Trip to London

We spent an awesome week in London from August 8-15. Taylor and Hannah came along with Rich and I. Grandma and Grandpa babysat the 3 younger children. We also traveled with my brother Dave and his family...grandma watched his youngest also. We packed so much into one week...here is a summary of what we saw: Day one: double decker bus tour of London. Day 2: Finished bus tour and took a boat ride on the Thames River. Met up with my niece Bonnie who was studying there for a year. Went to Covent Gardens and had a nice pub meal of Bangers and mash! Day 3: Spent most of the day at Buckingham Palace, touring the Queens collection of art, jewels and antique furniture, the palace state rooms and the Royal Mews(the carriages used by royalty). Then we went to Herrods Department store where we realized we really didn't fit in!! They had boxes of chocalates for sale for only $5000!!! (or was it pounds!) Day 4 was spent touring the Tower of London. We also met up with Bonnie's sister Michelle, who was spending a month in Europe so we really enjoyed seeing them. Day 5 we went to the British Museum and more site seeing. Day 6 we took a bus tour out of Central London and went to Warwick Castle. From there we went to Stratford upon Avon and toured Shakespears birthplace. Then we finished up by visiting Oxford University before returning to London. It was a whirlwind day with so much to do and not enough time to see it all! Day 7 we got up early and left for the airport. The trip was great but it was nice to be home!!! Rich picked up the little ones in Pennsylvania and returned home with them on Sunday, August 17.

Best Buddies

Peter is growing into a wonderful, curious, and sometimes mischievious toddler!! He loves Ricky and the two of them have so much fun sharing a bedroom together. Ricky is proud of his baby brother and proud to teach him naughty things. I think these two are going to keep us on our toes!! Peter also adores his daddy. He loves playing on his comuter while Daddy works on his. peter is talking more each day including saying mom, dada, Ta (for Taylor), Fa ( for fan) and Bob for Spongebob!!!

4th of July

We spent the 4th of July at our lake home. As usual, we went to the local parade in Siren. Our cousins were able to be there with us which made the day extra fun! Then we went back to the lake and spent the afternoon on the water boating, tubing and swimming. We got a big surprise when Uncle Ed and Aunt Martine showed up with a 5 day old baby. Daniel will be adopted by them and is the newest cousin!! Peter loved the parade and all the noise! He also enjoyed his first ride on Daddy's speed boat. I think he's going to be our risk-taker!!

Pretty Peter!!

Peter's sisters decided to have a little fun and we ended up with a "Petunia" instead of a "Peter"!!! Notice the pony tail in the first picture! He's wearing a Guatemalan oufit we bought him while visiting him in Guatemala last year. It's so cute on him!

Boating on Bone Lake

We spent this past weekend at our lake home. The weather was perfect for boating and tubing although the water is still very cold! Uncle Ed drove the pontoon and Rich drove his speed boat. Peter loved his first time on the water but the combination of sun and wind in his face made him very sleepy! We also celebrated Grandma and Grandpa's 50th anniversary with family. They didn't want a big party but instead want to take a family vacation with all the children and grandchildren later. Grandpa is recovering from a knee replacement surgery so now is not the time to travel! He's getting along really good for 2 weeks post-op! Here's a picture of our beautiful lake home.

Update

It's hard to believe that Peter has been with us for 4 months already! Our big boy is 13 months old now. Although he was able to walk across the room since 11 months, he is just now finally walking on his own with confidence! This is such a cute stage! He loves his new freedom. He has been going up and down the stairs for a few months now by himself. He is actually the earliest walker of all our children! Hannah walked at 13 mos, Taylor at 14 mos, Greta at 15 months and Ricky at 2 years.
Peter loves bath time, especially if Ricky or Greta is in the tub with him! He still loves meal times best of all. The only food he won't eat is broccoli! He's saying mama and dada and a few other words. He knows so much when we talk to him. He points to things when we ask him to, such as fans, birds, airplanes and highchair. You never need to call him twice for meals! Peter loves sleeping in the same room as Ricky and they have a blast every morning when they wake up at 6:00-6:30. They giggle and play together until someone takes Peter out of his crib. They are really good buddies! Peter loves watching Ricky being silly and you know he's getting ideas for himself!


Peter still takes great naps during the day...about 2-4 hours total! Plus he goes to bed at 7:30 and sleeps until 6:30 or later if Ricky doesn't wake him up! He's a great easy-going kid and we are all really enjoying this stage of his life.

At his 12 month doctor visit, he weighed 23 pounds and has dropped from the 75 % for weight to the 55 %. He still is in the 75 % for height so it looks like he will be a tall, slim guy as he gets older. Peter just gets more and more handsome every day!!!!

Peter's First Birthday!!

We celebrated Peter's first birthday on April 29. Grandma and Grandpa along with lots of cousins and aunts and uncles helped him celebrate. He got his own baby birthday cake and he dug right in to it. Peter absolutely LOVED the chocolate cake with white frosting. After he ate about 1/4 of it we tried to take it away and he cried and covered the cake with one hand while continuing to devour it with the other hand!! He was not going to give it up without a fight!! He sure loved all the attention of everyone singing Happy Birthday to him and he was such a sweet little boy for his party. We thought about his birth mom today and prayed that she would somehow know what a blessing she gave us when she gave him up. Today must have been a hard day for her. He is sure a blessing from above for all that know him. We got a nice email from his foster mom, Brenda on his birthday. It was very special and meant alot to us that she still thinks about him and loves him. Hola Brenda and Natalie!!!!