Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow . . .

  I can't believe it!!!! Snow in November!!!! Maybe we'll have a white Christmas. I can't remember the last time it snowed in November. We couldn't wait to get all bundled up and go out and make the first tracks this morning. We also took advantage of the beautiful backdrop for our family Christmas card. And I thought we'd have to go out looking for snow. Who knew I'd wake up one morning and find it in the back yard. I went out before the rest of the fam to scout out good photo spots before we brought Austyn out. I had the tripod and camera all set up and all we had to do was snap the shot. I figured we had to draw the line somewhere with a 2 month old baby. So we've been enjoying the white stuff from the window. I need to get some warm one piece suites for her, so if we do want to go out. I'll feel a little more comfortable with her being warm enough.

I told her to keep her tongue in her mouth

or it was going to freeze off. But she didn't listen.



Just a skiff, but it was enough to get excited about.

  All is well with Austyn. Hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey Day!! We did!!

Elk Hunting Success . . .

  Jordan made it home on Wednesday from Elk hunting. He got a 4x5!! That's huge. He was and still is super excited. His first big animal kill. He said he got it on opening day about an hour into the hunt. It ended up taking them 6 hours to pack it out. He said it dressed out at 368 pounds so even heavier when they were packing it. My dad also got one, his is a spike, but still pretty big at 270 pounds dressed out. Way to go guys!! Jordan and TJ came home early, but the rest of the guys stayed to try and get some more. Jordan is super pumped about mounting it and eating it. Elk steaks all around!!

  I'm so glad Jordan is home. It was fun going out to dinner and shopping with my mom the whole time he was gone, but I was ready for him to be home. I was excited to see if he thought Austyn had grown since he'd left last Wednesday. And he was amazed at how she had changed. It will be nice to get into some kind of daily routine now that the corn maze is over and he's home from hunting. It seems like since Austyn's been born we have literally been on the go the entire time. I can honestly say we haven't stayed home one whole day, besides the first few days after coming home from the hospital.

  Austyn is doing great still. She has begun to sleep for 7 hours at night. Sometimes she'll even sleep for 8 hours. Makes for a happy mommy. She still loves her baths. And loves to be on the go. Good thing because I don't think she has much choice in the matter. Everyday seems to get a little easier than the last. I don't get so anxious at night anymore or when we go to a restaurant or store (I still do a little bit). Life is good!! Couldn't ask for anything better. She had her 2 month check up on Thursday and weighed 11 lbs. 5 oz., was 23 1/2 in., and her head was 15 in. She is in the 80% for her height, 65% for her weight, and 70% for her head. The doctor said she is going to tower over me. Everything else was great. They had ran out of shots so we have to go back in a month for those : ( It is so much fun watching her grow and change everyday. She has started talking so much. It entertains me for hours.

  Everything else is going great. Can't wait for Turkey Day!!

Baby update . . .

 October finally came and went for the Petersen family. Jordan worked at Lone Pine Farms helping my parents out every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from about noon to midnight. It was a long month. Austyn and I would go over everyday to try and spend time with the whole family. Since that was the only way would were able to see them. Boy am I thankful for such a little trooper. She is still a great and easy baby. She is growing like a weed. It's almost seems like I can watch her grow. We weighed her a few weeks ago and she weighed over 10 pounds so we're guessing maybe 12 pounds at her next check-up on the 18th. I'm excited to see where she's at with the percentiles. She has begun to smile so much more now. And they're real smiles now, not just the ones from gas. She also has found her mouth with her fist. It's amazing how these things just happen one moment and then she continues to get better and better. She has also been eating like she has a hollow leg lately. Almost up to 6 ounces per feeding. I think she's going through another growth spurt. We had to put her on all formula now, due to the fact that I wasn't able to produce enough for her. I tried pumping for a while and I just kept getting less and less. So I finally had to call it quits. She is doing great on it. Just a little constipated, but that's getting better as time goes on. And best of all she slept for 8 hours the other night. She has been doing like 6 or 7 hours most of the time, but she slept for a whole 8 hours!!! I was a happy mama. I hope she keeps it up. Everything else is getting easier as time goes by. Taking showers, eating, laundry, etc. has gotten back to normal now. It didn't take long, we just had to get into the swing of things.

Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen

Before Austyn was born I would always ask Jordan

what he was most excited for. And he would say:

"letting her fall asleep on my chest".

This was one of the many days at Lone Pine Farms

Here was her second Halloween costume. Her

first was a Lady Bug, but she pooped through it.

Good thing for back-ups!!

  Jordan's gone Elk hunting for a week and a half right now. So my mom and I have been bacheloretteing it. Since Austyn was born my mom had been working so much she barely got to spend any time with her. So while the boys were gone my mom has been able to spend all the time she wants with Austyn, it been great. I'm not sure when Jordan will be coming home, but it will be interesting to see if he can tell she's grown. We sure do miss him!! I hope they come home soon, and with an Elk.

  Another adventure in our lives was KODA getting cut in the mouth with a stick. The stick got thrown for her and she jabbed in the back of her throat causing a huge cut. I thought she was going to be fine but ended up having to take her to emergency vet ($$$$$) early one morning. So on top of Jordan being gone all weekend and having Austyn, KODA was needing to be spoon feed her meals : ( So of course, I loaded her up too and took her along with Austyn and myself to Lone Pine during the days. We can't stay home ya know : ) I wish I would have taken a picture of her because her right eye was swollen and draining fluids and she was drooling blood. She looked like she was a nasty junk yard dog with rabies, like Cujo or something. It was pretty sad. But she is all better now, it's just always something with that dog. Jordan and I decided for our next dog, two words: PET INSURANCE!!!!!
 
  Things we're looking forward to are the holidays and snow. It will be so much fun this year with Austyn. And even more fun next year.

  Things we're not looking forward to, you guessed it, work. I think I'll be going back after the first of the year. I don't think I'm going back to work at the hospital. I was offered a job at a private surgery center for a plastic surgeon. It's more money and a better work environment. And it's only two days a week at the most. So it won't be too bad. And I'm not looking forward to Jordan going back to his normal schedule. Although he was at Lone Pine all the time, he was home at some point every night and every morning. Too bad everyone has to work. Life would be so much fun if everyone had no jobs.

  Sorry there's not a lot of pictures, I need to be better about taking them. Hope all is well with everyone.