Gigi sings Hark the Herald Angels Sing

December 2012

Christmas

Santa brought Gigi a balance bike and she loves it!

 She loved riding it with her cousins

Phoebe was just happy.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, Gigi was in the nativity with her cousins. She played a Wise Man and she took her role very seriously. It was adorable to watch her lovingly hand a gift to the baby Jesus.

Christmas Eve, Gigi sings Beautiful Child with me from Lance Peterson on Vimeo.

Making Cupcakes for a Family Party

Like I said, Gigi loves to make cake, so we made these holiday cupcakes for a family party. They looked so cute. The batter was delicious. But the cupcakes themselves were a little dry and disappointing. Making them with Gigi was the best part of it. She is such a great helper!

November 2012

Decorating for Christmas

 We decorated the house, but it was most fun to decorate the girls. And that's all we really cared to take pictures of.

 

Daddy's Birthday  

As you can see, we enjoyed an extra healthy meal of nachos for Lance's birthday. Gigi helped me make the cake and was so excited to have the party. The funny thing is, she hardly touches cake, but she always wants to make it and talk about it.

 

Walker for Phoebe (well... for Mom)

I really needed to find a way to put Phoebe down and keep her happy. She's always on the go. We found this great walker. She can run in circles around it and it has been a life saver!

Running in Circles from Lance Peterson on Vimeo.

And as you can see, Gigi loves it too.

Gigi continues to dress up - pretty much every day

It's a little hard to see what's under all this costume, but it's Gigi in a big blonde wig.

Gigi Pictures and Antics

 Gigi helps me empty the dishwasher now. She does all the silverware and she has been great at figuring out where things go. She also loves to set the table. She is such a great helper.

Fixing the Deck

In fact, she helps whether we need it or not. We were having our deck assessed because the materials were deteriorating. When the inspector came, Gigi ran into the house and got her tools so she could help him. He is in the background of this picture.

Here you can see Gigi's tape measure and level. In her hand is a piece from another toy that she used as a hammer. In her mind, she was helping to fix the deck.

Hammering on the level is a sure fix!

Late Night Dress Up

I put Gigi to bed one night and thought all was well. Over an hour later, I looked down the hall and saw that the light was on. I went in to check on her and this is what I found. I was holding Phoebe so I called Lance and asked him to come up and help... and please bring the camera. We tried really hard to not laugh in front of Gigi, as we didn't want to encourage the behavior, but we thought it was adorable.

She did a couple of good poses for Daddy.

I love the glasses!!

Butterflies in My Hair

Gigi wanted butterflies in her hair.

It made her a beautiful princess.

Uncle John's 50th Birthday Party

Uncle John was here for his 50th birthday. He showed up quite late the night before. Gigi had helped me make the cake and I promised her I would wake her up for the party when Uncle John arrived. She was so excited. She helped me put the candles on (that she chose) and thoroughly enjoyed the late night party. 

One of Gigi's Many Looks

When Gigi came out in this outfit, Katie and I loved it.

Gigi's 3rd Birthday

Gigi's 3rd Birthday party!

This monster book from Katie has been one of her favorites. We have loved it too!

She is giving thank you hugs to everyone.

Gigi wanted the same kind of cake the Uncle John had. She helped me make it again.

The First Day of Preschool

Gigi leaving our house for her first day of preschool.

Picking Gigi up from her first day of preschool. She really liked it.

Hand-Me-Downs

We got a big bag of hand-me-downs and Gigi discovered them and got dressed for the day. This girl has some real fashion sense, don't you think?

Phoebe Laughing

Phoebe is Growing Up

Phoebe is 15 days old and looking quite blonde.

 At one month old, it's exhausting to be so old... for the mom too!

Our little Yoda at 2 months old.

Phoebe is four months old and enjoying Gigi's birthday party.

Phoebe's first taste of solids. She's four and a half months old and not at all excited about this change.

The food didn't just drip out of her mouth here, she pushed it out with her tongue. YUCK!!

Phoebe is trying so hard to get up and move around. Here she is at five months old, hoping to be mobile soon.

Phoebe's Stats

Phoebe RoEen Peterson

May 3, 2012

12:22 PM

9 lbs. 8 oz.

20.5 inches long

Head circumference 37 cm

Phoebe RoEen Peterson has arrived!

We counted down the very hours and minutes to Phoebe's arrival and could hardly wait to have her on the outside.

This picture shows why I was especially anxious for this event.

I believe this is the first picture of Phoebe after she was born (I mean extracted). Yes, she looks like a three month old. She weighed 9 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. Even though it was a c-section, the doctors had a hard time getting her out, she was so big. Her head was very large.

I finally get to hold her. It all felt surreal throughout the pregnancy, but as soon as I held her it all felt real and wonderful.

I took this close-up of Lance and Phoebe from my bed (still couldn't feel my bottom half). You can see how happy Dad is to have another little girl.

  

Grandma and Grandpa Peterson brought Gigi to meet her new little sister. She was so excited, but she couldn't figure out what this contraption was at the foot of my bed.

Gigi finally gets to hold her little sister. For a couple of months she has been pretending to hold her in her own belly. She would give her back to me by pressing her belly against mine. One night I "let her sleep with Phoebe" and got her back in the morning. When Phoebe was crying while Lance was holding her, Gigi went right up to them and said, "It's OK Phoebe, I'm right here. I'm right here." She is a very enthusiastic and loving sister. We hope to maintain that.

Phoebe finally had a real bath... and she was NOT happy about it. But she sure cleaned up nicely.

Grandma Peterson holds Phoebe.

Grandma and Grandpa Barrus holding their granddaughters.

Cousin Taygen holds Phoebe.

While we were giving cousins a chance to hold Phoebe, Gigi arrived. She darted past Mommy and Daddy, even though she hadn't been with them for a day and a half, screaming with delight to see her cousins. She jumped up into Kapri's arms and hugged her like crazy. We were thrilled that she has so many people to love and to love her. We had a good laugh as she ran past us.

In this picture, on the window sill behind Gigi, you can see the gifts that Gigi picked out for Phoebe. She got her an orange "bottle," a little stuffed pig (which Phoebe seems to like to hold), and three squeaky toy animals. It was so cute to see her so excited to bring the presents to her.

Cousin Kapri holds Phoebe.

Cousin Ryann holds Phoebe.

Some happy cousins.

Aunt Karen holds Phoebe.

Phoebe's tiny foot.

Uncle Dustin holds Phoebe.

Our sweet Phoebe is home at last. She mostly looks blonde. Her hair sometimes looks dark and sometimes very light, but her eyelashes and brows are definitely blonde.

Gigi likes to help with Phoebe in any way she can. We have to help her be gentle. One evening while she was "helping" us change her diaper, she said, "I want to PLAY with her!" She can hardly wait for some real interaction. I have to admit, I know how she feels.

Gigi has been obsessed with birthdays lately.  She sings the Happy Birthday song often... and to anyone. We wanted to help make this transition fun for her so we had a birthday party for Phoebe. We had cake and ice cream, a Happy Birthday banner, and presents. We gave a present to Phoebe, one to Phoebe and Gigi, and Phoebe gave one present to Gigi. We used a "0" candle on the cake, sang to Phoebe, and Gigi blew out the candle. She was so excited! I was feeling a little hammered so I opted out of this picture. Phoebe was just two days old.

Lance's girls. And we are happy to be his!

We took Phoebe to see Great Grandma when she was six days old. We knew Great Grandma was anxious to see her. Great Grandma said we had such beautiful children that we should have at least three more. Ummm....

While we were visiting Great Grandma, we took the opportunity to snap a four generations shot.

Here are a couple of pictures of Gigi playing in the new pool, the birthday gift to Gigi and Phoebe from Mommy and Daddy. She LOVED it. It was not that warm outside, but she was so excited that she didn't care. She fell into the pool face first on purpose, poured water on her head with the hose, and just couldn't get enough of any of it.