Happy Birthday Jesus

You may remember the Anderson birthday song from Tom's birthday videos. If not, here it is again, except this time it is the ENTIRE Anderson family singing it and it is for baby Jesus, so you don't have to be an Anderson to get the special song. Also, before we start singing, you will see a large fire being poured over a cake like substance. That would be our family tradition of Plum Pudding. Not the best tasting stuff, but a cool tradition none-the-less.

Christmas Morning

Christmas Video #1

I have a lot of footage to get on here, so let's start with Christmas Eve night. Thomas usually goes to bed around 8. This video was shot at 9:15. It doesn't capture how excited he was, but he couldn't wait for Santa to get here. More to come today.....

Moore Christmas

Carolyn, Bill, Tricia, and John are all going to be in Florida for Christmas this year so we moved our get together up a week. Emily made homemade Chicken Pot Pies. Tricia brought over some cookies and we exchanged gifts. Tom was pretty excited that he got to open up presents a week early and he got some really cool stuff.

We are going to miss spending Christmas day with the Moore side of our family, but I'm sure they will be thinking of us while drinking margaritas in the 70 degree sunshine of Siesta Key.

Cookie Monster

Tom and Grandma made some Christmas cookies last night. Actually, Grandma made them, Tom tried to eat the red hots before they got on the cookie. I'm not sure why he wanted to have his hood on, but he got mad at me when I pulled it down, so we went with the "hood up" look.

Thanksgiving Stuff(ing)

We did Thanksgiving this year out at the Moore's farm in Russellville. Jeff, Kate and Freeman all came in from D.C. Jeff's mom and dad joined us, as well as John and Tricia. Here is a good picture of the three cousins. I think in a few years, when the three of them (and add a 4th with John and Tricia's baby) get together like this, it could mean something is in the works.

We had a fun and busy day, capped off by a delicious dinner with all the traditional Thanksgiving Day food. Of course, I tried to sum up the day with a nice two minute music video for all to enjoy. You can thank me later :)

Mommy's Helper

I wonder what was going thru his mind at this moment?

Balluminaria

Every year in Eden Park they put on a show called Balluminaria. Basically a bunch of hot air balloons set up shop by Mirror Lake and light up the night for a few hours while everyone takes pictures and "oohhs and ahhhs". It doesn't sound like much, but I would guess around 2 - 5 thousand people come up for the show. Tom was completely mesmerized by the whole thing.

Squeeky Says "Hello"

A raptor or a bird? You make the call.

Quick Update

Apparently doing 4 videos in one post kind of steals my thunder. Sorry for the lack of posts. I will have some entertaining ones up soon, but for now enjoy this "Cliff Note" update on the kids.

Sarah

• Had her 3 month check up and is doing well. She is 75% for both height and weight.
• Slowly starting to sleep better. She goes down every night around 7. We give her a bottle at 10, which she sleeps through, and then pray. Some nights she makes it to 3, other nights barley makes it to 2. She is down to one overnight feed, which is good but not great.
• She makes all kinds of funny noises, lots of squeals and yelps. She is starting to laugh too.
• She is a morning person, like her daddy. She wakes up every morning with a big smile and lots of happy sounds.
• I am guessing that the rolling over is going to start by Christmas. She gets to her side, but can't quite roll all the way over to her belly.

Thomas

• Mr. Copy Cat. He will repeat just about anything we say. Daddy has to watch what he yells at the TV while watching the Bearcats or the Bengals.
• He struggles a bit when Mommy or Daddy leaves the house. Hopefully just a phase, because he will be in Daycare/Pre-School next year.
• The "terrible two's" are here, for sure. But for the most part he is a very sweet little guy.
• He is starting to get the"big brother" role. He asks to hold Sarah and wants to help Mommy bring Sarah downstairs when she wakes up from her nap.
• He can say his ABC's from A to Z. Some of the letters aren't crystal clear, but he plows right through them. He even says the end part "Now I know my ABC's next time won't you sing with me?"
• Thomas LOVES any kind of truck or construction equipment. Diggers, dump trucks, back-hoes, bulldozers, firetrucks....he loves them all.

Happy Halloween and 2nd Birthday Tom!

I thought last weekend was busy. This one blew it away. So, in honor of our crazy weekend, here is a "crazy" blog post with 4 (YES, I said 4) videos.

This was Tom's first time trick or treating. He wasn't sure at first, but did eventually get the idea. Featured in this video are our neighbors Joe and Melanie and their kids Greta and Otto. Greta is a monkey and Otto is a banana. Good stuff, there! (Their blog is linked to the right-- Hansbauer's Baby)

Sunday was Tom's 2nd birthday. He was pretty excited all day long. We had a ton of food and lots of good friends and family over to help celebrate. This video captures the often talked about, but hardly seen, Anderson birthday song. By the way, Emily made that cake from scratch.

Back to the music. Tom got a lot of cool stuff. The first two gifts (Big Wheel and Slide) were delivered before the party, hence the calm environment. Also Kate, Jeff and Freeman sent Tom the activity stand you see him in a bunch in these videos. A big "THANK-YOU" to everyone who got Tom a present.

The final video was the end of the party. Tom loves this show called "Choo Choo Soul". It is a show of little 3 minute educational songs, but with a Hip Hop beat (how lame am I?). Coley got him a DVD with all the shows on it. We decided to put the movie on and let the kids go wild. I wish I could have found the Choo Choo Soul theme song to download, but it I could not find it anywhere, so "Thunderstruck" it is.

Busy Saturday

Here is a breakdown of the day:

• Not on the video, Sarah woke up at 5:30 am to officially start the day.
• Tom was up at 7:45, but I didn't get to him until 8.
• Sarah goes down for her first nap at 8:30
• Breakfast of banana pancakes....Mmmmmm
• Sarah up at 10 from her first nap.
• Also not on video (and I am upset about it) Tom got a haircut.
• Off to Liliana's 2nd birthday party
• Leave party and head to UC homecoming football game
• Leave game and head home to get the kids down to sleep
• Erlene comes over to babysit (THANK-YOU)
• Head over to the Longs for Chuck and Julie's Engagement party.
• Home at 10:45
• To bed at 11:30

Long fun day!

The Count!!!

Tom has been doing this for a month now. He started off getting to 5, but within the last few weeks he has picked up 6 thru 13. I don't know why he stops at 13, but I still find it pretty amazing that he can get that high.

You may be asking,"why is he in an empty bathtub, counting to 13?" Well, we actually use the counting thing (or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, or the ABC's) to distract him when we want him to do something that he doesn't want to do. Last night, he did not want to get out of the bath. We counted one more time, while I lifted him out and dried him. Our son is easily distracted.

Two Videos -- Nothing to Relate Them

This first video is my attempt to get Sarah to smile (she smiles A LOT by the way) on camera. As you will see, the end result was not what I was going for at all. (Please enjoy my "daddy" voice)

This next movie was taken this past Saturday at the Moore's farm. It shows some of the highlights from the day. (If I had my camera all day, the video would be over 20 minutes long, Tom had a lot of fun) The last 2 minutes or so was Thomas eating his first ever marshmallow. As you will see, at first he is not too sure. Then he gets his first little taste and does not turn back. At the end of the movie, we ask Tom where the marshmallows went, instead of telling us, he likes to show us where his food goes.

Sarah Jane at 2 Months

Sarah had her 2 month check-up yesterday and is doing very well. She is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. I knew she was pretty long, but didn't think she weighed a whole lot. I guess when I compare her to Thomas, she just feels so much lighter. Anyway, it was a good news day for sure.

No One Likes the Browns...Even a 23 Month Old

Tom Meets His First Famous Person

That's right, it's Windell, the Miller High Life guy from the commercials. He was at the liquor store right near our house on Sunday. What was I doing with Thomas in a liquor store on a Sunday? That question is irrelevant. WE GOT TO MEET WINDELL!!! He even gave Tom a signed autograph and the three of us got a picture together.

As you can tell by the video, Tom was a little bit nervous about meeting someone so famous. I mean, who wouldn't be? But by the time we were out in the parking lot and walking home, Tom was repeatedly saying "Who Dey" and "Wendell". Add on top of that, a Bengals' win over the Stillers, man what a day!

Our Little Out-Law

Anyone who follows the Bengals will get the title of this post. Tom is wearing a Chris Henry jersey. Henry has been arrested a bunch of times since being drafted by the Bengals. Last year they finally got tough and kicked him off the team, only to turn around a few weeks later and bring him back aboard. Hi-Pop (my dad) got this jersey for Tom and said we should make him wear it when we put him on the naughty step.

Well, since the Bengals won this Sunday(and Henry scored a TD), Tom is going to be wearing the Chris Henry jersey quite a bit this season. Also, it is a size 4T, so he has at least another year before he grows out of it. We are all hoping Chris Henry stays out of jail in the meantime.

It wasn't a rock...it was a ROCK LOBSTER!

A typical Saturday morning with the Anderson boys (and the only B-52's song worth knowing)

My First Night with Both Kids---ALONE!

Last night, Emily went out to enjoy a few hours away from the kids. It was well deserved, as she has been doing the daytime thing on her own for a few weeks now. This meant I was on my own with both kids once she left. Alarm bells were going off in my head when I heard this.

A little background for you to set the mood. Our first month with Sarah has shown us that her worst time of the day is between 6 and 9 PM. She doesn't seem to calm down after her 4 PM feeding. All the rocking/jiggy walking in the world does not help either. So we had been taking turns trying to calm her every night. That way, neither of us get too upset or tired in that 3 hour stretch. It also allows us to have a somewhat normal family dinner...Oh yeah, Thomas also needs to be played with, fed, bathed and put to bed in that same time period. It is a little hectic to say the least, but manageable with two adults.

Now, back to last night. Emily was trying to get out of the house at 6:45. As we got to dinner time, it was apparent that 6:45 was going to be a miracle. Both kids were having off days. Thomas was extremely needy last night. He just wanted to be held the entire time. Sarah was doing her usual 6 PM meltdown. Emily was doing her best to get ready, but she didn't want to leave me with these two nearly out of control kids. Finally around 7:15, and after an epic Thomas meltdown (one in which I was laying across his body, pinning his arms while he was screaming, in order to put a diaper on him), Emily was out the door.

I'd like to say that I got everything in order after she left, but that would be a pretty HUGE lie. Thomas finally calmed down and was nice enough to go to sleep right at 8. Sarah really never got into her usual night time groove. I held her and jiggy walked from 8 until almost midnight. Emily got home around 10, but I tried to "finish the job" on my own. By midnight, I was cooked. Poor Sarah finally fell asleep around 12:30, thanks to Emily.

I guess what I got from the evening is that I can handle both kids at their worst, but i don't want to do it very often. It makes me appreciate what Emily (and all stay at home moms) go thru on a daily basis.

Of course I have a video (a small glimpse) of the very beginning of the night. Emily was still home, but this will give you all an idea of what the rest of the night had in store for me.

Deep Thoughts....by Thomas Anderson

Trucks, Trucks, Trucks, Digger, Trucks, Digger....daddy!

Miss Sarah at 1 Month

Sarah at birth
Sarah at 1 month (giving the, "That's right!" face)

Sarah at 1 month (giving the "what is going on?" face)

Tom's New Favorite Thing

Well, this isn't his favorite thing, but I wanted to document Tom actually eating veggies.

This is Tom's favorite thing. TRUCKS! TRACTORS! DIGGERS!

Look at how proud he is to be driving this tractor. He is such a little man!

Now Thatsa Spicy Meatball!

It only took us 22 months to get Thomas to eat noodles. He finally realized how good they are the other night and once he did, he devoured his spaghetti. Italian is back on the menu at the Anderson house!

My Life (so far) With Two Kids

Here are the comparisons of life with one 20 month old to life with a 20 month old and 3 week old.

With just the 20 month old:

1) Day starts between 6:30 and 7 am when Tom wakes up and wants out of the crib.
2) I go get him up, change his diaper, put on his clothes and hang out while Emily showers.
3) Emily takes him downstairs, makes breakfast, maybe puts on Sesame Street while I shower.
4) I leave for work, Tom waves bye-bye in the window, I work until 5:30.
5) Emily and Tom do a morning activity, take a nap at 1, wake up and play until I get home.
6) I get home, play golf or baseball with Tom while Emily makes dinner.
7) We eat, play for a little bit, Tom takes a bath, puts pj's on, reads a book, asleep by 8 PM
8) Emily and I enjoy some tv and get to bed by 10 or 11.

Look how organized and neat the whole thing is. Honestly, we had gotten into that kind of routine with Thomas, for someone who is slightly OCD like me, it was almost heaven.

Now life with a 20 month old and 3 week old:

1) Wake up at 1 am for a feeding. Emily is breastfeeding, so I don't typically even know this goes on, but I have tried to help when needed. Wake up again at 4 am for another feeding, same as the 1 am feeding.
2) Tom wakes up at 7, so does Sarah, so I run in to get him while Emily nurses in our room. Tom wants to see mommy so we go into our room where he keeps climbing up and down the bed, all the while not letting me change his diaper or leave the room to shower because he also wants daddy in the room.
3) Around 7:30 I wrestle Tom's diaper and day clothes on him and try to get him downstairs so Emily can finish nursing Sarah in peace and quiet. Grandma either comes by or I drive Tom to her and head to work. Bye bye morning shower to wake me up.
4) I work in a kind of sleepy haze for the first few hours. I'm not sure if I am actually accomplishing anything, but I am there, so that counts for something.
5) Emily, Sarah, Thomas and Grandma do stuff at home. Tom naps at 1, I hope Emily and Sarah do to, I really have no idea if that happens.
6) I get home from work at 5:30 and hang out with Thomas, trying to keep him inside so I can relax on the couch with a beer, but all he wants to do is play golf or baseball outside. So we usually do that. By the way the mosquito are horrible this year, they attack us the entire time.
7) Thomas and I eat while Emily nurses Sarah and does her best to eat at the same time. After dinner Tom takes a shower with me, says "night-night" to our neighbors dog about 50 times, then goes to bed at 8.
8) Emily hands Sarah off to me at 8:30, pumps while I give her a bottle.
9) Sarah fusses from 9 until 11. I jiggy walk from 9 until 11. We all (please God, please!) go to sleep at 11:30 setting an alarm to wake up at 1 and start it all over again.

Not as organized but really it has not been bad at all. Yeah, we are tired, but Sarah has been great and Thomas has really adjusted pretty well to his sister. This is the last week we are doing the 1 am feeding. So that should help Emily out a bunch. We both think Sarah will make it to 4 anyway. She barley even wakes up for the 1 am feeding now.

First Doctor's Visit and First Bath

She wasn't happy to be there, but the Doctor's office was all good. Sarah is already back to birth weight and no jaundice, so she is doing very well.


Her first bath was also an interesting 5 minutes. She cried for most of it, while Tom looked on from his own bath. It is funny thinking back to when we gave Tom his first bath in this same sink. If he sat in that sink today, it would break.

Does Anyone Know Where the Sports' Page Is?

This has become a common scene around our house lately. Thomas has really started taking an interest in the "Big Boy Pottie". Now all the books say not to really start pushing this until after the age of 2, but we certainly aren't going to stop him from using the pottie if he wants to use it. Tom's cousin, Francie, has stopped wearing diapers now, so when they are together, Tom always wants to use the pottie. Today my mom called me to announce that Thomas had "pooped a few times" in the pottie. Unbelievably I was extremely excited about it. 5 years ago talking about a kid pooping in a toilet would have ranked about 99th out of 100 on a scale of things that made me happy. (100 being any kind of body cavity search involving me and the police)

Anyway, here's to pooping in a pottie and being excited about doing it! I'm sure we will have many more fascinating updates in the future.

And How is Tom Doing?

Well, the little man had quite a weekend while his sister was busy coming into the world. He spent a lot of time out at the farm playing on tractors, spraying the cows and just playing with Sammy-Dog.We also had another first....Tom's first stitches.

He got 5 on the bridge of his nose. It was only a matter of time with the way this kid climbs. He seems to be handling that situation pretty well. In fact, he doesn't even know he has a boo-boo on his nose.

Tom also got to meet his sister for the first time on Monday. Here is the video of that moment:

He has always been good with little babies. I hope that this "tender" side of Tom stays with us for the next few months.

Sarah on Film

She wasn't even in this world for more than 30 seconds before I got her on video. She came out screaming, which is a good thing, but she kept going the entire time we were in the operating room. She has healthy lungs.

This first video is pretty much right after she was delivered, within a minute.

The next video is Sarah getting her footprints taken. Kind of a cool moment. I remember with Thomas, his feet did not fit on the paper. Thankfully, our little girl is a bit smaller.

Sarah Jane Anderson

The Stork Delivered...

A healthy baby girl. Our daughter, Sarah Jane Anderson was born at 1:27 pm. She is a healthy 8 lbs 1 ounce. Everyone is doing great! Pictures to follow.

Tom Meets Freeman and Helps Dad

This weekend we all got to meet Tom's cousin (Jeff and Kate's son) Freeman Miller. Jeff and Kate live in DC, so we don't get to see them very often. It was also Jeff's birthday, so we had a lot to celebrate. Here is a video of Tom welcoming Freeman to the family:

Tom, so far, has been very good around babies. I hope that continues when his sister arrives. He seems to understand that babies need to be treated nicely and that rough-housing is not a good thing.

This weekend, we also put together our double stroller. Tom has become very interested in tools. We bought him a little tool kit and he always pulls it out and tries to help put things together. He has gotten pretty good with a screwdriver. He usually says "Grandpa" when he gets the tools out because Emily's dad is always using tools in front of him. Also, Grandpa should host "This Old House". This time, though, Emily caught him helping Da Da out with the stroller. This is about the extent of my craftiness:

No News is Bad News

We saw Emily's doctor today for our week 39 checkup on Ander-Girl. Unfortunately, she is as stubborn as her older brother. No change at all for Emily. It looks more and more like we will be heading in next Saturday for a C-Section. That is not necessarily a bad thing, it's just that Emily really wants to have this baby naturally. Also, she is a week past the uncomfortable stage. It is hard for her to sleep, walk, sit for long periods, really do just about anything.

We'll keep everyone posted. We are getting ready to celebrate our last weekend as a family of 3. The plans include a lot of hanging out, catching up on TiVo, cleaning, and maybe a late night of 11 PM!!! I hope no one calls the Newport cops on us. :)

Our 4th Anniversary

I can't believe it has been 4 years already. It really seems like just yesterday that I met Emily at a Halloween party. I don't think we said more than two sentences to each other that night, but I knew I wanted to ask her out. Here we are 6 years after that party and 4 years after saying, "I do", one kid here, another on the way. I couldn't be happier with how our lives together have turned out so far. I can't wait to see what the next 4 - 40 years bring. If they are anything like the first 4, I will be one of the happiest men on the planet.

Tom at the Ball Game

We finally were able to get Thomas to a real, live baseball game on saturday night. He did very well at the game. We made it to the middle of the 6th inning before it was time to go. That was a good thing, as the rain delay came an inning later. Tom also got to experience something that is happening way too often around here, a Reds' loss. Oh well, I'm glad we got him to the game and that there were no meltdowns either. A special thanks to John and Tricia, who once again, were extremely helpful with Tom.

Here are some pictures and, of course, a movie.

BASEBALL!!!!

Tom has picked up a love of baseball the last few weeks. We keep trying to get him down to a Red's game, but something always comes up that gets in the way. If I have the TV on, Tom will demand that I find a baseball game so he can watch and say "Whack!" every time he sees someone swing. (He also does this with golf, which he loves as much as baseball and he actually has a nice golf swing)

So this weekend we had AJ's baptism, but before we went Tom and his cousin-in-law (is that even a real term?) Noah found the tee ball set at Hi-Pop and G.G.'s house. Noah is a few years older than Tom, so he had some nice advice on how to really hit the ball. I'm telling you, Noah could hit the ball further than me. Anyway, here is a video (yes a "music" video I love my new camera) of the boys taking their cuts. At the 1:20 mark, you will see Tom almost get in his first baseball related accident. Enjoy:

Farmer Tom

4th of July

The 3 day weekend went too fast, but we all had a good time. We spent most of the holiday with the Anderson family, but did get some time in with the Moore's too. It was a strange weather situation here. I don't remember the last 4th of July that I felt the need to put on a jacket when the sun went down. On Sunday, it was almost Fall like weather. I guess I will take that over 95 and humid, but it just didn't feel like the 4th this year. It didn't stop us from enjoying some delicious food and loud fireworks. In fact, I even have video of all the good stuff.

This first one is of Tom and Francie dancing in the rain. You will also notice that I was drinking PBR, thanks to El Goffo. I was trying to keep up with the Red, White, and Blue theme.

In this next video, you get my "behind the scenes" documentary on the fireworks display. Keep in mind, this was after several PBR's, so my commentary may not be the best or make any sense. Also, I have no light on my camera, so you really can't see much, other than the fireworks. Finally, yes, we were all wearing glow necklaces, that's just how we roll.

End Game

Well, after many days discussing the decision, we have finally scheduled a C-Section date for Ander-Girl. Drum roll please............................

August 1st is the choice.

There is a chance that she will come early and naturally, but if not we now know that we only have 4 more weeks until we get to meet her.

Thanks to everyone for your helpful (and sometimes funny) suggestions.

Ahhhhh the Pool!

Francie and Tom really love the pool. It is also a great way to wear them out so they sleep better. Tom has slept past 7am the last two days, hopefully a trend that continues. The song, by the way is, "Cool for Cats" by Squeeze. A totally rad 80's British band, that has a lead singer who actually sings with a British accent. A rare thing, indeed.

This is just more of the same, minus the song.

Cool New Toy

I had a wonderful Father's Day. I got to sleep in, play golf, then spend time with my entire family. You can't ask for much more, yet I got even more with a cool new toy from Emily, Tom and Baby #2. I finally have a cool, little handheld camera that does videos. We took video #1 last night.

Here is the set up. For years and years, all the Anderson kids (cousins included) were terrorized by a thing called "The Bear Trap". Basically the Bear (my dad) would grab you and not let go. You had to stop squirming around until the Bear falls asleep and loosens his grip. Then you could get away. The Bear would always wake up just as you got far enough away so that he couldn't get you. Apparently this went back even further to my great uncle Bill, so the Bear Trap has got some history. As you will see in this video, the next generation is not afraid of bears.

Now check this out....I can make this video look like a music video thanks to my cool Father's Day present.

Pretty cool, no? So, expect more videos, possibly with music, in the future. On a separate note, thanks for all the comments on my previous post. We have not decided yet which date to choose, but August 1st seems to be the people's choice. We'll let you know once we pick a date.

Baby #2 Check-Up

Everything is going well with baby #2. We have to set a date for a C-Section, in case she doesn't come early. So we have two choices of dates. July 30th or August 1st. It is kind of strange picking a potential birthday, and we are probably over thinking it a bit.
Our doctor did say that for Soccer or Swimming, July 31st is a BIG date. If you are born on or before the 31st, you will be the youngest person on your team. If you are born on August 1st, you will be the oldest. I certainly want my daughter to dominate, so I am leaning towards the 1st. But, that seems like a silly reason to pick a date. How about this, Tom was born on November 1st, so it would be easier to remember her birthday if she was born on August 1st? I think Emily is leaning towards an earlier date because, 1) she is starting to get uncomfortable lugging around all this extra weight and 2) the 1st is a Saturday, hospitals are usually pretty crowded on Saturdays.
Either way, we just don't know which way to go....any ideas out there in blog-land?

The Final Destin Pictures