Peter was much more excited about the airport than during his last trip to Wichita. (We were less excited. Three of our four flights were delayed; the one that wasn't delayed was a connecting flight, which meant we missed it.)

When we got to grandma's house, one of the the first things she did was to introduce Peter to a little table ornament that would sing and move when you squeezed the snowman's hand. After getting the hang of it, Peter squeezed the snowman's hand at least fifty times over the course of our week in Wichita. He ran down the batteries so that they needed replacing.

Peter had fun pushing around a little wagon on the trail behind the house (watch out for the goose droppings!) and sending it careening down the driveway.

P.S. Peter's coat has a reflective strip at the bottom, which shows up very brightly in all pictures with a flash. Sorry about that!

We went to the Sedgwick County Zoo, one of the top zoos in the country.

We saw some flamingos; Peter thought they looked rather suspicious...

One of the highlights, of course, was all the construction equipment, working on the zoo's new visitor center and restaurant.

Peter was excited to see the penguins, both real and statuesque.

Peter chased a peacock for a while, and then got distracted by all the construction equipment.

We saw lots of interesting birds and simians in the rain forest exhibit.

We saw some larger animals too, including lions.

Peter got hungry at this point, so we stopped for a snack and pictures.

At the gorillas exhibit, Peter had a lot of fun with the gorilla statues.

He wasn't quite as sure about the actual live gorilla when he got up close...

On the way out, Peter took a liking to this over-sized teddy bear. Unfortunately, it would have had a tough time fitting in our luggage.

During the wait before dinner at Texas Roadhouse, Peter discovered the claw-joystick game in the lobby. Being short on quarters to play it properly, he decided to create his own entertainment.

Uncle Mike came over to pick up some logs. Peter greatly admired Uncle Mike's truck.

Uncle Mike and Aunt Darla later brought over their toddler-sized loader for Peter to play with. He was ecstatic. He couldn't reach the pedals, but he had great fun sitting in it, climbing in and out of it, pushing it around, and being pushed around in it.

Peter was all to happy to pose everywhere he went.

We brought a recipe from home, for macaroni and vegetables. Peter loves macaroni, stuffing handfuls of it into his mouth as fast as he can.

Peter tried going outside in the snow. It was during snowy and windy weather, though, and Peter decided it wasn't for him.

Peter, had a great time on the couch with mama and grandma.

Peter also had a great time with grandpa.

Grandpa got down several models from his collection and let Peter play with them, including this PT cruiser and antique fire engine.

Grandpa also brought out several toy tractors for Peter to play with.

Here's a toy car that grandma and grandpa had. Peter picked it up and promptly declared, "Volvo". We all looked at each other, then looked closely at the car, and indeed its front is styled just like a Volvo.

Peter really liked the Christmas tree. (We haven't had one at home since he's been born.) He also liked chasing Frankie under it.

On the other hand, Peter wasn't a big fan of the gate preventing him from going down and up (and down and up and down and up...) the basement stairs.

Peter helped to unload the presents at Uncle Joe and Aunt Janis's house, putting them under the tree.

An Easter basket and oyster crackers. What more could you want?

Christmas Eve was at Uncle Joe and Aunt Janis's house.

Peter had great fun with his cousin, Austin.

Peter also had fun with Kayla.

Peter handed out almost all the evening's presents.

Peter really liked his presents. He especially liked the combine harvester and construction play set.

Peter spent Christmas morning with the digger from his construction play set.

Peter got a Brio train set. He spent the next fifteen minutes pushing the train in circles around the track, saying, "choo choo!". And then he took a train car with him for the rest of the day.

Peter had fun with his cousins, Braden and Chase. Well, OK, he knocked Braden to the ground and sat on him, and he didn't really want to sit with Chase. But he did show them his new train set.

Peter showed grandma how knows his letters and is hoping to be able to read soon.

The trip was very fun and exciting for Peter, but also wore him out. On the way home, he decided to take a little nap.