SANTA!!

We went to see Santa at Mommy's work party again this year. It was pretty cool. Some of you will remember my reaction to Santa (NO SANTA!) last year and you will recognize the same from Sammy (see below). I, on the other hand, marched straight up there and got on his lap and hold him I wanted Mickey and Minnie. You can see by my face that once I got up there I wasn't so sure... but I toughed it out. And I'm sure glad I did because.... THEN HE GAVE THEM TO ME AS A PRESENT. I couldn't beleive it and kept saying "Mommy, how did he know??" Check out my Minnie and Mickey. I am particularly obsessed with Minnie. I sleep with her, and she sits at the dinner table with me. I even recently went to lunch with Bia and asked the hostess if Minnie could have her own high chair (she said yes). Then it was Sam's turn. He can't talk yet, but if he could I am sure he would have been saying "NO SANTA!"

I am very protective of my little brother and I was very worried about him and ran right up and told Santa to give him back to Mommy because he was crying. Mommy said it was hysterical.Here he is feeling much better with Mommy holding him. Silly Santa.

Bye Bye Daddy!

Daddy went on a long trip to Iraq. Mom says he is called "deployed." He left last week on Friday. Before he left, my mommy and daddy spent a night away at Landsdowne resort while Bia and Pop pop took care of us, and then we joined mommy & daddy at the resort for brunch. We really miss him already, but hopefully we will get to see him on the web cam soon.

Me and My PONY

My mommy says I am really progressing in my riding. I hold the reins now all by myself and I don't have to hold the saddle anymore. I wear real riding gloves and jodphurs now too. I like to "work on my balance" by doing arm circles and now I get to jump too! See below.
Here we are getting my gloves on.

Mommy's Favorite

Mommy loves this picture from this summer of me talking to the horses. I think its silly.

Me & Olya

Here are a couple more of me and Olya in our matching striped dresses. We love each other!

Cheers!

Potty Trained!

So, one other thing to catch you up on from this summer is that I am 100% potty trained now. My mommy and I did the "3 day Method" over Columbus Day weekend and it worked perfectly. I got to throw all my diapers away- even the night time ones. Since I'm a big girl I wear (of course) Minne undies everyday. I have Dora and Elmo and Zoey ones too but I only pick Minnie if I have a choice. I don't have accidents. Mommy and daddy things its especially funny when I slam the bathroom door and yell "I want privacy!"
These pictures are from when I was learning....Oh, and here I am trying on mommy's high heels. They are really fun to walk in.

Catch-Up on Summer Adventures; Green Lake

So, now we are going to play a little catch-up to show you the rest of our summer adventures. In August, after Burt Lake, our family went to Green Lake to visit with the Stolleys and to celebrate our great grandpa Alex's long and wonderful life. Here are some great shots from his memorial:

Here are me and Sammy with our cousins Olya and Landen in our matching outfits mommy got for us:

Me, Sam & Nannabel: Daddy and Sammy matched too!

Olya and I had such a great time. We were practically inseperable. I love her soooo much!

Close ups

Thought you might like these close ups so you can see Sammy's teeth....

And my awesome smile. Mommy says I have no hope of avoiding the big eyebrow gene with Peterson and Stolley blood. Whatever that means.

TRICK OR TREAT!

We went to our friends the Blatts house for Trick or Treat. You might remember from last year- they are triplets and twins! The twins (Sadie & Wyatt) are around 20 months old and were not in the mood for pictures. But here is a picture me & Sammy with the triplets Isabel, Emerson & Owen (top row) plus their friend Annabelle. I had so much fun! Here is a scary monster bush that we loved! I practiced saying "trick or treat" and "thank you" all week. Last year I froze when I got to the doors and couldn't say it- but not this year... I did it all by myself! The biggest problem we had is that my light-up Minnie shoes are too big and fall off my feet when I walk. Mommy brought my sneakers but I refused to wear them, insisting on my matching shoes. So, Mommy had to carry me up and down the streets to every house. I walked up to the houses myself on the sidewalks and up the steps to the doorways (loosing my shoes almost every time). Mommy says it was ridiculous! Anyway, I got a lot of candy and its going to take me a long time to eat it all because Mommy and Daddy and Kendall will only let me have one piece each day.

Twas the Night Before Halloween...

Check out our matching PJs from Nannabel... they GLOW IN THE DARK!

Pumpkin Carving

My mommy doesn't know how to carve pumpkins but my daddy is a great pumpkin carver. Mommy's parents didn't teach her how, but luckily my Nannabel used to do it with my daddy every year. It was really fun to learn all about it, and even though I thought it was gross, I LOVED the final product!
First, daddy drew the faces:Then we picked which face goes on which pumpkin. Then we cut the lids off....and then daddy pulled out the insides, which I thought was really yucky.
Sammy and I sat on our chairs and watched the whole process. And then I put the candles in to see the pumpkins light up! I loved the big pumpkins...and Sam liked the little ones the best.