My Boys. Snow.

My boys.

Snow.

That's pretty much all I need to have a completely perfect day.

(I am so in love with Peter in his little red NorthFace!)

These pictures are from last Saturday. Since then, our snowmen have shriveled, melted, and done back bends on the lawn. Good thing a new dose of snow is coming down as we speak. 

Perfect Christmas Eve Day!

Elf Photo Booth

Merry Christmas!

Love, Peter (Oh Christmas Tree), Lindsey (Rudolph/Elf), and Scott (Santa)

Elf Breakfast

We have had busy, busy weeks. It seems like the holiday brings one thing after another...after another... after another. All good things. But man, there are a lot of them! Anyone else tired?

We are having so much fun sharing the holiday spirit with Peter this year. He cracks us up. All day. Every day. I am constantly calling Scott at work to tell him of Peter's latest tricks and accomplishments. I love listening to Peter jabber all day long. Lately, he had been really big on locating his head, eyes, ears, nose, and teeth. He knows that the lion says "Rawr" and that the duck says "Quack (but it sounds more like guac guac guac)." He had a scratch and sniff Christmas book that he reads by pressing his face up against the pages and taking a serious "Whif." He understands pretty much everything we say. He starts to undress when we mention the tub. He puts his dirty clothes in the laundry. He is always trying "help" around the house. He does about a dozen signs to communicate with us (he uses "please" for everything, which is my favorite!), and he does the usual clapping, blow kisses, high five, and waving. Every day he does something new that I didn't expect. Oh, and we've had some false alarms as far as words go. Besides Mama and Dada, we have a first official, unprovoked, un-taught-on-purpose word. Ball. He pointed to a ball and said, "Ba." I about died.

Anyway, so one of our recent holiday activities was the Ward Primary Christmas Breakfast. The YW and YM in our ward were in charge of the breakfast, and it kept me very busy for a few days (I am now in the YW Presidency). We had a blast. I have way too many pictures of all of our crafts, reindeer games, reindeer-shaped pancake creations, photo booth, and decorations (we had a candy-cane forest, whirly twirly gumdrops, and a North Pole!) I won't be posting all of those. Don't worry. 

But this is a proud moment. My first kid-art for the fridge. Courtesy of my baby boy.

This was the tiniest reindeer foot/face and hands in the entire room. I love it way too much. 

Here are some pictures of my girls (elves) and some of their leaders. I love the Young Women! I am so lucky to spend so much time with these wonderful girls and women! 

Peter and SJ

 Peter LOVES his cousin Sarajane. She doesn't always reciprocate those feelings (like when Peter is touching something she wants or she is randomly accusing him of cutting her hair, stealing her shoes, or breaking her princess heels)... but when they are on the same page, it is my favorite thing ever! Peter loves to do whatever his big cousins are doing, and he loves, above all, when they come to his house to play (hint, hint, Aunt Kirsten. Let us babysit more often!) 

I drove home last week to find this cute little girl sitting on my front lawn. I wanted to get a picture of her awesome outfit, but Peter was a faithful shadow, and made sure to make his way into every picture I tried to get of SJ posing on the lawn. Having Peter in the pictures makes them even better. These two are and will be such great buddies growing up. We are so excited for Baby Emmy (is that how we're spelling it?) to come to the family. She will be about eighteen months younger than Peter. It will be so fun for Peter to have these cute cousins so close to his age, even if he is sandwiched between the two girls!

Side Note: Peter is pretty much off of his bottle by now, but looking at this picture makes me reconsider that choice! I love seeing him carry around that little bottle of milk! It's the last little sign of "baby" when everything else has moved on to "toddler!"

 This is the picture I kept wanting to get. I love this little girl! 

Peter's Happenings at Home

My little boy is busy. So busy. And I love it. 

He loves to hide in tiny places. We play hide-and-seek several times a day. He loves to hide in the pillows on our bed, but every once in a while, he'll pick an unexpected hiding spot. He can't stay quiet while I seek him. He is too busy giggling in anticipation of being discovered and me seeing just how goofy he's being. If he gets a good laugh out of me (which is pretty easy to accomplish), he becomes a broken record. He crawled in and out of our nightstand shelf probably about fifty times, and we laughed heartily every single time. I'm getting really good at my fake laugh for when I see the same routine over and over and over again.

Peter is reading the Happiness Project. He very reads quite intently, hunched over, and with dedication. He carries this particular book with him from room to room. He's probably reading it faster than I am. 

Another favorite spot (not for hiding... just hanging out) is the basket by the rocking chair. I have found him chilling in this basket about a dozen times. It cracks me up every time. He seems to have found a place just his size. Sometimes he brings a toy or a book. Sometimes he flips the t.v. on and watches a show from the basket. We are getting him a little chair for Christmas so he can read his books and have snacks in his own little space, but I'm wondering if we should just put a bow on this basket and call it good.

Nothing shakes up the Saturday morning routine like a cardboard box...fort... car...chariot...

... surf board! 

I think this kid's a natural. Can't wait to get him out in the waves with his dad.