Daddy's out of town!

We survived our first 24 hours without Jason.  Only two more days to go.  Peter seems to be doing pretty well, there's a lot of "dadadada" going on but he doesn't seem upset so that's good.  I'm holding up so far, I don't know how single parents do it though.  I already miss having a second pair of hands and an adult around to talk to. 

I'm not quite sure how but I've been getting more housework done though so I think this place should be pretty beautiful by the time daddy gets home which will be nice.  Some days it's easier than others and even on my laziest days I'm getting better at at least doing a little bit.  It's SO much easier to KEEP house than it is to CLEAN it.  I love that distinction and I can really feel the difference in the rooms that I have perfected.

The room I have the most trouble with is the kitchen.  My biggest trouble is that I LOVE to bake.  So the minute the kitchen is clean it just calls to me to make something in it.  Anything will do.  Like today, I started off my day with some strawberry shortcake.  Then decided that I absolutely had to try out my new food dehydrator.  I ended up drying some kale chips and my first attempt at flaxseed crackers.  The kale chips are better baked in the oven but the crackers ended up being surprisingly delicious and the texture was better than I expected.  A great combination of crispy and chewy.  That's gonna be a fun toy that's going to make it even harder to keep the kitchen clean as of course, Peter only allows me so much time to work without his assistance.  Oh well, progress, not perfection, is the name of the game, and I am making progress.  And I'm making nummy food so I can think of worse ways to make a mess.

But enough babble, it's time for Petey pictures!

I love the park we live next to, it's got lots of swings and a ton of different play structures that I've never even seen before let alone played on.  Peter is still rather unimpressed by the swings as you can see in his face.

Now this is much more fun.  Yes, he's standing in my washing machine.  I was putting a load in the dryer and he REALLY wanted to see what I was doing so I thought "why not?" and set him in.  He twisted the knobs and scooted around in there for about 5 minutes before he decided he'd had enough and asked to go on his merry way.  I love watching him try stuff out.

I've always wanted to live close enough to my work to be able to come home for lunch and now that Jason does I realize it's even more awesome than I'd imagined.  When it's sunny we've been meeting him for lunch in the park that's across the street from his work and it's been so much fun.  Peter's enjoying his dessert here, chocolate chip cookies are too tasty to resist.

He's a sucker for an empty bottle of any sort so I thought I'd try to capture my little 'drunken driver.'  That crinkly faced grin is just the cutest thing ever.

I've known since I was a little girl that I was going to be a momma, but I had no idea how incredibly awesome it was going to be.

Happy Birthday Peter!

Well, his birthday isn't actually for a few more days but we had Peter's first birthday party yesterday and it was a blast. The weather cooperated fabulously and of my family only Jesse was missing. Peter had a grand time as long as no one but mom or dad picked him up and he was perfectly happy to play with everyone. Though, his favorite people were those drinking pop. He LOVES pulling the tabs off the top of pop cans.

By the time we got around to the cupcakes he was pretty tired and really not that impressed overall.  I don't remember how many times Jason offered it to him before he actually took a bite, the wrapper was far more interesting and less messy.  He's a funny little boy, he really doesn't like to get his hands dirty.  Whenever he grabs something sticky he tries to shake it off.  Of course he doesn't like to have his hands washed either but I think that's more normal.

It just occurred to me, I don't think I got any pictures of the pretty rainbow cupcakes I made!  Poo on that.  I wasn't that impressed with how they tasted (the vanilla with chocolate were much better) but they were so pretty.  Oh well, I'll just have to make them again but tastier this time.  I've got so many more pictures but I'm tired, it's been a busy weekend.  I'll post more later.

Yum!

I made homemade chocolate pudding-pops this week just cause.  As you can see in the pictures above, Peter gave his stamp of approval.  His reaction to the cold was pretty funny at first but it didn't take him long to realize that despite the cold, this was something yummy!

He's getting close to walking too.  He's taken a few steps unsupported but he hasn't realized it yet.  Both times he had something in his hands that must have just distracted him enough to not think to look for something to hold onto.  I wonder if he'll be walking in time for his birthday but I also won't be surprised if he waits a few more months.  He'll get there in his own time and crawling sure isn't slowing him down.  He LOVES playing "can't catch me!"  His happy baby squeals and giggles are just the most wonderful sound I've ever heard.

Peter sat at the table with us for the first time tonight! He was so cute sitting there like a big boy chowing down on his dinner. Some bits were eaten off a fork we loaded for him but much more was simply picked up and eaten out of hand (or out of lap). I was actually pretty surprised, he still usually just tips plates and bowls right over but he just sat right down and joined in like he knew exactly what to do.

So much going on...

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted.  Oops.

I'm here to post cause Peter was just playing a cute little game he invented that I just felt like sharing.  I gave him a glass of ice that he dumped over and then very carefully picked up each ice cube and put it back in the glass.  As soon as they were all picked up, it got dumped over again.  He did that over and over for probably 10 minutes.  Each time he got quicker at picking up the ice cubes, at first he struggled as they kept slipping out of his hands but practice makes perfect!

The other big news is that he's said his first word.  Da-da!  Jason is understandably very excited about this except for when Peter shouts it while smacking him first thing in the morning.  :)  I don't think the boy is taking after his poppa's night owl ways.

Oh, and he's getting closer and closer to walking.  He's standing up without assistance and is perfectly stable while doing so (even able to shift his weight to close a drawer and then straighten back up).  No attempted steps yet though. 

All right, Peter's telling me I'm done for now.  Next time there will be pictures!

Aren't my two men adorable?? Peter just loves it when his daddy comes home to eat lunch with him and I just love having opportunities to get cute pictures of the two together. :)

We went to Portland Saturday and had a great visit with my family. Peter had some fun playtime with Grandpa Larry. He didn't even mind when Grandpa stuck his truck in his pants. That confused him for a bit (the truck rattled every time he moved) but when he couldn't see anything he forgot about it and went back to his other toys. It was pretty funny.

I have such a wonderful life. As I sit here typing Peter is snoring the morning away. Baby snores are so stinkin' cute.

Pictures in a baby's life

He's sitting inside a tunnel playing with an empty tube of toothpaste. I love how everything in the world is fun and fascinating for him.

A few more pictures of him with his beloved mice. His is the one with the 'tail' and he carts it everywhere but Daddy's clicks better. He knows where Jason's mouse lives and he like to go into the computer room and grab it. Sometimes he'll wander around the apartment with it but the pictures here are from a day when he just decided to play with it on Daddy's chair.

Peter loved my split pea soup (no, it's not green, I thought the yellow split peas were prettier). Of course I ended up wearing even more of it than he did but we both had fun and he had so much fun taking the loaded spoon and feeding himself. :)

So, a few weeks ago I mentioned that he enjoyed helping me unload the dishwasher.  Well, now he's helping load it too, with himself.  The morning I took this picture I had opened the dishwasher to unload it then instead of emptying the silverware as usual Peter decided to climb in.  His first time climbing up on anything and he made it look effortless.  He doesn't climb in every opportunity but periodically.

Peter also LOVES his bathtime.  So far, no matter what he's doing, when he hears the bathwater running he comes flying into the bathroom and he stands up at the side of the tub and hollers and dances from side to side as it fills.  I've gotten some video of it but I haven't played much with how to share that video with you all.  I'll get to it at some point but for now, just trust me, it's cute!