Visit From the Toothfairy

Peter spent the school year watching his peers lose their teeth.

It was always a special and exciting event.

Their teacher would always recognize them and give them a special box to take their tooth home in.

On occasion, Peter would sadly wonder when his turn would come.

His teeth weren't even lose.

Then, out of the blue, he came running out of the bathroom and showed me his tooth.

In his hand!

"Peter, what happened?  Did you even know you had a lose tooth," I asked.

(Because I sure didn't.)

He explained,
"My tooth started to hurt so I decided I needed to brush it.

When I started brushing it, it just came out!"

And that was that.

He was SOOO excited for the Tooth Fairy to come.

At bed time he promptly tucked himself in and was asleep almost immediately.

He even made sure to clean his room in preparation of her visit.

The world felt a little more magical that night,

and I was grateful for the influence of a six year old in our home.

Turning Six

I originally told Peter he could only have eight people at his party.

(He really wanted party hats and they came in sets of eight.)

We sent out invitations only to realize we forgot key people - like cousins!

His party slowly grew and grew until he ended up with fourteen guests.

Somehow it had ended up as big as Ammon's party.

Only with younger kids.

And before we had a chance to recover from the previous week.

We played soccer, bingo, balloon games, relays and even duck duck goose.

At some points I felt like trying to keep the kids entertained was sheer torture.

Peter had a blast, though, and I'm glad we were able to have so many friends come.

I had made the cupcakes for Ammon's party, and went the easy route with Peter's.

They enjoyed the store bought cupcakes and we did ice cream sandwiches, so that was easy too.

Ultimately, Andrew and I swore to never do back to back parties EVER again.

But they were worth it (this one time.)

Peter had his first real "friend" party and overall, it was a success.

Field Trip

Peter had a field trip the week after graduation.

I was eager to go with him, glad to know I wouldn't have any school conflicts.

We were assigned two parents to five children.

The other parent I was paired with was my sister-in-law, so that was great!

We had fun traipsing all over the zoo.

I learned all sorts of interesting tid-bits that I had never heard before.

And most importantly, I made great memories with my boy!

Last Day of School

Peter has had two years of preschool and loved them both.

This year was especially fun because he had a close friend in class with him.

On the last day of school they had an art show.

He also came home with TONS of prizes he scrambled to get from a pinata.

After school we at graduation cupcakes to celebrate.

The next day he was already bored.

Peter LOVES learning and playing.

He can't wait for Kindergarten!

Peter's Birthday

Pictures taken throughout April, 2012

Peter was able to have several different celebrations for his 5th birthday.

One things that he looked forward to and included in  his prayers for weeks was his special lunch with Gramma Peggy.

She took him to Red Robbin, and then to the store to buy the toy of his choice.

Weeks earlier he had decided to "save all his nickels" to earn enough for a double-sided light saber.

It was amazing to him that Gramma would buy it for his birthday.

This countdown was bigger than Christmas!

They had a great time together.

I love the picture of him just gazing up at her with those adoring eyes.

The Saturday after his birthday was his first day of soccer.

That made it difficult to have a birthday party with our neighbors and friends.

But we were able to gather together the extended family on my side and they helped us celebrate.

He had fun opening presents and eating more cupcakes!

Towards the end of the month, we signed Peter up for Kindergarten.

He was able to ride the bus home with Ammon.

It was so precious to see those boys walking home from the bus side by side.

They (along with their handsome dad) are my greatest treasures!

It's hard to believe that my baby boy is already five years old.

He's an amazing kid.

He loves to run and always has tons of energy.

He still has funny anxieties that are just so typical of who he is.

He is smart and social.

He craves attention and gifts.

He adores his big brother, but is also confident on his own.

I can't  imagine life without my "little" Peter Joseph.

(Who really isn't that little anymore...)

The Red Dragons

Pictures taken April 14, 2012

My sister organized a fun little soccer team that included Peter and two of his cousins.

A third cousin was invited to join but opted against it.

Peter LOVES soccer.

He played last fall and was thrilled to be back in the action for Spring.

Peter's team, the Red Dragon's is very young and inexperienced for their league.

They are playing against kids as much as 2 years older than them.

Peter was the first member of his team to make a goal.

It was such an exciting moment!

He kicked and down the field and into the net.

Immediately cheers erupted on the field and off.

His arms both shot straight up in the air to signify victory.

And then - the sweetest thing.

In his glorious delight, he ran straight to me and gave me a high five.

I was so excited to share in the moment.

Sadly, Andrew was at the temple with the Elder's Quorum, so he missed it.

But Peter was happy to tell the story over and over again to all who would listen.

I love seeing the way his face lights up when he's out on the field.

5 for 5!

Pictures taken April 12, 2012

Every time I asked Peter what he wanted to do for his birthday, he had a different plan.

So, despite my best intentions, we went another year without a well-planned party.

But of course we woke up the morning of his birthday and wanted to celebrate.

We picked out his favorite cupcakes from the store and invited several of his friends to come share them with us.

I realized that five year olds don't need you to plan games and activities.

These boys spent hours just running around, playing, and having fun!

Biking, Scouts and Silly Putty

Pictures taken February 21, 2012

Towards the end of last fall, Peter's bike went missing.

This was a major problem because he LOVES bike riding.

Still, winter was coming and we hoped it would show back up.

It never did, and with the mild winter, we finally broke down and got him a new one.

He was THRILLED beyond belief.

He is big enough to get the bike in and out of our home on his own.

He is very careful to keep his bike in his bedroom whenever he isn't riding it.

He is a cute, responsible little guy.
(Who, like his brother,  is growing up WAY too fast!)

Pictures taken February 22, 2012

One of the older guys in Ammon's scout group earned his Arrow of Light.

The set up an award ceremony and all the boys received the belt loops and pins they had earned.

Ammon was advanced to a Bobcat.
For his first ceremony, he got to participate in the color guard by carrying a flag down the isle.
Peter and I almost missed the ceremony because Peter uncharacteristically fell asleep.
We finally decided to take him but he really didn't wake up.
(Until the end when they served cookies.)

Ammon LOVES scouts and Andrew has worked hard with him to do all sorts of extra things.

I know nothing about scouts and so was surprised when I got an award.

I was called up to the front with Ammon and he pinned ME with the "mother's pin".

Andrew was slightly bitter since he is the one who really earned it.

But considering the name, he decided he didn't want the pin anyway...

Pictures taken March 1, 2012

The other day Ammon was playing with some silly putty he got at his birthday.
Peter was feeling left out.

We could have gone to the store to buy him some.

We could have told him to tough it out.

Instead, we went to the store and bought the stuff to MAKE some.

It didn't turn out quite the same.

And it dried out the next day.

But it was fun and made him happy.

He is lucky to have a dad who does such fun things with him.

Picture Dump

For Christmas Andy's parents gave him and the boys some money.

The three of them went shopping and they came back geared with Nerf guns and accessories.

They had so much fun warring around the house with each other!

On Ammon's birthday Andy's parents came to visit.

Andy and I were still feeling under the weather so we kept things low key.

We ended up visiting for a while.

Then we had dinner at Panda Express and ate cupcakes there.

Ammon's Baptism
January 7, 2012

On January 7, 2011 Ammon was baptized.

It was a special day and we were so happy for all the extended family that was able to join us.

We had a nice family dinner at the church afterwards.

Having turned 8, Ammon also started scouts.

He LOVED getting dressed in his new uniform and has enjoyed his meetings.

Peter has become known as my bottom-less pit.

He eats and eats and eats and then eats some more.

One of his favorite snacks, lately has been ice cream cones.

Can't you just see how much he LOVED ice cream!

He must have some of that Rosemann blood.

(In my family my mom's dad gets credit for our love of ice cream.

When we were young and he came to visit we remember him buying ice cream daily.

Every night he would have two 1/2 gallon containers for us to choose from.

And by the next day they would be gone and he'd go get more.)

In January Peter finally got the snow he had been waiting for.

Santa had brought him snow pants, gloves, boots and a snowboard.

But winter didn't provide snow this year.

He had so much fun getting out on his snowboard.

He was really good at it too - a total  natural!

We only had about three days of snow before it melted again.

But you'd better believe Peter was out on it every second he could be.

He had a blast!

One afternoon Peter and I decided we needed an activity.

So we went to the Church History Museum together.

My mom was actually doing some stuff there as well, so we were able to see her.

Peter had a fun afternoon playing and enjoying the various activities.

Peter's class took a field trip to the Aquarium.

He hadn't been since he was pretty little.

He really enjoyed it.

Andy and I were both able to go with him.

He really loved petting the manta rays.

The penguins were awesome and we saw them at just the right time.

They were going crazy diving in and out of the water.

It was fantastic!

Valentine's Day 2012

Valentine's Day was really fun this year.

I always think it is so hard to find a babysitter on this day.

But this year I asked my mom for a special favor as a birthday present.

(It also helped that my dad had to be out of town on business.)

We had a gift card to the Olive Garden, so that's where we went for dinner.

We got there and the restaurant had a 45 minute wait.

I was so glad Andy made reservations.

We walked right in to our seats.

After dinner we went to watch Celtic Nights at Kingsbury Hall.

We came home and Andy followed our annual tradition of making me chocolate covered strawberries.

It was a great evening.

Our ward had a family Valentine party.

We had games, food and dancing.

The people who planned it did a GREAT job!

The decorations were awesome.

It was lots of fun for all who came.

Last night Andy and I were able to go out for Stake Temple Night.

We attended a session at the Salt Lake temple.

We went to dinner at the Lion House afterwards.

And that, I think, catches us up for the past three months.

:)

Giving Thanks - Day 2

Today I am grateful for little hands.  I was walking, hand in hand, with Peter this morning as we went to drop him off at preschool.  The feeling of his cold little hand in mine was so perfect!  I realized that his hands won't always be that small.  In fact, there will come a day when his hands will be larger than mine.  And I will be grateful for those hands too.  

My children are growing much faster than I sometimes want them to.  And there are fewer of them than I ever would have dreamed.  My mom had twelve years from her oldest to youngest child - she was mothering children in ALL phases of childhood for a LONG time.  I never would have thought that I would have such a tiny 3 1/2 year window from start to finish with each and every childhood phase.  I was so disappointed when my kids were spread so "far apart" from each other, but now I am just so glad that it isn't going even more quickly!  I'm so grateful for that gap that once seemed so huge, and now seems so small.  This morning, I kissed Ammon at the bus stop to wish him a happy day.  A part of me wondered if he was getting too old for that.  Imagine my delight when he hugged me back.  I guess he's not too old for that yet!  

My boys are so very precious to me.  I love them because they are them, and I love them because they are mine.  It is such a joy to see how they grow and develop.  I'm proud of who they are becoming.  But for today, I'm grateful that they are small.

My Soccer Player

Picture taken September 15, 2011

A couple of years ago, Ammon played soccer.

He liked it, but we immediately saw that Peter would be the one to LOVE it.

We finally signed Peter up to play and he is THRILLED.

On his first game his team made a total of three goals.

Peter also made three goals that night: two for his team and one for the other team.

It is definitely a league of four year olds - which is perfect.

It's all about having fun.

And boy is he ever enjoying it!

Peter's First Day of School

Pictures taken September 12, 2011

Peter didn't get to start school until about three weeks after Ammon and I.

He was REALLY anxious to get to go to his new class.

FINALLY the big day came and he was excited as can be.

We took Ammon to his bus stop then Peter and I hopped on the shuttle.

He has all sorts of fun things to do when he gets to class.

He gets to find his name tag.

Then he gets to write his name on the whiteboard in answer to a question.

(The question usually has two answers and he gets to write his name on the side that represents his response.)

Then he gets to find a Popsicle stick with his name on it and put it in a feeling chart.

The first day he put it in "happy".

Every day since then he put it in "loved". 

Whether I am dropping him off at school or Andrew is, he always turns to us and says,

"I am loved by you!"

He truly is and I'm glad he knows it!

Two-Wheeler

Picture and video taken July 29, 2011

Andrew was out working on his bike in preparation of his triathlon the following day.  Peter came over to him, grabbed a tool (the one they actually needed) and said to Andy, "I'm ready to take my training wheels off."

They worked together to take off the wheels and Peter got on his bike, turned to his dad and said, "Now push me so I go fast."

Andrew gave him a push, and Peter has been riding around on two wheels ever since.  After his initial ride he did ask us to push him again, but we showed him how to make sure his pedal is high, push down on it and just keep going, so that's what he does.  He is a pro on that bike, and we couldn't be more proud.

Field Trips and Peter's Last Day of School

Not only was I able to join Peter on his field trip, but my Grandparents came too!

We toured the local baseball stadium.

My grandpa used to play baseball in the same league that our local team is in.

He played 70 years ago - can you believe it?

When I mentioned how long it had been for him, people thought I was doing my math wrong.

But this amazing, sporty looking man turned 91 just days after the field trip.

Peter was thrilled to have his great-grandparents there.

We looked at the field, specifically walking past center field where Grandpa used to play.

We checked out the suites.

We even got a look at all the supplies that go into keeping the grass properly cared for.

It was a fun afternoon and I'm glad I was able to be there with Peter.

A few days later I attended Ammon's field trip.

His class went to Red Butte Garden.

Neither of us had ever been, but we both want to go back.

Ammon was adorably interested in all the plants and his class moved at too fast a speed for his taste.

He would have enjoyed more time to meander through the gardens.

We went through the herb garden and were given plants to eat.

We went through the medicinal garden and learned about a couple of plants there.

We also enjoyed the beautiful smells of the aromatic garden.

(Although I don't think that's what they called it - I don't remember.)

After looking at several of the gardens we sat down and had a lesson.

We learned all about the different parts of flowers.

Each child was given their own flower to dissect.

Then we spent a little more time wandering more of the gardens.

We left much unseen and definitely need to return.

Later that week, Peter had his last day of school.

We all loved his teacher Ms Emily, so we were glad to get a picture with her.

He's enjoyed his first year of school.

The last day was simply a party with food and fun.

I still remember how nervous but brave he was on his first day.

Peter conquered this school year and is already looking forward to the next one.

Outings with Peter

Pictures taken May 05 and May 06, 2011

On an ordinary Thursday morning Peter and were just hanging out at home.

My neighbor called and invited us to join her at the zoo with her son (a friend of Peter's).

It was a fabulous way to spend the morning and I'm so glad she called.

While we were at the zoo, my neighbor and I discussed Heritage Park.

As students, we had the option to buy an annual pass for half price.

But the deal was only good for a certain time, and that window was closing the next day.

I had never been there, so I was debating whether or not to buy the tickets.

She volunteers there in the summer and loves it.

She wasn't available the next day, but gave Peter and I tickets to go check it out.

Peter rode a pony and pet the animals.

He went to an old-fashioned school and wrote his name on his personal chalkboard.

He panned for gold and toured a boat.

We even took TWO different train rides.

Peter had a blast, and we decided to go ahead and buy the season pass.

We were excited to bring Daddy and Ammon back.

(Which we did this past weekend.  More on that later.)

Training Wheels

Pictures taken April 25, 2011

Andy decided that Peter didn't need his training wheels anymore.

Because Peter likes tools, he agreed to have them come off.

That lasted for about five minutes.

Or less.

They're back on now.

Just an Ordinary Day

Pictures taken March 2, 2011

On an ordinary day, Peter might become a tennis playing transformer skeleton.  

Or any other character we have old costumes or dress up clothes for.

Later, he might play outside where there a plenty of adventures to be had.

He has a lot to say.

And there is work to be done.

But taking a ride on the rocket makes it worth it.

He works hard and plays hard and has tons of fun.

And by the end of the day, sleep is a welcomed relief.

(Although I suspect his dreams bring many more adventures all night long!)

Playing With the Camera

Pictures taken February 27, 2011

Peter and I recently found ourselves hanging out with nothing better to do than play with the camera.

And so we have these pictures.

For most of Peter's three year old existence, he was pretty sure he was four.

For months it drove Andy crazy.

Finally, in talking with his preschool teachers, we discovered the problem.

She kept telling him he was four.

She explained that he was physically, intellectually and behaviorally up to snuff with the older kids.

And she kept forgetting that he was only three.

We were glad to get that one figured out before his birthday celebration.

It was going to get messy to have him insisting on five candles for his fourth birthday.

Oakley Boy

Picture taken February 21, 2011

This is how I found Peter.

In the dead of winter.

In the middle of the night.

Asleep.

Eyes closed and in the dark, but wearing the shades.

His Daddy, Mr. Oakley Obsessed himself, was proud.

SkipBo

Picture taken February 07, 2011

Andrew and I enjoy playing games together.  We get in game ruts and will play the same thing night after night.  Lately we have been enjoying SkipBo.  We usually play after the boys are in bed, but if we ever leave the game out on the table, Peter is sure to find it and wants to play too.  So in the morning, Peter and I will occasionally pull out the game and play our own version.  I remove all of the SkipBo cards from the deck and pick about 6 sets of 1-12.  We practice his number recognition and ordering skills as we build the piles.  He knows he is supposed to start each turn with five cards in hand and he will always tell me how many more cards he needs to draw.  He is quite accomplished with these small addition/subtraction problems (4+__=5, 3+__=5, 2+__=5 etc).  We don't actually have a pile of cards that we are trying to get through, like the traditional game.  We simply draw cards and build up to four piles at a time with the typical draw and discard.  It's worked out pretty well for us and I enjoy spending the time with him.