Even Big Girls Have Bad Days

Peyton will hit another milestone in a few days! She will officially be 18 months old! We ventured out for some pics...but unfortunately did not get any smiles from out little P-ster. She thought we were at the doctor....or at least she wasn't sure enough that we weren't so she cried and clinched on to daddy the entire time. Little did dad know that he would be used as the stool for her to sit on during the pics. Oh well.....what can you expect from an 18 month old who is always on the lookout for some "mean" doctor or nurse. Anyways...here are a few pics to share. Peyton also made it out to Night Eyes at the Zoo. Glad we went, but definitely not what I expected. Next weekend Peyton will be headed home to see mommy's friend Paige amd her new baby girl Halle. Grandpa Dennis will be back from his fishing trip and she'll of course get to see grammy and grandpa Durlam. Until next time...which tends to be a while...enjoy the pics!

It's been far too long since our last post...

Yes...it has certainly been way too long since I've updated on the happening of Miss Peyton! My little peanut just turned 15 months a few days ago and is acting every bit of how a 15 month old does!!!! Peyton has had a very busy summer....and she keeps her mom and dad busy every second of the day! There is never a dull moment in the Durlam house that's for sure. Since it's been so long since I've updated, I will fill you in on a few things that Peyton has been up to in the month of July.

Peyton spent a very uneventful 4th of July back in Jefferson. The weather wasn't very nice so we didn't get to spend as much time outdoors as we would have liked. We did make one special stop while we were back in Jefferson, we went and visited Grandma Penny's grave. It was one year since she passed on July 3rd. Boy, we sure do miss her, but she lives on in Peyton's smile and laughter.

Peyton also got to go to her first wedding reception on the 11th of July. She was a little shy with showing off her dance moves, but enjoyed gathering all of the balloons and piling them on grandpa's lap. She had such a good time and conked out immediately on the ride home.

We also managed to make our yearly trip to Adventurland. Heath, Brock, Peyton, and I set out for fun on one of the nicest weekends in July. Although, Peyton couldn' ride very many of the rides she still had a great time people watching and mommy even managed to win her a few animals in ski ball. It took me a while, but I was finally able to bring in the "small" prize.

While Peyton has been up to plenty of fun, sadly she has been sick for the past 5 days. I picked the little stinker up from daycare last Wednesday and could immediately tell she wasn't herself. I got her home that evening and sure enough she was running a fever. After 3 1/2 days of the fever, it finally broke and I thought that was the end up of. Little did I know that she would wake up the next morning with her entire body covered in a rash. Peyton was at the doctor today and she confirmed that Peyton has roseola. She's no longer in the contagious stage so she will be back at daycare tomorrow. She was able to spent a couple of quality days with her daddy and he took a few pics to share with everyone.....Enjoy.

A new milestone....my baby is turning 1!!!!! A few random pics for all.

Peyton loves bath time!! We can't wait to go swimming!

Peyton has even developed a fondness for her Uncle Stu (aka Stewie aka Chad)

Hmmm....what should I have to eat tonight??

Big girls get to wear pig tails and eat Cheetos :-)

Hurry up with the Cheetos Dad....I'm hungry!!

It's been awhile since my last post, but I'm making time to update since my baby is going to be turning 1 year old tomorrow. It doesn't seem possible. It's seems like just yesterday that I welcomed my little miss Peyton into the world. She is the greatest thing that ever could have happened to Heath and me. She makes life complete and although most days are crazy and there isn't a moment to relax I wouldn't change it for the world.

Peyton will be celebrating her first birthday this weekend back in Jefferson. This will be quite a bit more convenient since Peyton's grandpa is still healing up from his motorcyle accident. I will be sure to post pics from the party.

Also, a big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Durlam for all their help with the housework. It's been crazy busy and there is never a dull moment. They rock!!!

Heath teaching Peyton how to line a fishing pole.
She wasn't too into me putting this hat on her.

Surrounded by presents and Grandpa and Grandma Durlam's house

Me and my baby girl!

Ready for daycare...it was dress up day.

Yes...I've been seriously slacking on Peyton's blog, but I do have a very good reason for it. Since the last time I posted, Peyton has gotten two teeth, learned how to crawl, and pulls herself up to EVERYTHING! She scares the daylights out of me with her daring ways so I'm glued to her every move. Currently, she is taking a little snooze....she fell asleep on the way home from daycare.

Since it's been so long since I've posted, there is plenty to update on. Let's start with Christmas. Peyton had a fabulous first Christmas. She spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day back in Jefferson at her grandparents house. Lots and lots of presents and plenty of good food to eat. Peyton hadn't learned to crawl yet, so we didn't have to worry about her pulling the tree down :-).

At the beginning of January, I finally noticed that Peyton had two white bumps on her bottom gums. Yeah!! She finally had some teeth coming in. I was beginning to think she was going to be toothless. She handled the teething process very well. They seemed to bother her most at night, but when she woke up she just needed a few extra snuggles from mommy and she went right back to sleep.

Also, during the beginning of January, Peyton figured the whole crawling thing out. I was lucky enough to get it on camera too! Ever since then she is unstoppable and like all babies loves to get into everything she isn't supposed to. I'm so proud of all these milestones that she has been meeting. Since her accident everything has been wait and see as far as developmental progress. I'm happy to report that Peyton is very much on schedule and even advanced in many skills. AEA comes and visits Peyton monthly at daycare to make sure she's right on target. So far so good!

I can honestly say that Peyton's favorite thing these days (in addition to standing up) is trying new foods. She loves being put in the highchair and eating. They may be some of the reason that she is still in the 95th percentile for weight. Everyone at the doctor's office said that she wears it so well :-). I would have to agree.....she certainly isn't chubby she's just well proportioned.

In addition to keeping busy learning new things, Peyton has also had her weekends filled with plenty of fun. On January 24th, she went to her cousin Brayden's first birthday party. She had such a good time. So many kids for her to play with and plenty of activity to keep her occupied. In just a few months Peyton will get to enjoy celebrating her own first birthday. That same weekend, Grandpa Dennis came up and spent the day with us. Grandpa took us all to Red Lobster and Peyton enjoyed eating biscuits, mashed potatoes, and ice cream.

Continued from yesterday....see I told you I don't have any time to update this :-).

For the Superbowl this year, Peyton spent the weekend back in Jefferson. She spent some quality time with Grandpa Dennis and Grammy and Grampy Durlam. They of course love every chance they can get with her!

Good Things Come In Small Packages

I don't know who is more of a kid....dad or Peyton? Although it is rather amusing with that giraffe on her head. Aunt Wanda would be thrilled to know her gift is going to good use :-)

Thanksgiving Day....me and my baby!

I don't have a picture of it, but Peyton's favorite toy is a plastic water bottle. I could put every toy possible in front of her and she would rather play with the water bottle.

Jump....Jump.....Jump

Oh, the joys of winter.....the rosy red cheeks are a daily occurence for Peyton. Just when I get them looking better it never fails they go right back to looking like this.

Well it's definitely been awhile since our last post. Peyton has been a very busy girl. She celebrated her very first Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time at Grandpa Louk's and Grandpa and Grandma Durlam's. Since our last post Peyton has learned to wave, learned to clap, and learned to sit on her own. She also crawls backwards, which my dad says must be a Durlam trait :-).

With Christmas quickly approaching Peyton, Grandpa Dennis, Heath, and me ventured out shopping. Wow, was that an experience. For some reason it seems 100 times more packed in the store when you are trying to tote a baby around in a stroller during Christmas shopping. I think next year we'll try to do our shopping on a weekday :-). All in all, Peyton was a perfect little angel. I don't think she fussed one time and many people came to say hello to her along the way. At one point, Peyton kicked her legs over the side of the stroller and it basically looked like she was just relaxing in a recliner.

For Christmas this year, we have the best gift possible (Peyton), which is the meaning behind "Good things Come in Small Packages." If Santa could bring us anything extra this year it would be a extra good news from the doctors this Wednesday. We are back to Iowa City for Peyton's MRI and appointment with Dr. Greenlee (neurosurgeon). It will be an early start for us as we have to be in Iowa City by 7:30 that morning. Peyton will be sedated for the MRI. They are using a different drug than they previously did when she was a patient. I'm hoping that it works a little better because during the last MRI, she definitely wasn't sleeping like they said she would be. We had to restart multiple times.

We would like to wish all you you a very happy holiday season! We are looking forward to a fresh start in 2009 as we know many others are too.!

Gold stars for Peyton!

Little Peyton has been having nothing but good times at daycare. She loves all of the activity going on and has definitely won over the hearts of those who take care of her. In the past week and a half she has received more gold stars then I can count! I joked with Heath last night because Peyton has been so playful these past few nights...it seems like she's hyped up on Mountain Dew or something. It makes for an eventful evening and many laughs for mommy and daddy :-).

Peyton had her 6 month pictures taken this past Saturday. I will post them as soon as we get the prints. I can't believe she's half a year old already! On Sunday, Peyton headed home to see Grandpa Louk....he just got back from his fishing trip. Peyton got a new pair of moccasins and a cute shirt from grandpa. She spent much of the afternoon playing frogger on grandpa's lap and pulling on his beard.

For Halloween this year, Peyton is a bumble bee. She will be in the Halloween parade at daycare on Friday and is headed back to Jefferson on Friday night to show off her costume to her grandparents. I'll be sure to take plenty of pics. Enjoy the new ones below!

Hmmm...let me think about it

Mmmmm....my fingers taste pretty good!!

Water play....yep that's me in the bumbo.

Here...let me try and splash!

Good reports from the doctors!

Peyton has been a very busy little girl. She started her new daycare last week and has been to Iowa City twice for follow up appointments. Both the neurosurgeon and opthamologist had nothing but good things to say about Peyton!! Yeah!! Peyton is loving her new daycare. She has gotten very good reports at the end of the day. While I was VERY nervous at first, I'm becoming more at ease as each day passes.

Tuesday was orange and black day at daycare so Peyton was able to wear her Halloween gear from Aunt Wanda. New pics of Peyton in her Halloween outfit. You can't read the shirt in the picture but it says "Mommy is under my spell." So true!!