Comparison of babies

 

Olivia

 

 

Claire

 Emma

Asher

Peterson Family Reunion

We just got back from a family reunion. We stayed in a huge house, pictures of the house HERE. We had a great time visiting with family. It was exhausting and we did many activities, but really fun. The girls just loved playing with their cousins all day non-stop. I didn't take too many photos, but maybe I will steal some off of other blogs when they post them ;) The scariest part of the trip was the first night when we got there. Olivia ran into a door frame and busted up her lip and gums. She was gushing blood for about 5 minutes. She ended up at the insta-care and got 3 stitches on her lip. Some of her gums came off, exposing her adult tooth that hasn't come in yet. It is all looking really good and 90% healed up and it hasn't even been a week yet! It is crazy how fast mouth wounds heal up!

Our other grand adventure was when Emma escaped from me at the movie theater. We went to see a movie and I took Emma to the bathroom with me to get a diaper change. I was finishing up my business when Emma snuck under the stall door. I called for her to come back, but she just ran thinking she was funny. I came out of the bathroom with Emma no where to be seen. She had some how managed to also escape and get out of the bathroom. So, out to the lobby area I went searching. No Emma ANY where. There are about 20 theaters and lots of them with doors wide open. I panicked. I ran into our theater to get Brett to help me. Then we went out to search the many theaters in which Emma could have wandered in to. A few minutes later a lady came out of a random theater holding Emma saying "Is this your baby? I thought she may have escaped since she was holding a diaper!" I was so relieved. I was also SO astonished that Emma is so crazy and got away from me like that! She is one crazy 1 year old and full of energy.

Emma and Elsie

Olivia and Caroline

 Emma loved to bug her cousins. The other toddlers/babies in the house hated having Emma constantly want to hold their hand, or rub their hair, or take their toys, or just hit them and push them around. Emma was mostly loving until they would push her away or hit her to keep her away. Emma would always hot back and they would start a war. This picture is when baby Elsie was hugging her sister for protection from Emma. Emma just thought it was a great opportunity for a group hug! As you can see- Elsie was not loving it!

 Claire and Ginger

These were the potato races. We built cars our of potatoes and raced them down a track. Little Calvin (5 yrs old I think) won. He was super excited about it!

Projects

 This summer we took on a project that Brett has wanted done for the last 5 years. We extended the driveway so we have a HUGE amount of cement on the side of our house now! Brett plans to put up a nice basketball hoop and play basketball every day. We also decided to make new garden boxes and surround them in concrete. The extra space of concrete by the garden boxes is for a shed. We did concrete around the garden boxes because the area they are in has a tree problem. The neighbors have aspen trees and they multiply and pop up EVERY where like crazy. Our grass was a big mess of tree stumps from cutting down tree starts every few weeks. The concrete should stop them from coming up and ruining our yard! Plus we won't have grass and weeds all over the garden boxes like we previously did! Yahoo! It will be so nice when everything is complete. We still need to buy dirt to fill the boxes, a shed, and a basketball hoop. Plus some bushes and plants for landscaping to make it look nicer. But... that will have to wait until next year. Unfortunately we aren't millionaires. These projects cost too much!

The girls have been out bike riding almost every day this summer. Claire is really good on training wheels and plans to learn to ride without towards the end of summer. We may try sooner, since she has really got it down with training wheels. Olivia is getting much more bold this year on her bike. She likes to go speedy fast, faster then even I am comfortable with. Luckily even though most kids in the neighborhood seldom wear a helmet the girls are in the habit and usually always wear them without a fuss. Which makes me happy since I am anxiety lady and pretty much fear the worst in all situations. My mother did the same.. so it's just natural for me to always be on high alert!

Latest and Greatest

Well, summer is in full swing. Olivia is getting quite used to staying home every day. She is loving watching endless amounts of Netflix movies and shows. I need to figure out how to set those parental controls! Claire is loving having a playmate every day! Liv and Claire are out in the neighborhood almost every day looking for friends to swim and ride bikes with. Emma loves going outside too. She has discovered "bees" which she calls every bug/insect.She loves to pick up the rolly polly bugs and the ants, and unfortunately she has got her hands on some spiders too. Yesterday she was desperately reaching for a wasp that was having a drink on a hose. I kept pulling her away telling her no and ouch! but she kept going back trying to grab it. I have a feeling she may be stung or bitten by a few bugs/bees this summer. She doesn't understand that the only bugs her sisters are holding are rolly pollies. She is fascinated with animals and bugs. Although she is starting to grow a fear of the larger animals. She still likes them, but doesn't want to get to close or have them lick her.She is also loving the strawberries we have growing out front. She picks them every day and eats every last one. She is still learning that the red ones are better then the green ones, but she eats the green ones anyway!

The baby (30 weeks now) seems to be doing well. He (or so they say, I still won't fully believe it until they have arrived) is very active. Always kicking and moving and shaking my belly. I am working on getting some clothes ready and figuring out room arrangements... but so far, I am have not gotten too far! He has like 3 outfits now... I am thinking I will just buy lots of cheap onsies. They can live in those day and night just fine! The girls have been sleeping down stairs in the guest room. They want to move in down there, but I told them they need to wait until after the family reunion since we have a few families staying with us in July. So, maybe after that we will start the re-arranging. I want to get a simple alarm system for the windows down stairs so I can keep my sanity and still sleep at night with them so far away.

Gestational Diabetes is going quite well. I debate with myself daily if it is hard or too easy. Some times it is very difficult and I want go crazy with cravings and I get so sick of it all. Other times I am eating a treat and wondering how this is a diet! Last night we went to the movies and I wanted popcorn. I ate a lower carb dinner and waited for snack time so I could eat it. I thought I would eat as much as I wanted and not count carbs. It gets in the way of enjoying my food sometimes if i know I am going over my allotted amount. Anyway- so I ate all I wanted. I thought for sure when I tested my blood sugar later it would be high, but it wasn't, it was actually quite low, in the 70's. Guess I could have had some soda to go with it! Later I looked at # of carbs in popcorn. I could have eaten 5 cups and been within the # of  carbs allowed. I should have looked at that before I assumed it was a high-carb snack!And that is when I wonder how this is a diet at all! But I am blessed. I do not have a bad case of diabetes. I am only slightly insulin intolerant.  So i can really get away with eating anything I want as long as I eat it at the right times. I can't carb over-load, but I can still eat a treat and have my levels be within range. I have decided I will still follow the diet and eat the amount of carbs that I am supposed to, but when I want a treat I am not going to worry about it being too many carbs, because I know my body can handle it fine. That being said, it is still hard being patient and waiting to eat that treat at just the right time! And counting carbs and not having as much as I would like at meal gets really annoying too. But, it is good for me having to practice some self control with my eating habits. I needed it! Plus it makes me add more healthy foods to ALL our meals and snacks. Now I have to think outside of the box for snacks and breakfast. It is hard eating a protein  with every meal and snack.
Anyway- life is good. We are blessed. We are all doing well and are happy most of the time!

Gestational diabetes

Almost a week ago I was told I do indeed have gestational diabetes. To be honest this has been a top fear/anxiety of  all my pregnancies. I have cried over the thought of it many times. I know that sounds pathetic. I am crying over the potential loss of sugar and bread and pasta. Surprisingly though- when i actually was diagnosed I only felt really sad about it for about a day and I am okay with it now. Today I was even grateful that I am being forced into a healthier lifestyle. The last few days have been hard. I have not met with the dietician yet and have not started testing my blood sugar. So I am nervous about that. I am learning a lot about diabetes and what I can and can't eat and how to control it. I thought it was simple, but it is actually rather complex. I am hoping the dietician can teach me more of the basics and I can get a better idea of what to eat and what to avoid. For instance I didn't realize milk was a rather bad thing to drink. I knew it had sugar and carbs, but I guess it spikes blood sugar quickly so it is not good for a diabetic diet. I have so much to learn. I hope I can incorporate these changes into my daily life for good so I never have diabetes later in life. That would be so horrible to live with forever.

I have been scared for the baby and that I will damage them for life if I eat a cookie or too much fruit or some thing. I am scared that I hurt it last week when I went I went overboard with sugar. I am such a sugar-aholic. I want to eat my bowl of cereal for breakfast soooo badly. But I know I can't. Especially something really yummy like cocoa Roos or golden Graham's. I hate that I have to eat eggs and meat for breakfast. Yuck. All I want is sweets. It is hard. I know this will be hard for me, but I also know it will be worth it. The best things in life usually come from hard things. I really do already feel better physically. I am not as tired and not as moody. I guess instead of PB and J on whole wheat bread (which I justified as being healthy) and gold fish crackers for lunch, we will eat a bunch of veggies and some turkey and cheese. I am hoping cheese is ok... Now I am unsure since finding out about milk! I will figure this diet out... Sooner or later!

Dance Recital

The girls had their dance recital this past Saturday! They both did great and were so cute. I was so worried because the day before Olivia had to learn an opener and closer dance for the recital. She had mostly no idea what she was doing. Luckily since everyone was on stage she wasn't noticed!
Claire did a tap dance and they looked so small and cute. Olivia had a huge boost of confidence and smiled and remembered her dance perfectly for the recital. The day before during rehersels she looked scared to death and I thought for sure she would burst into tears. I was so happy when at the recital she looked like she was having fun! After she said she loved it and had lots of fun! Claire seemed to enjoy herself too. They are so cute! I loved watching them grow and improve in dance.

May Pictures

Liv and Baby at week 26

Feeling shallow

As I read back on blog posts, I realize I seem a bit shallow and like I don't have much to say. I have so much on my mind and am thinking so deeply most of the time that when it comes to blogging I just want to keep it simple and positive. Things in general have just really been bringing me down lately. I feel like there is so much sadness and evil and bad things going on I can hardly take it. I am trying to remember my life is so incredibly blessed and I don't need to feel the sadness, but I do. It is not only the crazy evil that scares me, but the every day things that just get me down. I have known of multiple babies die and some miscarriages that have happened recently. It upsets me too much to imagine it happening to me. And then I hate that the people I love the most I get mad at often and frustrated with them. I want to be perfectly loving to my family, and I'm not. It is so frustrating that i can't just be nice and patient all the time!  Poor Brett sees the worst of me every day. By dinner time I have usually just had it and have a hard time being happy. The little things make me look like a crazy lady and it is all brett sees of me with the girls. I promise most of the day I am nice and loving ;)  anyway, I think too much.

Entertaining

 Claire trying out her new goggles

Emma laying down to watch a show on TV. This is the expression Emma wears on her face about 50% of the time, 90% of the time if we are around anyone else!

Panties

If Emma ever finds a stray pair of panties, they go right on her head. She thinks they are hats. It is cute... until she puts dirty ones on. EW!

Making Bread

Claire really loves to help out in the kitchen. She actually is becoming a pretty good helper too. She is patient and does what I ask. I thought it was cute when she was helping make bread dressed as Snow White. Little Snow White in the kitchen making bread, very fitting!

Peaches

This last week end we got to baby sit a guinea pig. Her name is Peaches. The girls loved every minute of it! I on the other hand am not too fond of rodents. She is pretty cute, but I wasn't about to hold her. Luckily Grandma and  Brett are here and they would get Peaches out for the girls to hold. Peaches would make the funniest noises when you would pet her, and it made us all laugh. She was a sweet little rodent, but I'm glad her owners took her home!

Spring Break

Y

We had an ice cream social yesterday with a bunch of the girls friends. The girls have been working for about a month on charts with behaviors I wanted to enforce. Some things Olivia had to work on daily: Happy, positive attitude, reading every day, making her bed, helping with random chores. Some things on Claires list were: Leaving Emma alone when Mom said stop, making her bed, helping with chores, going potty on the toilet before it is too late, etc. The chart did help a lot, and for the most part they did the things listed daily! They had earned their ice cream social, and we decided to do it over Spring break. 

The girls each got to invite 3 friends. One of claires couldn't come, and we ended up inviting 4 of Olviai's- so it evened out. We made our sugar rush ice cream sundays and went down to the theater room and watched "Wreck it Ralph". It was a fun time for the girls, and since it was all girls they were pretty well behaved and I didn't have to do too much crowd control. I love having girls and I love having girl parties! If I had 3 boys, you can bet I probably wouldn't have done such a thing without Brett home! They are so much more wild!!

Easter Birthday

 This year my birthday fell on Easter Sunday! It turned out to be a nice relaxing day and it was nice to have both holidays on one day. Everyone had something fun to do and everyone got presents and treats!

 Olivia and Claire got matching Easter dresses. The dress didn't come in Emmas size (and she was napping when we could take a picture).

We had a traditional Easter dinner with Gary and Sherri. I had planned a great birthday cake, but it fell through. I tried making a flour-less chocolate cake (with other layers too). It ended up in the garbage it didn't turn out at all. So then I thought we could do some quick brownies from a box and ice cream sundays. Sadly- we didn't have any brownie mix in storage like I had thought. So- ice cream and berries on top it was! Which was fine in the end since we were all so full from dinner. Despite my birthday dessert failures, it all turned out great. We all had a great day!

Orange Ear Muffs

Olivia received some orange ear muffs for Christmas from one of her friends. When I saw them I was a little shocked at the furriness, the color, and the over-all wow factor. Olivia of course loved them. She has worn them faithfully every day this winter. She is so cute, I almost like the funny little things now. And plus- she is easy to spot in a crowd of children! Can't complain about that! Spring is here, the warmer weather is coming and I think I will keep my eyes out for some new ear muffs for next year.. ;)

Sisterly Love

These two are always picking on each other. One minute they love the attention, the next it is just too much and there is crying. Claire over loves Emma with her hugs and kisses, and just constant touching, while Emma likes to pull Claires hair, poke at her eyes, and pat Claire on the back. I don't think Emma is malicious, it is just her age and she doesn't know it hurts! They drive each other crazy, but they love each other and love to play together so much too.

#4

Baby #4 is due August 25. We are so excited! Of course Brett is hoping for a boy, but sure it is a girl. I do not mind either way. Another August baby. All I can think is "poor Claire, all alone in December.. right next to Christmas!" And then I feel a little bad that we will have 3 birthdays all right next to each other in August. Apparently no one will have their own special time in this house ;)

2 month catch up

 Emma was attacked with stickers by her sisters. She didn't seem to notice or care

 some time in December we made gingerbread cookies. It was very time consuming... and messy! It was fun though. 

 the girls on Christmas Eve in their new jammies

 Liv on Christmas day

  

 Claires' birthday! She was sick on her birthday and the day her party was scheduled, so we moved it to a week later. She had a Minnie Mouse themed party. She invited every friend her age and had a good old time.

 the girls tracing window stickers.

 we finally got a new table and some bunk beds for the girls! Now we can actually have guests over... or even fit our own family at our table! Yay! Now that Emma is at the table.. we had to get something to fit us all. Table for 4 was just too small!