365 days of Peyton!

  Peyton turned 1 this past weekend.  I don't know where an entire year went.  I remember his birth.. well no I don't remember his actual birth because I was put to sleep, however I do remember that evening as though it were last week.  Writing that makes me sad, because it's unbelievable how quickly time passes.  Peyton surprised us and came 5 weeks early- exactly 1 day before what was supposed to be my baby shower.  He must have just been too excited to wait until his due date.  Plus he was born during the best week of the year and in the best month of the year.  My birthday and B's birthday are in the same week as well.. and if I began naming all of the family and friends whose birthday is also in January, I'd never get to my post.  So I guess Peyton didn't want to be left out :-)  This is what my little boy looked like on the day he was born...

Peyton 4lbs 9oz on his true birth date

    This time last year was the best and worst time of my life.  My little boy was finally here (hence, the best time), but he came a little too early and wasn't ready to thrive on his own.  He had to stay in the NICU for two full weeks (hence the worst time).  I was only able to stay in the hospital for 5 days, so for the next week and half I cried every day multiple times as I left the hospital to go home at night.  It seriously broke my heart... and yes I know that there are way worse things that a mother- or anyone for that matter- can go through, but I've never experienced those things.  So, this was the worst for me.  Brandon, family, and supportive friends helped me know that it would be ok.  The Sunday after I was discharged, I was so thankful to be able to go to church and feel God's presence.  It gave me strength and perspective.

We both spent lots of time doing skin to skin.  Brandon was a pro at this.

Under normal circumstances, these words would not make you cry (see below).  However, in these circumstances I saw this sign and cried.  This meant that Peyton had eaten what was expected of him and if he did it for two more days, he could come home!  And shortly after this, he did come home.

It has now been a year from those exciting, emotional, and overwhelming days and people said I would forget them, but I haven't.  There have been tons of great things that have happened in between then and now, and one day I'll blog some of the fun ones.  For now I'll share his first birthday....

So Peyton's first birthday was supposed to be small, only family, dinner and cake, low cost etc.  It was kinda like that.  I made the mistake of searching Pinterest for ideas and of course got sucked in.  I knew exactly what I was getting myself into as I've been addicted to Pinterest now for some time.  But, I did it anyway.. and the result was this...

His Cake... Pinterest Inspired

Caterpillar Food (M&Ms)...Pinterest Inspired

Cupcakes... tags Pinterest inspired

Caterpillar craft for kids to make.. Pinterest inspired

Balloon trees on wall.. Pinterest inspired

Happy Birthday Banner... Etsy inspired

Very Hungry Caterpillar food tags and fruit- Pinterest inspired

Caterpillar balloons ... Pinterest inspired

Ho Ho Ho Punch (virgin) ... Pinterest inspired

Hanging Balloons.. Pinterest inspired

As you can see... Pinterest had me busyyyy.  All week. After work.  Until 10 or 11pm. Busy.  But it was worth it.  Peyton loved his birthday present- the Step 2 roller coaster.  He had tons of fun playing with his cousins, friends, and neighbors.  He even got to experience icing for the first time.  Homemade icing at that. 

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY PEYTON!