eyes. Prepare to have your heart melted!

Making Brownies

Payton got to help mommy make brownies for the first time while daddy was at work a few nights ago. He was so excited that he got to sit on the counter and actually participate. I figured "why not" worst case scenario he needs a bath afterwards.....

So, about the worst case scenario thing... When mommy was distracted trying to take pictures of my cutie "helping" he decided to put his feet in the brownies!!
(by the way, his shirt says "Mr. Mischief- Trouble is my middle name")

Needless to say, he was taken directly to the bath. After, of course, we took time for him to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Unfortunately my labor had just begun. Was it more trouble than it was worth?... No Way!! ;-)

This picture has nothing to do with brownies but it was so cute I had to share. He has that "I'm a stinker" grin because he had gotten a hold of the TV remote. If you look closely at the bottom of the picture you can see it.

Trip to the ER

October had a bit of a ruff start for us. Payton started throwing up about 11:00pm Wednesday night. When he was still throwing up almost 2 hours later and refusing liquids we took him to the ER. We didn't want to risk him getting dehydrated. Our best guess was a case of food poisoning from some leftovers he had had for dinner that night. They gave us an anti-nausea pill for him, did X-rays of his tummy and did a CAT scan. (to make sure the vomiting wasn't related to a possible concussion from him bumping his head earlier in the day) After he was taking fluids they sent us home at 4:00am with a $3,000 bill.
The next day we had a check up at his doctor's office. (The diarrhea had begun at that point and continued through Friday.) He weighed in at 19lbs 14 1/2 ounces and was 30 inches tall. He is long and lean just like his dad. I think he had lost some weight from being sick. They confirmed the food poisoning diagnosis.
Friday he was so pitiful and drained we were concerned we were going to have to take him back to the ER. He was just laying there starring into space and not able to move around or stay awake. For those of you who have spent any time around my baby you know how active and busy he is all the time, even when he is not felling well. He never laid around and slept like that even as a new baby. He finally seemed to perk up and eat a little bit though so we stayed home.
Saturday he seemed to be back on track but Jamie and I started feeling ache and nauseas. (of course) Makes me think maybe we are passing the flu around. Payton got sick again once last night and we have all been laying around all day today feeling like we have been hit by a truck. Hopefully we will all be feeling well tomorrow.

Payton and Daddy camped out on the couch with all of the "I'm not feeling well" supplies.

Sippy Cup Envy

My niece Jemma got to spend this past week with us while her momma started a new job. She and Payton could not be more opposite. She is all girl and he is all boy! She spent her days quietly reading books, trying on clothes, taking small bites of food, playing with little people, talking on the phone and "cooking". Payton spent his days climbing on top of the coffee table, scrambling from one room to the next, pulling the books off the shelves, eating like it was his last meal, playing with the dogs and banging pots and pans together. They got along surprisingly well. The one issue we had was "sippy cup envy". He wanted her sippy cup. She wanted his sippy cup. By the end of day 3 it was a losing battle trying to keep the sippy cups with their original owners. Every time I turned my head they had swapped. The grass is always greener I guess. Oh well, I suppose that if that was the worst of it we had a pretty easy week. They were both exhausted by the end of the week but they had a great time playing with each other and enjoying "little person" company.

Puppy Party Blowout!

Payton arrived at Cabela's well rested and ready to party! He did really well and was so excited to see everyone. Shortly after we got there Payton had a "blowout" of his own and had to spend the rest of the party in just a diaper instead of his cute puppy dog outfit.
Payton had a Puppy theme birthday party. His cake was all bright colors with paw prints and little cute puppy dog toys on the top. The party hats, table cloth and plates had pictures of dogs with party hats and sunglasses on. His Daddy tied blue and orange balloons around the room.

This is a picture of some of the 40+ guests that came to celebrate with us. Everyone had a great time eating chips and cake, visiting, playing the target shooting game and feeding the fish in the indoor river.

Payton took turns opening presents with his Mommy and Daddy. He got clothes, cool new toys and lots of books. He loves to read books and has had fun playing with all his new stuff.
We made it through the party with no meltdowns, injuries or tears. Just an exhausted little boy who passed out within seconds of getting in the car. I would say it was a success!

LOOK WHO'S 1!

Well, our little man is 1 year old today. I must confess that I cried today because my baby is growing up so fast. He is so big and he is always ready to show off all the new things he has learned. His favorite one to show off is telling you how old he is going to be on his birthday.

It sure didn't take him long to get into the whole cake thing. Our funny guy prefers to use utensils when he eats. You might be able to recognize a spoon hidden under all that icing.

I'd say he thoroughly enjoyed his first experience with birthday cake. It took longer to clean him up than it did for him to eat the cake.

1st Year Month by Month

SEPTEMBER, 2007

OCTOBER, 2007

NOVEMBER,2007

DECEMBER, 2007

JANUARY, 2008

FEBRUARY, 2008

MARCH, 2008

APRIL, 2008

MAY, 2008

JUNE, 2008

JULY, 2008

AUGUST, 2008