A Visit With Santa...

The week before Christmas TJ and I took Peyton to see Santa.. Like I said before, Peyton has a HUGE obsession with Santa.

She was jumping up and down and dancing in the garage before we left.

Waiting in line she could hardly contain her excitement. 

"There he is!!" She kept asking if it was her turn.... Patience is not her strong suit. 

She snuggled up with him as soon as she got in his lap. I think she could have sat like that all day if I let her.

It's a little blurry, but this is the photo that they took for us. Peyton was giving Santa a big hug... I think she just knows that the more love she gives him the more presents he'll bring :)

I'm a College Graduate!!!

On December 18th, 2010 I became a college graduate. I can't believe it's been a month already. Peyton had a great time at the party (We didn't even go to the ceremony... I just bought the Cap and Gown to take pictures with!) 

I wish my sister could have been there. Then this picture would have been a complete family photo! :)

We danced the night away... 

And Peyton was the only person to try the cake...

Although, she never actually ate a piece... She just snuck frosting all night! 

Getting Ready for Christmas!

About 3 weeks late... But Peyton LOVED getting ready for Christmas this year. I wasn't sure how she would be, because last year she absolutely loved Santa, I was worried she would be afraid of him this year. But that wasn't it at all. If possible, she loves him even more. 

She found this Santa in a chair when she was out somewhere with Nana and insisted on getting it... She also insisted on taking pictures with him. I think that she thought this was the real Santa. 

She started giving TJ's big hugs for the pictures :)

I was helping her put "Santa in a Book" on the tree. It was always my absolute favorite ornament.. I would cry if I wasn't allowed to put it on. I'm now passing down the tradition to Peyton :)

Marbles Museum

Last month TJ and I took Peyton to Marbles Kids Museum. We had free passes from the package deal we bought when we saw Harry Potter in the IMAX, so we didn't have to pay... I'm not a huge fan of Marbles, I think there isn't enough "stuff" for how expensive it is.. But Peyton loves it, so when we have a chance to go for free, we always take her. The older she gets, the more she seems to enjoy it. I think she "gets" it more. 

She played in this area forever. Dancing with the pom poms and pushing all the buttons to make music... We pretty much had to drag her out of the place!

She started doing this and then said "oh! I need my goggles!" and ran to get goggles to play. It was adorable :) 

She played with a life size chess set.... Like Ron did in Harry Potter ;)

Is she winking? She kept sticking her hand into the ranch and just eating handfuls of it plain.

At the end of lunch she pointed to this picture and said "Look! It's me!"

Snow Day 2010!

At the beginning of December we took Peyton to see Tangled at the movie theater. She loved it (And so did I, if I say so myself). When we walked out of the theater we walked right into a winter wonderland. Snow was everywhere, and Peyton was so excited. We decided to take a few pictures for our Christmas card (Which if you haven't received one, don't worry... It's coming!) 

(Christmas Card Picture 1)

(Christmas Card Photo 2)

(Christmas Card Photo 3) 

Chicago Trip!

For Thanksgiving this year we headed up to the midwest for a good 'ol family gathering. We had a great time!

She loves flying... She's two years old and has flown at least half a dozen times. That's what happens when you know so many people that live so far away!

It was much colder up there than we're used to down here (actually... I guess recent weather has been very similar to the midwest!) so we had to get a hat and mittens set.. She loved it, but the mittens didn't fit her quite as well as I would have hoped :)

She loved playing the "Pinano" ... I'm surprised she didn't ask Santa for one, she played this one all week! Regi was a great sport and put up with her constant banging on the keys... 

Auntie Tiff stopped by for a quick visit! It was WAY too short.. but it was great to see her!!

Peyton barely ate any of her Thanksgiving dinner... But she ate plenty of the dessert!

Before going on vacation I got Peyton a shirt that said "I'm as cute as my Aunt". All week she referred to Kristi and Adam as "Aunt Kristi and Aunt Adam" ... So here she is, looking as cute as her two Aunts :)

I love this one :) We can't wait for Aunt Kristi and Aunt Adam to move to North Carolina so we can hang out with them ALL the time :) 

This was on the last day. Shortly after this picture it was time to go. When I told Peyton she had to stop swinging with Aunt Kristi she started crying and said "I want to stay in Chicago FOREVERRRR"

Aunt Kathy, Uncle Kurt, Aly, and Will got Peyton a couple of stuffed animals. On the plane she was showing us what faces the animals make...  I think she had a great trip! :) 

Christmas Parade

So the weekend before Thanksgiving we took Peyton over to the Christmas Parade in Raleigh. We were running really late (thanks a lot TJ) and I was really annoyed, because there were a TON of people there... but luckily I have eagle eyes, and we were able to cut through the crowd and get great seats!! Santa waved RIGHT to Peyton.. she was so excited and talked about it for at least a week straight.

This was on the way there. I think it's pretty funny... Peyton looks like she's saying "Hang loose"... TJ just looks like he thinks he's cool....

As you can tell, Peyton was really excited

We were trying to get Peyton to smile in the background... But she was just interested in eating her fingers.

Unfortunately my camera died shortly after this. I got a lot of cool pics of some of the floats.... But I didn't get a picture of Santa, which is what I really wanted :(. Peyton kept saying "Look! I have baby Santa on my Shirt!" She apparently thinks that is "baby" Santa... She wants him to come to her school so she can hold him. Even when Santa's float went by she was yelling to him about the baby Santa on her shirt. 

I think this will be a new tradition... I had never been to an actual Christmas parade, and I was pretty impressed with this one... And Peyton clearly loved it. Maybe next year we'll make it to the one in New York City....