Our Precious Girl

Here's Aislyn's story:

I had an appointment on Monday, March 15th, my due date, and found out that she was looking good but I didn't look any closer to giving birth than a 38 weeker! My ultra sound tech told me the baby was gonna be 9 1/2 lbs (which I didn't believe) and that her head was rather large. The stress test showed that in 15 minutes I only had one contraction and my check-up showed I was at a 3. So needless to say induction was at the top of my mind!

I've been induced both times before so was really wanting to go on my own to get the whole experience. I didn't know what contractions felt like, on their own, and from past experience knew that being induced is hard on your body and I always have the girls in the middle of the night, which leads to two solid days of no sleep. Anyhoo my Dr. told me to call in at 5 p.m to see if there was a bed available. I called right at 5 and they told me they'd either call back by 6 p.m. or for me to call back by 6:45 p.m. if I hadn't heard anything. So at 6:45 p.m. I called in again and they said they had a spot and for me to come in.

Meanwhile we took our girls over to my brother's house and I was feeling a lot of tightness in my stomach, but no pain. When we got there and I got all hooked up to the monitor it showed I was having contractions every 2 minutes, was at a 4, and was in labor. I was shocked and so happy to be doing it on my own. I told the nurse I didn't know THOSE were what contractions felt like and that I'd been having THOSE for quite awhile. There was no pain with them though - just uncomfortable and tightness. So basically they got me all ready, gave me an epidural, broke my water, at the end gave me some pitocen to get things to speed up, and the baby was born at 1:07 a.m. It was overall my best experience. They do a new thing called Kangaroo Care when they're born, where they put the baby on you, skin to skin, for the first hour after they're born and it was really neat. Very emotional and very natural. I guess it's supposed to be less trauma on the baby and is the best way to regulate her body temp and blood pressure. Anyways I didn't know they were gonna do that, but ended up really loving it.

Both Aislyn and I are doing well. She isn't a crier at all so far and is so very pleasant. Our girls are thrilled that "the baby is finally out" as are Dell and I. She looks just like her Daddy - or so we think.

Oh and you pronounce her name with the strong A sound - in case you were wondering! :)

Aislyn Rebecca Anderson

Aislyn was born on Tuesday morning at 1:07 a.m. She weighed 8 lbs 8 oz and was 20.25" long. She's healthy and is a great baby. She has a head full of black hair, like her daddy! We're thrilled that she's here and will share more later!

I will post a picture later when I get them downloaded to the computer . . . slow poke mom, I know.

Ear Piercing

Alexa has been coaxing for awhile to get earrings and we found a good excuse to get it done yesterday. My niece, Launa, had an experience with scissors and unfortunately the scissors won sooo my sis-in-law wanted to get her ears pierced ASAP to make her look more like the cute little girl she is!

We took them to the mall yesterday and they chose cute little flower earrings. Launa went first - Ashley didn't want to give her a choice to change her mind . . . I took Alexa on a little walk so she couldn't watch. When we came back Launa had earrings and a tear on her cheek, but was no longer crying. Alexa sat up on the chair like a big girl and was really excited. That excitement quickly turned into tears and she felt the pinch of new earrings. Both Ashley and I felt badly. The girls recovered quickly and played at the playland for quite awhile and then got some ice-cream as a "treat" for their suffering! It looks really cute and I'm glad they got to do it together.

Alexa turned 3!

So with all of the excitement of the baby, I failed to post a VERY important event. That is the birthday of our current baby, Alexa. She turned three on September 26th and we had a little family party for her. This year she is really into Mickey Mouse so we had a Mickey themed party. She picked out the matching everything and her own cake and would ask for days if it was her birthday yet and she'd say, "I so excited about Mickey Mouse party. I want Mickey Mouse plates, and cups, and Mickey Mouse cupcakes." Just randomly, out of the blue. She knew which day on the calendar was her big day, and we'd frequently talk about it.

Well the big day arrives. I had the party at 2 p.m. Not the best decision because it was late enough that she needed a nap and either went without it and would be unhappy or took one and would wake up unhappy. Not a win - win. We went with the nap and she woke up as expected, just as people were arriving.

The video clip is priceless because she was crying the whole time we sang to her. She did NOT like being the center of attention with everyone looking at her. She didn't enjoy her big day very much at all. She pulled her hair out, typical of her, and didn't want to even look at her new toys and clothes until everyone left. I didn't get any good pictures of her because she was hiding her face in all of them so the one with her Mickey Mouse loot is after everyone was gone and she could continue being herself!

Some things about my Lexa:

Alexa is such a good, sweet little girl. She loves her big sister and follows her everywhere so goes. She gives the new baby a kiss everyday and gives her "big hugs". She loves playing with her best friend and cousin Launa and talks about her daily and prays for her each night. She is very excitable (at home anyway). She's shy out in public and even around family if too much attention is on her - in that case she hides behind my leg or wants me to hold her. She's a very fast runner - I attribute this to the fact that she runs everywhere she goes and always has . . . even in the summer wearing platform flip flops! She loves to read books and likes playing with her little people that go with her doll house. She loves watching Dora and Cinderella. She's a very good eater and tells her dad to "bring her treats" when she talks to him on the phone. She loves nursery (odd since she's shy, I know). She likes to pick out her own clothes, especially panties, and always wants me to put bows in her hair (which is odd since they only stay in for a maximum of 5-10 minutes). She loves to have her nails painted and typcially chooses pink (shocking). She is still a cuddler and loves to be held. She tells me almost daily, "Moma I want hold you." So precious! She loves her blanket and won't go to sleep without it. We love her dearly and are so glad she's a part of our family!

Drumroll please . . . .

We had our ultrasound this morning and found out that we're having a . . . . . . . . . . . GIRL! Apparently we are destined for a family of daughters. I was just sure we were having a boy and was really eager to call my brothers and rub it in. For our family this is 8 granddaughters in a row and I wanted to be the one to break the streak. The Lord had other plans! Ashlee's reply was, "Mom I think Heavenly Father sent us a girl because girls are easier." I think she's right - until they become teenagers! :)

We are truly very happy about this baby and having another girl will be a joy. My sister and sister-in-law just both had girls too so this baby will grow up with two girl cousins and they'll all be in the same grade so that will be so much fun for them and for us.

Everything looked great on the ultra sound. She's healthy and growing like she should. Her heart beat is strong and all is well. She was just kicking and kicking throughout the whole thing. The ultra sound tech had a hard time getting still shots of her so we already know she's a "kicker and a mover" . . . she'll fit right in!

Our big news . . . .

So our big news is that I'm expecting! I am 15 weeks right now so have a due date of March 15th ish. I guess I really don't know who knows and who doesn't so this is our way of making sure that everyone who cares, now knows! We're super excited and will find out in a few more weeks if it's a boy or girl. I'll keep you posted!!

First Day of School

We had a hard time with the sun while taking pictures so she's in my shadow. I love this picture because she's showing all 6 of her missing teeth. She had a busy summer (so did the tooth fairy)!

Ashlee was so excited for her first day of First Grade! This would mean school all day long, hot lunch & 3 recesses! She was nervous about her bus ride - and I made things worse by discovering we were going on the wrong bus - it was like 5 blocks away from our house. So on day 2 she had to go to a new bus stop and start the worrying all over again!

We got her on the bus and then followed her to the school to get her settled. She met up with friends right off the bat and was excited to be reunited with the playground toys. We left her happy and confident . . . that's not how she returned to us.

No kidding I was so anxious for her to get home and see how her first day was and I got what every mom would expect (from a boy maybe) one word answers such as: good, ya, fine, okay. I was totally disappointed. We get home and I run to the school to find out about the bus schedule and so the girls are home with Dell. When I get back Ashlee is crying and Dell says she's been like this since I left. She was mad that "I made her wear these fancy pants (skinny jeans) and these shoes that gave me blisters." I'm just the meanest mom ever because I didn't let her wear shorts and a lot of other kids, or ALL the other kids according to her, wore shorts. To make a long story short she was pretty much a beast the rest of the evening. No kidding she was crying, pouting, just being a pill. Dell and I just couldn't believe it because that is SO not typical of her. Much to my relief day #2 was much better. I got her off the bus and she told me story after story about school and was happy as a lark. I said, "wow I sure like this Ashlee a lot better than yesterday's Ashlee." and she said, "I know mom, yesterday I was just really tired." I guess the first day of all day school, hot lunch and 3 recesses really took it's toll. But rest assured she adjusted after one day, and as long as she gets to put shorts on as soon as she gets home, I'm no longer the meanest mom!