Where did October and November go?

Happy Holidays friends and families! I hope you are all doing well. Since we last spoke - which seems like yesterday - we have been fairing pretty well here at the Peaster household. We battled another rough football season (ouch) but had a great time with our friends at the games. We have survived the stomach bug, allergies, the ER for high fever, sinus infections, and are still teething for almost 3 months now and, yet, don't have teeth :) Morgan and Barret are still so crazy about eachother it is almost humorous. Maybe that means they will never fight and we'll never have to draw a line down the middle to separate them and I will never have to pull over and get out of my car to get a switch off of the tree - right, mom? Morgan is going through a huge, and I mean HUGE, problem with separation anxiety that we hope will pass soon. I think my sitter may not come back after last time. And Barret is still grinning and laughing all of the time, as long as you are talking to him. He's most happy when he has company and most unhappy when he doesn't. I know he's not spoiled. But I do know he has grown a foot! He is so tall that he had outgrown his infant seat in height at 4 months (ok, what do you do about that????) He is sitting up on his own (for the most part) now so maybe I will put him in the Britax rear-facing soon. I think Santa is bringing him a shopping cart cover so we'll wait on that for now. We have quit choir on Wednesday nights - due to the separation anxiety issue - but I have picked up a bunco group and a cookbook club and Jeffrey has found out what it's like to spend a night alone at home with the kids. Which, by the way, usually isn't too bad. Especially if they are tired! I think he got a couple of hours of facebook time in last night - lucky him. Maybe I should leave him with the kids and my list of neverending chores to keep him busy. But then again here I am on the computer.
I do have most of my Christmas shopping done - the kids are DONE - a little later than usual. I hope December won't go by quite as fast as the other 2 months have and I can enjoy the season. We started out Monday, Dec. 1, with an introduction to our new advent calendar and elf on the shelf (which we were afraid might really throw morgan for a loop being that she sleeps on the couch bc she is afraid of deer, wicked witch, santa, bully, etc.) but she LOVES him. And she was even more fired up to see the elf at Harper's house too. I am liking the elf, just wish I would have invented him.
uh-oh barret's crying - I will post pictures soon. Have a great holiday season and enjoy!

October!

Sorry for the delayed post - I guess I am proving my 6 week blogger status true. Little Barret (or should I say Big Barret) is weighing in at 16 pounds and over 27 inches long - and that was last month at his 4 month checkup. I have to be careful not to knock his little sweet toes off when I am hauling him around in his carrier - and I do mean HAULING. I had a meeting this morning where I carried he and 2 large shoulder bags up 3 flights of stairs and swore that I could have counted that as my cardio for the day. I am sure my trainer would disapprove - and I did go to the gym afterwards - and I did have to take Motrin in the middle of the night to relieve my aching hips from yesterday's workout. Hopefully one day it will pay off. So far the inner tube is still inflated around my waste. Yet I still haven't missed a meal :) ha ha
I do love this weather. The kids and I have really enjoyed getting back outside to stroll and play after another steaming summer. Our neighborhood is in full decor getting ready for Halloween. I have large spiders climbing my gas lanterns out front and don't have to decorate on the inside because the spiders have taken over inside as well - just kidding - kind of.
Speaking of Halloween, Morgan has decided to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She recently watched the movie and just loves it, except for the wicked witch. Although she is infatuated with Dorothy and the characters and her red sparkling slippers, she is totally convinced the wicked witch knows where we live and is in her room. So now we have a couch sleeper. Morgan in her Dora sleeping back complete with Gracie, nighty, and her water cup. I took Leigh Ann's advice with the bribery sleep chart and thought it was going to work. We had decided on a new Hannah Montana puzzle if she slept in her bed for 5 nights. We made a cool chart and everything and posted it on the fridge. That first night I noticed her falling asleep on the couch and asked her to go get in her bed and reminded her of the chart. In a very grown-up voice, she opened her eyes up and told me that she did not need any more toys, she has a lot of toys already. The next morning I found the sleep chart and stickers in the fridge and decided that was the end of that.
Sweet little Barret is going to be the lion. Isn't it fun to dress them how you want to when they are young!!! I can't wait to post some pictures. Weez, her grandmother, has made her a beautiful Dorothy dress. We have the shirt, shoes, a handmade by myself Toto in basket, and the wig. We just got her hair bobbed back off so no more braids for her but it is really cute and so much easier.
As I have said before, between school, gymnastics, church, exercise, choir, bible study, ja meetings/functions and lunch playdates we are constantly on the go. Football is in full swing so weekends are fun and busy and make it so nice to be in Starkville. We have enjoyed seeing everybody in town and always look forward to it!
Gotta run for now - Happy Halloween!

Dara's Wedding

How much fun did we have at Dara and Doug's wedding? It was so great to see everybody there - I know Dara must have been so happy that so many people came! Goodness knows she has been there for all of us! I can't get over how many of you have NOT changed a bit - I mean, it's been 10 years since I graduated and y'all look like you did back in '98!!! Why am I the only one with baby weight??? I am starting with a personal trainer on Tuesday - I will post a "new me" pic when I get skinny - but don't hold your breath. You may see a post of me passed out from excercise first :)
I hope to see all of you very soon! I am going to look at baby Wallace while I have a free minute!

Busy bees!

Well, I had decided that I was a once-a-month blog updater and now I am about 6 weeks out... as summer is slowly coming to an end, school has started back for Morgan and so we are now on more of a routine schedule - my calendar seems busier than ever with appointments and events and everything in between! Of course I wouldn't have it any other way - and Barret is hanging in there quite well!
Morgan turned 4 in July and started her 4-year old day school, and Barret is 3 months old weighing in at about 17 pounds! He is belly-laughing out loud and rolling over - and he scoots if he is on the floor on his tummy. I just can't seem to get enough of that sweet gummy smile. We are waiting on proofs for pictures we had taken last weekend - I just can't wait to see them! Barret did wonderful - and his sister did not - but I think the pics are going to be awesome anyway.
I have started back to the gym for 3 weeks now - going 4-5 days a week. Hopefully this baby weight will decide to disappear and NEVER return. I am sure those McDonalds dollar double cheeseburgers that I ate so many of during my pregnancy didn't contribute to this innertube around my waist. Goodbye little burgers - you have been replaced with a salad - boo hoo.
Speaking of yummy food, we are anxiously awaiting football season and cooler weather. We have missed playing outside and seeing our friends every day because of this heat - hopefully it will subside and we can get back out. Morgan has introduced Barret to the cowbell - and by the way, he doesn't sleep through the noise it makes.
Morgan has a new hairdo thanks to those scissors Emi bought her at Wal-Mart last weekend. I knew as soon as I gave them to her and turned my back that she was going to cut her hair. She told me that Misty (our hairdresser) cut her hair not straight. Yeah, and that hair all over the kitchen bench and floor just fell out of your head. No big deal - I guess all kids cut their hair at some point - it's not too bad.
Morgan has a new favorite movie - The Parent Trap. A girl after her mama's heart. And it's the old version too. She just can't figure out why the mom and dad don't live together. Way too observant for a 4 year old. We've taken our friends the Holliday's advice about Blockbuster Wednesdays rent 1, get 1 free - so for a whopping $1.06 we can get 2 movies (not new releases of course) so this week we got Peter Pan and Parent Trap. I went without Morgan so who knows what we'll come home with next week but who cares - it's fun and cheap and gives us something new to watch. And you get to keep them for 5 days. What a deal. And Dominoes had $3.99 pizzas this past Wednesday so for 5 bucks we got 2 movies and a pizza. Who says we are in an economic crisis. Back to reality - wake up - we just had to ride our bikes to go get them - hahahaha. I put $70 gas in my car yesterday and it still didn't fill it up - and gas is way down from what it has been! Gosh I love my car. Thank goodness for that company car. And for Alimentum. For only $10 a day Barret is the happiest baby on the block. He will be happy to know that I can feed him filet and lobster (for less than formula) when he can eat table food :) That colic's a killer. But the formula is worth the price not to have a screaming baby!
I will stop rambling and get on to mopping my floors... procrastination. Gotta love it. TTFN!

Beach trip

We went to Perdido for the annual Jordan family beach trip last week and had lots of fun! Barret was 7 weeks old so he didn't see a lot of sunshine and water but loved sound of the late afternoon waves and wind. Morgan, however, would like to have just stayed down there forever in the sand and sun (or should I say pool and sun). I got the stomach bug the night we got back so I am recovering while trying to update everyone on our summer. Hope all is well!

Welcome Baby Barret!

We are delighted to announce the arrival of our precious little angel, John Barret Peaster. He was born on Tuesday, May 6, at 12:30 p.m. weighing 8 pounds and 5 ounces - and was 14 days early - thank goodness for me! We are adjusting to life with a newborn once again which seems to be much easier the second time around, besides the lack of sleep. His big sister Morgan is thrilled to have him here - she wants to hold his hand all of the time and sings to him until he screams :) She is a huge helper to mommy and is always there with wipes and diapers in hand - she likes to pick out which diaper he will wear next, and she also picks his clothes out every day. We found her putting Hannah Montana lipgloss on him a couple of days ago - didn't seem to bother him - he was smacking away at the strawberry flavor and his lips were just a shining and sparkling! He is very sweet and snuggly and loves to eat - I am sure he will be a little butterball by fall. His 2 week appointment was Tuesday and he already weighs 9 pounds 1 ounce and has grown 1/4 inch in length!

Barret's Upcoming Arrival

Well, much to my surprise after last week's non-eventful doctor's appointment, little Barret may be here before we know it! Dr. Locke said today that I have started to dilate (which of course doesn't mean a whole lot) which will be good since he is planning to induce around 38 weeks - which, by the way, is next week! I will see him again next Monday afternoon and he told me to keep my schedule open because he may induce Tuesday or Wednesday. I remember feeling like this when Dr. Nelson told me she was going to induce on Monday with Morgan - so ready but nervous and anxious and is he ready and is it too soon for an easier labor that I had with Morgan? Depending on how my appointment goes next week, I may try and hold him off a few days just to be on the safe side. The amazing thing was that I had not gained ANY weight this past week and a half - I asked them if the scales were broken. Anyway, I have broken the news to the big sis who just squealed with delight and thinks that she just cannot wait for him to come home. She will all too soon realize that his room is right down from hers and that he doesn't like to sleep quite as well and as much as we all do.
So I guess it's time to pack bags and finish things up around here before our new little addition enters this world and his new home with his big sis and all of his new little companions on Gene's End. The swing I wanted to hang on the front porch for Mother's Day (which would have been GREAT timing) is not going to work out with the support issue - we do have a large family you know, especially since I outweigh Jeffrey right now - but look out buddy because not for much longer! So maybe the adirondack chairs will suffice and if little bit must rock we'll bring his swing outside. We don't have all of this baby gear for nothing!
I will keep you all posted of any changes in the schedule - keep us in mind as we begin to transition to a larger family and with much less sleep than before!
Have a wonderful week!

Hello to all!!! Sorry it's been a while since the last post - we have just been rolling right along without much stopping around here. The spring weather has really gotten us up and moving - and now Morgan expects a fun activity daily. Seems like we've been nonstop playdating, bowling, schooling, playgrounding, cooking out, circusing, birthday partying, festivaling.... the list goes on.
And much to my disappointment at 36 weeks of pregnancy my doctor tells me Friday that all is well (thankfully!) with little Barret but he is showing no signs of being ready to face this world yet. The past few weeks with his big sis may have him a little worried - I hope he doesn't decide that he just likes where he is just fine because it does seem that he has settled in quite well.
The nursery is coming along great - I will pick up my monogrammed cornice fabric today and hopefully get that finished and hung on the window. We are quickly losing space around here as we have revealed the aquarium swing, travel swing, bassinet, bouncy seat, high chair, infant carrier, exersaucer, baby tub.... boy, where is that extra space we built in this house??? I think the heat outside is causing some major shrinkage! Morgan is having fun with it - Annabelle is all tucked in the bouncy, Hannah Montana is swinging, Ballerina Barbie is swinging next to her in the travel version, and Gracie is on the playmat. Fine with me as long as I can keep HER out of them!
Morgan started complaining of her ear hurting badly on Saturday and come to find out her eardrum had been perforated (burst) and her doctor also thinks she has an infection on the outer ear as well. The pain bothers her to the touch and there is a clear liquid that is literally dripping from her ear but things seem a little better this morning - hopefully the drops and antibiotics will knock this out quickly. I kept her home from school because I don't think they could keep up with the dripping!
Hope you all have a wonderful week - we'll keep rolling and keep you all posted of anything new!

Happy 8th to us!

I can't believe that we have been married 8 years today, and yes, it is once again raining. So much has happened in these past 12 years since we met - we have been so blessed to have such a wonderful marriage and family! Who would have thought we would have come so far? I laughed over the past weekend watching all of the students enjoy the Super Bulldog Weekend festivites thinking "12 years ago when we met and were just friends, who would have thought that Jeffrey and I would be sitting in right field - complete with our 3-year-old pickle relish packet eating daughter - and me so pregnant I can barely get out of my chair - in March of 2008 expecting our 2nd child - and that we would be residents of Starkville?" It's funny how things turn out - and how lucky we are! I hope those students will cherish these memories and be able to look back just as we can and remember all of those fun and wonderful times - and then look at the present time and feel as fortunate and blessed as we do to have come this far! Here's to many more years of memories!!!

Welcome to our blog!

Ok, I am finally going to start posting on our family blog. It's March 27, 2008, and our little family is just rolling right along. Morgan is 3-1/2 and we are expecting baby Barret in May. Morgan is thrilled to be having a little brother - she talks about him - and to him - all of the time. We are living in Starkville in a wonderful neighborhood full of great neighbors and lots of children. We spend lots of time outside with our friends whether it's in our backyards or the streets on riding toys or at the park. Of course Jeffrey is thrilled to be at home with the Bulldogs and frequents all of the sporting events whether it be football, baseball or basketball. We are anxiously awaiting Barret's arrival in May and plan to enjoy the summer at the pool and around the neighborhood with our other child-bearing friends (I think we have 15-ish friends expecting babies this season!)