Well, it's been awhile, so I'll start at the top

The weekend before last Justin and Ashley invited us to spend some time with them at their vacation home in Eagle Crest, which is in Central Oregon. Besides 75% of their kids being sick, the trip was really fun, and it was so nice to take a break from reality, even just for a short weekend. While we were there we slept in (I did), took lots of bike rides, played games, did puzzles, spent a ton of time building Lego boats, then racing them down the river, building marble racetracks, swimming, eating delicious food, and best of all relaxing. Peyton was great the whole time; right up until we told her it was time to go. Apparently she wasn't ready to stop vacationing, because she put up a fight almost the whole way home.

That's one tall marble track!Can you tell she's tantruming?

We've had some of our friends from college staying with us the past little while, and we've been having so much fun with them! Noah and Twink have an 8 month old daughter, Kirra, who has quickly become Peyton's sidekick. Twink and I have tried to squeeze in all the fun things Portland has to offer. We've gone to the downtown Saturday market on the waterfront, we went to the zoo twice, we went to OMSI, we have gone to a few of the best parks around, and we've done a little shopping downtown.

Exihibit A: Parallel Play

The first time we tried the zoo, we made the mistake of going on Two Dollar Tuesday. It was horrible. We should have taken it as an omen when the girl taking tickets said "Oh- you're members. You must not have realized what day it is." It really was that bad. We could barely move. So that didn't last very long. Twink and I decided we would come back on "Full-Price Friday" instead. The next time we went, it was a beautiful day outside, and probably 80% less crowded. We had a great time. The best part of the day was when we were looking at Inja, the chimpanzee. She was sitting in her tree when we pulled our strollers up. As soon as she saw the babies, she came over to where we were standing and laid on the floor right next to the girls. She just stared at them (and the girls stared back). It was so cute, and really powerful to see just how special and humane those animals are. Peyton loves all the animals, and usually points and signs the "dog" sign and sometimes says "dee-de" which means Tinky.

We also went to this great park with one of those water features with the squirting fountains. The girls thought that was great. Peyton loved crawling around in the water, and wasn't scared at all. I noticed her doing this funny thing and after further examination I realized she was trying to drink out of the fountain where the water was draining. It was really cute until the fountain turned back on and totally squirted her in the face. I was nervous and expected a meltdown, but she just winced, cleared the water out of her eyeballs, and went back to the business of trying to slurp the puddles. She did this for probably 10 minutes. I was quite proud of my brave little soldier.

We took the girls to OMSI, and we had just about as much fun as they had. We all enjoyed the interactive exhibits, and the girls loved the toddler only area. Their favorite was the giant indoor sandbox and also the baby gym. It was so cute to watch them "parallel play". We all had a great time.

Peyton and I doing the weather

A Very Large EarShe's trying to keep this away from an older kid. Good luck, kid, she's stronger than she looks!Cute girls in the sandboxI almost forgot about this one: there were some girls doing face painting, so Twink and I wanted the girls to get something quick and easy- a flower on their cheek. Kirra wouldn't have any of it. Peyton was okay until they switched colors, then she was over it. So she spent the rest of the day with a yellow circle on her cheek. I decided to tell people it was a sun instead of an incomplete flower.Tired little bug. She had a fun, busy day!

In other big news, I finally got Peyton's hair in Pig-Tails! I've been dying for her hair to grow long enough to style, and it's finally there! It looks so dang cute!

Starting the Saturday that we were in Eagle Crest, I had some difficulty swallowing and pain behind my sternum. Tuesday it was so bad that I went to Urgent Care because I didn't want to wait for my doctor. I was then sent over to a gastroendonologist and he told me that the antibiotics I was taking are *sometimes* known to cause esophageal damage because of how basic they are (as opposed to acidic). He wanted to see what the damage was, so I had to have an endoscopy. I was totally nervous. I didn't really mind the idea of the procedure, because I was told that the drugs are so good, I wouldn't remember a thing, but I was scared to death about getting an IV. I had the procedure yesterday, and it went great. Sure enough, I have corrosion of my lower esophagus, but apparently the inside of your body heals really fast, and mine was already feeling better. So they sent me home, and I got Chipotle and Ice Cream, and Jade spent the evening with me watching Bachelorette. All in all, a very successful day!

Peyton is at a funny stage right now. She's physically able to walk, but she's totally content to crawl. She's fiercely independent, yet she wants me to be around her all the time. She loves her binky and "face blankie", and usually when she's tired she goes to her crib, reaches through the slats, grabs both and puts herself to sleep, rubbing her face with the soft blankie. She's really mellow and easy-going, yet she loves attention. She loves little kids but prefers to be with adults. She is so tiny (still in 0-3 or 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers) but she's becoming less of a baby and more of a toddler every day. It's so sweet to watch her grow and learn so much. I'm having a hard time letting go of my baby, but I love her so much and I'm so grateful for everything she adds to my life. I don't know what I did without her!

The grab

The lay-down

Sweet little princess