Time with Grandpa Terry and Grandma Debbie

The day after Preston was born, Dad and Debbie came to Salt Lake to meet Preston and to help us out by watching Connor while we were in the hospital. Connor LOVED his time alone with Grandpa Terry and Grandma Debbie. He loved the one-on-one attention and playtime. Having them here really helped us transition from a family of three to a family of four and it was really nice to have dinner cooked for us each night with lots of yummy leftovers. Below are some of the cute pictures that we took while Dad and Debbie were here.

My four handsome men.

Connor showing off his 4-wheeler skills to Grandpa Terry

Playing with Grandma Debbie and learning to share (some).

Swinging with Grandpa in the backyard

Trying on Grandpa's shoes. Oddly enough, they are too big right now. But in too little of time, I know Connor is going to be wearing shoes that size and won't be my little boy anymore.

Saying good-bye at the end of their trip. Connor was tired, cranky and not too pleased that they were going home.

The in-home Bili Lights

It was discovered on Thursday, our last day in the hospital, that Preston had an elevated bili level indicating jaundice. So on Friday we went to see the pediatician to get his blood tested again and once again, the bili level was even more elevated than it was on Thursday. So Dr. Forbush decided that Preston needed to be placed under bili lights while he was at home. We had to go to the hospital on Saturday and Sunday to get his bili level tested and the kid was a champ. Each time they had to prick his foot and draw blood and the poor kid did not scream or cry either time. I was so proud of him.

On Friday night and Saturday night Preston spent his time under the bili lights in our living room. Dave and I took shifts watching him those nights so that we could atleast get some sleep in. Below are some pictures of the poor kid hanging out under the lights. We were lucky though that his levels did come down and were did not have to spend anytime in the hospital for his jaundice.

The bili light suitcase in our living room. The blanket was placed over the suitcase to try and keep the heat in on Preston.

Preston sleeping under the lights



Grandpa Terry hanging out with Preston

It's A Boy!!

Introducing the newest member of the Anderson family.
Name: Preston Joseph Anderson
Birthdate: August 25th, 2009
Time: 8:52AM
Weight: 8 lb 6 oz
Length: 21.5 inches
Long dark hair, dark blue eyes, 10 fingers, 10 toes, and absolutely perfect.

On Monday (August 24) around 7pm I started feeling the pains of labor. Our neighbors Sandy and Jason were so amazingly kind to take Connor so Dave and I could head to the hospital and have Preston. When I arrived at the hospital I was in full blown labor and the doctor determined he was going to let this labor progress since I was scheduled for an induction the next morning anyway. I was given my first epidural that evening around 10pm and spent the night in the hospital not progressing much further than the 5cm I already was when I went into the hospital. Around 7am on Tuesday the doctor broke my water and determined that I needed a second epidural placed since the first one was not working. (in other words....I was feeling EVERY painful contraction!) The placement of the second epidural was painful beyond words but it was still not as painful as natural childbirth. And I can say that with absolute certainty since Connor was delivered without the aid of a working epidural. Once the second epidural started working they checked me and determined it was time to deliver. Mostly because Preston was already starting to come out on his own. Three pushes later I had the most gorgeous little boy looking back at me and I knew I was in love. A love I could never explain to anyone or quantify, but a love I will feel for the rest of my life.

Lastly I should say something about my amazing husband Dave. During the labor and delivery process he was the most amazing supportive husband. He held me during the pain, said the most loving words when I needed to hear them, and encouraged me to keep going when I did not think I could. He has also helped me during the recovery in ways I could have not have anticipated. To say there is no modesty while giving birth or recovering is an understatment, but Dave always made me feel beautiful and special which is something no one but Dave could have done.

I hope you like some of the pictures we took while in the hospital. I love the family Dave and I have created and look forward to sharing the events in our children's lives with our family and friends.

Preston Joseph Anderson

Dad and Preston

Mom and Preston

Our Family. This was Connor's first time to meet Preston and he was so tired and cranky from a long day. He was not too pleased to sit still for a family photo but he still gave me a couple of pictures I will always love to look at.

37 Weeks - The End!

On Monday August 24, I went to see the doctor for my 37 week prenatal checkup. I was still at 5cm dialated and about 80% effaced so the doctor determined he was going to induce me the next morning. It is a little rare to get induced at 37 weeks but the doctor was afraid that if I did go into labor on my own I would not make it to the hospital in time for the delivery because I was already so far along. The doctor placed me on strict bedrest (again) for that night to try and hold off labor till the next morning. Unfortunately the bedrest did not work, because I did go into labor that night.

Below is the LAST belly picture Dave will ever have to take of me. It was taken on Monday night in the hospital before I changed into my lovely hospital gown. I was 37 weeks and 2 days along. I hope you like it!

Cassie's Last Day

Today was Cassie's last day working for us. She has been Connor's nanny since mid-January and he really loves her. She made being at work easier for us and it was nice to see how much Connor would light up when she would arrive in the mornings. This last week I have really gotten to know her better since she has been keeping me company during my week of bedrest. It was nice to have the company to talk to and the giant help in taking care of Connor. Cassie will be missed and I know Connor is really blessed to have had someone in his life that cared about him so much.

Since today was her last day, on her way out I took a couple of pictures of her and Connor together. This way he will always see one of the people who helped take care of him when he was little.

The New Nursery's Mural

When we were decorating Connor's nursery everything seemed to just fall into place so easily. I fell in love with the vertically painted stripes on the walls in a magazine, so I had the painter paint Connor's walls with the stripes. The bedding was so easy to pick because we knew what we were looking for.....
1.) neutral bedding for a boy or girl
2.) really bright colors
and
3.) animals and numbers

This time around we really had a much harder time deciding what to do for the nursery. Everything we found that we liked was similar to Connor's bedding and we did not want the rooms to match. So after a long search and some praying it would all work out, Dave and I decided on a bedding set that had rockets on it. Below is the web picture of the bedding. Once the bedding is in the nursery this weekend we will post actual pictures of the nursery.

Once we saw the bedding we decided on having a mural painted on the nursery wall and ceiling. Dave and I got the idea from a coworker who had an AMAZING under the sea mural painted on all four walls of his twins' nursery. Below are the pictures of the mural we had painted in the nursery. The muralist was Billy Hensler and his website is below. He was amazing to work with and we would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone in Utah looking to have a mural done in their home or office.

http://www.illusionfineart.com/

This is the apple tree mural. Notice the cute little rocket flying through the sky to match the bedding.

This is a close up of the ceiling

Our Hospital Trial Run

On Friday I had my weekly checkup with the doctor and we found out that I was a little more dialated (3-4cm) and still effaced to 70-80%. Well that afternoon driving home from my friend Heather's house I started having contractions. About 9:30pm we finally decided that I needed to go to the hospital since the contractions were too much to take. Heather was a sweet, sweet friend that met us at the hospital to take Connor home with her. She stayed the night at our house so that we could deal with my labor pains and the hospital's attempt to stop them all night.
When we arrived at the hospital my doctor determined that they were going to try to stop my labor since I am only 36 weeks (on Sat) and he wants me to try and make it to 37 weeks for the kid's lung development. Well after a long night of contractions and pain, they finally got my labor to stop. The doctor checked me out this morning and finally gave us the go ahead go home at 8:30am. The only instructions we were given was....Bedrest (no working or being active) and if we see any additional signs of labor we are to go back into the hospital so they can try and stop it again. At least for the next 4-5 days.

Well that is what is going on with us. We will try to keep people informed on the arrival of our son. But until then, it will just be alot of sitting around, watching TV, reading books and trying not to get bored.

Another Track Day with Dad and Connor

Saturday was another track day at Miller Motorsports for Dave. He was on a different track this time so it gave him a little variety in his riding. Luckily he shared a garage with his friends John and Kevin again which makes being there with Connor alot easier for me. They even had one of the "Grand Prix" garages that open directly onto pit lane and had a private bathroom. Talk about living like a rock star. The one main difference this time was that the APEX people took pity on the pregnant lady with a toddler and let Connor and me go sit up in the media room while watching Dave ride. This was great!! Connor was able to walk around freely while watching Dad ride and I was able to sit in a chair most of the time. And it was even so quiet up there that Connor slept for over an hour that afternoon! Normally the loud bikes and constant commotion prevent Connor from taking any naps during track days, which means he is very grumpy by the end of the day. I hope that you like a couple of the pictures I took of Connor while we were hanging out at the track. We are looking forward to Dave's next trackday either in September (if the timing works out well enough with the addition of our newest little man) or October.

Connor playing in the back of the truck (under strict supervision) while Dad was loading up at the end of the day.


This was a Ford GT that was parked at Miller outside the garages. There were alot of these cars there racing and they all were BEAUTIFUL! I wish I had enough money to have a hobby like this!

A trip to Toys-R-Us

Today we went to Toys-R-Us to try and find Connor a big wheel to ride around in the front driveway. Well in the bikes section of the store is also the motorized riding toys for little kids. And as it turns out there was a VERY small motorized sportbike on the shelf that Connor went immediately too. So naturally Dave took the bike down to let Connor sit on it and as you can see Connor fit the bike perfectly! Unfortunately he fit the bike a little too perfectly and well....he was PISSED when Dave decided that it was time to get off the bike and go look at other toys. I took the pictures of Connor before his meltdown occurred. I know we would never buy the bike for Connor considering I can not imagine giving Connor anything to ride that is actually motorized but it was interesting to see that something so small and motorized is even made. I hope you like the pictures of Connor. I thought he was so cute and looked like his handsome Daddy.


Already getting into the best position for going fast down the straights. It's like racing comes naturally to the kid!

35 Weeks and 1 Day - Another Baby Update

Today I am 35 weeks and 1 day along in my second (and last!) pregnancy. Here is the picture Dave took of me in the bedroom tonight to show how big my belly is getting.

The picture below is a picture of me at 34 weeks pregnant with Connor. The picture was taken one month to the day before Connor was born. As you can see, my stomach is quite a bit larger this time around.

I am feeling very swollen, extremely sore, and pretty much in alot of discomfort these days but on Friday the doctor told me that I am not going to have too much longer to go. I was 2cm dialated and 70-80% effaced when my doctor checked me on Friday. At 30 weeks, the doctor said the sonogram of the baby showed he was 5lbs and at this appointment the doctor said the baby was already about 6lbs. Looks like he is going to be a bigger kid than Connor was. And considering I have to give birth to this little boy, I am not sure how excited I am to hear the doctor say that he is getting big. The doctor also instructed me that if I go into labor in the next 2 weeks they will try to stop it at the hospital. He wants me to make it to 37 weeks so that the baby's lungs are fully developed. So the doctor told me to try and not go into labor. Like I have control over that!! But I will try, even though I am not sure how to do that. Well that is about it for what is going on with me and the new baby right now. We look forward to keeping our friends and family updated and introducing our new little man soon to the world.

Chevron Company Picnic at Lagoon

Saturday August 1, was the Chevron Company Picnic at the Lagoon Amusement Park. The actual food portion of the picnic was from Noon to 1pm, and since Connor was dead asleep in his bed we decided to miss the picnic and show up at the amusement park later that day once Connor was fed and rested. Since Connor is too small to go on any actual ride and I am too big to go on any actual ride, we all just hung out in the water park for the afternoon. We floated the lazy river many times and played in the toddler area. Connor loved going down the water slide over and over again. So Dad would get him to the top of the slide and I would catch him at the end of the slide before he completely dunked himself in the water. We were only at the waterpark about 3 hours but that was all that Connor and I could take. Connor was asleep in the car before we made it out of the parking lot and I was really exhausted for the rest of the weekend.

I was unable to get any pictures of the pure joy on Connor's face while doing the water slide since Dave and I were both in the water the entire time. But I did get a couple of family photos taken in the park so we could remember the day.

Connor was trying to pull my dress down, so you can see my face as it just started.

Dave and Connor in front of the large dancing water fountain at the park's entrance.