Well, I've gotta write something....

I still don't have access to any of my pictures...hopefully soon. It is so hard to be away from my computer. My mom's is great but I like to be able to load and store my photos on my own. So, I am just going to ramble a bit since so much has been going on and I need to blog before I forget things.

The Bowen household is decorated minus a wreath on the front door. Somehow I forgot to get one this year, I will fix that this weekend. We've gotta have a seashell Christmas wreath to complete the loook. This year we did most of the decorating inside...only the lightposts outside are wrapped in lights. Our new neighbors have enough lights for their house as well as ours (I am so NOT kidding!) Their front yard is a mish-mosh of holiday delight (are you sensing my sarcasm here?) Payson picked out a great tree this year. It's not as big as the ones we have had in the past but it fits much better in the living room. Last year we had to move all of the furniture to accommodate the tree. Payson's pick is the perfect fit.

We had my company Christmas parties last weekend...one for the kids and one for the adults. They were both so much fun! We have been teaching Payson to say HOHOHO when we ask her what Santa says. She is pretty good at it and we thought that it would make her excited when she got to meet Santa at the party. Ummmm, not so much! She was okay with him when he made his entrance by kayak on the beach. She was still okay when he was up on stage and she was walking around checking him out. But, when it came to sitting on his knee, she was NOT okay. She held on to dada so tight that I think she almost punctured his skin. All I wanted was a picture of her on his knee even if she was crying. No such luck...haven't I learned yet that things don't always go as planned with a toddler? We had a little bit more blood at the party...Payson did a face-plant next to the Christmas tree and had a little bit of a bloody nose. She recovered fully and had a sleepover that night with the gram while we went to the adult party. Too fun! But, I definitely paid for it the next day with a lovely hangover.

Now on to Payson Jayne...she had her first real tantrum the other day. I was getting her dressed after her morning nap and she just did not want to go along with it. She totally went limp and then started biting anything in the path of her 8 very sharp teeth. NOT GOOD! I would prefer for my child not to be a biter! We are going to have to work on that.

She is still loving most foods but mostly her vanilla soy milk. She loves it (especially when it is warmed up a little bit). I am still not sure why we went with soy milk instead of cow's but it is working for her so we are going with it. She is still a fake vegetarian just like her mama. We like our fish but stay away from red meat and poultry. We will see how long this lasts. I just want her to be healthy and if she decides to turn into a picky eater and we need to give her some animal proteins to keep her healthy then so be it. I would love for her to stay away from meats forever but I am trying to be very realistic about all of it. We will do what is right for her when the time comes. For now Trader Joe's keeps her full of veggie nuggets, soy meatballs, and plenty of other protein packed goodies. She is also a huge fan of tofu. Surprisingly she prefers it cold and plain. I have dry-fried it and marinaded it but she likes it the boring way...easier for me I guess.

She is getting to be so big. She is moving around like lightning. I can't turn my back to her for a second. But it is so cute to watch her roam around and explore everything new. She knows to only touch the tree ornaments "very gently" which is great. She is starting to want to try to get up on chairs and couches but has not mastered that yet. She has been coming to the playgroup at the gym with me on Mondays. I get a free membership for working in the playroom for 3 hours on Monday nights. She only stays for an hour before Rob picks her up but she is starting to get a little more used to the other kids. She is a little timid around other kids because she just hasn't been around many. I guess this is one of the downfalls to not having your kid in daycare. We're gonna work on it though...I certainly don't want her to be a shy girl or one that gets picked on. One of the little boys that is a couple months older than her came right up to her and grabbed her shirt. She looked up at me and her bottom lip dropped. Then the tears started... I felt so bad for her but she wasn't hurt...just a little bit intimidated. We'll toughen her up by the time she gets to school ;0)

Okay, for the sake of the few readers I have left, I will stop the babbling now. Top Chef is on TV. Gotta Go!!