HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Halloween started with an early call from our friends Sarah and Tim saying they were heading to the hospital! I guess they had a little trickster (coming a week early) that didn't want to miss out on the festivities. Rylee (their 4 yr old daughter) came to spend the day with us and also did some trick or treating last night. Baby Drew was quite the treat for the Easter family -- what a doll! I also added some pictures from cookie making with Grandma Peterson. Alivya and Rylee the other night.

All the kids had a great time getting in and out of the car as we took the Halloween costume parade around town. Will amused is mother and enjoyed his lion suit (except his mane had to be removed for the car rides). It got to be a late night so we were all thankful for the extra hour of sleep this morning.

Back to School Time

Back to School time has brought many changes to the Peterson household. Mommy had to go back to work at the beginning of August, and Daddy finished work at the end of August. Yes, Chris has made the big leap to go back to school (fulltime) this year. Last Monday was his first day of classes at the University Center in Sioux Falls. (I just had to take his picture with his school bag on the first day - thanks for playing along, honey!) He's taking many science classes this year in hopes of pursuing something in the medical field down the line. Medical School is something that has always been of interest for him, so we'll see where this adventure takes us. Many of Chris's classes are in the evening, so Will gets to stay home with Daddy instead of going to daycare. On Tuesdays Will goes to spend the day with Grandpa and Grandma Tatge and on Thursdays he's with Grandpa Peterson. Quite a great arrangement for one lucky little boy! The first week went quite well for everyone!

Next Sunday Will is going to be 18 months old. I can't believe we are 1/2 way to two already! He is developing like crazy recently. His language seems to be exploding with new words all the time. I think we have a little parrot living here. He is also getting quite good at using a fork and spoon. He wanted to stretch the walking milestone all the way to its end, but I think he should be pretty close to mastering it by 18 months. Will is choosing to walk more and more even though crawling gets him there faster. The other night our pastor's children, Anna and Jorey, brought Will their slide they have outgrown. Will just loves playing on it. Thank you Anna and Jorey - we'll have many hours and years of enjoyment with your slide! Will just loves being outside sliding, playing in the sandbox and riding on his truck. Not sure what we'll do when the season changes to winter.

Such a Big Boy!

Our summer is drawing to a close. Alicia had to go back to work last week, so Will has been back to daycare. He has enjoyed going to Grandpa and Grandma's house since Beth has been on vacation the last 2 weeks. Nothing like getting spoiled every day of the week!

We are amazed with all the learning Will is doing lately. Today he is 17 months old (nearly 1/2 way to 2!). For those of you waiting and waiting to here that Will is walking, we are almost there. He is so, so close to walking on his own. He is able to do it, but still lacks confidence in himself. The other night we tried giving him a spoon to use with his supper. We were amazed at how well he did. I added a video below! Will is also talking up a storm. He says quite a few words and uses about 3 baby signs. His favorite words are "juice" and "Bam-ba" (Grandpa). Our boy has also fallen in love with buses, trucks, semis, trains, etc. Every car ride and walk are so exciting for him when he spots those things "WOW!" is often heard from the backseat or stroller.

I'm adding a bunch of pictures from different things we did this summer. You will see pictures from the 4th of July when we had people over at our house and took a trip to the Washington Pavillion. There are also some pictures from when Alicia's aunt and uncle were here visiting from California. Grandpa and Grandma Peterson came over a couple weeks ago and built a small sandbox in the backyard. It is a favorite outdoor activity at our house. Last, are some pictures from a day we spent at the park with Kjersten and Zoe --- Will's friends from the baby class we attended last year. All three kids were born within a week of each other.

Summer Fun!

We are having a fun summer so far. It is going by so quickly (I don't like to think about it). It has been so fun to be home with Will! We have managed to keep very busy now that the weather has shaped up a bit. A couple days a week we meet another mom/daughter for some walking/running on the bike trails. The jogging stroller has turned out to be a great purchase. We have taken advantage of many of the Sioux Falls Park and Rec programs for kids this summer. So far we have been to a singing group (Do Re Let's Play), Kids Nite in the Park, Storybook Theater, and the wading pools (of course). Last week our niece, Alivya, was staying with Grandma Pam for the week so we had so much fun seeing her.

Today Chris, Will and I took a trip to the zoo. It was a beautiful summer day. Will seemed to enjoy the zoo. We'd have to say he got most excited about the lawnmower, a sculpture of a cat and the "concrete" ball in the bear exhibit. If you take a close look at the picture of Will looking through a window you will see his stylin' hair -- you can see he sucked his fingers and twirled his hair while traveling in his stroller through the zoo.

Will's new favorite pastime is shredding up old catalogs. You can see he was having a fun time tonight from the picture above!

I Love Grandpa!!!

Last night Will was one spoiled guy! We went with Grandpa and Grandma Tatge to McDonalds while Daddy was gone golfing. The whole way to McD's in the car Grandpa read a book with Will (or Will "read" it to him and showed him every page with a ball on it). While waiting for our food to come, I started feeding Will his nutritious baby food (since he'd already filled up on chips at Sophia's first birthday party at lunch time). Well, then Grandpa thought Will should try French Fries (with ketchup), ice cream and a taste of pop! I think he'll learn quickly who he can go to for the "good stuff"! We also tried to teach him how to eat an ice cream cone - that was funny! Here are a few pictures of Will with Ronald McDonald. There's also a couple pictures of Will with Sophia (and sister Bella). Sophia is just 2 months younger than Will and celebrated her first birthday Friday (Will took the girls out to lunch to celebrate - hee hee).

Fun with Friends!

Spring is the time of birth and new life, but also a time when many things are winding down. All the people in school or working in schools (like me!) are counting down the days until summer vacation! Many of the activities that we've had Will involved in are also coming to an end for the season. I have added a bunch of pictures from two of the activities we've participated in this year.

On Monday, we had our last Family Foundations night. We've been meeting twice a month all school year with other families with children around Will's age. A family coach (Shelley) puts together learning centers for parents and children to interact in and also leads us in a topic of conversation about parenting/child development. We've had so much fun watching the kids grow and learn so much! They've grown from babies to toddlers together which is fun to see.

Another activity we've done is swimming lessons at Augustana College. Will and I go to the pool at Augie every Wednesday for a 1/2 hour. We mostly just play and get the kids used to the water. Will loves to splash and play with the water toys. The water in the pool is a little chilly and you can often see Will chattering his teeth, but we have enjoyed it! We were brave tonight - Anna (another mom and friend) and I decided to see what Will and Kjersten would think of putting their head underwater. Much to our surprise they did very well and didn't seem to mind it much!

Happy (or mostly happy) Easter!

Will enjoyed his 2nd Easter. Last Easter he was just over a week old. I don't have any pictures to post of him in his Easter outfit (why wouldn't I think to take a picture?). We spent Easter down in Centerville at Uncle Floyd and Aunt Kathy's with the family. The highlight of the day (for me anyway - probably the low-light of Will's day) was Will's first "big boy" haircut. Andrea (my cousin's wife) brought all her gear and experience to take on the big task. At first Will had no clue anything was going on. When you take a look at the pictures you'll see the point when he realized "something strange" was happening to him. The Easter Bunny treated Will well once again this year!

At 13 months old, he isn't walking yet, but is crawling everywhere with great speed! He seems to be a like a sponge, learning new things all the time. He is also learning how to get in trouble - as he crawls towards something he's not supposed to get into (dog's water bowl, wine glass cabinet, space heater) he looks back and says "na, na, na (aka - no). His latest favorites are the Elmo shape sorter, Fisher Price barn and balls!