Happy St. Patrick's Day!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Cole is exactly 16 months today!

Alice & Cole are loving the nice days we are getting here and there. Cole cries to go outside, and when we have to come back inside, I have to carry him in kicking and screaming. Today it is about 48 degrees, and Alice just ran outside in the back to play on the swing set, in nothing else but her swimsuit. Surprising to anyone? Not if you know Alice!!!! :)

The basement is coming a long. The kids love playing down there! Alice can hardly wait for her playroom to be finished.

As part of finishing the basement, we are putting in a kitchen desk. I am so thrilled!!!! Anything that makes my life more organized is a great thing, and so appreciated!

Cole is such a climber, so of course right away his climbs in through the cupboard to stand on the shelf, and couldn't be more proud of himself.

Maverick, he was just looking so cute after getting groomed, I had to take his picture!

I'm afraid to say that Alice's days of napping are nearing an end. I am not ready to give them up yet, but apparently she is. We are down to a few a week. Just the other day she comes out of being in her room for about 15 min and says on her way down the stairs in the happiest voice she could muster "I had a good rest Mom!" I'm glad the camera was nearby, because this is what she was dressed in and carrying down to me. She then says, "Do you want a cookie?" I just had to laugh. She went to bed in normal clothes, but if you know Alice at all, you know she would rather be in a swimsuit, yes even when it's snowing outside, or a leotard, or jammies! This girl is a funny one!

Apparently she really did need a nap, because a couple of hours later she fell asleep on the couch!

Cole's latest thing is to turn on the bathtub water and play, for the first 5 minutes it was just to do this...play with the water, but now he gets in every chance he gets, fully clothed. He has a bath in his clothes every time I'm in the shower or trying to get ready!

He is also into Mommy's shoes lately! So Cute!

When Cole was 14 months old, he started climbing out of his crib. I was shocked, he is so young. So we took out all his bumper pads, thinking that would stall him for a little bit, but it only stalled him for about 2 weeks. So now he sleeps with a crib tent around his bed!

**********************

Mexican Riviera Cruise

We also just got back from the most fabulous vacation ever! We had the time of our lives! We went on a cruise with 1o other couples in our neighborhood.

I seriously love these people.

To say we had a blast is an understatement!

One of the many highlights was the zip lining adventure in Puerto Vallarta. They are ranked in the top 10 in the world. It was AMAZING & BEAUTIFUL!

At the Hilton Resort in Cabo!

CATCH UP!

Warning: This is going to be long, I have a lot to catch up on!

First on the list....Christmas! We had a great Christmas, the kids loved all the festivities and gatherings.

We had a great time decorating gingerbread houses, eating delicious cookies and hot chocolate, and great conversation with friends. Here is Alice with her Gingerbread House!

Christmas Eve was so much fun. Years ago we started a tradition with Paul's family of

Christmas Eve Brunch. It is awesome, the kids are all happy and not worn out, and we have plenty of time to eat, visit, and play.

Here are most of the Peterson Boy Cousins

And most of the Peterson Girls

Here is Paul with his brother and sisters.

That night we went to my Mom and Dad's for dinner.

Cole was really excited about his big Tonka Trucks!

And Alice was really excited about her guitar.

But....even more exciting were her Christmas Jammies!

She was so excited she was jumping up and down.

Here she is in mid air!

And jumping again with them on!

Some of the Calton Cousins in there Christmas Jammies!

Mommy and Daddy got new jammies too!

******************************

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Alice!

The day before her birthday we had a Princess and Knight Birthday Party with a few of her friends. The kids went on a quest to find the Kings Treasure. When they found it there were swords and shields for the knights and skirts, necklaces, wands, and flowers clips for the princesses. Needless to say Alice had a fabulous time!

After her party we headed up to Paul's parents place in Midway. We spent New Year's Eve with his parents, eating the yummiest pizza and playing games with some of the Reese's. It was so much fun.

The next morning, on Alice's birthday we woke up and went sledding at Soldier Hollow with the whole Peterson side of the family and John's family since it was his birthday too. When we pulled up our truck said it was -2 degrees. Holy Cow it was cold. We were a little nervous how Alice would do, but she had an absolute blast! Grandma Joan was so nice to stay back at the place while Cole was warm and snug in his bed having a nap.

Here is some of the group!

After sledding we went a super yummy lunch at the Campbell's place. John's family joined us too. (As soon as I figure out whose camera was used to take some pictures there I will upload them too!) Alice had a great time playing hide and seek with her cousins.

We returned home after and had her own little cake!

That night she was exhausted! Before bed she wanted to get pants on with her nightgown so her legs didn't "get freezing" as she would put it. Well when we went to check on her before bed she had changed from comfy pants into jeans and couldn't quite make it back to her trundle bed I guess. We found her under her bed instead! Looks comfy under there!

**********************

Little Gym Performances

First up was Cole! He has loved his little Gym class this year. It was really fun for me to do with him. I loved dedicating that hour to just playing with him and not having any interruptions. And the best part is, his class was free! They offered it free to a certain age, if they had an older sibling taking a class, and Cole was just the right age to qualify. It was fantastic!

His favorite part of each class was the end when they did bubbles!

Next up, Alice:

She is really good especially at the bar. When she started, the lady said "Now Alice is going to do a little bit more of an advanced routine!" She was the only kid in her group to go up to the high bar and do a trick! Way to go Alice!!!!

Here she is doing "tummy roll" (I think is what they call it) on the high bar.

*****************

One thing I love it to compare Ashley and Alice at the same age in the same outfit. I don't know why, I just think it's fun to see! Here is Ashley first and Alice second, both taken within a few weeks of turning 3!

************

And these two are becoming really good buddies lately!

THE END!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We feel so blessed to have such wonderful children, family, and friends.

Here are some December happenings:

Daddy & Cole in there argyle sweaters!

Alice & Cole by the Christmas tree.

Our darling niece Jessica got married last Saturday to John.

Here they are with Grandma Joan & Grandpa Wayne.

Alice and I built our first snowman together this morning. It was so much fun!