Dreams and Such...

I'm not really sure the reason, but I've always been a vivid dreamer and remember almost every dream I have. Just ask anyone who's lived with me...

Funny dreams I've had recently...

*Being a part of Harry Potter's world. This was a really good one. Especially because I was still a mom and was trying to figure out how to get Andrew's carseat strapped into my broom.

*Having a 5-year-old style birthday party, complete with blow up toys, and having a bum war with Justin's high school girlfriend. Don't worry, Jill, it was totally amicable. But I did win.

*Justin having a pumpkin shaped head...He didn't know and I was trying to tell him without hurting his feelings.

*Trying to teach a class of middle schoolers and having them totally out of control, screaming so loud I couldn't hear. I woke up from that one realizing that it was Andrew screaming.

I love sleeping. Even if it's VERY interrupted (thanks, child, who hates sleeping recently), I don't mind too much because that just means I remember a greater part of my dreams.

And here's Andrew this week. He's almost got the crawling down, so we've started to put him in "prison" when we don't want to chase him anymore.

Why I Make Lists...

Someone mentioned that I make a lot of lists on my blog. Reason: I don't feel that everything I want to say deserves its own post.

Like today for example.

Today, I have done the following things:

1. Given Andrew 2 baths. Things coming quickly out of both ends (euphemism for barfing + diarrhea)

2. Cleaned up lots of tissues...it's funny how my good manners just go to pot when I have a cold.

3. Not gotten my hair cut. It's getting to be a desperate situation.

4. Eaten a peach. I love this time of summer.

5. Finished reading the 4th vampire book. I hated it. Sorry, everyone. Too many errors that her editors should have caught, plus the whole story seemed to get...bogged down. I feel like she was pushed too hard to come up with something good and it came out sludge. I don't hate anyone who loves the books though.

6. Ran a 5K...by myself at the gym. I wish I got a free t-shirt for every 3.2 miles.

7. Used the rowing machine (the one where the seat slides front and back) and closed my eyes pretending I was in the Olympics. I wish I was making this up.

I didn't look like this, though. I don't think.

Reunion + Family = Not So Controlled Chaos

Just got back from the third annual Peterson Family Reunion. Here are some highlights:

*Eating a disgusting amount of Oreos. No matter how different we are, one thing binds my family together. That's Oreos.

*Speed Scrabble...

*Lauren trying on the grown up cowboy boots
*Cole saying, "This horse loves me!" as the horse blows his nose on Coley's head
*Building a dam (no n) in the "river." I kept trying to take pictures of the kids, but they were like, "No thanks, we're working."
*Lydia playing in the mud. Her mom had to tell her to get dirty, but she really took it to heart.
*Our wind sail at the reservoir. Minimal shade but lots of excitement.
*Justin riding like a pro...He even rode bareback.
*This shot.
*Andrew being completely exhausted the entire trip.
*Finding out that Andrew is allergic to horses (like both of his parents).
*Seeing my brothers together. They're funny.

*The house. It was stellar. And just big enough for 23 people.

Our Anniversary et. al.

Our Anniversary: We went here.
We ate this.
Justin bought me this.
It looked like this. (Outside our house)
Andrew learned this. (How to close the drain so the water wouldn't leave)

We found the PERFECT hiding place...

The great thing is that this trick worked for about thirty minutes before we took the video.

My Kid Oscar

Justin and I have made a bold attempt this week to stop using the swing as a crutch for getting Andrew to take naps during the day. The result? VERY grouchy baby. Seriously, Oscar's got nothing on us.

However, during one of the delirious moments, I got some awesomely cute pictures...Notice the bags under Andrew's eyes.

Perfect dimple shot.

Andrew's learning how to wink. Awesome.

I put both animals in front of him and he chose monkey, whose name is now Charlie.

Cute. Very cute.

New toy! I swear, I'm never buying anything for him. He only likes household items.

Doppleganger

It's fun to love things. Here's what I love...

1. Andrew's still doing this...And it's still funny to me.

2. This picture of Justin when he was little.

3. That Andrew's trying to crawl, but just successfully scooting backward until one of his limbs gets stuck under the furniture...Here, for instance, he's trying to reach his monkey (arm at bottom of the picture) and ends up stuck under the couch.

4. Words like doppleganger...Does anyone that doesn't watch "Alias" happen to know what that word means? Because it's cool.

5. Reading old journals...I think everyone should keep old journals so they can read them later and run across gems like this one: "Sometimes it's strange to think I'm actually 18 years old. That's not old, but I remember being 7 and not even knowing anyone that old. I thought I'd die before hitting 18." Wow. That's insightful.