Whew! What a nasty winter we have had here at the Charles house! It seems that both Chloe and Peyton have been sick with one thing or another almost all winter! Last week was actually the worst! Chloe had an inner and outer ear infection, Peyton was running 104 temps for more than half the week, wheezing, crackling noises in his lungs, gooey eyes, and moaning and groaning constantly....he was diagnosed with bout #2 of RSV (YUCK!) and also a double ear infection! Poor baby! He looked absolutely pitiful! And apparently, Peatrie wanted in on the action - b/c he also had a double ear infection! Darn dog! You should have SEEN the pharmacy I had on our kitchen counter! Ugh! Those are the kinds of weeks when Mommy is ready to rip her hair out of her head! PTL - everyone NOW seems to be on the upswing!!! Here are a few pics of Peyton and Chloe in no particular order. Some are from Christmas (which we never blogged about - sorry!), and also a visit to G-pa Bull in Traverse City (this is Chloe and Peyton's GREAT G-pa...Harm's G-pa.), and some pics that have been taken of the kiddos over the last few weeks - even a SICK pic of Peyton at his worst. We are READY for springtime!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday to Peyton Man! He turned 1 yr. on Halloween 2008! Here are some pics of Halloween night when we got together with friends, Tony and Jen Glaab, Tim and Tracy, Hayley and Ashley Oberst, and Dawn and Wes, Adrienne and Alegra Thrasher...the kiddos dressed up and went trick or treating....it was a crazy and fun time! And then the next day, we had a birthday party for Peyton Man! Aunt Sammie made a really cool cake and he was spoiled rotten with lots of fun presents and attention!

This weekend we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and some fall festivities as well. We visited Post Family Farms and Chloe got to ride the "Pumpkin Train", had her very first pony ride, we all took a hay ride out to the u-pick pumpkin patch and selected a pumpkin for each of the kids, ate some AWESOME pumpkin spice doughnuts and cider, and the kids also enjoyed climbing on the hay bales. It was a great day!

I cannot believe that we are already into October! Where does the time go?! Peyton will be 1 on Halloween - it hardly seems possible!! He is all over the place, looking to pull himself up onto/over anything that presents a bit of a challenge! He'd rather climb and crawl than even eat! He is lots of fun and is starting to say a few words, like Uh-oh, ball, and whoa, wow, ow, and mama and dada. Here are a few recent pictures of him!

Peyton is now 9 1/2 months old! He is a sweetheart! Pretty easy-going when not in pain from teething! He is the complete opposite of Chloe in his build - he is a CHUNK!! He has three bottom teeth now (one just popped thru in the last two days!) and one on the top! He is great about going down at night exactly at 8pm - like clock work! And he is not so great about sleeping past about 6am EVERY morning! Ugh! He is not crawling yet - but he is still all over the place - getting into by rolling and creeping - and he loves to pull on cords and whatever kind of paper he can get his hands on! He's gonna keep Mommy REALLY busy once he actually does start crawling! I have had to tell him "No no, No touch" with a stern voice several times, and he just grins bigger and makes a "heee" sound - he's LAUGHING at my discipline!!! Oh my - we are in for a treat!! Here are some pics of the kiddos in the bath together! What a riot!!

On August 11th, Chloe turned 3 years old! Holy cow! Where does the time go?! She is changing and growing up so fast, it seems! We celebrated her birthday by throwing a fun party with family and friends at a little park in Hudsonville. Aunt Sammy made the coolest cake ever - a Bruce the Shark cake (he's the big shark in Finding Nemo). Chloe has been fascinated by sharks for months now! The day after her party - it was like Christmas morning with all the toys and gifts to 'discover'! Oh my goodness was she ever spoiled rotten!!

And, then on August 21st, Chloe decided that she was ready to get her ears pierced. She had been curious several times in the past, and we had explained to her that she too could have earrings someday, but that there was a certain amount of pain involved in the process. She usually was content to leave it at that. But for some reason, yesterday she was ready and feeling brave. She brought it up, and then was determined to do it! So - I packed the kids in the car along with the double stroller, and on my way - thought to myself, "Gee, I wonder how I am going to do all this? Get a double stroller inside Claires - then keep Peyton happy, keep Chloe still and comforted if she gets scared, and take pics of this momentous event.." - When I thought maybe I should see how busy Nana (my mom) was at work. As it turned out - she was bored at the office, and the Boss (my dad) told her to go ahead and tag along with us on this outing! That was a very good thing! I couldn't have done it without her there!! Too much to do and not enough hands otherwise!! Here are some pics of the whole thing...Chloe did really well - she was very brave, and only cried a bit after the initial sensation set in. She didn't have a melt-down or anything, and as soon as I gave her a sucker and then let her see her new earrings (blue because that is her favorite color) - she was subdued but fine. Today - she is very proud of them, and says that they don't hurt at all!!! What a trooper!