I'm Here!

Aleeya Joy

12/28/09

5:42 pm

7lbs 8oz
19.5 Inches

Little Princess's Bedroom

Baby is not here yet. . . but her room is ready and waiting for her!

(And boy is it GIRLY!)

I'm so thankful that dear hubby was willing to do the painting!

(That smell sure made me nauseous!)

My favorite thing in her room is this sweet chandelier,

I can't wait to rock with her underneath it!

Maternity Pictures

Disclaimer: First, let me say, if you don't like maternity photos, skip this post (everyone feels really differently about the whole belly thing.)

Since (we are planning on) this being my last baby, and since I usually avoid being photographed while I'm pregnant, I decided to bite the bullet and get some maternity pictures taken. I figured that in the future I would probably regret it if I didn't have some nice ones. (I know it wouldn't have happened if the photographer didn't happen to be my sweet and talented sister! Thank you!)

Right now I am a nervous wreck, wondering when the baby is going to make her debut. If I haven't had her sooner, I am going to be induced on December 28th. (Like a week and a half! Ahhhh!) However, I went to the Dr. today and I am already 75% effaced and 2 1/2 cm's dilated (sorry if TMI again!) I am really hoping that she will hold out until after Christmas, because that would make my life (and this Christmas) so much less complicated!

These last few weeks of pregnancy are such a roller coaster ride, 99% of me is ready to have the baby, to be done being pregnant, and to have my own body to myself again. But then there is this really, really, nagging 1% that reminds me: how difficult the first few weeks with a newborn are, how challenging the first few months of nursing are, and how frustrating it is to not get any sleep!!! But ready or not, here she comes!

Why Do I Do This To Myself?

The Problem: The baby needs furniture.
The Simple Answer: Buy the baby new furniture.
Stefanie's Answer: Buy new furniture for Terrill and I, give our furniture to Makaylee, hand Makaylee's furniture down to Rowen, and hand down Rowen's furniture to the new baby! I must really enjoy making things difficult! (Really I just love decorating, and redecorating!)

The good news: The new furniture is purchased, the old furniture is moved, and the new bedrooms are ALMOST assembled (with 3 weeks to spare before the baby arrives!) Get ready for Extreme Make Over: Bedroom edition, coming soon!

Growing Pains

The baby is coming in about six weeks! We decided that we needed to get Rowen out of the crib/toddler bed a little while before baby girl comes, so that he is used to the change before she gets here. We tried to make a big deal about him moving to a "Big Boy Bed," and he seemed excited while we were changing his room around, until it was actually time to sleep in it! The conversation went something like this.

"No like a big boy bed!"

"But you are a big boy, and this bed is just for you!"

"No! I not a big boy!"

"You're not?"

"No, I LITTLE!"

He REFUSED to get into the bed to sleep, we finally just turned off the lights and left him in his room. He talked to himself, and banged things around for a little while, but then he grew quiet. I went to check on him a few minutes later and almost opened the door into him. He had pulled out his little chair/bed and fallen asleep on it. It was so adorable, and heartbreaking! He now calls it his "Little Bed" and falls asleep in it almost every night! While he is sleeping I sneak into his room and put him back in his "Big Boy Bed," hoping that he will eventually get used to sleeping in there!

Halloween, Take 2!

Thanks to two sets of awesome grandparents, our kiddos got a second chance at Halloween. A week late, but better late than never! We went to my parents house to "Trick or Treat" and do a fun little Halloween scavenger hunt. The next night Terry's parents came over and brought some Halloween goodies for the kids. They loved getting to finally show off their costumes. I thought they looked so cute, I was glad that their grands got to see them all dressed up!

I was reading the can of pink hair spray right before I started spraying Makaylee's hair. It said "Not recommended for naturally blond hair, may cause permanent staining." I told Makaylee that we probably shouldn't use the hair spray because it might not wash out like it should. Her eyes got big and she said "Does that mean that it might stay pink?" I nodded, and she said "THAT'S OKAY MOMMY!" he he he. She wanted it to stay pink, but it washed out like a charm!

"Good Witch" and "Little Policeman"


Here's hoping for a healthier Halloween next year!

Oink Oink! Day #3 & 4

Day # 3: Makaylee woke up with a fever, cough, and feeling achy. She said "Mommy, I sure hope I am not sick on Halloween!" (Break my heart!) I think the last few sick days blended together, so she didn't realize how many days had passed! By the afternoon she was feeling A LOT better. Her fever was GONE by about noon. She was moving around the house and being a busy body, which made it really hard for me to keep track of the things she had touched! It also made it even harder to keep a distance between her and Rowen. In the evening I broke her the news, that it really was Halloween, and she had a HUGE meltdown! She was so upset and said "I HATE Halloween!" So, we tried to make a fun at home Halloween for her. We made caramel apples, carved pumpkins, and watched a Halloween movie. I told her that next year she can trick or treat for twice as long as she ever has, and that seemed to cheer her up a little bit!

Day # 4: She woke up with NO FEVER! HOORAY! The only thing she complained about today was that her legs were a little bit sore. I think she has almost completely recovered, I am so excited! But I still worry that the flu is incubating in me, Rowen, or Terry, and just as Makaylee gets better we will have to start all over again! Yikes!

I want to thank my awesome family and friends that have been so concerned about us for the last few days! I have really appreciated the phone calls, emails, and prayers!

Swine Flu, Day #2

8:30 AM: Makaylee comes into my room with a fever of 101.5, coughing, and groaning. She says "Mommy, when I woke up, I couldn't even get out of bed, I had to wait for a while before I could move!" (How sad is that!)
9:00 AM: The Ped's office calls, Makaylee has a laboratory confirmed case of H1N1 (big surprise!) I am advised that if Rowen, or I develop ANY symptoms, we are to get into the Dr.'s office to be immediately started on Tamiflu. I say to the nurse "Okay, well, my daughter is A LOT sicker today, and since she has a confirmed case of H1N1, can't we start her on the Tamiflu too?" The nurse tells me that she will have to ask the Dr. and call me back.
10:30 AM: Ped's office calls back, "No, we cannot prescribe Tamiflu for Makaylee because she is not at risk and is a healthy child. We just have to let it run it's course." Doesn't that just seem wrong and sad? I wonder if it was their own child that was curled up in a heap of blankets on the heat vent, if they would give her Tamiflu?

Towards the middle of the day she felt a little better, although she practically lived in the bath tub today (at her own request.) Her fever came back a little stronger tonight though. It has been so hard to keep Rowen away from her! He is so frustrated that I keep telling him to move away that he has started shouting back "No, KK is NOT sick!"

This is really sad timing for her, as she has been SO looking forward to Halloween, and all the Halloween parties and festivities! It is just kind of a watch and wait weekend, I just pray that she gets over it fast and that Rowen and I can avoid it! We'll see what tomorrow brings!

'Taking One For the Team'

There have been several kids in Makaylee's class with the Swine Flu. I have been SO worried and stressed out about this flu for a lot of reasons. #1 Rowen has ended up in the hospital with minor colds, so I can't imagine what this flu could do to him. #2 Quite a few previously healthy pregnant women have died because of the flu (and I really don't want to be one of them!)

So you can imagine that I was a little freaked out when Makaylee came into my room coughing this morning, and had a fever of 100.4. I was sure, (still am sure) that it is H1N1, so I brought her into the Dr. right away, thinking that the earlier you get treatment, the better.

The Dr. looked at me like I was a little bit crazy, because Makaylee didn't even have a fever when we showed up (because of the Tylenol I had given her) and was really not feeling too bad. But when she looked in her throat she said it was really red, and ran a strep test on her (which she freaked out about!) The strep was negative, so the Dr. explained that she may have H1N1, but since she is a healthy child we should just treat her symptoms and let it run it's course (in other words: No Tamiflu.) However, since she lives with two people who are at high risk, it makes it a little bit more important to know exactly what we are dealing with so we had to test her for H1N1. The Dr. said "It is NOT a fun test, but she is going to have to take one for the team!" Oh, it broke my heart! To say it was not fun is a huge understatement! They had to suck mucous out of her nose with a booger vacuum, and it looked like they were trying to suck her brains out! 3 people were holding her down and she was screaming like they were torturing her. They ended up leaving her with a bloody nose in the saddest, little, crying, puddle-of-a-girl you have ever seen. Of course I scooped her up and let her cry in my arms, and then I realized 'Whatever she's got, I've got it now!' But what other choice do you have when you are the mom?

As the day has passed, the sicker and more tired she has gotten. We'll know tomorrow what the results of the test are!

Caught One!

Makaylee went fishing with her daddy this weekend and caught her first fish ever! She did it almost all by herself and she was proud as punch! Terrill explained to her that they could 'catch and release', but she insisted on bringing it home to cook it! (Thank goodness it was a Rainbow Trout and not a Carp!) She didn't even freak out when Terrill gutted it, and she thought it was HIL-AR-I-OUS that it grossed me out, BIG TIME! She ate that fish for dinner and claimed that she loved it! What a funny and adventurous girl she is!

Halloween Fun

I love Halloween!

This year my sister and I did the Witches scavenger hunt at Gardner Village, the kids had a blast, the weather was gorgeous, and we even earned chocolate chip cookies at the end!

This is a darling little pumpkin patch near our home.

The kids died over these little wheelbarrows!

Just my size!

Witches Night Out

Me, Mom, and a bunch of girlfriends went to 'Witches Night Out' at Gardner Village this year. (Terry was off hunting with his brothers, so it was perfect timing!) It was my first time going, and I was completely flabbergasted at how many witches could pack themselves into all those tiny little stores!

We ate at Red Robin first, and got quite a few funny comments and looks. There was this group of 24 high school kids going to Prom that actually asked us if they could take their pictures with us! It was so funny.

My Baby Needs a Name!

The problem is not that we can't think of any cute names, the problem is that we CAN'T AGREE on any names! I have lists and lists of darling baby girl names that I would be more than happy with, the problem is that all the names have huge lines that Terrill has drawn through them!!! When I find a new name I get all excited, sure that it is THE NAME but it takes about 2 seconds for Terrill to shoot it down and ruin it for me! (Here are some examples, so you know I am not over exaggerating!)

Me: "Piper?" Him: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers!"

Me: "Embree?" Him: "Embryo!"

Me: "Delilah?" Him: "Hey there Delilah what's it like in New York City?"

Me: "Lucy?" Him: (with thick Spanish accent) "Oh, LLuuuuccccyyy!"

And, the more names I tell him, the more "Rules" he develops.

Me: "Violet" Him: "No colors!"

Me: "Daisy?" Him: "No flowers!"

Me: "Ruby?" Him: "No Gemstones!"

Me: "London?" Him: "No Cities!"

SERIOUSLY! Who would have thought that Hubby would be so picky about his baby girl's name! I have even tried the I-am-the-one-that-has-to-give-birth-to-this-baby argument, but baby still has no name and she really wants one! Does anyone have any great suggestions? (For my husband to rip apart!)

It's Hard to be the Mommy!

Me, Makaylee, and Rowen have all had the 24 hour (plus) stomach flu today and I am just so worn out! It is so hard to be the mom, help my kiddos, and clean up their messes when my stomach is churning right along with theirs! (Warning, too much info:) At one point Makaylee started to explain to me what her vomit looked like (something about the last thing she had eaten) and at that moment I was getting really queasy and I said to her 'PLEASE don't tell me about it right now, it's making my stomach hurt!' Sure enough, seconds later I had to dive into the bathroom to vomit, (and dry heave a bunch of times!) Poor Makaylee was standing behind me asking me if I was okay and I couldn't even answer her, and then she started crying and saying 'Mama, I'm sorry I won't talk about it any more!' Poor thing! The only good thing was that we were all equally beat, so we pretty much just all laid on the couches all day and rotated between the 5 library movies we had picked out a few days before! But I couldn't help thinking, it's hard to be the Mommy, when I wish my own Mom could be taking care of me!

Fall Leaves

This Sunday we took a little drive up Butterfield canyon in Herriman to look at the leaves and we were not disappointed! The kids loved shouting out all the colors they saw as we driving.

The ground was covered in the most colorful carpet of leaves, it was so beautiful!

Makaylee had to collect a leaf in every color so that she could show them to her grandmas and cousins at our after conference dinner. (I didn't get a picture of Rowen, because he and Terry were off being boys and looking for deer and throwing rocks in the river the whole time!)


It is awesome to have such a pretty canyon so close to us!

Anderson Family Photos

The Anderson side of the family got together for some long overdue family photos! They turned out pretty good considering that most of them were taken on tripods with auto timers!


(Not the best timing for me, being 27 weeks pregnant at the time!) Oh well, at least I can tell baby girl that she was in the family photos!

Our little family!

Mom and Dad Anderson

All 10 grandchildren!

Cute Little Boys Don't Belong in Hospitals!

Two nights ago Rowen when to bed as happy as a clam, with just a tiny little cough. As the night went on I could tell it was turning into asthma, so I gave him his inhaler and put him back to bed. At 6:00am I heard a WEIRD noise coming from his room, that kind of sounded like coughing, but when I went into his room he was sitting up in his bed GASPING for air! Pretty much the scariest Mom moment I have ever had! I ran/fell down the stairs to grab his nebulizer medication (I am SO thankful that we had on hand!) and luckily the treatment worked, for about 1 1/2 hours, (it is supposed to last 6 hours!) So off to Rowen's asthma doctor we went, first thing in the morning. He gave us a few more treatments and then sent us to the instacare. The instacare took one look at him and sent us to Primary Children's and that is where we spent our last 24 hours! (I was glad we didn't have to go by ambulance this time!)

Sweet little boys just don't deserve to be in the hospital! It is the saddest thing to see his little tiny body in a big huge hospital bed! And let me add, that the pregnancy hormones made this even more traumatic than it would have been, I almost cried as much as he did!

Rowen is such a trooper, he holds the masks himself during his treatments (he calls them Puffs) and he sure charms all the nurses and doctors (who are sadly getting to know him!)

Proving that he is much more resilient than his mother!

(This is his "Say Cheese" face, it cracks me up.) Rowen got home this afternoon and is doing much better, he just has to keep using his inhaler and be on steroids for the next 5 days. I really REALLY hope he grows out of this sometime soon!