Peter 16mos

A little photo shoot of Peter (and PaPa) from late March 2018, taken by Mary Clare

Peter Edward, One Year Old!

 

It's hard to believe that our sweet Pete turned one at the end of November! It has gone by so very fast. He is walking and starting to talk, still eating anything and everything, still hating his carseat, but overall seems to be a better and happier baby as the months go by.

He loves being outside, especially watching the boys play ball. He loves to call for his "Ehhh" (Ellie), and puts up with Katie's hugging attacks and attempts to drag him around. He's such a big boy, around 30lbs, has the most hair of any of the kids (gets a trim every few weeks), and gets lots of attention from people when we are out and about.

We celebrated a little bit on his actual birthday, but then had his cake and sang to him the next day when my aunts were visiting. It was a fun celebration for our fun boy!

The kids picked out some balls for him

Helping big sis make his cake

Naptime with Mommy

My favorite spot the past year

Cake baked by MC and sign by Ellie

Presents from Nene and Papa

Loves his swing!

Warm enough for the cupcake romper his big brother Steven wore

Fun celebrating with family

His big birthday gift, a little car toy

Happy First Birthday, Peter Edward! You are a blessing and a joy to all of us!

Bubbles at Baseball

In early June, we went to College Station for a 4-H contest for Mary Clare, and while searching for Aggie gear, I found a bubble gun for Katie. It was just the perfect toy for her that evening at Steven's All Star game. Peter enjoyed it too, for the most part! These little ones LOVE BUBBLES!

Peter is 6 months!

Peter turned 6 months at the end of May. These were taken by Mary Clare around mid-May, but I figure it's close enough! He had pink eye and a cough around his half birthday and wasn't feeling great.  I love all these adorable faces he made, and wish I had been outside to see how she got him to cooperate for this photo shoot!

Peter is sitting up well, rolling around, and starting to try to pull up. He loves food...the MumMum husks, all kinds of baby foods, and even some things like ice cream, pizza crusts, and pita bread we've let him try when we're desperate for him to stop crying!

He's been a kind of cranky baby for awhile now. He's my lightest sleeper and gets easily awakened by his loud siblings! He also rarely sleeps during the day for more than 20-30 minutes without waking to fuss and nurse.

I'm once again raising a bit of a spoiled baby who doesn't know how to sleep without mama! We even got out the pack 'n play this week to attempt to do some sleep training. That night, Katie Grace fell asleep in it with her baby dolls. Huge success! Ha!

Mornings are his happy time when I can actually sneak out for a little bit to go run an errand, take kids to swim practice, or even squeeze in a workout class myself! The big girls are very helpful with watching him. He likes the exersaucer for short stints and will also sit with some toys on the carpet for long periods of time.

But his favorite place to hang out is his high chair, because he knows he might be given a special treat while there, or even a spoon to hold! His least favorite place is the car seat. You can't imagine how loud this child screams in the car. I'm hoping he grows out of this soon because driving anywhere is very stressful for me when he's crying. He also dislikes clothing stores like Old Navy, since the girls in this family tend to take way to long shopping!

This little guy is HUGE! He's bigger than any of my other babies; I think he was 21 lbs at his last doctor visit. He's got those scrumptious thunder thighs and soft delicious belly! His hair is hilarious. Sometimes it looks like he has a Franciscan tonsure (where monks shave a circle on the top of their heads). He hardly has any hair in the back; I've just trimmed the bottom once and a few times over the ears. But the front is SO long! It curls up when he sweats and is almost in his eyes. 

He has had to endure a never-ending series of sibling activities in his little life. Spring baseball started when he was about 2mos old and has just ended in mid-June. Swim team was almost every day from mid-April until this past week. He's spent many mornings and evenings hanging out in the stroller at the pool or at the baseball fields! He likes the Moby wrap or Ergo carrier and will sometimes fall asleep there if he's really tired.

Now that it's summer he can finally go swimming! He loves the water (for about an hour), and twice has even fallen asleep in my arms while bouncing in the pool! He does great if he has a little rubber bath animal to hold, and I'm glad we have a way to stay cool on these hot summer days! He'll even tolerate a baby float for awhile.

Our little Peter Edward is such a joy for our family. Each new baby brings life and love in a special way. The kids seem to each have a moment of the day where they hold and play with him and give him special snuggles. They miss him when they're gone for awhile and can't wait to see him when they get home. 

It always reminds me of the saying that the best gift you can give your child is a sibling! They will have friends forever, and they all learn such valuable lessons while our family life adjusts to another person. I feel truly blessed to have this active house full of life and love, and I can't wait to see how this little guy continues to bring a new balance and new perspective to each part of our family life. 

Happy Half Birthday, Peter! We're so glad you're you!