Iowa Xmas Presents

Our Iowa family all gathered together the day after Xmas for our family gift exchange and yummy turkey dinner.


There were so many people, I don't know how we all fit into one room! Especially with all the presents!


John was excited that he had his own stocking from Santa. He didn't remember ever having one before!


Peter was showered in Elmo books, toys, and dvds. This one came with a sounds book and an Elmo doll. He has been taking Elmo to bed with him a lot since we got home.


Oma gave Peter a magnetic drawing board for the plane ride home. It helped a little.


When we started Peter was pretty careful with the paper, but he was getting the idea. He liked to open present after present. I think he forgot to look at what was inside.


After seeing all his daredevil tricks with his bike on the blog he was given a crash helmet and elbow pads. He was going cross-eyed trying to look at it on his head.


And he got lots of snow toys for his inaugural snow days. We had fun playing with them in the snow. We can't use them in Tucson but we left them at Great-Grandma's house so we have them every winter!


Of course, we got the annual hawkeye outfits. John and I got matching shirts and Peter got an entire outfit!


John and Jen's big gifts were new eyeglasses. My uncle Dr. Brian fit us in for eye exams and my parents bought us new glasses. Turns out I just crossed over to needing glasses when I drive. Ahh, the aging process is catching up with me! We are still waiting for the glasses to be delivered but my family thought it was funny to give us empty cases in anticipation!


Aunt Angel made everyone yummy smelling candles. Peter even got one in a duck shape. She is so crafty!


Peter quickly started to learn how to RIP paper off those presents to get to the good stuff! Paper went flying. John got put on paper patrol, he was like an army commando trying to get all the discarded wrapping into the trash bag.


So many presents, so many pictures, so many MISSED pictures. I don't have pictures of all the great presents that we got but we had so much fun celebrating with our family. We couldn't fit everything in our suitcases and had to ship an extra two boxes home! Thank you everyone for such a great Christmas, the best part was getting to share it with people we love!

Iowa Family

We had such a wonderful time with all our family in Iowa that I just wanted to highlight all the great people we got to spend time with. This is our Iowa family!!!

Peter's Oma & Opa

Santa (aka Opa) met Peter at the airport.

Oma with Peter & Chewy

Peter's Aunt Angel & her boyfriend Drew

Great-Grandma Langmann & Peter

Uncle Brian, Aunt Kim and cousins Allison & Michael

Aunt Carla, Uncle Brian and cousins Megan, Merideth, and Matthew

Uncle Al, Aunt Lynnae, and cousins Sydney & Chandler

Peter's Great-Grandma Dollie

And we can't forget...

"Cousin" Shatzi, Angel and Drew's dog

Iowa Xmas Decorations

I love returning home to Iowa for Christmas. There's just something about going "home" and being immersed in a loving family that completes the holiday for me. Some things have changed over the years. My Aunt Kim is the host now and invites everyone to her home. But the open arms of a great family is still there in abundance. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family, even if they are further away.


Aunt Kim's house was all decked out for Xmas. There was a big beautiful tree with presents piled below it. Cousin Allison helped Peter touch it a few times. I am proud to report that we only had to move a FEW ornaments higher up the tree!


Peter's favorite part was that on "Xmas eve" they had a train set up around the base of the tree. Cousin Michael showed Peter how to make it go around the track.


The train didn't want to work, even though quiet a few people tested it out. (Can you tell that Peter was the highlight of the evening?!?)


I think Peter liked it more "broken". He was able to take the train off-roading. He played with that train for hours!!! When he discovered that the engine would go "Whoo-whoo" if he pushed it fast enough he was enchanted. We spent the rest of the night leaping over him as he pushed it around the kitchen floor.


Another favorite zone was the Disney cottages. Both Aunt Kim and Great-Grandma Langmann have the same little Disney village. You push a button and all the Disney characters pop out of their houses singing carols.


Peter was fascinated by the little singing village. I think he liked Pluto the best, he kept waiting for him to pop out his door.


There wasn't room on the fireplace for all the stockings! I'm the oldest grandchild so I start off the big line of stockings and it ends with Peter. His stocking was overflowing every time we came into the house!


There was also a moving Tigger. Peter liked to go up and pet it. It was a great environment to begin celebrating our Xmas! More pictures coming soon....!

2009: Year in Review

Just saw this today, I know its a little late but I really wanted to share what I've learned this last year. I posted this on my facebook but thought I'd share it here also.

What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
Peter grew from a crawling baby into a toddler that can run circles around us. He is now a little boy with his own thoughts, feelings and opinions. It's amazing to me that all that can happen in one short year!

What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
Diagnosing and working with Peter's food allergies. It took months to narrow down what he was allergic to, then finding ways to work within those parameters. I had a hard time accepting that he was not going to be able to eat certain things and that I must always make his food from scratch myself. It completely changed how we look at our meals.

What was an unexpected joy this past year?
Getting to spend a good chunk of the Xmas season with the Palmer family in Phoenix and Xmas weekend with the Ayres family in Iowa. I love that Peter got to spend so much time with family for the holidays.

What was an unexpected obstacle?
Peter swallowing a penny and having to go into surgery to get it out. After a rush to the ER we spent an impromptu few days in the hospital letting him recover. It was the scariest and hardest time of his little life so far.

Pick three words to describe 2009.
Growing, Learning, Fun

With whom were your most valuable relationships?
My husband, Peter, our Family, MMOT moms

What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
Being happy in my choice to stay home with Peter. I've learned that having an extra income doesn't necessarily make things better. I can see that the time I spend with Peter is making a difference and is not something just anyone can do (especially with his allergies.) I'm grateful that I am able to find ways to maintain a happy lifestyle.

What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home?
I learned to save money with price matching and coupons. I love shopping and love saving and finding good deals. I have found lots of cheap/free things for us to do that has made living on one income seem not nearly as hard as when we were both working. I love that I have figured out how to make it work for us.

What was your most challenging area of home management?
Cleaning. My home is cluttered and unorganized and messy and annoying.

What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
Facebook, driving to activities

What was the best way you used your time this past year?
Going to MMOT playdates and events. Both Peter, me and even John love spending time with other the other families and kiddos. We've done lots of great new things with them, had lots of support, and made many new friends.

What was the biggest thing you learned this past year?
Spending wisely. It's a simple concept, but I've learned so much about how to stretch every dollar and in our home that makes a huge difference! It has changed how we will forever live and exchange money.

Tucson Symphony Orchestra

This morning Jen and Peter went to a concert by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. They have a small kids program for free a few times a year. This month they were performing Peter and the Wolf. How could we miss that one?!?


As part of the theme they invited kids to bring their stuffed animals or come dressed up as one. We decided to dress Peter in his lion outfit! We took a few pictures this morning as we got ready to go to the concert.


They didn't allow pictures during the performance, but I snuck this one in beforehand. They had a wind quintet playing and we got to sit on the floor in front. Everyone loved Peter's outfit and liked smiling and pointing at him across the room. Peter was so cute clapping after every song. I bounced him in my lap for the fast songs. He got a little restless about halfway through, but I dug out some raisins and that calmed him down. It was only about 45 minutes long, but I was impressed that Peter did so well! My boy is getting some culture!

Welcome 2010!!

Happy New Year! New Year's Eve was rather uneventful in our home this year. John worked and Jen and Peter fell asleep early. For some reason we have been super exhausted since we got back from Iowa, maybe we got something on the plane. In any case, I am working on the Xmas photos and hope to have them up this week. We were excited for New Year's Day though because our playgroup had a big celebration at the park.


Peter got a hat, a lei, and a blower to celebrate. He couldn't quite figure out how to blow hard enough for it.


We are so happy to be back home in Tucson! It's in the 70's and we barely even need coats during the day!


Happy New Year!

Daddy blew so hard it knocked Peter's hat off!! We ended up with a great 2009 and have many hopes for this upcoming year. We wish you all lots of happiness in 2010!