Kansas City

This weekend Kyle, Peyton and I took a trip to Kansas City to visit our 5th NFL stadium. The Chiefs were playing the San Diego Chargers. We're trying to pick a game each year where at least one of us cares about at least one of the teams playing. Kyle is an LT fan, so we decided to check out the Chargers. It was tough to find a game this year. We are so busy, with Terps games, Peyton's birthday, and Halloween.

Our plane to Kansas City left Friday at 3:20. Peyton fell asleep less than 10 minutes after the plane took off and slept for 2 hours. He was awake for about the last half-hour of the journey. We arrived in KC around 5:30 their time (which is 6:30 here). We picked up our rental car and set out to get some dinner. We were going to go to On the Border, but as we were driving I saw a sign for Cracker Barrel and begged Kyle to stop there instead. He is such a fabulous husband and agreed. (Well, really, he probably didn't want to listen to me whine for the rest of the night if I didn't get my way!) We feasted on lots of delicious food and then headed over to the hotel, which happened to be right across the street.

This time we stayed at an Embassy Suites, so that Peyton could be in a separate room than us. This worked out wonderfully as Peyton slept great! We got him to bed around 8:00 their time (9:00 our time) and he slept through the night until 8:00 am when the alarm woke us all up.

We got up early and went down to the lobby for free breakfast! This breakfast was even better than the one offered at the hotel we stayed at in Michigan, because they had a cook that made you omelets and pancakes however you wanted them. There was also the normal buffet selection of other breakfast foods.

After breakfast, we left for the stadium, which was about 30 minutes away from the hotel. We drove around their intricate parking lot system for a while before we found where we were supposed to park... which was a million miles away from the stadium! Here is a picture of the outside of the stadium from across the parking lot.

We got to the stadium around 10:00 so that we would have time to check it out before the 12:00 start time. There was NOTHING to see in the stadium though! It was just concrete upon concrete. There were no pictures, no decorations, nothing. That was kind of lame. The stadium was built in 1972 though, and was undergoing renovations this season (so they said).

Here is one picture from our seats. Even after the game started, the stadium was probably only 80% full. The video board says, "Welcome to Arrowhead Stadium - The Loudest Stadium in the NFL". It wasn't really that loud though, because the Chiefs suck pretty bad this year.

We only bought two tickets for the game, because kids under 3 do not need their own seat. Peyton stole the seat next to us before our neighbors arrived. He sat on our laps for the rest of the game.

Kyle wore his LT Chargers jersey, so he wasn't too popular with the home crowd. Oh well. The Chargers whooped up on the Chiefs, winning 37-7. Here's a family picture of us at the game.

I think I look good, but the boys don't. Haha. Stupid me forgot to charge the camera battery before we left home, so it died at half-time. This was the last picture that we were able to take. There wasn't even enough battery power to take two tries. Eh.

It was Military Appreciation Day at the game. There were two flyovers, one of 5 Black hawk helicopters and one of 4 planes. They did a tribute to soldiers from the KC area that lost their lives over in Iraq and Afghanistan and swore some new Army recruits in at half-time. It was nice.

We had to leave at the end of the 3rd quarter though because it was raining like crazy. Kyle and I didn't really care, but I felt bad for Peyton and didn't want him to get sick. It sucks that we went all the way to KC and then had to leave early, but Peyton's health was more important than the game. Peyton wasn't bothered by the rain though. We kept asking him if he wanted to leave and he always said no. He's a trooper. He fell asleep about 5 minutes after we put him in the stroller to head back to the car. We went back to the hotel to change into dry clothes and then we went to dinner. We tried to go to a BBQ place (we were in KC after all!) but got lost and ended up at On the Border, like we tried to go to the night before. So we never ate any barbecue. Oops.

We enjoyed another free breakfast Monday morning and headed to the airport around 11. Our flight left a little after 1:00 and we got back around 4:30 our time. Peyton slept the entire plane ride this time, so that was nice. We had a nice trip, but next time we'll stay an extra day to check out the city, because all we did on this trip was go to the game.

Michigan Trip

We took a four day trip to Michigan last weekend. We wanted to visit Kyle's grandfather who has been sick, and Kyle's brother Adam was home from Iraq to visit too, so we thought it would be a perfect time to take a trip up there. It was the first time that we got to meet our niece Hailey and the first time that all seven of the cousins were together.

We hit the road Friday morning around 8:00. We bought a DVD player so that Peyton could watch movies in the car, and we also packed lots of books, a Magna Doodle and some snacks to keep him occupied on the long trip. We drove and drove and stopped for lunch a little before noon. After lunch, Peyton took a brief hour-and-a-half nap. We continued to drive and made it to the hotel in Michigan around 6:00. Ten hours is about average for the trip, so it wasn't too bad. Peyton did surprisingly well in the car, much to my relief.

After we checked into the hotel and carried our things inside, we turned right back around and headed out to meet Ryan, Becky, Lindsey, Sara, Adam, Suzie, Adam, Branden, Hailey, and Grandma at Chuck E. Cheese. They saved us some pizza to eat since we were all starving. After we ate, we played some games. Peyton got some free tokens because he had his birthday coupon.

Peyton talked to Chuck on the phone

Lindsey played in the tubes

Peyton rode a horse (isn't this picture adorable?!)
And he played some skee-ball (sort of)

He "drove" the car too

The Chuck E. Cheese was pretty ghetto, but the kids had fun. Peyton got some energy out after sitting in the car for so long, so that was good too. We got back to the hotel a little after 8:00 and tried to put Peyton to bed. We only had one room for the three of us. We put Peyton in his pack-and-play and left the room (we were going to stand in the hallway for a few minutes so that he could fall asleep). But as soon as we left, he started to cry, so we went back in. He had a really tough time falling asleep. We tried to let him sleep in bed with us too (a few times) but that wasn't working out either. Peyton eventually fell asleep almost two hours later, around 10:00 which is way past his bed time. During the night, he woke up crying about 3 or 4 times, which is really unusual for him.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early (thanks Peyton!). We got dressed and headed down to the lobby for free breakfast. We planned to meet everyone at the Flint Children's Museum around noon, so we had a little time to waste. Peyton was bored in the hotel room and was acting crazy, so we went to the mall for a little while. We ate an early lunch and headed over to the museum after that.

The kids had a ton of fun playing together in the museum. There were tons of exhibits and fun things to do. I took over 70 pictures at the museum, so I'm only going to include a select few here.

Peyton and Branden

Grandma and Adam
Sara
Noah just chillin'

Peyton loved playing drums on the trash

He also liked all of the other instruments

Fireman Peyton

Peyton took Noah for a ride in the helicopter

Peyton stopped for a snack of apples

And rode a horse

Peyton and Branden playing ball

We spent about 3 hours at the museum. Next, we went to the rehab facility to visit Grandpa. Grandma reserved a room so that we could all hang out with Grandpa. They ordered pizza and everyone chatted while the kids colored and played together.

Peyton talking with Grandpa

Grandma playing ring-around-the-rosie with the kids

Peyton got some birthday presents from Uncle Adam's family and Uncle Ryan's family. From Uncle Ryan's family, he got the Little People airplane and a Mickey Mouse monster truck. From Uncle Adam's family, he got the Mickey Mouse Choo-Choo train. He loved all three gifts!

After we left the rehab center, we went back to the hotel to put Peyton in his pajamas and to pack up his pack-and-play. We went over to Grandma and Grandpa Moreau's house. Kate, Dave, and Noah were already there, and Ryan and Becky came over after they put their girls to bed. We were going to lay Peyton down there, but Kyle's dad and his wife came over and everyone was playing with Peyton, so he wasn't sleepy. We just chatted while Peyton impressed everyone with his singing abilities and showed them how smart he is.

Peyton only slept for about 15 minutes between the museum and the rehab facility and he didn't sleep well the night before, so we had to leave around 9:00 to head back to the hotel to put him to bed. We had the same problems as the night before. It took a little while for him to fall asleep and then he woke up a few times during the night.

Sunday morning we went to Old Country Buffet for brunch. Kyle's grandmother reserved a room and invited everyone from Kyle's dad's side of the family. A bunch of his aunts, uncles and cousins were there. It was nice to see everyone. Peyton got to eat a lot of food, so he had a good time. We left the camera in the car, so we don't have any pictures. Oops.

After brunch, we headed over to JCPenney to get a picture of all of the cousins together. That was an interesting experience, since there are 7 kids under the age of 6, and 6 of them are under 3! But the picture turned out surprisingly well. The kids were all spent after that, so we went back to the hotel and Peyton took a good two-hour nap. We watched some football on mute while Peyton slept and I finally got to eat some Sonic!

Sunday evening we visited with one of Kyle's old friends and then went to dinner at Applebee's. Adam, his family, and Linda met us there. They already ate dinner, so they had dessert while we ate dinner. After dinner, we went to Linda's house for a little while. Adam, Branden, Hailey, and Peyton played together. We left around 8:00 and went back to the hotel to go to bed.

We left Michigan around 8:00 on Monday morning and made really good time getting home. We made the whole trip, including stopping to get some dinner, in 9 1/2 hours. It was a crazy busy and exhausting weekend, but it was tons of fun too!

Happy Birthday Peyton

Happy 2nd birthday, Peyton! I can't even believe that you are already two years old. It seems like just yesterday that the nurse at the ultrasound office relayed the message from my doctor that I needed to be admitted to the hospital to be induced right away. Twenty-eight hours later, you were born! Daddy and I had never been happier than we were at 3:12 pm that day. Every day is an adventure with you, and we couldn't even imagine life without you now.


Here are some things that you know:

• You've known all of your colors, shapes, and animals and their sounds for several months
• You can say your ABCs
• You can identify all of the capital letters
• You can count to 20 (usually skipping 13, 16, and 19 -- but who likes those anyway?)
• You can identify the numbers 1-9

Your favorite things to do include:

• Singing -- Your favorites are: Elmo's World theme; Sing; Row, Row, Row Your Boat; Wheels on the Bus; Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; Itsy Bitsy Spider; and Ring Around the Rosy
• Listening to your Elmo CD every time you're in the car
• Watching Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse every day when we get home from daycare
• Reading books
• Playing with balls, Elmo Live, the Sesame Street figurines, and the Mickey Mouse figurines
• Putting all of your toys into your ball pit

Your favorite foods right now are:

• "Red gapes" (red grapes)
• "Snake" (steak)
• Oatmeal, especially apples and cinnamon
• Apple sauce
• Chicken
• Corn
• "Dolbish" (Goldfish)
• Granola bars

And some of your favorite phrases are:

• "Thank you" -- said after we do something for Peyton (even something like buckling him in his car seat); alternatively, said after Peyton does something for us (like he's reminding us to say it to him)
• "O-tay" -- said after Peyton makes a request of us (like he's answering his own question with a 'yes')
• "Love you"

Happy Birthday Peyton! I love you so much!

Peyton's Birthday Party

Warning: Lots of pictures!

On Saturday, we had Peyton's 2nd birthday party. The theme was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which Peyton is really into right now. We had been pumping Peyton up for his party all week. If you asked him about it, he would say that he was having a "Mickey Mouse party!" He also knows that he's turning 2. He tries to hold up two fingers, but can't quite manage it, so it's pretty cute. We had about 25 people over for the party. Grandma M. even came in from Michigan for the party.

Peyton before the party

It is difficult to tell, but Peyton's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse shirt says "Happy Birthday! Peyton is 2!"

I spent Friday evening and Saturday morning preparing food for the party. I made these mouse cupcakes and I think they turned out really well.

Here's Peyton's cake. It took forever, but I finally found the one that matched his theme. The gears on the cake topper really work too, so Mickey and Goofy spin around if you turned the hand crank. Pretty cool.

We had lots of decorations around the house. Kyle and Linda did a great job blowing up all of the balloons.

I made this special banner for Peyton. It's hard to tell from the picture, but each triangle says "Isn't this party wonderful" and has a picture of Mickey Mouse on it.

Here is the main food table. We had "Hot Dog Dance Hot Dogs," "Mickey's Meatballs," "Minnie's Macaroni Salad," "Pluto's Pasta Salad," potato salad, two 3-foot subs, and Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets.

Here are the appetizers. We had chips, pretzels, "Goofy's Garden Veggies," "Donald's Cheese and Qwakers," and "Daisy's Deviled Eggs." I made all of the little name tags for the food. (I have a lot of free time on my hands at work sometimes!)

Peyton and I made goody bags for him to give out to the kids that came to his party. They included candy and some small toys and Noah got a rattle.

The party started at 3:00 and people started arriving a little before that. Kate, Dave, and Noah were here first, followed closely by Jeremy, Jill, Grandmom, and Pop-Pop. Also in attendance were Aunt Bev, Nadean, Vester, Austin, Kim, Bo, Dougie, Mom-Mom, Pop-Pop, Aunt Donna, Uncle Tom, Aunt Marie, Uncle Donald, and Grandma.

After everyone ate, we sang Happy Birthday to Peyton. He was adorable because he sang the song to himself too. He blew out the candle when we were finished singing.

Peyton enjoyed a mouse cupcake. He waited patiently all day to eat one of them. I think he just ate the cookies, M&Ms, and icing, but that's ok. In addition to the cake and cupcakes, we had death by chocolate and ambrosia.

After cake, Peyton opened his presents. He started out with the gifts from Mommy and Daddy.

We got him the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and two additional figurines that go with that toy. We had three more presents for him (tickets to Disney on Ice, a Sesame Street CD with his favorite songs on it, and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book called "Whose Birthday is It?") but he got bored with our gifts and moved on. We're going to save those to give to him on his actual birthday tomorrow.

Here are some more pictures of Peyton opening his gifts. Jill was the official photographer and she *only* took about 100 pictures of him opening presents. Thanks Jill.

Some other things that Peyton received were Elmo Tickle Hands, an art desk, an easel, a sit and spin, some GeoTrax, a few movies, some books, lots of clothes, and some money. Peyton did very well and thanked each person after he opened their gift.

Peyton, of course, had to spend some time playing with Noah. Peyton wanted to hold him. It was hilarious because they are almost the same size!

The party wrapped up and people started to leave. Thanks to all three grandparents for helping us clean up after the party. I did a much better job of estimating the amount of food that we would need, so we didn't have many leftovers this year.

Peyton couldn't wait to play with some of his new toys. He immediately fell in love with his art desk. He made several beautiful pictures.

He also really liked his sit and spin. He played with that for a while. Already this morning, he's opened up his Elmo hands and seems to love them as well.

I think the party was a success. Peyton seemed to have a good time, and that's all that matters.

Weber's Farm

On Sunday, we decided to visit Weber's Farm. I think they are most famous for their apples and apple cider, but we always visit there to pick out our pumpkins for Halloween. This year we already had our pumpkins, but decided to visit the farm anyway. They have a barnyard area with lots of activities for the kids. Peyton enjoyed it last year, and we thought he'd have even more fun this year. We definitely picked the right time to go (during the Ravens game) because it was empty! Peyton got to do whatever he wanted as many times as he wanted without having to wait in any lines.

The first thing that we did was go through the "Boo Barn." It wasn't scary at all. There were just Halloween decorations set up throughout the barn. One scene had skeletons dressed up like pirates. Peyton said, "Arrr" which he learned from Uncle Jeremy.

This was a mini-hay maze. Peyton liked walking through all of the big tires. We'd tell him a color and he would go run through that particular tire. He came back to this a few times during the day.

Kyle and Peyton went in the large hay maze. Kyle just followed Peyton around, who did a really good job at finding his way out of the maze! I took this picture standing on a bridge that they constructed over the middle of the maze. You have to look very closely to see Peyton, but he's in there.

There is a giant hill in the barnyard area that they set these slides up on. There were four slides in total. I rode down with Peyton first. He loved it! He is definitely a fan of slides to begin with, but since this one was so big, he enjoyed it even more.

Kyle took Peyton down next. They went down a different slide than Peyton and I did. Their slide was much faster! They slid right off the end of the slide and Kyle's butt got so dirty. Peyton sure loved it.

Here are my two favorite boys posing in front of this large blowup pumpkin. It was just there for scenery.

This next photo is of Peyton and I doing a duck race. Each lane had its own old-time type water pump. Each person had a little rubber ducky that moved down the lane by the water that you pumped. We 'raced' several times. When we played against other people, it was just a free-for-all, but later on no one was playing with the pumps, so Kyle, Peyton, and I raced each other. Kyle won every time. I guess he's just an expert pumper.

Peyton went back and forth through this tunnel probably 20 times. It is the simplest things that fascinate kids the most.

After lots of prodding to get Peyton away from the tunnel, we all took a hay ride together. Peyton loved the tractor that pulled the wagons that we sat in. They take you on a tour of the farm through all of the apple trees. There were a few scenes set up featuring scarecrows with pumpkins for heads, but they were lame, so I'm not going to bother including the pictures. Here's Peyton and I on the hayride.

And here's Kyle and Peyton on the hayride.

When we got off of the hayride, Peyton was sure to say, "Bye tractor!" We took another trip around all of the activities so that Peyton could go through the hay maze again, do the duck races a few more times, and go down the slide again. We checked out some farm animals too, including lots of turkeys, some goats, and roosters.

The last activity that Peyton did was to ride these little tractors. He was too small to reach the peddles, so Kyle pushed him around a little.

It took a lot to pry Peyton off the tractors, but we finally succeeded. We stopped in the country store to buy some apple cider, and then we headed home for dinner.