The Ueltschey's

2011-01-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

Tanner is here!
Blogger has not let me sign on in quite some time...never figured out why but I just checked again and it let me on. Tanner is here...and he's a boy! I really thought it was another girl so I was very surprised when he was born. I fell in love quickly and he is the perfect addition to our family (minus Anderson's frequent comments when she says, "but mama, I wanted a sister baby"...to which I reply, "maybe next time...go tell your daddy that :)")

Tanner Farrell Ueltschey
December 10, 2010
8 pounds, 11 ounces
21 inches

Maybe I'll post more later...who knows.

2010-07-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a small profile picture of Baby U #3...he or she is 11 ounces. Michael knows the gender and is doing his best to drive me crazy. He is happy to tell whomever the big secret (but you must be willing and able to pay off our mortgage for us...that's the only deal I told him he could accept). Or I guess a cash donation with at least 5 to 6 zeros in it.

2010-07-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

We're back!!

It's only been since it snowed here that I blogged last. The main reason is that our computer wouldn't let me download any pictures, but I've also been really lazy about it. I finally sat down and started deleting things off of the computer to make room. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I didn't delete anything too important. Scroll down to see lots of new posts...it's definitely been busy around here!

2010-07-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

Mimi has a big birthday coming up...

so we surprised her a little early with dinner, cake and gifts. Aunt Cathy got a cake too because their birthdays are so close. They always had a joint birthday party growing up but their mom always made them their own cake....

Mama sent Daddy to Kroger to buy 10 balloons for the occasion...but by the time he got home and got the balloons inside Aunt Cathy's house, we had 3 left. Daddy won't be allowed to be in charge of the balloons anymore (and he will probably be just fine with that).

I love to eat!!!! I eat all of my food in my high chair and since Anderson never eats her food, I get down and when they aren't looking I climb in her chair at the table and work her plate as well.

Silly silly girl...we aren't really sure what to do with her (besides call Super Nanny)

...but I'm pretty sweet (so far)!!!

2010-07-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

Big sister can be sweet sometimes...
She even decided to share some of her yogurt with Taylor. I had to take a picture because it's very rare when this kind of sisterly love happens."More, "a-sun" (anderson)!!!!!"

Taylor's learned how to say "where's a-sun?" (although mama is the only one who understands her). I also sing Jesus loves me to her every night and when I finish with the song, she picks her head up and says "again". It's too cute so I keep singing...

I'm still amazed at how quickly they learn new words.

2010-07-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

The Zoo with Sitty and Cousin Erin...
Erin loved the carousel...Anderson of course was scared.

Taylor was a pretty good stroller rider most of the day...she's so sweet.
I had some practice with three for the day. They were sweet most of the way to the zoo...they were even holding hands in the back seat at one point. Only the Lord knows why they all three decided to smile at the same time. Bet it''ll never happen again.

2010-07-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

First night in the big girl bed!
...and she did good. Lord knows she could never fall out of the bed with the tallest bed rails in the entire world. I almost threw them out the window trying to put the darn things together. I was tempted to give up and let her fall out of the bed. The rest of the room is a work in progress.

2010-07-10T08:39:00.002-07:00

The BIG 30!
Apparently Michael was worn out from his photo session earlier in the day (see below!) so he was tired of smiling...but here we are.

The frame is awesome...the picture, well, let's just say Anderson cried and wouldn't have anything to do with him when she saw it. He secretly worked on this for an entire day...he had two photo shoots...one with my sister in the back of our store parking lot ON his truck with his shirt OFF. Yeah, no lie.
Those didn't go over so well, as you can imagine, so his brother ended up taking this lovely shot of him...with his hair slicked back. And as you can see, his caption reads "Happy 30th Birthday. Love, The Most Interesting Man in the World". This is a large frame people. Holds a 20 x 20 picture and it's hanging in my den.

Poppy, Mimi, (my parents), Sitty and Poppa (Michael's parents)

2010-07-10T08:39:00.001-07:00

Impatience...
They couldn't wait until mama could undress them and put them in the bath...so they got in when mama wasn't looking. Oh well...less laundry I have to do. (just kidding). Taylor did it first and Anderson thought it was so fun(ny) she jumped in before I could stop her. Who knows where daddy was???

2010-07-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

Poolin' it!
...in the driveway with our blow up pool! They love it...

Taylor likes to let her popsicle melt in the pool...and then pick it up when she's got the time.
We weren't exactly clothed like we should have been for being in the front yard....but the mail lady didn't seem to mind too much.

She's got "cheese" down pat! Little sister is quickly catching on :)

2010-07-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

Anderson is THREE!!!
....but is still very much acting like she's TWO! Will the fits ever end? Anyway, here she is with her cake. She loves some icing! And does NOT like Chuck E Cheese we quickly found out. At least the cake and pizza were good.
Here's our cutie little neighbor Nelson (that Anderson calls Melson...) and she thinks the new baby should be named Nelson, Carter (her friend) or Miss Melanie (her teacher from last year)?????

Her friend Carter S.... Anderson has officially changed her name to Carter....Taylor is now Caroline Reed (Carter's sister), I am Helen, and Michael is Mapp (supposed to be Matt). I get in trouble if I call her Anderson. And since Carter is in the running (Anderson's running) for the new baby name, we might have two Carters???

Anderson and John Parker thought this was the funniest ride. And we all thought it was really funny too because they would just die out laughing...

Daddy and the birthday girl!!!

2010-03-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

Mama Made Cookies....

...Taylor looks like this after eating hers...
And Anderson (the strange child) shoves hers in blocks. We've also found deli turkey in a toothbrush holder, mama's running shoes in the pantry cabinets...and many more strange oddities.

2010-03-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

Warmer Weather Finally!

We are loving the warmer weather...Anderson loves to swing and slide in the backyard. But it's so much more fun to play outside in a tu-tu. We rode in the Trek buggie that's attached to Mama's bike the other day and went to the neighborhood park. Anderson decided right then and there that she needed to tee-tee...so Mama made a quick decision to let her go outside in the grass since we wouldn't have made it home in time. Unfortunately, Anderson thought this was REALLY neat, so if you see her going outside in the future, I apologize in advance. Oops.

2010-03-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

Snow!
The Fam, right after Mama ran over the sled at Mimi and Poppys. Ooops again.

Anderson liked the idea of the snow, but didn't like her hands getting cold when she picked it up.

Poppy and Anderson. Poppy better be thankful that I finally blogged.

Michael, Anderson and Taylor!

Dada was trying to be sneaky and get Anderson under the tree so that he could shake the branches. She did not like this!

Other than snow, warm weather, and cookies (lots of them), we really haven't been up to anything fun.

2009-12-20T12:16:00.000-08:00

My kids LOVE Santa!

Maybe they'll like what Santa brings them!! But how will he know? They only stared at him and cried.

Anderson has asked for: a pink car, a Christmas tree, a cup, and a cupcake (???)...whatever. So her dad just HAD to buy her the pink car. Since the pink car has been purchased, when you ask her what she wants she says: "I do not want a pink car...but I want a Christmas tree, cup, and cupcake." It makes Michael so mad.

The trees up (finally) and I'll grab a new cup and cupcake from Kroger :) Mama (I mean Santa) has it easy this year. HOPEFULLY she will be excited about the pink car once she sees it.

2009-12-20T12:14:00.000-08:00

Getting big!
Taylor having her afternoon cheeto snack. I'm pretty sure I didn't let Anderson have cheetos at this point in her life, but I guess that's how it goes with #2.

2009-12-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

Photo Booth Fun!
Michael and I had so much fun in Seattle Thanksgiving weekend at Danny and Brianne's wedding. They had a photo booth at the reception (which was a fabulous idea-- it's how you signed their guest book)...they also had cheeseburgers delivered to the reception at 11 pm which was my favorite part of the night :)

2009-12-20T12:09:00.000-08:00

So tired.

Taylor feel asleep in her high chair eating supper one night. She was so tired. That's what happens when you refuse to take a nap baby girl!

2009-12-20T12:05:00.000-08:00

Taylor is a big help...
...when it comes time to wake up big sister from her nap.

Taylor was in Anderson's bed for a good five minutes before she ever woke up. Taylor thought it was fun...she does have lots of stuff in the bed with her!

2009-10-30T19:38:00.000-07:00

Halloween Preview!

As we were trying on Taylor's costume tonight (you know, the night before Halloween!!!), Anderson said, "Is she a pig?"

Nope, not a pig.

Today someone asked Anderson what she was going to be for Halloween...poor thing genuinely didn't know. I selfishly never showed her the costume because I knew that she would want to wear it everyday for an entire month. We busted it out tonight and she is very excited about being Minnie Mouse!!! She made sure that she could see it in her room from where she was sleeping because mama didn't let her go to bed in it. I'm sure she will be dressed for trick or treating at 7 am.

She is a little pink BUNNY!!!

Not a big fan of the bunny ears.

But she sure does look cute!!!

Anderson would not let me take her picture! (she was, however, very into looking at herself in the mirror!!)

I'm sure we will have more pictures in the costumes tomorrow during trick or treat time!

2009-10-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

The Flu!
Does Anderson look like she's got the swine flu? Um, no. Does she act like she's got the swine flu? no. It's strange really. After we got home from the game on Saturday, she slept fine and got up and went to church. (My deepest apologies go out to everyone at church...we really hope she didn't get anyone sick!!). On the way home she told us she was tired and she refused to eat lunch. I sent her to bed and when she woke up several hours later, she was burning up with fever. She laid on the couch for a while and then walked into the kitchen and threw up in her chair? Five minutes later she was jumping on the couch. I called the on-call nurse who asked if she had any congestion/coughing and I told her no. She said it wouldn't be the flu...so since she still had fever on Monday morning I took her in and told them we were probably there for nothing. Umm...the flu? We've been cooped up in this house for too long!!! So we've had to be creative...we've pushed each other around in a diaper box...and we've even pushed Lucy around in the diaper box. (P.S. She did not like this). Anderson did not understand why Lucy didn't want to stick around and play longer.

I took Taylor to the doctor today for her 9 month checkup. We figured she probably had the flu as well, but the test came back negative. Hopefully she's either already had it or she won't get it. I've given up on keeping them apart...it's pretty much impossible (so I stuck them in a box together and let them play away :))

Her 9 month stats were:

Weight: 18 pounds, 6 ounces (50th percentile)

Height: 28 inches long (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 44 cm (50th percentile)

She is the same length as Anderson at 9 months, but a good 3 pounds heavier :)

2009-10-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

Go (Puppy) Dawgs!!!
Saturday we went to the MSU-Florida game. I will have to say, it was one of the funnest days I've had in a good while. And not because we left little bit at home with Mimi and Poppy (but that was kinda nice to have one kid for the day). Anderson was still a handful...don't get me wrong. She had a blast though. She apparently was not scared to run off by herself. Once again, she thought she was really cool in her cheerleader uniform. She ate tons of junk food right off the tailgate table, got paw prints painted on both hands (because she was scared to get them on her face), and she even had her very own maroon and white pom pom (which she did not like to share and kept trying to steal Rebecca J's). We have a few things to work on in the sharing department :0). She was very intrigued by all of the fans in the stadium...and she was right when she repeatedly said, "That's alotta people!" (a new stadium record was set!!) She also LOVED the band, the Gators flags and their two gator mascots. It was very fun. Thanks to Matt and Emily for inviting us, providing us tickets, and letting us tailgate with them!!!

A few days before the game, I taught her to say "GOOOOO DAWGS!!!!" She woke up on Saturday morning and I asked her what she was going to say at the game and she said, "GOOOO PUPPY DAWGS!!!!...okay, whatev.

No clue where Anderson was at this point...probably off drinking out of a random Sweet Peppers cup that she found on the back of someone's tailgate!!! Oh- and how smart was I to cheer on the bulldogs in a blue shirt. Hey, it's more of a Carolina blue than Gator blue :)

I was VERY impressed with the tailgating scene in Starkville...it's come a long way since I was there a few years ago. Definitely want to go to another game soon!!!!

2009-10-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

Dress up and sticker books!
Anderson loves to dress up and dress herself. I think she changes clothes more than her dad (which is alot when you see how much of his laundry I do!!!).

She also loves stickers!!! I really was dreading Taylor being able to crawl because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep up with two, BUT I would have to say the hardest part about Taylor crawling is that she (like her sister did) puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. I can't tell you how many times she has choked on something Anderson left on the floor (STICKERS!!!).

For some reason, she likes them on her face.

Happy Baby! So sweet!

2009-10-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Anderson vs. Taylor

I don't typically think my girls look alike, but these two pictures threw me for a loop. Who is who?

Taylor is at the top, Anderson is at the bottom. Do you think they look alike? The have the same CRAZY hair!!!!

2009-10-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

A little behind...

This might be the longest we've ever gone without blogging...there just isn't enough time in the day. And if I am not at work, we are running errands ("runnin erins" as Anderson calls it...she always thinks that means that we are going to see her cousin, Erin!), cleaning the house, changing diapers, giving Anderson m&m's for tee teeing in the potty, retrieving random objects from Taylor's mouth, doing laundry, cooking (hmmm...sort of), or sleeping. Anderson and Taylor are growing up way too fast. Taylor now has 5 teeth that have popped through and Anderson has finally finished growing all of her baby teeth. Two year old molars are NO FUN!!! These few pictures were taken today before we went out to "run our erins"!
Anderson is potty training...she's done very well. She either gets m&m's or temporary tattoos but she learned the beat the system by tee teeing the smallest amount possible...and then going every 5 minutes or so. The first few days we went through lots of m&m's and she had more tattoos all over her body than her daddy could handle. We were running our of places for them to go...and Michael just didn't think it was very appropriate. Not to mention, we had a heck of a time getting them all removed before school :) Now she knows she has to go a lot in order to get her prize. I'm not sure if this is the BEST possible method of potty training (bribing with candy????) but its working for now. Don't judge. We also have a Minnie Mouse Pez Dispenser hanging from the wall that she will get when she goes #2 in the potty. We'll see how long that takes!

Sweet Taylor is all over the place. She's crawling and pulling up on everything. She loves Lucy (the cat) and will follow her all over the house. She also loves Anderson and I can't help but grin when they interact with each other. Anderson has figured out how to make her laugh...but we are struggling a bit on the sharing issue. One day Taylor is going to be big enough to fight her own battles.

2009-10-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

My little cheerleader!
Anderson had to dress up as a cheerleader for Camp's birthday party a few weekends ago. Of course, we didn't have anything to wear so Natalie let us borrow one of Rebecca's uniforms. Anderson thought she was SO COOL! She kept running aroung the house saying, "Mama, I a cheerleader!!". I honestly didn't know that she knew what a cheerleader was???

She is so funny. She is going to turn into Mac & Cheese because that's all she wants to eat for every meal...We drove by Chuck E Cheese (the old empty location) and she said, "It's Chuck E Cheese mama!" (she's has been once...a few months ago with her daddy and it was at the new location)...when we drove back by later on she got a little confused and said, "It's Mac & Cheese!!!"

Today we went out looking for garland for a project that I am working on...she wanted to hold it in the buggy until she spotted the candy bracelets at the checkout line....she took one look, handed me the garland and said, "here's your grass."

Oh I could go on and on...thankfully she can be really sweet and funny because she can be equally B-A-D!

2009-10-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

Tay Tay!

2009-10-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby!

These pictures were taken the day after I got home from California. I spent the entire day getting back into the swing of things with my girls.

2009-10-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

California

Brae and I spent some time in California a few weeks ago...we had a great time! This picture was taken after we hiked up the steepest road I've ever walked up...my legs were sore for 3 days! This is *Lombard Street in San Fran...aka the Crookedest Street.
The greenery was beautiful!

Alcatrez...

These were seals on the beaches in Monterrey, CA. We also visited the Aquarium there which had the best seahorse and jellyfish exhibits...sounds dumb, but they were really neat. Did you know that the male seahorse is the only creature that carries and births their babies? Their bellies literally contract and they shoot the babes out. Quite fascinating.

Cat was a great host and took us to an awesome redwood forest. The trees were huge!! I should have taken more pictures! We had a great time and it was very refreshing to get away and sleep late :) I did miss Michael and my girls though.

2009-08-12T12:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday with Daddy!
Michael gets lots of quality time with his girls on Saturdays (unless he can sneak away to play golf)... :)

...so they had some fun play time in the den. Note: they were still in their pajamas when I got home from work at 5:30pm. Father of the Year!!

2009-08-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

The Beach and Pool...

Don't let this big smile fool you...she doesn't really love the beach and pool...but she can hang in there for a few hours.

Playing in the sand...

It's really fun to pour sand back and forth, back and forth....this also works with bottled water, diet coke, etc. It's not very fun when she does this with a beverage INSIDE the condo.

2009-08-12T12:16:00.001-07:00

Sink Bath

This was the easiest way to bathe little bit at the beach...she didn't mind it at all.

2009-08-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

Sitting Up!

Taylor is sitting up pretty good these days. Every now and then she will fall...and every now and then Anderson will go knock her down for the fun of it. She can get on all fours and rock around, so life is about to get a bit harder with two mobile ones.

2009-08-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

Sisters...being silly!
A few days ago I was running around putting away the laundry (which I hate) and I heard giggles coming from both of my girls. I couldn't imagine what they were up to so when I walked into the den I found Anderson shaking her head and hair in Taylors face...they both thought it was hysterical. Of course, then I got my camera out and all I got was Anderson's hair going everywhere.

They did sort of pose for me after all their fun!

Taylor's just so sweet...I might change my mind when she turns two, but for now I will keep telling her that she shouldn't watch her big sister too closely.

***That would be drool all over her outfit.

2009-08-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Girls Trip to Oxford
A few weekends ago several of us went to Oxford to see Barrie and her family. We weren't there long, but we had a lot of fun.

It was great to see Barrie, Guy and her two sweet kiddos! We are so happy that they are in MS!!!!

2009-08-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Half Birthday Taylor! (July 22nd)

Happy 1/2 birthday to Taylor....we celebrated (like we did with Anderson) with half a cake. This was Taylor's first food (icing) and she didn't particularly care for it.

The 1/2 cake....
She made a pretty good mess out of it...

Then for "dessert" she had her first baby food. And she......HATED IT!!! (applesauce)This was the gagging picture and then I will spare you the picture of the throw up that Michael zoomed in on. Thankfully, the baby food is getting a little better. She loves sweet potatoes but that's about it. We had her six month checkup several days later and her stats were:

Weight: 16 pounds, 13 ounces (75th percentile)

Height: 2 ft. 2 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 43.25 cm

2009-07-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Summertime!
Anderson was dressed and ready for the pool (even though she hates the water...) but Michael was trying to get the grass cut before we left. He finally finished and we hit up the pool for all of 45 minutes. Anderson spent 30 of those minutes eating a bag of chips on the side of the pool and rest of the time trying to throw her towel in the water. She is so well behaved! hmmmm

Her very noticeable bobo was from a few nights before when she tripped and fell into the window in Taylor's room. She kept saying that she wanted to go see her "bobo in the picture" (which translates into "bobo in the mirror"). A few nights later I noticed that we might could get rid of the scab so I picked it (gross I know) when she was brushing her teeth. She looked up and noticed that it was gone and she kept asking where her bobo went.

Her new favorite saying is "I'll be right back..." and she uses it while pointing and shaking her finger at me (this almost always means that she is going to get into something that she shouldn't). She's also figured out how to climb up on Taylor's changing table where she gets into the wipes, diaper rash cream, and infant toothpaste.

Taylor actually had fun at the pool. I kept her in the water for about 20 minutes and she didn't make a peep.

She will be 6 months old tomorrow!!! In honor of her 1/2 birthday, I've ordered half a cake for her (um, well, us/me). As silly as it is, we did it for Anderson, so we will follow our tradition and do it for this little girl too. Any excuse for a cake is good enough for me!

2009-07-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

Teeth! & Some Crazy Hair!!
Taylor still has 2 teeth! Anderson's 2 year molars are almost all the way through (thank the Lord)...those were some trying 3 weeks. Thankfully she is back to sleeping late...and being much nicer to her mama. Whew! I thought I might have to give her away for a few weeks there.

This is what this kid's hair looks like when she gets out of the bed...nighttime or naptime. I have no idea what she does but sometimes I think she might grow up and sport dreds. It would take all of 2 days to get them going!

We had an interesting day yesterday. We took our first trip to the dentist because "little bit" face planted into the hard wood floor and hit her front right tooth. If you look really closely, you can see the bruise above it in this picture...anyway, she hated the dentist just like she hates any other kind of doctor. We paid $75 for him to look at her teeth for 20 seconds...but oh, we got our money's worth, don't you worry. We left with an "earring" (a ring), a pink bracelet, and a pink princess toothbrush. The good news is that the tooth is still intact...and the bad news is that we won't know for about 6 more weeks if the tooth will change color or not. We shall see.

We got home and she fell again. Then she was running in Taylor's room, tripped over a blanket, and smacked her forehead into the window seal. That's her newest bobo! She can tell you where they all came from too!

I finally decided it was time for bed...thankfully she can't hurt herself in the crib!

Michael asked her to say cheese...I think she's got it down pat!

Chunky Monkey was supposed to be on her back, but I found her sound asleep on her tummy when I went to wake her up from her nap. Um, yea, I WOKE her up from her nap. It was painful. Never wake a napping baby. BUT we had to get to our dentist appointment!!!

This kid LOVES to brush her teeth. Unfortunately all I hear is "me do it!", "me do it!"...so she gets to do it herself for the first half of teeth brushing time, and then it's mama's turn! A couple of things I learned at the dentist:

1) She has no damage from the pacifier (she hasn't had it in three weeks...and if anyone gives her one, you will pay.)

2) She cannot have toothpaste with fluoride in it (the kind you swallow). Yea, guess what kind we have been brushing with all of these months? The kind with fluoride. Read the back of the tube that says, do not give to children under the age of 6. She's 2. It tells you to call poison control if swallowed. She's been swallowing the stuff for months. She's fine. Oops.

3) The dentist asked if she drinks water. Sometimes. Apparently there is important fluoride in TAP water (not bottled) that is essential to the proper development of the permanent teeth. Guess what Anderson had with her lunch today? Tap water on ice...in her favorite Dora cup, of course!

This kid is just squishy and sweet. I love her.

2009-07-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

Busy and Paci-Free!

Taylor is sporting a Christmas gown that was Anderson's...so I guess we are having Christmas in July around here. I went through all of Anderson's old clothes to see what Taylor could wear...Anderson had so much fun trying on old clothes and shoes that were way too small (imagine that). This gown is too cute and too soft for Taylor to miss out on. These two are keeping Mama really busy!!!

We had a really fun weekend with Brae and Seth in town. Not sure if they had as much fun as we did (they did have several people ask, "Why are you going to MS for the 4th?")...because they love us :) Brae thought Anderson was really sweet for about the first 30 minutes that she saw her. Downhill from there!!

My favorite news of all is that we are paci-free (well, at least Anderson is). Her babysitter misunderstood my instructions about the pacifier (I told her that she was only allowed to have it at night-time and nap-time but she thought I meant that she couldn't have it at all.) The funniest part is that she told her that "she ate it". She actually took a nap that day without it so I decided to run with it. Any time she asks for her beloved "paci", I simply say, "Ms. Mary ate it. I'm so sorry." Then I change the subject. It's worked like a charm. It's almost been 2 weeks!! Taylor still has hers but luckily they are different kinds and Anderson knows the green pacifiers are Taylors. YEA!!!!!! I have worried and worried about how I would get that thing from her.

I got a new camera for my birthday so I will be posting more pictures soon!!

2009-07-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

Family Pic....sort of...
Ryan came over the other night while I was taking a picture of my favorite boy and two girls...so he told me to hop in the picture. That explains why Taylor looks so goofy. You can't help but be goofy when Ryan is around.

2009-06-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

The Beach and more...

Dinner with the White's...without our 4 kids. :) Wait, I don't have 4 kids. I have two, the White have two. Also, this was before Mikey's head injury!

Sweet Baby Taylor...she is growing up way too fast. She just turned 5 months old and and has two teeth. I want my gummy baby back!

I attempted to get a picture of my two girls TOGETHER...but finally gave up. No one will cooperate!! Maybe one day!

Don't let this picture fool you...she doesnt normally sleep in the car. Just ask Jennifer (or Ellie) how Anderson does in the car. She literally screamed, "hold you, mama" (which means, "mama, Hold me!") for 3 hours straight. This picture was taken on the way home...she finally fell asleep the last 30 minutes of the drive home so I had to get documentation for Jennifer.

Ellie even kept saying (who by the way was sitting next to her during the 3 hours of screaming...): "Becca, Anderson is still crying!!!" To which I replied, "Ellie, yes she is. I promise I can still hear her."
Well, at least they are both looking at the camera.

2009-05-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Anderson!!!
We had Anderson's Mermaid Birthday party at our house on Saturday. She had so much fun!!
We had pizza, cake, fish cookies, goldfish, and cake pops! It was all yummy- especially the cake and cake pops that we got from http://www.theshortcakery.blogspot.com/ She did a fabulous job!
The mermaid cake looked almost identical to the birthday invite that Jenny Holloway created. See the link on the side of my blog for her site: Jenny Holloway Designs. I might post a copy of the invite too. It was so so cute!
Some of the kiddos in the baby pools. We also had a big pool that had a slide down the middle. Some of the bigger kids loved it!

Anderson loves her new swing!!! And thanks to Emily H for the cute swimsuit...she also gave Taylor a matching one...(that my mom put on her backwards).

Anderson was not so sure about all of the people singing happy birthday to her. Thanks to MK for taking pictures for me (and for being the cake cutter :))

Ellie and Carter were having fun on the double glider swing. I could not get a picture of them both looking at the camera!

Loving the slide! And Rebecca J was loving the swing. We missed Natalie and Brandon who were out of town, but Tutu was so nice to bring Rebecca over for the party.After most of the guests left, Anderson started getting into the presents. It's a known fact that the kid loves shoes...so we weren't too surprised when she opened a total of 13 (THIRTEEN!!!) pair of shoes. She was so happy! She is also sporting some new pj's that Carter gave her (because she wanted them ON right when she opened the box).

Carter helped Anderson open most of her gifts. Anderson woke up this morning and asked if she could play with all of Carter's toys. I think she was a little confused. I told her that Carter did help her open them, but that they were hers.

We were on our way to church (after a crying battle over which shoes she was going to wear!), and Michael asked if he thought she was getting spoiled. I told him probably so, but it was her 2nd birthday and that it was likely that she would get some fun new things. Then this is what we heard from the backseat:

Anderson: "Dada, I want more."

Michael: "You want more what?"

Anderson: "More toys!"

I think we are set until Santa comes for Christmas!!!

2009-05-31T12:22:00.000-07:00

Anderson turned 2 years old on Thursday, May 28th. She was at the beach with her Mimi, Poppy, and Aunt Lala. Although we missed her, it was a vacation for the rest of us too!

When she got home, there was a surprise waiting for her: a new swing set!! She loves it and wants to swing ALL the time. Maybe I'll be big enough to play on it one day.

I think her daddy missed her the most...then my mom, and then me (I finally got some attention around here!!). I am glad that she's home. She is pretty entertaining!

2009-05-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

4 months old!

Taylor is 4 months old today! I feel like she's been here all along, but I remember her birthday as if it was just a few days ago.

We tried out the exersaucer for the first time a few days ago. She loved it. And she accidently rolled from her back to her stomach last Friday.

She is so so sweet. Maybe it will rub off on her big sister. Speaking of, big sister is turning TWO on Thursday!!!!

2009-05-18T20:11:00.001-07:00

Anderson- 2 years
Taylor- 4 months

I am trying to figure out where the time went...and when Anderson turned into a little girl and when my itty bitty baby turned 4 months old!

We had a doctor's appointment today. Anderson had to get her finger pricked and got one shot. She really acted awful! Hopefully we won't have to go back for a while.

Her stats were:
23 pounds (10th percentile)
34 1/2 inches (70th percentile)

And my big (sweet sweet) baby, Taylor, got one oral medication and 2 shots. She was grinning from ear to ear at the nurse right before she stuck her. I felt terrible about it!

Taylors stats were:
14 pounds, 11 ounces (75th percentile) **gotta love the rolls!!
24 1/2 inches (75th percentile)
41 cm (head circumference) (50th percentile)

***as you can tell, Anderson is a little obsessed with bows right now!! Mimi did this while I was at work!

2009-05-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Friends...and Sisters!
Ellie and Mason came over last night because the dads were out on the golf course (imagine that!). We attempted a group picture...this is the best we were going to get. I can't wait to watch all of these girls grow up together.

Sisters!! Hopefully they will be sweet to each other.

Rebecca and Anderson took a bubble bath the other night. They were so funny! Rebecca is about 10 shades darker than Anderson...and if you saw my legs compared to Natalie's, you would know why!
Another group shot!

She is SO SO SO sweet...You just look at her and she gives you a big grin. I love her! I tell her everyday that she is NOT allowed to act like her big sister when she grows up! :)

2009-05-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

My Sweet Girl!
Taylor apparently likes Ellie...

And she loves it when you talk to her...or sing Pat-A-Cake!

She's a chubby thing. The kid has too many rolls to count. I love it!

Big eyes like her daddy and big sister...they are still dark blue so we are waiting to see if they turn???

And our little sleepyhead! We all like our sleep around here.

2009-05-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Priss Pot!
This girl LOVES some shoes. She really doesn't care whose they are...and will tell you to take your shoes off so that she can wear them! We went to Reunion the other night to hear a band and when I went to pick her up from the kids room, she had on a pair of this little girls shoes. I found the one who was barefoot and said to her, "You were so sweet to let Anderson wear your shoes." to which she QUICKLY replied, "I didn't let her have them, SHE TOOK THEM!!" I should have known.Mama's shoes are neatly organized in her closet...but SOMEONE always gets in there and makes a BIG OLE mess! Nothing like a tshirt and some heels...right Natalie?

This is what I came home to the other day after work. Aunt Bethany helped Anderson get all dressed up and she kept saying that she was cute!
She is finally starting to like her bath...hates having her hair washed though. The bath crayons help.

2009-05-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

Crazy Kiddos!
Hi, my name is Taylor. This is my big sister Anderson. She is a crazy kid! My mom made homemade Cowboy cookies and Anderson tried to shove the entire thing in her mouth. She loves a cookie. She apparently loves milk too because this is the conversation that I heard last night:

Mom: Anderson, what do you want for supper?

Anderson: Milk.

Mom: Well, you need something else besides milk. What else do you want?

Anderson: Milk and Apple Juice.

Mom: You need something for supper besides milk and apple juice.

Anderson: Supper and Milk.

After a healthy supper my mom asked if she wanted anything else....to which she replied, "CANDY!"
Oh dear!
Anderson also loves her new swing. Well, actually Aunt "Caffey" (Cathy) gave her this swing for her 1st birthday, but we never had anywhere to hang it...until we got our nifty new deck a few weekends ago. Now she is obsessed and cries and cries when you take her out of it. Oh, and she doesn't like to share her swing.

I'm getting a little too big for my pillow. I slept like this for a good 45 minutes!

She is insane, I tell you!!!

2009-05-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

Crawfish Boil!
We had a crawfish boil at our house a few weeks ago (yes, very behind on the blogging), but it was fun. I think the kids had more fun than the adults. Oh, and my husband counts as a kid! I think that he ate about 50 pounds of crawfish himself. AND I caught him the NEXT morning (gross), eating the few leftovers critters that had been sitting out all night. YUM!
Sarah, Michael, Emily and Anderson swinging on the porch!

The crawfish table!!

Ellie and Carter got into Anderson's dress up clothes....and Carter ended up painting her body with a iced brownie before the day was over :)

Baby Mason White just chilled!

2009-04-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Taylor- 12 weeks...

Who knew it would be so much fun for us to wear matching outfits?? :)

2009-04-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

Baby Mason...
Baby Mason Eaves White was born on April 15th!! She is so cute...My mom wants to hold her but she's scared of little babies.

2009-04-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, MY-CUL!

My dada, MY-CUL (Michael), turned the big 2-9 last week. We celebrated by eating good food and giving him a really cute picture of myself and Taylor (which is still in the back seat of his car- shame on him!)...and my mom gave him golf lessons which pretty much wiped out our college savings. We might not be able to go to college, but at least MY-CUL will be good at golf! He also got an ice chest and a beverage cooler (very important when you have a new deck!!), some new shades, a gift certificate to Edwin*Watts, and last but NOT least "The Truth about Chuck Norris" (which has made for some very interesting conversation).

2009-04-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Easter!- by Anderson
My little sister, Taylor, has really shown her personality lately! I think she was very excited about the Easter Bunny!

(Really she was smiling at Mimi when this picture was taken...also known as the Easter Bunny!)

It's a big basket!!! But Mimi, I mean the Easter Bunny, didn't have much trouble filling it up.

The Easter Bunny didn't bring too much candy (probably because he knows that my mom will steal it all...).

Notice the pinwheel in the basket? Well, my mom tried to change my diaper shortly after this picture was taken, and as always, I wanted nothing to do with it. I wanted to play with all of my new things that the nice big bunny brought me!! So I whacked my mom over the head with the pinwheel when she picked me up. She tried really hard to act like she was very angry and disappointed with me, but she couldn't stop laughing. Hello??? I needed a spanking people!

The bunny should have brought a book on how to deal with a very strongwilled child!!!!

2009-04-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

My Big Sister......had so much fun at Causey's Easter party. She was sick last week with a sinus infection but we couldn't miss the party! She had fun eating fruit loops (that she kept calling Cheerios) and did not want to get out of the swing on the porch. My mom almost had to leave her there!

We participated in the Baby Dedication at church a few weeks ago. I pretty much slept through the entire service, but I am glad that my parents have agreed to raise me right! Again, Big Sis Anderson ate through the entire service (but cheetos puffs this time- hence the picture below...she wouldn't let them take her picture unless she was holding them).
I am wearing the dress that my dad was christened in as a baby...Anderson also wore this same dress to her baby dedication. We weren't sure if it was going to fit around my chubby neck but it worked out just fine. Speaking of chubbs...I might have some chunky thighs and a double chin, but I can do some sleeping. 9-10 hours a night!! My mom is NOT complaining. I hear her knocking on wood right about now.
Anderson got into some chocolate on the way home from Sitty and Poppas house. She was being very sneaky...so once my dad looked back to see how she was doing, he found her covered in chocolate eggs!

At least it was only chocolate!!!

Anderson LOVES her pacifier. My mom is currently trying to convince her that it's no longer important, but she's not falling for it. She even asked my mom: "Where my pacifier is?" the other day. Not sure who she's been hanging out with...it was a sentence, but just a little out of order!! She's a mess...but she entertains us most days. However, it's the temper tantrums that drive us insane.

2009-04-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

Caramel Brownies

1 16 oz box light brown sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 stick butter, melted
1/8 tsp salt
1 ½ cup self rising flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix brown sugar with eggs, salt and melted butter, stir well. Add flour gradually and continue to stir until well mixed. Add nuts. Spread in 9 X13 greased pan and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes….do not overbake….toothpick should have a few moist crumbs attached.

Icing (double recipe)

1 stick butter
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup half and half
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Melt butter over low heat, stir in sugar and stir until sugar is melted. Add half and half, stir and remove from heat. Add powdered sugar gradually and beat by hand. Stir in vanilla and salt. Pour over warm brownies. Icing will set as it cools (can add more powdered sugar if needed but 2 cups usually works).

***We had this at supper club last night and everyone was fighting for seconds!! I've never made it but, oh I've eaten it. They were SO good!!! They also served these with vanilla ice cream.

2009-04-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

Bunny*Cupcakes! (and lots of posts below)
Aren't they cute?

...and yummy!! (the bunnies faces are big globs of white icing!!)I wanted to make bunny cupcakes for a party tomorrow so I found a cute recipe online...I have to give Betty*Crocker most of the credit...but I am very proud of myself. They actually look like bunnies.

I also made some nest cupcakes with peanut butter filled eggs on top!

Here is the recipe that I used for the bunny cupcakes: (yeah, okay, her's are cuter!)

http://www.bettycrocker.com/Recipes/Recipe.aspx?recipeid=42245

2009-04-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

Dyeing (sp?) Easter Eggs
Natalie thought it would be a good idea for Rebecca and Anderson to dye Easter Eggs...Notice the poor green egg at the top...They were more interested in squishing (and eating) the eggs...but they did love THROWING them into the cups of dye.

We couldn't stop laughing at Rebecca who was shoving the eggs into her mouth. Anderson joined in the eating contest shortly after.

Natalie told us to come in clothes we don't care about...so Anderson sported her black tights from halloween, her pink sequin dress up shoes, and a large onesie that says "good looks courtesy of mom" (LaLa thanks for the onesie, but sorry, I won't let her wear this in public...). Rebecca had on a tshirt that says "Stomp out Diabetes" with a high heel shoe on the back :)

The finished product!

2009-04-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

Anderson's dresses...

These are two of Anderson's new dresses...you can get these custom made at SMITTEN!!

2009-04-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Easely*Amused

Last week we went to Easely*Amused and did a little bit of painting...it was FUN! I sat next to Big Mama...
This is Big Mama :) (aka Jennifer who is due with Mason any day now!)

The finished products...pictured rom left to right (back): Jennifer, Emily & Lauren...and then Caroline and Rebecca.

Jennifer and I took Ellie, Anderson and Taylor to the neighborhood playground the other morning. Unfortunately I left my camera at home because I would have loved a picture of Anderson after she slipped and fell in the massive mud puddle under the swings. I had to strip her down before we got back in the car! A little mud never hurt anybody...just the pavement when you get of the car and fall without pants on. Thank goodness for Dora bandaids!

2009-04-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Some recent pictures of my two favorite girls...

After a catnap (literally...we napped with Lucy on the guest bed).

Loves the changing table...and yes, she slept like that for a good 30 minutes while I cleaned the house :)

Love the rolls...

Taylor's Easter basket came via UPS in this VERY LARGE box...(it was a big easter basket!) so I (Rebecca) decided that this would be a great way to entertain Little Bit before naptime. It worked until Lucy kept going into the box and biting her :)

Helen, thanks again for the pretty dress. The elastic in the arms is about the cut Chubbo's circulation off. I bet she'll even grow out of it before Caroline comes!!

2009-04-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

2 Interesting Pictures...
Bringing sexy back...

Do I look like my Aunt LaLa? (these are her baby pictures)...and that's me in the middle!!

2009-03-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Taylor. I am almost 9 weeks old...
My mom's been slacking on the pictures because, well, we've been keeping her really busy. Anderson keeps her busy during the day, and I keep her busy at night :)

I went yesterday for my shots. No fun! My little (chunky) legs were very swollen and I cried for the majority of the afternoon. My Mimi took good care of me though.

My stats were:
Weight: 11 pounds, 6 ounces (70th percentile)
Height: *22 3/4 inches (70th percentile)
Head Circumference: 38 cm (25th percentile)
*Anderson was this long when she was born!

I have a serious double chin. My mom took Anderson to the zoo last week and Jennifer said that I must be in competition with the orangutan's double chin!

Big Sis Anderson is a mess! First of all, she has busted her lip 3 times in 1 week. This was shortly after she busted her top right lip...and secondly, they are still having trouble with the brushing of the teeth. The problem is not that she doesn't want to brush her teeth, but that she wants to do it ALL by herself! Hardheaded? Now where could she have gotten that from? Poppy says that my mom was JUST like that...and he even said that "Payback is (a bad word that starts with a "H"!)"

Clean and ready for bed!!

Anderson loves her big chair from PB...

...they say I'm the serious one...

but I do love my big sister and I hope that we will be good friends.

She thought that "bundy" (bunny) and "dog" (dog!) needed a bubble bath. Too bad that you are in the shower Anderson.

I LOVE my changing table. I will lay there for quite a while without making a peep. The ceiling fan is very interesting.

Do we look alike?

I definitely have chunkier legs than Anderson did...thankfully her bunny hand-me-down slippers fit just fine. These can be found at SMITTEN!

I feel asleep like this while my dad was holding me during dinner the other night.

I've been sleeping pretty good at night. I usually wake up at 2:30 and 6:30. My mom isn't thrilled about 6:30 but she makes me go back to bed :) I did sleep from 10-6 several nights ago, so my mom is keeping her fingers crossed that I will start doing this more often.

I love to sleep on my daddy's chest...

Anderson can almost wear her hair in a pony tail (she still thinks it's pigtails), but she thinks she's so cute. My mom thinks she looks real grown up!

Speaking of "so cute"...(and being hardheaded), my mom and Mimi took Anderson to the shoe store today to find some new summer shoes. Well, she found herself some sequin flip flops (which we thought she wouldn't be able to keep on her feet) and she made quite the scene in the store. She would not even consider taking them off or trying on any other shoes; pitched a BIG fit for the lady working in the store who tried to take them off to try on another pair. So now she has some really cute (and very casual) summer shoes and we probably aren't allowed back in that store. Surprisingly, she is able to keep them on!

Getting comfy with daddy again.

I really like the pacifier that the hospital gave me...it's my favorite. Or it was until last night when Anderson decided that it needed to go for a swim in the toilet!

And last but not least, we had to end with a picture of my big belly. My dad thinks it's hilarious!

2009-03-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

Win a $15 gift certificate to Smitten...

Just go to www.smittengifts.blogspot.com and follow the directions...

Have a great weekend!

2009-03-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

Lately...
Yesterday I got all pretty in my dress that Helen gave me...My mom hosted a shower for Jennifer (who will be having Mason in a few weeks). They were so kind to let me attend the shower, so I got all nice looking and then slept the whole time. Thanks to LaLa and Mimi for helping my mom get it all ready! Happy shower to Jennifer! She got some really cute things.

Here is Anderson's dollhouse bookshelf. My mom needed the glider in my room (she nursed me on the floor in the middle of the night for 5 weeks because she hated to move it from Anderson's room)...anyway, once the glider was moved out, the room was very empty so they bought this bookshelf for Anderson. My dad was NOT happy when he had to put it together. It literally had 100 screws and took him two hours to assemble. Ha! (I think he's officially tired of my mom's "projects"!).

Anderson went to Mimi and Poppy's house during the shower and stayed afterwards so that my mom and dad could go to small group. Mimi thought it would be a great idea to feed Anderson red jello in her pretty white dress that LaLa monogrammed for her. Didn't turn out so good...so Mimi sent Anderson home in one of her old Ann Taylor tshirts. She looked like she was homeless.

Oh and the pigtails have been a huge hit around our house. She is obsessed!! It's not quite long enough, but she thinks she is so cute.

She thinks the white tshirt is really hilarious!!

She's funny but she is B-A-D!!! My mom got home from working all day on Saturday...we were both crying on the way home (which makes for a real fun car ride). It was time for me to eat and Anderson decided that she wanted to bang her sippy cup on the coffee table. My mom told her several times to stop or she was going to get the spanking spoon out. Of course, she kept on (with a big smile on her face) so my mom put me down on my pillow that was on top of the ottoman and went to grab Anderson by her hand to go take a visit to see the spanking spoon. Anderson (unfortunately for me) grabbed the blanket that I was resting on and pulled me off of the pillow where I landed HEAD FIRST onto the hard wood floor. We were ALL freaking out! My mom immediately called Mimi and Poppy who rushed over...I finally calmed down...but BIG SIS was hysterical????!! I didn't see HER land on her head!! (Thankfully everything is fine!!) It just scared my mom to death! Oh Anderson. I'll get her back one of these days...

2009-03-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

My Little Sister...
...likes to sleep. But she also likes to be held!! Sometimes I want to hold her but then I get scared and push her away.

I found a great place to hide my mom's cell phone! I don't think Taylor liked it.

I LOVE my pigtails and I cry when my mom takes them out. I'm not allowed to go to sleep with them because they know where the rubberbands will end up (in my mouth!!) along with everything else. My mom was changing my diaper last week and found a blue marble (!!) in my poo poo diaper. WHAT??? (they still have no idea where it came from, when I swallowed it...etc.) They are just glad it came OUT!

Love my high heels...and my fuzzy striped socks. I'm a quirky little girl.

We do love each other (believe it or not).

2009-03-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

Double Chin?

I might be little, but I have always had a double chin. Aunt YaYa thinks this picture is really funny. I can make some good faces!

I am nice and peaceful in these pictures...why? you ask? That's because Big Sister Anderson was not here during this photoshoot. I am thankful that she goes to "school" 2 days a week. :)

Tomorrow is my 6 week old birthday! My mom will hopefully have time to post more pictures of me then.

2009-02-24T14:58:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Taylor....I am almost 5 weeks old.
I'm pretty sweet...and easy. It's big sister Anderson that makes life a little more hectic for my mom. (see below)
Yep, that's her. She looks real sweet but she's usually up to no good. Takes after our daddy :)

I hear that Anderson lost most of her hair by this point, but mine is staying put so far. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks. It lays down for all of 3 minutes after bathtime and then gets spikey real quick.

Obsessed with baskets...my big sister is a funny kid!

Still sleeping really good at night...so my mom can't complain in that department. But I sure like to be held. I've been crying a good bit later in the afternoon and night before I go to sleep, so they aren't sure what's going on. Reflux maybe?? Only one of us is allowed to cry at a time (or so my mom says)...yeah right!!!

2009-02-24T14:54:00.000-08:00

Rollers are funny...

We stole this picture from Aunt LaLa's (aka YaYa's) blog...it was too funny (and cute) not to post on here. The things this kid gets into...I am pretty sure that Mimi helped Anderson put these in her hair.

2009-02-24T14:33:00.000-08:00

Things that will make you go insane...

Mama's Motto: "Only one of you can cry at a time!"

Anderson and Taylor's response: WHATEVER...Anderson wanted HER picture taken (not Taylor's) and she also wanted her "blankie" out of her crib. Who knows what Taylor wanted...either to be held or more milk. Really...they both were screaming their heads off. Thankfully Dada got home (very) shortly after both of these pictures were taken. Whew!!!

2009-02-20T19:32:00.000-08:00

Pennies and Poop!

"Mom, I'm sorry about all the poop. It was mostly Anderson's fault. Mine wasn't so bad!"

Anderson decided that she was MAD that I removed the pennies from her mouth that she had been sucking on....so when I put her on her changing table to change her diaper, she ripped the diaper from underneath herself (I was reaching for some wipes and a clean diaper)...and that's when a big poop flies out of the diaper, hits her on the forehead and lands in the hallway outside of her room. No kidding. Some little poops were scattered all around her on the changing table. Disgusting to say the least. I was frantically trying to clean it all up (meanwhile, Anderson is literally stunned to silence from the poop hitting her in the head)...Unfortunately I discovered that I missed some of the mess when I went to put a bow in her hair and found a little poopie dangling from her hair. As the bow is going in, I hear an explosion coming from Taylor's diaper. So as I am getting her cleaned up, she proceeds to finish her business on the changing table.

Michael wants a dog...but if I remember correctly, they have to poop too. I don't need anything else to clean up after!!

2009-02-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

Love my two girls....

2009-02-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

Conversations...

Michael: "Rebecca, where is Anderson?"
Rebecca: "Oh, she is playing in the garbage."
Michael: "Oh, okay."

2009-02-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

*Cowboy*Cookie*Recipe*

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened flake coconut
2 cups chopped pecans (8 ounces)

Directions:1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.
3. In 8-quart bowl, beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugars; beat to combine, 2 minutes.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla
5. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.
6. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.
7. Bake in oven for 17 to 20 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through. Remove cookies from rack to cool.

Note: For 6 dozen small cookies, use 2 tablespoons dough for each. Bake at 350 F for 15 to 18 minutes.

Aunt YaYa made these for us...and gave us extra cookie dough to freeze. They are SOOO yummy. And very healthy :)

2009-02-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

Healthy as can be...

Little Bit had her 2 week appointment today with her pediatrician. Everything looked great. She is back up to her birth weight (plus an ounce)...so we know that she is getting enough to eat. He said that she looks great!!

Weight: 6 pounds, 15 ounces (10th percentile)
Height: 20 inches (30th percentile)
Head Circumference: 34 cm (10th percentile)

2009-02-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

Top 5 reasons why I...

...Hate my big sister:

1. She tried to Aquadoodle my head today.
2. She steals my presents and opens them when someone brings something over.
3. I have to wear her old clothes (I think this has been mentioned before!).
4. She tries to shove my pacifier in my mouth (whether I want it or not).
5. She thinks that my diapers are toys and likes to scatter them all over the house.

...Love my big sister:

1. She pats me on the head and says, "It's okay, Baby" when I cry.
2. She gets upset when I am upset...
3. She notices when my socks fall off my feet and says, "baby sock!!" until my mom realizes she needs to put them back on.
4. She gives me my pacifier whenever she sees it (I hear she has a paci fetish).
5. She helps my mom with diaper duty by handing over a diaper (that she has probably already been playing with...who knows if the thing is clean or not, but it's a nice gesture).

ALSO, it is important to note that today, February 3rd, 2009 was my due date. Like any lady should, I arrived early (I take after my mama, not my daddy). My mom is very grateful that I am already here and that most of her recovery is far behind her. We go tomorrow for my 2 week checkup so I will post about that experience later.

2009-02-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

Do we look alike?

Taylor at 1 week...
Anderson at 1 week...

2009-01-29T12:56:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Taylor. Taylor Elizabeth Ueltschey...

I am exactly 1 week old today. I have a big sister named Anderson but I am not sure if she likes me or not. Sometimes she is real sweet and pats me on the head but she thinks that my name is "Baby"...and once she tried to throw her sippy cup of milk on my head. Yikes! This could get dangerous...(maybe she is jealous because I scored higher than her on my apgar test: 10 out of 10!)...and from what I've heard, she only got a 9.9 out of 10 :) I don't know what the big fuss is; I mean, I have to wear all of her old clothes and she has definitely gotten more presents out of having me join the family than I have! (see below for documentation..YaYa went nuts at Walmart!)

As far as my name is concerned, my dad named me. He had wanted to name Anderson Taylor so this time he put his foot down and told my mom that she could pick the boy name but he was naming a girl Taylor! Elizabeth is my Aunt YaYa's middle name (she is Lauren Elizabeth)...Thankfully I was not a boy. They NEVER had a boy name.
This is me on my first day home...please notice that the cute outfit that I am wearing was Andersons! (told you)

I am a teeny tiny thing. I weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces when I came home from the hospital. I am about the same size as the bear that my Poppa's law firm gave me. My mama doesn't know what to do with me...my sister was never this small. I hear it makes for an easier delivery too!

We really aren't sure who I look like. I definitely have my daddy's eyes! (and head of dark hair) Oh and unfortunately, my mom's toes.

Surprise, surprise. Here is big sister Anderson. Every time they try to take a picture of me, she is in the background saying "CHEESE! CHEESE!" so they take her picture too. I think every other picture on my mom's camera is of her. Note: She's already stolen my bear.

I have a feeling that I will be posting something similar to THIS about my hair in a few months...oh goodness! What can you do?

Okay, so she can be nice sometimes...

Big sister Anderson in mid-"CHEESE"! A few funny stories about Anderson:

Several nights ago my mom was getting her ready for bed. Apparently my dad rocks Anderson before she goes down to sleep at night...they sing and read and laugh...well, my dad wouldn't get up off the couch so my mom said, "Michael, are you going to come rock Anderson?" And that's when my smart big sis yelled out: "MY-CUL, wanna rock?" We got a big kick out of that! He was in there rocking her in no time...who could resist??

My mom was drying her hair the other morning. Anderson went with her and was playing in her closet. My mom thought she was trying her shoes on, but Anderson came into the bathroom with lots of pairs of PANTIES around her neck. Everyone thought it was funny...and when Anderson wanted them "OFF!" they played a counting game. Only those of you who know my mom well will truely appreciate this, but there were exactly 13 (THIRTEEN) pairs of panties around Anderson's neck. There is a particularly well known story about my mom and 13 pairs of panties.....Anyway, we do have pictures to document, but I am not sure my mom would appreciate her undergarments being displayed online for all to see.

Another hand me down gown! As Anderson would say: "MY-CUL", at least we saved some money by not having to buy a whole wardrobe for a boy!

Emily did give me this precious gown and cap! I love it...I even have a matching blanket. Thanks, Em!

This was taken right after bathtime. I am all for being clean, but I really don't like to take a bath!

This is my most recent picture. Taken today on my one week old birthday. Who knew they made pacifiers as big as heads?

Sleepyhead (runs in the family for sure)!!

Now I will let my mom post the story about my birth...it's long so you have been forewarned!:

Taylor Elizabeth was born on January 22, 2009 at 10:50 am. She weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and was 19 ½ inches long. She came almost 2 weeks early. We are thrilled to add another sweet girl to our family! MYCUL is definitely outnumbered!!! (we even have a girl cat)

I have had millions of Braxton Hicks contractions during this pregnancy is seems, so when I started having consistent contractions on Wednesday evening around 7 pm, I wasn’t sure if I was having real contractions or not. They seemed more painful and they were definitely coming closer together…and it started to remind me of when I was in labor with Anderson. However, I didn’t want to jump the gun too early so I waited it out to see how things would progress. Natalie and her daughter Rebecca came over and we put Anderson and Rebecca in our big tub for a bath. I told Natalie that I thought I was having real contractions and she kept trying to talk me into calling the doctor. I had several contractions while trying to bathe Anderson. They left and I told Michael that we might be taking a trip to the hospital (he was shocked…and I think didn’t really believe me), so I got in the bed and started to read (by the way, my book was The Same Kind of Different as Me- and it was really good!). I had a pen and paper by my bed and I would chart every time I had a contraction. They were coming every 10 minutes, 13 minutes, 7 minutes…finally at 11:30 pm, I decided I should call. The doctor on call asked how far apart they were and then asked what number baby this was for me. When I told him my second I guess he realized that I knew what to expect so he told me to come on in. I won’t lie; I was a bit nervous that we were going to get there and then be sent right home, but I didn’t want to take a chance. I was also very nervous about the entire labor and delivery experience as well as the health of this child. (I apologized to Michael in the car in advance if we were taking an unnecessary trip.) Aunt YaYa came over at midnight to keep Anderson and we arrived at the hospital at 12:30 am. They hooked me up to the monitors where I stayed all night. I don’t think I slept at all. Michael on the other hand slept on the couch next to me…he later complained about how uncomfortable he was…HELLO? I am laid up in this bed hooked to who knows how many machines having contractions???? Don’t talk to me about being uncomfortable.

They kept telling me that while I was having contractions, if I didn’t start dilating, I would be going home. I was 2 cm when I arrived. I told the nurse that I wasn’t sure if the baby was head down and that I was scheduled to have a sonogram at my next appointment to make sure. She felt my stomach and thought that the baby might have been transverse, but she wasn’t sure either. From 5 am to 7 am, I was having very painful contractions. At 7 am, the doctor on call came in and told me that I would probably be going home (I was not happy!), but since I was contracting, he would do a sonogram to check the position of the baby. He or she was head down and ready to go! Thank goodness. He then decided he would check to see if I had dilated any more and I was 4 cm. That’s when we knew we were having a baby. We started all of the fun stuff…and I was at 8 cm in no time. Strange thing was, the contractions almost stopped. The nurses and my doctor realized that this baby was coming quick and when I was checked again a little while later, I was at 10 cm. The nurse told Michael to go tell our families and friends that I was about to start pushing. When he was gone she said, “go ahead and push one time for me”. I pushed, she told me to stop, and she called the doctor and told him to come asap. She then told me that I might need oxygen. She thought there might be something going on with the umbilical cord; that it was either around the neck or pushed up against the baby. The crew came in, they gave me oxygen, and I pushed through 2 contractions (3 times each) and the baby was born. TOTALLY different experience than I had with Anderson!! It really couldn’t have been any easier. We were of course dying to know if it was a he or a she! That’s when I heard…..“It’s a girl!” They took her away to get her cleaned up…I could hear her crying which made me so happy and I kept asking if she was okay. She scored a 10 out of 10 on her apgar test! My doctor then showed us the complete knot in her umbilical cord. I think the medical term is a “true knot”. I am very thankful that I didn’t know about this until after she was born! It’s scary to think how long it had been like that. It could have cut off her nutrition, oxygen flow…everything! She was checked out by two doctors and they even sent her to have an ultrasound on her little head the day after she was born, and everything seems perfectly fine. We are so grateful. She has been so sweet.

It has definitely been an adjustment for Anderson. She wasn’t sure what to think in the hospital and the first few hours at home were rough…thankfully we have had some visitors who have brought her gifts, etc. and that has been a great distraction. Thanks to Sitty for keeping her while we stayed in the hospital. That was such a big help!

I definitely have to thank my mom for being here everyday helping us…she has done it all; taken care of Anderson, spoiled her, cleaned my house, run errands, etc. etc. etc.!! I would not be sane if it weren’t for her.

Taylor has been such an easy baby. I am not sure if it’s just less stressful the second go round, or if she is just laid back, but she has been a great sleeper for sure. I usually have to wake her up in the middle of the night to feed her and then she sleeps for about 5 more hours until 8 or so. I was a little worried that the nurse would get onto me for letting her sleep so much (when we took her back for her 3 day checkup), but she had gained 3 ounces so she said that she could sleep up to 5 hours at night! Sounds great to me! I am actually getting more sleep now than when I was pregnant, so I am a happy camper too! (I realize that she might “wake up” soon and start keeping me up all night, but I’ll take what I can get for now!) I am so thankful that everything has been easier this go round...easier delivery, nursing, recovery...everything. I think I'll have a dozen more (jk-that comment was just to freak Michael out!) :)

We are so thankful for a HEALTHY(!!!!!!) baby. She's perfect! We appreciate everyone who has prayed, cooked, babysat, visited, called, emailed, etc. (and for those of you who are reading and are worried that we no longer love Anderson, the posts above from "taylor" are just for fun...we love love love big sis Anderson just as much as baby Taylor!!). I pray that they will be very best friends.

More drama to come I'm sure!

2009-01-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

It's a GIRL!
Taylor Elizabeth Ueltschey was born January 22, 2009 at 10:50 am.
She weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.
She has a head full of dark hair just like her big sister Anderson!

She has been really good and likes to eat!! More details later...

2009-01-21T10:02:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Anderson...I am almost 20 months old!

I love to look out the window...I usually look for squirrels or cats, but I hear that I should watch out for deer these days!

I love my pajamas...when you put them on me I say "CUTE!"...

My mom and dad were trying to get me in the bath the other night but I took off running and found my sequin high heels. Definitely a girly girl! My daddy did not want my mom to take these pictures since I was wearing my birthday suit, so he told me to cover up!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my tu-tu that Katy gave me! I love to wear it over my "cute" pajamas...

The hair is still really wacky...and I don't love bathtime because I hate to get my hair washed, but the bubbles have really made things easier.

I have been very demanding lately. I tell you what I want! My mom keeps telling me that I have to "ask nicely"...so when I asked this morning I said, "Open, please, nicely!" Hadn't quite figured that out yet.

2009-01-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

Diaper Shower for Baby U2!
This past weekend my very nice friends threw a diaper shower for baby U2. I was so much fun and we literally will not have to buy diapers or wipes for a year! It's great...
Pictured above are Emily, Jennifer (with baby girl Mason on the way), Helen (with baby girl Caroline on the way), Rebecca, Mary Katherine, and Natalie. Thanks girls! Also a very big thanks to Jennifer for opening up her home!

This is one of the paintings that MK did for Baby U2's room. It matches his or her bedding!! She is so talented and I am so thankful that she did this for us. She also painted a precious door hanger for the hospital, but I will post pictures of that once the baby's stats are on there.

Emily F (who I miss so much!!!), Rebecca, MK, and Natalie! (this is the infamous Natalie that had the deer jump through her window yesterday morning!)

MK went nuts taking pictures of me opening gifts (lots of them are real lovely since I make great faces!) but I had to include this one of the most precious baby hat I have ever seen. It was handmade by my sister-in-law's mother...and I can't wait for Baby U to wear it. It's so little and cute! Perfect for this weather...

Had to get a belly shot! It's large for sure!

2009-01-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

Crazy Morning next door at the Jolly's!

I have to blog about this since Natalie doesn't have a blog of her own...and since it's one of the craziest things I have ever heard of. My alarm was set to go off at 7:45, but the phone rang at 7:30. I saw that Natalie was calling from next door and when I answered, I immediately knew something was wrong. I couldn't even understand her she was so hysterical. Finally I heard the words: deer, window, in my house, and I knew she needed help. I yelled at Michael to get up and we both threw on clothes as fast as we could and took off next door...(Michael grabbed a rake from the garage on the way out)...and Natalie and Rebecca came out of the house. Michael really doesn't know much about deer (although he knows a lot of other important things :)) so I decided that we probably needed another male to get the deer out of the house. I called my dad who lives close by and he had just left for work so he came over asap. Once he called 911, they asked if it was a prank!!?? Anyway, poor Natalie had been in her kitchen when the BIG doe (140 pounds) jumped through her breakfast room window...of course the thing was freaking out (Natalie thinks that it was being chased by a dog possibly??). Natalie was able to get to Rebecca's room to get her (so glad that she was still in her bed) and call for help. The deer proceeded to ransack her house...and since it had jumped through glass, you can imagine that it was leaving a blood trail wherever it went. It obviously preferred her bedroom and bathroom...and somehow kicked the water on in the bathtub. Sadly, once the police and the animal people arrived, they had no choice but to shoot the deer. After they removed the deer from her house, I went over to see the damage. Natalie has a much better attitude than I would have had...she just kept saying, "Well, what can I do?"...but I would have been a wreck. It really looked like something off of one of those homicide TV shows- blood, water, glass everywhere! Natalie and Michael will be on the news tonight (WAPT) so tune in for the real story about the Jolly's early morning visitor. It's just so crazy...Nat- so sorry!!! We can help with whatever...

Read more below:
http://www.wapt.com/news/18521024/detail.html

2009-01-19T11:55:00.000-08:00

Baby Updates!

As for my big baby: Anderson's doctor called this morning to check on her and to say that her cultures still aren't back...so hopefully they will call with good results in the next few days.

As for my little baby: Almost 38 week appointment was pretty uneventful...unless you want to talk about how we waited to see the doctor for 2 hours. Michael decided then and there that he lacked patience. It's amazing the things that you learn about yourself late in life. I kept laughing at him telling him that they were just busy...

Anyway, no change since last Monday. Still 1 cm dilated. I have been very concerned that this baby flipped the other night (I was feeling hiccups at the top of my stomach instead of very low down) and I was not happy with Baby U. My doctor *thinks* that the baby is still head down, but assuming I make it through this next week without going into labor naturally, I will have a sonogram next Tuesday to make sure the baby is in the right position. It's always a waiting game...

2009-01-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

Anderson is doing good...

Anderson is much better! Thanks to those of you who have called/emailed to check on her. We still haven't heard back from the doctor with the test results, but I assume that she is on the mend. She's back to her busy, sassy self.

Yesterday she came to work me with for a bit (she napped in the back most of the time) but once she woke up she wanted a "SNACK!" (and by caps I mean she was yelling it), so I gave her a little bowl of "fish" (goldfish). She was sitting up on the counter and spilled the bowl...and that's when my little 22 pound 19 month old said: "OH, GOSH!" I couldn't help but laugh at her...she picks up on everything. And of course she thought it was great that I thought it was funny so she kept saying "Oh, gosh" over and over and laughing along with me. Could have been a different (worse) 4 letter word!

2009-01-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

A Horrible, no good, very bad day!!

I got home last night from a girls night dinner and asked Michael if Anderson did okay going to bed. I figured everything was fine...she was sound asleep. I started cleaning up the house and heard her crying (which is not normal) so I went in to check on her. The kid was burning up. I gave her some tylenol and put her back to bed. I figured she was probably sick and that it would be a long night but she ended up sleeping through the night...she woke up at 8:30 am crying. She was just as hot. I called the doctor and we went in at 10. They thought at first that she had the flu (even though we had gotten the flu shot several months ago), so they did the whole nose swab thing (which she hated) and we waited on the results. No flu...I was thinking that was a good thing but then the doctor informed me that we would need to get her finger pricked to check her blood. So next we go to the lab and get her finger pricked. She was not happy! We waited on those results...her white blood count was HIGH (not low as he has suspected...I think that a virus makes your white blood count low if I remember correctly???). Normal is 5-15 and hers was 32. Next we needed to check to see if she had a urinary tract infection so they had to do a catheter. This was horrible and I hope hope hope she never has to have this done again. I had her upper body pinned down and they were trying to get the catheter in. She was screaming, shaking, yelling "all done" (which I assume meant "stop!")...I thought they would never finish. She was in so much pain and I ended up crying right along with her. Negative results for the UTI. Since they couldn't figure out what was going on, he wanted to get a blood culture to send off to the hospital and wanted to give her an antibiotic shot to "aggressively" treat whatever type infection it was. So again, we pinned her down and they stuck her in the arm to draw blood...they couldn't get any blood so they were moving the needle around until it finally worked. Again, she is screaming "ALL DONE!" and "Mama!", poor thing. Then they tried to give her the antibiotic shot in her leg as fast as they could. After all that, we still don't know what's wrong. She starts oral antibiotics tonight and we have to wait several days for the blood culture results. We came home and she napped for a bit and now she's limping around (not sure if that is from the shot in her leg or the catheter...)...Hopefully all she will need are the antibiotics. She is currently playing with the "mails" (junk mail) and one of her bandaids. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can keep this fever down and that she will feel better tomorrow.

Like any parent, I hate so much to see her in pain and the doctor said that he was so sorry....he doesn't remember the last time he put one kid through so much in one morning. She is definitely not going to like going back to that office!

2009-01-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

37 week appointment...

**We had a sonogram before our visit with Dr. N and the baby is estimated to weigh 5 pounds, 15 ounces...heartbeat was 144 during the sonogram and when we asked if he/she had any hair, she was able to show us a little bit (she also said that since the baby was so low down, it was hard to tell how much there was...so much for a bald baby U2 :))!!! (for those of you who know me, you know that I have always wanted a little baldie! Anderson could have passed for a monkey she had so much dark hair!!)
**Dr. N says that he guesses I will have a baby in January...not February (but that is only a few days off...original due date is February 3rd)
**1 cm dilated
**Still head down
**heartbeat was 126 when Dr. N checked
**No weight gain
**He said that while I should not expect to go into labor this week, we will talk more about when the baby might arrive at my next appt (next Monday, the 19th)....so I guess we will know more then!

For now, I will keep waddling, getting up every hour of the night to go to the bathroom, and enjoying this little being squirming and kicking inside my belly.

Michael was able to do some work from home today so while Anderson napped, I headed out to run errands (even though I really didn't have anything to do...) It was just so nice to shop around in peace. And Michael, if you are reading this, I only spent $2.58 on a fruit smoothie at Maggie Moo's!!!

Tonight, thanks to Aunt LaLa, Mikey and I are going to dinner and a movie and I am SO SO excited...Anderson will probably have more fun with her anyway. Aunt Lala ("Yaya") her is favorite (she lets her run around with her iphone!!!)!! And big mama has only been to see 2 movies since Anderson's birth (19 months!!) so I am thrilled about going (I think we are going to go see Benjamin Button, but I really want to see Slumdog Millionaire...it's not showing anywhere here!?!?!). Tuesday night I am going to dinner with girlfriends, Wednesday night Mikey is going to dinner with guys friends, and then Aunt Bethany and Uncle Preston are going to keep Anderson on Thursday night so we can go out and do something again...maybe dinner or even to see another movie. This will be a FUN week...we are being spoiled...thanks Lauren, Bethany and Preston for making this entire week extra fun for us!!! We really, really, really appreciate it...

I have some new pictures to post of Anderson...she decided that she needed to wear her sequin heels before bath time last night...naked as a jaybird, but she had those heels on...and she sported her tutu over her feetie pj's yesterday morning. Funny kid...I am trying to teach her how to politely ask for "more" when she wants something...like instead of yelling "MILK! MILK!", I tried to explain to her that she needed to ask for "more milk, please..." so now she's just started yelling "MORES! MORES!". Not quite right, but Michael was impressed that she made "more" plural. I will try to post the new pictures later tonight. For now, I am going to go get excited about dinner and a movie with my hubby!

2009-01-07T16:55:00.001-08:00

My husband...

is so funny. For example:

In Chapel Hill he met an old man in the bar where we were staying. Somehow they got to talking (this was after a long afternoon visit with friends at Top of the Hill (where they brew their own beer)...so you get the picture), and like most adult conversations go, he asked Michael what he "did".

To which he replies: "I am A govenor."
Old Man: "A govenor? From where?"
Michael: "MS." (totally thinking he's convinced this man that he is the gov of our great state!)
Old Man: "No, you aren't. H*aley B*arbour is the govenor of MS."
Michael: (shocked that he knew the name of our govenor) "Uh...uh, I didn't say I was THE govenor, but A govenor. Like of my house."
Old Man: (laughing) "Well, I am a senator from Montana."

Seriously, he was a senator from Montana. We looked him up on someone's blackberry-name and picture matched up perfectly.
After we left, he said, "I would try to B.S. with a real US Senator."

And then the kicker today was when he came home from work...we had the following conversation:

Michael: "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you that I have to go to a bachelor party this weekend."
Rebecca: "What? Where?"
Michael: "In Orange Beach?"
Rebecca: laughing (although realizing that he was totally serious) "I don't think so. You are on Anderson duty all day Saturday...I have to work... and I don't think that it's a good idea for you to be going out of town right now anyway."
Michael: "Okay, I already told him that I couldn't go but I thought it was worth a try."

MEN!

Anderson is pretty funny too....

1) She is obsessed (!) with belly buttons. We were playing with Lucy the other day and we were pointing out some of Lucy's body parts. There is Lucy's foot...and Lucy's tail...and that's when Anderson proceeds to stick her finger in Lucy's rear and says: "Belly Button!" (sadly, it does sort of resemble mama's belly button right now). And then we made a trip to the bathroom to wash hands.

2) She watches me use cotton balls on my face and just found some in the bathroom.
Important sidenote: She has a really yucky, green runny nose.

So she climbed up in the chair behind me and when I turned around she started cleaning my face with the cotton ball. Sweet, smart kid I thought. Problem was is that it was very moist. I thanked her for cleaning mama's face and asked her what was on the cotton ball. And that's when she wiped it in her green yucky snot and then wiped it on my face again. Lovely...new wrinkle prevention maybe???

2009-01-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

Getting so big!!!
Mama doesn't feel good, so I am going to be good and play at my table. It sure helps when she puts a plate of "fish" (goldfish) with me at the table.

Sitting pretty...

Ready to be a big sister? We really aren't sure. I am very protective over my baby doll and if her paci comes out, I have a meltdown until someone puts it back in her mouth. Oh, and I don't really like anyone else to love on her. Hmmm...

2009-01-07T15:50:00.000-08:00

Sneak Peak of Baby U#2's room...
Definitely not finished with the room...mainly I am waiting on wall art, curtains, etc....but we can change diapers for sure! Lots of green :)

Oh- and a place to sleep would be good! Anderson slept in her crib on night #1 of being home, so I hope that I am brave enough to do that again. For some reason, I'm not sure I can do it this go round.

This is Anderson's table and chairs that Mimi and Poppy gave her for Christmas...we love it! It's so cute...do you think she has enough toys???

Michael decided that we need to enclose our back porch so that all of the toys can go elsewhere...our den is being overtaken!

I have two things to say about this picture:

1) I LOVE our hutch. Made Mikey drive to Oxford to get it...he did it but wasn't too happy.

2) I LOVE my plant. Michael's aunt and uncle sent it to us via mail around Thanksgiving time and when we opened it, it was a little bulb. I actually followed the directions, babied the thing every day (watering, turning it, making sure it had the perfect light, etc.) and now I am enjoying the beautiful red blooms. I usually kill plants, so I am very proud!

2009-01-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

36 week belly...
36 week belly with Anderson

36 week belly with Baby U#2

2009-01-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

Blogger Friends and other miscellaneous info!

I sat down yesterday and I decided that I needed to add some additional links to blogger friends that I have been checking forever and never added to "my friends" on the right side of my blog. Problem is, I KNOW that I have left off some important people....SO...if you see that I have inadvertently left your blog link off my list, please let me know and I will add you ASAP.

Anderson and I just returned from a quick trip to the pharmacy where I picked up some much needed medicine. I got hit pretty hard with a sinus infection...stopped up nose, very sore throat, etc...which is not fun when you can't sleep anyway. Thankfully my doctor called in some antibiotics and I loaded up on sudafed and benadryl to get me through the next few days. I hopefully can get rid of this before I go into labor (the last sinus infection while preggo lasted WAY too long which included multiple doctor visits!)...Can't imagine trying to birth a child when you can't breathe. Anderson had fun in the car until she decided that she needed a "snack" and proceeded to yell SNACK SNACK SNACK at the top of her lungs...so we stopped at Subway and got her some Baked Lays ("CHIP!!! CHIP!!!") which held her over until we got home. She now has a belly full of turkey, cheese, grapes, and milk...and is in my closet trying on all of my shoes.

Since the little baby has "dropped" I have been feeling a lot of pressure down low and by the end of the day I am limping around like a 90 year old. Michael looked at me last night and said, "Is there a reason why you are walking like that?" Why, yes, actually. I got him to take a 36 week preggo belly picture last night which I will post in a bit. I am curious to see how it measures up to my 36 week picture with Anderson. I haven't been very good about taking belly pictures this go round (I know some of you HATE belly pictures) but I think they are funny to look back on and see how your body can accommodate a baby. I don't feel like it's really grown all that much lately, but according to my doctor, it's getting bigger each week. I HOPE HOPE HOPE for a smaller baby than Anderson was. The ice cream and oreo's every night probably doesn't help.

We still do not have a name for our child. I'm deathly afraid that I will be drugged up in the hospital and be forced to name my child before leaving. The kid would surely leave with some funky name that his/her father came up with. You should hear some of his suggestions!! For some reason, it really has been very hard this time.

On a sad note, my parents had to put our family cat, Harley, to sleep on Monday. I brought him home after babysitting a family in the 7th grade. My mom was furious and didn't want to keep him...but after I promised to pay for all of his food and vet bills (and allowed my dad to name him) we were able to keep him. (Note: I, for some strange reason, wanted to name the cat Pookie- and thank the Lord they wouldn't let me-and if I remember correctly, my mother wanted to name him Killer. He was mean, so that might have been appropriate)...but my dad won and Harley it was. And if you are wondering, I definitely did NOT pay for all of his food and vet bills over the past 17 or so years. I would be scared to see what it all amounted to. Anyway, Harley developed diabetes in his old age and has recently lost control over his bowels (which made for lots of fun days for my mom)...and he was very pitiful. I was very sad on Monday but Jennifer reminded me that he lived a good long life...much longer than he should have. He most definitely cashed in on his 9 lives a long time ago:

Lived in a tree for several days until a neighbor discovered him...
Multiple bee stings to paws...
Stitches to his belly after being attacked by something (?)
Held his own outside where coyotes and other scary animals roam...
and he even survived a serious hit and run car accident that left him with only one eye (he was born without a tail, so he was our special one-eyed, no tailed cat!!) This made for some very confusing looks from kids and visitors. This last one counts for about 6 lives considering he made it through serious surgery.

Harley was mean as a youngin' but grew to be a sweet cat in his old age. I know that my mom is relieved to not be cleaning up after him all day every day, but I know that everyone will miss him as well. Our family has had to put down too many special animals in the past few years: Callie (our sweet sweet yellow lab), Jake (Callie's black lab "puppy"...although he wasn't a puppy anymore), and now Harley. Sunday night (after my mom told me that she was going to take Harley in the following day) Lucy attacked my leg at 5 am after a trip to the bathroom and I seriously thought, "Stupid, mean, cat...you better be glad that I can't trade you in for Harley tomorrow." I am hoping that she, like Harley, will mellow in her old age and be sweet one day. I won't hold my breath. Anderson does love to chase her around and says, "Hey Lucy! Hey Kitty Kitty!"...and then when Lucy has enough and finally bites her, she cries, and says, "Bites!". To which I reply, "Yes, Anderson, she is mean and will bite!!" (Surprisingly, sometimes we play the whole "where are Lucy's ears...eyes, nose, etc." and Lucy really does lay there and let Anderson mess with her.) Michael says that we need a dog after this kid (to take a break from kid making) but I say NO WAY! I have way too many people/things to take care of and I certainly don't want a dog that has to be taken out to go to the bathroom (that is the one good thing about a cat).

Not sure what possessed me to ramble and post all of these thoughts on my blog, but here you go! Anderson is yelling something that sounds like "lipstick" over and over so I better go see what she's gotten into!

2009-01-05T12:08:00.000-08:00

36 week appointment

**No dilation.
**The baby has dropped considerably since my last visit.
**Heartbeat was 126 (low, low, low!) BOY????? We will see.
**Lost 3 pounds since last Monday (which isn't right...I think the scales were wrong last week when they told me I gained 5 pounds.... because if you saw what all I ate in Chapel Hill, you would know that I couldn't have lost any lbs!) The Carolina Inn gives you these amazing HOT BIG chocolate chip cookies when you check in and somehow I managed to talk them into giving me three...all of which I enjoyed very much!
**Next appointment is next Monday and I will have a sonogram then.
**4 weeks to go!!

*Note: I wasn't dilated with Anderson until 38 weeks...so I might be in for the long haul.

2009-01-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve- Chapel Hill!

Wednesday we arrived in Chapel Hill. The groom, Chris, came and picked us up from the airport...after an interesting trip to the tux store (where the male employee commented on my belly and then proceeded to tell me that he just purchased a sterilizer for a breast pump for his guy friend who had had a baby earlier in the week...alrighty then!)...we headed to one of our most favorite places to eat (Sutton's Drug Store) where we scarfed down a famous burger and fries. So much for eating healthy on this trip! After a good nap for Rebecca...and a visit to Top of the Hill for Michael...(they brew their own beer-hmmm...), we were ready for a fun filled night in honor of the bride and groom...and it was a very fun New Years Eve. Pictured above: Rebecca, Cat (the bride), Roxy, Brae, and Ashlie at the Beta fraternity house (thanks to Cat's younger, college attending little brother). The night consisted of loud music, lots of mexican food, yummy chocolate chip cookies, funny looking hats, and a very intense game of flip cup (no, I did not play, but I cannot say the same for my husband.). I actually stayed out until 12:30 but the night did not end there. I have only been told stories, but I hear that my husband danced the night away and once it was time to leave and they had walked halfway back to the Carolina Inn where we were staying, Danny noticed that Michael did not have his jacket. They were all trying to convince him that he needed to go back to the fraternity house and get his jacket but all he kept saying was, "Yall, it's no big deal. It's just from the Gap!" (as if Gap clothes are disposable or something). Finally Danny (bless you or he would have been freezing his tail off the entire weekend) ran back and got the jacket for my hard headed husband.

The best news is that I did not birth a child in the great state of North Carolina. Michael's mom thought that maybe if I did, we could try for in state tuition when this kid is old enough to go to college. I doubt that would've worked though :) It did cross my mind that I could possibly go into labor when our flights back home were repeatedly delayed...I thought we would never get back. We were very excited to see Anderson. She was a little confused and couldn't figure out who she wanted to "hold you". I am sure that Mimi and Poppy were happy to hand her off!

Ashlie and Mike at the NYE party!

Finally it's midnight!!

Big Mama and Mikey...

Bo, Cat and Dauntae!

2009-01-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

The Rehearsal Dinner...

All the Gaither siblings at the rehearsal dinner! John, Cat, Liz, and Joe...they are such a sweet, close family. John, Liz and Cat are all very close together in age and Joe was born 6 years later so it's always a good time when you can hang with these guys....(sidenote...there are also 4 siblings in Chris' family as well!).

Roxy, Ashlie, Cat, Brae, and Rebecca at the rehearsal dinner. We really didn't all mean to wear black, but it just worked out that way. After we left the rehearsal dinner we headed over to a nearby bar for the after party. Michael's parents had gotten into town earlier that day, so they met us there. I didn't make it too long this night...but Michael and his parents made up for my absence (I am sure that I was very missed!! :)) See below!I found out the next morning that the Ueltschey's went and ate late night food with my friends at a very popular late night food restaurant called Time Out. I made Ashlie email me the picture for documentation. Mike (Ashlie's hubby), Martha, and Doug, posing at Time Out. I definitely was fast asleep in my bed at this point....but the rest of the U family represented! (I have to add a note to say that Anderson was in the room with me when I opened up Ashlie's email with the picture and as soon as she saw it, she said, "SITTY!!" I thought that was cute!). I tried to teach her how to say: "Sitty, at a bar!" (which her grandmother would have LOVED, but it didn't work).

2009-01-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

The Wedding...

The Bride right before the wedding...We were taking pictures outside (and it was very cold) but she will have some great pictures from campus. Needless to say, Cat made a very beautiful bride!!

Brae, Katherine, and Ashlie before pictures...we all hated to shed the warm layers!! Cat and Chris had a red and black theme and it looked great.

I'm not sure that I've ever seen a more beautiful reception. This picture does not do it justice! Our group of friends sat together at a long rectangular table and I think there were at least 15 vases in the middle. This picture is documenting Mr. and Mrs. Chris Leitch's first dance :) Congratulations!! (They dated about as long as Michael and I did! 8-9 years).

I didn't last as long as I would have liked at the reception...each night got harder and harder...but no worries, my husband represented! (Something that we will never have to worry about...).

2008-12-30T19:14:00.000-08:00

35 week appointment...and Baby Moon (well, not really)!

Yesterday, I went for my 35 week appointment. I was very nervous about going because my doctor was going to let me know if I could travel to North Carolina this week or not. Things didn't sound like they were in my favor 2 weeks ago, but thankfully, I was not dilated and he said that it was very unlikely that anything would happen at this point. So....we are off to Chapel Hill for a long weekend (Michael, of course, was going to "represent the family" either way, so I am glad that I get to tag along. I am sure that it will be a much more adventurous trip with a very pregnant, waddling wife in tow.) Anyways, I am so excited...Michael and I are both in Cat and Chris' wedding and I know that it's going to be a very fun trip.

***no dilation
***baby is still head down
***the heartbeat was 144
***my stomach is measuring a little ahead of schedule...and the KICKER...
***I gained 5 pounds in 2 weeks! (I really thought they were kidding when they told me...but oh no, they say the scales don't lie!)...I would like to add that it's not fair to have to get weighed after Christmas when you alternate eating pecan pie and coconut cream pie every few hours on Christmas day.
***Start weekly appointments now...
***Next sonogram will be in 2 weeks

Now, let's just hope that I don't go into labor in NC. (If so, I know exactly how to get to the hospital and it's very close to where we are staying! Helen, stop worrying.)

Thanks to Mimi and Poppy for keeping little bit while we are gone. They are sure to be exhausted by the time we return. I went today and bought a new memory card for my camera so I plan on taking LOTS of pictures of our trip. AND I am very sad that my favorite restaurant, Hector's (home of the famous cheeseburger on pita), closed its doors since the last time we were in town. It just won't be the same.

Happy New Year to everyone!

2008-12-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve!

After church, we headed over to Sitty and Poppa's house. I loved Uncle Watts' rocking chair...(from when he was a little one of course). We had a really good time...they taught me all sorts of things and we stayed out way too late.
I figured out the whole "present" thing real quick...Sitty and Poppa gave me all sorts of neat things.

Books are so much fun!

I love my new stroller and my stuffed monkey puzzle that Andrew gave me...the monkey got the boot once I opened the "baby" that Sitty got me. Oh the baby...my parents got a big kick out of this gift. My mom has been certain that I am going to love my new baby brother or sister. I love love love babies so she hasn't been worried in the least. Well, things might be a little different than they expected. First of all, I really didn't like anyone else holding, loving on, or kissing my baby. But the funniest part of all was when they would take the "paci" out of my baby's mouth. I literally freaked out...crying hysterically...saying "paci!" "pac!i" until they put it back in her mouth. My mom was laughing so hard she was crying (can we say MEAN?). Anyway, things have been a little better since I brought the baby home, but I still always make sure that the baby has her "paci"...We will see how this goes when there is a REAL one in the house in a few more weeks.

2008-12-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

My newest obsession
My newest obsession: A TOOTHBRUSH! (Now, I hate to really brush my teeth-it's a fight every night- but I like to chew on the toothbrush). This picture was taken on Christmas Eve night on our way to church. The only way they could get me in the car without crying was to hand it over...luckily, they were sneaky and got it from me before the service started. Ever since then, I think I need the toothbrush while riding in the car. (And yes, I realize that I am wearing the same dress in all of these pictures, but they had to get their money's worth!).

I did pretty good during the Christmas Eve service. I did yell for dada during the prayer and I repeated the word "JESUS!" during the sermon...but I mostly ate a big bag of goldfish and played with the crayons they gave me. Overall, they were pretty pleased with my first visit to big church.

2008-12-26T18:52:00.000-08:00

Visiting Santa
Mimi and my mom took me to the mall last week to see Santa. I did better than they thought...no smiling for me, but I just checked him out real good. Funny looking fellow I tell you. Fine with me as long as he keeps bringing me presents each year. He shouldn't have come on Christmas morning because after they got my picture, I proceeded to act like a hooligan in the mall. I refused to ride in the "buggie" (stroller), kept asking them to "hold you" (hold me), but really I wanted to run around by myself. When they wouldn't let me do this, I laid out on the floor and pitched a BIG fit. Lovely times.

2008-12-26T18:47:00.000-08:00

34 week belly...