Merry Christmas!

We have now traveled one complete revolution around the Sun on Planet Texas. It is a strange and wonderful world.  For the first time I recently ate an entre with cactus in it, how delicious! 

            In January, Anna continued her year at home with Anders as they began attending Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPs).  It proved an unnerving experience for both of them.  Anders also started regular physical therapy on his legs as his walking was a bit wobbly.  Physical therapy proved a success as Anders now walks and runs much better than before.  I began taking Anders to swimming lessons on Monday evening.  Anders’ fear of going under the water dominated everything else about swimming lessons.  His “coach” told me that he would have to go under if he was going to move up to the higher class.  There would be no “higher class.”

            In February, I saw my first ever Kansas Jayhawks basketball game at Texas A&M.  I sat outside on benches in dry 80 degree weather waiting for the doors to open, chatting with old men about small town Kansas.  Winter is the best season down here.  Flowers bloom year round.  This is the month that Texas wakes from its brief winter nap. 

            In March, we attended our first Rodeo Houston.  Since the state fair is way up in Dallas, Houston has what amounts to a South Texas state fair.  Our spring visitor season began as Grandma Doreney and Grandpa Greg visited.  March also began Galveston season as we started going to the Gulf again just about every weekend.

            In April, Grandma Ingrid visited and it was time for more Galveston.  I quite enjoy visiting Galveston, it feels like Athens, Key West, and Gary Indiana had a child and named it Galveston.  Anders loves Galveston and even sings the Glen Campbell song with me.  Anna does not share our same level of enthusiasm. 

            In May, Anna began her new job teaching 3^rd and 4^th grade special education at Armstrong Elementary School in Missouri City, which is the suburb just east of Sugar Land.  Her position desperately needed to be filled, which accounted for the unusual May hiring.  Grandma Doreney came to stay with Anders for the two weeks between Mommy starting school and Daddy finishing school, so that Anders would not have to begin “school” (daycare) until August.  Brad visited and we saw our first Astros game with the roof open, which is preferable.  We also went on the free tour of the Houston Ship Channel, the entryway to the 2^nd busiest port in the USA.  Anders enjoyed reading the names of the ships more than being on the water.  He also began talking in complete sentences in the spring as well.  He says the funniest things!

            In June, I did my usual slog of AP reading in Louisville.  Perhaps the best part of the journey was the Lincoln Town Car that took me to and from George Bush Intercontinental Airport.  We traveled in a more hoi ploi manner later in the month as we drove north, visiting family in Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota.  Along the way, we attended my uncle Luverne’s funeral in Decorah.  He was one of the kindest and most helpful people I’ve known.  I spent a week in Boulder, Colorado at a seminar on 19^th century American wars toward the end of the month.  We led the nightly news as a midweek lightning strike sparked fire on the mountain.  The fires coupled with a stubborn bout of altitude sickness made for a harrowing week in the Rockies. 

            In July, Anna and I celebrated our 10^th anniversary a bit early in Grand Marais, MN.  We found even more great restaurants as this Cook County harbor solidified its spot as my favorite vacation locale. 

            In August, we returned to Sugar Land, which, if you’ve never been in the summer, combines the heat of Texas with the humidity of Louisiana.  Anders began school at Kids R Kids in Missouri City, to which he adjusted in short order.  He has made friends with his classmates and he especially enjoys his teachers Ms. Michelle, Ms. Ila, and Ms. Cindy. 

            In September, let’s just say nothing happened since this letter is already too long.

            In October, Grandma and Grandpa returned to celebrate Halloween.  Anna made Anders the perfect costume, an old school calculator.  He remains obsessed with “numbersletters.”  Anders was a hit at the big Sugar Land Town Square Halloween Party and in our neighborhood at Halloween.  Anders figured out the concept of Halloween this year—knock on doors and get an incredible haul of candy.  He left no house behind on Timber View Drive.  Grandpa Greg was almost as excited by the weather, being able to sit outside at night and eat Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream in the town square. 

            In November, Anna and I saw Paul McCartney in concert again for the first time in ten years.  He played in the outfield of Minute Maid Park and we had great club level seats.  Paul played over 40 songs in almost three hours, amazing for a 70 year old.  Macca played our wedding song, “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which is so much better live.  Grandma Ingrid visited for Thanksgiving and we continued our new Thanksgiving tradition of visiting the zoo on Thanksgiving morning.  We also journeyed up one of the small Texas towns where she lived back in the mid 1970s. 

            It is December now, the tree is up, our wreath is out, Anna has an Advent Calendar of activities for Anders next to the tree, and it’s going to be 80 degrees today.  I’m coaching 8^th grade B squad boys basketball.  Our record is 1-2 going into Christmas Break.  Anders is almost as excited to visit winter and see snow up north in a couple of weeks as he is to read all the words and count all the numbers that we will see along the way.

            Merry Christmas to All, and if took the time to read this whole chronicle, Happy New Year!

            Anders, Anna, Jon, and Trudy

Searing Gales of Flatus

When Anders went to pick up Anders yesterday he had the other children gathered around him as he read word flashcards to the class.  At one point, a kid read “there” as “three.”  Anders dismissively ignored him and just went on drilling flashcards with his classmates.

Sometimes I wonder if Anders is my son.  He reads as well as I did at age 7.  He also sleeps through the night without wetting his bed at all.  Again, he’s about four years ahead of my pace!

But there is one instance where the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Anders is a preternatural and prolific farter.  His farting instincts are uncanny.  He knows when to jump off the couch for more sound.  Anders knows to blame others like “Stinky Mommy” or “Stinky Daddy.” He figured out the cuddle fart on his own, snuggling up on the couch by saying, “Oh, I love you,” then letting one rip and hopping away.  Anders was body slamming me last night, he landed with his butt to my face and let rip!  You can’t teach moves like this, its instinct!  We have a problem because I think this is one of the funniest things I’ve ever experienced, while Anna is properly grossed out. 

Generally Anders is speaking more authoritative with less questioning in his voice.  He is speaking more clearly and saying more interesting things.  He is not a toddler anymore, he’s a kid now.

Anders loved trick or treating as a calculator.  The funniest thing was when we stopped at some bikers’ house.  They gave Anders one of everything and they had a lot of everything.  Anders eyes got wide and his mouth was agape.  He was all in after that house.  He loved trick or treating and was fully invested from that house on.  He marched up to the houses, said trick or treat loudly, and thank you, and Happy Halloween.

Well, I’m almost off the bus, so farewell for now.   

Postscript:

Anna let out such a joyful noise when the president was reelected last night that it roused Anders from bed.  He looked like a disheveled and annoyed father awakened in the night by his teenage daughter sneaking back in the house. 

Anders-isms

"Mommy, mommy, I need more whole grain."

"Mommy what does (fill in a whole series of words a little kid would ask the meaning of), Mommy what does Noparkingtowawayzone mean?  What does Noparkingfirelane mean?"

Anders can also say the Pledge of Allegiance on his own.  Once he gets down the tune of "America The Beautiful," then he will be ready for the GOP presidential nomination.  We also fear that he might be pledging allegiance to Texas at school (a real thing that happens at Anna's school). 

Anders gets his whole grain in the form of 2 Eggos for breakfast and then half of one of Anna's waffles in the car.

I ask Anders everyday when I am dropped off at the bus stop to remind Mommy to come back to pick me up, which he promises to do. 

I'm trying to think of more Anders-isms as I write, but I cannot right now.  He had us cracking up at dinner because he was doing something goofy.  I can't remember what it was because this sort of thing happens a lot.  When he sees that he's got us, a big grin spreads across his face, then he puts us on the ropes by doing it more, but then it gets old and we tell him to finish his lasagna.

We've been quite busy this past month and there will be a sprint to Halloween.  I think things will settle down a bit in November, which is probably the next time I'll check in here.

The downside of being the beloved Dr. Peterson is that everyone wants a letter of recommendation and all of those letters are due between Oct. 15 and Oct. 31.

Anna has an incredibly tough job, and I literally mean that it is not credible when you hear what she does for her students in a day.  I am overwhelmed by the respect I feel for her on a daily basis.  Meanwhile, Anders is really making a go of it at daycare.  He still doesn't like going outside to the playground, but he dominates in the classroom. 

I hope this tides y'all over until November...(scroll down to the video feed on the right side) https://www.sjs.org/review?rc=1

Better 2nd Day

Anders was sitting nicely and quietly in the line for the bathroom when we arrived yesterday.  Upon seeing us, however, he mustered a crying jag.  We could tell that it was for show, not real like on Tuesday.  He showed me that the "2" was missing on the masking tape letters chart yesterday.  The "8" had been replaced, fortunately.  Some kids said, "Goodbye Anders."  He told us that all the kids in the class were his friends.  Our arrival triggered some of the other kids to start missing their parents, so I was sorry to do that to the teachers.  Anders ate better, but had a few accidentes.  Oh well, that's just part of it. They said he was looking at his watch all day.  He actually was a bit perturbed that we arrived early rather than exactly at 3 pm as we told him we would.  We went swimming later, which he enjoyed.  He ordered me out of the wading pool to play by himself, which involved picking out and counting leaves that had fallen in an earlier wind storm.  Anders even got in trouble with the lifeguard for running!  That's probably the proudest I've been of him all week.  I then walked him over and showed him Rule #11, which states "no running." 

Anders continues to point out our faults.  He told us yesterday and me again today that Mommy had turned into the Walmart parking lot rather than going to school yesterday morning (which is pretty fascinating to me since school and Walmart are not near each other...).  He reminded me this morning that I mistook the letter T for the number 7 a few days ago in his fuzzy (alphabet) puzzle.  Anders still remembers a time this spring, probably April, when I asked for no ice in our water as we ordered food at the zoo.  Why is this worth remembering and discussing months later?  He remembers EVERYTHING!  At this point, Dan Seeley is saying, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

We are not in a drought down here.  The weather is the same every day: mid 90s for highs, 700% humidity, threats of pop up storms, high 70s for lows.  I've done some yard work around the house, and it's amazing the variety of insects that come out at night to bite you.  We did not have all these critters last year when it was 102 and sunny with blast furnace rather than the locker room heat and humidity of this summer.  I half expect an old guy with a towel around his shoulder and nothing else on to saunter down the sidewalk to his house and start drying off in the yard.  If you've ever been in a mixed-age men's locker room you know what I'm talking about--Dan Seeley is nodding his head.  

What did you like about today? Nothing.

Things went as expected, not better, not worse.  Anna has convinced Anders to give it a try again on day 2.  One of his teachers, Ms. Michelle, said Anders was looking at his watch all day.  He pushed some buttons on it so that it read "7" rather than the time.  Anders liked his turkey sandwich, carrots, and cinnamon sticks, but did not like his orange or sour apple sauce.  He also did not partake of the petting zoo.  Anders took a short 50 minute nap.  We we arrived to pick him up, I scooped Anders up in my arms.  Through his tears and the circles under his eyes, he told me about the malfunctioning watch, then he told me that the number 8 was missing from the floor.  Indeed, the number 7 and 9 were written in tape on the floor, but 8 was missing. 
Anna commented that everything seemed much more crisp and organized on our return trip this afternoon.  I agree with that assessment. 
We took Anders to McDonald's for ice cream after "school," and then I took him to the pool.  These events made the unpleasantness of school only one part of his day.  
I am interested to see how tomorrow morning goes. 

Anders Starts School

We took Anders to "school" for his first day today.  Let's just call it what it really is, daycare.  Anders did not remember when the day began what today meant.  Then, at breakfast, he asked me what day it was and I said Tuesday and he started to cry.  I diverted him by playing with his new favorite toy, the cash register.
Anders liked Anna's list of four things he needed to do in the morning before we left: brush teeth, eat, change clothes, bathroom, and the like.  He enjoyed his cookie monster backpack.  Anders, however, talked himself into the idea that it was a long drive to daycare, which it is not.  Anna had him wear his watch, so he knows that we will return at 3 pm.
It is a hard day for all of us.  First, Anna though she smelled marijuana in the parking lot.  It was not cannabis, but some other damp weed.  Then, Anna was ticked off that they didn't seem to know we were coming.  We we got to the room only one of the three "teachers" was there.  A second was scheduled to arrive at 8:30 am and the third was out on maternity leave. 
One of the other kids, Zachary, tried to engage Anders in play.  Anders retreated to numbersletters.  Anders did not cry, though, and I think we can thank a little girl who was already crying.  Anders saw how unbecoming that looked.  The crying girl eventually stopped and seemed interested in Anders.  After Anna taught the teacher how to say "Anders," which took many repetitions, we turned to leave.  Anna did not look back.  I did.  The look Anders gave me almost turned me to a pillar of salt. 
We left Anders every day at the hospital for three months, but this was so much harder.  He's been with us, at home, everyday, since Oct. 29, 2009--Anders Liberation Day.  We can't go anywhere and not hear his voice and commentary in our heads.  I'm hoping this is harder on us than on Anders, but I would not count on it. 
Anders, however, needs the socialization.  He needs to mix it up with other kids.  Anders needs to believe we will always return for him.  This is good, it's natural, and it's time.  I feel like he has graduated today to the next stage of his development.  I felt much better about things about 30 minutes after we left.  I know I'll feel much worse after we pick him up and try to get him to go back tomorrow. 
The guilt side of things tells me that we have abdicated our responsibility to protect him.  We protected him from the odd bad nurse in the hospital.  We protected him from the public turn the swine flu outbreak.  We protected him from Appalachia in general until we moved.  I know that we will still be vigilant and diligent, but I have a lot of irrational thoughts.  And I know that I'd only get the silver in this house for irrational thoughts. 
It's good, it's necessary, and it's time.  I'll just repeat that mantra all day until we pick him up.  When he feel aggrieved Anders combines the Minnesota Rage of Anna with my ability to fly off the handle so this should be a fun afternoon.  Ugh.

Game Show Host

Anna often says that Anders would make a good game show host. He loves to smile, has a pleasant disposition, good looks, and loves talking about numbers and letters.  Tonight that came home more than ever as he played "Which Hand?" with Grampy.  Anders puts a plastic toy in his hand and asks Grampy "whishand (which hand)?"  Anders loves "fooling" Grampy and can play this game for long periods.  He has the endurance for repetition and he can make each new interaction seem like the first one, which are both key components in game show hosting.

bouncing around and embarrassed

Anders said he was "embarrassed" when Grampy found him out of bed last night.  Anders pretty much recites his favorite lines out of the books he reads and has read to him.  He is always referencing a book on his mind.  You have to know the books to know what Anders is talking about at any time.
Anders is so much more confident on his feet.  I still have to remind myself that it's only 15 months since he started walking even though he is almost three years old.  He bounces around on his feet.  His running is still arms and legs akimbo, but it has a bit of flow to it.  I feel a lot better about Anders ability to integrate in play at "school" next month.
I've been sick with a cold or allergies, I'm still not sure which for the last week.  I just wanted to get a quick post out there before Dan Seeley sends me a snarky email.
Oh, Anders love arrows.  The loves finding arrows and asking what arrows do, especially on the highway.  He loves traffic signs and rules, like with the yield sign.  I spent 20 minutes out from Rochester teaching him the yield sign and now he can recite the rules for a yield sign, which he will do for anyone if asked.

Pictures, Pool, Etc.

It is a strange feeling for us to miss the place we live.   We used to dread the waning days  of our Upper Midwestern vacations.  The Petersons have enjoyed their time up here, but we are also excited to return to the land of sugar.  I was watching the Twins-Rangers game last night and my mouth started watering as I thought about Texas cuisine.
Much has happened and much will happen before we return, however. 
After returning from Colorado on Saturday (by the way, I cannot stop playing The Marshall Tucker Band's "Fire on the Mountain" since returning), Anders and I drove down to Decorah on Monday.  Anders was excited for the road trip.  I could not believe a two year old could be amped up for a four hour car ride.  Anders, however, busied himself with our USA road atlas, our Garmin or as we call her "Lady," and the alphabet game in the car.  Anders knows J, Q, and Z are particularly hard letters to find on road signs. 
Anders has started eating more like a toddler than a baby. "Not eat like a bird," Anders says to me all the time now whether he's woofing down the Buffet at Ridgewood Bay in Zimmerman or pieces of Mabe's Pizza in Decorah.  He still loves the ice cream cone more than the ice cream.  Anders wowed Grandma Ingrid with his ability to read the signs on the businesses as we walked down Water Street. I kept telling her, he reads.  I've been saying this for weeks now, maybe a couple of months.  Anders doesn't read a few words, he is a reader, he reads.  I know how crazy that sounds for a two year old.  I didn't read until I was in 1st grade, and I don't think Anna read until she reached school age.
I made the joke on Facebook that Anders is taken with geometry, foreign languages, and writing on a typewriter, but it is also the truth.  He loves banging away on Grandma and Grandpa's old typewriter.  When we were changing in the Decorah pool last week, he started counting to 100 in Spanish at the top of his lungs, apropos of nothing.   He likes watching as the pizza changes shape from a circle to a rhombus.  Our biggest goal in getting him into a daycare/school is to socialize him to prevent what we jokingly call his "descent into madness," which is why we couldn't send him the Montessori route since they'd let him do whatever forever. 
Anders' genius is the reason I was so happy that he enjoyed going down the water slide at the Decorah pool with me, the Nordic Noodle.  We went down at least ten times.  Anders we undeterred even though he went under water once, and he must have climbed at least 260 steps (26 steps to the top, 10 times).  He was so happy when he got back on ground that he ran around like a chicken with his head cut off owing to his explosive level of excitement.  Anders had no idea where he was going, but he knew he wanted to go down the slide again!  It was hilarious and heartening to see him having fun with a physical activity.  He also had a great time at Dunning Springs in Decorah, saying that he'd be read to climb to the top of the springs when he turns 18.  Anders has a lot of plans for the coming years.  He'll start school at 3, start gardening at 6, dye his hair blue at 15, drive at 16, wander around at 17, Dunning climb at 18, and stop farting at 100. 
Speaking of farts, we went down to Rogers to get Anders' 3 yr old pictures today.  It was a buggy mess.  The Deer Flies were too thick to take pictures on a bridge, so we settled for an old barn.  Anders was mostly "out" on pictures, but he did pose with an elbow on a board as he looked over his shoulder, sort of like a senior picture.  He even climbed on a rock and sat.  We was about to melt down during a venue change, when I started talking to him about farts and boogers.  That sustained Anders through the rest of the photo shoot.  I think we'll get a few gems out of it. 

I wrote this post on Saturday morning in the Denver Airport.  I'm leaving it unaltered for the sake of historical accuracy...or I'm low on time.  By the way, I did meet up with Dan Seeley at an Irish pub...we had coffee, ah fatherhood.

Sometimes life events conspire to make one grateful for God’s gifts.  When I spent my junior year in England, we had a Luther College professor teaching and minding us.  He and his family lived a block away.  They became like our family that year.  The Faldets had two daughters, Elizabeth was 14 at the time and Pearl was 7.  I had a lot of fun with them, especially Pearl.  They came over to our flat and ate dinner with us every evening, after which we’d socialize for a while.  My motto, particularly as it related to the excitable Pearl, was “wind ‘em up and send ‘em home.”

It was with a heavy heart that I learned this week they the girls along with Elizabeth’s boyfriend, and another family friend were in a car accident in Houston County, MN that killed the family friend and landed Pearl in the ICU.  Early signs are good for Pearl’s recovery, but I can’t imagine how horrifying that car accident must have been.

I have been away from Anders a lot this month with a week in Louisville, then a week of extreme commuting to Minneapolis, and I’m writing this post in the Denver airport after a week at CU for a history seminar.  Anders has not been sleeping well at night.  It has been hard to get him to stay in bed in the evenings and his sleep has been fitful.  I wonder if he is anxious about being away from home?  Me being gone so much?  Thinking about starting “school” (daycare) in August?

Much like the owl babies from the story with the same name, Anders thinks a lot.  He is much more a boy of caution and thoughtfulness than he is a boy of action.  It could be that all three factors are at play.  I’ll be around for all but two nights in July when Anna and I head up to Grand Marais, so that might help a bit.  Or maybe not.  Parenthood is trial and error, mostly error, along with constant and persistent experimentation.

Boulder was memorable.  The Gilder Lehrman Institute on America’s forgotten wars was excellent.  I enjoyed the colleagues I met.  The last couple days I hit my stride, evening hiking to the top of one of the Flat Irons (mountains) west of Boulder.  Things did not start auspiciously, however.  I suffered four days of altitude sickness: dehydration, headaches, no sweating, and fitful sleep—of course the sleep problem could have been the result of the room temperature being well into the 90s in our non-air-conditioned dorm room during the hottest June in Boulder History.  The 3^rd floor sauna had an east-facing window that started baking around 5:30 am when the sun started shinning in the room.             

Then on Tuesday afternoon lightening hit Flagstaff Mountain sparking a wildfire that spread to the east side (our side) of the mountain.  We watched the fire slowly creep down the mountain around supper time.  A constant aerial barrage of red slurry fire retardants stopped the spread of the fire and it was almost half contained by the time I left Boulder this morning.  Seeing a wildfire across a meadow just three miles away is a memory I will not soon forget. 

Well, that’s all for now.  I didn’t sleep well in the Sauna last night.  I’m excited to see the A’s this afternoon and perhaps even a Dan Seeley sighting tonight!  Whatchadointonight?!  

Since last time I wrote Anna started a new teaching job at Armstrong Elementary in Missouri City.  Anders ended physical therapy and swimming lessons.  I finish my first year at St. John's and graded over 1,000 AP US History exams in Louisville.  I really thought that May would be slower than April, but it turned out to be more hectic, and I'm still not entirely sure how that happened.
Anders reads, plain and simple, no equivocation.  He is much steadier on his feet.  It used to be that brushing up against him could fell Anders, not anymore.  Yet, sometimes his head seems drawn to a door or cabinet into which it "bonks."  We call slight impact, "little bonk," indicating that it's nothing to cry about.  Anders is also working on his fake tears, much like Brett Favre's fake injuries during his Packers days to get sympathy from the refs.  Tonight I asked Anders, because I could not tell, "Is that a fake laugh or fake crying?"  He replied, "Fake crying." 
Anders and I were in the mall last weekend and Anders took a knee to stop our walking so I started calling Anders "Denny Green," after the former Vikings coach who infamously put the best offense in NFL history on ice just before halftime up ten against the Falcons at home in the 1999 NFC Championship Game.  Anders does not know what "Denny Green" means, but he loves the phrase "take a knee." So he now takes a knee to slow down bed time, and announces it, "Anders take knee!"  Anders better watch himself in public when we get to MN next week because that phrase might trigger a fan's post NFC Championship choke syndrome.
I think we will make it a long way by reading highway signs.  We find as many letters in the alphabet and numbers as we can.  The alphabet is easy, but numbers above 11 are hard.  I think Anders is excited for the trip.  Anna is eager to flee the air that you wear down here.  The humidity is truly inhumane.
I received some sad news tonight, my uncle Luverne Neste died this evening.  Old age and cancer did what the North Koreans, Chinese, Soviets, a combine accident, and a smokeless tobacco habit could not do.  He was 82 and one of the funnies people I know.  He had me laughing out loud in our final conversation on the phone last weekend.  Luverne and his wife Mary lived on the neighboring farm.  He and my stepdad raised Angus beef cattle all during the years I lived on the farm.  They sold off when my stepdad got sick while I was in college, but Luverne continued to maintain his farm and my mom's farm for the past dozen years, until he received his cancer diagnosis last week.
It's funny how life works.  I got that call from my mom as Anna, Anders, and I were celebrating an early Father's Day at a Greek restaurant in Houston.  What a different mood in the restaurant with the flaming cheese, oompahs!, ouzo, and bright decor from my mom's call.  We compartmentalize life in a way that is both very strange and very necessary.
We leave here Friday.  We'll get to Marquette, KS late Friday night, spend the day there Saturday.  Then on Sunday, it looks like we will head for Decorah.
Take care all, and I promise, Dan, I will write again before August.  

Galveston Death Grip

I'm decompressing from swimming lessons with Anders.  Although I understand the value of exercise, I wish we could skip ahead to chess lessons.  Anders finds different parts of swimming lessons to hate each week.  This time it was "Ring Around the Rosie" where Anders put my neck in the Galveston Death Grip and almost pushed me down when it was time for "ashes, ashes, we all fall down."  Anders and I "fall up" at this point, as we have done for months.  I suppose he doesn't trust me because a couple of weeks ago I asked him if we could "fall down" and before he could say "not fall down," we fell down.  I'll be paying for that one until the end of swimming lessons next month.
Tonight, Anders got a gentle push down the slide from his swimming coach.  It was the first time in weeks Anders had gone down the big "Alligator Slide" on his own.  He likely will not do that again before swimming ends.
Meanwhile, Anders jumps now, which is big progress.  He counts to 100 in both English and Spanish.  He has a ton of sight words.  He seeks out the rules to read where ever we can find them.  He has been showing more of an interest in his basketball hoop.  He has even figured out how to shoot from close range, but he's more interested in my descriptions of his shots than the actual shots.  He loves when I say things like: "nothing but net," "the swish," "rattles home," "donk!" "banker," et. al.
He has gained much confident on the playground.  He goes down the tall twisty slide on his own.  Anders also likes trying his hand at the unharnessed swing and the teeter totter. He enjoys watching the turtles swim and eat at Oyster Creek Park.  We haven't seen any gators yet, but according to the signs they are around.  I guess they should be around as they are indigenous, and every other elementary school's nickname is the gators.  I never thought of Texas and alligators, Florida yes, Louisiana yes, but not Texas.  That doesn't really make sense though, since we sit south of almost all of Louisiana and if you drew a line due east from SL, then you'd end up in Daytona Beach.  We are south of Gainesville, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Pensacola.  I guess encountering a gator is rare, but it does happen especially in the spring with a bunch of randy gators on the prowl.
Our biggest news of the past week is that Anna signed on Friday to join the special ed faculty at Armstrong Elementary in Missouri City, part of Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD).  In a strange twist for the education job market, she will be starting her job on Monday rather than in August when the new school year begins.  Anna is happy, excited, and relieved.  We are both happy to be able to plan a bit now.  Anna's mom has graciously agreed to come and stay with Anders for the first two weeks of her job as my school year is finishing.
Anna tried to talk Anders into starting "school" (daycare) early, but Anders firmly replied, "No, Anders start school three."  For those of you who don't have an Anders, I realize that it might sound jelly-boned, lilly-livered, and yellow to bow to the wishes of a two year old.  I, however, implore you to take him to a swimming class, a MOPS meeting, or a church nursery and then tell me how crazy we are to heed the feedback of a 2 3/4 year old.  Anders is a well-behaved, model toddler in many ways, until the plan changes.  Anna has been talking up starting school at age three for months with Anders, an early start would not do.  Plus, and perhaps as important, we will not have time to find the right daycare or buy a second car, which we'll likely have to do.
I better go.  Anna needs the computer to compare benefits packages.

Anders Amazes

Anders continues to amaze.  Beyond learning to count to 100 forwards and backwards.  He is now trying to conquer Spanish.  He can count to 30 and he recognizes all the numbers up to ciento or 100.  He can count all the numbers up to 100, but not all at once.  Thus, by the high Anders' standards he can count to 30, but not 100...yet.  He also does funny word play like rather than fall down, he'll say "fall up."  He does stuff like this all the time.  I can't think of more examples now, but he plays around with language in a way that I know is not normal for a 2 year  old.
I have a couple of vague memories from being Anders' age.  One of them was pooping in the car while on vacation in South Dakota, the other was switching Duke Boys from Bo and Luke to Coy and Vance.  I honestly remember that second one, which Anna still does not believe, but when I remind her of the prodigious amount of TV I used to watch with my aunt Marilee, she relents a bit.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dukes_of_Hazzard#Coy_and_Vance
Anders just doesn't care about TV that much.  It is but one of the many things he enjoys doing in a day, but only if it's a show like "Super Why" or the weather or the scoreboard of a basketball game.  He loves watching youtube videos of numbers and letters.  He says "youtube! youtube! youtube!"  I had one of those "he's growing up in a far different world than me" moments yesterday as he requested a "numbersletters" video on youtube.  I pulled out the computer and we watched it.  I recalled waking up and waiting for Sesame Street or Saturday morning cartoons to start, and then if there was some interruption I had to wait a day or a week for that event to come around again.
What a great time to be a kid.  That got me to thinking about all the things to which Anders has been exposed.  He goes to the zoo once or twice a month.  I didn't go to a real zoo until I was 7 years old.  We've gone to the Gulf of Mexico the last three Saturdays.  I didn't see the ocean until I was 8 years old.  Anders has so many great opportunities to quench his thirst for knowledge and broaden his range of inquiry.
We've had another spurt of visitors with Anna's parents and my mom visiting on successive weekends, then we met up with one of Anna's former roommates and her 2 year old daughter in Galveston today.  It seems like these visits come in waves.
I was quite pleased with KU's NCAA tourney run.  It hasn't turned beastly hot yet.  Highs are in the low to mid 80s and it cools off at night.  A quarter mile wide tornado passed eight miles west of my hometown in Kansas, Marquette.  The conditions are  right for more tornadoes tonight.  I hope and pray our family and friends up there are all okay.
The school year is starting to wind down.  We are excited to get out of town before the heat gets too unbearable down here.  Oh, next Saturday is Texas Independence Day!  I am so excited for this pseudo-holiday.  I don't think we will make it to the historical reenactment of the Battle of San Jacinto on the east side of town in the shadow of America's tallest obelisk, but maybe next year...  I've started reading a book about Texas "Lone Star Nation" in honor of the blessed events of this month.
Anders went quickly and decisively down his first curly slide, at least that I've seen, today.  He also sang part of the Glen Campbell 1960s country hit "Galveston" today.  That's Dad's influence...

Earl of Sandwich

Anders now recognizes ".com," so he says, for example, earlofsandwich.com.  I also forgot to mention the numbers game that Anders plays when we eat out as we did tonight at the Earl of Sandwich.  After we finish eating, Anders and I go outside as Anna finishes and we find letters from 0-9.  We find these numbers on windows, signs, and license plates.  It's what Anders loves to do. 
He spells and reads A LOT of words.  He especially loves to find "Do Not" in sentences.  Anders loves the rules, and loves knowing what he's not supposed to do.
Anders is very interested in learning everyone's age, so if you have an age that you would like him to remember or if you fear that you might forget your own age, let me know and I'll have Anders commit it to memory for you.  The one age for which he has a strange blind spot is that of Grandma Dorene.  I'm not sure why that one doesn't stick.  Anna thinks it's because Anders does not believe that she could possibly be her real age. 
Anders also know right from left.  You can call out right or left and he will know what you mean. 
I have him saying "Rock Chalk Jayhawk" for the NCAA Tournament.  Anders loves the numbers on the basketball games that I watch. 
He calls his uncle Matt any time he grabs a banana to eat.  He now even talks about texting Matt after he calls on the banana and before he eats the banana.
I can't just talk about Anders since this is me, so more on the Earl of Sandwich.  It's a cross between Potbelly and Panera, a real Panera is next door and a Potbelly is across the street next to Whole Foods.  So it has the free wifi and the many leather bound books and chairs, but it has the oddest franchising pattern I've ever seen.  It has three locations in San Antonio, the one in Sugar Land, it's in a few airports like Philly and DET.  They have one on Manhattan, in London, and Paris.  They are opening locations in Boca, AC, and the Boston Common.  It just makes no sense!  A casual dining French bistro franchised throughout Texas makes more sense to me than the Earl of Sandwich's business model.
I'm watching Hi-uh State play CinSUhnahtuh.
Did anyone else see the story about the giant bolder that crushes two cars and part of a house in Athens this week?!  That boulder was three blocks from where we used to live on Carpenter St.  The boulder fell on a street on which I would travel when I went to my Soviet history seminars at a professor's house.  A boulder, a giant boulder!!!  The crazy stuff that happens in that place never ceases to amaze me.  I'm sure the crazy boulder has rallied the Athens and OU community for tomorrow's Sweet 16 game between UNC and Ohio.  The Bobcats have an outside chance in this one.  I don't think they will win, but they should give Ol' Roy a run for his money.
The sun has finally returned.  The weather is great here, but it's been warmer back home than down here of late so I can't brag.   

Spring Break!

Texas takes a whole week for spring break.  In Iowa, we called Easter Break "Spring Break."  It lasted four days, and one of those days, Easter Monday, was usually reclaimed as a snow day.  We have 10 days off, then next month 4 days off for Easter.
Today we went to the Houston Rodeo, which nicely coincides with Spring Break.  Anders went through the farm to market process where he picked plastic farm produce, solid it at the market, earned money, and purchased some orange crackers with his money.
We also took Anders into the petting zoo.  That place was, well, a zoo with all the kids and animals carrying on.  You could not turn to the side without bumping up against a goat or a sheep or a toddler or all three!
We missed the pig races, but we have something to look forward to next year, but we did mix it up with the cattle a bit.
The quantity and overwhelming smells of barbecue put the Nelsonville Meat Fest to shame.  I'd like to go back and see the rodeo proper and maybe a concert.  They call the whole thing the rodeo, but it's really like a state fair for this part of Texas.
Anders got his haircut yesterday.  He was so "hateful" (as they would say in Gallipolis) during the process that I gave my first ever tip to the "stylist."  He looks really cute though, no longer "shaggy."
We had no swimming yesterday and it's probably just as well since last week was the closest thing I've seen to an Anders 30 Minute Meltdown.  We was awakened from his nap to go pick me up, then when we got home we had to immediately change and leave for swimming, which did not allow Anders the proper amount of mental preparation for the activity.  You laugh, I'm serious.  Anders must mentally prepare for big events like swimming lessons.
He is down to every other week in physical therapy.  Anders is getting better, plus it costs an arm and a leg.  Anders is getting good at using his "Miss Chamira Foot" (his left foot).  Sometimes, when climbing up the slide, he will back down a step or two to use his Miss Chamira Foot if he remembers that he hasn't used it in a while or if I remind him.
We have a steady routine at the more toddler friendly city park playground across the bayou than the elementary school playground by our house.  We pick up sticks and put them in the blue garbage can.  We do between 10 and 30 slides, and then we finish with 100 swings.  It's pretty much the highlight of our day.
Our new fortnightly PT slot means that Anna and Anders had to give up MOPs or Mothers of Preschoolers held at a baptist mega church.  Anders just cried the whole time he was down with the kids, while Anna was up crafting with the moms or her "secret sisters."  About five times per day Anders says, "Kinda sad MOPs."  Anders is already a king of understatement because when he says he was "kinda sad" that means he was wailing uncontrollably.  On Sunday Anders was also "kinda sad church."
Tomorrow, Anna takes Anders to the dentist.  Despite the fact that there are "too many dentists" in Anders' words, we chose one and Anders will get used to visiting the dentist tomorrow.  The first visit should be easy, but the second one might not be as smooth, as we saw with the haircut.
Our next stop on the spring break tour of fun is a trip to the Brenham area for blue bonnets.  Apparently it is a Texas tradition to drive out into the country in a heavily blue bonneted area such as the road to Austin or the Hill Country, pull of to the side of the road, and plop your child in a field of blue bonnets.  We shall partake of this tradition soon.  We might also take the time for some Bluebell Ice Cream while in the birthplace of Bluebell--Brenham.
By the way, Bluebell Ice Cream is one of the top Texas foods I've experienced.  I'd also like to give shouts out to Whataburger and the San Antonio Sushi Roll (the secret is the avocado).
Maybe we'll also try to finally make it to the Sam Houston monument (think Washington Monument among oil refineries) over break.
Anders is also learning to spell numbers such as one, two, three, four, five, six, ten, forty, among others.  He can't spell all those words, but he has a determined look on his face to learn soon.  He will often call out from the back seat or around the house, "Read it!"  He wants us to read words.  He read "black bean" today at the Rodeo.  He knows a lot of words and he is interested in learning many more.
Moreover, he indicated that he wanted to learn directions.  Right now, I'm focusing on teaching him my favorite direction, west.  He has been looking and acting so much like Anna lately that I've recently struggled to find myself in him, until our directional discussion last night!
The weather is solid, but it's been so great back home that I can't brag.  With all the flowers and bushes blooming the air smells so sweet all the time!  March is my favorite month here so far.  According to my old grad school friend Jack Epstein who is from New Orleans, we have about 6 weeks of nice weather left if we are lucky, four weeks if we are not lucky!
I'll try to write more often, but I might not make good on that promise until May.  I have a flood of term papers coming my way on March 27 that will have to be graded in a decent interval.  Meanwhile, Anna posts all the best pictures on Facebook.

Pond Cleaning

We went to feed the ducks earlier this week.  Anders told us, and I don't know where this came from, "Ducks clean pond."  I don't know where he learned that, but it was pretty cool. 
Today we played at the playground, but Anders does not like getting dirt on him, so that makes it tough to do too much at the playground.  At the playground, I taught him about the 5:30 SWA flight from Phoenix, so I wasn't surprised when Anna told me, "I was walking back from the 5-4 with Anders and he spotted a plane in the sky and said 'airplane fly to Houston.'"  That's still about the only context in which he'll say Houston.  He still loves Dallas and San Antonio, though.  His Dallas t-shirt that I bought him in September fits really well now, and it's a new favorite. 
Swimming went well on Monday as Anders asked to go under water!  He did a good job with that.  There were mixed results on the slide, but he did go down a couple of times.
Anders tested well at physical therapy on Tuesday.  He showed particular progress going up and down the stairs with both legs. 
MOPS did not go that well yesterday.  Anders was crying before he arrived and the Anna and Anders show was a comedy of errors while there including Anna losing her phone, the entire MOPS group stopping everything to look for it, and then Anna finding it in her purse!
Anders took the lethal 5 minute car nap today, which ruined his nap. 
At school today, we had field day.  My "house" won.  Not content to be a spectator, I joined in the action.  I'm not sure I helped, but I don't think I was a hindrance.  I also might have rushed the court along with the students when our victory was announced, but those reports are still unconfirmed. 
I feel that I have redeemed myself a bit for the cheating of us boys in the Mrs. Lovstuen's class in the 5th grade class softball tournament that led to the end of the class softball tournaments at East Side School in Decorah.  Here's the lesson I learned that day, if you are ever responsible for making the batting order for an entire elementary class, don't over think it--bat the best people first.  I'm sure Kyle Cutting, Josh Hildebrand, and Barrett Gipp would agree. 
I have also become a Quiz Bowl assistant coach for a weekend.  There is a huge national tournament at St. John's this weekend.
I also know  you wait for these weather updates.  I feel that we are making the turn toward spring.  I know it's never really winter here, but it just smells more "springy" today.  I've heard from various people that spring starts here in the back half of February.  They also have a giant rodeo with a bunch of musical acts starting this weekend, which sounds a lot like the state fair back home. 
Anders will be without Anna, with her friend, as Anna has a job interview tomorrow.  I fear that job interview season could prove more traumatic than MOPS.  Anna has recommended writing numbers and letters to calm Anders, which I think will work...eventually.  Anders sometimes counts to 20 before he goes down the water slide at swimming, so if you get him counting you have a chance.
It has been another fun and hectic week in the Chez Peterson.  By the way, we ate at a Texas-based chain French Restaurant, which I highly recommend if you are in TX, Louisiana, Atlanta, or the DC area called La Madeleine. 

Welcome Behind the Wall

This is my first post since I went private.  We all liked the easy access to the blog, but this way provides some needed security so that prying eyes do not see every mundane detail of our lives.
Anders is putting up a brave face regarding swimming and MOPS--a group that has activities for mothers and children, but separates them so that the moms can have adult conversations.  He does not like to be separated from Anna and he does not like going under water.  Last week at swimming I made sure he didn't go under.  He was so engaged that by the end of swimming lessons, he went off the water slide twice!  This is from a kid who only recently started going down a dry slide on the playground.  It was a remarkable turnaround over the course of half an hour as he went from clinging and whining to marching up the ladder of the slide to his teacher and then sliding down to me.  Anders calms himself by counting to 20 before he slides down the alligator mouth slide. 
Similarly, at physical therapy, he took his treatment from Chamira all on his own.  Anna talked it over with him and he agreed that she would stay in the waiting room and he would go in and do his exercises with her. 
I would say that Anders is settling into a routine after our return from Christmas Break.  It took a while, but he now knows what to expect and when.  He doesn't always like it, but as long as he's not surprised things usually go well or at least okay.
The potty training is going quite well for a boy.  Once he learns to "tuck," we will have climbed another mountain.  He's gaining bladder control each day it seems and he has no problem stinking up the living room with many a "man-sized poop." 
We seemed to have entered the rainy season in SE Texas.  I can see how our home and the area around it used to be rice fields or sugar plantations before that.  Yet, we are still in a drought!  After breaking 80 last week, we are in the low 50s and overcast today, but no rain...so far.
I don't care who wins the Super Bowl, but I hope the commercials are good.
I am thankful for fresh-made grocery store guacamole.  








 

Reason for Privatization

Some of my students found the blog, so I decided to make it invitation only.
-JP

deleted blog posts

Monday, January 16, 2012

Winter in Texas

...is my favorite season, so far, with spring yet to come. Obviously the cooler weather is the biggest draw, but I also like the fact that the weather changes. One day you might be under a freeze warning with daytime temps that don't make it out of the windy mid 40s and then the next day is 75 and humid. Those are the extremes. We don't experience actual cold and we don't taste summer. One of the worst things about the summer is just how boring the weather is. The weather is a nice ice breaker with people you don't know very well if you actually have something to talk about, but what can you really say after the 31st straight day of 102 and sunny? Many of the trees have finally lost their leaves, but many others haven't or don't. It's still relatively lush down here, which allows for humid winter days. Dry skin is a fleeting problem.

Another nice thing is that walking from the indoor pool to your car in your swimming suit doesn't turn your midsection into a temperature extremes experiment. We started Anders swimming tonight at the Sea Star Swim School in MO City. On the whole, he loved it and is already chattering excitedly about going back. He enjoyed floating and kicking. He kicked a lot. He liked watching me blow bubbles. He did not, however, like the third act of aqua Ring Around the Rosie where we "all fall down" by going under the water. Anders was "all done water" after that, but he did rally for a trip to the big pool. He remained wary of Humpty Dumpty's "big fall," even though it did not end in submersion.

I'm hoping that swimming with Anders can facilitate Daddy's return to relevance. Anders is currently so all about Mommy that he calls me Mommydaddy, until I correct him, and even sometimes after that.

We ran into one of Anna's friends at the sea school, who said hi to Anders. You can't go anywhere in the Sugar Land area kid world without seeing one of Anna's people.

Anders returns to physical therapy tomorrow. I bet it will go better than last week since he will be used to the setting. Anders has already made many strides since last month, including climbing up the ladder to the slide at the playground all by himself. He'd still rather do numbers and letter than anything physical, but as he gains confidence on his feet I can see that changing.

Anders has gotten good at throwing bread to the ducks with his left hand. His physical therapists also raised the prospect that he's a lefty. Even if Anders is not a lefty, I believe he sees the world like a southpaw.

We went to the zoo today. It was packed. It's so weird to be able to do stuff on MLK Day. Back home MLK Day was either a makeup snow day or a real snow day. Anders' favorites are the ostrich and the albino alligator. He likes to say "osrich go dis way...osrich go dis WAY!" and "albano algador." The first saying comes from my mom's Thanksgiving visit when we visited and the Ostrich was really hamming it up for us, like a flightless bird with a new lease on life.

We were sad to see the Texans lose yesterday. They had a nice run and it was fun to see the region come together with Texans pride. I don't have a great handle on the fan base, but I'd tentatively say they are three parts "Cleveland Browns Persecution Complex," three parts "Minnesota Vikings Gut Punch," and one part "Chicago Bears Irrational Exuberance."

I've just let Trudy out and warned her to not go jump into Anders' window ledge and peer into his room from the outside. Do you think that will work? Me either. It feels like early June out there!

I'm really tired after toddler wrastling in the pool. I'm going to watch KU play #4 Baylor on the internet and then go to bed. I have a few colleagues who are Baylor grads. Fortunately KU is at home, and fortunately, if KU loses, no one down here cares about college basketball.

Posted by jonpeterson at 5:48 PM 0 comments

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Anders did do dat

It's been a while. We put 4,600 miles on the Prius over Christmas break. We were thankful for great weather. Aside from a rush hour rainstorm in Dallas on the way up and high winds around Salina on the way back, we faced no elements. Minnesota and Iowa were quite mild. I started out in a coat and scarf, but by the time I left I was running around in a sweater.
Anders was a trooper on the way up and back. We had a number of toys and diversions for him. Among his favorite was our GPS or "Garmy" as we call it, short for Garmin. We also call it "Lady" when "Lady" is giving directions. That's not to be confused with "Lady Singing," which is a 40 year old Sesame Street cartoon where a Swami counts to 20 on his four hands. That is also not to be confused with "Mommy going to see the ladies," which means Anna's going out on the town. Anders enjoyed the numbers and letters that he could punch in on Garmy. He even turned Garmy to Bulgarian a time or two. In addition, Anders led us to some historic sites including Garmy directing us the the Brown v. Board of Education Museum in Topeka, Lecompton--where the 1857 Pro-Slavery Constitution of Kansas originated, and the Living History Farms in Des Moines. Anders and Garmy also eerily led Anna and Dorene to almost precisely the correct store on a shopping trip in Maple Grove.
We had much Christmas fun and saw many family and friends. Anders did quite well considering all the places we lugged him. Two times he had enough, though. On Boxing Day at the house of one of Anna's high school friends, after 10 minutes Anders was late for the door--that was a short visit. Then, after we arrived home on Sunday night, Anders hurled half an hour after arriving here.
We thought that we could make Christmas Anders' favorite holiday by giving him many gifts and letting him play other peoples' pianos, but alas when we returned home and we took a stroll on the sidewalk, his first questioning statement was "Halloween all done...?"
We visited his friend the 5-4, a "5.4B" spray painted on a sidewalk half a block from our house. We went back the playground where he sat on the swing and counted my swings up to 100. I only had to spot him the 90. Anna tells me that counting to 100 is a first grade standard in the state of Ohio.
The leaves were turning colors when we left in December and most of them, at least those that fall, were on the ground by the time we returned on Sunday. We've raked most of them into piles, which Anders likes to tromp through.
We discovered the answer to the question which is better Chipotle or Qdoba--Mission Burrito. After dinner tonight, Anders and I went out for a walk through what I thought was just the Whole Foods strip mall, but we walked around the center where we found a fake lake and a running trail. Anders counted the numbers on the light poles most of the way around the lake. It was a beautiful night for a walk with temps in the high 60s and a pleasant smell in the air. Anders ran from light post to light post to count. He hasn't really run much prior to the past couple of weeks.
Anders is starting physical therapy next week. We've been stretching his legs for the past few weeks, which seems to have helped his mobility and dexterity. He has tightness in his legs and he walks on the inside of his feet. My professional opinion as a doctor (but not the kind that helps people) is that all the stuff they stuck in his feet during his hospital stay has slowed his development of feeling in his feet. For example, when we tickle his feet, he understands what the sensation should be (because he feels it under his arms when tickled), but his reaction is delayed and it seems like he is acting like he's ticklish for our benefit. He has made great improvement and hopefully with some physical therapy, he will play on the swings and slides as much as he plays with numbers and letters.
Anders even does an impersonation of Count Von Count from Sesame Street. I think the Count has some serious, undiagnosed OCD. Does no one on Sesame Street see this? Big Bird or maybe one of the adults--where is Gordon in all of this?--needs to stage an intervention.
Anders also does impersonations of Mom and Dad or as he often calls us "Anna" and "Jon." He also calls us "AnnacallmeMom!" and "JoncallmeDaddy!" In those cases, he steps on our lines if we don't say them quickly enough for him. His impression of me is a low growl and his impression of Anna is a loud fake yell. Anders pretty much has us pegged.
Trudy stayed with my uncle Fred in Marquette where he took great care of her, even buying her a deluxe model scratching post. When we showed up, she was not only happy to see us, but surprisingly happy to see Anders and Anders was pleased to see Trudy too.
When Anders does something he should not he says, "Anders did do dat." When he talks himself into doing the right thing, he tells us "Anders good boys, no bad boys."
All four of us were pretty resilient considering the length and duration of the trip. I still had "Driver's Leg" last night, but I'm healed today.
Tomorrow is Texans Spirit Day at school. I expect the depleted Texans to overcome the odds and shoot down Cincy's Red Rocket Saturday afternoon at Reliant. I hope the roof is open, it's supposed to be 72 and sunny. If they don't have the roof open on a day like that, then there's no reason for a retractable roof. It will be noisy enough even if the roof open, but I'd like to see Houston show off its great January weather.

Posted by jonpeterson at 6:45 PM 0 comments

Monday, December 5, 2011

Merry Christmas 2011

I hope this message finds you and yours in good health and spirits!

As you may have noticed by the possibly crumpled “postcard” you received (or will receive) in the mail this year, we a going for an economical Christmas! Fortunately, super long family newsletters are free, so here goes:

From January through May we carried on with our 2010 daily routines. I took care of Anders, taught history courses at OU-Chillicothe, and kept up with my third part-time job of trying to sell our house. Anna continued working at Washington Elementary in Gallipolis as an intervention specialist and took care of Anders on her own during those nights when I taught.

In February, I began a job tour of the South. Over the subsequent two months, I interviewed in San Antonio, Washington DC, Memphis, Dallas, Houston, and Charlottesville.

In March, Anders landed himself in the hospital overnight with a 105-degree fever, double ear infection, and spot of pneumonia. The next day, he was much better, but the doctor was undecided about allowing Anders to leave. However, Anders had his shoes on under his hospital gown, so he decided to follow Anders’s lead and release him.

We were visited by Uncle Josh at the end of March, Grandma and Grandpa in April, and— via Cincitucky and Butterbean’s Pickup Taxi Service—Aunt Mandy in early May. Brad Albers made his valedictory visit to Athens in April, as did Luke Christian for his first, and my final, Mom’s Weekend. Grandma visited in May.

We had an eventful Easter Week as we sold our house on Tuesday and on Maundy Thursday I took a job teaching history at St. John’s School in Houston, TX.

We lived in our house for a month after closing, but that was not quite enough time to get everything organized for our move. We were supposed to be out of the Palace of West Hills on May 27, but the Prius pulled out of the driveway at #9 at 1:35 am on May 28. When we woke Anders, he shouted “Go! Go! Go!” When it became apparent that we were actually obliging his request, he said “Yeah!” and shook with excitement.

Anna left her job at Washington Elementary in May. She was sad to leave many friends behind in Gallipolis. She made numerous memories over her six years teaching there.

In June, we flew to Houston to find a place to live. After a struggle to find suitable housing in Houston, we landed comfortably in the southwestern suburb of Sugar Land, so named because it was once the home of the Imperial Sugar Company.

In July, we flew to Denver for our friend Marie Drew’s wedding in Fort Collins, CO. It was a happy weekend at a breathtaking venue. The next week we celebrated Anders’ 2^nd birthday in Minnesota, then moved to Texas a few days later.

We arrived during the hottest summer in Texas history. It was over 100 degrees every day in August. This backdrop enhanced the comedy of errors that surrounded the move. Atlas Van Lines broke about half the dishes we received as wedding presents. The garage door trapped our car on my first day of work. We lacked hot water for the first ten days we lived in our new rental house. This letter would get even longer if I recounted how things went wrong, so instead I’ll list what’s new since we moved in: garage door, hot water heater, sprinkler system, dish washer, bedroom carpet, bathroom sinks, toilet, and a reinforced house foundation (we no longer walk downhill to our bedroom). Anna’s mom, Dorene, flew down to help us get situated. She’s probably still laughing about the clown car of characters that showed up on a rotating basis to fix that day’s emergency.

In October, I flew up for my friend Lucas Moellers’ wedding. I was happy for the bride and groom and happy to talk “Decorah” all weekend in Chicago. October was also the month Houston faced its second Biblical plague—Floodwater Mosquitoes. This swarm appeared two weeks after a big rain, biting through clothes and making life miserable for about a week. On the October “plus side,” Anders loves Halloween above all other holidays. He enjoyed seeing the “funny pumpkins” and “funny monsters.” He still talks a lot about Halloween.

My mom visited us for Thanksgiving and Anna’s friend Ela just wrapped up a visit. I have a feeling we will serve as a winter haven for more visitors between now and the end of April.

I teach on a movie set. My room is on the quad where Wes Anderson (St. John’s 1987) filmed one of my favorite movies Rushmore (1999). The school is amazing. Many of my students have Ivy League aspirations and a fair amount of them will make it. They serve stuffed crab and tilapia in the cafeteria! I have a second lunch outside my room known as Senior Tea where the mothers of seniors bring food based on a theme, so one day will be Indian food, one day Chinese, one day Mexican.

Anna has enjoyed staying with Anders. She spends time during the day and sometimes at night with her fellow SLAMs (Sugar Land Area Moms). Anna has also become quite handy in the kitchen churning out the Tex-Mex cuisine.

Trudy has started a new life for herself as squirrel chaser in our fenced-in backyard, with the success rate of Wile E. Coyote.

Anders enjoys playing with the SLAM kids, especially his putative girlfriend Chloe! He has made friends at the swimming pool and the dry cleaners. Among his favorite activities are walking to the pond to feed ducks, trips to the zoo, and splashing around in the Gulf of Mexico.

We enjoy our new life in Sugar Land. It is not like the Texas stereotypes we had in our minds. It feels much more like Southern California than our fictional version of Texas. So, visit us, but don’t come in August!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Jon, Anna, Anders, and Trudy

Posted by jonpeterson at 9:12 PM 0 comments

Monday, November 28, 2011

200 Swings, Potty Chair, Pleasant Nursery Visit

Yesterday, Anders urinated for the first time in his toddler commode. He read his potty book as he did so.
Anders also successfully stayed in the church nursery. Anna stayed with him for five minutes, then left for five minutes, then returned, until he eventually took to the nursery.
These were HUGE advances for Anders.
Today, he swung 200 times in the big boy swing (no harness). 100 times in a black swing, then 100 times in a blue swing. Anders was concentrating so hard on that first big boy swing that he had a grim, adult look on his face.
We've noticed in the last week that Anders has become more assertive and articulate.
Anders had a successful visit with his grandma Ingrid for Thanksgiving.
We have had some nice weather recently with lows in the mid 30s and highs around 60. Naturally, many people here are freaking out about the cold weather. We turned on the heater last night, which is tough to believe since we were sweating it out just a week ago.
Two quick sports predictions, Favre to the Texans and Iowa to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.

Posted by jonpeterson at 7:29 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Miss Trudy

I took Anders to library story time followed by a Kroger trip this morning. I felt like we were back in Athens again!

A woman called Miss Trudy runs library story time. She has an assistant in the back of the room. I saw many interesting looking people. There were a lot of mom and dad combos with kids along with grandparents, and grandparent-parent combos.

It was a bit big and rigid for my tastes. I know that I usually rag on Athens in this location, but I prefer Amy's intimate setup at the Athens library to this massive Sugar Land production.

I had never been to the Kroger I chose today. It was pretty sweet.

Anders and I made a Thanksgiving turkey hat. We were missing the beak in our packet, but I didn't want to bother Miss Trudy, who also sneaked a vegetarian message into her puppet show.

Well, Anders and I are off within the hour to pickup Grandma Ingrid at Hobby Airport within the hour.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

It's 72 and sunny in Sugar Land!

Posted by jonpeterson at 12:15 PM 0 comments

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Good Medicine

While I was away at a school retreat in the Piney Woods, Anders remembered me by saying "Daddy, good medicine." I can't believe he remembers our ritual for giving him allergy medication in Athens. I took the song Bad Medicine, made it "Good Medicine," and sang it to Anders during medicine time time. Today, I was singing the Song from Sesame Street and Anders said, "No Daddy Singing." This comment is long overdue.
We had our donuts today. We brought Mommy along, and she was complaining the whole way about the weather. It was 85 and humid today.
We had great weather for the retreat up in the woods with cool evenings and pleasant, sunny afternoons. The weather is generally solid now, but those odd high humidity days in the 80s remain strange. I'll take this weather though as November was one of my least favorite months back home with all of winter ahead of you.
Anders said something approximating "San Antonio" today. He knows it's a city as he said "Dallas" right after saying "San Antonio." Now if we can just get him to volunteer "Houston" once in a while. This development will not help the Bayou City's inferiority complex, especially if "Austin" is the next noun out of his mouth.

Posted by jonpeterson at 8:29 PM 0 comments

Monday, November 7, 2011

Anders P. Keaton

I think Anders would enjoy seeing Condi tomorrow night at Rice. Along with Dallas, Anders is a big fan of 9-9-9. He loves saying "Nine, nine, nine," which to his mom's consternation. Oh, Bama... I told my students that they needed to pay attention when we talked about Mormonism because our next president will be a Mormon.
Anders has also taken to saying "Taco Cabana," our favorite fast food Mexican restaurant. Next thing we know, Anders will be saying Gulp of Mexico--Mommy's favorite drink at Taco Cabana.
"No more dentists!" is what Anders says randomly because of an outing last week he and Anna took. They were searching for a doctor's office, but only found dentistry. There are a remarkable amount of dentists in this town and they aggressively advertise.
Anders has revived his "Ando Shake" with a modified "Ando Shuffle" He shuffles over to our bookcase to look at photos of "Baby Anders" as he calls himself. When he sees the pictures just after he came out Anders says, "Uh, oh." He looses interest once Anders starts to look better in the pictures.
And one last thing, a happy birthday to friend of the blog, Dan Seeley. No gift is forthcoming as the season Rodgers and the Packers are having is gift enough for all celebrating this fall in America's Dairyland.
Iowa beat Michigan on my 11th birthday, when beating Michigan used to mean something. After last weekend, Iowa has its first-ever three game winning streak against Michigan. Anders was napping during the last half of the game so I had a chance to watch it. I saw this coming. Had you asked me two weeks ago, I would have said the Hawks would lose to Minnesota and beat Michigan. That's why the breakup of the Big 12 is so sad because quirky conference rivalries are destroyed. Ah, well, no one asked me.