One Semester Down...4 to go!

Here is dad and Peter relaxing after a very difficult semester! I am not sure who was more exhausted. I am so proud of Alan he did so well, we are still waiting on the final grades but I know he did great! If you look close you might see Peter drooling, he has become quite the expert at salivation.

Almost Rolling

So I was playing with Peter last week on the floor and this is what he started doing, luckily I had the camera near by. I don't think he realized what he was doing but it was fun to catch on film anyway.

Baby It's Cold Outside

So one afternoon while Alan was at school last week I made some creamy broccoli soup (I will post the recipe, it was very easy, good and healthy) and I wanted some sourdough breadbowls to serve them in because that sounded so yummy. I love to make bread but sourdough is quite the process and knowing that ther is a Panera/St Louis Bread Co just blocks away I decided to brave the cold with Peter in tow. I wanted to make sure he was nice and warm so this is what he looked like before I got him in his stroller. Isn't his hat cute! Thanks mom! Yay! Ready to go!

And here he is all bundled up in the stroller, as you can see he was quite warm and toasty while I was quite frozen by the time we got back!

My Peanut

So I have always thought it would be fun to have a Christmas tree with fun ornaments that blended and not matched. (As many of you may know, I am not a huge fan of matching things, I much prefer to blend. For instance if you have ever been to our house for dinner you will have noticed that our plates are different shapes and colors-I think it is fun.) So Alan and I started a tradition when we were first married of buying each other a Christmas ornament each year. This way they will each have a memory-kinda like all those paper and bead ornaments you made as a kid that your mom hung on the Christmas tree. So this year we of course had to buy one for Peter. And we found the perfect one-one that made me tear up when I saw it.

Merry Christmas my little Peanut!

Oh, by the way here is a picture of one of my favorite ornaments from my childhood, painted by myself in 1982. I am quite the artist don't you think! It weighs a pound at least-I always have to hang it at the bottow of the tree to balance it all out. So does anyone else have a favorite childhood ornament they want to share?

Giving Thanks and a Blessing

We have so much to be Thankful for this holiday season that I almost do not know where to begin. We blessed Peter at Church this last Sunday and were happy to have both sets of grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins from both sides in attendance. The blessing was beautiful and our little man looked quite handsome if I do say so in his James Bond tux made by his Aunt Jessica. (thanks!)

It was a little tricky getting them all in our house for lunch but we were blessed with beautiful weather so we could utilize our back yard. It made for an exciting day, Peter and I were both exhausted by the end! Due to the craziness of the day I unfortunately did not get many pictures. Next time I will be better at that! This is Peter meeting his grandma and grandpa Jensen for the first time.

We spent the Holiday at my parent's house in Illinois for a much more relaxing Thanksgiving-it is amazing how that happens when you have half as many people in a much bigger space! Here is Peter and his daddy taking a nap after succombing to Turkey coma. Peter did really good with this trip, mostly due to his ability to get his naps in. He gets that from both mom and dad-sleep is essential to happiness!

Week 9

So this week Peter is 2 months old and that meant another trip to the pediatrician. I really love our physican, she is fabulous. I am not sure Peter likes her too much though because he got 4 shots this visit! His poor little legs were covered in bandaids. He wieghed in at 11 pounds 12 oz and is a whopping 24 inches long.

With it being Fall I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of Peter with our pumpkin, which looks huge next to him! As you can see, he is still working on his core strength and it was quite difficult to prop him up and then get a picture before he would slump over.

This is what I talked about last post, he will sit and hold his hands like this trying to figure them out.
My favorite picture-Happy Fall!

This is Peter's new game. I subscribe to this website www.babycenter.com and they give me weekly updates on where Peter is developmentally and they have good articles. They also give you games to help them with the skills that they happen to be developing at the time. So this is the swat game, they suggest hanging something barely within reach of them so they can practice their hand eye cordination. Within 5 minutes of me hanging this wrist rattle from his bouncer he was swinging away. It is his favorite new thing, he will sit there for a good half an hour talking to and swatting at the rattle.

As for me this week, nothing terribly exciting-but I was able to wear a pair of my jeans this week which was my big event. Alan had one of his hardest weeks I think, he had 4 tests. But thankfully one of them was a final so that is one less class he has to worry about!

Week 8

I don't have too many pictures this week, probably because I have started back to work and am trying to figure out how to make it all fit into one day! But, Peter started sleeping for 5 hours in a row this week so that has been a huge help! The first time he did I was so confused when I looked at the clock and it was 4 am instead of 2 am!

The ladies in my new ward threw Peter and I a book themed baby shower which I thought was a great idea-we received so many fun books. I can't wait until he is old enough to read them to him. Here is the cake which I thought was so cute. It says "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed on and digested."

Here is a video that I tried to get of Peter talking and smiling but he is a bit camera shy. His new things this week are that he has found he can make noises and that his hands are attached to him. It is funny to watch him put them in front of his face and just stare at them.

SYTYCD

I have been meaning to make a comment about this-how exciting that we already have a new season! WhooHoo! And even more exciting is that I can watch it since we have Direct TV and I can record it and watch it whenever I want, which usually ends up being in the middle of the night. I loved the top 20 opening night this year, I think it was fabulous to have everyone perform their own style because I usually feel like I have never even seen a few of the top 20 because they did not get much camera time I guess. Yeah for a new season! As for my favorites..hum I think I am going to have to go with the guys this year and say Nathan and Russell. So any one else have any thoughts?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXYaVz--L0I

Week 6 and 7

Alan's classmates and faculty threw Peter a baby shower which was so much fun and was so thoughtful of them. I love that his program is so family oriented-it will make the next few years so much easier. Here is one of Alan's favorite gifts, we tried to have him use the moby wrap that I have and love but he did not like it, so he now has a more manly and much easier to apply carrier.

There is something about a sleeping baby that I just think is absolutely adorable.
I was finally able to catch Peter smiling for the camera, I just love his big toothless grin. These past weeks he has become so much more social. I have a feeling he is going to be a talker becuase he is already quite voccal.

I don't know what it is with babies and lights-be he loves staring at them.

You have to look close, but this was Peter's new trick, he can now blow bubbles in his saliva. I know he is so talented! But I think it is cute!

Peter's first Halloween! Not that he had any clue, maybe next year he will get to enjoy it a little more!

We went to Centralia to watch Amy march in the Halloween parade. Halloween is a big deal in Centralia and they have a great parade everyyear. Here he is with his Aunt Amanda before the parade in their matching orange shirts!

I was so suprised how well Peter did at the parade, he sat there pretty much the whole time just taking everything in. He didn't even get scared from all the loud noises. We did leave a little early because he was getting a little cold, and we had our first poopy blow out. It went through all of his clothes and blanket!

Fall

I love the fall! I have missed the trees this time of year and it is so beautiful here right now when it is not raining. Peter and I took a walk this week on one of the non rainy afternoons and these are some pictures of our neighborhood that I took with my phone so they are not the best quality but you get the general idea!

Week 5

This week started with a visit to the Pediatrician for Peter. It was his one month check up and he weighed in at 9 pounds 6 oz and 21 1/2 inches long which puts him in the 50th percentaile. So I guess that makes him a pretty normal little boy! He did really good during the visit and just talked away to the doctor while she was doing her exam. She even had a hard time listening to his heart and lungs because he was talking so much.

But as you can see from the picture below the visit ended with a shot and he did not like that at all! I actually teared up a little bit seeing him in so much pain. But he did get a cool snoopy band aid.
This week I have noticed a few things about Peter 1) his neck is getting much stronger as are his legs-he loves to kick 2) he is starting to focus a little more on things around him which is what I tried to capture in the video below except he stopped looking at his toys and started looking at me once I pulled the camera out.

3) he is definitely starting to find his voice and he is doing much better with his refluex so he can actually have some floor time now, which also helps with his gas. I have never seen a baby have so much gas, I have no clue where he stores it all!

Alan and I got to go on our first date since Peter's birth and we went to our favorite pizza place called the Good Pie. If you are ever in town it is a definite must. According to Alan it is the most authentic pizza he has had in the US. It was nice to spend some time together and Peter was kind enough to sleep through it.

Week 4

Wasn't General Conference fabulous! I love having the BYU channel. Not only was conference great, but Alan got to spend all day Sunday with Peter and I. It was nice to have some extra hands and the weather was so beautiful that we even got to take a stroll in the park between sessions.

Never a dull moment this week. Peter got to spend a lot of time in his car seat this week which he is still trying to decide if he likes or not. My sister Michelle got married this week so we had family in town so we spent a lot of time in the car traveling to visit. I have decided that the worst sound in the world is your baby crying/screaming in the back seat while you are driving in traffic, it is enough to make you want to cry.

Peter is also still trying to decide if he likes the pacifier or not, not that I mind because I don't want him to become dependant on it but he likes to suck on things so much I thought it was worth a try.

I am still amazed at how tiny Peter is and that he is so perfect. Here he is holding dad's finger.

Just another cute picture of my little man.

Here he is with aunt Sarah at Michelle's wedding.

Bath time, Peter really likes to float in the water-like father like son!

Week 3

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks already since Peter was born. How time flys when you are sleep deprived!

We have had a busy week of tests and projects for Alan and alot of eating, sleeping, pooping and burping for Peter and I. Although he gets more sleep than I do usually. But we did have a few firsts this week, other than the belly button, Peter and I ventured out to the park this week for a walk. It was so nice to get out of the house and exercise a bit (man am I out of shape) and Peter did great, he snoozed the whole way in his stroller.

Aren't his little feet cute? He definitely got his mommy's feet and hands.

My sleeping angel.

Peter loves his fingers, he just can't quite figure out how to get them in his mouth without gagging himself or poking himself in the eye.

This is his grumpy man picture. He was not super excited to be getting pictures taken.

We have a belly button..

So this is a little late, but last week I went to change Peter's diaper and realized his umbilical cord had fallen off! Now where it went I have no clue, I looked in his diaper in his clothes and his bed and no luck. I hope I don't find it someplace weeks down the road!

Oh, and at his dr appointment this week he weighed in at 8 pounds 11 oz-he likes to eat!

Stupid Bank

At what point did banks decide that it was okay to withhold people's own money from them? If I put MY OWN MONEY into the bank, I should have access to it whenever I want, right?

My Boys

Ok, so I am back among the living-well almost and I thought I would give an update. I have been trying to do this since Saturday at the one week mark, but Peter has slowed down the process significantly...A few thoughts on the labor and delivery before I put new pictures on here.

1) Boy was that way faster than I had anticipated! Almost too fast, it seemed as if everything was in fast forward from the time I reached the hospital. Except of course the triage area-that in my opinion was a waste of time and not nearly efficient enough. I thought I might have the baby there while they were taking their sweet time having me pee in a cup and take random measurements and asking silly questions.

2) I love my husband, he was so supportive through the whole thing! If I had known what to tell him to do to help withthe pain I would have, but unfortunately I had no clue either. But I am so glad he was there to hold my hand and give me the confidence I needed. And to make sure that everything was taken care of medically since I was not really paying much attention. Even with his demanding school schedule he has been such a concerned husband and loving father.

3) Natural vs drugs - my verdict is still out as to wether I will try natural again. I am not sure if it was so painful because my labor ended up being a sprint instead of a mid distance event, or if that is normal, but due to the shortness of the labor I did not get to utilize any of the pain reduction methods I had chosen so I just had to suffer through it. Thank goodness for those blessed hormones that help you forget!

4) I still hate needles! And I looked like a heroin addict by the time I was discharged. First of all due to unreadiness of the triage area, I was in the labor room telling them I feel like my body is pushing and they still don't have an IV in me yet. So instead of getting someone with experience to stick me and be done, it took 3 people blowing through my veins to get the IV, and I have good veins-so my husband always tells me. And then they kept having to draw blood for this or that and give me my shot since Peter turns out to be RH + like his dad.

5) The nursing staff was great-I am so thankful for them. I think it is a requirement that all nurses and doctors working pediatrics and labor and delivery are always smiling.

6) I think my son is the cutest thing ever! He was worth the pain. Everytime he smiles at me when he hears my voice my heart just melts. I just can't get enough of him. I would hold him all day if I could. What an amazing blessing and awesome responsibility.

Ok and now that my ramblings are over here are the pictures, which is what I know everyone wants the most!

This was at the hospital one of the times we were trying to get Peter to wake up so he could eat, as you can see we were not too successful!

First day at home, Peter looks like he is drooling on himself but it is lanolin because his poor little lips were chapped and peeling from nursing.4 Days old, getting ready for bed.

5 days old

Sleeping-a favorite past time for mom and baby.6 Days old

I love mid mornings because it is Peter's awake and happy time-his shirt says "result of an incredible merger" I couldn't agree more!After his first bath, he does pretty good as long as we keep him warm. He does not like to be cold. I can't wait to see how he does when we can give him a real bath.1 week old, hanging out with Dad.
8 Days old




9 days old, I love his little smiles-he already looks like he is up to something!
Here is Peter, mainly just breathing but this is for his Grandma Jensen.