Super Why!

About two weeks ago we did the unthinkable...we dropped our cable television! ACK!!! They were switching to digital and our bill was going to nearly triple. We decided that since nearly everything is online now and we didn't want to commit to that monthly bill that we are saying "Goodbye!" to all our extended channels. It's a little hard to get used to but not too bad.

I feel bad that Peter is missing out on some of his favorite shows from the Disney Channel like "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and "Special Agent Oso". But in its place he is learning to like some of the shows on PBS. He was already a fan of Sesame Street and Curious George but this week he became obsessed with a show called "Super Why!"


It's about a boy named Wyatt (aka Super Why) and his storybook friends who teach letters and reading skills. They usually have to solve a problem and turn into super heroes who put on masks and capes. Peter has been flying around the house yelling "Why! Why! Why!" Yesterday he created himself his own Super Why costume! Do you see the resemblance?


He is so proud of his green goggles like Super Why has!


Peter likes to get up on the couch and spread his arms then..


FLY!!!!! Off he'll go jumping over and over again trying to fly like Super Why.


He ran around the house like this for hours. (Oh and yes, he is STILL into his Hawkeye gear. He puts a hawkeye outfit on atleast once a day!)


Last night about 3am Peter came out of his room having a full on melt down. He must have had a nightmare! He just kept screaming "Why! Why! Why!" and running around the house hysterically crying. At one point he went and opened the front door! I finally figured out he was looking for his Super Why costume. The last he saw it was out in the car where he had fallen asleep on our way home from getting dinner. He must have thought it was still out there and he wanted to get it! I finally gave him his "cape" and he climbed back into bed, cuddled up with it and fell right asleep. Crazy boy!

Mt Lemmon Oktoberfest

Sunday afternoon we decided to head for a drive up Mt. Lemmon and visit the Oktoberfest celebration going on at the top of the mountain. It was a beautiful day and a good 20 degrees cooler when we got up there.


Sadly, I remembered my camera but forgot a memory card so I wasn't able to take any pictures with it! BOOO!!! But I whipped out my cell phone and was able to snap a couple of pictures of Peter dancing to the polka music.


Peter had fun running around chasing other kids and putting his arms out and spinning like a helicopter. He even made a few buddies. They got together one time and did the chicken dance. Peter was so cute learning how to do the chicken dance!! (Aunt Angel, this one better be at your wedding!!!!)


The colors aren't changing on the mountain yet, but there were beautiful big pine trees and lots of grass. We sat on the grass for a bit enjoying the cool weather. It gave me hope that Tucson will soon cool off, we are still having 100 degree days.


We did end up getting chilly as 5pm rolled around. We packed up our things and started down the mountain. Both boys were exhausted and fell asleep on the winding roads while mommy drove. It was a nice relaxing day for all!

Go Hawks! (video)

The Iowa Hawkeyes are in Tucson! We all dug out our Hawkeye shirts from our last visit to Jen's family in Iowa and wore them all day long. Who cares if they are playing the University of Arizona downtown??? We bleed black and gold baby!


Peter has a few hawk shirts to juggle through today but most of them are getting too small. We'll have to buy some big ones next time. In the end he decided to go with his "I'm a Hawkeye Just Like My Aunt" shirt. Hi Aunt Angel! We were thinking about you today!!


We weren't able to arrange tickets to the game. It is one of those rare sold out Arizona games, Hawkeyes are very loyal travelers! But this morning when on Skype with my mom she found an Iowa pep rally called the Hawkeye Huddle was going on down at the Convention Center. Since John was working, Peter and I headed down there to join the Hawkeyes!


It was super exciting to be walking around downtown Tucson and seeing so many signs of Iowa. It made me feel like I was at home! There were probably a couple hundred people there all dressed in black and gold. Such fun!


Peter loved saying "Go Hawks Win!!!" and learned to say "Fight fight fight" during the fight song. Then he would get upset cause he knows you aren't supposed to fight. He was fascinated watching the cheerleaders flip and dance on the stage. Ultimately though he thought it was "too loud" and he was much happier when we left and went back outside.


Once again he was scared of the "big Herky" and only waved at him from across the stadium but I did manage to find him a small Herky doll for $5. I figured this was a great memory of the day. After all, how many times will we ever find a Herky in Arizona!?!?


Afterward, we had a long walk back to the car. The TCC parking lot cost $10! I ended up finding street parking about 4 blocks away. Peter was obviously tired though because he laid down on the sidewalk for a quick nap.


I also made a little video of Peter's first big Hawkeye event. Hopefully someday I'll be able to take him to a big game!

Week 22

Just getting ready to go into Week 22 of growing Baby #2.

I'm still not feeling baby much. Ultrasound says that the placenta is attached to my belly wall so there is a big ol' pillow blocking me from feeling him. Boo!!! Hopefully though when kicks and punches get harder I'll feel more.

I'm still working on getting an insulin pump. There are a lot of hoops to jump through. Hopefully I will know by the end of the month.

It's been a hard couple of appointments lately because I have had to go on days when John works and had to take Peter with me. THAT is a new experience. Trying to keep my blood pressure down while he is running away down the hallway is a definite challenge. I took a portable DVD player the past 2 times and he got to watch some Goofy and Elmo while I talked to the Dr. He has learned that the hospital is kinda fun though because there are elevators and he makes lots of friends.

I definitely can tell there is a big growth in my tummy. This week I started having trouble bending over and getting out of bed. I'm laying down for naptime when Peter manages to take one. We now have several books about "new babies" that we read to him and I think he is starting to understand what babies mean.

The memories of this are starting to come back. It's a familiar experience, but also different. I wonder what this new baby will be like. Will he be like Peter? Will he have dark hair and dark eyes like John? Will he be another "easy baby"? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!

On the plus side, it is going a lot faster this time. We are already over halfway there and I KNOW the holiday season will fly by! I'm already trying to figure out what to be for Halloween!

Chewy's Bathtime

Apparently Chewy needed a bath too!

Labor Day Swim

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day! John was able to switch with a co-worker and get the day off so we had a fun family day. In the morning we headed to the zoo. Peter had a great time running from exhibit to exhibit. We only stayed a little over an hour because it was starting to get hot, but I am glad we were able to go out for a little bit.

Even though it is still in the hundreds I keep reminding myself that it won't be that way forever. I've been trying squeeze in a few more visits to the pool while I still can.


Peter is an absolute fish. Stick him in his inner tube and he will swim around the entire area of the pool. He will wake up at 6:30am and by 6:35am be bringing me his swimsuit and asking to go to the pool.


He has a mighty kick on him. He will just fly from one side of the pool to the other.


And the entire time he just has a huge grin on his face! I took so many great pictures it was hard to narrow it down to what ones to post to the blog. I had decided to take the risk of taking my digital camera into the pool. I'm so glad I did, its one of the only ways to capture such a great experience!


After about 5 minutes of swimming Peter remembers that he can go "Down!" and jump into the pool. (Oh, sidenote: These are his favorite swim trunks, they are Spiderman. I think he'd wear them everyday if I let him.)


Peter has developed a habit of standing on the depth markers to jump. He'll run to stand on one then (hopefully) make sure we are paying attention and go "Two-tree!" so we start counting "ONE TWO THREE!!!!" For some reason he always leaves out the one.


Then he will clench up his fists, get a big smile on his face and JUMP!


He likes jumping to mom or dad. He now likes to go under the water then we grab him up and out. Almost immediately upon coming out of the water he'll scream "Again!" or "More down!"


John got tired of getting splashed in the face all the time so started trying to duck from the water.


Peter is so brave though! I can't believe my two year old just takes a flying leap into a big pool of water. John was just off camera and swooped in for this jump, but just the fact that Peter was willing to jump such a huge distance without daddy right there says a lot about the kid. He is one amazing kiddo!


After about 30-40 jumps Peter got back in the pool for some relaxation. He is learning to float in his tube.


After a long time though we look at Peter's hands and if they are wrinkly it is time to go inside and take a bath to get all the chlorine off. This rarely makes Peter happy, he always gets kinda sad when we have to say goodbye to the pool.


After bathtime Peter must have been completely worn out. He crashed out on a blanket in the middle of the living room and slept for almost 2 hours in just his froggy towel.

Hanging Out in Peter's Room (video)

It's still well over 100 degrees here in Tucson and summer is dragging on. I've made a standing rule that we don't go to any outdoor activities after 9am so our days get rather long around here. We've hit the McDonald's playlands a lot, the library storytimes, the mall, the pool (the one outdoor place I WILL go). And of course we hang out at home a lot in the afternoons.


Peter is enjoying his new bed. It is probably as high as his shoulders, which is pretty high for a little boy. But it has 4 drawers underneath and we always need storage! Peter doesn't seem to have a problem with it. He has NEVER fallen out of bed and never had to have any side rails. Though I think I might have heard him bonk against the wall a time or two.


I thought it was time to get rid of naptime and he did well without it for about 2 weeks and then it came back around again. It seems more like a "return to sleep" time though. He would love to go back to bed around 10am and just get a few more winks in. As long as it happens early it doesn't affect bedtime too much.

He has also recently gotten attached to his "baby bear". I started calling it a baby and showing him how to take care of a baby. He likes to dress it in matching clothes and sleeps with it every night along with two Chewy's...he has a whole harem in bed with him!


Peter's favorite thing about his bed though is jumping off it. His imagination is kicking in and he says the floor is the "pool" so he jumps into the pool to swim.


Peter got some hand-me-downs from one of his older buddies. He likes wearing his "white shirt" the most.


Of course, Mommy has a tank top on too so that makes all the difference. My little boy sure loves me!


Peter likes to look out the window when the "trash truck" comes. It's loud and does all kinds of cool things.


And of course, his hulk face is going strong. He likes to scrunch up his face and growl. His whole entire body tenses and gets into it. He thinks he is "scary".


He also had his first experience with "ghosts" this month. He came running out of his room about an hour after bedtime one night crying and saying his room was "Scary!" Mommy went in there with him and asked what was scary and he pointed to the ceiling and said "Ghosts!" I think the kid has been watching too much Scooby Doo! Any ways, we looked up at the ceiling and said "Boo! Go away ghosts!!! Go away!" We said this to every corner of the room until the ghosts were "all gone" then Peter climbed back into bed and went right back to sleep.


You may also have noticed that I shoved things around in Peter's room. I'm trying to figure out the best configuration to squeeze two kids in there. I am sure when #2 comes that it will change again. I'm grateful I don't have to buy too much more clothes since its another boy. I just have to dig out the old stuff and organize it. Peter is trying to choose his own clothes these days. I will have to restructure the entire closet so he can have a low hanger rack, right now he is climbing on boxes to get to his tshirts.


I took a few fun videos of Peter playing and jumping around his room. Pay attention to how he acts when the cat jumps on my lap. Poor cat! Peter gets so possessive over me. We spend so much time together on a daily basis I think he will have a hard time when he has to share me with a new baby.

Kindermusik

Our mommy group hosted a demo class with Kindermusik last week. Those are always lots of fun. We joined about 6 other kiddos/moms and the kids got to play with music. Peter liked playing with the scarfs for the pretty music.


Then we did a song to learn about high and low. When the music was up high you reached WAY up high in the sky and twirled and flew around the room.


Then when the music got low you got down on the floor and crawled or slithered around the room. Peter had fun switching back and forth between the two. I thought it was a great interactive way to keep Peter's attention. He needs to stay physical!


Peter and another boy ran around and around the room in circles chasing each other. It is always so hard to get him to sit down and focus during the "quiet" parts. I was so grateful when the leader brought out instruments to play.


He likes to play music!


Oh! And my favorite part! We learned a dusting song. He got little dust rags and all the kids went around the room cleaning the wall and the floor and the chairs. Now Peter should be an expert at helping mommy dust, right?


For storytime Peter didn't want to sit in mommy's lap. He wanted to sit with his buddy Lilah so he got to sit with her and her mommy.


Then they all got to go up front and look at the storybook pictures. Any story that is about washing a dog is apparently completely captivating. Hey, whatever works!