Frosty The Snowman

My experience here in Missouri tells me that usually, if you don't take advantage when the snow is fresh, it gets icy, hard and crusty. (Which reminds me, early I gave Anna Bella a pizza crust and she said, "yay, my crusty," giving it a hug. Lately she has been naming things by just adding "y." Pretty funny.) Anyway, I thought we had missed our chance to make a snowman this time around since the snow's been on the ground a few days.

Today I noticed, with the slightly warmer temperature, that the snow had softened up and was packing nicely. I told Timothy I thought it would work well to build a snowman and he immediately left the video game he was in the middle and got bundled up. He was excited. He helped me a lot this year which made it was so much fun. The kids wanted to name it "Frosty the Snowman." We also had a great snowball fight! :)

Just now, Bella came down from the bathroom with the soap bottle and said "I'm pretending this is my daughter, her name is Soapy." Then she accidentally dropped it down the stairs and said, "Aaaah, are you okay daughter?"

Just one of those "kids say the darnedest things" moments that made me laugh. So, I thought I better jot it down for journal purposes so I won't forget. :)

"Fly With Me" Performed By Timo

The first half of this video shows you Timothy's persistence as he practices adding a newly learned left hand part. The second half shows his persistence and dedication to get it right.

The other day, he was listening to "Fly With Me" by Jonas Brothers and playing along with the right hand part. He came to the first little change in the chord pattern (the last part he plays in this video) and didn't know where to go because I hadn't taught it to him yet. Eventually he figured it out as he listened. I went to the tutorial I had found on YouTube and he was doing it right. It's pretty simple, but it surprised me coming from a 6 year old.

I taught him the left hand part, and told him he could add it when he felt comfortable. Again, to my surprise, as days went by he began to actually add it. The last week or so, every time he passes the piano, he has to take a few minutes to practice. As you can see, it's paying off. It can be a bit of a distraction when we ask him to go brush his teeth or get his pajamas on. :)

By the way, yesterday (10/18/09) when Sarah was practicing the piano, Timothy was trying to play too. I asked him if he liked it when Anna Bella played while he was trying to practice. He said "no." So, I said "you probably shouldn't play when mom is practicing then." He then said, "but I love to play the piano so much!"

Timothy Drumming On Floor

Back in July (July 16th, 2009 to be exact for journal purposes) I got this video of Timothy practicing his drumming on the floor. I wanted everyone to have a taste of what inspired us to get him a drum set. Notice him pretending to hit other drums or cymbals as he hears the different drum sounds. When I get some good footage, I'll post a video of him playing his drum set. Thanks to Gummy for buying his first set of drumsticks from the 5 hour store. :)

Timothy Riding His Bike

I guess it's old news at this point, but I still had to post this monumental moment in Timothy's life. On July 21st 2009 he road his bike without training wheels for the first time. It sure is fun to watch him grow!

4th of July 2009

I know this isn't that amazing in comparison to big fancy shows, but I wanted to show my family and friends in the desert, dry state of Utah the kind of shows our neighbors put on. We can enjoy them from our own front yard. It's not quite as good as the neighborhood show our friend, who has a license to do the really big stuff, puts on but it's more than you'll see in the Utah neighborhoods.

Spider-Man Chore Chart

I decided to make Timothy a chore chart and ended up spending a lot more time on it than I thought I was going to. So, I decided to share it with you all.

If you have a child that likes Spider-Man, feel free to copy (or download) it and use it. It can be used as a chore chart, potty chart or any reward chart for that matter. Just add a sticker, one after the other, until you come to a prize. We do small prizes from the dollar store a long the way as a motivation and a big prize at the end. You can decide how much to spend on big prizes depending on your budget.

Timothy responds well to this type of motivation. At age 6, we can't expect a lot from him, but it makes chores and other tasks that he can do fun.

Timothy Lost His 1st Tooth!

I can't believe it!  Our little Timo buddy is growing up.  He lost his first tooth today (May 14th, 2009).  I picked him up from preschool, he said, "Dad!  I lost my tooth today!"  The other day, I asked him if he wanted me to help pull it out and he said, "no, I just wanna let it come out by itself."  So, that's what we did and I guess it was barely hanging on today because at lunch he pulled it out without much effort and no pain.  As you can see, he's quite proud of it.  Thank goodness he didn't swallow it in his sleep or something.  That was my biggest worry about letting it "come out by itself."  It's always hard to believe, when my kids start experiencing moments they will remember very well, the kind that are still so vivid in my mind from my childhood.

P.S. Sorry about Timothy's dirty sleeve.  We've tried and tried to teach him that his shirt is not a napkin.

Save Me From Myself

Check out my latest song!  I wrote this one about my continual desire to overcome the flesh and my need for Jesus Christ and His Atonement.  I hope you enjoy it.

Our Creative Boy

One day in February, while visiting Sarah at the hospital, Timothy decided to take a little artistic freedom with his noodles.  Something about our kids and playing with there noodles.  I was looking through my photos and realized I never posted this.  I thought it was pretty funny so I decided to post it even though it's a bit late.

McDonald's/Library Field Trip

Timothy had a preschool field trip field trip yesterday. First they went to McDonald's and then to the library. The purpose of going to McDonald's, was to have the kids practice ordering and paying for their own food. Timothy did a great job and didn't even have to repeat himself! At the Library, Timothy encouraged Anna Bella to sit down next to him for story time. He even put his arm around her at first. She didn't quite understand his loving gesture and wanted nothing to do with it, but it was very sweet! Good times!

In Memory of Dad (Kent David Petersen)

I know a lot of you have seen this but, in memory of my dad (Jun 29, 1938-Mar 12, 2000), who died 9 years ago yesterday, I am posting this video. My twin bro Dan and I put this together (mostly Dan) in his memory. The harmony is my contribution. Hope you enjoy.

Timothy and Anna Bella

For those who follow Sarah's blog also, you may see these photos twice, because I'm pretty sure she wants to blog about this too. We took the kids into JC Penny, and either the kids were in a really good mood, or the photographer was really good with them. Probably both. In the past our luck hasn't worked out quite so well, so it's been a while since we have had professional photos done of the kids. We are so glad these turned out so well. I am bias, but I think these photos do a good job showing off our beautiful kids and the stage they are in right now. Hope you enjoy.

Noodle Belly Art

Tonight, Anna Bella decided to start a new art form, noodle belly art. After eating chicken noodle soup, I guess she got bored and began sticking noodles down her belly. I couldn't passed up the photo op.

A couple of months ago, my friend and his family had an open house for his new dental practice, Shoal Creek Pediatric Dentistry here in Kansas City. They provided a lot of fun things for the kids. A clown making fun balloon shapes made Timo a car and I think Bella got fish on a pole. There was also character drawing. I thought I'd share the sketches with you all. It was a good time. The food was my favorite part.

By the way, if you happen to be the Kansas City area, Scott Thomas is a great dentist and is excellent with kids! I would recommend him to anyone! Even if you're not in the area, but like old classic Atari games like "Asteroids" or "Frogger," he has a great game room on his site. Click here to check it out: Shoal Creek Pediatric Dentistry.