50 inch TV

Updates on Clifton -
He is repeating everything we say these days.  So we have learned quickly that we have to watch what we say and maybe change our vocabulary around a little.  Also we usually call each other Mommy or Daddy but sometimes we say each others names.  The other day Alex said Kenna and Clifton called me Kenna.  So from here on out it is Mommy and Daddy around the little ones!
Nursery was a no go this Sunday.  We just got to keep trying in hope that Clifton will soon go without us.  I am afraid he will never get the hang of it but we must keep trying.

 Updates on McKay -
She smiled her first little smile this week.  And yes we are sure it was not gas!  She was imitating Alex's expressions.  She has done it a few times since.  I love this milestone!!!!  Hands down it is my favorite.  She is starting to get a hang of being in this world.  She is not eating every hour anymore but more like every three hours and we have had a few nights of 6 or 7 hours of constant sleep.  Oh and her rash has gone away totally and I tried wipes again and she seems to be fine!  She is a real joy and we love having her.

Her and Clifton love tummy time!


So we got our tax return and another extra little check this month. We decided to save and pay off medical bills with most of it but allow ourselves a portion of the money to get something fun.  So after much thought and many different ideas we decided upon getting a bigger TV for downstairs and then replace our old projection TV in our bedroom with our flat screen we have downstairs now.  I am sad to say we are a TV family, but we watch shows, sports, and movies together all the time and felt like it was a good investment.

So Monday for family night we went out to look at TV's.  We found a great deal on a 50 inch TV.  It is being discontinued and the last one was on the wall so we got that one:) I did not think we were going to be able to get one that big with the amount we allowed ourselves but we did.  It looks great on the wall!  Now that that wall is the main thing in our living room I would someday like to paint it an accent color.  But that is in the future:)

Clifton and I had a blast with the bubble wrap they wrapped the TV in!

I got Clifton a Cars matching game.  So we have been working on that all week.

Clifton got to spend a day with his good friend that just lives a couple houses down.  We went on a walk to the little park in our neighborhood.  He really enjoyed getting out.  The weather was cold but good enough to get outside.

 

Of course Clifton found a puddle and had to jump and splash in it!

On our way back Clifton got a ride!

This week I did some things around the house.  

 

First I made a menu board.  Alex and I always plan the meals a week ahead so I can make one shopping list and not get more then needed and to just be prepared!

Then I finally put up the decorations my friends made for McKay's room.  Her room looks so stinking cute thanks to all my crafty friends!  I just need to finish by finding material for curtains.

The weekend was spent helping our friends move in just a few houses over.  We are real excited to have them living closer.  Clifton is real excited about it because he can go play with his little friend Evan more!

Snowed in!

Updates on Clifton - 

We are working on his numbers and colors.  He is doing well at repeating the names and numbers!  He is even starting to match colors.

Sunday he walked into nursery all by himself and did not cry, but about 5 -10 minutes later he was screaming.  But I will take it - more progress.  He will get there eventually:)  I hope!

Clifton continues to make us giggle.  He insisted he wear McKay's bow one day and so I put it on.  He would have worn it all day.

Updates on McKay -

She is getting so strong.  She holds her head up a lot and kicks and punches like crazy!  Now I remember why I was so ready for her to come out!  We are loving her so much.

For FHE Monday we made finger puppets for Clifton to play with! 

It was a lot of fun.  Alex beat me again at being more creative.  He made the lion and it is way good!

For dessert we had fudgesicles.  We undressed Clifton down to his diaper and let him go to town with his.  Fun times:)

The rest of the week it snowed! Alex was home almost the whole week because they closed down his work due to snow!  It was nice to have him home.

Playing in the snow.

Thursday we got hit with freezing rain so we had about 2 inches of ice on top of the snow!

Not a productive week but it sure was a lot of fun being trapped at home with my little family!

First week alone

Updates on Clifton - 

New words - dinner, Wall-e, nodder, and milk.  He is continuing to put words together and making short sentences.  He is really growing up in front of our eyes.  He seems so big and grown up! Tuesday a friend of mine came and picked up Clifton to play at her house with her little one (which was extremely nice).  He did not cry or fuss when he left and he had a ton of fun.  I never really leave Clifton so it was a big deal that he can do it without freaking out.  Also, on Sunday, Alex dropped him off at nursery without him screaming or crying.  It only lasted for 10 minutes or so but hey that is progress:)

Updates on McKay - She has gained her birth weight back and then some.  So she is healthy and strong!  We have finally gotten control of her rash and hope to stay on top of it from here on out.  She is doing well adjusting to this world and we love having her.

For FHE we played some games together as a family.  

 

We got the dominoes out and stacked or set them up to knock them down.  Which is quite a task to keep them up until we were finished with Clifton.  He loved knocking them over!
 
To keep Clifton entertained and happy during this cold week we brought the slide inside to play with.  He loved it!

 First he was sliding down but then it turned into a ramp for all his cars, trucks, and tractors!  We had a blast!

Friday I decided to try and venture out with the two of them!

We went to the mall.  I had to return something and then we went to play at the indoor play area.  Clifton did soooooo good.  He held onto my hand and stayed with me.  He also was a big boy and went to play in the play area by himself.  He usually needs me.  But he is really growing up in the last few week that McKay has been here!

I had my baby shower Saturday.  My friend Jenny threw the party for McKay and I witht he help of other friends and some family.  It was so fun and so cute.  Luckily I have creative and crafty friends and family because I lack in that category a little. 

This is only part of the decorations.  Everything was soooooo cute and tasty!

 My niece Grace loved the fact that they had bottles that we could use as cups!  She thought it was so funny!

There was a lot of friends and family that traveled to come meet McKay.  I had a ton of fun celebrating the arrival of Baby McKay with friends and family!It was a wonderful day!

Sunday we got SNOW!!!!!!

So of course Clifton and I had to go out and play in the snow for a little while.  It was fun to watch Clifton experience something new.

It was a splendid first week with Alex back to work.  Being a mother is hard but so totally worth it and full of fun experiences!

Learning how to handle two

Updates on Clifton -
New words - up, all done, amen, and outside.  I think he knew how to say most of them but choose not to until now:)  We are real excited because Clifton is starting to put two to three words together and making sentences!
Clifton has a new interest.  Alex turned on Wall-e the other day and now Clifton asks to watch it all the time.  He thinks Wall-e is a tractor!

He loves his little sister a lot.  He gives her kisses and hugs all day long.  He also calls her Baby Kay (which is super duper cute).  The only problem is he does not get how to be gentle yet.  He wants to hug her and kiss her all day so I have to keep an eye and make sure he is not smothering her.  But he is doing a lot better then I had expected.  It amazes me how grown up he looks and acts to me know that Baby McKay has arrived.  He also loves helping with McKay.  Lets hope this continues!

Updates on McKay -
She is doing well.  It has really shocked Alex and I how different children can be from day one.  McKay is so different then Clifton.  She is our little eater, wanting to eat almost every hour and lots:)  She is also our wiggle worm.  She has really really sensitive skin and we have to use a wash cloth to clean her at each diaper change so she does not get a rash.  We are still trying to fight her rash but it is a lot better than it was.  We are going to try switching to sensitive formula to see if that helps too.  But besides that she is our healthy and happy little baby.  We have loved having her here and getting to know her.

So this week Alex used some leave and was off work.  It was nice being able to have him for this long and learning together what it is going to take to have two kiddos.  We did not do much.  We simply stayed at home and enjoyed this time we all have together and try to figure things out.

The highlight of my week was being able to visit with my friend Melinda.  She had a baby about a month ago and I was able to go to her baby shower and meet her little Baby girl.  It was a lot of fun catching up and seeing how her family is changing and evolving.  Baby Marie is very cute!  I hope that Baby Marie and Baby McKay can become friends too.

We went to church for the first time after baby.  We just attended Sacrament but from that we realized we are going to have our hands full.  Sundays are going to be a real challenge but hopefully we can get the hang of it and get Clifton to go to nursery.  I do have lots of women in the ward to turn to for advice and help so we should be okay.

Besides that we are loving Baby McKay and she is a perfect addition into our little family!

Best Christmas Ever!!!!!

Updates on Clifton - 
New words -  "Dag gum" and he can name most of the trains from Thomas the Train and some of the cars from Cars 2.  
So I had the first night away from Clifton ever and it went well.  He slept the whole night through.  And he actually let someone else put him to sleep:)

So I am a week behind but I have a good excuse!

The week before Christmas -


For FHE we made brownie Christmas trees.

 We had lots of fun and they tasted great!

I had a lot of help that week.  Alex's mother came up for a night and helped:) Then my mother came up to help for a while.  I appreciate all the help I was able to get.  Without a wonderful mother in law and mother I would have been so tired and unprepared.  I love and appreciate them both very much!


With my mother in town she did lots of playing to get Clifton comfortable with her.  He sure loved having her to play with.

 She did art projects with him!

 Played lots of fun games!

Crawled around with him.  She just made sure he was comfortable and happy with her so he would not be freaked out when I was not there.  Plus I was able to rest:)

Christmas came!  Still no baby that morning.  

So we had our first Christmas at home.  We missed family and their traditions but made it fun anyway.  This is what Christmas morning looked like at the Peterson's:)

Clifton had a Cars theme Christmas.  Not planned but almost all of his gifts revolved around Cars.  Which he loves!  Or Thomas the Train.  It was a lot of fun to see him get excited about gifts.  I would give up all my gifts to see him light up like he did for his gifts.   I really enjoyed Christmas morning with my little family!  Alex spoiled me and got me a video monitor for both of the baby's rooms.  It has a camera we mounted to the wall  in each room and you can speak over the monitor.  It is just what every worrisome mother like me needs:)


There is a Mater toy that Clifton got from Grandma and Grandpa P that speaks when you shake it.  One thing he says is "Dag gum".  Clifton picked up the saying "Dag gum" real fast and says it all the time now.  It really makes us laugh!  It really gets me that kids can hear something once and say it but choose not to say something they hear all the time like "Love you".


So we went about the day as scheduled.  Went to church and then our friends, Stewart's, invited us over for a Christmas dinner.  We had an enjoyable evening eating and Clifton loved playing with his little friend Evan.  They got their daughter Just Dance 3 for Christmas and suggested we try it. We all thought it was worth a try to possible put me into labor.  So we all danced and had a grand ol' time.

 

Here is my mother dancing with Brain!  I am not sure if dancing of laughing so hard put me into labor:)

Nothing seemed to be happening after dancing.  So we thought another night had passed and no baby:(  As soon as we got home I started getting painful contractions.  They were only 7 minutes apart so we called the hospital.  They said to wait till they were 5 minutes from start of one contraction to the start of another and wait about an hour of that happening to come in unless contractions start getting real close.  Well they were five minutes apart for about a half an hour and I said we had to go.  Going into labor naturally was new to me so I was not sure if I was weak or if this was full blown labor.  Both Alex and I thought we had a long night ahead of us and baby would arrive on the 26th.  Well we got the doctors at about 10:40pm and I was 9 cm dilated and ready to start pushing soon.  So they rushed me into the room I would deliver in.  Then they had the nerve to tell me I had to wait to push till the doctor got there.  It felt like it took him FOREVER!  But he finally got there and they broke my water and one push later I gave birth to a healthy baby girl at 11:17pm on Christmas day.  The worlds best Christmas present! 

She was 8 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long.  She came out with a full head of dark hair and as cute as could be.  We fell in love with her immediately! We named her Baby McKay.

The hospital had a little Christmas outfit that they gave us!

 Clifton's first visit with Baby McKay.  He seemed really interested in her and was real soft with her.

 This is the first day we brought McKay home.  Clifton wanted to show her his room.  It was real cute.  He showed her his toys and bed and everything.  He did not quite understand why she did not play with the things he tried to hand to her but was still excited to show off his stuff.

Just a collection of cute pictures we have taken of her since coming home.

 Clifton really likes helping with Baby McKay!

 He loves giving her kisses!



Besides that this week has been full of trying to figure things out.  How to be a mother of two and how to handle tough situations.  Luckily my mother was able to stay with us till Saturday and Alex is still on Holiday time.