This past weekend, we visited my parent's house on Sugar Mountain, and dragged along the Collins family. The weather was cool, overcast, and just perfect! Saturday started with Payton letting us sleep in until 9am! Well, kind of sleep in....instead of Payton waking up, Callie decided it was time for us to let her out to go potty, and feed her. Brian was a sweetheart, got up with the dogs, and tried to let Payton and I sleep in. Unfortunately I'm a light sleeper, so I was up. That was followed with Dan cooking an awesome breakfast, and we ate out on the deck. After we digested, we went to the top of Sugar Mountain and took a bunch of pictures. Don't worry, we would have caught Madi if she fell! She had a blast sitting up on that rock. As you can see in one of the pics, Madi eventually had enough and demanded we head home! We then took the girls and dogs on a walk, to try to wear the doggies out. My dad had told me to check out Banner Elk Winery, which is exactly what we did during the afternoon. It was perfect weather, and the kids had a great time. Each of the girls had one decent nap, and Payton was content with just one nap. She absolutely adores being outside. There was a guy playing some music, so Madi danced for us, and we continued drinking wine. The grounds were beautiful, with a pond, stone firepit, and the gorgeous NC mountains surrounding us. Our only complaint was that we didn't go earlier in the day! We picked up some Mexican food to-go, and ate out on the deck again. After the girls went to sleep, Brian hosted his infamous beer tasting...everytime we go up, he likes to stop at a local beer store for "fancy" beers, or ones he's never tasted. While everyone was tasting the beer, which I mostly think tastes like dirty socks, I was trying to hold my eyes open! Off to bed I went early....which was good, since Payton was up around 7:15 Sunday morning. When we returned from the mountains, we headed to Cheryl and Jeremy's for Jeremy's grandmother's 80th birthday dinner. We FINALLY got Raegan and Payton together again. They had a couple minutes of fun, while Payton was still awake. It was a great weekend, but we all wished it could have lasted longer! (and Payton woke up this morning with a runny nose, sneezing, and a little congested...I'm hoping it's not allergies!!)
So, Payton is now 5.5 months. At this point, she is holding her bottle and drinking from a sippy cup with a nipple-style top. The only food we've given her that she consistently dislikes is avocado. She sits with great balance. Her new "trick" over the weekend was making a fishy face and making a popping sound when she releases the suction. I'm not sure where she picked that up! She is moving with some speed across the floor, in a "froggy style" movement. It's SO cute to watch. She moves her hands forward, then pulls both her knees and legs underneath her like she's jumping, then she thrusts herself forward. One of these days I'll get the video downloaded and post it on here. My dad said just this morning she scooted over, from her toys, to a box my mother had on the floor. One hand went up on the side, then the other hand, and the little booger was trying to PULL herself up! Tonight, Brian stood her up by our ottoman, and she held herself up really well, even catching herself a couple times as she was leaning back. She fell more than she didn't, but it's amazing to think this child is already trying to crawl, and has the determination to pull up, although I don't think her balance is quite there yet. Our life as we know it is getting ready to change drastically! Payton LOVES, loves her dogs. Everytime one of them comes near her, she laughs. She LOVES being outside, just like her parents :) Everyday Brian and I can't wait to see what she does next. She's such a happy baby. But our baby is growing up way too fast!
