Carving Pumpkins!

Updates on Clifton- 

New words this week - thank you and tree

He is still hating nursery and wont even set foot in the door with Alex or I.  Friends have suggested that this new behavior could be due to Clifton realizing that there is going to be a new change soon (Baby Peterson #2).  Which makes sense, but I sure hope we can work on and get past it.  

He is talking a ton.  Although half or more of what he says we really do not understand.  However every conversation has to do with tractor or a truck.  It is cute!  I love when he looks at me like I should totally understand what he is saying but I have no clue. It makes me giggle!

I think our cat  is also going through a rough stage.  He did this near the end of my pregnancy with Clifton.  He is noticing the change and is not too excited about it.  However, with our cat I can just kick him outside and ignore his bad behaviors!  Just like I do with Alex:)

For FHE this week we carved our pumpkins!  

This is how my pumpkin turned out.  This is the best carving I have ever done.  I have a white pumpkin and thought it would be fun to do the face of Jack from Nightmare before Christmas.  I like it!

Alex had a lot of work to do emptying out and carving his huge pumpkin!  It turned out real cute!

To keep Clifton entertained while we were carving our pumpkins we dumped all the guts into a little wading pool.  He did not want to touch it with his hands, so we got him some spoons and spatulas and let him play with it.  He enjoyed scooping and dumping.  It made a mess but was well worth it.  Plus we decided to do this activity in the garage so it did not matter too much.

Tuesday we had play group at my little house.  It was fun to have friends over and let the kids play together.  Clifton struggled with everyone touching his stuff and seemed a little overwhelmed but we still had fun.

 I cut out some pumpkins and had stickers, crayons, and stuff they could glue onto their pumpkin for an activity.  Nothing spectacular but I thought it was fun and Clifton did well coloring and putting stickers on.

Wednesday my mother and her friend Ellen made a random and short trip up to visit.  It was a nice surprise! Clifton sure enjoys his grandparents.  I showed them around Port Orchard!  It was a beautiful fall morning!

Clifton's new Sunday attire.  I love this picture even though he is not smiling.  He looks like he is in the mafia or a serious lawyer out to get you.  I love it!

But here is one of him smiling in his little suit.  What a cute little man I have.

31 weeks pregnant!  I had an appointment with the doctor this week and they are now starting to be every two weeks.  Everything seems to be going well. 
Friday Alex and I registered for Baby Peterson #2.  This always gets me excited and is fun to talk about things (hopes, changes, etc...).  Not much to register for but still fun to prepare for this baby.

Halloween Fun

Updates on Clifton -

The last couple weeks Clifton's temperament seems to be changing.  Clifton is all of the sudden not letting us leave his sight.  He has been good about us leaving and never really cared too much before but now he screams and screams til he turns blue.  He is also starting to be afraid of strangers.  If he has not seen you often enough he is scared of you.  Before he would pretty much say hi and run up to anyone.  Clifton's love for Thomas the Train has grown and he asks to watch it all day long.  He will actually sit and watch it (which is a big deal for him).

 

This week we had some fun getting ready for Halloween.  For FHE this week we decorated pumpkins with MR. Potato Head parts.  Our neighbors did it and I thought it was so cute I had to steal the idea.  It was lots of fun and I think they turned out super cute.

Tuesday we had a play group at Amy Neal's house.  She made Halloween cookies for the kids to decorate. Clifton actually did well at decorating.  I thought he would just eat it.  But he helped spread the frosting and put sprinkles and candy on it.  We had lots of fun getting out of the house and being with friends:) 

Friday we went to a little pumpkin patch in town with our friends, the Ports.  They had all different types of pumpkins.  Clifton of course found the tractor first and had to play on it!  They also had little stuffed farm animals to ride on and a little tree swing.

 This is what Alex and I do for entertainment!  Dufur has started sleeping on the changing pad all day so we thought it would be fun to put a diaper on him.  I was surprised he actually let us.  It did not last very long but we all got a good laugh out of it.

Clifton thinks it is fun to sit at the computer and pretends to use it.  I think it is cute how he imitates things he sees.

Our neighbor was selling his daughter's bed frame for 40 dollars.  I thought it was a steal.  It is cute, in great shape, low to the ground, and is from IKEA (which is where we get all of our furniture - love IKEA).  I was wicked excited to have found it! Clifton thinks it is pretty cool too.

30 weeks and feeling like it!  All is well just real tired and aching.  Normal but I forgot how much I dislike the last little bit. I often wonder how I could love another little one as much as I love Clifton.  However I have come to realize that I did not think I could love Clifton this much:)

Temple Trip

Updates on Clifton -
New words - door and thank you

Well this week was a sick week.  Clifton started the week out sick got better and then ended the week sick:(  But he is a happy little guy and fights through it.  Now we will just see who will be sick this week Alex or me.  Or both!  Oh the joy of sharing germs:)

So we unpacked from one weekend to pack for another weekend away.  This week we went to Bellevue to visit family and friends.

 

Clifton and Dufur (our cat) are so helpful at packing!

 Alex and I went to a session at the Seattle temple with his family.  It was much needed and really enjoyable.  I am so lucky to be apart of his family and have always felt like I fit right in.  It was nice to go together and experience the feeling of being together forever.  I was real worried about leaving Clifton for so long and the sitters (our nieces) not being able to get a hold of us but all went well.  He enjoys spending time with his nieces and nephews and I knew they would take good care of him.

That night I went out with Alex sister and niece to see Dolphin Tale.  Our niece and I went to see the movie for the dolphin, Winter and her story but his sister went to see the movie for Harry Connick Jr.  A very cute movie!  I had a fun little girls night out and hope to do it again.

 The next day we were able to go and visit some friends in Redmond.  It was a short visit due to Clifton not feeling well.  But we always love catching up with them.  Obviously we are both expecting!  

29 weeks pregnant!  Feeling big and looking big.  But so far a smooth pregnancy.  I am getting nervous about baby number two coming and how it is going to change our little family.  I am excited but to be honest a little more nervous then excited.  I just hope I can get the hang of it and handle what will come.  I know it will not be easy and I know I have lots of help if I need it but it is still a BIG change.  

We are starting to poll what everyone thinks  -

Is it a boy or a girl (Stanley or McKay)?  I think a boy and Alex thinks a girl.  We are happy with either but it is always fun to guess.

When will baby arrive? I think the 28th of Dec and Alex is crazy and wishful and thinks the 13th of Dec.  Our doctor is guessing the 26th.  I am not allowing any guesses in Jan because we need to have the baby this year so don't jinx me!

Portlandia!

Updates on Clifton -
He is starting to copy words that we are saying more and more.  We say something and he will try and repeat it.  We sure love when he jibber jabbers.  He had his 18 month doctors appointment and all is going well.  He has gain 2 pounds for a total of 22 pounds!  We have finally broke past that 20 pounds.  He is 33 inches tall.  He is getting bigger and bigger each time we look at him and I just cannot believe how much he keeps growing up.  They really do grow fast.

This weekend we escaped away to Portland to visit my family.  It was nice to get out and do things with the fam:)  Friday we went to the park with the whole family and had a little pizza picnic.  It was perfect weather and an enjoyable evening.

Clifton loved playing at the park.  We absolutely love this picture.  He is so stinking cute.  Well we might be a little bias.

Later that night we all went to get doughnuts at the famous Voo Doo Doughnuts.

I decided to get an Oreo doughnut with white frosting.  It was delicious!  Alex got an Oreo doughnut but with chocolate frosting with peanut butter drizzled on top.  It was good but mine was the best!

The next morning we went to a pumpkin patch with my brother and his cute little family!  It was a real cute pumpkin patch. 

Clifton loved this pumpkin patch because it had all sorts of tractors!  Big ones and toy ones his size.  He loved the little tractors he could ride on.  He also loved being pulled around behind the tractor by his cousins.  I thought we were going to have to leave with one!

They also had a petting zoo.  Clifton liked watch all the animals and feeding the goats.  Clifton thought the turkeys were so funny.  He would go over and point at them and laugh.  I am not going to lie they are funny looking.  I liked the donkey.  He was the nicest donkey I have ever met!

 Alex had a little one on one photo shoot with this ugly duck.

We also got to make the feed for the animals.  That little thing takes all the corn of the cob.

 There were also duck races.  Alex tried to take my brother on but lost:(  Clifton enjoyed watching and trying to help pump the water out to make the ducks go.  Alex and Clifton could have spent all day there.

 Next we got to launch some pumpkins!  They had targets/buckets to try and hit and you won a prize.  Unfortunately Alex did not hit the target so I did not get the prize.  But it was fun to launch pumpkins.  That was another place Alex could have stayed all day.

We then went on a hay ride up to the pumpkin patch to pick us some pumpkins.  A tractor was pulling the ride and Clifton loved it. 

We went and found us some pumpkins.  Clifton loved riding in the wheel barrow.

 

My brother and sister in law did not want or need their train set anymore and gave it to Clifton.  So nice!!!!!  Clifton LOVES it!  Alex loves it too.  I went down to make dinner Sunday and Clifton came with me.  About 30 minutes to an hour later we had not seen Alex.  I figured he was doing something with his fantasy football but when we went up stairs to get him for dinner he was setting up the train tracks all special like (just to have Clifton ruin it).  Alex is such a little boy at heart.  It is cute!

Well I am officially in the 3rd trimester.  The worst one (for me).  I just get real tired and lack motivation to move.  But I will survive!  I got results back from my GD test and I failed:(  They had me come back in and take the three hour test.  Oh my goodness can you say boring!  I tried to bring scriptures and read but there were kids running around in the waiting room and I could not focus.  I read a chapter and then thought back and realized I had no idea what I just read.  So I just flipped through magazines and watched toy story (which was playing in the waiting room).  Every hour they came and took my blood and made me pee in a cup.  I was not sure if I had any blood or pee left in me after the test.  Well after all that the test results came back fine and I do not have GD thank goodness.  I was not sure if I could give up my Oreos:)