Jack Turns 4!

Happy Birthday Jack! You are getting so big! You're such a fun, busy, curious boy. You love your brother and sister and enjoy playing with your toys and reading books. You've become quite the skier and love to spend time outside. We celebrated at home with a birthday dinner, LOTS of presents and of course cake. Thank you everyone for the really nice gifts Jack is thrilled with everything he received.

Gladiator Jack
Team Peppmeier opening the gifts.

Playmobil from Grandma and Grandpa.

A scooter from Uncle Neill!

Happy Birthday to you...

Annemarie on the Dizzy Disc

Back in the Pool

We've signed the boys up for a quick round of swim lessons before we head to Palm Springs next week. Both boys are very comfortable putting their faces in the water and Will is even swimming without holding on to someone. It's fascinating to watch them try and learn something new each time.

Blowing bubbles

More bubbles

Quick video of Will swimming

Pint Size Ski Racers

Yesterday the boys (and Erin) enjoyed a couple hours on the mountain. Here are a few videos so you can see how good the boys are getting. Will is in the black helmet, Jack is in the white helmet and Doug is commentating. It's amazing that this is their first year of skiing and already they are so good!

Messy Faces

Here's a clear shot of Annemarie's bottom teeth. Aren't they cute? She also has four on the top.

Look! She even has a small tuft of hair.

Jack and his chocolate milk moustache and goatee.

Broken Bone

I had every intention of posting a family picture of Doug and I at the mountain with the boys from last weekend, but that's not quite how things worked out. I have no pictures to prove I was actually up there. Instead, I have a broken collarbone. After enjoying a quick lunch with the boys and then sending them off to their lessons Doug and I headed up the mountain for what would be my first and only run of the season. I have nothing dramatic or exceptional to report on how my injury occurred. Just that I caught an edge, flipped around and while trying to catch my balance I fell really hard on my left shoulder. Recovery time should be around six weeks. I go in for another x-ray the beginning of April and they'll be able to tell if the bone is starting to heal.

So, I'm almost completely worthless. I absolutely cannot hold or change Annemarie which has been very sad (for me), but she is getting lots of attention and time with Doug and Aunt Erin. This past week I've spent most of it in bed sleeping or reading (I've finished four books this week and am half way through another). I've stopped taking pain medication which has helped, I'm more alert and able to drive. Erin has been helping us SO MUCH and Doug's taken time off of work. Mom is coming to stay in another week and we're all looking forward to her visit.

So, I've come to accept things like this happen. No matter how inconvenient this is (for everyone involved) I am so thankful for the health, love and outpouring of support from our friends and family. On the bright side I get to catch up on my reading!

The Boys

So, I was all set to show these dramatic before and after pictures of the boys. They had their hair cut the other day, can you even tell? It had been almost four months since the last cuts and Jack had enough hair for a small ponytail. If you cannot tell, that's okay, but trust me, in person they look much better. Oh, the lives of Jack and Will. What can you say? It's got to be a blessing and at times a pain to have a brother so close in age. They play well at times and fight like mortal enemies the rest of the time. They have many similarities but are also so different. I'm very curious to see what is in store for them. I really believe they are going to be the greatest of friends and have so many wonderful experiences together.

Another Milestone

Check it out, our little girl is pulling up and standing. However, she still needs to hold on to something and I'm not in a rush for the next step (literally). I know what comes next, do you think she'll start walking soon? (The boys didn't start walking until 14 months.)

Will Goes Dogsledding

Another Montana first...On Sunday Erin invited Will to join her and her friend Holly for a dog sled ride. He of course and was very excited about the whole event. Here he is standing with the dogs. There's a place outside of Whitefish that offers dog sled rides. Erin said it was so much fun and the guide was really great. They have about 100 dogs, which to me isn't even imaginable. We're hoping to get the whole family out there next year. Thanks Holly for all the great pictures!

Holly, Erin and Will, bundled up and ready to ride. The dogs all lined up and ready to go.
The view from the sled.
Will getting ready to drive the sled...

...he looks like a professional!

Phew, what a ride!

Thank you Aunt Erin!

Play Time

Here are some recent pictures of Jack and Annemarie playing with the work bench. Jack was so good with her, letting her wear the hat and even hold some of the tools.

"No, I think I want the one you have."

A Sweater for Lil' Larkin

Here's my favorite project I've completed so far. A baby sweater for Tyler Larkin. At times it was challenging, there was even a major mishap where I thought I may need to scrap the whole thing, but in the end everything worked out. The great thing about making something like this is it gave me the opportunity to really think about who I was making it for. And since I started it before his was born I thought a lot about what he'd look like and what his name would be. After he was born (and I was still working on the sweater) I was able to think about how thrilled Scott and Stef were and what a wonderful addition he his to their family. I greatly look forward to watching him grow.

This is a pattern from The second little Sublime hand knit book. I also used Sublime yarn, though I cannot remember the name of the color, it's a nice greenish/khaki color.

I love the raglan detailing and the working buttons. Much easier for putting on and taking off a baby.

Let's Bowl!

" We're ready to bowl!"
"Look at those funky shoes!"
Jack lining up his shot...thank goodness for the ramp

A couple of Fridays ago Jack and I met friends at the local bowling alley. We had so much fun. Aside from having the whole place to ourselves (10:30a on Friday - good time to bowl) the kids enjoyed chasing each other around, pushing all the buttons on the vending machines and even bowled a full game. Will was at school and Annemarie was in Portland with Doug, so for a few hours Jack got me all to himself.

Trip to Portland

All packed and ready to go!

I was going through our pictures and realized I forgot this very important post. Doug and Annemarie made a quick trip to Portland in mid-February. Sadly, Doug's grandmother passed away and he went back to Portland for the service. As a surprise for family members Doug decided to take Annemarie with him - after all her plane ticket was free. Annemarie was an absolute angel on the flights even sleeping a bit. This was a great father daughter bonding opportunity. Turns out Annemarie wasn't too interested in visiting with everyone, she just wanted Doug to hold her the entire trip. Thankfully when they returned home she let me hold her though I think she prefers Doug.

Litte Girl in a Pink Hat

(sorry this picture is a little out of focus)

Another knitted creation. This one didn't take quite as long as the sweater. It's a perfect design since Annemarie has been pulling all her hats off. This one buttons under the chin so it's a little harder for her to remove. I cannot believe she's almost 11 months. The days seems to be flying by!

On the Move

Doug took this video of Will skiing today. It's pretty impressive. There would have been more, but the battery on the camera died. For the past few weeks the weather has been in the 30s sometimes 40s. But we did get some new snow over the past few days and today was a great day to be on the hill. Sunny with no clouds. Quite perfect really. I'm planning to go skiing for the first time in two years next weekend. The boys have their last lesson that day and I want to see them in action.

I know, it's been weeks since my last posting, sorry. Everything is pretty normal around here. Everybody is busy with school and activities. I'll be signing up Will for T-ball this week and games will start mid-April. The whole family is looking forward to spring break, we're taking a trip to Palm Springs to visit and celebrate Easter with the Boscacci side of the family. I'm looking forward to the warm weather.

The LEGO Club

Add another Peppmeier to the "I Love LEGOs Club". Doug has discovered that Annemarie loves sitting in the LEGO box. Even though she's not quite ready to start building masterpieces she does enjoy holding the blocks and the sound they make when you move them around.

The "Club"

Annemarie in the LEGO box

More Crawling

I don't feel that the previous video of Annemarie crawling portrayed her ability accurately. This video is a bit more correct. She is turning into a speed-crawler. I'm constantly putting her at one end of the house and she seems to make it to the other end within seconds. I think I'm going to have to pull out the baby gates very soon.

Annemarie's First Tutu

Look at our pretty ballerina, isn't she cute? Marcie and Dennis bought Annemarie her first tutu for Christmas and she really likes all the tulle. Now if we could only get her to do a pirouette she'll be all set!

More Skiing

Who are these tough guys? I had Doug take the camera to the hill today and get some new pictures of the boys. Really they're not that tough - this was at the end of the day. I think they're a little worn out (just how I like them). As their skills improve we're able to see what the future may hold for us. We've always had this vision of heading up to the mountain as a family and skiing together. Now we just need to get Annemarie and I up there. Not that this is important, but I've decided I'm going to get Annemarie a pink helmet, that way it will be easier to tell she's a girl.

Will has really taken a liking to skiing. He is skiing and riding up the Magic Carpet on his own. This is a big deal because it shows how comfortable he is on skis. He is also stopping on his own and sometime skiing with his skis straight (fries) instead of a wedge (pizza). Also, his instructor has mentioned what a quick learner Will is, as you can imagine this makes Doug very proud.

Jack is doing well and getting better with each lesson. Here he is with his instructor. He's learning to put on his equipment and has been working on skiing on his own without holding on to his instructor. He also, really likes the hot chocolate and cookies that are available in the lodge if he wants to head in early.

Puffy Coat

Here are pictures of Annemarie in her first puffy coat, I'm sure the first of many. Opah got it for her for Christmas. It fits her perfectly and she really likes the cozy hood.

Crawling!

Just a little over nine months and Annemarie has started crawling. At times she still does the army crawl, but she's getting faster at moving across a room. She's especially fascinated with cords and outlets and of course any of the boys' toys. At her nine month check up Annemarie was 27 1/2 inches and 17 pounds 14 ounces. She's in the 50 percentile for both areas. She also has another tooth - on the top in the middle. That makes three teeth. Our little girl is getting so big! She's so much fun and has us laughing all the time!

In honor of American Idol being back on TV, here's a recent picture of our two little pop stars "Big Will" and "Jiggidy Jack".

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.