Happy Lucia Day

So, my computer/camera is acting up so I'll have to post pics later, but I wanted to post quickly about the most unexpectedly wonderful day we just had. Today is Lucia Day, so I was up late last night making cinnamon rolls. It was worth it. I had "special time" with both boys, individually over hot cinnamon rolls. Gray woke up from his afternoon nap just as I was heating up a roll for lunch. I groaned as I walked up the stairs to get him, but we ended up having the sweetest time sharing our cinnamon roll and then getting the mail. He loved the treat and had to use his own fork the entire time. Then, we took a LONG time outside getting the mail. Nothing too exciting, but Gray was so cheerful and just happy to be with me. Later, after Gray was in bed, Matts begged for a snack before his bedtime. I know I should have just gotten him toast, but since we have about 3 dozen cinnamon rolls I heated one up and we sat down to share it. As we ate he told me all about his day and all the exciting things he planned on doing tomorrow.

Now, I will readily admit that neither of these experiences are "blog worthy", but I have so much guilt over giving my boys enough attention and love that I wanted to remember a day where I got to enjoy individual time with each of my boys and the glimpse I got into a future that will be, hopefully, filled with long talks and, of course, yummy treats.

Tis the season for nostalgia and goodies and I had my dose of both today.

Strike up the band

Today we went to the annual Christmas parade downtown. We got there super early and actually got seats on one of the monuments in the center of the street. The kids were both enthralled; the bands, Santa and lollipops and terrified; Quentin of being "eaten" by a shark and Matts by any lifesize character (?). It was a great, festive day.

Waiting for the parade

At first, Gray wasn't all that impressed.

But, then the bands came...

Matts also loved "Grandpa Don's" bands.

The Boys

Happy Birthday to the Peterson Guys

November is a busy month for Peterson birthdays with Chelsea, Gray, Reed and Don. First, I'd like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Don. He is a great man and father-in-law. I still remember when I was expecting Elle and my favorite treat was Hot Tamales. Well, being the thoughtful guy that he is, Don filled up an entire 5 gallon container with Hot Tamales and gave it to me right before finals. They definitely kept me awake and satisfied during those last tests at BYU. Also, Don understands that it IS ironic that both Barbara Streisand and Harry Connick Jr. sing Christmas carols. Finally, he is a wonderful Grandfather to our boys and a great Dad to Reed.

Which leads me to my next thought, I'd like to wish Reed a very, very Happy Belated Birthday (31, but who's counting). I'm not good at expressing myself, but I feel so blessed to have married such a wonderful man. We have been through so many events, both good and hard, and Reed is always so strong and "definantly" makes life more enjoyable. So, to a amazing father, husband and friend, I hope you have another exciting and enjoyable year.

Happy Birthday Gray!

You know life is crazy when birthdays get posted a week late. Our sweet Grayson turned one on November 15th. (In my defense, we celebrated with my Grandparents in Tennessee, where communication is iffy at best) It's hard to believe that a year has passed since Gray joined our family. He is such a wonderful boy and truly embodies joie de vivre:

Joie de vivre is a term used to express a cheerful enjoyment of life. Joie de vivre, as one scholar has written, "can be a joy of conversation, joy of eating, joy of anything one might do… And joie de vivre may be seen as a joy of everything, a comprehensive joy, a philosophy of life, a Weltanschauung. Robert's Dictionnaire says joie is sentiment exaltant ressenti par toute la conscience, that is, involves one's whole being." (Thank you Wikipedia :)

A cheerful enjoyment of life

...joy of eating

...joy of anything one might do

...joie involves one's whole being!

Happy Birthday Baby Gray, we love you.

The good, the bad and the ugly

THE GOOD:

Matts had his last soccer game on Saturday. He had a great time and it was so fun to watch him play. The best part was watching him use his "jedi skills" to control the ball and the other players. Just imagine an orange and black blur running around and kicking the ball while throwing in the random airplane arms, karate hands and jedi arm wave. Definitely amusing, especially when it's all topped off with his goal dance (jumping around on one leg) and the comment "I'm pretty much the fastest guy ever".

Gray is officially walking. In fact, after Sacrement today he just took off down the aisle and followed Matts to nursery.

THE BAD:

Matts had his last soccer game on Saturday. What are we going to do with all that extra energy?

Gray has been sick for over a week. He has some kind of nasty virus with blisters on his throat that involves alot of crying and not alot of sleeping. I don't think I've slept more than 2 hours at a time since Monday. Poor kid, I think it's even harder because we're so spoiled by his pleasant personality.

THE UGLY

Thanks to my complete lack of sleep I've gotten a NASTY case of impetigo. For those of you who don't know it's basically like a cold sore on my nose and it comes back every time my immune system gets too low. I only bring this up because this time around NO ONE has asked me about it, which is slightly disconcerting. I mean, it looks like a giant infected scab has taken over my nose and upper lip and people just pretend it's not there. Instead of making me feel better, it just comfirms that it really is that gross.

Ode to Walker

So last weekend we went out to visit Reed's good friend Walker Posey out in North Augusta, South Carolina (right across the river from Augusta). We had a blast. As you can see from the pictures, Walker and Mattson became fast friends. Mattson even proclaimed Walker to be his second favorite person - behind Luke Skywalker, of course. Pretty impressive standing if you ask me.

So how did this happen?

Well, Walker's house is right on the Savannah river and we took his boat out for an evening ride. Not only did he let Matts sit in the drivers seat...

he let him drive most of the way. He loved how pushing forward made us all jolt and go faster and pulling back jarred us to a stop. He was incredibly pleased with his new found power and surprisingly, he steered us pretty straight - even when Walker let him go under the bridge (asking for trouble from our little crunching obsessed boy).

The river was beautiful and the weather was great.

Hey Walker - you look good in a picture with a cute woman and a couple kids (hint, hint). And no, you can't have mine.

Even Gray had a blast. He was crawling all over the boat enjoying the feeling of wind rushing against his face.

Then back to Walkers house for a ride on his Harley.

And finally to dinner at the Pizza Joint where it is obvious from the picture that Matts has a severe case of hero worship.

"May the Force be with you"

Matts is currently "incessed" (obsessed) with Star Wars. So, for Halloween he is Luke Skywalker. Not just any Luke, mind you, Luke with the Ewoks/Endor moon Luke. Thanks to my sister in law, Anna, he has the BEST costume and has actually been wearing clothes the past week. Grayson is of course coordinated as Han Solo, complete with tight navy pants and a blaster he loves. Well, this afternoon as we were getting ready for our ward Halloween party, Matts started begging me to be Princess Leia. Specifically, Princess Leia with the white dress and buns over her ears. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of dressing up, but what's a mom to do? So, after weighing the pros/cons of wearing my temple dress to a ward Halloween party, I called some friends and became Princess Leia, complete with buns. Matts was quite pleased and called me Leia all night. All I can say is thank heavens he isn't in love with Jabba the hut Leia :).

Endor Luke and Princess Leia

Leia and Han Solo

(I really hope the paint I used on the blaster isn't toxic)

Han again, notice all the accessories.

The whole gang

It's Autumn Time

Today we headed out to a pumpkin patch and farm in Woodstock. It never ceases to amaze me that there are such quiet and quaint places just 30 minutes from downtown. I'll apologize in advance for my lack of creative titles and just say that it was a wonderfully muddy day.

The most amazing wedding...

So our good friends, Luke & Jyoti, got married this past weekend in an incredibly elaborate, beautiful, and fun Indian wedding. Kendall and I got to slip away to Southern California for a couple days and left the boys to stay with grandparents in Utah. If you've never been to an Indian wedding we highly recommend it - three days of ceremonies, parties, food, dancing, and friends. We had a great time.

The happy couple

The outdoor reception: 600 guests - dinner, dancing, and lots of fun

This is the outdoor pavilion where the ceremony took place

The wedding cake (not only does it look 6 feet tall...it was)

The view of the Hummingbird Nest ranch house from the reception area (If you're interested, the ranch complex is for sale for the bargain price of $75M).

Kendall's henna tattoo

I always wanted her to get a tattoo :)

Some of the Duke MBA 2006 crowd

This time with Luke & Jyoti

Some people got carried away on the dance floor

What a great time...thanks Luke & Jyoti.

Randomness

So, as I was organizing and downloading pictures off my camera I realized that I have alot of random updates. So, for the sake of efficiency this may be the most random post ever.

Gray's first "real" haircut

I still can't get over how light and fine Gray's hair is. It's completely different from Matts' hair.

Matts' first Jedi haircut

Usually cutting Matts' hair is a battle (unless Grandpa Greg takes him to the barber). But, Reed had the brilliant idea to have Matts get a picture of how he wanted his hair done. Matts promptly returned with his Star Wars book and happily sat perfectly still for his first jedi haircut.

New Bed

Saturday we had the rare pleasure of all taking naps at the same time. When I woke up I went to check on the boys. Matts was nowhere! You would think I'd be getting used to losing my boys :), but I panicked. We finally found him sleeping under his bed in the "meerkat cave".

New Stroller

This update cements my status as a mom. But, I LOVE our new stroller. After weeks of stroller drama I finally got the perfect stroller. At first I didn't even consider the Phil and Ted, it's a little pricey and I thought that it would be mean to stick a kid in the basket. But, we went to the store, tried it out and Matts loved the "secret" seat. It's so compact and easy. Plus, now when Matts is in preschool I can take Gray running in the single mode. I'm down to one stroller and it does it all!

Boys will be boys

Well, the bets are over. After 3 /12 years of parenting we finally had our first "emergency" trip to the doctor. Surprisingly, it was Gray and not Matts who needed the trip. I was in Matts' room getting winter clothes out for our trip to Utah. Gray was crawled into his room, which I wrongly assumed was baby-proofed. Next thing I knew there were screams and ALOT of blood. Gray had somehow popped the cover off his nightlight and shattered the bulb. It slit open his third and fourth finger pretty badly. Luckily, we have the best neighbors, so I ran next door and Nima jumped in the car (to put pressure on the cut) and off we drove to the pediatrician. They tried to dermabond it, but the next morning it came undone and bled all over. (Note the above picture) This led to a return trip to the ped's office where they attempted to bandage his fingers together multiple times and multiple ways. Gray, being his determined little self, had the "successful" bandage off by the time we got home. So, I took matters into my own hands. I called Scott and with his ER experience he directed me in fashioning Gray's "mitt". I, of course, feel terrible. Especially now that it looks like he cut off his fingers entirely. All I can say is, I'm glad we're on vacation next week.

The "Mitt"

A day at the park

Reed just got home from a crazy, busy week in London. Luckily, the weather has been gorgeous so we decided to head down to Sweetwater Park. It's a great park with trails, a river and a lake. The boys loved the water and Matts was especially excited because we saw a SNAKE! He's still convinced it was a "cobra-copperhead". Finally, while Reed was gone I took a bunch of pics, so check out our album at shutterfly.

An adventure for the boys

Our little Tom Sawyer

Taking on the world

The amazing Grayson

Gray, not to be out done by Matts' sweetness and soccer playing, did something post worthy of his own. I was getting lunch ready while the boys were in the playroom. Matts was helping me and Gray was playing with blocks and harrassing Oakley. Once lunch was ready I went to go get Gray. He was NOWHERE! I looked all over and it was suspiciously silent. On a long shot I went upstairs, thinking there's no way (He's never even climbed one stair). Of course, I found him tearing apart Matts' closet. Who knew Gray was such a determined little acrobat ?

How I found him.
Who, Me?

Sweet, crazy boys

I just had to write a quick post before I forgot. Matts was in rare form today. He was EXHAUSTED from his first soccer game (a whole other post) yesterday and had looped back around to overdrive. He was literally running around like a mad man and laughing hysterically at everything. Family Home Evening was a joke . It was one of those times you can laugh or cry. Luckily, our good friends were over and their little guy was in rare form as well, so we laughed. It also helped that Matts had been incredibly sweet earlier. Over lunch he stopped eating and stared at me for a couple minutes. As time went on I asked him what was up and he responded that he was just looking at me. Then in the sweetest voice he said "Mommy you're really beautiful, you need flowers". Sweet boys who have been taught well by their daddy.

Grayson loves...

I almost forgot to add these pics, which are quite amusing. Gray is really coming into his own lately and has some strong opinions about what he likes and doesn't like. The two things he loves the most right now are his Daddy and his stroller, check it out.

Gray, his new stroller and Mr. Bukkachicka He can even walk with it
I know it's purple, but he LOVES it
This is how excited he gets just hearing Reed walk in the door
Having fun with Daddy