Our year in pictures

Since it's been such a long time I've posted I decided it might be fun to do a quick recap of 2012 in pictures. I love taking pictures and I have plenty of funny ones to share. This first one was taken on January 5th last year. We were happily playing with sidewalk chalk in short sleeves. What a warm day that was. Both Peter and Luke love playing with sidewalk chalk and bubbles. Those two activities alone can keep them occupied for a very long time.

This is just a typical day at the Thomas house. Dad is searching for yummy food in the fridge, Luke is sitting patiently in his highchair, and Mom is busy doing random things in the kitchen. This photo was taken by Peter and I think he did a good job at capturing an everyday moment in our home.

One day in March the boys begged us to make a fort. Since Brandon was home on that day he decided to go all out for this fort. We gathered every blanket and chair we own and made a fort big enough to fit all of us inside. Peter and Luke were thrilled and they loved hiding in it. They loved it even more when Mom and Dad got inside of it with them.

Last Christmas (Christmas of 2011) Peter got this Woody from a neighbor boy who had outgrown it. Well, in April, Peter decided it would be fun if he painted Woody with fingernail polish. He quickly learned that was a bad idea. He was literally bawling when I found him in my bathroom trying to get the polish to come off. Needless to say, I had a serious talk with him about playing with mommy's nail polish.

This picture was taken on Mother's Day. I really wanted to get a cute picture of me and the boys on this special day. While I got some other ones that show us all looking at the camera, this is my favorite because Peter looks so, so happy. I hope we will always be a happy family.

I love Luke's facial expression in this picture. So, classic. He is attempting to get off my lap while I attempt to squeeze him tighter so he will stay on. By the way, both Luke and Peter love Mickey Mouse. Today I heard Luke attempting to say Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse and it was the cutest thing ever.

Peter felt so grown up on this day after church. Brandon let Peter help him drive home. Just look at that face - pure happiness right there. I remember my Dad occasionally doing the same thing with me and my sisters when we were young. Thank goodness the road from the church to our house is not very busy. If we let him,  he would always let us drive home from church.

In August we were lucky and got to go with Brandon on a business trip to Logan. Although it's only 2 hours away, we made a nice vacation out of it. While Brandon was in meetings the boys got to play in the huge tub that was in our room. They loved it so much!

In September Brandon used a vacation day and we took the boys the zoo. The highlight of the trip was seeing the boys get so excited about the Polar Bear and Grizzly Bear areas. Luke loves animals so he was in heaven. I was just thankful that Brandon was able to come with us.

In October my parents decided to host a family get together which we are now having every month. This is me and my sisters (Lisa and Amy). Lisa is holding her baby - Ben. I love this picture of us because we really do a lot to help each other out. I love that Amy is feeding Ben a bottle and I'm scratching Lisa's back. I feel so lucky to have such great sisters.

In November Peter memorized his first book. He and Luke both love the Gerald and Piggie books and we kept this one long enough for Peter to memorize. It was adorable to see him turn the pages, look at the words/pictures, and then read what it said. It makes me so excited for the time when he really can read books on his own. In an attempt to teach my kid the importance of reading we go to our local library every week. I feel very fortunate that we have a great local library.

In December we did lots of fun things. This picture is my Mom helping Luke weave his annual paper heart to hang on the Christmas tree. After all our hearts are on the tree we all hold hands and dance around it while singing a special Danish song. I love this tradition and I'm glad I captured this precious moment of my Mom and Luke.

Looking back on this past year it's been fun to see all the adventures we do have. When it comes right down to it, I don't feel like I do very many fun things with my kids. However, these pictures otherwise. Go me!