Sunshine

It was been beautiful lately so the boys have been spending many afternoons outside playing. I brought out the sidewalk chalk which they love to play with. They are also very anxious to get back into the sandbox however Justin and I need to clean it out. Now the boys remind us everyday that we need to clean it. They have also found it fun to dig a 4 inch deep hole in our backyard. Of course they aren't suppose to dig holes which limits their outside time, but they keep going back to it.

We have also started back on our daily walks around the neighborhood. However the boys now find it fun to run ahead of me to a certain spot (the light post, the red truck, the garbage can, etc). They are actually quite good at stopping where they should and not touching the item. Carter usually slows down towards the end and holds my hand or walks next to me, "I walk by myself" he tells me, but Tyler would run the whole way if I let him. So far there really isn't an end in sight to this nice weather so we are enjoying it for all its worth. Although I am not anxious at all to bring the summer clothes out.

As Promised

Here is the latest vidoe of Tyler singing at church. He was singing along well at the beginning and then his shirt became untucked. Tyler knew his shirt should be tucked in and tried his hardest to do so.



Untitled from meredith pederson on Vimeo.

Been Quiet

Sorry for the lack of posts. Justin was gone to the state wrestling tournament and I have had an awful cold. Luckily the boys have been behaving quite well the past week. There have been a few time outs but for the most part they have been troopers.

On Friday my cold was so bad I stayed home from work again (I only worked one day last week) and called the nurse who wanted me to come in. They think its just a very bad cold and she did give me a prescription, but thankfully by Saturday I was feeling better and didn't need to use it. At the appointment they also checked on everything else and everything looks good with the baby (as much as you can check at 6 weeks I guess). I must say I was relieved as I still don't feel pregnant at all.

Like I said the boys have been angels. Tyler keeps asking me if I am still sick and they both are giving me plenty of cuddles. They have gotten to watch more t.v. than often but because of our springtime weather they have been outside lots too. Tyler also sang at church again on Sunday and I hope to put the video up soon. He did pretty well at the beginning but then got a little distracted. So there is the update, hopefully I will be back to regular posting soon.

First Appointment

If you haven't figured it out by the video below, we are expecting our third child! We are very excited! Today I had my first appointment. It went well, pretty much confirming the pregnancy and drawing blood. The boys did not do so well unfortunately. Usually they behave very well while we are out. And at first they did great. However when it came to draw my blood Carter decided that would be a good time to run all over the place. He even knocked my arm once making the nurse lose the vein having to start the process all over again. Then when I was making my next appointment they decided it would be fun to jump on all the chairs in the waiting room. Needless to say I was pretty embarrassed by their behavior and we have talked about it lots and lost privileges. Hopefully next appointment will be better.

So far I am feeling great besides the cold I have. My next appointment is March 2nd where I will also get an ultrasound. I can't believe we will be a family of 5 in 9 months!

A Message from the Boys

A Climbing We Will Go

Today Justin had the day off so we took full advantage. The weather was beautiful, so we went to Garden of the Gods for some "hiking on rocks". The boys did great and we all had a great time. It is so fun to watch how much more they can do now from just a few months ago. They scampered up rocks pretty quick and had no problem handling the soft ground. The boys also loved finding bird feathers throughout the park on different rocks. We then went out to lunch where the boys behaved great and headed home for great naps. I love days like this, life is good.

Valentine's Day

We had a pretty quite Valentine's Day at the Pederson house. We woke up and let the boys open their cards, which they loved, and then Justin and I opened up the cards from them. The boys were almost as excited for us to see those. Then it was on to soccer and grocery shopping. The boys gave us a nice break of taking great naps. Justin had to work last night so the boys and I made chocolate chips cookies and watched a movie with popcorn. The had a lot of fun putting ingredients in and stirring it each time. However every time I would start the mixer Carter would inform me that "I scare him". Tyler got upset that I wouldn't let him help me put the cookie dough on the cookie sheet (it was very sticky). After the movie the boys went right to sleep. All in all a nice quiet v-day.

This picture is just from a funny story. The boys wanted to look at the pictures on our refrigerator, so they pushed the chairs over and started looking. Tyler would take a picture down and show it to Carter saying "look at this one". It was very cute to watch and I was about to blog about it. As I was putting the pictures on the computer I look over and they had thrown all the pictures and magnets all over the floor. Needless to say it wasn't so cute anymore. The boys did help clean up the mess and we talked about how we treat photos nicely. It's amazing how quickly they can be playing nice to complete destruction. At least they were doing it together.

We did it.....

Yesterday we registered Tyler for preschool. He will be going to the preschool at our church three mornings a week. They will have chapel once a week, go on field trips, and learn a lot of stuff needed for Kindergarten. He will also be one of the youngest in his class. Both Justin and I are certain he will do just fine. However its hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that he is ready for preschool. My only relief is that Tyler will be taking two years of preschool, so at least I have two more years to get ready for the thought of Kindergarten. As of right now Tyler says he doesn't want to go to school, but I have a feeling he will love it...I mean just look at the picture.

Favorite Things

The boys are showing more and more how much they care about each other. Tyler is becoming the best big brother. The other night Carter was having a tough time. He had purposefully threw dog food all over the floor. He then refused to clean it up. This resulted in time outs. He the continued to have a tantrum. To top it off he had a pretty bad diaper rash so he was crying because his bottom hurt. We brought him upstairs that with the understanding that we would put more medicine on him if he would then come back down and finish cleaning up his mess. Tyler came upstairs and got a hat for Carter "because it would make him feel better". He also gave him hugs and asked Carter many times if he was o.k. Tyler then came downstairs and helped Carter clean up his mess. We actually had to stop Tyler from helping so much so Carter would get to clean up something. The empathy he showed his brother at this young of age was a sight to see. Carter is following in his footsteps. Tyler has had a tough day today with not listening and tantrums. Each time Tyler wold start crying Carter would ask "whats wrong with Tyler?" Even in this tough days of tantrums they love they have for each other makes it better.

Fun Family Day

Yesterday Justin didn't have to work, which was the first Saturday since Christmas and probably the last one off til mid March or April so we took advantage of it. After soccer class we headed up to the Aquarium. We stopped for lunch on the way and Carter burst into tears because he wanted to "see da fishys". After Justin promised him that we were still going to see them he was fine again.

The boys loved the aquarium. Tyler says his favorite part was feeding the sting rays, even tho he was scared to get to close to them. Carter's favorite part was the jelly fish, although he really seemed to enjoy seeing the shark's teeth as well. On the way home Tyler told me he was growing up. When I told him that he was and asked him if he should go to school next year he started crying and said "no I want to be a sting ray when I grow up". He then took off his socks and shoes because sting rays can't wear those.

After some quiet time I took Carter to go pick out a movie for Family Movie Night. I had a lot of fun taking just Carter. He did very well in the store and helped me pick out Madagascar 2. He then sang for me all the way home. After some pizza for dinner we settled down with popcorn and watched the movie together. The boys seemed to like it a lot and didn't even get nervous. Life is good.

Cleaning Machine

I would never describe Carter as clean. He usually is a fairly dirty kid. He loves to play in the dirt and mud, and well when he eats he gets it everywhere. However lately his favorite pastime is drawing on the chalkboard of the easel and then cleaning it off. He does this over and over and very diligently. The other night he spent 20 minutes just cleaning the chalk board, drawing something on it, just to clean it off again. Maybe this cleaning streak will start spreading to others areas - like his face.

He is also becoming quite the sharer. If he has something to eat he wants to make sure everyone else also has the same thing. He loves to say your welcome when you thank him for his offering as well.

Both boys are always saying the funniest things but whenever I sit down to post about them they escape my mind. I think I need to bring a pad of paper with me where ever I go just for this reason.

Stuck Between 2 and 4

Three. I have heard before how a boy of three years old is stuck between being 2 years old and 4 years old. I think this is absolutely true. And the best part, it changes based on the minute. There are times when I look at Tyler and he seems so grown up. We have complete conversations, he is polite, listens and takes such great care of his brother. He is so independent of me. I could ask him to go get himself dressed and five minutes later he will come out and he is dressed.

Then there are other times where I feel like he is two all over again. He will have tantrums over tiny things, do the complete opposite of what I say, pretend not to hear what I say, and not be very nice to his little brother. And he becomes so dependent of me. He needs me to do the simplest things for him, like go downstairs and get his shoes.

Its an interesting balance being three I think. Wanting to grow up and see everything that is out there in the world and be a "big kid" but also always wanting to make sure your mommy is there just in case. Justin and I are trying to figure out our own balance in how to handle him. He is older and should be doing more things on his own. And I think he should be disciplined more than Carter gets for tantrums, because well Carter is 2 and Tyler is 3. But at the same time, I don't want him to become even more of a perfectionist than he already is. I want him to know that mommy will always be here for him no matter what. That he doesn't need to grow up so fast.

Showing his Independence

Carter is quickly showing his independence and stubbornness. He will answer no to any question you ask him. Such as:

me - "Carter will you go get your socks?"

Carter -"No can't want to".

me -"Carter its dinner time."

Carter -"No Can't want dinner!"

Also if you ask him to do something he will do the exact opposite. We were at church last week getting ready to go and Carter started kicking the high chairs. I asked him to stop and he did it again. After sitting in time out I made him go and apologize to my boss. He goes down and apologizes. I explain to him again that we don't kick things in the church - its disrespectful. His immediate response - he kicks the wall. I just keep reminding myself he is two and this will pass, right?

Back to Work

Yesterday was another gorgeous day so Justin cleaned up the back yard some and the boys got to play. The first things they go for? Their shovels, rakes, lawn mower, and wheel barrow. They love helping around the yard. Carter loves to rake leaves the best and Tyler enjoys digging dirt and filling up his dump truck. Eventually they moved onto their bikes, some baseball and slide, but for the most part they want to do yard work. Here is to hoping this trend will continue.