Peter's Birthday Party Day

We celebrated Peter's birthday a day early on Saturday, December 11. It all started with a trip to Peek-A-Boo Playtown.

Ballpit! Looks like GrandDad is about to bean the birthday boy.

Peter had us push him back and forth on a scooter for a while.

Surprise!

Wheeeee!

His sister had a good time, too.

Here goes Charlie the Fire Chief. She rescued animals from high places.

After Peek-a-Boo Playtown, we headed back to the fort for pizza and cake. The Marshalls joined us for lunch, and we opened some presents.

Peter showed us his mittens and hat from the Marshalls.

Time for cake? Yaayyyy!

Alicia made a beautiful cake for Peter -- chocolate with mint frosting inside. Yum!

Our rule is that our kids may invite one kid for each year they are old. We decided the Marshalls together counted as one.

Our annual family birthday picture.

After the Marshalls left, and before naptime, Peter opened up the giraffe that his Great Uncle Dave and Great Aunt Lisa sent him. He loves his giraffe. He kisses his giraffe and hugs his giraffe and talks to his giraffe and lays on his giraffe. We are accepting suggestions for a name for said giraffe.


What a day! Whew!

Surliest Santa ever

My kids were in a good mood for Santa, but Santa was a little cranky yesterday evening.  We got there over a half an hour before the posted closing time, but since the mall was kind of dead because of a "blizzard" of snow (about an inch and a half!), Santa had decided he was closing up shop a little early.  We got there before he was officially closed, and it was clear from comments I overheard him making that he thought he was done already.

He acted like he was doing us a huge favor by letting our kids sit on his lap for a whole minute.  He just sort of grunted when I told him it was Peter's birthday, and he pretty much ignored Charlotte as she told him she wanted "lots and lots of presents" for Christmas.  Jerk.  Oh well -- the picture actually turned out okay, despite the lack of smiles.  Stupid Santa.  As Corey said, we will be taking our Santa business elsewhere next year.  Here is Mr. Surly with his two biggest fans:

I do think it is the same mall Santa we had last year.  He looked a little happier then, though.

We can't tell if he is the same one from 2008:



It might be fun to make this a birthday tradition for Petey.  Seeing Santa could give him a chance to ask for everything he didn't get in his present haul that day for his birthday!

Happy Birthday, Peter!

Happy Birthday, little Peter! We have really enjoyed the last year getting to know Peter and watching him grow up. Peter has gone from a little wrinkly little bean to a strong, happy little baby. He's turned out to be a perpetually happy, very cuddly, very chill little kid. Thank you to all of you who have played a part of Peter's life. He wouldn't be the great little kid he is if it was not for all of you playing, cuddling, and caring about him.

We had a great day today celebrating Peter's birthday. Heck, we started the day with GrandDad and NanaB, and ended with seeing Santa for the first time. Meanwhile, we got about an inch and a half of snow.

We'll post more pictures from Peter's birthday weekend later.

Charlotte the Explorer

After Thanksgiving, GrandDad took Charlotte on an adventure (a la "Dora the Explorer", one of Charlotte's very favorite shows).  Whenever they go on these adventures, they follow all Dora procedures, including the procurement of a map to lead them to some sort of goal.  Charlotte LOVES these adventures and talks about them for weeks afterward.  It's pretty cute to watch.

Charlotte goes house hunting

Charlotte has decided our brick & mortar house is simply too boring. Specifically, it doesn't taste good enough. Instead, she would much rather live here:

It's the gingerbread house in a hotel up in Rochester. It really is all edible. COREY! Knock it off!

Charlie Jo found a little gingerbread friend and promptly fell in love.

The toddler-sized Christmas tree was a big hit too!

Aaaand, in case you would like to make a gingerbread house of your own, here is the recipe:

Go State!

There's something about watching MSU go 11-1 and win a share of the Big Ten for the first time in over 20 years with my father. GO STATE!

I've seen that face before.

I've seen that face before, but where?



Oh, yeah. Here.

What is Peter Thankful For?

On Thanksgiving, Peter showed us the things in Michigan he is thankful for.

Peter is thankful for pretty cousin Ellie to cuddle with.

Peter is thankful for rocking chairs by the fireplace.

Peter is thankful for family bathtime.

Peter is thankful for playing with his beautiful mother.

Peter is thankful for Uncle Dave who tosses him in the air.

Like his grandmothers, Peter is thankful for Hoosier cabinets.

Peter is thankful for his Big Sister, who helps him along the way.

Peter is thankful for Cousin Quinn to play with.

Peter is thankful for GrandDad, who gave him his blue eyes.

The Great Cider Tasting

Rochester, Michigan is home to four great cider mills, and for those of us who grew up here, apple cider constitutes the taste of autumn. Our four cider mills are Yates Cider Mill (our family's least favorite cider mill), located south of downtown, Rochester Cider Mill, located out on Rochester Road, Paint Creek Cider Mill, within walking distance to Cobb Creek, and our sentimental favorite, Goodison Cider Mill, also located within walking distance from Cobb Creek.

Before our Thanksgiving dinner, NanaB threw a "Cider Tasting." She procured a half gallon from each of the four cider mills, disguised the containers, and printed out evaluation sheets.

We all then tasted the ciders, noted their flavors and clarity, and rated each one. We all guessed which one was came from which cider mill, and noted our favorites.

We engaged in lively discussions about the interplay between clarity and taste, the flavors detected in each sip, how to make hard cider by hiding glass bottles of it in the woods to let it ferment. Which cider did we like best? Exit polling indicated that most believed that Goodison Cider Mill would eventually be declared the winner. Aunt Lisa tabulated the results.

Cider Number Four came in first. Even though its clarity was the best, the flavor was the strongest and liked best by most people. This is what cider is supposed to be. Cider Number Two came in second. Also with high clarity, this cider started strong, but came in after Number Four due to a weak finish to the taste and a slightly "corn syrupy" aftertaste. Cider Number Three came in third. Cider Number 3 was very murky, and had an intriguing, slightly "dusty" taste. Finally, Cider Number One clearly came in last. It's taste started light, and tasted very clearly like MacIntosh apples, but had a very watery finish. Clearly, Cider Number One was the "lightweight" of the group.

So, which cider was which? NanaB revealed the ciders.

Our winner, Cider Number Four, was from Yates Cider Mill! How could that be?
Our second place finisher, Cider Number Two, came from Rochester Cider Mill.
Our third place finisher, Cider Number Three, came from Paint Creek Cider Mill, and our sentimental favorite, Goodison Cider Mill produced the last place Cider Number One!

The results are going to haunt NanaB.

We recovered from our senses quickly enough, through, and finished all the ciders up.

Should we taste-test cider mill donuts next?

Stringer Thanksgiving 2010

More later, but here is the story of our Thanksgiving in facial expressions.