Copycat Carter

Carter has started copying things we do, including the funny noises we make.

On the last day of April . . .

. . . My true love gave to me . . .

. . . one empty bookshelf . . . .
. . . five tiny toes . . . .
. . . and a twenty minute nap . . .

Toy Box Fun

Diggin through the toy box,
"Mom, where is that one toy I like"
"Well, if you don't know, then I'm gonna climb in and find it."

The State of My Heart

I have had an achy heart for the past week or so. I don't need to mention what brought on the achy breaky but I thought it might make me feel better by posting this thought that came to me today.

Bad, crappy, massively painful things and events happen to incredibly wonderful people, they happen every day, in every place, at any age for no darn reason at all. No reason that I can figure out anyway. God knows for sure. I now realize that I am an over analyzing nut. And I don't need to try to figure out why "the bad" happens to the good or how to fix it, no matter how badly I want to. I do, however, want those "incredibly wonderful" people, and you know who you are, to know that a whole silly week later I am still thinking about you and I love you and I hope that you are better.

Got the crawling thing down . . .

Anniversary Trip to Dana Point, California

On Sunday morning we dropped Carter off with Grandpa and Grandma for a couple days and set off for some alone time. It was the first time in 8 1/2 months being away from Cubby and it was heartbreaking to leave. After a few tears in the car I was ready for the trip. I knew he was in GREAT hands but I was still going to miss the little guy.

So after a 4 hour drive we ended up at an Angels vs. Mariners baseball game in Anaheim. Mariners lost but it was still a fun time.

From Angels Stadium we drove another 40 miles South to Dana Point.

This is our hotel, the Blue Lantern Inn. It was incredible. A small hotel with 29 rooms. Very quaint and homey. They serve afternoon tea and yummy snacks and a wonderful breakfast every morning.

Here is our room. There was a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. Fair warning, jacuzzi tubs only require a VERY small amount of bubble bath. No one told me this and I flooded the bathroom with bubbles. It took Jeff and hour to find me. Sorry. no pictures of that.
This is the view from our balcony. Just to our right was a great restaurant, Cannons, where we had a wonderful dinner.

San Clemente Beach

Monday, we took a small drive on the PCH. We stopped at a beach and walked for a while.
A picture of us, and my growing belly.
I sat at this bench not realizing the inscription. Married 70 years, this was only our 6 year but I can't wait for the next 64+.

At the Marina.

After our Anniversary dinner at Cannons. Thanks Mike and Amanda!

The Yard

Carter has a snack and watches Daddy do yard work through the window.

Mom, these pictures are for you. Here is the tree with the little white flowers around it. (Little white flowers is about as technical as I get, I don't know what they are called). Jeff did the blocks to make a little planter for me.
And here is the barrel with the flowers you bought. The boxwoods? foxwoods? are in the back. Some of the flowers bit the dust, probably because I am no green thumb, I think I killed them by looking at them.

Carter

"Let me up, Let me up!"

"Ha, gotcha Daddy!"

"Ok, back down on the ground to play with my new toy from Cousin Bree. Just my height!"

There is a new kitty lurking around our back door. Our cats think he is a pest.

Carter thinks he is great entertainment.
If only he could get that kitty, or the ones in the house, he would be happy.
A little Saturday morning milk beard.

J A J

(J)ust (A)sk (J)eff

Ok, so the power cord to the camera is still missing, BUT Jeff showed me how to load the pictures on the camera with the memory card . . . Duh!

So without further ado . . . More pictures of Cubby.

Waiting for his nighttime bottle. Such a patient little guy.

Easter Sunday outfit. He's just thrilled with it. Can you tell?

Playing with my friends, Dane and Aaron Jr.

I found an egg! (or two)

Is this it? What was all the hype about?

More pool time with Daddy. Fun in the sun.

M I A

The camera cord . . . missing, gone, disappeared, vanished, up and walked away . . . . Sorry Bill. And Mom. And Erin. And all those who have picked on me for the last week about putting up new pics of Carter. I actually have some cute ones, Easter and such but until I find that trusty camera cord I can't load them onto the Blog. I am searching . . . until then I hope this tides you over . . . if not you can always catch a plane . . .

Carter is remaining silent about the missing cord . . . upon being interrogated he promptly put his pacifier in his mouth and is remaining silent. It's possible he has stolen it. We will search his room and toy box.

Weekend Photos

Carter got his first dip in the pool this year, he loves the water.

Then the boys sat on the swing and watched Bryan, Loren, Shanda and Lyle play Bocci ball.

Before long, Carter was feeling a bit sleepy from all the activity.

Sleepy Sunday

Just trying to keep my eyes open . . .

Still trying . . .

. . . Ok, I give up, Nap time!!

Isn't Technology Fabulous?

Here is the 1st 3D Ultrasound of the newest addition to our family. For those of you who can't tell her head is at the top of the image, and her left arm is wiping her eye. Her little legs are all mixed up in the umbilical cord. At 12 weeks this is pretty impressive to be able to see so much.

In this image, her head is to the right. They were looking at the spinal cord and facial structure in this one. You can barely make out her little face (she's looking up) and cute button nose just like Carter's. She kept jumping during this shot, Dr. said she had the hiccups.

Congratulations to Marshall and Mollie . . . hitched today!

March 31, 2007.

To see some pictures take this scavenger hunt. Go to "Anderson Antics" on your left hand side of the screen, on the right hand side of that screen go to "Derek and Sara", then on the left side of that screen go to "Daily Photo Journal." Derek Pearson posted some pics from their wedding already, thank goodness. I couldn't wait till they got home to see. Derek is an awesome photographer. Marshall and Mollie didn't need any help looking stunning but he certainly did a fantastic job capturing it.

More laughing...

Grandma sent this to me today . . . pretty much sums up life right now.

Before I was a Mom
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to
put them down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I
couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so
important and happy.
Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every
10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Laughing

Into Everything . . .

Everything at his eye level seems to be the most interesting contraption possible. The photo printer for one has several very fun buttons and a couple neat plugs to stick little fingers in!!!! Yikes.
The laptop cord is a close 2nd, highly dangerous so he loves it all the more. I promptly took this from him and he promptly threw a fit.
I replaced the hazardous toys with those suitable for a 8 month old. He them decided he could pull himself up to pick out his favorite toy.

Pictures from the past week . . .

He will kill me later but the bunny ears were irresistible.

Mastering the art of crawling. Grass is not his favorite turf, too prickly on his hands so he makes sharp concentrated movements to keep his hands from spending too much time on the grass.

He crawls into the bathroom for bath time. Saves us from carrying him all the time.

Just a quick update . . . pictures later

This was a busy past week. . . Mom and Erin came to town. Lucky for me because Jeff had inventory at work and wasn't home that much. Sad for Mom and Erin to miss his handsome face but I really appreciated the extra hands. Carter is officially crawling and pulling himself up on things, only to crash down and look up at me like, "Mom, how dare you let me fall like that!" So, as usual my mom spoiled me with meals in the freezer for those nights I don't want to cook . . . (EVERYNIGHT???) and she planted new plants in our backyard which is slowly coming together. Erin and I shopped some and had a good time just watching Carter and his new found freedom.

In other news, the bun in the oven gave us a bit of a scare when the Dr. called and said my blood levels were off and she wanted me to go have an emergency ultrasound to check for a heart beat. I went to the specialist on Thursday (the next day) and the immediately called me back into the room to look for a heart rate. IT WAS PERFECT. 160 Beats, happy little baby waving at me. I cried like a giddy child. Then they sent me back out in the waiting room and told me they would do the other tests I had scheduled when it was my turn. It was nice they gave me peace of mind while I sat there and waited. An hour or more later, I went back for more tests. The Down Syndrome test and checking for brain function and proper blood flow, (all standard in high risk pregnancy) and everything was as it should be. Baby is growing beautifully. I measured at 12 weeks and 1 day. Then MY FAVORITE PART . . . Dr. asked if I wanted to know the sex. UMMMMM, Yeaaaaaa!!!!! We thought we wouldn't know until week 16 but he said he could tell. We got some great 3D Ultrasound pictures that I will try to post as well. AND NOW THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR . . . 90% chance Carter will have a little sister. Either way Jeff and I are happy. Our only requests are another happy, healthy baby. However, I think I made Mom and Erin's day, they are thinking PINK now. (Secretly so am I.)

I will try to post some pictures of Mr Carter soon.

Last week I . . .

Went to Lake Las Vegas with my Mommy and Daddy. I watched the duckies, they make funny sounds.
Mommy asked me if I was cute . . . I said " I dunno, am I?"

I decided to try to crawl, I am making slight forward progress.