Fresh Air

The best part about the spring has to be getting outside in the fresh air. We go outside nearly everyday! If Mom Mom or Grammy doesn't take us out earlier in the day, the Daddy surely does when he gets home from work. We are really enjoying our playground this year. Daddy is always willing to swing us!

One of the other parts of spring is all the work it puts on Daddy's plate to take care of things outside. He did a bit of mowing the other night. Teddy likes to ride with him, but I like to CHASE HIM!!

Teddy had promised that I would post some pictures of our visit from Uncle George, Aunt Lou Lou, Sarah, Karlie and Jenna from before his birthday. So, these are a couple of weeks old, but you can see just how much fun we have outside with everyone!

This year I can climb up the rock wall all by myself!

Teddy can get up on the tractor. He still can't quite reach the pedals good enough but he loves to work the bucket!

As you know, I love "my Jenna"! She is my best friend!

Teddy Baseball had to show off some of his skills.

I showed off my ball skills with a slam dunk on the basketball hoop Uncle George brought for us!

Oh, and this is a funny picture too. Not from playing outside, but from our pre-birthday excursion to Toys R Us to get Teddy his birthday presents.

This is how we roll...

Baby Update: Everyone is curious about how Mom is feeling these days with her official due date for the baby just over 2 weeks away. She is doing good. Her belly is getting SOOO big and she is showing some signs of being ready to have a baby soon. Nothing too exciting just yet, but you never know....my next post could be all about a new brother or sister!

What Makes a Good Birthday?

Hi folks! This isn't Tyrus today, it is Teddy. I'm taking over the blog for the day to answer a very important question, "What makes a good birthday?"

See, yesterday was my 2nd birthday and I think it was a pretty good one, so let me share with you what happened in my day.

First, I got to play with my brother Tyrus. We've really been enjoying our new train table that Gram Gram & Papa Peters got for us (Papa actually built it!). We spend hours around this table playing with our trains, or putting together puzzles, or building stuff with blocks. It is just perfect for us!

After a morning of playing and hanging around the house, we got a yummy lunch. We are big boys now, so we take big bites! We had to eat some good, nutritious food like peaches to keep our energy up for all the day still had in store.

When we got up from our naps, Daddy was home and took us outside to play and wait for some special guests. My Grammie Peterson, Gram Gram Peters and Papa Peters all were able to come over for dinner and a cozy little birthday celebration.

An absolutely essential element for a good birthday is two loving, fun grandmas who will swing with you!

I'm getting very into baseball this year (check out the early blogs) and so it is only fitting for a good birthday to have a yummy cake with something you love on top!

Oh, and to let everyone sing to you before you dig into it!

I love to "Huff and puff and blow the house down", but I couldn't figure out where to aim my blow to hit the candle. Oh well! Good thing I had Tyrus to help me out.

After yummy cake come PRESENTS! A fantastic part about being the birthday boy is getting gifts from all the folks who love you! My Papa Peters was showing me my new Pop Up book from Gram Gram Peters. I definitely had a theme to my gifts this year....my love of whales and sharks! I got books about them, and a shark towel, and a shark backpack and a whole pile of new sharks to play with!

And, as the special day comes to an end, there is no better place to wrap up a good birthday than in Daddy's lap with a good book!

So there you go! In my opinion, those are all the elements of a good birthday! Thanks to all my family who made it super special.

And a special thank you too, to Uncle George, Aunt Lou Lou, Sarah, Karlie and Jenna for coming to see me on Sunday. I'll have Tyrus update you with some photos on their visit.

March Madness

Our March Madness wasn't about basketball, but about all the fun we had in March (and the beginning of April)! Here are just some highlights!

We took another trip to Strong Museum of Play in Rochester. We hadn't been there since last June and it was a whole new experience as we've all grown and are doing new things. This time, we had a big crew. It was me, Teddy, Mom and Dad, along with Aunt Shel, Cohen & Cooper, Papa Peters, Gram Gram Peters, and Grammie Peterson. Even my Jenna came to play with us! I was so excited to see her that I did this crazy happy dance that made everyone laugh! I sure do love her!!

This time at the museum, they had a whole exhibit on Lego's. Can you believe this dragon was made completely of Lego's? I did a little claw comparison, his to mine!

Storybook Land has a big giant that you can control with levers. I loved to make his hands move, but he kind of scared Teddy. He kept one eye on that giant the whole time he was in that room.

This is a funny picture from this crazy room that creates an altered perception. Gram Gram Peters looks so small, while Jenna looks so big. And me....well, I was running around too much to stand in one corner long enough for a picture.

Teddy found a keyboard and got to work. He loves to try and do this on Mom's laptop at home. He can be in the office undetected for only a minute and by the time Mom finds him, he has 100 windows open and things all changed around. He is quite a whiz! He already knows how to turn on the TV, then the Nintendo Wii, and then using the Wii remote, start up a Netflix streaming movie...all on his own! Only one week until he's 2 years old. By 10, he'll be an official hacker!

And, some shots of me trying out my musical and driving abilities!

This weekend came with some great weather! It was like a free Spring Break, since we didn't have to travel to have the super warm temperatures! We played outside a whole bunch and are getting good use of our playground already this year. We can already do so much more on it than we could just last Fall. Teddy scampers right up the ladder and ramp, and I can climb the rock wall!!

Aunt Jane and Uncle Gary came for a visit this weekend with their camper. I loved to go inside it and yell out to everyone through the windows. Teddy has taken a new, intense interest in baseball (he calls it 'bee ball'). Mom always said he was going to be a catcher because he is constantly squatting down for extended periods of time while he plays. These pictures sure make it feel like he will be!

Yesterday was Easter Sunday and I had fun learning all about the story of Easter at Sunday School. I came home and retold the whole story of Jesus to Mom and Dad over lunch...how he got hung on a tree, then put in a tomb, and then how all his friends couldn't find him because he was ALIVE!

Last but not least, our March Madness has included the quick expansion of Mom's belly as we near the baby's due date. Just 5 more weeks to go! Here's Mom Mom on Easter. She is feeling pretty well, but sometimes I notice she is a little cranky and tired. We are all excited about the new baby though. I have a real interest in babies and can't wait to have one right here at home to play with!!

Snow, Snow, Snow!

In honor of all the snow that is falling down today, I thought I'd share some photos of Teddy and I out in the snow. These are from last Monday when Daddy came home at lunchtime just to take us outside to play for a while. It gave Mom a nice break and got us really tired out for some good naps before our fun visit from Aunt Jane & Uncle Gary. We'll probably be back outside in the snow tomorrow!

It isn't easy picking up a snowball with thumb-less mittens, but Teddy was up for the challenge.

Daddy was making snowballs and throwing them us at us! We just grabbed them and threw them right back.

Our playground is fun is all the seasons!

There is a smile somewhere under that coat!

Yep, that is me, Tyrus!

Two Little Monkeys, Jumping on the Bed!

Last week, my Uncle Gary and Aunt Jane came to visit. They brought up two beds that Uncle Gary made for me and Teddy. They are super cool! Instead of just having a mattress on the floor, I know have a REAL big boy bed! There is also one for Teddy and soon, he will come over and share a room with me to make way for the new baby!

We did what any boys would want to do on new beds....jump on them!! Here is a video of us testing out Uncle Gary's construction.

Happy Birthday to Me!

That's right! I celebrated my birthday last weekend. Yes, I know there has been a delay in sharing these pictures with you. That is what happens when Mom's camera battery goes dead and then she can't find the charger. But, I love her anyway! Daddy and Mommy always talk about how special the day I was born will always be to them. It is a day of celebration for our whole family, because it is the day God made us into a real family.

This was my 3rd birthday! Can you believe it? Me neither. I'm growing right up!

We celebrated with a dinner at Grammie's house. We got all bundled up and headed over there after Daddy got home from work. I had to take my new Gordon along with me! My passion is still trains!

Grammie had some yummy chips out for us to snack on, and boy, did Teddy and I dig in!

We snacked and played until my Papa Peters and Gram Gram Peters came. It was a small, intimate party, but that didn't keep us from having loads of fun! Daddy likes to get Teddy laughing by acting like he is going to eat him. We like to do anything to make Teddy laugh because his laugh is hardy and contagious.

My 3rd birthday also marks the 3rd anniversary of Mom Mom being a Mom. She says her whole life has been changed with motherhood, and she loves it! I sure love that she loves being my mom and spends each day taking care of me and Teddy.

Birthdays involve presents and I got a big surprise when Mom and Dad got me the Geotrax set I had picked out myself at the toy store. They took me on the Monday night prior to my birthday. It was a fun night with just me, Mom and Dad having dinner at Friendly's and going to Toys R Us while Teddy spent the night at Grammie's house. I am always a good boy about putting toys back on the shelf and not asking to bring them home, but when I saw this giant box on the bottom shelf, I gave it a big hug and just kept saying to them "We have to take this home." They were super-sneaky and bought it without me knowing it! How fun to pick out my own present!!

Birthdays also involve yummy food. We ordered pizza, one of my favorite foods. Here is Teddy chowing down!

Ugh, yucky Teddy! Don't touch Mom's camera with your pizza fingers!

My favorite part of birthdays might just be the cake. This was a super special cake made by my Gram Gram Peters. She knows I love trains, and I really love trains with candy all over them!

Here is my Gram Gram watching me blow out my candle...a big 3! Thanks to Mom, Dad, Teddy, Grammie, Papa and Gram Gram for making my birthday super special!

More Christmas Photos

I've had some more pictures to share, but forgot to get them up here. This was the second half of our holiday, with a Peterson Family Christmas party and a visit to Great-Grandpa & Grandma Young's.

We went to see Grandpa & Grandma Young the Saturday after New Year's since we didn't get to see them on Christmas. Grandma & Teddy were having fun playing with the clapper, noise-maker thingy that Aunt Shel bought us, and I helped Grandma open their gift.

Grandpa Peterson stayed with us for an overnight the Sunday after Christmas. He got to sleep in my room with me.

The Saturday following Christmas was the Peterson Family Christmas party at Grammie Peterson's house. We had a lot of fun packed into Grammie's place, watching movies, playing Wii, opening presents and of course, eating!

This is near the end of the day, but poor Teddy was so tired, he couldn't stay awake any longer. He fell asleep in Sarah's arms.

This might be why he was so tired. He was one popular kid!! He is easy to make laugh and smile...and therefore he brings lots of smiles to others!

We had a fantastic Christmas season this year and are already looking forward to next year with a new brother or sister!