Four Years of Peter

Has it really been FOUR years since we brought this sweet, giant of a baby home from the hospital to an anxious two-year-old big brother?

It's crazy how the time has flown. I still think Peter was one cute newborn, all 8 lbs. 12 oz. of him. And it's funny to me how little his face has changed since then. His hair of course has toned down a bit and lightened from auburn to strawberry.

For breakfast this morning, we made crepes with sliced strawberries and whipped cream. We reminisced and talked about Peter when he was little. We told him why we love him, and he happily soaked it all up. He was delighted with all his presents, and most especially loved the beanie baby beaver that our elderly neighbor Marie gave him this evening.

Peter is exceptionally flexible. Since today was Stake Conference and we knew Paul would have to be gone from 4 p.m. until past their bedtime, we had an earlier dinner and cake. He requested pepperoni pizza, which we picked up at our favorite local pizza place.

Peter did give me a lot of mixed requests for what he wanted his birthday cake to look like. I think the final verdict was a transformers cake, but my creativity was seriously lacking at the end of it all, and I found this Spiderman candle instead...and then my icing job was really bad. Again, Peter was totally cool with it.

Lately, Peter's been on a coloring book kick. He reads books to earn prizes, then goes to the dollar store to find another coloring book to add to his collection. He'll sit and color almost every day during Nora's naps, and our living room has a pile of crayons strewn all over the rug about 90% of the time. So for one of his presents, I thought it was time he had a good pad of paper and watercolors to prop up on his easel. I think he already likes it.

This afternoon, the boys wanted to take a walk over to the Halloween store that opened up around the corner. They're on the hunt for a Lord of the Rings ring, a long white beard and a blue glowing sword. Any guesses as to what they want to be?

Early on, it was hard with two little boys with such different personalities, one dominating and the other sensitive and a bit more passive. Their personalities haven't changed much, but their love for each other has. It's been sweet this past year to watch them really bond.

I am so grateful to have Peter in our family. I'm just a little sad that he's not so little anymore.