jake.kim.austin

Fifteen!

2012-01-31T14:00:00.000-08:00

At 15 months, Austin's Stats:

Height: 31 1/2 inches, 70%

Weight: 22lbs, 17%

the doctor even dropped the word "skinny" in converstaion; but he is not worried in the slightest about Austin's weight.

Enjoying some sunshine..

This is the tail end of him "winking" (he just squints his eyes)

He loves to sit in the fridge and tell us about all the cool stuff in there. Or sip on his milk. Are those Post-It Notes? Why yes they are. I wonder if they are still there....

Daddy built a fort for the both of them to play in! We left it up all weekend. And it blocked the way through our living room so picture us crawling through it everytime we needed to go back into our bedrooms. Oh and crawling through in our church clothes on our way out the door haha!

Wearing papa's sandals..

For Christmas, my mom gave me a weather sheild for my jogging stroller. I love it! It's nice to have in the winter since I run outside only. Now I can take him running when it's snowing/raining or super windy/cold. Or, like last week, it was nice to have since he had a cold and I didn't want his nose to run any more than it was already! I definitely have no excuse to miss a run now!!

You're probably wondering why this picture is here, but it just portrays how he is starting to do "big boy" things..like sitting like this while he watches TV. It is so crazy for Jake and I to see little things like this! We miss our baby boy!

Here are a few fun things about Austin at 15months:

-If he hears a song on the radio he loves, then he walks over, turns it up, and jams out. Some of his favorites: Naked and Famous, U2, Katy Perry, Rhianna, Foster the People, Awolnation, Colbie Caillat. He also loves Elmo. His favorite video on You Tube is "elmo's got the moves." He usually invites us to dance with him and gets upset if we don't.

-He is (near) running and climbing and yes I think am burning more calories than ever chasing him all day

-He's social.. and will "wink", waves and smile, and share his blanky with random people at the grocery store. He loves going where there are a lot of people and lots going on because he loves to be apart of the action and explore

-is throwing little tantrums. They last like 10 seconds and are hilarious. Jake and i walk away and ignore them and try not to laugh at him. He will stomp around, yelling, and shaking his head back and forth..once he even stormed around the kitchen, faced Jake, and yelled at him!!

-The other day he got frustrated and bit my leg (!!) so I immediately put him in time out in his room. He came out after about 30 seconds, walked right up to my leg, touched it, said something serious, then kissed it better!

-Calls out "dad" the second he wakes up. When I go in there, he keeps saying "dad! dad! dad!" and motions to our bedroom. So we both go in and lay in bed with dad.

-LOVES his grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles. He knows his family and I love that.

-talks and talks and talks. Can we understand him? No. It's so cute..his gibberish. You can tell he is making sense to himself. The things we CAN understand: pees? (please), dad, mama, I don't know where it is (mostly gibberish but we can tell by his tone and hand gestures), and this.

-sugar affects him in a big way. He gets super hyper. Therefore, no sugar before bed.

-loves his shoes and likes to put them on even when we aren't going anywhere

-tries to dribble and bounce balls.

- has 2 bottom molars now plus 8 front teeth (still waiting on those canines)

-bedtime 9pm, wakes up anytime between 7-8. Naptime 12:30-1, wakes up between 230-4.

- makes the goofiest face when he's trying to take the lid off something..he scrunches his face all crazy, and pulls so hard he starts trembling!

-will fall backwards from sitting or standing for fun. We have to throw a pillow under him if we can't catch him in time.

-loves blueberries. he will seriously eat like 3 cups if you let him. (those diapers are super fun to change!)

-pretends to snore..just breaths really hard

-when it's time to clean up our messes, he likes me to sing the clean up song (from Barney..remember?) and he will help me clean up whatever mess there is

-says "prayers"...will bow his head and mumble something really fast.

Austin pretty much runs the show at our house! He is all over the place and of course loves to play with us forever and ever. He is honestly the goofiest person I know. Everyday I just laugh and laugh at him..he does the weirdest things!! I think it's because he is so curious about his world and loves discovering. I really die laughing almost every night...like who does these things!!? Only a toddler I suppose. If I knew what was going on in his head I would without a doubt pass out from laughing. Funny 2 yrs ago I was entertained by completely different things! Sometimes he can be a monster (teething/sick) and I even laugh at that; he will just walk around yelling aaaaaahhhhhhh! Of course I don't let him see me laughing. It reminds me of the Hulk. Or Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Most times though he just a happy little guy who loves to play and show you around the house to all his fun places. He is thrilled to be in new places and around new people. He LOVES his blanky and binky and to cuddle with us everyday. He will give us hugs and kisses periodically throughout the day. Can't wait to see what the next few months bring!

lol...

2012-01-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

This:

gave me a good laugh today

Happy 2012

2012-01-11T13:30:00.000-08:00

Watch Out 2012, He Means Business!

New Year's Eve was a blast. We were sad not to ring in the new year with our friends, but it's just hard to get everyone together these days (we are a group of at least 14..makes going out to dinner nearly impossible haha) and then keeping kids awake past midnight on top of that just makes for a crazy night for whoever hosts!!

This year we celebrated with my mom's BF Joe's family. Started off with delicious pulled pork sandwiches, courtesy of Mr Robinson himself. And tons of other yummy sides like my mom's amazing guac, Jacyln's artichoke dip, bruschetta, etc. It was a great "end" to the food madness the holidays always bring. Joe's kids were there with their kids, and one of them is 2. It is so nice to have another toddler boy running around for Austin to watch and play with. Austin was in heaven the whole night. He LOVED his New Years hat, and was walking around the house like he had some serious business to do.

Austin always seems to love going to big gatherings like this. He is so happy and in his own world; exploring, watching, playing, and being a part of the action. He is definitely Jake's kid. Totally outgoing and excited to see new things.

The night was a mixture of Wii games..pretty sure my mom and I kicked butt at the dancing game... Card games, scrumtrulescent food including fondue, magic tricks, and watching the kiddos just have a good time! Jake also played The Man Game (Ashley- Nick needs this game), which was pretty entertaining. We put Austin to bed around 10 and he did AWESOME. I was a little nervous about how he would do, since we've never put him down at someone else's house then taken him home to put him to bed again. But it was easy peasy. He went to sleep, slept through our partying and some serious fireworks. We packed him and his pack n play up at like 12:30am, took him home, laid him in his crib and he slept all night. SO great to know he does well with situations like that.

Very tired after the clock struck 12!!

Oh my can I just say I have never witnessed such awesome fireworks standing 20 feet away!? Thanks to Cole and the rest of the boys for a kick-a show! I think we smoked out the entire street but big deal, it's New Years people!

Joe and my mom..Hey how did she get the blanket?? Not fair ;-)

Fondue! We were arguing how there was something missing..cinnamon bears. Don't knock it till you try it!

Here are some silly pictures of Austin, the outspoken 15mo old that seems to be the man of the house sometimes...

Jake and I got Cafe Rio and Austin loved the black beans. This kid requires a baths more than he gets them!

He recently figured out the concept of "blowing" on his food if it's "hot." What he doesn't grasp, is that there are other things that are hot in which blowing does not help haha.

"Tis the Season!

2012-01-02T13:28:00.000-08:00

It's most wonderful time of the year!

haha Austin would strongly disagree! Well December flew by faster than I imagined and here I am January 2nd with Christmas cleaned up at our house... So sad! Jake & I are sad that the little things Austin was amazed at this year (like Christmas lights) won't be so fascinating next year. But maybe he will be more interested in actually opening his presents instead of playing with the first one opened while mom and dad open the rest lol.

Well here's a little recap of December 2011:
Among other silly things Austin does these days, he'll smile on demand. But most times he doesn't find cheesin' it up entertaining so he usually just turns his head to the side and pretends he didn't hear us say "smile!" He is more prone to smile if there's actually a camera.

We went to Color Me Mine to make some Christmas presents. I love this place. Austin has fun painting...and apparently ceramics paint tastes good because he would suck the brushes!! The lady assured me the paint is non-toxic, thank goodness!

Lately Jake and I just cannot make up our minds about what to do with Austin's hair. We like it a bit longer at least while he's still a younger toddler. But it's kind of shabby. And hey don't judge...yes I still bathe him in his bath tub (it does say "infant to toddler" in my defense)..Conserving water right!?

Here's another Santa pic. I took him to visit Santa who was visiting my mom's work party. Even while I was holding him he was clinging to me for dear life. Poor guy!

Christmas Eve we ate our traditional mexican food feast at Jake's parents' house. One of Austin's favorite things to do at Papa and Grandma's is to sit on this little window pane, perfect for his height!

Playing with Aunt Alex!

Austin LOVES to dance. He seriously has so many "moves" I can't keep track. Any music gets him going. Lately his favorite is Katie Perry on Aunt Loraca's phone. Also, even though Austin started walking on Thanksgiving, the week of Christmas he decided to ditch crawling altogether. It is truly strange to a little mini-person toddling around our house!

Our Christmas Eve (bedtime) was a real treat for the three of us. Jake was up half the night throwing up. And I was up from 3am-5am with Austin who was cutting a molar. He would fall back asleep in my arms but didn't want to go back in his crib. I finally got him in there (with a good dose of Tylenol) at 5am. It was nice though..he slept in until 9 Christmas morning which gave me good time to get completely ready for the day. Jake was still sick the rest of Christmas (so sad!) but at least could sit on the couch and rest wherever we were. We missed Sacrament due to sleeping baby and sick husband. We started with breakfast (I contributed my AebleSkivers..just imagine a pancake in the shape of a ball) with my parents and presents. Then moved to Jake's parents' house for presents. Then back to my parents' for dinner and a nice evening just playing and visiting. I wasn't tired all day (weird) and even stayed up another couple hours once we got home. I think I was wired!!

Austin didn't really care for opening presents, but he loved pulling surprises from his stocking!

Having fun with his size 1 soccer ball!

Loving playing with the presents once they were open.

haha The other day I heard him crying in distress. I found him like this, balancing on the laundry basket trying not to set it off balance resulting in falling backwards. Kids get themselves into the most precarious situations!

Christmas was perfect, besides poor Jake being sick. Who wants to be sick on Christmas, seriously?? My dad came in from Cali for the week so I spent a lot of time hanging with him and my sister at my mom's. It was so great to see him and for him to play with and babysit Austin. We also got to spend some nice time with my mom and her boyfriend, aka Grandpa Joe, over Christmas break. Jake, Austin and I truly got spoiled this year, like any other year haha! We LOVE our families so much and it was honestly so nice to have some good times celebrating Christmas 2011! Jake and I feel like we have a whole new family with Joe's kids and their cute kids; it's been so fun getting to know them and celebrating together.

Another exciting thing that happened this month (last week actually) was my brother and sister in law got sealed in the temple! Jake's brother Ryan and his wife Alex celebrated their wedding anniversary this month and also officially "sealed the deal" haha in the Salt Lake Temple. The day before that, Alex recieved her endowment at the Draper temple, so it was a great week in the temple as a family.

Next post..New Year's Eve!

Austin Turns One!

2011-11-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

Well I guess Austin is officially not a baby anymore, which is so sad!! He will always be my baby though. His birthday was a month ago today, so now he is even getting closer to 15months! We had a great, laid back birthday party with our families; I couldn't have asked for a better get together for our little one :)

I am no cake decorator but was determined to make his cake myself. I am not on pinterest and now am thinking I should be! But seriously, I had so much fun making his first birthday cake. I cannot take credit for the cupcakes...My sis-in-law Alex did them! I just told her what I wanted and she delivered :) thanks for your labors Alex haha! I should also say Jake cut the legs for the spiders, and we all decided he needed to quit when we did the math and found out we needed 96 legs for a dozen cupcakes. Five was enough at that point!
And a big thanks to my other sis-in-law Loraca for taking all the pictures. I am horrible and taking pics and was so happy to have like a hundred (haha!) pics of this night!

Not sure yet about the cake...

This picture cracks me up. Paparazzi!! The looks on our faces are priceless lol.

He mostly got frosting..which is the best part anyway, right?

The flashing cameras, swooning loved ones, and sugar overdose got to him, and he was done hahaha poor guy!

Uncle Ryan! Austin loves his uncles.

Grandma Tammy and aunt Kristina!

Present time! He was so sick of being cleaned off I didn't dare wipe the last bit of frosting off his face.

My sister put together a video montage of Austin from birth to now, it was so so awesome, I loved it. A tear-jerker for sure!

With aunt Alex and uncle Ryan, in his brand new GLOW IN THE DARK pj's! Pretty sure I want a pair of those myself :)

Papa and Grandma Jaime

The Peterson side

aunt Loraca and uncle Jordan!

With daddy, feeling his beard haha

By the end of the night he was pretty sleepy. He loved it when my mom rubbed his face with this blanket.

My little helper

Our family on Halloween (forgot my whiskers oops)

He fell completely asleep eating lunch the other day...

Austin John at 12 Months:

- 20lbs (20%) 29 1/2"..that is a guess (60%) and head still 100+% The doctor hinted towards fattening him a up a bit since he dropped too much percentage wise. Like putting butter on his toast, things like that. Which made sense to me because it seemed like he was ALWAYS hungry. Now things have evened out. He is getting his 2nd flu shot tomorrow so we'll see how his weight is.

- he jibber jabbers a ton, to me it sounds like "warbling" and also tries words like kitty, toast, banana, night night, to name a few

- He has some toys he can push/walk around the house. He seriously goes crazy with them. He runs, turns, backs-up, crashes into people and things on purpose. I am tempted to hide them for a week and see if he will just try walking without them. He can stand on his own for a short while. But still no attempt at walking alone.

-Working on his 8th tooth

- Loves to rough-house with daddy

-tries to do somersaults on his own

-he was officially off the bottle 4 days after he turned 1. I didn't really expect him to care, and he didn't. It was as if he never even had a bottle. He absolutely loves cow's milk, he gulps it down! He probably drinks about 10-15 ounces a day, plus the other dairy I give him he should be ok in that department. He also loves water. Not a fan of juice, which is fine with me. I have been wanting to try smoothies.. I think he would love them. Plus I can sneak some veggies (his worst enemy unfortunately) into them.

- Favorite foods: oatmeal, pancakes, oranges, goldfish, chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven (that's my boy!), grilled cheese, spaghetti, bananas, pears, blueberries, bread, frozen yogurt... to name a few.

-Takes one nap a day, going down between 12:30 and 1. He usually sleeps 2-3 1/2 hrs. He goes to bed around 9 and wakes up between 6:30-7:30. Yes, 6:30!!!

-He loves to dance, whenever he hears music he will just break out his moves. He dances to anything! Church hymns, rap, kid tunes, rock, daddy singing, you name it! It's hilarious. He bounces his knees, shakes his head, throws his hands around; it is so dang cute.

- Tries to put his own socks and shoes on, also hats.

-Hates getting his teeth brushed!

- Loves to be a part of whatever we are doing. He will "help" and get right in the middle, which actually means he gets in the way, but it's fine! We will miss that one day when he wants nothing to do with us!

- Can unroll an entire roll of TP in 10 seconds. Likes to lift the lid on the toilet (which is a big no no!)

-Has roaring/yelling matches with daddy at any given time

- when he is done eating he either tries to say "all done" or swipes his food on the floor

-loves the radio and asks for it to be turned on whenever he is eating

- for some reason is obsessed with my headbands and puts them on haha

- is perfectly content riding in the stroller for the 50 minutes it takes me to go for a run

- doesnt have the patience at this point for reading an entire book..he will turn the pages until it's over then grabs a new one

- Likes to look at cars driving by and makes a roaring noise

- will dip his face in the water during a bath and is so proud of himself after he does it!

-Has had a balloon pop while biting it, and also while laying on one..and it didn't scare him thank goodness.

-Likes to cuddle in the morning in his rocker when he wakes up

I know I am missing some, but at least I got a good list of the things I don't want to forget! Austin is our world, and we cannot imagine not ever having him. We just can't imagine not having children at all. This past year has seriusly taught me some lessons on unconditional love, patience, and the biggest one of all..selflessness. How incredibly HAPPY I am to focus all my time and energy on someone other than myself. I get a TINY glimpse of how God feels towards us. Jake and I are in awe of how amazing it is to be parents, and to see both of us in our little guy! We would do anything for Austin, and only want him to be happy. We are sad to see him grow up, but excited to see what this next year will bring :)

Sudafed-Head

2011-11-13T01:26:00.000-08:00

I am awake. It is 2:30am. For some reason I woke up with stuffy sinuses. So I popped some Sudafed and now am waiting for it to work. And thought I would give a go to a post.

My good friend Ashley a while back did "Thing That Must Go" which is fun to read. x96 Does their/your list of things that must go every week. Here is my list of Things That Must Go:

1. Jello. The pudding can stay.
2. The Kardashians. Wait, not yet. I am still addicted to watching all of you live like you are the center of the universe. If you want to here the latest, talk to me. How embarassing.
3. the wind
4. germs
5. Indian food
6. dead car batteries..mostly when you happen when someone is trying to be efficient and they have two screaming babies. (that one's for you Ashley!)
7. Austin's straw cup that decided to erupt a continuous flow of MILK straight down my shirt on a 30 min car ride. We (me and the cup) are still on non-speaking terms.
8. scary shows or movies
9. the fact that organic food is more expensive
10. Two weeks of no new Modern Family
11. Justin Bieber
12. the thought of being pregnant again

To leave on a positive note, Things That Can Stay:
1. My clear sinuses :)
2. Chapstick
3. sweet potato fries
4. living close to loved ones
5. christmas decorations at the stores
6. mittens with fingers and then the cover that can go off and on
7. the thought of being pregnant again
8. cheese..haha really i am serious. cheddar tobe exact
9. Costco...cuz it's awesome
10. austin being a dancing fool. he even dances to church hymns. his favorites are rock classics, party favorites, and hard core rap.

Catching Up- Sundance

2011-11-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

I am playing catch-up starting with our trip to Sundance the first weekend in October. One of Jake's good friends (since highschool) Jake Lucas got married in the most beautiful place, at the most beautiful time of year! His cute wife Jenny is awesome, and let's just say they know how to put on a gorgeous wedding, with every detail being picture perfect. This is only the second time I have been to Sundance, and really it is so pretty up there. The leaves were changing, and it was sunny with blue skies all weekend.

Our husbands went up early Friday for a day of mountain biking with the groom. We ladies drove up that afternoon, leaving the kiddos behind for the entire weekend! Baby Dane ofcourse came and put up with the adult happenings. He was a champ! It was so strange not taking care of Austin for 2 days. I felt out of place, but at the same time it was super nice to enjoy the weekend with our friends, doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.

One of the nights before hot tubbing we had a mini-dance party. Well, Nick did haha!

Mom and Dad without the babe:
Nick and Jake being, being...um "alluring"? :-)

This picture makes me laugh. I love that they are altogether but what's with the hands on the shoulders??

Group Pic!

I don't think Jandie and I have a picture since before the boys were born! (we avoided them while pregnant)

The newest baby of the group. Dane was a good sport the whole weekend, from sitting through the wedding; to being bounced around in his mama's arms sans carseat in the van-shuttle ride up the mountain; to sleeping through a game of pool, another dance party (Nick and Jandie), and spooooky ghost stories told by Mr. Nick King himself..all happening literally right outside his door.

This was where the ceremony took place. So pretty!!So on the shuttle ride up to the wedding, they couldn't fit our whole group so Matt had to squeeze into the back!!

Bill, the oh-so-responsible groomsman, eating his pizza before the wedding

A snap of the kitchen and tv area of the cabin. The cabin was giant. We could have fit way more people. It was great to be in a nice, beautiful cabin instead of a hotel room. And for 2 nights less expensive than one night! Thank you to Ashley, who always seems to cut a great deal and scores the best finds for us all to stay! We decided this needs to be an annual tradition.

Congrats again to Lucas and Jenny!!

Yikes

2011-11-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

Yikes I have some major catching up to do!! A slight dilemma..Our (old) computer has officially run out of space for me to upload any pictures. I have about 250+ pics I need to get off my camera! So it's just a matter getting them onto a CD so I can at least store them and then finally update the old blog! For now these are "stolen" pics from our friend album on photobucket, and my mom's iPhone.

But here is what we've missed...Mostly so I can remember what to post haha!

He turned 1!! Yay for Austin :) As of 3 days after his birthday he is off the bottle completely, and L-O-V-E-S milk. He gulps it right down. That's probably the biggest news. He can walk around pushing a toy, practicing for walking alone someday.
Our friend Jake Lucas married his perfect match, Jenny, on October 1st. We had so much fun staying in Sundance, in a cabin, with our friends (child-less) for 2 nights. I am pretty sure our husbands are in their own world when they all get together :)

And well Jake is in his own world at times...(this is him at our Sundance digs)

We went to Discover Gateway..

Halloween came and went! Turns out all 3 little boys (Kings', Clarkes', and Austin) were doggies. So cute. Devin was an ADORABLE peacock, which you will see when I post.

On to November! Burrr....

Eleven!

2011-09-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

Holy smokes! My little boy will be ONE in about 20 days. I am so excited. I have always said I love watching him grow up but every time someone looks at me after watching him cruise and says "he is going to be walking soon, you know" I cry or hold back the tears. Walking is just a big milestone and I am not ready for him to do that. I keep seeing this image in my head of him standing by himself in his room, looking at me. I am standing across from him, looking at him thinking "now what. You can do what I can do." This image breaks my heart. Oh babies, why must you grow up so fast...

Well my computer is currently not reading my camera, so I cannot upload the newest pics so you have to put up with my blah blah blahs.

Currently, Austin:

-is thinning out. Or so people say. When I hold him, he feels more solid, probably because he is building muscle with all his activity!

- loves being chased, especially as he climbs up the stairs

-has 6 teeth (2 of which are half way out)

-you can ask him "what does a lion say?" and he will GROWL like a lion... grrrr!!! (video below)

-attempts pat-a-cake

-"dances" to music

-cruises around the room, along every piece of furniture, even his diaper pail. And if there is no furniture he will somehow cling to a wall and walk along it. I have a spiderman on my hands!

- likes to put things on his head. Bowls, cups, lids, toys..

-is growing out of his seperation anxiety

-had his first nasty bad yucky cold. we're talking a nose that runs like a faucet, a cough that makes him throw up some of his bottle in the morning, and he has turned into one of "those kids" with the yucky snot nose (you all know what I am talking about) But I am enjoying the extra cuddle time!

-takes one nap a day, and sometimes needs a cat nap around 4:30. His main nap is anywhere from 1 1/2 hrs to 3 1/2 hrs. Bedtime a little after 9, sleeps until 7 or 7:30.

-Loves kitties and doggies. Not afraid of them (yet?)

-Has a love/hate relationship with the vaccuum

-Has started mini-(and very minor) temper tantrums. yay.

-Used to bite (not maliciously) but thanks to some good advice from Ashley (just ignore it), has promptly stopped.

-Knows his bedtime routine by heart, and therefore will take his binky out on his own, and place it on the ottoman after we're done reading our bedtime books. I use to pull it out and put it there myself. Then eventually he would spit it out into my hands...and now he just does it all haha. Bottom line is he knows it doesnt go to bed with him.

Austin is so fun and Jake and I really cannot stand the thought of him turning into a big boy. I cannot describe what it's like to love someone else the way we love Austin. We would sacrifice anything for him in an instant. We are so proud of our little boy and couldn't ask for a more wonderful son. I can see why people keep having babies, they are too addicting! Don't get any ideas, the other day I was looking at pictures of me the day Austin was born and boy, I don't think I am ready to be pregnant again yet :) Only time will tell....

**Somehow the "quality" of this video got lost in translation from my phone to my mom's phone to my email to my computer to blogger (!) so don't worry it's not your computer. And sorry you can't even see his face haha (I was thinking maybe it's pointless to post this) but you get the idea of his lion growl.

Thank You, KMB

2011-09-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

Look what my sister gave me:

I have always wanted a polar bear. I always ask Jake if we can get a polar bear cub. He always says no. boo. They been my favorite animal since I can remember. My sister Kristina posted this on her blog for me. I love her. We have the same initials. KMB: Kristina Marie and Kimberlie Michelle. I guess now that I am married that cute little idea from my parents got screwed up. Sorry about that mom and dad. Anyway I love polar bears. I think they are so cute and cuddly and the mama bears are such good little mommies. Jake and his brother Jordan..well actually ALL the boys in Jake's family (Papa included) tell me polar bears are one of the most vicious animals on the planet and are blood thirsty seal killers. Now I know why they never had a sister. Boys are mean.

Here are some facts about Polar Bears I have known since like 1st grade:

- their paws can get up to a foot wide and weigh 50lbs

-their fur is hollow, making it easier to swim and float

- they have a 4 inch layer of fat...that's awesome

- They usually have 2 cubs when they have babies

-The males can get up to 11 feet tall (standing on hind legs obviously)

- Males can weigh up to 1200lbs and females about 650lbs

Aren't you glad you're a little smarter now?

I can't NOT post a couple pics of Austin:

Our good friend Ashley took these on a little park outing we had the other day. I learned it isn't a good idea to put sunscreen on your child's hand because it inevitably gets in their eyes! Poor guy.

Run Like the Wind Blows

2011-09-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

I guess I would call myself a "recreational" runner since I have been running for almost 9 years (with the exception of when I was prego) and have done only 2 races. But they have been a blast so maybe I should do more! A couple weekends ago..you know, during that HEAT WAVE... I ran a relay race with an awesome group of ladies. I am so so glad Mindy invited me to run with them..it was her and 2 sisters-in-law and a couple more ladies. I believe this is the first year Rivalry Relay has come to Utah and I think it's a pretty genious idea. I bet it will get more and more popular each year.

Basically, the Rivalry Relay for Utah is titled the "Holy War" because it is the U against BYU. It was a nice little kick-off to the football season for sure! Six team members run from the Legacy Bridge at the U and finish at a park near Lavell Edwards stadium. A total of 18 legs, the longest being about 6 or 7 miles (I think), and a total of about 66 miles. It was seriously so FUN and I hope to do it again next year!

The Rivalry Relay people took a team pic at the end but I have not seen it so this will have to do. This is my team, Mindy included!..taken at about 5:50am. I woke up at 3:50am to get dressed and meet everyone at our "spot" so we could carpool up to the U in our support vehicle. Just my luck, I came down with a little cold the Thursday before the race so I didn't fall asleep until midnight the night before due to not being able to breath and also just being super excited lol.
Good thing I am a morning person and woke up with tons of energy and ready to RUN!!

I look cooky in this picture and was a total mess haha (sweaty and wet from pouring cold water on myself). This was actually taken at about 4:15pm right after I finished my final leg. It really was about 98 degrees and absolutely miserable to be outside let alone RUNNING outside! Mindy devised this "cooling" device..simply a bandana soaked in cold water...tied around your head. It worked pretty well! But I was pouring water all over myself multiple times during this leg to keep my core temp down. I loved (almost) every second of my legs that I ran...it was hot but still soooooo fun. Running just feels so good!

It would be an understatement to say my mom is freaking amazing! Even though we had a support vehicle my mom was my personal support-water-lady the ENTIRE DAY! haha Seriously who does that?! Moms I guess. Before the race she mapped out each of my legs, so she was at each of my exchanges, and also followed me during each leg, standing on the side of the road handing me cups of water..that I poured on myself to keep from overheating. I COULD NOT have done this race without her. She is so dedicated and such an amazing example of what a mom should be. I felt so spoiled and so incredibly grateful she followed us for 9 hours just to watch me run and hand me water. Thank you mom!!

This was my first leg. Feelin great enough to smile and wave haha! My mom had her iPhone out along the way, which I am glad because the last thing I wanted to do was pull out my camera. This leg was along Wasatch Blvd. It began at the Quarry Temple Trailhead in the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon and stretched 4.2 miles along Wasatch, ending at Hidden Valley Park. This leg was beautiful and had lots of up and downhill so the downhill gave me momentum for the ups. I handed the slap-bracelet (our "baton") off to our good friend Mindy and she ran 6 miles into Draper. The best surprise ever was as I was running down the canyon, Jake and Austin drove by and yelled out to me! Then as I turned onto Wasatch, Jake got out with Austin and they ran with me for a minute and I got to give Austin a kiss. I love my little family!! I was so happy to see them :) At one point during the day, Jake sent me a text saying "run like the wind blows honey" which is funny if you know your movie quotes (Forest Gump).

My second leg was also 4.2 miles, beginning at the top of Suncrest Mountain and going down down down the mountain for about 3 miles then the last mile was a little uphill to an elementary school where I got to hand the baton off to Mindy once again. Again, absolutely beautiful, a little windy (thank goodness to cool me off) and so fun to get some speed from the downhill. The girl that ran the leg before me was one of Mindy's sisters-in-law and she ran UP Suncrest Mountain. Seriously that mountain is a beast! Even cyclists HATE it. She did AWESOME and I don't know how she kept herself going! It was so funny, all of us in the support vehicle just kept saying "oh crap" every time we turned a corner as we followed our runner up the mountain. It definitely has some daunting uphills.

My 3rd and final leg was 3.3 miles somewhere in Provo or somewhere down south haha. I had no idea what town I was in. But dang it was so hot. It didn't help that I started with a side-ache for some reason (probably not enough food...for some reason I didn't have an appetite all day). The good thing was it was flat most of the way. But seriously running on those roads, on the black asphault in that heat was hard. I was so glad I had to stop towards the end to wait for a traffic light. The 10 seconds of rest was a-m-a-z-i-n-g lol.

My little family at the finish line!! Yay! It was so fun to run across the finish line with our whole team. I had been done for a couple hrs (it just worked out that I was the first to finish my legs) so by the time we ran across the finish line I was ready to be done. I wasn't tired or hungry or anything, just ready to be done if that makes sense. It was so crazy to be away from Austin all day! That's the longest I have been away from him and the longest Jake has ever taken care of him. They had so much fun and I am so thankful to my awesome hubby for being a good daddy to our little guy :)

This was a very neat experience! I had so much fun getting to know my team, running, enjoying a day out, and then seeing my mom, Jake and Austin at the end. I'm so happy Mindy asked me to run with them!! Jake suggested we do it next year as couples. How fun would that be? I really hope we do it.

Ten

2011-08-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yikes, closing in on one year...wow. Most of Austin's little friends have turned

1 in the last month, and it has been so fun watching them at their birthday parties. It makes me excited for his! I can honestly say I am loving watching him become more like a little boy, but I will definitely be sad though when these days are gone completely. Austin is the highlight of our life, and makes us laugh all day. We are so lucky to have such a funny, sweet, smart little boy with so MUCH personality. I can see he takes after his favorite person..his daddy.

This month it seems Austin has accomplished more milestones than any month prior. It's so fun to watch him learn something new almost every day! As far as size goes, he's still pretty tall and has probably hit the 20lb mark. Strangers are shocked he's not well over a year old. And now when I go running with him, I'm pushing about 40lbs of baby+stroller haha. A great work out for sure. The hills are only where I notice it though so it's not as bad as you'd think.

10 month picture in his PJ's and with a sleepy face! And a couple bruises..battle wounds..from falling while crawling on those slippery on kitchen floors.

Boys wear leggins right!!? His poor skin on his legs and tops of his feet was getting pretty irritated from all the crawling on our scratchy carpet, it almost looked like it was about to bleed at some points. So daddy suggested the protection! Don't worry, he doesn't wear them in public!

Austin loves to stand against anything..he'll play like that forever. He's only taken a few steps side to side along the table a couple times. I don't even want to imagine him walking because that means he really isn't a baby anymore.

This is "choppies" as explained in his 9mo post I believe. What a silly boy!

Now that he can get around by himself, he explores all day long. He especially loves exploring at his grandma Tammy's house. He actually freaked out under his crib though, because he couldn't figure out how to get out..his head was getting stuck (and scraped) on the drop-down foot rest.

He is so funny when he's eating. He makes silly faces and gives mama "bites" from a spoon I sometimes give him while he's eating.

The first time I put the leggins on him..he thought they were weird and lifted up one leg.

1st Haircut! It was totally my idea..his straggly hair was bugging me and I think it will grow in quited nicely now that it's all one length. He did great! We sat him in his Bumbo and turned on the Baby Channel, and he watched those weird shows while Jake cut his hair, using the trimmers! I was impressed with Jake's skill, he didn't miss any hairs. Jake is quite sad Austin's hair is gone, he thinks it makes him look too old.

These last few pictures crack me and Jake up. Once Austin wakes up, he sits up and peeks over the rails at us. I love it because all you can see are his brown eyes. We've recently lowered the mattress though since he's *almost* pulling himself up on his own.

A little double fist action during lunch!

Also:

- Austin's "vocabulary" is growing quickly. He doesn't say any words besides mama and dada but he will point to, look at, or touch certain things on command..such as diaper, light, fan, his "peepee" haha, bottle, books, jumper, daddy, walk/outside, hungry, up, and a few others.

- his 2 top teeth are coming through, and has had his 2 bottoms for about 4 months
-He "shares" things. Like he will hug a stuffed animal then hand it to you to hug. Or he will give you bites from his spoon.

- He loves feeding himself, and is officially pretty sick of any pureed food. So, mealtime is a tad bit longer since I have to wait for him to feed himself. But he will still let me put bites in his mouth. His favorites are: diced fruit, quesadillas, spaghetti, any type of bread/tortilla/cracker, mac n cheese, yogurt. He still hates veggies so I have to be creative and sneak them in daily.

- He started crawling on his 9 1/2 month birthday.

- Loves to read his books! He still likes to turn the pages.

- Gives kisses

- Can wave "hi" or "bye" in return...but rarely does it!

- Likes to play on his own at certain points each day

- Climbs over mom and dad

- He's pretty vocal, and will make it known if he wants something

- Laughs at himself

- Will sit on the floor and throw a ball back and forth with you

-He has grown out of his infant seat (actually at 9months), as far as height goes. So..on to researching convertable seats

On to month 11!

Brilliant

2011-07-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while a BRILLIANT idea rolls around and I, being the complete opposite of innovative, think to myself, "How did they even think of that?" I guess the world is lucky to have people NOT like me and more like my brother-in-law who has found a conduit for his rather remarkable talent of drawing.

How can I explain this....besides just being amazing at drawing, Jordan has this knack for portraying the type of humor that has an explanation or a story behind it. But he can illustrate this humor with one simple cartoon, and very few words. Seriously, I don't know how he does it. It's like he can take an inside joke, turn it into a drawing, and...people just get it. How does one convey the unfortunate, yet "all you can do is laugh because it's so gross"-fact that my son had terrible acid reflux for the first 3 months of his life...in a hilarious, simple drawing?? Or.. how does one illustrate the rivalry between the U vs. TCU.....using irony at it's finest (which, by the way, was printed on t-shirts and sold at the game) ? Seriously, how does one illustrate irony?! Simly stated: One can't. One must be Jordan haha.

His cartoons can tell jokes. They can tell stories. And, now, they will tell memories. YOUR memories. Brilliant, no? Here's the conduit mentioned above: Jordan wants to illustrate family memories for you to keep forever. Think of how many people/families have these stories they tell over and over, or maybe they're lost deep in their head...almost forgotten, but are preciously humorous, "one you'll never forget," or extremely unique. Why wouldn't you want them made into a little book..and how funny to be able to "see" it happening again..through cartoons/illustrations?

His business is called Offcenter Cartoons, and, as his website explains, he'll do any memory, not just funny ones. He even professionally prints and binds them into a neat little book... so it's all legit and stuff :). But the bottom line is he wants to capture your stories and I think that's a nifty idea. He's already done some for people who are taking advantage of this aweseome GIFT IDEA. So thank you Jordan for your talent, and for being so nice to create a way to keep our memories alive and within the turn of a few pages!

N-I-N-E

2011-07-21T14:44:00.001-07:00

Yep we have a 9 month old on our hands. And he is so fun! Such a funny personality. Again, I don't know how professional photographers do it, I fail at getting a good picture of him! But here are the attempts..

Austin's Stats:

Weight: 19.12 lbs (48%)

Height: 29" (75%)

Head: on his WCC sheet, the nurse wrote "100+%"...oh dear!

Just being a goofball....

His first time swimming over at Uncle Jordan and Aunt Loraca's! He LOVED playing in the water with his aunts and uncles!
(Tell me you see a resemblence in this picture?!)

Yep the hat barely fits..poor guy!

Multi-tasking haha. He loves to grab things with his feet.

Attempting to crawl, getting closer every week :)

He still loves to jump! He gets going super fast and swings back and forth through the doorway. He also bumps into the door frame and his dresser behind him and doesn't even care!

Puts everything in his mouth!

He makes this hilarious face, where he scrunches it. His eyes get all squinty and he gives a big, toothy smile, it's quite hilarious! The crazy thing is, Jake's brother Jordan did that as a baby. He did it so much his parents called it "choppies" (he shows his teeth)..and had him doing it on command. So I'm trying to get Austin trained to do that too haha. I'm having a hard time capturing it on the camera though..so this is pretty much after the scrunch face!

9 Month Facts:

-Austin loves to play peek-a-boo. He'll go back and forth with you, hiding his face in a blanket.
- He's finally done simply sleeping on his back. He is all over that crib! And he gave up being swaddled on his own..at about 7/8months I think?

- Making progress in the food department, aiming to have him off the bottle a teensy bit early (13 days before his 1yr birthday) to make it easier for whoever watches him while Jake and I head to Sundance over a weekend for our friends' wedding! Yeah we'll see how that goes! His pediatrician approved my selfish plan haha. Hopefully he'll at least be down to just his morning and bedtime bottles.

-Austin loves his books. He likes to flip the pages and he has them "memorized." Like he has favorite parts and gets excited when they're coming, and also knows exactly where the touch and feel parts are. He gets super upset if I don't keep reading his books over and over and over. I can only handle reading them all like 2-3 times then I have to distract him.

-He loved the fireworks, and wasn't afraid at all, phew!

-Jake was gone for a whole week for our ward's High Adventure Camp, so Austin and I had a great time keeping busy with family and friends that week! I took him to Wheeler Farm for the first time with Grandpa Kevin..good time! A goat nibbled on his fingers and he didnt seem to mind.

I'm getting excited about planning his 1st birthday! Seriously I cannot believe he'll be a toddler before we know it. He's not suppose to do that, but he doesn't listen!

Have I Mentioned..

2011-06-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

That I don't know what I would do without this boy!?

Oh look, Austin's sitting on the bird all by himself....hehe

8 months!

2011-06-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

I would say I wish Austin would stop growing, but at this point we are having so much fun with him as he is more able to interact, play, and be silly with us that I am so excited for him to keep progressing!

I know I will probably be cursing myself for saying this too but I am so excited for him to start crawling. I know, I know. My life will change drastically but I love watching this little guy try try try and cannot wait for the day he finally gets it!! He can scoot on a "scoot-friendly" floor AKA wood floors etc. But he scoots backwards..it's hilarious. I just noticed this yesterday at Jake's parents' house on their kitchen floor, it was pretty dang funny. He made a good 10 feet across the floor, then got bored!

I think Austin weighs between 18-19lbs. He is definitely getting taller as I can see a big difference in his jumper and his clothes. We'll know for sure at his 9mo appt next month!

I have 3 of the 6ish tries it took to get his 6month picture.. he is just so dang busy! I love it though.

His tongue obsession has made a come-back! Having fun in Cali visiting my dad..

I love his hat, and it doesnt bother him at all (yet)

Little boy had to have surgery a couple weeks ago. When Austin was born, the pediatrician noticed his "boy part" was slightly rotated..something we never would have noticed ourselves so I'm glad she caught it. They held off on the circumcision saying they'd do it all at once when he was old enough for surgery. So...off to Primary Children's we went at 8months. Nothing is harder than watching your baby being carried through the operating room doors by someone he doesn't know. I cried of course. This is him waking up from the anesthetic:

It was the sweetest thing watching Austin wake up from anesthesia. He was so high, silly boy! Personally, I HATE waking up from surgery. It is a miserable feeling. He was so peaceful, calm, and just kept dreamily looking at his nurse with sleepy drowsy eyes. It broke my heart to see him like this, I dont know how parents of very sick kids do it.

He held down liquids perfectly so he was able to go home after being in post-op recovery for an hour. The rest of the day was like having a newborn all over again, it was great! He slept and slept. In my arms. In daddy's arms. On the couch. And he slept through that night too! That's the beauty of anesthesia!

Jake was finally able to use last year's fathers' day present from his mom. Austin loved the hike. We will definitely be doing this more often!

Just relaxing while daddy does all the work!

He's still doing well with solids. He tries new things all the time and loves food! Except he has started gagging on veggies so we are trying to get creative. Like sometimes mixing them with fruit, or dipping crackers in them. He'll usually get a few bites down, then starts gagging or pushing them away. His current favorites are diced peaches, any type of bread, banana mum mums, graham crackers, puffs, sucking on any fresh fruit, and vanilla frozen yogurt (and NO I am not the one who got him started on that surprisingly. DADDY!!)

The other day I found him stuck in the handle of his Easter basket. The basket part was preventing him from rolling out of it either way hahaha.

Another interesting find. I was doing my hair in the bathroom when I noticed he was unusually quiet, even with a binky while playing in his room. I was alarmed and went to check on him..only to find him completely asleep on the floor. It was naptime anyway so I debated leaving him there. But I doubted he would have stayed asleep for the whole 2hrs so I picked him up, changed him, and put him in his crib...and he pretty much stayed asleep the whole time!

I love having a shopping buddy!

I am not sure what to do with his hair. I want to give it tiny trim and grow it out. Jake just wants to grow it out. We'll see! It naturally parts to one side, and it is REALLY hard to get it to go any other way.

And one last "find." I found him like this..apparently he had spit while on his tummy! YUCK. Some other things to remember about Austin at 8months:

-He mimicks us all the time! Jake and I are very sarcastic and joke around alot, but we need to
cut back, Austin is copying us! It reminds me of this little girl in my Kindergarten class, who would go around slapping others' butts...both boys and girls. And there was no question where she learned it...at home.

-He is dying to crawl. He'll scoot backwards while sitting. When he's on his tummy he'll get on his arms and kick his legs. Also while sitting he will lean forward on his arms and just about roll forward onto his knees..usually ending in a face plant. So I am not sure how he will pick up crawling..from sitting or from his tummy.

-he plays "catch" rolling the ball back and forth with you.

-I think he will be a thrill seeker like his pop. He is not amused by low key movement. He has to be thrown around, up and down, he loves to play superman on my legs, and dropped onto our bed.

-Sleeping great still. He woke up few times in the night in Cali and then a few times when we came home. ANd once he got back to normal, he ofcourse had surgery...which he slept fine the first night but then the next few nights he woke up when his Motrin would wear off..crying in pain :-( But luckily all I had to do was give him another dose and cuddle him and he was out.

I can't wait to see what the next couple months hold! New baby King, a couple of Austin's friends turning 1, holidays, starting to wean off the bottle (hopefully) and swimming and BBQing!! Summer is the best.

Family Reunion

2011-06-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Jake, Austin, and I took a loooong drive (ok not that long..it was about 2 minutes further south from the elementary school I use to work at) Monday night out to his family reunion!

It was his dad's side, and held out in Copperton. Copperton is a tiny little town nestled by the Copper Mine. It's seriously such a small town. It's more like a neighborhood really. And most people around my age only know it because they've been there at night. Notorious for it's creepy feeling in the dark, it was a popular place for teens to hang out and give themselves a good scare. My friends and I always talked about going out the the Old Bingham Highschool because supposedly it's haunted, but we just never got around to it.

The Fam. We unfortunately took this pic after Jake's dad left!! Sorry Kevin, we still love you! PS My favorite part of this whole picture is 1-Jordan....just being Jordan. And 2-Austin face. need I say more?The Peterson Girls! Oh the boys are so lucky.... ;-)

The "non-bloods" haha. Well actually Jake informed me Austin is "really" a Peterson since he does have some Peterson blood in him.

Little Stinker. Love him!

It was really nice to see and talk to some of Jake's family that we never ever see. And ofcourse it was fun to watch Jake's parents show off Austin. It was a beautiful night with some rain, then it cleared up to be sunny and PERFECT.

AFter we ate, Jake played soccer with his brothers, and Alex, Loraca, and I played a nice little game of FOUR SQUARE! haha coolest game ever. We played for like an hour. So funny.

*thanks Loraca and ALex for actually taking pictures, sorry I stole them from you for this post!!

Cali!

2011-06-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

Before I talk about our California trip I had to post a few pictures of Austin - AKA Daddy's boy:

This is a picture of Austin's "horns." There is a picture of Jake..maybe like 3 or 4 yrs old...of him with HIS horns. Whenever Jake woke up, his hair would alway stick straight out on the sides and look like horns! Haha in fact this still happens quite regularly-sorry Jake! :-). I just think it's so funny Austin's hair does the same thing!

***

We went to Sacramento to visit my wonderful dad over Memorial weekend. We were going to DRIVE through the night (yuck) in Austin's favor hoping he would just sleep the entire way.

Both Jake's parents and mine were pretty worried about us driving with the little one, so they flew us out there last minute. I had a couple hours to: take a shower, feed Austin, pack all 3 of our bags, and get the carseat, pac n play, and stroller airport-ready. Not to mention print our boarding passes, clean up the house (who doesnt like to come home to a somewhat clean house) and..ok i think that was it. Thank GOODNESS my mom dropped everything she was doing and came from work to watch Austin while I got some stuff done. And that is when I discovered he as hit that stage where all he wants is mommy and I cant be out of his sight...is that a stage or am I just blessed with a clingy baby!? haha... Here we are waiting at our gate. Jake was just a tad bit tired (can ya tell?)..it had been a stressful and busy day at work, and he didn't really know our flying plans...too much...so he came home to packed bags and an immediate car ride to the airport!

Holy crap I swear I am computer handicapped. This pic is totally sideways... But those are my boys on the plane! Austin did so well. He slept the first 40 minutes, then played the rest of the time. We just had to keep giving him new things to play with to keep him occupied and busy. But that's no different from home! We had one stop on the way out, in PORTLAND (a little out of the way?) but we didnt have to change planes. The entire flight time was about 3hrs. On the way home we stopped in Vegas to change planes but it was completely painless..and nice to give austin a break to play.

My whole perspective on kids on planes has changed now that I have my own. I use to be weary when I saw them, thinking "great...a baby." But now I totally understand and I am even excited to see other little ones on the plane. I was a little nervous Austin would get super bored then freak out, but he was fine. yay for Austin!

Austin fell asleep in his carseat on one of our outings, and it was just about nap time anyway so Jake put his carseat in his "room" when we got home. I thought when he woke up he would be fussy since he was in a strange place and in his carseat, but I heard him through the door blowing raspberries and talking to himself, playing with one of the many toys he had sitting with him. So I snuck this picture before he saw me. He took a 2hr nap in that carseat!

This vacation was perfect. We had no precise plans so we just went with the flow each day and it was awesome. Jake got lots of relax time in, and also some great daddy-son time. Austin got to play and hang out with his grandpa and enjoyed being in a new place. For myself, it was nice to not have chores or errands to run amongst taking care of Austin!

Most nights my dad cooked us some amazing food, but one night we went out for Mexican. If you look closely at Austin's shirt you can see the remnants of his black bean tasting! He loved them!

This was Austin's first time in a big tub and he was fascinated! ps that dark part above his bum-crack is not poop nor is it hair hehe. I think it's just a shadow mixed with a birth mark..which looks bruise-ish. Jake tickling Austin's face...makes him sleepy!

Grandpa, dad, and Austin on the side of the river!

We walked through Old Sacramento, which is a pretty sweet place. We happened to go during the Jazz Festival. It was one of 2 sunny days we were down there.

I know this is the most random picture but I thought this dog was so cute, I just wanted to hug it!

There was the usual side show attractions at the festival..you know..the silver-painted man (this one was terrible), a magic show, and....A cute little monkey! I actually felt bad for the little guy. He was dressed in ridiculous clothes and was trained to do dumb tricks. I think he is overworked and under paid!

Austin playing in his "crib." With mama!

haha and Austin in a box ;-)

It was so nice to finally go out and visit my dad! He has come out here numerous times so it was our turn to go to him. He has a peaceful, cute house, kind of in the "country." He has a field behind him with a creek...and everyone around him has either horses, cows, goats...you name it. We went on some nice walks and enjoyed BBQing and running some errands. My dad bought some fresh strawberries on the side of the road and they were the most amazing strawberries I have ever tasted! A huge THANK YOU to our parents as well!! It was much safer flying! And thank you to my dad for letting us come visit and ransack his house with baby stuff! We love you grandpa Bob!!

Wifey

2011-05-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

So I am totally ripping this off my friend Angie's blog, but I thought those of you who haven't read this might enjoy it!

This is from a 1955 issue of Housekeeping Monthly...

-Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

-Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

-Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

-Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.

-During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

-Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.

-Be happy to see him.

-Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

-Don't greet him with complaints and problems.

-Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

-Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

-Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness.
You have no right to question him.

-A good wife always knows her place.

Isn't that great!? Ok ok I must say, maybe I'm a little old fashioned but I agree with many of these things but not in such a cheesy stupid way haha! (does that make sense) Some things i agree with: When Jake comes home, I do try to have dinner cooking. And also I try to straighten the house (jake and I both hate clutter and feel better when the house is clean) and I am definitely always happy to see him. I try not to shove Austin on him and I actually really like to hear about his day. Anyways..

The next time Jake comes home, I will make sure to have a ribbon in my hair (better make a trip to the fabric store), I will have a fire lit, and oh ya I will lay him down on the bed and take his shoes off for him...And well if he DOESNT come home all night I just won't worry about it!!! Then I will be the best wifey in the world!!

Seven and Counting

2011-05-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

Where the last 7 months have gone, I couldn't tell ya except all wrapped up in this little fella!!

The official countdown to 1 has begun..I know, it's still 5 months away but seriously October will be here before we know it. But let's not talk about October since summer still has yet to enter our lives!

It took me like 5 tries to get a semi-decent 7mo picture of Austin. He was so interested in the sign I made..then all he wanted to do was play with Snoopy. Then he fell backwards on his head..and that promptly ended the photo session.

I just love this little boy to smithereens and am completely obsessed with how he is learning and growing each day. You know how some people want their babies to stay babies? I officially LOVE the older-baby stage more than the newborn stage! Don't get me wrong, newborn Austin was still a-m-a-z-i-n-g and full of joy and lovely tender moments. But babies are SOOOO fun the older they get!! I am loving the interaction we have and the fact that he can play, yell, "talk" and just do big boy things. It's great!! At his 6mo checkup, the Dr found the swollen gums and said he's definitely teething. Then a couple weeks later I was laying on the floor with Austin and noticed one little white thing poking out! haha I was stoked! Seriously not 3 hours later, the other one poked out. This picture is about 2 weeks from the beginning of officially teething. Those suckers sure do take their time! He's done pretty well. One night he woke up screaming but I was able to calm him down (alone..jake was at scout camp) and within 20 minutes he was out for the night. His teeth definitely bothered him during the day though so he lived on Tylenol, Motrin, and Orajel (despite the warning from the FDA-I just kept a close eye on him and he was fine). But it's so funny to see him with teeth! He leaves teeth scratch marks on everything now! His sippy cup is totally scraped up!

Austin has always loved standing and bouncing (since he was just a tiny guy), so we finally got him this jumper. He is a maniac at bouncing...and he's got some good rhythm haha.
Some pics from Mothers Day...I love this little boy!!! He makes this the best job in the world!

Over the last month he's pretty much gotten the hang of sitting. He still falls over, but only when he gets tired of sitting for so long haha. It's funny to see him sit compared to Logan...Logan has perfect posture..straight back and all. Austin's a little more slumpy but it's so cute because his belly is nice and round. Just cuddling with dad! Austin is still obsessed with Jake and now when he sees Jake for the first time after any period of time he SQUEALS with delight. When he squeals he breaths in, not out haha.
We celebrated our 4 yr anniversary at the beginning of May. It was a beautiful day so we walked around the temple grounds downtown, ate at PF Changs, and kept walking all over the place. On the way home I wanted something "decadent" so we picked up a Resees Peanut Butter cup cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. Holy cow those things are huge! It took Jake and I all week to eat it.
Flowers on temple grounds. Just a few days after his 6mo checkup, Austin woke up from a nap with a goopy, red, swollen eye. Yes it was Pink Eye. I've always thought pink eye sounded nasty and well, I was right! Luckily we caught it early enough so it didn't get too gross. A sick visit to the Dr uncovered Pink Eye in his right eye, and an ear infection in his left ear. Eye drops and amoxicillin did the trick! That was his first official sickness, which is fine by me. Luckily Jake and I were able to stay healthy! No pink eye for me, thanks! He is mommy's little boy...In that he LOVES stuffed animals. I seriously had hundreds of them growing up. And I slept with like 30 of them. My parents had to put a limit on how many I could have on my bed because there was no room for me haha. Austin loves to cuddle, hug, chew on, and just hold his animal buddies :-) They are the first thing he wants to say hi to when he wakes up in the morning or from naps! It's so funny, they really make him so happy!
What is it with naked babies? I love it when he's got just a diaper on....so soft and chunky haha!

Some more fun things to remember:

- He added "ma ma ma" to his vocab. Aside from "da da" and "ma ma" he loves to yell, squeal, babble, and he'll also do this funny thing where he'll move his bottom jaw open and shut but keep his lips open. So it looks like he's saying da da but no sound comes out. I think what he's doing is feeling his teeth on his top gums.

-Doing great in the calorie department! We got a little late start on the whole solids thing but he's loving them! To name a few, he loves oatmeal, mangos, pears, green beans, carrots, bananas and more. He loves to chew on rice crackers, puffs, those gerber cheeto things-veggie flavor- (thanks for the suggestion Carly!), and he also gets tastes of random stuff we eat. He also really really enjoys drinking from his sippy! He can drink from it all by himself (sloppy though)..with a little reminder sometimes to tip it back to get the water haha. He hates prune juice. I actually don't let him drink juice, but I gave him Prune juice the other day from a syringe to help with some "clogged pipes" lol.

-He's not mobile yet but he can roll both ways. He has just barely started showing interest in wanting to "get" somewhere. Up until now (like yesterday)he was perfectly content laying on his back or sitting and playing. But now he just makes me laugh because he'll see something he wants while on his belly and he'll lift himself up on his arms...and then lift his legs in the air and then he doesnt know what to do next so he just squirms side to side!

-Still napping and sleeping great. He takes 2 two hour naps then a mini power nap in the evening. I still swaddle him...loosely....but he always breaks his arms out. He definitely prefers free arms. He must have them out over the blanket I cover him with too. I'm not sure when or how to wean from the swaddle. I don't even do it that tight..he can kick and move his legs all over the place.. It's pretty much a blanket wrapped around him instead of a swaddle. But man how funny would it be if he was still being 'wrapped' by age 1!? Gotta work on that I guess haha! But honestly he's perfectly happy sleeping like that so I'm not gonna mess with it until it's an issue.

- Lastly, Austin is a big hugger now. He will bend his whole body and nuzzle his face in your shoulder, neck, stomach, whatever...He just loves hugs! He even does it to his aunts and uncles..I love it!

I feel like I babbled a lot on this post! Sorry! But it will be fun to read later on on life. Anyways I look forward to 8 and 9 months...and hopefully some crawling!!

A Message...

2011-04-29T14:31:00.001-07:00

A message to the weather:

L - E - A - V - E.

Although it doesn't look like this outside, it sure does feel like it. All I wanna do is play outside in the sun with my baby. Is that too much to ask? It's going to be MAY soon ya know...

xoxo
Kim

I Wonder...

2011-04-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

I wonder what Heaven will be like. I know our bodies will be perfect and at their best. But what about our babies? I don't want Austin to grow up. I can't imagine him being a teenager. Or even worse....a grown up. So does that mean in Heaven he will be my baby again and I can take care of him like I do now? Probably not, huh. I wonder if in Heaven, I can take care of the baby I lost (I wasn't that far along, but still...he or she is my baby). Wouldn't that be so wonderful! Just when I think I'm done with holding my sweet little babies, I will get to heaven and have a brand new one just to hold and love. I guess Austin will have to grow up...and the rest of them. Because it sure isn't stopping anytime soon.

My how he's changed!!

R.I.P Annie, BSA apparell, & News from Austin

2011-04-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty random post but that's life, isn't it?

First of all, I would like to say R.I.P Annie. Our dear African Dwarf Frog, Annie, has passed away. Below is a picture of what an African Dwarf Frog looks like:

We got 2 a few months after we got married, and named them Pedro and Annie. We didn't really know (and still don't) if they really were a boy and a girl. So we just pretended like they were married and the happiest of couples. Annie got really sick and stopped eating like a month ago. She got super skinny and really mopy. Jake tried to save her and bought a heater for their tank because apparently for the last 3 and a half years their water has been too cold! Anyway she died this week and I feel bad for Pedro! We'll see if it really rings true that when the wife dies first the husband is soon to follow :-(

PS Plus Some: If you're wondering if we have "real" pets...No. But someday we'd like a dog and maybe a kitty. But we both want to wait until our kids are old enough to help take care of them. When I graduated from highschool I bought a chocolate lab, Bailey...ADORABLE by the way...and I totally raised that puppy, and boy it's a lot of work! I felt like a teen mom haha. I always asked my mom to take care of her when I wanted to go out. I took her with me alot too though. She was my little buddy. I really miss having a dog! We went hiking, jogging, walking, swimming (in the mountains AND at my friend's house in his pool haha) and she slept with me everynight. She is an old doggy now with a gray beard/mouth and lives with my mom (again making me feel like a teen mom) and I will be devestated when she dies.

On to the next item of business.

The other day Jake got something in the mail that just made me shake my head. Take a look at this piece of work:

aye aye aye! My thoughts on this are going to be brief because I'm already dry-heaving. This does not help with the bad reputation the Boy Scouts of America already has LOL. The description says: "A way-cool way to honor the BSA! Vibrant starburst pattern is highlighted by an abstract fleur-de-lis print on center front." Yeah, wear that shirt to school and you're gonna end up knocked out on the floor in 2 seconds flat. Needless to say, Jake loves everything about his calling except the mail haha.

Last item of business. The other day Austin woke up from his nap saying "da da da da." I was so excited!!! That's the first time he's "said" something, and it's SO fun to watch him do it. He positions his tongue correctly and everything....he's so stinkin' cute when he says it too because I love his toothless little mouth! I've been saying "da da da" to him for a couple months now and am so excited he's saying it back! Go Austin! If you're wondering why I didn't teach him "ma ma" it's because apparently they say their "b"s first (ba ba), then "d"s (da da), then finally their "m"s (ma ma). I know it's probably different for every baby but I figured might as well start with something I know he'll be able to say easily!!

Half a Year!

2011-04-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

Um excuse me, what? I have a 6 month old? Yep it's pretty strange to say that. Austin is seriously getting so cute with his little personality! He's really "connecting" with us socially; and it's so fun to watch and teach him how to communicate and interact. I love going to his check-ups, it's so exciting to see his growth and Jake and I both love his doctor (who doesn't love their kid's doctor, right?).

Here are Austin's 6 month stats:

Weight: 16.12lbs (40%)

Height: 27 1/2" (80%)

Head: 95%

Poor guy has a big noggin, which can really make him seem bigger than he is. He is tall, and just below average for weight. He has always fit into clothes that are a few months ahead, so as usual, everything he wears is 9-12 months at this point. I had a thousand questions for dr memmott about feeding Austin solids. I don't even know why I stress about it so much, I'm so dumb. I was just iffy about it because when we started them at 4 months, he really hated his bottle and it scared me because everything you read says there shouldn't be a decrease in formula when they're 4-6 months. So he only got solids here and there in spurts. He LOVES them to say the least! Which I shouldn't complain! But I was so happy to hear from the dr that there is no right answer and all you have to remember is Austin will know when he's full, he may not drink as much formula now - and that's fine - so just relax and go with the flow haha. I feel better now knowing I can't really go wrong and to just follow Austin's lead. I also decided to stop counting how many ounces he drinks. I feel like I'm not doing either of us a favor by doing that. That's definitely a benefit of breastfeeding...you don't obsess over every ounce! So basically I'm finally relaxing on his eating and I feel so much better about it! Pretty sure this guy is not going to waste away any time soon LOL so why should I worry. Happy Half Birthday buddy! Can you see his fingers? Yes he is gnawing on his fingers because well apparently his has a tooth coming in! I had no idea. The dr found a swollen, blueish purplish spot (eruption hematoma) on his bottom gums on his left side...and I guess that means he's got a tooth coming in the next couple weeks! yay!! I would never have known, because he's always been a chewer.

I love how his hair looks after the bath. It's the only time it's "down" and he also has this natural part...so he just looks so handsome! Besides the camera shocked face haha...

I took him to the park the other day for the first time, and he had a blast. I was glad he wasn't afraid to try anything...the slide, the swings...

Um this picture is out of order....I'm so bad at using blogger haha! Anyway he LOVES this mesh thing our good friend Ashley gave him. I stuck an apple in it and he went to town!

He's got extra cheek if anyone needs some..

again..blogger handicapped...i couldn't get this picture to turn the right way. *sigh*

His grandma Peterson brought Snoopy to the hospital when Austin was born. Austin loves to look at and play with Snoop.

Sorry about so many similar pictures..got to get them all in for the grandparents!

I am amazed at babies' flexibility. He can fold completely in half. And that's pretty cool.

He is JUST ABOUT to sit by himself! woowoo! He can sit alone, but only for like 5 seconds.

I thought this was a cute pic of him with his daddy, even though they're both making funny faces.

A while ago, I tied this beanie on him before we went running. That was the first time he's had something tied under his chin and it was so funny, he wouldn't close his mouth for a good 5 minutes!

Carrots for the first time at about 5mos. He wasn't too fond of them but will gobble them up now. Oh and he totally choked on these carrots the first time he ate them. I didn't mix enough water into them so they were too thick. Yep pretty scary! Jake was literally hitting him on the back, then he finally threw them up!! yikes! Poor guy.

I don't know if you moms get this question alot too but people always ask me "how is it being a mom? Is it everything you thought?" Maybe I'm weird but I don't know how to answer except with what they probably expect me to say: "it's so fun, lots of work but incredibly rewarding, love being with my baby every day etc." But it's so true. Your life changes forever, but it's awesome and sooo fun! It's still strange to not have the alone time Jake and I use to have but now we have family time and it's still amazing. We now know what the term "pride and joy" means. We are obsessed with our little boy and cannot get enough of him. When we're both home and he wakes up from his naps we let him play and talk for a minute then we both run to his room to see who can get there first to see our funny guy hanging out in his crib. We talk about him before we fall asleep. We talk about him when we're out on a "date." It's funny how the focus of your life changes in the blink of an eye!

Some things I love about being a mom:

- When he wakes up in the AM or from a nap, and he's SO excited to see me!

- He has started cuddling more, and nuzzles his face into my shoulder or chest

- His big smiles for ME, when he's being held by someone else

- Watching him discover/taking him to new places

- Having a buddy to hang out with all day. Makes errands incredibly enjoyable!

- Having something to show for my hard work each day haha

- Being busy all the time

- Experiencing true happiness and the bliss that comes with watching every milestone!

Some facts about Austin at this point:

- Still a great eater and sleeper. Usually takes 3 naps a day, last one being about 30-45 minutes. Sleeping about 10.5-11 hrs at night. I finally put curtains up in his room and he's sleeping an hour later, so I need to work really hard at getting him to bed earlier..at what I think is a reasonable time for a baby haha

- He has had a cough for a week now and also has been sneezing a lot. The dr said it's just a cold and should go away on it's own. Luckily this is only the 2nd time he's been sick, and both times have been minor. This, combined with the irritability from his shots, AND teething, has made for a rough few days!! Poor poor guy. He's just been sad lately, mostly in the evenings.

- He started rolling consistently last month so that's good! I think he will be sitting in a few weeks. I asked the dr how he will learn how to crawl since he instantly rolls over when he's on his stomach and he said it's very common now for them to skip crawling and go straight to walking, so don't worry if he doesnt crawl. But I really want him to, crawling babies are so cute, and plus he REALLY wants to get places on his own and I'd hate to see him have to wait until he WALKS to do this!

- When we hold him he "directs" us using his hands and arms in the direction he wants to go..usually he'll see something he wants to feel and pickup so he'll show us the direction to go to get to it haha

- I think it's hilarious when he looks at his hands. He'll hold them up in front of his face and stare at them and move them around...so funny.

-he's obsessed with feet and shoes. He'll stare at your feet or shoes and grab them.. and try to eat them (gross)

Well parenthood is crazy and wonderful and I love doing what I do. Now that it's been 6 months, not that that's alot by any means, but I still think 3 kids is a good number. I also think 2 is, but I think 3 is better for the unexplained reason of 2 is just not enough. I think more than 3 might be a little too much for this mamma just because it sounds like too much to juggle! I'm not sure I'd be able to be the mom I want to be with more than 3. I want to give as much time as possible to each child, but also do the things that make myself happy - like exercise...A happy mom is a good mom, right!? Anyway we'll see what the future holds ;-)

It Was An....

2011-04-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

Itty Bitty Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini... Jake and I had a gift card to baby gap so we decided to purchase Austin his first swim trunks. While browsing the over priced apparel, we came across this little number: Ok well the one we saw was black but still....We both instantly fell in love. I said to Jake "If we ever have a girl.." I didn't even need to finish because he just cut me off and said "OH YES." So, maybe one day Austin will have a baby sister that can run around with him outside in the sprinklers in her itty bitty teeny weeny bikini :-) Oh what a sweet dream....

These are the swim trunks we got Austin, cannot WAIT to take him swimming!! The joys of summer, right around the corner. And with our baby boy...how fun!!

Why I Already Love This Weekend

2011-03-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

This weekend is going to be wonderful. Why? Thanks for asking ;-) We are going to pay a little visit to the temple on Friday, which is hard to find time for these days with a baby! I can't wait to get inside those sacred walls.

And it is General Conference. I never got Genereal Conference growing up. All I knew is it was a weekend some of my neighborhood friends couldn't play..and some actually COULD play on Sunday haha. Who knew these men of that age could be so dead on with what's going on in this world and what WILL be going on in this world?? Prophets. Seers. Revelaters. Just Sayin'...

*also I am very much looking forward to not having to get myself and my baby ready to be to church by 9am, and being able to cook a good breakfast :-)

Ode to YS

2011-03-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Yogurt Stop,

I am at your place way too much. Pretty sure every weekend. Sometimes twice in one weekend. I have probably spent about 400 dollars on you in the past couple years (gross), and that doesn't include when Jake partakes. Jake is a normal person and only endulges in you like once or twice a month. Why are you doing this to me? Is this an addiction? Do you secretly put something in your yogurt (or maybe cookie dough?) that is set to make me crave you every 7 days? Or maybe you implanted a magnet in my head one time while I was there and I am drawn to you. I think one day when you go out of business...knock on wood...I might have a mental break down then my body will go into withdrawls. Curse that day. I wasn't too fond of your treats while pregnant, but the wrath has returned. Guess what, sometimes when Jake is out of town I even visit you alone with Austin. And let's not even BEGIN to talk about how the nice employees there know me and probably think "wow"every time I walk in. I am a sucker. Once there was a time when Jandie and I would visit you on Wednesday nights, then again on the weekend. Holy cow. But I am super grateful you are not Cold Stone because I would be huge by now. And Yogurt Stop, you are one lucky shop because guess what mofo...I like to run. I have to run extra because of you though, you stupid. But thanks I guess for being fat free I guess. The toppings don't help though. One time I scared Bill because of all my combinations I put into my cup. Your fresh fruit doesn't amuse me. I go straight to the bad stuff. *sigh* Well I guess I'll see ya this weekend, old pal. Please have Oreo, that's Jake's favorite and you never have it.

Signed,
Your Most Valued Customer

Cinco!

2011-03-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

Five months old!? He's getting so old, and big haha. I cannot believe Austin is almost half a year. He officially is not my little baby anymore, so sad! But I am absolutely loving his milestones, and boy is his personality really starting to show.

I'll save the "list" for 6 months, since that's his next appointment. The biggest change though is the beginning of big boy food...aka solids. Right after his 4month appointment we tried rice cereal, the first feeding he actually swallowed some but it took a few more tries for him to actually "get it" lol it has been SO fun to watch! So far he has just had rice cereal and cinnamon applesauce, and absolutely loves both. If he watches me eat my cereal in the morning, he "asks" for some so I have to feed him his own cereal, so cute! I am loving this stage, it's so exciting and hilarious to watch him try new things :-)

Our big guy all smiles with Snoop!

We are trying carrots this week, as you can see. Why they look neon, don't ask me! I have ventured into making homemade baby food, and it seriously is SO fun. I really get a kick out of preparing his food! I was seriously considering it, going back and forth on the idea, until I read my friend's blog (http://twohealthysisters.blogspot.com/2011/02/baby-food.html) about how easy it is...and most of all how GOOD it is for your baby...and thought "what the heck, I have the time, I might as well try it!" It's actually extremely easy, and only takes an hour to make enough food for at least a week. Most of all, I just really enjoy the process of it. And ofcourse that satisfaction of watching Austin eat (and like) something I've made.

"Give me more..now!" Lovin' the rice cereal! Excuse the laundry lol.

Austin is not rolling over yet, but so dang close. Above is an example of how stubborn he is! He'll roll all the way to one side, where he's laying completely on his side..then stop. Silly boy.

He finally likes the Baby Bjorn, Jake got him to like it. Now I use it all the time.

Yes I look like an idiot, but well we were trying to mimick Austin's big browns!

I decided the best time to go running is during a nap, because he falls asleep anyways. So here ya have it..looks pretty cozy if you ask me!

Waiting in his Bumbo while I take his jogger outside and up the stairs..

Jake had just returned from scouts to find Austin in a pitiful state...haha it was a busy night at home alone with mommy, ok?

This picture doesn't do it justice but he LOVES chewing on this spatula (thank you FB friends for the suggestion!!) and since this one is see through, you can see his tongue and bottom lip. so funny.

Also, he got his first cold a few weeks ago but it was extremely minor..he still slept fine (we propped his matress up at an angle) and ate fine too. thank goodness!

I cannot wait for 6 months! And most of all i can't wait for the summer..he'll be old enough to enjoy playing outside! and also we get to meet the newest King!! YAY!!!!

Sweetness

2011-03-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

I bet you've already seen this, since it's just so amazing! I swear I cry at anything touching these days, but this...this is pure sweetness.

He's 8 months old and hearing his mommy's voice for the 1st time with the help of a cochlear implant, in case you didn't read the title haha...

4 Big Ones

2011-02-16T09:29:00.000-08:00

Our baby is growing way too fast! Austin just had his 4mo check up yesterday. I was so proud of him with the shots...he cried pretty bad for about 10 seconds (most of it was holding his breath at the beginning of the cry before he let out the sad sad sobs...you know what I mean) then stopped and just cuddled his mommy and daddy for comfort!

Stats:
-14lb 15oz (about 50%) the exact same weight as his best friend Logan! I knew they were good buddies haha
-25inches (about 50%)
-head: whopping 90%....are we surprised?

Austin loves his Snoopy friend. Snoopy sits on top of a dresser we have with other "friends" and Austin talks to them all the time lol.

Tummy time (this pic was at about 3months). Sometimes when he's on his tummy he'll get so close to rolling over, it's so funny to watch. He makes sounds like he's working out at the gym!

He likes to suck on the beak of this hen. I call it "sucking face" haha.

Little guy got blessed this month! It was such a great day! We went over to my mom's afterwards for delicious pork tacos, yummy desserts, and some good family time. I cannot believe I didn't get a picture of him with my mom (sad...sorry mom!) but here he is with me and Jake's mom.

Austin seems to like to copy his mommy and daddy. First was blowing bubbles with his lips, and now in the middle of playing, he'll stop cooing...get a concentrated look on his face...and slooowly raise his arms straight up above his head (like Ricky Bobby on Taladega Nights when he's being interviewed by the news reporter and he's like 'I don't know what to do with my hands'). Then he'll hold them there for a good 4 or 5 seconds...it's hilarious! Oh and yes those pants are unbuttoned...he had just eaten and his belly was a little 'inflated'!

He goes crazy when he chews on things. He likes this spatula (my favorite one!..oh well) He'll just chew and chew and chew.

Happy 4 month little guy!!

Some other fun things:

-He is very ticklish! On his ribs, on his back, on his thighs, you name it!! And his laugh is so boyish, like not squeaky or high pitched...it's deep and grunty (but cute grunty haha). I love it!

-He loves it when I read to him..his favorites at the moment are Brown Bear Brown Bear, a Color book, and a touch and feel farm animal book. Oh and Goodnight Moon (at bedtime ofcourse). We also read the Book of Mormon before bed..I'm sure that one's REALLY entertaining for him lol!

-Austin is very interested in feeling things. Put anything in front of his face and he'll touch/grab/hold it. And ofcourse it goes straight to his mouth if he can get a hold of it.

Eating: still loves to eat! The Dr said we could try cereal now so I am super excited to see Austin's reaction! I honestly don't think he's ready yet because I've held one of his spoons up to his mouth and he doesn't even care. But it will be fun to try here and there!

Sleeping: I'm trying uliminate "sleep cruches" so he can start falling asleep on his own. I recently got rid of the binky (which he spit out or I pulled out anyway before putting him in his crib). And now I am working on laying him in his crib when he is still sleepy but awake. He's a good sleeper and I don't want to screw that up! He still goes to bed between 9 and 10 and wakes up between 7 and 8. He takes 4 naps a day, usually one long one (1-2 hrs) and then the rest are 30-45 min.

Mom and Dad: yes there is a mom and dad section! We are loving being parents! Guess what, we have yet to go out without Austin haha so that is my goal very soon. I've left him with my mom a few times when I have Dr appointments but Jake and I are due for a date for sure!

It's so fun to watch Austin and see us both in him. We have so much fun playing with him, and taking care of him together. Parenthood is soooo crazy but honestly the biggest blessing! I recently went up to Utah State to speak on a panel of "new parents" for my sister's Marriage and Families class. At the end, one student commented "so...having a baby sounds like a lot of work and responsibility, and after today's conversation it sounds kinda sucky. Are there any pros to having a child?"

REALLY!!? Dude, who is this kid!? I thought about his question from that point on, for the next 24 hours. I wish I could have told him: "Yes, it IS a lot of work and responsibility. I mean hello, you're taking care of a helpless little tiny human being who can't do anything for themselves. What do you expect? But it makes you the happiest you've ever been, and brings joy like non other because you HAVE to be completely selfless to take care of your baby. They are your first priority. And being selfless brings pure happiness and fulfillment. You are finally giving your all to this little creature and your needs come last. THAT is happiness." and then I would have added "so there. you're obviously not read for a baby so you better not go out and get someone pregnant because life is gonna hit you hard when that baby comes and well since you're not ready for that it's gonna be tough shiz!" hahaha really I wouldn't have said that but I wanted to!
Anyways I love being a mom and watching Jake be dad. It's the most exciting thing to watch Austin learn and grow. This is random but I can't wait for when he's in Kindergarten haha, but that's so far away! I love that age though!

3 months going on 4

2011-02-01T08:37:00.001-08:00

We just love our little boy! As usual, it is sad that he is growing up so fast, but it is so dang fun to watch him learn and change! So he'll be 4 months in just a couple weeks, but I felt like I needed to do a post now because I think I'm falling behind.

Austin is so much fun, he makes us laugh everyday. His little personality is starting to show and it makes us so excited. He seriously LOVES Jake. He goes wild when he sees him. He'll stare at him, then smile, then laugh and talk talk talk to his daddy. They are cute best pals and I know in the future Austin will want to do everything Jake does.

Christmas morning. We got him a Rudolph stocking because we think he looks like Rudolph (the big dark eyes)! He was quite excited about his teething toy lol.

My Aunt made him this beanie and blanket, he was so silly when we put it on him..

He absolutely loves to stand and jump so ofcourse he loves to be in his saucer. It's so fun to watch him play in it.

See he looks like Rudolph, right!?

Jake decided to make him look like a "bully" so he rolled his sleeves. Looks pretty dangerous if you ask me ;-)

I put him in the rocker for a minute while I put on some music, and I thought he looked so cute just sitting there looking up at me. And tell me, what's with those jammies? They are the only pair that don't snap completely shut over the diaper..so weird!

I went to get him from his nap the other day and somehow he'd gotten the fuzzy blanket off, broke his feet through his swaddle, and got his socks off. How funny..

The "dangerous" television! He gets sucked in if we're not careful! He just stares at it. He's currently watching The Bachelor in this pic. But only for a minute...He doesn't need that rubbish haha. And wow his arm looks to be quite large in this pic!

Just loves to sit with daddy..

Austin is such a happy little guy. I am so excited that he is awake more and can play with me. I love being home with him and helping him learn and grow! It's fun to have a little buddy to take on errands too. I cannot wait for the weather to warm up, because it will be so fun to play outside, plus he'll be even older so he'll enjoy exploring outside with me! We still go on runs in the jogger but let's be honest it'll be more enjoyable when he's not bundled up!

What's New:

-Well let's talk reflux first. All I can say is it's been a pain the butt for poor little Austin. He's been on medication since his 2nd day of life! A few weeks ago we switched to Prevacid (from Zantac) and it really hurt his tummy. He stopped eating like usual. So I took him off it, and it took him a good week to get his appetite back. Good thing he had some extra "padding" to keep warm haha. But now, he's been off ALL reflux meds for 2 weeks and he seems to be doing really well! I hope it keeps up. The Dr said babies start to outgrow it by 3 months so let's hope he is!!

-Austin is a great eater now, but also gets sidetracked after about 10-15 minutes. He squirms and talks and smiles and looks around. I'm trying to get him to eat faster so I switched to a new bottle and it's working...except when he's really side tracked! Oh well at least he eats! He'll eat anywhere from 3-80z in a feeding.

-He's doing great at sleeping at night..He goes to bed between 9-10 and wakes up at 7 so I LOVE that!!! Hopefully he keeps it up :-)

-We're starting to slowly get on a good schedule. It all depends on when he wakes up though. But he definitely has the same bedtime each night because he get super grumpy and really jittery if he's up late!

-It's so fun to watch him play. He can focus on his toys and grap them and pull them up to his mouth..He really likes to suck on the toys. It's so cute to watch him grab things, it's got to be so frustrating getting those little hands to cooperate!

-Lately he's been doing the cutest thing. A while ago, Jake started blowing raspberries at Austin (just blowing air through his lips) and just 2 days ago, Austin started doing it back to us!! We'll do it back and forth..and he just does it by himself too. It's seriously so funny. He does it alllll day long, even when he wakes up in the morning, he just lays there in his crib and blows raspberries. I go through so many bibs now, because the slobber is out of control haha.

-He loves to stand with our help ofcourse, and also does "sit-ups" now whenever he's in a reclined position. I guess he just wants to be a big boy and sit!

He's been such a joy in our life, and we can't wait to continue to watch him grow!

On a side note...to whoever watches The Bachelor...ummm Michelle is C-R-A-Z-Y!!!!! She is giving Utah chicks a bad rep!! Jake says every show needs a villain even reality shows...And she totally is!

Finally

2011-01-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

January 8th. The day I finally went for a run. Time? 8ish in the morning. Weather? Incredibly smoggy. Temperature? Pretty dang cold. But that's ok because running in the cold is one of my favorites. I don't care if my lungs were polluted. It felt grrreat!

I had an idea once. To run a relay race this summer. Over zealous? Probably! I remember a couple years ago I was "going to run a half." Then I got sick of waking up at 4am and running 7miles. Then there were those Saturday 10mile runs. I just didn't like running anymore. And that scared me. So I did not do the half but I kept running a ton. And I was once again in love with it. I feel like a rebellious teenager, who will do things at their own pace and because they want to...but the minute they HAVE to do something, then they hate it. I am weird!

Anyway I truly truly LOVE running. It's one of those things that is hard but extremely rewarding and the more you do it, the easier it gets...but then once you get to that easy point that means it's time to push yourself harder haha. I am very very excited to start that pushing once again. My first run was awesome and my body smiled the entire time.

On to my other love...my family! Austin is going to be 3months this Saturday. Wow! Poor guy is going bald and getting chubbier I swear daily. I told Jake Austin reminds me of George Castanza. He wasn't so happy about that comment! His baby hair is on his crib sheets, it's so sad! But his new 'big boy' hair is already growing in so that's good. He is just getting so big. I swear it's because I have to formula feed him in addition to breastmilk. It really bothers me he has to drink formula. I've read that formula fed babies eat more because the signal in their brain that tells them they are full doesn't work that well compared to exclusively breast fed babies. What are ya gonna do? Hopefully my silly body will make enough milk for the next baby!

First day in his Bumbo. He was in awe...looking at the world from a whole new perspective! My mom said "where are his pants!?" But don't worry mom he usually wears pants..Our home is nice and toasty though so "no pants day" happens occasionally. Look at those long legs..just like daddy!

Headed out to run some weekend errands! It's fun to watch Jake and Austin. Lately, Jake will come home or be going to work while Austin is eating. He will come over and talk to Austin while he's eating. Austin forgets to eat and just smiles and gets all excited he gets to talk to daddy. Then when Jake walks away Austin gets upset and starts yelling and looking around for dad to come back! So funny! I get impatient though because I just want him to eat (he's a slow eater to begin with) but who am I kidding it's pretty dang cute he loves his daddy so much!

NB

2010-12-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

I shed a tear (or two) today. I am boxing up all of Austin's clothes that he has grown out of.

And I realized I will NOT be seeing "NB" on the tag of his clothes anymore. Nor "0-3mo." I really miss him being a little tiny newborn (well, tiny to ME...to all of you who have itty bittys). I miss:

-his newborn, swollen face
-his tiny-ness
-holding him on my lap as I burped him, and how he was all hunched over
-letting him sleep on my chest for as many naps as I wanted (we're working on 'good sleep habits' now)
-his newborn diapers

The bottom 2 were my favorites. The top was Jake's. I guess we'll just have to have another one some day!

BUT the great thing is, he is getting SO SO fun! His little personality is coming out. I love that he can:

-totally recognize daddy and mommy and likes to be picked up/cuddles by us
-focus and look at us and everything else
-I love his laughs, attempts at communicating (aka cooing), and smiles...he smiles with his whole body! He just gets so excited his whole body shows it.
-sleep more and more through the night (almost haha)
-grasp things
-suck on his fists
-hold his head up for a good amount of time now
-stand on his legs while I hold him under his arms.......and lots of other things but I've gotta go!

Babies are so fun! Being a mom is a blast, and the BEST job ever!!

Two Months

2010-12-22T12:28:00.000-08:00

As all parents say, time has flown by and Austin is already 2 months. So weird to think one year ago I was just finishing recovery from a D&C, realllllly wanting to be pregnant again. Life happens as it should, am I correct?

So I have a love/hate relationship with well child check-ups. I LOVE hearing the stats and talking to the pediatrician but HATE the shots!! Poor Austin, he cried so hard like "why did you let them do that to me mom!!?" for a few minutes then just wimpered for like 5.

Here are his stats:
Weight: 12lb 12oz, 75%
Height: 23", 50%
Head: I can't remember but 75%

The pic below is I think about 2 or 3 weeks...

We made a Christmas card for someone (I can't say who because they read this blog and it's a surprise). It was pretty funny seeing Austin with a pencil in his hand!

Monday we went downtown to see the temple lights. I couldn't believe how many people were there. It was like New York City. But it was so fun to spend some time out with Jake and Austin!

Jake..nice face!

I wish Austin would have woken up, he loves to stare at lights so he would have been in heaven looking at the christmas lights!

My favorite part..the pink ones!

WOW.

2010-12-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

Seriously I really turning into a whacko!! I just did a NEW post for MY blog, but accidently did it on our GROUP blog! And I don't have time to do it again! So...if you want to hear a weird strange mommy story (i'm hoping I'm not the only one that has done that in my sleep) then go to: theoctrules.blogspot.com OR click on The Octagon on my friends list....

On This Sunny Day..

2010-12-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

.....I finally used The Bob, what I've been waiting for since I saw it like 3 years ago! I did not go for a run, as I need to ease into that lol. We went for a great walk around the neighborhood. What a beautiful day!

He stayed warm and cozy that's for sure! I'm pretty sure I wish I had a snow suit like that.

Daddy reading his spanish scriptures to the babe..

Jandie gave Austin these adorable jeans and Carly made the onsie. I HAD to get a picture. He was not too happy about it!!

Waking up is quite a process for Austin. It takes him up to 30 minutes sometimes to fully wake up. He just gets so comfy and doesn't want to move! I love his hair after a bath..it's so fuzzy! He got my hair unfortunately..it turns greasy within the day!

Getting into his "night gown" or "dress" as a Dad would call it.

I really cannot believe he will be 2 months next week. I am sad he is not a newborn little guy anymore! I look at his pics on my phone from the hospital and it makes me so sad...But at the same time Jake and I are super excited to watch him as his personality develops. He's smiling and cooing now which is so awesome! He does it a ton for Jake when he gets home from work..I guess he saves it for Dad :-) Also:

-He started sucking his fingers a little bit

-He recently has been going 5 hrs between feedings for the first part of the night. Nice! But then he goes 3 to 4 after that..oh well, it'll happen! I'm still waiting for that day I wake up and look at the clock and it's been like 7 or 8 hrs!! But I can be patient..I really love being with him at night, no matter how tired I am!

-He has reflux really bad which made him so sad/mad/uncomfortable. He is on Zantac currently and it seems to be working its magic. Thank goodness.

-Tummy time is going well! He is great at holding his head up and his arms are getting so strong.

-Um his poops have gotten bigger. And he had his first blow out last week.

-He is grown out of Newborn clothes and his 0-3 mo clothes are getting tight! Yikes!

-I discovered you HAVE to clean their hands, face, and between their toes every day..Who knew toe jam could get between each toe...and in your fist!?

For Your Mistress

2010-11-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

So I was watching Good Things Utah..well I had it on while I was playing with Austin...and they had were talking about this magazine. The issue focuses on great gift ideas..And I guess on the cover or somewhere inside, it said you could find the best gift ideas for anyone, including your: daughter, mother, friend, mistress....etc. Ummm wait. MISTRESS?

How sad is it that adultry is so blatent these days?

The gift ideas for your mistress included a designer necklace for like $800, designer sunglasses for roughly $700 (I think), and also a sexy bra and panty set. UGH. sigh... BLAH.

Our Little Guy

2010-11-08T13:46:00.000-08:00

Austin's baby pictures finally came. First of all, Jake and I are not really professional photographer type people. And when the photographer lady came to my room in the hospital I was kind of bothered and politely told her no thank you. But...then my mind got to thinking. How badly I wanted to freeze frame this little guy in his first few days of life because I knew he would be changing. Plus, our camera was broken and we still hadn't gotten a new one, so we really didn't have too many pics of Austin. So I asked my nurse to tell the photographer to come back!

She finally did and it was right when A) Austin needed to go back to the nursery B)The nurse had come to take my staples out C) We were visited by the social security lady once again to collect our paper work..but we hadn't decided a middle name quite yet. Needless to say my room was full of people and Austin was also getting hungry. But the photographer was able to squeeze in a few pics in about a 10-15 min time frame. And well, we were in love the second she showed them to us!

Jake and I were very pleased with how they turned out. We did not want anything to elaborate or strange. So these were fit for our liking ;-)

I love how spiky and messy his hair is!

Anyway, I never thought I would be buying professional pics but I just loved these!!

Baby Austin is doing wonderful. At his 2 week appt, he weighed 8lb 9oz. The pediatrician is very pleased with his gain, considering his loss in the hospital (he weighed 7lb 4oz at one point). They pricked his heel and honestly it absolutely killed me to watch him wail from pain. I cried with him. He probably thought I was a mean mommy to let the nurse do that to him. Stupid vampires, I tell ya!!

- He eats and eats. Man that boy can eat. I nurse him from both sides about 10 min each, then he takes a 2-3 oz bottle after.

- We haven't made a point to put him on a schedule but he has made his own. He just wakes up every 3-4 hrs to eat. He does that 24/7 so I am still getting up with him about twice at night. It's crazy how you get use to that! I don't get a ton of sleep but I am totally fine through the day. Once we tried to keep him up later to see if he'd sleep longer at night, and he ended up sleeping like one hour longer then the next time he woke, he slept one hour shorter so that wasn't so great for me.

- He enjoys bathtime and it's great to watch Jake bathe his little boy!

- He has a way cute cry that sounds like a little yelp sometimes

- He can take up to 45 minutes to fully wake up. He'll just fuss and wimper every 10 minutes or so. Totally jake's boy!

- I think he is looking more and more like Jake each day

- Jake and I have been trying to get a booger out of his nose for a while and well, today he sneezed it out and it flew into the air, and landed on his cheek!

- He has peed on: the wall, his mom, his head, his face, his dresser, the floor, his towel, and oh yeah..his diaper ofcourse.

- He likes massages with baby lotion

ME (like you care haha)

- I'm healing well. Incision is great, still some pain but I'm off pain meds so that's good.

-Belly is slooooowly shrinking. It will be a while ;-)

- I stepped on my mom's scale and have lost 35 pounds..wow I was shocked. I still have a good 15-18 to loose though!

- I have learned I am too rigid of a schedule-type person. With a baby you just handle things as they come and I am learning to "let it go" if the schedule is thrown off!

-I am LOVING sleeping like a normal person and cuddling with my husband!

- I am getting braver at going out with AUstin and CANNOT wait until I can carry him in his carseat without help. 3 more weeks!

-I love my baby boy and have loved watching Jake be a dad. What a crazy/awesome new chapter in our life!!!

Austin!

2010-11-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

Wow I have not been on the internet in like 3 weeks! That's a record for me lol. I finally am taking some time (when I should be showering) to post about our little boy Austin! I typed up the "birth story" in a Word Document but it is so long. I will just do a brief story here.

Our baby boy Austin John Peterson arrived via C-section on Friday, Oct 15 at 5:44pm. He weighed in at 8lb 4oz and measured 22 1/2 inches long! HUGE baby! I do not have a clue how he fit inside his mother! But my stretched, unhappy, recovering skin clues me in.

Remember stubborn little guy Austin decided to turn sideways at about 37 weeks. Deep down inside, I KNEW there was a reason. People kept trying to give me tips on how to get him to turn and I didn't try any of them because my instinct told me he turned for a very good reason, probably having to do with delivery. My feelings were indefinitely confirmed while I was laying on the operating table, 2 minutes after Austin was born. I looked my Doctor in the eye and asked "Dr. Terry. Would he have fit out the other way?" My doctor said "NO." So...there ya have it. He was not only a stubborn baby but knew exactly what he was doing. I am very thankful I did not have to have an emergency C-Section which is what would have happened!

The delivery was one crazy experience. Jake and I found out on Thurs the 14th at my dr's appt that we would be having our baby the next day. My dr tried to turn him by pushing my tummy (which hurt pretty bad but not as bad as being checked) and was obviously unsuccessful. Dr Terry shortly after said "well..let's get this show on the road!" I LOVED him the instant he said that!!! So Austin was born at 38 wks 6 days.

I was scheduled to have him at 5 and they started at 5:15. I couldn't eat/drink all day. I got a migraine. Jake and I were both nervous/anxious/super excited to meet our son. I held up pretty well until the anesthesiologist came in and explained the spinal block. That made it all the more real. It was REALLY happening. I was going to have major surgery, and they were going to pull a baby out. Whoa. I lost it. I started bawling and my family left so Jake and I could have some alone time. I was soooo freaking nervous and excited. They wheeled me into the operating room and administered the spinal block, which thankfully as I felt it numb my body from the toes up to the boobs, I finally relaxed!

The procedure went very smoothly. Jake took pictures of the whole process and I bet I will post them here and gross everyone out, they are pretty sweet. I only felt tugging, pushing, and pulling. THat's it! I thought my ribs were going to break when Dr Terry was pulling Austin out, it hurt pretty bad!! But they said it would. Jake said it was awesome to watch my insides sitting outside my body haha. He said when they broke my water it was like gallons just gushing out all over everywhere! I could see partially what they were doing in the relfection above me in the lights. It was so weird! But they finally pulled him out and said "he has hair. he has a big head" haha. I heard him cry and boy that was the BEST sound in the world!! I was praying the whole time he'd be ok. It was pretty relaxed, we were just talking and joking with the dr's while they worked on me. I was so glad to be wide awake!

Jake held Austin first and showed him to me and let me kiss his little cheeks. Soon after, Austin started grunting instead of crying which resulted in him going to the NICU for 4 hrs. That sucked. Jake was with him the entire time though thank goodness. But that meant I was alone in the recovery room for 4 hrs...our families came and went but mostly everyone hung out at the NICU to make sure Austin was ok. He apparently had some trouble breathing, which is common with C-Section babies. For the rest of the stay in the hospital he was in and out of having to permanently stay in the regular nursery so they could monitor his Oxygen levels (he turned blue a couple times!) That was so hard and i hated not having my baby in my room with me. He was only permanently in our room maybe for a couple days at most. So I was quite selfish with him when I could have him! (sorry visitors!)

But Austin improved and was able to come home with us the day I was discharged (tues). He lost too much weight in the hospital, I think just over a pound, but has easily gained it back!

It's crazy how much your life can change in the blink of an eye! I keep telling Jake I was pregnant for 9 whole months but that still doesn't prepare you for the change of being a parent! We are so in love with our little boy. I am in awe at the daddy Jake is. He loves his boy! He is obsessed and so good at taking care of Austin. A couple times, he has stayed up with him while I've slept and I feel daddy is as good as mommy. He has given him his baths (I assist) and changed all but 2 diapers while we were in the hospital (he taught me how). He has clipped his nails... SO fun! Here are some pics! PS so this nurse knocked our camera off the table in the hospital and broke it!! The SECOND day we were there!!! Luckily, IMC owned up and told us to buy a new one and they would reimburse us.

Also, IMC has a photographer that came and took pics of Austin..they are SOOO cute. I will post them when we get the CD in the mail.

Funny I posted this pic, I hadn't really gotten ready all day. But hey who cares!
Austin loves sleeping in his cribs. I have made it a point to make sure he sleeps there and gets use to it. I am currently teaching him to lull himself to sleep in his crib. I don't want him to depend on mom or dad to fall asleep. He has been very successful!!

haha Tummy Time. He did awesome. This pic is blurred because he is moving so much. But you can see he can lift himself up on his arms, and lift his head! Go buddy!

I apparently am not producing enough milk to keep up with Austin's demand so I supplement after I breastfeed. He likes to think he can hold his own bottle!

Peaceful. He always breaks out of his swaddle. He likes to have his arms (at least one) out.

He loves the warm water in his bath (it always makes him pee!) but hates getting his hair washed!!

Love him!

He also loves his bouncer which is good, I was hoping he would so we wouldn't have to go buy a swing.

Daddy clipping nails!

Jake wanted to document the "falling off of the cord." SO there ya have it! PS this pic makes AUstin's tummy look giant and very round. But look closely, he's pretty skinny all around, except for his triple chin haha!

Being a mom is like they say the hardest job, but only because you are so obsessed and concerned with your baby, you want everything to go right! Austin is a huge blessing and we've waited a very long time for our little one! We started trying to get pregnant in Feb 2009. I believe all things happen for a reason. And Austin is reason enough for everything that has happened to make sense. Jake and I are so proud and have really enjoyed parenthood thus far!

Also, thank you to all our friends and family for your support and love!! We've been so spoiled!! I thank the Octagon for those cute blog posts too, I just barely saw them!!

in closing...Yesterday Jake said "when are we going to have our next baby?" It was more a rhetorical question, but all I can say is hmmmmm.....

You're Kidding Me.

2010-09-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well. I just got back from the Doctor. Let's just say the baby is a naughty baby. After being head down since week 30ish, our little boy has decided to TURN. He is now SIDEWAYS! Otherwise known as Transverse. Mmhmm yes it's pretty self explanatory: His bum is on my right side and his head is on my left side. (but Transverse can also be the other way around)

(i typed Transverse presentation in Google and this pic is the least creepy!)
WOW! Dr. Terry was pretty amazed, and said that this happening is very rare. It is interesting because my belly has been an odd shape the last couple days, and now I know why! Just one week ago, he was still head down. What happened!? I couldn't tell ya. I have noticed in the last couple days his body parts have been in different places, but I do not recall feeling him turn sideways.

The doctor says he will most likely turn back to where he was, because that's how he's been this whole time. I sure hope so! He is running out of time, because soon he will be too big and fat to turn at all and he'll be stuck sideways. This same thing happened to someone in my ward and she said she had a special appointment where the doctor tries to TURN the baby manually, from the outside. She said it was extremely painful, worse than labor contractions. I read online that sometimes during this procedure, they give you an epidural for the pain. I hope that's just the untrusted internet speaking. I use to work with a Midwife at the U, and she has a technique she uses to turn babies, using a blanket. hmmmm....I just hope he turns on his own. If he is stubborn and doesn't ever get back into head down, I will most definitely have to have C Section! You cannot deliver a sideways baby haha! I am not opposed to that if that's the only way to safely get him out, but ofcourse would prefer regular delivery. I guess we'll see next week if he's decided to be a good little baby!!

To top things off, I have NOT dilated ONE BIT. Nor thinned. Goes to show even if you have ten thousand B.H. contractions lol it doesn't make one bit of difference! I am 36 and a half weeks. When I go back, I will be just shy of 38 weeks. I am praying for progress, and for this baby to turn by then! I really don't think he'll be small enough to turn after that.

This appointment was funny, but I'm sure I'll loose it and cry tonight. It's like I took one step backward. I'm defintely at a point now where I am super emotional and want to cry when I begin to pitty myself. But I haven't let it happen yet. I need to try to keep busy and think of those who've gone through some rough last weeks (dear Jandie). I am having a ton of fun setting up the nursery and getting his laundry done though! Preparing is so fun. Jake and I seriously cannot wait to hold this little guy (Jake is very excited to wrap him in his blue monster hooded towel) no matter how he gets here..C section or not! Send me some good "turning" and "progression" vibes!

My opinion on being checked: It hurts! But it's quick so that's good. Based on the pain factor, it felt like his whole fist, but I wasn't watching haha so I don't know what all was up there! Boy oh boy though, I sure squirmed on that table. Yipes!

The 9th Inning

2010-09-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I have officially begun the ninth month of pregnancy! It's super fun! haha. Being one of the last ones to get pregnant, I'll leave it up to you to determine the validity of that statement.

I actually think it really is fun though. I LOVE waking up to The Little rolling and squirming. I LOVE watching him. And I LOVE playing with his baby things and showing them to Jake. Remember in elementary school when you made those paper chains to count down to Christmas? I made one last week to count down to Oct. 23rd. It began with 37 links and it's already down to 28! Jake is in charge of ripping a link off each night and he's behind 3 days and it's driving me crazy...cause it should look much shorter than it does!

This pregnancy has been awesome. It has had it's tiny ups and downs each Trimester, but all is well with our little guy!! I am in the midst of my showers thrown by my AMAZING friends and family, and seriously feel too spoiled, thank you to everyone!

ps: I apologize for not having an updated picture of myself!! Our camera is having fun in Italy with my mother-in-law and comes home this Tues so soon there will be a picture!

Updates:
- I get checked for the first time this Wed. Considering the intensity and consistency of my B.H. contractions...maybe there will be at least a little teeny bit of progress!? I get them all day every day, and many times as of late they make it painful to walk and I get crampy like menstrual cramps or like I have to go to the bathroom (um #2 that is).

-The stretch marks have arrived. I knew it. Curses to my mother! lol JK mom. My tummy is literally gigantic and taking over my body. I have little broken capillaries all over my belly. Poor poor skin. The center of my belly, around the navel, is NUMB but still itches and I can feel pangs of stretching sometimes. It burns if I itch it, so I like to put cold things on it...and Aveeno.

- The swelling has arrived. Mainly face, feet, and hands. Not painful though. They just look like marshmallows!

-I'm officially shocked at how much weight I've gained, but not bothered by it. It's all good! Jake and I are both glad I've gained the weight for the health of the baby. I am super excited to run my butt off and do hundreds of crunches everyday like I use to. aaaahh how lovely is exercise!? So dang addicting. PS to give you an idea, I weigh as much as Jake and he's just shy of 6 feet tall. And I still have 4 weeks left! haha!!

-My doctor says the baby hasn't dropped yet, which shocks everyone, including myself. The good thing is, when he finally does drop, he'll probably just fall out lol. Seriously, I'm carrying so low it's crazy. My tummy will soon start hanging to my knees. So be prepared.

-Emotionally, I'm doing well! A few months ago I was freaking out about being a mom and so forth. I was pretty anxious and scared. But we went to the temple and literally it all went away. I felt so much more at peace and confident afterwards. Now, I'm super excited and feel ready. I'm not nervous for labor, but so excited it's kind of like that nervous excited, ya know?

-I'm so grateful for friends! You wonderful girls have been so helpful in advice, tips, help, support...Seriously it pays to be one of the last to start a family. Everyone has been SOOO great! I have absolutely loved watching you all have your babies, and can't wait to join you :-)

So, Jake and I had a "function" to attend the other night....Don't we look great? I really love how that green dress compliments my beautiful figure. And that suit on Jake is just dashing. If you want to know how I keep my skeleton arms so skinny...let me know.
This cartoon is my world right now. Just the picture though. Not what the other women are saying. I don't feel excluded, or sad, or jealous....Just REAALLLLY excited to have a baby to hold with ya'll!!

Haha look at my face. Really Kim? I don't know what I was thinking. This picture was taken like a month ago so it's pretty outdated. My belly has grown quite a bit since then!! But it's the least I could do to put this pic up!!

Thankfuls...

2010-09-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

Jake and I have had a tad bit of "off-luck" lately as I would call it, so I decided I need to rise above the cloud and name some Gratitudables (yep, I just made that word up).

I am thankful for:

1. The clothes Chels just lent me. I am astonished at how quickly things are beginning to not fit. And I refuse to buy more clothes with the Little coming in 7 weeks.

2. Saved $ in checking and savings ;-).

3. The babe resting and growing inside. He has the hiccups right now. Aww...

4. The cooler weather as of late.

5. Seeing Haloween things popping up...because the aforementioned Little will be a Haloween baby.

6. My dad. He loves me unconditionally. He's helped me through some rough personal times and I can feel his desire to be closer to his family (he lives in Cali). My mom. At the drop of a hat, she would give me her beating heart if I needed it. My sister. Her passion. Her maturity. Her non-judgementalness. All which merit an individual who is not nearly a whole decade younger and not even 20 yet.

7. Everyday when my husband walks through the door after work: The pure joy it brings me, even though it's happened some 1,215 times since we've been married.

8. Cereal. Pickles. Sweet pork. Cheese. (not all together)

9. The Footloose dance scene recreated in Hot Rod. And, the real scene with Kevin Bacon. It's pretty cheesy.

10. Everything running related. My shoes. My stroller. Being out of breath. Sweating. I can't wait to hit the pavement!

11. Friends!!!!

12. My religion.

13. Lotion, chapstick..and yummy smelling things like that.

14. The chorister in Primary, who, during Sharing Time, told the kids what would happen if they didn't cross the street safely. "You would get run over by a truck and your head would smash like a watermelon and brain juice would come squirting out." Whoa! I was dying of laughter.

15. The picture slide show Jake and I watched last night of our fun vacations. Those pics above are from two seperate trip to Mexico..how badly I want to return!!
16. The patience I've learned over the past year and a half. It's not easy to learn some of the most important things!
17. The mere fact that, after a number of years, dogs and their owners look alike or at the very least resemble eachother in either looks or personality! Not kidding. Pay attention the next time you drive down your street. Exemptions: Ashley. You do NOT look like a pug lol

32 Big Ones

2010-08-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

I have absolutely loved being pregnant. Seriously the most miraculous thing! Our little guy actually feels like a big guy now, with his rolling, punching, and tremendous ability to distort my tummy. My favorite thing in the world is when Jake feels/sees his son and the look on his face when it happens. I haven't blogged in a while and I've had all these things I've wanted to talk about! ps I'm 32 weeks, hence the title. *sorry, I have a belly pic ready to post but am having issues loading it to our computer..Hopefully it's coming soon! Just picture me a lot bigger than you thought I could get ;-)

Here are some interesting and funny quirks I've experienced (these are all facts. not complaints):

1. I fell out of the bed a couple weeks ago. I was actually climbing back into bed (ours is has high as a dresser) and I slipped and fell backwards, plopping onto the floor. How embarassing. My hilarious mom asked me if I needed child rails. It startled Jake and how lovely to be picked up by your husband and helped back into bed. The last time that whole scenerio happened? I was 3.

2. I have Braxton Hicks contractions everyday, and they began at 29 weeks. They are getting stronger each week. I get like 10 a day and somedays they happen every 10 minutes, but not for an hour straight which is when my doctor said to call. They are so funny, which makes them not real, right! Except sometimes they make me feel like I'm going to pee my pants! But boy oh boy when the real ones come, I assume I will not think they are so funny.

3. I have ridden a JAZZY. Yes. Oh please, it wasn't on purpose. I was at Wal-Mart, "buying big lady bras" as Jake told the story to his family (they got a kick out of that....and my red face). I was on my way through the parking lot, approaching the doors. This old man was unloading his groceries from his Wal-Mart Jazzy into his car. I was really hoping he wouldn't ask me to help him cause I was just tired that day. Well guess what, it was my lucky day because he INSISTED I RIDE THE JAZZY as I shopped. He told me to get in it. I said "no thanks" three different times in three different, very polite, ways. He jokingly pulled out a card that said he was a retired Sheriff and once again insisted I ride the Jazzy. Oh my gosh. So I finally gave in, cause really he wasn't going to let me get out of there without driving that thing. So there I am, sitting on the stupid thing. Then he starts talking to me about his grandkids and how there are 3 and how they are living in his basement and blah blah...the whole while I'm sweating to death due to humiliation and heat. He actually was a reallllly nice guy, and we had a great conversation. It's not everyday you enjoy something like that at Wal-Mart. Well he finally went on his way and left me to drive my pregnant self into the store, purse in lap. Mmhmmm It sure was embarassing.

4. This nice lady in our ward..she is hilarious. A couple weeks ago she was like "are you sure there's only one in there!?" Then this past Sunday she told me "better not sneeze!" I love her, she is so funny, and I don't mind the comments one bit! Also at the temple one of the workers asked me "is this just a single baby?" I guess I'm sticking out pretty far??

5. While Jake was camping one night I woke up with the most excruciating pain in my calf. I felt it and it was as if there was a golf ball in it. My muscle was hard as a rock and yes, in a ball. I could barely breath it hurt so bad. If Jake was home, he probably would have thought I was going into labor by the pain sounds I was making! My calf is better, sans golf ball pain.

6. Being pregnant is a glimpse of childhood...or being elderly, you choose. Jake: shaves my legs, trims/paints my toenails, helps me back into bed, and picks things up off the ground for me. I sleep with 4 pillows. Drying off after a shower, and bathroom visits require more effort than I imagined! I don't sleep through the night. I have a hard time getting into our bed and need a step stool. Let's just say am very similar to Jake's 95 year old grandpa.

7. Our Bishop classifies my belly whenever he sees me. It has moved from basketball to beach ball in case yo u are wondering :-)

8. Once a long long time ago, I was in Florida and decided on a whim to get my belly button pierced. And I did. 80 bucks later: I had a cute little blue gem and a sore belly button. 4 weeks later: it came out while tubing. 9 years later: here I am with a big baby belly and regretting that decision. The scar is red, shiny, stretched, and crooked.

9. I've been in two car accidents...luckily each was not severe and the baby is doing great. But seriously, can we stop with those stressful events??

I want to stress that these are just funny things about being 8 months pregnant, they all make me laugh because it's just funny to me. I really cannot complain one bit. This pregnancy has been very easy and heck I'll go through anything just to get a baby into this world!

I went to the Doctor last Thurs and everything is looking great. My measurement is on track, and he'll start checking me..or as Jandie would say..the "fun" visits begin in 3 weeks. Our baby's head is down, and has been since last visit so I HOPE he stays. He's REALLY been pushing down onto my cervix, which hurts but it makes me excited! He's just getting ready to come, smart baby!

Weekender at Powell

2010-08-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Can I just say I L-O-V-E Powell!? I personally think it is one of the best vacations you can take. Back in "the day" aka high school days, Megan's family would take all of us girls down for a week of pure enjoyment. We would stay on their houseboat usually anchored at a beach and I never wanted to come home! What more could you ask for?

-sunshine
-heat that makes you always want to swim
-getting tan
-beautiful surroundings
-hanging out in your swimsuit all day
-being in good company..back then it was with my best friends and Meg's older bro's best friends..made for some good times! Nothing fishy..don't get the wrong idea here. We were all just good friends and had a heck of a time!
-boating/waverunning and my all time favorite: extreme tubing/weenie wars
-endless snacks and yummy meals
-card games, movies, toenail painting etc etc etc

I was so excited when our good friends The Kings invited us down for the weekend of the 24th. Even though I "observed" all the activities and couldn't do all that I'm use to, it was still everything I remembered about good 'ol Powell. I seriously can't wait to go back, with our cute little boy in my arms and not my belly lol.

We stayed on their gorgeous houseboat..I didn't know they made houseboats like that these days!! And got some good boating trips in. I don't know why I am so dang paranoid about so many things being pregnant (maybe because I've lost one and am afraid to take any sort of chance with my little guy) but I was super nervous about going out on the boat...and well let's just say Nick is my hero because he told me where to sit so I wouldn't feel the bumps and he was so careful about driving...my fears were completely resolved the first morning we took the boat out. THANK YOU NICK!!! What a good guy!! I felt so comfortable with him at the helm :-)

My poor husband....He was so excited for Powell. He loves wakeboarding and everything else you do in the water...and shoot the FIRST morning we went out, he blew his eardrum wakeboarding. Here's his 1st run...so far so good...

Then his 2nd run. He was attempting some type of flip. He could feel it wasn't going to work out so he tried to turn it into something else and WHAM, came down, slapping his ear against the water. In the back of my head I thought 'ouch that didn't look too pleasant' but just thought it was a normal crash.

When we went to pick him up out of the water he said he felt like he shattered his eardrum and had a hard time hearing out of it...We all tried to convince him he just had too much water in his ear and it will eventually come out. But I grew worried just watching him..he never aknowledges pain...but I could tell it wasn't good!

To make things worse, a couple hours later we found an awesome little cove and Jake and Nick went for a sketchy climb...then DOVE into the water. Apparently you're not suppose to get your ear wet once you've blown your eardrum, but we didn't know!! After that Jake was in a ton of pain (poor guy) and just sat there hanging on the deck of the boat just taking the pain. After that it all went downhill...he even wrapped his head in a towell because the wind hurt his ear! He had blood in his spit and in his ear, he couldn't hear very well...ugh!

Well long story short (sorry) Nick took him to the hospital in Page and the Dr. said the eardrum was definitely blown and he needed it surgically repaired but there wasn't a surgeon..So he just had to spend entire rest of the trip without getting it wet! Hello: we're in Powell!! No water!? Haha my poor husband and I turned out to be the gimps of the houseboat...except he had cotton sticking in his ear the whole time and looked a little "special."

He was checked out once we got home and it turns out we have to wait to see if it heals on its own in 6 weeks. If not, then he has to have surgery...so let's hope it heals, eh!? My favorite part of his appointment was when they looked in his ear with a mini camera and you could see the absence of the eardrum and all the damage...dried blood, etc. it was pretty sweet. It's not often you get to see that!

The Kings have an adorable little girl who will be 1 this month. She was amazing on the ride down and home...and I couldn't believe how chill she was on the boat! Look at this girl!!

It was so funny, that's literally all she did. Just hung out on her mom's lap. She was totally chill, and relaxed she would even doze off for a little bit here and there. K seriously how could you not want a baby after looking at that pic! She was so perfect the whole trip (good job, Jake is still excited to have a baby haha). I can't wait to have a little buddy!

Besides Jake's injury, Powell was awesome...I don't know why but when you do normal things on the houseboat it's still 10 times more fun than if you did them at home. Like watch the Real Game and eat burgers up top on the deck. Or play bean toss. Thanks Kings for a good time!

Quick!

2010-07-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

Quick update! No Time To Waste...

Holy moly times are busy, aren't they!? June was full of wonderful things...finishing up teaching and all the fun that comes with that. Jandie's baby shower (so fun). And of course being pregnant. Other things too but heck I can't remember! Speaking of remembering today my mind was very much consumed with finding a job..and that mixed with pregnancy brain resulted in me having to get into the shower 3 different times in a row because I forgot to do things (first time: forgot to wash my hair. Second time: forgot to rinse out the shampoo completely. Third time: successfully completed my shower...you'd think I was 6).

Well yesterday was my official last day of teaching. I still have about one hour of work to do to finish clearing out my classroom. But I have to say, I strongly dislike being unemployed!! And this is the first day! I mean I have plenty to do around the house, but I feel like I should be working AND doing that stuff. It's buggin'. But I made some great progress today in the job hunt. And who will hire a 25 week pregnant girl.. who knows!!? But I can still bust my you know whats in determination to get hired, right?! I've been working since age 14 (shout out to Golden Swirl haha) and really feel weird not having a job....ugh.

Anyway oh yeah Jake is DONE with school. Yes done. He started before his mission and has finally completed his Bachelors Degree amongst full time work and busy church callings!! I am SO proud of him!! GO JAKE!! Who will join me in celebration!? We bought a new TV and I joke about it saying it's either a graduation present to Jake or "our" first present "from the baby" as his soon to be parents! Babies give presents, right?

I procrastinate and haven't taken enough pictures of my growing self..But it's kinda weird to see myself! Anyway my mom came to help me move out of my classroom and snapped this on her iPhone so here ya go... almost 25 weeks prego:

So next week Jake will be at Scout camp for the entire week. Whaaaaat?? I've never been away from him for that long. Sad story, huh? Hopefully I can function alone! Maybe Jandie will have her baby then I'll have someone to take care of! Just jokin' Jand, I know you want that baby to cook as long as he can.

Really the reason for this post was to ask all you mommies out there about book recommendations. I'm good on pregnancy, but it's time to read about babies and delivery...I would love some recommendations!

And oh boy I am getting excited for all the babies that are due in the next 3 weeks...Congrats ladies!! Fun times are ahead!

Stats- 20 weeks

2010-06-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've always thought it was fun to read about other people's pregnancies, even before mine... Here are some things that are fun to know: (sorry if you disagree!)

1. Weight gained: That's a tough one because it's 2 different numbers. From the time I got pregnant, I've probably gained about 11-13 lbs. But I gained 5 just to help out in the process of getting pregnant...So to get back to my ideal weight I've got to loose a good 17 pounds already!! I'm actually very excited for all that exercise.

2. Movement: I started feeling his flutters around 16 weeks. Now I feel him rolling, kicking, and I swear doing flips and whatnot, getting stronger... Last night Jake was watching my belly, and he actually SAW my tummy get kicked a couple times!! He was so excited, it was cute. He's been able to feel our little guy since I was about 17 weeks but boy oh boy apparently it's cool to watch it! I'm so grateful we've been able to feel him this much, if you ask me, it's a blessing!

3. Have I bought anything?: Jake bought a running stroller, and I bought a little outfit. Nothing much yet. I have been given gifts, and I LOVE them!!! My mom and aunt did some shopping this weekend and holy cow it makes it more exciting when you have clothes to look at...and look at...and look at...everyday.....

4. Overwhelming Questions I ponder everyday: How do you raise a good son? How do you potty train a boy? Where do I even begin on the nursery? I'm terrible with a capitol "T" at decorating, and everyone always has such cute baby rooms. I'm just no good.

5. Stretch marks: despite my large belly, I have yet to get them. But it's itchy. Any recommendations to prevent stretch marks? Based on my genetics I have a feeling they're coming...

6. Thrown Up: once. Didn't expect to either, because I usually just dry heaved (this was all in the 1st Tri). So it went onto the kitchen floor..nice image there for ya.

7. 2nd Tri as great as they say?: YES. I love it. I feel wonderful. I still get sore after a full day of chores and stuff. And gosh getting out of bed is truly an interesting feeling (like how you can feel everything dropping back down). But I am in such a good mood these days!

8. Cravings: I crave all the things I normally cut out of my diet...butter, salt, lots of fat.. But if I just eat something healthy then it goes away (usually). I find myself wanting things I loved when I was really young. Donuts? I never eat donuts. Ice cream sandwiches? Can't remember the last time I had or wanted one until now. Chocolate frozen yogurt with chocolate sprinkles? Haven't had that since Golden Swirl was around and I was 7. Oh and I LOVE cheese.

9. Emotions: I was not myself the first trimester. I was so grumpy, irritable, and my poor husband thought he had lost his Kim forever. I just had to explain I couldn't help it because that's just how you are when your nauseous all day. Nowadays, I think I'm pretty much back to my normal self, phew!! I cry at lots of things like in shows or commercials or movies. I've probably had one mini outburst (again Jake felt the wrath).

10. My dreams are whacked out crazy crazy and vivid. That's all I have to say about that.

Being pregnant is really a lovely experience. I can't imagine not having him in there. I am just so grateful and humbled that I've been given this second chance. Life will change so much, and I really don't know what to expect, but I'm super excited for whatever it brings!

All Things Blue!

2010-06-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well the verdict is in! We had our ultrasound yesterday and saw very strong evidence of a BOY! We were very shocked, we really thought girl, but you know, my first instinct was that we were getting a boy.

It was such a fun appointment, we got it all recorded so we were able to show him bouncing around to our families. He was even YAWNING or something..he was opening his mouth reallllly wide a couple times (he was probably tired like his mommy and daddy..I was in a little car accident the night before and was at the ER until 1:30am..everything checked out just fine though, THANK GOODNESS). I am so in LOVE with our little baby boy. I just want to meet him all the more badly now! He is very active, I feel him all the time. I think this means he'll take after his dad, which means we're in for an adventurous little son ;-)

I am just super excited about this baby and cannot wait for my NEW due date of October 23rd!!! Hooray!!

Up For Hire!

2010-05-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

I am on the job search! Sad but true, my teaching career of just 2 short years is coming to a close in a few weeks! It has been an adventure, but one WELL worth it. The best (and most challenging) job I've ever had.

Kindergarten ends the first week in July, which means if I don't find another job I will be one bored Kim this summer! I decided to do a blog post about it because why not ask around people you know first!?

So what do I want to do?? I am not too picky. Pretty much the 2 requirements are to work part time, and something a prego could do easily ;-)

I would LOVE any sort of reception/secretarial/clerical position. I have over 4 years of experience in reception and secretarial work. I really enjoy being the frontline for any business. Besides teaching, my favorite jobs were all ones where I was doing this type of work. I've worked as a Receptionist at a Day Spa, and as an Assistant Administrator at a doctor's office at the U of U to name a couple. I of course have a Bachelor's Degree (in Communication). I do very well in a position where I am at a front desk, greeting incoming people, multi-tasking, keeping things organized, taking calls, etc etc.

Like I said, I am not picky. I'll work for a business, spa, salon, doctor, dentist, whatev. It doesn't have to be reception either. I just want something to do or I might just go crazy! The catch of course is that I deliver around Halloween. But I might still need to keep a part time job. If I do, I would still need some weeks off when I have the baby!

If you know of anything, let me know! Leave a comment or email me at kymber-215@hotmail.com

What Are We Having!?.....

2010-05-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well I WOULD know the answer to that question right now, 2 weeks before the big ultrasound!!! I went to my appointment today, and of course..my luck..Jake didn't come to this one and my nurse asked if I wanted her to take a "sneak peak" just for fun. baaahhh I cannot believe it! I had a slight feeling she would offer that nice little favor because she is just like that: awesome. But Jake couldn't come to this appointment so I HAD to decline. While I was waiting for Dr. Terry to come in to the exam room, I was laughing out loud to myself...just thinking we could totally know what we were having NOW. It was actually very easy to decline, how could I find out without Jake? That's what's so fun about it...finding out together!! But it's kinda fun to imagine knowing whether we've got a mini Jake or a mini Kim.

We find out in 2 weeks. My first instinct as soon as I took the test was boy. But now I think girl. Jake says we are having all girls. My doctor likes to play the heartbeat myth game and guess what we're having by listening to the speed of the heartbeat, so he says girl. My family says girl, little sis says boy. Most of Jake's family says girl, but his mom says boy. I'm sure Jordan's guess is 'lizard' or something kooky like that.

Question: Did you take prenatal/birth classes?? Did you like them? Are they worth it? Or maybe you didn't and feel you did just fine without them? I WANT TO KNOW your thoughts! Thanks!

PS...JAND your baby boy is coming sooooonnnnnn!!!!! HOORAY for baby clarke!

PSS..Excuse my rudeness!! HOORAY for all the July babies!! Dana, Jandie, Carly...you're so close :-)

Oh, the Love!

2010-05-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

When you are a teacher, your students adore you. Kindergartners especially because you are their first teacher and well they just cling to you. They are still young enough to listen to your every word. They believe you over their own moms. They cry on your shoulder, are terrified when they get in trouble, and draw you pictures and make you things daily. They are the most charitable people I have ever met. This one boy in particular.

One of my little boy's mom told me this dinner conversation they had the other night. It began with a discussion on forest fires (don't ask why):

P (my student): "Well where is the forest?"

Mom: "It's in the mountains."

P immediately gets very worried and upset: "Oh no, Mrs. Peterson lives in the mountains!! What will happen if her house catches on fire!!? Will she be ok!?" (my classroom windows have a view of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons and I've told my kids I live by them).

Mom: "Don't worry, the firemen would get her out safely and she would be just fine."

P: "Are you sure, she will really be ok!!?" At this point he was very, very upset and just completely beside himself. It took a while for his mom and dad to calm him down.

P: "Well if that happens, then Mrs. Peterson can come live in my room with me."

Mom: "Well what about her husband?"

P: "He can come too."

How funny is that!? He was dead serious too. These kids just keep things so simple. Duh, where else would Jake and I live? Of course, just share a room with the 6 year old! I am really going to miss these kids!!

Some Funnies

2010-05-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

1. I told my class my news a couple weeks ago, and well they've said some funny things since then:

a. "If it is a girl, you can glue a bow on her head but if it's a boy, you cannot."

b. We share a wall with another Kind. class and we could hear them singing and laughing. This little girl was very confused and said "Mrs. Petohson, I think I can hear yoh baby oh something." (she can't say her R's)

c. A little boy looked at me very excitedly and said "If it's a boy, you can name it Spiderman."

d. A little girl with the same enthusiasm said for a girl it should be named "Sparkly." Another little girl suggested "Repunzel."

2. I definitely have pregnancy brain. A funny example is I kept thinking of what the baby will look like, and I had a split second thought of GOOGLING what our baby will look like. Really Kim, really?

3. This guy in front of me at the grocery store passed some serious nastiness and I was stuck in his cloud the whole time. I wanted to push him off a cliff.

4. Some of you might be wondering what our good friend Jandie's belly looks like. Picture this: You know those colorful soft plastic bouncy balls you can buy at Target, you can find them in the giant cages? (see picture above) Well she swallowed one. I wouldn't quite say basketball yet. Definitely little bouncy ball haha. It's pretty dang cute and perfectly round. And I probably rub and poke it too much ;-)

5. I technically have 5 1/2 weeks left of being a teacher. So CrAZY. My kids think I'm just going to bring the baby to work everyday. I think they think I live at the school.

6. SUMMER GET HERE!

The Babe

2010-04-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

We just had my 2nd appt...things are GREAT!! Yay! We heard the heart beat, and heard kicking too. So fun. I keep feeling as though I am showing quite early, but my doctor said my measurement is "impressive" and exactly where it needs to be.

I took a quick picture for my mom on my phone....So here's the tummy at about 12 1/2 weeks. That was just 3 days ago. I think I'm going to be huge haha. Yes our room is a mess and yes that is a polka dot bra!

And yes that is what I wear on Saturdays. I really need some new clothes, none of my pants are comfortable in the belly area at all.

My ultrasound is June 1st..and we're still deciding if we want to know. Well, Jake says he's fine with keeping it a surprise. I really want to know, but sometimes think it will be fun to not. But let's get real here, how could you not find out!!?

Tidbits of My Days

2010-04-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

I realized that it's been a while since I've complained, boasted, or even just talked about my students on here!

We had our 100th Day Party (remember those?!) a couple weeks ago. I sent home a poster board with each student and told them they had to put 100 things on it, grouped by 10. Well "John" brought this:

Umm yes those are DEAD FISH. You're kidding me, right John's parents?? Nope. Here's a close up:
DISGUSTING. Don't even ask me how in the world they got these fish..how they dried them out...and how they attached them to the poster. I am just hoping they are sardines..which are still disgusting. All the other kids had such cute posters! Some used cereal to create members of their family, using 100 pieces total. Some did fruit snacks, or stickers, or candy. THOSE posters got stacked nicely in one pile. Needless to say John's poster went in the furthest corner of the room, face against the wall. I was gagging. sidenote: i still love john and will not judge him for his horrid creation.

*oh my gosh, in editing my blog, i just discovered 2 of John's fish are missing..oh my if they are somewhere in my classroom..rotting...so help me!

-We were learning about "r" as an ending sound in words. A worksheet we did had pictures like "deer," "car," and so on. One little boy (not John) asked me, "Why isn't their 'beer' on there?" What do I say to that!? I was actually very proud of him because he totally thought of his own "r"-ending word.

-We spent 2 days on a writing project this week. It was a poem: "Snow, snow, go away. Come again another day. We all want to go and play. Snow, snow, go away!" They wrote that one day then the next they made a cute snowman out of paper that holds the poem. They turned out so cute! But this little boy said he was going to through his in the trash, because he LIKES snow. I guess that's what I get for teaching against someone's beliefs!

On a totally unrelated note, I came across these pics on the camera. Jake recently went flying with our good friend Nick...Captain Nick that is. He just got his pilot's license and now can officially fly the friendly sky (wow where did I get that from)..I told Jake to take the camera. These are the pics he took:

Pretty sweet! I wished to have seen a nice picture of Jake and Nick standing in front of the plane, arms on each other's shoulders...haha but for some reason boys don't think to take those kinds of pictures (I wonder why!).

It's Time to Change!

2010-04-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

The Light Bulb goes ON:

Jake and I spent our late Sunday evening watching this documentary. I HIGHLY recommend it to all. But only if you are prepared to CHANGE the way you GROCERY SHOP and EAT (if you haven't already). Here's what I mean (get ready lol):

The whole "Food Revolution" thing has been around for quite a while now, and I always knew it was important. I have considered myself maybe a 6 or 7 on the "healthy eater" scale (this 1st trimester excluded...blah) where I made a conscience effort everyday to eat healthy and exercise a lot. But there were still areas I could definitely improve on.

Well after watching this movie, and combining it with the other snippets I've seen and read about America's food problem, (I even took a class on it in college).. IT IS TIME for a CHANGE!!

The Facts:

Jake and I both agreed we MUST make healthier choices. We fell asleep in bed discussing how to go about making this change for ourselves. I feel stupid for not making this effort much earlier. Anyway here are some nasty details the movie uncovered, which are prompting us to eat better:

1. Our first resolution was to never again purchase from the largest chicken manufacturer, starts with a "T"...can you guess?? Tyson. Yeah the way they treat their chickens is absolutely inhumane, evil and disgusting. Some people aren't bothered with that sort of animal treatment and still buy. But think about it. They way they treat their animals COMPLETELY effects the product, which you are putting into your mouth and feeding to your kids.

a. They force farmers to keep their chickens in pitch black, dirty chicken houses, walking around in their own feces. The farmer has to wear a mask when she regularly goes

in to clean up all the dead chickens. SHE has become resistant to ALL antibiotics,

due to her exposure to the antibiotics that are in the chicken feed. The chicken houses are

full of disease. Their diseases have developed an immunity to antibiotics. They are deprived of sunshine, fresh air, and normal activities.

b. Consumers like white meat better, so the company feeds their chickens hormones/drugs to make their breasts grow abnormally larger. They also figured out how to "grow" their chickens 3 times faster so a chicken will become fully grown in a very short amount of time. The problem with this is, their bones, ligaments, etc...don't have a chance to develop fast enough to support their body weight. The movie shows the chickens..they can only take 2 steps and then they fall down. Take 2 steps, fall down...

c. The baby chics, as seen below, are shoveled onto a conveyer belt...hundreds at a time,

and are thrown around by the workers. They also showed the chics getting their head

shoved into a stamper..so they were official property of Tyson..it was disturbing to see!

Anyway, the chickens are fed antibiotics and hormones that make them grow faster, and "better"...but then we are eating these substances too. And they are sick. After all, they live in horrid conditions. But since their sicknesses are immune to antibiotics...we don't really have a fighting chance when we get sick! This treatment of chickens is common to all chicken manufacturers, not just Tyson. But they are the largest, so that's who the movie focused on.

2. Beef. I'll try to make this short since I went off on the chicken haha. The cows are also kept so crowded, they literally cannot walk. They're so squished their heads overlap onto each other's backs. They stand knee deep in their own manure. The cows have EColi, and guess how the manufacturers get rid of it!? Instead of taking better care of the cows, they treat the meat with chemicals like AMMONIA to kill the EColi bacteria. The cows are fed corn. Cows don't eat corn. They are fed corn because it fattens them up faster, making them ready for the slaughterhouse sooner. Also, if they are fed corn, they don't have to graze on grass, thereby saving space. So corn is cheaper and more efficient. They are also fed antibiotics, other drugs, and growth hormones just so they can be ready for the slaughterhouse sooner. Oh and when beef if packaged, what gives it that nice pink/red color? Gases like Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide. We are ingesting these substances!

Anyway, that is just a little tidbit of what the documentary goes into. The bottom line is money. Huge corporations control what we eat. People who want as much money as they can get, as soon as they can get it. They DO NOT care about the health of our nation. They develop quick fixes to the diseased, sick, deformed animals they themselves create. These solutions are chemicals that we are told to stay away from in our own lives. And hey, the world needs to eat right? So they just keep making money off of us because we have to buy food. What's even worse, many of these large corporations' CEO's, presidents, and VP's have positions in our government..I'm talking they WORK next to the president. So as they try to make money in unjust, inhumane ways (through government), we the people are suffering. They won't allow factories which are pretty much breeding EColi to be shut down. They are trying prohibit the American public from knowing the truth about our food...AKA their multi-million dollar business.

The Challenge

This change is going to be hard. It's so much easier to make a quick meal, and to buy cheap, pre-packaged food that has been treated with these substances. It is more expensive to make these changes too. But last night I honestly felt so disgusted (ok some of it was the morning sickness) with knowing about all the terrible things I am feeding my family. We are not suppose to be eating these things. I really think many of the health problems today are in direct relation to these man-made chemicals which are in our food. I want my family to be healthy. My husband & children deserve to eat well. I HAVE to make an effort to greatly improve my grocery shopping and cooking.

The Changes: (be aware of where our food is coming from, and what is in it, and how it was raised)

1. Shop for meat and poultry that is not factory farmed. Meat and poultry that is fresh, preferably local, and toxin free! Also, eat less meat.

2. Buy local foods. Less time in a factory, on a truck...etc

3. Buy what's in season.

4. Shop organically.

5. Shop the Downtown Farmers market when it's here this summer and fall..yum!

Back to Reality:

I can become healthier and food-conscience savvy in like, a couple days right!? Wrong. This transformation will take time. I am busy, Jake is busy, we are all busy. What he and I want to accomplish requires time and a little more $$ in our food budget. It takes education, research (looking for the right places to shop), and more time to create organic meals. I have a lot to learn, and it is overwhelming. But it is exciting and the end result I know will be 110% worth it. If you have any tips or suggestions, I'd love for you to share! A question still remains: will I still eat things like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups? yes. Frozen Yogurt smothered in cookie dough? yes. Still get fast food here and there? yes but even way less frequently. Eat fry sauce? oh heck yes. I will still enjoy these delights. These things in good moderation I feel are ok. But they way we will be eating from here on out WILL definitely be different...Here's to healthy eating!

and now I will respectfully step off my soap box.....

Joining the Club!

2010-03-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

Nothin' but gratitude in my heart!! We have a little one on the way! How freakin cool is that. Honestly the last 6 months have been the most trying in my entire 26 years. But never have I learned as much as I have (about faith, trust in the Lord, and the atonement). And now we couldn't be more thrilled!! I think my heart is going to explode with happiness as I type this!

The Journey Thus Far:

Yes I took THREE tests. Ok so let me explain! So I was extremely ancy to get pregnant again immediately after our bad news (we're talking minutes). It was the beginning of February when Jake had to, for probably the 3rd time, calm me down and help me remember things will happen when they're suppose to. Then the day after my birthday (Feb 16) I worked up the courage to take a test. I looked at the results soon after and I didn't see anything. I went to wash my hands and came back and yep there was something BARELY there...Like I wasn't sure. I was already late for a hair appointment, so I just left the test on the bathroom floor and went to Megan to get my hair done. You can probably guess what was on my mind the entire time. I get back home and take a second one..which the line was even more faint (stupid dollar store). So I went to the store and bought a decent test. And yes it was quite clear to me by then. I threw them all into a ziplock and immediately drove up to Jake's work, praying the whole time saying thank you thank you thank you. He was stoked!! The rest of the day was bliss.

My doctor and nurse are absolutely amazing. When I scheduled my first appt, my nurse found out my history and right then said to come in the next morning for an HCG draw. I seriously have the best nurse (thank you to all of you who referred Dr. Terry to me...wow I have never been treated so well). His nurse continued to have my HCG tested every other day for about 2 weeks...making sure it was doubling. Which it totally was. Then once I hit 6.5 weeks she ordered an ultrasound, and boy that was a nerve racking day! But here it is!!
The baby is soooo tiny! The baby is the white blob on the left, and if you can see that white "ring" to the right of the baby, that is the yoke sac. Apparently the yoke sac is what nourishes the baby until the umbilical cord gets connected to the placenta, then the placenta takes over. I was SO relieved to see a little heartbeat!

I continued to have an ultra sound every week, so I have had 5 so far...it's honestly been such a relief to do this. I have been able to watch the baby grow weekly and it is just so amazing. I didn't post all the ultrasounds but here is the most recent:
Baby at 9weeks. You can see the tiny little legs there on the left, and of course a cute little profile of the whole body. That ring thing I am assuming is the yoke sac still, and then you can barely see the glimmer of part of the umbilical cord connecting from the baby to the ring thing. According to this ultra sound, I'm due the end of October..like the 28th.

Jake saw the little legs moving up and down, flittering really fast, alternating right then left. I think the baby's already preparing to be a runner (like mom) or a cyclist (like dad) haha. I missed that but saw the arm wave right after. We got to hear AND see the heartbeat this time...so awesome.

It's all just so amazing, and babies are such a miracle, no matter what your situation is! I love everything about it. Now I have joined the Club...you know, along with all you other pregos out there. We are just so happy......

It's In the Air

2010-03-03T08:04:00.000-08:00

Dear Winter,

No offense, but you were pretty weak this year so maybe just go ahead and throw in the towel. I have thoroughly enjoyed you, especially up through December 25. After that, well... Anyway I still love you and am very glad you change things up here in Utah. So how about we just call it even and we'll see ya next November? Love ya.

Dear Spring,

You're in the air, aren't you? All day you say "spring" then 7 o' clock rolls around and I start shivering if I'm outside. There are a lot of runners that are ready for you. They don't want to wear beanies and long sleeve shirts anymore. I hear this week you might disappear again for a few days. Tsk Tsk. Thank you for the chirping birds in the AM, here's hopin' they don't freeze to death after 7 o' clock. You see Spring, you have a lot to do around here, and well the birds are a good start but really let's get the ball rolling. I really am very excited for you to stay, so please, please come.

Jake and Kim's Excellent Adventure

2010-02-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well an 'excellent adventure' would have taken place in Mexico (I feel overdue for a trip there and I guess the Kings did too haha!) But this past weekend Jake and I had a busy schedule attending 'events' so it felt like and adventure.

I have a secret love for The Symphony (mainly violin and cello) and for Christmas Jake did REALLY good and surprised me with tickets to the symphony, on a night with a renowned cellist..who is AMAZING (and only 29!). I don't think I've ever cried at a present, but I got a little teary at this one..he just kinda totally hit the nail on the head, ya know?

The tickets were for this Friday so off we went downtown!

We started with a DELICIOUS meal at The Roof, which overlooks the temple. This was the view from our table:

We also had an up close and personal view of another extremely important building downtown: Jandie's work haha! You might have heard of her..she's kind of a big deal ;-). I just could not get it to come out right though...
If you haven't eaten at The Roof, it's a buffet of awesomely delicious food, and like 20 desserts.

This is what I ate:

- 1.5 Lion House rolls with honey butter

- I skipped the salad buffet (why waste my time..this was serious business)

- 3 mini pieces of grilled chipotle chicken

- 4 scoops of mashed potatoes (butter filled for sure)

- 2 helpings of grilled vegetables

- 1 scoop of pasta alfredo

And ofcourse dessert:
Jake on the other hand had about like 4 rolls, I don't remember all his food, and 5 different desserts:

(one fact about Jake you might not have known: maybe like once a year he has this binge-fest for whatever reason...and eats so much food I don't know how it's not coming out of his eyes. Once at work he ate a full pizza, 3-4 Mt Dews, and a quart of ice cream..I am laughing at the image I have in my head..like a little chubby kid who can't help it as he stuffs his face)

Off to the symphony..

At Abravanel Hall, there is this giant art piece done by the artist Dale Chihuly..he is known for his blown glass. You can actually see this piece from West Temple if you are driving by outside..it's so huge, and right in the lobby.

Our seats were on the 4th row, it was SO cool to get a close up the cellist and all the other musicians as they played..I don't know how they do it!! It is so fascinating to watch them play, they put their heart and soul into their music! And the conductor was pretty fun too watch too! He got pretty sweaty haha! I LOVED LOVED being there listening and watching...and I felt bad thinking poor Jake would have to sit through it, but he was a good sport and he actually admitted to really enjoying it "especially if it was 20-30 minutes shorter." ;-)
We got there pretty early and got to watch the musicians warm up... Can't you see them? J/K we snapped these pictures secretly while no one was there so we wouldn't get in trouble.

Then on Saturday, we got to attend the wedding of a very close family friend (pretty much 3rd daughter), Cari. She and her now husband have a cute story. They met in Highschool, dated for 2 yrs, got engaged. Then he signed up for the Marines so they postponed the wedding..then she signed up for Miss Utah and had to postpone the wedding for that (you can't be engaged) and then he got deployed again for like 9 months. While he was gone, she was Miss Murray for the year and finally got to plan her wedding once she passed the crown on. They both are an amazing example of patience, and they deserved to have the most gorgeous wedding, which they did:

The reception:
The wedding: (ofcourse BEFORE the reception)
They had an AMAZING reception. It was one of those you can't really call just a reception because it was a PARTY. Of course it was still formal in the wedding reception sense, they did all the traditional things you do at a reception....But honestly the music/dancing/food was just amazing. They had it downtown at Squatters on the top floor...absolutely perfect atmosphere!! I'm not kidding, it was such a cool place. The walls were mostly windows so you could see all the downtown lights and it was magical to be surrounded by 'downtown' atmosphere. I wish we took more pictures!!

The night continues on to the next event: a surprise birthday party for Jordan, Justin Knudsen and Garrett Yates. Their fiance/wife/girlfriends (however you want to say that..gosh) threw it for them. Let's just say there was plenty of karaoke-ing!! Jake was actually the FIRST one to get the ball rolling (see the video below)...haha oh man it was too funny.
I love Cole's stance in this picture hahaha..even more than Jordan's..
Upon Jake shoving the camera in my face and taking a surprise picture..we have bad news: Apparently I have crooked eyes!!
This is Jake, ALONE singing an entire song. You won't be surprised he was the first one to sing Karaoke, and it was so hilarious because no one came to join him...he LOOKED pretty pathetic but had quite the breathtaking performance!

LOVEly

2010-02-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

We had our Valentine's Day Party today. Super fun. The kids kept coming up to me.."This is the best Valentines Party ever!!" I am 99.9% positive this was every single child's FIRST Valentine's Party.

We passed out Valentines..which of course they couldn't read the names on their own. Now that's what adults are really meant for.

We ate lots of sugar. Lots and lots. And lots. Sugar. Lots.

They all left with an understanding of why it is my favorite holiday. How fun is it to make Valentines for all your friends!? I remember doing that just a few years ago :-)...And really, how great is the world on Valentine's Day? Everything is pink!

My classroom looked like tornado/hurricane/earthquake hit all at once...or 24 kids partied in it. Now that kind of mess is one that I TOTALLY love making and cleaning up after. It seriously makes me so happy to see the 'proof' of how much fun these kids had. Cupcake frosting and crumbs ground into the carpet. Candy on the ground. Crushed goldfish all over. Candy wrappers strewn across the tables. And smiles.

I've never seen 5/6 yr olds in such heaven. They were just so happy..makes working with strep throat 110% worth it. How could I miss that!!?

And finally the QUOTE of the day:

"Mrs. Peterson guess what. Kalissa (her little sister) ate WAY too many pink sprinkles and now she has PINK POOP."

Thank goodness for a reason to have a party!

I'll Accept Your Invitation, Ashley!

2010-02-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

ashley thank you for asking haha

Things That Must GO:

1. Nasty roads and the salt that piles up on the car.

2. The teacher at school who has the same due date I use to have and tells me she's feels so fat and is jealous of how skinny I am. Yes she knows. (i'd give anything to be fat like you lady!)

3. The dentist. Love/hate relationship.

4. Watching one of my VERY cutest little girls pick her nose and eat it. It's all ruined now!

5. Vienna on the Bachelor.

6. People who are evil to animals (Jandie and I were just discussing this)

7. The Sonobello commercials on the radio

Things That Can Stay:

1. Running. A daily necessity, not just for the exercise.

2. Quinoa. I discovered it through some 'healthy' people I know. Pronounced Keen-wah, it is considered a superfood..a 'complete protein' if you will. It contains all the essential amino acids our body requires. Easy to cook and you can do SO MUCH with it. And it originates from Peru (how funny is that?...for those of you who know me really well) Muy delicioso!

3. Also Flaxseed, which is choc-full of nutrients as well. It also helps balance hormones.

4. Heated blankets.

5. The thought that warm weather is slowly getting closer.

6. Exciting changes happening this summer ie a certain wedding and babies! Yippeeeee

7. "Gotta Feelin" by Black Eyed Peas

Muuwahahaha

2010-01-30T17:58:00.001-08:00

There's a First for Everything

2009-12-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

An Annual Conversation:

jake: I've never gone ice skating.

kim: you've never gone ice skating!?

everyone else: you've never gone ice skating?!

jake: nope.

kim: well then we have to go this year. I am taking you downtown this Christmas to the Gallivan Center!

....And that conversation has occurred each year since we met I think. AND WE NEVER WENT.

UNTIL now:

Thumbs Up! Jake's first time on the ice. The ice is good Kim, enough pictures already!
I think I need to close my eyes a little more when I smile for pics...
We went with Lucas and Jenny...Pretty dang cute couple if you ask me.
This shows how wimpy I am. I cannot skate backwards but Jake did it his first time.
Takin' a rest.

THESE videos are great!

TOP: Lucas Twirling Bottom: The Jakes dancing on skates. Sorry, you're going to have to turn your head sideways to watch. And after you click PLAY, you might have to click on the slidy-thing that shows where you're at time-wise.

Things...

2009-12-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

On My Mind Lately:

1. Why didn't I go Christmas shopping in November when I had 3 weeks off!!? Oh boy. Maybe I should be doing that and not blogging. Bad life choices Kim.

2. I love glitter. My Kindergartners made snow flakes yesterday and we used silver glitter. It's literally ALL over my classroom. Everywhere I look there are specs of silver happiness. On my desk, on their tables, on the floor, on my pants... I love it. I wish my house could look like that (Jake would lose his mind) and I will be sad when it gets vacuumed.

3. I haven't been cold as much as I was last year. Maybe that's because of the extra layer of cushion I have this year? Haha.

4. Jake and I have recently created "The Cocktail" which we partake of each day: first 2 peanut M&M's then a mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. It makes the Reeses taste particularly amazing...

5. How happy I am I still get together with these lovely girls often (not that I ever thought we would forget each other..totally not possible.) BFF!! haha

And CHELS this one's for you! We miss you, come soon! Can you tell how excited I am to take a picture for you!?
Ok that's all..Merry Christmas by the way!

Tis The Season

2009-12-03T14:03:00.000-08:00

Heehee:

Thank you Buddy.

A Sacramento Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T09:44:00.001-08:00

What were we doing Thursday, Nov. 12? Why, getting off work and driving to California of course! My dad moved to Sacramento over the summer for a job, and my family decided to go have an early Thanksgiving dinner with him! Leaving for Cali after a full day's work kind of takes a lot of energy...we were definitely in a rush, and therefore silly me...I forgot our camera! So these pics (sorry there are so many...I love pictures) are mostly from iPhones..my mom, dad, and little sister have iPhones haha. Boy do I feel out of style!

It took us 9.5 hrs to get to my dad's house...We slept in Friday morning and met everyone in the beautiful city of SAN FRANCISCO at Pier 39. I've always gone to San Fran in the warm summer...It was chilly in November! We spent the whole day there..what a FUN city!
We spent some time at the corner of Haight and Ashbury....the literal birthplace of the Hippie Movement...and I believe the permanent home for my dad's heart and soul :-). Haight Street is so amazing. There was definitely a ton of energy there...so many different people and awesome shops. Jake made friends for the second time in his life with a bum...well he said he use to be one. This bum wasn't drunk though, he was HIGH as a kite. I thought his eyes were going to explode because the blood vessels were seriously SO dilated. Quite an enjoyable conversation nonetheless.
Standing under the street sign..

There was an outstanding consignment shop and I think this little guy lived there! My sister discovered him.
The artwork on the street was brilliant. This sensual lady was painted on a DOOR that led to and ALLEY...hmmm what goes on back there??
This musician was rockin it on the harmonica. He said he "plays to heal."

The Puff Puff Pass smoke shop seemed like a popular place!

While Jake and I recovered (sleeping) from our drive, part of our group went to Alcatraz. Also known as The Rock, Alcatraz was a Federal Prison back in the 50's-60's. You can imagine the heaviness of the air inside those walls. Al Capone was just one of the crazy murderers that was sent there. The prison claims that despite 14 attempts to escape, no one has "successfully escaped." Six prisoners were shot and killed during their escape, 3 were lost to sea..and have yet to be found!!

Looks cozy...

Our loving family...They don't really know how to have fun ;-)

My little sister..who took most of these pics (thanks sister!)
And of course Thanksgiving dinner, which was delicious! Jake has gotten really good at studying for tests this semester!
Happy Thanksgiving family!

Inside a 5yr old's Head

2009-11-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

I'm off track during Thanksgiving break so my class celebrated last week. After a short lesson on Thanksgiving, we watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving." If you haven't seen it, it's pretty cute. Charlie Brown and all his friends eat toast, popcorn, pretzels and jelly beans as their feast. So of course, my kids ate toast, popcorn and pretzels (forgot the jelly beans) after the movie. In the movie, they say grace before they eat....So one of my kids said "But Mrs. Peterson we have to say our prayers before we eat." haha pretty funny.

I love to ask them what they are thankful for. I even model it so they understand what it means. I usually say: "I'm thankful for my family, and for food." (yes...food) Then it's their turn. Sometimes, well, many times, I wonder what in the world is going on inside their head! Here's what they had to say:

- "I'm thankful for my parents and all they give me...like all my stuffed animals."

- "I'm thankful for my dad, cause he's in the army." (his dad is being deployed to Iraq in like 10 days)

- "I like writing gift cards."

- "I'm happy I have the holy ghost and my family and that I can have families forever and my family to eat with. And a doggy to sleep with." (WOW!)

- "I like to dress up my teddy bear in Spiderman."

OK and now for the grand finale, including the conversation that ensued amongst the kids:

- "On Valentines I'm gonna give you all some Transformer Cards...and that my daddy is here for us so we have lots of deer."

child 1: "Deer? Like hunt?"

child 2: "Deer?! Like from SANTA CLAUS!?"

child 3 in a matter-of-fact voice: "No...Deer, like they cook it."

I just sat there in my chair listening to all this and was speechless. It's a good thing Kindergartners don't get embarrassed to easily because I laugh at them a lot. We all laugh together actually. I'm glad I fit in with 5 year olds....

Petah...Petah Pan

2009-11-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Late Halloween! Jandie and Bill had everyone over that night and we all ofcourse dressed up. She made scrumtrulescent taco soup and Carly made cute (and yummy) grave-cupcakes. I wore my costume all day long...One of my favorite parts about being a teacher (really!).

Group shot: Woody, Bo Peep and Buzz; Mummies...one Partially Wrapped!; Peter Pan & Tink; Cinderella & Fairy Godmother; and Skeletons!!

Barkley was Superman and Bella was a beautiful pink fairy...

One of my classes. I told them they had to be in character. That's the best they could do!
Belle's hair must have taken 3 hours...

La Dee Freaking Daa

2009-10-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

It's report card season. This is me:

And I want to punch this lady in the face:
Ok not really. But, the last thing I need is dessert (I wish I had time to hit the pavement more)! The end of this week wraps up 3 weeks of testing, 48 Parent Teacher Conferences, 48 report cards, and hopefully whatever nasty sickness is going around our school. Swine Flu? Hope not!

But honestly, it is very nice to be busy...

Solid

2009-10-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend Jake and I spent 6 hours curled up all comfy on the couch to watch Conference. We were so lucky to attend another 2 hours at the Sunday AM session (thanks for the tickets Jordan!!) It was a cold morning but well worth it!

The sea of umbrellas on a brisk Sunday morning!
Us bright eyed and bushy tailed! (actually we woke up pretty early so we weren't AWAKE until we hit the freezing weather)

Free hugs anyone? Pretty much I love the little guy in the center of the picture...He really wanted a hug!

About 4 1/2 years ago, I would have said "why in the world would ANYONE spend 8 hours on the couch, taking up their entire weekend to watch "LDS Conference?" My answer to myself would be:

"Kim. Look at your life in the 4 1/2 years to come. Look how your heart burns with the knowledge of that church. Look how blissful you are to be married to this guy Jake. Kim you got married in the temple, isn't that something? Bet you might be shocked to hear that now, but you better believe it. Ya, crazy huh. That temple will give you answers to lots questions in your life that you may not otherwise find the answers to. Look how overfilled with joy you are to know your purpose here in this life. Kim, you will have a miscarriage...and somehow through all the nasty, deep mess of devastation and crushing sadness, you will come to understand so much more about the Lord and his son, and guess what: because of that you will pull through and in 4 weeks you will be okay! Kim. Trust me on this. 'That' church is true."

Not gonna lie. Becoming a member of 'that' church was the last thing I thought would ever happen in my life! But as you can see, I think I am okay with it now :-)

I think I speak for everyone who watched Holland's talk..SOLID. That man can deliver. By the end my eyes were wide and I was taken back by his power! I just said "wow."