Pillow Fight!

Sunday my mom kept Peyton for a while so they could have some bonding time and Nick and I could spend some alone time with Bailey. We had hoped we'd be able to take her to the park, but it was cold and rainy. At first we agonized over what we could possibly do. Go to the mall so she could play in the kiddy area? Go to the library? Then we realized that all she wanted was for us to play with her...why were we trying to make things so difficult?

I think things started out innocently enough. We were probably playing with her little princess toys. Then Nick decided to act like he was asleep on the couch, which led to Bailey trying to wake him up...which might have included tickling and a wet willy. Which somehow led to a full on pillow fight! I had more fun in those fifteen minutes than I have had in a long time. Bailey laughed louder and harder than I think I have ever heard her. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. We ganged up on Nick and Bailey had my back the whole time. While Bailey would run around the couch collecting stray pillows, Nick and I would engage in a little more intense version of the family friendly pillow fight.

By the time it was over, Bailey was sad because she wanted to keep "pillow fighting", but I was happy. It was nice to have a little time alone with her and let her get all of our attention for a while. It was wonderful hearing her laughter and contentment at such a simple game. And it was nice to have that fun with Nick. It's so easy to get lost in the world of mommy and daddy and making sure everyone is fed, bathed, diapers changed, toys picked up and boo-boos kissed that you can kind of lose yourself. Just that little bit of carefree play reminded me of how much fun we have together. It brought back memories of when the only things we had to worry about was which movie to see that weekend and whose house to go to afterwards. It was the feeling of an earlier time, only better because it included our daughter. Who would have thought a simple pillow fight could make me feel that happy. 

Roll Over!

It always fascinates me how you can start to sense a baby's personality almost from the very beginning. With Peyton, we're pretty sure she's going to a busy body, and getting into everything! From the very first time I held her in my arms she's been moving her head around and she's gotten really good at holding it up. Her nickname before we ever left the hospital was "squirmy wormy" because she just doesn't like to be still. Her favorite thing to do is lay on her mat and just look around and kick and punch her little arms. And to top it off, she's decided she needs to inch closer to being mobile. Right after she turned 6 weeks old, she rolled over! I couldn't believe it. She had been trying to whenever we did tummy time, but I didn't think she would actually be able to do it yet. After she did it the first time I ran to get the video camera thinking she would never do it again, but sure enough, she just flipped herself over!

I'm pretty sure this little girl is going to keep us on our toes!

Happy Two Months!

Well Peyton, yesterday you turned two months old. I'm not quite sure how, but I feel like you're growing up even faster than your big sister did! It seems like you're changing every day.

First smile captured on camera!

You are happiest right after you finish your bottle. We can usually get at least thirty minutes, sometimes an hour, of a really happy baby. After that you start to get sleepy, and to say you are cranky is an understatement. After several different calls to your doctor and trying all kinds of different things, we've had to start giving you a laxative. You just have so many little belly issues! You were very gassy and uncomfortable on regular formula, so we switched to the Sensitive, which ended up making you constipated. Your poop has pretty much been the talk of the household for the last month. The laxative is helping and hopefully soon we can stop giving it to you and things will return to normal.

Bless you child, you are sleeping through the night! Your regular sleeping schedule is usually 11pm-5am. This works wonderful because your daddy wakes up about that time so he feeds you then and you go back to sleep until about 8:00. Some mornings you sleep later than that though. This morning you slept 11pm-8am! You must have been one tired girl! It might also be because as of yesterday you starting taking 5 ounces in your bottle.

You "talk" a little more to us every day. You love to hear your own voice and will just smile. Bailey is your favorite person to talk to. Actually, I think she is just your favorite person in general. You watch every move she makes and when you hear her voice you start turning your head to try and find her. I love watching the two of you together. I can't help but imagine all the fun you two will have together as you get bigger.

I love you my little chunky monkey!

Pleasant Evenings

I've mentioned before that Peyton is a high maintenance baby. Before, right at around 8:00 every night she would become inconsolable. She would be so tired but would fight sleep with all her might. Of course by this time of night I would be tired from the day and trying to get her calmed down would absolutely drain me. It seems she is starting to mellow out though! The past few days she has been a very happy, smiley baby, even at her normal witching hour. With Nick just now wrapping up his soccer season, the evenings with a fussy baby have been long, and I'm hoping they'll soon be in the past for good.

Tonight was a very pleasant evening though. Making dinner with two kids in the house by myself while Nick is away hasn't always been easy. I've tried to plan easy things to make, or even things I could make the night before (when Nick is home) and just reheat. But tonight both my girls cooperated and I actually got to enjoy myself in the kitchen. Right after lunch Bailey was busy painting and Peyton was sound asleep so I went ahead and prepped everything for tonight. This is my favorite part. I love the chopping and dicing, it just calms me. Tonight when it was time to start dinner everything was ready, which made it so much easier. Again, Bailey was flexing her artistic muscles, this time by coloring

and Peyton was snoozing on the couch,

allowing me to make chicken enchiladas

and rice.

(And yes, I realize I should have made this yesterday since it was Cinco de Mayo...slight menu fail for the week).

During dinner Bailey decided she wanted to make her own "secret recipe", so she took her enchiladas apart and carefully put them back together again, adding some rice. My little chef.

Posing with her creation

After dinner I took the girls to see the last half of the soccer game. Bailey had a blast playing soccer herself and even played with a few of the other little kids...big step for my shy little girl!

After going into overtime and then into a shoot out, Nick's team finally pulled out the win for a trip to the final game of the tournament next week. Then we all headed home and snuggled on the couch while Bailey watched her customary before bedtime cartoon.

I could really get used to evenings like this!

Green Booty

One thing that I was both excited and nervous about trying with Peyton was cloth diapering. I had read so much about it before and during my pregnancy with her that I knew I at least had to give it a try.

Yes, this is definitely more environmentally friendly than disposable diapers, but I'd be lying if I said that was the main reason I chose this route. The financially friendly aspect is what caught my attention. Depending on which ones you buy, they are expensive up front, but it's a one time cost. I researched nearly every different type of cloth diaper before I chose what we are now using, Bum Genius. I went with these because the reviews were all excellent and they adjust so we'll never have to buy larger ones as she grows. They actually fit 8-35 pounds I believe. Her umbilical cord ended up falling off right around the 1 week mark and she's been wearing them ever since.

Nick was definitely more nervous about the prospect of the cloth than I was, but he's had no problems with them. Of course, I do all the rinsing, so it's really just like a regular diaper as far as he's concerned!

What I love about them:

*No more buying diapers!

*They are insanely cute

*I can't get over how absorbent they are. Even with the explosive breast milk dirties, there was never any seeping out. I also find that I use fewer wipes than I did with Bailey because they are so absorbent...saving even more money!

I honestly don't have any complaints about them. I was afraid the constant laundering would damper my spirits about them, but I honestly haven't minded. I do one load a day of diapers, and since I have to wash them, it's also made me keep up with the laundry in general, which is good for everyone!

Diapers drying

Snuggling with her daddy and showing off her cute little rolls.

See the poor yellow gunk in her eye? Her tear ducts were still closed when she was born and this was a constant look she sported.

Catch Up

Hello blog, I'm sorry I've been neglecting you again! I thought I would do a catch up post and share what all is going on around here.

Last Monday I took my first step back into the "real" world. After 6 weeks off for my maternity leave, I started working from home. I'll do this for 6 weeks and then it will be back to the office. Working from home was a little overwhelming in the beginning. I knew it would be hard to balance the kids and getting work done, but it was more stressful than I thought it would be. The hardest part was that I felt like there was never a break from anything. Anytime the girls were napping I was either working or cleaning or cooking. Then when Bailey went to bed I was going up the office and working for an hour or so and then coming home and doing laundry or getting things ready for the next day. By the end of the day I was just drained. After I got some of the work caught up from my 6 weeks off, it's gotten better. I'm finding ways to manage my time a little better, and yesterday my mom kept both girls from 9:30 until about 2:00, which really gave me time to get caught up at work.

Bailey continues to be a great big sister and Peyton just loves her. Anytime I have to leave the room and Peyton starts crying, Bailey is right there by her side. And almost every time, Peyton will stop crying. Bailey loves to talk to her, sing to her and just love on her.

Peyton is starting to make little cooing sounds and she just smiles every time she hears her own voice. No surprise, she "talks" to Bailey more than anyone else. For about a week now she has been sleeping for 6 hours straight at night. We usually lay her down around 11 and she wakes up at 5. Since Nick's alarm is always set to go off around 5:15 anyway, he takes that morning feeding and lets me sleep. I'm so glad we've gotten to this point, I function so much better with sleep!

We had a great Easter. Went to a nice church, came home and hunted eggs and then went out for dinner that evening. Aside from both girls having a major melt down at the same time right around nap time and the house being filled with screams and cries, it was a nice relaxing day.

Not only is this our Easter family picture, it's also our first family picture! Shameful, I know.