Yup, It's March 30th!

Since our Camera died and hasn't been replaced, Trevor is in charge of posting pictures (which means there probably won't be any:D) But here's a little update on the so very interesting life of the Trevor and Melissa Petersen Family...

I suppose our biggest news is our new little one on the way. Oct. 9th is the magic date (we'll see about that one:)) After a very long first appointment we learned that many precautions would be taken to monitor the pregnancy and growth of the baby. At 25 weeks more blood work will be done to get a baseline and then will be frequently monitored, including weekly appointments for the remainder of the pregnancy.
For those who are unaware of the complications that took place with Alexa, I ended up with preeclampsia, at some point, and it was caught approx. 24 hrs before Alexa was born b/c of a blood test. I also developed Uterine-growth restriction, at some point, which restricted Alexa's growth. In a typical preeclampsia case the blood pressure gradually increases over several visits and then the kidney's begin to shut-down. I did not have these signs and it was only detectable by blood tests which were ordered due to a sudden increase in blood pressure and signs of kidney failure. We were all blessed with miracle after miracle and thank the Lord every day for those miracles.
We are hopeful that this time will be better due to the increased monitoring and a few little things I can do to take care of myself.

Trevor has had yet another adventure in engine replacements when the engine in his truck had finally had enough. After a little negotiating, very little, he ended up with a few new garage toys, a couple of new scars, and a somewhat brand new engine (he learned his lesson the first time with having the old one rebuilt). (He posted a picture on his fb - we might have more to add later.)
I'm so glad he has embraced this hobby of being a mechanic. He has learned a lot and saved us a ton of money, since we seem to have so much luck with engines:D (It would probably help if we had a little more reliable vehicles, but at least we don't have any car payments and that feels good.)

We've almost lived in our new house for 1 year. It's still a work in progress, but we are enjoying it and still loving the neighborhood and location. I'll be glad when it warms up so we can start going for walks again.

And Alexa. Well, she is almost 3 and growing-up so fast. She talks really well and is constantly surprising us with something new. So far potty training has been a flop, but I'm hoping in a month or so we'll both have a little more ambition. She's at the ornery stage and seems to have quite a few tantrums that just abrupt out of nowhere. She seems to reason with Trevor more often than with me, but leaving her in her room until she calms down seems to do the trick and most of the time she's a new toddler when she emerges. Bedtime is usually a long drawn-out adventure, sometimes lasting 2 hours. It's a constant tuck-in bed, get out b/c she needs vitamins, tuck-in, get out b/c she needs water, tuck-in, get out b/c she wants milk instead of water, you get the picture. Here's a quote I stumbled on while reading a book by Cindy Sigler Dagnan, entitled "Who Got Peanut Butter on My Daily Planner?"

"Children never put off till tomorrow what will keep them from going to bed tonight" - Evan Esar

This made me laugh out loud and helped give me a different perspective, not that I always remember that perspective, but...

We don't have an official weight, but she's somewhere between 21 and 22 lbs. She eat's pretty good most of the time and is constantly moving so she pretty much burns everything she eats. She's usually pretty healthy so we're not really worried, and at her last dr. visit he didn't express any concern about her lack of weight.

Well, now that I've been working on this blog for 2 hours, I'm going to have to wrap this up before Trevor comes home for lunch and I'm still laying in bed in my pajamas. I only shared that b/c I know most of you can relate:D

Bye for now.

Our Little Sleeper

Over the last year or so we've compiled a few pictures of Alexa sleeping.  We think you'll find them quite entertaining, she can fall asleep pretty much anywhere.  These are a few of the places we've found her sleeping at various times of the night or morning.

Once I went to find her in the morning, it was almost 9 and she hadn't woken me up yet which is unheard of. She wasn't in her bed and I started to get a little frantic.  I looked all over the house, then finally went back in her room and found her asleep on top of the changing table.  I didn't even notice her the first time I looked around.  Needless to say the changing table was removed from her access.   See Pictures Here

Recently, I went shopping at Wal-mart during her nap time.  Knowing she was tired I took my coat off and put it in the seat area and laid her on top and let her feet hang over.  She immediately fell asleep and it was great until I needed my coat, luckily this old lady noticed my dilemma and helped me with Alexa so I could get my coat on.  The next time we went shopping Alexa said "coat off" and pointed to the cart.  Obviously I did as I was told, and she did not go to sleep, but had an enjoyable time looking at the ceiling and singing random things extremely loudly.  She tends to do thing like that when she's tired and trying to stay awake, so when I couldn't take it anymore, and my constant shushing stopped working for seconds at a time, I told her to close her eyes.  Aww, silence, and less than 2 min. later she was out.  Shopping is much more enjoyable and productive during these times - highly recommended.

Ties, Ties, Ties...

I decided to do another sweep cleaning through our closet and tackle the pile of ties that had fallen on the floor due to inadequate space to hang them. As you can see this was no small task at a length of 5ft. long and a total of 53 ties and a toddler running around wanting to go "potty" all by herself. (She just likes to sit there by herself - I figure it's good practice.)

After this I don't want to hear anymore about how many pairs of shoes I have. :D

April & May - Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Well, as you might guess April and May were very busy months for us. April 15th we closed on our new house and signed a contract on our old house, which has since fallen through for the second time. We ended up needing to replace all the carpeting in our new house, so that delayed moving in a little longer, but we made it in by the 21st, not bad for painting every room, laying laminate flooring in my office, and having new carpet installed. We're still moving in, but things are getting to be a bit more settled. Alexa loves her new room and all the space - as do I.

May brought much more excitement - My sister Latea had her Senior prom and 2 weeks later graduated from high school. When I was gone helping her get ready for prom, Trevor's jeep broke - very badly broke! (See picture above). Needless to say, I've yet to park my car in the garage.

Trevor sold his Harley - which was a sad day for many. The contract on our old house fell through, and we took off to Osage Beach for graduation. In the mean time, we've been working on our house - Trevor built me a pantry in the coat closet - stained shelves and all - and we added a door in the bathroom - which was a little more work than I anticipated. That's still a work in progress.

Then on May 24th Trevor turned 28! It started at breakfast, when I actually made him a nice breakfast, and we had steak and shrimp for dinner - the best I've ever made. We had a little party with Trevor's family that night. Marcy, Kendi, & Natasha came over and helped me decorate and wrap presents while I made M&M cookies. (Trevor's not a big fan of cake and he loves M&M cookies so I decided to change it up a bit.) He got a tork wrench to use when putting his jeep back together and some much needed clothes. Then Dad (Kent) surprised us all and gave him a homemade gift certificate for 1/2 off a Harley rental so we can go on an overnight trip this summer - Kendi added her babysitting services to the card, but was unaware of the "overnight" part. It was fun and he said he had a good birthday - which made me feel good, since last year's wasn't one of my better years.

I'm not sure who was more excited about the gummy bears - Trevor or Alexa :D

And on May 28th we had our 5 year Anniversary! I can't believe it's been that long already. A lot has happened in the last 5 years, some wonderful and some trying, but all have strengthened us individually and as a couple. I'm so thankful for Trevor and the wonderful husband and father he is, and the way he helps me to always strive to be better than I was the day before. He gives me so much encouragement and support and lifts me through those rough days as a mother of a toddler. I'm so happy we found each other and things worked out the way they did, with a little help from the Lord. He's my best friend and I'll love him forever.

Alexa will be 2 two weeks from tomorrow, and is growing, healthy, strong, and very independent. She is talking better and better every day, and it's really fun to hear her try to say new things and repeat things others say. A couple of days ago she put her shoes on the right feet and secured the straps all by herself. We just told her to go put her shoes on so we could go, she ran in her room, and a little while later Trevor went to find her and she came out with her shoes on. I felt like a proud mother at that moment. Amazing how the little things can bring a mother so much joy. I could go on and on about Alexa and all the little things she does, but I don't have that much time. She's weighing in somewhere around 20 lbs., we have a 2 year doctor's visit coming up that will tell us more. She's still pretty little, the 9 month shorts I bought her keep falling down, she's in 12 month shirts and still wearing 9 month onesies. She's still having a hard time eating very much, but since her 4 teeth broke through about 2 weeks ago, she started to eat a little more - when she wants to and usually not without some coaxing. But we've made some definite progress in the last few months.

Thanks for reading. Love to all.

Miscellaneous Update for Aunt Rhonda

Alexa thinks she needs to sit on every one's lap - never mind that they are smaller (well, in height) or a year younger.

After a long afternoon of helping mom organize and clean - she loved it.

The two monkeys. Alexa climbs on everything and anything and it all happens in a matter of seconds (literally).


We've seen a lot of progress in Alexa the last couple of months. At her 19 month check-up she weighed 17 1/2 lbs. and was 30" tall. So, what this means is on the growth chart she is average for her height as a 19 month old, and not on the chart for her weight even at a corrected age of 16 months, but the doctor said he wasn't concerned and that he suspects that she will gain more when she hits a growth spurt between 2 and 3.

Words she says: What's that, I don't know, mommy, dada, mama, papa, owe, Thank you, grandma, more, baby, eye; and within the last few days: love you, fishes, ball, yes

Other developments: Eating really good, sleeping through the night more frequently, and today, when she was at the "Y", she climbed up on this little 3 year old boy and held his face in her hands and kissed him on the lips - twice.

Things Alexa likes: Hugs and kisses (she puckers up and makes the noise), carrot juice, almost every vegetable (including Kale we found out last night), playing outside (even when it's -13 degrees), playing Xbox with Daddy (she gets her own controller), going to Grandma's house (doesn't matter which one - she gets excited), climbing, stairs, socks and shoes, Nursery (mommy likes this too), making messes and getting into mommy's stuff.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Alexa loves Itsy Bitsy Spider - she touches her fingers together and that's how you know she wants you to sing. Trevor doesn't usually let me record him talking or singing to Alexa, but he was a good sport for this clip. (When she's flailing her arms around that's "washed out".)

New Hair-Do

This is our first attempt at any kind of hair-do. I don't know where she got her personality but it's very entertaining - whenever she poses for a picture she tilts her head to the side.