Peyton- 9 Months

Peyton is 9 months old! It has flown by!

He is still such a happy, laid back little guy. He loves to be on the move and is constantly crawling at lightning speed after Patrick. Any toy that Patrick is playing with is the toy Peyton wants to get his hands on. He is also VERY persistent and does not quit until he gets his hands on what he wants. He doesn't fuss when you try and redirect him or move a toy out of his reach, but instead just works that much harder to get the toy.

He is still a really good eater and will pretty much eat anything you give him. He is also still a really messy eater. He really wants to feed himself and gets upset when he can't grab onto the spoon and try himself. He started trying table food this month and will eat it, but gags a little. He prefers to eat his baby food, but will eat any table food I give him. He isn't that fond of cheerios, which I was surprised about.

He still has 6 teeth, but I have a feeling a couple more are on the way soon. He likes to bite and bites my arm and shoulder a lot! For such a little guy it really hurts! I'm afraid we are going to have a biter on our hands!

He loves to tear apart play with Patrick's train table. Patrick gets really upset when Peyton rips the tracks off and throws them on the ground.

This tunnel is his favorite toy. He loves crawling into it and sitting in the middle and waiting for someone to play peek-a-boo with him. He can also play peek-a-boo himself. He loves to play right after bath time and lift the towel over his head and then pull it off and giggle. It is hysterical!

He also starting waving this month. He is still a little inconsistent with doing it, but looks precious when he does wave. He started saying dada this month. I don't think he knows what it means, but he constantly says it! I'm working on getting him to say mama, but he does not seem interested!

He is still not sleeping through the night yet and not really showing any signs of trying. Hopefully we can get this little guy to try and sleep through the night soon!

At his 9 month appointment, he weighed 21 pounds, 1 ounce (55%), was 29 1/4 inches tall (75%) and his head circumference was 18 1/4 inches (75%).

Peyton, you are such a fun little baby! I have loved watching you grow and learn! We had your first Christmas this month and it was so precious watching it through your eyes!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning finally came and both the boys slept in! Peyton woke up at about 7am and we patiently waited for big brother to wake up. When Patrick woke up, he immediately started yelling "Mom...come get me! I slept all night in my bed so Santa will bring me presents!!" Love it! 

It was time to see what Santa brought us!

Patrick immediately said "Oh a Jake boat!" when he saw his toys. He did not even see the gigantic blue car sitting behind it!  Notice his favorite two toys from the night before right next to him.  He insisted they sleep next to him and insisted the trucks come to see what Santa brought!

Peyton inspecting the Dusty tunnel. Peyton LOVES this toy! He thinks it is really funny to crawl inside and then wait for Patrick to come jumping in.

He was really excited to get into his blue car!

Pure joy! I love it! He was so excited to drive the car and immediately ran into the couch which he thought was really funny.

Notice Patrick is playing with his cars and Peyton goes immediately for the candy he dumped out of mom's stocking. Not only did Peyton eat a few M&M's, but he tried to eat hershey kisses whole (with the wrapper) and took a few bites of dog treats while we were helping Patrick. Got to watch out for my little food lover!

After seeing what Santa brought, we headed over to the Mulloy's for a yummy breakfast and to exchange gifts. Here is my little cutie for his first Christmas in front of the tree.

A few family pictures

Not the best picture of my little family, but at least we attempted!

Patrick and Harper playing with some of Harper's trains from Santa

Patrick loved his Tennessee jersey from Matt and Mark

We unwrapped more presents at Mulloy's.  The boys had such a fun time. Then it was time for the final present.... matching red corvette's for Harper and Patrick to ride at Nana and Grumps house! Patrick had a lot of fun riding in his car!

Peyton even tested it out!

Mark decided to test it out

Just like Grumps!

Sweet boys cuddling with daddy!

Cuddling with Grumps

Patrick's favorite event of the day was the bubble wrap race track that uncle Matthew and Mark set up for him. He ran through the hallway for an entire hour popping the bubble wrap. He had a blast! Sweet little Harper was a little nervous of it and patiently watched Patrick run back and forth.

Then we went home to take a much needed nap. I took a nap with this little cuddlebug!

Then we went to Big and Allie's to see what Santa brought to their house. My sweet little boys posed in front of their tree.

Ever since Christmas Patrick has been singing "Santa Claus is coming to town" non-stop. So I think it's safe to say he had a blast! It was such a fun Christmas! I loved sharing in the joy of Christmas with these two little boys! 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a challenging one this year for our big boy! He had a rough day and we could not figure out why! He slept all night and took a good nap, but for some reason cried a lot! It probably didn't help that both Michael and I have been swamped at work and did not get any time off to prepare for Christmas. We were both running around like crazy trying to get Christmas presents last minute this year. Patrick had moments where he was great and then moments when he was crying for an hour non-stop. It was one of our most challenging days with Patrick to-date. In between the rough spots, we did have some good moments on Christmas eve. 

We decorated cookies and Patrick loved it. He thought decorating cookies meant pouring an entire bottle of sprinkles on a cookie then eating icing with a spoon. ha!

Sweet little Peyton giggled from his chair

After nap we headed to church. We go to the children's mass at 4pm on Christmas Eve and it is always packed. We were running a little late this year and didn't get there until 3:20, which was too late for a seat. It worked out well though because we just sat on a pew outside the church and could still hear everything. Our two little rowdy boys would have had trouble sitting there for an hour and a half anyway. Although Patrick did great trying to listen this year at mass!

After church we headed to Big and Allies for Christmas eve dinner.  Doesn't Patrick look so big? I can't get over how tall he has gotten!

Family picture

Whitson Family picture

Patrick's favorite gift was a "digger" and a truck from Mary and Lester. He played with it all night and was perfectly satisfied not to open any other gifts!

Peyton opening his first gift. Peyton was such a little trooper!

A monkey from Allie

Little cutie is always smiling

After presents we headed home to put the boys to sleep so Santa could come. The boys were exhausted and it was well past their bedtime! 

Santa might have gone a little overboard with the toys this year! 

Patrick's side (the dusty tunnel and piano are for both boys) 

Peyton's side

Even though we had a few tough parenting moments, I had a fun Christmas eve with my boys. Hopefully in the future I can get a little more time off beforehand so it can be a little less stressful for everyone!