My Live Today

Well, since I haven't been blogging, I thought I'd show you what has been going on over here!

*Peyton has been loving the new show on PBS called The Cat in the Hat.
*I've been loving the new commercial for Sesame Street with Will I AM from the BEPeas singing "What I am". Still haven't found it on itunes....wonder if it only exists on tv???

*Peyton is running a low grade fever, I think due to his molars coming in up top, so we are staying home today, ALL day. That never happens around here! Yesterday was Mothers Day Out, Peyton napped at Dads while I went to the dr, took our last swim in Mom and Dad's pool be cause Dad INSISTs on covering up ON Labor Day....too bad we were in it on Monday and he had to wait, then I helped him cover it...can't believe i contributed to his craziness because it is still HOT enough to use the pool, then home at 5:30. After all that on one day, I'm glad I'm staying home today.

I have also been doing lots of sewing...... mainly appliques and monograms. I LOVE fall and it comes with lots of cute pumpkins, acorns, football colors, etc. I FINALLY sewed a shirt for Peyton, but it might be a little big. Poor Peyton, I have all of these projects for him/me but never get to them for others orders. Currently I have fabric to make a new owl pillow for his room, diaper/tote bag out of adorable fabric, and a Mickey Mouse blanket that I attempted to start last night, but he saw the fabric and confiscated it to bed with him. When I snuck in to get it out of his bed, he was on top of it.

So, I'm posting pics of my NEW imac thanks to Erich. It took some convincing for me to get it, but now that I have it I'm in love with it. Also, there is a picture of my sewing machine and table that Erich's dad built for me, a basket full of projects, a box of shirts waiting to be appliqued, and a picture of Peyton sitting on his Mickey material watching the cat in the hat, and of course, Grace doing what she does best....keeping a watch out for those pesky rats and squirrels that keep getting into the backyard. Thank goodness for our guard dog! hee,hee

Nevermind about the pictures....they'll have to come later when Erich gets home.....blogger won't upload them and I'm wondering if the mac saves them in a different format b/c this is the same problem I had with uploading images to change my blog look. So much for loving the imac!

Happy Friday to everyone!!!!

Badly in need of a makeover

I am in the process of sprucing up my blog. I have hit a block on the header since my computer says it is saved in an unreadable format. I hope to have it up and running and looking better soon! My computer assistant will help me when he is feeling better, so he says!

In the mean time here's Peyton doing one of his favorite things...building with blocks! This was Tidmouth Sheds with Mickey the Conductor!

Big Shoes to Fill

Peyton adores his Daddy! When Erich walks in the door, Peyton runs to him yelling, "Dada,Dada"! When he wakes up in the morning he asks, "Where'd Dada go?" Together they rough house, play horsey, dance to 80s music, cut the grass, play blocks, and build train tracks.

Sunday's sermon was a touching one for Father's Day. There was a video at the beginning of a little boy talking to his dad. He said that he was watching his father daily. Watching him talk, watching him react, watching him work, watching the way he treated the boys mother. There is no better parenting tool than the way you live your life.

Peyton is very blessed to have a Daddy like Erich. Erich adores him and misses Peyton when he is at work. He loves to play with him and snuggle with him. Erich treats me with such love and affection....actually, Peyton doesn't really even like us to hug, but we do anyway. :) I am so thankful that Peyton has a Dad and I have a husband as loving and caring as Erich. I have no doubts that if Peyton follows in his dad's footsteps, they will both leave big shoes to fill for the next generation of men!

Oh The Things Peyton Says

Here are a few conversations I've had with Peyton...or just cute things he's said lately.

While playing in a little playhouse, Peyton sees a spider. "Hello, spider. My name is Peyton. That's Mama (pointing to me) and Gracie (on the leash)." "Bye, bye spider, see ya later." I have to say I've never been introduced to a spider before now.hee,hee

I was doing dishes and Erich put Peyton over his shoulder to go take a bath. Peyton, "Help.....help, please....." You would have thought he was dying.

Outside playing...Peyton looks up into the clouds and says, "eyes, mama, eyes." I said," that is the sky not ice (what it sounded like to me). Erich came outside and Peyton said the same thing, but Erich looked up. He said, "Yes, Peyton that does look like eyes." There were perfect eyes and a mouth formed from clouds.

Erich took Peyton to dinner the other night and they saw a rainbow. When they went inside Peyton said, "bye,bye rainbow, see ya later."

My mom was going to bring Peyton home from her house and she told him to put on his shoes. He went to my dad and said, "Bubba, where's Peyton's shoes?" haa,haa

Erich took Peyton for a walk and they passed the phone wire box. Peyton asked him what is that dada. Erich told him it was phone wires. Peyton put his ear up to it and said, "hello,hello" like it was the phone. :)

Whenever my mom comes over in her Mustang, Peyton likes to take a ride. He says, "hop in, Mammy" which translates to take me for a ride in that babe madgnet you've got there. Grace always goes too.

My Little Man

My little man, Peyton, loves going to Mother's Day out on Tuesdays! I have finally gotten him to leave his Tito and pappy in the car in exchange for carrying his bookbag and snack himself. He hasn't seemed to notice my quick thinking on leaving it behind. I snapped these pictures because he looked so darn cute! One day I'll have these to compare to the first day of Kindergarten, then high school, and onto college. Those thoughts make me sad that he's growing up so fast, so for now I'll just cherish the days of pappy, Tito, and my little man!

He's Engaged

Meet Wibbi! She will be the new addition to our family on MAY 23rd. My dad introduced the two back in February after John got home from Kuwait. He hasn't looked back since. They are perfect for each other and she is perfect for our family. As a sister, I've always worried who my brother would bring home. What if she doesn't like us? What if she treats him bad? What if she never lets him come around us? With Wibbi, I don't have to worry about any of that. She is the sweetest, prettiest, most perfect girl for my little brother! And above anything else, she makes him happy! Welcome to the family, Wibbi!

While Mom's away....Peyton will destroy!

So, a lady had come to the door to pick up a monogram order, so I left Peyton in his room playing. After 10 minutes Peyton comes looking for me. After she left, I noticed a "foul" smell and new Peyton had pooped. So, as I took him into his room to change him, this is what I saw.


I tried to get mad, but it really was funny. When I made it into the room and noticed his closet doors opened, I laughed again....


After I grabbed my camera, I told Peyton to go sit with his books. He did without a pause and actually seemed quite proud of his "accomplishment".

Mr. Engineer

Peyton comes from a looong line of engineers. Opa Opa, Erich's grandfather is a mechanical engineer, Opa, Erich's dad is a mechanical engineer, Micheal, Erich's uncle is a mechanical, and Erich is an electrical engineer. And there is an equally non mechanical woman married to them all!

Peyton, like Erich, is very methodical in how he does things. He is particular, perfectionist, and very precise. Today, Opa came over to deliver a table he made for my sewing machine! He was in my room putting it together when in toddled Peyton. He immediately picked up a socket wrench and put it on a bolt and turned. I mean, very good hand/eye coordination, got it right on top of the bolt the first time kind of thing.


Erich's dad was amazed and kept trying to help Peyton, but he didn't really need any! Peyton was so serious and intent on helping screw in the bolts. I have to say that I think Peyton is going to be another in the long line of Holderer ENGINEERS!

Choo Choo

Peyton loves to line his toys up in a neat little line. I am not sure if he is making one long train or just likes things in order. I find blocks, tv changers, cars, you name it and he lines them up.


Yesterday I came across this in the floor of the living room. Peyton had gone out on the back porch so I snapped this shot.



Later on he came back inside and picked up Mickey Mouse and started playing with him. I guess he was the conductor. When he finished we played, "clean up' and all the little trucks and trains went into the dump truck bed and he wheels them around.

Dada's Hand

Mr. Albert has been cutting my family's hair as far back as I can remember. He cut my late grandfather's hair, my father, brother, mine when I was little, my uncles, Erich's after we met.....and now Peyton's hair. He has been in his same location for 45 years and his goal is to make it 50. It is a little hole in the wall place that any woman in their right mind would run from! When you called to make an apt. he always answers the phone very quickly with, "Skylinebabershop"....all one word. I can imagine that after answering the phone everyday for almost 50 years it begins to be garbled and quick.

We weren't sure how Peyton was going to do, so Erich had his hair cut first. Peyton just played in the floor not knowing he was next. Erich's dad has always cut Peyton's hair, so this is his first experience with a real barber shop. When it was his turn, Albert placed a board on top of the chair and I could tell by the look on Peyton's face that he wasn't so sure about this. I was taking pictures of the "event" so Erich stood next to him, holding his little fingers. He took his hand off Peyton's before the cutting began and within seconds, Peyton's little hand reached out for his Daddy's hand to comfort him.




From that point on, Peyton held on to Dada's fingers with one hand and his little toy in the other. He never cried or got upset. And...while sitting on the board he spotted the gum directly across from him, and immediately had to have a piece. I am sure he swallowed it whole since he has never had any before!He did not like the hair all over him, but with Dada's hand, Peyton made it through his first of many haircuts at "Skylinebarbershop"!

How does your garden grow?

Okay, once the warm weather, cool breezes, and sunshine hits every spring, I get the itch to plant flowers. Last year Erich and I grew our own zinnias from seeds. They were beautiful all summer long after we planted them in the front flower beds. This year we branched out with petunias and bacopa also. Some are sprouting very well, and some not so well. When you see the pictures, the black containers are full of little seedlings.


So, this weekend Erich, Peyton and I went to Lowes to stock up on all things colorful! We bought hot pinks, whites, purples, and yellows. I also bought coconut liners to create my own hanging planters. We added pine straw to the beds, trimmed bushes, fertilized and planted. Peyton has his own garden set and with my help with the water,he watered the same one over and over. So here are pics of our blooms on the back deck, my new ferns, and some plants I intend to add today.







We have had a little mama birdie singing to us every morning from the front porch. She has hatched several "batches" of little birdies already. Since I had the ladder out, I snuck and took some pics of her little nest, which is actually a dove nest left over from last year, and the new bird added her own nest on top.





On the way home today, the clouds were so puffy and white. Out of the front window there was a crescent moon shaped cloud. Peyton noticed it and said, "Look Mama, moon." I was amazed. Then I said,"Well, Peyton that is a cloud moon." As we turned into the neighborhood he said, "Bye bye cloud moon." Too precious!

Busy, Busy Bees

We have been busy little bees this April. With Katie and her girls here last week, Erich's parents here for the birthday, Peyton's 2nd birthday party, and Easter.....I have been exhausted. It has taken me several days to recuperate. I was talking to a girl today in Atlanta Bread Company about how quickly time flies. She has a 9 month old and was asking me how old Peyton was. I told her 2 and it felt like yesterday that he was a newborn. People tell you when you are pregnant to cherish the days because they fly by, and you can't really understand it at the time. But it is so true. I can't begin to tell you how much I have cherished these past two years with Peyton. I get to stay home with him, create underwater chalk worlds, pick flowers, push Peyton in a swing, take walks, blow bubbles, create train tracks out of blocks, sing silly songs like "see you later alligator", count everything, be amazed at the smile on Peyton's face as he sees his first real butterfly, read mounds of cute kids books, wipe tears, kiss boo boos, and the list goes on and on. This boy is so amazing at 2 and I am so happy to be his mommy!

Finding Tito

For those of you who know Peyton, you know he doesn't go ANYWHERE without Tito, his puppy blanket. Notice in the picture how Tito is wedged into Peyton's harness. Well, last Saturday we had the case of the missing Tito. We were at the Fairhope Arts and crafts festival along with thousands of other people out enjoying the spring weather. About an hour into the walk, after we had eaten lunch and were about to stroll Peyton to sleep I discovered that Tito was MISSING! Mom, Erich, and I split up to retrace our steps, ask vendors, check the lost and found...to no avail. I was in tears and Erich was sad. This was his little blankie that I was going to save forever and give to his first child. It was the nastalgia because we had an exact replica of Tito at home just in case this very thing ever happened.

We searched all day for Tito and Peyton never went to sleep. Mom bought him a little replacement, but it didn't quite have the same feel as a Tito tail that has been rubbed for two years has. At the end of the day I wanted to check one more store to see if someone had turned him in there. The lady said she hadn't seen it. I walked out so sad. I searched a couple of more minutes and went to find Erich. When I looked up, I saw Mom standing outside the same store holding Tito. I ran yelling with excitement. A lady had come looking for me because when I checked earlier the girl didn't know they had found Tito. Someone had thrown him over their fence near the dumpster...just like in The Velveteen Rabbit. Peyton then looked up, grabbed and yelled, "Tito", knocked all the bags out of the stroller seat, sat down, and closed his eyes. All he had been waiting on all day to sleep was his Tito!

NOW, we wedge Tito in wherever we go to avoid having to find Tito again!

Evidence of Peyton

I love that Peyton has started carrying his little cars all over the place. He lines them up like a train, runs them across the walls, leaves them on my scrapbook table....evidence that he was in there and I didn't even know it. He just brightens up my day so much. I also love that I can open up cabinets when he is asleep to find little evidences that he was probably trying to reach for a snack and in distraction put down his toys. Here are some pictures of my sweet guy....The one of him underneath the table he was hiding so Grace wouldn't get his cookie....I hated to tell him that was not going to stop her. :)

He also got his first coloring book at at birthday party we went to Sat. I started taking the crayons out one at a time for him to use. He pitched a fit, until I realized why. He wanted to use the crayons one at a time and put them back in the box each time. When he was done coloring, he gave me the box with EVERY crayon in it. I was amazed and now know what I must have been like as a child!

"Hep Pees"

Peyton inherited a little of my perfectionist tendencies....which is good and bad. He wants things done just so and if they don't work out right, he throws, yells and gets frustrated. Not a tantrum, just a disgusted, "I can't do it right!" type yell. So, a few weeks ago we were walking and he couldn't lift his lawnmower (yes, this summer he is for hire) over the curb and went to yelling. So, I taught him to calm down and say, "help, please" when he needed me. It took a few tries, but he caught on pretty quickly. I was so impressed that he had actually listened. Now, it is the cutest thing to hear him say, "hep, pees" all day. I help him get a ball from underneath the couch, open packages, get a snack. It really is the funniest thing.

On a side note, when I sew or can't figure out the computer, instead of throwing the phone or ripping seams or banging the mouse, like I've been known to do, I find myself yelling, "hep, pees!" :)

Olympic Runs in Snowshoe

In honor of the Olympics going on, I thought i would test out some of the events that we get to see on TV. Come to find out it is much harder than it looks. In years past we have had everything from ice, slush, and rain, but this year was PURE POWDER! It felt so good to fly down the mountain and feel the swish of the snow beneath my skis. I kept having to remind myself that I was not an olympic gold medal hopeful. Now, Katie, that is another story. Her event would be ski jumping. She has always been a fast skier and her form is perfect. She swore she wasn't going to jump this year, but with the conditions so nice i caught her jumping MANY times off of large hills. I decided to take her word for it instead of testing it myself. If I were able to compete in an Olympic event it would NOT be snowboarding. I tried my hand,I mean butt, at that when I was in high school. Lets just say with all my God given padding, I was still sore for days. I left that to John. He has been snowboarding since he was a kid and was pretty darn good at it. We taped him doing some jumps and he gets pretty good air and had some pretty bad falls too. The event I would do is the new event we watched last night called ski cross. You pretty much point the skis at the top and don't slow down till you get to the bottom. With so much powder this year it was easy to do. There was no tacking back and forth, just screaming, "Get out of my way" as I picked up speed going down. So for the next week I will be content to sit on my couch and watch the Olympics since last week I realized that winning the gold would be much harder than it looks!

Sharing a Birthday

Erich celebrated his 35th birthday on Wednesday. As I watched him "share" his birthday with Peyton, it struck me that you know you are a parent when you have a little helper blowing out your candles and opening your gifts and you ENCOURAGE it because it is just so darn cute. We had so much fun watching Peyton huff and puff on Erich's candles. It makes me anticipate how he is going to react in 2 months when it is his candles he gets to extinguish with a puckered mouth and gobs of slobbery breath. He loved it so much, that when we went to a friends house for dinner last night, he tried to blow out their fire in the fireplace. He has seen fires before, but until the candle incident, has never tried to blow them out. So, you can imagine our delight when Rob flipped the switch to start the fire, primitive huh?, and Peyton's eyes lit up as he ran towards it saying, "fireplace, fireplace" and blew and blew until he realized the fire wasn't going anywhere. We all got a good laugh out of it.

Among other happenings around here, Erich has himself a new personal trainer, don't let his pint sized self fool you, he's tough. He first makes Erich stretch and then runs him around the house until they both crash in exhaustion. The most strenuous exercise is called, "neigh, neigh" where Peyton is the 28 pound weight while Erich has to get on all fours and carry the neighing weight around the house on his back like a horse. It is quite the site and Erich gets all this for free, well relatively free, because his personal trainer does like to eat a lot, which costs us money.

Peyton has also started taking after me and having conversations on the phone. The only difference is people actually talk back when I am on the phone. It is so cute to hear him talk to himself and then say bye.

I hear him calling, "Mom, where are you," so I better go. It actually sounds like, "Mom, eh ah you" which is even better.

Doin' What I Love and Lovin What I Do

I just had the best heart pouring blog....and then the computer crashed it without saving....so here is round two, abbreviated version.

Today Peyton and I didn't go anywhere in the car. We usually have a rushed morning of getting to the gym by 8:30. I wasn't feeling well, so I skipped the gym routine. So, by 9:00 we were ready to do something. We got dressed and went outside for a walk. Peyton was in his push car and Grace was dragging us down the street on her leash. And I do mean dragging.

I knew halfway around the block Peyton would want to get out of his car to see the tractors. There is one house being built and they have the tractors in their yard still. Sure enough, out he climbs and runs all around the tractors. Meanwhile, Grace is all caught up in the wheels etc. with me holding the other end of the leash. Peyton played for a while, so I sat down on the curb. He came over and picked up some rocks that were being used as a makeshift construction driveway. He loved to pick them up, throw, them and laugh when they crumbled into little pieces. I told him, "Peyton, you are living every little boys dream....rocks and tractors." As I sat there with the warmth from the sun on my back, I thought about how thankful I was to be there at that moment. I get to live everyday with that sweet boy, holding him, playing with him, and loving him. I know life is short, and as my dad tells me all the time, "One day you are going to look up and he's driving or joining the Marines." I know those days will come, but for now I am so blessed to be able to stay home and spend my days with Peyton, doin' what I love and lovin' what I do.

Long Time No Blog

Well! We made it through the week from #@$@! With Peyton being sick and now me too, it has been a long week! Yesterday, Erich and I went through the house sterilizing everything. We cleaned beds, linens, floors, counters, boiled passys, the whole bit. After two doses of antibiotic and a cough syrup that knocked out Peyton, I think we are on our way to recovery. We missed several things this week due to our illnesses. We finally decided to join our church here, but had to miss the members class. Also, Erich and I were to help out at Hope Mobile, where churches give out food, healthcare, etc. to less fortunate. The one I am saddest about is our neighbors from PC were in Mobile and we were to eat brunch with them Sunday morning, but was at the Urgent Care instead. Peyton also missed his second Mother's Day Out...me too for that matter. Erich's mom did come over Wed. morning and Thursday I was able to run some errands. Being sick is no fun at all, I tell you!

In between sick days, we did manage to make it outside, which might be what spawned more sickness. Here are some pics of our nice "spring" winter day this week.

John came home from Kuwait last week and drove to Mobile this weekend to see us. You can tell from the pic. that Peyton doesn't feel good and really didn't want Uncle John holding him.

Also, to Peyton Scott.....I took this photo earlier in the week when Peyton ran from his diaper, so he's on board with tossing the Huggies....but he wants to go commando!

A Roaring Good Time

Peyton saw his lion costume sitting on the couch and immediately started roaring at it. So, I decided to try it on him and let Erich take some pics. I thought he would hate it, but soon forgot about the mane and paws and went with it. My mom came over and brought Annie her poodle. I had gotten the two dogs matching costumes at a discount store so they went as twin lady bugs. I was HILARIOUS to watch Grace run around and try to get her hat off! Peyton wasn't too sure of this trick or treat thing until he realized candy was being put into his bag. Also he realized he liked it when people weren't home because he could go up to their door and just take candy out of a bowl. He walked the entire block of the neighborhood with a sucker in his hand. By the end of the night he was knocking on doors and roaring at everyone who answered. To him, the louder he roared the more candy he got! It was too cute and I wish I had my video camera to capture it. The lady bugs were very well behaved and just glad to be included in the fun. Thankfully, Peyton has forgotten all about the bag of candy he roared so hard to get. :)