Off We Go

We're heading to the lake this weekend with the Grahams! We've rented a camper to spend 4 days at Lake Texoma. I'm interested to see how this all pans out. I'm not really a "camper". Luckily, the one we're using sleeps 8 (more room to spread out), has AC (I despise being hot), a large shower, and a full kitchen. I'm even making sopapilla cheesecake in the little oven!!

Y'all have a wonderful long weekend! Pics to come from our adventure.

I Think It's a Don't!

Seriously??? This retails for $22... not wonder it was on baby steals!

Here's the description:

The Downtime Sleepy hat is perfect for on the go (flights, car trips, shopping, etc.) or at home. Its patented, fold-down sleep mask creates a dark, sleep-inducing environment for your baby. It blocks out light and visual stimulation to help your baby fall asleep and/or have uninterrupted, restful naps when it otherwise would be difficult to do so.

I know Payton would think I was crazy for putting this on her. And, the eyelashes really creep me out!

11 months old!

Only a few days late....

I can't believe this is the last one before she's a year old. I'm getting sad when I think about her birthday and how much she's changed in the last 11 months. I'm the luckiest momma on the planet to be able to call this amazing little girl my own.

Tulle-a-palooza

I'm in the process of making a tutu for Payton's 1 yr pictures. Elaine found a great place for inexpensive tulle, and we combined our orders to meet the minimum purchase. That meant 24 rolls of tulle to be unpacked by my little helper.... guess it's easier to get in the box.

Head Banger

For a while, we've heard Payton beating on the wall in her bedroom. We thought it was her hand or foot, but last week I snuck a peak on the monitor at just the right time and saw that it was her HEAD! Silly goose! I moved her crib away from all the walls, not even thinking about what was on the changing table. This is how I found her.... yep, half of a brand new pack of wipes basically wasted.

I Can See Clearly Now the Rain Is Gone

I was seeing 20/20 yesterday at my follow up appointment and they said things will continue to improve. On Friday after surgery, I took the doctor prescribed nap and when I woke up, the pain was gone and I was seeing great. I think I've slept more at 1 sitting the past 2 days, than I have the entire 11 (eek!) months Payton has been here. It's amazing and even though the ride home was terrible, I would recommend this to anyone!

Yall, Lane, my sister and my mom were amazing through this whole thing. Mom watched P Thursday night and during the surgery. Lane brought me home and got me into bed, then went and picked up Miss Priss. My sister came over to stay with me and watch P while Lane went to the Cowboys game (totally work related, I promise) on Friday night. I'm so blessed with an amazing family!

Gotta go get ready for church. The only sucko part of this whole thing is no eye makeup for 2 weeks!

I'm So Excited and I Just Can't Hide It!

are yall remembering the Saved by the Bell episode when Jessi was taking energy pills? ;)

Tomorrow morning I'm getting LASIK! I am ecstatic!! I have a terrible prescription (-6 and -5) and am thrilled to be free of contacts and my hated glasses.

Think good thoughts tomorrow morning that all goes well and I don't have any issues.

A Gazillion Thanks!

My wonderful, amazing friend, Jenn, blessed me today in a way you wouldn't believe... Well, I guess if you have friends like I do, you would believe it.

I was complaining about wanting/needing to get my hair cut. The lady that normally does it had a heart attack, and I've been trying to get into someone that someone I know trusts! It seemed like everyone I called only had openings that were in the middle of the day, during the week. Obviously, Lane can't come home to watch P at noon and there's no way in heck I'm taking her with me. Jenn called me this morning to say she called and her lady had an 11 o'clock and she was coming over with her 2 kids to watch Payton so I could get my hair cut. What an amazing friend! She has the biggest heart and is such an amazing wife, mom, friend, etc...

I love you doll and I will repay the favor whenever you need it!

Keep Away

Feeding Daddy

New Trick!

Payton has already learned how to take off her diaper. Thank goodness there hasn't been anything in it when she gets it off. She had a grand old time waving it around in celebration!

6 Things!

My friend, Carole, tagged me. Here are the six quirkiest things about me. (Carole, we are seriously the same person what with our OCD, Type A, make a mess when we wash our face selves... remember that;))

1. I am a planner, type A, first born all the way... almost to the point of obsession. Like Carole, I started planning Payton's first birthday party when she was probably still considered a newborn. I will "research" things for months ahead of time to make sure I leave no stone unturned. I like to think of it as being prepared for the unexpected. I'm OCD about cleaning. I'm the one that has people over at her house and will do the dishes before they leave. I can't stand having dirty dishes in my sink or "stuff" on my counters. I married someone that I think truly doesn't see the pile of crap he just left on the bar. I hate clutter and being unorganized. I think I'm doing exceptionally well by only picking up P's toys once a day (after she goes to bed) instead of following behind her like I'd normally do... I save that for Lane (picking up behind him)!

2. When I'm feeling sad, mad, stressed, tired, whatever... I love to sit on the side of the bathtub and listen to the water and soak my feet. I don't get hot and sweaty and it's incredibly centering. The water has to be running though. It's the combination of temperature and white noise that I LOVE. Now, when I'm bathing P, I stick my feet in the tub with her and can truly focus on having fun with her (she loves to play in the running water and hear it too). And surprisingly, our water bill isn't that bad, but maybe it's the norm for our house.

3. I won't eat meat off a bone. Yes, I know that at some point that hamburger came off a bone, but I can't stand the thought of chewing on the membrane between the bone and the meat (ribs especially). And forget chicken... yuck! The tendons and weird stuff, no thanks. And no, I don't take the meat off the bone and then eat it either.... you still have to deal with the above mentioned membranes or tendons.

4. I love to "pick" at things. Popping pimples, peeling sunburns, picking ears, whatever. It's totally satisfying to get the gook of someone else (that I know). I do the same thing to myself all day.

5. I don't tweeze my eyebrows. I either have my sister do them, get them waxed or now threaded. For some reason, it doesn't hurt at all when someone else does them, but when I try to do it, it kills me!

6. I have buyer's remorse all the time and return things all the time.... I'm a professional. My mom is always so amazed at how I return things with no questions asked. The secret is, you don't have to come up with a story... just tell them you want to return it.

I tag:
Jenni
Jenn
Mandy
Nancy
Sasha
Valinda

ETA: Mandy posted that one of her quirks was not being able to slowly read a book. I can't do it either. If it's a good book, I'll stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning just to finish it. I guess we're just voracious readers! I hope to pass the love of reading on to P! Nothing's better than a book, some hot tea and a few little cookies!

Future CEO

Payton wanted to tell y'all this:

gjerou4ytu94rgkrgjtdikos3posoklh,mkgreklwe'pd4io

$89 later...

and I'm not a prisoner in my house! Stupid battery needed to be replaced.

P in a box!

click, click, click

Ugh! What a night at the Chamblee house yesterday evening. I went to pick up Pei Wei for dinner, but stopped at Kirklands for a quick return. When I started my car, nothing except a horrible clicking noise. Ummm, my car is 2 years old... I don't think we're suppose to have problems just yet. I called Lane and was telling him what was going on and some super nice guy walked over and asked if I had jumper cables. He tried to jump it, but the only thing that happened was the clicking stopped... the car still wouldn't start. I thanked him profusely and called Lane again (I HATE being the damsel in distress!). P is in her big carseat now... in my car. Lane had to adjust and install the infant carrier and they were on their way. Apparently my jumper cables were crap...the ones Lane brought worked immediately. Thank goodness!! It's one thing to stay home on purpose, but there's something about not being able to go that gets me all stressed out.

Here's hoping it starts if/when P and I leave the house today.

Slumber Party!

Miss P is having a slumber party with Mims and Drum! Lane and I are in Austin for the highway letting...well, Lane is here for the highway letting and I tagged along for a mini-vacation. Last night Lane and I went to dinner at Truluck's with an old coworker turned customer and Payton went swimming!!

While Lane worked today, I went down to San Marcos and shopped a bit at the outlets. Tonight is dinner at Eddy V's and we leave tomorrow around lunch. It's so strange to not have P here with us. I miss that little stinker!!!

Nekkidness

Just wanted to let yall know Payton does have clothes! I promise!!

Looking at past posts, I realize she's either in her diaper or nekkid in the majority of them. For whatever reason, she seems to do all the cute stuff in the morning after I've taken off her jammies or at night after her bath. Since she eats dinner right before her bath, we usually just strip her down so I don't have to pretreat her clothes. And you say, "why don't you use a bib?", because Miss Priss likes to eat on her bib while she has food in her mouth so it defeats the purpose of said bib. And honestly, she prefers to not have clothes on! When she was a newborn, we could get her to stop fussing by undressing her and taking her diaper off. She's her mother's daughter all right. If you look at photos of me from birth to about 6, I'm rarely dressed.

Baby

Payton loves babies! It can be the baby in the mirror, a doll, a picture in a book, on tv, or in real life (I kept the nursery during church on Sunday and was having to physically remove her from the little ones. She wanted so badly to play and kiss on them). She's already so nurturing...kissing, cuddling, and talking to any baby she sees.

The baby P is holding was mine when I was little. I still remember asking Santa for a real baby doll.


*Update on the no no post from below... P is actually giving us kisses now! She's a little stingy with them, but I'll take what I can get.

Words and Walking

The list continues to grow...

We have:
Momma
Dada
dog
cat
meow
brother (what we call Scout)
teeth (YaYa will be so proud)
yum yum
uh oh
and a whole slew of babbles that only she knows what she's saying ;)

I don't think I ever posted about it, but P is totally walking. First steps at 9 1/2 months and walking walking at 10 months! She's so much like her over-achieving momma it's scary.

I Want to Do It Myself!

For the past few weeks, Payton is insistant on feeding herself... and not just with the baby spoon or fork... it has to be like the one Momma and Daddy use (if we're all at the table together).

Wipe Out

Miss Priss is currently fascinated with pulling wipes or kleenex out of their containers,

and then ripping them into little pieces...

Look at this cutie!!

I know I seem like the proud aunt... I guess I am! (Just wait till my sister has a baby)

We dropped by the Renfrow house last night and I held Mr. Grant for a little while. He's so precious and has tons of dark, straight hair. I can't remember Payton that tiny, but she was even smaller when she was released from the hospital!!