Lady

We got a kitty. We went to our local animal shelter, picked her out and then a week or so later we picked her up from the vet after her surgeries were done. We like her. She is still getting used to us. We don't know how long she was stray but she seems pretty accustomed to being around people. She is about a year old.

Charlie just absolutely LOVES her. "She is so cute," he always says. Pete loves her too. He signs "cat" and meows when he sees her.
(Charlie chose to wear his basketball outfit this day. It is the same colors as Lady. Coincidence? I think not!)

A funny story:
We brought Lady home on Thursday. Saturday, I had just gotten home from being gone all morning and was bringing stuff in from the car. Lady was last seen in the kitchen and we were pretty sure she didn't get outside...but not TOTALLY sure. After awhile of not seeing her, we all conducted a house wide search for Lady. We started on the first floor (the playroom) and looked everywhere. We moved upstairs and searched under everything, the couch, in all the cupboards in the kitchen. We then moved up stairs to the bedrooms. We checked under all the beds, in all the closets, under the dressers. No Lady. Well we must have missed something downstairs. Our house isn't THAT big. She HAS TO BE HERE SOMEWHERE! So we went back downstairs and searched everywhere a second time. Back upstairs...again. Pulled EVERYTHING out from under the bed. Back downstairs again! We were totally stumped! Where could she be!??
Finally, we thought we'd better go searching outside. So we piled the boys in the wagon to take a walk. When we got back, Lady was sitting at the top of the stairs, with a "Jokes on you guys" look on her face. She must had found a great spot. Later that evening she "escaped" to her perfect hiding spot...behind the fridge!

You really can't tell from this picture how narrow it is between the wall and the fridge.

And she doesn't come out until she wants to!

Sunday best

These were taken last Sunday. Charlie has had a haircut since then. You can't tell by the pictures but Pete is sporting 100% linen shirt and pants which were gifted to him from his cousins for his birthday.

recap, review, contemplate...

1st Birthday cake faces:





My boys don't look a thing alike. Why not??

1st birthday

What a guy, Pete. We have thoroughly enjoyed having this little man in our family. He is such a joy, always happy, very lovable. Cliche, I know, but this year flew by! Here are a few highlights of our day:

I love the toes in this picture.

The famous chocolate cake pictures:
I found a allergy-free cake recipe online, with no milk and no eggs. I used vanilla soy milk instead of just water. It was actually pretty good. It became more of a toy, though, than a yummy treat.

He makes this funny squinting face sometimes. I'm not sure what it means, but it is funny and I finally captured it.

Interpreters needed

All day today, Pete can't stop talking about "guck". I don't know what it means because he uses it for everything. Even as we re-watch this video he says it over and over again.

It sounds a lot like:
book
duck
truck
sock
dog...maybe
drink???

Charlie says it means "walk".

Tell me what you think and add your interpretation:

Little tid bits

...About Pete:

Signs: bird, dog, juice, milk, eat, all done, more, please, thank you, turn around (we made up this sign--actually Pete mimicked us waving a circle with our hands, telling him to turn around to go down the stairs)

Words: cracker, mama, dada, this, that, 'ish (fish), hi

Some of Pete's favorite things:
His big brother, Charlie
Blankie (he stuffs it in his mouth as far as it will go and sucks on it. It gets stinky and I have to wash it every couple of days)
Birds
Fish
Trucks
Playing on the stairs
Climbing on anyone sitting on the floor
Wrestling
Waving out the window at whoever is leaving
Riding in the wagon
Dancing to any kind of music
Unrolling the toilet paper
Snuggling and giving hugs
Pulling books off the shelves

Things Pete doesn't like so much:
Getting his face and nose wiped
Getting his diaper changed
Being ignored (pretty much like anyone else)
Not being allowed to play with Charlie's toys

This video was taken a few weeks ago. Pete is doing a favorite task of pulling books off the shelf. I love that he was excited to find his favorite book and was really interested in reading this particular book. Please ignore the mom obsessed with getting him to say "Hi" to the camera. Its just that he is so sweet when he waves and says "Haaaa". Oh well.

A week of Pete

Petey turns 1 on Friday. I'm going to dedicate this week of blogging to him. Maybe I can help you appreciate this great little guy for who he is.

I think he was just looking extra cute to me this day, sitting in his high chair. That is soy formula dripping down his chin. We have yet to get to an allergist to get the official diagnosis on his milk allergy but he is enjoying the soy formula in the meantime.

"Onesie buns"

"Cupboard climber"

"Electric personality"

I took this video on my iPod with the b/w effect, pretty neat.

Time with Grandma May

Grandma May got to come stay with us in North Carolina for a week! Grandpa Ned bought her a plane ticket for Christmas. We missed Grandpa, though. She helped me so much with taking care of the boys. We had a great time.

Hoola hooping at the Children's Museum

We drove our car onto a ferry to get to the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

Thanks for the good times, Grandma!!

Superman

Note: I think I said we were in Florida. That's not true. We were in North Carolina. The palm trees confused me.