Neil, Rebecca and Kaden Peterson

Happy 1st Birthday Kaden!

2011-06-14T21:46:00.006-04:00

Now that Kaden is one, here are some things you might like to know about him!

Favorite Songs: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "The Wheels on the Bus" (He likes to do the actions for the bus driver, baby, and dad.)

Favorite Foods: Pizza, spaghetti with meatballs, apples, raspberries, green beans, peas, carrots, pears, peaches.

Words he can say: that, Dad, dog, Mama, this (especially when he wants to do "This Little Piggy"), night night, ball, grass, light, off, up.

Sounds he can make: moo, ruff, roar.

Things he can sign: please, all done, more, eat, thank you.

Body actions: I love you (cross arms over chest), blow kisses, folds arms for prayers, hugs, kisses, waves hello and bye, peek-a-boo.

Favorite Toys: TV remote, phones, water bottles, things that make noise, balloons.

Favorite pastimes: reading books, walking outside and playing in water (both bath time and at the pool.)

Neil's Graduation: Phase One

2011-06-14T21:25:00.006-04:00

Neil graduated with his masters of science in nursing as a family nurse practitioner! Yea! Phase one complete. Though there is more schooling ahead, we are glad to celebrate the milestones along the way!

Neil and Kaden after the hooding ceremony.

Graduation ceremonies were a two-day process. On Saturday, Neil was hooded. On Sunday, graduation included the "finals" ceremony (commencement) and the diploma ceremony! The processional is a big deal at UVA. All the graduating students walk the entire length of The Lawn. It took about 45 minutes for the processional alone! Luckily the rest of the ceremony wasn't super long!

After finals, we headed to the north side of the Rotunda for Neil's diploma ceremony!

Kaden and Neil in front of the Rotunda.

Yea for Neil!

Memorial Day and Weekend

2011-06-03T14:07:00.017-04:00

Memorial weekend was a lot of fun!!

On Saturday, we met up with Brandon, Michal and Brielle at the park! Kaden loved the swing and the slides!

On Monday, we got together with several families from church at a Mint Springs Park. It is an awesome county park with a beach, swimming, playground and hiking trails!

Kaden wasn't afraid of the water and went right in!

Kaden loved his police car floaty and quickly became popular with other kids!

Kaden playing with Neil in the sand!

Kaden as a Little Teapot!

2011-03-20T11:03:00.002-04:00

How Big is Kaden?

2011-03-20T10:59:00.002-04:00

Watch and Kaden will tell you himself!

These are a few of Kaden's favorite things!

2011-03-18T15:50:00.014-04:00

Playing with his toys!

Pulling himself up and cruising along furniture!

Getting a snack! (More like getting into mischeif!)

Helping with the dishes!

Walking with his dinosaur!

And reading books!

Kaden's Big Week!

2011-01-23T20:13:00.006-05:00

Since Kaden has turned 7 months he has hit many new milestones! Kaden has decided he prefers eating things he can feed himself and enjoys diced up fruits and cooked vegetables as well as full cheerios! Kaden can also sit up from laying down and NOW he can crawl! Kaden also found a foreign object that won't leave his mouth...his first tooth! Here is Kaden demonstrating some of his new moves:

Family Dinner Conversation

2011-01-13T18:46:00.003-05:00

Yesterday's dinner conversation went a little bit like this:

Neil: Yummy! These reuben sandwiches are really good! Funny thing is I don't like sauerkraut and rye bread by themselves but together with the cheese and dressing they are really good!

Rebecca: I agree! They just hit the spot! Thanks for helping me make them! Did you have a good day at work?

Neil: Yeah, but it was really busy. Had to give a lot of flu shots! How was your day? Was Kaden good for you?

Rebecca: Yea! He took really good naps and ate really well. Kaden, what did you do today?

Kaden:

Kaden's First Christmas

2011-01-03T19:19:00.009-05:00

This year, Kaden has been a very good boy and was on Santa's nice list of course! He got exactly what he wanted for Christmas...a Lil' Zoomers Spinnin' Sounds Speedway! This little video includes the suspense of waking up Christmas morning and the elation of finding Santa's surprises!

Eric was able to come down to Virginia for a few days and join us in festivities!

Christmas dinner was special with the family together, eating honey-baked ham, and admiring the cool napkin holders Rebecca and Neil made!

Earlier this week, Kaden and Daddy watched the BYU cougars devour the UTEP miners in the New Mexico Bowl!

We can't wait to see what happens in 2011! Happy New Year everybody!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T14:33:00.004-04:00

3...2...1...Blast off!

Jr. Captain Kaden Neil Peterson

Captain Neil Peterson with Jr. Captain Kaden

We decided to go Trick-or-Treating on the lawn at UVA. It is a great annual event and family affair! We saw a lot of great costumes, including all of the Scooby Doo gang, the house in Up with the balloons, pumpkins, cupcakes, and even a baby man-eating shark with teeth marks in his surfer dad's surf board just to name a few!

Not only was could you get candy trick-or-treating but you could get your face painted, a free balloon and a free book of your choice!

A fellow astronaut we met while parading around the grounds.

Kaden made friends with an alien and smothered the poor thing with his slobbery kisses!

After trick-or-treating at UVA we headed over to trick-or-treat at Brandon and Michal's house. They were gracious enough to let us pose for a family picture!

Our little astronaut!

Cousin Brielle dressed as a cute little monster!

Carter Mountain 2010

2010-11-01T12:21:00.005-04:00

Neil and Kaden are all ready to go and pick some apples!

Here is the the view of Charlottesville from Carter Mountain. The big white building is the UVA hospital.

One quick family picture just before we get some yummy apple cider and donuts!

The Apple barn is where you pay for the apples you picked and a fun gift shop. We got Pink Lady and Winesap apples to make our favorite apple desserts like Bavarian Apple Torte and Apple Dumplings!

Oh no! We found a few worms in the apples!

A daddy worm!

The cutest baby worm!

And a mommy worm!

After all the apples, we stopped to check out the pumpkin patch!

It was a fun trip to Carter Mountain! We were glad we bundled up!

All nice and warm at home, Kaden relaxes with his pumpkin.

Ireland Highlights

2010-10-31T15:51:00.006-04:00

Neil and I had the awesome opportunity to go to Ireland this past month so Neil could present a poster at the Unviersity of Cork. Here are some pictures highlighting our trip!

This is the quad area at the University of Cork.

Here is Neil with his poster!

We enjoyed touring the surrounding cities and areas. This is King John's castle in Limerick.

The Cliffs of Moher.

Neil and I posing at the cliffs with the Atlantic Ocean in the background!

The Blarney Castle

Neil kissing the blarney stone.

Rebecca kissing the blarney stone. Neil did a great job capturing the riduclous angle you have to recline at to actually kiss the stone.

The view from the top of the Blarney Castle.

If you'd like to see more pictures, check out the ones we've posted on Facebook. Click here.

Grow Kaden Grow. See Kaden Grow! (Cont.)

2010-10-25T03:38:00.003-04:00

Kaden eats cereal. Eat Kaden eat. Yum! Yum! Yum!

Good job Kaden!

Grow Kaden Grow. See Kaden Grow!

2010-10-24T15:38:00.006-04:00

Kaden jumps. See Kaden jump. Jump Kaden jump!

Kaden rolls over. Roll Kaden roll!

Utah Trip 2010

2010-07-26T14:50:00.004-04:00

Recently we returned from a trip to Utah. The purpose of the trip was to attend the McKenzie Family Reunion in Bear Lake but Kaden quickly stole the show with a baby shower, baby blessing and meeting all of our friends and family members. Here are some links to more pictures of our trip.

McKenzie Family Reunion Pictures

Other Utah Trip Pictures

Kaden's Baby Blessing

2010-07-25T20:47:00.006-04:00

In July we took a special trip to Utah for a family reunion and Kaden's baby blessing. We were so blessed to have so many family members around for Kaden's special day!

Check out Kaden's Blessing Slideshow:

Make a free slideshow design

Happy Father's Day!

2010-07-25T20:21:00.002-04:00

It was so much fun to celebrate Neil's first official Father's Day!

It started early with presents and breakfast in bed!

Happy Father's Day, Neil! We love you!

Welcome Kaden!

2010-07-25T16:45:00.003-04:00

Kaden Neil Peterson

June 9, 2010

5:27 a.m.

7lbs 2.5 oz.

21 inches long

We are so thrilled Kaden is finally here! You can check out more pictures of Kaden's first few days at this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=219686&id=682482834&l=3e78b60a37 Enjoy!

Poster Child

2010-04-25T14:05:00.003-04:00

A couple weeks ago I gave my first poster presentation at a research exhibition here at UVA. Although I haven't even started my PhD course work yet, I've been directing the focus of my current nurse practitioner classes towards my intended area of research: pediatric cardiovascular health. To help you understand more, I have done a Q & A with myself in a riveting interview-style format that perhaps "60 Minutes" will pick up one day.

Q: "Neil, thanks for meeting with me today. Tell me again what it is you are delving into the depths of that will one day change the world forever."

A: "Anytime, N. My current work is in pediatric cardiovascular health. Although I have recently been focused on the morbidities of obesity, I don't want to get too bogged down in things like metabolic syndrome but would rather pursue cardiovascular health promotion through physical activity despite body mass index."

Q: "Wow, those are some pretty big words you are using. What does it mean?"

A: "It means that I study exercise in children and although I've been focused on overweight children, in the future I will look at promoting exercise for all children, whether they are fit or fat."

Q: "Absolutely amazing, I can't believe your work hasn't been on the national news yet. What was the work you showed in your recent world-premiere poster presentation?"

A: "The title of my poster was 'No Child Left Behind and Dragging Our Fat Children Forward: Physical Activity in School-Aged Children.' It summarizes the need of more physical education and recess time for all youth since over 1/3 of children are overweight in this country. In short, kids should be getting 60 minutes of physical activity every day and schools aren't providing an average of 30 minutes of structured exercise per day."

Q: "So what you're saying is kids spend half their time at school, but get less than half the recommended 'daily allowance' of exercise, right?"

A: "Yes."

Q: "Impressive--makes me want to go take a couple laps around the track right now!"

A: "Well if you go, don't forget to take me with you."

Q: "Of course. And I'm sure I speak for everyone when I wish you continued success in your research."

A: "Thank you, ol' sport."

The Nursery

2010-04-09T12:38:00.002-04:00

Neil and I thought we would share pictures of the nursery. It's still currently a work in progress but we feel like we are getting closer everyday. It's hard to believe that in 8 more weeks this little room will be occupied!

We currently live in a 2 bedroom plus den apartment. Luckily for the baby we opted out on the laundry basket in our room and have chosen to make the cozy den our nursery. It's a perfect size for a baby! (The dresser will also temporarily function as a changing table once we add the changing pad.)

Here's the crib! Did you notice the safari sport theme? The lion soccer player is obviously our favorite. Neil hopes the bedding will inspire our little boy.

Here's my library of children's books which I'm sure will provide some entertainment for our little guy. If not actually reading the books, I'm positive he will be pulling them off the shelf! Also notice the three stuffed safari animals on the top shelf. The giraffe, monkey and lion were all gifts before we bought the bedding and we didn't make the connection until we got the bedding home! Thanks to Sean, Jennie, Kimber and Chloe for being inspired about the nursery theme! It works perfectly!

Washington D.C. Day Trip

2010-03-15T09:26:00.006-04:00

On Saturday, Neil and I drove 2.5 hours from our home in Charlottesville to Washington D.C. where we enjoyed many sites and museums!

Our day started early. While walking along the DC mall area, we toured the Air and Space Museum and part of the National Museum of Art. We then headed to the International Spy Museum where we met up with our friends Chelsea and Kevin at the Spy Cafe. After lunch, we entered the museum and took on a secret SPY identity! As spys we were were trained to pick locks, create disguises and decode secret messages. We also got to see some really cool spy tools like a lipstick pistol!

After an exciting afternoon as a spy, we decided to retire our spy mission and head back home. We had a great day with our friends in DC and can't wait to head back to see more!

No Mo' Sno'!

2010-02-15T16:43:00.008-05:00

It's that time again when records are broken and even anticipated. Unfortunately, the records we are breaking are not the kind to be proud of: winters of Olympic-sized proportions. It seems no matter where Becks and I move too, mother nature is not far behind to dump snow in record-setting amounts (maybe we deserve gold medals).

You may recall back in March of 2008 in our first few weeks in Cleveland, OH, we experienced blizzard-like conditions one weekend that dropped approximately 20 inches of snow, the biggest storm Cleveland had seen in 30 years. We went on to have the greatest regional snowfall season of all time.

Nestled safely in the Shenandoah valley in central Virginia, Charlottesville usually gets no more than a few inches of the fluffy white stuff each year, often enjoying winter temperatures that average in the 40s. In fact, C-ville gets so little snow, that some school systems virtually removed snow days from this year's schedule. Maybe we should have told them we moving into town. Twenty-two inches of snow appeared practically overnight on December 19th, 2009, making that the largest December snowfall ever for our new home town. But wait, there's more! In the last 2 weeks we have had a barrage of snow storms that have generously donated over 2 feet of snow, closing schools for the last 14 days--most reopening just today, President's Day. Once again, this snow season is the largest on record. Thomas Jefferson would be proud.

Also pictured is "Mt Barracks", the largest snow pile I've ever seen, topped with the American flag. This snow depository was created in the Barracks Shopping Center just down the street from us. I can't even imagine how the bulldozers were able to pile the snow that high. My guess is that it won't be totally gone until our aniversary, April 23rd. What are your guesses?

Boys will be (soccer playing) boys!

2010-01-23T13:42:00.001-05:00

Behold! Baby boy Peterson's first soccer shoe! This little beauty was purchased yesterday on our first trip to actually buy something. With more than 4 months to go until the big day, we're in no rush so we only bought clearance items. One apparent bargain was a clearance armoire for $200 off the retail price. It seemed like a steal but 2 hours of inspection this morning revealed both broken and missing pieces. I've contacted the company and hopefully we'll just get a whole new armoire (or we'll just return it and get our money back!) In conclusion, we'd like to thank our many fans for their votes on our baby poll and we hope you didn't lose too much money on the outcome!

What Child Is This?

2009-12-13T20:42:00.005-05:00

Baby Peterson, expected arrival June 3rd, 2010!

Personally, I think the baby looks more like me, I mean, just look at that nose and large brain-to-body ratio. Can the ultrasound detect red hair? We were hoping to get a good look the those soccer legs, but the baby always had them crossed.

Rebecca, mom-to-be, is doing well. No morning sickness or weird food cravings, except one day she did ask for shrimp.... We're at 16 weeks and starting to buy maternity clothes (although I tried to convince her my clothes would work, haha!)

Don't forget to guess the baby's gender over on the right side of the blog. We'll be sure to post important updates in the future!

We've Moved!

2009-09-19T18:30:00.006-04:00

Neil and I are now official residents of Charlottesville, Virginia! Home of the Virginia Cavaliers and Thomas Jefferson! Since our move we have enjoyed spending time sight-seeing at Monticello and settling into our new place.

This is what remains of a tree that dates back to the time that Thomas Jefferson actually lived at Monticello. Last year they had to cut the tree down for saftey reasons and in the process they were surprised to find that it had hollowed out over time.

Thomas Jefferson was also a fantastic gardener! We enjoyed walking around capturing pictures of many of the unique flowers and plants in his garden.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

2009-07-29T13:18:00.001-04:00

The Cleveland Museum of Art is one of best attractions we've been to and it's too bad we didn't get to it sooner than our last week here. Admission is free (woo hoo!) and boasts works of art from Monet, van Gogh, Picasso and my personal favorite: a medieval armour gallery! Can you tell in this picture which one is Rebecca's knight in shining armor?

Let's get ed-ZOO-cated!

2009-07-29T12:09:00.001-04:00

On Monday, Becks and I enjoyed Cleveland's very own zoo. Mondays are free for county residents (and you know how I am a sucker for free stuff!) We saw an old lazy lion, a sleeping siberian tiger, and a bashful bear (oh my!) We really enjoyed the Australian exhibit, with wallaroos roaming freely across our paths. Crikey!

2009-07-29T10:50:00.001-04:00

A close-up of one of our fine feathered friends at the zoo... Mr. Lorikeet!

2009-07-05T14:43:00.001-04:00

5-strike fireworks for the 4th! To the trained eye this may look like an ordinary bowling score sheet. But on second glance you will notice that, for half of the game, I declared independence from imperfection; the reign and tyranny of the gutter was defied! May bowling alleys everywhere be reminded that my irrationally chosen 10 pound ball has the right to pursue happiness, from pin to shining pin!

2009-06-05T23:11:00.000-04:00

Days of Disneyland part 3: "...And they lived happily ever after!" As with all story book tales, this one began once upon a time. The red-haired princess was imprisoned by the evil magician who cast a spell to eliminate all her vacation time. Prince Neil was a mighty warrior and slew the evil magician and wisked princess Rebecca off to a fantastic land of a talking mouse and flying spaceships. They fell in love all over again...and they lived happily ever after (at least until their money ran out!)

2009-06-04T19:45:00.001-04:00

Disneyland Day 2: This here's the wildest ride in the wilderness! Come along with us on Big Thunder Mountain and experience firsthand the chills, spills, and thrills of a crazy locomotive on the loose!

2009-06-03T23:50:00.000-04:00

Bienvenidos desde Disneyland! Day 1: photographic evidence that the happiest place on earth is so much fun I'm losing my head! I like coming up with new ways to spice up these rollercoaster snapshots. What's your favorite pose? Share in the comments of this entry! And remember: keep your hands, arms, feet , and legs inside the blog at all times!

2009-02-11T05:46:00.002-05:00

Our 'new' washer and dryer is a dream come true for the Peterson family. When I saw the ad for the duo in the laundry facility at our apartment complex, I told my lovely wife we had to look into it. I absolutely loathe loading the laundry baskets in the car every 2 weeks and having to pick up quarters just as often. Well 2 weeks and 1 appliance dolley rental later we are now the proud owners of GE's best low-end, high capacity, all-american mechanical twin beauties. Now we can wash clothes to our little hearts content, day or night, rain or sunshine! Now Rebecca says we have no excuses for putting off laundry...uh oh...what have I gotten myself in to?! P.S.-This blog entry was sent from my phone!

2009-02-09T19:43:00.000-05:00

Neil narrates while I drive by downtown Cleveland. Over the past few months we have gone to Indians games at Progressive Field, enjoyed dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe located in Tower City, visited the Science Museum and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and enjoyed the participating in variety of shows at Playhouse Square.

2008 Synopsis

2008-12-29T20:51:00.000-05:00

It’s that time of year again and unfortunately it has snuck up on us. This past year has past by in a breeze…

In January we packed our bags and all of our belongings and headed east to Cleveland, Ohio where Neil began work at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital, in the Cardiothoracic ICU. The Cleveland Clinic is the number one hospital in the nation for heart care. It has been a challenging experience for Neil as he helps patients recover from open-heart surgery. Neil's unit also just moved into a new building dedicated solely to heart research and care. He seems to meet people all over the world, including prominent people from Egypt and India, who come to the Clinic for their renowned doctors and procedures.

In March, I also found employment at Lakewood Hospital in their Child Care Center. It’s a nice relaxing change from teaching where I enjoying singing, reading books, and playing with infants 6 weeks-18 months old

Besides work, church has kept both Neil and I very busy. Neil serves as a Sunday School teacher, I serve as the ward Seminary teacher, Valiant 12 teacher and we both serve on the ward activities committee We both have had multiple opportunities going out with missionaries and teaching many families in our area.

When we aren’t busy with all of our responsibilities, we have really enjoyed all the fun things to do in Cleveland. From visiting Kirtland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Science Museum and participating in many sporting events like Indians games we still have a long list of things we would like to do. In March, May and July we were lucky to have some family members come and visit. It was fun seeing my dad, sister Rachel, and my sister Laura and her family. We always are excited to have visitors.

This year, besides traveling cross country by car, we have also been able to travel to Paris, IL to visit my sister Malinda and her family, Charlottesville, VA where we checked out a possible graduate school for Neil and in November we were able to travel back to Utah to visit my family for Thanksgiving. Next year we are already planning to travel to back to Utah for Neil’s brother Sean’s wedding! We always love being with our family.

Amid all the craziness of life, we are always grateful for the month of December when we get to reflect on the miraculous birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and the blessing God gives us each and every day.

Economic Stimulant Package?

2008-12-08T21:37:00.000-05:00

Although the government is only now admitting that the economy is in a recession, our friends at the North Pole have seen this coming for years. "We've being trying to put the 'recess' in recession, but I'm afraid even Santa has had to make some cut-backs this year," one elf told me, asking only that he remain anonymous. "Our latest rounds of lay-offs have sent 63 elves and 2 reindeer packin'."

My elf source has not confirmed which reindeer were let go, but I believe it was Dasher and Dancer, as I spotted both in downtown Cleveland earlier this week. Dasher was outside UPS, presumably wondering what "brown could do for him". Dancer's parents neither confirmed, nor denied that their son had been fired by the big man up north, but they did say "with a name like Dancer, how would YOU expect to find work outside the North Pole?" Santa Claus could not be reached for comment.

In other news, a typo on Capitol Hill has raised some serious questions about what the government can do regarding the downturn of the economy. One congressman was overheard saying, "I don't know how it got in there, but it's too late to call a special session of congress now with the holidays just a few days away." I am of course referring to news that the House and Senate both passed an economic "stimulant" package instead of the intended "stimulus" package. "I thought it sounded funny at first, but when no one else said anything I went along with it. It seems that for weeks now we have been debating, not whether to bail out Americans with money, but with high doses of caffeine. Well, what's done is done," said the House Majority Leader. Indeed, Congress has already purchased millions of cans of caffeinated sodas and energy drinks for the sole purpose, (and I quote from the bill) "for immediate distribution to all American Christmas stockings, to be consumed in haste for the provision of an economic stimulant."

Honey, I'm Home...for the Holidays!

2008-12-03T20:17:00.000-05:00

'Twas the night of our first post,
and all through the blogs,
nothing was more exciting
not even festive cheese logs!

We hope you enjoy the little video tour of our home! Happy Holidays!