A VERY late 6/7 months combined 6.21 & 7.21.13

At 6 months, Payton started to it up on her own. She would wobble a bit to find her balance, but more often than not she would make it without falling down! She is soooo proud of herself.

We also began introducing solid foods to her. We started with oatmeal and bananas and then moved on to apples, pears, and sweet potatoes. Now she is eating all sorts of fruits and vegetables.

For Payton being 6 months introduced many firsts. She started to hold her bottle all by herself and her voice was found. Her first sounds were dadadadadadada and ppp. Since it has been beautiful this summer, Payton spent time with Daddy and Grammy watching Mommy play softball. She also had her first introdcution to the pool and Grandmom and Grandpop's house. Payton is like her Daddy and is a little fish. Payton also had her first though short experience to the Jersey Shore (so short I don't have any photos to show the proof) - it was such a hot day Daddy and Mommy weren't sure we should stay, so we left to visit Gramps pool and cool off before the long ride home. 

At 7 months, we have dadadadada, mmmmmamamma, up, ppppapa, along with many high pitch noises and shrieks too! She still has the most infectious laugh as she is also quite ticklish.

Things have been very hectic here, so we may not have all the same updates as before. The way we see it, something is better than nothing at the moment :)

5 Months - 5.21.13 & Mommy goes back to work

Payton and Mommy had some adjusting to do this week. I went back to work full time on Monday. It really worked out pretty well with only a few small bumps in the road. Payton is very lucky as are we to have the support and help of Grammy and Gramps along with her adoptive Grandma Rosa. Of course spending any part of your day with your Grammy and Gramps rocks, but then throw Rosa into the mix and it's an even busier and exciting week. Rosa is working on speaking Spanish to Payton and even reinforcing and continuing using sign language with her too!

We seem to have a morning routine down. We get up at 5:00 nurse and then Payton stays up for bit and then drifts back to sleep, making the transition to the car an easy one. When we get to Grammy's she is just waking up and ready to eat again. Mommy and Payton are lucky because everyday at lunch Mommy can come home for a visit or to nurse Payton. Payton has even started to take a few naps a day!!! All we need to get down now is feeding/nap times towards the end of the day.

If you go back to some earlier posts, you will see little Payton in her WashPod from her first weeks of life and here she is now! Such a huge difference!!!

This little peanut is growing faster than ever! We think she has to have again another pound or two! Payton was 5 months on May 21 (I know we are posting much closer to her 6 month birthday - but work has been hectic). Payton and Mommy went to the doctor for shots on 5/20 and Payton weighed in at 13 lb 3oz. Her next appointment is July 10 so we will she how she has grown then!

On Monday, June 3, Payton rolled over from her back to her belly. We tried to capture it but weren't so successful! See here...

In other milestones, we just love, love, love our toes!!!! Payton can be crying and once her feet land in her hands she is all smiles again (not that she cries all that much anyway :))

Mommy's first Mother's Day 2013

This is Payton working very hard at Adornments...

And here is Payton on her first dinner and Denville Dairy date with her boyfriend Brayden.

4 Months - 4.12.13

We have had a busy week! On April 12,  we visited our pediatrician of the day and she told us that Miss Payton Rose is weighing in at 12 lbs. She is continuing to still grow. It may not be as much as she would like to see, but to us it is growth! She is developing in so many ways: 1. Making all sorts of noises (including the most adorable belly laugh ever!) 2. Starting to try to turn to her side 3. Is using her hands to hold objects placed in them (rattle, Sophie the Giraffe, our fingers, etc) 4. Has become obsessed with her hands (you will always find them hand in hand in her mouth) 5. While having her serious take it all in face, she has the sweeter side of smiling at most faces she comes in contact with. As far as we are concerned she is doing just fine :)

So our little girl is 4 months old. She is continuing to grow and change daily. I know this is repetitive, but it is just amazing that 4 months ago we were at the hospital anxiously awaiting her arrival and today we are watching her try to sit up and listening to her newly found voice.

Before our April 12 doctor's appointment, Payton Rose took her first trip on an airplane.  On Thursday, April 4, we woke up very early (4:00 AM) to have Jillian take us to Newark Airport on our Southwest flight to Denver, Colorado. It was amazing! The security line was a breeze, the plane wasn't packed so Payton's car seat made it aboard with us, and the darling little girl was happy and smiling when she wasn't sleeping. Landing in Denver, getting out luggage, and the rental car couldn't have been an easier too! We were of course welcomed with open arms to The Greenwald household! Noa and her friend Avery, couldn't be more excited! The photos started instantly! We had such a wonderful visit with our Boulder family. Batya, Jonny, Sammy, and Noa were fantastic hosts!! We thank them getting us a pack and play, Boppy pillow, and the yummy dinners! On our trip we even had the opportunity to visit with Vanessa's Grandma Ruthie and Payton's Great Grandma Ruthie!!! We had such a special visit and even ended up having some great photo opportunities! Our return flight was fully booked. Payton did well again and this time we had the extra hands of Grampy.

3 Months- 3.15.13

We are so excited to say that at today's doctor appointment (the second pediatrician) Miss Payton Rose weighed in at a whopping 11 lbs on 3/22/13!!! This is huge because she needs to be gaining weight and she successfully gained 3 ounces this week (the doctor said she likes to see between 3-3.5 oz of weight gain per week)!!!


In addition to her awesome news in regards to gaining weight, Payton has become quite the vocalist. She is cooing, laughing, and giggling all the time. She tends to smile when she wants and can still be a bit stingy on the sharing of her smiles. It is totally on her terms only :) We don't know where she gets her serious side from that makes all of us work hard for the adorable smile, but when we get we get many and sometimes even a laugh or two!


In other news, just after Payton turned 3 months, she had her first adventure in a long car ride. We were off to West Chester, PA to a family bar mitzvah and were able to make a quick visit to the Grand PB & J's country home. This was more for Mommy and Daddy, as the long trip made them a bit anxious. The detour gave them time to unwind and get changed into their party clothes; while I was able to spend time with PB & J. We had a lovely visit and I made it through the bar mitzvah party pretty well - only 2 short fussy moments.

I also finally took a good photo with my daddy... you can see it below.

Last but not least in my news is ... my Mommy and I went on a blind Mommy and Baby date today. A customer of my Grammy's @ Adornments has a daughter who had a baby boy a month earlier than my Mommy had me. Turns out that she actually lives like 10 houses away from us in Morris Plains. We met in Denville for lunch (both of us babies were pretty well behaved) and then went for a little baby shopping... I like my new friend Brayden and Mommy likes her new friend Carly. We will see them again next week.

2 Months - 2.21.13

Payton Rose was two months a couple of weeks ago (I know this is coming late!). We are more and more amazed at our little one! It's beyond crazy how only a few months ago we were imagining what our daughter would be like. What we have learned so far is that she knows what she wants and we should do it when she wants something (eating, being changed, being held how she wants to be held, etc). Our lives are all about her!

Payton and Mommy are becoming adventurous. We go out most days for some errands or for drives (Payton loves the car rides). We have had more visits to Adornments and have added some new places: Grammy's house, Jess & Scotts, the Nangle's, Aunt Beth & Dave's, and Grandmom & Grandpop's house. Payton has even been out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings to meet our friends the Greenberg's, to Rod's for brunch, and to Casa Bella for Auntie's birthday dinner (where Daddy gave Payton her first real bottle).

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Over the past few weeks we have also had a weekly weight check at Dr. Gotfried's office.  Payton hasn't gained weight but has gained some length. Payton has been sleeping between 4-7 hours at night, but is not a huge fan of naps.

The animals are still great with her. Wilfred checks in on her when she is in her car seat or nap nanny or you can find him at the feet of who is holding her.  Marley gets up in the middle of the night to walk to where Payton's cradle is (next to Mommy) to make sure she is there. When she isn't in the cradle he looks for Mommy holding Payton. If Payton isn't in the bedroom, he paces from her cradle to his bed.

In preparation for St. Patrick's day, Payton agreed to a photo shoot... here's to being lucky!!

And this is one of my favorite's... Taken by Rob at Michael's first birthday party!

Payton Rose @ 6 weeks

Payton Rose is growing so fast it is unbelievable! She enjoys being held and loves to cuddle. She is also very alert. She has been very alert since birth, but now she is able to lock eyes with you, focus on objects that are near by, and has started to go for rides in her stroller. Payton enjoys her bath in her bucket as well as her bath that sits in our kitchen sink. She loves the feeling of the warm water on body and enjoys splashing her feet too!


At 6 weeks, Payton Rose had her visit to Nanna's store. At first we were a bit fussy as there was so much that excited Payton. After a few minutes she was calm and cooing over all the jewels and crystals she felt happy, comfortable, and content. This was the first of our  many visits. Thanks Kelly for the adorable outfit!!!!



Over the past few weeks, Payton has received some very generous gifts from our sweet family and friends. Over the summer, Sophie (I started babysitting her when she was 1.5 years old - now a senior in high school) brought Payton a onesie from Paris, that went too perfect with a red tutu that Cousin Laurie sent her. After a bit of a fussy night, Payton agreed to a photo shoot... here is one of my favorite photos from our shoot!

1 Month - 1.21.13

Payton Rose was one month last Friday. It is incredible that time has flown by already. We spent some time on her 4 week birthday trying to capture her at this moment on her life. After 30 or so photos, I we decided on one that we think totally represents her as it is one of her most seen expressions of our little girl.

Payton and Mommy spend all of our days and our nights together. Some of them include some wonderful sleep, whereas others are full more of chatting and cooing. Of course we get the occasional fussiness. . . usually when Payton is being fed fast enough or when she has a dirty diaper (she isn't a fan of that feeling).

We are all still adjusting to our lack of sleep or disrupted sleep schedule but are loving every minute of our new lives.  Mommy and Payton have started somewhat of a morning and daytime routine that includes naps, visitors, and playtime.

Marley (our lab) has calmed down since the arrival of Payton Rose and likes to lay at the feet of whomever is holding her. Wilfred (Jillian's cat who lives with us) also has interest in being near where Payton is. The animals seem to want to be protective of her. This makes having them around her a bit more calming to the adults at home.

Here is one of my favorites of the day. This photo was captured during Payton's visit with the Grand PB & J.

First WashPod Bath

Tonight we tried a new kind of bath. Thanks to family friend Juliane for introducing us to it. Her daughter in Germany loved hers. So we thought we would give this a shot as the concept was very cool. We will also be using the baby tub from our friend Cassie and Sam but from reading about this new kind of bath infants are suppose to like it more and fuss less as they feel as if they are back in the womb. A WashPod is an interesting concept. It looks like a big bucket, but it is made to be balanced and not tip over. The WashPod also has a little "cushioned" seat in the bottom so that the baby can sit. I think for the first go around with this new bath we did okay.  There were times it took three of us to figure it all out, but we now know it will be better if we place the WashPod is on a lower surface so the adult's arms aren't tired or awkward.

Once Payton Rose was in and settled she seemed happy and content as she seems to love the warm water like her Mama does. We will try again Wednesday since now we know what to do and what to expect. Here are some of the photos of our first try at our new WashPod.

Even Daddy was a bit stressed and nervous at first, you can see in the last photo that before he could help Mama out he had to calm himself with his pacifier.

On Our Own

Today was Mommy and Payton's first day all alone. We didn't have any visitors or Daddy home with us today. We learned today that we are still going through our first growth spurt because we ate, napped, changed diaper, and repeat times two. Overall we were both in good spirits although Mommy was a bit tired because Payton didn't sleep as well as she had been (3-4 hours between feedings at night) and then with her current growth spurt she was awfully hungry today. That equals not much down time for me. However, we survived! Today Payton spent some time in her new ride... the Mamaroo (Thanks Auntie Jillian!!)

Two Weeks Already

Payton Rose was two weeks yesterday. It is hard to believe that just two weeks ago Rob and I were debating calling the doctor to see what we should do about the pains I was feeling. Our lives have definitely changed for the better (although a bit more sleep would be nice). It is amazing how in just two weeks Payton has changed so much. Her facial features seem to change all the time and we can't always decide who she looks more like Rob or myself. What I can say about her is that even at two weeks old, she has been showing us some of her personality. She smiles when she feels like it and she makes the cutest and the funniest expressions. There are times when she even seems to be being playful with me. We are very fortunate to have her in our lives and are more fortunate that she has a good temperament about her.

Payton had her first doctor's appointment Wednesday, December 26 (her actual due date) and the doctor said she was weighing in at 7 lbs 8 oz and asked that we come back for a weight check on Monday, December 31. We did. . . At this appointment Payton's new weight was 8 lbs 3 oz... we are very happy that she is healthy and growing strong each day.

Today's picture was from yesterday honoring Uncle Larry and the Oregon Ducks win against Kansas State.

Welcome to the World Payton Rose!

Payton was born on December 21, 2012 at 3:57 PM in Denville, NJ. My Mom and Dad weren't expecting me until December 26, but I was ready early. Mommy and Daddy went to St. Clare's Hospital at 3:00 AM on 12/21/12 thinking they were just going in for monitoring. They were wrong. Mommy was in labor for 17 hours, but she didn't know it at first. As Mommy and Daddy were at the hospital time flew by. At 12:00 PM Mommy was 6 cm dilated and by 1:00 PM she was 10 cm and I was ready to come into the world. Mommy only had to push for about 3 hours before I was here and in her arms. I weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 20 in long. All of my family were waiting to meet me that night. I am lucky for my family.