Glimpses of the Peterson Family

Ian

2011-12-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

You can view more pictures of Ian here: https://picasaweb.google.com/118309136682874561627/Ian?authkey=Gv1sRgCKuuv4P0t8yKyAE#

Ian

2011-12-11T14:50:00.000-08:00

The birth of Ian James Harrison Peterson

2010-08-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

2010 Harrison Family Reunion Grandpa Dick's side

Cousin Sam and Xica

Cousins Rob and Megan with Ileah

Grandpa and Uncle Chet helping Ileah down a hill

Ileah loved Rob's dog Walter

Ileah attempting to push herself back UP the hill she had just tried to come down. Note her name tag in a place that she couldn't take off!

Bumpo

2009-10-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

Since Ileah was doing so well sitting up in our lap, we decided to finally try the Bumpo seat. She was a little fussy when we put her in at first...

She wasn't 100% sure that she liked the seat. It was very different than being held...

Decision made. She did NOT like the seat.

We left her in it a little longer, and she finally realized that although it wasn't our arms, it was better than nothing! Thank goodness for us! This way she can watch us in the kitchen or working around the house while sitting up rather than lying down!

Ileah's Crib

2009-10-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

Ileah recently outgrew her bassinet and so we offloaded the crib of baby stuff and made room for her. This was her first time in the crib, and I think she enjoyed it, especially with the mobile hanging above the crib.

She finally has room to stretch, something she does with great frequency. She especially likes to have her hands above her head while she sleeps.

Ileah's first ride in the BOB

2009-10-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

We took Ileah on a walk with her new BOB stroller. I think she really liked it! Instead of going to sleep, she spent the ride looking around, enjoying the views.

Ileah has lots of growing to do before she's took big for the BOB.

Camping

2009-10-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

It was getting towards the end of summer and we hadn't yet gone camping (don't tell Ileah, but it was all her fault). We still had some nice, but cooler, weather, so we decided to take Ileah on her first camping trip. We chose Deception Pass State Park, which worked out great. I think Ileah even enjoyed herself. She slept well anyways, so we enjoyed ourselves!

Our Sleeping arrangement. We'll have to get a bigger tent before long.

Our Camp. The dogs were more trouble than Ileah.

Just hanging out.

Still a little too small for the camp chairs.

We took a little walk along the beach.

Family photo.

I think she's excited about sleeping in the tent!!

Josh's big 3-0!

2009-10-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

I think all the fried food isn't sitting well with Ileah!

On my birthday, I tried to keep it simple, and not make too much of a big deal, after all, I didn't want EVERYONE to know how old I was getting to be! So on the 11th we went down to our favorite Chinesse Restaurant in Seattle, and had some good food. Then, the next day, we had a big BBQ at our place, and everyone did find out how old I was! I don't think I took any pictures of the BBQ. I must have been too busy cooking up all the burgers!

ILEAH'S FIRST HIKE

2009-10-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

This summer we took our first hike with Ileah up to Fragrance Lake on Chuckanut Mountain. We went with our friends, Scott and Amy. I don't think Ileah appreciated much of it, since she mostly slept! We enjoyed the hike though.

Escaping the Heat

2009-08-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

During the extreme heat, we decieded to make a last minuete trip to the coast, and spend a couple nights someplace other than our ever increasingly warm house.

Here we are at Pacific Beach, it was MUCH cooler than at home, mid 60's compared to the 100+ weather we'd just come from.

Xica thought Ileah should touch the water on her first visit to the ocean. She didn't bother to open her eyes and appreciate it.

Summer fun

2009-07-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

We had a BBQ this last Saturday with our Small Group out at Bryce and Malea's family's place on Lake Sammish. Lots of good food, and perfect weather for boating and tubing.

Sleeping Beauty

2009-07-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

If only she slept so peacefully all night long!

She thinks she's a little model!!!

"Fuzzy Head"

2009-07-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

After Ileah gets here bath, she always has such fuzzy hair!

I think the lighting in the pictures makes the hair look more red then it is, but there is definitely some red in that blond hair of hers.

Fourth of July 2009

2009-07-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

The fourth found us out at Grandpa and Grandma Harrison's on Samish Island to enjoy some dinner and the local fireworks. There was no "official" show this year, but it's amazing how many fireworks the neighbors light off over the water! A local Big Lake resident was out there with us this year, and he told us, "these fireworks put the lakes to shame". We didn't get any of pictures of all the fireworks however. I think we were too busy enjoying the time while Grandma watched Ileah up at the house.

Chad's remote control we shot fireworks off, and at!

Abby wanted to stay in the water the whole time, chasing fireworks.

Family Photo

2009-07-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is our very first family photo. Ileah wasn't thrilled about it, but at least she had her eyes open (a feat in and of itself!). We liked this one best because of her look. I think it says something about the years to come!

Baby's first bath (at home)

2009-06-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

The other night we deceided that we didn't want to be the ones with the "stinky baby", so we thought we better give Ileah her first bath at home. We have a heated floor in our bathroom, which made it really nice for her. I think she really enjoyed her bath, for the most part.

She's so tiny

Getting washed down by Momma

I think she looks like a little frog!

And Daddy washed her hair.

I think I need to use gel if I want the mohawk to stay!

Even Abby thought she smelled good after the bath!

Our "new" family!

2009-06-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

Just a few days before Ileah decided to arrive in the world...

The midwife and I just before feeling nothing...

Ileah's first view of the world... Even then, her cry wasn't very loud, but loud enough to get an 8 on her first apgar score and a perfect 10 on her second! I guess she really was ready to come out into the world, even though it was 20 days early!

My first view of Ileah. I didn't even know what color hair she had until Josh took off her hat. For some reason, I wasn't expecting her Daddy's blonde at all! She really does look like him!

My poor little pea... She didn't like being weighed... She'll probably hate me later for puting this picture up for the world to see... At least it's better than the other one! ;)

Being measured... everything normal!

She was so flexible she nearly kicked herself in the head!

She was very alert the entire time they were checking her after birth. They tell me she couldn't take her eyes off her Daddy. DEFINATELY a daddy's girl!

And here she is with her Daddy!!

Usually calm, like all babies, she must cry at times!

Finally all bundled up... She was so tiny that the little shirt had to be rolled up several times for her hands to stick out. Even the newborn diaper was far too big and had to be rolled down. Good thing there are premie diapers out there!

Too cute to pass up... Gripping her Daddy's fingers... She already has him wrapped around her's!

Sleeping with Momma the next day... She was so tired. We even had to wake her up for her feedings!

Me adjusting to being Momma the next day. Because she was so early, we were more shocked than anything else!

Awake in her first outfit that "fit." She was so small that the newborn clothes I brought were far too big and so we had to wait for some amazing, considerate friends to bring her clothes that fit her!

She loves to have her hands up by her head...

Yet another shot of Ileah and her Daddy.

She's so cute when her eyes finally open from sleep and she starts to look around.

She loves to look at her Daddy.

Ileah and I catching up on some much needed sleep...

Absolutely perfect. What else can I say?

It looks like she may already be on her way to becoming a model... A Health Quest magazine photographer asked if she could be in the photos with the doctor for the article they were doing. Um, hello!! Yes she can! :) Don't worry, no Jon Benet for us!!

My Birthday Boy!

2009-06-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ethan wasn't pleased to see us at first as we woke him up from his nap, and so went to hide in his backyard...

When he realized that his Uncle Josh was there though to help him and play with him, he perked right up!

He wasn't quite sure what to think of my baby belly though. He was a little shy and finally went to poke it with one finger while looking at it skeptically.

He seemed a little more interested when I showed him my belly button that was protruding and poked it after I showed him that it was fun to poke at. We'll see what he does when baby decides to meet the world finally!

Honesty

2009-06-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

There are times in life, when I'm extremly thankful for someone elses virtues, this was one of them.

About a week ago, Xica and I, along with her mom, and my Uncle, took a trip to Montana to go out to our relatives ranch for branding (pictures to follow). On our way over we stopped in Bozeman for the night. When packing the vehicle the next morning, through a combination of the vehicle being moved to another parking spot, and poor choice of placement, my backpack was left sitting in the parking lot of Bozeman Best Western. My mistake wasn't realized until we were an hour and a half down the road.

You know that deep, dreadful, sinking feeling... Yeah, I had it. It's amazing how much one can fit into a backpack! And how hard it would be to replace some things! Here's just some of the items in the backpack: My bible, three books I recently received as gifts, North Face jacket, Leatherman, hunting knife, pocket knife, $700 dollar digital camera, a extra lens for it, and My Grandpa's 38 revolver, that he used in World War Two! You can't get much more "irreplaceable".

After getting the hotel number, and calling, the desk clerk went back to look, and found an empty parking lot.

Here's where that dreaded feeling got a lot worse! Thankfully it lasted only about 20 mins. That's when I received a call from the hotel. An HONEST patron of the Best Western had found my bag, and turned it in, just after I'd called them looking for it! Thank you Lord! He hadn't dug through the bag,(I'd had it packed so tight, I could tell) he just turned it in, leaving no name, no desire for reward.

May we all strive to be so honest, looking after other's needs, before our gain.

Canoeing on Baker Lake

2009-05-03T18:42:00.001-07:00

We stopped for lunch at a little spit. I'm glad the grass hadn't grown back yet, or it may have been a little wet!
I was amazed that I still fit into a life vest even being seven months pregant!

Yeah for cameras that have timers! (even though Josh has his eyes closed...)

I insisted on going canoeing at a beach where we could have a little fire so I could have smores. It's summer, right?

Josh was a good daddy-to-be and roasted my marshmellows so I (and baby) didn't have to smell too much of the smoke.

We actually got to see Baker! It was beautiful.

Much easier heading back with no more wind and little lake white caps!

We went Clamming.

2009-05-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

I've gotta tell you, I really enjoy the fact that my in-laws live on the water, and have a beach and tide flats. During the summer I make the most of it by doing as much crabbing as I can. So when the sun broke a few weeks ago... OK, maybe it just stopped raining for a moment, either way... I got the urge to get outdoors and doing something fun, and different.

I found out that if you go clamming on tide flats that belong to your family, there is no limit to the amount you can take home. So off Xica and I went... It ended up being colder out there then we thought it would be, so Xica was glad her coat still fit over her pregnant belly. I ended up finding lots of horse clams in no time.

That night we had some really good home made clam chowder, and some really good deep fried clam strips!

If you aren't careful, they'll squirt you. I got it in the eye... it wasn't pleasant.

I love the views down there and the peace and quiet found on the beach.

7 months

2009-04-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been a while! This is the beginning of seven months... Baby is definately more active and I can finally identify it's little head, especially when it trys to push out (you can actually SEE the head!). I also have obtained the linea nigra, although it isn't too dark yet! As you can see, my "timer" has also started to push out. I've been told that I had an outie when I was little too. As long as it goes back in, I'll be okay! Baby continues to be just in the front. My family tells me that I don't even look pregnant from the back (what a great family I have!). All goes well and I'm in the third trimester with bi-monthly doctor appointments now. It amazes me how time flies!

How we ended up with another dog...

2009-03-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

I realized that I hadn't yet blogged about are latest edition to our household and since I'm sure she will at some point come up, I should probably tell the story of how we found her.

It all begun when Chad and I went over to eastern Washington, near Ellensburg, to hunt coyotes, or cougars, or just camp, and shot some guns a little. It ended up being just the latter of the three, though we did give it our best shot with game calls, and hours and miles toward making it a successful hunt.

The weather was cold at night, and during the day when the sun came out, everything turned to mud.

It's too bad we weren't hunting for elk, because there were plenty of them spending their winter months in the sage brush.

So we didn't come home with any dead animal, but we did bring home to live ones!! We found these to 8 month old dogs wondering near where we were camping. As you can see from the picture, they were very happy that Chad got out of the truck and game them some food. After that they followed us to our camp, and never left. We tried to find their owner, went to a local vet to scan for an I.D. chip, and called the Animal Shelter, but no one was looking for them. It seemed the had been abandoned. They were both a little thin, and it seemed they hadn't had any food for awhile.

How could we just leave these puppies? Chad had been wanting a dog anyway, and Xica and I had been toying with the idea of getting another dog, mostly for companionship for Abby.

It was pretty cold camping... the dogs helped warm up the tent that night though!

So Chad liked the red dog, and we took that black and tan. We named her Ellie, since we found them just out side of Ellensburg.

Abby and Ellie are getting along just fine, and have fun playing together.

And maybe a little biting!

Theft

2009-03-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

This morning Xica was going to take her car to school, and found it missing the back wheel!!! Sometime in the night, someone jacked up the car, took the wheel, and threw a cement block under it. I think the only time I had seen this before is in the movies when they're trying to portray a ghetto, I didn't know people do this in neighborhoods, and right in our driveway, while we were sleeping! Its very frustrating, especially when it is just under the insurance deductible, so it just comes out of our pocket. I found a replacement wheel today on eBay, so hopefully it gets here quickly, so we are back to two cars. Its interesting how we get use to having two cars(which is a luxury in most of the world) to get to the jobs we have, and don't know how to function with just one.

I think I'm going to buy some locking lug nuts.

Ultrasound

2009-02-16T18:10:00.000-08:00

Baby Peterson (sex still unknown... lol)

I absolutely loved this picture. Baby suddenly opened his/her mouth and it looked just like baby was laughing. The ultrasound Dr. seemed to find it amusing too as he replayed this image mulitple times! (Baby is lying down with the head on the left and the big belly on the right.)

The Dr. wanted to make sure we had a serious pose of baby at his/her 1/2 point (20 weeks). It is truly amazing just how real baby looks and acts (sucking his/her thumb, curling up in a ball, all the little bones and stomach, and of course kicking momma- aka me!)

Baby's growth

2009-02-16T18:00:00.001-08:00

So, at the request of Mom (Cynthia), we're posting the progression of Xica's tummy up to this point, as our baby grows inside her.

This is about 4 months.

3 Months

2 Months

First Month

Can you tell we got a better camera after month 1? We decided we better have a good camera to capture all our baby's experiences.

Hike in Anacortes

2009-01-29T14:53:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we took our dog, Abby, and went on a hike with Curt and Emily, and their dogs, Jasper, and Ruby. We went to the Anacortes Community Forest. It's a good size chunk of forest full of lakes right outside of town, with trails all through out. It's a great place for dogs to have a lot of fun, especially dogs that love water!

Recent Flooding (and an iffy crossing)

2009-01-20T09:59:00.000-08:00

About a week or so ago our valley, and much of western Washington, experienced flooding when the temperatures increased, melting snow in the low lands, as well as the mountains, up to 7,000 ft. Along with the warm weather we had rain for several days, raining up to 12 inches in many locations. Xica and I took a little drive around the valley to take a look at some of the flooding. We couldn't get near any of the worst damage, since most of the roads were closed.

On Friday night, as most of the flooding was subsiding, the water rose higher out on the flats around Samish Island. This was mostly due to all the extra water up river making its way down the Samish River. My Brother-in-law, Chet, was unable to get back home on the Island with his car, so Xica and I offered to take him home in my Tahoe, since I've got a lot more clearance. Unfortunately it was dark, so i didn't get any pictures to prove just how bad it was, but it had to be one of the most sketchy drives I've done. (the road wasn't even closed yet!) The water was close to a couple feet deep, flowing across the road with debris like fence posts, and was a crossing of almost 1/2 mile. I couldn't see the road, but it was a straight section, so i just kept the wheel steady and went for it. We made it through just fine, and also on the return trip, which wasn't any better. I love my truck!!! It's always up for the challenges I give it. We found out the next day that a small truck had washed into the ditch and gone completely under the water, along that same stretch of road, and that very evening, just before we drove through!

New Years Eve 2008

2009-01-04T16:20:00.001-08:00

On New Years Eve, Xica and I stayed at the Westin in Seattle. Some friends, Ryan and Adriane, and their 6 month old, Hunter, also joined us. It was a nice to have a little trip away, even if it was just for one night. Our plan was to watch the fireworks at the Needle, possible taking the monorail from Westlake, which was next to our hotel, down to the Seattle Center.The weather was really cold, windy, and rainy, and we all agreed to just stay in the hotel rooms, enjoying the city view from there, and watching the fireworks on T.V. (and in the reflection of near-by buildings).

Getting ready for dinner

At the Italian Resteraunt we ate at

Ryan, Hunter, Adriane, and Xica

City skyscrape

More snow pictures

2009-01-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, i found more pictures of the snow, when it was even deeper, so I had to put some up here.

Abby loved the snow. This was the only ball left that wasn't burried somewhere under the snow.

This is some deep snow for Western Washington!

I don't think our picnic table can stand much more weight!

Sledding

2009-01-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

Chad, Josh, Xica.

I think i'm about to get hit by some snow!

Between headlights, and a spot light, we lit the whole sledding run!

2009-01-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

Now that the snow is melting away, and some of us which it'd return... I thought i'd post our snow pictures.
Why make a normal snow man, when you can make a giant one!

Our house looks better with snow!

Christmas

2008-12-26T22:55:00.001-08:00

Abby got a new toy from Uncle chad... she's spoiled.

This bear is from Grandpa and Grandma for their soon to be grandchild, but i'm not sure Xica's going to give it up.

Abby opening her stocking.

Opening gifts.

It's looks like that, that get her what she wants!

First Pictures of Baby

2008-12-26T22:27:00.001-08:00

In November, when we found out we were preganant, we knew we needed to join the world of blogging, so here we are.

On tuesday we had our first Ultra-Sound. Our baby is just 11 weeks and 2 days old, and yet we could make out the fingers, and even toes. Our baby sure is active, and didn't want to stay still for the pictures, resulting in them turning out a little more blurry then we were able to view in real time. At one point baby put it's hands up in front of it's face, trying to cover it's self. I think it didn't appriciate all the picture taking, and is a bit shy.

One of the parts i really enjoyed about the whole experience was seening the absolute joy on Xica's face when she first saw our baby on the screen, her smile is something i won't soon forget.