Uncle Ben & Aunt Angel

Our 10 days in Iowa every summer are almost like a family reunion. My parents and siblings are flung out all over the place but we all come back together for a few days each summer. I love that Peter had so much time to get to know his Aunt and Uncle and they got to know the funny little kid that he is turning into.

Peter and Uncle Ben liked to make faces at one another and trade hats back and forth.

I thought it was cute when they both fell asleep in the car on the drive home from our family reunion. It had been a full day!

Uncle Ben had Peter giggling like a maniac in the backseat. Peter has never had so much backseat entertainment!

Aunt Angel was fun too. Sometimes she brought her dog, Schatzi. Peter wanted to play with her like he does with Gizmo but Schatzi is still a puppy and a little too energetic. Peter got scared a couple times when Schatzi jumped at him and he needed hugs.

Angel didn't mind giving hugs though! She liked to play with Peter!

One day we went to the park! Angel climbed all over the jungle gym but it was too big for Peter. He ended up playing in the dirt and sand. His feet were so dirty afterwards!

Hugs with Auntie!

One day we went to the county fair. Angel helped Peter dance at the puppet show!

It was so nice to see Aunt Angel and Uncle Ben. I wish we all lived closer. I'm thankful for the internet though. It helps close the gap a little bit!

Iowa Food - YUMMM!

Peter got to eat lots of yummy food in Iowa. He stuffed his tummy at every meal!


We've been having lots of trouble with what he can and can't eat. Because of his milk and soy allergy there are so many food that he can't eat! Soy is in almost every type of processed foods and we keep finding it in more and more. He is pretty much confined to all-natural foods.


He had so much fun eating Iowa watermelon and corn. So yummy!


We went out to eat with our family a lot. Here Aunt Angel tries to keep Peter entertained while we waited for our food.


Peter reaching for his graham cracker.


We are beginning to try to teach Peter how to use silverware. He definitely knows that spoons go in your mouth!


Boy, did he LOVE Muscatine watermelon!!! He ate it atleast once a day!


There's also a fun little video on the website!

Iowa Lake House

Peter and mom just had a crazy busy 2 weeks. We were in Iowa from July 9th-19th to spend time with Jen's Iowa family. We had a great time going to 2 family reunions, hanging with extended family, and seeing old friends. We missed daddy and the pets incredibly while we were gone!! We just got home. It's always nice to return to your own bed, home, and daily routine.

The first weekend we were in Iowa we went to the Davis family lake house in Montezuma. It's always so relaxing there. Peter tried to climb the big hill between the lake and the house but he only got about half way before giving up. It's a very steep hill, sometimes mommy wants to give up!


We sat on the swing for awhile watching the cousins water ski and tube on the lake. I was so worried that Peter was gonna trip and tumble down the hill into the lake!


Watching the boats with Grandma Cindy.


Aunt Kim went up and got Peter a life vest from the house. It fit him perfectly so we went down onto the dock to wait for the boat to pick us up and give Peter his first boat ride.


Aunt Angel went on the boat ride with us. Peter started to HATE his life vest. He wanted it OFF!!!


He REALLY didn't like his life vest. (BTW: Peter finally got a few more bottom teeth and you can really see them in this picture!)


I think he hated the life vest, but when you are that close to the water its not optional!!


Finally the boat pulled up to get a fresh batch of passengers. Great-uncle Brian let Peter captain the boat a little bit. Peter loves steering wheels!


Here we are! Finally out on the water! Peter enjoyed his first boat ride. There was so much going on! Wind, water, other boats, birds, trees. He totally forgot about his life vest and just started looking around at everything. He made sure to always be holding my shirt, he didn't want me to let him go. About halfway through the ride he started waving at the other boats and they waved back. It was fun!


We had a bunch of stuff from the lake so I made a video of our favorite pictures for the website. Enjoy!

Intro to Soccer

Early in the morning on July 4th we got up and headed to the park for soccer camp! One of the daddies in our playgroup is a coach and he offered to run a workshop for all the toddlers. So much fun!

Peter started kicking balls this week. I just have to cheer him on yelling "Kick Kick Kick!!" and he will dribble the ball around the field.

Coach Doug did soccer drills back and forth the field, but Peter wasn't much for the structure. He just wanted to run around haywire back and forth. We think he will be a goalie though because he kept wanting to pick the ball up with his hands and he was fascinated with the net.

Peter's best buddy Jack was there with his mom and dad. He is Peter's age and we go to a lot of the same events together.

Getting ready to race!!! Note: Peter just wants to break free and run!!

The boys being boys. They love their sticks! There was also a big thunderstorm the night before so the field was really muddy. Boys like the mud, too!

Coach Doug handed out little soccer medals to all the kids. Peter liked hanging out with Coach Doug, he was a cool guy.

Peter's medal!

Gotta power up after all that running! Lots of juice, eggs, and whole wheat bagels.

Our soccer friends from the Meetup Moms of Tucson.

We had a great time and it was a fabulous memory! Peter was exhausted and started to walk really slow and fall down. He ended up sleeping a lot of the day away.

We didn't wind up doing much more for July 4th. We grilled hot dogs, watched the Capital Fourth on PBS, and let Peter sleep off his long morning. After Peter went to sleep John and I took the baby monitor to the pool and we went for a dip in the hot tub under the moon. Not a bad day overall. Happy Independence Day everyone!


Here's a slide show of some of our favorite moments and some of our friends. Enjoy watching our fun morning! (Forgive me for using a baseball song, there's not much in the way of soccer songs out there!)

Pump It Up July 4th Party

Today our play group went to Pump It Up for a July 4th bounce party. Peter was still a little scared of the loud blowers and big jump houses. It's a little over-stimulating for him I think. Add to that a bunch of kids running and screaming and he just clung to mommy for the first 20 minutes.


After a little while I took Peter inside a jump house and we tried bouncing a few times. He stayed within hugging distance of me but he was starting to warm up to the idea.


Peter even let go of me a little and tried a few bounces of his own!


After getting a taste of bouncing we went out to play on the floor. I had brought two of his balls in just to play with on the floor and distract him from the noise. He was starting to calm down and enjoyed chasing his balls down.


Daddy was off work again along with a lot of the other daddies so it was a fun family party. It was nice to have Dad play with Peter, Mom got to socialize with the other mommies.


At the end they gave out goody bags filled with animal crackers (which unfortunately have soy so Peter couldn't eat them) and star sunglasses. Peter liked trying the sunglasses on.


So did daddy!


Mommy didn't try them on, but she laughed at her boys making funny faces in them.


On our way home we stopped at the Dollar Tree to pick up a few fun toys for our airplane trip next week. We also got Peter a patriotic balloon. He is in heaven now!

The Star of Storytime

After the craftdate at the park this morning we headed over to our regular storytime at the library. He likes to go around and greet everyone and check them out. It's like he is the baby ambassador or something.


Peter was the star of storytime today. He danced with every song. He even knew when he was supposed to twist and when he was supposed to bounce. It was so cute!


We were sad to learn that our storytime leader, Jackie is going to be leaving. We have been going to her storytime since before Peter could even roll over. She is moving to a smaller, quieter library so she can go back to school and get her Masters degree. We are happy for her, but she will be missed. Peter likes to give her hugs.


Peter doesn't spend much time sitting in my lap anymore at storytime. What is REALLY funny is that he went up to like four OTHER mommies today and climbed into their laps. He is such a friendly guy.


Woody, the storytime mascot giving Peter a bear hug. Peter walked around the room like this for over a minute! He likes those bear hugs!