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

Quick Hello

Ok, So I really am a very bad blogger. Very Bad.

But I enjoy reading everyone else's!

We are great, life is good, kids are growing WAY too fast. Mackensy will be a year old June 23, and Haley is 3 1/2 going on 13....

Enjoy the new picture!

Yes we are still alive....

In this post Haley s 3 years and 20 days old and Mackensy is 6 months and 15 days old

So this post wont include any pictures becuase I am not at the computer with the pictures on it, but I wanted to blog to include some things I want to remember....

1st- Mackensy is doing great. She is growing so fast. Very hard to believe tha she is 6 months old already. She sleeps on her belly, she doesn't take a pacifier, and she sucks her left thumb when she is tired. She is eating stage two foods to go with her bottles and she loves them. She sits up fairly well on her own, though she hasn't mastered it yet. The first time she did without falling immediately over was Christmas day. She loves her big sister so much, and Haley love to make her smile. Haley loves to be the first person to wake Mackensy in the morning, and will sit in there talking to her saying "Hey sweet girl, hey sunshine" over and over again. Haley is by far he best at getting smiles out of Mackensy and is very proud to do so. This moring we found that Mackensy has cut BOTH of her bottom teeth! We knew this was coming based on the normalsigns, but we are just ver glad they are here :)

2nd- Haley is 3! Where in the world did the time go?! She is such a little girl now. She tries to tell me she is big, but I remind her that she's little and that's ok. She loves to come wake us up in the mornings when Momo wakes up, and after 2 weeks of Christmas break she was very sad to find this week she didn't get to crawl in the bed with us :(. I think tomorrow morning she will be elated to get the opportunity to snuggle with Mom and Dad. She loves her little sister, and tells me all the time Mackensy is her "BEEESSSST Friend" I hope that they remain that close as they grow.

3rd- Ethan and I have a niece! Kera Rae Gossett was born on Sunday, January 2nd here in Oxford. She weighed 7lbs 2oz and was 19 inches long. Rachel is doing great and she and Jason are just over the moon with this sweet little girl! We are so excited to have another girl in the family, and even more excited to watch the girls grow togehter. Kera will go to daycare where Haley and Mackensy go so we hope they are more like sisters than just cousins :)

I think that's about the sum of things. I really am going to try and do better about blogging. I won't make any promises though, as they get broken too easily.

Happy 2011 everyone, may your family be blessed in this new year as ours has!

Love,

Susan

Mackensy is a month old!!!

In this post Haley is 2 years, 7 months and 5 days old, and Mackensy is 1 month old!

Hello blog world! Look at me posting like I'm supposed to! Well, life in the Peterson household is great. Mackensy is growing, Haley is great, Ethan and I are doing well too. Life is good!

Let's start with Mackensy. She is now on a solid 4 hour schedule, eating every 4 hours, awake for about a hour to a hour and a half after each feeding. She cries when she's ready to go down and once she's swaddles tends to settle pretty quickly. She's eating 4 ounces ever 4 hours and gaining weight like a champ. I took her yesterday to be weighed and she's up to 8lbs 3oz! Woo hoo!!!

Haley is doing great too. She is such a wonderful big sister and really loves Mackensy. She wants to hold her often, is interested in helping to feed her, and always wants to say prayers with her at night before bed. It is the sweetest thing ever. We'll try and get it on video and post it for all to see.

Ethan and I are doing well also. I am coming to the end of my maternity leave, I'll be going back to work on August the 9th. Mom is going to take off a week and keep Mackensy for us and then she'll start going to Kim's with Haley on August 16th. She did this with Haley as well and it's just nice being able to go see her at lunch during that first week back.

We've had a great time the past two weeks with my nephew Elijah here. He came to visit for 2 weeks and his mom and dad are on thier way to get him today. We've kept him very busy, he attended Fire Camp with the Oxford Fire Department the first week he was here, and this week he has been going to Rebel Quest at Ole Miss. I think he's had a great time and Haley sure has enjoyed having him around. I think she's going to be sad when he goes home for good. We all will. He's a great kid with a lot of energy and it's not fun that we don't get to see him all the time.

I've attched some pictures for your viewing pleasure. I'll take some of Mackensy today and post them later. I hope everyone is well and thanks for reading!

Love
Susan

Haley Helping Daddy put out the sprinkler after her bath...had to have new jammies :)

The Girls one morning before "school"
Mackensy, bright eyed and busy tailed

Silly Elijah, soaked on the last day of Fire Camp

Our Sweet baby girl...growing so fast!

2 Weeks old already....

In this post Haley is 2 years, 6 months and 20 days old and Mackensy is 15 days old:

Well, they say time flies when you are having fun, and boy that couldn't be more accurate. Seems like just yesterday I was at the doctor for my 36 week appointment to find out that Mackensy was breech and that she would be born 3 weeks later...and now she is 2 weeks old. Just goes to show we can try and plan things all we want, but the good Lord reminds us we aren't in control. My daughters are good at reminding me of that :)

We have had a great first two weeks. Mackensy is a very good baby, she is starting to be more alert during the day and sleeping better at night. She had her 2 week checkup yesterday and her stats were as follows: Weight 6lbs 10oz (back to birth weight) Height 19 3/4 inches (grown 1 1/4 inches since birth) and head 35cm. Dr. Molly said she is very pleased with her progress and we are doing a great job. Let's just hope that life continues that well.

Adjusting to life with two hasn't been bad. Ethan and I were just discussing the other night how it sort of feels like she was just always here. Haley has been a great big sister, she really loves Mackensy. Wants to say her prayers with her every night and asks where she is the moment she wakes up. I love having such sweet girls :)

Well, that's about it for now, below are some recent pictures for you viewing pleasure!

Love, Susan

Daddy and His Girls

Haley Helping Ethan wash his vehicles, in her bathing "soup"

Bright eyes

Welcome Mackensy Lee Peterson!

In this post Haley is 2 years, 6 months and 15 days old and Mackensy is 10 days old:

Hello! Well, I slacked off and you can see from Meredith's post as well as the lag inbetween mine that a lot has happened in the past few months. We have our new addition to our family, Miss Mackensy Lee was born on June 23rd at 11:01 p.m. She shocked us all with her arrival but we are so thankful that she is here and we are all healthy. A little bit about what happened...

On Monday June 21st I had my 36 week appointment. Went rather well, until the end when I had an ultrasound and confirmed what I already suspected, baby was breech. Not just breech but as the nurse described it "the worst kind of breech there is" meaning she wasn't going to turn. Tuesday I talked with our doctor and we decided that it wasn't in my or the baby's best interest to attempt what is called an "external version" so we went ahead and scheduled the C-Section for July 13th. Ethan and I felt this was the best option and were comfortable with our decison. We had a date, 3 weeks away, and were comfortable with that.

Wednesday I went to work like any other day. Had lunch with my Fire Fighter wife friends and they commented on "how tired" I looked, and though I did feel tired I chalked it up to being 36 weeks pregnant and having a 2 1/2 year old. Who wouldn't be tired??? Well, I went back to work, finished up some things, and left to get my hair and Haley's hair cut. Mom met me at the Salon with Haley, as Ethan had been in Jackson all day at the Fire Academy. Thank goodnes it wasn't an overnight class. After Haley and I got done, Ethan suggested that we meet at Tequila's, our local Mexican Resturant, and have dinner. So we went there, had a great dinner, and headed home. Got home, bathed Haley and put her to bed about 7:45. Meredith, our neighbor, came over to bring us something and we chatted for a while. When she left, about 8:20, I laid down on the couch only to be able to feel my heart beat in my chest. Now, in case you don't know this, Haley was born at 37 weeks because I developed Pre-Eclampsia with very high blood pressure. So, one thing I was told by my doctor was to keep an eye out for that to happen again. When I laid on the couch and felt my heart beating rapidly I told Ethan that I thought he needed to check my BP. He looked at me crazy but agreed. Well, he checked it and wouldn't tell me how high it was. Only said "We just had mexican, high in sodium, lay there and relax for 10 min and let me check it again" So, I did just that, and when he checked it again it was 170/100. I called Dr. Henderson and the conversation went something like this:

ME: "Hi Dr. Henderson, this is Susan. Ethan just checked my blood pressure and it's 170ish over 100ish"

HIM: "Ok well meet me at the hospital, if baby is still breech we are having a baby tonight"

ME: "HUH?! tonight? Um...ok"

Yeah, so as shocked as I was I got off the phone and told Ethan and that's when the whirlwind began. Ethan's sister and brother in law came to the house to spend the night with Haley. Mom met us at the Hospital, and Dad joined her shortly there after. We got to the hospital at about 9:30, they checked me in and we talked to Dr. Henderson. After a quick ultrasound to verify that baby was still breech, they prepped me for the C-Section. In what seemed like minutes, Mackensy Lee Peterson was born at 11:01 p.m. She was and is healthy as can be. Weighed 6lbs 10oz at birth and was 18 1/2 inches long. Not bad for nearly 4 weeks early.

Mackensy is named after my grandmother, Sarah Virginia Lee Hollis, who passed away in January of 2009. She was an amazing woman who I was fortunate enough to be named after and I can hope that Mackensy will carry on her name with the love that she showed others.

So, that's what's been going on with us. We are so thankful to have her here, and so thankful that she and I are both ok. We are adjusting as a family of 4. Haley is pretty good with her, and only acting out a little more than normal. I guess that's to be expected. I'll try and do a better job keeping the blog up so that we can watch Mackensy grow just like we have watched Haley.

I hope everyone is well and thanks for reading :) I'll post pictures in a seperate post.

Love

Susan

Welcome Mackensy Lee Peterson!!

Hi, Meredith here guest posting for Susan to let you know that a healthy, beautiful little GIRL joined the Peterson family last night at 11:01 pm. Mackensy Lee made quite an eventful and unexpected entry into the world at almost 4 weeks early (36 weeks 2 days). Out of the blue, Susan's blood pressure got very high last night around 8:30, so the doctor told her to come to the ER. Her pressure stayed high, so they did a C-section. My family and I went to see her today, and she is beautiful!! I don't have a ton of pictures, but these are the few that I have...Enjoy!!

Beautiful Mackensy...so glad you're here!
Mommy and sweet baby

Precious little feet!

Loving the pacifier already

Proud Daddy

And for those who want to see...

This is me...28 weeks pregnant with Baby Peterson #2

Time is a Flyin...

In this post Haley is 2 years 4 months and 18 days old

Hello blog followers, both of you that may still hope for updates so you can read. Life is good here in the world of the Peterson's, just flying with every waking moment. I think every day how big Haley is getting, and how much she is learning and how it seems like just yesterday I was anxiously awaiting her arrival! Now, here we are, nearly 2 and a half years later awaiting the arrival of her brother or sister and thinking "where did the time go?

The end of March and all of April were eventful months. Ethan had a birthday, he is offically closer to his "mid 30's" than his "early 30's". Doesn't seem to bother him which is a great thing because Lord knows he is young at heart!

Easter was especially fun this year, as Haley was big enough to enjoy the festivities and really love the Easter bunny. As you can see from the picture above, she is a wild child, wide open all the time! I love it! She has no fear (which is scary sometimes) but she's such a fun and happy child, we can only pray that our second child can keep up :)

We took Haley to the Zoo for the first time the weekend after Ethan and I celebrated our 4th wedding Anniversary. It was so much fun!!!

Haley loved seeing all the animals, but especially liked running around like a wild woman :) She wanted to pull the wagon more than ride in it...the joys of a two year old.

We ended the month with a visit from our dear friends the Carothers family. Haley, Pressley and Paige had SO much fun together, and were such great girls, it was sad to watch them go home. It's always sad for them or us to leave but makes getting together even the better.

After they went home we went to our local festival called the Double Decker where our experience this year was much different. Instead of listening to bands and really looking at art...we played in the kiddie area and Ethan and Haley rode the kiddy choo choo. It was wonderful! Haley got to see the Police Horse's and really loved getting to pet them.

So as you can tell, the month of April flew, and here we are already in the 6th day of May...seems we spend our childhood waiting to "grow up" and our grown lives wondering "where does the time go" I am going to the doctor tomorrow for my 30 week checkup...which scares me becuase that means I could have as little as 7 weeks until this baby is born should he or she decide to make thier appearence as early as Haley. I am hoping that this baby will hold off just a few weeks longer :) I may eat my words but I'll take a couple more weeks of "cookin"

We have a lot to look forward to this month as well, Sunday is Mother's day, the following weekend Ethan's parents will be here to celebrate Rachel's birthday, Pop's birthday and Mother's day. Then two weekends after that we are going "camping" at some cabins in Sardis, MS (about 20 min away) with our friends Amy, Sanford and Chloe.

June will prove to be busy as well...but I'll save that for another post :) Thanks for your continued patronage...both of you who still read :) I really do try and do better...maybe when I'm taking care of TWO kids I'll have more time....

Love you all :)

Susan

My Neighbor "super blogger" reminded me....

In this post Haley is 2 years, 3 months, and 5 days old

Well I start all my posts lately with "I'm sorry I haven't posted". I am sorry...but life is just BUSY.

Things are great around the Peterson house. Since the last time I blogged, Haley has continued to wow us daily with her rapidly growing independance. "I do it" seems to be a VERY familiar phrase around our house. While it's nice to have her "help" with the baby on the way, it's sort of sad to see our baby girl growing up so quickly. She's a hoot though, makes us laugh every day.

Ethan has added to his "collection" of vintage VW Beetles. I think Haley is in love with them as much as her daddy :). He got a 1970 yellow beetle that runs, and has given him an opportunity to continue to work on the green one. He tells me that he'll sell "one of them" someday...but I'm not holding my breath. :) It's a fun hobby for him and we all enjoy our outings in "Daddy's Beetle!"

I'm about the same :) I had about 17 weeks of "morning" sickness with this baby. Just when I thought I was out of the woods, I had not one...but TWO bouts with the stomach virus. Thank the Lord the baby is growing like she or he is supposed to, so that is all that REALLY matters. I am hoping that between the 23 and 27 week visits I might actually go 4 weeks without any sort of "sickness". But I try and not complain :)

Well I think this catches us up for now. I hope this finds everyone well, and I will try and do better about blogging. Maybe Meredith will keep reminding me :)

Love


Susan

Haley washing her jeep...helping daddy wash cars

Me @ 20 weeks

Daddy's Beetle :)

CHEEESE in Daddy's Beetle

Yes we are still alive....

In this post Haley is 2 years, 30 days old.

Well, it's official, I have become a horrible blogger. I haven't blogged in nearly 5 months, and that is shameful! We've had a LOT going on, so I should have been sharing it! I'll try and catch up without boring everyone with a 20 page post!

Haley is doing GREAT! She celebrated her second birthday on December 18th, and had a great time. We had a party at the county fire station with a bounce house and lots of friends. She had lots of fun, and we were and are very greatful for such great friends! Haley is really such a little girl these days, and hit the 'Twos' with full force! She talks all the time, tells us just about everything that she wants, and is fully potty trained! WOO HOO! We still have our days, but that's part of it.

On December 29th Haley had to have a second set of tubes put in her ears, as well as her adnoids removed. That was hard, on both her and us. It was quite a recovery, but I am proud to say that she and we survived and she is doing great!

One thing that has changed for us is that I left banking and went to work at the University of Mississippi. This has been a GREAT transition, and one that has been great for everyone. Becuase of this I was home when Haley had her surgery, and didn't have to take any time off. I am the Project Coordinator in the Division of Technology Management. In case you, like I was, aren't sure of what this means, check out our website http://www.research.olemiss.edu/cms/technology

Oh, and one more big annoucement...Haley is going to be a BIG SISTER!!!! We are proud to say that in July we will be adding a sweet baby to our family :) We again wont' find out the sex, so you'll have to check back here and HOPE that I get better at updating this thing. I promise to try! Hope everyone is well, and thanks for not totally giving up on us!

Love

Susan

Ethan's new project

Here is the Beetle bug....from the beginning...

August :)

In this post Haley is 1 year, 8 months, and 5 days old

So I am thinking I'll just start posting once a month....I think I could handle that :) We are doing great! In early August we took a trip to California with my parents to visit Mom's side of the family. We had an AWESOME time, and Haley was the perfect little traveler. Don't get me wrong, she had her moments, but then again so did Ethan and I :) She ejoyed the plan ride, and didn't gripe too much with all the time in the car.

We started our trip with a quick tour of the Hoover Dam. It was really neat, and nice to see since my Great Grandfather helped build it. After that, we stopped at In-N-Out burger, where we all devoured food like we'd never eaten before. That's what happens when you travel west and gain two hours I guess :)

Ethan, Haley and I stayed with my cousin Matt, his wife Leah, and thier 3 kids Joylin, Garrett and Titus. Haley was in HEAVEN and really enjoyed spending time with her cousins. She adjusted beautifuly to the time change, and woke up each morning about 6:15, which was early...but wasn't 5 :) So we were happy :)

We got to visit with a lot of our family out there, and were sad to have to come home. It's funny how much kids change in a week though, when we got back, Haley's sitter commented on how much she'd changed! Funny girl!

New stuff in our world is that Haley is really coming into her own personality. She loves to JUMP and twirl. She's got LOTS of energy, and has her daddy wrapped around her finger! She still loves me, but Ethan is her parent of choice most of the time :) Oh well, bound to happen I guess :) The other morning she got mad at me becuase I told her she couldnt' do something. Well Ethan had left for the day to go to the firestation, and when I got down to try and get her to stop crying, I said "What is wrong?" and her response was "I WANT DA-DDY!" Oh the joys :) Ethan tries to tell me she asks for me when I'm not around, but he smiles when he says it. I think he's just being nice :)

We don't have much going on for a couple of weeks, then life gets revved back up. Oh, well, I take that back. Ethan has a new project, a 1969 VW Beetle. So he'll be working on that for...well...who knows how long :) It's really neat though, I'll put up pictures.

Stuart, Sarah, Pressley & Paige are coming to visit Labor Day weekend, then Rocky Debbie and Elijah are coming to visit in Mid September. We have football season starting, and the wedding of some close friends coming up in October. I think we are going to start potty training in the next couple of weeks, so keep us in your prayers :)

I hope this finds everyone well, and thanks for still reading...even though I am a slacker :)

Love,
Susan

19 Months and Counting....

In this post Haley is 1 year, 7 months and 11 days old:

Hello friends! If you are still checking this blog in hopes that I will someday post an update...this post is for you! I don't have any good excuses, so I won't even try :) It has been 2 months nearly since I have posted, so I have a LOT to cover, I'll do my best to cover it all.

In the month of June, we had some visitors. First, Mi Mi and Pop Pop came up for a weekend to see Haley (and the rest of us) and had a wonderful time. They couldn't believe how much she had grown, and were very sad to leave and go home. They are coming back this weekend to visit, and we can't wait to see them!

Rocky, Debbie and Elijah came to town just in time to celebrate Father's day, as well as my birthday. Rocky and Debbie only stayed for two nights, and forgot to take Elijah when they left :) That was ok though, Mom was expecting it! :) Elijah spent the week here with Grammy & Pappaw, and they took him home on Friday. They stopped in Peidmont and got to see Papa and Jessica, Leon and Tristan. It was a great time and we can't wait to see them again when they come in September, AND they are bringing Debbie's parents!

Haley went to see Dr. Molly on my birthday for her 18 month checkup. Her stats at that time were: 28lbs, 33 inches tall, and a big head :) Her head was 54cm...but the good news is it didn't grow THAT much from last time. She must have a LOT of brains! :)

July has been a pretty busy month. We haven't done anything new or extra exciting, but Haley is changing every day. She loves to color, asks for milk, bows, food, just about anything she wants. She says "yes mam" when asked a question (we'll work on sir later) and when she acts up and gets into trouble, we tell her to go to her room, which she does. It's hard not to giggle. She is such a joy, but I am sure Ethan and I are just starting to pay for our raising :) I am SURE we were both angels growing up :)

We are going to get to go visit our family in Califorina next week, and we can not wait! We are taking Haley, and a bit nervous about flying with her, but hopefully she'll do great!

I don't think I missed anything. I hope everyone is doing well, and I'll try and remember to post when we get back! Love to all!

Susan