Getting So Big

Peter is growing up fast. He is 3 months old (and some change) now, and he seems to just get more and more fun every day. Benjamin has fallen in love with Peter too, and talks to him, plays games with him, and lets him "play" with his stuffed animals. It's really sweet to see the bond that is beginning to form between them. Peter loves to suck, so he is pretty easy to soothe. All he needs is a pacifier and something cuddly against his face, and he'll put himself to sleep. Recently, he's started to suck on his hands more too.

Peter loves kicking and batting at the dangling toys on his play mat, and gets even more excited when he's in the tub. He is a lot more social than Benjamin was at this age, and will smile and talk to strangers who approach him. He gets a huge smile on his face when Paul comes home and talks to him!His skin is finally beginning to clear up. He has eczema pretty bad on one side of his face and still has traces of cradle cap. I made him go partially bald when I tried scrubbing the flakes off. But his new hair is already starting to come in, so he won't look like an awkward newborn baby forever. His hair also seems to be getting redder, although it's not quite the intensity of Benjamin's.
Peter is a sweetheart, and a calming presence in our family. We love this little boy!

I've Been Tagged

I don't give in to these often, so you're in for a treat! Ha, just kidding. Read on if you're that bored.

Here are the Rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the six '8' items
3) Let each person know by leaving them a comment

8 Favorite TV shows:
(we don’t have TV anymore, so we watch shows online sometimes…I definitely don't have 8 that I currently watch.)
1. The Office
2. Lost
3. 24
4. Psych
5. American Idol (I’m not sure if I’m fully committed to watching this season yet, though.)
6. So You Think You Can Dance

Things I did yesterday:
1. Made an egg for Benjamin
2. Packed Paul’s lunch
3. Made a new sticker chart to help Benjamin realize the importance of staying in his bed during naps and bedtime (ask me how well that’s working!)
4. Figured out how to fix the keyboard after Benjamin messed it up
5. Began stitching two Ikea runner rugs together for Peter’s room (They’re cute- green and white stripes, and cost me a total of $20! It will make a 6’ x 8’ rug when I’m done. I got the idea here)
6. Swept the floor and vacuumed
7. Tried making a new dinner
8. Got Peter in bed by 7:00

8 Things I look forward to:
1. Warm weather
2. Peter sleeping through the night
3. Getting completely out of debt
4. Finishing Peter’s room
5. Finishing our room
6. The weekend
7. Peter being old enough to leave for more than a 2-3 hour stretch
8. Peter being old enough to play with Benjamin

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Bombay House
2. Carabba’s
3. Red Robin
4. Burger’s Supreme
5. Papa John’s
6. Brio
7. Café Rio
8. Pastorero

8 Things on my wish-list:
1. That Benjamin would learn how to stay in bed
2. Lose all the baby fat
3. A second car
4. A set of real chairs
5. A newer house
6. A few more kids (not immediately, of course)
7. To live close to family
8. To go to the beach this summer

8 People I Tag:
1. Miriam
2. Jeannine
3. Michelle
4. McKenna
5. Sarah F.
6. Kristen
7. Karey
8. Melanie

A Little Bit of Life

By way of updates, the cold water in the kitchen sink still doesn't work (four days and counting), I haven't left the house in four days, and Peter is still very congested, meaning we get no sleep. But for the record, I'm not as depressed as the last post might have made it sound. And we got snow last night, which seems to make the cold that much more tolerable. Paul is working from home today because "campus" is closed. Snow days make me feel like a little kid again. Paul built a nice fire last night as it was snowing outside. Benjamin was thrilled, and so was I! We got a box in the mail last week, and Benjamin wanted to play in it. He was riding in a "roller coaster" here.
Benjamin loves reading stories in his room. He has to look at the "camel on the ceiling" upside-down.
I feel like he must be a budding scientist. He has always loved this DK Science Dictionary. He wants to know what everything is and how it works. Oh, and the crazy "scientist" hair is for effect. :) And speaking of science, the last time I did go out was on Saturday when we went to the Science Center. Benjamin loves it!
Oh, just so you know, we do still have two sons. Here's Peter hanging out in his swing. Benjamin calls the toy on it a "planet." He really is fascinated with science!

I bet you were wondering how this post could get any more random. So I added a video of Paul and Peter playing "Up We Go!" We really do have a great life, just the four of us!

Winter

I am so done with Winter. It's too bad we're only half way through. I'm at home right now with two sick boys while Paul is at church. It's just hard striking the balance between getting out enough for my sanity and keeping them in for their health.
I'm pretty sure Benjamin caught another little something a few days ago when we went out, and I think that day the temperature might have actually gone above freezing. Generally it's been hovering between 0 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit, but with windchill, it feels about 10 degrees colder. Our kitchen water pipes froze for a couple of days last week, and the cold water in that sink will work about every other day.
On the up side, Paul's business trip to Holland that was scheduled for a week and a half was cancelled. He got to the airport yesterday morning only to learn that his passport was no good. Even though it doesn't expire until April, it didn't give him three months past his return date, which is apparently the rule. It would have been cool for him to go, but we're glad he doesn't have to leave us!

Family Photo

So never mind the huge logo across Peter's face. We had this done while we were in Utah when my family was getting a group portrait. I just now got the proofs for ours. Even though Benjamin has this silly expression on his face, it's a lot better than the cold stare he was giving the photographer in the rest of them.

The Dinosaur Museum

OK, I promise this is the end of the pictures from our trip. We had a lot of the dinosaur museum though, so it got it's own post. We passed this museum several times driving back and forth from our parents' houses and Benjamin pointed it out every time. He was really excited when we finally got to go!
I love this double stroller. Peter slept the whole time in it.

Grandma and Grandpa Cannon came with us, but last minute plans took them away early.

Benjamin loved the 3D African Safari movie (after I made him sit through the first half). It was kind of funny...a lot of build up to events that could happen, and then they didn't. So it was mostly long footage of rowing boats through swamps and walking through the Savannah with a few cool shots of animals.

More Trip Pictures

So this is what happens when we spend three glorious weeks with family- you get to see lots of pictures and posts!
Benjamin and Peter's cousin Adrian was there too over the break. They didn't do too much interacting so we wouldn't spread the RSV on. Luckily, no more babies from either of our families caught it! Amazing when you consider that all of the babies in my home ward and their siblings (who coincidentally go to nursery together) contracted it at the same time.
Classic vacation scruff.

Paul's sister, Abby and Peter.

Benjamin enjoyed being the only kid around at Grandma and Grandpa Cannon's. He also enjoyed pushing the buttons on these singing snowman decorations over and over and over...

...and playing foosball by himself. "YAY! Bennamin got a point!"

We got to say goodbye to Paul's sister Katie before she headed off to her first semester at BYU-I. Benjamin and she really get along. It must be the red hair!

Bad picture, I know. Katie is amazing!

A couple of random photos I took of the boys.

My sister, Jeannine and Peter. She lives nearby Paul's family, so she dropped in one afternoon to hang out. She's applying to the creative track of BYU's advertising program, and is officially all done with the application process as of yesterday. HOORAY! (I'm crossing my fingers for you!)

"Thumbs up!" Benjamin learned how to give a thumbs up during this trip. It still takes him a few seconds to get the right digit up. It's cute.

Paul and I wanted to walk around BYU while we were there. We really miss it! It was interesting though how this time, we finally felt like we didn't belong (at least as students). We walked through the new Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni Center, which I thought would be weird since we're not wealthy philanthropists, but we felt much more at place there. It's a really great building!

Grandma Cannon took Benjamin up to the Monte L. Bean Museum while we walked around campus, and they had a good time.

This is Peter in the airport on our trip home. He sure grew up a lot over the break!