The Long Awaited House Tour

Several months after moving in, we are finally ready to unveil our new townhouse! Enjoy this three-part series, with your favorite host... Richard!

Main Level:

Top Floor:

Basement (sorry, part of this one is sideways):

BYU v. UVA Trip

Richard here:

Several months ago our friend and real estate agent, Steve Hales, asked us (and about 200 others) whether we wanted him to get us tickets to the BYU-UVA game. We most certainly did.

With that our fate was set.

We had purchased tickets for the 31st day of August in the 2013th year of our Lord.

Now planning trips these days is not like what it used to be. Some of you may know Luke's dislike for car rides and sleeping in the car. So we did our best to plan out the day to accommodate Luke's nap schedule.

The drive was quite nice and Luke ended up actually taking a 30-minute nap, for which were were grateful.

We arrived in Charlottesville around game time and with a distinct lack of parking available, we paid a local for the privilege of parking in the backyard with several other latecomers. A nice bonus, though, was that it was quite close to the stadium.

The stadium was a sweltering 95 degrees with no wind and high humidity. Just a tad uncomfortable. We decided we would take turns with Luke in the shade of the concourse. Just as we had finished watching two plays and as Emily was walking up the steps toward the concourse, an announcement was made that there was lightning in the area and that the stadium had to be emptied. I chased Emily down (for fear of losing her in the crowd) and we headed to the concourse with everyone else.

After a few minutes, Emily suggested returning to the car to get some of the odds and ends we forgot in the first trip to the stadium.

A few minutes after we got to the car, it started to ran with thunder and lightning. We spent the next two hours safe and dry but also cramped and listening to update after update that the players could retake the field soon.

After the rain had let up for some time (about two hours later), we decided we may as well walk around the grounds at UVA. But by the time we were passing the stadium a steady stream of fans was heading in. The players were back on the field. And so we followed them in. We then had about five minutes of football watching until half time.

Then started the rain. "Hey, this isn't so bad," we thought. "Good thing we brought an umbrella." Well the umbrella worked for maybe two minutes. With the umbrella failing to save us from the downpour, we headed to the concourse. As it turns out, that is where everyone else was too. With the assistance of some kindly folk, we were able to shimmy our way into a corner out of the rain but with a view of the game on the scoreboard.

Despite our desire to work our way out and head home, we were not well equipped with stroller in tow to spawn upstream through the masses. We waited instead for the rain to let up. And when it did, we decided it was time to get our tired selves home for bed.

Again, Luke surprised us by falling asleep in his car seat on the way home. He slept the whole way. And when we got home, he went straight to sleep in his crib. Huzzah!

We later learned that the Cougars had not prevailed against the Cavaliers. Alas!

Busy Bag Swap (12-24 Months)

In a moment of Pinterest-like inspiration, I organized a busy bag swap with some friends. What are busy bags, you may ask? 

Busy bags are simple, age-appropriate learning activities for babies/toddlers that are stored in gallon zip-lock bags. They can be anything, really, but the basic characteristics is that they are:

- Self-Contained (meaning, you can just grab a ziplock bag and go -- you don't have to add in other supplies to make it useful)
- Transportable (so they can be used in waiting rooms, the airport, car rides, etc., as well as at home)
- Convenient (no major set-up or clean-up)
- Inexpensive/easy to make
- Re-usable (avoid activities where you have to "restock" -- this is where lamination can be helpful!)

There are lots of Busy Bag ideas out there, but most are designed for older kids. I invited friends who had babies currently under 1 year (or who are pregnant) to make bags targeted toward toddlers ages 12-24 months.

There were 11 of us in the swap, so we each made 11 duplicates of the same activity. Thus, we each ended up with 11 different activities. I am super impressed with the creativity from the women in the swap.

Here's what everyone came up with (Sorry, some of the pictures are upside down and I am too lazy to correct them):

Julie made 12 "texture cards" -- craft foam with different textures glued on. 

(P.S. Luke is OBSESSED with these cards. Yesterday I stuck him in the kitchen pack 'n play with these and he played independently for 15 minutes while I prepped dinner. That is unheard of for Luke!)

Lindsay made a "piggy bank" with poker chips and a (clean) pint-sized ice-cream container with a slit in it. Great for fine motor skills development.


 

 Chelsea made an adorable mini felt board -- she freehand cut those fish. I would never be able to do that!





 Elissa made a cute button snake to practice fine motor skills. Each of the felt squares has a slit in it that you can thread through the "snake":



Britni made 5 "sensory bottles," each with a different theme. They're like snow globes, only cooler!

 And, because you can't have too much sensory fun at this age, Jocelyn made sensory "squish" bags (it is squishy because of hair gel): 

Lynleigh came up with a sponge-curler game:

Ali made adorable "Ollie Blocks" -- It comes in a set of 3, and each block had 6 options for the the head, the body and the feet.

Erin made a counting wheel with clothespins:

Jenny made a laminated flip-book, like these:

Finally, I made a magnetic fishing game with stiff felt pieces. I was going to try to cut actual fish shapes like [this], but I ran out of time. It is much easier to cut/sew straight lines!


 


 We had the swap at our house on Thursday and it was fun to see all of the great activities. Someone commented that it was a bit like Christmas or Halloween, because after someone would explain their activity they would go around and put one in each of our big grocery bags to take home. I would definitely be up for another Busy Bag swap next fall!

Annapolis Trip

Richard was having a slow week at work, so we decided to take a mid-week trip to Annapolis before school starts. It's only about an hour away from us, but we decided to splurge a little and stay overnight at a hotel. 

My road trip buddy!

We didn't plan our trip as well as we could have, so we missed some tours and such. But Annapolis is a pretty small city, so we were still able to do everything we wanted to.

Luke appropriately dressed in his crab onesie

On a narrated boat tour

We also went on a tour of the Naval Academy (not pictured) and learned how to eat crabs at Cantlers.






We've been wanting to go to Annapolis for a long time, and it was great to go and explore the city.

Swimming Class!

Luke just had his last swimming class (1x/week for 9 weeks)! We've got the next Michael Phelps on our hands, folks! Errr... maybe not quite yet.

During the class, we practiced such skills as:
-- Not crying when getting in the water
-- Not constantly hitting the other babies in the pool
-- Splashing water as enthusiastically as possible

But seriously, I think that he is a little more comfortable in the water now -- during the last class we were even able to dunk him under water for a second without him crying. Progress!

Richard and I took turns taking him to the class every Friday afternoon. For the last class, we both went and I was the designated photographer. It was a fun summer activity! 

Frying Pan Park

(I realize I haven't posted anything substantial in several months. Instead of trying to post-blog the past few months, I'm just going to start up again with what is going on right now!)

This morning, Luke and I went to Frying Pan Park in Herndon for a puppet show. This park is huge and FANTASTIC (and free!) and I'm already planning a trip back. 

We were going to meet up with some friends from a mommy group I belong to, but the place was really crowded so I never found them. Luckily we squeezed our way into the middle and looked pitiful enough that some kind mom offered to share her blanket with us. We ended up with good seats for the show!

After the puppet show, we walked over to the petting zoo part of the park, but we couldn't stay for long as Luke was already past his naptime. I've been wanting to check out this park for a long time and I'm glad we finally made the trip. It is a ~20 minute drive from our house, but totally worth the drive. 

Luke's 3-month Photoshoot

Yes, I realize this is about 6 months after the fact, but I just came across Luke's 3-month photo shoot (pictures taken by my SIL Brittany, who is amazing!).

Love me some Luke!

Breast Pump Saga

We interrupt this monthly "Luke's First Year" post series with the following story....

Before Luke was born, I was looking through my insurance pamphlet. A note about breast pumps caught my eye. "Breast pumps will be covered 100% under the new health care reforms," it read. Too good to be true, right? Those things are really expensive, like $300. I called the Aetna customer service number to get the details.

"Oh it's very easy," the associate said. "Just send in your receipt after you buy the pump and it will be reimbursed 100%. Just make sure it isn't electric grade."

"So, I won't have to pay anything out of pocket, right?"

"Nope, just send in the receipt and we will reimburse you."

Reassured by this response, I bought a very nice Medela breast pump (non-electric grade) at my pediatrician's office a couple of days after Luke was born. A few weeks later I submitted the receipt and forgot about it.

About a month later I remembered that I hadn't heard anything from Aetna. I called in and asked about it...

"It looks like we forgot to process this reimbursement (emphasis added)" the agent said. "We'll get it out to you next week."

Two weeks go by. Still nothing. I call back.

"Oh, it looks like we can't process this because the pediatrician's tax information is on one page, but not the other," another agent responded.

Right. I drive to my pediatrician's office and get another copy of all the information with the tax code on all the pages. I try to fax in the corrected claim, but Aetna's fax is broken for several days. In the end, I just snail mail it in.

Another two weeks go by. I call the office.

"The claim went through [yay!]. We are going to cut you a check for $30," the agent said.

"$30? That barely covers the tax on the pump. I thought you said you would cover 100%."

"No. It's 100% of the negotiated charge with the pediatrician's office. You have to get them to reimburse you the rest of the money."

This morning, I go to the pediatrician's office and explain everything up to this point.

"Oh yes. You signed a waiver saying that you were responsible for any difference between the negotiated charge and the cost of the breast pump," the assistant said.

"I don't remember signing anything like that. Can I see the waiver and where I signed?"

.... Twenty minutes go by as I sit in the office...

She returns. "Um, we're going to have to call you back."

Stay tuned for next installment....

The funny thing is that I heard a story recently on NPR about how insurance companies are increasing premiums quite a bit because of the reforms. Breast pumps reimbursements were specifically mentioned in the report and how they are SO EASY to get reimbursed for. Yeah...

[Note: The frustration with this actually makes me incredibly grateful that all three of us are healthy and we only have to deal with insurance on a very limited basis. But still.]

Three Months!

Luke turned three months old last week! Time flies with a little one in the house :) 

Some fun things happened this month -- Little man rolled over from tummy to back three days in a row leading up to his three-month mark, but has not felt the need to do so since then. He smiles and laughs all the time now (makes having a baby much more fun!). 

Also at three months...

Luke Likes:

• Bathtime! 
• Being held
• Looking at pictures (thanks for all the Christmas cards!) and the mirror
• Putting his hands.... and everything else... in his mouth
• Pulling mom's hair and playing with dad's arm hair
• Trying VERY hard, but alas, unsuccessfully to roll from back to tummy
• Seeing new faces and giving big smiles to everyone
• Southern accents
• When dad "eats" his tummy (I suppose I didn't need to put quotation marks around that unless you really thought that Richard eats Luke's tummy)
• Skyping with family (most of the time)
• When dad gets home from work
• Going to the library and reading library books

Luke Doesn't Like:

• His carseat
• His acid reflux medicine -- although he's getting better!
• Taking naps anywhere but his swing
• Not being held
• Tummy time, after about 2 minutes

Two months!

Sorry, we're a bit behind schedule here in the Peterson household, but Luke turned two months old on Christmas Eve!

At his two month appointment, we found out that Luke is our short chubby boy with a big head. He weighed in at 11 lbs 14 oz (50th percentile), 22 inches long (10th percentile) with a 16-inch head circumference (90th percentile, and obviously a sign that we have a genius on our hands with a huge brain). Luke's cousin was born last week and at birth was the same length that Luke was at two months! He also got some vaccinations at the appointment, which was quite traumatic (mostly for me, he pretty much just went to sleep right after he got pricked).

Here are some fun things about Luke at 2 months (and... a couple weeks):
- The boy has found his hands! He can often be found "scheming" as Richard calls it. He rubs his hands together and looks off in the distance with a shifty look. I have to get a video of it -- it is so funny!
- His nighttime sleep schedule is a bit erratic, which I suppose is normal for this age. Some (very sad) nights, he won't go more than 2.5-3 hours between feedings, but last night he slept for 8 hours! Bless you, child. I hope that trend continues, as his mom his much more fun with a full night's rest than when she is sleep deprived.
- Luke is a total daddy's boy. He always greets Richard with a huge smile when he gets home from work and won't take his eyes of him for most of the night.
- And of course, the question on everyone's lips... how's his poop coming along? Glad you asked! He is pooping more regularly now, going once every day or so. Way to go, L!

Love you, Lukey boy!