The Peterson's

Peterson Happenings

2010-06-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since we've updated. So for all 2 of our readers, here are the latest goings-on in the Peterson family.

Avaree is now 11 months old and so adorable! I can hardly believe that almost a year has gone by since she was born! Every time I look at her I think she looks taller and more like a toddler. Our friend says she has legs like a mythical fairy because they are so long and cute.

Weight 19.6 lbs

Height 29 in.

We went to Utah and visited family. I think Avaree picked up on a few things she should be doing (like pulling herself up on things).

Here are the 3 baby cousins together. Their other cousin Brenna is keeping a close eye on them.

We went to Utah after my conference. Another resounding success. Hope that means I'll keep my job for another year! :)

The hotel where I held my conference asked me to give up my room so some of my attendees could get into the room because the hotel was sold out. They moved me to one of the last rooms available in the hotel, which was the Presidential Suite. No complaining from us! Avaree and I

cranked up the sound system, turned on the music videos and had a dance party. We had fun jumping on the couches!

Meet the new addition to our family.

His name is Hunter (or thats what his microchip says). Someone dropped him on the trail by our house and through a crazy chain of events he ended up with us. We have tried to find his family, but no one is appearing.

He is one of the most well trained dogs we've ever seen (the vet agrees!). Someone put a lot of money into training him. We weren't necessarily looking for a dog, but are quickly adjusting to the idea.

Avaree loves him already.

10 months old

2010-05-01T09:52:00.001-07:00

Avaree at 10 months

Height: 28"- 28 1/2"ish

Weight: 19+ lbs
Developments this month-- she said her first word which was "love". What a perfect word for her!!! One of her favorite words is "beep, beep". She's funny because she will say a word for a day or so and then we can't get her to say it again.

She knows how to kick a ball. I was shocked one day to watch her pull keys out of a lock and then attempt to put the keys back in. She is eating solids like a champ. There are very few food items she won't eat.

She finally got her first tooth. And her favorite thing in the world is to wave at people (which is also the cutest thing in the world).
George looks so small now!

Happy Easter

2010-04-05T20:10:00.001-07:00

We had a low key Easter spent mostly at home. On Saturday before Easter we went to the LA Arboretum to the Beatrix Potter Easter day. There were lots of activities including; Easter egg hunt for ages 1 and under, rabbit ears, bubble blowing, and, of course, Beatrix Potter story time. We had a great time and hope you did too.

2010-04-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

Avaree 9 months old
Weight: 18.5 lbs 50%
Height: 28.5' 50%
Head circumference: 95%

She is a bundle of joy. The one word that best describes her is happy. She smiles and laughs all the time. She loves to tease us and has started to growl to make us laugh.
George doesn't stand a chance anymore!
And she finally crawls (army crawls that is). But now she is very mobile.

Avaree's Room

2010-03-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted Avaree to have a bright, colorful room. I think I have a little Spring Fever too, so with an idea inspired by one of my favorite bloggers this is the final result:

Peterson Update

2010-03-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick photo Peterson update.

In January we moved from Fullerton to Duarte. (Here)

This is our view (taken on a rainy day, so you can't see all the gorgeous foothills).

Right by a 3 mile trail, which is covered with wildflowers. This picture is a couple week old, now the trail is covered with yellow, orange and purple flowers.
The trail is near this... a spiky tree!
We also live near this hike.
And this one
We haven't made it all the way to the waterfall yet.
That's kept us pretty busy, but somehow Mike found time to fly this:

That's him inside

8 months

2010-02-27T09:54:00.001-08:00

Avaree 8 months: 18.5 lbs.

Avaree is loving our new place (I'll add photos next time). We found an amazing hike 5 minutes from our house. She loved it, but apparently it was making Mike sleepy.

Her personality is really starting to come out, she is so funny. She loves to tease and to laugh. Everyone that meets her says she is the most mellow baby.

She finally rolls around a lot and she is slowly figuring out crawling. She loves to walk (with assistance). She thinks she has conversations with us.

Here are the George photos:

And the biggest milestone (drum roll please)... she now can put herself to sleep. And we didn't even have to do the horrible "cry it out". Yay!!!!

7 months

2010-01-27T17:31:00.000-08:00

Obviously I have been a slacker.I'm in a super crummy mood tonight (stress, my lifelong friend) and thought writing this would make me feel better.

Avaree's 7 months stats

Weight: 17.2 lbs (really the only thing we know)

And since I didn't do this last month, here are Avaree 6 months stats:

Height: 26.5 in 75th percentile

Weight: 17.1 lbs 75th percentile

Head: 45 cm off the charts- I say it's to keep all tho

se brains in there

She is so much fun (I know, do I say that every month?). She is so coordinated and getting to be mobile. No crawling, but finally successful rolling.

I missed Christmas update. So here it is...

We had an amazing first Christmas. Avaree loved her presents- mostly loved the tissue and wrapping paper. Here she is with her loot.

The day after Christmas we drove up to Utah. We had a lot of fun visiting family. Here she is with her Grandma Peterson.

The best part was seeing the 3 babies together.

Here is Isaac and Avaree in their outfits Aunt Leslie brought back from China

While we were in Utah she really started sitting by herself

She went on her first sledding trip. Here we are being pulled by Avaree's cousins Emily and Shaelyn

Wow, that worked. I feel better! Yay. I guess I should do this more often.

5 Months

2009-11-29T19:49:00.000-08:00

Avaree is 5 months old. I thought it would be fun to compare all of her monthly pictures with George. I can't believe I've forgotten how little she was!

Stats:
Height 26 in
Weight 16 lbs
Head 44 cm

Stuck this pic in to show you how tall she is.
The last month has been so much fun! I hear it keeps getting better, I'm not sure if I can believe it because we are having such a blast! Avaree keeps doing such fun things every day.
New things this month: she is talking much more and making her consanents (no idea how to spell that!), she can pull her shoulders and head up, she rolls over occasionally. And a favorite is squealing. I attempted to add a video of Avaree squealing, but I can't figure out to add it. Any suggestions?

I never know if the things she is doing are typical or she is just amazing (which, of course, I think she is). I simply adore her. One of my favorite things that she does is when she is tired she loves to reach up and touch my face. I love it!

So, earlier in the month we gave her a haircut. Most everyone has heard this story. But, let's just say the haircut did not go well. And it is highly unlikely that I will be giving her a haircut in the near future or ever. Luckily darling hats are in season. So we stocked up and she has looked darling. Below is one a photo of one of her hats. I love this picture because I envision her saying "What you lookin' at?"

4 Months

2009-10-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

"You lookin' at me?"

I see now what they mean when they say time goes so much faster when you have children. Avaree is already 4 months old.
Her Stats
Height: 24 1/2 in
Weight: 14.7 lbs
Head: 17 in

She is so fun, she laughs and talks all the time. Two of the funnest and cutest things that she has started doing is: making "ah" sounds when we sing to her and she growls at us (we growl at her all the time because she thinks it's funny).

She still hates tummy time, but she is getting stronger. She holds her head up really well all the rest of the time. We haven't mastered rolling over yet, but I figure she's an independent little soul so she will do it in her own time.

She loves standing up.

I never realized how much I would enjoy being a mother. There is nothing in the world like it. The feelings I have for her are indescribable.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

We took Avaree to her first pumpkin patch. She fit right in. We found her a cute ghost onesie.

She loves hanging out with her Aunt Lindsey. We are trying to convince Lindsey to stay in CA and watch Avaree forever... See Lins how much fun you are having???

3 Months

2009-09-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

Avaree is 3 months last Friday, so of course we took the monthly picture with George.

Stats at 3 months:
Weight: 13 lbs
Height: 24 in
She is smiling if you can't tell.

She has really developed this month. She is reaching for things, and most of the time she reaches her target. She smiles and talks all the time. Her favorite thing is when Dad or Mom stick out our tongue. She has started imitating what we do- like sticking out her tongue or raising eyebrows.
She is a tease, and sometimes it is hard to give her the bottle because she is smiling and wants to play.
She finally lifted her head higher when she is on her tummy. She hates tummy time still, but she is getting better.
The other day we were hiking and I looked over and caught her staring up at Mike. I thought it was the cutest thing ever!
Here is my little slobber monkey. She has darling chunky cheeks, and I call her chunkalicious.

She is currently working through an ugly bladder infection that earned her a trip to the ER at 1am. She is feeling better.

First Trip to the Ocean

2009-09-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took Avaree to Newport Beach for her first dip in the Ocean. I covered her from head-to-toe in sunblock and we were off. We didn't go swimming, we just dipped our toes in. Our trip didn't last long, because it was too bright for Avaree. None-the-less it was still fun.

Too bright for baby!
Gotta love the double chin!

2 Months!

2009-08-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Two Months Old

One Month Old

I got the great idea from some friends (thanks Jasmine and Janica) to take a picture every month with Avaree with a stuffed animal to show her progression. We always meant to get a better stuffed animal but didn't, so it's Curious George.

Avaree is two months old today. She weighs over 11 lbs and is about 22 1/2 inches (I think). We are so happy to have her weight right where it is supposed to be. I didn't realize how small she was at one month, but looking at these pictures she was as thin as George!

I am thankful that she has survived and been so patient with Mike and me figuring what exactly it means to be a parent. She is such a great baby, she smiles all the time and really doesn't cry very often. I now understand why babies are called 'Bundles of Joy" because joy is the only word to describe what I feel.

Here a few Avaree pics.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Two Blog Entries in One

2009-08-16T14:15:00.000-07:00

Because I haven't written for awhile I'm compiling 2 entries into one big one. Hopefully I've included enough photos to keep this blog from being boring.

We just finished up another McBride Family Reunion in Utah. We love family reunions because they are chaotic, energetic and fun. However, we are always glad to get home to our own beds.
We did a lot of fun touristy things we don't usually do in Utah, such as visit the state capitol, children's museum, Clark Planetarium, and more. Below is Mike and some of the nephews at the capitol.
I didn't get as many pictures of the family as I thought I did. But we got a few fun ones of the babies.
Avaree and her cousin Isaac were born on the same day. Isaac was born early in the morning in Colorado and Avaree at the end of the day in Cali. Isaac was born a week or so late and Avaree was born 2 weeks early.
We took these pictures to compare the size difference. Isaac is so cute, he already smiles and talks to everyone. Yes, he is hitting my baby's face in this photo. We wanted to include their cousin Allyson, who was born the week of Avaree's real due date, but they had to head home to Wyoming so we missed the third comparison. Avaree is closer in size and development to Allyson.
Here are Avaree and Allyson napping on Grandma's bed. Note how well Avaree takes her naps.

While in Utah we had the baby blessings for Avaree and Isaac. It turned out so great, we had all of my family and a lot of Mike's family. Mike gave Avaree an amazing blessing. She looked so darling!

Ah, I do have a picture of the 3 baby cousins together. This is me, Avaree, Robyn, Isaac, Summer and Allyson.

We had a lot of fun and were glad to see Mike's family. We got a family picture and it wasn't until today that I realized that there are 4 generations of Peterson's in this photo.

*******

We went up to Logan for a day to see Mike's mom and Mike's dad and his wife.
Personally think it's a good look for Hans. Jason was the hairstylist.
Heidi was the recipient of her own lovely hairstyle, courtesy of her girls.

Grandpa Patch and Lauren loved having their red-headed grandbaby.

Thanks for another fun trip!

Happy Birthday, to the One I love

2009-07-25T16:35:00.001-07:00

Today is Mike's birthday, another year older and wiser. Mike is truly my favorite person in the whole world (Avaree is a very close second). I am so grateful to have such an amazing person for my husband, he is so thoughtful and kind. He makes me laugh all the time, and sometimes I don't think he knows how funny he is. I am so lucky to have him!

He is always thinking of me, and I know I don't deserve him. Watching him with Avaree only further cements in my mind how truly wonderful he is. He gets up at night to rock her to sleep, so that I can go back to bed after she has eaten. He now has to get up and feed her supplements, since I am not supposed to, and he does it without complaining.

I love you, Mike! Thank you for everthing!

One Month Old

2009-07-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

I can scarcely believe it, but Avaree has survived to her one month mark. We have had quite the month because we have struggled getting her weight up and just discovered that it is because I had a low food supply for her. This has been a rollercoaster for me, because it is really tough to feel like I can't supply. We are now supplementing and getting some weight on those darling little bones.

Aside from the weight drama, Avaree is such a great baby, she sleeps most of the night only waking twice. She loves to lay and just stare and look at everything. We still can't get over her red hair.

We had her pictures taken at Sears. The photographer managed to capture some great shots of her. Which is impressive since most of the time she looked like the photo below.
One of my favorite photos.

More Photos of Avaree

2009-07-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

Avaree is 1 week old today. I can't believe it! We have already learned so much about each other and the fun is just beginning.
We made it home safely from the hospital to be greeted by an enormous stork announcing Avaree (see photo below).
Avaree is doing so great. She has been waking up only 1-2 times through the night, I often wake up to make sure she is doing okay. She is such an easy baby (knock on wood), she is rarely fussy. I call her "honker" when she is really crying because she sounds like she is honking.
My favorite things about her are her feet and toes, her full head of red hair, her blue eyes. Okay, okay I love every single thing about her.
At times it is overwhelming to think how our lives have just changed. But then I hold her in my arms and she looks up at me and I know that we can do this.

She's Here!!!

2009-06-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Announcing Avaree Brooklynn Peterson

Born June 25, 2009
5:45pm
Weight 7lbs 8 oz
Height 20 inches
Labor time 22 hours

I am in awe...

Crazy times

2009-06-23T13:26:00.001-07:00

Life has been crazy and hectic for Mike and I over the past week and half. Before I get into that here is what may be my last baby bump shot.Yes, my baby is HUGE! My doctor thinks she weighed about 7.5 lbs last week (that is 3 weeks before her due date!).

The current adventure for the Peterson's is that last week I was diagnosed as having cholestasis of the liver. Yes, it is something as gross as it sounds. Pregnancy hormones are blocking the normal function of my liver, so bile (yes bile) is backing up into my blood stream. Fine for mama, potentially very, very bad for baby. Apparently it only happens in about 1% of pregnancies in the US. And no, I didn't do anything to deserve it. It's just a freak happening.

So, to make a long story short, we were supposed to be moving to a bigger place last Saturday, but my doctor wanted me to do an amniocentesis on Thursday and then deliver on Friday. Well... the amnio doctor couldn't do the amnio until Monday. We still rushed and moved on Thursday. I already miss my garden where we left behind tomatoes, blueberries, pepper plants, flowers (esp my gerbers).

The bright side is that at least we got the nursery set up before she comes.
We did the amnio yesterday (never want to do that again) to see if the baby's lungs are developed enough for me to deliver her. Current status is that we are waiting for a phone call at any second from my doctor to tell me if we have to go to the hospital today and be induced or wait until next week when her lungs are developed enough.

Either way, I really wish that this wouldn't have happened and that she could have come on her own. But, I would much rather have a healthy, safe baby than wait for her to come.

And more than anything I have lucked out beyond belief to have such a supportive husband as Mike. The work that he has done over the last week to get ready for the baby is unbelievable. I am so lucky!!! Thanks Mike!

Trip to Utah

2009-05-28T18:41:00.001-07:00

This is an old post that I started weeks ago and I am just now posting...
After all of the insane work hours I put in at work, I haven't done much nesting around the house. About two month ago I felt a strong pull to go home to my family in Utah, which I think is my way of nesting.

We flew home from Orlando on Thursday, just enough time to repack bags and go to bed. Then we flew out on Friday at 7am. We were picked up by Heather and Timothy. Did I ever mention that Timothy is stinkin' cute?

We started our trip the family way, with a soccer game. Teams were Carlos and Benjamin vs Timothy and Mike. Of course Carlos and Benjamin won, it's in their blood. Kaleb gave me a perfect smile and the twins discovered my water bottle.

Later that day we went to Wheeler farm.

On Saturday we went hiking with my sisters and the Arauzo family (minus Carlos) at Solitude. The path we took was still covered in snow, we had a blast. Go figure we could wear shorts in May in the snow. Mike was careful I didn't fall because none of my sisters wanted to deliver our baby up the mountain.

On Monday we celebrated Summer's birthday by eating a scrumptious cake. Mike and I also snuck off to buy Rogers Bakery Donuts (which are the best donuts EVER- you won't believe me until you try one). Then we went to another park to play with the O'Connors and Arauzo's.

Shortly after we came home. I think this was the best trip home that we have had in a long time for several reasons 1- because it wasn't snowing, 2- because my big show was over, so I was just starting to relax, 3- because my family is awesome.

Work Trip: Orlando 2009

2009-05-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight Mike and I returned home from being out of town for 14 days. For most of our trip we were in Orlando for my conference CEIC. I know I've talked many of your ears off with talk of my work (or been such a workaholic that I haven't been in touch), so I thought it might be fun to share some photos of what I do.
First, doing this event 7 1/2 months pregnant is tough! I had to sneak off to take a nap one day. And, being the dummy that I am, I overdid it two days and can now boast that I know what contractions feel like. I hope/think they were only Braxton Hicks. Luckily, I kept Mike close by to keep tight reins on me.
The trip turned out great. I had more attendees show up than I anticipated (which cause a MAJOR problem with food), Leonard Nimoy was so popular (he is really a very nice guy- he was excited for my pregnancy), and I got to see Stephanie (Mabey) Strickland my childhood best friend.
The conference was at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort, such a great hotel.

The event would have been perfect, except for the fact that it started raining monsoon like rain on Sunday afternoon and didn't stop until Wednesday. Ironically, my show runs Sunday through Wednesday. My biggest party is held pool side Sunday evening.
The rain that ruined my party.
But, our event team motto is: "it is what it is" so I improvised and still had a great party.

Here is a slide show of trip photos.

First Baby Shower

2009-04-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

My coworkers threw us our first baby shower at the Eden Garden Restaurant in Pasadena. They threw it early (10 weeks) because we are all getting ready for my big event in 2 weeks and because they all think I'm going to stress myself and baby out too much and deliver while in Orlando (pray that doesn't happen).

We got some darling presents. Below is a picture of one of my favorites --a Winnie-the-Pooh robe and slippers.
We didn't get a lot of presents because my awesome coworkers went in together and bought us our stroller and car seat (Graco travel system to be exact).
(here's a good baby bump picture for those who have requested it)
Mike put it together when I got home that night. See how cute?
It's amazing how much smaller our apartment now seems with stroller in the front room...

Day at the Races

2009-04-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

My boss Jerry gave me some free tickets to the Santa Anita Race Track for Saturday. The tickets included free parking and free buffet, how could we pass it up. We had so much fun. Although it was pretty hot, we had a blast pretending like we understood what was going on. Anyone who is in an expert on horse racing is welcome to give me lessons!
All I know is that between Mike and I, we would be seriously good gamblers. The horse we picked to win won every time. It's very scientific how we figure it out... just before the start of the next race we would walk to the pens and see the horses for the next race. Whichever horse was the feistiest, hardest to control was my choice to win. Then we would watch as their handlers walked them out, and if the same horse we picked in the pen was giving their handlers a hard time, we knew we were right on the money. Too bad we aren't gamblers! We would have won the biggest race of the day and made lots of money.

Human Science Experience

2009-03-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

Over the last few days I have begun to feel like I am a life size science experiment. This entry is not for the faint of heart.

I truly believe no one really tells you all about the crazy and bizarre things that happen to you during pregnancy. I heard about the gas, constipation, constant need to pee, etc. But, I swear I never heard about pregnancy colds or bloody noses until I was already well into the pregnancy. I never knew that my gums would bleed every time I brush my teeth--forget about flossing! Oh, the the fact that your body releases a hormone that triggers the growth of "granny hairs" on your chin. I think I know where postpartum comes from!!!

What else???? I have so much blood flowing through my veins that when I was getting my pedicure yesterday my toes kept bleeding for the poor guy barely touching my skin. How embarrassing! Last but not least, my brain officially does NOT work. I can be in the middle of a sentence and lose what I was talking about. Words that used to come so easy now disappear into the abyss of my head. I compare it to a library where there once was books, now there are gaping black holes.

And yet, the second this amazing little girl in my belly moves I forget all about the weird things and want to sit and watch her kick. I never knew I could be so wrapped around someone I haven't yet met face to face. She has started responding to my voice. And speaking of wrapped around a finger, don't even get me started on Mike. He's a goner!

It's a Girl!!!

2009-02-16T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official, we are having a little girl. We got the ultrasound today, and it is so exciting to see the ultrasounds now that she is bigger. My favorite part was that she kept opening and closing her mouth and moving her tongue. She was moving her little hands and legs. Of course, we went right out and bought a few cute girl outfits. Her dad is already completely wrapped around her finger, as he should be.
I think she tried to tell us she was a girl last week. We were in the car and Mike started talking about how he would be just as excited if it were a little girl. As he was said that, I felt the baby move more strongly then ever before. He kept talking about all the fun things he could do with a girl, and the baby kept moving and moving. So, I told him to talk about a boy. Which he did, and the baby didn't move at all. So he started talking about a girl again, and again she kicked and moved around. That's my girl!

Trip to New Orleans

2009-02-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

Last month I had to go to New Orleans for a conference. So, I dragged Mike with me since we've never been there. We had a blast!
We saw the French Quarter, this is us at Jackson Square.
Bourbon Streets an interesting experience, we probably will never go back.

While in New Orleans we did as the New Orleaneans do and ate and ate (don't go to New Orleans if you are dieting, not a good idea). We had po' boys, jambalaya, dirty rice, gumbo, and beignets (like square doughnuts covered in powdered sugar, yummy!). It's hard to eat in New Orleans being pregnant, everything has shellfish in it!

We went to a party on the floor of the SuperDome, and heard the Neville Brothers, and other psuedo-famous people (can't remember who they were now). And for my family, I took a picture of the field which still read "Utah" from the Sugar Bowl. My dad would have been thrilled.

On our last day there, we wanted to take a tour and the only one we could fit in was the "Hurricane Katerina tour". We loaded on a bus for 3 hours and drove around looking at sites leftover from the hurricane. It was shocking. We took pictures to share.

A lot of what we saw was houses where people were trapped. They were trapped because the walls of the canals broke (not the levees) flooding communities within 10 minutes. It's hard to see here, but after the National Guard came through they would mark a house with a gigantic "X" with the date, the number found in the house alive, and the number found dead. This house is a duplex. On the left the X says that 0 people found alive or dead. The X on the right reads that 0 found alive, 2 found dead. We didn't get a picture of it, but the right side of the house still has the hole where people were in the attic and broke through to get air. The worst we saw was one house shows that 0 found alive, 6 found dead. The really scary thing is that the date that the National Guard passed through some of these neighborhoods was a month after the hurricane went through.

These are the canals that run through neighborhoods that lead out to the lake which lead out to the Gulf. You can imagine if this floods it has a few options of where to go. The wall on the right are what broke. These pumps are recent additions. But, it makes me wonder if you are pumping the water backwards, where does it go? There are still miles of houses to the right of those pumps.

Before Katrina there were no vacant lots in New Orleans. I took a picture of what most neighborhoods we went through look like now. Lots of open spaces where houses once stood.
I took a picture of this church because it shows you how high the water line got. Look at the structure in front of the church.

But, on the light side, we stopped to get ice cream at the most darling of parks. We took a picture on a bandstand where John Phillip Sousa played. Yes, that would be my Mike making that face...

Baby Bump

2009-01-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess can officially announce that I'm pregnant. Mike and I are expecting our first baby on 7/8/09 (sooo easy to remember, huh?). I will be 17 weeks this next Tuesday.
Unfortunately I promised someone a photo, so alas, here it is:

I'm experiencing body inflation. This is what I look like now, but...
This is what I currently feel like

We are thrilled about the baby. We felt it move about 2 weeks before Christmas. I was sitting on the floor and my pants were pulled tight across my tummy and I thought "That is either really strong gas, or the baby is moving." So I touched my lower tummy and felt what felt like fingers brushing across my hand, separated by a thin layer of skin. I grabbed Mike's hand and he felt the baby move twice, and I felt it once more. In that indescribable moment, the world changed for us. It was magical.
Mostly since then it feels like butterfly flutterings. However, starting this last week the movement now feels like popcorn popping.
Although Mike and I would love to bask in the spotlight, we get to share this fun time with my sister Robyn (due about 2-3 weeks before us), my sister Summer (due about 1.5-2 weeks before us) and my eternal friend Jenn (due about 2-3 weeks after us). I personally think that is hilarious. (This is what I look forward to)

Christmas Post, Better Late Than Never

2009-01-18T23:18:00.000-08:00

We had another great Christmas. Mike and I did our Christmas on Dec. 22, because we were packing and heading up to Utah, we didn't want to haul our presents up there. Mike gave me a Fender acoustic guitar and 40 music lessons. I've always wanted a guitar. Watch out! I may be the next biggest thing on the music scene. Compared to the guitar, what I gave him wasn't that exciting: cologne, a men's valet, a Car Talk 09 calendar, the book "The Last Lecture" and the ever exciting socks.

We spent Christmas in Logan with Mike's family. It snowed 2 feet of snow! We were so excited, so we got up and spent 4 hours shoveling snow. Here we are shoveling (I know you will love my hat!).

Well, by that night I was sick and stayed sick for the rest of the trip. We weren't so excited about snow then. I told my mom we'll come visit in the summer, but we are going to skip winter. She doesn't think I'm very funny.

Peterson Family

We headed to Salt Lake to hang out with the McBride family. We had a pretty good time, albeit I was still horribly sick for the majority of the time. Here are some McBride family photos (sorry, lots and lots of them):

That's my team

2009-01-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

Undefeated! Utah stuns Alabama in Sugar Bowl

No. 7 Utes roll over No. 4 Tide 31-17, finish as nation's only unbeaten team

Need I say more?

Belated Thanksgiving Update

2008-12-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

As the saying goes, it's better late than never. Therefore, I'm finally writing about Thanksgiving.

For Thanksgiving this year we decided not to go home to family and we politely said "no" to all the dinner invitations (thank you to everyone who invited us). We decided to go on an adventure to Catalina Island. We took the Catalina Express from Long Beach the day before Thanksgiving and came home Thanksgiving afternoon. The water in Long Beach is so dark brown and yucky, and then Catalina has water that is clear blue and you can see orange fish swimming. We had Thanksgiving dinner at the yacht club there. It was yummy, but nothing beats homemade.

We sat on the back of the Catalina Express and froze on the way over. This is the view from the back of the boat heading to Catalina, Long Beach is in the back ground.

We got up early on Thanksgiving to walk all over the little town and saw a rainbow hitting just behind the casino. It was beautiful!

Our package we bought came with a trip on the "Underwater tour". I will admit I was a gigantic kid and loved every minute of it. How it works is we got on a semi-submarine like boat and then go below deck which has seats and windows that look out underwater (hence the "underwater" part). Then we went out into a little cove and they feed the fish so they swim around like crazy. We spotted a seal following along for the food.

We had fun, but we actually ended up coming home early. If you ever go, plan just a day. I would love to go back when its warmer and go snorkeling.

Fire!

2008-11-15T14:20:00.000-08:00

I am writing to correct the myth that there are no seasons in Southern California. In fact, we have spring, summer, and fire. Fire is my least favorite season.
It just began for us. Currently we are surrounded by two fires; the Yorba Linda fire and the Brea fire. Apparently Carbon Canyon Park, where Mike and I went for a walk a few days ago is burning.
The sky is an ultra eerie mixture of grey and orange. I think I'm going to need one of those ugly white face masks soon.
I ran outside to grab some pictures, and noticed that there is so much ash falling it looks like snow (see the pictures below, the white stuff on the ground and on mygerber daisy leaves is ash).

Decorating the House

2008-10-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I had better update my blog. Isn't it funny, I really thought no one read it. I've ignored it for a long time. So, imagine my surprise when I got on this evening and saw that people actually read it.

Anyone that has been to my house in the last 2 years knows that I have slowly been moving my living room color scheme to red and black. I think I have finally finished. I painted 2 bookshelves, the coffee table and some shadow boxes.

It makes me so happy to come home and see my fun decorations. Notice Mike's Robosapien on the bottom shelf. That is one serious robot--he whistles, burps, throws, talks back and dances. Who needs kids when you have a robot?

I just relocated my shadow boxes, and I got bored mid-way through hanging them. Hence the reason two of the boxes are sitting on top of each other.

All of these are nice, but the piece de resistance of our collection is the newly acquired painting we picked up from Deseret Book. I love, love, love it (did I mention love?).

4 Years Together

2008-08-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday was our 4 year wedding anniversary (and, of course, Leslie's birthday). Unfortunately, we spent the majority of the week with severe colds. We decided mid-week on celebrating Saturday night.
We went on a romantic dinner-dance cruise (we found super discounted tickets on my favorite website www.goldstar.com). It was by far one of the coolest things we have done. We ate a yummy 3 course meal and danced on the beautiful ship. At one point we were standing by ourselves on the bottom deck on the very back of the ship, when we saw a sea lion swimming along with us. The evening ended with Mike and I dancing all by ourselves on the top level of the ship under an enormous full moon and twinkle lights. It was memorable!

Day 1 Bloggin'

2008-08-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning a blog as part keep people updated and part professional development. I can't imagine people really wanting to read about Mike and I. I always figured blogs were only for those who have cute kids. But, what the heck, here we go.