Monday, May 24, 2010

Car Museum

The weekend before this past one, we took Eddie and Peter to the Tallahassee Car Museum. It was everything we feared it would be-a little boring for young children. We still managed to have some fun, though.
This car was a highlight for Eddie and Peter because it had firefighter paraphernalia on it.
The hearse was the most interesting to me. It was possibly President Lincoln's hearse. It has a trap door, so it may have been used by the Underground Railway during the Civil War.
Ben's favorite was, of course, the DeLorean. I was surprised to learn that this car was not unique to Back to the Future; many of them were made.
Eddie and Peter loved all of the pedal cars and were sad that they couldn't get in them. Interesting note, Ben and I were required to wear wristbands at the museum. E and P weren't. Peter requested one, however. You can see it on him in the picture.

Safety Fair

Last Saturday we went to a safety fair held in the parking lot of a mall. Despite the heat and Eddie's and Peter's nervousness in the face of anything new or different (they get this from me, unfortunately), it turned out to be a success!
Eddie and Peter got to get in a real firetruck. They are still nervous and hesitant in this picture.
If you know how much they love everything firefighter, you will know how exciting this was for all of us!
Eddie warmed up in the driver's seat.
They got balloon swords that they loved!

The highlight of the experience for Eddie was watching a demonstration of what could happen if you were in a car crash and you didn't have a seatbelt on. He was practically in tears after the demonstration, but he can't stop talking about it and acting it out.

The highlight of the experience for Peter was seeing the bear with the hat (Smoky). Peter went up to Smoky and almost touched him!

Friday, May 07, 2010

Peter's Second Birthday

Here are some pictures of Peter's birthday. I have included a few details but not many, as I wrote all about his birthday in his special book (the daily journal I keep for him).
Breakfast was a cupcake.

We immediately went in to opening presents. Peter is a great unwrapper-very fast, doesn't need any help. I love Eddie in the background, interested but not jumping in there.

He got some sand toys

and a baby that he was so excited about! He's shown an interest in dolls for a long time. We have never had any, though. We took him birthday shopping with us, and this doll he fell in love with at the store. It makes noises and its face moves when you feed it or give it a pacifier.

Peter can't wait to give the baby the pacifier. He hasn't even finished unwrapping the box yet.

This picture makes me laugh!

I let Eddie choose a present for Peter. He chose a gardening set he has been wanting for a few weeks now. Peter's not too interested, but Eddie loves it.


Peter's cake was a dump truck filled with chocolate cupcakes. It's the easiest cake I have made for one of my children. It made the birthday experience less stressful and more fun for me. I think it turned out well. When Peter saw it, he exclaimed "Yay!!"; it was a success! The dump truck was a present, as well. (Peter actually requested strawberry cake mix; I felt terrible not letting him choose, but the cake wouldn't have worked as dirt is not pink.)
It says "Peter's 2", if you can't tell.

Once Peter realized the dump truck was full of cake, he immediately reached in, grabbed a cupcake,

and began eating.

Mmm! It's good!


Happy birthday, Peter! It has been the happiest two years with you in our family! I am so happy I am am your Mama! I love you!

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Peter at Two Years Old

Words he says funny: cereal is cer-e-o-e-o-e-o; anything that ends with a "g" or "ck" he ends with a "d" (i.e. hug is "hud"); monster is "monter" (sometimes I think he is saying monitor); blanket is "mament" and music sounds so similar to "mament" that if he doesn't point, I don't know which one he is saying;

What he likes to eat: beans, any kind(he gets excited when he is eating beans; he loves them that much!); cereal; cheese; waffles; noodles; pickles, peanut butter (he wants to stick his hand in the jar and eat, eat, eat!); olives; he recently likes cottage cheese; he tries and likes most things. He is a very good eater!

What he doesn't like to eat: sandwiches (he takes them apart, sometimes eating parts, sometimes not); toast (sometimes he'll eat it); yogurt; eggs

What he likes to do: dance (he dances every time he hears music; he moves his fists up and down; sometimes his pointer fingers are pointing up while he does this; he sways from side to side and moves his head up and down); lately he is singing a lot; pretend to be a baby or a kitty (his baby cry and his kitty meow sound almost identical); unscrew screws with his hands and then try to screw them back in; play firefighter; play chase; hide; crawl underneath the fitted sheet and the mattress on my bed; he likes to hear stories about trains that crash off their tracks and splash into the water (this is the bedtime story he requests every other night when its his turn to choose the story I tell he and Eddie before bed); play with cars and rockets; pet real kitties; he loves when it's his turn to put the laundry soap in the washing machine; count; whatever Eddie is doing;

What he doesn't like: swinging, having his teeth brushed; the dark (he won't go into a dark room unless I turn the light on; he sleeps with his closet light on; going in to the house immediately upon arriving home; having his hair washed; Ben doing anything for him (only Mommy can do things)

Favorite tv shows/characters: Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder, Curious George, Clifford, Thomas the Train

Favorite songs: Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, The Wheels on the Bus, We are a Happy Family (we sang this song the other night, and he sang along, which surprised me because we rarely sing this song; he must have learned it at nursery), Blast Off by the Descendents , Gone Daddy Gone by the Violent Femmes

Interesting things about Peter: The first thing he does when we get to church is run to the drinking fountain for a drink./ He follows Eddie to the bathroom every time Eddie goes and waits with Eddie til Eddie's done./ For many months he has gotten mad every time I sing or hum, unless I am singing while putting him to bed. He is just beginning to get over this, thank goodness!/ He gives the cheesiest smiles, but they are sincere. He is just so happy all the time. Honestly, he is the happiest little boy I have ever seen and has been happy since he was born. He makes our home a very happy place! / Every night before going to bed he throws his blankets, kitty, and water out of his bed. I think it's a game he is trying to play with Eddie, but he ends up sleeping with them on the floor./ He hasn't napped for several months, though he rests in his bed each afternoon. Eddie rests in my bed, in the hope that Peter will actually sleep in his bed, but he almost never does./ He is a great sleeper at night; he has slept through the night for about six months. He doesn't need me to get him to sleep. We are still working with Eddie on sleeping through the night and going to sleep without me. I LOVE how great of a sleeper Peter is!/ He likes books well enough and looks at them by himself. Sometimes he sits with me while I read, but usually when I read, he periodically stands near to listen and look and pictures and then goes back to playing./

Favorite places to go: Chick-fil-A, the library (he loves looking at the display case; the display changes each month), he likes to pick Dad up from school; he likes going to nursery; he's happy to go wherever we are going or do whatever we are doing.