11 Months Old!!!

I can't believe that Emmett will be a year old in one month!!! I'm a little behind this month on posting this, I'm covering for the other manager so she can use her vaction time before the new year. Anywho! Emmett is just growing and growing! Those top 2 teeth have come threw and now he has the 2 next to that coming in. So he will have the front 4 top and then the bottom 2 once these others decide to come all the way through. We went to see Santa last week. He was totally chill about it. He just looked at him like, "who are you?" He does that with anyone who picks him up that he isn't use to. He doesn't cry though, which is awesome. He is so funny, whenever we laugh at a joke or something he starts laughing too, and this laugh is sort of nasily/throaty. It's hard to discribe, but he screntches up his nose and eyes. It is so adorable! He really loves his brother and loves to play with him. He is still a major Mommy's Boy. Chase went to visit Grandma Smith with Aunt Kiera for a couple days in Cedar City, when he got home he just wanted to cuddle with Mommy. Emmett had a hard time sharing.
He loves to play with his brother's toys and take anything away from him that he has.
Just a note, I don't encourage him to stand in front of the tv. This is one of his favorite things to do though.

While we were making dinner one night, he crawled into the panty we had left open and found his Puffs. He kept trying to open it.


Here is a wider view.
He doesn't talk to much. He does say, Hi, yeah, momma, dadda, and baba. He waves like none other though. If he knows you are leaving or when you just get home he will smile and wave. He is still clapping for everything. He immitates us and will smile while he does it and won't stop till we join and say "YAY!" I remember that when I was pregnant with him we had wanted him to come before the new year, so we could get the tax deduction, but now we are happy that he didn't. Having atleast 1 paycheck between Christmas and his birthday is nice and we don't have to whats the term "stress" about two holidays in one. Does that work? Anyways! He is never endingly cuddily and sweet and a major flirt!

Cool Article, Celebrating 12 Months of Christmas

Celebrating 12 months of Christmas
Published: Friday, Dec. 17, 2010 8:38 p.m. MST
By Jerry Earl Johnston, Deseret News

I have an idea for a Christmas program.
You can borrow it. But don't steal it.

This is how it plays out.

You've heard of "The 12 Days of Christmas"? My program would be "The 12 Months of Christmas."

I believe every holiday has a nugget of Christmas spirit inside just waiting to be discovered.

We begin with a family decorating a Christmas tree. Everyone's feeling festive. Then a little girl says she wishes Christmas could last all year long. There's a moment of melancholy. The wise old Grandma takes the girl aside and tells her Christmas can last all year. She explains.

"Like Christmas," Grandma says, "New Year's Day is about second chances. We make plans and resolutions, but almost never get them done. But next year we have a chance to try again. That's the promise of Christmas. We're given the chance to repent and try again." (Hymn: "Jesus Once of Humble Birth").

"Valentine's Day," Grandma says, "is an easy one. We've made it about romantic love, but St. Valentine wanted it to be about all kinds of love, especially the love that Jesus feels for us and we feel for him." (Hymn: "Love One Another").
Mother's Day could be for Mary.

Father's Day would be for the Father of us all.

"And Easter," grandma says, "is just the reflection of Christmas in the mirror. Turn Christmas over, like a penny, and Easter is on the other side. You can't have one without the other." (Hymn: "Christ, the Lord, Is Risen Today.")

"But what about Pioneer Day?" the little girl said. "How can those hot, dusty plains be about Christmas?"

"The Pioneers and the Wisemen were alike," Grandma explains. "They weren't explorers. They were pilgrims, they were after the same things. They were searching for God's joy and peace. And all of them eventually found it." (Hymn: Come, Come Ye Saints).

"And the Fourth of July?" the girl asks.

"Ah, the Fourth of July is about freedom," Grandma says. "And that's what Christmas is about, too. It's about freedom from darkness and fear. It's about freedom to be who we really are." (Hymn: "America.")

And as for, Thanksgiving, grandma says, "Jesus may be the reason for the season, but gratitude is the attitude. In Spanish, 'gracias' — gratefulness — and 'gracia' — God's grace — are the same word. They should be the same for us, too." (Hymn: "Now Thank We All Our God.")

"Let's see" says grandma, "What have we left out?"

They both think for a minute. Then the girl shouts, "We left out Christmas!"

And everyone laughs and sings a rousing carol.

Everyone is happy and festive again.

And, no, nobody says "God bless us every one."

Christmas Letter 2010

Dear Family and Friends,
I decided to write a Christmas letter this year. I’ve never really done one before and we usually just send out cards. I want to start this tradition. Hopefully it is good and works right. We’ve had quite the year. It started with baby #2, Emmett Michael joined our family on January 19th. He was 9lbs 4oz and 21in long. We were very excited to have him join our family. Chase is such a good big brother. He just loves Emmett. When we brought Emmett home Chase was sick so we tried to keep them distant but no such luck. Luckily Emmett didn’t get sick. Emmett was blessed on March 7th.
We visited lots of parks as a family and did a couple hikes in the spring/summer. In May we hiked up Ensign Peak. Chase walked maybe half the way and took turns being carried by his Aunt Kiera and Grandpa Peterson. We also went to Wheeler Farm for the first time on Memorial Day. We took Emmett swimming for the first time in June and he fell asleep in the water. Chase was able to swim by himself, with the help of a flotation device of course. Mark and I had to work on July 4th so my mom and brother took Chase to the Magna parade. We spent that evening at my Uncle Elgin’s house in Hooper for fireworks. Chase had a lot of fun and enjoyed the fireworks, the loud booms didn’t bother Emmett he actually slept through them. We then went camping at our family property in Malad Idaho for Mark’s birthday. I had possibly broken one of my toes right before we went up and while there Chase scratched up his legs from falling off a log. Despite our injuries we had a blast. Chase turned 3 on July 25th. We had a party outside. He had tons of fun and got lots of presents.
We took a trip in August to visit Mark’s mom in Cedar City, it was a surprise. On the way home we saw a beautiful double rainbow. In mid-August Mark and I (well mainly me and some others on Facebook) planned our 5 year high school reunion. We did it at the Pleasant Green Park and had a lot of fun catching up with our classmates. After that I donated about 17 inches of hair to Locks of Love. I had been growing my hair out for 2 years (since the last time I donated). We made another trip to Cedar for Labor Day and the Iron County Fair. For my birthday we hiked up to Doughnut Falls. Chase did much better on this hike. Kiera climbed up all the way to the falls, but we stayed down at the bottom with the boys. Chase kept asking where Kiera had gone while Emmett was dying to get out of his carrier. We paid off Mark’s car in September, so it is officially ours!
We moved from our 3 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom townhouse in the same apartment complex October Conference Weekend. It is an extra 250 sq ft, extra bathroom, and two levels with no neighbors above or below us. We had to get a new sectional for the living room to fill in the space. The boys really like it because they can run and play without having to worry about making too much noise. Halloween was a very busy day; we had several parties to attend. I dressed as a Cat, Mark was a homicidal lumberjack, Chase was Buzz Lightyear, and Emmett was a Teddy Bear. Chase was able to do his trick or treating at our ward Trunk or Treat (though it was done in the church’s gym due to rain). Then we went to a friend’s Halloween party and had a ton of fun. They had all sorts of goodies and chase was pigging out on the chocolate eyeballs.
November was fun filled with Emmett taking his first unassisted steps and lots of snow. We made our first family snowman, and Chase made tons of snow angels. We even had a snow fight. Thanksgiving was held at our house. We had 13 people including us so it was a little crowded. The dinner turned out pretty good. We played bingo afterwards, though Chase had a hard time keeping up. He just wanted to fill in all the spaces and yell “BINGO!” all the time. We have tons to be thankful for and wrote on a poster board everyday in November one thing we were thankful for. It really helped us to realize everything we have been blessed with.
December started off a little rough. We had to get a new daycare for the boys and had a hard time finding someone. We ended up finding someone that the boys seem to really like so were hoping it will work out. We got the Christmas tree up and Emmett is having a really hard time not playing with all the ornaments. We decided presents cannot go under the tree till Christmas Eve because Emmett would not leave them alone. We took the boys to Temple Square and Chase really liked seeing all the lights. Chase has been really cute this year because he is getting so excited about Christmas. He keeps telling us that Santa is coming, with Frosty of course. He has been watching Frosty the Snowman almost every day and has become a little obsessed. We haven’t taken him to see Santa yet, but will be going soon. We are really excited to see how he handles sitting on Santa’s lap. In previous years he has not liked it at all so hopefully he will be ok this year. Emmett isn’t walking on his own yet (Chase took his first unassisted steps and then 3 days later was walking like no other), but we have hopes that he will by Christmas.
This year has been full of family fun and love and we hope next year will bring even more not only for us but for you as well!

Love,
Mark, Deborah, Chase, and Emmett Peterson

November Events

We recieved callings in our ward this month, but we technically won't start doing it till the new year. We will be teaching the Sunbeams. That means we will be Chase's teachers! That will be interesting. Mark is cursed. Since we've been married he has only attended Elders Quorm for maybe 8 months. Other than that he has been in Primary. After the big snow storm we had our Nephew tried to make us a snowman outside our apartment. So that night we made him one. It was our first snowman ever. Mark and I have never made one together. We had tons of fun.

Before we made the snowman Chase played in the snow with Kiera. He made snow angels and would jump in different piles of snow. He really enjoyed it.

For Thanksgiving we had the family at our house this year. My eldest brother and his family from Wyoming were going to come, but were unable. So it was just us, Mark's brother's family, his dad, my parents and my youngest brother. We had tons of fun. Mark and his dad watched the Cowboys game. We had lots of good food. We have a tradition to have English Christmas Crackers on Christmas, but I found a company that makes them for other holidays. And since we were having everyone over we thought we would get some. It is a cracker that you pop open and inside there is a paper crown, a toy, and a joke. My mom got more pictures and hasn't shared them with me yet, but here a few highlights that I got.


The Pies! Cherry, Apple, Banana Cream, and Pumpkin of course.

And here is our turkey. We borrowed my mom's roaster. For some reason it didn't want to brown the top. It was a delicious turkey! After dinner we always play Bingo. It was lots of fun. We had gotten different prizes from the Dollar Store. After all the prizes had been won we ate our dessert. Some people left after that. Eventually it was just my side of the family here. We had turkey sandwhiches after awhile and played some more games. It was a nice family fun filled day! Hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving!

Emmett is 10 months!!!

My how time flies! I can't believe Emmett is almost a year old! He is so cute and always brings a smile to your face. He is getting pretty fast at crawling and walking along the couch. When he gets excited is when he really books it and he will make this noise that is like an excited, giggle, pant. He really does this if we leave the gate blocking the stairs open. He gets over there as fast as he can to climb the stairs. He loves climbing the stairs and crawling all over upstairs. We don't leave him up there very often, because we don't have a fence/gate at the top and we don't want him to fall down the stairs. He is climbing onto the couch and climbs off it as well. Just this morning(November 29th) I swear he tried to climb up onto one of the dinning room chairs.

He is almost always smiling. He is just a very happy boy!

He has 2 teeth coming in on the top, which will make 4. They are taking their sweet time though.

This is another of his favorite faces to make. Sometimes he will do this and then give you a kiss. He has really started head-butting also. He hits pretty hard.
He loves to sit on Chase's chair.

I love this picture! He loves to play with Daddy's hats. He tries to put them on, but can't quite get it. If we put the hat on for him, he will take it off and try himself. He has learned to clap and does it often. He took 2 unassisted steps a couple weeks ago, but hasn't progressed. Which is both good and bad. Good as, I don't want to have to chase after him during church. Bad well it's not really bad. It is just that Chase was closer to walking at this age then Emmett is. Emmett is still a cuddlier and very snugly!

Halloween

I had to work Halloween day. So I got in my costume etc that morning. I had my dad paint my face. We had to wake Chase up from a nap so we could go to our various parties. He wasn't really happy, but cheered up eventually.

Kiera was a pirate.

Mark was the woodsman from Red Ridding Hood(that is why there is blood on his axe from the wolf)

My dad did an amazing job painting my face. Later that night we went by and he added some wiskers, since he forgot them.

Chase was Buzz Lighyear and Emmett made an adorable Bear.

We went to the ward Trunk-or-Treat which was indoor due to the rain. Chase had fun getting the candy and hitting the pinata they had. He kept saying "look at that....(insert costume type)."
We left there early to visit my parents so they could see the boys. Then we went to our friends Jordan and Bubba's house for a party with people from our 1st ward. We really miss them and take every chance we can to hang out with them. It was alot of fun. There were all sorts of "spooky snacks". We played that game where you have a person's name written on your back and you go around asking questions trying to figure out who you are(I can't remember the name). We again left early so we could visit Mark's dad before the boys got to tired. Then we headed home to bed. Chase slept in his costume and loved being Buzz.

sooo behind

Oh my gosh, I can't believe how far behind on my blog I am. With preping for the holidays and having most of the family at our place for turkey and now setting up Christmas I don't see it happening maybe till next week. I just wanted to let you know we are still going strong and are happy. I have pictures to share with the past holidays and events.
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Doctor's Appointment

Chase and Emmett had a doctors appointment yesterday. We had alot of convincing to do with Chase to get him to stand on the scale and to be measured. He didn't want to see the doctor. He did not like him. Emmett did pretty good. When they got their shots, Emmett cried, but calmed quickly. Chase didn't fight at all. He just snuggled up to daddy and let them do it. We totally expected him to rip it out. Chase is 36lbs which is 79% and he is 38in tall which is 44%. Emmett is 19lbs 10 oz which is 36% and he is 30 lbs which is 94%.

Emmett is 9 months... Really?

My how time flys!!! I can't believe Emmett is 9 months now! He is getting so big! His check-up is on Friday, so I'll post his stats then. He actually crawls now, no more "frog'. He isn't too fast at it, but he's good. He loves to walk along the furniture, and with you holding his hands. He is always pulling himself up on stuff. He is always climbing onto the landing on the stairs and shaking the gate. He can climb the stairs, if we let him. He loves sitting at the table with us when we eat. He thinks he is so cool eatting finger foods. Look at him go!

He loves playing with his brother and giving kisses.

I love when he makes this face!

Emmett's personality is really starting to show and we are very excited to have him in our family.

Moving

We moved into one of the Townhouses in our complex last Tuesday. It is an extra 250 square feet, split level, has an extra bathroom, and no neighbors above or below! We are loving the space. I hate seeing boxes lying around, so I worked really hard and had everything in it's place yesterday. I work myself ragged doing it, but now I can relax and enjoy the space even more. I haven't taken any picture yet, but will soon.

Emmett is 8 Months

Emmett turned 8 months old yesterday! He is such a big boy! His bottom 2 teeth have come in. He is "frog crawling" like non-other. We can't put him in shorts anymore, due to getting a bit of a rug burn on his knees. If you put your hands in front of him he will grab on and stand himself up. We have also been able to get him to take a few steps while holding on. He is improving with standing up. He will actually sit on his bum now. He loves baby oatmeal, and taking baths(which he has started really splashing in). When going to sleep he usually has to have his little bear/blanket. Poor little guy is still teething and is a little sick right now. Slight fever and runny nose, and really cranky. He isn't getting much sleep at night, so neither is mommy. We can't feel any other teeth coming through, but with the fever and all the slobber, they must be coming. We have stopped breastfeeding. He wasn't getting enough and was fighting me everytime I tried to use the cover. He will only take water in a regular cup. He is always grabbing for things, including mommy's hair(with it being short). Still a major momma's boy and only wants her. He is getting to be such a big boy, it's hard to remember those times where he wasn't mobile in the least and would just snuggle all the time. But as he grows, more fun times come.

I had to show off his toothy grin, it is sooo cute!

Playing with Great Grandpa Jensen Labor Day weekend.

Small Update

I'm horrible at this right now. We are currently getting ready to move. We aren't moving far. We will just be moving to one of the townhouses in our complex. It will be an extra 250 sq. ft., it's a split level, so we don't have to worry about people below or above us, and there will be much better parking for when we have people over. We are really looking forward to this, the pros out weigh the cons. We paid off the car last month!!! About a month ago, I cut and donated my hair! I chopped off about 14 inches, it is now a crop style. I do miss my long hair, and this is a big change, but it was fun. And there are other people who need it more than I do. I last donated my hair 2 years ago. We spend Labor Day in Cedar with Mark's mom. It was quite an adventure getting there... See we decided to stop at a place in Lehi called Emmett and Ethels. Where if you bring in an Emmett or an Ethel that person and you eat for free! Plus they give you a t-shirt and take a picture of Emmett or Ethel. We looked up the directions on mapquest and it said to take the back road. We ended up getting lost and it took us 5 hours instead of 3 1/2 to get to Cedar. We saw things we never would have saw. I was beating myself up the entire time we were lost, but laugh about it now. Thank heavens for VZ Navigator, which helped us find our way back to the freeway. We did stop at Emmett and Ethels on our way home(sticking to the freeway this time) it was alright.

*NOTE* If you are friends with me on facebook there is a much more describtive account of that weekend in my notes, I couldn't copy and paste it onto here. Much more happened that weekend to add to the adventure.

**Someday I'll remember to post the pictures then type.

7 Months Old!!!

My little Bear is now 7 months!!! He is a rolling machine! He has "hopped" twice. When Chase started to crawl, he did a "worm" crawl. Picture someone doing the worm. Chase would do it very very slowly and not so....wiggly. Emmett will get up on all fours and rock back and forth then push off and hop forward. He hasn't done it since those first two times, but I think it'll be like when he first rolled over. He does it twice then waits a couple weeks and then really starts doing it. Bananas are still his favorite, he hates Green Beans, and is ok with Sweet Potatoes now. He loves drinking water from a cup, he gets so excited when you hold a cup within his reach for him to drink. He is a major mama's boy. When mommy gets home if she doesn't pick him up quickly he starts crying, much worse than last month. We think he is teething. He gets pretty fussy and after we give him some baby oragel he is fine. We can't feel anything yet. He doesn't really like to sit on his bum or in the Babepod. He much rather be laying down or standing, which he can do pretty well. He loves his big brother. They just laugh back and forth in the car. He is great at giving kisses, which mommy can't get enough of. Everyone just loves his laugh and smile.

Camping, 6 mths, 3 yrs, Cedar City, and Canada

Oh, I know it's been over a month since my last post crazy stuff. We've been camping, Emmett turned 6 months, Chase turned 3, visit down to Cedar City to surprise Mark's mom for a weekend, my parents leave for Nova Scotia for 2 weeks. So much to write about and not much time in between a sweet, lovable, but clingy baby and taking a cute love bug but almost constant whiny little boy potty every 45 minutes. I'll try to find some time to get these posted. I'm not good with posting pictures on Blogger, but they are all on facebook. I'll take the time now and hope its not to long...

For Mark's birthday we headed up to Malad, Idaho. My Grandparents have property up there. It was tons of fun. This is the first year the property has had mice everywhere it was kinda freaky. I hate mice and seeing all their little "tunnels" if you will and little heads poking out everyone once and a while or one running past you. After we set up the tent we realized we had put it on top of some of the tunnels. So we had mice crawling under one corner of the tent at night... EWWW. It was rather interesting. We saw a couple snakes too. Then one late night we heard a weird nose. My brother and Mark went to find it because it was rather creepy. Saw it and Douglas thought it to be a flying squirrel. Turns out it was a bat! Yes a Bat! He never really came near us, he would fly overhead a few times and just make his little noise, I don't even know how to describe it. We ended up naming him Bruce. Oh a couple days before we went camping Chase had fallen and scrapped up his hands, and then another day fell and hit his head on the air vent in the hallway and cut his head. It didn't need stitches, bleed for less than a minute, but there is still a scar today. So while we were camping, he had several band aids and we had to keep replacing them with him sweating and getting dirty. It was nice to get away and enjoy nature. We had smores almost every night. We were there for 4 days.

Emmett turned 6 months on the 19th. He had his checkup on the 27th along with Big Brother. He is 19 lbs 2 oz and 28 1/4in long. He is a rollie pollie. He is rolling everywhere! As soon as he wakes up, he rolls over. I try to keep him in one area, but he always rolls out of it and into a completely different one. He is still very talkative! We started giving him rice cereal via spoon and fruits and veggies. He loves Banana's, Apples are ok, and when Mark tried to give him Sweet Potatoes Emmett would have nothing to do with it. He does alright with the rice cereal as long as it is mixed with breastmilk and not water. When ever we feed him cereal or fruits/veggies he has some water out of a cup. Which I think he does pretty good with. He is pretty clingy to mommy. If she is not holding him and is close by he gets upset. He is super cuddley, sweet, and makes everyone fall in love with him as soon as they see him. Still a thumb sucker, and sleeping through the night.

For Chase's 3rd Birthday we had a party at the pavillion at our complex. We played with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and pin the tail on Bullseye. We let the kids play at the park for a good while too. He got lots of toys and each time he opened one "I want to play with that can we open it?" He did't care about the others he just wanted to play with them. While we got the cake and ice cream ready he and the other kids just kept grabbing the different toy boxes and played with the toys. He had a Woody and Buzz cake from Rogers Bakery(delicious). When we sang Happy Birthday he was all shy and hiding his face in his arms. It took him several tries to blow the candles out. After everyone but my parents and Mark's dad left we had a little BBQ at the house. Kiera had gotten Chase a baseball bat and baseball, they went outside to play while Mark cooked the burgers. He was actually hitting the ball it was awesome! At his checkup he would not get on the scale we ended up having me hold him and stand on the scale then me alone to deduct my weight to get his. He is about 34lbs. He would not stand on the thing to be measured. He did not want the doctor looking at him, he was crying and screaming.

The last day in July we took a quick trip down to Cedar City to suprise Mark's mom. We haven't seen her since Emmett's blessing. She was so happy to see us. We stayed the night then after dinner on Sunday we came back home.

Yesterday I got up at about 4am to take my parents and brother to the airport. They are going to Nova Scotia, Canada(where my mom is from) for 2 weeks. My parents have been back there since 1992 and my brother has never been. My mom was barely pregnant with him when we went in '92. I'm so happy for them, yet jelous. I don't remember much from the trip in '92. I was 5. But I'll get my turn. I'm determined.

Sorry this post is lengthy. If you stuck around thanks! Hope you enjoyed. Will try better to not take so long!

5 Months Old

Emmett turned 5 months old yesterday! He is getting so big! He was 17 lbs at his 4 mnth appt. He is keeping his darker hair, Chase's lightened up by this age, and it's thicker than big brothers. He loves attention and being in the center of it. He is a flirt just like his big brother and mommy. When you talk to him and make him smile he will usually hide into whos ever shoulder that is holding him(did that come out right?). He is quite talkative. He's rolled over from his belly to his back twice. We try to get him to do it again, but he starts to get upset and scoots forward instead! He is sleeping through the night usually from about 9 till 7. he eats every 3-4 hours, and has some rice cereal in his bottle once a day, we are still breastfeeding. He can't quite handle the spoon, thats why we make his cereal in the bottle. He loves his little teddy blanket and sticking rattles in his mouth, not to mention his thumb. He is a great sleeper and will tell you when he is tired. He can put himself to sleep. He is the sweetest little boy with heartmelting smiles! I have a hard time remembering what life was like with just one little boy.

4 Years Down, An Eternity More To Go

Today is my 4 year wedding anniversary! It's funny how time goes. I feel like we have been together for forever, but it really isn't all that long. It's fun to think back to when we first started dating, the things we did during high school, things we did after high school, when Mark gave me a Promise ring after my parents told him they wanted us to wait to get married, and the night he proposed, and the list goes on and on. I don't remember every moment, but I remember alot. I know I've never stopped loving Mark. There were times of course when I got mad about something or we had a little spat, but every couple has that. I didn't realize how unhappy I was before I dated Mark till much later in our relationship. I'm so thankful for him for lightening up my life and everything else he has given me. Since our last anniversary Mark has gotten a promotion, I've found a good job, our Father in Heaven sent us another angel to care for, and we've grown closer as a family.
We had our date this past Friday. We went to Olive Garden for dinner. We decided to try new food rather than sticking to what we knew we liked. Our food was good, but we would have preferred our usual choice. Afterwards we went over to Hollywood Connection and had an hour to kill before our movie started. So we got a bunch of tokens and played at the arcade. We ended up doing a lot of Skee Ball. We did play a few other games and a game of Air Hockey that Mark kicked my butt in(7-5 though). He kicks my butt at almost every game we play. But it's ok. We went and saw Iron Man 2, real romantic right ;) I like action movies and I wanted to see it. When we were planing our date, Mark thought we were going to see Letters To Juliet, which I also wanted to see, I thought we were going to see Iron Man 2. I'll admit I didn't want it to be to much of a 'girly romantic' date, so I said we'd see Iron Man. It was really good. Before we went out we exchanged gifts. I had ordered Mark an 8-bit clip-on tie from ThinkGeek.com and he got me some my favorite mixed cream Chocolates and a necklace I already had, but was sort of messed up. It's called Music Of The Heart, it's a treble clef inside a heart. I've worn it everyday since he gave it to me.
Mark's sister wanted to do something for our anniversary, so when the boys woke up today(our anniversary) we were to take them to her and she would take care of them, giving us some alone time. We just slept in later. Mark slept later than I did, my hunger got to me. We didn't do much else today other than church and a birthday party for the daughter of a friend of ours. I made delicious lasagna rolls for dinner.
Looking forward to the rest of Eternity with my high school sweetheart!

Memorial, Lacking Motivation, Mula

The Sunday before Memorial Day we had a little barbecue with my parents. It was really nice. Mark felt sick when we left and was sick for the next day. We had planned to go to Wheeler Farm and Chase was super excited about it. So Kiera, Chase, Emmett, and I left Daddy at home and we went by ourselves. Chase really wanted to see the pigs. Emmett slept half of the time. Chase got to pet a horse and some goats. The Farm is smaller than I remember. Of course the last time I went was when I was in Elementary school, so lots of things seemed huge. It got lots of video and some pictures for Mark, since he couldn't join us. I'd post some, but I have a hard time getting the pics where I want them on these posts. Plus our computer has issues and I haven't been able to use it for over a month. I've been using Kiera's laptop. Sad thing is, she plans to move out the end of this month, so I'll be without. Unless we can come up $400 to get a new computer.
I'm trying really hard to work out everyday. I wrote out a schedule of what exercise I want to do each day. I haven't done a very good job at it. I want to loose weight, it's just that the best time for me to do it is at night after the boys have gone to bed, but I also want to spend that time as quality time with Mark and just relax after the day. And I don't want to stay up super late. Any motivation tips???
Mark got a raise at work, now we are just hoping to hear that he got the promotion too, because that is an even bigger raise. But Mark doesn't know when they will tell him. The car is almost paid off. It'll be paid off in the next couple of months!!!

Mother's Day, hiking, and 4 Months

My mother's day was pretty good. Mark sort of gave me a whole weekend rather than just one day. We did what I wanted and he took care of the boys for me. Chase was a little bit of a pill on Sunday. The church handed out giant candy bars to all the woman after sacrament. Chase made a flower in nursery. Mark bought me books 2-4 of the Percy Jackson series(we already had book 1). The boys signed a beautiful card for me. Mark made Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner and then we went over to my mom's house. We had a Diary Queen ice cream cake(that my dad had brought home) and cupcakes. My brother had picked some tulips and an iris for me, my mom, and my sister-in-law. My mom gave me a beautiful card. It was nice spending time with the family. My cute little niece wrote me a cute little note full of things she thinks of me/likes about me.
We've been trying to spend time with Mark's brother and dad every 3rd Sunday of the month. This month we decided to hike up Ensign Peak. It was really nice, it was a beautiful day! Chase had to be carried for more than we expected, but he did good. Mark's brother didn't feel up to a hike, so they joined us for games after the hike. They played Clue, I was taking care of Emmett. Stephanie had to take care of Morgan(Emmett had fallen asleep), so I took over for her. They had been playing for awhile. I rolled my first roll and got into a room and made my accusation, no one could prove me wrong so I looked in the envelope and I was right. It was awesome that I got it on my first guess! I had not been paying attention to the game at all!
We want to do more hikes this summer, enjoy this beautiful earth Heavenly Father gave us, and get more fit. We are talking about doing Doughnut Falls next month. We plan to do Timpanogos Caves this summer. Mark has never been. We won't take Chase, we think that would be a bit hard for him.
Emmett turned 4 months old yesterday! I can't believe it's been that long, yet so short. Time really flies! He had his 4 month check up today. He is 17lbs 7oz and 27 1/4 inches. His weight is in the 91%, his height is in the 99%, and his head circumference is in the 71%. He is such a happy baby! Smile for anyone! He is starting to talk and jabber. He has found his thumb and sucks on it often. his favorite toy is one of those little blankets with a teddy bear on the top, which is actually a rattle. He is eating almost every 4 hours and sleeps for most of the night. He gets to start rice cereal now. Looking forward to watching him grow! Chase loves playing with Emmett, and they are so cute. The other day Chase was 'eating' Emmett's toes. Mark asked why and his response was, 'They are yummy!'

And so you have it. BTB if you didn't read my last post, I am now selling Avon! You can shop at my online store at www.youravon.com/dpeterson or if you want a booklet let me know.

Having a rough day and needing to vent

I'm sorry, but I'm having a really rough day(or 2 weeks) and need to let it out. It's easier for me to just type all this, then writing it down on paper. If you want to skip reading this post I don't blame you, it's fine. I don't know how lengthy it will be.
Last week was fast and busy and stressful. We were crazy busy at work, which wasn't completely a bad thing, but still enough that I need a rest, but never really got it. I forgot things that I needed to do, or just didn't do somethings or mixed things up completely. I had to watch my nephews(again not a bad thing), but it got stressful as well and I needed a break. I know life is stressful and trials only make us stronger, and it's suppose to be hard. I'm just struggeling with it right now. My break never really came. Mother's Day was a little relaxing, but still Chase was a pill and gave me a rough time.
I had to watch my nephews again this week. One of them would not stop crying. The only way he was happy is if you were holding him. I don't even hold my own baby all day. They need to learn self-soothing. I had just signed up to be an Avon Representative and was trying to get signed into the website and start the training. But it was hard to concentrate when he was screaming. Mark was into his book and he wanted to do that, so we took turns dealing with him.
Yesterday I had work and got to relax a little, but as soon as I got home, it was busy busy. I came home at dinner while trying to feed Emmett then went to our ward Activity Days(I'm the Faith in God Coordinator). It was fun, I enjoyed spending time with the girls and helping them with the craft. When I got home from that, Mark had invited a friend over to watch Ultimate Fighter(not something I enjoy, but he does and I'm not going to say he can't). So I tried to do some the training with Avon while they did that. I did get to relax some more after 9 and just read my book for half an hour. As I type this I am seeing Blessings mixed in, with the madness. I know they are there. We just need to take the time and "blogging therapy" to see them sometimes.
Today has been hecktic. The morning started ok. The boys didn't sleep as late as I wanted, but it's all good. I got the kitchen cleaned and dishes started. I was able to complete the second training course for Avon. Chase started being a pill. Kiera helped out a bit after she got up and ready. She vaccumed for me and helped with the boys. Emmett wasn't eating as well as he should. He wouldn't latch on right and just kept swinging his arm all over so I had a tough time staying covered. I wanted to keep working on my Avon stuff while I nursed, but as I said, he was being difficult and I couldn't use my free hand to work the mouse, I had to use it to hold his hand down. I tried to relax and read a little while Emmett napped and Chase watched a movie. Chase was a pill at first and just added on the stress, but when he fell asleep it was better. I got to a stopping point and then tried Avon again. I got almost all the way through the 3rd training, almost to the assesment and Emmett woke up crying. I tried everything to calm him. Nothing really worked. So I had to exit out of the training(right before the assesment) to take care of him. As he is screaming my supervisor calls to check up on me and see if I had any questions about Avon etc.
I'm feeling better now after getting some of this out. I had been feeling that every path I was trying to take, it was the wrong one and something would stop me. I can't figure out why that path is wrong and why I'm not allowed to go on it. I was feeling like a horrible mother who can't get the things she wants to for her family and can't take care of them right. I lost my patience. I have so many things I want to get done. Mark was telling me I was taking on to much at once and needed to do one at a time. I tried that today, but trying to focus on Avon. But wasn't able to get very far. Yes I did get some done and accomplished somethings. But I feel like a faliure and someone who doesn't have priorities set right. I tell Mark the things I want to get done, but I don't get much help. I'm not saying he is a horrible husband and doesn't help me, he does! He is an amazing husband and helps other ways. These projects are just something I want to do by myself. Maybe that is my problem, I don't know. I guess I just have a lot on my plate right now and don't know where to start. How do I find the balance? How do I fit it all in with the limited time we have? I can't do it all at once, I felt I couldn't do any of it today. So much to do, and not enough time to get it all done in the time I want it done. I hate these kinds of days, where everything just doesn't go how you want. I'm trying to remember the thing I learned from M2B:) "Blessed Not Stressed". I'm able to see a little more blessing then stresses now that I've calmed and let it out. If you've stuck around to read this, thanks for the ear...or eyes rather!

M2B:)

I can't believe the last time I posted was Emmett's blessing... We haven't been up to much, just distracted by one thing or the other. Like getting the boys outside for some great Vitamin D, reading new books, and just diving into life. We are loving this beautiful spring weather. I want to go hiking with the boys, but don't really know where to go that Chase could do the hike. Any suggestions??? I really love the Fablehaven books and the 5th and final one was released, I couldn't put it down. Then I read Percy Jackson, The Lightening Thief. We saw that and How To Train Your Dragon at the Drive-in. I really enjoyed the book, when we can I'm going to get the others. I may go to the library and just read them that way for now.

I'm really trying to get into the habit of exercising daily. I've set goals for myself. So fingers crossed I can keep it up. I was called as a Relief Society Instructor in our ward! I teach the 4th Sunday which is the Conference lessons. I'm so excited! It was an answer to my prayers. It will help me in my pursuit of being closer and knowing my Father in Heaven and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It's amazing how much the teacher learns in the process of planning the lessons.

Chase will be 3 in a couple months, I can not believe it!! He is so smart, he loves to sing! It's so awesome walking by his room and hearing him sing different songs! The boys share a room so we have a baby monitor in there. The other day I woke up to Chase singing Bob The Builder. He really loves his little brother. Emmett is such a chunker! I could just eat his little cheeks! He loves looking at a little Frog Chase picked out right before we brought Emmett home and Aunt Kiera bought. It's cheeks light up and it plays Twinkle Twinkle. He loves to play in his swing and play pen. He'll just lay there kicking his legs talking. He mainly 'mmmmmmmms'.

I just read M2B:) by Michael McLean. Mission to be happy is pretty funny. He even included a M2B:) album. That's another "call" I have accepted. Definitely something I need right now, is to be happy, not the grin and bare it, just the pure language of Joy happiness.

Emmett's Blessing

We blessed Emmett on the 7th. Mark's mom and step-dad came up from Cedar City and stayed with us that weekend. We had family from all over join us. We got to the church early to save seats, we have a big family. 10 minutes before it's to start my work pager goes off(I was on-call). Luckily not to many people were there. I run out to call them back and one of the tenants had a flood. So I call the on-call maintenance guy to take care of it. Mark did a wonderful job and gave a wonderful blessing straight from our father in heaven to our sweet little boy. A few testimonies were bore and I feel my phone vibrate. The maintenance guy was calling to say he couldn't fix it and we needed a plumber. I made several calls and got one to come out after another job. But I had to leave the church to get the numbers at the office. I got back just as everyone was leaving. We then went to my parents for a great luncheon. We had 51 people in my parents house. It was a bit of a squeeze but not to bad. We had a couple family members and friends help out with food, which we really appreciate and some that we never asked to do anything brought something. It was a great family filled day. I'm so grateful to my wonderful husband who worked as he did when we were dating to get the priesthood. He didn't do it for me, which is good, but I feel I'm reaping a lot of the benefits! We didn't get a family picture with Emmett in his blessing outfit, he had a explosive diaper, but here are some of him and Chase.