Peyton’s report card for this year.  You’ll have to zoom in to read some of it…..

I’ve been taking photos of Peyton’s artwork recently.  These are from Mother’s Day 2009 - Valentine’s Day 2010.  You can click on any of them to see them in a larger form.  For your viewing pleasure…..

We’re toying with the idea of potty training soon.  So my friend Melissa gave me a little potty that she used with her kids that plays music when you “flush” it.  We’ve been letting her try it out every night before her bath.  Peyton LOVES it.  Primarily, she loves opening up the lid, sitting down, flushing, listening to the music, standing up, closing the lid…..  and then repeating that sequence over and over and over and over….

For the last couple of months, I have been trying to get Peyton to say her middle name.  “Peyton, what’s your middle name?”  “Peyton.”  “No baby, that’s your first name.  What is your middle name?  Is it Elise?”  “NO!  It’s Pey - ton.”  (She clearly enunciated since I didn’t seem to understand the first time.)

Finally, she got it last week.  “Peyton, what’s your middle name?”  “Peyton Wees.  Peyton Wees!”

Close enough. 

Ever since Peyton was old enough to say the words, she has banned Marshall and me from singing or dancing in front of her.  I have never heard of a child doing such a thing, but apparently they don’t all like to be entertained by their parents in silly ways.  If a song comes on the radio while I am driving, I will start to sing without thinking about it.  And the next thing I know, I hear “NO SINGING MOMMY!”  And the same for dancing too.  She was watching Barney the other day.   Marshall walked into the living room and started doing the Baby Bop Hop (sigh if you know that one too).  Peyton walked over to him, put both hands on his chest, and firmly said “NO DANCING DADDY.  NO DANCING!”  I’m not sure what it means yet.  I hope it’s a phase though.  Maybe when she gets a little older, I can ask her why we shouldn’t sing or dance.  When I ask her now, she just stares at me blankly.  Sigh.

I took Peyton to Benton this past weekend for her “last” checkup at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and to spend some time with my family.  She had x-rays at her appointment Friday morning, and then we saw the doctor.  Everything looked good.  He wants her to do some more growing and then come back in 2 years for one final set of x-rays.  So we were very pleased with that.  We went to the zoo Saturday with Mumzy, Pop, and Grammother.  Peyton had a GREAT time.  My parents took some pictures, so I will try to post some when I can get my hands on them.  Peyton loved Lorikeet Landing, the gorillas, and the giraffes.  She’s still talking about the giraffes.  On Sunday, we went to my parents’ church.  She got to say hi to Julie and go to the 2 year old class for the first time.  She did very well.  They got to dip snacks in honey, and I don’t think she wanted to stop.

Peyton also advanced to the Toddler 3 class at daycare this morning.  She came home in a good mood, so it must have gone fairly well.  She was very proud to show me her new room when I went to pick her up after work.

Peyton and I continue to improve each day, but Marshall is still having a rough time of things.  Peyton was kind enough to make Daddy these beautiful pictures to help him feel better. 

My sister and I took Peyton to my parents’ house for Easter last weekend.  Peyton had a great time, and my sister used our camera to take a lot of great pics.  Saturday morning, we took Peyton to the Benton courthouse for an Easter Egg hunt.  She didn’t like the crowd running out onto the lawn to pick up eggs, but she had a good time other than that.  We took her to a friend’s house later that day to play on the slide in the backyard.  I would say that she wore herself out, but honestly I think she could have kept going.  Sunday, we took some pictures before church.  Peyton didn’t really want to be bothered with it, but we managed to get a few pics where she’s looking at the camera.  (I’ve loaded these pics as a gallery.  You can click on any of them to start paging through them.  When you get one loaded, you can click on the picture at the bottom left to go to the previous picture, and you can click on the picture at the bottom right to go to the next picture.  You can also double click on the image to load it full screen.)

As some of you know, Peyton has had an obsession with pulling feminine hygiene products out of the bathroom cabinet since she was old enough to crawl.  We’re not really sure what the fascination is, but apparently it’s not just “a phase” she’s going through.  I used to take a lot of pictures because it was so funny, but I eventually slowed down since it was such a regular occurrence.  However, she caught our attention the other day, and so I got out the camera.  She was quite proud of herself and refused to take the box off her head for quite some time…..