Brotherly Love

Jacob loves his sister so much, and they both look so much alike. He is very attentive to her, and is interested in all the care I give her, from feeding her to changing her diapers. I have to watch him pretty close though.....he'll try to pick her up if I'm not close by...... I know these two will have much enjoyment and learn to love and forgive from each other.

Christa is growing...her cheeks are getting chubbier and her appointment on Tuesday showed she was up to 7 lb (that is 9oz in 6 days). But she is still a small little peanut....look at her nestled in the swing.

She really is her own woman. She only likes to curl up if she's laying on me, otherwise she loves to stretch her legs out all the way. She doesn't keep her hands closed in "newborn" fists either....she spreads out her piano playing fingers, and has yet to scratch herself. That could be because I keep her hands trapped most of the time....Jacob keeps trying to get her hands out, saying "oh no! hands stuck! Help Sister."

p.s. don't forget to comment on Christa's blog post over at Fabiana Beatriz Photography!

We're Home

Headed to the hospital. John was tired, my dad was

making me laugh as he tried to figure out the camera.

We Are home now. Here are a few pictures from our first 48 hours as a family of 4.

Meeting her Grandparents. Yes, she has a Grandpa Jake, who was very

excited to meet her. Not sure how we missed the photo?

Meeting Beebon

Not even 24 hours old, curled in mom's lap.

My posterity

Coming home outfit

Coming home

New Arrival

Christa Anna Peterson
Jan 31, 2010
4:12pm
7lb 1oz
19 1/2 inches long

We are so excited Christa is here. Everything went great with our labor and delivery, and although Christa's face is a little beat up from being born face up, she is perfect and doing great.

Jacob came to visit, as well as all 4 grandparents and Aunt Beebon, last night. He loved her instantly! He wanted to hold her, hug her, kiss her, give her a binky, and comfort her when she cried. He also wanted her to "drink" but I told him we'd have to wait, since we had too many visitors. He is so fun. John was smitten the second he laid eyes on her!

I feel great, tired and sore of course, but this was so much easier and pleasant than my first delivery. Don't get me wrong.....it was still harder work than I'd choose on a daily basis ;) More on the story tomorrow.

This Big Brother means business. She has a protector already.

Popeye......from being born OP

p.s. this is my 200th post. I guess I love blogging :) Thanks for reading and commenting!

This kid KILLS me! He has totally entered a new world of make believe, and it is so fun to watch and listen too. Just tonight he laid in his bed talking away to himself for over 2 hours...telling stories, telling his stuffed animals stuff, singing, and laughing at some jokes he told himself.

Yesterday I snapped these pictures of Jacob in his "Boat." He has decided all laundry baskets are boats, and it is fun to get in the boat with his toys. They go on high adventures which usually end up in capsizing with a lot of giggling!

p.s. Maybe in March (I don't have much hope for Feb:) we'll start getting dressed everyday. You know it's bad when John was putting Jacob to bed tonight and asked if these PJs were cleanish or if he needed to change Jacob out of last nights Jammies! And as soon as this baby comes I'll be able to catch this fast bunny to wipe his mouth down after lunch!

40 Weeks

Here it is, 10pm, John's in bed already (old man, I know!) and I realized I haven't documented 40 weeks. So....here I am in all my glory, self portraits. I don't think these pictures do justice to my size....but what woman wants justice done to her size at 40 weeks.

Here is the SCOOP:

Today I was only 1.5cm (yes less than last week...no fair!), but the baby's head is engaged. No wonder I've been going to the bathroom non stop!

My kidney's are starting to spill protein and my blood pressure is slowly climbing. My doctor was not concerned, the baby still seems to be doing great. He said that on Monday or Tuesday he would do a non stress test if I was still pregnant and we could go from there. But after some discussion, John and I decided to be induced on Sunday, Jan 31st. This way I won't have the chance of being rushed into an induction next week if my blood pressure shoots up. This way we can have a calmer labor and delivery.

As you can see from the pictures above....this girl is all out in front. She has rarely stretched her legs out and touched my ribs cause she is so far forward. But it does make some day to day things more difficult than normal. So, we'll get to meet this girl on Sunday, unless I go into labor between then and now.

p.s. This will be a happy birthday present for our niece Marlee. Sunday is her 15th birthday, and she has been wanting to share her birthday with her cousin for 9 months now!

Dad's good for.....

There are so many essential and honorable things Dad's are good for. I'm thinking along the lines of "Protect, Provide, & Preside." But today I thought I'd point out a few, seeming small, but important things Jacob's dad is good for.

John is a natural at this Dad thing....can't wait to see him with I daughter. I think he's in for it!

Halloween Costume

Pretend Rides in the Trunk

Jungle Gym

Trick or Treating

Sharing OJ

Hide and Go Seek

Straight Jackets

Fun Rides

Super Hero Stunts

This is just a tasting of the fun we have around here.

Swollen Mama

Here it is, for everyone who wants to see a swollen mama at 39 weeks.....and for journaling.....so my daughter can see what I did for her! I actually feel great, besides being unwieldy and swollen oh and pretty tired.....I feel great, I actually blow dried my hair....which takes 40 minutes! So we may be in this for another few weeks. Jacob is such a goof ball for the camera....yesterday I tried taking pictures of him, and he started crying cause he wanted to "see" the view finder. That is why I'm cancelling our family pictures until the spring when we can go outside.

Hopefully I can post soon about the projects I've been doing.....some of you have been asking. But first, I've got to get more organizing done. Oh boy....the last few days of nesting!

Scripture Power

Today I was talking on the phone and looked across the room to see what Jacob was doing. There he was, "reading" my scriptures. He was gently turning the thin pages, "reading" out loud to himself. This kid doesn't miss a beat....he notices everything, and you don't realize it until way down the road when he pulls a stunt like this. Or when he starts telling me all my clothes, his clothes, and the baby's new clothes are a "Oh CUTE!"

I love this adventure of parenting Jacob. I'm so blessed to have him as my daily grind companion.

p.s. Mismatched PJ's because he wouldn't take his Turkey shirt off last night. He tried to get Daddy to leave it on again tonight, but thankfully John realized he needed all new jammies on for bed tonight....because yes you guessed it, PJ day again today ;) For the record, I did shower and change my PJ's today......even though they were PJ's all day long ;)

Running the Show

This is our great staff! John gets to work with some great ladies everyday! Every day he comes home with a funny story or with a interesting story that shows why these girls are great to work with. John is so glad that these girls don't dig up drama for or from each other. They support each other in their jobs and in the personal lives too.

Our business is our lively hood. Our ability to support our family now and in the future really depends on this business. So, needless to say it is very important to us. These girls give us 100% while they are at work and help us achieve our goals. We hope in return we can provide them with a good job and a good work environment.

Picture from Left to Right:
Sarah.....Front Office. She keeps John's schedule full, bills things, and takes messages from me about what John needs to pick up at the grocery store, takes it calmly when John flips out every 3 months about recall and harasses her about the "list" (even though she does a great job at this anyway, John just needs the flip out every once in a while ;)....And SO MUCH more!
Aubree.....Hygienist. She is finally full time, and we are so glad. She seems to like working at the office, even though John makes it seem like a sauna to a pregnant lady by keep the heat up so high. Our paitents love her, and I enjoy getting my teeth cleaned by her too. She doesn't judge me for not flossing enough ;) She is expecting a baby boy in March....can't wait to meet him.
Veronica......she was our part time Assistant, and just left us for a full time position. Darn! She was great, and had a great sense of humor. She also took the brunt of a lot of funny/weird patient/doctor comments....and she always did it with a laugh. And, she was patient as John, and I at times, couldn't get her name straight for AGES. But we'll be seeing her a bunch as she finishes her ortho case in the office.
Gennifer......yes I spelled the right. She the assistant. When she first applied 3 years ago as a student intern, we all felt sorry for her cause she misspelled her name on her own resume (remember that Shannon?). But we were the silly ones, she didn't misspell her name, but we all get a good laugh at ourselves over it! Gennifer has worked so hard to become a fantastic assistant. She is amazing with our elderly and child patients. She has come up with a great system in the "back" which consists of a 3x3 room with a sink. She pretends to "not notice" when John talks to himself, and makes our patients feel at ease.
John....of course thinks he runs the show. We'll let him keep thinking that!

This year at the office is going to be another adventure, with the office moving to a new building in the summer. We promised the girls they would have a new place, meaning more space which is DESPERATELY needed, at the end of the year 2009. They were so forgiving and accepting when they got the news that it would be another 6 month wait.
I'm glad John loves what he does, enjoys his patients so much, and works with these supportive women.
Here's to another great year at PFD.

37 weeks

Here's for the friends and family who haven't been here to watch me blow up, become great with child, waddle, struggle to get out of chairs/couches/beds, stare at my ever swelling nose, or become amazed at how pointy my belly can get when Baby Sister is sticking her bum out at the world...IN PERSON!

I had my 37 week appointment today...nothing exciting. Baby is descending, but (squeamish men avert your eyes!!) cervix is still at a 1. My great doctor once again gives me such confidence in my ability to finish this great cellular division. He really lets me run the show, just being gently guided by his expertise.

So, now I have more time to finish my crib bedding and play with Jacob. Our one on one time is rapidly coming to an end. It makes me sad in some ways....we are so close! But I know our family will much more full, and Jacob's personality can show through in different ways as a big brother.

Hope you enjoyed the ridiculous self portraits. Jacob can't smile when the camera is on.....seriously, he was looking at the viewing screen the whole time. After the camera goes off, then he smiles and laughs! Go figure! And.....he keeps scratching his "ouchies" on his nose and forehead. It KILLS ME! He better stop that by the time family pictures come around in February.

p.s. I love playing with Picnik....it makes poorly lit, poorly composed pictures fun for me ;)