Remind me again what month it is

As temps climb into the high 70s and flirt with the 80s I have a hard time reminding myself it is only the middle of March.  Heck, the first day of Spring was last week and we've already had summer like weather.  It makes me wonder what "gotch'ya" weather Mother Nature has in store for us. 

Last weekend we had lunch with my Aunt Mary Meier and Aunt Joan Hohncke -both ventured to Alex to come see the house and the kids. Even Grandpa Butch drove down to join us for lunch.  After the meal we wound up back at the house and just hung out- but after everyone left the house just got warmer and warmer. I refuse to turn on the AC this early.  However, if it stays this warm,we my have to -or Harvey will become a permanent naked baby.

I had told Bailley and Preston "no shorts until the ice is off the lake" but the house was so warm, I caved.  Of course, the little girl in the house behind us has impeccable timing- and rang the door bell just as they got changed. So yes, I caved again and let them go outside and play in shorts. I also snapped a few shots of them hanging out on the deck before dinner.  I have a feeling we will be  enjoying more than one meal out there this summer.

Enjoy the pictures!

Bailley and Preston out on the deck - enjoying the nice weather.

Harvey finally fell asleep for a nap...amid a pile of his clothes mom and I were sorting through.

Peterson Kids Shine at Student Showcase 2012

This year Bailley and Preston had an opportunity to participate at the Student Showcase in Alexandria. This event brought students from all of the public elementary schools (there are 6) and the junior high school together to display their talents in music, art, drama, and technology. They had an area where you could go and see the different projects the kids could participate in.  For my brother- it was like Odyssey of the Mind when we were kids (they even had some of the balsa wood creations!)  I have pictures of a few other entries and groups below- I will explain as the pictures are presented.

Bailley submitted a picture she took after one of the few snow storms we had.  She printed it and got it matted mostly by herself. She did not win an award but I think it was fun for her to participate.  She has  a real eye for photography and it will be fun to see what other kinds of projects she comes up with in the years to come.

Preston was asked to talk about a technology his classroom is using called a NEO2.  Its like a computer and whiteboard/smart board rolled into one device. For those of you who do not know what a smart board is - think of an electric white board. His teacher and another teacher had applied for and received a grant to purchase these items and I guess the kids love them! I have a video below of Preston explaining to Jason how they work. He said his favorite part is taking AR tests on it. 

We had all the grandmas, Grandpa Larry and Amanda come over for the fun.  I think next year we will have to explore more of the entries and stay a little longer. 

Bailley's entry!

Bailley next to her entry - Smile!!!

Bailley with the Grandmas - SAY CHEESE!

Preston in front of the booth with the NEO2 (its the little keyboard looking thing next to him)

Here is a video of Preston telling his dad what they use the NEO2 for and how it works.

And here are some pictures of the other things we saw -Enjoy!

The Jefferson High School Robotics team had their robot on display

This picture was close to Bailley's - it took first place and the title was "What happens when you aren't looking."

Some ceramic artwork  - I liked the hot dog on a bun!

This picture and the next one are from the Lego League team and their competition piece.  It is too hard to explain how it all works, but Preston took one of the Lego classes this last fall and I can see why he liked it!  Again- think Odyssey of the Mind! :)

Harvey talks...kind of

Little man is starting to make all kinds of fun sounds. I really wonder what he is trying to say.  I figure he is just testing out his voice; trying to understand what certain sounds mean and what our reactions are to them.  He has started to suck on his hands and fingers as well. Sometimes you can hear it thru the baby monitor at night. 


He smiles daily and at this point we KNOW it is not due to gas. He is even starting to laugh a bit.  Granted we have to tickle him, but its laughter none-the-less.  I am attaching a video of his chatter and laughter.  The quality isn't the best and I'm sure you can hear my voice as much as his, but you get the point. Make sure you turn up the volume on your speakers.


He has his  four month checkup in April (the 16th to be exact).  I am guessing by then he will be well into the 14-15 pound range.  He eats like a champ and has even started to sleep in blocks of 6+ hours a night. That doesn't happen every night, but the nights we do have those blocks make for a well rested morning. :)

**Note- As I am trying to get the videos to work my preview feature on the blog is not working.  I have tried to upload the videos to this site and if only one appears, I am sorry.  If you want to see the others i have them on youtube but they are not public videos. I can send you the links.  Thanks!

The first video was taken on a Friday night while Harvey and Jason were spending some quality time together.

The next set of videos I took the next morning. I certainly think the camera likes daylight better.

Things I learned on maternity leave

Below you will find a list of things I learned over the last 12 weeks.  Some are common sense and  some are just my simple observations. Enjoy!

Naps are awesome.  It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, a nap is a wonderful thing and something we should be allowed to do while at work.

12 weeks of leave isn’t quite enough – so I think I need to start playing the lottery…or move to Europe. I love being at home.  I thought I would have gotten bored by now, but I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted; I was too busy playing with Harvey, cooking, cleaning and getting my shopping done during the day.

Speaking of shopping, after being home for 12 weeks I have decided the best time to go to a grocery store in Alex is after 8:00 PM.  Target is perfect around 10 AM or 1:30/2:00 PM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Walmart is always a zoo.

I have the best family. Period. I have two smart, caring and wonderful older kids that work hard at school and love to have fun.  I have a spectacular husband who is a night owl; which allows me to get some sleep.

The DVR is the best invention ever…and soap operas are the devil (yet highly addicting.) But the best part about a soap is that even after not seeing it for years, you can quickly catch up after a few days. Good-Bye Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives- I will see you again on a sick day! (Or on SoapNet at night.)  J

I am glad I waited to have a baby.  It allows me the comfort to know that sometimes babies just cry and there’s nothing I can do to help him.  I am more content with life in general. I don’t have to have something brand new or name brand. I can live with having hand me downs, hand me ups or hand me overs.  Harvey doesn’t know the difference. And I have the sense to know that we do not need every toy or gadget for our baby. 

Every day I get dressed knowing by the end of it I will fall victim to the 3Ps – pee, puke or poop.  I will be wearing one or all by the time I get my jammies on. I find it fun to look in the mirror as I get undressed to see just where it all landed and think “hmmm…just HOW did it get there?”

I’m glad we don’t have an actual video camera.  I am content with the videos my cell phone takes and if I play around with the other cameras I am sure I can figure out how to record video with them.  I just think if we had a video camera Harvey would grow up thinking this black box looking thing in front of my face was normal.

I have become “one of those” annoying parents.  I have a picture of my son as the wallpaper on my cell phone. I have lots of pictures of him on my phone as well as video.  I have a website and blog.   And any conversation usually winds up going back to baby.  I always found that annoying, but now that I am one, I understand how it happens.   And I am certainly ok being one. His picture will go up on my desk next to the art work and pictures of the other kids.  My desk is turning into “mommy’s brag zone”.

I am glad I stuck with breast feeding.  I enjoy our “mother and son” time and we have had some good conversations while he’s been nursing. I’m not sure how much longer this will last, but I am going to continue to enjoy it while I can.

I am sure there are other things I am forgetting but these are the high points.  I am including a few videos of Harvey so you can see how he is learning to talk.  He certainly has something to say!!  And as always, check out the shutterfly site for more pictures.  Poor kid will probably grow up to be camera shy.  However I have to throw in a picture of two - just for good measure. I have video on my phone and I am working to add that - I can't get the audio to work just yet. Grrrr!

 Took this one while he was in his car seat..and we were waiting to go meet Jason for lunch. I guess he was really excited to see his dad. I simply LOVE his smile.

This is what Harvey wore to church on Sunday. Jason said I am not allowed to pick out his clothes when he starts school. I thought he looked cute and "studious" - Jason said he would get beat up in a sweater.  Oh well - better dress him up in stuff like this now!