Summer Update

I found my camera under the ottoman about 4 minutes after my last post, but then Quinn woke up and that was the end of that. But I feel it's necessary to cram the second half of our summer into one post (minus one or two events that warrant their own), so here goes:


Troy had a birthday! Woo-hoo. My sister made him a birthday hat that was too small, so Quinn got to wear it. Unfortunately it looked a little too much like a dunce cap.


For Quinn's six-month birthday we went to Fishlake to see my aunt and uncle and my dad took pictures of our little family. I will post more eventually, but our new header can from the shoot and he made us some awesome canvas prints that I still haven't hung up. Once I hang them, they will be the first things on our walls and we've live here for 9 months. Oops.


We also spent Quinn's six-month mark giving him solids for the first time. Clearly he was very excited.


He ate the cereal very well. Such a good boy.


Day two did not go so well because that was the same weekend he discovered he could blow raspberries, so he did that all through dinner. Look closely at his arm and you can get an idea of what he and I looked like once dinner was over.


Quinn's had blocked tear ducts forever, so we spend a lot of time laughing at his pirate look. A side effect of one of his post-surgery medications was dry eyes, so he had a break for a week and a half. Once we took him off the meds, I fully expected him to gunk up again, but they stayed clear. Hooray! At least until two days ago when one got bad again. Oh well, at least we know there's hope.

Just evidence that Quinn's parents are easily entertained.

Camping

We spent the night at the cabin last week. Nothing exciting happened, Troy got ready for our quad ride a little early (note the helmet), my dad and Bonnie played badminton and volleyed the birdie 50 times, and Quinn hung out in the camp stroller. What fun!

Family Visit

Troy's sisters came to visit and Grandma decided we should have a photo shoot. Here is a small sampling of the fun we had.

I think Quinn felt grass for the first time. In some pics he looks like he's hating it, but the smile is so much cuter!

All the kids eating popsicles.

Troy and his sister sharing an inside joke. You never know what they're laughing at. I think this time it was a funny word from the crossword they'd done earlier in the day.

Lots of Pics

Quinn is doing a lot of fun things lately, so here are some pics in rather random order. I will narrate.

In the last week he has become very good at tummy time. He holds his head up proudly and looks around for a while before giving up.

Quinn took his first bath in the big tub with Daddy. He wasn't too sure of it, but didn't cry. I think he enjoyed Dad's splashing (and his farmer's tan).

This pic is for two reasons: There was about a week and a half that Quinn always had his tongue sticking out. So cute! And this day he was intrigued by my lotion. He stared at it, talked to it and eventually started knocking it over.

This is how we spend our afternoons: Watching Uncles Tony and Wilbon on PTI.

Shhh. TV.

So handsome. When he's tired he gets some very thoughtful faces.

For a few days he was doing really well reaching and grabbing for things. Now I think he's lost interest and is focusing on other tasks. I'm sure we'll come back to it though.

Spring Break

We spent our Spring Break in the cold, silly us. It really wasn't exciting at all, but here are some pictures to chronicle Quinn's first trip to Utah. Unfortunately most of the time the only camera I had with me was on my phone, so most of the pics are not very good. :(

We stayed in a hotel the first night because 1) we were anxious to get the fun started and 2) we weren't sure how well Quinn would handle an eight hour drive. He seemed to LOVE his first night in a hotel: he had an entire queen sized bed to himself and slept through the night (it was a late night and early morning, but I was still very happy about that).

We stopped in Cedar City to see Troy's sister and stretch our legs. Quinn enjoyed being able to kick his legs to his heart's content. We also saw our niece and her baby, who is five months older than Quinn. Can you believe it? She is really tiny and he is big, but he does easily outweigh her. You can see how much his belly hangs over his pants!

Quinn also met Great Grandma Curtis. Unfortunately he was not on his best behavior and was a bit of a grouch. I think he just wanted to be free: lying on the floor and kicking is one of his favorite pastimes.

Dreaded tummy time. It's a lot of work to lift that Peterson head.

My cousin Jessica came down to see us with her two girls. I promise Quinn was not a grump for our trip. He was really quite well behaved. But I think he's figured out what cameras are and purposely stops cooperating when they come out. I've been trying to get a video of him "talking" for days but have been unsuccessful.

Quinn had a pretty big Easter. A second Easter Bunny actually came and left him candy and books. Notice that he finally has some boy bedding. :)

Daddy and Quinn on Easter morning. Too bad the picture is so poor.

Getting ready for his first walk in the little stroller.

We've decided that Quinn will be a fan of every team that wins a championship this year. This is a picture of his "Let's go Duke" PJs. It made for an interesting game--us cheering for Butler amid Quinn's shouts for Duke. For those interested, Quinn is a fan of the New Orleans Saints, Duke Blue Devils, and Phil Mickelson. We are really hoping the Lakers don't win the NBA championship. There would be some serious contention in our home.

When we got home we went to the fair. Quinn could care less, but Daddy had to get a picture of him next to Dad's favorite part of the fair--the cinnamon roll stand.

This actually happened before Spring Break, but it's a usual sight around here: Daddy and Quinn watching the Jazz. Pretty boring for mom.

Baby Week

I have decided that the last week of March 2010 will forever be known as Baby Week to me. In the last week, two friends have given birth, one brought her adopted baby home, two more friends and a family member announced they are pregnant and another friend began steps to make her dream of motherhood come true. I love it all. Today I leaned over to Troy in sacrament meeting and said, "I'm so happy!" He asked why and I said, "Because Dustyn and Kamie have a baby!" (they are the adopting parents). I just couldn't hold the excitement in any longer. Dustyn and Kamie are on my mind most today, but I'm so excited for all these babies, both newborns and future. All this makes me so grateful I have a baby of my own. What a happy day!

He's Here!

That's right folks, our baby girl is a baby boy. And we are loving him!

Quinn Randall Peterson was born Sunday, January 17 at 11:56 a.m.

8 lb, 5 oz 20.5 inches

We went to the hospital Saturday evening for induction. Of course I hadn't slept much the night before and even though I didn't start feeling contractions until 4:00 a.m., I didn't get much sleep that night either. After pain, puking and passing out, by 8:30 I had my epidural (probably the best thing ever invented) and an hour and a half later I had diliated 4 more centimeters and was ready to push. Then things got tricky. They started pitocin to get regular contractions for pushing, but the baby--she at this point--didn't like it and the heart rate dropped. Troy got really worried but he hid it very well. Once they gave me oxygen his heart rate immediately recovered and I was so tired that I didn't think it was a big deal at all.

Once they had me start pushing, it became clear that this baby wasn't going to get here without help, so the midwife they originally called in to deliver attached the little suction thing to help get him through my pelvis. I thought it was simply a matter of me just not knowing how to push, but he was really stuck. No matter how hard she pulled there was no movement (keep in mind that I'm pretty oblivious to all this as it's happening). So they called in the actual doctor (hooray) and his yanking (that sounds so scary) didn't do much either. Troy said that at this point he and everyone else in the room was sure we were headed to the OR for a c-section, but they decided to give the forceps a try. Once the doctor figured out how to use them (they hardly are used at all anymore), our baby finally squeezed his way into our family.

Learning we had a boy really wasn't a shock. At our appointment a couple weeks before the doctor wasn't sure he was seeing a girl, but because he's not the ultrasound pro, couldn't say for sure. So we spent the next week and a half worried that we had an intersex baby on our hands. Let me tell you, it was a rough time. So when they said we had a boy, Troy and I weren't upset at all. Sure, we had pink clothes, but that is easy to handle.

I was then wheeled off to the OR to get stitched up and Daddy staying with the baby as they did all the regular testing. Quinn even got an x-ray to make sure his head wasn't damaged from the forceps delivery.

The worst part of the whole thing was waking up from the stitch-up. Between the epidural, general anesthesia, and having just delivered an 8 pound baby, I was miserable. The shaking was the worst, then the pressure from the swelling, add all that to running on seven hours of sleep in the last 54 hours and I was not in good shape. I remember being so overwhelmed by it all that I actually thought, "I know lots of people that want babies. I should just give this one to them." How awful of me! Now that it's over I think it's funny. I'm sure that's pretty normal because of all you've been through, but at the time, I really considered doing it. Thank goodness I didn't. He's bruised and a little yellow, but for the most part he's healthy and very happy.

I'm sure I'll have much more to say on the subject later, but for now, enjoy these pics of our little boy!

"Tanning" to keep jaundice at bay.

His standard "I'm full so leave me alone" look.

Making faces like his daddy.

We were sure he'd have obviously blue eyes, but they are VERY dark. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Baby Update

We should be parents by the time the weekend is over!! I report for induction at 7:30 Saturday night. Is that weird? Why don't they have you go in in the morning so you can (hopefully) start with a good night's sleep, rather than not get things started until it's time to go to bed? Oh well, better late than never (ha ha).

I'm still hoping she'll decide to get the show on the road earlier than that. Tomorrow would be nice. Actually, I'm really not that uncomfortable at all. Other than my legs driving me crazy when I try to go to sleep, I could handle being pregnant indefinitely. But having the baby on a long weekend is convenient for Troy and my family. And although I could be happy being pregnant for a while, Troy is not handling the waiting well. Today he informed me he was pouting because we had to wait until Saturday rather than have her tomorrow. We'll see if he's equally anxious to have her around when she's crying at 2:30 in the morning.

I'm a singer now, not a worker

Okay, I'm not a singer, but I'm not a worker anymore either. The title comes from a family story. When my sister Carrie was little my sister Rachel found her sitting on the toilet wearing my dad's painter's hat singing "I'm a worker now, not a singer!" Then she took the hat off and sang "I'm a singer now, not a worker!" What a funny girl. Anyway, that is now an oft repeated phrase in our family.

So on to the real reason for this post: yesterday was my last day of work. I have left the workforce to be a mom. Well, for the next few days I'll be lazy housewife, but motherhood is my official excuse. Like all the upcoming changes in my life, it doesn't seem real. Yesterday was too busy and too normal to be a last day. I checked books in and out, told kids to be quiet, to stop using the F word, and did the usual library things. I prepared some things for my replacement, but I've kind of been doing that since September, so that wasn't unusual either. I'm not a big "goodbye" girl, so when it was time to go, I turned in my keys and walked out the door. There were no parades or anything, so it was all quite surreal I guess. Maybe it will sink in at 6:00 Monday morning when Troy is eating his cereal and watching Sportscenter and I can make a decision if I'm going to join him or not. But who knows when it will really click that I'm a mommy now, not a worker (don't worry, I know mommy actually requires a lot MORE work).

As Promised

Here is the video of us telling my family we were having a baby. We went to Utah right after Father's Day, so we decided to give my mom and dad little onesies about grandparents because this will be their first grandchild. It took my mom and dad a while to understand what was going on, but as you will see, my sister Sarah picked up on it first. Poor girl has more emotion in her little body than the rest of the family put together, so that explains her reaction.

WARNING: Do NOT watch this video around sleeping babies or anyone else sensitive to loud sounds. Do NOT turn up the volume on your computer, there's nothing to hear at the first of the video and your speakers may never recover. :) It's cell phone video so the quality it really bad, but I still love it. And I love Sarah.

I Want To Go Home!

It's so true. Usually once June hits I'm ready to leave work and the heat and spend time with the fam in Utah. However, this year my homesickness is INTENSE! Actually, I don't think it's homesickness as much as not wanting responsibilities, but whatever. I still want to be in Richy, sleeping in and doing nothing, even if it is only for 2.5 weeks.

Brother Update

So this is kinda old news, but since I posted that Jason was going to Chicago, I thought I should post that now he's not. Just days after deciding Chicago was the place for him, Jason got accepted to Washington University in St. Louis! He's such a smart boy and we'll now have to become Cardinals fans (considering they are one of the two pro teams I've seen live, I think I can handle that). I'm pretty sure this is where they'll end up, but I guess we never know with those two. :P

My Bro is Amazing

Congrats to Jason and Lindsay for finally deciding where they're going to live for the next four years. Jason will attend Pritzker Medical School at the University of Chicago! Jason, we're so proud of you and hope the Cubs become awesome so we can catch some good games when we come visit.

Another thought on conference

I was catching up on my blog reading and read my cousin's post on conference. I appreciated her sharing her thoughts, and as I read I was reminded of impressions I had while listening the talks. I thought I'd share a couple of them here.

Last week I read in the Ensign a reminder that to get the most out of conference we can think ahead of things we want answered and pray for the Spirit to help us hear the things we need to know. If anyone needed that it was me. Do you ever have those times you suddenly realize how far you've drifted for the core of the gospel? I knew I needed to get back to what I know to be true and to live it every moment, so I was listening for magic words to light my fire again.

As is usually the case, I didn't hear anything new. I don't know that I even heard direct answers to my questions. But as I listened and tried to invite the Spirit, I was reminded of times I knew the gospel was true and felt God's love for me. In the last year and a half I have had so many moments when I knew without a doubt that I was one of God's beloved children and that he knew me and my pain and what I needed. But somehow in day to day life I forgot all that. When Elder Neil Andersen said, "I don't know everything, but I know enough," I knew that was my problem. I get caught up in bigger things, small details and other questions that distract from the center of the gospel, when I already know what really matters.

All the talks after that touched me, but during Elder Holland's talk I felt something I hadn't in a while. I once described it to kids in primary as a feeling in my chest that was so big I felt as though it would burst (in a good way). My heart was full with the Spirit. As Elder Holland talked about angels, I was reminded of the first night my mom was in the cancer hospital. It had been a rough day and we had just met with the doctor where she outlined treatment and risks. My mom was exhausted, angry, overwhelmed and scared (we all were) and as I left her alone in that hospital and drove the dark streets of Salt Lake, I prayed that someone would be with her that night. It was so hard to leave her when she was that upset, but I felt that she would be watched over so she could sleep and be strong. I don't know that angels were with her, but I know the Comforter was and was with me that night as well. How grateful I am to know I can call on my Heavenly Father for help and feel His love for me.

Conference Weekend

Can I just say that I love general conference? I feel so good after watching. Then between sessions I don't want the feeling to leave, so I avoid TV and actually get things done! I had a nice visit with my mother-in-law between sessions 1 and 2 (and I must say I am so lucky to have married into such a wonderful family) and after the second session I cleaned my car. The outside is still icky (it's been sprinkling so I don't feel guilty) but I armor-alled and vacuumed the inside. I still need to go use my mom-in-law's wet vac and tackle the spilled drink stains :( but at least the sand and grass are gone. Hooray!! And hooray for cool weather so I could finally work outside!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't think I can put enough exclamation points to fully express my elation!

Labor Day Weekend

Wow, what a busy girl I have been. Sorry to my faithful readers. I finally finished handing out textbooks this week and am starting to regain my sanity. It's a very nice feeling.

Over Labor Day weekend we went to Phoenix to see Troy's sister, watch a baseball game and say goodbye to our friends who are moving to Philly next month. I will discuss three highlights:

1. Troy's sister wants to make room in her garage so she made us go through all her old baby and toddler clothes so she can toss the ones we think are ugly and would never use. The clothes sorting was as exciting as you'd expect. However, our niece and nephew were funny. They couldn't understand why we were looking at all these baby things if we weren't having a baby. Apparently there's no need for thinking ahead in the mind of a 7-year-old.

2. Monday morning our nephew Kyler was on a wild streak. While Troy was in the shower Ky decided to booby trap the place. He placed small rocks outside the bathroom door, leaned 8" skewers against it and tied a top vacuum cleaner to the handle. Then he put a bunch of stuff on the stairs. I don't know if he was trying to be sneaky (not successful) or just make things difficult.

3. Later that day we went to a Diamondbacks game with our friends, the Durrants. I am not a baseball fan. In fact, the biggest ballgame I'd watched was my brother's little league playoff game. But this was really fun. Baseball is MUCH better in real life than on TV. Because I don't have a team and Troy's team wasn't involved, we rooted for the D-Backs. There was a lot of scoring and a come-from-behind-win for the home team, so that made it extra exciting. Randy Johnson pitched (that's the only player name I recognized), but he's old so they pulled him in the second or third inning. Apparently I should have been extra excited because a guy hit for the cycle--meaning he hit a single, double, triple and home run--and it only happens once or twice a season, but on SportsCenter that night I learned another guy it the same day and a total of four did it in the last month. I think Troy was exaggerating the cool-ness. :) Another note: I did decide that being a spectator is very dangerous. On TV it looks like the foul balls gently float into the stands, but those things are lethal! I was greatful I was in a very safe box behind the plate.

A weekend I couldn't avoid any longer

I have tried very hard to be productive today. We cleaned out the inside of the car, vacuumed it and washed it. I still need to armor-all the inside, but it's only cool enough for that until about 9 a.m. so that will happened next weekend. Then we went up to check on Troy's parents house. No disasters there, but we decided we need to go up Monday night and pull weeds, sweep and squish cans people have dropped off. Coming back to the heat is hard for Connie, so the easier we can make it the happier we'll all be. They'll be back on Tuesday and I'm actually very excited. I hang out with my mother-in-law more than anyone else in town and I miss her when she's gone for the summer.

Once we got home I was tempted to be lazy, but forced myself to do the dishes and wipe the counters. Then I looked and my floors and decided I just had to do them. If there were ever floors that needed some TLC, they're mine. I mopped, but because we live in a rental, the grout was kinda grimy when we moved in. Then after two years of cooking and washing and walking and pasta sauce (for those who remember that incident--see my post in October of last year), the grout was brown instead of the light beige it's supposed to be. So I pulled out the pumice and went to work. It looks a lot better, but I'll have to keep working on it. I used a whole stick on the kitchen and still have the dining room and trouble spots to do. I took before and after pictures and although you can see a difference, it still looks icky close up, so just be proud of me because it's a major improvement.

After that I was in a slightly productive mood so I went to the store to get pectin for freezer jam. I had strawberries I needed to use and I LOVE freezer jam. I've never made it before and travelling to Utah to steal some from my mom just isn't practical, so I decided to give it a shot.

This is for you Linds. For those of you who pay attention to details, my jam is cheese-free, contrary to what the lid says.

It tastes good for now. Hopefully it will set up and still taste good.

So that has been my day so far. I do not plan for the rest of it to be as productive. I think I'll make dinner and that will be it. :)

So Beachy!

Last weekend Troy and I went camping on the beach in San Clemente with his sisters and their families. Let me start by saying I love the beach, so I was very exciting to go. Troy was a little less enthused, but is always up for getting out of the house. I won't go into zillions of details, but on the way we saw a giant dinosaur and Troy was kind of nervous.

After setting up camp, we went to the beach to catch some late afternoon fun. I wish I had taken pictures of the path we had to follow to get there. It was so steep. Your knees hurt going down and your calves and thighs burned coming up. I found this pic on the web. Basically we park on top of the bluff and walk down to the beach. It was no picnic, but I think I'm spoiled because at my usual beach I park, walk 100 yards and there I am.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun. There were many highlights to the trip, but I thought it was funny that our nephew Kyler, who’s 7, would gather up the seaweed that washed on shore and collect it in a big pile. When a big wave would come up and take some back down the beach, he would rush to save it. Then he took over a big hole some other kids had dug and kept his treasure safe there. Not that I didn’t mind having less of the crap floating around to wrap around my legs.

Troy tried boogie boarding and body surfing, but didn’t get so attached that he wanted to spend all day in the water. I pretty much played with the kids in the shallow stuff because the salt water stung my eyes (I know, for a beach lover I don’t participate in many beach activities).

While we were hanging out at the campground some activists (I mean that in the nicest way, but I don’t know anything else to call them) offered us free t-shirts if they could take our picture and have us write a letter protesting a toll road that would go right through the campground and a nearby beach (both of which are currently state parks), so of course we did it. Then we went out to dinner and we were celebrities. Fourteen people in matching shirts are hard to miss. Apparently this is a hot topic in San Clemente and most agree the parks should be left alone. I guess if you wear the right t-shirt in the right crowd, you can become instantly famous. All in all, it was a great weekend.

There was one major downside, however. (Warning for the squeamish and those with feet issues--pictures are coming) We were careful to cover ourselves in clothing and sunscreen because we didn’t want to be miserable, but we forgot to lather one important part of Troy. Now don’t get nasty. Troy is a golfer and his calves are dark, but he always wears shoes, so even when he’s barefoot, it looks like he’s wearing socks. Yeah, totally forgot to put sunscreen on his feet. Halfway through the first day, my brother-in-law (who was in bed for three days after his beach trip last year because of his sunburns and all the seawater he swallowed) noticed Troy’s feet were getting burned. We lathered them then, but it was too late. By that night his feet were crimson and swelling. He literally hobbled around camp. But he was a trooper. Other than lots of aloe and no more sun, there wasn’t much we could do. When we stopped for gas on the way home, a lady in the gas station was doing massages and told him he should get one because it was clear his feet were hurting (she couldn’t see the cause). He told her she was not going to touch his feet. Anyway, at the peak of the swelling, I couldn’t see his ankles. Sunday night the blisters started and have gotten bigger. It’s really sad. At least now he can walk without wincing (barefoot of course). He says they’re getting better, but I don’t know if I should take him to a doctor. Is there anything they can do? Any tips are appreciated!!

So that’s our trip to the beach: cool, wet, and painful. What more could you ask for?

I'm so Proud!!

Hello friends. I've been away from regular computer access (not that you could tell because my posts are so infrequent), but I had to take a minute to give a shout out to great husband Troy. He's a golfing stud. Second place in a Green River tourney two weeks ago, tied for first in Nephi and another strong showing in Richy on Saturday. He's on fire. (if only he got actual cash to spend on me instead of credit at the pro shops!)

My second shoutout goes to my sister Sarah, or should I say the new 2nd attendant to Miss Richfield. She competed in her first pageant on Saturday and did really well. Certainly the best of the singers. Anyway, we're really proud of her. Pictures to follow.

Wedding Pics

I know I haven't posted in FOREVER and I've been just as bad at checking every else's blogs, but I promise I'll try to get back on the wagon. Anyway, my brother got married yesterday to one of the greatest girls ever--welcome Lindsay! Here are some pics my dad took. People are rarely looking at the camera because my dad was shadowing the real photographer a lot of the time, but there are some really cute ones so here's a sampling. Enjoy!

Lindsay with her triplet sisters and Jason with the groomsmen

Linsday's dad during the family roast/tribute (I'm pretty sure this was at a roast moment) and Lindsay's family. I'm sure the photographer got a better shot!