Enjoying the little things in life

James got his first ride on mom and dad's tractor the other day. I call it mom and dad's tractor because both mom and dad are in charge of mowing the lawn. Because mommy has a bit of trouble with her hands right now, dad has taken over for the rest of the season. Lucky (or not) for us, it's rained a lot here so the lawn has not slowed down and requires weekly mowings. James was very eager to see what dad was doing and welcomed the opportunity to hop on for a spin. He takes machinery very seriously and was all business during his ride.

James also loves music and it just so happens that his Boppa is quite the musician. James and his cousin Anna get serenaded often from the Boppa either with his guitar or ukelele. James is always mesmorized by the instruments and songs & always lends a hand at strumming a few chords.

The Bridgewater Fair

This weekend was the annual Bridgewater Country Fair. This was actually James' second year at the fair, however last year, he was 5 weeks old and we were very conservative in our outings at that time. The fair is one of mommy's all time favorite things of the entire year so we made it a weekend-long event. On Saturday we brought cousin William. The boys had a great time running around visiting the sheep and chickens and William enjoyed going on all the rides. On Sunday, the weather was absolutely beautiful so we got to see the oxen pull and tractor pull events.
James was truly amazed with the fair: there were tractors, motors, wheels and animals EVERYWHERE. He couldn't believe his eyes! He got to run around in the mud and wander through the aisles of parked tractors squealing and pointing frantically at all the tires, wheels, motors and loud engines. Where ever he looked there was something to see and touch. He was especially excited to pet the sheep and cows and touch EVERY wheel on EVERY tractor he could get his little hands on. Dad says that in 6 years James will be old enough to enter the pull event with our tractor. He better start practicing now. Being able to see the fair through the eyes of our energetic one year old little boy was really a cool experience that mom and dad enjoyed most of all.
Tonight we think James will dream of John Deere's, loud motors and gigantic cows...

The molar mood swings

A pictures speaks 1,000 words so this sequence is pretty much self explanatory. We can go from happy to extraordinarily UNhappy in a matter of seconds when the teeth are involved. Good thing ours days are filled with plenty of distractions. We are thinking of renting out Brodie to other families who need a goofball dog around to provide laughs during these tough times. A shreiking James seems to always respond positively to a wacky dog running around after the broom...or balloon!

Emma Jean Peterson

She has arrived! Emma Jean Peterson has graced us with her presence in the world weighing in at 9lbs 1oz and 22 in long. Mom, dad and sister Anna are overjoyed with her arrival. Cousin James can't wait to share many happy times with now the two Peterson cousins. Congratulations to the happy family, Emma is a wonderful addition & we are all blessed to have her here!