What the last week has been comprised of....

Double Pink Eye. Looks really bad, but it didn't bother him a single bit. Got some drops and he was all better within hours. Had to miss school today so he didn't spread it around.

Baby Girl has cradle cap. It's like baby dandruff. Olive Oil and brushing it out seems to be working so far.

Bike rides. Peyton loves riding in the trailer.

Potty Training!!! Hallelujah!!!! We started Monday afternoon and he hasn't worn diapers (except to nap and bed) since. We've definitely mastered going pee-pee. He's telling us when he has to go, too. It's the 'other' that poses a problem. He'll get it. You only get one chance a day with that one so it's a little bit slower process. His motivating prize is a sleepover at Uncle Ronnie's house. I've promised him everything under the sun and no dice. But a sleepover at Uncle Ronnie's house has him totally excited. So cute. We're so proud of him!!

I give birth to kids who don't fall asleep in strange places very often. Hunter has NEVER fallen asleep eating or on the floor because he was just too tired. Other than her bed, Peyton will fall asleep in the sling or in the car, but rarely anywhere else on her own. Last evening about dinner time I was in my bedroom on the computer, Hunter was watching a TV show, and Peyton was playing under her play mat in the living room. I realized it had gotten quiet and I didn't hear her batting at toys anymore. She was asleep!

FIVE Months!

My baby girl is already 5 months. Where does the time go? She was a teeny thing just yesterday. She's starting to be so much fun. I love the 6-8 months age, especially.

She holds her head up great now. I can carry her on my hip with one arm, love that! She's chewing on everything and drooling some. She likes the paci, but isn't dependent on it. She occasionally sucks her thumb. She's discovered her feet and loves to hold them. She loves the bath. She's getting a little better in the car, but I can't say she loves it. She rolls from her tummy to back and is pretty close to going from back to tummy. She swings both feet up and over, but it just doesn't quite happen yet. She's very smiley and does some laughing, but we still haven't truly found that belly laugh that I know is in there. She'll let anyone hold her. Her eyes are blue like Hunter's have always been. Her hair hasn't seemed to change much. She's lost some, but it continues to stay pretty dark. She loves her brother and thinks he's pretty funny. She's still exclusively breast fed and I hope to continue that to a year. We'll start some solids in the next month. I think baby food is one of my least favorite stages so we're starting as late as possible. She's been healthy so far (knock on wood!). We've even managed to get on some sort of semi-predictable schedule. With a little sleep training we said goodbye to the cat naps. She now naps 2-3 times a day. She's up by 8am and in bed around 8pm. Not quite sleeping through the night yet. She's normally up once which doesn't really bother me because she eats and goes right back to sleep.

Hunter Heath Powell H-U-N-T-E-R

She's found her feet!

Peyton's First 'Trick'

A Man and His Tools

Heath went to Home Depot last weekend for a few little things and came home with THIS. He's been wanting a professional grade table saw for a long time, but just couldn't spend that kind of money on one. He browses the tools on his frequent trips to Home Depot and this happened to be his lucky day. This table saw retails for $599, but they had one left on clearance trying to get rid of their stock to make room for the new model. He got it for $299 instead and sold his old table saw to a co-worker the next day. It's hard to pass up a deal like that, especially since tools never go on sale.

Getting this saw has reignited the wood worker in him. He's been living in the garage (with his little helper close by most of the time) getting it organized and set up the way he wants. And he's been working on two projects that have been just sitting there.

The first project was refinishing 2 bar stool chairs. We got these 2 chairs when a bar closed for $20 each. They're solid wood and very sturdy. But they were very well loved and needed some attention. Heath sanded them down and painted them black.

They look brand new now and are a fabulous addition to our kitchen! They're the perfect height for Hunter to sit up to the counter, too.



The other project probably won't be ready to share for a week or two, but I'm SUPER excited about it since it's for me so that I can better organize my craft area. Stay tuned!

Many faces of Peyton

I know I take a lot more pictures of Peyton these days than I do of Hunter, but this is the time that they change SO much that you feel like you have to document everything. My point is proven by the thousands of pictures I have of Hunter over his 3 years of life. I will be sure to do the same for Peyton. The second child doesn't always seem to get the same treatment, but I promise to put the same effort into documenting her life through pictures as I did and continue to do for Hunter. Now, getting baby books done is a different story. I promise to have their first year of life scrapbooked by the time the they graduate high school. Ha!

She's chewing on everything!

We've entered the 'everything goes in the mouth' phase. You'd think she was cutting teeth, but nope. It's just developmental, I guess. Lots of drooling going on, too. I guess I better pull out the bibs.

It's all about Daddy these days

Hunter is constantly adding 'like Daddy' onto his sentences lately. I hear things like "I'm growing big like Daddy" and "I'm strong like Daddy" several times a day. He loves to be out in the garage with Daddy and helping as much as he's allowed. Daddy loves that he's so interested and hopes it continues.

I walked out into the garage tonight and this is what I saw. I immediately turned around to go get the camera. Too cute!

Always gotta have ear and eye protection!

Look at the joy on Hunter's face!

And this is another thing he does like Daddy. Daddy sits exactly like this when he's watching TV.

Siblings

I know these two won't always enjoy each other so much, but Hunter really enjoys 'playing' with Peyton right now. He gets tickled when she smiles at him, bat her hands at him, or 'talks' to him. At times he's not as gentle as he should be, but you can only expect so much from a 3 year old. He's done extremely well with this transition and I'm so thankful for that.

My Mom, The Quilter

I get my craftiness from my mom. She's an amazing seamstress and can create just about anything I dream up in my head. She's made FIVE bedding sets for my house (2 for the master, one for the guest, and then each of the kid's bedding). It's so awesome to have one of a kind stuff in my house!

My mom is also quite a quilter. In years past she's typically made throw quilts which aren't all that big. She's made one for both Hunter and Peyton. But in the last couple years she's made some BIG quilts.

This first one is a queen size that she made for my sister, Dixie.

This one is an oversized twin that she made for my sister, Margie.

A Date with Hunter

When we were in Jacksonville over Christmas I took Hunter to the playground and then lunch at Pizza Hut while my mom stayed with Peyton. Hunter and I don't get much one-on-one time these days so it was nice to have all my attention on him for a change. I was able to take some pictures, too, of course!

My goodness, he looks so grown up here!

Fleece pants make for fast sliding!

My Favorite Christmas Present

I received this very special gift in the mail from my dear friend, Lisa. I gasped when I opened it. I have been dreaming of a necklace like this with the kids' names on it. And I LOVE the tiny little foot prints, too. I have two other similar necklaces that I love. This one came from The Vintage Pearl.

Peyton - 4 months & 14 lbs

We got the exersaucer and the jumperoo out this week. Peyton can hold her head up pretty good now so she's enjoying these two contraptions. And they're nice hands free blocks of time for me :o)

I can't keep up with my favorite pictures! She's just so darn cute!

Even if she's a little bald in the back :o)

She's found her tongue and can blow bubbles

Hunter loves her as much as he ever has. And she thinks he's pretty fun, too.