4th of July

We had a pretty low-key Fourth of July here. There were no fireworks because of  a fire ban due to the dry weather that has caused a huge fire in Colorado Springs that destroyed 350 homes. Our ward did have a pancake breakfast at a park so the kids did enjoy that.

 The kids were dressed in Red, White and Blue--but no smiles for these pictures.

 Allyson decked out for her first Fourth of July.

And here a just a couple other pictures to document our life.

 

Notice the Landon and Katelyn have their hands on their ears, that is due to the loud cries coming from their cute little sister that had enough of being strapped in a car seat. 

This was Allyson's (TOP)  first day at church at a month old. This is the same outfit Katelyn (BOTTOM) wore on her first day of church too.

Ally's one month old

Our little Allyson is one month old so we took a few short minutes to capture some photos. Landon and Katelyn even helped me by holding up the ends of the blanket to make a "backdrop."

Ally wakes up twice at night to eat, anywhere from around 1 or 2 a.m. and then 4 or 5 a.m. So it's not too terrible but it still can be tiring if she doesn't fall back to sleep right away. She is awake more during the day now and we are trying to get her to like the swing since she always wants to be held. She eats pretty much every 2.5 to 3 hours during the day and is up to 3 oz. Allyson is focusing more and will just stare at something for awhile before moving on to something else. My favorite thing is the little squeal she does when I pull the bottle away to burp her. It kind of sounds like a squealing piglet--in search of more milk:)
(Side note: Her hematoma is almost all gone. It was about the size of half a golf ball for three weeks and then this last week it just started shrinking--I was one relieved mama when it started to disappear.)

Cracker Barrel party

We went to Ben's employee appreciation day party that Cracker Barrel puts on every year. Grandma stayed at home with Allyson and we took Landon and Katelyn to play on inflatable toys, ride ponies, play bingo and eat some food.

Landon was brave and did the very big inflatable obstacle course. He did get a friction burn on his elbow but he still thought it was pretty cool.

 Katelyn got to ride on the pony this year. She never let go of Ben's hand. She did think she was pretty big stuff though by riding the pony, especially since Landon didn't want to.

Cracker Barrel has been on awesome company to Ben. We are very grateful that he had a chance to start his career here and work with a great team. We hope that Dishnetwork will prove to be a good company as well.

Allyson Ann

Allyson Ann

7lbs 9oz

18.25 inches 

5/29/12 at 10:52 a.m.

Her Story

Our little Blueberry had a smooth birth. Mommy went into the hospital to be induced at 4 a.m. and Daddy came at 6:30 a.m. after dropping off Landon and Katelyn at a friends house. The show got on the road after the water was broken at 7:15 a.m. By 8:30 mommy got the WONDERFUL epidural. And to make a long story short, two pushes and Allyson Ann took her first glimpse of life outside the womb. And yes, mommy tore a little bit but not near as bad as Landon's birth! At least this time a doctor was there to catch the baby.  We know we have been blessed with "easy" (though I personally will still view it as tough) births.

 Happy mommy

 Proud papa

 What a handful. THREE!

 Grandma Anderson came to help out.

The kids think Blueberry is "so cute." Katelyn actually loved her from the get go and Landon took a little longer. He had been in the room for all of five minutes when he was asking to go. And the first time we got him to sit down and hold her for a few seconds he practically threw her off his lap and Ben had to catch her. But now all three are just as happy as can be.

Our hospital stay took a bit longer than expected because Allyson had to spend the night in a bilirubin light and she was having spit up and swallowing issues. The next morning she was given the ok on her bilirubin levels and we had gotten her spit up issues under control and were basically told she has an immature esophagus that doesn't close properly after eating but she will eventually have it mature and all will be fine. She'll probably just be quite the spitter like her older sister was. (I can just see the laundry now!) Oh, and just a little note so I remember: She came so fast that she has a hematoma (a big goose egg looking thing) on the side of her head. The doctors say it will eventually go away once the body absorbs the blood that is pooled underneath. Anyway, she's home and we're so excited to start our adventure with three little kiddos.
*As for the name we went with Allyson spelled in such away that it can be shortened to Ally and Ann is my mother's middle name.

Pregnancy pic

Yep, I'm big and pregnant. I am at 37 weeks in this photo. I have gained all 30lbs back that I lost last year and then a little more:) With all of my pregnancies I've only really taken one "remember my pregnancy" photo and it is around 37 or 38 weeks. So it was about time I take a picture of this little bundle of joy who is soon going to join this family.

 

I had to get a pic with the kiddos touching "Baby Blueberry" too. When I was pregnant with Landon, it was Ben and I in the picture. When I was pregnant with Katelyn it was a picture of Landon touching my belly, so it only made sense to have big brother and big sister in this picture!

I just love that the kids call their little sister Baby Blueberry. When we first told them we were pregnant they wanted to know how big the baby was and according to BabyCenter.com, it was the size of a blueberry so that is what we told them. Ever since then this little one has been known as Blueberry:)

*On another note: I am set to be induced on May 29 at 4 a.m.! So unless Blueberry has other plans, that is the day she'll come.

Mommy Preschool Graduate

 

A year of Landon attending Mommy Preschool, which was just a few women in the ward who had three year old boys switching off having "preschool" at their house for a week, has come to an end! It got kind of demanding after one of the the ladies dropped out of the rotation so it was just up to one mother and I to switch off, but I'm glad we kept up with it b/c Landon (and Katelyn when it was at our house) had a great time.

Each week focused on a new letter as well as numbers, shapes, colors and animals. Landon knows all his letters and most of their sounds so this summer we'll work more on learning to write them. Finding crafts and activities for the kids to enjoy took some creativity too but usually that was their favorite part--well that and the treats. 

We ended the year with a "Year End" party where we had an alphabet bug hunt, count the roll of the dice game, a fun summer craft and yummy cupcakes. Next year Landon will be in an actual preschool setting in a school so he'll get more structured learning to prepare him for kindergarten. But who knows, maybe Mommy Preschool is just around the corner for Katelyn:)

Katelyn's salon trip

Katelyn had her first real hair cut on April 17th. She had been asking to have her hair cut for months and every time we buzzed Landon and Daddy's hair she said she wanted hers done too.

She never wanted to take her eyes off the mirror.

 Her look says "I'm not sure about this Mommy."

Finished product: We cut an inch and a half off but you really couldn't tell. But her hair is much more manageable (if only she didn't have a double cowlick to boot!), isn't near as knotted and it does have more curl to it now. And I was so worried her curls would be lost! 

 I love the below video because it shows how stone-faced she can be when she's around strangers--even though before walking in the doors she was beyond excited!