gramps turns 96

over the weekend we celebrated my gramdpa peterson's 96 birthday!

you read that right, NINETY-SIX!

can you imagine all that he has witnessed in his life 

he is your typical jolly happy 'little' grandpa

of course he has the best stories(still has a great memory), he is lovable, kind, and so giving 

I remember bragging as a child that my grandpa gave me a 100 dollars for every birthday and christmas

he has lived the last 10 years or so alone 

he cared for my grandma until the day she passed and he misses her so much 

the day was special

he talked about the wonderful family we were and how proud he was to have us all 

he talked about how happy my grandma must be watching the family grow and all the little ones 

he did a little jig as we sang happy birthday to him 

he gave us all 10 dollars because he thought we were perfect 10's in his eyes

and of course he was wearing a bright colorful shirt

last year we bought 95 balloons and individually staked them in the front yard 

right after we finished... before a picture could even be taking they are started to pop 

after about 2 minutes we literally only had about 20 balloons left 

this year we went a little more simple and all the great-grandkids helped make a banner

 mack dressed up for the occassion and wore a tie

 some of the kiddos with the banner

 mrs. bakers tasty cake

 such a cutie

 he blew them all out

remembering

I remember the day Sam set up our crib

our room wasn't painted... in fact it was a mess 

since we had moved into our house we knew the room was going to be a nursery 

but it became the, 'just put in the babies room' room 

it was filled with lots of random things needing to find new homes

once we bought our crib we started to get motivated to clean it out and make it a special space

I remember waking up the next morning and walking out of our bedroom and seeing the crib

chills shivered up my legs and into my spine as the realization hit me

that crib was for my little baby growing readily inside of me 

of course excitement filled me up as I pictured myself going to fetch my little one over and over again

thanks to a wonderful support system, friends and family that room transformed 

it soon filled with diapers, wipes, bath gear, blankets, books, clothes etc. etc. 

and now all those things I envisioned and dreamt about are coming true.  

that room has become Mack's room and it's arguable my favorite room in the house

I love hearing him talk in his crib as he patiently waits for me to come and get him

yesterday Mack slept until 830, I woke up before that and went to take a peak at my sleeping little one

I found this little sweet one peacefully sleeping away. 

new trick

ignore our new parent enthusiasm.  

birth announcement

I was so excited with how great Mack's announcements turned out 

here are the 2 that we sent out to family and close friends

I found a great etsy shop that designed the announcement 

I especially liked her because she is from Utah(gotta support the locals)

then I printed them for cheap at costco(since everyone will throw it away)

and since I loved them so much it was motivating to get them in the mail

lazy day

Today was a lazy day.

it's very rare that I get to have one and I must admit I really enjoyed it.

Mack and I spent lots of time snuggling together

I didn't worry about the laundry, cleaning, cooking or any other projects 

I didn't have anywhere I had to be

I just enjoyed the day.

why is it so hard to enjoy and live in the moment? 

maybe it's just me, but my mind is constantly a step ahead

'once Mack is asleep I'm going to .....' shower, eat, clean this, sew that etc. 

but today once Mack was asleep I just held him and didn't worry about the other stuff 

you wouldn't be able to do this everyday, nothing would ever get done 

but today I was okay with it and looking back on my day, you'd think I would feel dissatisfied or unaccomplished but I actually feel such great joy. 

after doing nothing all day we topped it off with sitting around the pool enjoying the night.

Mack took his first ride in a truck

becoming my boys momma

i was told time and time again while i was pregnant how intuitive becoming a mom is

i didn't understand it

in my mind caring for my child and taking care of a baby seemed so foreign and scary

i read lots of books hoping to prepare me for what i was about to take on

even though I didn't read something that has magically worked or solved a problem 

i'm happy i read them 

knowledge is power right? 

but i can't believe what a natural transition it was becoming a mother 

i held my baby for the first time and looked into his eyes and fell in love 

after that love came, whose foundation started during pregnancy, the rest was easy 

it's been so easy and so hard all at the same time 

i love every minute, i love the challenges

i love that i can hear Mack move or make a noise on top of any other noise in the room

i love that i can tell when he is about to cry or if he wants something else 

i love that i know what he wants by listening to his cries or watching his body(still mastering)

i love that when he hears me he looks for me 

and when he sees me he smiles

i love thinking i am his favorite person in the world right now

i love being a momma 

i understand now how becoming a mother is intuitive

and i even better understand how being a mother brings the most joy 

each phase and week just gets better

they each come with a unique challenge but the reward gets greater and greater 

i love feeling like i am fulfilling my duty. 

that's all for now. 

i'm thinking of all my friends that are pregnant right now so excited for the days and weeks ahead

you are at such a wonderful part of pregnancy and life, try to enjoy it!!

photo shoot

we had a little photo shoot in our house when Mack was 9 days old 

I almost didn't do it, let's be honest babies are expensive 

but I'm so glad that I did

our photographer, Katherine Wallin, did a great job capturing the tender moments of those first weeks

here are a million of my favorites.  

best friend

Mack's best friend moved across the country this week 

we are all a little sad but are wishing them the best of luck with the adventure ahead

and counting down the days until they come visit

aren't they cute?!? 

come meet mack

since we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl my family waited to throw me a shower 

we had a 'come meet mack' party when he was about 5 weeks old 

it was darling party.

I don't have many pictures(i asked sam to take some and they aren't great)

but I don't want to forget the great detail that my family went to, it was adorable 

we ate mini big MACK's, MACKaroni and cheese, MACKadamion nut ice cream and MACKaroons

I was given a Mack trucks shirt to wear at the party

it was decorated with MACK trucks and Mack even got to keep one

the kiddos bobbed for nipples and binkies

Mack got passed around and got some cute boy stuff. 

 he already loves playing with his truck... well at least looking at it

Thanks to my lovely sisters and mom for throwing me and Mack such a great party

sleepover

we had zachary, james and hazel over for a sleepover last weekend
it was a blast
i wish that they could stay forever, they were so helpful!
they are getting really excited for their baby sister to come in the next couple weeks
I am helping make sure they get plenty of practice

oregon

we just got home from a great time in oregon. 

we were lucky enough to get invited to cannon beach 

it's sam's brothers last year in portland 

it was such a great trip. 

the week prior to the trip was a really hard one for me, a little vacation was exactly what i needed 

of course i was nervous about flying and traveling with our little one but he did awesome

what a relief!

however flying out there it hit me that I will never fly again... or go anywhere in public, what being a little nervous about how my child will behave.  luckily this time we didn't have to spend any time walking up and down the aisle or in the bathroom with a crying baby.. however i'm sure one day we will experience that.  

we spent a few days at the beach and then a few in portland so sam could attend a meeting at ohsu, one of the schools he is applying to. 

down by the river. it was beautiful.. in fact all of oregon was beautiful

blueberry picking! so fun.  I wish we had farms like that here

we spent a few nights playing at the park

snoozing on the beach... the sand was heavenly and the temperatures unseasonably warm

skim boarding, we also played football and paddle ball at the beach

(of course built castles and buried sam in the sand too)

lots of cousin time.. Mack is starting to really interact with everyone fun to watch the cousins talk to him

if we get accepted to OHSU i'd be happy to visit you again cannon beach!