Family Reunion

This weekend was the annual Anderson Family Reunion in Foreman, Arkansas. We got to see family members that we haven't seen in 10-plus years, and Steve finally got to meet some of his "new" extended family. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins and getting into trouble. We'll see everyone again next year!

Uncle Jody playing peek-a-boo with Claire

sleepy girls ready to go home

crossing the Red River on the Texas- Arkansas border

welcome to Texas

Baby Belly

I was inspired by a friend (who just had her 4th baby- and her first girl!) to give updates on the growing Baby Love. The stats are taken from my 12 week doctor visit- and now we are at week 14. Baby Love is in green, and for comparison, Claire's stats are in purple.

We go back at the end of the month for another visit and ultrasound.

1. weight gain so far: 0 (lost several pounds due to morning sickness and strep throat & now I'm back up to my original weight)
2. baby's heart rate: 167
3. blood pressure: really low (normal for me)
4. cravings: pizza

1. weight gain: -2 (really bad morning sickness)
2. heart rate: unknown
3. blood pressure: really low (normal for me)
4. cravings: Pei Wei
   
   

belly at 14 weeks

Independence Day

Independence Day 2008 was a fun day for everyone. We had friends over for a barbecue and then went to the Pflugerville Pfamily Pfun night at the lake where there were concerts, bounce houses and, of course, a fireworks show. It turned out to be a very late night, but the girls seemed to enjoy the show.

Baby Love

I had my 12 week appointment with Dr. Cowan today and an ultrasound. Everything looks great with Baby Love. S/He is growing just as expected, had a good strong heartbeat and would not stay still! It looks like Steve passed along all of his energy and athleticism to this third child! I go back in another 4 weeks for yet another ultrasound. (That's just one of the many reasons we love Dr. Cowan- so many ultrasounds and opportunities to see Baby Love!)

I don't have any good sonogram pictures this time, so here are some recent pics of Gigi and Claire instead!

Gigi (2 1/2 years)

Claire (14 months)

Ugh! Potty Training

Our family project for the past week has been to potty train Gigi. This is something we have been dreading and putting off even though she showed all the signs that she was ready to learn. We chose to use the "sink or swim" method. We put her in big girl underwear and let her learn by actually experiencing. Oh boy. We were on butt watch almost constantly, and everytime we turned our heads for a second- oops! Now we haven't had an accident in 4 days and it seems like she's actually getting it! We're so proud of our big girl!

Silly Steve

And now it's time for Silly Songs With Steve-

the part of the show where Steve comes out and sings a silly song.

(In case you can't see it, the sticker reads, "Place sticker on forehead. Smile.")

She's on the Move!

Our baby Claire has decided to use her little feet... she's walking! She's still a little hesitant, but she's learning quickly that not crawling has its benefits. She has so much fun chasing Gigi around the house!

It's a Baby!

We had our first appointment with our OB, Dr. Cowan, today. He did our first ultrasound and we got to see the little baby bean. Baby Love has already grown so much that she (he?) already looks amazingly like a baby. She had little arm and leg buds and a very strong heartbeat. All stats are great and we'll be having an ultrasound again in 4 weeks.

Sweet Claire

Our little Claire gets prettier, sweeter and more fun as each day goes by.

Here are some of the newest pictures of our baby girl.

our Coppertone Baby pretending to wash her hair

fun during Mac & Cheese Night (be sure to see the noodle behind her ear!)

oooey, gooey, cheesy goodness in the hair!

I'm so pround of ME!!

bumGenius

One of the big changes we have made this month is the switch from Huggies to bumGenius cloth diapers. I feel like we are on our way to becoming real Austin hippies!

We've liked the change so far, and Claire doesn't seem to mind not being wrapped up in plastic and tape. We also love the way her cute pouffy baby butt looks!

We're Having a BABY !!!

Can you believe it?! We're so excited to be adding to our family.

Baby Love is due January 10th, and we'll have a 3 year old, an almost 2 year old and a newborn! I don't know if life can get any crazier!

Gigi and Claire already have their "Big Sister" shirts to show off!

And Again Tonight...

Picture taken tonight , April 30th, at 10:15pm.

Toddler Sleeping Habits

And why did we bother to buy Gigi a bed??

Every night we play the "Let's put Gigi back in bed" game. :-)

This picture was taken tonight at 9:30 pm.

Austin Stone Spring Family Reunion

No crawfish boil for us this year... yay! I just couldn't stand the thought of eating those slimy bugs. Echh! So instead we had yummy barbecue and a chili cookoff to energize us for all the baptisms. Of course, the only thing the girls would eat was the "enriched" bleached flour white bread. If they turn out ot be half as picky about food as I am, I will know that yes, I really did drive my mother crazy! The funniest part of the whole day was Gigi's reaction whenever someone was baptised. Everytime the crowd would applaud and celebrate, poor Gigi would get so scared by the noise that she would start to cry and want to hide in her Daddy's arms. Poor Daddy couldn't put her down...

Claire's First Birthday

Yes, it's true. Our sweet Claire turns one year old today. Tears. We had her birthday party this past Saturday with some of her friends (mostly Gigi's and our friends, but Claire doesn't know the difference yet).

We had the obligitory cake smashing time, and she did so much better than Gigi did at her first birthday. This girl LOVES her cake! Afterward we could tell that she had a little bit of a sugar high and then a crash! All in all, a great time was had by all.