It's Autumn Time, It's Autumn Time, The Leaves are Falling Down

This Autumn has been very warm and hasn't really felt all that fallish. The leaves in our yard haven't been turning too quickly even though we felt ready. They started changing colors this week and now it feels like winter all the sudden. So I thought I would wrap up some of the things we have been doing this fall before the holidays are upon us!

At the beginning of October we took a little vacation during a weekend break between terms for Pete. We stayed over night in Park City as a family. Sleeping all in a small space was a bit rough but it was just the kick we needed to transition the kids to one bedroom at home (since Peter was still sleeping in our room).

Peter went swimming for the first time.

This is what we did to keep Afton quiet while baby Peter was trying to fall asleep.

Endless fun taking pictures of herself!

Making a "scare claus" at Mimi's over conference weekend.

While on his break Pete wanted to take Afton on a special date. They went and saw Inside Out and she still talks about that "special day." 

That evening Pete kept the kids while I went out to dinner and shopping with a friend. Pete set it all up for me since it is probably something I wouldn't have done if he didn't force me to, but I am glad he did because it was just what I needed!

She used mom's eye shadow to do her own make up, something she LOVES to do!

We picked out and painted/carved pumpkins as a family

Made halloween sugar cookies

Afton went to her friend's Pirate birthday party all dressed up.

We had a little family night lesson about Columbus Day and dad built us paper boats to sail!

We went to Gardner Village and saw a lot of witches for MSA playgroup.

Another Doctor in the family ... !?

Peter tried swinging for the first time and LOVED it!

We did a science experiment (sink or float) and Afton asks to do a science experiment just about every day now.

A little cold ran through the kids. It wasn't too bad but this perfectly depicts what Afton was like; happy, but out of it!

We went shopping at Smiths and discovered the mini shopping carts.

Lots of sibling love

Afton hit a growth spurt and grew out of her 2T stuff and into her 3T stuff!

Afton discovered she likes to rock and sing to Peter before bedtime.

Afton and Mom went on a special date to see Mimi in an Opera at BYU! They did a short little program for kids and Afton felt so special she was able to go.

To end our date, Afton got her fingers shut in the car door. It was so sad and scared us a bit that they may be broken. But after a bit of tears she was good to go.

Grandpa Millar made us a color changing light to go in our Jack-o-lantern

Ghost bowling in the basement (excuse the storage in the background)

Afton LOVED our Halloween decorations (we pulled a few of Boofie's things from the basement to complete our decor)

 Goldilocks and the 3 bears for Halloween

 Peter cut his first tooth!

The most beautiful leaves in our backyard! We had to capture them before stuffing them all in a black garbage bag!

5 Months

Peter has turned out to be quite the mellow and happy little guy--which I never thought I would say! He loves to snuggle and will just rest his head on your cheek when you hold him. He gives open-mouth slobbery kisses that are just the best thing in the world! He sucks ravenously on anything he can get a hold of. He is rolling a lot and scooting forward (mostly in his crib when he is trying to fall asleep).

He is sleeping so much better! Although he still wakes up 2-4 times throughout the night, he will eat and fall right back to sleep which is a huge improvement! He naps great at home in his crib but sadly isn't great at on the go napping. But hey, I'll take what I can get!

He loves his sister Afton and laughs the hardest at her. Afton is great at helping to entertain him or sing to him when he gets sad and I am busy making dinner or something. He loves when she talks to him and plays with him.

He copies spitting sound when you do it to him and is finding his voice! He likes to test out little screams (happy screams).  He recognizes pat-a-cake as "his song" and gets so happy if you sing it even across the room without playing with him.

He seems interested in food and stares longingly at us when we eat in front of him. But we have tried solids and he does not like it. He gags and pulls away. He has tried oatmeal, banana, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and avocado.

He has a long torso. Most things that fit him length-wise drown his frame. He was small at his 4 month appointment in weight but average in height so we are working to chunk him up a bit ;)

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Afton has been saying the funniest things lately and I just had to document them so I don't forget how funny she is at this stage!

"Mom, did you know I want to go on a mission?" (I think we were singing a primary song called We'll Bring the World His Truth)

Whenever Pete and I are talking and she wants us to play she says "Mom, Dad, stop talking." 

Looks at herself in the mirror after getting ready, "I look so pretty."

I have called Afton "Goose" since she was a baby--it just kinda stuck. So she comes up to Peter and says "Hi, Goose!"

"I can't believe this!" or "you gotta be kidding me" in whispered, exasperated tones to herself.
This one is old so I may have already mentioned it but occasionally (she is usually very helpful) when I ask her to do something she will say "I wish I could, Mom."

When she sees me working out: "Are you sweaty?" 

The first time she noticed me sweating and asked if I was sweaty she followed it with "Dad gets sweaty when he mows the lawn sometimes."

Hears me breathing heavy while jogging and asks "Are you tired, Mom?" After I respond yes she says (while riding in the stroller) "I'm tired, too."

She does a little swivel of her legs and hips while whispering "sweater" when we put on certain button-up jammies with a sweater-type shirt.

"Oh man" over and over and over.

"Hey baby, can you put your listening ears on?" She picked that one up from preschool.

"This yogurt is like rum punch!" (Loves that part on Mary Poppins)

I ask her if she is done going potty because she is just sitting there and she responds, "I'm just hanging out."

"Don't worry, Mom. Don't worry." When we were looking to find something.

Upgrading to REAL Mommyhood

We finally felt it was time to bite the bullet and purchase a minivan.

I really was not so big on the idea but we knew it was the most practical choice if we were going to get a second car and after Pete had a rough week of long commutes on the bus I finally decided I would just look on KSL. I came across a van that looked like it was in good shape and was a good price.

I saw it on KSL on Saturday. We couldn't find the time to see it with it being a test week for Peter so the guy agreed to let us see it on Sunday. And we purchased it on Monday. That is really how it had to be since Pete's free time happens only after 7:00pm and bed time is soon after that.

So here it is in all it's glory. The kids were with us when we looked at the car and when we paid for it and picked it up. We didn't really talk to Afton about it other than "we are going to get a new car" but she immediately started calling it "The Josh Car" which completely blew us away because that girl is so darn observant! (The guy we bought the car from was named Josh!)

It has all the works of a Honda Odyssey and only had 75K miles. So we plan to have it last us through residency!

4 Months

I was so good at documenting milestones with Afton each month of her first year. But, not surprisingly, it is a bit harder to do with your second. So here are a few pictures of Peter around 4 months and a few things I love about him off the top of my head!

Around 4 months we have found that Peter has a hard time sleeping unless he can cry for awhile before falling asleep. I was hesitant to let him cry it out but once we started it he began sleeping 8+ hour stretches at night and occasionally through the night. It is hard to listen to him cry but it seems like he just needs to burn off some energy in order to sleep better.

The poor kid has a really hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. You can just see him struggling; he will suck his thumb for a few seconds and then pull it out and scream, only to put it back in and calm down. This happens over and over for as long as 45 minutes sometimes! We are trying to help him any way we can but often he just fusses or cries until falling asleep.

When Peter smiles he does it with his whole body! That is why most of the smiling pictures are blurry. His body immediately squirms when he smiles. It's the cutest!

I feel like this picture most accurately depicts Peter at this age. Fingers are ALWAYS in his mouth and slobbery. :)

I'm a sucker for fresh-from-the-bath babies!

He is very patient with Afton and lets her get right in his face and even put her dress ups on him!

Sitting in big sister's stroller!

I have put him in front of the mirror a few times (because Afton LOVED seeing herself at this age). He squealed the first couple times I did it which gave Afton and I a good laugh. He will shyly smile at himself and turn away. It's pretty cute.

We love our little Peter Michael!

Grandpa Doctor

Peter's grandpa passed away unexpectedly at the end of July. We miss him dearly and have such fond memories of him with our children that we will always cherish. We are so grateful that we were able to live closer to his grandparents this past year so that we could see them more often before his passing. We recognize that as one of the many blessings of staying here in Utah for medical school!

Pete and I both discussed how sad we were that we never took the time to capture Afton with Grandpa Doctor on the many occasions that he took her around his yard showing her the birds and letting her jump on the tramp. He loved to tease Afton which often made her cry but she now recalls it fondly and I hope she will have some memories of him.

We were so glad that we took the time at Baby Peter's blessing to get a four generation photo of four Peter Sundwalls. It is such a special picture to us!

Grandpa Doctor always wore a bowtie to work and his brothers, sons, grandsons, and many others wore bowties at his funeral to honor him... including baby Peter.