Peterson/ Maxwell Christmas Party

The party this year was lots of fun. The night included "Kendall Jackson" Chardonnay, very yummy food, a little gambling and good company. Dane was eating up the attention. He was so tired before we left our house, Brad and I thought for sure we would have to leave early. But he was trooper and relished in the holiday spirit.

Bobby and Dane

Sharon even had an retro high chair for us to use. You can tell he's a Peterson in this photo. :)

Uncle Craig

Daddy acting like a nut.

I'm really bad with names.

Brad's great aunt, I believe. She's always full of jokes and laughter.

Diane and Courtney, I believe, I always get her and her sister mixed up.

An Afternoon with Angie and Elijah

My best friend in the whole entire universe visited us this week. She brought Dane a present. When we get together, silence doesn't exist. We talk and talk and talk. I know Dane and especially Elijah, being he's 4 years old, want to say, "SHUT UP ALREADY". :) The boys had fun playing together. Mid-play, Elijah comes to me and says, "Dane won't share." Cute! Another great day at Dunedin.

"Wow, for me?!"

He points at everything now, I love it!

Cool toy!

Dane pushed Elijah around in his radioflyer.

Going to Granny's

Pandora, a close friend of mine, watches Dane every Tuesday and sometimes another day as well. I don't have to ask, she begs to watch him. She's never too busy. She doesn't have grandchildren around, so Dane has filled her heart. When he goes to his Granny's, I get to run errands, go to lunch, etc. I feel so blessed to have Pandora in our lives. She doesn't have to say how much she loves Dane, it shows in her eyes. Plus I know he loves her too because he goes straight into her arms when we arrive. On this Tuesday's visit, she surprised Dane by setting up a tree with a train around it. He loved it. He didn't even try to destroy it.

Maybe in a couple of years, I'll be brave enough to set up a train track around our Christmas tree.

Here she is hiding behind Dane. :)

Sledding

When the snow appeared, we couldn't resist taking Dane on his first ride. It wasn't that deep so we had to carry the sled to our street's "island" to get the fun started. Although the weather was quite chilly, Dane enjoyed sledding. We're looking forward to deeper snow so we can take him up and down the side walks with Vincent. Next year maybe he'll be big enough for "Mystery Mound" over by Delhi Ave. A good day...

Swine Flu Bullcrap

After Brad spent several hours waiting in a long line to get Dane the swine flu shot, now they are recalling it? WTF?! At least it's being recalled for "may not be potent enough to protect against virus" instead of "your child will grow a third ear." As advanced as our science community is, and the scrutiny the disease and vaccine received, you would think they would have gotten it right the first time.

The long line.

I was able to come to the rescue after taking the cat to the vets.

Thankfully the weather wasn't too bad. He stayed warm and waited patiently.

Spoiled

It seems as if all the beings in my home are spoiled. That includes Dane, Brad, the dog and two cats. Plus I'm outnumbered as four of them are male. Everyone comes to Mama for love, comfort, food, clean clothes, etc. Sometimes it can be tiring but I do love it! We have a happy family. This photo was taken before Dane's haircut, but look at these two spoiled characters.

Christmas Tree

I didn't plan on getting a Christmas tree this year. With Dane being one, I knew it would be more of a bother than an enjoyment. He is into everything. He LOVES to destroy anything. But when I saw a "table top" tree at Whole Foods, I couldn't pass it up. It was perfect. I'm so happy I got it. It really has brought our family some Christmas joy. I can't wait until future years when we can get a big tree. We'll always get a live tree too because there is something about the fresh pine and the little imperfections that make them impeccable. Brad spent at least a half hour straightening the tree as it was so crooked, it was pointing sideways. :)

What makes the tree even more special is the decorations on it. They were bought many years ago when Brad and I spent our first Christmas together.

Now I must get off here and finish my online shopping before he wakes up from his nap. Dane has been sick therefore we haven't been able to get out and shop.

His First Haircut

I've been wanting to get his hair cut for some time. It was beginning to take the shape of a mullet. Just when I was going to schedule the cut, his Granny P told us to wait until after his first birthday (as if it were taboo to do so). Not to plague the tradition, we patiently waited until after his 1st birthday. I'd been preparing Brad that since Dane is a male that Daddy would be in charge of getting his hair cuts. So a few days after his birthday, they were off to the barber shop. I sent a camera with Brad and asked him to take a few photos. He captured the moments so well.

The before shot

The barber has a cool race car seat for boys. Dane sat in the chair like a big boy. He's doing ok.

Then he lost it.

Regained composure

Afterwards, my handsome prince

It was Daddy and Dane's special day out.

Dane's Birthday

It's been over a month since I last posted and many exciting things have happened. The biggest event was Dane's 1st birthday. We decided to do something low key and stress free knowing that future years won't be. I made cupcakes and Daddy and I took him to his favorite place besides the pool.... the library. It was a good day and I feel blessed to have such a wonderful, happy boy.

Then off to the library. He loves to take the books off the shelves and immerse himself in them.

He's obviously going to be a genius. :)

Our trip to Hocking Hills

Recently we took a one night trip to the Hocking Hills. The beautiful location holds a special place in our hearts because we got engaged and married there. Our trip was cut short this year because of some unwanted critters (mice!). Plus the baby had to sleep in the same room as us because there was no heat in the second bedroom. This meant mommy's sleep was minimal because Dane ended up in the bed with us. :) Regardless of the inconveniences, we still had a great time.

Of course the first thing he did was take all the books and video's off the shelf.

Vincent didn't want to leave the bed.

Daddy started off being the carrier. We went to Ash Cave where we had our wedding photos taken.

Gosh, isn't he handsome?! And I don't mean Vincent!

We found some nice people to take a family photo.

Then Mommy took over for the way back.

Solitude in the Shower

I wanted to jot this down so I don’t forget how much this simple pleasure means to me right now. Before I had a baby, I showered because it was just another one of those daily tasks that had to be accomplished. Over the past 10 months, 3 weeks, the shower has been so very important to me. I savor the silence. I savor the warm water hitting my face. I savor the steam surrounding me. I savor the overall relaxation I get from it. I can remember when Dane was only a few months old and would cry constantly. The shower was my only escape. And even though Dane rarely cries anymore, I still find solitude in the shower. A few deep breaths in the shower and I feel alive. I never knew something so simple would mean so much to me; the things you learn when you’re a mom.

He used to cry so much, I thought... I must be doing something wrong. I think other people even might have thought... she is doing something wrong.

Now I know I didn't do anything wrong....

Overnight at Grandma's

This past Saturday, Dane spent his first night at his GaGa's. It was a spontaneous plan and it turned out great! I wasn't worried about Dane, he adjusts very well these days. He slept 11.5 hours there! He's a great sleeper. It wasn't easy getting him to this point, but the effort has paid off in the end. I know the more GaGa takes care of him the more she will want to so I know she'll be ready to do it again soon. Plus Dane definitely benefits from being around her patient unconditional love. When he came home on Sunday, he was calm and happy. We missed him dearly, but had fun getting out for a night. Of course I didn't take any pictures until Dane was in the car ready to leave.

DaDa and GaGa.

Books and more books please

Dane is an avid reader. He loves books more than any toy. I hope this trend sticks but we all know most boys will get to the point where they'd rather play than read. Because he likes us to read 20 million books to him at every nap time and at bed time, I decided I really needed to take advantage of our local library. I started repeating the words from his books in my head over and over like a bad song that won't go away. We needed new material. :) The library also has a small play area for children. Dane could honestly spend several hours there taking the books off the shelf and looking through them. A couple of times Angie and Elijah have met us there, and we always meet a few new friends every time we go.

My little reader

"What?!"

Yes, he still drools excessively. It's been like that since he was 1 month old. I have to change his shirt at least 4 times a day. People will say, "it must be because he's teething." Honestly, he must be teething every single day because it ALWAYS like this.

YAY, thanks DaDa for reading to me every other night. (We take turns!)

I love this one!

"You cannot be serious?!?!?! Read me another one NOW!"

Giggle Giggle Giggle

Yesterday we went to our first class of toddler yoga. Every time Dane did downward facing dog, he burst out laughing.. hard. It was soooooo hilarious to him. But it didn't end there. Everything was extraordinarily funny the entire day. I'm not sure yoga had anything to do with it or if he's just entering the hilarious stage, but I'll take it. I didn't even have that great of a time at yoga, but if I don't see those giggles again, we're going back next week for sure. He's becoming such a delight; I have a hard time not sqeezing him simple. nom nom nom