Bad blogger

I've fallen victim to a crazy work schedule and even crazier weekend schedule chasing after Peyton and all of her activities. I promise to get back on the blogging bandwagon soon. 

So close....

Peyton is thisclose to mastering a cartwheel...check it out (what you won't see on the video is ME doing a cartwheel immediately before hand to demonstrate. You're welcome.)

This Means War

Thanks to Grandma, we have a new favorite game in the Hellmer house: War. Grandma taught Peyton the game a few weeks ago, and she has been obsessed ever since.

I'm not gonna lie - it's a nice departure from our regular go-to hobbies of princess match, Cinderalla ball, and dress up. We spent a good 90 minutes on a Saturday night engaged in World War III at our kitchen table. Peyton totally gets the rules and concept, and of course, loves to "go to war."

Who knew??

Peyton just won a war over an Ace against Daddy.

As you can see, she isn't the only Hellmer to take the game seriously.

Back at it bright and early the next morning.

High Maintenance

Although he has never said it to my face, I know Martin believes I'm high maintenance. I just googled it and found this:

"Requiring a lot of attention. When describing a person, high-maintenance usually means that the individual is emotionally needy or prone to over-dramatizing a situation to gain attention."

and this:

"Has higher than normal expectations; has a greater requirement for affection or attention; has more needs and/or demands and therefore more difficult or challenging. Doesn't equate to money or material possessions alone but may be needy in emotional attention and affection;picky, bratty, likes things her way, takes pride in her appearance, finicky. Usually very well put together and usually independent therefore requiring a lot out of a man to keep up with her."

He is clearly misguided about me.

While this may be an accurate description of a high maintenance adult, the picture of Peyton below perfectly illustrates a high maintenance child. It was taken during our weekly Movies Under the Stars. Peyton was complaining about the smoke from the fire bugging her eyes, making it difficult for her to properly concentrate on the movie (Snow White, for those of you keeping track). As a joke, Martin offered to get her swim goggles to help shield her sensitive peepers. Without hesitation she agreed, and watched the remainder of the movie like this:

Windblown

An unseasonable wind storm took over the Valley of the Sun on a Sunday, prompting us sun-loving, weather-bragging fools to panic for a second.

Monsoons don't start until August!
This is the time of year for perfect weather!
Our pool will be a mess and we haven't even swum in it yet!

But after pulling ourselves together, we decided to look on the bright side of things. Instead of cowering inside our home, hiding from the gusts, Martin had the brilliant idea to buy Peyton a kite.

And there, in the middle of the park on a Sunday afternoon, the father/daughter bond was strengthened even further.

After about six minutes of father daughter bliss, Peyton got bored and asked to play on the playground. Hope Martin enjoyed it while it lasted...



Healthy Choices

My faithful readers have heard me brag ad nauseam about Peyton's perfect eating habits. But that won't stop me from doing it again.

Martin had a "work thing" a few nights ago, and I gave Peyton the choice for dinner: stay at home and make spaghetti, or cruise over to the nearby Chick-fil-A for some yummy fried goodness.

You guessed it - Miss Perfect Pants picked stay at home and make spaghetti, much to my disappointment (I love me some Chick-fil-A). Knowing she was right in her decision, I obliged. My little sous chef and I whipped up some awesomely (un)flavorful whole wheat spaghetti with turkey meat sauce and a side salad. As Peyton twirled and slurped her noodles, I dreamt about Polynesian sauce, waffle fries, and chicken nuggets.

Following dinner, Peyton grabbed her allowed two treats from the treat bucket for dessert. She gobbled up her Hershey kiss and nerds in about six seconds flat. She then asked in her most convincing tone possible, "Mommy, since I have been such a good girl today, and because I was such a good helper tonight, may I please have two more insy binsy treats?"

"Of course, Peyton. You're right - you are a good girl. Go grab two more insy binsy treats."

I fully expected to see Peyton come back with two bite sized candy bars, a lollipop, or some bubble gum. But, no, my child takes the term "insy binsy" very literally. She showed up with one teeny tiny little gummy lifesaver (instead of the whole roll) and one minuscule hard candy from her Sofia candy necklace.

Peytonisms

Peyton: "Today in cooking we made dirt. But not real dirt. That would be silly. It was pudding and Oreos. And we added coconut but I didn't like the coconut."
Me: "That's okay, I don't really like coconut either. But Daddy loves coconut."
Peyton: "He is a funny, funny man."

"You're killing my butt today." (Peyton's comment during an intense game of Princess match - obviously crossing "you're kicking my butt" with "you're killing me.")

"Actually, it is kind of shady so I think I might just take my sunglasses off."

"Mommy, I think it would make much more sense to put the lotion on my face before I put my shirt over my head."

"I think Baxter the Bobcat heard my voice and neckarized me from the baseball game I went to in the real stadium." (Said following a Spring Training game when she got to high five Baxter...and yes, in Peyton's world, neckarized is a word.)

Running in Circles

Sometimes, if you're four, you just want to take off your shoes and run around in the grass. And sometimes, if you're a parent, you just want to enjoy watching your child run in circles on a Friday evening while you enjoy a glass of wine and perfect spring time temperatures.