So back to the great moment - For Halloween we took Peyton to Pearl Street here in Boulder. Every shop (which is a lot!) was out handing out candy to kids and the whole Boulder community seemed to have a roll. Pearl Street is one of our favorite hang out spots and getting to play with it being family friendly and kid-focused was perfect. Matthew and I tested out Peyton's costume at our Ward party first and to support this test run, Matt and I dressed up as his Mouseketeers. I must say, we were awfully clever. Most parents loved the costumes, though I will admit a 4 yr old Darth Vader was not amused.
In November we had a bit of traveling. I went to Portland, OR and Billings, MT for work followed up with a quick turn over for our family trip to Indianapolis. We got to spend a lot of that time with Grandma and Grandpa Burger who hosted Thanksgiving dinner. It was Peyton's first meal that I hadn't prepared from organic, locally grown items and though I was nervous (I was paranoid his system would crash from preservatives... yes i'm THAT crazy) he was in bliss. He loved everything he got to eat from the potatoes and turkey to the rolls and mac'n'cheese.
On this trip we also took a couple of days to stay in downtown Indy and we were right off Monument Circle the night of the tree lighting ceremony. We got to play in the mall and then spent time with our best friends, the Peytons. We finally got to meet Berkley and it was so cute seeing Peyton play with Berk and McKinley. That night the parents got to play as we went to the Colts restaurant and then a Pacers game.
For Christmas, we drove out to Salt Lake City where we were able to spend time with both the Biehl's and the Munchmeyer's. In order to manage our double duty we decided to stay in downtown SLC and it was so fun! We started out with Christmas Eve at my mom's house. There was a bit of a snowstorm that day and a normally 25 min drive to and from my sisters house resulted in a two hour transit to pick up my niece and nephew for the day. My mom made a great meal and Peyton LOVED playing on the stairs at her house. Christmas day we went to Clinton (near Ogden) and visited Matt's sister, Laura's new home. They just moved down from Alaska and we're so happy to have them closer. Laura has three little boys and Peyton was mesmerized by his cousins. He enjoyed following them around. Between playing shadow and eating Laura's yummy treats it was great... but Grandma and Grandpa made it better. This was Peyton's first Christmas and he was SPOILED. Lots of toys and attention meant one very happy kid. The days after we spent in downtown SLC visiting some new and old hang out spots - City Creek was cool but we sure do love our Siegfried's - and even got to sneak a quick trip up to Logan. We took Peyton to our favorite toy store (formerly Magical Moon Toys), drove around the town telling him about how mommy and daddy met, spent a night in the ritziest room in the University Inn, and ate at our favorite restaurant- Callaways! In Salt Lake, Peyton got to meet up with his friend Boston and it was so cute seeing these two little guys interact. It was such a great trip but after about a week we all came down with colds and with the bad weather, we chose to leave early to recoup at home and avoid a storm. The bad part about this was we weren't able to see most of our friends and loved ones but hopefully, we'll get to make it up later this year ;)
January brought a new year and Peyton's first year mile marker. He turned one and to celebrate we drove down to Denver to the Children's Museum. He loves to crawl and see other kids in action. He got to have his first dessert (not fruit) at Elway's and they treated him like VIP. To prepare for the special event, Peyton got his first haircut and got to sit in a fire truck and play the XBOX during it. He just keeps growing. He talks and babbles A LOT and even uses his hands... probably gets that from me. Words he says are "Mama," "Dada," "Hot," "Cat," "Dog," "Bath," "Ball," and "Book." He loves bath time, his kitty cats, dancing and singing, playing with cars, and reading books. He recently read his first book to me and though it was upside down and a picture book - I smiled the biggest smile of my life through the whole story. I really do know what it means to have your heart melt.
This last month we got some family photos taken around CU's campus and in the mountains here in Boulder. Peyton is a stud and such a ham. He LOVES being the center of attention and getting his photo taken. So, of course, we try to do this as often as we can. His smile is contagious and not only do we love it, but I think it's rubbing off on the college students around us too.
We'll get these photos posted soon :)
We'll get these photos posted soon :)
