Third Child, Second Son

In our family, the third child-second son has the reputation of being a charmer - the kind of person who can sell ice to an Eskimo. Not every family is lucky enough to have one of these, but both my dad and my brother fall into this category and Peter is quickly showing himself to be worthy of the title.He has grown up so much in the last few months and is very much the mischievous little boy (as opposed to the innocent toddler), but he's so stinking cute that it's really hard to get mad at him about anything!

"Mom! Dad! I so glad you're here!"

We have to keep reminding ourselves that he's only two because he talks like a much older child, taking his time to make sure he gets the words right.

"Well, you know, guys...."

Luckily, we still get some of the cute syntax reversals to help us out:
"Don't like it naps!"

He's also a little carnivore. He's a really good eater in general, but especially loves any kind of meat - although he calls it all chicken. We had a turkey at my parent's the other day and he insisted on eating the drumstick.
"I want to eat da bone"

Peter also loves his baby brother very much... I've actually been surprised that I haven't had to deal with any jealousy issues, but I'm not complaining!
"Hey! Dat's my brother!"
"I love E-i, he da best brother I ever had!"

This cute boy loves playing outside, building with Legos, and being chased.
We love you Peter!
"You love me?"
(said with an impish look on his face)

Not to be Outdone

Since everyone else in Texas seems to have gotten snow sometime in the past month (even in Houston!), we were thrilled to have our turn.

The kids learned all about what snow NOT to eat and were very sad that the snow in our yard was too wet to build a snowman.

Afternoon church

This year we attend church services after lunch. This means that no one at our house gets a nap except for the baby because he'll sleep anywhere. Unfortunately, there are still at least one and probably two boys in this house who still need naps. So this is what bedtime typically looks like on our "peaceful" Sundays. Please be forgiving of the shaky camera work - Andrew was juggling a baby while filming.

Feeling the Love

When you're the baby, everyone wants to share with you...

... at the same time.

In No Hurry

I love that my children can't tell time - even more, I love that they have no concept of time (hours, minutes, etc.) If you're wondering why... take a look at this conversation that we had in the car on the way to the park today.

Mom: When we get to the park, you can play for 1 hour and then it will be time to go home.

Leah: Can't we play for 2 hours Mom?

Lincoln: I think we should play for 4 hours!

Leah: When we went to the park with Dad he let us play for 10 minutes!

Mom: Okay, how about we play for 20 minutes and then go home?

Leah & Lincoln: Yeah! Alright! We get to play for a long time!

I don't know about you, but that is my kind of negotiation! Why would anyone be in a hurry to lose that kind of power?