Shots, Banana Splits, & New Shoes

Today Payton had her four year well-check exam.  She weighs a whooping 31 pounds, which puts her in the 20% for weight   She is also in the 30% for height at 39 inches.  She passed her eye test and one of her hearing test.  Apparently, her right ear hearing is amazing, but she just failed the left ear hearing test.  The doctor wants us to follow-up with her ear doctor to get a more accurate reading.   It is not like she is deaf in that ear, but I guess she has to hear a certain low tone to be considered in the normal range, and she was one tone level from passing.  I don't know it that makes any sense, but, nonetheless, we are going to have the ENT check it out. Oh, they also requested the urine sample, but our doctor mails you the cup a week prior to the well-check and wants it collected the morning of the appointment from home.  I guess the doctor figures you have a better chance of successfully completely the task if you can do it at home when your child wakes up and you know they are going to have to potty.  The only problem with that is taking it back to the doctor with you, but with the sealed container and gallon zip-lock bag it was doable.

Finally, it was time for the horrible four year shots you hear so much about.  I do have the following disclaimer.  I, even when Payton was a newborn, have always talked to Payton like an adult.  I never engaged in "baby talk" with her.  Also, I have always tried to explain things to Payton and try to be as logical as possible.  I will admit that I totally punted the differences between boys and girls (but it did lead into a conversation about medical school); however, I really try to be upfront with Payton about what's going on and why things happen.  Therefore, Payton was completely warned about the shots.  I told her upfront that it would be a lot of them.  I wasn't sure, but it was going to be between four and six.  She of course asked if it would hurt, and I told her the truth.  Yes, it will hurt, but it will only hurt for a little bit then it is done.  I then did what any good mother would do............... I bribed/rewarded her for being good.  I promised her that after her shots she could have a banana split.  Payton did awesome during the shots.  She wasn't nervous and only cried on the last shot (with the needle still in her leg) because she had already endured four of those darn shots.  Also, it wasn't really a cry, cry, but more of she had reached her pain threshold.

Here is the reward.

Dig in................

Also, the video of her enjoying her first ever banana split.

My nephew, Cooper, is feeling a little under the weather today.  He had a doctor's appointment this afternoon.  Since my mom is taking him, Payton and Grandpat had some time to kill before getting him.  So they decided to kill time by going shoe shopping.  I have been informed that Payton now has two new pairs of shoes, three bracelets, and a new headband.



So in conclusion,   Payton had to get a couple of shots, but for being so brave she got her first ever banana split, new shoes, and some accessories.  I wouldn't mind getting shots either if I knew I could have all that as well.

Curly Shirley

As I have mentioned, Payton is currently obsessed with having curly hair.  The past couple of days before school my mom has been curling her hair with a flat iron. The problem with this is that she has to hair spray her hair to death to have any chance of the "curls" holding for more than ten minutes.  The other night as I was washing her hair I could feel all the sticky residue left over from the hair spray for like the fourth night in a row.  I decided that we didn't need to be curling and hair spraying her hair every day.  I am not a hair expert by any means; however, I do think that maybe this may not be all that great for her hair.  The problem is that Payton loves the curls.  After discussing this with my mom, I think we found the solution.  I have no idea what these are called, but my mom found them at Sally's.  I think they are the modern day sponge roller that we used to use back in the day.

 In all fairness, they do curl her hair.  However, for the best results you are suppose to do it when her hair is still dump (after her bath) and let her sleep in them.  However, by the time she is out of the bath neither her nor I really want to mess with them.




Also, here is a picture of the little stinker taken last week prior to her well-check where we were told she had the flu.  For some reason she looks so grown-up in this picture to me.

And here she is receiving a breathing treatment at her well-check exam.

Her new well-check is scheduled for tomorrow.  I have a feeling that the doctor will make us reschedule it again.  Due to this weather being  crazy with it being warm one day and cold the next with the added bonus of all the dust and other crap blowing in from the West, Payton's allergies are going crazy as well.  She is having the running nose and cough.  We have been doing the Nebulizer at home twice a day.  Hopefully, we can actually have her four year old exam before she is four and a half.

Fort Payton

For Payton's birthday my parents bought her a fort.  There was a big debate about where the fort should go. We decided that it needed to go at my parents' house because realistically she is there on most afternoons when she can really enjoy it.  The fort has been a huge hit with Payton.  She loves being outside and playing. Here are a few pictures of her enjoying this wonderful weather.  Also, she is wearing mittens because she got a splinter, which she thinks is from the fort.  However, she probably got it at my sister's house when she went over to "help" build the new fence that was being installed.  Payton is adamant that she got it from the fort and will insist on wearing her mittens as a form of protection.

Awesome Weather

This weekend we had awesome weather.  Other than the two snow days we had, this winter has been rather mild.  I know as I am typing this that I am jinxing the entire DFW metroplex because I am sure that a blizzard will come through in February.  Since the weather was so nice, we ended up being outside most of this weekend.  In fact, Daisy got two baths over the weekend.  I gave her one on Saturday because she was getting a little smelly.  Then on Sunday Derek took her for walk and Daisy discovered a mud pond and had a blast.  Therefore, on Sunday Derek gave her bath number two.

We did have a birthday party to attend on Saturday.  It was at Urban Air, which is a huge trampoline park.  Payton insisted that Derek and I jump with her.  I have to say that I haven't jumped on a trampoline since high school and it was still pretty fun.


On Sunday, I took Payton around the block on her swing car.

She would have to stop and take a break every now and then before she was off again at full speed.

And another break.

Also, I realize she has on two different socks.  I have tried to get Payton to play the "Sock Puzzle" game with me.  This game involves taking all the socks without a friend and finding its friend.  The first two times we played this game she was all into it.  Now she isn't that interested in playing.  I wonder why?  So when I told her to go put her socks on to go outside, those were the socks she picked out to wear.  She thought it was hilarious to have on two different socks.  What can I say?  I have learned to pick my battles.

Really? Seriously?

Those words seem to be Payton's favorite words right now.  I totally take responsibility for the seriously thing.  I remember saying that to Payton when she was just a wee toddler.  The context I remember would be her dumping something out (on purpose) and me saying, "Seriously?  Seriously, Payton?  You just dumped out all your crayons?"  However, this really thing is out of the blue.  I will give you a little context of her use of those two words as illustrated below. 


Scene:
Saturday morning Payton always wants a waffle for breakfast.  Last Saturday Daisy needed to go outside.  As I am standing on the back patio waiting for Daisy to take care of her business, I hear the following:

P:  Seriously?  Mom, are you seriously not going to make me waffles?  Fine then.  I guess I can't have breakfast.


Scene:

Any given weeknight as I am trying to make dinner.

P:  Really?  Really, you are not going to play with me?  Really?  Fine then.  I guess you don't love me, and I guess no one will play with me.

Sometimes this is followed by Payton proclaiming that she is not my kid anymore or that I don't love her anymore.

 

Do you think she is just a tad bit dramatic?  I don't know where this is coming from.  I know I can be a little dramatic, but in all seriousness, she is extreme.  Such an attitude this little girl has.

Payton is also wanting us to curl her hair all the time.  The poor girl has inherited my hair texture which is fine, thick, and has absolutely no body whatsoever.  My hair will not hold a curl if  my life depended on it.   However, this morning my mom had some time so she "curled" Payton's hair.  My mom said she hair sprayed every inch of her hair and then some.  Here is Payton's curled hair this morning.

Any curl that was in her hair was gone within ten minutes.  Also, I do know how to match my child's clothes. Her school requires that she wears a "uniform" everyday, which is a school t-shirt.

On the subject of curling hair, during the Christmas holiday, I decided to hot roll my hair before going to a family dinner.  I guess Payton was not used to me having curled hair (or really "fixed" hair) that when she saw me she put her hand over her mouth in shock.  She said that I looked beautiful and stylish.  I guess I should start fixing my hair more often so Payton doesn't go into shock on the rare occasion that I actually do go all out and attempt to style my hair.

Flu Update

Since Payton tested positive flu, we didn't do much over the weekend.  I mean she has the flu, right?  I know I should be knocking on some wood right now because I don't want to jinx myself, but if the way she was acting this weekend was because of the flu then she had a really mild case.  In fact, at one point this weekend, Derek and I looked at each other like, "Really, she has the flu?"  I think that because she had the flu mist,we caught it early, and started Tamiflu immediately, she avoided any physical effects of the flu.  Don't get me wrong, this is the best case that we could ever hope for as parents.  However, it was a little rough keeping her in the house all weekend.  I think everyone went a little stir crazy.

Also, over the weekend Payton and I had a conversation that took a turn for the worse in my opinion.  She loves to play baby.  This is a game where Derek and I go to college, get married, and then pick out our baby (her) and take her home.  In the car this weekend Payton was talking about the baby game.  The conversation went like this:

P:  Are babies born with clothes on?

Me:  No, they are born naked.

P:  So, the doctor told you when I was born that I was a girl?

Me:  No, remember I told you when you were in mommy's tummy the doctor had that special camera that could see into mommy's tummy and she told us we were having a girl.

P:  How did the doctor know I was a girl?

Me:  (Long pause and thinking how did the conversation end up here.)  Well, the doctor just knew.

P:  But how did she just know?

Me:  (Okay.... how to proceed)  Well, she just did.  (Total cop out, I know).

P:  But how?

Me:  (Seriously, what I am going to say?  Do I want to tell about a penis as opposed to a vagina?  No, I can't do that because then she will ask, "What's a penis?"  How do I explain that?  Maybe I can draw her a picture?  NO I CAN'T DO THAT!!!  I would feel like a pervert and it would lead to more questions.  Think, think, think).

Umm, they just know.  That is why they go to medical school.  (Then I quickly changed the subject).



Okay, so I admit that I could have handled that better.  However, I was driving down the road thinking that we were having such an innocent conversation that took a horrible wrong turn.  The good news is that she seemed okay with the answer (for now) that doctors just know the difference.

Change in Plans

I guess the bad thing about having a plan is that it is always subject to change.  Some changes may be good while others are not.  First up, I was going to be in a two week trial starting this Monday.  I have worked every weekend and basically planned on working 24/7 for the next two weeks.  However, at the pretrial conference yesterday the Judge reconsidered some of her rulings and the entire case (both sides) went away.  The next planned thing on the agenda was Payton's four-year old check-up today at 1:30. Because of the above trial, my mom took her.  I get a call from my mom saying Payton was running a low grade fever at her well check.  The doctor checked her for the flu (even though she had the flu mist).  Guess what???  Positive for flu type A.  Apparently, that is the worst strain.  Therefore, we have been calling around trying to find a pharmacy that has children's Tamiflu.  I have finally found one.  The doctor went ahead and wrote a prescription for me, Derek, my mom, and dad for the adult Tamiflu.  I have had the flu shot; however, I don't think Derek got one this time.  Therefore, it could be a long weekend.

Payton C.

As you may know, because I have mentioned it numerous times on this blog, Payton was not the top name on the list of names.  I really love and loved the name Payton when it was on our list.  I just had one name I liked better.  Growing up, I didn't even know anyone named Payton.  The first time I ever remember hearing the name was in junior high when I watched The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.  Side note, the Payton in that movie was the psycho.  Later in life I heard of Peyton Manning and some other famous people with the last name Payton. I don't want to go into the whole naming debate we had for Payton over four years ago; however, a couple of things Derek and I were pretty adamant about was that the name couldn't be weird, spelled all jacked up, or hard to pronounce.  I also didn't want  a name that everyone was naming their child.

We have been lucky because in all of Payton's schools, dance classes, gymnastics classes, soccer tots, and even baby music she has been the only Payton in each of those classes.  Well, as of her advancing in gymnastics and being moved into a new class, she is now officially Payton C.  There is also a Payton B. in her class.  I have no idea why this kind of gets to me a little.  I by no means ever thought that there would never be another Payton out there.  However, in all her activities and other people/blogs I know or read, Payton has never been a name I have come across as being highly popular.  The good news it that it doesn't seem to bother Payton in the least bit.  

This is Payton C. the other night pretending to be a pet alligator that Derek and I purchased from the pet store.

Also, look at how long she is getting.

Her four year old check-up is next week and I can't wait to see her stats.  Don't worry, we have already had lots of discussions about the upcoming shots she will be receiving.  She is not a happy camper but understands.  It also doesn't hurt that afterwards I have promised her that she could have a banana split for the first time.

I know.....

I have said this many times, but we are extremely lucky to have my mom watch and take care of Payton while we are away at work.  I often refer to Payton and my mom as partners in crime.  One of the benefits of  living so close to my mom and having her watch Payton is that I don't have to get Payton dressed at all in the mornings.  I just get her out of bed in her pjs and load her into the car.  She usually sleeps the entire ride over to my mom's house.  I call my mom when I pull up in her driveway, and my mom meets me at the door all while Payton is usually still asleep.  I thought I would share this picture of what I see in my mirror every morning.

It looks like it is pretty tough to be four these days.

Hello 2013

I can't believe it is 2013 already.  I remember waiting for the end of the world to happen when we hit 2000.  However, that was 13 years ago. As far as New Year's Eve 2012, Derek and I went out to dinner at a new sushi place.  Granted we ate at 5:30 in the evening; however, it was still nice to have a dinner out with just the two of us.  We picked Payton up by 7:30 that evening and everyone was asleep by 10:30.  We are such party animals!!!!

I don't really have any resolutions per se, because I never keep them.  However, if you made any then I wish you the best of luck in fulfilling them.