Weekend of Firsts

What a fun Memorial Day weekend at the Ghaffari household!! Michael took an extra day off, so we've had four days together to just do whatever we wanted, and it was great!! But, of course, this is a blog about PJ so I must focus on her exciting weekend of FIRSTS. I was talking to Rachel on the telephone on Sunday afternoon while Payton was contentedly nursing. We did the usual side one, burp, side two, and then she was sitting on my lap sucking or gnawing on my thumb while I carried on my conversation. I think Rachel was in the middle of a sentence when I totally interrupted her and squealed out, "OH MY GOSH! I can feel teeth! TEETH!! PJ has two little teeth emerging in her lower front gums!" I was all giddy and silly and Rachel was reacting right along with me. It was hilarious! We all knew she has been teething for quite awhile since she's been such a drool baby ever since 3 months of age, so it was no surprise to finally FEEL and SEE them. I was so excited that I started prying open her mouth to see them and I think she got a little annoyed with me. HA! Payton is 5 months and 1 week old, so I believe she is right on target for her first tooth emergence (although, I wouldn't be surprised if she was a little early...she IS in the 90th percentile for everything - sheesh!).

I tried to capture a picture...now don't get grossed out!



Sunday afternoon, Michael and I attended our friend's pool party and Granny Linda stayed home with PJ (she is the quintessential grandmother who can't wait to see her grandbaby - what a blessing to have a babysitter whenever we need one!). So it was a nice little date for us and a good opportunity to catch up with some long lost friends. Well, I am a social drinker, I'll admit, so I had a few margaritas and thoroughly enjoyed myself. But when it was time to put Payton to bed, I decided it would not be a good idea to nurse her...obviously. So it was MOMMY'S first time to put her baby to bed without nursing...she drank breastmilk from a bottle instead. She did great - sailed right through it - and fell fast asleep almost immediately! It was Momma who had the hang up! I was almost in tears...mostly because I realized that she was growing up so so so fast. She's getting teeth, not needing to nurse as much, and...well, you see my point. My baby is growing up!! :-(

Every night when we go to bed, we always check on Payton and open her door for the night. When I checked on her Sunday night, she was hilariously positioned in her crib and both of her arms were out of her swaddle...so she slept most of the night that way. It was another milestone! She's big enough to not need to be swaddled anymore. Because of the danger of SIDS, babies don't use regular blankets as covers. We had a zip blanket in the back of her closet that we found, but it's too hot for summer and she's already too long for it...but I had to photograph it anyway. :-)

To add a final touch to her weekend of firsts, PJ tasted her first serving of rice cereal on Monday after her afternoon nursing session. She did amazingly well...and swallowed most of it...the whole time! I think she is more than ready to start solids but, because I'm a schmaltzy mom, I've been putting it off. She was really excited about the whole experience, and we caught it all on video! Here are a few photos from that special moment.

PJ sits in her highchair for the first time!
First Cereal

Check out the video of her first cereal above!

So there ya have it! Memorial Day 2009 weekend was quite a momentous occasion for our little Payton Joy. These moments will fly by, no doubt, but it's up to me to catch them (by blogging, photographing, recording, etc.) every step of the way! I love our kid so much...she is the biggest blessing in the world!! She just awakened from her morning nap, and Michael is changing her...then it's time for some more cereal!!

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. We love you!