An Adjustment

Peyton has started his new school, and he's doing pretty well. His teacher told me that he had one of the best first weeks she has ever had with a new kid. Patrick told me she tells everyone that, but I'm going to believe that she was telling me the truth. But he seems to be doing well there. They have a different theme each week and they focus on different topics within that theme each day. One week they did music, another they did sports. Last week they did feelings. Now, when he's mad about something, he tells me he's "grumpy." They have lots of toys and trucks to play with and a big yard outside where they play twice a day.

While things were going pretty well at school, we noticed that he started waking up super early in the morning and waking up in the middle of the night, which he very rarely did before. He came in our room one night around 2:30am talking about the blue airplane outside his window. He went on and on and on....in my incoherent state at 2:30am, I kept putting him back in his bed, and he kept coming back! Patrick had a little more sense about him and finally rocked Peyton back to sleep. We came to the conclusion that he was missing all of the hugs and cuddle time that he got with us, and Mrs. Lauren when he was with her. He just seemed to want to be held a little more, which was totally fine with me!

However, all the hugs in the world wasn't preventing him from coming to our room at 5am to tell us that he was awake and ready to watch cartoons. We'd bring him back to his bed and he'd come wandering back to our room a few minutes later. At a more appropriate time, we would just get up. In his mind, if he was persistent enough, we would just give in. For him, he didn't seem to be grasping the concept that there was an actual time when it was time to get out of bed.

We decided that he was a little too young to tell time, but started looking for something that would help him understand the difference between night and day. And it was time to be drastic. $35 for a freakin' night light seemed a little extreme to me, but I decided that if I could sleep until 6:30am (I've stopped dreaming of ever sleeping until 8am again!) it would be worth every single penny. So we invested in the Good Nite Lite and crossed our fingers that this would help him understand the difference. We set the timer in the back so that at 8pm, the night light looks like a moon. At 6:30am, it turns into a sun. Well, by golly, it worked! He gets so excited about waiting for the sun to come up. There have been several mornings where I can hear him in his room talking to himself or singing, but he stays in there until he sees the sun. And then he throws his door open and comes running in our room to tell us that he sees the sun!

Our master plan backfired slightly this weekend, however, when it was time to take a nap. He informed us that the moon wasn't on. Right. We wondered at that point whether we would have to buy another one of these lights so that he would take a nap. Luckily, we convinced him that it was ok to take a nap without the moon. The pleasant part was that when he woke up from his nap, he stayed in his room because he didn't see the sun. Hee hee. I was tempted to use this to my advantage, but decided that I didn't want to push things, so I went and got him up.

This morning, I was afraid it had all come to an end. He woke up about 5:45am and came to our room to tell us that he needed to potty, which is fine, we have no problem with that. But my concern at 5:45am was that I had 45 minutes more to sleep and I figured I could just kiss those precious minutes good-bye. After he went potty, I told him that the moon was still on so that meant it wasn't time to get up. I explained that he needed to go back to bed until he saw the sun. I figured he would come back 15 times in the next 45 minutes. But back in his bed he went and he stayed there until 6:30am. Now, of course I didn't go back to sleep because I expected that at any minute he was going to come running back into our room. But I'm ready to sing the praises of this night light because it actually works!

Taking the responsibility off of us as to whether he's supposed to stay in bed or get up has made things much easier. He's willing to listen to the sun and the moon. Is there another light out there to tell him when to pick up his toys? Or when to wash his hands? Oh, the possibilities!

Peyton's New School

Peyton will be starting a new daycare on Monday - Children's Campus at Southpoint. Today we stopped by to introduce him to his new playmates and teachers and visit for a little while. I explained to him before we went that he was going to be going to a new school with new teachers next week. I told him that we were going to visit today and that I was going to stay with him while he played but that next week he would go by himself. He seemed a little apprehensive at the thought of being left there but I explained again that I would stay with him today. Then he wanted to bring his backpack. I'm still wondering how he knows that kids bring backckpacks to school. Although not necessary, the teacher did say that he could bring his backpack and put it in his cubby everyday if he insisted.

We arrived to his classroom and all of the other kids were eating their snack. He took advantage of all of the toys being available and dove right in to play. With what, you ask? The trucks, of course! The teachers kept the kids at bay for a little longer and let Peyton explore the room and get used to his surroundings. After about 10 minutes, Peyton put his hand on my cheek and sweetly said, "Mom, you go home now." I think he's going to do just fine on Monday. Me, on the other hand, that's a whole other story.

Peyton the Musician

We were recently at our friend Jason and Rebecca's house and Peyton was watching "The Princess and the Frog". Its a great movie, based in New Orleans, with fantastic music. Peyton has always been a fan of music, tapping his foot to the beat and shaking his booty. Recently, he has started to play air trumpet when he hears a trumpet playing.

Patrick and I met in marching band, of course, and so its only natural to assume that Peyton would play music one day too. Its not to say that he won't be a linebacker too, because he seems to be on a trajectory that makes him large enough to be a successful one. But if he's going to be a football player, he will need to have full appreciation of the band nerds that provide the entertainment.

It turns out that many of our friends here in NC also played in band in high school. We've joked that we could probably put all of our friends together and have a pretty decent band. Anyhoo, our friends Jason and Rebecca are exact replicas of me and Patrick. They met in high school, they both played in the band, went to college together, Rebecca went to graduate school with me, and she even had a dog named Zack growing up. Jason whipped out his trombone while we were there and started out by letting Peyton play with the trombone slide to make different noises while Jason blew into the trombone. Then he started letting Peyton blow into the trombone himself. I think he does pretty well for a two year old. Check it out!

NOLA!

We recently came back from a great trip to New Orleans for a few weeks. It was jam packed full of fun. We had my cousin Jesse's wedding, my cousin Michael's wedding, the Foret family reunion, a couple of 4th of July celebrations, Matt and Abby's wedding shower, and side trips to the aquarium, City Park, the movies, and the science museum. Patrick and I even got to spend a few days by ourselves - we spent a few days in the French Quarter and took a trip to Gulf Shores and had a great time.


Here are Claire and Jesse:


Here is Peyton and his cousin Abby - nothin' but trouble, those two!


For more pictures of our adventures, click on this link:
NOLA pictures June/July 2010

Peyton didn't like that we left him behind and protested by peeing himself and completely forgetting that he was potty trained. Potty training is a lot of work and I was pretty disappointed when he was no longer cooperating. Thankfully we seem to have him back on track - I actually had no idea how effective the treats and stickers were. I reintroduced those and they seemed to have the effect we were looking for - he hasn't had an accident in quite awhile. In the meantime, he has learned how to pee standing up and has learned how to pee on a tree. Each were desperate attempts to make going to the potty more interesting and appealing.

Since then, he and I have been hanging out together and checking out what all the cool moms in Durham do with their toddlers. Its been quite a lot of fun. Peyton will start his new daycare in just another week. I think he's looking forward to making new friends and learning all kinds of new things!

Random Peytonness

Peyton often does things throughout the day that make me laugh, scratch my head, and wonder "where in the world did he pick up on that from?!" I'm off right now until I start teaching in August, so Peyton and I are getting to spend quite a bit of quality time together. At first, I worried about how I would keep him entertained, knowing that when he gets bored he gets into trouble. Usually a lot of it. But we're actually having a great time together - blueberry picking, Gymboree classes, story time at the library, outings at the park, etc. And he manages to stay out of the trouble for most of the day, although he has his moments.

Anyway, this morning he did something that I thought was interesting. We were standing in the bathroom and I was trying to get him dressed. He's not usually interested in cooperating and has some kind of strategy to stall. This morning, he was distracted by the box of kleenex in the bathroom. He pulled a kleenex out and quickly put it up to his nose and said, "A-choo! A-choo! A-choo!" He was acting like someone that was having an allergy attack, yet all it was was a bunch of sound effects. Where did he get this from?!

Clearly, he's watching and observing everything around him. He's starting to make connections and understand larger concepts. He spent the afternoon at Lauren's yesterday and she even said she was impressed at how much he's developed in the last 3 weeks since she'd last seen him. His thoughts are starting to come out in much clearer sentences, and he's able to express himself more clearly. Its really amazing to see him develop. I'm having a great time at home with him!

A Mischievous Little Ring Bearer

My cousin Jesse and his beautiful bride Claire asked Peyton to be the ring bearer in their recent wedding. I was honored that they wanted to include him in their special day, but I immediately started worrying that he wouldn't fulfill his very important duty on the big day. He's 2, with a mind of his own, and a very strong-willed one at that. If he didn't want to cooperate, there was going to be no convincing him otherwise. My Aunt Dede assured me that it was ok if he didn't do it, and that I didn't need to worry about it. Whew!
As the big day approached, we took Peyton's measurements for his tuxedo, bought him some fancy black shoes (which I had to hide because he wanted to wear them all the time. He loves shoes - gets that from his Nanny!), got him a nice haircut, and even practiced walking up the aisle at our church after mass one Sunday. The practice went off without a hitch - Patrick took him to the back, explained to him what he needed to do, and I sat in the front. We practiced with the ring bearer's pillow from our wedding, and sure enough, he walked slowly up the aisle toward me smiling, delicately holding the pillow, and looked like he was a pro! As well as our little practice went, I figured we might not be so lucky on the actual wedding day.
On the morning of the wedding, we had about an hour's drive to Rayne, LA, after spending the night with the Gulottas in New Iberia. This had been carefully planned so that Peyton would take a nap on the way to the wedding. He slept the whole way there, and I was grateful that everything was going according to plan. The next part of the plan included eating lunch and getting dressed in Aunt Donna's cottage. Peyton insisted on only eating the grapes on his plate, and none of the cheese and crackers. But at least we convinced him to put the tuxedo on. Either we took his measurements completely wrong or he's grown a few inches in the last few weeks because the tuxedo pants didn't quite reach his ankles. We also put a pull-up on him because I didn't quite trust him enough to tell me when he needed to go potty and the last thing we needed was for him to pee in his tuxedo. Then we would have had a bottomless ring bearer.
We arrived at the church a few minutes early, long enough for Peyton to have a tantrum or two in the dressing room with the bride and bridesmaids. Oh, boy, I thought. This may not go well. I took my place at the front of the church and Patrick held him in the back. He kept telling Patrick that he wasn't going to do it and would throw himself on the floor crying. Meanwhile, I was holding my breath as the last bridesmaid walked up the aisle and Patrick placed Peyton into position next to the flower girl. She was older, understood reason a little better, and accepted our explanation and instruction to just walk down the aisle with or without him. Patrick told Peyton to go, and I finally started breathing as he took off running down the aisle. He ran towards me, although he held the pillow in both hands, but left the poor flower girl in his dust. This was nothing like we had practiced, but he got to me and said "I did it!" He was so proud. He then flopped on the floor in the middle of the aisle, so I leaned over and scooped him up so that the bride could make her entrance. It wasn't elegant, but he made it up the aisle.



Once the ceremony was over and it was time for pictures, I was hoping that Peyton would be a little cooperative and pose for a few. He is notorious for not wanting to have his picture taken. Seriously, what is the complex about? He's 2! As the bridal party stood in position, we carefully placed Peyton next to the flower girl and ran out of the frame for the photographer to get his shot. Unfortunately, Peyton was quick in wandering away or turning around so the photographer was having trouble getting the perfect picture. The best man offered to hold him for a quick shot, which Peyton protested, arms flailing and screaming. I'm sure the pictures came out great. We gave up after a couple of minutes, and tried to move on to the reception hall. On the short walk from the church to the reception hall, Peyton saw some tractors and ran off into a field. He gets distracted easily. Gawd, it was hot outside!
Once coaxed inside, he became fascinated with the candles on the tables and wanted to run around and blow all of them out. I let him blow out a few and then I cut him off. I know, I'm mean! Meanwhile, he spied some grapes on the food table and started grabbing them with his dirty hands until I made him stop. I'm not so sure the people that he cut in line appreciated his dirty little hands in their fruit. I thought that if I made him a plate of fruit he would stop grabbing it off of the table. But he apparently didn't want pineapple. Just grapes. He threw them back in the bowl. I retrieved what I could remember was his, but I'm sure some got away. Sorry about that, wedding guests. He pretty much spent the rest of the reception running around, touching things he shouldn't, and trying to take sips of other people's drinks. At one point, he took a sip of someone's wine, just as Patrick and I dove in to try to stop him. (Please don't judge me). When all was said and done, he was sleeping before we hit the interstate. It had been a long day! He sure was a mischievous little ring bearer. Its a good thing he's so darn cute!

Advances in Spelling...Well, Maybe Not

You may remember a post a few months back about Peyton's spelling abilities.
P-E-Y-T-O-N
Whats that spell?
Tobi!
So, we've continued to practice, and I was starting to think that I had him convinced that not all words spell Tobi. This was progress.
Tonight, as we played with his letters in the bathtub, he started placing letters in an order and calling them out:
P-O-O-I-U-T
He looked at me, and as serious as could be said, "That spells rocket!"
Now, just so we're on the same page, even though he didn't get the exact spelling of rocket correct, I still think my kid is a genius. He was clearly on his way to spelling it correctly.