Catching up!

I am going to try to catch up on what has been going on this summer around the Petersen home. Sorry for the lack of posting and the flood of posts today!

Thunderstorms

Max and I were sitting outside on the deck watching one of the many thunderstorms of this week.

Mom: Hey Max, I think the clouds are crying because I'm turning 30.

Max: Mom, clouds don't have faces, so we don't know how they feel.

Max then ponders my personification of clouds for a few seconds.

Max: Hey mom, how do the clouds know you're turning 30? :-)

New Adventures on the Horizon

I have been neglecting this blog.  Hopefully now that tomorrow is my official first day of "summer" I will do better.  Lots of stuff has been going on lately,

*Riley and I traveled to Las Vegas last weekend to see Jimmy Buffett in concert (Riley's Bday present).  Vegas and Buffett were amazing.  Even the drive was nice, it's always good to get 5-6 hours of uninterrupted talking time.  :-)

*Sam has teeth!  His two bottom teeth and one top tooth are all the way in, with a second top tooth soon to follow.  

*Sam is crawling...everywhere!  I am loving it.  He loves to follow Max around, especially if Max has toys.

*Max is done with preschool!  Today was his last day.  He has had an amazing teacher this year and I am sad to see it end.  He is very excited to start Kindergarten, although I am still asking him NOT to grow up on me anymore!

*Today was also my last day of preschool.  I am very sad about this.  My class this year has been amazing, both the students and the parents, and the teachers I work with are fabulous.  I will really miss them!  Which brings me to the next point. . .

*I accepted a part time job at a local high school.  I am very excited about it!  I will be teaching health and drivers ed. to 10th graders in the fall.  Fun times!

*I am very excited for summer!  Some items on our agenda:  soccer and t-ball games, camping, Thanksgiving Point, swimming, Yellowstone, lazy days, playgroups, dance, etc!  What are you doing this summer?

Love this Article, Happy Mothers Day!

"Trust yourselves, you know more than you think you do."

To My Mom

Happy Mother's Day Pam! I love you so much! You are such a huge support to me and my family, we are so lucky to have you.

I want you to know how much I have always appreciated having your example to look up to, you are so strong, independent, patient, and caring. Thank you for shaping me into the person I am today! Thank you for being my confidant too, being my shoulder to cry on on the bad days and the person to help celebrate the good ones! Thank you for loving my husband and family the way you have always loved me. I love the bond that you share with my boys, they both adore you. You are such an amazing grandma.

Thank you for being you and for loving me and my family unconditionally. We love you! Happy Mother's Day!

The Big 3-0!

Happy Birthday Riley! I have had a blast spending our 20's together and I can't wait to see what the 30's have in store for us!

Max wants to add "Happy Birthday dad, you're the best-est dad in the whole world and I love you so much." He also told Riley that he knew that he was getting pretty old but it is OK.

Sam spends most of his days blabbing "dadadada", already vocalizing his love for daddy. Today it also translates into "Happy Birthday old man. I fully plan on continuing to eat you out of house and home."

Happy Birthday Riley! You're the best! I hope you have an awesome day!

Mexico

We had such a great time in Mexico this year! We arrived on Easter Sunday and Natalie's wedding was on Monday, so we had a busy first few days. After the wedding, we spent the rest of the week relaxing and having a blast!

The majority of our time this year was spent between the beach and the swimming pool. We didn't end up going into downtown Puerto Vallarta, but we did visit the infamous walmart. :-) We were able to go into the cute little town of Bucerias to shop on Wednesday, and we spent Friday afternoon in Sayulita.

While in Sayulita, Riley was able to get onto his feet surfing this year! I'm sad I didn't get a picture or video of it. Max was more brave this year and ventured into the ocean with dad and grandpa a few times. I still couldn't get him to go in with me.

During the trip, Sam became a huge fan of bread, tortillas, french fries, croissants, and cake. He loves eating REAL food! He also discovered his love of dum dum suckers on the airplane (which is a fabulous idea! Thanks Tesla!). Both boys did amazing on the flights! Max grew up so much on our trip. He was such a great big brother the entire time and he became so much more independant.

The week passed far too quickly and we were all sad to come home. Max wanted to get "reservations for life" (and I must admit, if it were possible, Riley and I would do it). It was so nice spending an uninterrupted week with the family.

Natalie and Craig's Wedding!

Sorry this post has taken me so long. I didn't want to post pictures of Natalie in her dress until after the reception, so now that it's all over, here goes!

Natalie and Craig's wedding was PHENOMENAL! It was a gorgeous day on the beach and the bride and groom both looked amazing. Craig's dad married them and he gave such a great speech before the vows. Dad giving away his baby!

Nat and Craig. So Sweet! The KissOne of my favorite pictures.

Max and mom walking down the aisle. Max was the cutest little ring bearer. After he realized that Natalie was now married and would be moving out of grandma Colleen's house, he had to fight his tears. He's such a sweet kid.

The family. We had so much fun!

After the wedding, we were able to just hang out for a few hours while Natalie and Craig were photographed. Everyone was hungry, so we headed over to the buffet and stuffed ourselves with chips, salsa, guacamole, and the best sopapia's I've ever eaten!

Dinner was served on the beach just after sunset. Max entertained everyone with his killer dance moves. The food and company were fabulous! It was such an amazing day.

Congratulations Natalie and Craig!

My Baby Sister is Getting Married!

My sweet baby sister is getting married! I am so excited for Natalie and Craig. I can't wait to see what the future holds for the two of them!


Natalie, you are the best sister and friend ever! I feel so lucky to have such a tight bond with you. You are such a beautiful, fun and happy person, I'm so glad that you found someone who brings out the best in you. You are such a cute couple. Congratulations Natalie and Craig!

Kangaroo Zoo

Max chose Kangaroo Zoo for his birthday party this year. It was great! I was so glad that we chose a weeknight so that it wasn't crazy busy. The kids had a great time playing while the parents enjoyed catching up. I was very impressed that we were given a party host who entertained and played games with the kids. She was an amazing server too! Thanks to all who came to help us celebrate Max's birthday!

Trying to Crawl

Sam is trying so hard to crawl! He is getting so close, and he's so frustrated that he can't make himself move forward. He is getting great at scooting backwards, turning around on his belly, and rolling to where he wants to move. Any day now!!

Happy 5th Birthday Max!

Happy Birthday Max! You are such a fun boy, we love being your parents. We hope you have an amazing 5th birthday!

During this past year, you have grown and learned so much! We love how inquisitive you are about everything. You have such an excitement for life and the things going on around you. We love that the answer "because that's just the way it is" isn't good enough for you, you always want to know WHY.

This year your love of reading has grown immensely. You are now reading on a 2nd/3rd grade reading level and loving it. It is so fun watching you pick up books and read them to us, and we also still love reading to you. We love that you have to carefully study the pictures on each page before we can go on to the next.

We told you you couldn't grow up and become a 5 year old, but despite our best efforts, here we are! We love you and can't wait to see what this new year brings!
Love, Mom and Dad

Sam's Stats

We finally took Sam in for his 6 month check up. As usual, he didn't really mind his check-up, and I think Max was more worried about the shots that Sam had to get than Sam was. It has been a rough couple of days for Sam since the shots though, with fevers and irritability. I think he may be getting teeth too, and he has a bit of a cold, so that isn't helping matters much.
Here are his stats:
Length: 28.5 inches (95%)
Weight: 18 lbs. 13 oz. (75%)
Head: 44.5 cm (75%)
He's getting SO big! I just love his cute baby thighs and kissing cheeks!

Impressionable Youth

Max is at a loss for what he wants for his upcoming birthday. (He isn't spoiled or anything!) Everyone keeps asking him what he wants and he usually responds by asking me to tell him what he wants, or to show him toys on the internet that he can "choose from". He seems to also be soaking up the commercials on TV too. . .
A few days ago, Natalie asked him what he wanted. He responded, "I want the Smoking Man who can't stand up!". She thought the answer was strange, but just brushed it off until she saw the commercials. When she told my mom and me this story, we got a good laugh! Guess he didn't get that the Smoking Man WASN'T the cool superhero. So much for ANTI-tobacco advertisements. :-)

My baby is 6 months old!

Sam continues to be an absolute joy. He is such a happy baby and so much fun. He is currently trying to crawl and getting very frustrated that he can get up on his hands and then his knees, but not both at the same time. He also has yet to figure out how to move forward, but is getting pretty good at turning on his belly and rolling all over the place. He has started to figure out how to scoot backwards a little bit too.He is learning to like his rice cereal and oatmeal, and he loves his fruits and veggies. He also decided (thanks to a very stubborn mom) that he likes bottles now. In fact, he was fully weaned a week ago (6 months is mom's limit)! After the initial bottle battle, it was a fairly easy transition and has turned out to be great for both of us.
Sam is a great little sleeper again. I put him down between 10:30 and 11:30 each night, and he sleeps until about 7:30am! Heavenly. :-) He doesn't like to take many naps though, so I guess that is my trade off.Sam loves to play in his jumperoo and hang out in his "toy chair". He likes having a toy in his hand and/or mouth all the time. He also loves to play with and chew on his feet. He loves it when I take his socks off so that he can suck on his big toe. Gross, I know. He loves watching Max play and he will try to join in whenever he can get to him (he's becoming a great roller!). He is full of smiles and giggles. I know I say this a lot, but I seriously cannot believe that he is 6 months old! The time has gone by so fast, and we have loved every minute of it.

And it Begins!

Now that Sam is semi-mobile (by rolling and scooting where he wants to be), he likes to go wherever Max is playing. Max has been pretty good about things so far, only occasionally trying to roll him back over or yelling for me to come and intercede.In fact, Max has been very willing to share K'Nex he isn't playing with. I think he's kind of excited to have someone at home to play with, especially now that Sam has started to show interest. This is what I found the other day while Max was playing. In an attempt to "share" with Sam, he brought over a bunch of K'Nex and started piling them on! I can only hope that the "sharing" continues. :-)

Pennies

Max (the oh-so-super-observant one) came home from school after his President's Day lesson and told me that Abraham Lincoln is on the front of our pennies because he was such a good president. He then ran upstairs and got his K'Nex and started building. He came to me with this and said "Mom, here's what's on the BACK of our pennies."

My Little Mario

Who knew that the hat I made Max for his Halloween costume would end up being part of his daily attire? He could care less about what he's wearing, but he loves to have the Mario hat on. Gotta love it!

Sam's First Swimming Experience

We took Sam swimming for the first time a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure what to expect, but he loved being in the water and kept wanting to float on his back (like the tub I guess). It was so fun to swim with our boys and our friends!

25 Random Things About Me

I've been tagged (love ya Amber!). Is it sad that it's hard to think of 25 random things about myself? I'll blame it on mother's-after-baby-absentmindedness. :-)

So here it goes. If you are tagged by me, then you must do the same thing on your blog (and/or facebook) and tag 25 people also. Enjoy

1. I love ice cream, especially strawberry. I'll take a strawberry shortcake serenade from Cold Stone any day.

2. I tend to be obsessive about some things, I just wish I could channel this part of my personality into cleaning my house. (I'm sure Riley wishes this too) :-)

3. I love playing video games, especially Nintendo.

4. I had to get glasses when I was 2. My farsightedness reversed itself by 9th grade. I love not having to worry about glasses or contacts anymore.

5. I love Mexican food. I could eat bean and cheese burritos for every meal.

6. I am a nail biter. It is a horrible habit.

7. I love shopping online. I watch mamabargains.com far too frequently.

8. I am addicted to too many TV shows.

9. I really enjoy cooking and baking. I didn't really learn how to cook until I quit teaching Jr. High. I never imagined that I'd be good at it, or even like to do it. Amazing what having some time at home will do to someone.

10. I love digital scrapbooking.

11. I am really nervous to send Max to Kindergarten. The bus thing scares me too. However, he is very excited about it, and he can't wait to ride a bus. I know I am a totally annoying and overprotective first time mom. :-)

12. I think Daylight Donuts was heaven sent.

13. I hate the cold. If it weren't for my family and friends, I would move somewhere warmer.

14. I don't like being alone.

15. I have a phone phobia. I have a really hard time talking to people outside of my "comfort zone" on the phone. It really bothers me (and Riley). I know it's irrational, and I am really trying to be better about it.

16. I love teaching. My current job is awesome.

17. Mexico is my paradise. I usually wish I were there.

18. I could go to Disneyland every year. I love it there.

19. I also love Las Vegas.

20. My husband is the greatest man alive. I am so lucky to have him.

21. My boys are the cutest. :-)

22. I am very competitive. And stubborn.

23. I am a pack rat. Another thing I'm trying to be better about.

24. I sing preschool songs through my house all the time. Max gets really annoyed with me. I can't decide if he's sick of the songs, or if it's just my voice. :-)

25. I can't wait for spring because it means that we're that much closer to summer!

Riley says too many of these have to do with warm weather. What can I say, I am sick of the cold!

I tag: Natalie B., Tesla, Cat, Rebecca A., Shannon, Laci, Emily H., Natalie H., Heather B., Christi C., Amber G., Stormy, Ashley C., Amber M., Heather W., and anyone else who hasn't yet done this but wants to!