Hours of Mindless Entertainment

Go, little sledder man, go!!!

This is so fun. I can't stop playing it. (And you can play one-handed, which is great for new moms.)

Click HERE. :-)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you! We started our Easter celebration earlier this week, when a lovely, large package arrived from Genghi and Grandalf, chock-full of Easter chocolates, candies, and even a little plush lamb for the wee one. Thank you so much!!! (The photo below is one of several that I took with the Easter package bounty, and this was the one where the baby was most upright. He's pretty much slumped against the Easter basket in the other ones, with his cheek squashed against the cellophane, haha.)
This morning, the little Anderson clan went to church together for the first time! (Sacrament meeting only ... we're easing our way back.) We had to take some photos before we left, because Weston was wearing his ADORABLE little Winnie the Pooh outfit (complete with baby sweater vest... classic!).

And here we are, just after church ended. (We were making a beeline for the car, because someone was rather hungry! It was Tim. Oh, and Weston was pretty hungry too.) It was wonderful to be back at church and to see our friends again!! The ward choir rocked it (reverently) as usual, and it was a really nice and uplifting service.
Right now, Timmy is preparing a St. Easter's Day feast for us, which is consisting of baked ham (a la Easter), along with potatoes, cabbage, and Irish soda bread (a la St. Patrick's Day, since we never got around to making a St. Patty's Day meal this past Monday). It smells really good. My mouth is watering. We're going to conclude our Easter festivities later this evening by cuddling with our precious little blessing from God (i.e., the babe), and by gorging ourselves and our sugar teeth on delicious Easter candy. Wishing you a great holiday!! :-)

Look at the Mom, with her Stroller and All!

So, is it just me, or is it terrifying to take a newborn out in public for the first time?? Tim and I have gone out to eat a couple of times with the Tadpole since his arrival, mainly because we've needed some couple time, but also because he sleeps so nicely through the whole experience (thus making for a very pleasant couple time to boot).

However, I've never gone out ALONE with Weston, just me and him, by car. (We've gone on walks, but we've always been in close proximity to home.) Until today!! Tadpole and I drove to the mall, in part so that I could use a remaining baby shower gift card to Gymboree, but mainly so that I could practice being out with the baby on my own, and hopefully gain confidence doing so. (This was a much-needed trial for me, given my choice of the word "terrifying," shown above, to describe taking a newborn out for a little trip. Heh heh.) For some reason, I'm still totally worried that he's going to scream and cry (and I'll be unable to soothe him), or that his diaper will explode, or whatever. So, I was nervous about going out with him, but I took a deep breath and went for it.

It actually went okay! Car rides always put him to sleep, so even though he was screaming as Tim and I got him in the car and then as Tim installed the little bear mirror in the backseat, he calmed down quickly enough once we departed. At the mall, he was fine in the stroller as long as I was pushing him around, but any time I stopped to look at something in a store, he would start wiggling and grunting (which, of course, freaked me out, and motivated me to get going again quickly - and yes, he does in fact have me wrapped around his little finger). When I was at Gymboree looking for $25 worth of cutie patootie clothes, my worst fear occurred and he started his scream-crying. (I don't know why that's my worst fear, but it is. I'm so paranoid!!) However, a few minutes of shushing and jiggling the stroller and holding the binky in his mouth seemed to do the trick, and he forgot that he was sad and drifted back to sleep. (Although I still hurried and picked out clothes as fast as I could, lest he actually wake up.)

So, overall, it was a fairly positive experience, and I'm glad that it's not really as terrifying as I thought it would be, taking a baby out of the house and into the world. YAY!! No one complained when he cried in the store (even though I freaked out), and really, it happens, and it's not a big deal. Worse comes to worst, and you just leave the store and go back another time. (Note to self!) So, it was okay. However, I still haven't had to feed him outside the house - that'll be "a whole nother" thing... :-P

Anyway, now I just need to take him out more often (mostly for my own sanity, haha), and in order to do that, I need to start thinking of other fun places to go for short baby-trips. Any suggestions??

Really "Smart" Comedy

This SNL sketch CRACKS me UP...

Three Weeks Old!

Wow, three weeks old??!! That's almost six months old!! (Haha.) Seriously, where did the itty bitty newborn go? Weston looks a lot more like a baby now than a bright red, wrinkly little newborn. Fortunately he's a good eater, so he's starting to get some chunk on those skinny little extremities.

Tim and I have discovered that we really like to go out to eat with the Tadpole, since the jiggling and vibrations of the car ride always put him to sleep so easily, and then the noise of the restaurant keeps him asleep. Last night we went to this place called Souplantation (aka Sweet Tomatoes), which is aaahhh-some. It's part cafeteria, part buffet, but it's all about the huge salad bar, soup bar, and bread/muffin bar. So, they have lots of healthy options like fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain bread, and also (of course) lots of delectable unhealthy options like potato salad, corn chowder, and chocolate brownie muffins, hahaha. Yum. So, it was delish (they have the BEST broccoli salad and corn muffins), and it gave me and the Hub some much-needed talky time. :-) We haven't ventured out to many other places besides restaurants and the doctor's office with the little guy (oh, and short walks around the neighborhood), but we're perhaps thinking about maybe starting to consider contemplating going to church on Sunday (since it is Easter Sunday, after all). We'll see how Saturday night goes, though, heh heh.

Anyway, here are some photos from Weston's third week on the planet. This is me, going out on the town mom-style! (In other words, walking the neighborhood, or walking to the Rite-Aid that's 15 minutes away so that I can make some irrelevant purchase.)
Weston's first bathtub bathtime!! He seems to cry in the beginning, then whine a little, then get used to it, and then cry again:
Here's the "getting used to it" stage:
And the adorable, crazy-eyed conclusion to bathtime:
Music hour with Daddy (more like music three-minutes):
This is a scene that one witnesses all too often in our apartment -- Mommy or Daddy dozing completely upright while holding the Tadpole (well, while half-heartedly holding him, given the drastic angle of his head, hahaha):

Autobots, Transform and Roll Out!! (Is it any shocker that Tim took this photo?)
What a face!! (My friend Laura made this little T-shirt for Weston, since he was born in the Year of the Rat. If you can't tell, it's a little rat on the front. So cute!)
Super-happy cutie-patootie cuddle time:
Hahaha... and this is Sad Weston, when he turns bright red and his little head veins bulge out and he screeches like a banshee (is it wrong that I took a picture of this?):

Nooooo!!

Genghi left this morning. (Sob... sobsobsobsob... sniffle... snifflesniffle.) Looks like ol' Tim and Jean are on their own now! Anne Marie was such a HUGE help while she was here, though - she did our laundry, cooked us dinner, cleaned up after dinner, cleaned our bathroom, held the baby countless times so that we could do thinkably simple things like shower... etc. etc. She also gave me lots of clever tips and advice. What a great Genghi and a great help. WE LOVE YOU!!! (Come back...!)

Anyway, on Sunday (prior to Genghi's departure) the four of us had Sunday Picnic in the park. It was Weston's first picnic, and it was also a wonderful time in the beautiful Southern California sunshine for Mommy and Daddy. Here are some highlights:

Then last night, we went to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Tim's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIMMY!!! We had a really enjoyable time at the restaurant, and we enjoyed delectable fare. (Did you know that they make a Navajo taco-style sandwich there? It has chicken and other things in it, instead of typical taco ingredients, but it's awesome. I love fry bread.) Naturally, we all ordered cheesecake for dessert, and the waiters came over and sang Happy Birthday to Tim. It was magical. (In part because Weston slept the whole time! Yay loud music and general restaurant din!!)

Cuddle-icious

The little tyke is now 11 days old! WOW!! Time flies. Since he's been home for a number of days now, we've had several "firsts" with him: his first walk in the stroller (around the Rose Bowl); his first neighborhood walk; his first lunch at Lebanese Kitchen (to be followed by many more, given their delectable falafel); his first sponge bath (which he did NOT enjoy); and others. And Tim and I had a "first" too: our first post-baby date! Genghi (Mom-Mom Anne Marie) watched Weston for a couple hours, and Tim and I ran some errands, shopped at Borders, and got ice cream at Cold Stone. At first we couldn't talk about anything but the baby, but eventually we brainstormed other non-baby topics (movies, school, etc.), and tried to make our way through them. It was a lot of fun! We returned just in time for Lost, which was like "Whoa!" and "Oh my gosh!" and "What the heck!"-awesome as always. :-)

Anyway, I'll stop talking now, and get to the good part: cutie-patootie photos from the past week!

Flashback: Weston's First Moments

So, we're doing well! After two long, frustrating, sleepless nights on the first two nights, we actually had a decent night last night, thanks to "Happiest Baby on the Block" (thank you Laura!!). Weston managed a three-hour block of sleep at one point! So, I'm feeling a little more refreshed today, and I decided to update our blog with photos from the past several days.

This was the "leaving for the hospital" picture. I have NO idea how I managed a smile and thumbs-up, because I was in the midst of some pretty severe contractions (about two minutes apart, and about 60-90 seconds long). After this photo, as Tim and I were leaving the house, we had to stop along the walkway to the car for another big contraction, and I held onto him and tried to sway and endure. The contractions continued on the way to the hospital, and I felt EVERY SINGLE TINY BUMP on the road. :-)
YAY EPIDURAL!! This is a much happier picture, because I'd just gotten my epidural. Wow - I became a different person.
Tim kickin' it in the Dad Chair.
Playing Nintendo DS to pass the time.
Newborn Weston!!!
Our second meeting (after he was placed on my chest initially).

Me and baby and the doc. (Not my regular doctor, incidentally, but I loved him.)
Hooray! We're a family!

Weston's Very First Day

Calling my mom at about four in the morning.
What a cutie!
Tim's a very good photographer. I'm not capable of nice pictures like this.
Mmm... hospital food. (I was totally craving an orange soda that first day, which I don't really drink regularly. Go figure.)
Itty bitty baby toes!

One Day Old!