Opening the Polar Express

Have you ever witnessed a 4-year old opening a new train on Christmas morning? Here's what it might look like...

Christmas 2009

Christmas was so much fun this year. Payton was at the perfect age for all of the magic and wonder that surrounds the holiday. Yet he showed us on so many occasions that he truly understood what Christmas was all about.

We were so blessed to be surrounded by both sets of grandparents and extended family on Christmas morning. It made the day so special for all of us. Joining in the mayhem of present-opening madness was Stacy's parents, Brian's parents, Brian's brother, his Grandfather, his Uncle Tom, and his Great Aunt Shirley, plus their dog, the three of us, Rohy a partridge and a pear tree! :)

Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve (Brian reading Payton "The Night Before Christmas" & Payton sprinkling reindeer food on the front lawn) and then Christmas day. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too! Happy New Year!

Christmas Extravaganza!

This Christmas season has been our most fun yet. Payton is at such a great age for everything magical having to do with Christmas. The lights are fascinating, the shows are exciting and decorating cookies is fabulous! So you can imagine that I have WAY too many photos to post from all of these fun things, so below are just a few highlights. Merry Christmas everyone!

Payton's 1st time ice skating...


Building a gingerbread train (of course) and decorating Christmas cookies...


Visiting a specially decorated Christmas house (with a large train display of course)...


And the sweetest thing all season... Payton writing a letter to Santa. He concentrated so hard and wrote down all the things he wants. Then we delivered it to the big red mailbox at Macy's...

It's the most wonderful time...

The Christmas season is well under way in the Heckman household! It's been jam-packed with visits to see Santa, gingerbread construction, ornament making, cookie baking, Christmas shows, hot cocoa and even some cold weather to make it feel like Christmas!

A couple weekends ago we went to the mall to see the annual "Polar Express Snow Globes." It is one of Payton's favorite Christmas traditions! This year it was particularly cute because he actually brought with him the Target ad from the newspaper with a photo of what he wanted to ask Santa for... which of course was a Polar Express train.

Here are a few pics from the afternoon. Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season, as it will be over before you know it!

Payton's 1st visit to Gainesville

Since we were practically driving right past Gainesville on our way home from NC, we decided to make a little detour and stop by Gator Nation. Payton was so excited to see all of the places we have talked about, plus visit the trophy area on campus where they house all the National Championship, SEC and Heisman trophies.

As many of you may know, Payton really idolizes Tim Tebow. We are happy to indulge him in this, as we think Tim is a wonderful role model. Everything about him - from his undying gratitude and acknowledgement of his faith in Jesus Christ, to his lack of selfishness, to his incredible respect for his parents, coaches and teammates - he is just an all-around great guy. So we were very happy to show Payton all of the Tim Tebow memorabilia that is around campus.

And even though the Gators weren't able to finish out the season as we had hoped, we are still Gators through-and-through and very proud of them. "I said it's great, to be, a Florida Gator!"

Thanksgiving in NC

We were fortunate enough to spend Thanksgiving with lots of family this year. We drove (12 hours) up to Apex, NC to spend the week with my brother & his family and my parents. It was a wonderful holiday and we all had so much fun. Watching the cousins play together was absolutely priceless! And the hours spent playing the game "Taboo" after the kids went to bed was something we'll never be able to think about without laughing. Good times!

Below is a little slideshow of some of the week's events. We went to a playplace called "Planet Child" that had all sorts of fun stuff for the kids; Pullen Park, which has a real train the kids could ride around the park; and of course lots of fun at home. Enjoy the pics of Payton and his cousins, Joel, Camryn & little Natalie...

Warning, it's gross...

You've been forewarned, this video is a little gross. Funny, yes... but gross. This is what happens when you live in a house with all boys. God help me...

Happy Halloween!

Here are some pics from trick-or-treating...

Payton was dressed as the UF quarterback, Tim Tebow, so of course Brian and I had to go along with the UF theme. I dressed up as a super fan and Brian dressed up as "Mr. 2-Bits." If you're not familiar with who that is... sorry, it's a Gator thing. :)

Halloween Fun

This has been a busy month full of fun Halloween & fall activities!

We went on a hayride with a group of friends and it was actually cold that evening (imagine that!). There was a haunted house, petting zoo, bounce house, camp fire & hayride. Payton really enjoyed the hayride, but he liked the haunted house the best!

And of course we had to make a visit to our local pumpkin patch. This has become an annual tradition, but this year it was so much fun since Payton really got excited about picking out the perfect pumpkin to carve.

Finally, we had a Halloween "Tire 'Em Out" lunch with some friends from our church. The goal of course was to tire out the kiddos before trick-or-treating. It worked for the most part, except for our son of course! Here are some highlights of the fun & games...

Fall baking & crafts

Even though the weather outside says it's still summer, we are determined to recognize that it's fall.

Payton had a playdate last week with his buddy William, and we made Halloween cookies and stuffed ghosts (this was a really cute & easy craft if any of my mom friends want a link to the craft, let me know).

The cookies turned out really cute & delicious (thanks Rachel for the recipe!) but then I let the boys decorate several on their own with sprinkles, MnM's and candy corn... can you say "sugar overload??" They had a ball creating their masterpieces and honestly, the sugar high wasn't that bad afterwards.

Hope you all are enjoying some cool weather where you are... please feel free to send some our way!!!

Knock-Knock...

Here is Payton telling me a knock-knock joke. If this doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will! He's SO cute!!!

So Smart!

Brian is always encouraging me to create a new product for babies, kids, moms, etc. that would be a big seller and make millions! Great idea, right? So why is it I can never think of anything on my own, but then I see something someone else has created and say, "This is so smart! Why didn't I think of that!?!?" So... here is a good example: Pottery Barn kids has created this little kit where you can decorate your real pumpkin at the beginning of the Halloween season and it will last the entire month! It's so great! Payton had a ball doing it and he has now named his pumpkin "spidey." Below are some fun pics... I'm off to create something fabulous that will make us

millions (got any ideas???)...

We were so excited a few weeks ago when Payton was invited to go to Disney with his little friend, William, from school to celebrate his friend's birthday. William's uber-creative mom surprised the boys with matching personalized Lightning McQueen Disney t-shirts (that she made!!) along with a wonderfully planned day at Disney.

The day finally came yesterday and we all had such a great time! September is "the month" to go to Disney, as kids are back in school so the park was empty! We walked on to almost every single ride and we were able to ride several rides twice. The boys were treated so great by all the staff members. They got stickers, special "drivers licenses" and they even got to steer the boat on the Jungle Cruise ride!

Payton was thrilled that he was finally tall enough to ride "Thunder Mountain"... I could have done without it... especially the second time! But going to Disney with a 4-year old makes you realize why it's such a magical place. Tears actually welled up in my eyes as I watched him jump up and down waving and yelling "HI MICKEY!!!" as the parade rolled by. It was so precious!

Thank you so much Colleen & William! We had a wonderful day celebrating with you!

"Orange & Blue, Orange & Blue, Orange & Blue!"

Payton is finally old enough to realize that Gator football is a very important element in the Heckman household. Brian has been prepping him for weeks now, watching videos on YouTube of old football games in the Swamp, Gator cheers, Mr. Two Bits... basically any & all Gator traditions you can think of.

Now Payton wants to be Tim Tebow, and he's so excited to watch the 1st football game tomorrow night with a big group of Gator fans! Here are some pics of his pre-game warm up...

Go Cart Racing

When I was growing up, we had this great little Go Cart track near our house (Lil' 500... anyone remember this??). My brother and I would go there with our friends and race each other (really try to push each other into the wall and crash) and have so much fun.

Brian had the idea of taking Payton to a Go Cart track last weekend, so we found a place about 20 minutes from our house. We had so much fun! Payton LOVED it and they had a great arcade and minature golf course. Check out the photos...

Payton's 1st Day of School

Our little man started his final year of preschool the other day. I can't believe he's old enough to be going to school 5 days a week now. He's growing up so fast!!!

4 1/2 years old!

Birthdays are so magical to children. That one day out of the year when the attention is totally focused on them. Everyone brings them gifts, showers them with attention and you get to eat a cake that was specifically made just for them! How fabulous! So, with that in mind, we decided to enjoy this wonderous time twice a year by celebrating Payton's half birthday.

He was so excited when we told him that we were going to celebrate him turning four and a half. When he went to bed the night before, we decorated his door with streamers, I baked and decorated half of a cake (monster truck themed, since that's the obsession of the week), and we took him to Busch Gardens at night (which he's never done).

Basically, just spent the day celebrating what an awesome kid he is! It was such a fun day, I wish I had thought of this idea when I was a kid!

Thomas Live!

Yesterday was a big day in the Heckman household. One that Payton has been looking forward to for almost 6 months. It was finally time for "Thomas Live!" a musical at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center where Thomas the Train (and his friends) perform live on stage. I must say, it was truly one of the best shows I've been to. That sounds embarrassing to say, but it was really cute! Of course most of my enjoyment came from watching Payton & his friend Michael react each time another train came out on stage. They were so excited! Overall, it was a wonderful experience and one that I highly recommend to any "Thomas lovers" out there!

I'm posting some pictures here from the show; most are self-explanatory except for the first one where they're eating ice cream (some ice cream vendor gave them ice cream "on the house" before the show)... just what the needed. :) Then the last couple pictures are of the boys picking up the confetti off the ground after the show. We were literally 6 rows from the front so they ran up after the show and gathered up all sorts of confetti. So much fun!!

More Thomas...

Had to post these two videos... they're priceless.

Hang tight through the first one, it gets dark at one point, but then comes back.

The second video is the final song they did and shows the big confetti explosion at the end. Every child's idea of fun!!!

4th of July in Georgia

I feel like we've been saying "thank you" so much in the past week, yet I still feel like I can't say it enough. Over the 4th of July weekend we were able to attend a much-anticipated reunion with some of my best-loved sorority sisters (we're nicknamed the "toolshed"... don't ask) on beautiful Lake Oconee in Georgia. The thank you's have been going to many people, but specifically, my parents who were nice enough to watch Payton for the 4 days we were gone. As you can imagine, that alone deserves a million thank you's! And then also we are so full of gratitude for our friends Paul & Amy, whose parents own the beautiful lake house where we stayed. Not only did they invite all of us to come stay, they spent weeks planning things, grocery shopping, fixing up the house for us, preparing things, and making sure we had a fantastic time while we were there. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you!!!

Our days basically consisted of 8-10 hours of floating on rafts, boating in the lake, riding in tubes, laying out, and relaxing. The evenings consisted of laughing, laughing and more laughing. Seriously, my abs hurt after the weekend. I haven't laughed that hard in years. My girls are just the funniest group of women I know... and their husbands were just as funny if not more (the impressions of SNL skits, Borat, and pilates moves were enough to send anyone into a hysterical fit of laughter).

There's no way I could put into words the fun we had or the thankfulness we wish to express. So, I'll post a few of the 121 photos that we took this weekend and hopefully it will give you a small glimpse of the fun that was had. I love you toolshed girls!!!

Beach Vacation

Last week Payton and I were fortunate enough to be invited back to our good friends Rachel & Lilly's beach house. We had an absolute blast as usual, and the kids played from sun up to sun down. The weather was perfect and Payton was so sad when it was time to leave. Fortunately, we live in Florida, so many more trips to the beach will be in our future this summer! Thanks again Rachel for having us!!!

Random photos

I was going through my camera and found some funny, completely random photos that I wanted to share. These are in no particular order, but were taken over the past couple weeks...

Here is the crape myrtle in our front yard. It is in full-bloom, which is a sure sign of summertime!

And speaking of summer... the daily afternoon thunderstorms have begun. This stunning rainbow appeared over our neighbhorhood last week after a big storm and Payton thought it was a "beautiful painting from God."

Now that we don't have to rush off to school in the morning, Payton and I have had more time to relax and snuggle in our jammies. I savor these sweet moments with my rough & tumble boy!

And speaking of rough boy... when it was "Crazy Hair Day" at Vacation Bible School, he insisted on sporting a green "Ray-hawk". Everyone loved it!




Brian actually took this last photo and it was so cute, I had to post it! Hope everyone is enjoying the summer!

Father's Day

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Father's Day. Payton had his mind made up weeks ago that he wanted to buy Brian shoes for Father's Day. I have no idea where he came up with it, but despite my attempts at encouraging him to choose something else, he was set on getting him shoes. Pretty cute if you ask me.

So, Brian got a nice new pair of shoes from Payton for Father's Day and I baked him his favorite peppermint pattie brownies that he loves so much. I only bake them on special occasion because they're not from a box mix, which means I have to bust out all my baking supplies and make them from scratch (they were so darn good, I must say!!).

To round out the perfect Father' Day weekend, Brian and Payton went golfing. This time, instead of just going to the driving range, they actually got a cart and golfed 9 holes! They both had a great time, but now all Payton wants to do is drive the cart.

So, I just want to end this post by saying how grateful I am that Payton has such an amazing father. Brian is so hands-on and truly takes great pride in his role as "father." God blessed us with an amazing man to lead our family and we are so very grateful for that. We love you Brian!!

1st Day of Summer Vacation

Okay, so technically today is not the 1st day of summer vacation, but it is the first Monday of summer break, so today we celebrated with a huge batch of chocolate chip pancakes and a lazy day of doing whatever Payton wanted to do all day long. So much fun!!!

Summertime Fun with the Cousins

Summer kicked off in full swing last week when Payton's cousins flew in from Colorado. Zach (7) and Alex (5) spent the week with Grandma & Grandpa in Bradenton, so of course Payton wanted to do the same. We were fortunate enough that Brian's parents got us a condo next door to theirs so we could also stay the week.

Every day was spent going somewhere, but the highlights were definitely the Tampa Bay Rays game, Captain Memo's Pirate Cruise (out of Clearwater Beach), and a day at Bradenton Beach.

The week was so much fun and the boys made so many wonderful memories. Thanks so much Mom & Dad for all of planning, hard work, PATIENCE, and love that you put into the week!

Fort Building 101

Payton decided to build a fort the other morning. He stacked up his bean bag chair, his boxing gloves, some toy bins & his friend Emma's Dora umbrella. Brian thought it was so great that he helped add in some large cardboard boxes, the kitchen bar stools and a blanket.

Of course, then we decided to make it a "super fort" and added in some chairs, a couple more blankets, a king-sized sheet and various other elements. Needless to say, it provided days of fun for Payton!

What's in the box?

I thought Payton's little friends might enjoy this silly video...

Present for Mama

Have you ever received something from your kids that you just weren't expecting??? (P.S. Don't make fun of my green socks and no makeup - I didn't expect to be filmed that morning).

Makes me laugh

Payton somehow got a hold of our camera recently and decided to take a self-portrait. I can't look at this without laughing. He's so funny sometimes...

Go Rays!

We were all invited to go to a Rays game with some friends from our Bible study group. We had such a great time. Payton loved being at the game with his friends, eating hotdogs with Dada (yes, that would be TWO foot-long hotdogs), playing carnival games, and even meeting the Chick-fil-A cow. Great night had by all!

Where's Payton?

Can you guess where my little snuggle bug is hiding???

Easter: Part 1

The Easter festivities have been in full-swing this week around the Heckman household! We had an Easter party and egg hunt at Lilly's house on Thursday, a Good Friday service at church followed by an egg hunt, and then two back-to-back egg hunts today, followed by dying eggs in the afternoon. Needless to say, it's been a fun-filled few days. We'll post more photos from Easter day later on. For now, we hope you enjoy these fun photos...

Spring Break at Nana & Paca's

This week was Payton's Spring Break so we decided to take a couple days and go to Maitland to visit Nana & Paca (my parents). Payton was so excited and got to do all of his favorite things like visit Lake Lilly where he gets to play on the playground, feed the ducks and see freight trains go by! Fortunately for him, the Easter bunny paid an early visit to Nana & Paca's house and gave him some nice gifts and treats. Lucky for me, Paca decided to take Payton to Lowe's and McDonald's on our last day so I got to go shopping and have lunch with my mom on Park Ave. It was a wonderful Spring Break vacation and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Love you Nana & Paca (Mom & Dad!!).

Fishin' with the boys

Payton has become very interested in fishing lately. He started with a "trainer" fishing pole which had no hook on the end of the line. He quickly realized that he could not catch fish with it, so he asked his Daddy to get him a "real fishin' pole." So today Brian purchased a new pole, tackle box and all the other necessities to go fishing in our little pond. They've been twice today... let's see how many times he asks to go tomorrow...

11 year anniversary?

Okay, so we've only been married for 7 years, but we've known each other for 11. Brian surprised me with a wonderful night out at a Tampa Bay Lightening hockey game with our good friends, the Allinders. It was 11 years ago that we first met and our first "date" was my sorority date function which was a Tampa Bay Lightening game. We had a wonderful time re-living our courtship and spending time with great friends (thanks so much for hooking us up with tix Jeff!!!!). I thank God for our incredible marriage, and the fact that my husband is truly my best friend.

Beach Babies

My good friend Rachel was nice enough to include us in their Spring Break vacation to Longboat Key this week. Her daughter, Lilly, and Payton have known each other since they were about 6 months old. Many people mistake them for siblings, and after spending 4 days together at the beach, I think I almost mistook them for brother and sister! They were so cute together playing for hours at the beach and the pool. We had a fabulous time. Thanks so much Rachel!!!

Life in perspective

Most of my posts are happy, sometimes funny (I hope) updates on our daily lives. But today I just wanted to take a few moments to remind everyone - myself included - how of precious life is and how often we take it for granted.

A church friend of ours has been lost at sea for 4 days now, and the thought of "not knowing" where he is or what has happened to him, is so painful. I cannot imagine what his wife and family are going through. I find myself picturing him in the ocean and I have to tell myself not to "go there" and focus on praying for him and his family instead.

This whole ordeal has just reminded me that life is so fleeting. You can go out one day for a nice afternoon of fishing and never return. My husband could leave for work one morning and that could be the last time I ever see him. What if that happened? What were my last words to him? Did I kiss him goodbye? Did I tell him I loved him? Why does it take losing something or someone to make us realize how much we truly do love them?

If anything comes out of this horrific situation, I pray that it will draw people closer to God, and closer to each other. Please hug your loved ones a little bit tighter tonight. Look them in the eyes and tell them that you love them. And please, please pray for the Cooper family that they would find healing and comfort from God during this unimaginable time.

Bowling Extravaganza!

We went bowling with Payton for the first time last weekend. Our church Worship Team that I serve on was having a little get together and invited the families to come along. I had no idea bowling with kids could be so enjoyable! Payton had an absolute ball (pun intended) watching the ball go down the lane... but I think he (and his little friends) had even more fun watching the ball come back up through the ball return. Amazing what interests kids sometimes. Anyhow, we all had a great time.

Daddy is so proud!

Brian's dream of having a little son who loves golf has finally come true! Payton got a set of golf clubs from his Uncle Craig and Aunt Sheri and he loves them! So much so, that every Thursday on "Guy's Night" Payton begs to go to the driving range. Who knows... maybe he'll actually get good at this some day???

Who knew?

So, who knew laundry baskets could be so much fun??? Sorry for shooting this video sideways again... oops!!!

Valentines Extravaganza!

Payton once again was "feeling the love" from his grandparents this holiday. He was showered in all sorts of fun gifts. Thank you to everyone for the sweet gifts and cards - he loves them all!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We hope everyone has a special Valentine's Day and enjoys some yummy treats!

Birthday Photos

My baby is now officially 4 years old! The whole week was filled with parties and celebrations, but his birthday party was really the highlight for him. I can only imagine the joy he was feeling to have

so many of his friends in one place at the same time. He didn't stand still for one minute... well, except to stare at his cake. He was in "hog heaven" to say the least!

We were really blessed to have lots of friends show up for his party at the park by our house. And to have both sets of grandparents there as well. It is a rare and wonderful thing to have so many family members who live near by and can attend special occasions such as birthdays.

We feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who helped our precious angel celebrate his 4th birthday. Thank you everyone!!!

Whoopie Cushions and other things...

Here is a quick video of Payton's reaction to seeing his "birthday table" first thing yesterday morning...

And here is a video of Payton's favorite birthday gift so far... a whoopie cushion...

Today is the day!

From the moment he woke up to the moment he went to bed, today was a special birthday for Payton. He awoke this morning to the kitchen table decorated with Thomas balloons, a birthday cake and a few little gifts. Of course we had to continue the Clements tradition of eating birthday cake and toast for breakfast on his birthday (boy, does he like this tradition!). After school and a good nap, he got to open a few more little gifts (see picture of the whoopie cushion) and choose where we went for dinner. Of course he chose the fine dining establishment called "Chuck E. Cheese." (Sidenote: why do kids love this place so much?!? It's dirty, loud, and the pizza is terrible... but I digress...)

After we got home from Chuck E. Cheese he got to have more cake - this time with candles in it and a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung in two very different keys by his loving parents.

Now it's time for my big 4-year-old to head off to bed. I cannot believe it's been 4 years since I was in the hospital and got to see his precious face for the first time. As my Aunt Cheryl recently said, "Don't blink, it will all go by so fast"... boy is she right. Happy Birthday my precious angel.

Happy Birthday Week Payton!

Birthdays are a BIG deal in our house. Brian doesn't really understand this. Fortunately, he's learned to accept my crazy ways and is now willing to participate in the "Hoopla" that surrounds birthdays in our house.

It all began when I was a little girl and my mom always made a big deal out of my birthday. I think she was afraid that since my birthday is only 4 days after Christmas, it would be forgotten and lost in all of the holiday madness. So every year, she made sure all my birthday gifts were wrapped in birthday wrapping paper - even though the Christmas wrap was much more easily accesible at that point. She always made me a cake, and always, ALWAYS had a party for me.
So, since I have such fond memories of these special birthday experiences, I want to provide the same for my family.

Today, Payton got to stand up in front of his preschool during chapel and have everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to him and all the other students who are celebrating a birthday this week. He was so proud!

Tomorrow we will bake cookies for him to bring to school on Wednesday and I'll also make his birthday cake for Wednesday (his actual birthday). Stay tuned for more birthday celebration photos...

The Beach in Winter

Even though it's snowy and cold in many parts of the country, it's still possible for us Floridians to hit the beach this time of year. So, this weekend we put on our jeans and sweatshirts and headed out to the beach for a sunset picnic in the back of our SUV. It was a little chilly, but still just as beautiful. Payton didn't seem to mind the cooler weather as he just kept asking if he could go swimming.

So just remind me of these Florida weather "perks" in September when it's still 100 degrees out.

First Soccer Experience

Payton has finally chosen to be a part of the most elite sport that there is... soccer! I'm not partial to the sport or anything (wink, wink). But it is the only sport in our area that he can register for at 3-years old.


(he's the one in the blue hat in these photos)

He had his first practice/game a couple weekends ago and boy, was it entertaining. At first he was scared, then he started having fun, then he cried a lot (couldn't understand why the other kids were running away from him and not letting him play with the ball), and then he really started having fun just as the game was over.
World Cup... here we come! (check out the video below!!)

Don't Come In Da-Ma-House!

Brian has taught Payton how to put the "smack down" on football players. Check it out...

Relatively quiet... except for the Super Bowl

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted something. Things have been pretty quiet around here the past few weeks... which has been a nice change of pace. The only traveling we've done is driving over to Bradenton to see Brian's family... and Payton spent the night there by himself (well, without his parents that is) for the first time. He had a ball of course and apparently behaved very well as they have invited him back "anytime!" Gotta love the grandparents!



As most of you probably know, the Super Bowl is taking place here in Tampa this weekend. Although we're not going, we are enjoying all the "hoopla" that surrounds the event. Brian and Payton are going to the "NFL Experience" tonight (I'll post photos from that later). And even though I know that the two teams playing in the Super Bowl are the Steelers and the Cardinals... I think my husband still thinks the Bears might have a chance. As you can see from the photos below, he has been in full "Chicago Bears" mode lately. He busted out his 1985 Mike Ditka t-shirt and put it on Payton complete with the slicked-back Ditka hair. He also dug out his starting line up figurines that he used to play with when he was a kid. He's taught Payton that the "Packers are BAD" and the "Bears are GOOD." It's hysterical to watch them play with them together. I'll also have to post a video of Payton pretending to tackle Brian on the bed as he pretends he's a Bears player and Brian is a Packers player. Boys will be boys...

We've got the house decorated for Valentines Day and Payton keeps reminding me that it looks so nice because "it's all in your favorite color, Mommy... PINK!" He thinks Valentines is a celebration of the female gender since it's all in pink and red... oh wait... I guess it kind of is for women, huh?

So to end this post on a funny note, Payton has recently discovered that his finger fits quite conveniently in his nostrils. So, the nose-picking has begun. He is constantly holding up his finger with a nice "prize" on it and telling me "Mama, I need a tissue!" Except for the other day when I saw him picking away in the rear-view mirror in the car and said, "Hold on honey, let me get you a tissue." Of which he replied, "Don't worry Mama, I just wiped it on my shorts." Lovely, eh???

New Year, New Experiences...

2009 started off with a bang. Well... maybe it was more of a "blah" than a "bang." As most of you know, Payton was hospitalized with a dangerous strain of strep throat. It started off with symptoms similar to a stomach virus, and since we knew several of our friends had been hit with a similar virus, we thought he would turn around fairly quickly. However when he couldn't keep down even a tablespoon of water, we knew he needed to be rehydrated... and quickly.

We headed to our local Children's Hospital emergency room where they quickly got us set up in the ER with IV fluids and medicines to help bring down his fever. But after 2 bags of fluids and several doses of medicines, it was clear that it was more than a stomach bug. He was still very lethargic and could barely keep his eyes open. So, they decided to admit him to the Children's Hospital.

Thank God (literally) that we decided to go ahead and stay the night at the hospital because his fever came back with a vengeance that night and didn't go away. Then, he broke out in a terrible rash all over his body that made him itch like crazy. So the nurse went ahead and gave him a strep test - even though he NEVER had a sore throat, or even a very red throat for that matter.

The strep test came back positive and they immediately started him on some heavy-duty IV antibiotics. After about 12 hours on the antibiotics, he started to turn a corner and his fever finally broke. After three days in the hospital, we were finally released to go home.

I tell ya... nothing can prepare you for seeing your child laying in a hospital bed hooked up to IVs with a serious illness. It was awful. But at the same time, the hospital staff were amazing. They were so nice are caring. I can't really remember much about the doctors, as they were in and out in just a couple of minutes. But the nurses were incredible.

So... after that adventure, we are happily enjoying our normal little life again. Payton was finally able to go back to school this week, and all of us are healthy again... for the moment at least. :)

P.S. Sorry for the poor picture quality... they were taken on Brian's camera phone.