The Peterson Family with the Boys

IMG_4339, originally uploaded by klgagne76.

We need to say a big "THANK YOU" to Auntie Mary, Uncle Jerry, Nonnie & Grandpa Pickles for all their help this past week in preparing for the party, providing "security" & setting up & cleaning up the party. You are all amazing and we all love you very much!!!

Raleigh eating his cake & loving every minute!

IMG_4124, originally uploaded by klgagne76.

Greatest Birthday Party!

Yesterday was a great day for the boys.

They were able to celebrate their first birthday with many friends and some family. We missed Nanny & Poppy & all the other family/friends that could not make it for this birthday, but we look forward to celebrating for many years with you in the future. I think everyone had a blast. My cupcakes were even eaten...so that has to say something;)

The best part was starting to teach the boys about giving to others, and seeing how many people were there to help us give back. We asked people to bring travel sized toiletries to the birthday party in lieu of gifts for the boys and man, did people ever donate generously! I know we have another package arriving from Illinois this week thanks to Auntie Kristy & her moms' group. I did not expect a guest of the party to bring with her her family's donation shipped in a huge, heavy box from New Hampshire. Another guest brought donations from her work, people we don't even know. Amazing! The RMH is such a great concept so it is easy to see why people are willing to help. We also had donations from family in Wisconsin too! Our house is currently overrun with little bottles of shampoo, soap, disposable razors, and everything else you could ever imagine needing if you were suddenly staying at the Ronald McDonald House. Matthew sure was thankful for someone else's donation while he stayed at the RMH while Raleigh was in the cardio-vascular intensive care unit and Gus & I were in another hospital 45 minutes away. We'll post the donations being given to RMH as soon as we do so. It will probably be in a few weeks so we can wait for all donations to be in & packed up with notes from the boys. We will also have a check to donate of $217 as well!!!

Picture of the RMH donation table before the party. The sand buckets holding some toiletries were from great grandma Miriam in Wisconsin - too cute!

Augustus' smash cake - mom's first attempt at making a decorated cake...

Raleigh's smash cake

Raleigh enjoying some cake!

But then, Raleigh ate so much he was to the point of choking!
Augustus literally smashing the cake;)

The other highlights of the afternoon of course were seeing my little eaters go to town on their smash cakes. They had homemade whales to smash up and they enjoyed every second of it. Augustus had his smashed up literally, and Raleigh, well he had a blast. At one point he picked the entire cake up and put it to his mouth. I guess he liked it:) Then, as party favors I had picked up the boys favorite balls for everyone. Well, we decided after cake it was a good idea to run off a little of the sugar. Boy of boy, seeing about 20 kids all about 3 and under run after these balls was enough to make anyone smile. My heart was truly warmed by the sight and it really reminded us of how blessed we are for everyone in our lives and the love these boys are surrounded by!

I have to thank Tara for reminding me to take a video of the smash cakes!!! I almost forgot. We had Kerri at the party to take pictures of the event so I could actually enjoy the moment instead of just preserving it for the future. Literally, I only took about 10 pictures total of the day. Whew, that was a save Tara. It was also a save to have Kerri there, it made it much less stressful for all of us having you there! Now, we are just patiently waiting to get the edited photos from Kerri. She is super busy now with lots of bookings for photo shoots. We are so proud of her! Once we have the pictures we will share them with everyone!

Video of the smashing of the cakes - Press PLAY

Raleigh literally picking the whole cake up!!!

Wow, We are One!

Augustus & Raleigh, even trying to hold hands...a good sign;)

Today was the big day! It started out with us all running and pretty much was non-stop all day. We had fun Skyping with Nanny & Poppy & Auntie Peta this morning. The boys opened their presents & had fun playing while talking to everyone. Then I had a hair appointment so the boys had some Daddy time. Then when I got back we went for a nice long walk in this amazing weather. We got to talk to Auntie Kristy & Annie too! After a much abbreviated nap, we hopped in the car to get our one year pictures & go to Build-A-Bear Workshop. We had fun at both, but Raleigh was definitely apprehensive at first. Once he was able to run around a bit he loosened up. Augustus was having a good day, but our little shy guy did have a few pictures taken with his little hands covering his mouth up...his bashful look! Then we headed to Maggiano's for dinner with Nonnie & Grandpa Pickles and, even better, family from Wisconsin is here, so we were joined by Great Auntie Mary & Great Uncle Jerry (aka GU Chinny the II). The food was great! The boys had even more fun opening more presents at dinner & trying to take Nonnie's plate away! Raleigh is particularly fond of his sun glasses. Both of them loved their new bears too...we just love that one of them is called "bashful" - you guessed it, Augustus gets that one! The best part had to be when Augustus got to dive into a little cake. He was full on & enjoyed every second of it!!! Now, the boys are sleeping & we are exhausted.

Guess who

Video of Augustus & his cake...


We know family away from us is wanting to be here, so we posted a new slide show of the day, and a few extra pictures. We missed you all too! XOXO from Gus & Ra Ra.

Gus & Rals

A Moment of Reflection Before the Partying Begins

It is the boys' birthday in Australia. We wanted to post a few videos of the boys meeting their Nanny & Poppy, but after an hour and a half, it just won't cooperate!

Tomorrow is the official big day in the U.S. We finished wrapping the presents tonight...some in Christmas paper because we ran out of birthday paper. All those darn big trucks;0 I can say that I have aged more in the last year than any other year in my life, and I would not change it for a second!

I just started looking at some of their baby pictures to post online in celebration of the boys' first birthday tomorrow. It is slacking of me, the super-photo freak that I am, but it is really hard sometimes to look back without sadness. First, because it was such a scary experience to go through with a critically sick newborn and two premature babies, and second, because those days are gone. These boys are just so darn big & healthy and so different from when they were born! Everyone warns you how fast it will go, but seriously, it was so fast. More to come tomorrow after their family celebration and of course after this weekends party & charity event.

Lots & lots of pictures will be taken;)

Touch A Truck Today & The Snake!

Raleigh finds Daddy, and Raleigh & Augustus looking up at Daddy, awwww.

Today we went to an event where kids could "touch a truck." It was very cute, and although the boys are a little young to understand what they were doing, we had fun. We really only put them on the fire truck to touch. The event had really cool things for kids to explore from the community, like a trolley, ambulance, stretch limo, tow trucks, and some sort of construction equipment. We ate a picnic and let them explore the fire truck and then set them loose in the park. What an awesome park too, although this would be a park to bring two adults for sure. Too many places to run to for the boys as they get older. Even on the tiny play set they were exploring it was too much for one person to keep them reigned in on.

If you read the last post, I mentioned Raleigh's affinity for shaking his head. Well, he has added clapping to the mix, and here is a video to prove it. Nonnie was here this afternoon to give me an extra set of hands while daddy rested. He is under the weather, but so far, knock wood, the rest of the family is well. You can hear Nonnie helped egg Raleigh on with his newest antics. Speaking of eggs, we had the boys try some scrambled eggs tonight for the first time. We figured it was close enough to their first birthday (next Wednesday if you can believe it). They liked it, but I think next time we'll add some cheese or something else for a bit more flavor.
Video of - Baby Ray

We also received a package in the mail this week from Poppy & Nanny. It is our newest "pet." His name is Boa, and he is a hissing snake. I can only imagine what customs thought of this package!!! Here are a few shots of the boys enjoying cuddling Boa. Raleigh on the left, Augustus on the right. Thanks Poppy! Hours of entertainment for the whole family;)

Augustus Pushing Raleigh on his "Choo Choo"

Video - Push me Bro:

Caught this short video of Augustus pushing Raleigh on the choo choo walker yesterday & had to post it! Raleigh of course was trying to get Augustus off his train, so you'll hear me telling him to be good...but it is still adorable.

We have been busy swimming and playing outside before it gets too hot. The boys got an early birthday present from Nonnie & Pickles that we let them start playing with now. It is a little splash pool to put outside the big pool (pictures below). This one is manageable for me to watch them in by myself. We were going to have a play date with lots of twins today in the new pool, but Augustus had a rough night sleeping, so we canceled. There will be plenty of days to play in the pool! Hopefully it was just his teeth bothering him and he is not getting sick or anything. Gus did not nap well yesterday afternoon either, so the little man is over tired now. They finally went down for their nap about 45 minutes later than usual this morning. Whew!

In the too cute not to share file, Raleigh has started shaking his head back & forth. It is his newest thing. I still think he hears music in his head;) He does it when he is in his high chair to feel the back of his chair on his head; he does it when he is sitting on the floor & gets really excited hopping up & down singing. Augustus has started smacking his lips, not making a kissing noise, but just smacking them. It is adorable & he really loves it when you do it back to him! We are working on more word recognition with them & trying to get them to point at the person you ask "where is" so & so to. Sometimes it works, sometimes they have more important things to do. The first time Augustus got it when Nonnie asked "where is mommy" we clapped and praised him & my little shy guy just put his hands up in front of his face all shy. Too cute for words!

Happy Birthday Poppy, You Wild & Crazy Guy!

Happy Birthday to Poppy!!!!!!!!

(birthday time in Australia any way)

March sure is a busy birthday month! This week already was Auntie Peta's, next up Uncle Tom, then us, then cousin Alexander. Whew! Poppy & Peta did the big sky dive this week...rumor has it they are going to do it again!!! Looking good.


Here are a couple videos of the boys flying with Daddy tonight. Mommy is loving daylight savings because it is so nice out & still sunny, so Daddy can take the boys outside on walks or in the pool when he gets home! That leaves her time to make dinner and have a glass of wine or two;) The only draw back is Gus & Rals have not napped well the last two days.


Raleigh flying with daddy. Hear the little giggles on the way up!


Augustus flying with daddy. Same giggles & feeling of dizziness when done!


Raleigh - still teething.


Augustus finds his belly




Spa time again. Water is warm enough to dip in after work.




Augustus' full belly laugh




Raleigh slyly lifting one leg out...



Daddy playing Elmo Live for us, man do we love it...so much so that we cry when it is time to put him away:(


Raleigh & Daddy, just love this shot:)

Raleigh Getting Better at Walking

First - Happy Birthday to Auntie Peta again from the boys!!!
Second, we miss Nonnie, but we hope you enjoy your last day of vacation with Alexander!


Here are a few videos of Raleigh walking a bit better.

Monday's attempt

Today's attempt


Augustus is trying too, but he just does not have the core strength yet. He leads too much with his Buddha, I mean belly! Augustus did make it up one step of the slide today & shimmied up enough to slide down head first! A first in our household...Augustus does not like something we presented him to eat. Grilled cheese of all things! He would chew it, spit it out, chew it again until the bread was fully soft & then he would eat it. I guess he did not like the two textures together!!!

Raleigh's newest trick is making kissy sounds (which he did today while talking to Auntie Peta) & using his hand to make a "come here" signal, which I call "gimmy gimmy" since he does it mostly when he eats!!!

They had their shots yesterday afternoon to help prevent the RSV. We only have one more set to go for this year...thankfully. They were crying when I pulled their stroller up to the scale at the doctor's office. They totally knew what was coming. Unfortunately, they have their one year check up coming soon too! Poor boys have bruises in both of their thighs since they are so big now they have to break the shot up into two separate shots. Augustus weighed in at an even 24 pounds, OMG! Raleigh is still svelte at 21.8. Both boys slept really well after getting shots & having a play date earlier in the day yesterday. Hoping they sleep as well tonight. On that note, this mommy is heading for bed!

Aquarium...again! This time with water:)

Video...they love the water for sure!

Today we decided to pack up the boys after their morning nap for lunch at the aquarium. It hit 80 degrees today, so it was a perfect time to check out the water area. The water was way cold, but our water babies did not mind one little bit. Above is a classic video. Of course Gus was our fearless wonder Gus, but Raleigh certainly caught up as you can see in the video!Man, did they have fun. Gus was literally yelling when we were drying him off to change him. The little guy dove head first into the fountains at least 20 times. Now they are sleeping, but we plan on taking them in our pool this afternoon too!

Raleigh timidly looking at the water

Raleigh & Dad at the fountain...and Raleigh after

Gus going through the water.

And again...

Dad holding Gus up for a break, or at least trying to give him a break

Gus yelling to go back in.


Raleigh taking it all in

After, the boys were cheesing at some girls in the park area