"Didn't Santa Know I Wanted the Other One???"

Christmas was so much fun this year for Glade and I. We had a blast shopping for McCoy and just educating him on Christmas, the true meaning and all the traditions that come with this time of year. And McCoy just ate it all up! He was so excited for Christmas to come, he wrote a letter to Santa and we made treats all day Christmas eve and we even tried to deliver some of them to our neighbors and friends but that didn't work out as well as planed. Here is picture taken after McCoy frosted some cookies.

More of the Frosting went into McCoys mouth than it did on any of the cookies but he sure had fun and Glade and I had fun watching him and laughing as we kept catching him "Clean up" his spills! I Guess our friends must have had the same idea and were out doing the same thing because not many of them were home, but we did manage to get them mostly delivered at some point. We had a wonderful time driving around and checking out all the lights. I must say kudos to my neighborhood, there were some pretty awesome lights!

Here he is Christmas Eve opening one of his gifts from Nanna and Pops

That night we set out cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer and then Glade and I waited and waited for McCoy to fall asleep so we could set out Santa gifts. The next morning McCoy slept in till 10:00! I had to wake him up. LOL. He was so excited to see if Santa came he raced downstairs and saw his stocking was full and then he saw his Santa gifts under the tree. He was so thrilled that he got GEO Tracks but the first thing he said was..."Yeah, I got GEO Tracks! But Didn't Santa Know I wanted the other one?"

Back story...McCoy has wanted these tracks for over three months and so we knew we were getting them for him and we asked him several times which ones he wanted and he told us and that is what we got him. Apparently he told us wrong. We tried to compromise and told him we could take it back to the store and get him the other one but he had a better idea and this is what it was..."Mom, Santa gave me this one so I can't take it back but you and dad can go to the store and YOU can buy me the other one K? Then I can just keep them both. That's a good idea right." Long story short he now has both sets and he has been playing with them non stop.
This is the one he opend Christmas morning.

He had so much fun tearing open his gifts and then with big sparkling eyes he would say "Oh, Thank You!" and sometimes we would even get an "OH, Thank You I LUB (love) it!" Even if it was just socks. Glade and I got so much enjoyment from just watching him and playing with him after he opened each gift. It took us over half the day to open gifts just because we played so much we would open presents play for a while, take a break and snack, open more gifts, play, take a break, open more gifts, play... it was so much fun and really made Christmas last all day!

And of course who better to share a fun event like Christmas with than your best freind and Teddy Bear! Even Build-A-Bear (thats the name of the bear LOL) got to open presents with McCoy. The teddy bear even got some presents of his own. McCoy sure loves that bear!


I was really sad to be so far away from all our family. It was really hard but I couldn't be too sad because I had the best two Christmas Companions to spend the holiday with! I love my guys so much and am just so overfilled with love for them both! I get so much joy just from being a part of their lives! The best gift ever will just be always getting to share my special days with them! Although my new Bed is also a nice gift! Thanks again babe, I LUB it!

We also got a wonderful after Chrismtas Gift! Grandma and Grandpa Peterson showed up after what was a very looong flight and trip, they made it safe and sound and we are so excited thrilled that they are here!

Snow...In Florida???

Check out our own version of Good Ol' South Florida Snow! It was so neat and NOT at all cold. There are nightly snowfalls down at City Place and the snow actually comes out of the sky! Of course the flakes are not real (they are made of soap), but they look so real, just don't try to catch one on your tongue. LOL.

Tis' the Season...

So here is a little glimpse of what we have been up to prepping for Christmas...

To get us in the mood, the day after Thanksgiving we hit a couple of the sales, (we did not brave the storms however...we slept in and didn't leave our house until 11:00am)and we started putting up our Christmas decorations. That weekend we hung our lights and worked outside in the yard all day Saturday. It was so nice.

We are really excited for Christmas this year because McCoy is starting to understand more about what goes on and has been asking questions about why we celebrate. It has been a really good learning opportunity for him and for us. It's interesting finding ways to explain things so he will understand. At school he made a picture hanging of baby Jesus in the manager. He brought it home and said, "Look mom, I made baby Jesus becuase his birthday is coming up and we get to open his presents!" :) I tried my best to explain ot him that Jesus is the reason that we have presents in the first place and how the 3 Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus when he was born. The next day we went to a Christmas light display at Hoffmans Chocolate factory and they had a life size Nativity Scene. McCoy was facinated. After looking at the display for several minutes he asked, "Mom, do I get shiny presents too? (The frankenscense holder and Gold were very sparkely. LOL) This sparked a night full of questions about gifts, Jesus and Santa Clause. It's so fascinating to see him grasp at new concepts and hear how they unfold in his mind.
Here is McCoy and some of his buddies at Hoffman's Holiday Light Spectacular!

Our town does an annual Holiday Parade that we attended for the first time this year and it was also McCoy's first Parade ever. We were hesitant to see if he would enjoy it and actually sit through the whole thing and to our surprise he loved every minute of it. His favorite thing about the parade was the marching bands. He would get so excited when they would be coming up. He started imitating the trombone, trumpets and drum players. He also loved when the Star wars guys showed up. He plays an Xbox star wars game so he was so excited to see the "real" guys.


And last week was the Christmas Program for McCoy's school St. Peters. They sang Christmas songs from around the world. It was really cute. McCoy was not so thrilled about it though. He was not feeling to well that night and we had to wake him up from a long nap and he wasn't happy about it. And of course he didn't want to wear his church clothes, (what little boy does LOL), and then he thought we were going to leave him at school and he didn't want to stay there at night. It was drama drama. But reluctantly he went up on stage with his class and sang his songs. Arms were crossed for the first few songs but he started getting into it at the end and then was just so happy when it was over. Glade and I got a kick out of watching him on stage either way and we are so excited for future chances to watch our little guy. It was such a great reminder that being a parent is really the greatest joy!

I can't blog

I know nothing about computer parts but I do know that I cannot plug my camera into my computer right now and download any pictures. I plug my camera into the flash drive and for some reason none of them work??? This has been going on for the past month Thus my blogging has gone to the wayside. :( Although since I am not busy blogging I have had some extra minutes to catch up on e-mails and fill out the many many questionairs and getting to know you e-mails to kill some time and also take a speed typing test. By the by that was fun. Thanks for the challenge Kellie. The first three times I did it I got 78 and under but I wasn't about to let you beat me...You did Challenge me after all. LOL. And thats about it. I hope to get my computer crap worked out soon. McCoy has his Christmas program for school tomorrow and I am so excited for him. I hate hate hate that he is in school already but I do get a kick out of every little thing he does there.

Promise to post more ASAP.

Typing Test

84 words

Typing test...I challenge You!

My Sleep Number is 30...

Can someone Please Help Me! Glade and I have spent the last three days bed shopping and all I have to say about it is ARGGGHHHH? I have laid on so many beds and the difference between the majority of them is so hard to tell. We have tried latex, temperpedic, posturpedic, spring, rubber coil, memory foam, air chambered, you name it, we probably tried it. We really like the latex as far as comfort, but when it comes to price you lay on one bed and it feels great and is a certain price, then you lay on the bed next to it and it feels the same but it is double the price??? We don't know what is the better brands or best prices so we go into these mattress and furniture stores pretty much blind. We love the bed we have now but I can't find it in a king.All the names have changed and they continue to change from store to store. One bed has one name at one store but when you go next door, the same bed has a different name and a different price. What the heck is going on??? Does anyone have any good advice about shopping for a bed, or any good or bad experiences they would like to share? If so please help me :)

Best of Luck to the Black Friday Shoppers

This turkey is stuffed...

Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and an even more fabulous Feast! We would like to thank our friends the Kliens for inviting us over to a delicious meal. Thank you so much that food was fantastic! Of course we ate way to much but that is what its all about right! Spending time in good company reminiscing on the things we have to be thankful for and eating, eating, eating!

Twilight Movie Night

Thank heavens for wonderful hubby's who would do anything to make their wifey's happy!

Saturday morning started off with a yummy breakfast and then we all get cleaned up and headed to the church which was offering a holiday relief baby-sitting service for the day. We took McCoy and left him with some wonderful young women and then Glade and I headed out to see the much awaited TWILIGHT! I have been looking forward to the movie, it seems like ages ago that I read the books. Anywho the movie was definitely a must see. I really enjoyed it, was unsure of some of it, and in some parts I liked my own imaginitive version better, but I don't want to say to much about it in case you haven't seen it yet in which case I just have to say, "What are you Waiting for?"

The best part of the show was however the handsome man sitting next to me. Glade and I rarely go to the theatre so it is so fun to get out with just the two of us knowing Mac Man was safe and sound. We picked him up and he couldn't stop talking about the all the fun things he did and he was so proud of the craft he made. The girls were great! I'm so glad we know such wonderful young ladies.

In his own words...

This is a post more for me so I can remember some of Macs fancy phrases but I hope you enjoy it too. Here are just some random catch phrases that Mac shoots out there often,

"Awww Fiddle Sticks" (When things don't go his way)
"Basnoodle" (He made this up and says it most when he is acting silly or when he wants to call someone a silly name he will say, "Nah nah You are A Basnoodle Head"
And my current favorite,"Lets Talk about this."

The great and bad thing about McCoy these days is that he always has an "idea" or another way to do something. He never takes a simple NO for an answer. You have to give him an explanation and even then he will usually try to come up with a way around your explanation. I hate to admit it but I spend a good portion of my day debating with a three year old!

This is usually how most conversations start..."Ok, I have an idea..."
Today while stuck in traffic on our way to a birthday party he said, "I have an idea, I wished I could carry the car and fly up up high in the sky and get past Walmart (our distance measurement, if we pass Walmart we have gone really far) and then fly to the party so we can be there already." I told him that he had a good idea and that it would be great if he could fly but he would have to be super strong to carry a car and fly to which he replied, "Then lets go home and get my Superhero Costume then."

The other day he wanted to go to Toy's R Us and it was closed so he said, "I have an idea, we can dig a whole by the door and go under the ground and up in the store and see the toys." (said the future felon.LOL)

I love that he is so "innovative" (LOL), but the best part is that he doesnt really argue or fight with us, he just knows what he wants and he will give us reasons why he wants it and how we can get it for him. It does make it hard to tell him no sometimes. Sometimes I wish he would cry and scream so then I could say "well if your gonna act like that than NO you can't have it." But when he looks at me with those big eyes and says, "Mom, can I have Geo Tracks because I got lots of green stars and no red stars on my school sheet. (They are graded on behavior everday and Green stars mean good behavior). I told him if he continues to do good at school maybe Santa will bring it to him for Christmas to which he replied, "But I don't want Santa to bring it. What if he is scarry. I have an idea, you can get it for me K cuz tracks make me happy." Whats a momma to do...

And this was just such a cute descriptive moment I had to blog it.

McCoy had a headache the other day and this is how he told me.
"Mommy my head hurts, I think I swallowed some boxers and they are boxing and pounding in my head."

The "Stink" Eye!!!

Last Sunday McCoy woke up and without even the slightest bit of concern in his voice he said, "Guys, I can't open my eye. Are you awake, can you look at my eye?" He didn't freak out or anything it was like no big deal. Of course Glade and I freaked. Our poor boys eye was all swollen up and glued shut. Well we threw him in a hot shower and let the water wash a lot of the goop away and then we washed him up. I asked him if his eye hurt or was itchy or scratchy and he said, Nope feels fine. Go figure. I took him in on Monday morning and before we even went his eye was looking better. He did however have and infection so he has been on drops all week. His other eye ended up getting infected too but we had the drops so it didn't last but a day. Glade and I were worried about Mac being contagious especially since we all sleep in the same bed, but the Doc was not worried at all. She assured us that if he wasn't "gooping" than he wasn't contagious. She even cleared him for school. We have been so lucky with McCoy. Even when he does get sick it doesn't last more than a day. He has always been a healthy guy and things just don't keep him down long. He heals quickly thank goodness and rarely ever complains. He is our little trooper. I felt so awful for him but you would never even have known something was wrong because he was still bouncing off the walls at a hundred miles an hour. LOL.

When Mommy's away...the Boys will Play!

Do you ever spend what seems to be an endless amount of time scouring, scrubbing, dusting, combing over every inch of your home to ensure it is spotless only to come home to this... ... ...




And thats just the kitchen! I was gone to Bunko for just a couple of hours. (Im so thankful Bunko was so much fun. (I needed a night out). So at least I came home in a good & forgiving mood. (wink wink)

I can't get to upset though because I have seen just how much fun McCoy and Glade have playing together! McCoy sure loves his Daddy and their one on one time is very dear to him. And mommy loves her "baby breaks" too, but tell me...is it really a break when you have twice as much work to do when you get home? Oh well!

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Pumpkin Pick'n

The sad thing about October in Florida is there is really no Pumpkin Patches :( So we try to make do with the fake patches. Unfortunately we waited a little to long and our pumpkin picking experience was a little on the Charlie Brown side. LOL McCoy tried to be a trooper but he had a hard time finding a good looking little bumble to take home. He was so happy when he finally found one he exclaimed "OK, This is one is perfect and is just my size and is coming home with me!" We took the pumpkin home and opted to paint instead of carve to avoid the mess. Mac insisted that his pumpkin be green and look like a monster. I did not know what he was going for until we started to draw it out. I tried my best to follow his instructions and I hope you can tell which monster it resembles. We had fun painting and McCoy said he can't wait till next year to do it again.







Today was also McCoy's Costume parade at School and let me tell you this kid definitely does not have stage fright. Of course he cries, whines and hides whenever anyone tries to avert his attention from his momma, but give him a costume and put him on a stage and he turns into a little showman. He dressed up as Mr. Incredible. He was flexing his muscles for everybody and just cheesing it, jumping around and waiving to the crowd when he got up on stage. It was quit entertaining to watch and of course as his mother I was a little shocked. :) Then of course he cried again when he realized that he had to go back to class and not home with mommy. :( What am I gonna do with my little mommas boy?



(Sorry about the picture...I did the typical mom thing...I was waiving my camera around and waiving at McCOy and trying to take a picture all at the same time so I couldnt get a good shot. :)

The Peterson's Cruiz'n Family Vacation

Back from the Bahamas!!!

So we booked a last minute cruise and in a whirlwind of fast acting quick feets, we jumped on a boat Monday and took of to the Bahamas on the beautiful ship, the Norwegein Sky! We called her home for five days and let me tell you those five days were truly amazing. We had such a grand time. McCoy loved loved knowing he was doing day to day things "on a boat." He would say, "Woooh, We get to play basketball ON THE BOAT, we get to swim ON THE BOAT...I love the BOAT!" Every morning but the last he woke up and the first thing he said was, "I am so glad to be on this boat. Glade and I had a grand time as well. We had two seperate ports in the Bahamas, we were suppose to dock at three but the weather conditions were so bad on the last day that we ended up just spending the whole day out to sea. Which was fine by us.We would have been happy to just do that the whole trip. :) Our boat was not the biggest grandest boat but it still had it all and we were never at lack for things to do. There was even a Kidz Only Zone where McCoy would go and play with other kids and Glade and I could get some time together to watch a couple of shows, hit the casinos, go dancing or just chill on the deck. Something for all and we all had fun !

Going on a Cruise Ship Lolliop its a Sweet Trip to the Candy Shop!

We are headed out to the "Big Blue" and we couldn't be more excited! See you in a week!

Can't Beat 3 for Free...

All Parked Out...Last weekend we headed back to Miami for another fun filled day at an animal theme park. Parrot Jungle Island (PJI) is another one of our favorites and since we had an opportunity to go see it for free we couldn't pass it up.

(Just a little FYI for all my Florida Mommas: If you have season passes to Lion Country Safari you can get into these three theme parks for free this month through the middle of November. Miami SeaQuarium, Parrot Jungle Island and Wannado City. Can't beat 3 for Free! :) They are all great learning atmospheres.)



PJI is such a fun park because it is like an interactive zoo with some of the most amazing and rare attractions. Some of McCoy's favorites are the animals you can pet. You can pet baby alligators, snakes, and sometimes they even have little monkeys running around. Glade and I love the albino alligator and the Liger. That's right I said LIGER! Not just a Napoleon Dynamite mythical creature. Its a real Lion Tiger Mix. I couldn't get a good photo that shows it size, but this is one the park has. That thing is HUGE! Bigger than any cat in captivity. It is amazing. The Crocosauras is another amazing creature that we love to watch.





We always feel so lucky to be so close to so many fun places. We would never be able to go see many of these places if they weren't practically right in our back yard. So we try to take full advantage of our proximity to all this fun stuff while we are here because we don't know how long we will live in Florida.




As for the rest of week, well it has been pretty laid back. McCoy is loving school but we still have problems with drop offs. He cries and cries saying, "Don't do this to me, Please don't leave me here, Please Please don't go!" It breaks my heart in two. Last Thursday I had to have Glade come with me because I thought it would help. No such luck, he screamed even harder. But the teacher assures me he stops five minutes after we leave and when I pick him up he is always so smiley and happy and talks on and on about his wonderful day so I know he enjoys his time there I just wish we could quickly get over this crying stage. Course I think it is harder on me than him. LOL


Girly Comments & Graphics


Oh, and I haven't forgotten my Saturday Shout out, it is just a little be-lated!This Shout out goes to my good friend Jennifer! She just had a beautiful baby boy! JD is such a perfect looking little guy and so far it sounds like he is just the perfect little sleepy baby. I am so thrilled for ya girl! She is such an awesome Momma to both her boys! She never sits still, is always on the go, and she never ever complains. She has organized a wonderful group of mommas and kids and is always cooking up fun ideas for us all to do. You RoCk WoMAn and I am just so lucky our paths have crossed and we have become such good friends!

Shout out Saturday

Since today is my new found blog tradition...Shout out Saturday's...I would like to give a shout out to one of my favorite cuzzies and of my closest friends! Mrs. Sarah Stokes! I love ya woman! You are one creative and crafty, witty, thrifty, fun, wild and crazy hot momma and I am so glad we are related! I love your guts tonta. The work you do with your camera always awes and inspires me. You found your calling with Capture Life Photography! I love to see your recent photo shoots. You have a wonderful beautiful family and I just think your kiddos are totally awesome! Papi is a little stud, Savana is a cutie soon to be diva, and BJ is one smart little cookie. Me and Mac miss her bunches! Miss You all! That Steve is one lucky Man! I had a wonderful time hanging with you in B-Town. Even though we didnt do anything much every little thing was an adventure! You made ordinary days into extrodinary days and you made sure I had fun. I admire how you are so quick on your feet. You are a problem solver and you always have a plan and you always get what you want! (Speaking of...You better get those plane tickets and get your butt down here). You are an amazing woman and I miss you so much! I am so thankful for blogging and texting the Internet and cell phones! You RoCk!

Off to School...

Today was McCoy's first day off pre-school! He was so excited to go. We have been twice before to check out the grounds and meet his teacher so he was really looking forward to it...until... I had to leave him at the door. After I said goodbye he started crying, "No Mom, don't leave me hear, please stay with me." Oh Man, My heart ripped in two! I quickly gave him a kiss and the teacher picked him up and waved me off. I did OK until I got in my car and then it was all I could do to not break down. I sniffled and I snuffed and a few tears and quiet sobs escaped while I was driving down the road. I am so not ready for my big fella to leave me yet. :(
But I know he really needs this time to grow socially and mentally. It would be hindering him to make him stay home with me especially since I work from home and don't always get to give him the undivided attention and play time he needs. Every since we have gotten back from Idaho Glade and I have had a hard time with the fact that McCoy is growing up. When we were home at Christmas it seemed like McCoy was still a baby/toddler and always close to us. This last time he was always off playing with the other kids which we totally loved, but that realization also made us sad. We are definitely not ready to have another baby yet but we are not ready for ours to grow up yet either. :( Where oh where does all the time go!

He is still at school right now and I am just counting down the minutes until I get to go pick him up!

Weekend Warriors!!!

We have been so busy working since we got back from Idaho that we decided we needed to declare a Family Fun Weekend. So started off on Friday with a movie night. We watched Aladdin together and laughed so hard. I forgot how funny that dang genie was. McCoy was terrified of Jafar but thought the parrot was hilarious.

Saturday we headed out for a sunny day at our favorite animal attraction...Lion Country Safari. We let McCoy take the reigns and lead us around. We did everything he wanted to do which pretty much had nothing to do with animal attractions. Mostly he just wanted to ride the coin operated cars and the train. He didn't even need his stroller because he was so excited he just ran from site to site.



I also made homemade salsa for the first time ever! I was so stoked because it tasted awesome! Thanks again mom for the recipe and the over the phone guidance! It pales in comparison to yours but it was still pretty dang good! :) Glade was so excited!


Today we Headed out down to the Miami SeaQuarium and McCoy had an absolute blast. He loved watching the Dolphins from the underwater tank view. And He really got into the Whale and Dolphin show. But I think his favorite thing was probably the pirate ship playground. Glade and I always have so much fun just watching McCoy get his "this is AWESOME" face. His eyes grow to the size of silver dollars,his grin stretches clear around his face and his little tongue starts peaking out the corner of his mouth. It is the greatest thing in the world! We were planning to head to the beach afterward but by the time we got out of the park we were all so exhausted that we just headed home. McCoy slept the whole way home.






And once home we grabbed some pizza and strawberry shakes and watched the game, and you already know we had a good night! :) Go Washington!