Valentines Day

Since we've been married, Jade and I haven't had the best luck on Valentine's Day. Our first Valentine's Day, when we were dating, Jade set the bar really high and I had the best Valentine's of my life. So naturally, I had high expectations the subsequent years, and both times crashed and burned. Both married Valentine's days have ended in a fight. After the debacle last year, I decided that maybe I just wasn't cut out for Valentine's Day. So I decided we weren't going to celebrate it anymore. I let go of all my romantic notions, bought Jade a little gift (MarioKart for Wii- SO fun!), and figured he would probably get me some chocolates and we could call it a day. Well, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, he came through for me this year, and we had a really great V-day. He brought me breakfast in bed (strawberry and banana french toast and hash browns- yum), and when I got downstairs, he had a cute little setup waiting for me!

And he even remembered his other Valentine! He got her a mini bear like mine!

After breakfast, we went about our Saturday routines, then we dropped off Peyton at Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Kristin's house, and went to dinner at The Reserve. The Reserve is the golf course that Jade worked at all throughout high school and after his mission. It was super nice, and we had a nice long meal without any interruptions. It was the first time we've eaten out at a restaurant together without having Peyton with us. I don't really like leaving Peyton, so usually we bring her wherever we go. Most of the time she just sleeps in her car seat, but it was still so nice not to have to worry about her at all, and just relax and enjoy each other's company. What a great way to break the Valentine's curse!

I've been working so hard at getting a picture of Peyton's first teeth (I didn't post about it, but her second tooth came in about a day and a half after her first. They're the bottom middle teeth). Peyton does not cooperate with this undertaking, at all. So, this is the best I could do. This picture was a 2 person undertaking.

Peyton is now 8 months old. I can hardly believe it. She still crawls around backwards, and scoots and rolls all over the place to get where she needs to go. She is getting into everything now, so I have said farewell to the days of her just sitting nicely and not having to worry about her. She is now eating snacks, like Rice Krispies, and other puffy treats. She loves picking up individual pieces with her thumb and forefinger, and putting them into her mouth. It is so cute to watch because she concentrates so hard and is so determined. Also, she holds her other 3 fingers straight out, so it is even cuter, and when she puts the treat in her mouth, she puts about 3/4 of her hand in her mouth. Adorable. She definitely didn't inherit my patience. Or maybe she did inherit my patience, because she isn't patient at all. When she wants something, she doesn't hesitate to let me know, and she gets really mad if she doesn't get it pronto. I suppose we might consider her spoiled. She is also "pulling up", pulling herself up to a standing position. She really surprises me with how strong she is, considering how tiny she is. She's very tiny. I should note that almost all of her 0-3 month clothes still fit (the ones that don't are just too short for her long body), and most of her 3-6 month clothes are a little baggy on her. Unfortunately for her, she got her dad's feet. She may be a size or two behind in clothing, but she's a size ahead in shoes. She is totally adorable and we love her so much!

(If you're wondering why she's next to a sign, it's because in addition to the hundreds of everyday pictures we take, I take monthly pictures for her scrapbook, so I can put them all together on a page and we can take a quick look at how much she's changed over her first year)