Turkey Day!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! We were blessed to have my parents come up for a few days :) Brandon and I prepared a wonderful Thanksgiving feast with all the fixings... turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, baked macaroni & cheese, green beans, sweet potato fluff, cranberry sauce, rolls, and pumpkin bread. It was very tasty and I'm pleased to say there were not too many leftovers. We are very thankful to have Brandon home this Thanksgiving... he was away last year for Officer Candidate School and next year he will be in Afghanistan... so this year was very special to us! I think even Peighton enjoyed Thanksgiving.. not so much the food.. she could careless but she was over the moon to have her Mimi and Papa at her house :)

On Friday, we braced the crowds of Black Friday and went shopping. It wasn't too terrible... we skipped all the big stores and went to the Outlet Mall which was fairly mild :/ I have to say I was a bit disappointed in the so called "sales." I didn't find any fabulous deals and felt like most of the sales will be the same ones the stores will advertise in the weeks ahead! I think Black Friday is mostly for big items and door busters... if you are willing to brave the lines at 5 am for 50% off a flat screen TV... then you will get a deal but if not you will get just as good of a deal again before Christmas if not a better deal! I think after a couple of hours of shopping, we walked away with some clothes and a toy for Peighton ... and that was about it! I am happy to say Brandon and I finished the most of our shopping for Peighton weeks ago.. and now I only have to worry about wrapping it all :)

All in all, it was a great holiday!! It was very nice to visit with my parents and have Brandon home for an entire four days! Now with only a few weeks to go till Christmas, I'm sure the time will fly! Looking forward to seeing everyone for Christmas :)

Peighton & Baby Update!

This has been the week for doctor's appointments! Peighton had to go to the doctor this morning for a health assessment for her preschool on post. I was actually excited to go.. we haven't been for a check up in over 9 months.. since her two year old check up. You get use to going to the doctor so often and tracking their height & weight when they are little then after two years... that's it.. only one check up a year. I was interested in seeing how big she had gotten :) Peighton weights about 31 pounds which is in the 75th percentile for her age group and is 36 inches tall.. right at 3 feet... which was between the 40th and 50th percentile. Needless to say, she is growing very well and healthy! She also had to get her thumb pricked in order to give them about a dozen drops of blood for them to check her blood. It turns out she is slightly anemic... the doctor said it was more than likely iron-deficiency anemia... and prescribed her a chewable multivitamin. Other than that, Peighton is a perfectly, healthy two and a half year old!! Yay :)

I also had a doctor's appointment for a routine OB check up. I am at 25 1/2 weeks. The baby is doing well... he is still measuring about two weeks ahead... so looks like another big baby for us! I will probably get another ultrasound closer to 36 weeks to see more acurately his weight and development. But as for now, the due date is still February 20th... so less than 15 weeks to go :) Unfortunately for me, I am also anemic and was put on an iron supplement to correct the issue. It seems odd that both Peighton and I are anemic.. maybe its hereditary?!? I also failed my one hour glucose test.. thus I have to take the 3 hour glucose test on Friday... if I have 2 or more abnormal sugar readings then I am considered to have gestational diabetes. Here's to hoping for good results on Friday :) Its a bit of a tedious test considering I have to fast prior to the test.. then I get my blood drawn before the test.. then I have to drink a concentrated glucose mixture... then get my blood taken every hour for the following three hours... geesh.. talk about feeling like a pin cushion :/ Luckily, Peighton will be going to Hourly Care on post while I sit at the Lab for 3+ hours... I think I will be bringing a good book to read! My doctor should let me know the results of the test by Tuesday.. so I will be sure to give updates next week.

Pictures from the Weekend :)

A Weekend in SC

We just spent this past weekend visiting our family and friends back "home." It was a short trip but filled with lots of great memories! One of original purposes for going home was for the Doggette family reunion which we haven't been able to attend in many years... let's just say Peighton has never been to one.. so well over 3 years. Another reason is we haven't been home since we left there back in August.. we still had quite a bit of stuff to get at my parent's house... and hadn't seen anyone since! The drive was long... it was nice on the way there to be able to break it up and stop about half way there... yes its only 9 hours of driving but it seems much longer with a preschooler in the backseat and a dog in your lap! We arrived in Summerville about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. It was too funny to see how Pete (our dog) interacted with my parent's dog Sophie... even Peighton took a few minutes to get use to being there! My mom was gracious enough to watch Peighton for us that night so Brandon and I could go out with some friends of ours. Even though I'm sure my mom enjoyed to one on one time with her favorite granddaughter :) Brandon and I went with Tim and Ashley to eat dinner at Magnolia's in downtown Charleston... it was so good.. the food was amazing.. I highly recommend it!!

On Saturday, our day was a bit more mellow... we went to lunch with my mom and did a bit of shopping :) That night was Halloween and we took Peighton trick or treating around my parent's neighborhood. She was too cute as a Butterfly Princess even though she really looked like a Fairy... but either way she was adorable and very girly!! All day she kept saying how excited she was and how she wanted to go trick or treating but when it was time she was bit hesitant of the idea. In the end, she had a good time. I think she enjoyed ringing the doorbell more than actually saying trick or treat.. in fact I'm not sure she actually said that too many times! She got a lot of candy... her whole bucket was full.. but it didn't phase her. I think Brandon and I have eaten the majority of it. Thankfully, she is not a big sweets fan.. only if its a sucker! My parent's friends/neighbors had a Halloween party that we went to after trick or treating. There was lots of good food and we all had a good time. By the end of the night, Peighton was exhausted and gave no fuss about going to bed!! Even I found myself falling asleep on the couch :)

Sunday we enjoyed wonderful weather and great company at the Doggette family reunion. It had been awhile since we'd seen everyone.. I couldn't believe how much all the kiddos have grown up and how many little ones there are now! The food was scrumptious as always :) Since it was held at the Palmetto Island County Park, we took full advantage of the playgrounds. Peighton enjoyed herself being able to ride her tricycle to and from the playgrounds! She had a lot of fun with Jena and Lana at the playground... I think she attached herself to Jena... it was just precious! Needless to say Peighton was fast asleep on the way home that day!! It was nice to be able to spend time with everyone... as it probably wont be next year's reunion before we see those faces again :) I think that's what makes a family great... that no matter how long its been... they're still your family!

All in all, it was a great weekend for us. We loved every second of it... it went by fast and there wasn't much down time but filled with lots of love :)

Peighton Update!!

Here are so recent pictures of Miss Peighton!! As you can see, she is getting SO big!! It amazes me how much she looks like a big girl... she is not my baby anymore :) I did cut her hair about a month or so ago to help get rid of some of that baby fine hair... and since it has gotten a lot thicker and its much easier to manage everyday! The first picture is at the house from the other day... she was painting... she discovered that at preschool and loves arts & crafts!! I think she painted like 5 pictures in one sitting that day :) The second picture is from the Ghouls of Glassmere which is a Halloween festival at the Nashville Zoo. We went there Friday night... we had a lot fun even though it was chilly that night... hence the jacket and hat! The zoo had about 20 trick or treat stations around the trail for the kids plus carnival games, a monster lab, a hayride, a carousel, and pumpkin painting. Peighton had a good time... I think she liked the idea of trick or treating :) The last two photos were taken one day before preschool... she loves going. It has been ideal for her... I am amazed at how much she has learned just in the few weeks of going there and how much she has come out of her shell especially around other kids. She isn't as timid or hesitate of playing with other kids as she use to be... especially new kids. For example when we go to the park by our house if there are other kids already playing, it doesn't seem to bother her and she goes and plays. Another thing I noticed is the way she talks... once you can get her talking... she is much more clear in what she is trying to tell you and she remembers everything!! Peighton has also learned to draw a face... which I think is so smart... she describes it to you while she draws it as well. She'll tell you that the face is a circle with two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth and hair. When I first saw her draw that, I was shocked because we didn't teach her that at home so I was happy to know she was paying attention and learning at school :)

Little Miss Peighton is also getting very protective of Pete (our dog)... she gets very jealous if someone comes up to pet Pete or play with him. We were at the park a couple of weeks ago.. a little girl wanted to pet Pete and Peighton was very standoffish ... she got sad... and kept saying that's my puppy. It was so cute :) I wonder if she will be that way with her baby brother?!? We have been working on potty training what seems like forever. This past week we finally broke progress and she actually went several times a day for almost a week... and even staying dry sometimes between potty breaks... Brandon & I were thrilled... and Peighton seemed like she was happy about the idea. She would even tell me when she needed to go. This week is another story... its like last week never even happened!! I have to make her sit on the potty and after a minute she's over it... so much for progress! I'm not giving in yet... going to keep at it as long as it takes... our goal is by her 3rd birthday so we still have a couple of months.. and if that fails she will be potty trained by kindergarten, right?!?

Great Long Weekend

One of the perks of ARMY life is the invention of the four day weekend... we were so happy that Brandon had Saturday thru Today off. It was such a nice break :) We had a good time just spending it as a family... these weekends are so precious and rare. On Sunday the weather was gorgeous... low 60's and sunny... we decided to take advantage of the day and headed downtown Clarksville to explore. Most of the shops were closed because it was Sunday but we did find a great restaurant to dine at for lunch... the Blackhorse Pub & Brewery... fantastic sandwiches! If you ever come visit, we will have to take yall there :) We also went to the Clarksville Museum & Customs House. Admission is free on Sundays which is a nice plus... and there was a train room with working model trains including Thomas the Tank Engine... Peighton loved that! There was also an exploratory area similar to a children's museum.. it had a bubble room, toddler area, kitchen area, grocery store with mini shopping carts and shelves lined with "groceries", and an area with puzzles & board games. Peighton really enjoyed it there... will have to return there this winter when the weather prohibits our outdoor time.

The model trains caught Brandon's attention and has become his new project... we've already been to Hobby Lobby twice over the weekend and to Home Depot. He made a table out of wood for his train set... soon enough we can have our own model train exhibit... haha. Peighton is fascinated by it... I guess she can be Brandon's little helper! My hobby over the weekend was to working on the nursery... its so cute... as soon as its finished I will post pictures... I'm very pleased with it :) Today was a nice day for Brandon and I... Peighton had school this afternoon... so we got to spend some time just us (no kiddos)... we stayed on post and had lunch... went to the 101st Museum on post and went to the library... it was just nice not to have Peighton to occupy and entertain... it reminded us of what life was like before kids!

All in all... we had a very long, relaxing but productive weekend! Sad to see it's over and tomorrow Brandon goes back to work but only 3 days till the next weekend :)

Baby Update

Well I had my 20 week ultrasound this afternoon...and its a BOY!! We were so relieved... I had an ultrasound at 12 weeks and it appeared to a boy... but I was thinking in the back of my head what if was too early to tell and what if its a girl. But the little guy was not shy and he is definitely a boy :) He is growing very well... he was very active during the whole session. Brandon got to be there and see the little guy! The technician was able to get a still of him sucking his thumb... too cute. We are thrilled! Cannot wait to meet him in February!!