Pink Cashmere Cardigan

Payton Jane is 4 Months Old!

2009-11-14T10:02:00.005-05:00

Payton Jane is four months old today! What is Payton up to these days?

- You are still in size 2 diapers.
- You are starting to drool a lot which makes me think teeth might be just around the corner!
- You are learning to roll over! You have rolled twice but your arm gets stuck under you and that makes you mad!
- You love to lay down and kick your feet. You kick your feet very hard I can hear it downstairs when you are up in your crib.
- You love to sing! You babble and talk and sing very loudly. All day long.
- You are in such a good mood in the mornings. In fact you are ready to play at about 4 am everyday!
- You are easy to get to smile and you love it when we tickle you.
- You are starting to discover Elmo! You are riveted by Sesame Street!
- You are learning to hold onto toys in your hands and stick them in your mouth.
- You are eating about 5 oz of milk every few hours.
- You are still sleeping about 12 hours at night solid! From about 7 to 7.

Payton Jane you are my light and love. I love you with everything I have. Thank you for choosing us to be your parents.

My Old Baby Jacket

2009-11-12T13:38:00.008-05:00

When my Parents came down to visit when Payton was born my Mom brought this jacket with her. I have an amazing Mother by the way! I hope I can be as good a Mom to my kids as she was. Anyway this jacket was made for me when I was born by my Great Aunt. My Mom labeled it and kept it for 32 years! So this morning I put it on Payton while we ran our morning errands.

The label my Mom attached says "Amandas Jacket Made By Great Aunt Wanda Summers".

I think it's kinda stylish on Payton! She enjoyed chewing on the collar! Ha!

Of course we had to have a little goofyness this morning. Ryan wanted to take a picture of my new hair cut. I have a huge cheesy smile because it took him forever to take the picture so I felt like I was smiling a long time.

Rainy Wednesday

2009-11-11T20:29:00.003-05:00

It's been raining buckets here. It makes it hard to get out with two kids, so we hung in today. Seems we've been hanging at home a lot lately, but that's to change soon once the holidays hit! Below are the results of the Fall pictures I had taken of the kids at Ryan's preschool. I know it's not the best picture, but it gives you an idea. I really like them. For now they are just on my fireplace mantle til I can get the Hubs to hang the picture frames.

Payton has been enjoying her exersaucer lately. She seems strong enough to sit in it for a little while, but she doesn't really play with anything on it yet.

I also wanted to post a congratulations to Karrisa at and baby makes three!! She won my Bumbo Seat giveaway. I hope her little girl enjoys the seat.

Pure Genius!

2009-11-10T14:48:00.004-05:00

I ordered this off of Etsy for Payton. It's called a Minky Binky! I think it is pure genius! I had a minky blanket for Ryan when he was a baby, and we didn't go anywhere without it. This one has a binky attachment to it so you never lose your binky too! I have been using it for a few days and Payton loves it. She holds the minky up to her face and plays with the tags. Just thought I'd share because it's another one of those things I don't think I could live without! Ha!

Also, I got my hair cut today. It was pouring down rain today so of course it was all flat by the time I got home but here it is. Not the best picture (I think the rain melted my makeup off too!), but you get the idea. I think this is going to work out a lot better for me.

Mellow Weekend

2009-11-09T08:59:00.004-05:00

I hope that wherever you live, the weather you had was just as gorgeous as it was here this past weekend. It was so NICE outside! It was sunny and breezy and not cold but not hot at the same time. Perfect! What I did this weekend (well really for 3 days since hubby had Friday off of work) was sit in a lounge chair in my driveway, with Payton in the stroller beside me, and the neighborhood kids riding their bikes around me. I watched hubby paint the trim on our house and mow the lawn and fertilize. Yes, I just sat there and watched him! I wasn't alone, my neighbor sat with me and watched her kids play with mine. I can't believe we had that much time to sit there and just chat. I think the great weather had everyone in a good mood. Even Payton just cooed away in her stroller and didn't seem to mind spending a lot of time outside. The only time I left the house this weekend was to pick up some pizza on Saturday night and to go to church on Sunday morning. The rest of the time I was outside with my family. I even have a little sunburn on my face!

How was your weekend?

I couldn't resist posting these pictures. I love little tiny baby jeans.

To Cut Or Not To Cut

2009-11-06T10:13:00.005-05:00

Today I want to post about a very important topic....my hair! Ha! I usually wear my hair pretty short. It's just been easier. But it grew so long when I was pregnant. I had a chin length bob last Christmas and now it's past my shoulders. The thing is that my hair is falling out in clumps right now. It's really driving me crazy. I don't have time to dry it or mess with it. I just got 3 inches cut off, but I am still not happy with it. I really enjoy having long hair, but only if I have time to mess with it.

I want to ask you to vote. Do you think I should cut my hair back into my usual bob, or leave it long??? Please comment and let me know.

Me with short hair.
Me now. It was hard to find a good hair picture, sorry this is a little dark.

A Whole Lotta Nothing!

2009-11-05T09:10:00.003-05:00

I haven't been posting much this week. Mostly because there is not much going on here. I feel like I am coming down with a cold and soar throat so we have been hanging in. I am terrified to take Payton to the gym and put her in child watch because I am so afraid of her getting sick.

The weather hasn't been too cold in the afternoons so Ryan has been going out to play a lot. Other than that there's not much to report (we are so boring!). I have managed to get a good head start on my Christmas shopping though. Thank goodness for Internet shopping!

Fun With Pictures

2009-11-02T10:01:00.011-05:00

My Mom brought this fun program with her and let me play with it on her computer. It's called Magic Splash and you can take any picture and make it black and white with color. As you can see I had a lot of fun with it. I was able to pull up some really old pictures on her computer of Ryan when he was a baby.

This was me 3 years ago in my finest Martha Stewart moment! I had a Breakfast At Tiffany's dinner party for my besties 30th birthday. It took me 4 hours to make this cake.

Ryan's 1st birthday.

Was he ever this little???

Wild man with crazy hair!

His play area back then. It was our dining room. Now we actually have a dining room table in there!

Too cute!

Waiting in line for Ryan's first visit to Santa 3 years ago!

Halloween Fun

2009-11-01T14:41:00.011-05:00

Here are a few pictures from our Halloween day. Payton was feeling a little warm to me the night before and she fussed when we put her costume on, so I don't have any good pictures of her.

This is a pumpkin pancake in the shape of a black cat. We didn't mean for the cat to be so black! It got cooked a little too long.

Ryan was ready to go!

My Dad and Ryan. Ryan was trying to take the fake gun off of my dad's tshirt.

Trick or treating.

One of our neighbors had a neat setup for the kids. Here is some of the treats she made.

Ryan decorating a ghost cookie.

Yum!!

Goofing off with a long wig.

How was your Halloween?

Thursday and Friday

2009-10-30T20:45:00.009-04:00

On Thursday we met my good friend and her kids at Mimi's Cafe for breakfast. This is a picture of my Mom with the kids before we left.

Payton's bloomers.

Ryan looks thrilled about getting his picture taken with his Mom! This was at breakfast.

All the kids at Mimi's. They seemed to have a good time.

On Friday my hubby took the day off work and we had a date! With two kids and no family around us we don't get to do this very often. This is me before we left (I am still wearing some maternity clothes, this is a maternity skirt and sweater so they look a little big on me!).

We had Mexican for lunch and then saw the movie Couples Retreat. It was a fun day.

I'm looking forward to seeing every one's Halloween pictures this weekend!!

A Day At The Billy Graham Library

2009-10-30T20:34:00.004-04:00

On Wednesday, after dropping Ryan off at school, my parents and I went to the Billy Graham Library. We didn't really know what to expect when we got there. It turned out to be a sort of museum of the life of Billy Graham. It was very interesting and inspiring. It was a gorgeous fall day.

After we picked up Ryan from school we were starving so we headed to Ryans favorite restaurant. Firehouse Subs. He was still in his PJ's from having to wear them at school for Halloween. He was one cool dude.

Doing Better

2009-10-28T09:08:00.004-04:00

Ryan is feeling better and is back at school today. Instead of having the kids dress up in costumes for Halloween the school has a pancake lunch and everyone comes dressed in their pajamas.

This is a blurry picture I sneaked to take of Ryan yesterday. He is watching cartoons in his messy toyroom (eating popcorn). This picture makes me think he looks like a teenager laying around watching tv. He is so grown up!

My parents are here visiting for the next few days. I am looking forward to spending time with them and doing some fun family stuff. Have a good day!

Halloween Party, A New Toy and A Sick Boy

2009-10-26T11:55:00.010-04:00

Saturday night we went to our neighbors annual Halloween party. They are great people who love to have a good time! They have a full size commercial bar in their basement! We always have a great time with them and feel so lucky to live on such a fun street.

Payton dressed as a bumble bee, before we strolled down the party.

Ryan and Payton. Ryan was dressed as Optimus Prime (that's transformers for all you Mommies with girls who have no idea who Optimus Prime is!).

My very favorite Hostess Kerri. She and her hubby dressed as people from the 70's, they even did a little groovy dance for everyone. Please ignore the nasty bandage on my finger. I had cut my finger slicing a tomato. I wore opera length gloves to the party, but they didn't stay on long (too hard to eat with them on. ha!).

So many kids in our hood! This is only half of them, I couldn't get them all in the shot.

Ryan and his bestie. They dressed up as transformers together.

Hubby and I. Hubby dressed up as Superman, but it was super hot in the basement. Most costumes were coming off by the end of the night.

Enough of the party. Today on Monday I pulled out some of the toys Payton had got as gifts before she was born. She really took a liking to this little rabbit. She sat and chewed on him for a long time this morning. I think she has a new favorite friend!

Ryan woke up this morning with a low grade fever and lots of sniffles. So we are staying in today. I am so nervous about my kids getting sick this year. Especially with having a baby around.

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Bumbo Seat Giveaway!

2009-10-23T16:17:00.007-04:00

I have so many young Mom's who read this blog I thought it would be fun to do a Bumbo Seat giveaway! This seat is great and something I couldn't live without. I use mine to sit Payton up while I cook dinner. She sits on the counter and loves it because she can see me. Even if you don't have a small baby you probably know someone who does or someone who is pregnant. These seats make great gifts.

Also check out the great baby items on this website CSNBaby. They have everything from Nursery Furniture to baby gear. Their prices are very reasonable.

For one entry to the giveaway please leave a comment and let me know what color you would like. Also make sure I know how to get ahold of you. For two entries become a follower and leave a comment. Thank you and good luck!! The giveaway will be closed next Friday October 30th at Midnight.

I'm Exhausted!

2009-10-22T09:42:00.008-04:00

Yesterday was a crazy day! I had to get both kids and myself up and ready for pictures to be taken at 8:45 in the morning! This was the first time I had to be somewhere so early with two kids. We got to the preschool (they bring in a wonderful photographer for their preschool pictures) and then had to wait in line for 45 minutes! Payton lost it halfway through. I hope we at least got a few good pictures.

Here she is the night before, freshly bathed and ready for bed!

This was her when we got home from pictures. She was a mess! She is starting to drool a lot too, so I might be breaking out the bibs!

She was much better after a change of clothes and a short nap.

If you're wondering why I don't have as many pictures of Ryan anymore it's because he runs from me when I pull out the camera! I guess he's starting to realize what a Mamarattzi I am!

My Name Is Amanda And I Am Addicted To Coke!

2009-10-20T13:36:00.002-04:00

Well more specifically I am addicted to Diet Coke (not the white powdery stuff!). I have tried to go off it! I tried and I tried! I get so grumpy when I reach in my fridge and my diet coke box is empty! I know it's so bad for me (especially while breastfeeding!). But what can I say, we all have our vices right!

What's your addiction??

Fussy Weekend!

2009-10-19T15:38:00.007-04:00

We tried to do a few things this weekend, but it seemed every time we went out Payton decided to throw a fit. We went to our local high school football game on Friday night. Once the band started up Payton had enough. Plus it was so cold. She and I left early and the boys caught a ride home with a neighbor. We went to Chili's for dinner Saturday night and as soon as we sat down and ordered Payton through a full on fit! She was screaming and crying and I could not calm her down. She eventually fell asleep sitting up in Hubbies arms. So we decided not to risk another melt down and stayed home on Sunday.

Ryan got a little haircut today. His school pictures are on Wednesday. His preschool uses a really good photographer for their pictures. I am going to take Payton in and have their pictures taken together. I haven't had any professional pictures taken of either of them in awhile.

How was your weekend?

Payton before the football game.

Ryan at Chili's. He didn't mind Paytons screaming because he had this fabulous dessert!

Payton asleep in Hubbies arms. I didn't use a flash so the picture looks a little orange.

My little man getting his hair cut. I usually cut his hair myself but because he's getting his picture taken I thought it would be best to have a professional do it!

Rainy Day Fun

2009-10-15T17:56:00.002-04:00

What do you do on a cold, rainy, drizzly day? You have a photo shoot of course! Ryan was walking around the house taking pictures of random things and decided he wanted to take pictures of Payton and I. These are the ones that come out with us actually in the picture!

Paytons Room Revisited!

2009-10-15T09:17:00.003-04:00

I have some new readers (yay!) who wondered about Paytons nursery. I did a post on it when it was done and you can find the link below. We worked really hard on it so I am always proud to show it off!

http://pinkcashmerecardigan.blogspot.com/2009/06/miss-ps-baby-room-is-finished.html

Also a few people asked how we got her name. It's kind of a complicated story so I will give you the short version. I have always loved the name Peyton. I loved it since I saw a movie when I was younger with a character named Peyton in it. I said if I ever had a little girl that would be her name. But then Peyton Manning came on the scene in Indy (where I am from) and I was afraid people would think I was naming my baby after him, so I changed the spelling. The Jane comes from my hubbies and my grandmothers. They were both named Betty Jane (at least I thought they were and that's where the long part of the story comes in, but I won't bore you with that). So we went with Jane as a middle name. We've had this name picked out since we were pregnant with our son. I am very happy I got a chance to use it!

Also some people have asked about the bedding. It's from Pottery Barn Kids, but I got it on ebay at a great price!

Payton Jane is 3 Months Old!

2009-10-14T19:36:00.005-04:00

What is Payton up to these days?

She has discovered her hands and fingers and would rather suck on her fingers than anything.

She has discovered she can make noises and is making cooing and grunting noises all day long.

She is a super happy baby in the morning, so smiley and loves to play.

She is fussy from about 4 o'clock on and wants to be held and rocked or walked around the house.

She loves to sit in her bumbo and watch her big brother. She can't take her eyes off of him.

She is still not a big fan of her car seat but she is getting better.

She is in size 1 diapers.

She is sleeping about 12 hours a night. I don't know how or why, but she sleeps all night long. The girl loves her sleep!

She wiggles and kicks constantly. It's hard to get a good picture of her. We say she looks like a bug on it's back just flailing about!

Her favorite songs are I'm a little teapot, twinkle twinkle little star, Jesus loves me and anything by Kenny Chesney (that's my good southern girl!). She usually instantly calms down when I sing to her.

Mountain Weekend Getaway!

2009-10-13T14:56:00.033-04:00

We went to the Blue Ridge Mountains this weekend. If you are familiar with this area we went to Chimney Rock State Park (gorgeous!) and then onto Asheville NC where we stayed at the Grove Park Inn. It was a fun weekend. We really aren't the outdoorsy type, so this was an adventure for us! We hiked some trails and climbed some rocks.

Of course we had to stop and get a Pumpkin Spice Latte for the road!

Payton was chillin in the backseat. She did really well on the 2 hour ride.

The trees were gorgeous, the pictures do not do them justice! The weather was nice and a little chilly, perfect for a day in the park.

A really neat looking rocky river. The river feeds into Lake Lure which is where the movie Dirty Dancing was filmed. We drove past it but there wasn't a whole lot to see.

This is the rock we climbed (I am just kidding, we actually took an ELEVATOR to the top of this rock)! If you look closely the American flag in the middle of the picture is the top of Chimney Rock. There is an elevator that runs through the mountain to the top!

Waiting for the elevator.

At the top.

On top of the World!

This picture came out a little dark but it's a ledge out on the rock they call the Opera Box.

The top of Chimney Rock. Gorgeous!

My little mountain climber!

They call this Devils Head because it looks like the devils head just sitting on a ledge.

We went on a 1.5 mile hike to the bottom of the waterfall. It was breathtaking!

Like I said we aren't really the outdoorsy type! I had to carry Ryan on the hike back from the waterfall because he was over it. I am so glad I have been going to the gym because this was a workout!

All that hiking (and being carried!) wore my little man out!

Payton's bed at the Resort.

Family Picture at the Grove Park Inn.

Huge fireplaces in the lobby.

My babies in their Halloween Jammie's!

One rainy chilly morning we noticed they had a gas fireplace running beside the hot tub at the spa!

Unfortunately they were doing some work to the resort so there is a scaffolding around the building. If you ever get a chance to stay here then you MUST. It's on the side of the mountain and it's beautiful!

Waiting for breakfast. Ryan is insisting on holding Payton all the time.

Yummy breakfast!

It was rainy most of the time we were there but these winding mountain roads were still beautiful. It's like we were driving through a tunnel of colorful trees.

We had a great time!

Mountain Fog

Colorful Weekend Ahead

2009-10-09T07:39:00.005-04:00

We are packing up and moving out for a fun mountain weekend. Even though we are suppose to get some rain I still think we will have a lot of fun. Be back on Tuesday with lots of pictures!

Also, for those of you who might be wondering...I won the Bring It On Challenge my hubby and I had going together. I lost 10 pounds before he did! I weighed in yesterday morning. He still had 2 pounds to go. Even though I still have quite a few more baby pounds to lose I am just glad this gave me a good head start. And I was able to beat him!!! Have a great weekend!

Halloween Fun

2009-10-08T14:27:00.006-04:00

We were "booed" last night! We found a bucket full of treats on our doorstep. Does your neighborhood do this? Ours has been doing it for the past few years and it's a lot of fun. You're suppose to leave a Halloween treat and this sign on your neighbors porch (it's suppose to be anonymous, but we saw our neighbor running through our yard after our doorbell rang!). Then you hang the sign on your door, and boo someone else. You watch as more and more signs go up on people front doors.

I also got this dress in the mail yesterday! I ordered it a month ago from here. I just love it and I think the ladies did a great job sewing it. I am excited for Payton to wear it on our trip this weekend. I had a pumpkin put on the dress because I figured she could wear it for Halloween and Thanksgiving. So be prepared to see a lot of pictures of her in it!

You've Both Grown Since I've Been Gone!

2009-10-06T08:55:00.002-04:00

Hubby was out of town this past weekend. He just got back yesterday. It was one of those crazy weekends where we were very busy, but I could not tell you what we did. I think I was just in survival mode with two kids by myself. We did have a great time, and managed to get together with some friends on Saturday night. I did get out and got both kids Halloween costumes.

The neatest thing was when Hubby came home yesterday and saw both kids he said "You've both grown since I've been gone!" . It makes you realize how fast they grow, and how quickly they can change.

We are going out of town to the Mountains this weekend as a family. I am very excited for this trip. We never took a beach vacation this year because of having a new baby, so this will be a sort of mini vacation for us.

I Have Two Words For You - Pumpkin Pancakes!

2009-10-01T17:54:00.005-04:00

Hubby is going out of town for work this weekend, so we decided to go have a nice breakfast once we dropped Ryan at school. We went to my favorite place, Mimi's Cafe. If you don't have one of these in your town you are so missing out! Today was the first day of their seasonal pumpkin pancakes!! And let me tell you they are TDF!!!

Here is a picture of Payton just to bring a smile to her Mimi's face :)