slkdjfowneo....noooo

This morning Anderson was having a conversation with his sister and it consisted of...kdlksjlkjdfkjkdsa nooooo (he said this several times and all ending in "no"). With a big smile on his face, he was trying to get Myla to respond - she giggled and smiled. Gibberish to gibberish, I bet she knew what he was saying too! I laughed - internally - and complemented Anderson on being sweet to his sissy, but told him to be careful - he was practically on top of her in her car seat.
I am finding myself trying to find a way to pause time so that I can enjoy and savor each of these sweet moments. I am definitely not ready for Anderson to start making more sense to me. I just love the conversations he having with us. When Dada's home he usually calls out for Dada and when Trevor responds he says "ummmmmmm." He just wants dada to pay attention to him...which is never a problem.
Myla is a talker too! I swear she says "mama," but of course it's when she is hungry. She coos and talks a lot - at least when she's awake. She's getting to the point that she wants a lot of attention so that she can talk and smile. I guess I can say that's one thing each of my sweeties get from me...the love of jibber jabbing :-)

Do you believe?

On August 3rd I had a little girl. She peeked her head into this world at 12:39 a.m. and turned my world around.

I began my Monday morning with contractions after heaving Anderson into his car seat to take him to the sitters. As a loyal assistant, I drove into work and began the day as usual. I forewarned my boss that "today may be the day", so if there's anything that needs to get done we must focus on that. Contractions were steady all day until 2:45. I called Trevor to leave work early: I didn't want to have this baby without him. He laughed at me because I wouldn't wait 45 minutes for him to get out of work, but he did as I asked. As you may know, brain cells don't operate normally while in labor and Trevor saw this and called in reinforcements: my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, Tarin. They picked me up from work, Tarin took the truck and got Anderson from the sitters, and my mother-in-law drove me to the hospital...then...nothing happened. I was monitored for hours before I noticeably dilated and contractions were still 3-5 minutes apart. Soooo...enters the doctor. "Let's check you and see how far along you are, " he says (this is a fill in doctor since mine were having a good ole time on vacation). "okay." "hmmm, I think you are dilated to 8 or 9. I think your best bet is to have your water broken to expedite labor and then I can get a better reading as to how far you are dilated and make sure that's the baby's head I feel." So I agree and the water was broken...it gets better... He checks me and the look on his face (so I'm told) was an Uh-Oh face. "The baby is Frank Breech. You have to have a c-section."
You've GOT to be kidding me! After all this time I was ready to PUSH and now the contractions have to be stopped. By this time, I was in pain, scared, and wanted to have this baby asap. So within a few hours I hear the crying of my new little baby girl. Trevor says that it looks like she had been sitting in a basketball hoop...legs up and arms up. So for those of you that don't know what Frank Breech is, here is a wikipedia definition: Frank breech - the baby's bottom comes first, and his or her legs are flexed at the hip and extended at the knees (with feet near the ears). 65-70% of breech babies are in the frank breech position.
My beautiful Myla Reese has entered my world.


My dark haired beauty and light haired son have given me such a new, wonderful perspective in life. How can one not believe in a greater God?! I am overwhelmed daily by emotions of love and know that I'm am so blessed.

After seven weeks Anderson has developed a protective brother attitude and cries for "Baa-by" when he wants to hold her or if she cries. He's, of course, a little aggressive, but unknowingly so, and showers his little sister with kisses all the time. Mama's kisses have decreased as Myla's have increased, hmmm...

I'll admit...

I'll admit, I am addicted to blogs. I have subscribed to six in the past week, all having to do with be a frugal granola, nourishing gourmet, sortacrunchy, a passionate homemaker and more. My daily readings, which should be devotionals, are blogs of other women and their lives. For a long time I thought that reality tv was a problem for me, then we canceled cable and I moved on to bigger, better things...I am now addicted to reality blogs. That being said, I don't think it's a bad thing. For one, I am learning to be a better Christian (always reminded in the blogs about spending time with God), better mother (how to control my anger when all I want to do is go berserk), better healthy cook (now I just need to implement soaking grains rather than just reading about it), and a better wife. I have always been a bit extreme, but now I actually found women that are just like me and I don't feel so very crazy for my extremism. I'll admit, I am a passionately devoted christian whose goal is to homeschool my children, eat as naturally as possible and make it look like a cinch. Now after all of this, I long for others (my loved ones and friends) to be able to accept me the way I am...I know it's possible because a few already have.
I guess what I am trying to say in all of this is to not dismiss someone for their passions in life, especially if it is something wonderful they are trying to strive for.
So Webster, add the above as a definition to your dictionary for "Granola-ism" (my loving nickname given to me by my sister :-)

The Mile High City

Hey all! We have returned from our big family vacation intact and ready for the next vacation...when is that? This year we spent a week in Denver visiting my sister and had a packed itinerary the whole time we were there. We took our fifth-wheel and drove to the city wherein lies a state park - interesting location! Then we proceeded to go to: tour Denver, Colorado Springs, Rocky Mountains, Estes Park - whew! - then we shopped, went to a Rockies baseball game and FINALLY took a breather and spent some time at the campground! I just have to say that little Anderson at 15 months was a GEM! He barely fussed at having to travel everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE! Talk about a happy mama!
We had a blast and were very grateful for Trevor's sister, Traci, having come with us. She spent a lot of time in the truck with Anderson letting him "drive" while we needed to get things done. Anderson even learned a few phrases and was so darn adorable that week. He mastered "thank you," "Hello!," "It's for you!" You would have to know that he was playing with the phones the whole time.
Sleep was definitely a luxury since Anderson was teething big-time. He has three new teeth working their way through and of course they are the back teeth. He was feverish and the dry air kept him coughing at night, but he was always in the best of spirits the next day. He also loved getting attention from strangers and would wave to them until they responded. It was a little scary, though, when he tried to get the attention of some strange fellow who wanted nothing to do with him! But he waved and waved till that man waved back...now to teach him to stay away from strangers...hmmm....

Well, with little sissy on the way I am not sure a big vacation is in the works for next year, but now we know how little mister handles travels...and that makes for a happy mama and dada :-)

Haircuts, vacations and growing belly

As summer is approaching, apparently it is the time for haircuts, namely my little 14 month old's shaggy, short do needing a little upgrade. To a mother this is a heart wrenching thought, but despite my objections, daddy pulled out the clippers and proceeded to even out my little baby's hair...sob, sob! Mind you, I collected the shavings and have them in a zippie and will put them in his baby book when I actually decide to update that thing.
My little Anderson is now running the house, literally. He is everywhere, all the time. Lately, he has found the vacuum fascinating and would you know, we have a VERY clean floor almost daily! My arms are objecting to the holding of a 24 lb boy, baby in my belly and an absurdly heavy piece of machinery. I take the dat-dat (vacuum) and Anderson for a ride and this only makes him want it more! Hopefully, he will take this desire to clean to his teenage years!
Our next endeavor of the coming months, besides lil sissy, is a trip to Denver. I PRAY the drive out there and the time we have will be a fun time for Anderson and easy on mommy and daddy (sanity still in tact) ;-) We have virtually everyday planned and a fun little outing planned for Anderson as well (zoo or aquarium). I will also get to visit some organic markets, YAY!! Of course, I will be postponing any grocery shopping until we have reached our destination.
With my belly growing bigger everyday, I have come to appreciate pregnancy and have even come to like it! I was in such a big hurry with Anderson to have him that I missed such a special time to appreciate God's work and I let the fear of delivery take over me. What an amazing experience to have, though, and I can now see why many women choose to have lots of babies! I look at my little family everyday and thank God for all the blessings He's given us. I am tearing up as I write this...

1st Birthday and 2nd Child

Hmm, not quite sure what he's supposed to do with the cupcake...

The news of the month (besides Anderson's first birthday) - yep, we're having another child! A day after Anderson's first birthday, we found out we are pregnant with our second child. And come to find out, I'm quite far along! According to the doc, most likely at four months. We are so very excited and Anderson, well, he doesn't quite know what to think yet, but we feel that Anderson is going to be a wonderful big brother.

In other news, we had Anderson's birthday party and had a great time! He wasn't quite sure what to do initially with the cupcake (apple cake w/homemade whipped topping), but once he got the gist, he was off and running and LOVED it!

Anderson and his silly smile

Christmas day and Anderson checking out his new ride and toys!

This video is a few weeks old, so you can imagine that he walks a lot better now. He is just so excited to walk that he gets a huge smile on his face every time he walks around the house - especially away from mommy and daddy as fast as he can!

He's Walking!

Yes, you read me correctly - little Anderson is walking and is taking charge! He is still in the new stages of walking (even though he really has been on his feet for a month), but he sometimes still prefers crawling over walking; must be the bumps and bruises he's gotten along the way has deterred him a little. Once he hit that stage it was like he became a new little man. He is ever so determined to get into everything and he seems a little taller ;0)
Of course, now the new rules in the house are 1). keep the bathroom door shut and 2). keep the gate closed to the stairwell. He has tried (and very successfully, I might add) to get into the toilet and to go upstairs.

It is scary to think that in a little over a month he will turn 1 (I am already planning the party)! And sorry no pictures are posted AGAIN! I really am going to try to put some up soon. I have a video of him walking for all to see.

Au Revoir for now!

Toy Room

So Trevor and I decided on Saturday to take up a project...toy room for Anderson. Now I realize we have mentioned that we wouldn't do that, but with all his toys in the living room it was beginning to become overcrowded. So toy room it is! We spent most of the day putting it together and we have such a fun little room for Anderson to play in. He took to it right away and now goes between that room and the living room doing his little scoot while holding onto a toy - usually a ball :-)
He also is learning to repeat everything! He replies to our questions and is so darn smart. It's hard to believe how such a little man can learn something so huge in even one day!