Merry Christmas!!!

We enjoyed a nice quite Christmas at home with just our little family. Peter came running out of his room with nothing but his diaper on. It was a lot of fun to see Peter actually open presents this year. He was super excited about everything he got and he even decided to play with Josie's presents too (lower left picture).

Josie got two dolls and the rocker stacker from us. Her stocking was full of the bath toy letters (for Peter) just so there was something actually in her stocking. She's posing with her new book from Grandma Thatcher.

In Andrew's family it is a tradition to get your own box of cereal wrapped as a present under the Christmas tree. A few years ago I didn't do the cereal and Andrew was sad. So this year I made sure to do it. Everyone got cereal except for Josie, she'll get some next year though. :)

Stats of the 1 Year Old Peter

I started this post back in January so here's to finishing things that I've started.

We went to the doctor's today for Peter's 1 year well check up and he is as healthy as ever. He got 4 shots, 2 in his leg and 1 in each arm. He does not like getting shots but he recovers really well after the fact. He also doesn't like the doctor touching him, period.

Weight: 18 lbs 8 ozs (3rd %)

Height: 30.25 inches (55th %)

Head: 18.5 inches (70th %)

Since Peter's birthday is only 5 days after Christmas we were still visiting Andrew's brother and sister-in-law in Texas. Andrew got some cake pans for Christmas and so we used them for Peter's birthday cake. Peter even got his own little dual layer cake. They are all funfetti cakes with the funfetti frosting to go with. We had rainbow sherbet to go with (everything was really yummy). 

Everything started out really well with us singing happy birthday to Peter and showing him the cake. But it all went down hill from there. You'll notice in the pictures that Peter is wearing his clothes before we gave him the cake and not afterwards. Andrew decided after we finished singing but before we gave him the cake that he need to be stripped. Peter didn't even want to try the cake and started crying and even threw it on the floor. He was the saddest little birthday boy I have ever seen. 

He did get over it after we let him down out of his high chair and got to open presents. I think that perhaps there were two things we could have done better: first is decide to take the clothes off before putting him in his high chair and second do birthday time after a nap instead of after dinner. We will live and learn I guess. 

Birthentines

So, Andrew's birthday is on Valentine's day and I totally stole the title of this post from my friend Kali whose birthday is also on Valentine's day. Her husband came up with it.

I try to make Valentine's day more about Andrew's birthday than about getting stuff for me. We decided that we are going to try not surprising each other with birthday presents but instead pick something out and just go get it. So we went to Sears and Andrew picked out a miter "chop" saw. He was so excited that he got right to work when we got home. He's currently cutting wood to make a potato box. The next power tool he wants is a table saw because you can do just about everything basic with those two tools.


I made a pineapple upside down cake with fresh pineapple for his birthday. It was seriously yummy. Though we've decided that most recipes for pineapple upside down cake require more liquid with the pineapple than the they actually call for.


Andrew tried really hard to surprise me with orange roses, chocolates and a card. It started out as a good plan... He got up with Peter on Saturday morning and went to the store and picked everything up and I never knew. But he hid it in my craft room which I had decided to organize that day. So I saw the flowers and the grocery bag sitting there, but I didn't peek. Then later that night I was going to enter our receipts into Quicken and asked Andrew for his and he said that they were in his wallet. So I get them out and start entering them and I see the receipt from that morning for the flowers and such. His timing did surprise me though. I was expecting to see them out that morning before church, and then after church. He got it all out at dinner. The card is signed Love Andrew and Peter (he thought it was sparkly). The new Hershey's Bliss chocolates are really YUMMY!

Peter's 1st Christmas

We decorated our house, inside and out.

My lovely "childproof" tree.

Aaron & Kjerstin's "childproof" tree all of the ornaments were moved out of Peter's reach.
We drove to Texas where it snowed on Christmas Eve and the snow was still on the ground Christmas morning. Peter didn't like the snow much.

We opened presents on Christmas morning.

The only present Peter really opened on his own wasn't his and it was a couple days before Christmas.
Some people get presents from Santa or their husbands. I get presents from Monkeys.
Peter got crayons and colored some paper for Grandpa Thatcher.