Thanksgiving, Christmas Events, Walking, and Talking

Rockin' the mohawk in her infant bathtub

 14 Month Stats:

Age:  14 months

Weight:  24 lbs, 4 oz. (78^th %)

Height:  ~ 32 inches (95^th %)

Favorite toy:  Balls and toy she pushes that has popping balls in it

Favorite toy that’s not a toy:  Remote control

New foods: Black eyed peas, pizza, sausage, goldfish, graham crackers, oranges, grapes

Favorite food:  Cheese, fruit

Least favorite food:  Potatoes, meat

Number of teeth: 16

Makes her smile:  Dixie, her daddy giving her silly looks

Makes her laugh: Buzzing her stomach with your lips, Charles biting her fingers

Makes her cry:  Taking things away from her that she wants, falling and hurting herself, smashing her fingers in cabinets

Favorite place to be: Climbing around on the couch, any place she can run around and explore

Can say: “Ba” for bird, balloon, and bear, “Bu” for ball, “Ta” for cat, “Mama” sometimes for her mama, “Dada” sometimes for her dada, “Ma” for map, “Ga” for girl, “Ga-gr” for good girl, “Ma-mama” for banana.

Milestones: Walking, saying and understand more words 

Clothing size: 18-24 months

Payton on Charles' b-day last year at less than a month old versus his b-day this year at 1 year old

Charles’ Birthday

This past November was Charles’ 31^st birthday, which you wouldn’t think would be one of those big birthdays, but for him it was because this year his birthday was on 11-11-11.  I wanted to have a party for him, especially since we didn’t do anything for his 30^th birthday last year since Payton was less than a month old at the time.  But he insisted that he didn’t want a party or to do anything special for his birthday.  We did go out to eat at Chili’s for dinner and had cookie cake for desert.  Chili’s turned out to be a huge success because they had things out picky little eater (Payton) would eat like broccoli.  She also actually liked the cheese quesadillas and chicken crispers too.  We will definitely be going back!  The following Saturday we met my parents in the parking lot near Reed Arena in College Station before the Aggie football game and had a little breakfast celebration with them for Charles’ birthday as well.  Happy 31^st birthday, Charles!

Charles' b-day-  Payton showing us that she is 1, while her daddy is 31

November Days

The day after Charles’ birthday (2^nd weekend in November) we took Payton to the beach in her red Radio Flyer wagon.  She enjoyed riding in her wagon but halfway to the beach she wanted out and so she ended up pushing her wagon the rest of the way to the beach.  Once on the beach she pushed her wagon but also would let go and start trying to walk into the water.  We hadn’t come prepared to go swimming so we just kept redirecting her.  She loved to see the Seagulls and point at them saying “Ba” (translated “Bird”).  Unfortunately that evening we watched on TV as the Aggies lost to Kansas State in the 4^th overtime. 

Spaghetti with red sauce for the first time--- showing off her new silly smile

The second week of November was nice and warm with temperatures in the 80’s.  That Tuesday I took Payton to Castle Park in shorts and a t-shirt.  She loves crawling around on the wooden playground there.  She also had fun swinging.  

In her wet suit ready to go swimming

Wednesday I took Payton to the beach to go swimming.  Though the air temperature was very warm, I thought the water might be cool so I put Payton in the little pink Roxy spring suit that our friends Joel and Crissy gave to her.  I didn’t wear a wetsuit and it turned out the water was very comfortable without one.  Payton had fun crawling around where the tide was coming in and finding live shells to push down under the wet sand.  I think she was fascinated with how they would disappear under the sand and then reappear.  And, as always, she enjoyed pointing at the “Ba” (“birds”).  That evening I saw on a news website that up north they’d gotten snow…. I can’t express how much I love Texas and the fact that you can comfortably go swimming in mid-November!  

Payton loves balloons!

That Friday I took Payton to the park on 12^th street.  There was another little boy there, approximately 3 years old, who was playing on the playground equipment with his little “Cars” car.  His mom let Payton see the car a couple of times, but it was clear the little boy didn’t want to share and Payton was so adamant about wanting to see the car that she kept fussing.  I guess in the future I will be sure to bring some of her own toys to the playground to play with!

That Friday was also the 12^th anniversary of the Aggie Bonfire accident so although I cherished every second of my time with Payton, that day as well as the previous day my heart felt heavy.

Reading with Lala before an Aggie football game.

Thanksgiving Week

The Saturday before Thanksgiving I had to wake Payton up early so we could drive to College Station for the 11:00 a.m. football game.  When I went in to get her up I found her asleep with her little bottom in the air.  Unfortunately my camera was already packed in the car for our trip otherwise I would have taken a picture because it was the cutest thing!  The weather for the football game was perfect.  Cloudy, breezy, and felt great in a t-shirt.  In keeping with tradition, Payton slept through halftime in Charles’ arms and then the rest of the game played and read books with her “Lala” (my mom). 

After the game Payton and I went with my parents to their house in Central Texas while Charles went back to Galveston.  Payton was very tired by the time we got to their house.  She cried a little when we put her in the crib since she was in an unfamiliar place, but she soon fell asleep.  Unfortunately she woke up at midnight and cried from 12- 2:30 a.m.  I tried everything to get her to go back to sleep but it still took 2 ½ hours to get her back to sleep.  I was really concerned that our entire trip might end up like this.  Fortunately the following two nights she woke twice to nurse but then went back to sleep.  That Wednesday night, however, she had another rough night and was awake every approximately 40 minutes from midnight to 5 a.m.  Around 4 a.m. it finally occurred to me that she might be having teething pain so I gave her Tylenol and she then slept from about 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. (Good for her, bad for me since I was wide awake by 6:30 a.m.!)

Payton (13 months old) with cousin Hank (13 1/2 months old)

Sunday, November 20^th  my brother Albert, his wife Erin, and my nephew Hank came to my parent’s house for the day to visit.  Hank and Payton enjoyed playing together with toys.  Payton still mostly plays while sitting and Hank mostly plays while standing so it was funny because he kept holding onto and examining the top of her head.  Also he grabbed her foot but started fussing because he wanted it and didn’t like that it was attached to her body.  Payton did at times play with Hank standing up but all it took was him touching her to put her off balance enough that she’d have to sit down again.

At LaLa and Grandfather’s house Payton enjoyed going out to eat at Tamale King and Burnet BBQ, she had fun playing with her grandparents, and learned to enjoy sink baths where she could spend 30 minutes or more playing in the water with toys.  

Cute cousins playing with golf clubs.

On Wednesday, November 23^rd (Thanksgiving Eve), Erin and Hank came back to visit and spend the night.  Hank was in the mood to take toys away from Payton.  Payton would occasionally fuss but then could quickly be distracted by another toy.  Hank is such a boy and Payton such a girl.  They are adorable together!

Thanksgiving Day

On Thanksgiving my brothers Albert and Kyle joined us so that our family was together for the holiday (minus Charles).  For lunch my mom prepared the big traditional Thanksgiving meal.  It was delicious!  Unfortunately Payton wouldn’t eat a thing except the green beans.  We thought, “Well maybe she just isn’t hungry”, but knowing my picky eater I figured I’d make her half a grilled cheese sandwich just to be sure and she ate the entire thing!   

After lunch we left for College Station to watch the Aggies play the Longhorns for possibly the last time (hopefully that will not be the case and in the future they can resurrect the rivalry game).  Charles met us in College Station and we set up my parent’s RV in the RV lot so that we would have a place to spend the night.  We then ate turkey sandwiches that my mom had packed (Payton chose to eat baby food instead) and then went to the game.  The game started at 7:00 p.m. and was in the low 50s with a cold breeze.  I had Payton in about 3 layers of clothes, her winter kitty hat, and then we wrapped her in a blanket.  I think Payton was pretty warm and comfortable because for nearly the entire game she either slept or sat quietly in my mom’s lap all wrapped up where all you could see was her little face.  With 1:30 or so left in the game the Aggies were up by 2 points.  But then the Longhorns got within field goal range and won the game on a field goal.  It was pretty heartbreaking.  

Payton with her grandmother at the A&M/Texas football game.

After the game Charles, Payton, and I went back to the RV to go to sleep. Unfortunately the heater wouldn’t work so at midnight on Black Friday Charles had to go to Walmart for a space heater.  He said it was quite the experience!  That it was super crowded and everyone had about 3 TVs in their shopping carts, all while he stood in line trying to buy a little space heater.  Thankfully the space heater kept us nice and warm and surprisingly Payton slept all night (well, from 1 a.m. until 9 a.m. anyway) in her pack n’ play. 

My parents ended up driving home after the game but just outside of College Station they hit a deer with their car.  Thankfully they were okay and eventually made it home after getting stopped by cops twice because one of their headlights was broken in the accident.  Their car did have extensive damage from the deer.  I think this is the 3^rd deer they have hit in the past year!

Payton reading-  Nana, Nate, Danielle, and Ryan playing.

After having McDonald’s for breakfast in the morning (Payton actually liked the breakfast sausage) we put the RV back into storage and headed to Dallas.  Payton took a nap in her pack n’ play once we got there (she refuses to sleep in the car) and then we went to Charles’ Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Raul’s house for dinner.  They had prepared an entire pig for dinner so the pork along with other Cuban foods were delicious.  Payton, as usual, wouldn’t eat any of it, but she did enjoy playing with her cousin Nate, who is a month older than her.  Payton kept handing Nate his blocks and also putting them in her mouth.  Nate had one of Payton’s favorite books, Where the Wild Things Are, so Payton was able to point out the moon in the pictures and tell everyone that it’s a “Mmmm”.  Nate also had tricks to show everyone like how if you ask him where his tongue is he sticks it out, how he gives everyone kisses, and can make animal sounds when asked what certain animals say.  

Payton and her cousin Nate making music.

The next day, Saturday, November 26, we went back over to Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Raul’s house after Payton’s morning nap.  Nate ran around the house and we followed with Payton who is now walking on her own but not yet running.  Both babies enjoyed playing the piano. Then we set them in a chair together and took some cute pictures.  That evening Payton got to spend time with Nana (Charles’ mom), Grandma (Payton’s great-grandma), and Aunt Debbie.  Aunt Debbie gave her a book that plays “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” and Payton smiled and danced each time she would press the button to play the song.  We all laughed each time she would dance to the song.  

Cousin Nate (14 1/2 months old) and Payton (13 1/2 months old)

The following day it was finally time for us to go home from what, for Payton and I, had been a 9 day vacation.  Before leaving Payton took a nearly 3 hour morning nap so after she woke up and we gave her lunch, it ended up being almost 2:00 p.m. by the time we left Bea’s house.  Driving from Dallas to Galveston was a nightmare.  Traffic was so backed up that for about 3 hours we were stuck in horrible stop and go traffic.  It took almost 7 hours to make the drive.  Payton got overly tired and cranky but thankfully around 6:30 p.m. she fell asleep.  We were all very tired by the time we got home but it had been a wonderful visit with family.  

Aunt Debbie, Payton, and Charles

Family picture taken at Nana's house

 

A Mind of Her Own

Upon returning home from Thanksgiving we started noticing some changes in Payton’s behavior.  Mainly that she knows what she likes and has started letting us know her wants.  Tuesday, November 29, I took Payton to Castle Park.  She had fun crawling in the play area but she also had fun trying to walk all around on the ground.  When it was time to leave I held her hand to walk her back to the car.  But she kept pulling and trying to go back to the playground.  Eventually I picked her up to leave and she squealed and tried to get out of my arms.  At dinner that night she kept pointing and crying.  We couldn’t get her to touch her food and couldn’t figure out what she wanted.  Finally we realized she was pointing at Charles’ spoon.  So we gave her a spoon of her own and suddenly she was willing to eat whatever I popped into her mouth.  She also has started throwing a fit if she sees something that she wants but can’t reach.  This must be the beginning of the terrible 2s!  I’m sure it’s very frustrated to know what you want (or don’t want) but to not have the words to express your desires.

Crawling on the playground equipment

December Days/ Christmas Events

The first Friday in December (Dec. 2, 2011) we went out to eat at CiCi’s pizza (Payton refused to eat anything except sausage off the pizza) and from there we went to the Moody Gardens Festival of Lights.  Charles and I went to the Festival of Lights years ago when it was one of the first years they had the Festival of Lights and we felt like it was pretty lame.  It was very short and just had a few little Christmas light displays set up.  We hadn’t been back since but figured even if it was unimpressive that Payton might still like it.  Well, it was far from lame.  It’s 10 times bigger and better than it was years ago.  They have Christmas light displays everywhere, even up the side of the pyramids.  And there are sound effects, Christmas music playing, Santa was there, they had a fire pit where you could make smores, large Christmas trees……  it was pretty cool.  And Payton loved it!  In a couple of different areas they had animal displays with animal sounds playing and Payton started imitating the monkey sounds.  In fact, even the ride home she continued making the monkey sounds.  It was pretty funny and we could tell she really loved the Festival of Lights.

Charles and Payton at the Moody Gardens Festival of Lights

Payton walking through the Festival of Lights

The following day (Saturday) was my mom’s birthday.  Unfortunately we were in Galveston so we weren’t there to celebrate with her but Charles played a birthday song off the computer and video taped Payton dancing to it.  I’m pretty sure my mom enjoyed seeing that.  The weather was warm again so we took Payton to the park by the old Alamo Elementary for the second day in a row.  

Payton smiling on Lala's birthday

 

Monday, December 5, 2011 a cold front came through bringing some much needed rain (we have been in the worst drought for over a year now) and it dropped the temperatures into the 50’s.  With the yucky weather I decided it was a good day to go to Rosenberg Library. Because of all the nice weather lately we hadn’t been to the library in awhile.  Payton used to be scared of Rose, the lizard who lives in the children’s area, but now she loves to look at her and actually fussed when we had to leave Rose. 

That Wednesday, Payton and I met Charles after work in League City at Portrait Innovations to get our family Christmas picture taken.  I really wanted to have our family picture taken on the beach but it seems like all the private photographers are so expensive so we opted for Portrait Innovations again since we’ve been happy with their product and they’re inexpensive.  Portrait Innovations was sooo crowded with everyone there getting their Christmas pictures taken.  Our appointment was at 4:30 p.m. so that meant no afternoon nap for Payton.  We had to wait about an hour so by the time they got to us not only was Payton tired but it was also dinner time.  Although I’d been feeding her Cheerios while waiting, she was still hungry for dinner.  As a result we allowed them to rush through taking our pictures, just getting a few family shots done and no individual shots.  This was the first professional picture we’ve had taken of the three of us.  Despite being hungry and tired, Payton did give a small smile for one of the pictures so our family picture turned out okay.  We had the picture printed out as a Christmas photo card to send to some of our family and friends.  Afterwards we went to Freebirds for dinner where Payton refused to eat anything except the baby cereal I had brought for her.  Not cheese quesadillas, burritos, refried beans, rice…..  just baby cereal.  I guess the cereal was a little thick because while eating it she suddenly started to gag and out of her mouth came a ton of the cereal.  It was pretty scary for me to see her choke like that but it didn’t seem to bother her at all.  

 

Payton and I at the Dickinson Festival of Lights

Payton and Charles waiting in line to see Santa

Friday, December 9, 2011, we met Charles after work at Chili’s in League City.  Payton  ate lots of steamed broccoli at Chili’s and also ate the majority of a chicken crisper.  From there we went to the Dickinson Festival of Lights.  I’ve heard about this Festival of Lights for years but we’d never been until this year.  It was very fun!  It’s set up in a little park in Dickinson and you follow pathways through the lights.  There are all kinds of light exhibits to see and tunnels of lights to walk through.  Certain pathways bring you to certain things, like to Santa Claus or to Carolers or to a cookie hut where you can decorate a Christmas cookie.  Payton seemed tired but did have fun running through the tunnels of lights.  She also got to sit in Santa’s lap and to my surprise she didn’t cry.  

Sitting in Santa's lap

A cold front came through on Saturday so Sunday was pretty windy and chilly but we bundled Payton up and took her to Castle Park anyway.  Payton spent much of the time in the swing and when we’d take her out of it she would walk right back over to the swing and point/scream for us to put her back in.  We got home just in time to see the Houston Texan’s 3^rd string rookie quarterback, TJ Yates, come from behind to win the game at the last minute.  That win puts the Texans in the playoffs for the first time in the team’s history. 

It was warm again that week so Wednesday I took Payton back to Castle Park.  She did swing some but then really had fun chasing after birds.  She also insisted on walking on the play equipment which is a big change because in the past she has insisted on crawling.  I really had to watch her though because she doesn’t know how to walk down steps yet and so she is likely to fall if I don’t help her.

Payton's friend Abigail (15 months old) sharing a candy cane with Payton (14 months old).

Payton playing with new friend Skyleigh (also 14 months old)

Friday, December 16 my friend Christel (who I taught with in Santa Fe) invited Payton and I to come to her house in League City to allow Payton and her daughter Abigail (who is one month older than Payton) to play.  She also invited over a couple other friends of hers and their babies.  One of those moms has a little girl named Skyleigh who was born just three days before Payton (October 12, 2010).  Payton, Abigail, and Skyleigh had a blast playing with each other and they were so cute together!  When we first arrived Payton noticed the beautiful full sized Christmas tree that Christel had set up in their dining room.  Payton wanted to go see it so Abigail showed her how much fun it is to take the ornaments off the tree and to turn the lights to the tree on and off.  Later all three girls played with Abigail’s toys.  Abigail wasn’t too sure about sharing everything and was a little fussy but overall she was a fantastic host and even showed Payton and Skyleigh how she could stand up on top of her ride-on lion toy!  Each girl is so different but so beautiful in her own way.  Payton wanted to be right next to the other girls at all times.  If one of them was playing with a toy she wanted to see what the toy was and play too; if they were sitting in a toddler chair, she wanted to sit in the chair.  She loved playing with all of Abigail’s balls and telling everyone that it’s a “Bu” (“ball”).  I’m surprised she is so friendly with other kids her age considering she is rarely around other kids besides the visits she has with her cousins Hank and Nate once every couple months.  The other moms at the get together were talking about how they know so many stay-at-home moms and how it seems like most moms stay home with their kids now.  That may be the case for moms in League City but in Galveston I know very few moms who stay home with their kids and none who have kids that are Payton’s age.  I wish I did because it would be nice for Payton to be able to play with others.  Eventually Payton will go to pre-school and have a chance to make lots of friends but right now I am still enjoying having her at home with me.

Abigail, Payton, and Skyleigh making a train

That Friday evening I put Payton to bed at her usually 7:00 p.m. bedtime and then left her with Charles while I drove to Santa Fe to watch my friend Christina perform in a church musical called A Dickens of a Christmas.  I was a little bit nervous leaving for fear that Payton would wake up and need me to help put her back to sleep.  But thankfully she stayed asleep during the time I was gone and I was able to enjoy the musical.  

Payton dressed in her cute Christmas outfit.

Saturday, December 17, 2011 we took Payton to the Strand in Galveston to visit the Santa Clause that we saw there last year when Payton was just two months old.  Unlike how calm she was for the Dickinson Santa, the second Charles handed her off to this Santa the screaming and tears started.  So the picture I took of her with Santa has her mouth wide open screaming and tears on her cheeks.  I think pictures like that with Santa are classic and very cute.  As soon as Payton was back in Charles’ arms she was just fine and even started to smile at Santa as Santa talked to us about how his brother went to A&M and said several positive things about Aggies.  Santa himself is a Texas Lutheran graduate.    

Not so happy sitting in Santa's lap.

Sunday we took Payton back to Castle Park.  I think I’ll stop mentioning every time we visit a park since we go numerous times a week.  If I don’t say anything just assume there have been several uneventful park visits each week.  We don’t have a good yard for Payton to play in hence the need for so many park visits.  We have a very small front yard and back yard.  The front yard is covered in sticker burs and the backyard is where Haven lives and is covered in dog poop.  The only outside area that we currently let Payton play at is our very small side yard (literally a strip of grass between our house and our neighbor’s house) where we have Payton’s toddler swing/slide set.  Thankfully there’s not as great of a need for a large yard when you live within walking distance from the beach.

Walking

As mentioned above, Payton is finally walking!  She’s been taking steps and cautiously letting go and walking on her own for a little while now but ever since Thanksgiving (at a little over 13 months old) she really has been walking on her own.  Although at Thanksgiving she was still doing a lot of crawling as well as walking.  On November 30^th she learned to stand up on her own without holding onto anything.  Really in the past two weeks (at almost 14 months old) she has been walking everywhere on her own, bending down to pick things up, and has given up crawling. She is now SO active!  She loves to walk back and forth across rooms just for the fun of it.  Also if you ask her, “Will you bring me the ball?” (or whatever it is you want her to bring you), she will go pick it up and bring it to you.  She is so sweet and follows directions so well!

Using the doggie steps to climb up onto the couch.

Teething

At 13 months old her first two molars had just come in, along with all four of her canines (the pointy vampire teeth).  She seemed in some pain and very soon after that her second two molars came in.  By Thanksgiving she had 16 teeth that had come in.  I’m thinking this should be all of her teeth for awhile now since she has all 4 top and bottom middle teeth, all 4 canines, and all 4 molars.  I think the only baby teeth left may be the 4 additional molars though I’m not sure when those come in.  It’s amazing how early all her teeth came in and how they seemed to all come in at the same time.  She still occasionally acts like they may be bothering her and she continues to chew on things and put everything into her mouth.  I’m guessing that since they still aren’t all the way in yet that they may still be bothering her a bit.

Payton LOVES Dixie!

Speaking

Ever since Payton got her tubes put in her ears we have seen a huge increase in both the words she says and her understanding of words in general.  By 13 months, Payton could point to the wooden bears in our house, to birds she saw outside, and to balloons and for each she says, “Ba”.  She now also points to our cats (and cats in books) and says “Ta”, which is as close as she can get to saying “cat” right now.  She knows what a banana is but pronounces is “ma-mama”.  We have a map of Galveston on our dining room wall that she points to and sometimes says “Ma”.  She can say “Ga-Gr” which means, “Good girl” and also says “Ga” when she points to a girl in a book.  It’s funny because she often says “Ga-Gr” without opening her mouth.  If you ask her where her tongue is she will stick it out and if you ask her where your nose, eyes, mouth, or hair is she will point to them on you although she won’t point them out on herself yet.  She can now say “Dada” and sometimes knows who her dada is but sometimes points to me instead.  When asked where her “Mama” is she still either looks confused or points to her Daddy.  On rare occasions she will get it right and point to me.  If you ask her, “Where’s Payton?” she points to herself.  She also will point to Dixie, her chair, the light, and our Christmas tree if you ask her where any of those things are.  When we go out she loves to wave to people and say “Ha” (“Hi”) or if we are leaving she says “Bu-bu” (“bye-bye”).  She seems to understand the difference between when you should say “Hi” and when you say, “Bye-bye” and even when her toy says, “See ya!” she responds with “Bu-bu”.  

Payton enjoys riding in her wagon.

Eating

Payton went from being a baby who gobbled up the food that we fed her to becoming very picky and refusing most of what we try to feed her.  We have found that if we give her a spoon or fork of her own and encourage her to feed herself that she is more likely to eat.  We especially find it difficult to get her to eat meat of any kind.  She loved hard boiled eggs, then we couldn’t get her to eat them at all, and now she likes them again.  She refuses to eat scrambled eggs.  She will sometimes eat beans, pasta, grilled cheese, and Yo Baby yogurt.  The most reliable things that she tends to eat are fresh fruit (banana, pear, steamed apple, and grapes), steamed vegetables (cauliflower, green beans, squash, and broccoli)  and cheese (cheddar and provolone).  She drinks a couple of ounces of cow’s milk out of a sippy cup and a couple ounces of water, but mostly she still just likes to breastfeed.

Lounging around on the couch

Sleeping

Payton still wakes up once in the middle of the night to have her diaper changed and nurse back to sleep.  We did have one night, the night of December 11^th, where she slept through the night but she hasn’t done it since so I guess it was just a fluke.  She seems to be in the process of dropping one of her naps.  Currently she is napping from 11 a.m.- 1:30/2:00 p.m. and then not taking an afternoon nap.  I am still able to get her to lay quietly in her crib for about 30- 40 minutes each afternoon around 4:00 p.m. which works good for me because that gives me a chance to start preparing dinner.  Even if she hasn’t had her late morning nap she has been refusing an afternoon nap so I guess she’s not ready to move to just having an afternoon nap. For now this schedule seems to be working.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and enjoys time with family and friends while celebrating the birth of Jesus!  Thank you all for your love and friendship.  Merry Christmas!!!

Payton and Charles enjoying "Christmas on the Strand" activities

1st Birthday, 1st illness, 1st car accident, 1st surgery, and more!

Payton showing us how old she is now!

1 Year Old Stats:

Age:  12 months

Weight: 23 pounds (78^th%)

Height: 30.75 inches  (99^th%)

Favorite toy:  Baby Einstein iPod, Touch & Feel books

Favorite toy that’s not a toy: Dixie, everything inside of cabinets

New foods:  Eggs, cow’s milk, beef

Favorite food:  Cheese

Least favorite food:  Jarred baby food

Number of teeth:  8

Makes her smile:  She closes the door where we can’t see her and then she opens it and we saying, “There she is!”, having Daddy feed her and Mommy says, “She can’t feed herself, she’s too little” and then Daddy helps her use the spoon to feed herself and Mommy acts shocked

Makes her laugh: Dixie playing, Tickling her

Makes her cry:  People she doesn’t know very well holding her

Favorite place to be: Outside, climbing on Mommy or Daddy or climbing over pillows on the floor

Can say:  “Haaa” (which means “Hi”) while waving

Milestones: Taking steps on her own in between Mommy and Daddy, pointing at things

Clothing size: 18-24 months

On her little horse that LaLa and Grandfather gave her.

I’m One

I wake up each morning with a smile on my face.  Stand up in my crib and decide to see what happens when I drop my pacifier to the ground.  Amazing, it still falls.  Then I realize that I can’t reach it and I want it.  So I fuss until mom comes in to get me out of bed.  I’m One.

I love my dog Dixie.  She pretty much avoids me most of the time.  She likes her personal space.  But I can crawl after her and smile at her as she runs away.  When I eat a snack she stays real close to me and then I can pat her back nice and hard.  I also know which toys belong to her and when I find them lying around the house, I bring them to her.  Sometimes Mommy and Daddy play with Dixie.  She runs to get a toy and it’s so funny I just have to laugh.  I’m one.

I know how to push buttons and work all of my toys.  I laugh when I make the phone ring in the Little People house, when I push the “party” button on my Trick-or-Treat with Elmo book, and when I play music on my Rock With Elmo juke box.  I’m one.

Many times each day I love pulling all of the Tupperware containers out of the cabinet and throwing them across the kitchen.  I also like to pull things out the pantry, the cabinet on my dresser, my toy chest, my toy bucket, the books off my book shelf, and basically anything else I can get my hands on.  I am not a handful though.  I do help put things back up.  One block goes in the bucket.  Two blocks go in the bucket.  One, two, three, four, five, six blocks get thrown out of the bucket and across the room in all different directions! I’m one.

I pay close attention to see if anyone might open the frig or the dish washer.  Those are some of my favorite places to explore because Mommy and Daddy try hard to keep me out of them.  Despite their best efforts I often make it there in time because although I can’t walk yet, I am a lightning fast crawler. And I know how to stand, even on my tippy toes when needed to reach things that I want. I’m one.

I can climb too.  My specialty is climbing over people or pillows that are lying on the ground.  It’s like an obstacle course.  But I can also climb up onto furniture too.  I’m one.

People love when I wave at them and say “Haa” (“Hi”) so I wave at pretty much everyone that I see.  Sometimes people that I wave at have their backs to me but that’s okay.  I also like to wave at dogs, cats, and inanimate objects.  I’m one.

I love my parents very much but I’m not real sure what they want me to do when they ask silly questions like, “Who is Mama?” and “Who is Dada?”  I do, however, understand the question, “Who is Dixie?”  She is my dog, of course!  I’m one.

I can give high fives, show that I’m “Sooo big” and clap my hands on command.  But only when I’m in the mood for such things.  I’m one.

I know how to drink from a straw and I can feed myself finger foods.  Sometimes it makes me irritated when Mommy and Daddy try to spoon feed me something.  My favorite foods are all kinds of cheese, fresh fruit, and hard boiled egg whites.  That’s right, I like to mash the yokes with my fingers but I only eat the egg whites.  I’m one.

I think the moon is fascinating and point to it each time that I see it.  I can also point it out in some books that I own.  Sometimes I even say “Mmm” when I see the moon.  Of course I also say “Mmm” when I point to most everything.  I’m one.

I only really need my pacifier when I sleep.  But I know my pacifier lives in my crib so often when I see my crib I feel like I absolutely must have it.  Sometimes I can reach my arms though the crib slats to get it myself.  But when I can’t I fuss until someone gets it for me.  I’m one.

I’m a whirlwind of activity at all times and I only slow down when I’m asleep.  I’m one.

When someone asks me how old I am, I proudly stick one little finger in the air.  Because, that’s right, I’m one!

Opening a present at her birthday tailgate party.

A Sleepless Birthday

The afternoon before Payton’s first birthday we drove to College Station with the idea to spend the night in my parent’s RV so we’d be there for her 9 a.m. birthday tailgate party before the A&M versus Baylor football game.  My parents were just getting back from a trip across the country and had reservations to stay the night in a Bed & Breakfast in College Station.  Before arriving in College Station my mom called to ask if we could spend the night in the B&B instead because the lady who owns the place has cats inside and my mom is severely allergic to them.  We were a little concerned about having Payton in a B&B but the owner of the B&B said it was fine so we agreed to the plan.  For dinner we met my parents at Los Cucos Mexican restaurant and they enjoyed spending a little time with Payton on her Birthday Eve.  After helping them get the RV out of storage we headed to the B&B.  It was a cute little house and the old lady who owned it seemed very nice.  The problem was, the bedroom didn’t have a real door on it.  It was a door with slats all the way down it that let in noise and light.  The old lady was blaring her TV downstairs, which fortunately didn’t bother us because we sometimes fall asleep to having the TV on.  Payton wouldn’t nurse (she rarely will when we’re away from home) but she was exhausted so she fell asleep pretty quickly.  It was so light in the bedroom from the hallway light that we weren’t sure we could sleep.  We knew that the other guests staying in the B&B were out and wouldn’t be back until after midnight yell so we hated to turn out the light.  Ultimately we made the decision to leave the bathroom light on (oh yeah, there was also only one upstairs bathroom that guests had to share!) for them and turned out the hall light.  Also, thinking we would be spending the night in the RV, we hadn’t brought Payton any warm pajamas and the air was set to pretty cool.  So we turned the air up.  Later when the other guests got back they turned the air down again and, even though we felt bad about it, we again turned it back up because Payton seemed cold.  By the time we went to bed, Payton was still asleep next to our bed in the pack ‘n play that we brought.  Unfortunately right as I was finally falling asleep she woke up crying.  And she proceeded to cry all. night. long!  Obviously we couldn’t let her cry herself back to sleep because the other guests would hear her straight through the doors that weren’t doors so we tried everything else that we could think of.  Wouldn’t nurse, wouldn’t fall asleep being rocked, wouldn’t fall asleep being held, wouldn’t fall asleep in bed with us, wouldn’t fall asleep having her belly rubbed.  It was a miserable night.  Finally around 4:30 a.m. she fell asleep in our bed in my arms and then woke up at 6:30 a.m. when we just got up for good in order to get ready to go to her tailgate party.  

Table at Payton's birthday.

Her tailgate birthday party went well.  My parents already had everything set up by the time we got there and it looked really cute.  The party was held in the RV parking lot, right in front of my parent’s RV.  They set up an Aggie EZ-Up for shade and two tables with the food, framed pictures of Payton, and pink butterfly 1^st birthday plates and napkins.  Since the party was at 9 a.m. we had breakfast items plus cupcakes and juice.  It was great to see friends and family members that we hadn’t seen in awhile.  You could tell Payton was exhausted but she remained in an okay mood for the party.  Her cousin Hank was also able to attend and he hadn’t slept well the night before either so he too seemed tired.  All in all it was very fun despite the fatigue.  

Payton, Lindy, and I

I wish I had had people sign a guest list but here are the guests that I can remember (I know I’m going to forget someone so please let me know so I can add the names that I leave off the list!  It’s definitely not that you aren’t important, only that my memory stinks!)

Guests at Payton’s first birthday/ Aggie tailgate party:

Payton Falgout

Charles Falgout

Becky Falgout

Pam “Lala” Bartschmid

Al “Grandfather” Bartschmid

Albert Bartschmid

Erin Bartschmid

Hank Bartschmid

Kyle Bartschmid

Lindsay Fleetwood

Brandon Machell

Lindy McMahan

Stephanie Honeycutt

Christina Bockmon

Brian Bockmon

Carolyn Adams

Chad Henderson

Joy Walters

Fred Walters

Linda Campbell

Bill Campbell

Grandfather wearing a princess ring for Payton's party!

After the tailgate party we attended the A&M/Baylor football game.  Since the game started at 11 a.m. our seats were in the sun the entire game.  And despite the fact that the high temperature was only in the low 80’s, it was very hot in our seats.  Which meant my mom, Payton, and I spent the entire game up under the overhang.  The Aggies beat the hell outta Baylor and everyone was very happy.  Payton only slept for a small part of the game but stayed in a decent mood.  After the game we drove straight home and she slept the entire way.  Once home we asked her the question everyone had been asking her all day, “Payton, how old are you?” and to our surprise she held up one finger!  Ever since then she has been able to tell us how old she is by holding up that little finger.   We fed her dinner and then gave her a birthday cupcake.  She stuck her finger in the icing, tasted it, and started crying.  So we bathed her and put her right to bed for the night.  We were all so tired!  I thought I would feel really sentimental on her 1^st birthday but actually I was so busy and tired that I didn’t even have a chance to think about it.  I was much more sentimental about it in the days leading up to her 1^st birthday than I was on the day itself.

LaLa holding Payton and Hank

Birthday Celebration #2

The following day (Sunday) we were all much more rested and enjoyed the day as a family of three.  We celebrated Payton’s birthday again by having her open the presents that were mailed to us from family and friends and Charles also set up the present from us which is an outdoor toddler swing set/slide.  Payton loves going down the slide on her new swing set.  She doesn’t seem to really know what to think of the swing yet.  Sometimes she appears a bit nervous on it.  We like to take her outside to play on her swing set each day after dinner.  Jason (our neighbor’s cat) usually joins us. So Payton enjoys sliding and seeing Jason.  

Cute little 1 year old!

Having fun on her new slide!

Doctor’s Visit

The Tuesday after Payton’s birthday she had her one year doctor’s visit check up/ immunizations.  Payton was 31.75 inches tall (99^th %) and 23 pounds (78^th%).   Prior to her appointment Charles and I had already decided that we wanted her to receive the MMR and Hepatitis A shots but did not want her to receive the chicken pox or flu shot vaccinations at this time.  We just felt more comfortable with her getting two shots at a time instead of four when the chicken pox and flu shots can be given at a different time should we choose to have her receive them.  We are definitely all for vaccinations and understand their importance.  It just seems like kids today get so many more vaccinations now than we did as kids and we simply wanted to make things as easy on her little body as possible at this time.  The appointment was going fine until it was time for the immunizations to be given.  At that time the doctor said, “So today she’ll be getting the MMR, Hep A, Flu, and Chicken Pox vaccinations.”  And I said, “Actually my husband and I have discussed this and today we’d just like her to get the MMR and Hep A shots”.  The doctor suddenly appeared angry with me and went off, called chicken pox a "deadly disease" that can easily lead to "septic shock" and that I was not making a wise decision by passing up these vaccines.  I told her my daughter isn't around any other children right now so if she still hasn't gotten chicken pox by the time she starts school I might reconsider.  She sat there and looked at me like I was an idiot.  Then she walked out of the room without saying a word.  I politely told her, "Thank you" and she didn't respond, just left the room.  Then I heard her in the hall, with attitude in her voice, tell the nurse, "Tell her to read this while she waits".  So the nurse brings me this booklet called "Forever Memories" and it tells the stories of children who passed away because their parents chose not to get them vaccinated and had really sad pictures.  I almost started crying because it was like she was trying to make me feel like a terrible parent.  I couldn’t believe she treated me that way and had zero respect for my decision as a parent.  I will definitely not be taking my daughter back to this pediatrician!

Climbing up to her new slide

Fall Festivals & Birthday Celebration #3

The weekend following the weekend of Payton’s birthday (second to last weekend in October) we took Payton to a pumpkin patch, Oktoberfest, and Payton’s Nana (Charles’ mom) arrived to celebrate Payton’s birthday with us.  That Saturday morning Charles, Payton, and I went to Santa Fe to Aldersgate Methodist Church to pick out pumpkins from their pumpkin patch and visit their Fall Bazaar.  Payton was excited about the pumpkins and wanted to touch and examine them.  She’s still not walking independently but she held our hands and walked through the pumpkin patch.  We picked out two large pumpkins and one smaller pumpkin to decorate our front porch with.  Then we visited the Fall Bazaar which is basically a big craft sale and found a pretty decorative pumpkin for our house and a cute crocheted winter hat for Payton.  After that we went home and watched the Aggie football team beat Iowa State while Payton napped.  After the game we headed to First Lutheran Church of Galveston for their annual Oktoberfest celebration.  Oktoberfest is always a fun time.  They have delicious sausage, German beers, all different flavors of strudel, live music, people dressed in traditional German clothing, children’s activities, and arts & crafts.  Very fun, this Bartschmid approves!  

Payton in the pumpkin patch

 

 

 

On the way to Oktoberfest

The following day (Sunday) Nana came to visit.  She was unable to attend Payton’s birthday party so this ended up being Payton’s 3^rd birthday celebration.  Which is exactly how I like to do birthdays!  I love for them to last at least a week, if not more!  One celebration is not nearly enough.  Nana brought Payton several presents but her big present to Payton is a little upholstered toddler chair.  Payton quickly learned how to climb up into it and sit in her chair “like a big girl”.  She is very proud of herself.  The first three days Nana was here Payton smiled a lot at her Nana and had a great time.  Unfortunately by Wednesday Payton had come down with her first ever illness.

Sick but still loves to sit in her new chair that Nana gave her!

First Illness

The last Tuesday in October, Payton woke up with pink around her eyes.  She also was sneezing a lot but otherwise did not seem sick.  She still played, didn’t run a fever, and seemed fine.  By the following day, however, it was clear that Payton was definitely sick for the first time in her life.  Her little face was extremely pale, her eyes puffy and red, her nose red and running, and she had a 100.5 temperature.  She didn’t even look like herself.  She also just acted like she did NOT feel good!  That night she was up just about every hour, crying and crying.  The only thing that would comfort her and help put her back to sleep was if I nursed her.  It was like having a newborn again!  I’m surprised my body cooperated since this is far from our usual routine now, but I guess God makes a mother’s body in a way that it will respond to a sick child.  Thursday she was very sick again and again that night she nursed all night long.  We decided at this point that we wouldn’t be attending the A&M game the following day and sold our tickets.  By Friday morning we decided we should get her a doctor’s appointment to get checked out before the weekend when it would be difficult to see anyone.

Poor sick baby!

 

 

Puffy eyes and sick but still managing a little smile.

Car Accident/ Doctor’s Appointment

Friday afternoon I secured Payton into her rear facing car seat and set out to drive her to a new doctor we decided to see located in Texas City.  We were driving down 45^th street in Galveston when the car in front of me stopped to make a left turn onto Avenue N.  Traffic was coming so the car in front of me had to wait and I was just sitting there waiting as well when suddenly I heard a huge crash and my truck was jerked forward.  I don’t know why but my immediate reaction was to scream, “Ahhhhh!”  I turned off of 45^th onto Avenue N and thankfully the truck that hit us did too.  I was really freaked out, worrying about Payton.  I got out of my truck, opened the back door, and saw immediately that Payton’s seat was sitting up on its end with Payton’s little face just inches from the back of the truck seat.  The other thing I noticed almost immediately was that Payton was not in any way upset and appeared to be fine.  Because the seat was angled in such a way, I had a bit of trouble getting her out of the seat, especially given that my hands were shaking so bad from what had just occurred.  The guy who hit us walked over and was saying things like, “I am so, so sorry!  Oh my gosh, you have a baby in there!  Is she okay?  Do you need help?”  The guy looked about my age, extremely tan wearing a Monster Energy cap.  As soon as I got Payton out of the car seat another car that had seen the accident pulled up and asked if we were okay and told me they were calling the police for me.  Then they asked if they could call someone else to help, like my husband, but I told them, “No, he works an hour away” and that I would call him myself in a minute but thank you.  I told the guy who hit me, “I was stopped because that car in front of me was waiting to turn” and he said, “I know, I’m so sorry.  I was reaching down for my coffee and when I looked up I didn’t have time to even try to apply the breaks”.  He told me he was going to call his mom because she would be able to help with things like insurance and getting a tow truck.  A few minutes later the police showed up.  The guy who hit me acted like he knew the cops saying to one of them, “What’s up Stink Face?”  The cops were very professional and didn’t act like they were friends with him.  It made me wonder if he knew them because he’d had issues with the law before.  They then asked for his driver’s license and he told them, “I don’t have it, it’s expired, I’ve been trying to work this out with you guys for awhile now.”  One officer went to deal with him while the other took down my information.  He asked if I would like to have EMS come check Payton and I out.  I told him I wasn’t hurt and that she didn’t appear hurt either.  He said whiplash isn’t always felt immediately and that we could be hurt and not realize it.  Since we were on our way to the pediatrician’s office anyway I told him I would have Payton checked for whiplash by the doctor.  The officers then reinstalled Payton’s car seat.  They said it was installed wrong because the latch system wasn’t used.  When I asked Charles about this he showed me in the Ford owner’s manual where it says not to use the latch system when installing the car seat in the middle seat.  At any rate, the officers installed it using both the seat belt AND the latch system so I think that’s how we will install our car seats in the future to be certain that they are secure.  Before leaving, the guy who hit us came over to ask me if there was any information he should give me.  The officer answered for me and said, “No, all the information she should need will be on the incident report”.  But before he left I did ask, “Do you have insurance?” and he told me, “Yes, I just can’t find it right now”.  Well, it didn’t surprise me later when my insurance called to tell me what he does not have insurance.  Thankfully we have uninsured driver insurance so my truck will get fixed, it just stinks that we have to file the claim with our insurance and we still have to pay at least $250.  We’re still waiting on everything to get finalized with the insurance so that I can get my truck fixed.  I also am keeping my fingers crossed that Payton’s car seat will be covered since it too was affected by the accident.

Payton saying "Haa" to our cat, Camp

Charles called the pediatrician’s office to explain what happened and see if they could see us at a later appointment, and then he came home to get us.  We ended up at the pediatrician’s office in the late afternoon.  The new pediatrician was nice.  She’s an Aggie, class of ’97.  She is not the doctor who was recommended to us because he doesn’t work on Fridays, so we might still try to get an appointment with him next time.  She said she thought Payton had a cold, allergies, and was teething.  She recommended that we use a humidifier (as if Galveston isn’t humid enough) and give Payton a half dose of Children’s Claritin.  I’m not real sure what the chances are of someone coming down with allergies and a cold at the same time.  Now that she’s better it makes me wonder if it had just been a cold, as rapid as it came on and how she has zero symptoms a week later.  Which, in my opinion, is good because allergies you have to continue to deal with whereas she is completely better from what I feel was some sort of cold virus.  By the following afternoon she seemed to be feeling much better and by Sunday she was completely back to her normal self.

Halloween Day-- Payton is "sooo big"

Cute little ladybug

Halloween

The day Payton finally seemed back to her normal self was the Sunday before Halloween.  Moody Gardens had an event called Ghostly Gardens where they encouraged children to dress in their Halloween costumes and come tick-or-treating in Moody Gardens.  Payton didn’t trick-or-treat but we did have fun dressing her in her “Ladybug Girl” costume and letting her walk around to see all the other children in costumes.  Quite a few people that we passed commented on, “Look at the cute little ladybug!”  Afterwards we took her to the park on the ground of Moody Gardens and she had fun going down the slides in our laps.  

Ladybug Girl loves slides!

Checking out the waterfall at Moody Gardens

The following day (Monday, October 31, 2011) was Halloween.  This was the first holiday that Payton has now experienced for the second time in her life.  It was fun to compare the pictures of her last year as a two week old pumpkin with the pictures of her this year as a one year old ladybug.  It’s amazing how much they grow and change in just one year’s time!  Instead of me cooking, Charles picked up dinner on his way home from work so we ate some yummy Taco Bell.  Payton seems to like their chicken soft tacos though I also made her some steamed broccoli, baby cereal, meat puree, and squash puree to go with it.  After dinner we dressed her as Ladybug Girl and walked down the street to our neighborhood’s block party.  Payton held Charles’ hand and walked herself there and back.  She’s getting better about being able to walk with assistance and on Halloween she really seemed to enjoy walking.  Our neighborhood block party consists of some of the older ladies in the neighborhood setting up tables and handing out candy to the kids in the neighborhood.  We had planned on just showing up to socialize with our neighbors but when we got there all the older ladies starting handing candy to Payton.  We decided letting her try a lollipop wouldn’t hurt anything.  I figured it would go over about the same as her birthday smash cake and cupcake did…. That she would taste it, make a little gagging sound, and then show no interest in it.  Well, I was wrong.  I guess she takes after me because she was all about eating the grape lollipop!  She literally ate half of it before she seemed to get tired of it and Charles took it away.  Then she placed her very sticky hand in her Daddy’s hand and we walked back home. He said he wouldn’t have been able to let go of her hand even if he had wanted to because their hands were stuck together!  Once home Payton started crawling around the floor in hyper speed.  She was literally crawling in circles.  We thought it was the sugar but actually she ended up doing the same thing the following day so I guess she’s just silly.  Anyway, Payton had a very fun Halloween!  

Amazing the difference a year makes at this age!

Payton’s Surgery

Thursday, November 3, 2011 Payton underwent surgery to have tubes placed in both of her ears.  It is believed that Payton has had fluid in her middle ears since birth and has definitely had it for the three months that we’ve been monitoring it.  We gave it time to see if it would drain itself but after continuing to wait they told us that it probably would not.  It was under the recommendation of a couple of different doctors that we proceeded with the tubes in order to get the fluid drained and eliminate any doubts about whether or not that fluid is affecting her speech development.  Although she’s really caught up on her milestones and is now considered in the normal range, she still falls behind in some areas such as by one year old they should be able to say three words that they know what they mean and Payton could only say “Haaa” when meaning “Hi”.  Payton says, “Mama” but still does not know that I am her Mama and she has never even said, “Dada”, much less know who her Dada is. 

In "Baby Jail" before surgery

Because Payton wouldn’t be able to eat or drink anything all morning, the hospital had recommended that I wake her up around 1 a.m. to give her breast milk or water.  I already couldn’t sleep because I was nervous about her surgery and then at 1 a.m. I got her up and nursed her.  She fell right back to sleep, but I didn’t until sometime around 3:30 a.m.  When Charles’ alarm went off to wake us up at 5:00 a.m., he turned it off and went back to sleep and I never heard it.  Luckily I woke up at 5:35 a.m. and said, “Your alarm didn’t go off, we have to be at the hospital in 25 minutes!”  So we threw on clothes, grabbed Payton, and ran out the door.  We were only a few minutes late for our 6 a.m. check in time which was pretty good considering once we got to UTMB we had to find the proper parking garage and then get from there to the 8^th floor of John Sealy Hospital.  A nurse checked us in, had us sign some paperwork, and put a hospital gown on Payton.  She played around in the metal hospital crib and we joked that she was in “Baby Jail”.  She was in a good mood despite it being so early in the morning and her not being able to eat breakfast.   

Once they were ready for us the nurse took us to a different floor of the hospital to the OR.  In the OR prep room they said, “So she’s had some happy juice, right?” and Charles said, “No, she’s just naturally happy.”  And they seemed surprised that she hadn’t been given any oral sedatives but they said, “Ok, oh well”.  I kissed Payton’s head, told her I loved her, and then handed her to the ENT, Dr. Mukerji.  Dr. Mukerji started to walk off with Payton and Payton looked like she was going to start fussing but them Dr Mukerji started to talk to her and the last I saw of her she didn’t appear upset.  I really like Dr. Mukerji and think she is wonderful with children so I felt better knowing Payton was in her care.  Charles and I then went to the waiting room where I was still pretty nervous and just kept praying that everything was going fine.  About half an hour later Dr. Mukerji came to the waiting room to tell us that everything had gone just fine.  She said Payton had a large amount of fluid that they drained from her right ear and some fluid that they drained from her left ear.  She said they would come and get me in a few minutes to be with Payton.  She left but then returned just a couple of minutes later to say, “She’s not awake yet but I’m sure you want to be with her so come on back”.  

Still asleep following surgery.

Only one of us could go so I went and Charles continued to wait in the waiting room.   When I got there, like the doctor had said, she was still asleep.  They had her lying on her side with an oxygen mask on her face, naked but covered with a blanket, and heart monitors on her chest.  They told me not to speak to her but to let her come out of the anesthesia on her own.  So, being the Facebook addict that I am, I took a picture of her to post on Facebook and sat waiting for her to wake up.  Not too long after that she started crying and the nurse took the oxygen mask off her.  Payton immediately pulled both pieces of cotton out of her ears and started crying harder. The nurse said that I could hold her but I found it really difficult at first because she was hooked up to the heart monitor and the oxygen monitor.  Payton continued to cry.  I kept trying to put her pacifier in but she would spit it out.  I put her glo worm up against her face and had it play music for her and she would calm down for a few minutes but then start crying again.  They were going to give me a sippy cup of water to let her drink but then they discovered that they were out of sippy cups.  They asked if she would take a bottle instead and I told them I didn’t know because she’s never had a bottle before but if they had just a regular cup she could drink from that.  They brought a cup of water with a straw and she started gulping down the water.  The nurses were pretty impressed at how well she could drink from a straw.  Eventually I was able to maneuver all the cords well enough so that I could sit down with her.  Once sitting I held her up against my chest, the nurse wrapped her in a warm blanket, and she fell asleep.  We sat there awhile before another ENT entered the room to see a different patient and the nurse flagged him down and had him sign Payton out so she could leave recovery.   

Sleeping off the medications

From there I carried Payton to the waiting room and put her into Charles’ arms.  She woke up, was still extremely groggy, but this time she didn’t cry.  Then the nurse took us back up to the original room that we’d checked in at.  We lay Payton down in her “Crib Jail”, covered her with a blanket, and she fell back asleep.  The nurse came to check on her and noticing a mark of blood on her arm, said if they gave her an injection of a little something extra to calm her that she might end up taking a good long nap from it.  She went to check and came back to let us know that they had given her an injection of Percedex prior to the surgery to calm her down.  After giving the post op instructions we were discharged and carried Payton back to our truck.  Once home I nursed Payton and she fell right back asleep in her crib.  She took a two hour nap and when she woke up from her nap you never would have known she had just had surgery a few hours earlier.  She was back to her normal self!  Her diapers arrived in the mail and I took them out of the box to put them away but she got to them first and crawled on her stomach over the packages of diapers.  She crawled over them again and again.  Payton is non-stop action these days and even just having surgery didn’t slow her down.  She was doing so well that we decided to attend the Rotary Club’s chili dinner that night at Ball High.  Payton ate before we left because we weren’t sure she would care for the chili but it was so good!  And it was a perfect cold evening for it as a cold front had blown through early that morning.

Payton with her friend Dixie, dressed all cute in clothes/hair bow from Nana.

Walking

By Payton’s first birthday she was taking some steps on her own but definitely not walking independently yet.  She is now almost 13 months old and although she’s still not walking all the time, she is sometimes able to walk across a room.  She generally prefers to crawl still, loses her balance a lot while walking, and needs something to hold onto to get into a standing position, but slowly but surely she is continuing to make progress towards walking on her own.  It is possible that the fluid in her middle ears was causing her to be off balance for so long that she’s just now finding her balance for the first time.  I certainly don’t mind at this point since I know once she’s running around all the time it’s going to be even more difficult to keep an eye on her.

Playing with her Little People house

Sleeping/ Breastfeeding

Payton was going most nights without needing to breastfeed and was often sleeping through the night.  Then she got sick and was up for several nights breastfeeding all night long.  Since then Payton has woken up once each night wanting to breastfeed.  At first I told Charles, “She’s too old for this, she needs to go back to sleep” and then I’d have to lay there listening to her scream for half an hour.  She’d finally quiet down and fall asleep only to wake up screaming again 30 minutes later.  When she would wake the second time I wouldn’t be able to take it anymore and would just get up and feed her.  I had a miserable two nights like this before I decided if she feels like she needs to nurse and it’s what will help all three of us get back to sleep, then that’s what we’re doing.  So around 3 a.m. she starts screaming.  I change her diaper, breastfeed her and am back in my bed 15 minutes later and she’s sound asleep again in her crib.  Also thankfully this only happens once a night and then she generally sleeps in until about 7:30 a.m.  She also still breastfeeds first thing in the morning, before each nap, and before bed at night.  I feel like this is important right now because at this point it is still recommended that she be getting a minimum of 16 ounces of milk and I can barely get her to drink 1-2 ounces of cow’s milk a day.  As far as her naps go, Payton continues to take two naps a day with the first nap generally lasting about 1 ½- 2 hours and the second nap about 1- 1 ½ hours long.  Occasionally she will refuse to sleep for one of her naps especially if she’s working on having a poo poo.  Her nighttime bedtime is generally between 7:00- 7:30 p.m. 

Lounging in her Winnie the Pooh chair

First Weekend/ Full week of November

The first weekend in November was an Aggie away game so we got to stay home again and spend time together.  Friday I took Payton to Laskie Park, which is a new park near our home (next to Ball High).  It has a huge play set but it’s really designed for bigger kids.  Saturday we took a morning walk to Seawall and enjoyed the beautiful morning.  We also saw (and heard) tons of motorcycles driving down Seawall, here for the Lone Star Rally.  In the afternoon we watched the Aggies get killed in football by Oklahoma.  It was painful to watch, to say the least.  The next day we took Payton across town to Andoue Park.  This park was great because it had an entire toddler play area.  Payton loved crawling across the bridge, through the tunnel, sliding down the little slides, and swinging on the swing set.  Despite it not being very close to our house, we will definitely be going back.  The only negative was that, like most parks in town, the trees were lost in Hurricane Ike and although they’ve planted new ones, they’re still too small to provide any shade.  Monday I took Payton to Rosenberg Library for the first time in a long time.  The last time we were there Payton was still pretty scared of Rose the lizard, although she was finally able to view her from a distance without crying.  Well Payton did a complete 180.  She now wanted to smile, wave, and say “Haa!” to Rose!  Even when we sat down to read books she kept looking up to wave at Rose.  I was surprised by such a change but glad she now longer has a fear of lizards!  Wednesday I took Payton to Castle Park.  Schrieber “Castle” Park is a playscape that is like a wooden maze with lots of steps going up and down, little hiding areas, and bridges to walk across.  I have taken Payton to this park several times and each time she’s able to do a little more on her own.  This time Payton crawled all over the entire play area.  Anytime I would try to hold her hand to have her walk she would immediately pull her hand away and get back down to crawl.  I guess she figures she is still much more efficient with her crawling (which is true).  She can crawl up and even down steps very quickly.  She’s pretty smart about it now too.  Regular steps she’d just go down headfirst on her stomach.  But if she came to a slightly larger drop off she would turn herself around and slowly lift herself down backwards (which is also how she has learned to get off of our couch at home).  It was very windy and a little bit cool (I was wearing just a t-shirt and wished I had at least long sleeves on), but Payton was so busy that I’m certain she was very warm.  As she gets where she can play and do things more independently, our trips to the parks are becoming more and more fun.  I want to take her to the beach sometime soon but lately it’s just been so windy that I haven’t wanted to go and deal with the blowing sand.  I’m sure we’ll get a good beach day soon though.

Sitting in her toy basket

Hope everyone is having a good November and has a Happy Thanksgiving!!!