Bread and Bekfast

I kind of over-did it yesterday with errands and outings. Scott, who is always very concerned about my healing heart, wanted me to relax as much as possible. Lucky me! Scotty gave me breakfast in bed this morning! I felt like it was my birthday!
I love when Scott's around in the morning. Peter loves it too! I can never get a smile from that boy when Scotty's around. Peter saves all his smiles for his Daddy. But that's fine, cause I get plenty during the week. We stayed in bed this morning for an hour... just hanging out and chatting. I love our little family of three!





(For those of you who are familiar with my juice obsession while in the hospital... it has not let up at all! I can't get enough! I love that Scott brought me not one... but TWO glasses of TWO different kinds of juice!)

Once There Was a Snowman...

Being a mother makes me a better person day by day. Among all of the many wonderful changes and miracles I get to experience, I can see in so many ways how Peter is the most wonderful example to me. His existence itself fills me so much with gratitude and motivates me to be a more loving person. I cannot count the number of times a day I say the words, "I love you." It is just one of the ways that Peter helps me to be better. I can't even remember what I was doing before my life became about him and our family. It doesn't even matter; I have never done anything as important as raising and loving this baby.

On a Winter's Night.

We are so excited and grateful to finally be seeing some snow! Scott and I stayed up last night taking pictures of our snow-covered house. I'll post those later. For now... I love bundling this little guy up for our errands. He looks pretty cozy, doesn't he?

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Creme Brulee

Peter had his big check up today. We found out that at four months, he is in the 85% for height and the 38% for weight. Tall, skinny, Little Man. He's a lot like his uncles.

He had to have his shots, which weren't too traumatic while at the doctor's office, but he had a very dramatic experience reliving the scenario about five hours later. Out of the clear blue he looks at me, tucks out that lower lip (Scott knows this look well because it's the same face I make when I'm about to cry...), and lets out a waily shriek unlike any sound I've ever heard him make. 45 straight minutes of shrieking. I tried it all. The football hold. The tummy hold. Letting him stand on his own. Letting him sit in my lap... in the crook of my arm... on my chest... anywhere he wants! We tried a warm bath. We tried a bottle. We tried the binky. A nap. A swaddle. No swaddle. Bouncing. No bouncing. Fresh air. The car seat. The mobile. A book. A song. Silence. Nothing.

This kid never cries. I'm not an experienced cry-stopper.

Finally I found the right swaddle consistency... not too loose, not too tight... but just right Goldilocks.

I wrapped him up, laid him in his car seat, and rocked the chair with my foot while I took a badly needed rest on the couch and a glass of OJ for sustenance (my energy level's still pretty low these days). In the one minute it took to finish a glass of OJ, Little Man had tired himself out, and was asleep in his chair.

For safety, I kept rocking him throughout his nap... for two and a half hours! He skipped a feeding, but I didn't care. Sleeping... Eating... Sleeping.... Eating... I chose sleep for Peter. Besides, the doctor said he's growing just fine so I figure he can skip or postpone a meal.

Every fifteen seconds during that full 2 1/2 hours he'd let out a little sniffle. It was as if he was reliving the harsh experience and reminding me just how bad it was.

The rest of the night has been fine. He smiled a ton while I changed him, and it made me so happy to see that goofy little smile after such a rough episode that I started crying all over him. That probably sent a mixed message. We've had a touchy evening, and probably a long night ahead.

But don't worry. Even though Peter went down at 8:45, we decided we should stay up. Scott went to the store for some $500 root beer that he is overjoyed about, came home, accidentally dropped the root beer in the driveway, stuck out his sad lower lip, and went back for more. Then he did a stop by at my mom's for leftover dessert from her dinner party. So now it's 11:00 at night, we're sitting in bed eating chocolate creme brulee and lemon custard out of egg shells while we contemplate starting a movie. It might not sound that ridiculous to some, but when you know you're going to be up with the teething baby at midnight, you should probably go to bed at 8:45 when you have the chance.

But guess, what... I love it! And despite the complete turn-around in lifestyle, the sudden requirement to grow up, and taking all our cues from the newborn... we can't get enough of our little guy, and we can't wait get another.

This, right here, is the best part of life. I can't think of a single wonderful moment in my collection of all things perfect that even remotely compares to this.

Peter Weter Lemon Skeeter

Ben calls Peter "Peter Weter."
Andrew calls him "Peter Weter Lemon Skeeter."
SJ used to call him "Pierre," but now calls him "Baby Peters."

Oh I LOVE this boy. We had a little photo-shoot yesterday. Peter is such a happy baby. He is always smiling and often laughing. But the second the camera comes out, he gets distracted and very serious. It's hard to do a proper sneak attack. So these pictures are a mix between his ear-to-ear grin and his studious investigation of the camera. My favorite is when he first wakes up. He gives me the HUGEST smile. It just make my day.

Editor's note: Scott is very proud of Peter's bad hair day. We don't believe in styling a baby's hair. Just let it do its thing.

Miracles

I have this lovely card framed on my night stand. I love the use of the word "forever." I know this is true.


Look at my wonderful miracle! And it gets better and better each day. Caring for this boy is an absolute privilege.

Zonked

Peter's first tooth is breaking the surface, so we've had some rough nights. He's stil so sweet, even when he's not feeling great. Look at his napping position of choice yesterday. I feel ya, Peter.

Daddy!

Peter has loved having his daddy home during this Christmas break. We get to spend time every morning playing, smiling, and chatting in bed before we get going for the day. Peter loves to look at Scott and smile, and I love to watch the two of them together! Scott is a natural dad. He is the only person I've ever met who doesn't do any babytalk. He just talks to Peter like a normal guy, but he does it in the funniest way that Peter likes to laugh at. Peter as recently started laughing (caught on video three times!), and it is often at his dad's weird faces or funny stories.

Merry Christma 2011!

We had a fun little Christmas at our house! It was so fun to be in our new home with our new little family of three! We had a fun and busy holiday week with dinner at Sue and Thayer's, Dinner at Steve and Ingunn's, the Nutcracker, the Christmas concert at the Conference Center, a wonderful church service, brunch at mom and dad's, dinner at Grandma's, spending time with Doug while he's in town, and spending time getting to know our guests from Italy (this cute family from Johnny's mission joined us for Christmas). Even with all the activity, we still found time to relax and enjoy our first Christmas together in our house.


I should have taken pictures of our Christmas decorations. I say that every year. I love our Christmas decorations. I have collected some really fun things. This isn't the best picture of our Christmas tree, but we have a tall, skinny tree with a stuffed Santa and all of his elves. We have a bunch of felt ornament balls and snow flakes. Grandma Lynne sent us some fun ornaments to add to our collection this year! Some gorgeous blue balls, bright-colored nativity ornaments, and some awesome jungle/safari animals. They were such fun additions.


By the way... I got my braces off in November. Don't look to closely. This was Christmas morning, and I may or may not have brushed my teeth for this picture. Probably not.


Santa brought Peter his first pet this year: a really cool fish we named Reggie (short for "Regalo," which is Spanish for gift. I don't know why my brain works this way). We love Reggie. Peter hasn't quite figured out that he's here...but maybe Reggie will live long enough for Peter to enjoy him. He lives in a tall pitcher in our kitchen. We like him very much... but he doesn't really satisfy our craving for a dog.

Museum of Natural History

We LOVE the new Natural History Museum. I know we are going to have so much fun taking Peter there as he gets older. It's close, interactive, and so fun! Scott and I took little man up there the day after Christmas. It has been such a fun holiday! We have had so much time to spend together this year. We are usually traveling during the holiday, which is really fun, but there's something nice about having time to relax and just hang out together. With our crazy lives and schedules, we don't get downtime together very often. We loved it. We really needed it too.

Peter was such a good boy at the museum. He's always a good boy. We are so lucky to have such a content little guy. We love him so much!




Peter is pointing (sort of) to his name on a special plaque at the museum. Thank you Grandma Teri and Grandpa Dave for your contribution to the museum in the grandkids' names! We love the cool spiral shell! I'm sure when Peter gets a little bigger, he's going to think that's really cool!

Peter is really starting to lose his thick, dark head of hair from birth, but I can see the light reddish hair coming in underneath! It's so funny... he has got his dad's crazy calics going on all over the place.



K... New Year's resoultion: Stop using the camera on my phone when I can just as easily use the real camera. This is the O.C. Tanner gem section. There was this really cool display that had rocks that turned to awesome neon colors under black light.

Getting Big!

I'm trying to get all these pictures off my phone so I can get them on the blog before his 4 month appointment on Friday. These are just the pictures from my phone... I still have the camera and Scott's phone to sift through. We had a fun, but crazy holiday season, so hopefully I get a little more organized now that it's eased up a bit.

Here are some pictures of Peter's first try in his bumbo chair (on loan from his cousin Sarajane... hence the pink). He was so excited to be able to sit up "on his own," and he smiled and giggled the whole time! He is getting so strong!





A week later, he graduated, and decided he was ready for an upgrade, so we gave the saucer a try. He can't stay in it for more than a couple minutes, and I have to pad around him so he doesn't rock around too much... but he loves it! Thanks to his cousins for the fun hand-me-down toys!

Yo Ho Yo Ho... A Pirate's Life for Me!

We were getting Peter in his jammies last night (I love his little Christmas jammies!). He was wearing the striped red pants and some pirate socks. We thought he looked like a little Shmee. I love this skinny little boy! He cracks me up! On a separate note... we need to stop taking pictures with our phone. The real camera is just a few steps away in the hall!

2011 in Review

I have so much to catch up on... but I was reflecting on 2011 today, and I created this post. So it looks like I'll post about new years... THEN Thanksgiving, and THEN Christmas!

January: We returned from spending Christmas in Santa Barbara with the Hannay's and Harmon's. I was unfortunately sick with a sinus infection the whole time and couldn't get in the water or do much else. We didn't know it then, but found out a few weeks later, I was 8 weeks pregnant! We ushered in the New Year at a gas station in Provo on the drive home, and we spent New Year's Day at Snowbird! I remember I had to stop for lunch at the lodge... which was very weird. Now I know why! I was eating for two!

February: Scott and I went Kite Skiing! This was kind of a belated anniversary gift to each other. We got a groupon to go kite skiing, and it was so so SO cool! I would love to get into it more. Scott want's to translate his new skills to kite surfing on Utah Lake sometime. Too bad the kites are so expensive. We went on a very windy day, and I thought I was going to blow away. The teacher thought so too and wouldn't let me use the advanced kite. I was too little, he said. We also went up to the Evans' cabin and built a "wild thing" snowman with Andrew and Ben.



March: More skiing, as well as a trip to warmer weather. We went with Andy, Jen, and Andrew to Cabo in Mexico! We had so much fun on this trip snorkeling, boating, fishing, hanging at the beach, scoping out the flea markets, and eating too much ice cream. We told our families about the baby in March. I was already three months along!



April: We found out we were having a boy!!! We were both THRILLED! I went skiing for the last time, seeing as I was 22 weeks pregnant. It was starting to get a little tough to button up my ski pants.





May: We took a trip to New York and Washington DC with the Hannay family. Scott had to work part of the time, and I joined him a little later as a birthday present. I was my own tour guide throughout the city. I loved it! I enjoyed navigating my way to the different places on my list, remembering that it would probably be my last chance to have "alone time" for a very very long time. Once the baby came, it'd be totally different. I had a very kind fellow offer me his seat on the subway and then ask me if I was going to have a chance to finish high school before my baby came. That was a highlight.



Scotty ran the dirty dash with friends at work! Guess what? He finished first in the whole race (and he wasn't taking it that seriously)



Right before leaving for NY, I was called to be the Young Women's president in our ward. I was a little overwhelmed, but so excited for the calling. It kept me very busy those last few months of the summer. Johnny also came home in May! We were so so SO excited to greet him at the airport and for the little boys and SJ to see Johnny after two years in Italy.


June: June brought with it a hot summer for a gal in her 7th month of pregnancy! But we still had so much fun! We were able to take a short trip to Santa Barbara. I was given a wonderful baby shower, and Scott was given a very tiny wave to surf.



We went on a ton of hikes above our house. Okay... "hikes" is a bit of a stretch. "Walks" might be an appropriate term. But they were up in the mountains, so I think I can make a case for "hikes." Being able to do little else, the backyard mountain hikes was the highlight of the week. We went almost every Sunday and tried for weekdays/weeknights too.






Here's a picture of me at 7 months! I spent a week babysitting Kirsten's three kids (and developed a serious appreciation for women who have 3 kids and are pregnant with a forth!) I was so lucky to have a family shower in Utah, a Santa Barbara shower, and a Jolley's shower with all my friends at work. Hooray for June! People were so generous.



We spent June going to Real Games, hanging with the family, Lagoon Day, and the U2 concert (with free tickets and wonderful friends!)

July: In July we visited a cabin with some friends in our ward. It was beautiful, fresh, and relaxing. We just love the mountains. We also went to the ranch in July. I was only able to spend a week there (I was up to weekly doctor appointments at that time), but it was a wonderful week! I felt a little limited this year. You can't teach rock climbing or back packing when you're 8 months pregnant. But I'm just so grateful I got to go and soak in some refreshing Teton beauty and wonderful Jacobsen wisdom and example. This year Johnny came to the ranch for his first time. I loved watching him start to see why we all love it so much.







August: My due date came and went. Despite the anxiety and the wait, we still managed to have a lot of fun in August. We went to Bear Lake for a night and two days!



We went to the cabin with the family. Scott got to four-wheel and hike while I mostly hung with the kids.



We went hot air ballooning, which was a total life-lister. Thank you Scott!



August brought with it the coolest lightening storms we've ever seen. We'd stay up late at night watching the sky, hoping that our little guy would decide he was ready to come. I was a week overdue!





September: I went into Labor on Labor Day, and our lives changed forever. Bringing Peter into the world was the most challenging and important thing Scott and I will ever do. The fears associated with that critical time were outweighed by the blessings that came from the experience. I gained an even stronger testimony of the Lord's purpose and plan for my life and for my family. Peter is a daily reminder the Heavenly Father is in the details, and that family is what matters most. September was filled with great milestones that seem so simple and ordinary: sitting up in my hospital bed, learning to walk to the end of the hall, learning to breath on my own again, eating and drinking without the help of machines, being discharged from the ICU and continuing my recovery at home while caring for Peter. My favorite moment of this month was laying on my mom's bed the day I was discharged. Peter was laying next to me. We stared at each other, dozing on and off, and there was a distinct moment where we made eye contact, each took a deep breath, and fell asleep. It was as though we were both acknowledging that we had made it, that we could relax, and that everything would be okay from here on out.



October: October was a month of recovery and newness. Each day I took more and more steps towards getting better. I realized that recovery is not a place to arrive at, but a process or journey to patiently endure and enjoy. Everything about Peter was new and wonderful. Scott and I were grateful to be in my parent's loving home and to be the recipients of so much love, support, and generosity.

I went on my first post-baby canyon excursion



Scott went to Boston for school, and we bought our wonderful little house, which we love!!!



November: We blessed Peter! Such a special day!



We went to St. George for Thanksgiving (pictures to come... they are on our cell phone). I had a pneumonia and strep throat set back! But were lucky because Peter didn't get sick!

December: Had a wonderful Christmas with our little family of three! We worked on our house, spent time with family, watched movies, went to concerts and jazz games, Scott went mountain biking a few times (we've had a pitiful amount of snow this year), played games, and just had so much fun together. We went to the new Natural History Museum. It was so cool! I have pictures on my phone. I need Scott to show me how to download them.



It's been such an amazing year! So much has happened, and our lives will never be the same. So much uncertainty lies ahead, and we are so excited for the adventures to come. We are grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows just how to make our lives richer than we could have planned for ourselves.