Moving on up!

Look who graduated!

More to see in the graduation album on SmugMug. There are also recent pictures in our summer adventures album. You don't need to be logged in to view the pictures, but let me know if you need the password. (And if you want to sign up yourself, you can use this link to get a discount on your first year.)

Who Is Going To Learn Spanish Next Year?

This guy!

Peter got into Dos Cominos, the district's dual language program, and we couldn't be happier.

Happy Five Years!

I find it so hard to believe that FIVE years have come and gone, while this still feels like yesterday. He had a very low key birthday this year, spending the afternoon playing with his new gifts followed by dinner at Gritz and Granddad's. He also had a special surprise at school when Charles and I came to read to his class.

He has grown so much over the past year, I cannot believe how much of a boy (as opposed to baby) that he is now. He has grown two inches and is now 43.75 inches and 40 pounds. He is so very much looking forward to kindergarten next year (and we are waiting to hear if he got into the dual language program). He loves to be helpful, especially with Charles, and is also fiercely independant. He has started to get a bit picky about his food if it is not made to his precise specifications, but he thankfully has not limited himself to chicken fingers and fries like it seems so many children do. He still likes salmon, hibachi, sushi, teriyaki chicken, tacos. He eats his vegetables first, especially corn, green beans and broccoli. Although if his pizza (which is a favorite) has visible basil, he refuses eat it. We are definitely blessed that Peter gives us such few things to complain about.

While there aren't a lot of photos here, there are more from the day in his birthday album on SmugMug. There are also recent pictures in our spring adventures album. You don't need to be logged in to view the pictures, but let me know if you need the password. (And if you want to sign up yourself, you can use this link to get a discount on your first year.)

Happy Four Years!

And he's FOUR! This year we celebrated with family and friends at the park, and on his actual birthday he got to go visit our friend James at the firehouse he works at. Possibly the best birthday trip every. He has also grown, as he is now 41.75 inches tall and 36 pounds, putting him into the 90th and 50th percentiles respectively.

And as I am late with posting, lets get to the poll from BabyCenter

Cognitive Development
Uses sentences of six or more words – Oh yes, he talks CONSTANTLY
Speaks well enough for strangers to understand – Most of the time. Every once in a while, he will start using made up words, but it's only if he gets really excited
Starts to use “s” on verbs to show present tense (“he runs”) – Yes.

Social and Emotional Development
Develops friendships independent of you — Yes, he is very social and is very popular wherever we go.
Plays with other children, instead of just side by side – Has been doing this for a while now.

Physical Development
Uses a spoon and fork like an adult – Yes, and even uses a knife on things like pancakes.
Brushes teeth (he will still need your help and supervision) – He can do this.

And while this post is very much lacking in photos, there are lots of photos on Picasa (which you have to be logged in to see), including pictures of our firehouse trip in our spring adventures album.

A Gift From Jingle McJingles

The boys had a Christmas surprise from our elf, Jingle McJingles, when they got up this morning. Overnight, he had decorated our tree!

Charles woke up first, and was so excited. It is his first Christmas tree, and the happiness on his face (even though I couldn't get it on camera because I was holding him) was just perfect.

Of course he felt the need to try to grab everything, which is why we have the small tree this year.

When Peter got up, he was so happy that the tree was finally decorated. He really enjoyed looking at all the ornaments.

It is starting to feel more and more like Christmas around here.

It's mornings like these that I really love the Christmas season.

Thank you, Jingle McJingles!

Kicking the Ball

This week, Peter started at a soccer clinic at school. He was a little hesitant at first, but really got into it at the end. Even though he didn't participate for most of the class, he has been talking about it non-stop ever since. I'm really looking forward to the next six weeks, it should be a lot of fun.

Time for School

Last Thursday was Peter's first day of school.

He is now in the three's program at the nursery school at church, and he is loving it. Unlike camp, I actually remembered to take pictures of his first day, and got a few of his second day as well.

Last week was shortened days to get the children used to being there, but he started his regular Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule this week and has been doing great.

I am late in posting as I have been slow getting the pictures online. And I probably won't have many more of Peter in school since he doesn't need or want me to stay. I cannot believe how fast he is growing up.

The Hair is Cut

Hard to believe that we made it three years, but today Peter had his first hair cut. I was hesitant, but it was getting too long to hold the curls and since he starts camp on Monday, it seemed like the best time to do it. We headed over to the local children's hairdresser, and Peter was impressed with their car seats. He did seem a little nervous at first, but soon settled in. She was great with him, and we were all happy with the results. Peter was especially happy with the balloon, bubbles and lollipop that he got and wanted to pose for pictures in the red car. He also got a certificate for completing his first haircut, and was excited to show it to Daddy when he got home from work. There are more pictures in our June album on Picasa.

New Ride

A little while ago, Nana and PopPop surprised Peter with his first bike.

He has been doing so well peddling on the tricycles at school that I was not at all surprised when he had no problems with the bike. He absolutely loves it, and we are trying to figure the best place for him to ride. Here is video of him enjoying the nice weather we've been having recently.

Ghosts of Christmases Past

I've recently started playing with a new video editing program. As an experiment, I went through my old Christmas videos to see how they would turn out. I think that they came out pretty well, and I'm hoping to go through some more old videos in the near future.

Here is Peter's first Christmas.

Here is Peter's second Christmas.

Here is last Christmas.

Happy Three Years!

And just like that another year has gone by. We celebrated Peter's birthday this weekend with a party and other celebrations. It is scary how much he is a little boy now, and not the baby we brought home three years ago. He is his own person with his own personality, he knows what he likes and doesn't like. He is fully in love with his big boy bed, but he hasn't shown much interest in potty training recently. He still loves being a big brother, and is constantly "helping" with Charles. And on Wednesday we'll find out exactly how big he's gotten.

And finally from BabyCenter.com

At thirty-five and thirty-six months, most children can:
Describe how two items are used - Check
Use three to four words in a sentence - Oh yes
Name two actions (e.g. skipping, jumping) - Check

At thirty-five and thirty-six months, half the children can:
Hop and skip - Still haven't seen him skip, but I wouldn't be surprised if he could.
Follow a two or three part command - Yes although he doesn't always want to.
Separate fairly easily from parents - Usually yes, but every once in a while he'll freak out.
Ride a tricycle - Yes and now it's actually getting warm enough to get out his tricycle.

At thirty-five and thirty-six months, a few children can:
Balance on each foot for three seconds - He still doesn't want to try.
Get dressed without help - Still not quite there yet.

Visiting Great-Nanny

On Saturday we headed up to visit Great-Nanny. Since she had been unable to drive, it was the first time that Charles got to meet her. Charles slept for most of the time we were up there, but he did get cozy on Great-Nanny while he was sleeping.

Peter was also so excited to be there, he rarely sat still. He loved playing the piano, and the puzzles that he got from Great-Nanny and Joanne. In addition to running in circles like a race car, he played with Great-Nanny and the mini-balls she gave him.

There are pictures from our visit in winter adventures album on Picasa.

Happy Thirty-Five Months!

Things have been going well at home, and Peter is enamored with his baby brother, constantly trying to take care of him. Although there are definitely signs that he is acting out a little bit, and there are some things that he used to do that he is now "too little" for. I'm hoping that this doesn't last too long. He still isn't potty trained, and now he seems even less interested. Again, I'm hoping that changes in the near future.

From BabyCenter.com

At thirty-five and thirty-six months, most children can:
Describe how two items are used - He can do this, although he doesn't like to do it when asked.
Use three to four words in a sentence - He has been talking in full sentences for a while now.
Name two actions (e.g. skipping, jumping) - He can name quite a few, jumping, running, walking...

At thirty-five and thirty-six months, half the children can:
Hop and skip - I've never seen him skip, but he does hop once in a while.
Follow a two or three part command - Check.
Separate fairly easily from parents - If there are toys...
Ride a tricycle - He started doing this at tot drop, just one day I looked he was pedaling...

At thirty-five and thirty-six months, a few children can:
Balance on each foot for three seconds - He claims it is too hard, but he's been saying that a lot since we brought Charles home
Get dressed without help - Not quite there yet, but almost

Happy Thirty-Four Months!

Once again, I forgot to post this update last week, I guess I was distracted by Nemo. Peter is taking very well to his big boy bed, not getting out by himself in the night even though naps haven't been quite as successful. Then again naps didn't always work in the crib either, so I guess there isn't much change there.

From BabyCenter.com

At thirty-three and thirty-four months, most children can:
Names one color - He can name many colors, and has been doing this for a while now
Names one friend - He names many friends, and has been doing this for a while as well
Carries on a simple conversation - He can do this too, he has gotten much more talkative

At thirty-three and thirty-four months, half the children can:
Alternates feet going up and down stairs - He does this when he is holding someone's hand, but not when he's holding the banister by himself and he doesn't do it all the time.
Uses prepositions (e.g., on, in, over) - Check
Speaks clearly most of the time (75 percent can be understood) - Hard to say since he seems to be using a lot of made up words, but a lot of what he says does make sense so probably.
Stacks eight blocks - I haven't actually counted, but he does make high towers

At thirty-three and thirty-four months, a few children can:
Is toilet trained during the day - No, but we are going to try again next weekend. It would be nice if he was toilet trained before the baby was born but I'm not holding my breath.
Wiggles thumb - He says that he can't and refuses to try.
Expresses a wide range of emotions - Oh yes
Draws a stick figure - I haven't seen him do this, and he still kind of is drawing in scribbles

A New Bedroom Look

Even though it will be a little while before we move the baby into Peter's room, I've been having a hard time getting him in and out of the crib. So this weekend we went shopping for a big boy bed.

Peter had a lot of fun testing out the beds, from toddler beds to bunk beds. In the end we decided to go with bunk beds, since the room really isn't big enough for two beds so we will need them eventually.

The delivery was scheduled for yesterday, and it was looking like it wouldn't arrive before Peter went to bed. But about ten minutes before bedtime, the doorbell rang (causing Peter to scream out "avocado sushi!" in excitement).

Of course that meant that the bed was going to be made right then, and that bedtime would be pushed back. Once it was ready, he was so happy and very ready to go right to sleep.

Happy Thirty-Three Months!

Oops, I am well over a week late with this update, and I completely forgot to do it last month at all. A lot has happened in the past two months, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Connor's birthday party. The best place to keep up with all these things is on our family blog. I have also started a 365 project for Peter, which so far I've managed to keep up to date. I'm planning on starting to post a few more updates here as well, but we'll see how I keep up with that.

From BabyCenter.com

At thirty-three and thirty-four months, most children can:
Names one color - He can name many color, and has been doing this for a while now
Names one friend - He names many friends, and has been doing this for a while as well
Carries on a simple conversation - He can do this too, he has gotten much more talkative

At thirty-three and thirty-four months, half the children can:
Alternates feet going up and down stairs - He does this when he is holding someone's hand, but not when he's holding the banister by himself
Uses prepositions (e.g., on, in, over) - Check
Speaks clearly most of the time (75 percent can be understood) - Hard to say since he seems to be using a lot of made up words, but a lot of what he says does make sense.
Stacks eight blocks - I haven't actually counted, but he does make high towers

At thirty-three and thirty-four months, a few children can:
Is toilet trained during the day - No, but we are going to try again next weekend. It would be nice if he was toilet trained before the baby was born.
Wiggles thumb - He says that he can't and refuses to try.
Expresses a wide range of emotions - Oh yes
Draws a stick figure - I haven't seen him do this, and he still kind of is drawing in scribbles

Happy Thirty-One Months!

We've done so much in the past month I'm not even sure where to start. We went on two family vacations, one to Mystic and one to the Bahamas. Uncle Jay came for a visit from England. We finally got to the Boo at the Zoo, and a good thing because Hurricane Sandy washed out Halloween. In addition to the hurricane that knocked out our power for four days, last night we had our first snow of the season, and I discovered that while Peter does like looking at the snow, he does not like to touch it (or walk on it).

From BabyCenter.com

At thirty-one and thirty-two months, most children can:
Recite own name - He definitely does this "It's me, Peter!"
Draw a circle - Yup

At thirty-one and thirty-two months, half the children can:
Put on a t-shirt - Depending on how tight the neck is, he can do this
Balance on each foot for a second - Check
Recognizes ABCs - Has been doing this for a long time now
Brushes teeth by himself - He is able to do this, he just doesn't always want to

At thirty-one and thirty-two months, a few children can:
Use two adjectives - He has quite a few that he uses (thank you "That's not my..." series)
Draws a cross - I've never seen him do this
Points to objects described by use - He doesn't do this consistently

Happy Thirty Months!

Oops, I just realized that I completely forgot to post this update, I was so wrapped up in the excitement of the week. He is doing the potty training on and off, although I'm not going to push it until after we are finished with vacations. He also seems very interested in moving to a big boy bed, but again I am in no rush.

From BabyCenter.com

At twenty-nine and thirty months, most children can:
Brush teeth with help - He does this and doesn't really have any more issues with the toothpaste
Washes and dries own hands - Check, even if he does make me sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" each and every time.
Draws a vertical line - Still isn't really pretty

At twenty-nine and thirty months, half the children can:
Draw a circle - Again, he does this but it isn't pretty
Balance on one foot - Check

At twenty-nine and thirty months, a few children can:
Put on a t-shirt - Still has a hard time pulling his own head through, but he is definitely almost there
Names one color - More than one
Names one friend - He keeps adding friends to the list

There are a few pictures in our October album on Picasa, and I will try to add more as the month goes on (although most pictures so far do seem to be in other albums).

Big First Day

Hard to believe that this day is already here, today was Peter's first day of "school". It is a mom cooperative, and I was one of the teachers today, but Peter did very well. He had a lot of fun playing, and he already knew one of the other children. The real test will be next week when I don't stay. He looked like a little boy all dressed up this morning, he really doesn't look like a baby anymore.

Last Faire, First Cone

Over the weekend we headed back to the Renaissance Faire and Peter played a few games. He slayed a dragon.

He fished for duckies.

And he had his first ever ice cream cone. At first, he didn't seem to know what to do with it.

It didn't take him too long to figure out.

And here is a little video of Peter slaying that dragon...