A week later...

I know you guys are not believing this...but here I am posting again this week! There won't be any pictures as Ethan and I just got new phones and all of our pictures were on the old phones...but I will try and do better next time.

Since last week, not a whole lot has been going on. But, I kind of like the having to write ten things, and since it is Thursday, we'll go with "Ten on Thursday"

1. We finally had a pretty laid back weekend and we were grateful for that. Saturday I hosted a baby shower for a dear friend of ours, Sarah Jacobs. Sarah's husband Chris and Ethan were roommates a LONG time ago, and we are super excited for them to be having their first child. Abigail Grace Jacobs should be here around early November.
2. I got sick this week. No fun. Monday morning I woke up with a bit of a sore throat but just figured it was my sinuses draining. By yesterday I had a fever and felt awful. Well I had an Upper Respitory Infection. Good times. Two shots and a lot of rest later I am on the mend! 
3. My brother, sister in law, nephew and two cousins are coming to town tomorrow! I am so excited to see them and so excited that they will be here for the first Ole Miss game of the season! We have a new coach so we are excited about the season!
4. Haley seems to be maturing more and more every day. She says things that blow me away, and her converstations actually are starting to make sense.  She is a joy to have around :)
5. Mackensy is proving that she is going to be a force to be reckoned with. She is much harder headed than her big sister...and I really didn't think that was possible. She will fight for her way as long as she possibly can. We have had some sleep issues since moving into the new place, and she got in a habit of wanting us to lay down with her. We let her cry, she screamed. We spanked her, she came back for more. It took SO long to break her of this...much longer than it ever took Haley to break of such things.  Can't wait until we take the thumb away....anyway even with her hard hardheadedness she is so funny and such a cuddle bug! We are blessed to have her as a part of our lives!
6. We have the plans ready for the house. Working on the stuff for the bank now. Saying that we are ready to start is an understatement. Haley is already planning her first sleepover there!
7. Our land is amazing. It is just so peaceful out there. This past Sunday Ethan took the girls out there while I cleaned the house and they had a blast. Went walking through the woods (Haley needed Ethan to draw her a map, so he did) they fished, they played, had a great time. It has been our dream for some time to have land like this that we could do these things on. Can't wait to walk out our backdoor to do the same things :)
8. I can't believe it is almost September. I'm not sure where this year went. It seems like yesterday that Haley turned 4 (in December) and then Mackensy turned 2 (in June) and here we are about to do it all over again!
9. Haley is excited about Halloween. She knows what she wants to be, but she won't tell me. Says it's a secret. Not real sure how this is going to work out :)
10. Hurricane Isaac hit the Gulf Coast yesterday on the 7th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Thankfully the damage seems to be much less severe, but August 29th is a bad day in History yet again. 

Ok, that about sums it up for this week. I'll  try and make it 3 for 3...but not making any promises!

Until Next time

Susan

No excuses

I have zero excuses for not keeping up with the blog. None. Sure, life is busy, but isn't everyone elses? I mean, surely the people who do keep up with blogs have other things going on. They are just more dedicated.

I look back on this blog, and for the first 18 months of Haley's life I did a really good (well for me anyway) job of writing. Then I got pregnant, had Mackensy, and disappeared.  So I was thinking, what would be a good way for me to get back into blogging, without putting so much pressure on myself, but while still documenting the memories of our lives right now. Some of my friends do "Ten on Tuesday" and that might be a good idea. But what if I have other thoughts, that I want to remember? So, I think I'll just start posting random thoughts, pictures, etc. Sometimes I'll include a lot of info...sometimes I'll just put it up here to document what is going on. Anyway, I will try.

So, since today is Tuesday, I will give you 10 "Things" that are going on that you might want to know about or I might want to remember.

1. We are living in a tiny duplex. Well, not totally tiny, but pretty small. We bought 3.5 acres of beautiful land and sold our house. We hope to start building in the next few weeks. Keep your fingers crossed. We are ready! We are doing the construction ourselves with the help of Ethan's brother in law and father. They will tell us what to do, who to call etc.  Haley has determined that the duplex is TOO SMALL, and she is ready to move. Patience might be hard to come by
2. The girls are sharing a room for "real" now. They have all of their toys in one room. Both dressers. Everything. And it is right across the hall from our room. They want Ethan or I to lay down with them when they go to bed, and we have to sneak out. I never thought I would be one of "those mom's" whose kid had to be laid with to go to sleep. But, I guess I am just soft in my old age LOL. I remind myself that it won't be long before they don't want me IN their rooms at all...so I cherish these times.
3. I started a new job in April. I still work for Ole Miss but I work for the Center for Mathematics and Science Education on campus. I am the Outreach Coordinator, and I LOVE my job. Very blessed.
4. Ethan is still really enjoying his role as the Coordinator for Fire Protection Services here on Campus. It is such a blessing to have him home every night and weekend. I'm not sure how I ever survived otherwise.
5. Haley started her second year of Preschool this year at Willie Price. She is 42 inches tall and weighs about 40 lbs. She is wearing size 5 pants because she is all legs...but the waist is way too big.  She is sassy..trying to see what she can get away with. We are certainly having some battles these days, but for the most part she is a sweet, kind, loving child. She never has problems at school...she saves those for us at home :)
6. Mackensy turned 2 in June. She is 35 inches tall and about 29 lbs. Another tall skinny kid. She still has curly hair and she talks VERY well. She likes to do EVERYTHING that Haley does, which "makes her a headache" according to big sister. But truth be told Big Sister LOVES baby sister. She will be at Kim's for this year and good Lord willing will start Willie Price next fall.
7. We are down to one chicken, and she is "staying with a friend" until we get our house built. Her name is noodle...and she is something else. We learned where the term "broody old hen" came from this summer. 
8. Football season is among us. First game is in 2 weeks and we are probably going to have another rough year here in Oxford. But we have a new coach, a new AD, and hopefully a new spirit among the fans. I love the Rebels regardless and I get mad when folks get bent out of shape over a bad season. It doesn't help the players.
9. Mackensy and Haley both LOVE the water. We went to the beach with Ethan's family for a week, and neither of them wanted to do much of anything but be in the pool. Haley could touch the bottom so she didn't want to wear her life jacket. And remember the part about Mackensy wanting to do everything Haley does? You guessed it. She refuses, FLAT OUT WILL NOT, wear a life vest. Not floaties. Nothing. She thinks she can SWIM. So she jumps in, goes under, kicks up and then expects to be "caught" at which point she smiles and wants to do it again!  I am working on lessons for her :) Haley is doing better at swimming under water, we will be doing lessons for her again as well.
10. I have made some great new friends this year. I still have a lot of friends I am close to from years past, but my new job has brought on some new friendships, and for that I am super thankful!

Ok, I think that sums it up. I will try and keep up with the random things that are done/said/happen in our life, and post pictures to.

Until next time

Susan

Happy Valentines Day!

Haley wanted curly hair for the day. I'm sure she will always want hers curly...and Mackensy will beg me to straighten hers...

Before our Church Father Daughter Valentines Banquet

The girls love to "help" Mommy in the Kitchen

Posing this morning, Happy Valentines! Thanks for making my dress Grammy!

Monkey See...Monkey Do! Love these two!!!

Hard to believe we are nearly 1/2 over with the Month of February in 2012! They say time flies when you are having fun...but not sure how to slow it down so we can enjoy the ride!!!

Not a whole lot going on here in good Ol Oxford. Ethan and I have started carpooling to work. It's really worked out well and it's saving us money on gas. Not to mention getting to spend that time together as a family is fun!

The girls are growing ... much faster than I think Ethan nor I are prepared for. Mackensy is saying new words every day, and Haley is smarter than I am! She is learning so much at School. She can spell her name, all of it. She also learned to spell Mackensy, and often asks how to spell other words. She is already sounding things out, and I suspect will be reading before we know it. She loves to show her little sister how to do things...makes her feel like she's helping. Which she is :)

We are gearing up for our big trip to California! Can't wait to get on that jet plane! Haley is probably more excited than any of us though. She asks at least weekly how much longer! Ha!

Well, just wanted to post quickly and share a few pictures. Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Until next time

Susan

Low key week

Howdy y'all! Hope everyone is enjoying this unseasonably warm January weather. I've been wearing t-shirts to work this week because the people who control the thermostat here at Ole Miss didn't get the memo that it's not 30 degrees outside and have been blasting the heat! Who would have ever thought I'd have my window open in January??!

Not much going on around the Peterson house this week. Haley is back in the swing of things at school. Her teachers tell us that she is "very well behaved and incredibly smart" We are thankful that she is well behaved at school...if only she could carry that behavior home...with time I'm sure she will. Her teacher stopped me the other day and said that she is always the first one to yell the answers when they ask questions such as "What color starts with the letter Y?" And of course, our little dramatic child doesn't just say "YELLOW" She has to sing "Y-E-L-L-O-W SPELLS YELLOW" She's quite the comedian. Ethan and I both think that she will be into theater someday. She loves to play dress up, it's the first thing she wants to do when she gets home. And once she warms up to the "crowd" she always wants to perform. She's such a joy to have around...most of the time :)

Little Miss Mackensy is getting big and smart right before our eyes. This week however, she has been home with Ethan most of the week. Monday night she came home with a fever and just can't seem to kick it. Thankfully it hasn't gotten super high, and there are no other symptoms. Just fever. We had this happen with Haley a lot, called a "fever virus" so we are just riding it out. As of this morning she was fever free...praying it stays that way. Ethan is ready to go back to work, and I know Mackensy needs to get back into her regular routine. The only plus side to all of this is our very busy little toddler has been VERY cuddly this week. Something about a baby wanting you to hold them that just melts my heart every time.

Talking about her getting big...she is certainly long and lean, just like Haley was at this age. She never got as heavy as Haley did, but she is certainly thinning out just as Haley did after she started walking. This morning, we were getting ready and in walks Mackensy, who is usually followed by Haley. Well, this morning, Mackensy was all by herself....we wondered, who did she get out of the room...and low and behold Haley was still sleeping...SO...Mackensy has learned (and gotten tall enough) to open doors. The world as we know it will never be the same :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! No new pictures to post today, but hopefully we'll get some new family pictures soon!

Until next time...

Susan

Rambling....

Hello everyone! I'll give you a moment to pick your jaw up off of the floor since I know you are each amazed that this is my 3rd blog post in under two weeks. I'm trying :)

We had a great weekend around our house, and are looking forward to another this weekend. Ethan's parents are coming up on Friday to close on a house here in Oxford! We are so excited!!! They are going to totally renovate a house here and eventually they will have a home up here! This is such a blessing for everyone and we couldn't be prouder for them!

Haley and Mackensy are both growing and changing every day. Haley is very big into dress up right now. As soon as we get home in the afternoons the first thing she wants to do is to "put on her dress up" She's got a whole bucket full of stuff, and every time she comes out and says "do I look pretty?!" She's so modest LOL. She is really taking on a whole new personality. She's learning so much at school and amazes us daily with what she knows and can do. She can spell her entire name, she knows how to spell most of her colors, and she LOVES to sing. She also is grasping the fact that there are days of the week. Though she still refers to anything that happened in the past as "a long time ago" :) Last Wednesday our good friends the Meurrier's asked Haley if she could go to church with Myla. They have moved and are not our neighbors anymore so Haley was MORE Than excited to get to go. She had a blast and she and Myla picked up where they left off! So, Myla asked if Haley could go "every single Wednesday" and Haley has been counting the days. Just doesn't seem like she should understand time just yet :)

Here is a picture of the two silly girls having dinner together over the holidays

Mackensy is getting WAY too big too fast! She is such a character. Last night Rachel and Kera came over to eat dinner. When Mackensy was done she got down and proceeded to run from side to side playing "boo" with Kera. They would both laugh and do it again! Amazes me how she knows how to play with her younger cousin so well! Mackensy is talking a lot, some of what we understand, and most of what we don't. But she is very good at communicating, even if we don't REALLY know what she is saying. She also has learned to be very SNEAKY. You can't turn your back for one minute, because whether or not we want to admit it, she can get into pretty much anything :) The other night I was fixing supper and Mackensy was off playing. We should have known she was into something because she was very quiet...

She had found Haley's markers, and was apparently hungry! Luckily they were washable. She's such a joy, quite the character, and LOVES her big sister more than anything. If we are home and Haley isn't there she constantly asks for her. I hope they are always that close...wishful thinking right?!

Well that's about it for today. Hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Until next time...

Susan

Say WHAT?!

So, last night I was thinking about things that the girls say, that I want to remember. SO I figured the best way to do that was to blog about them

Things Haley says:

"I wanna hold you" when she wants to be picked up (I hope she never changes saying this)

"The Potatoes Did that?!" in reference to the tornado damage in Lafayette Co. last spring. She called them "Tor-Potatoes"

"Scrawberry"- Strawberry

"Screet"-Street

(see a pattern here?!)

"scrench scries"- French Fries

"That's so SILLY"

"Soogetti" - Spaghetti

"I haven't done that a long time ago" - If its been more than a day since she did something :)

"awww...that's so CUTE!" (this is new thanks to Willie Price I'm Sure)

and my favorite-very often out of the blue she will call me "MOM" and when I reply she simply says "I love you" Love LOVE love this! Must remember when she is 13 and telling me how mean and unfair I am :)

Mackensy

"Hayeeeeee"- Haley

"Hayee STOP" - she says this A LOT

"tickit" -Cricket

"ta-tay" Tater

"I won on" - I want it on

"I won off" - I want it off

"Babeee"- This would be baby, her green lovey that she carry's everywhere

"teeff" - This means she wants to brush her teeth

"bobble" - Apple

"cooookie" - Cookie (this is a popular word)

"joooce" - Juice

"Mama - Dadeee" - Pretty self explanatory

"side" - means she wants to go outside

"titens" - Chickens, no not the kind we eat...our critters in the back yard

"EAT" - means put her in her chair, she's ready to chow down

"Ahhhmen"- Amen, which is said about 2 seconds before the blessing is really over. Girl likes to eat!

"SHOO"- ahh Shoe, she loves shoes. All kinds of shoes. And if you take yours off in our house, she will try them on to see if they fit her

"sok" - socks, meaning put them on

"Shoo off"- you get the picture...

"nu new" - A fav...means LOVE YOU!

She says other normal things, like "UH OH" and "Tank to" (Thank You) as well as the names of all of her grandparents "Gammy" "PawPaw" "MeeeMeee" and "PotPot" I am pretty sure "RahRah" was one of her very FIRST words (I also think Rachel knew exactly what she was doing when she picked that name for herself LOL) and JJ is a big easy one...though sometimes she just calls him Rah because that's who she REALLY wants to see :)

She figured out Santa and called him "Tanta" though she wanted nothing to do with sitting in his lap. She likes to dress up with Hayee...and especially putting on play shoes.

These girls are amazing. At the doctor the other day Mackensy and I got there first, so as we were headed back to her room from being weighed in, Ethan and Haley came through the door. Mackensy looked up, saw Haley and yelled "HAYEE!!!!!!" and ran towards her like it had been years since they saw each other. Haley ran towards her and they met in the hall and hugged. It was wonderful...if only I had had my camera!

Until next time...

Susan

This and That

Well hello blog readers out there! Yes, I know I haven't written in months, but oh well. Writing now. Don't have any pictures to put up right now but I'll try and do that later. Baby steps :)

Life in Oxford, MS is going great. We've had quite a bit go on since the last time I checked in so I'll try and run it all down and not write the longest post in history.

In June, we celebrated Mackensy's first birthday with a splish splashin good time at our house. Elijah was in town so it was neat that he got to be here for her party. He came to visit for two weeks and we had a wonderful time spending that special time with him.

August came along and Miss Haley started preschool at Willie Price here on campus. She was SO excited to go to school, until we got ready to leave that is :) She cried pretty much every day when Ethan or I left, but according to her teachers would stop shortly after we left. She LOVES going to school and has learned SO much. She can write her name, her WHOLE name, and knows how to spell it by herself. She loves art, is very good at school never getting in trouble (she saves that for when she gets home, aren't we lucky?!) has so much fun with her friends and has done a great job making new friends and relationships.

In September we had the biggest change to our family for this year. Ethan left the Oxford Fire Department after nearly 12 years of service. As you may or may not know, for the past 5 years he has worked here at Ole Miss as a part time Fire Inspector. In September he was offered, and accepted, the position of Coordinator for Fire Protection Services for Ole Miss. This was a huge blessing to him and and to our family. He went from being gone every 3rd night for 24 hours to being home every night and weekend. We were able to go to the coast for Thanksgiving for the first time in Haley's life, and we had the time off at Christmas together. He misses riding on the truck but he loves having time with his girls :) Most of the time anyway LOL.

In addition to his new position, he has been very busy working on the restoration of his 1969 VW Beetle. He has totally rebuilt the pan and done a lot of work on the body. I'm really proud of him and his dedication to this project. Been really neat to watch. Can't wait to go for a ride in it someday :)

As for me, nothing has really been going on. Just enjoying being a mom to two wild girls and a wife to their role model on being wild and crazy :) They are a sight to watch when the three of them get going. For those of you who have always thought I had a lot of energy, I assure you it is much needed to keep up with Ethan!

The girls had their well child visits yesterday and are doing great! Haley weighs 37lbs and is 40 inches tall. She is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. Mackensy weighs 24lbs and is 31 1/2 inches tall. She is in the 50th percentile for weight and the 69th for height. Will be neat to see how they continue to grow.

I hope you are all doing well, and enjoy the little bit of catching up. Until next time.....(hopefully not 8 months later)

Susan