Peter Said...

So Peter is at one of my very favorite stages - the stage where he says the funniest things!!  I know that I will forget them if I don't write them down, so I'll start adding them to the blog.  Enjoy! :)

Peter was frustrated at dinner time because I wouldn't let him watch Dora while we ate.  He often watches TV while we eat various meals, but I would like to try to keep the TV off at dinner time.  He finally got to the table, and after quite a bit of encouragement, he started eating some pasta.  After a bite or two, he asked if I could put Dora on.  I told him to finish the pasta in his bowl before watching Dora.  He took a handful of pasta out and put it on the table.  He proceeded to tell me that he didn't have enough holes in his belly to eat all of the pasta in the bowl.  He only had enough holes in his belly to eat the pasta he had put on the table.

Peter did indeed finish the pasta he had pulled out of the bowl and let me know that all of the holes in his belly were now full.  Andrew later asked Peter if we should make chocolate chip cookies or brownies after dinner.  Peter excitedly replied brownies - one of his favorites!!  I asked him if he had room for brownies in his belly.  He told me that he had square holes in his belly for lots of brownies!  :)

Sledding - A New Experience!!

Today provided a new experience for me - sledding!!!  Grandpa took the day off work to play with us, so we loaded up the car with sleds and snowsuits and headed to Goffle Brook Park.  It was actually warm enough today to go without a jacket, but the snowsuits on the kids kept them from getting soaked as they sat in the snow.  With highs in the 50s today, it did feel warm compared to the 20s and 30s we've had the past few days.  I was fine in just a light jacket, and Andrew decided that a short sleeved shirt would be just fine.

We unloaded the car, got the kids dressed in their snowsuits, and headed up to the top of the hill.  Danielle enjoyed a ride in the sled with Daddy pulling.

I have never gone sledding before because I've never seen enough snow to actually go sledding, so Andrew gave a quick lesson on steering the sled.  Um, I had no idea you could actually steer a sled, and I really still have no idea how to actually make that happen when going down the hill. 

Peter climbed on, ready to go down the hill with Daddy.  Slight problem - they were stuck!!  Andrew tried a few times to get the sled going, but it scared Peter a bit and off he came. 

Peter was excited to see Daddy sledding, so he went down by himself to show us how it's done. 

Then it was our turn.  Peter and I climbed on, grabbed the rope, and off we went!!!  Andrew said that we actually went pretty slow because the snow was soft, but I was content with that speed and have no desire to go faster.  It was fun, though, and we quickly climbed back up the hill to do it again. 

Meanwhile, while Peter and I were flying down the hill, Danielle enjoyed the view from her sled.  Sh9e was content to watch us go down a few times before we added her to our excitement.

With a push from Daddy, the three of us were off!! 

Once at the bottom, Danielle and I returned to the top of the hill while Daddy went down to get the sled.  He and Peter took a quick look at the geese before Peter hitched a ride on the sled back up the hill.

We took one last ride down the hill before calling it a day and heading to Friendly's for lunch.  We can't wait to do it again!!



Grandpa's Work

We spent some time today visiting Grandpa at work.  Grandpa is on the maintenance crew at church, and Peter was very impressed by the forklift in the garage!

One of Grandpa's jobs is to clear all of the snow from the church parking lot.  He was proud to show off the huge snow pile that was made with all the snow from the lot.  Peter was quite impressed and enjoyed climbing on it.

  

 

He needed a little help to get down once he saw Daisy coming over to see him.  Daisy is Aunt Kim's dog, but she's staying with someone at the church this week to make it easier for the kids at the house.  Peter and Daisy played together last summer, and he was so happy to see his buddy again.

Danielle really wanted to join her brother in the snow, but she settled for some snuggles with Daddy and Mommy.  Then she enjoyed playing with Daisy a little before it was time to go home.

Both kids were exhausted from the late bedtime last night and promptly fell asleep on the 5-minute ride home. 



Goodbye Austin . . . Hello New Jersey!!

For those of you who haven't heard, Andrew's last day of work at Enterprise was Jan. 31.  He is currently looking for a new job, so we took advantage of the time off work to travel to New Jersey to visit his family.

We left our house around 2:40pm on Tuesday afternoon.  We weren't checking luggage, so we had plenty of time to get to the airport, make it through security, and comfortably get to the gate for a 4:30pm flight.  Um, except for one problem . . . IDs are required for all flights, and I didn't have mine!! 

I had a checklist for EVERYTHING I was taking on the trip.  I used it to pack most things on Monday night, and I finished going through the list, packing last-minute things, on Tuesday when I returned home from work.  My wallet (with ID) was on the list.  It was not crossed off - a move I deliberately made so I would remember that it hadn't been packed yet.  I packed the last item (except for my wallet), folded the list, and put it away . . . without packing my wallet.

We were almost to the Austin airport when I realized my mistake.  We quickly turned around, drove back to the house, grabbed my ID, and drove back to the airport (using the toll roads this time to hopefully save time).  We arrived at the airport just before 4pm . . . for a 4:30pm flight.  Andrew grabbed some of the bags and ran inside the airport, hoping to get though security and to the gate in time to tell the gate attendants that the rest of his family was on the way.

I got the kids into the double stroller, grabbed the other bags, and ran to the Delta counter to reprint my boarding pass to include Danielle on it.  I have never been so happy in my life to hear that a flight was delayed!!!!!  With a new boarding pass in hand, the kids and I made it through security and to the gate with PLENTY of time to spare for our now delayed flight! 

There were very few people waiting for the flight, so Peter enjoyed running around and getting rid of lots of energy. 

Danielle loved watching out the window, walking on her knees, and eating pears.

 

The first flight was fairly uneventful.  The plane had two seats, an aisle, and two more seats.  We were in the fifth row from the back, and we had all four seats to ourselves.  There was no one in the row in front of us, and only one person was sitting behind us.  Peter spent most of the flight watching DVDs, and Danielle enjoyed crawling and walking in the aisle. 

Once we landed in Detroit, we disembarked to go to the next flight.  We have always avoided layovers in the past, but we learned after this trip that layovers are actually a good thing when kids are involved.  It gave the kids a chance to get off the plane and run around a bit before finishing the trip.  The only thing I wasn't thinking about was the weather we would encounter in Detroit.

The plane was small, and all carry-on suitcases were actually gate-checked and placed under the airplane.  Once off the plane, everyone waited as suitcases and strollers were brought up from underneath.  This would have been fine in Texas, but it was FREEZING in Detroit.  I had my coat with me, but everyone else had a coat waiting for them in New Jersey.  The kids were wearing long sleeved shirts, but Andrew and I were in short sleeves.  We put my coat on Peter and held Danielle tight as we waited for our bags.  We could see our breath - it was absolutely frigid!! 

Once in the Detroit airport, we had dinner and let the kids roam around a bit.  Then it was back on the plane for the last part of the trip.

Peter spent a little bit of time looking out the window, but he slept for most of the flight.  Danielle slept for all but 15 minutes.  We landed in New Jersey around midnight.

We bundled the kids up in new coats and hats and headed out into the wonderful 12 degree night that greeted us.  I have never felt anything so cold in my life!!!!!