Dustin, Heather & Afton Petersen

2009-10-23T01:30:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I was able to go to Mesa State College in Grand
Junction, Colorado to present some research that I co-authored.
Awesome opportunity and a fun trip. With me in the picture is Chad
Albrecht, Gordon Hoffman and Chris Ainge.

Dustin's status...

2009-08-23T17:24:00.002-07:00

So as many of you know, Dustin enlisted in the US Army and left for Basic Training a month ago. What you may not know is that once he got there, he realized the Army isn't for him and was able to find a way out of his contract. After weeks of paperwork and out-processing, he's almost home. We're hoping he'll be home within a week, and then we can start up on our life's next adventure!! I've been working on enrolling him in Fall classes at USU, and even though he'll probably miss the first week of class, we think it'll be a great next step for our family! So keep us in your thoughts and pray that he'll come home REALLY soon! Thanks to everybody for your help and support through all of this. Afton and I are looking forward to having Dustin home!! We miss you, Dustin!!

Keith's Wedding and Stina's visit!!!

2009-08-23T17:08:00.005-07:00

Keith and Sarah got married last week, which was exciting and awesome! Congrats you two! This happy occasion brought Christina and Lily to Utah. It was so fun to spend time with them, and see Afton and Lily playing together. Lily is Afton's only cousin, and this was the first time they met, so it was a lot of fun! Lily is less than 3 months older than Afton, so they got along great!! They always seemed to find little corners to congregate and play! So cute!!

My sister, Stina, made this for Afton's birthday. So talented...cute huh?!
Here are the girls in one of the many car rides we took!!! Afton's jamming, and Lily's sound asleep!

My brother, Dan, had the fun task of babysitting two one-year-olds during Keith's wedding in the Salt Lake Temple. My cousins twins also got to help out! So here Dan is with his 4 girls...everybody thought they were two sets of twins and HIS children! Wow!!! What fun!! Dan is such a trooper and great with the kids! Thanks!

The Big #1!!!!!

2009-06-29T10:27:00.005-07:00

Afton turned a whole year old yesterday!!!! We can't believe how fast the time has gone by and how big our little baby is!!!

Oh yeah...she got into tearing the paper off! But then she wanted to play with the paper!!
She was dancing around Dustin like this the entire time he was helping her open presents!! Look at her cute curls!!!
She definitely knew something special was going on for her. When we sang to her she got all happy when we said her name! How do ya like the ladybug cake?!
She wasn't into the cake as much as I thought, but she sure loved the ice cream!! Just like her daddy...

Army

2009-05-05T17:53:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

This is Dustin...I know you don't hear from me too often on this thing...well, either of us for that matter, ha! I will cut to the chase so as to make this short and sweet... I have enlisted into the United States Army. Signed the contract and sworn in. I will be shipping out 28 July 2009 to Ft. Benning GA for my Basic Training. I guess that's about it....wish us luck!

Dustin

Misc....

2009-05-05T17:44:00.005-07:00

CENSORED!!!!
Little mess maker!!!
She got stuck under her exersaucer while she was exploring!!!
Crawling behind the couch!!
She got a hold of a pen and had some fun!!!
Going on a summer walk! Isn't she stylin?!?!

PEEK-A-BOO!!!!
Her first walking injury!!! She was walking up to the computer chair Dustin was sitting in and face-planted! She was ok, no worries!!!
So much for having a baby gate....this is her today climbing up anyway...we've caught her standing up on the little ledge holding onto the gate and crying because she can't get down. Sigh...

Sitting, standing, climbing, walking....

2009-05-05T17:35:00.003-07:00

This is her favorite spot to play!!!

Standing infront of the TV stand....

Our little stinker climbs up the stairs, so we had to get ourselves a much-needed baby gate!!
This is the first time she stood up on her own! So cute!!!
Look at her just chillin by the couch!!!
Standing on her own...
And now walking...the little terror!!!!

Sleeping...

2009-05-05T17:31:00.003-07:00

Just some cute random sleeping pictures of our sweet Afton...

In the middle of the computer room floor. Got tired of playing, I guess!

This was so funny! I was holding her and she was playing with the yarn on this blanket....next thing I know she's face down, bent in half and sound asleep. Poor girl! Cute, though!!

Spring Break 2009!!!

2009-05-05T17:19:00.005-07:00

So since our trip for Christmas in Washington got ruined by the snowstorms, we planned another trip to go see Dustin's family for Spring Break! This time we didn't take any chances...we flew!!!

Asleep during take-off!!!
Loving the landing! We have the best traveling baby!!!
Grandpa was her best friend all week!!!
Forks, WA is only about 2 hours away from Dustin's family, so we had to take the trip!!!

Forks High School!

Beautiful beaches!! Just like in the book!

We had a great time seeing our family in Washington. Afton loved them, and they were finally able to spend some quality time with their only grandchild!!!

Christmas 2008

2009-05-05T17:04:00.006-07:00

Hello there!! Sorry for the once-again huge delay in posting. So...some highlights of our last 6 months...haha....k....starting with Christmas. We planned to drive to Washington to see Dustin's family, but the roads closed about halfway through Idaho, so since we were all packed up in the car, we turned around and headed to California instead to see Dustin's cousins...

Afton slept through our visit to the Jelly Belly factory!
Aunt Niki couldn't resist...

LOVING her Christmas present from Grandma and Grandpa Warnick!
Uncle Bob and Cousin Amy!!!
We had our fill of Rock Band...
Nerf wars!
She had fun eating the wrapping paper!!
And here she is with her first Christmas Stocking!!! Bob and Niki were SO great to pull together a Christmas for us on such short notice! We had such a good time spending Christmas in California!!!

Stre-e-e-etch!!

2008-10-29T12:15:00.003-07:00

I just can't wait to go see Afton when she wakes up in the morning (well...usually...Not when she wants to get up at 5:30). Just look how happy she is to see me!!! Nothing better than making your baby smile!! Mmmm.....

Check out that stretching....she'll go on forever.....

Quilts quilts!!

2008-10-29T12:06:00.003-07:00

So one of my favorite books as a kid was, Are You My Mother? By P.D. Eastman. My mom made this sweet blanket and gave us a copy of the book when Afton was born! Check out that talent....yeah, my mom's amazing!!! (She made a similar one for my sister for a different book.)

4 Months!!!

2008-10-29T11:50:00.003-07:00

So Afton's yet another month older!! She weighed in at 12 lbs 13 oz and 25.25" long. So she's long and skinny. "The American dream," as our doctor put it! Ha! Once again, she handles the immunizations really well! And we decided to celebrate this 4 month birthday by trying out rice cereal!!! Here's proof of the success:

"Yummmm.....I'm full!" She had her arms out like that the whole time! Hilarious!

Here's Dad's photo contribution

2008-10-25T12:32:00.008-07:00

Here is the side that Heather isn't so willing to show... the attributes that she got from her father.

First off... Afton is a movie addict... no matter the angle. She will do everything in her power to be able to watch the Tele. Hilarious!

We love to sleep...though she isn't as cute as I am while sleeping.Here she is after a caffiene high. Rock bottom. She's a light weight...can't even hold her own.Now... I can't say that I claim this attribute...Such a cutie... stay tuned for some new vids of Afton making an attempt at communicating...

Random random...

2008-10-25T10:08:00.003-07:00

So we found this SWEET couch at DI. We've been needing more seating, but were gonna have to wait AGES til we could afford anything...until this little guy showed up...Not a bad find for a DI couch! Usually they look like they came out of your great-grandma's basement!

The here's some random Halloween decorations around the house. We're not exactly decked-out, but I had to put up some things! Halloween is the best!!!

What a cute little stinker...

2008-10-25T09:56:00.002-07:00

Look at how strong she is!!! She's getting SO close to rolling over from stomach to back....shouldn't be long!!! Yummy drool...

My little brother, Dan, discovered this new contraption....baby trap!! She didn't seem to mind at all...or even really notice that she was laying underneath a laundry basket!!

Here's the crazy wide-eyed look she gets when she wakes up...so funny! As soon as we un-bundle her, she'll stretch like there's no tomorrow....gotta get a picture of that!

Sleeping!

2008-10-25T09:45:00.007-07:00

Usually we bundle Afton up into a little baby burrito, and this gets her sleeping long through the night like a charm!! Here's a picture of her sleeping cuteness...

And a video of her sucking in her sleep.... She has no idea how entertaining she is!!

Laughing!!!

2008-10-25T09:32:00.003-07:00

Not only does Afton coo and smile LOADS, but she's started laughing a lot, too!! SOO stinkin cute!!!
This first one is probably a few weeks old...she's playing with Daddy!!

This one was taken yesterday....we were on our way out the door, but Afton wouldn't stop laughing. I just had to steal a picture!!! It's really hard to get good pictures of things she's doing, cuz once I stick the camera in her face she's totally distracted and stops doing exactly what I'm trying to take a picture of. But this caught the moment perfectly!!! ...Look how chubby those cheeks are getting!!!

Sorry Sorry SORRY!!!!!

2008-10-25T09:29:00.002-07:00

Alright alright....here I am. SO sorry for the long absence!! I've failed as a blogger and a friend...please forgive me!!! Now, putting that behind us...

New Apartment!!!

2008-10-25T09:13:00.005-07:00

Ok, well I guess the main thing that's happened to us lately....about a month ago we moved to a new apartment!! MUCH bigger and better than Aggie Village...we're pretty happy about that upgrade! No cinder-block walls...actually feels home-y! We LOVE it!!!

First of all, notice how close our car is parked to our front door!! At our old place we had to park in this huge parking lot hopefully getting a decently close spot....then we had to walk down the sidewalk all the way past one building and around another, then up the stairwell...and we were FINALLY at our front door. Let me just say....grocery shopping was a nightmare! But look at this....not a bad change at all!!!
And then, of course, there's the glorious dishwasher!!!...

And an actually normal-sized oven. At the old one we had to take out a rack, and use the pizza pan as a rack for it to fit! Sheesh...

Thanks to all of our wonderful Aggie Village friends that helped us move and to my mom for watching Afton!!! What a day!!!

2 Months!!!!

2008-08-30T09:43:00.008-07:00

Afton's 2 month appt was the other day and she's a whopping 10 pounds!! She handled her immunizations like a pro!! She's smiling lots and cooing...it's the absolute cutest thing ever!! So...some things that have happened recently....we took a trip to California before school started and before I went back to work! Afton's an excellent travel buddy...she slept the whole time!! Even on our day in San Francisco...asleep in her stroller for the whole thing! Oh well....I'm sure she'll look back at pictures and love it! We went to southern Utah for Dustin's family reunion...then to California to see some more family!

We spent the week with Dustin's aunt and uncle! This was one of the few times she was out of her stroller the whole day in San Francisco!!

Next, a friend of ours gave us a coupon to get pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids...here's the adorable results:

These 2 are my favorite!! Isn't she adorable?!?! Now here's some more recent pictures just for fun:

What a goofy little girl!!

She did that with her hands all by hersef! Here she is with Grandpa Petersen!

......and Grandma Petersen!

With Great-Grandma Afton Miller on her blessing day!! Look at those cute lips!!

Sleepin in with Papa!!

Playing video games with Dad......Booooring!!!

And to finish off with our sweet sleeping baby!! Awww.....

Friends!!

2008-07-14T14:52:00.002-07:00

My friend, Janalee Hubbard, just had a baby too! We actually ended up switching due dates. Afton was due July 7th and Brynlee was suppossed to come June 28th. Afton came a week and a half early on June 28th and Janalee had to wait and get induced on July 7th! Crazy!! I think I definitely got the better end of the deal, though!

Here's the cute girls getting to know each other...best friends already! Ha!...besides the fact that they didn't even notice each other! Brynlee was 7 lbs 8 oz when she was born...you can definitely see the size difference! Afton's just a tiny little bean!

Great-grandchild #50!!!

2008-07-14T14:42:00.003-07:00

On Afton's one week birthday we drove down to Orem for a family reunion. She got to meet her Great-Grandma Afton Miller, who she's named after! She also did her share of sleeping, but I'm sure she had a great time!! It made for a long tiring day, but it was lots of fun!

Afton's middle name, Leah, is my other grandma's name...my dad's mom, Leah Warnick. It's too bad she passed away so Afton couldn't meet both of the great ladies she's named after.

Four generation picture!!...Grandma Miller, my mom...Helen Warnick, me, and of course Afton! Turns out Afton is Grandma Miller's 50th great-grandchild!! Talk about a special baby!!!

Scooter!

2008-07-14T14:38:00.003-07:00

So when we put Afton in her crib, she'll start out about here....

And it doesn't take her long to scoot and wiggle herself into the corner!!
She doesn't appear to be a really squirmy sleeper, but somehow she manages to move around! And yes, our baby is usually wearing clothes...it was just a hot day, and with no air conditioning even Afton gets hot!

Bath time!!!!

2008-07-14T14:35:00.002-07:00

Afton's first bath at home was loads of fun...I'm so glad the cord fell off. That sure makes things easier!! I just had to post a picture of this robe we got as a gift....so cute, huh?! Drowns her for sure, but that means it'll last a while, right?!

My Alien Baby!!

2008-07-14T14:26:00.004-07:00

So like almost all babies, Afton had some jaundice and needed to be on lights for a little while. Thankfully after 6 heel pricks in her first week of life, it's all over with. She had to lay in this light bed strapped in this cover to keep the light out of her eyes. She didn't mind it at all, but it was definitely a bummer to not be able to hold our newborn very much for that day. Especially in the dark, this bed made her look like our little alien baby! Her two week appointment was today, and she's weighing in at 7 lbs 5 oz and 21 inches long....so she's grown 2 inches and gained 11 oz above her birth weight! What a grower!!

Cutest baby ever!

2008-07-04T16:57:00.001-07:00

Isn't she just the dang cutest thing you've ever seen in your life?!

Hear Ye Hear Ye...Introducing: Afton Leah Petersen

2008-06-29T17:05:00.005-07:00

Well... Although more than a week early and we should be grateful for that... Afton Leah Petersen was FINALLY born yesterday, 28 June 2008 at 12:31pm. She was 6 lbs and 10 oz and just about 19 inches long. Quite the eventful day it was... Some friends of ours came up from Provo for the night and so by midnight we hadn't gone to bed yet. By 1 in the morning the contractions that Heather had been having started to become increasingly stronger and more frequent. Which was a relief because the docters appt we had had earlier that morning had gone really well. The Doc told us that she wouldn't be surprised to see us back at the hospital that night. By the time 3:30am rolled around Heather, in no mood to attempt sleep, was in quite a bit of pain and having very frequent contractions. And much to our excitement, her water broke! So we went into the hospital and it wasn't long before Heather recieved her epidural... which she was VERY thankful for. It took several more hours until Heather was ready to push, but a little after 11am she got the go ahead and started to push her out. 45+ mins later the Dr came in and its all obvious from there. Some good news is that both Heather and our new baby girl are both happy and healthy. Nice, clean, fast delivery. Soo... Now we are home! Things are good to go... So far Afton is a really good baby, of course that is after one day. These pictures are in chronological order...

RN Boards!!

2008-06-25T07:05:00.004-07:00

Yay! So I graduated from nursing school in May, finally was able to take my RN Boards on Monday, and just found out that I passed!! Sweet relief!! I'm a Registered Nurse! Woohoo! Now that's over the baby's officially ready to come....she'd better be close! Since I never posted graduation pictures...here's a few:
The Preggos in my nursing class!! We're all due within a week of each other...even the tiny one on the right, it's true.

What a hot hub I have!!

My Dad's a professor at USU, and my brother also just graduated!!! Family fun!

The big 1st anniversary!!!!

2008-06-24T08:36:00.004-07:00

On Sunday we celebrated our wonderful 1st year of marriage! Dustin got me some beautiful flowers....which I have yet to plant in the pot...

We also enjoyed a very tiny bite of our thawed-out year-old wedding cake. Dustin was nice enough to humor me...even though he complained of stomach problems the next day which I am absolutely NOT taking the blame for! It was fun to do a bit of tradition...and it tasted surprisingly like a piece of chocolate cake!!

Even bigger...

2008-06-24T08:29:00.002-07:00

So here's the belly one day before our 38 week mark...taken on Sunday. If possible, it's getting even bigger!! We tell her all the time to come out, but she's still not listening...hopefully we'll get lucky soon! Doctor says it should be soon and we're hoping for it! Of course you never know with these stubborn babies! Either way we don't have too much longer...now we're just waiting....waiting....waiting...

Growing Girth...

2008-05-27T11:02:00.006-07:00

So wow! Heather seems to be getting bigger and bigger on a daily basis...and still just as pleasant as ever! I just don't know how she does it! *wink*... Just thought I would drop off a few pics. We are down to 6 weeks left and that means that we could easily have a fresh surprise in only a few. WOW! Crazy, huh?

Preggo update!

2008-04-08T21:13:00.004-07:00

So here's the ever-growing pregnant belly! We've got 3 months to go, and I'm feeling bigger than ever! I can't imagine how big I'm gonna feel at the end...woah! The top picture was taken in February...around 21 weeks! The next was taken last week...we're now at 27 weeks!! Our due date was 3 months ago yesterday...not that we're counting down or anything!!! And might I also add...the second picture was taken right after my new much-needed haircut! It's loads of fun and she's moving around like crazy, but I can't wait to have that dang baby girl out here to play with! ...Not to mention I'm eating us out of house and home!!! Might as well enjoy it while I have an excuse, right?!

It is....A GIRL!!!!!!!

2008-02-05T20:09:00.001-07:00

Well, after a couple of really long months... we were finally able to find out what we are having. Good news! And boy was she stubborn...for the longest time she had her legs crossed and was squatting down. The absolute worst position possible. Finally, due to Heather feeling light headed and needing to turn on her side, we were finally able to see the "little girl parts" as shown in the first picture. So....the baby is a female!!! We are excited about this, of course. And the Doc tells us that all is well and she has all body parts needed. The only other trouble she was giving us was with trying to get a good pic of her face. Her hands were covering almost the whole time.
So, we are about 18 weeks along and approx 8oz, which places the due date approx the 7 July 2008.

Above are the "little girl parts"....proof. Its really hard to tell....but basically, if you were imagining the baby sitting on some glass this would be it. Legs above and below and the parts being pointed at.
Dang stubborn hands! But isn't she cute?!

This is the whole in her head....What?!?! Just how the image was made, I guess. But apparently she is pointing at us...letting us know she wanted to be left alone.

The only decent picture of most of her from the side is on the bottom right in this one. She is getting too big for the ultrasound to catch all of her.

2008-01-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well well well....this is the official ultrasound of the 13 week old Petersen baby. The first baby, I might add. I guess you can't really explain what its like until you are actually having these kinds of experiences. Obviously we were excited about the concept of having a baby, but it really wasn't a reality...and if this isn't proof enough. It sure as heck isn't a tumor. Anyway. Much too early to be able to differentiate between boy and girl. But that should only be about a month and half away. But it is alive...it was moving its legs around and twisting and all sorts. The heart was beating and making a lot of noise. We have been wanting a girl, but the only hint we have at this point toward that end is that the baby was moving its mouth at a pretty rapid rate...Heather and I have been talking about it and we are considering adding another line to the cell phone plan. You never can be too prepared... Well, wish us luck! ~Dustin

Now Open!

2007-09-20T22:59:00.000-07:00

Just starting this baby up! Maybe keep some people posted on our life...entertain some folks. Who knows, maybe uplift and enrich. Be good!