Los Libros

Little Man loves to read books in the day. But I would get sad when the pages of our books went straight into the mouth. At work, I found these awesome "Indestructibles". He can hold them himself and go nuts. He can chew on them, and they won't get soggy. He can try to rip them, and they won't tear. I can even stick them in the dishwasher. I love these little books. If any of my friends want some, I can send out some care packages!

Peter's Special V-Day Letter

We had a fun Valentine's Day. Scott was able to come home a little early, and we had a fancy shmancy dinner at Cafe Rio... a staple at our house. It was so nice to have time together to just talk, drive, and laugh. Peter had his first experience sitting up by himself in a restaurant high chair, and he refuses to go back to his bumbo ever since. So I brought the high chair out of storage at home. He looks so grow-up sitting at our level at the table! Peter's first Valentine's day was a success, I'd say. He got lots of love. Besides obsessing over him all day like I always do, Scott and I gave him a cute little book called "Why I Love You" or "I Love You Because," or something like that. Great-Grandma Joan and Great-Grandpa George gave him a little valentine. Grandma Teri and Grandpa Dave gave him a cool fleece from REI and a new little singing toy for his car seat (which he loves). Andrew and Ben drew some valentine pictures for us. I'd say this little boy is well-loved and pretty spoiled. Great-Grandma Bilton's valentine, all the way from Calgary, was pretty special. Grandma Bilton is in her late nineties, and she is still very much aware and involved with Peter.

This is a valentine that Scott gave her in 1990 that she has kept all these years! I think that is remarkable! I love her beautiful handwriting in her letter. And I love Scott's scratchy little handwriting on his Mickey Mouse valentine. We love Grandma Bilton, and she has sent many thoughtful notes and packages for Peter over the last few months. Hopefully Peter will be able to meet her sometime soon!

Rub a Dub Dub

Peter has decided he wants to sit up for tubs now... and attempt to climb out. Goodbye baby tub.

My Boys.

This boy LOVES his dad. And I love them both! We're having way too much fun at our house.

Zanahorias

This boy loves him some carrots. Even more than fruit. But we've put a hold on anything green for the moment. He's not much into the greens. I can't blame him. I want to gag if I get even a little bit on my finger during the feeding process. I love this face. He cracks me up!

A Little Weekend

We didn't have a crazy weekend, but it was perfect for us. Given my energy level these days, this weekend was actually pretty ambitious. We had a fun and busy Saturday. Scott was able to go mountain biking in the morning while I was able to get a lot of things done at home. We took a wonderful walk to Davis park, searching for a Peter-approved swing. We didn't find one, and Peter was asleep anyway, so we continued our walk around the neighborhood.

Then we packed up and made our way down to Provo (wow, it's been about two years since I've been down there). Scott spent an hour "surfing" at the indoor wave. It's definitely different from a real wave, but it's a good substitute for now. Scott had a lot of fun, and Peter and I had a lot of fun watching! Adam and Bekah came by for a little bit, too!

We met Andrew for dinner, and then we made our way up to Camille and Joe's for Maxwell's first birthday party. We got there right at the end, and we only stayed for a minute, but it was a good day for seeing some friends! It might have been a bigger day than I was ready for, after a busy Friday, but it was great. We spoke in church on Sunday, taught our class, and had a delicious lunch/dinner with the whole family that afternoon. I went home and nearly collapsed! Our President's Day was not so holiday-ish. I worked in the morning, and Scott had a study group all afternoon and class in the evening. That's our weekend! It was filled with friends, as much "outside" as we could get, and a lot of laughs with Peter. He is so grown-up all of a sudden! We are loving every second of it.

Little Man's Exciting News

Guess who can sit up by himself!!! I didn't get the best picture. This was this morning in my bed, and I couldn't catch him fast enough except for this one picture. He can stay up for about eight seconds before he teeters off to the side. My cell phone camera is just too slow! We'll have to show Daddy when he comes home tonight, and then I'll have an extra hand to catch it on film!

This guy is so much fun! Every day we're reaching a new milestone and doing something new! We cut his little hair puff yesterday. First haircut! He's looking good! I'm watching him go nuts in his exersaucer right now. He's figured out how to spin all the toys and shove them in his mouth. He keeps looking up at me and giving me the most humongous (weird word to type) smile. I can tell he loves the independence and showing off!

Three years.

Scott and I celebrated three years of marriage in January. He was in Pittsburgh for school, so we didn't get to celebrate together. But we got each other gifts! Ha ha ha... He got a nice Patagonia jacket at the REI garage sale, and I got some beautiful Penguin hardback classics for my living room.

There's something called "river time" where you begin to measure the day not based on the minutes or hours that pass, but by how many turns you've gone and the unknown number of turns to come. I've began to see that life, in general, makes most sense when viewed through the perspective of river time. I can try as hard as I want to plan my life according to my supposed milestones and time line, but all I can really do is learn from the turns I've taken, and look forward and be prepared for the turns to come. I've experienced some turns I didn't plan or expect, but those have been the best turns yet! I'm thrilled to take all the future turns together with Scott... and peter!

Grandpa George

Peter sends some good smiles Grandpa George's way as well. He loves when Grandpa George and Grandma Joan pay us a visit. They are always so nice when they stop by. They always bring us yogurt, bananas, half a sandwich, orange juice, a shirt for Scott, or some other surprise. It's fun for me to have visitors since I spend so much of my time at home trying to rest and recover. Peter loves Grandpa George. He used to get a teeny bit of stranger danger when Grandpa George came around, but he's done a total 360. Now Grandpa George is one of his absolute favorites! Even if it's time for a nap, Peter still gives Grandpa George some smiles. How cool for Peter to have such a special relationship with his great-grandparents, especially Grandpa George who had some very special experiences concerning Peter's birth. (Which need to be written down soon, Grandpa George!!!)

We're looking forward to this summer so he can spend some time with his Great-Grandpa Pete and Great-Grandma Pete in Sacramento. I have been so anxious to get up there to see my family. They were so supportive of me in the hospital. Scott, Peter, and I had mail EVERY SINGLE DAY to read from my Aunt Brooke and Aunt Britt for about three straight months. They were so strengthening and loving while we were going through such a trying experience. I'm looking forward to seeing so many wonderful family members who live up in Northern California (many of whom Scott has yet to meet!). We spent time over Thanksgiving with Chris and Julie and their 3 girls. All the girls were SO great with Peter, and he smiled at them a lot, even though he was so little.

Peter is such a special boy. I will never forget the amazing circumstance of his birth. I know he has a very strong, wise, and particular spirit. I remember Grandpa George saying while holding him in the early days, "How do they pack such a big spirit in such a little body?" I feel that every time I hold this boy. There is something very special about this one. And our family knows it and treats him so lovingly. I love to reflect on all of the special stories and experiences my family members shared with me while I was in the hospital following Peter's birth. We had some wonderful moments that collectively confirm to me the great blessings of faith in the gospel, the attentive love and concern our Heavenly Father has for each and every one of us, the true nature of angels and miracles, and my absolute certainty that Heavenly Father has a divine plan that is perfectly suited for each of us. My love for Peter is so strong I feel like my heart is going to burst right out of my chest. My gratitude for Scott and for my wonderful family -parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins- is strong and forever.

Cousin Time

Peter sure loves his cousins! They are all so cute with him, and I'm excited for the friendships they will have over the years. We are going to the beach house together this summer, and that will be so much fun! It will be Peter's first time AND Scott's first time!

Peter and SJ are very good friends. They have been from the beginning. Maybe they speak the same language. I remember thinking in the hospital that I was so grateful he was going to be with Kirsten's family during those first weeks. I felt confident that he would feel comfortable and safe. Part of that was Sarajane. I just knew that they would recognize each other. It was a very strong impression. She is always so aware of him and concerned about him. The first thing she says to me each time she sees me is, "Where's Peter?" Peter gives SJ some of his best smiles. I love it!



I can't get enough of that cute little chin! That's the Earl in him.

Cell Phone Updates

Someone's getting big! Peter decided he was going to be a grown-up all of a sudden. After letting him sit in a high chair at Cafe Rio the other night, he now refuses to sit in his little pink bumbo while eating his meals. So I got the high chair out of storage and brought it upstairs for Peter to use. He was so excited! I've been holding off on using it because Peter isn't sitting up on his own yet, but he's ready, I guess! My parenting style has been taking cues from my baby. Who knew? I've realized that it works best for me to learn the right principles, and then let Peter tell me when to implement them. Like napping and sleeping through the night... all of a sudden, Peter gave me the sign that he's big enough to go down like a big boy (no rocking, swaddling, or holding to get him to sleep). After three or four days of 30 minute bedtime routines and letting him cry in his crib a little bit, he's figured it out. Now I take him in his room, dim the window shade, give him his binkie, and close the door behind me. His naps are getting longer and longer each day. Right now we're averaging about 45 minutes.

We're working on sitting up. We practice in the morning, and then I prop him up as much as possible to work the muscles.





My mom and dad helped us with this stroller. I. LOVE. IT. I originally didn't want one of those strollers that holds the car seat, but I'm so grateful for it now. It is so difficult for me to haul Peter around when he's in his car seat. It's just too heavy for me; I don't have the energy because of my heart condition. So now, I just pull the stroller out of the car (SO EASY to fold and unfold... and it's so lightweight!) and clip the car seat into it. If Peter's sleeping, I don't have to pull him out of the chair and wake him up. I can just stick the chair in the stroller and take him with me. It's made it so much easier for me to do errands, go on walks... even grocery shop! Thank you mom and dad! It made a huge difference! I love it!




Peter is wearing size 9 month in almost everything now (except size 6 months in pants because he's such a skinny bean). He's getting so big! Just in time to have some fun outside as it starts to warm up in a few weeks!

Did your ___________ do this?

Did your mom hand make your little boy a hat and sweater so he could look oh so cute?



Did your scott do all the diner dishes and use my leftover bread dough to make an impromptu no recipe necessary catch of cinnamon rolls that look professional and perfect?



(that one was a bit of a shocker... But a wonderful surprise. Who knew he could do that?)

Did your parents send your little boy a coconut in the mail from hawaii?




yeah, mine didn't either...

Hi Grandpa Dave!

We have received the request today from Grandpa Dave for an invitation to Peter's blog (because, let's be honest, this is now Peter's blog). Peter is very excited to welcome Grandpa Dave to the blog! Hope you're having a great trip in NYC. Tell Uncle Doug hello!! We have been very busy while you've been gone. We have taken lots of tubs, made a lot of spit, and learned how to stand in our jumper. Peter is very grown up, can't you tell?

Pattern and Purpose

"Those with true hope often see their personal circumstances shaken, like kaleidoscopes, again and again. Yet with the 'eye of faith,' they still see divine pattern and purpose." Neal A. Maxwell