Sliding

The park continues to get more exciting all the time with Catherine.  Now, she's really enjoying sliding.  Sometimes, while we wait for Lizzy to finish her basketball practice, we hang out at the park next to the gym.  Catherine will slowly climb her way to the top of the play structure.  I hold her hand and remind her to sit down.  She gets a big smile on her face and gleefully slides down.  Peter loves to help Catherine.  He cheers her on the whole time, and then excitedly waits for her at the bottom of the slide. Sometimes, he wants her to sit on his lap so they can slide together.  What a darling pair these two are!

Firefighter Fun Day

We had one of those extra-special days.  You know the ones where everything just sort of falls into place?  When everyone is getting along and we're all full of smiles and enjoying one another so much.  Those are the best days, and I treasure them!  Lizzy didn't have school one Monday, but Peter did.  We all enjoyed taking him to school, and since it was Firefighter Day, there was an extra buzz around school.  Lizzy, of course, dove right in, and followed Peter all around as he showed her the fun activities of the day.  They did an art project, played in the "burning" house, and ran all around.  Then, we left Peter to play at school, and us girls enjoyed some rare, and much deserved girl time.  We hit the mall and ordered some yummy hot chocolates.  I loved getting to have some special time just with Lizzy, to enjoy her sweet company and get to chat and just be together.  We hurried back to school so we wouldn't miss the firefighters when they arrived.  Boy were we in for a treat!  They showed us all the cool parts of their trucks, and Lizzy and Peter even got to spray their hose- awesome!  Afterwards we decided to treat ourselves to lunch since it was such a special day.  Lizzy and Peter ran hand-in-hand all around the mall, exploring all their favorite spots together.  I just love when they're like this- so sweet together and having such fun.  What a great day!

New Tricks

Everyone is full of lots of new tricks these days.  But then again, I think that's always the case around here.  Everyone is constantly learning, and trying new things, and getting so amazingly big, they're constantly surprising us with all of the stuff they can do.  On a recent trip to the park, Peter kept me pretty busy with lots of, "Mommy, watch me!  Mommy look at me!"  And, whew, was he right!  There was swinging, and climbing, and hanging, and running, and jumping, and all sorts of busy, busy, activity!  And then there's Catherine.  She may not have been saying it quite so loudly, but she was ready to show off lots of her own new tricks.  Like standing on this step........which she did proudly over and over about a hundred times........pausing to pose and clap for herself each time, making sure we all saw her new climbing skills.  That was pretty cool, but I think my favorite new Catherine trick is her nodding.  Yup, she's really a "yes, girl" these days.  Whenever we ask her a question, she'll often nod yes (though I'm not sure she's entirely clear on what she's agreeing to).  And her final trick, a little bit of a work in progress, is pretty quick walking.  One might even say we're in the preliminary stages of running.  Dear God, then we're really in for it......

True Fans

There are no more true fans than Grandma and Papa!  You've got a game?  It doesn't matter what it is, or who's playing, or how far they have to drive.......they'll be there, with big smiles, ready to cheer, encourage, and root for you!  It's the best!  When they heard that Lizzy and Peter are loving basketball these days, they came over to see their games.  In between games, we took a break and had a picnic at a nearby park and played around a little bit.  Lizzy and Peter were so excited to have some real fans, they couldn't stop smiling.  It's always exciting to have an entourage!

BMOC

Boy, is it fun to see Peter at school these days.  When I see him so happy and comfortable, it's hard to believe he was once so very nervous about coming to school.  To see him laughing and enjoying himself is so very wonderful!  It warms my heart to see the "real" Peter at school, the boy we know and love at home, the funny, silly, smart, adventurous, and curious boy we love so much.  I want all my kids to be comfortable in their own skins, and to be able to show others their true selves.  I'm so very thankful that Peter feels so safe at his school, and that he's able to be his very best self!

Busy Days

When we started the new year, Peter told me he wanted a calendar.  We found a simple paper one that he could hang on his wall.  Peter loves his calendar!  Everyday he tells me what day it is, and what's the date.  He also always writes down what he did that day.  What a fun way to look back on the month!  I love to see all the special things we did that were important to him- school, b-ball, museum, visits with cousins and grandma and papa.  What a great writer he is becoming!