The Power of Impression . . .

WARNING: This blog contains heavy descriptions of bodily functions. Reader discretion is advised!  
  So as you know Austyn has been pee trained since last March. We have been trying everything imaginable since then to get her to go poop on the big potty, with no consistant success on her part. Since she still sleeps in a diaper, she waits until then to do her business. But since I got pregnant and my back has been bad I kind of gave up and thought that she will get it someday. It's not like she will be crapping in a diaper at 30 years old during bedtime (wouldn't that be awkward). But the other day we had some friends come out and they have a 3 year old girl that Austyn hasn't seen for a while, but loves to play with. The girl asked to go poop so I sent Austyn in to watch (nothing like pooping under pressure) and then we made a big deal over it when she was done. So then Austyn asked to go poop and nothing happened of course. That night I told her that she couldn't poop in her diaper anymore at bedtime and she has to go on the big potty now (something that she has heard numerous times). In the morning I was pleasantly surprised that she hadn't pooped during the night. So after breakfast  I moved the potty chair to the living room and put The Lion King on and told her today was the day we were going to poop on the potty. Who wouldn't like to poop in front of their favorite cartoon. So after two LONG sessions of sitting on the potty chair I thought it was over with for the day, until she ran up to me and said mommy my belly hurts. I sat her down on the potty and presto a turd! So of course I made the biggest deal out of it and gave her a blue sucker she had been wanting. She was so proud of herself. I didn't get my hopes up that it would continue, I just thought this is good progress that she wasn't devastated and scared when she did it (like previous times). But it has been three days now and she has pooped everyday on the potty. And once at the doctors office. I'm in complete shock. I guess I should have had her watch another little kid poop ages ago. It's amazing to me how impressionable they are at this age. I hope she keeps it up. Cross your fingers. This was my last "To Do" before little brother shows up. Could we possibly be done with diapers for another two months?! We'll see.
  Another piece of wonderful news is that we got our permits!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy smokes, we can't believe it. We are still doing the last little bit with the financing and then we will be pouring our FOUNDATION. So exciting. Everything is coming together.
  Things are also winding down finally after all the testing. Jordan is back to normal now. His new hobby is growing a mustache. I think he's doing it just to bug me. We got our Christmas lights and decorations up, and are going to get a tree on Sunday I think. I love Christmas. Hope everyone will have a stress free Holiday Season. That's my goal any ways.

Family Time. . .

  It's been amazing having Jordan back (physically and mentally). We missed him so much while he was working so hard towards his promotional tests. He is still trying to wind down from all the studying though. He finds himself going over all the material in his head and then remembers that he's done and doesn't need to be thinking about it anymore. Or if he sees a fire hydrant or a certain street sign it will spark his mind to start rambling off information about that certain color of hydrant and the specific laws regarding the street signs we pass. So in the process of all this, I have learned quite a bit from his random thoughts as we are driving. I'm still so proud of his huge accomplishment. I'm interested to see what's next for him. Because you know Jordan, he doesn't sit still for long.

  We got to go to the coast one day and ride. It was a beautiful day. I had so much fun playing and riding with Austyn. She absolutely loved it. After we were done riding, my parents took Austyn home and Jordan and I drove to Lincoln City and stayed the night. It was so nice and relaxing. We stayed at an ocean front motel so we could hear the ocean all night. Very cool.

Jordan thought that since we didn't have Austyn it would be a 

good idea to HIKE (need I say more) down to see the Devil's

Churn. Why after 10 years of being with the man do I not know

 better by now? Needless to say, it was quite a hike out for a 

7 month prego lady who isn't and wasn't in any kind of shape 

to begin with.Yes, it was pretty to see. Would I do it again? NO!

(This might be your one and only belly shot)

This was before the hike out :)

  Still waiting on permits and financing. But we aren't being impatient, because we are continuing to save money in the while we are waiting. Hope everyone is doing great. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

 

The Results are in . . .

  Jordan successfully completed all of his tests for his promotional. He ranked #1 out of #24. I am so proud of him and how hard he worked at this. You wouldn't believe how much time and effort he put into studying for this. This is so unbelievable that he got #1 (not that he isn't capable). It's such a big deal. It is so nice to see him be himself again. There for awhile he was a total different person. What a load off. At the end we were both having many sleepless nights and nightmares about the tests. It's finally over! WooHoo. Now all we need is someone to retire.

  We are still waiting for the wonderful county to take their sweet time reviewing our permits. And the wonderful bank to figure out how to actually give us a loan since we are owner/builder. Something that particular bank is capable of, just not the employees apparently. Sometimes I wonder what this world is coming to.

  I'm hoping to keep up the quantity of pictures through the whole building process. I have pictures of the bare land and will try and take pictures from the same spot at each stage of the build. Here are a few pictures of some of the progress that's been made:

Our well being drilled

Our road being built

Austyn was having a blast playing in the rain, while

we watched the road being built

This is our house pad. Jordan parked his truck

on his side of the garage.

  Jordan was so nice that he spent 3 hours measuring out each room and painting it, clear down to the closets, for me to see on our new house pad. It is so cool to see each room in the actual size. I love it so much. I just want to move in right now. I asked if we could get a different color paint and paint where the furniture will go! He didn't answer, but I think he was thinking "NO". 

  Austyn had a wonderful time Trick-Or-Treating. It was so much fun. Started out at my Aunt and Uncles house, then to a fun neighborhood with a bunch of our friends. It was so much fun to see all the kids running around. Austyn got pretty into it at the end. She went as Tinker Bell this year. She LOVES Tinker Bell! It's fun to see her prefer certain things over others. She would probably watch the Lion King 10 times a day if I'd let her. But if you try to put any other movie in, she will protest intensely. One evening Jordan wanted to watch Cinderella and Austyn wanted to watch the Lion King (again). I was trying to work on the computer and for some reason I found myself in the middle of  Jordan trying to talk Austyn in to watching Cinderella and Austyn crying because she wanted to watch the Lion King. They were both looking to me to convince the other one to have it their way. Finally I told them both to figure it out themselves and went back to my paperwork. Wow, I swear to God it was a flash forward of how it's going to be in a few years with two kids (but I'll really have three).

My little Tinker Bell

Here they are blowing the leaves. Clever Daddy!

That's quite the load he has. Can you imagine little

brother in a front pack too.

  I finally had my second opinion for my back problems. Nothing like a month later. This doctor was awesome. He explained everything so well and took his time with us. He showed us the actual images from the MRI which really helped understand what he was saying. He said it isn't my SI joint giving me the problems, it's still the nerves from my herniated disc that I had fixed. He said that when I herniated my disc, since I was pregnant and had to wait so long to have surgery and the weight that I gained while I was pregnant, the pinched nerve is still trying to recover. It might be 2 to 5 more years before I have no symptoms. So when I got pregnant this time the hormone flux that happens in the first trimester aggravated the nerve so much that it was causing me all that pain. And he said that the reason it has gotten better is because the hormones tend to level out towards the end of the pregnancy and because I have been taking it easy. So the first doctor was right that when he said "It's just hormones and try not to gain weight". But this doctor was a little more sensitive about it and he actually explained and showed us what is going on in there. He said to expect it to get worse again towards the end and after delivery. But at my age another surgery isn't recommended. He wants to see me control the pain by exerciser and stretches. Jordan said he's going to make me start the Insanity workouts after I have this baby. What a nice guy he is! So it's good that it's not my SI joint, because there is nothing they can ever do for that. But still bad that I continue to have break through pain. Hopefully if I get into some kind of shape, I will be able to control most of the pain that way. I asked him about work and he said if he were me, he would not go back because of all the standing I'd have to be doing. But he left it up to me. I'll have to think on that one for awhile (maybe I'll think about it for another three months :) )

  Hope all is well with everyone. Hopefully my next post will be us starting on our house!?   

Water, Power, and Driveway. Oh my . . .

  This past month has been the busiest, most productive, and stressful month of our lives. A few tears (Me, I'm sure the pregnancy had something to do with it. Right?) and canker soars (Jordan) later, but we powered through it like champs! We are coming along pretty well on the house stuff. We got a well put in, and our power ran, and a driveway and house pad made. Feels so good to see some progress being made. It has amazed me on the amount of unexpected costs that have already popped up. But we expected that to happen. I've already learned so much. As soon as we finish the financing and get our permits from the county  (which should be in the next couple weeks) we are ready to start building.

This is our Power pole. I know it's not too exciting

but we are pumped about it.

This is our Power meter. One day a shop will be where 

the pile of dirt is.

This is Jordan and the well guys deciding where to put

the well.

  Lone Pine came to an end this last weekend. I'm going to miss it, but I'm sure the rest of my family WILL NOT! They put in so many long hard hours there, that they are ready to relax and do nothing for a while. I don't blame them. Austyn and I just have so much fun there. We will have to find something else to do now, like build a house:)
  Austyn is doing great. She is so amazing, the joy of my life. This is the best age ever. I keep telling everyone I don't want her to grow up. She is so cute and funny. And she is such a good girl. I absolutely love how innocent she is. I have never been a fan of sleeping with your kids when they are young (not saying it's bad, I just choose not to do it), but I started letting Austyn sleep with me when Jordan would work at Lone Pine on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. I knew he would come home in two or three hours and move her to her own bed anyways. I never get to see her sleep anymore and she is so sweet. I think that's the part I'll miss most about Lone Pine. And seeing her run around scaring the crowd in her Jason mask and mini chainsaw.

She really got into the Haunted Corn Maze

Austyn all dressed up

A few pictures I snapped of her

at Lone Pine.

This one made me laugh. I have been told

she looks just like me when I was her age in this picture.

I was thinking pouty, my family was thinking sassy.

  Baby brother is baking away quite nicely. He is always moving around in there, letting me know he's there. We haven't decided on any names yet. But now that things are slowing down a bit maybe we can start really realizing that I'm pregnant and come up with a name. Sometimes I think Jordan has been so busy with everything that he doesn't really get that I'm pregnant. And we will have a baby in less than 4 months. Ready or NOT Jordan! Ha ha, that will be quite a wake up call.
  My back has gotten better. I don't have to wear my brace all the time anymore. But I still avoid doing anything extra. If I do clean the house or do anything extra, I definitely pay for it for the rest of the day and the next. But I'm not in a constant pain like I was. I still haven't been working, but am thinking about going back and doing lunch relief for a few hours and seeing how that goes. We'll see.
  Jordan has been spending his time studying, working at the Fire station, and working at Lone Pine. Unfortunately Austyn and I took a spot on his back burner for a while, but that's just what had to be done. If he wasn't working at the Fire station, he would eat breakfast with us, go study, eat lunch with us, go study, and then come home about 6 pm or 7 pm. He also squeezed in 12 mock interviews to prepare for the interview section. I'm so proud of him and how hard he has worked to prepare for this promotion. I think I heard 30 people are applying for the same promotion. So we are crossing our fingers that he gets good scores and a lot of people retire to create openings. And I guess if people aren't retiring fast enough, I might have to take matters into my own hands (Ha ha ha). We will know how he placed by the 9th of November I think.
  That's our busy little life for the past month. We have become so accustomed to this busy life, I'm not sure what we will do when it slows down in a few weeks. I know, build a house!!!!!!! As you can tell, we don't slow down for long. I'm so excited. Can't wait to post about that. Hope all is well as we enter the Holiday Season. WooHoo!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   O.K. O.K. O.K., I know I said we decided to wait, BUT WE DIDN'T!!!!! We're having a boy. Can you believe it?! I left the decision up to Jordan and the night before we had agreed we would probably find out. So when we were walking to the Ultrasound room we told the tech yes we wanted to know and went on with our appointment. She put the probe on my belly and immediately the view of the goods came up. When she said "you're having a boy" Jordan just about jumped through the roof. He was so excited. He kept asking the tech  "Are you positive?" "Like 100% sure it's a boy?". That was my favorite part. It really means a lot to me when Jordan gets that excited over something. And of course I was ecstatic. I did tear up (not unusual at the moment for me), I was so sure we were having a girl I was not expecting the news. The poor tech, we kept asking the entire hour appointment "how does this look?", "how does that look?". And everything measured perfect and we have a healthy baby boy growing inside my belly (which is also growing quite well). They said he is measuring 3 days bigger. Anyways, we are so delighted to be having a HEALTHY baby BOY! Now it's time to try and switch clothes with someone. Let us know if anyone is willing.
(We got a CD with all the pictures on it, but we can't get it to work. Sorry no pictures)

  Quick update on the rest of us. Jordan is still studying like a crazy man (literally, it makes him a little crazy) while working the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Lone Pine. I miss my husband. Austyn is great! Amazes us with what comes out of her mouth daily. She definitely gets it. And I am plugging along. I haven't been working for a couple of weeks now because of my back. Which seems to be helping it, which is good. I did have an MRI and there is not a herniated disc. So now I am going to try acupuncture and a brace. The back surgeon told me it was hormones and I probably shouldn't gain a bunch of weight and it would get better. My response in my head: "Really, you're going to tell a pregnant person to not gain weight! And that my hormones are causing me to be in this much pain. I can show you what my hormones are doing and it's not hurting my back. Just ask my poor husband!" I was so pissed when he told me that. Once he saw that he couldn't do surgery he literally wrote us off. He didn't answer any of our questions and left the room in less than five minutes. So it's good that there is no structural problem, but still need to find something for a little relief.
  There is the latest on the Petersen's! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying a little cooler weather.

All About Austyn . . .

  It's official, our baby girl is now 2 years old. I'm amazed once again at how fast time fly's. I can remember when I was little and my parents use to say "don't wish your life away, time goes by too fast", and thinking yeah right, not fast enough. Once again, they were right (that seems to be a pattern). Yep, Austyn is 2 and loving every minute of it. I think this is the best age so far. The things she comes up with are mind blowing sometimes. Just the other day she asked me for a snack. So I asked what she wanted and Goldfish was the answer. As I'm getting them for her she walks away. I say "Austyn I thought you wanted a snack?" her response "Nope!" I asked her again "you don't want a snack now?" her reply "just kiddin mama!". What? I couldn't believe my ears, could my not even 2 year old really be joking with me now and doing it correctly? Yes she was!

  We had her 2 year old check up and everything was perfect. The doctor asked me how 2 was going and I said perfect. He looked at me funny and said he'd never heard that before, usually people are complaining and overwhelmed with the terrible twos. I feel like that's an expected part of this age. Of course there are times where I'd like to pull my hair out, but for the most part it's so enjoyable and fun. She weighed 31 pounds, and was 34 inches tall. Still right there at the top of the charts for size. Makes me wonder if she will want to play sports and if so which ones will she choose.
  We had her Birthday party at Lone Pine again this year. It's such a perfect place for a kids Birthday. She had so much fun with all her friends. Thank you everyone for coming and celebrating with us.

I had to document this picture, because Austyn has

always been scared of Uncle Bob. I have proof that

 she gave him the time of day!

All her friends on a cow train ride

Look how spoiled I am everyone!

Happy Birthday to You

Eating cake with her buddies

Cheese

Her pink boots have rarely came off

since her party

All the little helpers opening presents

She was in heaven with her new boots and 

her stick horse

This was her on her 1st Birthday.

  We took her to Chuck E Cheese on her Birthday. I hadn't been there since I was probably 8 or so. I think she was a little young to fully enjoy all the games and rides, but she had a blast in the tube tower and the slide. After we all played and played and played to try and use up all our tokens (which we never did)  we had enough tickets for three pieces of candy, one mini slinky, and one crown. What a gimmick. 

  She still loves to ride on anything and everything. Loves to be outside doing something all the time. She is starting to get into the the T.V. watching thing. Which right now with Jordan not being home a lot and my back being so bad, I'm not fighting it too much. She can put 4 to 6 word sentences together now. She knows her colors, numbers 1-3 in order and the rest are out of order, starting to really try and sing the alphabet, and learning her shapes. She is still an amazing eater. Her new favorite thing is cereal. I think if she could she would eat it for every meal. She has done a complete swap on her attitude about being groomed. She rarely fights us when taking a bath, brushing her hair and teeth, or getting her nail trimmed. And she loves getting her toes painted. Still really enjoys reading books, and is really starting to color and draw. My favorite new skill of hers is her pretend play. It's adorable when she makes me cake and cookies in her kitchen.She is also a dancing fanatic. If she hears music, she's moving to it.Very cute! I'm also very proud of her manners for her age. Please and Thank You's usually happen on their own. We don't have to prompt too much anymore. And I love how friendly and outgoing she is to most everyone. I'll say no more she's perfect (in our eyes anyways)!
  I do have to say she has quite the sassy streak in her (not sure where she got that, must be from Jordan :) ) When it comes to me disciplining her, we can definitely go rounds (luckily it doesn't happen too often). And  sometimes I feel like no one wins when we battle. But if it's anyone else disciplining her all they have to do is look at her (literally) and she stops and is perfect. I guess I'd rather have her act amazing for everyone else and put up with some struggles along the way on my side. I feel like at this age there is less forgiveness as a parent as far as setting examples and expectations, and being consistent. This is the age that she starts molding into her own person. SCARY!!!!! Yet exciting. It can freak me out if I get to thinking about it. Am I doing everything right? Have I forgot anything? Should she be doing more of this or that? Then Jordan comes along with his laid back attitude and settles me down. But it is scary when there's no owners manual for the  little sassy pants.
  I'm so excited for the Holiday season this year. Shes old enough now to be involved and we can start our own traditions with her. Yeah, I love the Holidays and can't wait to spend them with her. That's the updated version of Austyn at 2 years old. I'm trying to soak up all the little moments before we have two running around. Our next feat is to move her to a big girl bed, but I don't think we'll have a problem.

The fastest summer I've had . . .

  Wowzers, I can't believe it's been this long since my last post. I don't even know where to begin, so I'll just jump in. Jordan ran in the Dirty Dash in late July. It was an obstacle course type race. He ran with a group from the Junction City Fire Department, and they had so much fun. They didn't keep track of their times and they didn't even have to run if they didn't want to. It was really just for fun. Halfway through there was a stand set up to chug beer and then all throughout the course was mud pits, rope walls, slip and slides, and other random obstacles to cross. He had a blast. I think it might be something I will try next year.

Before the race

After the race

He was cleaning dirt out of his ears for a week

  We got to go on an unexpected camping trip at the end of July. We went to Odell Lake with family and friends. It was so fun. The weather was pretty cold in the mornings and late afternoons into the evening, but blazing hot for about two hours during the day. The water was so cold, it wasn't very fun to swim or play in. But other people (not me) tubed and wake boarded. I did tube with Reigan, but I was wearing a wet suit and we didn't go fast so no one got wet. I think the best part about the whole trip was all the kids playing and having so much fun together, and meal time was fun too. Everyone cooked one night and then we all cooked together in the mornings. Very fun group to go with!

Reigan, Austyn, and Emma taking a ride in the boat

Cool cowboy!

Fishing with daddy. Big catch of the night was

a rock :)

I was trying to catch bats with a fishing pole. I had

a few hit my hook, but no luck.

  After the camping trip we didn't do much besides house stuff. We are NOT building until Jordan is done testing in November, but we are continuing to do the permit process, banking, road, and well. I have stepped in and am now doing a lot of the calling and running around. I don't mind, it makes me feel more involved and this way I learn so much more. I'm kind of enjoying the process even though we have hit a few snags (with many more in store for us I'm sure). We are right on track for where we want to be, so that's reassuring for us.

  Last weekend we went camping with the Eugene Fire Department in Charleston. It was by far my favorite camping trip of the season. It's so relaxing and it is so beautiful. It's the perfect family camping spot. While we were there we went to the Bandon Zoo since it's pretty close. That was so much fun. Way better than the Portland Zoo. The highlight for me of the trip was watching the almost 30 kids under 13 ish years old play and running around. Everyone got along and no one got hurt. It was amazing. Austyn did get sick on Saturday with a 101+ fever. She continued her fever until Sunday night, but still is a little off. I think she is now just trying to catch up on her sleep, but I hate it when she's sick. Not too bad for only being sick three times in her two years of life. Hope she keeps it up (knock on wood)!

In the ocean in our undies!!!!

Camel rides. Austyn didn't like it too much, 

but I think it was because she didn't feel good.

All the girls! They are a kick in the pants to hang out with!

  We are getting ready to celebrate her 2nd Birthday! Woo hoo!!! I can't believe she's two. Makes me so sad how fast she's growing up. I will dedicate my next post especially for her and her 2nd Birthday!

  Jordan has been studying his tail off. This is the most stressful thing I think I've seen him go through. I hate that I can't help him. The closer it gets the more stressed he is that he doesn't have enough time. I know he will do fine, but it's hard telling him that when he is stressed out. So Austyn and I just do our own little thing and give him his space. It will all work out in the end, I'm sure of it.

  And as for me, I haven't been working too much. Work has been slow, which doesn't break my heart! I can joyfully say I am over the sick stage and painfully say onto the the back pain again. Does it ever end?! I WILL NOT have back surgery again. So if I have to double or triple time my back exercises and stretches I will. When we first found out I was pregnant I wanted to have a boy so bad. But I can truthfully say I don't care as long as the baby and I are healthy at the end. And I think (key word) we've decided to not find out what we're having. Since things aren't quite as exciting the second time around, we thought we'd keep the excitement going and wait until the end (Jordan's idea). I'm 16 weeks along right now. I am beginning to show and my clothes are getting pretty tight. It's so different this time. I can't believe how fast it's going, and sometimes I forget altogether that I should be eating and drinking and resting more than I do. I'm glad I'm not  huge during the hot months like last time, but this time I will need more clothes during the winter. It will go so fast so I'm trying to enjoy every moment with Austyn as I can.

  Next post, Austyn's Birthday Party!!!!!!