a full heart

Hi.   Just a little catch up blog.  :)

St. Patrick's Day weekend we took advantage of the abnormally balmy weather and had a picnic at West Lake.  Gilbert joined us and thoroughly enjoyed sniffing new territory.

The following weekend we had a really unique and first time event at our chapel.  For lack of a better name, we call it the Karen/Chin/Burmese day!  haha.  We've recently had a group of Karen people start coming to our chapel.  There are varying degrees of understanding and speaking English among them, but they are the sweetest people and we have loved getting to know them!  We had the opportunity to have a man named Kap Thang come speak for the weekend and our Karen friends invited a bunch of people.  Kap spoke Burmese and we were able to have another man translate to Karen.  It was really interesting to be on the other side of things and not really understand everything that was being said but I do know that the gospel was presented clearly!  I felt so honored to be a part of it all.  We are loving watching God work in the lives of these sweet people.  

love these girls.

cute cute cute kids.

Caleb and Hay Seet

They made all the food for the weekend and it was delicious!

Karen youth choir

Kap Thang

Entertaining the kids.  Did I mention how cute these kids are?  Oh, and who is that big kid in the plaid shirt?  He's really cute.

The weekend after that was pretty much the only weekend in March that we didn't have ANYTHING going on and it was wonderful.   It was a welcome rest from all of our busyness.  We slept in, and enjoyed brunch together which included some fresh eggs brought to us by our doula, Sarah!  The rest of Saturday was spent getting some house and yard work done.  It was nice to just be at home together.  

Gilbert has taken to laying in the mud lately so Ryan has been working on putting rocks where the dirt is to prevent Gil from getting so dirty.  :)

I found these at an antique mall after seeing some fun ideas on pinterest for re-purposed shutters.

Ryan spray painted them pink for me and they will hang on the wall in baby girl's room.  It's going to look so good against the color of the walls! :)

This past weekend we got to spend Easter with my family.  It was fun being together and one of my favorite memories from the weekend was playing story line around the dining room table.  There was some major laughter happening.  The kind of laughter that makes your stomach hurt, and tears run down your cheeks.  I don't think I had ever seen my brother laugh that hard before.  It makes me smile just thinking of it.  

 My husband, brother and nephew helped my dad with a lot of yard and house projects on Saturday while me, my mom, sister in-law and niece went shopping and pampered ourselves with manicures and pedicures! :)  It was so nice.  I can count on one hand how many pedicures I've had in my life.  I used to be so scared of getting them because I am very ticklish.  I really have to use a lot of self control so I don't kick my pedicurist in the face. haha.  It's worth it though!  

Easter family photo! 

I also got to visit with a friend of mine that I grew up with!  We're both pregnant with girls and she's due the 26th of this month.  This is her 3rd pregnancy and the longest she's been pregnant since both of her boys came early!  I'm glad it worked out for us to see each other while she was still pregnant! It's always fun to catch up.  

This past Saturday marked the beginning of my 3rd trimester!  Yikes!  3 months, people. THREE MONTHS.  I really don't understand where the last six months went.  We've been so busy and the next few months are going to be packed full too! 

As I type, my darling little girl is squirming around.  I have no idea what is happening in there, but it's certainly fun to watch from the outside.  :)

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter weekend!

Special delivery!

I am feeling a little spoiled this week.  We have received a special delivery in the mail almost everyday! It's fun for us, it's fun for Gilbert because he gets to bark at the delivery man, but it's not fun for the delivery man because he's probably terrified of Gilbert. For two of the deliveries our signature was required so it wasn't too much of an issue, but we always chuckle when we find packages at the very end of our driveway instead of on our front porch.  Nobody has the courage to brave the giant, white, barking, fluff ball on the front porch.  I don't blame them.  He takes his job as guard dog very seriously.  What they don't know is that he would probably just slime them with his long strands of drool.  :) 

My brother Mitch, and his wife Jess told us a couple months ago that they wanted to buy our stroller/car seat for us.  What a blessing!  Jess told me a few days ago that it would be arriving on Wednesday, but on Tuesday I came home to a baby swing in the same pattern I had chosen for the travel system.  I wondered if it was a mistake and Target sent the wrong thing until I read the note that came with it and I realized it was no mistake.  As if Mitch and Jess hadn't been generous enough, they sneakily ordered the baby swing for us too!  Words cannot express our gratefulness. 

Travel System.  I put this together by myself while Ryan was at band practice last night.  He surprised me by having the swing put together, so I thought I would be handy and figure out how to assemble the stroller.  I'm pretty sure the baby swing was more complicated but I think he was impressed with my efforts nonetheless. :)  I showed him how to lock the wheels, fold up the stroller, and attach the car seat.  Then, I watched as he practiced pushing the stroller around our living room and removing and attaching the car seat a couple times.  It was adorable.  I have to share the note that accompanied this package because it's just too cute!  "Baby _______ , Here is for a comfortable ride, whether in the car or on long strolls.  Love you! Aunt Jessica and Uncle Mitch"

I tried to pick something gender neutral and somehow chose my favorite color?!?! Hmmm. :)

The swing!  So sweet!  And the note that came with it..."Baby ______ This should help you get into the swing of things and rock you gently to many peaceful slumbers! Love you!  Aunt Jessica and Uncle Mitch" 

My dear husband painted the little lady's room while I was out of town last Saturday.  I had no idea that he was going to do that, and when I got home he took my hand and led me up the stairs to show me.  It looks beautiful!  I will post pictures once I get the room set up a bit more.  He blessed me in a big way by doing that because he knew I was anxious to get it done so I could start putting the room together. :) 

My mom and I were able to go shopping together a couple weeks ago.  We went all over the place and surprisingly didn't spend that much money, but we did find some cute clothes and a changing pad at a consignment shop that's in great shape and was half the price of a new one! We'll make a cover for it, and it will be perfect!

I've started hanging baby girl's clothes in the closet in order by size.  It's amazing how much I've accumulated already.  There are a only a few things that are brand new and they were all gifts.  The grandmas and aunties and honorary aunties have all been going crazy in the clothing department. ;)  I still have a bunch more to hang, but I ran out of hangers!

My MIL and SIL found this lovely little lamp to  hang in the room.  I love it!

Gilbert is carefully studying the map and planning a trip.

Today I enjoyed a day at home, which rarely happens these days.  I washed off our patio table and had my breakfast and devos out on the deck so I could enjoy this glorious weather that is just so deliciously warm for March!  It does make me a little afraid for what summer will be like.  I am not a fan of blazing hot temps and humidity....especially since I'm going to be great with child this summer.  no thank you.  

the baby belly.  and Gilbert waits patiently for a scrap of food. :) 

 

 

 This afternoon yet ANOTHER package was delivered!  Somehow, in the midst of moving to the Bahamas, my sweet friend Kristi found time to send a little love my way!  She is really good about that kind of stuff.  There were a few outfits for baby inside, as well as a fun pair of earrings for me and a packet of chai which came just in time, because it was the perfect day for an iced chai!  The only thing that could have made it better was if Kristi could have enjoyed the chai with me!

Tomorrow night we have Child Birth class.  We've really been enjoying it and learning a lot.  We chose to take our classes through Little Lambs Birthing Services rather than through the hospital because we wanted the support, encouragement, and knowledge for a more natural and pure birth.  I do not look down on people who don't go the all natural route....it's a personal decision for us.  I also realize that there are emergency situations and sometimes things don't go as planned.  We have learned a lot and it's been especially good for Ryan because I think he thought I was a little crazy at first for not wanting drugs.  :)  We both feel better prepared.

At my last appointment the Dr. told me that everything looked good from the sono, but they were not able to get a clear view of the umbilical cord which is something they check during the anatomy ultrasound. Most umbilical cords have three vessels and if they only have two they like to monitor the baby more closely as it could sometimes result in growth issues and renal and kidney problems. Ryan did some research on it and said that most of the time it's not an issue even if there are only two vessels. The Dr. did not seem concerned because from what I understood, they couldn't even seen the umbilical cord so I have another ultrasound scheduled for Monday so they can hopefully get a better view of it.  A few people have asked me if I'm nervous or worried, and honestly....I'm not.  I really haven't had time to think about it, let alone worry about it!  I'm just trusting the Lord that whatever happens it will be okay.  It will be fun to see our girl again, and this time both my mom and Ryan's mom are going to go with!  :) 

That's all for now!  I hope everyone is having a great week!  I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already!

Visitors!

You can thank Corrie for this update. :)  I've been thinking about updating the blog but there's been all kinds of stuff going on around here and as a result I have a lot to blog about now!  I will try to keep it short and sweet.  Yeah....right.  ;)

This has been the month of visiting and visitors. Let me tell you.

Several weekends ago we went to Dubuque for the day to attend the funeral of a dear man and family friend, and then we spent the rest of the day hanging out with Ben and Kristi.  It was the last time we were going to see them before they moved to the Bahamas!  I am almost positive that I took at least one picture of me and Kristi that day but I can't find it anywhere!  Did we use your camera, Kristi?  Anyway....Kristi and I were able to do some crafting for baby girl's room while the boys played video games.  :)  It was short, but nice to see them one more time before their big move.  We didn't say "good-bye"....we said "see you later". 

 The first weekend of March we had Charity and Hannah Beth stay with us while Tony was in Tennessee.  It was extra special because we hadn't seen each other since October and since that time we had both become pregnant (actually I think she was pregnant then, but wasn't telling yet :).  She used to live in North Carolina and you'd think we'd see each other more now that she's only a couple hours away, but life is busy! We of course enjoyed lots of chatting and catch up time, wandered around Target as we talked about baby registry stuff and sipped on Starbucks of course. I also took Charity to a couple of my favorite consignment shops where we found some deals we couldn't pass up.  :)  Hannah Beth had a blast climbing up and down our stairs and meeting Gilbert again.  The girl was fearless. It was good for Gilbert to have some interaction with a little person as he will be doing a lot of that pretty soon on a regular basis!  And it was good for Ryan and I to remember that we still have some training to do with this giant puppy of ours.  One of my favorite things was watching Ryan with Hannah Beth.  He is going to be such a wonderful daddy to a little girl. :) 

precious. :)

Poor HB had reached the end of her rope for the day.  :)

baby boy and baby girl :)

That same weekend we had a quick but long overdue visit with my long time friend Wendy, and her husband Dean!  They were kind of in the area and made a point to see us and I'm so thankful they did!  The last time we saw them was at our wedding.  Isn't that sad!?  Wendy gives some of the best hugs of anyone I know and she has a huge heart.  She has always been a good friend even though we sometimes go months without talking.  It was a short visit, but I'll take that over no visit at all! If anything it gave us motivation to see each other again soon. 

I love you, Wen Wen

Last weekend my friend and former roommate, Rachael came to visit from Lake Geneva!  The last time we saw each other was at my wedding and so much has happened in both of our lives since then.  She arrived Friday afternoon and we did a little shopping for a shower we were attending the next day and then we went to Caleb and Mel's for a young adult's fellowship. Rachael didn't really know anybody there but I knew she would be fine with it.  You can throw her into pretty much any social situation and it's no big deal! It was a fun night. :) We have recently had some new families attending our chapel and we went from practically no young adults to 10-15 of them! 

Thanks to Rach for taking this picture!

The next morning I took Rach to a sweet little place called Cafe D'Marie for delicious homemade quiche and fruit smoothies. I love it so much because it reminds me a lot of One Mean Bean which is my favorite coffee shop in Dubuque.  Ryan and I are actually in the same child birth class with the couple that owns the cafe.  Small world, considering it's not through the hospital.  The four of us make up the whole class!  More on child birth class another time....

With full bellies, we started off on our drive to Fontanelle, IA. Rachael and I had been talking forever about her coming to visit and it worked out beautifully for her to come here the weekend of Amanda's shower so that we could drive together. It was a long day, and I'm very thankful I had her to keep me company on the drive. We stopped for a quick coffee in Des Moines and I was able to drive past Ruth Harbor Maternity Home to show Rachael where I worked the year before Ryan and I got married.  So many memories.  

It was so fun to see Amanda in all of her glowing and beautiful engagedness. She was surprised to see Rachael because we kept it a secret that she was coming. Surprises are so fun! :) Sadly, I will probably not be able to make it to Amanda and Nate's wedding on July 13th since my due date is July 7th, so I'm glad I was able to at least make it to her shower.   It was a personal shower with a Disney princess theme. If you know Amanda, you know she's a big kid and Disney movie buff :)  Also...it was held in a public library.  Granted...it's probably one of the world's smallest libraries and it was closed so we were the only ones there.  :)

roommates and friends. :)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday was a relaxing day that included lunch at my in laws, watching the guys play sports, a quick drop in visit from my parents who were on their way home from out of town, a little cat nap, a trip to target, supper at Noodles, and drinking coffee while watching Dan In Real Life (it's one of my favorite movies, and Rachael had never seen it). I convinced Rachael to stay the night and just leave Monday morning so we could maximize our time together. It didn't take much convincing.

Rach fell in love with Gilbert and he loved her too.  She was like the dog whisperer. :)

 On Tuesday morning I woke up to a text from my friend Becky asking what I was doing that day.  I happened to have the day free, so she drove a couple hours to my house with her two boys just to spend the day with me! Becky and I became friends when I lived in Des Moines and we would try to get together as often as possible to talk and do bible study.  She was such a blessing and encouragement to me while I lived there....and she still is! :)  We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went for a walk by the river.  I decided to take Gilbert because I knew he could use the exercise too. I'm sure we were quite a sight.  I was pushing a stroller and holding Gilbert's leash at the same time.  EVERYONE and their dogs were at the river walk that day, so at first I thought it was going to be a disaster with Gilbert trying to get to the other dogs, but he quickly figured things out and was really good most of the time and walked right next to the stroller.  It was such a refreshing time of fellowship with my friend and I'm so glad she felt prompted to text me and see what I was up to that day.

The last time they visited Ryan let Lane shoot his nerf gun.  Becky told me Lane was talking about the gun all the way here that day because he remembered. :) Ryan was happy to get it out and let Lane practice his shooting skills.  So sweet.

I think I covered all of our visitors over the last few weeks. It has been busy but so fun catching up with friends I haven't seen in awhile or don't get to see very much!  

Stay tuned for a baby blog update soon!

Baby's First Package!

Today Ryan sent a picture to my phone of an address label with baby girl's name on it. A package was delivered and it was addressed to her! How fun! He said it was from Carter's in Memphis, TN.  haha.  Don't know anyone with that last name in Memphis, so I figured it must be from the baby store. :)  We opened it together when I got home, and inside was the sweetest little outfit and pair of shoes from her Auntie Jess! Thanks, Jess! :)

this is going to be saved!  :)  also...my finger looks weird.  haha. 

I had started buying some baby clothes at consignment and thrift stores before we knew what we were having.  Now that we know, I am excited to go shopping with my mom and anyone else who will go with me! :)  

In other news.... I'm half way through my pregnancy.  How did that happen?  It's kind of scary.  haha.  Ryan and I are starting childbirth classes this Friday, and I'm meeting with my doula next week hopefully! I found out about this great group of ladies at http://littlelambsbirth.com/ and I'm excited that we get to work with them! 

The belly and baby are growing little by little and I think maybe....just maybe I felt baby girl move tonight during prayer meeting.  Maybe.  Every time I think I feel her I end up convincing myself it wasn't really her.   :)  

On Saturday Mel and I did a little engagement photo shoot and then she took some 20 week pictures for me.  Thanks, Mel! :) 

 

Ok...I promise all of my blog posts won't be about the baby.  .... Maybe I shouldn't promise that. :)  

Baby Peterson

I'm sure everyone who reads this blog knows that we are expecting a wee one in early July!  I'm 19 1/2 weeks...which means I'm almost half way through my pregnancy. so weird. I'm sure the weeks will start crawling when I'm as big as a house and ready to get baby out, but right now time seems to be f-l-y-i-n-g by.

I thought it was better late than never to blog about this sweet, somewhat of a surprise (at least to me) baby! It's mostly for me to record my thoughts but I thought a few people might enjoy reading it.  So...here it is. :)  My posts are always long and wordy.  I'll break it up with some pictures. :)

November 4th was the day we found out about our little bundle. It wasn't just any ordinary day because it also happened to be Ryan's 31st birthday! The timing couldn't have been more perfect and it was the best birthday present! Without Ryan's knowledge, I purchased a pregnancy test the night before.  I like to be sneaky like that.  My plan was to take it the morning of his birthday and "surprise" him with the news if it was positive, even though he was already convinced I was pregnant.  I on the other hand was still in denial.  Ha!

excited mommy and daddy to be

I woke up waaaaaaay too early on November 4th and all I could think about was taking the test.  It took awhile, but I forced myself to go back to sleep until eight because I didn't want to wake the birthday boy too early on his birthday.  He does love his sleep, you know.  :)  Even eight is early for him, but I figured it was for good reason and he would forgive me.

When I saw that the test was positive, I took a few moments to sit there and let reality sink in. To be honest, some days it still doesn't feel like it's real!  I felt a wild gamut of emotions wash over me in those few moments: extreme joy, sadness, excitement, disbelief, thankfulness, shock, and a little bit of guilt all at the same time. I wavered between crying and laughing out loud.  I wasn't sure what to do.

  

I crawled back into bed next to Ryan and quietly said "Soooo....happy birthday!".  He could tell something was up by the tone of my voice because his response was "what? are you pregnant?"  I laughed and said "yep!" to which he replied "are you serious?"  hahaha.  And then we couldn't stop smiling and we thanked God for this blessing.  :)  We shared the news with our parents that day, but other than that we spent a quiet day at home celebrating Ryan's birthday and our growing family!

Ryan was very excited about his birthday meal and I like to think his grin was extra big because he found out he was going to be a daddy!

about to enjoy his homemade birthday cupcake

It was fun to share our news with everyone and a little heartbreaking at the same time because I knew that my joy could be someone else's sorrow.  Don't think for one second that I'm not thrilled and thankful to be carrying this precious life in my womb. I will admit however, that when I first found out I was pregnant I struggled with feeling terrified, unprepared and like it was wrong for me to be pregnant when others who are near and dear to me have been waiting much longer than I have. Why did God allow me to get pregnant?  I know that it's not my job to understand why, because I know that God has different plans with different timelines for all of us.  His ways are better than ours. That is hard to swallow sometimes...but true.  We can dream up the most "perfect" plan for ourselves with our human minds, but usually it's not at all what God has in mind. :) The comforting thing is that we can know He has our best interest in mind and the pain and limited understanding we experience now are the makings of something absolutely beautiful and wonderful... and better than anything we could ever dream up.  Although I may never personally struggle with infertility, it has touched my life and given me deeper appreciation and sensitivity for those who do.  I'm confidant there will be other trials in my life that will require a lot of trusting and waiting, but I'm glad to know that it's only for my benefit and His grace is sufficient. 

This week we were finally able to see our baby for the first time through sonogram. I have sat in on a lot of sonograms but, wow, was it crazy to lay there and realize that I was looking at my baby on the screen.  Baby was quite active which surprised me since I haven't felt a thing yet! I was beginning to think our baby loved to sleep all the time like baby's daddy! ;)  When I mentioned that I hadn't felt any movement yet the tech told me that my placenta is in the front which isn't bad, it just means I won't feel the baby move as soon because of the extra padding there.  I loved seeing Ryan's reaction to the sono.  He was fascinated and amazed that we got to see so much and so clearly.  It made it even more real for both of us. We did end up finding out the sex that day.  We just couldn't wait one more day. :) 

For the time being Gilbert will remain the "baby boy" of the household and be a great protector of baby girl Peterson! :) 

  

Baby girl Peterson could share her birthday with any number of special days in July.  My brother Chris and wife Erica's anniversary is the 3rd of July, then there's July 4th of course,  and then my parent's anniversary is July 5th.  July 7th is the actual due date, which is also my dear friend Bethany and her husband Pablo's anniversary! I'm guessing that she won't be early or on time, but what do I know?

 The last couple days I have been thinking about her a lot and wondering if she will have dimples and curly hair, and Ryan's sense of humor. :)  Tonight I was baking some muffins and Ryan asked me if I was excited to teach my daughter to bake someday.  Awww.  The thought just occurred to me that she might not like to bake!  She might like to play guitar with her dad! :)  It has been so sweet to hear Ryan refer to her by name and talk about her often in the last couple days.  A handful of people know, but we're trying to keep her name a secret until she is born.

Ryan has a few words he'd like to say. A lot of people that don't really know him think that he is just weird and crazy all the time....haha.  He is....most of the time. ;)  He does have a serious side to him but it is just barely reflected in the below paragraph.  He can't ruin his weird crazy image completely, you know. ;) Also..he does know how to spell.  Spelling errors bother him.  Why he spells things wrong on purpose I will never know.   I love him....even if I am one of the only people who see his most serious and tender moments. :)

Yo. This is Ryan now. I just wanna say that I love my wife and baby girl. Now I can get double the sweets. Fo rillz. I am so happy, you all don't even know how happy I am even though I'm telling you, you just can't know, well maybe if you have a baby girl then you know.  I'm so happy. I'm serious. Here's a smiley and I don't do those :) I can't wait to meet our baby girl. She even sticked up her hand like "yo, i'm number onez!" yeah, that's my girl! So I guess she might read this someday and I want her to know that I'm serious. I love you and your mommy. God is good.