Tuesday

Apparently Wes knows how to unwrap the plastic off of new bottles of glitter and unscrew the lids. I spent quite a bit of time cleaning up glitter yesterday along with packing, shopping and wiping noses (see close up of Wes' picture). That is probably why I look so tired in this picture.

We sold our house!

Finally! We are moving this week and heading to Idaho for Christmas, see you soon!



Here is a cute one of Mabel wearing a little sweater I wore when I was a baby, she's a doll.

Goodies

Wes and I had tons of fun making these peppermint patties. I found the recipe in a book of fun things to do with kids, they taste just like York peppermint patties. Wes especially liked dipping them in the chocolate. I made up some of these little goody boxes for neighbors but only one got delivered before it got either eaten or destroyed by Wes. You seriously need to make these with your kids it's so fun and easy and you don't even have to bake them.




Peppermints

1 egg white
1.5 cups powdered sugar
a few drops peppermint extract
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Whisk the egg white in a bowl until frothy. Sift in the confectioners sugar and stir until stiff (I had to add extra since I used an extra large egg). Add a few drops of peppermint extract and knead it into the mixture (I added more than just a few drops to get a good peppermint flavor). Roll into balls and place on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Press flat with fork and leave them to set for 24 hours. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Dip each peppermint into the melted chocolate and place back onto the baking sheet until the chocolate has solidified.

Apples!

Wes wakes up every morning and says Apples! He spends most of his day sitting on the presents saying apples! and lights! and pretending to feed apples to all of his animals. It's so much fun.

We pretty much just did wreathes and a tree this year for decorations, although we have never really done outdoor decorations so that was fun. Please ignore the garbage cans.

Holiday Decorating . . .

In Progress!



PS yesterday Wes dumped corn syrup all over the carpet and today he scratched up the screen on our new flat screen tv with a pair of scissors. My goodness, I hope me and John never caused our parents this kind of grief!

Blessing

On Saturday we blessed Mabel at home with about 45 friends and relatives. John gave her a beautiful blessing and then we spent time eating and hanging out with everyone. Rose lent her these little shoes that my mom wore when she was blessed, either my grandma or great grandma made them, they matched perfectly.

Thanksgiving

It has been such a fun week! Watching the BYU game, shopping, dinosaur museum, Thanksgiving dinner, playing games, Mabel's blessing, Chris's court of honor, watching movies, making lots of food, and eating lots of food. Here are a few pictures.

Presh

John caught a smile on camera while Mabel was sleeping. You can't tell in this picture but we think she has dimples.

Kids

Yesterday started out to be a good day. I got my old stuffed animals out of my hope chest for Wes to play with, which he hugged and kissed and carried around all day. Then we gave Mae some tummy time and Wes got right down on the floor with her and gave her hugs and kisses. Then while I was downstairs Wes thought it would be fun to throw our blender down the stairs, which landed on the tile floor in a million pieces. Then while I was making dinner Wes decided it would be cool to put potting soil all over our white carpet, white couch, and Mabel, just before we had company coming over. Toddlers are so much fun.

Two Weeks

Is she really two weeks old already?

We had such a good time with Anne in town this week, especially Wes who got to do all kinds of fun things with Grandma. We went out to dinner on Friday and to the Park City outlets on Saturday and got some Christmas shopping done, it was great. P.S. a big thanks to everyone who has helped us with Wes these last few weeks, we really do appreciate it.

Cuteness

It has been so great having my mom here to help. She brought this beautiful quilt for Mabel, and helped me finish this bassinet cover that I have been working on for quite a while. So far Mabel has only been waking up once in the night to eat and just sleeps most of the day, can't complain about that. I tried using a bassinet with Wes but he made so much noise when he slept that I couldn't keep him in our room. Mabel is a nice quiet sleeper so it has worked out great! I can't believe I have two children, it's so much fun.

She's Here!

Mabel Anne Petersen
7 pounds 13 ounces
20" long, dark hair, dark eyes
Born Sunday November 2

We went into the hospital Saturday night having contractions and were sent home an hour later to labor at home for a while then came back about 8:30 in the morning. I got an epidural right away, which was heavenly, and got to relax for a few hours. It started to wear off so we called for the doctor to come back in to give more medication and in the mean time the nurses said "its time to push!" So a few pushes later she was here, about 11:30 in the morning. It seems like everything has worked out in our favor; she was born two weeks early, the doctor I wanted was the one on call, all the nurses were like angels sent to help us, my epidural worked, she was small enough I could push her out quickly, we had a nice big room with a bed for John, there was a snack room down the hall with all the food and drinks you could eat (John's favorite part of the whole experience. I lost count of how many oreos and lorna doones we ate.) I feel almost fully recovered already, she nurses like a pro, and she is super easy! We couldn't have asked for anything more.

She cried a little right when she was born and hasn't cried much since then, she is so mellow and content, it's great! She looks a lot like Wes did as a newborn but a little more feminine and petite. Wes likes to point to her and say "Mamul" or "Mae" but doesn't really want to touch her or anything yet. He has been hanging out with Josh, Rose and Grace and having fun cousin time. It feels good to be home and get organized. My mom flies in tomorrow and will be here for a week and then Anne will be here for a little bit and then my whole family will be coming for Thanksgiving, I'm so excited to have family around to celebrate! Here are some of my favorite pictures, the best one is of John kissing Mabel, the cutest thing in the world!

Halloween

The doctor said no traveling so we stayed home from Idaho and spent Halloween here with Rose & Josh. We had a delicious dinner (cornbread, chili, broccoli soup, salad, pumpkin pie) with Brandon & Hill, Missy & Greg, and Craig and all the kids. We caught the end of the trunk or treat and then hung out and had dessert. Wes had fun going around and collecting candy for his pumpkin and playing with Jake and Dillon.

I just have to say that my favorite part of Wes' costume is the little antenna on top, you might have to zoom in to see it. Also Grace was the cutest little bunny I have ever seen!

Halloween Past

I found this picture of me today while I was looking through old photos, I think I'm about three or something. Anyway, stay tuned for pictures of Wes' halloween costume, I think you'll love it.

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday we went to Pumpkinland and picked out a few orange red and white pumkins. I love this first picture of Wes, so cute. They had some bunnies in a cage that he loved. We put the pumpkins on the porch with the one that Rick and Anne brought us and hopefully we will carve one jack-o-lantern this year.

Getting Closer

I think I have been nesting for the past six months at least.
My to do list:
finish blanket, check
bleach Wes' old baby clothes, check
make hair bows, check
find more furniture for nursery, check
finish bassinet (hopefully will be done in a few weeks)
make a blessing dress (this might be a stretch, we will see)
pack for hospital (to do once I'm in labor)
organize storage room (almost there)
have all food storage planned and in order (dreaming)
have all christmas presents purchased and wrapped (another dream)
finish Wes' costume (this week I hope)
get new tires for van (hmm, maybe next week)

Fall Weather

It's been pretty chilly out lately, we were supposed to go to the pumpkin patch tonight for family home evening but decided to wait till Saturday when it will hopefully be warmer. We did have the traditional chili and cornbread for dinner and boy was it delicious! Lately Wes has really enjoyed hiding behind, jumping over, and playing on the couch, as you can see.