for Peyton

Dear Peyton,

This blog post is for you, sweetheart. I want you to know how much fun I had with you this weekend. Mommy had surgery and Daddy didn't feel well, so I got to keep you at Aunt Janice and Uncle Greg(gles)'s apartment. I hope someday you can look back on this blog and smile (or be thoroughly embarrassed) at all of things that I hope to remember.

• Last time Mumzy and I went to pick you up at daycare, you were almost apathetic when you saw us. This time, you got up from the lunch table, ran to me, and wouldn't let me go! My heart melted.
  
• Everytime you wanted me to pick you up, you held up your arms and said, "I hold you!" (Little do you know, you can hold me anytime you want.)
• Friday afternoon, I said, "Peyton, do you want to watch Ellen?" You replied, "Yes, ELMO!" I should have known.
  
• Friday night, Uncle Greg and I took you out to eat. You were more interested in coloring than in the food. Then Uncle Greg stole you the crayon, and you took a bite out of it on the way home. Do you think they should let him pass the bar for this? Thievery is illegal!
  
• When we got back, we realized that I had left the apartment key on top of the car when we left. So we had to call a locksmith and pay $55 to get back inside. Meanwhile, Uncle Greg took you driving around looking for my keys and you were such a good sport. You actually fell asleep in the car.
• This nap was NOT a good idea though, because you wouldn't go to sleep that night!! You were supposed to go to sleep at 8:00pm, and at 11:00 (at the end of our ropes) Uncle Greg and I decided to take you for another car ride. It worked like a charm.
• You woke up at 3:30am crying. I now realize that you didn't have your pillow that you got when you were in the hospital, but I didn't know that at the time. All it took was a little milk, and you were fine.
• On Saturday, we watched Elmo and Barney too many times to count.
• You kept asking for grapes and bananas. Or "babanas" as you would say. It was too cute!
• Saturday we went to the library. I watched a play of "Alice in Wonderland." You weren't amused and probably drove the people behind us nuts!
• Then I drove you around some more hoping you would fall asleep for your nap, ha. It worked.
• I woke you up early from your nap so that we could go to my friend, Nellie's house and you could get a bath. This might have been the highlight of the trip for you because Nellie has two dogs, Zues and Dakota. You kept calling Nellie "Mennie." That was cute too.
  
• Greg and I thought FOR SURE you would go to sleep early on Saturday night, so he rented a movie that we could both watch. But did I get to see it? NO. Around 11:00pm, I ended up driving you around some more until you fell asleep. (I'm catching on to this little trick.)
• You woke up at 3:30 again, but this time you were not as easy to calm down. I ended up holding you and rocking/bouncing you like an infant. Honestly, I thought my arms were going to fall off. But I would do anything for you, Peyton, so I kept on until you finally fell asleep.
• Almost... right when I put you down, you said, "hand." You wanted to hold my hand! So we held hands until we both fell back asleep. Again, it was precious.
  
• At church on Sunday morning, you would not let me leave your side. But that's OK because I LOVED having you there with me.
  
• You did well in your class. You learned about baby Jesus and all of the animals that were in the stable when He was born. I want more than anything for you to love Jesus like He loves you.
  
• You colored a picture for Uncle Greg and we have it on our refrigerator.
  
• Now here comes the embarrassing part. You didn't go number two at all on Saturday. And each time you tried on Sunday, you would stop and cry. It broke my heart because I knew you were constipated. Well, Sunday afternoon, right when I finished packing up the car to take you home, THE TIME CAME! I could tell by the look in your eye that this was it! And you did it!! "I hold you," you said. I bent down to pick you up and... it wasn't over. Right there in the middle of the doorway, you grabbed my shoulders and braced yourself. So there we were, forehead to forehead, visible to the world, and you were pushing. Really, really pushing. You were so serious, and I was praying that none of our neighbors were seeing this. I'll never know who saw, but I will never forget it. You did your business that day, for the world to see, and you weren't kidding about it.
  

Most of all, Peyton... in your own words, "I bub you." I had THE BEST weekend with you and I hope I will never forget it. You have gotten so big. You are like a little girl now. It seems like just yesterday you were born. You are such a blessing to our family... more than you will ever know.

Love,
Aunt Janice

P.S. Here is some video of you and Uncle Greg having a little fun in the car.
He taught you how to beat-box. (Sorry its sideways. Your aunt is not tech savvy like your Mommy and Daddy.)