Farewell 2007...

I just wanted to take a moment and discuss what a wonderful and blessed year 2007 has been for us and the things I am most thankful for. Ayden coming into our family was by far the most amazing part of the year! We were so fortunate that I had a healthy and uncomplicated pregnancy and birth and that Ayden is such a healthy baby. I know all too well from my work as a labor and delivery nurse that many families are not so fortunate. He is truly a blessing from God.

I am also very grateful that I have been able to stay home with Ayden thus far. Chris has been very supportive of this. He works long hours 5-6 days a week, goes to grad school 4 hours a week, and still makes time to be wonderful daddy and husband. Being a mommy is the most rewarding job I have ever had. I truly treasure every moment I have with Ayden, and I will miss him dearly when I eventually return to work. Chris and I are very blessed to have such loving and supportive families and friends who love Ayden so much and we appreciate them very much! We are looking forward to watching Ayden continue to grow and sharing new experiences with him.

Chris and I will also be busy working on our New Years resolution of losing weight! Two years ago we made the same resolution and acutally stuck to it for almost an entire year! Chris lost 80 lbs, I lost 65. Then we went on our cruise and ate our weight in food :), this was quickly followed by the holidays, and then I got pregnant. So we are going to try this again! We even got an elliptical machine to aid us in our efforts! Anyway, we hope all of our families and friends have a blessed and Happy New Year!!

New Toys!

Ayden loves his new Rainforest mobile and Jumparoo! After seeing how much he loves the animals, lights, and music of all his Rainforest gear(he also has the bouncer, swing, and floor gym), I have now decided to get him the Rainforest high chair when he is ready for one. Look how cute he is checking out his new toys!
p.s. As you can see, he also loves his Binky now!

Ayden's First Christmas

We had a wonderful and very memorable time in Mena celebrating our first Christmas with Ayden. After a long day of traveling, we spent Christmas Eve evening with Chris' family at David and Summar's house. Ayden had a good time with his MiMi and his uncles, aunts, and cousins. Amy and her family and Josh and his family were unable to come and we missed them all very much! Ayden got a new mobile for his crib, new clothes, and his first pair of very cute Nike shoes! After being passed around and getting lots of kisses, Ayden finally passed out in MiMi's arms.

Christmas morning we followed tradition and opened gifts in our PJ's at my mom and dad's house, followed by a big breakfast. It was so exciting to share this with Ayden! He loved all his presents, most of all his keys! He got practically an entire library of great children's books from his Grandma and Grandpa. I am so excited to start reading them to him. Later that afternoon, all my grandparents came over for a big Christmas meal. I took tons of pictures and video of Ayden, but somewhere in the mix, forgot to get a family picture of the 3 of us on Christmas day in front of the tree :( Anyway, we had a wonderful time and it was a very special Christmas for all of us. We were happy to get home to see our dogs (they have been at the kennel since Friday). I am now super busy doing laundry, sorting and putting away gifts, and dreading the ever-daunting task of taking down my Christmas decorations! Meanwhile, Ayden is enjoying a cozy nap on his blanket :)


Hanging out in MiMi's lap

Passed out in MiMi's lap

Opening gifts with Daddy

Ayden with Aunt Summar

Ayden (about to throw a fit!) with his cousins Megan and Chelsea

Ayden with Uncle Jamie

How cute are they?!

Opening gifts Christmas morning

Precious Christmas Baby

Look at all these presents!

Hmmm...what should I play with first?

Loving my new keys!

Ayden with his Great Grammie

Sleeping in rather unusual position

Loving on Grandma

Weekend in Branson

This past weekend we kicked off the Christmas celebration with our traditional family trip to Branson. We went with my parents and my brother and his wife. It was so exciting to have Ayden with us this year! We are not sure what exactly it is we did before we had him! Saturday we celebrated our 6 year anniversary, and it had the added sentimental value that we also spent our honeymoon in Branson! The weather was great Saturday, in the upper 50's, so we spent the day shopping at the new Branson Landing mall. We also checked out the new Titantic museum, which was very interesting (Chris and I both are history nerds!). It was really neat to see some of the actual items that were on the Titantic as well as read stories about some of the passengers and see actual models of the first and third class staterooms( no picture taking was allowed, so I have no pics to post of this). You are given a boarding pass when you enter the museum with the name of an acutal Titantic passenger, and at the end you see if you lived or died. I lived, unfortunately Chris was not so fortunate. Anyway it was fun because it reminded us of when we went on our cruise in 2006 and visited a cemetary in Halifax, Nova Scotia where many Titantic victims were buried. Okay so enough history for now! Anyway, Sunday the guys all played their traditional Branson golf game in FREEZING weather while the girls and Ayden decided to stay warm in the condo! Sunday night we all went to Silver Dollar City which was absolutely beautiful with all the Christmas lights. Ayden was dressed in 4 layers of clothing, along with a thick wool coat, hat, and blanket, so needless to say, he did not feel the cold! He checked out the lights when we first got there, but then slept the rest of the time. Chris and I rode a rollercoaster while my parents watched Ayden and then we did a little shopping,ate some s'mores and hot cocoa, watched the parade, and then headed back to the condo. We had such a wonderful time in Branson! We got up Monday morning and headed to Mena to continue celebrating Christmas there!


Keeping warm with Grandpa

Ayden enjoying the lights at Silver Dollar City

Snug as a bug!

Chris and Jess

Beautiful tree at Silver Dollar City

Christmas lights galore!

Family Photo 2007

Chris and I on our 6 year anniversary!

Ayden checking out our golf course view from the balcony with Grandpa

Shopping is exhausting!

Little flirt

Chris and I at the Branson Landing

Nick and Cara

Water show at the Landing

Grandma and Grandpa's boy!

Mommy and Ayden (tired from a long day!)

One year ago...

Today is exactly one year since we found out we were going to have Ayden! I remember like it was yesterday how I felt when I found out...I started crying and shaking all over with excitement! When I called Chris at work and told him, he said, "Oh my gosh...I'm coming home!" And he did! (it was only 9:00 AM) True to my sentimental personality, I have decided to take a walk down memory lane and post the entry I made on the baby website I created the day I found out I was pregnant.
Positive Home Pregnancy Test - Thursday, December 21, 2006
Everyone at work convinced me to take a test today because they said my symptoms sounded like pregnancy. I reluctantly agreed, but did not get my hopes up because I had felt this way before and not been pregnant. Chris wanted me to wait for him to come home from work, but I said, No, I'm sure it will be negative. Imagine my surprise when 2 bright pink lines appeared!! I started crying immediately and we called everyone we knew. Later that day, we bought another test so Chris could see it light up positive! We are so excited. Our first doctor's appointment is January 25th. We will keep everyone updated!

Then and Now!

12/21/06



12/21/07

Christmas ornaments

Just wanted to post pics of my two newest (and favorite!) Christmas ornaments I have received this year. Thanks so much to my best friends "Aunt" Jenny & "Aunt" Melissa for helping commemerate Ayden's first Christmas!

Morning Sweetie

Ayden always wakes up in the sweetest, most snuggly mood! This morning I caught some of the sweetness on camera!

4 month check-up

Ayden is 4 months old today! I can't believe how fast the time is passing and how big he is getting. I took him to the pediatrician this morning for his well baby check-up. He weighed in at 14 lbs 14 oz in his birthday suit and was 25 1/2 inches long. He remains "right down the middle of the chart" as the doctor put it, at the
50th percentile for height and weight. So he is pretty much your average 4 month old. The doctor said we can start solids anytime now, but I will probably wait a few more weeks. He is definetely starting to show interest in the food we are eating, which is one of the signs of readiness to start solids. I am very much looking forward to that experience, and I plan to make most of his baby food myself. The doctor was very impressed with his happy, calm demeanor during the exam, and said he was a very healthy boy! He will get his 4 month immunizations on January 3rd at the health department, since Chris' insurance doesn't cover them. On a side note, Ayden is laughing out loud now, usually in response to one of us laughing. It is hilarious. He keeps Chris and I very entertained!! Once again, I cannot say enough how blessed we are to have such a healthy, beautiful baby boy in our lives.

Chris' Birthday

Tonight we went to Outback to celebrate Chris' 26th birthday. I also made him his favorite cake- yellow cake with chocolate frosting, complete with 26 candles! I usually make this for him every year. This is my 11th year to celebrate Chris' birthday with him, and I find myself more in love with him every year :) Ayden and I couldn't ask for a better father and husband. We love him very much!!

Santa's Helper

Family reunion

This weekend Ayden finally got to meet his Uncle Josh, Aunt Jess, and cousins Emery Jai and Guice. He also got to see all his other aunts, uncles and cousins. We had such a wonderful time and wish we could have all stayed longer! Guice is about 2 1/2 weeks older than Ayden, so we were all very excited to see the two newest Anderson boys together. Josh and Jess got the babies very cute matching outfits and we got some great pics of them. They both melted our hearts when we put them on a blanket together and they instantly held hands! We hope to see them again more often so Ayden, Guice, and Emery Jai can all grow up to be great friends! Here are some pics from the weekend.

Mimi's first time to hold both her new grandsons together! (We did not even plan the red shirts/blue jeans- isn't that too cute?!)


EJ decided at the last minute she didn't want in the picture!

Sitting in Nanny Newbolt's lap

The proud brothers with their sons


Daddy and Uncle!

Best Buds :)


Adorable matching outfits complements of Aunt Jess



Hanging out with Mimi before saying goodbye


Ayden's loves his new silky blanket!