Peyton's Fist Sleepover

Last Saturday, we decided to head down to Devine to visit Jen, James, Jameson, and Mackenzie for two reasons (1) Peyton is 4 1/2 months old and has never been to a sleepover and (2) our friend Lindsay was visiting from San Antonio! As you can see, Peyton loved Lindsay (who wouldn't?)

Jen is always such an amazing hostess, and this weekend was no different! She always feeds us incredibly well. We got in around lunch time, and Jen had made homemade macaroni and cheese...yummmm! Then she started making her delicious guacamole for dinner (one of the best guacamole ever) to go with the yummy fajitas James made later.

Jen knows me well....and my love of Hint of Lime chips!

While Jen was cooking, she, Lindsay and I were catching up, James was on his way back from Gruene with Jameson and Mackenzie, and Matt........was napping.

The Ramirezzzsss have lent us numerous baby items for Peyton, and while we were down, they brought out jumperoo for Peyton to use. Mackenzie was happy to have it out again, and she quickly got in to enjoy this fun toy!

Then it was Peyton's turn. Mackenzie and Jameson were sweet to show Peyton how to use it!

Jameson didn't have an old toy to play with, but he did have a new friend! I think Matt enjoyed playing with those action figures more than he would let on ;)

Even Peyton got to join in on the action figure fun! Thanks for sharing Jameson! You were very sweet to Peyton!

Peyton decided that she would let Jameson sit close to her since he shared his toys with her (and since she was eating and she doesn't care what goes on around her as long as she is eating).

Such a happy girl when she has a full belly!

Unfortunately, that happiness didn't last when her daddy picked up Mackenzie. Peyton loves her daddy, and apparently, she doesn't like to share him. She was not very happy....sorry Mackenzie!

Mommy jumped in to enjoy some quality time with Mackenzie. She was so sweet and happy as can be!

I love how they both look like they're listening to what we're saying (no clue what or who was talking).

Heehee, I love this picture. Peyton needed a bit of poking to toughen her up. It was very obvious that she doesn't have any siblings and is used to having 100% of the attention on her. We will have to bring her down more often to continue to toughen her up!

Then it was bath time!

Once Peyton was all relaxed from the bath, had her paci, and was lounging in Mommy's arms, she didn't care who touched her.

She remembered that Jameson shared that cool action figure toy with her; so, she decided to let him get close to her and her daddy.

Poor girl, tummy time even at sleepovers!

Jealous that Mackenzie gets to be on her back.

Peyton did a great job that night in Mackenzie's crib (thank you Mackenzie for letting Peyton sleep there!!!) I was worried that she would wake up more than once, but she only woke up once to eat (the norm)!

The next day, we headed off to lunch at this yummy Mexican restaurant so that Lindsay could get one more Mexican food fix before returning to Colorado. The guys were off shooting at a tournament; so, it was just us girls and the kiddos!

(Random picture, I know, but she took her paci out and this is how she put it back in....cracked me up).

Thank you Ramirezzss for a GREAT first sleepover for Peyton! We had so much fun and can't wait to do it again for many years to come!!

Unswaddled!

The doctor told us to stop swaddling Peyton at her 4 month check up. I had already planned on trying to break her of this habit, and the doctor just gave me another reason to try. Peyton did really well! I would say it only took a few naps for her to really get it. We still rock her to almost sleep (not quite completely asleep, but close)...that will be our next challenge, putting her down for naps and bedtime when she is still awake! I think we will wait until she's 5 months to try this one. I've tried a couple times and it was disastrous.

Since we stopped swaddling her, Matt and I LOVE to watch her sleep! She looks so sweet all sprawled out! It's almost like she wants to stretch out as much as possible now that she isn't swaddled. Isn't she just too cute?!?

Teething

Do you think I'm teething?

Sophie

My friend Jen helped me register when I was pregnant and suggested I register for this toy giraffe. She claimed that it was babies loved it, and the rubber it is made of is "like crack for babies" (no lie, direct quote from Jen). So, I registered for Sophie (yep, the giraffe has a name), and my lifelong friend, Heather, and her mom bought it for Peyton! Well, I decided to bring it out a few days ago to see if Peyton was interested. Sure enough, as soon as I squeaked it, she smiled one of her huge, gummy smiles at it! She also reached out and grabbed Sophie and immediately brought her to her mouth. I thought she would gnaw or suck on Sophie, but no, Peyton decided to lick her instead. I was already joking that Sophie is like a dog toy since she is rubber and squeaks, and then what does my baby do, but lick her! Oh boy ;)

Picnic

Peyton had her first picnic last Saturday! Tera, Brett, and Bella came over, and we walked to a nearby park.

This was Peyton's first time meeting a dog...she loved Bella!

It was such a beautiful day to be outside and a great day for a photo shoot!

Cereal!

At Peyton's 4 month check up, the doctor told us to start introducing Peyton to cereal! I was very eager to go home and see what she thought of eating from a spoon! She did very well! It was pretty funny to see how the cereal mostly drooled out of her mouth, but by midway, she had figured out that she was supposed to open her mouth when the spoon came up! She would open her mouth for the spoon and then push all the cereal out with her tongue.

Is there something on my face?

We tried the cereal again the next night, and Peyton did much better! She actually swallowed some of it! She is definitely going to be a food lover like her mom!

Peyton at 4 Months

We went to the doctor for Peyton's 4 month check up, and she is still doing great! She is 25 inches long (75%), 16 lbs 14 oz (97%) and her head circumference is in the 95%....she must have a lot of brains ;)

Peyton continues to be such a sweet, happy little girl! She is still very easy to make smile and laugh. Her little laugh is such a sweet noise; I could listen to it all day! She is usually only fussy if you try to keep her awake for too long (she can usually only last for about an hour and a half, sometimes 2 hours, between naps) or towards the end of the day. She is very observant and likes to stare at people (this can be a little disturbing when she stares at strangers). She continues to be pretty vocal and isn't afraid to let you know if she's happy, with squeals and laughs, or starting to get fussy, with grunting/growling.

Peyton takes between 3 and 4 naps a day for 45 minutes to 2 hours. She usually only naps for about 45 min to an hour, but she will occasionally nap for longer. She goes down for the night around 6:30 and wakes up between 6 and 7 in the morning. She usually wakes up once during the night to eat (generally between 3 and 5); although, she has slept all night before! Unfortunately, she has been going through a stage of waking up crying 30 - 45 minutes after she goes down for the night. We have had a hard time figuring out how to handle this, but hopefully we are finally starting to get out of this habit!

Peyton drinks 5 - 6 bottles in a 24hr period, usually about 6 oz each time. The girl likes to eat! As soon as she sees the bottle, she starts to get antsy if you take too long. She also opens her mouth as soon as you sit down with her and move the bottle to her mouth.

We are in awe that we have such a wonderful baby! We love you Peyton!!!

Cousins

We have been trying to find a part time nanny for a few weeks now. In the meantime, we have had various people watch Peyton (my mom watches her Tuesdays and Thursdays), Nana came to visit for two weeks, our sitter Lauren, and last week my 9 months pregnant sister helped out! She watched Peyton on Tuesday and Thursday. Now, not only is she 9 months pregnant (due in the next 3 weeks), but she also has an adorable 20 month old, Sierra! She is the BEST sister ever!! Boy oh boy did she have her hands full! It is so fun to see these little girls interact. You can tell how much fun they are going to have when they get older!

I babysat Sierra while Jen had a doctor appointment and boy was that exhausting! I've always said that I wanted my kids to be close in age (Jen and I are 15 months apart), but it sure is a lot of work! I know it would be worth it when they get to be older, but it would probably be a rough couple of years....unless we have two perfect kids like my parents had ;)

Sierra colored while Peyton took a nap

The bouncy chair looked like so much fun, Sierra decided to try it out!

Both girls love to be outside; so, we went on a walk. It is much harder to push two little people in a stroller!

Thank you soooo much Jen! Peyton is lucky to have such a great Tia and cousin!