merry & bright

Well, our Christmas may not have been white, but we have made our days merry and bright!

 

Christmas is an excellent excuse for cooking and baking decadent treats!  And ya know I love a good treat.  The girls and I made some sugar cookies one afternoon and then we decorated them all together that evening. This year we also baked molasses cookies, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter kiss cookies, and peanut butter nutella cookies. And I made english toffee and fudge.

 

We went to Lights of the South for the third year in a row and visited with Santa there.  I LOVE that he greeted the kiddos with a big "Ho, ho, ho!" and "Look how much you've grown!" Jake and Amelie had no problem being set on the well-worn lap of this legendary fellow. If Jake looks under dressed compared with the other kids, it is because he was. He lost his coat somewhere the day before we went here.  We layered his shirts up, but he was still a little chilly. Going coatless in Georgia isn't exactly a crisis in my book though.

 

He recovered nicely with a hot cup of cocoa and roasted marshmallows around the fire.

 

Christmas morning was so joyous and fun with a houseful of littles this year.  Every gift brought exclamations of "oh WOW!" from Jakey.  You wish you had straw glasses too, huh?

Our artist extraordinaire received so many new art supplies!  She set up at the kitchen table and got right to work writing a new book. Yesterday we moved all of her stuff to her room and set up a corner studio space.

 

My dad sent us their old Wii game system, accessories, and games.  Rob and Toby spent HOURS playing together on Christmas day! Toby was killing everyone at Swordplay.  It was hilarious to watch... except Jake didn't think so.  He doesn't appreciate being the little brother at moments like these.  I was really enjoying my new camera from Rob. This photo, taken with my old camera, would have been one big blur.

 

Let's not forget Miss Pinkness.

Smiley didn't have the best first Christmas ever I'm afraid.  In the past 10 days, we have been to the pediatrician three times- once for Jake who had bronchitis and an ear infection and twice with Amelie who had (and still has) the dreaded RSV. Charlotte had this as a baby and spent a week in the hospital because of it. So far, we have been able to avoid the hospital by giving breathing treatments at home every four hours and nursing lots.  Hopefully, she will improve soon and not get any worse. She remains a super happy, well tempered baby... though not as great of a sleeper these past two weeks, and more demanding of being held and cuddled, and Rob and I are feeling pretty worn down. 

 

That said, it has still been a very Merry Christmas around here.  We are so thankful for our many blessings, and family and friends are at the top of our list of those!  We hope that Santa was good to you this year, and that you also felt the warmth and joy that accompanies the Spirit of Christ during this season.  We'll see you in 2014!



with a thankful heart

We love our extended families, but since living some distance from them for many years now, we have enjoyed beginning our own family traditions and celebrations. (And staying in our pajamas all day and not driving anywhere too.)

 

The Thankful Tree was back this year!

In the past, we have tried to have everyone say something different that we are thankful for each night in November.  That didn't quite happen this year; with 5 of us participating we would have needed like 150 leaves!  We did put things up many nights though, and there were some new ones this year- breath and brains from Toby, firetrucks and every other vehicle you can name from Jake, band-aids and art supplies from Charlotte, to name a few.

 

Random photo of Amelie sleeping.

I didn't want her to feel left out.

 

One more sleeping Amelie photo. This is how she sleeps now. We put her in a sleep sack and she moves one hand to her mouth and the other to the back of her head where she rubs her hair. I love it!  I can tell now when she is getting sleepy while nursing as that one hand reaches for the back of her head.

 

Anyway, moving on.

 

We waited for a week after Thanksgiving to go to a local tree farm and pick out a tree.  Once we got there, it occurred to Rob that they might only take cash.  We asked, and such was the case.  We tried to explain to the kids that we needed to go to an ATM, but they did not want to leave without a tree.  We examined our wallets and found we had just enough cash for a tree in the 5 foot tall range.  The children rejoiced, and we picked out the littlest tree we have ever had.  I don't think a tree needs to be large to be special though, and with the lights and ornaments on, this tree is just as lovely as any other we have ever had.

 

And as a bonus, it is small enough that once I put the lights on it, the kids could enjoy doing the rest of the decorating duties while Rob, Amelie, and I watched and took a few pictures.

 

Jake was very happy to be fully participating this year.

 

We also hung our stockings (I got Amelie's finished, but they could all use an ironing,) and began our advent calendar.  I wanted to continue with the idea of giving thanks daily with the kids and move from just thoughts into actions, so this year each day of our advent calendar has a "giving activity" to be performed that day.  A few examples so far:

Select a few non-perishable food items to donate to a local food bank.

Play with a friend at recess who is alone.

Select a toy to donate to a child in need.

Pack your own lunch for school so Mommy can have a break. (They LOVED this one.)

Pick up a piece of trash you see outside at home or school and throw it away. (Remember to wash your hands afterward.)

Do something nice for your brother or sister without being asked.

 

I am excited to see the kids enjoying this advent calendar.  I truly believe serving others makes us feel happier and I hope that they are learning that fact a little bit more this month. We have so very many blessings! It is a joy to recognize them and share them with others.

Amelie at 2 months

Ohhhhh, we just love this girl.

She wins the award for best baby sleeper in our house! She usually sleeps from 8 or 9 pm until 2 or 3 am!!! Then she eats and sleeps again until between 5 and 7 am. This is unheard of! I love it. I think that because I am actually getting some sleep at night, I am enjoying dressing Amelie up in cute outfits more than I did with the other kiddos. Plus, she doesn't spit up much and she only has dirty diapers like every 5-6 days. So I know if I dress her cutely, there is a good chance the outfit will last more than an hour or two.

 

At 2 months old, Amelie has become much more interactive.  She gives awesome smiles.  She is now 23 inches long and weighs 12 lbs., 15 oz.  And her eyes are still blue-gray.  Rob and I think my dad gives this look.

 

Last week she had a fever and cough, so I took her to the pediatrician.  Because she is so young, he ordered a chest x-ray and many, many other tests which we had to go to the emergency room for.  It was not a fun evening for her, or for me, but in the end she was declared healthy enough to go home.  I felt much more peace of mind knowing that she was breathing okay, and it was not RSV, or pneumonia, or croup, etc. and she recovered in just a few days time.

 

Amelie has very strong opinions, and does not hesitate to express them. She LOVES bath time and diaper changes. She HATES the car seat, and being put down in general.  (This may be a lifelong battle, being the youngest of four children.)  To illustrate this point, the following three frames were taken in under 5 seconds...

 

"I see you."

 

"We made eye contact, and you didn't pick me up?"

 

"We made eye contact!!!!  And you didn't pick me up?!?!"

 

One final note about Amelie.  I noticed that she is tongue-tied.  You can see in the photo above that she cannot stick her tongue out.  Apparently this runs in my family. Who knew?!  So being tongue-tied (ankyloglossia) means that the tip of her tongue is connected to the bottom of her mouth by a thin piece of skin (called the lingual frenulum.)  Amelie's is about 1/4 inch from the tip of her tongue (so not actually a "true" tongue tie.)  So far it hasn't affected her eating at all.  We will wait a few years and see if it affects her speech or if it will loosen on its own, if not the doctor will simply "clip" the tongue tie (a procedure called a frenotomy.)  Honestly, we may just have it clipped in a few years either way.

 

We just love this girl.  I can't wait to see what she does tomorrow!



trick or treat

I did my very best to keep Halloween simple this year! We were still very sleep deprived, and in new baby land, and figuring out how to juggle four children.

 

Originally Toby wanted to be a Bad Piggy (like in the Angry Birds game.)  But as he began to see the costumes in the stores he changed his mind to wanting to be a bat.  Not Batman.  Not a vampire.  Just a bat.  Let me just tell you, there are no bat costumes at Walmart.  In the end I made him these bat wings out of black fleece and wooden dowels and he wore all black.  I also made him bat ears on a headband AND we bought a Batman mask as a back-up in case he didn't like my ears.  He wore the ones I made to our church party and the Batman mask on Halloween.  EVERY person asked him if he was Batman, and he would say, "No, I am a bat." 

 

Charlotte wanted to be a witch.  We got a pointy hat, a broom, and some stripey tights, and voila!  Witch.  I also got her a green witchy nose (at her request) which she then refused to wear because "it's not very cute."

 

Jakey was Tigger.  Until he saw Toby's Batman mask.  Then we had a serious problem.  So we had Bat-Tigger at our church party as a compromise, and Jakey actually refused to go trick or treating this year when he saw the first kid who came to our door dressed as a zombie.  He stayed home and handed out candy with Dad and Amelie instead.

 

 

 

Amelie dressed in her glow-in-the-dark skeleton jammies that Aunt Melissa sent.  She slept through the Halloween party, and then screamed while handing out candy to trick-or-treaters with Daddy and Jake.

 

 

We hit the pumpkin patch a little late this year and our only options were enormous or teeny-weeny. 

We went with teeny-weeny.  We picked out 6 pumpkins and let the kids draw faces on them and use stickers to decorate them.  I seem to be the only person in this house who likes to carve Jack-o-lanterns, and I was fine with taking the year off this once.  Maybe by next year one of the kids will be willing to help scrape out the pumpkins.

 

In addition to our church party/trunk-or-treat and regular trick-or-treating, Toby had a party at preschool, and Charlotte had a party at ballet.  There is so much candy!  Even with just the 2 big kids going basically around the block (we were out for just over 30 minutes) we received more Halloween candy than in any year past!  What is up with that?  Isn't there a recession or something?  I was totally blown away by the extent our neighbors went to for this holiday.  One house even had LIVE BATS flying around.  No joke, fruit bats that they keep in their garage, were flying around outside their house.  It was very cool.  Also, I won second place in the chili cook-off at church.  I got a two-inch tall trophy and everything! lol.  So it ended up being a very fun Halloween for our family this year.

Charlotte's tea party

A few weeks ago we celebrated Charlotte's 7th birthday! She wanted to have some girlfriends over for a tea party this year, so Rob took the boys and the baby out for the afternoon and we girls had a girly fun time. 

 

Charlotte hand wrote her invitations and had very specific menu requirements.  This is not traditional tea party fare, but we had peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (no crusts of course,) egg salad on pita triangles, petit fours, raspberries, red grapes, lemonade, and pomegranate herbal tea. 

 

We ate cupcakes after singing happy birthday and the girls each decorated a small tote bag to take home with stickers, lollipops, and bracelets in them.

 

Charlotte is for sure our little social butterfly. She loved having her girlfriends (Adelyn, Eliza, Stori, and Raegan) over and having the focus of the day be on her.  They all played so well together, and I was glad my friend Emily decided to stick around and hang out with me while they partied. For dinner we had Chicken Pasta Primavera (Charlotte's favorite) and sang again and ate more cupcakes with Daddy, Toby, Jake, and Amelie. 

 

Charlotte is growing to be a thoughtful and kind girl.  She is still stubborn, and at times can be very bossy to her little brothers, but I think part of that is being the oldest child and learning early how to be in charge and delegate.  Ha!  Charlotte still loves to draw and now also writes stories.  She is so incredibly creative and we all enjoy reading her books.  Just before Halloween she won a drawing contest at school for "drug free" week.  She was so proud to receive a prize from the Principal and have her picture displayed in the hallway.  (Now she holds "drawing contests" at home- Rob won the last one which is why that is her favorite thing to do with Dad.)

 

I am thankful for Charlotte every day! I love seeing her develop her talents and appreciate her desire to be a help to me with her new baby sister.  She is her own person, and we love her and her originality.

 

Charlotte's birthday interview

What's your favorite color? Pink

What's your favorite movie? Rise of the Guardians

What's your favorite song? Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

What's your favorite food? Candy- is candy a food?

What's your favorite thing to do with Toby? build with his Legos

What's your favorite thing to do with Jacob? Cuddle

What's your favorite thing to do with Mom? Cuddle too

What's your favorite thing to do with Dad? a drawing contest

What’s your favorite part of the school day? Recess!

What do you want to be when you grow up? A mom!

What makes you feel happy? Candy!

Summer garden recap

 

I want to be a kick-butt gardener y'all.

But I'm not.

 

One summer, when I was little, my mom and I had a garden plot at a local community garden... the only thing that grew was eggplant, which I refused to eat. Then, when I lived in MD as a single person, I grew tomatoes and cucumbers on my little balcony.  I have no idea why I grew cucumbers because I don't like them at all, but it didn't matter because the ants ate each one as it approached maturity.  Since Rob and I have been married, I have always had some type of little herb garden, or patio thing growing... I often refer to it as my 'pot garden' but that tends to cause people to give me funny looks.  Our nomadic lifestyle prevents me from attempting any more serious gardening at this point in my life, which is probably for the best as I practice cultivating on this small scale.

 

This past spring I planted my latest and best garden yet!  Also, I decided to keep a garden journal.  Which made one friend ask, "soooo, you write about your plants, huh?"  Yes, yes I do.  I am trying very hard to learn from my mistakes and green up this black thumb of mine!  Last night we had our first frost and I chopped up the tomato and eggplants ( I eat eggplant now) and tallied up my garden totals for the summer.  (I really need to get a kitchen scale so I can keep track in weight next year.) 

 

The photo you see above is what is left growning out back. The winter garden contains peas, carrots (yes, I am growing carrots in a pot- they are a dwarf variety that will only grow 5 inches, the pot is 12 inches deep,) various mesclun, spinach, and salad greens, and I left the basil and pepper plants out until they die off.

 

2013 Summer Garden totals:

 

lettuce and spinach: 13 cups (spring, early summer)

 green beans: 7  (yup, seven. not as many of those grow on one plant as I imagined.)

zucchini: 3 (these started out strong, but it got too hot and I couldn't keep them hydrated enough in their pots.)

peas: 7 pods (see green beans; I am trying this one again for fall/winter.)

cherry tomatoes: 157

roma tomatoes: 127 (I didn't buy a single tomato this summer!)

bell peppers: 24

jalepeno peppers: 48!

eggplant: 3 (these also didn't fruit when the weather got very hot, I should have planted them sooner.)

 

Anyway, it doesn't sound like much, but it is the best garden I've grown so far!  And that was with a move mid-summer, and battling grasshoppers, lizards, and my first run-in with tobacco hornworms (Not tomato hornworms, we checked carefully.  Thankfully, Rob is willing to pull those off and squish them for me, because they are LARGE and gross looking.)

 

 

So... what should I grow next? !?!?  :) 

Also, here are my two favorite gardening quotes right now:

 

"To forget how to tend the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." - Gandhi

 





"Waiting for the quality experience seems to be the constitutional article that has slipped from American food custom... restraint equals indulgence." - Barabara Kingsolver

In other news...

Shocking as it may seem, staring at Amelie is actually not the only thing we have been doing for the past month! She is quite unhappy about that fact- and lets us know by screaming every time we set her down.

 

Toby finished up his fourth soccer season!  This time he played for the Hurricanes, and he did make a few good goals, but he really has no aggressive instinct on the field, so I'm not sure offense is where his future in sports lies.

 

We had the novel experience of having our friends Sam and Jack on Charlotte's team this season and it was fun to hang out with friends on the sidelines for once.  (We've never known any of the other parents before, and of course there has been friendly small talk always, but it was so much more fun to visit with friends.)  Charlotte's coach was the most soft-spoken guy, who described himself to me as the "team mom" (in red) who drafted a friend into really coaching the team (in white.)  They were a great pair of coaches I think.

 

 

Then we were lucky enough to have Rob's mom come stay with us for more than a week.  She was so much help!  She made dinner, washed dishes, held the baby, helped me with shopping, and even read "Trucks A to Z" to Jake many times.  Rob and I were totally burned out on that one so Jake was desperate for a new reader... but I can now identify a knuckle-boom truck on construction sites, so it was educational for everyone, I suppose.

 

There has been plenty of baby holding as well, despite what Amelie might tell you.

 

And Miss Pinkness does love a relaxing soak in the tub.

 

Oh yeah, and we bought a truck. 

Three days before the governement shutdown and Rob being furloughed- we have awesome timing like that.  It is a Ford F-150 and seats six.  Really, it does.  The carseats do actually fit in there.  Jake thinks that this is the best thing Rob has ever, ever done and asks to ride in the truck all the time now.  And the furlough thing has ended, for now, so all is well.

 

Rob's sister Allyson came to visit with her four kiddos the weekend of Amelie's baby blessing.  We blackened some hot dogs and marshmallows around our backyard firepit.  These kids LOVE playing together so much.

 

And finally Rob, Jane, and Ally took most of the kids to Steed's Dairy for an afternoon.  (Baby Nathan and Ally just got cut out of this photo, dang it.)  Amelie and I stayed home to sleep.  But the other kiddos enjoyed the hayride, and corn maze, and jumping on one of those inflatable things, and they ate boiled peanuts and had a great time.  I'm glad they made some fun memories.

This is a busy time in our lives! 

We are feeling pretty maxed out on energy, and patience, and time... we even celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary a few weeks ago by looking at each other and saying, "happy anniversary, honey!" being too tired to attempt dinner out or shopping for gifts.  But we do recognize that we are also abundantly blessed with love, and family, and friends, and are trying to enjoy these exhausting days because we know that they truly will not last much longer.

Amelie's baby blessing

On Sunday, Rob gave Amelie a special baby blessing.  In our church it is a tradition to give new babies a name (for the official records) and a blessing in front of the congregation.  It is not the same as a baptism, (which we don't do until at least 8 years old,) or a christening, but it is a special occasion.  We chose to do it this weekend because Rob's mom was here to visit.  His sister Allyson also drove out from Atlanta with her 4 kids- so we had quite a houseful for a few days, but more on that later.  :)  Rob said the blessing and was joined by Bishop Adams, John Lente, Jason Jones, and Jason Bowman.  Amelie cried through the whole thing!  John Lente joked afterwards that she was "feeling the Spirit."

 

Amelie wore the same dress that Charlotte wore for her baby blessing.

 

I love how it looks with her dark hair!

 

Here is Amelie with her daddy, all ready to go to church, and here is the blessing that Rob gave her:

 

Our Father in Heaven, by the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood and authority of Jesus Christ, we present this child to give her a name and a blessing.  The name by which she shall be known is Amelie Marie Anderson. 

 

Amelie, we bless you at this time with a desire to learn the Gospel and seek for the things of most worth in this life.  We bless you with a desire to come to know your Savior, Jesus Christ.  We bless you with a desire to help others and to be a missionary; that you may share the Gospel and be a good example to all your family and friends, that they may also follow the path toward eternal life.  We bless you with a desire to learn about the temple- to learn of the Gospel, and when the time comes, to seek among the righteous for a companion, that you may be sealed in the temple for time and all eternity.

 

We say these things, and bless you with all other blessings that Heavenly Father sees fit to bestow upon you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Getting to know Amelie

Well, time flies when you're having babies!  I have been trying to update blogger for a week.

 

Amelie is now 3 weeks old! 

And we are enjoying getting to know her personality a little more all the time.  Jake is soooo happy to be a big brother.  He clearly did not want to be the "baby" in this family and is very confident in his new big kid role.

 

We have had loads of time to love on our new baby sister.

Rob took off the first week after Amelie was born, and then went to work for a few days before being furloughed by our lovely government.  He is back to work now, but Grandma Anderson arrived for the week on Saturday, AND we have been overwhelmed with delicious food from our friends and church community.  I have been seriously spoiled. Things are gonna fall apart next week when everyone leaves me! 

 

Girl time. 

 I'm glad these two have each other.  Sisters are such special people, wouldn't you agree?

 

Check it out- Amelie's eyes are still blue.  They are like dark blue-gray. They may darken yet, but they might also stay blue.  The other kiddos' eyes were all brown by the end of the first week.  We'll have to wait and see.

 

At Amelie's 2 week old check-up she already weighed 9 lbs. 4 oz. (85th%)  I am sure she is over 10 lbs. by now and is beginning to get little ankle rolls and double chins.  I love fat babies.  :) 

 

Amelie is NOT sleeping well.  Maybe she is on Paris time?  I cannot stress this point enough.  I am tired.  Rob is tired.  With three other kids in the house, it isn't like we can just sleep whenever... though I confess I have been with Rob's mom here.  That is why I am dreading next week and the start of my REAL solo time.  But, we'll cope somehow.  Just look at this little face!  It is more than worth a few (hundred) sleepless nights, right?

Bonjour Amelie!

On Wednesday morning, Rob and I rose bright and early to head to University Hospital for our scheduled induction. A sitter stayed at our house for the day and managed the big kids. I'm going to fast forward ahead at this point and share some pictures of our brand new baby girl, then rewind and share the "birth story" at the end of this post to spare those of you who are not interested in such details. :)

 

Amelie Marie was born at 1:32 pm, weighing 8 lbs. 7.5 oz, and 20.5 inches long.  Rob had predicted 8 lbs. 8 oz. in the morning, so he was really, very close.

 

 

We discussed many, many baby names.  Amelie Marie became the front runner months ago, but we were still discussing on our way to the hospital.  My maternal great grandmother was named Amelia.  My mother lived with her off and on when she was growing up and she was an important and reliable person in her life.  (Amelie is the French version of Amelia and is pronounced like "Emily" with an "Ah" sound at the beginning instead of the "E.")  Rob's maternal grandmother was named Marie. Rob enjoyed going for walks to the park with her as a kid and remembers her as a smart lady who was always happy to spend time with him at a difficult time in his childhood as well.  We are happy to remember these two wonderful women in naming our newest addition. 

 

 

Everyone had a turn holding baby sister during an evening visit. 

Charlotte is overjoyed!

 

When Jakey says "Amelie" it sounds like "Amie" which means friend in French.  So I've already taken to calling her our petite Amie- little friend.

 

Nothing petite about these feet though.

(She gets these from Rob.)

 

It is hard work being born. 

Especially when you come with hair, eyelashes, and fingernails that have scratched your little face all up. 

 

Amelie is so sweet and cuddly, we are just thrilled she is finally here.

Je t'adore Amelie... we adore you.

 

And now, the nitty gritty.  Stop reading here if you don't want to hear any birth story details, but I promise not to be too graphic.

 

 

We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 am on Wedsnesday, as scheduled, and promptly sat in the waiting room for an hour.  Ugh.  (We decided to induce after my OB made the offer to induce a few days early so that we could plan childcare for our older kiddos.)  I was 1-2 cm dilated when checked and the nurse started my IV with Pitocin just before 8 am.  My doctor had a surgery scheduled, so we didn't see him again until about 11 am.  Things progressed slowly, comfortably, predictably, and just fine all morning. 

 

At 11 am Dr. McDonough checked me and I was 3-4 cm, so he broke my water at that point.  He left instructions with the nurse to call him in an hour with a progress report and warned her that with my OB history, "she's going to go fast."  The nurse called in the scrub nurse at that point who opened the surgical kit and laid out things the doctor might need later. (I am so glad she did this.)

 

By 12 noon I was getting pretty uncomfortable.  The nurse checked me and I was at 5-6 cm.  I looked at Rob and said, "that's not enough."  I was envisioning hours and hours more of increasing pain and was having serious doubts about continuing without an epidural.  I don't know how women labor for 24+ hours ever.  

 

By 1 pm I was panicking... more than a little bit.  Rob did his best to rub my back and keep me calm, but I was beginning to vocalize with the contractions and having a very hard time puffing my way through them.  The nurse checked me and I was 7-8 cm.  Welcome to transition!  (This is the worst part of labor in my opinion.)  Now here's the thing, she DIDN'T call my OB at this point.  I think she thought we had some time.

 

15 minutes later I told her in a not-so-calm voice that the baby was coming.  She told me to "blow out the candle and don't push" which is supposed to help me continue breathing I suppose while she notified the doc, but it was far too late for blowing out any imaginary candles.  I don't precisely remember but apparently I yelled at her (per Rob), "I AM blowing... AND I'm pushing!"  Despite that, I tried very, very hard not to push as I lay curled up on my side and telling everyone in the maternity wing (in a loud voice) that she is coming NOW.  I was just about to order Rob to catch the baby, as no one else seemed to be listening to me, when...

 

On the next contraction my doctor walked into the room and into his waiting scrubs as Amelie's little head arrived on the bed followed quickly by the rest of her.  I did not consciously push once.  I had not been "prepped" by the nurses (antiseptic, bed taken apart, etc.)  Amelie just burst into the world on her own! 

 

In the immediate aftermath there were some concerns... meconium in the amniotic fluid, a "true knot" in the cord (we have either a swimmer or a gymnast on our hands I guess,) and stitches for me.  But all was fine and now that the initial flurry of activity is over we are just happy to finally hold her in our arms, be at home, and give her as much love as we possibly can. 

 

She is a precious and beautiful little person and we are loving getting to know her and be a part of her life and her family.  :)