Aspermont and Washington Trip

Katy had a conference for Sisters in Service, so the boys and I took the opportunity to go to Aspermont to visit my folks, and then we spent a weekend in Washington DC, stayed one night with K's aunt and uncle, toured the Whitehouse and Capitol, met up with an old friend of mine from the 6th grade, and walked arround the monuments in the rain. Here are some picts in no particular order - you can match the title to the image for fun:

Everyone except for Dad in front of the Whitehouse

Gapcka and Zach at the Place

Zach eating (didn't have to look very far to find a picture of him eating)

Katy and Zach in the rain in front of the Jefferson Memorial

Brayden at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Brayden at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

The FDR memorial (picture is of an old couple during the Great Depression)

Zach is Crawling!

He started crawling on the day I returned from India (1/27/09)! I was so glad to see the first day of crawling!!

For his 9 month checkup he was 25lbs 4oz and 29.5 inches (though I have measured him at 30, so I am confident they are off again).

Stuff Brayden Said

Sometimes parents just need space, and with two small chidren, it becomes harder and harder to come by, so we take every opportunity, even the small ones. Ones like going to the bathroom. So when I locked the bathroom door, I expected to not be distrubed. Then I hear the doorknob rattle.

"Daddy?"

"What Brayden?"

Daddyyyyy!?

Now more door knob rattling, then to my amazement a door knob turning and opening, and I find myself staring eye level at Brayden.

"Your not supposed to do that!" (By this he means lock the door) "Why did you do that Daddy?"

"Because I wanted some privacy!"

Brayden shrugs and says "Oh, all you had to do is ask." turns arround and shuts the door behind him.

I'm left wondering several things.

1. How did he know how to open the locked door? (This is usually accomplished with a coin or in some cases a thumbnail and some grim determination, and something that we never taught Brayden, for obvious reasons) This is disturbing for several reasons and means I may need to install new and higher locks on some doors.

2. What does it mean that he is sophisticated enough to understand the need for privacy and to be OK with Daddy needing privacy, but not sophisticated enough to understand that a locked door indicates that the person behind it is seeking privacy in the first place? Along those same lines it was like he was granting me privacy and knew it. It was like he knew he had the power, and was granting one of his servants a request for time off. This is not a good sign of things to come.

I think my three year old may be outsmarting me. It is going to be an interesting 15 years.

Christmas Tree 08

We went and cut down our Christmas tree yesterday. Quoting Brayden, "We got the biggest tree ever". We've got it up and decorated, and had a great time doing it.

Zach Cut Teeth

First tooth cut t hrough on Mon. Nov 17, second tooth today (Nov 19)...looks like the top teeth are going to be surfacing soon too. Poor boy! I'll post some pics of my friend's recent trip here, and the rocket ship we bought Brayden.

Katy's Birthday

October 31st, in addition to being Halloween, also happens to be Katy's birthday. She said that no one had ever successfully surprised her. It is very difficult to surprise her because she notices everything. I had to have two surprises going at once to get one past her.

The surprise present didn't work, but the surprise party was successful... here are some shots from the surprise that worked. The shot of Katy and Brayden blowing out candles was from when she thought that she wasn't going to get a birthday cake from me and got herself some cupcakes from Safeway.

Halloween

Here are some shots from this Halloween

Recent Pictures

The one that has Zachary with his hands held open was taken by Brayden.

More things Brayden said

Setting: trying to get Brayden to go to sleep - I go in and lay down with him.

Me: You know I love you bud.
Brayden: And Mommy loves me and Baby Zachary loves me.....(now he turns from facing me and just looks up at the ceiling) .....Everybody loves me.

Things Brayden Says

I was having breakfast with Brayden and he looks at me and says "NO!" about something - I forget what. We have been trying to break him of this habit, so I take him to "time-out". Well, he cries and bangs on the door, and finally gets over his fit. I go in and talk to him. Here is the conversation:

Dad: "Why were you in time-out?"
Brayden: "Because you put me there."
Dad: "Daddy put you there because you disobeyed. You have to obey Daddy."
Brayden: "You're not God."
Dad: "No, but God says 'Honor your Father and your Mother'"
Brayden: "You're not my Father"
Dad: "O.K. your Daddy and your Mommy."

He knows he has lost the fight and puts his head down and into my side.

What will the boy say when he actually learns to read?

Zachary's First Food, 4 Mo Checkup, and Other Things...

Some of our friends affectionately call Zach "Tank". He weighed in at his 4 month checkup just over 20lbs and approx 27 in. He's a big boy! He's almost sitting now, and he loves to stand. He can hold most of his weight on his legs, but still needs quite a bit of balance help. He loves to smile and giggle and really enjoys watching Brayden goof around.

First food:





Cute Comments:

Brayden sat Greg down the other day. B put his hand on his chin in a pensive manner, saying, "Dad, I need to talk to you." Greg encouraged him to continue. "Sometimes monsters come and try to eat my toes." How do you respond to that? :)

So here are a few pics from the last month. I can't claim to be the photographer on more than one or two...props to mom and T for taking the great shots! Make sure to check out the video of B falling asleep eating!

unmistakebly perfect timing...this wasn't here when T started to take the shot


they didn't quite fit! :)
He'll chew on anything








punishment? T saw this on her walk around the lake...not from our camp!





Beautiful view!

Pictures from Florida and Texas

What Brayden Said

Setup: We are trying to get Brayden to eat at meals instead of eating a lot of snacks. He is a pretty finicky eater. I was explaining the reasoning to him.

Conversation

Daddy: "There is no short order cook in this house."

Brayden: "There is no money in this house."


Both of these are true.

I love you .... better

I always thought that it was very important that Brayden knew that I loved him, so I told him so - often. I never, however, tried to coerce those words from him. Imagine my delight whenever one night I heard him say "I love you" as I was leaving his room after reading him a bedtime story. I told Katy about it. Katy asked Brayden what he told Daddy, and Brayden looked at her and said "I love you better".

This kid knows where his bread is buttered.

2 Month Checkup

So, Zachary was 17lb 5.8oz, 24" at today's checkup. That is 100% for weight and 82% for height. I measured Zach and I think they didn't get his full height (I got an additional 1/2 inch), but regardless, he's a big boy!

We went to the pirate festival on Father's day...here are our two boys.

Also, I finally caught a few smiles. Yeah!

Updates

It's been a while. Zachary is doing better. He still has a lot of gas, but it seems to not be as painful. He has started smiling, which is adorable! When I try to take pictures of the smile he moves on before I can capture it. Hopefully soon!

Here's a few pics of our whale watching expedition...look at poor Zach in the life vest. Yikes! We had a great time though. We saw a lot of whales, birds, killer whales, and dolphins. My favorite part was the dolphins riding along with the boat. Unfortunately pictures don't capture the moments we experienced!

Anderson Visit & Brothers

We had a nice visit with the Anderson family last week, and now have my dear friend Christian in town. Our house is busy! But, the help and company have been very much appreciated.

Zachary is still having problems on and off. He has so much pressure in his tummy for up to 3 hours after a feed...lots of burps, gas, etc, but he's gaining weight well. Other than that he is a happy and carefree baby. Hopefully he'll outgrow this stage soon. B loves is little brother and asks many times throughout each day to hold, hug, or kiss Z. Here are a few shots of them together.

Also, we included B & G'pa A riding bikes together. G'pa A riding a bike was quite a sight. Greg doesn't think he'd ever seen his dad ride a bike, so it was a rare treat.






A self shot picture...
I just thought these two were cute...look how stiff he looks!

Mother's Day

We are adjusting to our family of four pretty well. We've had several very difficult nights, and are beginning to wonder if Zachary has colic. We're glad this stage is temporary!!

Greg's folks flew in for the week, so the boys spent mother's day with me, Greg, and both sets of Grandparents. We went to SF, and spent the afternoon at Dolores Park, Tartine Bakery, and Mission Dolores. It was a good time. Here are a few pics.

Three generations of second sons with "gus" as a middle name...
a loving big brother...

2 Week Checkup

Zach was 10lb 13oz. :) He's a big boy!

Everyone asks who Zach looks like...

...how about Brayden?

1st Bath and Rolling Over

This is Zach rolling over at 2 weeks old...he has done it several times well between his day 4 rolling and the few this evening. We just recorded the last one, which was the weakest we've seen...It is kind of a 3/4 rollover and then a 1/4 rollover. Alas. But we are still proud parents!



We also gave Zach his first bath in his infant bathtub this evening. He didn't like it very well. I recall B liking his more.

First Two Weeks

Hey all! WE MADE IT through the first week and a half! We appreciate all of your prayers, emails, meals, comments, and calls. We feel so loved! Zachary is beginning to adjust to a schedule (though he prefers to sleep in the days still instead of the nights), and life is getting a little easier for me. I've been up and down over the last week and a half. I've had a cold day and a flu-like day, not to mention the hormone stuff, and I'm sleeping at wacky times while my body is recovering. Brayden and Greg are both troopers, really sacrificing a lot for me and Zachary.

Zachary rolled over from his belly to his back 4 times on day 4 (one time one way and three times the other), but hasn't done it since. Four of us saw it, and we attempted to take a video to prove it...unfortunately we have the first part on video, a snapshot during, and video after he finished rolling over. Alas! At least there were four of us that saw it so you know I wasn't just having a loopy moment. :)

Here are a few pics of Zach with his eyes open (and with his dark hair which you can hardly see) and a shot of Brayden and Grandpa D at the marina on a bike ride/jog. Brayden got his new bike going quite fast on the flat marina surface!! (The second time was a bit slower because he decided to stop and chase birds, get newspapers, etc).

We are Home and More Picts

Katy and Zach came through like champs, and we are all back home and doing fine now. I'm going to fill the rest of this with picts, which is I'm sure is what everyone wants to see - and let me tell you, there are plenty of them to choose from.

We got Brayden a gift commemorating the big day - a big brother bike.

Brayden likes his new little brother, as you can see from how he holds him in the above picts, and the neat sign that he put together with Grandma and Grandpa.

Introducing...

Zachary Gus Anderson!

He was born on Saturday at Kaiser Vallejo on April 19, 2008 at 8:33 PM. He weighed 9lbs, 9 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long. The delivery went smoothly and Katy and Zach are both fine. We are all back home and adjusting to life as a new family.

Thanks for all of your prayers,
Greg, Katy, Brayden and Zachary

38.5 Weeks

Had my 38 week checkup today. The boy is measuring in at 9lbs 6oz (+/- a pound and a half), so I have a scheduled induction Saturday if I have not gone into labor ahead of then.

Here's a picture of him from today.

37 Week Checkup

No big change this week. This wasn't a huge shock for me because of my lack of change over a month with Brayden. She didn't measure the baby because I was in a different room and the machines read everything differently. She did "stir up some trouble" as she put it, and if my body is ready I should go in to labor. We'll see if it works...but I'm not yet convinced.

I do have an end period, however. They will induce at 39 weeks if I have not gone into labor. I don't know if they'll do it on that day or just in that week, but it looks like I should have the baby within 10 or 11 days. Only God knows the exact timing!

Our Short Visit with Chris

My brother Chris had a conference in SJ on Friday, so G, B, and I drove down to Sunnyvale to have dinner with him and my parents. It was a nice time. We all laughed a lot, and Brayden really enjoyed having his uncle around to play trains outside and to boss around as much as Chris would let him.

Here are a few pictures. It was hard to get one that looked decent of all of us, but a few shots came out cute.

Katy Pregger Pics-35 weeks

I'm now full term! I was having some significant contractions yesterday while I was in for monitoring, so they kept me on the monitor for an hour. I think they're all convinced Baby A will make an appearance soon. I'll believe it when I see it because I was 2cm/50% with brayden for a month and was late. Obviously, we'll keep you updated!

Ashley keeps asking for preggers pics, so here are a few from Easter. I was 35 weeks pregnant. I've now got two more weeks of growth, but thankfully no real swelling anywhere. This baby is mostly baby!

36 Weeks...and counting

Had another doctor appointment today. Looks like the baby had another growth spurt. He's measuring in around 8lb 1oz (give or take a pound). His femur is long too, so it looks like he's tall. I don't have the exact measurement, but it was above 7cm and in the 90something percentile. We'll see how tall he is when we meet him!

The doc saw on my NST sheet (the monitoring I do at the hospital 2x/wk) that I was having relatively frequent contractions, and then checked to see if they were doing anything yet. I'm 3cm dilated. Next week, she'll try some methods to try to bring the onset of labor without inducing me. If my body is ready to go into labor, I should have the baby by the end of next week. If not, she'll try again the following week.

Here is today's pic of the baby. Looks pretty similar to the last one...she commented on the chubby cheeks. At least this one may favor me a bit with the Derr cheeks...Brayden has always looked just like Greg. :)

commenting

we've been having some problems with spam comments, so I've upped the security a bit. You now have to enter your email address when you want to comment. If we continue to have problems, I'll up it even more but I hope to keep it at this level as long as possible.

Birthday Party

We went to Children's Wonderland in Vallejo for the 1st birthday party of Greg's coworker's daughter. Though a few of the activities were a little older than Brayden, he had a great time and was captivated by Tinkerbell! His favorite activity was catching the bubbles that wouldn't break when they landed on his hands. He was proud of his bubbles. You can see one in the bottom picture if you look hard enough.

Easter

We celebrated Easter with the Derr family a day early so we could both be at our home churches on Easter Sunday. Brayden had a GREAT time dying eggs and then hunting for the candy and hardboiled eggs. He started by shaking each egg. The candy eggs were immediately opened and the candy shoved in the face. We finally got him to realize that the candy would still be there later, so he'd hold off. Then, he found the binoculars, which became the highlight of the hunt. He originally put them up backwards to his eyes. Greg tried to get him to turn them around, saying "look the other way". Instead Brayden kept them backwards and turned himself around. It was quite hilarious! Our literal boy! So we stopped trying. He'd hold them up backward to his eyes, put them down, spot an egg, run to it, and then put them back up to his eyes while yelling "there it is!". It was a great day!

34 Week Checkup

Just had my check-up yesterday. Thankfully, Baby Gus didn't grow as much as he had previously, so he's around 6lb9oz now...in the 92-95% for everything. This means I probably won't induce before 38 weeks, and maybe not at all. Who knows if he'll have a growth spurt between my appointments and everything will change again next time. I guess at this point it is all touch and go!

I started my Non-Stress Test monitoring of the baby too...I pretty much lay there with a belt on measuring the baby's heart beat for about 20 minutes. I have to wake him up and get him to be active so they can see that he's thriving in there, and as of yesterday, all looked good.

glucose test

got the results back, and my score was down 40 points (a good thing). I'm now in the totally safe zone.

Baby Anderson! Update

Went in for my checkup today and my doctor had just gotten the 3/4d imaging machine, so I got some great new pictues of "gus" (see below). The obstruction in front of his face is my uterus, but overall it is pretty clear and pretty cool!

Baby "Gus" is measuring 3 weeks ahead, and is currently 5lb 12oz according to the ultrasound. The doctor and I talked about possible early induction at 38 weeks, because I still have 7.5 weeks before delivery. Depending on the outcome of my next appointment, we will consider amniocentesis to test the lung function and possibly an induction prior to 38 weeks.

Also, I had my second gestational diabetes screen today, and the hope is that I am still negative. I came in low on my last test, but high enough she wanted to retest. I should find out today or tomorrow how that went. And, I start my non-stress monitoring twice a week the week after next. Lots of doctors appointments!