The Anderbrand's

Simone-6 months, Colin-2 years

2012-02-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

We has their 6 month and 2 year appointments and we have some updated numbers!

Simone - 6 months:
Weight: 17 lb - 65th percentile
Height: 26 inches -40th percentile
Head Circumference: 43 centimeters - 80th percentile

Big head = big brains, right!??!? :)

Colin - 2 years
Weight: 28 lb - 61 percentile
Height: 36 inches - 71 percentile

Yep, a tall slender 2 years old!

Colin is enjoying soccer, library time, and art. He is a GREAT big brother to Simone and gives her lots of little kiss. He is talking all of the time. One the best phrases he says is "miss you so much," when either Carla or Andy leaves to work. He is slowly learning his numbers and abc's. It is great.

Simone is gaaing and gooooing. She is smiling more and more. She is rolling over and over. The amount of drool could fill Lake Michigan. When she wakes up Colin heads over to her bed and says 'Eyes open! love you! eyes open!"

Neither one is sleeping great right now and we are sooooooooo hoping this passes soon. Maybe there is reason why parents have kids when they are in their early 20's!! :) However, they are great and we are blessed to have wonderful kids.

Simone has Teeth!

2011-12-25T19:56:00.000-08:00

All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth... my two front teeth! That is right, Simone decide to have her two bottom front teeth appear! It is a Christmas miracle!

She has been quite crabby and droolly.... so... it all makes sense. Two teeth... IN for Simone.

Simone - 2 month check up

2011-09-27T21:44:00.001-07:00

Simone had her 2 month check up today and... all is normal. :)

Weight: 11lb 4oz - 51 percentile
Height: 22.5 inches - 53 percentile
Head size: 88 percentile

So... we are raising a lollipop... LOL! Actually all is right on schedule.

Here are Colin's 2 month numbers:
His length: in the 75 percentile. (who gave him the gene of height?)
His weigh: in the 25 percentile.
His head size: in the 25 percentile [pin head]. (got that from Andy)

She is growing, eating, sleeping, and pooping just like she should be at this age. She is good!
The one note the doctor said is that she has hit most of her 4 month activity points.... which means, she could be attempting to roll over fairly soon (and very early). Doctor said she is ahead of Colin's pace at this time... Andy's translation... she is going to be walking at 6 months (oh crap!!!). Whatever happens... happens. Heck, Andy thinks that if she is that active, that means Colin will have someone to run around with much earlier than we thought... :)

Well, that is the update. Check out the Flickr page for pictures of Simone's 1 month and Colin 18 month photo shoot. :) http://www.flickr.com/photos/anderbrand/

Simone Kathleen Hilderbrand Anderson

2011-07-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Born!!!! yeah!
Birthday: July 25, 2011.
Time: 1:35am

Summary over the last 10 days.

Monday, July 18
Met with our doctor and got the green light to induce on Thursday, July 21. We got all of our plans ready and bags packed. I informed the office that we were going to be induced. Carla told her voice studio as well.

Tuesday, July 19
Bags are packed. Everything is in order. We are ready!

Wednesday, July 20
We are ready! We got to bed early and were ready for an early wake up.

Thursday, July 21
We are off to the hospital at 7:30am, for our appointment at 8am to be admitted and induced. We show up and the nurse said.... did we call you? We said no and it was suggested to come back in an hour to see how the day would be organized. We headed down to the cafeteria to grab a bite and then back up to the nurse at 9am. She said well, we will give you a call and bring you in. We headed home to wait... and wait... and wait... and wait.... and wait... We called at 2pm to see if there was a bed and the nurse said, no beds. We called back at 4:30 and received the same answer... no beds and the chances are small that there will be bed. At 9:30pm we got a call from our dr and said, we probably won't be admitted until Sunday. Our Dr said that every bed was full and that she probably would be doing 4 c-sections that evening as well. So... they were slammed at the hospital. So, we waited for a call on Friday, but with the understanding that the chances were very small that we would be admitted. Friday evening came and... no call. We were not admitted.

Sunday, July 24
Carla is off to the Ballard farmers market with Colin, Ali, River, and Hazel. At 10am, we got a call saying we have a bed, be at the hospital in an hour! So, Carla arrived home and off to the hospital we go! We got our room, nurse and the induction starts.

Monday, July 25
1:35am: Simone Kathleen Hilderbrand Anderson Born!
She took a fairly big gulp of amniotic fluid so the nurses started the suction. She was breathing and there was a heartbeat, but no loud "cry." So, the continued to monitor her, and all was fine.
The vital statistics:
Weight: 7 lb 14 oz
Length: 18.5 inches

Big Brother, Colin arrived to welcome him to the family and as you can see... he was HAPPY!

Tuesday, July 26
We were packed up and ready to go and then the call from the pediatrician came saying that her jaundice numbers were a little high, so they were going to wait a few hours and test again. Around 11:30am, the second blood draw happened and we waited for the results. The results came back and her numbers were still high, but they were not high enough to be admitted for photo therapy, so they order another blood draw. At 2:30pm, a third blood draw for Ms. Simone and we waited. The results came back around 4:30pm and the numbers were high, however, not high enough to be admitted, so we were discharged!!!! We headed home with Simone! Prior to leaving, we had to set up an appointment with the pediatrican for another blood draw for July 27.

Wednesday, July 27:
We headed off to Dr office for our three day check and.... the fourth blood draw. Everything was fine with her numbers except for her jaundice numbers, however, not high enough to be admitted. The Dr. wanted us to come back at 3:30 for another blood draw. Blood draw number 5... complete. The results came back and the numbers when up a little bit, but... not enough to be admitted. We needed to come back on the 28th for a sixth blood draw.

Thursday, July 28
We arrived at 3pm for her sixth blood draw... the results came back at 6pm... her number was lower! We made it! Her jaundice has peaked. The Dr. said that we should be able to make our two week appointment and all should be fine. So, here we are Thursday evening home with Simone.

18 month update and Lil' Kickers!

2011-07-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

Colin is almost 18 months old... almost! He had his 18 month checkup today and here are his stats:
Weight: 25 lb 8 oz - 72 percentile
Height: 34.25 inches - 97 percentile

He is a tall... tall... tall... almost 18 month old! :)

He says a few words:
Mama, Dada, Yes, No, Hot, Turtle, and This....

He is climbing, throwing and kicking balls, and... overall VERY ACTIVE and BUSY!

He is a 2T in clothes and a 6 in shoes.

He loves the ZOO! especially the elephants and monkeys!

He recently started lil' kickers and enjoying is to the nth degree! According to the coach "he is the best of the group." Of course, we know he is the best. :) Here are some pictures in action!

Mom... stop taking picture of me... I have some soccer to do!

The future of Microsoft and Google

2011-03-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Colin decided that he needed to get back to "work" after his bath... Enjoy

Ultrasound - Feb. 25

2011-02-27T10:44:00.000-08:00

We had our first ultrasound and... everything came back positive. It also came back...

that we....

have a....

little....

baby.....

on...

the...

way...

that....

will...

be....

of....

the...

gender....

that....

could...

look....

like....

a....

little....

GIRL!

Yep, the ultrasound showed that we have a little miss sunshine on the way!

Apparently, Andy needs to start getting a "gruff" exterior to scary those teenage boys away!

Changes-a-coming!

2011-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

We are very excited to announce that a new family member will join us in July! Yep, you got it... we are prego with #2! :) We are very excited to welcome Colin's brother/sister in July. The due date is July 23, 2011.

It is a very exciting time for us!

Colin's 1st Santa picture

2010-12-18T15:18:00.000-08:00

It has been quite a while since we updated this blog. We have plenty of pictures and videos from October thru December. We just haven't had the time to post. After Christmas we will have time and the plan is to get everything up.

Anyways, here is Colin's 1st Santa picture, and... it is a classic. Enjoy!

Colin FIRST haircut!!

2010-10-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

We decided that he needed a haircut. So... we found a great kid haircut place! Very happy with the results. Colin was GREAT! (and I think he enjoyed it)

During the haircut:

At the end of the haircut... All styled up!

Stopped at the kid play place afterwards... Hide you daughters... Colin is on the loose!

4 teeth and furniture walking

2010-10-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Colin had his third and fourth teeth appear this week. The top middle two teeth. Yep... the middle top and bottom two teeth are coming in. He is a regular "rabbit" now. :)

Here is a furniture walking video for you to enjoy as well:

We got teeth!

2010-08-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

August 23, 2010:
text from Carla to Andy:
"Colin's tooth broke through. :( he's a little boy now."

Andy's response to Carla:
"yeah!!!! pictures? yeah!"

and... there it was. no longer just gums, it became gums and sharp pointy objects.

August 24, 2010:
his second tooth popped through.

So... 2 teeth in two days.

Hope to get some pictures soon, but it may take a while since Colin has things to do... places to go... and toys to chew. :)

May, June and July 2010

2010-08-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since we have updated the anderbrand blog. So, today became the time to update.

Colin had his 6 month doctor appointment and his latest stats:
75 percentile of heigh
50 percentile of weight
50 percentile of head size

so... just right.

He is a very happy kid! We have started feeding him solids. Favorites so far: carrots, sweet potatoes, pinto-black-kidney beans, applesauce, carrots... oh did I mention carrots!?? He likes brocolli, mango, apriocot. He really doesn't like peas. Enjoy this video of him eating peas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcT40Mo0QZU

He is "typically" sleeping from 8:30/9pm until 5:30/6am. There was a tough week when he was up at midnight, 2, 4, 6 am... it was quite early. :(

Crawling:
Not yet. He is army man crawling and pushing himself backwards on the hardwoods, but he can't figure out how to put his knees underneath him at the same time as pushing up on his hands. He is ready to move... just can't put all of the pieces together at the same time.

Moving-
part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5GjrmaPKLU
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI68LxeKYHw
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UHwyFGUbWo

Sitting:
No problem. He is a great sitter while playing with cups or some sort of toy.

Standing:
He is confident standing for a count of a '1 aligator', sometimes '2 aligator', but not more than that.

Walking:
He really wants to walk... oh yeah... really wants to walk. He holds onto our hands and starts the walking motions with ease. bend the knee, lift the food, put it out in front of you, attempt to shift weight. Plus, he is usually walking towards Molly (the dog) and as he takes a step, he lets out a scream of delight. It is great fun to watch!! The part of the equation is that molly lays super still while saying to herself, "don't move, if I don't move, that thing can't see me." Then Colin gets closer to her and her look becomes one of "dear god, get me out of here... which way is the exit!!!" I can see Molly making the choice to be an outside dog as soon as Colin is moving.

Plenty of pictures for you to view.
Colin at the park:

Mouth / Finger painting:

Colin, Molly, and family:

Cute Colin:

First attempt at standing on his own (June 2010):

Plus... a bath video:
Colin in real bath: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3d16ZN4lA0

Enjoy!!!

Colin and Molly

2010-04-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

some pictures of Molly hanging out with Colin.

Colin's first Sounders game!!

2010-04-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

On April 17, 2010... Colin's first Seattle Sounders GAME! They won! 1-0 against Kansas City Wizards.

Here are some prep pictures of getting Colin ready for the loud crowds. And... pictures at the game! GO SOUNDERS!!!!

Colin Pictures: Weeks 6 thru 9

2010-03-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

We have been getting into some regular "patterns" with Colin. He has been sleeping through the night for the last 4 weesk. We are quite lucky!!!

He had his 2 month check up and we have some "stats" on him now:

His length: in the 75 percentile. (who gave him the gene of height?)
His weigh: in the 25 percentile.
His head size: in the 25 percentile [pin head]. (got that from Andy)

Some pictures for you:

And... of course a video:

The first six weeks of Colin

2010-03-07T18:44:00.001-08:00

Lots of things have been happening in the last six weeks. Colin is a fantastic baby! He is a GREAT sleeper, GREAT eater... and AWESOME pooper! :) He is growing like a weed! He is somewhere between 9 and 9.5 lbs. so... eating and growing.

As for sleeping: in the last eight nights, he has slept through the nigh 5 times. Yep... through the night. Can you believe it?!!?

We are still trying to figure out the best way to share pictures with everyone. We have Picasa, Shutterfly, flickr... a few hundred to choose from. As soon as we figure out what we will use, we will let you know.

We are also probably going to stick with YouTube for videos.

Here are some pictures:
Colin at 6 weeks:

Colin at 2 weeks:

Colin at 1 week:

Here is a video of Colin at 5 weeks, hanging out in his crib and "attacking" his Mobile.

Here is a video of Molly welcoming Colin at 2 weeks to the family:

The name of CoeTug

2010-01-27T13:35:00.001-08:00

Some of you maybe wondering about the name CoeTug. Colin's first middle name is named after our good friend CoeTug Morgan. Andy met Coe when he joined the masonic lodge and has been a great mentor through his masonic journey. During Andy's time in the lodge, Carla and Coe met and figured out they have a similar great love... THE OPERA. During dinner conversations at his home, Carla and Coe will talk and talk and... talk... and TALK about opera, while Andy sits and twiddles his thumbs hoping to interject something into the conversation. Carla often says, "everybody needs to a have a grumpy old man in their life, and he is ours and will be Colin's." (example: Dennis the Menace has Mr. Wilson) Anyways, we thought it was very important to have his name be carried on.

BTW, Coe is VERY much alive and still VERY cranky, this is not an obituary.
(Picture by David Choe)

The history of CoeTug according to Coe (October 2009):

My Dad had a supposed 'uncle' named Coe. He thought he was a real uncle,
not a sort of uncle like I am a sort grandpa. But I have never found
anything that proved there was an Uncle Coe. My Dad's mother referred to
him once or twice like he was my father brother but then other times it
sounded like he was just a close family friend. So I don't know. I have
over the years run into a few other people with the name, a couple women
here in Seattle and another man. There was a school in Seattle top of Queen
Anne Hill called Coe School. It was a last name and there are people with
the last name of Coe. So you go figure.

Tug was my father's name. The story I was told was that his Grandmother,
his father's mother ruled the roost. She insisted that Dad, her first
grandson be named Tug after her best friend in St. Louis or somewhere like
that. There was a major football coach in the 1960s named Tug Wilson (I
think it was Wilson) The little searching I did I found that in the 19th
Century there were two names shortened to Tug, Tugwell and Tugworth.

So my Dad wanted to use the name Coe and my Mother thought I should have the
second name of Tug. Back in the 1930s it was pretty common to use a
particular family name for the second name.

But my parents did select off beat first names, Coe, Gary (no not so
uncommon as it was in 1939) and Kim because both Mon and Dad like Kipling's
novel "Kim." I was told that each time mother had a addition they argued if
Kim should be the name and agreed on the last one.

I began using Coe Tug when I started working in theater because it was
different and my Equity/AGMA/AGVA/AFTRA cards were CoeTug.

Coe

Pictures and Videos

2010-01-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures:
Colin CoeTug Hilderbrand Anderson

Videos:
Colin's first video shoot

Colin's first shower

Colin CoeTug Hilderbrand Anderson

2010-01-22T18:02:00.001-08:00

BORN!!! Colin has now entered the world. Everyone is in good spirits and healthy! 20 inches long. 6 lb 15 oz. at 4:52pm.

almost out...

2010-01-22T14:13:00.001-08:00

we are ready to start pushing. :) Should be fairly soon that Mr. Burns is out. Continue to check out the blog. I will let you know when he comes, sometime soon!

Contractions are happening

2010-01-21T22:08:00.000-08:00

Contractions are happening... they are in the 30 to 50 seconds in length, and happen between 2 and 4 minutes. We are still very early in the process. The guess is early afternoon tomorrow. (unless Mr. Burns makes a drastic decision to come out in the next 7 hours)

All looks good according to the nurse.

quick update Mr. Burns update

2010-01-21T17:31:00.000-08:00

next induction pill taken, but not much movement towards mr. burns coming out tonight. actually looks like we will get some sleep tonight!!?!? (did I just jinx us?)

At hospital. :)

2010-01-21T10:50:00.001-08:00

We are at the hospital, getting checked in for induction. Visited the doctor this morning at 8:20am... and she said, time to get Mr. Burns out. :) So, Andy is using the free wifi.

Eviction! Friday AM

2010-01-18T17:10:00.000-08:00

Mr Burns has decided to not pay rent for rest of the month, so the judge (doctor) has given an eviction notice for Friday. So, he has 72 hours to vacate the premise or the obstetric police force will be called to duty.

We are being induced on Friday AM. Our adventure starts with triage at the hospital at 6pm on Thursday, then... it is time for celebration and babysitters.

This eviction notice is great so we can make sure all is organized. We have Cozy on board for taking care of Molly during the process.

We will be sure to share the pertinent information as soon as he comes out. We will update the blog and FB with the details.

Who get to change his diaper first?

Waiting on Mr. Burns

2010-01-17T10:44:00.000-08:00

The 'Due date' has come and past. Carla hasn't had any regular pattern of contractions, so Mr. Burns is enjoying hanging out inside of her. He continues to move around and make her stomach look like a lava lamp. It is quite entertaining for Andy. :)

There is no new news to report. Everyone is healthy and resting. Don't worry... we will let you know when there is something to report.

T-minus... 3 days.

2010-01-13T11:34:00.001-08:00

We have three days until the "due date." We are ready!

Carla is having contractions here and there throughout the day, but nothing regular.

Be sure to check back on the blog for updates.

Video and Doula

2010-01-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

Here is the much awaited video of Mr. Burns' completed room (with cheeseball Andy comments):

Mr Burns room 2010

Additionally, some of you are asking what a doula does. I wasn't sure either, but after doing some research and talking with Shanon... doula's rock!

Here is a quick summary: Doula Information

Mr Burns room and countdown continues

2010-01-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

January 16 is coming quick!

This weekend we decided to complete everything for the arrival of Mr. Burns.... EVERYTHING!

Carla starts off Saturday making Andy some pancakes and bacon. Her rationale, "this may be the last time I do something nice for you until Father's day." It was a GREAT way to start today. Yummy! We played Wii for awhile. Andy has to practice mariocart since his nephew is beating him in LA... yep, Andy and Matt are playing against each other Seattle vs. Yorba Linda. Amazing... this technology thing. Eventually, Andy will be destroying Matt and all will be right in the world.

Carla started with the bins and organization of "stuff." Andy headed off to home depot for some screws and other items. we spent a good three hours getting everything in place and ready for Mr. Burns to come.

Andy is working on a video and hope to post it soon.

So... we finished the room. and the ONLY thing left to do: put all of the hospital gear into the bags to take with us to the hospital. We have the stuff... Sunday the bags will be next to the door and filled.

Bring on Mr. Burns!

For those of you who are wondering about how Carla is feeling: ready for him to come out, sums it up. Our Doctor says that everything is right on schedule and looks good. Mr. Burns heart beat sounds good. Carla's blood pressure is normal. Her aches and pains are normal. All is as it should be.

Everyone... please keep Carla in your thoughts & prayers as the time is coming closer... and closer.

Our Doc and Dullua... and name

2010-01-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

The countdown continues: 13 days until "due date."

Carla is feeling... ready for him to come out (now!!!)
Andy is feeling... ready and excited.
Molly is feeling... "bring on the kid... there is plenty of snot and drool to lick up"

The team to deliver Mr. Burns: :)

Our awesome doc: Dr. Kelley Hanrahan. http://www.minorandjames.com/our_physicians/ob_gyn/hanrahan.htm

Our fantastic doula: Shanon Shepard. http://www.facebook.com/shanon.shepard

Name Update:
Many of you are curious about his name. His name will be:

First: __________________
Middle: ________________ Hilderbrand
Last: Anderson

Yep, he will have two middle names. Seriously.

Did you really think we would tell you his name? Tee hee! :)

Countdown... 13 days.

Mr. Burns... 2:47am! What are you doing?!?

2009-12-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

Grab a seat and enjoy the ride. :)

Thursday, December 10, at 9:45pm. Carla is on the couch with her back with butt up in the air and is doing everything she can to get Mr. Burns to turn. We felt his head and it was up near her ribs. Carla says, "Alright Mr. Burns... time to turn! Help us out." We headed off to bed and were not all that excited to see the doctor on Friday afternoon.

Friday, December 11, at 2:47am. Andy is awaken with a smack of Carla's right arm and a scream that comes out of her like her arm has been ripped off. I instantly wake up and look over at Carla. Andy is thinking... "what the hell is going on!!!" I looked over at Carla and she is wide-eyed as if she saw a ghost and was about to run through a wall to get out of the room. Carla was on her back with her belly in the air... Andy says "are you OK?? what is wrong??" Carla instantly falls back asleep. Andy thinks... "what just happened... do I wake Carla? dude, it is 2:47 in the morning, go back to sleep."

Friday, December 11 at 8:05am. Andy says to Carla, "How are you doing today?" "Fine" she says. He replies, "do we need to talk about what happen last night? do you remember what happened at 2:47am?" she says, "huh? what are you talking about?" "um... smacking me and screaming... do you not remember?" he answers. Carla gives Andy that spouse look that says 'you are completely crazy and you need to stop using drugs.... ' Andy says, "Alright, I am out of here, see you at the doctor appointment at 3:10. Love you."

Friday, December 11, at 2:55pm. Carla calls Andy and says, "I am stuck on the express lane headed north on I-5. I am going to be a about 30 minutes late. Can you headed down and get me a Jamba Juice?" Andy let's the front desk know that Carla will be late and the good news is our doctor is on call and is running about an hour behind. Andy thinks... 'Perfect timing.' Andy heads down to Jamba Juice and grabs a couple meals in a cup.

Friday, December 11, at 3:30pm. Carla arrives at the doctors office and get starts drinking her Jamba Juice. Andy says, "do you honestly not remember what happened last night at 2:47am???" Carla says, "what are you talking about?" Andy describes his experience at 2:47am and Carla still has no remembrance of the event. We laugh about it and our name is called. Time to see the doctor.

Friday, December 11, at 4:15pm. We head into the appointment room and the standard check up starts, blood pressure, listening to the heart beat, and measuring the stomach. Dr. H starts asking how Carla is feeling and so forth... then she suddenly remembered that she needed to check the position of Mr. Burns. So, Carla lays back and Dr. H starts feeling around... she says, "that doesn't feel like a head.... nope.. that feels like a butt... that is a leg... where is his head??" She continues to feel around and moves to the bottom of her stomach... and Dr. H says, "there is his HEAD! he has turned!!!!" Lots of rejoicing and smiles! :) :) :)

Friday, December 11, at 4:30pm. We head back down the elevator and into the parking garage. We start talking about how weird it was that Thursday night Mr. Burns felt like his head was under her ribcage. Then Friday afternoon he was turned and ready to go! Then, the light-bulb went off... Mr. Burns decided to turn at 2:47am!!!!!

So, Mr. Burns has turned. We have 30 days left until our due date. January 16 is coming. Yeah! Mr. Burns has turned! Maybe we should name him 2:47???

A few more showers and a chair.

2009-11-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

We have had a couple more showers.

One Themed in CHICAGO BEARS!!!!! Awesome! Thank you Erin and Greg for hosting! It was GREAT. We ate, drank beer, chatted, laughed, and opened some presents.

Here are some pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/greg.coomer/CarlaBabyShower?authkey=Gv1sRgCIKC8qzKtv7mSw#

Andy's office threw a baby shower as well. This theme... SEATTLE SOUNDERS!!! We played some games that involved pictures of parents or children, a baby knowledge quiz, and nursery rhyme fill in the blanks. Along with great food and lots of laughs.

Here are some pictures:

http://cid-52697d17f252b3ef.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Andrew%20Baby%20Shower?ct=photos

No more showers planned until Mr. Burns comes out. The nursery has a bunch of stuff in it. It has the BEST, more COMFORTABLE chair... EVER! Excellent find goes to Carla! Here is the picture.

We plan to have the baby room done and ready to go by Christmas. Carla still thinks Mr. Burns is coming out December 29, 2009, but... I think... still January 20, 2010.

The coolest stroller EVER!

2009-11-11T15:58:00.000-08:00

Here is the coolest stroller / car seat / baby carrier EVER! Thank you to Andy's parents, Grandpa & Grandma Anderson, Gran, and Aunt Pat & Uncle Gene!

This is AWESOME!

Showers... Baby room... and more!

2009-11-11T15:43:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since posting. So, here are some highlights and pictures over the last few weeks.

Carla had a shower where everyone got manicures and pedicures... Ali was a great host and from the pictures, everything looked like a blast! I am sure that Jeremy and Dustin had the most fun out of all of the girls.

Here are some pictures from the event:
http://suttles.smugmug.com/Events/Carlas-Baby-Shower/10137683_XLWsr/1/696984664_ya2Pz#696984664_ya2Pz

Some of the gifts that our friends gave to Mr. Burns from that pedi/mani shower:

Probably one of the best books... EVER!!!!! thanks Dustin and Jeremy!

Some new pictures of the baby room. Put some curtains up, it is coming together!

Carla and Baby Room pictures

2009-10-19T20:12:00.000-07:00

Not much to report, but we wanted to share some pictures with you.

A couple of Carla with Mr. Burns.

A few more pictures of the new closet and storage unit from IKEA.

And a few more pictures of the baby room slowly coming together!

Baby room is starting to look like a baby room.

2009-10-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

It has been a month since our last update... but really not a ton to share.

We have had a couple doctor visits and all is progressing as should be. Our next visit is the glucose test... yep, drinking a bottle of high sugar mixture and blood to be drawn. I am sure Carla will pass with flying colors. :)

Mr. Burns is still kicking. the food craving for the last week: Pineapple... lots of pineapple.... and more pineapple.

We started the baby room transition in the last month. Here is our starting point:

Then... the crib and changing table/dresser arrived (THANK YOU SU!!!!):

So, Andy started to build the changing table / dresser:

After the changing table / dresser got built, it was time to start the crib. So, here are a couple pictures of the finished crib (THANK YOU SU!!!):

so, that is update for now. All is well and hopefully we can get a couple more pregnant pictures of Carla posted in the near future.

Mr. Burn's... quite the swimmer!

2009-09-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

It has been pretty exciting to tell friends and family that we are having a boy. Lots of responses of happiness and excitement! There are many responses like... "dang, what is Andy going to teach this boy..." I look forward to having some fun with my son. :)

As for names, We are still throwing around first names. We have his middle and last name decided upon... but, we still have 4 months to firm it up. :)

This last week Carla passed 21 weeks and check out the belly!!!

She is VERY excited to move past the "I look fat" stage and into the "I am showing/pregnant" stage.

Baby room: coming together... slowly. By next weekend, the baby room should be clean and ready for furniture. Once we the room is ready, we can move ALL of the baby stuff that our friends and family have already given to us. Thank you everyone! books... clothes... decor... small shoes... tons!

In our last OB appointment, she was trying to find a steady heart beat, but... Mr. Burns was moving like a fish! We heard plenty of small beats, but nothing regular, then... a regular heart beat, then nothing... then something... then nothing. It was like fishing! We got a bite... then it got away....then a bite... The OB was very confident that all was well and Mr. Burns is an active baby! :) She asked if Carla was feeling Mr. Burns and at that time... nothing.

Wednesday, September 2:

The email subject from Carla to Andy: "Pretty sure Mr. Burns just kicked me...."

The email content from Carla to Andy: "So I am a little freaked out because it is just a SUPER weird thought that Mr. Burns is now big enough to kick me. I thought it was supposed to feel like 'butterfly kisses'... baloney. I feel a fish flopping in me. WEIRD! Not sure I like this. Can I be done now? Maybe it is just REALLY weird feeling gas."

Carla has spent the last few days "enjoying" this new movement from inside her belly... Mr Burns and her have poking contests and he doesn't want to lose... :) I can't feel or see anything, but I am told that he is quite active. As Carla continues to teach voice lessons, Mr Burns has been quite active when a student isn't singing correctly! Mr Burns starts kicking, as to say, "sing correctly, you are killing me in here!"

Four months to go. Anybody up for a little baby pool to predict the date that Mr. Burns comes into this crazy world???

17 weeks!!! Boy or Girl??

2009-08-12T20:44:00.002-07:00

It has been a bit since posting. Not much happening... Carla is feeling a billion times better! She hasn't taken the anti-nausea pills for a little over 2 weeks and... EVERYTHING is stay down! :) YEAH!!! The second trimester is here...

We started a registry with Babies'R'us and amazon.com. Registering was pretty cool! Especially since Carla knew what she really wanted. Bottles, toys, wipes, furniture, bedding, etc.... it made the process very easy. The hardest part was the stinking car seat, stroller, carrier stuff. We probably spent a good 45 minutes looking between individual items and the all-in-one travel system. Who knew how difficult it would be!!!!?!?!??! Anyways, we must have looked pretty frustrated and a couple with their baby walked by and said... you want that one. Period end of story. So, we registered for the all-in-one travel system by Chicco. We had a quick conversation with them and said our many thanks to them! We continued on our registering (with the scanner gun)... and by the end, we were EXHAUSTED!

Saturday, August 8:
We headed down to Portland for Carla's cousin's wedding and her step-dad is radiologist... so he offered to give us an ultrasound to see if we could identify the gender. Carla is all for as many ultrasounds as possible, so we took them up on their kind offer.

So, here is one scan: (side face profile)

and another.... (this is a face shot, see the smile)

and... last shot:

IT IS A BOY!!!!

We have been throwing around a few names, but we aren't sharing yet. Of course, if you want to suggest something... you can.

We have a future Chicago Bears and Seattle Sounders FC fan!!! Maybe we should name him... Ditka!!!!!!!

Mr. Burn's in the house?? (simpson's)

2009-07-09T17:39:00.001-07:00

Another ultrasound today to check for genetic issues... and... well... more PICTURES!!!!

Due date as of today: January 16, 2010.

Everything looked good. Two hands, two feet, heart activity... and LOTS OF MOVEMENT. Mr. Burns was a regular model today.

Enjoy the pictures of Mr. Burns!

Legs working out... step, step, step, step...

The hand is saying... "Yo!"

"you are tickling my feet!"

"Just relaxing... ahhhhh!"

The mutant blob swims….

2009-07-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 2… back to the doctor for the monthly check up and ultrasound... the mutant blob is swimming around in there… apparently the pool party has started! Can you hear the Marco-Polo call and response?? Lots of arm and leg movement is happening! Could this be the reason that Carla is sooooooooooo exhausted? The mutant blob is taking her energy as well? Anyways, this appointment went as planned and all looks right on track.

This upcoming week is the first of two appointments to do some genetic testing. We aren’t terribly worried about our genetics since we don’t have anybody in our family with CF, Down syndrome, etc. but this is our first, so… well… why not. Plus, it can’t hurt to have a couple more ultrasounds of the mutant blob.

Carla health update: she is eating… and holding down food… with the help of wonderful medication! So, her all day sickness has been stopped due to medication. But, every now and then, the morning comes and well, breakfast comes up as well. She hasn’t gained a ton of weight from her starting point, but she is showing. Maternity clothes from now on. :) Her energy level has been sooooo low. Naps in the middle of the day and falling asleep on the couch at 8pm (when she isn’t at rehearsal). It is rumored that during her 2nd trimester she gets her second wind of activity. Let’s hope so!

Last night was the fourth of July and lots of fireworks around the neighborhood. Molly was a wreck!!! I was up with her until almost 3am last night… and woke up at 7:30 to head off to breakfast today (Crystal [step sister-in-law] came up for the awesome GREEN DAY concert) and I am TIRED! Is this what our future holds for us… 4 hours of sleep a night? Luckily, it is Sunday so I can take a nap or two. Going to work on 4 hours sleep could be a little tricky… but, other parents do it, so I am sure we will survive as well.

Some of you may wonder if we are going to find out the sex… the answer is: OF COURSE!!! It will make our lives easier and be able to plan much more efficient. The baby room will be gender neutral, but it will help our friends and family who are eagerly waiting to make something. The house transition will start in August… We will be moving our TV room back into the living room and the current TV room will become the baby’s room. We will need to get some curtains, better shades, and most importantly, put up a door.

Additionally, we will need to train molly to go out the front door and back to the backyard when bathroom breaks are necessary. We aren’t sure how molly will handle this transition since she won’t be able to sit on her pillow and keep the birds, squirrels, and humans in check! We hope that this transition will dampen the barking as well…

Lots coming up in the next couple month and we really hope that Carla can stop the medication and hold down some food!!!

She must feel better!

2009-06-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

It appears that Carla is feeling much better! It has been 96 hours since her last "morning" sickness episode. YEAH! She also appears to have her appetite again... yikes... can't get enough food inside of her at times. "Potato skins now" or "bread immediately"!!!! :) These last three days is how I thought pregnancy would work. She eats, tries to relax, and complains about ugly maternity clothes. LOL! Apparently ugly maternity clothes are numerous out on the web. :) i am hoping for 7 days of no morning sickness! Friday night... please come soon!

The Last Eight Weeks

2009-06-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

The Last Eight Weeks
8 weeks ago: We know… and well, time to start looking at baby room décor… Carla is doing all of the work and sending me links to look at. Some are awful (who buys this crap) and some is pretty cool… Animals seem to get my vote.

7 weeks ago: How many baby books do we need? It feels like 5 different ones show up each day. Don’t they all say the same thing?

6 weeks ago: I get a book from Doug “My boys can swim” by Ian Davis… awesome. Totally recommend for us future fathers. Easy read… and hilarious! Carla isn’t sick yet, phew!!! She starts complaining about tight pants… really? 3 weeks in, and your pants feel different? Alright... if you say so.

5 weeks ago: More books, people start to figure out. Probably should mention something to parents and my brother.

4 weeks ago: Tell my parents and brother… Brother is all excited! I start to think back to all of the ‘cool’ aunt and uncle gifts we gave to Matt, Natalie, and Toni…. And well, Carla and I are in trouble. Big trouble in the future!!! I am sure that Tim and Michelle are already plotting revenge gifts. I think my parents were completely shocked. I am pretty sure they didn’t know how to react verbally. I know they were excited to be grandparents again, but they weren’t expecting it from Andy and Carla. We make the doctor’s appointment and wait.

3 weeks ago: Status quo… nothing out of the ordinary. Lots of excitement from those who find out. I think… is this real? Yep… awesome!

2 weeks ago: the first ultrasound is coming up… what happens?
Last week: Carla is soooooooo sick. There is no way this is morning sickness. Off to the doctor. The result… Influenza A. Quarantine… Tamiflu…yep, you got it, Swine Flu, seriously. How the heck does Carla catch Swine Flu… it had to be one of those kids… I am feeling fine and am taking great care of her! We are both worried about how the Tamiflu will affect peanut Anderbrand? The research does prove or disprove that it is harmful…. Being the optimist, I have no worries.

Monday 6/8: Carla is coughing soooooo hard and soooooo often. The ‘morning’ sickness is really all day sickness. This all day sickness has been around since Saturday. I feel awful for her. It has to be miserable to be in her skin.

Tuesday 6/9: Carla has ‘recovered’ from her swine flu, mostly. That is quite a cough that continues to linger… anyways, our first ultrasound… I am very excited, but part of me is worried about peanut Anderbrand since Swine Flu was just last week, but… overall, I am thinking how awesome is this??!?! The picture comes up… and… a beating heart and a mutant blob.

Wednesday 6/10: Thank God the doctor prescribed some anti-nausea medicine!!! Carla is holding down some food…

Thursday 6/11: Food is staying inside! I think we are on the mend! I really hope that Carla can enjoy this pregnancy.

Friday 6/12: Carla almost made it 48 hours with out all day sickness…. Almost! What a two weeks!!!

I am sure that I won’t drop a note every day… but… after these this post and the previous year, it might have caught everyone up to a point.

7 more months…

The Last Year (Andy’s perspective)

2009-06-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

About 12 months ago:
Carla comes home and talks about how much fun she is having and how much River is growing and has quite a personality. The first time I hear the question, “We should have a baby, what do you think?” My answer, “ok, but something has got to give. You can’t teach private voice, nanny, audition every other weekend in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, and consider the possibility of moving to Germany for two or three years.” Carla would reply, “Whatever, we would make it work.” I think to myself, how serious is she about having a baby?

About 11 months ago:
I continue to hear about awesome River and how much fun Carla has watching all of her verbal and motor skills develop. Carla performs with Gilbert and Sullivan and her day is completely packed and there are a couple mentions about babies, but not much.

About 10 months ago:
Carla turns 27 for the 3rd time… and we are heavy into filling out applications for the New York, Chicago, and San Francisco audition junket that is coming up. Not a lot of baby talk but it comes up every now and then…

About 9 months ago:
We start to receive letter informing her of auditions granted across the country. We start planning her travel schedule, housing, etc… I start a class for my doctoral degree. There really isn’t any baby talk and I really don’t think about it much.

About 8 months ago:
Carla is flying around the country auditioning, coming home teaching voice and nanny, and driving up to Bellingham for rehearsals. I have no idea how she is remaining sane! I really haven’t thought about babies in awhile since the school year has started and I am working and taking a class.

About 7 months ago:
Carla is heavy into audition season and I am doing status quo working and taking a class. On a few phone calls home she mentions how much she misses River and feels bad for being away from her for so long. She says, “We should have a baby, what do you think?” I reply, “Ok, but I something has got to give. You can’t teach private voice, nanny, audition every other weekend in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, and consider the possibility of moving to Germany for two or three years. Oh yeah, BTW, there might be a job opening in the country of Oman for me… what do you think about moving?” We start looking into the culture of Oman. We find out that the Royal Opera House is building an opera house to be open in 2010… interesting?!?! We start talking about having a baby in Oman and we both think how cool would that be!?!??! J

About 6 months ago:
Carla is in New York for 2 or 3 weeks for auditions and we continue to talk about moving to Oman and just how awesome that would be. I am working with a contact, which has a contact, who is working with someone at the university. We have many conversations about Oman and babies in December. I finish my class and get a break from reading and writing papers. As we continue to talk on the phone, it feels to me that we are talking about babies more and more. I am thinking, there is no way she is serious about having a baby. When she asks about having a baby, I reply with… “you can’t do everything you are doing, you have to stop something.” She replies back to me, “you know I am not going to stop performing,” and I say, “I would never expect and want you to stop performing.” She finally returns from her many, many auditions.

The last five months:
January – I start another doctoral class and Carla returns back to a ‘normal’ busy schedule. Things are back to normal in the Anderbrand household, but we start to have some real serious conversation about having a baby. Where would we put a baby in our house? What fears do we have? What would be the perfect time for a baby to be born? Is it better to have summer or winter maturity clothes?

February – We start planning that August would be a good time to get pregnant, right after she is done with Gilbert and Sullivan. I haven’t heard back from the Oman folk, so that is off the table… I am getting excited about the baby, but trying to keep things to as planned. After our many baby conversations, I am convinced that Carla is completely serious about getting pregnant. I start thinking… August? Really… that far away? Yeah… that will work. Then, we start talking about July, and then it becomes June…

March – Carla cuts back on her nanny hours and gets a part-time job teaching music to pre-schoolers and infants. Things are getting serious in the Anderbrand household… June became May and we are both really happy about this decision. I finish my class; she is back on a ‘normal’ busy schedule. We appear to have a household baby plan in place… May? Really? May?

April - F$^& it! Let’s get this train moving. What difference does 30 days make? The test comes back pregnant and well… the deed is done! Didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would. I started thinking… can I tell people? Who do I tell first? Do I need to tell certain people? What the heck are the ‘rules’? J

May – We start telling certain people and a few people find out at parties via a very obvious educated guess.

So, there is the last year… probably way more information than you wanted to know.

The Mutant Blob

2009-06-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

It is official... 8 weeks pregnant... due January 2010... The third Anderbrand (insert scary music)!