12 Weeks and Counting

As many of you already know from phone calls yesterday, or visits from Michael and I, we are having a baby! Baby Anderson is due February 7th, 2011 which happens to be my dad's birthday, and also happens to be very close to some of our friends and other family members birthdays (we've already had people joke the baby should "wait just one more day" etc. so that his/her birthday will be shared).

Since this past weekend was the first time we shared the BIG NEWS with someone other than the doctor, dentist and hair stylist, it's only really beginning to sink in that this is the real deal... but it will only get more REAL from here. Our next appointment is two weeks from today where we'll hear the heartbeat, and then again at around 18 weeks where we'll have a sonogram and hopefully be able to tell if it is a boy or a girl.

Right now our baby is the size of a plum, his/her major systems have formed and this week, he/she is developing reflexes (such as bending toes and fingers), sucking, his/her kidneys are sending urine to his or her bladder, and he/she is really starting to look more human with his/her ears and eyes in 'the right place'. I could sit and wonder for hours about how our baby is small enough to fit in a coffee cup and is yet still is so finely developed and developing!

The picture below is of our sonogram at 9 weeks + some.

We're so happy that we have such wonderful family and friends that are sharing in our joy at this time, praying for us, and supporting us as we learn as we go... and we're so excited about our 2 1/2 week old nephew Jackson (PRECIOUS) who will surely prove to be the perfect playmate and cousin for our little one when he (or she) arrives.

More again soon... alas, we now have a reason to blog again!

Squirrels... Friend or Foe

So it's been a long time since we've written and though not much is new with Michael and I there has been a lot going on in our lives! We got a new sister in law when David married Sara on June 19th and just last week on July 8th our first nephew, Jackson Charles Anderson, was born to Jonathan and Ashley. I have some pictures of those events that I still need to pull off my camera, but I was cleaning off my desktop today and found this video of Huck so I figured I could at least post that in the interim.

Huck loves loves loves to be outside. His routine when we open the back door is to check the wall for lizards, then run to check the trees for squirrels, then do whatever other business he has to do out there. If he's outside in the morning there is no question that he's sitting in the flower bed looking to the sky, because those squirrels are sitting up in our trees tormenting him with their flicking tails, chirping, and scurrying about. I'm not sure if he desperately wants to play with them, or eat them, but it is the number #1 cause of a barking, whining, Hucklebear.

Poor huck.

Great is...

Great is the husband who says "No problem, I can take out that small bag of trash [so the raw chicken container doesn't stink up the house]."

Great is the wife who can laugh when she finds out her husband threw away the bag of snacks she'd packed for the office including a big new box of crackers, cans of soup, lemons, etc.

Ha Oh Michael. Thanks for taking out the "trash" - now will you please take out the ACTUAL trash?

xoxo

Our Baby Huck Turns 1

When my friend Beth's bulldog turned 1 we went to an official dog party, got doggie picture frames, cooked hamburgers and Omaha Steak hot dogs (WHAT?! so delicious). She even made a special carrot cake cupcake just for Billy (the bulldog) that was safe for dogs.... On Huck's birthday Michael and I went out for date night and bought Huck a toy on the way home because we're bad parents.

To make up for our neglect of our baby on his birthday I gave him a horrible haircut last night (more on that later) and now I will post some long overdue videos of our funny little man.

Video 1 (sorry it is sideways, I didn't think about not being able to flip it when I was filming):
Michael's favorite way to play with Hucklebear is to sort of move in slow motion while Hucklebear sits and stares awaiting the burst of energy and chase that ensues at the end. In this video Michael is actually hiding in the pantry/laundry room SLOWLY opening the door. You'll see that as scared as Huck gets he always chases after Michael to continue the playing.

Video 2:
This is Huck totally destroying the snuggle we got him for his birthday in about 2 mins. We literally threw it away about 10 mins after we got home.

Little Pickle

It's been a stressful week. There was yard work to be done before the rain came and work has been especially busy since I started the week travelling for work.

Then, as we were preparing to eat leftover brisket sandwiches, I got out the jar of pickles and found.....

Is that not the tiniest pickle you've EVER seen?!?! It's like someone knew that I needed to smile and planted that little guy in the jar especially for me. We put it next to the clothespin to give you a little perspective and as you can see our camera-shy Michael just couldn't resist! ha

Happy Thursday!

Sister Sister

I don't have any biological sisters and truthfully, if I had two daughters I think I'd be lost in how to handle them and the unique relationship that ensues. But Ashley was already part of the Anderson family by the time I joined and soon we'll add Sara when she marries our brother-in-law David in June - and I'm starting to think that sisters seem like a pretty great addition to what is my family!

A couple of weekends ago (yes, I'm very behind) we had a girls weekend here in Dallas for Sara. Girls came in from Lubbock, Austin, Houston, Oklahoma and St. Louis! We did girly things like make gourmet grilled cheeses, get manicures and pedicures, shop, watch girly movies, etc. but more importantly we made lots of wonderful memories.

Ashley, Sara and I all come from families where we have younger brothers and though we didn't choose each other as sisters (in-law) any more than you can choose your biological siblings, I think we are a pretty great match! It's crazy to think that our commitments to each of these Anderson brothers is also a commitment to be in one anothers lives as well - these girls will be my sisters for life... and I think that's a pretty awesome deal!

Love you girls!

Natasha

Snow Pics (More)

I found some more pictures of the snow on my camera tonight. I got HOT the other day running errands and it wasn't even a month ago that our house looked like this...

Snow on the roof.