If the shoe fits...

We celebrated Peyton's 2nd birthday with our Portland family and friends this weekend! Since she and I will be out of town on her real birthday, and between now and then lots of family members are leaving town, we decided to celebrate early, when everyone Peyton loves most in Portland could make it! The siblings also surprised Jade's mom with a birthday cake and presents since her birthday is this week. It was quite a celebration. Since Peyton has a shoe fetish, we did a shoe-themed birthday party. She absolutely loved it (so, might I add, did her cousin Lucy, who was as excited about the shoes as the birthday girl herself). We were supposed to have good weather, but if you know Oregon, you know the forecast is never right. It was raining, so we had to move our 3 tables inside, and let me tell you it was chaos having 38 people, 17 of which were kids 10 and under, crammed inside our house. My daughter had an absolute ball with all her friends and cousins. She couldn't have been any happier, which makes all the chaos (and clean-up) totally worth it. And honestly, as crazy as it was (and trust me, it was) it was really, really fun.

:

:

:

Pictures (There are a million of them. Consider yourselves warned)

:

:

:

Her InvitationOur entry- with banner, balloons and a shoe pinata.Some of the adults had to eat in the living room since our outside BBQ idea didn't pan out.Food TablePeyton's cupcakes topped with "glass slippers"The birthday girls! (right when I went to take a picture, Peyton started hugging on grandma)Sweet little Trenton and Peyton hanging outPeyton and Peyton eating (Big Peyton is a little blurry- I guess that's what you get when photographing toddlers with a point and shoot camera)I wanted to take a picture of Peyton in her birthday hat. This is what I got:2nd try: gave her a little gum and snapped before she could rip the hat off. These pictures aren't birthday related, but they're classic Peyton, so I had to include them. In the first picture she had just stolen Brek's binky, and she was running away laughing. Then when she felt like no one was going to take it away from her, the binky went right into her mouth.Remember how sweet Peyton and Trent were being at the beginning of the party? Not anymore. Power struggle over the ball.Pinata time! Peyton went first, then the kids from youngest to oldest. Even without the blindfold, none of the kids could break it.Jade finally broke the pinata (it took him 3 hits) Check out Uncle Justin worrying about the pinata hitting him.The race to fill the goodie bags. I think our guests might have felt a little gypped. I'm not a big fan of loading kids up with candy, so there were only ring pops and bubble gum in the pinata- everything else was inedible. Bouncy balls, finger skateboards, shoe notepads, shoe pencils, shoe stickers, shoe tattoos, crazy straws and confetti poppers.Out of everything on the floor, Peyton went for a pencil.Peyton and Peyton put themselves in prison.Singing "happy birthday". She was a little intimidated by the flame. I was just happy she didn't touch it.It took some persuasion, but she eventually blew out her candle all by herself.The girl was in heaven. She had been asking me for a cupcake all afternoon.Opening presents. I had kids all over me. The best part was when Gabe told Trenton "It's not even your birthday Trent- move!" And then to Taryn (1 yr) "Taryn don't go over there- it's not your birthday!" So funny.Hugging her Brock for the present he saved his own money to buy.Hugging Peyton and saying "thank you".

My twin made it to Portland!

So my long-lost twin Megan Ray and I have been wanting to do a girl's trip forever, but never got around to actually booking one. Megan's hubby Ryan has a family member who worked for the airlines, so they fly at a discounted price. Well, they found out the family member was leaving the airline, so they had a deadline on when they could book tickets. Megan texted me one day and said "I have to book my ticket by midnight- what do you want to do?" It was too short-notice for us to plan anything exciting, so we decided to have her come visit me in Portland. I had a countdown going like a little kid waiting for Christmas. Her visit just couldn't come soon enough. She's applying to PA schools right now, and naturally I want her to come to OHSU in Portland, so I planned a packed weekend to show her just how great Portland really is. Thursday night after I picked her up from the airport, we drove downtown (where the sunset over the river and bridges is absolutely stunning) and went to a Portland landmark (that somehow I had never visited) Voo-Doo Doughnuts. It was such a funky little place. They have the funniest doughnuts ever (most of them are inappropriate to post on my blog, so if you want to read them, google it). Our favorites were the "voo-doo doughnut" which was a little ghost with a stake through his heart and also the bacon and maple bar. Yes, a maple bar with bacon on top. We weren't very adventurous with our choices, but were totally happy with our "grape escape" vanilla and grape doughnut and our "dirt" Oreo cookie doughnut. For the weekend, we kicked Jade onto the guest bed and Meg and I shared the master bedroom so we could stay up late and have girl-talk. Which we did. Friday morning we went over to JaNea and Nipper's house, to see if we could see the momma deer with her 2 babies that had been sleeping there. We saw them and they were the cutest things ever! They were about the size of a medium-sized dog- smaller than Tinky! They let us come within about 5 feet of them, and I could not have been more excited about it. Then we went to OMSI and did some chemistry and physics experiments, held the rat and snake in the life science lab, and walked along the beautiful waterfront. When we put Peyton down for a nap, Megan and I oiled up (it was another gorgeous, sunny weekend) and sat in the sun reading books. When Peyton woke up, we went to the Oregon Zoo and showed Megan all our favorite animals. Then we got home and we were so tired we took a nice long nap- only to be awoken by my babysitter calling to tell me she would be there in 5 minutes! Abbie was my babysitter, and Peyton was so happy, except she kept asking for Brock too. (Funny enough, Brock wanted to stay home from the fathers/sons campout when he heard Abbie was babysitting Peyton. He said "no fair- I want to stay home and watch her, too." So cute) Megan and I went to her favorite restaurant (that they don't have in Pocatello) P.F. Chang's, then shopping (sorry boys). Saturday all of us girls slept in. (Jade was at the fathers/sons campout. I realize he doesn't have a son. When questioned about it, he says "yeah, but I am a son- I have a father, so I am going with him." Too funny.) We went to the Lake Oswego Farmer's Market and had a fabulous time. Then we came home and laid out again, and spent the night in- we made steak for dinner and Megan helped me with a million things for Peyton's birthday party. Sunday we went to Sacrament meeting, then Megan and I drove to the Oregon Coast and visited some historic beaches. First we went to Cannon Beach and saw the legendary rock formations (made famous by The Goonies), then to Seaside Beach, a little tourist trap with yummy candy shops and cute boutiques. The last stop was at the Seaside Aquarium, which is small but has a lot to offer by way of touch tanks and seals that you can feed! Monday morning came way too fast (and too early) and I had to drop my sister off at the airport. We were all very sad to see her go. Peyton has asked for her several times, and always talks about her kitties (which she looked at pictures of every 10 minutes). This was the best girls' weekend ever!

:

Voo-DooI wish this picture was better. I'm not the best photographer.Peyton was sitting on one of the simulators while Meg and I were trying to build a water tower that would with-stand an earthquake. Peyton loved pushing the start and stop buttons on her "ride".In the physics lab. Peyton wouldn't keep those goggles on. She ended up in the stroller eating a snack while Megan and I played.At the zoo. We were in front of some animal that you can't see.Pointing out the animals to my baby. She calls every animal "baby". It's darling.With our "dessert shots" at Chang's. They were cute little mini desserts. So yummy.Cannon BeachPedicuresA bridge in Seaside. So pretty.

Feeding seals.

Love their cute little faces.

Cute as a bug.

I am on blog over-load lately, but I can't help it. About a week ago I decided I needed to focus on either scrapbooking or blogging (which I have made into a book every year), because it was taking up way too much time to do both. Plus, I found myself making 3 of the exact same pages- 1 in the blog, 1 in Peyton's scrapbook and 1 in our scrapbook. It seemed silly to me. So I chose to go the new-fashioned way and quit traditional scrapbooking. Ever since I committed to myself that I was going to quit scrapbooking, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It feels good to be able to spend more time with my little angel and not be so concerned about keeping up with 3 books. And now I'm a little post-happy.

This evening, as Jade and I were finishing dinner (Peyton had been excused from the table to go play outside with Tinky), we talked about how sweet our little girl was, and I filled him in on some of the funny things she did today (for example: she got lucky when I forgot to lock the pantry, found the sprinkles, opened them and poured them all into one of her toy pans, and came to show me in the office). Then the little pink princess girl came running in saying "BUG!" "BUG!" Sure enough, she found a bug, and she was pretty happy about it.

body-arts and crafts

Peyton had art time sitting by me this afternoon while I was on the computer. She made me a masterpiece. She also colored about 1/2 of her thigh on her left leg with a pen.

We are in the throes of toddlerhood.

Mother's Day Bliss

I had a great Mother's Day today. Jade woke up with Peyton at 7:30 (she had a dry bed!) and I got to sleep in until 8:15, when I heard the cutest little pitter-patter (literally) of my sweet angel running to my room saying "momma, momma!" Jade, Peyton and Tinky brought me the most delicious breakfast-in-bed; waffles with fresh cut strawberries, chocolate chips, and whip cream. I was in heaven. We went to church and when we got home we napped and hung around in sweats. Jade even made me lunch. Then we went to family dinner, which the guys (mostly) made for us girls! It was top secret (though every girl except for me knew what the surprise was). We had yummy grilled chicken and fruit salad and pasta salad and almond rice and rolls. It was delicious. Jade was in charge of making drinks, and he took his job very seriously. I think it's one of the cutest things about him- that he really puts a lot of thought into everything he does. He made pina coladas! We had ice cream cones and cookies for dessert, and stayed way past Peyton's bedtime because we were having so much fun visiting. Today I am beyond grateful to be a mother. Peyton has brought me more joy than I ever thought possible. I'm grateful to have a husband who makes it easy to be a good mom because he's such a great husband and father. I'm grateful to my mother, who has been my idol since I can remember. The card I sent her this year said "You know what the greatest compliment I've ever gotten is? 'You remind me of your mom.'" It was the perfect card for her. I'm grateful for a mother-in-law who has never made me feel like a daughter-in-law; only a daughter. I'm so happy to be close to her, and to the rest of my family. I'm grateful that I have (most of) my sisters-in-law around me, and I am especially grateful of the example they are to me, because they're all such great mothers. Happy Mother's Day!

:

:

My card from Peyton (and Jade). She kept showing me her feet and saying "momma FEET!"

My girls
Peyton has been obsessed with shoes for quite some time now. Before church she was walking around in my heels and I made Jade capture the moment. Jade gave me these beautiful pink calla lilies. Callas are my very favorite (tulips come in a close second). The best part about these is that after the flowers wilt, I can plant them, and they'll grow back every year.

Speaking of beautiful calla lilies, you might remember that I had beautiful tulips in my front yard. They eventually wilted and I was so disappointed until I noticed something awesome growing by the tulip leaves...

I haven't changed a dirty diaper in a week!

Yep- you guessed it. We're potty training! I'm not going to say we're officially potty trained, but we're pretty close to being diaper free! I can't believe it, either. I was dreaming about this day, but never thought it would come to fruition so soon! We had started "pre-potty training" with her a couple months ago, just wanting to familiarize her with the potty. I never dared to hope she would start potty training so soon! Then, in the middle of April she randomly said to me "momma poo-poo" and I asked her if she needed to go poo-poo on the potty. She answered with a resounding "Yes!" And sure enough, she did. We spent the next week asking her if she needed to go potty, but to no avail. Then on the one week anniversary of the potty incident, she climbed out of the bath and got her diaper and said "poo-poo". I put her on the potty seat and sure enough, she went again! The next week she went #1 and #2 on the potty a handful of times. Peyton and I went to the store and picked out panties together. They are a little big (the smallest size is 2T), but she is now the proud owner of "Fancy Nancy" and Disney Princesses panties. We had a sitter one night, and she told her she needed to go potty, and did! Now she's in panties all day- even in public! She made it through church without any accidents. She was sitting with the Bantons during Sacrament meeting and asked Abbie to take her potty. (The Bantons are her favorite people including boyfriend Brock whom she is fiercely possessive of and 13 year old babysitter Abbie that she is mildly obsessed with- we can't even sit with Peyton in Sacrament meeting because she repeats "Abbie" a hundred times super loud if she sees her). She later regressed a little bit and had 2 accidents at Grandma's house. But she makes it through naps without accidents- even waking herself up and crying if she needs to go. She also makes it through the night dry about 50% of the time (she's in diapers at night). And, to make things even better, she has only gone #2 in the potty for the last week! I am thrilled. Goodbye diapers. It was nice knowing you.

Peyton wasn't overly cooperative while I was trying to take pictures. "Terrific Twos" here we come!

Fun little nuggets (warning: might be a boring post)

We have been doing such fun stuff lately, and Peyton has been doing so many adorable things lately, that I absolutely had to write a post about it. The past 2 days have been absolutely beautiful- in the high 60's and totally sunny. Both days when I put Peyton down for her nap, I broke one of my cardinal rules and laid in the sun and read a book- with oil on my body. Usually I'm all about the sunscreen, but I had to take advantage of every second of Vitamin D that we had, because in Oregon you never know when you'll see the sun again. We have been doing gymnastics, going to the zoo, Pump it Up, Jr., OMSI, taking walks, feeding the ducks, and most exciting of all, we have been taking Peyton golfing at Pumpkin Ridge. Thursday we took her to eat at "pasta night" at the country club and then decided to take her on the course while Jade and I played around. She loved riding on the golf cart and looking at the squirrels and birds (unfortunately we didn't see the deer). She liked carrying around the golf clubs and going to get the balls for us. She also loved "helping" us putt. She was so fun to have out there that we went back the next evening, too. She made the basket in the cart her "seat" and sat in it for about 75% of the time. It was so fun! Lately Peyton has really been recognizing possessions. She is going through this phase where she is really into things being someone's. "That's daddy's" toothbrush or "that's mommy's" salt and pepper shakers or "that's Tinky's" toy. Her favorite is "that's MINE" said with a big (challenging) grin. Usually it is more of a statement of fact than a hoarding maneuver, and usually it is directed toward Tink. She really doesn't want anyone to have something that doesn't belong to them, for example Jade's chapstick that I had in my makeup had to be taken out and put in Jade's drawer. The best things that have been claimed so far are the stand mixer that is "Noni's", all fruit is "grandma's", and baby Brek is "Jeremy's" (we actually got to babysit him again yesterday and we loved every second of it). She is also quite attuned to her emotions lately. She told me at gymnastics (after cutting off another kid in line) "Peyte mean." I had to try so hard not to laugh. When we went to feed ducks the last time, there were 3 goslings with their mom and dad. Peyton loved the "babies", but the geese were fiercely protective of the goslings, and hissed and snapped at Peyton (whom, to her credit, wasn't very intimidated). Later on we were reading a book at bedtime called "F is for Farm", which we had read hundreds of times before. When we got to the page that said "mother goose, with goslings on the loose", she pointed and said "bite" "bite". Apparently she had picked up on their aggression. Now every time she sees a picture of a goose she says "bite"! She makes me laugh every single day. She has acquired the chore of feeding Tinky with daddy every night, and she takes her job very seriously. She is so proud of herself when she brings the bowl inside, and almost always comes to show me that she did it. I love it. Oh and my little potty training girl is the first to remind us that she gets a "treat" when she goes in the potty. She definitely doesn't let us forget that. One last story- Sunday Peyton was sitting with the Bantons in Sacrament meeting, and one of Brock's friends was sitting with them, too. Peyton was hugging and kissing on Brock (that girl is so forward) and then Brock's friend decided to give him a hug, too. Well Peyton did not like that one little bit. She gave him a very dirty look and then proceeded to hit him until he stopped hugging Brock. Then she jumped onto Brock's lap and gave him a nice long hug. She's quite possessive.

:

:

Sharing a cuddle

Peyton was being goofy while feeding Tinky. She kept saying "hat" and trying to walk with Tink's bowl on top of her head. Meanwhile, Tink was running back and forth from the garage, trying to get Peyton to hurry up and get her food.

I'm so happy to be a Mother Day

Tonight Peyton and I said our prayers and I rocked her in my arms in the rocking chair. A few minutes later, she refolded her arms and said "Fa [presumably Heavenly Father, but maybe she was just clearing her throat] Daddy Tinky" Then she put her binky back in and grabbed her blanket. Apparently she wanted to say a prayer, too. She makes me so blissfully happy. When we take a bubble bath together every night (extra bubbles as per her request) she always wants music on or for us to be singing, so she can dance around. When we're rocking and she melts into me and just lets me cuddle her, actually cuddling back, I could sit for hours. A few times lately she's actually fallen asleep in my arms- unheard of since she was about 3 months old- I never wanted to put her to bed. I just sat in that chair and rocked and rocked until I was tired myself. Gosh I love that little girl. She constantly is making me smile- and she does it intentionally. She loves to do things she thinks I think are funny- like peek-a-boo or the biting food out of her hand game. Her laughter fills my heart and lucky for me, my heart is full all the time because she is always so happy and giggles like crazy. I can't believe how fast my little baby is growing up, but I feel so blessed to be her momma.

:

Here are some of our shots of the week- it has certainly been eventful.

:

Peyton has become increasingly opinionated about her attire. I have final say when we're going out in public, but when we're at home, her outfits usually look something like this: sparkly shoes, black pants over pink pants over leg warmers, striped shirt over hearts shirt over white ribbon shirt, with her brown sweater on top of it all. She actually put 80% of that outfit on herself. I was cracking up.

The biggest draw-back of our new house is that we don't have a backyard. None of the previous residents have had children, so they thought a ten foot deck that wrapped around the back side of the house was sufficient outdoor living space. Unfortunately for me, our neighbor right behind us (whose backyard we look down on from our higher elevation) has a huge play structure with slides and swings- the works. My poor daughter looks at it longingly every day. She's now given up asking to go to it. It's quite sad actually. In an effort to make our deck a little more fun, I got her a little fort to play in. She has been loving it (when it's not raining and warm enough to actually go outdoors).

This is a prime example of my little comedienne at work. She was eating lunch and I was at the computer. She called to me "mommy, all done". I came in to find her laughing her head off, thinking she was the cleverest little thing ever. She had pulled her sweater over her head and thought it was hilarious. When I started laughing it made her laugh even harder. Then she pulled her sweater down and smiled- she was quite tickled with herself.

Yesterday Jade took Tinky for a run and Peyton for a ride on the bike. Toward the end, Tinky got worn out and was going super slow. Jade got annoyed with her pace, so he put her in the bike trailer with Peyton. Can you see the little girl in here?