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. :)