And Down Came Payton Cradle and All

I think of myself as a careful person and as one that does not do stupid things. Then I look back at my past and think "Wow, that was dumb".

Dave and I were setting up the hotel play pen for Payton to sleep in, I set Payton in the middle of the bed and turned my back for one second to help put the sheet on the mattress and I heard a thud. I closed my eyes as I turned around thinking "Be the toy. Be the toy." and when I opened my eyes I saw Payton on the floor. I don't think I have ever felt more terrible than I did at that moment. Fortunately, she is fine. However, that is a sound I never want to hear again, a thud followed by a cry. Note to self she is mobile.

Today we celebrated my Grandma's 90th birthday. I was nice to see family that we had not seen in a very long time (some in over 20 years). After the birthday party we had a family get together for the family that couldn't make it to the party. Lots of yummy yummy food! Here are some photos of the family.

Kimberly, Payton, Dave, Anthony, Jennifer, Caeden, Dad, Grandma Draman, Mom

Aunt Betty, Uncle Grover, Grandma Draman

Jessica, Tristan, Jackie, Uncle Dean, Steve, Aunt Karen, Grandma Draman, Terri

Beth, Philip, Tammy, Shannon, Paul, Ethan, Sierra, Uncle Kenneth, Grandma Draman, Aunt Mary

Melanie, Jeremiah, Jena, Justy, Kurt, Landen, Melinda, Uncle Richard, Grandma Draman, Aunt Chantel

After the reunion once we got to the hotel we took a silly picture to save as the suprise new backdrop on mom's laptop.

Play Dates

I just love having play dates! Payton loves being around other babies and I love being around other mommies. :o) Here is a quick snap shot of Payton and her friend Gage.

Dave, Payton and I are heading to Iowa to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. I was concerned about the cold and how we would keep Payton warm. My friend Aimee lent me a bunting suit to take which made me feel a lot better. Then Michelle, Dave's mom, was at R.E.I. and found a bunch of baby buntings on sale and bought one for little Payton. We tried the bunting on Payton and she got this big smile on her face and just kept giggling. Then when we took it off she kept grabbinng at. I think she really likes it.

These boots are made for walkin'!

Payton loves to walk...while holding on to something. This is only a problem when you are what she is holding on to. :o) My back gets tired of being bent over all the time. Which is why Dave and I bought a little push/ride along toy for her for Christmas. She loves to walk behind it now, I think it scared her a little at first but she really likes getting around with it now. I thought I would see how far she could walk with it, I imagine going back and forth across the living room can be boring. So I decided to take the push along outside and have her walk with me to the mailbox. She made it two or three squares on the sidewalk and refused to go any further. Maybe we will stick to the living room for now.

Morning Ploppers Indeed

So Payton and I have a great morning routine. I run her bath, take her into her room, get her undressed, let her walk back into the bathroom (all the while I am chanting "naked baby"), and put her in the bath. I know what you are thinking, what if she pees?

Well, this morning was going along as usual. I took her into her room and took off her PJs and diaper. To my suprise she had some morning ploppers. (Now Payton is fairly regular and normally doesn't have ploopers until after her morning nap and when she does have ploopers we take her into the batheroom and flush them down the toilet so she can say goodbye to them.) Sticking to the routine I cleaned her up, walked her into the bathroom, put the ploppers in the toilet, flushed, turned to pick Payton up and put her in the bath...and there she was standing there in a puddle of pee.

Morning Ploppers Indeed! :o)

A Day of Firsts

Dave, Payton, and I are in Truckee! Anthony and his scout troop are also up here enjoying the cabin. So far it has been a lot of fun. The scouts are awesome! They are nice and love to play games. Last night we played a card game called Jack Seven and also Settlers of Catan. Settlers kept us up until after one in the morning. It reminds me of the good old days when Debbie Aston and I lived together and we would play until the sun came up. I have to say that I think I am finally getting better at the game. :o)

Today Dave, Anthony, and the Scout Master made a sled run down the hill beside the cabin. It must have been a good run because Anthony ripped out the bum of his jeans. :o) Anyway, this is where Payton experienced one of her firsts, not seeing her Uncle Anthony's rear but going sledding. Dave took her down the run. I have to admit I was very nervous but Dave went slow and I think Payton enjoyed herself.

Once the scouts were done sledding they started a snowball war. This would be another first for Payton. She helped her daddy make snowballs for Uncle Anthony. This was a snowball war like I have never seen. I think they were playing like they were in the Halo game. Meaning if they got hit by a snowball they had to stay down for a period of time. But what made it interesting was when Anthony decided to dump a pot of water off the balcony onto one of the scouts. I can't describe what happened after that, you would have just had to have been here. However, I will say that several of the boys ended up drenched and Anthony's already ripped pants ended up ripped from waistband to knee. What a sight! Don't worry I will not post the pictures of Anthonys bottom.

Tupperware Cabinet

How many of us played in the tupperware cabinet when we were little? My mother never lets me forget that I did. :o) Payton discovered the tupperware cabinet today. It was really fun to watch her. I think she pulled out everything she could reach. It probably would have been just as fun to watch Dave and I, he with the video camera and me with the camera.

Christmas Recap

This is one of my favorite pictures of Payton. Is it bad to laugh at your child when they are crying? She is just so stinkin' cute.

My original plan back at the beginning of the year was to write more about what we did during Christmas. It is now the 21st of January and I still haven't gotten around to it. I have decided to just do some quick highlights with a few of my favorite pictures.

Like I said in my previous post we celebrated Christmas with my family on December 20th. We had a really good time. I realized how much I missed out on in past years when I had to work. I am so glad that I was able to spend so much time with my family this year. It was so nice to bake all those goodies with my grandmas. Then even more fun to make the Christmas dinner with them. We had so much food that it ended up feeding all of us for two days! Yummy!

Christmas day we spent with Dave's family. We had a great time! Again...lots of food. Can you say sugar cookies! It was so cute to watch Payton and her cousin Ethan together. It is nice that they are so close in age. Grandma Michelle got them matching Christmas outfits.

In addition to eating all day, we played rock band and had a mean game of Settlers. I am so happy that Dave and I have such awesome families. The support and love we feel from them is amazing! This past holiday season was so great. I look forward to many many more.