Last hurrah before Christmas

I'm still working through the backlog of posts I need to do, and I couldn't resist posting these shots I took when Melissa brought Madison and Megan over to visit right before Christmas.

Megan is getting to be quite the little chunk!  Charlotte loves holding her.

Petey looks so old compared to the new baby in the group.

You can't see her very well, but that's Connie all covered up under that blanket.  Madison thought Connie needed to go night-night.

Rocky's latest favorite thing is to sit up on the stools at the table.  He's pretty sure he's a human with just a little more fur.

And here's a shot I had taken with my cell phone a few days earlier when we were hanging out at Melissa's house.  This is Jerri, one of Rocky's litter mates.  She's just as fluffy as Rocky is, but she's much more worldly since she lives outside.

Birthday loot

Peter is starting to get interested in opening presents, but he still gets lots of help from his big sister (whether he wants it or not).

The choo-choos from Granny Great and Grandpa Great were a big hit.

Peter taught Grandpa Great how to act really excited when you get a great present.

A semi truck that holds little cars!!  Peter's 2-year-old cousin, Quinn, picked this out especially for Peter because Quinn loves his own truck like that so much.

Charlotte thought Peter wouldn't mind if she opened his next present since he just wanted to play with the previous ones.

Grandpa Great modeled Peter's new firefighter hat.

The hat goes great with the new rain boots from NanaB and GrandDad!

I sewed Peter some furry pillowcases so he could stop sleeping using stuffed animals as pillows.  It didn't work -- he still prefers the pink pig.  He and Charlotte loved the box that his pillow and sleeping bag came in though!

The Little People garage that NanaB and GrandDad gave him was also a big hit.  Peter has tried to put all sorts of things down that ramp, including a semi truck and a stuffed jaguar.  Oh, Peter.

Epic birthday cake

Alicia really outdid herself this year with Peter's cake.  Actually, it was two cakes.  Here's cake #1:

And here's cake #2 (sporting Charlotte's favorite flavor frosting -- "blue!"):

Peter donated the vehicles that were strategically placed to be constructing (or deconstructing?) the cake. Oh, Auntie LiLi, how you spoil that little dude!

Petey blew out the candles like an old pro.

But the most amazing part about the cake was the inside -- it was striped just like construction tape!  Alicia could tell you how she did it, but then she would have to kill you.

The mess Petey made with the cake was almost as phenomenal as the design of the cake.  First, he had to put the cake into the dump truck.  Then, he smashed it all over his face before finally finding his mouth.

This kid is seriously enamored with cake (especially cakes made by Alicia).

NanaB and GrandDad kept asking Peter if he was "all done" with cake.  Peter, however, will never answer such a question in the affirmative.  I think we had to finally cut him off after his eleventh piece.  A dude only turns two once, right?

Thank you again for making such an amazing cake, Alicia!  Peter sure is lucky to have you in his fan club.

Peter's 2-year-old stats

Ack!  I'm so behind.  I haven't even finished posting about Peter's birthday (including his amazing cake!) let alone Christmas.  Might as well start chipping away at the backlog.

I took Peter to his 2-year-old well-child check-up at the pediatrician's office.  He was in perfect health, but his stats show him to be a little on the shrimpy side.  His height is 2 feet, 9 inches (20-25th percentile), and his weight is 27 pounds (25-50th percentile).  He did NOT like his flu shot (and neither did his sister, who was lucky enough to get one at the same time), but he enjoyed showing off his mad jumping skills for Dr. Hood.

Peter doesn't have to go back again for a check-up until he turns three!  Too bad we had to take him back to the office twice within the few weeks following his appointment -- once for a strep test after CJ had a positive one, and once to diagnose a hairline fracture on his clavicle.  If I can get him to wear his sling for more than two seconds I will try to post a photo of the little tough guy.  Between the clavicle and the four molars he's cutting (all at once!), he is having a pretty rough time.  Tantrums are becoming increasingly difficult to soothe, and he's acting every bit like a two-year-old.

The big news is that he is probably going to start attending the same early learning program that Charlotte started right before she turned two.  We have an appointment to fill out the paperwork on January 19th, and he would probably start the following week.  NanaB, time to start sewing Petey's school bag!  [I'm not just being a greedy brat -- she showed me the cool material she had bought for it when we were at her house over Christmas.]

Here's my super handsome little two-year-old right after his birthday.  He's cutting up some plastic veggies that attach with velcro (a gift from Greatest Aunt Janet and Great Uncle Bart) and his new sweatshirt (courtesy of Auntie LiLi and Missur Dan).  At age two, he is crazy about cars, planes, trains, and anything soft and furry (but especially his pink pig bubba).  Happy belated birthday, Peter!

Strangest concert ever

Peter, the baritone prodigy (I use that term reeeeeally loosely) gave us a concert when his grandparents and great-grandparents were in town.  Who knew his favorite toy would be that old hunk of metal?

Baptism

Peter's birthday weekend also included a baptism!

Peter is in love with the Christmas tree in the church's narthex.  I'm in love with Granny Great's awesome purple leather jacket.

Petey cleans up nicely, don'tchathink?

My mom took all the photos that weekend, so I'm finally in some of them!  I love this shot of me and my dad.

Is this Charlotte's model pout?

Charlotte was surprisingly chill about the whole water-on-the-head part.

Peter was not as thrilled, but didn't throw a tantrum or anything.

We had quite a crew there that evening for the ceremony.

Afterward, we headed back to the house for a celebratory supper of yummy wintery soups.  NanaB showed Charlotte the cake for approval before we cut into it.  Charlotte definitely approved.

Peter is a cake fiend.  He most certainly approved.

Granny Great and Grandpa Great gave us a beautiful ornament for our tree.

Petey got a special coin handed down through the family.

Grandpa Spike got a nice hat.

And thus began an extended session of "put stuff on people's heads and pretend to sneeze so it falls off." I said it before and I'll say it again -- my dad can get Peter tanked up like no one else can.

TANKED UP!!!!!

Time to switch from a box to a bow.

Whew -- GrandDad finally got Petey calmed down.  He loves his new "Cars" storybook that the Chabots gave him for his birthday.

It was a fun party!

By popular demand!

Per request, here is Grandpa Spike careening down the waterslide at Peter's birthday party:

Nice form, dad!