HagBlagBlog

One for giggles...

2012-02-07T17:15:00.001-08:00

Peyton helped me test out my studio lights the other day. Of course, I had to bribe him....

Finley's Nursery

2012-02-02T13:50:00.001-08:00

Finley's nursery is pretty much set up (except for dang curtain panels and some custom bedding we are waiting on). I thought y'all might like to see it!

Dresser and changing table topper (Peyton's table topper - Casey sanded it and painted it!)

Crib and mobile (hand-made by moi)

Peyton's old rocking chair

.....and a little Star Wars, so Casey didn't feel left out of the design.

Just some pics...

2012-01-28T16:49:00.000-08:00

No progress on the potty training front. We are still letting him set the pace and lately he's regressed - he wants to be rewarded for sitting on the potty fully clothed again!

These pics are about a week old but still cute! I was checking my email and when I went to look for Peanut, I found him on our bathroom counter. Little bugger had figured out how to use the drawers as a ladder....

(don't worry - he didn't get any Clorox wipes out)

Making cookies.....

2012-01-21T07:27:00.001-08:00

Peyton helped me make cookies the other day. He is pretty good at pouring and mixing....although the cookies did not turn out great. Hmmm....

We are still trying to conquer potty training and he is still obsessed with his penis (and asking whether certain people have penises).

Potty training and the art of bribery....

2012-01-20T14:02:00.000-08:00

We "started" potty training this past Sunday and let me tell you, it is a blast (sarcasm!). We are definitely taking it slow at this point and letting Peyton guide the process (so we don't frustrate him....). On Sunday, we got him to start sitting on the potty.....fully clothed. Peyton requires one skittle just to sit on the potty with his clothes on.

We did a few days of sitting on the potty fully clothed and then today we progressed to sitting on the potty with his pants down (but still diapered). He requires 2 skittles to do this. At this rate, he will pee on the potty when he is 14.

Time for some photos (had to bribe him with skittles just to take pictures of him!)

Peyton's Christmas Video

2012-01-10T11:12:00.000-08:00

(thanks to my dad)

Christmas MEGA-POST!!!! The post to end all other posts!

2012-01-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

Alright, clearly blogging hasn't been a priority for me lately so I'll just go ahead and dump the past month or so into one blog post! Pop some popcorn and sit down for a while....

December started off with finding out that our next little one is a BOY (see previous post) and we have decided to name the little guy "Finley Sawyer". We did the Quad Screen test at the OBGYN and everything came back normal, so that's a relief. We have started prepping the nursery for his arrival (I like to get things done EARLY!), so I am currently blogging from my new "office" (our bedroom). My desk actually fits pretty well in our bedroom and goes along with the decor...

We spent Christmas in Salida, Colorado with my side of the family and the drive out there was.....eventful. About 2 hours into the trip, Peyton started mumbling some nonsensical mumbo-jumbo and then all of a sudden he leaned forward and projectile vomited his breakfast all over the car. Yikes! I unbuckled the chest strap on his car seat while we were still in motion and leaned him forward so he wouldn't aspirate any vomit. We quickly pulled into a Wal-Mart and went in to clean him off. Peyton was mostly concerned about the state of his "MeMe" (which he had vomited on). We got him cleaned up and bought some PediaLight and then got back into the car. At this point, we were hoping it was just a one-time thing. Fast forward about an hour and the little guy vomits again!! We stopped for lunch about an hour after that and tried to coax some liquids and food into him (but no such luck....I think he ate a couple french fries). He was in much better spirits and was dancing around in the booth at lunch when all of a sudden his cheeks got super red and he threw up AGAIN!!! That pretty much fast-tracked the end of my lunch as I was cleaning up vomit all over the seat. I motioned to Casey (who was outside changing his shirt from the first vomit incident) and we pretty much knew it was a stomach virus from that point on! We drove about 4 more hours and then stopped for the day in Kansas so that Peyton could recuperate in the hotel. I think he vomited about 4 more times or so in the hotel. It sucks to see your baby in such misery!! Luckily, the hotel had a washer & dryer so I was able to wash all of our clothes, Peyton's "Me-Me's" and his carseat cover.

Peyton slept alright and the next day of driving was uneventful. We got into Salida at about 3 PM and relaxed until my parents and my brother & his family arrived. The boys snowboarded on Monday and the girls puttered around town with the kiddos. Everything was fine and dandy until all of the adults started coming down with the stomach virus Tuesday night! There were 4 of us sick and only 2 bathrooms. It was pretty interesting. I got the worst of it and was throwing up for about 14 hours. It. Was. Awful. I already had trouble putting on weight with this pregnancy and this sickness certainly didn't help! The dehydration also seemed to trigger some pretty awful Braxton-Hicks contractions for me which have since settled down.

Carson and his family left on Wednesday morning (with Carson still throwing up on the drive to the airport as well as in the airport and plane!). I think we mostly hung around town and the boys went snowboarding one more time. Christmas was fun - it was the first year that Peyton really understood the whole "presents" thing, so he was pretty psyched to open up all of his new toys. He also got bedding for his new big boy bed - which he promptly threw to the side. Not so exciting for a 2 year old, I guess. We had my cousin and his family over for Christmas dinner and Peyton had a blast playing with his 3 cousins (whom he refers to as Jack, Banana and Wally).

The day after Christmas was probably Peyton's favorite! We booked tickets in the dining car on the Christmas Express train! Anyone who knows Peyton knows that he is OBSESSED with all things related to trains. He had such an awesome time eating cookies, drinking hot chocolate, singing Christmas carols and seeing Santa Claus! The train rode by the "North Pole" and Santa boarded the train. Santa went through each car, talked to all of the kids and gave them a special bell to keep. Peyton could barely contain himself. He talked about the "big train" for days afterwards!

The rest of the trip was pretty low-key. We mostly just hung out after my dad left early. We spent our anniversary in Colorado Springs and ate at a Thai restaurant and saw "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Peyton got to eat on an airplane attached to a restaurant and couldn't stop talking about that either! We made the drive home in one day (we just wanted to be home!).

Since we've been home, we have been working on the nursery a ton! We ordered all of the furniture so the nursery should be done this month! I will take pictures when my camera gets returned to me at the end of this week.

Christmas morning:

Finley Sawyer.

2011-12-14T18:46:00.001-08:00

It's a BOY!!!! We are super excited to be adding another little boy to our family....although I am completely outnumbered now! Eek!

Also, sidenote, 3D (4D?) ultrasounds are totally creepy. If little Finley doesn't fatten up, he is going to come out looking like some creepy alien/chihuahua hybrid.

...just because.

2011-11-20T12:58:00.000-08:00

The Zoo!

2011-11-19T07:58:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, we packed up our family and headed to Tulsa to go to their zoo. We brought along our friends Jeff and Kayla and made it a day! We got to the zoo at about 11 am and it was empty.....and COLD!!! The zoo could probably use a little updating (there were a lot of exhibits under construction) but we had a lot of fun!

After the zoo, we headed down to the shopping district to eat and browse around. We had lunch at PF Changs and then perused their stores. Shopping while pregnant is depressing though because there's no point in buying anything! We did pick out the sheets and comforter for Peyton's big boy room (which will debut after Christmas).

They had camel rides....I was kind of hoping all of the animals at the zoo would be available to ride.

Halloween!

2011-11-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

On Halloween day, we headed down to the Fayetteville Square for some trick-or-treating! The city had closed off the square so that the kids could all safely trick-or-treat with the vendors. It was pretty crowded and you had to stand in long lines to get the candy but it was pretty fun! Peyton was a wee bit overwhelmed with the crowds but I think he enjoyed his first official trick-or-treating experience (last year he had pneumonia).

P.S. He's a train conductor :)

Hay ride!

2011-11-04T08:11:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, our "neighborhood" had a little Halloween/Fall party. People brought snacks (we brought cookies - didn't even think to bring cute Halloween themed snacks like other people) and we had a great time getting to chat with everyone. Our neighbor bought hay and put it on the trailer so that we could have a hay ride around our little green area! He hitched the trailer up to his tractor and we all piled in for a hayride! It was so much fun!! Peyton had a blast! P refused to wear his Halloween costume even though his buddy Maddox was all dressed up as Elmo!

He's officially an "Arkansian" now (look at the hay in his mouth!)

Stream of consciousness (or Peyton's view of the world)

2011-10-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

I tried to sleep in Peyton's room last night because he wasn't feeling well (and at 10:30 was still awake and crying) - it was interesting to say the least. I moved his train table and inflated the blow-up mattress so he could snuggle with me while he fell asleep. Wellllllll, sleep wasn't on his agenda. He spent about an hour just talking and talking.....it was an interesting peek into his mind. It went something like this:

Monkey. Monkey. MONKEY. Snap. Snap. SNAAAAAAAAAP. Ooooo-oooo-aaaa-aaaaa. (He then proceeded to flail his arms around and smack his hands together). Moooooooooooooonkey. Momma. Dadda. Momma. Dadda. Mooooooooooooooooooma. Gigi STOP. Papa STOP. Momma STOP. Dadda STOP. Stop. Stop. STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP. Momma house. Dadda house. Peyton house. Pretty hair. I brush hair? Head. Heeeeeeeead (while touching my face). Nose. Momma nose. Head. Head. Head. I need milk. MILK! MILK! MILK! I neeeeeeeeeeeed milk! I need water. I need water. I need coke. COKE. COKE! COKE! COKE! I neeeeeeeed coke! I need french fries. FRENCH FRIES! Momma, french fries! Please coke, please. Momma please? Dadda. Daaaaaaadda. DADDAAAAAAA! Bee. Bee. Bee. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

After about an hour of this (and him getting increasingly louder), I put him back in his bed and returned to my room. Crazy boy.

Mega-Post

2011-10-24T16:31:00.000-07:00

My poor little blog got neglected again. Sorry kiddos. Lots of stuff has happened in the past month, so here is a recap:

1. Peyton is talking more and more lately! He says full sentences and also tries to get our attention by repeating the same things OVER and OVER.

2. He says "hello penis" and "goodbye penis" when we change his diaper. Yeah, I don't know.

3. He goes crazy fast on his bike now. He can coast for really long periods of time! I'll try to catch a video of it in the next week.

4. Two of my beautiful cousins got married the past couple months (not to each other. I live in Arkansas but we're not *from* Arkansas. Kidding, kidding!)

5. We are going to start potty training.....sometime.

6. We had a great three weeks in Texas and went to a bouncy house place and the zoo!

7. Oh yeah, I'm pregnant.

Picture Overload time.

From Texas:

Pumpkin Farm: (I think there are more to edit, so I'll do another post on the Pumpkin Farm)

Pumpkin carving:

Pumpkin carving dance:

Just chillin....

2011-09-15T11:19:00.001-07:00

Sometimes when Peyton wakes up in the morning, he just wants to chill in my bed with me. :)

First Thursday

2011-09-06T10:41:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday, we headed to Fayetteville Square to partake in "First Thursday" activities with some friends. On the first Thursday of the month, they have live music, craft vendors, entertainment and an outdoor beer set-up. We had some pizza (Peyton only ate crust for some reason) and then walked around the square for an hour. We got to see a guy doing bike tricks, a mechanical dragon that sprayed water and bubbles, and all sorts of other things!

Peyton's buddy...

Holding hands with his bud...

and Peyton's buddy's cousin.

Peyton + Popsicles.

2011-09-04T10:39:00.001-07:00

I know it may seem like every other blog post is photos of Peyton eating popsicles, but the only time he is even remotely still is when he is eating (and yes, he consumes a lot of popsicles).

Accessing Netflix on my iPhone...

Eating cereal in bed....

2011-09-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Peyton decided to drag an entire box of rice crispies into our bed the other day....

A boy and his daddy....

2011-08-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some snaps with Peyton and his "Daaaaaadaaaaa". I tried to process these in a more "film" kind of way (I know.....trying to make a digital photo look like a film photo makes no sense).

...and a boy and his daddy's iPad.

Just pictures....

2011-08-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

....and then the last little piece of his popsicle fell and this is what happened...

desperately trying to pick up the remnants of his popsicle...

What we've been up to....

2011-08-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

Seems like I rarely update the blog these days - probably b/c the little guy keeps me soooo busy! It has been insanely hot here lately so we haven't been able to play outside much, which means we have to get creative! Most days, you can find us either at Barnes & Noble (reading books & playing with their train set) or at Boingo Bounce (an entire warehouse filled with inflatables!).

FACTS:

-Peyton now sleeps in a "big boy bed"! We took the rails off of his crib and things are actually going pretty well. He sleeps well at night (doesn't get out until we come into his room in the morning) but naps have been a little difficult. I think because his room is so light during the day, he has problems staying in his bed when all of his toys are laying around.

-Still the pickiest eater. Ever.

-Talks nonstop now. He still intersperses a ton of gibberish with real words but at least he's trying!

-Loves to hug (everyone). He hugged a little girl at Boingo Bounce today. He closes his eyes and tilts his head while walking towards you with his arms wide open.

-He is a watermelon freak!

-He has been slowly learning how to use his "bike". It is a mini sized bike without pedals that is supposed to teach kids how to balance. He should be able to go straight from this to a regular bike and skip training wheels.

-Fascinated with the whole "potty" business. He wants to watch you use the toilet so he can figure out what's going on. He likes to flush the toilet and also enjoys pointing to your crotch in public and yelling "poo-poos and pee-pees".

His "bike"

Peyton "enjoying" my Mac & Cheese (homestyle).

Blog Makeover!

2011-08-22T13:38:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I redid the blog layout - not sure if I'm going to keep it. I was bored of looking at that plain ol' blog......

Peyton & Mia Farrow

2011-08-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Can you even tell which one is which?!?!

WATERMELON!!!!!

2011-08-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

Fact: Peyton loooooooves watermelon! He almost finished off half a watermelon just by himself!

What P has been up to lately:

-tries to repeat everything we say. Some words are still gibberish but at least he is trying! (Baby "Cheese-it" = Baby Jesus)

-likes to play in his closet and wants me to sit in there with him. He then closes the door and leans in to kiss me while giggling. I think someone is preparing for Junior High parties!

-got a haircut! He now looks like a young Mia Farrow.

-getting more interested in the whole "potty" process. He likes to point to his crotch and then say "poo-poo and pee-pee"

-loves to play at "Boingo Bounce" (it is made up entirely of inflatable bouncy castles and slides!!!!) He even does the 20 ft. slide by himself!

And for comparison, one from last year:

My beautiful boy...

2011-07-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

Peyton just had a great visit with his "GiGi" (my mother) and he will certainly be sad to see her go tomorrow. I'm pretty sure he prefers all of his grandparents to us....

Goofball......

2011-07-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of the previous video....

2011-07-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

What the....?

2011-07-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

To preface this video, Peyton hates to touch the ground. If he happens to fall down, he will do everything in his power to try to get up without touching the grass/mulch/dirt.

Dance Revolution.

2011-07-10T17:39:00.000-07:00

Still can't believe he's 2...

2011-07-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

A random list of facts about Peyton:

-likes to say "Mmmmm, juicy" after drinking (juice, milk, river water, you name it)
-has created his own personal "fart position" & has figured out how to fart on purpose
-loves to read books (in gibberish), remembers certain parts of books and repeats them while he reads to himself (in one book, the mouse says "Oh no", so he says "Oh no" everytime he flips the page)
-currently obsessed with the movie "Shrek" (he calls it "Shek")
-has crazy seasonal allergies
-has an obsession with brushing his teeth. Any time you walk into the bathroom, he takes his finger and mimes brushing his teeth until you give him his toothbrush ("toothy")
-thinks iPads are only for playing Angry Birds and watching Netflix (he can even say iPad!)
-runs through the house so fast he frequently runs into walls as he rounds the corners
-has taken to running off in stores (and he's so fast you don't even notice until he's gone!)

Just a quick pic!

2011-07-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Just a quick shot of Peyton with my new studio lights. He sat still for exactly two photos...

Little Peanut.

2011-06-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

Peyton is a talking machine nowadays. He still doesn't make sense most of the time but he is trying his darndest to verbalize everything. He even called his GiGi the other day and talked to her for a few minutes (unbeknownst to me!) He is currently OBSESSED with the movie "How to Train a Dragon" - he can seriously watch it over and over and over. He has suddenly taken in interest in reading and being read to (he used to get bored of books after about 30 seconds).

He looks like he had a rough night here:

I had to photoshop out some major snot in this one:

It is definitely summer!

2011-06-06T11:52:00.001-07:00

Peyton had an awesome time this past weekend playing with his Nana and Grandpa Harris. We got to try a few new restaurants, explore the town a little more and play outside. Peyton had a grand ol' time playing (drinking) in a sprinkler on a hot afternoon.

My niece!

2011-06-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of my sweet niece that I took this week. If you would like to see more, hop on over to laurenblairphotos.blogspot.com

Peyton is 2!!

2011-06-04T11:56:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that my sweet little boy is 2 years old already. I know I say this all the time, but where does the time go?? He is talking more than ever (most of it nonsense) and is trying to communicate his needs to us now (milk! milk! Poop!) It seems like his personality grows more and more everyday! He has adjusted well to our new house and he loves to play outside with his water table and wagon.

I tried to do some "2 year" portraits of the little guy but he was less than cooperative.

Crazy curly hair!

Popsicles!

2011-05-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

Peyton has been having a great time soaking up the sun while eating popsicles on our front porch. He loves being able to roam around the house and outside (he can even reach the door handles to open all the doors by himself!)

A new installment of "the Many Faces of Peyton"

2011-05-28T11:52:00.001-07:00

Peyton has been practicing his faces again :)

Video from P's birthday party

2011-05-26T18:23:00.003-07:00

Here's a video of Peyton's birthday party that my father's best friend put together. Enjoy!

What's been going on....

2011-05-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

So much to write about, I don't even know where to start! Peyton and I had an amazing time in Texas visiting with family and friends. We went to a family reunion, threw a baby shower for my sis-in-law Sarah, went to Canton to prop shop and threw Peyton an early 2 year birthday party! Peyton is talking more than ever and is even stringing words together! He now says "door up", "outside door", "close that door", "come with me", "do that" and a ton of single words. He says outside, happy, peas, milk, cook (cookies), shoes (sounds like "snooooos"), eyes, and many other words. His current favorite word is "no". He seems to be repeating after us more and more nowadays.

We have been living in our house for a week now and we are mostly moved in. We are still missing most of our living furniture (we only have an ottoman, side table, lamps, rug and Peyton's little chair).

Here are some photos from P's 2nd birthday. I'll try to take some photos of the house this week as well!

Family Reunion Pics (and almost 23 months update!)

2011-04-28T20:47:00.001-07:00

I edited a few photos from the family reunion (although there are still some that need to be edited) - other projects are keeping me busy!!

Peyton is learning new words each day and has started stringing words together! He loves to watch the garage door go up and down so he stands outside and says "door up" constantly! He also loves to say things like "no, no kitty" to that darned cat. He says cool, poop, down, pull, and many other words (that I can't think of right now because my brain is officially turned off for the night). He has a great time laughing with/at people and has even begun to perfect his "courtesy" laugh.

Turner!

Mim!

Egg hunt..

Kam hunting for eggs

and one from a few days ago...

So many new things!

2011-04-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Oh my word, so much has happened since my last update! Casey defended his dissertation and became "Dr. Harris" (although, I caution you not to let him perform surgery on you no matter how charming he is), we bought a house (I'll upload photos this week), and Peyton scraped, bruised and cut his legs up to the point where I'm sure someone is going to call CPS on my butt.

This weekend, we attended the Higgs family reunion in the hill country. We had a great time getting to visit with family (some of whom we haven't seen in a long while!) and Peyton had an awesome time running around to his heart's content. He ran from the time he woke up (at about 7:30 AM) until 7:30 PM without stopping. He even ate his meals while on the run. He had such a fun time running around with his cousin Kamryn and playing with all of my cousins and aunts & uncles. That little booger had attention lavished upon him......

Here are some photos from Texas over the past few weeks. I'll definitely try to get those house pics and family reunion pics uploaded this week!

Peyton's got a girlfriend!

2011-03-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

So, I swear I'm going to update the blog with a post about what is going on in Peyton's life, but things have beeeeeeeen craaaaazy so that will have to wait. But, I will leave you with some photos of Peyton and his "girlfriend". You'll have to excuse the quality of these photos, I was actually photographing a 4 yr. old during a session when P wandered up to me so these were snapped really quickly!

Snow day!

2011-03-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

Peyton, Casey and I had fun playing in the snow on Monday. We made Peyton's first snowman!

My snow bunny. :)

2011-03-09T14:26:00.000-08:00

I have lots more photos to edit, so I'll throw those up here tomorrow. Here's one for now:

Obstacle course

2011-02-28T08:51:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Peyton going through the inflatable obstacle course by himself for the first time!!!

My little bulldog.

2011-02-27T11:26:00.000-08:00

Peyton has been sick since Saturday so he's been a total terror! I am so frustrated and sleep-deprived that I can't even think of anything to write in this blog post. So, here is a funny photo of Peyton with an underbite.

Two funny videos

2011-02-21T16:24:00.000-08:00

I posted two posts with videos tonight - so make sure to check out the one below too!

Weightlifting with Peyton:

Spazzing out:

Even more videos!

2011-02-21T15:41:00.001-08:00

Videos galore

2011-02-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

The Flip Video has been resurrected!! Yesssss!

20 months

2011-02-11T14:12:00.001-08:00

Alright, I intended to upload some videos of Peyton but apparently my Flip Video has gone kaput. :(

Today, Peyton and I went to an indoor playgroup at a local church so we could play in their bouncy castle and their inflatable obstacle course!! Peyton had so much fun going through the obstacle course (although I have to go with him). He climbed through a hole, between two horizontal cylinders (you have to squeeze through), up the "mountain", slid down the other side, squeezed through another set of cylinders and then went through the inflatable poles and out the exit. He had so much fun!!! He also had a great time running around and jumping in the bouncy castle. Too fun.

He still isn't talking too much but he's adding words every now and then. He says "cracker" now (sounds like "craaaaaaaaa core"). He's starting to become more independent at playgroup and doesn't have to be able to see me all the time. He is becoming a little more interactive with other kids, although he typically ignores them for the most part.

So serious...

2011-02-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

I promise I will do a post soon to get everyone caught up on what crazy-boy has been up to.

If you give Peyton some whipped cream....

2011-02-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

...he's going to be a huge mess!

Drunk on sugar...

Blog silence...

2011-01-30T11:16:00.000-08:00

It's been a little while since I've updated the blog (sorry!) but I've been buried in newborns (not literally....)! I've been pretty busy photographing newborns lately (yay!) and would love for all of you to head on over to laurenblairphotos.blogspot.com to see :)

Here's a little preview:

and a little Peyton for ya:

19 months! (A belated post)

2011-01-12T10:46:00.001-08:00

Peyton has been 19 months for 10 days now, so this post is a little overdue. He isn't due back into the doctor until he is 2, so no update on stats for a little bit!

Things he loves:
- his "baby" (although he did throw baby in the toilet yesterday. Whoops!)
- his dogs (he does love to torture Anouk by chasing her around and "growling" at her)
- "Yo Gabba Gabba" and Veggie Tales
- books. He is bringing books to us more often now to read and is actually paying attention for the most part!
- trains. He is obsessed with trains!!
- grapes, chicken nuggets, any type of veggie.
- playgrounds. I wish it wasn't snowing all the time here! We have been going to the "indoor playground" at a church though.
- his kitchen. Best. Present. Ever.
- cuddling. P is going through a serious cuddling/hugging/kissing phase....and I love it!
- blowing kisses.
- waving and saying "buh-bye" to everyone and everything.

He is starting to talk a lot more, although most of it is still gibberish. He now says cookie, choo-choo (for trains), door (says this a ton), "Nana" (his grandma Harris), cool, and today he said "hat".

Sweet boy.

2011-01-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

I promise I will do a 19 months post at some point when my brain isn't fried!

Anouk!

Christmas photos

2011-01-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

I didn't take too many photos over Christmas break b/c P was sick and looked horrible most of the time....

Christmas tree bokeh :)

Family portrait (photo by Patrick Higgs)

and fancy cat.

Snoooooooow!

2011-01-09T12:42:00.000-08:00

Started out like this...

....and ended up like this:

Return of the funny faces...

2011-01-08T17:40:00.000-08:00

and playing with Dooley.

Peyton's Christmas present

2010-12-20T04:33:00.000-08:00

We gave Peyton his Christmas present early b/c we'll be heading to Texas tomorrow and didn't want to haul anything with us!!

All dressed up....

2010-12-18T18:32:00.000-08:00

Apologies for my lack of posting lately (again). I've been wrapped up in editing a few sessions I've done recently, so I haven't been taking a ton of photos of P lately. Here's one of him all dressed up for Pete & Amber's 2nd Annual Christmas Bonanza!

18 months stats!

2010-12-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Peyton went to the Dr. yesterday for his 18 month appointment. She said everything looks great and we don't have to go back until he's 2! He got one immunization and doesn't have to get anymore until he's 5 (except for yearly flu shots).

Height: 34 inches (90th percentile)

Weight: 23 lbs, 13 ounces (25th percentile)

Head: 48.5 cm (70th percentile)

Peyton has dance fever....

2010-12-05T15:42:00.000-08:00

and the only cure is to shake his booty!

Blog neglect.

2010-12-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

I have been seriously neglecting this blog. Sorry, grandparents! Peyton turned 18 MONTHS OLD two days ago! I can hardly believe it! He is turning into such a little man.

Here are some things he's doing lately:

-Dancing!! He LOOOOOVES to dance and cannot resist shaking his groove thang.

-Talking a little bit more. Today he said "Buh-bye dadda" when Casey left. He says: dadda, momma, dog, door, truck, stuck, no, don't, hot, and some other ones I can't think of right now....

-Kisses. He loves giving kisses (on the lips) now.

-Cuddles. He absolutely loves to cuddle on our bed in the morning. He snuggles up with you and makes an "awwwww" sound. He loves to hug us as well as the dogs.

-Uses a spoon (sometimes a fork). He is still super messy with utensils but we're working on it!

-He's a complete troublemaker! You can't turn your back on him for even a second now. He likes to put stuff in the trash can (and take stuff out), turn off power strips, smack the dogs, pull all of the tissues out of the box, open cabinets and drawers and pull everything out, etc.

There are lots more things but I can't think of them all right now because of a persistent headache!! While we were in Texas, Peyton entertained a lot of people! At my grandfather's house, we had put a tray of cookies on the counter above the dishwasher. My mother asked me if Peyton could have a cookie and I told her that he could not. I left the kitchen and a minute or so later my mother called me back in. Peyton had opened the dishwasher and climbed up on it so he could reach the cookies. He grabbed a cookie and took a bite but put it back when he saw me rounding the corner. Rascal!

Peyton has his 18 month appointment this next week, so I will update you with his stats after that!

Photos from Texas...

2010-11-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

I didn't take very many photos in Texas - whoops!

Video dump!

2010-11-08T13:49:00.000-08:00

I realized that I haven't uploaded videos in a while!

He says "momma" in this next one :)

Stuck...

2010-11-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

Peyton has added another word to his vocabulary - "stuck". And he was indeed stuck when he said it - P managed to wedge himself in between the wall and our couch. P and I are headed to Texas for two weeks starting this coming Wednesday! Casey has a Criminology conference the week after next and thought he may be having an interview this coming week so I decided to head home to see family. I didn't want to be stuck in PA by myself for a while after the disastrous week we had when he left the last time!!!

"This is my head..."

As Liz Lemon would say, "Blerg".

"Oh Daddy, you're the funniest..."

Poop face!

My son is a spaz.

2010-11-04T15:43:00.000-07:00

Peyton is becoming more verbal little by little. His favorite word is "hot" - he says it before he puts any food in his mouth and also runs up to the space heater and says it (and then touches it). He also tries to say "truck" quite frequently but it always comes out as "guck". He's starting to be able to point to things when you ask him to find something (he found his eyes and mouth today!) but it isn't always fail-proof!! Casey asked him where his penis was and he pointed to his nose....hahaha.

Funny bunny!

What a week!

2010-10-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

Casey left this week for an interview at Purdue (which went well), but while he was gone I had a heck of a time! Peyton had a temperature of 102.4 on Tuesday night, so I made an appt. for him with the Pediatrician on Wednesday morning. At the appt., they diagnosed him as having an ear infection in both ears and prescribed Amoxicillin. Wednesday evening, Peyton's fever shot back up and I went in to check on him at about 10 PM. He was breathing very fast and very shallow so I took him out of his crib and checked his temperature (103 degrees). He was super lethargic and hard to awaken so I made the decision to take him to the ER. We got to the ER about 10:30 or so and were quickly ushered into a room. They put Peanut on oxygen (his oxygen levels were in the 70's range and they said they like it to be around 100) and he started to breathe more regularly. All of the commotion was freaking the little peanut out though so he began to cry and hyperventilate which lead him to throw up several times (on me, of course). They took blood and set him up with IV fluids (they had to strap his arm down to a board to keep him from bending his arm or pulling his IV port out). I laid down on the gurney so that he could lay on top of me and hopefully relax. He had a chest X-ray taken (he had to sit in this little chair while I held his arms up) and then we went back to our "room".

Anywho, Peanut was diagnosed with pneumonia and given an antibiotic through his IV (he slept for 20 minutes at some point in between all of the crying). We were sent home at 2:30 AM and the Peanut went back to sleep. It was quite the rollercoaster of a week!!!

We went back to the Pediatrician on Thursday and got a prescription for a new antibiotic. He spent the whole entire day in my lap or on the couch on Thursday (poor little guy felt so puny). He's definitely regaining his energy and is returning to his happy little self.

He's been rocking some crazy hair lately!

Photo blog

2010-10-30T18:43:00.001-07:00

Another newborn is on my photo blog!
http://laurenblairphotos.blogspot.com/2010/10/brynlee-11-days-old.html

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-23T17:41:00.001-07:00

Basketball

2010-10-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of blog posting lately. I've been super exhausted (and dizzy) for the past couple of weeks and Peyton is continuing on his streak of being a total terror! The little booger "sharpied" my favorite sweater today. Anywho, I took these photos a week or so ago but forgot to post them.

Peyton and Grandma

2010-10-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

I got so wrapped up in editing my workshop images that I forgot to edit and post these!

Photos from his highchair (AKA - the only place he ever sits remotely still)

2010-10-07T13:46:00.001-07:00

This past month has been a test of my patience; Peyton is starting to really test the limits to see what he can get away with. His whiney voice has returned (yay....) and tantrums have been full-force. There have definitely been days where I feel like I just want to give up - but Peanut always does something sweet to remind me of why us mothers do what we do.

He turned 16 months this past week, here is a taste of what he's been doing:

Waves hello and goodbye to everyone and EVERYTHING!

Saying a few more words (hot, momma, "that", dog and assorted other words)

Still obsessed with "Yo Gabba Gabba" (sigh)

Attending playgroup and storytime (trying to socialize the little bugger!)

Still a picky eater when it comes to proteins (but he'll eat any fruit or veggie!)

Loves to play with the laundry basket

Favorites from my workshop

2010-09-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share my favorite photos from my Newborn workshop!

Boston (picture heavy!)

2010-09-29T15:28:00.001-07:00

We went to Boston this past weekend to see my cousin Kristen (who moved there in August) and to check out the town (Casey is applying to a job at U. Mass Boston). The drive there was uneventful (8 hours without any fussing!) and we had a nice dinner at a local pizza joint, Upper Crust. Peyton didn't sleep well that night, unfortunately, and we discovered the next morning it was because he was getting sick! Blergh. We took him to the Children's Museum (I know, bad parents) and he seemed to enjoy himself a little bit (when he wasn't whining).

Anywho, he fussed for most of the day and refused to nap when we got back to the hotel. We had dinner at Kristen's apartment with her boyfriend and Kristen's sister, Ashley. Peyton was a total terror the whole entire time (we hope he didn't cause too much damage, Kristen!). Their poor dog is probably still recovering emotionally.

He didn't sleep very well Saturday night either because of his runny nose (at one point in the night he sounded like he was throwing up!). On Sunday, we went to an orchard to pick apples. Peyton enjoyed himself (mostly because we let him eat an apple). We decided to head out of Boston a day early (we were originally going to leave Monday morning) because Peyton was being such a terror and I had started to get sick, so unfortunately we didn't really get to see a lot of Boston. We did decide that it would be very hard to live in Boston with a small child.....

He busted his face on Saturday. Blergh.

Orchard photos!

This is the face we saw most of the trip (look at all of those teeth!)

Ashley's Twilight photo

Blowing dandelions...

Kristen and her boyfriend, Matt

Desperate Housewives?

Newborn workshop

2010-09-21T20:15:00.001-07:00

I would love to invite all of you crazy kids on over to my Flickr to check out images from the newborn workshop I recently attended!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lharrisphotos/sets/72157625008263314/

Ice cream!

2010-09-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

We took Peyton up to the Creamery tonight to share some ice cream (Death by Chocolate!) and run around. That boy definitely loves his sugar!

Peyton and Anouk

2010-09-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

....

2010-09-11T07:26:00.001-07:00

Peyton has been up for a hour and has already thrown two tantrums. Nice.

Arboretum

2010-09-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

I think Peyton has hit the "terrible twos" early - heck, I think he may even have hit the "terrible teens" early. It has been rough around the Harris household lately. My sweet angel has turned into a tantrum throwing, wild-eyed, crazy person! I'm going to chalk this up to teething (wishful thinking).

Family photo (finally!)

P.S. - remind me not to wear my hair wavy anymore, I look like a poodle!

My assistant setting up the tripod.

Peyton and Lucky

2010-09-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

Peyton and Lucky have an interesting relationship. Peyton wants desperately to love on Lucky whenever he is around him, but Lucky just wants to be left alone. P loves to lay on Lucky and hug him while Lucky growls the whole entire time. Lucky has never bitten Peyton but we're tired of having to keep him locked up in the kitchen so we've begun the search for a new home for him. It breaks our hearts to have to give him up but we couldn't find a new home for Peyton, so it looks like Lucky will have to be the one to go (kidding - except for the Lucky having to go part).

Milk face!

Spring Creek and 15 month stats!

2010-09-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Peyton had his 15 month appointment on Thursday. He had a really rough appointment because he's starting to realize what goes on there! He cried any time the doctor or nurse tried to touch him. Poor guy. :(

Stats:

Height: 32 inches

Weight: 22 lbs, 10 ounces. He's in the 25 percentile now!!

The "Sleepy Hollow" bridge over the creek

Loafers!

2010-09-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

I didn't get a good photo of Peyton wearing his loafers to his Dedication, so here are a couple of photos of the loafers in action!

Video dump

2010-09-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

Some videos from this summer!

Videos from Texas

2010-09-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

This first video probably needs a little explanation. P's aunt Melissa bought him a little game where you fish for little pieces with a fishing pole with a magnet on the end. P got really good at the game and then decided he was going to "fish" for goldfish crackers in the little green cup.

Dedication!

2010-08-31T11:13:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, August 29th, we dedicated Peyton to the Lord and to the church at E-Free church. This was certainly a big day in our lives and I hope that Peyton will look back on it as a big day in his life as well. I couldn't take photos b/c I was up at the front with P, so our good friend Pete took some for us!

Peyton's cheesy new smile.

He was getting bored and tried to poke me in the eyes...

Playgroup!

2010-08-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

Peyton and I recently joined a playgroup that meets at parks on Tuesdays. P has a great time climbing up and down the playground structures but he still isn't too interested in "playing" with the other kids.

Also, he's adopted this super creepy fake smile that he does all day now. Very odd! Serial killer or game show host? Only time will tell.....

Sunshine!

2010-08-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Peyton had a great time playing at the Alumni Gardens on campus last week. He repeatedly tried to get into the little pond!!

He runs like this *all* the time!

The look of mischief:

.....and then he tries to punch my camera.

Texas and Tennessee.

2010-08-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

Peyton and I had a great time in Texas visiting with family and avoiding the heat (I think the heat index was in the 100 plus range the whole time we were there!). We swam at the YMCA pool (the one in the Woodlands is so nice!) He had a great time splashing around in the dancing fountains and walking around in the shallow end. We also went swimming at my Aunt Milli's pool - that boy loves the water! He somehow managed to turn their hot tub on and their waterfall off. Very tricky.

We went to the new Children's Museum in the Woodlands a few times (and didn't get rotovirus!). It really makes me want to live somewhere with a Children's Museum! He has so much fun running around in them. He loves to play with the firetruck (probably his favorite thing) and play in the "grocery store". I have to watch him when he gets ahold of a grocery cart though because he runs around pretty recklessly with them! There were lots of moms with bruised ankles that day, I'm sure.

We got to eat out a lot (which is always a treat) - which I'm sure lead to my weight gain (boooo....). We did some shopping (I was good!) and just had a great time all around!

At the end of our trip, we headed to Chatanooga, TN for the wedding of a family friend. We spend 3 days exploring the wonderful city! I loved it there! They have a great Children's Museum, Aquarium and a great downtown (plus a great cupcake shop ---> weight gain!) The flight back to PA was a little harder than the flight to Houston because P was a little squirmy and rambunctious. It is getting harder and harder to fly with him on my lap!!!!

Photos from a few days ago:

Testing....

2010-08-27T12:50:00.000-07:00

Flickr appears to be having some issues....so this is just a test.

Texas photos.

2010-08-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a big photo post of my two weeks in Texas! I promise I will do a blog about what I did while I was there when I'm less exhausted!

Playing in the dancing fountains at Market Street:

Playing at the YMCA pool:

Snuggling up while watching "Yo Gabba Gabba"

Being a goober...

Great Grandma and Grandpa Barger (Photo by Patrick Higgs)

Tubby time!

Peyton and Grandpa Harris

2010-08-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of P with his Grandpa Harris on Colorado! They had a ton of fun together!

My son is strange....

2010-07-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

So, I feel like I should just let these photos speak for themselves, but an explanation is probably in order. Yesterday, we took Peyton to a local memorial park to run around. He had a ton of fun interacting with the local pooches and running through the grass. When we went to leave, P took it upon himself to hug all of the lightposts. He would run from lightpost to lightpost and wrap his arms around them. He would hug each one for about a minute, pat the back of it and then run on to the next one. It was, in a word, odd.

We think he hugged somewhere between 8 and 10 posts.

He *runs* everywhere now!!

We interrupt this program....

2010-07-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

for some funny faces!

This one isn't funny....just cute : )

....and some booty!

Colorado, Part 2

2010-07-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Peyton went to the Hot Springs Pool....

He played with some toys...

Sat in his rocking chair...

....made some odd faces in his chair.

We saw a hummingbird.

Saw the fires of Mordor....or not.

This horse bit someone on a hike (not one of us)

Waterfall!

Group photo!

I will post more photos at some point!

Colorado, Part 1

2010-07-19T09:07:00.001-07:00

Alright, so here goes my exhaustive recounting of our Colorado trip. The flights to Colorado Springs were alright. We managed to get through it without any major breakdowns (do delays, no meltdowns, yay!). Our saving grace was the children's play area at the Chicago airport. Peyton loooooved it!

On the drive to Salida, we were treated to a beautiful sunset!

Peyton was exhausted by the time we finally made it to Salida - poor little guy was whimpering when we woke him up from his car seat nap.

The next day, Casey and Pete went for a hike with some friends that had relocated to Colorado while I went to shoot some family portraits.

Afterwards, we went into downtown Salida to eat some lunch and hang out with the cousins. Peyton happens to adore Savannah.

I can't entirely remember what we did day-by-day, so the rest of this post might just be a hodgepodge of photos.

Wearing the Huggies blue jean diapers, so he can "poo in blue".

Stuffing a banana in his mouth...

Stay tuned for part 2!

Watermelon!

2010-07-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

I'll do a big "Colorado" post when I get back, but here are some watermelon photos to tide you over....

Bored?

2010-06-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

If you're bored, hop on over to my photography blog. I just posted a new newborn shoot!

laurenblairphotography.blogspot.com

Some photos before we leave...

2010-06-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when he runs at my camera really fast....

Blowing raspberries...

Flying!

...up to no good.

This is what keys are for!

Those eyelashes are nuts...

We're headed to Colorado for two weeks to do some hiking, rafting and relaxing!! Pray for a safe and stress-free trip tomorrow (we have two layovers - eek!). I'll be back to blogging in two weeks!

Anouk and Spongebob.

2010-06-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Two of Peyton's favorite things happen to be Anouk (our dog) and Spongebob (who lives under the sea). P loves to hug his Spongebob and roll around on the floor with it.

He also loves to play with Anouk (don't worry, she doesn't play rough even though it looks like she does).