Summer Time Happiness

Peyton finished the school year by losing her first tooth during Super Kids Day and earned all E's (excellent).  Her reading score was so high, she actually finished Kindergarten reading at a level 16 which is what she will need to finish First Grade.  She had such a great time in kindergarten, she was sad for it to end, but has been having a great time in the younger summer program at St. Joseph's. 

It seems like almost every week there is something new she has figured out how to do.  She can reach her towel on the hooks of the bathroom door, put her hair in a pony tail, hula-hoop with 2 at a time and she is such an amazing big sister.  I am seeing what kind of a mom, I think she will be.

She is in to Shopkins and still loves to play board games.  This summer Nana and Papa bought her a new version of Monopoly and she is getting good.  Peyton is a little nervous about who she will get for her First Grade teacher, but I have assured her, she will more than likely have a great year no matter what.

Peyton brings us such joy and is quite the joke teller.  She has a heart of gold, is doing a good job displaying integrity by making good choices and is still rather dramatic with her facial expressions, which makes life so much fun.  She is starting gymnastics at Bart Connor and shocked us the 2nd day by being able to climb the rope to the top!

She has hit a growth spurt and is over 4ft. tall and is wearing a size 1 shoe.  She hasn't quite hit 50lbs yet, but she is close!

So Many Accomplishments!

 

Peyton's accomplishments just continue to amaze us.  A picture she drew was chosen out of her class of 22 to be displayed at the Norman All-City Art Show.  She is humble which makes what she is doing that much more impressive. 

 

April 29th, Peyton stood in front of all the students and teachers of Roosevelt as well as numerous parents to demostrate her knowledge of 9 colors in the Chinese language.  Her class meets with the Chinese teacher for 30 minutes once a month and she was the only kindergarten student (of 80+) that could recite all 9 colors in the language.  Later that day, Peyton's teacher emailed us to let us know she scored a 16 on the DRA reading assessment.  What makes this so impressive is that a score of 4 is what is required to pass kindergarten!  We look forward to attending Rendevous May 5th when Peyton gets a gold medal for reading 118 books from the end of August to April 17th.  She went above and beyond what was required for a gold medal in the Reading Olympics.  A large number of her books were also chapter books!

 

We love this girl and are so thankful to be blessed with her.  She will perform in her first Sooner Theatre Showcase the first weekend of May and she is looking forward to summer gymnastics at Bart Connors and attending her first vacation Bible school.

Where Has the Time Gone?

Our little Kindergartener continues to blow us away with her outlook on life, analytical ability and complete love of her brother!  Peyton started Gifted and Talented in january after the teacher returned from maternity leave.  She tested in the 99%!  She loves it and I receive email from her GT teacher talking about how much she loves having Peyton in class and what she brings to the learning environment.

Peyton has chosen to participate in the reading olympics at Roosevelt and so far has read 113 books since the end of August.  I should add that most of these are chapter books and not the ones typically given to kids her age.  Besides being a terrific reader she is showing signs of being able to do advanced math quickly in her head.  Even better is her continued love for learning and her creativity.

Peyton is such an amazing big sister.  Her brother is absolutely lost when she is not around!

Kindergarten At Last!

What an Amazing year with Peyton!

August 20, 2014

Peyton began "big kid" school at Roosevelt Elementary with her Teacher Mrs. Dykes.  Her best friend's name is Rowan and overall she has adapted nicely.  Peyton's teacher told us at our first conference that Peyton is a leader in the class and is well-ahead of schedule with her knowledge base.  She was tested for Gifted and Talented January 5th, 2015 and was thrilled she answered a few questions that for meant for 12 year olds (though she was disappointed she didn't answer any of the questions for 13 & 14 year olds).  Mrs. Brown, the G&T teacher sent us this email about Peyton,

 

"Peyton was such a joy to test and I was secretly hoping she'd qualify because I enjoyed her so much! Her responses were very impressive and her love of learning truly shines.  I am very much looking forward to working with her over the next three years."

 

 

Happy 4th Birthday Uncka Pluncka!!

For Peyton's 4th birthday we decided on a carnival in our backyard. Mother Nature decided we would have an abnormal weather day so it was over 90 degrees and 30 mile an hour winds. This did hamper our decorating, but we remained flexible and continued with what we could make work. Peyton had a wondrful time and we hope her friends did as well! The games included Duck Match, Spill the Milk, Bean Bag toss, Dart/Balloon toss (rubber-tipped darts of course), Cup Pong, and Carnival Tattoos by Aunt Jacque. The prizes seemed to be a big hit with the girls but boy were the horns loud! To top the day off everyone got balloon hats, bracelets and animals from John Pansze. He was wonderful and even entertained the guests while we cut cake.

Fall is in the air

It hard to believe it is half-way through October and our baby is almost 4 years old.  We have been having so much fun that the time has gotten away from me when it comes to updating the blog.

Peyton loves her school (though she would rather stay home with mommy - mommy would prefer this as well but we all know how that goes).  We have recently gone to a camp themed birthday party for twins at her school and will soon be hosting a carnival themed party in our backyard for Peyton.

Peyton still loves puzzles, singing, dancing, telling everyone the correct way to do things and of course playing outside.  She is extremely into taking pictures and as you can see from the slideshow I often find numerous pictures of her on my phone. 

We just got back from the Texas State Fair and a huge win by our OU Sooners!  Peyton once again loved the giant ferris wheel and all the fair had to offer.  She tried caramel popcorn for the first time and was a fan as well as the rainbow pop (popsicle) she finished in its entirety.

Peyton is involved once again in a Music and Math Connection program and has added Tumblebus to her activities.  One thing is for sure - if she puts her mind to it, she excels.  She loves her baby cousins Blakely and Alex and is learning how to behave with newborns.  When they aren't around, she occupies her love for babies by taking great care of her own baby doll.

Earlier this month we took family pictures on the campus on The University of Oklahoma since it plays such a large role in our lives.  Not only was it the first time we had taken family pictures outside but it was our first opportunity to take pictures with my brother and his family.

Peyton continues to challenge and amaze us.  She holds story time for us and even "reads" her books to herself when we are busy.  It is amazing to hear the stories she comes up with.  Last week one Dora book she read out loud was very dramatic in plot and even contained 5 words in Spanish!

Peyton still loves to sing and for the last month has been going to "big people church" as she likes to call it.  Her favorite song comes right after the offering and instead of belting out Alleluia, she passionately sings, "AlleUla!"  It is so cute and she gets so into singing that I don't have the heart to correct her pronunciation right now.

Since our neighborhood has a pool, we have been spending quite a few hours there.  Peyton is coming along in her comfort level in the big pool and her swimming skills.  She doesn't want to take formal lessons this summer so instead she is not allowed to get into the pool without her arm floaties, her flower ring floaty and of course mom or dad.  The progress she has made in a month is encouraging.  Her P.A. lives down the road form us so Peyton loves seeing Doctor Amanda outside of the office setting.  We also suspect Peyton has a crush on the pool guy that tests the water.

Peyton now has a pet.  She is the proud owner of "Rose" the fish.  She talks to her everyday and even tries to help me change her water twice a week.  We take turns feeding her and Rose is the perfect pet for us since she doesn't bother our allergies!

Spring Time Fun!

Spring in Oklahoma is one of my favorite things!  Plenty of sun and warm days make our days so much fun.  The last couple of months have been activity packed!  Peyton continues to excel in her Math and Music Connection class at Pumpkin Shell; she has taken an interest in writing and in a matter of a couple of weeks she is writing her name as well as roughly 10 other words without  us having to tell her how to spell them.  With our help she is asking and writing words like telescope and steeringwheel!  It is such a joy to watch her take an interest in a variety of learning milestones.  Her latest art interest is drawing pictures of her loved ones.  One thing is consistent.....everyone has a big smile when she draws them!

During Spring Break we visited the OKC zoo twice, the Sam Noble Art Museum and went as a family to see the Lorax.  Peyton's favorite part was the buttered popcorn!  With the help of Papa and Daddy we added a seat for Peyton to Mommy's bike and we love going for rides on the weekends or after work.  Our longest ride so far was over an hour and a half.  Peyton's school went to O'Connells for a special breakfast of Green Eggs and Ham on St. Patrick's Day.  Peyton and Daddy have been practicing golf together and we even pulled out the Wiggle-Worm once.

Easter was great as we had the opportunity for the first time to spend it with our extended family.  Peyton colored eggs more than once, went to a community egg hunt and on Easter collected nearly 100 all for herself!  Unfortunately, she came down with a stomach virus later that day but it didn't dampen the fun of the weekend.

Peyton loves playing card games and she is getting so good at playing that is she is beating us fair and square!  She also loves to play surgeon and prep us for surgery.  At her school they celebrated the Oklahoma Land run and she choose her OU dress for her pioneer clothing.  Her imagination is in full swing these days as well as her singing.  She puts such emotion into her singing that you can't help but want to join in and sing along with her.  Every night before we pray, we currently sing On Top of Spaghetti before going to sleep.  She also serenaded Grammy & Granddaddy with this song before our dinner at Othello's over Mother's Day weekend.  After our wonderful dinner she went to see the piano player and immediately begin to boogie to his music.  It was a priceless moment!

In April we bought a house in Norman.  We love our new house and look forward to getting fully settled.  Peyton is excited about the large play-set we now have and exclaimed, "we never have to go to the park again; I have my very own playground!"  Peyton is very sassy these days but also incredibly caring and loving.  Her hugs, snuggles and simply sitting close to her loved ones is such a blessing to us all.

Peyton's Specialty

February 2012

Christmas & Insight Bowl

Christmas

Someone Loves To Sing!

SOONER FOOTBALL

Peyton has been to every home football game this season and made te journey for OU-TX as well. For most of the season she has gone for 1/2 of the game. However, Peyton made it through the entire OU-A&M game (which included a nap in mommy's arm for an hour). After the game, she played football with her good pal Lorelai Walton at the tailgate.

Peyton knows all the cheers for the games and can be heard doing them almost anywhere including the grocery store. Her favorite things about the games are watching the OU drum major bend over backwards as he marches down the field pregame, the fireworks when OU scores and of course watching The Sooner Schooner ride across the field. She has charmed all the people sitting around us and got to meet Mr. Charlie Sarratt this past week. She looks forward to talking with the Chick Fil A cows at fan fest each week and loves to go around saying, "East More Chicken!"

These days Peyton loves puzzles, singing, counting, reading, watching Dora, Ruby & Max, and Little Bill. All of her teachers have sent us cards or emails telling us how smart Peyton is, praises her for being song leader, she is the only child that knows the words to the song, OKLAHOMA and her Math and Music Connection teacher told us how impressed she was with Peyton despite being the youngest in the program!

Peyton has been learning to pray for awhile now. Every night she prays what she is thankful for and she never ceases to amaze me. Earlier this week I decided to introduce her to the Lord's Prayer. Ever since then she wants to say it with us every night. Something tells me she will have it down-pat in the next few weeks.

Cutest Fairy Princess of 2011

After much thought and changing of her mind, Peyton decided to be a fairy princess for Halloween.  Of course it had to be pink since that is her favorite color.  She had a party at school where the Mad Scientist entertained, got to pass out candy at Nana and Papa's house (which she LOVED) and then went trick or treating with her friends Adi and Ella Camp.

The other highlight of this halloween was carving a pumpkin as a family.  Mommy carved the eyes and nose, Peyton drew the mouth and daddy finished us off by carving out the mouth Peyton had made.  It was a great time and Peyton loved lighting the candle in the pumpkin!

3RD BIRTHDAY

Peyton



Peyton had an amazing 3rd birthday. Grammy and Grandaddy came in and spent the night, we went to OU Homecoming and we couldn't have asked for better weather or company the day of her birthday party at TG Farms. Hay mazes, slides, horse swings, animals to pet, a hay ride and we even got to pick our very own pumpkins from the patch. Thank you to all the friends & family that celebrated with us!

On the Move

From Jersey to Oklahoma. So much has changed since our last blog entry. Peyton is now calling herself an "Oklahoma Gurl" instead of a "Joysey Gurl", she has finally adapted to her new school and despite the record breaking heat we are loving being back home! Before exiting the East Coast we visited the Natural History Museum, the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA, went to a Batman birthday party and got to spend Memorial Day weekend with our dearest Jersey friends, the Hibbards/Petersons. It was so hard to say goodbye to them as well as Pat, Lynn, Cassidy, Jody & Lorraine, Ms. Megan, The Learning Experience and of course Ana-Banana.


Once back to the heartland, it has been nonstop. We went to the circus, a family reunion, 2 field trips with school, had the Williams crew over for dinner and playing, celebrated Independence day with my mom's side of the family and are about to attend our 3rd birthday party in July alone! No wonder Peyton didn't understand where mommy's birthday party was and why we weren't going.

Peyton got her first bike helmet and is finally tall enough to be able to peddle her tricycle by herself. It was 109 the day we tried but the heat didn't stop her. She loves it and of course mommy and daddy are very proud of her!

HOT DOG DANCE

Milestones

2 1/2 years = Peyton is completely potty trained

April 29th, 2011 = Peyton graduates from her crib to a queen sized bed in the "pink princess room" and stays in bed all night.

May 4, 2011 = Peyton knows and can recognize 12 letters of the alphabet, can spell her name and can tell you which letters are missing from her name when she sees an "OPEN" sign in the window dry cleaners.

May 9th, 2011 = Peyton gets the green light from her ENT and gets to have water in her ears during bath time for the first time; she was estatic!