coffeyhouse: 11 months

Chris's family (his mom's side) takes a family vacation to VA beach every year at the end of July This year was the 29th trip- pretty amazing/impressive! It was so fun getting to introduce Peyton to the Goss side. She was in full-fledge separation anxiety/attached-to-mommy-mode so that made meeting a large group of 'strange' people a little tricky. She enjoyed looking at everyone from a distance. haha Poor thing. She also had her top teeth coming in, so that added to the fun. She traveled okay- refused to nap- this girl's gotta have her crib. So that was tiring and she was so busy, all over the place. But overall did great.

Enjoy a picture slideshow from our vacation!

Peyton and big cousin, Rebecca (just turned 8 on 8-22!)

Aunt Dana with the girl cousins (Rebecca, Caralynn (3 1/2) and P

Caralynn was all over her- so cute.

Pool time!

Trying to get everyone on the raft with Nessa- hilarious. Peyton didn't think so.

View from our house

reading with Nessa

Grandpa with 2 of his grand-girls

Peyton's first shrimp boil!

We took a trip mid week to go to Rocky Mount, VA to spend a couple nights with Chris's other grandparents, Nana and Granddad. So fun for them to get to meet her, too! All sorts of new people!

Chris's cousin, Katherine, and her husband, David, and their little boy, Jack (2 weeks younger than Peyton) came up for a night, too! Loved getting to visit with them and for the 2nd cousins to meet. They were pretty cute.

Katherine and I and our babies :)

checking out their town's creamery- amazing!

probably the best picture ever

Peyton and her Great-Grandma Joan

Attempted cousin photo shoot- Peyton was having none of it. Ohhhh memories...

Aunt Laura, Caralynn, and P

**please appreciate these pictures- they were almost impossible to get. and I thought the 10 month pics were hard..... no. **

ELEVEN MONTHS OLD!!!!

Age: 11 months, 48 weeks

Height: not sure- stay tuned!

Weight: see above- I'm guessing 18 lbs

Milestones:

Bottom two teeth in! Started coming in on Father's Day- no fussiness with this, just lots of lovely poopy diapers. :)
Going from tummy to sitting and vice versa
Pulling up on everything, including her crib- which was immediately DROPPED :)
Still "creeping"- or creepy crawling :) Dragging herself everywhere- didn't get her upper body strength from her mama, that's for sure..!
Loves to say "doi doi doi" and "dugga dugga dugga!" (we've decided she's bilingual in an Indian language..) Continuing to say mama, dada, baba, and "doh" for dog
Finally entered the stranger danger period- been a big mama's girl lately, Tried leaving her twice a church and was called to get her both times, poor thing. We'll get there!

I do love coming into this now that she can stand :)

Sleep:

Still sleeps from 8 p.m. to 7/7:30 a.m.
Dropped her third nap of the day! Mixed emotions on that one! This was her 4/4:30 nap- was a quick 45 minute one but was perfect timing for mama to get dinner ready.
Due to the above, moved her second nap of the day to 1:30/2- so now naps at 9 am and 1:30/2
Still prefers her crib to nap but will nap on long car rides and in her pack and play anywhere

Eating:

The girl eats. EVERYTHING. Mass quantities.
Great eater- loves pretty much everything. Prefers carbs (of course) and meats first- then will make her way to the fruits and veggies.
Turns into the hulk during mealtime- working on our manners. :) Gets very impatient and wants your hand (that's cutting her food) OUT OF THE WAY.
Exhibit A below shows that we are getting very creative during mealtime with the placement of our food... first pic is the blackbean show. AKA Oscar the Grouch...
Does great eating out at restaurants- such a good girl and I'm always so proud of her. Always pack her her own meal or else mama gets NOTHING... :)

Not even sure what she ate this night- but was a meal that we took her straight to the bathtub.

peanut butter makes the hair stand up...

These are a few of her Favorite Things:

have had pool dates here and there that she's enjoyed- been SO hot it's been hard to get outside
trying to still do our daily morning walks- but again with the heat has been hit and miss
LOVES toys and LOVES to play. This girl will play with toys by herself for easily 30-45 minutes without stopping.
bathtime is still a favorite
loves Scout- grabbing his ears, collar, anything she can hang onto- he is a tolerant boy and we do appreciate him for that
talking- the girl can TALK.
laughing- seems to think many things are all the sudden funny- making up for lost time in the beginning when everything was SO serious...!
Loves to play the 'up/down' game-holding her hands, she stands up and sits down.. over and over and over...!
Enjoys putting things in your mouth (and hers!) Also enjoys putting Scout's bone in his mouth.
Books! Loves to turn the pages and shows aversion to some books over others- definitely has her favorites. Also recently discovered the bookshelf and loves to get allllll the books out!

These are a few of her Not-So-Favorite-Things:

Depends on her mood but sunscreen going on her face.... not good.
Slow service at dinnertime- don't make the girl wait...
Being left- wants to be able to see you
Strangers- keep your distance. All's well until you touch the girl then she verbally issues her own Amber Alert..
Currently the church nursery is not a happy place

Best of Times:

Things just get more and more fun around here! She is a blast. She is so funny and keeps us laughing. Looks like daddy, acts like mommy... interpret that as you will. :)
She does so well out in public- stores, restaurants, etc. Sounds silly but I always tell her in the car after we've been somewhere how proud I am of how she behaved. She just does great and makes her mama proud.
Peyton has never been a big cuddler so you can imagine my surprise when I was done reading to her on the 4th of July and she laid her head on my shoulder and started sucking her thumb. I soaked up every minute and now it's a nightly ritual- such a special time for mama. We cuddle for a few minutes then I put her down, still awake. Has become my favorite time of the day!
Went to Junction City to visit my best friend from college, Lindsay, and her 1 year old, Max- we had a blast even though I got very lost on the way there... and ended up in Manhattan once I actually got on the right path. Finally made it and we had a great time with her mom for a Mexican lunch followed by just visiting and letting our little ones play.

Worst of Times:

Probably the carsickness on the way to the Ozarks, poor thing. There was nowhere to pull over... windy one lane roads with cars in front and behind us. Crying child, I'm grossed out but feeling horrible for her- you can imagine this scene. Hoping this was a one and done. :)
We had a tornado warning in the area a couple weeks ago and it was a little scary for my taste. Chris wasn't home from work yet so I loaded up some toys and a blanket and we headed for the basement (power was out, the whole deal). Grabbed this glowstick given to her by a friend and it proved to be quality entertainment! (thanks, Liz) :)

Other Coffey House Updates:

Chris and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary by heading down to dinner at the Nelson Atkins art museum and out for coffee on the plaza afterwards. Always appreciate Grammy and Granddad watching her- never have to worry- although a certain someone who will go unnamed may or may not check in on our 'nanny cam'... ;)

Heading to VA Beach with Vanessa's (Chris's mom) family for the week- will also drive to Rocky Mount to visit Chris's grandparents. Looking forward to time with the fam and just hoping travel goes well- always provokes a little anxiety. :/

Mentally preparing to have a one year old- where has the time gone, seriously. :( Such a big girl

And some pictures for the road...