Merry Christmas from a Sleepy, Sleepy Boy

Background: One night when I checked on Weston, I found him in his bed, upright, so obviously I thought, "Oh boy, he's still awake..." But then I realized that he was actually sleeping. I whispered for Tim to come in, and we probably stared at him (suppressing giggles) for about 3 minutes. Finally we wised up and grabbed the videocamera, but we only managed to capture the last few moments of his sleep-sitting before he finally collapsed. (I also had to delete a big portion of the video because it was just pitch-black, but then Tim turned on the camera light.) Anyway, kids are funny. Hahaha!

ENJOY!!! And Merry Christmas!

Why I Won't Pay for Expensive Photos with Mall Santa

We went to this weird little Santa activity at a local community center, and even though Weston was cautiously excited when he first saw Santa Claus, he would not go ANYWHERE NEAR HIM when it was picture time. It took a reeeeeeaaaaaally long time to get this one (and as you can see, my super-happy-giant smile is an unsuccessful attempt to make up for his displeasure):

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In other news, Tim and I realized in Sunday School yesterday that the Old Testament is by far the greatest resource on baby names for expectant parents, particularly the books of Nehemiah and Ezra. I don't know if Tim's on board with this, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to refer to our utero-spawn as "Bukki" from now on. (See Ezra 7:4.)

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Countdown to the 22-hour roadtrip to PA: THREE MORE DAYS!

The Big Boy Bed

Big development at the Anderson household: the Big Boy Bed has made its arrival! Well, it actually arrived a few weeks ago, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. :-)

Up until recently, Weston was still sleeping in his crib, and the entire time he was in a crib, he never made a SINGLE attempt to climb out. Never!! So, there really wasn't any rush to get him into a twin bed. However, when we found out that we were expecting Baby #2, I decided that I wanted to get him out of the crib before he made the connection between Baby #2's arrival and getting kicked out of his crib. So, we decided to go for it, and we actually went all-out and just bought a detachable bunk bed. We figured that we're going to have at least 3 children, so we'll need a bunk bed someday. Might as well prepare now!

Anyway, Tim set up the bed one afternoon, and that evening, Weston familiarized himself with it:
That night, he got all snuggly and cute in his new giant bed (gun in hand, of course, in case of a home invasion):

And here he is, fast asleep (note that he's still crowded into the edge of the bed by his perma-pile of toys):

Tim and I partially expected it, but we were slightly discouraged to realize that being in a big boy bed meant freedom of mobility -- in his room AND throughout the apartment. We thought we'd curtailed this possibility when we put one of those little doorknob covers on his door so that his little toddler hands couldn't open the door. We neglected to realize that his bedroom door doesn't actually latch -- the door doesn't line up quite right with the door frame. So, even if he wasn't capable of turning the knob, he could still just pull the door open and exit his room. Every morning we'd wake up to a little person standing next to our bed, whispering, "Mommy! Wake up! Mommy! I have a sword!" And it seemed to get earlier and earlier. First it was 8 AM; then it was 7:30; then it was 7; and then it was 6:30 (AHHH!). We had to take action. (Lemme tell ya... Tim and I HATE to wake up early. Having another newborn in the house is going to be a painful adjustment, I can feel it!)

So, we put up a gate in his doorway, so that even if he opened the door, at least he couldn't get out of his room. Unfortunately, the first time we put it too low, and he climbed over it. The second time, we put it too high, and we found him like this one night:

The third time, we put it just right where he couldn't climb over it or crawl under it. But that didn't stop him from trying:

Hahaha! Fortunately for us, Tim is a genius, and he realized that if we lifted the doorknob slightly when closing the door, it would latch. Now that it latches properly, the toddler doorknob cover prevents him from pulling open the door. Phew!! I mean, I feel a little bad that he's trapped in his room, but... not really. He can play with toys in there, and even though he's potty-training right now, he wears Pull-Ups at night, so it's not like he's going to wet his pajamas.

Problem solved!!! Yay for the Big Boy Bed!

Giving Thanks Is VERY Tasty

Happy (extremely belated) Thanksgiving (last month)! Here's a photo recap of our fun little Thanksgiving weekend!

First things first on Thanksgiving morning... getting the ol' bird ready to go. Here's a photo of Tim giving our turkey its annual mayo massage. (Is it just me, or is there something really smarmy about Tim's expression?)
Once the bird was in the oven, there wasn't much to do for a couple hours besides watch the parade. So, Tim and Weston went on a walk through the neighborhood. Here's Weston with his brand new winter coat. (I get sick of buying new clothes for him all the time, so I purchased a size 4/5 coat even though he's not even 3 years old yet. I love it in all its adorable ginormousness.)

Afterwards, I asked Tim to take a picture of my slowly expanding lower-midsection:

But of course Weston wanted in! (He's becoming more photogenic these days, if this qualifies as "photogenic.")

Also new this year: my fancy and extremely expensive hors d'oeuvres plate. Step 1: Purchase a cheese log from Walmart. Step 2: Place the cheese log on a plate. Step 3: Arrange crackers haphazardly around the cheese log. Step 4: Stop and eat whenever you walk by.

Aaaaaand finally... that BEAUTIFUL BIRD was done!!!

Here's the bounty. (It's nice to finally have a real dining room table. The past few Thanksgivings have been a bit of a logistics fiasco. Apologies to Chris for last year's wobbly, squashed, living-room Thanksgiving. Haha!)

Oh my gosh, you guys. We had the BEST idea EVER this year. (We're always trying to take Thanksgiving up a notch. I think by the time we're 60 it's going to be pretty much as awesome as it can get.) We ordered frozen rolls from TEXAS ROADHOUSE!!! Soooooo good, and so perfect for little turkey sandwiches later on.

As you can see, I arranged a nice little sampling for Weston. Y'know what he ended up eating for Thanksgiving? (1) A roll, and (2) a slice of pumpkin bread (which, by the way, was not technically even on the menu).

Oh well. At least this guy enjoyed the feast:

I am ALL about the Black Friday shopping, but I really didn't have a lot that I intended to buy this time around, so it was a bit of a mellow year. I did end up going to the Toys R Us sale, which started at 10:00 PM on Thanksgiving night. Here's how it played out:

9:40 PM: Arrive at the cold, dark parking lot and take my spot waaaaaaaay at the back of the humongous line. Listen to the people behind me talk about how they're going to stay up all night, hitting Toys R Us at 10 PM, Walmart at midnight, Kohl's at 3 AM, Target at 4 AM, etc.

10:00 PM: Doors open. Line starts to inch forward.

10:20 PM: Enter the store, grab a huge plastic shopping bag (I commend you, Toys R Us, for your brilliant planning), and make a mad rush around the store for desired items.

10:40 PM: Finish shopping, after having found 5 of the 9 things that I wanted. Get in line to check-out.

12:20 PM: FINALLY CHECK OUT. Yeah, I waited in line for almost 2 hours just to pay.

Fortunately, it wasn't all bad. I made friends with my co-liners, and I also found a $20 bill on the floor. Huzzah! (Don't worry, I made every effort to find its owner. I asked my co-liners, and told them to keep their eyes and ears open for someone looking for a $20. I didn't even pocket it; I held it in my hand the entire time I was in line, just to let its owner know that I wasn't assuming it was mine or anything. However, no one ever came looking for it, and even though I feel really bad for that person, it made my night.)

Anyway, after Toys R Us, I headed to Walmart to score a few cheap DVDs. The lines there were long and slow as usual, although the actual roaming-of-the-store wasn't too bad. (I commend them for splitting up their Black Friday sales into a midnight portion and a 5 AM portion. I strategically avoided the 5 AM portion.)

After getting a good night's sleep, I headed to Target and Kohl's the next morning around 10-ish. GREAT idea, if I do say so myself. I avoided the early-bird rush, but I still got all the sales prices, thanks to their huge inventories of sale items. I didn't even have to wait in line for very long at either store. Yay! All in all, a pretty darn good Black Friday.

That night was our traditional trim-the-tree-and-decorate-the-house night, which we commenced with some baking of Christmas cookies. Aren't these photos heart-warming?

Hahaha... what they DON'T show is Weston's sudden, mini-tantrum that erupted like five minutes later. Yeeeaaaah. At least we were able to document the pre-tantrum bliss. :-)

Tim spent quite a while setting up our ridiculously ginormous new Christmas tree, and then we attempted to decorate it with Weston's help, although that did not quite work. He just kept wanting to play with all the ornaments like they were little toys (which of course I totally understand), but it was getting a little unruly, so we halted the tree operation in favor of bathtime and bedtime for him. (As you've probably noticed, it's a bit of a trial to rein Weston in when he has his own plans. He's a stubborn, independent spirit, just like his mama!) Afterwards, we finished up:

And here's a photo of our living room -- a still life photograph, aside from Tim shaking his head as fast as he possibly could:

Hahaha!

The Results Are In!

Well, I had my appointment. And the doc did the ultrasound. And he told us what we're having.

It's a....

(Ready?)

(Really ready?)

(Here it comes...!)

BOY!!!!!!!!

"Brothers don't shake hands. Brothers gotta hug!!" (Name the movie!)

Hahaha! I'm really excited. It was completely obvious to the doctor, and to me. There was no question. Honestly, I knew it was going to be a boy. I had a feeling. When I was Black Friday shopping the other day, there were so many adorable little girl clothes for super cheap that I could've easily picked up and purchased. But, I kept telling myself, "Self, don't buy that. I really feel like it's a boy." And honestly, I'm relieved. I was SO convinced with Weston that I was having a girl that I distinctly remember feeling a tiny sting of disappointment. But, no tiny sting this time. I just keep thinking about how fun it will be to have two little buddies, and how SIMPLE everything will be (same room, same decor, same bedding, same clothes, same Halloween costumes, same toys, etc.), which is especially nice for our ongoing apartment lifestyle. Plus, so many of you have two (or more) boys, and they are so sweet, and I just really love that dynamic. (Not that I wouldn't love to include a girl, because they are seriously precious, too.) But I love the idea of having goofy, rowdy, burping boys who love Star Wars and sword fights!!

Anyway, it's soooo nice to know and to be able to say "he" and "his" now! (Even though I was pretty much doing that anyway.) Now we just need to dive into that super-fun process of choosing a name. :-) Whee! Let's hope that we can choose one as easily as we did last time! (It really wasn't that easy.)

Place Your Bets!

My 16-week ultrasound is one week from today. So, it's time to place your bets!! Will it be a boy or a girl? Make your call in the poll on the right!

(I'm assuming, of course, that the baby will be in the right position and the machine will be high-tech enough to tell the gender by next week. If not... cue "Price Is Right" loser music.)

Here's the lowdown:

-I'm pretty sure that EVERYONE who guessed the gender in their comments on the last post guessed girl, mainly due to my increased nausea this time around. However, I remain unconvinced. My friend Rebecca had way worse nausea with her second pregnancy, and then had another boy.

-On the other hand, the Chinese gender calendar clearly predicts girl.

-On the other hand, globally there are about 105 to 107 boys born for every 100 girls, so really, we're all slightly more likely to have boys than girls with our pregnancies.

-It seems like the majority of my friends have boys. In Tim's family, there are five boys and just one girl. For Tim's parents, all of the grandkids so far are boys.

-I have a boy. And honestly, I'm probably a better boy mom than girl mom, because I don't know how to French-braid, I'm not crafty, and I hate drama. That doesn't mean that I don't want a girl; it just means that it would be a HUGE adjustment.

So, those are the main considerations. But really, I guess it all just depends on whether that little X or Y got there first. Haha! We'll find out soon... (hopefully)!

Yes, That Was an Announcement

[Editor's Note: I know most of you already know this, because you probably got a phone call or read it on Facebook. But, just in case...]

WE ARE EXPECTING!!!

We enlisted the friendly Pumpkandersons to share the news, but since they're pumpkins and can't actually speak, they used their own cryptic method instead.

I am 14 weeks pregnant at this point, with an expected due date of May 13th (but of course we all know I'll go over). My OB here in Tulsa is fabulous and likes to do ultrasounds at every appointment through 20 weeks, which means that we may find out the gender as early as my 16-week appointment. Here's hopin'! As with my pregnancy with Weston, it's once again hard for me to really envision the baby and understand the upcoming change to our family dynamic until I know whether it's a boy or girl. Once I find out, I can start to either get excited for Weston's future brother-best-friend and breathe a sigh of relief that we don't have to buy a million new clothes, OR get excited that I'm going to have a little Jean and go out and buy a million new clothes.

Weston and Pumpkin (thank you all for the nickname suggestion) will be just over 3 years apart (39 months, to be precise). He is slightly aware that there's a baby in Mommy's belly, but rarely mentions it anymore. Perhaps he'll understand when my stomach begins to swell, but for now, it's probably just a strange, hard-to-grasp concept for him. On the upside, he seems to love babies in general. He's always excited to see babies, and he's always very cute with them.

I'm a little happy that I'm once again avoiding a third-trimester-in-the-sweltering-summer. But seriously, I have had some SERIOUS nausea this time around -- WAY worse than with Weston. With Weston, there were a handful of bouts of nausea, and only one that was severe enough to actually remember. (I had eaten a breakfast burrito, and then realized that eggs were the most horrid thing ever. So, I laid on the floor and moaned, "That was a bad choice...") This time around, I started feeling nauseated at 6 weeks, and it didn't go away until 12 or 13 weeks. I know, that doesn't sound like very long. And no, I never actually threw up. But, geeeeeeeez, you guys!!! I had no idea how awful that first trimester can be! I hate nausea. I HATE IT.

I eventually realized that my stomach had to be in some sort of perfect, mystical equilibrium between hunger and satiety to avoid feeling overly nauseated. If I was the slightest bit hungry, I felt sick. If I was too full, I felt sick. So, I started eating crackers and snacks ALL the time to avoid even the tiniest onset of hunger. I seriously decided that I'd rather gain 25 pounds in the first trimester alone than endure the constant nausea. And I also realized that it is entirely possible to be both nauseous and starving at the same time. Although I felt awful, I was still having cravings, particularly for salty, salty foods, like tater tots, cheddar-sour cream chips, Ramen noodles, mac & cheese, etc. Apparently when I'm pregnant, I craaaaave salty foods!! One night I thought it would be a brilliant and perfectly nutritious idea to make pigs-in-a-blanket for dinner. (... And I wonder why I didn't feel well...)

Anyway, the nausea is gone now, and I feel splendid. I still don't look pregnant, and I doubt I will for several weeks still. (I looked back at my pregnancy calendar with Weston and saw that I didn't even start unbuttoning the top button of my jeans until 20 weeks. That's just the beautiful, squishy, freak body shape with which I am blessed.)

Anyway, we're excited, and in case you are, too, I posted a Baby Ticker over there on the right side so that we can all observe my pregression. Huzzah!!!

The Halloween Post!

Don't worry, you guys, you can always count on me to be the LAST ONE to blog about holidays. :-)  And now, on with the Halloween festivities!!

A couple weeks before Halloween, we made the obligatory autumn voyage to the pumpkin patch.  Being cheap/lazy, we fed the goats the pieces of dried corn that other kids had dropped on the ground, rather than simply buying our own little bags of dried corn:

 I guess we learned our lesson, though, because Weston unfortunately got sent to the pumpkin patch jail:

 But don't worry!  They released him on bail the next day, and we were able to proceed with our pumpkin purchases:

 One night shortly before Halloween, Tim prepped the pumpkins for carving.  As inclined as we were to keep the carving activity genuine for Weston, we eventually decided that we probably shouldn't let a two-year-old wield a six-inch blade.  So, out came the markers!!

 Surprisingly, he was extremely focused on the task.  I think he did a pretty swell job:

 He even smiled for the camera:

 Tim was hard at work on his design:

 ... while Weston got to enjoy a yummy, sprinkly doughnut from Krispy Kreme!

 Remember the Pumpkandersons?  Well, here are mama and papa all lit up:

 As Halloween approached, we were delighted to receive the annual Halloween package from Gangy, chock full of treats and surprises.  Yay!!!  This is one tradition for which words cannot convey our gratitude and appreciation!

 Weston marveled at the giant gummy skewer:

 And... oh yes.  There was bubble wrap to boot:

 The day before Halloween, we breakfasted at Mimi's Cafe (one of our favorite restaurants, we've decided).  Here's how to get chocolate chip pancakes at Mimi's, according to Weston:

(1) Study the tiny picture of the chocolate chip pancakes on the children's menu for a really long time:

 (2) Devour said chocolate chip pancakes:

 (3) Conclude by licking every last smidge of chocolately goodness from the fork:

 Meanwhile, Tim and I ordered pumpkin pancakes.  And not just any pumpkin pancakes -- pumpkin pancakes with SPICED CARAMEL APPLES on top:

 Mimi's is right next to the mall, so we wandered over there to let Weston explore the play area while Tim and I recovered from our sugar comas:

 No steering wheel?  No problem!!  Just imagine one!  (And apply your own sound effects liberally.):

 On Halloween, we kicked off the evening with the famous Anderson recipe for Dinner-in-a-Pumpkin:

 It was my first time having it, and it was really tasty.  (And kudos to Tim for making it, because it's a little time-intensive!!)  It's a beef-and-rice combo with cooked pumpkin on the side (mmmm):

 After dinner, we suited up Darth Vader:

 And naturally, he had to check himself out in the mirror (just like the real Darth Vader does every day, I'm sure):

 Our first house was that of our friend Diane from church:

 Weston approached doors with much more determination than last year, when he was still pretty unsure of everything.  This year, we started plugging the concept of free candy pretty early on:

 And... JACKPOT!!!

 We trick-or-treated for about an hour, even though Weston wanted to quit after two houses and just eat the candy that he'd gotten.  (We eventually convinced him that more houses = MORE candy.)  Here was the sweet, sugary bounty at the end of the evening:

 He was, by far, most excited about the lollipops:

 ... but he also found time (and stomach space) for a mini Hershey's bar before bathtime:

Hooray for Weston's third (and most successful) Halloween!!!