5 Months

Peter turned 5 months old today. Time is definitely FLYING by!!! I am savoring every single moment that I have with him - he is such a joy! His favorite things these days are taking baths, playing in his exersaucer, and taking off his clothes. He can be so tired and cranky right before bed, but as soon as I undress him to only his diaper, he turns into the happiest baby in the world. He coos and squeals (another new skill) and has a great time. He also loves to read and chew on anything he can get in his mouth. He has no desire to roll over, but he is really trying to sit up. He is still nursing like a champ, and we'll be ready to start solid foods soon. I take a picture of him with Cookie Monster each month so I will be able to look back and see how he's grown over the first year. Here's a picture from today and a picture from Peter at a week old. It's amazing how much he has changed in just a few short months!

Exercising His Rights

Check out his shirt...look closely...do you see it???

Peter voted today. I have no idea who he voted for, but I heard him ask for the Republican ballot. He tried to tell me who he chose, but I am still having a problem interpreting what he is saying. The lady at the voting place told him to take a sticker so everyone would know that he voted today!

Another accomplishment - he is SO CLOSE to sitting on his own!!! He's leaning a bit in this picture, but he is holding himself up pretty well. My little boy is growing up...

The Texas primaries are on March 4. Early voting ends this Friday.

Don't forget to VOTE!!!

A Week of Fun!!!

Grandma and Aunt Amy stayed last week and watched Peter while I was working. They were such a huge blessing to have around. We really enjoyed their visit!

Aunt Amy and Aunt Kim brought Mickey Mouse ears from their trip to Disney World last month. They even have Peter's name on the back! Aunt Amy and Peter having a special moment.
getting so big!
Lots of smiles!!!
Hanging out in the big bed

Grandma and Armani having a special moment. :)

Hanging out in the bumbo seat

Peter is discovering his tongue - it's so cute!

You're never too young to start reading. Falling asleep...

Peter was so upset that Grandma and Aunt Amy left, he had a very rough weekend -- or maybe he had a rough weekend because I think he has hit a major growth spurt! He decided to eat every 1.5 hours last weekend (as opposed to 3-4 hours between feedings). His feedings last from 20 minutes to almost an hour, so that didn't leave much time for getting anything else done over the weekend. He also reverted back to his newborn sleeping habits and woke up every few hours both Friday and Saturday nights. He's been sleeping through the night or waking up once - I had forgotten the joys of being up several times in the middle of the night! He slept with me for a few hours on Friday night in bed and in the rocker before finally sleeping a few hours in his crib. He seemed better today, so hopefully my milk supply is catching up with him. We'll be ready for solids soon!!

***Thanks to Aunt Amy and Grandma for all of the cute pictures!!!

A few new pictures...

The past few weeks have been busy around here. Peter is still doing well with Kara, but she's getting a break this week while Andrew's mom and sister are visiting from New Jersey. Peter has loved spending so much time with Grandma and Aunt Amy.
Peter celebrated his first Valentine's Day last week. He (and Homer and Armani) sent me roses at work - I have such sweet sons. :)

Peter's favorite "toys" these days are his hands and feet. He also enjoys chewing on any finger that goes in his mouth.

Peter attended his first birthday party last weekend. Peter loves to read books, so he decided that he would like to take a book to Sam for his birthday.

He is now able to sit up in his stroller. This makes him VERY happy because he can see what is going on as we walk. He loves to prop his feet up on the bar in the front. It's adorable!

Here he is enjoying Praise Baby while Mommy cooks dinner. The Bumbo seat is one of the best inventions!

Peter and I visited some friends last weekend. Peter had a great time teaching Chris what it was like to have a baby around. Chris and his wife are expecting their first baby in August!

Dear God . . . Thank you for my refrigerator!

I worked at a Christian Day Camp for 5 summers while I was in college. Every morning, after the "Big Chief" would lead singing and tell a story, the children were invited to pray out loud. I used to chuckle at some of their prayers...

"Dear God . . . Thank you for the trees."
"Dear God . . . Thank you for my bed."
"Dear God . . . Please take care of my pet lizard that died 5 years ago."

After last weekend, I find myself praying a similar prayer.

"Dear God . . . Thank you for my refrigerator. Please help us get it fixed!"

Our refrigerator/freezer stopped working last weekend. We have had to throw out everything - including breastmilk that I had frozen for Peter. Throwing out chicken nuggets is one thing, but breastmilk is liquid gold! Luckily we caught it in time to get the milk from the refrigerator frozen in the deep freeze. Someone is coming on Wednesday to look at our fridge, but until then, we have no way of keeping things cold. I didn't realize how much I take my appliances for granted!

The prayers of the children may have seemed a bit silly to me, but they were not silly to God. He loves it when we thank Him for things He has given us. As Peter gets older, and I'm teaching him to pray, I will never laugh at him as he spends 10 minutes thanking God for each toy and piece of furniture in his room. God has provided all that we have, and we should be thankful for everything . . . even refrigerators!

Our Houston Visit

Peter and I spent last weekend in Houston. It was the first time that I had Peter in the car alone driving more than 25 minutes. He slept the entire way! We had a wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Marc and Auntie Em, Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa, PawPaw and JuneBug, and Aunt Amy and Uncle Jonathan. We were quite busy! Here are a few pics from our weekend.

For those who have been asking...our visit with PawPaw was absolutely wonderful! Although he is still on the ventilator, we were able to talk and visit by reading his lips. He is improving more every day - eating solid foods, standing up for short periods of time, staying off the ventilator for an hour or so every day! Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

An Early Morning

Peter woke up early this morning. I usually wake him around 6:30am, but he decided to wake up on his own at 5:50am today. I was a little upset at first - I wanted my last 40 minutes of sleep! However, after seeing his smiling face as he looked up at me from his bed, I realized that spending time with my sweet little boy was more important than those last few minutes of sleep. I was able to nurse him for longer than usual this morning since we weren't rushed for time. After getting dressed, we spent some time playing and reading. It was a relaxing morning. Peter will only be little once - I'm excited about all the time I get to spend with him!