October update

It's been WAY too long since I last wrote something. Typical, huh? I have so much to say all of the time, but then it gets to be too much for one post, and then no other post gets written... I'm going to try to do a "brief" update. We'll see how brief it actually turns out to be. You know me. I'm a talker! And I'm hoping to revamp my blog soon to include everything that's going on in my life, including Josiah, life at home as a mommy and wife, my crafts and party planning, and our newest addition on the way, Micah.

We'll start with me. I'll be 36 weeks pregnant on Tuesday. We have a c-section scheduled for November 2nd, so as of this Wednesday, there are only 3 weeks left until we meet little Micah. I'm feeling really well overall. I do know that when I'm more active during the day, I am more uncomfortable at night. My feet swell, my leg muscles cramp up and cause charlie horses, and my stomach and back hurt. But when I take it easy, I feel perfectly fine. Bending over repeatedly wears me out quicker than anything. So, I struggle to keep the house clean when it comes to picking up toys and clothes. If I do little bits at a time, it's not so hard. However, with a 2 year old, by the time I pick everything up, the first things I put away are now back on the floor. If you could see my living room right now! It was spotless just yesterday. Now there are books, toys, and pillows everywhere!!! I'm also at the point of going to the dr's office every week. I had last week (35 weeks) off, but have an appointment this Wednesday, the next Friday, the next week after that, and then Micah comes the following week. In addition to my regular check-ups, I also have to schedule in an anesthesia consultation at the hospital before his birth.

I'm still doing daycare, but only with Jaydon & Zoe (my cousins). They are now 8 and 9 years old and in 2nd and 4th grade. After a very busy summer, I was thrilled to see them go back to school. And I've been enjoying having my days with just Josiah and me. It is time consuming to transport everyone around everywhere. Each morning, all 5 of us load up in the car and I take Jesse to work, the kids to school, Josiah and I go home, and then in the afternoon I pick everyone up again. I spend about 3 hours in the car everyday!

My to-do list is never-ending, but a lot of that is just because I can't help but volunteer for new things. On top of the housework and typical mommy duties, I spent the last month and half planning my baby shower with my mom. It was really her throwing the shower for me, and I offered to be totally hands-off and let her do it all, but she knows how much I like to do it and what I'm capable of. In truth, the idea of doing it herself is overwhelming. It turned out to be a good thing, though, because 2 of the 5 weeks we had to plan, she ended up working until 8pm every night. And none of my friends stepped up to help until the day or two before the shower. So, I spent most days working by myself. The shower turned out awesome, though. It was a Mustache Bash theme with the idea that there is "another little man on his way to the Peterson house". There are lots of pictures, but I think checking them out on my facebook page is better than trying to add them to this post. If you aren't already my friend, send me a request.

Now that the baby shower is over, I thought I'd be able to relax, but I feel like I have even more to do since I have had less than 4 weeks to get my house ready for Micah's arrival. I've been trying to organize our bedroom, keep the rest of the house clean, and get Josiah's room ready too. For the first few months, Micah will be in a bassinet in our room, since I fear that his constant waking through the night would cause problems with Josiah's sleep. But, in the meanwhile, everything will be in Josiah's room (their future room together). So all diapers, clothes, toys, furniture, strollers, bouncy seats, everything are in their tiny room. It's fairly well organized now, but I have to add all of my recent gifts to the room as well as finalize some decor.

And then on top of all of that, I not only joined a MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers), but I became the craft coordinator after the first meeting! I've never been in MOPS before this year. If you've never heard of it, it's a Christian-based group for mothers of kids under 6 years old. We meet twice a month for meetings. The kids are all in childcare that's provided. And the 3-5 year olds have lessons and structured activities. There are mentor moms who have older children. They are there to support you any way that you need, having been where you're at before. They'll hold your crying baby, give you advice, pray with you, and just provide any support they can. There is also a staff member for each aspect of the group (one that handles finances, another that handles childcare, one for public relations, one for food/hospitality, one for crafts, and so on). At the meetings, there is often a speaker who talks about issues moms face (usually from a Christian perspective), there's a bit to eat, discussion at your small group table, and a craft project for everyone to do. Once a month the staff meets together to plan out the next month's activities and topics. And the remaining week is an activity that moms and their kids do together outside of the group (like visiting a farm or the fire station). And then there's one Saturday a month where the moms go out by themselves and get to know each other better.  I've known online friends who have done it for years, and it always seemed like a neat organization. I just thought Josiah was too young last year (although he wasn't) and I didn't know where it was in my town or how to get involved. I had a conversation with one of my mom's childhood friends who was asked to be a mentor mom this year, and she told me about which church was hosting it. So I googled it and contacted some people and started at the first meeting a few weeks later. As it turned out, they were lacking some staff positions, including a craft coordinator. And when my mom's friend saw me there, she encouraged me to get involved. It's not as easy being 9 months pregnant, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use the gifts I believe God gave me. So, I took the job. So far it's ok. For the first months, many of the craft activities were planned out for me. On one hand, I don't get to show what I'm really capable of. But on the other hand, I don't have to put as much effort into the activity when I've got so much else on my plate. So, my planner is booked with activities, and there's still more to-do's on the back burner when nothing else is written down. I'm trying to take care of myself and not over-book it either.

Life with Jesse is going well too. He just got a raise after wages were frozen 3 years ago. It was $1.50 more an hour, which is a huge blessing to us! I knew that if he stuck it out through the tough times, he'd be rewarded, and it's nice to see that come to fruition now. He's such a valued employee and we've been fortunate enough to have his job when so many others around us have been laid off. On top of that, Jesse decided to go back to school again. He began his first term at the end of September and is taking a Spanish class in a town about a half hour away as well as 2 online classes. After working 8 hours a day, he spends his evenings either at school or doing homework. I appreciate how hard he is working to better our family. And he's doing extra work around the house as well, since I'm unable to do as much. With the extra money we're receiving from his financial aid and raise, we're planning on buying a minivan or SUV (something with 6+ seats) to be able to hold the two of us, our 2 kids, and Jaydon & Zoe- or when Jaydon & Zoe aren't with us, my mom and brother could ride with us in one vehicle. We may go check out cars today, and our plan is to buy something before Micah comes in 3 1/2 weeks.

We have moved out of our house. Did you know that? After a lot of drama, we found a great landlord who was willing to give us a chance. We moved into a house we love and things have been good. The official marketing period on our house is over, but the bank has not initiated foreclosure proceedings again. There's been more interest in our house lately and one couple who might potentially buy it. That's our best-case scenario! If it doesn't sell, I'm not sure if we can still do the deed in lieu. I don't know if there was a timeline on that or not. It's been difficult to meet with our Realtor in the recent months. But we're not stressed about the situation right now.

Josiah is 25 months old now, and the change in him in the last month has been astounding. At his 2 year check up, he wasn't putting 2 words together in a sentence (except for saying "I stuck!" or "It's stuck!"). Now he's saying 3 work sentences (in only a month!!!). Last night he was holding a stuffed animal and I said, "What is that?" He replied, "It's a dog!" He's learning his colors, numbers, animals and their sounds. He points at everything and wants to know what it is. His vocabulary is now much closer to 100 words. And I think he's so funny! He has the most expressive face and he dances and cheers for himself. This age is definitely the most difficult so far, as far as how much attention he needs and how busy he is, but it's also a lot of fun to see his personality develop. He's still my sweet boy that loves to snuggle with mommy and give lots of hugs and kisses too. We also cut his hair really short this last month. All of those curly locks are gone! As sad as it makes me, I think it was the right choice.

This is what it was before:
 

Then we got one haircut where I just wanted to trim it and keep it curly:
 

But I didn't like it. It wasn't curly enough or short enough. It looked awkward. So, I went for it, and had the stylist cut it all off into a faux hawk:

  

He's such a big boy now!!! Makes me a little sad, but I love him just the same!


Josiah is now wearing mostly 3T clothes (he can still fit in some 2T things too, but I don't buy any more that small). He wears size 6 diapers and size 7 shoes (which are in the little boy's section!!!) He weighs nearly 40 lbs and is right around 3 ft tall. I'm sure he'll surpass me in size by the time he's 10-12 years old, if not sooner!!! We're holding off on potty-training for now too. Our pediatrician believes strongly that 2 and 1/2 is the best age, and while I think some kids are ready earlier, I don't think Josiah is one of them. He is just now saying "I pee" or "I poo", but only when I tell him that he did first. He'll lay down for me to change his diaper when I tell him to, but he doesn't tell me that he needs to be changed. It doesn't seem to phase him at all that his diaper is dirty. He also understands the toilet is to go potty on, but he gets scared and pulls away if I try to sit him on it. He doesn't hide in the corner to go to the bathroom or show ANY signs of being ready. And while I know you can introduce it anyway, I don't want potty-training to be any more drawn out of difficult than it already will be. I also don't want Micah's birth to cause any regression in his training. And I think trying to rush Josiah to the toilet while I'm breastfeeding Micah could prove difficult. So, I'm holding off until Micah is about 3 months old. That way we're on our new routine, adjusted to the new baby, and Josiah really will be 2 and 1/2. Still not looking forward to it, though. :-)

We had an ultrasound for Micah at 32 weeks since I have a history of high blood pressure. I guess the blood pressure can cause my placenta to not work right which can make the baby smaller than normal (malnourished, perhaps). So they needed to do the ultrasound to make sure he was growing properly, which he is... perfectly! This is our glimpse at Micah 3 weeks ago:
 

And here is me at 32 weeks, 3 days:
 

And at 34 weeks, 5 days (with exactly 1 month to go)
 

I think I covered most everything. If you're not my friend on facebook and want to see my other pictures, send me a request here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=167000118 It's a much easier way for me to stay up-to-date with everyone!