My Peter Sam

This is my little Peter Sam. I absolutely adore everything about him. He is the funnest two-year-old ever!

 He is such a happy boy at home! Not so much around other people. Most comments from anyone other than me and Larry will get a mean look and a growl from him. At home though, he is always happily playing on his own or with his older brother and sister, or making jokes and silly faces. I crave everything about him!

 He is completely obsessed with trains. Luckily we have tonnes from when Tanner was younger. Peter could play with trains all day long in every way possible.

 When he's mad though, you can be sure you'll get this slanty mouth look from him.

 Most of the time he's happy doing his own thing!

Bedtime damage control

Every night when I check on the kids, I also have to do damage control. More often than not someone has something around their neck - a purse, a cape, necklaces, book bags. If it fits over their head, it will probably be there one night or another. And what doesn't fit around their neck is scattered around their bed - doll, stuffies, trains, cars . . . 

Peter's hair cut

So, it became obvious that Peter needed a hair cut. So we took a chair, clippers, and snacks out onto the driveway and started. After the first few swipes with the clippers, the thought, 'what did I do?' Too late now.

 Then, when I was almost done, Peter could see his hair falling onto the ground, his snacks were done, and he started to scream. I looked at him and laughed. We took him inside as-is, spiked up his hair, and hid the clippers from Larry.

 Every morning I would see this little face and smile. Two weeks later I took the rest off. It was fun while it lasted!

My baby graduated from Kindergarten

I'm not sure what happen. I know it wasn't that long ago that my whole world was turned upside-down when this little boy was first placed into my arms, and now he's graduated from kindergarten. Slow down life, you are moving WAY to fast. This has actually been really hard on me. Tanner is, well, perfect, and I don't want him to be gone all day, five days a week. I rely on him for everything and love having him around.

 He is the kindest boy in the entire world. He loves playing with his younger siblings, and does a fantastic job. He knows superheroes and star wars are 'for real' along with everything else. He dresses up daily in costumes and gets right into character. He also talks a mile a minute. This boy is Never not talking or asking questions. As much as he loves playing with Hattie and Peter or getting some technology time, he loves his late night talks and stories with his dad the most. That or going to work with grandpa and his bobcat :)

Tanner has grown up so much this year. He was so excited to start school, and loved every minute of it. It seemed like every Thursday he would ask why he couldn't go to school Friday too and the thought of summer off was too much to handle. He loved his teachers and classmates and learned so much. Who knew they taught kids to read in kindergarten. I remember learning my phone number and thinking I was awesome. Well, Tanner caught on to reading and math really fast and loves to do both just for fun.

He also had to learn to do a lot for me when I first had Alice. Most mornings he gets everyone a bowl or two of cereal and can even make a mean peanut butter and jam sandwich for lunch. 

One of the best thing about Tanner is his laugh. It's so contagious and funny to listen to, and he is always laughing. I sure love you, little boy!

 First day of kindergarten

 Batman for Halloween

 Pajama party for Christmas with a special Santa

 half way to his birthday party (since his bday is in the summer)

 Easter Party

 100th day of school

 Crazy Hair day

 Graduation Celebration

 Last day of school performances

 Getting his award and hugs

Farewell to his teacher

Alice's Blessing Day

We blessed Alice in June and had all our families come over after for dinner and pictures.

 Great Grandma and Grandpa Palmer (Alice Lynne was named after my Grandma)

 Grandpa Wendorff and Nana

 Grandpa and Grandma Bester

 Great-Grandma Wendorff

 Auntie Miriam

 Peter

 Three princesses that arrived and wanted to hold the baby together

 I made Alice's dress from a picture online. I loved how it turned out (I worked on it until 2am the night before her blessing)

Larry and his two princesses!

Life with a new baby

Hattie was in  absolue love with Alice. She would beg to hold her, then sit on the couch for long periods of time kissing and singing to her.

 Larry gets bath duty, which Alice usually loved.

 Aunt Saralynn was over to get in her share of snuggles. She also loved dressing Alice up in all her different outfits.

 Alice quickly had to get use to being mauled, I meant loved, by all her siblings. Hattie loves to hold her, Peter loves to stuff her soother in her mouth or tickle her toes, and Tanner loves to kiss her. Often, this happens all at once.

 One night, really late, I was about to go to bed when I heard a rustling downstairs. I went down to investigate, and Hattie had this whole castle tea party set up in her doorway. She was really proud of her work, which I have to admit was pretty impressive. Tanner heard all the commotion and had to check things out too.

 Another day Peter was yelling at me to come downstairs. I went down there and he proudly said, "Look mom, they're upside-down" He had all his trucks in the basement upside-down and often stacked, around the room. He was SO proud of himself.

I love him as a two-year-old. He is so funny and so proud of himself and his accomplishments. He's also a lot more of a daredevil than my other two and has taken some pretty big falls. He sure keeps us all happy.

Our Baby Alice

My good friend Shannon is an amazing photographer, and she did these newborn photos for us. I know I'm a little biased, but I'm certain Alice is the cutest baby in the world!

 We got some sibling photos, which I love! These show Peter's personality so much. He absolutely refused to take off his Thomas shirt and his socks (which he had been wearing for 3 days and nights)

 My two girls. So sweet!

 We were at Shannon's all day because Alice would not sleep. We tried everything. Our other kids were upstairs destroying Shannon's house, and she still let us stay to keep trying.

 Finally, Alice fell into a restless sleep and Shannon got the beautiful sleeping pictures.