Tiny Dancer (Peter Does Ballet)

In December, Peter started talking about doing ballet. He'd run around, spin and jump crazy and frequently ask if he could do ballet. We aren't sure what sparked this interest, but he kept asking about it for over a month (which is like a year in kid time), so we looked into it. Peter's cousins did ballet last year, and there is a lady at church who teaches at the ballet school. I talked to her about it and she told me who to talk to. We didn't look into it too hard or talk about it too much because we were also looking into a job that would have taken us a few hours away from this area. So, I didn't want to get Peter excited about doing ballet and then not be able to do it. The job didn't work out, so I called the ballet school and got Peter signed up for a trial class.

We decided to do ballet for two main reasons. First (and biggest reason) was because Peter wanted to do it. Second, because boys get free tuition at this particular school. Free weekly activity...yes please. Other side reasons include- Peter is super social, so this gets him out around other people; he will learn some rhythm. He will learn how to listen and follow directions, and ideally he will be a little more coordinated.

Stretches

He's been going for three weeks now. The first week, he was a little nervous because, "What if I don't know the other kids?" I told him he didn't know the other kids, but that we could go and meet them and then he would know them. We got there, learned some of the kids' names, and his teacher's name, and then he was totally fine. When he got out of class, I asked if he wanted to keep doing ballet and he said, "Yes!" I asked what he did in class and he replied, "I did frog jump. But I didn't do everything the teacher said." Haha, at least he was honest. The second week, he told me he did everything the teacher told him to do....improvement. Peter's class is an all boy class. There are about 8 little kids (age 3-5) in his class. Peter and one of the other boys started at the beginning of January, and I think the others have been going since last August (ish).

Shark stretches

Peter's third week (this past week) was parent watch week, which meant I got to go into the room and watch Peter and the other kids, and get some pictures and little videos. The school does these watch weeks once every semester. All the other days, the kids go in and parents stay out. They have learned the kids do better when their parents aren't present.

So, this past week, I got to see what Peter actually is learning in class. It was lots of fun. We all sat in chairs along the mirror and the boys went along like normal. Ezra did awesome and he sat in my lap the whole class. (This was a miracle. He usually sits still maybe 5 minutes. Maybe he just liked watching Peter.) Class started with a bunch of different stretches. The teacher (Miss Becca) does a great job with the kids. She made the class fun and you can tell the kids like her and listen to her. After stretching, they practiced marching to the beat and marching for 8 counts. Then, they did quiet feet, frog jumps and leaps. Peter's favorite are the frog jumps.

Peter's face! Sooo happy.

After those things, they played freeze dance for the last couple of minutes. Peter has some great moves!

Peter has fun going to ballet. The other kids are fun and he gets some energy out. His teacher says he's catching on quickly to the things she is teaching, so he'll catch up to the other kids soon I think.

I tried adding videos to this post, but I can't figure it out, so here's a link to watch them: https://goo.gl/photos/3EGLrVpEka2yHNYU8

Peter Turns Four

Alex, Ashton, Gabriel, Lisa, Vivian, Jim, Ezra, OdaLisa, Natalie, Julia, Jade holding Adaline, Amelia, Robert and Peter peeking in

We celebrated Peter's birthday the same day as the snow day. I was a little worried on Friday that we might have a really low turnout due to the coming storm. But since we didn't get too much snow and it didn't ice the roads too bad, everyone was able to make it! Both sets of grandparents were there, Uncle William, Peter's NC cousins with their mom, Natalie, and some neighbors that Jonathan invited earlier that morning. 

We played a quick game of pin the balloon on the birthday poster, then opened presents, ate cake and played. Peter had a blast playing with the other kids. It was a little crazy, but overall it was a fun little party. It reminded me that kids don't need much to have a great day. They don't need everything matching or a huge present or anything crazy. They need love and a happy home. 

The circle of presents

I love Julia holding Ezra in this one, cousin love!

When I first asked Peter what kind of cake he wanted, he said, "Chocolate." I asked what kind of shape he wanted and he responded with, "Circle. Oooo, and I want sprinkles on top!" I almost prompted him to do something else, when Jonathan stopped me, "If he wants a circle cake, let him have a circle cake. I'm sure he'll ask for harder things in the future." Good point, good husband. So, we were set, chocolate cake with sprinkles on top.

Then, when Jonathan's parents were in town, I told Peter to tell OdaLisa what kind of cake he wanted. He said chocolate circle. Then, Jonathan's dad, Jim said, "Peter, you could have a castle cake, or a train or..." and just like that, the circle cake with sprinkles was out the window. Peter tends to work in extremes, he's either in a great mood or terribly sad, or he knows exactly what he wants (like Batman for Halloween) or he is incredibly indecisive. He took the indecisive route with this cake. Every color, every flavor, every shape and changing on a dime. He finally settled on a blue train cake with half strawberry and half funfetti cake. Peter and Jonathan decorated the train with a little guidance from Google, other's train cakes and me. I think it turned out pretty awesome.  

Train cake for the win!

Blowing out the candles

For his birthday, Peter got an aircraft carrier, some cute (handsome) clothes, a Nemo scrubber for baths, a couple of books, a circuit building set, magformers magnet building set, playdough, and some peanuts. Jonathan got him this Snap Circuits Jr (affiliate link) but I'm pretty sure Jonathan actually bought it for himself. I was a little hesitant at first, but it has turned out to be a great activity for them to do together. It's a set that has a base and lots of different pieces that you can fit together to make a circuit that turns on a light, or a fan or make a little alarm go off. There are a bunch of different directions that tell how to make the things work. It's pretty cool. Peter is still to young to really do it by himself, but he loves doing it with Dad.

Building circuits with Dad

I've seen a couple of friends do these little surveys with their kids each year to see how answers change and how kids grow. So, we decided to give it a go with Peter. Here's the results. 

1. What is your name? Peter, Peter Benjamin Nelson
2. How old are you? I don't know
3. When is your Birthday? It was next week...wait I already had my birthday
4. What is your favorite color? Green and Orange
5. What is your favorite food? Dough that's not cooked
6. Who's your best friend? Eloise 
7. What is your favorite song? (sings) We all live in a yellow submarine
8. What is your favorite animal? Triceratops
9. What are you scared of? Nothing
10. What makes you happy? you, just you (then he snuggled up to me, extra points)
11. Where's your favorite place to go? Restaurant (I asked- which one?) all of them
12. What do you want to be when you grow up? Worker- building houses
13. How tall are you? (he had Jonathan stand up and he stood up next to him) Dad is large, and so I am medium. (then he made Robin stand up next to him) Mom is like my size. You are medium. So I am medium. 
14. Who is the smartest in your family? me and dad
15. Who is the cutest in your family?  Mom
16. Who is the funniest in your family? Haha, Dad
17. What is one thing you want to learn how to do? Maybe driving
18. What does Dad do for work? Get money.
19. What does Mom do for work? You don't work! (he later clarified that I don't go to work...slightly better)
20. What is something Mom always says to you? Clean up
21. What is something Dad always says to you? Go sit in time out

Happiness (Kids Edition)

Today was a good day. We all went to vote in the morning when Jonathan left for work. Our voting place is the volunteer fire department. Peter got a quick tour of a fire truck with Jonathan while I was voting. Before we left, one of the firefighters gave Peter a foam fire fighter's hat. So, needless to say, he's a fan of voting now. 

After voting, I went to Wal-mart with the boys to buy Peter some socks, Ezra a sippy cup and some shampoo, because I lead an exciting life. We got in and out without a hitch and even managed to return some faulty markers we'd bought a few weeks back. It was a good trip. Once home, we ate some food and took it easy. The boys have been sick the last couple days, fever and cranky, nothing too bad, but it was good to have some quiet time. 

Peter went outside for a bit and came back with a lizard he'd caught. He was pretty excited about it. I told him to find a good home for it by the trees. He came back to the door a few minutes later and exclaimed, "Mom! Look! Look!" I looked over to see this cute face: 

Peter wearing his lizard

He told me, "Mom. It was crawling on me and went up and down and then just stayed there." Then he giggled and said, "He's a little tickely on me!" That lizard hung out on his shirt for a couple of minutes. Peter loved every second of it. Finally the lizard jumped off and ran away. Peter just said, "I liked that little guy."

Watching his lizard.
(Yes his shirt is on backwards, and yes his sticker is upside down.)

Second happy child moment. For snack/late lunch (hobbit children), I had washed out Ezra's new cup and filled it with water. Up to this point in life for drinking he either nurses, drinks water from a cup small amounts at a time (as either Jonathan or I refill the cup a half an inch each time), takes some water in a bottle or steals Peter's water bottle. And because he's not the first child, it's taken a bit for us to get him his own. But the day had come, it was washed, filled and ready to go. I set it on his tray with some sandwich and then was working on other things. Then, I heard Ezra laughing. I looked over to see him hugging his cup and laughing. It was adorable. He hugged it for a good minute, laughing and smiling the whole time. Best present ever.

I caught him mid-laugh, so he looks more serious than he was. 

Happiest baby with a water bottle. 

Hopefully this video works...

Anyway, that was our day. Lots of smiles and happiness for the small things. Also, while I was making dinner (which is usually the hardest part of the day when the boys are done and I am done and we are just hoping Dad gets home fast), Peter played fantastically with Ezra and they were both happy the whole time I made dinner. Peter made soup (pretend) while I cooked. I asked him what was in it and he said, "Bread, miso and cheese." We have raised him right. It was a good day.

This is Halloween, This is Halloween

Family of superheros
(Jonathan as Clark Kent holding Ezra as Robin, Peter as Batman, Robin as Supergirl)

A few months back, Peter informed me that he wanted to be Batman for Halloween. It was a cute idea, but I was sure that it would pass in a weeks time and he'd move on to a new costume idea. Buuuuut, he didn't. And I was totally okay with that, because superhero costumes are really easy to pull together, and lots of fun to be for Halloween. It took us a while to decide on which superheros everyone else was going to be (I tried to convince Peter to be Batman and me to be Robin, Jonathan be Spiderman and Ezra a little spider...be he only wanted Ezra to be Robin) but we finally settled on our superhero family for Halloween. 

Superheroes can fly!

We checked out a few Batman books from the library, and once Peter learned about sidekicks and that Batman's sidekick was Robin, he knew that Ezra was going to be his sidekick. Peter initially wanted Jonathan to be the Hulk and me to be Wonder Woman, but with a little convincing, we went with Superman and Supergirl- their costumes are much easier to pull together and less green painting. 

Batman's coming to save the day!

Jonathan's parents were here a few weeks ago, and his mom helped with much of the sewing of capes and my skirt, which was a huge help. The costumes came together great. Jonathan's was by far the easiest. He already had a superman shirt, and he just wore it under a white shirt and borrowed Peter's red tie.

Best Superman Ever. 

We had a ward Trunk-or-Treat and chili cook-off the Saturday before Halloween. Jonathan was gone all day Saturday with a group from our ward cutting trees for people who needed help from Hurricane Matthew. They have been going down the last couple of Saturdays. I'm glad he's been able to go and help other families. The group came back in time to come to the ward party. We had some delicious chili and Peter came home with a huge bucket full of candy, which he shared with Mom and Dad....because he doesn't know that other kids keep all their candy, and I plan on keeping it that way as long as I can.

Batman and Robin
These boys are the cutest. 

We also went trick or treating on Halloween in my brother's neighborhood. His family lives in a development with lots of houses and lots of families. It was fun to go around with them and let the boys go around with their cousins. Lots of homes had fun decorations and there was even a haunted house in the neighborhood. Peter collected more candy and a few glow stick bracelets. Ezra rode around in the stroller and was in a pretty good mood considering he was up way past his normal bedtime. It was a great night!

Happy baby, happy mama.

Halloween was a great success this year. We had a blast and have candy to last us a while. Peter has already decided he wants to be a chameleon next year for Halloween....I'm hoping he changes his mind on that, but if he doesn't I've got a year to figure out a costume! Happy belated Halloween!

Teeny Lizard

Spot the lizard!

The other day, I went outside to throw something in the compost pile and I spied a very small lizard in a plant right next to our house. So, naturally, I got Peter to come out and we observed it, and the tried (and succeeded) catching it and holding it.

Tiny lizard in my haaaand
(name that song- lyrics changed slightly)

Running up my arm!

 It didn't seem to be too worried of us. It would climb right into our hands. It was a really jumpy little thing. Peter decided to call it a frog lizard because it was so good at jumping. Whenever it would get to the edge (of your hand/arm/plant) it would just catapult its little body off and land wherever it hit.

Peter and the lizard

He's good at catching them.

Exciting day right there. Peter isn't scared of anything. The other day he caught a lizard and its tail fell off. He thought that was the coolest thing and carried a wiggling detached tail around for a bit, showing everyone. Sometimes I think he is braver than I am...learned that from his Dad.

Peter's Crazy Eye

We finally went to see the eye doctor this week for Peter's eye. We got everything in order with insurance, and we had to get a doctor's recommendation before we could go to the specialist (even though he already had glasses and we've seen a specialist before and we knew his eye was turning in). So, we saw the pediatrician and they said, "Yep he needs to see an eye doctor." They said would send the recommendation in to the eye doctor and we would get a call about appointments. Two weeks went by without hearing back from anyone. I called the pediatrician and they said they sent the request in and that the eye doctor should have called me. So, I called the eye doctor and they said they didn't have a request for Peter! But, they set up an appointment and said they would clear everything up before we came, which I will assume they did because it all went fine once we got to the eye doctor.  

Peter dressed himself this day- three shirts.
You can see his eye turning in.

Peter got glasses a year ago to help correct his left eye which was turning in towards his nose. We noticed his eye turning in, March 2015, and he got glasses in July of that year. The glasses did wonders for his eye for the first while, but then slowly they started helping less because his eye got stronger to match the prescription but they needed a stronger prescription now. We should have gotten him in to the eye doctor sooner, but last year kept throwing things at us and I kept putting off setting up an appointment. But, we finally made it a priority and got in. 

My brother, William, came to help with Ezra during the appointment so I could better pay attention to the doctor and help Peter do what they needed. I am so grateful he came. Ezra did really good, but he got tired and a little cranky at the end, and it would have been really hard to juggle him and get Peter to listen to the doctor. We waited about 15 minutes after we got there and then we saw the doctor. Dr Haney is a pediatric ophthalmologist and she did great with Peter. She was quick in her work and playful with him. They had Peter look at some letters and say what they were as the letters decreased in size. They looked at his eyes for a minute with different lenses. Then they dilated his eyes- not fun, but he only cried for a minute. Then we got to go back to the waiting area to play while his eyes dilated all the way. We watched Kung Fu Panda and Peter played with some other kids. I talked with another mom about kids' eyes. Her daughter has a similar eye problem as Peter's and they have been going to see the same doctor Peter was seeing for the past 6 or 7 years. 

We went back in to see the doctor after about 45 minutes. They looked at Peter's eyes to get his prescription- which has changed since his last appointment. We were also given eye patches for Peter. He gets to wear one every day for two hours. So far, he does awesome with them. We have learned not to call him a pirate unless he is wearing the one with pirate ships on it. If you call him a pirate while he is wearing the other ones he says, "I not a pirate, I just have the green (bike/monster/etc) one on." He doesn't complain too much and he likes to choose which one he wears. He has 5 different prints. The patch goes on his right eye to help strengthen the left eye. Hopefully this and the new prescription of glasses will be enough to get his eye back on track. 

Eye patch Peter

 We did learn one really interesting thing during the eye exam. Dr Haney was trying to get a good look at Peter's optic nerve. They want to check the optic nerve because if it's swollen then it could be a brain problem causing the eye to cross in. Peter was keeping his body really still, but he kept moving his eyes around, making it hard for Dr Haney. At one point she got a good, brief, look then Peter put his hand up to block the light- tricky kid. So, she got a quick look, but not as good as she wanted. She said it looked a little swollen, but since he hasn't had any other signs of brain problems- lots of throwing up, headaches, falling over, etc she isn't worried. She will check it again next time we go in, and we'll talk with Peter at home to try to prep him better for that so he can sit really still.

But, from that look that she did get of the optic nerve, she said that there is a really good chance that Peter has albinism. As in, albino. So, naturally, I've read up on it and I talked with her about it a bit. When we think of albinism, we think of people with no pigmentation, light skin, white hair, blue eyes...wait, that's Peter. Turns out, albinism can show itself in that manner, but it can also just be in the eyes. Dr Haney said normally the optic nerve is reddish or pink colored and very crisp looking. She said Peter's was grey. So, that alone tells her that he most likely has albinism. She said that it can just present itself in the eyes only (ocular albinism) or in the entire body. So, it is very possible that he is light haired and skinned because his parents also were as kids, but it's also possible that albinism plays a role in his lightness. Also while reading, I learned that albinism may cause eye conditions including what Peter has with his eye crossing. Dr Haney said she could refer us to a geneticist to get blood work done and genes charted. I think that would be super cool to do, but it is very unlikely that insurance will cover that and it costs a couple thousand dollars, so it probably won't happen. Dr Haney checked my eyes and William's to see if we had any signs of albinism in our eyes. We both had 'normal' optic nerves. But, the doctor said that I could still be a carrier (as could Jonathan) without anything presenting. So, there is your fun fact about Peter. He also has astigmatism in both eyes.

So, he'll wear the patch and get new lenses and we will go back to the doctor in early September. He is hoping to get new glasses because he wants orange ones. I'm hoping we can just get new lenses...because these glasses aren't cheap. But, I may have found them a little cheaper on amazon...so we'll see if he gets new orange glasses or gets to keep the blue. And, we'll see how effective his new eye patches are. Stay tuned to more eye updates as we go!

Umbrella Peter

The other day in the barn, Jonathan got some colorful shots of Peter with our giant umbrella. There isn't much to say about these, I just love the color, and we love Peter, so that is reason enough for a post. Here are pictures of "Boy with Umbrella". 

Carolina Beach Trip

For Memorial Day weekend, we went on a trip to the beach! The initial plan was to spend three days at the beach with Jonathan's sister and her husband and anyone from my family who wanted to come. But, as we began looking into camp sites, there were no open spots, at least not anywhere close to the beach. Turns out, even though we were planning a month in advance, it wasn't enough in advance for Memorial Day weekend. Everything was booked. So, we went to plan B, which was to drive down to the beach just for Saturday, then drive up to Christina and Big Peter's home, and stay with them and drive home on Monday. 

Ezra napping on the beach 

We left for Carolina beach around 7:30 am, and got there around 11am. We stopped at a store along the way to get rash guards for the boys and sunscreen. White headed kids burn easily- and so does their mama, and we try to prevent that as much as we can. Jonathan and Peter went into the store and I nursed Ezra in the car and we were back on the road quickly.

Jonathan and Peter making moats and castles.

Peter becoming one with the ocean.

We made it to the beach and found parking pretty quick. We parked about a block away- closer than I was expecting we'd find, and it was way cheaper than I was expecting, so win-win. We grabbed our bags and the boys and found ourselves a great spot on the sand. We changed and sunscreened and headed to the waves. Peter loves them. He loved to sit in the shallow waves and get hit with each incoming wave. He also thought it was a neat feeling when the wave was heading back out to sea and pulling the sand from under his feet. At one point, a bigger wave hit him and he went under for a second and he didn't even get sad! Nicely done Peter. Ezra didn't love the water, but he didn't hate it either. He got wet up to his waist before he protested. We tried to get him to sit in the sand and splash in a puddle, but he did not care for that either. He seemed ambivalent about the sand.

Britt's Donuts and the beach- Win!

There is a donut place in Carolina Beach that is loved by many. And, lucky for us, it opens for the season on Memorial Day Weekend! So, when Ezra was napping and Peter was playing with a friend he had made, I sent Jonathan on a donut run. He came back with a dozen delicious donuts that were scarfed down in minutes. Best beach snack. Also, he had perfect timing, it started to sprinkle about a minute after Jonathan left to get the donuts and as soon as the drops started, people started packing and heading for the hills. I started packing in case the heavens decided to open. The wind started to pick up, almost blowing away the umbrella that was shielding Ezra. I called Peter over and had him hold tight to the umbrealla- not an easy task for a three year old- while I tried to gather things into bags. I was starting to get worried trying to get everything together, keep Peter focused on holding the umbrella, Ezra woke up...and then, Jonathan appeared with the donut bag, and the drizzling rain stopped. The potential rain had sent half of the beach goers home, and made the donut line really short! It was beautiful.

Shark Boys

Peter the Scuba Diver

We were a little nervous going into the beach trip due to a potential rain storm. We had been warned that there was a tropical depression heading to the coast and it was possible that it would start raining at noon and keep going all day. We discussed skipping the beach, but decided that even if we were only there for an hour, it would be worth it. We needed the break and knew that the beach would give us a good restart. We lucked out and had great weather all day. We had the one brief drizzle during the donut run, but other than that, no rain came down. The drizzle brought in some cloud cover and cooler weather, but it was still warm enough to play in the water.

Ezra fell asleep as soon as he got in the ring sling!
Nap attack.

Peter and Jonathan...that boy loves his Dad so much. 

Ezra barely in the picture...sleeping baby.
Peter's face. Ha. 

We stayed at the beach until Peter was done. That kid played hard all day. He made friends with anyone who would play with him. At one point, he finished eating his donut, looked at me and said, "Mom, I need to go find a friend." And he ran off to find a kid playing in the sand. Most of Peter's friends were kids about 10-12 years old and were building something in the sand and Peter would just start building alongside them. I tried to check with the kids to make sure they were fine with Peter playing with them. All the kids said it was fine, one of them said, "Yeah, it's fine. He's cute." Peter thinks he's a big kid.

Peter with a new friend.

Peter's face reaction to crab legs for dinner.

After we were done with the sand and sea, we decided we needed some good seafood before we headed back. We headed over to Michael's Seafood Restaurant. My Dad had recommended this place, he said the chowder was excellent and everything else he'd had there was good. So, we figured we'd check it out. We got the chowder, papaya salmon, and some tuna (I think) with grits. Peter got crab legs with corn on the cob. I was in the bathroom when Peter decided what he wanted to eat. When I came out, and Jonathan told me what Peter was getting, I asked Jonathan if Peter knew what crab legs were, he said, "Probably not, but he'll find out!" When they brought Peter his food, he just looked at it for a bit with big, almost nervous eyes.

Jonathan getting the crab meat out for Peter

Jonathan got to work breaking the crab legs and getting the meat out for Peter. Once Peter ate it, he deemed it wonderful. He devoured lots of crab meat, some of the chowder and a bite of salmon and tuna. He ate almost all of the crab meat. Jonathan had to work fast to try to keep up with Peter's fast eating.

Peter tried to use his teeth to get the shell open.

Jonathan and I both liked the food the other person got better than what we had ordered. We both ate a couple bits of the food we ordered and then tried the other fish. Jonathan said, "I like yours better." I was happy because I liked his better, so we switched and both left the restaurant happy and full. The chowder was quite delicious. I'd order that again in a heartbeat. I ended up with the papaya salmon, I wish there had been more papaya, the flavor was too light for me, but the salmon itself was great. Jonathan liked the tuna. Ezra nursed while we ate, so when we were done, we all got back into the car and drove up to Greenville to see the Olsons. The boys slept almost the whole drive to Greenville, so Jonathan and I got some good talking time, which is always needed.

It was a little bit of a crazy day, but it was worth it. We had a fun, Peter got to play at the beach (he's been wanting to go to the beach for months), Ezra met the ocean and sand for the first time, my California beach boy got to get his beach fix, and I had a blast spending the day doing whatever we wanted with no big plans or time limits. And, we learned we can totally do a day trip to the beach....which means there are more beach trips in store.

Pet Children

There are times I question if I have human children or animal children. For example, many mornings, Peter likes to find the sun spots coming in from the kitchen window. He curls up into a little ball and lays there for a bit. Just like a cat...but a cat that can talk and tells great stories. Peter is a talker and makes me laugh a lot. He plays hard, but is also a snuggler. He loves his baby brother. The other day when Ezra rolled from back to tummy to back again, Peter said, "Ezra, I am impressed with you!" Haha. His favorite uncle is still Uncle David. We were walking from the barn the other day and Peter said, "I love parties!" I asked, "Who is your favorite person to party with?" His immediate response was, "Uncle David and Jackie!" So far you are holding strong David. 

Cat boy

As for the second child, I laid him on his playmat the other day and when I checked on him a minute later I found that he had wiggled himself to the edge of the mat and was chewing on the cloth pole. He chews on everything these days...either because he is teething or because he is indeed a puppy. Luckily, he doesn't ruin anything he chews on, just makes it covered in slobber. He's been "teething" for over a month, but still has no teeth to show for it. He can roll now, but gets mad if he's on his tummy for too long (too long is different lengths depending on his mood). He tries hard to eat any food that anyone else has. He can scoot backwards when he's on his tummy but not forward. He laughs the most for Peter, and second for anyone who makes silly sounds at him.

Puppy Ezra

Wiggling skills got him there.

Things Peter Says

I try to keep track of some of the things Peter says, because they are hilarious. Here are a few of the recent ones (some with photos, some without).

Jonathan and I were discussing what we wanted to do with life, what kind of place we wanted to live, what kind of job we should look for, etc. Peter wanted to be part of the conversation...
Jonathan: Peter, if you could live anywhere, where do you want to live?
Peter: (without a moments hesitation) With you guys.
Awwwwww. Cute.


Peter: When I have my birthday, all my friends will come, and I can share cookies with them!! And nainai can come. And grandpa. And far away grandpa! And far away nainai. And Uncle David and Jackie. And Beccah! And you, and Dad, and Ezra you can come too!
- Well, now we know who his friends are. I'm glad Jonathan and I got in there at the end. Sorry everyone else who didn't make the cut.


Robin: (calling out to Peter) Hey cutie!
Peter: You can call me Peter or Pete. Choose now.


Peter: I see a critter!
Jonathan: Oooo. What kind?
Peter: (in total monotone) It's dead.
(He started using the word critter the day we got to NC. I've never heard him use it before. He'll fit in the south nicely.)


Story and a Picture:
Christmas was crazy. It didn't really feel like Christmas since we had moved just a couple weeks before and didn't decorate a ton and we had a baby who was soon to join us. We didn't make gingerbread houses until the day after Christmas, but we made them. (Also, we learned not to wait until Christmas Eve to buy candy for gingerbread houses...the candy aisle was cleared out!) As we were buying the candy and making the gingerbread house, we noticed an interesting thing. Every single time, without fail, Peter referred to this house as a Benjamin House. I'm not sure why. Maybe the words sounded similar...Benjamin - Gingerbread? Who knows.

Benjamin House

We were reading a counting book...
Robin: 7 bell peppers. Let's count them.
Peter: How they ring?
Robin: Ummm...they don't.


Peter: Look it's my sword!
Robin: Really? It looks like an apple to me. (sometimes I don't want to play.)
Peter: Yeah! It's my round apple sword. Hi-ya! Hi-ya!

Picture and Story

On a particularly hard day getting dressed, and thus I was trying anything to get him into clothes...
Robin: Hey Peter, want to wear these pants Uncle David gave you? They have pockets!
Peter: (gasp) I never have pants with pockets before!
Note: Most of his pants have pockets, and he regularly puts his hands in them.

Peter: Sometimes I grow up and have a beard. Sometime when I get bigger.


Peter: What is this?
(Simultaneously) Robin: Sausage  Jonathan: Meat.
Peter eats is and says: Mmmmm. It's good. Dad, it's not meat. It's sausage!

Picture and a Story:

For his birthday, he got some cool cereals that we never usually get. They were the individual sized ones which were perfect for him. Every morning, he would look at the different little bags and pick which one he wanted. One morning, we had the following exchange...

Peter: Oh No! My cereal not talking!

Robin: Oh, sorry buddy.

Peter: On the bag it talking. I want mine talk too. Oh hohoho (sad fake crying).

Sure enough....talking cereal.

Peter: I want a dog in my house. Not a furry one, just a wiggly one. I want to name him orangey. Because I love orange. 

After some crying...

Peter: The drippy things are falling off...What they called?

Jonathan: Tears.

Peter: Oh. Tears falling off my face.

This kid cracks me up. We love Peter and we're glad he's part of our family!