I had an image in my head today. Jake and I, sitting in our house; laundry done, groceries bought, every room is clean, no toys scattered about the floor, no prints on the mirror. The house was quiet. The house was empty. This thought gave me anxiety. I don't want that day to come. So sad. I think when that day comes, I will spend ALOT of time looking back at these memories and milestones, and these busy/chaotic times and really miss them! I'll do all I can to find pictures and things I've written so I can relive being a mom. So, thank you, to the "disgruntled grandpas" who have recently reminded me "the blog needs updating." Yes it surely does!!
These boys, including Jake, are my life. For real. I wake up thinking about them and I fall asleep thinking about them. Anyone who knew me well in high school and my early days of college will tell you Kim didn't want children. What?! Who doesn't want children? I just didn't think they were "my thing." Ha. What a loser.
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Since I posted last, baby Max joined our family, Austin turned 3, Jake got a new job, and we've had a few holidays. Here we go:
I don't know when this was taken, or by who, but I found it and am so glad I did. This, I'm guessing is Max's first bath, of course given by daddy!
Born on Friday, September 13 at 8:09 am, Maxwell James weighed in at 7 lbs 15 oz and was 21 inches.
We decided (originally Jake's idea) we wouldn't find out the sex of our baby while I was pregnant, so baby Max was a surprise. It was so fun! Every time anyone asked me what I thought I was having, I told them I had no idea. Which was kinda sorta like a half lie. I was convinced deep down we were having a girl, but still of course not 100% sure. When the doctor announced "it's a boy!" I was was so surprised! But so elated for Austin to have a brother and to raise another little Peterson boy.
Austin meeting his baby brother for the first time:
He's an amazing brother. He (literally) smothers Max with love everyday. He knows how to help him when he's sad: he tells me "Mommy Max needs milk. Max needs his binky. Mommy Max is sad go help him." He is great at cheering Max up, and giving him his binki. He can get Max to laugh easier than I can and loves to play with him. At first, Max was unsure of Austin and would just stare at him like "you're a crazy person," but now he ADORES Austin. It's the cutest thing. He smiles at him all the time and watches his every move. If Max could talk, I think he would say "yeah….what HE says!" regarding Austin. He thinks Austin is the coolest. Jake and I both hope they can be friends forever! I'm proud of my Austin for being such a good brother and for loving him so much.
Jake's first day back to work (and his new job!). My first time out of the house with both kids. Just went for a little walk!
Jake is loving his new job. Who starts a brand new job and has a baby at the same time?? That guy. Max was born the day after Jake's LAST DAY at Sara Lee. So, his 2 1/2 weeks of FMLA was spent preparing for his new job at Bank of the West, oh yeah and don't forget doing EVERYTHING at home. I was recovering from a c-section, and couldn't do much at all. The hardest part was no driving or lifting. Due to a rough recovery I practically had to go to the doctor weekly after delivery for a good two months. Jake took care of Austin, me, the laundry, cleaning, driving, etc all while starting a new job..so yeah talk about stressful for the poor guy. Life was a bit challenging for the first two months! But things calmed down, we found our rhythm, and everything fell into place once again. C'est la vie!
Our buddy turned 3 just a month after Max was born! I cannot believe we have a 3 year old. What happened? It hurts! For his birthday, I took Austin to the Zoo. Ma (Jaime) offered to come to our house to stay with Max, which was so nice. So it was just mommy and Austin at the Zoo. Some much needed (and deserved) one on one time:
Pancakes for birthday breakfast! (he eats them almost every morning, but they're his fav so that's what he chose). Here he is showing me "3" with his fingers. He does it very interestingly, but at the same time it takes some skill!:
Jake met us at Austin's favorite place to eat, Chic Fil A ("Chica Fil A") for lunch, after the Zoo:
Austin is very in to animals of all kinds. One of his favorites is the leopard (eh-pohd). He was thrilled to ride one at the zoo!
Austin never ceases to amaze us. He's got a brilliant mind and is innovative. He can negotiate the crap out of mom and sometimes dad (he gets it from dad). He was very successful at potty training a week after he turned 3. He can count to 11 (he knows his teens but mixes them up), knows colors, recognizes A, B, C. He can write an A, and loves to sing songs. He's always on the move, athletic, and I wouldn't have it any other way. He still loves to cuddle, is afraid of dark rooms, could play ALL day with Daddy and Jojo ("gaga"), loves being with Papa, Ma, Grandpa Bob, "Tammy," and Papa Joe. He loves his aunts too! He doesn't care to pick out his own clothes, can get his bottom half dressed all by himself, prefers jammies, is taking swim lessons, calls Jack "nephew" (like Jake), started Primary, can't say his "R"s (the day he can will be sad because it's so cute), is still shy talking to strangers so he turns his head when they say hi, gosh I could go on…..
Favorites:
Food: pancakes, all fruit, Chicken in a Biscuit crackers, chicken nuggets and fries, and pizza (his answers: french toast and pancakes)
Treats: cookies, brownies, ice cream (his answers: ga ga mmm aka chocolate, M&M's)
Animal: crocodile, dragon (his answers: crocodile, spiders, and pumpkins..I think he caught a glimpse of the next picture)
the rest are purely his answers:
Book: Lights Out Nights Out
Color: blue
Outing: the park
Show: Wild Kratts
Movie: Dinosaur movies (Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Land Before Time)
Thing to do: play with Max
Weight: 30 lbs (45%)
Height: 37" (50%)
BMI: 15
We went to the Scarecrow Festival back in October with his nursery buddies! One of his favorite friends is Marin, down there in the bottom of the pic. He had a blast at the scarecrow festival, until I LOST him! It was horrible. I was beside myself. There were thousands of people there. Of course my mind starts thinking of the worst. I'm just so happy a "nice lady" found him and turned him in to the information booth. The festival was so chaotic I didn't even hear the announcement that he was lost! Luckily his nursery leader heard it and rescued him for me!! What a horrible horrible day. I was proud of him though because he knew all the answers to the announcer's questions: What's your name? "Austin Petohson." How old are you? "fwee." Who is your mama? "Kimbohwee Petohson." This is all based on what Austin told me afterwards.
We celebrated his birthday with family at Jungle Jims! Such a fun day!
Baby Max, you're growing too fast!
2 Months:
Max is really good baby. He loves to just hang out, whether its on a blanket, in our lap, or in his little exercaucer. He is obsessed with Austin, to the point where if I am feeding him, Austin has to be out of ear shot or Max spends all his time trying to find his brother instead of eating.
Sleep: Max goes to bed between 9-9:30, and wakes up between 7:30-8:30. He totally spoiled me, sleeping through the night at 3 weeks. Around 4 months old, he started waking up at night, probably because I was sneaking him into his crib once he was asleep…and by that age they are more aware of his surroundings. So when he would change positions at night, he was probably wondering why he was in his crib and not with mom. So I did a little sleep training, and after one night he learned to put himself to sleep. He naps about 3 times a day, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Sometimes 3!
Eating: He eats 4 to 5 times a day, averaging 25 ounces. He loves rice cereal! And is *sort of* fond of sweet potatoes.
Play: Max can hold himself up on his arms while on his belly, and can roll from front to back (not consistently yet). He likes to sit with help and play with his toys. Austin is a bit rough with Max but Max giggles and laughs through it all so whatever! He can hold and rotate toys with his hands but doesn't put too many things in his mouth, although he does love to chew on his fingers.
Austin and Marin for Halloween:
Trying on witch hats at Gardner Village
We went on a "Witch Hunt" at Gardner Village. Austin had fun, even though he was a little afraid of the witches. He wouldn't stand close to them for pictures!
Except this one, this one was his favorite: He asked me to take his picture with her
Cute little Pan:
Playing in the leaves on Halloween before we got pizza with Papa, Ma, Lolo, Gaga and Jack.
Tink, Hook, and Batman!
Dr. Austin! (take the medicine, Max!)
Max smiles with his whole face, I love it:
Once Sunday Austin said he wanted to wear a tie like daddy. He's also wearing his super awesome cowboy boots:
Cousins: :)
Austin having a blast at Papa Joe's!
I'm finally back to running :-)
Austin decorated our tree..Good job buddy!
I could stare at this profile all day...
We met Santa's reindeer!
Austin is a Sunbeam now…how crazy. He's a good boy at church!
Hehe poor Max! His Aunt Kristina, who works at Disneyworld, gave him a Sully costume for Christmas! Also a Woody costume (further down).
Troopers, running with mom!
We were out driving his "wiggle car" from great grandma Marjean and he crashed it into the snow. He thought it was pretty cool so he asked me to take a picture of him! I showed it to Jake later that day and he thought it was awesome too. Boy things I guess!
Another trip to the zoo, with Papa!
Max doesn't have to do to physical therapy any more, he went from about age 2 - 4 months. You can see he still occasionally favors his right side, but a little stretching does the trick!
Austin is so good at dressing himself. Sometimes things are backwards and I love it:
Ice castles in Midway. It was fun to hang out with friends but we probably won't pay to go through them again!
Swim lessons :) Austin is not a fan of getting his face wet, and swim lessons are helping with that. He's always so proud of himself after each lesson!
First solids for Max! Rice cereal, and then sweet potatoes.
Lunch with Grandpa Bob
Austin is finishing his ice cream cone.. he bit the bottom off lol
Yikes!
Max's current stats prove him to be tall and very lean. But his cheeks would say otherwise. I took this the other night because I love how plump his cheeks look.
Until next time….
