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We go to the cabin most weekends in the summer.  Peter has made himself at home up there and pretty much runs the whole time.  On the rare occasion that he’s not running, he finds himself either in the dirt or the water.  He usually has a partner in crime (a.k.a Donna).  Bethy came up with us one weekend and she ended up in the dirt too.

We celebrated the 4th of July at the cabin.  We went to the Pederson cabin for some awesome fireworks.  I didn’t get to light the warning shot like usual but it was still a good time.  The show was amazing as usual, even the mosquitoes enjoyed the show.

We had some other visitors at the cabin.  A big mama bear and her four little cubs decided to wander through.  They enjoyed the fry grease and then climbed a tree to take a nap.  They stayed up there for the morning and then wandered down and went on to someone else’s neck of the woods.  Peter was very impressed and still talks about the 5 bears.

One of Peter’s birthday gifts was swimming lessons.  We took a parent and child class.  At first he didn’t want to take off his shoes, much less get in the water and participate.  With each class he got better and better until he couldn’t get his shoes off fast enough and waiting for the teacher to come seemed to last forever.  He still didn’t always participate quite like he should but he gained a lot of confidence in the water and can kick and scoop.  The last class he got to play at the end.  He finally went down the little slide not only once but twice.  He thought it was so much fun that he wanted Dustin to take him to the other end of the pool.  We figured out that he conquered that little kid slide so he was going to try the big slide.  We’ll have to wait a few years for that one though.

Finally, we were festive and participated in Hastings Rivertown Days.  It was a fun weekend of shopping, family, going out on the town, and a parade.  The thing was that it was really hot that weekend.  Between activities, we decided to try and cool off with some water fun and bubbles.  We pulled out the rainbow sprinkler but Peter wasn’t having that.  Then I remembered Peter had gotten a huge blow up octopus sprinkler so I made Dustin blow it up and start it.  I guess we weren’t quite ready for that though as it made Peter run the other way and cry.  Finally Dustin pulled out the winning sprinkler and lots of fun ensued.

We started the month with a big birthday bash.  My baby is two already!  We planned a party with family coming and celebrating in the backyard.  The weather had other plans though.  As everything was being set up, the clouds rolled in.  So instead of plenty of space in our large backyard, everyone was squished in the garage.  It’s a good thing it was family and we like each other.  Thank you everyone for all of your help and for a wonderful afternoon.  Peter had a great time and that was the ultimate goal.

Of course we spent plenty of time at the cabin.  Paul and Donna were in Alaska for a couple of weekends.  Peter was so confused why Donna and Pop Pop weren’t there.  We told him they were in Alaska.  He heard Eliska, one of the girls that went to his daycare, and assumed they were playing at daycare instead of with him at the cabin.

We celebrated Marv and Joann’s 60th wedding anniversary!  That is awesome to have made it together for that long.  It was a nice afternoon with family.  The cool part was seeing pictures of their wedding and the family growing up.  Peter made friends right away, as usual.  Kari got a couple awesome shots of him in the grass.

One of Peter’s birthday gifts was a big boy Cars bed.  Peter was super helpful when putting it together.  He didn’t really get what it was but loved using the screw driver and looking at the pictures.  It wasn’t until it got moved into his room that he figured out what it’s for.  He had to have me reach his pillow and nuk and then pretended to sleep, snoring and all, on his new big boy bed.  Of course it still doesn’t have a mattress as Peter’s room needs to get cleaned out before he can actually use it but it’s a fun experience for now.

Peter and I went to the grocery store together.  He’s a really loud shopper.  He was having fun until we got to the produce section and I was trying to pick some peppers.  He saw the red food and was yelling for an apple.  The other ladies shopping thought it was quite funny but at the moment I didn’t seem to be laughing.  That’s when I found the section of free apples for kids.  It was at the end of the trip so I gave him one thinking he wouldn’t actually get anywhere.  When we got home I looked and he had big chunks out.  He ate almost the whole thing without me cutting it at all.  He was so very proud of his apple.

We had a couple weekends of cabin adventures in May.

Paul got a new rider lawn mower for up at the cabin.  It has a trailer that is just Peter sized.  He loves to tell Paul to sit on the seat and ask for rides.

Peter discovered the joys of a sprinkler.  At first he just got his toes wet and that was really fun.  Then he moved closer and got his belly wet.  That was really fun.  After moving a little closer, the water went over his head.  That was awesome.  One more step and the water went right in his face.  That was not as fun.  He managed to put his suit on and play in the water more and realized that the sprinkler is still a fun thing.

Peter got a sweet new camo hat.  I know he’s hard to see in the picture but that is in fact Peter 🙂

The next weekend Zoey got a little brave in the morning so the rope got pulled out.  It’s kind of funny though because most of the time you don’t even need to tie the rope to anything.  She just knows she’s in trouble and behaves.  Peter thought it was a toy for him though.

Peter was a very busy boy that weekend.  It was extra special because not only were Donna and Pop Pop there but Grandma and YaYa too.  Oh, and Unkie and Uncle Drew too.  There were so many people to play with that he forgot to sleep!  He had a little bit of a crash on the boat but then the lure of water was too strong, for a little while.

The other guest at the cabin that weekend was a momma turtle.  She worked her way up the driveway and picked right in the middle to lay her eggs in the sand.  It took her a long while to lay them and then bury them.  She wasn’t a fan of everyone watching but she kept working hard to finish her task.  Then she quickly walked to the lake.  I was amazed at how big she was and how long her legs were.  Zoey was brave and even sniffed her butt once she was almost to the lake.  The one time Zoey actually acts like a dog and it’s with a turtle.  Go figure.

Very soon I will post some pictures from the big birthday party for my big 2 year old boy.  I can’t believe Peter is already 2!

So I’ve basically slept through April and well on my way through May.  It doesn’t bode well for posts and pictures, unfortunately.  I’ll try to do better.

Dustin and I went up to the cabin in early April.  It was COLD.  There was most certainly still giant ice flows on the lake but we got the boat launched and in the water.

Peter and I hung out one afternoon and had some fun.  He is such a ham and says cheese for the camera.  I did manage to get one picture that wasn’t so cheesy.  That day Zoey got her haircut.  She looked and smelled so nice.  She wasn’t as big of a fan of the bows though.  Dustin didn’t like them either.  I did and that’s what matters.

Bethy was an awesome friend and brought Peter and I to Under Water World at the Mall of America.  It was really cool to walk through the tube and see all of the giant things swimming all around us.  Of course, Peter was very serious for the whole trip.  He talked about sharks for a long time afterwards though so he must have liked it.  We made a stop to Lego Land afterwards.  On the way over we happened to pass Diego.  From afar Peter couldn’t be more excited.  He yelled Diego and was saying hello.  Once we got close it was a different story.  I guess this Diego was a little big.  Overall, it was a great day though.

This year we spent Easter with the Bjostad family.  It was a really nice afternoon spent with the family.  Peter got a new big truck and drove it all day.  He even tried to drive it in the tree.

Peter got to go to the cabin too.  He and Dustin went up, along with Zoey of course.  From the stories and the pictures, it was still cold but Peter doesn’t ever seem to mind.  His first weekend he seem to remember everything right away from last year, including playing on the boat.  He now has figured out the joys of the throttle and going fast.  Oh, and if you’ll notice he’s wearing his sweet new life jacket in the second picture.  Grandma Sherry picked that out for him so he doesn’t have to be squashed into the other one.  He hasn’t quite figured out the new balance though and was a little top heavy.  He’ll get it.

March has been a fun month so far.  We started with a party in our city!  Yo Gabba Gabba Live came to the Target Center and all three of us went.  When we got to our seats, Peter just thought that there were more friends than he’d ever seen before.  It wasn’t until the lights went out and DJ Lance Rock actually came out, that his heart started to race.  It was awesome to see the pure joy Peter had watching his gabba friends that have only been on the tv.

St. Patrick’s Day was this month.  We wore our green and went to Dee and Mel’s house for corned beef and cabbage.  Everyone but Peter thought it was wonderful.  He ate bread and then saw the bowl of peanut m&m’s.  He wasn’t expecting peanuts inside though.  He wasn’t so much a fan of the peanuts but got every bit of chocolate off before spitting them out.

March has brought some fabulous news.  Baby number two is due on Thanksgiving!  We couldn’t be more excited to have our family grow but of course it’s a little scary too.  This little baby reminds us that we really do have a whole lot in life to be thankful for.

Car troubles are another party of life.  The monte died a couple of months ago and has just been sitting next to our driveway.  Well the alero took a turn this past week.  A new fuel pump later, the alero is back in full force.  In the process, someone came over and wanted to know how much for the monte.  They actually bought a dead car.  Go figure!  So in honor of all the miles spent in the faithful old monte, one last picture before it goes.

We go to breakfast at the Car Bar pretty much every Sunday morning we’re in town.  Our morning ritual to get ready usually involves Dustin getting up and getting dressed, then Peter gets dressed, and finally it’s Annie.  Peter likes to hang out in the bedroom and watch some Imagination Movers while the process is going.  What more could you ask for?

Valentine’s Day was a good weekend at the Zastera household.  Dustin and Peter picked out beautiful red roses to come home to on Friday.  Then whole family, along with Jim and Sherry, went to the Camping Show and out to dinner.

Peter has become the pro dancer.  He has some really sweet moves and really likes going in circles.

Dustin was hard at “work”.

Karthik brought a little football with him when he visited a while ago.  He left it behind and Peter thinks it is beyond sweet.  Zoey has yet to be convinced.

And finally, Peter has found out that there really is no better way to watch tv than in his wagon up close and personal.

Peter made calendars for some people this Christmas.  As requested, here are the pictures from each month.

We’ve been going through the drawers to see what fits and what doesn’t.  Peter got to wear some sweet jammies that he tried on and never took off.  They were still a little roomy but they worked.

You’ll notice in this picture that Peter was developing quite the doo.

So he got his hair cut!  Along with the awesome new look, he decided to try out dad’s belt because why not.

Now he really looks like a little man!

Bethy, Peter, and I went out to lunch and then to the Children’s Museum on Monday.  When we first got to the museum, Peter was very leery and shy.  He needed to check everything out and see what was going on.  Once he found some people his height running back and forth with foam blocks, he realized this was a fun place.

We learned about conveyor belts, water fun, block building, dinosaurs, ants, turtles, slides, rock videos, and directional skills.  It was all very fun!

Oh, and we had to adjust the straps on Peter’s new seat for my car.  Dustin thought it would be a good idea to test how secure it really is.  It’s safe.

I’m actually updating the blog with pictures!

We have a few from Thanksgiving.  We went to Mark and Lori’s for Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving Day.  Everyone had a good time till it was time for the big meal.  Then a certain short person decided he was not ready to be awake and went back to bed.  Once he really woke up it went much better.

With playing hard, comes falling hard.  Usually Peter is pretty graceful at falling but this time he crashed right on his face.  He got a nice fat lip.  While sitting with dad, he held his ice and for some reason felt the glasses would help.

The family celebrated Thanksgiving part two with the Sackett side.  Peter was up, down, and everywhere the entire time.  I don’t think he even stopped to really eat.  He did stop to play a little dice with Leslie though.

And just for good measure, he decided to model his boots.

That brought us to December.  We went to visit Santa at the lodge.  Peter was good with him from afar but when it came time to actually sit on his lap, he wanted nothing to do with him.  He was too busy trying to get free rather than take a picture.  He did like the cookies though.

We tried to take some photos of the kid and the dog for our Christmas cards.  The plan went a lot smoother in my head but we managed to take a few fun shots.  Most of them were of one or both of them running away.

A separate day we had another photo shoot.  This one was for a calendar we made.  Each month Peter got a new outfit and new props appropriate to the month.  It took all day and three adults to get it done but it was fun.  One of the side shots was Peter and Dustin together.

After all that hard work, some people like to relax with a nice beverage.

With December came snow.  The whole family went out to shovel/play.

Christmas season came.  Along with it came parties.  We went to Paul and Donna’s for Christmas Eve, Santa came to our house in the morning, and we spent Christmas Day at Jim and Sherry’s house.  We also got to celebrate with the Sackett side.  He had a really good time with the new tee ball set and pointing.  We rounded out the festivities back and Paul and Donna’s house.

Finally, Peter spent some quality time New Year’s Eve with Jim.  As a result, he is now an avid piano player and came home with a keyboard.

Now we’re into January already!  Today Bethy, Peter, and I are going to go celebrate Martin Luther King Jr and my birthday by going to the children’s museum.  There might just be some pictures of that soon 🙂