Chubby little man, haircut, and bubbles

Here are a couple of pictures I just took. Look at Jake's chubby little tummy! He is so cute! Such a sweet baby. I just love him. He loves to be held and cuddled and I love to cuddle him!

I took Abby to get her hair cut on Friday. She doesn't like getting her haircut, but she held more still this time than lasts, so maybe that's a good sign. I just had to keep popping the fruit snacks in her mouth and playing peek-a-boo in the mirror with her.

We have been enjoying such a beautiful fall here in Cincinnati. The weather was 65 today! We went for a walk and then BBQed for dinner. I think some cold weather and rain is coming in next week, so we thought we had better enjoy today. This picture is from a few days ago when we took the bubble blower out on the deck. The girls thought it was great!

So Big!

Look how big this cute little guy is getting! He is 11 weeks now and is wearing 3 month clothes! I can't believe it! He's over 11 lbs. and is doing great! If I get a chance (ha!) I'll post some Halloween pictures.

Home!

Well baby Jake came home a week ago today. Truth be told, it has been a rough week! I'll spare you the details mostly because I don't want to relive the crappiness. It is great to have him home, though, and he is doing great. He is eating well and growing.

(I had to post a picture of him in these little shorts because I thought they were hilarious. The picture doesn't do it justice because you can't tell how little he is.)

My sister Katie flew out and helped me with the girls so I could run back and forth to the hospital before Jake came home. Before she saw him, I was trying to show her how big he was. I used Abby's doll as a comparison, but then we couldn't decide if that was accurate or not, so I thought I'd take a picture. He's pretty close to her size!

Jake's crying, so I had better run, but I'll post more pictures later. :)

Jacob Peter Anderson

Well, we had our baby last Sunday, August 22. He came at 31 weeks. I guess the placenta was starting to detach, so after a week of small complications, I went into labor. In true Heather fashion, I went from not being dilated at all, to a 10 in less than 12 hours. Luckily I was at the hospital, as they had made me stay to be monitored. I had sent Pete home because I didn't think there was going to be anything going on. But the contractions got much stronger and the next thing they knew, I was at a 5. So I called Pete at 2 in the morning and told him to drop the kids at a friend's house and get to the hospital as quick as he could. They thought it was safer for the baby on the outside, so they let him come.

The baby was born at 5:56am. He weighed 3 pounds 9 ounces and was 17 inches long. He is in the NICU and will be for about 4 more weeks I think. He is gaining weight, breathing well, and is doing great. He just needs to get bigger and strong. We are grateful that he is ok and that he is a part of our family. Needless to say, it has been a physically and emotionally exhausting week. Luckily Pete had the week off. My mom just got here, so I am really grateful for the help, and for the love and support we're received from friends and family.

Random thoughts of a pregnant woman...

Wow! I have been meaning to post forever, but it seems like I can't use the computer without a million interruptions and lots of "help". This post is full of my random thoughts, which could be scary. ;)

1. A heat index of 111 + pregnancy = too hot!!

2. It would be great to have one of those cute-little-beach-ball tummies that people get when they're pregnant, but I think this baby is stretched out from head to toe, with his arms above his head, wrapping all the way around my stomach. And my hips and booty are just getting extra big. But nonetheless, I am really excited and grateful to be having a baby.

3. Why do companies (water proofing, bathroom refinishing, life insurance) insist of having both spouses at home in order to come look at your house, etc.? I told the bathtub people that my husband is never home, and they said, "Well, we could push your appointment back to 6:30." Ohhh, 6:30. Apparently she didn't get my drift the first time. When I said never home, I really did mean never home.

4. Which speaking of never home, it's been an extra rough July and August around here. Pete worked 95 hours this week. And when he's home, he's studying up on the next days cases or sleeping. I must say, though, that I have had a pretty productive week, so that always feels good. Plus he has a week off coming up week after next, so then we will get to see him again.

5. I bought an old little dresser for the baby at a garage sale yesterday for $4! Wahoo! I was able to drive it home in my trunk with the lid open so I didn't even have to bother anyone to pick it up for me.

6. I am running out of things to cook for dinner. If you have any good recipes, will you email them to me?

7. My favorite part of being pregnant (because there are just so many to choose from) is feeling the baby kick. It's just so neat!

8. Walmart is the worst. I've probably said it a hundred times before. So why do I keep going there?!

9. Emily's hernia repair surgery cost $11,000. Really? That seems a little steep. We were only there for like 3 hours. We are responsible for 10% of the bill, which will be a nice healthy dent in the dwindling savings account. But I guess I should be glad that we have insurance at all.

10. I am so grateful for our air conditioning, my car that keeps on going, my eye sight, my vivacious girls, my husband, and $5 pizzas at Little Caesars.

It sounds like Pete's up and the girls are calling me, so I had better run.

Baby!!

Well, we went to the doctor today and found out that we're having a baby BOY! We are really excited! Everything looked normal and healthy. I am 21 weeks along and am due October 21st. Wahoo!!

It Must Be True...

Ya know, Sundays are rough. Last Sunday I got up to the sound of my alarm, woke my sleeping baby and 4-year-old up, and tried to move them along through breakfast, getting dresses on, and combing hair without too much complication. Then we got in the car and drove for 30 minutes. Between my house and the church there are at least a dozen churches, ranging from different Catholic parishes to a variety of Baptist organizations, Methodist, and a few that I don't know which category they fall into, but all of which would be a closer drive on a Sunday morning. Once at church, I'm by myself with the 2 girls which means that if Abby is naughty I have to take her out and leave Emily in the chapel, hoping she behaves herself. We're lucky if we make it through Sacrament meeting, after which Abby definitely won't sit in Sunday school, but we try again for Relief Society, and sometimes even make it through the practice hymn. It's an exhausting morning. But something bigger compels me to go. No one would notice if I weren't there, and if they did, they wouldn't fault me, nor would Peter. I'm just glad to have the chance to take the sacrament and sing a hymn or two and maybe actually hear a talk. If for no other reason, the church must be true if I'm happy/willing/determined to go back and do it again the next week.

(Here is a picture that I tried to catch before church while the girls were dressed up. You can tell that Abby was already planning to not sit through the meetings.)

Happy Birthday, Abby!

Hooray for Abby! Today is her 1st Birthday!! Yesterday she smeared vaseline all over my tan couch, so I actually consider her lucky to be having a first birthday! ;) We love Abby. She is so sweet and loving. She loves to play peek-a-boo, make messes, eat things off the floor, play with Emily, being in the bath, and get and give hugs and kisses. Tonight we're having homemade pizza, fruit salad, peas and green beans (favorites of hers). Em and I just made chocolate cake and we're going to put up some decorations. Emily has been so excited, definitely more so than Abby. ;) In some ways it's hard to believe that she's a year old, but it others it feels like we've had her forever (you know how it is). This last year has actually gone by pretty slow with everything we've had going, so I feel like I've enjoyed my time with her.

Vinyl Blog!

Ok, so I finally have my vinyl blog up. Here is the link! :) http://simplystatedvinyllettering.blogspot.com/

Thoroughly Grossed Out

Oh, man. So yesterday I found what looked like mouse droppings under my sink. As in, a mouse (probably mice) are living in my house. Uninvited. Pete confirmed it. Mice. Are. In. My. House!!!! It gives me the shivers even typing it. I am thoroughly grossed out. I can do the largest, hairiest of spiders, smash them with the bravest of them all, but I just can't do mice. The only thing worse would be a rat, but I won't even go there. My friend that lives about 20 minutes away gets lizards in her house. I would rather have lizards than rodents any day. They gross me out that bad. So Pete got some mouse traps last night, and as soon as the girls go to bed we are going to get started on project "No Mice". Wish us luck...