Peter, the Artist

Peter has been grabbing my pen lately and trying to write with them. So yesterday I figured it was time to try coloring again. I taped a piece of paper to his high chair, gave him a washable marker and let him go to town!


He got the hang of it right away!!! He was scribbling all over the paper...and off it!


He did seem to use his right hand to color, but he didn't want to leave his left hand out so he colored all over it.


Oh, and he colored his cheek too! Silly Peter! Thank goodness these were washable! I need to go out and get some crayons. I'm annoyed at myself for not buying some during the "Back to School" sales!


Peter holding up his masterpiece!

Peter is Allergic to....

Today Peter had his first appointment with an Allergist. After months of guessing, problem-solving, and experimenting I finally pressed his doctor for a referral at his last appointment. And we got one!

Peter went into the allergist this afternoon and we described everything that is going on with him. They decided to do scratch tests on his arm for 10 different basic things. It was hard. They put drops on his arms then pricked his skin and we had to sit still, not moving his arms, for 5 minutes. The minute he started getting pricks he started yelling and writhing. He was sitting in my lap and I tried to hold him in place but it was really difficult. And you can't exactly explain to him what is going on. Poor kid!


After a long 5 minutes the doctor came in to look and determined he is allergic to: Cow's milk, Soy, and Peanuts. He told us to stay away from that and all tree nuts. I guess nuts was our secret ingredient that we didn't know about!

Afterwards, the nurse went and got Peter a "prize" of a duck finger puppet and a bouncy ball. That quieted him down really quickly and he was soon chasing the ball around the exam room and shoving his duck in our faces for kisses. We are supposed to go back next year and retest because I guess kids can grow out of a lot of allergies.

Pumped & Pepped

Friday was all about getting energized! We had the Pump It Up bounce party in the morning. Peter had a great time bouncing around all the castles. Daddy was impressed with how much fun Peter was having since the last time. Peter wasn't scared anymore!

He went up the ladder....


...and down the slide! Mom is up at the top getting ready to go but Peter went down on his tummy before she could even sit down! He had a huge smile on his face!


John and Peter even went through their obstacle course for the first time! We were all exhausted and went home for a nap afterwards.


That evening we went down to the University of Arizona campus for a pep rally. Football season begins this weekend! We listened to rock music in a courtyard first.


There was lots of free stuff. A breakfast place gave Peter free Cheerios, John and I split free ice cream. Peter got a free balloon from Brake Masters. Mommy even did their bean bag game trying to throw bean bags through a goal and won a free oil change! Yay, mommy!


The highlight though was when the marching band came! Peter clapped to the music and the flag girls stopped right in front of us to put on a show. Later we went to watch the baton twirlers and pom-pom girls. Peter just watched fascinated. It was fun, but I think I would have had more fun if it was the Hawkeyes!

National Bowling Day

Yesterday, Sept 5th was National Bowling Day and our local bowling alley had coupons for a FREE game. Since I have been wanting to go bowling since I was about 8 months pregnant we decided to try it out.


Now let me say right here and now that bowling with a toddler, especially one who is obsessed with balls is amazingly hard and not something we will be trying again soon. Yes, he was fascinated. But then the reality hits you that this little toddler is wanting to try to touch and pick up these huge 6-16 lb balls of pure lead! It's an accident waiting to happen!!


Of course John and I really wanted to get our free bowling game in. I got a spare the first round! But it quickly turned into a crazy battle of preventing Peter from getting his fingers pinched between balls, grabbing him from running onto the alley, and stopping him from dropping balls on his feet (yes, he did manage to pick one up!)


We took him up to bowl a few frames with us just so he could participate and get the idea. The ball got stuck once and a worker had to free it for us. At the end you could definitely see where we lost control of Peter. Our scores went from knocking down lots of pins to lots of gutters and 1 pins because we were too distracted. Thankfully, since our game was free it was no big loss.


Final verdict: We'll try again next year.

Our Bath Routine

One of Peter's absolute favorite things is taking a bath. If he ever has a super cranky day (like today) one thing that is sure to turn his mood around is some good splashing time in the tub. When I turn the water on he comes running. He has started being able to climb into the tub all by himself. Then I have to grab him back out to take his clothes off!


Today was the first time that Peter really took the washcloth and tried to scrub himself. Too cute! We've also been working on different body parts in the bathtub. Of course, his favorite one is finding his belly.


We always sing a few songs too. Splish Splash, Rubber Ducky, and 3 Little Fishes are some of our standards. Our rule is that as long as Peter is playing nice he can stay in the water as long as he wants splashing away. Bath time is over when water starts getting out of the tub. This happens usually by over-excited splashing or by throwing wet toys out. He usually gets a good 15 minutes of playtime before this happens.


When bath time is over we open the drain and wave goodbye to the water then he helps to put all his toys in a toy bucket while the water drains away. He's gotten really good at picking up his toys afterwards.


Peter hates drying off in his towel. He'd rather just run around the house naked after his bath. I am lucky if I get a few quick pats to get the water off. Tonight I got the towel on his head and he just ran!

Uncle Ben's New Job

Peter's Uncle Ben is packing up today for his new job. He is following in my parents footsteps and going overseas to teach with the Department of Defense. Go Ben!!


Congratulations on your new job! We are envious of the new adventure you are beginning and so proud of you for taking the leap of faith into something new! Good luck!! (Now he just needs to sign up for Skype!)

Ben is getting stationed at Misawa Air Base. It's in a small country town in Northern Japan.


After living in Pensacola, Flordia for the past few years I think the snow will probably take some getting used to! I'm hoping maybe someday we can visit him. With family in Guam and Japan we really need to take Peter out to that side of the globe! Maybe someday!