The View from the Top

Doug took the camera with him when he went skiing today. It has been grey and dry in town the last few days but it was nice and sunny at the top of Big Mountain. All the pictures are views of Glacier Park.

Looking Kind of Scrappy...

...or scabby, you decide. On Monday during recess Will decided to go down the slide on his knees, as you can see it ended badly. He landed on his face and scraped it up on the ice. Of course when I asked if I could take a picture all he could muster up was this very sad look. Thankfully it didn't swell too much and it didn't turn black and blue. We've been putting Neosporin on it and it's healing nicely. I never would have guessed Will would be our "accident-prone" child, at this rate he may beat Doug in the number of hospital visits catagory.

In other Peppmeier news, both boys are back in school and so happy to be there. Both started ski lessons last week and are looking forward to their lessons this weekend. Annemarie is great, she turned 9 months on the 11th. She's crawling backwards and loves sitting (on her own) and playing with her toys. She's eating all kind of foods - mostly vegetables and fruits of the baby food variety. She loves tossing Cherrios off her tray and watching Gus eat them. After all the holiday activity we're settling back into our regular routine. Personally I'm overwelmed with the desire to purge items that aren't being used and orginze the house. The task feels so overwelming, but if I start small and work my way through all the rooms I should be able to get it done.

patty-cake

Will & Jack's First Ski of the Year

Watch out! Will and Jack made it to the mountain today. Doug and our friend Dan helped the boys get their ski legs - this was Jack's first time on skis. He did pretty well. No major accidents and only a few tears. Ski lessons for both boys start next weekend. Also, for anyone who's wondering we do have helmets for the boys, turns out they're just a little big - we'll be getting new ones this week and since they have identical gear (coats, bibs, skis, etc.) different colored helmets may be a good idea.

Jack on the ski lift
Dan and Will riding up the Magic Carpet

Jack on the Magic Carpet

Dan and Will taking a few turns.

Winter Wonderland

We put our visitors to work out here...here's a picture of my mom shoveling the driveway (her idea not ours). We got another 8 inches last night here in Whitefish, it's quite picturesque.

The Hill That Doug Built

Jack walking up the steps to the sweet sledding hill Doug has made in our yard. Doug says he's going to keep adding to it each time he shovels the driveway. At this rate the hill should be about 30 feet tall by the end of winter.

Jack, ready to go.
Doug and Jack going for a ride.

Snow Anyone?

Yesterday we got so much snow. In the morning Doug shoveled the driveway and cleared off the roof. Here's proof of all his hard work.

The human snow plow at it again.

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas Family and Friends!! We had a great day celebrating and playing. We were able to hold the boys off from opening gifts until 7a. Aunt Erin stayed overnight, so she was able to join in the fun. Stockings were opened first then presents. Wow, thank you all for all the wonderful gifts. The kids have been thoroughly enjoying everything they received. We made it to Christmas Mass around 10a. The kids were pretty good and Annemarie made friends with everyone around her. The picture above is after church. We took a family picture as well - but I think the one of the kids is so cute. Christmas afternoon the Larkin's hosted an open house with lots of yummy food and great company, it was lots of fun. Christmas night Doug and I ate leftovers from the night before and were in bed by 10p, we were exhausted!

Ahh, the joy of stockings. PEZ anyone??
Big green Hulk fists from Aunt Sara and Uncle Jason - each time you hit something they roar or say something funny like "the Hulk is mad!!". (Don't worry, Jack's not sad, he just didn't want to take another picture.)
Jack and Will with their new sleeping bags from Grandma and Grandpa, Annemarie got one too!Annemarie in her new hat (hand knitted by Aunt Erin) and me in my new vest.

Our small mountain of gift wrap and boxes - it's amazing how long it takes to wrap everything and how quickly little boys can unwrap it!

Our pretty tree, no longer overwhelmed with packages.

There's been all this talk about snow in Portland - just wanted to show everyone the almost buried lilac in the front yard.

The Night Before Christmas

Even though our out-of-town guests did not make it (Mom and Corey were stuck in Portland due to severe snow and ice conditions) Erin was able to help us celebrate. I made dinner for Christmas Eve (all my favorites), Shrimp Salad, Ham, Artichoke and Parmesan Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and Green Bean Casserole. However, I did make half and quarter sized portions since there were only three adults and two children.

Jack, Erin, Doug and Will all ready to dig in.
Annemarie after a mouthful of mashed potatoes - I think they may have had a little bit of mustard on them! Doug reading the Night Before Christmas - Jack and his new "crazy face"

Ready for Santa and for bed!

Will's Chirstmas Program

Last night's Christmas program was cancelled due to the amount of snow we had. But the show did go on. Every Friday morning the students attend Chapel, so the school rescheduled the program for this morning. The preschoolers preformed four songs (don't worry the video only includes one). Will did such a great job and I think he had a good time.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Brrrr, it has been cold. Last night while Doug was shoveling the driveway the boys went out and played. Here they are after 20 minutes outside. Of course they probably would have stayed out longer but were sent inside after Will hit Jack in the face with a snowball.

He Can Build

Last night Doug taught Will how to read LEGO instructions so he can build on his own. Look what he built all by himself! A car...

and helicopter!

This morning when I went to get the boys ready for school - both were already in the playroom playing. Will had the instruction book out and was building Jack a house. I cannot wait to see how it turns out. There's something so exciting about watching your children learn.

and the Celebration Continues...

Will was in school on Friday and Doug's company holiday party was that night so we decided to celebrate Will's birthday on Saturday. And celebrate we did. We started the day with breakfast at one of our favorite spots. Will put away his entire meal then ate some of Jack's. Most of the day was spent playing and building LEGOS with Doug. That afternoon Will opened ALL his gifts, and boy, there were alot of them! Lots of great toys, thank you everyone for making his day so special. After gifts we had friends over for pizza and cupcakes. And just for fun we decorated gingerbread houses. I think the boys and the adults had fun. I cannot believe another year has come and gone. How lucky we are to have such a special boy in our lives!

Will and Aunt Erin getting ready to open gifts.
Checking out his new Transformers - isn't funny how some toys stick around for years??

REALLY enjoying his cupcake

Matthew, Will and Jack with their final product, well done boys!

Happy Birthday Will!

Will is 5 today! Can you believe it? Five years ago, I checked in the hospital to be induced on December 11, 2003 at 6a. Will was born December 12, 2003 at 12:30a. He weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces and was 21 inches long. I was certain he was going to be a girl, so he was a lovely surprise. Will had almost a full head of dark hair and looked suntanned, I had hoped some of those fantastic Swiss/Italian genes were making an appearance. Will is such a sweet and fun kid. He loves going to school and working on projects. He's very detail oriented and notices things most children and even adults don't usually see. He is so kind to Annemarie and likes playing with and making up games with Jack. Will enjoys building with his LEGOS, Cogs or Lincoln Logs and is an expert at putting together his puzzle of the United States.

It's unbelievable how quickly 5 years can go by, but I've always been one to look ahead and I'm so curious to see where Will's path will lead him. Will, much love and lots of hugs and kisses to you on this very special day!

6, 7 & 8 Months

Really, I always have the best of intentions when it comes to documenting everything pertaining to the Peppmeier children, but time moves quickly and sometimes I fail at my quest for perfection. Our baby girl is 8 months old today! What joy she brings to this house! Here's a quick wrap up of the past two months, including some milestones...

6 Months
Height: 26 inches (75%)
Weight: 15 pounds 11 ounces (50%)
Annemarie is still rolling to get around. She hasn't started crawling, but she does this funny thing where when she's on her stomach she'll lift all her limbs and wiggle or flap like she's trying to take flight. It's really quite amusing. She started eating rice cereal this month - I know, we kind of got a late start, but she's doing great. Annemarie loves the boys, whenever they are around she gets really exited. It's fun to watch them interact with her.

7 Months
Two teeth! The first one emerged the same day Will broke his arm -November 25 and the second on December 5. Both are on the bottom in the middle. They are sharp little things and Annemarie love using them. She's also quite chatty these days. There's lots of squealing and cooing. She says "daa, daa" a lot. I've been trying to get her on video, this one's pretty good, only she usually says twice as much and is twice as loud.

Santaland

While we were in Portland we made a trip to Santaland. Santaland is located in the downtown Macy's (previously Meier & Frank) and has been relocated from the top floor of the store to the basement. However, I must admit the set up is really nice and a bit more low-key compared to the predecessor. This was Annemarie's first time seeing Santa and I think he was a hit. She loved the beard and just keep gazing up at Santa. The boys did well too. Jack kept saying he didn't want to see Santa, but once we got there he wouldn't stop talking - apparently there are lots of toys on his list. Will was great too and asked Santa to bring him a surprise - you've got to love that!

Here's Will in the original monorail/train that used to run in the old Santaland. I even remember riding in it as a child, so it must be really old!

Will and Jack checking out the decorations and counting all the presents.

One more family photo - too bad this didn't make the Christmas card cut. Doug's face says it all, I feel like that a lot of the time.

Christmas Tree

The tree has arrived, after all the best of intentions we ended up picking out a pre-cut tree at the Pin & Cue. Last week I found a U-cut tree location close to town (there are tons of them in Oregon, but not many near Whitefish) that's only open on weekends. Today we planned to go out there and cut one down only, it was raining! It's been warm the last few days and instead of snow we're getting rain. So, we decided against a rain soaked tree trek and instead ... went to the parking lot of the Pin & Cue, and Doug and I picked out a tree in less than 5 minutes. We're pretty happy with what we ended up with. Cannot wait to get the tree inside and decorated!

Christmas Stroll

The Whitefish Christmas Stroll was last night. We bundled up the kids and went to check it out. The city closes off about 2 blocks downtown and all the stores stay open late. There's also vendors set up selling foods and other goods. It was cold, about 28 degrees but we had a good time.

Cozy Annemarie, her hat kept shifting around and covering her eyes.
Jack and Doug
The dads and the boys - Jack, Doug, Will, Matthew and John

Peppmeier Elves

If you're looking for some holiday cheer, check out the link below. Our friends the Peschels sent us one with their family - I just had to make one for us. Dancing elves are always funny. Enjoy!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/5vUd5hgvTCf8TeFr
(you may need to type in the address to get to the site)