Wordless Wednesday

Year of the Babies

With Betsy's coming July 13th, next up is Erica with TWINS in October, then Megan November 4th and Kendra on the 8th. I wonder who else will jump on the baby bandwagon?! It will have to be soon to make it by the end of the year. I know it won't be us! -Had a thought today, that this is the first time any of the Petersen girls have been pregnant at the same time! Go Betsy and Megan!!

It's crazy to think that my baby girl will be 3 next month. We've been talking about what we might get her for her b-day. She wanted a pink swimming suit with floaties built in at Sportsmans a couple of weeks ago that might be fun for grandmas this summer. Or we saw a slip-n-slide that would be fun on one of the little burms. Maybe a bigger bike, or one of those motorized Gators to ride around the neighborhood.

Then my boy's going to be ONE!! I...I...I just can't believe it... And I don't have too many ideas for him, because, well, he's got everything that Ab had. :)

sewing high

Julie asked Meg to make a bag for her friend that was having her first girl, and I like how it turned out. It was a few weeks ago, but just looking at it reminds me that I have fun sewing, creating, doing things with my hands. It gives me a little fix. :) I still have a couple to do, and

a list of what i want to make next. Isn't March National Craft Month?? I better get to it.

Journey

It was has been an eventful weekend. And let me start half way through with a conversation Jb and I had. It was Saturday afternoon and we were talking about whether to hide eggs the next morning. I love the video we have of Ab from last year going around if her crazy pj's picking up and not picking up eggs. Then JB says,"I'm more about the journey.". Huh. Here's the pics from this Saturday, and then I'll fill in about the journey :) Saturday morning at 10 I went to the Burkes to hide "as many eggs as you want your kids to find". They hosted a neighborhood egg hunt for the kids. We went back at 11 and watched the the hunt. Came back to the house for lunch, trampoline time, family pic, and then nap. Dax laid right down, but when I went in to check on a talking instead of napping Abby, she was on the floor with her easter basket eating all her candy. :) Got her back in bed and worked on the rolls for dinner at mom and Mike's. We were there for another egg hunt at 5:30 and then dinner. Picked up my BRASSY apron that I won and had some good ham. Dax fell asleep on the way home, and Ab was still coming off the sugar this morning before she loaded back up.

The Journey-

• The egg hunt at the Burkes was fun, but JB wanted pics of how I was apparently running around like a crazy chick trying to get everyone out the door.
• The pictures turned out good, but I had to wake up a grumpy JB who was NOT in the mood to have his pic taken and snapped at me when I asked if he wanted to change out of his jacket :)


• We made it to my mom and Mike's on time, but I had to carry a sugar sleepy Abby out to the car. We woke up a little when I buckled her in, and finally came around when we were getting on the freeway. "Where are we going?!"

It's great how he helps me see the other side, and appreciate the fun and love we have.

So our Sunday wasn't too different than normal. Ab let me curl her hair and then decided that "I don't want to look pretty!" So I took a pic. Dax was a little cranky all morning. When I went to rescue him off a box he had climbed on(and from Ab pulling him down) I ran my toe into the wall and it's bruised and hurts. We made it to church with Dax looking so cute in his big boy shirt. We sat next to the Smiths and Ab shared her jellybeans with Sarah all through sacrament.

Jb and Ab watched a movie tonight while I fed and got Dax to bed. And now JB's spell checking this for me :) It was a good Easter. It was a good weekend filled with fun journeys

Break for summer

It was the last class. It was mostly testimonials. She asked that people share how they have changed and what they got from the class. Many women shared that they realized they weren't as bad at being a mom as they had thought. Many had changed percentages for their routine towards whatever they were working on.

She said something that resonated with me...

Sometimes we think of our motherhood a trial that is to be endured, instead of this great blessing that is to be CELEBRATED. Everyday. So here I go again... SNAP :) The job's a game. It's not always fun and games, but at least I'm smiling instead of enduring.

We went out to the Olive Garden with Celeste and Jen after class, and decided that we should do it again next week, since the kids will be able to take their naps and go somewhere a little more kid friendly. The kids were ok, but it was still nice eating somewhere other than the golden arches.

Manic Monday

It was packed that's for sure! I had 2 visiting teaching appointments that morning, and Ab had slept in so we had a late start. She loves going with me because she gets to play with Keoni and then Adi. They were short visits so she did good, especially considering that she was going to her first friends birthday party!! Sarah Smith turned 3 and had a decked out Princess everything luncheon. It was Sarah, Megan, Jenna, and Abby. They played "put Cinderella in the window", had a good lunch where Caden was the waiter and they all wore crowns, and got to decorate bags for an Easter egg hunt in the back yard. I let her pick out Sarah's present on her own and she filled a princess bag with anything princess. It was great to have her buy something for someone else and appear to be enjoying it :) She got to take home a bag of girlie goodies and a princess balloon which has been a favorite of Dax's. It was small and fun and a great time. It makes me excited for Ab's birthday, which she has already said she wants a pink cake with pink candles. Yup. That's what it will be.
Celeste said she would e-mail me some pics, so I'll have to attach them later.

dinner

sometimes he just wants to do it himself

park play date

Celeste invited us over last Friday so Ab and Sarah could play and we decided it would be warm enough to let the kids play at the park. She lives in Hazelwood down the road from Betsy. The park is pretty fun with a tube slide and swings and plenty of room to run. It was Dax's first time in a swing! and he loved it! Ab and Dax were swinging next to each other and laughing :) One of those great mother moments. I put them in the same swing at one point. Hilarious. Ab didn't want to leave, and who could blame her, but it was D's nap time and he was ready. He fell asleep nursing and I layed him in the stroller. We walked back to car and headed home. Definately a must do again.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday

So I went to Lowe's this morning with Dax to get some wood for the centerpieces for the RS dinner on Thursday night. We were checking out, and a lady came to see Dax. "Well you are just the cutest thing I have seen this morning! There's nothing cute in these lumbar isles." I smiled, and walking out to the car I realized what she had said. So my kid is cuter than a block of wood?? :) Thanks, but I already knew that.

We were all watching a Bee Movie upstairs tonight, but it was getting late and I wanted to feed Dax some rice cereal before bed. I took him downstairs and put a towel bib on him for the first time. He ate real good and then we had a little fun :) I remember Ab doing this when she was this age

sippy

He's doing good with the cup if it's water. I can't get him to take formula out of anything. He can smell it, and pushes what ever it is away. Dang it. Anyways, he'll take a few sucks and the last suck gets spit out. so within a few minutes the front of his shirt is soaked. Even through the bib!

---------------------------------------------------

He does an ooo face with his lips, and the last couple of weeks he can get a whistle out. It's totally random so I haven't got it on video, but the other night he was in the movie room with dad while i ran downstairs to get something, and he said he was just crawling around whistleing and he couldn't figure out where it was coming from :) Go Daximus

AUNT RUSTY!!

It's spring break time, and Rusty came up to play with us for a few days. We(me and the kids) picked her up from the airport on Sunday, and Ab has only left her side when nessassary. We've been coloring and dancing and cooking and shopping and watching movies and tickle wars and bubbles and wagon rides and dress up. And she's only been here for 32 hours :) What are we going to do until Thursday night?!

EVERYTHING!!! :)

for sale

so JB went riding on Saturday with Pat and Karl, and ended up over the handle bars - broken hand. He has a really high pain tolerance, so he was really calm. I would have been crying. We called Rich and got an appointment for this morning, so he iced it and took tylenol over the weekend hoping that he wouldn't have to have surgery. We went early this morning and everything was in place so he was able to just get a cast!! He said it is the first broken bone he's had that didn't require surgery. :) Yeah!! He chose a blue one, and we were out of there by 9. I told him I was putting his dirt bike on craigslist, and he tod me not riding would be like not breathing. Really?! Then he changed his mind and said that I could sell it and he'd just get a new one in a couple of months when he could ride again. Hummmm, not really the plan I was going for.

puddle splashers

We made a trip to Target a few weeks ago, and used up the last of the gift cards Grandpa and Grandma has given the kids for Christmas. I wanted to try a different bottle for Dax and Ab needed some rain shoes. I tried to get her to get the frog one's so that brother could wear them next, but she wasn't having it. She wants to wear them everywhere, even with pajamas, and loves telling people that she has galoshes. They are kittens that say "purr-fect" on the side. I wish Dax was as crazy about his bottle... :)

knock knock, who's there?

When do kids understand jokes?? We were in the car today, and D was laughing. I asked Ab what he was laughing at, and she said at her. "Did you tell a joke?" I asked. "Huh?" The latest habit that is not a favorite-I'm not sure if she really can't hear me. Anyways, I ask why did the cookie go to the doctor? " I don't know." Because he felt crumby!! Haha! She didn't really laugh, but a few minutes later she asks me, "why did daddy go to the doctor?" I don't know Ab, why? "Because he did!" :) LOL! *laughing* "Was that funny mommy?!" Then, "why did you go to the doctor mom?" I don't know Ab, why? "Because you're a cookie!" tears streaming, need to pull of the side of the road laughing. Hilarious!!! She's getting it. And Dax couldn't help but laugh too :)

Self Esteem

That's what Carleen talked about in class on Tuesday. It's getting more challenging to go with Mr.-Wants-to-Walk-but-Can't, but I'm still going. I don't always hear it all, and can't always write things down, but it's still fun for Ab and a little boost for me. Carleen started with a disclaimer to not grab on to guilt like us mom's and women tend to do. Then she said it. And I'm still trying not to grab on, and it's been a few days :) She said, " A child's self esteem will not rise beyond that of the mothers." BAM! So the first step to instilling positive self esteem in my children, is to examine my own. The second step is to help them find out who they are. She said that we tend to label our children and their friends. "Suzy the soccer player, and Tim the artist". Instead, we need to help them know that they are first a child that God, that happens to be good at playing soccer. Third, fall in love with them. It sounds like a given, but unconditionally. All lot of the time, our kids feel like we will only love them if they are a certain way. Their persecption is that mommy loves me when I'm good. But I need to remember that they are people too. And wrap my arms around them when the rules are broken. She also said that self esteem can not be built in a group setting. The one on one, the small talk, the personal validation, that's when they discover them selves, and build positive self esteem. Their positive bank account must be full. 10/1 ratio of positive to negative. She gave some things that need to be happening in our home that will help my kids want to be at home. Happy recognition. Just coming to them with a smile. A smile and a touch at the crossroads. I've noticed that it helps me have the right attitude, and is an example to Ab of how we should be to one another. Near the end of the class she asked us to write down 5 things we do great. There was a little moan, and someone asked if they could just be "good at" them. She didn't respond, and gave us a couple of minutes to make our list. Some people couldn't come up with 5, and then she said to think about 5 things we needed to work on. :) How quickly we are to look at our faults and weaknesses instead of the positive. That is the challenage. We are the example to the next generation. I want to be that woman my little girl wants to grow up to be like. Ab thinks I can do anything, ... and I hope that never changes.

March Already?!?

Well this year is just traveling by!! It will be summer soon and with Daximus turning 1 in May I'm sure he'll be walking by then. So I decided that we would go "camping" in the living room last week so Ab could see the tent, and get a feel for what camping was. She's seen cartoon shows so when it was all set up we sat down inside and she says, "Ok mom. Now we need some stills and farfellows (marshmellows)". HA! That's right. Camping's not camping without farfellows. We brought out the pillows and blankets and flashlights. She didn't want to actually sleep in it, but when it gets warmer, we'll trial run it in the backyard.