3 Months and a New Year:Memoirs from Mommy

Dearest Peyton,

It's me, Mommy - I'm commandeering your blog for this one post.

New Year's Day is on Thursday, and with 2009 we will be ringing in your three month birthday along with the new year. You will be exactly 13 weeks and one day old - incredible.

The past three months have been glorious. I honestly can not find words that capture the beauty, humor, love and amazement you have brought to your Daddy and I since you arrived. The days since your birthday have taken on a new intensity, and every second with you is precious. You are such a gift to us, Peyton...you have granted us a new perspective on life, and life with you in it, sweetheart, is joyful beyond our wildest dreams. Thank you for being our little angel, for being you, and for choosing us as parents. You are incredibly loved, without judgement, condition or hesitation, and that's how it will always be.

Now that you are three months old, you:

• are getting so strong! You hold your head up all by yourself, and turn this way + that to look in whatever direction you want. You do 'baby-ups' - little push ups with your arms during tummy time. You can even roll over, with a little help! And you try to push your legs into a standing position when you are held over a lap or the floor.
  
• smile big, goofy, toothless grins with your whole face - they light up the room, and your Daddy and I would pay a fortune or move heaven and earth to win one from you (lucky us, you give them away for free, and with reckless abandon!). Also, you just started laughing little gasp-y, quack-like laughs when you are pleased - sooooo cute.
  
• LOVE bath time, true to your 'Peyton Fish' ways. You splish-splash with your legs and coo like crazy over the sensation of warm water being poured on you. You get rinsed off in the shower, and you are the only baby I have ever known to adore a shower!
  
• take it aalllllllll in, you are VERY observant. You notice, watch, and show a preference for people and toys. You even have favorite books that you love to 'read'.
  
• are are true conversationalist, and each day will have have several long and involved 'discussions' with Mommy and Daddy, and whoever else will engage the social side of you - especially Gramma Brackenridge and Aunt Amy!
  
• make Mommy's heart melt in the morning when we wake up together and you stretch, stretch, STRETTTTCCCHHH your way into each day with a big, beautiful grin. You usually have a lot to say, I think you are telling me about your dreams.
  
• are Daddy's 'tiny dancer'. The two of you spend endless hours spinning around our house, you cuddled up in his arms, rocking to the rythmns of Bob Marley, Jack Johnson, Counting Crows, and Steve Miller Band. I have never seen Daddy so happy, ever, as when you are his dance partner.

Peyton, we love you so very much. We savor each and every moment of your delicious, buttery baby-ness, and at the same time we can't wait to see where the next three months land us. Here are some recent photos of you: (to you blog followers - don't worry, Peyton's 1st Christmas pictures are coming soon!)

Quit the mumbo-jumbo...bring on THE BUMBO!

Hooray - the day is finally here that I can sit in my Bumbo chair! For those of you unfamiliar with a Bumbo, it is a baby chair made of soft, rubbery plastic foam that helps me sit up, even though I'm months away from sitting up in a regular chair by myself. I couldn't sit in my Bumbo until my neck muscles were stong enough to really hold my head up, but I am getting stronger every day and my parents thought it was time.

My Bumbo chair was one of my Mom's favorite baby shower gifts from the people she works with, and she has been waiting since way before I was born to sit me in it. As previously mentioned, that day has arrived! Oh, annnddddddd....I look FABULOUS in it, to boot!

Mom and Dad think the Bumbo is awesome and hilarious at once - actually, they have both confided to me that they wish they had adult size Bumbo chairs for themselves. Sorry, suckers - this Bumbo is for babies only!

From the desk of PQB

I bet that some of you are wondering how, exactly, I update this blog. Granted, it's hard to believe that a baby only 10 weeks old like myself is laptop proficient, but haven't you seen that e-trade baby on TV making stock trades online? It's a little known fact that babies are quite computer literate! Anyway, I could keep explaining all day long, but as we both know a picture is worth a thousand words, so here ya go, in your face, skeptics.

On to other topics. This weekend I got to hang out with 2 of my best baby friends, Addison + Denali. Mom, Dad + I went over to Denali's house and we had a mini-reunion with 2 of the couples Mom + Dad met in their birthing class. Boy did we have a good time! I love catching up with my baby friends (plus they are awfully cute), and my folks really like to get out + be social with the other parents. And, Denali's Mommy, Katie, made a yummy lasagna and Addison's Mommy, Jill, made delicious toffee....SOOO good! This photo shows the other Dads (Kailas + Scott) with my baby buddies.

Well that's enough outta me for now - my fingers are getting tired from all this typing!

PS - Here are a few more photos of me from just this morning. I know all of you blog followers are just dying to pinch these hefty cheeks, so my Mom snapped a shot of a big cheek pinch, especially for all of you :)

Work it, work it -you're beau-tee-ful, dahhhling!

Go ahead and add 'supermodel' to the list of my future career options - turns out I'm a natural in front of the camera! This morning, my folks + I went to the photography studio of Melissa Brott to get some professional pictures of me while I'm still a little peanut. Also we wanted to get some family shots of the three of us that aren't 'whoever has the longest arm' photos (usually it's Dad, + he holds the camera out with his long arm & attempts to capture the three of us, usually resulting in a nice photo of our chests or foreheads). Melissa's studio was AMAZING and the photo shoot was fun. I really hammed it up for the camera, and Melissa knew just what to do to get me to smile. She'll be sending us a disc of all of our photographs, but for now, here's a little teaser:

Trimming the tree + sounding the holiday trumpets

What a FUN weekend I had - I mean it, it was filled with new experiences + it was a blast! First, on Friday night Mom + Dad took a HUGE step as new parents. They went to Mom's company's Christmas party + dropped me off at our neighbors, the Oggs, who watched me until they got home. I had such a good time, I spit up on 3 outfits while they were out. Mom + Dad missed me a lot but I was so busy making messes and playing with Kevin, Hillary & Elliot Ogg that I barely even noticed they were gone. Man, we have good neighbors.

Then on Saturday, we went out and bought a tree, and put it INSIDE THE HOUSE! I think my parents have really lost it, because in all of my 9 weeks I have NEVER seen trees inside the house, only outside. Elliot, Kevin + Hillary came over and we put lights and ornaments all over it. Even though the 'tree inside the house' idea seems a little crazy to me, I must admit it looks beautiful + I loved decorating it.

Last night, we topped our weekend off by going to church - it was my very first time, but Mom is also a novice so we both considered ourselves guests. We went to see Elliot get baptized. The weather was terrible + even though the church was only about a mile away, Mom freaked out about the roads the whole way there. We made it though, and I was so well behaved throughout the entire service. I especially loved all the music, and Elliot's baptism ceremony was beautiful! I got a little gassy during one of the passages about the return of Jesus, though - the lady who was preaching said "And the trumpets will SOUND!" and right on cue - I sounded my own trumpet, right out of my butt. Mom + Dad were a little embarassed, but I thought it was hilarious. Hey, if you can't chuckle about church, can you realy claim a sense of humor? I think not.

Terrible Towel

You know how at football games, fans swing those towels around over their heads to show their team loyalty? My mom + dad told me those towels are called 'terrible towels', and well - I just had to get me some of that! After my bath I decided it was time for my very own terrible towel. I grabbed onto the wash cloth that mom was drying me off with, and held it tight, swung it around a couple times, and waved it over my head for good measure. In case your wondering what team I'm cheering for...isn't it obvious? Team MOM AND DAD!

Hands Vs. Turkey

Great news... I have a hand!

and, and, AND - get this - it is delicious.

With everyone raving about turkey and thanksgiving, I don't think anyone bothered to give their hand a good suck. It's really too bad - everyone is missing out big time. I think I might have to add this to my top 5 list of things I am thankful for.

My grandpa Bowers arrived from Florida yesterday and I just love to show off for him. For instance, right now his jaw is on the floor while he watches me type away for this blog entry. I must admit, it is a rather impressive skill I posess. My new favorite thing is shoving my hand in my mouth when I am hungry. Dad got a good video of me showing it off to grandpa. I thought I'd share it with all of you too. I must warn you though, prepare to be blown away:

Grammy, another Grampa, and my turkey day top 5

I have to be honest - yesterday was kind of a bummer, because Grammy Bowers went home after spending a glorious long weekend here paying lots of attention to me. We did a lot together - we went grocery shopping, we danced together, and Grammy gave me lots of great big hugs. I thought for sure she'd be there on the couch when Mom brought be downstairs in the morning, but nope - she had headed back to Fredonia. Boo :( At least we have lots of pictures so I can remember the good times we had together! Here's one of my favorites to the right. And it sounds like we might see Grammy again soon - Holly, too, so that's something to look forward to.

So, like I said before, I was a feeling a little out of sorts, UNTIL Mom told me that - now get this - I still have ANOTHER Grampa to meet! Grampa Bowers! And (here's the kicker), he's flying out from Florida to meet me, and (this is the best part), he'll be here TOMORROW!!! WOO HOO! I can't believe it. Dad also told me about eating a turkey and cranberries and stuffing tomorrow, but whatever, I can't eat that stuff yet AND I can't get past this whole bit on having ANOTHER GRAMPA. I am so psyched.

I just can't wait for tomorrow. I've heard that on Thanksgiving, people give thanks for stuff - so I've been thinking, and here's my top 5 list of what I'm thankful for:

1 - Milk
2 - Mom (for giving me milk) and Dad (for giving me a bottle of milk each night)
3 - Binky (for being a decent milk substitute)
4 - The game "Peyton Fish" (for making me hungry for milk)
5 - Grammas, Grampas, + family and friends I haven't met yet (who knows, maybe they have milk)

What'd ya expect, I'm only 8 weeks old. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Laughtown, USA

Ok, so I'm having fun sharing my videos of all the games I've learned to play with Mommy & Daddy. This one is called Laughtown, USA. I've got the whole smiling thing down, but I'm still learning the ropes when it comes to laughing. Mommy and Daddy are helping me out a bit here. Daddy told a funny joke before this video that was apparently "too old" for me. Whatever. I'll be the judge of that... just as soon as I figure out what all these four letter words mean.

Oh yeah, Mommy & Daddy posted new pics & you can see them all here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Brackenstoked/PeytonQuinn57Weeks#

Virus, schmirus.

That's right folks, you heard it here first. I got my first round of immunizations today! Three shots in all, and while they made me cry like....well, like a baby - I recovered pretty quickly and lived to tell you about it. My parents were just as upset as I was by the shots. I mean, really who can stand to see a cutie like me get poked with a needle??? But we all feel better now that the drama is done, and it's way cool that those viruses can bring it on and I can now dish it back. In the photo to the right you can see me getting the second of three injections while Daddy frantically tries to shove my binky back in my mouth. Good times.

Before all the commotion with the vaccines, at today's visit I got to hang out with my favorite pediatrician of all time, Dr. Brad (see the pic of him + I, below). He is loads of fun - Mommy + Daddy seem to like him a lot, too. I got measured, and weighed, and I am OFF THE CHARTS according to Dr. Brad! I now weigh 10 pounds 9 ounces, which is less than what Mommy guessed, but still it bumps me up from the 25th percentile for my weight (where I was last visit) to the 50th percentile! Dr. Brad said he looks for a gain of half an ounce a day in babies my age, and over the past 30 days I've gained 43 ounces! That's over an ounce a day. And that's not all - I'm getting tall, too! I've grown another inch - bringing me up (yet again) from the 25th to the 50th percentile at 21 inches long.

Go me! And really, go Mom!

I'm a chilly bean

It snowed yesterday! Wow! Only a dusting, really, but hey - first snow is first snow. Daddy is happier about the white stuff than Mommy, but even Mommy was excited because it was one of my 'firsts'. The snow made the air so dry, I got all static electric and my hair stood on end! What a sensation!

In other news...it's been chilly here (obviously, see the above paragraph on snow). Mom has this obsessive compuslive thing going on about keeping me warm enough, but then as soon as she gets me bundled she worries that I'm TOO warm. It makes for a lot of dressing + undressing throughout the day. Combine that with my new favorite trick - blowing poop out of my diaper and all over my outfits - and you get a baby who rocks several different fashions throughout the day. Hey, what can I say - I like to keep up with all of the trends. Here I am 'between' outfits, in just a blanket. I like to call this 'the cozy look'.

Oh, and get this! I'm getting SO big, and SO strong! Tomorrow I go to my 7 week pediatrician appointment and we'll find out excatly HOW big I am. Mommy is betting somewhere between 11 + 12 pounds. Care to make a wager??? And my strength - I can hold my head up (although it's still a little wobbly) and I can do baby push ups on my activity mat. Pretty soon, I'll be able to wow the boy babies with my super strength...I mean, who could resist these good looks AND these guns?!?! Not Mom + Dad, that's for sure!

Dr. Jennie

On Friday I got to get re-acquainted with the very first person I ever met in this world - no, not Mom or Dad, but Mom's OB-GYN! It was great to meet up with Dr. Jennie again at Mom's 6-week post-partum check-up. It was much cooler seeing her this time - as I recall, the last time we chilled together I had just had a giant vacuum stuck to my head, and had spent the bettter part of the past 2 hours manuvering Mom's pelvis (NOT such a good time, if I remember correctly). So Friday was much more pleasant for a multitude of reasons, namely there weren't any suction devices involved, I got to sleep through almost all of it, and all Dr. Jennie wanted to do this time was cuddle me and call me cute. Yeah, not such a bad gig. And oh, by the way - Mom checked out fine and has been deemed 'fully recovered'...and here's a special moment caught on film between me and Dr. Jennie. Awwwww.

Peyton Fish

After I turned 6 weeks old, daddy gave me such a great treat. We played my favorite game that I like to call "Peyton Fish". It all started a few weeks ago when I made a very fishy face at mommy & daddy and you know how they get... Now they let me wiggle around the house face down while I pretend to be a curious fish - a Peyton Fish! Anyway, I just love to pretend that I am underwater and am swimming around the house. It really calms me down and for some reason always makes mommy and daddy laugh hysterically. Lately, its even made me smile quite a bit! Here daddy & I are playing Peyton Fish:

Let's go BINKY! I mean, let's go BUFFALO!

As of last night, it's been a whole week since our friend Coco the cat passed away. Mom, Dad + I went to the vet's office on Friday afternoon and picked up Coco's ashes. Strange as it sounds, we all feel a little better having her remains home again. We really miss our little kitty - I loved her so much even though I only knew her for 5 weeks.

Yesterday Dad + I watched the Bills get creamed by the Pats. Bummer - I did my best to root for them, but they still lost. Here I am showing my team spirit (although a true Bills fan would be holding a labatts, probably).

I was just so fussy about the Bills losing I couldn't settle down, even after eating for hours (sorry, Mommy) so Mommy + Daddy finally broke down + gave me the binky I so desired. I didn't see what the big deal was but my crazy parents thought it was the cutest thing how I would move the binky around in my mouth. They are a little wacky. Here they have, of course, commemorated it. Gotta love 'em.

Gal Smiley

Lots of the parent books my Mom + Dad read say that my smiles might not be REAL smiles, they might just be me having gas. Okay, I'll admit that I'm a pretty gassy lady - no secrets here, when I get going you can hear me fart 3 floors away - but lately, I've started grinning at Mom + Dad in a different way (WITHOUT farting, thank you very much) and they are convinced that my gummy smiles are the real thing. What do you guys think?

Fresh air, new pals, missing Gramma + milky nights

Mommy says the nice weather we've been having is 'unseasonable', whatever that means, but for me it means we get to for long walks down Church St. - woo hoo! I love my outside time (actually - I can't keep my eyes open during it, as soon as I get a whiff of fresh air I pass out in a coma-like sleep) but my parents still like to think I enjoy our walks.

After today's walk, my new pals Sara + Hillary came over to meet me. They are super rad! Sara brought me 2 beautiful books I can't wait to read, and both Hillary + Sara held me which was great. It's sometimes nice to take a break from Mom's or Dad's arms. I was very sad to learn that Sara is actually leaving Burlington for good this weekend - she is headed out of the country, to Costa Rica and Italy. Woah! Maybe next time she sees me she will share all her stories of international adventures.

Tonight was fun, but I must admit I'm a little sad because Gramma Bowers and Holly were supossed to be on their way out to visit me tonight, but Gramma came down with a nasty cold and had to call the trip off. Mommy is really bummed, she sooooo badly wanted me to see Gramma again and to meet Holly. Mom even called my pediatrician to see if there was some way Gramma could visit without putting me at risk of catching her cold, but nope...apparently my immune system is too immature until I'm about 8 weeks old, and I could even get a respitory infection - yikes! So, thanks Gramma for being honest about your cold. The three of us really miss you though + hope you guys can visit soon.

OK well I'm off to eat / poop / sleep. Oh did I mention that nighttime is the COOLEST now? I mean, nights were cool before when me + Mommy got up to eat a lot, but now they are wayyyy cooler because Daddy has started giving me a bottle of Mom's milk for my 3AM feeding! Mom + Dad were worried that the bottle might cause me some nipple confusion, but nope, not an issue with this gal. I take the bottle like a champ, and I still take the boob like a champ, too. Plus, I get to spend some quality time with Daddy, and Mommy gets some extra sleep (and BELIEVE me, we are all happier when Mommy is rested!). Now, let's just hope that tonight I don't barf up the entire 4.5 ounces right after my bottle like I did last night. Wish me luck!

Jam the Vote

Mommy, daddy & I just got back from rocking the vote and boy was I in a good mood. I just couldn't stop moving and shaking after they finally changed that diaper I was swimming in. It gave me a chance to wave hello to everyone. I hope you like it!

My daddy gives you all a tour of my butt-kicking nursery.

I'm Heeeeeeeere

Hi all.... I'm just checking to see if I've gotten the hang of this whole internet thing. I'll be posting more as my skills get tuned.